#I had a random though about clothes shopping when I was a kid/teen

[konigsluvr]

Hey hey! I'd like to request König headcanons please. I was thinking more of his childhood but it can be anything really :D thanks x

Also I'm an Avatar fan too! Don't seem to know a lot of people who are into both #teamneteyam

Hey!! I looooove Avatar so much, I haven't been reading it much lately but 2 months ago I was on tumblr all day, everyday just reading various Avatar fics (best days of my life). I miss neteyam so much :(( I really hope this is to your liking<3 i have included some NSFW headcannons, but there will be a warning, if you are uncomfortable, just skip. Reposts are highly appreciated. I will literally marry you. And of course, here I present...

★ navigation ★ masterlist ★

König Headcanons

Includes: Childhood König. König x fem!reader. Fluff. Spice. Smut.

☆ As said in his biography, he has suffered from severe social anxiety throughout his life. This probably started developing in maybe late childhood/early teens.

☆ I can picture him as the quiet kid in school. Had a couple chill friends that he was comfortable around and hung out with after school.

☆ I think König was average grade student (like me lmao), not bad grades but not super good either, he just did what he had to do at school.

☆ He liked helping around the house so he could contribute and help his parents save time.

☆ He applied to the military at 17, having a job that allows him to blow off steam would help with his anxiety sometimes but if it's a more dangerous mission than usual, his anxiety might peak but he could have coping mechanisms.

☆ Even though he is 6'10" and literally all muscle, he can't stay still. Due to his anxiety again, he is fidgety at times depending on the social situation he is in. Now this leads onto the relationship stuff.

☆ With him being fidgety, I feel his love language is physical touch. He can sometimes struggle with his words but you always know that he loves you when he cuddles you or does little things like playing with your hair or holding your hand whenever you are in public.

☆ König isn't the best at working with technology but you'll show him how he can text you and phone you, so whenever he has free time at base or whenever he isn't with you, expect him spamming you with texts because he misses you so much :((

☆ He has a gym at home for when he wants to work out but with him having such a physical job he doesn't feel the need to workout everyday, maybe 3 or 4 times a week when he's home with you but at base he'll do it more as its like the only thing to do there.

☆ He enjoys going on walks. When he's home with you he'll love going on a walk in the woods or just wondering around town with you, go shopping to get food for supper or something, he'll sneakily buy flowers to surprise you. At base, he sometimes can't sleep well so he'll just walk around for some fresh air to clear his mind.

☆ His down time with you would be watching your favourite show or a random movie. He would do it just to cuddle up or be with you but he will get invested. Like I watched the notebook last night and I was thinking about König crying as you watch the notebook together.

☆ Like you'll be watching the movie and a sad scene comes up, you are already crying and you hear a sniffle but it isn't from you. You turn to your left and see a tear rolling down Königs cheek. This will make you cry harder as you wipe away his tears and cuddle into his neck.

☆ With König having a high payed job, he has a lot of money that he doesn't know how to spend. Lucky him, he has you. You would tell him its no bother, that you have enough clothes and pretty jewellery to last you a lifetime but he drags you to the car to your favourite store and you can't help but give in.

☆ He would get a former guard dog and train it to only command you and him, this dog would stay at home with you all the time. You would take it out walks and just spend your whole day with it. He wants to make sure you are safe all of the time.

NSFW AHEAD!!

☆ He likes to take it slow, make ethereal love to you and treat you like your made of glass. You would let a few tears roll down your cheek from his sweetness.

☆ Pussy eater!!! He is like a god with his tongue. Worships your clit like its his favourite thing while his fingers work in and out of you. It doesn't matter if you are crying from overstimulation, you have a safe word. His only mission is making you cum.

☆ Loves face sitting, literally just loves your pussy on his face and your thighs pushing against the side of his head. You would tell him that you are too heavy, he huffs frustrated and pulls you down on him and instantly gets to work. Let's just say, you forgot about what you said 3 seconds ago.

☆ Breeding kink. Sorry, not sorry. In all his fantasies about you, it's you all pretty n pregnant with his baby. You will have that pregnant woman glow and he just can't keep his hands off of you. He doesn't really wear condoms but you'll usually be on the pill, he still struggles to pull out but it's nearly impossible for him. But when he does cum in you, he finds it the sexiest thing ever. He'll use his fingers to plunge his load back into you to feed his growing hunger.

☆ He loves when you top him and take your time with him, but he also enjoys being in charge and having his sole focus on you, even if you just came for the fourth time from his tongue and his cock is rock hard.

☆ The ratio between him giving you head and you giving him head is very diverse. He loves a good blowie but only does it when you want to, he will never ask you.

☆ Isn't one for quickies, he wants to take his time with you. He wouldn't like the risk of someone else seeing you being intimate with him, that is a sight only for him to see.

☆ Isn't afraid to make noise in the bedroom. Whimpering. Moaning. Whining. Groaning. He does it all.

I hoped you liked this!! If you have any more requests don't be shy. Stay safe and take care of yourself my lovies xx

[gatitties]

Hi 👋😊.

I just had this a idea for almost a whole  year and it about a young teen female Reader who have a father figure or mother figure from the pirate they like the most but~~ I want them to be the older version from the future like when they are at the age of 40 or 60 . ( Strawhat pirates & white beard pirates & kid pirates) 

And if you don't write about the whitebeard pirate's it okay .instead of it I would like it to be the heart pirates 😊♡.

Edited!\ take your time okay, love your writing by the way👋😊♡

─Strawhats, Heart Pirates, Kid pirates & Whitebeard Pirates x teen!fem!reader (Platonic)

─Summary: some headcannons with your mother/father figure and the rest of the crew

─Warnings: the characters are older, like in those 40/60 year old drawings (reference)

Well yes I write for whitebeard and as a bonus you will have all four crews, ty!! ;)

─ You're like the baby of the crew, no matter how strong or smart you are, for them it's like a duty to keep you safe even though you don't need it.

─ Luffy, Chopper and Usopp are your best allies when you get bored and want to play or play a joke on others, although they are not so young for their usual games they can always make a small exception for you.

─ As for family roles… Sanji was like a father to you, he was the most attentive to everything, he controlled that you had a balanced diet, that you hydrated, and he made sure that nothing and nobody could bother you or harm you, physically or mentally.

─ This cook already has an age and a past that makes him want to protect every possible child, and despite the fact that you were not a child, in his eyes it still seemed that you were 5 years old and not 13.

─ You called him 'dad' once by accident and he cried after you left the room.

─ Sometimes he just walks into your room to tell you something random "did you know that swordfish can swim up to 100 km/h? They are great hunters" and leaves without saying anything else, he doesn't even wait for you to answer, "Close the door!" of course he never closes the door after that.

─ You spend a lot of time in the kitchen and he teaches you to make your favorite dishes.

─ Despite being forty years old, the fights with Zoro won't stop, and he always puts you in the middle to give him support, "yellow looks much better" "green is better, it doesn't look like piss" "Of course not, honey, what do you think about this? Yellow is better isn't it?" "I guess?" "Ha! see, my little girl is always right marimo"

─ Franky and Brook are like the uncles who spoil you.

─ Now… if you're looking for who won to be your mother figure, the award went to Nami, despite not being as young as before and having lived more adventures, she will never stop being like a scared cat and tends to separate you from danger when she sees it.

─ She earned most of your affection pretty quickly.

─ Typical mother who makes you save as much as possible, she'll lend you her old clothes if still in good condition, "this shirt suits you better than it did when I was your age, you'll be a beautiful girl when you grow up!"

─ Although she doesn't mind pampering you a bit if she wants, it's practically difficult for her to deny you something if you really want it, overall, she can always put others in debt to get more money.

─ Lots of relaxing baths with her and Robin, you like to gossip about everything you see when you stay on an island for a while.

— Many moments of shopping together, it doesn't matter if you like it or not, she will simply drag you down because she needs the opinion of someone younger to stay "in fashion".

— She'll also teach you everything she knows about cartography and navigation.

— Father figure Law lives under stress, his night schedules are still as shattered as when he was young and now he has a teenager under his wing to care for.

─ He is very strict with everything, he wants you to maintain a healthy life so you will have many restrictions, ranging from not spending much time inside the submarine to correcting your posture when you're sitting wrong. "You look like a shrimp sitting like this, correct your posture or you'll have back pain" "You look like an emo in your forties and nobody says anything to you" "…"

─ He's worried because teenagers are so carefree and stupid sometimes, he'll have Bepo supervise when he can't.

─ You have many arguments with him for small things, but don't worry, if he punishes you Shachi and Penguin are the uncles who get you out of trouble.

─ This duet with you by their side only means one thing to Law and it's headache.

─ Whenever you're in a bad mood, the crew jokes that Law has infected you with his continual sulking disease, and that now you are like father and daughter.

─ Law is a proud dad inside of him, he won't show that he is proud of you out loud, but in his mind he has you as someone smarter than half the crew.

─ He will teach you everything he knows about medicine, unless you don't like it or are too squeamish about operating or dissecting, however you are required to learn everything about basic first aid.

─ Ikkaku is the only woman on the whole ship so she was the mother figure who helped you not go crazy among so many men and an adorable bear.

─ You're always welcome in the kitchen to help or observe, but mostly to gossip, sometimes Bepo joins.

─ She has small details with you, like buying some matching pendants or bracelets, she also likes to comb your hair with different styles, definitely your personal hairdresser.

─ Unlike Law, Ikkaku will always let you know that she's proud of you for any little thing, like if you've only managed to take down a few guys on your own without help and will yell in mid-battle "Well done, that's my girl!"

─ God bless you with this crew because you will not have a day off, just because they have aged doesn't mean that they are not as chaotic as before.

─ Although they will respect you, you are not in this crew for nothing, and also, all these guys are afraid of an angry teenager with little hours of sleep. "Dude, shut the fuck up if you don't want me to insert this knife as a new piercing in your forehead" "Yo… ok, chill kiddo"

─ The closest thing to a mother figure that you found was Heat, because he was the one who acted the most like a mother hen with you, apparently he was the most concerned about your physical integrity because he was at that age of wanting children and you were the closest to that.

─ It's not like he was depriving you of potentially lethal weapons for a teenager, but he was more afraid of what people would do with someone young like you.

─ Because being in this crew most of the time means fighting and going to clubs, so yeah, he always had an eye on you just in case some nasty person tried something weird with you.

─ Wire always took care to relax Heat when you'd rather just walk around the village than be in a bar because you weren't much of a fan of drinking alcohol at your age. "What if she gets kidnapped? She can be there all alone being scared" "She literally dismembered a guy last time we fought, she'll be fine."

─ Wire is the cool uncle who lets you do whatever you want as long as your worried mom doesn't find out.

─ And if we talk about a father figure… Killer, Killer acted like a responsible father most of the time, not as worried as Heat but always watching over you and above all that you didn't let yourself be influenced by some of Kid's stupidity.

─ Because Kid was like your demon on your shoulder, despite already being of an age, this man wouldn't stop being impulsive and you're an easy-to-influence teenager, so you and Kid have a sibling relationship.

─ Killer just watches the two of you while he looks disapprovingly, you can't even see his face and you already know that he is disappointed with your decisions. "You guys broke what? oh okay." a lot of passive-aggressiveness whenever he scolds you.

─ But he will always scold Kid more because he is of legal age and should be responsible, he definitely doesn't leave you alone with him because the last time you ended up drunk.

─ And despite not being of many words, he's like the presence you need by your side at certain times, someone you can turn to if something bothers you and that you know that he will be there for you.

─ Overprotective squad in general.

─ Everyone sees Whitebeard as a father, however in your eyes he is like your grandfather, because Marco had earned the position of father figure.

─ This man wanted to establish a life a few years ago, start a family etc, then one day you just arrived and he decided to take you under his wing, literally.

─ He is the least worried if you compare him with the men of the other crews, he knows that he has many people who protect you by his side, so he is calm in that aspect.

─ He will still scold you for your bad habits. "Eat slower you'll choke if you keep eating like a turkey" "Don't you have a nest to make or something? I know how to eat, I'm not Ace" "Hey!"

─ Ace may have matured a lot more but he'll still be a bad influence on you, so Marco always asks Izo to keep an eye on both of you, because the last time he left you two alone you ended up in the stomach of a sea king.

─ His chest will swell with pride if you call him 'dad' in front of people.

─ He's the kind of dad who tells all the shits that have happened to you and he embarrasses you in front of the crew just because he wanted to tell a funny anecdote about you, although he later apologizes to you if he really upset you.

─ As for a mother figure, this crew is short of such things, but the closest thing was Izo, because without a doubt, within this crew full of testosterone, he was much more elegant and careful than the others.

─ And more than anything because you could steal his makeup to use it, although you didn't know how to apply many of the things he had, he helped you with that. "Honey you're spreading the makeup wrong" "Can you teach me Izo?"

─ He taught you a lot about self defense in case someone bothers you more than necessary, like using guns, you should know how to protect yourself just in case.

─ Proud mom watching you kick ass.

[reallyromealone]

We need more mochi content so how about headcannons on dating mochi

Also random headcannon i I have of this lovely boi is that he’s a heavy sleeper and sometimes moves in his sleep so if you were to sleep in the same bed there’s a chance he might sleep on top of you without even noticing or his arm just slams onto your face by accident

Ohooo okok

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

♥️Mochi? Amazing lover

♥️ Caring and loving

♥️If you're shorter than you're wearing his sweaters, he leaves one out for you

♥️Bedtime though? He's a koala

♥️Which would be fine if he wasn't a tank of a person

♥️like he will hold you like a teddy bear and sometimes will sleep on you

♥️So be prepared to overheat and barely breathe

♥️Play with this man's hair

♥️Let him be baby

♥️Mochi deals with so much and is always the big bad gang member

♥️In Bonten, he's very overprotective

♥️You only get the finest shit with him

♥️As teens he always promised to make sure you had the best shit when you two were adults and now that he can?

♥️He's always been very busy so you two have designated date nights that work around his schedule

♥️He's definitely a dad

♥️Not daddy but a dad

♥️Lowkey wants kids and if you do too? Well y'all are gonna get some kids somehow

♥️you two both have morning routines

♥️After peeing and showering (y'all shower together usually, nothing sexual... usually) he gets ready for work and you get breakfast ready

♥️ Mochi likes hugging you while you cook, the smell of after shave and Cologne is always present with him

♥️He is a very present husband and very observant

♥️ You two go grocery shopping he's very much scary dog privileges

♥️ Pushes the cart so you can look around more

♥️ He's stupidly in love

♥️ Makes sure to keep you out of any of his...work

♥️If y'all dated as teens, he would probably lie or just keep you away from it at all costs

♥️ He really tries to keep you away from his coworkers

♥️ You only met Mikey and that was by accident

♥️ He wanted to know how Mochi was getting such good lunches because those were definitely home cooked

♥️Mochi came home to you feeding Mikey and doting on him once you learned he was Mochis boss and being a generally good host

♥️Now he brings two lunches to work

♥️One for him and one for Mikey

♥️He finds it cute how you worry for Mikey, unaware of who he is

♥️He has designated vacation times

♥️ Basically anywhere where he gets to see you with minimal clothing

♥️He's a good man (sort of) but he's a weak weak man for his husband

[saleintothe90s]

480. Seventeen Magazine, March 1994

woAh, its joey from Blossom this month.

I'm always obsessed with these Prom issues from the mid 90s, they're always bittersweet to look at because I remember young me fantasizing about going to the prom while looking at these, and then once in 2001 I didn't go because I was like, the ugliest girl in my class and most people treated me like a leper.

I adore that Versus by Gianni Versace dress.

Oh yeah here are some Angela Chase fashions.

Now if Almay cosmetics still looked like THIS, I might buy it. But also, they have a terrible shade range.

Now this sporty look is miles better than the 1995 one I featured last year. I thought those were Converses, but they're from Bakers. I love the look, but also it reminds me of those Yasmine Sahid Instagram "who said I can't wear converse with my dress" reels that are so funny.

I think Walmart sells this dress every Summer.

Ahh! So this is the origins of those black mini Caboodles you always see on eBay.

YAAS to this dress but also what 14 year old goes to the prom? Sounds like Nina goes to a private school, so maybe prom is open to all at some private schools?

Bang goals!

Oh WOW. I'm not too crazy about the first look, but this second look with the knee highs heels and tapestry clothing is breathtaking. And the name brand is ANXIETY. And look!!! The vest and skirt is currently on Poshmark, I'm so mad its a size medium.

These black and white dresses didn't just have a moment, they held on for years. I still remembered seeing them at stores when I was in high school.

I don't think New Freedom is still being made? I assume it was just folded into the Kotex brand.

Wait, hold up, Sharlynn, you had a fiancé your senior year of high school?!

Her man is looking at her like, "is that your sister's dress from the 1989 prom?"

I never really put much thought into how much going to the prom really costs. I just thought it was dress, shoes, makeup, Claire's jewelry. Do kids these days still rent limos?

Did proms have dress codes back then? Because I feel like these would break a dress code.

I just like this illustration in a quiz about whether you are a control freak or not.

These type of bandages took forever to be available to a mass market. I see the Band Aid Ourtone ones when I go to Target.

Protip: do not wear a backpack while shopping.

I just saw a glittery fabric in those exact colors at Joann's yesterday.

This red dress is giving off pageant vibes though.

via GIPHY

I have so many questions and theories about this. Is Michael a family friend? Does he work with her dad? Is this letter even real or something created by the editors about a similar situation they read about? I always wondered that about these Q&A in teen magazines, were the questions really sent in, or were they curated from events in the news, or a blend of several questions sent in? Former teen magazine editors give advice.

wow, this was ahead of its time. I couldn't find any information about this other than a coupon in the Commercial Appeal.

More Blossom!

I feel like things haven't improved much.

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[starrygalazy]

Random HC's for all the Overwatch characters (mostly Mei) that I've been gathering over the last 3 months (starting Sept. 17)

It's just. Exactly what it sounds like. Fluffy, angsty, funny, probably not spicy (I lied-ish, talking abt a dick). We'll see. Gonna try and post this on December 31 for something

(Sept 17) Zenyatta is ticklish as hell. Typically omnics aren't but he got his touch receptors modified, tho I can't decide if Ramattra and Mondatta tricked him into it or he wanted to try it out

(Sept 20) Genji used to have a dick piercing, when he was young and stupid. After Blackwatch he took it out and now there's just a scar.

(Sept. 29) Mei finds a lot of comfort in music box songs her mom had lot when she was young and it helps her sleep.

(Oct 3) Actually on top of the previous hc, Mei can't do silence anymore. She always needs background noise, so usually she keeps her machines in the science ward running when she's actually trying to sleep. Otherwise she puts on music or uses sound generators if it's a bit too quiet on Gibraltar. The only sound that disturbs her more than just silence is wind blowing through the quiet, because it REALLY reminds her of emerging all alone.

(Oct 20) Mei is a Steven Universe girl. Her favorite Gem as a kid was Garnet because she loved her message about self love and how much Sapphire and Ruby loved each other, and she still knows almost all the songs by heart. She got very good at singing because she sang along so much. Also she probably cried when Steven lost his gem then got it back, and when Spinel sang "Drift Away"

(Nov 4) If Mei geeks out to someone, she really really loves and trusts them. Usually it'll be about her tech, climatology, or any show that she's currently watching. She only does this if she's fully comfortable with someone though

(Nov 19) Mei is one of those people who goes ALL OUT for Christmas. If you've seen those tiktok slideshows abt warm Christmases and tacky Christmases and more, she is ALL OF THEM (a little warmer leaning imo). She'll start looking for stuff to buy as soon as Halloween ends but she refrains from actually making anything until Thanksgiving (as request of quite a few OW agents).

(Nov 19) Cassidy either hates pumpkin spice latte's or loves it. No in between. He loves pumpkin pies though!

(Nov 28) Mei genuinely did consider joining Talon instead of Winston's recall in a grief filled moment. However, she immediately remembered her friends and knew they wouldn't want her to go down that path. On top of that, if Mei's struggling with a tough decision, she thinks about what her Ecopoint team would do. She thinks of it as the least she can do considering she believes she was at fault for some of it (even though that's not true).

(Dec 15) Genji has a lot of scuffs on his armor, mostly around his shoulders, although a lot has been buffed and polished out. Most think it's from battle, but a lot of it is actually from Snowball nuzzling him too hard. The same goes for Tokki, Reinhardt, Brigitte, and a few others.

(Dec 15) As a kid and teen, Mei's mom always got her a lot of clothes and she never really got clothes on her own except in the winter time. She'd put buying clothes as a last priority since usually her mother would do that, and it's why she never has a lot of clothes for the summer: she's just still in the habit of putting off clothes shopping.

(Dec 30) Mei would have 100% been a Royale High girl on roblox. You can fight me on this

It's currently almost 1 AM for this on Jan 1st and im posting this now. HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE

[goldandlights]

(Hello, Dadzawa & Shinson is now my life and I need to write some of this shit down before I combust)

Shinsou gets injured during training with Aizawa.

It's not super bad, just a black eye that looks way worse than it feels, yet after all the lectures Aizawa gave him on not training when you're injured or sick, Shinsou fully expects their next session to be postponed.

It's not.

He gets a text telling him they'll meet up at the same time as always, but to arrive in his normal clothes & ID since they'll be "relocating" the training to somewhere else.

Which is kinda odd? They've never left school grounds for training before. Shinsou does not dwell on it tho 'cause he's more concerned about the fact that sparring will be hell if he can only see out of one eye and every movement makes his face throb with pain.

Maybe it's gonna be a lesson about fighting while handicapped?

The thought doesn't sit quite right with him but he's not going to question his sensei. He can push through a little discomfort if it brings him closer to his goal and makes Aizawa proud.

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

Aizawa's actual plan?

Taking the kid out for a meal.

He'd wanted to do that for a while anyway, ever since he noted some concerning patterns in Shinsou's behaviour. The more time they spent together, the more the teen let his guard down and the more cracks appeared in his standoffish facade. Cracks forming an unfortunately familiar pattern which Aizawa had witnessed in a couple of students before (including a certain bi-colored problem child currently in his 1A class).

Maybe a change of scenery would allow for some gentle probing about Shinsou's home life.

It was just his job, right?

If anyone (besides Hizashi) asked, he'd deny the guilt coiling in his stomach, spurring his decision. Though it was not desireable, students got hurt during training and since it had been a honest accident, with noone at fault, there was no logical reason to feel so upset over it.

But feel he did, unfortunately very strongly, when the rock shot out from under the training robots wheels and smacked Shinsou straight in the face.

It hit his cheekbone, not the eyesocket or the side of his head, which was lucky, but Aizawa's heart still clenched at hearing the youths quiet whimpers as he pressed an ice pack to his eye.

It just seemed right to treat him to something nice after that, not coddling at all. No. He's not in the process of developing a truly massive soft spot for the kid. Nope-

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

(Sue me but I'm 100% gone for Aizawa (or Erasermic) kidnapping an unsuspecting Shinsou for a nice meal. It's the most basic parental instinct, right? Providing food? And ngl I'm firmly subscribed to the hc that Shinsou's foster home is neglectful af, at least towards him.

His foster parents don't give a shit about his training (they don't believe he can make it) and refuse to give him bigger portions at mealtimes. Thus, Shinsou has to use up almost all of his allowance for food, which leaves very little for other necessities like school supplies and clothing.

The only time he ever goes out to eat in restaurants is... never, actually. He'd always prepared his own meals for school trips and has no friend group who'd invite him along.

So I figure Aizawa sitting him down in a random ramen shop and telling him to order whatever he wants is sufficient to throw him entirely off his game.

Shame burns in his belly, up his throat, when he has to tell Aizawa that he can't, that he's flat-out broke and couldn't even afford an appetizer without having to go hungry some other day. Not that he actually says all that. Aizawa can read the sentiment from his pale, panicked face.

Shinsou watches the realization flit over his sensei's face and has to turn away lest he start crying (or throwing up or both).

"I said it's my treat, didn't I?" Aizawa's gruff voice breaks through his spiraling thoughts, "So pick. And try the gyoza, they're really good."

In the end, Aizawa doesn't let him get away with anything less than a full three-part meal, including the option for extra veggies in his soup, and once the food arrives Shinsou yields to his rumbling stomach, digging in with great enthusiasm.

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

They don't talk much afterall. (Though Shouta supposes Shinsou's initial distress has already said plenty.)

The kid eats like he's never had anything this good before and though he winces every time the movement of his mouth pulls at the injured skin around his eye, he finishes in record time, not letting anything go to waste.

The teen is flushed and happy, a dopey, lopside smile on his face Shouta has not seen before and he mentally sighs at the answering warmth filling his own chest. It's always nice to do something good for his students but this kid hits different.

'Zashi was right. Of course he was. He's gonna be insufferable for days.

In the time it takes Shota to finish his own dessert, Shinsou's eyes go from glittering excitement to droopy to half-closed. Aizawa grins openly.

Food coma.

As he signals the waiter for the bill, Shouta does not think about what he learned tonight. The teens initial distress. The shocked wonder battling suspicion when he realized Aizawa was serious about paying for his meal. Shouta hadn't wanted to kick the kid when he was down by asking him if he'd never been in a damn restaurant before. No, Shouta does not allow himself to think about these things now because he'll have plenty of time to gnaw on them at home.

Where Hizashi is likely already waiting to hear how it went. It's more productive to worry together rather than alone.

For now, Shouta has to maneuver a half-asleep teen safely out of the door (without leaving any of their things behind) and into his car. He does not ask the address of Shinsou's foster home.

He's read the childs file enough to know it by heart.

"Hey, kid."

"Mmh?"

"You like cats, right?"

"Wuh- yes? But I never like, had one. None... nowhere I lived had any pets."

"Hm. You ever been to a cat cafe before?"

"No. I didn't even know there was one..."

"There is. Wanna go?"

[girlgrouptrash101]

Yena (IZ*ONE) as Your Girlfriend

Request: “can i request iz*one's yena as your girlfriend please 👉🏻👈🏻 thank you 🥺”

A/N: took a lil break from studying to write for a bit, ( i hope this all makes sense, i’m really freaking sleepy rn yall T-T )

- C

Choi Yena - is she an idol or a stand up comedian? i guess we’ll truly never know

her bubbly personality and quick-witted jokes were actually the main reason you wanted to get so close to her in the first place, absolutely in awe of how she could bring a smile anyone’s face in mere seconds

which is why, after a few days of pep talks from your friends, you built up the courage to ask miss Yena on a date, to which she absolutely accepted

Yena was over the moon when you asked her, and the shocked look on her face told you just that as she hadn’t expected you to reciprocate her feelings - but her composure dropped for a mere nanosecond before she was back to her cheeky self, her arm already wrapping around your shoulder as she couldn’t wait to go on a date with you :]

one date quickly turned into much more, and you both felt the time flying by as you fell further and further for one another, leading to Yena asking you to make it official just a couple weeks later!

Everyone around you immediately gets soulmate vibes as soon as they see you two together, your chemistry is truly unmatchable

as wild and unhinged as Yena is, she always finds a sense of calm around you that she doesn’t with anyone else, and it’s always so cute to see her her usual cool girl facade bubble away when she’s with you 

she has such a soft spot for you that no one else could ever get, and you love it so much when her chivalrous side comes out - plus the way she looks at you with so much makes you feel like the only person on the entire planet

Lowkey very cheesy, as in hand in your back pocket, don’t touch my baby type cheesy

(which you are an absolute sucker for, by the way)

every sentence ends with baby, no matter the context or who you’re with, she just loves calling you that SOO so much hehe

your guys’ relationship is truly like something out of like a 90′s teen movie, and no matter what Yena does, she always looks so damn cool that you can’t help but get an overwhelming amount of butterflies in your tummy

imagine Yena dropping you a text at the early hours of the morning telling you to come outside - you look out and see her on her motorbike, clad in her leather jacket and black jeans, lollipop lazily hanging from her lips as she waits for you to come outside GOD

and then she’ll take you to a little beach on the edge of town, the two of you snuggled up on the sand, only the sound of the waves to be heard as you shiver a little, even though you’re wrapped up in Yena’s leather jacket, and buried into her side :’)

Cuddles usually start with you laying in bed and Yena throwing herself on top of you, making you go “OOF” and making her giggle like an idiot

but once she gets comfortable, you best believe you guys aren’t moving for HOURS

and if you aren’t wearing an item of her clothing at ALL times its a national emergency and Yena must rectify that immediately

shows her love in many different peculiar ways, from squishing her cheeks against yours, poking her finger in your nostril, randomly nipping your earlobe or blowing raspberries against your skin while she lays her head on your stomach

funky little yena doing funky little dances in public whenever something makes her happy

which you have soon become a part of, leading to the two of you popping and locking in your local convenience store when the ice cream is on sale

However, while she presents herself as a strong, carefree person, none of us are free from worries, even Yena

when her thoughts get too loud, she’s feeling down, or even if she just had a bad day, you’re always there waiting for her with open arms and willing to listen to any of her worries; which she truly appreciates more than you could ever know.

Yena’s truly her authentic self when she’s with you - there’s no front, no shyness, she’s just pure Yena around you, and it’s so comforting to know she feels that comfortable around you to be that way.

(back to the fun stuff, sorry hjdfsjsd)

if you don’t already know how to skateboard, well you’ve basically got your very own tony hawk here to teach you how to become a pro skater

or if you suck she’ll just make you sit on her board and pull you along by the hand, both of you giggling like kids as she speeds up down the street

Her ideal date is somewhere where you two can have fun together, like the arcade, fair, going on trips (although no matter where you go, Yena always makes it fun :] )

you also both love the drive in theater near your house, and you guys go so often that you’ve basically created cuddle paradise in the back of Yena’s car, bundling up in the back, wrapped up in each others arms with the seats pushed down, wanting the night to go on forever <3

has probably said ‘no homo’ after a makeout session before

but to be honest, no matter what she says or does makes your heart flutter and fill with joy, because she truly is the m0st loving and happy spirit you’ve been honoured to have in your life, and you would never, ever change a single thing about her :)))))))))))

NSFW From Here:

yena cockiest little shit wbk

whenever she’s fucking you and you’re in any way trying to suppress your moans, she is NOT having it, simply opting to fuck you harder until you scream her name in that desperate tone that she loves so much

her favourite thing ever is memorizing the spots that make you moan a little louder, abusing your weaknesses over and over again until you’re a whimpering mess beneath her

HAS to mark you all over or else she’s not happy - leading to hickeys on the inside of your thighs, on your abdomen, your neck, collarbones, anywhere she can get access to she will always claim as hers

plus the satisfaction of seeing your spent body the morning after, the purple marks on your skin a sign of how good she made you feel makes her SO cocky n possessive and like. you’re HERS and no one is going to change that okay?

has fucked you in the back of her car after, or even during, your dates to the drive in theater,,, cuz girlie doesn’t really give a fuck, in her world its just you two and only you two

whenever you’re watching the movie, it usually ends up with you being engrossed in each scene, leaning into Yena’s side comfortably, thinking she’s paying as much attention as you - that is until you feel her hand creep towards the inside of your thigh, and that’s when you know you’re about 5 minutes away from screaming Yena’s name at the top of your lungs <3

when she invites you over to the practice room under the guise that she wants to teach you izone’s new choreo but then somehow you ended up on a chair in the middle room while Yena’s giving you a lap dance>>>>

when you’re in between her legs making you feel good and she’s looking down at you, her eyes hooded and her lip tucked between her teeth telling you how you’re doing such a good job....... FUCK

the kind of girl to whisper the filthiest words she can possibly think of in your ear then pull away and make a cheesy joke that leaves you mind absolutely REELING because like. her duality what the fuck

yena in nothing but a signature black choker with you riding her thigh in one of her oversized t-shirts, falling to pieces as she holds you close, relishing in the feeling of your dripping core against her skin,,,

also THAT mf that’ll tease you under the tables even when you’re with a group of people,, her annoying ass will just be relishing in the way your jaw clenches as you try so hard to not squirm as she teases you with her fingers

and those random times where you′re just like, at work or out shopping or vibing with your friends and then all of a sudden you get a video notification from Yena,,, and its a video of her in front of the mirror on your room, her legs spread and her fingers deep in her own heat, her breathes uneven as she does her best to keep her phone steady as she moans out your name

she LOVES doing that shit, knowing you’re turned on as fuck thanks to her just,, makes her feel so powerful

on those nights after Yena’s been away with schedules for a  while and you finally get to see her, everything is always so intimate between, with longing kisses and lingering touches that truly are filled with not only lust but love too, pulling one another impossibly closer until all your senses are clouded with another.

[bi-bi-buckleydiaz]

dare night | owen joyner

requested; no, i got inspired while watching OTH for the hundredth time. but please request jatp or tom / peter things !!

words; 3.3K was not expecting it to be this long. kinda got away from me. also unedited I just wanted to get it out ;)

a/n; not me writing an OTH inspired fic for my new beau owen joyner...oop. anyway, hope ya like it. it is unedited because i just finished it and i really wanted to just get it out for y’all. 

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this.” 

“C’mon Owen it’ll be fun,” Charlie says, excitement pouring from him like a golden retriever puppy. Owen sighs at his best friend before looking at the rest of his friends behind Charlie. 

“Yeah, Owen, we’re only young once. And y’all only get Jadah and I unsupervised once in a blue moon, we have to appreciate that time.” The cast laughs as Madi smiles wide, probably more excited about this proclaimed ‘dare night’ than it’s creator. Speaking of...

“Listen, I already have the dare’s written up and I know you hate to waste paper.” Charlie’s practically pouting now, so Owen really can’t say no to that. 

“Fine, let’s get this over with.” Everyone cheers as the final member takes his place around the kitchen island. The cast, minus Cheyenne of course because he’s “too old to partake in this. It’s a teens only event.” “We’re in our twenties Charlie.” “SEMANTICS!”,  are gathered in Owen and Charlie’s apartment around their kitchen island, all waiting for their teams and dare card. 

“The rules are simple, boys versus girls. Then you each split into teams of two -” 

“But there’s an uneven amount on each team. Five against five.” Jadah points out, smiling at Charlie's small ‘shit’ and long sigh. He thinks for a minute before a metaphorical light bulb goes off above his head and he’s smiling again. 

“Then a boy and girl will have to be together. Just split the points at the end.” Satisfied with the idea, everyone nods. No one misses the way Jeremy and Carolynn smile at each other.  

“Now, you all have phones, you have to document one of you completing the dares either with a photo or a video. After the first dare is complete, you’ll get the second one. I’ve asked strangers around where your dare takes place to give you the next ones. They were very accommodating and are very excited to see y’all. We’ll all meet back here at midnight. Team that gets the most points, wins.” Charlie is practically vibrating by the time he’s finished, proud of his little game he put together and that everyone is just as excited as he is, well, minus Owen of course. But that’s because he’s nervous about doing unknown dares in public. Sure he puts on this face of being quirky and cool and fun, doesn’t mean some things don’t scare him. 

“So everyone, pick your partners, pick your card, and let the dares begin!” Madison and Jadah immediately jump for each other, Carolynn and Jeremy grabbing hands before Charlie is even done speaking. Savannah and Tori high give, Sacha and BooBoo look at each other and shrug, assuming the wonder twins will want to stick together. Everyone is shocked though when Charlie bounces over to Sacha and slings his arm around his shoulders, shooting Owen an apologetic look in the process. 

“Sorry bro, but I think we both know if we go at this together we’ll get nothing done and, I’d kinda like the boys to win.” Madi covers her mouth and the confession while the rest laugh. Owen groans and then goes red when BooBoo shoots him a look. 

“That was rude! I’m glad to be your partner BooBoo don’t get me wrong. Seriously, so excited.” Owen begins to panic and is set to keep babbling before BooBoo laughs and lightly punches Owen’s shoulder.

“Relax dude, let’s go kick some dare ass!” Everyone cheers and grabs a card off the table before rushing out the door to their respective vehicles, Madi managing to borrow her dad’s car for the night, thanking God that she passed her road test before season 2 started. 

“So, what dare did we get?” Owen asks when he and BooBoo reach the car. He starts it up while BooBoo rips open the envelope. 

“We...ooh no.” He starts to giggle before he can even finish. Owen can feel his heart start to race.

“Oh no, what’d we get?” 

“Hehe we, ha, we have to return some clothes...” Owen let’s out a sigh of relief. 

“That’s not too bad.” 

“While wearing them,” BooBoo finishes. Owen freezes. 

“Excuse me!?” BooBoo breaks into a loud laugh at Owen’s shock, handing him the card in the process. “No way! Is Charlie insane?” What the hell was he thinking? What if someone recognizes him while he’s taking off a shirt to return it? Wait, why is he the one doing the returning?

“No. Nope. No way, we lose this point. What’s the next one?” BooBoo is still laughing as he shakes his head. 

“You heard Charlie, we only get the next one if we complete this one.” Owen groans, accepting his fate. 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” 

“Believe it drummer boy. Especially since you’re gonna be the one doing it.” Owen whips his head towards BooBoo, almost breaking his neck in the process. 

“No way. Dude, no. Way.” Owen is ready to get on his knees and beg. 

“Um, well, the sizes are on the card and they match you,” BooBoo says, watching Owen begin to pout and accept his fate. BooBoo would feel bad if he didn’t think this was going to be a hilarious night. “C’mon, get driving.” Owen groans once more before driving away, accepting his fate that this night will be a wreck. 

~ ~ ~

Shopping alone is boring. 

Y/N asked friends, obviously, but they were all busy doing something or someone, so she was left alone to shop for christmas gifts. Sure it’s early, like, two months early, but she learned a long time ago that when you live alone as a young adult, living paycheck to paycheck, it's best to shop for gifts in increments and not all at once near christmas time. So here she is, shopping alone in a mall near the stores closing times because that’s the only time she can spare. 

It’s not all bad, late night shopping means not a lot of people in the mall and those who are here are strung out college kids like here. Sure there have been some creepy guys eyeing her up and down, but when she felt those looks she made it clear to go to a store that had security in front of it, even if that meant staring longingly and things she can’t afford. 

Y/N’s about half an hour into shopping for her niece and nephew when she hears a commotion on the other side of the clothing store. She quickly glances over then looks back to the shirt she was admiring, before realizing what she saw couldn’t be quite right. She looks over again, and holy shit, her eyes weren’t deceiving her. There really is a guy at the cash register shirtless and in the middle of taking his pants off. 

Y/N takes back her previous statement, shopping alone is so not boring. 

It’s then she notices a security guard enter the store, hand on the walkie talkie on his shoulder. There’s no way that’s going to end good. She doesn't know why she does it, but one second she was holding a shirt for her nephew and the next she's pushing the rack of clothes in front of the guard and grabbing the near naked and guy and running. She hears a camera snap behind her and a ‘hey wait up’ but all she’s really focused on is getting the guy out of the mall before he’s arrested for public indecency or something. 

The hand in hers tugs her to stop just before the reach the mall doors, making her halt in her running. She looks back and ‘woah, he’s pretty.’ 

“Hey, not that I’m thankful but, my friend...” Pretty eyes trails off and he takes in a breath and wait, when did she start calling him pretty eyes. No! He’s a stranger. 

“Yeah well, your friend isn’t the one half naked in the mall getting chased by security.” He ponders it for a minute then nods. “So let’s go. I promise i’m not gonna murder you, just gonna take you to the parking lot so you don’t get arrested for public indecency and end up on the sex offender registry.” Pretty eyes get’s scared at that and then begins to nod vehemently. 

“Yeah, yeah that’s bad. Lets go!” As he says that, security appears behind them. She grabs his hand and they book it out of the mall and into the shockingly cold autumn air. She doesn’t know where this guy’s car is so she leads him to hers, praying she’s not making a mistake. 

~ ~ ~

Owen doesn’t know how he ended up here. He remembers putting the clothes that were in the locker on and he remembers going to the first store and returning the shoes, but after that he thinks the adrenaline kicked in and he blacked out from it. One minute he was taking his pants of trying not to die of utter embarrassment and the next, some girl was dragging him out of the mall and to her car in the parking lot. He doesn’t know why he let this stranger drag him out of the mall, but he’s not really complaining as she shoves him into the back of her car, away from prying eyes. He only begins to panic when she climbs in next to him and shuts the door. Once the silence settles around them does reality finally settle in and does he realize what he actually just did. 

“Holy shit. Holy shit what did I do! Oh my God that could have ended so bad! Oh my God!” He panics for another minute before a hand settles on his bare shoulder. 

“Hey. Hey! You’re fine. They didn’t follow us out, you’re not getting in trouble.” Her voice is soothing, he’ll admit, and he can feel the anxiety begin to ease back. But it doesn’t change the fact that he was just half naked in the mall where anyone could have recognized him and taken pictures. Granted, Charlie did think about that and put a random blue baseball cap and glasses in the bag of clothes too. But still, that’s like, nothing! He goes to grab his phone to check instagram before realizing he’s only in his underwear. In a random girls car. In a Vancouver mall parking lot. She seems to realize this at the same time because she clears her throat and scooches to the other side of the car. 

“Um, do you, do you like, have clothes or something I can go retrieve or...” He nods and goes to give her the key to the locker, then remembers, no pants. They chuckle at the same time and looks down at her purse, rummaging through it for her phone. He takes it from her with a small ‘thanks’ hoping his cheeks aren’t showing how flushed he feels. He quickly dials BooBoo’s number, giving him the details of what went down, asking the girl where they are and reporting it back to him, then hangs up. 

“Um, thanks. For that. And for saving me from being arrested. That was, thanks.” The girl giggles and nods. “I’m Owen, by the way. I don’t normally run around malls in my underwear.” He sticks his hand out, hoping she’ll take it and give a name in return. He’d really like the pretty girl's name. 

“I’m Y/N. I don’t normally take random, half naked strangers to my car.” He laughs at that and they shake hands. 

“Well, thanks for making an exception.” They stare at each other for another few seconds before a knock on his window makes them break apart. He looks over and sighs in relief at BooBoo and his clothes in his hand. He opens the door and jumps out, taking the clothes from BooBoo and immediately shoving his legs into his pants. The girl get’s out after him, smiling at him balancing on one foot and trying not to fall over. 

“Thanks, for saving him. No hard feelings for leaving me in the dust.” BooBoo smiles as he says it so Owen hopes the girl doesn’t take it too harshly. She laughs though and, woah, that’s a nice laugh. He’s so focused on her smile and the way she says her name that he puts his shirt on backwards. He doesn’t notice until BooBoo points it out, laughing as he does. When Owen is properly dressed again, he takes a deep breath and leans against the car. 

“When I see Charlie, I’m gonna murder him. We’ll have to film the rest of the season without him. Kenny can deal.” Owen only realizes what he’s said when BooBoo shoots him a look. Y/N looks at the two in confusion, before looking back at Owen. 

“You’re an actor?” He nods and watches as her face goes from confused to angry. “And you got undressed in a mall? How stupid are you?” She punctuates the last sentence with punches to his arm. BooBoo giggles in true BooBoo fashion as Owen rubs his arm. He watches her take out her phone and he looks over her shoulder as she opens twitter. She goes to the search bar, pauses, and then looks up at him. 

“Full name?” 

“Oh um, Owen Joyner.” He watches her type it in and breathes a sigh of relief as nothing but Alex edits pop up. She tries Instagram next, then TikTok, and gets the same answers as before. Nothing about him being naked in a mall, just fan edits of him and him as Alex. 

“You are so lucky no one saw you dude, your career would be over.” She says, closing her phone and putting in her pocket. “What were you thinking?” He can’t help but feel scolded and slightly cowers in response. She notices and immediately softens. “Sorry, I just met you, I shouldn't be so mean.” A pause. “But that was still really stupid.” BooBoo giggles and Owen shoots him a look before nodding and looking back at Y/N. 

“Yeah but, it was a dare.” 

“And you just accepted it?” Owen feels his cheeks go red and looks at his feet. 

“Well, yeah. We wanna win.” Y/N giggles and looks between the two boys. 

“Seriously? So what is this? Some sort of dare game night?” The boys nod, then BooBoo lights up and reaches into his pocket for the next dare. 

“Speaking of, the cashier at the store gave me the next dare. Are you ready?” Owen groans and BooBoo takes it as an affirmative. He opens the envelope and quickly glances at Y/N before reading it aloud for Owen. 

“Take a picture in a photo booth with a stranger.” Y/N glances at the card and sees words on the back too. 

“There’s something on the back.” BooBoo flips it and begins to giggle again. 

“No way. Oh man Owen.” 

“Me! Why me? I just walked naked around a mall!” 

“Because it’s asking you to kiss a stranger and my girl would kill me if I did this.” Y/N blanches at that and begins to slowly and hopefully discreetly back away from the two boys. But Owen catches her. 

“Hey.” He looks nervous and begins to fiddle with his fingers. “You don’t have to! Obviously! I mean, you already saved me once, but, like I kinda know you now and you’ve already seen me shirtless...” He trails off and flashes puppy dog eyes at the girl. She huffs and groans and finally, “Fine. Let’s get this over with. Y’all better win this stupid game though.” Owen smiles bright and Y/N tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at the sight. She just met this boy for god sakes! 

The three young adults head back into the mall to one of the strips that has a photo booth. BooBoo giggles as he all but shoves the two into the small area, singsonging a “good luck” before pulling the curtain closed. 

Awkward silence falls over the two as they squeeze together on the small seat. They smile nervously at each other as they hear BooBoo drop coins into the slot outside. 

“Um, so, do you wanna like -” 

SNAP! 

They giggle and look at the camera with smiles in time for the next one. 

SNAP!

Y/N looks back at Owen and, in a moment of confidence, grabs Owen’s shirt and brings his face closer to his. 

SNAP!

He glances at her lips, licks his own, then they’re kissing. His lips are soft and she sinks into him. She feels his tongue lick her bottom lip and almost lets a moan slip as she opens her mouth a bit for him. They don’t even hear the last snap, too caught up in each other. Her hands move to his hair and his hold her hips tight. They break for air eventually, eyes closed as they breathe in and giggle. 

“That was um...” Y/N nods. “Yeah. That was, yeah.” She feels him tilt his head towards her again for another kiss, but the curtain opening pulls them apart. They jump apart, as much as they can in the small booth, and stare at BooBoo like they were caught doing something bad. He’s smirking and shaking the photo strip in his hands. 

“Oh yeah, we’re definitely winning.” Owen breathes out a laugh and Y/N nods, taking BooBoo’s offered hand to help her out. 

“Um, I better, go, yeah, I should go. I hope you guys, uh, win or something.” Y/N hikes her purse up her shoulder and begins to walk away, eyes on her feet and hands shaking as they go into her pockets. She’s almost to the exit when a hand wraps around her upper arm. 

“Hey wait up!” Owen. “Um, I just, that was, that was something right? I wasn’t imagining that? That was like, could I have um, number? Could I have your number?” He’s stuttering, face red and hands shaking in his pockets. Y/N has to giggle, feeling a bit calmer knowing she’s not the only one who’s feeling something. 

“Yeah, that was number worthy.” They smile while exchanging numbers, then keep smiling as Owen leans and kisses her cheek. 

“Thanks for saving my ass twice tonight,” he whispers in her ear before leaning back. Y/N nods and begins to back away. 

“Yeah well, it’s a pretty nice ass.” With that she turns and practically runs back to her car, not believing what a night it's been. 

~ ~ ~

“And we’re tied! Although, there is one more dare on the table.” Charlie giggles, knowing exactly what it is, saving for last for a reason. Carolynn swipes it off the table before anyone else can, ripping it open and smiling at the words. 

“Kiss a member of your team.” She sees Jeremy smile and buff up, getting ready for smooch from his wife since they were partners. Carolynn smiles and leans towards him, before quickly grabbing Tori’s neck and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. Everyone laughs and cheers, Jeremy pouting at his girl while she grabs his hand. 

“Well then, unless any of the boys kissed a stranger in a photo booth, the girls win.” BooBoo goes to raise his hand, but Owen stops him. BooBoo shoots him a look but Owen shakes his head, hoping he gets why. Why he doesn’t want to mention Y/N. Sweet, life-saving Y/N who didn’t even know who he was or hell, who BooBoo was. Who just saw a random guy in need of saving and didn’t think twice about helping him. BooBoo lets it go, and Owen nods a thanks. He cheers for the girls as they accept their win, hand rubbing the picture strip in his pocket, and mind preparing a text to Y/N as soon as he can escape to his room. 

Maybe dare night wasn’t such a bad idea.

[mspufflehuff]

Maybe Kids Aren’t So Bad

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x plus size!reader

Summary: Y/N and Bucky have been dancing around their feelings for a while now. They decide to get out of the tower and go to the store. They happen to pass by some kids who are fans of the avengers. 

Word Count: 2.3k words 

Warnings: Mentions of kidnapping, torture, nightmares, and lots of fluff.

Masterlist!! 

Author’s Note: I saw lots of people liked my first fanfic! Soon after I saw people liked the first one, I started writing this one. I hope you all enjoy it because I sure did. Have a great day everyone who reads this! (gif below is not mine!!) 

"Does someone wanna go with me to go grocery shopping?" you asked the others in the tower as you stood behind the island.  Everyone had been awake for about 15 minutes and almost all of them were eating in the kitchen.  A few of them didn't hear you as you didn't say it very loudly.  Tony told you he had things to do, just like him.  Thor and Natasha said they had to train today and go to a mission briefing.  Steve apologized and told you he had to finish and turn in  the report for the mission he got back from yesterday. 

Soon Bucky walked into the kitchen.  He looked like he hadn't been sleeping, which you knew very well since you could hear him at night through the walls.  You wanted to comfort him but you were nervous since you didn't know him all that well to begin with.  He had arrived at the tower a few months ago and was very quiet with everyone except Steve. 

You couldn't deny that he was an attractive man.  You also had a soft spot for him since you knew what it was like to be alone and scared in some type of lab that kept you against your will.  You had been abducted when you were a teen and had been taken to some type of scary lab where you were injected with chemicals.  The scientist had given you powers that allowed you to control the plants around you.  You could harness energy from them and control them by will. 

You could understand Bucky's nightmares and feel the pain in the sound of his screams at night.  You used to have those same screams and nightmares but learned to keep them from keeping you up at night.  You had started meditating, talking to people, training to release all your anger, finding hobbies that distracted you, and even simple things such as writing it down to then burn the paper you wrote it on. 

You watched as he sat down at one of the island chairs.  Most of the avengers had already left the room by the time he sat down.  You looked at him and gave him a soft smile.  "Morning, Bucky. Would you like some coffee?" you asked him in a soft voice, watching his ocean blue eyes move across your form.  "Yes, please…" he replied in a tired but sweet voice.  You grabbed the mug he used most of the time and filled it with coffee.  He watched how you got everything right about his coffee, down to how much he would naturally fill it. 

He was surprised and yet amazed you paid that much attention to him.  "Here you go."  You handed Bucky his coffee, and he grabbed it with his right hand, gently grazing your fingers as he held the handle.  He watched your eyes when your hands grazed.  He thought he saw something there sparkling in your eyes but wasn't sure as you turned away to get him something to eat.  You turned to grab him something to eat as well as to hide your light blush from your fingers grazing. 

You took another minute to turn back around so the blush could cool from your cheeks.  Handing him a protein bar, you picked up the cup of tea you had made yourself earlier.  "I wanted to ask if you wanted to get out of the tower and go to the grocery store with me?"  Bucky looked into your eyes as he thought about if he was up for it.  He had to think not because it was you, but because he was scared of people seeing him and running.  He hardly left the tower unless it was for missions or on the off chance he needed clothes to wear. 

"Sure, Y/N. I think that would be good.  It's a nice day out, and we can hang out together as we don't normally hang out."  He spoke with a soft smile on his lips, taking another drink from his coffee.  You smiled happily and nodded towards him.  "Alright then! It's a date! I'll let you eat, and I have to do a few things before we go out.  I'll meet you in the lobby around 12?" you asked, walking towards the end of the island, making your way to the hallway.  "It's a date.' Bucky agreed and smiled back, watching you walk off. 

~Time Skip~

It had been about an hour since Y/N and Bucky said they would meet up in the lobby for their 'date'.  You had been nervously pacing around your room after you heard the word date fell off of Bucky's lips. You didn't know what to do or wear. Well, you had an idea of what you would wear, but would it make you weird? Finally, you decided on a cute sundress since it was sunny and warm outside. You fixed your hair, put on light makeup (or no makeup if you don't wear any), and picked out your comfy pair of vans. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you let out a sigh and thought you were trying too hard to look cute for Bucky. "Why am I dressing like we are actually going on a date?" You asked yourself aloud and towards the mirror. 

You grabbed your phone and looked at the time, grabbing your small purse while walking out the door. Making your way to the elevator, Bucky stepped out of his room in a pair of comfy clothes. He was wearing a navy blue shirt with some light blue jeans. He tried to look nice like you did. He had brushed his hair back some and looked relaxed. He soon noticed you and gave you a smile, the one that usually melts you into a puddle. 

"Oh hey, Doll…  Wow  You look so pretty…" he tells you softly as you walk up towards him. "You look pretty handsome yourself." you replied, shyly smiling as you both walked towards the elevator.  "I have a list on my phone of what we need to get for everyone.  I was also thinking of cooking and baking tonight for everyone." you told Bucky as you turned on your phone.  "What were you planning on cooking?" he asked, pressing the button for the lobby. 

"Hmm…  I don't know just yet.  I was thinking of making something called Beef Tripe soup. It's a famous dish in Romania, and I've always wanted to travel to Romania, or well anywhere that isn't here in the United States." You rambled a little as you rode the elevator with Bucky.  "Sorry... I love to cook and bake.  I grew up baking and cooking with my mom before I was kidnapped."  You smiled as you reminisced about your memories with your mother.  "Doll, it's ok.  You can ramble to me.  I enjoy hearing from you talking about food and different recipes."  He then took in the last sentence that you were kidnapped.  Steve had briefly mentioned you had been kidnapped but never went any further than that.  "If you don't mind me asking, how were you kidnapped?"  He was curious but didn't want to bring up any painful memories the kidnapping had created for you. 

"Well, I was at home and working on homework for school, boring, I know."  You chuckled and thought back to it.  "I remember sitting at my desk and having my earbuds in.  I realized it was around maybe 10 pm, and I was hungry for a small snack.  So, I went downstairs with my earbuds still in my ears.  As I made my way to the kitchen, I felt someone or something looking at me.  I turned around to see a guy in all black.  He ran towards me before I could scream for help.  He knocked me out and took me to this disgusting lab, had me strapped on an old medical operating table."

Bucky listened to you, pissed beyond belief that someone kidnapped a random girl from her house.  Let alone the fact that you were only a teenager when you got kidnapped, which made his blood boil.  You continued, not noticing Bucky's face.  "For years, he would test on me, come up with new experiments and chemicals to put into my body.  Finally, one day after he said he found 'the perfect formula,' he tested it on me.  After hours of being in excruciating pain, I found out that I could control plants…  There was a weed growing in front of the small window he kept in his lab.  It was the only window that had access to sunlight.  I remember him beating me, and as I was begging him to stop, the plant grew larger as if it felt my pain and came to help me." 

"It kept growing as he kept beating me into submission so he could test more chemicals on me.  After what felt like an hour of beating me up, the plant managed to become this massive accumulation of weeds, flowers, leaves, and any other plant material it could find.  It made its way to the man and wrapped around him, pulling him away from me. The plants started strangling him.  He eventually lost consciousness and once the plant realized he was passed out, it started wilting slowly and soon died.  You could say my pain was what caused the plants to save me." 

Bucky was watching you in awe, though he seemed upset (at the man, never you) at your story. "Wow, Doll…  I can't believe that happened to you.  I'm so sorry." he told you, and you gently took his metal arm and held his hand, smiling softly up at him.  "Thank you, Buck.  I really appreciate it.  It took some time to get over it and the pain of the nightmares, but I'm stronger than I used to be because of it."  You let go of his hand when the elevator dinged to let you know you made it to the lobby. 

You both walked out of the elevator and to the grocery store that was around the block.  You walked in casual silence and grabbed a shopping cart once you entered the small store.  Bucky helped you get everything on the list and a few ton of other things you didn't really need but was requested by the other avengers.  After what felt like a long time, you and Bucky finally finished shopping and headed towards the checkout section. 

As you and Bucky made your way over to the checkout section, you both heard soft gasps from behind you.  You both then heard whispering that sounded like it belonged to some children.  "Is that really him, Charlie?!"  "It has to be Dante!!"  Soon, the sound of running could be heard coming from behind you and Bucky.  You looked towards Bucky to see if he heard it as well.  He had.  As you both turned around, you saw two young kids that looked to be around 6 or 7, running towards you both. 

The two kids, Charlie and Dante, you assumed, stopped in front of you.  They look up with awe on their faces at you and Bucky.  "Mr. Winter Soldier??" The little boy asks Bucky with a bright smile on his face.  "Uh.. yes?" he asks as he moves to stand on one knee before the little boy.  "Can I have your autograph??  Please, Mr. Winter Soldier!  You're my favorite superhero!!"  Bucky was taken back at the boy's words.  "O-oh sure!"  He was excited that a young child wanted his autograph after everything he's done as the winter soldier.  He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, writing Dante a note before signing it. 

Bucky handed Dante the note with a smile. Immediately after he gave Dante the signed paper, Dante gave Bucky a big hug. "Thank you so much, Mr. Winter Soldier!!" Dante told him happily and ran over to his mom.  Charlie was talking with Y/N the whole time Bucky was with Dante.  "Ms. Y/L/N?" She shyly asked you while tugging on your dress lightly.  "Yes, hun?" you asked with a smile and moved down to her eye level.  "Are you Mr. Winter Soldier's girlfriend?"  You blushed dark, and your eyes widened at Charlie's words. 

"Uh… well, that's a complicated sweetheart.  Maybe one day." you tell Charlie, and she smiles brightly and squeals, running off to her mom and brother.  Bucky, thankfully, didn't hear you tell Charlie you hoped to be his girlfriend one day.  After you talked with the kids, you paid for all your groceries and walked back to the tower. 

"Hey, Doll?" Bucky asked, looking at you as you walked beside each other on the street.  "Yes, Bucky?" you replied, glancing at him before turning your head to look in front of you.  "What did that little girl ask you? I heard her say something, but I couldn't make it out." he asked you curiously, having wondered since they left the grocery store a few minutes ago.  "Oh yeah. She did ask me something.." you said softly as you kept walking, not telling him as you were scared he wouldn't like you back. 

"Y/N, was it something bad?  Something that made you think of past memories?"  He stopped you in the middle of the sidewalk, gently grabbed your hand.  "No, no, Bucky, I promise!  It's just… embarrassing…"  He tilted his head like a confused puppy looking at you.  You took a minute before you let out a sigh.  "She asked me… if I was your girlfriend."  You looked away for a second before looking back at him. 

"Oh... " he mumbled out softly and looked away from your gaze.  You were scared that he would reject you, but you had no time to react as he said, "Well, would you like to be?"  Your eyes widened, and you blinked a few times.  It took you a minute to come back with a response.  You soon found yourself smirking, asking him, "Why don't you take me on a date first, Barnes?"  You took your hand out of his and walked into the Avengers tower, feeling confident in yourself.  As you left Bucky on the sidewalk to walk into the tower, you heard an excited Barnes exclaim, "Finally!"  You giggled as you continued into the tower. 

[a-supernatural-writer]

Lost in the Shadows Pt.2

Previous Part  Next Part

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1336

OC x Poly Lost Boys

Fingers traced the spines of books that were on their shelves. Chocolate brown eyes skimmed over each and every title that the fingers touched. Timothy smiled as his eyes landed on a book called ‘Astronomy and Astrophysics’.

“You boys need any help?” The owner of the small bookstore asked Timothy and Luis as they looked through the selection of books. 

Luis tilts his head toward the owner and gives her a polite smile, “Just browsing.” 

The owner mirrored Luis’s smile and gave a nod, walking away from the couple. The bookstore itself was filled to the brim with books. The book cases were arranged in a way that the space in between them was the same width as a human. So if two people wanted to look at the same set of books, they would be almost squished together. 

The random antique lamps give off a yellow glow, shrouding the corners of the store in shadows. Random knickknacks hang from the ceiling and were scattered along the shelves. 

Timothy took the book off of the shelf, clutching it to his chest, “See anything you want?” 

Luis shrugged, walking deeper into the maze of bookshelves, “Not really.” 

Timothy hummed, grabbing onto Luis’s hand, “I know that all of this-” Timothy gestures with the hand that was holding the book, “Isn’t really you.” 

He knew that Luis wasn’t really a big fan of these types of books. Luis had a few selection of romance books that he loved, but besides that, not many other readings satisfied him. 

But Timothy loved it. The smell of the pages and ink, the feeling of having a heavy book in his hands made his heart soar. More specifically, sci-fi or informational texts about astronomy. 

“It might not be my cup of tea, but it’s yours. Besides, maybe I can find a good romance book?” Luis said, squeezing Timothy’s hand. 

They chuckled. “I have a better idea. Since the bookstore has no sense of organizing, which is making me bat-shit crazy, when I’m done, we can hit the comic book store?” Timothy suggested. 

Luis’s eyes lit up at the word ‘comic’, “And this is the reason why I love you.” 

Timothy winced, “Is that the only reason?” 

Luis gave him a look and gently placed a kiss on Timothy’s lips, “Just one of many, love.” 

The couple made their way around the bookstore and Timothy only picked out one more book of his liking. 

Since the store had areas shrouded in darkness, it wasn’t too far of a stretch to say that the two of them took advantage of the shadows and the lack of customers. Their lips attracted to each other like magnets and their hands dancing along one another skin. Though they did have to stop their actions more than once because of the owner poking her head almost around every corner as she was placing books back on their shelves. 

With a kind smile and a wave goodbye, Luis and Timothy left the store. Timothy clutched his bag that was filled with his two new books while he continued to hold his hands with his partner. 

While walking along, the two could feel people’s lingering stares at them. They ignored it of course, they stopped caring what people thought. 

“Woah.” Luis blinked in surprise as they found the comic book shop they were looking for. 

“This is way bigger than what we had back home.” Luis comments, glancing at the two adults that were passed out with sunglasses on behind the counter. 

Timothy let go of Luis’s hand to let him explore, “Which home?” 

Luis snorted at the joke and started rifling through the stacks of comics, looking for nothing in particular. 

“Never seen you guys around here before.” 

Luis jumped at the sudden voice behind him. He turned to come face to face with a kid, probably somewhere in his early teens with a red bandana tied around his forehead, part of it hidden underneath his brown hair. 

Timothy looked up from his section, “We just moved here.” He answered the kid. 

“Where from?” 

Timothy looked over his shoulder to see another kid with dark brown short hair, more than likely the same age as the other kid. Both kids were wearing clothing that consisted of camouflage print. Which was an interesting choice of fashion. 

Luis picked out a few comics that caught his eye, answering the kid, “New Orleans. We got here this morning.”

He cradled the comic books in his arms, “The name’s Luis. That’s my partner, Timothy. What about you guys?” 

Much to Timothy and Luis’s surprise, the kids didn’t acknowledge the fact they were both partners and just skipped any comment to introduce themselves. 

“I’m Edgar and that’s Alan. We’re the Frog Brothers.” Edgar introduced himself and his brother. 

“Since you’re new, you guys are going to need this.” Alan picks out a comic from the stands and places it on top of Luis’s pile. 

Timothy walked over, looking over Luis’s shoulder to see what Alan gave to him. He raised a brow at the comic, “Vampires?” 

The comic held the title, ‘Destroy All Vampires!’ with an illustration of Dracula on the front. 

Luis and Timothy turn their heads toward another. 

“You don’t think?” Luis's voice rang in Timothy’s head. His question floating about. 

“Haven’t seen any yet.” Timothy answered. 

The two broke their stare and Luis cleared his throat, “Vampires aren’t real.” He held out the comic for either one of the brothers to take, but they didn’t. 

“You’ll be eating your own words once your face ends up as one of those missing posters.” Alan gestures over to the multiple posted missing posters on the walls of the outside of their shop and others. 

“Look, this could save your life.” Edgar pushed the comic book back to Luis, wanting him to take it.

Luis smiled a little, taking it back into his pile to appease them, “If you say so. Um, besides that, I’m gonna get these.” He gestures to the small stack in his hands. 

Seemingly pleased that Luis was going to take the comic, the Frog brothers rang out the rest of his comic books, “This one is free of charge. Our number is on the back, pray you don’t have to call us.” Edgar says ominously. 

Timothy nodded, “Thanks, we’ll keep that in mind.” He could tell that this was a rehearsed speech. Warning newcomers of the possibility of vampires being around Santa Carla. 

He wasn’t going to deny that the multitude of missing posters wasn’t alarming. Whatever was around Santa Carla wasn’t good about spacing out their attacks. 

Luis waved at the boys after placing his new pile of comics into the same bag that had Timothy’s books. 

The two wrapped an arm around their waists, their sides pressed tightly together as they left the area of the comic book store. 

“You think the Frog brothers are right? Vampires?” Luis asked, peering up at his partner. 

Timothy shrugged, “Seems like armature hunters to me. Plus they’re young teenagers, probably would get themselves killed even if they tried.” 

He paused, mauling everything over, “Maybe we should’ve just stayed in New Orleans.” 

Luis kissed his teeth, reaching up to cup Timothy’s cheek for a brief moment before patting it twice lightly, “We saw everything that New Orleans had to offer. Plus, our rock and roll couldn’t even touch jazz.” 

Timothy hummed happily at the memories that were made in New Orleans, “The late nights, the smooth jazz, the food, and all those nights when I swept you off your feet.” 

Luis chuckled, “And we can still have the majority of those things, just in Santa Carla.” 

“And if there are vampires?” Timothy asked. 

A silence hung in the air between them. 

Luis squeezed his partner’s side, speaking words he’s said many times before, “Then we deal with it. All of us... Like always.”  

Previous Part   Next Part

[weirdsimsinhistory]

My Pros & Cons of Sims 1

I have been sick in bed for a week (got tested for Covid and it’s NOT that thankfully!!!) and I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. 

I decided to write down what for me, personally, I like and don’t like about the Sims games I’ve played (these are just personal feelings when I’m playing the game)

Starting with Sims 1.

What I love about Sims 1:

Each EP was pretty chock-full of new...everythings!

New skins, heads, objects, interactions, Build Mode stuff...I was so excited as a kid every time another EP would come out, and I feel like Makin’ Magic and Superstar really finished off Sims 1 perfectly. Never felt short changed when I got a new Expansion Pack, it definitely felt worth it!

The quirky, sarcastic, cynical, kitsch style and humor of Sims 1 is great. It’s the only Sims game where I feel like I can really imagine a background/style to a character because there’s so many distinctive heads, skins, and objects to decorate a house with. I can have an obviously spooky/witchy Sim, or a frumpy trashy Sim, a “Lounge Lizard” 50s weirdo etc.! It helps to have a lot of the work done for me, having a super weird Sim face/clothes and crazy objects to boot...it makes me more motivated to play the character even as an adult who tends to have less energy to “play make-believe” haha

The voices are awesome. Honestly, the only Sims child voice I could ever stand was the child voice in Sims 1. The male and female voices are also great (done by Stephen Kearin and the late Gerri Lawlor). Since Sims 1 was the first Sims game I ever played, those two voices to me are synonymous with Sims and I wish they could have returned for Sims 3. (I don’t own Sims 4 so I have no idea if those voices are decent..)

There’s plenty of gameplay and things to do. I love the Vacation lots (except those creepy Mascot NPCs are a pain!). I have fun repeatedly having Sims go to Magic Town, or try their hand at acting, singing, modeling, gardening/farming, going on vacation, Old Town....the atmosphere for all these things is so well developed and helps get immersed in what I’m doing!

The music is pretty fun. Build/Buy Mode, and all the music for Downtown, Vacation Island, Old Town, Magic Town, Studio Town are really fun though repetitive. Even the dorky music from the cheap speakers give the game a lot of character. Pretty sure I know most of the Sims 1 songs by heart after playing the game for 20 years! (crazy to think it’s been that long)

My not-so-faves about Sims 1

I think everyone knows this, but damn the needs bars are so hard to keep all green! It was so hard as a kid to get my Sims to do anything fun since I was so busy trying to keep them full, not sleep-deprived, etc. I definitely play the game these days with a cheat object on the lot to increase everything, just in case I can’t stand getting their mood up...

The game did not come with a great variety of heads/skins for medium and dark skins. Sims 1 changes the colors of the exact same outfit depending on the skin tone, and sometimes it’s a bummer it’s not available for all skin tones. The variety of heads available is also less for the medium and dark skin tones. I’ve had to download a lot of CC to give it more variety.

I’m always bummed about not getting to choose how my Sims 1 kid looks when its born, and that they don’t age up and get to move out. Sometimes i’ll have two sims who have a baby, and once you deal with the horrors of caring for a Sims 1 baby, sometimes you just get a totally random looking kid that doesn’t look like it could be at all related to my Sims! With a spell/charm in Makin Magic you can have the kid grow up, but again, it will choose a random head i think. It was great when Sims 2 introduced more options and the Teen age!

Even as a kid I hated that you were limited to only 2 story homes and just hipped roofs! I always wanted to have shops in Downtown, Magic Town etc. to have at least 3 stories...and sometimes I would have like to have a gable roof or even some dormers! With CC I’ve *sorta* had dormers but it’s not amazing.

I was going to list more cons, but honestly, I think wouldn’t be fair to the game since it’s stuff that I wish was in Sims 1 that is from later games. Things like weather, visiting other peoples homes, owning a business etc. 

Sims 1 is always going to be tied for me with Sims 2 in my book, because I never get tired of the humor and amazing variety of objects/things to do! What about you? What do you like/don’t like?

[castielific]

Title: Fancy and the tramp

Story status: Complete, 8 chapters

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Dean/Castiel, Alternate Universe, Fake boyfriends, pretend relationship, homeless!Dean, rich!Cas, family, angst with a happy ending, temporary breakup, getting back together, coming out, past!homophobia, self esteem issues, Dean Winchester has a sexuality crisis, first time, homelessness, bed sharing, pining

Sex tags: anal sex, switching, bottom!Cas, bottom!Dean, first time, frottage, marking, blowjob, fingering, barebacking

Special warning: Contrary to what the title may presage, there are no spaghettis in this story. 

Summary: 

"Okay, let's be clear on one thing from the start. This is not a lifetime movie and I'm straight, so no falling in love, get it?"

"I get it, Dean," Castiel nods.

Well, that's it then, apparently Dean is going to a fancy engagement party with his new fake boyfriend. What a weird day. 

Link to AO3

Chapter 1 under the cut:

************

"Come on Ricky, you owe me that money!" Dean says on his phone, taking a step forward when the line of the coffee shop shortens. 

"I don't owe you shit, Dean. You still owe me the last three months of your rent," his ex landlord says on the phone.

"And I'll pay you, you know I will. But to get the money, I need a job, and to get that job I need some new clothes and-"

"Yeah yeah, I know the deal. You think no one has told me that one before? No bueno, man, I'm keeping your deposit," Ricky grumbles. 

Dean groans in frustration. "Come on, all I need is fifty dollars so I can buy a pair of pants without any holes in it. You give me fifty, I get the job and I pay you back, how does that sound?" he tries to negotiate. 

"Like a fucking lie," Ricky spits just before hanging up.

"No Ric-fuck!" 

The woman in front of him in line sends him a dark look. Dean rolls his eyes at her. Like she hasn't heard worse before. 

Ricky was his last shot. It was a long one, he really does owe that bastard some serious money. Guess he can kiss the job interview at two goodbye. It's some kind of assistant job. It sounds easy enough, buying coffee and picking dry cleaning and stuff. It was still a long shot anyway. Dean's only real job experience is being a bagger boy when he was seventeen and it lasted about two months before his dad decided to move them further east. 

So far, he'd always managed to get by doing repairs or cleaning at gas stops and motels. The older he gets and the harder it gets to find that kind of random job. People are more willing to give a few bucks in exchange for manual tasks to a kid than they are to a nearly thirty years old guy. Now they just tell him to fuck off. 

And since it's always been casual and off the book, the only official work experience he has is the bagger thing. He doesn't even have a high school diploma because he dropped out long before that. Not exactly a stellar resume. Which explains why he hasn't found work in eight month and is currently living in his car. Thank God he has Baby. 

He had been too ambitious thinking he could get his own place. It could only pay rent for about five months before he went broke. He's never had a home before, and had no idea that having an apartment cost so much. In motels, you don't exactly have to pay for water or heat or utilities. There was a bunch of stuff he hadn't planned for that ate up the last of his meagre savings. Ricky threw him out after three months when Dean couldn't scrape up enough money to pay rent anymore, putting a violent stop to Dean's pipe dream of living a normal life. He hoped it would be simpler to get a job if he had an actual address, had even thought about scrapping up enough to maybe get his GED. He's not sure what he's going to do now. 

He's always wanted to be a mechanic. If his dad ever taught him anything, it was how to take care of the Impala. John taught him all the basics and Dean got the knack of it. As a teen, he spent days reading car magazines and working on the Impala, trying to learn as much as he could about how cars worked and how to repair the different parts. He knows enough by now that he could easily work in a garage, but he's got no diploma, and hasn't found anyone willing to hire him on faith alone. 

The line of the coffee shop shortens again, the barista asking her order to the goody-two-shoes in front of him. Dean looks regretfully at the display of sandwiches. He searches his pockets and only comes up with three dollars. Of course, the cheapest piece of food cost four dollars. Dean sighs. Guess just a coffee will have to do today. 

He won't have another choice but to go to the soup kitchen tonight. He hates it there. The food is crap and he wants to punch the prancy people serving it. They always try to give him some Jesus bullshit with his food, like Jesus is ever gonna put a roof over his head and find him a decent job. Neither Jesus nor God nor whatever gives a crap about him. Not that he blames them. Hell, if they exist they're probably not big fans of the guy that used to slip into church as a kid to pick the lock of the donation box

"Just an americano, please," Dean says regretfully when the barista asks for his order. At least it will keep him warm and fill his stomach for a short while.

Halloween just went by and the weather is becoming really cold. He should use the last of Baby's tank to go as far south as he can before winter really hits. He probably won't get farther than Wichita though, and the thought makes him shiver. No one wants to get stuck for a winter in Wichita. Maybe he could go and see if he can make a few bucks at the nearest motel, that kind of place always needs a handyman's help. He hasn't tried the one on Corn Street yet. He's noticed only two lights are still working on their sign, he could offer to help with that. If he makes fifty bucks, he might be able to reach Austin. 

Dean stops on the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop, pondering if he should walk to the bar a few streets down or the motel. Sometimes Benny, the owner of the bar, lets him use the sink in the back to wash up. If he's lucky, he'll even get some leftovers from last night. It's generally just some stale pretzels, cold fries on good days, but it's still better than nothing. He's got two cans of beans and a car with an near empty tank to his name right now, so he's not picky. 

Dean takes a look at his watch. It's eleven thirty already, the leftovers are probably already in the trash at Benny's. The motel is probably his best bet. 

"I'll give you a hundred dollars if you pretend to be my boyfriend." comes a hoarse voice, way too close to his ear. 

Dean jumps, nearly spilling his coffee on himself. He spins to the right to face the man who just talked and is met with a pair of clear blue eyes. Way too close again. He waits a second for the man to take a step back as he realises as close Dean turning brought them, but the guy just continues to stare at him, head slightly tilted to the side. He's wearing an oversized trench coat over a dark blue suit that looks expensive. He's so close a gust of wind makes the bottom of his coat brushes Dean's shin. 

"Dude, personal space," Dean reproaches, taking a step back. "And fuck off, I don't swing that way," he adds, not meanly. It's not the first time he's getting hit on by a dude. Sadly, not even the weirdest. He's strictly into chicks though, so no dice.

"Two hundred bucks," the man insists. He looks ready to fall on his knees and beg, eyes going wider and wider as he throws a panicked look to the right of Dean's shoulder. "It won't take more than ten minutes and all you have to do is nod along," he begs, making Dean wonders if he's in danger somehow. Maybe he has a stalker or an abusive ex? 

Dean follows his eyes to a woman coming closer. She's very elegant in a grey pantsuit and a long white fur coat as she walks straight toward them. He can feel her eyes judging him even from thirty feet away, looking at him from head to toes. If he wasn't already self-aware of the number of holes in his jeans, he would definitely be under that gaze. 

"Five hundred dollars," the other man whispers just as the blond woman reaches them. 

"Castiel, dear, you should have told me we would have company, I would have notified the restaurant," the woman says, sending a clearly disapproving look toward Dean as she deposits a kiss on the other man's - (Castiel, apparently, what kind of name is that??) - cheek. 

"Mother, let me introduce you to my boyfriend," Castiel says, looking ill at ease. He's obviously not a very good liar. 

Dean blinks a few times as their attention turns toward him. Castiel seems to be trying to communicate something with his eyes, and Dean frowns in incomprehension for a moment before he gets the hint. 

"Huh. Dean. Winchester," he finally says. "Ma'am," he adds when she just continues to stare at him like he has grease smeared all over his face. He's pretty sure that she wouldn't want to touch his hand if he were to offer it to shake, so he doesn't. 

"Naomi Novak," she introduces herself. "What a delight to finally meet Castiel's new companion," Naomi says, her deadpan tone contradicting her words. "Of course, I would have preferred not to be ambushed by such an announcement. Castiel, you know, that Le Délice hates it when we change our reservation last minute. Who knows if they will even have a table for three," she declares, already composing a number on her phone. 

"It's okay, mother, Dean won't be joining us for lunch."

"Oh, is it because your attire isn't appropriate?" Castiel's mother asks, looking at the holes in Dean's jeans and the big leather jacket that used to be his dad's. "I assure you they won't say a word about it if you're with us," she reassures. 

Dean squirms a little, wondering what the hell is even happening. Ten minutes ago he was buying a coffee and going at his day like a perfectly normal person (well, albeit a homeless and jobless one). Now, his fashion sense is being criticized by the mother of a man who is pretending to be his boyfriend. Did a piano fall on his head or something? Has he finally lost his mind?

He looks to the man beside him. He's scratching the side of his neck in nervousness. The move makes his coat fall a little over his wrist, revealing a freaking Rolex watch. Dean looks back to the woman, eyes sliding on her diamond earrings and the huge rock around her neck. 

You know what? That's not okay. His stomach has been crying for food since last morning, and he's what? Supposed to help this stranger by saying no to free lunch at one of the most prestigious restaurants in town? Fuck no. He's gonna eat like a king and make a few hundred bucks off the back of those rich assholes. 

"In that case, it would be my pleasure to join you," Dean announces with his most charming smile. 

"What?" Castiel can't help but bark. "But y-your work thing?" he tries, sweating. The round panic eyes are back. Dean sends him his best shit eating grin. They both know he now either has to invite this stranger to lunch or reveal the lie to his mother. The guy is trapped and may as well continue to play along.

"It's not as important as a chance to finally get to know your mother, honey," Dean answers. "He's told me so many nice things about you, Naomi. Can I call you Naomi?"

"Of course, dear," Naomi says. She looks a little wide eyed too, probably thrown by Dean turning on the charm to the max.

"Perfect! We shall go now, we don't want to miss your reservation. I do hope it won't be too much of a bother for them to add a chair to your table," Dean says. He should probably tone it down with the pompous tone, because he nearly added an English accent here. 

Naomi leads the way, and Dean is going to follow when a hand grabbing his arm makes him fall a few steps behind. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Castiel hisses.

"Acting as your boyfriend?" Dean says innocently. By Castiel's glare, he's not fooled. 

"I asked you to nod silently for ten minutes, not to do method acting for a whole meal," he reproaches. Naomi sends a look behind her shoulder and Castiel smiles at her like there is no worries, indicating for her to lead the way, 

Dean shrugs. "I had some free time."

"I'm not giving you more money than planned, if that's your goal," Castiel says with a suspicious squint. 

"I'm fine with the five hundred as long as you're also paying for lunch," Dean says, wiggling his eyebrows as they walk toward the restaurant. Something passes on Castiel's face that Dean can't quite identify. The other man stares at him for so long that it's a wonder he doesn't trip. He finally relents with a long suffering sigh as they enter 'Le Délice'. 

Apparently, Naomi Novak is prominent enough that they don't mind changing her reservation after all. They're seated at a table near a legit indoor fountain. Dean is looking around, trying not to let show how impressed he is by the place. The walls are made of stone and covered in frescos that he always thought you couldn't see outside of a church or castle. A waiter gives him a leather covered menu and Dean opens it eagerly. After a few niceties to Naomi, they're asked what they want to drink. Dean has an inkling that he probably shouldn't ask for a beer in an establishment like this. 

"Same for me, please," he says after Castiel ordered some wine with a name Dean can't pronounce. At least, he hopes that's wine. Who knows. Hell, in this place the bottles of water are probably more expensive than his usual brand of beer. 

Dean starts to second guess his decision when he realizes that the menu is in french. What is it with rich people and France? He just wants a damn steak, how do you say that in french? Is there even steaks here or is it just frog legs and snails? Oh god, he hopes not. 

"I think I'll take the duck today," Naomi notes. "Nobody cooks it better than chef Francis. How about you Dean? Have you ever come here before?" There is a mean glint in her eyes that says she knows perfectly well he hasn't. Hell, from the side eyes he got from everyone as they crossed the room, everyone here knows he's not from their world. There are three holes in his jeans, threads hanging from the bottom and his dad's leather jacket probably should have ended up in the trash about three years ago. Even now, it's still too big for him and the sleeves are so scruffed that they're nearly paper thin. The original dark brown color has turned to a light beige in most places from wear. His scruff is just the bad side of too long now, and he hasn't had a haircut since April, strands starting to fall into his eyes. At least, he's wearing his best plaid shirt and managed to wash up last night, so he's not smelling too rank. Why would Castiel pick him out of all the people in the street at that moment to play his boyfriend? It makes no sense at all. From the guy's obvious discomfort as he hides behind his menu, he probably realizes it. 

"Actually, Naomi, duck sounds like a delicious idea," Dean says, voluntarily ignoring her question. To be honest, he’s never even eaten duck before, but it's poultry so it probably taste like chicken. You can't go wrong with chicken, right? His stomach certainly likes the idea, gurgling so loudly that he has to hide it behind a cough. 

Castiel ends up ordering some fish and soon their drinks arrive. Dean barely has time to sip at his red wine before Naomi pounces. 

"So, tell me everything, how did you two meet?"

Dean nearly chokes on his drink. Castiel seems to gulp down his whole glass. 

"We met at a coffee shop. Dean was in line in front of me and we started to talk," Castiel explains, not quite meeting anyone's eyes.

"How quaint!" Naomi exclaims, clasping her hands in delight. "I'm just sorry that you didn't tell me about it sooner, Castiel. How long have you been keeping this charming man a secret?"

"Not-," Castiel clears his throat, "-not long."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you Dean. I sure wish this luncheon will give me the chance to learn everything about you."

Luncheon? Who even talks like that outside of Downton Abbey?

"I do hope I'll get to keep some mystery, we wouldn't want this guy to lose interest," Dean says with a wink. He pats Castiel's hand on the table. Should he hold it or something? How open on PDA are gay people those days? Not that he knows more about how heterosexual couple act in public anyway, especially in those crowds. It's probably safer to keep the PDA to a minimum here. 

"You have to at least tell me some things. For one, what career path are you on?" She looks like a shark circling her prey. 

"I'm a mechanic," he lies. He'd rather stay as close to the truth as possible. It's a little unfair that Castiel is letting him do all the talking when his initial demand was that he stayed silent, especially since it's his skin that Dean is apparently saving, but the guy looks like he's swallowed a potato whole. 

"Oh, that's...interesting," Naomi says in that insincere tone of hers. She looks like he told her he was fucking children’s corpses every full moon. He's two seconds away from telling her that he's actually jobless, penniless, and homeless, just to see her face, when Castiel intervenes. 

"How is Anna's engagement party coming on?" 

Thankfully, this seems to be a subject Naomi loves because she tells them about every aspect of the future party all the way through their meal. 

Duck, as it turns out, is actually very good. It's more like red meat than chicken, which is a great surprise. Although, Dean isn't a fan of the way rich people put tiny quantities of food in very large plates. He eats all the dinner rolls and scrapes every single bit of sauce out of his plate, yet he's still hungry by the end of it. He nearly starts crying when the waiter asks them if they'll take dessert and Naomi declines. He's starting to wonder if that little piece of duck was worth sitting through lunch with her. 

"That sounds like you're turning this into a wonderful event, mother, Anna must be delighted," Castiel compliments. 

"Oh, you know your sister," Naomi waves it off. "It sure feels like a nice opportunity to introduce your new beau to everyone."

Dean frowns. What's a beau? Is that him? That's not him, right?

"I wouldn't dare take any attention away from Anna," Castiel tries to refuse. 

"Don't be daft, you know your sister won't care. Everyone will be so happy that you've finally found-" she passes a long look, over Dean, like she's doubting anyone would actually approve of him. She certainly doesn't seem to, "-someone," she finishes lamely. 

"Oh shoot, I don't think I'm available that night," Dean tries to play off. 

"I'm not sure I've told you the date of it yet."

"Cas did," he says. The other man perks up at the surname, but whatever, 'Castiel' is a mouthful. "And I have this huh work thing, you know? Bummer," Dean says with a fake pout. 

"What kind of 'work thing' can a mechanic possibly have on a Saturday evening?"

Dean tenses up, pursing his lips. "One he can't get out of?"

"Nonsense, you're coming," Naomi brushes off. And that is that apparently. Shit. There is a vein about to pop on Castiel's forehead. "Castiel, dear, you look a little white. Was the fish okay?"

"I-Yeah-I-Actually, do you think we could possibly cut our lunch short? I am indeed feeling quite unwell."

"Of course, my dear," Naomi says, leaning forward until her hand touches his forehead. "You're as clammy as a fish. I should come home with you, and make sure you're okay," she announces, taking her napkin off her lap and deposing it on the table, ready to stand up. 

"No!" Castiel stops her, a little too brusquely. "I-Dean will take good care of me, don't worry," he says, getting up and grabbing Dean's arm so he does so too. Dean follows his lead, all too happy to get out of here. "Stay and enjoy your tea, mother."

"If you say so," Naomi says, sending an unsure look at Dean, obviously upset at being brushed off in his favor. "Call me this evening, or I'll worry all night."

"Of course, mother," Castiel acquiesces, kissing her cheek. Dean hovers behind him. Is he supposed to kiss her too? Wave hello? Shake her hand? 

"Dean," she says as what is apparently a sufficient goodbye. Thank God. "I'll be sure to see you on Saturday," she reminds just as they're walking away. 

Cas turns on him as soon as they're outside the restaurant. 

"What was that?!" he asks, not quite yelling. He starts pacing, rubbing a hand through his already pretty ruffled hair. 

"You owing me five hundred bucks? Dude, you're lucky I don't charge you more for the fresh hell I just lived through."

"You went through hell? You?!" his pacing gets faster and Dean has an idea that if he stops pacing he might punch him in the face. 

"That's what you get for asking this kind of stuff from a perfect stranger," Dean shrugs, pushing a pebble with the point of his shoe. His red sock is peeking out from a tiny hole near his big toe. It's such a contrast to how grand everything and everyone looked in there. It's making him feel like shit. He's maybe feeling a tiny bit guilty for trapping Castiel like that too. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, albeit one with a psycho mom.

Cas turns on him, eyes glaring and mouth open in what will probably be a flow of reproaches. He stops himself before he says anything though, seeming to deflate. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breathe instead, shoulders falling. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should be thanking you. I have no right to make you any reproach when I brought this on myself."

"It wasn't so bad, though, was it? I mean, I think I sold it?" Dean asks, a little hesitant. He even used pedantic talk and everything. 

"You did as well as could be expected."

"That's not much of a compliment…". 

"I shouldn't take more of your time," Cas apologizes, taking his wallet out. Dean goggles at the amount of cash in there. 

"You really shouldn't have that much cash on you, that's, like, asking for trouble."

Castiel squints at him like he's wondering if that means Dean is gonna rob him for a moment, before he hands him a wad of cash. 

Dean's eyes bulge out, "That's way more than five hundred dollars."

"There's also an advance in there to buy some clothes for the engagement party."

"The what now?" Dean blinks dumbly for a second until his brain catches up to what is happening. "Dude, no, I'm done!" 

"You were the one to push it so far in the first place," Castiel reminds. Accuses, really. 

"I just wanted to eat fancy food, okay! Not, like, go steady."

"There will be lots of food at my sister's engagement party," Castiel tries to persuade. Badly. 

Dean gives him a nonplussed look. The cash feels heavy in his hand. He's never had so much before. This could help him get a new start. What's a night of playing Downton Abbey compared to the many many nights he might not have to freeze his ass off in the backseat of his car thanks to it?

"Why are you even doing this anyway? And why would you choose me? Do I look that desperate for cash?"

"No," Cas says after what's definitely a too long pause. Dean scowls. "You were in front of me in the coffee shop line. I heard you talking on the phone. You said you needed some cash to buy a new outfit for a job interview. Begged, really."

"Where the fuck do you get on listening in on other people’s conversation?" 

"I didn't listen, I just heard."

"You know, what? Fuck you," Dean spits, "I don't need that bullshit in my life right now." He has enough cash to get to Austin and replenish his stock of food, even buy some new clothes. At least this way he can keep his dignity rather than being insulted by a bunch of rich assh-

"Please," Castiel begs, following him as Dean storms away. "You don't understand…"

"Oh I understand perfectly," Dean says, stopping and turning around so brusquely that they nearly bump into each other. "You think you can shit on other people from your high horse and that they'll still do your deed for a few hundred bucks. Well, I'm not your freaking puppet, man."

"I have never shitted on any-" he stops himself with a frustrated groan, before turning on the puppy dog eyes. "Dean, please. Listen to what I have to say at least?"

"I know what you're gonna say. I've seen that movie before, Cas. You're going to bring me to that party, so you can parade me around like I'm some earned price or some shit. Meanwhile you get to appease mommy dearest and the clan of hyenas putting pressure on you to find a husband, while still having the satisfaction of giving them a huge fuck you by bringing a guy like me instead of the golden boy they're dreaming of."

"I-" Castiel stops himself, pursing his lips. "That's actually not that far from the reality."

"Of course it isn't. Told you, I've seen that trope before. Except this is real life and your plan sucks, so you can keep your money and I'll keep my dignity. Just grow a pair and tell them all to fuck off, will ya?"

"You sure do like saying that to people," Castiel sulks. "Are you sure you can't do it for me?" 

"Oh believe me I would love to tell your mom to fuck off, but I like my balls attached to my body, so that's a hard pass."

Castiel laughs slightly at that and Dean can feel his own anger start to abate at the sound. "Good self-preservation instinct on your part," Cas mumbles. The puppy look is still there, except now it's making him feel like he's kicked the puppy.  

"You know, we're in the 21st century, right? You shouldn't feel pressured to the point of inventing a boyfriend. Who gives a shit about that nowadays?"

"My family does," Castiel answers in a long sigh. "You don't get it, how could you... I have three brothers, Dean," Castiel explains. "Two sisters. My little sister, who is just nineteen, just got engaged. I was already seen as the irremediably unwed one and now I…," he pauses, sending a nervous look at Dean, looking ashamed.

"Oh come on. How hard can it be? You're rich, objectively good looking. Do you have weird kinks or something?"

 "I-I wouldn't know. I've never even been in a relationship before," he confesses, looking at the ground.

"When you say 'relationship', you don't mean you've never…" Dean inquires. Cas' cheeks redden, and Dean blows like he just got punched. "Wow. That sucks."

"Yes, it's very pathetic."

"What? Eh no, it's not pathetic. Surprising, yeah. But, to each their own, you know?"

Cas inclines his head like he's not sure he does know. 

"I'm sorry I tried to drag you in all of this. You seem like a good man. You don't deserve-"

"-to be served on a platter to your family?" Dean asks, searching Castiel's gaze until they exchange a smile. 

"Yes. That." The man is still looking dejected. The money is still in Dean's hand. That duck really was good. Damn it.

"The food better be freaking awesome," Dean relents with a frustrated grunt. Castiel seems instantly relieved. "And you're not pretty woman-ing me," he warns, pointing a finger at the other man. "I'm choosing my own clothes and I don't give a shit if I don't know which fork to use for fish."

Castiel's head is tilted and he's blinking owlishly, like he doesn't understand a word that Dean is saying. Figures. He's not sure how he could convince anyone that he's this dork's boyfriend, honestly. Naomi certainly looked like she wasn't fooled. 

"I'm sorry for the way my mother behaved toward you. I assure you, being yourself will be amply sufficient to the task."

"Dude, the way y'all talk, where do you come from, Victorian England?"

"I-I don't think I have English ancestry, no. Why?"

They blink at each other for some time. 

"I must be a freaking masochist."

Cas' face scrunches up even more in incomprehension. 

"Okay, let's be clear on one thing from the start. This is not a lifetime movie and I'm straight, so: no falling in love, get it?"

"I get it, Dean," Castiel nods. 

Well, that's it then, apparently Dean is going to a fancy engagement party with his new boyfriend. What a weird day... 

You can read the rest on AO3

[all-might-can-smash-me]

Memories

Aizawa Shouta x reader

Summary: Memories of your younger years bubble up and out from the lips of you and Aizawa during a late night on U.A.’s campus.

Sorry for typos

its a bit of a manga spoiler, though I relied on research because i haven’t read that far into the manga, I’m only on chapter 8 :’)

Masterlist

———————————————————————

The nightly bugs sang their ballads and serenaded into the summer air within their little confines of the grass that had begun to dew or upon the trees that would dance along the breeze. Upon U.A. high’s campus, the darkness could have swallowed it whole from the night if it weren’t for the persistent shine of the moon above along with it’s stars and also from one particular dormitory. From the vast windows of the common area came a flickering glow. The light that was illuminated would softly flick between different colors and dim and brighten in a random sequence. If it weren’t for you being awake and taking your final stroll around the school to make sure every door was locked and shut before heading to the teacher’s dormitory, you wouldn’t have even seen it. With a sigh, your chilled hands clutched your fuzzy nightrobe to tighten it around you as you began to tread through the fresh dew on the grass, the dampness already sinking into your shoes as you finally stepped up to the dormitory for the class 1A, pushing through the door and treading quietly into the common area.

Most of the class seemed to be piled up to together at the tv, the movie KiKi’s Delivery Service seeming to start again after resting on the title screen for far too long. The students were all wrapped up in blankets, pillows, huddled together either on the plush cushions of the couch or upon their pile of pillows thrown onto the floor, all fast asleep and snoring and muttering in their sleep peacefully.

You had begun to tread carefully through the sea of bodies, tiptoeing to the bright light of the tv, though a stirring body caught your attention from the floor as you stepped next to it.

“Mom....?” Groggily spoke out a voice nonother than Izuku who was squinting up at you through his half asleep state, which you held back a laugh as you leaned down, beckoning him to lay back down.

“Go back to sleep, kid...” you whispered out as your hands grabbed the blankets that fell off of him, gently resting them back on him. The teen didn’t need to be told twice to go back to sleep though as he was already snoring and muttering in his sleep again, adding onto the iconic ambiance of night. The whole entire scene that surrounded you threatened to make your heart explode as you successfully reached the tv, already stopping the movie and turning off the television screen.

“Glad this isn’t a school night...” came out a hushed voice behind you which startled you as you turned away from the tv. Aizawa stood on the opposite end of the sea of sleeping teenagers. He was in his own simpler sleepwear, hair messily pulled back in a ponytail. You know he didn’t even bothered to brush it, but that didn’t stop him from still being very attractive before you and make you feel stupid in your hot pink robe with your plain shorts and an old t-shirt that had begun to have holes forming in them.

“Come on...enjoy the scene Shouta....they are all pretty cute right now....kind of all look like little children, it’s hard to think that they all might be pro heroes soon with their own agencies and what not..” you spoke back in a hushed voice as you carefully manuvered around stretched out arms, legs, and bodies to stand beside Aizawa too look at the peaceful sight of class 1A. You loved those kids, you couldn’t deny that, they were like your own children, your own family. You knew Aizawa felt the same way with that little soft look that had begun to bloom within his eyes as he looked to the room filled with sleeping students. He would definitely never admit to that, but that look his casted from those kind eyes was all the confirmation you needed.

“Yeah...well they are out past the ‘quiet hours’ that were set by Nezu...” he whispered, a single blink of his eyes managing to blink away that softness and adoration he held for the students before him. You only shook your head as you quietly began to make way for the doors, Aizawa following shortly behind you to lock the doors behind the two of you once your bodies had soon been released back into the cool air of night and the ambiance of singing bugs.

“Like we would have even made the time to read the rules when we were their age......and you know, I kind of wish we had dormitories when we were here...” you spoke out as you watched the keys within his hands jingle as he pulled them from the lock of the door, watching his rough hands shove them sloppily into the pocket of his sweats. “Imagine all the fun things that we could have done, like watch a movie with the whole class, karaoke, board games...” Aizawa only let out a scoff as he listened.

“We made some pretty good memories while we were here without a glorified long term sleepover.” He said matter of fact as the two of you had began to casually walk along the cracks of the cement sidewalk maze that rested upon the campus grounds, the short cut through the fresh dewed grass not evident in your minds. The erasure hero looked confused though as you let out a snort and a hearty laugh to his conjecture.

“I never said we didn’t have good memories.” You explained as you looked over and up to him. “Those memories of me and you constantly having our ears pounded in by Yamada at karaoke clubs after school and forcing you out to get Shabu-Shabu with us when winter would hit are some of the fondest memories I have...” you said with a sigh of content as the memories played quickly through your head like a nostalgic movie of your childhood. “Oh! And the time we watched Milo and Otis and we couldn’t stop crying hysterically, so my mom made us hot chocolate while we couldn’t understand in our young minds why we were crying...” you said through your giggles at the sudden memory that had broken free from the depths of your brain that had been trapped there from long ago.

“I still don’t understand why I was crying over that movie....” A small little smile had crawled to the corners of his lips, a little laugh of his own now joining in with your uncontrollable giggles that bubbled up and away from your lips. “And then all those times us, Oboro, and Yamada would spend huddled on the front steps of the school. Just to think....I kind of actually thought we had our own cool, little posse....looking back we probably looked really lame to the rest of the school.” He said as he couldn’t help but let his face cringe, a hand rubbing over his tired eyes.

Once those tired and irritated eyes met the vibrant expression upon your face, his heart had begun to thud within the confines of his chest as he watched your laughter slowly begin to die away as you recalled all those pleasant memories that felt so very long ago. Your beauty slapped him in the face as children and teens....and it still did now as a worn out adult.

“Lame at school, probably....but only if Oboro could have seen us at our wedding reception...” you said as you facepalmed, those giggles of yours drifting in his ears like the soft melody of a wind chime in a soft breeze. “Mom kept filming everything, even filmed Yamada’s version of break dancing and then us, Yamada, and Kayama all dancing to our favorite song together while drunk out of our minds when we finished up with all the traditional aspects of it. I still need to thank Yagi for telling me how the American’s do it...” One of your hands had escaped from the warmth of the fuzzy robe pocket to grasp almost shyly onto his hand.

You don’t know why, but it kind of felt like the two of you were back in your final year of high school, back when the two of you had found yourselves in the awkward stages of crushing on each other. How you felt flustered everytime you would look to the visible parts of his face through that unruly dark hair of his even if you basically grew up looking at it. Or how he would find himself with a blank mind whenever you would ask a simple question about homework when he use to be able to do it simply years before about anything and everything. Yamada and Oboro figured it out quickly too though. The two were in your room, sprawled out on the bed or messing with things on your desk as you dug through your clothes frantically and constantly asked for their opinion on how you did your hair, makeup, and put together your outfit when before you never seemed so frantic on looking nice before heading to pick up Aizawa to all head out to eat together. The blush that tinted Shouta’s cheeks and his gaze that sat on you for a bit longer than it regularly would while eating at your little ‘posse’s’ favorite ramen shop confirmed their conspiracies as they casted their knowing glances to each other and covered their grins with slurping their noodles.

“It feels like it was all only yesterday...maybe it’s because we’ve been on this campus for far too long.” Muttered out Shouta, almost a bit disappointed as the teacher dormitories had come to his view. He didn’t know if he wanted sleep to swallow up the memories to store them away for years to come again.

“Hm...maybe you’re right.....but how about remembering that night after the reception? I think I need to remember...” You whispered out now as you had pushed open the doors to the building with your free hand, a mischievous glint in your eyes as you looked over your shoulder and at him.

“Hmm....I’m not opposed to that...the other teachers in the dorms? Eh...” he said quietly with a surpressed laugh as the two of you begun to quicken your paces to your shared room.

[oneofyatosfollowers]

Unforgettable Taste

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28843653

Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13798454/1/Unforgettable-Taste

Gift for Poki!

Visiting her brother was always an interesting experience by Hiyori’s standards. Either he was on some sort of new “life purpose” or there was some event that she would never live down.

“I have to ask,” Hiyori said as she scanned the room, “what brought this on?” She gestured around Masaomi’s tiny living room. The space was filled with paper, fabric, and various photos of flowers.

“Wedding planning is a real profession!” Masaomi shouted from beside an attempt at a wedding dress. Hiyori set her bags down and the door and made her way into the new, yet familiar, mess. This was a classic greeting for them and she would rather learn about what she was in for than put her bags away.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Hiyori tip-toed around fallen objects and papers, straightening up as she went. Masaomi sighed and picked the pins out of his mouth.

“I know, I know. I just think this is the one this time! I’ll make sure it’s stable before telling our parents but I can already hear mother’s disapproval.” Masaomi complained as he swept her up in a hug. They groaned as they squeezed then pulled back to share a smile.

“Are you going to answer my question?” Hiyori quirked a brow.

“Ah, yes!” Masaomi took a couple of steps back so he was in the center of the chaos. With a wide grin he threw his arms out to show off the room.

“I’m taking over my friend’s failing business!” Masaomi’s proud declaration was met with silence. Stopping the shout of outrage in its tracks, Hiyori held her breath. Her brother has had some less-than-intelligent ideas in the past. Ideas that have left him broke or in more trouble than he started. It wasn’t so much that her brother was too trusting, actually the man was quite smart, but he tended to throw caution to the wind all for the sake of adventure.

“Masaomi,” Hiyori started. Her brother flinched as he watched her fists curl at her sides.

“It’s okay he’s still helping me! In fact he does the majority,” Masaomi quickly explained, “We’re co-owners and I’m his apprentice now. I mostly handle the books, you know?”

“If you handle the books you clearly know how badly it’s failing! It’s one thing if you think you found your calling and you try a new thing. It’s another to offer to take over said business!” Hiyori tried her best not to growl, her glare was sufficient enough.

“I offered! Besides, the only reason it’s failing is cause he’s decided to settle down here and being a wedding planner means traveling! He’s really good at it and he’ll teach me all he knows! I’ll be able to travel while he stays here to be the pâtissière and the business will be back on track! It’s a win-win!” Masaomi said. He put his hands together in a pleasing way and Hiyori breathed through her nose. She had to admit it sounded a bit better but not quite.

“Doesn’t that sound fishy to you? The business is failing just as he decides to settle down and be a baker? And if he is teaching you then why isn’t he here?”

“He’s a pâtissière,” Masaomi groaned, “He teaches me after work. See, he used to do the whole shabang: the phone calls, the planning, all the designing, and the food making! But while he was studying abroad he picked up a kid! Now he has to stay in one place so the kid could go to school. Originally, he was going to ditch the business and open a sweets shop, but his friends in town own a bakery so he started working for them.”

“He ‘picked up’ a kid?” Hiyori stopped at that, “how old is he?”

“He’s my age! Actually, we went to college together. Do you remember Yato?” Masaomi asked. Now that Hiyori calmed down, he went back to work on the dress as she unconsciously returned to tidying the room.

“Yato? I don’t think so?”

“Yeah! He came over for my birthday that one time, he wore all black and kinda kept to himself,” Masaomi waved his hand, “long hair, blue eyes.” Her brother hummed as he tried to think of more things to jog her memory but she already had the face in mind. The name certainly didn’t sound familiar, but there was only one person at that party- in fact he was probably the first person she had ever seen- with blue eyes. Yato had been quiet, staying with the group and only really speaking when spoken too. She remembered thinking he was nice. Most of the guys Masaomi brought over barely said hi to her before partying. Yato had greeted her and was very polite when she was around, apologising for the noise and asking her thoughts on things.

“Really? He became a wedding planner?” Hiyori was shocked to say the least.

“Yeah, he’s a great artist and was always able to mend everyone’s clothes. He majored in design with a minor in fashion and started the business right after we graduated. Since cake designing was a step from clothing, he went to France and studied to become a pâtissière. But since he brought the kid back,” Masaomi trailed off and Hiyori was reminded of the other issue.

“S-still! Even if he has a business that he’s good at, he’s rather young to have a kid, no?” Even as she said it, Hiyori knew her argument was rather weak. Her brother was old enough to have a kid, and while a bit soon, it wasn’t unheard of. From the smile on Masaomi’s face, he shared her thinking. He let her stew for a moment longer before returning to the dress.

“Actually, he adopted a young teen.”

“A teenager?” Hiyori parroted.

“Yeah, his name’s Yukine,” Masaomi informed, “he was a bit troubled in the beginning but now he’s as sweet as the treats Yato makes. I can’t get either of them to tell me the story as to why Yato took him in. They won’t tell anyone.”

“Huh,” Hiyori hummed. She could imagine what moving to another country must do to a teenager, especially with some random new guardian. The whole situation was starting to make sense and she felt a bit bad from jumping to such a negative conclusion.

“You know, you’ll probably be able to meet him soon. Yukine is supposed to deliver Yato’s samples for this client’s wedding cake soon.” Masaomi said. Hiyori hummed and looked around the much-cleaner room. How her brother was expecting to have clients over with this sort of mess was beyond her but he probably knew she would pick up. Besides, she did enough meddling today.

“Well, let me know what time they come so-” Hiyori’s sentence was cut off by a door bell. Together the siblings looked toward the door. By the time Hiyori whipped her head around to glare at her brother, Masaomi already had a sheepish expression. The younger Iki stuck her nose in the air and stalked toward the front door. Hopefully she would be able to distract the newlyweds while her brother tidied more. The front door opened with ease, Hiyori looking straight ahead to see a blue bike at the end of the walk way. A bright tuft of blonde hair brought her attention down.

“Hey Masaomi, I got the cup cakes for you,” the boy spoke, “Yato said he would be by later than usual since Kofuku burnt the croissants again. He wants me to take pictures of your progress.” She couldn’t see his face as he rifled through a cooler on his hip but he seemed smaller than a teen. Though his voice definitely held that disinterested drawl. Once he gathered three square, plastic containers on top of each other and held them out, Hiyori was able to see his face. The boy startled when he saw her, someone clearly not her brother, and his mouth opened. Hiyori watched his fair skin bloom pink under his freckled cheeks while light-colored eyes flickered to the number on the house and back.

“Hi, I’m Hiyori,” she took the cup cakes, “Masaomi is my brother. You must be Yukine?” Hiyori smiled politely at him.

“Yes, um, nice to meet you,” Yukine offered, much more shy than when he thought he was talking to Masaomi. Hiyori’s smile stayed on her face as she watched him shift from foot to foot. He had on a bright pink polo shirt with a fancy ‘K’ stitched onto his breast with his name under it in a different font. It was only when he looked behind her, that Hiyori remembered the end of his greeting.

“Oh!” Hiyori stepped aside, “Please come in!” She let Yukine enter her brother’s two bedroom home before closing the door. He gave her a quick thank you and made his way to Masaomi’s workroom, clearly knowing where to go.

“Yukine! You made it! And I see you met my dear little sister.” Masomi left his dress to beam at the kid. He returned the smile with a dampered one before pulling out a camera to take pictures of the dress. Hiyori took a seat and watched Masaomi communicate happily with Yukine. He asked how his summer was going and his friends, Yukine answered easily while doing his work. Normally, Hiyori was embarrassed by how excitable her brother was but Yukine handled it without batting an eye. They must work together often.

“Oh! That’s them!” Masaomi looked at the clock and tsked, “They’re early.” He quickly scrambled to make the dress look presentable. Yukine put the camera away and closed the cooler, walking towards the back of the house. Quickly getting to her feet, Hiyori tried to see where Yukine was going but Masaomi running around made it difficult. Hiyori stumbled over the rest of the objects on the floor and side stepped a frantic brother to follow after him. It really was incredible how easily Yukine was able to walk across the room and avoid the chaos.

“Uh, Yukine?” Hiyori stopped him in the kitchen. The blonde looked at her confused, then embarrassed.

“When there are customers I just go through the back door,” Yukine said. With a sheepish smile, Yukine pointed to the back door. They heard Masaomi greet the happy couple. Sharing a look, the two were out of her brother’s house. Before she could follow the length of the wall, Yukine caught her attention.

“This way,” Yukine flapped his hand. Giggling, Hiyori followed him to a hole in the bushes and through the neighbor’s yard.

“He has windows all along the side of his house,” Yukine explained, “you don’t want clients to think that we’re stealing.”

“Sounds like you speak from experience,” Hiyori laughed. The teen rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“You have no idea. Yato doesn’t like me walking home late and would try to make me stay here until he was done. If I tried to escape by the windows, he would catch me every time.” Yukine said. He didn’t see the way Hiyori’s face scrunched at the thought of having to escape someone who wouldn’t let him go home. She remembered Yato, always dressed in black, with a bruise or two, and hoped Yukine didn’t always feel the need to hide.

“I’m sure he was just worried,” Hiyori tried. Yukine straightened up as they reached his bike.

“He’s always worried! He’s like a mother hen,” Yukine said with puffed out red cheeks. In spite of herself, Hiyori let out a snort, smiling at the thought.

“That’s good though,” Hiyori said. Yukine sighed and grumbled out a response, kicking up his kickstand but not getting on. At the same time, their stomachs growled.

“It looks like he’s gonna be awhile. Do you want to come over for lunch?” Yukine offered. He watched her perk up at the offer.

“Oh, uh I don’t want to impose,” Hiyori trailed off.

“You’re not! It’s a bakery afterall, we have sandwiches and stuff,” Yukine insisted. With that, Hiyori agreed and let the teen lead the way. They walked down the hill towards town, Yukine pushing his bike with Hiyori on his other side. She noticed the bike had silver snowflakes on it, similar to the designs she saw on one of Masaomi’s papers. The thought made her smile.

“So, Yukine,” Hiyori started, “my brother told me a little about you but he tends to embellish.”

“Oh, what did you hear?”

“Umm,” Hiyori tried to think of where to start, “you were adopted by Yato while he was abroad?” She noticed the way Yukine tensed and quieted. That bad feeling came back and Hiyori readied herself to defend the child once she saw Yato again. But instead, Yukine looked ahead with a soft smile.

“Yeah, I was. I lived in France with my family but my mom was from here, so she taught my sister and I the language. I used to hang around the college where Yato was studying cause that’s where my sister used to go. Once he found out I could understand him, he would give me pasties in exchange for me basically being his translator slash teacher. After school I would go to his house and he would make me what he learned that day or let me taste his homework. By the time he was interning, I was living with him.” Yukine spoke fondly, but his tone conveyed that there was sorrow.

“That’s really sweet. But what about your parents?” She remembered Masaomi mentioned Yukine was rather rebellious and why would they let some random student adopt him and take him far away?

“They’re both- out of the picture,” Yukine watched his feet, “and my sister met some guy in her first year and I haven’t heard from her since.” They were silent as Hiyori hummed and bit her lip. She pried too much and felt sorry for bringing up bad memories.

“Well lucky you, you were scooped up by a baker. I’m sure helping him with his homework was fun,” she smiled when Yukine huffed a laugh, “and you like it here, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. I knew enough about this culture. I just had to get used to all the new people and a new home. There were some other things but Yato helped me through them so I’m good now.”

“O-oh! That’s good, I’m glad!” Hiyori said. The bakery was coming up on the right, a square pink building with the name ‘Kofuku’s’ in calligraphy on the front. Yukine walked her up to the back of the store and chained his bike. They approached the medal door just as the building shook with a large boom and a crash. Frozen, they stared at the door with Yukine’s hand still on the handle. Only when he sighed, a loud noise over the shouting from inside, did Hiyori turn her focus onto him.

“It’s a little hectic inside. The owner is clumsy and tends to cause disasters in the kitchen. The mess from this morning was supposed to be cleaned, but who knows. Please excuse it.” Yukine said, his voice exasperated. Before Hiyori could respond, Yukine pushed the door in and entered, leaving Hiyori to cough through a cloud of smoke.

“Kofuku, why, why, why?” Someone weeped, “I told you to stay out of the kitchen! Look at them, my creations are ruined!”

“It’s not my fault! I finished cleaning your cooking sheets and I wanted to bring them to you! But when I passed by the oven I saw the same pies were in the oven and I thought they would cook faster if I turned up the heat.” A tiny woman with curly pink hair tried to hide her giggles behind a hand as she attempted to placate a young man on the floor. He was on his knees with his head down, holding an oven rack with five mini burnt circles.

“Chocolate Chess Pie needs to bake for 25 minutes before I lightly spray the tops with my home-made syrup and put them back in for 45 minutes so that I can spray them again,” the man raised his head, “I can’t spray these again!” He wailed. The young woman laughed and went over to clean his face with a rag. From Hiyori’s side, Yukine scoffed in disgust and went in to put his cooler away. Behind Yukine, a large man came from the front of the store and looked at the two on the floor with an eye roll. He wore a pink shirt that matched Yukine’s with the name Daikoku stitched on and light khakis. The man had slick back brown hair and brown eyes with peach fuzz. With a swift motion, he took the rack from off the floor and let the burnt pies slide into the trash.

“Yukine, you finish your deliveries?” Daikoku asked.

“Yeah!” Yukine said, “oh, and also I brought-” A loud timer rang throughout the kitchen and the young man, now with a clean face, shot up off the floor.

“Ah! My ham and cheese puff pastry slab pie!” He effused. Hiyori flinched when a whirlwind of white came barreling at her. That’s when she was finally noticed and the man came to a screeching halt. Letting out a squeak, Hiyori stepped back when he stopped nearly two inches from her nose and stared with wide eyes. They were just as blue as she remembered. But his face had changed, the narrow eyes fit better on a face with a sharp jawline and strong chin, lacking any baby fat. His hair also grew an inch or two since they talked, brushing over his ears and eyes.

“You’re,” Yato’s eyes widened, “Masaomi’s sister! Hiyori!” She was shocked he remembered her- when she didn’t- but the thought spread warmth throughout her body.

“H-hey, Yato. It’s been a while,” Hiyori smiled. He stepped back and they let out a breath of air, grinning at each other like idiots. Neither of them noticed the room watching them closely, the men turning pink from second-hand embarrassment while the young woman grinned.

“Ooo,” the young woman slithered between them and smirked, “My name’s Kofuku, I’ve heard about you from Masaomi. But I didn’t know you were friends with Yatty! What are the chances, huh?” Her eyes flickered to Yato and he looked to the side. When Kofuku turned that sly face on her, Hiyori felt her face warm up as well.

“Ah, yes, well, I only talked to him once at a party for Masaomi. I’m surprised to find him here as a baker, giving his company to my brother no less.” Hiyori gave a light laugh while Kofuku hummed.

“I’m a pâtissière,” Yato groaned.

“You’re a pain in the rear, is what you are,” Diakoku called in from the front. It was Yato’s words that caught Hiyori’s attention and she spun around.

“Ah, what about your-” Hiyori began. Luckily, instead of another smoking oven, Hiyori saw Yukine had already removed Yato’s creations and was munching on one as they spoke. The treats were a thin strip of bright golden brown with a fluffy exterior and a cheesy interior. Hiyori felt her mouth water involuntarily as they reminded her how hungry she was.

“Do you want some?” Yato spoke close to her ear. Hiyori yelped and looked at his grin with red-tipped ears. They looked at each other for a moment before Hiyori remembered he asked her a question.

“Oh! Uh, no, I couldn’t, they’re for the customers after all.”

“Customers?” Yato tilted his head, “Those aren't for sale. That’s just our brunch!” He laughed and moved aside so she could have a clear view of Yukine and Kofuku munching on the food. Even Daikoku dipped in to grab three before returning to the front desk.

“Well, if it’s okay with you,” Hiyori said. Despite her best attempts at tact, Hiyori’s feet were already leading her to the delicious smell.

“Yattsh foom ish always sho yummy,” Kofuku said around a mouthful. Hiyori hummed amusingly as she picked one up. She looked to Yukine- who had a bit more self control than Kofuku- munching on his second one. The only opinion he had was the pleasurable hum he let out once he bit into it, his eyes still closed to focus on the taste. Just to make sure, Hiyori glanced at Yato only to find him staring at her with an even bigger grin.

“Eh?” Yato coaxed. His eyebrows went up and he tilted his head towards the pan while keeping his gaze on her. Hiyori couldn’t help but snort and roll her eyes, picking one up. The pastry was just as fluffy as it looked. Her teeth sunk into it easily and warmth spread across her tongue. It was easy to let out a moan that didn’t have her embarrassed until after her third bite. A string of cheese stretched from her mouth to the food and Hiyori caught Yato’s eye over it. It took her more time than she’d like to chew and swallow the bite; Yato’s intense look made it difficult.

“So,” Yato smiled, “you like it?”

‘Do I like it?’ Hiyoti found that question haunting her for the rest of the day. Her time at the bakery was so fun she ended up staying well past closing. Throughout that time, Hiyoi found that she had been stuffed to the brim with food. Turns out Daikoku was also a baker, sticking primarily to breads, while Yato handled the pastries. They had a bread competition with Hiyori as the impartial judge, since Kofuku always voted for her husband and Yukine voted for his whiny guardian.

She had to admit, the local baker knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, Yato’s wounded pride caused him to present her with desserts to try, each more extravagant than the last. He even presented some new ones that no one but him had even heard of. In a single night, Yato’s pastries took her around the world, each absolutely delicious. Yet no matter how much food they gave her, that first bite was the one she couldn’t forget.

Did she like it? What kind of question was that? Hiyori found herself obsessed. Now she laid in bed, glaring at the morning sun on her ceiling, hungry for one thing. Frustrated, Hiyori threw off the covers and put on her slippers. She went down the stairs with a bit more force than necessary and searched the kitchen with a discerning eye. The sound of her stomping brought Masaomi out of his work space. He gave her a quirk of an eyebrow from over his mug.

“Were we too loud last night?” He took a guess. Hiyori sighed, she must have looked like she didn’t get much sleep last night, scowling with messy hair. Yato walked her home once she decided to leave -since he promised to meet with Masaomi anyway- and to make sure she didn’t get lost. They separated soon after walking through the door, Yato smiling and waving as she walked up the stairs. No they weren’t too loud last night, in fact she couldn’t hear them at all once she shut her door. The thing preventing her from sleeping was the thought of Yato being just downstairs. She would have done anything for a snack before bed with a cup of tea. And maybe to ask Yato about his time in France, his work, his kid, or his personal life.

“No,” Hiyori mumbled. She glared at the floor for a bit before smoothing out her brow and looking back at her brother. He was grinning at her, wide and knowing, it brought red to her cheeks. He said nothing as he walked towards the counter and set his cup down with a clink.

“You know,” he started, “the bakery opened at eight. We can go have breakfast if you want to.” Masaomi said nonchalantly. A zip of excitement shot up Hiyori’s spine and hit her heart. Immediately, the thought of a fluffy pastry held out by a blue-eyed man came to mind and Hiyori had to fight a smile.

“Would he even be awake?” Hiyori jolted when her brother smiled wider, “Th-they! Are they, anyone, awake?”

“Seeing as the store is open, I imagine someone would be awake. But if you’re asking about a specific business partner of mine, he’s usually with Daikoku in the kitchen by seven.” Masaomi finished his cup and left it in the sink, walking past a flustered sister stating he would be getting dressed and heading over there. Hiyori refused to look up from the floor until her brother was safely in his room upstairs.

The Iki siblings didn’t talk on their walk to Kofuku’s, the smile on Masaomi’s face hadn’t gone away and Hiyori wouldn’t look at him until it did. The front of Kofuku’s Bakery was small and cute, its windows covered in children’s doodles and some local flyers. A bell rang welcoming them inside, Hiyori walked across a black and white checkered floor up to two large glass containers stacked with pastries of all kinds. The familiar sight almost made her full but her stomach quickly reminded her otherwise. Kofuku was alone behind the counter, chewing on a cinnamon roll. She perked up when she saw them outside, trying her best to swallow the food in her cheeks while waving them in.

“Good morning you two!” Kofuku greeted, cheerily. Her words caught the attention of the people eating their breakfast at the small wooden tables.

“Morning Kofuku,” Masaomi smiled, “Is Yato here?”

“Oohohoh! Yatty huh?” Kofuku’s eyes slid to Hiyori and back, “For you or?” They stalled as Hiyori tensed only to burst into laughter.

“We’re only teasing Hiyori,” Masaomi said, trying to ease his sister’s wrath.

“You might be, Massi,” Kofuku winked. They shared another laugh as Hiyori’s body temperature rose. Eventually Kofuku took pity on her and reached her hand out.

“Yatty’s in the back, you’re welcome to go. Just be super careful of the hot ovens,” Kofuku smiled and gestured towards the kitchen door. Unable to say anything, Hiyori just shut her mouth and walked to the door, turning her nose up at the snickers behind her.

When the door pushed open, a warm waft of air hit her carrying the scent of fresh bread. To the left, Daikoku was hard at work in front of an old stone oven, moving around loafs with a large wooden spatula. His hair was held back by a white rag tied around his head, sweat beaded his brow and the exposed arms under his rolled up chef sleeves. As a closet wrestling fan, Hiyori could appreciate the image, but she was looking for something else. Off to her right was a tray of various shaped pastries, Yato leaning over them with a tube of frosting. It wasn’t until he looked up with big blue eyes, frosting smeared across his nose, that Hiyori felt that something jolt her heart.

“Hiyori!” Yato beamed.

“Hello Yato, Daikoku,” Hiyori greeted as she walked in. Daikoku waved to her before focusing his attention back to his bread. Yato stood as she went over to him, watching her admire the colorful baking sheets on the table.

“Classic fruit and cream cheese pastries,” Yato said, “Try one!” He smiled at her when she hummed. It would be impolite to decline, especially when she was so hungry and they looked so delicious. She plucked a blueberry one off the paper and took a bite, moaning her appreciation through her teeth. Next to her, Yato swallowed, mouth suddenly very dry.

“You like it?” He gurgled out with a cough.

“Mmm mm!” Hiyori hummed with a smile. Blinking once, Yato laughed good naturedly.

“Well good! I’m glad!” He grinned.

“Hiyori! I’m heading out!” Masaomi called from behind the door.

“Okay!” Hiyori replied.

“Yato, don’t touch my sister! Or do anything weird to her!” Masaomi’s voice echoed throughout the bakery, “if you do I’ll mix some of your salt and sugar jars without telling you and when you least expect it!” Masaomi’s threat did its job. From beside a bright-faced Hiyori, Yato gasped like he found out his father was Darth Vader.

“No! Why would you even think of something so awful!” Yato scurried to the pantry, trying to hide all his baking needs behind boxes of cereal. Daikoku sighed and shook his head, coming over to pat the young woman on the shoulder as her brother cackled and Yato mumbled consperiousys. Daikoku left the kitchen, only to poke his head in and announce Masaomi was gone and that he wouldn’t be allowed to mess with the bakers’ ingredients.

With Hiyori’s gentle coaxing, Yato finally finished with the frosting. At some point, he went into a long winded commentary of how he made the frosting and why he cut the fruit the way he did. Hiyori smiled throughout his entire explanation, listening to every word. Tips and tricks on cooking were always interesting. But the way Yato talked about his craft, so passionate and excited, there was no way she couldn’t listen. As they moved on to wrapping each treat in plastic, Yato asked her about her life. Things she did, things she liked or didn’t, her friends. It was then Hiyori realised that he was just as invested in what she had to say as she was. It was nice.

“So, where’s Yukine?” Hiyori asked.

“Probably still in bed like the teenager he is,” Yato huffed, “Sundays are his one day off from both work and prep school. But he’ll probably help out later anyway.”

“That’s sweet,” Hiyori said, genuinely.

“Yeah. Just in time for the croissants.” Yato looked fondly towards one of the ovens but Hiyori had a feeling he wasn’t smiling at the pastries.

“Are they his favorite?”

“No, but they remind him of home so I make sure to keep them stocked. Kofuku burnt yesterday's entire batch so I had to stay late to re-make them.” Yato spoke as he gathered the wrapped treats. Hiyori hummed in response, touched by the notion. The man got up early to work, stayed late with her brother, then continued making food for the next day. Kofuku perked up when they both pushed through the kitchen door.

“Aw, thank you Hiyori!” Kofuku said.

“You’re welcome!” Hiyori answered. She was lucky her voice didn’t crack when Yato took the rest of the pastries out of her arms. His fingers brushed against her and Hiyori realized just how good sugar and bread can smell. Luckily, Hiyori’s phone rang and she was able to excuse herself from looking at Yato’s backside and Kofuku’s smirk to sit at a table by the window. Her phone told her it was her co-worker and highschool friend, Yama. They greeted each other cheerily, Hiyori trying to keep her voice down while Yama only increased in volume. Through her friend’s squealing, Hiyori could make out that Yama’s high school sweetheart proposed to her.

“Yama! That’s amazing! Congratulations!” Hiyori gushed. She looked around to see if she was disturbing anyone, only to catch Yato staring at her from behind the counter. He snapped out of it when Kofuku jabbed his side and gave her an awkward wave. Hiyori choked back a laugh and gave a light wave back. Yama asked her what was so funny as Hiyori watched him scurry back into the kitchen. As the door shut behind him, a thought struck her.

“Hey, I know this is premature, but you’re going to need a wedding planner, right?”

“Ah! You’re right I will! Why, you have someone in mind?”

“Well my brother got a new job,” Hiyori continued before her friend could groan, “but it wouldn’t be him doing it! My brother would just be helping cause he’s in training! At the very least, I can vogue for the pâtissière.”

“The what?”

“The cake!” Hiyori giggled, “the baker?” She sent a silent apology to Yato as her friend hummed in understanding. There were a couple beats of quiet and Hiyori worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Let me guess, it’s one of Masaomi’s friends?” Yama said without malice.

“One from college. Did I ever tell you about Yato?” Hiyori was shocked when Yama let out a sound that had Hiyori feeling embarrassed.

“The one with the blue eyes? Who was really polite and didn’t seem to fit in at all with Masaomi’s friends? With the bruises and battle scars? The one with really blue eyes, like he’s albino but not, that contrasted with his black hair-” Yama stopped when Hiyori hissed out gibberish. Steam from her burning face seeped through the phone as she recalled her words from highschool.

“Yeah I remember him,” Yama finally relented, “he’s the only one you talked about when Ami and I asked you if there were any cute guys there. Knowing you, you probably forgot.” She could practically hear the grin in Yama’s voice when Hiyori couldn’t produce a rebuttal. Her friend reminded her of a certain pink-haired bakery owner.

“Well he’s a wedding planner, dress maker, and pâtissière. I’m sure he would be willing to work if you needed it, but it’s just a suggestion.” Hiyori said primly. The friends dissolved into giggles, giddy on the thought of a wedding.

“But seriously Hiyori. I’ll think about it but the wedding won’t be for a while! We’re sticking to the plan of Ami being my maid of honor, me being your MOH, and you being Ami’s. She’s still seeing that guy from her micro-bio class so you’re the only one left! Take the time before my big day to smooze that cake guy so you can bring him as a date! Maybe even get me a discount!” Yama’s declaration had Hiyori sputtering.

“A year to what? Yama, please, he’s just Masaomi’s business partner. I’m not-”

“Oh his partner, huh? That means you’ll be seeing him a lot while you stay there, right? How long are you there for anyway?”

“Well I packed for the month but my classes are online so, I mean,” Hiyori drifted off as she thought. She came here with the knowledge that she might stay past her vacation but med school was much easier when she had her textbooks with her. The idea of staying with her brother for the year just to talk to some guy was absurd. Not that Masaomi would mind. Plus her textbooks were only a couple hours away.

“Huuuggnn,” Yama purred through the receiver, “Do I hear someone considering it?”

“D-don’t be ridiculous!” Hiyori fought to keep her voice level but Yama knew her too well. Out of the corner of her eye, Hiyori saw Kofuku grin like she could hear every word.

“But you like him, don’t you?” Yama asked. She made it sound so easy. Like Yato was a classmate she saw every day for years rather than her brother’s friend she talked to for a couple days at most. Hiyori’s mouth worked for some excuse, some reason the idea was absurd, but all she could think of was she wouldn’t mind bringing Yato to the wedding. Yama would love him and he would make the day that much more fun. Even just going on a date with him was something she could get excited about. Hiyori was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t see Yukine approach until he set down a plate of food in front of her.

“Oh, I didn’t order anything,” Hiyori said.

“It’s on the house,” Yukine replied.

“Huh? Is that him?” Yama asked, “Yato! Hey! Is that you?” Her voice was loud through the speaker and Yukine quirked his brow, the corner of his lip lifting.

“No! No it isn’t, Yama I have to go,” Hiyori spoke rapidly into her phone.

“Uh huh, sure. I bet it is-”

“Good bye!” Hiyori quickly shut her phone and turned to Yukine with a forced smile, hoping she didn’t scare the kid off. The last thing she wanted was him telling his guardian she was some weirdo that yelled over the phone. If Yukine thought that, or noticed her pink cheeks, he was nice enough not to comment. Instead to her surprise, Yukine sat down across from her with a plate of his own.

“Kofuku said to keep you company,” he mumbled.

“That’s okay! You don’t have to!” Hiyori waved her hands to try to help the equally embarrassed teenager.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Sitting here talking to you is better than trying to help Yato in the kitchen.” Yukine didn’t mean anything by his words but Hiyori still couldn’t help but worry.

“Yukine,” Hiyori got his attention, “do you, um, I mean you get along with Yato, right?” She couldn’t help but lean in with a concerned expression, her feelings about Yato still twinged with minor doubt. The man didn’t seem mean in the slightest, but relationships between a teenager and an adult can be rocky. Especially when the said adult didn’t raise them. Besides, who knows what happens behind closed doors. Yukine jolted back and looked at her with wide eyes.

“We- of course I do! I mean we argue constantly but it doesn’t mean anything. He’s, I mean he, uh, kinda saved me.” Yukine’s words quieted towards the end as he spoke into his lap but Hiyori heard him all the same. She wanted to ask more, but Hiyori figured she pried too much already.

“Well good. You don’t have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just wanted to make sure he was treating you okay, that’s all,” Hiyori hunched her shoulders, “sorry, it’s really none of my business.” She looked up at the boy through her lashes, watching his mouth finally close.

“No! That’s okay! Actually I appreciate you asking. Some people just look away or don’t try to ask so, thank you,” Yukine spoke so honestly Hiyori couldn’t do anything but hum in reply. Whatever funk Yukine fell into, he quickly snapped out of it to munch on the food on his plate. It was only when he brought a very familiar cheesy pastry to his lips that Hiyori whipped her head down to her own plate. There, just as gold brown as she remembered, was the ham and cheese pastry she’s desired. Yukine looked up at her when she grabbed it much too quickly and took a large bite. Feeling caught, Hiyori covered her mouth and tried to swallow faster, putting the warm treat back down.

“You looked like you really liked it yesterday,” Yukine offered, “trust me, I know that face. Cooking happens to be that guy’s one talent and he’s really good at it. The best,” Yukine spoke around his own cheesy breakfast. They munched on their treats a little longer.

“I just wish he’d let me around the oven instead of freaking out.” Yukine rolled his eyes, but smiled goodnaturedly at Hiyori’s giggles. She long since finished her slice of pastry and she noticed Yukine was just about done with his.

“Um, Yato said he finished off a batch of croissants for you. I don’t know if you know,” Hiyori said. Yukine looked up at her with a funny expression.

“Yeah, I know. It was the first thing he made for me when I went over his house. I just walked in the door and he had a pan ready like ‘you were born here so you must like these!’ It was so stupid, that was the first time I actually yelled at him. But now he thinks they’re my favorite so he keeps making them for me and I keep eating them cause, you know,” Yukine was looking at the last bite in his hands, “They’re alright but I prefer the food from here. The stuff he makes for dinner or whatever. I don’t know, the things from home are just better, I think.” Yukine finished with a huff, shoving the rest of the pasty in his mouth. Hiyori felt her smile grow and her heart warm at the thought.

“I understand. The meals my mother makes will always hold a special place in my heart.” Hiyori smiled as Yukine choked and coughed in his hand.

“Yeah, uh,” Yukine’s eyes flickered towards the kitchen and back, “so, uh, how long are you in town?” His question seemingly came out of nowhere but Hiyori didn’t mind.

“For a while. At least a month.”

“So you’re just visiting,” Yukine tried his best to make it seem like he wasn’t prying.

“Well, it’s up in the air. I only came here to visit but there’s no reason I can’t stay a while. I don’t know, I haven’t decided.” Hiyori said. It was true, which was still crazy in itself, but the answer seemed to make Yukine more uncomfortable. His eyes flickered towards the kitchen a couple more times and Hiyori couldn’t help but look. She wouldn’t be surprised if Kofuku was still behind the counter with a teasing smirk but instead Hiyori saw the counter was empty. It was understandable, breakfast and brunch was just about finished and they probably had to prepare for the lunch rush.

“Are you sure it’s okay if you stay?” Yukine hesitated, “I mean don’t you need to go back to your friends, or your boyfriend?” The last word was forced out with as much nonchalance as a teenager could muster. He glared at the kitchen then smoothed his face out to look at Hiyori.

“No, I don’t live that far away and my friends are mostly busy so I can see them anytime. As for a boyfriend, I don’t have to worry about one of those,” Hiyori said. Yukine looked back from the kitchen and smiled.

“I see, that’s good then.” Yukine put on a smile. They chatted for a little while longer before Hiyori said she should check on her brother. Standing, Yukine cleared their plates, Hiyori tried reaching for her wallet.

“It’s on the house,” Yukine said.

“Oh no, that’s okay! You gave me so much already!”

“Nah, it’s cool. They give away so much I have no idea how they stay in business. I think Kofuku’s brother is rich? But, no, don’t worry about it. Everyone saw the way you looked at that ham and cheese puff pastry slab pie,” he paused when Hiyori made a face, “don’t worry. It happens a lot. You might as well get used to it if you’re going to stay a while. Once you get over one dish he’ll just make another, and keep feeding it to you until the process repeats.” Yukine sounded so done with the ordeal and Hiyori laughed. She was already thinking of a work out routine as Yukine waved her out of the bakery.

The door jingled as it shut, alerting Yato that Hiyori finally left. Really, he should have just gone out there and talked with them. But instead he panicked and made profiteroles, hoping they would pass as an award for Yukine. There was no way he could have known Kofuku would tell the kid to talk to Hiyori, but he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to gather information about the younger Iki. Yato remembered how sweet she was to him when they first met. How she smiled and listened to him when they chatted, giving him more attention in that moment than the entire party- save for Masaomi- gave him combined. But now he had his chance with the girl who didn’t seem to mind listening to his rambling.

The kitchen door pushed open and Yato quickly jumped to the sink only to find there were no dirty dishes. He grabbed a clean plate and got it wet, rubbing it in circles with a damp rag. Yukine walked in with their plates and placed them in the sink. Yato whirled on him so fast the kid flinched back, but his wide eyes quickly narrowed.

“How did it go?” Yato questioned. Shouldering him out of the way, Yukine got to work on the dishes, glaring down at them with a red face.

“She's single,” he gritted out, “and in town for a while.”

“Ah! That’s my boy! Good work!” Yato cheered. He grabbed the kid by his shoulders and shook him, smiling wider when Yukine’s blush stretched to his neck.

“That doesn’t mean anything you know!” Yukine pushed him off, “you actually have to talk to her! You can’t just feed her and have your kid go hang out with her!”

“Of course I can! Everyone knows the quickest way to a woman’s heart is with sweets and good parenting!” Yato sang, He easily dodged his kid’s attacks and Yukine went back to drying the dishes.

“So,” Yato spoke, “what do you think?”

“What do I think? About your chances?” Yukine scoffed despite catching on to Yato’s more serious tone.

“Do you like her?” Yato asked. Yukine stopped at the question before carefully putting the dried dishes away.

“She’s really nice.” Yukine said. That was enough for Yato, he smiled at the back of his kid and thought about a brown-haired med student. The front door rang and Yato’s head snapped towards the noise. Kofuku and Daikoku went to lunch so that was his cue.

“Okay! Make sure you finish your summer work! There’s croissants for you already in the toaster-oven!” Yato said as he disappeared through the door, leaving a smiling Yukine to fiddle with the toaster.

After a month or so, Masaomi and Yato’s clients were just about finished with their preparations. By now, Hiyori was aware that Yato worked fast, and with Masaomi’s help the wedding was ready to go in about two weeks. Hiyori stood in Masaomi’s kitchen, a large cookie tray covered with raw puff pastry dough, ham, and shredded cheese. Next to the pan, taped to the counter, was an index card Kofuku used to paint the titles of pastries in the casing. One side was the fun, colorful title of the puff pastry and on the back was Yato’s neat handwriting of the recipe. He had given it to her out of the blue, smile on his face as he insisted she take it just in case.

“It’s not like it’s a secret or anything!” He had said, “and I rather you use my delicious recipe than some naviance online.” They had grinned at each other like giddy fools, Hiyori thanking him profusely and laughing at his contagious laughter. She triple checked the recipe and it’s instructions before rolling up the pastry and brushing it with her egg mixture. Her brother’s regular oven would have to do as she slipped in her creation and shut the door; Hiyori set the timer for 25 minutes and waited. Feeling accomplished, Hiyori stretched her arms above her head, letting her pajamas rise above her belly button.

“You’re up early,” Masaomi said as he walked in. Hiyori whirled around and tried not to look guilty.

“Yep. I, uh, made breakfast!” Hiyori gestured to the oven. Her brother walked towards the tiny island and looked at the index card. He swiped it before she could grab it and scanned it over with a sly smirk.

“Made breakfast for who?” Masaomi held up the card, “this handwriting looks just like my notes.” His eyes looked her up and down as the blush on her cheeks darkened. Instead of looking at him, she glared at the evidence.

“He was nice enough to give it to me since I liked it so much. I made some for us and as a thank you I’m bringing the rest over to share with everyone.” Hiyori explained. The male hummed in an unconvinced way but said nothing more, making his way to the coffee maker.

“Is that right?” Masaomi drawled, “You got up with just enough time to finish by the time they got up to make the bread. Early, early.” Hiyori ignored how her fingers twitched. He sounded just like their mother. That tone conveying he knew she started this process at seven am, not including the prep she did last night.

“A coincidence,” Hiyori insisted. She ignored her brother’s second hum and started cleaning. There was a playfully-tense silence between them as dishes clinked together. Once she was finished, Hiyori made her way towards the stairs

“By the way, Yato should be staying late with me tonight just to go over everything again. He usually stays in the room you’re using,” the grin was wide, “if you felt like sharing.”

“Masaomi!”

As much as her brother teased, Hiyori really was nervous to let him try it. She knew Yato better in the days she spent doing her work in the bakery and Yato doing his work in the Iki home. She knew the professional would only applaud her efforts and that made her feel better. But her hands still grew sweaty as she stood at Kofuku’s back door with a container of this morning’s batch of ‘Yato’s Greatly-Fantastic Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry Slab Pie.’ Sucking in a deep breath, Hiyori chose to knock instead of opening the door. She’s never been here this early and- now that she thought about it- they were probably busy. Before Hiyori could retract her decision, the door creaked open to reveal Yukine, instead of Kofuku like she was expecting.

“Hiyori,” Yukine was clearly surprised, “good morning.”

“G-good morning, Yukine,” Hiyori greeted. He moved aside and let her in. She smiled at his school uniform and he adjusted his backpack with a self conscious smile. Daikoku was hard at work with several lumps of dough, tending to the fire in the oven every now and again. He waved to her, other hand covering a yawn. Hiyori waved back before her eyes automatically looked towards Yato’s workstation.

“Oh wow!” Hiyori gasped. Yato’s table was cleared to leave room for a tall, three-tier wedding cake. The pâtissière was creating bundles of roses against smooth white frosting. Hiyori knew that the wedding was themed ‘Romantic Pink’ so the buttercream flowers Yato made were different shades of pastel blush. The top was decorated with an edible pink bow that cascaded down the first tier while the bottom layer was covered in matching swiss dots. It was simple, elegant, and absolutely lovely for a wedding.

“Hey,” Yato poked out from behind the tower, “you’re here early. Not that I’m complaining.” He put the pastry bag down and gave her his full attention. Beside her, Yukine rolled his eyes and walked over to compare the cake to a sketch on the table.

“I, uh,” Hiyori turned her eyes to the floor as he approached. She felt Daikoku looking over his shoulder and Yukine peaking over the paper, watching the two communicate as best they could. She was used to this by now, they rarely had chances alone without people eavesdropping and teasing. But she found that as they talked more and more, it was easier to shut them out and be in their own little world. Yato’s smile was welcoming and his eyes were so warm, Hiyori was able to proudly hand him her container.

“I made the ham and cheese pastries!” Hiyori said. Eyes round, Yato’s face lit up.

“You did? Really? That’s amazing!” Yato rejoiced, “Can we have some now, please?” He practically wriggled at the thought, running to get some plates before Hiyori could answer.

“Oh, Hiyori made the breakfast thing! Nice!” Daikoku flashed her a smile that Hiyori couldn't help but return, “but wait, there’s not enough.” He looked over her slices as Yato got out the plates.

“Not enough?” Hiyori quickly ran the numbers, “There’s four of you, isn’t there?”

“No, there’s five!” Yato pouted. At first, Masaomi came to mind but Hiyori quickly noticed the boys were all looking at her.

“Wha- me? Oh, no, that’s okay! I made it for you guys!”

“But that’s no fun. What’s the point of eating your cooking if we can’t all enjoy it together?” Yato said. He looked genuinely hurt that she didn’t consider herself but Hiyori really didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Still, she was touched, he wanted to eat her food with her; and flattered he considered this easy dish ‘her cooking.’

“Please don’t worry about me! I just want to know what you think,” Hiyori said to Yato. His cheeks pinked and Daikoku covered whatever gag noise almost escaped Yukine’s mouth.

“I’ll love it, no matter what you make!” Yato’s sudden declaration made everyone’s faces match the red velvet cakes in the front. Hiyori couldn’t take it.

“I-I want to know all your opinions!” Hiyori shut her eyes and winced at the strangled sound that erupted from Yato. She opened her eyes when Yukine let out a loud sigh behind her, arms crossed.

“As- entertaining- as this has been, I have to get to school. So I won’t be able to give you feedback when I eat it.” Yukine said, “I’m sorry Hiyori.” The teen gave her a look of regret. Hiyori waved her hands, giving Yukine a comforting smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Yukine! You don’t have to eat it. School is important,” Hiyori said.

“But I do want to try what you make. I promise, whatever you make next time for sure.” Yukine smiled with his hands put together. He was already expecting her to make them something again, how sweet.

“Okay, sounds good.”

“And don’t worry about what that guy says, he gets excited over junk food.” Yukine huffed, “n-not that your food will be junk, or anything.”

“Thank you,” Hiyori giggled. They ignored Yato’s cries of defense of his various tastes. Straightening his tie, Yukine made his way towards the front exit.

“Don’t leave without breakfast!” Yato insisted, “you need that brain food!” He smiled as Yukine gritted his teeth at his guardian.

“I already grabbed a croissant!”

“Take two! You’ll be hungry!” Yato’s words went without a response, but Yukine grabbed another pastry without looking back. The adults let out a sigh of amusement as the front door jingled with Yukine’s exit.

“I’ll go get the missus then,” Daikoku said, “she’s a real demon in the morning.”

“Oh you don’t have to-” Hiyori tried to say. But Daikoku was out the door leading to their upstairs apartment. The kitchen was silent and Hiyori was made aware of the sudden alone time she had with Yato. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him just yet, the tense air picking up her heart rate and warming her cheeks.

“Do you want a fork?” Yato’s voice cracked.

“Huh?” Hiyori whipped around to look at him, shaky hands putting the pastries on the plates. Yato’s cheeks were flushed and he had a hard time looking at her. Swallowing, Yato pointed in a drawer.

“Forks?” He put on a crooked smile.

“Ah yes! Forks!” Hiyori perked up, “Yes I would like a fork, please. Thank you.” An awkward smile grew on her face as well, which only brightened the hue in her own cheeks. Yato was the first to sputter, blowing out a raspberry before snickering. He tried to cover his mouth, lips pressing together, but Hiyori’s snort had him cackling. Laughter bubbled up in her throat and soon she was leaning against Yato’s shoulder and wiping away tears. They bumped into each other as they raced to the counter, playfully pushing each other out of the way as they reached for a plate of food.

“Oooo, I’m gonna try it!” Yato sang. He waved the pastry towards his mouth like an airplane, grin splitting his face.

“You don’t get to try it if you’re just going to tease me!” Hiyori tried to grab it out of his hand, only for Yato to lean away from her.

“I’m not going to tease you! It’s really yummy, see?” Yato gave it a long sniff, “Mmm yummy!” He snickered as Hiyori let out another unattractive snort and shoved him.

“I’m serious!” Hiyori resisted the urge to stomp her foot as he smirked down at her.

“So am I,” Yato said. Their laughter died down as he put some space between them. Hiyori watched him bring the treat to his lips and bite. There were a couple beats of silence as Yato chewed, Hiyori biting her own lip while he tasted. Finally, Yato let out a pleasurable moan of his own. Hiyori’s body tensed.

“It’s delicious,” Yato praised, “three different cheese? you did it perfectly. Good job.” He spoke so honestly that Hiyori couldn’t help but believe him.

“Thank you,” she replied softly. They smiled at each other for a couple moments before Yato adopted a look of bashfulness.

“So, um, Hiyori,” Yato eyed the pastry in his hand, “you know your brother did a really good job on his friend’s wedding.”

“Wait, his friend’s wedding?” Hiyori asked. Yato blinked at her like she detailed his train of thought.

“Yeah, one of the guys from that party a while ago? Masaomi had just started helping me when he called your brother with the news. I figured it was a good chance for him to start, since the guy probably won’t get too mad if he screws up.” Yato explained. He watched her mouth open and close, then hum in understanding.

“I didn’t know that,” Hiyori told him. Now that she thought of it, that was much more reasonable than what her brother had explained to her. Leave it to Masaomi to exclude important details.

“Yeah, ha-ha,” Yato watched his thumbs dance with each other, “so, um, Masaomi and I are kinda already invited to the wedding as guests. But he’s gonna go as ‘the planner’ so I’ll just be a guest and I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me? Just to, you know, see how well your brother’s work goes and all.” Listening to his words was like riding on a rollercoaster. Some parts went fast while others were slow, the volume rising and falling. Once Hiyori separated his jumbled sentences steam rose from her head. In the midst of her embarrassment, Hiyori wanted to laugh. Here she was trying to convince herself to ask Yato to her friend's wedding only for the pâtissière to beat her to it. Still, she wasn’t going down without a fight. She had to push her burning face aside and look directly at his.

“On one condition,” Hiyori began.

“Yeah?” Yato’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“Regardless of whether or not my friend asks you to plan her wedding, you have to come with me as my date.” Hiyori said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Yato took a moment to close his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing, then his face split into a wide smile.

“Are you kidding? For a second guaranteed date, I’ll plan your friend's wedding for free!” Yato laughed but Hiyori knew he was serious. Still, she laughed along with him, giddy at the fact he agreed.

“Maybe I’ll even have you help me make the food!” Yato proclaimed. Kofuku and Daikoku finally came out from their hiding spot behind the door, snickering at Hiyori who was adamantly refusing Yato’s suggestion, all while the baker teased. Both their faces just as pink as the roses on the wedding cake, or the ham in a homemade breakfast pastry.

[autoplaysdigimon]

Character Analysis: Mimi Tachikawa and Palmon

When I was a kid, I had some weird ideas about gender.

I fully bought into that “not like other girls” thing. I wasn’t interested in makeup, or clothes, or boys in the same way that the other girls seemed to be (HMMM). I didn’t like shopping, I didn’t care about being pretty, and I preferred being friends with the boys because they were doing fun things like playing Pokemon, and that’s for boys because the Pokemon toys are shelved in the boy’s toy aisle. When I was a kid, there were only two kinds of girls: those who conform to femininity entirely, and those who reject it entirely. In my mind, the spokesmodels for these two types of girls were Mimi and Sora.

This led to a whole Thing where I figured that femininity is terrible and weak and I shouldn’t strive to be like that at all. My friends, the Boys, don’t like feminine things or feminine people, and I wasn’t like that, I was cool, like them! I played Video Games and didn’t wear nail polish! I didn’t always want to gossip or go clothes shopping! In the cast of Digimon, I very much hated Mimi, and wanted to be Sora. I hated pink, I hated fashion, I hated her. 

For the longest time, I tried to get into sports. Mostly it was soccer, because that’s what they play on Digimon! (Alright, it was because that’s what Davis plays specifically. leave me alone) And it killed me that I wasn’t good at it. I didn’t understand the rules even though when I joined up they told us they’d explain the rules and they didn’t (>:[) and I wasn’t fast at running, or competitive enough to be any good. Also I was hit by the ball a lot and developed a fear of it. It ate me up for the longest time, because if I wasn’t good at sports, I must be girly, and I can’t be that, I’m not! I play the Games and everything!

It took me a long-ass time to unlearn all that gender fuckery. I embraced being girly somewhere in the teens I think, and look what happened - I’m unathletic, I like shopping (but will only barely tolerate it if it’s clothes shopping), I’m taking more of an interest in changing my appearance, sometimes I will put on A Make-up, I fucking love pink, I’m a gossipy little bitch, and I never stopped playing video games. Hell, if you’d told me as a kid that I’d end up running a blog about video games, I’d probably ask what a blog was, but I’d be proud of that. I still am.

And rewatching this series, I’ve decided that Mimi and Palmon are my favourites from this season.

Everything that irritated me about her, back then and now, is the fault of the dub writers. Every time they wanted to fill in a dramatic silence with her complaining about missing sales or chipping a nail or ruining her complexion, every time she was silly and vapid and stereotypically girly, it was unnecessary. While the others were trying to find shelter or food, she’d say something that implied that her priorities were about her appearance, not survival. The dub writing really did her a disservice, and that’s a real shame because she’s such an interesting character. There are also a few times where Mimi or Palmon are the butt of an undignified joke, and it’s pretty cool. Not every feminine character gets that!

Was she really representative of Sincerity, or should they have left her as being Purity, like in the original? I think Purity as a concept is very different outside of Japan, so they were probably not going to be able to leave it the way it was. She seemd to be sincere in the same way that Applejack is about Honesty, in that she just has a hard time lying. Is she sincere in a positive way? Eh, sure, she’s good at apologies.

I like seeing characters who exist on a spectrum, instead of being written as a list of aspects. Mimi’s was always about her selfishness and self-preservation instincts against her opposing desire to see everyone safe and happy. She never really wants to fight, hence her splitting from the group in the last arc. Typically, her complaints that aren’t about surface-level things are about why it has to be them, why her. She doesn’t want to be saving the world, she’d just much rather have the world not need saving in the first place. In a way, you could say that her complaints about how much her feet hurt and how she was going to mess up her hair are what she chooses to focus on, rather than air out her real concerns. Plus, she does grow up at least a little during her time in the Digital World.

But occasionally, she’s a girl of Action. When she really needs to, she can be a badass, and that’s everything every girl needs to see. Stereotypically feminine and not put at odds with her competence!

(And let’s be real here for a second, if I was a Digidestined kid, I would ABSOLUTELY be Mimi. I’d complain about getting dirty, about hunger, the heat, having to fight, just the same as her. Hell, she was my avatar for the longest time because I almost physically resemble her!)

(Also because, when that shot came up, I was also playing with my hair in the exact same way. It’s a sign!)

Her relationship with Palmon is interesting. In the first episode, when the In-Training Digimon fail to take down Kuwagamon as they are, all of the Digimon are physically struggling against their partners to get back to the fight except Tanemon, and Mimi merely asks her if she feels the same as the others. Does this speak to Palmon sharing Mimi’s preference for non-violence, or did she pick up on this trait of Mimi’s this early on? In the second episode, Palmon asks...

...which, okay that’s a pretty obvious trait of Mimi’s, let’s be fair. But it does show that Palmon has been analysing Mimi at least a little.

Palmon was very often on the same wavelength as Mimi. She cried when Mimi cried. When Mimi was upset at something, no matter how small, Palmon at least looked to be sad as well, possibly just out of wanting Mimi to not be sad. The biggest rift between them was in the Princess Karaoke episode, where Palmon’s eventual disapproval of how Mimi was acting was the final straw in convincing Mimi that she was in the wrong. It took Palmon a long time to figure out that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t the good guys in this situation. The Japanese version has a throughline where Palmon tells Mimi that she hates her, tells her again in her dream, and then tells her that she loves her at the end of the episode, which is exactly what Mimi needed to hear every time. (The dub doesn’t have this, but it does have Palmon telling Mimi that she’s a spoiled brat instead, which is still pretty heckin’ harsh.)

It could have been any of the pairs in the situation of the final episode, where one doesn’t want to say goodbye so they run away, deciding to just never see them again. It could have been Kari and Gatomon, not wanting to say goodbye so soon after meeting for the first time. It could have been TK and Patamon, because they’re the Young Ones who don’t know how to face their emotions yet. It could have been Tai and Agumon, because shows like this like to have the important events happen to the front-line main characters. But it wasn’t any of them, it was Palmon who couldn’t face saying goodbye, and Mimi who nearly didn’t get a proper sendoff for closure.

Palmon and Mimi’s relationship was shown to be very strong, very trusting. For Palmon’s words to be the point where Mimi realised that she was being selfish, she must have valued Palmon’s opinion of her a lot more than she realised. She was happy enough for Joe, Tai and their partners to think that she was selfish, but Palmon was where she drew the line and snapped out of it. The fact that Mimi was inconsolable in the final episode when she (nearly) didn’t get to say goodbye just shows this further.

I think my favourite thing about Palmon is that she Digivolves into Togemon. She’s this cute little flower girl, and then she’s a fucking huge cactus who’s ready to throw down in every way imaginable and will punch a dude in the face. Also dumb plant jokes. And she’s a little bit dumb of ass, but that’s okay.

I don’t know, I just like them both. They’re also #aesthetic goals, if I’m honest. Palmon’s an adorable little fucker, I had to restrain myself from posting every Palmon face I thought was cute. I’d go ahead and say that she’s in my top 5 favourite Digimon. While Mimi’s voice acting was pretty good, Palmon’s was fantastic, and I could listen to her talk all day. She had random voice cracking moments and that one time she laughed I physically made squeeing noises. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she is PRECIOUS.

Plus, Palmon wearing Mimi’s hat? ADORABLE. I like to think that, after the hat fell off the tram at the end, Palmon found it and kept it.

The last thing I want to say about Palmon is that is her name derived from Palm, like palm trees? Should it be pronounced that way???? They don’t in the dub, but they alsy like to pronounce “Dramon” very wrong, so maybe we shouldn’t take their word for it. Maybe it’s correct anyway, because she is, indeed, a pal.

TL;DR GIRLS GOOD