#also I need some nice business clothes for this kinda thing but alas I have no fucking money

[seilon]

yet again I am whimpering and sobbing at hyatt to give me a job at the big fancy hotel. this is like my 7th application to a job at this one hotel specifically. i should really get the job from sheer dedication to applying over and over again for 7 months alone

[idontblushsrry]

How the Jujutsu Kaisen Characters Smell

A/N: Absolutely no one asked for this but I have thoughts and now yall have to hear them. Btw gonna put a keep reading because I’m trying to cover as many jjk characters as possible so it’s gonna get long.

Warnings: Spoilers if you’ve only seen the anime or haven’t read the manga up to the Shibuya Arc (relatively minor but you’ve been warned)

Itadori

He’s nowhere near the best smelling but his scent isn’t awful 

He sweats a lot so he takes showers a minimum of 2x a day

Overall his smell isn’t that bad, he just smells like outside 

5/10 points for effort but he always smells like he just got done rolling around in grass

Fushiguro

Fushiguro smells like the suave ocean breeze body wash with an undertone of pen ink 

His smell is very nice, it’s not the most remarkable but it’s not stinky

Middle school Megumi was definitely a hot mess that smelled solely of axe body spray and other middle schoolers he beat up (Tsumiki tried her best but there was only so much he’d compromise on)

After he started attending the Tokyo school, Maki threw out his axe and made Gojo buy him actual cologne/scented body wash

7/10 smells like a friend (points reduced because he used to use 3 in 1 body wash)

Kugisaki

Kugisaki is very much clean

She keeps up a beauty regimen and doesn’t play when it comes to upkeeping it

She has this light floral scent because of that; it varies between cucumbers and roses

Her body wash is also consistent with the smell of her beauty products

One thing about Kugisaki’s smell is that it does change completely depending on what products she’s using

Although, if she were to be completely clean with no scented products, she’d have a smell that’s a little bit metallic because of the nails and a little pumpkin-y

10/10 points because she sets the standard

Gojo

Smells like the inside of a guys car

He smells like bergamot and cedarwood mixed with a hint of leather

Overall he smells nice and it’s frustrating because his scent lingers. It’s so distinct that even when he’s gone, his scent will stay behind just to taunt you

9/10 minus one point for being Gojo

Maki

She’s very particular about hygiene 

It mainly stems from 1) her upbringing and 2) the level of cleanliness needed to clean all the weapons she uses regularly

She smells of metal polish, lavender with a hint of patchouli, and a slight undertone of rust

10/10 overall very strong scent but it’s so uniquely her that it’s calming 

Inumaki

This makes no sense but I feel like Inumaki smells like the sandwich part of a deli

Specifically that fresh baked bread and sliced lettuce smell

It can be a bit nostalgic at times especially because the smell in general occurs in a lot of places 

10/10 because bread smells good

Panda

It’s canon that Panda smells like the sun but we can get more specific

Panda does smell like the sun but I think he smells like a freshly cleaned room with the curtains open

The smell is like air freshener mixed with the sun

The air fresheners he smells the most like are: morning and dew, wood, pine, pet odor eliminator

10/10 no explanation needed

Yuta

Smells like teen spirit

Pre-jujutsu high (and before he was sent away to Africa); Yuta smelled like deodorant

He smelled like wayyy too much old spice, it was pretty bad

Post trip to Africa (idk which country he went to), Yuta smells of shea butter, frankincense, and charred wood

8/10 the crimes of pre jujutsu high Yuta will not be easily forgiven

Nanami

He smells like the blue Ralph Polo Lauren cologne

No I will not take criticism

He also smells a bit like the wrinkle spray people use when ironing clothes

10/10 we been knew that Nanami looks good, smells good, and dresses good

I don’t even like that cologne but for him...

Shoko

Love Shoko but her smell isn’t the most pleasant

Literally smells like cigarettes and alcohol with the sterile smell of cleaner to top it off

She’s an icon but her smell can be overwhelming at the best of times and suffocating at the worst

5/10 some people might like it but it is not for me

Utahime

Her scent is very foresty, either pine or spruce, with an undertone of gree tea

Her scent is a bit muted too so you can only really smell it if she’s really close or if you’re hugging her

It’s not a bad scent though, it’s the type that immediately sets you on ease

10/10 smells like a warm hug

Mechamaru(spoilers)

He’s a robot what’d you expect???

Jkjk Pre-Shibuya he smells really sterile and clean due to his condition

His robots obviously smell like metal and wiring

Post-Shibuya arc(or yk during technically): He smells kind of like nothing

There's the slightest smell of sparks from his cursed technique and the hint of mojito’s smell lingering, but otherwise he smells like absolutely nothing

6/10 the lack of smell is a bit off putting

Miwa

I can’t explain but I feel like Miwa smells like banana and vanilla

Like Mai and Momo tricked her and she ended up actually liking the smell

6/10 not the worst but not the best

Mai

Mai smells really heavily of metal and gunpowder

Obviously brcause of her cursed technique but she ever expected it to stck to her like it does

She doesn’t make any active effort to change it though because she thinks it makes her seem cool and mysterious

4/10 because while it DOES make her seem cool and mysterious, she scares locals

Momo

She definitely uses bath and body works perfume (tempted to say she uses the glittery versions but alas)

She loves using all the candles, lotions, and perfumes because of how girly they make her feel; has a collection that’s probably on a rotater

Definitely uses sweet pea above all

Tries to get Mai to try some of her fragrances but she has a 30/70 chance of getting her to agree

7/10 another scent that’s not for me

Todo

He has a really intense cleaning regimen and is never caught lackin in the smell department

He gets all the more embarrassed when Yuuji smells stinky next to him and will always make Yuuji shower if thr boy stinks

Other than that, he smelled of an ocean-y cologne before Takada-chan released her perfume collection

Now all he talks about is how he smells like the perfect husband for Takada

Takada’s perfume is really light a floral (along the lines of rose + vanilla) and if Todo runs out, he tries to steal it from Momo’s collection

9/10 minus a point for being a simp

Noritoshi

Smells really clean except for when he’s using his cursed technique

On average, Noritoshi smells like the clean linen spray/ clean laundry

When he uses his technique, he smells like blood and when he uses his technique to “dope”, he smells like sweat

Usually he smells like clean laundry though, he’s very picky about how he smells and hates the smell he gets from using his technique

10/10 for keeping clean

Naoya

If you think this man washes his ass...

Sorry but he’s a little too busy being a misogynist 

Naoya saw the term gooch grease and was like “wow someone gets it!”

-400/10 I’m sick of talking about the ways this man smells like a popped neck pimple

Mahito

Only person that smells worse than Naoya

If Naoya smells like a popped neck pimple, Mahito smells like a literal sewer

He smells like sewage, garbage, rot and decay, melted plastic,etc.

Not only does Mojito’s body stink, his breath stinks, hair stinks, just everything stinks

Jogo and Hanami can’t tell since they don’t have noses but everytime Geto gets a whiff, he dies a little inside

-21982913293237932392379319210391090320323019/10 GET BACK. GET BACK. GET BACK.

Sukuna

Pre-death; he smelled like blood 9 times out of 10 

The other 10% of times he smelled like incense or jasmine but you’d never smell it for long

Post-death; stinky funky and rotten

I’m sorry but 1) he’s a mass murder who literally sits atop a mountain of skulls 2) he’s technically dead and only exists thriugh his fingers

If you think that man smells like anything other than rot and grave wax...

-2/10 be glad he got a higher score than Mahito

Choso

I love Choso with every ounce of my being 

That being said, he smells like a scab

Scabs don’t even have smells but somehow he smells like one 

Alright I’m done slandering him

3/10 because I didn’t have the heart to give him anything lower

Geto(spoilers)

Pre-Gojo angst: Geto was the best smelling sorcerer in the world

He was very meticulous about his grooming routine and showed Gojo how to care for himself w/o the aid of servants

A king of self care and personal grooming 10/10

Post-Gojo angst: Geto really stopped caring about his appearance

He’d keep clean to set a good example for his kids, but he didn’t really see the value of looking decent

Probably says “I refuse to use the technology of monkeys”

Even though Mahito smells worse, Geto does still hang around Mahito and that’s gonna rub off

2/10 take a shower man, sea water doesn’t count as cleaning yourself

Junpei

Junpei smells like dandelions/picked grass and cigarettes

Cigarettes are obviously because his mom smokes them so frequently the smell sticks to him

The dandelions/ picked grass smell is because Junpei spends a lot of time outside 

Out of boredom or a need to keep his negative thoughts at bay, Junpei started picking at the grass

I do think he eventually started weaving flower crowns made of dandelions and strips of grass

6/10 because I feel bad for him

Toji

This man...

As much as I’d like to pretend he smells good, he has a drooling worm hanging off him and  probably owns like one outfit

That being said, he’s not as stinky as Naoya or Mahito (or even Sukuna), because he does clean himself when he has the chance

It’s just that he spends his money so quickly that he kinda forgets sometimes

Although he usually has no problem finding some woman who’d be more than willing to put him up in a hotel room

His smell is musky but it’s not funky

He smells like a guy right before they start to get stinky, it’s a delicate balance

4/10 he’s a lil funky but it kinda feeds his image

[bi-bi-buckleydiaz]

i think not | owen joyner

requested?; - yes! Owen Joyner x reader - their characters might not be love interests on the show (readers is possibly a new one for Luke/which causes a rift in Juke) but they are in real life and are trying to keep it on the down low especially during cast interviews and with fans.

word count; 2K

warnings; language, yelling but only like two sentences

a/n; I didn’t know how to end it so the ending kinda sucks sorry. also side note, the character the reader plays on jatp is a character I’m planning on writing an x reggie fic with so be on the lookout for that !

that close up tho 

You didn’t mean for it to happen. 

Not the, relationship, of course. You wanted that to happen. You’ve been wanting that to happen since you were an extra dancer on the first season of Julie and the Phantoms and danced right into Owen on accident during The Other Side of Hollywood. He was sweet about it, of course he was, asking if you were okay when he was the one that got barrelled into. The apology coffee date turned into a movie night at his apartment which then turned into weekly Friday night takeout dates which ultimately turned into Owen blurting out one night that he liked you and wanted to be your boyfriend. 

You obviously said yes. 

Which brings you to now, two years later filming season two of JatP, except this time you weren’t a dancer, but a recurring character - Delilah Alarie, a 17 year old girl who can hear ghosts, but can’t see them, and forms an unlikely relationship with everyone’s favorite bassist in a ghost band. This is where the problem comes in. 

When you and Owen started dating back in 2019, you two decided to keep it on the DL because you both weren’t totally sure where it was going to go. At the time you were both so busy: Owen having his first acting job as an adult so he was getting used to the long hours, and you working what felt like 25/8 to get all the dance routines down pat. So you both just...didn’t tell anyone. That’s not to say people weren’t suspicious. Charlie was present at many movie nights and Tori liked to tease you about you how you’d spend your time between takes staring at the blond drummer and his fidgeting fingers. 

Filming wrapped and you planned to announce your relationship at the wrap party, but a certain 19 year old thought it would be smart to get a little wasted and passed out before you could say “hey, we’re dating.” Then, you all went your separate ways and you and Owen didn’t see the need to inform everyone of the relationship, especially because you had to figure out the whole long-distance thing. 

Then Covid hit. And there really wasn’t a need because you both were fighting so hard to not get insecure and worried about the hundreds of miles between you two. But you got through it. Between many facetime calls, a spontaneous trip to Hawaii, and one memorable meet up at a halfway point between your two states, you were finally back in each other's arms after the last three months apart. Of course, it was on set, where everyone thinks you’re just friends. 

So yeah, there’s a problem. Because you didn’t mean for the secret dating to go on for so long. Life just, happened, and now you two are constantly sneaking around your fellow castmates and trading secret kisses in each other’s trailers and having little rendezvous meetings in the apartment building’s pool after your roommates have fallen asleep. You’re sure Savannah and Tori have heard you sneaking out a few times, but they wisely say nothing. Charlie sleeps like the dead so your certain Owen is in the clear. 

It’s not like you two want to keep it a secret. Of course you want to tell your friends, it's just, since it’s gone on for so long you’re scared of what could happen. If they’ll get mad about the sneaking around and the lying. 

But alas, you knew the day when the secret would slip out would come. And today just happened to be that day. 

Your friends were already starting to get suspicious, you and Owen were starting to lose your subtlety with the sneaking around, and some fans don’t understand the term BOUNDARIES and caught you two outside the apartment building one day. You weren’t doing anything relationship-y, you two were just coming back from a short day on set because you both ended at the same time and were looking forward to some much needed alone time. But you both knew better than to hold hands or kiss in public, which you were glad for that rule when a few girls bombarded Owen when you both walked out of the parking garage to head inside. The girls posted about the interaction online and of course, assumptions were made about why you two were together. The cast brought it up, but you both shut it down. You really thought the secret would be exposed because someone would catch you two together...Owen is not good at keeping his hands to himself despite his own PDA rule. 

But no, the secret came to a head because Owen is a big fat st0upid head and got jealous over his best friend. 

It started as a normal day. You got up at the last possible minute, Savannah and Tori already eating breakfast in the kitchen, knowing better than to wake you up before your alarm. You ate, showered, changed into comfy clothes for the ride to work. Madi joined you and the other girls that day, now being a little older her dad trusted her to be alone with the older cast members and alone on set for a little while. You jammed out to Doja Cat and HSM because “range, Y/N, range.” Then you arrived on set to Kenny calling you and Madi over for an impromptu meeting before any of you could reach hair and makeup. 

“Alright, now that the rest of you guys are here, I have an announcement to make.” You looked around to see that it was just the main four and you, and that’s when trepidation hit. The only scene you knew of today that involved you five was when the boys finally became visible to you, and you and Reggie share a moment. It’s a hug, much like the one Julie and Luke shared in the season one finale. But Kenny had come up to you a few days ago, suggesting adding a little something something. He told you he wasn’t sure yet, had to run it by a few execs, but that Jeremy was okay with it and he wanted to make sure you’d be okay with it too. You had said yes, after all Jeremy was the one married so you were really only worried about how he and Carolynn would feel about the kiss, you didn’t even think about Owen. 

That was a mistake. 

“So, I ran it by a few execs and of course, our own Delilah and Reggie, and have decided that after their big hug moment, a little kiss would really make the scene and ma -” 

“Uh I think not.” It was muttered, but everyone heard it. And everyone froze, Kenny stopping mid sentence to look at the culprit. Owen was looking at his hands, completely oblivious to everyone staring at him. He didn’t even realize he’d said it aloud until Jeremy cut the tension with a little forced chuckle. 

“C’mon Owen there’s enough of me to go around.” Everyone chuckled a bit, but Owen froze in his fidgeting, his face going firetruck red and eyes darting over to you. 

“Shit. Fuck I said that aloud didn’t I?” He groaned, putting his face in his hands and, before you could stop yourself, you walked up to him. 

“Hey. Hey c’mon.” You gently wrapped your hands around his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. “It’s okay.” You expected him to look stressed. Based on his tone of voice you were preparing for a minor panic attack. But when you saw his face, all you saw was anger. It shocked you, causing you to stumble back a bit. 

“You knew about this?” And okay, yeah, you also expected a bit of that. But not to this caliber. 

“Owen I -”

“No. No you knew and didn’t tell me? Didn’t think to mention that you’d be kissing one of my best friends? What the hell Y/N?” You flinched, not used to Owen being this angry and loud.

“Owen, buddy, hey. Let’s just -” Charlie started, trying to diffuse the situation having noticed you flinching. 

“No! This isn’t a ‘calm down’ thing. This is a “my girlfriend lied to me” thing and I’m very upset about it!” And whoop...there it is. 

“Owen...” 

“God just, really Y/N?” Then he walks away, leaving you surrounded by your confused friends. It’s silent for a few seconds, everyone taking in what just happened. 

“Um...I know this probably a really bad time to bring this up but uh...y’all owe me twenty bucks each,” Charlie said. Then everyone started talking at one. Kenny apologizing for not knowing, Madi berating Charlie for the bad timing, Charlie firing back that Owen is just being dramatic, and Jeremy consoling you with Kenny. His hand on your back jump starts you into action. You quickly excuse yourself to make your way to Owen’s trailer, knowing that’s probably where he stormed off too. 

You don’t knock when you get there, just walk in, making sure to lock it behind you. Owen is there on the couch, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. 

“Owen Joyner what the hell was that?” That’s not what you had wanted to say. You were going to be nice and ease into it. But he yelled first and now you're anxious and stressed and upset. He sighs heavily and looks up at you, eyes red and glassy with unshed tears. 

“I’m sorry. I - Y/N I didn’t mean to freak. I realized halfway here that was not the way to go. I’m so -” You cut him off by pushing him back and crawling into his lap.

“It’s okay. It’s okay I should’ve - I shouldn’t’ve just yelled and I definitely should have told you when Kenny proposed the idea I just got so caught up in the fact it’d be my first on screen kiss and it’d be with a married man who’s in quite possibly the cutest relationship ever and I was worried about -” 

“You’re rambling babe,” Owen says with a smile. It’s a soft thing, one that makes your insides all mushy and your heart starts beating a little faster. “It’s okay. I mean, I would’ve liked to have found out earlier and not in front of our friends - oh my God! I just completely exposed us didn’t I? Oh God!” He whimpers out a whine and leans his head forward onto your shoulder. You giggle at the blonde beneath you, running your hands through his hair as he pinches your sides for the laugh. 

“Babe, I’m pretty sure they already knew.” Owen whips his head up at that, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Charlie mentioned everyone owes him twenty so, i’m pretty sure they were betting on when we’d tell them.” Owen groans and grumbles at that, throwing his head back in a dramatic way to convey his fake frustration. He brings his head back center and smiles softly again at you. 

“I will make sure to steal it from him tonight. That’s our money babe.” You giggle into the kiss he places onto your lips. You two sit there for a few more minutes, exchanging kisses and trading affirmations of love. After a final kiss, one that’s full of passion and heat, you decide to head back to set. 

You walk into the stage with the studio hand-in-hand, smiles on your faces. Madi squeals when she sees you both, running over to hug you. 

“Yay yay! I knew you’d work it out and now I have another couple to fangirl over. Yay!” You hug the small girl back before she bounces over to give Owen the same treatment. 

“Congrats bro,” Charlie says with a smile, clapping a hand on Owen’s back and ruffling your hair up. Jeremy smiles at you two, hugging you both as well. 

“Congrats you two, now can we get back to the meeting? You two dating is old news. Like, 2019 old. But congrats on finally announcing it!” You look at Kenny in shock for a second, before bursting out into laughter, everyone around you following suit. Owen squeezes your hand three times and you look back over at him. You both shoot each other a small smile. 

It’s gonna be okay. 

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

What type of kids do you think the ikevamp guys would be if they went to high school?

Oh boy HERE WE GO

(Under a cut bc this post is a Long Boi^TM)

Napoleon. Would prbly be that kid that’s like somehow bafflingly in the top ten of his class but nobody ever sees him??? Like he’s always late to school or napping in the quietest places on campus (they found him in a locker once and the school was laughing about it for WEEKS bc he insisted he was just chillin, and it wasn’t like a bullying incident he just wanted to sleep LMAO). Surprisingly amiable? A lot of people are afraid of him at first but he’s just so casual and direct, he gains quite a few friends (and a good number of girls have a crush on him--he always diverts the attention of skeevy guys). Good friends with Jeanne because they fence together a lot, and people are always baffled at how easily they chat

Mozart. Where do I begin. Number one in his class, perfectionist prick. That one kid that’s a known prodigy and that everyone hates for his impeccable grades and musical talent. Always gets the solos and conducting roles in the school performances. He knows how to play a crowd--will always be sweet and cherubic in front of teachers. But when it’s just the students? All gloves are off. Frigid and incendiary, will not take any shit and will tear you apart with words in milliseconds. Do not cross. He will end your entire life and self-esteem, it’s not worth it. Has a few friends, and they often experience the disdain of jealous students--but they’re all steadfast about defending him. And Mozart will not tolerate it if people are mistreating his friends, he’s an iron wall of defense; to be his friend means to always have someone looking out for you, make no mistake. He and Jeanne often grab food together after practice and ask about each others day, they hella close but never really show it while school’s on--their class schedules are worlds apart bc of their grades, and at lunch they’re usually practicing/doing hw. When they hug it out at graduation and pat each other on the back everyone nearly falls the fuck out of their chair LMFAO

Leonardo. That kid that 100% could probably be in the top fifty of his class but just can’t be bothered to give a damn. Always argues points with his teachers and plays devil’s advocate until they are inches from exploding at him. Always the one to mercifully make class feel shorter with his absolute distraction-heavy shitfuckery (and sometimes you really learn something because of his line of thinking). He's a dumbass but like harmless, essentially. Used to be the perfect student^TM and then decided the system was bullshit and he wanted no part of it, thinks public education can kiss his ass. Nobody knows it since he asks people not to talk about it, but he tutors kids after school for hours--has brought kids from Ds to Bs. He always dodges nosy people, never goes to parties, and finds ways to intervene around kids that are struggling with smth (with ninja stealth of course). Despite how easily he laughs and chats with just about anyone, he’s...actually surprisingly v much a lone wolf. Only ever consistently hangs out with the heartthrob rich kid, but nobody understands why???? And they’re always roasting each other wtf, are they even friends????

Comte. Pretty boy genius, always in the top five of his class though doesn’t seem too worried about it or obsessed with rank as students often are. It’s more that his parents have high expectations for his future as their heir, so he tends to fall in line with it. Born into money but somehow....not an asshole??? He doesn’t really like showing off, tries to be quiet about his accomplishments but his parents won’t really allow it--and he’s the star of the soccer team so it can be hard to hide. Most often the one at a party trying to help people sober up (always designated driver) or hearing his friends out when they have a problem. Has never publicly tried to bust heads, but some of the guys in the school insist he’s got a dark side--probably because he threatened them (passive aggressively) within an inch of their lives for being disgusting to girls. But nobody believes them bc...I mean look at him, does that look like a threat?? He just bought that kid’s lunch for christ’s sake. TONS of girls ask him out and confess their feelings, and he always lets them down as gently as he can--conceivably doesn’t like anyone himself, as far as the student body knows. Like Leonardo he’s v amiable, but also manages to reveal nothing personal while getting close. Leonardo’s the only one that’s managed to scratch the surface, and the kid won’t leave him alone for some godforsaken reason. And yet, he seems to enjoy their minutes of banter more than the hours of time spent with “friends”

Arthur. Oh boy. Good lord. Well. He used to be a sweetheart that would always seek out the mousier students and bring them into discussion/involve them on the playground. But alas, Teenage Jadedness^TM hit him like a train and now he’s an incorrigible flirt and believes no single person can be good deep down (somebody get this bitch some eyeliner). Believes the world will always be a cruel and unfeeling place where victims are never heard, so he just kind of goes full skeptical and bitter (think Sylvain for those of you that are FE fans). Has fun with every girl he sees (usually dating several girls at once) and doesn’t much care for his grades, but somehow has perfect scores in English?? He insists it’s because he needs to keep his seduction game on par with the voices of older legends before him, but some of the girls that see him in the library from time to time--v serious--are struck by how attractive he is in such deep focus, entirely uncharacteristic of his nosy and boisterous behavior in the halls (can often be seen whirling around Isaac like a bird of prey while our little baby robin Isaac stiffly tries to get away from him, and Dazai often joins to make things even more chaotic bc why not? In reality they just love this feisty kid that never gives up on what’s right, even though they’ve both given up trying themselves)

Dazai. He’s one of those kids that like does weed regularly but is also like...alarmingly insightful?? Like those kids I was always told to avoid, but now and again I would have conversations with out of necessity and was just...kinda shook. I mean granted he’s a little weird but he’s fairly harmless?? He’s like a class clown but on a massive scale--there’s nobody in the place that doesn’t know who he is, that haven’t heard tales of his exploits (he always comes in through the windows and gets detention for it a lot, and he even brought a chicken with him to school once????) nobody gets what he’s doing at any moment (don’t even know if he does really, chaotic mofo) and honestly nobody wants to know they just do the side eye meme when he appears or laughs. The teachers lament his untapped potential or just hate him for making their lives an even bigger headache than usual, and his grades are...yeah let’s not look at those. Organized the senior prank with absolute GLEE, and it was talked about for ages after he was gone--an inspiration chaotic bastards everywhere

Theodorus. (I hate.......that I pictured him in those like Vineyard Vine white boy clothes.......for the record its mostly bc his parents force him to wear them). All business. This kid doesn’t have time for your bullshit, will absolutely walk away if you’re boring him or seeking social clout. Popular because he’s hot and has a mean streak a mile wide, all the girls that didn’t like Mozart for being ethereal and effeminate boomeranged to find Theo ready to fulfill their hopes and dreams. They only grow more feral when rumors of him actually being fairly nice one on one--and telling creeps to fuck off of vulnerable girls at parties--start to circulate. (If he isn’t with Vincent, Arthur is probably near. Nobody understands how the two are brothers????) Van Gogh name apparently is just “I can be your angel or i can be your devil” and no one understands how... Grades are average and he’s plenty capable, most of his time is spent working after school because his parents refuse to provide Vincent with any artistic materials (canvas, paints, etc). They ask him to go to parties more, but he only goes to piss his parents off (he’s v lowkey punk and it’s understandably sexy of him). Will literally only listen to Vincent, and got in a looooot of trouble after getting into a fistfight with Shakespeare. Only stopped because his parents blamed Vincent for the incident, and Vincent apologized and went quiet for days ;-;

Vincent. Always been quiet and shy, but he doesn’t dislike ppl--he just has a hard time speaking up now and again. His parents always talk over him and tell him nothing he has to say has any real value, so he tends to struggle with a lot of self-doubt. Not isolated because he’s not likeable, it’s more because people tend to take advantage of his mild and earnest nature--until Theo runs them off. He’s on amiable terms with most people but has no real, true friends and it makes him feel lonely a lot. Mostly copes with the emotional turmoil by painting as much as he can. His grades are average, he does reliably well but can often be found daydreaming or distracted. Theo tends to escort him everywhere because of his propensity to attract danger (namely Shakespeare) or walk into things cuz he’s in his head a lot. A few of the artsier girls and the quiet academic girls have HUGE crushes on him (he’s softspoken, sweet, and calm; come on now), but he’s so distant--and honestly nice to everyone in equal measure--that they don’t have much hope of it coming to fruition. This kid deadass doesn’t think a single girl would ever like him that way so he’s just c:???????? when Theo talks about “those nosy harpies coming after my brother”

Jeanne. EDGY MCEDGE. Isn’t amazing in the academic department, but he’s a killer fencer--the rallying cry of the entire team. He became leader his sophomore year and he’s pretty much the only reason they keep destroying at tournaments throughout the year. Despite the pervasive interest in him he intimidates most people away with his swift intensity and ironclad stoicism. Silent as a grave and very still, people are convinced he’s the Grim Reaper reincarnated (listen he’s juST A DUTIFUL BABIE N O). If he isn’t fencing or practicing, Isaac often offers him help in the library after school hours in one of the study rooms (can’t be seen who’s inside from the outside). The two develop a kind of uncanny bond; they’re both so...bad at human-ing that they find a lot of comfort in the atmosphere they create. There’s none of the bullshit grandstanding or clout obsession, just them genuinely trying to help each other (yes Jeanne absolutely teaches Isaac self-defense moves in order to crush the kids that pick on him, and Jeanne often either glares or outright threatens those students when Isaac isn’t looking). Only ever smiles or feels understood when he’s hanging out with Mozart, so he cherishes the time Mozart offers him to hang (he knows the kid is busy up to his eyeballs and under a ton of pressure by comparison, his parents don’t care much as long as they can brag about his fencing records)

Isaac. Mega nerd that just...does not know how to interact. Only understands math and DESTROYS in competitive math club, but otherwise is always alone at lunch or just in the library. A little bean pole because he doesn’t look after himself very well (neglects to eat a lot) and can sometimes be found asleep on his books. If approached he will be very thorny, doesn’t have any friends to speak of and trusts everyone about as far as he can throw them. Yells at Arthur and Dazai a lot when they flock around him, and has gotten into his fair share of fights. Never starts fights, but will finish them. People are surprised he can hold his own, and he comes away with blood that ain’t his. There are a few girls that are curious about him, but its mostly the ones that have seen his awkward thoughtfulness in club--or the girls that are sick of the assholes and appreciate how stalwart he is. He really just wants to be left in peace (his parents never show up to his meets or when he wins academic awards, and the few teachers that notice are pretty concerned abt his reactivity and complete lack of social savvy...) Leonardo always helps him sneak in at night to look at the stars on the school roof

Shakespeare is p much the like “kid most anticipated to be in jail as soon as they’re out of high school” He just. Has that like...serial killer vibe??? Idk if I’m explaining this well but he was that guy that would always cling to genuinely compassionate girls just trying to be nice like a LEECH, and would never fucking shut up if he did or didn’t get attention. You just can't win with this kid. Probably wanted to kill the kids that made fun of him or at the very least wanted to lash out against the confident/popular/nice kids. Only liked you if he didn’t deem you a threat, or if you didn’t make him insecure, or if you tolerated him (aka Vincent. Vincent PLEASE stop trying to reach out to dangerous ppl....I love you too much to watch this shit...) He admitted as much to Theo and the kid went livid with rage and pummeled him into the ground, though most of the rest of the student body doesn’t know quite what happened. (Theo refuses to explain to anyone, and just walks away if asked). Shakespeare will just change the subject endlessly and make passive aggressive threats until the person leaves if they try to bring it up. The only time the entire class has EVER seen Leonardo mad is when Shakespeare kept tailing this girl that wanted no part of him

Sebastian. Nerdy like Isaac, but is more of the silent observer type. Like Theo, doesn't want any part of the bullshit but won't be as blunt or outspoken about it, he's only open about it if pressed or pissed off. Doesn't have much patience for the clique-driven nature of high school and tends to take an interest in the people who stand out beyond the mind-numbing drama. Also is in the top fifty but studies like a lunatic, and can often be seen asking Comte for tips now and again. Has tried talking to Mozart and admires his talents, but Mozart gives a cold shoulder that would put Antarctica to shame. (Leonardo tries to ninja him into taking breaks but never succeeds). Has a great deal of disdain for the troublemakers (Arthur and Dazai) but doesn't intervene, just watches shit go down and sighs. Probably the most normal(?) one of the bunch, just does his best and keeps his head down

[herb-whump]

Summer Job

I'm dying its 2 am god help me

Taglist: @albino-whumpee @torture-as-lovely-as-you

Let me know if you want to be tagged in other stories than Don't get far away Precious or not cause i do not know shit about taglists

CW/ manipulation and abuse mentions and threats, slight rape mention

Mikołaj went to sleep finally, squeezing himself next to the mattress on the hard floor. It wasn't pleasant, and he always woke up a little cranky afterward.

- Honey. - A familiar voice woke him up for good. It was his mom, softly smiling at him - I made breakfast... it's not much but you still gotta eat something.

- Okay... - Mikołaj sighed, blushing a bit. His mom still treated him like a little boy sometimes.

He sat down at the table next to his little brother. There wasn't much for breakfast. Some buns bought on the end of the day sale, with cheese and tomatoes, and cheap black tea to drink. Mikołaj looked down at the cup, the water was muddy, it wasn't of the best quality around these parts of the city.

- thank you, mom... For the breakfast - he smiled a little and the woman nodded. - I have to go to work soon so I probably won't eat a lot.

- But it's Sunday, I thought you would stay home today. - Magda frowned - You already work too hard during the week. You should get some rest.

- I was hoping we would go hang out today...! - his brother pouted, not happy.

- Mom, Tymek, I have to, and it's not a big job either. I will try to be back sooner today, I promise.

Magda wouldn't push her son anymore to stay, so she just sighed with a pained expression.

He ate one bun and drank the tea as fast as he could. Got a change of clothes and left the house, with a simple "I love you" while leaving. A man from another block of flats said he will pay him for repairing his shower. The man was an acquaintance of his. While they weren't friends, they talked a bit, and Mikołaj accidentally confessed to having this dire situation with money.

He knocked on the front door, to soon be greeted by the man. His name was Josef, and he was a middle-aged man, with short brown hair and round glasses. A kind face and from what Mikołaj could gather, he was a father to two kids, and after a divorce.

- Here you are! I was waiting for you. - Josef chuckled softly and invited the boy inside, showing him what was wrong with the shower, which Mikołaj started working on almost immediately - You know Miko, You need quick money right?

- Yeah, kinda... - Mikołaj bit his lip. - stupid shower head...

- Listen here, I know this guy, he has a work agency. He mostly hires young strong men like you, you work abroad, and earn much more this way. Usually only for about a month or two.

- w-wait really? - Mikołaj stopped for a bit. It sounded... A little shady to say the least. But he did worse things and if a kind father is recommending this, maybe it's actually a good opportunity. - Can you give me the guy's number? I will call him today if I can.

- Sure thing Miko. - The man smiled.

After finally fixing the shower, Josef wrote down the man's number on a piece of paper, paid Mikołaj, and sent him home. But before he returned to his mom and brother, the boy sat down at a secluded bench in the local park. He stared intensely at the number Josef wrote down. He was still debating if he should call it. But he didn't have many options at this point. He slowly put the number in his phone and rang.

- Good evening, how can I help you? - the voice belonged to a young woman, it was calm and soft.

- Uhm... Good evening. I've heard of job offerings in this agency. My friend, Josef recommended I call.

- Ah! Yes, yes! Of course! So you will need to send us your resume and talk in person of course - The woman explained everything

Except what the job abroad actually was. But Mikołaj didn't think much of it. If it made money and wasn't prostitution, he was in.

It was some time for the in-person meeting to happen, but it wasn't at all what the boy had imagined.

The man sitting before him was not much older than Mikołaj himself, 30 at most, but Mikołaj gave him 26. He had dark black messy hair, medium length. Brown eyes and wore sunglasses on his head. Golden chains on his neck and other expensive jewelry. He looked rich, to say the least. Not to mention the place of the meeting. Almost empty office room, in a freshly built business complex. Most of the spaces in it were just put out to be rented.

- Hi Mikołaj. - The man spoke up with a giggly, yet deep voice - You can call me Vasya. You're just going to sign those papers and you're hired for the month. If all goes well maybe we will hire you for a month more. - He slid a few papers on the table.

- N-no questions? I thought this was an interview... I mean don't get me wrong please, I'm just really surprised. - He chuckled nervously, slowly looking down at the papers.

- No questions. I think your resume said enough and just from looking at you, I think you will be a great fit. We need healthy, strong young men. It will be a physically taxing job but you wrote you did many jobs like that.

- I guess... - With shaky hands he took the papers in his hands, trying to comprehend what he was actually signing. But seeing the pay, stated at the end was enough to make him stop reading, and just take the pen. He signed it, never asking any more questions. This much money will get them a better flat and food for sure.

Even if the job was gross or heavily taxing, he will bear it. It's only a month, right? And if it's great, he can work for two months. That would secure their life for a long time.

He came back home with the news and a smile on his face. He burst through the door and hugged his mom tight

- O-oh dear! You got the job I presume. - his mom laughed and tousled his hair with a gentle expression. - I'm just sad you're going to be gone for a month or two.

- Mikołaj! So you're going? Is.. it bad I kinda hoped you wouldn't? You go out every day almost...

- I'm sorry Tymek. I really am. I promise after I come back, we're going to move to a nice place and I'm gonna spend much more time with you. - Mikołaj smiled softly, trying to comfort his little brother.

- I suppose... But you really promise, right? - he noded - Okay. Please call us every day though!

- I will. They will come to pick me up by bus the day after tomorrow, so I have to start packing soon. - the brown-haired boy hugged them both again and went to the other side of the room to search for a bag to pack.

The departure day came soon. It was a warm June morning, Mikołaj was standing at a bus stop near his house, waiting for the work bus to come. Clutching his bag in his hand, he looked up at the bus stop screen for the time. It was a little late, but when he looked away from the clock, the bus was coming from the other street. It stopped and opened its door.

- Mr. Kasperczyk? - The bus driver looked at him suspiciously - Show your ID

- Sure. - Mikołaj nodded and showed his ID, the driver promptly inviting him on board.

He walked into the bus, full of young men, probably not much older than himself. Some sat alone, sulking or sleeping, some laughed together in pairs. Seems normal enough. Mikołaj sat down in an empty seat and tired, pressed his head between the window and the seat, slowly falling asleep, still clutching his bag.

He slept through the whole journey, only the familiar face of Vasya, seemingly his new boss, waking him up.

- Wakey wakey sleepy-head. You all have to settle in your rooms. - He smiled. He had a charming aspect to his demeanor, but it kind of made Mikołaj uneasy. He nodded and stood up.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to treat Vasya, so he'd rather avoid him.

- I will visit all of you in the evening after dinner, okay? - Vasya waved them goodbye and jumped right back into the bus. Was he on it the whole time and Mikołaj didn't notice? Maybe.

The boy looked around. The building was clearly a worker hotel but didn't look too cheap. It looked cozy, and the receptionist informed them they had all separate rooms. She also gave them the keys, and information regarding breakfast and dinner hours. It was all provided for. Mikołaj got a room on the second floor. He opened the wooden door, to see a comfortable-looking room, it was small, smaller than their already small flat but it was more than enough for him. The bed had a birch wooden frame, it was made, and covered with a soft beige blanket. Next to it was a big window and a nightstand, and a wardrobe, all made from birch to fit with the bed. The bathroom was also private. the door was on the right of the entrance, it was also pretty tiny, but it had a shower, toilet, and a sink, all relatively clean, so what more could he ask for?

Mikołaj put the bag down next to the bed and sent a quick text to his mom that he got there safely, and first taking off his shoes, he laid down on the bed. It was soft... and so comfortable. He cracked a little smile, he will buy a similar bed for himself when he gets back for sure. No more back pain and cranky mornings. He could lay in this bed for an eternity... almost forgetting what he was actually here for. Work. Physical work at that.

He rolled around on the bed until dinner time came around. It was probably the first time in forever he would eat an actual dinner, usually, it was just lunch, sometimes breakfast. The boy jumped from the bed and stretched a little.

- Foood... - He smiled, his belly growling from just a thought.

The dining room was pretty small, for sure all of the workers from the bus did not end up in the same hotels. He looked around. The tables were for two, max five people, and it was a buffet. A buffet... all you can eat one. Ah, how he wished it was like this every day at home. Or that at least he could share with his family but alas.

The buffet tables were filled with food, it wasn't the most expensive kind, but it made mikołaj salivate at the mere thought. Sausages, bread and a toaster for it, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, and different jams, cereals, and porridge, fresh fruit, coffee, tea...  It was a feast for Mikołaj, and afterward, he returned to his room, full, completely forgetting the visit from Vasya was supposed to happen. So he was relaxing in his room until a knock snapped him out of the light mood.

- Yes?

- It's me. I said I'd come. - It was the man's voice, giggly as always. Mikołaj opened the door and let him in. - You probably want to know what is the job right. - he chuckled a bit, and closed the door, yet still positioning himself as if he was guarding the door.

- well... Yeah, and when do we start? - Miko sat down on the bed again, staring intensely at Vasya. - It's not like prostitution is it?

- No, we wouldn't trick you into prostitution, oh my! - Yet his face looked suspiciously calm. - But you would be surprised what people pay for nowadays. Good money! Tell me little Miko, you're probably used to being beaten up huh?

Mikołaj's face turned white, and he gulped, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He knew just from looking at him, didn't he? Or was it the giant barely healed wound on his eye the giveaway. Either way, the boy didn't like it one bit.

- What do you mean? - He finally spits out, not looking at Vasya anymore.

- It's simple, people pay for getting one of you, for ten hours, to do whatever they like. The rules are simple, no fatal injuries or rape, or else they deal with me and that's not going to be pleasant. I'm not a monster, I wouldn't let random people actually hurt you! - He said with a grin. - If customers like you, you get paid more usually. You can also agree to do sexual things but you don't have to. It actually doesn't pay that much around these parts.

- So you... You send us to be basically abused for ten hours and you pay us for it. What... What the fuck is wrong with you?

- Careful with those words, pretty boy. - the grin disappeared from the man's face, sending a chill down Mikołaj's spine. - You don't have a choice anymore. You signed your fate away for at least a month! If you break the contract, this family of yours will probably end up on the street soon. Time is ticking, you better do something. I'm giving you a generous offer!

- Sh-shut it. - He bit his lip. Vasya was right, they were on the verge of homelessness. - Okay. It... it's only one month.

- If they like you and you agree maybe tw-

- I know! Fine, holy shit, I will do it! Just... Send the money directly to my family alright?

- Will do that. I hope you stay for longer little Miko! Ah, you have an appointment already tomorrow, at noon, you will be escorted by a taxi from here. Good night and good luck! - He smiled and left the perplexed boy in his room.

[speaknowslut13]

Lovely Lauren! ✨ (I’ll do some alliteration too hehe so no I don’t think it’s weird 🤪)

No worries at all, I’m just glad tumblr didn’t eat it 😅 congratulations on cleaning your room, that can sometimes feel like such a monumental task!!

And thank you!! 🥰 I didn’t even have too many bad side effects, other than some slight pain in my arm and being incredibly tired for a few days (but then again I’m always tired so is it fair to blame that on the vaccine lol 🤔)

You’re very welcome! And it is so important for the younger generations, I always try to model inclusivity for my students and I hope that I’m succeeding but at the very least I’m trying.

I think with a lot of arts and humanities subjects, but especially with writing, people tend to underestimate the effort that actually goes into the craft until they actually try it. I also love reading sonnets but I’m not a huge fan of writing them because they are so hard 🥲

to narrow down the categories a bit, do you have a favorite sonnet? What is the poem you would want read at your funeral?

I totally agree, there’s a difference between getting dark and using humor as a coping mechanism for difficult things versus using it to be mean and malicious but writing it off as “haha just a joke!” 🙄

I also despise economics haha would prefer if the made up little numbers did NOT control our lives but alas! If you were to someday own your own business, what kind of business would it be??

I don’t think I’ve asked before, so what kind of work does your husband do? That’s really unfortunate about the state of the records, I’m sorry that’s the situation and hope it all works out for the best should either of you decide to go back!!

Ohhh I also have a hidden objects game that I like to play! It’s called Manor Matters, and I like that one and Gardenscapes because there’s a storyline to them so it feels more engaging than just playing the game part. I mostly like to play on the train or the bus haha.

Totally fair, being in somebody’s wedding can be very stressful. Is your sister older or younger? I have several close friends getting married this summer but I’m not able to attend because of travel restrictions which kind of bums me out. I think lacy dresses are so gorgeous!! I truly hope that you’ll be able to have that someday 🥰

Your chair sounds fabulous, it’s so nice to have a good non bed lounging spot!! I’m thinking of rearranging the furniture in my room because I’m kind of bored with the layout and maybe even getting a few new items of furniture (I’m in desperate need of a bookshelf rn) so I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.

Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers! And I love seeing dandelions first pop up in the spring, such a nice burst of color after winter. Pink is such a fun color, I loved the “dusty pastel” color trend a few years ago and had so many dusty rose clothes hahah.

Ohhh I haven’t watched H2O in forever!! When I was in high school I babysat for this family pretty consistently and the daughter loved it so we watched it a lot together. Might be fun to watch again! What’s your favorite marvel movie? I’ve never really been able to get into it but my students love it so I promised them if we went into another lockdown I would make it my quarantine project to watch the whole franchise lol.

I’m so glad you were able to see your friend!! Are your kids close in age?

I did get my insurance sorted out thankfully and I even got in my chill walk! AND I went to the pool with a friend this week, so that was excellent. If I’m feeling up to it this weekend I’m planning on taking a hike up to a lake to go swimming and read! The weather has finally warmed up here after a month straight of rain 🌞

Sending you hugs! Xoxo 💖 Drew

Drew, my love! I love how your weekend turned out for you! Send some rain to Az for me, eh? Specifically the Phoenix area. A couple of nights ago we had something called a heat burst happen over my house. I didn’t know that was a thing until last night. But basically the temp skyrocketed suddenly at nine pm to triple digits. Plus, since it’s fire season, we’ve got all this lovely smoke trapping in the pollution. We’re under heat advisory too right now, so we have been stuck inside all week. No swimming. And definitely no going out of it can be helped. I live in hell.

The kids are close in age. Her son is about two and half years older than mine. They love each other. It’s pretty cute. We are just happy they get along.

I haven’t watched all the marvel movies, but they’re all pretty good. Honestly, Black Panther is pretty good. Iron man is one of my favorites but I’m kinda hooked on RDJ. He’s around my parents age but damn does he make it look good. The best marvel universe show I’ve seen yet has been Wanda Vision. Spider-Man is also a must see. They nailed the character. And Deadpool is good too.

I need a new bookshelf too. But I don’t have anyplace to put one right now. I think I need a bigger house. Some people would tell me to downsize my books. I would say that’s blasphemy.

It’s my younger sister who’s getting married. But I also have an older sister! We are all pretty close. Which is nice. In fact, I mentioned wanting to move out of country to my little sister the other day and she just about murdered me. 😂

Husband does data and reporting analysis. However, his degree is in Game Art and Design. He wanted to get his masters in something tech related. But he likes to code too. He and I talk about business ideas all the time! I always thought about owning a coffee shop/ book store. And recently I had this crazy good idea about a resin pour business. I do also have a clothing design I put together for school but also wanted to pursue in actuality.

The poem is by Thomas Gray and it’s called Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes. It’s macabre. And sad. And just a little funny. I should be ashamed of myself. I really should.

Honestly the bard does it for me always. Sonnet 116 is always a classic. It’s been my favorite for a long time. But sonnet 130 is a close second. The first is traditionally romantic but there’s something to be said about Shakespeare’s realistic depiction of his love in 130. It’s honest and kinda sweet.

How do you feel about satire? It can be another difficult form to master but when it’s done well I find it incredibly enjoyable. I had the joy of reading A Modest Proposal to my husband once. He was only really familiar with Swift’s Guliver’s Travels. So I introduced him to that. The shock on his face was priceless. But he enjoyed it overall.

As I was pulling out the book I needed to get the proper name and author of the poem, I came across a book I bought awhile back. It’s called the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. That was an excellent book, and if you haven’t already read it, I thought I’d recommend it. I like to recommend that one to people a lot. It was addicting.

I’m glad your side effects were tame! Here are some sunflowers 🌻 🌻 🌻 to brighten up your day!

Out of curiosity, what do you teach???

[logans-chestnuts]

Owed You One

This fic was requested by @neuroticpuppy. I can’t tag you but I hope you like it! 

"Hey! Mister!" you whisper-yelled at the handsome host sneaking past the room where you were tied to a chair. 

He glanced over at you with the darkest eyes you'd ever seen, looked you up and down as if considering it, then whispered back, "Sorry, darlin', I don't do damsel quests."

You were taken aback. "You're human?" you said, utterly shocked that total perfection such as his was actually just the product of a sperm and an egg. "No shit?"

"No shit," he whispered with a smirk, ego stroked enough to cut you loose. Swaggering over as only a man who had won the genetic lottery can, he pulled a knife out of his boot and set you free. "Hold on, are you bleeding?"

"Heh, yeah. I guess I misunderstood the 'hosts can't hurt you' thing."

Logan shrugged as he finished cutting you loose. "There is a reason we have all our guests sign a waiver."

"We?" you asked as you rubbed the circulation back into your hands. "You work here?"

"Something like that," he said as he looked you over. "You OK?"

"Yeah, I just need to find a horse I can steal and get out of here. My bounty hunter got dead so I'm on my own," you said. "Thanks again, appreciate it."

Logan nodded, intrigued that you really didn't seem like you were going to ask him for help. "Take care, darlin'." If he wasn't there for a very specific reason he would have tried to get you to play for a few days, but alas, he had business to take care of.

Logan had learned that his twisted new brother-in-law had a particular host that he liked as his evil minion as he raped and pillaged his way through the park. No one outside the park would ever believe what down-to-earth Bill, nice guy Bill was capable of; Logan intended to show the rest of the family who he really was.

His hatred for Billy was keeping him sane, his anger was making him devious. He was going to find evidence of what a sick cunt William was if it was the last thing he did.

You snuck off, leaving the impossibly handsome rescuer behind. 

You had decided to go on after your companion/guide had been killed. This was your second trip to the park so you thought you knew what you were getting into, but you had obviously bitten off more than you could chew when you had decided to go after Slim Miller despite the bounty hunter telling you needed a bigger posse. 

You still snickered remembering your retort: "I thought men preferred a tight posse?"

Holden was the ultimate white hat, though, and he didn't respond to your quip except to sigh about your stubbornness. 

After you had cornered Slim, you had been overconfident; he overpowered Holden and took you hostage instead, telling you how much his friends were going to enjoy you. You had felt the cold fingers of horror slide down your back, having to talk yourself down by reminding yourself that hosts couldn't hurt you, but goddamn, it had been terrifying. It pretty much became a mantra as Slim had led you to Pariah, hands bound to your saddle. The hosts can't hurt you, the hosts can't hurt you.

Which was how you found yourself in Pariah. It was truly the wild West equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah. Brothels, booze, naked people wandering around, guns and gambling right out in the open everywhere one could look. 

You weren't quite sure what your captor's endgame was: he couldn't actually hurt you, so tying you up seemed silly. Maybe you were supposed to escape. In any case, escape was your new and improved plan since it didn't look like you were going to capture Slim and return him to justice. 

You shook off your questions. It didn't matter now and the distraction could get you recaptured. You needed a weapon, some food and water and a horse. A plan would be nice but it looked like you were going to have to wing it.

Logan was also playing it by ear. He had followed William to Pariah, wondering what he was doing since he had been so uppity about playing the game as if it were actually a game. All it seemed like he was doing was fucking and killing hosts, the goddamn hypocrite.

He had absolutely no idea how he was going to prove anything. There was no tech allowed into the park unless it was for a medical condition, and for the most part the park wasn't handicap-friendly. Bottom line, even if Logan did see more of William's cold, sadistic behavior, he had no way to record it.

Maybe he really was losing it. How else could he explain his obsession with Billy?

Didn't mean he was going to stop waiting and watching, though. At least he could prove to himself that he wasn't crazy.

You had been amazingly lucky. You had walked past an unoccupied room and there laid your gear like it was waiting for you. Now all you had to do was make it to the stables unseen to get a horse and you could put this embarrassing incident behind you.

As you slinked along a hallway, gun out and saddle bag over your shoulder, you saw your handsome rescuer crouched behind a huge plant. You also saw that there was one of El Lazo's men turning toward where Handsome was hunkered down and it was a matter of seconds before he would be seen, and there really couldn't be a good reason for him to be sneaking around like that.

Thinking quickly, you pulled off your shirt and pants and tossed your things into an unoccupied bedroom, mussed your hair and strolled over to Handsome in your almost-sheer lawn underclothes, looking drunk and like you'd already been bent over several pieces of furniture. 

"Hey, you handsome man!" you bellowed drunkenly. 

Logan followed the sound of your slurred voice and was treated to the sight of you in some very revealing underwear as you staggered toward him. 

"I believe I paid for the whole night with you, so you better get your sweet ass over here and fuck me so hard I won't be able to walk in the morning!" you demanded as only a drunk rich girl could. 

"Shhh," Logan tried to get you to lower your voice, but then he froze when he heard a chuckle behind him.

"Looks like the lady is ready for another round, boy. Better whip that cock out or El Lazo might just decide to cut it off," the passing guard threatened.

Logan had gained his feet and you started rubbing all over him, kissing his neck and groping his ass. "C'mon baby, mama needs to ride that cock again."

"Yeah sweetheart, it's all for you. Let's go back to your room, darlin'," Handsome said with the sexiest smile you had ever seen.

He put his arm around your waist to lead you back to where you had come, his hand sliding down and grabbing a handful of your ass. "Gonna make you feel so good, darlin'" he promised loudly enough so that the guards chuckled and went on his merry way. 

You led Handsome to the room where you had stowed your things and pulled him inside with you.

You both leaned against the door and caught your breath after you almost got caught again. "That was close," you whispered.

"Thanks," Handsome said quietly, then huffed a chuckle. "I thought you were nuts for a second."

"I owed you one," you said dismissively.

"I barely untied you. You went out of your way for me. So really, thank you."

You nodded. You extended your hand and introduced yourself. "So, do you have a name? Because I feel kinda silly calling you Handsome."

"I dunno, I kinda like it," he said with a wink and a charming smile.

"Oh, yeah, of course," you said shyly. "I mean, we'll probably never see each other again as soon as the coast is clear, right?"

Still holding your hand, he dropped a kiss to the back of it very chivalrously. Deciding to trust you, he said, "My name is Logan, but I used a fake name to make my reservations. I'm dressed differently than usual and I cut my hair and shaved my beard. My chin hasn't been this naked in years."

You smiled. "It's a very handsome chin. Logan."

"Why, thank you. And may I compliment you on your current fashion choice?" he said with a cheeky grin and a once over. "Very flattering."

You felt your cheeks heat when you realized that you had been standing around chit chatting while more or less naked. You slapped his arm playfully and said, "Jerk. I'm only half naked because I couldn't think of any other way to rescue you."

"Well, I appreciate the rescue and the view," he flirted.

You stepped over to your things and bent over to pick up your clothes, careful not to give Logan any more of a show than you already had.

Suddenly Logan tensed and leaned his ear to the door, gesturing to you for silence. His eyes widened and he started undressing quickly.

"Um," you began, but Logan was hopping across the room to the bed while pulling his boots off.

"Shhh! Get naked and get in the bed," he ordered.

"Excuse me?" you hissed, crossing your arms over your chest.

Logan hobbled over to you, shirtless and pants unzipped, one boot still partially on. He grabbed your arm to pull you with him and whispered, "They're going room to room looking for that bitch they're gonna ransom. Sound like anybody you know?"

"Shit," you said, untying your camisole and drawers and removing them. When you looked up, Logan was looking you over with such hunger that you felt your heart begin to race. Didn't hurt that he was naked and had a semi, either. 

You shook your head and yanked back the covers and dove in the bed, trying to mess it up as much as possible to make it look like the two of you had been rolling around in it. You felt the mattress dip and then warm skin touching yours.

"They're next door," he said, judging by the indignant shouts of a few voices that were apparently interrupted mid something or other.

When you heard the door slam and boots in the hallway leading to your room, Logan looked at you questioningly. 

You nodded yes and he slid over to lie on top of you, your hands and legs wrapping around him as he began to kiss you, hot and wet, teeth and tongue. If your heart had sped up at the sight of his body, it nearly stopped at the feel of his kiss combined with his body pressed against yours and hands moving over you. Your last coherent thought was how soft his hair was as you ran your fingers through it when he moved his mouth down to suck at a nipple, pulling an inarticulate yell from your lips just as the door burst open.

Logan flipped over into his back, reaching for his gun he'd had the wherewithal to put on the nightstand. "What the fuck?" he yelled angrily, cocking and pointing the gun at the intruders.

"Whoa there, fella!" Slim said, hands making a placating gesture. "Lookin' for a bounty hunter I brought here. You folks go back to what you were doin', sorry to bother you."

When he backed out and shut the door, you breathed a sigh of relief. You looked over at Logan and saw that his semi had grown into a whole -- a very long and delicious looking whole.

You unconsciously licked your lips as you looked up at him and saw him watching at you with a similar expression of avarice. 

"Thank you," you whispered.

"I owed you one," he whispered back, reaching over to gently caress your cheek, looking into your eyes. 

"I guess I should go try to get to the stables," you said quietly, reluctantly. Truth be told, you'd rather stay and finish what had begun, but you didn't know how to ask a complete stranger to continue, pretty please?

Logan finally tore his eyes away and said, "No, you should wait a couple hours til they pass out."

"Wait -- here?" you breathed.

Logan was just barely holding on to his control. He wanted you with an intensity he hadn't felt for anything but the hatred he felt for Billy since he'd been pulled half-dead from the desert. He swallowed hard and pulled away from you, turning to pull the blankets up and at least cover the temptation, even if it didn't precisely remove it.

"Yeah, we can talk," he said, as if it was a novel concept. It kind of was, really.

"OK," you drawled, turning onto your side to face him, noticing when his eyes were drawn to the exaggerated cleavage the new position created by pressing your breasts together. "Tell me all about Logan. Why were you sneaking around?"

He looked taken aback, like he hadn't expected to be the one answering questions. "Ah, you first."

You narrowed your eyes. "K. Well, I was trying to get Slim Miller's bounty. Holden and I went after him and he turned the tables, killed Holden and took me hostage. Said someone ought to want a 'purty thing' like me back, but he'd find a way to make a profit off me one way or another."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I did not win the game," you said with a self-deprecating chuckle. 

Logan hesitated; he'd clearly been hoping there was more to your story. He took a deep breath and began, "The last time I was here, my now brother-in-law tied me naked to a horse and slapped its ass at the edge of the desert."

You gasped. "What the fuck? And your sibling still married the prick?"

"Thank you!" Logan said appreciatively, then laughed bitterly. "But yeah, nobody believed me. I've been a bit...wild. So my father and sister took his word over mine. He took my life: my family's trust, my company. This was mine. I crawled into a bottle and got high all the time for months, but then one day I got pissed instead of high, and here I am."

You wrinkled your brow. "What was yours?"

He averted his gaze for a moment, then said, "My last name is Delos."

"As in Delos BioEngineering, Delos Destinations? You own this place?" you asked incredulously.

"I did, yeah."

"So how does that explain why you're sneaking around here?"

"He's here. I wanted to catch him in the act." He flipped over into his back and slammed his fist on the mattress. "He went total batshit and they didn't believe me! Nobody would listen!"

"Hey," you said softly, giving him a hug that inadvertently pressed your breasts against his chest. "Um, well, awkward, but I'm sorry nobody would listen."

He smirked. "Thanks."

"So how are you going to catch him in the act?" you asked.

"Didn't think it through," he said in disgust. "No tech, no way to record."

You pulled away and hopped out of bed, grabbing your saddle bag and bringing it back to the bed. First you pulled a shirt over your head, no longer comfortable with your nudity.

"Aww," Logan complained.

"Hush," you said with a smile, then pulled a mobile phone out of your bag.

"How the fuck did you get that past security?" he asked in amazement.

"I have a medical condition I have to monitor."

"That's great!" he exclaimed. "I mean, not that you're sick…"

"I'm not sick, I have a medical condition. I'm perfectly healthy as long as I keep an eye on things. But yeah, recording device," you said, shaking it in front of Logan.

"You're -- you'll help me?" he whispered.

"Yeah," you said with a smile. "Dunno why but I believe you. Does that make me a fool?"

"No!" he said emphatically, taking your hand in his. "I am many things; a lot of them are bad. But I swear to you, I am not a liar."

You smiled. "Let's bring that bastard down."

Logan looked at you in disbelief for a moment, but then he saw something in your eyes that told him you meant it. He grinned and paraphrased the end of Casablanca, "I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

@marauder--harder  / @giggleberts / @joelynnp / @astrangeevent2002 / @thesandbeneathmytoes / @squidscottjeans/ @delos-mio / @banditthewriter / @letsdanceinthedark  / @lilywoood / @ivegotillegalsinmybottom / @irinazatyk / @thinemineours / @ssserpensortiaaa / @starless-skyox / @lalafral / @hxbbit / @itsjustmylifeconfessions / @marauderskeeper/ @buddha-for-satan / @geeksareunique / @russosprettydiamondnow / @cutie-bug/ @deloslxgan  / @acciophoenx / @presstocontinue / @sassygirl25 / @iamnotbenbarneswifeyet / @the-temple-pythoness/ @youveseen–thebutcher / @random-quartz / @curlyhairedblueeyedangel / @myfriendmademedothisxd / @verniquelenoir / @aimingforthehiddenstars / @sssilverssserpent / @blogsulat  / @lostinthoughts23 / @sunaeroglu / @skwriddle / @lady1505 / @deviantly-gayy/ @whovianayesha / @delusionsofnostalgia / @songtoyou  / @funerals-with-cake / @abroadcastofthemind  / @i-padfootblack-things / @something-tofightfor/ @dylanobrusso / @suchatinyinfinity / @silverkitten547 / @propertyofpoeandbucky / @ponycake27 / @weallhaveadestiny /  @siriuslyimmoony / @breanime / @saltyshaggymeme / @bellamys  / @its-my-little-dumpster-fire / @luminex3 / @agent-scully-182 / @rockintensse / @ymariejp / @blah-blah-fuckit-shit / @grotesquely-creative/ @suna-the-lost-cause / @j-finco / @mathle0matle / @life-is-a-melody / @traeumerinwitzhelden

[pudding-on-parade]

Rambling about Lylanir

Just contemplating rules and culture and, y’know, world-building stuff. Also to-do lists. It’s mostly meant for me because I find that “writing” helps me to clarify things in my own head, but if you want to read along, feel free. :) I’ll warn you that it’s really long, and I’ll probably edit it over time to make it longer still. Or maybe shorter, if I delete things I’ve gotten done. WHO KNOWS WHAT I’LL DO???!!

Right now, I’m just working in Edit Town mode. I’ve moved in a placeholder Sim (who will be annihilated when I start adding the real population; I love that you can do that in TS3) so that I can let the world run a bit so that it generates service Sims. Currently, I’m deleting some rabbitholes I don’t want and adding some that I do. Also, some lots for some of the Ambitions functions. Like, do not want school but do want stadium, police, and military, so I’ve deleted/put those down. 

Also do want:

A spa. Partly rabbithole, partly playable. I want it to be a hot springs. Gonna use one of the world’s empty 64x64 lots for it, I think. Maybe a little smaller, but still a big lot. The DV spa rabbithole is pretty elvish-looking, so I might use a rug instead...or I might decide elvish-looking is OK for a spa. Mostly, I just want it to be pretty and relaxing.

A junkyard. I wish there were more period-appropriate junk piles, but I’ll make do with the “normal” ones. I also want to look at the “Inventing Overhaul” mod I have. I think I remember that you can replace the inventable objects with other things. I’d like some more slightly-advanced but closer to period-appropriate things than the advanced tech that mod uses. Like, inventing telescopes, for instance. Not sure I’ll be able to do that because I have zero TS3-modding skills, and if I can’t, I’ll settle for them inventing anachronistic stuff, mostly because I just love inventor Sims and the blacksmith’s house in the village is already furnished with an inventing station.

Business, criminal, theater, and science rabbitholes.

An art gallery that’s really more of a studio, with easels and sculpting stations and that Store glass-blowing/jewelry-making thing. maybe the toy-making thing from the Store and stuff like that. I’m going back and forth as to whether this stuff should be part of a residential home for a Da Vinci-like Sim or if it should be a community lot so that everyone of an artistic bent can use the stuff. I’m currently leaning more toward the latter.

A non-rabbithole, playable boarding school for the less-agrarian kids. Not sure what I need to do in TS3 to make that work. Need to do some reading/thinking about it.

Something for vampires, but definitely not a typical “Vampire Lounge.” I’m thinking....Well, the town has a monastery. It has a big, explorable, and very gothy tomb under it. Kinda thinking the “brothers” will all be vampires.

Maybe want:

A hospital rabbithole. I can’t decide if I want the medical careers (including custom ones I have, like nursing) in this world. I know I won’t be sending people there to birth babies -- mostly because of travel time -- so otherwise its only function would be careers, so....I don’t know. The world’s alchemy-heavy, and I have some custom elixirs for curing illness and such, so maybe a hospital is unnecessary.

A salon. Makeovers might be nice. A super-gay medieval stylist would be hilarious. Tattoos...maybe. In the real world, tattooing goes back to at least ancient Egypt, but I’d need to download some more appropriate designs than what the game comes with. I’m not sure this is important enough to me to go to that effort.

Wish I could have: A fire station. But that requires the fire truck and that’s pushing anachronism tolerance waaaaaay beyond my threshold. :)

Then, I need to go into all the prebuilt lots and edit them as needed. Like, I know because I looked that some of them have all modern kitchen appliances. Do not want.

Once all that’s done, all the service Sims ought to have been generated. So the next step will be making them over so they look right. Because they generate like this:

Yeah, that’s not gonna work. *laugh* But, I’ll only need to change hairs and everyday outfits, so it shouldn’t take long. What will take a long time will be making the playables, given the CAS lag I have. Which hopefully won’t be as bad since this Mods folder will be much lighter on the hair than my “normal” folder...

So, some ideas about this place’s environment and culture and all that:

Its climate will be temperate with all four seasons but on the cooler side. Longer autumn/winter/spring, shorter summer. Mostly to make farming a little harder. Lifespans will be longer to match because I like to take my time with things. Horses, of course, will be integral to this world.

Traveling won’t be allowed, so it’ll be an isolated culture with no one immigrating or emigrating once I’ve got the population set. UNLESS I decide to “network” in one or two other historical worlds of a similar era using the Traveler mod. I don’t know that I’m up for setting up more than this world, though. *laugh*

I’ve been putting in some thought about this place’s culture and while I don’t have much figured out yet, I DO know that this place is definitely going to be fantasy with only a medieval-esque veneer. But I also want it to have an unusual culture, not an LOTR-like sort of epic fantasy. This means it’s going to diverge a lot from the real Middle Ages, and I’m not gonna care. Given that, I’ve decided to go all out on some fantasy things.

Like, I’m going to use the dragons that came with Dragon Valley. I’m not quite sure how yet. I might limit them to supernatural Sims having them, maybe only one kind of supernatural having them. Maybe as a sort of witch familiar? Not that I don’t want witches to have cats, of course! *laugh* Maybe dragons can be fairy companions...

That said, obviously supernaturals will be integral here. :) But there won’t be superstition or stigma about them. No witch trials/burnings or anything like that. They’ll just be...people. Well, OK, if I do a feral werewolf colony, they’ll probably be feared, but otherwise? People will be cool with the supernatural, even embracing them and seeking to become one, i.e., those monastic vampires. Even though the vampires are probably gonna kill people. For population control, if nothing else.

For the supernaturals....I’ve downloaded a bunch of skin color ramps, I think they’re called. The things with ranges of unnatural colors on one slider. I’ve never used them. I think I’m going to use them for at least some of the supernaturals, designating a color family for each type of supernatural. I also have a mess of unnatural hair color presets, and I’ll do unnatural eye colors, too. I want to do this partly because I think it’ll be visually interesting and very different from what I’ve done in all my Simming before, but mostly because I’m curious to see how the Advanced Genetics that are part of NRAAS’s Story Progression (as well as a mod I have that blends parental hair colors) will handle such things. I’m hoping for some interesting results, especially with supernatural hybrids. 

Speaking of witch burnings...Religion. If there is one at all in this world, I’m definitely not doing anything from the real-world West. Probably won’t even do anything like the Sims Medieval style of religion. I’m not sure if the “monastery” will be related to religion at all, in fact. Currently, I’m leaning toward it being the vampires themselves who are worshipped by everyone else or at least by all the humans. Like, people could send them sacrifices to be drained in exchange for...something. :) I have no idea what right now. But I’m toying with a “backstory” about vampires that they are perhaps technologically advanced and not even former humans. Maybe they’re aliens, maybe they’re time travelers. Maybe they’re stranded in Lylanir, maybe they came deliberately as observers or something. Mostly, I’m thinking this because I want to be able to use the science station to make forbidden fruit seeds because I want to use Plantsims. *laugh* I can utilize that big-ass tomb under the monastery to hide some more advanced tech. 

But one cultural thing that I am certain of: It’s going to be an egalitarian society. None of this female oppression bullshit. I don’t want it to be female-dominated, either, but just....equal. So, women don’t have to be married and push out a dozen babies if they don’t want to. And they can wear comfortable, practical clothing, including pants. And they don’t have to cover their hair. And they can be badass warriors if they want to be. All that stuff. 

A bit of culture I’ve invented, following on from women not having to cover their hair, is that women above child-age will wear braided hairstyles, and the more elaborate the braiding, the higher the status she has. Because only those with status would have time to sit for hours and braid (or have someone else braid) their hair. I’ve downloaded a bunch of elaborately-braided hairstyles, and I’m looking forward to using them. 

And I want to think of something similar for men, but I’m having a hard time coming up with something. I’d be fine with complex braids for them, too, but alas such hairstyles don’t seem to exist for males. At least, not very many of them. Maybe tattoos, if I make them more expensive than the game charges for them? If that, then I need to move a salon up to the “Do Want” list.

And that’s enough, I think....FOR NOW!

[goron-king-darunia]

Coffee Soulmate Drabble

Based on this, but reworked to be more articulate and also to avoid piggybacking on a post. Also realized that the prompt was meant to be about what soulmates think when they see each other, not their first words to each other, so I tweaked the premise a bit to fit the reveal I wanted. *~*~*

Emil had waited what felt like eons to finally see his soul mark. Friends from school had mostly gotten theirs already. Marta and Alice got theirs during a schoolyard tussle in middle school. Other classmates had theirs appear during grocery store trips or vacations and spring break. Many more had theirs pop up while messaging someone online for the first time, or just before receiving a response to an online comment. Emil had no such luck. He was still young, of course. Some people didn’t have their soul marks show up until their forties. But he was dying to finally see his. He didn’t want to wait that long. Ever since he was a kid, he’d wanted to find his special someone. A Knight or warrior princess to sweep him off his feet and carry him far, far away from his abusive relatives. Preferably a knight or prince charming of course, but soulmates could be unexpected and Emil wasn’t picky. Alas, here he stood in the Lezareno Coffee Shop, brewing orders and making frappes and getting harangued by customers who “just wanted a plain cup of coffee” and couldn’t bother to even listen to the explanation that there are 30 different blends and they needed to pick one because the procedure is the procedure. His colleague Colette had just finished up ringing up a man with bright red hair and Emil was in awe. The guy looked to be a college student. He was dressed in a pressed white shirt with a bolo tie and some black slacks with a laptop and messenger bag and a perpetually-caffeine-deprived look on his features. Eye-bags, pursed lips, slouched shoulders, grumpy frown. Despite all this, he was a handsome man. His shiny polished loafers were the only thing that really threw Emil off. People his age usually wore tennis shoes, even in nice clothes. They were comfy and they were meant to get dirty so they didn’t require as much upkeep. Loafers were an old-people fashion in this generation. As preppy as the look was, though, his shuffle and slouch were unmistakeably characteristic of a man whose bank of “fucks I give” had basically run empty. Dude had maybe two fucks left at best. Guy clearly just wanted to be left alone to his business. Sadly, that meant that as cute as he was, Emil was going to have to refrain from asking him for his number on break.

While working on a caramel frappuccino for a lady that had just ordered, a wild-looking blond walked in, slapped a bill down on the counter and just said. “Coffee, hot, lots of it. Surprise me with the blend. Make it blonder than me and absolutely saturate that with sugar. Add two espressos shots to it. And can I get a straw?” Colette just nodded and totaled up the amount for their daily blend with a double espresso, extra cream, caramel syrup, and replaced the bill the blond had put on the counter with change and a wrapped plastic straw. “Thanks, you’re amazing.” He added the change to the tip jar and waited by the other end of the counter to pick up his drink. Emil was a bit baffled by this new guy. The boy had very similar features to himself. The exact shades of blond in both their hairs were different but without the side-by-side, you’d never tell. The customer’s eyes were more hazel than green, too, but one would have to look close to notice. Their body builds were a bit different, and this was probably the most prominent detail. Emil had a bit more muscle on him (he spent as much time running away from his home life as possible) and the customer was a bit wiry and lithe but if you really didn’t scrutinize their faces, they’d be able to switch places no problem. A heavy coat, jeans, sunglasses and they’d basically be indistinguishable. The customer’s face was sharper, a bit older looking, more masculine, while Emil’s features were a bit softer and rounder, but at a distance? Yeah. They could be twins. Except for the customer’s fashion sense. Emil, when he wore casualwear, usually wore a nice v-neck in a neutral color, a nice vest or scarf or jacket depending on the weather, and shorts or jeans in a nice cool tone. This customer was decked out in red and black, dark jeans and thigh high boots. He had a gold chain with an angel emblem on it but also a billowing white coat. Emil couldn’t tell if he was a nerd, a counterculture punk, or a dweeb attempting to be edgy. Then again, as he was also a college kid from the looks of things, he might have just thrown on whatever was clean and comfy. Emil couldn’t tell. Emil brewed up the order as Collette finished ringing up another customer. The blond barista placed the cup on the counter just as Collete tapped him on the shoulder. “Can you cover the registers for a quick minute?” Emil nodded, doing as he was told. luckily there was no one in line so he just had to keep an eye on things while he worked on other tasks and prioritize running the register if anyone did show up.

Aster, the aforementioned blond customer with weird fashion sense, was enjoying his hot cup of pure caffeine and sugar, just about to make his way out the door when he felt a faint tingle on the inside of his right wrist. He’d heard the stories. He was excited to know what the first words his soulmate would speak to him were going to be. He’d always dreamed of something like “Hey, hot stuff! Nice ass!” just so he could eternally shame his soulmate for catcalling him or something sweet like “Wow, you look really friendly! Can you help me study this week?” Some kind of college meet-cute that would lead to some wholesome stories for the kids someday. He eagerly rolled up his sleeves. Would it be funny? Heartwarming? Quirky? Flattering? He frowned when he read the small string of words, printed in a tiny serif font along his arm. “Who the hell drinks coffee with a straw?!”

Well that was simply unacceptable! Not only was his soulmate clearly a classless heathen who hated the finer things, but now he was stuck with this stupid soulmate mark! Aster turned around, leaning against the doorframe and eyeing the other patrons suspiciously, angrily sipping his coffee through his straw. As soon as his soulmate uttered those words, he was gonna kick their ass. He glared over the crowd, daring some chuckefuck to stand up and say it to his face. He was going to wreck them so hard he’d ruin the relationship eternally and blow that soulmate mark right off his arm.

Richter twitched, eyes narrowing at the blond beginning to exit and the words began forming in his mind. He didn’t even notice the blond turn to survey the rest of the patrons before he set his own coffee aside and found himself shooting up from his seat, massively offended on behalf of the rest of the sane people in this store. “WHO THE HELL DRINKS COFFEE WITH A STRAW?!” Aster’s head whipped around. You! He thought. I’ll rip you a new one right here! But before he could get the words out he softened immediately. Oh no. He’s hot.

“It’s not even iced coffee!” Richter continued, gesturing wildly at the blond’s absurd setup. “What are you even?! Wh– These cups come with lids with mouth holes you know!? So they don’t spill everywhere and so you can drink on the go!” Richter felt his own wrist tingle and paused.  He was filled with anticipation certain that the barista was going to call him out on that statement. In fact he was praying for it. Because the barista was kinda cute. But no. The words appeared on his wrist moments before they were uttered. 

“The straw cools the coffee off on its way to my mouth hole.” 

Richter cringed. Oh no. Why him? He’s cute, too but WHY HIM?! Why not that cute barista boy?! And why did it have to be these words?! Emil’s head shot up. “Oh dear.” Suddenly both his wrists were tingling. It happened sometimes when someone had two simultaneous soulmates. Some people ended up picking one and letting the other mark fade. Some picked both if they could manage it. Emil had heard stories of as many as four simultaneous soulmates and there were legends of people who’d had even more. Emil glanced around, wondering who they could be. It hit him just as the words faded in on his arms and he locked eyes with the blond customer. Aster called out. “Yo! Barista boy! You can back me up on that, right? Drinking coffee with a straw isn’t weird, yeah?” “Oh, please! For real, you can settle this right now, my friend. Drinking coffee with a straw is barbaric right? Leaving the cup open like that while walking around in public, ready to spill on everyone! The correct way to drink a hot beverage is obviously from a travel mug or ceramic!” Aster and Richter both felt their other wrists tingle and they paused their argument, smiling faintly at the words that appear. “You’re both idiots and you need to stop yelling or my boss is gonna kick you out before I get your numbers.” “Seems like you’re going to be settling more than just this argument, huh?” Richter smiled. “You haven’t even asked him out and you’re expecting him to mediate all our arguments?” Aster sassed the redhead, elbowing him in the chest. “We don’t even know each other’s names!” The three convened at the counter as Colette came back to work the register. “I’m Richter.” The redhead offered his right hand to Emil. “Emil.” The blond flashed his nametag on his apron before shaking Richter’s hand with a smile. “Aster Laker.” The other blond reached out to Emil’s still extended hand for another handshake before reluctantly taking Richters.  Richter entered their names into his phone and they exchanged contacts. “Alright, thanks for that. I’ll text you our numbers, Emil.” His phone pinged as the text was sent. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. You’re working after all. But before I go harass this guy about his habits, can we get your professional barista opinion?” Richter grinned. Emil chuckled. “You’re both wrong. Iced coffee is the only good coffee so drinking a hot coffee any way you want to is wrong.” Aster cackled, nearly spilling his coffee as he doubled over laughing. “I can’t tell if you’re a contrarian or just want to dodge the question. This will be an interesting relationship for sure.” Richter smiled, sipping from the mouthpiece of his cup. “What if I drink my coffee through 25 swizzle sticks glued together?” Aster cackled. “Am I valid?” Emil and Richter just stared at him. “You’re insane.” Richter murmured, though his face was glowing with amusement. “Absolutely bonkers.” Emil laughed. “I’ll let you two know when I’m off. Don’t murder each other before I’m done with my shift, okay?” “No promises.” Richter smiled, walking Aster back to his table

[marvmacdonald]

“she's fucking impetuous and daring, a little too bold and way too fucking fearless.”

MARY MACDONALD is 21 years old and works as an JUNIOR AUROR and is loyal to THE OOTP they were an GRYFFINDOR and are a MUGGLEBORN. SHE look like CHRISTIAN SERRATOS. 

CHARACTER PARALLELS: jessica jones ( jessica jones ), leia organa ( star wars ), arya stark ( asoiaf ), johanna mason ( the hunger games ), nancy wheeler ( stranger things ), rosa diaz ( b99 ), ellie ( the last of us ), raven reyes ( the 100 ), kat edison ( the bold type ), nina zenik ( six of crows ) AESTHETIC: red lipstick stains on drained cups of tea, leather jackets, cigarette bums crushed under doc martens, sitting down in the shower and letting time pass by, always wearing your gold cross necklace, messy ponytails, beer burps, laughter that’s filled with desperation, jean dungarees, screaming in your pillow, mud stained clothes, denim on denim on denim. LINKS: stats. pinboard. character tag. playlist.

history

mary had a little lamb? WRONG. mary had a little calf. because she was born on a dairy farm in the highlands of scotland ( laugh at my joke pls i worked hard on it ). she was born third to two muggles – a scottish father and a mexican mother, who loved each other deeply – and would eventually become their middle child. she could have become overlooked, but mary never felt discounted at home: while her parents were very often busy with the cows, their love ran deep.

her youth consisted of this: running through fields of grass, attending a muggle elementary where people sang songs at her ( old macdonald had a farm and mary had a little lamb, the former of which was, of course, accurate ), playing with the animals, building tree houses with her brothers and sister and playing football every spare moment she got. it was good and simple and wholesome.

of course, strange things happened, as they tend to with muggleborns: she’d explode her brother’s toy when she got angry, or let things fly around the room when she was laughing. when she found out she was a witch at age eleven, things fell in its place. and the macdonalds, while traditional catholics, accepted mary, which is the most important thing of it all. her parents were shocked, yes, but they squeezed her shoulder and promised to discover this all together.

which?? very much influenced mary greatly? because it went against a lot of things they – and she, too – believed in. magic was deemed evil by the church they attended. everything about this was supposed to be wrong, but her parents shifted their views because their love for their daughter was greater than their desire to cling to all the rules the church laid down for them, this has allowed her to have a faith in people, and while she may be cynical and bitter at times, that faith is still there.

i mean --- her parents accepted her, they were capable of openmindedness despite being traditional people in most other situations. other people can too.

hogwarts was as chaotic as home, and mary settled in quite nicely. sorted into gryffindor ( she guessed it was for her rambunctious nature, but who knew ), she found herself a second home and loved it. as it turned out, she was rather good with a wand as well – she didn’t do so good at essays, though – and genuinely liked learning ( except for history of magic. fuck that. ).

being a muggleborn had its downsides, of course, but mary never really allowed herself to feel discouraged. hurt? yes, definitely, but never discouraged. she wasn’t going to let it get to her, she told herself, but it did, especially when the harsh words turned into something more. it was during her confrontation with mulciber that mary felt true, harsh fear for the first time. she felt shut down, paralysed, depressed —– but then, after a while, she got up and took some important steps. she reported mulciber, which led to nothing, which caused her to feel angry, which in turn caused her to feel determination. if the system wasn’t going to be on her side, she’d just have to fucking change it, right? mary started throwing herself in her schoolwork, determined to join the dmle – hopefully as an auror, but any position would do. she suppressed her fear and the trauma that was there, and kept her head straight.

this entire situation is up for change and stuff when/if we get a mulciber! 

graduation rolled around and mary got the five required NEWTs to even apply. it was a nervewracking process, but once she got into auror training, she cried. like. for a full ass day. she was so proud of herself and she felt so determined and !! man. it was such a good, defining moment. around the same time, mary joined the order; she knew the ministry was corrupt, and that it’d not allow her to do everything she wanted to, when the order DID. mary had too much anger, too much determination to fight this bullshit to just stick with the ministry, and so the order seemed like the right place.

it’s only recently that mary graduated from her training and became a junior auror. it’s ... infuriating, at times, but also amazing. she hates the ministry and most of the people in it, feels paranoid in those walls, but knows that there are good people, too. people who want to better that place, like she does.

kaz brekker voice: brick by brick, i will destroy you.

also --- mary is ... very quite involved in the war. her time is divided between the order and work, and her dog. she’s determined to get this war to end. she doesn’t even care if she destroys herself in the process --- what does her life mean, if she could help save numerous people?

so right now, she’s fighting. she’s gritting her teeth and keeping her goals in the back in her mind and is focusing. and she does not always feel brave or confident or self assured, but that does not matter: mary macdonald always gets the fuck back up, and that’s what she will keep doing until she’s completely knocked down.

personality & tidbits.

mary is a human espresso. she’s so. damn. bitter?? despite the fact that she keeps on going and that she’s fighting her ass off, she’s tired and angry that things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction, she’s feeling bitter about the fact that this kind of discrimination is happening right in front of her eyes and that she does not have enough power to stop it. she feels powerless, which makes her feel bitter, which makes her cynical.

still! mary is not necessarily a debbie downer to be around. she keeps her bitterness ( and hopelessness, even ) carefully hidden in boxes in her mind. on the outside, she’s filled with quips and smiles and quick comments! just a sociable bean, but just a bitter one.

is a dog person and will fight anyone who prefers cats. has a cairn terrier called bowie. she loves him more than anyone.

obsessed with tea, tbh. her ma always said that ‘there’s nothing a cuppa can’t fix’ and mary definitely agrees with this statement.

though is also a ‘whiskey in a teacup’ kinda gal

can be spotted wearing either a rly nice ass blazer or a jean jacket, no inbetween. either office-fancy or farmer-chique

fucking loves muggle culture and loves fellow muggleborns and !!!!!! she loves it!!!

very much in a take-no-prisoners mindset at this point re: death eaters. it kind of scares her, tbh, but mary is very much capable of murdering a death eater, even if she could stun them — she’s just done. she’s very. done. with them. and this whole shbang? will only feed into this.

mary is ruthless, that’s what it boils down to. she’s a lot more than that, of course, but she’s ruthless — in small things ( football matches & boardgames ) but also in bigger ones, and of course the war is the main way it shows. mary is so angry. she’s so angry and scared and tired of feeling that way and tired of being scared to lose people and herself and of death and she’s so angry that people really are this way and that they really do these things — she wants it to stop. she wants the world to be right. and sometimes she thinks the ends do justify the means.

this is why she’s chaotic neutral and not chaotic good.

like ive had her turned to dark arts before just bc she’s so desperate to. fucking win. tbh i’m sure she has a growing interest rn. stop it mary :(

and she’s also like — mary doesnt care if she ruins herself? if she becomes a bad person who’s unable to live with the shit she’s done? as long as the world is better for it, as long as kids can go to hogwarts and feel safe and the world is a safe place for everyone. what does her soul matter in the grand scheme of things? she’d burn in hell forever if it meant the rest of the world changed for the better.

emotionally driven mess of a being

is catholic but struggles a lot with religion and feeling faithful, but she does still identify is a catholic, it’s just? complicated. it’s rly complicated and she hates it.

is a bit flighty when it comes to romance, def has a lot of one night stands/fwb situations though??? she’s just like??? i dont have time for romance its a WAR

has been trying to stop smoking for five years, but alas

a proud scot. a proud latina. proud proud proud. such a fucking lionness.

mary was a beater during her time at hogwarts and was Highly competitive. threw herself into the sport tbh after the mulciber incident. she still thinks football is superior, but you know, it isnt in the air.

she’s pan and out of the closet --- something that did put a strain on her relationship with her family. ( the fact that they could accept her magic but not her sexuality ... baffles mary, but bigots have never been very reasonable. ) she’s not very open about it at home, but otherwise ... she’s out here lovin everyone.

plot ideas!

roomies —– so mary is not Earning A Whole Lot Right Now but does not want to live at home any more because 1. its in the middle of nowhere and 2. most importantly, she’s afraid of endangering her family. she needs roomies! i’d love for her to live in glasgow/edinburgh/london/idk a city!!!

hook ups/fwb’s/etc —– mary is what the old ppl call promiscuous and she sleeps around. so ! let’s talk! former hook ups! booty calls! friends with benefits! etc etc etc!

party pals —- mary likes going to pubs and clubs in the muggle part of town bc it is a LIT way to escape the reality of the wizarding world and also, muggle clubs have better music. come party w her!!!!

in the dragon’s den together —- fellow ministry employees who side eye the ministry and whom mary can sip tea and judge their colleagues with

mudbloods club —- mary loves her fellow muggleborns and i would love some muggleborn friends that she can be buds with. ranting about dumb pureblood names and traditions and the fact that wizards dont have movies

general friendship ideas —- im just going to a bunch of ideas here: hogwarts friends, ride or dies, order pals, friendly exes, fellow tea drinkers that she can go on coffee/tea dates with, friends who are growing apart bc of the war (my fave), etc.

etc —- some other ideas i want to spitball: purists who h8 on mary’s life, fellow diagon alley employees, fellow order members, Annoyances, there is solidarity in being scottish, ministry connections, etc etc etc HIT ME UP

[tumblunni]

Hhhh bunni legs pain accomplishment day

I HAVE FINISHED THE SHOPPING OF HELL

Tfw u only get paid 4 days before christmas and have to rush everything aaaa

It was bad enough today so i'm so glad i got it done before it got even more busy!

Misc boring essentials i bought for myself: new phone charger cos broken, new trousers cos i spilt hair bleach on my only two pairs, new shoes cos my left shoe literally snapped in half down the middle like wtf even happened there, cheap pink hair dye from a discount store cos i wanna try different colours but in a thrifty way

Now for EXCITING CHRISTMAS PRESENT TIME!!!!

First off SO MANY pc and xbox 360 games from Every Charity Shop In Cardiff, St Mellons, Rumney and Llanrumney. My sis has been trying to find some games to play but was like 'dont worry about it i can just wait til the charity shop gets something good'. So i thought i'd get some stocking stuffers via all the charity shops on my side of town. By our powers combined we will blitz the entire vale of glamorgan's discount gaming scene!!! I found SO MANY good stuff for £1/£2/£3 like holy shit i love when charity shops dont know the proper price for shit XD

speaking of which i also found a WEBCAM for £2! If its that cheap it probanly isnt great but itd still be fun to play around with! :D and the same store also had an old vintage G1 My Little Pony coffee mug in excellent condition. Oh god the nostalgia! My support worker gave me a lift to llanrumney so i had to awkwardly explain why i had an armful of weird 80s mugs and big teary eyes!

Speaking of vintage, i found this new vintage toys and games shop in cardiff called Galactic Attic! The name hooked me in and then they actually DID have pokemon inside! As well as all sorts of stuff ranging from 40s to 90s, wow! There was even a lil pile of old 90s gaming magazines in the corner, covered up by a bunch of boxes. I'm glad i noticed them! I got the announcemt issues for pokemon diamond pearl and platinum in a weird old pokemon fan magazine that i loved as a kid. Im kinda sad that nowadays we just have one official magazine fpr each console and not the wild madness of amateaur journalists failing horribly to get news from japan. Shame they didnt have Beckett Pokemon cos that one was infamous fot drawing its own terrible interpretations of pokemon sprites to avoid copyright. And speaking of terrible, they even had bootleg pokemon!! I talked to the cashier and he was like "you know those are fake right" and i was like "yeah its so nostalgic thats why i want em" and he was like "lol yeah they actually sell pretty well so i'm not mad my supplier ripped me off". It was a pretty good and awesomely terrible fake at the same time? There was this exact replica of some japanese display stand for the product and then the actual pokeball toys looked perfect BUT the mini pokemon inside were.. Really not. I am so damn happy with the surprise inside my one, surprise inside has never been more accurate! I can't take a picture now cos my phone is charging but REGICHEETO. Just..just imagine that, and whatever you're imagining it is probably worse. I love it so fuckin much. Also less hilariously there were some bootleg mini pika plushies with actually (as far as i can tell) their own unique design? They have cute lil winter scarves and an art style that reminds me of the Magical Pokemon Adventure manga. A really cute and good bootleg that i would have loved to see as a real product! The only way you can even tell its a bootleg is because there's no marking on the tail. I dunno, maybe if i still have some brown fabric in the cupboard i could fix it? Or maybe its unique tail makes it even more special! I mean there's Cosplay Pikachu with its double tail marking so maybe this is her cousin Accessory Pikachu with no markings? He just likes wearing scarfs and hats and stuff. OMG HE'S THE POKEMON GO EVENT PIKACHU!!!!!!

Along the miscness of finding a few things for myself, i also found: cute lil pokemon pencilcase, kingdom hearts blind bag, cheap copy of Fruits Basket volume 1 cos the new remake is coming out soon and i wanna Get Hype! The KH blind bag was really weird cos i didnt know they now have an entirely different set as well as the keychains i bought before. Its kind of a shame the art style doesnt match cos vexen is only in the keychains, alas! But i do really love these ones! Theyre apparantly made by funko pop but dont have the art style AT ALL, they just look like really accurate versions of the characters in mini form. Its kinda like the 'distance animation' style in steven universe? (Incidentally they also do SU ones but they missed the opportunitu to actually use the distance style, lol) I got a Sora in his kh2 outfit and i'm decently happy with that, its not one i really wanted but its not a bad one either. But i think now i've tried the fun of surprise once i'll just buy the actual ones i want off ebay later. They have roxas in his organization outfit! With a happy smile!!!

Oh oh and then EVEN MORE XBOX GAMES OF THE WILD THRIFT STORE VOID! i managed to find the whole fable series, two assassins creeds, saints row, gta, some misc shooter games and racers that she wanted but i dont know much about, mass effect 2 and ff13. I think maybe one or two others cos i cant fully remember right now. Theyre all in separate bags strewn across the room and my shoulders feel like death so i'll sort through them later.

Aaaand i wrote up like 14 paragraphs more but tumblr didnt save my draft fpr some fuckin reason and now im way too tired to do it again

Briefer summary:

* had a huge horrible panic attack getting stuck in a skyscraper shopping centre clothes place full of screaming and every perfume smell and WHY DO I HAVE TO NAVIGATE THIS HELL MAZE TO FIND THE ESCALATOR and seriously i was my most primal animalistic self and i went full fight or flight on this bitch

* had a lovely time visiting Cool Shop Grandma and rambled the story of how i met her and how we became friends but hhh too tired to rewrite. But anyway today i gave her a christmas pikachu plush as thanks for everything and cos her shop is moving on to its next location soon. She got really teary and gave me a big hug! She's gonna be at a comic con in march so i hope i'm able to go to that and see her again.

* went on a wild goose chase looking for harry potter merchandise and eventually found a gold plated replica of the movie prop version of the time turner and HELL YES my sis will love it!

* rambled about several market stalls that were cool but i can make a separate post about that in the morning when i find their contact details to advertise them

* got a plushie delibird and decided to take selfies with it everywhere to try and fight my social anxiety somehow. We went to a neat lil restaurant and had cheesy fries and a coke float!

* asked for a refund on an item for the first time ever and im proud of myself

* went off on a mystery bus trip to buy a preowned 3ds and pokemon games from a lady in an online preowned stuff facebook group and it didnt go horribly and i am glad! She was really nice and i witnessed A Good And Smart Parenting Moment and man it healed my heart and i wish i'd been raised that way. Again i'll probably ramble about the details later when im less tired, it really touched my heart seriously! And now i have MANY GIFTS FOR SIS!

* in total i was out present shopping from 9am to 8pm and i clicked my shoulder out of its socket for a split second from.all the heavy bags. Now im in a lot of aches and i need a sleeps

The End

[thesirenserenity]

I Like It

Fandom: Voltron

Pairing: Klance!

Summary: Keith is stuck at the ballroom dance social at Shiro's studio. Lance, a dance teacher there, is determined to get him on the dance floor. Keith, who is a hip-hop teacher and competition dancer, rises to the challenge and shows off for Lance. Awkward confessions and sudden kisses follow! A fluffy one-shot dance au, featuring Keith shaking his ass, a flustered Lance, mutual pining, and flirting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @kimchee2222​!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you love your present!! It was so fun to write dancing again! Thank you for making the request and causing plot bunnies to flow. 

A huge thank you to @thisismyfangirlface​ for Beta-ing for me! You always catch my awkward things and fix them!!

Check it out on ao3. Dance video links at the end. 

Keith glared at his book, his hair flopping down into his face with his huff. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t the book’s fault that he was stuck at Shiro’s ballroom dance studio, surrounded by tons of flamboyantly loud people and the overwhelmingly loud music that switched between genres. It honestly gave him whiplash to have his foot tapping to Latin music, then to a pop song, then to a soft waltz, then to swing music. He sunk further into the couch, wishing he wore his maroon hoodie so he could flip his hood up and nope away from all of this. But alas, he was still in his dance class attire: ripped black, stretchy skinny jeans, his worn black high tops, a black v-neck, and a red-checkered flannel. He was horribly out-dressed by all the instructors and students in dress pants or flowy skirts. He didn’t understand how people could dance in nice clothes, but he was just glad he didn’t wear sweatpants or anything embarrassing like that.

Because Keith’s bike was in the shop, Shiro had offered him a ride home from his Urban dance studio down the road. But the ride home had come with a stop at Altea Ballroom Dance Studio, where Shiro worked that evening, and now he was stuck here until Shiro was done.

From what he understood, Shiro had a lesson and then there was a dance social? He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he had a feeling it was along the lines of a ‘lots of people get together and ballroom dance’ type of thing. Shiro had also said that there would be food, and from the fragrant smells in the air, it was Mexican food. Maybe the theme was Latin night?

He tried to get sucked back into his book, but the loud noises of people filing into the studio was very distracting. He wanted to smack himself for forgetting his headphones on the kitchen counter, but honestly, the music probably would have been too loud for the little headphones to drown out. Note to Keith: buy better headphones when his first paycheck on his new raise comes in.

“Keith!”

His head snapped up as a small figure came barreling at him and rammed into him, making him lose his balance and topple over sideways on the couch.

He yelped in surprise and looked down to see his arms full of his little gremlin of a best friend. “Hello Pidgey,” he sighed.

Pidge pulled back from the tackle hug and grinned up at him. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight! Did Shiro finally convince you to come to a Social?”

Keith raised a snarky eyebrow, “Do you really think I would willingly come to anything dubbed ‘social?’”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Yea, yea, you antisocial little fuck. Then how did he manage to drag you here?”

“Necessity. My class got out right before this and my bike is still in the shop, so Shiro picked me up.”

“Aww, big bro loves you!”

“Shut up, small bean,” Keith sassed, mimicking Matt’s nickname for Pidge.

Her eyes flashed dangerously, “Don’t call me that.”

“Don’t tease me,” he smirked.

“Fair.”

She stood up from their awkward tangle on the couch and Keith got a good look at her. He let out a low whistle, “Damn, Pidge, you clean up nice.”

Pidge nervously brushed the wrinkles from her olive green jumpsuit. The fabric hugged her legs down to her black keds, and the collared top was sleeveless. It was a far cry different from her usual cargo shorts and oversized sweatshirt.

“Thanks, you don’t think it’s too much?”

He shook his head and grinned, “It looks good! A lot better for you than Allura’s swishy dresses.”

She huffed, “Allura did manage to get some mascara on me, though.”

Keith chuckled, imagining Shiro’s girlfriend, and the co-owner of the studio, pinning down a squirming Pidge to get mascara on her. “I would have killed to see that.”

She turned her head to the side, mumbling, “Matt was dying of laughter.”

He laughed harder at that, “Damn, I bet. Though, honestly, I didn’t notice a difference. You just look like you actually slept last night.”

“Thank god,” Pidge grinned. “I thought I looked weird.”

“I mean,” Keith smirked, “you actually sleeping is weird.”

Pidge flipped him off, “For that, you have to save a dance for me tonight.” She turned, leaving before he could protest.

He still yelled after her retreating back, “Nope! Not dancing tonight!”

She ignored him, walking through the open door that lead to the giant dance floor. Looking through the glass walls, he saw that the floor was filling and the social was now in full swing.

He sighed in defeat and pulled his book back up to his face.

Pidge’s brother and Shiro’s best friend, Matt, did the bookkeeping for Altea Ballroom Dance Studio, and so Pidge got discounts on lessons. While it was a far different hobby from her robotics and computer programing (read: hacking), Keith still knew that Pidge loved the thrill of dancing. She occasionally did some hip-hop classes with him, but she loved how fast ballroom dancing allowed her to switch between genres. It kept her active mind engaged and she memorized the dance sequences as fast as she did binary code.

“Keith!” a familiar voice shouted, snapping his attention from his book once again.

He grinned at the familiar man coming towards him and stood, extending his hand. “Hi Hunk- oof!” Hunk snatched the outstretched hand and had surprised him with one-armed hug.

They pulled back and Keith couldn’t help but smile. Hunk’s cheerfulness was contagious, even if Keith had only hung out with him a few times. He was a friend of Pidge’s from her university and best friends with one of the instructors here.

“Hi man! I haven’t seen you since Shiro’s birthday get-together! How are you?”

Keith rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Pidge had invited him to hang out with their crew a few times, but Keith had been busy recently with the new classes he was teaching and choreographing for. “I’ve been good, just busy. I got a bit of a promotion at work.”

Hunk clapped him on the back, “Congrats man! That’s such good news! Are you going to dance tonight? I know it’s not much of your style, but tonight is Latin night, which is always fun!”

Keith shrugged, “I mean, it wasn’t my intention and I’m kinda just waiting for Shiro to be done because my bikes in the shop. But Pidge seemed pretty insistent that I dance with her at some point.”

“You so should! I’m sure she would love that. I’ve got to go find Lance, but we should hang out more! We always have a blast with you! Pidge loves having her crew together, and Lance always has fun. Mario Kart last time was a riot!”

Keith recalled the party at their house, where the four of the ‘kids,’ as Matt called Pidge’s trio and Keith, had played Mario Kart for ages. And how he and Lance had almost ended up brawling on the floor over a silly competition.

“Yea, it was… fun. We should do it again soon.”

Hunk turned, waving, and Keith flopped back down on the couch, picking his book up for the upteenth time. Good lord, he just wanted to read and avoid ballroom dancing as much as possible.

Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so, because he hadn’t even finished the page before matte black dance shoes, like the sixteen pairs Shiro has lying around the house, appeared in his view.

Keith sighed and followed the long legs up to a smirking face with gorgeous blue eyes. Not that Keith would ever admit that out loud.

He raised an eyebrow at the dance instructor, “Hello Lance.”

Lance grinned and popped out a hip, placing his hand on it. “Hello, Mullet. I didn’t think you were coming to say hi to me.”

Keith lifted up his book a little and plopped it back down in his lap. “I’m just reading here.”

“Nope!” Lance said, grabbing onto Keith’s wrist and yanking him to his feet. Keith stumbled, trying not to smack into the taller man and snatched his wrist away. Which Lance just grabbed onto again. “Shiro has been trying to get you to come to one of these for months, man. You can’t just sit there and read!”

Keith just rolled his eyes, “I’m only here because my bike is in the shop, like I told Hunk, who probably told you I was out here.”

“That he did, Mullet! And I say that you can’t just sit in a corner all night at a dance social!”

“I don’t know how to ballroom dance, nor do I intend to socialize,” Keith deadpanned.

“You’ve said hi to people, which is socializing, and I’ll teach you how to ballroom dance. It’s kinda my job.”

Keith pulled on his kidnapped wrist, “I really don’t need to learn and don’t want to be the new person on the dance floor.”

Lance didn’t let go of his wrist, “You aren’t the only new person!”

“But…”

Lance cut him off, leaning into his space, his eyes glinting with a challenge. “You scared, Keithy-boy?”

Fire rose in Keith, the familiar determination from when he hit the stage or stood in front of his class. “I’m never scared.”

“Then let’s go!” Lance surprised him by yanking him toward the door, his book forgotten on the couch.

Keith didn’t have a chance to pull back or adjust before he was swept onto the side of the dance floor, Lance spinning him around and catching him. He did everything not to stumble and looked up to see Lance’s smirking gaze inches from him, his hands burning on Keith’s back.

“Come on, pretty boy, I’ll teach you.”

Keith blinked in shock, flustered at the nickname and the close proximity. He could feel the flush creeping over his face, grateful for the dark room and flashing lights.

Lance didn’t pull away, but rather grabbed both Keith’s hands in his and pushed toward him. “Follow my feet.”

Keith looked down, recognizing the step as a Salsa, from his years of watching Shiro. While he knew what to do, he had never necessarily tried it with someone before. Though he may have been guilty of throwing similar footwork into some of his choreography.

Lance was counting for him, their linked hands still flowing with the rhythm. “Good, you picked that up fast. Feel the beat and don’t be afraid to put some hip into it.”

Keith’s eyes snapped to Lance’s rotating hips and the room got hotter.

“It makes it easier for you to flow with the rhythm,” and Lance’s hands were on his hips, guiding them how to move.

His breath hitched in his throat. Lance was pulling him closer and he couldn’t handle it.

 Sure, Lance was attractive and charming, but Keith didn’t usually go for the loud and flirty type. When they first met, Lance had worked really hard to make Keith feel welcome in their group by egging him on into competitions and flirting with him, and Keith couldn’t help but notice his smooth, tanned skin, mile-long legs, and teasing grin. He still can’t help but notice.

 So yeah, Keith didn’t usually go for the loud flirty type, but with Lance crooning instructions next to his ear, his hands burning into Keith’s hips, his gay ass couldn’t help but sit up and stand at attention.

 A drawn out “gaaaaayyyyyy,” ripped Keith from his reverie and his head snapped towards Pidge, who was spinning by with Shiro.

“Shut up, gremlin,” he snapped back.

Lance chuckled, “Don’t worry about her, she is really happy you’re here.”

Keith was really blushing now and flopped his head forward onto Lance’s shoulder. “I know snark is her love language and all, but still.”

He could feel Lance’s body shaking as he laughed. “Come on, Mullet. Stop hiding in my shoulder and let me teach you how to dance, so you can shut her up with how amazing you are.”

Keith pulled back an eyebrow raised, his embarrassment fading with the challenge. “You do know that I dance, right?”

Lance pushed Keith back into the simple salsa step and guided him into a spin. Keith flowed with it and met Lance’s competitive glance when he pulled their bodies close and folded an arm around his back. Keith got caught up in the ballroom hold, his hand tightening around Lance’s fingers.

“Well, pretty boy, so I’ve been told. Though, for someone supposedly so good at dancing, you sure seem reluctant to get on the dance floor. So naturally,” a smirk graced his lips and he leaned his face towards Keith’s, “I’ve come to question your supposed dancing skills.”

Keith’s eyes squinted and he met Lance’s swinging hips with his own, noting a hitch in the man’s breath with satisfaction. “You should know enough about me to know that I rise to any challenge,” the innuendo heavy in his voice. A smirk spread across his lips when Lance’s eyes widened.

He really listened to the music then, his senses taking in the beat. Even though it wasn’t his typical genre, these fun pop-ish Latin tunes followed the same predictable form. The familiar bubble of determination and impulsivity that had given him the courage to throw himself on stage was rising in him. His senses tuned in, his natural musicality kicking in. He could turn any song into a dance, easily.

“Then let’s see it, Keithy-boy.”

Keith smirked, ready for the challenge and took a couple steps back. He tuned into bouncy Latin beat, taking a second to feel the rhythm coursing through his veins and caught the tag of the song.

 The bass dropped out just as he started moving, the solo counter melody playing under the Spanish lyrics. He latched onto the repeating rhythm, feeling the slow-quick-quick.

 Y dónde está mi gente?

 Keith took a step towards Lance and out, scooping his arms and pushing them to his left with a slide, popping his fingers down and up on the quick beats. Then he pushed back on the next beat, waving his arms and scooping his right foot, the flow contrasting his previous snappy beats.

 (Mais il faut bouger la tête)

 Planting again, he scooped his arms up and over and then brought them together on his right hip. He popped his elbow up, keeping his arms at an angle, and ran a wave along them. His lower body followed the wave, his right foot popping on the beat.

 Y dónde está mi gente?

 Snapping his head to look to the left, he pushed his right hand through his left, and rolled his hands down, leaning with it. He popped up on the next beat, looking up to see if Lance was still watching. He grinned when he saw the man’s shocked eyes were on him and continued.

 Say yeah, yeah, yeah

 He pushed down and pulled back on his next step forward, his left foot popping up behind him. Then he stepped back, his weight falling on the left foot, and jumped back twice.

 1, 2, 3, leggo'

 He scooped his right leg on the first beat, planting his foot on the ground. On the second beat he posed, pointing and shifting right. On the third beat, he pushed forward, pointing at Lance, a smirk and challenge on his face. Then he prepped on his left foot and kicked his right leg up. Landing on it, he body rolled through popping his hips back with a sexy snap and noting a shift in Lance’s expression. A good shift.  

 The bass kicked in as he shifted away. He caught the drum hits in the music, pointing with each hand, and then hit the two triangle dings with his right. He stepped forward and back, his body rolling and hip popping with each step, matching the Latin flair in the music. He pressed his right foot out on the next beat, his hands crossing down, and popped back immediately after, his arms up and feet together. Then, he pushed down, his body collapsing, and popped back up, his legs apart and arms ready. He caught the groves in the music, hips rolling to the right as he leaned, exaggerating the movement for his audience.

 On the next beat, he snapped back to the left, transferring his weight and pushing his arms out. His right foot stepped forward, his left stepping behind, his hands snatching up the bottom of his shirt, flicking it up to expose a strip of skin and back down with his head movement on each step. Catching the next groove, he poured a hip pop into his leg twist, bringing his hands up his body as he repeated it. Then, he jumped onto his right foot, his left popping up and arms passing a wave down to his fingers. He repeated on the other side, and then did it a third time, hitting a hitch half way through, and finished with a fast headshake. Then, he threw his arms in, releasing and stepping on his left foot.

 Recalling some of the fast Latin footwork he had seen Shiro do before and aiming to impress the dance teacher watching, he crossed his feet, twisting on his right heel and releasing his left foot out, his hands pulling across his body, like a samba. His left foot swung forward and crossed over his right leg, his right hand mimicking pulling it up. Then he stepped forward, his right foot sliding up under his left foot in a small kick, and then he pushed back, his arms thrown up in the air. He looked up at Lance for a moment, giving him an “I told you so” look and was rewarded with wide eyes and a visible blush.

 He flowed backwards, planted to the side, and then contracted his abs, crossing his arms in front of his body and releasing. His arms flowed down as he bodyrolled, keeping sultry eye contact with the boy who challenged him, taking two small steps forward. Jumping his feet out, he popped right, then left, pulled it back in a small body roll, and then threw his arms over his shoulder.

 Keith stepped on his left foot, then his right, his hand pulling along with him, and then sent an isolated body wave up through his body from his feet, his hands mimicking and stopping in front of his chest. Following the drum beats in the music, he quickly placed his right hand on his right shoulder, then his left on his left, used his right hand to grab his chin, tilt his head, shift his upper body to the right, grab in the air, and then drop into his legs on the last beat.

 He froze as the words kicked back in, hearing some cheering at him and looked up, seeing that he had gathered a bit of a crowd. Sending a smirking glance at Lance, he stepped and wiggled his hips to each side and then double to the left. Pivoting forward onto his right foot, he swung his arms forward and then twisted the momentum back and repeated on the other side, his body rolling with the motion, a move he stole from Allura’s zumba. On each of the next drum beats, he hit a harsh pose, his body flowing and freezing with the music.

 On the last one, he threw his body out, rolling through each limb. The next beat had him collapsing on himself, his right arm in a fist to the ground, his left crossed over, and head down. He froze for a second, and then rolled his head up, holding eye contact with Lance. Following the movement up, he stepped on each foot, mimicking the hip swing of Latin steps, and then pushed his left foot backwards, leaning forward on his right and extending his arms slowly in a wave.

 He snapped it in, kicking his feet out quickly on each “yeah.” Getting to the end of a phrase, he jumped on each number in the music, pumping his arms, and then ended with a sharp spin.

 The music continued to pound around him and he swept his arms into a bow, grinning up at the crowd of people encircling him. He could see the shocked look on Lance’s face and crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. Keith felt pride that he could pull that flustered, blushy expression out of a hot man. Especially a hot man who danced and knew all the nuances of the Latin music that Keith had turned into his own bastardized version of hip-hop. He took a step toward Lance, ready to tease him.

 Then, the music cut off and a very familiar melody started to play.

 Yeah baby, I like it like that,

 “Come on Keith,” Shiro’s voice yelled across the room, “stop freestyling and show them what you really can do!”

 Keith threw his head back and laughed. Of course Shiro would put on the song that he had most recently choreographed.

 You gotta believe me when I tell you, I said I like it like that

 Well, it did show off his dancing and it had a Latin flair. Keith grinned at Lance, raising an eyebrow in his direction. He figured that the man could handle some more teasing and was determined to impress.

 His hips started moving with the beat, his eyes falling closed as he prepped himself to show off.

 You gotta believe me when I tell you, I said I like it like

 Now I like dollars, I like diamonds,  I like stunting, I like shining

 He started slowly, taking a step toward Lance on each beat, his hips rolling with the movement. His right fingers rubbed together, mimicking money on “dollars,” and continued upwards, a sultry look on his face. On the next two steps, he continued the walk forward, changing his sultry hip rolls to isolated pops, his arm flowing back down over his body.

 I like million dollar deals, where's my pen? Bitch I'm signin'

 The walk flowed into a jump, his right leg kicking and body popping, smacking at his left hand twice. His legs jumped out, planting, and he threw his weight to the right, hitting the mark. Then his right hand swooped out and he popped his upper body to the left, flowing it into two steps that way, his right hand in front of him and allowed his body to roll, his eyes on the man in front of him.  

 I like those Balenciagas, the ones that look like socks

 On the beat of the words, he pumped his arms by his hips, and then flowed into a slow body roll, his right leg flowing out with his right arm. The next hard beat had him pushing his ass the opposite direction, his body snapping together to follow it, and then popped his knees out on the following drum hits. His left leg kicked up on “socks” and he froze, motioning toward his feet and flicking his hands twice.

 I like going to the jeweler, I put rocks all in my watch

 Setting his foot down on the next beat, he body rolled up from his foot twice, his arms flowing up his body. He stepped out of it with his right foot, popped his knee out, pushed his arms the opposite way, and then stepped his left foot back, his right coming to cross over it, his hands flowing in front of his body to gesture to his wrist.

 I like texts from my exes when they want a second chance

 He hit the beat by bringing his arms toward his hip pop and began to step back on each beat, his arms hitting behind him and crossing in front of him. Following the rhythm, he stepped to the side and threw his arms out and back in quickly. Rolling down next, he stepped his foot out into a brief squat and shaking his hips to each side.

 I like proving niggas wrong, I do what they say I can't

 Then he went sexy, straightening up and swinging his hips to each side, his hands caressing down his chest and gaze directly at Lance. Keith grinned when Lance visibly swallowed. He spun backwards, breaking the eye contact, and then threw his arms up, hitting the beat by crossing them over his chest, stepping forward and leaning down.

 They call me Cardi Bardi, banging body

 He straightened up and punched toward his left hip, popping it on the beat, and followed that with a hip thrust. Swooping his left arm up, he leaned back on his left leg and clapped his hands together, twisting his hips.

 Spicy mami, hot tamale

 Following gravity, his right leg hit the floor, hips still twisting, and pumped his arm to the right twice. Stepping out of it to his right, he pulled his body up and gave a cute shake of his ass with tiny valley girl arms and a large grin.

 Hotter than a Somali, fur coat, Ferrari

 He then took four stiff steps forward, his right arm following the movement, and planted, hips thrusting upward twice to meet his hands. Stepping in, he snaked his arms together and turned to face the left, his arm swooping with the motion.

 Hop out the stu', jump in the coupe (the coupe), they trippin' on top of the roof

 Following the smooth motion, he stepped backwards once and then faced Lance again, his arms circling with his knees. He jumped and crossed his legs and unwound backwards, and then countered back the same way, his arms following the flowing movements. His feet came together as he planted, facing left again.

 Flexing on bitches as hard as I can, eating halal, driving the Lam'

 He then stepped out, his right arm coming up high to meet his left, and then flowing down his body, which rolled with the motion twice. He stepped together again and mimicked eating, and then stepped across, bobbing with his right arm out, pretending to drive.

 Told that bitch I'm sorry though, 'bout my coins like Mario (Mario)

 He continued the walk to the right and grooving with the beat, throwing his hand down and twisting on “though.” He continued to walk backwards, and then swooped his right leg back and turned, jumping.

 Yeah they call me Cardi B, I run this shit like cardio

 Taking quick steps forward, he swooped his arms forward together, and then did quick footwork, his chest popping out with his hands. Crossing his right foot over his left, he turned quickly, and then mimicked a slow run on “cardio,” his body rolling with each step.

 Oh, damn, Diamond district in the jag (I said I like it like that)

 As the bass dropped, his left leg stepped forward twice, his hips hitting each beat and arms popping. He slid around to face the other way, and then threw in a Cha-cha step, his hips snapping in the right way and arms following the familiar movement he observed from Shiro. He heard Lance’s squeak over the music and knew that he had done this successfully and impressed, and maybe even turned on, someone who did these steps for a living.

 Certified, know I'm gang, gang, gang, gang (I said I like it like–)

 He repeated this idea, stepping forward with his right foot twice, and then hit each “gang” with an isolated chest pop.

 Drop the top and blow the brains (I said I like it like that)

 He stepped through this movement, dragging his foot behind him and dramatically throwing his head back, hitting the last pop of his choreographed content. The crowd’s cheering drew him out of his solo dance for Lance, causing him to realize that the whole studio was watching him.

 He allowed his body to flow into his traditional ‘show-off’ tricks. Body-rolling back, he dipped low and placed his hand on the floor. His abs tightened, pulling his legs over his head and balanced in the one-handed handstand. He shifted his weight, legs separating and spinning his body around. His other hand came down to the floor, catching the spin and bringing it down to the traditional breakdance spin.

He could hear the cheers filling the studio at his fancy move. It egged him on, preening under the crowd’s attention and his desire to impress. If he was going to put himself out there, then he damn well better deliver!

He broke the spin, placing a foot on the floor and kicking back up into a handstand and allowing his body to arch over his hands slowly. He took a quick glance at the space he had in front of him, making eye contact with a visibly shocked Lance. A grin spread over his face and he plotted his next move in that split second. Pushing off the floor, he let his feet it the floor and took two steps back, planted, and switched his momentum. He jumped forward into a front handspring, hit the ground, and continued into a front flip. Time seemed to slow down as he flew through the air.

Then his feet hit the ground and he drew up to his full height, about two feet from Lance, a large grin on his face.

The whole studio erupted into cheers, drowning out the rest of the music. Keith held eye contact with Lance, smirking at the amazement on his face.

Then Pidge tackled him, and he stumbled to catch her and not fall on his ass. “That was amazing, Keith! Was that your new choreo for the advanced class you are teaching?”

“Teaching?!” Lance squeaked.

“You have to teach it to me! Plus, you need to brush me up on breakdancing tricks, it’s been so long!” Pidge continued.

Hunk barreled into them, lifting both him and Pidge into a hug. “That was so great Keith! You’re such a good dancer!”

Keith awkwardly patted his arm, trying to breathe. “Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it.”

Pidge’s muffled voice emerged from the middle. “Can’t breathe, Hunk!”

“Ope, sorry Pidge!” and both of them were back on the ground.

Keith glanced at Lance, who was still frozen in shock, before Allura was squeezing him into a hug. “It was so lovely to see you dance again, Keith! You really have improved since the last competition I went to watch with Shiro, and your choreography was amazing!”

“Competition?!” Lance squeaked again.

Shiro reached over his girlfriend and ruffled Keith’s already messy hair. “Fantastic job, Keith!”

He smiled up at his brother, “Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed it.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lance finally unfroze and barreled into the group. “Hold the phone. You compete? Teach? What studio?”

Shiro answered before Keith could. “He has been competing with the Blade of Marmora for a couple years, as well as teaching beginning and intermediate classes. He just got promoted to teaching their advanced classes last week.”

“The Blade of Marmora? Aren’t they the like the top Urban dance group in the state?” Lance asked, his voice rising.

Keith shrugged, “I mean, we’ve won our past few competitions, so I guess?”

“Cool, cool, cool.”

Keith tried to hide his smirk at how flustered Lance was. The rest of the group began to trickle away as a new song came on.

But Keith just took a step toward Lance, getting into his space again. “I told you I can dance.”

Lance waved a hand at him and sputtered. Keith internally chuckled; he liked that he could make a cute boy flustered.

A very cute, nice boy, who had purposefully egged him on to get him on the dance floor and loosen up. A very sweet boy, who was best friends with all his friends, who Shiro and Allura loved. A sexy, Cuban boy, who could move his hips like no other and had no hesitation to get close to him.

Keith smiled softly and held a hand out to Lance. “Teach me more ballroom?”

This seemed to help Lance snap back into his confident air, as he grabbed Keith’s hand and pulled him in close. They fell into an easy salsa step, getting wrapped up into the music.

Just when Lance seemed to be comfortable enough, Keith internally smirked and leaned in to his ear. “So, I take it you liked my dancing, then?”

Lance groaned and flopped his head onto Keith’s shoulder. “I’m not even going to pretend that I didn’t think that was the hottest thing ever. I was not expecting you to be literally the best hip-hop dancer I’ve ever seen.”

Keith laughed out loud and took his hand from Lance’s shoulder to set it on his hair comfortingly. “Good to know that you find my dancing hot.”

Lance’s head jerked up and he glared down at Keith. “Don’t you tease me, I just bared my soul to you!”

Keith grinned up at him, letting their next step move him closer to lance. He slotted their bodies together, just as Lance did earlier. “I’m not teasing,” Keith said genuinely. “It’s good to know I’m not the only one who feels the chemistry here.”

“Oh god,” Lance stammered. “Do you always go straight for the jugular? Is this what dating you will be like?”

“Dating?!” It was Keith’s turn to be surprised and flustered.

Lance pulled away, keeping a firm grip on his hand, and dragged him out of the studio and out the back door into the clear night air.

He dropped Keith’s hand and looked up at the sky, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to blurt out that. My mouth runs without thinking sometimes.”

Keith took a deep breath and stepped in front of him. “Dating?” He repeated, quieter.

“I…” Lance took a deep breath and squinted his eyes shut. “I think you’re super attractive and funny and like spending time with you and was thinking about asking you out,” he blurted out.

Keith’s mouth dropped open and he stared at Lance.

“I mean, I know we’ve only hung out a couple times,” he continued, rambling, “but I really like you?” Lance’s blue eyes turned down to him, a hesitant smile on his face.

Keith was blown away by how genuine Lance’s expression was. He was putting himself completely out there, baring his soul to him under the twinkling stars.

“Keith? Buddy?” Lance’s face grew worried. “A response would be nice, ya know, even if it is a re- oomf!”

Keith snatched the front of his shirt and crashed their lips together. He felt Lance freeze in shock, and then melt, his hands coming up to tangle into his hair and slot their lips together better. Keith’s grip relaxed and rested on Lance’s chest, his other hand coming up to encase his cheek.

They pulled apart after a moment and Keith wound an arm around Lance’s waist, his thumb brushing against his cheek. “Does that answer your question?” He asked, tenderly, smiling up at him.

Lance leaned forward and brushed their noses together, a sparkle in his eyes. “Holy shit, yes.” He sighed and leaned his forehead against Keith’s, “I was not expecting that response.”

Keith chuckled softly, his breath still mingling with Lance’s. “What were you expecting, then?”

“I don’t know, I was kind of bracing for a rejection. You’re like super hot and I know I’m annoying.”

Keith ran his hand into Lance’s hair, his thumb brushing along his cheekbone. “Oh, you’re a total asshole. But If we are dating, then you’re my asshole and I am one-hundred percent down for being annoyed by you every day.”

Lance’s grin was almost blinding, his eyes dancing brightly. “Can I get a repeat of your answer again?”

Keith laughed and leaned in, pulling Lance down to press his lips against his in a chaste kiss. “Of course, dork, you don’t need to ask.”

Lance wound an arm around Keith’s waist and pulled him against his body. “Good, because I am going to romance the shit outta you!”

Keith found that it was hard to kiss when you couldn’t stop smiling.

Mi Gente - J Balvin - Matt Steffiania Choreo

I Like It - Cardi B - Kyle Hanagami Choreo

[seasonofthegeek]

Fox Run

The amazing @tides-miraculous requested Rena Rouge and Carapace for an Enemies to Lovers AU from my 2018 AU Challenge list and I have been really excited to work on it. <3

As for this drabble, Rena Rouge is a Robin Hood-type who exposes corrupt businesses and organizations in Paris. She runs an encrypted blog where she shares all of her information as Rena Rouge. Master Fu has been training Nino to take over as the Guardian of the Miraculous so he sends Carapace out to bring the Fox back into storage since it had thought to have been lost before Rena Rouge started showing up. The Butterfly Miraculous has also been lost for many years. They don’t get all the way to lovers in this one but it’s a good start anyway, haha.

“Can we not do this tonight?” Carapace groaned. “I’ve got a headache. Give me your Miraculous so I can go home.”

Rena Rouge grinned fiercely. “So if I run, you aren’t going to chase me, Shelly? I’m hurt. Wounded even.”

He rubbed at his temple. “I don’t know why I even bothered coming out. I can’t do this right now.”

“You’re always so tense. I bet you’d be a whole lot more fun if you would cut loose every once in the while,” she winked. “Here. Since you’re feeling down tonight, I’ll do most of the work. No, I won’t give you my Miraculous. No, I won’t see reason. Yes, I do look very nice tonight, thank you for noticing. Yes, I will have dinner with you Saturday night. But let’s keep the masks. It keeps the mystery of our relationship alive.”

“You’re exasperating,” he sighed.

“You like it. What’s giving you a headache? It might make you feel better to share. You better not say me though or I swear I will knock you off this roof and you’ll be one of those upside down turtles flailing his little legs in the air.”

He shrugged, moving to sit down on the roof ledge. “I’m trying to double major because I’m an idiot and it’s officially kicking my butt.”

Rena Rouge gave him an assessing look. “Let’s see. I’m going to guess Finance and Business Management. You just scream corporate type.”

“Okay, now you’re the one who is about the be thrown off the roof.”

She laughed and Carapace had to admit to himself that it was a good sound. “Not the corporate type?”

“Not even a little.”

“Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more attracted to you,” she smirked. “Alas, that’s all the time I have for tonight, Shelly. The corrupt aren’t going to expose themselves.”

“Let’s make a deal. I don’t try to foul up your plans for the night and you promise not to do anything until tomorrow.”

Rena Rouge twirled her flute. “The problem with that, my terribly handsome turtle, is that I have to work on this tonight. Don’t worry. It won’t be too bad. I’m just tackling Gabriel Agreste.” She blew him a kiss and stepped backwards of the roof.

“Son of a...” Carapace was back up and on his feet but Rena Rouge was nowhere to be seen. “Master Fu is going to kill me,” he sighed.

____________________________

“You were tricked by the fox again, I see,” Master Fu murmured, pouring tea into a small cup and handing it to Nino.

“I wasn’t tricked,” he grumbled. “But come on, it’s just me out there. Can’t I get some help?” He looked towards the box hiding the other Miraculous.

“No. Only three are left out since you brought back the peacock. I don’t want to risk any others right now."

“Then it might be a while before I catch her. Rena lives up to the fox stereotype.”

Fu sipped his tea. “Perhaps you don’t want to catch her.”

Nino frowned. “She isn’t a villain or anything, but what she’s doing is wrong. I know that.”

“Mmhmm.”

“I do! She’s funny though. Sometimes she catches me off guard.” Nino’s brow furrowed at the look Master Fu gave him. “Fine. I’ll bring her in by force next time if I have to.”

____________________________

“This is so typical. I’m attracted to her. I can admit that,” Carapace grumbled, eyes trained on the skyline for any flash of orange. “But come on, can you blame me?” He frowned. “This is the downside to being transformed. Now I just seem like a crazy person talking to myself.” He felt warmth radiate from his wrist and smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”

A flash of light caught his eye and then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Sirens began to wail and Carapace raced across the rooftop towards the scene.

He was almost to the source of the sirens when he heard someone calling for him. He dropped down in the dark alley to find Rena Rouge propped up behind a dumpster, a bloody gash splitting her suit along her right thigh.

“I know,” she grimaced, “I’ve looked better.”

The closer Carapace came, the more injuries he mentally catalogued. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Turns out my mark had a little more hidden than shady business practices.” She gasped when she tried to straighten and her Miraculous gave a pitiful beep. “I’m sure I’ll regret this, but I need your help. I can’t go to the hospital. Too many questions. I--”

He was already gently pulling her against him. “I have someone I can take you to.”

____________________________

“Is she familiar?” Master Fu asked, placing a cool cloth on Alya’s forehead.

Nino shook his head. “I don’t think we’ve ever met outside our masks.” He adjusted the cloth as Fu walked away and brushed Alya’s hair back. 

“She thinks you’re pretty nice to look at too,” Trixx winked from her spot curled up at Alya’s shoulder. Nino flushed and stepped back as Wayzz smiled down at Trixx from his perch on Nino’s hat.

“How long have you been with the young lady?” Fu asked, offering Trixx a berry.

The kwami took it happily. “Only a few months. She said she found my necklace in an old box of junk. She said she was going to use me to change some stuff. I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job.”

“She has caused much trouble.”

“Well, yeah,” Trixx shrugged. “That was kinda the point.”

“It ends now,” Master Fu said calmly. 

“You might want to rethink that.” Trixx reached for another berry. “We found the Butterfly tonight and hoo boy, it is not in a good place.”

____________________________

Alya sat on the straw mat, clutching the foxtail necklace. “I’m surprised I still have this.”

Carapace shrugged from his spot leaning against the cabinets. “It took some convincing on my part.”

She smiled up at him. “You’d miss me. Admit it.”

“I need your help.”

Alya shifted her position and grimaced. “Going to be real honest with you, Shelly, I might be out of commission for a while.”

“Trixx said you found the Butterfly Miraculous.”

“Well, I found who has it and wow, he was not happy I have that knowledge.”

“Is he the one who did this to you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, turns out he’s pretty spry with a sword.”

“Tell me who it is.”

“Why? Are you going to go avenge my honor?”

Carapace blinked in surprise. “I mean, I have to go get the Butterfly back.”

“But?”

“But yeah, I’m pissed someone hurt you like this.”

“Because?” she smiled sweetly.

“This isn’t an interview. Stop leading me.”

“So close,” Alya winked. “One of these days you’re going to admit that you’re into me.”

“And you would never let me forget it.”

“Ah, see, that’s practically a confession right there.”

Carapace rolled his eyes and knelt down in front of her. “What’s your name?”

“That’s dangerous information, Shelly.”

“You can trust me.”

“Fine. But you have to tell me yours.”

“That seems fair. First names only though.”

“Agreed,” she nodded. “I’m Alya.” She offered her his hand and he took it.

“Nino.”

“Ni-no. Hmm, I like it. It suits you.”

“Thanks?”

Alya smiled brightly. “You’re not used to get compliments, are you, Nino? I’m going to have to work with that.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“What color are your eyes behind these goggle things?” She tapped on the side of his goggles and Carapace pulled back.

“We have more important things to talk about right now.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.”

Carapace frowned. “I need you to tell me who hurt you.”

Alya sighed and sat back. “Well, he told me to call him Hawkmoth, but he definitely has a more interesting name.”

“What’s that?”

“Gabriel Agreste.”

Carapace paled. “I think we’re going to need some help.”

Alya quirked an eyebrow. “We? You think I’m going Hero Squad just because you gave me a few Band-aids?” She shook her head. “This is above me. I thought he was just breaking a few labor laws and undercutting suppliers. I had no idea what I was getting into. I’m out.”

“And here I thought the great Rena Rouge was one of the best.”

“Ah, see, this whole hero schtick you do is cute, Shelly, but I’ve kinda got my own deal going. I’m a hero in a different way.”

“So you think I can take him by myself?”

She sighed, shoulders slumping. “Not even a little bit. But aren’t there more of these things?” She touched her necklace. “You could always get the old man to give you some to pass out.”

Carapace looked back towards the screened door and leaned in closer. “Here’s the thing. If you aren’t willing to help me, I have to take your necklace. So please help me.”

Alya chewed on her lip for a moment. “What happens after?”

“After what?”

“After we take down Hawkbutt. What then? Do I get to keep my necklace?”

“I don’t know,” Carapace admitted. “But if you really help me, I would fight for you to keep it.”

“Because you would be lonely out there without me?” she teased.

A blush creeped out from beneath his goggles and he shrugged.

She gave him an assessing look and then nodded. “Fine, Nino, let’s be partners.” 

“Why do I get the feeling that I just made a deal with the devil?”

Alya curled her tongue behind her teeth and winked.

2018 AU Challenge

Buy me a coffee?

[pinktatertots99]

the morning routine of crabs and cats

consider this a part two of nine seconds. just a morning routine fic. changed the names of the gang to be the normal names we all know.

________________

santos valerius mariyam, and you're up to start the day...after maybe a few minutes. You crack your eye open to the dark wall of your bedroom on the right side of your room where the door is. Oh how sleep eggs you onto continue but alas your need to be up for your partner eggs you on more.

You slide a hand over your face to get you up a bit more, making note of how itchy your stubble is, another thing to put on your list of why you should get up that you keep trying to put off. You turn slightly to view the digital clock on your nightstand, moving it a little closer to find the numbers 6:09 on it.

You sigh softly. You hate how much those two numbers seem to get to you. It’s enough to have you move your legs currently under the blankets around your daughters’, turned also your dear diane’s pet siberian cat: pounce de leon the third. A name your partner gave as a running theme with her life of having pet cats with that name. You nearly detested it considering she was nepeta’s gift, but then again nepeta was three at the time and apparently liked the name. You do wonder if it was the feisty femme who encouraged her behind your back unnoticed or if this was an early sign for her intricate online ‘role-plays’ she’d annoy kar on.

Regardless, pounce is nice...when you don’t get in her way. And you try your best not to as you shift your legs to curl up to your bare abdomen and scootch to the end of your side of the bed to get up, only getting a light grumbled growl from her when one of your toes during it flinched a bit to poke at her. You’ll make a note to make her some scrambled eggs.

Yes this is exactly why you're getting up, family breakfasts of six plus you equaling seven is a lot. It’s more when you're also the one having to get four adolescents ready for school. Granted diane has mentioned on occasions that you could just sleep in a little longer and let her do what she does, but when have you ever NOT gone out of your way to be helpful? Hah, blasphemy absolute balderdash!... excuse the language.

You walk down the hall your bedroom is located, that leads to the fridge and entrance of your kitchen. On the wall of them are family pictures strewed about, making you smile and remind yourself the headache you're going to get once they all wake up will always be worth it.

You start taking out everything you’ll need; eggs, bread, biscuits, grapes, orange’s, apples, bagged spinach, small bag of shredded cheese, you’ll hold off on anything further as you take out one of the five pans you have on your bottom left drawer of your small counter portion between the stove and fridge and put the heat on two and wait.

As it starts you go about cracking the eggs in one of your many small plastic cups from the cupboards. You're not too worried about being too loud considering even if meu wasn’t deaf your children sleep like bear cubs, or tiger cubs as nepeta would correct you on. You pour them into the pan and start putting in small amounts of spinach and mixed cheese into it. Your diane has some...interesting taste that is as far as you will comment on it.

As it continues you busy yourself getting a cutting board and knife, slicing a granny smith apple you took out earlier. Being a father made you very skilled in hearing the smallest of sounds like how much more sizzled the makeshift omelette is getting before you’ll have to take it off soon.

By 6:13 you hear the sound of your bedroom shower go off, and by 6:33 you hear the soft patter of her steps as you busy gently trying to peel an orange, feeling her calloused firm hands on your back, feeling her chin on your shoulder as she whispers out a purr of a statement to you; “you furrgot something~” and soon your not seeing an orange but instead the black fleece of your night shirt.

You jump a little with a light yelp as she giggles, walking away fully clothed in her court reporter uniform. Hair still wild but you know why as the well dressed woman in front of you starts scoffing down her omelette like it’s a medium rare fresh off the stove greasy steak. Something you have seen before in your eighteen years with her.

You put your shirt on quickly, slightly embarrassed you forgot it and grateful your kids aren't early birds. She hands you a comb from the inside of her coat and you have no further instruction as you move to stand behind her and gently brush out the morning knots she hadn’t been able to wash out. You swear though she tries purring like a cat when you do this and you can’t really deny it’s cute.

You fluff up her hair a little as she starts eating her apple slices, handing you a ponytail holder and some hairpins; you catch some that nearly fall to the ground from how fast she pulls them out. Her job requires her to look as cleancut and professional as she can, which unfortunately they did not allow ponytails despite it being the only way she could put up her hair in her thirty-five years. You're not judging though, you're a fast learner when it came to your mother letting you learn when she’d grow out her hair a bit during your years...and some online tutorials but you won't let her know that she couldn't 100% help you.

Once you're done pulling her bangs back with the pins and putting the bun in as tight but as comfortable of a position you could due to her wild hair you give her a pat and in turn she gets up, turns around and hugs you.

“Be back by fur.”

“Four?”

“You're no furrun.” she sticks her tongue out at you playfully as you boop it like it was a blep. She retracts it and gives a playful pout before giggling as she starts to leave through the front door.

Now...was time for the rest of the morning to resume. By 7:02 you're back to making a big batch of scrambled eggs using four eggs in the pan as you hear the upstairs shower go off. By 7:19 you hear the steps coming down and a formal “good morning father.” from your second oldest. It was common of him to be the first up. You turn and offer him his plain scrambled eggs, red grapes and two cherry flavored vitamin gummies giving your own warm “morning.” as you look him over. Already dressed and...hm...you look to where his hairline is and notice the lightest bit of grey almost albino white peeking out from his dyed light auburn hair. You make a note to look for that again for later.

Apparently you stared for too long and he starts opening his mouth. “Father while i understand your surprise of my dye fading it is highly uncomfortable and quite rude to stare and make a proverbial judgement on my appearance.” he starts going off and its as if you went back in time to meet your old self with less fanciful words and lower levels of sass. You prevent yourself from sighing outloud less you risk a tangent on him assuming you're a negligent parent over his feelings, something you’ve gotten before with a reaction you really regret giving to him.

“Not making any judgements.” you reply cooly as you go to pour cheese over the rationed scrambled eggs on plates. “Apologies in advance however.” you mumble and he hums in acceptance, already distracted with breakfast. By 7:24 you hear rustling, a loud scream of “FUCKIN HELL!” and soon you hear one door open, sleepily slogged steps and a tiny yawn coming from the stairs.

“How’s the huntress?” you ask as she grumbles a “too early fur rolepurraaaay.” and flops to hold onto your hip. You slather the toast with the last bits of peanut butter and offer her a plate of cheese covered eggs, peanut buttered piece of toast cut in half and a small bowl of green grapes. “Too early for her hunt either?” you ask and she opens her eyes slightly, pouting at the food sleepily before taking it and walking to the couch that sits at the wall next to the staircase with a yawn and a click of the tv to animal planet’s show “the most extreme”.

As you set the plate of eggs, two pieces of jam covered toast cut in fours, a small bowl of green grapes and a grape and orange flavored vitamin gummies next to kankri’s seat you hear the fast tumbling steps come down the steps and a near slip gaining a not loud but loud enough to hear “shit.”

“Language.” you and kankri echo as kar groans, going to his seat and eating immediately. “We don't need to talk about inside voices and language rules now do we son?” you ask and get an annoyed huff as he eats. “My stupid alarm didnt go off.” you sigh, he had a very specific way of getting up. Usually he’d be the second one up before your daughters, you have to wonder where these boys’ early bird sides came from.

“Doesn't mean you should be going around using such problematic language in front of those who do not share the sentiment of, as quoted, tossing around a ‘sailor mouth’.” you hear kankri go and hear a mesh of an annoyed chuckle from your other son. “Oh you want problematic-”

“So where’s meu?” you ask immediately looking over at the two giving your best genuine question and ‘don't you dare start a fight or you're both grounded from your electronic devices for the weekend’ expression that seems to get their hint as kar grumbles a “hanging out on her phone. I think. Kinda passed by didnt notice.”

You give a small thanks as you put a small plate of toasted butter biscuits and an orange as perfectly peeled of its veins as you could get it with your bigger thicker fingers that you’ve been working on an off while everything was cooking on the end of the island before taking your phone out of your boxer’s pocket, something your very glad mother was able to make a possibility.

You turn it on waiting a few seconds for it to boot up before clicking on your phone messages, noticing one from diane and one from thion which you make note to check later. You click on her number and name and go into the gif option. Your grateful for this being an alternative to get her attention as you send a cute cat gif and line of text reading ‘breakfast’s ready’ and wait. It was much easier then going all the way up and trying to gesture that meals were ready or she was needed downstairs with your not exactly perfect sign language.

After five minutes you hear light thumping from the steps as meulin prances down them, phone in hand as you offer her her breakfast that she stands up to eat. Look to find the time is already 8:05. You go bout quickly to the door to slip on your outdoor crocks for short errands that everyone, even your own mother has gotten on your case for, but you really don't care you usually put these onto escort your eldists to the bus station with little to no notice as you state. “Alright get your things ready you two.”

You only hear silence before a collection of “father we may’ve been lenient on your footwear but this attire can be highly uncomfortable and triggering-”, “are those crabs? lobsters?” , “your...not taking us in that riiiight?” and “dad get some freakin pants!” to make you realize you’ve gone about this entire morning...without pants. You immediately go running in your leaf green crocks to your room.

After a few minutes of fixing your pants error you find your two eldest have gotten their pack and satchel respectively for the other on, and shoes. It’s about 8:10 when you go out with them. The bus usually comes at 8:15 and thankfully you're not too far, of course you have to power run a little once you see it in the distance and get dirt and small rocks through the holes in your crocks in your shoes, reminding you maybe you should just go out in flip flops instead.

Thankfully the three of you get there before it opens its doors, you wave em both off with kankri already bee-lining for the entrance and meulin at least giving you a distracted wave as both have grown to directing their attention to their friends, who one nice young lady with short hair waves at you more enthusiastically and a couple “ey mister val!”s echo before the bus takes off.

You go to walk back to your home, knowing your kids were still being looked over by your mother, who thankfully sent you a message that she went to check on them as you take your time walking back, trying to lose the uncomfortable nature related rubble out of your shoes.

You ultimately give up and toss' em onto the step that leads to your glass door before opening the wooden one behind it. You're now realizing why your entire family got onto your case, crocs really are the devil of shoes. As you walk in you hear the click of an upstairs door knowing why.

Your twins are homeschooled, nepeta joined online school last year while karkat had been in his since halfway through third grade after some complaints from the school of his temper and inability to complete work. Meanwhile nepeta didn't have too many problems with public school, except for the fact her friend had left it to join homeschooling last year, leading her wanting to join to make sure he wasn't alone. That girl wore her heart on her sleeve like you do you swear.

You go about the empty first floor of your house, relishing in the silence. While kark was in his room you knew nep was doing her work in your mother’s small makeshift house in what was the house’s garage, mostly due to how she mentioned liking it more atmosphere wise.

You go about to start the burner, taking out an egg and cracking it over the pan that was still on it. As you throw away the shell you hear the soft patter and meow of pounce coming out of your room, basking to show her presence after her sixteen hour sleep.

You go upstairs, taking a right at the second door up there to your daughters’ shared room, looking to your left on the floor to find the food and water bowl setup and picking up the foodbowl. Once you go downstairs she’s already met you on the third step meowing. This is practically routine every wednesday.

After a while of checking the eggs and breaking them up you take a small bowl out of the cabinet to your right, setting both bowls down and rationing the eggs into both bowls. You put pounce’s down on the floor and let her eat her egg as you eat your ration.

You're done before her and after putting the dish in the sink along with the rest of your kids dishes strewn around to be soaked you go about your routine. You go to your bedroom’s shower, you lightly shave a bit to get your scruff more comfortable scratchy but still keep the rough visage it gives as it's the only thing that keeps twenty-somethings from thinking your their age and flirting with you.

You look at the crack of your hairline, finding it breaking at the top and a ring of your albino white hair around a little under it nearly giving you a halo look. Ironic you know. You make note to get some hair dye later. You really hate having to remind yourself to keep this a secret, no matter how much you try you still feel like your sons see this as something to feel bad about, which it isn't, but their not old enough you think to know about how screwed you made your life by speaking up against your government...even if it would give you extra cool parent points its not worth it...well...no NO it's not worth it get back to your duties!

You go about getting dressed in your cream white button up long sleeved, pushed up to your elbows, black jeans with a belt keeping them up, brown mules, and pick up your work coat of a similar black shade. Your usually not there for long, your there at ten and stay till two giving sermons of either the lead father of the church before he comes for his afternoon to evening sermons, or you’ll secretly give your own, as so far the go-ers haven't shown any sign of disinterest or finding your claims of the society blasphemy...yet. You play this game many times, you're pretty good at not seeming suspicious. You hope at least.

You watch pounce go to lay down on your large black leather lounge couch and you go to put her bowl away as she falls into an egg coma, not an actual coma it's just a funny term meu mentioned once that stuck and go to put her bowl back, knowing nep would be highly miffed at it being on the floor and not in its rightful place. After you go about cleaning the dishes from this morning and placing them in their rightful places.

It's about 9:40 when you leave, needing time to drive to the church and prepare the speeches for the day and any further assistance work, then you’ll be back to help either your kids briefly, then pick up your eldest from the bus stop you dropped them off earlier, then the game of dinner and evening schedule will be a new beast entirely that thankfully future you can deal with as the front door lock’s with a ‘click’.

[kunishirou]

happy early xmas for me, since I really love WinterIron concept so much lately so why not?

Rating: General/Teen Characters: James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Relationship(s): James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes/Tony Stark, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes & Steve Rogers Other Tags: Single parent!Bucky, kid!Steve, Family, pre-relationship, alternate universe - modern/no power, Christmas themed

                                                 ・。・゜★・。・。☆・゜・。

“Stevie, take it easy, pal. We still have some time before dinner time. You can choose whichever slowly,” Bucky huffed, shaking his head as he looked at his little spitfire fondly, who seemed so unsure which toy he wanted to get. It had been a long while since they managed to shop together like this, especially as it was getting closer to Christmas holiday. Last year was a lonely one for both of them, as Bucky couldn’t go home from his tour and Steve stuck with his Poppa and Nana. It broke his heart so much when he tried to video call his family, only to see Steve wailed really hard for his Dadda until the boy fell asleep, still crying. But now he came home for real and could spend all time he had with his beloved son. Taking the little guy to the toys store to pick up what Steve wanted for his Christmas gift seemed like a great idea a few hours ago.

And it didn’t even take more than 30 minutes until Bucky completely lost him.

                                        ・。・゜★・。・。☆・゜・。

He knew he shouldn’t go to the store alone without any supervisions or guarding. Even Happy didn’t know that his employer just gone from the office, wearing the best civilian, cheap clothes he got and simply dashed into the said best toys shop in the city. Tony Stark probably could just get whatever he needed right now by ordering online. Heck, maybe even bought five the exact things. Maybe even the most expensive one in the world with just a single click from his tablet.

But no, Pepper would be so pissed if Tony tried to spoil her daughter, Gwen, by buying yet another expensive toy for the lovely baby girl’s Christmas present. But then again, Tony just wanted to be the coolest uncle ever (besides Rhodey, maybe, they could share the honorable title with him) for her. Also, again, Pepper would notice if Tony bought anything suspicious like the last time he bought the $300,000 Barbie doll for Gwen. Or that one time when he bought a dollhouse worth at least $250,000. Partially, it was his fault for just bought whatever caught his eyes in the first place.

It was just a present, Gwen shouldn’t care about how much they worth and simply played with the gifts!

Alas, the parents knew and Pepper banned him to buy anything online or way too expensive anymore. So here he was, at the suburban area that somehow had the best and apparently also the largest toy store in the whole city. Fair enough, since the said store was more like a renovated warehouse anyway. Thus, the adventure began from the time Tony entered the place, which rather packed with families right now because the Winter holiday was approaching fast.

Lucky for him, no one seemed to notice his face yet. So he could quietly slipped deeper into the store while looking around.

What he didn’t expect was that there was a little boy who was sleeping alone. On top of a big teddy bear’s belly. And no one else seemed to see it as a strange scene. Some questions had been inside Tony’s head already: who’s this boy? Why is he alone? How old is he, Jesus Christ, he’s so tiny and very skinny but adorable with those Captain America onesie getup hidden briefly under another layer of warm clothes awww - but where’s the parents? Tony didn’t hear any announcements or a voice of distress parents calling names for their child yet. But there was no way this boy was walking alone, right? Despite how much he didn’t want to get involved and only wanted to look for the presents, Tony could imagine how the parents would feel when they knew they just lost their kids inside the store. It wasn’t like the little boy was equipped with any kind of gadgets for the parents to call as well.

Groaning internally, Tony walked closer to the boy who started to stir awake. Let’s just hope he won’t cry or even wail enough for other people to accuse him as a kidnapper, geez.

“Heya, little dude. Sleep well? I assume you’re not walking around the shop alone, since you look really small and I don’t think any parents should allow you to do that yet.” Welp, that earned the man some sleepy glare, which should look a bit scary, but somehow made the boy looked even cuter. “Not that I think you’re small small, I mean uh - anyway, where’s you parents? Are you here with them, right? You got separated?”

And the little kid - Tony noticed how blue his eyes were - only stared at him, looking unconvinced. Slowly, the boy wiped his eyes with one hand before stepping down from the teddy bear. Blue eyes still looked up at Tony.

“...Dadda said not to talk to a stranger if I’m alone. And I don’t know you.” Oh good, the boy was speaking, yay. Tony was afraid what if the boy wasn’t old enough to even speak proper English yet, but it seemed he underestimated how fast children could grow nowadays. The man grinned, giving his best, mostly not - well, hopefully not that kind of awkward, smile and crouching down to the boy’s level.

“Your Dadda is a good man and you’re such a good kid for listening to him. So I suppose a proper introduction is in order, you know, so we can get to know to each other and we’re no longer strangers. Well, technically still strangers, but at least there’s a progress. So? I’m Tony, what’s your name, little guy?”

Another glare, before the boy said, “I’m not little, I’m 3,” well it’s still too little for Tony, but he won’t argue with that, “....’m Steve.”

Honestly, Tony’s heart melted a little when he saw how brave and yet still so shy this Steve boy acted towards the man. Now he really wanted to make sure the boy returned safely to his parents, almost instantly forgetting his own mission to the store. Well, it was a big store, he could still find something proper later on. Now, back to Steve.

“Oh, wow okay Steve, you’re a big boy then. My bad. Nice to meet you, glad we’re already on first name basis at our first meeting or we had to go through boring and awkward situation before getting where we are,” okay, no more rambling to the poor kid. Tony would just confuse him even more. “So, Steve, Stevie, can you tell me where the last time you see your Dadda? Or Momma? You go together with them, right?”

Tony swore the kid’s expression changed for a brief seconds there before he looked down at the floor, two small hands played with the hem of his sleeve. “Don’t have mommy. Only with Dadda,” Steve mumbled, which made a wonder, and another ton of questions but Tony kept them to himself.

“With your Dadda, then.” the man nodded, “What do you say if we go to the help center and wait for your Dadda there? I’m pretty sure it’ll be kinda pointless to search for him by ourselves in this big place, so we should go and make sure he can find you at one place. What do you say?”

“And how can I be sure that you won’t trick and kidnap me?” Wow, this kid was really perceptive and fully aware his situation could go wrong if he wasn’t careful to who he should trust. Tony absolutely underestimated this little guy so much. Quick, think of something.

“Because,” Tony shushed, looking around before beckoning the kid to come closer. He pulled his right sleeve a bit to reveal a rather gaudy toy watch with Iron Man design on it - courtesy of his lovely niece Gwen, and she insisted Tony to keep wearing it and somehow it became his habit now. Even if he had some proper watches collection. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually Iron Man, Cap. I know you’re actually Captain America, right? I can see through you with those kind of red-white-blue outfit you hid inside that jacket, you know.”

“You’re silly,” Steve giggled, and Tony grinned again.

“Oh, am I now? I’m hurt, Cap, I thought you’ll be less judgmental in person.” He faked a gasp, one hand clenching his chest before grinning again, “Us Avengers have to watch each other’s back, no? So why don’t you let me help you for this once? Pinky promise no funny business, I can swear it by my Arc Reactor. I’d say my heart, but I guess my Arc Reactor is one and another my second heart and even more important to keep me alive anyway, so there’s that.”

“You’re still silly, but alright, Mister Tony. My Dadda likes Iron Man too and I think I can trust you not going to do anything funny to me.”

“I probably already said this, but your Dadda is a good man with a good taste,” he laughed, “Now I can’t wait to see what your Dadda looks like, I have a hunch that me and your Dadda can get along just fine with our similarity, then.”

                                       ・。・゜★・。・。☆・゜・。

Turned out Steve’s father had a pair blue eyes as well. Very blue eyes and Tony was entrapped. He probably lost a few first words here and there, okay, maybe a lot of words when they finally met at the customer help desk. The very first part that he was aware was those gorgeous blue eyes and  deep, raspy voice probably roughed up because he shouted too much for his son, and -

“Mr. Tony?”

Oh, oh. Shit. How long he had been staring, again? “Yes? Yeah, uhm, I’m still listening. Got a bit distracted a bit just now. Too much noises around here, don’t you think - what was it that you said again?”

Tony thought the man would be offended at least, but he just gave Tony an understanding smile. “I can sympathize. Not quite a fan of crowded places with too much noises myself, but I’m trying. What I wanted to say was thank you for finding and bringing Steve here for me.” Bucky smiled at the little boy, who curled himself up on Bucky’s arms and wrapped his tiny arms around the man’s neck, looking ready to sleep again. “I was panicking and probably running around the store just to find him until I got back my common sense and went to the customer desk before I started crying myself.”

Oh, dear God, those laughter. Tony was pretty sure that it should be so illegal to laugh or even chuckle so beautifully like that. The father himself in overall had been already illegal. Not only just because of those blue eyes, but that strong jaw, those impressive cheekbones that probably could cut, rather long hair that look quite silky that he tied into a messy bun that suited the man so much, how the corners of his eyes crinkled when he laughed - 

Wait, why was the father still laughing at him?

“Believe me, my hair usually ain’t as silky as you think. Maybe because I took the wrong shampoo rather than my usual one for a whole month and didn’t realize it. Who knows a baby shampoo can do such a thing.”

Tony smacked his face as hard as he could. “Oh, my God. Did I say it out loud in front of you? I said it out loud in front of you and your kid. Oh God. I swear I’m not a creep, I just have a tendency to say whatever came out in my mind and it’s not helping since I have a very big mouth - no other intention intended. I’m so sorry about this. I hope you won’t sue me. Please don’t sue me. I still have to attend the Christmas party with all my friends - which probably can be counted with one hand - and spend more time with my lovely little niece. What would she think if she knew his cool uncle just got into prison because he just accidentally compliments his sudden crush - I’m going to shut up now before you really want to sue me.”

To his surprise, the father didn’t seem to annoyed to the very least. He just simply...blushed and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “Uhm, thank you? I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that if you want. And no, I won’t sue you. You just saved my Stevie from getting lost too far. Besides, he said you’re, like, Iron Man?” he teased, starting to sound more confident, “No way I’m going to sue Iron Man who just saved my son, he’s way too cool for being taken into prison for that. And I’m a big fan of Iron Man myself. Isn’t that right, Stevie?” The said boy looked up at both Tony and Bucky, smiled sleepily and continued burying his face to the man’s shoulder.

Tony blinked stupidly, “Really?” he cleaned his throat before smirking at the man, “Really, now. Glad to hear that then, Steve’s father.”

“Bucky.”

“Bless you.”

“No, not that,” the man - Bucky - snorted. “That’s my name. Well, James, actually. But no one calls me that unless you’re my Ma.”

“Bucky, eh? Nice to meet you. I like the sound of it, suits you. I was gonna ask where you got ‘Bucky’ out of James, but I guess you got other people asking you that a lot and it seems like a question for a first date thing - I mean. Shi - shoot, sorry. No, not that I want to pressure you with such a thing. I just like talking whatever came out of my mind, again. This sounds awkward already, sorry about that.”

“No, that’s okay. Well, Mr. Iron Man,” Bucky bit his lower lip, considering, “I was hoping maybe you can join us for tonight’s dinner as a thank you, it’s the least I can do to repay you. Maybe by then we can get to know each other fairly well, don’t you think? Unless if you already had a plan.”

Again, Tony blinked, “Dinner? With you and Steve? You sure I won’t interrupting your family bonding time?”

“Absolutely sure. And I’m sure Steve will be so thrilled anyway. I can see he already likes you enough. He doesn’t trust people so easily like he does to you. Most of the time he will run away as fast as he can if he doesn’t feel safe around strangers, Stevie is intuitive like that.“

Tony was pretty sure his heart just swelled in pride. “S-Sure, yeah. I’d like that very much. So, like, numbers exchange? So you can send me your address and time? Promise I’ll be there on time.”

“Smooth, but alright,” Bucky chuckled, fishing out his phone to exchange his number with Tony.

“It’s a date, then,” Tony said casually when he pressed save button for Bucky’s number on his phone, but froze when he saw Bucky raised his eyebrow, realization of what he just said. “I mean, like, with family. So it’s a family date? Dinner? No? Alright, sorry, didn’t mean to say that.”

“Tony, calm down. You look like you’re about to burst into fire like that,” the brunet chuckled, shifting Steve on his arm. Cheeks flushed red a little. “It can be a family date if you want. We - well, I - I’d like to know more about you.”

“...really?”

Bucky nodded, and it was Tony’s turn to blush as he gave his charming smile.

“It’s a family date, then.”

[blossom-hwa]

Hatred isn’t far from Love - TEN

This was the first story I ever wrote that I didn’t feel like was a total failure; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Pairing: Ten x fem!reader

Genre: fluff, enemies to lovers, college!au

Word Count: 5.3k

Some people are really just inconsiderate.

Especially people like your next-door dorm neighbor who won't stop playing his or her modern pop or rock or whatever music until one in the fucking morning.

And because you're a classical musician, you can't practice for shit.

It’s really annoying and you can't stand it anymore.

NCT Masterlist

Once again, you picked up your violin, gritting your teeth as you gripped the bow as hard you could without breaking it.

Your neighbor was being insufferable, as always. It seemed that every time you decided to practice, he or she would decide it was the perfect time to blast some rock or pop or whatever that you could hear through the thin walls of your dorms.

Needless to say, it was horrid.

Needless to say, you could rarely practice well.

Needless to say, you wanted to give your neighbor a piece of your mind.

You rested your bow on your violin, getting ready to try again.

Bach is the only thing that matters. 

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and opened them again, staring at the sheet music in front of you. You lifted the bow.

And you began to play.

For five blessed minutes, you could only hear yourself play. No construction. No cars honking. Best of all, no music from next door.

But blessings never last.

A car honked five minutes into the piece.

It was okay. You could ignore that.

Another five minutes in, the obnoxious music from next door started again.

It wasn't okay. You couldn't ignore that.

So you gritted your teeth and stomped out of your dorm, still in your ratty clothes with your violin and bow in hand, and rapped on their door, one, two, three times.

The music abruptly turned off, and you heard a banging inside.

Before you could register the what the fuck that ran through your mind, the door opened, revealing a young man about your age, rubbing his hip.

In no mood to be polite, you pointed your bow at him and snapped, "I'm sorry for my rudeness, but do you know how fucking hard it is to practice violin or piano when your neighbor is blasting loud pop songs at ungodly hours of the night?"

Your neighbor simply stared at you, a smirk slowly creeping up his lips. "No, I don't. I've never had that problem," he drawled, eyeing you as though challenging you to something.

"Great. Don't care. Would you mind turning down the music? Please? Or at least can you fucking tell me when you're going to play your music so I can practice when you're not?" You dropped the hand with your bow and glared at him.

He pretended to think about it.

"How about no."

Oh my fucking god.

"I will go in there and break your speakers myself if that's what it takes," you growled, raising your bow.

"What, with that flimsy little bow?" He scoffed.

In response, you whipped around and stormed back into your own room.

What an insufferable, obnoxious, shitty, all-around rude fucking idiot, you thought as you put away the violin. It was obvious you weren't going to have any more practice time that night.

As if to accentuate that point, the music began playing again, this time coupled with the voice of your neighbor singing the lyrics to "Gangnam Style."

You buried your head under the covers of your bed, trying to block out the noise with your sheets and pillows.

How the fuck has he not gotten a noise complaint yet?

. . . . .

You got up early the next day just so you could go to the music department and make up for lost practice time the day before. After telling your professor about your predicament, she'd given you a pair of spare keys so you had access to a practice room at all times. You used them liberally.

You dragged yourself out of bed and started brewing coffee. When it was ready, you poured it into a thermos cup and left for university with your backpack and violin case.

You walked out of your dorm, as expected. You sipped on your coffee, as you expected. You stuffed a cereal bar into your mouth, as expected.

What you didn't expect was to see your neighbor coming out of his own dorm a couple seconds after you'd locked your own.

Oh god, no. Please, no.

You turned quickly, trying to walk away without arousing his attention, but it was too late.

"Yo! Violin girl!"

Violin girl?

With an audible sigh, you turned around, meeting eyes with your hated neighbor.

"Y/N." Your voice was flat and monotone.

"What?"

"My name is Y/N. Not 'violin girl.'" You turned around again.

"My name's Ten!" he yelled as you walked away.

What kind of fucking name is Ten?

. . . . .

You were dead tired when you got back to the dorm, lugging your violin case and backpack as though they weighed a hundred pounds each.

This is all that idiot's fault, if he wasn't playing his stupid music then I wouldn't have had to wake up so early to go to the stinking music department--

"Hey, what's up?"

Speak of the devil.

"May you always get up from your computer with your headphones still attached," you deadpanned, not even looking up at your neighbor.

You really had to stop referring to him as neighbor. As he said, his name was Ten.

You still didn't know what the fuck kind of name that was.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, turning you around. "So that's how you want to play?" Ten asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't fucking touch me," you spat, shoving his hand off. He kept scrutinizing you.

"May you sit on a cactus," he finally said, walking into his own room.

I don't even own a stinking cactus.

. . . . .

To your immense displeasure, you saw Ten more and more around university campus. What was strange was that you'd never seen him around before. It was only after you started spitting insults at each other that you saw him everywhere.

If you were in the music department, he was in the front, joking around with his friends. If you were getting a cup of hot chocolate from the campus café, he was nearby, chatting with someone or hanging around with his earbuds in.

And to your surprise, he was actually in your composition class.

You had never, not once noticed him before. But there he was. And apparently he'd been there all year.

Of course, if you saw him, he saw you too.

"Hey, Y/N. Having a good day?" he would yell from across the room. Depending on how you felt, you would ignore him, flip him off, or yell something back.

It was usually one of the latter two.

You found out he was a dance major, and a pretty damn good one too. Which made it hard to hate him as much, because you really did admire hardworking people.

But then he’d spit something stupid out of his mouth and you would be reminded exactly why you hated him so much.

He never did stop playing the music so loudly, so you ended up basically moving into the music department, only returning to your dorm if you absolutely had to.

. . . . .

In Ten's defense, you were the one that was rude first. He would've gladly stopped playing the music so loudly if you'd asked nicely.

Maybe.

Plus, it was fun to see you so ticked off.

You were the reason his hip hurt, anyway. When you knocked, he'd bumped hard into the side of his bed. That was another justification for annoying you to no end.

Basically, it was fun for him to push your buttons.

Speaking of which, he hadn't seen you around the dorms as much. Maybe his music really had chased you out.

(Fun fact: it kinda had.)

(Another fun fact: you just happened to be there that night.)

Ten found out the second fun fact when he heard the sounds of a violin from next door. For a moment, he debated turning on the music just to piss you off, but he dismissed the idea. He didn't feel like getting up.

. . . . .

The ignorant sot had let you practice the night before. That meant a slightly happier Y/N that didn't need to get up as early or drink as much coffee.

Of course, that happiness flitted away when you saw said ignorant sot in your composition class.

This time, you sat in the back, trying to preserve your content mood for as long as possible. You took out your laptop, ready to work on your latest piece.

You actually made it through most of the class without interacting with Ten, who seemed to be busy with either working on his own project or talking with his friends.

Then at the end, as you were packing up, Ten sauntered over, waving at his friends to leave first.

"Had fun practicing last night?"

You rolled your eyes. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." You slung your backpack over your shoulder and tried to leave.

He blocked you. "I don't even get a thanks?" "No, you don't. I'd thank you if you'd done that more than once. But alas, it only happened yesterday, so I don't think you deserve much of anything."

Ten blew a sigh. "Wow. Rude."

"Wow. True," you countered. You shoved past him.

"You're welcome anyway!" you heard him shout.

. . . . .

A lot of things went downhill one Sunday.

First off, you'd accidentally left the keys to the practice room in the lock and your professor had been pretty pissed. So you no longer had the keys until you could prove yourself trustworthy again.

(Though you didn't get why she was taking the keys away because seriously, it was just one time.)

You were also on your monthly hell, and you spent a lot of your time ignoring everyone even more so than usual.

Finally, you had an evaluation on Monday, and because Ten wasn't letting you practice, you resorted to waking up in the wee hours of morning just to practice.

At that point, you were just running on coffee, energy bars, and ramen.

You were tired out of your mind.

Which is probably why you didn't hear the knocking on your door the first time. You were too immersed in the Mozart sonatas you were going to be playing for your piano evaluation. You still had to practice your violin piece.

You finally heard when the knocks came again, this time louder and more persistent. Dragging your sorry self off of your makeshift piano bench (really just a chair with a cushion on it), you opened the door, blinking blearily.

In the doorway stood Ten, looking equally tired and ruffled.

How did he still manage to look so good even at this time -

"What," you mumbled, yawning.

"You look terrible," was the first thing he said.

You let out another humongous yawn in response.

"Anyway, are you seriously going to play Mozart at -" he checked his phone - "two in the morning?"

You choked back another yawn before actually answering. "Have evaluations tomorrow. Lost key to practice room because Mrs. Ji is pissed at me and you play music until twelve so I have to practice." You went to shut the door, but Ten stuck in his foot before you could close it completely.

"Go to sleep," he said, a strangely insistent tone in his voice. You shook your head. "Can't."

"No, seriously. Go to sleep. You're not doing yourself any favors if you're going to be as tired as this tomorrow," he said.

You rubbed your eyes. "Are you actually being nice to me?" you mumbled. To your surprise, Ten quirked the sides of his mouth up into a half-smile. "Yeah, I guess."

"M'kay. Lemme finish that last sonata, then I'll sleep."

This time, Ten let you shut the door.

. . . . .

The evaluation went well, if you were being modest.

If you were being truthful, it went great. Mrs. Ji even gave you back the practice room keys.

You went around campus that day, feeling pretty good, but you felt like you had to thank Ten for something. He did help you by making you sleep, you guessed.

So you sought him out, something you thought you'd never do.

"Hey, Ten," you called, striding up to him on the green lawn.

"Yeah, Y/N? Wanted to see my pretty face?"

Why am I doing this again?

You made a face. "No. But thanks for making me sleep last night. The evaluation went really well."

Ten nodded, suddenly serious. "I'm glad to hear that," he said, giving you a small smile. Unlike his other smirks, it really seemed to be genuine.

He's really got a nice smile.

You then noticed that you two were just staring at each other, his friends watching behind him curiously. "Um, I better go now. Thanks again." You coughed, backing away slightly. "Yeah," Ten agreed.

Were his ears red?

You didn't stick around to make sure.

. . . . .

Late one night, a knock sounded on the door of your dorm.

"Ten?"

"Y/N," he answered, looking anxious. "You said you had a key to a practice room before?" You slowly nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Could I borrow the key? I've currently got no room in my dorm because I just got a new desk and it came today and I have got to practice for the upcoming showcase," he said, all in a rush, glancing at you nervously but with a bit of hope.

You blinked uncertainly. "Um... I'm really not sure. I was going to go practice myself... and even if I let you go, I'm not sure what Mrs. Ji would think if I let someone take the keys," you said, scuffing your shoes against the carpet.

Ten deflated. "This is a long shot... but maybe... we could go together?" he offered.

He really must've been truly desperate, basically begging one of his half-enemies for a key to practice.

"How would that work out? You know I can't stand your booming music while I practice," you countered, leaning against the doorway.

"I don't know... you could like, practice for a bit, then I'll practice, and we can alternate or something?"

You thought long and hard. "Hell, why not," you finally said. Ten's face lit up.

"Thanks so much, Y/N."

. . . . .

When you two reached the music department building, you realized you'd never before seen Ten dance. The mere thought of it caused butterflies in your stomach, but you didn't know why.

"So, who goes first?" you asked as you unlocked the door. You swung it open, leading the way inside.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Ten suggested. "Sure."

Closing your eyes, you shouted, "Rock, paper, scissors!" and thrust out a scissors. Ten held out rock.

"Damn. Alright, do whatever you're gonna do." You took out your laptop to finish an essay.

The booming music started, and you instinctively lifted your eyes up to watch the other person in the room.

Ten wasn't a good dancer.

He was a fucking amazing dancer.

His body twisted and turned in ways you couldn't imagine yourself doing, and each movement captured so much feeling and emotion that you couldn't help but keep watching, despite the word document in front of you.

When he finished, you couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. At what, you weren't sure, but it definitely had something to do with the panting boy in front of you.

"You finished?" you asked, acting as though you weren't absolutely amazed at his performance.

"Yeah," came the response.

You lifted yourself up, closing your laptop lid, before settling yourself at the piano in the room. You, too, were performing for the showcase as well. You would be playing two Mozart sonatas.

The first, K 570, was your favorite out of all those he'd written. You had no problem finishing it, unaware of Ten's gaze on your back.

Your content smile slowly disappeared as you concentrated on the next piece at hand.

K 576.

It was as though each time you practiced it, you couldn't make it through without at least one small stumble, one missed note, or one wrong rhythm. You didn't know what was wrong with you, and had twice pleaded with Mrs. Ji to change the piece, but she was relentless. You had to play it.

So, taking a deep breath, you started.

This time, though you never turned back, you became increasingly aware of Ten's stare piercing through your backside.

You finished the first movement without making any technical mistakes (thankfully) and turned around to tell him off. "Ten, can you quit staring?"

"You looked really stiff while playing that one. Not nearly as relaxed as the first piece you played," he said, without preamble.

You cringed. "Well, I wasn't nearly as relaxed as when I played the first piece," you muttered.

"Just relax. You're a good pianist. You'll do fine." At that, Ten dropped his gaze, choosing to take another sip from his water bottle.

"It's not that easy," you said under your breath. Still, you took the time to calm your breathing before starting the second movement.

Somehow, you felt lighter.

So you let go.

The second movement went by without a hitch. Then came the third.

You glided through the first half easily, but you couldn't help but tense up when that one part that gave you nightmares came up. You just barely made it through without fumbling.

Content with your performance, you slid off the bench to watch Ten practice again.

. . . . .

As you two walked back to the dorms near midnight, you broke the silence. "You're a really great dancer," you mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Thanks. You're not half bad at piano yourself," Ten said, flashing you a quick grin that you almost didn't catch.

"Well, I'd fucking hope so, considering I've been playing for over ten years," you snipped back. "And I'd hope I was a good dancer, considering I've been dancing for over ten years," he quipped.

You huffed.

. . . . .

Things didn't change much after that night.

The showcase came and went. You both did well, earning countless praises from the music department professors.

You told Ten to go die in a hole.

He told you to sit on your violin and hopefully break it.

Fun stuff.

All in all, the semester ended pretty normally.

A couple new students came in in the next semester. One was a student from your sister university in China, a cute boy named Sicheng. Another was a fairy-looking boy named Taeyong.

(Seriously. The kid had unbelievable looks.)

Within a week, Taeyong had become friends with Ten, and Sicheng had gravitated towards you. You quickly learned that Sicheng was a huge savage, just that his Korean wasn't that great so he couldn't express his feelings all the time.

You and Sicheng were at the café together one day in between classes when Ten and a couple of his friends came in. Sicheng saw your unamused face and asked what was up.

"I don't have the best relationship with Ten," was your succinct answer.

"Ten? The dancer? But he's so nice! And he's good at dancing!" Sicheng exclaimed, confused.

"Yeah, hear that Y/N? Sicheng thinks I'm nice!"

You groaned.

"Sicheng, he's poisoning your thoughts. He's secretly Satan himself," you whispered to the Chinese boy. He looked back and forth between the two of you, not sure who to believe.

"He told me to sit on a cactus once," you added.

Sicheng looked at Ten weirdly. In his accented Korean, he said, "What kind of insult is that?"

You smirked at Ten.

"Hey, Y/N, but weren't you the one who told me that you hoped whenever I got up from my laptop my headphones would still be attached?"

Your smirk dropped off your face. "Don't insult my insults, you Thai idiot," you threatened.

Sicheng and Ten's friends (Was the other one's name Johnny?) were looking more and more amused by the minute.

"'Thai idiot.' Very creative," Ten deadpanned. "Says the one who called me 'Violin girl' at first," you snapped back.

By now, most of the students in the café were watching you two, but neither of you noticed.

"You're insufferable."

"You're a pain in the butt."

"You're obnoxious."

"Look who's talking!"

"You always act like you have a bow stuck up your ass."

"Go to hell, Ten!" You grabbed Sicheng's wrist and strode out of the café, face burning from anger and embarrassment.

Once you two were far enough away, you asked Sicheng's present opinion on Ten.

"I'll withhold judgement," he said, snickering, "because the two of you are pretty amusing when put together."

"How could you betray me like this--"

. . . . .

The war between you and Ten intensified after that. It was as though all the semi-nice moments between you had been forgotten, replaced by a constant barrage of mocking insults thrown at each other.

"You're horrible!"

"You're stupid!"

"You're dumb as fuck!"

"I'd rather be dumb than stupid!"

"They're the same thing what the fuck are you talking about -"

Yeah.

You camped out in the practice room nearly every night because Ten would not stop playing his stupid music until ungodly hours of the morning (aka two or three o-fucking-clock).

Then one day after finals, you fell sick, probably as a result of exhaustion and lack of adequate sustenance.

Or maybe Sicheng had just passed the cold he'd had onto you. Who knows.

Either way, you couldn't stay in the practice room anymore, because you couldn't take care of yourself properly there. Also, you wanted to sleep in your own bed for once.

Once you made it back to your room with Sicheng's help, you passed out on your bed. It was five in the afternoon.

You woke up at one am to the sound of some stupid heavy metal song from the room next to yours. You really didn't have the strength to care, so you just drank some water that Sicheng had left for you and huddled back under your covers.

In the morning, you were really no better. Sicheng wasn't picking up, so you stumbled out of your room yourself to go buy some meds.

And guess who you ran into?

Chitta-fucking-phon Leechaiyapornkul.

Burrowed into a too-big hoodie, you tried to just slide past him, but due to your newfound sickness, you were clumsier than before, so you failed.

"Y/N?"

"Back off, I'm not in the mood," you muttered, forging ahead. You were nearly at the store. Just a few more steps.

"You look dead," the boy remarked.

"I said, back off."

Then you tripped over air.

Ten caught you by the arm. "Dude, seriously. Are you sick or something?" he asked, forcing you to look him in the eyes.

"None of your business." You finally got into the store and started scouring the shelves for the meds you needed.

"Okay, yes, you're sick. Let me help," Ten said, grabbing your arm again. You struggled for a bit but eventually just leaned against him, pointing at random things you needed.

After you paid, Ten guided you back to the dorms. You were feeling lightheaded and dizzy enough that you didn't complain.

As you collapsed on your bed again, you mumbled a "Thanks" that you were sure Ten couldn't pick up.

Still, you heard a small laugh as someone (probably him, but you were so close to conking out that you didn't know what was going on at all) tucked a blanket over you.

. . . . .

Ten looked at your sleeping figure. You looked so peaceful and calm despite the wildness of your hair and the rumpled hoodie you were wearing.

Hard to believe you're the one spitting insults at me every other minute, he thought.

"You're welcome."

. . . . .

After a couple of days, you woke up, finally feeling well and refreshed again. You called up Sicheng to meet up at the campus café for some drinks.

You did see Ten along the way, but you avoided him. It still made you feel awkward whenever you thought of how he'd helped you when you went to get meds.

You had to thank him. Just not now.

"How'd you get the meds though?" Sicheng asked as you told him about your sickness. "I went myself, dumbass. Oh, Ten helped."

You probably shouldn't have added the second part.

"I swear, the two of you are like a goddamn couple sometimes," he muttered. You slapped his arm. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Dong Sicheng," you scolded. "Yes, Mother."

"I don't think Y/N's old enough to be a mother," someone quipped from behind you. You turned around.

The tall friend of Ten's (Johnny?) was looking at you, with Ten and Taeyong close behind. "You're right, I'm not," you said shortly.

"What aren't you?" Ten asked, his interest piqued.

"A mother," Sicheng supplied.

"What the fuck, Johnny?"

Okay, so his name was Johnny.

Ten then turned to you. "How're you feeling now, Y/N?" he asked, this time no trace of a smirk on his face. He only exuded genuine concern.

"Better," you mumbled, trying to look anywhere but towards him. "Thanks for helping me with the meds," you added as an afterthought.

"Whoa, dude, you helped Y/N with getting meds? I thought you were sworn enemies!" Taeyong piped up. Ten scowled. "Shut it, Taeyong," he said, pushing the pretty boy away.

Sicheng coughed loudly. "Anyway, we'll be going now. See ya!" He started pulling you away, but you stayed put. "Um, could I talk to Ten? Alone? For a minute?" you said, your own words surprising you, and from their looks, everyone else around you.

"Sure?" The other three boys stepped away, looking at you two curiously.

You and Ten stared at anything but each other for a minute. Then Ten broke the silence. "So, what'd you need to say, then?" he asked, unusually gruff.

"Why did you help me?" you asked finally, pushing the words out.

Ten looked up at you. "I guess... it was sort of payback for you letting me into the practice room to practice for the showcase. I was... returning a favor."

"Oh."

You two stood in silence for some more time.

"I saw you going to your room the day before with Sicheng, and when you didn't come out to bother me about my music, I thought something was wrong. Besides, you looked really pitiful in that gigantic hoodie," Ten added, the corners of his mouth rising in a smirk.

"Fuck. You," you retorted. "Do you want to know how you looked when you came begging for me to lend you the practice room keys?"

Ten stuck his tongue out at you.

. . . . .

After your sickness, you and Ten became... less like enemies. More like frenemies.

You hung out sometimes, due to Ten and Sicheng both being dance majors, and you found that he wasn't that bad to hang around.

Hell, he even turned down his music sometimes when you asked (though more often he didn't).

Whatever. It was better than before. At least you could sleep on your bed and not on the practice room floor.

Summer came and went. You stayed on campus because your parents were going on vacation elsewhere, and after the showcase, you'd suddenly gotten quite a few offers to play at various concert halls around university. After much contemplation, you'd also decided to start offering piano and violin lessons to those on campus (for pay of course) to take up the rest of your free time.

Sicheng had gone back to China for summer but came back when school started again. Ten had also gone back to Thailand, and Johnny had gone back to Chicago (which explained his perfect English).

It would be your guys' third year at university. The workload was tougher than the year before, and you found yourself stressing every night over essays and compositions you needed to complete. Ten even stopped playing his stupid music until one in the morning because he himself needed to concentrate as well.

On those rare days you guys did have some free time, you would hang out on the campus green or in one of the music department's practice rooms, talking or practicing to let off stress.

Yeah, and then there were the times whenever everyone ditched, last-minute, so it was just you and Ten hanging out.

Actually, it only happened once. But it was still very eventful.

You two were just rolling around like idiots in the practice room, waiting for the others to come, but you two simultaneously got texts saying that they had other things to do.

You smacked your head. "What fucking idiots," you muttered, loud enough for Ten to hear. He snickered.

It had been a little awkward at first, but you two ended up sitting next to each other, chatting about inane things until one thing led into another and you two started talking about relationships.

You'd never been in a really serious relationship. Yes, you'd gone on dates before, sometimes even second or third dates with the same person, but nothing had ever really worked out. Ten had never been in a serious relationship either, to your surprise.

You diverted the topic to trivial things again.

Ten then asked you a startling question.

"What would you do if I kissed you now?"

You blinked.

Ten flushed, not looking you in the eye. "Never mind. It was a hypothetical question -"

"I think I'd like it," you said softly, looking down.

Ten looked up at you sharply. "Then... would you mind if I tried it?"

You shook your head.

He cupped your cheeks between his hands, and your lips touched.

A thousand things ran through your head at that moment, though you could only really register holy shit Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul is kissing me right now and the pressure of his lips on yours.

You two finally broke apart, determinedly looking away from each other.

"I think I liked it," you said, breaking the silence.

Oh my god, did you just say you thought you liked it? What kind of fucking thing is that to say after you've kissed one? Y/N you are so dumb--

"In that case, do you mind if I do it again?"

Ten was smiling at you shyly, eyes hopeful. "No," you breathed.

And then his lips were on yours again, and you forgot everything you'd just been talking about; you could only think about how soft his lips were, how good it all felt--

"See?! I told you if we left them alone, they'd end up together!"

You two shot apart, glaring at the offending male standing in the doorway.

"Are you fucking serious?! They really kissed?!" Sicheng shouted. You heard him running down the hall.

"Yep, I even got a picture. It's a bit blurry though," Johnny said, holding up his phone.

"I'm going to kill Seo Youngho," you muttered. Ten snorted.

"I'll help you clean up the evidence, alright?" he quipped. You looked at him, smiling.

"Sure."

And you kissed him again.