#(short for kaleidoscope ehe)

[femmefaggot]

i dont wanna do it but we do have 2 find an ideal aster its suuuch a wide range n when u jst google aster theyre PURPLE? crazy. i will not let this toddler have an identity crisis

[needfantasticstories]

Wind, Water, and Four 

(DAY 25: Waterboarding)

Summary:

In Four's era, Wind meets Jago's gang.

Notes:

HUGE thanks to @somerknights and @estelian-01 and @hotcheetohatredwastaken for BETA reading.

Wind wasn’t often afraid of water. He loved the high seas with its open horizon and kaleidoscope of blues and greens. Not much felt so refreshing as a kiss of saltwater spraying on his face during a hard day of sailing.

But right now, he looked at the simple bucket of water beside him with genuine fear. A towel dangled in the hands of a strange man who stood over Wind. He was tall with short facial hair over his lip and chin, and an obnoxious smirk. Judging by the crooked smile, he was probably just as cocky as Warrior, but certainly not as friendly as the Captain. The man’s grang of rouges sitting on crates around the room muttered in excitement.

“It’s a simple question, kid. You tell me where Link left that sword, and we’ll have no issue. But if you want to make it interesting, I don’t mind playing a few games before you talk.” The gang of low-lifes around him laughed. 

Wind glowered and tried not to let it show how he struggled in his restraints, feeling for the knots that pinned his arms to the short end of the wooden bench.  

“No? You want to play the game? Fine. Let’s get started!” The man threw the towel over Wind’s face. Wind quickly drew in a breath and held it. 

Starting from the top of his head and creeping down came the pressure of water saturating the towel. It trickled down over his nose, then too quickly over his mouth and chin, sealing the dense fabric against his skin. There was no way for air to get through it now, except the tiniest waterlogged straw-suck of air if he was lucky enough for the towel to be old and worn. It did not feel worn. He tried not to think too much about it and held still. He could stay calm. His previous record for holding his breath was two minutes, and his shortest escape was 30 seconds, after all. Nevermind the longer ones, but there wasn’t time to dwell on that.

He picked at the knots, first the left hand, as pressure built in his chest. A drip slid from the rag into his nostril, and he tried not to panic. Hold hold hold . He thought and his nimble fingers worked into the coarse rope. 

One almost free! His face felt hot with pressure. His lungs burned. His heart raced. 

A punch to his gut ruined everything.

He gasped, but only sucked fabric and water in, and he choked as water tickled down his airway. He tried to breathe in again, and coughed out, but nothing came back in except more water. His mind felt washed in white. He arched his back as his legs thrashed and his arms jerked but he couldn't get a single breath, only more and more water dripping and sucked in from his desperate attempts. His neck ached from straining his arms and shoulders, his throat hurt, and his face burned. He’d lost track of which way was up and down, mind spinning even in his blindness. 

His thrashing grew weaker and weaker. 

The rag lifted, and he gulped in the precious air, a spray of water sent into his lungs along with it. His chest heaved like a boat in a storm, up and down. He watched it himself, aching and relieved and afraid.  

“Wasn’t that fun?” The man leered down at him. “Want to play again, or will you tell me where he keeps the blade?”

“What blade?!” Wind gasped. Right hand right hand right hand . The dim wood-paneled room looked fuzzy, all the light glittering too brightly from the water still coating his eyelashes. “Which Link? There are tons of people named Link!”

“What? Kid, there’s only one in this town, and everyone knows him. That bratty son of the Captain, he’s such a show-off it’s hard to miss. And you know that, I bet. You’re traveling with him. I bet he’s pissed you off a few times, eh? Why not give him a little taste of his own medicine? We don’t even want him . Just a sword he took from some shrine in the middle of nowhere. we just want to put it back. We’re like those, uh, what do they call them?”

“Archeologists,” a man in a red bandana supplied. 

“That’s it! Archeologists. That’s us, you see? Interested in ancient things. He’s stolen an old thing, and we just want to put it back. So what is it? Keep playing our game, or will you tell us?”

The man was like Warrior in more ways than one. He had this gang under his thumb, and didn’t take disrespect. “You can take that glass bottle over there and shove i–”

Down came the cloth, but Wind timed his last breath well. He’d be able to focus for a few seconds. He worked his fingers just right when a kick to his stomach threw his fragile plan off track, once again. He gasped, and floundered on the wood bench.

They let him get another taste of fresh air for a brief moment. Right hand right hand right hand . He wished he was as ambidextrous as Twilight. He hooked one finger in the knot and pushed in, wiggling and worming to loosen the knot. 

But all too quickly, his limbs flopped as the white fog clouded his mind again. He felt a strange, almost happy weightlessness. Then the rag was gone, and he gagged on a mouthful of water, spitting it out violently. 

A grumble at his side. He coughed and looked up. His captor was glaring, water all over his cheap cravat and grimey vest. 

A woman nearby laughed. “Oh, Jago doesn’t take being disrespected, lad!” 

Wind gave an exhausted smile of his own, and looked to the man's hip for a promising flash of silver, and he found it.  

Wind lunged. One fist closed over the handle of Jago’s knife, the other he fist swung into the man’s belly. Jago’s smirk shattered as he doubled over. 

Wind sliced the ropes at his feet, grateful the blade proved sharp, cutting them free in only a few slices. 

The ragtag criminals shouted and lunged first for their leader, and then for him, but it was too late. He’d already rolled off the bench and under their feet. 

The door was barred, but he hauled up the crossbeam and shoved it back into the crowd closing in behind him. Those in front fell back under its weight, forcing those behind to dodge around the fallen. Wind ducked under a grasping hand and hurled the door open. Narrowly avoiding the tackle of two scraggly criminals, he danced between the thin groups in the evening crowd, heading for the widest and most crowded roads he could find.

They chased him, shrieks and angry shouts bursting behind him, until at last he skidded into the crowded market. Lamps reflected in a beautiful fountain that he had too little time to appreciate. There were covered stalls everywhere. He ran into an alley near one, then turned and slid under the table of a silk merchant. Footsteps followed into the alley, and gruff curses soon followed, but Wind didn’t wait. He crawled under table after table, and at the end he made a run for the inn. 

“Wind!” Four shouted in relief as he ran into the end where the others had been staying. Twilight and Sky whispered prayers of thanks.

“Where are the others?” Wind asked.

“They’re out looking for you! What happened?” Four demanded. “Why are you all wet?”

Wind huffed, and glared at the irritation in Four’s voice, but it was all hitting him now. He blinked the shine of his eyes away and demanded, “Who in the High Seas is Jago?”

The door slammed open a second time, startling the other patrons who had already been staring at them in nosy interest. Warrior stood in the frame, tense as a bowstring, but when he saw Wind he sprung inside and grabbed the sailor by the shoulders. 

“Thank Farore. Time and I found those hooligans in the market. The knights are rounding them up.”

Four asked, far more gently, “Wind, what happened?”

“I’m fine!” He assured them both, though his coughing fit after made the others only look more worried. “It’s a long story. Can we get food first?”

[venus-pjo]

The Halfblood Chronicles- Part 1

CHAPTER 1- The beginning of a new life

Being a half-blood is scary. Nerve-wreaking and scary. Well, i am one, and my name is Deirdre waves. I was going to a boarding school till a few weeks ago, when it all began.

I leaned back in my chair. My teacher, Mr. Escalante glanced at me, he looked like an overgrown baby in my opinion. With absolutely no hair, really overweight and wore these weird things that reminded me of a baby-grow dipped in sewer water, with a baby-blue beanie. How much more childish could he get?. My friend, Maria, bit into the end of her pencil nervously, Her boyfriend, Mitchell, put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. Eww, affection. The bell rang, signaling lunch. Maria jumped up from her chair happily and started out the door, Mitchell at her heels. When she remembered i existed. I told her to go ahead. She frowned but left me.

As soon as i turned my back to the door, i knew something was wrong. 'Miss waves,' Mr. Escalante drawled, his bald head shining weirdly in the lighting. 'Wassup' I jumped onto my chair. 'Calm down, I'm only warning you-' He began but i cut him of. 'Wait- Hol' up, warn me of what' I asked suspiciously. He sighed. 'It will take too long to explain, therefore, you are unworthy of that knowledge, but to the main point, you need to run- No! Not now!- Tonight, take Miss. Berman and Mr. Craggs with you and run- run as far away as possible' he turned away before i could annoy him with even more questions that need answers.

'Hmm' Maria wondered. I had just finished telling her what had happened. She twirled her curly rich brown hair around her fingers. Her pale blue eyes fixed into a thinking face. Pretty. She was as you could put it, the 'pretty' friend. Me on the other hand, tall, acne covered, blonde with kaleidoscope eyes. Cool. 'Mon amour, i got you your favorites' Mitchell sat down beside her. A pang of jealously tugged on my heart. Stupid crush. But i still wasn't sure who i had a crush on. Mitchell or Maria. Probably Mitchell, is it even aloud for a girl to like an other girl? I don't know. I didn't want to find out. 'Thanks, babe' Maria took the tray from him. 'Love you' She smiled. I gritted my teeth. No, i liked men. Right? I decided not to dwell on that. 'Hey, Dre? You listening?' Mitchell questioned, used to me zoning out. 'Uh-yeah, just zoned out' i replied, too quickly. Maria sipped her boba. Her eyes far away. Mitchell attempted to brush back his auburn bangs, but failed miserably. Both his and Marias earrings shone brightly in the fire light. We somehow managed to share a dorm. It did take a while, but this was a special boarding school, so we're fine.

Maria went to bed early. Leaving me and mitch over here to talk. Very awkwardly. Stupid beesh. 'So- Uh- Waddup?' He said awkwardly, shuffling around. 'Uhm- Nothing much…you?' I began to realise maybe i DID have a crush on him- Oop-. 'Uh, yeah, pretty much same'. We sat in awkward silence. 'Yeah, im gonna go to bed- Night' I muttered and basically ran to our room. When i went in, it was silent except for Maria's deep breaths. She occasionally tossed and turned for a short period of time, before going back to laying silently in one spot. I sat on my bed, deep in thought. I decided to look up what had moved in to my brain the past few weeks. Was it possible to romantically like woman?'

We were careful not to make a sound. Owls hooted in the distance, Trees swayed, Moriam prep silent. We stumbled through the woods quietly. Maria asleep, and being carried by Mitchell, Who kept nearly walking into trees. He decided that, even know it looked stupid, he was going to tie his bangs into a ponytail facing upwards. Which made him look like either a five year old me, or a deformed unicorn. Both scared me. 'So, Dre, did you get any sleep?' He asked. Bro, I'm tryna be jealous of you, stop being so nice. 'Not really, you?' I replied politely. He smiled. 'Eh, yeah, same'. We left it at that. A comfortable silence filled the air. We walked in silence for about 10 minutes, when Maria jumped up and dragged us into a bush. 'Wha-' Mitchell began before Maria clamped a hand over his mouth. 'yeah, shut up uni-boy' sniggered someone who totally wasn't me…(psst! It was : 3). An arrow suddenly stabbed a poor tree in front of us. 'Ugh, i can't find them, Varian' A feminine voice groaned. They stepped into view. 'Valerie seriously? We have to protect them, especially Deirdre, Cale did what he could, the rajhas will probably take him hostage' Varian (?) Sighed. Valerie nodded sadly. 'What if they kill him!?' She gasped. Snap! Uh Oh- Oh! But what do they look like Deirdre?, you ask. Well, uh, well, i don't know, they are wearing these weird dress-thing-ys with hoods up, so yeah, i don't know. Varian whirled around. 'Found them' he shook his head and pulled us out of our very comfortable bush. This allowed me to get a closer look at his features. I nearly fainted. His skin, was green, like sage green. His eyes were a warm brown and he had white freckles across his cheeks and nose. He had well defined cheek bones and his eyebrows were a slightly darker green then his skin. His ears were really, really pointy, like if you poked the tip you'd bleed. 'I'm Varian, thats Valerie-' he gestured to her. 'Kay, so y'all are coming with us to the only safe place for you guys' Valerie grinned. She clapped her hands and a Chariot pulled by black horses road in. Maria nearly fainted. They helped the three of us in and told the horses where to go which freaked me out more then these weirdo ninja elves that had kidnapped us. Maria fell asleep and i decided to copy her. Last thing i heard was Valerie whining about whether or not they should take us to some weirdo called Wolf.

'DEIRDRE, GET YOUR BUTT OUTTA BED'. I woke with a start. Mitchell grinned at me, then he pointed at a fortress in front of us. I gasped in shock. It was huge, i could see a castle inside because of its height. The black walls with a night sky pattern looked amazing. 'C'mon, unless you want to stay out here' Varian appeared at the side. He helped me out and raced towards the fortress.

It took a while and a lot of running, before we reached our destination: The throne room. 'Varian, Valerie, thank you' The throne lady beamed. 'Deirdre. Mitchell, Maria, your probably very confused, i, am Moon' She smiled. Yes, Crazy lady called Moon, i am very much confused. 'Okay, so whats happening?!' I basically yelled. Moon just smiled. 'Well, lets start with young Maria, shall we?, So Maria over here, is the demigod daughter of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty'. Silence. To be honest, i actually believed it, after seeing two green weirdos who work for someone called Moon, i could believe it. Maria blinked in utter shock. 'Mitchell, the son of Alectrona, goddess of morning' She continued. 'and, finally, Deirdre, Your not greek, roman, Egyptian or even norse, therefore your parentage is unknown, even to me' She finished. Dang, i was really looking forward to that. Maria and Mitchell were still surprised that they were demigods. 'Apart from that, Children, you's will be staying here and training to be the worlds greatest heroes' She smiled sweetly, but i was still bummed out. 'Avery, Charlie, please escort these three to their room' She called out to two ladies who had entered the room. They nodded and smiled which also creeped me out.

Mitchell snores too loud. I lay in bed, thinking about what happened. Maria, daughter of fricking love and beauty? Not suprised seeing as she looks like a freaking goddess. Mitchell? Surprising actually. Me? Depressing. I eventually drifted off, i really wished i hadn't because of my dream though. I sat up in my bed, Maria and Mitchell were gone, which i found weird. I jumped down the stairs and was overwhelmed by the heat, it felt like fire. Suddenly a familiar scream echoed throughout the building, i ran out to find Maria, eyes wide staring at Valeries burnt body, Varian sobbing at her side. Moon sat stroking her hair with her head on her lap, slowly whispering things like: "Val, sweetie everything will be alright' and 'Don't close your eyes! You don't want to worry Varian do you?". I was shocked, then a woman with long brown hair and tanned skin ran over, she grabbed my hand and pulled me the whole way up a turret. When we arrived at the top she pointed at something in the distance, as it neared, a horrible feeling spread throught my chest. We were at war, also the horrible feeling was probably the fact that i was still in my onesie. The woman turned to me, fierce hatred for whoever started the big fight, burned in her eyes, she passed me a spear and grabbed her dagger from her belt. 'I, am Ria, daughter of queen kym o f and King Séan of Uldercoul, i do not define myself based on whether or not my father approves' She hesitated before continuing, 'I will fight for the kingdom of Blouna, and for the freedom of Uldercoul' She finished. I nodded and together we ran into battle, the spirit of war at our heels. I gasped and sat up in my bed, sweat trickled down my face. Maria looked worriedly over at me. 'Dre, are you okay? You were screaming 'no' repeatedly' She frowned, 'yeah, yeah, I'm fine just a nightmare. Mitchell ruined the tension by running in and screaming 'bekfast' while jumping on our beds. We dressed and followed, as we jogged down the corridor, i saw a glimpse of the sword maria had in my dream, the idea filled me with dread. But the thought of breakfast made my stomach growl so i ran faster and soon forgot.

I brushed the sweat of my forehead and fixed my sword into the proper position. Maria grinned and attacked from the side. I totally could of beat her if i hadn't been distracted by her winning smile. Mitchell cheered his girlfriend on from the side, Moon, Valerie and Varian were watching from the stands. I got so distracted, that Maria swung her sword under both of my feet, tripping me up. I let out a surprised yelp as i fell on my butt. Maria giggled and held out her hand, which i took with much thanks. Mitchell ran over with a wipe and handed it to Maria who quickly washed the surprisingly little sweat of her face. 'Thanks darling' She smiled sweetly at him causing him to blush and kiss her nose. Jealousy jumped outta nowhere and started hugging the life outta my heart. I felt like punching a certain someone by the name of Aphrodite… Or eros, their both gods of love and technically also gods of crushes. Valerie came over to congratulate Maria for beating me, Which seriously annoyed me. I decided to go and pray to my patron, this strange unknown deity.

When i arrived at the alter i quickly washed my hands in the basin beside it and sat on the stool and began to pray. Suddenly i was in a field of stawberries, it was dark out and the stars were bright. A figure shifted beside me. 'Deirdre'. They spoke softly. 'I have a feeling your looking to know my name? Well i am your father, your mother- yes, at the same time- and my name is myth, the ratian of war, courage, strength, bravery, weapons, anger, sadness, all negative emotions, and immortality' They wheezed as they said it all in one breath. I thought for a short moment. "Could i see you?' I asked politely, which was very unlike me for starters. 'I guess, you are my daughter after all' a pale glow appeared and the sun shot up out of nowhere and lit up the fields, i quickly picked a juicy strawberry and sighed at the delicious taste. Then i remembered what was happening, i turned and nearly jumped at what i saw. A petite figure with feminine features around my height looked on at me with a smile. Their waist length white hair was wavy and the two front sections were tied into a bun from what i could see. Their eyes were completely black, occasionally switching into a galaxy. Their mini beach dress was nearly transparent yet they seemed to be wearing another layer underneath. They had pale skin that seemed to glow. 'Woah…' I stared in utter shock. They rolled their eyes but not in a mean way, 'well, you better get going, your friends are gonna get worried as they are unaware of the alter' they smiled and put their hands on both of my shoulders, and i faded back into reality.

[greycaelum]

Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo Satoru X Reader

(Kaleidoscope Series || Clouds and Mochi Chapters ||)

Request:

Hi Grey,

I would like to request an idea for Kaleidoscope Series; Clouds and mochi

Fluff 5 & crack 4

Satoru took kouki's mama first kiss (you can consider other 'first').

Thank you,

Cheesecake

500 followers Event || Prompt List ||

[First meet and visits]

[Note & Warning: Fluff...? Satoru being a loveable menace. Early stages of the relationship. Word count: 4.7k]

[Grey says: Someone asked me if Y/n is a civilian or sorcerer, so I added it in here to clarify things. There's no specific job description on what a window is in the anime so I concluded it out of Ijichi's explanation to Yuji. Writing this was confusing for me, I'm not used to calling Satoru "Gojo", I keep retyping every Satoru. Thank you for participating and hope you enjoy it! PS: Call me weird but I'm grinning in glee seeing the submission button used, hahaha]

Fluff Prompt 5 & Crack Prompt 4:

"I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't know how to do the whole...kissing things." + "Can you please stop trying to ruin my reputation in front of all my colleagues?"... "Of course, I can limit it to half."

I.

"Eh, so you're the one huh?" A boy with arctic hair and weird round glasses leans close to you, face-face. Nose tips bumping each other, that with one wrong loss of balance his lips would collide against yours, his thumb and forefinger supporting his chin humming to himself while assessing you. He has no sense of personal space and pounced on you at the first glance.

"Uhm, could you back away, you're being a pervert in my perspective you know," you deadpanned at the creepy male who blinked and froze, slowly withdrawing and cocked his head to the side, towering over you.

"Neh, can you fight?" He asked again. "I can train you," he added.

"No, but if you do that stunt again I'm gonna knee you where the sun doesn't shine." You smiled sweetly at the male, in contrast to the blank look in your eyes. "Yaga-san, I'm going. Please wire my payment in the usual account." You bowed at the older male who was chanting to let down a curtain.

He thanked you and you move to get out before the partition touched the ground.

"Oi!" Someone called out making you stop. The guy earlier ran after you holding an umbrella. He stopped before you and handed over the blue folding umbrella.

"Sorry about that, Gojo Satoru, and take this. It's gonna rain," Gojo smiled and reach for your hand, depositing the umbrella before you can reply, and ran back into the curtain while you stood there befuddled and clutching the umbrella. Seconds later small droplets started to fall, and afternoon drizzle started making you open the thing and walk to the nearest station to catch your ride home.

That was how you met the annoying but thoughtful menace.

II.

The second time you met him was when you were going out of the bookstore after purchasing school materials. You're carrying a heavy load when another hand reaches the bag and you almost yelled if not for the familiar whimsical tone.

"Yoh! Y/n-chan~" You look up, well because he's tall. And met the same silly grin and arctic-haired guy, this time in his casual loose white tee and cotton pants with his black round glasses.

"Gojo-san," you acknowledge him and frown. "You don't have classes?"

"I graduated last month, I'm on a short three-day vacation before going to work. Where are you going?" He asked.

"Congratulations! Can you come with me then? But if you're busy today, it's also fine."

"Nope, nope! I was just wandering around I'm free the whole day. Where are we going?"

We... That made you blink. It sounds like something coming from his mouth even though it's just a two-letter word. Clearing your mind you look around the line of shops and spot an eyeglasses store. Looking back to the man you decided.

"There," you pointed to the other side of the room and Gojo followed you.

"I'll treat you, count it as a graduation congratulatory gift...?" You thought and the saleslady approached you two but refusing assistance you and Gojo roam the stands with glasses lined up ranging from branded ones to the glittery fashion ones.

"I've never been treated to glasses." Gojo chuckled and lifted the shades while you pick the rimless glasses, extending the glasses to him. Gojo froze and cautiously accepted it but made no move to put the glasses on.

"Oh, it's fine if that's not your style, there's more to choose from." Noticing his hesitance you bit your lips and blushed. Of course, it's weird to start suggesting things out of the blue when you even barely know him, and it's also not normal to ask someone out to buy him a gift when you only met him the second time! Ahhhhhhhhh! Internally you combust with how awkward this impromptu gift buying with him is.

"Here," Gojo poked your cheek returning your fading soul. "I'm not sure about this, it's also my first time wearing clear glasses," he cleared his throat and flashed you an awkward laugh.

On the other hand. You stare at his enthralling bright blue eyes. They're like the deep teal waters you would usually see in the photos of the Caribbean Ocean. It's too beautiful and iridescent to be true.

"Uhm... Gojo-san, are you perhaps a half?" You can't resist the curiosity. "Or are those contacts?" You asked him to lean down so you could assess his eyes better.

"I thought you said you'll kick me where the sun doesn't shine if I go close to you again," his eyes glint in amusement as you marvel at his orbs. "And nope, these are real, and I'm a pure Japanese," he shrugs.

"Eh? About your hair?" You gawk at him unbelieving. "Dyed?"

"Natural, I guess you could say, it runs in the blood," Gojo gave you a wink and took off the glasses, sliding back his black ones on again, he smiled at you.

"I want this one."

You agreed and went to the cashier to pay, after settling the bill you walk out with Gojo looking at the wrapped box in his hands with an amazing smile adorning his peachy lips and thanked you over and over...

'I guess he's not bad...' You wave off your first time meeting him and watch him look like a kid receiving a gift on Christmas.

"Where are we going next?" Satoru asked.

"I need to study, I have exams in the coming days."

"Oh, I can walk you to your place," he offered but you shake your head.

"I'm going to my part-time first, work a three-hour shift, and study there too." You pointed a café to him.

"Jaa, see you around, enjoy your day off!" You bowed at him and open your hands to retrieve the paper bag with your school supplies but Satoru smirked and opened the door making the chime clink and step inside.

"Gojo-san?" You followed him, who walk to the farthest table by the corner and sat there.

"I'm hungry, you can go to work now," he smiled and waved you bye-bye, you wanted to speak more but your co-worker called you that it's time to change shift. Reluctantly you walk away and after passing a confused look on the smiling Gojo who waved bye-bye. In the changing room your co-workers especially the females flock around you asking about the handsome guy who walked in with you.

"Y/n! You never told us you have a boyfriend! And that hot!"

"Eh?"

"What's his name? How old is he? How long have you been dating?!"

They bombarded you with questions. That you have to flee after getting change and start your job.

Gojo just ordered and ordered while you work that you don't know anymore if he's waiting for someone or whatever his motive is. He can't possibly wait for you, right? That's three hours or more.

You served the hot chocolate to the couple on the next table beside him. Your head subconsciously turned in his direction and Satoru smiled. He didn't make a fuss or tried keeping you for long whenever you serve his order. Not until you finally finish your shift around 2:30 and went to him.

"Did you have to wait for me for three hours?" Sitting across him you opened your notes.

"Uh-huh? You asked me out, of course, I'll wait. Take your responsibility on me Y/n-chan~"

... You stared in shock at his nonchalant face. When did you ask him out?

"Pardon?"

"You're working as a window right? Why are you working part-time?" Gojo shifted the topic and took out a pencil.

Windows are those civilian who reports activities for the Jujutsu Administration, they're not managers or sorcerers but they can see curses and yet not enough curse energy to be combatants but they help in investigations.

"I need to save money. Do you know this problem?" You showed him your notebook with an unsolved math problem.

"You need to solve for the n first—" Satoru flips his pencil and writes down the formula for you. "Substitute it... You need to keep both sides equal. Yeah, just like that, cross this out."

Satoru tutored you diligently. His explanation is quick and no words wasted, it's so easy that you don't get confused at all. The Cafe's Master sent you two parfaits saying it's in the house, and before you could notice the sun is starting to sink. 5:30 pm.

"Sorry! I took your day off," you apologize while he walks you to your place.

"Nah, call me when you need another tutoring time," Gojo grinned and you stop in your apartment. "Thanks for the glasses, I'll keep them safe."

"Thanks for today." You bowed again and walk up the stairs to the second floor. Looking back down you saw Gojo still looking up and waving you a goodbye, gesturing you to go inside first. With a small wave, you went inside and recount out the ordinary day you just had... Not to mention with a strang— it's not even right for you to call him a stranger after what Gojo did for you today.

An acquaintance then... After cleaning up and preparing dinner you went through your notes again and opened your notebook.

There's a mail address written, and a cat with glasses scribbles by the side of it. It says Satoru~

"Silly," you murmured, but took out your phone to enter his mail address. Debating to yourself if you should text him or what?

You: Thank you for today Gojo-san. Y/n,

You didn't even get to put the phone down when it chimed a message notification. He's fast!

Gojo Satoru: Thank you for the glasses Y/n-chan, see you next week! Good luck with your exams.

Since then, on weekends you'd find him in the cafe you're working in, staying until your shift is done, helping you with homework, or a short stroll in the town before going home. Being around him for some reason calms your heart, his emojis to cheer you up in exams, or your 'take care' message when he mentions going on a mission.

Getting along with Gojo is easy, but when you saw him wounded after you waited for him in a mission only then did you see a part of Gojo hidden from the usually easy-going persona he is in normal days.

Quietly you approach him who is sitting on the stone slab looking over the managers taking care of the situation. Unused to comforting someone you don't know what to say until you saw his slackened posture.

"You can rest here," patting your lap, you offered but Gojo just look ahead straight with his hands red and blood sticking to his skin. He made no move nor any sound until the cleaning up was taken care of.

A few minutes you felt his head dip on your lap and remove his eyeglass, closing his eyes and staying quiet.

Stroking his hair, you stayed in silence with him. When you notice his breathing starting to go slow and steady you lean down over his ears and whispered words you've been meaning to say.

"Thank you for your hard work Satoru."

III.

Sooner you realize days with Gojo is becoming a norm, at some point, it scares you becoming used to his presence. What if he suddenly disappears? You're friends with him alright, or maybe look up to him also... But Gojo never mentioned having any special feelings for you.

"Y/n-chan wanna come with me to the festival?" Gojo called.

"Sorry, I need to review for my finals next week. Maybe next time?"

You don't ever want to fail this one since you're graduating next month.

"Oh okay, I'll see you next time?"

"Next time," you nod and reluctantly end the call going back to your studies.

Maybe you should've gone out to get a breather from all this studying... But, you don't have that leisure time, do you?

After you graduate you need to find a job and you'll be busy. You're quitting the part-time, no more weekend meet-ups... No more...

Series of knocking on your door drag you out of your sour thoughts and walk cautiously, taking a look at the porthole first.

Opening the door Gojo in his yukata holding a watermelon and takoyaki boxes grinned at you.

"Mind me coming over?"

"Hey," you greeted, taken aback, and surveyed your eyes from top to bottom of his attire. Gojo in traditional clothing looks so handsome, he even exchanged his dark glasses for the ones you bought him the first time you guys went around the city revealing his bright blue eyes.

Opening the door, he steps in and instantly plops to the carpet where your notes are splayed.

"I bought you takoyaki, there's jagabutter, should I slice the watermelon?" Gojo look up at you with excited eyes but it slowly turned to a curious and worried look. "Something wrong sweet cheeks?"

"Nothing, just exam stress..." You shake your head and sat across him opening a box of those he brought.

Satoru is a master of storytelling, of how were his days, there would be times he'd tell you what happened in the higher-ups and Jujutsu-related kinds of stuff but not much. You have also experienced his Infinity, the very first time you held hands with him as he demonstrate how untouchable he is.

His hands are so large that you can't help but admire his slender fingers and well-kept nails.

An hour or two you wrap up your school work and relaxed on the small balcony watching the fireworks.

"When's your graduation?" Satoru asked. You answered him and he nodded.

"By the way, how're my glasses?" He flashed you the glasses. Making an exaggerated pose that you laughed at. "Don't I look pretty?"

"Beautiful ocean eyes," you murmured and smiled.

You watch Gojo's ears turn flush rose and blink at your compliment... Turning his eyes to the side to evade your eyes and chuckled. "Yeah? Glad you like it."

IV.

Your graduation ceremony ended, after your parents with you got a photo, your friends invited you to join the after-party. But your Mom pokes you with a knowing look on her face and point to the entrance. "He's been waiting there since the start," she chuckled and told you to go.

Gojo's face lit up when you start walking to him in your graduation robes and diploma at hand.

"Congratulations sweet cheeks! Are you free today?"

You laugh hearing almost the same words you told him when you learned he graduated. Satoru mirrored your laugh.

Glancing at your family, your Mom gave you a thumbs up.

"I already asked their permission," Gojo added.

"Okay," you smiled and move to get out of your robe but Gojo stop you, asking a passerby to hold his phone and take a picture of the two of you.

"Smile sweet cheeks," Gojo whispered and posed for the camera. His arm snaked on your back leaning a little lower and flash a smile while you inhaled a shaky breath at how close the proximity was between the two of you. Not to mention the gazes of passerby darted to you and the tall man.

"Let me see?" You asked and stand on your tiptoes to reach his phone but Satoru slip it back into the pocket of his long coat and chuckled.

Satoru brought you to a park after you changed out of your robe and in your floral print elbow-length sleeve chiffon dress.

"So what are your plans after this?" He asked with hands kept inside his pockets as you walk to the center of the bridge underneath is a clear stream where koi fishes swam side by side.

"I'm going for job hunting I guess," you shrug. "I'm quitting my part-time," you added.

The surrounding is relatively tranquil, with birds chirping and the greenery before you two. It seems even the weather is congratulating you on how bright the sun is and yet the sunrays remain sheltered by the big lumps of passing clouds.

"Y/n, would you like to go out with me?" Satoru out of a sudden sprung the question.

Eh? You look at him, unsure what he means, half part of you assuming it's the kind of going out a man and a lady do to get to know each other. While the other half is convincing you he means to ask if you wanna go grab a bite and roam the city for today.

"We're already outside Satoru," in a matter-of-fact tone you pointed out, not wanting to get ahead of yourself.

"Silly, let me rephrase that, Y/n would you consider starting dating with me?" Satoru scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. "How should I explain this clearly...? When you're around my heart calms down just listening to you talk or watch over whatever you're doing, but when you're near I could feel I'm going to go insane in happiness just hearing your laughter. And before I knew it I'm always looking for you. Does that make sense?"

"Ohhh..." Was all you answered and nod. So... he wants you to be his significant other...

"I'm not smart when it comes to emotions honestly I have never been good at handling my emotions. It took me months to figure out why I'm happy when you're around, why I also get bothered when you're upset, why I love hearing your laughs and seeing your smiles." He inclined his head to the side. "Would you consider finding out if there could be an us?

Us... You pulled your hair mentally. What's nice about him? You don't know, there's too many to mention. Do you calm down around him? No! Your heart goes crazy too! Do you look for his presence in your life? Maybe? Do you like him?

Yes.

"Date first? We're not yet a couple if I say yes." You cleared up, biting your lower lip to stop the smile of relief and happiness he feels the same as you do.

Sure you might like him in the sense that his company is great, but let's take things slow and steady.

"Can I get a hug then? I've been dying to get one over the months." Gojo opened his arms and you smiled stepping close to wrap your arms around his torso inhaling his cool spicy scent, a hint of aftershave as he lean down. A soft sensation press on your forehead and Gojo hug you tighter, nuzzling your neck.

"I've been wanting to hug you too," you whispered. "I'm also interested in finding out about us."

"I want to kiss you but... I'll respect you," he murmured. "This is a million times better than my fantasies," his nose found the shell of your ear and nudge it gently making you squirm from the ticklish sensation.

"I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't know how to do the whole...kissing things," you mumbled and he chuckled.

"Yeah? I never do kisses in the past anyway, we're a tie." He pressed another kiss on your temples and stroked your head.

"What took you so long to ask me?"

Hand in hand you walk the other half of the bridge, fingers interlaced and rubbing each ones' knuckles. You memorize the callousness of his large palms, gripping it tighter and Gojo looks at you with a questioning gaze.

"I don't want to burden you with a relationship, so I wanted you to graduate first. I can wait for you." He squeezed your hand and lead you out of the park. Down the lane is a small cafe, he pulled you inside the cozy cream and green space.

"Why did you help me with my assignments?" You asked as your order was placed on the table.

You sipped from the bubble tea and look at Gojo staring at you.

"Watching you trying hard makes me want to root for you more. I don't dislike hardworking people. It only made me admire you more," he answered honestly.

"What made you say yes?" This time it's his turn to ask.

"I want to know you more. Do I need a reason to like you?" You look at him. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at expressing myself. But I guess, there's something about you that compels me. How about you?"

Gojo smiled.

"My monochrome life, you painted it with hundreds of shades."

Along the way home, Satoru stopped in a flower shop where he pick up a small potted gardenia.

"Here, this is my graduation gift for you."

"Gardenia?" You asked when Satoru showed it to you. The flower shop owner smiled at both of you, she wrote something on a paper and gave it to Gojo.

"What does it say?" You asked and peeked on the paper. Gojo lowered his hand and showed it to you as you both walk out of the shop.

Secret love and joy, purity and gentleness

Your eyes met, Gojo chuckled and place the paper on your palm.

"I'm happy it's not a secret love anymore," His hand found yours and clasp it tight.

V.

A warm hug envelopes you when you went out of the building you're working. Everything was too fast that when you recovered your face is squished against a hard chest and familiar cool and spicy masculine scent."

"Missed you sweet cheeks," Satoru's words were muffled on your hair as his large figure cocooned you.

"Satoru? Don't scare me like that you overgrown cat," you sighed in relief and hugged him back. "When did you come back?"

"An hour earlier," he replied but didn't make any move to let you go.

"Y/n!" Someone called and you look back but Satoru kept his hug snaked around your body.

"Kei-senpai," you acknowledge your senior who's been accommodating and friendly since your Day 1 in the company.

The guy approached you two with a confused look, sooner your other colleagues also went out of the building presumably also going home, they spotted the three of you especially the ladies.

"Y/n, is that your boyfriend?" Someone asked.

You tapped Satoru's arms silently asking him to let you go from the awkward position. Satoru look down at you and loosened his arm but didn't let you go, instead, he turn you around, front-facing your co-workers while your back pressed on his chest and he pull you close that he could wrap his long coat around you. He's so large that his coat could fit you in it too.

"Uhm," your toes curled from the mischievous eyes of your seniors and juniors chuckling. "This is Satoru, my boyfriend. Satoru these are—" you introduced your colleagues to him but based on the nonchalant look in his face you don't think he bothered memorizing any. "—Tatsuki Kei-san, he's my department head."

"Gojo Satoru, nice to meet you." You didn't miss the stinky eyes he passed on your department head, underneath the coat you pinched his thighs.

"Satoru, let go, it's too hot," you murmured squirming in his long coat.

"Oh sorry," Satoru snapped out and let you off, but this time wrapped his hand around yours.

"Y/n, I'll call you later about the report next week." Your senior said and smiled at you, he look up to Satoru who also smiled but then your senior evaded his eyes and excused himself to go first to the restaurant to secure a reservation for dinner.

"So Gojo-san how long have you been going out with Y/n?" Unable to suppress their curiosity your co-workers asked the both of you to join them for dinner.

You wanted to turn it down and just go home with Satoru, knowing him he probably hasn't got any sleep but Satoru told you it's okay.

"We're college sweethearts," Satoru smiled making the people on the table tease you for hiding the relationship.

Au contraire, they never bothered to ask! You wanted to say but shut up not wanting to ruin the mood.

"Ehh, where do you work Gojo-san," Kei-san, your senior asked.

"I'm a teacher."

"In which school?"

"In a technical college," Satoru smoothly answered, specific and yet vague at the same time.

Underneath the table you squeeze his tight, hoping he'd get the message you want to go home. Cuddling with him on your sofa is a hundred times better than facing interrogation from these bunch of people.

"Y/n, what did you like about Gojo-san?" Your senior asked snapping you out of your trance.

"He's the most hardworking person I've ever known, and he cooks a nice breakfast," you added. Thus made them laugh.

"Yeah? Y/n loves the eggs and hotdog I make in the morning," Satoru snickered.

Kei-san coughed hard and grab a glass of water, downing it in one gulp.

You elbowed him and he hissed while chuckling.

"Eggs and hotdog Y/n?" They teased you.

"Can you please stop trying to ruin my reputation in front of all my colleagues?" You lean over to Satoru's ear while pinching his knees.

"Of course, I can limit it to half." He grinned.

"She also liked the sekiha—auhmp"

You shoved a sushi roll to Satoru's open mouth stopping him from sharing that information. But from the looks of your college, they seem to already know what the man was about to say.

VI.

"Mama, Sai's blanket," Kouki dragged a familiar unicorn blanket to you while rubbing his eyes, groggy and long hair frazzled in his just woke-up look.

"You brought it for Sai? Thank you, sweetheart, can you cover her for me?" You asked and Kouki nodded, going over the baby bed. You watch him release the fences and walk to his sibling's side draping the blankie over her.

"Sweetheart until Saika's neck only," you reminded him while you prepare breakfast.

When you look up from what you're doing Kouki is back on sleeping beside Saika, snuggled close and quiet. They're even sharing the blanket and Saika is snug and comfy beside her brother.

Since you brought Saika home and Kouki got to be comfortable having her around the very first thing he does after waking up is walk to her room or find her to sleep beside.

"G'morning," Satoru walk in your direction and hugged you from the back, pressing a lazy morning kiss on your shoulders. After the short lazy morning rituals with him, he walks over to the crib in the living room.

"My kittens are still sleepy huh?" Satoru cooed watching over the lil' mochi and lil' treasure sleeping soundly.

"Pa, hug," Kouki asked.

"Are we going to our morning run?" Satoru picks up Kouki to his arms and walks in your direction while the mochi is draped over his father's chest, hugging his neck and dozing off.

Kouki nodded and Satoru kissed you before bringing the little guy out for their morning jog around the neighborhood.

"Saika's stroller?" Kouki asked pointing to his sister.

"Ask Papa to change her then you can go for a short run," you offered and Kouki shot the puppy eyes to his Papa who obliged and brought the two to change and go out.

"See you later Mama," Kouki called out from the door while pushing his sister's strollers.

"Be back soon," you replied and heard the door close with an, "Okay!" From your firstborn.

They often say it doesn't matter who's the first, what counts is the last. Fortunately for you, you got your first to also be your last.

—GreyCaelum

PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME

Check out the Masterlist for more.

All rights and credits of the Jujutsu Kaisen character(s) mentioned, image(s) and song(s) used belong to their respective owner(s).

General/Kaleidoscope Series Taglist: @ice-icebaby @gummy-dummy @aeanya

[blissfullyapillow]

My Kreideprinz

My Kreideprinz

Genshin Impact

Albedo x female reader

wc: 6,688

Notes: I’ll admit when Albedo was first announced I didn’t care for him, but that quickly changed as I gradually fell in love with his character. Fluff, reader has a vision as usual, Klee makes an appearance!

Back to Masterlist B

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“The captain of the investigation team is here!” “I wonder what the chalk prince is doing here? A new experiment?” “Gosh, he’s a lucky bastard. Being able to stand so close to Sucrose…” That last comment has me whipping my head around to gawk at the person who said this. A young male is not so subtly staring Sucrose down as she stands at the alchemy store next to Timaeus. 

Chalk prince? What the hell is that?

“Oooo there he is! The Kreideprinz! Gosh he’s gorgeous…” I hear an excited female voice squeal in the distance. What the hell is a kreideprinz? It sounds like a fancy kaleidoscope. 

The thought causes me to chuckle under my breath, and the woman standing to my left turns around to glare at me. I ignore her and decide to investigate what a Kreideprinz is. 

I walk away from Mondstadt’s beautiful fountain to get a better view of the alchemy store. Once I maneuver around a few desperate bystanders I notice a short male standing over the crafting bench with Sucrose and Timaeus. 

Oh. So that’s a kriedeprinz.

I try to mask my disappointment that it’s not actually some fancy new kaleidoscope and decide to sneak closer to them to get a better view of this chalk prince.

I make my way over to Mondstadt’s General Goods store so I have a better view of them without being too obvious about it. “It’s been awhile since Albedo has been seen here in Mondstadt. I haven’t seen him since the Stormterror crisis. I wonder what he’s up to?” I hear a woman loudly whisper say to her companion nearby. “Really? I heard he made an appearance during the Windblume festival…” I hear her companion reply as their voices fade off in the distance.

Huh. His name is Albedo…

I peer closer at the man’s face, but it’s hard to see anything but the top of his head since he’s bent down at the crafting bench looking at whatever it is Sucrose is raving about. 

Hmph, I don’t see what’s so interesting about him. ...From a distance at least. 

I’ve never heard of this ‘chalk prince’ or ‘captain of the investigation team’ before. Hell, I didn’t even know Mondstadt HAD an investigation team. 

Well now that I’m thinking about that, I suppose he’s piqued my interest. Temporarily. 

I wait until the man lifts his head to look directly at Sucrose and Timaeus, and I must admit the man is gorgeous. He seems like an interesting individual, and he’s surely popular with the people of Mondstadt. I’m surprised I’ve gone this whole time not knowing who he is with how openly people are talking about him right now.

“Oh hey, Albedo’s here! He came back from Dragonspine eh? It’s been awhile, I wonder why he’s here? Either way I’m sure the ladies appreciate it.” I hear a man say loudly as he walks by with his male friend. His friend snickers and as the two continue to talk I zone them out.

So that’s why I’ve never heard of him; Albedo’s been in Dragonspine this entire time. Intriguing. Well, as much as he’s piqued my interest I don’t care enough to get to know him. 

With that thought, I leave my position after paying for some wheat. I turn around to catch a glimpse of Albedo one last time, and I see Albedo look away from Timaeus as he adamantly motions towards the object laying on the crafting bench. 

My eyes lock with Albedo’s and I feel a shiver go down my spine. He doesn’t make a move to look away and neither do I. I feel my cheeks warm before I tear my gaze away from his.

I continue walking away without looking back. It’s not like he’ll be here for a long time anyway, so I’m not interested in him. At all. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

Looks like I was sorely mistaken. It’s been a week now. 

As I’m walking around Mondstadt all I hear is ‘chalk prince’ this and ‘kreideprinz’ that. He’s the name I keep hearing in conversations lately. Apparently it’s been a long time since Albedo has frequently been in Mondstadt, so everyone’s excited about this sudden development. 

Contrary to popular opinion, I remain uninterested in the Kreideprinz. I’ve been near him while he was working with either Sucrose or Timaeus as I use the crafting bench, but I’ve never overstayed my welcome. 

The other day we locked eyes again as I was leaving, but all I did was smile and wave as I continued on my way. I don’t see why everyone’s so fond of him. He seems cool but… eh. Maybe my view of him will change if I actually interact with him, but from what I’ve seen he doesn’t seem interested in getting to know people.

Everyone who approaches Albedo in hopes of talking with him quickly finds out that he isn’t interested unless it has to do with alchemy, and even then if it isn’t something he doesn’t already know he’s going to completely tune you out. 

I find that funny, but that’s all. It’s not like I’ll ever talk to him myself. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“Do you need help with that?” Albedo asks me. I don’t register that he’s talking to me at first so I ignore him. I don’t hear anyone respond to him, so I look up to see what’s going on only to find Albedo staring at me. 

“O-Oh. Um, you’re talking to me?” I ask him with what I’m sure is confusion etched on my face. Albedo wordlessly nods. 

“I’m good, thanks.” Is all I say. Albedo doesn’t say anything and simply watches as I try, and fail, to create a potion. Albedo wordlessy studies my frustrated expression as I try yet again to perfect this potion. 

It fails. Again.

I peek up at Albedo to see him wearing an amused smirk on his face. He looks at me again and raises an eyebrow, quietly questioning if I want to continue or let him help me. I stubbornly ignore him and try again. 

“Ugh, here. You do it!” I huff as the potion fails again. It’s now a complete mess and I’m almost out of all the materials I gathered to make the potion. Albedo chuckles and gently takes what’s left of the materials from me. 

I watch him as he creates the potion I need flawlessly in one attempt. The worst part is he makes not only one, but two. “Wha- how-” I splutter in disbelieve. Albedo hands me the potions I need and turns around to return to whatever he was doing. 

“Um… thank you.” I whisper under my breath. It’s so quiet I doubt he heard me. 

There’s no response.

I open my mouth to say it again, but before the words can escape my lips Albedo says, “It’s nothing.”

Wow, okay. Cool.

Instead of immediately leaving after crafting my potion like I planned on doing, I find myself lingering. Albedo continues to work with his back turned to me. 

I stay put.

Albedo doesn’t acknowledge my presence as he walks by me to grab something before returning to the object of his attention. I decide to walk over to him and peek over his shoulder. 

Albedo expertly mixes a complicated looking potion. He effortlessly grabs the materials he needs nearby before he mixes them in with his free hand, while the other quickly writes notes down in a notebook. 

I move over a bit and stand beside Albedo, and I take the opportunity to study his face. He’s clearly focused solely on the task at hand, and his brows are furrowed in concentration. He silently continues working without so much as a glance in my direction. 

That’s why it startles me when he suddenly says, “Did you need something else?”

I visibly jump and a startled sound escapes me. I see a small smile grace Albedos’ lips, but it’s gone so fast I think I imagined it. “Uh, no nothing at all.” I hurriedly tell him. “Then why are you still here?” He asks. 

I’m sure most people would take offense to that, but the way he says it makes it seem like he genuinely wants to know rather than rudely write me off to stop bothering him. Or… maybe it’s a mix of both and I’m just being optimistic. 

“Well… what you’re doing looks really cool. I stayed here to watch what you were doing, and to observe you up close. Sorry…. Oh, but not in a creepy way! I’m just genuinely curious about you since I’ve never heard of you before… so... ” I honestly tell him. I trail off towards the end and sheepishly wait for his reaction.

He abruptly stops what he’s doing to look at me. He stares into my eyes for an extended period of time,and I can’t help but blush and fidget under his intense gaze that’s full of surprise and curiosity. 

“Well, that’s interesting. You can stay, but if you get in the way I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Is all he says. I nod in agreement and no other words are exchanged between us. Albedo maneuvers around me to continue his experiment, and I silently watch him with the utmost intrigue until he’s done and the potion is completed with a small puff of air that rises out of the open lid. 

“Hm, excellent. Do you care to be my test subject?” Albedo asks me. I suspiciously eye the potion Albedo teasingly wiggles in front of me. “U-Um I think I’m good.” I nervously deny his request. “Suit yourself. If your opinion changes, I’ll be in Dragonspine. Ask Sucrose for directions.” Is all Albedo says. He gathers his things and the completed experiment before he walks away towards the bridge that connects to Mondstadt. 

Before the chalk prince can get too far I chase after him and walk with him for a bit. “Wait, why do you want me to come to Dragonspine? I thought you didn’t care for anything other than Alchemy… Of course I’m saying this purely based on observations from afar so I apologize if I’m wrong…” I say to Albedo. 

Albedo continues walking beside me but he doesn’t respond to anything I say. We pass Timmy and his birds, and they fly off in freight. Once we reach the end of the bridge Albedo stops walking and I mimic his actions. 

We stand side by side wordlessly, and as the sun slowly retires for the day Albedo turns to face me. I stare into his beautiful glistening eyes as he says, “You’ve intrigued me with your honesty, and the aura about you is.. compelling.” With that the Kreideprinz walks on ahead of me, towards Dragonspine. I don’t follow him, rooted to the spot by the gorgeous sight I witnessed. 

Albedo had a disinterested expression on his face, but his tone of voice contradicted his facial expression. Before he fully turned away I caught the edge of his lips moving upwards, forming a small smile. 

I can’t believe I said I wasn’t interested in him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“I hate the cold.” I say to myself. I shiver and fruitlessly attempt to warm myself up by rubbing my arms against the sleeves of my thick coat. 

Sucrose said the camp Albedo is usually at should be up ahead. I frantically quicken my pace before I can feel the sheer cold again. I only have so many heat potions on me. 

I peer up ahead after gliding over the broken pathway, and I see a faint glow. Thank the Archons, I’m getting sick of this. 

I run the rest of the way until I’m in the camp, and I sigh in relief once I feel my body begin to warm up. I glance around but don’t see anyone here. 

Hm, I thought Albedo said- “Wow, you actually came.” I hear a smooth voice say behind me. I jump in freight and spin around to be face to face with Albedo. “Come, there’s much to do.” He says. 

I follow him further into the camp and end up getting roped into one of his experiments. Why am I here? I thought I said I wasn’t interested in the chief alchemist of Mondstadt?

With a sigh of resignation I sample the potion Albedo gives me. I don’t feel anything for a moment before an intense bout of heat consumes me and I feel like my body is on fire. Albedo notices the change in my expression, and before I can start panicking and flailing about Albedo uses one hand to open my mouth. He wordlessly pours a sweet tasting liquid down my throat and the burning stops. 

“Thank the Archons, I was about to start panicking. It felt like my body was on fire.” I say once the feeling dissipates. “Your body felt like it was burning right? Can you describe how intense the feeling was? Judging by what you said it seems the results were satisfactory.” The chalk prince begins to passionately question me. 

As I answer his questions I can’t help but be drawn to the way he adamantly focuses on every word I say as he writes down the results. 

A week ago I had no interest in the chief alchemist of Mondstadt, but now I find myself helping him out with various investigations and experiments in Dragonspine. 

Why am I not surprised?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

I approach Albedo quietly from behind. It’s been two weeks since I’ve made frequent trips to and from Dragonspine to be with Albedo. Most days I intend to just hang out with him, but he always ropes me into helping him with his experiments. 

With one piercing look the Kreideprinz has me following his every will and command. Well... not every.

“No, Albedo! I will not take off my clothes for your experiment!” I shriek. “Look, it won’t hurt- much- and it will really help me-” Albedo calmly tries to explain his experiment to me as he slowly approaches me with a clear vial. “NO!” I yell. I run away from Albedo before he can say anything else. 

That was yesterday. 

Now I’m back in Dragonspine trying to surprise Albedo. I crouch down so I’m low enough and slowly close the distance between us. It doesn’t seem like he’s working on any experiments right now, so I think it’s safe for me to do this. 

Once I’m close enough I pop up behind Albedo and suddenly place my hands on his shoulders. “BOO!” I yell. “Hello Y/n, what brings you here? Did you change your mind about-” “Hell no!” I cut Albedo off before he can even finish. “Suit yourself.” Albedo calmly shrugs in response.

Wait-  he didn’t even flinch. 

I pout at that realization and drag a stool over to sit next to Albedo. “What are you doing?” I ask Albedo curiously. “Sketching a Cecilia.” Is all he says. I peer over his shoulder to see a beautifully detailed sketch of a cecilia flower. “Wow Albedo! I didn’t know you could draw so well…” I say in awe. 

“It’s a hobby of mine.” Is all he says in response. I study the way he expertly shades the detailed sketch. Albedo and I sit side by side quietly as he continues to sketch. 

A long time passes before Albedo, surprisingly, breaks the silence. “Is it alright if I sketch you? Since you won’t let me try that potion on you, which by the way, won’t do anything to you. I just want to see if it’s really possible to-” “Albedo for the love of- drop that potion experiment already! I’m not doing it. Anyway, of course you can.” I tell him happily.

Albedo’s hand stops moving and he fully turns his body to face me. He studies my expression for a moment before he sweetly smiles at me, a rare sight I ingrain into my memory whenever I see it and this time is no exception. 

“Follow me.” Albedo says. He gets up and picks up my coat, holding it out for me to grab. I take my coat from him and our fingers brush against each other, and I can’t contain the fiery blush I feel blaze across my cheeks.

“O-Okay…” I shyly respond. 

Do I hate the cold? Of course. But if it means I can see Albedo and help him with whatever has caught his interest, then… it’s worth it. 

I physically shake my head at my own thoughts. When did I come to care so much for the seemingly unfazed chief alchemist of Mondstadt? Should I even involve myself with someone like him?

I watch Albedo from the corner of my eye as we walk through the snowy terrain, his expression revealing nothing as we walk side by side. His cheeks are tinted pink but I’m sure it’s from the cold. 

Even if he isn’t the most... emotional person to be around I still enjoy his company. I don’t know much about his personal life or why he’s so interested in learning about the ‘truth of this world,’ but after spending so much time with him I’m willing to stick around until he finds it. 

Albedo…

I feel my cheeks warm up considerably again and I look away from him. I didn’t realize I was staring this whole time! Clearly, I’ve fallen for the chalk prince. It’s probably a waste of time since Albedo only seems to care about alchemy, and drawing too I guess. Even so… I can’t help but want him to feel the same way about me. Maybe if I try harder to flirt with him and stick around? 

I glance over at Albedo to see him motion for me to sit in the shallow area of snow near the edge of a shimmering blue cave he led me to. I wordlessly oblige his request as thoughts run rampant in my mind and he begins to sketch. Maybe, just maybe, I can get the emotionless Kreideprinz to fall for me too. Haha, just kidding… unless?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“ALBEEEDOOOO!” A childish voice yells. I look towards the source to see a small girl dressed in red running towards Albedo. “Oh hey, it’s the adorable spark knight!” I say more to myself than to Albedo. 

Albedo looks up from his experiment and turns towards the voice. “Klee, what are you doing here? This isn’t the most welcoming place to be. Were you okay getting here?” Albedo asks Klee. He’s good at hiding it, but I can hear the slight concern in his voice. 

Aww. 

“Klee wants to play with Albedo!” Klee excitedly says. “Oh, I forgot to put up the ‘Experiment in Progress’ sign.” Albedo mutters under his breath. “I’m sorry Klee, but I’m currently in the middle of an experiment.” Albedo says. 

Klee looks disappointed and sighs. Aww, poor Klee. She made her way all the way out here just to play with Albedo. Hm…

“Do you want to play with me, Klee?” I ask her. Klee looks up at me and her disappointed expression morphs into one of excitement mixed with confusion. “Okay! But... who are you?” Klee asks. She moves closer to Albedo, and he tenderly gives her a reassuring pat on the head. “This is Y/n. She’s been helping me with my experiments lately and hanging out with me.” Albedo tells Klee. 

Klee studies me for a moment, and I silently watch her do so. Once she comes to her own conclusions she eagerly grabs my hand and drags me off the stool I was sitting on. I stumble and try not to trip or bump into Albedo and mess up his experiment he’s currently working on.

“Come, come! Klee made new bombs to play with, lets go fish blasting!” Klee cheerfully shouts and she drags me out into the cold of Dragonspine. I grab my coat along the way and struggle to shrug it on. “H-Hold on Klee! F-Fish blasting!? Wooooah it’s freezing, let me get my coat on first.” I gently say to Klee. 

Klee temporarily lets go of my hand so I can put my coat on and button it closed, and the moment I finish buttoning my coat Klee grabs my hand again and eagerly runs with me to the nearest lake. 

I turn around to see Albedo watching us with a content smile on his face, and I blush at the sight. Albedo fades from my vision as Klee and I venture off into Dragonspine. Looks like I’m spending the day with Mondstadt’s infamous spark knight. Well, this should be fun.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“BOOM!” Klee giddly yells. I watch with my jaw grazing the ground as a massive amount of fish go flying into the air. “I didn’t even know you could find so many fish in Dragonspine…” I mumble. “This is fun! Does Y/n want to try?” Klee energetically asks me. I look down at Klee standing at my side, and she hands me one of her adorable looking bombs.

“Oh Klee..” I chuckle. I take it and decide to try it out. “Well, here goes nothing…” I mumble. “Wait! Klee blew up all the fish here, let's go to that lake over there!” Klee shouts. She takes my free hand and drags me over to the mentioned lake, and I frantically grasp the cute bomb Klee gave me in my other hand. 

Oh Archons, please protect me.

“BOOM! Hahaha!” Klee and I say in unison. I threw the bomb Klee gave me into the river and it’s oddly satisfying to see all the fish go flying in the air. I can see why Klee finds this to be a fun pastime. Even though it’s not the most… traditional thing kids her age do. 

At all.

“It’s freezing…” Klee says. I glance down to see her shivering in place and I look around for a nearby heat source. I spot a device nearby and activate it, and thankfully heat radiates from it. 

“Over here Kle-” I begin to yell out to her but stop at the sight in front of me. “Oh. My. Archon.” Is all I can muster.

Apparently a few Fatui goons were hanging around here and I didn’t notice them. They didn’t notice us either, but Klee sure did. Sure enough she’s throwing bombs left and right at them, and surprisingly they aren’t putting up much of a fight. In fact, I’d actually say they’re trying to run away. 

Bruh.

“K-Klee! Hey, be careful!” I shout. I run over to her and help her finish them off using my own vision. Once they’re taken care of Klee happily follows me over to the heat source. “Wow, today was...eventful. Do you want to return to the camp now Klee?” I ask her. Klee looks up at me and nods happily with a sweet smile gracing her lips. 

The smile she gives me warms my heart more than this device ever could.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“Albedo, we’re baaack!” Klee sings as we near the camp. Albedo is waiting for us near the entrance, and he sighs in relief once he sees us. 

“Good, you’re back. I was a bit worried since it’s been awhile.” Albedo says to me. “Wait, you noticed we were gone long? You’re usually so wrapped up in your work so... I didn’t think you took too much interest.” I say to Albedo.

Albedo thoughtfully ponders my words before he says, “I see where you’re coming from, but I notice more than you know… and… I care about you.” I raise my eyebrows at Albedo in question but he doesn’t elaborate. 

As Klee excitedly rushes over to Albedo and hugs him, I can’t help but ponder his words in my head. He notices more than I know? Then maybe…

I turn away from Albedo to hide the giddy smile I’m wearing and the blush that refuses to conceal itself. Maybe he’s noticed my flirting attempts? Or not.... But either way, his words give me hope that maybe he feels something for me too. 

I look over at Albedo to see him studying me intently. When our eyes meet we stare at each other for a moment before we bashfully look away from each other.

Maybe…

“Klee left a while ago and you should get going too. I hear there’s a bad storm approaching.” Albedo tells me. He continues working on his experiment as if he doesn’t care, but I catch him glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

“Don’t worry about me, I can’t handle myself. Plus, what if you get stuck here? Who will help take care of you then?” I teasingly reply. Albedo chuckles but he doesn’t say anything else.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“Brr, it’s freezing.” I shiver under the heavy blanket I’m sharing with Albedo. “I warned you.” Albedo deadpans. I lightly smack his hand under the blanket and he only laughs in response. Through my shivering I try to subtly study Albedo, and I admire the light pink hue that’s on his cheeks. My eyes trail further down until I notice the mark on his neck. 

“Hey Albedo… that mark…” I trail off. “Hm?” Albedo hums in question. I don’t reply since I’m too busy zeroing in on the mark. I’ve never been this close to him to study it closely- well I have, I’ve just been too shy to. 

But now…

I lean in closer to Albedo and he doesn’t say anything. I raise a hand out from under the heavy blanket to lightly press against the mark. 

Albedo’s breath hitches but he doesn’t say anything to stop me. I look up into his eyes only to see them intently trained on me. I take the chance to flirt with him a bit.

“Wow Albedo, if I’m not mistaken I could say you’re enjoying my undivided attention on you, hm? If you wanted my attention all you had to do was ask. One look from you really gets me going, so if you asked I’d-” I cut myself off and stare in awe as an undeniable blush explodes on Albedo’s face.

Albedo leans away from me only to raise a hand from under the heavy blanket to cover his flaming cheeks. 

Aww, he looks adorable all flustered like this. 

“O-Okay Y/n. You’re being unusually bold today, but I can’t say I don’t enjoy it.” Albedo bashfully mumbles, his voice muffled by his hand. 

Wait- did I hear him right?

Now it’s my turn for a blush to explode on my face. Was it really a good idea for me to camp out the storm with Albedo? I mean, as much as I’m enjoying our close proximity I don’t know if my heart can take this. 

Despite my internal panic I remain composed on the outside. I move in closer to Albedo and rest my head on his shoulder, and he doesn’t push me away. 

My amped up attempts at getting him to fall for me must be working, right? 

I hope so, because being so close to him brings me undeniably joy. Albedo is the only heat source I need, and judging by his bashful demeanor it seems he doesn’t mind. 

I’m glad.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*   ♡　*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      

“Will you please-” “Albedo, why do you want me to sample your potion so much?” I ask him in exasperation. “Because, the results are really important to me.” Albedo calmly pleads. tells me. 

I sigh and face Albedo’s earnest gaze. He gives me puppy eyes and wiggles the potion in his hand. Dammit, I can’t resist him when he’s making such a cute face. 

“But Albedo…” I murmur. My voice betrays me and Albedo is quick to pick up on it. “I promise it won’t hurt at all. I was joking that one time. There’s no burning feeling or anything. You don’t have to take off all your clothes, just your shirt.” Albedo openly pleads. I sigh. 

Albedo hasn’t failed to ask me about doing this experiment with him everyday I visit him. 

Every. Day. 

I guess I can oblige him since I know him better and we’re both more comfortable around each other. Still…

I blush at the thought of revealing so much of myself to Albedo, but it’s not like I won’t be wearing a bra or anything… unless!??

“Wait, I can keep my bra on right? Because if I can then I’ll do it, but if not… um.. I mean I-” Albedo quickly places a gloved hand over my mouth as a prominent blush appears on his cheeks. “N-No. You don’t need to show that much. Just your shirt will do.” Albedo bashfully says. I can’t help but coo at the sight of a flustered Albedo in front of me. 

Adorable.

Albedo removes his hand from my mouth and I hesitantly turn my back to him. “Wait, let's sit over there and do it next to this heat source so you won’t freeze.” Albedo whispers close to my ear. I blush but nod nonetheless and follow the chalk prince over to the burning flame he has sitting on a table. 

Albedo sits down and waits for me to take the seat next to him. I inhale deeply before I slowly remove my shirt. I quickly sit next to him afterwards, and for a moment we both awkwardly avoid any sort of eye contact or verbal interaction. 

‘W-Well… um..” Albedo uncharacteristically stutters. “Let's get this done.” Albedo says. He turns towards me and I keep my eyes averted. He opens the vial and places some of the potion in his hand. The texture seems to resemble lotion, and he slowly moves his hand towards my exposed abdomen. 

“...May I?” Albedo asks. I nod in approval and Albedo wastes no time in slowly spreading the potion over the area. 

I can’t look at him at all.. Except I want to.

I muster the courage to peek at his expression. I’m pleasantly surprised to see an obvious hue of pink on his cheeks. He looks at me and our eyes lock, and it only causes the blush on his cheeks to become more prominent. I’m sure my face looks like a Jueyun chili at this point. 

“It’s done. The effects should begin in a few seconds.” Albedo whispers. I suddenly jump up in my seat at the unexpected news. “E-Effects? What effects? Albedo I thought you said-” I abruptly cut myself off when I notice my skin change to a light yellow hue. “WHAT THE?” I shout in surprise. 

Albedo quickly grabs his notebook lying on the table and begins rapidly taking notes. “Good. It appears to be working. Now Y/n, tell me about something that makes you happy.” Albedo calmly says. 

I try to calm myself down and begin talking to Albedo about someone I find myself drawn to and can’t help spending all of my time with. My skin gradually morphs into a light pink color.

“Hm.. interesting.” Albedo notes. He continues to furiously write in the notebook. “Now, what’s this person’s name?” Albedo asks without looking at me. 

Uh-oh. I can’t tell him that I was just gushing about him!

I begin to panic as I struggle to come up with a response. “Uh-Ummmm….” I trail off as I look down at my lap. My skin color quickly changes to a deep yellow color. Albedo chuckles and I snap my head up to look at him with what I’m sure is accusation evident in my eyes. “Oh, don’t worry about me.” Albedo dismisses my unamused expression.

“Is this person someone in this room?” Albedo teases me. I gap at him in awe. I open and close my mouth to say something, but no sound comes out. 

Albedo laughs at my struggles. 

He looks so happy laughing like that, I can’t help but admire the way his eyes crinkle and a light blush appears on his cheeks.

My skin color gradually morphs into a deeper shade of pink. I look down to study my skin with curiosity as Albedo’s laughter dies down. He returns to writing down notes before he puts his pen down. 

“Now, before the effects fully wear off I have to try something since you finally agreed to let me perform this experiment on you.” Albedo explains to me. I nod and listen intently to Albedo’s next words, only to be stunned speechless.

“Y/n, are you in love with me?” Albedo asks. I stare at him and not a single sound leaves my mouth. My skin becomes muddled with a mix of colors, yellow, blue, pink, and a little bit of red. 

Albedo notices but he doesn’t pick up his pen to write anything down.

Instead, he leans into me until his lips are so close to mine that our lips brush against each other. “So, am I right?” Albedo softly asks me. 

It takes me a moment to register what’s happening as a small amount of shame overcomes me as well as my undeniable feelings of love and panic. 

Was I that obvious? I mean, I wanted to be, but... I don’t want him to think I got close to him solely with the intent of being in a romantic relationship with him. Yes, I love Albedo, but I also enjoyed getting to know what kind of person he truly is and how he interacts with the world around him as well as others. The way he talks to and about Klee is so heartwarming to see, and the way he discusses his findings with Sucrose and Timaeus never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I’d hate for him to think less of me because of the feelings I’ve obviously developed for him.

Shit.

“U-Um…” I stutter. I look down at my skin to see it turn into a deep pink color, and it’s slowly turning into a light red. “Look at me, Y/n.” Albedo whispers. His lips brush against mine as he says so, and with a shaky breath I look up into his gorgeous eyes. 

His eyes convey so much emotion, it startles me. 

His eyes convey his feelings of happiness and love, evident in the way his eyes glisten as they meet mine. He brings his thumb up to brush against my lips, and my cheeks aren’t the only thing to turn red. 

“Y/n. Tell me. Are you in love with me?” Albedo gingerly asks me again. 

I helplessly stay silent for a moment. Instead of trying to conceal my obvious feelings for him, I should just come out and say it. Still, it’s hard to. 

Though I’m sure I figured out what Albedo’s little experiment is, so he definitely knows how I feel about him based on the hue my skin is currently sporting. 

“U-Um.. well..” I stutter. Albedo hums and rests his forehead against mine as he patiently waits for my answer. “...Yes.” I whisper so softly I imagine it was hard for him to hear me.

Apparently not, because the moment the word leaves my lips Albedo presses his lips to mine in a tender kiss. I let out a muffled cry in response, but Albedo continues to kiss me despite this.

I’m sure my entire skin is a fiery red at this point, but I don’t care. 

I close my eyes and relax in Albedo’s gentle hold before I begin to sweetly kiss him.

A few moments pass where Albedo and I are tenderly kissing, and when I need to part for air I gently pull away from him, only for his lips to follow mine. 

We continue to tenderly kiss each other for the next few minutes, with nothing but the sound of our labored breaths and the icy wind blowing outside as background noise. 

After breaking apart for the umpteenth time, Albedo finally allows me to take proper breaths. Albedo wordlessly studies me for a moment before he quickly swivels around and writes something in his notebook.

I hope he didn’t kiss me just for his experiment.

I worriedly debate the thought in my head, but my worries are quickly dispelled when Albedo swivels back around with his sketchbook in hand. He silently flips it open and looks into my eyes. 

My eyes stay locked with his as he slowly turns his sketchbook around to show me a detailed drawing of …. Me. 

I look beautiful with the brilliant bright hue of the icy cavern behind me as I bashfully look towards the viewer. My hands are placed delicately in my lap with a light blush gracing my cheeks. 

After I study the drawing I stare into Albedo’s eyes, and all the questions I have about how he feels about me are answered. 

“But when-” I begin to ask. “I thought you possessed an interesting aura the few times you visited the alchemy store, but I withheld any thoughts I had since I’m not fond of interacting with others and maintaining relationships. I didn’t care much for human emotions either. Even so, on the day we finally conversed with each other and you were so… honest… It moved me. So I gave you the offer to visit me here in Dragonspine with the intent of having you aid me with my experiments as I learned more about you. Surprisingly, you agreed. I enjoy spending time with you, even if you can be a… bit of a distraction at times.” Albedo chuckles as he says the last part. I can’t help but knowingly chuckle as well. 

“Albedo…” I trail off. Albedo gently places his sketchbook down and moves his body closer to mine. “I already had my suspicions of your true feelings, especially with your not so subtle flirting.” Albedo says. 

I blush in embarrassment as he calls me out, but the chalk prince pats me fondly on the head in response to my obvious embarrassment. 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s cute.” Albedo fondly tells me. He continues to explain, “Overtime I found your company to be very comforting, and I felt disheartened when you didn’t make the journey to see me. ….The days you stayed here overnight with me, and all the time we spent together… I cherish those memories. Your skin changing color is an experiment I’ve been wanting to try. The potion I made, when rubbed into one’s skin, causes their skin to change color based on what they’re feeling. I was skeptical it would work, but I’ve been curious to try it. My urge only grew once I realized these feelings I had for you… and I… Y/n, I love you.” Albedo finished softly. 

I gasp at his heartfelt declaration. He gingerly takes my hand in both of his and our eyes are drawn to each other. 

It’s obvious how I feel, but I realize I haven’t verbally confirmed it for him. “Albedo… I love you too.” I happily whisper. 

Once those words leave my lips, the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen graces Albedo’s handsome features. “I’m glad you share my sentiment.” Albedo gingerly responds. He slowly closes the distance between us again, and this time I eagerly follow his lead.

As our lips meld together yet again, I can’t help but smile. At first I was disinterested in the genius chief alchemist, but I’m glad I didn’t allow my initial thoughts to deter me from learning more about the popular Kreideprinz of Mondstadt.

Albedo and I temporarily break apart, only for Albedo to gingerly raise a hand to my cheek. “Will you…” Albedo begins to say as a blush coats his cheeks. “Be your girlfriend?” I teasingly finish for him. He nods abashedly, and I giggle in response. “Gladly.” I say. Albedo’s eyes light up in response and he captures my lips with his yet again. 

Albedo… I’m glad I met you and took the time to really get to know you. 

My Kreideprinz.

[staal-eric-archives]

"the stupid smoke from the fire is messing with my eyes." or "i have never hated anything this much.."

for owen and corey? doesn't have to be camping related, i'm just terrible at coming up with prompts lmao

When Eric invited him to go to a ski lodge, Owen was surprised at first. The Olympics were short and sweet for them but it's nice to see that the vet still thinks about him sometimes. Owen finds it cool that he's going to hang out with his little gang at a ski lodge. He never ever did skiing but there's a first to everything.

And it's an occasion to get to know some of the the NHL guys too. Eric being with Brendan Gallagher, he knows that there will be some Habs guys. He hopes they don't see them as an ennemy or something because he plays for Buffalo.

And unexpectedly, they welcome him with open hands and he finally get to meet some guys like Cole Caufield. But he also get to know some underdogs.

Like Corey Schueneman. Another giant defenseman for the Habs who made his debut this year with this weird season of injuries and stuff.

When Owen thinks about it, he has always been the taller one in his hockey teams. But in this case, he finally meets someone almost as tall as him. Someone who is not Eric of course because Eric is 5 centimeters smaller than him.

"You ok?" Corey asks him while he helps him getting up from the snow because Owen is bad at skiing.

Owen smiles back to him. "Yeah, thanks. I'm better with some skates on I think."

Corey laughs. "Same. It's just because I did some ski when I was younger."

They go back to the lodge before they head for the dinner. They kind of chat together all that long, getting to know each other a little better. Owen finds out that he really enjoys Corey's simple and heartwarming company.

After the dinner with the rest of the group, it's kind of like everyone to themselves. Owen helped with the dishes with Gally and Nick while Eric, Corey and Cole went for some log outside for the fireplace.

When Owen comes back, he finds Corey lighting up the fire by himself and he decides to join him. The other defenseman blinks his eyes a couple of times. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Corey laughs nervously. "It's just the stupid smoke from the fire is messing with my eyes... I may have a gone a little too far for it..."

"I know a trick for it. Wait." Owen suddenly remembers from his old camping trip that some cold water helps to rehydrated the eyes which is basically the case here. He comes back with a wet cloth. "Here, let me..." He clumsly put it on Corey's eyes as the other defenseman grabs his hands. He feels his heart racing.

Corey lets out a sigh of relief. "Wow, thank you. That really helped."

Owen blushes and he's glad that Corey doesn't see anything because he's most probably blushing at this point. "That's nothing... my grandma used to dobthat where we were going camping and stuff."

Corey puts out the cloth out of his eyes and blinks again. "Funny how it felt like a kaleidoscope for a hot second." He says. "You look good in these glasses, by the way."

"Oh. Eh, thanks..." But sometimes Owen doesn't like them much because he thinks he unattractive with it. "Really?"

Corey smiles honestly and then grabs one of Owen's hands. "Yeah. It adds a charm to the whole thing you know. Want... Want to hang out in front of the fire with me tonight? I mean... I would have my own nurse if something else happens to my eyes."

Owen smiles, blushes and laughs at the same time. "I'd really like that."

send me a prompt + an otp and i'll drablle it

[thebadchoicemachine]

okay take two I got 2/3rds of the way done and it got erased 

All the paragraphs are just cultural patterns, none are rules. All of the inverted and reversed ones can go regular as well. I just was having fun ^^

Tundra 

Generally names come from celestial or natural-force sources. A theme of danger and ominousness but, in context, auspiciousness runs deep. Altogether, a fierce and humble elegance.

Albedo - To oversimplify: the light reflection off a surface (generally it’s used astronomically but can also apply to snow lines)

Boreas - North wind

Bliz - From blizzard (I tried to invert this but it didn’t look great)

Buster - A sudden strong wind

Canis - A constellation of a dog (I believe it primarily is visible from the arctic?)

Delft - A dark shade of blue

Eci [Eh-see] - Ice reversed

Fleck - A small scattering of light or snow

Glide - Like over snow slopes

Gale - A powerful wind

Lepus - A constellation of a hare

Looc [Looke] - Cool upside down (or reversed, either way is the same)

Skate - Like over ice

Squall - A strong wind off a storm

Tuft - Like fur

 Zephyr - A breeze

-

Woodland 

Names often reflect ideal/rustic/beautiful things such as fruit, trees, and precious metals. Even those with more work-related origins have an idealized wood life visual to them. 

Aspin - A type of tree

Ash - A type of tree (also from campfires)

Aril - Seed shell

Axe - Like the tool

Balsa - A type of tree

Brook - Like the stream 

Dia - Like diamond (they’re not technically associated with woodlands but I do for some reason)  

Ekoms - Smoke reversed 

Gala - A type of apple

Golden - A type of apple (and like the metal)

Jepwit [Jep-whit] - Timber upside down

Kauri - A type of tree

Nectar - Like honey (and fruit)

Redde [Reddy] - From red delicious (type of apple) 

Rup - Like syrup

Sap - Like the tree blood (also matching Sapnap, perhaps like a Jack to a Jackson)

-

Mountains 

The mountain nation(s) common names reflect this by forming from large--both in the literal and metaphorical sense--concepts. In fact, literal and metaphorical significance is a running theme most notably in vision. Both in their unique geological perspective and wisdom are heavily valued. 

Cascade - Like the waterfall/cliffside (could be called Cass for short) 

Cliff - Like the mountain side 

Crys - Like crystal 

Cuiw [Cwee-youh] - Mine upside down

Emin - From eminence 

Halides - A type of ore

Horizon - Like the skyline (one of my favorite part of mountains)

Ingot - Like the metal form

Ken - Awareness range (from the idea of view)

Linn - The body of water below a waterfall 

Pix - From pickax 

Palisade - A type of blockade (could be Pal or Pali short) 

Ridge - A slim mountain/hill top

Slate - A type of rock

Tiwwns [Teens] - Summit upside down

Uozijoy [You-zoh] - Horizon upside down (I liked this one)

-

Jungle 

Colors and surroundings make up the majority of the naming culture. Similar to the woodlands but with less of an aesthetic and more of a blatant-ness. Most of the name origins are obvious (for reference, the name Jason comes from the word healer but the name Grace we can figure out on the spot).

Aloe - Like the plant

Bean - Like the plant

Bromeliad - Like the flower

Cacao - Like the beans

Cane - Like the plant

Dart - A type of frog

Erythro - Prefix meaning red (could be nicknamed or renamed Ery)

Flit - Like the motion

Howl - From howler monkeys

Kalei [Kal-ee] - From kaleidoscope

Kunjt - Trunk upside down

Leuko - Prefix meaning white

Melano - Prefix for black (generally used in biology)

Mosy - From mosaic

Passiflora - Like the flower

Sajow [Saw-jo] - Morass upside down (and take away an S)

-

Mesa 

Humility and simpleness are found throughout the common names. They share some rustic similarities with woodland names in that way, but there is a notable difference. The woodlands are very idealized and more-so stylized in name while mesa is more blatant, descriptive, and prosaic. 

Arid - Dry and hot

Barrel - A type of cactus (and fits the backwater vibe)

Bolt - The metal fixture (from railways which I always find in mesa biomes)

Chollas - A type of cactus

Clay - From pottery

Crocker - Like pottery

Dustin - From dust

Eolian - Relating to wind

Inlet - A river flowing into the mainland (these also often spawn in mesa biomes)

Kcits [Kits] - Stick upside down (just regular stick or branch would also be a good name)

Kiln - The oven that cooks pottery 

Par - Jab (from cacti or stinger) upside down

Pane - Like glass

Switch - From railways

Sirocco - South wind

Spike - Like on a cactus

-

Plains 

The plains name origins are more closely related to the species that originate from the area. They carry over to anyone who moved there regardless of species though. 

Crest - Like feathers

Ivory - Not actually related to field animal horns but a pretty name nonetheless

Moc [Mock] - Cow upside down

Neb - End of an animal’s face (like a snout)

Oscine - Relating to small song birds (including many field birds that remind me of farms)

Oxeye - Like the daisy (Daisy also probably a common name)

Poppy - Like the flower

Rye - Like the crop

Scutch - A type of grass

Senooy [Sen-oi] - Hooves upside down

Silk - From weave work 

Steppe - A type of grassland 

Spur - The device used to urge a horse further 

Sky - There’s a ton of that in the fields 

Kera [Care-a] - From keratin (what horns are actually make of, also hooves) 

Zoysia - A type of grass

@thecatchat

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

would you please stop calling me miss troy?

Titans 3.09

aaaaah i’m so late with this one! life has been Busy and my brain has Not Been Cooperative, what can i say

as always i’m typing this up as i’m watching the episode. i also think i’m going to keep this relatively short as i have so much to catch up with. 

SPOILERS AHEAD

1. what a startling way to introduce us to bruce!

and i do mean introduce, because bruce wayne so far has been this phantom figure that’s been entirely defined by how others feel about him. through most of season 2 he was a hallucination - a literal product of dick’s mind. trying to figure him out this season has been like looking at his character through a kaleidoscope: we’ve seen him through barbara’s eyes, through dick’s, through jason’s. he’s ranged from unbelievably cold to someone who’s genuinely trying to reach out to his child. he’s been an instrument in understanding characters on the show rather than somebody whose inner life we have some insight on.

now the kaleidoscope is gone. the filters are off. bruce is sitting here in front of us as an old man in a castle perched on a distant corner of the world, utterly alone, contemplating his biggest losses and confronting the idea that he might’ve been responsible for all of them. he’s been doing this for a long time. alfred’s gone. jim gordon’s gone. he’s only barely reconciled with the son who resented him so much that he abandoned him, and he’s lost the son to whom he’d promised to be a better father. there’s a sense of inevitability along with all of the guilt and regret; that this generation’s time is over, and that a chapter is closing. it’s so rare to get this kind of thing in batman-media.

1.5. this is not to take away from the seriousness of bruce’s mental state right now, or how he might’ve been deteriorating since jason’s death (or since alfred’s death, or since jim’s death, or since dick’s departure). this is the second time that the show has given us a main character actively contemplating suicide, and this is why titans sometimes feels like being hit with a brick in the middle of a pillowfight. The plotting is so frivolous and inconsistent and the character focus, well, varies, but then it gives us these sudden ice cold dunks in trauma which forces us to recontextualise what had just happened for all of these episodes and sort of ... reframe what this show intends or how we can even interpret what it’s telling us about superheroes.

but more on that later.

1.75. this is why i think casting iain glen as bruce wayne is a stroke of genius. there’s this sense of stoicism and invulnerability that comes with his batman/phantom!bruce persona, sure, but it also makes it easier to take in a scene like this, where he is laid out to us as worn out and traumatised and vulnerable in a way probably nobody since alfred has seen him. 

it’s just--layers, man. *chef’s kiss*

2. i never understood why rachel had to go to themyscira and “learn their ways” but.... eh, ok.

2.5. so... is it an island-wide thing, this effort to bring donna back to life? is that why they’ve preserved donna’s body for months? do they get together and will it to happen? is that a typical amazon power? is rachel’s demon powers the catalyst to this effort? why would they want to do it at all?

it just feels like a very big leap was taken somewhere in the story and i have no idea where it started or where it intends to land.

3. i’m so glad that titans consistently uses mindscapes and ethereal spaces to explore and develop their characters since season 1. i just love the idea of this group connecting at this level: we know rachel and dick have a Special Connection that they both use to communicate to the others, and the idea of donna and tim fostering that here is delicious.

donna and tim. i would’ve never guessed, but i love it more with every passing second.

(i don’t know if i like the idea of the conductor being this active and malevolent force; it would’ve been more eerie, i think, if he were neutral, and tim kept being lulled into the kind of stupor the other passengers are in until he... well, reached his stop. tim, trying his hardest to keep awake, shaking the other passengers, panic increasing with every non-response... until he’s noticed by donna, who for some reason has a stronger tether to life than anybody else on that train.)

4.  “the metaphor is not subtle, but that’s the point.” PFFFFFTTTT

i don’t care how much you lampshade your hamfistedness, show, your... fists are still full of pig....?

4.5. i love how menacing the shadow-ninjas’ introduction was, only to culminate in them throwing... powerballs? dragonballs? painballs? something.

ANYway: HANK!!!!!!!!

5. i feel sad that the themyscira bits are the most boring parts of the episode. it seems less like a society of demi-god-like amazon warriors and more like a cult with all the granduer and pomp of curdled milk.

6. god hank is so delightful and has such great chemistry with everybody he meets that i’m even more devastated now that he’s dead. he and donna and tim are just wonderful together.

6.5 i love the idea of hank as this afterlife outlaw, helping people who decide to get off the train between life and death and just... kind of doing his own thing. i’m curious how he got to know so much about this place in such a short time, and how he found malcolm and the inn and, well, the car. donna’s been dead much, much longer than hank or tim and she’s the last of them to “wake up”.

then again, who’s to say that normal rules apply to this in-between world? maybe the efforts of rachel/the themyscirans postponed donna reaching her destination for this long. maybe hank generated the car and the inn from his mind, like he generated that drink.

(going off on a tangent here, seeing that inn got me thinking about something that’s nagged me for a while: the show’s insistence on having sets and locations be these big, pristine, modern buildings with zero character. give me dirt and grit and grime. give me cramped spaces, makeshift bases, actual caves. give me places with personality not mere aesthetic.)

6.8. god, hank’s giddy delight and hope at the idea of a ‘second chance’! of course he’d be the one to catch on to this. he knows what it means to crash and burn and get up again anyway.

7. “you’re goddamn right it’s about revenge! that little fucker blew me up!” HANK I LOVE YOU

7.5. i was giggling at donna being used to lampshade the absurdity of the way she died at the end of season 2, but it took a left turn into poignant when she started talking about the point of it all, the way things were just not making sense, and why they were fighting the same battles over and over again. 

a few things come to mind here:

a) remember, donna had given up on her superhero life for a number of years before dick found her in s1 and was living quite comfortably; there’s long been a sense of disillusionment for her

b) and from a broader perspective, just what is the point of these superheroes in this universe anyway? i keep saying this over and over again, but the biggest enemies in titans is the heroes themselves. is the fight they’re fighting worth the trauma that’s twisting them up inside? is gotham’s abrupt oscillation between celebrating its heroes and despising them an indication of how superfluous they really are? and does every superhero team need to come together for an external purpose? for me, the titans are less a superhero team and more a safe harbour for struggling next-gen heroes, giving them space to be their worst and a place to come home to. by its very nature, it is a team perpetually in crisis. 

(also commentary on intergenerational trauma that i don’t feel qualified to provide, etc)

c) given bruce being on the brink of suicide at the beginning of the episode, this feels like revisiting the concept: donna is ready to move on. mind you, it’s not the same thing, but they circle around the themes of regret and hopelessness and the senselessness of it all, and the desire to leave it all behind.

7.8. oh, malcolm. we hardly knew ye.

8. rachel talking about all the training the titans did to fight, only to end up not doing much fighting anyway... no wonder this ep is black and white, what with all the lampshades hanging around!

9. MAN i love how tim’s story is being adapted here to fit around the titans: instead of batman, here he is, using his tenacity, his intelligence, his sheer... tim drake-ness to inspire his heroes to get back on their path and then joining them at their side--wah re wah!

9.5. tim trying to “manifest” guns by sticking his hands up... god i love him. i love this trio. i would’ve never expected, and yet...!

9.9. the fact that hank pulled out batarangs because he was thinking about dick, though...! god what i wouldn’t give for one more scene of these two together!

10. you know, as charming as it is, i’m not sure it’s a great tonal choice to have this climactic scene--where it’s likely that only two of the three are going to make it out on the other side!--play out like some sort of supernatural sitcom? the ghouls are utter failures are villains: they are neither menacing or particularly memorable, and having hank and donna do prop comedy and cracking quips just makes it more farcical.

10.5. oh, hank. i’m just glad at this stage that there’s a door for hank to come back if need be.

10.8. oh, but he got to reunite with his brother! i didn’t expect that! how wonderful!

11. ?????????

it seems curious to me that bruce would choose to set the room on fire, but i suppose it’s easier to explain it away as an accident after the fact. what’s bizarre is how did donna know to come to him? how did she even find out where he is, or that he was in trouble?

watch titans never give us the answers, i guess.

12. tim, donna and hank were all delightful, but this still turned out to be a bit of a lacklustre episode. hope things pick back up with the next one. 

[combatpragmatist]

abcdefghi... jk. for fanfic writer asks, C or L please!

C. Cliffhangers - Do you write cliffhangers into your fics? Why or why not?

Sometimes a write smallish cliffhangers at the ends of chapters, but not at the ends of stories. I typically know, more or less, where I’m going with a story, so putting one at the end of a chapter doesn’t feel bad, because I know it’ll get closure sooner rather than later. I’m fairly sure I’ve never left a story on a cliffhanger, because even if I intend to write another installment, because there’s still the chance I won’t move forward with it. Those stories may end with an open ending, that would logically move into another story, but they feel complete enough on their own. If that makes any sense. The one sorta exception to all this is ‘survival’ which...eh, who knows if I’ll ever finish it, but it has had some cliffhangery chapter endings, but definitely won’t get a follow up story. Assuming it ever gets completed lol

L. Length - Do you prefer writing short or long fics? Maybe somewhere in the middle? What do you consider to be your average fic length?

Sometimes I go in knowing a story will need several chapters, and sometimes, the story just goes off the rails and I end up with something like ‘kaleidoscope’. Same for several of my SW stories. I intended one shots, and very much missed the mark. Since I’m a timeline kinda person, I guess I like longer stories, or at least connected stories, if that makes sense. 8 chapters seems to be my average story length for some reason.

Thanks!

[daikon1]

2020 Fanfic Year in Review!

@floraone and @nari20 encouraged me to participate in the Year-In-Review so okay, here we go!!

1. List of fics completed this year:

Completed (as in marked-as-completed) is only two!

Advice From Her Fairy Prince (which I actually wrote in 2019!) and

Swipe Right - A Tinder Tale

I also have two ongoing short story collections that I started this year and then two multichapters that will be carried into the new year, though Teammates Don’t Kiss is fully written and R is for Reverse is more than three quarters done.

2. Number of words written:

86,680!

Not bad considering I only started in August! (Do note that I’m only counting words that got posted, so since I work with buffer chapters this is a little less than what I’ve technically written!!)

3. Your most popular fic this year:

R is for Reverse, for sure! I’m so thrilled that the thing I’m most excited about also seems to be resonating with people.

4. Your personal favourite this year:

Definitely R! It’s such a delight to work on. There’s a reasonable chance I’ll be a bit lost when I finish it.

5. Your favourite scene:

Oh god... the more I think about this the harder it gets to pick just one!! There were so many scenes that I feel like came out really, really well.

I love pretty much every single moment of chapter 6 of R (so much UsaMamo!) but honestly I think the bit where Minako and Ami show up at Mamoru’s apartment might be my favorite? I ADORE writing Minako, she’s such a trip and honestly writes herself most of the time, and the way she and Mamoru play off of each other gives me a lot of really fun completely non-sexual tension. Plus, she’s the WORLD’S BIGGEST UsaMamo shipper and I love that.

Second favorite...I think the bit at the end of Chapter 4 of R, where Usagi and Tuxedo Mask talk after he defeats Leshy. That was totally unplanned - per my outline, Usagi was supposed to leave the tree and be gone when the battle was over - but thankfully she refused, and instead we got some really sweet bonding moments with the two of them. AND THEN HE GETS THE NERVE TO GIVE HER THE DANGOS and you can’t tell me that isn’t hella sweet.

OH and the bit in Chapter 7 of R where Mamoru totally panics over wanting to hold Usagi’s hand. I ADORE that and was so so happy with it.

6. A fic or scene that challenged you:

Pretty much ALL of the sexting scene in Tinder was HARD to write. It’s very personal to write someone masturbating, it turns out, and this was also my first major work of smut. SO there was a lot of alcohol consumed and hand-holding needed from my beta as I made my way through it.

7. A line of writing you’re proud of:

So the bit I’m currently most proud of hasn’t been posted yet (it’s from a later chapter of TDK!), so I’m gonna pick another one!

I skimmed several chapters and found quite a few bits that I’m pleased with. The bit in Chapter 7 of R where he tries to get up the nerve to hold Usagi’s hand comes to mind, but it’s pretty text-heavy so instead I’m going to specifically highlight the bit at the end of Chapter 6 of R:

The smell of her hair lingered in the hallway, her pink slippers lined up next to his black ones, and the dishes from her breakfast still sat, unwashed, on his coffee table. Hints of her presence were everywhere, and yet all he wanted, even moments after she'd left, was to see her again. The kaleidoscope inside him was back, but rather than fragmenting his emotions, this time it zeroed in on only one with crystal clarity.

Even if that rational part of him knew that this wasn't what he was supposed to do, he wasn't strong enough to fight it anymore. For the first time, he allowed himself to consciously think his dearest wish:

Maybe he could get her to fall in love with him.

Also, this one is from Advice From Her Fairy Prince, which is a Skip Beat! fanfic, but I CRACK THE HELL UP every time I reread it:

"Morizumi-san tried to throw you off a building?"

Yeah, I dunno. It’s a gloriously delayed reaction in context and I find it wonderfully absurd, so I wanted to shout that one out, too.

8.  A comment that touched you:

Oh my god, I’ve received so many nice comments this year??? I go back and reread them when I’m having a tough day and just glow. I’ve had a few people tell me things like something I wrote is one of their all-time favorites or that my writing style reminds them of another author I admire and I’m basically ready to crawl under my bed like “Who, me??” I also LIVE FOR the long, detailed comments in which people react to specifics from the story (I have several readers who do this for me and it makes me giddy every time).

One comment in particular does stick out as being far, far too kind and praised me in ways that made me feel insanely flattered and gave me a huge bout of imposter syndrome simultaneously, where they basically performed literary criticism* on one of my chapters and found all this meaning and value in my work that honestly left me a bit embarrassed in a good way. 

*Note: While I personally found this extremely flattering, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend trying this at home if you haven’t received a positive response to it before, because fic is meant to be fun, and unprompted literary critique (especially unsolicited ConCrit) can make some authors feel very hurt or defensive. YMMV of course!!

9. Something that inspired your writing this year:

So @floraone ‘adopted’ me into the fandom early this year, and spending so much time with a bunch of wonderful, creative, like-minded people not only saved my mental health in this shitstorm of a year, you all also inspired me to start writing fic again, including in several genres and events I might otherwise have shyed away from. So, I mean, that! You all! I’m so thrilled to be here and so wonderfully delighted to have found this amazing and supportive little fandom corner to play in. Thank you for inspiring me and welcoming me <3

10. Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc)

I’d say a toss-up between Tinder (writing a whole smutpiece where they are never physically in the same room together is an accomplishment, I’m just saying) and chapter 4 of R. Chapter 4 just came out so friggin’ well, and on the occasions I’ve gone back to reread it I feel very proud of it (whereas Tinder I’m more inclined to nitpick at upon reread). So, one of those!

11. Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

Oh man. I would love to finish R before my birthday (it’s in February so eh, we’ll see). And I’d love to like, not totally lose momentum and fall out of the fandom once I finish R! I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever feel quite this inspired again, so maybe finding something else that makes me want to write like this is a good goal for the year LOL. I’d also love to see if I can top my proudest bit of writing from TDK, and I think that’s a good thing to aspire to - but if I can’t, I get to put it in my wrap-up next year! Okay! So that’s my year in review, but I would love to see some other people do these! I’m not going to tag anyone because most of the people I would tag already have been, but if you see this and want to participate, consider yourself tapped in.

Here’s to the end of 2020, and fingers crossed that the next year runs more smoothly!!

[nitewrighter]

Across the Amanogawa

A Short McHanzo/Gency Ficlet for Tanabata!!

...I miss festivals. Do you guys miss festivals?

(Yes I know it’s very overdue for 7/7 but Tanabata can be celebrated as late as August so ssshhhh )

-----

It was a muggy evening, made muggier by the steam drifting up from all the matsuri stands. The murmur of the crowd thrummed against the distant screech of cicadas. All the colors of the festival, the streamers, the senbazuru, and the kusudama all seemed to fold together into a rainbow kaleidoscope arcing over the crowd under the yellow-white glow of the strings of lanterns overhead. McCree and Hanzo stood near the festival’s main gate, and Hanzo rolled his fingers on his arm as he scanned the crowd again. McCree stood next to him, also scanning the crowd, but also frequently feeling at his hair. 

“You sure I don’t look like a tourist?” said McCree, glancing down at his clothes. The red and white ichimatsu patterning on his yukata reminded Hanzo a bit of old-fashioned picnic blankets or the gingham tablecloths of Italian restaurants, but it suited McCree well. Hanzo’s own yukata was a blue and yellow yabane pattern, and despite being more covered than usual, he felt... smaller. More vulnerable. McCree kept complaining that he felt naked without the hat but Hanzo felt naked without a quiver on his back.

“You’re over six feet tall in Japan. You’re going to look like a tourist no matter what,” said Hanzo, clearly tense. He felt McCree look over at him and caught himself, “But... there are plenty of tourists and the point is blending in,” said Hanzo, still scanning the crowd. The presence of other tourists and Omnics meant that at least they had a better chance at getting through the night without anyone recognizing them, but it had still taken Hanzo a good 45 minutes to convince McCree to leave the hat behind. 

“I thought the point was having fun?” said McCree.

“It is--” said Hanzo, breaking his eyes away from the crowd, “It... it is.”

“If you want to bail, I’m sure Genji and Merce would be totally fine with--”

“No,” said Hanzo, “I... it’s been a long time since I let myself do anything like this.”

“Look, even if you had any folks here, I’m pretty sure they aren’t interested in a fight--not today, anyway,” said McCree.

“Mm,” Hanzo tried to let this reassurance sink in past all his mental defenses. Key word, tried.

“Jesse!” a clear voice cut through the murmur of the crowd and Hanzo watched as a blonde flamelike ponytail bobbed through the crowd. McCree stuck a hand up in a wave and Hanzo instantly went on high alert for anyone who might have been keeping an eye on them. After apparently weaving through the crowd as quickly albeit convolutedly as possible, Genji and Mercy stepped in front of them, their fingers interlaced together. Genji was donning a green headband and black cloth face mask, a few of his scars peeking out from underneath both, but they had clearly coordinated their yukatas, with Genji wearing a green yukata with a yellow obi, and Mercy wearing a yellow yukata with a green obi.

“You made it!” said Genji.

“We made it here before you,” said Hanzo, flatly.

“Yes--well...” Genji rubbed the back of his head.

“We got a little sidetracked,” said Mercy.

“Code for, ‘The watchpoint called and someone’s bleedin’ out so you had to coach Brigitte through it over vid-chat?’” guessed McCree.

“Nothing that dire!” said Mercy, “...at least she didn’t make it sound that dire...” she trailed off with concern.

“Angela,” Genji bumped his shoulder against hers playfully and she seemed to snap out of it.

“Oh! I’m sure it’s fine,” she said with a wave.

Fine, the word set Hanzo on edge. “Did you two make sure you weren’t followed?” he said on reflex.

“We weren’t followed,” said Genji, perfectly patiently. 

“Are you sure?” the words came out of Hanzo as a flinch.

“We’re sure,” said Genji.

“We’ve been on plenty of missions together, Hanzo,” said Mercy, “You know we’d call it off or call it in if something felt wrong.”

“Right,” said Hanzo, “Right.” Now he felt awkward for unconsciously trying to drag the mood down to his level. 

“So relax!” said Genji, “If you keep worrying, I’m going to beat you for all the prizes! I promised Angela I’d win her one of those giant Pachimaris at the ring toss booth.”

“..and I told him I had no idea where we would fit something like that in our apartment,” said Mercy with a wry smile.

“It’s about the principle,” said Genji.

“And the fried food,” said McCree looking over at one of the food stalls.

“Oh! Takoyaki! We have to make sure to grab some before the fireworks show!” said Genji.

“And get our wishes in, too,” said Mercy.

“But first, prizes,” said Genji, hooking his arm in Mercy’s and walking through the festival gates.

“Sounds like a full docket to me,” said McCree, walking after them with Hanzo in tow. Mercy and Genji walked a few feet ahead of them. They were leaning against each other as they moved through the crowd. Hanzo glanced down at McCree’s hand trailing lazily at his side. Hanzo wondered if he should take McCree’s hand. He wanted to take McCree’s hand, but at the same time was having a bit of a mental block with the ‘public’ part of public displays of affection. Genji made it look natural, having always been a bit of a playboy, but now it felt... deeper. More tentative, more about actual affection than flouting the clan’s conservative practices. Hanzo gave another glance down at McCree’s hand. If he took it, would he be taking it because he wanted to prove to himself he could? Sure he wanted to, but he and McCree already knew how he felt, so who was there to prove it to? Genji? With his back turned? 

“Look at ‘em, all matchy... why didn’t we coordinate?” said McCree, snapping Hanzo out of his train of thought.

Hanzo shot McCree an incredulous look and McCree snorted.

“I’m kidding,” he said, smiling and he took Hanzo’s hand. Hanzo’s arm tensed at the shoulder. 

“You okay?” said McCree, immediately picking up on that tension.

I’m fine, thought Hanzo, In fact, I am so fine I was going to take your hand first. Because I can do that. Because I’m capable of that. Because I can show affection to someone without worrying the world is suddenly going to explode around me and rip it all away. But you took my hand first so it’s your fault that I tensed up and--what is wrong with me.

“Yes,” said Hanzo, blankly.

McCree huffed a little.

“I can have fun,” said Hanzo, “I am having fun.”

“That’s it, partner, just like Zen says, speak that shit into existence!” said McCree with a teasing grin on his face.

Hanzo half-scoffed half-chuckled. “You’ve made your point.”

“Look, you take it as slow as you need, all right?” said McCree, “And if you ain’t feelin’ it, you ain’t feelin’ it--we can go anytime you need. I mean, yeah the wishing thing is cute, but it ain’t like we don’t have fried food and overpriced rigged games over in the states.” He gestured with his chin over at Genji and Mercy, both apparently lost in their own conversation. “Those two can take care of themselves.”

“The games aren’t rigged,” said Hanzo with a sharp smirk, “Most of them are absurdly easy and aimed at children. Do Americans enjoy swindling children?”

“Oh it’s right up there with apple pie,” said McCree, “You ever hear of a snipe hunt?”

“’Snipe’ hunt?” said Hanzo.

“Not ‘snipe’ like sniper, it’s a bird--except not really, because there ain’t a bird, you’re just sending a kid off to look for it.”

“...for a nonexistent bird,” said Hanzo. 

“For me though, it was a jackalope,” said McCree, “You ever see one of those taxidermy rabbits with the antlers? When I was a kid, Billie told me they only came out on Saturday mornings, so I’d spend every Saturday trompin’ around, lookin’ for ‘em. Didn’t realize until later that this premium Jackalope-spotting time conveniently coincided with when she’d be hung over.” 

Hanzo chuckled. “I actually did that to Genji several times when we were boys, except it was Tsuchinoko.”

“What’s Tsuchinoko?”

“A fat snake,” said Hanzo.

“A fat snake? No wings or horns or anything? Just a fat snake?”  

“Just a fat snake. Whenever Genji was annoying me, I would say, ‘Oh Genji, I saw the Tsuchinoko in the west garden’ or wherever was conveniently far away from me, and he would sprint for it.” 

McCree snorted, then suddenly paused and glanced up from Hanzo, “...shit. Did you see where they went?”

“Look for the ponytail,” said Hanzo.

“The pony--Oh,” McCree spotted a blond ponytail over the heads of the crowd at one of the stalls, “Good rule of thumb....Is that the ring toss?”

“...knowing Genji, they could be there a while,” said Hanzo.

“I could win you something,” said McCree with a grin.

“You won me that ridiculous plush back in Blizzard World,” said Hanzo with a slight eye roll.

“You love that plush,” said McCree, “Or you could win me something.”

“Do you want an oversized plush?”

“Eh, nah,” said McCree with a shrug. 

Hanzo glanced back at Genji and Mercy, laughing and chatting at the booth. “Dare we disrupt the sanctity of the double date?” he asked with self-effacing faux gravitas.

McCree snickered. “Well, we got the comms. We can say we lost ‘em in the crowd, call ‘em up when it’s time to grab some grub. They got sake here?” said McCree, looking around.

“I thought you liked more bite to your liquor?” said Hanzo, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, when in Rome, right?” said McCree.

-----

Mercy leaned against the side of the booth and lazily flicked at her consolation prize pinwheel as Genji squinted with concentration at the rows of bottles in the ring toss booth.

“My aim is unerring,” she said, trying to imitate the dramatic depth of Genji’s voice.

“I’ve got it, I swear,” said Genji, tossing a ring and having it bounce off the back corner bottle.

“Mm-hmm.”

 “The problem is muscle memory.”

“I’m sure.”

“If these were shuriken I would have gotten you the prize on the first try.” 

“Of course.”

“...you’re enjoying this.”

“A little bit,” Mercy grinned before scanning the crowd. “Hanzo and McCree have definitely ditched us, though.”

“Because Hanzo knows I’ll beat him,” said Genji, sending another ring bouncing off the back row of bottles.

“Of course, dear,” said Mercy with a smirking head tilt. 

Genji turned his head to shoot her a ‘You’re killing me’ look but almost instantly melted at the smug look on her face. She looked relaxed--the most relaxed he had seen her in a while. With all the work they had to do with Overwatch, getting out like this was rare, and it had been even longer since they really had time alone together since Hanzo had come to the Watchpoint. Despite her dislike of Hanzo and her wariness of the whole situation, she had saintlike patience with how much time he was pouring into trying to help his brother. Hanzo’s relationship with McCree had lightened the load considerably, but still, even tonight was, in some ways, yet another exercise in trying to get Hanzo used to being around people again.

“Genji?” she tilted her head and Genji blinked a few times, snapping back to the moment. 

“Sorry--” Genji caught himself and rubbed the back of his neck,  “I just... I’m really glad you’re out here with me tonight.”

“Well... that’s what summer’s for, right?” said Mercy, smiling, “Fireworks, fried food, clearly rigged games...”

“If I say it’s rigged that’s admitting defeat,” said Genji, folding his arms, “But--I mean... thank you. For sticking with me through... all this messiness these past few months.”

“Messiness?” said Mercy.

“I know Hanzo coming back was hard on you, but I’m really glad you trusted my judgment with him. And I’m really glad he’s on the team now.”

Mercy’s expression softened. “It... it was hard at first. I can’t tell you how scared I was that he might hurt you again but...” she looked down, “I thought about it, and... even though I know your situation is a lot more complicated, if I ever got a chance to save my family...” she trailed off.

“Angela...” Genji started but was cut off by a swell of noise from the festival crowd.

“What’s going on?” said Mercy craning her neck slightly when suddenly a massive glittering hologram of an orange goldfish swooped over the crowd, “Woah!”

“I heard the omnics in this region put on an interesting procession,” said Genji, pulling away from the booth slightly as three more giant hologram goldfish, white, yellow, and spotted, joined it, bobbing over the main avenue of the festival. Mercy’s eyes caught the light of the projectors in a puff of steam off one of the tents, and saw several Omnics in headbands and happi coats with spotlight-like faces placed at strategic points around the festival. The crowd oohed as the goldfish suddenly swam upward and then arced downward, suddenly disappearing in a splash of blue pixels meant to signify water, but the gold of their scales lingered among the blue and the pixels spiraled upward into holograms of stars, laying out over the festival crowd.

“The Amanogawa,” said Genji.

“Celestial river, right?” said Mercy, watching smaller versions of the hologram goldfish from earlier weave through the hologram stars, “Like the milky way.”

“The same,” said Genji.

“So the story goes... there’s two lovers on either side of the river, right?” said Mercy. As she spoke, a new hologram projection emerged further down the river of stars, a woman, clothed in brightly colored and complexly patterned cloth, she was cartoony and a little doll- or puppet-like in movements, but her hair trailed behind her almost as river-like as the stars. Another projection on the opposite side appeared, a man in plainer clothes, but still those somewhat puppet-like movements. It somehow lent a more organic feel to the whole show. 

“Orihime and Hikoboshi,” said Genji, “The story goes, they were deeply in love,” as he spoke brightly colored streams of light flowed off of the Orihime hologram, and Mercy realized they were supposed to represent cloth flying off in different directions, “But that love distracted Orihime from her prized weaving, and it made Hikoboshi let his cows loose all over the heavens,” Mercy glanced down to see several children laughing as they chased after a cow hologram, the bell around its neck clanking as it trotted ahead of them, “So they were separated, and they could only meet on the seventh day of the seventh month, but when they got there, there was no bridge.”

“So there was a bird bridge!” said Mercy as black and white bird holograms swept over the starry river in an arc, allowing the two figures to race across them and meet in the middle. “Swallows?”

“Magpies,” said Genji. Even with the mask on she could see his smile pushing at the corners of his eyes, “They say if the festival gets rained out, it’s the tears of the lovers.”

Mercy snorted. “Good to know even Celestial beings can have a rough time with long distance relationships,” she said, smiling.

“Yeah...” said Genji. Mindlessly he slipped his hand into Mercy’s and gave a small squeeze. 

“Did you--” Mercy started.

“You know--” Genji started at the same time and they both caught themselves  and chuckled a little.

“...you go first,” said Genji.

“I was going to ask, when we were writing letters to each other,” Mercy pushed her hair back, “Did it remind you of them?” she nodded her head back at the two holograms of Orihime and Hikoboshi embracing.

Genji snorted, “And I was about to say, ‘You know when we were writing letters, I thought of them as our magpie bridge,’” his face was a million times easier to read with a cloth face mask rather than the usual plating, so Mercy definitely picked up a smirk, “But then again it’s easy to think of you as a celestial goddess.” 

Mercy scoffed, rolled her eyes, and bumped her shoulder into his, but also took that as an opportunity to lean against him as the whole hologram display dissolved into stars dissolving into pixels as the crowd clapped. “Flatterer,” she muttered.

“You love it,” said Genji.

“I do not.”

“Yes you do.”

“Okay fine I do.” 

Genji snickered.

“...do we still have time to write our wishes?” said Mercy, watching as the Happi-clad hologram-projecting Omnics found each other in the crowd and high-fived. 

“Oh! We should get on that!” said Genji. 

“Uh...” the booth owner piped up, “You still have three rings.”

Genji glanced down at the rings on the counter of the booth, held them out in offering to Mercy, who shook her head with a smile and a hand wave. Genji shrugged and tossed all three at once in his ‘fan of blades’ motion...and caught three bottles.

“...I planned that,” said Genji.

“You did not,” said Mercy as the booth owner handed Genji a Yachemon plush.

-----

The festival lights had dimmed to spheres of gold and red and pink and green in the corners of Hanzo’s vision as he knocked back another saucer of sake.

“And--” he bunched up his shoulders, “I think... I think what... what I hate the most--”

“Mm-hmm,” McCree was resting his chin in his hand and his elbow on the bar, nodding along with him.

“What I hate the most is... apologizing for things... that I keep doing, you know?” said Hanzo.

“Mm-hmm,” McCree knocked back his own saucer of sake.

“Because... when you apologize for something, I’m pretty sure all parties agree that... that the thing is not going to happen again, correct?” 

“Weeellllllll....” McCree glanced off and trailed off as his voice pitched to a near country singer whine with that single word, “I mean... yeah. That’s what you wanna happen.”

“So I’m... I say, ‘This will not happen again’ and it happens again, you know?” said Hanzo.

“Healin’ ain’t always linear,” said McCree, shooting him a finger gun.

“And people keep saying that!” said Hanzo, “I want to stop doing the thing, I don’t like doing the thing, that’s why I apologized for it, but then it happens again and I have to apologize for it, again.”

“I think what’s hard on you also is... becomin’ more conscious of this shit, right?” said McCree, “Like you’re lookin’ at yourself more, and you’re looking at your first reactions to shit, and you’re like, ‘What the hell, that ain’t normal.’”

“YES!” Hanzo flinched at how loudly he said it before clearing his throat, “I mean... yes.” 

McCree snickered. “I love you,” he said, his face creasing with his smile and with the pressure of his palm on his face.

“I am drunkenly ranting about how I continue to be a problem and how even I can barely stand myself at this point,” said Hanzo, flatly.

“Uh-huh,” said McCree, “And I love you.”

“Ugh,” Hanzo glanced off.

“...you know what I think, about good people?” said McCree.

“What do you think about good people?” said Hanzo, settling in his seat.

“I think... a big part of what makes a good person... is knowing when you’re at your worst,” said McCree. 

“Well, lucky for you I am always at my worst,” said Hanzo, attempting to play off his drunkenness as a cavalier attitude, but McCree clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“I mean...knowing when the pain is leaking outta you and bleedin’ into other people, people you love. You’ve been shoulderin’ your own pain for so long, Hanzo, you can tell instantly when someone else is trying to pick up that load, and that scares you, because you think ‘They don’t deserve it,’ or ‘They shouldn’t have to do that,’ but you face that shit! Because you’re the bravest guy I know! So I guess what I’m sayin’ is... I’m glad t’be here for you like this. And... and I’m glad you don’t have to carry it alone.” 

“Jesse...” Hanzo trailed off but both McCree and Hanzo flinched as hologram goldfish suddenly illuminated the crowd behind them.

“...The hell is that?” said McCree as they both turned around.

“The epic love story of Orihime and Hikoboshi,” said Hanzo with a dismissive hand wave, “Which probably means it’s getting dark enough for the fireworks. Didn’t you say you wanted some fried food?”

“Fuck yeah I did!” said McCree.

-----

The delicate green leaves of the bamboo were almost completely drowned out by the raucous rainbow of tanzaku colors, rendered practically glowing themselves by the fairy lights hung on the wooden frames supporting the bamboo. 

“It’s been years since I’ve done this,” Genji chuckled under his breath as he wrote on his tanzaku.

“Well you’re bound to have plenty of wishes then,” said Mercy.

“More like plenty of people I want to thank,” said Genji, “You, Zenyatta, McCree, Hanzo... There’s probably a lot to wish for, but I’m also really grateful for where I am, now.”

Mercy leaned over and kissed him on his ear and he glanced up from the slip of paper to her and grinned. She glanced down at his tanzaku and snickered a little. It was a simple ‘Thank you’ tanzaku but with hearts and stars and little rabbit faces doodled in the margins.

“Cute,” said Mercy, bumping her shoulder against his.

“Everyone else made theirs cute! I don’t want to have a plain one!” said Genji, “What did you write?” he glanced over at hers which was practically illegible, “Doctor handwriting strikes again...” he murmured.

“It’s because I don’t have a flat surface to write on!” said Mercy, 

“Mm-hmm,” said Genji, squinting to read at the cursive, “I wish for... ‘Mon...dag...ott?’

“’More days off like this,’” said Mercy, “...though granted, that feels like a really lazy wish considering so many of these wishes are to get a promotion or do well in school...”

Genji leaned his head on hers. “It’s a wish you deserve,” he said.

“Hey! Ponytail!” a voice called out from the crowd and Mercy glanced up.

“Ponytail?” said Mercy as McCree pushed through the crowd, a tray of takoyaki in hand. Hanzo pushed through the crowd after him, also holding a takoyaki tray. There was considerably more ease about them now than earlier, a clear flush and stupid grin on both their faces.

“There you guys are! Man, didn’t even have to call you!” said McCree, he proudly held up a small cardboard tray of takoyaki, “We come bearing gifts.”

“Oh Jesse,” said Mercy, “You shouldn’t have!”

“Well the lines are gettin’ long what with the fireworks startin’ soon,” said McCree, “So we figured we’d grab a tray for you guys, too.”

“We had best get going if we want to get a good seat--” Hanzo started when suddenly a small child darted underfoot and McCree narrowly stepped out of the way to keep the child from running full on into his legs.

“Hoo,” said McCree, “That was a close one--”

Another child, presumably chasing the first child, shoved past the back of McCree’s legs and McCree stumbled and the tray of takoyaki slipped from his hands and landed with a tragic ‘splat’ on the pavement.

“Takoyaki noooooo...” McCree’s voice pitched up in a whimper as one of the festival cleanup crew members hastily moved in and scooped the ruined takoyaki into a trash bag. Jesse McCree had known much heartbreak in his years, but could anything compare to looking forward to hot fried food all night only to have fate cruelly tear it away from him?

“We still have time to get another tray before the fireworks start,” Hanzo said on reflex, “Angela--You and McCree go and secure us a spot, on the green, Genji and I will get the food.”

“I could go,” said McCree with a shrug, “I mean I dropped it...”

“Ponytail,” said Hanzo pointing at Mercy, “6 feet tall in Japan,” he said pointing at McCree.

“Ah, gotcha,” said McCree. 

“We’ll call each other if we can’t find you,” said Genji, “Come on.” He motioned to Hanzo.

-----

The large stretch of lawn designated as a firework viewing area was already crowded by the time Mercy and McCree arrived, but they managed to stake out a small spot at the base of a small hill. 

“So, you and Hanzo...” Mercy smirked at McCree as McCree poked at their one remaining tray of takoyaki, “How’s the first month of domestic bliss coming along?”

“He folds his socks. Who folds socks? But he says it doesn’t make the elastic wear out as fast and now he’s got me doin’ it. He’s ridiculous,” said McCree, leaning back with that stupid lovestuck grin on his face.

Mercy snorted. 

“Though really, I’m glad you warmed up to him,” said McCree.

“Well... to be honest, at this point I’m kind of relieved you’re together,” said Mercy.

“Mm? How d’ya mean?”

“Well, I suppose a part of me was always worried you would suddenly ‘up and hit that dusty trail,’” Mercy made an odd jerking movement with her elbows that was apparently supposed to indicate ‘cowboy’ but just made McCree snicker, “But... with Hanzo you seem more... settled.”

McCree huffed a chuckle, “Weird how that works out--He was on the run just as much as me, huh? Now we’re downright domesticated.”

“McCree, you are probably the least ‘domesticated’ person I know,” said Mercy with a wry grin.

“Praise be,” said McCree with a grin. He snickered, “What about the domestic bliss on your end, then?”

“Well it’s about the same,” said Mercy with a shrug, “It’s nice to have something stable to come home to in the midst of all of Overwatch’s work. Even if we are on the Watchpoint it.... it makes me feel like there’s a life outside the fight, you know? Nights like tonight, too...” she trailed off, looking up at what few stars were able to outshine the light pollution of the festival. 

“Has he popped the question yet?” 

Mercy visibly startled. “Jesse!” she said, blushing.

“I’m just sayin’, it took ten dang years for you two to properly hook up, and if it takes another ten dang years for him to put a ring on it, I’m egging your apartment,” said McCree.

“You are not,” said Mercy.

“Yeah no, probably not, you scare the shit out of me--but point stands!” said McCree.

“I don’t know--I mean, I like the idea of it--and I do think about it...a lot, but...” she sighed, “I guess I’m just scared Talon will somehow swoop in and ruin it like it ruins everything else.”

“...Talon ain’t ruinin’ tonight,” McCree offered.

“No... I suppose it isn’t,” said Mercy, smiling.

-----

“You know what I like about takoyaki?” said Genji, paying the cashier at the Takoyaki tent.

“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me no matter what my answer is,” said Hanzo. They both watched as the cook rapidly and skillfully pivoted and flipped the sizzling batter in the little divots of the pan. Poking pale butter-yellow speckled with purple octopus to gold to golden brown.

“What I like about takoyaki is that no matter how runny the batter looks, it always manages to find its way into being a perfect, round little ball. It takes patience and it takes focus, but at the end it’s like the food’s telling you ‘Everything’s going to be okay,’ you know?”

Hanzo gave Genji an odd look. “...perhaps you should leave the philosophizing to Zenyatta,” he said as the vendor handed Genji a new tray of takoyaki, just as beautiful and golden and smothered in sauce and katsuoboshi as the last one.

“Ha! Probably,” said Genji as they headed back, “Hey Hanzo?” 

“Yes?” 

Genji paused for a few seconds, “I’m really glad you came out here like this. I know it’s hard to let yourself relax but... last time we went to a Matsuri together was when we were kids. A couple years ago I never would have thought we would be here together again like this. It means a lot to me that you’re here now.”

“I’m... glad to be out here too,” said Hanzo.

A pause passed between them.

“So...” Hanzo started.

“So... what?” said Genji.

“I feel like that whole thing was building up to something,” said Hanzo.

“Oh--well, no, I just... really wanted to let you know that.”

“Genji...”

“Well, okay, there’s something I wanted to tell you, but we’re having such a good time tonight, I don’t want it to make the night weird--It’s not bad news! I think it’s really good news! I just... don’t want it to take over the night.”

“Well now that I know there is something I’m going to to be spending the rest of the night wondering what it is!” Hanzo chuckled, popping one of the takoyaki into his mouth.

Genji looked at Hanzo for a few seconds and his breath huffed in his mask at little as he smiled. “Okay then... It’s about Angela. I think I want to marry her,” said Genji, “Well---actually, no, I know I want to marry her. I’ve been--Are you okay!?” 

Hanzo had inhaled on reflex at the word ‘marry’, got some katsuoboshi caught in his throat, and managed to suppress the cough for all of 3 seconds before turning red and unceremoniously hacking into the crook of his elbow while struggling to keep his takoyaki tray upright.. “Fine--” he coughed, “I’m fine.” He swallowed. “Just---are--are you serious?”

“Yes,” said Genji, “And I know you’ve only known her a couple months but I’ve been thinking about this a long time and, well, we’re not getting any younger, and with the fight with Talon...” he huffed, “I don’t want the fight with Talon to be this thing that stands between us. I know you don’t trust my judgment--”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t trust your judgment,” said Hanzo.

Genji blinked. “Oh.”

“She’s intelligent, she’s kind, she’s brave, and she’s principled. I haven’t known her as long as you, that’s true, but anyone can see she brings out the best in you. And you bring out the (frankly terrifying) best in her. You have my full support,” said Hanzo. 

“I...” Genji started and then chuckled a little, “Wow, I... I had this whole thing prepared about how I wasn’t thinking with my dick anymore and how I know myself and how I didn’t care what you said and I was going to trust myself and follow my heart and...” His breath caught in his throat and his eyes were wet and shining.

“Genji, you’re my brother and I care about you, but if you start crying, you’re going to put me in a very awkward positio--” Hanzo cut himself off as Genji hugged him. He tried to return the embrace as best he could while holding a tray of takoyaki.

Genji pulled out of the embrace slightly. “Sorry--I know you aren’t used to that. They’re pretty big huggers, Overwatch.”

“I’m more used to it than you think. McCree--well--” Hanzo caught himself and cleared his throat, “In any case, I’m glad you found someone.”

Genji clapped his shoulder. “I’m glad you found someone, too.”

The two of them walked towards the grassy park area where the first few plumes of fireworks were already popping in bursts of pink.

“Ponytail,” said Genji.

Hanzo craned his neck slightly and saw Mercy’s hair caught in a burst of green light overhead. McCree caught them in the corner of his eye and waaved them over.

“...You’re not going to ask her tonight, are you?” said Hanzo as they walked over.

Genji snorted, “Are you kidding?”

“In my defense I’ve known you to be very impulsive,” said Hanzo. Genji just chuckled as they closed the distance to McCree and Mercy.

[mxpseudonym]

Extra

Pairing: Tommy x OFC

*This is an OFC from a current Peaky WIP I wish would magically write itself*

Summary:  Tommy’s first attempt at exploring the “extra” with his gal pal.

Length: 1675 words

Warnings: Shmutty, slightly aggressive sex, dirty talk, choking, cursing, misuse of kaleidoscopes, maybe don’t read at work, 18+, NSFW

A/N: Tis my first Peaky smut and it feels a bit uncalled for, but it’s a fun distraction to my main WIP

(Where does this take place you ask? On a couch somewhere.)

Tommy Shelby liked fucking.  

He enjoyed and was accustomed to the immediacy and touch starved intimacy that came with fucking. With his routine of late nights and early mornings, he couldn’t help but enjoy the efficiency of it as well. Kissing, playing, foreplay wasn’t always necessary, they were extra.

Rose liked the extra.

“Just enjoy,” She’d tell him every so often, forcing patience upon him. She was an adventurer with a specialty in exploring the teasing and addictive acts that forced one to practice restraint. For Tommy, those were acts like kissing.  

Her legs tucked under her and her front pressed against his side with the aid of his arms wrapped around her and pulling her closer. Cradling his face in her hands, she tenderly moved her lips tongue against Tommy’s. Even when the occasional moan and shift closer, no moves to take things further were made. This was where they were, and where they had been for God knew how long before Rose leaned back only to have Tommy follow for another kiss. She licked her lips and looked up at him.  

“I think,” She began but was distracted when he leaned in again. The delicate caresses had entrapped him, and by God, she was going down with him. His hand ghosted up her side, eliciting a sigh, but didn’t stop her hand from pressing against his chest. “I should check the time.”  

“Stay with me.” A request made with the brushing of noses and his thumb gently caressing her cheek for extra leverage. She further melted into the puddle she was becoming.  

“I should try to get back to London tonight,” She spoke, staring at his lips, already missing the feeling. Fuck it. She ignored the responsible voice that was trying to pry its way into situations where it wasn’t wanted and ran her hands from his chest to his neck, pulling him to her. He moved to her cheeks, her jaw, her neck, letting soft kisses become gentle nips.

In an absent-minded trance, they made steady work of their clothes before Tommy moved Rose back, laying above her and wrapping her legs around him. She let out a gasp at the feeling of his fingers examining the state of her.

“Fucking dripping, love.”  

“Just for you.”

He wasted no time sliding into her, but they weren’t in a hurry. Each stroke was a thoughtful and complete movement from head to hilt. Her knees were at his rib cage, back arched and head tilted back. He reached up and grasped her face in his hand, so she was looking up at him, bruised lips and eager eyes, face beautiful and flushed.  

“You look so fucking pretty like this,” he spoke words that were far dirtier than the act itself. Rose’s lips parted, and she tightened at the compliment, piquing his curiosity. She was so responsive, he needed to see what he could do to her. First, he changed his pace, a few quick, deep thrusts that made her gasp and squeeze her eyes closed. Divine, but he needed to see her. “Look at me.”  

Her eyes opened again, and his hand slid to her throat next. They’d never done this before but the feeling of his hand around her, even without pressure, was enough for her to bite her lip in anticipation. “Touch yourself.”

He watched her hand slide between him, but let her eyes rolling back be the evidence of her obedience. He could feel her tightening around him and chose then to squeeze her throat ever so slightly and move faster.  

She forwent announcing her undoing in favor of calling out the man responsible by name. Her gasps, clenching walls, and shaking legs only spurred him on. He squeezed a bit tighter and sped up, continuing going deep.  

“Fucking gorgeous, taking me so well like this,” he groaned.

All thoughts except doing anything Tommy ordered left Rose’s mind. Not that she needed anything else. She whimpered as he continued his words, sweet compliments aligned with filthy words and more commands for her to touch, look, speak. And his actions, alternating from sweet to rough second to second, made her mind swirl.

She was a petite woman, but it was rare that he ever made her feel small. Tommy often teased that her confidence added half a foot to her because there wasn’t a man who could intimidate her. But at this moment, he so easily flipped her onto her stomach, making her yelp, then pulled her up to her knees and placed her hands on the arm of the couch for support. He followed this with trailing fingers along her sides and kisses between her shoulder blades. He slid into her again with no mercy, burying himself deep while gripping her ass hard enough to leave bruises before massaging the flesh. His hands moved to her hair and pulled her up, back against his chest while the other hand trailed up to knead her breasts.

He looked down at her, taking her in and feeling her against him, around him. Her skin matched her name as it grew more sensitive to his touch. This was what she wanted. She’d told him he could be rougher with her, explaining certain things she’d done before, what she liked, what she’d considered doing. He’d been rough before, more out of a need to release aggression than pure pleasure, but never physical the way she’d described.  Playing was something extra.

It had been nearly a month since she’d opened that door, and with their busy schedules it hadn’t come up, though he remained interested. She didn’t pressure him but had them come up with safe words just in case. From her breasts, his hand moved to the apex of her thighs to swirl over her clit with an aching lightness, and the other from her hair back to her throat, knowing that the word “kaleidoscope” would slip from her mouth should she need him to stop. And, in her words, were her mouth to be full, three slaps to the arm or thigh would do. But that would come later. Like their safe word that he initially raised an eyebrow at, he agreed to her suggestion to explore because it clearly made her happy. However, hearing her throaty moan at the strategic mix of his control over her air supply and the amount of pressure given to her clit made him feel something akin to gratitude for the things he considered extra. If nothing else, it was fucking erotic.

“You’re being so fucking good for me, love. I want to feel you come all over me again, yeah?” He spoke gruffly in her ear as he found his strong, deep, and quickening stride.

“Fuck, Tommy.” She whimpered. He’d change that. There were a few things he’d rather hear her call him, but that would also come later.  

“Then we’ll see about painting this gorgeous face, hm? Let’s ruin all that makeup, eh love?” He watched her eyes roll back, and her lip finds its way between her teeth at the thought. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “You like that don’t you? Being on your knees, covered with me?”

“I-I’m gonna,” she panted as her hands gripped the couch and his wrist for support.

“Come for me.” He gave the orders, and she carried them out, gripped around him as he thrust deep. Her cries and writhing body forced him to cut any recovery time short. In a moment he was out of her, and she was guided to her knees by her hair as he worked himself to his completion. Even in her state of bliss, she opened her mouth, offering her tongue as she looked up at him through her lashes. That was enough for him as he growled, “Fuckin’ hell woman.”

With each burst, Rose seemed increasingly pleased at her glistening state. He watched her replace his hand with hers, lapping at his head before giving it a kiss and sitting back on her heels. Both of them were panting but equally transfixed. He held a hand out to her and helped her up, immediately capturing her lips. She tasted like her and him and everything they’d yet to do together. A blanket was securely wrapped around her, and his own underpants were pulled on before he led her to the bathroom.

It amused him that even with her legs still wobbly, their roles began reverting back to her being the chatty one and him being the man of few words. She caught her breath and let a discussion about it being while he sat her on the counter. He smiled at her still beaming face as he passed a warm cloth over her face, ridding her of her makeup and the evidence of indecency.

“And to think all of this came from me asking for a kiss goodbye,” she thought about it, making him chuckle.

“Close,” he instructed her softly, and she closed her eyes and let him restore her eyelashes to their previous glory. She went quiet and let him tilt her head with his gentle grip on her chin to give her a once over when he was done.

“Tommy?” She asked and received a hum in response. His hand ran through her hair. “Did you, you know, enjoy yourself? I don’t want you to do this just because of me if you don’t like it.” She could feel him move closer.

“Open your eyes,” he told her, and they fluttered open to look straight into his. His hands were placed on the counter on either side of her, and he smirked. “If you can’t tell how much I enjoyed that, then I don’t know what to tell you, Rose.”

“I’m just making sure,” she shrugged and leaned forward to kiss him gently. “Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you, eh?” He rubbed her arms, generating a bit more heat. “Now, let’s get you some tea.”

“Tommy, it really is getting late.”

“Well, who’s to say your car even has enough petrol for the drive anyway?”

“Tommy!”

[escaflowme]

Part 3: The Princess and the Knight

Authors’ Notes: This is an English translation of the first chapter of Vol 4 of the Escaflowne NewType Novels, affectionately called “the Marlene Chapter”. Translation was done by Fayrinferno and scanning/beta reading/editing was done by Pikafwance (escaflowme).  Please note that the chapter will be posted in four parts between Escaflowme and Heavenlydragon. Please enjoy our hard work! The next day started off with rain. Marlene opened her eyes at the sounds of soft raindrops amplified by the gusts of wind.

It led only to a small rooftop, usually deserted. Ever since she was small, Marlene would climb to the rooftop whenever she wanted to be alone. There, amongst other things, she would read and hide small treasures from her little sisters.

Oh?! Someone was there.

In an instant, she felt like she always knew who she would find at that place. The golden color wasn’t even clouded by the screen of rain. Breath held, she made her way to him silently, the sound of her bare feet barely audible over the rain. Yet he turned around and faced Marlene as if he knew that she was coming.

“Ma-… milady…” His fine eyebrows knitted in a puzzled expression. Marlene approached him slowly and wordlessly.

“…You will catch a cold.” Allen muttered a bit dumbfounded.

“What about you?” Marlene put her hand on his shoulder. His golden hair clung like wet ribbons to his white shirt sleeve.

“Well,” she breathed out a laugh, “if you are alright, then so am I.” How long was this young knight standing here, Marlene wondered. A ticklish sensation inside her chest made her amused.

“Please return to your room,” Allen said dryly.

“No,” she said clearly, smiling as she looked into his shocked face. “Not until I have an answer.”

Confused and speechless, the knight did not know how to respond.

“What answer… you may want to ask, right?” Marlene said and looked straight at Allen.

His features relaxed as he responded. “Yes.”

“I ask myself, if I was maybe waiting for you.” Allen watched her wordlessly.

Even though she was two years his elder, blood rose to her cheeks as she came to her senses a bit. “I am sorry. I am bothering you.”

“No.” Allen leaned down and lifted his hands to brush the water off Marlene’s shoulder.

“I always wanted to know…” Marlene said, looking down. “What does it mean to be alive?”

The knight removed his uniform vest and placed it on her shoulders carefully. [1] The rain became a drizzle and whirled around the two like a thick haze.

“Do you honestly think I could answer that?” Allen said, almost in a whisper.

“I believe you are the only one who can,” Marlene smiled, looking into his eyes that were the color of a bright night sky. The deep feeling in her chest could not stop throbbing. The ever-present sweet pain traveled up her throat, and welled up in her eyes.

“If I don’t hear an answer, I feel like I can’t live anymore.” Upon hearing that, a sad smile appeared on Allen’s face for the first time.

“You mustn’t talk like that.”

“It’s the truth, though.” Marlene moved to separate herself from the knight. Allen’s arm held her back before she could disappear within the whirling mist.

He was so tall.

The firm arm that pulled her back revealed that its owner was a strong man. Marlene’s body froze.

“Please return to your room.”

“No.” Marlene heard her own voice tremble. Even with her freezing bare feet, her body did not feel cold. Why she was not shivering at all, she did not know.

“Eh?” At hearing Allen mutter something unintelligible, Marlene’s face rose up. Her eyes met with his.

Before either knew what was happening, the two were tightly embracing.

Allen remained silent but Marlene felt as if she had obtained her answer, cheek pressed against his chest. “I am alive,” she murmured as they continued to embrace wordlessly.

——————

“You don’t seem to sigh so much anymore these days,” Ditoa said, clearing the breakfast tray away.

“Seems like it,” Marlene said cheerfully, standing up. “Did I really look that worried?”

Ditoa seemed to be looking for an answer, but then nodded. “A while ago, you seemed to have been tired of having nothing to do. You looked bored.”

“Ah,” Marlene said, “it was really just that, I was bored.”

Ditoa let out a big sigh, spreading her arms. “Whenever Her Highness is like that, the festivities tend to be sullied by the end. In fact, I found myself dozing off as well.”

“Hahaha, come now,” Marlene said, laughing, and exited the room.

“Oh, by the way, Your Highness, this afternoon, we host the envoy from Freid. Please return in time for the preparations.”

“Understood!” Marlene called back to Ditoa who ran out after her as she hurried down the corridor.

Through the courtyard and past the ramparts, she entered the grounds behind the castle.

Facing the thick, dark forest on the hillside, she looked around a bit before entering without hesitation. Stepping onto the forest undergrowth, she shed the sandals she had been wearing and continued barefoot. One step after another, she relished the feeling of soft grass under her bare feet.

The light shining through the leaves drew arabesques on the forest carpet; the voice of birds and occasional rustling wind tickled her ears.

Stepping around the tree trunk, she entered deeper into the woods.

Finally, she reached a spring in the deep, dark parts of the forest. The only source of light was the rays of sun reflected within the lake’s surface, creating a kaleidoscope-like effect on the surrounding forest. Marlene looked around, standing by the bank of the spring. Here, even the rustling of leaves and calls of birds grew faint. Those who made it all the way to this place could feel the presence of times long past.

Marlene sat down and dipped her hot feet in the water. She let out a happy sigh. Narrowing her eyes, she watched the water glimmer with the small splashes she created.

“Kya!” Marlene shrieked as her view was suddenly obstructed. Long fingers pressed on her eyelids gently and the sound of stifling laughter was heard above her head…

“Allen?” In a flash, she pushed the hands away and threw a fistful of water at him.

“Wah!”

The waterdrops intermingled with blonde hair, dazzling. Laughing, they both collapsed onto the grass. For a short while they continued chuckling until their breaths calmed down and they embraced, looking up to the sky through the treetops. When the clouds started appearing in the sky, they finally rose.

“You’re late.”

“I rushed here as soon as I could.” Allen made a worried face at the pouting Marlene.

“It’s alright. As long as you come,” Marlene put her hand on Allen’s cheek and brought him closer, “even waiting is fun.”

“Really?” Allen asked tenderly.

“Have I ever lied to you?” Marlene said, sulking a bit.

Allen leaned over her with a smile, covered her hands with his and brought his lips closer to hers.

During their long, silent kiss, the stillness seemed even more than usual. As their lips joined, Marlene fell back onto the soft grass while Allen’s kisses proceeded down from the ridge of her lips to her jaw and then her neck.

“Ah…” A husky breath left her throat and her exposed ivory shoulder shone with dew. Her thin arms embraced the wide back and entangled in his long blonde hair.

“If only we could stay like this forever,” Marlene murmured, lying on her side in Allen’s arms. Her heated, moist eyes gazed towards the water’s surface.

Allen said nothing as he hid his face in her blonde waves.

“Father will surely forgive you,” Marlene said as if to reassure herself more than him. “He would do anything I’d ask of him.”

“Lady Marlene…” Allen did not seem convinced. “Don’t say such things…”

“But…” Marlene hung her head, on the verge of tears. Why did King Aston seem blind to Allen’s excellent work? Even though he seemed to have accepted Allen as one of them, there was no special treatment compared to the knights from other clans.

This exclusion was something even Marlene felt, and the true shape of Aston’s values seemed to uncover before her. If Marlene had never met Allen, perhaps she would have never gotten to see this side of him… But now, fully aware, she felt disgust and repulsion towards her own father. The respect and love she had always felt for him put her in a difficult position. The relationship between Allen and her father was already paper-thin. If he knew of this, it would tear, she was certain.

The only thing Marlene could do was to keep her meetings with Allen secret from her father’s eyes. She could not, did not want to think of anything else to do right now.

It is not the time to think about this yet.

Marlene continued to tell that to herself.

“We have to go now,” Allen said, which made Marlene shake her head in denial. He wrapped his arms around her full breasts as if to hide them, embracing her with gentle strength.

“I want to stay like this forever…” she pinned his arms down with hers. Like this, their beings could melt into one. Even though she did not say it, she still strongly hoped it would happen.

——————

The wheel of fortune turned still, regardless of anyone’s wishes. Before the moon had even turned, Marlene received a sentence from King Aston.

“Me? Why am I to go to Freid?”

Aston shook his head amiably. “I thought this decision would make you happy? After all, a women’s happiness lies within marriage. Especially since it’s His Excellency, the world-renowned Duke of Freid…”

“I haven’t even met that person before!” Marlene said with a dejected face.

“But I have,” Aston said, full of himself, “You could not find such a man even if you searched. What’s more, this royal marriage will strengthen the alliance of both countries and will give way to a prosperous future the likes of which Asturia has never seen before!

It’s certainly not just my happiness that father is concerned about, Marlene thought silently.

She did not want anything else but peace and prosperity for Asturia herself. Still, the modest happiness she now had was more important to her than that great cause.

“Am I no longer obliged to stay in Asturia, to serve the country?” Marlene tried, well aware that once her father made up his mind, his resolve was unbending.

“No need to worry about that,” Aston replied immediately. “If it’s the succession you are worried about, you have no obligations. There’s still Eries and Millerna. Especially since Duke Freid specifically asked for your hand. That is beyond fortunate.”

Marlene bit her lip.

“Don’t make such a long face,” said Aston gently, as expected, when he caught Marlene’s clouded expression. “I know it feels lonely to leave your family, but your presence in Freid would prove far more helpful than merely staying here. I may be deep in your debt, soon.”

Marlene hung her head wordlessly.

——————

“Your Highness? ”Ditoa’s voice gently probed the dark room. “Why are you staying in the dark?”

Marlene did not answer, sitting limply on a chair near the window. Instead, she chose to face the night sky with hollow eyes. Warm light entered the room, causing a dim reflection in her pupils.

“Your Highness, I heard the news about the wedding,” she came to Marlene’s side and curtsied, taking her skirt in her hands. “Congratulations.”

“Does this really deserve a congratulation?” Marlene said defeatedly, unmoving.

“Eh?” Ditoa looked at her, perplexed. “I thought this was a happy occasion.”

“Is it, now?”

Ditoa stroked Marlene’s hand calmingly. “Perhaps you are just anxious? I was shocked myself when I heard the sudden news.”

Ditoa’s plump hand stayed gently on Marlene’s. “If it’s that person, you have nothing to worry about. His Majesty, Duke of Freid, is said to be unparalleled among the men of Gaea for his virtue [2] and selflessness [3].”

A small smile curled Marlene’s lips. “If he is really like that, perhaps he should have chosen a finer princess.”

“What are you saying?” Ditoa’s voice gained a slightly angry tone. “Where would he find a better noble daughter than Her Highness? For me, you are the first among Gaean princesses. If he chose you then it is clear that Duke Freid is a man of fine tastes… if I do say so myself.”

“You and your grand words again,” Marlene smiled wryly. “I am just a child who has never even left this country, lucky to be born as the king’s daughter.”

“No,” Ditoa shook her head resolutely. “You were meant to be born to a royal family. I feel that you have the power of destiny on your side.”

“Destiny…?” Marlene turned to the handmaiden. “Are you really saying I have that kind of power?”

Ditoa smiled sweetly. “Why else would all of this happen?”

Thinking of the kindness of this good and honest handmaiden, Marlene barely suppressed the urge to tell her the truth. After preparing her bed, Ditoa had left Marlene to herself and the dim light again.

If I had the power to change my destiny…

I wouldn’t have stayed silent when my father told me what to do, she stood up, shaking her head.

I don’t have that kind of power. Not on my own.

She threw on her light shawl and her feet led her to the balcony.

The cool blue light of the twin moons illuminated the area. The light shoes made of thin soft leather made no sound as she climbed the stairs up to the rooftop.

“Lady Marlene?”

“Allen!” She did not know he would be there but instinctively jumped to his arms with no hesitation.

Allen held her form without words. They embraced motionlessly for a while, still like statues. Then, as if waking from a daze, Marlene found the strength to voice her worries, still pressed against Allen’s chest.

“Did you hear already…?”

Allen nodded above her and softly said, “Congratulations, Lady Marlene.”

Marlene raised her head as soon as she heard that.

“I don’t want to go to Freid.” Was that anguish that passed over Allen’s face?

“Why do I have to leave with someone I don’t even know?” Marlene felt the world blur before her. “You are the only one I want to be with. If you were to go with me…” Marlene swallowed down her words.

What am I saying… that I could bear becoming Duke Freid’s wife if Allen went with me?

She quickly averted her blushing face. Whether the knight caught her words or not, she did not know, but he watched her intently.

What can I ask of Allen…?

The level-headed thinking she obtained as a princess kicked in immediately. She could not forget that Allen had his own circumstances. She regarded him with her tear-filled eyes.

She observed his tall, slender, yet finely sculpted figure, his handsome, mature expression… yet she knew his impulsive boyishness peeked through at times, which did not take away from his charms.

The knight was younger than herself. To make his debut at such a young age was thanks to his prowess with the sword. It was a feat that proved unmatched amongst his peers. Bearing his family circumstances, he had only started on his journey to wash away the stigma left by his father, which led him up to this point. Losing his future because of an affair, that would be unforgivable.

But…

If Allen himself wanted that…

Marlene examined his expression. He looked as if he was resigned to any conclusion, staring back at her.

Without realizing, Marlene shook her head slightly.

Allen would never make that decision himself.

If Marlene wanted, he would throw everything away for her, but she herself had too much to lose.

This is the fate of a woman born into a royal family, and of a knight.

She was well aware that for the future of a commercial country of the likes of Asturia, an alliance with a military power such as Freid was vital.

If I tried to cling to the love I have with Allen…

In truth, she may not be able to protect his safety from Father’s wrath, they would both have to flee the country and what’s more, the crack in the relations with Freid would seem unavoidable. In such case, Father may offer Eries in Marlene’s stead. Maybe Duke Freid asked for her hand, but her father could possibly make him change his mind, and for King Aston, it did not really matter which daughter would be married off.

Marlene bit her lip.

I don’t want my little sisters to end up in a situation like mine.  One or the other, they are too young to be married off to a foreign family.

I am the only one who must be burdened with this harsh fate, Marlene thought.

“Allen.” Marlene brushed away the tears from her lashes and looked straight at him.

“Lady Marlene.” For the first time, Allen’s expression became somewhat pained as he looked at her.

Marlene smiled gently at him. “By meeting you, I really got to know what it means to be alive. It is thanks to you that I can go on living.”

“My life will always belong to you as well,” he said in a low voice.

“Thank you.” Marlene smiled, barely holding back her tears. “I guess it’s time to go now.” Allen softly pulled her towards him and stopped moving. “I’ll see you off.”  The deep blue of Allen’s eyes as he stared at her seemed to burn itself into her memory.

If she would say anything more, she felt as if her tears would overflow again, and her resolve would crumble. So her lips stayed silent.

The bright shine of the double moons dimmed momentarily. Unconsciously trying to catch a glimpse of Allen’s shadowed expression, Marlene barely stopped herself from stepping towards him.

“Come now, you need to go,” even at Marlene’s words, Allen did not move.

How much time could have passed?  Was it just a dark cloud floating before the Moon, or did it make a full turn? When the moonlight hit the scene again, there was only a flutter of blonde hair.

Allen…!

She all but stopped herself from chasing after him desperately, and just watched his retreating figure. With the last glimpse of gold, her physical strength finally left her and she collapsed. The dam was broken and tears overflowed, clouding her vision.

Allen!

She pushed her fists against the stone floor.

Allen, I love you so much!

The wind got stronger, comforting her tear-stricken cheeks coldly.

——————

[1]  Original sentence: “Allen brushed the water off her other shoulder softly.” We have taken the liberty to change this part as it flowed better and corresponded with the illustration of this scene in the novel.

[2]  noble; lofty; high-minded; virtuous; upright

[3]  honesty; integrity; purity and unselfishness

[rafyki]

Love notes [Yowapeda - AoKabu]

Tags: Fluff, Estabilished relationship

Words count: 2959

Read on AO3

~ ~ ~

Hajime had always be good at reading people. Looking at them, noticing the smallest details, and somehow understand them. It was a talent of his, and he could say he was pretty proud of it.

And he believed he had become especially good at reading Kaburagi - after almost a year of dating, he had observed and cataloged most of Kaburagi's micro-expressions and nervous habits, becoming an expert in reading the book of Kaburagi's body language. That was something he was even more proud of, and something he could never get tired of.

So, it didn't take him long to understand that there was something bugging Kaburagi, something that he wanted to tell Hajime and couldn't find the courage or the right words, to say.

But Hajime had also come to understand that in this kind of situations, forcing Kaburagi to talk was the best way to make him even more self conscious and embarrassed about it, so he didn't say anything, giving him time, waiting for him to get to an answer on his own, waiting for when he would be ready to let Hajime in.

But it has been a whole day, and Kaburagi didn't seem any closer to get out of the intricate mess that was definitely invading his head. They were to spend the whole weekend together - Kaburagi had managed to have the days off from practice and had come visiting Hajime at his college, but it had been obvious since Hajime had seen him that morning that there was something on his mind, weighting him down and making him nervous and flustered.

Even now, lying on the bed wrapped around each other, Hajime could see gears turning and moving into Kaburagi's head, trying to sort out whatever problem was tormenting him.

Hajime looked at him, the moonlight coming from the open window lighting up his features, making him look almost ethereal, if it wasn't for the concrete and impossibly real pressure of his body against Hajime.

Hajime felt like he could spend the rest of eternity just staring at Kaburagi, drinking him in, studying every detail that he knew perfectly well by now, drowning in him, breathing nothing but him. He still couldn't quite believe that he had this, that he could stare at Kaburagi and touch him and kiss him, that he was allowed to do that after so much time spent daydreaming about it. He wondered if there would ever be a limit to how much his feelings could grow, getting stronger, firmer; if there would ever be a moment when he would find out that he couldn't fall more in love with Kaburagi than he already had.

Right when that thought crossed his mind, he felt a hand finding his own, fingers interlacing with his, fitting in a familiar and comfortable way - and he thought that no, I don't think that could ever be possible.

Love- yes, he knew he loved Kaburagi, he knew that what he felt for him went way beyond a simple crush, a simple "I like you", he knew it and he felt that awareness growing bigger, more insistent inside him every day, every day that he found himself thinking about him, every time they spoke, and every time they were together; he felt it pushing to be let out, to found a sound and a voice. But he didn't let it, he kept it inside, showing it with actions and holding the words silent until he would be sure that Kaburagi was ready to hear them.

He felt them then, too, pressing to be let out, wanting nothing more than to be heard by the only person that really deserved them.

Instead, Hajime pushed them back, swallowed them, and squeezed Kaburagi's hand, resting his forehead against his.

"Stop thinking so much", he whispered in the quiet silver of space between them, the words aimed at both of them.

"Eh!? I wasn't- I wasn't thinking anything!", Kaburagi stammered, moving away a little, the blush on his cheeks visible even in the dim light.

Hajime laughed lightly. "You seemed pretty lost in thought, to me. But it's okay", he added, "I was thinking, too".

"Yeah? About what?"

Hajime wanted to tell him, he could feel the words about the come out, and again, he pushed them back, shouting them in his mind but preventing them to be heard by anyone but himself, preventing them from scaring Kaburagi away.

"You, obviously", he said instead.

"Yeah? What about me?"

Somehow, Kaburagi managed to sound embarrassed and smug at the same time, the blush on his cheeks colliding in the most endearing way with the little smirk curving his lips. And Hajime couldn't help but smile, too, his heart doing a flip, his mind and his whole body drawn to Kaburagi, like there was some force pulling them together, preventing them to let go.

Hajime leaned in and kissed him, letting go of his hand just to cup his face, stroking his cheek and bringing him closer. A content sigh against lips, but he wasn't sure if it had been Kaburagi's or his own.

"That's what you were thinking about?"

"Among the other things", Hajime said, gently bumping their noses together and then kissing him again, softly, a lingering brushing of lips. "What were you thinking about?"

"Ah- well...", Kaburagi mumbled, lowering his eyes. His hand was on Hajime's neck, nervously playing with his hair.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me", Hajime told him, their lips still so close that they brushed against each other with every word.

And he was being honest - sure, he wanted to know what was going on in Kaburagi's mind, what it was that was leaving him so troubled and nervous, but there was nothing he wanted more than for Kaburagi to be comfortable with him, and if he wasn't ready to tell him, then Hajime wasn't going to force him.

"No- that's not it. I do wanna tell you, it's just... it's difficult?", he said, and it sounded more like a question than anything else.

"You're not trying to break up with me, are you?", Hajime teased - because he had no doubt that, whatever it was that Kaburagi was stressing over, it was nothing of the sort.

"What!? No! Never!"

"Did you just say "never"?", Hajime asked, a teasing edge in his words, but a smile spreading on his lips, matching the warmth that filled him and the pounding of his heart.

Kaburagi seemed about to deny it but, after a moment, cheeks pink and voice low but sure, almost defiant like he was challenging Hajime to disagree with him, he said " Yeah, so? Is there a problem with it?".

And really, Hajime felt more often than not the urge to kiss Kaburagi, but in that moment, having him so close, their bodies touching, flush against each other, his words filling his head, his mind unable to focus on anything that wasn't the fact that Kaburagi had basically just said that he wanted to be with him forever - well, Hajime didn't even try to resist the urge, and didn't think twice before leaning in again and closing the small distance separating their lips. They fit together perfectly in the most intoxicating way, immediately finding the right rhythm, moving against each other, parting and allowing their tongues to savor each other. It was messy and passionate, and everything Hajime wanted and needed in that moment.

"Just so you know", he murmured against Kaburagi's lips, breath short and heavy, "I don't plan on breaking up with you, either. Ever".

They weren't the words that Hajime had been dying to tell Kaburagi,  but they carried the same weight, and they were more than enough to know that even though they still couldn't say it, he and Kaburagi felt the same.

~ ~ ~

There were few things Hajime loved more than waking up with Kaburagi in his arms, snuggled up to him, his regular breath the only sound in his ears, their hands still linked together.

So he was more than a little disappointed when he woke up and found himself alone in the bed, the spot next to him still warm but undoubtedly empty.

He groaned, waiting for his mind and his body to catch up on the fact that he was awake, and turned around, blinking rapidly to shake sleep from his eyes and look for Kaburagi. He found him sitting at the desk, a focused expression on his face like he was completing an important and hard task.

Hajime just stared at him for a few long moments, studying him, the way he was worrying his lower lip with his teeth, the nervous way he was fidgeting, his fingers softly drumming on the desk.

But, as much as he always loved looking at Kaburagi, and a flustered Kaburagi was especially endearing and adorable, Hajime could see the signs of struggle on his face.

His mind went back to their conversation the night before. It's difficult, Kaburagi had said about whatever was tormenting him.

"Ehi", Hajime called, deciding it was time to come to Kaburagi's rescue and catch his attention.

He wasn't sure if laugh or roll his eyes at the way Kaburagi jumped out of his skin at hearing his voice, letting out a surprised "Aoyagi-san!" and finally looking at him.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Like what?'", Hajime asked, voice still slow and sleepy, and this time he did laugh softly at how utterly adorable Kaburagi looked, with his hair still a mess and the face of someone who had just been caught red-handed. "I barely said anything".

He wanted to ask what was the matter, what it was that was still swimming aimlessly in Kaburagi's head and couldn't find a way to come out. But he knew that it would be no use, and that Kaburagi would most probably just react as he had done the night before, or like he was doing now, with nervous fidgeting and random blabbing about everything and nothing.

So, instead, Hajime got up and walked over to him, leaned down and cut off whatever he was saying by landing a soft kiss on his cheek.

Kaburagi's reactions to this kind of small affections were fascinating - the almost outraged shock at being interrupted, mixed with the embarrassment that still got the best of him sometimes and that tinted his cheeks of the most endearing shades of pink.

The way he touched softly his skin with his fingertips right where Hajime lips had been only a moment before, the small smile that raised on his lips - it was a kaleidoscope of emotions painted on his features, and Hajime knew he could spend the rest of forever just looking at him.

"Let's go for a ride", he said, cutting off his own train of thoughts.

Because he knew that if there was something that was bound to make Kaburagi think with a clear head about whatever was troubling him, that was taking his bike and go for a sprint.

And he hoped that, at that point he would be ready to let Hajime in.

~ ~ ~

"Aoyagi-san".

Kaburagi's voice was soft, low, broken by his laboured breath. Hajime looked at him, sitting next to him, eyes turned upwards to the blue sky over them.

He had been right - riding really seemed to have helped Kaburagi, be it because he had found a solution to his problem or because he had simply stopped thinking about it. Whatever the reason, Hajime was happy to see that the nervous fidgeting that had haunted him for the whole previous day had stopped.

"I miss riding with you", Kaburagi murmured, his lips turned into a bit of a scowl, his eyebrows knotted. The way he was looking at the sky, it seemed as he was looking for a way to change things, as if he could change that reality simply by wanting it enough. And, knowing Kaburagi, it probably wasn't too far from his actual thoughts.

Hajime could understand the feeling all too well, though."Me too".

"It's not fair", Kaburagi whined, and Hajime wanted nothing more than kiss away the pout on his lips. "We only had one year in the same team, that's not enough".

"If next year you come into this university, we could be on the same team again".

That caught Kaburagi by surprise. He tore his eyes away from the sky, sat up straight, and looked at Hajime. Eyes wide and mouth hanging open a little, the shock was clearly painted on his face.

"You'd want that?"

"Of course". Hajime thought about the possible future of him and Kaburagi living in the same campus, being able to see each other every day, being able to wake up next to each other more often, and finding again the excitement of racing together - and he thought that there were few things he wanted more than that.

"Do you?'

Kaburagi was nodding even before Hajime had finished speaking. Then he stopped, scrunching up his nose as he seemed to think about it for a few instants. "I don't know yet what I want to do, but... being close to Aoyagi-san, and being on the same team-", he cut himself off, but the radiant smile on his lips was telling enough of unsaid words.

Hajime felt his heart skip a beat, and he couldn't resist to leaning in and placing his lips softly against Kaburagi's.

When they separated, they stayed like that for a handful of long seconds, foreheads leaning against each other, until Kaburagi leaned back, putting some more distance between them. The troubled expression was back, as it was the fidgeting and the nervousness.

For a couple of times, it seemed like he was on the verge of saying something, but just couldn't bring himself to do it. His eyes were looking at anything but Hajime.

“Kaburagi...”, Hajime started.

Then suddenly a hand was being shoved into his face, and it took Hajime a few seconds to realize that it was holding something; then a handful of moments went by until he realized what that was.

A small, folded, piece of paper.

Maybe it was because of the surprise, or because he was still too caught on the feeling of Kaburagi's lips on his own, or maybe it was because, usually, it was the other way around, with himself giving him the note - but Hajime didn't notice immediately that that piece of paper was from the same old block where he used to write his notes to Kaburagi (and that he still had, keeping it on his desk and refusing to use for anything else – a sentimental gesture he couldn't really help).

His eyes moved from the paper to Kaburagi, and he saw the nervous embarrassment crystal clear on his face. It looked as if he was about to jump up, take his bike, and run away as far and as fast as possible.

And it was probably contagious, because Hajime could feel his own heart pounding in his chest, a lump in his throat, and his hand shaking slightly as he brought it up to take the note.

For a moment, he thought Kaburagi was going to take it back, but he didn't, he just let his fingers brush against Hajime's, the contact lingering for a moment too long, before letting his hand fall.

Hajime unfolded the paper, and his breath stopped.

He should have expected it, maybe, from the way Kaburagi had been acting the previous day, from their conversation the night before, from what they had been talking about just minutes before. Chuckling at himself, he thought that maybe he still wasn't as good as he had thought at reading Kaburagi.

I love you.

The three words stood out on the white page in Kaburagi's messy handwriting, clear and unmistakable, making Hajime's whole world stop for an interminable moment while his eyes caressed them over and over.

I love you. The words that he had been keeping inside for so long, catching himself before they slipped out of his lips, were now right before him. And it was Kaburagi, Kaburagi saying them to him.

He raised his eyes and looked at  Kaburagi, still nervous and embarrassed in the most adorable way.

That boy was going to be the death of him, Hajime knew it, and he couldn't be happier about it.

And, next thing he knew, he had moved forward in a swift motion and captured Kaburagi's lips, kissing him hard, his intoxicating taste making Hajime's already intoxicated mind even more of a mess.

"Me too", Hajime said in a breath when they broke apart. "I love you, too".

It felt freeing, being finally able to say it out loud, and it felt even better seeing Kaburagi's reaction to hearing them - furious blushing still spread on his skin, eyes shining and a smile curving his lips.

Then he looked away, embarrassment getting the best of him as it always happened in that kind of moments, when the pressure of feelings became too much for him to handle. Hajime didn't mind, though, he knew what Kaburagi felt even with his habit of ruining their moments.

"Of- of course you do", Kaburagi stuttered, but Hajime could still that he was still smiling. "I'm great, after all".

Hajime couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "You are", he agreed.

He reached out, taking Kaburagi's hand in his own and interlacing their fingers.

I never really stood a chance, he thought. He felt like he had been bound to fall for Kaburagi from the very first moment they had met.

He looked down at the note he still held in his free hand, and then at their intertwined fingers, and felt like the luckiest person ever.

[haruki-ya]

This is Joy, This is Summer

A/N: So. I’ve come here today to dedicate my first work of 2019 to the lovely @hyoriitai who once upon a time submitted a prompt to my inbox that they most likely figured I forgot about...because I kind of did lmao. BUT lo and behold, very belatedly, I’ve loosely filled that prompt you submitted! Thank you for your patience hyoriitai, happy year of Akira, and enjoy! :) 

Summary: Kaneda ropes the boys into a mid summer trip to the Old City, where behind closed doors, not everything is what it seems.

“Come on Tetsuo, hurry up! Why are you always so damn slow?” Yamagata laughs at Kaneda’s comment, but Tetsuo scowls and pictures himself kicking Kaneda in place of the rock by his foot. Kai shoots him a sympathetic smile over his shoulder, a nod to their short legged solidarity he supposes.

“This ghost town isn’t going anywhere! Why don’t you slow down?” Tetsuo yells back, but doesn’t really expect an answer. Doesn’t really expect to be heard. He doesn’t know why he agreed to come here.

It’s roughly three in the afternoon. The sun is high in the sky and draws sweat from their skin like a magnet. They parked their bikes about a mile back, where the road grew too rocky and uneven for them to risk riding down.

They don’t find roads like that in Neo Tokyo, don’t know what to expect. They may be risk takers, thrill seekers, but they’re sensible at the very least. Indulge in safety when they have the chance, especially when it affects the integrity of their already scrappy bikes.

The Old City is something else entirely foreign to their rugged way of life anyway. A step above and beyond their norm of unpredictably dangerous.

Kaneda approached him yesterday with a wide smile and a proposition, nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary. He wanted to know if Tetsuo would ride with him, Yama and Kai to the Old City and look for scrap metal they could cash out on.

Tetsuo, being rational, said no right off the bat, if not just to see how desperate Kaneda was for his cooperation. They bantered back and forth for a while about dumb shit, talked themselves into a circle, before Tetsuo finally relented to Kaneda’s overbearing persistence.

Nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary.

They’ve been walking for what feels like hours in this heat. It’s the middle of summer and they really have nothing better to do, any of them, so Tetsuo guesses that’s why he agreed to come along. Not because Kaneda asked him to, pretty please with a cherry on top, or because he bribed him with hand rolled spliffs either.

Tetsuo isn’t that easy. He’s just unbelievably bored.

He keeps his mind from wandering too far by kicking stray rocks on the path. Yamagata and Kaneda are talking loudly about something dumb probably and Kai pipes in every once in awhile with some thoughtful tidbit of information that Kaneda and Yamagata both don’t care to hear, seeing as they talk over him like he’s not there. It’s just like any other day really, just hotter and more bothersome.

Where is the spot Kaneda was talking about?  

Tetsuo sighs and fishes for a joint in his pocket, wipes sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. They’ve been passing collapsed building after building, run down shop after shop, rusty car after car, marching along steadfast to the tune of some overconfident dumbass who probably doesn’t even know where he’s going.

What’s new.

Tetsuo bets Kaneda heard about the scrap metal from Nanahara, who has a tendency to lie out his ass like his life depends on it. Kaneda knows this, but isn’t able to resist the possibility of making money, even if it’s a gamble.

There’s probably no scrap metal, the buildings were most likely stripped clean ages ago when the rumor of radiation died down and so did the speculation of mutated freaks inhabiting the Old City. This trip was probably just a waste of gas, and Tetsuo sparks up, inhales deeply and kicks a rock harshly in frustration right as Kaneda yells something incomprehensible from the front of their ragtag marching line.

“What?” Tetsuo says and not a second later Kai echoes his sentiment as Kaneda dashes over towards a small, quaint, faded yellow motel front with a busted in door and broken in windows. Yamagata follows leisurely behind and Kai perks up ahead of him to run after Kaneda.

Tetsuo is confused, and takes another long pull from his smoke as he slowly follows behind.

Crossing the threshold causes a shiver to break out over Tetsuo’s body. The temperature in the old motel is degrees cooler than outside. Kaneda, Kai, and Yamagata have already ventured deeper into the building. Tetsuo can hear their muffled exclamations and laughs, but he lingers back to examine the lobby in silence.

The air is musty and smells stale, another true testament to the age and condition of this ghost town. Through collapsed holes in the roof, sunshine beams down in scattered rays and thousands of air mites swim and dance in their light. Tetsuo wrinkles his nose and drowns whatever shit particles are floating in the air with an exhale of smoke. Kicks a stray piece of roof debris into what must have been the front desk.

Two sets of matching green arm chairs, bleached spotty by what little sun finds its way inside, sit more or less facing each other, arranged near the windows for guest seating. Broken rounded coffee tables cut between the seats and aside one of them, Tetsuo spots a magazine or two peeking out from underneath years of piled debris and dust. He moves around a rusty felled lamp and picks one up out of curiosity.

The pages are stiff but flimsy, similar to comic book pages. Nothing like the waxy laminate shine of the familiar skin mags and shonen jump. Tetsuo gives the book a shake, careful not to jostle the loose spine too much, and flips to the cover. Gently wipes a thick layer of dust from the title page with his palm.

“Huh...” The title is familiar. He’s seen this before. Shukan Shincho. Tetsuo’s old foster uncle used to read these to his gran. Tried to get Tetsuo interested in his collection. Of course, Tetsuo didn’t give a damn.

He flips to the inside page and tries to find a publication date, just out of curiosity...1992. Shit, that’s a relic. This book has been laying abandoned and untouched for four decades...this building, for even longer he bets. Tetsuo blows smoke out his nose and tucks the frail magazine into his jacket pocket. A little piece of the past for him to savor later.

There are broken pictures still half hung on the peeling wallpaper or shattered in pieces on the floor. One in particular catches his eye, sitting mostly upright and untouched behind the darkness of the front desk.

It’s a black and white picture of the motel front, fresh and pristine looking most likely for a grand opening. A family, father, mother, son, daughter, stand proudly underneath the sign displaying the name “Miyako Hotel”. Tetsuo squints his eyes to read the autograph in the corner.

“Grand opening...1972.” Tetsuo can’t hold in the breath of wonder that escapes him, nor the cloud of smoke. This place...how is it still standing? How are any of these buildings still here? Maybe Nanahara knew what he was talking about with this place, with the potential to cash out. Maybe this wasn’t for nothin’ after all.

“Tetsuo.”

Lost in his thoughts, Tetsuo didn’t notice Kaneda sneak up behind him. He damn near jumps out of his skin at the sound of his name whispered in his ear, of the breath that ghosts over the back of his neck. Tetsuo jerks around to find Kaneda impishly smiling at him, hands in the air, sweaty hair matted to his forehead.

Trying to act innocent, but that’s never been a good look for him. Dumbass, however, has always suited him perfectly.

“God, you asshole !” Kaneda simply laughs in response and plucks the half smoked spliff from between Tetsuo’s pointing fingers.

“God? Most definitely. Asshole? Eh….more or less.” Tetsuo rolls his eyes and wonders to himself for the billionth time why he’s friends with this childish moron. Kaneda suddenly blows a cloud of smoke in Tetsuo’s face, and the thought only intensifies.

“I’ve been callin’ your name forever Tets, thought maybe you’d fallen down a hole or something!” Tetsuo scowls and brushes past Kaneda, bumping intentionally into his shoulder. His silence was nice while it lasted.

“I wish.” Kaneda, not bothered by his sour tone, strides around him and blocks Tetsuo’s way further into the motel. Braces his arms against a splintered, swollen door frame and leans towards Tetsuo’s scowl with a smile split open around the butt of their smoke. He reeks of sweat and his face is flushed heavily with exertion, quite likely a sunburn too.

“Awe, come’on, don’t say that! The only way to go down a hole is by being pushed.” Tetsuo crosses his arms at that and makes a face.

“What kind of dumb shit are you on?” Kaneda must find his response funny because he snickers, effectively letting the snub of their shared spliff fall, dead, between them. Tetsuo is the first to step on it, grind it into dust with his heel so it doesn’t catch them on fire. Kaneda’s eyes have that bright gleam to them again. Maybe Tetsuo didn’t put it out quick enough.

“Come on, check this out. I found what I was looking for.” Before Tetsuo can question the secular ‘I’, Kaneda has his wrist in hand and is yanking him along the length of the hallway. Tetsuo manages to catch glimpses of a few of Miyako Motel’s finest rooms on the way, a kaleidoscope of moldy, peeling wallpapers, broken, collapsed beds, tattered curtains and upholstery. This place is surprisingly well kept, considering it’s older than the four of them combined. Tetsuo idly wonders what happened to the family that ran it....if Kaneda is about to show him a decrepit pit of skeletons.

Kaneda is in fact not going to show him a decrepit pit of skeletons. He comes to a halt quickly in front of a closed door, numbered room 26, and causes Tetsuo to run right into his back.

“Here we are!” They’re at the end of the hallway, but it stretches left and right a few more rooms each way. He can hear Yamagata and Kai talking excitedly behind the door. Their voices seem to carry further than normal, as if they’re not in a room confined by four walls, give or take.

Interesting.

Tetsuo cranes his neck around Kaneda’s shoulder, chest to back, curious but hesitant. Unwilling to make the first move to investigate further. Kaneda turns to watch his expression shift, a wide grin set on his face. Tetsuo can feel Kaneda’s breath on his cheek as he leans forward to push open the door.

Immediately he is blinded by the sunlight. Tetsuo hadn’t noticed how quickly his eyes adjusted to the dark of the motel until he was thrown out of it and into a wide open space behind a closed door. It takes him a minute to get his bearings, and Tetsuo feels Kaneda’s arm brush softly against his as he moves past him towards Yama and Kai.

“Dude this place is awesome! How did Nanahara even find it?”

“Get this, he told me his ex-girlfriends sister took him here once...when he was still dating Ichiko.”

“God, that guy sure is a fuckin’ tool.”

The three of them dissolve into raucous laughter and Tetsuo finally opens his eyes. The sight that greets him is, well….not what he expected.

There is no room 26. The old, abandoned motel layout Tetsuo was expecting, simply isn’t there. There aren’t four walls, give or take. There are no walls. The floor is gone. The ceiling, gone. Nothing left but an imperfectly round cookie cutter hole in the ground, an open courtyard made of back alleys and bisected buildings that have collapsed below ground level into a crater roughly six feet below the foundation where they stand. From the floor that used to belong to room 26.

It’s like some benevolent God punched a giant hole right through the buildings and deep into the ground from the heavens above. 

“Woah.” Tetsuo manages, and Kai appears in his line of sight suddenly. But he’s on the opposite side of the crater, hugging the jagged, exposed wall structure of an adjacent building that is distinctly different than the one story motel they entered.

The crater, which is really more a sinkhole than anything, is about thirty-five feet wide all around, cutting almost completely into what would have been another picture perfect motel room, and what appears to be the back end of a three story office building. The sinkhole is filled with crystal clear water and a bobbing layer of small green plants that cling to the rough edges of exposed earth. Tetsuo can make out a few shapes at the bottom, distorted by the ripples in the water. He thinks he sees a bed frame...a vague impression of a dresser.

“No way…”

The sinkhole starts about five feet from the door to room 26, a sheer drop off from the edge of the floor where Tetsuo stands. It’s much deeper than he would expect. From the six foot drop to the water, maybe another twenty or thirty to the bottom. Tetsuo really doesn’t know. Hasn’t seen anything like this before.

It’s absolutely surreal. A fresh swim hole in the middle of the most rotten, run down part of town. Literally. The water at the community pool doesn’t even look that clear.

This is obviously what Kaneda had in mind the whole time, what he dragged them out on the hottest summer day for. There was never any scrap metal, or never any of real importance to Kaneda in the face of a war made swim hole. Tetsuo isn’t even mad about it, really. He’ll just make Kaneda reimburse him for gas money when they get back into town.

“Oh man, do you see those plants? Do you know what those are?!” Kai’s voice is loud with excitement and Tetsuo looks over to him from across the gap. He looks even smaller over there, hanging onto an exposed cluster of electrical wire for stability as he leans out over the pit.

“Yeah, hard not to. They’re everywhere.” Yamagata’s voice calls somewhere off to his left, and when Tetsuo turns to follow his voice he sees him sliding onto the hood of a rusted out shell of a car. It sits sandwiched between what Tetsuo assumes is the back wall of a neighboring room of the Miyako Motel and the office building.

“I think…I think they’re duckweed! I could be wrong, but I know they-” Kaneda cuts him off casually, his voice almost making Tetsuo jump again as it calls out from behind him.

“Wait, did you just say dickweed?”

“No, duck-”

“Was that a fuck?”

“No, you dick!”

“So fuckweed?”

“Yes, fuckweed! Wait -” Kaneda and Yamagata’s laughter echoes around the open space in harmony, a good sound to hear in fours. Kai manages a laugh or two himself, despite his eye roll being painfully evident to Tetsuo from across the way, and he can’t quite fight the grin on his face. This sure as hell beats being bored out of his mind, even if Kaneda’s pestering to come along shortened his lifespan by a year.

“What’s so important about duckweed?” Tetsuo calls the question out to Kai as he turns his gaze upward, curious as to where the large portion of broken building got off too.

While the floor of the motel collapsed inwards, the roof, walls, and floor of the office building adjacent aren’t scattered around the edges of the sinkhole. They don’t even seem to be inside it, either. That amount of rubble would have covered the furniture from the motel room and there’s no buildup of debris on the bottom anyway. It’s as if it was all swept away with the wind, blown away in a tornado or something...odd.

“Duckweed is an oxygenating pond plant. It’s real common in Koi ponds. I’m surprised it managed to survive out here in the middle of no man’s land.”

Could the debris have been blown away to the side by the initial force of the explosion? Maybe into the narrow alleyway in between the two buildings? Tetsuo carefully moves to the right and sticks his head around the jagged building edge. There is debris cluttering the space all the way out to the mouth of the alley, where Tetsuo can faintly see the road, but it’s residual from the motel itself. Distinctive by the faded yellow paint. To the left, behind the car Yamagata is now sunbathing on, there’s not much Tetsuo can see.

Weird.

“Oxygenating...what does that mean?” Kaneda’s voice is sheepish, quieter than before, still sounding somewhere from behind Tetsuo. Always hesitant to admit he doesn’t know the answer

“In simplest terms, it puts oxygen into the water through the nutrients it absorbs from the water. Like, how we breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. It’s a natural filter of sorts to-”

“Yeah, ok, heard ya’ loud and clear Professor Kaisuke! I’ll be handin’ in my essay by the end of the week!” Kaneda’s comment makes them all fall into laughter once more. Tetsuo’s interest in the whereabouts of the office building vanish into thin air, replaced with a sudden, overwhelming thirst. It’s still too damn hot, and they’re under the sun’s rays full force again.

They should have brought more water.

“So that makes the water, like, swimmable, righ?” Kaneda boldly asks the question on all their minds.

“I mean, uh, not necessarily-”

“If it filters the water and it puts oxygen in there too, that sounds pretty damn swimmable to me!” As Tetsuo edges more toward the center of room 26’s partially collapsed floor, he sees Kaneda throw a piece of debris into the hole and watch the ripples spread out through the water, cause the duckweed to bob on its surface.

“I mean, yes, but there could be certain contaminants and pollutants that the plants can’t filter out….we don’t know how long the water has been there for, if it’s mutated acid water, if it’s mutated acid rain water...”

“Did Nanahara say he went swimming here?” Yamagata calls from his perch on the rusted car. He’s sitting up now, taking interest in the topic. Tetsuo sees him shake sweat from his head.

“Eh, well, not exactly...does skinny dipping count?” Kai, too, throws a piece of rubble into the hole and pulls an observant face as the resounding splash echoes satisfyingly. He seems to be testing the strength of the electrical wires in his grasp, leaning more precariously towards the face of the hole. Tetsuo unwraps his jacket from around his waist, and throws it toward the door

“Of course it does. If they walked away from that alive and with no third eyes or nipples, it’s fine.” Kanada barks out a laugh at Yamagata's comment and starts to unbuckle his boots, tossing one, two, right on top of Tetsuo’s jacket. He doesn’t bother acknowledging Tetsuo’s annoyed scowl.

“Why a third nipple as example?” Kai asks curiously.

“I don’t know, my uncle has three nipples. It’s pretty freaky.”

“Oh...cool.” Kaneda interjects with a clap, rallying the troops attention with his boisterous voice.

“Ok, so, there’s only one way to actually find out if this water is gonna kill us!...And that’s to jump in and see.” Silence falls at the suggestion. Tetsuo sees Kai glance at Yamagata, Yama glance at Kai, Kaneda glance between the two of them, before finally turning towards Tetsuo with a smile.

“...You first Kaneda.” Is of course Tetsuo’s natural response.

“Mh, yeah no, I’m good, got a lot to live for, still haven’t met the love of my life, I gotta hold out for her you know?” Tetsuo sighs and shifts on his feet, crosses his arms. Highly unlikely.

“If I die my mom would kill me...she would bring my ass back to life and then kill me again for dying. I’m good.” Kai sucks air in through his teeth loudly and makes a sound of confirmation at Yama’s comment.

“I have bills to pay.” Is what Kai says immediately after though. And then all eyes are on him.

“Tetsuo, buddy, pal -” Kaneda tries.

“No.” Tetsuo shuts him down.

“Oh, come on. Take one for the team!” Yama’s comment makes Tetsuo’s eye twitch. He wishes his arms weren’t already crossed so he could re-cross them in indignation at his stupid words.

“Like I took one for the team last time and got a week’s worth of after school detention for you dumb-asses trynna’ shoot spitballs down Tanaka’s wrinkly old throat?” There are a few snickers from around their spread out circle. Kaneda tries, and fails, to hide a grin behind his hand.

“Hey, you got some good shots in yourself.” Kai adds thoughtfully, and Tetsuo fumes.

“Not the point. Your idea Kaneda, you go first.”

“Fine…” Kaneda relents...too quickly. Too easily.

“Fine?” Tetsuo edges towards Kaneda, cautiously, uncertain if the determined look on Kaneda’s face is real or maybe he’s having a heat stroke.

“Fine...I’ll go first after you!” Of course he was wrong.

Kaneda rams into Tetsuo’s side suddenly, making Tetsuo scramble to grab onto his damp shirt, his sweaty skin, but Tetsuo can’t get a grip, and is pushed right over the edge. Gets a split second image of Kaneda’s shit eating grin, of anger, rage, of a curdling fear in his gut as he falls, before he makes impact with the water and goes under.

It’s a shock to his system. The water is unnaturally cool, crisp, another stark contrast to the general heat of today. The oxygen bubbles that run along his skin as he descends tingle almost like pins and needles, but better. Tetsuo doesn’t open his eyes, doesn’t want his retinas to burn away, but he can see sunlight streaming through the clear water behind his eyelids. A mosaic of shining lights.

The feel of the water around him, the quiet of submergence, quickly washes away the anger Tetsuo felt falling in. The pressing exhaustion of existence, something he doesn’t like to acknowledge unless he’s alone. But as he rises a minute later, starts to kick up to the surface as his lungs ache, the fire reignites.

He breaks the surface with a cough, hears through his own splashing a chorus of voices asking if he feels like his skin is melting off or if he’s growing a third nipple. Tetsuo grits his teeth, and no one of course is surprised by the first thing that comes out of his mouth.

“Kaneda! ” Tetsuo hears his voice echo loudly around the open space, a crescendo of anger and upset. Kaneda simply laughs in answer and comments from somewhere above him, “Yup, he’s fine, looks like the waters safe after all!”

Kai and Yamagata are the only ones Tetsuo can see from inside the swim hole, staring at him with wide grins on their faces. Tetsuo wipes duckweed from his cheek and flips them off.

“Here I come, Tetsuo!” Is the only warning he gets before a shadow descends on the swim hole and a mad scramble to avoid being landed on ensures. Kaneda’s voice too echoes on the way down, and his splash throws duckweed onto Tetsuo’s face again. The other two follow shortly after.

“Man, that was weak! This is how you make a splash!” Yamagata uses the roof of the car like a stiff diving board and catapults himself into the water. His splash makes a big impact and causes water to slosh off the rough earth lining the swim hole. Tetsuo shakes water out of his ear just as Kaneda emerges from below with a gasp and a smile. Tetsuo wipes it away with a big splash of water.

“Make way assholes!” Kai announces suddenly, and another shadow falls on the swim hole, but it swings like a pendulum. Kai is using the hanging electrical wires like a rope swing, and after another sweep over the floor of the open office building, he lets go and splashes fiercely into the swim hole as Yamagata breaks the surface with a holler.

“Do you hate me?” Kaneda asks him after spitting a cocktail of water and duckweed out of his mouth.

“Yes!” Is of course Tetsuo’s natural response.

“Awe, Tets, stop lying to yourself!” Kaneda’s face is smug as he plucks a piece of plant from the tip of Tetsuo’s nose. He scowls and swats at Kaneda, who ducks into the water momentarily to avoid being hit.

“I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life! You’re a fucking dumbass asshole!” Kaneda is good at laughing off Tetsuo, is good at laughing at Tetsuo, but he will admit...he is kind of grateful for it. He’s usually not 100% serious with his anger, with his insults. But Kaneda can’t know that.

“Haha, you really got me feelin the love!” Is of course Kaneda’s cocky response and Tetsuo feels his eye twitch again. Kaneda can never know.

“Oh yeah? Tell me, how does this feel?” Tetsuo dunks Kaneda’s head harshly underwater, fights a smile as Yama and Kai aggressively splash each other a few feet away, laughing all the while. It’s pure fun and games for the rest of the day, spent largely joking around and cooling off in the water, until the sun starts to sink in the sky and Kai asks sagely as he floats among a thin sheet of duckweed, looking waterlogged and sunburnt-

“Uh...how exactly are we supposed to get out of here?”

[baapi-makwa]

rules: answer 21 questions and tag people

tagged by @spathyphyllum

name: Ken 

nickname: Bear

zodiac: I’m a crab (cancer)

height:  5′11″

last movie i saw: since it was finally on netfix i watched Infinity War because though the internet had thoroughly spoiled it i still wanted to see the actual order in which things happened 

favourite musician: Taj Mahal, also really liking this band The Tracks lately (definitely check them out)

song stuck in my head: that damn baby shark song it is the worst but i saw a post mentioning it and now it is stuck in there good

do i get asks: oh yeah quite a bit, lots of good ones, quite a few bad ones

other blogs: https://bapakwaanaajiinh-inini.tumblr.com/ (my art blog)

following:  following me or how many do i follow?? one is in the 4ks the other just above 3k

favourite song: definitely not baby shark, but so hard to pick just one, like all time, that is impossible, but lately i been listening to i will follow you into the dark quite a bit

amount of sleep: not enough especially lately like 4hrs if i am lucky and not in a row

lucky numbers: oh trying to trick me ‘eh so when i finally win that powerball i will have to split it, well i ain’t falling for that, but i will say i am partial to the #7

what am i wearing: black shorts under black baggy fleece pants and a black tshirt, also my glasses are black

dream job:  making enough money doing my art

dream trip:  i wanna go to new zealand someday, australia would be nice too

favourite food: tatertot hotdish but also lasagna 

instruments i play: i was in middle school band for 6mo, learned to play like 2 songs on the trumpet, prob wouldn’t remember how to play them now

last book you read: Millennium Falcon: Owner's Workshop Manual (i wanted to see where that cape closet was)

i am tagging @moonageddaydream @ravesthewriter @lucid-dancing @kaleidoscope-borg @stormageddon-smith @finnglas