#I’ve had way too many relationships where the guy straight up vanished on me and it’s given me the worst abandonment issues

[fscottcatsgerald]

my work bestie and I were supposed to hang out Friday night and I snapped her half an hour beforehand to confirm time/location; she never responded and Snapchat is still showing my messages as unopened 30 hours later. insta however says she’s been active today

I’m stuck between worrying that something has happened to her or that she’s mad at me or something 🫠

[bbidstories]

Our Love

I remember.

Our love. It was addicting.

I remember when we used to walk down the street and everybody would stare at us, thinking we were a dysfunctional pair. And maybe they were right, but you stole my heart the first night I saw you. It was the way you glowed underneath the lights at the party, the way you grabbed everyone’s attention, and the way you let everyone feel so much energy when they were with you, as if you brought the life into them, that made me fall for you.

It was my friend who pressured me to walk up to you. Him and so many others. With all that support how could I say no?

You greeted yourself to me while you laid yourself out on the table, you stared straight into my eyes and I knew you would be the one for me.

The entire night we got to talking. Normally I’m shy but with you around I felt so open, I talked all night long, and you listened to everything I had to say. My heart raced so fast with you around it felt like it was going to explode out of pure ecstasy. With you I’ve felt things I’ve never felt before, with you I’ve seen colors I’ve never seen before, with you my heart pounded so loud I swear it was the beat people were dancing to.

I loved every second of it.

As the night continued, I wanted more of you but when I came back from the bathroom you had disappeared on me. No one knew where you went, you had vanished, and I thought I would never get to see you again. We only spent a small time with each other but I wanted more of you, your charm, your excitement, the way your skin was white but could change colors underneath the neon lights like a chameleon was something I found beautiful. It’s something I was in awe of.

You left my heart open, and my mind scattered.

Our love was unreachable.

When I went back to work the morning after; it felt as if life had numbed. Everything became bland, my gray desk-job became even grayer, which I didn’t know was even possible.

My head twirled around with such rainbow-like colors of thoughts about you that it began leaving me in a trance of future possibilities that prevented me from even typing on my keyboard. My co-workers always said that I became like this whenever something grabbed a hold of my heart.

Last time I was like this it was because of my ex. Her name was Jane; brown hair and green eyes. We met on a business trip, a two day long conference that was to be taken place in San Diego, California. And since me and Jane were the new hires we were forced to go. Thinking back, it wasn’t too awful. The beginning was amazing, so much of each other to learn and explore, but months gone by and the relationship just felt rocky. We just couldn’t connect all too right, and it’s a shame Jane and I didn’t see it soon enough. One of us took it harder than the other.

The office spread quickly of my new mysterious love, and Jane had heard. But she must not have cared. She never spoke to me anymore, didn’t even bother to look in my direction, the only thing she ever expressed to me were tears.

I was always the quietest at the office, I did my work in the corner of the room and I didn’t bother with the peeves around me. I think that’s what Jane liked most about me. I was always kind and tender and quiet.

I wonder if she misses me.

Our love was reunited.

That night I had dressed up for you. Someone had told me you would be at the party again and I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited. Just the thought of you, my heart began to race.

It was the type of party that I didn’t expect you to be at, a big house with lots of older people. My friend invited me, the same one that introduced us; he got us into the party because he said that he knew a guy, that knew a guy, that knew a guy. The owner of the estate was rich, too busy to greet the guests; I followed my friend around as he chatted with everybody else. I had nothing to say.

To be honest, I was getting anxious, waiting for us to meet again. As I stood outside the circle of conversations I glanced around to find you, but you were nowhere to be seen. Seeing it now, you always were good at hiding.

I wandered around the mansion getting lost in hidden rooms and long hallways until I found you in the study room with the owner of the mansion. A tall older man with a white mustache the crept into his nose. You two were chatting and it seemed like you two had known each other for a long time. The owner looked at me with a blank stare and asked if I had met you before. I said that we’ve met. He offered me a seat.

I didn’t bother with the owner, I was focused on you. You didn’t like the sun, you much preferred the night. I don’t blame you, I did too. You also prefer energetic events, the kind that made your heart race and your mind numb, to the point you lost control of your conscious, to the point you became your true self; hatched from the cocoon of your own body. That was something you believed in, and you made me believe in it too. That we all have this little sporadic-jolt of craziness inside us that is trapped inside our bodies begging to be set free. And all you wanted to do was help those who were trapped.

The entire night went on without me even knowing the sun had come up and set back down it was incredible how fast time had gone by the party it felt like it never ended that it didn’t want to end the beat of the heart kept beating and the partygoers kept on pumping; me and the owner and you all became friends I didn’t expect it either but here we were I wish he would leave me and you alone for a minute so we could catch up but he grew attached to me like some gay-lover but it was his house so I just kept a straight head but when he finally had to go to wave the guest goodbye we finally were alone and I let out a laugh that never seemed to end. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before. I told you I loved you and when I closed my eyes and opened them again, you were gone—

Our love was special.

I was never a believer at ‘love at first sight.’ But something about you changed my mind, and with you and I finally together it felt like a never ending adrenalin rush straight through the heart.

When you disappeared that night at the mansion, the owner gave me your number so that way you and I could meet again. I was told to wait a couple days to contact you. But I couldn’t help myself, I ended up calling you the very next night. I needed to see you. Your complexion, your energy, your love.

I picked you up in my yellow Volkswagen Beetle. It was a gift from my parents, the car would be the last thing I would ever pick, but I had gotten a new job and the starting pay wasn’t good and my old car got in a bad accident, and it’s been a couple years now and even though it’s an eye sore I can’t help myself but to keep it until it gives up.

People were staring at us, everywhere we went. We got queer eyes and judgmental eyes and eyes that looked the other way. It was mostly because of me though, the way you made me laugh out loud and even talk to strangers. Or maybe it was the both of us together that made them feel uneasy. I guess society didn’t appreciate our sort of relationship. But I didn’t care. Honestly! The way you made me feel so open had people’s eyes constantly leer at us as if we were distracting them from their boring lives. If only you could show them how fun it is to be this alive.   

And after a few nights together I can confidently say; I don’t need anyone else in my life. Not a single living soul. You, you, is all I need. Is all I ever need.

Our love will never be broken.

My parent’s, people, coworkers, even Jane have told me I’ve changed.

I know it’s for the better. They all tell me I’ve broken out of my shell, that I’m more talkative, that my energy has increased. They tell me my face brightens the room when I walk in, they can see my smile for miles. They want me around because I bring such good energy now.

It’s crazy to think how much of a shut-in I was before. Just thinking about it gives me such unwelcoming thoughts. Like daggers piercing through my thoughts so violently that it makes me wish I couldn’t produce memories to begin with.

Jane doesn’t like it. But that’s okay, I’m not going to let her get between us so there’s nothing to worry about from her. She was always the clingy type, the type to never let go even when I went to the grocery store. And she was always intruding on my personal life. She would somehow get into my apartment with a key I never gave her, always asking where I was going and who I was going to be with.

I’m much happier with you around.

They tell me what made me change.

I tell them not a what, but a who.

They tell me they’d like to meet you.

But I think they have the wrong idea. I don’t want them to meet you. I want you all to myself. After all, we were made for each other.

I swear, with you in my life it feels like nothing bad will ever happen.

Our love to others is complicated.

I haven’t slept right in a few days, but I think no one can notice. I haven’t been eating right either. But I can’t help it. You’ve been gone for only a couple of days now and it feels like my brain is going to explode without you. It’s only for a couple of days, you’ll be back, but it feels like it’s been years.

Today at the office everyone is getting on my nerves. The click-clacks on everyone’s keyboards are sounding like explosions from a war, and I’m forced to take cover with my head down at my desk with my hands over my ears. But that doesn’t help, I can hear my blood pumping through my ears as if someone was beating their drums right inside me.

I began thumping my knee against the bottom of my desk without pause. A habit that sprung up while you were away. I don’t know why or how it started, suppose I’m just anxious to see you again. Maybe I’m just worried about you being away for so long.

I go to the bathroom when I catch myself biting my nails to nubs.

In the bathroom I find myself shaking but it wasn’t cold at all. And it feels like I have needles poking inside my brain.

One of my coworkers comes in. He’s tall with not much meat on him. He reminds me of a scarecrow.

He tells me he knows what’s been going on.

I shake my head.

He says he knows you. That you’re nothing but trouble.

He’s lying.

He says I should stay away from you.

He’s jealous.

He tells me to get help.

I tell him to go to hell.

He tells me I’ve changed.

I tell him for the better.

He tells me it’s not real love.

I punch him in the face. I get on top of him and start wailing on him like some high schooler that never learned how to fight.

His blood stained my shirt and pants. He breathed slowly, calmly, like he was in a land of dreams. It’s like he didn’t even bother to fight back.

Someone else came in. She said she heard yelling and shouting, and what she saw she couldn’t believe. She saw the blood on my shirt and the bruised coworker on the floor with me on top exhaling like some wild animal.

She cried those tears I’m all too familiar with. She told me I’ve changed.

Our love was changing.

We got an apartment together. I was having trouble finding a new job. But you understood, and you kept by me. This new place is different than my last one. This apartment was so old that it looked like it needed help standing up straight. The rooms were not the best either, there were cracks and chips of paint falling right off, there was the occasional six legged creature scurrying along the floor, and the neighborhood wasn’t great either. I was only able to get this place because of a friend. Once I told him I needed help finding a place he was grateful to lend me a hand. Once we met up he told me I looked different. I told him I get that a lot. The rooms were small, the bedroom was the smallest, but we spent most of the nights on the torn up couch in front of the T.V that we didn’t have. The fan above us never worked either, no matter how many times I tried to fiddle the damn thing I never got it to spin. Moving in this apartment complex was the biggest change for me; it didn’t feel like home, more like a shelter that they put the drug addicts in. But you didn’t mind, and every day you helped me get adjusted to this new type of living. You moved around a lot so you’ve never been able to spend time in one spot to even call home, and admittedly I felt ashamed for this to be called your first one. But this was all temporary. We both knew this. This was just a hurdle for us. To test our relationship. And we made it clear to each other that nothing was going to break our love.

 With you around now, it feels like I need more and more of you just to feel something. At first I thought it was because I was losing interest in you, but then I realized this was just another hurdle in our relationship. Trust me. I will always love you, as long as you’re there for me, I’ll be there for you, and maybe somewhere in the future, there will be you and me and a place we can finally call home. A heaven for me and you. And you can be my angel.

Our love was being tested.

No job. The rent is behind. The cracks are starting to leak. The couch has stains on it and is decaying faster than the days that go by. There’s holes and tears caused mostly by me. I can’t help it though because every time you’re away from me I feel like there’s bugs nibbling on my skin and I start clawing at the cushions to make the shaking go away.

I looked in the mirror in the bathroom for the first time. It told me I’ve changed.

My body feels as if it’s eating itself, searching for some kind of nourishment. I feel sick all the time now with no sense of smell to even wake me up when I’ve vomited next to my head on the couch. I feel like death. A walking humanoid of it. I can’t think straight—I heard something out my window. I crack the curtains a little bit, and I feel the sunshine burn my skin. It was nothing, but I find myself checking out the window every three minutes.

But despite all this, you’re still with me. You’re still here to hold me together despite my shattered pieces lying all over the floor. You keep me sane. You keep me going. It’s you that keeps me so alive—hold on, I think I heard something out the window.

Our love.

There’s knocking on the door. Not the type of knocking that shouts authority, but a gentler knocking. A caring knocking. Like a mother knocking on the door to her child’s room when she knows them to be still asleep.

The knocking has been there for a whole hour now. It won’t go away until I open it.

You tell me that I shouldn’t open it. That they’ll eventually leave. But I know this type of knocking, and I know this type of persistence. I hide you in the couch, deep into the cushions where I know no one will find you, I grab string and a needle and lazily sew in the hole.

I open the door and there she stood.

She cried. Like she always did. Like she always does. She told me to come back.

I told her she has the wrong address.

She told me to get help.

I told her the last tenet doesn’t live here anymore.

She told me that she’ll help me.

I told her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

She told me to get help before it’s too late.

I told her I have to go.

She told me to come back.

I close the door and when I turn around you weren’t there. I check the bedroom and the bathroom and the kitchen and the living room and the bedroom and the bathroom and the kitchen and the living room and the bedroom and the bathroom and the kitchen and the living room. But you weren’t there. Where did you go? Why did you leave all of a sudden? You didn’t tell me you were leaving so soon. I check the bedroom and the bathroom and the kitchen and the living room

I feel the bugs crawls along my skin, and I try to shake them off. I reach for my phone and quickly dial your number.

What is it?

I need you.

Already? Didn’t I just see you?

Please come back!

Fine. I’ll come back.

That night, we spent so much time together. And I finally felt the nirvana the first time we met. It felt as if the peace of the world had come back to caress the side of my face. Being with you was all I needed. Lying on the floor with you, looking at your pale-snow-white skin, was all I ever needed.

Our love. It’s confusing me.

Everyday I need you. When I’m off my high of being away from you, I need you again. It feels like I can’t be away from you and it’s been so long since I’ve felt any other way.

Since I’ve been . . . myself.

Unshaven. I’m so cold now, I don’t have any body fat left. My sense of smell is gone. Under my eyes are the colors of perfectly picked plums.

My head is scrambled, a gigantic knot that doesn’t even have an end to start to untangle it. This feeling of jumbling commotions of spiraling thoughts-emotions so intertwined I don’t know what to feel or how to. With or without you. I need you. I don’t need you. I love you. I hate you. I want more of you. I can’t have anymore of you. You were the one to change me. I never wanted to change. I felt love. I grew hate. I want you forever and ever. Leave me alone! Where are you? I need you. I never want to see you again, please, leave me alone. I need you. I want my momma. I need you to be by me. I want to lie in my old bed like a kid again. I want you to express me. I want to go home. I want to feel the rush again, like we used to. I want to go to sleep. You’re my angel. You’re the devil. You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

But maybe.

Maybe just one more time?

Maybe . . . maybe just one more time.

Our love is fading.

My heart stopped and my eyes froze upward.

And it was the most peace I’ve ever felt. I want to be like this forever, lying on the floor watching the ceiling fan that never moved, move around and around like a merry-go-round. I even hear the music to it too, somewhere so faint that it echoed down the street.

I felt hands grasp around my fingers. Rain fell too. It felt nice streaming down the side of my palm, despite it feeling so hot. I can’t remember the last time it rained like this.

I can’t remember being so free. Like a butterfly that hatched out of it’s cocoon.

I can’t remember life being so bright and so dark around the edges.

You left my heart broken, and my mind shattered.

Our love is gone. 

This isn’t for you, but, I’m doing better now. Thank you for caring. I appreciate the support. The flowers and cards, and the meet-and-greets while I was in the hospital bed recovering.

I appreciate the constant watch and love.

Now this is for you; I got my job back, and I moved back with my parent’s. They watch over me, as if I was a kid again. But I’m okay with it, I don’t mind being a kid for a couple more weeks.

I apologized to everyone. They said I didn’t have to. But I did. I felt like I had to. They said it wasn’t my fault. But it was. They asked if I’m doing okay. I said I’m fine now.

They tell me I’ve changed.

The medications I take make me drowsy which leads me to a type of sleep that when I wake up from I feel a type of restless that I’ve never felt before. It feels inorganic, as if my sleep had been made in a lab.

They said to tell the truth during the meetings. People like to talk about themselves a lot, making them look like the victim as if it was planned to be. But they need to take responsibility, they need to accept the fact that they themselves are to blame. Not their lover. But, I suppose I do the same.

So here’s the truth. I miss you. I do. I get cravings of you every single morning and every single night. I want you back but I know I can’t have you again, and you’ve been gone for so long I doubt you would recognize me now. But there’s that chance I will see you again, and honestly, that’s what makes me get out of bed every morning. The idea of bumping into you on the street or to see you in the alley keeps me alive.

But it’s been a long time now. Perhaps I should move on. The movers are dropping off the couch from the apartment. No one wanted it and I don’t blame them it looks hideous.

I’ve been cleaning it for the past three hours now, and it still has a long way to go until it’s presentable for a yard sale. It still feels the same, uncomfortable and it sinks in on the right cushion. I notice there’s a lazily sewed in spot on the couch cushion. I should fix that too.

And as I pull the string apart to reopen the wound; I come across a distant memory that there was something between you and I.

I remember.

Our love, is addicting.

[shingia]

can i req suna,, akaashi and iwa (and anyone else u want!!) getting jelly abt the s/o hanging out with another guy and being touchy (like the playful smacking or smth) without knowing the guy was their brother? angst to fluff bc i want the ✨ pain ✨ if u dont wanna its fine too,,

thanks bby,, love ur works so much! stay safe and healthy 😫💗

✗ HQ BOYS GETTING JEALOUS OF A GUY WITHOUT KNOWING HE’S YOUR BROTHER ✗

me receiving a request : 🥰 the request including suna :🤩 tysmm bby stay safe and healthy tooo <3

-> suna, iwaizumi, akaashi

-> angst to fluff

-> reblogs help a lot <33

— SUNA

• he hadn’t asked many questions when you told him you couldn’t come over to his house in the afternoon. but now, as he was replaying your snapchat story for the sixth time, he really wished he did

• maybe if he had insisted on coming with you, you wouldn’t have let this guy - that he had never seen, for the record - act so touchy with you

• was it his fault for not making you feel special enough ? to the point that you preferred the company of other men rather than your own boyfriend’s ?

• just the thought of this was enough to make a few of his usually well-hidden insecurities bubble up - most of them due to what his friends always joked about « suna doesn’t care enough to be in a relationship, they’ll all run away after a week ! »

• so yes, suna was hurt, but you didn’t have to see that. your opinion on him was the only one he cared about, he didn’t want to tarnish it. well... your opinion and his little sister’s, who burst into his room as he was about to watch your story for the seventh time to tell him that « someone’s at the door ! »

• not feeling like getting out of bed, it took him a few minutes to drag his feet to the door before finally opening it. and of all the people he could have expected to see, you were the last of them

• « surprise ? » you smiled as you let yourself in, not noticing the surprised look on his face as you greeted him with a tight hug. « i felt bad for cancelling our afternoon together, so i asked my brother to drop me off »

• you weren’t even done talking that suna had already recognized the man in the car that was leaving his driveway. his embrace immediately softened, and a smile crept on his face as he felt all his doubts vanish in a second

• « nuh-uh, don’t take your jacket off beautiful, i’m taking you out », he told you, determined to spoil you in the way he regretted not doing sooner

• at his words, his sister almost magically appeared next to you, coat in hand and ready to go. « you weren’t planning on leaving without me, right ? » she flashed you a toothless grin, grabbing both your hand and his to drag you two outside

• suna shared a deadpanned look with you, « of course not... » you both said in unison as she was already leading the way to her favorite ice cream shop

— IWAIZUMI

• iwa’s trust in you was infinite. but something about the way this guy had his arm playfully wrapped around your shoulders didn’t sit right with him

• his practice had ran late and he was exhausted. but he had promised you he would pop over to the birthday party of your childhood best friend, knowing how much it mattered to you

• but your behavior looked an awful lot like an attempt at making him jealous... and it was working

• was it your way of letting him know that you two weren’t working anymore ? were you just too much of a coward to be clear about it ? he hated to think about you that way. and most of all, he cared about you too much to not step in

• « ok now you got my attention » he told you after pulling you to the side. « if you want to tell me something, go ahead, i’m listening »

• still trapped in the euphoria of the moment, you didn’t really understand how upset he was. but maybe it was for the best, because it allowed you to defuse the tension lightheartedly : « i can’t believe i forgot to introduce you ! » you let out as you dragged him back to where your brother was still standing

• his jaw still clenched, iwa couldn’t even bring himself to shake this stranger’s hand, as friendly as he looked. at least not until you spoke your next words : « he was actually telling me how excited he was to finally met his future brother-in-law ! »

• iwa’s lips slightly parted in confusion, you could almost hear the cogs turning in his head over the music. brother? well that explained a lot of things

• « h-hi, sorry i was... miles away » he apologized before finally shaking the hand your brother was holding out to him

• but once the surprise had passed, another word stuck with him : brother-in-law ? as in « my sibling speaks so highly of you that i’m willing to let you put a ring on their finger even though i have never met you yet » ?

• well, it was good to know that your brother agreed with the plans he’d had for you since day 1...

— AKAASHI

• it was not unusual for akaashi to think that maybe he was not good enough for you. but being actually jealous was a first for him

• he had promised himself to never be too overprotective of you. but the facts were here : it was 3am and the only thing keeping him up was this unknown feeling of pure jealousy

• if he had not been in such a hurry when he witnessed your lighthearted banter and playful fighting with this man in the afternoon, he would’ve come up to you. introduced himself. maybe asked a few questions. if

• suspecting that this unpleasant feeling would not go away unless he talked to you about it, akaashi found himself dialling your number in the middle of the night

• used to his thoughts polluting his mind at unpredictable hours of the day and the night, your ringer was always on. which is why you picked up after only two rings

• « hi angel, i’m sorry to wake you up, i just... » he started, the clarity of his tone letting you know that he had not slept a wink. feeling his hesitation, you were quick to reassure him « it’s ok keiji. what’s going on ? »

• « who were you with ? i mean- this afternoon ? i don’t think i’ve ever met that guy and i was just wondering if... maybe i should ? »

• sitting up straight on your bed, you felt a weight being lifted off your shoulders. if this was the only thing keeping him awake, he should be able to fall asleep in the following minutes. « i was with my brother. but i understand why you were confused, it’s a normal reaction so please don’t blame yourself for that, alright baby ? »

• the gasp you heard on the other end of the line made you chuckle. akaashi’s voice was much less tensed now : « well in that case, yeah i should probably meet him... if you’re ok with that »

• « i’m more than ok with that » you smiled, placing your phone down on your pillow « wanna stay on the phone for a bit ? »

• « that’d be nice », his voice sounded sleepy already, especially above the familiar sound of his covers being pulled up to his chin

— ATSUMU

• how could he put that in words ? he didn’t even know if he was allowed to be jealous because he knew how often you had to see him deal with his many fangirls

• and that was actually what bugged him the most : that he might have already made you feel as shitty as he was feeling now

• but atsumu wasn’t the type to sit down and seriously open up about his feelings. besides, it was much easier to look like a needy boyfriend rather than a vulnerable one

• so he resorted to what he was best at : physical touch as a way to get your attention

• sneaking up behind you, he didn’t give you any warning before wrapping both his arms around your waist and pressing his chest on your back so much that you almost had to bend over

• he really hoped you would be perceptive enough to understand that he wasn’t just being clingy, but in need of a lot of reassurance. and luckily, it was quick to come :

• « tsumu, let me introduce you my brother » you chuckled, understanding how and why he had been mistaken

• one hand still on your waist, he used the other to greet your brother. atsumu did not really seem fazed by the news. of course he was relieved to know that he had nothing to worry about, but this little experience had still been very eye-opening to him

• after your brother had left to give you two some privacy, tsumu’s grip on your waist tightened, but in a softer way

• « ‘m sorry if i ever made ya cry » he let out, completely out of the blue. you didn’t really understand the meaning of this, but it didn’t matter. your hand found its way to his cheek that you brushed lightly with one finger, admiring the how it was slowly turning red. « being jealous sucks... » he added.

• « it does », you approved, giving him a quick peck on the nose. « but there’s nothing and no one that you should worry about, i promise »

• a fond smile lit up his face. you looked sincere, and he really needed to hear that right now. quick as ever, his hands left your waist to come and rest on your cheeks. both holding each other’s faces, you stared at the other for a few seconds, wondering which one of you would give in to a kiss first

TAGLIST : @toworuu @catwithangerissues @miyumiya @livy384 @k0u-minamo2 @fullsundear @hsjvwq @kelsuuki @hiraeth-z @velvetvirgos @kirishimas-manly-eyeliner @47meow @japanesevenom @geektastic84 @noir-blanches-blog @idontlikeyourjob @seiri-ami @atiny-grl-with-luv @admiringlove @nachotrash @kellesvt @aintyourholy @Moonlaeli @catchmewiddershins @duhsies @devilgirlcrybabiey @crystal-lilac @ijustwantfreenetflix @mimaki @maitenight

[elareine]

ooh if you're still taking prompts & feeling up to it, it'd be fun to see jaytim where Tim wrongly assumes that Jason is the hypersexual bad boy type. he's got the vibe! his banter sounds exactly like flirting!! Meanwhile Jason's had little to no romantic experience and is pretty sure if anyone's the bad boy here it's Tim, who's been in plenty of well-publicized relationships. As their relationship moves in a romantic direction, they are both *very* confused.

Very fun, indeed! Hope you don’t mind that some RoyDick crept on here...

When Tim first came to Dick for advice, he was honored. He tries to remember that feeling. 

“—he’s like, a total bad boy, right?” Tim asks in a line that Dick cannot believe he’s hearing in real life. What does “bad boy” even mean? Jason is a literature nerd who sometimes kills people. 

“Right,” is what he says out loud. 

“And he always flirts with everyone! How am I supposed to know if it’s special for me?” Tim’s pacing up and down the cave. 

Dick has never seen Jason being particularly flirty, but, again, he’s trying to be supportive here. “Maybe you need to look at other things.” 

“Like what?” 

“His actions. Does he do anything to show you that he cares?” 

Tim stops. “He did bring me food that one time.” 

Yes. Dick knows. Tim didn’t shut up about it for five whole days. “Yes,” he says encouragingly. “And doesn’t he make you tea, too?” 

“Every night.” There’s a small smile on Tim’s face. “’Cause I get cold.” 

“See. The best I get is a snide comment about dress code,” Dick chuckles. “He cares about you, and in a different way than about the rest of us.”  

“Okay.” Tim takes a deep breath. “Okay. I’m gonna ask him out.” 

Atta, boy. 

—

Roy loves his best friend. He does. However: “Please tell me what’s making you so nervous, or I will be forced to stab you.” 

Jason throws him a look of pure exasperation. “Isn’t it obvious?” 

“Nope. You’ve been crushing on Tim for months.” It’s so cute how his Jaybird blushes at that simple statement of fact. “And now you’re going on a date with him. What’s the problem?” 

“All of it.” Jason throws up his hands. “According to media reports, he’s had at least four girlfriends—not to mention the rumors about that Kent boy—“ 

“According to media reports, Dick is straight,” Roy mutters. 

Jason ignores him to wail: “—and they’re all gorgeous.” 

“So are you,” Roy points out loyally. “And anyway, he asked you out, right? So he must want to be there with you.” 

“You think so?” The hope in Jason’s eyes hurt just a little bit to see. Man, his friend really had it bad. Roy could feel his anger vanish. 

“Yeah, Jaybird. It’ll be just fine, you’ll see.” 

—

“So how many dates have they now been on, exactly?” 

Dick grunts. “Seventeen and a half.” At Roy’s glance, he adds: “Tim says that one dinner doesn’t count because it was interrupted by ninjas.” 

“Seventeen and a half dates,” Roy repeats, “and they still think the other isn’t that into them?” 

Dick sighs and nuzzles against Roy’s shoulder. So far, they’ve done their best to keep those two disasters out of their bedroom (loyalty and all that), but… desperate times… “Tim thinks Jason is some kind of smooth bad boy who would totally whisk him away to his den of sin if he was actually into him.” 

“Smooth.” Roy sounds disgusted. “That man wouldn’t know smooth if he was on ice.” 

“Says the man who asked me out with a ‘what about it, birdie?’” 

“See, you say that, but you’re still in my bed, so… who won, here?” Roy drops a kiss into his hair. “Anyway. If it’s any help, Jaybird is convinced that Tim is the one with all the romantic experience, so…” 

“Nah, 90% of that is fake,” Dick mumbles absently. Then he sits up. “Wait. Are you saying this is Jason’s first relationship, too?” 

Roy abruptly feels a little bit bad for ratting his friend out like that. On the other hand, he’d really like not to listen to soliloquies about Tim’s eyes anymore. “Oh, yeah. I’ve never seen him so gone on someone before.” He pauses. “Too?” 

“Yeah, Tim has no idea what he’s doing.” Dick groans. “This is never gonna resolve, is it?” 

“Maybe work something like ‘Jay is totally a shy dork who acts tough, so you should kiss him’ into your next conversation,” Roy suggests.

In response, Dick looks more thoughtful than the suggestion really deserves. “You know… I think Tim knows that about Jason. All he ever gushes about is how smart Jason is and how thoughtful and awkward and—well, Tim thinks he’s hot, too, but. He doesn’t have any illusions, I think.” 

“Oh, good, cause Jay thinks Tim is like, the best guy to ever live, which, you know, he’s clearly wrong—“Roy gives Dick a significant look and is rewarded by a slight blush. “—and also he keeps on going on about how funny and nerdy he is. So.” 

Dick groans. “God, they’re cute.” 

As if on cue, Dick’s phone buzzes. He glances over, just to see it’s from Tim. Oh, speaking of the devil. 

“Let me check—“Just as Dick reaches out to check the content, Roy’s phone starts ringing up a storm. 

The redhead mouths “Jay” as he takes the call and puts it on speaker. 

“Roy,” Jason says, “I think I fucked up.” 

With a feeling of dread, Dick checks the text. 

HELP I kissed him and he ran

Oh, goddammit.

(I’m taking prompts until the end of the year.)

[youalexturnermeon]

Chasing the Past Pt. 2 (Johnny Lawrence x Reader)

Click for Part 1 

Request by Anon: Could I please get a Johnny Lawrence imagine where he and the reader (who is daniels sister) are secretly dating. Maybe like an old flame back in the 80s and now they reconnected?

A/N: In the first part (Y/N), Daniel LaRusso’s sister,  came back to LA after five years of being away. She reconnects with Johnny and wakes up in his apartment after getting drunk at a party. In this part (Y/N) and Johnny have to face Daniel and his rage hahaha

Warnings: swearing(!!!), mentions of alcohol, angst, fluff and maybe a little bit of slight smut

Wordcount: 2473

Johnny’s face is almost doubled right in front you, but you see it as a good thing, twice as much of Johnny is great. Four bright blue eyes are much better than just two. But then there are two again. He has you close to him, his strong hands resting on your hips, slowly making their way further down to your ass and he is twirling you around. You dance. “I missed you, Johnny” you slur and cup his beautiful face, on it the dirtiest grin you have ever seen. He doesn’t answer, just squeezes your ass and suddenly kisses you. Almost too much tongue, red lipstick on his face, sloppy kisses on the neck and the jaw. You are melting under his touch.

Blurry way though the dark, you are laughing, Johnny and you still dancing together through the night. In his hand a bagged bottle, you don’t care what’s inside as you take a sip. You stop for a heated make-out session, he presses your back hardly against the wall of an apartment complex and his hands are already making their way under your sweatshirt. The bottle slips out of his hands and breaks on the ground. “God, I’ve been thinking about doing this for five years!” Johnny grunts and almost violently kisses you. “Get a fucking room!” someone shouts angrily in the distance “Get away from here, you fucking pervs!”

White sheets, clothes everywhere, naked bodies, Johnny’s hands all over you, moans. You are enjoying yourself. Johnny’s messy blonde hair.

____

“Fuck”, you said again, almost in disbelief but this time you were smiling. Out of the sudden, Johnny moved. Your heart started beating, you didn’t know if you were ready for any conversation. You didn’t even know if Johnny would regret this or not. You most certainly didn’t, you just wished to remember a little bit more of the steamy night.

“Good morning, princess”, he whispered, voice all raspy and sleepy, he yawned and stroked your hair, “Did you sleep well?”

“I feel like shit” you admitted and sat up, dragging the covers over your bare chest, which immediately stressed how your head was still heavy and spinning. You almost wished you didn’t sit up in the first place, you wanted to lay on Johnny’s chest again. But you didn’t and just stared at him. God, he was still so beautiful. You then signed over to his naked torso, “Did we…?” You still had to reassure yourself that this amazing night actually happened.

“Oh yeah” Johnny answered proudly and sat up too. You were surprised when the first thing he did was kissing you. This Johnny you didn’t know, you caught glimpses of him, but he never fully showed himself. Then he got out of bed, put on some clothes and turned to you.

“I’ll get you an Aspirin and then I will make you breakfast”

“What is it with you Johnny?” you asked, completely perplexed, “You never made me breakfast, you never cared the next morning” Johnny shrugged: “And you see what it got me, the girl who finally made me get over Ali and the fight with Daniel, who made my life a little less miserable just disappeared on me for five years without a trace. I don’t want you to disappear on me again for god knows how many years this time”

Without a trace was a lie, he still could’ve gone to Daniel LaRusso, ask him about his sister, ask for her phone number, her address. But when you went to college you made it perfectly clear that Daniel would kill him without having second thoughts for banging his sister and if he didn’t manage, you would’ve killed him yourself. And after all this time Johnny asked himself why he cared about that, why he was such a pussy and cared about what Daniel would think and do, above all. Now he didn’t anymore, he had no fucks to give about it anymore. As long as you were by his side for a little while, he could live with Daniel hating him more than he did already.

“Glad, to have been at your service, you asshole” you said rolling your eyes but still laughing.

“You’re welcome. So, are you saying we keep that going or what?”

You shrugged.

“Does that mean you are staying in Reseda?”

You shrugged again, it kind of did but you’d never know for how long. Thankfully, Johnny dropped the topic after that. Just like you, he really wasn’t the type to talk relationships. Maybe you two would’ve taken a different path when he had been the last time but that was again, ancient history.

____

The breakfast was simple, Johnny wasn’t the greatest cook, but that was okay, you weren’t either. It was more about the time you spent together. It was fun, it felt amazing being with him in his tiny kitchen, just talking about the old times and joking around. It was even fun when he flunked a spoonful of scrambled eggs directly in your face. You ate, you took a shower you scrubbed off all the remaining make-up from last and you felt a little bit better. Johnny enjoyed having you over. Normally, he didn’t let his girls stay that long, he usually made them go home very quickly, not so with you. He’d even be okay with you staying the whole day, hell, even another night or two. But as soon as you got of shower his hope vanished.

“I need to go home now” you announced shyly.

“So soon?” “Yeah, Danny is probably worried sick, I also promised him, we go out for sushi today, just us two.”

Johnny rolled his eyes and hugged you suddenly, almost a little too tightly “Don’t you want to stay?”

“To be honest, I do, but I also want to spend some time with my big brother.”

“I guess, I’ll drive you home then” “Only if you want to, I can walk or get a cab”. Fortunately, you didn’t manage to lose your handbag at the beach, so you’d have enough money.

“That is out of question. I always drive my babes!” Johnny said proudly which was a big fat lie, he didn’t always bother but with you, it was another situation.

The car ride was not as bad as you had expected, you didn’t get sick which you were afraid you would do because you still could remember well enough how fast Johnny drove. Yet, it was great to sit in his red Pontiac Firebird again, it shot your memories straight back to high school when you secretly hung out with Johnny for a couple of times. Sadly, it was over too soon. Johnny pulled up in the driveway to Daniel’s apartment building. He quickly got out of the car to open the car door for you before you could reach the handle yourself.

“Wow, I don’t know if like that new Johnny” you laughed and nudged him, “Far too nice!”

“Yeah, would you like me doing that instead?” Johnny’s eyes darkened and you remembered also seeing that look last night and out of a sudden he pinned you between the red Firebird and him, his face very close to yours.

“Do you like me being a bad guy instead?”, his lips brushed over you when he talked. And you wanted to say yes or even nod but you breath quickened; your hart started beating a faster rhythm.

“Thought so.” he whispered into your ear sending shivers down your spine on that hot summer day. He was just about to kiss you, maybe you should go back to his place after all, you thought, when you were instantly interrupted.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Lawrence!?!?!?” a scream echoed through the whole block, “Get the fuck away from her!”

Johnny promptly jumped to side but as soon as the realized who that was coming from a dirty grin appeared on his perfectly shaped lips. Daniel, face almost grey with fury, was running towards them, eyes all wild, hands clenched to fists.

“Oh fuck”, you gasped but couldn’t hold back a laugh, that was too absurd, “Maybe you should’ve dropped me off a few blocks away”

“Nah, this is going to be fun”

But you thought otherwise, this was going to be anything else bun fun. Comical, but definitely not fun.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, (Y/N)?” Daniel yelled pointing a finger at you when he finally came to a halt right in front of you.

“Nothing’s wrong with me, I’m completely fine, thanks for asking Danny”

“Don’t you fucking talk back to me like that!” “Jesus, Daniel, watch your filthy mouth, you didn’t swear that much since forever.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Daniel kept on, ignoring your sarcastic remarks, “You did not come home the whole night, I’ve got no call, nothing. I didn’t sleep, I was waiting for you, I was so fucking worried and then you finally decide to come here with him and you’re talking to me like I’m the bad guy?” Daniel pointed at Johnny without even looking at him.

“Ok, mom, calm down”

“Don’t you mom me, (Y/N). You smell like a fucking distillery; you look like shit and where the fuck are your shoes?” You looked down on your bare feet, then at Johnny who had protectively placed a hand on the small of your back and you two suddenly burst out laughing. Your drunk ass simply lost them at the beach.

“How dare you even make a sound?” Daniel shouted, this time at Johnny. It was getting embarrassing, even some neighbours were now watching how Daniel took a threatening step towards Johnny. He still was a few inches smaller than him, but he managed to compensate that with his glance. A little bit more wrath, you thought, and he would be shooting sparks out of his usually warm brown eyes.

“Damn, LaRusso, don’t wet your pants. You look like you are about to die from a heart attack” “Shut the hell up, Lawrence” Daniel growled and came even closer, so close the tips of their noses almost touched and Johnny just kept on smiling, he didn't even flinch “You think you’re so funny, huh?”

Johnny shrugged, he did.

“What the hell is my sister doing with you?”

“She just likes me a lot more than she likes you” Johnny’s grin kept getting dirtier and dirtier with every word leaving his mouth “Actually, she always liked me a lot. When I was beating your ass in high school, (Y/N) always has been hanging out with me instead of pitying you. While you were training with your weird-ass sensei, I gave her rides all the time, we were friends. When you won in ’84 she didn’t go with you to celebrate your illegal kick, she stayed behind and cared for me. Dragged me out of the parking lot and brought me into a hospital together with Bobby and Dutch. She just never told you because a delicate little flower like you would simply die from that. And when you were trimming trees, I fucked her every goddamn day until she went away”

Your eyes widened and you looked at Johnny in shock then at Daniel who needed a second to process everything that had been said. That was about it, Johnny dropped the bomb, he told Daniel everything that was kept secret from him and everything that he needed to know.

“You did fucking what?” Daniel asked through clenched teeth, his hands shaking, he was barely holding himself back and you knew, some whit was about to go down real quick.

“I fucked your sister LaRusso, five years ago and tonight and she liked it”

And you couldn’t even say anything against it, every bit of it was true. And when Daniel gave you a quick look he knew exactly. And then, very unlikely for Daniel he threw his first punch, Johnny immediately blocking it. He shoved you to the side so wouldn’t get between them. Both stood in fighting positions and then everything happened so fast. There was a lot of fists and legs and kicks and punches, too rapid for your eyes to grasp it. And you couldn’t believe it. After all these years, these to very still ready to kill each other. But you had enough, you had enough of this stupid rivalry, you had enough of them hating each other for no reason and you definitely had enough of being their recent motive for fighting.

“Stop!” you yelled, they ignored you, “Stop it! I’ve had enough of your stupid Karate bullshit! I’m sick and tired of you two always fighting. I can’t deal with being dragged into it! I fucking hate this. Why is this the first thing that happens to me after being back after five fucking years? Why you always have to be such a drama queen, Daniel? Why are you the only person you care about, huh? And you” you turned your shouting towards Johnny “why do you always have to keep the fire going why can’t you just let it be for once?”

Your screams were much louder than Daniel’s before, but the fighting enemies still ignored you.

“If one of you throws another punch, I’m gonna call the cops and you two can sort it out in a prison cell! I don't want you to kill each other just because you see me as an object that can only belong to one of you. I'm not, I like both of you. You're my brother and I love you. And I fucking love him, Daniel”

These words worked magic on Johnny who immediately let his arms sink and whilst he looked at you, worry written into his face, he received one last kick in the guts for losing his concentration. You threw yourself at Daniel and tried to hold him back from doing more damage, for a second you were afraif he was about to kill Johnny. But with you holding him, he did not dare to keep on fighting. He didn't want to hurt you. And yet he tried to free himself from you.

“Please, Danny” you cried “Please stop and let me be!”

Daniel remained silent and calmed down, you let him go. You went over to Johnny and embraced him, he hissed under your touch but couldn’t help himself than to press you closely to his chest. His face was beaten, his lip was bleeding, and a fresh cut crowned his brow.

“I’m so sorry, babe!” he whispered into your ear and kissed your cheek. He never apologized for fighting. Until now.

“No, I’m sorry!” you said and stroked back the sweaty hair from his forehead, then you turned to your brother, “You better be sorry, too”

“I am.”

“LaRusso is sorry?” Johnny wondered and spat blood on the ground, “That’s new”

“Shut up!” you shushed him

“I am sorry, (Y/N), I didn’t know you liked this jerk that much.” “To be fair, me neither” Johnny admitted “But I fucking love her, too, LaRusso, you know?” Daniel nodded, maybe for his sister’s sake he was ready to give his last enemy up.

[static-fanatic-1]

Tattooed-Uvogin

(Tattoo Soulmate AU- Where tattoos are shared by soulmates, if a soulmate dies then the other looses their ability to have nen and the tattoo disappears. I love soulmate AU's, they're fun. Also when Uvogin gets the spider tattoo he will be 24.)

(Female Reader)

College is usually portrayed in two ways, absolutely fantastic where breaking into song is the norm, or a horrid experience akin to horny Lovecraftian creatures. In this case the song song type of college is the norm.

Most individuals in college receive a tattoo, whether it be their own or their soulmates. Usually it is a happy occasion when that happens. Most would flaunt their new mark and spit out how much they wanted to meet their soulmate, but (y/n) was an exception.

Junior year, the hope of a new age of adulthood quickly coming up. The twenty-two old started to strip. Why strip? Well because she had decided to wait her junior year to get her athletic credit, and because she wanted to see a tattoo if she were to get one. But the first reason is what people think. Practically tearing off the jacket she wore and tossing it onto a bench, (y/n) jumped at the sudden shrieks and hollers from across the room.

"Lilith! Holy shit look!" Deciding to see what the commotion was about, (y/n) leaned over to watch the event unfold. On her lower back, almost covered by her shoulder length blonde hair, was a beautiful koi tattoo. As if swimming the splash of blue, orange and cream colors contrasted beautifully with her deep skin tone.

"What?! Oh my god show me!" Lilith squealed, pushing away girls to get to the nearest mirror. The brightest smile decorated her pink lips and when she finally saw the new mark on her shoulder, she waved around her hands and jumped with unrivaled joy. "I can't fucking believe it!"

"Do you think he just turned 21? Like today's his birthday or something?" Another girl exclaimed, staring at the inked shin with awe.

"Probably! Most people get them when they turn 21. God I'm so excited! I'm posting this everywhere to see if someone answers."

More girls crowded around Lilith, the light tapping of gentle fingers bringing (y/n) back to her senses. Turning around the female met with her dearest friend. "What?"

"Ms. Venal will snap at us if we aren't ready, best not to get on her bad side again. She might make us do push-ups for a warm up again." The soft voice and her light brown hair and eyes pairing nicely with her shy personality.

"Oh shit you're right." Swiftly (y/n) moved back to the back of the locker room, pulling off her pants at the same time. Replacing them with gym shorts with the school logo she quickly followed by her favorite shirt.

Grabbing the school shirt she jumped when someone grabbed her shoulders from behind. "(Y/n)! Your back!"

Before (y/n) could protest she was pulled to her friends locker with a hand mirror shoved in her face. Hesitantly she grabbed it and moved it around her face, trying to see what Jessy was talking about. Finally, a large dark tattoo revealed itself on her lower back, spider legs and a white eleven in the center.

"Looks like a spider, but with twelve legs? Weird." Jessy replied, lightly tracing the many legs now inked into her friend's skin. "You seem... disappointed? (Y/n) you good?"

(Y/n) shrugged, surprisingly it was underwhelming compared to what she thought it would be like. I mean the weird spider on her back was the key to finding her soulmate right? Yet it still felt like a normal school day. "Kinda underwhelming I guess."

"Hey (y/n), you got one too? I honestly thought you wouldn't get one." The snarky voice of Lilith echoed in the locker room, a new hand placing itself on (y/n)'s shoulder. "A spider, really?"

(Y/n) gritted her teeth, Jessy moving to put on the last of her clothes. "They probably just like spiders, so what?"

"Looks like they don't know how to count, that's sad." Lilith remarked, poking at the inked flesh. "Didn't you get a tattoo not too long ago, what was it again?"

"A (favorite animal)." (Y/n) mumbled grabbing her school shirt and putting it on.

"Wow, classic."

(Y/n) pretty much had enough of this and turned to the blonde with vigor. Placing a figure on the new koi fish tattoo. "Wow, classic cunt."

The blonde scoffed, but was quickly interrupted when the teacher called out. "Girls, hurry up or you all are going to do more push-ups!"

Lilith mumbles underneath her breath, venomous words that didn't pass (y/n). "Go fuck yourself." She had said.

In a last ditch effort to get some satisfaction, the (h/c) haired girl turned to the blonde and smiled. "After you."

Man school was just dandy.

~~~

For some reason the drive home felt longer than usual, the songs uninteresting and slow.  But that didn't stop the sigh of relief when entering her home. Maybe telling her parents about the tattoo would bring up her spirits? They always wanted to see what it would end up being.

"Momma! I'm home!" (Y/n) yelled, letting the fact sink in to any occupants.

She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a snack, and paused. Her dad, usually sitting with his back straight and glasses on, now held his lenses with his face in his hand. "Hey dad, you're home early. Everything alright?"

Swiftly his head shot up, (h/c) hair messy unlike usual. "Huh? Oh, yeah yeah I'm fine, just a lot of work is all. We're still trying to find who stole Ruby Red, that jewel is worth a few billion Jenny."

The man's daughter pulled a chair and sat down across from him, opening her snack to start eating it. "I still can't believe someone was able to take it, isn't the security pretty high?"

"Yup, and Ruby Red wasn't the only thing they took. They took a few other gems too." Her mother butted in, placing a kiss upon her husband's cheek. "Whoever did it defiantly had help, you're dad placed too many security guards for it to have been one guy."

(Y/n) furrowed her brows, the fact it was more than one person sans all too surprising, but how did they get past the armed guards in the first place? "So what exactly happened? Like to the guards I mean."

"Well... that's just it. We don't know." The dad rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension that had built. "They just vanished... poof, gone. No sign of a struggle, no blood, all of it gone."

The mother removed her hand and pulled up a chair, sitting down and taking a sip of whatever is in her mug. "Yeah, pretty crazy stuff. I've been looking through the cameras and I think they have been tampered with. Whoever took the merchandise wasn't a rookie. They knew what they were doing."

"Who do you guys think did it? The mafia?" The daughter asked, looking at both her parents.

"A new group has been floating around, something called the Phantom Troupe. They are pretty much the worst of the worst." The brunette mother replied, placing her cup down and getting more comfortable.

"Worse than the mafia?" (Y/n) questioned.

"Pretty much, this gang took out the entire Kurta clan just a few months ago. They took their eyes and everything." There was a pause, easily taken up by the gravity of the situation her parents were in.

Her father butted in. "Anyway, anything happened at school? How's Jessy doing, she can come over for dinner tonight too. Martha said she was making lobster claws and steak."

"Ah, well, Jessy's doing fine and I'm sure she'd love to come over again. I'll go ahead and text her." (Y/n) pulled out her phone and did just that, asking if her friend wanted to come over again.

"What else, I feel like your hiding something." Martha asked, leaning closer to her daughter with a sly smile.

Small bits of sweat started to form on her brow, right now didn't exactly seem like a good time to talk about an odd tattoo. "Well I cursed someone out, that was fun."

Her dad groaned and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Oh my god was it that Lilith bitch again?"

"Edgar!" Martha snapped, slapping the man on his shoulder and she lightly scolded him. The both of them knew their daughters relationship with that girl. All they had to say is if the coward ever threw a punch, to lay her ass on that ground. (Y/n) was still waiting for her to throw it.

A small ping from a phone ringed, the daughter pulling hers out and slightly smiling. At least when Jessy comes over she would have emotional support over the weird tattoo. "Yeah, it was her again. Anyway, mom do you want any help, Jessy said she would come over."

"Sure, honey. I'd like that."

~~~

The air was tense, sweat slowly forming on (y/n)'s brows as her dearest friend babbled on and on about her early day bravery. "Lilith couldn't say a word to us for the rest of the day! It was hilarious." Jessy boasted, laughing at the sense painted in her head.

Though Martha and Edgar looked at their daughter dumbfounded. "Sooo, is there a reason why you didn't tell us about your new tattoo?" The mother asked, leaning on her elbow with her head in her hand.

"Ah, well you know, it's kinda embarrassing."

"Seriously, you didn't tell them?!"

"I said it's embarrassing!" (Y/n) reinstated, moving her hands in front of her face to attempt stopping the forming blush.

"So! Show us!" Martha exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

(Y/n) grumbled a bit and stood up from her chair, lightly pulling up the back of her shirt. On her lower back the sideways spider laid, twelve legs spread out for the world to see.

Silence followed, the air thicker than it once was. "Yeah, it's a little weird. Honestly it was underwhelming getting it." (Y/n) tried to release the growing tension with a light laugh, though it didn't do much.

"Y-Yeah, it is a little weird isn't it?" Edgar had replied, moving to lightly trace his fingers on the inked skin. "Well I don't think most people have twelve-legged spiders on their backs so it shouldn't be too difficult to find out who this guy is."

~~~

Those words meant so much now, after seeing the news talk about Ruby Red's disappearance and how it was linked to a group of mass murderers, the words felt heavy.

Changing to homeschooling was the first thing to happen, as having people see such a dangerous tattoo could endanger your family. Hunters would travel far and wide to catch the soulmate of a Phantom Troupe member, to sell or kill them for the highest price tag. So being around other reckless students was a big no-no.

Next was their home, moving to the outskirts of York New city to start fresh, where no one would know who they were. Getting a new job wasn't too difficult for Martha and Edgar, as security personnel was important everywhere.

Though (y/n) herself wasn't allowed a job, too risky they would say. And Jessy, well at least she was still there. The friend would visit every so often to catch up, and texting each other became an everyday occurrence.

It had been five years since that dinner, and now fear and anxiety ruled over (y/n)'s life. Walking on the streets it seemed every passerby was a possible hunter, just waiting to catch her and slit her throat.

(Y/n) could only trust Jessy and her parents.

The ringing of a phone smacked the female from her train of thoughts, papers she was once working on discarded. Picking up the device and placing it on her ear, a sweet voice rang with an excited undertone. "Yo, (y/n). Whatcha up to?"

A delicate smile pulled at the (h/c) haired lips. "Fine, just doing mom and dads paperwork. Kinda the only job they'll let me have."

There a was a light hearted laugh on the other side of the phone. "Well I'm going to have a few days off of work it you want to meet up and have a few drinks. I'll be coming in sometime tomorrow evening if you want to meet up then?"

"I'd love to, I'll just have to ask mom and dad, you know how they are."

"Yeah, can't blame them though. I mean it's scary."

"Yeah... I'll call you a little later with an answer okay? See you later Jessy, tell me when you get here and I'll pick you up from the airport."

"Alright, sounds good to me! Bye-bye!"

"Bye." Her smile faded when the phone call ended, at least it wouldn't be too bad. Now she just had to get on her knees and beg her parents.

Searching through the apps on the phone she ended up on the calling one, but paused. 'I'll just ask them when they get home, I'll drive over there soon.' Tossing the electronic on her bed (y/n) sighed and leaned back in her seat.

~~~

After plenty of begging and a semi-long drive to the airport, the now ecstatic girls drove around the city to wherever this bar was.

"Okay okay, (y/n), don't get mad at me but I invited a few other friends." Jessy timidly said, scrunching her body as close as possible to her seat.

"Who?" Was all said, making the other girl all the more afraid of an anxious outburst.

"Just a girl I met the bar once, her name is Shizuku. She said she's bringing another friend over, another girl. Don't worry though she's a bit of an airhead, an absolute sweetheart once you get to know her." Jessy relaxed, not noticing any changes with her friend's behavior. "Sorry I wanted to tell you but if you told Edgar and Martha they probably wouldn't have let you go! I just really wanted to hang out with you."

"Don't worry, mom and dad don't have to know." (Y/n) turned and gave a small wink before turning back to the road.

Jessy sighed, relieved to finally have some fun without much worry. "Oh oh! Right here!" The car slowly drove into the parking lot, the two searching for a spot to park. "Oh! They're over there." The two girls exited and quickly made their way to another pair.

The first girl Jessy walked to and hugged had shoulder length black hair and large round glasses. Large, plum doe like eyes gazed at (y/n) with innocent intrigue. Her casual wear consisting of a long black sleeved shirt and black shorts complimented her hourglass body type. She honestly looked adorable.

The other was a blonde clearly taller than her ravenette friend. Calculating eyes, short hair in a bob and a hooked nose gave her a demanding audience. The woman wore a red, low cut baby doll dress that ended on her mid thigh, and black heels making her even taller.

"Okay guys, this is (y/n), she's been my friend ever since middle school." Jessy placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, (y/n) shyly waving and saying hello. "And (y/n) this is Shizuku and her number two, Pakunoda." They too did the same thing.

"Alrighty! Now that we have all the introductions out of the way!" Exclaimed Jessy, grabbing (y/n)'s hand and waving for the other two to follow. "Let's get absolutely trashed!"

Pakunoda snorted and followed, all four of them entering the not-so-much-a-bar-as-it-is-a-club building.

Jessy grabbed a table, putting some of her things down to mark it as her own. "I'll go ahead and get something to get this party started! Anything in particular you guys want?"

Shizuku places a finger on her chin, deep in thought. Pakunoda wrapped an arm around the ravenette and shook her head. "Surprise us."

(Y/n) quickly waved her hands. "Don't get me something strong, I'll be the designated driver." She laughed, Shizuku finally making up her mind.

"Something fruity!"

She did somewhat seem like an airhead.

After plenty of drinks for the four, and pleasant conversation between the girls, Jessy was finally breaking under the alcohol. Her slim build swaying even when she sat in the booth's chair. "Y'all wanna hear a funny story? Or at least its funny to me." She slurred.

Pakunoda, sitting on the outside of the curved booth, leaned in. "Sure." Elbow now on the table and head in her hand. A delicate smile etched onto her lips, her eyes calculating as an extra hand served her drink.

(Y/n) listened to her start talking about Lilith, the old school bully having many stories about her. "I'm going to go to the restroom." She tapped Jessy's shoulders and moved over and out of the conversation.

Shizuku listened carefully to the slurring female, Pakunoda doing the same. Slowly the story became interesting, talking about receiving tattoos and snapping at the girl named Lilith.

But more importantly, a tattoo received on a lower back. (Y/n)'s lower back.

By the time said female returned all had paused, both Shizuku and Pakunoda silent but attentive. Jessy moved over to let her friend back in the booth they had claimed, Pakunoda placing a slender arm across her shoulders. "You have quite the temper don't you?"

Remembering what they had been talking about, the comment didn't surprise (y/n) all that much. "Lilith? Haha, yeah I hated her. She was difficult to deal with, always trying to one up everyone." (Y/n) waved her hand around to dismiss her temper, truly she couldn't stand people like Lilith. "Don't worry I'm much better now." Again she lightly laughed.

"You seem like it, you're so shy. I honestly didn't expect a story like that." Paku replied, leaning in a little closer.

"Which one was it? I've kinda snapped at her a lot."

"The one where ya' finally got yer tattoo~!" Jessy replied, sandwiching the poor girl between the two.

(Y/n)'s entire body went rigid, her breathing slightly labored by her hammering heartbeat. 'No, no, no Jessy couldn't have told that story, she wouldn't. She knows how dangerous it is for me already, telling people would make it worse!'

She would be hunted by hunters and the Phantom Troupe alike if the wrong people were to find out.

Doing her best to relax, her shoulders not so tense anymore. "Ye-Yeah, it's a bit of a strange one but I don't mind it too much. What time is it?"

Shizuku looked at her phone, her mouth wishing to yap about how Uvogin would love the girl. Or how Uvogin is just a call away from finding his soulmate. OR ANYTHING RELATED! But alas, the bone crushing grip placed on her thigh along with straight up saying it earlier, told her to shut it.

Now with a pouting face she checked the time. "It's 12:48."

Mumbling a short 'shit', (y/n) grabbed her purse and stood up. "Sorry! I was supposed to go home an hour ago!" She examined her phone with a pale face, not just from her tattoo being revealed, but the endless messages from her parents. "Does anyone need a ride?"

Jessy leaned in more, her lips ghosting (y/n)'s ear. "I would love to ride."

Pushing her drunk friend off, (y/n) made her way out of the booth, Jessy wrapped in her arms as the girl stumbled. "You two?"

Shizuku lifted her finger, her mouth opening to speak, but was quickly stopped when a hand smacked itself on her lips. "Don't worry about us." Paku replied, waving a dismissive hand.

"Al-alright. Well we'll be off then, take care!" Quickly grabbing her things, and Jessy, the two slipped out of the club.

Shizuku smacked Paku's hand away and pushed up her glasses. "What was that for?!"

Pakunoda shifted out of her seat, looking around at the other inhabitants of the establishment. "You were going to say something about Uvo, weren't you?"

The ravenette pursed her lips and turned away, scooting out of the booth as well. "So what if I was? It wouldn't stop us from getting her anyway." Whined the girl.

"It would have made getting her harder, she's already cautious of everyone." The two girls exited the bar, stopping to watch (y/n)'s car drive away. "Besides it won't be too difficult for Shalnark to find her."

"Didn't you touch her?" Shizuku pushed her glasses up once more, turning to wonder off to home base.

"Of course, she was very anxious the entire time, and she was weary of us from the beginning."

The ravenette hummed, both wondering through the lit up city. Smoke polluted the air of the alleyways they traveled through, the moonlight basking the criminals in an ethereal glow. The alleyway became too quiet, the once light sounds of buzzing insects feasting on the dumpsters silenced.

The girls stopped, looking at the empty sidewalk in front of them. They could sense two individuals, on in front of them and the other behind. Were the stalkers going to try and jump them? Did they know who they are? Well it doesn't matter, the stalkers will be dead soon.

"Well well well," A gruff voice echoed from behind. "Looks like the butterflies flew into the spider's web. How about you two be sweethearts and tell me about that friend of yours? The one with the (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes."

Shizuku turned around to face the man, noting the switch blade open and poised in his hands. "He has a knife, Paku."

The man 'tsk'ed slowly walking closer to the girls. Paku stared straight ahead, the other stalker finally revealing himself, a scrawny man with a baggy shirt and large knife.

Pakunoda sighed and pulled out her revolver, aiming straight between the scrawny man's eyes. "Never bring a knife to a gun fight." A quick pull of the trigger and a loud bang caused the man to fall over, a small hole oozing blood and smoke between his glossy orbs.

Shizuku summoned Blinky and with a quick bonk on his head, the gruff voiced man collapsed to the ground.

"Shizuku, is he dead?"

"I didn't hit him that hard." With a hum and a finger on his neck. "Nope, he's alive."

"Good." She swayed over to the man and placed a hand upon his cheek. A rush of memories and emotions entered her mind, like the ripples in water. "They weren't alone, they called others before following us. We should hurry before they find her first."

"They'll kill her won't they?"

"Probably."

"Uvogin would loose his nen if that happened, hmm, we can't let that happen."

Nothing new happened after their encounter, the dark streets now baron by the late night and the rundown buildings. Turning the corner to enter the hideout, a face revealed itself, young and distressed, their thin black brows furrowed.

No words were exchanged, the girls entering without a care. A sigh left the short man's lips as he walked with them into the church. "Machi had a feeling again. What happened?"

Shizuku hopped her way onto a pile of rubble and sat down with an impassive expression. "We were attacked by some thugs on our way back. Though, it was more like a one-way-massacre."

The entire Troupe was in the broken down office building, there were preparing to infiltrate a museum filled with priceless artifacts, but it might have to be postponed.

Feitan didn't look at Shizuku, already knowing her information may very well be useless. "Paku?"

"Shizuku's friend brought a number two as well, she just so happened to be a soulmate." Pakunoda teased, crossing her arms.

The small group playing cards stopped, even Chrollo averted his eyes from his book of interest. Feitan's brows lifted slightly, probably in surprise.

"Ah! That happened too."

Franklin snorted, placing down his cards and shifting to face Paku. Shalnark, Nodunaga, Machi, Kortopi, Bonolenov, and Franklin were huddled up in a small circle playing cards, though the game was now paused. Uvogin, the secret star of the show, was rooting for Nodu to finally win a game. "Who?"

A delicate smirk etched itself on her features, a slender finger pointing to the bear-like man sitting behind Nobunaga.

With that action taken, the bear-like man grabbed Nobunaga and wrapped his arm around his head. The other hand pulling out the ponytail and messing up his hair as a boisterous laughs echoed throughout the building.

Franklin smacked a hand on Uvogin's shoulder and congratulated them, Nobu yelling for Uvo to let go. Once he finally let him go, the shorter man smacked Uvo.

Uvogin didn't exactly care, all he knew is that his soulmate was found and that she was his next target. "Keep talking Paku." Uvo kindly ordered, curiosity taking hold.

"Well she's pretty cute, (h/l) (h/c) hair, bright (e/c) eyes. She's pretty attentive." Pakunoda waved her hands around, finding a seat on the opposite side of the large room.

Another hearty laugh escaped the bellows of his chest. "Finally! Took her long enough." He exclaimed, clapping and rubbing hands together. "Where is she?"

Pakunoda shrugged. "Her name is (y/n) (l/n), Shal will have to figure that out."

Chrollo hummed, grabbing the attention of the room. "Uvo, once you find out where she lives I want you to get her, it would be a shame if you lost your nen." He paused and placed a bookmark in his spot. "Paku does anyone else know?"

The blonde nodded her head. "Yes, the thugs overheard and called a few of their friends. I don't know how many."

Chrollo hummed once more, leaning in a bit closer to the group. "Once Shal figures out her whereabouts I want you and Nabu to go with Uvo. And be cautious, we don't know how strong the hunters will be."

Uvogin laughed, hands on his hips as he threw his head back. "I will."

"Found her!" Shalnark yelped, a bright smile stretched across his cheeks. "(Y/n) (l/n), lives in the New Found Apartment Complex about three blocks from her parents. Oh! Edgar and Martha (l/n), they work as security managers for the museum we were targeting." Shalnark excitedly exclaimed, waving his phone around in the air. "I'll send you the address, Uvo."

Feitan quirked an eyebrow. "She might know which hunters were hired to protect the exhibit."

Chrollo hummed once more, returning to his book with a calm expression. "That might be the case, if so then there we could be better prepared." The sultry voice of the boss explained further her use, not just for Uvogin but the entire team.

Uvogin cracked his knuckles, waving to Nobunaga and Pakunoda to follow. "Consider it done."

~~~

(Thats it everyone! Sadly Wattpad allows for larger chapters so this will be put into two parts to accomadate.)

[clevermonkey93]

Mr Frilly part 2

Part 1

Jaskier makes pizza with Geralt and Ciri. It’s cute and fluffy. Oh and they flirt.

also on ao3

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

Jaskier wasn’t nervous. He absolutely wasn’t nervous. Except he was. He totally was because he had a dinner date – was it even a date? It’s just dinner, come on Jask – with a gorgeous hunk of a complete dork of a dad that was utterly besotted with his angelic little gremlin. And Jaskier had just met him. Just met Geralt and Ciri and already he was determined not to blow it. Frankly, Jaskier didn’t care if Geralt wasn’t interested – he's probably ten years older than me, he’s got a kid, he might be straight-straight not just kinda straight – but he so desperately wanted to spend more time with them both and get to know them.

God knows he could use some more friends. Valdo seemed to have left their relationship with all their mutual friends, but I suppose that’s what happens when you date a guy from university for four years and just make friends with all his music friends and –

Jaskier wanted so badly to get this right.

Which is why he stood outside the Rivia house – a beautiful old tall town house which Jaskier would have bet has one of those gorgeous long winding gardens – with a distinctly not-rubbish film and some flowers. A simple but beautiful bunch of wildflowers that Jaskier had stared at for at least fifteen minutes at the shop after he’d left Geralt and Ciri in confectionary. He’d decided to risk it but they’re white and delicate so if he's read the vibe completely wrong they’re obviously for Ciri.

He knocked. Geralt said not to ring the doorbell because next door has a baby.

Oh God I should have changed. Why am I still wearing my shopping clothes and this dumb scarf –

“Hey, Jaskier.”

Jaskier looked up to see Geralt at the doorway, long white hair tied up now and an apron at his waist – oh man why is that sexy?

He had a flour smudge on his cheek and his shirt was covered in flecks. Jaskier was about to tease him and ask why he’s only got a tiny apron when he's wearing a black shirt when he heard footsteps behind the man.

“Mr Frilly!” Ciri cheered as she joined them in the doorway. She was wearing a full-size apron which on a child should look utterly ridiculous but she was also wearing an expression that said she was in charge.

“Already started on dinner I see!” Jaskier said with a grin.

Geralt looked down at his shirt and gave a very sweet shrug before standing to the side and gesturing for Jaskier to join them inside.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he offered. Ciri had already bounded back down the hallway so Jaskier shuffled in and started to wiggle his shoes off with his feet. This inadvertently drew attention to the flowers in his hand.

“Uh, I brought these,” Jaskier started, studying Geralt’s face carefully. Beneath the white smudge of flour there was a distinct pink blush. He didn’t think Geralt looked uncomfortable but oh God it’s so hard to tell. “I brought these.” He repeated quietly.

Jaskier inched the flowers forward to Geralt and thank God he took them. Geralt smiled. No doubt there, that was a proper nice smile.

“Thank you, Jaskier,” he said softly. Jaskier felt Geralt's hand on his shoulder and he was about to say something when –

“Daddy, the dough has gotten SO big!”

Jaskier and Geralt shared a little laugh before Geralt lead him further into the house.

The kitchen was in surprising order considering the state of the chefs, and Jaskier and Geralt walked in to find Ciri proudly holding up a bowl of proofing dough.

“I’ll show you how to make a base,” Ciri said excitedly.

“Wash your hands, Ciri,” Geralt reminded her and Jaskier also took his turn at the sink. As he dried his hands, we watched Geralt dig around a cupboard for a vase, as though he hadn’t used one in a long time, before carefully arranging the flowers to sit in the middle of the kitchen table.

It was a wonderfully sweet evening. Jaskier and Ciri both managed to get covered in flour as they tried to shape pizza crusts while Geralt seemed to be able to do it blind and helping them at the same time.

Jaskier had figured they’d be using tomato puree (he won’t admit to how many years at university he’d lived on pasta and tomato puree) but Geralt brought over a pan of homemade tomato sauce that smelled so good. Even better was the proud little smile he made when Jaskier told him how good it smelled. Best yet was the blush and sudden inhale Geralt didn’t manage to hide when Jaskier couldn’t resist sticking a finger in to try a lick.

“Toppings!” Ciri exclaimed as she carried what Jaskier assumed was a stack of everything from the fridge. Cheese quickly went absolutely everywhere as they each assembled a pizza and it turned out the pair had a tradition of making an extra Frankenstein pizza with every topping.

They loaded them into the oven – “Daddy's going to build a pizza oven in the garden next spring,” Ciri excitedly informed Jaskier. “But they’re still good in the oven.”

Geralt started to clear up while the pizzas cooked, and Ciri immediately vanished. Jaskier stood next to him at the sink to dry things up.

“Thank you for asking me over,” Jaskier said, even though it was clearly Ciri that asked. “I'm really glad I’m here.”

Geralt Hmmed at that, and Jaskier had started to notice it might be his default setting but it sounded like a happy Hmm at least. “What would your Saturday night have been otherwise?” Geralt asked.

“Oh, um,” Jaskier hesitated and dammit he knew he was blushing but he’s going to think I'm so naive and just struggling and – “Well, I’m usually performing at some venue or another, if I’ve managed to get any bookings.” He looked over at Geralt and he seemed interested, not like he suddenly regretted inviting a hipster over, so, “I sing and, uh, play guitar. Among other things.”

Geralt nodded, and definitely didn’t look at Jaskier's mouth when he bit his lip nervously, except Jaskier definitely saw his eyes dart down.

Jaskier shrugged. “But nobody knows me around here. Not yet anyway,” Jaskier laughed quietly. “I’m on at the open mic night this week at Posada's –”

“The live night at The Mandrake is pretty good,” Geralt cut in. Jaskier couldn’t have contained his smile even if he’d tried. Honestly, so many people laughed at him for still trying and –

Breathe, Jask.

“Yeah? What kind of music do they usually have? I mean, well, a lot of my covers usually go down really well, but I also play a lot of my own songs,” Jaskier asked as he dried up the last bowl. Damn it, he was starting to ramble. But he looked over again at Geralt and the man was nodding, and Jaskier thought he might have Hmmed again. Silently though. Jaskier got a little distracted again watching Geralt dry his hands on Jaskier's dish towel and then start to put things away.

“Hmm? What sort of things do you write?” Geralt finally asked, and he definitely stood closer than he needed to as he reached around Jaskier to pick crockery up from the counter.

Jaskier was absolutely not about to reply something like meeting hot dads at the supermarket when the oven timer beeped loudly.

“Pizza!!”

Jaskier jumped a little at Ciri's sudden – immediate – reappearance and although he had no real reason to blush, his cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Geralt laughed ever so quietly. Jaskier eyed him carefully as the man's mouth turned up in the slightest smirk. Oh, Geralt was teasing him.

Jaskier flicked the dish towel at Geralt before joining Ciri at the oven, taking the mitts from her before she could try to hurt herself carrying too many hot pizzas. They took the pizzas to the lounge and before Jaskier could worry about where he should sit, Ciri sat him in the middle of the sofa because that’s where guests sit, Mr. Frilly.

“What film are we watching?” Ciri asked, sat on the floor in front of the telly to get to the DVD player.

“Oh!” Jaskier popped up again and went to his bag. “Have you guys seen The Princess Bride?”

Ciri had not and Gert agreed it was a not-rubbish film. Not that Jaskier would have judged him too harshly if he didn’t liked his favourite film.

He sat between Geralt and Ciri as they ate pizza, and Jaskier definitely agreed it was at least the best pizza in town and quite frankly until he tried ‘Papa Vesemir's’ pizza, he was willing to say best ever. They watched the film, Geralt and Jaskier both half watching Ciri watch it for the first time. When Geralt took his hair out from its bun, Jaskier couldn’t help but reach over to tuck a stray lock behind his ear before Geralt tied half of it back anyway.

Away from the warm kitchen, it cooled down quickly in the lounge so Geralt pulled the throw blanket over them from the back of the sofa. He laughed softly when Jaskier stole the opportunity to tuck in closer as his arms were raised, and then laughed properly when Ciri used Jaskier's distraction to steal his frilly scarf.

Jaskier must have dozed off towards the end of the film because he woke up to Geralt carefully easing him up from leaning against his chest as the credits rolled. “Just putting Ciri to bed.”

Ah, yes, parenting to be done. Jaskier blinked himself awake somewhat while Geralt followed Ciri upstairs. As he listened to muffled arguments about whether she'd brushed her teeth for long enough and how many stories she needed before sleep, Jaskier took their cleared plates back to the kitchen.

He was putting the last of the clean dishes away when Geralt reappeared.

“The princess sleeps?” Jaskier asked softly. Geralt Hmmed at him, leaning against the door frame in a way that looked far too good for him to not be aware.

“Are you awake now?” Geralt teased, and Jaskier admirably resisted sticking his tongue out. Really though, he only resisted because he finally closed the distance between them and leaned up, hopeful, towards Geralt. He was pretty sure, but Oh god what if he really had misread things –

Geralt kissed him. He kissed him softly, steadily and with a firm hand holding Jaskier's hip to his waist.

Jaskier sighed, only loud enough for Geralt to just hear. “Yeah, I'm awake.”

[aprils-arcadia]

Denial

Members: Kihyun, Changkyun, Wonho Genre: Fluff with a good deal of angst Word Count: 4,9k Summary: After your last relationship with Changkyun ended badly you are reluctant to give in to your feelings for your fellow freshman  at college Kihyun. 

“You know denial isn't going to help you.” Hoseok said, stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth. Like every Thursday before you found yourself at the usual cafeteria table with Hoseok.

“But denial and ignorance have been working so well.” You sighed, mindlessly poking your food with a fork. 

Hoseok scoffed. “Ah, is that so?” He pointed at the fries in the middle of the round, run-down table. “That’s why you've been just staring at your food for the last ten minutes. You haven’t even noticed that I've been constantly stealing your fries.” He shook his head in disapproval. “Huh. Seems to work wonders.”

“Don't you sass me now. You know what’s awaiting me once I eat and get up from here.” You slumped back into your chair letting the fork clink against the plastic cafeteria tray. The food wasn't that bad. That much was clear by Hoseok wolfing it down without hesitation but right now you didn't feel like eating.

“Of course I do. That’s why I am trying my best to relentlessly bring up the topic so that you can finally suck it up and stop moping around.” 

“But I don't know how. It's not as easy a decision to make. This isn't pizza vs. burger or gym vs. jogging.” You lifted your hands unethusicastically gesturing to your left and to your right, your eyes still transfixed on a rather nasty greyish spot on the ceiling. “It's… it's so much more difficult.” 

“You'll have to face this sooner or later and by now you should know that sooner is the right way to go. You can't just hide out like this forever. And you can't try to deny that this is eating away at you, just like I am currently eating away all your fries, which for the record you still haven't stopped me from doing. If you aren't even possessive of your food anymore, who are you even?”

“Haha. Very funny." You leaned forward again, picking up a solitary fry that Hoseok had dropped onto the tray. "But seriously what should I do? Do you have any ideas?” 

“Do you really want my advice? Like straight up blunt me telling you what I'm thinking?” 

“Yeah, sure. Always.”

“You’ve told me quite a lot about that Changkyun guy by now and I can’t say I like him.” Hoseok’s tone of voice had turned serious and you could see that the casual mischievous air around him had vanished. “But apart from all that, if you would really still love him I don’t think you would have fallen for Kihyun.” 

Silence.

He might be right. But on the other hand it's not like you could erase all the history you had with Changkyun either. 

He had been your first real relationship, your first love. You had been so convinced that you two would live the happily-ever-after, the cliche “they meet in school and look at them still going strong”-movie stereotype, overcoming hardships together only to grow stronger as a couple. 

But reality wasn't like this. Instead your Romeo and Juliet story turned into the annoying “on/off”, “are they/aren't they” cliche. You hadn’t heard from him or seen him and after the last fight you had, it's not like you could blame him but all that logic and rationality didn’t stop you from still loving that asshole no matter how many times your heart had been broken courtesy of him. And you still couldn't fight the feeling that even remotely thinking about Kihyun was cheating. That you were betraying the trust and the man you loved. 

“When was the last time you spoke to that guy anyway?”

“6 months ago,” you admitted under your breath.

“6 months ago? I mean come on. You need to move on from this. That's just not healthy.” 

You knew that Hoseok was right. It wasn't like you expected that Changkyun would come back to you, to show up at your dorm and begged you to take him back. That wasn't his style. Him calling you up at night and you hopelessly agreeing to meet with him was a thousand times more likely. Pathetic, you knew. But still. 

"So why not see how things could go with Kihyun? He seems like a nice guy even though he might be a bit of a smartass at least from what I can tell.” Hoseok shrugged his shoulders. 

"Oh I don't know it's not like I haven't thought about trying my luck with him and seeing where things would go. But I'm just feeling so guilty,” you said, reluctantly dipping your fry into the nearly empty ketchup.

“Yeah otherwise we wouldn't have to have this conversation almost every two days right before your two most beloved courses.” 

This was both unbelievably true and painfully sarcastic. The two intro classes Hoseok talked about were indeed your favorite classes and finally gave you the feeling of having made the right choice in coming here. On the other hand they were also the ones where a certain someone was sitting next to you since the first week.

*

You had met Kihyun right after college started. You had just moved here a few days ago and the break up with Changkyun was still fresh, having happened only two weeks ago. But once you entered the college grounds you swore to leave that behind you. To leave it in the past and in the city you had left to come here. Which right at this moment did not seem to work out so well, you had to admit.

You were convinced, even if it was a bit naive, that this whole experience would change your life and that this is the perfect new start to get away from it all. Unfortunately this included your meticulous sleep schedule. Ever since the fallout with Changkyun you weren't able to really sleep. You spend the night scrolling through social media or God forbid your phone's gallery. 

This wasn't helpful and you knew it. 

The night before your first college day you had felt so utterly lonely that you couldn't help yourself. You deeply regretted having left and how things turned out with Changkyun. This wasn't how you wanted it to go but you also didn't know what would have been your ideal outcome. It was obvious that you and Changkyun had an expiration date. Hell, you have had so many of them in the past it was a wonder that you even made it this far. But somehow you always ended up with each other.

The topic of college had been looming over the two of you ever since your senior year of high school. He didn’t like the idea of you going to a different city and the thought of staying in the town you grew up in nauseated you. Your local community college had nothing to offer with all possible studies boring the hell out of you. You wanted change and a challenge and something that interested you. Changkyun never seemed to understand that. For him, you applying for other colleges felt like betrayal, that you were planning on leaving him, going somewhere where he didn’t know what you were up to, where he couldn't control who you hung out with. 

So once the acceptance letters started to roll in the two of you fought on an almost daily basis. Somehow you had found the courage to tell him that you wanted to go to your current college and that you applied for a dorm room. He had just scoffed at that and told you that you wouldn't have the balls to leave anyway. That your little pampered, desperate self would not turn on him and leave. Two weeks ago you had finally gotten the approval for the dorm room. When you talked to Changkyun about trying to make this work long distance he completely flipped. You’ve had fights in the past, countless ones and he had broken up with you multiple times as well, but this was different. 

This time it felt final. Irreversible.

He had left you a sobbing mess on the steps of your home, driving away way too fast in his car and skidding around the corner. You knew that he wouldn't come back. You knew that you wouldn't get the call. The call that he was sorry, the call that would make everything right again. You knew this wasn’t coming. But still you couldn’t comprehend that this was supposed to be the end. The real end.

You had sat on those steps for hours until your mother had finally come home and tried her best to get you inside. The rest of the day you spend asleep. Completely weak and dehydrated you fell into an uncomfortable sleep, only to wake up with tears still streaming down your face. You spend the week before leaving for college in a haze. 

This wasn’t your usual coping mechanism.

You had stopped listening to music. This time around you didn’t drown your tears in Death Cab songs and ice cream wanting to be comforted by your friend and family. Instead you completely isolated yourself. You only ate when you were forced to and sleep didn’t come easy. Most nights you’d stared up at your bedroom’s ceiling, your mind completely empty but your body not letting you rest. It had felt like a part of you was missing that he literally had ripped out your beating heart where he stood. After a week you were only a shadow of yourself. You had packed for college with the help of your friend and moved into your dorm room. Sleep was still a rare commodity but you tried your best to start being hopeful about the future. You couldn't mope around forever and you shouldn’t let him ruin your first week of college. 

But here you laid, not being able to sleep. The dorm room was dark and empty, the shadows from the trees outside dancing on the walls. Instead of trying to close your eyes you had grabbed your phone, the bright light of the screen hurting your eyes in the beginning. Looking at the pictures on your phone didn't make your feeling of crushing loneliness any better. On the contrary. It hurt. It hurt like hell. Knowing that the man you loved so much was done with you. Over you. Living life without you, like you never happend. 

Luckily your roommate hadn’t moved in yet so no one was able to hear you sniffle and ultimately cry yourself to sleep at 4 a.m. 

The next day you woke up to the loud noise from the hallway having ignored your alarm clock twice. Now you only had 15 minutes left to get dressed and rush to the lecture hall. One quick look in the mirror confirmed what you had dreaded all along. You looked like sh*t. You had wanted to start college bright-eyed and optimistic but those were not the kind of bright eyes you were looking for. You had no chance of wearing your contacts like this. Awesome. The cute first day of college outfit you had laid out the night before stared at you almost in disappointment and you grumpily grabbed your black-rimmed glasses out of the drawer and quickly put your hair up in a messy bun, brushing this bird’s nest of hair would have been a waste of time. 

You rushed out of your dorm and onto the quad. Fortunately you already checked the way yesterday so instead of being completely lost you were able to just sprint across campus at full speed. Even though you earned a few “heys” and even one “Run, Forrest, run” you were able to make it in time. You hurried inside and tried to catch your breath as good as possible. Most of the seats were taken, everyone shows up for the first one, you thought.

You had found an empty seat in the back of the lecture hall and sat down as unnoticeable as you could. The young man next to you gave you a quick smile and a nod and then focussed back onto his notebook again. You pulled out your own notebook and the lecture began with your professor introducing himself and outlining the following semester before diving straight into the basic concepts that will be needed for the rest of the course.

You tried your hardest to focus but your mind tended to wander back to what you gave up to be here, if giving up was even the right word, and how your finger had hovered over Changkyun’s number time and time again the night before. You choked back the uncomfortable feeling that was forming in the back of your throat. You needed to concentrate. You brushed your thoughts aside as best as you could and focused on the blackboard. 

Nothing. You couldn't make out a single word. Great. If you couldn’t even copy the blackboard you may as well just leave. You squinted at the blackboard in an attempt to decipher the words as your professor was writing them. What he's talking about should give you some clues but still the smudges remained. If you could have just worn your contacts then this wouldn't have happened but no, you petty excuse for a human being had to cry yourself to sleep and were now forced to run around like a mole with those humongous glasses of yours that let's be fair here, didn't do sh*t. 

You sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of your nose. All the squinting has achieved was give you a mild headache and your notepad was still as blank as it could be apart from you writing the course name at the top. Just as you were starting to lean back in your chair and resigned to just listening, an unfamiliar notebook appeared at your side, nudging your arm. 

"You can copy mine, if you'd like. That prof’s handwriting is like trying to read hieroglyphs."

You looked to your left and saw the guy next to you slide his notebook across.

"Oh and I took the liberty of correcting all his typos. You can be lucky that you don't have to deal with those cringe-worthy mistakes." 

You chuckled slightly. It’s been days since you even smiled about anything, having forced all of them since the break-up. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” 

"No worries," the young man whispered. “I’m Kihyun by the way”

“Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you Y/N,” he said and smiled brightly. 

His profile and jawline were sharp and he dressed unbelievably well. The sleeves of his button-down were rolled up to his elbows and his dark brown hair had a slight undercut. He was attractive to say the least. How could you not have noticed this when you first sat down. Ah yeah, you probably were feeling way too sorry for yourself at that time. 

You quickly copied the notes and gave it back to him. 

“Thanks again, I owe you one.”

"Nah. You're very welcome. But if you insist a coffee would be more than sufficient." 

The next week you had finally been able to wear your contacts again. Thursday evening you had met the lovable idiot that was Hoseok. He’d spend the majority of the weekend listening to you cry your eyes out in the dorm common room. It was so easy to open up to him and maybe just maybe this was exactly what you needed. Someone who didn’t know the whole story who was completely impartial to hear your side of things. Talking to him made your shoulders a little lighter and he had made it his mission to make you feel better, to make you feel welcome and comfortable. He tried his best to get some nutritious food in you and forced you to join his Sunday morning jog. 

The next day with your legs almost numb and a chipper, way too awake Hoseok by your side you arrived at the nearby coffee shop. It was a tiny cafe that was frequented mostly by the students and therefore it was usually packed at this time of day. Hoseok looked around the shop anxiously until his eyes met the ones of the guy sitting at the corner table. 

“I gotta go. I don’t wanna keep Hyungwon waiting.” 

“Hot date?” you said, eyeing the tall young man that was smiling sleepily at Hoseok and waved.  

“Hell yes,” he replied and hurried off towards the other corner of the cafe. You took your two coffees from the counter and headed towards the lecture hall. Once you arrived you let your gaze wander through the rows until you spotted the only familiar face in the room. 

“Good morning,” you said as you sat down and placed the cup of iced americano in front of Kihyun. “As promised.” 

“Oh hey, thank you. I was wondering if you might have forgotten about me since you ignored me on Thursday.”

“Thursday? Where?” You fidgeted in your brain to try and remember where you could have seen him, but last week you were running on autopilot most of the time, without ever really registering your surroundings. 

“Oh so you really didn’t even notice me. I was sitting like three people over in intro to media theory.”

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was spacing out a lot last week. I’m really sorry.” 

“Well at least I know you didn’t forget me,” he said, taking the cup and nudged it against your own. ”Thanks again. That should help us not fall asleep.” 

“I do hope so,” you said smiling as you started to sip your coffee. 

“It doesn’t seem like you’ll need my perfectly-taken notes this time around,” Kihyun added, gesturing towards your non-existent glasses. “I gotta admit though I kinda miss the glasses.” You laughed shyly. “They looked cute on you.” Kihyun turned towards the blackboard as your professor started to speak up. “But I’m glad you look a little healthier this week,” he said mostly to himself but you were just able to catch it. 

*

After unenthusiastically eating the remaining fries on your plate you got up, to make your way to your next course. 

“So have you made up your mind?” Hoseok said leaning against a nearby wall, waiting for you.

“Of course I haven’t,” you said as you let the wrappers slide off your tray and into the trash can. “And he probably isn’t that interested in me anyway.”

“Excuse me? Do you remember that one time he asked you out and you straight up invited me along?” Hoseok rolled his eyes at you. “Yeah sure, he isn’t interested in you. And also to get back to our earlier discussion if that wasn't denial I don't know what was.”

“That wasn't denial. I literally didn't get it." You tried to look and sound as convincing as you could but Hoseok probably already saw through that. "And seriously ‘hang out’ is just not the language I associate with asking out," you added defensively.

“Oh come on. You were just scared out of your wits and panicked. Don't you try and wiggle your way out of this now,” he said, putting a hand on your shoulder guiding your way out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. 

“Not fair and do you have any idea how long ago I went on a date last. Like a real asking out, whole shabang, first date?” You brushed off his hand from your shoulder and looked at him in all seriousness. 

"No idea, but I’m gonna presume it was AGES ago" Hoseok answered dramatically.

"Correct. I had like one first date in my life and that was Changkyun." You didn't like to admit this but it was the truth. He was your first, your first for basically everything.

“Are you sure you just didn't realize the other ones were dates"

“Stop it for God's sake. Shouldn't I know that?”

“Not if you were as dense then as you are now.” Hoseok winked at you and slid into the classroom to your right. “See you later.”

“Smartass,” you added quickly and stuck out your tongue. Unfazed by your childish action Hoseok blew you a kiss through the closing door. 

“He’s such an idiot.” He was a pain in the ass but you were thankful for Hoseok. He always found a way to cheer you up but was also by your side with advice and an open ear, everytime you needed him. You walked to your own lecture hall with timid steps, lost in thought. 

It’s been six months since you’ve last heard from Changkyun. 

No texts, no calls, no updates on social media. 

In fact you couldn’t even see his posts anymore, maybe he straight up blocked you. He probably was happy without you and better off. And you really had to face the fact that you yourself were happy here as well. That your life might not have turned out the picture perfect way you wanted it to be but you had found friends that supported and loved you and you were enjoying your studies tremendously. The only thing that was in the way was that damned guilty consciousness of yours and the nostalgia of a past albeit failed relationship.

 Changkyun wasn’t coming back and even if he was you shouldn’t fall for it because time and time again you should have been taught that this relationship was going nowhere. You were like oil and water, you could force them to be together for a while but slowly they would drift apart again. You guys weren’t made for each other and every other fight had proven that. He was overly jealous and you were too timid to really speak your mind. He was your first relationship, the one you wanted to treasure for the rest of your life but as Hoseok said it just wasn’t healthy. Not in the slightest. 

Going to college might have been the fallout you two needed to start living a life not dependent on each other, to be able to move on and to find your own happiness and a relationship where you were an equal and where you wouldn’t have to fear for your relationship every time you went out with friends. Changkyun was probably over you already anyway, it never took him long to prove to you that he didn't need you. 

So why, why on earth were you still limiting yourself. 

Why were you still in any way being considerate to this ass. The ass that made out with your friend in front of you just to prove a point. The ass that left you standing in the rain after a fight having to walk home for an hour. The ass that never treated you right. You lifted your head and straightened your back. He wasn’t worth it and more importantly you were worth so much more.  

Once you stepped out onto the quad and towards the lecture hall you felt a gentle touch on your back. 

“Hey, Y/N.” The soft voice unmistakably belonged to Kihyun. “Glad I caught up with you before the lecture began.” 

He couldn't have picked a better time. Right when all your thoughts were jumbled and you were trying to untie it even slightly, he shows up. Right on time to throw all your progress overboard. Right on time to make you question everything you thought you had figured out. 

“Hey Kihyun, ready for the lecture?” you replied as unfazed as you could muster.

“Please, when am I not.” 

You laughed. Hoseok was right, he could be quite the smartass. 

“But that’s not why I tried to catch up with you.” 

“Okay…” 

“Can we talk for a second?” He stopped walking and now stood before you. 

“Yeah sure, what’s up?” Now you were straight up scared. ‘Can we talk’ never was a good thing. Your stomach twisted and you felt the nervousness slowly rise inside of you.  

“I talked to Hoseok the other day and I think this might be the best idea.” So many questions rushed through your head. Kihyun talked to Hoseok? They were close? You had only seen them together like once apart from the times you forced those two together. Hoseok couldn’t have possibly snitched on you, right?  

“I just thought that he might help me out or give me some advice since you two seemed to be very close.”

“Okay…” This could only go wrong. Definitely only go wrong. “What did he tell you?” 

“To be honest he just told me to man up and suck it up.” Kihyun laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. His light brown hair refracted the light and some strands glowed golden in the early spring sun. 

“That does sound like him.” You smiled and noticed that Kihyun had started to avoid eye contact which was something he never seemed to have a problem with. Instead his eyes were all over the place, continuously wandering from your eyes downwards to then dart into a completely different direction. 

You had probably never seen him so flustered and it made you uneasy. Over time you had gotten so used to Kihyun’s normal overconfidence but now he seemed self-conscious and even a bit vulnerable.  

“It seems like nothing has really worked so far. So I feel like if I’m not gonna make it very simple you would brush over it again and just bring me coffee to class instead of going with me to the cafe I had in mind. Or bring Hoseok along with you to the mall.” He chuckled a bit and you were terrified of what he would say next. 

He took a deep breath. 

“I like you Y/N.”

There it was. Out in the open. Something you had tried to deny for longer than you should be comfortable with. There you had your answer. And now there was no way you could ignore it. He was able to muster the courage to tell you and you were always trying your best not wanting to face this possibility. 

Kihyun finally found your eyes again and you tried your best to not have your face be an open book, telling him every little detail that was going through your mind. The war inside your head, the shouting, the panic and the overall chaos of you trying to decide what to do. 

Again he averted his look but this time you finally realized where his eyes were trailing off to as yours started to do the same. His lips were parted slightly and ever so slowly you felt the distance between the two of you closing, right now you weren’t in control anymore as your body felt to be moving on it’s own until his face was only inches away from your own. 

Right before you closed yours you took one look into his stunning dark brown eyes, and the different shades of brown that were mixed in there, invisible unless you stared directly into them. 

He kissed you softly and finally, finally in forever your mind was quiet. 

No guilt, no anxiety, just the warm feeling of joy spreading through your body. 

He placed his hand tentatively on your cheek and your heart skipped more than just one beat. The soft touch of his lips and the warmth of his hand left you completely helpless. You wanted this moment to last forever, to not let go, but instead Kihyun pulled away from you. His face was slightly blushed and you could still feel his lips faintly on yours. His hand lingered on your cheek and his thumb continued to caress your cheek bone gently. He looked at you for a while, taking in what had just happened, before he spoke up again.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?”

“I think you already have your answer,” you said and grabbed his collar drawing him in into another kiss, this time less timid than the one before. 

Who you loved, you weren’t sure. But you didn’t have to be. Whatever part of your brain told you that you would have to decide right then and there if you loved Kihyun and if you really didn’t have any feelings left for Changkyun could just shut the hell up. You were so focussed on this question that you completely forgot how life really works. He didn’t say “I love you” simply because he couldn’t even know that yet. So why did you expect from yourself to be able to answer it already. Yes, part of you still loved Changkyun and would probably do so till the day that you die but that couldn’t stop you from liking Kihyun, from wanting to know more about him, from waiting to spend more time with him, from wanting to find out where this could lead you. 

So no, you didn’t know who you loved but you’d find out, in your own time, at your own pace.

[rougebangtan]

pairing: jungkook | reader

genre: strangers to lovers, fluff

word count: 1.840

prompt: old rock + can fulfill the ghostie bingo prompt

warnings: there’s a little making out in the end, so if you don’t like that, please be warned.

You roll your eyes in annoyance at the man in front of you. It is the third consecutive week that he has come to the store without making any purchases. The young man always wore all-black outfits, and would come by in the afternoons, granting you the honor of his visits. He would browse the store, flicking obnoxiously through the CD’s and records for hours on end.

One thing you had to give credits where the credit was due, however, was his impeccable sense of style. He dressed himself in a very unique and pristine manner; even as he tried to look badass, he most certainly looked soft and innocent. The amount of detail he put on his looks was nothing short of admirable. You caught yourself more than once enthralled by the way his earrings would dangle on his lobes.

The shop you work in is in a rundown spot of the city’s downtown which, in turn, had caused you to see all kind of people. Not many where as pretty as the handsome boy that was showing up so often, but you weren’t going to allow yourself to be biased; his pretty privilege had already cut him a lot of slack. You’ve grown impatient with waiting. It’s already been close to a month and the guy hasn’t bought anything.

Sucking in a breath, you think about your options. You have two: you either ignore him or finally set him straight. The choice is clear to you since your mama didn’t raise you to be a quitter. You feel yourself marching towards him before your mind processes the closeness between the two of you. You have your resting bitch face on and that’s what you attribute his stunned expression to as he gets even more wide-eyed.

With a silent sigh, you observe how he shifts in his spot, his legs alternating which one sustains his weight. Oh, boy, now he’s anxious? If anything, it’s you who should be.

“Hi,” you utter with a blank expression plastered on your face, adopting the most authentic salesperson persona you can. “We usually rather to let your customers pick what they want themselves, but you seem kinda lost. I’ve noticed you come to the shop often… I was wondering if you need help?”

He shifts under your gaze, looking absolutely caught off-guard. “Hmm, yeah,” he agrees while his hand goes to scratch his nape in a deflective move. “I could use some help… sorry about always leaving empty-handed. I’m just a very indecisive person.”

You chuckle lightly at that. The boy is super cute. “What are you looking for, pretty boy?”

“A gift.” He answers, and something evil stirs inside of you. You’re going to hell for the thoughts that swirls in your mind.

“A gift? For who? A significant other? A friend?” You query, subtly gauging his relationship status, and he seems to pick it up quite fast.

“It’s for a friend. We’re in a band together, and this store has many LPs that he’d like to add to his collection.” He explains, but he doesn’t keep eye contact for too long.

His cheeks heat up at how intently you pay attention to him. You figured that if he’d just waltz inside your workplace during three weeks to buy something, you had the prerogative to make him squirm.

“I like this one better,” you say as you pick up the Queen LP. “Their music definitely tells a story… I’m not quite sure about the words to describe it, but it just makes you feel nostalgic. In a good way, though. Makes your heart beat a little faster.”

As he stays quiet, you continue to go off about your favorite music in order to give him some insight in what to buy.

“Whereas this one,” you lay the LP in your hands down to grab another. “is kind of a little chaotic. I won’t say it doesn’t grow on you, but it’s a hard one to wrap your head around. At least for me.” You admit with a shrug.

“It’s hard to really get into it every time I try to listen.” His eyes were wide when you said that, and the pink shade that tainted his cheeks had started to creep up to his ears.

“I will take that one, then. Jimin will probably like it. He’s a chaotic person, so the concept suits him.” The man nodded.

“You sure? Don’t you want to hear a few tracks before you make a decision?” You question him, not wanting to be the one to blame in case the LP turns out to be a bad choice.

When he nods again in reassurance, you comply and walk back to the cash register, so you can ring up his purchase. What you don’t expect, however, is when he mutters: “What’s your name?”

You grin at the sheepish manner that he asks for it, and you wish you could hold his face between the palm of your hands seeing as he looks adorable, even with the pretense badass look. “Y/n. And yours?”

“Jungkook,” he replies earnestly.

“Well, Jungkook, it’s nice to meet you. Here’s your LP,” you announce and hand him the record. “It retails for a total of $15,99.”

He reaches on his pockets after taking the LP from you, and drops a 20-dollar bill on the counter. “Keep the change,” he whispers once he watches you moving around the register.

You gape at him briefly before you watch as he begins shifting again, and you could drool when he bites his already very pink lips. It’s not difficult to notice he wants to say something, but he doesn’t know how to, which is why you wait for him, Jungkook, with an expectant expression gracing your features.

“Thanks,” he settles on saying. Lifting the bag in hand, he clarifies. “For the LP, I mean.”

“You’re welcome,” you respond, a smile never leaving your face. “Thank you for your purchase. Hope you make good use of it.”

He still looks uncertain, but he nods and moves to the door to leave. “Yea, thanks again… Catch you a next time?”

It’s your turn to nod at his words. “Sure. See ya next time, Jungkook.”

When you return his hopeful sentiment, he beams, and as he makes his exit, you swear you could see a skip to his step.

Today was insanely hot, not even your outfit was helping, and you had chosen a smaller tank top paired with some bike shorts because of the weather. It’s been two weeks since you’ve last seen Jungkook, and your days felt like clockwork. You hated that he spent weeks coming to the shop, but as soon as he was confronted about it (very nicely, you add), he stops passing by.

You weren’t sure if it was the sweltering heat, but what you knew for certain is that the day passed in an agonizingly slow pace. You could count in your two hands how many people had entered the stop, and for that reason, you decided to close earlier. It wasn’t super early to close, though; it was only 10 minutes before your actual schedule.

When you get to the door, however, you’re met with a pleasant surprise. A scarcely dressed Jungkook is sweating in front of you, gasping for air, and his eyes twinkle in street’s lighting. He looks delicious, and the neediness you often feel quickly rekindles at the glorious sight you were gifted with.

“Y/n, hi!” He greets you, but you can see he’s still a little breathless.

‘Hi,” you greet back, second-guessing what you should do. You cave to the needy part of you that wishes to eye the boy for a longer while. “I was just about to close up… but you’re sweating buckets. Do you want a glass of water?”

He only signals in consent, and you step out so he could enter. You close the shop regardless, since that way you’d spare yourself of the trouble of leaving it open and Jungkook stays behind, watching as you do so.

After you give him a huge glass of ice-cold water, you observe him suspiciously. Resting against the counter, you wonder what was he doing there? His eyes are mesmerizing, and even as he gulps the refreshing liquid down, they never stray from your figure. You smile smugly to yourself. Your tank top left your bountiful cleavage on display as well as your back tattoos, and you’ve been proved that such combo had an interesting effect in men.

“What are you doing here, Jungkook?” You finally speak up when he stays silent. He seems surprised because his eyes, which were glued to your chest, are suddenly looking back at yours.

“Like what you see?” You tease.

He blushes at your statement and his hand soon find his nape. You noticed his recurrent mannerisms relied a lot on body language, and you could sense how shy the boy actually is around you.

“I forgot…” He mumbles with uncertainty, then shakes his head. “I didn’t know how to… askforyournumber.”

“What?” You ask, your eyebrows furrowed.

“I didn’t know how to ask for your number.”

“Oh?” You gasp, then slowly stalk over to where he is. “Really? You should’ve told me… instead of coming to the show so many times, then vanishing.”

You watch in entertainment as his eyes widen so much, it looks like they could bulge out of their sockets. “Oh… I’m sorry about that.”

“How about this, Jungkook?” You say and your eyes flutter while staring at the beautiful boy, at the way his tongue moistens his lips. “You give me a kiss, and I give you my number. Would you like that?”

He nods repeatedly, eyeing your chest and tattoos wantonly. “Do you want to touch?”

Without saying anything, Jungkook touches the ink on your shoulders reverentially, his fingertips soon finding the crook of your boobs. You also put your hands on him, sneaking them underneath his shirt, and you swear you had to hold back a moan when you feel his pecs.

Needless of verbal communication, your lips brush against his, and he eagerly accepts the kiss. The pair of you kiss for minutes, his tongue brushes against yours sensually and you lose it when you feel Jungkook’s hard dick poke on your thigh. As you separate from one another, you realize you don’t want his manly hands to get off you.

Resting your hands on his chest while you gaze him through your lashes, you try to ask him out in the most nonchalant way. “Do you want to get out of here?”

His smile is blinding, and his hands grab your hips in reassurance. “I’d love to.”

The smile on your face is also uncontainable, so you rush to pick your stuff up and lock the backdoor. On your way out, you almost can’t believe you’re in fact walking hand-in-hand with the mysterious boy that thought dropping by at your work was a good flirting method.

If it was good, you didn’t know, but it was damn well effective.

a/n: Sammy !!! here it is, i envisioned the reader as you @breadoffoxy ily! Jester, @youarejesting, thank you for borrowing me your prompt. I hope to have done it justice. 🤍

[smolbeandrabbles]

Come What May - Ned Kendall x Reader (Beautiful Kate)

Soulmate!AU

GIF CREDIT: X 

@wltz-bby​ @happyskywhale​

Author’s Note: For @severalmiles​‘s Mendo Nation Secret Santa - I know you’ve already read this, but I still wanted to tag you and thank you for letting me post it on here of New Year! 😁💜

Alright guys, this is it! Your last fic of 2020! And it’s my very first Soulmate!AU

I hope you enjoy - I got a little creative with the whole AU idea..!

@mandy23b​ - thank you so much for your Soulmate discussions with me, they were SO helpful 💕 Now you get to read mine! 😁

Disclaimer: Beautiful Kate characters not mine / it is my own Soulmate!AU idea / lyrics not mine / gif not mine

Premise: Soulmates are rare; and to have one you need to meet a specific set of criteria. Ned Kendall does. The Soulmate trend is known in the media as ‘New Years Day Phenomena’, and the end of year is far approaching... 

Words: 8380

Warnings: sexual content (but not too explicit) / Swearing / Drinking / AU (obviously!)

______

Never knew I could feel like this, Like I've never seen the sky before. Want to vanish inside your kiss; Every day I love you more and more.

Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing? Telling me to give you everything. Seasons may change, winter to spring; But I love you until the end of time.

Come what may, come what may, I will love you until my dying day.

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place, Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace. Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste It all revolves around you.

And there's no mountain too high, No river too wide. Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side, Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide, But I love you Until the end of time.

Come what may, come what may, I will love you until my dying day.

--

There's glitter on the floor after the party Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor You and me from the night before…

You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi I can tell that it's going to be a long road I'll be there if you're the toast of the town babe Or if you strike out and you're crawling home

Don't read the last page But I stay when it's hard or it's wrong or you're making mistakes I want your midnights But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day

Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you And I will hold on to you

---

The only noise in the room was the scratching of pen to paper, the clock ticking the seconds of the day away - and, as it was late evening, there were precious few of those left. The still burning cigarette lay regretfully forgotten in the ash tray as his writing hurried across the page. The final draft of his latest novel was due in a few weeks, but he was hardly bothered by that now - something was pulling his attention and it was infinitely more pressing. Ned ran a hand through his hair: it was like writing while possessed, that was the only way he could describe it. When he’d look back the morning after and hardly remember a word of it. And the writing calibre too… so far removed from the trashy smut he seemed to be pretty into these days. They sold copies; he wasn’t bothered by that… but this kind of blacked-out writing often made its way into novels of its own. His darker, more serious work; and hopefully not the kind that his family would be embarrassed reading. He flipped another page and continued - always the same… it always started the same. Soulmates. Usually Ned Kendall scoffed at such a word. It was banded around far too often, and made everyone far too excitable. But it was a rarity to actually have one. Someone out there hardcoded into you, someone made just for you. But he’d heard the news reports - the ‘miracle’ of it all. Seeing the same person all your life; compelled to do everything you could to make them real by any medium necessary. Until you finally found them. It was known as the New Year’s Day Phenomena - because all the reports of this ever happening around the world occurred on New Year’s Day. Everyone seemed to find each other on this magical clock strikes midnight evening. New Year, New Beginnings. The beginning of forever, it seemed. Ned Kendall was sceptical. This wasn’t like those soulmate universes he’d read before, countdown clocks embedded in your skin… timer running out when you met, or first words exchanged tattooed on your wrist… In those universes everyone had a soulmate. In the world he was living in, they were rare. And when a new couple appeared, they were treated like celebrities. The problem was, ever since he could remember, Ned had dreamed of the same woman. At first she scared him, she haunted him, like she was there in his veins and he couldn’t get her out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. No matter how much he covered her with other women, no matter how many times he thought they might be the one and would laugh in the face of the whole notion of a Soulmate, these relationships always fell apart. And she was always there in the back of his head. Even when Ned was sleeping with them, it was her he got flashes of. It was almost like she was real, like if he imagined hard enough, he could reach out and touch her… and yet she always remained just out of his grasp. So he wrote her. Ned poured her into every single one of his novels, somewhere. Even if she was a bit part character with no dialogue, her image was there. She had been his main character a few times: when he got this urge, as he had right now, and a force he couldn’t explain compelled him to write her in such a way. She was the worst muse he’d ever had. And what Ned Kendall hated most of all was that he was falling for her. And hard - for this past few months she’d been nearly his every waking thought. Pages and pages, and reams and reams of writing covered his apartment and it was all her. And what scared him most was the year was ending. It was nearly New Year. He’d spoken quietly with Sally about this a few times. Because he didn’t want to believe it, because it felt crazy and Ned needed her to set him straight. To let him know that he was crazy, because Sally definitely would. Instead she looked at him, amazed, and then laughed: “Oh my god, Ned… Do you… Do you have a Soulmate?” “Sally, stop, it’s not funny!” “You! Part of New Year’s Day Phenomena!?” She cleared her throat, trying to act serious as she apologised, “Of course the most disbelieving person in the world on Soulmates would have one…” “This is so stupid. There’s no way, I’m just a writer and she’s…” “Ned. I know you’re just a writer - but all the tells are there. Aren’t you excited? You’re going to meet the person you’re meant to be with. And you know what she looks like already… Finding her will be so easy..!” He exhaled, tipping his head and body back to look at the sky; “What if I don’t like her-!?” “What part of Soulmates don’t you get, you were made for each other!” “What if she doesn’t like me?” Sally sighed, “Then she’s crazy.” “With how fucked up my life’s been?” “Geez…” She shook her head at him, and placed her hand over his, “Just give her a chance… Ned. Whoever she is.” He quirked his eyebrow at her, with a smile, “It doesn’t exactly sound like I’m going to have a choice-!”

 Usually the holiday didn’t mean a thing to him, it was just another year. Maybe he’d go to a bar, swallow all his sorrow with an expensive tab and take someone home. But something was changing. It wasn’t just the way she looked anymore; he was so used to flashes of her body, her face, her smile, those pretty eyes, the kind of person who - if Ned was totally honest - had walked straight out of his fantasy. But he was starting to get a feel for her personality and the way she sounded; her laugh, her voice, the way she flirted, her tells when she was shy or bending the truth just a little. And the closer the end of the year was, the stronger her presence became: now when he dreamed her he could feel her touch, how it felt to hold her, to run his fingers through her hair… He didn’t even know her name, but Ned knew what it felt like to pin her beneath him, heartbeat flush with his… He shook that thought away and dropped his pen, leaning back in his chair. This was all getting a little too much. This woman was driving him insane. Ned swallowed hard, and looked to the clock. He had but one conclusion for the whole thing, and how much it all scared him. He was exhibiting every sign of a crazy person, so utterly paranoid and obsessed with the thought of finding his ‘Soulmate’. What if she was just a muse his thoughts had dreamed up? What if she didn’t even exist…? Was it all too real for that? Could Ned bear to find out the truth. But Ned had all the tells; even when whining ‘give me a breaaak’ as previous girlfriends had forced him to watch these ‘romantic’ interviews, he’d been listening. And this was what happened, everything got stronger and you became more fixated with them until you finally found them. 31st December into January 1st. 

He couldn’t risk it; Ned just couldn’t risk the excitement that rushed through him becoming anguish and devastation. Ned Kendall would be staying in this New Year’s Eve. He didn’t even want to stay up to welcome in the New Year.

***

Soulmates - wasn’t that everyone’s dream? To find the one person they were destined to be with. You had always found the prospect to be exciting whenever you’d heard talk of it. Every time those interviews came up on TV - you believed in the idea of pre-destined partners and kindred spirits… two halves of a whole, before you’d become aware that you had your own. And you still believed in that notion even for people that didn’t have visions like yours. Afterall, didn’t most people end up with that one person. How could that not have hinted at something meant to be? Yours was just a little clearer than everyone else’s. You knew who that person would be. Even if you didn’t know the how, or the when, or the where… or even the why you? At first you hadn’t even really put two and two together, his was simply a face that had occurred to you in dreams. But one that you had latched onto and interested you. Intelligent, mischievous blue eyes, a little smirk that hinted at exactly what he was thinking, dark curls that you just wanted to run your fingers through, his cheek bones were accented but he wasn’t overly skinny. He had one of those faces that told a story, and every so often when you’d get flashes of him you could see all those troubled emotions. He must have been a fan of dark colours; at least, that’s always what he was wearing… but you liked that, because it just brought out the blue in his eyes even more. And that was what you focused on most when you drew him. Your apartment and your artist’s studio were covered in drawings, paintings, sketches of pieces of a man you’d never known. And you really meant pieces; sometimes you would just get his hands, the kind of motions as if he were explaining something to you (and he was left-handed, by the way he held a pen) you might get nothing else, but you knew they belonged to him. At first he was simply a muse, and your best friend used to laugh - when you said you had no idea how he popped into your head - that you must have just been drawing your perfect man. You couldn’t say she was that far off, but you could have done something similar without the need for his image in your head… and it was the emotional depth of the pieces that had you wondering exactly who he was. Maybe he was a face you knew, maybe he lived around here or you’d seen him on your travels to work - and yet when you started actively looking for him, he was still nowhere to be found. You weren’t one to dare to hope to believe in him being your Soulmate. Your clientele always asked about the works, but none were for sale. Sometimes you thought you’d put them up in the hope that someone would recognise him, and tell you who he was. Or that he might just up and walk in here one day: like he truly had just walked out of your dreams. But you always liked having the familiarity of his presence around, and drawing him just came so naturally to you. There was a particular centre piece - almost life-size - of him sitting at a desk. A vision; with the light pouring through the window behind him and hitting all his features just right. He was adsorbed in the papers in front of him, all handwritten; you wondered if they were letters - perhaps love letters. You liked to imagine that they were. That either he was writing them, or reading those words from the heart of the person who loved him the most. You got visions of him pouring over paper like this often, and he always looked so relaxed… it was when he looked his best to you. When you thought he most looked like himself; if you even knew what that meant. How could you know? Even when you felt like you did. Whenever clients asked who he was, and why he was so special (after you’d told them the piece wasn’t for sale) you would always give a bashful laugh and look to the painting: “Oh, I… I don’t know. I just dream about him. He comes to me in dreams…” Almost all of them got wide-eyed and then turned to you - knowing the stories everyone was becoming obsessed with - “A Soulmate!?” You would always shrug, because you simply didn’t know. “Well, perhaps. But I don’t think so.” Besides, you knew as well as they all did - you had to more than just envision your Soulmate. You should be able to feel them, to know their touch, to hear their voice. This man had been coming to you in dreams day and night, and you’d never got anything physical from him - just his body. Whether in still images or kinetic energy. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for anything more, or maybe you were just insane for believing that something so rare could really happen to you.

 As this year started to trail off, things began to change. And it made you too excited - you made him your every waking thought - because somehow that heightened the experience. And sometimes you weren’t all that sure these dreams were dreams; waking up surrounded by sketching paper and drawings you hadn’t ever remembered doing yourself. All of this guy… and sometimes a little more risqué than you’d ever display. Sitting there trying to recall the why - were you having sex dreams about him now? You knew sometimes you felt him pinning your wrists back, how he’d bite his lip and the distinctive way he called you a ‘good girl’. You knew how it felt to entwine your fingers with his now, and the warmth of his body as he embraced you. Sometimes you would get his distinct scent and you’d spent far more time than you’d ever care to admit in department stores trying to find whatever brand of cologne he used, to no avail. His voice really got you though, that beautiful Australian twang had just a touch of way out there - not a natural city boy. You realised you were quickly falling in love with him. And you hoped against hope that this wasn’t just your mind overthinking it, or playing tricks on you. That this was the real deal. That whoever this man was, he was really your Soulmate. And perhaps, with New Year fast approaching - this would be the year you met him. Still, sitting over a cup of coffee with your friend, in front of yet another painting you were mid-way through, you voiced your concerns. She only rolled her eyes, “Girl! Have you seen your face-! LOOK how happy you are!” “But, shit-! What if they’ve all been right?! What if he is my Soulmate!? Am I crazy, tell me I’m crazy!?” “Girl. He’s EVERYWHERE in all your artwork. No, you aren’t. We gotta FIND this guy.” “But what if I’m wrong!?” There was something scary about the whole thing too, and how foolish you’d feel if you were so sure that you’d find him, and it turned out this wasn’t what you felt it was. “Stop thinking you’re wrong, and start thinking about HOW you’re going to find him. It’s all New Year’s right!? You gotta be out there looking! You’ve gotta take fate into your own hands.” She pulled out her phone, “I’m going to find out where all the big parties are - with the way you draw him, I’m sure he’d be up for getting into some trouble at one of those.” She had a point, he didn’t exactly look like the stay at home with a cup of tea type. Maybe he’d stay at home for other reasons though… You felt a gentle heat stir in your stomach on that thought alone and had to curse yourself. “...What if he doesn’t like me? Or… I don’t like him.” “You’re worrying again!” She looked up from her phone when you didn’t respond; you were starting to look a little disheartened as you stared at the floor, fingertips tapping your knees. She wasn’t about to let you spiral on something that was so exciting, and so important. New Year was just around the corner and she was determined to make sure that you got the opportunity to meet this guy, and have the best night of your life. “He’s a looker, I’ll give him that…” She raised her eyes back to your painting and then around the room, making you turn back, smile on your face at how right she was, “but if this Soulmate of yours doesn’t treat you right after all this, I’m gonna kick his ASS!”  

***

It was the week of New Year and you almost couldn’t sleep these days. You’d spent most of the holiday with your family, but you just couldn’t ever get comfortable. Couldn’t ever shake the feeling that something huge was coming. This felt bigger than just your brain playing tricks on you though, it felt like your body and soul were being dragged towards a force that you had no way of resisting. And there was no way you even wanted to fight it, you just let it carry you. Heck, you knew that you’d spent most of your time distracted, and were glad that everyone else was so relaxed and you didn’t have a client deadline to adhere to, because if you thought you were being driven crazy by him before… When you were able to quiet everything for just a moment and slow the world down to concentrate, you began to formulate a plan. No-one had ever been specific enough on whether it was New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, or that funny moment of Midnight when a New Year officially came. Your friend had the good idea of scouring New Year’s parties - if it was meant to happen you weren’t going to find him cooped up in your house, that was for sure. And you had the little list she’d painstakingly laid out with a walking route, so you caught all the bars in the most populous area of town. But you still had no real idea of how this was going to work; would it be like a chance encounter? Would neither of you have any idea until you finally beheld each other for the first time? So your aimless wandering would still lead you to him - just like fate? Or would this feeling inside you that kept building just guide you straight to him - like a homing beacon that only got stronger as you got nearer? You didn’t know. And you wondered how he was feeling, wherever he was in the world right now. Was he just across town? Was he elsewhere in the same country? Was he halfway around the world..? The only thing you hoped, was that he was just as excited as you were to finally meet. To finally find the person you belonged with. You’d got it wrong plenty of times before… so you had to admit, you were ready to get it right. 

  ***

It was gone 11pm on December 31st and Ned Kendall was still sitting at home slow sipping a drink, finding it surprisingly easy to ignore that nagging feeling in the back of his head. Whoever she was, she wouldn’t meet him tonight and - in his opinion - she’d be a lot better for it. Why the hell had whatever it was that decided to allocate people Soulmates, decided to stick this poor woman with him. ‘She musta done something really wrong somewhere along the line!’ Ned took another sip. If she was out there looking for him, she would be disappointed, Ned knew; but she could move on. In fact he wasn’t even sure how that worked… had anyone ever ignored this call before? Did the bond just break if he did? No-one had ever talked about that… His phone buzzed, and at first Ned thought it was an ignorable text, but it was a call. And it was from his editor. He’d finished his master draft by now, and he’d let his editor know he was ready to hand it in, but Ned had said there was no rush and he’d simply drop it in next time he passed the office. Besides, it wasn’t due until mid-January, so he was ahead of schedule. ‘What the hell…?’ Knowing he couldn’t exactly not pick up, Ned answered. “Hello?” “Yo. Ned, I’m in town! Get the fuck down to Campari’s now, and give me your draft.” Ned glanced at the clock again, sounding a little incensed; “On New Year’s Eve?!” “YES. NOW.” “But-” “No buts, except yours, get it down here, N O W.” “Are you fucking-” What was the rush? There was surely no need for this? Okay, so his editor wanted the manuscript in person, fine, but it was New Year. Everyone had better things to be doing than worrying about work! Ned sighed, knowing that arguing would get him nowhere, given how persistent his editor was; “Okay…” “Okay! See you soon!” Ned groaned as he hung up and ran his hands through his hair; looked like he wasn’t about to get away with staying in all night after all. He stood and picked up his manuscript. How likely was it this thing was about to get lost in a bar somewhere-!? At least he had copies. Ned was determined to keep his eyes on nothing and no-one for too long; just drop the draft with his editor and get out of there. No loitering. No chance for this Soulmate thing to come off. Although the second he stepped out of his apartment the uneasy feeling he’d been able to keep at bay up until now hit him full force. “Aw man…” Ned shuddered, as if some invisible presence was watching him. He could do this… He could do this and still save this poor woman from the fate of him. He rushed to the bar, and although it was crowded, his editor was looking for him and waved him over. Ned didn’t trail his eyeline anywhere else and almost immediately dumped the manuscript on the bar. “Couldn’t you have waited like 2 days!?” “Nah, I was in town, thought it’d be easier to get a head start on all the deadlines in case of revisions.” “Man, I dunno, Mike… In the middle of a bar on New Year’s Eve?!” “It’s okay!” Mike produced a case from beside him and tapped it, “I promise it’ll be safe; I’m not even drinking a lot.” “Well on your head be it, I have copies!” “It’s safe!” Ned held his hands up – whatever - and backed away from the bar, ready to take his leave. “Uh, no! Ned, stay, have a drink it’s almost midnight!” He was painfully aware of this fact and didn’t need reminding. “I’d rather not-” Mike yanked him back to a bar stool, flagging the bar tender down for Ned’s favourite brand of whisky; “What are you so desperate to leave for?! What else is there to do in the city tonight? You got someone waiting at home or something?” “Not exactly.” Ned kept his eyes on his drink as he sipped, disgruntled. The uneasy feeling was pushing down on him like a ton of bricks and he wished he’d told Mike to fuck off and stayed back at home where he felt safe from this. Or made up any lie really; that he was celebrating with Sally somewhere… Why didn’t he think about that!? The countdown to midnight came and went, and Ned felt this one was just as unimportant as all the others. He didn’t even count the numbers as everyone else yelled them. But as the clock struck 12 Ned downed the rest of his drink, placing it decisively on the bar as everyone cheered. He turned to Mike as everything began to lull into friends hugging and lovers kissing: “Can I go now?” Mike huffed, arms folded. “Wow. You’re a real kill joy, I thought you loved a good party?” “Yeah, New Year never really stuck. Thanks, though. Enjoy reading!” “Thanks Ned, I will! Happy New Year!” Ned smiled but didn’t really mean it, just glad to be leaving. He scooted out of the bar and into the street, where everyone now seemed to be spilling. ‘Thank god I can go home and breathe now. What a waste of time.’ It wasn’t so easy to hurry home, however, as the crowds of people outside were mostly still - either watching the fireworks now adorning the sky, or couples sharing their New Year’s kisses, or groups going from bar to bar… and those who, just like him, were heading home. And - as much as he despised having to be out - Ned was politely navigating these people. As he looked at them now, he couldn’t help but shake his head. What was so great about New Year anyway? In his experience he’d never had one that particularly stood out against any of the others. It was all just days blending into days. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and kept walking slowly through the crowds of people, smiling to himself at the ridiculousness of it all. But it wasn’t until far too late that he realised the uneasy feeling had left him completely. So really Ned should have been jumping about in the street for joy that he was finally rid of it, only this time as he looked up to dodge around some more people watching the bright colours crackle across the sky, he froze. Standing on the other side of the square, one eye on the fireworks and every so often looking around herself, was the woman from inside his head. Someone yelled a New Year’s greeting at her, and she became distracted by them, laughing and calling back with a sweet smile. Ned wanted to make a break for it, but he couldn’t, almost like he was rooted to the spot: his mouth went dry and his heart began racing. He felt a million things; unbridled joy the likes of which he didn’t think he’d ever felt in his life, he felt sick, fearful, that dread from before panged in him for just a minute at the knowledge that any second she was bound to look his way and her life would be over… She turned back to the fireworks, via sweeping the crowd once more and Ned knew she’d spotted him by the way she immediately froze as he had. But she’d missed him because she was looking at the sky by the time this happened. He watched her swallow hard, and say something to herself. Ned wondered if she was feeling all this emotion as he was; and he definitely saw the fear cross her face as for a moment she turned sheet white, before she blinked and turned herself slowly back to him. When his eyes locked with yours Ned Kendall felt his breath leave him - and he struggled to take a new one. He thought he knew what love felt like; he’d fallen in it before. But that feeling suddenly ran through his body multiplied exponentially. Your lips parted, and you smiled gently. How long had you been waiting for this moment? Even before you’d figured out he was your Soulmate… you’d been waiting for the man who was staring at you from across the square to walk into your life since you’d first brought him to life on paper. And suddenly there he was. Real.   

***  

Ned blinked hard to snap himself out of the trance before, looking both ways to check he wasn’t about to crash into anyone, he took a deep breath (that it hurt slightly to take) and crossed to you. He was taller than you’d expected, though you didn’t really have that much comparison or frame of reference. Built exactly like you saw him in your head, and - apparently as customary - his shirt was very dark navy, top few buttons undone; as if he wasn’t already pretty easy on the eye. And you realised that you were about to find the answer to the biggest mystery of all: what his name was.

He stopped just in front of you, not exactly sure how close he should get. If you were both having the same sort of visions, then there was already a comfortable level of familiarity you should have with each other. And yet, this was the first time you were meeting. Which was the most appropriate? He immediately laughed, scratching the back of his head and then running a hand through those curls. You paid attention to this, to how large his hands really were; you’d not really got a good idea of that in images either. How your hands were going to look so tiny in his. “I guess you’re her… The girl of my dreams.” And you weren’t sure if he meant that literally or, just because he’d been dreaming about you the way you had him. You blushed gently, but he smiled sincerely, “Oh. Well. I’m Ned Kendall and this is really awkward-!” You giggled a little, responding in kind, “I’m Y/N. This is amazing - you’re… you’re real!” Ned too chuckled, and his eyes traced your body, damn near respectfully, as if he was checking that you were every bit as faultless as he remembered you. This was beyond something like a fantasy come to life: “You are too… I’ve written you for so long and you’re standing right here.” You gasped gently, “Oh, you’re a writer?!”  Clearly you’d never heard of him. Ned wasn’t sure he wasn’t actually glad of that, now he could guide your reading a little! Introduce you to his best work first. His nod was fairly confident, although his smile was a little bashful, “Yeah. And you…?” You rummaged around in your bag for a moment, and produced a fairly small sketchbook. It wasn’t that you thought you’d forget what he looked like, but almost that you could prove to him this was meant to be. You flicked through the pages to one of your favourites, even with how quick it was and turned it around to him. “I’m an artist.” He held his hand out, blue eyes wide and curious, “May I?” You nodded, relinquishing it to him, and Ned began to scroll through your work. Drawings they might have been, but it was just like looking in a mirror. “Wow… I’m as in your head as you’re in mine, huh?” “If you’d ever set foot in my gallery then…” You trailed off, “Wait, if you write - about me - then?” “Oh, yeah, you’re- you’re out there on bookshelves right now.” He shut your sketchbook and handed it back over, “You’re… an incredible artist.” You immediately blushed, “I mean I wish I’d have read your work before now. So then I could return the compliment. But now my visions make sense. You’re not… looking at love letters, you’re writing… novels.” He nodded slowly, but grinned, “Love letters is romantic though - and I could do that. If that’s what you wanted!” You laughed, that sound he’d heard so often but now got to experience in real life, “I’m… somewhat of an idealistic romantic. And I guess you can tell that by the way I’ve been looking for you all evening.” Ned didn’t dare tell you that his notion was the exact opposite, “Well. We found each other. Exactly like they say in all those interviews.” “Yes!” Then your eyes widened too, “YES! Oh my goodness, it’s just- it’s just like they say-! That’s crazy-! This is really happening and… it’s all true!” That excitement was back on your face, and Ned found it unbelievably adorable. His head tilted, and you caught that mischievous glint in his eyes: the one you liked so much. You wondered what was coming. His teeth sank into his bottom lip for a second as he mulled his question over, eyes flicking to your lips; “Well I feel like this could be too soon, but if we’re Soulmates then… I don’t know about you but, I kinda… I feel like I know you.” You nodded, absolutely knowing exactly what he was feeling; in fact, you were literally the only person in the world who knew precisely what he was talking about right now. “And I’d like to kiss?” Ned watched your expression change to intrigue, from fairly soft to sly, your eyes narrowed and you almost gave him a smirk. “Well, I’m glad one of us voiced it first.” Ned was curious, that wasn’t an expression he’d ever seen from you in his dreams, you were always happy sure, but this smile was new to him. Even when his visions were at their sexiest this wasn’t a look on your face. He realised there was still so much to learn; but with the rush that almost-smirk made him feel, he knew he was looking forward to learning. Ned didn’t move particularly slow, but he supposed you’d both been waiting for this for roughly the same amount of time, arms sliding around your waist he pulled your body into his, leaning down and closing his eyes to capture your lips. He already knew what you looked like: now he wanted to experience you for the first time. The taste of your kiss was exquisite and he didn’t even notice liquor; heck you really had been out here trying to find him all night. There was the faint hint of something - but he thought that might just be your lip balm. You wrapped your arms around his neck, fingers tangling through his curls and both of you made the same hum. Synergy, perhaps? He wasn’t exactly sure if there was a *click* and the world stopped spinning and this weird feeling went away - why did the people on TV never talk about the important things? He wondered if the kiss was so good because you were his Soulmate, or because in reality he really had been waiting so long for this. Ned’s tongue ran yours teasingly and you weren’t about to let him be the only playful one here; drawing him closer and carding your nails over his scalp; Ned shivered. And all he could think for a moment was kissing you like this with you beneath him in the sheets - where he could trail these kisses all over your body. To hear more than just a gentle hum out of you. The kiss was certainly confident - and you supposed neither of you had to hold back; there was no need to ask where this was going. You knew exactly where this was going - to the end of the world. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a keen rush of excitement through you. This was beyond finally finding someone; this was finding the someone. But his lips were soft, and he was gentle even when he was playful. You wondered what Ned Kendall was thinking; and you wondered a lot of other things too - you’d certainly need to pick up a novel or two of his… You wanted to know him. You wanted him to know you, better than you knew yourself. There was no thought in your head of slowing down. You didn’t have to think like that anymore. You both pulled back, taking deep breaths. The fireworks were still going, and the illuminated colours on his face highlighted all those smooth lines and those cheekbones that you loved drawing so much. Much better in person… You bit your lips together, savouring the feeling of his still on them. You were a little flushed, but your eyes were bright as you looked back at him - loving that confident little smile on his face. Ned had been the first one to voice the kiss, and you wondered if he would mind you voicing taking this further than that. What he might think of you for doing so. As if you were moving too fast? There was only one way to find out, and you mirrored the smile you saw; “Whaaat if we did more than just kiss?” Then, to make sure you explained why you’d be the kind of person to jump into bed with a man you’d just met (because you certainly weren’t that type and didn’t want to give that impression.) - “Ned, I feel like I already know you better than if we’d been on a bunch of dates.” Your eyes were almost pleading him, “I would never normally do this but… this isn’t normal. Is it? I just- Of course this feels right, but it feels so right. I have never felt like this and even though I know why… I want to follow what I feel. And I… I want you.” There were a few seconds pause as his bright blue eyes looked between yours, but there was absolutely no hesitation in his gaze. He was perfectly happy with following your suggestion. In fact, Ned chuckled a little as he nodded; “Ha, funnily enough I was just heading home. And we would literally only have to walk.” He waved in a vague direction. You couldn’t help but grin, so he had been in the city all along, “Sounds perfect!” Ned held his hand out for yours and you couldn’t help but eagerly take it, then wrap yourself around his arm. This seemed a little crazy and reckless, even if he was The One. But it was a New Year, that old ‘new beginnings’ cliche. And you’d found yours - why not get a little reckless? Ned couldn’t help but look at you as he began walking you back to his apartment, he liked you already. After all the worrying he’d done to Sally, Ned saw he’d needn’t have done any of it. But part of him couldn’t believe that you were up for this already. As you walked plenty of people also heading home from their New Year’s parties wished you a good night, and yelled holiday greetings. From couples who looked seriously loved up, to groups of drunk friends spilling all over the street, to couples who looks a little nervous to be together - Ned would reckon they were as new as you. And yet, also realised that it was highly unlikely any of them were what the two of you were - and certainly didn’t realise what they were witnessing. There was no neon sign. No giant arrow to say ‘They’re Soulmates!’, not another person on earth knew you’d met up tonight - even if you’d both talked about each other before… Ned held your hand a little tighter; no-one was taking you from him now - that only made you snuggle a little more into his arm. Suddenly he smirked in realisation; ‘Holy shit, this is going to be a normal New Year’s for me… A normal night out!’ His eyes flicked to you, ‘I’m gonna end up with a gorgeous woman in my bed, only this one is destined to stay.’

 ***

As you entered the lobby of his apartment building your heart was threatening to beat out of your chest. You’d never felt desire like this before, but you also felt so nervous. There were still so many ‘what ifs’ and you were supposed to spend the rest of your lives together. What if Ned didn’t like what he saw, what if you didn’t? What if when you told him all about you, he pushed you away… What if he had so many secrets, one that matched the haunted look on his face you saw once too often in your dreams. You shook the thought away - you couldn’t think like that. One step at a time. You could worry about your forever in the morning, right now you kinda wanted him to shove you against the back of the lift; to hell with making it to his bed. He weaved you through those leaving the penthouse parties, carrying their heels and half-finished bottles of champagne. Shaking his head as he pushed the elevator button. “Typical New Year, huh?” “I guess not for us.” He laughed, watching them shriek as they stumbled over each other. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to making this a typical New Year.” You giggled, “Me either. But hopefully I won’t only find you at midnight next year.” His eyes flicked to yours, “Whatever’s meant to be.” You both laughed at the shared joke as the elevator pinged and more leavers spilled out. Ned dragged you in and pressed the button to his floor. The doors slid closed and, as the lift began moving, you were left in the quiet at last. He closed the gap between you; grabbing your chin between his thumb and his index finger Ned kissed you again. This one far harsher than the first, and you squeaked in surprise as he did push you against the wall. Oh, okay, this was going to go just the way you wanted it. And be far better than any fantasy. Ned’s hands roamed your body, and up into your hair as the kisses became hot, passionate, teasing. Every so often his touch caused you to groan into it, and you could feel him smirk - at least that gave you a good gauge of what he might like. Mind you, you were probably helping him on that front also. By the time the elevator slowed to a stop at his floor you were already halfway through the buttons on his shirt. He was reluctant to release you, and yet eager to get you back to his place, and lacing his fingers with yours once more, Ned ran you down the corridor. You couldn’t help but laugh - this felt so teenage romance, the same rush, the same quick whirlwind of no patience. Of wanting everything to happen right then and there. A little too excited Ned had to fumble with the keys a few times to actually get in, but once the door was open it was closed just as fast. His shirt didn’t take long to find the floor as once again his lips found yours. You ran your fingers over his warm, supple skin and received a few delightful hums of your own to keep. Your clothes didn’t take long to find the floor either, as he guided you back towards the bedroom, and you both left a trail. Your body threaded with his - and dare you say perfectly? - and your nervousness wore off. Only excitement remained, and the feeling that this could only be right. This was fate. It had pulled you together, and now you were getting your first opportunity to be one. Ned entwined your fingers, head tilted, he searched your face. He had all the time in the world to get to know you, to get to know your body, to be so in tune with you that all he could ever give you was pleasure. That might take a little bit of time - but it started tonight. And skin to skin, your body beneath his, Ned already knew you were gorgeous, and he was going to get lost in you. You’d found your ideal weight - that old joke of ‘him on top of you’ - but as you let your eyes glide down his body you noticed his chest was awash with freckles, and you wanted to kiss every single one of them before the night was through. Ned’s exploration of your form didn’t last too long, right now he only wanted to be inside you - and the desperation of it was his only thought. He had time, he’d apologise and he’d do you right, just not right now. He was compelled otherwise, and you didn’t seem to mind that - possibly because you were feeling the same thing. Damn Soulmates... Ned nearly chuckled, but was happy he could at least pull delightfully sinful sighs and moans from you as he tested that you were ready for him. As he pushed into you Ned realised that he was still looking into your eyes. Normally by now he’d have turned his bed mate over. But you… you he wanted to see, wanted to watch your emotional responses as they crossed your face. It’d never been like this… not with any girl. But here he was, and Ned actually wanted to look into your eyes… If he wasn’t careful, he’d be spilling I Love You’s before he was ready.  

***  

Ned woke naturally to the sunlight streaming through the window. Glancing at the clock, he was glad it wasn’t really that late in the day. His arm was still around your bare waist and he pulled you closer to him, you moaned gently still not awake and cuddled yourself into his warmth as he kissed your shoulder. With his free hand Ned moved locks of hair out of your face and lay there quietly admiring you. How many times had you had sex last night? It all felt like a weird (magically induced) blur. So, he’d just call it innumerable, with a smug little smirk. Eventually you stirred, and you appreciated how much you were going to enjoy this when you woke up looking into his pretty blue eyes and realised that he wasn’t just a dream. Ned would never be just a vision in your head ever again. You couldn’t help but pull him into a delicate morning kiss. Sighing blissfully, you stretched your body out, propping yourself up on the pillows and smiling at him, your body ached a little - but it was a sweet ache and you didn’t mind too much at all. You spoke softly, almost dreamily, as you continued to stare into those beautiful eyes: “I know you’re made for me. And that I would feel like this no matter what, but… I’m glad he’s you. In my wildest dreams I didn’t ever think he’d be like you.” Somehow he was not only your Soulmate - the person you really had no choice but to be with; and you wouldn’t have thought that would happen if you weren’t at least compatible - Ned was still ticking all your boxes.  And you could threaten easily that you loved him for it. Ned bit his lips together, even though he’d been smiling. He still needed to confess to you, he wasn’t sure he could put you through this without beginning on the right foot. Even if it took a while to confide the whole truth, you had to know. He sighed gently, fingertips stroking down your back; “Look I’m not perfect, and you have a lot to learn and I kinda want to apologise in advance… if we’re really meant to be Soulmates. If this is really… THAT.” You tilted your head slightly, but all you did was smile mysteriously; “Well… so do you. But we’ll get though it together. We’re meant to, right?” You took his other hand, and kissed all his knuckles, and then his fingertips, “You’re not going to scare me away, Ned Kendall.” Besides, you’d seen what your future held. You wondered how much you should keep to yourself… you wondered how much he’d seen himself. How much Ned already knew without realising… diamonds and wearing white… You chose to believe these things could come true. Your time together could still only be measured in hours, but you already wanted these things with him. He chuckled, running his thumb over your lips, “I guess. But I do have one request. Unlike all those other Soulmates out there that share our fate… Can we please not go public with this thing?” At the look on your face Ned changed his track, “Not yet. I’m kinda ‘A Big Deal’.” You found that understandable, as a writer people knew his name and his work. You weren’t sure you wanted the world to know that you were part of the New Year’s Day Phenomena either. But it would be a little hard not to tell some people about it - your best friend already knew. And if your clientele saw him kicking around your gallery… You nodded in agreement, “Well Mr. Big Deal, I can’t wait to read... about me.” Ned continued to stroke his fingers down your back, with a smirk, as he rolled onto his side pressing his lips to yours, you accepted his kiss and stole another: “Well, I want to see how you draw me… and maybe I could pose for you. Like Rose and Jack.” You couldn’t help but scoff, before cackling, “Holy shit, a Titanic reference? I can’t believe you’d do that-!” “Terrible, I know. You’ll have to get used to this.” He grinned, affording you another kiss. “Mmm.” You hummed in agreement, “That doesn’t sound so bad to me.” You looped your arms around his neck and let Ned pull you back on top of him, tangling your bodies together once more as you continued to deepen your kisses.

Right now it might only have been hours, but you could both see your future, soon it would be days, months, years… And maybe eventually you’d tell the world, and join all the Soulmates that came before you. Or perhaps you’d stay quiet, and just smirk at each other knowingly every time you stood and watched the New Year’s fireworks, or as another couple made the announcement on TV. Whatever it would be, it would be a joint decision. Once you were both ready. For now, you had the whole world in front of you. And you had to learn each other’s. But you couldn’t wait to explore together. Good and bad; and perhaps there was a lot in both your pasts… but you were Soulmates and now bound together by a force bigger than both of you. You would make it through. You weren’t sure you were going to give Ned Kendall the choice either way. And he certainly wouldn’t be giving you one. You belonged to each other now.

---

Thank you!!! Thank you for reading the final fic of 2020! Here’s to 2021! 🎉

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers 2.IV (Josh Wheeler xF!Reader)

A/N: I’m sorry it took me so long omg I’m the worst. Let me know if I forgot to tag you or if you wanna be tagged -Danny

Words: 2,022

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to me!

I guess you're all expecting me to say something about what happened. I should, after all, I hid this piece of information from you, not that I owe it to you, but I guess it's confusing...

'More than just a dream...'

Josh and I are still holding hands while we start the tour, and I wish I could say I was feeling bad about it but to be honest I'm still way too drunk on the bliss to be ashamed. I felt bad though, I did promise Nathan a date before everything went to hell. As a matter of fact, he was going to be my homecoming date.

Where to start? Perhaps you'd like to know who Nathan was in my group of friends? Easy.

*Throwback time*

Nathan was the 'popular' of our group. Do you know how there's always that one friend that seems to know everyone for really strange reasons? The one that 'knows a guy, that knows a guy, that has a cousin'... that's Nathan.

He was also the good looking guy of our group. I know I said Alex was attractive, but man, Nathan was the real deal, he had charisma and a great smile, try to beat that when you're sixteen and have zero social skills.

I didn't have a crush on him though, but it was a very well thought decision like I said before, I wasn't going to let someone close to me break my heart, and both Nathan and Alex were too close, so I buried those thoughts about him before I could even consider it.

I never had a thing for him until... well, until he asked me to homecoming. I never knew why he asked me, I mean sure we were good friends but he never tried to make a move (and this is not me being oblivious this is me saying Nathan never even commented on my looks not even once). While I do remember having said to him something along the lines of "you're so pretty you annoy me" one night while I was completely shitfaced.

He laughed it off then, not bringing it up to tease me the next morning. He knew he was attractive and I certainly used to dream about dashing men like him coming to take me out for a ride or a movie, but I never thought that it'd be him the one who would ask me out.

'All the days I waited for you You know the ones who said I'd never find someone like you'

Then the end of the world happened and we never went to homecoming, yet we remained on the same group until one day he just vanished. No notes, no nothing. He left. He was also the first one to go, followed by Aria, then Phillip, then Lily, until we were just Maya, Alex and I, you know the rest.

We heard about Nathan a few weeks later though, the first loner on Glendale (Josh was very good at keeping a low profile, we didn't know he was by himself) and I thought it was a great idea to do the same, you know, follow the loner's path until I had Katie back... and you know how that turned out.

My point is, how was I supposed to know he was going to come back and still ask me for a date? What kind of person does that?

"Here we have the Cheeramazon division," Josh pointed to the sports section of the mall. "We teach sign language for those who are interested in learning, it's also handy for communicating while we're outside on a Ghoulie area..."

"Why're they here?" Nathan asked in a voice that was completely unlike him. "I mean, I know their old place got trashed but why haven't they looked for a new place?"

"They don't have enough people or resources," I replied. "They'll wait here until enough girls decide to join them or until they get enough food to survive on their own."

"And you guys are okay with that?"

"Good relationships with old tribes are everything," I shrugged. "We want to keep it friendly with everyone, we don't want to start another war."

"Really? Because you seemed ready to go out and set houses on fire five minutes ago," Josh replied sternly.

"That's different!" I scoff. "Those kids need our help and you know it!"

"What kids?" Nathan asked in curiosity.

"Are you familiar with the AV club?" I ask him.

"The kids with the podcast?"

"Exactly! They've been kidnapped and I've been trying to convince my tribe to go out and look for them but they refuse–"

"Because we're barely recovering from Triumph," Josh interrupted. "Listen Y/N, we can't be heroes fighting against some kids in suits..."

"Here we have the gamer's layer," I continue, forcing them to leave the subject. "But you don't have to write that down, they're leaving in a few days to their old cave. Been here to help us with some tech stuff..."

"Those over there are the X-jocks," Josh points over a couple of kids playing and exercising at the other side of the mall, "they followed Turbo after he was kicked out. They're no longer Jocks, but they don't want to be called Daybreakers either."

"They don't wanna mingle with all the weirdos, apparently," I roll my eyes.

"We have a healers division, which is coordinated by Y/N," Josh puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles. "She's great... a training division that Wesley and Turbo handle... Am I missing something?"

"The Daybreakers, which are lead by this loser," I look at Josh with a smirk. "He schedules our vigilance system, the hunts– Oh, and the weekly competitions."

"What are those about?"

"We organize tournaments and the awards are free days from working or having to go outside, stuff like that."

"Okay," Nathan nods, writing everything down. "I think that's all..."

"Cool," Someone calls Josh and he looks back at us. "Can you finish the tour on your own?"

"I– Yeah, okay," I reply anxiously. "See you in a while..."

Josh gives me a quick kiss and leaves to where he's needed, leaving me alone with Mister 'U-owe-me-a-date'.

"So..." I awkwardly start.

"I think I owe you an apology," He replies immediately.

"What?"

"I didn't know you and Josh... what I said was completely out of place anyway, who asks that kind of stuff to someone they haven't seen in months? I–"

"Nathan," I stop him, "It's okay, really, you didn't know, it's alright."

"I'm sorry," He repeats, this time calmer. "I ditch you and the group, I just... I don't know, I felt stuck..."

"I get that, we left too, eventually," I shrug. "Went to look for my sister, but... she died."

"Oh," He frowns. "I'm so sorry... was she–?"

"A Ghoulie, yeah," I sigh. "It's okay, I'm better now, I have this place and I have..."

"Josh..."

"I was going to say I have a sledgehammer, but sure," I joke.

He smiles and suddenly I remember why I used to like his smile so much. It really is quite dreamy.

'And you were out of my league All the things I believed You were just the right kind Yeah, you were more than just a dream'

"Those kids..." He mentions. "The AV club?"

"Yeah?" My heart jumps at the mention. "Do you know anything about them? Anything that could help?"

"No, but Josh mentioned kids in suits? I think I've seen them–"

"Y/N!" Josh runs back to us in a hurry. "They found them!"

"What? Who?"

"The AV Club!" He replies.

I try to walk over to the gamer's layer but Josh stops me.

"Wait," He holds me in place. "It's an X-Pug zone."

"That, or the kids in suits want us to believe it is," I point out, "Josh let me go! I want to know where it is!"

"We're not taking anyone there! You know we can't, Y/N! We don't have enough people, who knows how many of those are out there..."

I want to argue back but I know that Josh is right.

"Fine," I let go of his arms and he does the same with me. "Can I at least take a look? Maybe one day we'll go and... and just take a look..."

Josh doesn't need me to end the sentence though, he understands.

"Okay," He starts walking when Nathan speaks up.

"Can I see?"

We turn to see him, both wearing the same confused expression.

"It's just..." He moves his weight from one foot to the other. "I was telling Y/N that I've seen those kids before and maybe... I could talk to Sam, maybe she'd like to help?"

I look at Josh with my best puppy eyes and he sighs in defeat, nodding along.

"Fine..."

Nathan catches up with us and grins at me. What I shame I lost my chance with this guy, he looks like straight out of a fantasy, who knows, maybe he was the one meant to be with me if all this apocalypse stuff never happened in the first place...

'You were out of my league Got my heartbeat racing If I die, don't wake me 'Cause you are more than just a dream'

When we arrive Aria takes me directly to her laptop and points to the image in it. I hear her talk to Nathan for a moment while I see the streets and the directions and since I know the whole city by heart it takes me a minute to memorize the whole thing. I don't tell this to Josh, of course.

"Are you going to leave us alone now?" She asks irritatedly.

"Sure thing, you can leave during the night and I wouldn't even bat an eye at it," I reply, still looking at the screen. "Let me just..."

I pull out my phone and take a picture of the screen, is not perfect but it's quick and it's just in case. Josh gives me a warning look but I smile.

"Thank you for doing this," I step closer to him and put my arms around his neck. "See? It didn't kill us to find out, right?"

If I've learned anything in my short stupid life, is that flattery can take you places... and it distracts a boy's brain faster than anything else.

Josh smiles at me and I know I have his whole attention, so I quickly put my phone away.

"Anyway!" I break the spell and look at the gamers. "You guys did a good job, I'll leave you now. Nathan, let me walk you to the door..."

Halfway to the entrance, Nathan speaks.

"You're so not going to listen to what Josh told you to do. I know it, I can see it in your face."

"How long till I can hear from you and Sam?" I ask him in a business-like voice.

"A day, maybe two?"

"You think she'll help?"

"That if we can push Maya to a side."

"Don't mention my name and you'll have a bigger chance to succeed."

I stop at the door and turn to look at him decidedly.

"You have no idea how much this means to me."

"If you're risking your stay at the mall and your relationship with Josh, I assume a lot," He raises a brow.

"He won't kick me out for this," I roll my eyes.

"He's your leader, Y/N."

I remember that none of our feelings ever stopped Josh from kicking me out the first time. So he's not entirely wrong.

"Don't sweat it," Nathan shakes his head, "I'll do my best to keep everyone happy, just like you've been doing for the last few weeks. Consider this my thank you gift for all the hard work you've been doing, Vinchi."

"Oh," I cringe. "I don't really go by that nickname anymore..."

"Oh, sorry," He pouts. "Just Y/N, then?"

"Unless you have a new nickname for me," I grin.

Nathan tilts his head like he's considering what I'm saying.

"I'll think about it," He smiles.

"I'll see you in two days," I smile back.

'Yeah, you were more than just a dream...'

Taglist.

@letsbe-queer @slythermyg​ @loving-u-3000​ @one-loud-mind

[datheetjoella]

Fantober 2020, Day 29: Soulmate

Author: DatHeetJoella Fandom: Free! Pairing: MakoHaru Rating: T Part: 29/31 (read the full collection here) Word count: 2,872 Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmate, Developing Relationship, Fluff, First Interaction, Mirror Link Read at: AO3, FFn, or right here!

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

Green. For as long as he could remember, Haruka had dreamt of green. It was vibrant, ever-present, warm, and above all comforting. Like the essence of happiness was captured in one colour.

Outside of his dreams, Haruka had never encountered a green quite like it - at least, not that he recalled. Grass seemed dull in comparison, while neon signs screamed to call attention to them, but Haruka's green was a gentle shade, bright but still soft.

Haruka didn't know what it was supposed to represent, if it even had a meaning or if it was nothing more than an image his mind conjured up at night because it couldn't be bothered to create something else. But it wasn't unpleasant, far from it, so he hadn't questioned it beyond a fleeting thought here and there.

It was no different this morning; the last rays of green lingered before his eyelids when he woke up and left contentment in his heart. What was different this morning was the time displayed on his alarm clock, that either hadn't gone off or that he'd pressed in his sleep. Seven-fifteen, half an hour later than usual. There went his morning bath.

His good mood instantly vanished and he was almost certain a bad day would follow. With a sigh, Haruka pulled himself from his sheets and dragged his feet toward the bathroom.

The mirror above the sink reflected his sour expression, but he couldn't be bothered to unfurl his eyebrows. It wasn't like anyone else could see him right now and even if they could, he couldn't care less about his appearance or their possible opinion at that moment.

He grabbed the tube of toothpaste and his brush and pinched some onto the bristles, then he sighed again. Of course it squirted out too much, half of it spilling over and wasting away in the sink. Scrap that bad day and make it awful.

The thunder clouds were nearly visible above his head as he lazily brushed his teeth. Perhaps he should've just turned around and gone back to sleep, school be damned. Judging by how this day was going so far, he'd probably miss the train or get hit by a bus on the way there.

He spat out some of the excess toothpaste, but when he straightened his back, he wasn't met with his reflection. Instead, he saw a completely different bathroom, with a white wall instead of small blue tiles, and a completely different person; a person he didn't know.

It was a guy who he estimated to be around his age. His brown locks were styled in the most incredible bedhead Haruka had ever seen and his eyes were squeezed shut, a large hand covering up a yawn. When it passed, he lowered his arm and revealed his heart-shaped face with thick, upslanting eyebrows, a straight and slightly raised nose, full lips and pearly teeth.

Despite the visible fatigue wearing down his features, he was undeniably handsome. Very handsome. But when he opened his eyes and his pupils shrunk as they adjusted to the light inside the bathroom, Haruka's breath was stolen from his lungs. His irises were green. That shade of green Haruka had been yearning for since he was a child.

After eighteen years, Haruka finally saw his soulmate and he was relieved and touched and immensely confused.

Most people first met their soulmate when they were kids. As soon as they heard about the connection mirrors made between two people, a phenomenon scientists couldn't explain to this day, they'd spend days in front of the most reflective surface in their house in the hopes of catching a glimpse of their special someone. While Haruka hadn't been quite that eager, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't coincidentally pass by mirrors more often than before and lingered for longer than necessary.

Not once had he booked any success and after a while, he gave up. If his soulmate and he were destined to be together, they would see each other eventually. As the years went by, the lurch of his stomach whenever he stood in front of a mirror disappeared and the thought faded to the back of his mind, where it lived as a cricket that blended in with the rest of the white noise.

And now, when he overslept like he never did and was angry at the world for the tiniest little things going wrong, the day that had been written in the stars since his birth or perhaps long before that had arrived. It was almost funny. Almost.

Haruka was sure he hadn't seen him before, because there was no way he could ever forget a face as beautiful as this guy's. What did leave him baffled, though, was that he'd somehow been dreaming of his soulmate's eyes for years prior to their first meeting. That wasn't supposed to be part of the deal and he never heard of anyone who experienced it too, not from his friends or family members, not even in the most romantic movies or tv dramas. Had his soulmate been dreaming of his eye colour too, or was Haruka special for some unknown reason?

He didn't have much time to ponder it over. When his soulmate processed what he was seeing, his jaw dropped, then his mouth moved rapidly and he frantically waved his hands. What he was blabbering about, Haruka had no idea since mirrors were not equipped with microphones and speakers, but once he said his piece, he was gone.

Everything happened in a flash and before Haruka knew it, he was staring back at himself again. Like the image of his soulmate was nothing more than a hallucination.

Unsure of what to do now, Haruka quickly finished brushing his teeth and rinsed out his mouth. He wasn't sure if his soulmate was going to come back, but if he left now, then he might have to wait for eighteen more years to see him again.

Fortunately, his patience was rewarded. After a minute, the guy returned with a notebook in hand. He held it up and scribbled on the page in fine letters was, 'Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Makoto Tachibana. What is your name?'

The writing was in English and Haruka felt like an idiot once more. He hadn't even considered the possibility that his soulmate could be from another country. While his name was clearly Japanese and his appearance matched, that didn't have to mean he lived here and spoke the language fluently. Perhaps his ancestors moved overseas a century ago and he didn't speak two words Japanese. The possible time zone difference that came with it might've been the reason they hadn't met sooner. If that were the case, they were going to have a problem because foreign languages were not exactly Haruka's strongest suit. There was only one way to find out.

He held up his hand to tell his soulmate to wait while he went to fetch a notebook and a pen of his own. When he got them, he sped back to the bathroom, where his soulmate remained with a kind smile on his face. The drowsiness had vanished and instead, his eyes were twinkling, making Haruka's stomach flutter. Even without the mirror, Haruka would've instantly known this was his soulmate; never before had a single expression done so much to his insides.

'Haruka Nanase.' He wrote down and then he decided to cut to the chase immediately. He scratched at his chin as he pondered over the correct English spelling. 'Where are you from?'

'I am from Japan, and you?' Was his soulmate's response and his heart sighed in relief. At least he didn't have to worry about his English vocabulary anymore.

'Me too.'

His soulmate's face lit up even more - if that was even possible - and he excitedly scribbled more into his notebook. 'Oh, thank goodness! I was afraid you'd be from abroad and that I would have to write in English the whole time. My English is not so good.'

A tiny smile curled Haruka's lips. So far, that was one trait they had in common. But before he could write that, his soulmate put his pen against his paper again.

'I'm so glad I finally get to see you, Nanase-kun. I was starting to worry we might never meet. I've been looking forward to this moment for so long and I have so many things I want to ask you. Sorry if that's weird.' When writing in his native language, Makoto appeared to be very talkative. It was kind of cute.

'It's not weird. I've been wondering about you too.' Haruka held up his notebook, but then he lowered it again and added, 'and just Haru is fine. No need to be so polite.'

'Alright, Haru, you can call me Makoto, then. How old are you?'

'Eighteen.'

'Oh, you're older than me. I'm seventeen. I'm turning eighteen on November 17th.'

November 17th. Haruka hadn't given his soulmate's birthday much thought, but now it seemed odd he always passed such an important day by like it was nothing, while he was certainly going to celebrate it in the future.

'That's less than a month away. I should get you a present.'

Makoto wrote something, then scrapped it and wrote something else. What was left was, 'Thanks, but you don't have to. When's your birthday?' But crossed out between the lines, Haruka could make out 'meeting you is already the best present I could've wished for.'

Haruka felt his cheeks warm up and he averted his head. Although they met a mere handful of minutes ago, Makoto was already proving himself to be overwhelmingly sweet and kind. Not that Haruka expected anything less of his soulmate.

'June 30th.'

'Only a few months apart. I'm assuming you're in your third year of high school too, right?' Makoto wrote and Haruka nodded. 'Sorry if this is too personal, but do you mind telling me where you live?'

That question made Haruka frown. Makoto was his soulmate and they were supposed to live their lives by each other's side. In order to meet in person, knowing where the other was located was kind of a requirement. Maybe Makoto was a bit too considerate for his own good. 'I was born in Kyoto, but I currently live in Tokyo.'

Makoto's green eyes lit up in something Haruka could only describe as excitement. 'Really? I'm planning to go to a university in Tokyo in April! Meijou Chuo, have you heard of it?'

If Makoto was coming to Tokyo, that meant he didn't leave here yet, but that he would be within reach soon. That brought some peace to Haruka's heart; now he didn't have to jump through hoops to see him in real life. 'I have. What are you going to study?'

'Sports Education. I want to be a swim coach for children.'

This time, it was Haruka's turn to gasp. Did that mean Makoto was a swimmer too? It seemed almost too good to be true, but would someone who didn't love to swim really be his other half? 'Do you swim yourself?'

'I do. I specialise in backstroke. Does that mean you also swim?'

By the look of his broad shoulders, that wasn't difficult to believe. Haruka could only imagine what kind of muscles were concealed by his orange and yellow shirt.

'I only swim free.' Haruka noted down and before he knew it, he added, 'I was offered a swimming scholarship at Hidaka University. I'll be starting in April too.'

Makoto's mouth fell ajar. 'Wow, that's amazing, Haru! I'm so proud of you.'

If Haruka's face felt warm before, then it was scorching now. 'If you're going to a university in Tokyo, then where do you live now?'

'In Iwatobi, a small seaside town in Tottori. I was born and raised here. Have you heard of it before?'

The coincidences were stacking up so quickly it was almost scary. 'My grandma was born in Iwatobi. She lived there for years until she and my grandpa got together and moved to Kyoto.'

'Really? Who would've thought?' Makoto held up his notebook with a small chuckle. Haruka couldn't hear it, but he was convinced the sound was as lovely as his sunny smile was.

'She always made it sound like a beautiful place, so I've been meaning to go visit it sometime.'

'You definitely should, it truly is an amazing place. The view of the ocean is stunning and the mountains are perfect to hike or ride a bicycle through.' Once Makoto was certain Haruka had read it, he flipped the page and wrote something else. 'I've lived here for my whole life, so it's going to be hard to adjust to living in such a big city without my family around. Although I set my mind to it, I've never been all by myself before and I was scared I wouldn't be able to get around, so knowing you'll be there is a great comfort.'

Without conscious input of his brain, Haruka wrote, 'It is a bit scary at first, but you'll get used to it sooner or later. If you're not comfortable living by yourself, you're welcome to come live with me. My parents moved to Hokkaido for my father's work so I live by myself anyway.'

The second he raised his pen from the paper, he began to question his own sanity. He just met Makoto and didn't even know what his voice was like yet, let alone the rest of his life and how he was as a person. Soulmate or not, suggesting to move in together right off the bat was absolutely mental and there was no way Haruka was showing him this page.

To his relief and to his regret, Makoto suddenly wrote. 'I'm sorry, Haru, I have to go. My mom is calling me for breakfast and I still have to brush my teeth and get dressed. I'd love to chat with you more and ask everything I want to know, but if I don't hurry up I'll be late for school.'

The thought of having to part now they finally met after years stung, but even though their worlds stopped turning when their gazes locked, the outside world continued on like nothing had happened. 'It's okay. I have to get going too or else I'll miss my train.'

'Before you go, could I ask for your phone number and email? Then we can easily keep in touch without having to stand in front of a mirror all day.'

Haruka nodded again. 'Wait a second. I don't know them from the top of my head, so I have to get my phone.'

'No worries, I'll wait.'

Once Haruka had retrieved his phone from some side pocket of his bag, he sped back to the bathroom. He wrote the information out on the page and Makoto copied it into his own notebook.

'Thanks! I'll send you a message right away so you'll have my contact info too. Thank you for chatting with me, Haru. I couldn't have imagined a better soulmate.' Makoto tilted his head, eyes falling shut with a beaming grin.

Involuntarily, a smile graced Haruka's face as well. When met with such a joyous expression on such a handsome face, was it even possible not to smile as well? 'Me neither.'

After they scribbled some goodbyes, Haruka dashed out of the bathroom, promptly forgetting to even wash his face because his frantic heart was trying to hammer its way out of his chest. He had to start cooking or else he would certainly miss his train, but Haruka couldn't look away from his phone's screen, waiting for that message to pop up. Until then, he wouldn't be able to get a bite down his throat.

A whopping two minutes later, his phone beeped at last.

'Hey Haru, this is Makoto. Here you have my contact info. Sorry if I'm being too forward, and if that is the case then you can tell me and I'll back off, but do you have time to talk some more later? I've been dying to meet you and like I said earlier, there are countless things I want to ask you. If not, that's alright. Please know that you're always welcome to call me or send me a message whenever you want. I'll try my best to respond as quickly as possible. I hope to hear back from you soon, but there's no rush. Have a nice day!'

Haruka stared at the screen, his stomach tingling with a wave of unfamiliar feelings. Now he was definitely going to be late for school.

Little did Haruka know back then that Makoto and he would see each other in person sooner than he had thought, that Makoto's dreams had been overrun by cobalt blue for as long as he could remember as well, and that their first interaction had not actually been their first meeting. But least of all, Haruka couldn't have foreseen that the mindless proposal he wrote on that October day in front of the mirror but hadn't held up to show Makoto would come true.

[writingwithacupoftea]

It’s been one hell of a week, and I want to share a life update with you all...

I don’t really know what this post is gonna be. I think it’s gonna be kinda like journaling, but I actually wanted to feel like I was talking to someone about it, even if no one reads it. I’m going to put everything below the cut, and if you wanna read it, cool, and if you don’t, that’s equally alright. I’m not scrapping for sympathy, I just want to talk to people that aren’t in my quote on quote ‘real life’ (pls don’t be offended, I love you all dearly).

So, feel free to ignore, this is going to be completely unedited, raw rambling about stuff that I need to get off my chest.

I guess I’ll start with the good stuff: I got accepted to interview for my teacher training course!!!!! I’m absolutely over the moon, and incredibly grateful to have this opportunity 🥰

I’m having a long weekend at home with my family, which is lovely, because it feels like ages since I was back at home. My amazing bestie/house mate sent me the cutest little care package this morning and omg I love her so much 🥺

I’m also finally starting to get on top of uni work, which is a big weight off my shoulder now I need to start with interview prep as well.

Now, before we move onto the bad stuff, a bit of backstory...

In December 2019, I got into a relationship with a guy who, quite frankly, is unlike any other boy I’ve ever met. He’s so kind, considerate, selfless, generous, funny, caring - basically every girl’s dream guy. We have similar interests, have never fought once, and were friends before we got into a relationship.

We had an incredible 3 months together as a couple, with so many incredible memories and laughs... and then lockdown happened in the England.

The announcement on 23rd March this year that England was going into lockdown sent me spiralling into my first ever panic attack (which was an absolutely horrendous experience) and my Mum drove up to my uni house in the middle of the night to bring me home.

I anticipated being at home for a few weeks, and then it turned into months. But these months were some of the best months of my life - Mum and I would go walking in the fields around where we live and have tv nights together, me and my friends from held games nights over zoom every Friday night so that we could see each other - it was incredible.

It was during these months at home that I decided, on a whim and not telling anyone other than my parents, to email my old school to see if they were part of any teacher training courses. At this point, I didn’t know for sure if I wanted to go straight into teaching after finishing my degree or if I wanted to do another job for a few years before committing myself to teaching. I’m a big believer in fate, and thought the response that I get to this email will decide.

So I sent it and, miraculously, got a response within a week, saying that they would be delighted to have me. I was ecstatic. Obviously nothing had been confirmed, because I still had to apply and be interviewed, but I had been given the confirmation that I didn’t realise that I so desperately wanted.

I texted my boyfriend and rang my best friend to tell them the news, and they were over the moon for me. But I also had to tell my boyfriend that this meant that I would be moving back to my home town once I finished my degree, something which is now mere months away.

I now had a clear direction in which my life was going, I’d smashed my second year at uni with flying colours, and my confidence in myself had flown up to an all time high. I had completely fallen in love with the person that I had become. Lockdown had also meant that I regained my love of my independence, and I realised that I wasn’t missing my boyfriend at all. In fact, the main person that I was missing was my best friend.

It was at this point that I started to have doubts about my relationship. 

Surely after months of being apart I should’ve started to miss him? I even found myself not looking forward to going to see him for our birthdays as planned. Our text conversations had grown stale, and I didn’t want to call him because I had no clue what to say to him.

I’ve always been very career-minded. My focus was completely on my future plans, and he wasn't there in my visions as my boyfriend. He was there as a friend, yes, but not my boyfriend.

When I went to meet him in our uni city for our birthdays, I felt more like I was meeting up with a good friend and not my boyfriend.

I think by this point I had built all these feelings up so much in my head that it was always going to be hard to move past them. But I said to myself that I wasn’t going to make any decisions about what to do with my relationship until I had moved back to uni for a couple of months and we spent some time together again properly, going back to near enough the way that things used to be before the pandemic took over.

So I moved back to uni, and this takes us nearly up to present day.

First of all, we both worked to run some of the event during the uni’s freshers’ week, which left us exhausted and busy. The week after we went into lectures, and the pressure hit me straight away.

To work at my dream school, I need a first-class degree (that’s the highest ranking of undergraduate degree that you can get in England). Yes, I’m already averaging at a good first, but the pressure to keep it up is immense. If I don’t get this grade, all the things that I’ve worked so hard to achieve will go down the drain.

On top of all my degree work, I was completing my teacher training application, running weekly events at the Students’ Union (SU, for short), being dragged into meetings every other week...it’s been insane.

So me and my boyfriend hadn’t had a single date night since we got back. Again, I hadn’t missed it and I was completely fine with it.

I then got invited for an interview for my teacher training course, and realised how busy I was going to be for the rest of this academic year. I didn’t know how the hell I was going to maintain a relationship on top of everything else. I then thought about what my life would be like when I started my course next September. If I was being realistic, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to maintain a long-distance relationship.

I also didn’t think that I wanted to maintain it. I missed being single, I was putting off date nights that he was trying to arrange in favour of chilling by myself in my room. But I also felt bad that I was essentially going to be putting my relationship on hold for a semester, to then resume as usual for a few months at the beginning of 2021, to then say actually I don’t think I can make this work when I moved home.

So on Tuesday, after much deliberating and talking, my boyfriend and I mutually decided to part ways as a couple after 10 months of being together, but remain the best of friends.

I was a lot more upset than I thought I would be, considering that I had brought the topic up and essentially instigated it (although the decision was mutual).

I sobbed and sobbed, and it was then that I started to doubt my decision. He’s devastated, my Mum too, and I started to wonder if I’d made a mistake.

When talking to my Mum on the phone, I listed all of his good qualities and how amazing he his and my Mum just asked “If he’s this good, as I know he is, why did you want to break up with him? There’s not many like him out there.”

I’m still thinking about that question. It genuinely haunts me.

I’ve been alright for the past few days. After a good sleep on Tuesday night, I woke up feeling okay and like all my doubts about my decision had vanished.

I’ll be honest, I’ve always been a Mummy’s girl. Her opinion and advice mean the world to me. And I know that she disagrees with the decision that I made to leave my boyfriend, she’s said it to my face multiple times. And now, the only thing making me doubt my decision is the fact that she is completely in disagreement, saying how amazing we were together as a couple and questioning how I could let him go.

I know it’s my decision, but her opinion means a lot to me. She’s always known what’s best for me, been so right about so many people, and that’s scaring me beyond belief.

We’re going to talk about it later today, and I have no clue what’s going to happen.

So I’m feeling a bit all over the place at the moment, that’s the only way I can describe it. Who knows what’s going to happen next - I sure don’t...

If you made it this far, honestly congratulations because I don’t think I would’ve 😂

Thank you for listening to me ramble, and thank you for being there for me to talk to.

All my love,

Emily x

[a-student-out-of-time]

Connections Review Part 3

Storm Maverick- Category 5

And we return! This will be the final part of the Connections Arc. I had initial plans for this to be 2 parts but sadly Maverick got too big and therefore he required his own part. This is by far the most divisive part of the Arc as everyone seems to be content with the time travel and harems, but as soon as Maverick ‘Motherfucker Hellspawn’ Storm got relevant it all went downhill for some. So, what do I think?

So, this is part is less ‘What is Maverick doing’ and more of what I think of Maverick. As you guys know, I am aware that Maverick is a lot older than people seem to recognize as he has his origins in Askthedespairkids. And in the context of that blog, Maverick is actually a pretty good character. You have to remember that the blog was saturated with OCs and a lot of them suffered from severe sueness or edgy syndrome. I will not make names and I will not say who made the worst OCs because that’s the easiest way to start an internet war, but the two big reasons I got bored of Askthedespairkids and quit reading is due to how poorly written a lot of these OCs were and they hogged a lot of the spotlight, and the canon characters ended up being regulated to the side-lines, which didn’t tickle my fancy at all. True, Maverick was very over the top and what he ultimately ended up doing to his former classmates in Class 75 is incredibly graphic and probably worse than some of the executions and murders canonically, but I would rather blame the general OPness of that blog. Now this is on the Mod’s terms Maverick can hopefully be hit with the nerf hammer a bit more so he isn’t as ridiculous as he was in Askthedespairkids. Furthermore, you can’t call Maverick a Villain Sue and not apply that to Junko Enoshima, because yeah, she is a Villain Sue, that’s why I don’t like her.

But things are different now. Maverick is standing on his own, against only a couple of other OCs and canon characters. Furthermore, the Mod’s writing skills have improved since the Askthedespairkids days so there’s a bit more pressure on Maverick. I think there are two issues I find with Maverick. The first is that I didn’t like him making a move during this arc. The arc was fine just focusing on time travel and the various harems and relationships of the characters, adding Storm just bloated the arc and made it much longer then needed, I feel like Maverick could have been revealed next arc and the next next arc would be the next arc we are currently getting into. This gives me serious Oncoming Storm vibes where an Arc is ridiculously long and a build up to a (hopefully) big payload. Now let me make this straight, this Arc is a million times better then Oncoming Storm, I don’t think any future Arc would be as bad as Oncoming Storm, as that was long and boring whereas the previous stuff was interesting, its just that adding Storm made the Arc very bloated and artificially extended the length of the arc making it tedious. Perhaps a forewarning to the Mod when they decide to include someone like Mikado and Junko into the story. The second issue with Maverick is…he’s basically a poor man’s Junko. At the moment I’m really struggling to find any meaningful differences between Maverick and Junko. With Juu being around we already have our big bad villain for the second Session and if I’m right, Session 3’s main villain is going to be Mikado and Session 4’s villain is Junko. I know Maverick is important to the backstories of Umeko and Kyoji, especially Kyoji, but aside from tying up those loose ends, what is the point of Maverick? Does he exist to give the Quantum Crew a practise run against Junko? And yes, his threat level is higher as he’s kidnapping an obscene amount of people and is able to block us Anons, but Maverick shouldn’t know we exist. I really, REALLLLY hope there’s a logical explanation for that because if Maverick is somehow able to sense the Anons and see how much of a threat we are, then the accusations of Maverick being a Villain Sue do hold water.

Overall, I will be more critical of Maverick now then I was back then because he enjoyed being next to poorly written characters but that safety net no longer exists and there’s too many glaring similarities between him and Junko. Now for his actions yeahhh…. I did warn you guys that Maverick is that special kind of evil but I don’t think it was until Nikei revealed about all his foster families committing suicide that it really hammered home. It’s basically vindication of what I said before. The stakes are a lot higher now because previously yes there was all the girls being kidnapped but it was just Tokyo and one demographic, but here lots of people all across Japan are vanishing and being brainwashed by Storm, so the pressure is on for the Quantum Crew to stop him. And some familiar names as well as Damian, Aiko’s pen pal and Hiroyuki, Kiroko’s younger brother have gone missing alongside Kanon. Kanon vanishing means I think Leon is going to be important next arc because we did promise Leon that Hajime & friends would help her and he’ll be willing to throw his lot in to save his cousin. And the pressure is even more on because Yuki’s been taken as well, having traded Mikado for Storm. This is going be big, especially for Sora as she’s been struggling with how much she cares for Yuki and this will be a real test to see where her allegiances lie. Especially as its unknown what happens if either Yoruko or Sora dies, because if Hajime dies, time rewinds and he uses a life but what if Yoruko and Sora get offed? They don’t have lifelines so what happens if Hajime resets, does Yoruko revert to her old self or does Sora get erased from existence as she isn’t supposed to be ‘born’ yet?

Kyoji also got some development as we see him bonding with Monaca and the newly reformed Kanade, and it’s a very ironic twist that the two characters who are often nicknamed as ‘Satan’ in the fandom are now more or less siblings. As good as a caretaker he is for them though, his recklessness and self-loathing issues are still there as it prevents him from seeing Miaya despite a meeting between them being sorely needed and thinking she won’t want to see him again even if that may not be the case, and wanting to deal with Storm ASAP despite legit concerns that it could be a trap. Thankfully Chisa and Chiaki were able to talk some sense into him and rein in some of his more destructive behaviour. Given how manipulative Storm is and we have not one but two characters who are willing to go off the handle, possibly three if Nikei jumps the gun again, its going to be a very intense arc coming up as not only do the Quantum Crew have to fight against Storm and his backers, but also keep some of the more hot-headed members of the team from being reckless. The new members of the Quantum Crew are pulling their weight though as Kazuichi offered insight into the tech that Storm could use, Chisa obviously helping to keep sanity in check and Ibuki had one of her lucid ideas and managed to suggest how Storm delivered all the VPN password codes to his victims in a way that isn’t unnoticeable which is just mailing them a vacation brochure. I’ll admit, this was really clever by the Mod as that went over my head when it was delivered, but I should know about Chekhov’s Gun, which is don’t include something if its not going to be relevant later. Lesson learnt and I need to be more alert to detail now.

And that concludes the Connections Arc as the QR Code was scanned and they saw the welcome message from Maverick and Kyoji cursing Storm’s name. And my ranking shall be a C-. It would be a solid C but the inclusion of Maverick bloating the arc out and the fact that now he’s not being propped up by terrible OCs means the writing flaws of the character are starting to become more apparent and his similarities with Junko makes me question if he is a necessary character in the story or not. I will withhold too much judgement until the next Arc concludes but I did enjoy the Arc until the Storm part so its not enough to drop into D territory so C- it is. Either way, I’ll be watching the next arc with great interest and hopefully my new method of cutting down on needless wavering is making this easier to read. See you once the Storm calms down! -Review Anon

//Once again, thank you for the reviews. And admittedly, yes, I do wish I’d held off on introducing Storm’s plans until the ongoing plot threads were resolved and everyone came home. I can see all this being the beginning of the current arc and it probably would’ve worked better. That’s definitely the biggest flaw I can see with the last arc, though it’s important for setting stuff up and my desire is not for preparations to drag out, but for us to get to what’s important.

//After the Oncoming Storm, I’m wary of writing any more long preparation arcs, especially when I’m stuck in a long depressive episode ^^;

//I’ve never claimed to be a perfect writer or even a good one, but I’ve tried to improve on my writing since my early days. I had very little idea of what I was doing back then and it really does show. I only ask that you all go into the next arc with an open mind and not let past experiences of bad writing color your opinions, which I’m sure you won’t.

//I won’t spoil anything, but this upcoming arc has what’s probably my hardest decision as a writer to date and I’ve decided to committed to it, even if it hurts to think about. 

//I do hope you look forward to what comes next ^^

[ahogehope]

BlazBlue Alternative Dark War Nightmare Fiction Event English Translation (Part 2: Starting Beneath the Dim Light)

Crossposted from reddit just for a little more exposure.

This is part 2, or the third story quest in the event.

Previous parts can be found here: [Part 1-1, Part 1-2]

Some notes:

- The default name of Rei is used for the player character and was selected as male at the beginning of the game.

- I’m still on the fence on if I should be using honorifics or not. Your opinion on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Click here to be taken to a pastebin with the translated dialogue or look under the read more to read it here.

Section 2 – “Starting Beneath the Dim Light”

Fuzzy Ah, that was fun! I enjoyed that more than I thought I would!

Ciel Fun... I guess you meant combat when you said you wanted to “play.”

Fuzzy But there’s nothing more fun, don’t you think? Don’t you?

Fuzzy There aren’t many people who play with me anymore. Everyone always breaks before we’re finished.

Fuzzy Well, I didn’t exactly give my best performance this time either. But you guys played with me until the end so I guess you pass.

Raabe I thought the goal was to get know each other better, not an all out battle. Such bloodthirst is unbecoming.

Raabe Although... we seem to have passed the test. We probably shouldn’t worry too much about what he says.

Fuzzy Ahahaha, don’t be such a stick in the mud. It’s not like I actually tried to kill you, you know.

Fuzzy Besides, what better way to get to know one another than to have some fun?

Fuzzy So now I know more about you and you guys know a little more about me. Right?

Fuzzy Especially you... Rei.

Raabe Admittedly I was able to collect some valuable data. In any case, please hurry and tell us where we can find the elements.

Fuzzy Okay～.

Fuzzy If you keep heading straight down this road, the scenery should start to change a bit. It’s over there.

Hazama Just keep going straight? You can’t give us a bit more of a detailed explanation?

Hazama Do you not trust us or are you simply handling the situation as you see fit?

Hazama Ah, I’m not trying to sound overly skeptical here or anything.

Fuzzy You can take your doubts and shove ‘em. You’ll be fine, the city isn’t that big anyway.

Fuzzy It’s not that far and you’ll know it when you see it. Probably.

Kazuma "You think?" I can’t speak for Hazama-san, but I can’t say I feel overly comfortable with this either... Fuzzy-san...

Kazuma Is this really okay?

Fuzzy Who knows? I’m just following the role I was given. You don’t know if I’m lying to you but you also don’t know what the truth is either, do you?

Fuzzy Well, whether you believe me or not is up to you guys. Isn’t it?

Raabe That’s a logical way of looking at it. We don’t know anything about this world so whether or not we believe you we don’t have much of a choice other than to do what you say.

Fuzzy Now you’re getting it. What’s the harm in just going along with it? I’ll tell you everything I know.

Fuzzy After that, you’re on your own～!

[Fuzzy leaves]

Ciel Doesn’t matter whether he’s coming or going, it’s impossible to tell where Fuzzy-san is.

Raabe What an undesirable trait. Saying whatever they want and then vanishing without a trace.

Raabe The information we were given might have been hard to digest, but our options do appear to be limited.

Raabe We still need to find a way out of here. If gathering these elements is our only lead, then that’s our best option going forward.

Ciel Roger.

Hazama Please allow me to accompany you. I don’t think I could stand being left alone again in this unfamiliar place.

Hazama I’m counting on you.

Kazuma ...If you ask me, this guy may be better than Fuzzy-san but he still seems like a piece of work...

Hazama I must admit I was surprised, though.

Ciel What do you mean?

Hazama I wasn’t expecting you guys to be so skilled in combat.

Ciel Thank you for the compliment.

Hazama On the contrary, I’m much more ashamed such skills are outside my range of expertise.

Hazama I’m much more suited to infiltration and reconnaissance. Or, that is to say, I get the feeling I would be anyway.

Hazama Nevertheless, I must be lucky to have met up with such strong individuals. Kazuma-san is even a magician! How cool is that?

Kazuma A-Ah... is that so...

Hazama As long as I’m with you guys, collecting these elements should be a breeze. It’s a real confidence booster.

Raabe .........

Hazama My, you’ve been staring at me rather intensely for a while now. Is there something on my face?

Raabe ...No. I was merely ruminating on our situation. Don’t worry about it. If I feel I must say something, rest assured I will speak my mind.

Hazama Oh, is that all? I won’t look into it too much then. Feel free to ruminate to your heart’s content.

Raabe ...Hey, Rei.

Raabe Do you think Kazuma is real?

>I think he’s real. Raabe Really... If you think that’s the case then you’re probably right.

>What do you mean? Raabe ...No, it’s probably nothing. Tell me if you start to notice anything off.

Raabe We have so little to go on right now and everyone we’ve met, including Kazuma, have been cryptic so far.

Raabe For now, I would be wary of our allies.

Ciel Just like Fuzzy-san said, the scenery has changed.

Ciel If he’s to be believed, one of the keys... the elements, should be here.

Kazuma At first glance, nothing seems particularly suspicious.

Kazuma Since this place is so big, should we split up to look for it?

Hazama We still don’t know what these elements are supposed to look like. Splitting up would probably be unwise.

Hazama It would be nice if it turned out to be something simple like an actual key but... I doubt things will end up being that easy.

Raabe I agree. For all we know, it might not even be visible.

Hazama I do so hope he didn’t forget to let slip that these “keys” are potentially dangerous.

Ciel Kagami-san once called this sort of thing a “flag.”

Raabe Hey, don’t just say that. You’ll end up making it come true.

Kazuma .........

Hazama Kazuma-san? You’ve had this distressed look on your face ever since earlier. Is something bothering you?

Kazuma Aah, no, that’s not it. I’ve just had a lot to think about.

Hazama That’s understandable. All of this happened out of nowhere, after all.

Hazama I can see how you’d be overwhelmed.

Hazama We’ve all gotten caught up in this awful situation.

Kazuma Haha, you’ve got a point...

Hazama Does this sort of bizarre thing happen to you guys often?

Hazama You’ve remained very composed this whole time, analyzing things, and you seemed accustomed to combat as well.

Raabe How observant of you. Where did you cultivate such a discerning eye?

Raabe You had said before that you were skilled at infiltration and reconnaissance. What sort of work do you do?

Hazama Aw, now that’s not very fair. I’ve forgotten everything about myself. What I can remember is vague at best.

Hazama I told you earlier. I just have a feeling that I would be good at investigation. There’s really no deeper meaning to it.

Hazama It’s nothing more than an educated guess.

Raabe Is that so. Well let me tell you something you may have forgotten then. It’s hardest to trust those who speak the loudest. You would do well to remember that one.

Hazama Ahaha... So harsh.

Ciel ...!

Ciel I’m picking up a biological reaction! It’s coming closer--!

[gunshot]

Hazama Gyaaeehh!

Ciel That was an interesting scream.

Hazama I don’t care about that right now! Did you not see me almost get shot to death!?

Raabe You’re still alive, aren’t you? Ciel, where is the enemy located?

Ciel In front of us, at 12 ‘o clock!

[enter Noel]

Ciel Noel-san?

Ciel What are you doing here, Noel-san... Were you brought here, just like us?

Noel Who are you? Why do you know who I am?

Raabe This doesn’t seem to be like Kazuma’s case.

Raabe No, wait... this reaction...

Raabe I figured it out. This is the element. Noel Vermillion possesses the element of fire.

Ciel Why would Noel have one of the keys Fuzzy-san was talking about?

Raabe It feels like she has more than just possessing it.

Raabe Rather than being Noel Vermillion herself, the element may have overwritten Noel’s very existence here.

Noel Excuse me, but if you have nothing to do with me would you please stand down? I have business with Hazama-san.

Hazama Eh? Me? With me? Uh, now hold on just a minute.

Hazama I’m very sorry but I have no idea who you are. ...Then again, perhaps I should know who you are.

Hazama Yes, could you please tell me? What is my relationship with you?

Noel How dare you say such a thing...!

Noel How could you have already forgotten what you did to me and my friend!

Raabe She’s not being very reasonable. What did you do?

Hazama How am I supposed to know!? I wanna know just as much as you do!

Hazama Uh, Miss... Noel, was it? I think you may have mistaken me for someone else...

Noel I’m NOT mistaken!

Hazama Even if you say that... I really don’t remember anything so I don’t know what you expect me to do...

Kazuma Since she’s already so angry, why don’t you just go ahead and apologize for now?

Ciel I’ve heard that it’s always important to apologize.

Hazama I don’t really understand the point of apologizing for something I don’t remember doing but... I guess it can’t be helped. Sometimes it’s an adult’s job to take the high road...

Hazama Um, Noel-san, correct?

Hazama I offer my sincerest apologies. I must have hurt you deeply.

Hazama It’s regrettable that I don’t know who you are, but from the bottom of my heart I apologize.

Noel There’s no emotion in your words... they have no meaning.

Noel Were you even going to apologize in the first place!? No, you can’t just apologize and expect me to forgive you.

Noel I must defeat you...! You’re my enemy!

Hazama Uh, wait, isn’t this going a little differently than expected? I apologized and now things have gotten worse!

Hazama At any rate, would you mind putting the guns down? They’re scaring me.

Ciel Noel-san’s battle level is increasing and she’s getting more hostile by the second.

Hazama You think I can’t see that!?

Noel Don’t bother trying to resist!

[gunshot]

Hazama Aaaiiii!

Noel I will never forgive you!

[gunshot]

Hazama W-Wait a second! Surely we can talk this out!

Noel Talk... there’s nothing here that needs to be talked about...!

[gunshot]

Hazama Owaah--!?

Kazuma Do you think he’ll be okay...?

Hazama Do I look okay to you!? I don’t get along well with people like this!

Hazama This girl is a fire type, right? I’m a dark type. Fundamentally we just aren’t compatible.

Hazama You understand, don’t you, Kazuma-san? Since you’re a wind type you’re also no good at this kind of thing, right?

Kazuma Eh? Me? I... that’s...

Hazama Ohhhhh this is bad!

Hazama I leave this up to you guys!

>What!? Hazama Don’t give me that look! Surely you knew something like this would happen eventually.

>Even if you leave it to us... Hazama You guys are my only hope! I’m counting on you!

Hazama That’s it, Ciel-san should know how to handle this, right?

Hazama She’s a light type, after all.

Noel What are you whispering about...!

Noel You there! Please hand over Hazama-san quietly!

Noel Otherwise, I will have to use force...!

[gunshot x3]

Raabe Oh dear. It would appear that there’s no use trying to talk things out.

Raabe I guess it’s unavoidable. Ciel, Rei, prepare for battle.

Ciel Roger! Initiating elimination of target.

[static]

Raabe ...she disappeared?

Ciel Noel’s reaction is no longer within range. However, in her place is...

[a sphere with the fire symbol appears]

Kazuma That’s... a mass of mana, isn’t it? That’s the feeling I’m getting from it.

Kazuma I can feel it radiating the power of fire.

Hazama Perhaps this is the fire elemental key.

Fuzzy Ding ding ding! You’re absolutely correct!

[enter Fuzzy]

Raabe You were watching us from somewhere. You’re timing is too perfect.

Fuzzy Hm? Whatever could you be talking about?

Fuzzy Rather than that, aren’t you more interested in where the next key is? Aren’t you?

Kazuma I don’t think...

Fuzzy Aren’t you curious? You are, right?

Fuzzy I’ll tell you about it. There’s a building down at the end of this road – the rooftop is your next stop.

Raabe Once again you are awful with giving directions... So we’ll find the next element if we head there?

Fuzzy Probably. I think so anyway.

Raabe You think so... Take a little responsibility for your words.

Fuzzy Ahaha, you’re funny. I’m plenty responsible.

Fuzzy I hope you manage to get the next one too. If I feel like it, I might even come watch again. Alright?

Fuzzy Well, good luck getting there!

[Fuzzy leaves]

Kazuma So... should we start heading that way?

Hazama We should do that. We can’t expect to make any progress if we just stand here.

Hazama I wonder which elemental key we’ll find next?

[geekgirles]

Family

Read on AO3

Word Count: 16090

Inspired by @evaroze 's AU in tumblr. Years of solitude had made Branch very cynical towards the idea of having a family of his own. In fact, if anyone had told him back when he was still grey that his, then, unattainable crush, Princess Poppy would not only be his Queen but also bearing his children, he would've laughed at them and warned them to not go out unless they wanted their over imaginative mind to get them eaten by the bergens. Now? Now he wouldn't change what he had for the world.

@foxlanaeshrek @eva-93 @tipolover22 I think you guys wanted to read this ;)

As unusual as it was, Poppy was actually worried.

And, yes, it was a unusual sensation, considering she’s always faced any trouble, any challenge, with nothing but hope, optimism, and confidence.

But, then again, this wasn’t just any challenge. She was about to  break some earth shaking news to the love of her life. News that greatly affected both of them. News that would soon affect the whole kingdom, too. And the troll who held her heart was well-known for his tendency of overreacting about the most insignificant thing.

And this wasn’t insignificant, this was huge.

The pink queen trusted her husband, more than anyone in the world. But she knew that her news were something closely related to the core of years of self-loathing, sadness, and survivor guilt. They were related to the utterly devastating feeling that was loss, an irrational fear that only increased tenfold when one was at the receiving end. But just as loss awakened paranoia and dread, it also awakened the primal instinct of protection and care inside of everyone.

And, as paranoid and over-cautious Branch could be, he was twice as protective and caring.

There were simply no words to describe how wonderful he truly was.

That actually helped her ease her mind. All she needed to do to find her usual confidence was think about every single piece of proof that showed that her king wouldn’t act like she’d just told him she was cheating or him, or about to die, or sacrificing herself to the bergens in order to keep the kingdom safe…

And, Hair, was she glad her thoughts had nothing to do with any of that.

So instead, she focused on all the fond memories she shared with the former grey troll. The way he threw away everything he had ever believed in just to make sure she was safe during their adventure saving the village from the bergens. How, during said journey, he’d finally let her in and confided in her his fears and memories that haunted him. The way he slowly but surely came to embrace his inner troll. Or the way he took the greatest step of his life, forgetting all about his hopelessness and trauma just to cheer her up, to bring her back from the pit of emptiness that was her own sadness. Oh, when he sang for the first time in twenty years just for her. When he sang about how much he loved her! With nothing but adoration on his face as he uttered those three, magical words!

There truly were no words that would make justice to the infinite love and gratitude she felt for having Branch in her life.

But it wasn’t just the things he did during their adventures that made her heart flutter; it was also every little detail about him and their relationship. Like every night she felt fussy about something that might go wrong with one of her latest projects for her kingdom, when he would sing the sweetest ballads to her just to help her calm down. Or how reliable he was to entrust their people’s safety in his hands, always with moderation, of course. The way their voices would match effortlessly whenever they sang together. The velvety tone of his voice whenever he whispered sweet nothings into her ear, swearing his undying devotion to her in the form of the most moving and beautiful verses she could’ve ever imagined. How their bodies became two pieces of a puzzle everytime they danced or met each other in the night, it was as if they were two star-crossed lovers, finally reuniting with their beloved after years apart, yearning for one another.

Poppy chuckled at that, it was exactly that connection what had put them in the predicament they were in.

But that wasn’t important. What mattered was that, no matter what, Branch would always be the one that held her heart, and he held it so protectively, so close to his own…

All of her previous worries had vanished and were now replaced with thrill.

Poppy made her way through her husband’s underground bunker. If anyone had told her a few years ago that she would be living in there, married to the, then, grumpy, grey survivalist who would now be happy and colourful, she would’ve asked for an intervention to help the poor unfortunate soul that had just lost their mind.

But, alas, there she was. Living in a bunker and happily married to the grump. She finally made it to the living room, now decorated with a mix of Branch’s old artefacts, and her bright and colourful items. The Snack Pack never failed to comment on the hilarity of finding jars full of glitter, muffin trays, and dozens of bright-coloured scrapbooks in the same room as jars full of sweat, weapons, and books on survival techniques.

She found him there, seated on his chair and going over some blueprints for one of the many buildings and plans he had to improve the village. He was so handsome, with his new royal robes. Ever since they got together, the twins had made sure that he had tons of clothes, even more so the moment they told the Snack Pack they were getting married. The twins’ wedding gift had been an entire wardrobe with king-fitting garments; capes, pants, leather fingerless gloves, shirts, blazers… You name it.

And he looked stunning in whatever he wore. This time, he was wearing his old leaf vest‒”It’s the most comfortable thing I own, Poppy!”, he’d told her once‒and some brown pants he’d received from the fashionistas.

Not like her own wardrobe hadn’t changed, though. Ever since she became queen, Satin and Chenille had been providing her with dozens of dresses befitting of her role. But, she was still a Pop Troll, meaning she also had the need to stay true to herself and close to her subjects, and wear simpler clothes.

Like the dress she had put on that day; a simple, sleeveless white sundress with blue, embroidered diamonds adorning its hem and matching knee-length boots. Her hair, high in a ponytail but slightly curly and adorned with her crown. The perfect blend between regal and approachable.

Seeing as Branch was far too immersed in his duties, she called him, “Branch.”

At the mention of his name, he immediately looked up, “Oh, Poppy. Sorry, I didn’t see you there. What’s up?”

“Um,” she took a deep breath, she had to tell him, “can we please talk? It’s important.”

He had already stood up and was by her side the moment she said that, making him feel uneasy. “Poppy, is there anything wrong?” He asked her as he took one of her hands and rested his other hand on her cheek, reassuringly, “C’mon, what is it? You know you can always count on me.”

Yes, she knew. Still, she was so nervous she could barely look him in the eye, unintentionally worrying her husband further. “It’s just… It’s something very important for the both of us, and for the village! A-and, it’s huge, Branch, I swear. But I don’t even know where to begin!”

“Poppy, my love, what’s going on?” The survivalist was at the verge of hyperventilating. It wasn’t like his Queen to beat around the bush like that. At all.

“Well, i-it’s just that…”, the pink troll stopped again, not sure if that was the proper way to bring up the topic, “Sorry, I mean, uh, remember how odd I’ve been feeling lately? Morning sickness, some dizzy spells, and the like?” She tilted her head to the side, hoping she’d finally picked the right way to break the news to him.

“Yeah, we thought you might’ve been coming down with something.” The uneasy feeling in his chest was only becoming stronger and more suffocating by the second. If there was something the blue king didn’t like one bit, that was Poppy not acting like herself.

“W-well, it’s actually something more serious than that-“, Poppy stopped mid-sentence at the sight of a worried sick Branch. Oh, why couldn’t she just tell him!? At this rate he was gonna have a heart attack without even knowing!

Branch began to gently stroke her cheek with his thumb, mimicking the action with his other hand and caressing his wife’s. Now he truly feared for the worst. “Poppy, please, what’s going on? Are you okay?!” His voice was desperate, his heartbeat going a mile a minute, and his eyes only showed one emotion; panic. Oh, if anything happened to Poppy he knew he’d never forgive himself. He just couldn’t.

Seeing her partner’s reaction, the young queen knew she’d only messed up again. She really needed to tell him, but words proved themselves useless. Argh, why couldn’t she be as good with them as Branch was?!

That’s when it clicked.

Maybe Poppy wasn’t a poetess, or a smooth-talker like her husband, but she was a troll of action. Why using words when you can just show what you mean? After all, an image had always been worth more than a thousand words. That was the reason she scrapbooked‒well, and also because it was incredibly fun and she was so damn good at it. But, of course, it just had to be that day, of all days, that she hadn’t made a scrapbook to show to Branch…

As her king and beloved was losing his mind, calling out her name several times to get her attention, she was looking at everywhere but him, trying to find a better way to fess up. That’s when her eyes landed on his hand, the one that was tenderly holding her cheek.

“His hand, of course!”, thought Poppy, the perfect solution materialising in her mind.

“Poppy?” Branch called out to her for the twentieth time in a row, “Please, answer me! What’s wrong?!” Surprise came over him the moment the worry on his wife’s face was replaced with a tender look and a sweeter smile, finally looking at him straight in the eye.

Even to this day, her eyes were hypnotising. Luring him into getting lost into the infinite abyss of space that was hidden behind them and never coming back.

“Nothing’s wrong, Branch.” She said as she took his hand from her face and held it in both of hers. “I just want to show you something.”

Before the practical troll could do so much as ask, the optimistic half of him moved his hand in front of her, placing it onto her belly. He allowed himself to cast a glance at the source of his happiness. The look of pure bliss she wore, accompanied by a beautiful smile made his mind go blank.

Branch had always felt pride in his vast knowledge on Poppy’s facial expressions, especially her different smiles. What had once been one of his best-kept, most embarrassing secrets, had soon proven itself to be one of the most useful tools he had when it came to his romantic interest. He could describe and categorise each and every one of her smirks, grins, and smiles in depth; and he could tell when she was faking one from a mile away. So at this point he was convinced he knew all of them by heart.

The smile she wore now, however, it was one he’d never seen before. Full of love, of hope, of promises of an even better future waiting for them. It wasn’t even a toothy grin, but it was just so wide, and so warm, and so beautiful. But it wasn’t just beautiful, it was stunning. It was breathtaking. It was heartstopping. It was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. When Branch looked at that smile, he was pretty sure he was looking at happiness itself.

It was that smile and the sudden, comforting warmth he felt from her belly that made him understand. He finally understood.

There were so many things he wanted to say at that moment, but his mouth was suddenly very dry and words failed him. It was finally a miracle when he managed to utter, “P-Poppy…? A-are you…?”

“Yes, Branch. I’m pregnant.” She finished for him, the smile never leaving her face. “We’re gonna be parents.” She was at the verge of tears. She was gonna be a mother! Even better, she was going to make Branch a father!

Oh, she just hoped he was as overjoyed as she was.

Her answer came in the shape of some very familiar and addicting lips crashing into hers at the same time as a pair of strong arms enveloped her. The kiss was sweet, and slow, but just as passionate and full of love as the ones they shared on nights like the one they’ve conceived their soon-to-be child.There was no doubt he was as happy as she felt.

She couldn’t help but grin widely when they had to break the kiss for air, “So, I take it you liked my news?” She teased, still in his arms.

“Poppy, my sweet and pink queen, everytime I think I can’t possibly love you any more, you always manage to prove me wrong.” He hugged her again, resting his head onto her shoulder, “I’m gonna be a dad!”

The royal couple just stood there for a few minutes, in silence, happily enjoying each other’s presence along with the new life forming within the queen of the Pop Trolls. When they pulled apart to look at one another, they both had tears of pure happiness in their eyes.

“We’re gonna be parents,” the survivalist whispered, smiling.

“Yeah,” his wife smiled back at him.

“We’re gonna be parents!”

“Yeah!”

“Oh my Gem! We’re going to be parents!” Branch suddenly panicked.

“Yeah?” Poppy repeated, raising and eyebrow at the blue troll’s reaction and feeling slightly uneasy. “I thought that was a good thing…Isn’t it?”

The worry and‒was that fear?‒in his partner’s voice stopped him in his tracks, realising how his outburst could have sounded like. “Yes! Of course!” he accidentally shouted, making Poppy flinch slightly, “Sorry. But Poppy, seriously, it is a great thing. Don’t get me wrong! I am beyond happy. I-I’m thrilled, really.”

“Then why did you just act like me being pregnant were the end of the world?” She took a few steps back, distancing herself from him and crossing her arms, an eyebrow raised. Waiting for an answer.

“It’s not that, Poppy. You being pregnant is the best thing that happened to me since you married me!”

“But…?” she urged him.

“But… I’ve just realised I have to make the bunker a safer place for the kid. I already worry myself to death whenever you get too close to one of my weapons or traps, I can’t stand the thought of our baby getting near them.” He explained, his hand resting on his chin in a contemplative manner, “I should probably check the village too…” He whispered that last part to himself.

“Okay, yeah. That makes sense.” Poppy nodded.

“And I should also establish a perimeter for crawling babies, and go on regular patrols to make sure the area is safe for whatever outdoor activities we want the baby to participate in, and soundproof the bunker so no noises wake, scare, or disturb them, and…‒”

“Oh, no. You don’t!” The optimistic troll interrupted, slightly glaring at him, “Don’t you dare go full on overprotective and paranoid mode on me and the baby, Branch!” She warned him.

“But…”

“Shhhh! Listen, Branch. I know you just want to make sure our family is safe, and believe me, that’s one of the things I love most about you. But we can’t obsess over it either! We’re bound to mess up at some point, but we’re still gonna do our best and are going to love the baby and each other more than anything in the world, alright?” The royal troll told her husband as she leaned closer to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

They stayed like that, lovingly gazing into their eyes. Poppy was already leaning in for a kiss when Branch spoke up,”But I’m still gonna soundproof the bunker!” And with that, he got up and went to the elevator to make his way to the village and buy the materials he would need.

“Branch, come back here!” Poppy shouted after him, but to no avail.

The Pop Troll sighed, it was going to be a long pregnancy. She smiled, one she was looking forward to.

………

“The Maple Tree” was one of the few official bars in Troll Village, a custom they’d picked up from the Hard Rock Trolls that still needed to be fully accepted. The differences between both tribes was laughable; while you could count the exact amount of pubs the Pop Trolls had with one hand, the Rock Trolls had one every 109 inhabitants. And Volcano Rock City was a very big city.

Of course, those differences also meant that places like “The Maple Tree” were a lot more pleasant and welcoming than the rowdy businesses Queen Barb’s kingdom possessed.

The bar was carved into a tree, that was, however, not a maple. Because of that, the furniture was all made of the tree’s wood and padded with rose coloured cushions. The benches were attached to the walls, just like the counter was. The counter, on the other hand, was filled with colourful bottles, glasses, and drinks, most of the latter being more classic Pop Troll drinks‒such as fruit and berry juices, or candy flavoured refreshments‒ than actual alcoholic drinks. And finally, the bar was famous for its stage, which welcomed bands of any tribe to play and fill the atmosphere with their music as a sign of diversity, peace, and acceptance.

At the moment, the young king of the Pop Trolls and soon-to-be father was sitting on one of the stools surrounding the counter, and downing his third shot of the evening. Just because the Pop Trolls’ taste surpassed the rest of the tribes’, it didn’t mean that the owner of the pub wasn’t curious of the other types of refreshments and dishes the other trolls would have in their homelands.

As Branch enjoyed the scenery and his drink, he kept looking at a picture in his hand. One he took everywhere with him; his wedding photo.

He remembered quite fondly that day. Even as he and Poppy had work as an unstoppable and perfectly coordinated team when they were doing the arrangements for the ceremony, the reception, and the after-party; once the day came, he had been a nervous wreck. He spent hours second-guessing everything, wondering if, perhaps, Poppy had thought better of it and would call off the wedding after regaining her senses. Or even worse, that it was a terrible mistake and he was about to ruin Poppy’s life and lead the kingdom to its doom.

But the moment he saw Poppy down at the aisle, his heart stopped, his mind went blank, and all his worries faded away. There she was, as beautiful as ever. Looking up at him from behind the veil with so much eagerness and adoration he almost thought he was looking at a reflection of his own soul.

She was perfect.

She was real.

She loved him.

He loved her.

They loved each other.

And they were getting married, that wasn’t a mistake. That was one of the best decisions he had ever made in his life, and she agreed to it. They were in this together, the two of them against the whole world. As always.

After they’d said their respective vows and the blessed “I do’s”, everything was a blur. He remembered Poppy kissing him senseless, with so much vigor and passion he thought his knees would fail him for a moment. He remembered dancing exclusively with each other for hours on end, both slow dances and upbeat songs. He remembered singing to her a song he’d written for the occasion; “Mirrors”, he’d called it. Because it represented how the two of them were the reflection of the other, their other half. They completed each other.

 I don’t wanna lose you know

I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

Show me how to fight for now

And I’ll tell you, baby, it was easy

Comin’ back here to you once I figured it out

You were right here all along

It’s like you’re my mirror

My mirror staring back at me

I couldn’t get any bigger

With anyone else beside of me

And now it’s clear as this promise

That we’re making

Two reflections into one

‘Cause it’s like you’re my mirror

My mirror staring back at me

Staring back at me

 And, of course, he remembered taking that picture. But looking at it now, knowing his family was about to grow more that he could’ve ever imagined, filled him with so much joy he could cry any moment now.

That photo truly was one of his favourites. The twins had done an astounding job with Poppy and him. He wore a simple, yet, elegant black tuxedo with a buttoned-up white shirt and a royal blue tie. And Poppy…

Hair, Poppy was a vision of loveliness.

Her hair was tied in a long braid that reached down her waist and was adorned with pearls and flowers; white daisies, pink, blue, and purple roses (symbolising their love)… Her dress was a beautiful white ball gown with a queen Anne cleavage, its collar made of tulle. Her loose strands were in place thanks to the pearl tiara that was also part of the veil. And the look of pure happiness she wore during the entire day was the best accessory imaginable.

In other words, she was a divine creature that had descended from Paradise to captivate them all with her presence.

And she was his wife and bearing his, their, child.

As Branch lost himself in his own little world, he failed to notice that someone was looking over his shoulder, stealing a peek of the picture he had in hand, “The Queen and ya were looking hairy fancy that day, Yer Highness.” Said a gruff voice with a Southern accent.

Branch jumped from his stool the moment the voice spoke. Luckily, it belonged to someone he knew all too well. Leaning on one arm on top of the counter, stood a troll with bronze skin, a fiery orange mane, and a yellow nose. His knowing eyes were the same warm colour as his hair. The troll wore a flannel shirt and blue jeans, and he was the owner of the bar‒ Maple, hence the name of “The Maple Tree.”

“Sorry, if I scared ya, Yer Majesty. I just couldn’t help myself! You looked so happy, both in and out of the picture!” The bartender laughed as he served him another shot, the sound of his, rather loud, laughter echoing around the place.

“Ha-ha. Very funny, Maple.” Branch deadpanned. “For your information, I am very happy. Thank you very much. And, please,” he scoffed, “it’s not like you didn’t have the same stupid grin on your face the day you married Cindy Lou. I should know, Poppy and I gave you our blessing, along with Delta.”

Ever since the different tribes of trolls had learned to coexist, it wasn’t so uncommon for them to befriend, date, or even marry followers of another type of music. In Maple’s case, he’d found himself his soul mate and partner for life in Cindy Lou; a country troll with cornflower blue skin, wheat-coloured braids, and four beautiful, brown and white spotted horse legs. Not to mention, his own sister was in a long-term relationship with a rock troll.

“That ya did, King Branch. That ya did.” Maple chuckled. “So, what’s got ya so chirpy?”

The former gray troll froze. On the one hand, he and Poppy had agreed on telling the kingdom together in a party Poppy had spent three days planning that was supposed to take place in two days time. But on the other hand, he’d already had four shots of a not-so-light drink, and he was known for not being very good at keeping secrets when drunk. Because of a few beers, he’d gone and confessed to Poppy that he kept all the invitations she’d ever made him, and where he kept them.

Summing up, he was frosted.

“Uh… Y’know, the usual. J-just came up with a-a new… defense system… for the village.” Branch tried to lie.

“Really now?” Maple raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that why ya decided to take today, of all days, yer wedding picture‒the one ya never leave outta yer sight, might I add‒ out of yer hair in the middle of my bar? Because ya came up with a new defense system? Really selling it, pal.” The bartender smirked at him with his arms crossed.

The survivalist really hated it when other Pop Trolls used sarcasm on him. Like, how did they even learn how to use it?!

Seeing no way out, given Maple had served him enough drinks to be able to blackmail him with way too many embarrassing stories of him, Branch sighed. There was only one thing he could do. “If I tell you, you have to hair swear you won’t tell anyone.” The look in his eyes was dead serious.

“Hair swear?” Maple’s eyes widened.

The King of the Pop Trolls nodded.

“Very well.”

After they’d completed the oath, Branch took a deep breath and fessed up, “This is something Poppy and I wanted to share to the whole village later but…” he smiled, “we’re having a baby. Troll Village will soon have a new little prince or princess.”

The orange haired troll gasped, delighted, “Yer Highness, that’s great! I can’t wait to meet the little trolling. I’m sure the whole village will be happier than a country troll dancing to the sound of “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, ironically”, Maple gushed, “Oh, I can’t wait to tell my Apple Pie!”

“Don’t you dare!” Branch hissed, making the other customers turn around to look at him, “You can’t tell a soul, Maple. Not even Cindy Lou, you’ve hair sworn.” He whispered-shouted.

“Alright, alright. Yer the boss.” The owner of the bar raised his hands up in defeat. “But really, congratulations. I’m sure Queen Poppy and ya will be some groovy parents.”

“I hope so too.”

The next morning, a loud banging noise coming from outside the bunker woke both Poppy and Branch up, they soon recognised the noise as someone knocking on their door. Startled, they exchanged glances and made it to the elevator. The moment they stepped out of their home, they were greeted with half of Troll Village, grinning from ear to ear.

“Congratulations!” Every troll present shouted at the top of their lungs.

King Peppy took a step forward, “Aww, Poppy! I can’t believe my little princess is finally going to start her own family,” the old king sniffled, “I’m so proud!”

“Dad, I’m 25. And I have been queen for three years now, and a married woman for two.” She deadpanned, “But how did you guys find out? You weren’t supposed to know until tomorrow at the party.”

“Oh, Maple told us.” A voice from the back yelled.

“Only because His Majesty spilled the beans first!” The bronze skinned troll defended himself.

“Maple!” Branch hissed, “I told you to keep it a secret. You hair swore! Do the sparkles, glitter and dew drops mean nothing to you!?”

“Hey, it’s not like I pinkie promised…” The orange haired troll shrugged.

His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, the blue troll was about to give the other troll a good talking-to when his wife’s voice stopped him dead on his tracks, “Branch? You told them about the baby?”

Yup, he was most definitely frosted.

“I’m so sorry, Poppy. But I’d drunk a little bit more than I should have, and you know how I can get that happens, and then Maple appeared, and you know how he can get when he wants in in the gossip, and‒”

“Hon, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Really?”

Poppy nodded.

“But I ruined the surprise, t-the whole point of tomorrow’s party…”

“It’s not like we can’t celebrate tomorrow anyways,” she shrugged, “Besides, I can’t really blame you, guess it was too big a secret to keep to ourselves.”

“Oh, Poppy. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you‒, wait a moment”, he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, crossing his arms and impatiently tapping his foot at the same time, “You’re the goddess of surprises, you hate it when someone blows them…”

“W-what do you mean?” she started fidgeting with her hands, shrinking from his gaze.

“Poppy, have you told anyone about it?”

Before his Queen could answer, the other half of the village led by the Snack Pack appeared in front of the bunker, holding a huge banner that read “Congratulations on the baby!”

Her husband raised an eyebrow at her, “It slipped as part of the lyrics of the morning song.” She laughed awkwardly. “But, hey, one less thing to worry about, right?”

Branch chuckled, shaking his head with a grin. Sometimes, Poppy made it impossible to be mad at her and her quirks.

………

Trolls pregnancies were very different from those of other species. While most mammals would develop in their mothers wombs for months until they were finally ready to be born, or oviparous in eggs; trolls were born very differently.

It even changed depending on the type of troll, actually.

The most famous case were glitter trolls. They didn’t need a partner to be parents, so genitals weren’t as big a deal for them as other trolls. Hair, they didn’t even show them! Reason why they were always naked and Guy Diamond had given birth to Tiny Diamond all on his own.

Rainbow trolls, however, did need a mate. But the way Rainbow trollings came to be was just as surprising. The mother-to-be would spend the first trimester pregnant, carrying the forming egg in her womb. Then, once the first three months of the pregnancy were over, she would go into labour and lay an egg. That egg would then spend the remaining six months of its development surrounded by materials meant to keep it warm and healthy, namely its parents hair. And finally, at the ninth month, a trolling would be born from the egg.

Even if Rainbow trolls didn’t spend as much time with their forming babies as other species did, it still was of great importance that the mother was kept safe and comfortable, far away from unnecessary stress. For their emotions were still closely connected to the baby’s well-being even when they had already laid the egg.

Unfortunately for Poppy, who was roughly into her second month, that meant that Branch was on overcautious, overprotective husband/father mode 24/7.

The pink troll was currently resting on her chair in the bunker, working on what she already considered one of her finest works. Just like she’d made scrapbooks of her and Branch’s relationship (she had entire albums dedicated solely to certain dates and their wedding), she’d decided to do a scrapbook of her future baby.

So far, it didn’t have much. She wouldn’t be able to add the best stuff until the baby was actually there. But she still worked with what she was given; like sweet moments she’d experienced while pregnant. Mainly little details Branch had done for her.

It was funny, being an expecting mother. She knew nothing about her baby, and she already loved them more than her own life.

As she was adding the last remaining touches to the page she’d been working on, her husband made it back to the bunker after a long day ruling over the village.

“Poppy, love! I’m home!”

“Oh! Hey, honey!” she greeted him, slowly getting up from the chair, “How was your day?”

The moment he saw her standing up, he was there by her side. Putting one hand on her back and the other taking hers, to support her, “The festival’s coming along. But some trolls are way more helpful than others…” He sighed, “I’ve had to look for Keith three times in an hour because he was never where he was supposed to be!”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, and then, I was reminded for the umpteenth time that the village tends to get the safety codes mixed up…” He rested his index finger and his thumb on the bridge of his nose, exasperated, “Seriously, I don’t understand how I keep forgetting that I have to give them a crash course about that. I mean, it’s been an issue since before we started dating!”

“Well… Maybe you could try with a different approach?” Poppy offered.

“Like what?”

“You see, most of us haven’t spent a little over a decade in an underground bunker, devouring practical books as the best way to pass time,” she smirked at the fake offended look he sent her, “so we’re not very good with numbers.”

“Oh, than what do you suggest I do, oh, all-knowing Queen Poppy?” He sent her a look, barely managing to suppress his laughter.

“How about, instead of numbers, you used colours?” She got closer to him, tempting him as they bantered.

“Colours, you say?” he got closer as well, sending her a sly smile, “What do you have in mind?”

Poppy began to tenderly kiss his neck, his cheek, his ears (a soft spot of his), “Just come up with something like, “Code Magenta: fire hazard” or “Code Periwinkle: cupcake shortage”. Y’know, something like that…”, she practically purred into his ear.

Branch could feel himself becoming putty in her hands. If there was one thing he was sure of, that was that his wife, especially his flirty wife, was his greatest weakness. And he had the pregnancy and her hormones to thank for.

An expecting mother’s symptoms were incredibly varied and unpredictable: mood swings, cravings, soreness in different parts of the body, strange abilities one could only dream of… For Poppy, the most present ones so far were mood swings and cravings. The mood swings constantly had Branch on the lookout; one minute, Poppy could be her usual self; perky and positive, and the other; she could be either a pink ball of barely-contained fury or a disconsolate crying mess.

He honestly didn’t know which one he dreaded the most.

On the bright side, her mood swings could also bring pleasant surprises. Like moments when she would be extremely affectionate (and Branch never rejected a chance at having his adorable wife’s undivided attention and endless kisses), or she could be extremely… erhm… eager. Which he would be able to smell thanks to his enhanced senses and feel his heart melt and his knees buckle from a mile away. Just like at that very moment.

The cravings, on the other hand, were manageable or a handful depending on the moment. Granted, it wasn’t the same thing going emergency grocery shopping at 3PM as going at 3AM. But his sweetheart needed him and he’d be frosted if he ever said he wouldn’t get her what she wanted. He just couldn’t say no to her.

The thing about them, though, was that they were always something sweet. Always. Hormones had given Poppy an even bigger sweet tooth than before. Everything had to have at least three spoonfuls of sugar now that she was expecting.

He’d been worried sick about a possible diabetes until Dr Plum Plimsy had assured him that it was normal, and that her body would be able to deal with all that sugar on its own.

Speaking of sweets… As much as he wanted to lose himself in his beloved’s affections, he had something for her, and if he didn’t give it to her before dancing a good ol’ tango, the angry mood swing was sure to come.

“Hey, Pops”.

“Hm?”

“I’ve got something for you.” He said as he slowly untangled himself from her loving embrace. Grabbing a paper bag from his hair, he handed it to her, “Your favourite.”

The moment he said those words, the queen of the Pop Trolls squealed like a teenage girl, “Oh, babe! You remembered!” She all but gushed as she took one of Biggie’s extraspecial, hyper-exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime cupcakes. Strawberry, no less. Her favourite indeed.

“I love you so, so much!” She squealed right before her lips came crashing onto his. Their favourite way of thanking each other.

“I love you too.” Branch smiled at her. “Now, sit down and eat your cupcake. I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

“Hey, that’s my line!” Poppy reprimanded him.

“I… I beg your pardon?” Now Branch was beyond confused. What had he done? Had he triggered furious Poppy by accident?

“I said, ‘that’s my line’”, the pink troll repeated, now fully facing her husband with a pointed look, “Branch, ever since we told the village I’m pregnant, you’ve been doing everything on your own! You don’t let me take part in the negotiations with the other tribe leaders, you don’t let me organise nowhere near as many events and parties as before; the sole idea of me going on a walk alone sounds completely insane to you!” She’d unknowingly been raising her voice as she spoke, clearly frustrated.

The former gray troll started fidgeting with his hands, doing everything in his power to avoid her questioning gaze, “I… I just want to make sure you and the baby are safe and stress free…”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Her shout made him look her in the eye. The frown on her face was bad news, “It took us a whole lot of work to help you evolve from paranoid hermit to slightly-disgruntled-but-all-in-all-caring husband and king! No way I’m letting you go back to neurotic lover!”

“…N-n-neurotic lover?” Branch managed to utter, still taken aback by Poppy’s sudden outburst.

“It’s the best middle ground I could come up with.”

“Oh”.

“My point is”, Poppy continued, “as much as I appreciate what you’re doing for me, ‒because, believe me, I appreciate everything that you do a whole lot‒, you have to give me my own space. You know, you outta let me do things on my own.

“I might be pregnant, but I can take care of myself. Besides, “she snorted, “this is Troll Village. What’s gonna happen to me here that’s actually dangerous?” She laughed.

The young king couldn’t help but laugh himself, “I guess you’re right. Sorry, Pops.”

“It’s fine, my king. Just… Control yourself a little bit more in the future. ‘Kay?”

“Hey, I’m not that overprotective!”

“Literally, the only thing you haven’t done is lifting me up whenever you see a puddle of mud‒!”

“See? Not that overprotective.”

“You didn’t let me finish. As I was saying, because you throw yourself to the mud and form a staircase with your hair whenever you see one!”

“Can’t let Cloud Guy get ahead of me again…” He muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing!” He sighed, “Look, Poppy. I’m sorry. It’s just, I’m so excited about us being parents that the mere thought of anything happening to any of you is enough to keep me up all night. But I get it, I should give you some space. I’m sorry, really.”

“Oh, Branch…” His wife cooed at him, “I love you.” She closed the gap between them and kissed him.

“I love you too.” He said in between kisses. When they finally pulled away, he asked, “Any idea on the gender of the baby? According to… Basically every experienced female troll I’ve talked to and any book I’ve read on the matter, you mothers have a pretty good instinct when it comes to these things.”

The optimistic troll looked down at her breasts, which were growing quickly to be able to feed the baby when they were born, “I don’t know the gender, but I’m pretty sure the baby’ll be a hungry one. These two are huge!”

“The baby isn’t the only one who’s hungry.” Branch teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Poppy couldn’t help but blush deep red. To this day, she could barely keep herself from blushing, and sighing, and just acting like a teenage girl in love whenever her husband was romantic or recited poetry to her. So, whenever he opted for a more… intimate route, she was a goner.

So there she was, blushing like an idiot as Branch took one of her hands and started to leave the lightest of kisses on her knuckles, “I’ve heard that some marriages lose their spark as soon as children are involved, things such as husbands losing interest in their wives because of their bodies changing and becoming distant as a result…” he chuckled, amused beyond belief, “However, as soon as I gaze at you, angel of mine, I can only wonder how a heartstopping vision such as this”, Poppy could feel him practically devouring her with his eyes, “can drive a sane man away.” He finished by kissing the back of her hand intently.

“G-guess t-they’re not so s-sane after all, a-are they?” The queen stuttered, overwhelmed by her husband’s affections.

Turning the tables and turning Poppy into a huge mess for once always brought a sly smile to Branch’s face, “Not so sane in the least.”

Without much of a warning, the teal troll rested his free hand on his wife’s back and the one that had previously held hers right behind her legs, lifting her up‒as gently as posible, of course‒, and carrying her bridal style to their couch. Once seated, Branch allowed Poppy to nestle herself in between his legs, her back pressed to his chest as his hands rested on top of her growing belly.

A comfortable silence settled between them, the love they had for each other covering them up from any possible cold, with their heartbeat as the best background music; all of it combined created the perfect atmosphere for an expecting young couple of lovers.

But silence never sat well with Poppy.

“Branch?” she called.

Her husband hummed in acknowledgement.

“Could you please sing to me? There’s nothing I crave more than your voice, especially when you’re away all day…” she whimpered, turning slightly to meet his gaze.

Branch chuckled, for it was true. The one thing Poppy would never fail to ask for, besides sweets, was for him to serenade them. She claimed it calmed her and the baby. Made them feel safe.

Leaving aside what he usually thought of her antics, her wish was his command. So he began to sing, from the heart, as an attempt to express how much she meant to him. For only that could ever get close to making the true depth of his feelings for his beloved, and pink, and perfect wife any justice.

Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine,

I’m leaving my life in your hands

People say I’m crazy and that I am blind

Risking it all in a glance

And how you got me blind is still a mystery

I can’t get you out of my head

Don’t care what is written in your history

As long as you’re here with me

I don’t care who you are

Where you’re from

What you did

As long as you love me

Who you are

Where you’re from

Don’t care what you did

As long as you love me…

With every verse, Poppy just made herself more and more comfortable in Branch’s arms. If there was one thing she could call Paradise, that were moments like this. She could only think of one way to make it better; to have a little trolling in her arms.

“Funny that you would choose a Backstreet Boys’ song, “she teased him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “considering you have practically the same voice as Justin Timberlake from Nsync…”

“Remember me why are we together again?” He deadpanned at such a poorly joke. She knew he hated being compared to Justin Timberlake. That was a low blow, even for their usual banter!

“Heh,” she shrugged nonchalantly, “you liked it and you put a ring on it, so...” The pink troll emphasised her point by pointing at the finger that, sure enough, wielded her wedding band.

“Are you quoting songs again?”

“You don’t like it when I make my points through song and you don’t like it when I quote songs. There’s no winning with you.” She sighed in an over-the-top manner.

“And then I’m the dramatic one…” Branch rolled his eyes.

“Oh, you bet you are!” Poppy turned then to face him, resting her waist on her bent knees and unconsciously giving Branch anxiety, “Every time‒and I do mean every. Single. Time‒, something wakes you up abruptly you yell “Hide the coconuts!” And I ask you, my love, why? Just why? Who hurt you with a coconut, Branch?”

They stayed in silence until a roar of laughter escaped the both of them. It only got louder the moment Branch grabbed Poppy by the waist and dipped her, kissing her deeply. Once they separated to breathe, they went back to their original posture, affectionately nuzzling each other’s cheeks.

………

As unexpected as it could sound to foreigners, the nights in Troll Village could get very cold. The low temperature and occasional howling winds always invited the citizens to stay in, protected by the warm, fuzzy hair the pods were made of. Branch’s bunker, on the other hand, as advanced and well-developed as it was, still lacked such protection; so the nights could, indeed, get very cold.

The survivalist thought he had that problem solved the day Poppy moved in to live with him and start a new life together. Each other’s warmth proving to be all they needed to comfortably survive the night.

Therefore, the moment he noticed the heat that radiated from a figure that should be lying beside him missing, he panicked. Before he opened his eyes, he tried reaching to Poppy with his hand, but her side of the bed was empty. Sure enough, when he finally looked at it, searching for his wife, he realised she was nowhere to be found.

She wasn’t in the bunker.

She was a pregnant female.

There were predators in the forest!

A lump in his throat, he rushed out of the covers of their bed, put on his robe, and began to frantically search for his pink muse.

He searched everywhere in his bunker, just to be sure. She wasn’t in her favourite spots, she wasn’t in his favourite spots, she wasn’t in the kitchen, getting a late night snack; she wasn’t in the chocolate stash, she wasn’t in the reformed armory (although, admittedly, he wasn’t sure why he thought she could be there in the first place). Just where was she?!

With a feeling of dread tugging at his heart strings, he got out of his bunker to search for her in the woods. With a lantern in hand, he kept calling her name, hoping she would answer him. Finally, right before he decided to turn around and alert the village of their missing pregnant queen to initiate a search party, he found her. But the state he found her in was most unnerving.

The upside of it was that Poppy seemed to be completely unscathed, she had no visible injuries nor she appeared to be in pain. In fact, she was merely sitting on a rock in the middle of a clearing and gazing at the night sky. The downside of it was the distant look she wore when she looked at the stars shining high above her. Her pensive frown and melancholy eyes reflected a whole new level of depth inside of Poppy. The manner in which she stared at the stars held such reverence and humility it almost appeared as if Poppy was begging the stars to allow her to become one of them; to give her the chance of being as beautiful and carefree as them.

Branch soon decided that such a look didn’t belong on Poppy’s face. It should be the stars looking at her that way, not the other way around.

As carefully as he could, in an attempt to not startle her, he called her, “Poppy?”

Poppy just kept staring at the night lights like she hadn’t even heard him, which didn’t help him calm down his growing anxiety.

“Poppy, please, what’s wrong?” he tried again, this time getting closer to her. Lantern in hand, he carefully positioned himself right beside her, as they agreed they should always be; right next to each other, but instead of sitting on top of the rock with her, he opted to sit on the grass, to give her some space in case something was wrong. Which, judging by her unresponsive state, was very much the case. “Precious, it’s me, Branch. Please, my love, what are you doing here so late in the night? It’s very dangerous, you know it is.”

No matter what he did, the worried husband just couldn’t get his wife as so much as acknowledge his presence. Branch could feel the desperation getting to the best of him, it was maddening. In a last, desperate attempt, he leaned a little closer, tried to look her in the eyes, and attempted to reason with her, “Poppy, if something happens to you what’s gonna be of the baby? What’s gonna be of me?”

That seemed to stir something inside her. An answer at last! Only it wasn’t the kind of answer the blue troll had been expecting. In fact, it was actually way worse than momentarily losing sight of Poppy; she was crying. As soon as he’d finished his last sentence, the pink queen started hiccuping and sniffing softly, as the same time as tears made their way to her magenta eyes, reddening them quickly.

Before Branch could do so much as embrace her in hopes of consoling his wife, she spoke up, her voice wobbly and frail, “Branch, what if I don’t make it?”

Her question took him aback, “What do you mean?”

She shallowed thickly, “What if I die giving birth, Branch?”

She, then, turned to face him. She was so vulnerable at that moment and she felt so utterly lost. The idea of dying terrified her! Not only because she knew she still had too much to live for, but because she couldn’t bear the thought of living her loved ones behind so soon! If she died prematurely, who was going to make peace between Satin and Chenille when their sibling bickering went too far? Who was going to scrapbook with Biggie everything that Mr. Dinkles had done during the day? Who was going to babysit Tiny Diamond when Guy was busy? And most importantly, who was going to be there for Branch and their child, her dear lovable grump and soon-to-be ray of sunshine, when ruling the kingdom became too much?!

At those thoughts, her quiet cries turned into loud, heartbreaking sobs that she tried to hide by shielding her face with her hands. The sight was devastating indeed, and Branch could only stare at his crying wife while he felt his own heart breaking in two.

That definitely wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

“Poppy. Poppy. Poppy, please, look at me!” he pleaded as he gingerly guided his morning angel’s face with one of his hands, very much like he did when she lost her colours all those years ago. He just hoped this wasn’t going to be a repeat of that time, “Where’s all this coming from? Just this afternoon, you were completely over the moon with the idea of giving birth.”

Her magenta orbs were suddenly focused on the floor, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, “I… I had a nightmare, Branch.” Again, she swallowed thickly, in a futile attempt to get rid of the uncomfortable lump in her throat, “And… It brought unpleasant feelings back.”

“You? Unpleasant feelings? Okay, Pops, now you’re freaking me out. Seriously, what’s this all about?”

She finally held his gaze, and hair, were her eyes filled with sadness and fear. It killed him to see her like that. “It reminded me that my mother died when giving birth to me.”

Oh. Branch’s eyes widened. Oh.

Now that was unexpected. Neither Poppy or King Peppy ever spoke of Poppy’s mother, late Queen Holly, in such a way. Normally, their voices would be filled with care and longing, clearly reflecting the loss they carried. But never did they sound as serious as Poppy did then. Usually, if the late Queen was ever brought up, the royal family would convey their feelings in a way that was best described as bittersweet; it was clear they missed her, but at the same time they knew  Queen Holly would want them to be happy, even if she was no longer with them. This time, however, the grief in Poppy’s voice was palpable, like no other time. It actually reminded Branch of when he reminisced his grandmother.

But it was true, Queen Holly had passed the day she laid Poppy’s egg. Branch remembered her vaguely, but such a presence could never be forgotten altogether. Queen Holly was a Rainbow troll with party pink skin, covered in glitter freckles and moles all over it‒of which Poppy had only inherited some moles and the glitter freckles on her cheeks‒; denim blue, silky hair; and a violet pair of eyes and nose. For the very brief encounters Branch had had with her before her passing, she could be best described as a toned-down Poppy. She was as calm, collected, and regal as she was optimistic, kind, and caring. No wonder King Peppy loved her madly, or that the kingdom had mourned her loss like they would grieve the most fateful Trollstice.

He also remembered King Peppy constantly mentioning how, in contrast to the eccentricities he’d passed down on her, his little girl had received her mother’s smile. And for that, Branch was eternally grateful.

All in all, Branch should have known that the loss of her mother would have affected Poppy greatly, still… It was easy to forget such a detail with Poppy’s upbeat and positive attitude indicating anything but loss.

But now, the familiar feeling of mourning and misery he had lived with for so many years presented itself in Poppy’s features, making it clear that not even her, the happiest troll to ever live, wasn’t immune to their effect. And that certainly didn’t suit Poppy, at all.

The questioning look on his wife’s face, though, brought him back to the real world. She had asked him a question, a query whose answer probably meant so much to her that it was practically like her sanity and ease of mind depended on it. Which they probably did.

What if I die giving birth, Branch?, her words resonated inside his skull, raising questions he hoped with all his being he didn’t have to answer. But it was apparent he had no other choice.

“Just what would I do if Poppy passes?”, he wondered. His most sentimental side knew that a part of him would die with Poppy if she didn’t survive, for she was his hope, his love, his saving light guiding him through the darkness he’d been facing all alone for years. Poppy was his happiness, and there is nothing harder to cope with than the loss of a source of happiness; especially if it came from a loved one.

But, his rational side knew that he would never be truly alone if Poppy left them. He’d been close friends with the Snack Pack ever since they befriended the bergens, after regaining his colours he even made friends of his own, and, most importantly, Poppy would leave him the most precious gift to remember her by: their child.

There were just so many factors to take into account, all of them as devastating as they were hopeful. As fulfilling as they felt selfish. As comforting as they were painful. But, above all, none of them succeeded at conveying what they were supposed to; none of them would truly ease Poppy’s fears.

Taking a deep breath, the former grey troll braced himself for one of his biggest challenges to date. He moved a little closer to the pink troll, took one of her hands from her lap and, squeezing it a little in a comforting manner, he spoke, “Poppy, in all honesty, I have no idea what I’d do if I lost you. Probably go mad,” he eyed her curiously for a minute, but when he saw his poor attempt at a joke had been fruitless, he quickly resumed to comforting her, “You do mean the world to me Poppy, and now that I know what it feels like to have the world, I could never go back to accepting anything else.

“However, I know I wouldn’t be alone. And, while it’s true a whole kingdom is quite the heavy burden on a lone troll’s shoulders‒you know that better than anyone‒, you’ve also taught me that I’m never truly alone. Thanks to you, my delicate flower, I have friends I can count on no matter what. Thanks to you, I have enough experience to handle any issue that might arise in our community. And, most importantly, thanks to you, my love, I have the family I’d been yearning for since I was a kid who’d just lost his grandma. And I’m forever grateful for all that, Poppy.”

“It’s good to see you’ll be okay if I’m gone…” She tried to smile, but it came out forced, giving the queen’s true feelings away. Luckily, his husband knew just how to fix that.

“Ah, ah, ah!” He wagged a finger from his free hand at her, halfheartedly admonishing her, “You didn’t let me finish.”

“By all means, go ahead.” She chuckled weakly.

“Above all, if there’s something I’ve learned after years of knowing you, Poppy, that is that you will always, always, get back up again. Always. So I highly doubt laying an egg would ever be enough to take you down,” he smirked at her, “I mean,  you ventured into the forest on your own to save your friends from our natural predators, did everything in your power to make peace with said predators and succeeded, and the most challenging thing of them all“, his gaze softened as he uttered those last words, “you never gave up when it came to winning over the village’s reclusive grump. And you didn’t just win him over! You won his heart, and now he doesn’t want it back.” He finished at the same time as he kissed the back of her hand, his eyes never leaving hers.

Hearing such beautiful words, Poppy couldn’t hold her tears back anymore, but before Branch could panic again, she closed the gap between them with a deep kiss, embracing him as she went on with the lip-locking, her hands playing with the nape of his head as his roamed her back; their hair intertwining as only troll lovers’ would.

Once again Poppy’s conviction was reaffirmed; no matter the challenge, she would always be able to face it with Branch by her side.

………

If anyone had told the Snack Pack a few years ago that their dear Poppy would be happily married to the village grump and bearing his child, they would’ve looked at each other and agree that person was wackier than Cooper.

However, now they loved Branch just as much as if he’d been a member of their group his whole life, and where immensely happy for him and their queen. Although it is true they all had different opinions on their relationship at first.

At the beginning, they would all agree that Poppy tried too hard to involve Branch and to befriend him, especially considering the latter’s knack for ignoring, refusing, and even destroying her scrapbooked invitations and attempts. The heathen!

“Poppy, he’s way more trouble than what he’s worth!”, they would tell the, then, princess over and over.

Admittedly, though, even if they weren’t as observant as Poppy was when it came to the reclusive troll’s secret desire for company, they certainly were more observant than she was of his numerous hints of his secret feelings for her. They never mentioned it because they weren’t really sure how to bring such a topic up to Poppy, and because they low-key thought it was a lost cause, too. After all, there was no way two trolls so different from one another could make a relationship work!

Nowadays, however, they were glad they’d been so sorely mistaken. Poppy and Branch were an unstoppable team, and an even cuter couple! They were literally the whole village’s OTP.

When it came to Branch’s feelings, of the whole Snack Pack, Smidge was the first one to pick up on them; but she was also the hardest to convince to give the boy a chance. Having spent so much time near Poppy, with that of being her right hand in practically everything since they met, the Teaspoon troll didn’t take it lightly whenever Branch made Poppy doubt her own leadership and skills with his harsh words. And she couldn’t just forgive someone who tore a perfectly good invitation just for the sake of it! Just what in hairnation was Branch, an animal?!

Luckily, she soon started to warm up to him the moment he proved he’d do anything for Poppy, and she would always respect a fellow Poppy defender.

The first one of the group of friends who actually shipped them was Biggie. He even played dress up with Mr. Dinkles pretending to be them, and if, by any chance, you were to witness such thing, it was easy to notice the romantic atmosphere their games would head to. But it was to be expected; Biggie was a huge romantic and an even bigger supporter of the “opposites attract” trope.

Guy Diamond, on the other hand, didn’t really think much of it. If they ended up together, they would work things out themselves; if they didn’t, it just wasn’t meant to be. Although he was positively appalled to find out Biggie had been roleplaying as them and hadn’t invited an actor of Guy’s caliber to participate.

Satin and Chenille were conflicted. It was undeniable that Branch’s fashion sense was an insult to everything they believed in, but his ability to sew his own garments was impressive. Besides, they could totally see why Poppy could be interested in someone like him; he had quite the nice build, a sturdy body with defined muscles from years of hard work, and a pretty handsome face. In other words, he was fine model material with zero clothing expertise.

Cooper was simple enough in his approach. Before Poppy and Branch saved them from the bergens he was slightly afraid of Branch and felt really bummed out by his buzzkill attitude, but then,  as soon as they decided to take a step forward and become a couple, his whole reasoning could be summarised by saying “If Poppy’s happy, so am I.” Which, honestly, was the wisest thing to do, otherwise, he’d tell you absolutely everything there is to know about him. And some things you just don’t want to know.

No matter their original views on the matter, now they could all agree those two were the perfect couple. Because you only needed to watch them for a little while to appreciate the way they would dance with each other, so intimate it felt like intruding in their private time. It took so little to be moved by the sweet, sweet ballads they would sing to each other and nobody else, capable of bringing anyone to tears. Because anybody could melt at the sight of the smiles they reserved for the other; in Poppy’s case, even if she smiled for practically anything, no smile, grin, or smirk could even begin to cover the beauty of the ones she sent Branch. And, in Branch’s case, though he did get better with time, any other smile would look like he was about to barf compared to the grin he shared exclusively with Poppy.

Yes, those two were their best friends. And they were the most beautiful married couple they’d ever see, of that they were sure.

………

Saying the day the egg was laid had been an emotional rollercoaster would be a vast understatement.

It had been a winter afternoon. Poppy and Branch were out supervising the construction of some new homes for the trolls from the other tribes that decided to live there, either because they liked the idea of a change of scenery, or because they’d met and fallen in love with a Pop troll and had decided to live in their partner’s homeland.

As Branch kept talking to the troll in charge about the best course of action to take when building or checking the blueprints to see if they needed some last minute modifications, Poppy was just looking down at the trollings playing around the area.

Soon, she’d be down there with her own little bundle of happiness and love, her dear, attentive husband close by. Oh, she couldn’t wait to walk hand in hand with Branch as they cooed at their little one, to watch Branch’s proud face and his dopey smile when he played with them, to sing and hug the precious little gift they were about to receive. To watch them grow up! A wide grin made its way to her face, oh, she just couldn’t wait!

And apparently, she wouldn’t have to.

As Poppy kept gazing at the village below her, she suddenly felt herself moist. Like she had peed herself. But that didn’t make sense! Ever since she found out she was pregnant she kept needing to use the bathroom regularly, she would’ve known if she needed to go!

That’s when the pain, along with the realisation, came.

This was it. Her water broke. She was going to lay the egg! She had to tell Branch!

“B-Branch? H-honey?”

“Yes, darling?” he replied absentmindedly, focused on the blueprints before him.

“My water broke.”

The moment those words left Poppy’s mouth and registered in his brain, his heart did a somersault and his eyes widened. Oh, cupcakes. The baby was coming! He immediately shoved the blueprints to the troll he had been talking to and ran next to Poppy. Taking her hand and positioning his other one on her lower back, he started to guide her towards their home.

“Someone call for Dr. Plum Plimsy!” he cried.

Aside from the obvious help they’d need from the village’s doctor, it was imperative that the mother laid the egg in the parents’ house, for they were to constantly watch over it until it hatched. Problem was, Branch never really thought about starting a family when he first started building his bunker. In the middle of the forest. A good half an hour from the village!

If he didn’t have his wife about to give birth with him at that very instant, he would be working on a time machine to go back in time and smack his former anti-social self in the face.

“Easy there, Poppy.” he tried calming her down, “Just breathe in and breathe out, like the doctor taught you to.” He said while panting himself, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the pink troll.

“Oh, I’m breathing alright! It’s you who’s about to pass out!”

When they finally made it to the bunker and down the elevator Branch wasted no time in preparing the “nest” Poppy would be using to lay the egg. Those nests were made of warm and soft materials to keep the mother and the soon-to-be child comfortable during the delivery and the remaining six months; respectively.

As soon as Branch was done, he gently took Poppy by the hand and led her to the finished nest he’d made with the blanket and pillows they’d bought over the last three months specifically for that day. With Poppy comfortably located, all that was left was to wait for Dr. Plum to appear and guide them in the process.

Poppy just kept breathing and squeezing Branch’s hand, who feared he might lose the circulation of his hand from how strong his queen’s hold was. Finally, Dr. Plum made it to the bunker’s living room, “How are we feeling today, Your Highness?”

“Is giving birth a mood? Because then, yes, that is how I’m feeling today.”

Alright, sarcastic Poppy. Yup, she was in a lot of pain. But she knew better than to be a brat towards the doctor. “Sorry, I’m just in a bit of pain…”

“A bit?!” Branch choked out, because he was sure he wouldn’t be able to use his right hand after that day.

“Worry not, Your Majesty. I have dealt with far worse.” The Doctor assured with a gente smile, “My Queen, this is a very simple process, actually. All you need to do is push when I tell you as you breathe in and out. Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

“Good.  Now, push!” she ordered.

Poppy did as she was told. It hurt a lot, although Branch’s face was probably a lot worse than hers… Still, she could feel something moving inside her. After the first push, Dr. Plum asked her to breath.

This process repeated itself several times; the Doctor would tell the expecting mother to push, she would do as she was told, and then she had a few instants to breathe. Until finally…

“Push!” screamed the doctor.

Poppy was screaming at the top of her lungs with that last push. She could feel her insides stretching to impossible lengths as the egg made its way through. Just how big was that thing?! But despite the struggle, she finally made it; she’d laid the egg and survived.

“Poppy…”, her husband’s voice broke her away from her thoughts, “you did it… And it’s beautiful!”

From the corner of her eye she could she the tears in his eyes, and when he gently handed her the egg, allowing her to hold their future kid in her arms; she soon felt like crying herself! The egg was beautiful, just like Branch said. It had six different, pastel colours, laid in a horizontal position; purple, orange, yellow, pink, blue, and green. It was also coated with a thin layer of glitter than shined depending on the angle the light reflected on it, it also had a tuff of rainbow hair. And it was big.

“Uh…Dr?” Poppy called.

“Hm?”

“Are eggs supposed to be this big? Because the last one I saw was Tiny Diamond’s and I could’ve sworn his certainly wasn’t this big…”

The Doctor, resting her hands behind her back, just chuckled, “No, they’re not.”

That caused Branch to panic, “What‒? I-is there anything wrong with our kid, Doctor?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Your Highness,” she waved a dismissive hand at the royal couple, “Just that this isn’t a kid.”

“What, are you saying Poppy just gave birth to a colourful, glittery rock?” Branch deadpanned, sarcasm back at full force.

But Plum merely laughed, “Not at all, Branch. I’m just saying that you’re probably going to have more than one kid.”

“What?!” they both yelled.

“Yup, that’s why the egg is so big. It has more than one trolling inside!”

The king and queen just stared at her, both of their jaws just a few inches away from touching the floor, “Anyway, I should be leaving. Poppy, do make sure you rest a lot. You deserve it after this, and I’ll be coming regularly to check on the kids”, she made sure to stress that word, “Call me if anything happens!”

And with that, she was gone.

Poppy’s mind was blank. Sure, she’d always hoped she would have more than one kid, but she never expected they would come together. Still, those were some very good news, and the egg was finally there, and she had survived! The thought alone made the pink troll want to cry from happiness all over again. Despite her talk to Branch and his reassuring words a few weeks back, the idea of leaving her loved ones behind just like it happened to her own mother still terrified her. But that was water under the river now, she was in pain, if a little tired, and all that was left to do was watch over the egg until it hatched. And if there was something she knew, that was that Branch wouldn’t keep his eyes off of it.

“Well, that was… Something,” she chuckled weakly, “But can you believe it, Branch?! In just a few months we’ll be parents!” When a few seconds passed and she didn’t receive a reply from  her husband, Poppy turned to look at him, “Branch?”

There he was, lying unconscious on the floor. He had fainted.

“Oh, come on…”, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Although a small part of her was actually amused by her grumpy man’s antics.

As soon as the news about the queen laying the egg had got out, the entire village was at the bunker’s door, asking how it went; if Queen Poppy was alright; how they felt… Of course, the Snack Pack were fiercely defending their place and right as the first ones to know, taking full advantage of Smidge’s intimidating presence and strength. Yes, they would be the first ones to find out… After Peppy, but he was the only exception!

The old king, on his part, had kissed and hugged Poppy over a thousand times the very instant he’d been able to visit them. He’d told her over and over just how happy and proud he was of her for everything she had accomplished with tears in his eyes, even mentioning that her mother, Queen Holly, would be proud too. Peppy had congratulated Branch too, and he’d almost hugged him until the former grey troll couldn’t breathe. Branch would never admit it, but a few tears had escaped his eyes when Peppy told him he was like a son to him and that he was incredibly honoured to be capable of calling him his son-in-law.

The Snack Pack gushed, cooed, and generally lost their minds as soon as they saw the egg. Satin and Chenille immediately announced they would be working on a unisex clothing line for the babies. Guy Diamond offered to be their babysitter, given he already had experience with his own child, Tiny Diamond. Biggie promised to help Poppy with her scrapbook of the babies, taking as many photos of them as she pleased. Smidge had sworn she would be the kids bodyguard, and that Hair saved whoever considered, even for just a second, to lay a finger on them. DJ Suki, on her part, told them she would help them create some lullabies for when the babies were fuzzy and didn’t fall asleep easily. And Cooper… Well, they had all birthday cakes until the children had their own kids sorted out with him.

The months that followed were stressful, but wholesome for the expecting parents. They decided they would take turns in watching over the egg and ruling over Troll Village, which included one of them would have to miss out on important celebrations; but their subjects were very understanding, they were going to have the future royal kids, after all!

Whenever it was Poppy’s turn to watch over their growing kids, she would bring her scrapbook supplies, some food and a blanket or two; one for her, the other to keep the egg warm. And even if she certainly was excited and overjoyed about her ever-growing family, she did get anxious from time to time, and certainly took her responsibilities very seriously.

Branch… Was Branch. When he was at his calmest, he would follow Poppy’s example and do whatever chores he had ‒that were safe, of course‒, in the living room, around the egg. But when, for whatever reason (generally nightmares that brought back fears from his grey days), he would feel extra panicky, he would basically make a bunker inside his bunker. To ensure the kids’ safety.

They both were very excited about being parents, but they were very worried, too. Luckily, it only took each other a talk with their soulmate to ease their minds. And every time it happened, Poppy and Branch would keep watch over the egg during the night together, usually falling asleep with their heads resting on top of the other’s.

Then, one Summer morning, the day finally came.

Poppy was in the living room, keeping an eye on the egg, as Branch was in the kitchen making lunch, probably a healthy and light pasta salad; perfect for the hot weather. Poppy was working on a scrapbook based on the Glitter Palooza Festival that had taken place recently when, suddenly, she thought she heard a noise.

Looking around, she saw nothing out of the extraordinary, “Branch? Did you say something?”

When he replied that no, he hadn’t uttered a word, the pink queen just shrugged and resumed her scrapbooking. As she was cutting a piece of plush into a troll, however, she heard the noise again. It was some kind of rattle mixed with a creak. Curious beyond compare, she set her materials and scissors down and focused on finding the source of the noise. Maybe she didn’t have Branch’s accute senses, but she sure as Frosting wasn’t deaf, either.

When she finally heard the noise for a third time, she turned her head to the direction it came from, and she gasped. There, right beside her, was her egg, which was moving slightly and had a little crack on its shell.

This was it, the babies were coming!

She wasted no time calling her husband, “Branch! Come quick!”

At the sound of Poppy’s frantic voice, Branch came rushing in, “What happened? Is everything alright?”

“Branch, look!” she motioned to their nest, “The egg is hatching!”

When he turned to see that, indeed, the egg was hatching, his breath hitched. They were about to be parents. He was about to be the father of Poppy’s children. His Poppy, his beautiful, kind, happy, and wonderful Poppy who seemed so unattainable just a few years back. He was so happy he could feel his colours shining brighter than ever, Poppy’s too.

Slowly, they sat down on the floor, just in front of the egg and never taking the eyes off of it. Finally, it cracked completely. And what they saw left them speechless.

Inside the egg there weren’t two, or even three children. There were six! All of them girls, and each of them was of one colour reflected on the, now, broken shell; purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, and pink. And they were perfect!

Tentatively, as it to not hurt them by accident, Poppy and Branch held them in their arms, admiring the beautiful gift they’d just received. There was no stopping the tears that threatened to escape the both of them. They did it, they were parents.

………

Ever since the girls had been born, life had been more of a blessing to the residents of Troll Village than ever, especially to the kids’ parents.

For the last few years, Poppy and Branch had done everything in their power to balance their personal and professional lives, so, as much as it pained them to, they had to ask for babysitters now and then, since they couldn’t afford rescheduling or having one of the too missing important meetings constantly. But, all in all, even if their life was crazier and busier than ever, it was also happier. Withouht a doubt.

The girls had brought them so much joy!

The funniest thing was that, not only were they all of a different colour, they also had quite different personalities. Even from their parents’! It was almost as if they’d taken a personality trait from Poppy and Branch each and turned it into their core way of being. And just like that one could define the six young princesses: Violet, Rosie, Aster, Daisy, Lily, and Pansy.

Violet was a light purple trolling with slightly tousled, dark purple hair, a pink nose and bluebell eyes. She was, without a doubt, the diva of the sisters. She simply loved fancy outfits, shiny things, and absolutely loathed getting dirty. She was, in fact, the only sister who didn’t mind not being able to go to expeditions to the forest with her father. And she was a sucker for attention, the kid simply lived for being in the middle of the spotlight. Honestly, if Poppy didn’t know any better, she’d say Violet was the twins’ and Guy Diamond’s kid; who, by the way, simply adored the little princess, and constantly asked if she could model for them, or take part in his plays; respectively.

Rosie was a hot pink little girl with silky flamingo pink hair, a green nose, and green eyes. Rosie, despite being the most physically similar of the girls to her mother, had inherited her father’s shy personality and his tendency to snitch on trolls she was suspicious of. But she made up for it by being incredibly gentle and kind, as well as a hopeless romantic. And, oddly enough, she seemed to be attracted towards Rock trolls and their music, which her father hoped was just a phase…

Aster was the opposite of Rosie. That is to say, physically speaking, she was the one whose colours were closest to Branch’s, for she had periwinkle skin and wild, curly sapphire hair whose bangs covered her eyes, and a fuchsia nose. Their fashion sense was quite similar, too. However, she was nowhere near as cautious as him; in fact, she loved adventure, all types of sports, and challenging herself. Just like her mother did, in her own way. And, although some would define her as somewhat of a tomboy, she was simply fascinated by butterflies.

Daisy was a little Poppy 2.0. Sure, her colour palette was nothing like Poppy’s, having orange skin and hair, her dad’s purple nose, and green eyes, alongside an adorable gap in her two front teeth; but her personality and hobbies were 100% Poppy. Daisy was always on the move, she was the life of the party, and got pretty upset whenever her parents would tell her she couldn’t go to certain events because she was too young. But she was just as artistic, constantly drawing and hanging decorations… It wouldn’t be the first time Poppy and Branch were forced to scold her for drawing in the walls when she should be sleeping.

Lily was the cool girl. She was a neon green trolling with yellowish green, shaggy hair, with a bang of it covering her right eye, and an yellow nose. Her down-to-earth personality was best defined as what Poppy and Branch could accomplish if they put both their minds to it. However, the girl had almost as much of a hard time opening up as her dad, only ever really being honest about her feelings and worries to her parents, who were always there to listen and encourage her to try and trust new people. And she was a huge plant nerd. She and Branch would spend hours in their greenhouse studying and looking after the vines there.

And, last but not least, Pansy. She was entirely yellow, except for her orange nose. Pansy simply loved facts, every single day she would get close to whoever was willing to listen and talk their ear off about any fact, about any topic: botany, art, survival skills, origami…; you name it. She adored learning new things, so she spent as much time as posible in the library. Everyone was convinced she’d live there if she could. On the other hand, her endless curiousity led her to yearning to become an explorer, always down to discover new places, which made her the most upset and disappointed when Branch told the girls they couldn’t come with him to the forest.

Despite their differences all six princesses had something in common: they had all inherited their mother’s glitter frackles and a varietion of her famous bangs, and their father’s ears.

Although Poppy had started her princesses’ scrapbook even before laying their egg, it was to be expected that it would only get bigger and bigger as soon as they were born. The moment the girls hatched from the egg ‒after both parents had gushed over them to their hearts’ content as well as crying like there was no tomorrow, that is‒, Poppy had picked up some remains of the shell and glued them to the scrapbook.

She did the same with practically every memorable moment in the girls’ life: the day their hair grew for the first time ‒second, if you count the strand they had to plant in order to grow their Troll Gem‒, the first party they ever went to, the first time they met Mommy and Daddy’s Friends and loved ones, their first visit to Bergen Town and other troll tribes… But, as the girls started manifesting their different interests and personalities, Poppy had to add more sections. One dedicated to a daughter each.

She just didn’t expect she would have to add a seventh section anytime soon, though. But she did.

Again, she found herself in quite a pickle. Not because they were bad news but because… They were shocking. And, to this day, her dear husband still had a lot to improve when it came to receiving shocking news. Not to mention, now it wasn’t only telling Branch. Now, they had six daughters to get explain the whole situation to.

But first, she had to tell the troll who was supposed to be better at handling such information. Key words being “supposed to.”

The Queen of the Pop Trolls decided it’d be best to tell him at nap time, when the girls would be asleep and it’d still be telling him as soon as possible. She found him in his office, where he would go to to work on blueprints and plans for the kingdom. In a way, it was very similar to the day she told him she was pregnant for the first time.

“Branch?” she called him, “Can we talk?”

Looking up from his desk, he smiled at the sight of his wife, “Sure, my sweet. What’s up?”

“What’s up is… Um… I… I… I, well…”, she stuttered, “I wanted to tell you that… I’m…”

“Poppy?”, he asked, one eyebrow raised at her, “Are you ok?”

Oh, words be frosted! Frustrated beyond belief, she did the only thing she could think of that was effective; she took her husband’s hand and placed it on top of her belly. Just like she’d done the first time. The look of realisation and pure shock in his eyes was proof enough that he’d finally got it.

“Huh. I’m gonna register a patent on that move. It’s foolproof.” She joked.

Blinking hard, Branch tried to collect his thoughts. “Poppy… Are you pregnant again?”

“Yup”, she popped the ‘p’.

His jaw all but dropped.

“But, how?!”, given the pointed look his wife was sending him, he quickly tried to amend the slip-up, “Ok, yeah. I know how. Don’t answer that.” That was certainly too much, so, sitting back down at his desk, they both stayed in silence for a few minutes, “I just… I can’t believe it! I mean, we already have six kids!”

“Glad to see you still remember how to count.” Poppy smirked at him.

Her joke wasn’t well received, though, for it only made her husband scowl lightheartedly at her, “I’m supposed to be the sarcastic one of the two, that’s basically my thing! Don’t steal it, it’s not natural when it comes from you.  Stop it. Seriously, stop it.”

Chuckling, she made her way to the wooden desk. She leaned ever so slightly over it to make herself comfortable, all the while finding the situation to be quite amusing, “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Are you finally over it? Or do you need a few more minutes to be shocked?”

“I’m gonna take you up on that.” He sighed, “It’s just… Wow. Seven kids, Poppy. Seven!”

“Branch, unless you want me to ‘steal your thing’”, she air-quoted, “you really ought to stop making it so easy.”

“Right. Sorry. But, oh my Gem!” he threw his hands up in the air at the same time as he reclined on his chair, “Before I became the King of the Pop Trolls I used to be the King of Safety…”

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen, am I right, Hot Stuff?” Poppy couldn’t help but snicker at the glare Branch was sending her.

His frown only deepened at her laughter, “Stop it.”

Once she managed to calm down, she rested her hands on his shoulders and started massaging them in an attempt to soothe him, “You’re freaking out over the wrong thing, my king. Having another kid should be the last of your problems.”

“Oh, yeah? And what, do tell, should be at the top in my list of problems, according to you?”

“Telling the girls they’re going to have a baby brother or sister who’ll probably have to receive a lot of attention instead of them. I’m sure our little Violet, a.k.a. the biggest attention seeker in Troll Village will simply love that.”

“Oh, cupcakes.”

“Oh, cupcakes, indeed.” As excited as she was, Poppy still felt a little uneasy over starting that new chapter in their lives all over again, this time, with six other kids. She was rubbing her temples, trying to figure out what to do, when a pair strong but incredibly gentle arms hugged her from behind.

“It’ll be fine, gorgeous.” Her king whispered in her ear, “We can do it. And as for the girls, we just gotta assure them that we’ll always love them just as much, even with the new baby.” He left the lightest kiss on her temple, “It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

“Thank you, honey. You always manage to calm me down.” She turned slightly to meet his eyes, “So? Are you ready to be a for the second/seventh time?”

“With you? Always.”

Turns out, telling the girls hadn’t been as much of an ordeal as they thought. Sure, they had to explain to them ‒as vaguely as possible‒ how their mum had got pregnant and the pregnancy process. And sure, they’d had to assure them over a dozen times, especially Violet, that even if the baby needed a lot of attention for quite some time, they would still love them all no matter what. But, overall, their daughters were mostly excited; asking about just when the baby was going to be born, if they could play dress up with them, if they could sing and dance with them…

It was the cutest thing ever for their parents.

Just like it happened when they were expecting for the first time, the village, the Snack Pack, and Peppy were overjoyed, although none wasted any time to tease Branch about his hypocrisy when it came to safety and protection. But, of course, they were just joking goodnaturedly, and quickly offered their help for whatever they might need.

As the months passed, the girls would do their very best to help in any way they could. They tried to not get in any trouble; to not worry their mum. They spent as much time as possible with Poppy, trying to learn more about the baby. They would give a hand to their father in any chore they could help at, because they knew he was also very busy and stressed with ruling over the kingdom as well as taking care of his family.

When the day finally came for Poppy to lay the egg, Branch had agreed with Guy Diamond that he would watch over Rosie, Aster, Pansy, Daisy, Violet, and Lily while Poppy laid the egg. After all, none of the girls in his life needed that extra stress. Saying they were reluctant to be away from their mum and their future brother or sister during such a crucial moment would be an understatement. But alas, if they could help mummy that way…

When they finally came back home and got a chance to see the egg for the first time, they all gushed and squealed like there was no tomorrow. The egg, which was much smaller that time, meaning it only held one troll; was of a mint colour, coated slightly in glitter, and with a tuff of green hair. Poppy had promised the girls that, as soon as the baby was born, they could help her with the baby’s section in the family scrapbook.

After months of waiting and “Are they here yet?’s” from six very impatient soon-to-be older sisters, the time finally came one Winter day. This time, it had been Pansy the one who noticed the egg shaking and cracking slightly. And, since she already knew quite a lot about eggs from reading so much, she soon notified her whole family.

It was difficult to tell who was more excited, the kids or their parents. One thing was for sure, the best way to describe the feeling they all got as soon as the baby arrived would, indubitably, be with on word: happiness.

That was the feeling that reigned when little Sticks was born.

And a bit from smugness from Poppy’s part, actually. She had won a bet and now Branch owed her a hundred cupcakes.

………

Now that little Sticks was two years old and a lot less fuzzy than when he was just a newborn ‒the baby boy was adorable as they come, but he sure took after his father; he was a grumpy bear‒, the King and Queen of the Pop Trolls had decided it was time to update a tradition of the royal family.

They were going to take a picture for the family portrait.

It was a tradition as old as time, even older than the days of the Trollstice. As the members of the royal family grew older, they would take those portraits to commemorate how for they’d come. From the little princes and princesses as toddlers with their parents, the kings and queens, to the day when the heirs to the throne would start a family of their own.

In Poppy’s case, she had several portraits where it was just her and her dad, the closest she’d ever been to her mother being the photo Peppy and Holly had taken when she was still pregnant. But as soon as she decided to share her life with Branch, he would appear in every single one of them, and she no longer felt so alone. The first photo they’d taken was from after they got married, which both signaled the beginning of their own family and the rise to the throne of the Pop Trolls’ new king. Then, they had their own photograph with Poppy pregnant, something she’d insisted on back when she was still scared of not surviving. As soon as the girls were born, they’d posed for a few pictures with them, from when they were newborns to just before they’d found out a new addition to the family was on its way. And, finally, they were going to include little Sticks in their family tradition.

Their little boy, who was contently resting in his mother’s arms for he was a huge mama’s boy, added even more colour to their family. Sticks had mint skin, neon green hair, and a light yellow nose. And, of course, Poppy’s freckles as well as Branch’s ears. He was the missing piece to complete the rainbow the royal children formed together.

“Alright, guys…” Biggie, who was in charge of the photoshoot, said, “Smile and say ‘cheese!’”

“Cheese!”

From that day on, whenever they looked at that picture they would all smile, no matter the circumstances; if they’d argued with each other, if they felt sad, if they were over the moon with an upcoming party… It didn’t matter. Because whenever they looked at that picture, they’d be reminded of the most important thing of all: they were a family.