#On one hand; less poop getting spread around

[selvepnea]

Depending on how big the closet is, keeping BiBi in a enclosed space might be a good idea while you wait for the vet appointment so that you know where he is and can get to him easily. Some cats like to hide when sick or injured, or just plain upset/scared.

Since it sounds like diarrhea, make sure he has water and/or wet food so he doesn't get dehydrated. And if you can fit his litter box in there cats like things that smell like themselves.

I hope any of this helps!

I ended up doing something similar! I was a little worried if he would be more adverse to eating sine I was moving his food so far, but he seems to be eating ok still.

Funny thing, when I checked on him in the morning he was pretty clean, but the closet was a mess when I got home ^^"

Turns out he got some sort of parasite? I think? (I was too tired to ask too many questions :( ) so I've got about a week's worth of medicine before his stools start firming up again u_u

[bks-writing-adventures]

Four Is Plenty (Aemond X Pregnant! Reader)

Warnings: Pregnancy, fluff, mentions of poop and genitals.

When Aemond married you, he had many things envisioned. But this was not one of them. Watching you waddle around, grumbling and mumbling as you dropped your book. He smiled, trying to not look too amused. It hadn’t taken you long to get pregnant at all, for two weeks after your wedding night, blood did not fill the chamberpot. It became clear very quickly that you were pregnant, and now, at nine months, you were just moments away from bursting.

He had never seen a woman look so humongous, but of course he would not tell you that. “Allow me to help, my love,” He spoke, picking up her book and pressing kisses to her fingertips. He and the lords had an ongoing bet going, since they were all certain that you had more than one baby trapped up inside you. His bet was three, and Ser Criston was sure it would only be one humongous baby. 

“I hate this.” You mumbled, and he sighed softly in response as his hands moved to cup your stomach. He had read all the books he could find on pregnancy and child care, his palms on the bottom of your belly, lifting gently to help relieve you of your pain.

 “Do not fret. It will be any day now, and you will feel better than ever before,” He spoke, rubbing over the stretchmarks that formed all over your belly like tiger stripes. “

I am simply excited to be able to sleep on my belly again,” You grumbled, whining as he slowly let go of your belly, leaving you to deal with all the weight again. “I hope the birth is not too great of a pain, and I hope the midwives do not scream in my face,” You spoke, and he smiled as he kissed both of your cheeks. They had gotten nice and round with your weight gain, and he absolutely loved the way you looked. 

“I promise they will not. I will be there the whole time,” He spoke, stroking your hair.

 “Hm…” You mumbled, moving to go take your afternoon nap, a pillow at her lower back to relieve the ache. He laid in bed next to you, tracing his fingers over your nose and hairline, your collarbone and your belly. He was addicted to touching you, watching your cheeks get pink, feeling your breath along his wrist. As he traced small swirls onto your swelling belly, he felt a wetness forming under him. His brows scrunched, and he quickly sat up, the breath leaving his lungs when he saw your lounge gown covered in fluid.

Your water had broke. He cleared his throat, trying his best not to panic as he quickly got to his feet and rang the bell he had installed just for this occasion. Slowly, your eyes began to open up. You were so sleepy that you felt as though your eyes wer glued shut, eyes getting wide as you felt the soggy blankets under you. It felt so gross and sticky that you could cry, and you did, as the room began to flood with people. It was so stressful, and you could hardly think as they propped you up and started wiping your head and face with a cold cloth. 

“It is okay, my lady. It is okay, simply spread your legs and let us look,” One of them said lightly. She was young and calm, and her attitude was slowly melting into you. It made you feel much better that they were not freaking out, that they seemed confident that you would be just fine. And maybe you would be. From a young age, it was one of your greatest fears to die in childbirth- and hesitantly, your thighs parted, and you let one of the midwives take a peek. 

“Okay, we are at one inch,” She said quietly. You weren’t sure how much it was supposed to be, but the smile on her face made you smile too, nodding slowly. Aemond was over educated on the ways of birth, and you had chosen to remind blissfully ignorant. That way, you would be less afraid when the time came. And less afraid you were, eyes wandering across the ceiling. You had spent your days painting it, and from down here, the small patches that you were able to paint looked so insignificant. 

“When this baby is out, I will make a portrait of us.. Right there,” You spoke, pointing up at the ceiling, right at the center. 

“I’m sure it will be beautiful,” He said gently, kissing your palm. 

“Do you have any ideas for names, My Lady?” one of the midwives asked, and your mind wandered. You were not a big fan of most Targaryen names, as they sounded rather silly. But there were one or two that you would not mind.

 “I like Aenys, for a boy,” You said, noticing how Aemond sighed quietly against your hand. 

“I would prefer Maegor,” He said gently, and you smiled in return. 

“That is nice, dear. But as I said, I like the name Aenys. And for a girl….” You trailed off, trying to think. Too many Valyrian girl names sounded the same. There was already a Rhaenys, a Rhaenyra, and a Rhaena. Family dinners were getting far too complicated. 

“What about Alysanne?” Your husband asked softly, brows scrunched as he looked down between your legs. He would be lying if he said that it was a pleasant sight, and he swallowed his discomfort as his eye wandered back to your face, watching a pleasant expression grow on your features. 

“Alysanne. That is sweet. I like that,” You nodded, not knowing what was to come. As the hours grew later, you grew rather bored. Your stomach grumbled, but you could not eat, the nurses insisting that you would throw any food right up.

 “This child sure is taking its time,” You commented as you made an attempt to sit up, the midwives gently nudging your shoulders. “Relax,” You told them quietly, eyes narrowing a little. “I can move,” You spoke, reaching toward the bedside table for your latest read.

 “Shall we get the maesters to quicken the process?” One offered, and you pondered the thought before gently shaking your head. “I would prefer not to be surrounded by men,” You said, licking your finger tip as you pulled on the brittle page of your book, your eyes wandering over the words. “The child will come when it is ready,” You mumbled. The night was tense, and with every breath, the midwives jumped. It would not be for a few hours that you let out a loud grunt, gripping your belly. “Gods above!” You shouted, and Aemond jumped to your side. You hadn’t realized just how sharp the pains would be, your toes curling up. 

“Its okay, its okay,” He mumbled, trying to soothe you. You let out a loud groan, holding air in your lungs as your midwife let you know that you were at two inches or so.

 “Is that good?” You choked out, and Aemond smiled at you, all of his teeth showing. It was a rare sight, as he usually kept his expressions to the absolute minimum. 

“Very good, my love. Within the hour, we will have a babe in our arms,” He murmured, and you had never seen him look so proud. And like magic, when half an hour passed, you grunted loudly, clawing into his leather jacket, leaving crescent moons of your nails in the fabric. 

“Shh, shhhh….” He murmured, and you almost shouted at him. It took a second to realize he wasn’t trying to hush you, but rather trying to comfort you, and slowly, you let him. 

“It is crowning, my lady!” A midwife whispered, her eyes full of awe. It was an odd feeling, being a spectacle. Everyone just staring at your vagina. 

“Thats… nice,” You mumbled, your face scrunching up as they rubbed our face with a cold cloth. 

“You’re doing incredible, my lady. Perhaps the best i’ve ever seen.” A voice said gently, helping to hold your legs apart. Your cheeks got pink, and you curled up a little. You grunted loudly, your face bright red as you felt all your muscles tense and relax, your eyes snapping open. This was the grossest thing ever, and a maid simply pulled the bedpan out from beneath you, going to a small bin to simply throw out your mess as crying filled the room. Your hands reached for your face, and to your great surprise, the cries were not your own, and when you finally looked down, you could see the midwives gently touching the shoulders of an infant, helping to pull out the child. 

“Be careful!” You shouted loudly. 

“I am, my lady. The most careful I can be,” You had to praise the midwives, you could never have the patience. You felt a bit bad for yelling, but the pain overrid any guilt you could feel. 

“That is one…” Aemond whispered softly, tracing over your arm. 

“Do you wish to cut the cord?” He was offered.  You mumbled softly, looking away as they gave him scissors. It made you anxious. You just had to hope he wouldn’t mess things up, sighing in relief as they finally put the infant on your chest. It was slightly slimy and still red in the face, wailing quietly. But gods, was it the best thing you’d ever seen in your life. 

“Is it a boy or a girl?” You whispered softly, looking up to be met with Aemond’s glowing face. 

“A boy,” He whispered softly, and you felt your eyes getting wet as the baby suckled on your chest, getting nice and quiet. 

“Aenys.” You mumbled quietly, and for a few minutes, everything was calm, until you felt a rumble in your tummy.

 “Is it the after birth?” One of the midwives asked, coming to your help, eyes going wide as she stared at you. 

“What?” You asked softly, looking over at Aemond as he leaned over, too. 

“Its another!” He exclaims, his voice joyous and loud. 

“Shhhh…” You mumbled, eyes shut. You were so focused on the baby on your breast, and it didn’t even hurt anymore. Everything was a daze as they whispered and squealed, and before you knew it, another baby was crying, and your brows were furrowed. 

“Twins..” You mumbled, smiling a little as they put the baby on your other breast. “Boy or girl?” You murmured softly, too exhausted to look. 

“A girl,” Aemond told you gently, rubbing your shoulders, squeezing the tension out with his thumbs. 

“A girl..” You repeated, smiling lazily. “Hmmm…” You grumbled, ignoring the rest of the sounds around her. You didn’t even know what was happening anymore, but no one seemed afraid, so slowly, you drifted to sleep. You didn’t know how much time had passed when you woke, but you could hear about a dozen voices, and feel cloth over your body. Your eyes cracked open slowly, the afternoon light assaulting your irises, making you hiss softly in distaste. 

“The curtains,” You heard a voice say, and lovely shade covered you, following the sound of the curtain rings dragging across the rods. 

“I have never seen so many newborns at once,” As the sleepiness began to fade away, you could focus on the voices more, and slowly, you began to sit up. In your unconscious state, they had put you in a nice, powder blue nightgown, and your hair was pulled away from your face, fresh sheets on the bed. You must have been as still as stone. 

“Ah, she is awake,” you felt a hand come to your head, frowning for a moment before your eyes focused, seeing your mother in law in front of you. 

“You must be exhausted, but you have done us all so proud,” she said gently, kissing the top of your head. She was holding a baby, but it was not one that you had seen, and for a moment, you didnt’ even think it was yours, until you saw those pudgy cheeks and strong browbone. Your eyes slowly wandered. There were four cribs in the room. Your heartbeat picked up, blinking slowly. “Quadruplets. I cannot believe it,” Alicent spoke, but her voice slowly faded out. Four. You hadn’t been ready for that, you ready for two, at most. 

“We set Aenys aside so we do not confuse him for the others,” Aemond said softly, coming toward you, a baby in each arm. One swaddled in violet, the other in a rosy color. 

“Two boys and two girls. I have never seen anything more perfect,” He whispered softly. “Do you want to hold the girls? You haven’t named them yet. Though, i’ve been calling this one Alysanne, and she seems to like it,” he says, kissing the forehead of the one wrapped in rosy plush. She was surely the runt of the litter, her little nose twitching with his kiss. You hummed, gently taking the other, the one wrapped in violet satin. Once you could get a good look at her face, you smiled at the wisps of gold and white along her scalp, curling up into little coils. Her cheeks were rosy and fat, and her brows were practically invisible.

 “...Daeryn. Rynnie for short,” You spoke, and he smiled softly. 

“I hope you do not mind, wife, but I decided to name the other boy,” He said sheepishly, making your brows raise. You did not mind, of course, you just hoped that it wasn’t an ugly name. While he enjoyed the name Maegor, you found it rather boring, it tasted like sour ash on your tongue. “Do not worry, I did not name him Maegor,” He spoke, practically reading your mind, and Helaena spoke up from her seat by the window. 

“I would not let him.” She says, making you smile. 

“So what is this wonderful name you picked?” You asked, looking up at him as Daeryn’s little hand curled around your finger. 

“Aelorn,” He spoke, his expression hopeful. It was not your favorite name, but seeing his expression, so sweet and genuine, you nodded. 

“I like it.” You said softly, letting him give you the smallest of kisses on your dry lips. 

“We will have to have more clothes made,” He said softly, letting out a small laugh. 

“You may use the ones I have from the twins,” Helaena spoke up, setting her embroidery project down on her lap. Curious, you looked over, seeing fou little baby faces stitched into the fabric, your heart warming up at the sight. 

“So, when will you start trying again?” Alicent asked, half teasing and half serious, making Aemond blink slowly.

 “Trust me, Mother. Four is plenty.” He smiled, and you could not help but agree. Yesterday, you expected one child. And now you had enough to last a lifetime. And honestly? You’d never been happier.

Thank you so much to everyone who reads! I'm thinking about having the quadruplets as recurring characters and making a little mini-series of them growing up. Thoughts?

[holy-puckslibrary]

sid to a furry friend's rescue!

florist!reader gets flustered during sid's calendar shoot

oh, nothing... just them playing house doing a mentorship day and stirring up the rumor mill... another tuesday!

gif from @ehghtyseven

Sidney remains cautious around the local amateur matchmaker, adopting a level of vigilance, one not unlike that of the state he experienced while on duty, whenever she and her cohort openly collude on his behalf. Unfortunately for him—and anyone else audacious enough to be single in their vicinity, their movements are as unpredictable as they are assured to occur.

He could be milling around the market down the block from the station, or waiting for his order at the hole-in-the-wall café beside your shop—even his mailbox was fair game. Blissfully alone one minute, and the next? He's center stage as Halifax's Most Eligible Bachelor, unwittingly sifting through a rolodex of eager contestants, many of whom present in name only.

Their community wasn't remarkable small, but it was quiet. So, Sid could understand the appeal. The residents, many of whom were nearing retirement or already had been for several years, had little else to fuss over. It wasn't uncommon for a single person to become a central topic of conversation at the bingo table or the church pew. Everyone got their turn.

But, of the community's ever-dwindling pool, Sidney Crosby is most definitely the favorite, with you not far behind.

When you arrived, Sid breathed a sigh of relief. Fresh meat meant that, at least a little while, the heat would be off his back. He could go about his business without a peanut gallery or having to stand trial over the state of his (non-existent) romantic life.

It felt somewhat callous to hope for someone else's life to be probed and scrutinized the way his has been, but his reprieve was long overdue. And it wasn't as though he intended for you to fend for yourself. He knew firsthand how relentless Madame Matchmaker—as she liked to be called—could be, and therefore, he could be a vital resource and a nice shoulder to lean on.

You were receptive to his aid and grateful for his kindness, and while Sidney anticipated this alliance of sorts would be largely one-way, he was pleasantly surprised to realize a positive, unintended consequence—a deterrence to meddling. With you by his side, Sidney was approached significantly less.

You both were.

And you knew why. It wasn't hard to connect the dots; appearing together effectively marked you as "off-limits," and, therefore, not worth their time or help.

However, it soon became clear the rouse worked a little too well. And, unwilling to fabricate a half-truth or outright lie, the horde of Cupids found reason to descend with renewed fervor. This time, with a fresh initiative: to bring their fantastical assumptions to fruition.

Today's doings were further fodder, and the pile of pooped toddlers curled between you being the chief culprits.

For nearly eight hours, you looked and behaved like a stereotypical nuclear family out for field trip. The day began with a breakfast spread seated at your breakfast nook and a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood. Then, a trip to your shop for a light lesson in floriculture and an introduction to bouquet arrangement, before the four of you made your way to the station for an edu-chat on fire prevention and safety. And, of course, a gear try-on and (assisted) turns with the fire hose. (Sidney wishes he would've snuck a photo of you donning his helmet.)

As the sun slipped closer to the horizon, you crumpled onto a bench framing the park in the center of town.

Managing two children together for Mentor Day seemed less daunting than going it alone, and it had been—but at what cost?

The hushed giggles just within earshot are measure enough.

"We're never going to hear the end of this, are we?"

Sidney hides his splitting grin behind his hand, all too aware of the typical spectators not two yards from where you're sat. It was best to find amusement in their meddling whenever possible.

"Definitely not," he concurs.

You lapse into comfortable silence, as you usually do around this hour on one of your back porches. The fading sun paints the town square in a buttery golden light soon after. Neither of you can resist stealing glances, open and lingering, too eager to watch the color dance across the other's face to worry about public perception and speculation.

Tired eyes tracking over your face, Sidney hums, "Today was a good day."

He watches you nod in agreement, a dreamy little smile pulling at your mouth. Behind the children's heads, your warm fingers tangle in his. His heart thuds when your hand gently squeezes his three times.

"Yeah, it was."

—

someone let me give him kids! now!

as always, i would really appreciate if you reblogged my work, left a comment or dropped by my inbox w some feedback :) fandom runs on engagement, and so do writers!! thx a mil in advance!

READ MORE OF THEM HERE!

[cherrb333]

Chapter 3:first meat;D

Note:its a bit of a shorter chapter, but i finally got it done hehehehe, also loreeeeeeee:D

Ps:writing mama speech is fucking hard lol

It had been a few months since Usagi and Renai had all but become friends, and things were going smoothly. Renai had learned many things about the world and found a nice home at Usagi's workplace! Another score was the turtles Frequented the Restaurant, so spying on them became less life-threatening! (Usagi was relieved about that one) 

She learned some things about the turtles while spying on them as well. Like how Mikey seemed to be the baby of the four, and how arrogant Donnie was about everything, It made her chuckle when she watched the four interact. She couldn't help it, their banter was hilarious... She also noticed that they always had some bruise or scratch, unless They were doing a chill day. But, one day, as she was just Traversing New York City, a disguise thrown together at the last second, she didn't expect her to bump into a certain red bandanna-wearing turtle. It all started as she was getting a taco from a concession stand in Times Square. She licked her lips as the smells filled her nostrils. She had just gotten ahold Of her taco when suddenly, she collided with A very hard very ...fluffy? Chest. She yelped as the taco Went splat on the ground beside her, juices creating a puddle of wasted potential. She blinked before realizing what had happened and sulking over the(now destroyed) taco. She heard a gasp from above her, followed by a deep husky voice that was filled with so much sadness it rivalled Her own.

“Aw jeez! I'm so sorry, I didn't see ya there!” She perked up at the voice, head shooting up to see the very tall very buff red clad turtle in a hippo costume(for some odd reason, sheesh these turtles Were weird), his face contorted in a look of concern as he held out A hand to help up the smaller much younger turtle that stared up at him in awe, her mouth agape. As the shock subsided, anger fueled through her veins as she cursed under her breath.

“watch where you're going! You could have hurt someone! You already hurt my taco you…you…you...MEAN POOPHEAD!!!!”

she Shouted At the top of her lungs, huffing in anger, and getting a few stares from the people around them. Raph Blinked, before bursting out in fits of laughter that boomed through the streets. 

“D-did you just..”

he inhaled a breath between laughter

“Call me a poop head!”

He cackled, holding his hand over his head as he hunched over in laughter.

“How old Are you?”

He continued to laugh his ass off despite the frown that built up on renais face as she glared up at the turtle in red.

“11?”

He snorted, grabbing his plastron to hold in the laughs but failing miserably. 

“I-im 12!”

She huffed, Stomping her foot, tears of anger pooling in her eyes. Raph couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. She frowned, crossing Her arms.

“Plus, you are a poophead! You destroyed my beautiful burrito/taco! I was gonna eat that!”

She sulked, looking down at the sad mess on the floor. Raph followed her gaze, quieting down with a frown, biting his lip as he twiddled his fingers.

 “Here, lemme help ya up, and I'll buy ya a new taco, considering I made ya drop it.”

He continued to hold his hand out, helping Renai to her wobbly feet. Then a look of realization fell on his face as he rubbed his hand on his neck nervously

“Oh right, by the way! Th’ names’ Raph! And you?” 

Raph. Wow, this guy's parents must hate him. She snorted, holding a hand over her mouth to muffle it.

“I'm Renai,”

she held her hand out as she scuffed her flip-flop on the floor. Before he could respond, she quickly walked up to the taco truck again, gesturing for him to follow impatiently

“Now then, I think you owe me a taco”

she chuckled, beginning to bounce on the balls of her bandaged feet. She tapped her three-fingered hand along her plastron as she waited quietly with the big behemoth of a mutant who stood beside her. She wasn't wearing her bandanna today, opting for a more subtle hoodie, she still had her bandages, and no one noticed the two very obvious turtle mutants in the line. It was New York, blending in wasn't hard when no one was phased. As they drew closer to the front of the line, raph spoke up to cut the growing awkward silence with a question.

“Soooooo, I haven't seen you around before, are you from the hidden city?”

he asked, noticing her three-fingered hands that gave away the fact she was not just a mere human. She laughed nervously before turning to the man in front of them to tell him her order before responding.

“Uhhhhh, whatever do you mean? I'm a normal human person! Just going about a normal human life, getting tacos and working 9 to 5!”

she forcefully laughed, lying through her teeth. She couldn't be more obvious. Raph deadpanned.

“You know, Raph can tell you're lying. Sheesh, I thought Donnie was bad at lying”

he mumbled the last part more to himself than anyone, handing a 5-dollar bill to the man at the stand, getting himself a taco as well. Renai blinked before she blew it off.

“Whattttt? I'm not lyingggg~”

Raph raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as the two sat at a table.

“Ya know, I haven't known you for that long, but it is obvious you're lying.”

Raph chuckled.

“It's ok, you don't have to tell Raph. We just met after all”

Raph shrugged it off, waving a hand as Renai felt her shoulders relax tremendously. She began to move on from the conversation. The two conversed, finding things to talk about while they waited for their tacos. Surprisingly, Renai realized the two had a lot in common. She found an immediate bond with the big guy over Lou Jitsu. She almost forgot that they were supposed to be enemies. Almost. Then she felt a vibrate against her thigh, glancing down to see that the phone Mama had given her was vibrating with an illuminated name.

‘Mother is Calling’

it read. She felt a shiver run up her spine, quickly apologizing to Raph before stepping away from the table to take the call. Upon answering, Mama started demanding information, of which Renai huffed in frustration. Upon answering, renai shivered at the voice that came through the phone.

“Finally, it was such a fuzzy woodle getting you to answer! Now, my dear pet, tell me, why haven't you been answering mommy’s calls?”

renai hissed, pulling her phone away from her ear to see the 50 missed calls. Crap. oh shoot, oh no! She messed up big time. 

“I'm so sorry, Mother! I'll take any punishment that you see fit. I didn't see your call and I am so sorry, please! Forgive me!”

her lip trembled as she blinked back the unshed tears of overwhelming guilt. The line was quiet for a bit.

“It's alright. I'll forgive you as long as you tell me, do you have any news?”

mama hummed through the cell, making Renai flinch in fear gulping down the nervous lump in her throat she began to tell Mama of the current things she had found out from the turtles so far. She felt her breath hitch as she told Mama of her mistake of revealing herself to the big one by accident, mama hummed, renai could never read Mama’s tone, but she would guess she was surprisingly pleased.

“No, no. This could be good. If you get super close, they will allow you into their home, and you can get more information about them from there. Go ahead and befriend the big turtley-poo, my dear. Make him give you information, and report to me when you have all of the juicy info-doodles!”

mama spoke cheerfully, and before Renai could protest, the call ended, leaving Renai standing there staring at her phone stunned. Huh. so she would have to befriend them. Can't be too hard, right?

She turned to look at where Raph had been sitting, seeing him sitting there waving at her once he noticed she was looking at him. No. this wouldn't be hard at all. She smirked to herself as she began walking back to the turtle in front of her. Her mission just became a whole lot easier.

___________________________________________

Masterpost | first | previous | next

[crissiebaby]

DiapOut: Chapter 35

DISCLAIMER: This series contains diaper usage, public humiliation, masturbation, hypermessing, sissification, WAM, mental regression, and other ABDL themes. If you haven’t read the first chapter and want to catch up, be sure to check out the link in the description. I hope you enjoy!

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Lowering himself onto the hopper ball, Rupert winced as the poop in his diapers was mashed against his rear, spreading it all over his butt cheeks as the liquidy mess was pushed outward. Once he was finally settled into place, it was the mental image of himself in a muck-filled diaper perched atop a red toy ball that he was clearly too big to be sitting on. For the first time all day, his cheeks grew rosy, unable to contain his feverish embarrassment.

“What’s wrong, Rupey? You look concerned about something,” teased Cassi, who was gleefully standing over her contestant and patting him on the back like a doting parent would. This only further fueled Rupert’s blushiness, which, unfortunately, did happen to be one of his kinks. As a result, he was powerless to stop his stiffy from pitching a tent in his diaper as he looked up at Cassi, drooling over the blonde bombshell showering him with attention.

Grabbing the red handle positioned between Rupert’s legs, Cassi made sure the back of her hand was grazing the front of his diaper as she tugged the ball forward. This forced Rupert to bounce forward to keep from falling over, resulting in him splattering the runny mess beneath his butt and sending a wealth of mud into the front of his diaper. He gasped as his diaper turned brown from front to back after only a single hop, gritting his teeth to keep from enjoying the sensation in front of a live audience and dozens of cameras.

“You seem to have the hang of it,” said Cassi, letting go of the handle and giving Rupert a final pat on the rear, “Go ahead and return to your team.”

Latching his fingers around the red handle, Rupert took a deep breath and made his first intentional hop forward. He grunted as both the pulpy mass and the diaper itself shifted around his shaft, turning every bounce into a less-than-gentle caress. This had him drooling by the time he was halfway back, wanting nothing more than to give up his challenge and start going to town on his naughty diaper front. However, he knew he owed his teammates more than that. He did his best to push his horny thoughts to the wayside as he returned to the space his team was currently on. “Phew! That wasn’t…too bad,” he said, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

“Alright, Rupert! Now it’s your turn to roll! Then we’re gonna need you to bounce ALL the way back over here,” said Cassi loudly and proudly, relishing every inch of Rupert’s sinking expression, “Whenever you’re ready, big boy!”

Accepting the dice block from Cade, Rupert was not looking forward to the amount of movement he would be required to do in the immediate future. Landing a solid four, he was forced to bounce over the same bridge Ayaya and her team had just crossed to get to the next space with his team before turning around and hopping back toward Cassi’s platform. Unlike his first trip, he was far slower this time around, with his breathing becoming loud enough for the whole studio to overhear. “Make sure you lower his mic’s volume in post,” scoffed Keelee, instructing her assistant to mark the note.

Returning to the exact spot he was in only five minutes prior, Rupert was a mess in more ways than one. His hair was disheveled, losing its natural curl from all the sweat weighing it down. And his diaper was on another level, with nary a hint of white anywhere around his crotch or ass.

“Welcome back! You’re looking a little tuckered out there! Maybe you should stand up and stretch that fatigue out,” said Cassi, mocking Rupert as she widened her stance and reached down toward her left calf, knowing well and good that her contestant was locked in his seat for the foreseeable future, “Not feeling very flexible? No worries. I’m sure you’re just eager to find out what your betting challenge will be. Boys! Spin that wheel!”

Watching the spinner spell his doom for the second time in two turns, Rupert was of the mindset that whatever they throw at him next couldn’t be worse than what he was already stuck doing. Oh, how wrong he was.

The Dectuple Diaper Race.

“Ooooh! We’ve got a real treat for you this time!” shouted Cassi, her overly peppy tone sending chills down Rupert’s spine. “The notorious evil-doer, Baron Von Blushy, is up to his nefarious deeds once again, and we need you to journey into his domain and defeat him before time runs out! Follow me, Rupey.” Jumping down from her platform, she didn’t even have to look back to feel Rupert’s anguish as she journeyed across the board and passed where both teams were standing before arriving at a split in the wall of diapers that lined the game’s path.

Bounding up and down behind Cassi at a far slower pace, the entire cast was forced to stand idly and wait for Rupert to scoot the big red ball under his ass halfway across the studio for the third time. By now, the novelty of Rupert’s misfortune had worn off, with both the audience and the other players starting to feel somewhat cruel for watching. Even Ayaya was feeling a tad guilty, not expecting Cassi to force Rupert to move around the board so much in such a short time span.

Clutching her medallion tightly to her chest, Kyoko was beginning to worry about Rupert’s ability to perform in the upcoming challenge, especially if a mere hopper ball was causing him this much trouble. “Rupert! I can veto one of your challenges if you’re not up for it! ” she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth and unwittingly leaving a pudding ring stretching from her chin to the tip of her nose.

“No!” yelled Rupert, holding a hand up behind him in Kyoko’s direction while still struggling to lower his heart rate, “I…wanna do this…for our team! We just…lost 25 points! We’ve gotta make it…up somehow!” His hand formed a shaky thumbs-up, doing little to fill his teammate with confidence.

Arriving at Cassi’s feet with his face beet red for a much different reason, all feelings of arousal for Rupert had evaporated, replaced by utter exhaustion and some mild chafing. He sucked in air greedily through his slack-jawed mouth, having done more exercise in the last 5 minutes than he had done all year. “Th…Th-That…wasn’t so bad…” he said, stretching out his legs in front of him as he lounged against his hopper ball.

“That’s wonderful to hear! Happy to hear these challenges aren’t taking TOO much out of you. Now then, we’ve already wasted enough time already so let’s hop right into it, shall we?” said Cassi, her ear-to-ear grin starkly contrasting her sadistic tone. Placing a hand on Rupert’s back, she led him through the slip and into a long, thin area surrounded by stacks of diapers on all sides. Painted on the ground were two sets of track lines, giving Rupert a brief hint for what was to come, “For the Dectuple Diaper Race, you will be placed inside a whopping ten disposable diapers and placed at the starting line alongside the dastardly villain himself, Baron Von Blushy! The first person to reach the end of the track, retrieve their teething ring, and make their way back to the starting line will be crowned the Dectuple Diaper Race. 

Nodding his head tentatively, Rupert knew that track and field events were never his greatest strength. Still, he didn’t want to let Kyoko, Cade, and Zeke down in the penultimate round, even if he was fully aware that his mobility would be greatly lessened thanks to the red ball having zapped his energy. With this in mind, he made his decision. “To make up for our deficit, I’m betting 20 points so that we can jump into the lead after my victory,” he said confidently, not believing for a second that he might fail. However, as he finished making his bet, a realization popped into his mind, “Wait, do I have to stay on the hopper ball for the whole challenge or-”

“Of course not, silly head. We’ll need to give you a fighting chance, after all. You’ll be permitted to stand once you’ve been prepped for the challenge. Not that I think you’ll be standing much anyway. Nanny Iris, please add nine diapers to Rupert’s waist at once,” said Cassi, her snapping fingers drawing an Iris bot directly to her carrying nine neatly-stacked diapers with it.

Shrinking in place on his bouncy ball, Rupert bit his lip, excited to be returning to the comforting arms of an Iris bot for the second time today. He lifted his arms up as the nanny robot approached him, lifting him into the air and wheeling him over to a special changing table set up specifically for the Dectuple Diaper Race. Unable to handle the way Iris’s kind expression looked down on him as it laid him across the table, he covered his face with both hands, his reddening cheeks taking on a hue not too dissimilar from the hopper ball he’d been bouncing on.

As Iris tackled the challenge of diapering Rupert over and over again with immense efficiency, both the audience and the other contestants could watch on with a mix of awe and jealousy over the doting care Rupert was receiving. Even Rupert himself was in a state of disbelief over how easy it was for Iris to add diaper after diaper. By the time the tenth nappy was in place, he smiled softly, elated by the fact that he couldn’t even bring his knees within half a yard of each other. Moreover, whenever he tried to close his legs, the watery mush that permeated his innermost padding oozed around like crazy, allowing him to regain his arousal in record time. He suppressed the desire to giggle over his immobilization, wanting to avoid giving Cassi more ammo to tease him with.

Carried once again by Nanny Iris to the starting line, Rupert attempted to stay on his feet as she lowered him to the ground. Unfortunately, Cassi’s prediction proved apt as it wasn’t more than three seconds after Iris pulled her mechanical arms away before Rupert wound up tumbling backward onto his turtle shell of a diaper, squashing his diaper mess further. He spent the next fifteen seconds fighting to reorient himself so that he was on his hands and knees in a crawling position facing his objective at the other side of the track.

“Rupert looks like he’s raring to go! Let’s bring out his notorious competitor. Oh, Baron Von Blushy! Someone thinks they’re a faster diaper baby than you!” said Cassi in a sing-songy voice, her preplanned taunt signaling the baron to make his grand entrance.

Bursting through a wall of stacked diapers, Baron Von Blushy was a sight to behold, with his thick, bubble-like diaper that was somehow bigger than Rupert’s on prominent display, providing the perfect accent for his regal, puffy-sleeved attire. He jumped back and forth from leg to leg as he moved about, his legs spread too wide to allow for normal movement. “A challenger, you say? How positively thrilling,” said the baron, his actor giving one heck of an over-the-top performance. He sniffed the air suddenly before rushing to Rupert, dancing in a circle around him before smooshing his face against Rupert’s protruding diaper butt, “My, my! What an intoxicating aroma! I shall keep your soiled pampers as a trophy of my victory.

“H-Hey! Get off me, weirdo!” said Rupert, reaching back to the best of his ability and swatting his hand at Baron Von Blushy. Sadly, the diaper proved too restrictive for him to push the baron away on his own. Based on how effortless it was for the baron to dance around, he could feel his confidence starting to slip, wondering how he was going to manage to crawl faster than this brazen baron if he couldn’t even shake him off his rear.

Mercifully, Cassi was standing by to help with Rupert’s predicament, waiting to allow production to get a good shot of the action before yanking the baron off of Rupert playfully. “Now, now, Baron Von Blushy. You can play around with his big diapers after the race,” she said, walking the baron over to his starting point next to Rupert. Stepping in between the two racers, there was no further preparation that needed to be made. Holding her right hand high, she made sure she had both Rupert's and the baron’s full attention before starting her countdown, “Alright, boys. I want a clean race, so no grabbing, shoving, or biting. On your marks…get set…”

“STOP!”

Pudding dripped onto the studio floor as Kyoko shoved her arm through the metal bars that made up the main window of her muck prison, with the medallion clasped so firmly between her fingers that her knuckles were bleach white. “I’m using my veto on Rupert’s challenge,” she shouted at the top of her lungs, her anxiety of losing another 20 points winning out over her faith in Rupert’s crawling prowess. Being behind by over 25 points was already bad enough. If they fell 45 points back, they would have zero chance of crafting any sort of comeback

“Kyoko! What the fuck?! That’s complete bullshit!” screamed Rupert slamming his fist against the ground in response before looking to CassiRole, “Am I allowed to reject her veto? I wanna play.”

Shaking her head, Cassi could do nothing but shrug her shoulders, having no way of helping her pleading player. “Sorry, you and your team selected Kyoko to have that power. Therefore, it is 100 percent her call. Nanny Iris, please remove Rupert’s additional diapers and return him to his hopper ball. The show must go on.” She snapped her fingers solemnly, slightly disappointed that this challenge was likely to go unplayed in the inaugural episode.

“Fucking hell. Why did Kyoko have to get so trigger-happy?” scoffed Cade, placing both hands on the back of his head and straining his hair follicles in frustration, “She should’ve trusted Rupert to-”

“To what? You saw that guy dancing around Rupert. He was fucked before the race even started,” interrupted Zeke, sounding a bit more snappy than usual. He turned away from Cade in an attempt at his faltering expression. The truth of the matter was, while Zeke was happy that his team wouldn’t be ceding points to Baron Von Blushy, the reality was that his second turn was just around the corner. And if what he overheard Keelee say was true, then it was far from something for him to look forward to.

Wetters: 171.1 (+/-10) points Messers: 146.7 (+/-20) points

TO BE CONTINUED…

« PREVIOUS l FIRST l NEXT »

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Heyyo everyone! DiapOut will be going on hiatus until October as I return to doing commissions on Fridays. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with the series thus far and I look forward to closing out the year with the conclusion of DiapOut! 💕

Edited by AllySmolShork

[automotiveera]

Keeping Little Ones Comfortable Navigating the Baby Diaper Market

Baby diapers are securely utilized on a daily basis by parents throughout the globe. Since their invention in 1932, they have continuously enhanced. Long gone are the days of plastic external pants, uncomfortable-fitting terry inners, and regularly wet skin for babies and new-borns. Nowadays throwaway diapers are compact, light, leak-proof, and easy to use.

This Means Babies:

Are happy to wear because of the lightness, ‘breathability’, and softness of the materials used.

Keep the skin dry and, thus, healthy. These advantages have been confirmed by medical specialists, such as paediatrics and dermatologists.

Are better at decreasing the transmission of communicable diseases as fecal containment is decreased so that there is a low risk of the spread of microorganisms.

Owing to all these advantages, baby diapers market is experiencing growth and is projected to reach USD 97.7 billion by 2030.

Are Cloth Diapers Safe?

They're healthier for the children's skin — but only if changed from time to time. Cloth diapers are commonly admired for being favorable for the environment and good for the baby's skin. But they tend to be low absorbent than regular ones, so they are required to be changed more often.

Disposable Diaper

One-use diapers are made of absorbent materials and are thrown away after one use. A disposable diaper is more convenient and hygienic than cloth diapers. It’s no top secret that changing diapers isn’t fun. It’s stinky and at times messy. Disposable diapers aid parents by minimizing the struggles and stress of changing their baby’s diaper by keeping the process fast.

Potentially More Hygienic: When your baby wears a reusable diaper, you have to wash that waste. Urine can be splashed out in the washing machine, but poop requires to be flushed down the drain. Getting a dirty diaper to the toilet increases the chances of a big mess, and keeping your own hands clean can be a big issue but withdisposable diapers can just throw it away.

More Convenient: The fact that you can just throw the diapers in the garbage also makes them great if you’re busy. The laundry process takes time, and packing reusable diapers when you’re running errands is complex and messy. Disposable diapers can be thrown away and you continue with your work.

Less annoying: The resources which are put to use in disposable diapers do a great job of removing wetness around baby’s skin. Diaper rash occurs if baby’s skin stays wet for a long period of time. In general, disposable diapers help in keeping your baby dry better than reusable diapers and decrease the chances of skin rashes.

[hidethisblogjfc]

Sorry if this is terrible lol

Warnings- Mentions of stuffing, Scat, Eprocto, messing, brief mentions of omo (but I'm not really into that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Boxes from varying take out restaurants are littered around them, everything from Chinese from that questionable hole in the wall down the street, to a popular burger joint a couple blocks over. They aren't all from just one day, no, some of these are from dinner five days go. They've never been as good at keeping up with the cleaning as B is, or perhaps, A thinks, this slobby behavior is just a consequence the laziness that accompanies their...…over indulging.

By now, B has been gone on their overseas business trip for about five days, which means that A has two days to get everything back into unassuming order, though, part of A warns that maybe they should get around to it sooner, rather than later. Still, they ignore it, because it just feels so good to live out their fantasy, especially after keeping it under close wraps for so, so long.

A loves B, they do, with everything in them, but there are just some things that they're almost positive B won't get behind, and so, its been easier to hide their less than conventional desires; only getting an extra serving of fries as opposed to the additional burger or two that they want, or getting a large soda instead of that extra large milkshake. Usually, A wishes that they could take things further than just a handful of fries and sugary pop, they want to push their body, see how much they can eat before they're too full to move, become an almost permanent resident of the living room sofa, only giving the weighed down cushions a break when they lug their heavy frame to bed. For as long as they could remember, that's the life that A has dreamed of. But it's quite possible that B, who's notoriously clean, neat and healthy would be absolutely repulsed by just the idea.

And A loves B too much to lose them.

But they also wish they could have that life, that dream, with their partner.

But they can't.

Which is why when B came home one day, announcing that they're cushy job, would be sending them away for a week of seminars, the idea had bloomed in A's head; this was their chance. At first A felt a little guilty, especially when the first delivery guy had shown up, both arms filled with A's order, making a joke about how they must having been having a party, because conventionally, one simply doesn't order off half the menu unless there's company. And then, when they'd offered up the card that B religiously maintains for them, A had felt even worse; they were lying to the person they loved.

But then A popped that first egg roll into their mouth. The crispiness of the egg dipped shell crunching between their teeth, the explosion of flavors; oily, fried cabbage and carrots, melding with the saltiness of soy sauce and the juicy meat inside, had them moaning in pleasure. By the time the first delicious roll was through, and A glanced down at their lap, seeing that there were five more to go, all remnants of contrition seemed to dissipate. For the first time in years, they could eat without someone at their side, reminding them to take it easy so they don't make themselves sick.

That night, the first one after B's temporary departure, A had surprised themselves by finishing everything they'd ordered. Granted, it was past one am when they'd popped the last dumpling into their mouth, and they most definitely couldn't move after, but that was all part of the fun.

Things became even more fun when all that greasy food had started digesting, or at least, tried to. A was no laid on the sofa, the blue light from the television illuminating room, t-shirt bunched up at their chest and their hand splayed on their bare, bloated gut. Loud, deep belches plagued them for a while, the scent acting as a reminder of everything they'd scarfed down; eggrolls, noodles, orange chicken and stuffed dumplings, all washed down with two liters of their favorite soda, straight from the bottle.

Ever so often, A would groan following a protesting gurgle emanating from their over worked tummy, and eventually, those gurgles and that audible sloshing, slowly began making its rounds through their system. They weren't ready for the toilet yet though; fetid gas had just started being expelled into the chair, creating a humid cloud around them and joining their wet burps.

As much as it hurt though, and as foul as their gassy emissions were, A could hardly find it in their being to be remorseful. The gas continued through the late night, progressively growing sloppier, with a dangerous moisture accompanying each drawn out, bubbling fart. Yet, despite the symphony created by their ass, their gut didn't deflate one bit, instead it continued to press against the waistband of A's sweat pants, stained at the front with sauces from their adventurous dinner. A hadn't gone to bed that night, opting to spend the night dozing off in front of the television, occasionally rousing to drowsily rub large circles on their tum.

It was early the next morning when a particularly harsh cramp gripped their tummy, squeezing out a long fart, reminiscent of a liquidly gurgle from their ass, ended in a loud squelch. The new slimy warmth seeping past their crack and spreading around the seat of their underwear made what had happened glaringly obvious, while the musky air had taken on a new foulness.

Briefly, they'd contemplated standing up, and heading to the toilet like they usually would, but the feeling of their sloppy mess gathered in their undies brought an incomparable pleasure, and so instead of standing, A simply turned on their side, bending their knees slightly, so their butt wouldn't be pressed into sofa. A short, primal grunt pressed their lips together in a tight line as they pushed, a blort audible over the hum of a morning show as a larger batch of runny poop landed in their pants.

"Oh fuck," they hissed, reliving their bladder too, creating a dark wet patch on the front of their sweats to match to one at the back. The thick, pee soaked fabric clung to their thighs, while at the back, the mess made it pull away from their skin.

Their tummy groaned angrily, bubbling under A's palm as their load came effortlessly, soft lumps stretching the puckered, swollen lips of their anus. The semi-solid masses were occasionally interrupted by waves of pure mush, making a sickly burbling sound as it joined the impressive load in their underwear, making it wetter and heavy. It felt like waves of thick, warm sludge was just steadily flowing out of them, as if a tap had been opened.

Eventually when A stood, they could still manage brief, packed toots, though, unless they wanted to risk the integrity of the sofa, they'd had to finish up in the bathroom.

That, was going on five days ago. Now, A has let go even further, eating whatever they want guiltlessly, making their pants double as their bathroom, regardless of wherever they are in the house, and showering only when whatever they're wearing threatens to leave telling stains on the furniture. It feels like they're living an absolute dream; a slobby, smelly dream. Though, in two days, its back to normal.

Two days, forty-eight hours, countless minutes. It's a ways away, so A figures that they can get away with their questionable hygiene and eating habits for a while longer, and with that in mind, they linger among the clutter they've created, sitting in their eggy stink with the television playing reruns of their favorite show, as they wait for dinner to arrive, a generous selection from the bar-b-que place a couple blocks away.

It's late, and while their latest pair of sweats is a bit tighter than usual because of the perpetual bloat they've acquired over the past few days and even a little stained from misjudging a couple farts, A's pants are mostly dry and somewhat clean. They've already decided that they won't give a shower too much thought until the next morning, and the evidence of their latest raid of the snack cabinet is littered around them. It feels like heaven, that is, until from down the hall, they hear keys jingling in the door.

And there's only one person beside them with a key. The other person that lives there, A's unassuming partner; B.

They're early!

"Shit," in the haste to stand up, the pressure on their on their pudgy tummy pushes out a rumbling fart, only worsening the stench in the room, and suddenly, what mere minutes ago felt like ultimate bliss feels like a cruel punishment. B can't see them like this.

"A?" A can hear the curiosity peaked in B's tone, and they know its because the musky odor has long travelled down the downstairs hall of their condo, "Baby what's-"

A desperately tries to greet B nearer to the door, and hopefully stall, before they can witness their unofficial base of operations, but they're too slow and they're just pushing aside some of the empty boxes and soda cans when B enters, one of their carry-on's slipping from their shoulder and falling onto the typically pristine marble floor, jaw hanging slack in surprise. Cautiously, B probes, "Did you have a party or something?"

With their already dodgy stomach knotting with nerves, A shakes their head; B probably gonna figure it out anyway. A hasn't even though about it at this point, but B pays all of the credit card bills, just one look at the next one is gonna give away what they'd planned on hiding. Really, it's best they just tell the truth. "No," A croaks, wringing their fingers in front of their distended tummy, squeezing their musky cheeks closed to keep a barrage of nervous gas at bay.

The shock on B's face is unwavering, and it takes a moment before they're finally able to muster up their next questions, "You ate all of this? This is...…all you?" A is just noticing the slight scrunch in B's nose, and it only fuels the fear that the end of their relationship is inevitable. Why would someone like B want to be with A, they think and there isn't a way in their mind that this is going to work.

"Yeah," A nods, embarrassed.

B seems like they're about to say something, but their thoughts are interrupted by a buzz on the intercom;

A's food is here.

And they have a lot to talk about

[muuum-am-i-adohhhpted]

Ignorance Is Bliss (Or Is It?) (Empires SMP)

summary: Joel went throughout his days blatantly ignoring Xornoth's existence until the day he couldn't.

Or, the five times Joel didn't believe in the demon and the one time he did.

ao3 link here!

word count: 3017

warning: major character death (permanent), blood, fighting, death (in the minecraft sense)

~~~

There was no demon, Joel thought as he kneeled in the sweltering mesa sun, yanking out the blood red “corruption” and replacing it with moss and terracotta.

He had heard the rumblings, of course, of some kind of “demon” tormenting the other empires. But Joel refused to believe it. It was probably some kind of prank by fWhip.

“I’ll show him who’s poor,” he grumbled to himself as he stood up. “Then he won’t know what hit him.”

He moved onto the next patch of red. He couldn’t think of anyone else who could’ve possibly pulled this prank. Sausage?

But no, Joel had visited fWhip a while back and knew of his obsession with redstone. Who was fWhip fooling? If he were pulling this prank, he would’ve used a block from another kingdom like amethyst or mushroom, not the colour of your entire empire.

Joel just frowned even deeper as he began walking to his base—he had run out of moss and terracotta again. There had to be an easier way of getting moss.

While walking down the orange rocks of his empire, he saw Lizzie inspecting one of the “corrupted” blocks. “It got you too?” She asked.

Joel tried to wipe as much sweat off his forehead as possible. He was planning to propose tomorrow, he didn���t want Lizzie to think he sat around in dirt all day. “What are you on about?”

“The demon. Haven’t you heard? It’s been spreading this corruption everywhere.”

Joel chuckled, “corruption? This isn’t corruption, Lizzie, it’s just fWhip messing around with me. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be sure to get back at him.”

“Does fWhip have a problem with every single empire then?” Lizzie asked, an eyebrow raised. “It’s literally everywhere.” She jabbed a finger at the red block next to her.

Joel ignored Lizzie’s comment and continued on, “I can come to the Prisma Palace and help you replace all the blocks, if you want.”

If there did so happen to be a “demon” who was replacing blocks, which there wasn’t, it was more of an annoyance than anything.

~~~

The Church of the Blood Sheep was packed with rulers and sheep alike. Likewise, all Joel could hear was the bleating of sheep and the soft chatter from the nearest pew.

Maybe, eventually, he and Lizzie could renew their vows in a less weird church. Hopefully without any farm animals.

“Hey, at least it doesn’t stink of sheep poop,” Jimmy said, standing next to him at the altar. “It could be much, much, worse.”

Joel scrunched up his nose at the thought of it. Yes, perhaps this church wasn’t all that bad. At the moment, all that mattered was the fact that he and Lizzie were getting married. They could’ve gotten married in a dirt hole and it would still be special because he was with her.

At the sound of the noteblocks and Joey making his way to the front, a hush settled across the church and even the blood sheep seemed to turn towards the entrance, awaiting the Queen of the Ocean Empire.

Joel watched as Lizzie slowly made her way down the aisle, the crown of the Overgrown atop her head, blue mushrooms dangling from either ear, an amethyst pendant hanging around her neck, and a golden apple clutched in her hand with a bite taken out of it. She seemed to glow as she walked down to the altar and Joel blinked rapidly to get rid of the stinging sensation behind his eyes.

Joel could hardly hear what Joey was saying. Seeing Lizzie in front of him—his future wife!—was so surreal. How had he managed to get the Ocean Queen to like a guy like him? Who killed horses as a hobby?

He snapped back to attention before they exchanged their kiss and when Joey was mentioning that he had invited someone else to the wedding who he loved. Out of the corner of his eye, Joel could see a dark figure with glowing red eyes sneak out of the front door, the door banging shut behind him.

Everyone tittered awkwardly and Joel could hear the murmurings of the guests talking about the nonexistent “demon” who now seemed to have a cool-guy name to go with his persona: Xornoth. Couldn’t the prankster behind the “demon” have chosen the name Chad instead? That could have worked equally as well and would’ve been easier to spell.

Joel rolled his eyes. He had just gotten married. There was no “demon” and Joel was craving some wedding cake. “C’mon guys, it was probably just a wedding crasher who’s had enough.”

~~~

As Joel flew through the endless skies of the end, he only had one thought in his mind: kill the dragon . The dragon wasn’t too hard to kill and he was sick of dying to the void. Besides, what was the point of purposefully dying if he didn’t get a head to make one of his clones with?

But as he, Jimmy, Pix, Lizzie, Sausage, and Joey started destroying the crystals, it seemed that Katherine, Gem, Fwhip, Shubble, Scott, and Pearl were placing new ones. How infuriating.

Joel liked challenges but he just wanted this dragon dead and gone. She had been terrorising the end for far too long. It had to be done.

Everyone was shouting and no one seemed to be listening to each other but Joel forged on with his allies, shooting at crystals and striking the dragon with his sword anytime he could.

Then, finally, in a burst of purple light, the dragon disintegrated and the end became as quiet as the void was empty. Joel landed in the water someone had placed, making a small splash.

Suddenly, as if someone had pressed unmute, everyone began arguing with each other once again, this time with more fervor.

“Joey, what did you do? ”

“What the heck just happened?”

“The dragon deserved life.”

“What do you mean—you unleashed the demon!”

And then, over all the voices, a deeper, growly, one said, “perfect. Now it begins…”

Everyone craned their necks up to one of the end spikes where a figure with large horns on either side of his head stood. He stared down at them all with contempt.

Joel squinted up at the “demon”. “Alright,” he said sarcastically as people began fervently pushing them all towards the portal to go home. “Who’s the wise guy with the voice changer?”

~~~

Joel was beginning to get sick of the “demon’s” antics. First the red blocks dotting his kingdom and now full blown tentacles that rose high above his empire?

He knew from Lizzie they were showing up in everyone’s kingdom. Fwhip needed to get a life. He had too much time on his hands to create multiple huge red tentacles in twelve different empires.

Joel only wished the tentacles were made of concrete (or moss!) because then he could have gotten something out of it, money or just blocks in general to build with.

Flying up to the top of the tentacle, Joel couldn’t help but admire the view. He could see the shape of Lizzie’s Prisma Palace in the distance and then the ring in the ocean when he proposed to her.

Perched like a bird, Joel turned around towards his own empire with splashes of oranges, purples, greens. His unfinished mega base looked small from this perspective and his starter base, in turn, looked puny.

His eyes roved over every single build and Joel zeroed in on a small space on the outskirts of his empire. It would be the perfect place to put a little building. His mind began to whirl for ideas—shops, houses, public buildings…

It was like a lightbulb went off in his head and Joel’s back straightened. A smug smile grew on his face as he pulled out his hoe, leaning it against his shoulder.

Joel watched as the sun began to set, the idea forming perfectly in his mind. A recording studio. He would write a diss track for Fwhip. He was the only one Joel could think of that had the abilities and materials to build something that resembled a demon.

Joel already knew what his first line would be: FWhip, remember when you called me poor? And no, he doesn’t hold grudges, what are you talking about?

He was getting giddy with excitement, wanting nothing more than to fly off and begin messing around with block colours for his studio. What colours would his roof be? What kind of rooms?

Joel stopped himself before he could leave on his building whims. He let his hoe drop down on top of the tentacle, determination written on his face. First, he had to destroy this stupid tentacle. Perhaps he’d turn one into a tree.

~~~

“Who’s going to be the battlees this evening?” Sausage asked from the viewing stands in the battle arena.

Pearl volunteered first and Joel raised his hand enthusiastically. “Me! I want to fight!” He exclaimed. Soon, both Fwhip and Pixelriffs were brought onto the arena for a 2v2—he and Pearl versus Fwhip and Pixelriffs.

The ground rules were set (which were basically none) and each fighter set their spawn. Then, it began.

It seemed easy enough. They started with strategic bowing before going in with the closer combat weapons. He threw his bucket of lava on Pix.

Soon enough, however, it was just him and Fwhip. Joel’s grudge against Fwhip had been laid to rest, as he performed his kiss track a couple days prior. With his grudge being thrown out the window, so did his thinking that Fwhip was behind the “demon”.

Joel found it quite fun running and slashing his sword towards the goggled man. He was going to win this.

They ran around the arena, attempting to heal up. Joel tried to ignore the fact that he was on fire. He gripped his sword tightly before running at Fwhip, letting out a mangled scream.

And then he was dead.

And then Fwhip was dead.

The battle arena was deathly silent as the four of them began picking up their dropped belongings. Joel just barely heard Sausage and Pearl agreeing that Pix and Fwhip won since he had died first.

Pearl and Pixel then began a 1v1—no armour, only weapons.

Joel rolled his eyes and made his way up to the stands to sulk, sitting just behind Gem. She had her wizard staff in her hand, the end tucked between her legs and watching the fight with interest.

Joel quietly leaned forward, a mischievous smile taking over his features. “Gem, I dare you to shoot Katherine.” He gestured to the Guardian of the Overgrown across the stands and drew his bow.

After a couple of shots from the both of them, Gem finally hit Katherine and she dropped to the ground like stone.

Pearl won the fight but, to be honest, Joel wasn’t paying attention. Instead, he was too busy laughing with Gem at Katherine’s reaction to them killing her.

Next, Pearl asked who was next and Joel quickly jumped down from the stands and landed in the arena. “I will.” He was going to win this one, he was sure of it.

Their fight was a short one, with the two of them killing each other almost milliseconds away from one another.

Night quickly fell and Sausage began introducing someone else to the arena and talking about turning it up to the “next level”. Joel was initially excited by the prospect. That is, until he saw the familiar “demon” thing appear out of thin air. Most likely a perfectly timed invisibility potion wearing off but Joel could agree that the dramatics were there.

Perhaps it was Scott, then. Scott wasn’t present in the arena and Joel always noticed a bit of Scott’s accent slipping out of the “demon’s” mouth from time to time.

Joel didn’t want to fight a “demon” (AKA someone who happened to be in creative mode). He refused to even acknowledge his existence. “I can’t hear anything. Why is Pearl talking to herself?” Joel asked Gem and Fwhip as the latter gave him an invisibility potion.

Joel downed the potion but didn’t stay for long, deciding to fly out of the top of the arena once Sausage began speaking in a similar fashion to the “demon” like some wannabe and killing those in his sightline.

He spent the next week working on his megabase, removing the memory from his brain.

~~~

Lizzie’s scream pierced through the air.

Joel, who had been making his way towards Jimmy’s empire, stopped almost mid-flight. Panic began to set in the bottom of his stomach. She’s fine, right? She’s fully capable of taking care of herself.

But, after Joel heard another pained screech coming from his wife, he quickly changed course towards the Prisma Palace.

He almost crash landed onto the staircase of the palace but quickly righted himself before running up the last couple of steps to the top. As he got there and took in the scene before him, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Lizzie was surrounded by three ravagers with vexes attacking from all sides. She was gripping her waist, trying to protect a massive open wound that Joel could spot from behind her bloodied fingers. The “demon” was floating nearby, watching everything with an amused smile.

“Hey, Scott! You big bully, get away from my wife!”

The “demon” swung his head over to Joel, his purple eyes flashing. With his teeth barred, he growled, “don’t you dare call me that name.”

Joel was mildly surprised by the “demon’s” tone. He always seemed to be in control of the situation, laughing at the other emperors.

“Yeah, I guessed your ‘secret identity’,” Joel said, pulling out his sword with fiery eyes. “You aren’t exactly subtle about it.” He paused before adding in, “Scott.”

Lizzie grabbed Joel’s arm and, with a hiss, exclaimed, “Joel, you’re just making him angry! He’s not Scott.”

Joel shrugged off Lizzie’s hand and narrowed his eyes at the “demon”. He pointed his sword directly at him, doing a couple of practice slashes. “What I don’t get, Scott, is why? I always thought you’d get bored up there but hurting my wife? You’ve crossed a line.” Joel’s jaw was clenched as he watched the “demon’s” expression.

“Do not call me by his name!” The “demon” roared, purple lightning beginning to form between his talons and horns. The lightning slowly enlarged and expanded and Joel quickly pushed Lizzie to the other side of the Prisma Palace.

The “demon” cackled and rose further off the floor, a large gust of wind knocking him and Lizzie off their feet and to either end of the floor. The “demon” stretched his arms as far as they could go until the purple lightning was forming into a big ball above his head.

Joel’s eyes widened as the lightning ball grew larger and larger. With sickening realization, he stumbled to his feet and ran towards Lizzie. “Lizzie!” He shouted, pushing his hair out of his eyes, glancing over at the demon with fear. “Jump off! Swim away!” He was six feet away from Lizzie…five…four…three…

But it was too late. With a predatory grin, the demon clapped his hands together in front of him and a purple bolt shot out from the ball and struck Lizzie square in the chest.

She fell backwards, instantly going limp, her shimmering blue scales fading to a dull grey.

“No!” Joel shouted as the demon blinked calmly at him. With a snap of his finger, the ravagers and vexes disappeared.

A second later, Joel staggered to Lizzie’s body, falling to his knees. Shaking her fervently, he whispered, “Lizzie! Come back! Where are you?”

Anger built up in him and he glared at the demon. “Dammit, what did you do? Why isn’t she respawning?”

The demon just smiled serenely. “It was her time to go. Permanently. She was out of water for far too long.” He laughed at his own joke.

“Arggggghh!” Joel screamed, tears blinding his eyes, rising to his feet and pulling out his sword in an instant. When his blade was millimeters away from the demon, he vanished, Joel’s sword slicing through nothing.

“Fight me!” Joel shouted into the air. “Come back and stop hiding like a coward! Fight me!!”

His arms dropped to his side and his sword clattered to the floor when he got no response. The demon wasn’t coming back. “No, no, nonono,” he muttered, wiping his eyes with his arm. He draped himself over Lizzie’s body and shook her even more. “Wake up, Lizzie! C’mon! ”

Joel kneeled there for what seemed like hours, tears streaming down his cheeks. Just when he thought his eyes had dried out, another wave of sadness washed over him and he cried even harder. It hit him over and over and over again that Lizzie was gone. She was gone forever.

When the exhaustion settled in, Joel still didn’t move even though his cheeks were dry. All he felt was complete emptiness. Who would be his better half now? Who would tease him for all his odd quirks? What about renewing their vows?

Joel didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, only waking up to Lady Marceline’s squelching sound as she walked across the Prisma Palace’s floor and over his sword, laying nearby. He didn’t know what day it was or how long he had been laying next to Lizzie’s body. His brain was groggy and his feet were numb.

He slowly made his way into a standing position and gently scooped up Lady Marceline before plopping her into his bucket. Lifting the hilt of his sword and letting the blade drag across the floor, Joel stepped out onto the steps of the Prisma Palace. He breathed in the ocean air.

He needed to do something. An itch was beginning in him and the only thing that would satisfy it was revenge. Pure, unadulterated, revenge.

Joel slowly glanced behind him at Lizzie’s limp body before gripping his sword tighter. He was going to kill Xornoth.

[drprettyboyspence]

Beach Day

Dr. Spencer Reid/reader 

Summary: Spencer Reid doesn’t understand the appeal of going to the beach so when Garcia plans a BAU outing, he honestly debates whether or not he should go. Turns out, when Y/n is at the beach, Spencer totally understands the appeal after all. 

words: 2.8k 

warnings: seriously none to my knowledge! a lot of fluff :) 

a/n: Since its getting so warm out where I live and I’ve recently been watching season 8 (where Spencer says he doesn’t like the beach), I imagined what it would be like if Spencer went to the beach with his coworker who he has a crush on, I hope you enjoy! :) 

“Come on pretty boy! We’re gonna be late and you know what we’re in for if we keep my babygirl waiting.” Derek Morgan playfully yells at Spencer Reid. It’s ten past 12 p.m. on a hot and sunny August day in Virginia, and the two boys are late for a carpool with the one and only Penelope Garcia. 

“Morgan, why can’t you just go without me, no one will miss me anyway and I hate the beach.” Spencer replies in a frustrated manner. Garcia had been planning this for weeks, after the team had come back from an especially long case she thought what everyone needed was some good old day-at-the-beach fun. Through Spencer’s eyes however, you can’t exactly call an overcrowded area filled with unhygienic birds, sweaty, sunburned people, and sand that covers every inch of your belongings fun. 

“Reid, what’s wrong with the beach? Just bring a book if you really want to, but we really have to get going man.” Derek asks, automatically regretting it when Spencer replies, 

“Sandy food, pink skin, limited and unengaging topography, but mostly the drug-resistant bacteria spread by sea gull feces.” Spencer replies with a straight face, completely unaware that most people aren’t worried about the spread of sea gull poop or anything like that. 

“Alright, kid, I’ll give ya that I guess. Fine, I’ll go without you, but I know one FBI agent in particular who’s gonna be awfully disappointed when you don’t show.” Derek says slyly, sure his evil plan will work. Spencer looks up from his bookshelf where he’s organizing his collection of 15th century literature from his mom, a slight blush forming on his cheeks. 

“Y/n?, Morgan she won’t care if I don’t come to the beach today. Number one, why would she care about me? Number two, who wants to see me at the beach, my body isn’t exactly my most desirable trait.” Derek’s teasing face softens significantly, realizing the more real root of Spencer’s aversion to the beach. 

“Alright kid, you have no reason to be insecure, I’ve heard chirps from a little birdie named Penelope Garcia that our very own Y/n has quite a big crush on you. It doesn’t matter if you have a six pack or not Reid, you have the sweetest heart of anyone I know and the biggest brain as well obviously, I don’t call you pretty boy as a joke, why wouldn’t Y/n like you? Come on, it’ll be fun, I promise.” Spencer feels awkward, not knowing how to react to Derek “lady’s man” Morgan’s motivational speech, he doesn't want to get his hopes up. To be honest, Spencer has liked Y/n since she joined the bureau almost a year ago now, she’s smart, honest, brave, and the most beautiful girl in the world in Spencer’s opinion.

“But Morgan, I don’t own shorts, I don’t have anything I can wear to the beach.” 

“Well lucky for you kid I sorta assumed that, so I brought you a bathing suit, now can we PLEASE get out of here, I’m really not trying to be Penelope’s personal slave for the next 6 months.” Spencer reluctantly takes the bathing suit into the next room and puts it on, hating the way his skinny limbs look in shorts and an FBI tee-shirt, feeling as if he looks like a pre-pubescent boy. Even so, his desire to  spend the day with Y/n persuades him to anxiously pack his bag with a few books he’ll surely need before following Derek out the door. They make it down the stairs and out the door of Reid’s apartment building before they’re greeted by the dulcet tones of Garcia yelling at them through the open window of her car.

“Derek Morgan! You are very lucky you are so handsome and delicious, I’ve been waiting here almost twenty minutes! I almost had to hack the parking ticket database to make sure I wouldn’t be charged, now get in! This is going to be the best day ever!”

“Sorry babygirl” Derek says, getting into the car and pulling Garcia into a greeting hug, “the kid here was feeling anxious, but I told him his little girlfriend would be devastated if he chose not to show up, so lover boy pulled through.” Spencer scoffs and Garcia squeals in joy, loving the idea of the two babies of the team falling in love.

The three of them get out of the car at the beach and Spencer automatically puts his sunglasses on, the sun beating down on him harshly, high in the sky and nearly at its peak of strength for the day.

“Well well well, it’s about time you three! We were expecting you to be no-shows!” Rossi teases from the spot on the beach the team has chosen. Spencer awkwardly tries to walk across the lumps of sand, the grains sinking through the holes in the sides of his signature converse sneakers, already regretting his decision to come here, like he says, he really hates the beach. 

“Spence, you made it! I have to say I’m surprised, how are those sneakers working out for you?” JJ says in a teasing manner as well, knowing that when it comes to the beach, Spencer is one of the least prepared people she knows. 

“Hi Spence, I’m glad you’re here.” Spencer hears from behind him, the shy voice of Y/n automatically brightening his mood. 

“Y/n, I’m glad to be here.” He replies, the rest of the team looking at each other in bewilderment, not believing the sentence having just come out of Spencer’s mouth. Emily and Rossi had brought extra chairs so Spencer sits down and pulls out a book on understanding the theorems of quantum physics, having not read it since he was a teenager. He looks up from reading when he hears the familiar laughing and sounds of his two favorite kids, Jack running up from the ocean with Henry following closely behind, always looking up to his older friend. 

“Hi Jack! Hi Henry! How’s it going guys!” Y/n says, causing Spencer to blush as he briefly imagines Y/n with kids of her own, their own, woah Spencer calm down, don’t go there, quantum physics, focus. 

“Y/n! Will you come swim with us, please! please! please!” Jack says, the boys love Y/n because during the times the team hangs out, she can’t say no to them. 

“Spencer, swim? please?” Henry says, walking over to Spencer and grabbing his hand, cold from being in the ocean. Spencer’s heart warms at the sight of his godson and he finds himself saying yes, not realizing the implications, he now has to take his shirt off and swim with Y/n, what has he done?  

“Really, Spence? You’ll come swim with us! Yay!” Y/n responds, seeming so genuinely excited that Spencer finds himself getting less nervous. He hesitantly peels his shirt off, feeling surprisingly relieved to be rid of the sweaty fabric. He glances at Derek who is smiling at him, raising his eyebrows as if to say You got this player. Jack and Henry are getting impatient so Y/n takes her dress off leaving her in a bikini. Spencer automatically feels very awkward, averting his eyes to avoid blatantly staring at her, overwhelmed with how gorgeous she is, she’s truly the most beautiful girl in the world. 

“Uh, s-should we g-go?” He asks, the rest of the team giggling at his obvious nerves. He remembers once Emily told him his IQ turns to 60 when he sees a pretty girl, maybe she was right because he feels, in this moment, he wouldn’t be able to read a single word of text. Y/n nods and they walk off with the two boys towards the ocean, Spencer hearing the remnants of the rest of the team surely gossiping about the clear tension between them. They reach the ocean and Henry and Jack run into the waves, splashing and tackling each other, getting water on both adults. Spencer shivers despite the hot sun still beating down on his now bare shoulders and back, trying not to think about his chances of developing skin cancer which are surely growing exponentially each moment he stays out in this sun. 

“You cold Spence?” Y/n giggles, grabbing his hand and pulling him further into the water, his legs following even though the idea of being submerged in the cold water is not appealing whatsoever. Or maybe cold water would be better if Y/n doesn’t let go of your hand soon, the devilish side of Spencer’s subconscious whispers. 

“Yes a little, water temperatures around the Washington D.C. area in August average in the low 80s, but I suppose the contrast between the 95 degree day to the cold water causes me to feel cold, funny how that works isn’t it?” Spencer replies, always trying to be more conversational, especially around Y/n, therefore less statistics. 

“Yes Spence, now come on, it’ll be less cold if you just jump in.” Y/n says warmly, always finding Spencer’s statistics charming and adorable. 

“No Y/n I don’t think that’s a- ah!” Spencer yelps as Y/n whispers something to Henry and Jack, causing them to splash him simultaneously, very quickly drenching him completely. Spencer can’t find it in himself to be mad, hearing Y/n hysterically laughing and high-fiving the boys in joy. 

“Alright Y/n, you asked for it.” Spencer says, starting to laugh too despite himself. He somehow finds the courage to pick Y/n up bridal style and walk deeper into the ocean, dropping her in. She’s under the water for just a moment before Spencer begins to worry, statistics of drowning automatically filling his brain. He feels a tug on his leg and falls into the water himself. Y/n and Spencer now both in the water up to their necks, they look at each other and laugh awkwardly. All of a sudden realizing how close they’ve become, they both look away and focus their attention on the two boys still playing in the water, making sure they don’t get too far away. 

“Can we play chicken? Please!” Jack says and Spencer looks at him with a confused look on his face. 

“Chicken?” 

“Come on Spence, this will be so fun!” Y/n says excitedly and once again grabs Spencer’s hand, pulling him toward the boys. Y/n kneels down in the water and motions for Spencer to do so as well, he follows, still confused as to what is about to happen. Henry climbs on Y/n’s back and Jack on Spencer. 

“Okay, now what?” Spencer says, laughing at what the team must be seeing up on the beach. 

“Now, we fight!” Jack says from Spencer’s shoulders. 

Y/n and Spencer walk further into the ocean to more safely allow Henry and Jack to play. They hit each other and Spencer and Y/n find themselves suddenly chest to chest, Spencer trying everything to distract himself from his attraction to the woman in front of him. Finally Henry and Jack seem to get tired, asking if they can go back to their parents. 

“U-uh, so that was f-fun!” Spencer says, trying to break the awkward tension that had followed him and Y/n since they had gotten so close in the water. Chicken, who knew? 

“Yes it was Spence, thank you for coming in the water, I know you don’t like the beach that much.” Y/n says softly, smiling up at the taller man.

They make their way back up to the team, ignoring the knowing looks on their faces. Spencer sits down in his chair once again, suddenly noticing his stomach rumbling. 

“Spencer, do you want to share this peanut butter and jelly sandwich?” Y/n offers. Spencer laughs, how did she know he was hungry at the exact moment he realized it too? He nods and she scoots closer to him to hand him the half. They joke with the rest of the team as well as the boys, trying to separate themselves from the horror they usually find themselves facing together. Spencer knows there is no science to the old phrase time flies when you’re having fun, but he thinks today might be an exception, soon it's getting late, JJ and Hotch opting to take their tired boys home, exhausted from the day in the sun. 

“Spencer, before we leave, can you come with me to get an ice cream?” Y/n asks shyly, Spencer quickly agreeing before the anxiety of being alone with her can hit him once again. They sit together facing the setting sun while eating ice cream, Spencer knows he doesn't react the best to dairy but he can’t help it, he loves dairy, and honestly, he thinks he might love Y/n as well which is a terrifying thought. They sit and watch the sunset in relative silence, but it isn’t an awkward silence, it’s comfortable, Spencer wishes this moment would last forever. Too soon the sun dips below the horizon and their ice cream is long gone. 

“Okay love birds time to go, it’s getting really dark and we should be getting home.” They hear from behind them, both of them flushing in the night air at the nickname and teasing done by Derek. 

“Thanks for today Y/n, it was fun, see you at work on Monday.” Spencer says before following Derek and Penelope to the car, Y/n waving back before following Rossi, having car pooled with him and Emily. The drive home is silent on Spencer’s part, mostly spent looking out the window and ignoring the constant prying from his two nosy friends in the front, eager to know what happened between him and Y/n during the day at the beach. Garcia then drops Derek off at Spencer’s apartment as Derek lives closer to Spencer. 

“Goodnight kid, I hope you had fun today.” Derek says before turning in the direction of his own home. 

“Hey Morgan?” Spencer says quietly, so quietly Derek almost misses it, but turns around nonetheless. 

“Ya kid?” He replies. 

“Thank you for convincing me to go, it was really fun.” 

“No problem pretty boy, anytime” Derek replies smirking before watching Spencer walk into his apartment building. 

That night Spencer is lying in bed in severe pain, his fair skin blistering from the day in the hot sun. He knows he shouldn’t have been so stupid and reckless, allowing himself to become this burned. He was honestly having too much fun to stop and think about it. His phone buzzes and he grimaces, already expecting the worst, a new case, but instead, he sees a text from Y/n. 

“Hey, Spence, are you still awake?” Spencer begins to text back but before he can he sees an incoming call. 

“Uh, hi Y/n! Is everything okay? It’s pretty late do you need-”

“Spencer, I’m fine! Don’t worry, I’m sorry I’m calling you so late. How are you?” Spencer relaxes into the pillows on his bed when he hears Y/n say she’s okay. 

“Aside from the sure to cause skin-cancer, painful sunburn covering my back in blisters, I’m doing great! How about you? Is there something you need or do you just want to talk?” 

“Ouch that must hurt, you should have put sunblock on silly! I actually wanted to ask you something and I figured now is as good a time as ever. So um, Spence, I had a really good time today, and uh- I totally understand if you don’t want to, but would you want to go to dinner with me sometime soon?” Y/n’s heart is racing out of her chest as she anxiously waits for Spencer to answer. 

“Like a date?” 

“Yes- I mean not necessarily it doesn't have to be, we don’t actually have to go out at all if you don't-”

“Y/n, I would love to go out on a date with you.” 

“Really? T-that’s great! Okay I should probably let you get to sleep now, I’m sorry again for calling so late. Goodnight Spencer.” 

“Goodnight Y/n, see you Monday, can’t wait.” Spencer says before Y/n hangs up the phone, he finds himself missing her voice already. He looks at the clock, seeing its already nearly one am, now understanding Y/n’s multiple apologies for the late call. Spencer turns off the light next to his bed, noticing his sunburn doesn’t feel so bad now, ah, the psychology of love. Maybe, Spencer thinks before he closes his eyes, with Y/n by his side, a day at the beach doesn’t sound so bad. 

[yamithediaperdork]

My little brothers revenge, Part 2

Alex woke up Sunday morning and rubbed his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes and hearing the heavy snoring of his asshole big brother.

'Man, can't believe I conked out so bad!' He thought, now rubbing his arm across his chin and mouth to take care of any left over drool. 'I guess I must of been more tired then I thought..Ugh.. and Justin's been stinking up the room again in his sleep.'

Alex put his fingers to his nose, glaring over at his brother who was a well know toxic hazard in his sleep and as such normally got his own tent when the family went out camping.

Tossing his blanket back Alex froze as the smell not only got worse in the room, but it became clear WHAT the source of the stink was as he looked down and the shot swelled diaper around his waist.

'No way..no.freaking.way!' Alex thought as he blushed beet red.

he quickly glanced over at Justin who was thankfully still asleep and then slowly got up onto his hand sand knees and crawled backwards to get out of his bed, trying not to squish the mess around any worse and fighting back whimpers that might of woken Justin up.

There was NO way if Justin saw him in a shitty diaper that he'd ever let Alex live it down, and he could easily picture Justin 'accidentally' bringing it up around his friends or even at school.

getting his feet on the floor Alex found himself forced to do a cowboy walk of sorts from the bulk of his filled diaper and as quietly as he could he made his way to the door and out into the hall, praying to every deity he could think of that he was the first one awake since it was only 8:34 am and mom and dad liked to sleep in on Sundays.

Fate was not on his side however as he made his way towards the bathroom and saw that the door was closed. before he could even think of turning around and waddling back to his room the door opened and out stepped mom.

She appeared to of smelled Alex before spotting him from the way her nose wrinkled, then she looked eyes on him and her mouth twitched as if she was fighting the urge to smirk.

"Did somebody have a stinky accident?" She asked, sounding amused but coming over.

"I..I didn't mean to.." Alex whimpered and looked down, all sorts of shame flooding though his body and he was fighting back tears.

Instantly she went from amused to trying to comfort him, even if she winced as she knelt down in front of him and cupping his chin.

"Alex it's ok, accidents happen. this this goes to prove that you're not feeling so well. Maybe I'll let you stay home while I go and get you some more diapers later." She said in a soothing voice.

"I..Yeah Ok mommy." Alex said, feeling very much like a big baby as she then picked him up, hands under his armpits and carried him to the bathroom.

"I think maybe it's for the best you're gonna be in diapers all day today too. you wouldn't wanna have a poopie accident in your Captain America briefs right?" She asked.

This was NOT helping Alex feel better but he just nodded his head, kicking his legs a little.

"Uh..Uh..Mommy? I-I can clean myself up." he said as she carried him into the bathroom and stood him in the tub.

"I'm sure you could, but it'll go faster with my help and I don't think you want Justin seeing you like this." She said with a warm smile.

"I-I guess you got a point." Alex whimpered.

Oh yeah, he was gonna get revenge on his brother and prove who was the big baby in the house alright. right after his mom changed his dirty diaper.

'God, what have I done to piss you off so much?' he silently asked as his mom started to open his diaper.

One humiliating clean up and shower later and Alex was in a clean diaper and downstairs at the kitchen table, having some toast and tea. Normally Sunday's were a sausage and bacon filled feast if you waited long enough for Mom to get up but she had been wary about putting too much into Alex's system and asked him to go simple. Alex wasn't happy about it, but since Mom had put the plastic bag with his stinky diaper in the trunk of the car and promised to get rid of it away from the house he decided to humor her.

He was in just one of his Spider-man diapers and a loose Iron man t-shirt and kicking his legs softly at the table when Justin came down stair's with a grossed out look on his face, spotting Alex before he saw mom.

"Geez Alexandra, did you crap yourself or something? Our room friggen reeks!" He complained and then fully walked into the Kitchen and saw their mother standing there, NOT looking happy.

"Excuse me, but I thought your father and I talked about you calling Alex that name." She said in a less then amused tone.

"Er..well..See, Alex likes the nick name! Yeahhh, He said it just didn't feel right if I wasn't teasing him." Justin lied, Looking to Alex for back up.

"Alex is that true?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, Not at all. I've told him to quit it." Alex said smirking big time.

"i see. Justin, How would you like it if I called Justine or Jessica all day?" Mom asked, smirking now.

"..I wouldn't like it very much." Justin muttered and looked down at the floor now.

"Mmmhmm..So keep that in mind next time you get the urge to brat..I can always go and get you a adorable pretty princess lunch box and put Justine on the front of it and make you take it to school. Your father isn't the only one who can get creative with punishments."

Threat made Anne turned back to the kitchen counter and started on making Justin some breakfast.

"Y-You wouldn't!" Justin whined.

"Wanna try me? I'm already going to the store in a bit for more diapers for Alex." She said and smirked. "As is, I think you can have a nice toast and tea breakfast like your little brother. He's not feeling so good so you'll be watching him today."

"Ahhh moooom, I was gonna go hang out with Grizz and Rayne today!" Justin whined."I'm Sure Alex is a big enough boy he can look after himself! Or Dad can watch him!"

"Your father is going and helping Mr.Nilson build his deck today, But if you stay here I'll lift the TV ban so you two can play video games. Co-op only, I don't wanna come back to you both all mad at each other like what happens every single time you play a versus game."

Her point made the brothers both sulked as neither really wanted to be stuck with the others company.

Justin huffed his way though breakfast. between having to have buttered toast and tea instead of a meat explosion and being stuck with Alex all day he knew this was gonna suck all the balls, at least till he recalled his evil plan from last night and brightened up.

'Wait, no mom..no dad..and just me and the pamper butt. Oh yes yes yes yes yes! this is gonna work out great!' Justin thought and got a big silly grin on his face.

"Well, Somebody's cheered up after his tea." Mom teased.

"Oh yeah, I just had to wake up some more you know? I think I can have LOTS of fun with Alex today mom, so don't worry if you wanna take a bit." Justin said then added. "I know you like to drive around and it'll be nice for you not to have dad bugging you to hurry up or listening to me and Alex fighting."

"Well that's nice of you, though Alex is on his last two clean diapers so I really should hurry back." Mom said, giving Justin a half hug.

"oh nonsense! Alex is just gonna wear the diapers, It's not like he needs them mom, Right little bro?" Justin asked and smirked.

With Justin was being happy and helpful alarm bells were going off in Alex's head but there was nothing he could really say in argument of mom coming back sooner without tipping off he'd pooped himself earlier or making it sound like he needed his day time huggies. It was a catch 22 and Justin's look told Alex he knew it.

"yeah mom, I'll be ok..I'm sure me and Justin will have lots of fun." Alex said, trying to sound cheery.

Aside from not wanting to sound like he needed his diapers, he knew if he tried to whine to go with her or have her come back fast he'd also sound like a whinny little mama's boy.

"Well ok, If you boys are sure. I'll be heading out in a bit then, why don't you two leave the dishes for me and go and play some video games. And since you're both being good little guys for mommy." Anne smirked as both boys made a face at that. "You can both have 3 cans of soda each. Just try and spread them out."

the ugh faces turned into surprised smiles as mom was usually a stickler on the boys sticking to juice or water and she was always careful to keep a count on the can's of pop in the fridge.

Finishing up their light breakfast, the boys put their dishes in the sink and washed up a little then each one grabbed a can of cola out of the fridge and got a Blanket set out over the floor, well Alex got the blanket over the floor while Justin made sure the curtains were drawn shut.

Naturally normally Justin would of loved to of had the curtains wide open to show off his BABY brother but with mom still home he had to play nice.

Sides he wanted to try and draw Alex into a sense of relaxation before springing his super genius evil plan on him.

Alex wasn't falling for it for a second but went and fired up one of their rare co-op two player games (Since Justin wasn't a fan of retro games) and the boy's started to play, pausing only to wave bye to mom as she headed out, telling them that she'd be back in a hour or so, and to make sure dad woke up soon as he'd promised to be over helping with the deck bright and early.

They played in peace for about half a hour, with only cries of booya, eat it and the like coming out of their mouths and Justin giving Alex tips and for the most part they actually got along for a change.

That being said, all good things have to end and Justin never put his plan out of his mind, so when it was time to go and wake they're dad up he volunteered to do it while Alex took a much needed potty break.

Stopping by their room to grab Alex's phone Justin made a quick little call.

"Ngggh.. Yello?" came the groggy voice of Max.

"Heyyy max. how's it going?" Justin asked, keeping his voice down.

"Ngggh..Justin? what are you doing calling me?" the sleepy boy asked.

"Well Alex is kinda been missing you, and I was trying to set up a little surprise for him but getting you to come over and hang out with him." Justin said, grinning ear to ear.

"...OK who are you and what have you done with Justin?" Max asked, sounding suspicious.

"Hey, I can be a nice guy every now and then. but if you don't wanna come over finnnne." Justin huffed, mentally cursing just how well Max knew him.

"...Give me like 20 minutes or so to wake up and get some food in me." Max sighed on his end of the line.

"Ok the front door will be unlocked so just come in." Justin said and hung up.

with operation:show my brother baby butt off underway, Justin went off to go and wake up dad.

With dad being his normal cheery morning self (read: grumpy as fuck) Alex did his best to stay out of his way while he made himself a bacon and egg sandwich then grabbed his tool box and was out the door.

"I wonder he even offered to help if he was just gonna be this grumpy?" Alex asked Justin.

"Because there's free beer involved after the deck is built and you know mom won't let him bring any booze into the house." Justin said, oddly keeping a eye on the time.

"heh, you missing mom already or something?" Alex teased.

"Oh no, Just arranged a little surprise for you." Justin said and smirked.

As he smirked Alex felt a pang of fear go though him, the old Justin was back and he went to scramble up to his feet to get get away.

"ah ah ah, come here huggie butt." Justin taunted and grabbed onto Alex, tugging him down and into Justin's lap, pressing on his tummy.

Which had the effect of making Alex let out a massive fart.

"Dude! really? what are you, part skunk?" Justin asked, shoving Alex back out of his lap.

"M-Maybe!" Alex said, his tummy gurgling now and as he went to get up he ended up hunching over, anther fart coming out of him.

"Heh, Uh-oh, is widdle Alex gonna go poopie in his diapies?" Justin asked, smirking and getting up to block the path to the bathroom.

"J-Justin Nooo! I don't wanna poop my diapers again!" Alex whimper, hunched over and making his way over, yet anther fart coming out and that one was totally a wet one.

"Wait..ANTHER poopie diaper?" Justin asked, then it clicked. "Oh my god, you shit yourself in your sleep! Ahahaha! You really ARE a baby!"

"J-Justin Please! I'm begging you! Let me use the pot-" Alex started but then there was the sound of the front door opening and Alex was cut off by Max's voice.

"Allo allo! whats going..uh..on.." Max said, walking into view and looking at Alex in shock. "Uhhh.."

"M-Max!?! what are you doing here?!? I Uh..Oh god, Max don't loook!" Alex wailed.

Max was too shocked to look away though as Alex lost the battle with his bowels and the back of his diaper ballooned out as wave as wave of mush filled it, making the spider-man designs fade away and the formally white parts of the diaper go a ugly shade of brown.

With the back of the diaper being destroyed the front didn't get off easy either as Alex's bladder apparently didn't wanna be left out and he soaked the diaper even as he sank to his knees.

Balls up fists coming to his eyes and rubbing them as he started to bawl, Alex almost but not quite drowned out Max's million dollar question.

"Uhhh..what's going on here?"

The living room was filled with Alex's stink, but it was the smell of victory to Justin as he took in the scene with a sick joy. Alex was too busy bawling like the big baby he was to try and defend himself so Justin spoke up.

"Sorry about this Max, I tried to get baby Alex to cover up his diapers but he said he wanted you to see what a big baby he is an-" Justin started, but was cut off.

"Yeah, Bullshit. What's really going on here, Alex, did Justin make you wear a diaper?" Max asked, wincing as he moved over to comfort his friend.

'damn it! was hoping he'd fall for that. ah well, can't win'em all.' Justin thought.

Alex was still full on bawling though, and was just finishing up his dump and the diaper had amazingly held up.

"Alex..Alex buddy it's ok.. everyone has accidents." Max was saying and Justin rolled his eyes at that.

'just my luck, most boys his age would of started tormenting the fuck out of a pamper packer and I get the kind and understanding one.' Justin fumed.

"He's in all day diapers today because he went to sleep without putting one of his bed wetter pants on yesterday and wet the bed." Justin sighed. "And apparently if he's to believed he woke up stinky too."

"...Alex is this true?" Max asked.

Alex hiccuped and sniffled, calming down slightly now but he nodded.

"So..you knew his diapers were gonna be on display and invited me over..dude, your a asshole." Max said and glared at Justin.

"eh, Guilty as charged. but if you care soooo much about widdle Alex then you can get him cleaned up. Otherwise I'm gonna leave him to sit and stink." Justin said and shrugged, turning to leave.

"Sheesh.. brother of the year aren't you.. Where's his diapers?" Max asked helping Alex stand up and rubbing the poor guys back.

"In our room, I'll toss out what's left of them." Justin said then walked off leaving the stinky diaper boy and his little buddy to clean up.

For the second time this morning, Alex found himself doing a dirty diaper cowboy walk and heading for the bathroom, whimpering and saying sorry to Max over and over again.

"Hey, it's OK dude.. I should of known your brother was planning something when he invited me over. But Uh, I've known about your bed wetting for awhile." Max said, giving a sheepish grin.

"N-No you didn't, I'm super careful!" Alex whimpered.

they made it to the bathroom and Max had Alex stand with his legs spread and the trash bin in the bathroom under him as he undid the tapes and let the diaper plop down into the trashcan.

"yeahhh well about that.. you remember three weeks ago when we were playing Avengers in your room? you pack of Iron man diapers was sticking out from under your bed. When you weren't looking i pushed them back under with my foot." Max admitted, even as his face wrinkled in disgust.

"I..but..Noooo!" Alex whined babyishly.

Somehow this didn't change facts though.

"Look, we'll talk about it in a bit, you go and get in the shower, I'll go and get rid of the 'treasure'" Max said.

With no real choice in the matter, Alex nodded and made his way into the shower to go and get cleaned up.

'Pretty sad my best friend is more mature about this then my own brother..and Justin..your gonna pay!' Alex swore as he started the water.

After taking the plastic bag and putting it in the trash can outside, Max came back in and after opening some windows to air out the living room he made his way upstairs.Hearing the shower still running and found a pack of diaper with only two in it out front of the bathroom door.

the door to Justin and Alex's room was closed but since it didn't have a lock Max barged in anyways, finding Justin laying on his bed and reading a comic book.

"Can i help you?" Justin asked, a smirk on his face.

"That was a really shitty thing you just did to Alex, you know that right?" Max asked, hands on his hips.

"Cute choice of words there, and yeah, I'm a asshole and proud of it." Justin said.

"Yeah, well I'm gonna tell your parents what you did when they get back." Max shot back.

"Oh, cute idea. Let's tell them how Alex went and crapped his diapers when he has potty privileges and make it so he has to wear to school tomorrow. Of course I'll get grounded for inviting you over and showing off his diapers but who's really gonna come out on the short end of the deal here?" Justin asked.

Max blinked and tried to come up for a counter to that but just huffed and pouted.

"That's what I thought. If Mom asks when she gets back, Alex invited you over. I'll keep hush about the poopie diaper if you two little dweebs keep me out of trouble, deal?" Justin asked, going back to his comic book, clearly knowing he had the upper hand.

"..God your SUCH a asshole!" Max huffed and then stormed out.

Alex got out of the shower on his own and got himself diapered, then went and got a t-shirt (Hulk this time for the little avengers obsessed nerd) and a pair of black short's on over it before retreating down to the living room with Max, whining as Max told him about the deal Justin had offered.

"I don't know..he was suppose to shut up about the wet bed yesterday too and went back on it..and uh.. where did you put the..you know.." Alex asked huffing and squirming.

"Uh, out in the trash can on the side of the house. why?" Max asked.

"Because it's gonna be stinking up the block in no time and I'll get busted again for sure!" Alex whined.

"Well uh.. It's not like we can just go and ditch it in someone else's trash can you know." Max pointed out, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hmmm.." Alex said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully then snapped his fingers. "Hey! you know that old nature trail by here? the one that's hardly used anymore?"

"..Yesssss though I don't think I like where this is going." Max said.

"We'll take the stinky diaper and shovel out there, and bury it! by the time the trails popular again in the summer, no one will be able to smell it!" Alex said, beaming at his brilliant idea.

So excited with his 'brilliant plan' was he, that Alex actually started out of the room to head for the back yard to go and get the shovel.

"Alex, one second. You mighttttt wanna change into something baggier and with longer legs on it, those short's aren't really hiding your diaper butt." Max said with a small smirk.

Looking down and then looking at himself in a mirror Alex could see Max was right and gave a sheepish smile.

"Oh..yeah.. good call!" He said and then went to his dresser to find something a little more concealing.

Justin had of course by this time headed down stairs, not wanting to deal with Alex's 'toddler whining' ad he put it, and was playing a video game and drinking one of Alex's can's of soda since he had gone though his three.

Looking over as the pair went to go and get their shoes on he raised a eyebrow.

"And where are you two dweebs heading off too?" He asked then chuckled. "Awww, Is Max taking widdle Alex to da park ta pway?"

Alex growled but before he could speak up Max cut him off.

"Actually we're just gonna go and play on the old trail, go and dig some holes and the like. I figured that way if Alex has anther accident you won't have to smell it right away."

"Pffftt good thinking! did you pack a diaper bag for him then, hence the book bag?" Justin chuckled.

of course he couldn't of known that the pack pack was for holding the stinky diaper once they got it out of the trash, though he really didn't care anyways.

Alex meanwhile was blushing big time and huffing like a pouty toddler.

"Ayup, though hopefully it'll just be a wet diaper." Max said.

"pffft, ok. just be back soonish, Mom will wanna know where you are." Justin said and went back to his game.

Once they were outside Alex gave max a semi hard punch to the arm.

"what the heck was that all about! you sounded like you were on his side!" Alex huffed and glared.

"Uh, OW! and we didn't want him to know what we're really doing did we?" Max asked and then swatted Alex's padded backside, making a whumping sound.

"...You didn't have to be so believable." Alex huffed.

"oh I'm sorry, did you want him following us? knowing him he'd of tugged your pants off once you were on the trail and tossed them in a tree!" Max shot back.

the thought of being trapped in public with his diaper exposed made Alex blush and squirm, and let out a muffled fart of fear.

"Ah.. do you need, to go back inside and sit on the potty?" Max asked.

"NO!" Alex growled, then paused, and looked thoughtful and wiggled his butt a little, making Max have to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

"Yeah no, I'm good." Alex confirmed a few seconds later.

The adventure out to bury the treasure so to speak was uneventful, much as Alex had predicted the trail was dead this time of the year and the only hard part was digging into the semi solid earth, the shovel being almost too big for the either shorty to really use it so they had to take turns.

Coming back they were greeted in the driveway by Anne who was less then pleased to see Alex not only outside when she was still concerned he was sick, but that he was all dirty from playing in the dirt.

At least it worked out that she'd been home for about five minutes by that time so she'd already taken his new pack of diapers (Avengers print this time) to his room but still she gave Alex a mild scolding and sent Max home.

After that it was a day of just lazing around the house but Anne had also insisted on keeping a close eye on Alex so he hadn't been able to get enough alone time to e-mail Ben.

[mcheang]

Hello. It's been a while. :) Post-Miracle Queen: There’s an Akuma who turns people into cute baby animals. During this state, people don't have memories as humans. They act like an animal would. Marinette gets hit and becomes the class pet until Ladybug fixes everything. Lila doesn't like this and having to pretend to coo over her rival. Her fake enthusiasm and plots to get Marinette banned temporarily from school gets her caught eventually by angry classmates.

Baby Mari

This is a draft

It’s annoying when your older siblings pull the whole “I’m older” card on you. Sometimes it can lead to deep, negative emotions. Something Hawkmoth takes advantage of when he akumatizes Perrine, fed up with her bossy older brother telling their mother she isn’t responsible enough for a pet yet.

So she is transformed to the Pacifier, and is heading for Dupont, where her brother is.

With a shake of her rattle, Pacifier sprinkles glitter on her victims, who turns into adorable baby animals.

The students were used to akumatizations and ran for it. Except Marinette couldn’t just leave Alya behind to film. And she got caught in the glitter as well.

Alya picked up a baby....bunny? (What? The ears could resemble pigtails when flattened)

https://youtu.be/_v94XqFW4Qw

Somehow Tikki avoided discovery. This is terrible. With the Guardian gone, Chat Noir will be on his own! Well, Mr Bug will be on his own, because the akuma has to be purified.

After Pacifier departed with her new pets, she went to find her mother.

School resumed. Alya had permission to bring Marinette to class since her parents didn’t allow pets in the bakery and it would probably take an hour for the akuma to be defeated. Otherwise, the bakery would be shut down for a while as Tom and Sabine looked through pet care guides.

As the class cooed over Marinette, Lila scowled over the loss of attention. With Chloé gone into hiding, there was one less contender for the spot of class queen.

Rose noticed Lila hanging back. “Come give her a pet Lila. She won’t bite. Marinette is such a cute bunny, and her fur is so soft!”

Lila plastered on a relieved smile, like she was glad people think she could get close to Marinette now.

Except as soon as the bunny smelled the liar, she instinctively bit the finger.

Lila: OW!

Lila recoiled, clutching her bleeding finger.

But instead of trying to comfort her, the girls actually chided Marinette in soft tones. “No, Mari, we don’t bite people.”

Alix: Wow, even in bunny form Marinette doesn’t like Lila.

Kim: you should go to the nurse Lila.

Lila: is no one going with me?

Everyone stared at her like she was being ridiculous.

Alya: Lila, it’s not a major wound. You don’t need us to follow you around everywhere. You’ll be fine.

Mylene: maybe Marinette’s hungry?

Adrien: does anybody have snacks? I have some Camembert but I read that rabbits shouldn’t eat those.

And just like that, Lila was dismissed from their minds.

As she stared in furious disbelief, Max glanced back to remind her to go.

That’s it. Time for the rodent to go.

Lila waited until lunch before grabbing Marinette with the lunch lady’s gloves. She just caused a food fight before grabbing Marinette as everyone turned to look at the spectacle.

As Lila headed to the second floor, she intended to drop Marinette from that height on the concrete, but the class quickly noticed her absence and spread out, calling for her.

Of course someone had to notice Lila was wearing gloves.

Lila quickly claimed she was trying to get Marinette to the safety of the class. That got her some gratitude, until wrinkled noses pointed out that Marinette must have confused rubber gloves for a litter box. Said gloves were currently dripping on Lila’s favorite shoes.

Alya managed to get Marinette out of Lila’s grip before she strangled the bunny.

Maybe she should try shooting the bunny instead. People hunt bunnies right?

Nah. Too much work.

Fine, how about insisting that pets are not allowed in school? But Damocles has been turned into a baby owl and Ms Bustier was all for letting the class bond over a class pet. ...is it too late to pretend she has a late-acting allergy?

Ooh. Lila’s got it. She goes to talk to a school assistant instructing some students on how to care for their new class Chinchilla.

Lila goes up, praising him for his hard work and knowledge but also offers her sympathies for cleaning up after the animal messes. And don’t they shed too?

Unfortunately the assistant turns out to be Mylene’s father. Wasn’t he supposed to be an actor? And he calls over Mylene to tell Lila where she put the gloves and poop bags.

And as for the shed hair, even humans have hair loss.

Mylene thinks it’s wonderful of Lila to volunteer for poop duty, but she shouldn’t be surprised. The excited Mylene hands Lila her new equipment before she can protest.

Lila is furious. But she eventually makes use of an opportunity to sweep Marinette into the pan and throw her into the dumpster. Everyone else backed off when Lila suggested they take her shift, hence they didn’t see Marinette getting swept up.

Except there was no way for them not to notice Marinette was missing once Lila had gone. Suspicious, Adrien stopped Lila.

Inside the pan, they found a stinky bunny.

Lila: oops, I must have accidentally caught her.

Adrien: how do you accidentally catch a bunny when her....um...business is smaller than she is?!

Lila: I don’t watch while sweeping.

Kim: that is just plain stupid.

Mylene: aren’t you supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing?

Lila nearly squawked in outrage at the idea that being a frequent volunteer means being experienced at clean up.

Alya: maybe you better take a day off? You don’t seem to have a way with animals. You can get away because the akuma is still out.

Lila couldn’t believe it. They were actually kicking her out. She was going to protest before Rose started insisting they give Marinette a proper wash.

Lila tries to volunteer for that but Max interrupted, “Sorry Lila. But with what has already happened, you’re more likely to choke Marinette with soap than otherwise.”

He wasn’t that far off. Lila would have likely drowned the baby animal.

Lila stormed out of school. As luck would have it, she crossed the Pacifier’s path.

A sprinkle of glitter.

Where once stood a teenage girl now stood a crow fledgling. Shame how nobody was around to witness this. Lila the crow lay helpless on the ground, until the Pacifier plucked her up and dumped her into a pram stuffed with other baby animals. It was a tight squeeze, and suffocating since the baby crow was smaller than the other animals.

It took some time for Mr Bug to defeat the Pacifier, though it helped that Pacifier was distracted by the sight of a baby bunny rolling around in flour.

When the Miraculous Mr Bug was cast, Marinette found herself safe at home. Lila found herself on the street sucking on a worm.

Lila spat it out. “Ew!”

When Marinette returned to class, her friends still coddled her and pampered her, much to her bemusement. Lila just glowered from the back. She never wanted to see another baby animal ever again.

Caline: alright class, settle down! Welcome back Marinette. Since we had such fun taking care of Marinette, I thought of a fun project for home economics.

Ms Bustier moved aside to reveal hamsters in their own cages.

You have got to be kidding me! Lila thought furiously. Her assigned hamster likes to bite too.

To rub salt in the wound, Marinette and Adrien were the proud new parents of Fu the hamster.

[pixiedoodlein]

I’m so fucking mad that a year and a half into this pandemic I am back to 11th hour debating another year of homeschool. The first stretch of homeschool, in NYC, when the toddler was a baby, and husband was home on unemployment, was good, nice even, a quiet piece of something good when the world outside was falling apart. The next stretch, the Oklahoma stretch, with a particularly climby toddler, husband working 10 hour days, me doing remote contract work, somewhere we had no family around to help w/ childcare, was challenging. I was not always my best self. Some days were delightful, muffins and math games. Other days I was more Miss Trunchbull than Miss Honey, fractions were squeezed in between crying (usually mine) and netflix (way too much of hers), and I held on to any shred of sanity by telling myself “just a little longer, just until the vaccines.”

Well here we are. Husband & I have been vaccinated for months, but the kids aren’t yet. The upstate NY town we moved to is a very small town (pop: 838), was mostly untouched by previous waves. When we got here, I couldn’t understand why everyone was so lax about it- no masks, no panic. Our first day here, when I came home from the market and saw through the window a gaggle of unmasked kids in my living room (the neighbors coming to welcome us, they heard a kid moved in) I almost had a heart attack. In fact, I was so tired from the drive from OKC that for a moment I actually thought I was at the wrong house, that I was hallucinating, because how in the world could there be unmasked bodies in my living room.

Then I started talking to people here. And I realized that the way I thought they were insane for not being deathly afraid of covid, they thought I was insane for being petrified. Because the disease hadn’t hit here; their businesses were destroyed and their kids were out of school (in a rural area with barely functional internet, remote school = a lost year) and their lives were totally fucked up, for a disease that never arrived at their doorstep. I came to understand why they weren’t worried, why here life looked (almost) normal. I told them about what it was like to live somewhere covid tore through, the freezer trucks of bodies on the FDR Drive and my previously healthy 27yld brother so sick with it the first spring he thought he was about to die (but too scared to go to a hospital), my dad’s relative in the next NYC wave on a vent for months and lucky to be alive but may never walk again, the doctors in OKC pleading on the news to please wear a fucking mask because the hospitals were fucking full, and the neighbors stopped thinking I was psycho when I carried extra masks for their kids, and made them put them on, when I took them to town for ice cream. I never stopped masking. But we did indoor dine here (once, BBQ, it wasn’t delicious enough for how anxious I felt) and I did bring all the kids, including my toddler, to a fairly crowded children’s museum in the big (small) city an hour away, where the rest of us were masked but the one with his hands in his mouth, who was all up in other kids’ faces, the one who really should be masked, wasn’t because he won’t leave it on for more than a minute.

Actually it’s a lie to say that I never stopped masking- I have dashed into little stores here, without one, because I’m vaxed! It’s safe here! Covid felt done. We had friends come here to visit this summer. Friends who are vaxed, but that doesn’t seem to really matter enough anymore. We had the neighbors over for meals, indoors (you see, more indoor dining! A minute ago I was just thinking restaurants, but why would plagues only spread in restaurants?). They had us for meals. The girls are a crew, new best friends, making my daughter’s life here so, so much happier, constant sleepovers (their kids were at our house this afternoon; my kid is at their house right now). The parents and grandparents are wonderful, making my life here, and husband’s life here, so much easier, so much better. We help them with stuff, they help us with stuff, there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t see each other, unmasked. Some of the adults in their household are vaxed; some of the adults in their household are not. The kids are all too young to be vaxed. But it (living, doing shit again, seeing people again) really stopped feeling scary; it really felt like everything was fine, normal-ish, normal-er. The end of the pandemic felt in sight.

I signed my child up for school here. Real school, not mommy school, school with a school bus. She was a little anxious, I had to talk her into it, I sold it hard, I bought her whatever pair of new sneakers she wanted for her new school (she hasn’t had gym class in a year and a half; for a phase in Oklahoma she wore one boot and one sandal every day, why not). She wasn’t anxious about sneakers or covid; she was anxious that maybe she hadn’t learned enough in homeschool (I am not a teacher! I did not homeschool because I am good at it or love it or wanted to, I homeschooled because I was scared of her getting covid at school and dying), that she would be behind. She isn’t behind. I followed the real school curriculum as best I could (as in: sometimes totally and sometimes not at all), and somehow, when I gave her the standardized “real school” test “at the end of the year” (aka the day I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to focus on my work or I wasn’t going to have an income, the day I’d decided we’d done as much as we could and it was time to be done), she sailed through it, this kid is smart. Smart as in needs to be in actual real fucking school to stay smart and learn and reach her potential.

She got excited- one of the neighbor kids is in her grade. The other kid is older- but the school is small, she’d see her tons. She was excited; I was excited. I registered her for school. Her new teacher sent a nice note. We all were excited. She’s never taken the school bus before but the neighbors take it and she’d be fine on the bus with her besties, the bus would pick her up in front of their house since there’s nowhere to turn around up our hill (we are VERY rural), they’d all get on and off the bus together. She has been backpack shopping. We have been discussing what she’ll have for breakfast (honey nut Cheerios), what she wants me to pack for lunch (she says just Goldfish, I say turkey sandwich, we’re working on it).

But now, 18 days before school starts here, I am thisclose to pulling her out, to embarking on another lovely (not), gratifying (not) year of homeschool, because of covid, delta. When we got to our new home in our new tiny town in June, there was no covid here. Now, our county is listed by the CDC as a high transmission area (is there anywhere in the US that isn’t?). 80% of senior citizens here are vaxed; 50% of the total population is, well below the national average. 15 cases per 100,000, in a county of 100,000. I guess this is less rampant than our previous pandemic locales, NYC (currently 25/100K), OKC (49/100K). This is splitting hairs, everywhere is bad. This is what panic does to me: are we better or worse for every decision we’ve made in the past year and a half, every decision that got us here? There are fewer cases here but fewer people and fewer vaccinated people and fewer ICU beds. We aren’t safe even here, but at least we are happy (happy aside from fear of delta death).

I don’t know whether to send my kid to school in 18 days. There will be masks but masks aren’t enough (how many masks do I make her wear? two, ten, a thousand?). This choice feels crazy— in March 2020, when that covid was mostly sparing kids, I yanked her out of school. Now, this covid does hurt kids. How much longer, how many more years, can parents be in this position to make this nightmare choice? What will hurt her more: school or no school? There are vaccines, more than enough in America. We shouldn’t be having to make this choice.

As it is, because of toddler— not because of toddler, because of being a parent to children in a pandemic— my work life, and husband’s, will be severely impacted this year, again. I can’t send him to daycare because he’s too little to leave a mask on (he won’t even leave his pants on!) in a room full of other unmasked toddlers, whose families may or may not be vaxd, may or may not wear masks (there has been a noticeable increase in supermarket mask wearing since we got here, but still not enough, is any of it enough?), may or may not be going to parties and weddings and funerals, daycare providers who may or may not be doing all the same. This means I can only apply to remote jobs, so I can be home with him. Husband has some flexibility, more than he did in OKC, but god forbid he has to work while I have a work call or meeting or work due I didn’t manage to get done at 4am or 11pm when the house is quiet. He can’t bring toddler to work with him, his work is up on scaffold, stenciling ceilings. This will be another year of me muting myself on Zooms while toddler pulls his diaper off and hurls poop at the cat. Would it really be so much harder to also be trying to teach parts of speech to our daughter at the same time? Yes, it would, but I don’t know if I can send my kids back out into the world until they’re vaccinated. I am counting the days, holding my breath, until they can be.

I used to believe in personal choice. I don’t anymore. I want this shit to be mandated, I want the government to line us up and force mRNA into holdouts’ arms, I want it to be required, to be able to function in and interact with and benefit from society in any way, shape, or form. I have been very lucky in the pandemic. Privilege stacked on privilege on privilege, to be fussing over my Zooms in my hamlet. I had been pretty pandemic perky, baking my pies and playing with my pandemic pets and (thinking about) doing puzzles, but I’ve reached my breaking point. This shit could be done, but it’s not, and I’m scared it never will be.

[artaefact]

bakery 1995.

—wordcount: 14.7k+

—genre: angst, fluff, romance, baker!jimin, bakery cafe au, childhood friends-to-lovers au

—pairing: park jimin x f reader ft. bestfriend!jungkook

—rating: pg-15

—warnings: age gap (jimin is 4-5 years older), brief mention of physical assault, memory loss, overprotective parents, some intended grammatical mistakes, swearings, y/n is dragged into jungkook’s shenanigans

—summary: After returning from college for summer break, you got yourself a part time job to keep yourself busy. However, things go way too unexpectedly and you find yourself unraveling your forgotten past.

author’s note: this is for @btswritingcafe promptly yours event !! i tweaked the prompt a bit, so hopefully no one would get confused! happy reading ♡

Prompt: “Person A once had a major childhood crush on Person B. Fast forward to college where Person A is convinced it was nothing but temporary, that is until they return home for summer break to find Person B back after being gone for several years. Turns out, they weren’t such temporary feelings.”

© artaefact/eunoiabliss 2020. All rights reserved. Copying, reposting, translating, and modifying in any platform or by any means is NOT permitted.

It’s nice to know that no matter how judgemental the world can be, pigeons would never judge you. Despite the clear contrast between yourself and the asphalt pathway, they would not hesitate to excrete waste on either of them and can’t even be bothered by the possible consequences.

Staring at the dropping on your jacket sleeve, you exhale loudly while rummaging your pocket for a kleenex.

‘Out of all the places where their shit could have landed on, it had to be MY jacket,’ you grumble to yourself.

Reaching towards the bakery in the area, you hope they still have some cinnamon rolls you have been craving for. You can already imagine yourself humming in delight as the sweetness spreads across your taste buds and—

“You have got to be kidding me.”

The cashier attendee bows apologetically at you. “We’re so sorry, all the cinnamon rolls are sold out for today.”

Today must be the worst day to date in your entire years of existence. How on earth can a bakery run out of cinnamon rolls?

Groaning internally, you trudge out of the, now, third bakery that has sold out their cinnamon rolls.

Bad luck seems to follow you throughout the day. Is it because you went out of the house while your parents were in the middle of nagging you? For the last few days after you came back home for summer break, they have been constantly nagging you and you would kill to have an hour of peace and quiet.

Mindlessly, you whip up your phone and search up on Google while you walk to the nearby bus station, typing in the search bar — is it bad luck if a bird pooped on you?

Biting your lower lip, you press on the first link that appears on the screen.

Bird poop may be a sign of hope in disguise, you read. Snorting in incredulity, you scroll through the webpage.

It can’t be good luck.

You are not the type to believe in superstitions, however, besides getting pooped on, you dropped your phone on the pavement of the sidewalk just before you reached the first bakery, an hour ago. This resulted in the annoying crack of the screen right in the middle of it. Not only that, the sole of your right tennis shoes came off halfway which hindered you from walking properly and made you look like someone who hurt their leg.

Having had enough for today, you decide to go back home. Until a pastel pink store, right across the street, catches your attention with its aesthetic-looking door.

What’s this? A new—

A dramatic gasp escapes your lips after reading the name of the store, earning confused stares from nearby people. But you couldn’t care less.

Maybe Lady Luck does still care about you.

As soon as the pedestrian light turns green, you excitedly run, no, shuffle through the zebra-cross, reaching the newly-opened bakery.

My last hope is here. Please, let there be—

The interior of the bakery exudes a welcoming vibe, with the color of pale pink being the dominant over the whole place. Basically, it's a place where those Instagram models would kill to take their pictures at. However, it’s not the interior itself that your focus locks on. When the smell of freshly baked goods wafts into your nose, your eyes zero themselves on the various types of pastries that line the display counter, covered in glass domes. And there it is.

“Yes!” You squeal, grabbing the bakery tray to fill it as much as you’d like.

When you place the filled tray in the cash register counter, the cashier comments, “Woah, that’s a lot.”

If it is a normal day, you would have waved it off. However, unfortunately for the guy, it isn’t a normal day for you, after the constant annoying incidents that happened to you earlier. The comment snaps the last thread of patience you have for the day and sadly, targets the person in front of you. “I think you should mind your own—”

You take your thoughts back. Lady Luck is not on your side nor is the universe. They must be having fun, playing pranks on you so much today.

Your words cease immediately at his sheepish yet attractive smile.

“I-I’m sorry,” you stammer. “Just having a really bad day and I—”

“No! That’s okay.” The guy grins at you, eyes turning into crescent moons. “I’m the one who should be sorry, I just said the first thing that came up in my mind.”

“Ah...”

“I suck at starting conversations,” he says, sheepishly. “It’s a skill I’m planning to improve.”

Blinking twice, you manage to smile back at him, most probably just a cringed expression. “Well, um, good luck with that.”

As soon as he hands you the paper bag, you dash out of the bakery, not once looking back.

Your cheeks feel hot during the whole trip back home, every time you remember what happened, you would mentally kick yourself.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Eating the warm cinnamon rolls is a blessing and a curse.

You have never tasted such heavenly flavour before, all your worries and exhaustion seem to fade away. This brings you to freeze in the realisation that you’ll want, no, need to go back to that bakery to buy those delicious rolls again. Meaning, you’ll see that cute guy whom you snapped at earlier, again.

His friendly eye-smile burns deep in your mind. But you can’t shrug off the sense of familiarity of his face and his voice…

Have I met him before?

Once you reach home, body aching and tired, you take a quick shower before digging into the rolls. Clicking your tongue, you continue to munch on the rolls in your room while your thoughts pull you in deep.

The sudden knock on your door, however, brings you back to the present. Groaning loudly, you stand up from your padded window seat.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Jungkook.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Your mouth agape at the sudden visit from your best friend. “Didn’t you say you won’t see me at all until break is over?”

“I might have changed my mind. I was very bored at home.” He enters your room, plopping on your beanbag. “So, now I am bored as hell and— Did you buy food without telling me?”

You met him during freshman year and you both hit it off quite quickly, you might add. After constantly pairing up together in projects, college project meetups gradually turned into hangouts.

“Says the one who claims to see my face every day makes him sick.” You roll your eyes at his dramatic ass, you go back to the window seat, crossing your legs. “It wasn’t planned, okay? I just got back home like thirty minutes ago.”

“But still you nearly finished everything without leaving me much!” He bit your last half-finished roll, letting out a noise of approval. “Which bakery did you buy it from?”

“It’s a new one. I never saw it before we went to college.”

“You should bring me there soon.”

“Nu-uh,” you refuse. “You can go yourself. I am not stepping a foot inside that place any longer.”

“What? Why not?”

“I may have embarrassed myself in front of the worker there.” Then you tell him what happened earlier.

Jungkook shakes his head in pity. “My poor Y/N, how do you always embarrass yourself when I’m not around? How would you survive in this world without me?”

Snorting at his words, you lean against the pillows on your back. “You’re the lucky one to have someone like me as his best friend. Anyways, how about that job I’m looking for?”

“Oh!” Jungkook’s eyes lit up. “Right, I was about to tell you! My friend is looking for a part-timer for his cafe.”

“Hmm, that sounds…”

Jungkook answers, “Boring? I know you’re looking for something much more exciting and—”

Narrowing your stare at Jungkook’s obvious judgmental face, you cut him off. “It sounds perfect, actually.”

Sighing, Jungkook whips up his phone. “You better bring me leftovers every time you get off work. I’ll bring you to his cafe tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“What? Why?”

“You little shit—” You smack his arm.

“Ow! Stop that, woman! I thought you said—”

“This is a fucking bakery, dumbass!” You hiss at him.

Jungkook gapes at you. “It’s a bakery cafe, what’s the difference?”

“It’s different! I can’t go back in there!” You whine in embarrassment.

“Wait— So this is the bakery where you embarrassed yourself?”

Nodding wordlessly, you exhale before catching Jungkook failing to stifle his laughter. “Shouldn’t be too big of a problem. He’s nice, Y/N.”

“But—”

“And I told him you were coming…” Jungkook scratches the back of his head.

After contemplating for a while, you decided to gather your courage and enter the sweet-smelling bakery with Jungkook.

Too late to go back now. It was either this or staying bored at home for the rest of the summer break, facing your parents’ look of disapproval at your lack of daily activities, or to be more exact productivity.

The cute guy just finished placing cakes inside the glass displays on the counter, then his gaze shifts to where you and Jungkook are standing.

“Jungkook!” The cute guy’s brown hair is slicked back as he takes off his baker’s hat, approaching your best friend.

“It’s been so long, Hyung!” Jungkook greets back with a hug, smiling from ear to ear. “And wow—” His eyes skim through the pastel-themed cafe. “You finally opened your own cafe.”

Watching them interacting is a foreign sight to you. It’s a rare right to see Jungkook, the usually shy one, so friendly and comfortable around the cute guy.

If you’re lucky enough, maybe the cute guy won’t remember you and—

“Ah! Miss Cinnamon Rolls!”

Scratch that. Of course, he still remembers you.

“I didn’t know you were looking for a job.” His eye smile lands on you finally and your throat dries up.

Jungkook fails to hold back his laughter. “Miss Cinnamon Rolls? Just how much did you buy last time?”

After sending a brief glare at your best friend, you introduce yourself to the cute guy, “Y/N.”

As soon as your name slips past your lips, the cute guy freezes momentarily, eyes widening a fraction. “Y/N?”

You nod slowly.

“Uh,” He fumbles. “Jimin. Park Jimin.”

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“So, this is the kitchen area. We need to get the place ready by 8:30. Can you come by at 6 the latest?”

You nod at his question.

“We have a different menu each day. It will take some time for you to learn everything. But don’t worry I’ll teach everything you need to know.” He shoots you a smile, sending your heart to slightly flutter as you fiddle with your fingers.

Thank goodness Jungkook has left. Or else you’d never hear the end of his teasing or knowing smirk.

“I’m starting with bread and cakes these past few days before I open up the cafe section.”

For the rest of the day, Jimin spends his time letting you know everything about how the bakery runs whenever there are no customers. Even gracing you with two pieces of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls which made your cheeks burn in embarrassment at the memory of your first encounter.

“Go ahead, enjoy it,” Jimin shoots you a knowing grin.

Muttering a quiet ‘okay’, you take the first bite — holding a delighted groan at the sweetness that bursts through your tastebuds.

Propping his chin on his hand, he stares at you in amusement. “You must really like cinnamon rolls, huh?”

“They’re my comfort food,” you admit after swallowing down a piece. “My late grandmother used to make a lot of rolls at home.”

“I see… Well, have you ever baked before, Y/N?”

“The basic stuff like chocolate chip cookies…”

“Oh, that’s great—”

You added quickly, “But I nearly burned down Jungkook’s kitchen, though. He banned me from the kitchen ever since.”

A surprised laugh escapes the man’s lips which you don’t mind hearing more often, especially if you are the one behind it.

“At least the cookies still turned out great. It was a bit on the burnt side but still good… Crispy and crunchy.” You nervously chuckle. “But I swear, I’m not that bad if you provide a clear recipe!”

Still giggling, Jimin leans forward on his seat. “I can teach you everything you need to know. The basic stuff on baking and then there would be clear recipes I can provide you.”

Your eyes lighten up at that. “Yes! I’ll try my best.”

Arriving at the bakery at 6 am sharp, the next day — your official first day at work — Jimin can be seen moving back and forth from the small window opening connecting the kitchen and the bakery itself, already busy in the kitchen.

The smell of his work wafts through the entire bakery, indicating that he has been there for quite some time. Once you enter the kitchen, your mouth waters instinctively at the smell and sight of freshly-baked breads on the counter.

“How can I help?” From observing the finished baked goods, your eyes shift curiously at some ingredients — eggs, chocolate chips, sugar, flour — on the kitchen counter while you tighten the knot of your apron.

“You’re going to bake some chocolate chip cookies.” Jimin places a tray full of another different set of bread near the first one through the window. “So, go ahead, preheat the oven first.”

Following his instruction, you move towards one of the ovens. “Um…”

The corner of his lips quirks up at your obvious confusion before he chimes on how hot the oven should be set on.

With a brief nod, you turn on the oven. “Is this a test to see how far my baking skills go?” When you take a glimpse of the honey-haired man, he returns it with an amused grin of his own.

“Bingo.” Jimin’s smile is boyish and carefree and his eyes become crescent moons.

In other words, it made your heart race. However, you dismiss such unprofessional thoughts quickly before blood rises to your cheeks.

Clearing your throat, you move to the counter and start mixing the necessary ingredients altogether and set the dough on the baking tray. When the oven is preheated, you bring the tray towards it only to realise your mistake too late: not opening the oven first.

“Let me help,” Jimin says softly, opening the oven deftly.

“T-Thanks...” you mumble, concentrating on the task at hand.

Time passes quickly, before you know it, the oven makes a soft ‘ting’ sound. Opening it, the sweet smell wafts through the kitchen.

“I did it!” you say, excitedly placing the hot tray on the marble counter.

“But the final test is how the cookies taste.”

You watch in nervous anticipation as Jimin pops one of the cookies into his mouth. Not a moment later, he lets out a surprised sound.

“This is really good, Y/N. You do have the talent to bake.”

You beam at his words.

“Since that’s all set, I believe we still have other kinds of pastries to prepare for the day. I have all the recipes prepared for you here.” He motions to the notebook on the counter — you flip through it, astonished at all the recipes.

“Are these your own personalised recipes?”

Nodding, Jimin shoots you a grin. “I’ve always loved baking and there are some ways to make things with their own unique taste.”

The rest of the upcoming hour, you and Jimin were busy baking with Jimin instructing and giving you pointers. At some point, you even talked about anything and everything, as if you both have known each other all your life while you both work.

You have to admit, you find it really enjoyable. When the bakery closes, you sit quietly on one of the empty tables near the cashier after Jimin tells you to wait.

Mindlessly flipping through his recipe notebook, your attention soon shifts to Jimin himself with a steaming cup in his hold.

“Here.” He sets the cup in front of you.

You look at him quizzically before he motions for you to try.

“I’m opening the cafe part next week,” Jimin says. “Thought you can be the first to judge my caramel macchiato.”

“That’s a lot of caramel in one drink…” For a few moments, you observe the steaming coffee, froth decorates the top of it with drizzles of caramel in patterns of criss-cross nearly covering most of the foam itself. “Why caramel macchiato, though?”

“I thought you’d—” He clears his throat. “So many people really love caramel macchiato. So, I thought I’d go with this one for you to try first.”

Bringing the cup carefully to your lips, you take a sip of the beverage. The texture of the coffee is so smooth and the slight bitterness spreads through your taste buds and down your throat. Then you taste the caramel, letting out a delighted surprise when you find caramel bits inside the beverage.

Jimin keeps his stare on you, one hand supporting his chin and his eyes unreadable.

“What is it?” You ask, after downing the drink.

He blinks as if he was lost in his own thoughts. “Uh, how is it?”

“It’s very good.”

“Do you like coffee?” He asks.

Nodding, you tell him you loved to steal your mom’s coffee when you were younger. “There used to be a cafe near my place. I used to go there frequently during my high school years.”

Jimin briefly stills at yours words. “Do you... Still go there?”

You shake your head. “It was closed two years ago unfortunately.”

“Hmm, that’s a shame. I would’ve wanted to try the coffee there.”

Chuckling at his words, your mind takes you back to your high school days. “It was really good.”

Humming to yourself, you continue to flip through the pages of Jimin’s recipe notebook. “What’s this?” You stop at one page, pointing at a child’s drawing on his recipe notebook. “Did you draw it when you were younger?”

“It’s a shooting star.” Jimin answers. “And, no. I didn’t.”

“Oh? Sister? Brother?”

“I don’t have a sister and my brother just does not have the artistic skill to draw that,” he laughs. “It was someone from my past. Someone who is precious to me.”

“Oh…” Noticing his faraway gaze on the notebook, you sense it is a sensitive topic. “Why a shooting star though?”

“It represents hopes and wishes, according to her.” His smile turns nostalgic. “I was having a hard time back then. But this girl,” he chuckles as if in disbelief. “— just straight up grabbed my notebook and drew a shooting star on it, saying I should wish on this star since seeing a shooting star is not that common here.”

There’s something sad but warm in Jimin’s tone as he talks about this girl. You can only assume that this girl is not in his life anymore. Or even in this world.

“I see…”

“As ridiculous as it sounds, I actually did it. Very frequently in all honesty. Whenever I’m having a hard time, I’d wish upon that star.”

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

A week passes quickly and just like a normal day, you arrive back home just a quarter past eight. Tugging off your shoes near the doorway, you hear your dad calling from the living room.

“Yes?” Mindlessly, you step into the living room only to meet the stern glare from him.

“Where were you?” Your dad asks. “Do you have any idea what time it is now?”

“It’s around eight...”

“And your curfew?”

Furrowing your brows, you gape, “I thought that was back in high school.”

“That still applies until now. I expect you to come back before seven.” Then he repeats his question, “Where were you?”

“From my new part-time place.” You answer. “I thought I told you about it.”

“If you want a job, you can intern in the company for the summer,” your dad sighs. “There’s no need for part-time jobs.”

You should have known it would last just three days before you are missing your university life, or to be more specific living alone. With the constant nagging from your parents, you crave for silence for a period of time. One thing you have been missing quite badly you have to admit, which is why you took the job in the bakery. Away from the scrutinising stares of your parents.

Here it goes again.

“I don’t think I’m ready to start there, Dad,” you exhale. “I want to do other things while I can.”

The same topic, the same debate you’d try to avoid as much as possible ever since you arrived back home for the summer. That was why you’d try to find something else to do. You always wanted to try a new hobby over the holidays. Now, with the excess amount of time in your hands, you are able to try.

That is why you opt for the part time job Jungkook found — working in the bakery.

“This isn’t going to work if you get home after your curfew, Y/N. You know how dangerous it is if you come home late.”

“I’m an adult now,” you reply, exasperatedly. “I can take care—”

“Things can get unpredictable, Y/N. It’s better that you’re safe than sorry.”

“Dad, when will you stop reminding me of that?” You groan in annoyance. “I don’t even remember how the accident happened.”

“The more reason for you to be cautious!”

Exasperated, you storm up to your room and carelessly throw your bag on the side of your bed. Laying on your back, you stare at the ceiling as your thoughts muddle when you try to think of what happened.

All you remember back then is that you woke up in the hospital, met with the worried gaze of your parents as soon as you got your consciousness back. However, they never tell or fill you in on what happened.

Gradually, your eyelids grow heavier — exhausted from the day and the burst of negative emotions over the argument you had earlier. Thus, you succumb to sleep. However, your mind takes you elsewhere.

Everything is dark.

With your own ragged breathing, you struggle to keep yourself as quiet as possible, biting down a hiss from the sting of your scraped knees. Tears pool in your eyes as you wait, hidden behind one of the playground’s slides and out of sight of any possible passerby.

There are no memories of what happened beforehand. All you know is to stay there and wait.

“Y/N?”

Peeking out of your hiding place, the figure draws closer calling your name in another hushed whisper.

But you knew this voice. So, you whispered back, “Here...” As soon as you get out of your hiding place, a warm embrace envelops your small frame.

“We’re okay, everything’s okay. I’ve lost them. We’re safe now,” he whispers, stroking your head softly while your fists clench on his shirt.

Not a moment later, your tears start to fall and you sob into his shirt. He tightens his hold on you, one hand on the back of your head as he repeatedly whispers, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

“I’m here...” His voice then seems to echo and your surrounding becomes a blur.

When you open your eyes, you realise you’re back in your room yet there are stray tears in your eyes. Sitting up on your bed, you take a few deep breaths to calm yourself.

Was that a memory…?

“Have a good day.” You bid the last customer of the day farewell and once they leave, your cheeks droop into a frown. With a sigh, you walk out of the cashier register place towards the front door, turning the ‘Open’ plate to ‘Close’.

The dream you had last night still felt so vivid that you considered it was a flashback of your memory loss. You wanted to ask your parents about it. However, yesterday’s conflict was still fresh. You were sure they would dismiss it.

After cleaning up the counters of the bakery café and mopping the floors, you trudge into the break room, sitting down on one of its chairs as you wait for Jimin’s return from his “errand”.

Your mind takes you back to the dream where someone was hugging you tight.

Who was it? you wonder. In the back of your mind, somehow you never felt his warmth among your high school friends. The guy who was holding you is just different.

You are so deep in your thoughts that you didn’t realise Jimin entering until he brings something right in front of your face. “What—”

“Hot chocolate,” he answers, softly. “You seem distracted today, I thought this might cheer you up.”

Taking the steaming cup from him, you mutter your thanks before breathing in the sweet smell, blowing softly on the beverage. “That was fast.”

“Hmm?”

“Wait, did you go out to buy this?” You lift the warm cup of hot chocolate.

Jimin lets out an embarrassed chuckle. “I wanted to make you one. Until I realised that the ingredients are finished. So, I had to run out.”

“You didn’t have to, you know…”

“I know. But I wanted to anyway.”

Your eyes look down, can’t help feeling touched by his sweet gesture as you fight back to keep yourself from blushing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He must have noticed the change of your expression before he says quickly, “Only if you’re comfortable, of course! I just thought talking about what’s on your mind can ease you. At least a bit.”

Blinking your eyes twice, a chuckle escapes your lips. “I guess so.”

“That’s your first smile today.”

You raise a brow at him.

“Your first real smile, I mean. Your cheekbones do not have much tension if you’re genuinely happy whereas if you fake a smile, it seems more like you’re cringing. Like our first encounter.” He chuckles, meaningfully.

“I’m sorry...” you mumble, eyes glancing down at the steaming hot chocolate on your lap.

“That’s fine,” he says easily. “Everyone has their bad days.”

You smile slightly at his words. “Had a fight with my parents last night.”

Jimin stays quiet, still listening to you.

“They are always so protective when it comes to me. Maybe a bit too much at times. I’m a grown adult for fuck’s sake.” Another sigh escapes your lips before taking a sip of the hot chocolate. “My dad especially. He made it sound like a big deal when I came home around eight. I’m just frustrated at this.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

You nod in response.

“Was there something that made your dad feel that way?”

“I...” You blink. “I guess it’s because that one time I ended up in the hospital?”

“You did?”

You nod. “A few years ago, I had an accident.”

Jimin stiffens at your words. “Oh?”

“But it was nothing. I didn’t even remember what happened in all honesty.”

He stutters, “W-What?”

“I lost my memories. I had no recall of the accident at all.” Eyes training blankly on your front, focusing on nothing as you dive back into your memories. “My parents told me there is nothing to worry about and my memories would come back gradually. They never filled me in on what happened too.”

The corner of his lips soon quirks up slightly, his expression wistful. “Maybe they wouldn’t want you to be traumatised by what happened. It’s already fortunate enough for you to be able to recover from your head injury.”

“Yeah... I guess so,” you mumble.

However, since that incident you can’t deny the feeling of something missing since a chunk of your life has been cut off. No memories of the accident have returned even after years. Recovering from the head injury—

“Wait—” Head snapping to face Jimin. “How did you know I had a head injury?”

Jimin blinks repeatedly, as if your words just sink in. “Ah! I mean isn’t it a head injury? You lost your memories after all.” An awkward laugh escapes his lips. “Usually, people who lost their memories have head injuries, right?”

“Well, yeah...”

“Anyways, finish the hot chocolate and you should head home before your parents—”

Suddenly, a wave of deja vu washes over you. Snapping your gaze from the hot chocolate in your hands, you look at Jimin as your brain starts to grow fuzzy at the familiarity of Jimin’s words.

“Jimin...” you begin.

“Huh?”

“Have we ever met before I started working here?”

“You mean the first time you came into this bakery?”

You shake your head. “No, even before that. Did we know each other?”

A surprised glint appears in his eyes before it dissipates as quick as it appears. “I don’t think so…?”

Oh.

“Maybe we’ve just ran into each other at some point in town. But I don’t think we ever knew each other.”

“I see...” Disappointment floods through you at his words.

Right, you thought to yourself. If he was a close friend he would have recognised you instantly when you came to his bakery.

“Oh, look at the time.” Jimin stands up. “You need to be home before dark, right?”

“It’s not a big deal—”

He shakes his head. “It’s alright. You’ve finished cleaning today. I just need to close up and check the supplies.”

“But—” Your words die in your throat when Jimin pats your head.

“You’ve worked hard today,” he grins at you.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“I’m home,” you call out to no one in particular before you hear your mother from the kitchen.

Once you reach the kitchen, your mother turns her head to see you. “Help me set the table, dinner’s almost ready.”

Nodding, you follow suit. “Where’s Dad?”

“Your father is still caught in a meeting. He’ll be home late.”

“I see,” you mutter, placing the silverwares on the table.

“How’s work?” your mother asks. “You’re home earlier than usual.”

“It’s great,” you answer. “The boss lets me off early.”

And you continue to talk about your day. From helping Jimin bake cakes and bread early in the morning, serving customers coffee and desserts, cleaning up the whole place, and enjoying the hot chocolate Jimin bought you earlier.

“He sounds like a nice guy,” your mom muses when you both sit at the dinner table.

“He is.” A smile appears on your face, remembering his sweet gesture and warm presence. Then your mind shifts to the conversation you had earlier, and what has been bothering you lately. “Mom?”

“Hmm…?”

“Five years ago, how did I end up in the hospital?”

Your mother noticeably stiffens at your question, ceases digging through her plate of food.

“You and Dad never filled me in. You both kept on saying that my memories will return eventually… Until now actually.” You let out a breath. “I think I’m old enough to know what really happened.”

Letting out a deep breath herself, your mother puts down her fork. “What do you remember?”

“I was at a playground and hiding… Then there’s someone who came to find me.” Met with silence from your mother, you continue, “Was it one of my friends?”

Shaking her head, your mother answers, “It wasn’t any of your high school friends.”

“Then who…?”

“You never mentioned his name. But you’d always talk about him back then.” Your mother sighs. “Go through the attic when you’re having a day off. You’ll find some of your old stuff I hid there. Make sure your father is not home.”

Standing up, you want to go there at once. However, your mother stops you. “Y/N, listen to me. Whatever you find there, if you… If anything hurts or feels just too much, I want you to stop, alright? You’re a grown adult and I trust you’ll prioritise your own health.”

Nodding wordlessly, you finish the remaining food on your plate.

[ when you were fifteen years old: after the incident ]

When the dismissal bell rings, some students instantly scramble from their desks, some stretch lazily on their seats and have conversations with others.

“Hey, Y/N.” One of your classmates calls you, a smile etched on her face. “So glad to have you back.”

“Yeah! This sem has been a pain in the ass. You’ll get through it in a breeze!” Another classmate adds.

You respond with a grateful smile of your own before packing up your things.

It hasn’t been that long since you were released from the hospital. You have persistently insisted your parents to let you go back to school and they finally relented after you promised them that you’ll go straight back home and to not strain yourself after dismissing your parents’ idea of hiring a driver.

Today is your first day back. Your friends greeted you excitedly when you stepped into the classroom. Even those who you recall never talked much with you greeted you with a ‘Hi’.

Walking mindlessly through the streets of your neighbourhood, your legs take you to a cafe as you recognise the familiar scent of coffee.

Tilting your head in confusion, you stare at the cafe building in shades of black and brown.

What exactly are you doing here?

There were no planned meetups with your friends, yet, your body seems to find its way here. Fishing out your phone, you scan through the past messages to double check any planned hangouts.

It’s a Wednesday.

But…

With the curiosity nagging inside you, you search for Beomgyu’s contact.

[ 4:05 PM ] You: beomie, do you know the cafe near my place?

[ 4:05 PM ] Beomgyu: i guess?? Every wednesday you'd always go there for no apparent reason at all. When i wanted to tag along you’d always give me the devil eye :(

[ 4:05 PM ] You: oh… that’s… well, sorry lol. Do u wanna come here?

[ 4:06 PM ] Beomgyu: wait, r u srs ???

[ 4:06 PM ] You: i mean if u’re not busy and i think getting coffee and hanging in the cafe would be good.

[ 4:07 PM ] Beomgyu: i'd never thought this day would come :’) i’ll be there in 10.

Chuckling at your friend’s response, you place your phone back into your pocket. Exhaling, you enter the cafe and make your way towards the cashier register.

“Welcome, what would you like for today?” The person smiles at you.

“Caramel macchiato, please.”

She nods, typing in your order. “That will be four dollars.”

After exchanging your payment with a receipt, you wait at an empty table for two near the window. Something about this familiar place, however, feels off. Like there is something missing that you can’t seem to put your finger on.

Your thoughts are cut off when someone takes the seat across from you. “Why are you so deep in thought?”

Beomgyu stares at you quizzically as you blink in realisation. “Uh…”

He narrows his stare at you suspiciously before shifting his gaze around the cafe. “So, what is it that kept you going here?”

You shake your head in response. “I have no idea either. Honestly, I have this gut feeling to come here when I passed by earlier.”

“Hmm, maybe the coffee?” Beomgyu watches one of the waitresses bringing your orders, placing it on your table.

Sighing, you stare at the steaming cup with caramel drizzles on the foam for a few moments. Then you bring the cup to your lips to take a sip.

“Argh, why is this bitter?” Scrunching your nose, you motion towards the waitress for extra caramel.

“Did… Your taste buds change too? You said the caramel macchiato here is perfect.”

A snort escapes you as you drizzle more caramel into the coffee. “I got hit in the damn head, Beomie. It doesn’t change my taste buds.”

He shrugs. “Well, who knows. I never knew you like caramel that much.”

You freeze momentarily.

“Y/N? You okay?” Beomgyu waves a hand in front of your face.

“Y-yeah, I just…”

“You just…?”

Shaking your head once more, you whisper, “It’s nothing…” But your eyes scan through the busy workers in the cafe.

Deep inside, you had an inkling that the coffee here isn’t your sole reason for coming here.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Turns out you were right.

Once when you came into the cafe on another Wednesday, you sat at your usual place after ordering your usual drink.

“Oh, my dear, you’re finally back,” someone says.

Blinking, your gaze snaps to the elder woman — maybe around her mid fifties — and you give her a small smile before asking, “Do I know you...?”

It was her turn to look confused at your words.

“I’m really sorry for not recognising!” You grow flustered at your words. “I lost my memory in an accident a few months ago...”

“Oh, that’s awful!” The lady — a regular customer, you assume — gasps. “So that’s why you don’t frequent this cafe anymore. The young man looked so heartbroken before he quit his job—”

“Young man?”

“The barista, dear,” the lady replies. “You used to come here and meet him. I had to shush the both of you every time to not disturb the other customers.”

“I... Was he from my school?”

The lady shakes her head. “I don’t think so. He never wore a uniform like yours.”

“Do you know his name?”

The lady shakes her head once more. “His name was Park. Probably that’s his last name. At least that’s what is written on his name tag.”

And you internally groan. There are thousands of people with that last name.

“Do you know where he’s gone?”

“I’m afraid no, my dear. I heard he quit the job suddenly.”

Sighing, you thanked the lady before heading out of the cafe with your shoulders dropping in defeat.

The trapdoor makes a loud creaking sound when you lift it up, indicating that it hasn’t been used for a very long time. Slipping the key back to your back pocket, you step up further on the ladder with the trap door laying on another side as you go through it while the floorboards creak underneath your weight.

It didn’t take you long to locate your old things. Scanning through the boxes, you find one doodled in various flowers and rainbows with your name written on it as well.

With a grunt, you lift up the dusty box, bringing it down to the floor with a thud which causes you to cough at the flying dust. In an attempt to swat the dust away, you wave your hand in front of you. Still coughing uncontrollably with your eyes watering. After your cough ceases, you crouch and open the box. A few notebooks can be found inside along with some old dolls from your childhood.

You vaguely remember the locked diary you liked to write in about your day and its pale pink cover which was covered in sparkling stickers you used to be obsessed with.

Digging further through the books, you finally found it — the possible answer to your lost memories — with a small key dangling on the lock.

Climbing down from the attic, you made your way to your room while fumbling with the lock and key of your old diary. After successfully unlocking it, you take a seat on your padded window sill, flipping through the yellowing pages.

The first page was clearly written by you. Your old handwriting and your name. The first entry you wrote dates back to a decade ago.

Your fingers twitch at how cringe-y most of the entries are. Yet, at the same time you find it endearing how you used to write about your day. The good, the bad, and the normal things — appreciating just to be able to experience and get through them.

The last of your entries date back to months before the incident when you were fifteen. Probably because you decided that you were too old to write diaries any longer.

Recalling how you’d always visit the cafe every Wednesday, you skim through Wednesday entries. However one particular name seems to stand out in those entries.

“Mochi?” You flip from one entry to another. Who the hell is that?

Deciding to get to the bottom of this, you search for the earliest entry that you can find — nine years ago.

I met the hot choco guy again, today. I’m feeling so happy!!! He is so nice. why can’t any of the boys in my school be like him????

Hot... Choco? Furrowing your brows, you skip to the next Wednesday entry.

i am feeling so happy that mama brought me to the cafe last last week!!! she do not let me drink the coffee drink, so Mochi give me hot choco! i think it’s the best BEST drink EVER!!!

“How the hell did hot choco guy turn into Mochi?” you mumble to yourself, flipping through your diary to the next Wednesday entry.

Mochi teached me how to do math!!! It was so fun! But when Teacher Lee teaches me, it’s always boring. How did Mochi make math fun??? I wish he go to my school instead and teach me math :(

You internally cringe at your younger self. Exhaling, you press your temple in disbelief.

This whole diary of your younger self is basically gushing over this hot-choco-turned-Mochi guy as you flip through other pages. However, you stop at a certain entry.

Today… Is a very bad day. But Mochi suddenly makes it better.

Glancing at the date — it was the day your grandmother passed away.

He promises to make me cinnamon rolls whenever i tell him to! Just like Grannie… I’m sorry, Diary. I don’t think i can write more today. I just hope tomorrow will be a better day.

“Mochi…” you mumble repeatedly with furrowing brows and the name seems to trigger your brain to relive some memories.

“I’m calling you Mochi!” You hear your own twelve-year old voice. Yelping, your diary lands on the floor with a small thud.

“No!” Another voice rings in your head — familiar and warm. “That’s a really uncool nickname.”

“But you look like a mochi! And it’s not uncool! I think it’s really cute!”

Blinking, your mind brings you back to reality. Reaching down for your diary, you freeze momentarily before clutching your head. For a moment, your heart stops when your gaze lands on your diary’s open page — a drawing of a familiar shooting star.

Mochi is… Jimin?

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

[ when you were twelve ]

When another sigh escaped his lips, you glanced up from your math workbook — his face can only be described as perturbed. With no hesitance, you quietly pushed the last cookie on your plate to him, earning his glassy stare as it shifted from his notebook that’s lying open on the table.

He blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “Why didn’t you finish that? Do you want to bring it home?”

You shook your head, heat tinging your cheeks. “It’s for you. You look like you need it.”

“It’s caramel cookies.”

Nodding, you mumbled, “You said eating it can comfort people.”

The boy stared at you for a moment longer — recalling the time when you had a bad day and he gave you that, then he chuckled. “I guess I did.”

Pursing your lips, you nodded again. “I can order hot chocolate for you too.”

He reached for the last cookie, finally a small smile you have awaited appearing on his face. “This is enough, Y/N. I really appreciate it. Thanks.”

You beamed at his words, then you extended one hand to take his notebook and draw a shooting star on the page it was opened on.

“We can’t really see shooting stars in here,” you explain, pushing his notebook back to him. “So, whenever you’re having a hard time, wish on this shooting star! It represents hopes and wishes!”

“What that’s—” He stopped himself. Letting out a sigh, he found himself nodding despite how ridiculously endearing the idea was. “Alright. I will.”

The blare of your alarm jolts you awake. Groaning, you grab your phone, turning off the alarm when you realise you have to go to work. You can’t find it in yourself to see Jimin today. Not after finding out that he was, is, part of your missing childhood memories.

Your gaze lands on the diary, laying open on your window sill. As you read more and more of your diary entries, Mochi being Jimin just makes sense. You remember how he went out of his way just to buy you hot chocolate when you were having a bad day — just like in the past.

After all this time, Jimin is actually part of, no, in most of your childhood life.

And he denied it.

Why?

You continuously drift back to that one question. Why did he deny it when you asked him? Don’t people usually love to get reacquainted with their childhood friends?

Sighing, you message Jimin listlessly, telling him you aren’t feeling well before you turn off your phone completely. You don’t think you can handle interacting more with him.

Hours passed, when someone barges in your room. “Y/N!”

Peeking out from your blanket, you glare at your best friend. “What the fuck, Kook?”

“Jimin told me you aren’t feeling well. So, I came to check up on you.”

“Okay, you did. Now, go back home.”

Without responding, he opens the curtain in your room, letting in the piercing sunlight and you let out an annoyed ‘tsk’.

Should have known your best friend isn’t going to let this go easily.

“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been off the whole weekend. You may be able to trick Jimin but you can’t trick me.”

Still burying yourself under your blanket, the bed dips on your friend’s weight as he waits for your response. But you keep your silence, trying your best to even your breathing. You’ve cried enough after all.

“Hmm?” Jungkook stands up. “What’s this? Your diary?”

Abruptly, you fling yourself off the bed and grab your diary from his clutches.

“Go home, Jungkook. I’m not in the mood to deal with this.”

“You know I won’t until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m just...” Your shoulders droop in defeat. “Why?”

“Why what?”

You hate crying in front of anyone. But it’s as if a dam broke, your tears do not stop falling while you babble, “Why did he pretend to not know me? Why did he deny? Why—”

Jungkook blinks repeatedly at your sudden change. “W-wait! Why are you crying? I don’t under—”

“Park Jimin!” Your sudden outburst flusters him further. “The guy who you’re friends with and who you recommended for me to work with! That’s who!”

“But—”

“He‘s Mochi.”

Jungkook looks dumbfounded for a moment before your words register inside his head. “M-Mochi?”

Like a petulant child, you climb on your bed once more and hide your diary beneath your pillow. “Leave me alone, Kook.”

With a defeated sigh, Jungkook trudges out of your room, leaving you once again drowning in your thoughts.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Jimin has always loved mornings, especially when he is able to quietly bake on what most people would call ungodly hours. There is something enjoyable about being fully awake during this time when no sounds of passing vehicles can distract him, making him feel at ease.

He had started appreciating the little things in life when you — who once stared up at him with curious eyes, expression lightening up when he made a cup of hot chocolate for you — taught him to.

Chuckling to himself, his mind drifts back to the time you first entered his bakery. Gods, he should have known it was you. But you were so different, he could hardly comprehend how much you had grown.

Gone was your happy-go-lucky self. He was stunned when you suddenly snapped at him. Your younger self would probably respond with a smile and drone on about how much you love cinnamon rolls. For a second, his heart had hoped. Maybe you remembered him after all these years?

Yet that hope dissipated in an instant when you merely apologised and ran out. Moreover, you didn’t return to his bakery after buying the cinnamon rolls, he thought he had screwed things up by attempting to start a conversation with you. Or maybe that person wasn’t really you. Just someone who looks a lot like you. He still had his suspicions after all.

However, his suspicions were gone the moment you introduced yourself, leaving him speechless. Jimin would be lying if he said he didn’t hope — at least for a bit — that you would remember him when he mentioned his name.

That was why the moment you appeared once more to work as a part-timer, he was ecstatic. No words can explain it.

He started to look forward to work every day — coming to his own bakery to see you even when you didn’t remember him, but he would still gladly take whatever he can to be around you.

Once he sets the tray of unbaked cinnamon rolls into the oven, his phone buzzes. As soon as he reads the text, his heart drops a little.

[ 7:08 AM ] You: Sorry, I cant come to work today. Not feeling well.

He types, ‘That’s okay. get well soon, y/n :)’

But it left undelivered. Did your phone die? He wonders.

Jimin can’t help shake the weird feeling bubbling inside. So, he messages Jungkook.

[ 7:15 AM ] Jimin: y/n isn’t feeling well today. do u mind checking up on her ???

But of course, Jungkook didn’t read the message until a few hours later. That boy enjoys gaming all night.

[ 12:03 PM ] Jungkook: what?

[ 12:03 PM ] Jungkook: for real ?? since when does she get sick? that girl has a fucking high immunity. she never even once got a cold during the semester

Jimin furrowed his brows at that.

[ 12:04 PM ] Jimin: still, go check up on her pls. she’s ur friend too

[ 12:04 PM ] Jungkook: yeah, omw

It hasn’t even been an hour later when Jungkook rushes into the bakery — earning surprised and curious glances from the customers who were chattering among themselves. “Hyung—“ he catches his breath as he stands in front of the counter. “I think you need to fix—“ Huff. “—I mean go to Y/N’s house yourself.

Jimin blinks in confusion.

“You... You’re Mochi, aren’t you?”

At the mention of that name, blood drains from Jimin’s face instantly.

She remembers...?

“How did you—”

“What matters is, you need to fix it, hyung. You’re the only one who can. She’s not herself, right now. I've known her for a few years and it takes a lot for her to react like this. So, please, you should talk about it.”

“Okay,” Jimin breathes out. “Do you mind closing the cafe once the customers are all done?”

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, just go to her, hyung. I’ll handle everything here.”

[ when you were fifteen: before the accident ]

“I wish you can teach me math all the time, Mochi,” you giggle, leaning back on the cafe chair. “Everything is easier when you explain it.”

Jimin chuckles at that. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one not paying attention in class.”

Shaking your head rapidly, you deny, “Of course I paid attention! It’s just... I don’t know… It was really boring when my teacher was teaching. He just drones on and on without stopping.”

With an amused hum, Jimin stands up. “I’ll get ready to leave. I’ll walk you home.”

After a few minutes, you head out of the cafe with Jimin behind you. Shivering against the cool night air, you draw closer to the boy. Instinctively, Jimin offers you his open hand which you accepted with no hesitance.

Little did he know, every time he does this, it makes your heart beat a little faster at the way your hand fits well in his. And you savour it.

The build up of feelings has been going on for a while now. Maybe a few months. You’ve developed a crush on him. Like, how can you not? Jimin possesses charming qualities that no one else has. Not to mention how kind and warm of a person he is.

Meetings in the cafe had you wishing they were dates instead. And you had to let him know.

And tell him you did.

He blinks at first, words sinking into him. Mochi, I think I like you. Like, really, really like you.

His cheeks are pink, you weren’t sure if it's from the cold or his embarrassment.

“I’m sorry.”

Of course. What were you expecting? He only sees you as a little sister.

“No, that’s okay,” you reply quickly, but your heart drops. “It’s just… You know, I wanted to tell you know because you’re really cool, Mochi.”

“Y/N… Listen, this is not a good time—” Abruptly, he stops, catching your wrist on his. “I want you to hide in the playground.”

“What?”

“Hide, please. I will explain everything later.”

You want to run away from him. But the pleading look on his face makes you listen.

“There he is!” You hear an unfamiliar shout.

Cursing under his breath, Jimin quickly pushes you under the slide. “Wait here.”

With your own ragged breathing, you struggle to keep yourself as quiet as possible, biting down a hiss from the sting of your scraped knees. Tears pool in your eyes as you wait, hidden behind one of the playground’s slides and out of sight of any possible passerby.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

[ Present time ]

Jimin reaches your house, his heart beating fast against his chest with a box of cinnamon rolls in hand.

You are home alone and Jungkook has left the door unlocked.

Letting himself in, Jimin glances around. Everything still looks the same as back then. He went to your house once to tutor you. And he still can remember that day clearly.

Climbing up the stairs, he reaches your room. With shaking hands, he knocks on the door.

Silence.

A moment or two passes then your door opens. Jimin braces for the anger you’d throw at him.

But nothing comes.

You merely stand there, eyes glassy as they lock on his.

“Y/N...” He mutters, torn between to reach out or not. But you leave the door open as you sit on your bed. Jimin enters your familiar room, still surprised at how it still looks the same. And his eyes fall on a notebook — the notebook you never let him read — on the table.

“Why are you here?” you ask, voice trembling.

“I wanted to check up on you—”

“Why?”

Jimin knows at once what you are asking.

He approaches you sitting on the edge of the bed. He kneels down, peering up with those chocolate eyes of his to meet your downcast stare — like those times when he wants to talk to you and you refuse to look at him.

“Do… Do you still remember me?” Your voice barely comes out as a whisper.

“Y/N…” The lack of surprise in his voice answers it. He still remembers you as you recall the once shocked expression on his face when you first introduce yourself. Now, it all made sense.

“W-Why didn’t you tell me?” A sob escapes your lips. “Do you not want me to remember—”

He shakes his head, denying it quickly. “No! Of course not. I just… I was ecstatic actually when it was you who came to work for me.”

“But why didn’t you tell me?” Voice cracking. “You knew me—”

Clearly in conflict, he sighs, “I don’t want you to remember your traumatic memories… Remembering me might cause you more pain.”

“But it didn’t. Those memories, from what I can remember there’s nothing—”

“That’s what your parents told me, Y/N.”

Eyes widening, you gape at him as tears cascade down your face.

“You were seriously injured back then. The doctor said it will be best for you to let your own memories come to you in their own time. And I had to leave this place... I came by after your operation and... I wanted to say goodbye but I was told it was best to not see you any longer to prevent anymore distress—”

“But you are important to me!” You cut him off. Then turning quieter, “You are important to me…”  You say between sobs.

Covering your eyes with your hand, you whimper when Jimin engulfs you in a hug. “I’m sorry…” He murmurs, caressing your head. “I’m so sorry…”

His heart breaks at your current state, tightening his hold on you, who’s crying into his chest. Years of buried regret and longing resurface. He had envisioned many times on how you would remember him. But he fails to realise how much it can hurt you when your memories return. If only he can turn back time, he will take that chance to save you from the misery of your memory loss.

Yet, all he can do now is to hold you close, begging you for forgiveness and hope that you’d let him stay by your side.

“So, let me get this straight, you—” Jungkook points his straw at you. “—and Jimin hyung were childhood friends—” He pierces the plastic cover of his milk tea. “—and he used to tutor you in a cafe.”

Nodding, you purse your lips and enjoy your own drink.

You had taken a few days off after the reconciliation to collect your thoughts and confront your parents about what had happened. They have come into terms with their protectiveness of you staying out very late. And you have managed to convince them to let you stay out late as long as you let them know.

You were planning to stay in bed all day if it wasn’t for Jungkook who barged into your room like he owns the place, after he claimed that Jimin lets him off from work early — which you doubt honestly, it’s more of Jungkook escaping from work — and decided to drag you to the nearest milk tea shop.

“Is something weird?” you blurt out.

“Did you by any chance, I don’t know...” Jungkook mutters. “Have feelings for each other?”

You nearly choke on your tapioca pearl and rapidly you shake your head. “No! That’s—”

Jungkook narrows his stare at you, sipping his drink as you continue to blabber, “I mean, I knew him since I was like, what? Twelve? He never sees me that way.”

“Maybe he didn’t back then.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean both of you are adults now. Aren’t things different?”

You snort at his words. “He always sees the little girl in me, Jungkook. So, please, don’t make things weird, alright? I can literally see your head gearing.”

Jungkook lets out a sigh. “Alright, if you say so. But how about you?”

Sipping your drink, you lift a brow at him.

“Do you like him?”

“Of course, I do.”

“I meant like, like him.”

“Kookie, what are you? Five?”

He snorts at your response. “Five heads taller than you—” Your glare shuts him up. “Okay, but do you see him as someone special?”

An exasperated sigh escapes your lips. “Why are we discussing this? We’re just friends. Who coincidentally are childhood friends as well.”

“You sure?”

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you sigh once more. “What are you expecting me to say?”

“What do you think of him?”

Almost at once, the words flow easily out of your mouth. “He’s a caring person and he knows how to comfort someone when they’re having a bad day.”

“You mean, he knows how to comfort you when you’re having a bad day yourself,” Jungkook chuckles.

You blink at that.

“Look, I’m not implying anything but he was worried as hell when I told him about you the other day. Even nearly left his bakery without supervision. That’s when yours truly—” He points at himself. “—came in.”

And the question that swims in the back of your mind disappears. “So, it is you, you overgrown rabbit. You told him about me—”

“Well, you can’t blame me. You should be thanking me instead. It’s because of me you both finally reconciled. Admit it, you’re happy — happier, in fact.”

And you can’t deny it. Jungkook has been one of those people who’d look out for you. Yes, even when he can be a pain in the ass sometimes, or just loves to hear the “piping hot” tea of what’s happening in your life.

Sighing in defeat, you murmur, “Even if I do like him...” You shake your head. “No, it shouldn’t even matter in the first place.”

Noticing your shuttering expression, Jungkook thankfully does not press the subject further. Nor does he question why. And you are grateful for him.

“Interesting. So, you do like him.”

Scratch that, your best friend is still a pain in the ass.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Standing in front of the bakery cafe, you released a deep breath.

Through the glass door, Jungkook is helping out at the cashier counter, serving beverages and desserts to dine-in customers. However, Jimin is nowhere in sight.

Releasing a deep breath, the bell of the door rings which signals your entrance. Jungkook notices you at once before he points to the kitchen.

You rush inside — stopping abruptly a few steps away from him — now, regarding the man differently. He was the boy who has been your comfort for so many occasions after all.

Jimin is icing cupcakes, his eyes focusing on his task and you can’t help but smile at the sight.

With your memories — of kindness, warmth, and friendship — now fully returned, you remember how you were always enamoured watching Jimin work. You’d watch him make drinks in the cafe when you had no homework to do. You’d sit at the bar, munching on cookies-of-the-day as your eyes followed Jimin’s movements.

A few moments pass, Jimin’s gaze shifts to you briefly and double-takes. He curses under his breath, cupcake slipping from his grip — icing spilling on the marble counter. “Hey, you’re back—” He quickly grabs a cloth and wipes off the cream before he turns to face you properly, grinning from ear-to-ear. “—you didn’t tell me you’re coming in today.”

He opens his arms and your legs move of its own accord, following your instinct as you close the distance between you and him — wrapping your arms around his waist.

You weren’t surprised at how your younger self used to have a big fat crush on him. He was and always will still be your Mochi. The guy who treated you to your favourite sweets, who knows how you like your caramel macchiato the best, and who never fails to put butterflies in your stomach.

Breathing his sweet scent, you remember the time you’d ask him for hugs whenever you were down and your younger self had even claimed once that his hugs were magical as it was written in your diary. To quote it, “Mochi gives the BEST BEST hugs in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD”.

“Your hugs…” you mumble, eyes closed. “They’re still the best…”

Jimin merely tightens his hold on you. That is until a force — appearing in the form of Jeon Jungkook — shatters the serene atmosphere, bringing you back to reality. “Hyung! Oh—”

Abruptly, you both pull away from each other. Jungkook stands awkwardly, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

“What is it?” Jimin breaks the silence, composed as ever.

“Uh, need more cupcakes. The ones on the display are finished…”

“Right,” Jimin turns to you. “Y/N, can you help me ice the rest of the cupcakes?”

Nodding, you turn to the employee’s room, putting your things in the locker and grabbing an apron.

Hugging Jimin seems so natural that you fail to consider how weird it looks to the people around you. Jungkook’s awkward silence proves that.

Your thoughts are swimming in confusion. And once again those butterflies appear in your stomach. Fanning your heated cheeks with your hands, you take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm your racing heart.

Your childhood crush is gone. You’re just happy to have Mochi back in your life. That’s all. That should be all.

One afternoon, you mindlessly clean up the kitchen. Due to the public holiday, the bakery is closing earlier, and your thoughts have drifted back to the past.

You remember the night of the incident when Jimin walked you home after he had lost those men who chased after him. He stopped you for a moment, breaking the silence. “You okay?” Warm concern lacing his tone.

Jaw clenching, you mumbled. “Just a scratch.” Reluctant to give him any longer response.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn't have shoved you harshly before.” He crouched, inspecting your knees before he peered up to meet your stare.

“It’s fine.”

When you were just a few blocks away from home, Jimin broke the silence. “Listen Y/N—” His footsteps faltered as he reached to touch your shoulder. “—about earlier, I think you shouldn’t have feelings for me, I—”

Abruptly, you pulled your hand away from his, hurt consuming you. “I shouldn’t have feelings for you?”

You wished Jimin had forgotten your spontaneous confession as he nodded, hesitantly.

“Well, I can’t control my feelings. So, just let it be. It’ll be fine.” You glanced at him before walking faster.

The rest of the trip home was tense, full of unanswered questions. Who were those men? Why did they chase after Jimin? Is it really that bad to have feelings for him? Who gave him the right to dictate your feelings?

You felt so childish back then. Recalling the memories makes you cringe at your younger self for overreacting. But you suppose it’s normal for a fifteen year-old girl. And you were able to sense that Jimin wanted to ease the tense atmosphere. But you were too hurt to even give him a chance. You needed time to process what happened that day.

However, one minute Jimin had stopped you again, desperate to appease you. And the next minute, someone ran towards him with a bat in hand. It’s as if time slowed down, you moved before a harsh impact landed on you.

Your mind brings you back to reality, and instinctively you touch the part where your head was struck with your free hand.

“Y/N? Are you done cleaning up?”

Jimin’s voice startles you and you nearly drop the mop’s handle from your grasp.

“Yes,” you manage to say. And somehow you can’t look at him in the eye.

“What’s wrong?” Out of instinct, he cups your face to look at you in the eye. And hell, your heartbeat gradually increases as you can smell the sweet scent of bread from him along with a tinge of his cinnamon scent.

Mind blanking out at the close proximity, the only intelligible response you can say is, uhhh. Your grip on the mop handle tightens as your palm grows clammy.

He’s gorgeous. That’s one thing for sure.

“Hey, why are you blushing?”

Blinking rapidly, you watch his eyes turn into those crescent moons and a giggle escapes his lips as he pulls away, grabbing the mop from your hold.

“I’ll put this back. You nearly snapped it in half, you know.”

“Yeah,” you nod, mind whirling and you blabber the first thing in your mind. “I have a pet fish.”

“Huh?”

Realising how random you sounded, you clear your throat. “I just remember I had to come home early today, since Mr. Goldy is waiting for me.”

“Ooh, that’s—”

But you’ve run for the lockers, quickly changing out of your work attire.

“Thanks for today, Mochi. See you tomorrow!” You say and run out of the bakery without sparing him another glance.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“What are you exactly doing here?”

Unflinching, you answer your best friend monotonously, “Buying a fish.”

“You don’t have a tank at home.”

“Exactly, that’s why I’m looking for one now.”

“But why?”

“Why not?”

Jungkook lets out a sigh. “You’ve been acting weird all week, Y/N.”

You ignore his words, eyes scanning through the fishes of different colours and kinds.

“Oh! These ones are pretty.” Jungkook comments, earning your attention.

“Excuse me?” You call one of the workers there. “I was wondering if this fish is suitable for beginners.”

The worker nods, smiling. “Yes, these are what we call the Betta fish. Their scales are beautiful and they are also easy to take care of. Would you like to purchase them?”

You respond with a brief ‘yes’.

“Now, all you need is a tank,” Jungkook says.

“We provide delivery services for the tank. I’d recommend buying this one.” The worker points at one of the tanks. “In the meantime, you can purchase the fishbowl for now.”

And with that you have a new pet fish and a brand new fish bowl in hand — specifically Jungkook’s, because you gotta put those muscles into good use — and you head back home. On the way back, Jungkook suddenly clears his throat. “So… What’s up with you?”

“What?”

“Let me summarise what just happened,” he says. “I had the day off today, and suddenly you called me to meet you in a fish store, and you have been acting all weird and somehow out of all the nice shades of blue fishes in the tank, you chose the ugly yellow—”

You kick his shin in retaliation. “It’s not yellow, it’s gold, dumbass. How dare you say that in front of Lady Goldilocks.”

“Oh, wow, now it even has a name.” Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I seriously can’t believe you chose this one out of all the other colours. It reminds me of Jimin hyung—” And he gapes at you. “No way. Is it because he likes this colour?”

You blink in realisation. Jimin does like this colour.

“Okay, ‘fess up. What’s up with you?”

You let out a defeated sigh. “I like him.”

Jungkook looks unamused.

“I mean like, like him. And I need to get over him.”

Jungkook furrows his brows. “Why would Hyung want that?””

“I shouldn’t like him, Kook. He told me once and, I don’t know, I just can’t control my feelings. I don’t want to lose him again and I’m scared that he’ll be gone if he knows—”

“Wait, wait, wait—” Jungkook grasps your shoulder with his free hand. “—I can understand what you’re feeling, Y/N. How about let me prove to you that Jimin won’t be gone even when you have feelings for him?”

“I swear, Jeon Jungkook, if you utter a single word about this conversation—”

“No!” He denies repeatedly. “I won’t. Promise. I can prove it to you another way. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, then. How?”

“I have a plan. To take the title as your number one best friend once and for all—”

“Who says you are even at the top?”

“Aren’t I? You told me once.” Jungkook fishes his phone out of his jacket, taps a few times on his screen before he shows you a video of your drunk self a few months ago after exam week.

“Kookieee, I think you’re my number one best friend! So proud to have someone like you in my life—”

You try to reach for his phone, cheeks burning in embarrassment, as you shoot him the nastiest glare you can muster. However, Jungkook being Jungkook merely cackles at that. Your voice from the video still continues, “—you’re like Mochi—” Your present self tenses at that.

“Who’s Mochi?” Jungkook asked curiously in the video.

“Shhhhh… We don’t speak of that name here, m’kay? Mochi is gone. So you are best friend number one!”

Jungkook stops the video, tucking his phone back to his pocket. “I asked you once who Mochi was when you were sober. But you didn’t remember back then. So I never asked again until you mentioned the name ‘Mochi’ once more a few days ago.”

Gaping, you stop walking as the stunned silence falls over you.

“I think your subconscious had always known about him. And it shows how special he is to you.” When you’re about to deny that, Jungkook shushes you. “Don’t try to deny, Y/N. Even before you knew he was Mochi you already liked him.”

“I hate that you’re starting to look like a rooster. Were you always this cocky?”

Your best friend merely shrugs. “So, here’s the plan. As I was saying, with my ‘number one best friend’ title under threat, we’re going to demote Jimin as your boyfriend! It’s a win-win situation!”

“What? I never even asked for him to be my boyfriend but wait— Don’t you mean promote?”

“Y/N, as much as I love your dumb ass, you tend to be quite demanding with people. Hopefully, he knows how to handle your present self.”

“Jeon Jungkook, please don’t make me regret this.”

A few days after the conversation with Jungkook, the boy gets to work as fast as possible, and by work, it means work to get on Jimin’s nerves instead of actually being helpful in the cafe.

Jungkook has become noticeably clingy, or overall, just more touchy with you. It’s not like it’s anything new in all honesty. Throughout college, the relationship between the both of you is purely platonic. Your other college friends knew this and seeing the both of you cuddle wouldn’t be a strange sight. Jimin, however, isn’t one of your college friends and Jungkook seems to have taken advantage of this. Thus, he begins to work in the bakery almost every day, claiming just to see you.

At first Jimin showed no reaction since Jungkook is a good friend of his. But he has grown visibly irritated lately while Jungkook revels in pressing the older one’s buttons further.

“Jungkook…”

“Hmm?”

“Can you please stop invading my personal space?”

“But it’s not going to work if I don’t— Oof!” You shove him away before going back to your task — placing the cupcakes on the display tray — annoyance building up at Jungkook’s disruptions.

“I’m going to file a restraining order on you at this rate.”

He huffs, moving towards you once more. “Don’t you want to prove that Jimin is going to be pissed if he sees me being affectionate to you?”

You shake your head. “I just want to work in peace.”

“Hmph. You’re no fun.”

“Cuz you’re the one not working.”

“Hey, I’m helping here voluntarily.”

You ignore his words, focusing on your task while Jungkook starts whining for you to give him attention. “Kook, I fucking swear if you don’t get your hands off—”

Jimin’s voice rings “Y/N, are the cupcakes...” He trails as soon as he enters the kitchen, freezing at the sight of Jungkook wrapping his arms around your waist, snuggling his dumb head on the crook of your neck.

“He’s going to rage,” Jungkook whispers, laughing softly.

“Uh, Jungkook can I talk to you?” Jimin asks, eyes noticeably narrowing as his tone tenses.

“Finally,” Jungkook mutters under his breath, before he lets go of you and faces Jimin. “Sure, Hyung.”

You take that cue to leave, bringing the freshly iced cupcakes to the display counter, leaving Jungkook and Jimin alone in the kitchen.

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

“What’s been going on with you lately? You come here to work everyday but all I can see is you busy flirting with Y/N.” Jimin throws the younger one an unamused glare.

Jungkook answers easily, “I do my job, Hyung. And so what if I do flirt with Y/N?”

“You can’t,” Jimin blurts out, earning a questioning look from Jungkook. “You just can’t.”

“Why can’t I?”

“Do you like Y/N?”

“Of course, she’s my best friend.”

Jimin shoots Jungkook another unamused look at his answer.

“I’m going to tell her how I feel in three days,” Jungkook continues.

Jimin’s stomach drops at that statement. However, at the same time the urge to let you know how he truly feels increases. But the thought of the impending rejection after hurting you and causing your memory loss makes him think twice.

Maybe Jungkook deserves you more than him — he can protect and support you while Jimin has failed.

With a shaky breath, Jimin mutters, “Take care of her, alright?”

Obviously, his response catches Jungkook off guard. “What?”

“Take good care of Y/N, JK. I’m seriously counting on you.”

“Wait—“ Jungkook looks downright flustered at the unexpected response. “Hyung, wait.”

“What?” Now it’s Jimin’s turn to be confused.

Jungkook clears his throat. “Just give me an honest answer, hyung. No lies.”

A pause.

“Do you like Y/N? As in more than friends?”

Jimin nods without hesitance.

Jungkook mumbles something under his breath that Jimin is sure it sounds like, freaking idiots.

“Go tell her how you feel, Hyung. And tell her as soon as possible.”

“But you—”

“It’s to push you to confess to her. I don’t see Y/N that way.” Jungkook sighs. “Honestly, what would the both of you be without me?”

Jimin stands in the kitchen, speechless, as Jungkook continues to ramble how significant his role is in between your relationship and how you and Jimin owe him so much.

“So, yes, go tell her how you feel, hyung. She’ll listen to whatever you’ll say.”

With a newfound resolve, hope sparks in Jimin’s heart. “I will.”

To say that Jimin is nervous would be an understatement. He had barely slept a wink last night, thinking of all the words and how he would explain why he had left so suddenly and confess his feelings to you. Jungkook has been a supportive friend, even if he does push Jimin’s buttons along the way. However, Jimin knows that it was his own way of showing encouragement.

You are cleaning the rest of the tables of the cafe and Jimin can’t take his eyes off you, staring at you through the small window opening between the kitchen and the counter area.

“Are we done for today, Mochi?” Your voice snaps him out of his daydream.

“Yeah!” Jimin continues to wipe the kitchen counter quickly, replying almost too enthusiastically before he clears his throat. “Do you have plans tonight, Y/N?”

You enter the kitchen and once again Jimin’s heartbeat rises. “Nope. I’m going straight back home after this. Lady Goldilocks is waiting for me.”

Lady Goldilocks. Jimin chuckles at the mention of your fish’s name. He wonders if one day he’s able to see the pet fish for himself. He had asked what happened to Mr Goldy and you had become flustered at that since you didn’t know the fish was female. So, now, you have changed the fish’s name. Yet, somehow Jimin got an inkling that there is more to the story. He had asked Jungkook — to which the boy had valiantly refused to utter a word about it and had babbled, “Huh? Fish? What fish? Is that for dinner?”

Once the both of you finished closing up the bakery cafe, Jimin taps on your shoulder before you had the chance to go back home.

“May I walk you home?”

You blink, processing his words then nodding rapidly. “S-Sure.”

Jimin smiles warmly at you. It’s easy in fact. Just being in your presence always brings happiness into his heart. You had grown into an amazing person and even more attractive.

Something about you had always captivated Jimin since the first time you met him in the cafe where he used to do his part time work. Your curious eyes were always following him as he took the customers’ orders and honestly, it was very endearing.

Comfortable silence falls upon you both, walking through the asphalt pathway and naturally, Jimin opens his palms, extending it towards you.

You stare at that for a moment and clasp his hand with yours. Jimin weaves your fingers together, bringing you closer to him as you continue to walk back home.

“Do you mind if we take a little detour?”

You nod at his words.

Once Jimin reaches the destination, he can sense your eyes glance curiously at the empty hill. He pulls you up onto the top of the hill, sitting down on the grass while he pats the space next to him and you follow suit.

“Look up,” Jimin whispers, and you did.

A quiet gasp escapes your lips at the sight of twinkling stars that scatters across the dark sky.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Jimin voices out. “Someone made me realise how beautiful the stars are…” He falters. “A-And she had never left my mind all those years. One of my deepest regrets is that I wasn’t able to say goodbye when I had to leave.”

You hear his words, yet you stay silent — an encouragement for him to continue to speak what’s on his mind.

“My family was in a difficult financial position back then and my dad had done things I wasn’t proud of…” Jimin’s eyes turn glassy and faraway, even when he sets his gaze up. “And one of them is that he had made a deal with loan sharks without the guarantee of paying them back… And of course, they were angry.”

He pauses, taking a deep breath.

“I once thought that probably I could still stay here back then. Even more so when I met you. But I was wrong. Those men started to chase after me and because of that, you—” He shudders. “—got injured. And that night my parents had made plans to leave without me and my brother knowing.”

He turns to look at you. “I never got to apologise to you for causing that. I should be the one to protect you but… I failed. For that, I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

“Jimin…” You say softly. “It’s not your fault. I was the one who jumped in front of you when the man came after you. It’s my own choice because you are special to me.”

“But I could have—”

You shush him with a pointer finger in front of his lips for a few moments. “You don’t have to be sorry anymore, Mochi. It’s not your fault. And what matters now is to focus on the present and look to the future, right?”

He nods, emotions swimming inside his chocolate eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I thought—”

“For telling you that you shouldn’t have feelings for me.”

And you lapse into silence. He remembers…?

“I hate that that has hurt you. I shouldn’t have said that. But I was happy but desperate too since my family—”

“Jimin.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“What do you see me as, now?”

He blinks. All the practiced words on how he would tell you his feelings dissipate from his mind as he blankly stares at you. “I… I like you.” His voice grows quieter. “More than friends…”

“And if I said you shouldn’t have feelings for me?”

A flash of hurt crosses his eyes briefly. But he answers, nonetheless, “I would do what you want.”

“So, you reciprocate my feelings now?”

“H-huh?”

“I like you too. More than friends. In fact, I think my feelings have grown for you ever since I found out you’re Mochi.”

It takes a few moments for Jimin to process your words. He gapes, mouth opening and closing.

“You are resembling Lady Goldilocks right now.”

“What?”

Your cheeks flush. “Lady Goldilocks is a Betta fish. She was the golden one in a tank full of her blue siblings. Jungkook tried persuading me to choose the blue ones since they were more attractive to look at. But all I could see is the gold one since it reminded me of you.”

“I like golden colours…” Jimin mumbles in realisation.

“Exactly,” you let out a sheepish laugh, eyes turning to look back up into the sky. Before Jimin can respond, your eyes brighten up. “Look! A shooting star!”

Jimin snaps his gaze up as well.

“Hurry, make a wish!” You then close your eyes, smiling from ear-to-ear. Jimin follows suit, making his own wish.

As soon as you both finish making your wishes, you turn to face him once more.

“Are you still sorry for saying that to me?”

Jimin nods, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Hell, he thinks he would always regret hurting you that time.

“I know how you can make it up to me then.”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

“W-What?” He splutters.

“Unless you don’t want—“ Yet, your words die on your throat as Jimin moves closer to you, eliminating the distance between you both as he cups your face just like that time in the bakery.

Without another word, he leans down, pressing his lips on yours softly while you place your hands on top of his before he presses further, brows furrowing as he kisses you fervently. For the time being, all that matters is just you and him. He caresses your cheeks and you run your hands down to wrap around his waist until you can feel his heart beating against his chest.

After pulling away — both of you catching your breaths — Jimin presses his forehead against yours, running his thumb over your lips while you were unable to open your eyes for a few moments at the burst of emotions that is coursing through you.

“I’ve imagined this moment so many times,” he admits. “My wish finally came true.” And you smile at that.

“My wish also came true because of you, Mochi...”

✧༺♡༻∞　　∞༺♡༻✧

Sitting on one of the tables, your eyes can’t take themselves off Jimin as he serves customers. Today is your day off and you decided to pay him a visit in the bakery.

“You’re drooling.”

Your gaze snaps up to your best friend who sits across you after placing a cinnamon roll on the table for you. Jungkook continues, “I swear I’m going to vomit one of these days if I see you or Jimin hyung throwing each other— what was that called? It’s an old term— Oh! Goo-goo eyes one more time.”

“Shut up, Jeon. I’m not.” You reach for the roll, taking a bite.

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah right, you basically either stare at him like he placed stars in the sky or like you want to tear off his clothes—”

You choke on the roll, quickly reaching for your glass of water before you throw your napkin at his face. Jungkook cackles at that before he resumes his act, sighing. “This is a mistake. I shouldn’t have intervened. I didn’t know you’d be like this. My best friend is so uncool now.”

“Y/N is what?” You perk up at Jimin’s voice.

“Whipped,” Jungkook mutters before he takes his cue to leave. He stands up, passing by Jimin after shooting the older one a teasing glance.

Jimin sits across from you, and he instinctively reaches for your hand on the table. “How was your day?” And you swear you can hear Jungkook making a gagging sound amidst the chatter of the customers.

“Good. I finished my chores at home earlier today. So, I thought I would come visit.”

Minutes pass by quickly as you chatter with Jimin. He had almost forgotten to go back to work until Jungkook reminded him. When it is time to close up the bakery, you watch him wash the remaining mixing bowls while perching on one of the cleaned counters of the kitchen.

“You know, I could use some help,” Jimin teases, drying his hands on his apron.

A smile curls up on the corner of your lips, eyes following his movements — drawing closer to where you are. “Well, I think you got it all handled, Mochi.”

Once he reaches you, he pulls you to wrap your legs around his waist while your arms rest on his shoulders — encircling around his neck. You both stare at each other and he pushes a strand of stray hair away from your face, tucking it behind an ear while his other hand settles on your waist.

“Sometimes, I still can’t believe that you’re really here with me,” You admit. “Just like a sweet dream.”

Jimin shakes his head. “It’s not, Y/N...” He leans to give you a chaste kiss. “... we’ll make up for the lost time we didn’t spend together.”

“Promise?”

He softly smiles at you. “Promise.”

author’s note: this was originally intended to be posted on jimin’s birthday but well i decided to add more stuff in it. thus, i am late alskflsdda so yes, i hope you guys enjoy this fic and feedbacks are always appreciated !! thank you for reading ♡

[urban-homesteading]

How to make money from a Mini Farm: a series

Due to the popularity of my post on how to make money from your mini farm, I’ve decided to go point by point and expand on each one.

Raising Red Wrigglers

1) Give ’em a home

Tumblr user NRDC has an excellent guide on how to make a worm composting bin.

2) Acquire ’em

It’s often hard to tell worm types apart, so it’s best to purchase worms for your compost rather than trying to find them in nature. If you don’t have a local supplier, you can order worms online. It takes about a pound of worms, which is around 1,000 individual worms, to process a half pound of food a day.  I have heard quite a few good reviews about Jim’s Worm Farms, but have not tried them myself.  Otherwise, it is simple to buy them from your local pet store or bait shop.

3) Feed ’em

Here’s a quick chart by NRDC on what you can feed your worms.

You feed your worms with your kitchen scraps. However, that doesn’t mean you can give your worms everything that comes out of your food. You should stick to organic leftovers such as fruits or veggie scraps, grass clippings, bread, beans, and more. Worms don’t have teeth, so chop these materials into chunks that are easier to process.  You can also blend or place the foods in a food processor.

Put in the Worm Bin:

Fruit Scraps

Vegetable Scraps

Paper

Squash and Pumpkins

Eggshells

Coffee

Tea Leaves

Bread

Pasta Grains

Animal Manure (not dog or cat!)

Lawn Clippings (make sure it hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides)

Don’t Put in the Worm Bin:

Salty Foods

Spicy foods

Oils

Foods with Preservatives

Meat

Dairy

4) Breed’em

It is easy to cultivate a massive worm population in a very short time period. An adult red wiggler worm can produce 2 to 3 cocoons every week, and each cocoon can hatch up to 20 baby worms.

When there are too many worms in a particular space, red wigglers tend to slow down their breeding so that their home does not become overcrowded. This helps them to avoid depleting the available food supply.  But, if there are too few worms in an area, the mature breeders will have difficulty locating each other, and reproduction will be hampered.

The best population is a half pound of worms for every square foot of surface area in your worm bin. A bin that is two feet long by one foot wide would have a surface area of 2 x 1 = 2 square feet. One pound of worms would be the perfect amount of worms to stock in this bin if you are trying to breed your worms.

Worm cocoons have the ability to survive in conditions that would kill off the rest of their colony. By focusing their efforts on cocoon production when death may be near, the worms ensure that the colony will carry on into the next generation even if none of your living worms are able to make it through the dangerous conditions.

You are able to harness this natural instinct by allowing your bin to become “slightly” dangerous for a short time. That means you can let it dry out a bit more than you normally would, or you could temporarily move the bin to a less insulated location.  Once you notice an increase in baby cocoons, return the bin to normal conditions so the babies have the best chance for survival.

5) Harvest ’em

The vital job of composting your organic waste and turning it into soil is really all your worms need to do to earn their keep.  But if you would like to make money off of them, there are two ways.  One, you can sell the worm’s compost and casings, or you can sell the worms themselves.

If you just created a worm compost bin, don’t expect castings to be ready for harvest immediately. The worm bin needs to get established, and be routinely fed and fluffed for a few months first. This gives the worms time to eat, turn things over, and break down food and bedding into worm castings – their poop.

A week or two before you want to harvest the worm castings, stir and spread the contents of your bin out in the bottom. Next, feed the worms exclusively on one side of the worm bin during that time. Bury the food (and if needed, any new browns/bedding) in one far corner, with plans to harvest worm castings from the opposite side. The worms should migrate there to eat, leaving the other side of the bin hopefully worm-free. If there is a lot of existing food matter and worms spread evenly throughout your worm bin, it may take a little longer to accomplish this.  (If harvesting large amounts from a bin that is 4-8 months established, you can also dump the whole thing on a tarp.  The sun will warm the pile and the worms will go as deep as possible to escape.  You can then scoop off the top.)

Using a small trowel, scoop out the finished castings from the “resting” side of your worm bin into a bucket.  However, depending on how well broken-down the material in your worm bin is, or how well the worms migrated to the opposite side of the bin, you may need to pick through the material a little by hand. Sift through the castings and throw back large pieces of food matter, lumps of shredded paper or other bedding, and as many worms as you reasonably can. If the worm castings are clumpy, break up the large chunks.  You can also harvest and then sift them with the aid of a simple screen.

6) Sell ‘em

As always, your best chances of selling your worms and worms casings are going to come from your marketing (Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace), farmer’s markets, and small businesses.  Call your bait stores, your small gardening shops and greenhouses, and exotic pet stores.  Even if they don’t want to sell your products directly, they may allow you to hang a flyer on their poster board.

If you would like some more in depth details on creating a worm colony, please check out this excellently written article.  

[fandomfanfics12]

Home Lives With You-Part 11

Title: Home Lives With You. Pairings: Steve x Tony Part: 11/? Warnings: swearing, fluff, angst, blood, abuse (physical and verbal), ptsd, anxiety, bullying Summary: Peter’s been living with the abusive Thompson family for years, it was the only family in the system that would take him. When Steve and Tony get a phone call from the social worker who introduced them to their daughter Morgan for an emergency placement, they feel like they must pay back the favor. But are Steve and Tony taking on more than they can handle, and will Peter be able to adjust to a warm and welcoming family home? A/N: It’s been a while and all I can say is that my life got super hectic. I had a lot of personal stuff on and had to prioritise my school work. Hopefully this is good as I’m a little rusty on the fic writing and I really hope you enjoy it!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Peter did not want to hear this. he wished that he’d never said anything, that he’d never opened his big fat mouth and asked such a dumb question.

“Of course you can call us your parents.” He opened his eyes, stunned by the words.

“Really?” his whole body was trembling, his heart pounded inside his chest so loud he could hear it echoing in his ears.

“Well duh.” Tony said with a small chuckle and Peter could have collapsed with relief.

“Thank you, honestly this means so much to me and we don’t have to keep pretending after the trip but it just makes asking her a million times easier, so umm, thanks.” He stopped rambling and the both of them were giving him the strangest look.

-

And we don’t have to keep pretending.

The words stung, more than Steve would care to admit. Peter stopped rambling on and stared at them, his eyes wide and fear held within them. Steve forced himself to snap into an easygoing smile, hoping that Tony would know what to say. That he would take the lead.

“Well Pete, best you run along and ask her.” Tony said, Steve hoped his smile looked far less forced than Tony’s did.

“Thanks.” Peter mumbled before he dashed off upstairs, Steve turned to Tony.

“run along and ask her?”

“like you did any better, just sitting there and smiling at him.” Tony rubbed a hand down his face and Steve’s stomach churned.

“do you think we should mention our plans for adoption?” Steve whispered and Tony’s eyes rose upwards to stare at the roof.

“No. not until Rhodey can give us the all clear to ask him, I don’t want to bring anymore disappointment into that boy’s life.” Steve nodded but felt a little dejected. He knew that was the best course of action, but the idea of being able to cheer Peter up was oh so tempting.

“I know, but we could explain…” Steve trailed off at the look on Tony’s face. It would be far more devastating for Peter to get the idea into his head that this could be permanent, only for the courts to decide that it wouldn’t be the best course of action. Steve nodded and looked back down at the ground.

“The second Rhodey clears us, I promise you honey that we will tell him.” Tony took hold of Steve’s hands and squeezed. He was right, Steve knew this, but that didn’t stop the bitter taste of disappointment settling in his mouth.

“okay honey, you’re right.” Steve smiled at his husband and Tony stepped closer, pulling Steve into a tight hug.

“The wait will be worth it.” and finally Steve relaxed, they’d get to keep Peter. Things would work out, it would all be okay.

-

Peter was pacing in his room, his phone in his hand, he just had to call her. But what if she was having dinner? What if she was out with friends? what if he was interrupting something super important? Peter went to swipe out of the phone app but instead hit the call button.

“Fuck!” he hissed as the phone began to ring. It rang five times before she answered.

“Peter?” he put the phone up against his ear, a little breathless and suddenly overcome with nerves.

“Hey MJ, how are you?”

“Uh, I’m good. How are you?” she sounded confused, as she should be. She probably thought he was a freak.

“I’m good. Sorry this call is a bit random, it’s just that I wanted to ask you a question. Of course you can say no, you probably have plans and uh…” he trailed off and scratched the back of his head. This was already going super poorly.

“What was your question?” now she seemed amused, and Peter wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Well it’s my dads. They’re renting out this cabin for two weeks, a summer trip and they said I could bring a friend along and I was wondering if you uh, if you’d like to come along?” there it was. Out in the world, sitting there, the question had been asked and his heart was racing.

“Yeah! That would be great! Just send me the dates and I’ll make sure I’m there.” Her voice sounded light, airy, authentic.

“Really?” Peter couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah, I didn’t have any plans anyway and I’d love to meet your family. is it just you and your dads?” she meant it, she wanted to come along. Peter couldn’t believe his luck. How was this happening to him? A family trip and a friend to bring along!

“Uh, I have a little sister too, her name is Morgan.” And he squeezed his eyes shut. I have a little sister. He wished those words were true. Wished that they could be real. That she could really be his, that Tony and Steve could really be his. That Peter could be theirs.

“Oh right, I saw her with you at school one time.” Peter found himself nodding and then remembered she couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, Morgan’s great. I think you’ll love her.” In the background Peter could hear someone calling MJ’s name.

“Well I have to go, but thanks for inviting me Peter, I’m really looking forward to it.” and then she hung up the phone, leaving Peter to his room. He sat down on the bed, stunned by the conversation. By her agreeing to come along, by how easy it was to pretend that he was a part of this family. maybe he could convince the Stark-Rogers family to keep him. Maybe if he proved himself over the summer, maybe they’d want to keep him. Maybe he could stay, maybe he could make this lie the truth and then he wouldn’t have to leave. Because Peter didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay right here.

-

Tony was desperately trying to keep it all together. He wanted this to work out, but there were so many variables. So much going on all at once. He was desperately trying to keep Steve together, to hold his husbands’ broken pieces so he wouldn’t fall apart. And then there was Peter, who Tony was trying to give his heart to and kept getting rejected, and then there was his baby girl. Morgan who was growing up so fast and had no clue as to just how much they were struggling. Tony could feel the pressure of trying to hold his family together weighing down on his shoulders.

But he wouldn’t let them down. He wouldn’t break and he wouldn’t let anything happen to them. he would get Steve the help he needed and they would adopt Peter and Morgan could remain blissfully oblivious to the heartache around her. Everything would work out if Tony could just hold onto them all for a little longer. This trip would help, would ease the pain and take some of the pressure off of them all.

“Daddy?” it was Morgan’s sweet voice and when Tony turned to face her she had a mischievous look upon her face.

“What’s up princess?” Tony asked and she looked down at her shoes.

“can we get a puppy?” Tony blinked, then chuckled. As if they could fit a dog into the equation right now.

“no sweetheart I’m afraid we can’t.” Tony ruffled the hair atop her head and she frowned up at him.

“why not? I promise I’ll take care of it!” she insisted and Tony could help but chuckle as he squatted down to match her height.

“I know a puppy is really cute, but are you really going to pick up it’s poop?” Tony raised a brow and Morgan nodded enthusiastically.

“I promise I will!” Tony tilted his head.

“Even if it smells?”

“even if it smells!” Tony sighed.

“I’ll think about it, but we wouldn’t be able to get the dog until we got back from our trip, okay honey?” Morgan nodded, a big toothy grin spread across her face.

“thanks daddy!” and then she darted off back upstairs, probably to play with some dolls. Tony walked through the house to the office, where he sat down and opened up his work email account. Despite the fact that it was a Saturday, he had fifty emails to go through.

“the work never ends.” He mumbled to himself but at the top of the emails was one from Mrs White. The subject title being the PTA.

“Ah shit.” Tony grumbled and opened up the email.

-

Steve was busy booking the cabin for their trip when he felt arms wrap around his torso.

“How are you?” tony mumbled against his back and Steve squeezed his eyes shut.

“I’m good, the therapy has been helping.” He admitted and Tony’s hold tightened.

“you promise?” Tony whispered and Steve nodded.

“Are you okay?” he asked, staring straight ahead at his laptop. Steve didn’t dare move a muscle, he didn’t want to scare Tony away.  

“Yeah, I’m just worried about you and Peter.” He admitted and at that Steve turned around, pulled Tony to his chest and held on tight.

“Baby listen to me. I am going to be okay and so will Peter. I am healing alright and we’re going to go on this trip and I don’t want you to worry about a thing.” Tony stared up into Steve’s eyes and Steve’s heart filled.

“I love you Stevie.” Tony whispered and Steve couldn’t stop the grin that spread out across his face.

“I love you more but baby you have to relax. We’re going to be fine. Just think about the vacation with our family and think of all the vacations to come.” And in his arms, Steve felt Tony relax.

“I got an email from the PTA, they really want us to show up to a meeting at the end of the summer.” Tony made puppy eyes and Steve rolled his own eyes.

“Fine you can be on the PTA, but no intentional plotting.” Tony grinned and nodded.

“Thanks Stevie.” Tony leant up on his tip toes and briefly pressed his lips against Steve’s, there for a second and then gone.

“What’s up?” Steve asked, detecting something odd on Tony’s face. Something suspicious.

“Morgan asked me a question.” At this, Steve rose a brow.

“And what did she ask?” Tony’s smile turned bashful, nervous, hopeful.

“She wants us to get a puppy.”

“A puppy?”

“a puppy, even offered to pick up the stinky poop.” Tony was grinning nervously now and Steve shook his head.

“She will not pick up the stinky poop, you won’t even pick up the stinky poop. I’ll have to do it.” Steve pouted and Tony shrugged.

“Would it really be so bad?” Steve sighed and pressed his forehead against Tony’s.

“Yes.”

“But we could just add one more member to our family.” Tony whispered and Steve chuckled.

“We already are honey.” Tony sighed, pouted and then attempted puppy dog eyes on Steve.

“You sure?”

“Yes I’m sure. But maybe in a year or two when Morgan’s a little bit older we can revisit the idea of getting a dog.” Steve kissed Tony’s forehead and his husband sighed ever so dramatically.

“Fine.” Tony grumbled and Steve shook his head.

“How’d she even get the idea of a puppy into her head in the first place?” Steve wondered just as Peter walked into the room. He froze, suddenly looking sheepish and Steve had his answer.

“Oh that was me, sorry I should’ve talked with you both about it. she was telling me about how Penelope has a dog and I asked her if you guys had ever had a dog and she said no you hadn’t so then I asked her if she wanted a dog and she got really excited and i am so so sorry.” Peter was out of breath by the end and Steve couldn’t stop the chuckle that passed his lips.

“Pete, it’s fine. It would be nice to have a dog around but the timing isn’t great with us going away on this trip.” Peter completely relaxed and nodded his head.

“Oh, okay, of course.” But even Peter looked a little deflated.

“Would you like it if we had a dog Petey?” Tony asked and Peter let out a small smile.

“It’s your house and your family but a dog could be uh cute.” He seemed fidgety, and then before either Steve or Tony could reply he left the room.

“Maybe he’d come out of his shell a little more if we got a dog.” Tony said before leaving Steve alone. A feeling of dread arose in his gut as he realised that the three of them were going to team up against him. They wanted a dog, but Steve didn’t want a dog. He’d be the one who would have to look after it, pick up the poop and toilet train and teach it tricks. They didn’t need a dog. He’d just have to remain resilient.

They were not going to get a dog.

@smallnjh @picklepotatoe14 @thatis-americas-ass​ @briebriebrieee @aftereveryraincomessunshine @meyamoadriytu @loveliestdisappointment

[piracytheorist]

A Kiss for Good Luck (16/16) [Epilogue]

Summary: So this is the story of one born lucky, and one born unlucky. Fate will keep making them cross paths, but is it to bring them together, or to test them? Captain Swan AU.

Rating: T (make sure you’re okay with the warnings on AO3)

Word count for this chapter: 1.4k (51k in total) AO3

Read from the beginning: Tumblr | AO3

~

Epilogue: Six months later

“Oh, sugar!”

Killian smiles at Nemo's euphemism, despite the sauce currently staining his pants. Emma quickly grabs a towel and pats it over the stain, as Nemo runs to bring a wet one.

“It's okay, Nemo. It's not that much.”

“Sorry, son.”

“Come sit down, dad,” Tink says impatiently. “We're all waiting for you.”

“It's a holiday, can I have some time to take care of my family?” Nemo says back, but throws a wink at Tink as he gives Killian the wet towel.

“Even when it's the two of us, sometimes papa takes forever to sit down at the table,” Alice comments, fork already in hand.

“Exactly!” Will says with mock exasperation. “We don't need all the fanfare, dads, we just want to eat!”

“Fine,” Nemo says, finally sitting down. “Let's eat.”

Conversation flows easily, as a Christmas playlist makes the atmosphere even more cheerful; it's a far cry from the lonely, bland Christmas Emma had last year, with her only consolation being pop-tarts and a chat with Killian.

She can't find any pop-tarts here, but Killian's company more than makes up for it. He didn't need to secretly promise her she'd never have to celebrate alone again, but he did and somehow it's all working out. The bad luck they were left with has not been enough to ruin any plans.

“So you're flying to Stockholm in three days?” Rogers asks.

“Yeah, we'll be changing the year with my family there,” Emma says. “It's a closer trip from here than from Boston.” And less lonely.

“Does it get cold up there?” Alice asks.

“Oof,” Emma says. “Very. But if we're lucky, we'll go even further north and get to see the northern lights. That alone is fully worth the cold.”

Killian turns to her and smiles warmly; being with her as he gets to know the important people in her life would be worth all the cold in the world.

He looks around the table, impatient as he is to finish eating so he can hold Emma's hand. Nemo and Shakespeare grew quite close to Rogers during his rehabilitation, as they would drive Alice to the hospital every day to see him. It was a busy summer, what with the extra work due to Shakespeare's errands, tourist season and Emma moving in with him.

At first, it was difficult not to point out every single, tiny setback, like packages getting lost only to be found a week later, food – though only food – getting burned, stepping on dog poop, catching all the red lights, or having bad WiFi at times.

However, those were as bad as it's gotten, for the first time they've had each other to sympathize with, and the sight of a happy Alice and her healthy father is more than enough to make up for the small shows of bad luck. It's become easy, getting used to it.

Maybe they're so unaccustomed to having normal luck that any tiny hint of bad fortune sticks out, Emma said once. All it does, however, is simply get slightly annoying, a grand contrast to the worst luck they've had, and it's worth it knowing that they are free to kiss without fearing they've stolen the other's luck.

It's now where Fate intended it to be; on Alice's side.

Emma sits aside as Alice and Killian get lost in the astronomy book Nemo got her as a Christmas gift, and Rogers approaches her.

“May I?” he says, pointing at the seat next to her.

She nods. Being the one in the house who's had the fewest conversations with Rogers, she's still unused to just how much he looks like Killian. And just like every other time, a wave of happiness washes through her at the thought of still being with Killian at the time he'll have as many grey hair and wrinkles.

“Can I ask you something?” Rogers says. At her nod, he says, “Is it hard? Having family that far away?”

“It's closer now,” Emma says. “When you have good company where you are, it can feel like it's not that bad...” She winces slightly. “But when it's a holiday or something, and you talk to them and they're telling you they're all gathered together, and you're alone in your apartment eating take-out...”

“I don't mean to sound glum in such a day, but my incident last summer brought over some worries. Alice will be alone if something happens to me.”

Emma highly doubts anything will happen to him, but it would take a very long explanation for him to believe it and feel relief.

“I'm starting to think she won't,” she says, looking back at Alice and Killian, still lost over the book as Shakespeare joins them.

“So, it's been easier? Since you moved in here? I mean, when it comes to the distance from your family.”

“They've been very welcoming. They're a found family, you know? It's kind of a part of them to welcome anyone who's looking for support.” She turns back to him. “You shouldn't think like that, you know.”

“Alice is my responsibility. I ought to make sure she'll be taken care of if something happens.”

She smiles. “You're a good dad.”

He laughs lightly. “You think so? Sometimes I feel that my whole life is one part my job and two parts Alice.” He looks at his daughter, an indescribable smile spreading on his lips. “I don't know who I'd be without her.”

“Look, I don't know the others much more than the two of you do. In fact, Alice has stayed in this house longer. But we're all here, celebrating. You're already invited for New Year's Eve here, right?”

“Yeah. Nemo and John have been very kind.”

“And you wanted an outsider's opinion,” Emma says with a knowing smile.

“It's just... I don't want her to be alone, you know?”

She does, in a way. At first she was terrified to tell Ingrid she was moving continents for a guy she only knew for less than a year, but Ingrid's response was that she was happy that Emma was being welcomed into a family. Being deported made so painfully obvious how Ingrid was all Emma had in the beginning. She would never oppose her finding more people to lean on. And she's now excited to meet Killian, as is he to meet her.

“She won't be,” Emma says finally. “They're good people. But I have a good feeling it won't come down to them.”

Rogers smiles at her, somehow looking relieved. Maybe he believes her.

It's two days later and Killian is packing the warmest clothes he's ever bought.

“I can't wait to look like an onion,” he jokes.

Emma smiles lazily from the bed, her suitcase still undone. “You'll be the handsomest onion I've ever seen.”

“Do you think we should tell Ingrid about the luck thing?”

Emma's face grows serious. “Does it matter?”

Killian puts his clothes down and sits on the bed next to her. “I know that she's important to you. It was a great relief for me, to tell Nemo and him believing me. I thought you should have that too, if you want to share it with her.”

She gives him a tearful smile and gets up to embrace him. “I mean, it won't change anything, right? We gave it away,” she says.

“Aye. But it might mean a lot to you to be open about it with her. It has kind of shaped us both.”

She sniffles and leans back to look into his eyes. “Perhaps we might need to explain why we won't get to see the northern lights even when the weather forecast says clear skies.”

“You think we'll be that unlucky?” He raises an eyebrow playfully.

She smiles.

He gives her a quick kiss. “Even if we are, I think Lady Luck may smile upon us on one of our next trips there. I'll get to see those damn lights.”

She kisses him back. The promise of going there again with him, and more than once, fills her heart with joy.

Their bad luck hasn't mattered these past months. It hasn't been enough to interfere with their lives, their jobs, their closest people. They've been enough, and their lives have taught them to be content with the love and care from others, and each other. They've been happy.

And it's all they'll ever need.

~

A/N: All things must come to an end! This marks the completion of my first “normal” (as in, actually having a plot) multi-chapter fanfic, and it still hasn’t registered. I want to thank everyone who has commented and supported this story, and in advance, everyone who will in the future. I’m happy, and sad, in a way, to see that people stuck with this story and let it break their hearts before finally reaching the fluffy ending that was promised at the start. I hope the conclusion made all the angst worth it!

Thank you, again. Your support has meant so much ❤️