#AND SUZA HUGS HIM BACK

[privatekururugi]

@touchreceptors although I am ABSOLUTELY SCREAMING BECAUSE CONFIRMATION THAT THEY FUCKING TALKED IS SO GOOD, I’m also even more livid because THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT, PLOT MOVING EVENT AND INSTEAD OF SHOWING US THEY JUST STUCK A LINE IN THERE. IN THE PREVIEW, NO LESS. I swear on everything if the unaired scenes don’t involve the time skip and the suzalulu that came with it I’m going to rage quit sO HaRd.

[sillyroyalty]

hellooo i saw your post about wanting some haru kato x reader and i just enjoyed the ones you wrote, you talented bro!

could i request that its reader and haru’s anniversary and reader noticed how tired he seemed lately so they decided to set up a nice romantic dinner and surprises him cause man he deserves it for dealing with daisuke HDKSBFJEHR it would be sooo cuutee!!

thats all and i hope you have a fantastic day!! stay hydrated and stay safe

Hello ! Thank you for requesting! I’m glad you like the stories I put out. 💓

This was fun to write and I’m sorry it took a little while to put out. I hope you like it ❤️

Please let me know what you thought in the comments and if there’s any changes or tips you would like to see carried out in future works 😊

Notes: I tried to make the reader gender neutral but then my dumb head out them in a dress so I decided to make the reader female, Daisuke is in it for a little bit too because he doubted your existence for a hot second lol but don’t worry he’s only there for a small interaction ☺️

Eyes anxiously scanned the shelves at the grocery store, looking for the ingredients that could throw together a decent meal. In a few short days the day of your and Haru’s anniversary was approaching fast. Safe to say you pondered of all the possibilities you could do to surprise your partner.

You could buy him something nice ? But Haru would stress over the price tag. You could arrange a nice romantic getaway for the both of you ? But sadly Haru’s job hours were unpredictable due to him being too passionate about overtime. After listening your options you settled on preparing a nice candlelight dinner for him, sure it was a bit cliche but even simple moments with Haru felt magical. Eager to get home and start cooking the recipe you found online you picked up the ingredients, payed and made your way home. Ready to spend the rest of the day in preparing the meal.

Haru packed his papers into his bag ready to bid his co-workers farewell.

“Leaving so soon ?” Daisuke questioned condescendingly, “what about the rest of the case ?”

Haru groaned contemplating starting another round of bickering with the new detective, but instead swallowed his anger.

“Yeah I have something important today...someone’s waiting for me-“

Haru tried to wrap up the conversation before Saeki interrupted with shrill excitement.

“Oh my gosh !” She squealed “ It’s Y/n-San isn’t it ?! “

“Y...yeah” Haru nodded bashfully smiling “it’s our anniversary so I want to be at home with her tonight”

“Y/N who?” Daisuke questioned “you have a partner?”

“YEAH! WHAT IS THAT SO HARD TO BELIEVE?” Haru yelled irked, “whatever I’m leaving BYE!” He grabbed his bag throwing it over his shoulder making his way to the exit.

“Wait,” Daisuke’s monotone voice cut in following Haru out “I’m coming too”

“WHAT ?! No you’re not ?!” Haru yelled “you’re not invited!”

Daisuke tagged along unfazed, “isn’t it fair for me to meet your family ? You’ve met Suzae and my grandmother already after all, return the favor”

Haru reached your shared apartment sighing in defeat. Daisuke stood cooly behind him. Despite Haru’s attempts to shake him off he persisted. To say Haru was annoyed was an understatement, all he wanted to do was cuddle and bask with you on the bed dozing off lazily tonight, to share his week with you and to hear your cute laugh...unfortunately here was Daisuke tagging along to suck the comfort out of his night with you like a leech. Taking a deep breath he rung the door bell for it to fling open and be greeted by a bright smile.

Gosh you looked absolutely stunning, a dress that covered you snugly with hair done up with clips letting some loose strands fall over your shoulders, your smile beaming as you hugged Haru. He mirrored your grin wrapping his arms around your waist inhaling your perfume in, basking in your embrace for a few moments before his solace was interrupted by an abrupt cough from behind him. You peeked behind your lover to see another man standing behind him.

“Hmmm?” tilting your head up to look at Haru quizzingly

Haru grimaced and introduced you to his Daisuke begrudgingly.

“There now that you’ve seen my lovely girlfriend please go” Haru ushered Daisuke eager to shoo him away to which Daisuke coldly stared back Haru challengingly. Sensing the tension between the two you decided to step in ease the situation.

“Hello Mr.Daisuke, its nice to meet the co worker Haru holds in high regard,” you cheerfully proclaimed “ please join us for dinner at least”. You figured it was the polite thing to do despite the fact that you certainly were not prepared for any guests.

Haru gave you a side eye glance to which your squeezed his hand lightly, ‘be polite Haru’

Daisuke thankfully assessed the situation and smiled at you thanking you for the offer, “I’m afraid I must head home unfortunately but thank you for the offer, I hope you and Kato San have a nice evening,” with a polite bow and patting Haru on the back, he was gone.

Haru blinked confused at the rich man’s bizarre actions, perhaps he really did want to see whether Haru was bluffing about someone waiting at home for him everyday and wanted to confirm you in fact were real, regardless how that he saw you his purpose of visiting was done and he’d leave the couple alone for the evening ( to Haru’s absolute joy). After you ushered him inside and he got in to take a shower and get changed.

Walking out in more comfortable but presentable clothing Haru came out drying his hair with a towel to find you neatly setting up a dinner table with various dishes. He scanned the menu recognizing some of the dishes- they were some the meals you and Haru had worked together on when you first started dating. Seeing them all lined up and well plated reminded him of the time when the both of you first started to have stay at home dates. He’d teach you how to cook various recipes, the both of you becoming extremely flustered whenever you two got a bit two close or made contact of hands. Eventually the two of you became less shy and comfortable with each other, years passed by and you guys became inseparable.

You finished setting the table to look up and see Haru leaning on the door frame with a goofy smile on his face to which you beamed back. He walked up to you and slowly to your surprise pulled you in for another hug placing a small kiss on your cheek.

“The dishes-“he began messing with the ends of your hair,”the ones you made tonight ? You did this on purpose right ?”

Your eyes light up happy that the subtle thought you put into the menu was noticed. You pointed to a plate of pastries that sat on the table, ”So you noticed ? Remember this one ? It was the first time I came over to your place and we made this.”

Haru nodded and pointed to the dish next to it, “ and this one is the first thing we cooked when we moved in to your new apartment together!”

The hug grew tighter and a familiar warmth bloomed in your chest as Haru whispered “Thank you...for everything, I love you” before pulling you over to the table to enjoy the evening sampling a bite of what you made.

[sarabia-pablo]

@holdmyhopeinyourhands hey hun here is the translation of the Secret Friends of Neymar video, hope you’ll like it ! There is surely a lot of English mistakes here and there but I hope you’ll forgive me, my eyes can’t see them anymore lol

As the show is 1 hour long I've made descriptions of the moments that aren't that important and I've translated literally the most important parts

00:00 to 00:51 (nothing specil he basically thanks everyone, his friends and his teammates for helping him throught the year and the difficulties to become a better person)

00:51 to 10:00 : Gabriel Medina finds out his secret friend is Letitia Buffoni, who discovers her secret friend is Gabriel Jesus. Nothing very interesting is said. There are just saying thank you, receiving gifts, and giving gifts to little children from Neymar's institut. 

10:00 till the end : 

Gabriel Jesus : Let's see who'll be my secret friend. Look at it, here he is ! It's someone I admire a lot. He's a bit salvage, he's a bit salvage, he has a big leadership. He's still a child, he's like "no I'll do this myself" and he doesn't want to listen but that's alright I don't take it for myself. Everything stays on the field, the friendship remains the same *he laughs*. 

*before saying who it is he watches the video of a little girl from Neymar's institute, her name is Jessica. He offers her a jersey and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas.*

Gabriel Jesus : So ! The salvage, the good guy, the excellent athlete, it's my friend Thiago Silva.  Neymar : Thiago is a sherif on the field. Thiago : *open the gift* what is it ? *it's a connected watch*. Gabriel thank you for the gift, I like it a lot. I didn't know it existed, I will try to learn how to use it. Thank you for your affection, not just for this but for all the gestures you have toward me. I'm very happy with our friendship and... for earning a gift that will remind me of you. Merry Christmas and thank you ! 

Thiago : *pick a paper to find out his secret friend* A little phenomenon *cute smile*. That's how I call him. He's a boy who brings a lot of happiness to the group.

*before saying who it is he watches the video of a little boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Kauan. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a jersey and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas*

Thiago : My secret friend is the little italian phenomenon... his name is Verratti. Here is my present. I have a message for him because he's a very affectuous boy : Marco I wish you a Merry Christmas, may God bless you, your family, may you have a splendid new year and may all your dreams come true. May we keep walking ahead together in this new stage of our life, with a lot of peace and joy. Here is my present. Kisses. Verratti : Thiago, we've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. I wish you a Merry Christmas to you and your family, a good health because health is important and... see you soon !  Neymar : Verratti is a crack. He's a guy that I admire a lot as an athlete and as a person let's not talk about it because he has one of the biggest heart that I've met. I'm very happy to play by his side. Verratti : *picks a paper* I have to say the name ? He's like a little brother to me. I've known him for 5 years. He's sud-american.  *before saying who it is he watches the video of a boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Nathanael. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a jersey and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas* Verratti : my secret friend is Marquinhos.  Neymar : Marquinhos, he's one of the most beautiful person I've ever met, he's an exemple both on and outside of the field. I'm always happy to play with him. Verratti : I wish you a Merry Christmas to him and him family. Now that he has a son he's going to see that Christmas time is an even more beautiful moment than it used to be and... I love you Marquinhos.  Marqui : Hello Verrattinho ! I thank you for the present and and honored to be your secret friend, I hope it's a good present that I can have an use for and thank you from the bottom of my heart and see you soon !  Marqui : *takes a paper* Who is it ? Is it o monstro ? What a responsability !What can I say about this person ? It’ an inspiring person that has won everything and even more. *before saying who it is he watches the video of a girl from Neymar's institute, her name is Isabela. He thanks her for his messages, offers her a jersey and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas* Marqui : my secret friend is Marta.  Neymar : she's a queen of football. She makes the country very proud.  Marqui : It's a responsability, an honor, I'm very happy, I thank you in my name and in the name of the whole country. Marta : So I'm going to show you the present my friend Marqui gave me ! Look at this, what is it ? (it’s a jewel) It's too chic, I love it, I'm going to use it a lot. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Marta : *picks a paper* top top !  *before saying who it is she watches the video of a girl from Neymar's institute, her name is Gabrielle. She thanks her for his messages, offers er a jersey and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas* *well basically it's a woman named Suza, she says how much she admires her, but I guess it's not interesting to translate this part ?* Suza : My secret friend is Dani Alves. I can't believe I've felt on him. I'm sending you a small present but I hope that you'll like it.  *he thanks her* Neymar : Dani is one of my idols, in football and in life in the way that he sees life, not only just football. I have a very special affection toward him.  Dani : *picks a paper* I'm very suspectful about that secret friend. I run away from him and he keeps coming back at me ! *laugh* No, right, I love him, I’ve spend a lot of time talking about and to him. *before saying who it is he watches the video of a girl from Neymar's institute, her name is Daylila. He thanks her for his messages, offers her a jersey and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas*

Dani : *talking about the girl and how he inspires her* this is what my objective in live is. This is not about trophees, about having a victorious career, it's simply leaving a legacy to all these young people and children. Everything is what you want it to be.  Dani : so my secret friend is... Gigi for the intimates !  Neymar : Gigi is a fantastic man. I was already admiring him a long time ago because I'm a fan of football. The way he takes care of his career, and now he's sharing the lockers with me. He's training all day long, learning a lot from him, it's my great pleasure. Dani : Gigi this is my present for you. As I know you're someone who knows the values of things and as I always give a little bit of myself to my friends I'm giving you one of my favourite wine so when you drink it you always remember that you have a friend here.  Gigi : Thank you a lot Dani. This is a very special present. You probably know me well because I don't drink a lot but I always drink things of quality, just like everything in life. Merry Christmas and I'm looking forward to see you again in Paris.  Gigi : *takes a paper and laugh* I like it because he's a great champion. He's a very nice person. *before saying who it is he watches the video of a girl from Neymar's institute, her name is Graziela. He thanks her for his messages, offers her a present and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas*

Gigi : my secret friend is Leo Messi. I gave you the best thing, because between ourselves, what can we give to each other ? We already have everything.  Neymar : Leo... everyone knows that he's one of my best friend in football, an idol for everyone, I thank him for participating again with us, sharing his time with us. I miss spending him with him, our games, what we used to do outside of the field. He's a great friend . Gigi : Leo I'im giving you this present that I hope you'll accept it (awwww it's his gloves with his signature). Big hug and Merry Christmas.  Messi : I'd like to send a message to Buffon, he’s a person that I admire a lot. We've had the luck to compete against each other and sharing moments on the field. He's someone who deserves a lot of respect not only as a goalkeeper but also as a person that showed how to behave in different situations.  Messi : *takes a paper* Well, he's a person very simple, very humble. I'm very close to him* *before saying who it is he watches the video of a little boy from Neymar's institute, her name is Daquila. He thanks hze for his messages, offers her a present and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas*  Messi : My secret friend is Coutinho. He's a phenomenal boy. Neymar : I've known him for a long time, since the beginning. It's a great friendship. Messi : We're creating a great friendship between us two.  Coutinho : Oh, for my daughter ? How cool thank you ! It'll be without a doubt very useful for my daughter when she'll be born, next month if God wants it. We're going to use it a lot thank you.  Coutinho : *picks a paper*

*before saying who it is he watches the video of a boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Enzo. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a present and send her a kiss and whishes him a good Christmas*  Coutinho : My secret friend is... Luisito (Suarez).  Suarez : He's sent me a hamburger-like sweet ! I'd have prefered the hamburger to be real but right !  Neymar : Suarez, I miss him a lot because we've always be very implicated with the other, sending messages all day long. I miss these moments.   Suarez : Coutinho likes hamburgers too I don't know why we're only talking about me ! Ney, Leo, everyone eats hamburgers.  Coutinho : I wish you a good Christmas, a good time with your family, and I hope you'll gain a lot of hamburgers during this Christmas *laugh*. 

Suarez : *takes a paper* my secret friend is... *before saying who it is he watches the video of a boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Emerson. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a present and send her a kiss and whishes him a good Christmas*  Suarez : Cavani ! I'm going to send him 3 oranges as a present because we're from Salto and that's what caractarizes us.  Cavani : we call our city the city of oranges, that's why. *he also offers him a hat* It's a present that represent us a lot. Thank you a lot, really I wasn't expecting a present that good.  Neymar : Cavani is someone very special, he's a man who likes to win, to be active on the field, he's our matador. I thank him for participating with us. Cavani : *takes a paper* it's someone very calm, a good company. And he's deaf. He's an attack player.  *before saying who it is he watches the video of a girl from Neymar's institute, his name is Raquel. He thanks her for his messages, offers her a present and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas*  Cavani : my secret friend is Angel Di Maria. Well Angel this is my present I hope that you'll like it and you'll find it useful.  Di Maria : Thank you a lot Edi for the present, Mery Christmas to you and you family.  Di Maria : *takes a paper* he's a defensor. He plays in Spain and he's tall. *before saying who it is he watches the video of a boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Joaquim. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a present and send him a kiss and whishes him a good Christmas*  Di Maria : My secret friend is Pique. I wish you a mery Christmas to you and your family and I hope you'll spend a good moment with them and your friends. I'm sending you my present ! Pique : *well the thanks him without any special word so I didn't translate it* Pique : *takes a paper* He's blond, midfield. *before saying who it is he watches the video of a girl from Neymar's institute, her name is Giovannia. He thanks her for his messages, offers her a present and send her a kiss and whishes her a good Christmas*  Pique : My secret friend is Rakitic.  Neymar : he's a boy that I like a lot, we've made some bad jokes together. I miss every day conversations with him. He's a person that I keep into my heart with a lot of affection. Pique : You're Croatian but you feel very Spanish and it's been my pleasure to have been by your side for so many years. I wish you a mery Christmas and come back with a lot of strength so we can win a lot of titles one more time.  Rakitic : *he laugh because Pique offered him a Sangoku doll* here it is. When I had my long hair everyone was saying that I looked a lot like Goku and now people are giving me a lot of Goku dolls. Rakitic : *takes a paper* well, he doesn't play with me. Last time I played against him it was awful for me but it was a very good game for him (poor boy) *before saying who it is he watches the video of a boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Carlos. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a present and send him a kiss and whishes him a good Christmas*  Rakitic : my secret is... Mbappé (how cruel eirgjfeoigj). Special message : congratulations for winning a great title against me and my country. I congratulate you again, I wish you the best and I wish you to keep growing up like you're doing, we're appreciating a lot your football. I wish you a mery Christmas to you and your family, even better than this one.  Mbappé : Thank you a lot Rakitic for your present, it's very kind of you and I hope that I'll meet you soon.  Mbappé : *picks a paper* He's funny, he's funny, he has a big heart and he's an amazing player.  *before saying who it is he watches the video of a boy from Neymar's institute, his name is Kauê. He thanks him for his messages, offers him a present and send him a kiss and whishes him a good Christmas*  Mbappé : Ney, I'm your secret friend. I have a great surprise for you, be ready.   Neymar : Kylian, my golden boy. Thanks for the present, I'll keep it with me and I'll cherish it (it's a boxer short. lol) To me it's always a pleasure sharing the lockers with you, train and play with you. Hug, my boy.  Neymar : *picks a paper* as an athlete he's exceptional.  *they cut it to talk about his institute, it's not exhaustive so I suggest anyone who's interested to check it out online. He also gives a present to a girl from the institute named Talita* Neymar : My secret friend is Gabriel Medina. It's easy to talk about him. It's someone that is like family, very affectuous, it's a pride to count him as one of my best friends.  Gabriel Medina : *it's a pair of shoes* how chic ! Obrigado Ney. 

//END

[suzakumuto]

Turning

Anon request turning into a vampire Suzaku and Jessie.

It has been a few years the twins are three years old, Jessie just turned 20 and recently given birth to hers and Suzaku's last child together, Suzaku and Jessie didn't want any more kids after the third, well sixth child for Suza.

Jessie puts her new born human daughter into her crib and exits the room going into hers and Suzaku's room, she sits down on the bed next to her lover.

Jessie: "we need to talk"

Suzaku: "Talk?"

She nods her head.

Jessie: "I want to be with you forever and I've decided I want you to turn me into a vampire Suza. we decided on no more kids and now that I'm 20. I think now is a good time"

He takes hold of her hand and plans a kiss on it.

Suzaku: "Are you sure? Once I turn you there's no going back to being a human"

Jessie places a kiss on his soft pale lips.

Jessie: "I'm sure"

Suzaku: "alright, I need you to lay down for me, once I give you my blood you will go into a deep sleep for one day as your body changes"

Jessie: "that long, what about the baby and the twins"

Suzaku: "leave them to me, but seriously are you one hundred percent sure you want this"

Jessie: "Yeah, Just do it, what ever it is you need to do for us to be together forever, please take good care of our sons and daughter till I wake up"

She lays down onto the bed as told to do eariler Suzaku hover overs her as he gazes into her blue eyes.

Suzaku: "leave them to me"

He sinks his fangs into his own wrist as he sucks out some of his own blood.

Jessie closes her eyes as she relaxs, once he was done he count talk as his mouth was full he leans down and kisses Jessie on the lip, Jessie opens her mouth to allow the vampire access as he feeds her his blood threw the kiss.

She drank kiss blood threw the kiss already starting to feel the effects on her body, her heart was beating harder in her chest and she started to feel sick.

Suzaku breaks the kiss and he cleans Jessies mouth and chin from any left over spilt blood, and takes her hand into his as he plants a kiss on it as he waits for her to fall asleep.

One day later Jessie opens her still blue eyes that would soon turn red once she drank blood, her body felt alot different to her now she slowly sits up to find Suzaku sitting next to her in there double bed.

Suzaku: "good morning, so how do you feel"

Jessie: "I don't feel any different but I know I'm no longer human"

She touches her new fangs with her finger, and was amazed how real they are.

Jessie: "I'm really a vampire right"

Suzaku nods and smiles at her.

Suzaku: "yeah, you sure are"

Jessie hugs him as he wraps his arms around her.

@crew-from-another-dimension

[rockpapertoast]

The Point

Mama told me not to swallow the pit of my cherry or else a big ol’ tree would grow right inside my belly. She told me that the deep red color made my lips look like Gran’s and that they were beautiful. I picked up the tiny fruits, one at a time, pulling off the green stems and piling them on the wooden steps. Mama sat in front of me so I watched her do it first. I ripped mine apart, turning my fingers pink and wet. I could see the little pit peeking through right in the middle. I ripped it out with my teeth, gnawing off all the little pieces that stuck to it, and spat it right in front of me as hard as I could. It hurt my mouth. She slowly turned back and looked at me with her big brown eyes and a smile. “Mama gonna getcha!” She growled at me as she squeezed me on either side. She tickled me red juice dribbles.

It was our first full day at The Point and we came in so late that we didn’t have time to get groceries, so cherries were all we had. There was a stick of butter left in the refrigerator, along with some squished old Wonderbread and a can of Krunzhmann’s Smoked Ham. Pop had probably left them. 

The Point was my great grandpa’s house when he was a little boy. His family grew up, all together, in this tiny house with one bedroom and one other room that held the furniture and kitchen stuff. No one can stay in the winter anymore because there’s no heat and the snow here gets really cold and deep, so Pop opens it in May for the summer months and me and Mama always come here to work after my school gets done. Mama works. I work more like part- time. The place is full of dust and old pictures- it gave me the creepies when I was little, especially after Dad stopped coming with us. He met a woman named Sherry and they have two girls together now, Shiva and Lillia. They sound like puppy names to me. Shiva would bark more. I see him once a month for strawberry milkshakes and a hug. He knows I like the cherry on top and extra whipped cream, so he gives me his. 

I remember Dad telling me stories about the pictures of Pop and his old friends. They are covered in dust and rusted-golden picture frames with warped glass covering the black and white figures. I would sit on his lap at night before bed and he would bump me up and down on his knee, telling me how many places Pops had traveled, how the blueberries that grow here are magic, and how the biggest fish in the entire world lived in the lake right outside. “He looks out for you when you’re out there swimmin’ like a big girl,” he’d say, “you can’t go out past the McDermott’s place or else he’ll come nibble on those toes!” I liked my Dad a whole lot even before the milkshakes.

After we finished our cherries, I sat on the back porch and tried to tie two stems together in my mouth. I always heard that was a sexy type of thing to be able to do, but I could never imagine how someone’s tongue could be capable of such a thing. Mine wasn’t. The back of my throat felt like it was tearing apart and the stems tickled the side of my tongue. Ripples of waves slowly moved towards the shore, just a few feet away from our deck. I could hear my tummy gurgling over the faint sound of the bird clock chirping inside, but I held it tight with both hands. I bet there were a hundred Bluegills out there in the lake just swimming around looking for breakfast, too. I don’t think they can eat cherries, or the pits. 

Mama and I left at five after nine to walk to town. The hills seemed much bigger than last summer. They were extra turny and the morning wasn’t fully gone yet so the clouds were stuck all around us, hanging on with all their might. Mama tells me that at night the clouds come in real close to hug us and keep us warm, just like a blanket. I don’t know if I believe her but I like the idea of extra blankets at night. I always get cold.  

“What kinda tree is this, Magpie?” Mama asked me as she let go of my hand and walked towards a dark green furry kind a few feet away from the road.

“How in the heck should I know that? It’s a green one, Suza, that’s what kind it is. A fuzzy green one that is not awake yet so he would appreciate it if you’d stop touchin’ him, thank ya very much!” I told her right back. She gets mad when I’m sassy to her but she woke up with big eyes this morning. That’s usually a good sign. 

“Miss Magapoo! You little devil, sassin’ your Mama first thing in the mornin’. Should’a left ya in Chapin!” Mama picked off a piece of the green fur tree and brought it back to me, sticking it right up to my nose. It smelled sweet, like most of the air up here. 

“Peeyeew!” I shouted at her. She knew I was joking and she laughed right back at me.

“Hemlock, Miss Magpie. He’s got some wide needles, round ends,” Mama said as she bent down next to me, holding up the needles to my face real close, “and if you flip ‘em over, you see he’s got two kinda white lines here.” 

“Hemlock. Hemmmlock!” I said, making up a song to help me remember. Mama always asks me about trees and I can’t remember them all. There’s so many up here so I try to make ‘em into songs or memories somehow. Like the Oak- I fell off of it smack dab on my bum when I was four and cried so hard I threw up all over myself. Mama wouldn’t dare let me forget that one. We don’t have the same kinda trees in South Carolina, so it’s hard to keep ‘em separate. 

We got to Tawny’s Market and I picked out the pink lemonade. I like the kind that looks like a jar because who doesn’t love the smack sound it makes when you yank off the top? I asked Mama if we could get summer sausage and she said we’d have some at Pop’s later. I always peel off the skin around it, the slimy clear stuff gives me the spooks, but the inside is nice and salty. We checked out and I helped put our food into the totes that Mama had brought with us. We ran into Tawny on our way out. She’s one hard lady to track down on a Saturday morning. 

Tawny had long brown hair that came almost all the way down to her butt and was tucked into one fat braid that swished side to side on her back as she walked. She saw us walking towards the bakery and opened her mouth wide, giving us big eyes and spreading out her arms. She jetted towards us full- speed. She smushed me with her fanny pack as she hugged me all kinds of tight and kissed my forehead. 

“Welcome back, so glad to see ya, Mags! Come down and visit anytime. We’re makin’ zucchini bread tomorrow if you wanna come help out while your Mama’s at work!” She was always real nice to me every summer and I usually came to visit about once a week when I got bored of Tommy Joe. She and Mama hugged and talked for a few minutes while I sat on the wooden bench right next to the bulletin board full of advertisements for lawn care, dog walkers and babysitters. I never understood who would just pick up somebody’s information at a market like that, but a lot of the flyers had been torn off where the tags stuck out. 

I wanted to ask for a jelly doughnut but I knew Mama would say no. Tawny used fresh raspberry jelly that was just the right amount of sweet and tart. Whenever I would disappear for an hour or so and come back home with a bag of sweets before dinner, Mama wouldn’t even get mad that my tummy was already filled up. She liked treats, too.  Tawny is TJ’s Mom and one of Mama’s best girls up here. They grill together sometimes and drink cocktails with booze in ‘em when me and TJ play sticks in the woods, or things like that. Tommy Joe is my best friend or something. I guess he’s my best friend when we’re in New London, so for three months of sunshine. It’s the same starting over every year. 

Mama has been working at the Toy Museum down the street ever since I can remember. Great Grandpa started collecting old antique cars and gadgets when he was a swinger and he kept ‘em all there. It’s made up of a few big garages jam- packed with old cars, creepy toys with painted faces, and a whole lot of spiderwebs. Uncle Don runs it now, since he lives here full- time, and helps Pop, who can’t do all that much heavy stuff anymore. Uncle Don is Mama’s older brother. His wife died of cancer two summers ago and ever since then, he only smiles with his eyes. He’s got one great big wrinkle that fits right across his forehead when he makes smile- eyes, but that’s all. Aunt Jill died of the same kinda cancer that took my Gran. Something happened to their lady parts. Uncle Don used to have real nice dimples on his cheeks, but they’ve been lost for a long time now. Auntie Jill had been sick ever since I was four, so I don’t remember her without a quilt on her lap and pink hat keeping her smooth little peach-head nice and warm. Her head was darn well near the softest thing I’d ever felt. 

TJ’s family lives three driveways down from The Point and his grandparents are friends with Pop. They used to own most of the North parts around the lake and Pop owned the South ones. Mount Kearsarge was the divider, smackdab across from our deck, way up in the distance. You can see the big hump of the mountain behind the clouds if you look at the right time. Our back wooden deck points right at the mountain, like an arrow, and the whole lake sweeps down and gouges into the land on either side of us. It’s like we get the best seats of all and the mountain points right back at us. 

After we got home and started unpacking our groceries, Mama said I could go find TJ to play before lunch. I laced up my new white keds that I’d gotten two weeks ago since my last tennis shoes were destroyed in the giant mud pocket that I found near my school three weeks before we’d left. I went into the bathroom and put sunscreen on my face since my nose always turns pink when I don’t wear protection in the sunshine. Tawny told Mama that it was supposed to be hot today, and she always knew the weather here exactly right. I smeared Coppertone right on my cheeks and nose while standing on my tippy toes and looking in the mirror. I could only see a few white and blue stripes of my shirt, since I wasn’t tall enough. This was my favorite shirt, with a stain on the bottom right from a cherry pit that got away. 

I grabbed my bike and started pedaling through the gravel to Tommy Joe’s. My face was still kinda sticky so I felt little smacks against my cheeks when I flew through the clouds of gnats. It was wide open around the house before the driveway took me into the woods for a while, leading out to the main road that I took to TJ’s. It had rained a few days ago so the sand- filled gravel was thicker, like gum was stuck to the bottom of my tires. I was out of breath as soon as I turned the corner to TJ’s house. 

The difference between the Point and TJ’s house is that they live there all the time, and we only live here for a few months. His house is dark green and about the same size as the Point. It’s just TJ and his Mom so they don’t need much room.

“Hey Tommy Joe! It’s me, I’m back here for ya!” I shouted as I dropped my bike next to his front porch and ran up the steps. The screen door was open and I knocked real hard on the chipped white painted part of the door. “It’s me- Maggie Smith! I’m back here for TJ!” I didn’t hear anything so I walked in and saw TJ on the couch playing some video game. It was beeping and speaking in video game words that I couldn’t much understand. 

“You could’ve answered the door,” I said to him.

“Hi Mag. Sorry, I’m finishing this,” He called back at me. His voice was deeper than I remembered and his nose looked bigger. His lips were pink and his skin was the same caramel that I remembered. I felt my chest get tight and roped up, as I stared at him shaking his Nintendo back and forth as he forcefully pressed the keyboard, like someone threw a rock and tickled it at the same time. My mouth got all wet and melted.

“I can come back later, It’s okay” I said to him, turning around and walking out towards the door again. 

“No, Maggie Smith, you come back here. Give me five seconds, I just need to finish level four with King Archibald,” he said to me as he ran up to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me back to sit on the couch next to him. He smelled salty and looked kind of sticky. I wondered if he’d put on sunscreen this morning, too.  

“That feels nice,” he said to me as I followed my finger along the side of his hair down by his ear. 

“Your head got bigger, Tom. How can you be so stupid and still have such a big noggin?”  

I looked over his shoulder for a few minutes as his little video game soldier fired away at dragons, crawled up stone walls and eventually found King Archibald. 

“Finished!” He said, “Wanna swim to the bank and look for frogs? I haven’t found any yet since it’s been kind of cold here.” 

“Sure- I don’t have my swimsuit here, though,” I told him. I usually wear it under my clothes, but I didn’t think we’d be swimming right away. And I don’t like how it feels on my bum when I bike.

“Here- just take this off,” TJ pulled at my shirt, so I slowly peeled it off to reveal my white camisole. It was too big for me, so it hung around. “Are you wearing underwear?” 

“Yeah I am, yuck- why wouldn’t I?” I hadn’t worn underwear all day yesterday. It felt nice to have a breeze. 

“Come on!” TJ said as he ran out of the living room letting the screen door slam right in my face. I grabbed a green and purple splotchy beach towel that hung on the coat hook and followed behind him, holding it tightly against my chest. 

He ran all the way to the dock and started taking off his shirt and his shorts. By the time I’d made it standing next to him he was bare chested. He was wearing whitey tighties that sat right on his hips. I never really knew the difference between boxer briefs and shorts, but apparently there is one. I saw the bulge between his legs and thought about what it would be like to touch it. I never understood how those things just fit all neatly right in there without popping out on accident. Like they just fold up when they’re supposed to. I think TJ saw me staring at him because he started fidgeting. I could feel my face getting hotter and I looked down at the rippling waves.

“Take off your shorts, come on,” He said as he kicked his pile of clothes and walked towards the edge of the dock. TJ dunked his foot into the water, sending a shiver through his body. He looked like he’d been electrocuted from the foot upwards. “Jesus Christ! Come here Mag!” He shouted at me, holding his crotch and pattering on his feet, one at a time like he had to pee really badly. 

I unzipped my shorts, tossed them right on top of Tommy Joe’s pile of clothes, and scooted up to grab his hand. 

“On the count of three. One, two, three- come on!” Shouted TJ as he fired himself forward, bringing me along into the greenish water. We sprung a few feet from the dock and both came up for air. 

“Woooo! This is way too cold!” I yelled, with my lips quivering. I could feel my goosebumps coming out and kicked my feet extra hard in the water. 

“Here, I’ll race you to Gull rock, it’ll get us warm!” Gull rock was the big boulder a few hundred feet away that had perfectly carved holes in it for us to climb out of so we could go searching for frogs in the marsh along the shore over there. We had to climb through a pile of rocks if we didn’t take Gull. I started throwing my arms, one after another, turning my head as fast as I could. TJ and I collided and I scratched his leg with my fingernail. “Sorry!” I said, but water was coming in and out of my mouth so fast that I’m not sure he heard a word I said. 

When we made it over there, TJ climbed out first, adjusting his boxers so they didn’t collapse on him. He reached down and stuck out his arm to help pull me up. The rock was slimy and my toes scrambled to find the right holes to push myself up on. My face felt hot and the sun toasted us as we bent down, crawling around in thick grass and muck to find creatures. We always found these tiny little green frogs with brown splotches on them and fat double chins. 

“Find any?” TJ hollered at me after a few minutes of silence. It was always a competition with us and whoever found the first one usually won, no matter how many more they found after that. My feet were making squaking squish sounds as I suctioned them out of the muck, like I had to fight to get them back even though they were mine. 

TJ spurted forward towards a shrub and dove into with his arms in front of him like he was ready to grab something. “Holy Jesus, look at this! Yeeehaaa!” He screamed as he clasped his hands real tight together. “Comere Maggie!” 

I teetered my way over to him, trying to keep from falling face first into the mucky grass. “Let’s see ‘em” I said, planting my two feet hard. TJ slowly brought his hands towards my face and moved his thumb down just a tad to show two big eyes and a beating chin. It’s mouth was sort of orange looking and it had two little lines that marked what should’ve been it’s nose, but i’m not too sure frogs have noses anyways. He was a real cute one. I stuck my fingers into TJ’s and touched his slimy back, it was slimy and just the right amount of bumpy. 

“Let’s take him back with us. I wanna keep him, look how cute he is- what a nice lil’ guy,” TJ said looking around, “Should we make him a raft or something? Can he swim?”

“He’s a frog, Tom, he can swim better than you!” 

“Shut your trap, Maggie Smith, let’s go. Here, you take him.”

I reached out my hands, cupping them just enough to take him without poking at him too much, and walked back to the rock. TJ jumped in first and I slid my way down, skidding my bum on the rock. 

The water felt much warmer now. I floated on my back, holding our new friend cupped snug in my hands while I kicked breaststroke. I learned how to do that in swim lessons- I’d been taking them ever since I was about four. TJ was probably swimming fast again but I didn’t mind. I was happy to be back here. The clouds were moving real speedy, and they looked extra puffy. I always wondered if they felt like Marshmallow Creme to touch. That’s how I imagined them. 

I kept kicking, looking back every few seconds to make sure I wasn’t going the wrong way or something. I was close to the dock and I saw TJ standing their waiting, his feet dangling along the surface of the water. 

“Almost there! Here, take ‘em,” I said to him, turning towards him and coming up straight. I reached my hands up and plopped him into TJ’s, climbing back up the ladder onto the deck next to him. I brushed the droplets of water off my face and shook my hair really fast. 

“Maggie. Look.” TJ’s voice turned higher, like the boy I’d known for the past nine years. I looked over into his hand- cage and got mine ready to catch the leaping frog as it came out. He lifted up his hands to show a lump of a frog, no leaps, no beating chin. 

“What happened?” I asked TJ

“I think he’s sleeping. He’s just tired from the swim is all, Mag.”

I swallowed hard and felt the sun all the way in my throat. I couldn’t look at it again so I told TJ to put him to bed somewhere else. TJ said okay and ran him back into the woods near his house while I stayed on the dock. He put the frog down by a tree and scattered some leaves on top of him. I sat down on the deck and wondered when he started falling asleep, I couldn’t feel it in my hands or anything. I knew that asleep meant dead, and so did Tommy Joe, but neither of us wanted to say it. TJ came back over and sat down next to me for a few minutes, but neither of us had anything to say. 

When I stood up, I wrung the water out of my camisole, sending it dripping out onto the deck. TJ’s face froze and he wiggled his lower lip like he was trying to fight with it. 

“Maggie? Are you okay?” TJ asked, looking down at my legs. I looked down, too, and saw a few red dribbles down my leg. 

“Is that from the frog?” I asked TJ

“Um, not unless you hurt him”

I knew that Gran and Aunt Jill had died because of problems with their lady insides and I hoped I would never have that stuff. 

“I’m dying, Tom,” I said quietly.

“Do you want to take a nap? Maybe you’re tired, too” He said.

TJ brought me out a blanket and a pillow from his bed. We layed on the deck and he traced his finger along my forehead. He was right, it did feel nice. If this was the way that I was going to go, it couldn’t be too bad. 

“Tell Mama sorry I couldn’t make it to dinner with Pop tonight. Bring me some summer sausage on Sunday mornings instead of flowers, just make sure to take the outside part off.” 

I’m coming, Gran, I’m coming Aunt Jilly, I thought as I closed my eyes tight. I could feel freckles growing on my cheeks and nose from the sun. Maybe i’d start to look like that frog, with splotches and orangey red all over my face.