#But then I think we will come back to weirdly warm? Would be nice if now this all went normally

[cirkeglacialriver]

Sure, it's absolutely normal that a couple of days ago it was 8°C (46,4F) above zero and now it's 8°C (17,6F) below. Oh, and this week it's going to be above zero again, great.

Just before New Year it was warm enough that I brought out what I'd normally wear in October. Just, not this October because this time you could have worn summer clothes still

I hate this. I'm afraid of how the spring and summer will look like, how badly this will affect crops, how much mosquitoes there will be. There will be draught again, probably.

But, yk. Absolutely normal, nothing to worry about. The snow did fall, so climate warming is cancelled obv

[iateyourparents]

ghostie | c.b.

pairing: colby brock x fem!reader

summary: you met something very cute while waiting for boys to be done with exploring haunted place and decided to keep it.

warnings: fluff, use of y/n, bad writing and grammar(i’m sorry, english is not my first language), wasn’t proofread

pictures are from pinterest:)

You were sitting in the back of Sam’s car waiting for Sam, Colby, Seth and Nate to be done with exploring the haunted house.

You were supposed to be with them inside but because you felt ill earlier, you decided to stay in warm of the car, especially with the bad weather outside.

You knew it could even be hours till Sam and Colby will be done there but you weren’t complaining. Car was warm and you had a blanket, snacks, water and your phone so you were sure you wouldn’t die from boredom.

Currently you were watching old episodes of grey’s anatomy. No matter how many times you rewatched this show, you still were amazed by Addison’s entrance.

You were so into your show that you almost didn’t hear silent groan from under the car. Key word - almost.

Your first reaction was of course uneasiness, you were in a driveway of a haunted house so of course many possibilities went through your mind.

Then you heard it again and for sure, unless something wanted to lure you by pretending to be some animal, it wasn’t a ghost or some dark entity.

You were almost sure it was meowing of a cat, eventually really weirdly sounding dog.

But what concerned you was the fact that sound was coming from under the car and it didn’t sound nice. From just the sound of it you could say that the animal was scared and maybe even hurt.

So of course you did the only logical thing. You got out of the car and got on your knees to look under the vehicle. Rain was now pouring on you and you were sure your pants are already stained with dirt and water.

But there it was. Meowing silently, black cat was sitting probably trying to escape the cruel rain.

From its stained with dirt fur you deduced he must be a stray.

You carefully reached your hand in its way to see if it would escape but little creature only smelled it and went for pets. You peted it with smile and then you carefully lifted it from under the car and into your arms just to see that it was a girl.

“Hi baby, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?” you asked in baby voice and got into the warm car with cat in your arms “Do you have an owner baby?”

After moment of silence while you were petting her, you made a decision.

“Well, now you do have an owner. Even two owners” you smiled at her. Apart from dirt on her fur you didn’t saw any wounds so you carefully placed the cat on the blanket and reached for water to give it to her.

“What should I call you, hm?” you thought for a moment “Since you were here with ghosts maybe I will call you Ghostie? I think Colby will like it. Do you like it?” you observed the cat while she was drinking from your hand “I know animals don’t like visiting vet but we have to check you for wounds and some shit like flies, baby.”

You knew she wasn’t an old cat, for sure not older than few months so it broke your heart how someone could possibly leave that baby outside. Especially with that weather. It was certain death for that young animal.

After some time, in which you told Ghostie about Colby, you noticed Sam, Colby, Nate and Seth leaving the house so you quickly covered Ghostie with the blanket and your body.

You knew you would have to eventually tell boys about her but you decided it’s better for them to cool down after exploring first and then visit the vet.

You only hoped that Ghostie will be silent on your way home.

After few minutes while boys were saying goodbye to theirs guests, they got into the car and you asked “How was it?”

“It was great, love! We got so many evidences on the camera.” Colby smiled at you and started telling you everything about their investigations with Sam adding something sometimes.

So far your plan was working. You were already in LA, almost in your house and neither Colby or Sam noticed the presence of a little cat.

But unfortunately, Ghostie felt left out by boys and demanded attention by really loud meow.

Your eyes immediately got wide while Colby looked in the direction of the sound - your direction, and Sam narrowed his brows but didn’t looked away from the road.

“Y/n? What was that?”

“Why it sounded… like a cat?” asked Sam and you laughed awkwardly.

But you didn’t have to explain yourself. Ghostie did that for you by jumping out from where she was bundled in the blanket and got onto your boyfriend’s laps, demanding pets.

“And who’s that?” asked Colby while giving the cat pets she was asking for, but also looking back at you with something that was between amusement and resignation. He already knew what happened.

“Why there’s cat in my car?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, by the way Sam, turn left and go to nearby vet, please.” you asked and then you looked at Colby and laughed awkwardly again “Guess the cat’s out of bag now.”

He just sighed and shook his head.

“Does it have an owner?”

“Yeah” you nodded “Us.”

Colby looked at you with wide eyes.

“You don’t know if it had owners before?” he asked and you shyly shook your head “So you basically stole a cat?”

“She was under the car while I was waiting for you guys! And look at her, it’s obvious she was a stray.”

Colby only sighed but you could tell. He didn’t mind it, he just wasn’t expecting it.

“Her name is Ghostie.” you added silently and you could see that Colby was starting to smile.

“I like it.” he said and you bit back a wide smile that wanted to appear on your face.

“We’re here guys.” Sam announced parking next to an animal clinic.

You got out of the car with Colby while Sam declared he will wait in the car.

“I hope you know it was irresponsible.” Colby said to you while taking your hand with his free one and with the other one still holding Ghostie.

“Yeah, but you want to keep her.” you stated with a smirk and he only rolled his eyes and held door open for you.

“Whatever.” he snorted and kissed your forehead before heading to receptionist’s desk.

Now you were officially a family of three.

[hxxsxxng]

SUNGHOON 박성훈 - VACATION

MINORS DNI

word count: 2.9k

Genre: SMUT

Content: oral, fingering, praising, use of “daddy” and “master”, creampie, unprotected sex…. and more

Preview: You and Sunghoon deserve some relaxation time. and what better place to do it than a vacation cabin.

Authors note: I wrote this back when wattpad was really cracking down on smut, so if there is a word that is weirdly censored that’s why.

SUPPORT BY REBLOGING if you want

"Ahhh we're finally here." you say getting out of the car.

The 9 hour drive to the cold, snowy mountains has finally ended. You and your fiancée, Sunghoon, decided to rent a beautiful log cabin for the week of Christmas and you just arrived.

"Let's go check this place out!" hoon said as he was stretching.

You both walk up to the huge wooden double door and you look at each other in shock. Y'all didn't thing the place would be THAT big and fancy.

He places the key into the door and then pushes them open. The inside is huge. The furniture in the living room is nice and there is a huge, warm fireplace. You both step in and start touring the cabin.

You come across the kitchen. You are both surprised at all of the high tech equipment in there. Next is the book room. Thousands of books were just sitting on the shelf for display. Who knows how long it's been since someone actually read one.

There was also a theatre room. It seated 8 people and according to the people who let y'all rent the cabin, the sound system is really good.

"We are going to be watching a lot of movies on here babe." hoon says to you. You slightly chuckle.

You both walk down the hall way and come across the master bedroom. The carpet is nice, the room is big, and the bed was big enough to fit like 6 people. Y'all step farther in and walk into the master bathroom. The sinks were so fancy and the mirror was a full body mirror and it had not a speck a dirt on it. And across from the mirror was the bathtub. It had a part where you could sit on and it also had jets. It looked so relaxing.

After wondering around the insanely large house, you both decided to go back out to the car and grab your belongings.

You both walk back in and carry the suitcases to the bedroom and set them down. You are both exhausted and just want to relax.

"Baby do you want to go cuddle by the fire place?" Sunghoon says tiredly

He says this knowing that would would obviously say yes. Cozy cuddling is your favorite thing to do.

Sunghoon then goes and gets wood to start a fire while you fine some fuzzy blankets. You set the blankets down on the couch and go to change into something more comfortable.

You come back and he already has a nice fire going and he is already laying on the couch under the blankets. In a pouty mood, you walk over and lift up the blanket and slide under it. You closest to the fire, and him right behind you. (The spooning position)

He wraps his arm around you and you both fall asleep quickly.

2 hours go by and and barely waking up. You realize that Sunghoon is no longer laying with you. You give yourself a few seconds to wake up before going to see where he is. You hear the water running but you can't tell from where.

It can't be from the kitchen so it must be from the bathroom? you think to yourself

You walk into the master bathroom to find Sunghoon taking a warm bubble bath. Warm enough to make the mirror fog up.

His face brightens when he sees you walk in.

"You're in here, about to take a bath, in the big jet tub, and you didn't ask if I wanted to join?" you say in a fake offended voice.

"I mean, you are always welcome" he smirks

You decide to take him up on his offer. You walk over and stand next to the tub, taking off your top. Sunghoon looks at you amazed and started to touch your waist. Then, you took off your bra. He looked like he wanted to grab your chest so badly. You then slide off your pants, leaving only your panties.

"Mmmmmm are you gonna sit on my lap when you get in here?" he said suggestively.

You chuckle as you remove your final piece of clothing.

You step over the edge of the tub, feeling the hot water. It takes you a second to get used to the temperature of the water, then you submerge your body up to the middle of your waist.

Sunghoon scoots closer to you and looks deeply into your eyes, resting each of his hands on the lateral part of your upper arms. He slides his hands down and sets them on your love handles. He pulls you in for a kiss.

He continues kissing you until it turns into a full on make out session. His hands were roaming your body while yours were resting on his shoulders. He slides his hands up your waist them up to your neck, wrapping his hands around it. He softly grips your neck, as if he were choking you, but not all the way.

This simple action gave you butterflies. His hands are so big, slim, and soft and the feeling of them being wrapped around your neck was such a turn on for you, and he knew it. He probably did it for that purpose.

His hands continue to roam your body and so you start doing the same thing to him. Feeling down his muscular biceps, his chest, and down to his large thighs. He gets so turned on when you rub his thighs so you decided to calmly run your hands up and down them.

While this is all going on, you can't help but notice that he a grown a bit hard. You then reach your hand to his groin area, making contact with his member. This contact made him hum a little bit.

You slowly wrap your hands around his member and gently stroke it. Hoon, still keeping your lips connected, is starting to breathe heavier, wanting you to go further.

You moved you hand painfully slow, causing him to groan. He grips your hips and thighs in anticipation.

You finally decided to give in after what seemed like forever to him. You tighten your grip just a little bit and you pick of the pace. His breaths start to get slightly shakier, but still managing to keep his lips in direct contact with yours. Your tongues are wrestling each other's and Sunghoon playfully bites your lip ever so often.

He departs from your lips and goes to sit on the tub seat on the other side of the bathtub, leaning back. With no questions asked, you come to him right after, heel sitting in front of him. There wasn't a significant amount of water in to tub, so where wasn't a lot of water going every where.

You grab his cock with you hand and you start stroking it again. You open your mouth just a little bit and put your lips on the tip. You put more of it into your mouth, twirling your tongue around it. His favorite thing in the world is when you use your tongue a lot when you have his d¡ck in your mouth.

Slowly allowing more in to your mouth also meant that Sunghoon was slowly getting more restless. He loves seeing you bob your head up and down. He runs his fingers through the front parts of you hair, leading them up to a makeshift ponytail. The front pieces would keep falling out but he would brush them back if they did.

"Angh~ you are so good at this princess." he says

You, physically having no room to talk due to your mouth being stuffed with his perfect cock, hummed in response. Your hum made your throat vibrate and it made Sunghoon twitch a little bit. He starts to move his hips in a rhythmic motion, trying to match yours.

You speed up exponentially out of no where, surprising him. He was so shocked but he loved every second of it. His breathing is shaky and he begins to grip your har tighter. He tosses his head back while his member starts twitching.

"I'm so close baby girl,....yeah right there" he says to you.

You go down farther and farther on his dick , until eventually it was all the way in. He lets out cute moans as you feel him plant his seed in your mouth. Once you suck him dry, you pull away having your mouth hanging open, with his cvm dripping out of it.

He smiles and looks down at you. He grabs your lower jaw and closes your mouth. "Swallow it" he demands. So, no matter how strange it tasted, you swallows a mouthful is his cvm. Leaving some of it around your mouth.

"Good girl"

He switches seats with you and starts by kissing you all of your body, down your neck, chest, stomach, thighs... all of you. He runs his hands up and down your inner thighs while softly kissing them. He slides his fingers onto your sensitive area. He slowly and carefully starts rubbing your clit is circular motions.

He starts kissing you more, like sloppy kisses and he takes his fingers away and licks them, making them more wet, and then continued to manipulate your pussy.

"R-right there daddy, just like that.~" you say while letting out a quiet moan.

He massages you slower, teasing you to keep you on edge. He wants you to beg for it.

"Why did y-you do that??~" you say sadly

No response, he just looks down and smiles a little bit.

"Please keep going, I need this daddy, i need your fingers."

Sunghoon gets painfully turned on when you you any kind of praise word, like daddy, but his favorite is master. He loves the feeling of having power over you, so you saying this was bound for him to have a reaction.

The next thing you know, you feel him slip his fingers inside of you. He starts moving his fingers in and out and he knows all of the right places to do it too.

You lay back and rest your arms on the sides of the tub. You throw your head back and decide to let him take control of the moment. You try to keep your cute little moans to yourself but Sunghoon could hear them.

"Come on baby, let them out" he says

You very obviously blush. Following his request, you allow yourself to moan a little louder, it's not like anyone would hear you.

You weren't being loud enough. He wanted you to be screaming his name. Moaning uncontrollably. Tears rolling down your face. Legs shaking. All of this only for his own pleasure. Seeing you in such a weak, helpless state would only make him more horny.

He forcefully picks up his pace, making you gasp. You try to contain is but you can't. You start breathing heavily as moans continuously fall out of your mouth. You place your arms on his shoulders and you dig your nails into his upper back. This sort of stinging pain was so hot to him.

This is what he liked to see. This is what he liked to hear. Your adorable moans filling up to room while you grip his shoulders. It was heaven to him.

But it still wasn't enough. He eagerly pulls his fingers out of you and grabs you up off of the tub seat. He forcefully bends you over the edge of the tub. He has both of your hands held behind your back with one of his hands.

He grabs his member and slides it across your cl¡t a few times, building up the anticipation for the both of you.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asks you

"Yes please daddy, ruin me"

He rams his perfectly shaped cock into you without hesitation. It is the perfect fit for you.

"Fuuck~" he says under his breath. "Your pussy is so tight baby."

He starts off with slow strokes, making sure you are adjusting to the size well. You wince at the pain but it begins to start turning into pleasure quickly. Once you show that it's okay to go a little faster, he increases the pace.

He lets go of your hands and grabs both of your hips for more control. He notices the mirror was way less foggy than it was earlier.

"Looks in the mirror babe" he says

You feel embarrassed when he said this. You groan and keep your head down.

He grabs the ends your you hair with his fist pulling it back, forcing your head up.

"I said look in the damn mirror" he's says but this time, more angrily.

Your face was so red from embarrassment but also from the heat. You were moaning so loud while being forced to watch your self get fucked Sunghoon. But you have to admit, it was hot seeing the faces he made with each stroke.

"You look so pretty when I ram my dick in and out of you, princess. You are taking it like such a good girl." He praised.

He grips your hair a little tighter, giving you goosebumps. He uses his other hand to reach around you body and grab your breast in the palm of his hand. He was so skilled , it was as if he were a pornstar.

He continued at a steady pace.

You couldn't feel your body. Him repeatedly hitting your g-spot perfectly over and over again made the rest of your body go numb. Your mind is cloudy. You can't get over how insanely good he is making you feel.

"I-it feels so g-good,... m-master." these words some how managed to slip from your mouth.

"Mmm really? does this feel good too?" he proceeds you slap your ass.

Saliva begins to ooze out of your mouth. He has you drooling over him and what he's doing to you.

He slows down, but pounds into you with a lot of extra force each time. Your eyes roll to the back of your head and you can barely breathe

"Do you like when I do this?" he asked

He didn't even need an answer. He knew what it was doing to you.

You were so needy for him. You would do anything he said if it meant that you could finish.

"Say my name and i'll let you cum?" he says

"d-daddy"

"Louder" he says sternly

"Daddy"

"Good Girl"

Your legs are getting weaker and are shaking like jello, you could barely hold yourself up.

Your moans start getting shakier and heavier. He picks up the pace again, trying to let you reach your max. He soon realizes that is is close to meeting his own, too.

"I love you baby." he says to you

You try to respond with "I love you too" but the sounds of your moans were masking it. You reach your all time high and you loud enough for the next town over to hear. You feel his warm liquid shoot into you as he continues with his strokes, eventually slowing down and pulling himself out of you. His cum was dripping and seeping out of your pussy while you both try and catch your breath.

He looks down at your pretty hole that he just ruined.

"Damn babe, your pussy looks so good with my cum oozing out."

He sits you back down on to the tub seat. He takes two of his fingers and slides them in you, not even giving you enough time to recooperate. He slides them in and out, making you grip the edge of the tub. You close your eyes tightly, whimpering.

He removes his fingers and sticks them in your mouth. The sweat droplets on his face was so attractive to you.

"You did so well for me today babe" he said taking his fingers out of your mouth while looking deeply into your eyes, gripping your chin.

You smile and thank him, pulling him into a kiss.

Y'all finish up in the bath tub and begin to get out. He runs to grab two towels. He returns and tosses a towel to you. He smiles and pulls you in, wrapping you both into his towel. He kisses you on the forehead.

You both walk back into the bedroom decide to get ready to sleep again, but longer than a nap of course. You both dig into your suitcases to find some pajama pants and a loose t-shirt to wear to sleep. You slip your clothes on and you plop yourself down in to the bed. You were very tired and sore.

Sunghoon leaves the room for a brief second and comes back what some warm blankets in his hand. He sets one down and he lays the other one out on top of you. He makes sure you are all warm and cozy before sliding into the bed himself. He lays the second blanket over the both of you and pulls you in closer by the waist. He leans in and kisses you on the forehead.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Shut In (Eyeless Jack x reader oneshot!)

Basic plot: its really cold outside, and you urge Jack to stay in your home with you... he decides to stay despite knowing full well that he will be fine out in the freezing temperatures. You both decide to do things to pass the time and stay warm! Turns out Jack can make a mean cup of hot coco, too

Extra notes: I dont usually write fanfics, and the last one I've written was a personal one from late August... so to say I'm rusty and underexperienced is an understatement! I feel this one ended up a little.. weirdly paced imo but I think I'm still happy with the end result! Dialogue I feel I could have done better on but I'm going to be nice to myself since I mostly write hc posts so this is way out of my comfort zone.. Drafted on Tumblr then sent through google docs to pick up on some mistakes I missed, briefly reread no proper proof reading imo... lets hope this isnt a train wreck + it copied back to tumblr okay!! LMAO

Brief joke about pregnancy/making a pregnancy but its like one small snippet but I know that can make people uncomfortable + implies at least one of the characters is AFAB

Word Count: 2915

Extra Admin's note: I want to say again that I am so so happy about this blog hitting 1k followers, when I first started this blog I was originally going to use it to burn time and have something to do on the side, as well as having a place to put out my cringe ideas and hcs. I never thought this many people would be interested in my dumb thoughts, but here we are! I intend to keep writing this year, and perhaps even make more non-celebratory one shots this year? Maybe? I don't know I guess we'll see the reception on this fic!

It was the middle of the night, around the middle of January. Your boyfriend and you were holed up inside your apartment, you having locked the man up with you after seeing that it was below freezing out, as well as raining. You had to practically beg your boyfriend to stay with you for the night.

Your boyfriend, who also just so happened to be a man eating demon with tar dripping out of his hollowed out eye sockets. Your boyfriend, who was currently sitting still and staring forward, the only sound in the apartment coming from the dripping of your faucet. You had asked him to come visit you, it'd been a while... and he would never ever let you go to his cabin when it's this cold out. So here you both were now.

You pat the palms of your hands on your knees, sucking in one of your cheeks and working the flesh through your jaws for a moment. You were both technically stuck in the apartment now; you didn't want Jack to go out and risk getting sick, and Jack more than likely wouldn't want you to step out for the same reasons. So, you were both confined to what you already had within the space. You were about to open your mouth to speak but Jack broke the silence first. "You're shivering, do you want me to get some blankets?", blunt and almost robotic. He was never that expressive. "Or would you like to go to your room?" He added after a brief pause, his fangs poking just over his lip before he readjusted his mouth. You were both in the living room, sitting together on the couch; the front door to your left and a view of the kitchen to the right. You thought for a minute as your eyes lingered on the kitchen for a moment. You'd already eaten, before your partner arrived... but..

"That's fine, I'm probably going to make some hot coco," You pulled yourself up, stretching up. "Powdered stuff ooor..?" Jack mimicked you. You only shook your head, earning a disapproving look from him. "What?" You questioned, but he only dismissed you. "Why don't you get some blankets, I'll handle it," and he turned on his heel to make his way to the kitchen. "Maybe put on a movie, too, your choice." He added as his voice carried off. "Are you saying I can't cook?" You called back, following after him. No answer as he tugged out a pot. "I'll have you know-" you started once more

"Do you have half and half?" He was already opening your pantry to grab things.

"No, I don't,"

"Heavy cream? Whipping cream? Whatever it's called..." He mumbled as he placed various ingredients on the counter. Cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and sugar. You only nodded, and as he was about to begin working he paused. "Do you want anything else in it? Cinnamon? Nutmeg?" He paused and through gritted teeth, "Coffee?"

It was almost midnight, of course he would be opposed to you having caffeine so late.

"Cinnamon is fine," You watched him get to work. He measured everything out; even mixing the heavy cream with some milk to make a substitute for half and half.... was that really all it was? You weren't sure what you expected it to be, if it weren't..

He pulled his head up and stared at you. It was then that you noticed he had actually taken his mask off and set it at the end of the counter and out of the way. The black ooze dripping from his eyes was slow and posed little threat to dripping into your drink. He had a fistful of napkins on standby to dap his face dry should the flow quicken. "Aren't you going to get the blankets?"

You pat your hands on your thighs, pausing... watching him. His body had a warm glow on him from the old light bulb in the ceiling; it flickered every now and then. Under the yellowed light he almost looked healthy and alive, though there was no glint where his eyes should have been. His sharp nail tapping on the counter brought you back to the moment, blinking a few times. "Yeah.." you mumbled, defeated at the chance of making a drink for yourself stolen from you. But was that so bad?

You backed out of the kitchen, dragging your feet across the floor. Your apartment was.. a little on the smaller side so within a few steps you were in front of your bedroom door. You didn't really pay much attention to your surroundings as you shuffled through the blankets on the bed.. eventually you settled on just grabbing an arm full and waddling back to the living room, dumping everything you had grabbed onto the couch.

The house smelled of cinnamon and chocolate.. with a hint of vanilla.

Turning your gaze to the tv, your eyes scanned across the DVDs you had stacked messily. Nothing sounded good. "Is there anything you want specifically?" You called out as you settled yourself down criss cross in front of the tv and pulling all the cases onto the floor next to you. "Movie wise," You added as you pulled the first case into your hands. The DVD collection for Child's Play.. you had gotten it a few weeks ago, finding it on sale at your local store. You still hadn't popped it in to watch..

"I have.. Chucky, uhm..." You shuffled for the next case. "All the movies by the way.. I have that and.. most of the Friday the 13th movies," You called out. No answer, the only sound coming from the kitchen was the noise of a whisk gently being stirred. "I don't have Jason goes to hell... But!" You pulled out a third case with the Nightmare on Elm Street DVDs. "I DO have Freddy vs Jason," You mumbled and spread the three disks on the floor in front of you. Most of the disks you had, you noticed, were mostly older slasher movies. Still, Jack hadn't answered you. You pull yourself to your feet and trudge back into the kitchen. His back was to you, too preoccupied with the stove... He hadn't noticed you, not yet. An idea blossomed in your head, a smirk pulling itself across your lips. You steeled yourself, trying to force yourself to stop shivering.. Jack was always paying attention to his surroundings, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

You take a step forward and he still doesn't notice your approach.

Another step.

And another.

Jack wasn't the tallest, in fact if you wanted to you could rest your chin on his shoulder... and that's what you ended up doing, while wrapping your arms around his thick waist. You could feel his body seize up just a little bit against you, before relaxing. "You didn't answer, what sounds good?" You pulled your eyes down to look at the pot. Your drink was nearly finished. You view rocked as your boyfriend shrugged, still silent but the twitching of his pointed ears let you know he was listening.

"Anything's fine," Another shrug as he cuts the heat. "You're the one cooking for me, you get to pick the movie," You insisted. He paused mid-whisk, letting out a soft huff. Suddenly he spun around, his face just a few inches from yours. In the dimmed light his eye sockets seemed deeper, it's black ooze lazily dripping down his cheeks. You noticed the smudges on his face, from wiping the streaks. You briefly wondered what it was like to sleep with them, but your thoughts were cut short as he pulled a blackened and clawed hand to your hair; tucking a lock behind your ear. "How does...." He paused, sucking in his teeth. He looked almost embarrassed. "Bride of Chucky sound?"

"What? Want to study the characters again so we can dress up again this year for Halloween?" You tease. You had convinced him a few months ago to dress up with you. With him as Chucky, and you as Tiffany... It had taken some begging and convincing but you ultimately got him to agree. Although you didn't go out to get candy, you were both fine with staying inside watching movies together in costume. It was also that night you got him to watch the movies..

His ears darkened, before he scoffed. "No... actually this year I was thinking of..." He took a long pause, visibly scraping his brain for names of characters, before seemingly giving up. "Look I don't watch many movies I don't know any.. characters.." He grimaced, before gently pushing you off of him so he could turn his attention back to the hot cocoa. "We've still got nine months, more than enough time to come up with something..." You shrugged, then smirked. "Not enough time to make a Glen... or Glenda," You teased before turning on your heel. You held back a snicker as you heard Jack splutter, finally processing what you had just said to him.

"W-"

"I'm gonna go ahead and put in the disc, I'll leave it paused for you," You cut him off, still grinning to yourself as you kneeled down to do as you had said.

Soon enough Jack walked into the room with a mug, as well as a platter of cookies. "You didn't have to," You mumbled as you eyed the treats, but he only waved you off as he placed the plate and mug onto the coffee table. "You don't have to eat them, but I figured you might want a snack while watching the movie," He mumbled. You took the mug, and swirled the drink inside of it. "I hope I didn't put in too much cinnamon," Jack added as he watched you. He leaned over and started the movie.

You took a sip, smiling a little as the warmness crept in. "You did good, probably the best hot cocoa I've ever had." You offered a grin to him. "That has got to be the fakest compliment I've ever heard," Jack shot back, though you could see the corners of his mouth turning up just slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry! I believe this is the most decadent and satisfying beverage I've had ever been graced with in my life, and-" You began, only for Jack to hush you. "I'd rather you throw it on me, don't... say words like that again," He grumbled as readjusted himself into the couch. You took a sip and shrugged, "It's just absolutely immaculate," and he lightly smacked you on the arm. "I'm never making anything for you again," He snorted, before turning his attention to the movie.

You weren't going to lie, you felt a little bad treating yourself to the cookies, knowing Jack was unable to eat them without upsetting his stomach. Being a man-eating monster must really be hard. You purse your lips, and shoot a look at him from the corner of your eye. He must have been doing the same, because he turned his head to look at you. "Do you want to do something else?" He asked lightly, his grin from a few minutes ago already faded. "Do you ever miss eating.. food?" You asked before you could stop yourself. He didn't bother pausing the movie, instead he just fell silent and stared down, into the space between the two of you on the couch.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up, I know it's a touchy subject for you," You mumbled and put the mug on the table. You sucked in the air between your teeth, flicking your eyes up to the movie, before bringing them back down to your lap. It stayed like that for a minute before Jack broke the silence. "I mean... yeah, I do. But at least I don't have to eat every day like you do, means I can have more time to do what I want," He said. Clearly, he was still bothered, tip-toeing around the big.. thing about him. The air was still tense and thick, all of the previous joking gone now. It was nearly unbearable. Nearly.

"You know," Jack began after a few more seconds of silence when you didn't reply. "I've never tried cinnamon in hot cocoa, I didn't know that was a thing people did," He was changing the subject. "You haven't?" You asked, raising a brow. He eyed your mug, but you both knew there was no way he was going to take a sip.

"It's really good," You mumbled, and took the drink, "The combo, I mean," You added. He hummed, patting his knees lightly. You swirled the drink again, watching the... what was it called? Those lighter swirls in the drink.. Did that have a name?

"You've had hot cocoa before, right?" You asked. He hummed again, nodding his head. "Well.. the cinnamon makes it warm. Taste wise.. It makes it.." You took a sip and thought for a minute. "Richer, I guess? It's hard to explain," You muttered, then looked back at him. You tore your eyes back down when you saw he was looking right at you, totally hooked onto your words. "I hear nutmeg goes good in it, too.. but I've only tried nutmeg and chocolate together in baked goods," You shrugged. "You did really good with this, you know... not too much cinnamon.. not spicy, at least." You smiled. He nodded, before turning back to the movie.

"Woody, I hear people describe cinnamon like that," He leaned back into the couch, a dull pop came from his back.

"Woody," You repeated, then took a large sip of the hot cocoa. You put the mug down onto the table, and leaned into your boyfriend as the warmth crept and settled into your bones. You weren't even paying attention to the movie, your mind was now occupied with how tired you were. Your eyes slipped up to the clock on the wall, It was nearly one in the morning. Had it only been an hour since Jack walked himself into the kitchen?

You lean deeper into Jack, not caring about his body's natural chill. His clothing still smelled a little like the cocoa from earlier.. "Gotta invest in some cologne, you smell nice like this," You mumbled into his arm. "The cinnamon?" He asked, not looking down at you. "No.. the cocoa, I mean cinnamon would be a nice touch... but you don't seem like a sweet smelling guy, do you?" You muttered. "Are you already getting tired?" Jack asked, and he leaned over you to grab the remote, pausing the movie. You muttered, the heat of the hot cocoa doing way more than you expected on the tiredness you didn't notice you had. "A little," You shrugged, "But we can still try to finish the movie," You offered, but he shook his head. Of course he would, as much of a hard ass or party pooper he came off as, he was going to make sure you were going to get your rest.

You put your hand in his, the one that had the remote.. you unpaused the movie. He paused it, and you unpaused it again. It kind of kept up like this before Jack conceited and kept it playing, although he did lower the volume.. The subtitles were already on, though. "I win," You smirked up at him, before crawling into his lap. You placed your head on his chest, pausing when you felt him stiffen before relaxing against you. His heart beat for a moment before settling to its barely there rhythm. For a minute you thought about asking about his heart, as far as you knew he explained himself like he was becoming a walking corpse... how does that work?

You decided against it, you already asked about him earlier.. and besides, your mind was already beginning to blank as Jack reached to the side of the couch, and turned the lamp off.. It was dark now. It was still raining, you could more clearly hear the drops outside now that the movie was turned down. Plus, Jack was running his fingers through your hair, lightly massaging your scalp. It wouldn't be long until you finally gave in and fell asleep.

"Are you going to still be here in the morning?" You asked, melting into his chest as he hummed in response. "Plan on it, I still need to clean up the kitchen," He added as he curled your hair around his hand. "It'll still be cold in the morning," He added, "I need to make sure you bundle up before you go out for work," He added. "I'm not that dumb," You muttered and lightly slapped his arm. You swear, if he still had his eyes he would have rolled them.

"How do you see? I know you're not.. a normal person, but," You blurted out, lifting your head. He pushed your face back down, shushing you. "Sleep," He ordered, before loosening his hold on you a bit so you could get comfortable. It wasn't an order but it may as well have been with how your body started to loosen into him within the next few minutes, quickly snuffling out your curiosity and questions.

He'd still be here in the morning, you could pester him then. After all, it's what he signed up for when the two of you started to date one another..

[srjlvr]

,, cold coffee in the winter ‘‘

“your taste in coffee is weird”

non-idol!Riki X barista!gn reader

niki never thought he would meet someone that would interest him so much in a coffee shop || genre fluff! || wc 1.3k || lowercase intended.

“you might catch cold if you drink something cold in this cold weather”

after a normal, decent day at school, one of niki’s hobbies is going to a coffee shop, just to study a bit and look at the people that were passing by. he would usually do it alone since there’s nothing he cherish more than some time alone.

he got too busy lately after school so he didn’t get the time to pass by the coffee shop, but not today! as soon as school ended, niki started walking towards his favorite cafe.

the place looked warmed and welcoming, the aroma made everyone feel at home, and although it was a kind of small place, it held a huge place in niki’s heart. the owners of the place are always so nice to niki and they always make sure to give him some extra cookie for him to enjoy his time there, he became a regular costumer already.

although being young, going to this cafe is his favorite thing to do. “what about your parents? should we just adopt you and that’s it?” the owners were a cute old couple, them being so nice to niki always makes him feel better than how he feels at home.

niki opened the door and the bells rang, that was when he saw an unfamiliar figure cleaning some of the tables and going back behind the counter.

“hey! what can i get for you today?” you said. niki looked at you amazed, oh god, you were so pretty, he’s been in this cafe for a year already and never saw you there. “where are…” “oh, you mean the owners, they’re my parents” you giggled. “They asked me to take care of the cafe while they’re away, huge mistake, i’m not that old i don’t think i can manage to do this” you added a bit stressfully.

“oh, i forgot i’m sorry, i’m y/n” you smiled. “niki” he quickly replied.

the cafe isn’t that popular and not a lot of people come in, usually it’s just the regular costumers who already know you. your parents were away for a few days so they thought it’d be okay to let you take care of their place.

“ah! you’re that niki they’re always talking about! it’s nice to finally meet you, my parents won’t stop talking about you” you kept your smile on your face when you realized it’s him. niki awkwardly giggled, he’s not used to too much interaction, especially not with someone as pretty as you.

“i’ll take iced americano” he nervously smiled. “noted! it’ll be ready right away” you smiled as you took his order. he was about to give you the money but you quickly pushed his hand back, “it’s on the house”

niki watched you making his iced americano, he just now saw you and he feels weirdly attracted to you. it never happened to him before, your parents did mention you a lot whenever he came in the cafe but he never thought you’d look that beautiful.

“niki!” you snapped him out of thoughts and handed him his coffee. “it’s yours, enjoy it” you warmly smiled and went back to cleaning the place.

niki took a place in his regular table and continued staring at you throughout the whole time, his homeworks are long forgotten and you were his main interest now.

how do i even start a conversation with them…. he sighed heavily.

as he was about to leave, he made sure to wave you as a goodbye. “thank you for the americano, it was tasty” he smiled. you giggled and nodded, “come back again when you have time!”

niki definitely came back the other day, happily entering the cafe with a wide smile on his face. “hey” is all he said when he saw you. “good afternoon mr.niki, what can i get for you today?” you jokingly said and waited for his response.

“i actually want to ask you for a favor” he suddenly became serious to calm himself down from the nervousness. “uh, your parents once told me we’re the same age, and we might not be studying in the same school but i actually need some help with maths and i was wondering if you could help me because im trying not to fail and-“ “it’s okay niki, i will help you” you smiled.

“wait really?” he stopped thinking for a few seconds, looking at you. “yeah i mean, there aren’t lots of people anyway, i can help you while working” you chuckled.

“thank you thank you thank you, i know we just met yesterday but it feels like i’ve known you for years, your parents talk about you a lot so i studied you a bit” he giggled shyly. “it’s mutual, my parents always talks about you i feel like i know everything about you” you laughed.

“i’ll make you iced americano and we’ll start studying” you nodded and told him to wait at his usual table.

the next few days were the same, niki coming to the cafe as usual, you and him studying and chatting about any random thing you could think of. you could say you found yourself a new interesting person in your life.

today was no different, niki rushed to the cafe as soon as school ended, to his surprise today, he saw your parents as he got in the cafe. “is that niki? look at this boy! a few days we’re away and he’s growing that tall” your parent praised him. “we missed you niki! how have you been?” your parent came up to him and hugged him.

niki roamed his eyes around the cafe but there was no sign of you. he saddened a bit, niki was enjoying your company a lot, you can even say he relied on your company after a long, depressing day in school, only you could bring his mood up.

“is everything okay niki?” your parents noticed his eyes that suddenly saddened. “oh right! you met our y/n!” your parent clapped.

“did y/n come today?” he asked. “where do i need to put the new order that came toda-“ you suddenly showed up and niki immediately hugged you.

“uh…….” you hugged him back and released after niki realized what he did. “sorry i just had a panic attack and you were the first person to show up” he came up with this excuse so fast he was almost so proud of himself. you laughed it off and hugged him again, “i was having a panic attack too now, sorry”

months passed by with the same rountine, you actually stayed in the cafe to help your parents with everything there, and also because that way you and niki could meet on daily basis.

the new day was a small reminder that winter has came, it was raining outside and niki was running his way to the cafe with his umbrella. when he got in, you were already sitting in your usual table, waiting for him.

“over here!” you called him with a smile. “you got a bit wet from the rain” you said as he sat in front of you. you shrugged it off, the cafe ac was on heat so it’ll make him warm up fast. “i got you something else to drink today, not iced americano” you took a sip from your own drink.

he stared at you in disbelief, “wha? i’m looking out for you! you might catch cold if you drink something cold in this cold weather” you rolled your eyes and he giggled.

he slowly took a sip from the hot drink that you chose for him and made a disgusted face, “your taste in coffee is weird”.

“it’s better than drinking americano anyway” you teased him a bit and giggled.

“y/n” he called you out and you looked at him, making eye contact, “let’s stop studying together and go out on a date instead” he looked really serious in your eyes but inside his heart was doing flips flops.

your eyes softened and a small smile appeared on your face, “let’s do that”

© srjlvr , pls don’t copy/translate any of my works without permission ! | reblogs and comments are very appreciated !

[ughgoaway]

i feel like they would say i love you to each other quite fast after getting together in a cute casual domestic setting <3 <3 <3 like the one you described🥰

oooh interesting, see i couldn't decide whether it would be reasonably quick after they got together or a weirdly long time???

obviously, they're in love, but I'm not sure whether that means it's so important they need to say it NOW or whether it's just so obvious it remains unsaid. I am gonna discuss both scenarios so prepare for a ramble lol

okay lets say they say it fast; another cute domestic setting would be saying it after you look after Annie for the night. maybe he comes out to see his girls crashed on the sofa, one of those animated Barbie movies playing on the screen.

you wake up to matty stroking your head softly and just give him a sleepy grin. you strategically untangle from Annie and stand up to give him a hug.

"Hi baby," you mumble into his shoulder

"Hi sweetheart, how are my girls, hmm?" he says softly, hugging you and rubbing your back.

"Good. sleepy, obviously, but we enjoyed our little girl's night." You say, pulling back and wrapping your arms around mattys neck as his make their way to sit on your waist.

"Ah, did Annie do your nails like she wanted to?" matty asks, now fiddling with the hem of your shirt absentmindedly.

you bring one of your hands out from behind his head and flash your nails, "oh yes and I love them, very glittery" your hand goes back behind his neck but now sits at the base of his curls, gently scratching them in the way you know he loves.

matty throws his head back with a groan and shuts his eyes, "hmm well I love them. love you too." matty says, completely distracted by your warm hands massaging his scalp. you freeze briefly, but matty doesn't seem to notice what he's said, so you play along with a big grin in your face

"That's nice to hear baby. I love you too," you say confidently. You thought hearing it out loud would freak you out. especially considering you've only been together a few weeks, but this all felt so natural. and hearing matty say that just felt right.

he gets a dopey smile on his face, clearly not quite back in the world yet, and pulls you in for another hug. this time squeezing you and holding you especially close.

3 seconds into the hug, you feel him jolt, pull back and look at you with wide eyes.

"WAIT WHAT"

now, if it was a weirdly long time, I could see it happening at the studio.

its pretty fucking late and you've been there for a few hours hanging out with the boys but you can see matty and George getting frustrated by this song so you decide to give them some space.

you walk over and drop a kiss into mattys curls, and you feel his hand slip from his arm rest to your thigh, but his eyes stay laser focused on the computer screen.

"You going somewhere, baby?" he asks, still completely lost in the world of producing.

"Yeah, I'm going to leave you boys to it and go get some rest," you say, fiddling with some of Matty's curls, twiddling them around your finger.

"Okay, see you at home sweetheart," matty says, giving your thigh a squeeze before removing his hand and pressing seemingly random buttons on the keyboard.

"Bye, I love you," you say with a yawn, already walking away.

"Love you too!" matty shouts after you slightly turning his head, but his eyes stay fixed on his screen.

as the door clicks, matty nonchalantly goes back to working but sees George freeze out of the corner of his eye.

"Dude, just because y/n got to leave doesn't mean you do, get back to it," matty says, sighing and rubbing his eyes with his closed fists.

"When did that develop then, huh?" George asks, smirking and leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

matty paused and span to look at George with a confused face, "do you mean y/n? because if you do, im very confused about why you think she's been hanging around us for so long." he jokes.

"No, no. not y/n. the whole 'I love you' thing. First time I've heard you guys say it." George says, shrugging his shoulders and spinning back to the computer.

"Huh? we haven't said that yet. What do you mean?" matty says, yawning and stretching as best he can in his cramped chair.

george stops and turns to matty with a confused look on his face. "matty. she literally just left and said, 'i love you', and you said 'love you too'... don't tell me that was the first time you said it??" George is laughing at the absurdity of that idea, expecting matty to join in. but still, after a few seconds, matty stays silent.

george opens his eyes and sees matty blinking rapidly with his mouth open, "oh fuck." he says.

another beat passes before both men burst out laughing. A combination of the absurd situation, how long they've been awake, and the zoot they smoked earlier.

later matty comes home and immediately crawls into bed with you, you wake up and flip over cuddling into his chest and humming happily.

"hey babe, are you awake?" matty whispers, the slight anxiety in his voice woke you right up.

"yeah, is everything okay?" you say your voice heavy with sleep, you rest your chin on mattys chest and look up at him.

"You know earlier when you left?" matty pauses until you nod, indicating for him to continue, "well turns out we both said,'I love you' for the first time... and didn't notice. George pointed it out, " he said sheepishly, he raises his arm and placed his hand under his head whilst his other hand traced your bicep.

you blink hard a few times before simply going, "Oh," both you and matty look at each other before gently smiling.

you turn your head and settle back into his chest, "Well, I do love you, so that's good." You say stifling a yawn. matty feels you drifting off, your breathing evening out, and your eyelids fluttering.

"I love you too, now go to sleep darling," he says softly, feeling himself drift off as well. you nod as best you can into his chest before both of you fall asleep, a tangled mess of limbs under the duvet.

blurb masterlist for this au here :)

[wooahaes]

and everything nice

pairing: non-idol!changbin x gn!reader

genre: fluff. roommates au. idiots to lovers, at last.

word count: ~1.0k

warnings: food mentions. idiots finally confessing.

daisy's notes: a sequel to sugar & spice.

A little over a year ago, Changbin had tasted spiced cider after months of you building up to it. And it was good, sure, but the two of you had made some bet about him confessing to the person he liked if you were right. Yet here he was, standing in the same kitchen as you, heart still yearning because nothing came of that bet. He was rolling out pie dough for you now, gingerbread cookies in the oven again (the skeleton gingerbread men would soon make their return), and listening to you sing softly under your breath while you worked on the berry filling for your pie. 

It was weirdly familiar, to be honest. This year, you’d been bragging for months about your pies. Something about how this mixed berry pie would be the best thing he’d ever tasted, especially if it was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it while it was still warm. Yet all he could do was replay what happened last year. He’d tasted the cup of spiced cider, and never told you that you were right: it was the best thing he’d ever tasted… But he was sure that it was because you made it. Everything tasted better when you made it: coffee, snacks, ramen at two in the morning… It was just something about your touch. 

“Hey… Binnie?” You didn’t look up, and he could hear the scrape of the wooden spoon against the bottom of the saucepan. “Remember last year?”

It was as though you read his mind. “Yeah?”

“I mean… Our bet. The one we never went through.”

Changbin turned to look at you, although you still hadn’t moved—not to face him, at least. You sounded so much quieter. A moment later, he spoke up, “Yeah. I remember it.” 

“Did you ever talk to them?”

He shook his head.  How did he say this without giving himself away? He spoke to you pretty much every day, after all. “Not about my feelings for them.”

“Why?”

“I’m scared they don’t see me in the same way.” Changbin turned back, staring down at the pie crust. He reached for the glass dish you had set out, “And if I mess it up, I don’t want to lose them. Is that wrong?” 

“No! No, that’s… That’s why I never said anything to the person I like.” You paused. “I mean. I don’t know—I never told you that I never pushed about the stupid bet because I didn’t want you to lose someone you care for.” 

Oh. Changbin wasn’t sure what to say. It just reminded him of why he liked you so much. He watched the slow way you scooped up a little bit of the pie filling, tasting it and mulling over it.

“Hey… Binnie, can you come taste this?” You pursed your lips, looking over to him after a moment. You scooped out more, waiting for him to come to your side as you held up the spoon. “There’s something off and I can’t figure out what it is…”

He reached forward, just pulling your wrist forward so that he could taste it. He wrinkled his nose a little—it was… not as sweet as he thought it would be. He’d seen you add lemon juice and a few other things. It was all just tart. 

“I think it needs sugar—”

“No… No, I don’t think so,” you pouted. 

He shook his head. “Just a little more. You only used half a cup, right?”

“Right—Last time I made it, it was too sweet.” 

Changbin stared at you, fully aware of how your mind could wander sometimes when cooking (especially on your own). You were good about it, sure, but he still knew how you could be. “Did you add too much last time?”

Immediate silence. “No. Maybe. Shut up.” You reached for the bag of sugar.

“You wanna bet on it?” He crossed his arms. “Prove me wrong. If I’m wrong, I’ll tell my crush how I feel. If I’m right, you have to.” 

“What?” You looked at him. “What crush—”

He shook his head. “Uh-uh. I heard you telling your friend about some guy. If you can make me confess on a bet, I can, too.” 

If you wanted to say no, you could have. You would have. Instead, he saw something in your eyes as you nodded, agreeing to the terms after weighing your options. He stood by, watching as you measured out the sugar, mixing it into the filling. Soon enough, you tasted it again, and he could see the way your brows lifted. He had been right. You lowered your gaze for a moment, thinking to yourself. He’d expected you to pick up your phone, to excuse yourself and confess in private.

Instead, you met his eyes again. “Changbin? I’m in love with you.” 

He let out this strangled wheeze, as if you’d punched him in the stomach. When he thought about it, every single sign pointed to this truth. All he could do now was stare at you as he replayed every moment, lips parted as he tried to figure out what to say next. What to do next. Had that been a reason as to why you didn’t want him to confess last year? Because you were scared it wasn’t you? He’d have to ask you later. 

For now? All he could do was step forward, leaning in to kiss you. His lips pressed against yours, and he felt you reciprocate all too quickly, hands resting on his shoulders. His hands trailed up your sides before coming to linger at the bottom of your ribs, drawing you in closer.

“I think,” you mumbled against his lips when you pulled back, “we’re a little dumb, Changbin.”

He could only chuckle, drawing you back in. He would kick himself for being stupid later. Now? He’d savor the softness of your lips and the lingering taste of berries on them.

taglist: @twancingyunhao @weird-bookworm

[hmshermitcraft]

wels x grian || theme: pets || extra: autistic wels (bc im projecting)

“Would you like to get a cat?”

“No. They smell.”

“Oh.” Grian was taken aback by Wels’ bluntness. He knew his partner wasn’t being mean on purpose, but Grian was still getting used to the matter of fact way Welsknight preferred to communicate.

Wels turned around to Grian once he finished sewing a banned back together. “We do live in seperate bases, love. You can get yourself a cat.”

“What about a dog?” Grian chirped happily. He knew Wels liked dogs, he loved playing with their friends’ pet dogs.”

“No, no, they shed too much. Grian, please listen, if you want any pets you can get however many you want, I just don’t want to live with any right now.”

“What… but you look after everyone else’s dogs all the time!” Grian was growing exasperated with his partner.

“Grian, listen to me.” Wels snapped, stepping closer to Grian and leaning over him. “I don’t want a pet like a dog or cat because they are very overwhelming for me to have around all of the time. All the time I spend looking after other hermit’s pets is organised, planned and outside of my home. If you want a pet, then get yourself a pet. I can come and help look after it with you but I do not want to live with a pet.”

Grian frowned, “You don’t get it.”

Wels sighed and sat down, letting Grian come and sit in his lap. “What am I not understanding, Grian? You know I am not good at reading between the lines.”

“I want us… to move in together, and I want us to have something to look after together.”

“Why didn’t you just say that, prince?”

“I…” Grian went red with embarrassment, “I don’t know.” He started to cry, but also burst into laughter. “This was so silly, I don’t know why I can’t just say things straight up rather than dancing around the issue.”

Wels sighed light heartedly, “I don’t know either.” He chuckled and pressed a kiss to Grian’s forehead. “So, you want to move in together? And get some kind of a pet?”

“…yes. If you’re ok with that.”

“Hmm… I think we can make it work.”

And so they did. They spent a few months getting their shared home sorted and moved into, including a house warming party with all the hermits, and there they finally landed on the perfect pet for them.

“Morning, Bowser.” Wels grinned down at their baby tortoise who was just waking up and walking over to lay under his heat lamp. “How did you sleep?” the tortoise made a quiet squeak in response, “Sounds nice. I’ll get you some breakfast, Bowser.”

A tortoise was their perfect pet. He was weirdly very nice to hold, which was a shock to Grian, and he was almost as introverted as Wels himself. The three of them would often sit in silence, Bowser on their large desk while Wels sewed and Grian drew up building plans.

Grian had never expected a tortoise to be such a good pet, but he had been willing to compromise for Wels and… maybe he loved Bowser even more than Wels, considering he showed off pictures of him to other hermits like a proud dad.

-🌻

Grain likes to tease Wels by comparing him to the turtle. They both have their protective shells, and they enjoy lounging around in the warm sun. It makes sense that he's perfect for Wels. And if he's perfect for Wels, then he's perfect for Grain too!

It taught them some important lessons for communicating with each other as well, and they still use the things they've learnt now! Wels has gotten better at figuring out when Grian is inadvertently speaking around what he wants, and tells him so. Grian has gotten better at just saying what he wants.

Neither of them have gotten better at not spoiling Bowser, though... The most pampered tortoise there is.

[bwabys-scenarios]

Fixer Upper

Part 12

Perv!Kurapika x Fem!Reader

part 11

part 13

warning: reader bets her own life, Leorio is worried about her

taglist: @fabitheraven @tsukilover11 @ashdownunderscorebeloved @lemonslut @homeinmydreams @superweeniehutjrsblog @bugmomwrites @heartsforseo @lixiawinter @altaircc @itszenava @fiightforlovee @mimi-sanisanidiot @monainanuttshell @wow-im-gay @whorermoviestar @lightshowerrr @mama-m1na

If you’d like to be ADDED to the taglist, please comment a red heart ❤️, make sure you’re able to be tagged/mentioned, and have your age in your bio(IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON THE TAGLIST, YOU DON’T NEED TO ASK TO BE ADDED AGAIN!!)

(Name) sighed, trying to relax her tired body by stretching.

“I want you guys to know that you worked very hard. 43 of you have passed the second phase of the exam. For your information, we’re scheduled to arrive at our destination 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.”

(Name) yawned, Kurapika glancing at her from the corner of her eye.

“Alright then, until our next meeting you guys have some free time. Dismissed.”

(Name) sighed in relief, setting her bag.

“Hey Kurapika, you gonna explore the airship with us?”

Kurapika shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh… how about you Leorio?”

“No thanks, I’ll have to pass. I’m so tired I can hardly move.”

“(Name)- oh.”

She was yawning, leaning her head against the wall. “Sorry boys, I need to rest a little, or I’ll crumble into dust.”The boys rushed off to explore.

Tonpa came by to ‘warn’ them, but (Name) was too tired to even listen. Kurapika jumped slightly when he felt her head rest against his shoulder before it leaned back. “(Name)?”

She was swaying softly, barely awake. “Hmm?”

He held back a chuckle. “You can lean against my shoulder, if you want.”

She blinked sleepily. “Really?”

He nodded, the girl giving him a pretty smile before scooting towards him, snuggling into his side. “Thank you.”

Kurapika’s face turned red. He had expected her to just lie her head against his shoulder, not for her to cuddle against him and sigh softly.

Leorio huffed. “Lucky.”

Kurapika sent him a glare before stiffly folding his arms. “Here!”

Kurapika watched as she used her cardigan to cover them both, looking up at him. “We can share my cardigan to stay warm!”

He wasn’t sure why, but sitting there, cuddled up to (Name) as she slept made his heart race. He could feel her body heat, smell her perfume. Although he had planned on resting, it was hard when he could hardly focus on anything but the girl leaning against him.

They stayed like this for around an hour, Kurapika eventually becoming comfortable to lean his head against hers.

Tonpa snored, preventing Leorio and Kurapika from getting any sleep. ‘At least one of us can get some rest.’ Kurapika thought, looking fondly at the sleeping girl next to him. He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel content right now, almost peaceful.

It had been a while since he’d had another person so close to him, sharing in their body heat. It felt… nice.

But all nice things come to an end.

Tonpa snored particularly loud, stirring (Name). “Mmph… what’s that sound?”

“Tonpa.” Kurapika said with a sigh, glancing at her with half lidded eyes.

“Ahh. How long have I been asleep?”

“About an hour.”

She pulled away, looking a bit flustered. “Oh, sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt your shoulder or anything.”

He shook his head quickly, feeling weirdly empty when she pulled away. “No, I didn’t mind at all.”

She tilted her head, giving him a soft smile. “Really? Then I hope you won’t mind me using your shoulder as a pillow in the future.”

Kurapika looked away so she wouldn’t notice his blush. “… that’s fine with me.”

(Name) stood up, stretching her limbs before smiling. “Let’s go get something to eat!”

————————

They walked to the cafeteria, noticing a girl standing before Gon and Killua at a booth. (Name) raised an eyebrow as Leorio scooted in through the other side of the booth, wrapping around an arm around her shoulder.

He asked her something, (Name) not paying much attention. She was too busy gesturing for Killua to move so she could slide in next to him. He did so, only grumbling a little. “That sounds like a terrible idea. Now why don’t you leave me alone?”

“We can’t do that. My names Kurapika, my goals the same as yours, to become a black list hunter. We have a lot in common, perhaps we could help each other.”

(Name) wasn’t sure why, but him seeming interested in that girl made her frown.

“I’d walk away if I were you. It’s me she’s here for.”

(Name) glanced between the two, tilting her head. “I acted on a rumor I heard, that a young member of the Zoldyck family was going to be taking the Hunter Exam this year.”

“And now you’ve found me. Yes, I’m a member of the Zoldyck family, so what about it?”

(Name) watched as the girl reached for something, her first response being to shield Killua with her arm. The white haired boy said nothing, but his lips twitched slightly.

‘What is she doing? Does she think she’s protecting me?’

“Hey, think about this for a minute. If an assassin is hired to kill someone, there’s a chance that person has done something to deserve it.”

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”

She flipped the table, Kurapika running forward to hold her back. The woman launched herself at Killua, brandishing a knife, but (Name) pushed him out of the way.

“(NAME)!”

The blade sliced her arm, the girl ignoring (Name) and rushing after Killua. The white haired boy paused for a split second, his eyes gone wide.

‘I could have easily dodged that, there was no need for her to try and protect me.’

“That is enough!”

Netero, the chairman, grabbed the place between two fingers, shielding Killua from the attack.

Now that she’d been dealt with, Leorio, Gon, and Kurapika rushed to (Name)’s side. She held a hand over her arm, sighing.

“(Name), are you alright?” Leorio asked, gently pulling her hand away.

The cut wasn’t deep, just long enough to look scary. Kurapika glanced back at the girl before kneeling beside (Name), slowly pushing her sleeve up.

“I’m fine, it’s just a scratch. Is Killua okay?”

The white haired boy stood facing away from her. “… I’m fine. You didn’t have to do that, you know. I could have dodged if you didn’t get in my way.”

(Name) chuckled. “Well, if you’re okay then it doesn’t matter.”

Killua glanced back, his eyebrows furrowed. He couldn’t understand her. Why did she risk getting injured, knowing that Killua was capable of defending himself?

“You never know. If I had let you get hurt and didn’t do anything to help, I would never be able to forgive myself.”

Leorio finished bandaging her arm.

“You’re our friend. It’s only natural I’d want to help.”

Killua jerked his head back to face the opposite direction. He didn’t want her to see the confused, flustered expression on his face. ‘Why? I can’t understand. Helping me then would have been of no benefit to her.’

He looked down, frowning. ‘Friends, huh?’

Kurapika helped her up, scolding her lightly. “You need to be more careful, you could have been really hurt.”

“I agree with Kurapika on this. That was reckless.”

(Name) pouted. “Wouldn’t you two have done the same thing? Kurapika held her back…”

The two sighed. “You’re too nice, (Name).”

———————

(Name) and Kurapika parted ways with Leorio after they group agreed to go to sleep.

“Kurapika, where are we going? I thought we were going to sleep.” (Name) asked, walking hand in hand with him.

“We’re going to speak with the examiner and ask them to be a bit more lenient with the stowaway.”

(Name) yawned. “Also, why are we holding hands?”

He blinked, staring down at where they were connected. “Oh, um… I didn’t want you falling behind.”

He didn’t let go, continuing to look forward. “Aww, that’s sweet of you, Kurapika.”

Kurapika turned his head around, nodding slightly. “It’s… it’s nothing.”

(Name) giggled to herself. ‘How cute.’

The two arrived at Menchi’s room, spotting Leorio. He’d came for the same reason they had. “Are you two holding hands?”

Kurapika dropped her hand, clearing his throat. “I was making sure she didn’t get lost.”

“Uh huh… Examiner are you still awake?”

Leorio knocked on the door for a moment. “HEY ARE YOU IN THERE!?”

(Name) jumped at his sudden change in volume.

The three glanced at each other before Leorio reached for the knob.

The door slid open slowly, Leorio screaming as a knife flew out and hit the wall behind him.

Menchi stood in the doorway, wearing only a towel.

“You two sure have a lot of nerve. Most applicants wouldn’t consider sneaking into an examiners in the middle of the night!”

She seemed to be ignoring (Name), only focused on the two men.

“It’s not like that!” Leorio exclaimed, hiding behind (Name).

“Oh no? Then what are you doing here, trying to sneak a peek at me!?”

Kurapika froze on the spot, trying to look everywhere but at Menchi. “Believe me I would never do a thing like that. I consider taking advantage of women in any way disgraceful.”

(Name) cooed at Kurapika, pinching his cheek. “What a sweet boy!”

Kurapika’s already pink cheeks turned red under her praise.

“Hey, why couldn’t you include me in your excuse!?”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!”

(Name) watched as Menchi chased the two down the hallway. Once the two men were far enough away and she’d gotten a few good hits on Leorio, Menchi huffed and turned back.

“(Name), is there something you wanted to ask of me?”

Menchi seemed to have calmed down, even smoothing out her towel in front of the girl.

“Oh, um…”

‘Oh no, I’ve forgotten already!’

She twiddled her thumbs, Menchi giving her a smile. “Aww, I’m sure you’ve had a rough day, having to be around all these perverted, smelly men. Why don’t you come have a shower? Us examiners have the privilege of a shower and bed in our rooms.”

“Really? Is that allowed?”

Menchi grinned. “It’s not against the rules. Come on!”

She grabbed (Name)’s hand, pulling her into her room.

From a distance, Kurapika and Leorio watched, confused. “Is (Name) in trouble?” Leorio asked, holding his bruised face.

“I don’t think so, Menchi seemed happy when she pulled her in. Perhaps it’s that girls supporting girls thing (Name) mentioned?” Kurapika replied, deep in thought.

“Or Menchi swings the other way.” Leorio said with a sigh. Kurapika raised an eyebrow.

“Swings the other way? What does that mean?”

Leorio narrowed his eyes. “You sure are sheltered, aren’t you?”

Another bruise was added to Leorio’s face, this time from Kurapika.

‘I’ll just ask (Name) about it later.’

————————

(Name) hummed as she showered, marveling at Menchi’s expensive shampoo.

“Menchi?”

“Yes?”

The woman sat on the bathroom counter as (Name) showered, getting dressed. “Is it really okay to use your shampoo and soap?”

“Yeah, it’s fine! It was provided by the airship, so don’t worry about it.”

(Name) still hesitated as she held the bottle, gulping. She squeezed some into her hands, rubbing the shampoo into her hair. After the long day she had, it felt like heaven.

“Mmm, it smells amazing!”

Menchi smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

(Name) happily washed herself, letting all the dirt and grime from the day wash down the drain. The hot water also did wonders for her sore muscles.

“So, you’re a chef?”

(Name) sighed. “Maybe a chef is an over exaggeration. I’m more of a baker, that cooks meals for my family. Or well… I used to.”

Menchi stayed quiet for a moment. That implied she either lost her family, or no longer had contact with them. Neither option was good.

“I see. Well I hope you know, I enjoyed what you gave me. I was just being picky today, because of that weirdo Hisoka. He really creeped me out.”

“Oh, please don’t worry about it, I understand. I would have been uneasy as well. That’s not even counting how rude some of the applicants were.” She huffed, rinsing the soap from her body.

Menchi smiled softly, running a brush through her hair. “It’s nice to have someone that understands me. How old are you, (Name).”

“I’m 18!”

Menchi hummed. “We’re around the same age. I’m 21 myself.”

(Name) yawned, letting the warm water run over her a little longer before turning it off. “Oh, I’ll leave the bathroom so you can get dressed.”

She heard Menchi leave and the door close behind her. (Name) stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself.

Menchi sat out her skin care products for (Name) to use. She was thankful, she had only packed a bat of soap and a small travel size bottle of shampoo and conditioner.

After thoroughly pampering herself, (Name) exited the bathroom wearing a pair of lounge shorts and a tanktop. Menchi looked her up, nodding in approval. “Your pajamas are adorable, (Name)!”

She felt her face heat up. “Oh, um… thank you.”

(Name) left Menchi’s room to go find Leorio and Kurapika.

‘She’s cute, I hope she passes.’

———————

(Name) walked around the airship until she found Kurapika and Leorio.

“Hey guys!”

She waved, smiling at the two. “(Name)! Did you get in trouble?”

(Name) blinked at Leorio’s question. “Oh no, I just took a shower.”

“Without me..?”

The two stared at Leorio. “I mean I can invite you next time, b-“

Kurapika put a hand on (Name)’s mouth. “Don’t even joke like that, you’ll get him too excited.”

She pushed his hand away, confused. ‘I wasn’t joking though….’

“(Name), just say the word. I’ll jump in with you anytime.”

Kurapika grimaced, pushing (Name) away from Leorio. “Here, I think if we report him to Menchi for sexual harassment she m-“

“WAIT I WAS KIDDING!”

Leorio fell to his knees, pleading. “Please don’t tell her, I’m already beat up enough!”

(Name) sighed, gently patting the man’s cheek. “Kurapika, be nice. Look at him, he looks like he sorry enough!”

Leorio nodded, cheeks turning pink at her gentle touch. Kurapika’s eyebrow twitched. “Don’t touch him, might catch something.”

“Hey!”

She giggled, leaning down and placing a kiss on Leorio’s forehead. “Shh, quiet down. It’s late.”

It’s like time slowed down to a standstill. Leorio’s face was turning red, Kurapika’s mouth hung agape, a gasp leaving his lips.

Both boys stared at her, unblinking. The girl seemed unfazed by the affectionate gesture.

She glanced between the two. “Hmm? Something wrong?”

They kept quiet, Leorio giggling to himself giddily, and Kurapika scowling as he crossed his arms

She turned to Kurapika. “You okay? You look upset.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”

“He’s jealous.”

Kurapika’s head whipped around to glare at Leorio, his cheeks turning pink. “Leorio!”

He was seething, with both anger and jealousy.

“Oh, do you want a kiss too?”

Still angry with Leorio, he whipped his head around and answered. “No!”

(Name) jumped slightly at the way he yelled at her, looking down at her feet. “Oh. Sorry.”

Kurapika paused, realizing what he said. “Wait, I…”

Too embarrassed to admit he also wanted a kiss, he stayed quiet. (Name) sensed he felt sorry, slowly inching towards him. “It’s okay, Kurapika. I know you didn’t mean to yell.”

She stepped forward, reaching up and pulling him towards her. “May I?”

He felt his heart thump against his chest, swallowing.

“Yes, you may.”

She cupped his cheeks, standing on her tippy toes to kiss his forehead. When she pulled back, she gave him a smile. “There, feel better?”

He nodded slowly, moving his hands to her to keep them in place a little longer. “Much better.”

“Aww you didn’t hold my face when you kissed my forehead!” Leorio complained, pulling on her sleeve. When (Name) turned away, Kurapika stuck his tongue out at the taller man.

“Hmph.”

He folded his arms over his chest, scowling. “Why does Kurapika get special treatment?”

The blonde hummed, curling a finger to his chin. “Maybe because I’m… cute?”

(Name) laughed, pinching Kurapika’s cheek. “You’re cute alright, the cutest.”

The blonde blushed, allowing her to affectionately squeeze his cheek.

“Hey, that looked like…”

The two boys looked out the window, Leorio grabbing (Name)’s head and turning it. “Gon!”

Gon, the 12 year old boy, was outside the airship with Chairman Netero, the old man.

(Name) rushed forward, attempting to open the window and climb out. “(Name)!”

Both Leorio and Kurapika pulled her back, the girl struggling to get free.

“Let go, what if he falls!?”

“What if you fall??”

She turned back, completely serious. “Then that’s something I’ll have to deal with. Let me go.”

Kurapika glanced at Leorio, concerned, before she suddenly went limp.

“Wait, what the-“

Killua appeared, standing a few feet away from them with his arm extended. “I knocked her out. If I didn’t, she would have done something stupid.”

Kurapika picked her up bridal style, giving the boy an incredulous look. “You hit her? Isn’t that too far?”

Killua shrugged. “Better than her potentially falling to her death.”

The blonde couldn’t argue, holding her close to him. Leorio checked for a pulse. “She’s okay, just asleep.”

Kurapika sighed. “Alright. I’ll take her to bed then. Make sure Gon doesn’t get himself hurt.”

He began walking away, looking down at the sleeping girl. Honestly, he wasn’t too upset. After all, he got to hold (Name) close to him and sleep next to her again.

‘… why does that make me happy?’

He frowned, but reached the sleeping quarters and sat her down. He saw her cardigan, and repositioned her so her head was lying in his lap, using the cardigan to cover her up.

He glanced around to make sure was looking before he began to run his hand over her hair, looking down at (Name) fondly. Kurapika had never felt the urge to do something like this before, so his actions surprised even him.

Eventually, Kurapika also fell asleep, letting the slow hum of the airships propeller lull him to sleep.

(Name) woke up to the feeling of something warm on her head. She was lying against some fabric, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

“(Name), you’re awake.”

She blinked, turning to see Kurapika smiling at her. She glanced back down to see where she had been sleeping, only to become flustered.

“Oh- I’m sorry!”

She’d been lying on his lap, and Kurapika had been running his hands over her hair. The man held up his hands. “No need to apologize, I’m the one who laid you down.”

“Still…”

She played with the fabric of her shirt, face heating up. Kurapika sighed, patting her head. “I don’t mind, I promise. Honestly you kept me warm last night.”

This seemed to cheer her up. “Really?”

“Mhm. I run a little cold, so having someone near helped keep me from freezing.”

(Name) nodded, reaching out to take his hand. “I’ll keep you warm every night! Promise!”

His cheeks turned pink, and he cleared his throat. “Ehem. I’ll keep you to that, then.”

Leorio groaned next to them. “(Name), you can sleep on my lap too, ya know.”

Kurapika’s smile faded. “Why would she? You smell like sweat and desperation.”

(Name) gasped. “Kurapika, be nice!”

She scooted over and patted Leorio’s shoulder. “How about you sleep in my lap next time?”

Kurapika blinked, Leorio grinning. “Really? I’ll have to take you up on t-“

Kurapika pulled (Name) back, glaring at the taller man. “What a filthy pervert. (Name), you shouldn’t let random men sleep on your lap.”

“But I’d let you sleep on my lap, Kurapika.”

The blonde was at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing. Leorio huffed. “Uh huh. What’s your argument for that, blondie?”

Kurapika folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. “Well I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but I still think you should be cautious, (Name).”

She smiled warmly. “I will. I just trust that you two wouldn’t hurt me. After all, you carried me here and let me sleep on your lap, so I don’t mind returning the favor.”

He looked away so she couldn’t see just how red his face was. ‘What’s wrong with me? It’s like everything she says has my heart racing…’

“Sorry for the slight delay, we are about to land at our destination.”

The group of three all stood when they heard the announcement, making their way to the exit.

————————

(Name) stood with Killua and Gon, the white haired boy staring at at her bandaged arm. Today, (Name) wore the tanktop she slept in and a pair of sweatpants. Her cardigan was wrapped around her waist, in case she got cold.

“I’m alright, Killua.”

She’d caught him staring, and the boy instantly looked away. “Whatever, it’s not like I care.”

Gon and (Name) shared a look. “Mhm.”

“May I have your attention?”

The looked over to see Beans standing in the middle of the group.

“You’re standing on what’s known as Trick Tower and it’s the site for the Third Phase. In this phase, there is only one objective and it isn’t complicated. Find your way to the bottom of the tower alive. There’s a time limit of 72 hours.”

(Name) thanked god that she restocked her bag with snacks and more water from the cafeteria.

“3 days…”

“72 hours to get to the bottom, and I have a feeling it isn’t going to be easy.”

Kurapika nodded, agreeing with Leorio. “Yeah, it’s bound to be harder than the last phase so we better make sure we stay sharp.”

(Name) nodded, watching as a man approached them and began to climb down the tower.

“Ooo, I want to t-“

“No.” They all said in unison, Leorio reaching out a hand to prevent her from trying. And thankfully she didn’t, because the man was carried away by large birds.

“Rest in peace.” she said, waving to the man as he was carried away. Kurapika patted her shoulder.

“See, this is why you shouldn’t rush to do things. You’ll end up like that man.”

She nodded slowly. “There has to be some kind of entrance to lead us to the bottom.” Kurapika said. “We should spread out, we don’t want to get left behind, so we?”

(Name) began to leave on her own, but Kurapika quietly pulled her along with him while the others weren’t looking. “You’re coming with me.”

They searched around the area, not finding anything. The two joined back up with Leorio.

“Huh, there are fewer people.” Kurapika stated.

Leorio began to count. “About 23 left? When did this happen?”

“About half the group has managed to find a way in. And so they must already be on there way down. I’m pretty sure if they’d all taken the same entry, we would have noticed this by now. So that would suggest there would have to be a number of trap doors around here.”

(Name) watched him with a surprised expression. ‘Wow, I hadn’t even noticed any of that.’

“Guys!”

Gon was waving them over, smiling. “You find something?” Kurapika asked, giving the boy a smile of his own.

“Nice, Gon!”

(Name) watched as Leorio lifted the stone, crouched next to Gon. Once he did, bars appeared, blocking their entry.

“Huh, what the? Stupid thing!”

Leorio dropped the tile, sighing.

“Looks like some sort of automatic lock.”

“What, so we can’t get in this way?”

“We’ll just have to find another way.”

(Name) glanced between the two as they talked. “And I think we’ll have to assume each of the doors leads to a different route to the bottom of the tower.”

Leorio grunted. “How can you be so calm about everything? For all we know there aren’t going to be enough entrances for everyone!”

“Yes there is!”

(Name) turned slightly to see Gon smiling. “I’ve already found seven of them, more than we need!”

(Name) laughed. “Wow! Good going, Gon!”

He pointed each one out, (Name) patting him on the head as he did.

“6 entrances so close together? Something doesn’t feel right about this.” Leorio said, looking down at the trap doors.

“It’s entirely possible that some of them are traps.”

When Kurapika said this, he glanced at (Name), concern briefly flickering across his face.

“So what do you say, doll face, you feeling lucky?” he asked (Name), poking her cheek.

“Mmm, as lucky as a girl can on a big tower surrounded by man eating birds.”

Killua snickered at this.

“You bet, we each pick one and live with our choices.”

“I agree!”

The all smiled at each other. “Alright, let’s figure out who takes which door.”

They played rock paper scissors, (Name) ending up between Killua and Kurapika. The blonde was glad for that, hoping that their close proximity might mean they ended up near each other.

“Okay, everybody, jump in on the count of three!”

Kurapika sighed. “I guess this is where our paths diverge.”

“Well, see you all at the bottom.”

(Name) nodded. “I wish you all good luck.”

“One, two, three!”

They jumped, (Name) landing on the cold stone floor with a huff. It was dark, and for a moment her heart dropped.

Then the light flickered on, showing that she was not alone…

All of her friends were there too!

“So much for the big farewell.”

“No kidding.”

(Name) laughed. “I’m happy. I didn’t want to split up with you all yet!”

The boys smiled, Kurapika and Leorio blushing lightly.

“Looks like this room doesn’t have a way out.”

(Name) slung her backpack over her shoulder, following Kurapika to a small table. It contained bracelets, with an x and an o.

“The path of majority rules. To reach the bottom, the 6 of you must vote to overcome the challenges you may encounter and on this route majority rules.”

(Name) put on the bracelet, the rest following suit. An announcement rang out, stating that they’d need to wait for their 6th member.

“All we can do is wait.”

(Name) nodded, plopping down onto the ground. “Oh, we can play a game! How does go-fish sound?”

“Go-fish? But we don’t have any cards.”

The girl grinned at Gon, reaching into her backpack. “Oh, but I do.”

The two boys marveled at the deck of playing cards, Kurapika humming. “You sure came prepared, (Name). Why did you think to bring cards?”

She shrugged. “Well, playing games with people helps to ease tension and create friendly ties. It’s also a way to decide things, like the winner of the game gets an item or something like that. If I were to fight against a gambler, I would suggest playing a game if cards. It may provide enough time for me to think of a better idea, while letting my opponent indulge in their bad habit.”

Kurapika nodded slowly. “That’s interesting, I would have never thought about that.”

He took note of this, storing the information away for later.

The four played as Leorio paced. He denied them when they asked him to play. “It’s been two hours. By now most of them should have been able to find a way inside, wouldn’t you say? The only guys up there are the morons who don’t have a clue what they’re doing.”

They looked up from their game, hearing a tile moving above them. “Seems like a moron is on his way.

Someone fell to the floor, landing with a thud.

“Ugh, not you.”

(Name) also frowned when she saw you had joined them.

“Hey, Tonpa!” Gon greeted the man.

“So the gangs all here, huh!”

“Aw man, so we gotta take the path of majority rules with this jerk?” Leorio said, groaning.

(Name) stood as Tonpa put his bracelet on, pocketing her deck of cards.

“Come on, follow me!” Tonpa said as the door opened.

“Who does he think he is? He shows up last and all of a sudden he’s the leader?” Leorio huffed.

The first task was to decide on if the next door should be open, with 5 saying yes, and 1 saying no.

Obviously, Tonpa was the one who said no.

(Name) walked in, ignoring Leorio’s yelling.

———————

Kurapika and (Name) stuck close together, Tonpa noticing this. They went through several doors before they ended up in a large room, being unable to cross over the path. There was a flat, tiles surface in the middle of the room, and looking down, they couldn’t see the bottom.

‘Guess trying to jump across is out of the question.’

(Name) thought, peeking over the edge.

“The exam committee has enlisted us to be a part of the applicant testing process. This is where the six of you will fight against the five of us.”

‘There’s only 5? That means one of us won’t have to fight.’ Kurapika thought.

“That guy looks pretty tough.” Gon said, (Name) nodding along.

“You see, this is why I wanted to go left back there.” Leorio stated, crossing his arms.

“There’s always a chance that route could have been even harder.”

They watched the muscular man. “Matches are one on one. You can’t fight more than once. It doesn’t matter who fights when, you’re on the path of majority rules. Which means in order to continue, you have to win at least 3 out of 5. Fight anyway you want. There will be no draws. To be declared the winner, your opponent must admit defeat.”

(Name) leaned against the wall, thinking about how she’d fight. ‘Mmm, I don’t really wanna hurt anyone…’

“It’s time to decide whether or not you accept this challenge. If you do, press O. If you do not, press X.”

(Name) sighed as Leorio made sure Tonpa wouldn’t press X again. ‘I wonder if I could to a flip before falling all the way down…’ she thought, before pressing O.

“How are we gonna decide who goes first?” Gon asked. (Name) hummed, pulling out her dagger.

“I can,” she said, putting the handle between her teeth as she put a headband on to prevent any hair from getting in her face. Gon shook his head.

“I’ll go first.”

“No, I think it should be me.” Kurapika said, pulling the blade from her mouth. “He’s obviously the type of fighter that relies on his physical strength. In hand to hand combat, you two would be at a disadvantage.”

He wiped the handle and returned it to her. “Wait a minute, you’re not that much bigger than Gon.” Leorio reminded him.

“That’s true, but I have a weapon.”

“So do I…” (Name) mumbled, twirling her dagger in her hand. Kurapika frowned, wanting to scold her but unable to.

“But if he takes it away from you, you’re a goner.”

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you want to go?”

Leorio frowned, glancing at the muscular man. (Name) stood. “If you two are done, I’m ready to-“

Killua stepped forward, cutting her off. “Well, if you guys are scared, I’ll go.”

“Hold on, I’ll go.”

Tonpa held his arm out, looking to the man on the other side. “There are no rules to these matches, right? Which means anything could happen. Who knows, he may set a trap for us. Sure he looks big and strong, but we can’t say for sure how he’s gonna try to beat us. Trust me, the most important thing here isn’t physical strength, it’s the ability to react to whatever they might throw at you. Allow me to go out and test the water for you guys.”

(Name) stopped paying attention, moving closer into the room and sitting down on the rocky ground.

Tonpa and the man entered the ring, the man suggesting they make it a fight to the death.

Killua walked over to (Name) and sat across from her. “Why are you just sitting over here? Aren’t you interested in the fight?”

She shrugged. “Not really. I may not like Tonpa, but I’m not exactly excited to see him get his ass beat.”

Killua nodded at this. “I see. So you don’t like fighting?”

“Not necessarily. I’ll fight or watch a fight if I have to, but fighting when it’s not in defense of myself or a friend is hard to get behind. Though I guess it’s unavoidable now. If I want to become a hunter, I’ll need to be able to fight for other reasons as well.”

‘So she doesn’t fight unless it’s necessary? Is it because she’s weak, or because she dislikes it?’

He seemed deep in thought when he felt something hit his shoulder. Killua glanced down to see a small piece of candy.

“Here, Menchi gave me some to refill my bag. Apparently they’re gourmet candy!”

Killua nodded slowly, confused. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“I dunno. I like sharing with friends.”

He stood up and walked away, opening the wrapper to the candy and tossing it into his mouth before returning to watch Tonpa’s fight.

Tonpa’s fight didn’t take long, the man admitting defeat before the man could strike him.

“Did he just surrender?”

“Unbelievable.”

(Name) blinked, looking up at Kurapika. “Did he seriously just give up?”

Tonpa went on a whole speech about how blah blah he’s a rookie crusher blah blah he’s a coward. (Name) didn’t pay much attention, only listening when she saw Kurapika tense up beside her.

“You’re despicable.”

“Damn you. I won’t forget this. We are gonna get out of this tower, and then I’m going to beat you senseless.”

“Old man, you’re nothing but a pest. And the only good pest, is a dead one.”

Killua began walking towards Tonpa, (Name) stepping closer to Kurapika. She gently patted his back, the blonde giving her a smile in return.

“Hey, wait, you can’t do that! You need a fifth person!” Tonpa began backing away.

“See if I care.”

Kurapika pushed (Name) back a little, his eyes trained on Killua.

“He’s right! Listen guys, Tonpa’s actually got a point. With 5 against 1, we can still win! So there’s to be angry about. Right, Kurapika? What do you say?”

The blonde nodded. “I guess it makes sense.”

“Come on, you can’t be serious!” Leorio groaned.

“Hm. You owe your life to Gon, you know.” Killua said, walking back to stand by Gon.

—————————

“They’re sending out their next fighter, who should we send?”

Gon ran forward. “Hey, I’m going next.”

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Come on, I’ll be okay Killua, don’t worry!”

(Name) made a distressed noise, watching him run along the path with a frown. “Please be careful, sweetheart!”

He waved at her. “I will!”

‘Sweetheart?’ The others thought, glancing at (Name).

“Will you be okay, Gon?” Kurapika asked, standing near (Name).

“Yeah, actually this guy seems like he’s pretty normal. He doesn’t look scary or anything!”

(Name) crossed her arms. “You shouldn’t underestimate him, Gon.”

“Compared to the first guy he’s not really that intimidating.”

“Hmm, something about him gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

(Name) sat at the edge of the platform, Leorio giving her a confused look. “(Name), you shouldn’t sit so close to the edge. It’s dangerous.”

She looked back at him, the look in her eyes causing him to rush forward and pull her back from the edge roughly.

“Leorio, what are you doing?” Kurapika asked, stepping closer to the pair.

“I…”

He let go of (Name)’s arm, the look in her eyes that had been there a moment before gone. “Hmm?”

She tilted her head at him, Kurapika giving Leorio a confused look before helping her up.

‘That look in her eye… it must have been my imagination, but for a second, I thought she was going to…’

He shook the thought from her head. ‘No, that’s stupid. Why would she even think of that?’

“Sorry, (Name). I just didn’t want you to fall.”

She shook her head. “No, don’t apologize. Thank you for worrying about me.”

Leorio nodded. “No problem.”

He still felt uneasy, making sure she was farther away from the edge.

Kurapika explained that their opponents were long term convicts. (Name) watched as the convict pulled out two candles, one longer and one shorter.

“Once again majority rules. O for the longer candle, X for the shorter one.”

(Name) glanced between Kurapika and Leorio as they argued the choice. “Gon, go ahead and pick one, we’ll back your decision whatever it will be. I’m willing to bet that in this case, your natural instincts are better than our logic.”

“I agree.”

Gon smiled. “I choose the longer one!”

(Name) giggled. “Hehe, good choice, Gon.”

The two lit their candles, and stood at opposite sides of the ring.

Suddenly, the flame grew large, causing the candle to melt much faster.

(Name) gasped, watching as Gon placed his cancel on the ground and rushed forward to blow out the other persons candle.

“Alright, now it’s my turn to go.”

Kurapika walked forward, (Name) grabbing his sleeve when his opponent revealed himself. “Be careful, Pika.”

For just a moment, Kurapika paused. ‘Pika?’

He’d ask her about that later, now he needed to focus on the task at hand. Kurapika nodded before joining his opponent in the ring.

“I’ve got 19 kills so far, but I don’t really the sound of odd numbers and it’s been bugging me for a while. Now the times come, and I can make it an even 20.”

(Name) and Leorio tended to Gon’s burned finger. They weren’t too bad, only needing a bit of aloe. She glanced up just in time to see Kurapika remove his Tabard and white shirt, revealing a gray sleeveless undershirt.

“Shall we get started?”

Her face heated up. She already knew he was handsome, but seeing him like this had her flustered. “Get him, Pika!”

The blondes lip twitched up into a half smile before he focused on his fight.

The fight began, the man punching a hole into the ground. As he turned, the man revealed a spider tattoo.

“It’s proof that he’s a member of the phantom troupe!” Leorio yelled out, obviously worried for his friend.

“Aren’t they the ones that killed all of Kurapika’s friends and family?”

(Name) held onto her shirt, heart racing. “Pika…”

‘He must be experiencing such rage and sorrow right now. I hope he gives that bastard what he deserves.’

“What’s the matter, you too terrified to speak?”

(Name) was having trouble paying attention to the mans monologue.

“He’s not scared, he’s angry!”

Kurapika stood up, eyes gone red yet again. (Name) watched as Kurapika easily defeated the man.

“Remember these three things. Number one, if you really were a member of the Phantom Troupe, your tattoo would include your member number, which it doesn’t. Number two, they wouldn’t bother to keep track of the people they’ve already murdered. Three, don’t ever speak of the Phantom Troupe again, because if you do…”

He picked up his tabard. “I’ll have to kill you.”

Kurapika walked back, brushing off the front of his tabard.

“Are you alright?” Leorio asked.

“Yeah, I’m uninjured.”

“I mean, is it okay for us to be around you right now?”

“He really wasn’t much of a fighter, I could tell that right from the start just from looking at him.”

(Name) began rummaging through her bag as they teased Leorio for not realizing the man was bluffing.

“And not only that, his tattoo was a fake. But as soon as I saw that spider, everything turned red. You know, to tell you the truth even when I see an ordinary spider my rage builds up and I lose control.”

He sat down near the back, pulling his knees to his chest. “Huh. I suppose it just proves my desire for vengeance hasn’t faded away quite yet. I should be thankful for that.”

(Name) sat next to him, sighing softly. “You alright?”

He didn’t answer, only leaning his head against her shoulder.

“Alright, time to wrap this up.” Leorio said, cracking his knuckles. “Hey, get that piece of garbage out of the way so we can continue.”

“We can’t do that, the last match still hasn’t finished.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kurapika had only knocked them out, meaning the match wasn’t over. It was a death match over all, and the man wasn’t dead.

“Hey, Kurapika, go over there and finish that guy off so we can get through this thing.”

“I won’t. This match is over for me.”

“Yeah, but y-“

“When I was out there I allowed myself to attack an opponent who had already lost the will to fight. I refuse to kill someone that has already been defeated.”

Leorio groaned. “But you’ve got to do something!”

“I’ll leave it to him. When he regains consciousness, he’ll choose his own fate. I’ll do absolutely nothing until that time.”

Leorio was about to complain, but Killua stepped forward.

“Hey I can kill him for you, I don’t mind. You’ve never killed anyone before, have you? You scared to?”

(Name) glanced between the two, sensing a change in the mood.

“I’ve never thought about whether or not I was scared to kill someone. Anyway, this match is one on one, you can’t get involved.”

“It’s up to you, but it’s not what’s best for the team, is it?”

(Name) knew Kurapika wouldn’t be changing his mind, so she just soothing rubbed his arm, letting Leorio yell.

He attempted to get them to use majority rules, but she ignored him. Right now she was focused on softly soothing Kurapika, who was obviously upset by the mention of the Phantom Troupe

“You don’t have to do anything that would make you uncomfortable, Pika. We’ll wait.”

He nodded, resting against her shoulder again. “Thank you…”

‘She used that name again. I’m too tired to ask her about it now…’

“Leorio, give it a rest.” (Name) said after a while. “He’s not doing it, and I won’t let you make him.”

Leorio huffed and walked away, sitting in the very back.

“You know, I think your tabard is pretty. Is it traditional clothing for the Kurta?” (Name) asked. Kurapika nodded, glancing at her.

“Yes, why do ask?”

She smiled, pushing some of his blonde locks out of his face and behind his ear. “I was curious. The person who made it must have been quite talented.”

Kurapika’s cheeks turned pink. “Actually, I was the one who made this. My… my mother taught me when I was a child. She was a talented seamstress.”

(Name) beamed. “Really? Oh, that’s wonderful! I bet she would be proud to see how far you’ve come, with your sewing, and just in general.”

Kurapika looked at her, his eyes red, but this time they were softer, not the violent shade of scarlet she’d seen before. ‘Huh, maybe the shade is different depending on the emotion.’

“That’s… very kind of you to say. I think she would have liked you.”

“Really? I’m honored.”

He was feeling better, the anger he’d felt simmering down enough that he could smile. Right now, (Name) couldn’t stop staring into his eyes.

Kuraoika blinked. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“Scare me? Why would you scare me?”

He sighed. “My eyes… they aren’t normal. When I’m angry, or feel strong emotion they turn red. Some people fear them, some covet them.”

(Name) shook her head. “I certainly don’t fear them. You eyes are beautiful.”

Kurapika seemed a little uneasy with her response, but with one look at her sweet smile he knew she wasn’t the type to try and harm him for his eyes.

“They’re… they’re warm. That’s the only way I can describe them. When your eyes are staring at me, I feel… warm.”

Kurapika felt his heart begin to race again. “Warm? I don’t understand.”

She hummed, curling a finger at her chin. “Hmm… it’s like being covered up with a blanket on a cold night, being tucked into bed by someone who loves you. Not cold, not hot, but… warm.”

He stared at her with half lidded eyes, tears threatening to spill. “Do you really mean that?”

“Mhm. I could look at your eyes forever.”

She truly was a kind girl. With little no to effort, and with nothing to gain, she’d made Kurapika’s day a little better. The burden he carried, of everyone he knew fearing his scarlet eyes became a little less heavy.

“You don’t know how much that means to me, (Name).”

She didn’t respond, only patting his head.

The two spent the next few hours resting, (Name) occasionally offering the group some water or a snack. Kurapika stayed near her the entire time, and if she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was being a little clingy.

—————————

Leorio stood, joining Gon and Killua.

“Listen up, I’m going to go out there to check and see if that guy is already dead. If he is, then this match is over.”

“It’s like I said before, he’s not dead, he’s unconscious.”

“Yeah, but it’s already been a few hours. Do you expect us to stand here and take your word for it?”

(Name) stood up, Kurapika immediately moving to follow her.

“Alright then, let’s bet on it. Is Majitani alive, or is he dead, place your bet.”

(Name) stared at her bag as they continued talking, her eyes narrowing.

They were betting time.

She sighed as they began fighting amongst each other again. “Gon’s right, you know. All this fighting is just playing right into their hands.”

“Ugh, you’ve got a point.”

Leorio let go of Tonpa.

“So, what are you going to do? You have to decide whether or not you’re going to accept the challenge.”

Leorio thought for a moment. “Yeah, yeah I know. HEY! I accept your challenge.”

“Alright. I’m gonna go ahead and make the first bet. It’s up to you to decide how many hours you decide to wager.”

Leorio sighed. “Ten hours says that he’s alive.”

“Really? Just a minute ago weren’t you thinking that he was already dead?” Gon asked with a tilt of his head.

“You’re playing it safe, aren’t you?”

“You bet I am.”

The man laughed. “Alright, let’s go see if he’s dead or not. Hey, girl.”

(Name) blinked, pointing at herself. “Uh, yeah?”

“You come with him.”

She stared at the man in confusion, glancing at Kuraoika. He held onto her arm. “Why does she have to go? That makes no sense.”

The man grinned. “Two against two. I’m being nice and letting two of you enter the ring, since it will be two of us convicts present as well.”

Kurapika frowned. “Why her, though?”

He shrugged. “Picked at random.”

(Name) patted Kurapika’s shoulder. “It’s fine, I’ll go. After all, I don’t feel good having Leorio go alone.”

The blonde could only watch as she followed Leorio into the ring.

She stood by Leorio’s side as he felt for a pulse, watching the man while Leorio was distracted.

“He does have a pulse.”

“See, I told you so. He was just unconscious.”

(Name) hummed. “He’s alive you guys!”

“I’m all done here. He’s obviously not dead yet.”

“Okay, I guess that means it’s your turn then. What are you going to bet on this time?”

Before Leorio could speak, (Name) opened her backpack and pulled out her dagger.

“Why don’t we up the stakes a little?”

Kurapika felt Gon pull him back. He hadn’t even noticed he’d begun to walk forward.

“What do you mean by that, girlie?”

She placed the blade at her own neck, staring into the man’s eyes. “Instead of betting time, I’ll bet my own life.”

This time, Kurapika rushed forward, yelling from the edge of the platform. “WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?”

Leorio attempted to reason with her, but she only pressed the knife against her throat tighter when he approached, causing him to pause. A thin trickle of blood ran down the front of her shirt.

Kurapika’s eyes were shining red again, Killua anxiously clenching his fist.

‘What’s wrong with this girl, is she crazy!?’

“If I die, that means we lose anyways. All of the time will be yours, meaning your life sentences will be reduced by 72 hours. Isn’t that what you want?”

The man laughed. “You’ve got one scary look in your eyes, girlie. Alright, I accept your offer. Just be ready to kill yourself if you’re wrong.”

She relaxed, keeping the blade at her throat, but releasing some of the pressure.

“I’ll put 20 hours on the line that he really is unconscious. So tell me, how are you going to prove which one of us wins?”

She glanced at Leorio, who nodded.

“That won’t be hard. I happen to know a very effective way to find out.”

Leorio picked up the man and held him over the edge.

“I’ll drop him over the edge, and if he really is unconscious, he’ll drop like a stone and that will be it.”

“What are you two insane or something? Majitani hasn’t even finished his own match yet. How can you seriously expect me to agree to this?”

Leorio squeezed Majitani’s shoulder. “Let me make this easy for you. If he screams as he falls, we’ll give you the match between you and Kurapika, which gives you two points in total. Now will you agree to do it?”

(Name) waited patiently, risking a glance at her friends. Kurapika was staring at her with those red eyes again, yet this time he looked… scared? Anxious? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She felt a little bad, but this was the best way to get the convict to agree.

After all, she didn’t mind risking her life if it meant helping her friends.

“Hold it, alright I agree to your position. But I’m changing my bet. I’m now going to wager all 40 hours over him regaining consciousness after you drop him over the side.”

“Huh, it took a while but you finally revealed your position with that bet. Oh well, looks like I don’t have a choice. Away he goes.”

Majitani gasped, holding onto Leorio’s hand. “Agh, wait please don’t let go! I’m awake!”

He sprinted away, muttering as he hid on his side of the room. (Name) sighed, placing her dagger back in her bag. She sent Kurapika a smile.

“See, I told you I wouldn’t make you do anything that made you uncomfortable.”

Leorio pinched her cheek. “Go ahead and stick to your principles, Kurapika. I’ll handle the rest.”

Kurapika smiled. “(Name), Leorio…”

“Alright, who’s next?”

(Name) began to raise her hand, but Leorio shot her a look. “Go back, now. I’m fighting this one.”

She frowned, walking down the path to meet with the others. “Alright, but I’m fighting the next o-“

Her entire world went black, the last thing she would remembering being a sharp pain in her neck.

“Stupid girl. If you fight, you’re going to get yourself killed.”

Killua hoisted her over his shoulder and handed her off to Kurapika when he got. “Here, you can take care of her.”

Kurapika pulled (Name) into his arms, sitting down so her head could rest in his lap. “Killua, you do that again and-“

Killua rolled his eyes. “Did you see what she did out there? She’s reckless, you should be thanking me. I don’t think she would have taken no for an answer next round.”

Kurapika knew he was right, but seeing the red mark on her neck where Killua knocked her out made his stomach churn. “… I understand that, but…”

Gon crouched down, patting Kurapika’s shoulder. “It’s alright Kurapika. She’ll be okay, and Killua is right. We shouldn’t underestimate (Name). She’s determined to pass this phase!”

Killua watched her from the corner of his eye. ‘That’s not quite right. She’s determined, but I don’t think it’s to pass the Hunter Exam.’

He sighed. ‘I don’t care either way.’

But even as he thought that, he continued to watch her, frowning slightly when he caught sight of the red marks on her neck. One from him, and one from herself.

———————

(Name) groaned going to rub her neck, only to feel bandages. She shot up, being greeted with multiple pairs of eyes on her.

“(Name), you’re awake!”

She was pulled into Kurapika’s arms, the blondes tight hold making her wince. “Pika, too tight…”

“Oh, sorry!”

He let go, and instead grabbed both of her cheeks. “What were you thinking, (Name)?! What if they won their bet? Are you really ready to sacrifice your life?”

“If it means none of you will die, yeah.”

The room went quiet. Every single person was staring at her, even Tonpa.

“(Name), you can’t be serious. You’ve just met us.” Killua said, his eyes narrowing.

“But you’re all my friends, and have goals and aspirations I want to help you complete. I…”

She shook her head, seemingly stopping herself from sharing too much. “Im not stupid. I wouldn’t put my life on the line for no reason.”

Leorio scowled. “Care to share your reasoning?”

(Name) smoothed out her top, seeing that the bloodstain had faded a bit. ‘Did they try and clean it?’ She thought with a faint smile.

“Like Leorio, I knew that man was awake.”

Kurapika’s eyes widened. “Wait, how?”

She smiled. “I told you I dropped out of med school, right? Anyone training to be a doctor knows the differences between someone that’s sleeping and someone that’s awake.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t explain why you bet your life on it. There was no need.”

(Name) sighed. “But there was. Leorio, just from your face I could tell you were planning to do something risky to prove he was conscious. To take some of the heat off of you, I used my life as both an incentive and a distraction. Therefore his mind would be clouded with both the possibility of receiving the full 72 hours, and getting to see a woman kill herself in front of him. He looked like he would enjoy that.”

Kurapika was surprised. Her plan wasn’t just a spur of the moment thing, it was thought out and calculated. “That’s-“

“That’s stupid! I don’t care what reason you say, you doing that was not only stupid, but an unnecessary risk. Your life is worth far more than this damn exam! If it’s between me failing and you dying, I’d fail!”

Leorio seemed genuinely upset, his eyebrows furrowed. (Name) looked down to the ground, fiddling with her cardigan. “… sorry, Leorio. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

He huffed, approaching the girl until he was right in front of her. She stared at his legs for a moment, before she felt his arms wrap around her.

He sighed, resting his chin on the top of her head. “Just don’t do anything like that again…”

She didn’t respond, instead wrapping her arms around him and patting his back.

Once she was let go, (Name) got a good look at her surroundings. “Wait… where are we?”

They weren’t in the same place they’d been before, now in a small room. “Oh… well…”

It was Leorio’s turn to fiddle with his thumbs, looking away from the girl. (Name) looked to Kurapika for an explanation.

“We lost most of our time during Leorio’s round. Because of that, we have to stay in this room for a few days.”

(Name) stood, suddenly panicked. “In here, for days? Is there a bathroom!?”

They nodded, and she relaxed. “Oh, okay. Got me worried there for a second.”

She stretched out on the couch, lying on her tummy. “So… how long was I asleep?”

Kurapika hummed. “About twoish hours. Not long.”

“Long enough for Leorio to start pacing around acting all worried.” Killua stated with a snicker.

The tall man huffed, plopping down on the other couch.

A few hours passed by before (Name) stood, groaning. “Well, now I’m bored. Let’s see what they’ve got in here…”

“We already looked, there wasn’t anything interesting. Just some board games and some yarn or something…”

(Name) gasped. “Yarn? Are there needles?”

Killua raised an eyebrow. “… yes?”

“Oh hell yes. My grandma training is finally useful to me.”

‘Grandma training? What the hell does that mean?’ Killua thought as he watched her crawl over to the half opened drawer.

“Hmm…”

Kurapika turned his head when he heard the sound of humming. (Name) was knitting, tongue out in concentration. ‘Cute.’

“What are you doing, (Name)?”

He scooted towards her, peeking over her shoulder. “Oh, I’m knitting! Not sure how much I’ll get done by the time we leave, but…”

She showed him what she’d gotten done so far. “Oh wow, you work fast. What are you planning to make?”

She poked out her lip in thought. “Hmm… maybe a scarf? It’s kind of cold, although I was expecting that because it’s January…”

Kurapika tilted his head. “You’re cold?”

“A little. But my cardigan keeps me pretty warm!”

She went back to work, Kurapika fascinated by the way her hands moved to knit smoothly. “Do you…”

He scooted closer, sitting next to her. “Do you think you could teach me a little? Just the basics of course.”

(Name) smiled, pausing her work. “Of course! But I have a favor to ask of you in return.”

“Oh? And what is that?”

She set down her needles, shaking her hands to ease the ache. “Could you teach me more about the Kurta? I know very little about them, and I’m very interested.”

This took Kurapika aback. Although many people had more than one question to ask him about the scarlet eyes, not many were interested in his people. They wanted to know about their eyes, not them.

“Oh… yes, I would be happy to teach you. I could start out with telling you a few words in my language.”

“Really?”

His heart began to race. She looked excited, leaning forward, a bit too close to his face for comfort. “Y-yes. It would be a pleasure.”

They stared at each other, inches apart. For a moment, he caught himself looking at her lips, considering closing the distance and-

“Can you teach me some cuss words too?”

Kurapika internally groaned, turning to see Killua hovering around him. “That would be a disservice to my people.”

“Come on, just a few. I wanna make people wonder what I’m saying when I yell at them in a video game.”

He gestured over to the screen Gon was sat in front of, some first person shooter game pulled up.

“(Name), what’s a-“

Killua covered his mouth. “If someone called you it over the game, don’t say it out loud. At least not in front of the others.” he whispered.

Gon nodded slowly. “Okay, I won’t say twink in front of the others.”

(Name) held a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. “They… called you a twink?”

Leorio did nothing to hide his laughter. “Holy shit, they must of sensed Kurapika nearby!”

‘I don’t even want to know what twink means.’ Kurapika thought, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What’s a twink-“

(Name) spoke up. “Anyways…”

She began knitting again, showing Kurapika the basics. Much to her annoyance, he caught on quicker than she ever could. ‘It took me weeks to get that right…’

But she couldn’t stay mad when he proudly held up the work he did, smiling at her. “Look, I did it!”

“You did, it looks nice! A perfect little square!”

He seemed to beam under her praise, allowing her to pat his head. Her touch always felt nice, especially when it was after he’d done something to earn a smile from her.

A few more hours passed by, the group settling down onto the couches. The two boys curled up near (Name), Gon lying his head in her lap. Kurapika was a little disappointed they wouldn’t be sleeping near each other this time, but couldn’t deny how sweet the scene in front of him was.

(Name) slowly ran her fingers through the young boy’s hair, only pausing when she noticed him shiver.

Kurapika watched from the corner of his eye as she shed her thick cardigan, draping it over the two boys. He could see her rub her arms slightly before resting against the couch.

‘Didn’t she say she was cold earlier?’

She drifted off to sleep, and once her chest began to rise and fall softly, he tiptoed over.

‘You’re too nice, (Name).’

He pulled off his tabard and draped it over her, making sure her bare arms were covered before he sat on the opposite side of her and pulled her in close.

‘I may not be that warm, but…’

He glanced around the room before he planted a kiss on the top of her head. ‘Hopefully I can keep you a little warm…’

Kuraoika fell asleep soon after, his head leaned against her’s. Unbeknownst to him, Killua watched this interaction.

‘I don’t understand… neither of them have nothing to gain. Why did she…’

He sighed, snuggling into the warm cardigan. ‘Whatever. It’s not like it matters.’

But he found himself feeling comforted by the soft fabric, able to sleep much faster than he usually would.

———————

(Name) woke up to the sound of Killua groaning. “Damn it, we lost again. Gon, you suck.”

Although barely conscious, she yelled out. “Hey, don’t be mean Killua. Gon’s just…”

She began to fall back asleep, startling awake again when Kurapika shifted next to her. “Gon’s just silly.”

Kurapika hummed in his sleep, pulling her closer to him. “Mmm, (Name)…”

She felt her face heat up as snuggled into the crook of her neck. “P-Pika!”

His eyes slowly blinked open. “Hmm?”

It took him a moment to realize what he’d been doing.

The blonde jumped back, mouth dropped open in both shock and embarrassment. “Oh- I didn’t mean-“

“And you said I was the pervert.”

Kurapika was still processing that he’d just been nuzzling into her neck moments before, cheeks slowly catching fire. “I’m so sorry, (Name). That won’t happen again.”

“No, it’s alright. You just surprised me is all.”

She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Leorio huffed.

“You snuggle up to her like some creepy old man and it’s fine, but I want to lay on her lap and all of a sudden there’s a problem.”

Kuraoika threw a pillow at the man. “The difference is, I was asleep, and you’re a pervert!”

“Well seems like you were saying her name in your sleep. It’s not looking good for you, Buddy.” Tonpa said, butting in.

“Shut up!” the two said in unison.

(Name) stood between the two. “Okay, break it up ladies you’re both pretty. Now why don’t you two sit down and I’ll make some breakfast?”

Leorio grumbled, but did as he was told. Kurapika followed her to the small kitchenette. “You’re going to cook something?”

He remembered trying some of her leftovers during the second phase, and was excited to eat her cooking again.

“Yeah! They provided us a fridge and small kitchen, why not use it?”

Kurapika watched as she began cooking, his observant eyes following her every move. He noted exactly when she flipped the pancakes, how she cracked the eggs, and what she used to stir the bacon.

“How do you know where it’s time to flip the pancakes?” Kurapika asked, ever the curious one.

“Well when the edges start to bubble up, I know it’s time to-“

She picked up her spatula and flipped it. “To flip them!”

He marveled at this, (Name) noticing he was staring at her spatula. “Pika, do you want to try?”

“Oh, if that’s alright with you.”

He took over pancake flipping duty, getting the hang of it almost immediately. If (Name) wasn’t busy preparing the eggs and bacon, she may have been a little pouty.

Gon poked his head into the kitchenette, smiling. “(Name), is it almost ready? It smells so good!”

She nodded, crouching down to offer him a piece of bacon. “Here, half this and share with Killua.”

He gasped and ran out. “Killua, look!”

A moment later, Leorio poked his head into the kitchen. “Hey, where’s my bacon??”

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. “Are you so childish that you can’t wait another 10 minutes?”

(Name) elbowed the blonde. “Hey, be nice. I happen to like Leorio’s enthusiasm for my cooking.”

She handed him a piece of bacon, smiling. “Here you go, careful sweetheart, it’s hot.”

“Sweetheart?” they said in unison, one blushing, one pouting.

“Oh, sorry, sometimes I forget not everyone is used to pet names. Where I’m from, we use them a lot. Nicknames too.”

“Oh, is that why you’ve been calling me Pika?”

(Name)’s face heated up, the girl turning back to the stove. “Kind of!”

“Kind of? Is there another reason?”

Kurapika tilted his head. (Name) glanced at him, biting her lip.

“Well… I thought it was cute. Like you.”

Kurapika felt his face get hot. “Cute? Do you really think I’m cute?”

(Name) nodded, avoiding his eyes. “Yeah, really cute.”

Leorio groaned. “Gross. If you two are going to flirt don’t do it in front of my breakfast.”

(Name) squeaked, nearly dropping her spoon. “We’re not flirting!”

If her face got any hotter, she feared she might pass out.

“Sure, and my name isn’t Leorio. Just do it after you’re done cooking.”

Kurapika huffed, shooing the tall man out of the kitchen.

“Sorry he’s such an…”

“Asshole?”

“Yes, that.”

The two were left in an awkward silence, Kurapika occasionally glancing her way. She was obviously flustered, and Kurapika cursed Leorio for making things awkward. They had been having fun before.

‘I hope I haven’t been making her uncomfortable…’

(Name) returned one of his looks, giving him a shy smile. “I think it’s ready. Could you go tell everyone to come make their plates?”

The group came rushing in shortly after, (Name) nearly being knocked over by Tonpa.

She grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and yanked it back. “Hey, back of the line. Kids eat first, and you’re at least pushing 60.”

He grumbled something under his breath, quieting down when Kurapika shot him a look. “Choose your words carefully, Tonpa.”

Killua and Gon held out their plates, (Name) giving them their food with a smile. “I also cut up some fruit, if you want some the bowl is in the fridge.”

Gon beamed, opening the fridge and taking the bowl with him.

‘I meant for him to take a little, but I guess that’s my fault for not specifying.’ she thought, watching Gon shove his hand into the bowl and throw a handful of fruit into his mouth.

Once everyone’s plates were made, (Name) made her own. Kurapika winced, seeing one of his earlier, less pretty pancakes on her plate.

“(Name), I can make you a better one if you-“

She stopped him, placing a piece in his mouth. “Why? You made this one, I’m going to eat it.”

Even though it was lumpy and burnt at the edges, she showed no sign of disliking it. She happily ate the pancake, giving him that pretty smile of hers.

Kurapika pulled his knees to his chest, watching her eat. His eyes were soft, glowing a light red. It was hard to control the way he felt when he looked at her, his true feelings reflecting in his eyes.

“Mmm, that was delicious. Thank you, Pika.”

Kurapika didn’t respond, only leaning against her shoulder again. Right now, he felt… warm. Something warm and fuzzy settled over his entire body, the feeling intensifying every second he spent leaning against her.

“You still tired, Pika? You can sleep on my lap if you want.”

He realized that yes, he was still tired. Maybe that was why he felt so warm and fuzzy. Kurapika gave her a nod, lying down so his head was in her lap.

He relaxed when he felt her run her fingers through his hair, eyes fluttering shut. “Mmm… this is nice.”

She hummed in response, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

Leorio pouted from across the room, (Name) noticing, and curling a finger towards herself. “There’s room for you too, Leorio.”

Kurapika was too sleepy to argue, only letting a short huff.

The tall man hurried over, quickly lying his head on her other thigh. Kurapika grumbled, trying to swat him away. “Go away, Leorio…”

Leorio, who was much more conscious was able to easily dodge his groggy movements. “You go away! Stop hogging (Name)!”

Kurapika glared at him, only stopping when (Name) patted both of their heads. “Hey, no fighting. My lap, my rules.”

They both grumbled, but turned away from each other. Soon, they had both drifted back to sleep.

“Ew. (Name), say the word and I’ll pull them off of you.” Killua said, extending his claws.

(Name) held up her hands. “Woah, no need for that. Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine.”

Killua’s cheeks turned pink. “Concerned? I’m not…”

He huffed and walked away, plopping down onto a pillow next to Gon. “Killua, you’re actually really nice.”

“Shut up.”

———————

They spent a few hours asleep, before (Name) had to move to use the bathroom. “Sorry…” she muttered, trying to slip away undetected.

But going from sleeping on soft, warm thighs to the cold hard couch made both of them shoot awake.

“(Name)?”

Kurapika’s head swiveled around, looking for the girl. “She went to go use the bathroom. Jeez, clingy much?”

The blonde frowned. “Clingy? I was just worried for her.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say blondie.”

Killua shrugged his shoulders, Kurapika furrowing his eyebrows.

‘I’m not being clingy…’

(Name) was back soon after, wearing a sweater and pair of shorts. She stretched lightly before getting back to her knitting.

Killua watched as Kurapika sat beside her again. “Clingyyyy!”

The blonde hadn’t been noticed he’d gravitated towards her again, sending the white haired boy a look. “She’s teaching me how to knit, you brat.”

“Brat!?”

Killua jumped up to walk over, but Gon pulled him back down. “Hey, we’re going to lose!”

He grumpily continued playing, a pout on his lips. “Stupid blonde twink…”

As she taught him to knit, Kurapika quietly taught her a few words.

She struggles to pronounce them, fumbling over the word for water bottle until he started chuckling. “That’s close, but it’s a long a, not a short one.”

(Name) tried again, Kurapika having to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. It was cute really, watching her nose scrunch up as she attempted to pronounce it correctly.

“Close enough. Good job, (Name).”

He patted her head, the girl pouting. “Close enough isn’t good enough, I want to get it right! It’s only right that I’m able to pronounce it correctly.”

Kurapika blinked, the pink returning to his cheeks. “Well, if that’s what you want, you can keep trying.”

(Name) continued until she got it right, Kurapika genuinely impressed. “You did it. Wow, I’m surprised.”

“What, you didn’t believe in me?”

She was teasing him, the blonde frowning. “I did, it’s just the Kurtan language isn’t easy to learn. It’s actually considered one of the hardest.”

This caused (Name) to sit up a little straighter. “Really?”

The corner of his lip twitched upwards into a smile. “Yes, so you being able to pronounce anything is praise worthy. Good job, (Name).”

Her face heated up and she played with the edge of her shirt. “Hehe, thank you…”

They switched information back and forth, (Name) guiding his hands to create new items through knitting, and Kurapika having her watch his lips as he pronounced a new word.

Honestly, he was having fun, more fun than he had in a long. It was nice for someone to be so interested in an integral part of him, his mother tongue.

“How do you say bread?”

Kurapika looked away from the pair of socks he’d been working on. “Bread? Um…”

He thought for a moment before stating the word. (Name) nodded, turning her gaze away from the loaf of bread to look at him.

Kurapika paused. Instead of saying the word for bread, she’d stumbled and said something else, something a lot more… intimate.

“I love you.”

His face turned completely red. She was looking right at him, her eyes staring into his and had just said she loved him in his mother tongue.

“Pika, are you alright?”

He felt like his heart was going to break out of his chest with how hard it was thumping against his ribs. In his mind, he knew it was a slip of the tongue, but his body was still heating up.

“I- you…”

(Name)’s eyebrows furrowed, confused until the realization dawned upon her. “Oh no, did I say something bad? Wait, it wasn’t something offensive was it?”

She scooted closer, leaning towards him. “I’m sorry Pika, I didn’t mean to.”

She was too close, much too close. His eyes were red again, the man able to see the reflection of scarlet in her own. “N… no, it wasn’t offensive. You haven’t upset me.”

She calmed slightly, leaning back. “Oh, then what did I say?”

Now that was something Kurapika couldn’t tell her. “It was… nothing important. Don’t worry about it.”

Killua appeared behind (Name) using her head as an armrest. “Hey, are you going to teach me some cuss words or not? I’ve got some people to piss off.”

Kurapika, who’s face was still burning hot, huffed. “Sure, say this.”

(Name) held back a giggle when Kurapika said the word for bread, making sure Killua could pronounce it correctly before he left.

“Nice save, Pika.”

He nodded, still trying to calm himself down. The exact phrase she’d used was one shared between lovers. There were multiple ways to say “I love you”, some platonic and some romantic.

And he’d never been told “I love you” like that before.

————————

The time was ticking down, with only an hour left. Although she enjoyed the time she spent with them, (Name) was ready for some fresh air.

The group stood at the door, all feeling relieved when they opened.

“Let’s move.”

They ran through hallways, (Name) feeling herself being thrown over someone’s shoulder.

By how high up she was, she assumed it was Leorio.

They were being chased(?) by a rock Indiana Jones style.

“Why do I have to be carried?”

“Too slow!” they all said in unison.

“Okay rude.”

The next trap had them crawling under lasers, (Name) having to move very slow.

“Hurry up, (Name).”

“Shut up, my butt is bigger than yours and I don’t want it being lasered off!”

After she was done, she had everyone turn around so she could change her now singed pants.

She was glad she’d choses a pair of shorts when they had to climb up between two walls. “Well at least the view is nice.” Leorio said from under her.

She considered kicking him, but fortunately she cared a bit too much to do that. “You’re lucky I’m nice.”

Kurapika pulled her up when she got closer to the top, ignoring Leorio’s plea for help.

After hours of work, they reached one of the last doors. (Name) ignored Tonpa and Leorio’s bickering, walking into the room.

‘This is either some kinky sex dungeon or a torture room. Shit, maybe both.’

“Applicants attention please. You’ve come to the first fork upon the path of majority rules. Your long journey to journey to the bottom of trick tower is almost at an end. First, you must cast one final vote. There are two doors in front of you. The door with the O will lead all of you on a long dangerous path to the bottom. The door with the X will lead to a path that is short and easy. Only four of you are allowed to take it. If the majority chooses X, the door will not open until two of you have been handcuffed to the wall with the chains provided. Those two applicants will have to stay that way until time has run out.”

They all looked to the O door.

“By the way, I should inform you that the path behind the O door would take at least 45 hours to complete. Where as the path behind the X door will get you to the bottom in 3 minutes. So will you vote X or O? Let the majority rule!”

(Name) tilted her head, glancing at the X door.

“Not an easy decision.”

Kurapika blinked. “Leorio?”

“I’m gonna be honest with you guys. I’m going to choose the shorter path, the X door, and I’m not getting chained to a wall either. I’m going to be one of the four to leave this room, no matter what it takes.”

He walked towards one of the walls, containing various weapons. “Looks like the examiner thought of everything. There are weapons here to suit the fighting style of just about anyone in the world. Guess it’s their way of telling us we have to fight to decide who gets to move on.”

“Well I’m pressing the O button.”

(Name) glanced back to see Gon. “We came this far together, and I think we should stick together right until the end. I know we’ve only got a small chance of making it, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

(Name) and Kurapika smiled at the boy.

“Get serious, we have less than one hour left now, we don’t have any choice. We gotta take the shorter path, the only question left is how we decide who gets to go. I don’t have any intention of giving up yet, so unless someone stays behind we’re going to have to fight each other.”

(Name) stopped paying attention to the situation, walking over to the chains as they talked. She lifted one of the chains, studying them as Tonpa egged Leorio on.

“I’ll stay behind.”

“No!” Her four friends yelled in unison.

Kuraoika pulled her away before she could chain herself up. “I’m going to choose O. Like Gon said, there might be another way out of this we haven’t thought of yet.”

(Name) pouted. “Don’t I get a say in any of this?”

Kurapika pinched her cheek. “No, you don’t.”

She folded her arms and sat in a corner as they rest of the group argued over what they’d do. She was sure she heard someone swing an axe and hit the wall close to her, but out of pure spite she ignored them.

‘Stupid men and their chivalry…’

“Hey, wait! Look at this!”

(Name) continued to pout as Gon pointed out that the could be damaged. “Hey, (Name), pick O!”

She squinted her eyes, but listened to Gon.

“Is she going to help us?”

“No, she’s busy pouting.”

At that, she stood and ran over, biking Leorio over the head. “I was not pouting!”

(Name) picked up a weapon and began helping them break through the wall to the X door, only stopping when Kurapika put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s our turn. Go rest.”

“Hmph.”

She walked past him and Leorio, opening her bag and only allowing herself to hide out in pain due to her blistered hands when no one was paying attention. ‘Shit, that hurts. Gonna need to wrap these up…’

Just in time, the group arrived at the bottom of the tower. (Name) flew through the air, only being held down by Kurapika.

Once they disembarked from the makeshift car thing, (Name) collapsed onto the ground.

“(Name), are you alright?”

“Floor time. Need some floor time.”

Kurapika and Leorio shared a look, but they let her be.

“Okay, everyone give me your hands.”

She began spritzing them with sanitizer spray, giving Gon a little extra. “Gon, you’re a great kid but you need to wash your hands more.”

He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry.”

After stretching a bit she stood, shouldering her backpack. “Let’s just hope Hisoka died- oh wait there he is. Can’t have shit during the Hunter Exam.”

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. ‘I guess even she has people she dislikes.’

(Name) and Kurapika stood next to each other as the doors to the outside world opened. “Ahh, natural sunlight!”

She shielded her eyes. Kurapika chuckled and helped lead her outside.

“I’d like to congratulate you all for escaping Trick Tower. Your ride to the next Phase is here!”

(Name) leaned against Kurapika’s shoulder as an airship appeared. “Guess that’s our ride”

————————

It didn’t take long to reach their destination, the group of five watching from the airship.

“Hmm, do you think we’ll get to swim?” (Name) asked, staring down at the vast ship graveyard.

“Probably. Do you enjoy swimming?”

She nodded. “Yes!”

They landed shortly after, (Name) running off of the airship and inhaling the salty air. “Mmm, it’s been forever since I’ve seen the ocean!”

She twirled around, stretching out her legs. Kurapika smiled fondly, following after her. “I guess this must be the test sight for the fourth phase.”

“I wonder what it will be?”

(Name) shrugged at Gon’s question. “Maybe a swimming contest?”

“Hello applicants! We are your hosts! Welcome to our hotel.”

An elderly couple stood before them, bowing politely.

“Do you think they’re the next examiners?” Leorio asked, bent over with motion sickness.

“No, they’re not.” Killua answered.

“How do you know?”

“I just do. Isn’t that what Gon always says?”

“Whatever.”

The couple smiled, the woman speaking. “We’re so pleased that all of you could make it! I’m the manager of this hotel, and I run it with my husband.”

(Name) swayed back and forth, trying her best to pay attention but unable to. She was too excited to get in the water, peeking behind Kurapika to stare.

“The exam committee has given me a message to deliver to all of you applicants. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations on a job well done. The 4th phase will begin three days from now. Until then, please take a break and enjoy all that this island has to offer.”

(Name) sighed in relief and let her shoulders relax. “Wow a break!” Gon said. Leorio coughed.

“Aww, that’s too bad, I was kind of looking forward to getting right into the next phase.”

Kurapika smiled. “This has been pretty intense since day one, a little rest and relaxation would do us a lot of good.”

The group began walking towards the hotel, everyone happy to take a break.

“Just a minute please!”

(Name) stopped, shouldering her backpack.

“Here you have to pay in advance. 10 million Jenny per person!”

(Name) blinked. “Oh dear.”

“10 million Jenny!?” Leorio exclaimed.

“That’s what it costs?”

“Seriously?” Killua asked, after Gon.

“That’s way too expensive!”

(Name) pouted, crouching on the ground and as the group argued.

“For people in your situation, we’re more than happy to suggest an alternative method of payment. What have you got to trade? As a side business, my wife and I also run a little antique shop. There are a number of shipwrecks in the island. Many of them still have treasure on board. If you were, to say, bring something back of value to us, you could put it towards your room.”

“Are you serious?”

“The type of room we give you would depend on the value of what you find. The better the item, the better the room.”

The group began to leave, (Name) staying behind.

“(Name)? Are you coming?”

Her friends waited for her, Kuraoika being the one who asked.

“Yes, just a moment. You guys go ahead.”

The hesitantly listened to her request, leaving to go and search the shipwrecks.

(Name) turned towards the elderly couple.

“Excuse me… but I may already have something to trade.”

“Oh? Well let’s see it then.”

(Name) opened her bag, pulling out a golden brooch. The old man took it, humming. “What’s this?”

“It’s a golden brooch, a gift from my mother for graduating high school.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. “You’re trading in a gift from your mother?”

His eyes softened at her expression. It wasn’t the face of someoem giving away something precious. Her eyes were full of hurt and resentment. Obviously, the brooch had caused her a lot of pain.

“Yes. I don’t want it, at least here it can be of some use to me.”

The man glanced to his wife. “This is worth quite a lot, but not enough for a private room. Do you mind sharing with two other people?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. I would like to help my friends now. Could I get my key later?”

He nodded. “Yes. Go along now.”

The old man watched as she left. “What a kind girl. She’s not going to get a better room, but do help her friends…”

(Name) joined Kurapika and Leorio, the blonde’s face lighting up when he spotted her.

“(Name)! How did it go?”

She sighed, setting her backpack down. “Alright, I guess. I have a room at least, thought I’ll be sharing with two other people.”

“Two other people? Perhaps you should try and get a better room, (Name).” Kurapika said.

‘What if she rooms with someone dangerous?’

His face turned pink when he saw her lift up her shirt. “Well, I’m going to be diving for treasure, but only to help you guys out.”

“(N-Name), what are you-“

She placed her shirt on her back before pulling off her skirt, revealing a pair of shorts. “I’m getting ready to swim. What else would I be doing?”

He turned his head away, his entire face red. “Please tell me before you begin to undress next time.”

She pouted. “But Leorio just took off his shirt. Unfair.”

“He’s a guy!”

She rolled her eyes, stuffing her clothes into her bag. “Could you watch my bag for me, Pika? I don’t want it getting stolen.”

“Oh, yes.”

He turned back, averting his eyes before he got a good luck at her. It was a little cute, she was just in a modest sports bra and shorts, but that was enough to fluster the boy.

“Hehe, thanks. I owe you one~”

She dived into the water, leaving Kurapika standing on the ship, gripping his tabard. His eyes darted to Hanzo, who had been peeking at (Name) as she undressed.

“Keep your eyes on the treasure, Hanzo. I won’t have you leering at (Name).” Kurapika called. The ninja huffed.

“What, are you her boyfriend or something? Lay off.”

Kurapika’s eyebrow twitched. “I don’t have to be her boyfriend to worry about her well being. Don’t let me catch you looking at her like that again, this is your only warning.”

When she resurfaced, (Name) was holding a small treasure box. “Pika, Pika look! I found something!”

She swam over, placing it in the deck. “Oh, this chest looks very old. Nice find, (Name).”

They opened it, only to be disappointed. It was empty, besides a bunch of water that was leaking of if a hole at the bottom. “Awww…”

Kurapika smiled, patting her head. “It was a good try. Why don’t you try again? I’m going to search the ships. Gon and Killua are in the area, so go swim near them.”

She nodded, pulling him in for a hug. “Thanks, Pika!”

He yelped, his hands flying into the air. “(N-Name)! You’re…”

“Oh, sorry, forgot I was wet!”

She pulled back quickly. He’d been more concerned she was half naked, but used her being wet as an excuse. “M-Mhm, I’m going now, be safe.”

(Name) got her key and found her room. She hadn’t met back up with Kurapika, so she didn’t have her bag that contained her clothes yet. She did her best, dropping her wet clothes into the hamper and taking a shower before wrapping a towel around herself.

“I guess could ask my roommate to retrieve my bag for me… I don’t want to walk around in a towel…”

She sat on her bed, pouting, until she heard the door open.

“Hello? I heard-“

It was Kurapika standing in the doorway, staring at (Name) with wide eyes. She sighed in relieve. “Pika, thank g-“

The blonde turned away so quick that her backpack swung on his back. “Why are you naked? Don’t you know how many dangerous men are taking this exam? Your roommate could have been any one!”

“But it wasn’t anyone, it was you.”

He paused, tossing her bag to her. “Just,.. go get dressed.”

She giggled. “Alright, if you’re that opposed to me relaxing in a towel, I’ll get dressed.”

(Name) stood up, walking to the bathroom. “There’s a shower, by the way. You can take one when I’m done.”

Kurapika sat on his bed, waiting for her to get dressed. In the small amount of time they’d spent apart, he had already begun to miss her. He scolded himself for this.

‘You shouldn’t get too attached. Think of your mission, having too many attachments could jeopardize it.’

But when (Name) walked out, wearing a pair of pajama pants and tshirt, he couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll shower now.”

She paused. “Oh, do you want me to wash your clothes while you do?”

He tilted his head. “I guess so. I plan on taking a longer shower than usual, so there should be enough time…”

He thought for a moment, calculating the time it would take to both wash and dry his clothes in his head.

“Well, if they’re not dry in time, you can just borrow my clothes.”

Kurapika blinked. “Your clothes?”

“Mhm. They may be big on you, but they should work in a pinch. I have an extra pair of pajamas.”

She set the shirt and pants out for him. “Here, just in case.”

He held the clothes to his chest, cheeks turning pink. ‘Oh, they smell like her perfume…’

“Do you mind if I wash your clothes with mine?”

He shook his head. “Not at all.”

With that, she left, carrying their clothes with her.

———————

When (Name) got back with their laundry done, Kurapika was sat in bed, wearing her tshirt and pajama pants, while Hanzo argued with him.

“If you have a problem with your room arrangements, bring it up with the owner.” Kurapika said, flipping through a book.

“Oh I will!”

Hanzo turned around, seeing (Name) standing in the doorway carrying a laundry basket.

“Move.”

She did, staring at him with a raised eyebrow. “What an asshole, I hope we don’t have to share a room with him.”

Kurapika sighed. “I’m not sure we’ll have much of a choice.”

The two sighed, (Name) dumping the laundry basket on her bed and sorting through the clothes. “Here’s your clothes, Pika.”

He took them shyly, seeing them all folded neatly on the bed. Kurapika tried not to think about the fact she’d washed his underwear, knowing it wasn’t something she cared about.

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind but I used floral detergent. I wasn’t sure what to use, but that’s my favorite.”

He sniffed his tabard, sighing contentedly. “I don’t mind, it smells lovely.”

She smiled brightly, finishing her laundry before jumping onto his bed.

“Hey!”

He laughed when she landed, watching as she wiggled around into she was facing him. “I know it’s early, but I’m so tired. I think I’ll go fishing and gathering for some dinner then sleep.”

Kurapika nodded, sitting up. “I’ll get dressed and come with you.”

(Name) set her comfortable pajamas to the side and threw on her only dress. She didn’t plan on doing anything too strenuous, so a knee length sundress would be perfect for exploring the small island.

“You… you look nice, (Name).”

Kurapika shyly complimented her. She giggled. “Thank you!”

The two left their room, fishing for a bit before leaving to travel around the island and forage.

There were several fruit trees, along with wild onions, mushrooms, and potatoes.

“We’ve got a pretty good amount of food, it should last us more than two days.” (Name) said, placing another potato into their borrowed basket.

“Yeah, but I’d like to have a little extra.”

She giggled. “For Leorio?”

Kurapika smiled. “Yes, I doubt he’d be able to feed himself, considering he’s never cooked before.”

She nodded balancing the basket on her hip. “Alright then, let’s keep going.”

After they gathered for 15 more minutes, the two returned to the beach. “I’ll start a fire, could you find a pan for me?”

“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”

(Name) started a fire, sitting on a log as she began chopping up some of the vegetables. She’d rinsed them beforehand, sighing to herself as she considered what she should make.

‘I guess we could skewer the fish then I can sauté the vegetables… it’s not perfect, but it will fill out stomachs.”

Kurapika returned with Leorio in tow. “Guess who’s replacing Hanzo as our roommate?”

“Leorio!” (Name) waved, having already cleaned and skewered the fish. Kurapika handed her the pan, watching as she tossed in the chopped vegetables and mushrooms before beginning to cook.

“Wow, (Name), you sure are efficient.”

Kurapika sat down next to her, watching as she worked. The fire was kept small, with a rock she used to rest the pan on in the center.

“When’s it going to be ready? Im starving.”

Leorio plopped down on the other side of her, the sound of his stomach growling making her laugh. “It won’t take long. Why don’t we share some stories as we wait?”

This was perfect, both Kurapika and Leorio were curious to learn more about her.

“Actually, (Name), I’m curious on how you got your own room without having to search for treasure yourself.”

She went quiet, eyes staring into the flames of the fire.

“(Name)?”

Kurapika put a hand on her shoulder, the girl sighing before answering. “I traded a golden brooch my mother gave me.”

The blonde’s grip tightened, being almost painful. “You… gave away something your mother gave you?”

He almost sounded hurt, pulling away from her. “(Name), that’s…”

He wrapped his arms around himself. “I would give anything to have something that belonged to my family. To know you’d give something like that away…”

He frowned, but his expression changed when he saw (Name)’s face.

There were tears running down her cheeks, but her eyes were empty. Leorio patted her back, sighing. “You don’t have to explain yourself if you don’t want to, (Name).”

She shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine. In most cases, Kurapika, I would agree with you. Giving away a gift given to you by someone that loves you is unforgivable.”

Kurapika’s eyes widened at her words.

“But my mother never loved me, and just before the Hunter Exam I was disowned. I no longer have a family to go back to.”

She felt Kurapika’s arms wrap around her and pull her close. “I… I apologize for assuming the worst of you. I… understand how it feels to not have anyone to come home to.”

(Name)’s lip quivered before she let herself cry into Kurapika’s arms, Leorio scooting closer to pull them into a hug.

After being comforted, (Name) wiped away her tears and cleared her throat. “Kurapika, Leorio, if we all pass, I’m going to buy a house, and it’s going to open if anyone ever needs a place to stay.”

She held onto Kurapika’s hand, the blonde softening at the slight tremble in her hands.

“We can make a home together, okay?”

Kurapika didn’t respond, only holding her hand tight with both of his.

The three ate dinner before returning to their room. As Leorio showered, the two played with (Name)’s cards.

[princess-of-thebes-1995]

Yandere Navi Miles Quaritch x Female human Mutant Reader

(you can breath Pandora air without mask, enhanced running and climbing, you fought with Jake against the occupation of humans in Pandora.)

"The fuck why are you calling me?" Quaritch snapped on his communicator. He was hunting for meat for tonight's dinner and he got a call from one of his subordinates. He caught a deer-like creature. But, he hated being interrupted and was gutting and skinning the animal.

"Sorry, sir. Your….girlfriend tried to escape. She is in custody."

"Again?" Quaritch sighed. Wow. This was perhaps the third time this week. You would always think of a brilliant plan to half way leave the database. You were at first the sex doll of Quaritch. You sided with the Pandora army. 

To make his side of men leave the planet.

Quaritch captured you and took a liking to you. Despite him being a Navi and you a human. He was attracted to your beauty and spirit. 

He first raped you but he couldn't bring himself to kill you. He then kept you alive. Now, here you were months later. He loved you.

He never admitted it. But, he doesn't want to kill you. He tied you up and would leave to do some work. Yet, you always manage to trick and use your brain to escape.

This time, Quaritch will not show mercy.

Ungrateful Slut.

Miles stormed into your shared room with him and glared at you.

You were tied back to the bed. 

"Once again, you disobeyed me." He hissed. 

You glared back. "I'll never give in!"

Quaritch slapped you across the face. "Bitch, don't raise your voice at me!"

You felt blood coming from your nose and said nothing. But, tears came out.

Quaritched sneered and then left the room 

After some hours of more damn work, Quaritch came exhausted 

He stripped his clothes off and walked to the bed bare naked.

What a day 

You were now sleeping and had tear streaks on your face dried. 

Quaritch stared silently. He felt a pang of guilt. He hits women in the battlefield and all that. When it comes to you, he hates the idea of putting a hand on a female.

He became a gentleman with you. Fuck. You ruined him.

Sighing with tiredness, he crawled to bed next to you. 

You felt something warm wrap around your freezing body.

You opened your eyes to see that ugly damn monster.

"Go to sleep. We will talk in the morning." 

You were too tired to argue so you went back to sleep 

Quaritch woke up before you and was still hugging your small body. 

He felt refreshed from sleep. No nightmares of the battles he fought. The lives he took. When he was with you, he never had nightmares.

What a drug you are.

You woke up with a pounding head and you groaned. Quaritch placed a finger on your lips and shushed you.

He left the bed and took some Tylenol pills.

He then pressed his lips on yours and kissed you awake.

You opened your eyes in alarm and saw the handsome Navi.

"Take these."

You took the pills with water and then sighed in relief.

Quaritch watched you in silence with an unreadable expression. "I don't want to be rough with you. But, you always bring out the worst in me."

You just stared at him.

Quaritch smirked then leaned over you…

"How was that, doll?"

Your womanhood was overflowing with sticky Navi semen and you felt weirdly numb. This time, the elderly Navi was gentle and sweet with you rather than usually rough. This was new.

You wondered about the change of heart. Was he trying to seduce you?

You stopped fighting him and Quaritch became a nice man. He would make the effort to let you roam around the base. Then when he had extra time from finishing work, he would take you out sightseeing. 

The forest you tried to protect from his followers. How ironic.

Quaritch would have sex with you outside. You let him. He loved how you became submissive. He trusts you now. Normally, he would keep a knife with him at all times with you. He was scared that you would bring his guard down then attack him to escape. Now, he knows you will not.

He loves especially how you would slowly love him…

That's right. He caught you many times staring at him for no reason. You would run your fingers through his hair after resting together out of habit. When you first got captured, you would hide your moans and pleasure sounds when making love.

Now, you allow yourself to be free when having sex and seem to enjoy it. You respond to his kisses.

Quaritch felt happy. Now, he trusts you, he was able to let you ride him. You didn't know what to do. He laughed at how cute you were with your confused expression. He guided you on top of him. 

You  him and began to breathe hard. It was the best position you liked so far.

Thirteen inches.

After done, the two of you would sleep it off. After waking up, you would cook for the two of you. Quaritch allowed some privileges for your submission. You were allowed to cook your own food and watch TV and got your phone back.

But, things went a little bad when Quaritch found out that some of his human subordinates would try to flirt on you and one of them took pictures of you in the shower.

Other than that, the two of you wedded in Pandora. Why? You actually fell in love with the evil man. You still hated his morals but you became sexually addicted to him and was attracted to his handsome face. That was the closest to love.

[starsfic]

in the au where Wukong is a statue and Xiaotian is gifted him, what happens next? I like to think that he was able to sense bits and pieces of what was going on but had no concept of time. So when he wakes up the only familiar thing he knows is the sound of Xiaotian’s voice

"Eat up."

Whenever Qi Xiaotian dreamed of meeting Sun Wukong, it was always dramatic and cool. Right now, however, it was the exact opposite.

The Monkey King, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, looked...

"Like he's been dragged through a hedge." Long Xiaojiao winced at the resulting elbow in her side from Tang. "What?! He does." Xiaotian had to agree with her.

Sandy had been weirdly insistent on kicking everyone out of his room. The last thing Xiaotian had seen was the blue giant carefully scooping up Wukong, dressed in that blue hanfu. The following hour had been tense, with Pigsy retreating to the kitchen before Sandy and Wukong had arrived. Guess that was where the noodles had come from.

Wukong didn't have leaves or stuff in his fur, but he looked exhausted. He was dressed in the spare outfit Tang kept in Xiaotian's closet with the sleeves rolled up. ("Sorry," he had said. "I just needed to get out of that thing.") He was hunched over the counter and just looked small.

"Thanks," his voice was raspy as he picked up the chopsticks. He eyed the noodles before setting them down. Pigsy made a noise and Wukong made a noise that sounded between a sigh and a chuckle. "I figured you guys might have questions."

Xiaotian winced at the resulting slam of a hand against the table, because of course, it was Tang who spoke up first. "We do!" Out of nowhere, a notebook was yanked out and the scholar began to ask. "How are you real? How did you get inside the statue? How long have you been inside the statue?! If you're real does that mean all the great figures are real?! How-" He barely dodged the spoon at his head.

Pigsy pulled his foot back and set a glass of water next to Wukong, who was leaning back. "I think he meant one at a time, Tang." the chef huffed.

"Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice." Wukong cleared his throat. "Well, uh...I just am? Yes, Erlang Shen is a bitch. And..." He glanced at Sandy. Xiaotian didn't know his dad's friend well, but the worried look on his face was new. "I really don't know the details of how I got in there. Someone who wanted to attack Heaven did it to get me ut oof the way. All I remember is, one minute, I'm preparing to go to Red Boy's birthday party, and the next I'm in the statue."

Red Boy... the son of the Demon Bull King? Before Xiaotian could think too hard about that, something else occurred to him. "Have you been awake? The entire time?"

Wukong shook his head. "No..." He paused. "I mean, kinda? I couldn't see anything."

Xiaojiao raised a brow. "But you could hear?"

"There's the kinda. It was like...you were asleep but could hear people faintly talking in the next room." A warm smile bloomed to life across his face and those golden eyes locked on Xiaotian. "I heard you kid, and you sound like a fun kid."

How were you supposed to respond to that?

"Thank you!"

[lucy90712]

Road to recovery- Part 1

Masterlist

Lola's POV

Do you ever think why me? That's exactly what I'm thinking right now. I don't know what I did to deserve this I think I'm a good person I try to be nice to everyone I meet but now I'm starting to wonder why I even bothered. 

 My day started off exactly the same as it always does my alarm goes off at 7 and I get myself ready to go on a run. I'm usually gone for about an hour and half before I come back and shower and eat breakfast. Then I get on with some uni work for most of the day as I do my school work remotely to help fit it into my schedule. The like always training starts at 5 so I make sure to arrive at 4 as I like to get warmed up properly and work on some of my skills on my own. 

As its competition season I have been spending a lot more of my time in the gym practicing my routines time and time again until they are perfect. My coaches are also trying to push my level so I also tirelessly work on new skills in hopes that they can be included in my routine at the next competition so my difficulty is increased. It’s hard work but I love it. Gymnastics has always been part of my life, I started when I was two in a class for babies but apparently I was always better than the rest so my parents were told to put me into a more advanced class. They did exactly that and ever since I've always been the youngest one in each class I was put in and then when I made a team for the first time I was still the youngest. I was called up to the youth Spanish team as soon as I was old enough and now I'm working towards my first olympics. 

Today happened to be my last training session before my next competition which happens to be a pretty major one. Everything was going exactly to plan and like it always does I had managed to get a new skill on the bars and we worked it into my routine so now I have a bit more of an edge on my competition. After bars it was time for vault as that is my weakest rotation and my coaches want me to work on it before the Olympics as you can't have a weakness if you want to be competitive at the Olympics. 

I did my usual vault a few times before trying a new variation with more twists. My a first attempt was a fail as I chickened out and didn't even do a proper vault. My second attempt was better but not great. My third attempt it went all wrong and I under rotated and came landing down really hard on one leg which twisted my knee awkwardly. I've had bad landings before but when I realised that I was in complete agony and my knee just felt off I knew it wasn't good. My coaches also knew straight away that something wasn't right as I alway get up right after a fall but instead I just laid there with an arm over my eyes to try and stop myself crying. 

Everything after that happened so quickly I was taken by ambulance to the hospital where they ran so many tests. CTs, MRIs, ultrasounds you name it I'm sure they did it. That was the worst part as each time a new test was done I saw the doctors looking more and more concerned and no one would tell me anything no matter how much I begged. There's nothing worse than being cold, in pain and scared as you don't have a clue what's going on. Eventually someone came to tell me what was wrong and weirdly I kind of wish they hadn't as it wasn't what I wanted to hear at all.

"I'm afraid that you have a complete tear in your acl and a further injury in your meniscus which we can't know the extent of until we perform surgery" the doctor explained 

"Wait that's bad isn't it how long will I be out for?" I asked 

"I’m afraid you are looking at up to 9 months out" the doctor said 

"No no I'm supposed to be going to the Olympics I can't be out for that long" I cried 

"I'm afraid you will miss the olympics this injury has a long recovery time your surgery will be next Tuesday the 28th we will see you then" the doctor said before getting my discharge papers sorted and leaving 

What did I do to deserve this. 

Gavi's POV

The pain was instant. Straight away I knew something was wrong especially when I couldn't walk properly without being in complete agony. I didn't want to believe it so I tried to keep going but I just couldn't there was something seriously wrong. I'm not sure whether it was the pain or the possibility that I might not play again for a long time but I couldn't stop tears flowing down my face. The team and the coaches did their best to comfort me but it was no use it just felt like my world was crashing and burning around me. 

Of course they sent me straight off to the hospital for tests as the physios at the stadium knew my injury was beyond their capabilities which didn't fill me with any hope whatsoever. No one wanted to talk to me as we traveled to the hospital so it was completely silent as I was thinking about how long I'll be away from football and how awful that will be. Even once we got to the hospital the doctors were just doing tests and not saying anything. Everyone was treating me like a child who wouldn't understand anything they said when really I'm not stupid they could just tell me what they are doing and what they think is wrong and I'd understand just fine. 

"It looks like you have torn your acl we can't tell the full extent of the injury at the moment so you will have it have further tests back in Barcelona" the doctor explained 

"It can't be it can't be I have to play what about the euros and the champions league" I sobbed 

"I'm afraid you are going to have to miss those" the doctor said 

~~~~~~~~~~

Since getting back home I haven't slept at all as my knee is still in a lot of pain and I can't stop thinking about how I won't play again this season. My agent came to drive me to my second set of tests and unlike yesterday when I just wanted someone to tell me what was up and that it would all be fine I didn't want to talk to anyone. They ran all of the same tests on me again presumably hoping to find a different outcome but let's be real it's never going to get better is it. Unlike yesterday everyone was fussing over me and making sure I was feeling ok which was just quite overwhelming when I wanted to just be left alone with my thoughts. 

Yet again all of the results were discussed in the next room over without me but I could still see what was going on. Everyone in the room didn't look hopeful and there was a few people on the phone and writing things down which didn't seem like a good thing. At this point I've come to accept that I'm not going to be playing for a long time so I just want to get on with my recovery as I need something to do all of this sitting around and waiting is driving me crazy. 

"So Gavi we are sorry to say that along with your acl tear you also have an associated injury to the meniscus which extends the recovery time so you are likely to be out for 7-9 months and you will need surgery which we have scheduled for next week on the 28th" the doctor told me 

No one else had anything to say to me and I just wanted to go home so my agent drove me home then left me so I could think about why this had to happen to me. 

[llau-ren-ti-a]

The Bad Batch Ask Game

created by @wreckers-wife

@nahoney22

First of all thanks for the message and thank you for bringing this to my attention, my asks are open now 😁

So let's get right to it!

21. Which Batcher is the best cook?

I'd love to say Hunter, but with his senses it could get difficult (hell, I consider myself a decent cook and can't prepare meat half of the time bc I can't stand the smell) so I'm going with Echo and Cross!

Echo because he actually values food that isn't 'standard rations' and has a thing for proper nutrition and Crosshair because he's a control freak in the kitchen - he won't let you lift a finger and only serves whatever meets his expectations.

38. What color do you associate with each Batcher?

That's a tough one, but I'll try my best!

Wrecker

Wrecker was the easiest to come up with, and I know, yellow is a happy colour and that's why I associate him with it bla bla bla - his scar reminds me of the sun, a star bursting across his face. He's warm summer days spent in the sun, elderflower lemonade and daisies.

When I was in school we used to play "Yellow Car", whenever you spotted a yellow car you could hit one of the fellow players, and I think he'd be weirdly competitive about that.

Omega

Omega was a close second, and my colour is turquoise! Do you know this specific shade of turquoise that every other girl's rooms had back in the 2010s? Either you knew someone who had a room like that or you were that person. I can remember that so vividly and she instantly reminded me of her so much. She'd totally be one of those girls with turquoise walls.

I'm also so sure adores the ocean and sky, aside from the storm grey she was surrounded with on Kamino.

Tech

A little conflicted about our dear Tech - he reminds me of vaporwave and 80s computers; to me he is the embodiment of 80s and 90s synthwave (aesthetic), black and neon pinks and blues and purples and oranges - it was really a tie between the latter but I went with purple, it's still quite a nice colour and I think he'd center his whole being around this colour like many purple people do. (Orange people are actually exactly the same, but they are less vocal about it haha)

Echo

Sad beige clothes for sad beige children.

Look me straight into my bright blue eyes and tell me Echo would not absolutely THRIVE in a clean, cozy minimalistic apartment. I would pay an ungodly amount of money to wrap him up in a beige silk/mohair blend cable knit sweater and watch him drink a black tea with milk and sugar while he's sitting on clean white bed sheets. Need I say more?

Hunter

(Sidenote: I am having an absolute field day imagining Hunter in one of those Park Ranger Uniform shorts)

I think the consensus is that a lot of people associate him with red (because he is the leader of the squad and their colours are black and red...)

And I get it, red and brown suit him well in my opinion, but he really is green to me. Not really sage green or dark forest green, more the yellowish chartreuse kind of swampy green.

Crosshair

I get it. I absolutely do. The angry, dangerous, even lustful dark reds and blacks that so many people pair him with.

My soul tells me he is green. Not that friendly, lively kind of green that Hunter has, but this dark and forgotten shade of ancient woods that block out the sun once you've walked a few steps into them. Kind of Twilight-esque pacific northwedt vibes, but scarier and less blue filter.

I know he would kill me if he heard me compare him to Hunter like that, but I really think they are quite alike.

The difference lies here:

Hunter invites you in, whereas Crosshair is warning you to stay away.

- - -

I hope that made some sense haha!

That was fun, thanks for the message! <3

[egittae]

[ 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 ] ; pals in another life... unless?

morion grins, clacking his glass against lambert's for the who-knows-how-many-th time that night. drinking with a buddy is one of the best ways he knows how to pass the time; nothing quite like getting smashed with a friend!

he's not quite sure how many beers in he is---he lost track after the whatever-th time he got his glass refilled. as his hand reaches towards the bowl at the center of the table (for he desires another handful of salty snacks!), he grins sloppily but with endless charm. "ya know, s' not often i get to do this," he remarks through a mouthful of cashews. "go drinkin' with people. much as i wish i could. so m' glad we could do it tonight!"

after inhaling almost all of the cashews on the table, morion realizes how terribly rude he's being. he obviously needs to give nuts to his pal, too! "whoops. sorry, didn't realize how much of these things i put away," he mutters, trying and failing more times than should be necessary to pick up the single cashew left in the bowl. "here. you c'n have it." he attempts to feed it to lambert, misses, and watches as it falls into his beard instead.

to be a good friend one must always be ready to rectify their mistakes. "damn! how bad am i, huh?!" morion laughs at his own incompetence. if diamant saw him like this, he'd drag morion out by his ear for getting so hammered. "seriously, i'm not usually this shit at holdin' a cashew, for dragonssake... here, let me get it."

as any normal person would do, morion leans in to take the cashew... with his mouth. he doesn't trust his hands not to slap lambert at this point. at least the worst he can do this way is, like, bite him or something.

morion gets so close he can smell the night on lambert---alcohol, the outside air, and his natural scent mix together into something almost more intoxicating than the beer he's been throwing back. this smell is so interesting to him that he pauses mid-movement just to experience it a little more. is this normal? hell no. does he care? motherfucker, he's trying to take a cashew out of his friend(?)'s beard with his mouth. of course he doesn't care.

...but lambert probably does. it wasn't like he'd been invited to give his buddy a weirdly homoromantic sniff or two; morion's been sitting there with his mouth dangerously close to lambert's lips for longer than any reasonable amount of time. he won't go there. not when all they've been is friends.

"s'rry," comes morion's muffled, almost defeated-sounding grunt as he pulls himself back. "you, uh. you can get that. wouldn't be right of me t'eat that when i was just tryin' to give it to ya."

[ tw: mention of alcohol/being drunk ]

Cheeks red from the alcohol, his body relaxed and his mind unable to really focus on anything for too long but at the same time not too scattered to the point he couldn’t think straight. He was just buzzed, having a good time. Lambert could tell that he had been thankfully blessed with a fairly good tolerance to alcohol, as all he felt was at best a comfortable fun buzz.

That guy however, was on another level. They hadn’t even gotten that many drinks yet and the guy was already slurring his speech all over, barely able to even grab a cashew. Or perhaps it was Lambert who was able to down volumes of alcohol without it affecting him too much...either way. The blond simply watched, smiling as he tried to hold back a laugh as Morion continued his struggles with the small salted nut only for it to swiftly land on Lambert’s own beard.

He couldn’t not laugh at that, the sound hearty and warm. “I think that perhaps you have had too many drinks, my fellow.” It wasn’t meant to be a dig at Morion’s state, but at the same time…it was funny. “Worry not, you may have it. If anything I would say you need it more than I do, that is certain.” Alcohol tolerance aside, he did eat something nice before they started to drink- so he was set for the night.

Morion was an insistent man, however. Lambert was curious to see what he’d come up with for this little cashew. He could pick it off Lambert’s beard and just hand it to him directly, yes.

Or he could try to grab it with his mouth. That was A Decision.

What is up with this guy? It was just too funny. Well, maybe if Lambert were completely sober he’d find it shocking, but right now all he did was chuckle as he watched Morion come closer and closer…and then he stopped. Did he get shy?

The blond rolled his eyes. “You know, you can just ask for it.” He waited for an extra bit, then just leaned forward to press a light kiss to the corner of Morion’s lips. “Instead of using a cashew as an excuse. A valid attempt, however.” Lambert then plucked the cashew from his own beard, and fed it to Morion- his attempt much better coordinated.

Was Morion married anyway? If he was then...ah, the wife wouldn't mind a smooch between bros, would she? Nah.

[beansnsoup]

Hi 👋 May I politely ask for the mario and luigi do secretly birthday for her younger sister,like today is her birthday,but mario and Luigi pretend not knowing is her birthday and give big surprise 🤭

I hope you can make kind long story for her birthday

- I'm loving these sibling requests

☆

Birthday Girl

Summary: The thing you hated most was people forgetting things, especially important things, and your brothers knew that, so they'd thought it'd make a good excuse to throw a surprise party.

Relationship: Platonic

Characters: Luigi & Mario

Warnings: angst??, fluff, surprises, fem reader

You wake up that morning in pure excitement. You could barely sleep the night before.

Your mom would always make you a nice breakfast and greet you with a, "There's my birthday girl!" It was by far your favorite day of the year.

Today seemed to be a bit off, though, that morning when you walked into the kitchen. You got the usual hellos and good mornings, not even your mom said anything special.

You didn't question it, though. You'd hate to be the one that ruins the vibe, but if you were being honest, you felt like you were going to cry.

You excused yourself from the table so you could start getting ready for school, it felt like you were overreacting but the thought of people changing the way things have been for years and forgetting such thinh hurt alot.

"I mean, it's weird, right? You guys don't think I'm overreacting?" You discussed with your friends that morning in your free period.

"I personally think it's sketchy, your family weirdly goes all out for birthdays."

"Yeah, your party last year was insane. Don't regret a thing, though." Your other friend chimed in, taking a swig of he coffee.

"My mom didn't even say anything."

Your friends sent you a blank stare, "You're joking."

You shook your head, "Nope, Mario and Luigi even took off work for these couple of days. They didn't say anything either."

"There's got to be something going on."

That was followed by you shrugging. At this point, you accept anything, even if it was just you going out that afternoon with your friends.

If your family did remember later on, you could pull a petty reality show moment on them or something.

After school ended that day, the three of you went out to go thrifting, then went to the local cupcake bakery. It was probably the only amount of cake you were going to get today.

Your friends sang you happy birthday, and then you all went to Party City to play around in kids' costumes and party supplies.

"You think mom and dad will let you guys stay over?"

"Yeah, I'd just have to call my parents."

"Same."

The three of you begin to make your way towards your apartment building, you had to admit that you were dreading to face your family again after them forgetting your birthday, but you hoped it was just a one time thing.

Your friends had their arms latched around yours with you walking in the middle. You could tell they were trying their best to bring your mood back up.

Truth was that they hated seeing you so bummed out, the day before you couldn't stop talking about how excited you were and wondering what breakfast you would get or cake design.

They wanted you to have the best birthday you could, forgetful family aside.

You all walk up to the door of your apartment, and one of your friends open the door for you guys with their free hand.

"Surprise!"

You let go of your friends' grasp, hands going straight to your mouth. Your mom comes up to you first, wrapping you in a warm hug,

"I thought you all forgot." You mutter out to her. "Oh, Tesoro, we're your family. We'd never do that to you." She planted a kiss on your forehead.

You felt tears threatening to spill out. You turned around to your friends to distract yourself from this, "We're you guys in on this?"

"A little," one of them said in a wincing tone, "We were bribed to distract you." The other laughed out.

Your brothers jumped up from behind you. Once you met them face to face, they were welcomed with a slap, "Jerks!"

"Ow!" Luigi let out, rubbing the spot where you hit, "Would you have rather us really forget?" Mario asked you with a diva like look on his face.

You crossed your arms and rolled your eyes along with it, "No."

"That's what I thought."

"Can we have cake now?" Your friend asked, you glanced over to your mom, "It's fine with me."

Later that night, you and your friends were cooped up in your room, organizing gifts your family had gotten you.

"Y/N?"

You hummed in reply,

"Can I be your sister-in-law?"

"Ew, what?"

"Oh my god, I think Mario is a catch." Your friend chimed in, adding a vintage tone to her voice as she put her hand to her forehead.

"Good because I think Luigi is the sweetest and a total dreamboat." The other said in the same vintage tone.

I LOVE WRITING SIBLING FANFICS ♡♡♡

You stuffed your face in your pillow, "My new birthday wish is for you guys not to marry my brothers."

[apphiarothowrites]

I’m back again bitch! Time travel time!

“Ace, he’s married.”

Three words but they knock the wind right out of his sails. Izou gives a sympathetic smile and rubs his shoulder. Aces vision starts to blur and he furiously wipes at his eyes, of course, why did he even think…

“Oh honey.” Soft hands and a yukata that smells of sandalwood embrace him, holding him tight as he bawls like a baby. Over someone who had never been his in the first place.

It’s rough for the first bit and it had taken a lot of gentle bullying, long nights of sleeplessness and more than one crying session for Ace to not exactly stop being in love but at the very least accepting the love was one sided.

And of course marco had eventually found out, which had lead to Ace trying to throw himself off the ship multiple times until the older man had cornered him in his cabin. He had ignored all of aces pleas on ‘forget about it’ and ‘really I’m ok it’s just a crush’ and ‘I will go through the window! Don’t think I won’t!’

And he had just hugged him. It was weirdly un awkward for how awkward it should be, the hug was warm and full of love. (Just not that kind of love) and is of not to leave anything to chance marco told him directly “I love you” and kissed his forehead. And for once Ace didn’t doubt the man’s words.

Time went on, things got better. Sometimes ace did catch himself looking a little too longingly but kept those moments to himself. Things for the most part settled down.

Then Marco got a letter, everyone knew he got a letter because a crow had flown right into the mess hall and planted it on his head. It did not help that Marcos entire face had lit up at the sight and he immediately ran from the mess clutching the letter like a maiden getting post from her solider.

Marcos husband was coming to visit.

Marcos husband was coming to visit.

Oh no

Ace wasn’t exactly scared, marco knew about his crush and was fine with it. So there’s no reason that his husband would be all in a tiff right? And his husband seemed like a decent guy from what he could hear, lover of bad jokes, would do anything for marco. Kind of an idiot.

But then again thatch jokes all the time about his jealous husband, often sitting himself in Marco’s lap before going ‘don’t tell your husband, he’ll set something on fire again.’

So ace wasn’t worried but maybe concerned and Jesus when was this guy gonna get here?

A week before Marcos birthday, a loud cheer erupted from deck and pulled ace from a groggy slumber. He emerged on deck, still in his boxers because fuck proprietary he was up till 4am on watch. Just in time to see marco swept off his feet and into a very deep kiss by a tall handsome man.

Ace blinked and then the man was in front of him holding out his hand “names russett!” He laughed “but just call me Russ.”

Ace stared at him, Russ was tall maybe an inch shorter than Marco. Scruffy beard. Dark red wavy hair that piled up into a messy knot on his head. Gold glinting from his ears. An open floral shirt hinted at some sort of scarring on his chest.

“Ace.”

Russ’s face did a complicated thing before his eyes softened and he took the younger man’s hand “nice to meet you Ace.”

3 months later Ace dies on the battlefield in his brothers arms.

The last thing he thinks about is Russ and the night he asked if his hopeless crush would ever go away.

Grey eyes had turned pensive. “You’ll love him even after death.”

Ace dies

Minutes later he opens his eyes back up to see marco checking him over for injuries. “We pulled you out of the water, how the fuck did you get burns of all things?”

Ace mumbles a non response because why does marco look so young? And where is the fight? Unfortunately blue flames light up around his torso (fuck akainu) and darkness claims ace once more.

It takes him a couple waking and subsequent fainting sessions to figure it out.

White beard looking far healthier than ace had ever seen him asks his name.

Ace gives his best roguish grin “Russett, but you can call me Russ.”

Additional notes

- Ace stares at Marco, he remembered the man mentioned having a “promiscuous youth.” But goddam, he nearly walked into a pole when he spotted the gold bars on the others chest. Not to mention the hair, which he had only known as close cropped and shaved. Now it seems to be in a different style and length every week. (Later Marco discloses that his hair grows incredibly fast and the short cut was simply most efficient) but for now Ace watches a ponytail sway with sash covered hips.

- the scars are still there, the ones he got in his first life. Especially the one on his chest. Luckily or maybe unluckily the scarring on his back has taken out any trace of his previous tattoo.

- he meets Roger, he remembers this remembers Russ telling him a bout the father he only got to meet “after it was too late” and realizing that his father maybe wasn’t all that awful. And Roger really isn’t that awful, the way he acts around the two cabin boys… Roger would’ve been a really good dad..

- he meets rouge who is nothing like he expected at all, loud, obnoxious. With a wicked smile. She is a lot like luffy honestly. She sees his freckles and immediately claims him as a long lost cousin

- he also meets dragon?!? Who should not be considered the most dangerous man in the world. Ace has to stifle a laugh as a mere child started cussing him out in rapid northern before hauling him away by the cloak.

(He sees dragon again once more, this time smiling dancing with a handsome woman who seems endeared and exasperated by the man’s antics)

- Russ has no devil fruit, but somehow he is very good at setting stuff on fire

- ace/russ becomes a wanderer, home base sphinx. He is mostly like a cat that does what he wants.

Marco is 22 Ace is 20,

On Marcos 23 he gets a coaster to add to his collection

24 he gets a letter and a kiss

25 he gets ace in his bed holding a strategically coaster (that covers nothing at all)

26 he gets a ring

- shanks hates Russ (not really) but he jealous that marco married another red head over him

—

I did toy with the idea of Russ deciding to adopt the asl in second rendition, but this is already so long. So you decide

I also toyed with this being Marcora but.. I wanted Marace to grow old together so no sexy clowns

Russ defo checks in on Dawn Island. He realizes exactly what's going on, but even so he's selfish. A closed loop this may be, but that doesn't mean he can't tweak what he can.

I'm so in love with this concept. This might get written. It's going in the idea doc