#KINDA LIKE THE PUDDING CUP DUDE

[northlt]

Remus used to call Regulus “Baby Black” at first but eventually the nickname turned into just “Baby”

Regulus usually wouldn’t like it but it drives James and Sirius mad

[pseudopeachy]

how do you think mikey or draken would react to you giving them the nickname "snakey snek" upon meeting them bc of their tattoos?

i cant stop thinking about it i find it so funny (everytime i see their tatts i hear im a sneek im a slithery lil snakey snek vine in my head)

my first ask omg thanks for this anon! <33

I hope I found the right vid tho, I actually did not see it coming lmfaooo 😭

btw can't write comical things for shit but i rlly had fun with this ask <33

--

DRAKEN:

I personally think you met Draken when the tattoo was like a day old

You were in the brothel, waiting for your guardian to end their shift so the both of you could finally go home. That's when you spot this giant ass of a kid entering the lobby.

The both of you were very confused as to why you were there.

Sensing the incoming awkward atmosphere + deciphering why this boy was literally eyeing you down, you decided to go for a small talk

"Nice snake, dude. Sneaky snakey snake." you said, eyes zeroing on the inked animal on the stranger's head.

Draken was taken aback. What snake were you talking about???

"Do you not know what a dragon looks like?"

It's either you blush a thousand shades of red and profusely apologize or you say sorry once and desperately tried to change the subject before it becomes one of your core memories, there's no in between

Yes he kept laughing at you until he was red

ofc he told your guardian abt the so-called snakey snake and no, nobody listened to your explanation

rip ur reputation and dignity ig

Then again, what's one tiny embarrassment when you became friends with said scary giant tho,,

Draken def calls you his 'lil mouse' after this lmao

MIKEY:

OOF

Being a bakery owner in Shibuya meant you're supposed to be up and at 'em even before the sun rises

Sacrificing sleep is alr second nature, so why not open up shop while your body runs on a cup of freshly brewed coffee and three hours of shut-eye?

So lo and behold, this blond man casually walks up to your store half an hour later. Your staff members were yet to arrive so you had to accommodate the customer

A 'good morning' and 'what will it be for today?' casually passed your lips as the man scanned the displays of fresh pastries. He ordered a chocolate croissant, pudding, and black coffee.

And just before you can return to your post after giving his order, you caught a glimpse of black ink peeking through his jacket. It was quite familiar considering you had a similar one on your right upper thigh.

"I don't mean to sound like a creep or anything sir, but your snake tattoo looks good. A cute and slithery little snakey snake if I say so myself."

You really hoped he’d get the reference tho

The innocent giggles died down once the blond's piercing gaze met with your tired pair.

"It's kinda embarrassing for a person your age to not know what a dragon looks like."

If coffee didn't wake you up, that did lmao

so of course, you gave him a parting gift as an apology because you were literally halfway to burying yourself alive after that

He became one of your regulars tho. You learned his name was Mikey.

Mikey wasn't quite talkative, but he really likes calling you his 'lil bunny' !!!

[draftingteacups]

Can you imagine the chaos if Happiny accidentally drank a potion and everyone was able to understand her and it last for a week?

It would be a cute, chaotic week for everyone involved. As always, this is written for fun. I'm going to try and slow down the number of asks that I get because I don't want to burn myself out.

Someone would've given the baby a Potion that could translate her words, so when that happened, Happiny probably didn't think much of the drink at first.

Happiny after a few minutes: "Mama, my tummy feels funny."

Deuce drops the person responsible for feeding the potion to Happiny: "Happiny... you're talking!"

Happiny tilts her head: "Silly Daddy, I can always talk!"

Deuce suddenly has tears in the corners of his eyes. He didn't expect Happiny to sound so cute and adorable. He also did not realize the amount of times that she would call him Daddy. Like his little heart went boom because of sheer cuteness.

Soni, doing her best to keep her inner emotions from overwhelming her at the moment: "Happiny, is your tummy better?"

Happiny touches her belly and thinks for a moment: "I think so, Mama! It must be the juice I just drank!"

Soni just sighs. She can already see the long week ahead of her. "Just be more careful next time, alright?"

When Ace sees this happening and laughs hard, Happiny runs to him, saying, "Uncle Ace!" and she clings to his leg for cuddles. Soni's just keeping an eye on Happiny so she doesn't fall over from her running while Deuce is trying to recover from Happiny's cuteness overload.

Happiny pets Grim, "Grimmy, you're so nice and fluffy!"

Grim: "Fnyah, little henchman, don't call me nice!"

Happiny is confused: "But you are nice!"

When Happiny goes into her classes, her snores sound like hums and Trein is often looking in Happiny's direction, a slightly softer look on his face. He's probably reminded of his own daughters when they were younger in Happiny's visage.

In P.E., Vargas finds it easier to communicate with Happiny this way and Happiny is enjoying her time with him. Whenever she runs, she's squealing with joy and many of the students find it very cute because of how carefree the sound is. Deuce has to pace himself with Happiny and he's practically glowing from her praises.

When lunch rolls around, Happiny can go with anyone (Soni, Deuce, or Ace) to order food from the lunch buffets and it's easier for them to get orders. Of course, there would be some punks that might want to pick on Happiny in the line and depending on what they say to her, it could end in chaos (as per usual).

Happiny could be getting a pudding cup from one of the nice ghosts and having it on her tray, making her way over to the cash register. Someone snatches it right in front of the little Pokemon.

Happiny would be confused by the aggressive behavior and cry, "Why are you taking my sweets? I didn't do anything to you!"

No one expected the little Pokemon to speak and the people watching this are nervous/looking to see who's gonna step up for a fight.

Mob #1: "Eh, so you're talking now? Good, now you can understand that little puffballs like yourself should respect us, seniors."

Happiny puffs her cheeks: "I don't need to be nice to meanies who take my sweets! Say sorry!"

If this was Ace with her, he'd be like, "Dude, taking food from a baby is kinda lame."

If this was Soni with her, she'd already be getting her words out to lash the bastards into three ways of pain and getting more sweets for Happiny.

If this was Deuce with her, he'd be full-on brawl mode on these guys.

If Floyd was in the lunchroom, Arceus knows the absolute reckoning that will come from this scenario.

The little bun has tears in her eyes because "Why would anyone take my food?" Ace would probably be the one to lead her away from the scene of the crime as Soni and Deuce do their work on those idiots. I feel like Ace would distract Happiny by getting her invested in other things to distract her or even do magic tricks.

During her Daddy's club activities, Happiny cheers for him on the sidelines and is very much his cheerleader, although she does wander off at one point to explore the school. When she does, Happiny finds herself at the Magishift field and she sees Leona.

"Mr. Grumpy Lion, hello!"

Leona just picks up the little bun in one hand and just glares down at her, "...You're talking?"

Happiny just smiles at him, not noticing how everyone else just looked panicked and a little worried at the moment, "I've always talked?"

Leona snarls, "Don't call me that nickname."

Happiny tilts her head, "But why?"

Leona: "I don't like it."

She blinks at him.

Leona realizes that it'd be easier to bribe her to do something than teach her to not call him that. "If you keep calling me that, I won't let you play with this." *Pulls out the disk*

That day, Happiny was very happy to just play and everyone realized that Happiny is very much oblivious to the amount of power that she has because of how cheerful she is. Like it's one thing to see it in her actions, but understanding Happiny is a whole other thing.

Soni is the only one who knows what Happiny's saying before this incident.

When Happiny sees Trey and the sweets he's making in the kitchen, she's toddling towards "Mr. Baking Man" or "Mr. Trey" for sweets. Trey probably would've heard about what happened from the group, but it's still a surprise.

When Riddle comes into the room and sees Happiny eating food, he's chastising the Pokemon and trying to make sure she doesn't ruin her appetite for dinner.

"Okay, Mr. Riddle!" The chirpy reply was a surprise to the Dorm Head as the Pokemon in question continued to munch on her sweets.

When Deuce came by to pick her up, Riddle got the full explanation from him and told Happiny to not accept random drinks from random people anymore.

"Seriously, take care to know what you're consuming." Riddle nagged at the little Pokemon who drooped at the scolding. "You don't know where it comes from after all. You could've been hurt from it. What would happen if that were the case?"

"I'm sorry..." Riddle's face twitched because he really wished to not understand the little Pokemon. It made him feel like his mother and he didn't mean to make her feel bad.

Riddle sighs, "Just make sure to be more vigilant next time."

"Okay." Happiny gives a subdued nod. "I'll be more veggie plant next time."

Riddle: "...Vigilant."

Happiny nods: "I'll be Veggie plant!"

Meanwhile Deuce and Trey are in the corner just laughing at this ongoing lesson of how to pronounce things. When the Braincell Trio and Soni all meet up again for the evening, Happiny's telling Soni all about her day while the teenager hums and encourages little Happiny to keep speaking.

Ace: "Do you always hear Happiny like this?"

Soni: "Yes, why?"

Ace: "Did she always call us by those names? She really says Uncle Ace all the time for me? And- ugh- Mama for you?"

Soni: "What's that last one supposed to mean? Of course, I told you guys when she was born, she recognized me as her Mama, so that's who I am to her."

Ace watches as Happiny talks to the other Pokemon about her day. "Huh."

If Floyd manages to steal Happiny away for a day, then he'd find the whole thing fun. Happiny can tell him stories and she'd listen to his stories. In addition to that, Floyd now knows that Happiny sees him throwing her into the air as a fun thing, so he does that a whole bunch until Happiny got tired from it or he got tired of flinging her into the sky, whichever came first.

"Hehe! Weee!" It makes him happy to hear Happiny having so much fun. "Again, Uncle Floyd!"

He can't deny that it's nice being called Uncle Floyd, although it does make him sound kinda old. Big Brother Floyd sounds better to him. When Happiny sees Azul that day as well as Jade, the two other Mermen were quite interested in her ability to talk until Happiny mentions the potion that was given to her.

Azul frowns at that: "Happiny, you shouldn't drink such an unknown Potion from someone you don't know."

Happiny: "Don't worry, Mr. Octopus, I'm being extra veggie plant now! Mama and Mr. Riddle told me that."

Jade: "Extra veggie plant?"

Floyd: "Sounds like a dish or something?"

Azul: "A new dish that Miss Monet knows is not an unlikely thing with her. Such a shame that she won't ever partner with us."

Happiny and Sobble are playing in the corner and their conversation goes as follows.

Sobble: "Sobble Sob?" So you drank a funny potion and then you could talk?

Happiny: "Yep. Mama and Daddy got angry because it came from someone else. They seemed nice though."

Sobble: "Sob." Be careful though.

Happiny nods: "Don't worry, I'm going to be more veggie plant!"

When Soni stopped by to pick up the little bun, Azul tries to do his usual schmoozing with her, asking about a new dish. Soni knows that Azul would never give out free food to her without a catch, so she just escapes ASAP.

When Malleus comes around at night, Happiny comes out to greet him with a cheer of, "Mr. Horns!" The baby gives him his welcoming hug.

Malleus: "Little one, how are you able to speak?"

Happiny: "I drank a thing and then I could talk! It came from someone that I didn't know, so Mama and Daddy got angry at me for that."

Malleus waves a hand over her stomach to check for any ailments, but thankfully, there were none. They spend time walking around at night and just enjoy the other's presence.

Deuce, during this entire thing, is on Cloud 9.

He's very happy to know how much Happiny really calls him her Daddy and the fact that she cares about him as much as she does make him combust with feelings. Deuce knows that he can go overboard with Happiny and protect her, but it's very hard to not be when the little Pokemon was a part of his growth as a person in NRC.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

H-hello so uhh, top 10 boyos who are great cooks, like uhh they'll make you dinner from scratch and its good, really good food. If that's oke, thank you ❤❤❤

*SMACKS PALMS AGAINST THE TABLE* NOW THIS IS A FUCKING ASK. LET’S GO BITCH.

tfp Breakdown. The best fucking cook you will ever goddamn see. Breakdown knew nothing about cooking, until he realized that food brings people together. Then he picked some stuff online, and now, dudes fucking Gordon Ramsey in this bitch. He loves making BIG portions of stuff, and loves working with meat. You get him a nice roast, a few potatoes and onions? He can feed the entire ship easily. Not to mention he’s quite the baker boy, so he indulges his husband when his 2am chocolate cake cravings hit.

rid2015 Wildbreak. Not AS good as his dad, but he’s a competent boy. He loves making mushroom risotto, and hand pies. Breakdown is so proud of his ass, and they have little cook offs on a daily basis.

Rid2015 Thunderhoof. Not only does he look good while doing it, but boy makes some FINE Italian food. Pizzas, raviolis, eggplant parms, lasagna, and his peak masterpiece; spaghetti and meatballs. Dude makes the best meatballs, makes the sweetest tomato sauce, all with a giant ass thing of garlic bread. Seriously, you will never run out of bread, or wine. For dessert, his go to is affogato, but if he gives a shit about you, he’ll go the extra mile and make the best goddamn tiramisu you've ever fucking had. Dude and coffee and go hand and hand tbh.

Rescue bots Hightide. He’s no five star chef, but he knows how to make simple fish dishes (his favorite being clam chowder), and how to make a good, hearty bread. Its a bit salty, but you can’t help but ask for seconds. His food is meant to warm those he rescues, and it does a fair job.

tfa Blitzwing. No master, but he knows his way around the kitchen. Icy, at least. Random keeps eating the counter top, Hothead is pissed that he can’t fucking find the salt- it’s a mess. When Icy is around long enough though, he makes a damn good meat stuffed pumpkin, and can even make a nice egg pudding (he makes a decent german chocolate cake, but that’s way more Breakdown’s speed).

MTMTE Impactor. Odd choice, I know. But dude knows how to make shit ingredients taste good. You got some kinda old noodles? Congrats, you got yourself a fat plate of carbonara, greasy and delicious. He ain’t fancy, but he’s the best for you broke bitches with a low stock.

G1 Ironhide. Big portions, big calories with this cowboy. You can’t leave his place without a full belly. Biscuits and gravy, eggs, hashbrowns, porkchops, fried chicken- and that’s just breakfast. It’s nice, hearty, and you can ask for as many helpings as you’d like. He will not stop. His food is endless. You will go home with leftovers for like a week. Even a pudding pie for dessert.

tfa Prowl. He’s actually a vegetarian! He likes making clean, easy to eat food, like veggie rice balls (or doughnuts), carrot stew, honey garlic tofu on a bed of steamed veggies, and for dessert? A honey baked apple, topped with mix nuts and whipped cream. His food is very good, and clean. He even makes his own trail mix for when he goes on nature walks (its full of roasted nuts, dried fruits, and dark chocolate bits), and will happily share if you ask him for some.

Tfp Dreadwing. He was the main cook in the household, and as such, he can feed others, should it be needed of him. He likes making Salmon Meuniere, chicken curry, and honey glazed beef strips. All of his food comes with a bed of white rice. His favorite thing to make though? Those cute little wagashi treats. They’re often made of bean paste, and they go lovely with his daily cups of tea. He also makes them very pretty and ornate. 

Cyberverse Soundwave. He mainly learned now to cook because Hot Rod absolutely fucking can’t. He’s the more casual cook on this list, preferring stuff you can set and forget. Stuff like Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, roasted chickens, mac and cheese, pot roast- pretty much anything you can stick in a crock pot, and have dinner ready for when he comes back from work. When he makes desserts, he loves making either cookies, or swiss rolls, depending how much time he has. He loves ube and pumpkin flavors.

[ssamie]

thirteen. “til death do us part”

kozume kenma x fem dazai!reader

(bsd x hq)

tw: mentions of suicide, jumping off a bridge ;-; (nobody dies tho)

masterlist.           suicide freak!

"well what happened afterwards??" kuroo asked kenma 

the boys were in kenma's room chilling and playing games while kenma tells kuroo about his confession "uh.. nothing really" kenma said with a sigh 

"she didn't respond but she didn't really reject me either" he said "she had a call from her agency saying they needed her for something and she had to leave" 

kuroo was visibly disappointed at the result, patting his friend's back as he let out a sigh "well, like you said, she technically didn't reject you" he said "plus, she's been fawning over you for a long time. im pretty sure she likes you back" 

kenma furrowed his brows and shrugs. "sure i guess.." the pudding head muttered 

"cmon, kenma! don't get all sulky on me now!" kuroo exclaimed. the boy laid back on the bed and pulled out kenma's phone, placing it between them and began counting

"ten.. nine.. eight..seven.. six.." 

"what the hell are you doing?" kenma deadpanned "im counting down the seconds it takes before y/n tells you to meet up or something" kuroo explained 

".. five.. four.. three.." 

"im pretty sure it doesn't work like that-" he was cut off by the loud ringing of the phone. the caller id was shown, revealing it to be y/n herself. kuroo jumps up and cheers, yelling and howling in happiness as he ruffles kenma's hair 

"kenma, i told you!!" kuroo exclaimed excitedly "dude, i should be a fucking psychic" 

"no, you shouldn't" 

kenma picks up the phone with shaky hands. he sends kuroo a wary glance, who simply gave him a thumbs up in return. his trembling fingers answered the call, and then pressed the phone to his ear 

"h-hello? y/n?" 

"kenma! how's my favourite pudding-head doing? ow-" she asked 

kenma furrowed his brows as he heard her wincing from the other line, undoubtedly from pain. "um.. are you okay?" he asks worriedly 

"oh yes, of course i am" she answered way too quickly for it to not be suspicious "but i do need your help for something.. come to the same bridge from last night" she said in a serious tone 

kenma gulped as he made various frantic gestures to kuroo, silently asking for his help. though kuroo was no help since all he did was smile blankly while holding up two thumbs up 

"um, okay! do i go there now or..?" 

"yup! bye-bye ~" 

kenma then let himself drop to the ground as soon as the call ended. he felt like turning into a puddle and drying up from the nervousness flowing through his whole body at the moment

"k-kuroo.." he mumbled "dude, you okay?" kuroo asked with a chuckle "like i said, y/n is definitely responding to the confession!" 

"yeah okay-" kenma grumbled 

"but please help me up. 80% of my nervousness is now in my knees. i can't stand." 

kenma nuzzled his nose into his hoodie, covering half of his face as he nervously approached the riverbank. like he said beforehand, his nervousness has traveled down to his knees and it seems that it still hasn't left. 

"hey hey hey ~ over here, kenma!" she yelled 

kenma looked up to see her waving her arm around like a madman. though, one of her arms were in a sling, and she just looked quite roughed out more than usual 

he jogged over to her with a frown while eyeing her obvious injuries "hey, what what happened to you?" kenma asked her 

"oh this? this is nothing" she said with a laugh "i somehow broke it during a mission last night, but not to worry, the ever so lovely yosano-san cured me" she laughed nervously 

"ah yes.. yosano-san.." she shuddered 

it left kenma thinking of what could have possibly been so bad about getting cured. though he left it be and paid no mind. 

"so why did you call me?" he asked her. he was feeling quite anxious at the moment and he was feeling very thankful that she wasn't acting indifferent towards him 

"well, i called you over for multiple things" she said 

"firstly.." 

kenma gulped as she paused dramatically, leaving him to anticipate whatever it is that she has to say 

"i need you to play this game for me so i can pretend to be better than chuuya." she stated with a straight face. she then handed him her phone, which had the game's chat open and had chuuya laughing and teasing her 

chuuya's messages consisted of 'you're such a fucking loser' and 'you suck balls' among others. 

"what?" kenma sweat dropped 

"please! that munchkin will get too happy if he wins one more time!" she pleaded 

kenma sighed but did as he was told. he was playing the game while she watched him with sparkling eyes "kenma! you're a lifesaver!" she exclaimed once she had won the game 

"could you imagine me losing to chuuya?!" she scoffed out with a grin "gosh! my ego wouldn't be able to handle such torture!" 

"now, secondly.." she paused once again "eat this ramen with me!" 

kenma sweat dropped as she had randomly pulled out two cup ramens, which for some reason are both hot and in well condition 

"where did you even get that?" kenma asked her with a soft laugh 

"that's a secret! but did you know-" she mused "the reason i got this for us is because ranpo-san told me about it. apparently, its a 'deathly spicy ramen' and he wanted to refer it to me" 

kenma blinked at her but smiled anyways "wow. so then im assuming you're expecting us to die from this?" 

"its worth a shot!" she cheered. she handed him chopsticks and sent him a cocky grin "i'll let you know i can handle spicy food quite well" 

"so if all else fails, i packed a ghost pepper just in case-" 

"please put the pepper away <3"

kenma sighed as he reluctantly ate the ramen, slurping on the noodles and soup as tears brimmed his eyes "im not very good with spicy food.." he muttered as he fanned his mouth 

"finish it!!" she exclaimed, though tears has also brimmed her eyes 

"you're in the brink of tears too!" he groaned in agitation 

"these are tears of happiness! i can almost taste the death looming over us!" she exclaimed with a grin 

after finishing the very spicy ramen, she had unfortunately concluded that it was, in fact, not deadly. in the end, the pair had to run to a nearby food stall to buy some drinks

and as they were drinking, y/n had once again perched herself onto the flat surface of the metal railings, letting her feet dangle as they watched the sunset in peace 

"y/n.. about last night.." kenma muttered out nervously 

"ah yes, your confession?" she chuckled "no need to worry about that. i already know what im gonna say.." 

kenma blinked in shock, frantically averting his eyes from her and to the ground as he felt his anxiety rocketing 

"which brings me to my third reason of calling you over.." she said "kenma, there's something i need to tell you" she said 

her expression had gone aloof and the playful smile on her lips has now faltered "what is it?" he gulped 

she took two steps back as she looked him in the eyes. her (e/c) orbs not seeming to give any hints as she peered at him 

"y/n.. if you're gonna reject me then-" he was, of course, cut off once again as she suddenly pulled her 'injured' arm out of her sling and popped it out to wave at him

"boo!" she cooed out with a dumb smile 

"what the hell." kenma replied as he blankly stared at her

she laughed and slipped the sling off, folding it neatly before casually throwing it down the bridge "did i have you fooled?" she chuckled "anyways.. about that statement you didn't get to finish.." she hummed 

"what makes you think i would reject you?" she asked him 

her bandaged hand patted the spot next to her, indicating that she wanted him to sit. following her wishes, kenma hesitantly sat next to her. 

he was fiddling with his fingers as a huge and overbearing wave of silence washed upon them. fortunately for him, she wasn't looking so she couldn't see his trembling body, and the nervous look on his face 

"well, i kind of assumed you don't like me since.. you kinda left me hanging last night.." kenma muttered 

"hm, i did do that.." she hummed back quietly "what would you do if i said i liked you back?" she asked him 

kenma couldn't see it, but it seemed he could basically feel her cheeky smile appearing "um.." he stammered 

what would he do? he didn't really know. he didn't plan that far ahead. and kuroo was nowhere to give him some awful but doable advice. 

"i-i don't know.." he stuttered out. kenma could feel himself heating up. its like his cheeks was on fire as he felt bursts of embarrassment and butterflies banging on his stomach. 

"would you kiss me?" she mused 

kenma froze up. he looked up at her, face beet red and eyes as wide as saucers, as he mumbled incoherent words 

"well- no? i don't really know how to do that-" he stammered "or yeah- if you want- or um- i love you." 

she chuckled and slowly faced him with a gentle smile "i love you too, then" she laughed 

kenma has officially blown a fuse. 

his face exploded into a bright red as he felt all the weight of the pressure and anxiety leave his body 

"so, do i get my kiss now?" she asked teasingly 

"uh well-" kenma muttered with a sheepish smile "i dunno how-" 

he was cut off by a hand grabbing a tuft of his hair from his nape. her fingers tugged on his faux blonde locks as she pulled his face closer to his 

"itadakimasu~" she cooed out 

kenma.exe has stopped working. 

once her lips had pressed onto his, his whole body tensed up. though a total contrast to his reaction, she was quite calm. obviously calm enough to shove her tongue down his throat. 

their kiss was short but sensual. he took notice of how deliciously addicting her tongue danced against his. he definitely needed to ask where she got all those kissing skills from later on. 

he may not like the answer since it was from chuuya, but let's not get into that..

she pulled away after a minute, her grip on his hair loosening as she pressed one last peck on his parted lips. she backed away and licked her lips to tease him. 

"oh my" she cooed at him "if i would've known you taste this good, then i would've kissed you much sooner" 

"u-umm.." kenma muttered bashfully 

he was blinking sluggishly as his fingers lightly graze his lips, reminiscing in the feeling of hers against it. 

"y/n.. will you be my girlfriend?... please?" he asked in a quiet and flustered tone. all the nonexistent confidence he had before has now fully evaporated away. 

"of course." she mused 

"wait-really??" kenma asked her with a look of disbelief and sheer happiness

he bit back a smile as he looked up to look at the setting sun, then back at her. her features were illuminated by the soft golden rays, making her look simply ethereal, atleast to him. 

kenma was then brought back into reality as he felt the soft skin of her hand and the textured bandages touch his. 

she intertwined their hands and brought it up to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. she chuckled at him as he turned his head to the side, trying to hide his blush from her. 

"til death do us part." she grinned 

"okay, that was very sweet.. but when it comes from you, it kinda seems like you're about to kill us both-" 

without uttering another word, she pushed herself off from the railings she was sat on, and tugged him along with her. 

"y-y/n?! y/n!" kenma shrieked as he felt himself free falling in the air. his grip on her hand tightened as he nervously recoiled into a ball. the cold air hit his skin in the most nerve wracking way, leaving his skin with goosebumps and shivers tingling down his spine. 

"so this is what it's like.." she mumbled 

kenma looked over to her, the panic in his eyes gradually fading as he was met with her warm and love-filled orbs. she held the most tranquil and peaceful smile as she looked at him with a sense of joy and plenitude. 

"y/n.." his lips quivered as he gripped her closer 

she simply smiled at him as both of their hair flew erraticly due to the wind. the sound of the flowing water got louder and louder 

until finally, they hit the surface with a huge splash. 

she faintly heard loud and ragged breaths coming from kenma as he swims back up for air, hastily paddling against the strong current to drag himself and, her as well, back to land. 

"I KNEW IT! ARE YOU CRAZY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" he exclaimed once he catched his breath 

she laid down on the grassy ground beneath them and closed her eyes. she had a faint smile on her lips as she mumbled under her breath 

"double suicide.. im definitely not dying unless it feels like that.." she whispered 

kenma's demeanour softened at her words. he laid down beside her with a huff, tucking his wet hair behind his ears and doing the same for her. 

"if we're gonna kill each other, atleast tell me first." he sighed "also, drowning is definitely scratched off your list" 

"well, you look like you can't swim so.." she chuckled playfully "that's not a valid excuse" kenma sighed, though a fond smile etched itself on his lips

they probably looked quite strange to other's perspectives, if anything, they looked like dead bodies that had washed up to shore. 

but they didn't really care. 

"also, that was a very weird assumption. do i really look that lanky to you?"

"yes <3"

kissing scenes are so weird to write, or at least for me  ;-;

[nastyburger]

Okay but how did the first meeting tm go between all of the dannyverse tm. Did danny b just show up at danny’s school and go ‘hey im the new sub’? Did dex try and go home for a hot sec? Did SAM try and go home/ to tucker’s place? Did tucker try and go to his house/ danny’s place?? I have questions

the initial meeting period, which i like to call “the search” takes place over like two days, each character having having a different amount of time they spent in the canon universe in reference to “the portal surge” as we’ll call it

(this ended up being really long so im putting it under a read more for everyones sake lol)

dex pops in at the same time as the surge, so hes really been in the canon dimension for like 30? 40 minutes tops? until he finds the trio. he knows immediately hes not in his home (his amity is a lot more advanced with tech) and distinctly remembers being sucked into some sort of portal, so being the smart cookie he is reasonably infers parallel universe and sets out to find answers. he flies around in his mech (invisibly) until he hones in on an ecto signature clearly reading halfa in a crowd. whether its vlad or someone else, dex figures that a halfa was probably his best bet for help so he puts on his hoodie with hood up and slips into the crowd. (the mech is close behind but remains hidden and follows dex around until its needed)

he actually initially bumps into danny by mistake while searching (”oops sorry” / ”sorry, its fine i wasnt looking”) before taking a double take and going “wait that dude has my face??? hold on is he the halfa signature im tracking???” and runs after them. he catches up after they leave the crowd and are in a less populated area and grabs danny’s arm, startling everyone, and essentially going “wait, you’re a halfa right? possibly named danny fenton??” which effectively sends everyone into panic mode until dex pulls his hood down to show he has danny’s exact face and says “can you please help me???”. this panic morphs into full blown freak out.

they eventually calm down though, and set to sort this out. this was around late afternoon.

danny b was launched into a few days before the surge, and was actually dropped a little outside of amity. at first he thought he had been sent into the past, but seeing a news story in a tv store display and seeing a 14 year old danny phantom with white hair and green eyes effectively shuts down his idea. basically has a john mulaney “adult life as a half ghost is already so weird, this might as well happen” moment in a parking lot and moves on trying to find this alt version of himself for help on how to get home.

it was a little tough for him in those few days, he doesnt carry cash and his bank account for his debit wouldnt exist, so he went hungry for a bit (probably used his ghost powers to steal some food when he got desperate) and slept on a couple park benches and all that. its a little sad really.

eventually, after days of wandering around, his ghost sense goes off as he passes a park and sees a group of 4 kids huddled together. its starting to get a little dark out by this point. danny b approaches the gang movie peter b style: from behind, somewhat ominously with his hand outstretch, with the declaration of “hey, kids....” and dex stranger danger panics and electrocutes him with his robot arm. he passes out.

the kids assess the situation, dex being able to read that danny b is a halfa (”how many of you guys is there supposed to be in this universe?” / ”only vlad and me as far as i know.”) and tucker pointing out that he kinda looks like danny if you imagine the hair black (”great, its ANOTHER version of danny like we dont have enough of those”). afterwards, they take everyone to fenton works, canon trio through the door and dex easily sneaking in with unconscious DB.

once danny b wakes up (in his childhood room nonetheless which is a little disorienting), he immediately takes refuge in canon danny’s shower, also taking the time to shave and eat whatevers in the fridge. the trio are a bit weirded out by this older danny, especially when hes on his 4th pudding cup and eating it like a rabid animal (”do NOT judge me its been a hard few days”). but they more or less get used to him, especially when he proves to be a pretty cool guy. once DB’s basic necessities were taken care of, they start to form a plan of action.

the first step they decide on is finding any other stranded interdimensional people. lucky for them, dex locks in on 2 other halfa signatures in the general area. they set out to search the next day.

mourner and ghouly are found almost simultaneously. dex tracks them down immediately and determines that one is flying through the air as a ghost and the other is in human form on the ground. the group splits up with danny looking for the full ghost, db partnered with sam to sniff out the human form one, and tucker staying with dex in the mech (everyone communicating through fenton phones).

danny finds mourner (”i think i found.....a sam? as a ghost?”) and needless to say that first encounter doesnt go well. mourner popped up a couple hours after the surge while it was nighttime, so she spent most of the night flying around trying to figure stuff out but not garnering a lot of information with the world asleep. seeing danny just makes her instantly hostile thinking its another weird ghost trick so she starts blasting and they duke it out for a bit. she really only stops until dex and tucker show up in the mech and reveal themselves does she realize “okay different versions of people i know, this is weird but its not a ghost manipulating me by puppeteering my dead friend around i guess”. she calms down and joins the group.

ghouly is easily the smoothest encounter, the gang has gone through this enough already to not freak out over it. most reaction would probably be mild amazement and typical confusion (”oh wow its a goth sam and........an older danny? with red hair?” / “we found a different version of tucker, i guess he’s a halfa”) ghouly just doesnt have as much reason to panic as much here. he got launched into this dimension at the same time as dex (the moment the surge happen) but was more or less lost and wandering around since his gps and technology didnt seem to have signal. he didnt sleep overnight so he’s running a bit on empty but bought an energy drink and sandwich earlier that morning (he carries cash) so he hasnt gone full homeless mode like danny b did.

while his initial reaction/meet up with the others were definitely the least weird and confusing, ghouly probably does stare at canon danny a little too much to the point where its a bit awkward. (”sorry its just so weird not seeing you wear black and also i still find you really cute and grappling with whether or not this is considered cheating if youre like the same person”)

[jjadegreen]

ITS SPOOKY SEASON BABY !!!

And that means making spooky aus for no reason other than fun<3

In summary- jjba part 1-6 but there’s no stands/Hamon and they all exist at the same time AND everyone is a spooky monster!!! I included as many characters as I could but it’s quite easy to run out of creatures, so bear with me on a few of them. Also the joestar bloodline is just gonna all be George Joestars kids because I said so!

Also, this is all really dumb but it’s just for fun so it’s ok💕

*minor TW for mentions of death!!! Nothing graphic but I’d rather be safe

Jonathan: Frankenstein

Not exactly like the traditional Frankenstein’s monster but whatever!!

Used to be a regular kid until he died in his 20s along with Erina :(

His father, who is still alive here, doctors the hell out of his dead son and boom. Franken-son.

Most body parts are his but he lost some in his death... so like, one of his legs is just some random guys.

He is still very Jonathan... a sweet boy... beloved.

He loves flowers and plants and such!

Married to Erina!!!

Joseph: werewolf

Tbh I just feel like werewolves give off himbo energy

Ran into some spooky woods next to the Joestar mansion as a kid and came home with a wolf bite and a cool new form

The exact same as regular Joseph but with more dog attributes

Our boy will chew on a bone if he finds one. He will chase tennis balls like his life depends on it.

Him and Caesar are rivals but the kind of rivals who fight on the weekdays and watch shitty romcoms together on weekends

Jotaro: merman

Ocean man....... take me by the hand...... lead me to the land.......

Ok but in all seriousness. You know why Jotaro is a merman. Silly little ocean man.

Edgy bastard but he will go entirely soft if you bring out a sea creature

I have 0 idea how he became this. He probably pissed off an ocean witch or something and she made him a merman

H20: just add water type transformation. If he touches water, BOOM now he has a tail

He does not let that stop him

Kakyoin is his best buddy!! He also hangs out w/ Polneraff and Avdol

Jolyne: witch

Jolyne is just a lesbian witch. Is that too much to want

Idk anything about witches so I dunno!!! Maybe she just like. Decided to be a witch. I think there are real witches and I don’t want to disrespect anyone

Although she is the Halloween-y, pointy hat, black robe witch. She makes potions and stuff.

She has diverted her potion experience into cooking

She makes THE BEST fucking pastries

Josuke: werewolf (like father like son)

Even tho Joseph is not his dad here they give off similar energies

Joseph bit him while they were arguing and boom boom werewolf

In a band!!! With oku, koichi and yukako!!

Rohan is their manager

Best friends with Okuyasu and Koichi

He will cry if he doesn’t eat for 4 hours

Giorno: vampire

Vampire for obvious reasons

He’s technically everyone’s nephew because he’s DIOs son (who is biologically a joestar here)

He’s not in the mafia! He just hangs out with the bucci gang!

Despite having the ability to make it seem like he knows what’s going on, he never does

Never

Pudding cups are banned from the mansion because he will devour them in just a few seconds

Vegan, but will never pass up drinking the blood from someone he hates

You guys know I’d never stop at just the jojos

Erina: Frankensteins bride!

Died with Jonathan and was brought back the same way as him

Baker!!!

Very close with Speedwagon

Speedwagon: former ghost hunter

Our man was a ghost hunter until actually meeting a ghost (probably Reimi) and deciding that maybe he could just be a normal man instead

He lives with the joestars because he’s really close with Jonathan and Erina

He and Will were a ghost/vampire hunting duo

Will Zeppeli: former vampire hunter (who is now a vampire lol)

Once Speedwagon decided to just be friends with all the monsters he followed

Caesar: vampire

Don’t ask why caesar is a vampire even though that’s DIOs thing. Caesar gives off vampire energy.

He acts like he hates Joseph but believe me they are in love

Him and Suzie Q are the most powerful friendship you could imagine

Suzie Q: fairy!

Just a little fairy girl! That is it!

Badass bitch. Probably uses her tiny size to steal from everyone

Smokey: literally a normal dude

Caesar was going to suck his blood but decided that Smokey was too nice for that date

The joestars of course got attached to him immediately

Kakyoin: Tree Nymph

TREE MAN!!! TREE MAN!!!

His hair noodle is a branch that grows a cherry

Iggy: Cerberus type dog

Jotaros pet dog!!!

Absolute bastard

Avdol: Phoenix

Fire bird. Self explanatory.

Polnareff: centaur

Yes he still has the stupid hair. Would he be polnareff without it?

Avdol simp

Koichi: shapeshifter

He’s a shapeshifter because I said so even tho it makes no sense!!!

He does so many favours for everyone

In a band w/ oku, Josuke + yukako

Okuyasu: zombie

Why a zombie? Because Okuyasu has no brain

He’s a simple man. You put food in front of him and he eats it on sight

In a band w/ koichi, Josuke + yukako

Yukako: siren

I just feel like a long haired pretty woman gives off siren vibes

In a band!!! You have heard it three times you know the drill

Rohan: can transform into a dragon??? I guess???

I’m gonna be honest I’m just running out of ideas

Band manager

Tonio: can transform into a caladrius

@c-c-cherry told me this is some kinda healing bird??? I’m choosing to trust her don’t betray me Cherry

Reimi: ghost, obviously

No notes needed you get it. She’s a ghost

Mista: gargoyle

Stinky man!!! Stinky stone man!!! Never showers because he’s a stone man!!!

Bruno: angel<3

He’s already a perfect angel in the show why would I need to change that!!

Bruabba is canon He is married to Abbacchio

Abbacchio: demon

Goth demon man to contrast Bruno’s infinite light

He is married to Bruno because bruabba is real

Narancia: ghost

I’m literally just imagining narancia pulling so many stupid pranks as a ghost which is the whole reason I chose this for him

Fugo: reaper

Imagine like. Edgy son of the grim reaper who doesn’t want to be a reaper so he runs off and becomes friends with a wacky group of creatures. That’s fugo baby!

Trish: imp

Im almost out of ideas

Probably half human? Diavolo would definitely be an imp as well

——————————————————————————

This was very bad but fun

Thank u Cherry for being my emotional support while I tried to come up with so many different monsters

Also yes!! Some of them aren’t exactly monsters but I am just a little creature who doesn’t want to spent a week looking for the perfect monsters for every character

Love you all mwah mwah

[lunawings]

King of Prism SSS Episode 6 commentary (Minato)

The final episode of Part 2!

This was originally my favorite of the three episodes we are shown in the theatrical “Part 2″. But it was also the one I was most awake for at the time haha. Nowadays I think Joji’s is probably my favorite of the Part 2 episodes, but this one still has a very, very special place in my heart......... AS BIG AS THE OCEAN.......... 

And right off the bat we’re referencing the hidden curry subplot in Pride the Hero. Well, maybe it was obvious to some people, but I definitely wouldn’t have fully known about this subplot without reading about it. Basically early on in Pride the Hero there is a scene where Hiro casually refuses to eat Minato’s curry. Minato can be seen working on his recipe during the movie, but in the end it’s Kouji’s honey/apple curry recipe which gets Hiro back on his feet. Minato sees this as a failure on his part. 

If there is ever a scene where anyone is crying (there will be a few more examples of this before the end of SSS) take a look at Leo. If anyone else is crying, it’s basically guaranteed that Leo is also crying too. He doesn’t even know why Minato is crying here!!! LeoooooOOO..............

Everyone always cheers for Taiga here! Good job.

Okay, according to the Part 2 pamphlet, from left to right...

Misaki, Nagisa, Gen, Kou, Shiho. 

They all have sort of marine-related names. (cape, shore, broadside of a ship, sailing, saltwater...)

And these two we already met in Young of Prism. 

(Ushio means tide, Tsubasa means wing....)

I really love the voice work on Shiho here. She really sounds so natural. So cute. Favorite Minato sibling.

I know I said Yukinojo’s grandpa was best King of Prism old man, but I’m not sure anymore. Minato’s grandpa is also in the running ahah. I love his intense drama and yet down to typical old man-ness at the same time. HAVE A FISH.

OVER RAIN

Okay this one is forgivable because he says their abbreviated name “O-Ba-Re” which I always struggle to translate. Usually I just spell it all out or put OtR.

It was established in this episode that Minato can taste when something has been made with love. 

This means that Yamada-san’s ramen noodles were clearly MADE WITH LOVE at least.

I think at one point I posted a shitty out of context spoiler about the DARK HISTORY of Edel Rose. Here you go ahah. 

The cheering audience loves Yukinojo’s reaction here. Everyone be like.... nu nu nu nu nu nu..............

This is the only time I know Taiga has been associated with soba except for when they just kind of decided to make it his food item on Prism Rush........ (because I guess pudding a la mode wasn’t a thing back then..............) 

Minato’s reaction is notably a bit more low key than the other boys during Kakeru’s turn.

Kakeru’s catering WASNT MADE WITH LOVE 

Every time I see this I think to myself that I have got to figure out where this is and go there. But I haven’t yet. 

Shizuoka isn’t that far from me and I go there every few months or so for Love Live stuff or to visit Shizuoka Prism Stone, etc. A few days before Part 2 premiered I was actually in Shizuoka and actually spent a good amount of time thinking of things I might see from Shizuoka in Minato’s episode. I was at a tourist attraction (Izu-Mito Sea Paradise) where I went to the snack bar and noticed they had Mishima croquettes. It was the first time I had heard of them. But I decided on something else instead. 

So every time I see this, I think......... should have got the croquette....... 

(and now I must live with the regret.............. forever......................) 

I talk a lot about how this or that is art in SSS. 

But Minato meeting Kouji REALLY IS ART 

In the stream someone called this a “prismgasm” and now I can’t get that out of my head thanks.................................

I love how Minato is not the first, but SECOND Edel Rose boy just entered into Edel Rose against his will by a family member ahaah. (After Taiga by his sister.) 

Okay so, let’s pause for a minute. 

As you can see here this is a senior high school application. So this means Minato was never in the junior high division of Kakyouin Academy and went straight to senior high. 

If we rewind back to Kakeru’s episode, you’ll remember that there was a flashback where Yukinojo met Kakeru back in the heyday of Edel Rose, and they were both wearing junior high uniforms. So this means that a.) The first member of the seven to enter Edel Rose was probably Yukinojo and b.) Kakeru and Yukinojo are the two who have known each other the longest. 

I don’t think you can make an exact timeline of who joined when, but it’s possible to piece together a rough estimate of the order everyone joined by the end of SSS.

So this actually destroys my headcanon that the reason Minato calls Kakeru “Kazuo” is because they have known each other the longest and he knew him before he was Kakeru. So now I don’t know what to think about that anymore ahah. 

Anyway Minato why are you taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo. It’s only like 3 hours from Shizuoka!!! That is insanely close (...... from my perspective...............) what a waste of money haha. 

Favorite Minato face of all time by far. 

Oh gosh this scene. This scene. Where do I even begin. I love, LOVED seeing this side of Minato. He’s always everyone’s rock (excuse me harbor) so it’s really mindblowing to actually see him all nervous and flustered and just oh gosh it made me love him so much more. 

And not to mention Kouji just dragging a boy he’s known for three seconds to eat a children’s lunch......

Everyone goes nuts for this at cheering and agrees they still want to eat this kind of lunch as an adult. I guess I don’t quite understand because I was never a child in Japan haha. But this was the only moment at the mostly quiet 8am showing (when I saw it for the first time) where I could hear people laughing/freaking out.

I have mentioned this already but I just have to say I really love this line. This moment. This whole concept. Minato can taste love. 

I didn’t think it was noticeable from Young of Prism, but when we actually met all of Minato’s siblings and saw that Tsubasa is basically the only one who doesn’t have a marine color scheme or a directly marine-related name.... Even before this scene in the back of my head I was like..... hm...... 

The least they could have done was given her a marine-themed name geez

I had to go back and slightly change some wording in my Young of Prism translation because of this reveal.

I WAS REALLY EXCITED WHEN I SAW THIS, AND THEN ACTUALLY DISAPPOINTED WHEN KOUJI CAME

I WANTED TO SEE SHIN’S COOKING

SHIN BABY WHAT WERE YOU GONNA COOK

Also his face

It’s not “a” new dorm, he’s probably talking about the new dorm that the new boys still live in (but our seven moved back here by choice in episode 1 remember........)

This is another scene where I’m kinda wondering if this plot thread seems sudden or out of place to people who don’t know the side materials. 

Minato’s confidence issues have come up on Prism Rush several times before, and I was actually waiting the entire episode for it to come up here. 

This episode in particular really requires a lot of extracurricular homework doesn’t it....

I believe this is mistranslated. He used ~すら which I think should be “All I could do is watch......” JLPT N1 textbook grammar Minato why......

The least they could do would be to leave a note that says “Minato” means “harbor” but that’s TOO MUCH TIME I GUESS GOTTA GET THOSE EPISODES OUT IN AN HOUR CHOP CHOP

I really like this speech. It’s shockingly down to earth and refreshing. Especially compared to Kakeru and Yukinojo’s episodes. 

Like the other members of the old dudes club, Minato’s family has a tradition too. But Minato is not particularly expected to carry on that tradition since his family realizes it’s no longer viable 

Instead they encourage Minato to enjoy his youth, find himself, and if he doesn’t become a star that’s OK.... of course he can come home anytime. 

Nrrrgggghhaaaaaa such good supportive parents ahhhhhhh

Been waiting a couple months to read this. In the theater all I can ever catch is Shin’s message. (But still the point comes across.) 

“Well that was fast” - the cheering audience (about the sunrise, ruining this beautiful scene lol)

THIS.... SHOW.........

So, a while back I casually mentioned that Kakeru and Taiga’s prism shows were in my top three. Nobody ever asked what the third one was. But. It was this one. I LOVE this show.

From the very moment Minato looks up at the camera here I just get goosebumps from head to toe, and it just stays throughout the entire show. No other prism show has ever made me feel quite this way. 

So towards the end of the Prism Rush Main Story, there is a chapter where the boys are talking about what they want to accomplish in the Prism King Cup. (This is before they know who will be in it.) Minato has a line where he talks about wanting to perform a show like warm soup or something, and as soon as I saw this show I just immediately remembered that line and thought THATS IT. 

THAT’S IT

ITS SOUP 

Even though there are so many cool colors, somehow, it just makes me feel so.... warm. 

Although it didn’t stay for as aggressively long as Joji’s did, this was the first song from Part 2 which got stuck in my head and it’s just... it’s so nice........

Also, even though I have complained about Minato always getting stuck in chef uniforms for his performance outfits I do kinda like this one. It’s the floating jellyfish scarf thing at the back that makes it I think. (I have no idea how else to describe that.) 

I hope he gets a sailor suit next time though eheh. (I like how Minato has a marine theme now too, not just food. Well, he probably always did but it’s more prominent now.)

So Minato technically lost to Joji, but the individual match-ups mean nothing in the long run. (Except for you know..... the last one...... when it’s down to the wire and each side has put up their strongest member...............if you remember who that match-up is--)

It may not be obvious at first, but Minato’s prism show was pretty low leveled compared to the other boys. 

(He did start doing prism shows later than most of them after all... Um Shin being a special case.) 

He only did two jumps and they weren’t even connected. So that being considered, this score is pretty amazing for him. It makes me think the Shuffle members must only be doing like one jump per show to be scoring in the 7000s geez. 

And thus the curry plot goes full circle. Minato, good for you. 

Thus ends what I know as the Part 2 episodes, and also the halfway mark of the series. (There are 12 episodes in all.) Ready or not, on to Part 3.

I really like and have been looking forward to the Part 3 episodes. I think they are a little better than Part 2, but maybe not quite as good as Part 1. I also think Part 3 is possibly the most heart-wrenching collection.... Leo’s episode in particular, which is coming up next week, I have a very strong and personal reaction to. That combined with feeling the need to point out all the PriPara references may mean my post for next week may take some extra time and be frighteningly long ahah..... ha....... 

[littlesugarwords]

Omgggggg can you please write headcanons for violet coming out to Louis because he’s her best friend and she’s been nervous for a while to tell him even though she knows he’ll be proud of her but she doesn’t want to loose him just in case and people notice that she’s acting kinda strange but don’t want to question it hfhdhdhhd LOUIS AND VIOLET BROTP I LOVE THEM

STOP this is adorable

Violet never needed to hide anything from Louis.

She’d always known that.

It didn’t take away the fear she felt.

This was a different kind of hiding.

It wasn’t hiding the fact that she’d stolen one of his pudding cups.

Or that she was the one who took a nail out of Chairles.

Or that she got embarrassed whenever he asked her to sing.

This was different.

Because it wasn’t a little thing she’d been hiding.

It was everything.

It was her.

Louis never cared about things like that.

Minerva had come out months ago.

Why was she worried about what his reaction to her was going to be?

Because he was going to look at her differently

Because the Violet he knew was going to be gone.

Because the girl he came to love with wasn’t the girl she was.

He loved someone she wasn’t.

And she was worried that would change everything.

“Vi?”

She fell out of her chair.

She was so focused on staring at the front gates that she didn’t hear Louis approach beside her.

He laughed.

Classic.

“What’s up with you?” He managed through his chuckles.

“I thought you were hunting.” Violet huffed.

She dusted herself off and plopping back down on one of Ericson’s front steps.

“We got back hours ago,” Louis sighed, his laughter fizzling.

She vaguely remembered watching someone come back in.

She was just too lost in her thoughts to care.

Oh.

“You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Violet claimed, hurriedly pushing herself to her feet.

She started away.

She couldn’t do this now.

She needed to figure her head out.

She needed to squelch her doubts.

“Vi?” Louis called after her.

“I gotta fish,” she said passively.

Then she ran around the back of the school.

They both knew she wasn’t going fishing.

She didn’t even try to hide it.

But Louis didn’t want to pry.

How was she supposed to tell someone she was gay?

She’d never done it before.

And Minerva had been so casual about it.

She’d been so sure of who she was.

So confident.

“I’m gay, by the way.” She’d said one night at dinner.

Violet could feel her heart quicken.

Louis smirked. “You go dude!” He’d said.

Simple.

Why couldn’t hers be that simple?

Violet didn’t go to dinner that night.

She wasn’t hungry.

She was too lost in her head.

How was she expected to focus on eating when she couldn’t figure herself out?

“Vi?”

Once again, she jumped.

She was sitting at the back of the Ericson by the greenhouse.

It was quiet back there.

She could think.

She could sort herself out.

She hadn’t expected Louis to go searching for her.

He frowned taking a seat beside her.

Her eyes didn’t meet his.

“You didn’t come to dinner,” he said softly. “I thought you might be hungry.”

He slipped a bowl into her palms.

He didn’t ask her to look at him.

He didn’t ask her for anything.

“Now, I’m not sure if I did anything to upset you,” Louis said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Vi felt a stab of pain in her chest.

“But if I did, I came to say I’m sorry.”

Violet closed her eyes. “You didn’t at all.”

Then, silence.

Violet groaned.

She wiggled uncomfortably.

“I’ve been hiding something from you,” she confessed softly.

She set her dinner down on the grass.

Louis didn’t say anything.

He just let his eyes settle on her.

She rubbed her hands back and forth.

Maybe she should just come out and say it.

Did she need to explain?

Did she need to prove it?

How angry would he be?

Would be angry at all?

Would things be different between them?

Her head was so loud.

It was strangling her.

“Violet?”

One of his hands settled on her shoulder.

“I’m gay,” she forced out.

She said it.

She’d done it.

She was gay.

Louis blinked, his hand still on her shoulder.

Violet turned, finally letting her eyes meet his.

Reading him.

Waiting for a response.

He squinted. “Is this a way of asking me to move my hand?”

Violet blinked.

Then smiled.

Louis smiled back, letting his hand fall.

He was thankful his joke landed.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Vi.”

“I know there isn’t,” she breathed.

She felt like she finally could again.

“I just didn’t know if it was going to change things.”

Louis squinted. “Things?”

She shifted uncomfortably.

His stare softened as he studied her.

She seemed genuinely distressed.

It hurt his heart to see her in such a state.

“I didn’t want you to see me differently,”

Her voice was so soft and fragile.

Like she was scared.

Really scared.

Louis offered a meek smile.

At first, he didn’t say anything.

He just studied her. Admiring her acknowledging her true self.

Then, he wrapped an arm around her.

“I love you for you Vi,” he said gently. “That’ll never change.”

At first, Violet was still.

Surprised, maybe.

Then slowly, she smiled.

Her eyes closed.

She swam in the comfort that phrase gave her.

She knew he was telling the truth.

After a moment of sweet peace, Louis sighed.

“Now,” He said, pushing himself to his feet. “Eat your dinner you gay mess.”

And, for the first time in days, Violet laughed.

That was her Louis.

And that was Louis’ Violet.

[healy-dealy]

Pranks for Nothing

I love April Fools, but didn’t have anything lined up for today, so I decided to republish one of my old fics, written roughly a bajillion years ago (about late 2017).

Length: 1506 words Summary: Stan’s pranks go too far for Dipper and Mabel. Rating: G

It was an average early summer morning in Gravity Falls: the sun was shining, the air was fresh and sweet, and the Mystery Twins were settling into a long day of lazing around the Shack. Mabel hung off the side of her bed, reading an issue of “Boy Crazy!” magazine, while Dipper frantically paced their bedroom, looking this way and that. “Mabel, have you seen my watch?” he finally asked.

“Nah,” answered Mabel. “Have you tried looking in the drawer?”

Dipper scratched the back of his neck. “Well, it’s worth a shot.” He pulled open the drawer, only to be greeted by the sight of a horrifying monster, its fangs bloody and sharp. He screamed in terror. “Aaaugh! Ugh, Mabel!”

Mabel sat up. “What is it, bro? Did you get overwhelmed by your own stink?”

Dipper roughly yanked the drawer out of the dresser. “Don’t play innocent with me! I know you put this here!” He took out the photo of the scary monster from the drawer and angrily waved it in front of Mabel.

“Don’t blame me!” said Mabel. She snatched the picture from Dipper and took a closer look at it. “I wouldn’t go anywhere near your smelly—oh. Oh.”

“What?”

“Look at the back.”

Dipper took back the photo. “AHAHAHAHA GOTCHA!” read the back. “SERVES YOU RIGHT, FOR LEAVING YOUR NERD JUNK ALL OVER THE SHACK. LOVE, STAN. P.S. DO SOME LAUNDRY. YOUR CLOTHES STINK!!”

“Man, I wish people would stop pointing that out,” said Dipper. “Even if it is true.”

“Do you think maybe Stan is going too far with his pranks?” asked Mabel.

“Eh.” Dipper shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it, unless it becomes a thing.”

One day not long after, Mabel was having a tea party with her dolls in her bedroom. “Oh, Mrs. Cloudie, your rainbow looks lovely positively stunning today! Did you do something special with it?” She poured some tea into a stuffed horse’s cup. “More crumpets, Lady Fluffington?”

“She can’t eat them, she’s a stuffed animal!” said Dipper, who barely looked up from his book.

“Quiet, you!” hushed Mabel. “Hmm. I think we’re running low on cream. Be back in a bit!” She scooted out of her chair and opened the door… and was hit by a torrent of water from a bucket perched above the doorframe. It soaked her clean to the bone. “Bleh!”

Dipper shut his book. “Wasn’t me,” he said. “You know I can’t reach that high.”

“Ugh,” Mabel groaned, wringing out her hair. “I bet it was Stan again.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because he signed the bucket ‘From Grunkle Stan’,” answered Mabel.

“Oh. Well, uh…” Dipper scratched his head. “As long as he doesn’t make a habit out of it.”

“As long as he doesn’t make a habit out of it,” Mabel repeated grimly, before whisking herself to the bathroom to dry off.

After that, Stan’s pranks around the Shack grew more and more frequent. Not a day went by without an electric handbuzzer handshake, or a can of snakes, or a whoopee cushion laid on a chair for the unwary to sit on.

“Ugh, that’s another one of my notebooks Stan’s ruined,” Dipper grumbled, as he and Mabel stomped upstairs to their room. “I don’t know why he’s so fond of exploding pens.”

“Hey, I don’t know about you, bro,” Mabel replied, “but I am loving this ham, turkey, and vanilla pudding sandwich.” She took a big bite out of it. “Mmm! Still kinda wish that was really mayo, though.”

“Well, whatever,” said Dipper. “I suppose I should be glad I didn’t spray ink all over the Journal. Let’s just take a nap and put all these dumb pranks behind us.” The twins reached the attic. Dipper opened the door to their room to find that it had been completely filled up with balloons while they were gone.

“Huh,” he said, mildly surprised. “That’s a lot more effort than Stan usually puts in these pranks.”

“Actually, he got me to do it, dudes!” called a familiar voice from inside. “Made me blow up all these balloons and everything.”

“Soos? Are you okay?” asked Mabel.

“Eh, don’t worry about me, dudes,” said Soos. “I’m doing just fine! Although I am kinda lightheaded from blowing up balloons. In fact, I think I might be kind of suffocating? Just a little, though.”

“Hang on,” said Mabel. She took a pin out of her hair and started popping balloons with it. “This may take a while. You did a good job with these balloons, Soos!”

“Haha, thanks!”

“Soooo…” Dipper rubbed his arm. “Guess I’m not taking that nap after all. Great.”

“You can sleep on the couch downstairs!” Mabel offered.

“Fine, fine,” Dipper grumbled, and he trudged down the steps to the living room.

Late that afternoon, Dipper was awoken by Stan calling for him. “Dipper! Mabel! It’s time for supper!”

Dipper rubbed his eyes and stretched. “Oh man, that could not have been good for my back.”

“C’mon, kids!” Stan yelled. “You don’t want a cold meal, do you?”

“Coming!” Dipper called out. He sleepily trudged into the kitchen. The table already had forks and plates set out, which was a first for Stan, and a covered platter lay at the center. Dipper sat down and drummed his fingers on the table. “So, what are we having?” he asked.

“It’s a surprise,” answered Stan.

Mabel bounded into the kitchen, nearly knocking over a pot on the counter. “Mmm! Can’t wait to dig in!” She leaned across the table and lifted the dome off the platter. But there was nothing underneath. “Uhh…” She looked over at Stan, who suddenly broke out into a fit of wild laughter.

“Psyche!” he screamed. “I didn’t make nothing!”

Both Dipper and Mabel shot him a piercing glare. “Seriously?” said Dipper. “That’s not a prank, that’s just being lazy.”

“Yeah, you kids are on your own for dinner,” Stan said. “Go make yourself sandwiches or whatever. I got a date with the late night movie!” With that, he walked out to the living room.

“Don’t worry, Dipper.” Mabel pat her brother on the shoulder. “The ham-and-turkey-and-pudding sandwiches are on me!”

“Ugh, I can’t believe this. Now he’s just using his pranks as an excuse to do less work. We have to put a stop to this!”

“But how?” asked Mabel, as she dipped her knife into what used to be the mayo jar. “It’s not like we can tell our parents. They’ll just tell us he’s going senile, like all the other times we complain about him!”

“Hmmm.” Dipper watched the vanilla pudding drip from Mabel’s knife. “I think I might have an idea.”

The next day, Stan was sitting on the porch, taking a break between tours, when he saw Dipper rush towards the Shack with a box of donuts. “Mabel!” cried Dipper. “Oh, Mabel!”

“Hey,” said Stan, “where’d you get those?”

“Soos heard you didn’t actually make us any dinner last night, so out of the goodness of his heart he drove to the donut shop and got us a box of jelly donuts to eat,” answered Dipper. “I already ate my fill of delicious jelly donuts, so now I’m looking for my dear sister Mabel, so she, too, may feast on jelly donuts.”

“Okay, two questions,” said Stan. “One, why are you talking like that. Two, can I have one?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Grunkle Stan,” Dipper replied. “These jelly donuts, filled with real, delicious jelly, were meant for my sister and me. But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you took just one jelly donut.”

“Haha, score!” Stan opened the box and rifled through it.

“One donut, Grunkle Stan,” Dipper emphasized.

“Yeah, yeah yeah.” Stan picked out a donut, took a big bite, and immediately spat it back out. “Bleh! Ugh! Oh man, that tastes nasty!”

“Hah!” Dipper triumphantly slammed the box shut. “See how you like the taste of your own medicine, old man!”

“Yeah!” yelled Mabel, who was hiding behind the couch. “See how you like them donuts!”

Stan gagged. “Eww, what did you even put in these things!”

“Dentamint™ Sparkling Bubblegum-and-Mint toothpaste,” answered Dipper. “Me and Soos spent almost a whole hour setting this up.”

“It’s your own fault for pranking us so much, Grunkle Stan!” said Mabel.

“From now on don’t ever prank us again!” Dipper added. “Especially if it’s just an excuse to get out of feeding us.”

For a minute or two, Stan refused to answer the twins, just standing and scowling. “Fine,” he said at last. “If it bothers you kids that much, I won’t do it anymore. Sheesh! I don’t remember being like this with ou—with my old man.” He stomped into the Shack, leaving Dipper and Mabel alone outside.

“Well!” Dipper set the box on the couch. “I’m glad that’s settled.”

“Wait, hold on,” said Mabel. “Did you just say those donuts were filled with sparkly toothpaste?” She reached for a donut and took a big bite. “Mmm! This tastes delicious!”

“Mabel, eww!”

[lulume19]

September Diary 3.

60.4kg ⬇

 Food: This morning I only went for a chocolate yogurt, and a cup of black coffee. At dinner I had two slices of dark bread w/ butter and a bowl of vanillin semolina pudding mixed with some sweet plums. All in all it was still way to sweet.

 So yesterday, I started the „Detroit : become human „ ps4 game… and well I played it through one time. I manage to kill Alice, Kara and  Luther, which I actually really wanted to save, and get them their happy ending by crossing the boarder. Connor and Markus survived in a peace revolution between the Androids and Humans, managed to change Connor to a Deviant and well all in all it was a very exciting game. Except I played throughout the entire night. From 9:00pm to 6:55 am. Thats like super unhealthy. But be honest… if your a gamer who was waiting for a long anticipated game, doesn’t it feel like you just can^t stop in the middle of the game?!? What if it changes overnight. LOL thats how I feel like. So durning the day I … you guessed it. Sleep through. From 10:00 am till 5:45 pm. But I am actually happy, since I cleaned the entire house before going to bed. And I don’t know if any of you ever had this experience but, when I play an entire game for a very long period of time, I start to behave like the antagonist of the game, once I shut of the console. It only last like two hours or so… but after detrained I cleaned the entire house walking around like a Robot, rethinking all my steps… It felt completely dumb and I laugh at the thought of it, how games affect me this way😅😂😂

Also also, I think today I kinda pissed of the entire caretaker squad, by not going to this stupid lame kitchen (working) oh just so you understand I’m in a caretaker home for people with.. lets just say issues,  that would make living alone or at families difficult. Like a „Sheltered housing scheme „ for people who dealt or are still dealing with psychological issues, Drugs, or just any Mental Illnesses. Now I’m actually „Cured" ( Air quoteting) you could say, but I didn’t finde an apartment yet so I could move out.

At nighttime, I still made a run for the Coop store at our rail station, since here in Switzerland all stores (like really ALL stores except the Kiosk and the ones at a „larger“ rail station.) close at 6:30 pm.  Which sucks. And while heading for the store, their was this, (sorry in advance) this fat guy with this horned haircut, who catcalled me like super rude. But with this haircut and that stupid voice I just really had to pull myself together not to burst out laughing. He was probably drunk I don’t know… and frankly I don’t care. But I just had to share this. In situations like that… Ladies, just calm your self down cause they would never have a chance with you in anyway, because yes in cases like this, I would say, YOU ARE allowed to feel like the superior between the two of you. Also I kinda felt sorry for the guy, cause maybe he is just that stupid. 

I bought me some Coke Zero, since this is mainly the only thing I love to drink beside water. All Zero drinks, which in the long run might be super unhealthy, but I still got all my teeth and my doctor said I seem to be a healthy being. LOL as if. Dude I admit that I smoke and drink and stuff my self with whatever the hell I feel like it. Although I feel like a saint when I meet all the others at our caring home, who all went through drug abuse and that hard shit. I never touched any hardcore drugs. Not even smoked a joint. Only the drugs subscribed to me, by my psychiatrist or doctors. 

Any way I hoped you had a nice day. Why not write me something, or ask me anything you’d like. Also yes these are my drawings which I did with my iPad Pro.

So please if you use them, please credit me. 😄 see ya tomorrow

[bigdudez]

Innocent Game pt. 1

It started out pretty innocent. We were still in high school, so at the time we weren’t fully aware of what we were doing. His name was Nate. Obviously not really, but that’s what we’re calling him.

Nate and I had been friends since freshman year, but our social circles never intersected enough for us to get to know each other very well. It wasn’t until senior year when we had about 4 classes together we started to get to know each other very well.

Physically I had always been somewhat attracted to Nate, even if I never really thought about it. He had an adorable face, with a strong jawline and bushy eyebrows that outlined his strong features. He was one of the guys who always needed a shave, but even on the days he’d shaved that morning he had five o’clock shadow. Even back then he was tall, quite a bit taller than me. I hadn’t asked, but I figured he was about 6’0 or 6’1”. He had broad shoulders, thick arms and wide chest. The shirts he wore covered him, but always stretched at the arms and around his pecs. His legs were pretty meaty too, and even his neck was surprisingly huge. Apparently this was because he played a bunch of sports like football, wrestling, and lacrosse in the different seasons, so he worked out a lot. In addition to that he had a thick gut, not huge, but just enough to show through his shirt and drive me crazy. Thanks to the fact I’d always been into bigger guys, he was eye candy on top of being a fun dude to talk to during class.

We would mostly talk about school work in the beginning, but when we both found we had the same taste in music and sense of humor, we started to hang out during lunch and before school as well. As we got closer, I noticed myself gazing at him more and more. I liked how tight his sleeves fit, the way he filled out his jeans, and how his tummy was always visible through his shirt. He had this way of standing right up near me so that I couldn’t help but smell him, raising his arms while leaning on the wall to show off his hairy, sweaty armpits from his morning workouts. When he lifted up his arms like that, of course his midriff and belly button would show, along with his treasure trail. With his height he had to look right down at me to talk, and his smile was so pure and earnest I would feel myself blush whenever I made him laugh. It was pretty great, but somtimes it felt like torture.

We began a game one lunch, I don’t remember how we got on the topic, but we started talking about how much he seemed to always eat. At first he seemed a bit shy about it, but when I expressed how cool (but mostly hot) I thought it was, he seemed to relax about it. He even started to get cocky about it. That was when it really started, and it was kinda my fault. Well mostly, okay maybe like 90% my idea. At the time it was just to see if he would say yes.

“You should see if you could eat everything I feed you” I said with a smirk. He looked at me and chuckled with that adorable smile, but I just kept looking to show I was serious.

“Alright, lets do it little man.” He said, flexing, puffing out his chest and patting his gut. I knew he liked to eat and show off, but this was going to get me hard in the cafeteria if I wasn’t careful. Somehow my suggestion had brought out a weirdly cocky side to him I had never seen.

I went into the lunch line again and came back with two trays. The lunch lady had given me a slightly confused look, but ultimately said nothing as I paid. On each of the trays there was a serving of pasta, cheesy bread, milk carton, and a pudding cup. This wasn’t actually much of a challenge, so I went to extra mile to buy a large bag of chips.

Knowing this still probably wouldn’t be enough, an evil idea crept into my mind.

***

“What took so long? Jeez I’m only gonna have like 15 minutes to eat whatever you brought.” He said impatiently when I returned. I just silently smiled at him and set down the trays. He looked at them and smirked back.

“Is that it? Thought this was supposed to be hard or something” he said, laughing and grabbing the plastic fork from one of the trays. He immediatly started to chow down and was making good progress. The pasta from both trays was gone within a few minutes, and the bread and pudding soon followed. The chips took a little longer, but in the end he ate them all too. When he got to the milk he popped open the cartons and downed them both within 30 seconds. The entire time I was struggled to sit still, partly because I found suprisingly cute stuffing his face like that, but also because I couldn’t wait to reveal my suprise.

“UUURP! Well, done with no problem” he said with a wide smile.

“Here, for good measure,” he said, picking up one of the trays and actually licking it clean of the sauce and grease from the pasta. I thought I was going to loose it for a minute there. Then he picked up the other tray and did the same thing.

“Well, admit it. I won easily,” and patted his stomach. Bloated a bit, and I wished more than anything to reach out and rub it. But I had one more trick.

“Hold on, we said whatever I gave you to eat, and I still have one thing left,” I said with the most evil smile I’ve ever given. I grabbed a bottle from behind me, but not just any bottle. A two gallon bottle filled with water.

“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, Nono. First of all, this was an agreement over food, not water. Secondly, we’ve only got like 5 minutes left, and I’d throw up if I tried to chug that thing. Third, where the hell did you get that.” He questioned, looking fairly queasy all of a sudden.

“Actually, you already drank the milk cartons, and I already added some water flavoring so that part is invalid. Secondly you’re the one who said he would eat everything by the end of lunch so that’s on you. Thirdly I told one of the football guys you wanted to borrow one for practice, and he had and extra if you can believe it. So what’s it gonna be?” I asked challengingly.

I wasn’t sure if he would go with it, but he just stood up, looked me dead in the eye, popped of the cap, and started chugging. It was when he stood up that people noticed. Most people ignored it until he actually started to make progress. Not even stopping to take a breath, he kept chugging that bottle. As he went on he definitely started to look queasy, but after he had half of it drained people around us actually started to cheer. The whole time I’m not sure if he even noticed, because he never broke eyecontact with me. It was exciting, but also kind of terrifying. His dark brown eyes were like daggers into my soul, and in three more heavy gulps he was done. Almost the entire 5 tables around us all applauded and cheered, even if it was in a sarcastic way. He sat down after that, looking seriously bloated. His stomach was most definitely sticking out more than it had been a 15 minutes ago.

“UUURP!” He let out a wet sounding burp and covered his mouth, like he was about to hurl.

“Shoot, okay you know what, I’m sorry about that. That was just mean of me, bad idea. Are you good dude?” I asked concerned, and genuinely unsure if he would throw up, “Wanna go to the bathroom or the nurse?”

“Nah I’m good. Thanks though,” he said standing. He was a little wobbly, but his gut was defiantly bigger than before. He didn’t quite seem alright, but the way he was rubbing his gut with his big hands made me loose my focus.

“Honestly that was pretty fun dude. It hurts now but man, in the moment it felt almost hot.” He said, I figured he was messing with me, and when I looked up to study his expression he started chuckling.

“Don’t worry yeah I was kidding,” he said, “although I’m gonna piss like a fucking fountain later today.”

We walked off to our next class, which was one we didn’t have together. The whole time taking notes in class I was pretty hot and bothered by the image of Nate’s gut sticking out like that. The way his arm flexed while holding up that bottle. I felt bad that I had used him that way, but damn his shirt had gotten so much tighter in such a small amount of time. It got me thinking about the possibilities.

“Crap I should stop now. Maybe I should go for a walk to take my mind off it,” I thought to myself. After our teacher got through the notes, i finished the inclass worksheet we were assigned . With nothing else to do to take my mind off it, I asked to go to the bathroom to kill some time.

When I walked in I saw a familiar haircut from the back, with Nate of course standing at the urinal.

“Nate, how are you? You seemed pretty queasy after lunch,” I said, trying to gauge if he was angry with me at all.

“I’m alright dude. No worries, the only thing is I’ve been pissing for like two minutes already and I haven’t let up yet.” He said, looking back at me with that smile.

I listened to the sound of a strong stream hitting the side of the urinal, doing my best not to look like I was looking.

“Oh damn. How much longer do you think you can keep it up?” I asked, mostly just intrigued by the thought of him holding himself.

“Not sure, but probably for a while still, I feel like the tanks still pretty full,” he said as he shook himself up and down a bit to adjust.

The incredible thing was is that he was right. The stream went on strong for another few minutes, and even as it died down it still kept going for at least another 2. I wasn’t quite sure why, but I found it somewhat hot.

“Damn that took forever, but wow did I need to piss,” he said relaxing, leaning his head back a bit to smile at me.

“Holy crap Nate that was at least like 5 minutes! Jesus have you not used the toilet at all before this!?” I asked, amazed at how long he had gone.

“No I guess not, but when you gotta go you gotta go,” he replied, shaking himself off and zipping up his fly. He went over to wash his hands, and wiped them on his shirt.

“Damn though man, my gut feels stretched super high still,” he said rubbing it, “you gotta feel this man!” He said, going right up to me in the dominating way he did. Suddenly he was grabbing my hands and pushing them into his stomach. It was rock solid, the fabric was stretched tight, and it felt like his skin was too. It was too much, and I felt overstimulated with desire. I had to get out before I did something would regret.

“Yeah, damn, tight. Look I’ve been gone a while better get back to class,” and I ran out the bathroom door and back to class, kicking myself for bailing so quickly.

[glowstickia]

Ryan & the First Mission

[AO3] [Previous Arc: Here]

Summary:  Day three. Has it really been three days? Either way, its Monday and Ryan is still getting used to the colorful creatures her eyes were once blind to. As a newbie to the world of ghosts, spirits, and spectral business, Ryan has a lot of catching up to do with her new after school class: Ghostbusting.

Much thanks to @apollosprophet for allowing joint custody of her ocs <3

Ch 1: READY PLAYER ONE

Words and voices echoed off the walls. No teachers to stop talking during class. Lunch, was its own category entirely. A time for students to unhinge and take a break from their full-time job of being a high schooler. The scent of pizza and garlic wafted through the cafeteria. Ryan plopped down at her usual round table in the corner near the back. Setting down her purple and silver striped lunch box, Ryan stared at the line of students waiting to snag their meal. It wrapped around some tables and out into the hall. Pizza day and chicken day were only the few times she'd see her classmates bolt out of the room so quickly for food.

Ryan started unpacking her lunch. A pudding cup. Baggie of oatmeal cookies. A creamer packet. Grilled cheese that was now kinda soggy. And chips. She frowned. Where the heck did the creamer come from??? She examined it and munched on a couple of chips before the CLUNK next to her startled her.

"So this is where you sit." Jess said, dropping into her seat. She grinned. "Hi-ya Ryan."

Ryan slowly pulled out another chip and ate it. "Sometimes," she grabbed another, "So, what's with the whole....sitting here deal."

Jess lightly punched Ryan's shoulder. "Because why not. Us specs gotta stick together."

"You don't wear glasses."

Jess leaned on her arm, unamused. "That was almost funny enough to make me laugh. Except not really. That was a terrible joke."

“Maybe you need glasses after all, if you can't see how funny that joke was.” Ryan took a swig of water.

“Part of me regrets sitting here now.”

Ryan shrugged and took a bite of her grilled cheese. “You chose to sit here,” she raised an eyebrow, “Why did you sit here?”

Jess tugged at the cheese bridge slowly drooping between her mouth and pizza slice. “Mmm, Lucinda,” she took another bite, “wants us at the shop after school.”

Ryan pulled her soggy grilled cheese free from its plastic prison. “The antique place?” She bit into her sandwich, mentally noting to wake up earlier and allow the sandwich to cool next time before shoving its steamy cheese gooness into a baggie.

“Mhm,” Jess took another gulp of her milk, “probably to give you a better rundown of spec business.” She shrugged. “May involve a mission, who knows.”

Ryan slowly took another bite of her sandwich. She chewed, staring at Jess before swallowing. “Missions? Like the religious kind? Are you guys secretly part of a cult?”

Jess snorted. “None of the above.” She stabbed her spoon in the watery veggie grave. Her eyes wandered over to the cookies hanging out by Ryan’s lunchbox. “Are those homemade?”

Ryan nodded as she took a swig of tea. “Made ‘em the other day.” She broke open the baggie and shook it at Jess. “Want one?”

In seconds Jess was already munching away, a chunk of cookie missing in her hand. “Mmm,” she nodded in approval, “you,” she took another bite, “I like you.”

Ms. P tapped the board with her chalk. “There were a lot of revolutions, we had one, the French had two. Lots of conflict.” She quickly scribbled a guillotine on the board. “After the French helped us with our revolution, they were broke. Now, bread was a food staple and their government just kept taxing their country. People were starving. Who can tell me what their queen, Marie Antoinette said in response?”

A couple of hands shot up.

Ms. P pointed to a kid near the back. “Ms. Jones.”

“Let them eat cake.”

Ms. P grinned. “Did you know she never actually said that? The phrase was based off of a rumor to rile up the citizens.” She continued to rattle on about how guillotine happy the French became. So much so that their person who even started it all was beheaded himself.

Ryan rubbed her eye with her knuckle. Her eyes shifted to Tristan, his head was already dropping. Figures.

Ms. P clapped her hands. “All righty! It’s time to pair up for worksheets!” Chairs squeaked and voices started overtaking the room.

Ryan watched as Tristan’s head dropped further. She rolled her eyes and gathered her things. She dragged her chair over to him and sat down. “Dude,” she lightly tapped his leg with her foot. He immediately straightened.

“I’m awake.” He blinked and stared at Ryan sitting across from him. “Oh, it's just you.”

“Hi to you too.”

Ms. P cleared her throat and placed their worksheet packets on the desk. She nodded to them and continued passing out packets. Ryan swore she saw a twinkle in their teacher’s eye. Her eyes narrowed. She reaaaaaaally didn’t like that.

Tristan’s tapping pencil brought her back to the packet. She stared at him. “You didn’t take notes did you.”

His pencil stopped tapping as his lips thinned. “Could I borrow-”

Ryan flipped through her notebook and dropped it on the desk. “We’ll use them, but no copying right now.”

They quietly zipped through the first couple pages until Tristan spoke again. “Don’t go straight home after school.”

Ryan stopped. “Is it ‘cause of the whole...Antique thing?”

His pencil paused on the page. He stared at her, eyes narrowed. “How did you-”

“Jess and I have lunch together.”

“Oh,” jealousy clearly coated his tone, “lucky.”

Ryan shrugged her shoulders and answered two more questions. “Not my fault you’re taking French during 3rd period.”

He stopped writing mid-sentence and stared at her, his face in full-mock offense. “ Excuse you, I have it 2nd period.”

She grinned. “Oh my god, I didn’t think-” she covered her mouth to suppress a giggle.

Tristan refocused on the worksheet and mumbled under his breath. Before Ryan could clarify his grumbles, the bell rang.

BRING

Ms. P stood as students quickly stuffed their belongings into their bags. “If you’re finished, leave your worksheets on my desk. This assignment is due tomorrow so make sure to not forget it!”

Ryan pulled her backpack straps over her shoulders as Tristan scrambled to finish one more question. “I thought we were meeting after school.”

He stared at his paper, then at Ryan, before he began cleaning off his desk. “Right.”

“Do you guys take the bus or walk or-”

He stood, flinging his backpack over one shoulder. He grunted as it smacked his back. “Walk, usually.” He shrugged. “Sometimes Jess will bring her bike.” They followed the stream of students speed walking through the halls.

Ryan followed him through the hallway, weaving through upperclassmen, until she noticed her locker. “I’ll meet you outside!” She didn’t wait for a response as she quickly spun the combination and opened her locker. She pulled out the unessentials, finished assignments and books she wouldn’t need until tomorrow on the shelves, swapping them for her lunchbox and due homework. She looked up and jumped back. A bright red frog croaked at her. Its tongue flew out, missing her face by an inch, and retracted. Pale blue smoke was soon swallowed by the amphibian.

Ryan blinked. “Uh, hi?” It croaked in response. Red smoke curled off its body. Her gut twisted in knots as someone stomped loudly down the hallway.

Jess jumped beside her. “Did ya forget something?” She asked beaming at her. Ryan pointed at the frog inside her locker. Jess’ lips curled down. “Oh, yeah.” Her voice was abnormally quiet. “Dissections were today.” She clicked her tongue and shrugged. “Can’t do anything about it unfortunately.” She held her hand out, palm up to the frog. “C’mon lil guy, let’s take you somewhere with a better view.”

It hopped onto Jess’ palm and it was then Ryan noticed the frog’s missing hind legs. “Did it have its legs torn off?” She whispered in horror.

Jess shook her head. “Nah, it’s a ghost is all.” She held the frog close to her chest. “You got everything?”

Ryan cleared her throat and kicked the locker door shut behind her. She swung her bag onto her back. “I think so.”

Jess gripped Ryan’s shoulder and squeezed. “Tristan and I got you, alright? We’re a team now. He and I have been doing this for years. It’s a little overwhelming so if you need to hang back or anything we got you. Deal?”

“I-” Ryan took a deep breath to clear her head. “Yeah, thank you.”

Jess winked in response and pulled Ryan into a side hug. “Well, c’mon then newbie, let’s go see Lucinda!” The ghost frog croaked in agreement.

[pixelsandpins]

I did more Dream Daddy fanfiction because I have to write ALL THE DADS, now. 

A Year Later: Craig

Dadsona/Craig

Mature Teen?, Mostly Fluff

Words: 4468

I close my eyes and step on the scale. I open them and look down.

"Hot damn!"

"What's up, pops?" Amanda asks from her room. She's only been back from school a few days, and it already feels like old times.

"Somehow, through some small miracle, I'm back to my college weight."

"Ugh, can we not talk about college weight? I have one working pair of pants."

"I told you what that cafeteria food would do to you, panda. A couple visits to the gym with us will probably get rid of that freshman fifteen." I step down off the scale and try to catch Amanda's eye in the bathroom mirror through the slightly open door. She's too busy FaceSpacing or Twitjournaling or some other portmanteau of two social media sites that make me sound like the old man I am.

"I'm perfectly happy with my nacho and pop-tart diet for the time-being, but don't let me stop you, my dude." She throws a peace sign up at me as I pass by her door, and I stick my tongue out at her. She'll learn soon enough. Youth is wasted on the young.

Craig greets me warmly when I find him near the ellipticals. River's gotten too big for the chest carrier, so she's started going to daycare. That means there's nothing between us when his arms come around me in a lingering hug. There's a lightning quick squeeze on the tush thrown in for good measure. The first month or so, I had thought it was just the change from  platonic to romantic that had made Craig's shows of affection so weird and squirrely. Turns out with him it's all about the space. Right place, right time, he can't keep his hands to himself. The gym is the one in-between place. Fortunate considering how little time we get just the two of us during the week.

"Good morning, babe," he says quietly into my ear before pulling away. "Leg day, bro. You ready?"

"I love leg day!"

I actually hate leg day, but my god my butt looks amazing afterward.

Craig takes the nearest machine, and cranks the resistance up a couple of notches. I take the one next to him, and don't touch the knob. After a year, I'm still not at Craig level cardio capabilities.

"So I was reminded of something the other day that I had kinda forgotten, and now I feel a little guilty about it," he says after a moment or two.

"What's that?" I pant in response.

"Do you remember Christina Schroeder?"

I search through my internal rolodex. It's not ringing a bell, and I say as much. "She was friends with Ashley? Really short? Poly-sci major? Insanely good at flip cup?"

"OH!" I remember. "Tipsy Tina?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Our nicknames weren't very inspired back in the day, were they?"

"I think we managed to do pretty well considering our theme."

He smiles that half smile that turns my insides to pudding.

"Anyway," he continues, "I don't know if you ever knew this, but she had a humongous crush on you. Like she was majorly in love with you."

"O-oh?" I don't remember her well enough to feel one way or the other about this information.

"Well, Ashley told me I should try to hook you up, so she said we should all go on a double date. But, you know, I didn't want you to feel on the spot, so I had the idea that I would just invite you to go to something with us, but not tell you Tina was gonna be there, too."

"Okay?" I know my brow is crinkling trying to figure out where this is going.

"Yeah. Um. Do you remember that movie thing we were going to go to, but we ended up not because I got food poisoning from something at the make-your-own-pizza place?"

"Oh my god yes. You were throwing up for, like, 2 days. Shit, was that supposed to be the double date?"

"Yeah. Yeah it was. And I remembered, and I felt bad about it, and...I don't know."

"Dude, you shouldn't feel bad about cancelling a double date because you were sick."

"There's more." He starts to slow a little bit on the machine, looking down at the timer with an unsure frown. "I told the girls that you were the one who was sick, and I was taking care of you, and that's why we couldn't go. But that they should go ahead and go without us."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It just felt...weird...at the time, and it was fun making you take care of me."

"Considering it's been twenty years, I'm inclined to forgive you...just this once."

He smiles again and punches me in the arm. Then he looks around to make sure no one's looking directly at us, and leans across the machine to peck me on the cheek.

"This is why I love you, bro. You understand me."

It's not the first time he's said it. Not by a long shot. He's always said it. Even when we were just friends back in college. It's not that I don't think he means it, but it's hard to know how he means it, still.

The pizza place is a madhouse. There's at least three birthday parties going on, and the entirety of Briar and Hazel's softball team high off their championship win is making things even rowdier.

"Makes you wish we didn't promise them pizza after every win, doesn't it?" I lean in and say to him in a low voice as we survey the crowd, trying to keep an eye on each of the twins. He throws his arm around my shoulder. In front of the team is not one of the PDA-approved places, but an arm around the shoulder doesn't count.

"Ah come on, bro. It's your first winning season as assistant coach. Get excited."

I give a little sarcastic "whooo," and he grins at me widely. When the title of "assistant coach" had become available, he'd really only offered it to me because I had the extra time now that Amanda was off and semi-on her own. I'd only accepted it because it was the only way I could find to spend time with him. I really didn't know the first thing about coaching softball, but no one questioned it. Thus the elaborate ruse had been allowed to perpetuate long enough for me to actually learn the ropes and start to pull my weight.

"Hey boys." Oh god. It was one of the new moms this year, Elizabeth. She and her daughter had just relocated from the midwest, fresh off a nasty divorce.

"Some of the girls and I were talking," she starts.

You mean you were talking and everyone was just nodding in agreement hoping you'd go away.

"And it might not be a bad idea to start talking about fundraising for next season early. What if we have a little meeting?"

Alone, in your house, probably.

This is one thing that hasn't changed, and I can't stand it. Us being together is not a secret. Not in the least. They even poke fun at us and called us "the lovebirds." And yet it's like they don't think it counts because I'm a man. That I'm not going to feel equally perturbed by someone hanging all over my significant other and flirting with him right in front of my face. They wouldn't do this to a guy if his wife was standing right there.

But then again some of these ladies might.

Craig, at least, knows how to shake 'em off.

"I like the initiative Elizabeth, but let's let everyone celebrate the win before hitting it hard again." He half-smiles at her, one of the fake ones.

"Oh, well, I took loads of pictures today. Next weekend would be the perfect time to go through them."

"I'm pretty much booked up all next weekend."

"Mr. Assistant Coach isn't, though. What do you say?" and her arm comes around mine, and I panic. This is new. Craig's perfect eyebrows knit together in thinly veiled surprise.

"I-uh-" I sputter. Then Craig's hand comes around mine.

"He'll be with me that weekend. The girls are with their mom, so we're having some time together. Alone." Daggers come shooting from Craig's eyes, and Elizabeth is completely unable to comprehend what's just been said to her. She stands there, wide-eyed, not moving. "And we're gonna be having, just, tons of sex the entire time. So you know. No time to look through pictures." Elizabeth goes white as a sheet, and walks off without another word. I'm fairly certain I have a similar expression when I look up at Craig.

"What the shit was that, Craig?"

His face's lost a little color, too, though, and his hand comes up to cover his mouth.

"I don't know. I just...I don't like her. And I wanted her to go away as fast as possible." He's still holding my hand, squeezing tighter now. Elizabeth has fallen back to a gaggle of moms, and now they're darting glances at us. They're trying to hide it and not doing a very good job. He finally lets go.

"God they're gonna talk about that for a week," Craig sighs. "But whatever, bro, right?"

"Right," I respond unsure.

I wake up Monday morning with a start. Something's off. I check my phone. I should have been at the gym an hour ago. There's about a fifty percent chance on any given day that I'll sleep through my alarm. I've come to terms with that and so has Craig. That's why he always texts me before he's about to leave the house. He knows I won't actually go unless he does. What's going on?

I send a quick text.

"Where are you? Are we not going to the gym, today?" I type. It's a solid five minutes before he responds, practically an eternity.

"Sorry, bro. I'm feeling a little sick, so I decided not to go. :("

The frowny face is a nice touch. Oh well.

"Want me to bring you something? Need help with the girls?" I text back immediately. I only have to wait half a second this time.

"No. It's cool. Twins are at camp and I managed to get River to day care. So I'm just gonna sleep."

There he goes trying to do everything himself. I've told him again and again that I'm here. That I can help. He's slowly getting it, but he's more stubborn than he realizes. In any case, I decide that, despite his protests, I will be taking care of him. If only a little.

"Amanda, I'm going to the store for a few things, then over to Craig's. Do you need anything?" I tap on her door and only get a groan in response.

Guess not.

It's only a five minute drive to the small grocery store down the road. It's across the street from the gym and a new hyper-organic, gluten free, paleo, vegan-ultra-plus juice bar that's making everyone nervous. It only takes another fifteen minutes or so to pick up the whole "sick boyfriend" bundle then I briefly entertain the thought of getting him a mango smoothie. It's his favorite.

I only just pull into the parking lot, though, before slamming on my brakes so hard I almost ram into the car ahead of me.

Craig is coming out of the gym looking as fine as ever. Which, for Craig, is extremely fine. Behind him is a gaggle of the softball moms.

What in the hell is this shit?!

I want to yell out the car window at him, but I don't. I can't. I'm too utterly perplexed. I take a few breaths to keep myself from getting mad. There's an explanation. Craig has given me no reason not to trust him in all the time I've known him.

Right?

I'm back in my living room without being totally sure how I got there. Amanda's sitting on the couch staring at me.

"What's up, Pops?I thought you were going to see your booooyyyfriiiieeend." She flashes a quick smile as she draws out the last word, but it fades quickly. "Seriously. What's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I flop down on the couch and sink back into it.

"What do you do if you find out your boyfriend lied to you?"

"Um. Okay? How big a lie we talkin'? Because it's just self-preservation to not tell you if a pair of jeans make you fat."

"He said he was sick, and he's not. I just saw him coming out of the gym with some of the softball moms."

"Oh. Well. Um. Hm." She makes a few more noncommittal sounds. "Sounds like you should have one of those 'communications' you're always telling me is so important to a proper, mature relationship."

"Yeah...yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am." She pats me on the head.

I don't call or text him right away like I would have recommended to my own daughter. Instead I convince myself that this is a conversation better to have in person.

Tuesday we're supposed to go for a run, but there's something he has to deal with at River's daycare. It ends up being an unexpected no-go.

Wednesday is a gym day. It starts with a text in the morning that his car's acting weird, so he's taking it into the shop. No need to worry about it, though. He has it covered. I understand car issues, but the insistence that he doesn't need my help bothers me immensely. I don't know how to react to it.

"Oh, and tomorrow is daddy/daughter day at camp, so I'll be doing that." He texts next.

That's classic Craig and I can't fault him for it. I love that about him, actually. I feel myself relaxing a little.

"And let's do 9:00 instead this Friday."

No.

That's too far. I've been waking up at 6:00 (sorta) to get to the gym by 7:00 regularly for months. We've never EVER shifted times. His daily schedule is too tight. No. Something's wrong. I give him an out.

"Everything okay, bro? Anything I can help with?" I stare at the screen, waiting, watching. A whole year passes, it feels like.

"No. It's cool."

Then just ":)" about ten seconds later.

Craaaiiiig. I am gonna wring your neck. Your hot, muscular neck.

I feel like the ultimate stalker watching from my window for Craig's car Friday morning. He's off in his gym clothes (which, admittedly, are often his regular clothes, too) about 6:45.

What the hell is he up to?

I give myself a buffer of three minutes, then head out to my own car. Four or five times while driving I tell myself I should just go back home. That I'm being literally the worst. Each time, though, I remind myself that it's Craig's fault I'm like this, right now.

Oh my god. I've become the crazy they say not to stick your dick in. When did this happen? Craig doesn't deserve this.

Still, I pull into the parking lot where the gym is. I see Craig's car and park next to it to make a point to myself. I don't find him right away in any of our usual areas, so I wander toward the back of the gym where they hold classes in large, tiled rooms. There's a small group of people huddled around one of the large windows that peek into the classrooms, and I have a sneaking suspicion they'll lead me to Craig.

I'm not wrong.

This, however, is not what I expected to find.

So he's not shirtless. That would cause a riot. He might as well be, though. Instead of his sweats, he's in a tank top loose and thin enough that you can pretty much just see everything, anyway. And those are short shorts. Real, honest-to-God booty shorts. The kind that have "Juicy" written across the butt of them. These, specifically, don't. They're just black. It would be an appropriate label, though.

Once I've taken in the whole...ensemble...I'm able to break my attention away long enough to appreciate the context of the outfit.

"Is this a pole dancing class?" I say quietly to no one in particular.

"Yeah!" a woman responds next to me. "They used to be only at night, but she just started a new morning class. You should try it. I bet you'd be really good." I glance at her, and she's wiggling her eyebrows at me just a little. I give a little breathy, half-hearted laugh, then focus my attention back on the class.

I can't hear it, but I feel the music start through the vibration of the glass. A handful of women take places at the poles lined up in staggered rows. I'm slightly horrified to note that some of them are softball moms. They're clothes aren't as revealing as Craig's by a long shot (yoga pants and baggy t-shirts), but it takes me a moment to shift my frame of reference.

They start with stretches. The usual. Nothing particularly interesting. The group around the window starts to scatter.

Then they actually take to the poles.

Oh. Oh my god.

I don't know pole dancing beyond the one time that I was dragged to a strip club against my will (by Craig come to think of it), but even I can figure out that he's just terrible at this. When the girls spin, even if they're just sort of falling around the pole, it at least looks graceful. Craig is clunky and awkward, and when he throws his weight against the pole he just sort of flops like a fish in midair. As the class progresses, it becomes clear that he has the proper upper and core body strength, but lacks the coordination to actually pull off any of the minor feats of acrobatics.

I'm riveted for the entirety of the hour long class, long after the rest of the onlookers have left. Despite his inexpert flailing, a single thought keeps going through my head: how much I'd love to be that pole.

I knock on his door that evening. I don't tell him I'm coming. I don't give him a chance to give me an excuse. He doesn't seemed confused that I didn't show up to our later gym date. I was out of there before he could catch me at the end of class, so as far as I know, he still doesn't know that I know.

The girls are with their mother this weekend, though, and this is getting figured out before I lose my mind.

Craig shows a flash of surprise when he opens the door, and I step in before he can say anything. I don't get to come over often, so his house still feels strange to me. That doesn't stop me from crossing my arms in his living room and staring him down like I own the place. I don't know where any of this bravado is coming from, but I need to ride the high until Craig answers.

"I'm sorry, bro. I guess I've been blowing you off a little this week," he says, folding his arms together and looking down at his toes. I deflate pretty much instantly.

Damn.

"It just seems like you've been really busy, and you don't want to take my help," I prod just a little. Then I prod him quite literally in the calf with my toe. "Were you gonna tell me about the pole dancing class?" I decide to end this. To deal the killing blow. Craig goes white as a sheet.

"Uh-h-how did you-?"

"I came during our normal gym time this morning." No need to mention the part about following him. That's a secret I'll just go ahead and tuck away forever.

"Oh…you...watched?"

"Yeah."

He rubs his hand across his mouth, thinking.

"I'm so bad at it, bro."

"I saw. In the outfit and everything."

"It's too much, isn't it?"

"I mean...I'm not gonna complain if you were to slip into it right now."

Craig raises an eyebrow at me.

"I can do that, you know." He steps toward me deliberately, bringing his hands down to my hips. I puff out my cheeks at him a little. I very much would like to go ahead and follow through with the look that's in his eyes, but I need to stay focused. Communication. Adulting.

"Why didn't you just tell me? I've been going crazy all week thinking that I did something or that something was wrong or...I don't know. I probably went through a thousand different possibilities."

He brings his hands from my hips to my shoulders. Then from shoulders to cupping my cheeks with his hands.

"Babe. I'm so, so sorry. Things just got really weird all of a sudden, and I got a little blindsided, I guess." He lets out a quick breath of air then looks down and away, collecting his thoughts. "You know Colleen? Becca's mom?"

"Yeah. Of course. I love Colleen. She's the best."

"Right? Well, her sister runs that class, and normally it's only at night but she's trying to do morning classes, too. So she offered free lessons to all the moms or something? I don't know. Anyway. Monday. I legitimately just forgot to send you your wakeup text. I'd been talking to Ashley about arranging the girls' pick-up this weekend, and it really just slipped my mind. When I got to the gym, though, I saw all these moms we know and they told me about this class they're taking and they sort of...bullied me into taking the class with them."

"They...bullied you?" I ask, trying not to smile as I imagine this manliest of men being pressured into anything by these suburban moms. He moves his hands from my jaw to rest them on the top of his head. He shifts on his feet and looks down at the ground again.

"'Oh come on, Coach, I bet you're really good at it. Mr. Assistant Coach should join us, too.' And I thought… I'll just do it once. Then it'll be so weird that they'll never bring it up again."

"And?"

"I liked it?" He bites his bottom lip. "But to be totally clear on something. There was an actual problem at River's daycare and it really was daddy/daughter day at camp. So I only technically lied twice. That sounds awful when I say that outloud."

"No...it's fine." I punch him in the chest, then wiggle my fingers when it hurts. "You could have said something, though. Anything. Hell. I might have even considered joining you. It might-"

"No!"

He says it so loudly and forcefully that I catch my breath in my throat.

"Sorry. Um. If you want to take a pole dancing class, I'm not gonna stop you. Like...you know I'm not gonna get in the way of your physical fitness goals, bro. But...um...can you not with the moms from softball? I'm gonna stop after the free classes this week." He rubs the back of his neck, nervously.

"I was joking, but now I'm a little worried again."

He sighs and pops his lips a few times.

"No offense intended but-"

"You're about to almost offend me, anyway?"

"I-hrrmm." He purses his lips at me. "I was hotter than you back in college. I didn't quite realize it, at the time, but I—and this is gonna sound terrible—kinda liked it? That I got all the attention when we were out together. Because you were smarter and funnier and nicer. So I had this one thing, but because people were always looking at me, they weren't looking at you and seeing how amazing you were and I got you all to myself. It's really stupid, now, obviously, but at the time it was important."

I don't know what to say. This is the deepest Craig's ever gotten with me. I feel like I'm seeing a new part of him.

"But, now you're hot, bro. Like...objectively. And the moms talk about you all the time. 'The new assistant coach really fills out that shirt.' 'Too bad he's taken.' 'Man knows how to use a bat.' It's been driving me nuts all season,"

This was news to me. I had maybe caught a few catcher/pitcher jokes at my expense, but I still only ever heard swooning over Craig.

"And I don't know why it bugs me," he continues. "And I just don't want you around them if I can help it. I never said any of this because it makes me sound like a creep."

"Craig...are you jealous?" I ask, very unsure of all of this nonsense and remembering how much of a creeper I am, too. He looks at me like he's confused by the very word itself.

"Oh my god, I might be."

"You might be?"

"I don't know, bro! I...shit." He's laughing, pressing his palm to his forehead. "Is that what it is?"

"You're a mess, dude." I'm smiling, too. We're both a disaster, really. A couple of idiots still stuck in that weird spot between friends and boyfriends.

While I'm still taking deep breathes and settling into the absurdity of it all, Craig steps up to me again, chest to chest. One arms wraps around my waist and the other finds a place behind my neck. Then he kisses me hard and deep, really getting into those back teeth. I suddenly remember I haven't seen him in a week, and now that we're squared away I really need to see him. As much as him as possible. He pulls away for a moment.

"I love you," he says.

'I love you, too, dude." It's an easy thing to say. It always has been.

"No." He looks me straight in the face, locking eyes with me. "I love you. I really do. I think I might always have at least a little, and now you're just...my world….after the girls."

"Obviously. Kids always get the top spot." My face hurts from being angry and smiling and getting kissed out of my mind, unexpectedly. But Craig is looking at me with that look, and I realize he's expecting an answer. "I love you, too. Really."

He pulls me in again, his mouth next to my ear.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to see some of my new moves in person, but...you know."

"Yeah, your old moves will do just fine."

And yeah. They certainly do.

[fabermemorialrink]

Day 2 of nurseydex week (bed sharing/room sharing)! Continues in the same universe as day 1.

“Come on up,” Dex says as he unlocks the door. There are trees lining the sidewalk in front of the brick building, and at this time of night, even only a few streets away from the nearest T station, the city is quiet. It’s as quaint as you can get in a metropolitan setting without having to move far west enough to wind up in the suburbs, and Dex admits that he’s grown used to it.

“I’m still blown away by how good you got at riding the subway,” Nursey says, nudging him with an elbow as they climb the stairs to Dex’s fourth floor apartment. “Remember that time you somehow wound up over in Queens?” he asks, teasing.

“That’s because your stupid train routes make zero sense,” Dex gripes.

“You’re a smart guy, Dex; you can figure out public transportation. I believe in you. Besides, it’s not that much better here.”

“It’s easier! There’s only five lines.” Nursey rolls his eyes.

“And I quote, ‘The green line is literally the fifth circle of hell and I hate everyone on it, including myself.’ Said by you only three weeks ago. Insightful, really.” 

“One, that was a one-off comment, and two, okay, it wasn’t. I mean that always; the green line is a travesty and a curse. Trains are bad.”

“Well, I’m just proud of you for not throwing down against the ticket machine,” Nursey laughs.

They're more or less meandering upwards, slowly working off the heaviness of dinner and drinks. In the cool stillness of an early June evening, the glow of a late summer sunset seems still to be hanging in the air even though the day grows late. A thin line of music can be heard from through the walls - Édith Piaf, from what Dex can make out as they pass.

Nursey’s fingers brushes against Dex’s as they round the last flight, and Dex instinctively resists his desire to link their hands, then remembers that he can totally do that now. So he does, taking Nursey’s hand, then forcibly cracking two of his knuckles; Nursey yelps, and reflexively clenches his fingers hard around Dex’s until he’s wincing too.

“Ow, you dick, I’m trying to compliment you here,” Nursey says with a pout, and Dex leaves a kiss on the back of his hand before letting them into his apartment.

Nursey has a tendency these days to turn into jelly when he's both sleepy and a little drunk, so they manage to get a glass of water in him and kiss lazily against Dex’s fridge for a few minutes until he starts to dissolve into pudding in Dex’s arms.

“Well, that answers one question,” Dex says into a sea of dark curls as Nursey tries again to nap vertically on him and they begin listing toward one side.

“Mmm, yeah, I think the only sleeping with you I’m up to right now is the literal kind,” Nursey mumbles against his throat, and Dex gently starts walking them backwards toward his bedroom.

“Sounds good to me.” He keeps one hand at Nursey’s waist and the other at the small of his back to guide him across the floor. Nursey’s arms are still wrapped around him like a kite in a tree, but they manage despite his tendencies.

“I take back everything I said about your dancing skills,” Nursey says as Dex turns them so he can drop him softly on the bed without Nursey sending them both crashing to the ground.

“Pretty fly for a white guy, eh?”

“Wow, okay, never mind.” Nursey laughs quietly into the pillow as Dex flips him off and returns to undoing the buttons on his shirt. It's one that Dex recognizes, which means they've been dating for long enough that Dex has started to memorize the contents of Nursey's closet again. The thought doesn't annoy him the way it did back in school, when he’d reach for a shirt and come up with a soft-knit sweater because Nursey had accidentally stolen his clothes again.

Nursey’s hands come up to bracket Dex’s hips as each button is freed. They're older now, obviously, but he still looks as sweetly pliant as he used to those odd nights Dex helped put him to bed after a kegster. It had been a different kind of yearning back then, new and undefined and terrifying, too much for the fragile peace they were building between themselves to explore. That was the working excuse anyway, more and more inapplicable as time went on, but it was what Dex held onto to protect his heart.

Now, he can lean down and press a kiss to Nursey’s lips if he wants to, his heartbeat only skipping because Nursey can still leave him breathless no matter how many years pass. He does so, and Nursey tries to tug him down to the sheets as well, but he slips free.

“Nope, not yet. Your morning breath is bad enough as it is; it’s biological warfare when you don’t brush your teeth.”

Nursey whines, reaching for the hem of Dex’s shirt to try and ensnare him again. “Can't you just pour some mouthwash down my throat and call it a day?”

“Is drowning in listerine really the way you wanna go out?”

“Going out the way I came in: minty fresh.”

“Not tonight, you’re not,” Dex says, kicking off his socks as he walks toward the bathroom. He drops clothes as he goes - belt, and shirt, and undershirt - like a sexy striptease trail, except it’s not sexy; he’s just fucking lazy. He kept a lot of the habits he developed through a childhood of living in a crowded house with little personal space and privacy, but sometimes he indulges in the luxury of living on his own, and does stuff like throwing his clothes wherever he wants and eating nutella straight out of the jar with a spoon. Chowder was a terrible influence on his life.

He’s brushing his teeth when Nursey finally shuffles in wearing sweatpants and a Samwell Theater t-shirt (signed by Ford in sharpie) he stole from Dex’s drawers. He drapes himself over Dex’s shoulders and reaches around him to grab his brush and blindly squeeze toothpaste onto the bristles. He winds up with a glob as large as a floret of cupcake frosting and winces when it prickles on his tongue.

They fall back into the old patterns they grew used to while living together in college, pretending to jostle for space while they brush even though the only use Dex has for the mirror is to make faces at Nursey and Chowder through their reflections. Dex finishes washing his face first and backs away from the sink to give Nursey room. Like always, he's a step too slow to avoid the claw of death swooping in to smear moisturizer on his face in three pale streaks; with a customary grimace, he allows it to happen before rubbing the lotion vigorously in, ignoring the way Nursey shakes his head in disappointment.

Nursey is indeed minty fresh when they kiss again, but still as structurally sound as a melting flan, so Dex maneuvers them back to bed. Because he’s a considerate person even when only half-awake, Nursey has tossed all of Dex’s shedded clothing onto his chair so they don’t wind up a very romantically injured accident on the floor. They flop onto Dex’s slightly too-small-for-two bed foregoing the covers even though the summer heat hasn’t grown sticky yet.

“You wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon?” Nursey asks, turning his head against Dex’s pillow to watch him with those lovely eyes, half-lidded and sentimental. He’s probably composing something in his head again, twirling language together in ways Dex couldn’t even dream of. Nursey needs to write in the same way other people need to feel sunlight on their skin, and Dex has always admired the tenacity he knows it must take for him to keep writing even when the words don't come easy.

“How ‘bout the soup spoon,” he replies as he wraps an arm across Nursey’s waist. Nursey sleeps flat on his back anyway, so cuddling isn't very effective, but Dex knows being held makes him feel more grounded. He leaves his palm resting on one sharp hipbone, tracing arcs with his fingertips. Just a small physical reminder that this is real. That what they have is real.

“Okay, you can be the salad fork and I'll be the demitasse,” Nursey says, smiling when Dex squints at him.

“You have seen in person that I don’t know what any of those things are,” Dex grumbles. He’s been to a handful of these ridiculous functions that Nursey’s family has to attend on occasion, and resigned himself to surreptitiously studying other people before picking up a utensil. At least the food is always stellar. Luckily, Nursey’s parents are some of the most down-to-earth people that Dex has ever met, and have no problem eating easy mac out of mugs with them at Nursey’s place when they come to visit.

“Chill, Dex. I can teach you. A demitasse is just a small coffee cup. Demi is half, and tasse is cup. And a salad fork is a fork that you eat salads with. Salad is salad and fork is fork.”

“Informative. I can see why you always get five out of fives.”

Nursey gives him a little burst of a laugh, scooching an inch closer so that Dex can lean up against his shoulder. “Dude, have you been looking me up on teacher rating websites again?”

Dex makes a non-committal noise. “You have 4.5 chili peppers - where’d the other half pepper go?”

“I mean, I don’t think I lost it. I just never had it.” He shrugs, uncaring.

The expression Dex wears turns consoling. “You're seven out of five peppers to me, Nurse.”

Nursey’s smile brightens, and he covers the hand at his hip with his own. “That’s pretty damn hot - you sure you can handle it?”

“I’ll get some saltines ready in case. The food of my people.”

“Maybe try yogurt instead.”

“Oh, you have a thing for yogurt? Guess I could work with that. I mean, it’s kinda untraditional, but I could try. For you.”

“Don’t try to shame me in my own bed, Will,” Nursey exclaims, and Dex leans forward to kiss the laugh from his mouth.

“Good thing it’s my bed, then, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for sharing.”

Nursey really does look like he’s going to nod off any minute, but before his eyes slip closed he gives Dex another thoughtful look, asking softly, “You know that time you came to visit a few years back? Around my birthday?”

It had been shortly after a major snowstorm hit the northeast; there were still piles of dirty gray slush on every corner and enough meltwater puddles to soak Dex’s socks for days, but it had been nice, to see Nursey again after half a year. The first few times they met up post-graduation, he thought it might have become awkward between them without proximity to keep them in contact, but they always picked up where they left off, all friendly chirping and stupid arguments, now colored with a few dashes of nostalgic reminiscing of the good old days. That day he had brought a potted snake plant with him as a gift, to add to the growing collection of houseplants on the sill of Nursey’s classroom.

“Yeah, we rode a sightseeing bus around Manhattan for no reason.” Dex had stayed the night, and Nursey had offered him the bed. He'd tried to refuse, but Nursey wasn't having it, and built a nest from a spare comforter in the living room before Dex could protest again. “You slept on the couch that night,” he recalls now. It had struck Dex as a strange miracle at the time, because enough time had passed since they last shared a bed for convenience and necessity that he had almost forgotten what a trial it always was. And as platonic as those moments had been, he hadn't been sure his heart could handle the fresh re-opening of the wound it would be to wake to the sight of Nursey asleep just a few inches away from him, too close to touch but never too far to fall for again and again.

“And you slept in my bed.” The hand nearest Dex tangles in the bottom hem of his t-shirt, a few of Nursey’s fingers slipping under to brush against Dex’s stomach. Dex tries not to shiver, waiting for Nursey to collect his thoughts into something more cohesive. “I woke up first, for once. You were still asleep, bundled to the max in all the blankets, except your leg. That was falling off the bed, dunno how - I fit on there just fine and we’re literally the same height.”

Nursey shakes his head, amused by a memory Dex wasn’t awake for, and takes a slight breath. “You were drooling on the pillow,” he says. “Left a wet spot the size of the pond next to your face.”

“Oh my god,” Dex groans, burying his face against Nursey’s arm.

“Nah, it was cute. I went to check on you, turn your head so you didn't drown in your own spit. You stuck your hand out of your cocoon when I did - I thought you were gonna slap me, but you grabbed my arm instead, and you wouldn't let go. I think it was some sort of anti-sibling protective instinct kicking in.

“I thought you would keep me trapped there until you woke up, and I sat down on the floor next to you because I- I guess I wanted that? I wanted to be the first thing you saw that morning.”

“Just like you used to be?” Dex asks, and Nursey nods mutely. They never talked about it, those hangover mornings where Dex jolted awake so he could untangle himself from Nursey and the sheets before anyone could catch him selling himself out with his moonstruck eyes. “But you weren't there when I woke. You were making breakfast,” he says, the memory coming back into focus, pleasantly overcast in the cool wintry gray of Nursey’s apartment that morning when Dex stepped out barefoot on the cold floorboards to see Nursey studying the spark and sizzle of oil in his frying pan.

“I guess that was always the dilemma. Do I want to be the one you wake up to, or do I want to be the one who makes you breakfast? I wanted to be both, but breakfast seemed safer.” Nursey’s smile, sheepish and uneven, reminds Dex of the years they lost. The years they- well, wasted isn’t the right word for it, because this is the road they took to get to each other, and even now, knowing what they could have had sooner, Dex doesn’t think it was the wrong path. He thinks sometimes they needed to grow up apart before they could grow old together.

“You could be both. You are both,” Dex says, looping his arm tighter around Nursey’s waist. “My problem was always whether I wanted to be the one to make you laugh or the one to catch you when you fall down the stairs.”

“It’s pretty cool when you do them at the same time,” Nursey says sleepily, and Dex leans in to give him one final kiss.

“Night, Derek. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait.”

Nursey drifts off first and Dex is left half-conscious, watching him in all the ways he couldn't when he was younger and less sober. Wanting him just as much as he did at nineteen. But they're here now, and Dex doesn't regret a minute that led them to this point. It feels like all that yearning was a debt to paid before he could know how it felt for his love to be requited.

Eleven years ago, on a night much like this one, Dex had held his breath and closed his eyes, hoping against hope that Nursey wouldn’t feel his pulse running wild as he fell asleep. Tonight he exhales, waiting for his heart rate to slow, and holds Nursey closer as sleep approaches.

Dex wakes bathed in sunlight. Nursey is still out, tucked into Dex’s side with one arm lying at a strange angle, but he stirs when Dex shifts to stretch his legs. For a second, his forehead scrunches and his dark lashes flutter twice before his eyes open.

“Good morning, starshine,” Dex says as Nursey turns onto his side to embrace him. His hair is a mess and he’s still blinking himself awake, but he looks rested and comfortable here in Dex’s bed. The way Dex hopes he’ll always feel when they’re together.

“Morning, Will,” Nursey responds warmly, and Dex remembers that all this was worth waiting for.

He leaves a kiss at Nursey’s jaw, his cheek, his crown. Then he props himself up with Nursey still spread across his chest, ready for the new day.

“C’mon, Nursey. Let’s go get breakfast.”

[justreputationnoexplanation]

Matchmessing

Another entry for Red Team. For the square “Matchmaking”

“Captain Simmons? Can I ask you a question? “ Jensen asked quietly from behind, obviously more awkward than usual.

“Yes, Lieutenant Jensen?” Simmons had gotten better at interacting with his squad, but her hesitant tone had him on edge.

“How did you and Captain Grif get together?”

Simmons sputtered and dropped what he had been working on, spinning to face her.

“Grif and I are just friends. We aren't together. No sir not at all! Only platonic emotions between us now and forever. I have to go now! Goodbye!” Simmons stammered out, voice sounding like it used to when he talked to girls, all high and squeaky. He quickly gathered up his data pad and rushed away from his lieutenant.

“Hey,Simmons? Is there something going on with the lieutenants? Bitters is actually putting in effort and Matthews is being less of a kissass than normal. It’s as though Bitters is trying to impress someone, and Matthews is distracted by someone. It’s kinda freaking me out.” “I don’t know, but i think there’s something. Earlier Jensen asked me a really wierd question about you.”

“Lemme guess: she wanted to know how to get a maverick to love a knowit all.”

Grif said this in a joking manner, but when Simmons tensed up, he realized he had hit the mark.

Sitting up and leaning towards Simmons, Grif began to speak more seriously.

“ Did you tell her we were together or did you panic and run away?”

“I...uhhh...the second one.” Simmons mumbled under his breath.

“Great that works in our favor. Now you need to stick with that story until this is over, and I’ll handle the rest.”

“Rest of what? Grif what are you doing?” Simmons panicked, sitting up fully and putting his datapad down.

“I’m going to get Jensen and Bitters together. By tricking them into getting us together.”

“Captain Grif? How...uh...how did you get together with Captain Simmons? Like how did you get him to like you?” Bitters sat down across from his captain, offering him a extra pudding cup, presumably as payment for the information.

“First off, Simmons and I aren’t together. Second off, he doesn’t really like me. I’m just someone he can put up with more often than other people.” Grif was already starting his plan to get Bitters and Jensen together, by forcing them to work together and subtly giving them advice on how to get the other to like them. He was also gonna have to get Matthews, and possibly Clair involved, without them knowing.

“Why do you want to know? Trying to woo Matthews and need to figure out how to make a kissass like a maverick?” Grif teasingly questioned.

“No! Not Matthews. Not anyone. I was just wondering. Forget I asked.” Bitters stood up, leaving behind a half eaten tray of food that Grif happily claimed for himself.

“Lieutenant Clair! I need you to do something for me.” Grif walked quickly up behind the pink highlighted lieutenant from Simmons’ squad.

“Uh, yes Captain Grif?” She was obviously confused by his desire to speak with her.

“I need you and Matthews to subtly work on getting Bitters and Jensen to admit their feelings for each other. Don’t let them know I put you on this mission. Gotta go! I wanna get a nap in before lunch.

Grif darted away relatively quickly, but when it came to naps, speed at hiding was important.

“Clair! What did Captain Grif want?” Jensen came jogging up to her side.

“Uh, he wanted me and Matthews to “help” get you and Bitters together. I don’t think he’s realized that you already are together.”

“Yeah, really? Then our plan is working perfectly! He and Captain Simmons will have to work together at least a little to get that to happen, and then they will be sure to get together. I gotta go tell Bitters!”

“So you’re telling me, that you and Jensen are together, but pretending not to be, so you can pretend to get Grif and Simmons together, and that you both know that Grif and Simmons are together, but also pretending not to be, with the hope of getting you and Katie together, all with the end goal of getting Clair and Matthews together? Dude, why.” Palomo observed, standing next to his sometimes friend waiting for training to start.

“Because they both like each other, but aren’t going to act on it because Matthews is a mess talking to girls, and Clair thinks that Matthews doesn’t like her because of it. And Katie said this would work. Somehow.” Bitters explained yet again. Palomo just didn’t understand the concept of love.

“Alright, lets start with 5 laps.” With that training had begun, and there was no more time for discussions of matchmaking and pretending.

“Hey, Clair? I was wondering if maybe you would want to go on a walk with me? That is, if you’re not busy. I know it’s not exactly the most ideal date, but “ before Matthews could finish his rambling, Clair held up her hand to signal that he should stop.

“I think it sounds lovely.”

So that is part One. Part 2 will come later. Just to be clear: Aurora Clair is the pink lieutenant commonly referred to as “Volleyball” I chose this name because Disney Princesses are cool, and because Clair is part of my name. And for this fic, Matthews first name is “Nick”.