#also i made this shirt her magenta hair color because its a different shirt even if the vest is the same

[tubapun]

THAT GUY SURE LOOKS LIKE PLANT FOOD TO ME!!

[redspacegirl]

MY SEASON 1 PD DESIGNS!!

I feel like theyd have little to no swag in s1 sorry 😞

rambling under the cut

ok ok so i was really proud of these designs. it took like,,, 7 and a half hours???? i was genuinely surprised but trying to figure put height differences and all that was probably what did it.

for vyncents design, i gave him a tail and little slits as pupils. partially because i thought it looked cool, but also because hes not from here!!! he should look like it a bit more! his jeans dont fit fully correctly either. i honestly dont have a ton to say.

dakota is in a pretty similar outfit to canon. i gave him the ms g tattoo on his leg. i also put a chip in his tooth. i thought it was cool. his hair is definitely dyed (imo) so in the beginning of s2 his roots will have probably grown out. ill expand a bit more on that when i get there. also did you know his eyes were amber??? i googled the wiki to see eye colors and???

for wiwi, i hc he gets a lot of hand-me-downs from david, but is a good bit shorter. Most stuff doesnt fully fit right. ofc i think wiwi would like the baggy jean look anyways. i think he gets a white streak in his hair per death, so hed have a small bit now (ill elaborate more in a future post, dont wanna fully spoil anything lol)

ashe was kinda easy cuz ive drawn her design before. i do regret making the shirt magenta. technically it was a dark magenta in canon, but i do feel like black wouldve made more sense. also couldnt decide on the eyecolor. looked at the official design and its purple tho so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

id love to do some of the other designs, like hero costumes (even though they were only there for five minutes :C) and some of the s2 ones. anyways, hope you like these guys :3

[tetsunabouquet]

kasamatsu and imayoshi with a reader who while playing on the court looks rough and serious but one time they discover him playing the electric guitar while listening to a soft song (duvet-boa electric guitar version) (u need to hear that it sounds so pretty ) and the reader also dresses very softly, such as knee-high stockings, shorts and a pink shirt, for example. This would be a male reader who looks tough but is really a soft boy who loves pink (sorry, I don't know how to explain it) in a few words I think I described myself lol (I saw your response to my previous request and I want to tell you that thank you 💞 you made me feel good about myself even with my medical condition and everything that happened because of it and I just want to say that you are a wonderful person and I am proud of you and I hope that the world gives you everything nice because you deserve it) sorry if its so long :(

A/N: I am happy to hear I made you feel good about your condition, truly and neither do I mind it being so long. Words of solidarity and kindness can never be too little in a world as cruel as this one which is why I show people they are not alone and that I can understand. Emotional warmth is like bread to the soul, if that makes sense.

Imayoshi

Today was an unusual day, of sorts, at To-oh Academy. For this one week, everyone was allowed to come to school in their usual clothes instead of their uniform if they wanted to. It had something to do with self-expression but he hadn't been able to listen to the details with his classmates yapping through the explanation. He could hear the sound of a plectrum gently scraping against the strand of a guitar and the melody before he could actually see you. Imayoshi, trying to not disturb the guitar player, tried to walk as lightly as he could and make no sound. It would be rude to interrupt whoever was practising, and Imayoshi hated to be impolite. Still, he couldn't help but be curious at who was playing. Imayoshi peeked inside of the music room, to spot you sitting in a corner, playing a metallic magenta colored electric guitar. The sheen of the instrument said it was well-kept. He did not know wether it was one of the school's guitars or if you simply kept your own instrument stored in the music room like the bassguitar of his classsmate Chikako-san who had the permission to do so after one of her younger sibling's had damaged one of the snares. He didn't interrupt you, but merely listened to how you played wonderfully. It was such a stark contrast with how you usually appeared at school, how strong you were on the court. He didn't think your usual choice of clothing was on the softer, feminine side. He found himself surprisingly fond of it, the way it brought out a different side of you. It was like getting to know a little secret, one out of the countless ones that were kept by lack of bonds and time. Every trivia that was uncovered inching him closer to your heart. You looked up once the song finished, and caught sight of the listening Imayoshi. He smiled kindly as he looked at you, "That was rather wonderful, I couldn't help but stop and listen." You returned his smile with one that felt warm but gentle and it made Imayoshi's heart race more then he would ever have admitted to his friends, because he was enough of a gentleman to realize these words should be reserved for you and you alone. Someday he'd have the nerve to confess, but until then, he would just like the listen and observe every little trivia like the lovesick fool you turnt him into.

Kasamatsu

Kasamatsu grumbled and ran a hand through his hair. He had been dragged to a party by Moriyama, who had the most hopeless crush on your sister- she was holding a big party after she got her driver's license and Moriyama aimed to impress her. Which wasn't going well so far, but that was to be expected. Kasamatsu really didn't feel like being here, and only had allowed himself to be dragged to this place by Moriyama because the little voice in his head had gushed about how you would be here, and that was the only reason why he was getting annoyed at Moriyama's constant failing. Because Kasamatsu couldn't spot you anywhere. It irritated him beyond belief, and he tried very hard not to storm out of the place or drag Moriyama to a corner where he could hiss his frustrations at his friend. He decided to go to the toilet, not because he actually needed to go, but just so he could have a moment to himself to clear his head of the disappointment and annoyance. Kasamatsu went up the stairs, leaving the party behind. Well, mostly, there was this couple kissing heatedly at the top of the staircase, and Kasamatsu just opened the nearest door in the hope he could escape the gross noises. It wasn't the toilet, but your room. You looked up at the intrusion, and stopped playing immediately. Kasamatsu looked at you, taking in your outfit as he had never seen you in non-sports related clothes or your uniform. He took in the electric guitar on your lap, and the speakers in the corner. Not knowing how to start the conversation, he said, "Wow, I didn't heard you playing at all." "My room's been soundproofed, so I can play to my heart's content," You said and smiled at him. "Didn't thought to see you here Captain." "Well you know how Moriyama is with your sister. I decided to keep an eye on him but his lame attempts at flirting is beginnining to irk me." You chuckled, and Kasamatsu couldn't help but notice how your pink shirt was exactly the shade of your lips. He tried very hard not to think about it, when you placed your guitar down on its stand. "Well, if the party is getting too much for you, we could hang out here if you want?" Your voice was more soft and hesitant then he had ever heard it on the court and it made his heart do all kinds of backflips. "I'd like that."

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 17

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 12,131

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

Day three of Operation Boyfriend But Shh Not Really and so far, so good.

Though the thought of this triple date had my inner recluse curling up into the fetal position, I'd manage to convince myself it actually was a good thing when you really thought about it. One, it gave me more practice for trying to do this whole couply… thing I was trying to do. More practice meant I'd eventually, hopefully be more comfortable with it all, as well as less chance for screw-ups in front of my parents when the dreaded but inevitable weekend with them at last came. Two, we were trying to maintain this image of being boyfriend and girlfriend in front of everyone else at the mall. And boyfriends and girlfriends went on dates. What better way to be seen going on said dates than by going out with other actual couples? And three, we couldn't forget about the person the Duke had hired to tail Anna originally and could quite possibly still be keeping tabs on me now. If they were still out there lurking, it was important that they, even more so than anyone else,see me dating.

It was still kind of weird to think about - that an actual, real life PI or whatever had been surveilling me constantly for who knows how long and I'd had no idea. It felt so surreal. Unreal even. But the Duke was absolutely that crazy and I wouldn't put it past him to still have someone keeping an eye on me, looking for any cracks in the story, any slip-ups or mistakes. I'd have to start paying attention more when I was out and about, see if I could figure out who it was, spot any faces that seemed to always show up everywhere I went.

But then, even if I did identify a likely culprit, I would have absolutely no idea what to do with that information once I had it. Even if I marched right up to them and told them their cover had been blown so they may as well scram, the Duke was just insane enough and rich enough to keep hiring new people to do the job instead.

...jeez, I was really starting to sound paranoid now, wasn't I?

With my luck, it'd turn out the Duke no longer had anyone following me after he'd confronted me in the food court.

Best not to think about it too much, because honestly? It'd get me nowhere.

Sighing, I banished the thoughts from my head as I watched the buildings blur past my window from the backseat of Riku's silver Ford Focus. The three of us were on our way to the restaurant now and Lea, Kairi and Sora were going to meet us there. My hand anxiously smoothed out the creases of my outfit - a dark magenta sheath dress with long sleeves and a hemline at the knees. It had a tastefully low v-neckline and a double layered skirt, the top layer made of a shimmering gossamer material. Nice, but nothing too fancy for our "nothing too fancy" date, to use Kairi's words.

Per Lea's request, I'd also worn his leather jacket. It made sense, after all. Nothing screamed "dating" more than one half of a couple wearing their other half's clothes, so it certainly helped maintain the facade. His boy scent still lingered on it, even though he hadn't worn it in a couple of days now, given it had been in my possession. The smell was somehow both soothing and butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing at the same time. It was an odd mix of emotions, to say the least.

I felt a buzz in the jacket's pocket. Pulling out my phone (gosh, it was so weird having one again after going so many weeks without) I checked my notifications to discover I'd received a text.

Well, speak of the devil.

Still cant believe u didnt lemme come pick u up

Shaking my head with a small snort, I tapped out a reply to Lea.

It just made the most logical sense for me to ride with Riku and Rayne since we were all coming from the same place.

Rayne suddenly cried out happily, drawing my attention to her as she clapped and bounced in the front passenger seat. "Ahh, I'm still just so excited for date night! Good food, great company, hot hubby," she slyly pinched Riku's cheek, which he endured with dignity as he drove. "What more could a girl ask for?"

He chuckled as he shifted the car over into the turn lane. "You make it sound like I never take you out."

"You know that's not what I mean!" she playfully smacked his shoulder. "But with the baby on the way, I don't know how many more of these I'll have! This is one of my last chances to enjoy freedom! Jesus take the fucking wheel, hallelujah!"

I felt my phone vibrate in my hand again and I looked down at it.

I know not this logic u spk of

I felt a tiny smile pulling at my mouth as my thumbs typed.

Don't worry about it. Tis beyond your mortal ken.

"I just hope no one's drinking tonight," Riku snerked as I watched those three dots bounce at the bottom of my screen. "Don't need you dancing on any more tables, thank you very much."

"Your face dances on tables!" Rayne shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"You don't even make any sense!"

Rude. Ill have u know I had half a mind 2 drive ovr n get u NEway, logic b damned

My smile turned a touch wicked.

I'm impressed. That's half a mind more than you usually have.

"Here we are!"

My head shot up as I heard the engine shut down. I hadn't even realized we were in a parking lot. I hadn't even realized the vehicle had stopped moving.

As I looked out my window again, I heard Rayne saying, "Have I mentioned how happy I am we're doing this?"

"You may have said something about that once or twice." I could hear the smile in Riku's low voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her leaning over towards him, her hand coming up to run slender fingers through his long, ashen strands. "Yeah, but maybe I should show you."

"Maybe you should…"

And that's when I, being the absolute clueless, blissfully naive little fool that I was, chose to turn and fully look at them, just in time to get a front row seat to their little game of tonsil hockey. I blushed, threw up a hand to block my line of sight and made a tiny noise of disgust in my throat. "Ugh! You know you're not the only people in the car, right?"

Rayne pulled away to smirk back at me. "Well, other people can shoo," she flicked a dismissive hand in my direction before grabbing Riku by his collar and yanking him over for a deeper, more passionate kiss. Ding, ding, round two!

Squeaking, I fumbled with my seatbelt until I heard the click release, threw my car door open, stumbled out and slammed it shut behind me with a huff.

Oi, that was the main drawback to this group date plan. We were going to be around actual couples, and actual couples actually, ahem… snogged. Rayne and Riku were going to be bad enough, but let's not forget Sora and Kairi were along for the ride too and I'd seen firsthand how gross those two could be as well. Mark my word, this night was going to have more than its fair share of uncomfortable moments with those four around, being all besotted and smitten and other such rot. But I would survive this and make it through to the other side. Somehow.

Sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, I glanced up at the building before me now. It bore a colorful banner over its entrance that read Fuente Del Oro. A local, family-owned Mexican restaurant, or so Rayne had told me. I could already tell this was going to be a very different experience from the types of restaurants my ex used to take me to for our dates. Those restaurants had all been about the look, the prestige… you didn't go to any of those places for the food, you went there to be seen, to give off an air of importance. Those places were… dull. Lifeless. This place before me now, on the other hand, was… nice. Colorful. Vibrant and full of character. Not elegant or frilly, but warm and inviting. And the aromas that I could smell coming from it, even all the way out here? Delicious.

I was actually kind of looking forward to this.

Phone still in my grasp, I looked back down at it and frowned.

No message back from Lea yet.

A giggle suddenly echoed out across the parking lot and my eyes snapped towards the source. It didn't take long to spot Kairi a few vehicles over, squirming and laughing in Sora's arms as he hugged her from behind, blowing raspberries against her neck. They were standing with a very familiar redhead who was leaning against a very familiar black muscle car. Said redhead had pulled his hair back into a ponytail again and was dressed in a snug, black tee with a second shirt on underneath, red and black horizontal stripes running down its full-length sleeves. His slim, dark jeans made his already long legs seem even longer and he was sporting his bright red Converse. He had his phone in hand in front of him, but it wasn't the phone he was looking at. Our eyes met and a grin tugged at one corner of his lips.

Suddenly, whatever boldness that I had felt behind the safety of text on the tiny, glowing screen in the palm of my hand had abandoned me and I felt a small pang of anxiety pierce my chest.

But I rallied.

Alright, Elsa, pep talk time. You can do this. You've been mentally and emotionally preparing for this since yesterday. Let him throw at you whatever fluffy, sappy moves he decides to today, all in the name of pretending to be your boyfriend. You can take it.

Shields raised and at full power, captain!

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, I pocketed my mobile and started making my way over to those three. Probably hearing my footsteps against the asphalt, Kairi and Sora looked over at me as I approached and greeted me with waves. I gave them a shy smile and returned the wave as Lea held his phone up, turning the screen towards me and showing the last message I'd sent him as he tsked, "Brutal. You wound me, madame."

I stopped a few feet away from him, my smile twitching wider. "You like it."

"True. What can I say, I've always been a bit of a masochist," he hummed a low chuckle, slipping his phone into the back pocket of his pants. His head tipped to one side and he stared at me for another second, then his eyes crinkled as he stretched a hand out towards me with a soft, "C'mere."

I bit my bottom lip, hesitating for a heartbeat before moving another step forward to take his offered hand.

"Lookit you," he whistled, closing his fingers around mine and leading me into a little twirl. "Digging the look." He then gently pulled me against him, drawing my arms up to hug his neck before slipping his hands beneath the jacket to wrap around my waist, enveloping me in his cinnamon scent. "Didn't get a chance to say it the other day, but my jacket suits you."

I rolled my eyes up at him, doing my best to be impervious to our sudden closeness. I wasn't succeeding. "Not really. It's too big."

"Yes really," he insisted, bowing his head slightly towards mine. "It looks way better on you than it ever did on me."

"Where's Riku and Rayne?" Sora interjected and I turned my head to look at him.

"They-" my words tripped over my tongue as Lea pressed a tender kiss to my temple.

Critical hit, captain! Shields down to thirty percent, but holding!

Ignoring the heat rushing to my face, I did my best to regather my scattered thoughts. "They, uh… they're back in the, uh… the…" Drat, what was the word again? "...car! They're back in the… the car."

Sora pulled a face. "Swapping spit, no doubt."

"Oh-ho, we'll see about that! C'mon, Sora!" Kairi cackled with an evil gleam in her eye, slipping free of her boyfriend's hold to instead grab his hand and pull him behind her as she ran off towards Riku's car.

"Seriously," Lea spoke up again, his voice hushed as I slowly returned my gaze to his. "Pretty sure I've lost all claim to that jacket. It belongs to you now."

My eyelids drooped. "That's not how that works."

"Sure it is." He rested his forehead against mine and I could feel his thumb rubbing light circles against the fabric of my dress just above my hip. "You don't choose a leather jacket, it chooses you. And trust me, that one has definitely picked you over me."

I gave a soft snort. "I'm giving it back to you after tonight."

"Don't you dare," he chided, his breath warming my lips. "You'll hurt the jacket's feelings."

"Stop anthropomorphizing the jacket." I was fighting a smile now.

"Make me," he murmured, something in his voice causing my insides to do that whole warm, fuzzy, squishy thing.

And the academy award for best leading actor in the role of Elsa's boyfriend goes to this guy right here.

But had to say, I thought he might be overdoing it a bit. I mean, Sora and Kairi weren't even around anymore to hear any of this. And if we were being monitored by someone under my great uncle's payroll, they certainly couldn't hear it either. I suppose Lea just… really liked getting into character?

Clearing my throat, I unclasped my hands from behind his neck and shifted them down to his chest in an attempt to push myself free of his grasp as I whispered, "We, ah… should probably go speak to the hostess now."

However, his hold on me didn't loosen, his arms remaining firmly secured around my waist. He didn't say anything, just continued to grin down at me. His eyes became hooded as they flicked down to my lips now, making my heart skip a beat.

What was he-?

A sudden loud yelp ruptured the air around us.

Rayne.

Followed by an annoyed yell of, "Goddamnit, Sora! Kairi!"

And that would be Riku.

The two delinquents in question blurred past us and towards the restaurant's front doors, whooping and snickering and razzing their tongues back at their victims climbing out of the Ford Focus. "We'll grab us a table!" Sora called quickly at the same time Kairi shouted, "See ya inside!" Then they both disappeared through the entrance with Rayne and Riku hot on their heels.

I heard Lea sigh. Or maybe he didn't. It was so soft that it was fully possible that I imagined it. Then he released me, slipping one hand into mine and jerking a thumb towards the restaurant with a lopsided smile, "Shall we?"

I stared at him, feeling the night air cool my warmed face. Then I gave a tentative nod and let him lead me inside.

The others hadn't made it far past the doors and we stepped in to find Riku doling out Sora's punishment: death by a thousand noogies. Sora was smacking his cousin's arm and trying to wriggle free, but to no avail. Apparently Kairi had gotten off with only a warning for she was standing off to one side with Rayne, both cracking up as they watched the boys. I looked past them, taking in the restaurant. Strings of fairy lights hung from the ceiling intermixed with strings of multi-colored papers, each bearing cutouts depicting various imagery. The walls were painted with murals of fantastical, mythical creatures of various shapes and sizes with wings and prismatic fur, feathers and scales. This place was absolutely beautiful.

Once the roughhousing had finally settled down, we all approached the hostess, an extremely tiny, extremely old lady wearing a name tag that read Coco who seemed far more interested in napping than greeting new customers. However, she woke up long enough to squint at her list and find our reservation before calling over a man to seat us. He led us through the restaurant and to a large booth in one of the back corners, leaving menus, chips and salsa on the table before flashing us a warm, genuine smile and saying he'd be back to take our orders in a minute.

I started shrugging out of the jacket, feeling Lea assist me before folding it over his arm and gesturing towards the booth with bow and a, "Lady's first." Smiling at him, I took a seat and scooched towards the middle. Lea wasn't too far behind, sitting close enough for our knees to bump against one another. He tossed the jacket on the back shelf of the booth before draping his arm across the top of the cushioned seat behind my head. Rayne took the spot to my left with Riku of course beside her, and on the other side of Lea sat Kairi and Sora. The waiter came back after giving us a little time to peruse the menus and he gathered our food requests before dashing off again.

"So Ray," Kairi piped up, popping a heavily salsa-laden chip into her mouth, "how's the preggers-life treating you?"

"Really well," she nodded contentedly, one hand going to her tummy. "The jellybean's happy and healthy so far and I've just started barely showing in the past couple weeks. No weird food cravings yet, thank god, but those are supposed to be right around the corner."

Sora leaned forward, propping his chin in both hands and beamed, "Do we know yet if I have a lil nephew or niece on the way?"

"We're cousins, Sora. Nephews and nieces would only be if we were brothers," Riku corrected with a wry curve to his lips.

"We don't know yet," Rayne shook her head, "but I'm about four months along now, so hoping to find out at our next appointment."

Lea had shifted his hand to dangle down so he could idly twiddle my braid between his fingers. I could also sense his gaze on me, causing a bit of a flutter in the pit of my stomach. Reminding myself he was just playing a part and it wasn't real, I resisted the urge to squirm and instead pretended not to notice, directing all my focus into reaching for a chip to dip into the salsa.

"Well whatever the wee monkey turns out to be, you can bet Auntie Kairi and Unkie Sora will be here to shower it with all the love and kisses!" Kairi cooed.

Riku twitched and frowned. "I just said that isn't how it-"

"Shush, hon, they're just teasing you now," Rayne poked his cheek with a laugh before looking back over at Kairi. "And you? How's the new gig over at Mickey's going? You've been there, what? About a week now?"

"Mm-hm! It's been a lot of fun working the jewelry counter. Oh sure, there's the occasional asshole customer, but turns out I'm really good at killing them with kindness."

Riku kicked Sora's foot under the table, "What about you, ya freeloader? Any prospects yet?"

He shrugged with that big smile he seemed to always have permanently glued to his face. Just looking at it was starting to make my cheeks hurt. "Couple of interviews coming up, so we'll see!"

Smirking, Riku said, "Can't wait to hear how you screw them up this time, knucklehead."

"Hey!"

Kairi turned to look our direction now. "So what's new and exciting with you two, hm? Lea, you just had that big test, right?" Silence was her answer as I went for another chip. "Lea? Hello, earth to... ah-ha, there!" She rocketed up to her feet, slamming one hand down on the table and pointing the other right in Lea's face. "Lost puppy look!"

"Hm, what now?" he jolted, his hand jerking away from my braid to lay across the booth backrest once more. "Lost pup-? Bah, I told you already, there's no lost puppy look. You need to get your eyes checked, princess."

She scoffed, plopping heavily back down into her seat and smugly take a sip of her soda. "Please. You were bad at hiding it when you guys were dating in secret, and you're even worse at it now that it's all out in the open."

"What's the deal there anyhow?" Sora cocked his head at me. "There's all sorts of wild rumors flying around the mall, like that you're runaway royalty from some far off country just living off the lam now."

"What?!" I blanched, gawking in disbelief. Doing my best to recover with a tiny, awkward laugh, I hastily said, "No, nothing quite so, ah… dramatic. My parents, they're… well off, to be sure, but certainly not royalty. And not from so far away either. Just Arendelle, which is only about an hour north of here."

Chewing on her straw, Kairi eagerly leaned in closer, "I'd love to hear the story of how you two met!"

I stiffened.

Fudge.

Welp, add that to my ever growing list of things I should have thought about in advance but failed miserably to do so. I fiddled a chip between my fingers as I tucked in my bottom lip. Shoot, what was I supposed to tell her? It's not like I'd gotten any better at lying in the past few days since my visit with Father. In fact, I'd been mostly skirting by since then by dodging questions and letting people fill in the blanks for themselves so I didn't have to. Heart thudding in my chest, I opened my mouth, not quite fully sure yet what was going to come out.

"Last summer," Lea was quicker. "In another city."

"Oh, during that big cross-country road trip you took?" Rayne asked him as she leaned into her husband who slung an arm around her shoulders.

Lea tapped his own nose, "That'd be the one, Raindrop."

Kairi gasped, "You two met in a foreign city? How romantic! That's the dream!"

"You have to leave the country in order for it to be a foreign city," Riku shook his head.

"Cram it, you knew what I meant!"

"It was like one of those scenes straight outta a movie," Lea planted an elbow on the table, rubbing a curled finger over his smirk as he watched me out of the corner of his eye. "There I was, just strolling along minding my own business, smack dab in the middle of a jam-packed city street. But then the crowd parted and there she stood. The most gorgeous creature to ever walk the face of this or any other planet in all the cosmos."

Cue my face turning all new shades of red never before witnessed in the history of human eyesight.

Jeez, laying it on a bit thick there, Lea, don't you think?

"So whatdja do?" Kairi pressed, eyes bright and on the edge of her seat. "Sweep her off her feet right then and there?"

He snerked, "Shit no, I walked headfirst into a lamppost."

I smothered a grin behind my hand as the rest of the table erupted into laughter. Sora reached over to punch him lightly in the arm, "Smooth, ya stud. What city was this anyway?"

"Corona," I was the one to answer, surprising myself. Suddenly self-conscious with all eyes turning to me, I quietly added, "I was there for part of my vacation last year."

"By yourself?" Rayne quirked a dubious eyebrow at me. She knew this story was as made-up as my current relationship status was. I could only assume she was trying to poke holes in order to help us solidify this little tale that was being spun so we'd be more prepared for the next time we had to tell the lie.

The thing is, the best lies have a grain of truth to them. I really had been in Corona last summer. "No, I was taking the trip with Anna. We were actually staying over in Traverse Town, but had planned to visit Corona for the day to enjoy a festival there, since it was only a short train ride away. However, Anna disappeared with a guy before we could go. I'd really been looking forward to this festival though and didn't want to miss it, so I took the train over on my own."

"Wait," Kairi slapped both hands down in front of her, eyes widening. "Are you talking about that big lantern festival they do every year?" At my nod, she squealed. "Lucky! Punzie has shown me pictures in magazines, it looks so goddamn pretty! Oh man, I've always wanted to go! Hint, hint," she shouldered Sora, who just chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"It was actually right as they were launching the lanterns that I saw her," Lea said, folding his arms atop the table now. "She was wearing this cute sundress. White with a lil diamond patterned hem. Split sleeves that were all flowy. Hair down and dancing in the slight breeze." Wow, he was really selling this. He'd even nailed that whole far away look in his eye, like he was seeing something the rest of us couldn't. "And the way those lanterns lit up her smile as she watched them float up, I knew my lowly mortal self was in the presence of a goddess. Knocked the wind right outta me."

"As did that lamppost," Rayne sniggered.

"As did that lamppost," he agreed with a chuckle.

Totally enthralled now, Kairi breathed, "So what happened next?"

"Yeah, what did happen next?" I grinned over at him, the barest note of a challenge to my tone. To the others, it probably just sounded like I was teasing him since obviously I was already supposed to know this story. But now I was almost as invested as Kairi and was genuinely curious where he'd go with it next.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he looked over at me and he leaned back, propping his elbows up on the back rim of the booth and once more slipping an arm behind my head. "Well after the lantern bit was over, I watched her get onto her train heading back to Traverse Town. So I did what any self-respecting, red-blooded, utterly bewitched male would do: I followed her."

"Stalker," Riku singsonged.

His wife smacked his leg, "Hush, it's sweet!"

He snorted, eyelids drooping, "Yeah, so sweet, the dumbass left his car behind in Corona."

"Psssh, I just took the train back for it later," Lea brushed off. "Anyway, when I found her on board, I sat across from her and worked up the nerve to strike up a conversation."

Rayne looked at me. "You? Talk to a handsome stranger on a train?" She squinted, repeating for emphasis, "You?"

"Heh… what can I say? He can be very charming," I smiled down at my drink, swirling the ice with my straw.

"Even with all of my roguish charm and devilish good looks though, it wasn't easy," Lea laughed. His hand had drifted down to start toying with my braid again. "But she warmed up to me eventually. By the time we arrived at Traverse Town, I was completely smitten. A total goner. She still needed more convincing though, so I managed to persuade her into joining me for a night out on the town. Luckily for me, Traverse Town has a very active night life that goes on for hours long after most other cities have gone to sleep."

"Yeah? Like what?" Sora burbled out around a mouth full of chips, making Kairi giggle as she put a hand over his face to hide it.

He pursed his lips to one side, looking up at the ceiling, "Oh, nothing too exciting. Few odds and ends here and there though… wandering around a record store… a café with a palm reader… a street poet at one sidewalk corner, a belly dancer at another, some stargazing in a park…" Now he smirked over at me, "A carnival with a kiss at the top of the ferris wheel."

A mock gasp from Rayne, "Scandal! And you with a fiancé, young lady!"

I looked away, suddenly feeling guilty and flustered over something that hadn't even really happened. "...ferris wheels can be very enchanting."

And my streak of helping the lie along while not actually lying myself successfully continues!

"And then, and then?" Kairi insisted impatiently, just eating this whole bit of fiction right up.

He chuckled and shrugged, "Just mostly a lot of meandering the streets and talking. We were out all night and watched the sunrise together. Eventually, she had to go meet up with her sister so they could move on to another city for the next leg of their lil vay-kay. But I didn't let her leave without agreeing to meet with me again in a few months."

Kairi was slackjaw now as she whispered, "And did she?"

"Mm-hm!" he hummed happily. "And from there, we kept meeting up, our little get-togethers getting longer and more frequent over time."

"Then what?" She was relentless.

A wolfish curl tugged at one side of his mouth. "What else? I slowly seduced her until she fell helpless into my bed, hungry for the pleasure only I could give her," he waggled his eyebrows.

Of course I'd chosen that exact second to be taking a sip of my drink. And of course I promptly spluttered and choked on it. "Excuse me?" I coughed, laughing incredulously as I elbowed him in the gut.

He gave a pained grunt, but grinned and snagged my hand before I could retract it, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. "I mean that in the most gentlemanly and respectful way possible, of course," he winked at me before looking back over at Kairi. "From there, I convinced her to run away from her family and ditch her two-bit, loser fiancé to be with me. And the rest, as they say, is history!"

"Wow!" she sighed dreamily, slumping back and fanning herself. Then she blinked, "Wait…" A gasp. "Oh my god! You swore off dating about a year ago, which was last summer! Was it cuz that's when you two met and it was love at first sight?!"

"Huh. The two certainly seem to line up perfectly, don't they?" he chirped. He'd rested my hand back down onto the table, his on top of mine, threading our fingers together.

Our waiter popped up again just then. "Your food will be just another moment. In the meantime, please allow us to entertain you with some music." He then turned, clapped his hands twice and called out, "Miguel!"

Out charged a boy in his early teens wearing a red hoodie and lugging a guitar that was white, etched in swirly patterns, and nearly as big as he was. He flashed us a smile huge enough to rival one of Sora's and without further preamble, started strumming away and singing. The kid was actually really good too!

Kairi clapped in delight and Rayne cooed over how adorable he was. Sora gaped in awe at the boy's obvious talent while Riku just grinned, digging into the chips. As I watched him perform, I couldn't help but feel Lea's eyes on me once more instead of on our little musician. I shifted in my seat, slipping my hand free of his and bringing it up to tuck some bangs behind my ear, hiding the growing warmth I felt in my cheeks behind my fingers.

At this rate, I didn't know how I was going to survive fake dating this guy for the rest of the evening, let alone for two more weeks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Lea's hand closed around mine, stopping me in my tracks. I glanced over my shoulder at him, then back towards where Rayne and Riku were climbing into their car across the parking lot. "With them?"

"Ahhhnt," he made a buzzer noise, grinning. "Wrong! Would the contestant care to venture another guess?"

I gave him some side-eye, feeling one corner of my lips turn up. "...with you?"

"Bingo!" He started walking towards his car, gently tugging me along with him. "I was already so rudely denied my god-given right as the boyfriend to pick you up from your place. No way am I missing out on giving you a lift over to the movie theater. Same goes for driving you back home later tonight, so better make your peace with it now. It's happening."

I felt my smile twitch a fraction wider as I fell into step beside him. "I suppose being my chauffeur is quite the honor and privilege. Wouldn't want to take that away from you."

"Glad that's settled then," he gave a chipper nod, unlocking the front passenger door of his vehicle and holding it open for me as I got in. As he then jogged over to the driver's side while I buckled in, there was a loud meep meep of a car horn and I looked up just as a hot pink Jeep blurred past where we were parked - Kairi and Sora, it seemed, going on to the cinema ahead of us. I waved at them just as Lea had settled in himself and started the engine.

"So," I began once we were on the road, resting my temple against my knuckles with my elbow propped on the window sill, still grinning as I watched him out of the corner of my eye, "you took a road trip last summer?"

He gave a low hum of confirmation, reaching over to turn down the volume on the rock oldies station coming through the radio. "Decided to have one last big adventure before I really buckled down and started taking school seriously. Did a lil soul searching, that whole shtick."

"Ah." My gaze focused on the road ahead once more and I hesitated for a second, gnawing on my lower lip. "...that was a nice story you told. About how we met."

Lea chuckled, leaving one hand on the wheel while moving the other to lay atop the headrest of my seat. "Liked it, didja?"

"Oh definitely." Now I hid my growing smile behind my hand, trying to keep a straight face. "Though I have to admit, I think I was a bigger fan of the original movie adaptation."

I watched him visibly stiffen. "The…?"

Tapping a curled finger to my chin, I muttered, "What was the title again? Before Sunrise, I believe?"

He snerked, then broke out into a full laugh. "Crap, ya caught me. Yeah, I may have borrowed from the plot there a tad."

"Just a bit," I shook my head at him. "You're lucky Sora and Kairi haven't seen the film."

"Kinda surprised you have," he turned the car down a road that would take us towards the mall. "Pretty sure it's older than you are."

"Nothing wrong with old movies," I shrugged before wrinkling my nose at him slightly with a tiny smile. "Kind of sappy though. Wouldn't have thought that'd be your kind of movie."

Looking my way, he smirked, "What can I say? I'm a sappy guy. And hey, at least I didn't steal everything from that flick."

"True. The stuff before the train was all you."

"You helped," Lea pointed out as he pulled up to a stop sign. He then tapped his index against the steering wheel a couple times. "...outta curiosity, why'd you say Corona? Out of all the other places you must of visited on your trip, what made you pick that city?"

As the car accelerated once more, I tilted my head in thought. "Don't know really… I guess I just felt it would be a nice place to meet someone new in. That'd it make for a good story." I paused, watching some tail lights streak past us. "...the lantern festival really was beautiful. Have you ever seen it?"

Lea shook his head as he glanced up at the rearview before shifting lanes, "Nah. Had plans to on the road trip, but something else came up."

"A shame," I sighed wistfully. "You missed out."

"Wouldn't say that," he murmured, a warm flicker in his eyes. "'Sides, there's always next time."

"Suppose that's true," I nodded. "Nice touch, by the way, describing the dress I was wearing. I think I might even own one that's pretty close to it." Don't think I'd been wearing it in Corona though. But I couldn't really remember. It had been over a year ago after all.

He laughed again, fingers combing his scalp before returning the hand to my seat, now on a spot next to my ear. "Well, I did help you pack your clothes from your old condo just a couple days ago. I probably saw it then."

"Good point." That made sense. It would have been too much of a coincidence if that'd actually been what I'd had on that day. But now… should I be worried that I hadn't really been in that dress? What if someone found out the mismatch in the story? No… no, that was just me overthinking things again. Even if the tale ever reached the ears of the Duke's goon, it's not like they could go back in time to fact check. "Just one more thing now." My eyes narrowed at him, at odds with my grin. "Might want to edit the ending a bit."

"Which part?" he asked a touch too innocently, already turning us into the Dusk Town Center parking lot. "Running away to be with me? Hasn't that been the story all along?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Try a little before that."

Wouldn't have thought it possible to both purse one's lips and smile at the same time, but Lea proved me wrong in that moment. "Hmm… oh! Well, figured wooing you over the course of months sounded more believable, but if you think it works better as weeks or even days, then-"

"No no. Little after that."

"Well then, now you got me stumped cuz I know you just couldn't possibly be talking about the absolute masterpiece that was the slow seducing, helpless bed falling, pleasure hungry part."

A snort. "Why yes, actually, I could be talking about that and in fact am."

"But that's the best part!" he protested, turning to park in a space right next to a familiar Ford Focus. "It's the heart and soul, the very essence of the story! The pièce de résistance, the crowning glory."

With a good natured scoff, I unfastened my seatbelt as the car shuddered into powering down. "Well decrown it because you're dropping that bit."

He lifted his chin slightly and gave a dignified sniff, "I am a storyteller, El. An arteest. You wouldn't ask Leonardo da Vinci to remove the smile from the Mona Lisa."

Well someone had a high opinion of himself. Which honestly came as zero surprise. I fixed him with a dull stare. "Drop it or your jacket gets a giant, sticky stain before the night is out." And with that, I opened my door.

Lea scrambled out of the car and rushed over to join me on my side just as I slammed the door shut behind me. He had the decency to only spend a couple seconds looking mildly miffed at having been denied the opportunity to open and hold the car door for me before his frown melted into a smile once more. "Jeez, blackmail? Never thought you'd stoop so low. But eh," he shrugged, "jacket's black, it'll be fine."

"You're failing to see the big picture here," I crossed my arms as I waited for Rayne and Riku to get out of their own vehicle. My guess was they were probably going for another round of Seven Minutes in Heaven in there. Smirking at Lea, I elaborated, "Because then I'll wash it."

"Egads," he mocked gasp, splaying a hand against his chest, "the horror."

My smirk curled wickedly. "In a washing machine."

As my roomies finally vacated their car (faces flushed, I might add), Lea actually paled. "But it's dry clean only!"

"That's right," I said smugly and turned to walk away. "So nix that line or the jacket gets it."

"You fight dirty," he muttered as he caught up to me, slipping his hand into mine. However, he was grinning.

Huh. That wasn't what I'd been expecting. IE the face of a man who'd just suffered a crippling defeat by my hands.

I narrowed my eyes up at him. "You certainly seem pretty happy about the impending, inevitable demise of your jacket."

Now the grin was joined by a dimple as we walked. "Well, it's just that in order for you to make good on your threat, you have to take my jacket hostage. Meaning you're gonna hafta keep it after all." His head dipped down closer to mine as he swung our hands slightly. "I count that as a win for me."

...well crud.

Score one for Lea there.

Shrieks and giggles suddenly erupted behind us before Sora tore past us towards the mall's entrance with Kairi riding piggyback. Rayne laughed and tugged Riku into a stumble behind her so they could catch up while Lea and I continued to take our time, bringing up the rear.

We made our way through the food court and over to Cinema XIII. The manager with long, silver hair that I'd seen there last time was present again, off to one side where he was setting up a huge cardboard display for the latest Star Wars movie. I watched him scowl and fiddle with the lifesize lightsaber cutouts as our group purchased tickets from a blonde chick with a weird hairdo that kind of resembled antennae. As we'd approached, I could have sworn I'd seen her boredly cleaning her fingernails with a small knife, but there was no sign of the blade by the time we'd reached her register. Perhaps my eyes had just been playing tricks on me.

Tickets for our whodunit comedy flick in hand, we then moved over to concessions which was being worked by that same teen with the emo haircut that I'd also spotted here a couple weeks ago. He hardly glanced up from the book he was reading as Riku and Rayne ordered snacks and drinks from him, Sora waiting in line behind them with Kairi still latched onto his back.

"Alright, whatcha want? My treat," Lea asked as he watched the flat screens hanging behind the counter scroll flashy ads for crisp, buttery popcorn and fizzing, bubbly soda.

I blinked. "What?" Then I frowned at him. "Oh no, not happening. You already paid for dinner despite my multiple protests. I'm not letting you buy me candy too."

We were only fake dating after all, and I wouldn't even want to make a real boyfriend pay for everything!

"But it's my right as-"

I put my finger to his lips, silencing him as my eyelids drooped. "Enough with playing the boyfriend card already. You're having too much fun with that."

He puckered up and planted a tiny peck on my fingertip, sending a small jolt straight to my heart as I quickly jerked my hand back. He chuckled, "Just tell me what your fave candy is."

"Shouldn't you be able to guess?" I arched an eyebrow, stubbornly ignoring the way the tip of my finger still had a slight tingle. "Isn't that like your special gift or whatever?"

"Only with ice cream," he lightly corrected.

"Right," I crinkled my eyes at him. "How's that coming along again?"

His shoulders bobbed up and down. "It's a process."

"My turn!" Sora suddenly proclaimed loudly in front of us, dropping Kairi off his back and spinning around to get behind her.

His girlfriend gasped, "Sora no!"

"Sora yes!" he cackled, jumping onto her back, arms hugging her shoulders tight and legs wrapping around her waist as her hands automatically shifted to grasp beneath his knees. To her credit, she managed to stand for three whole shaky seconds before collapsing beneath her boyfriend's weight into a tangled heap on the floor with him.

Ah, to be young.

Never mind the fact that I was pretty sure I was only like a year older than them.

With a soft snort through my nose, I glanced back at Lea. "Well, while you keep processing, I'm going to go find our seats."

I turned to go, but he pulled me back with the hold he still had on my hand. "C'mon, just lemme buy ya something small," he insisted as he hopped over the Sora/Kairi knot that was still trying to disentangle itself, forcing me to gingerly step over the two of them as well.

Shaking my head with a sigh, I said, "Why won't you just let it go?"

He beamed. "Cuz what schmoopsie-poo wants, schmoopsie-poo gets."

Oh no he didn't.

"Uh-uh, no. Veto. You are not calling me that," I jabbed a finger into his chest.

There was a sly gleam to his eye. "Tell me what candy you want or I won't stop."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?" he flashed a toothy grin as we stepped up to the counter now that my roommates had stepped off to one side, already munching away at their newly purchased sweets. "You'll think you died and went to schmoopsie-poo heaven."

I gave a small huff and looked away. "Small price to pay. Not budging on this."

"Fine. You've forced my hand." He turned his head to the concession worker, slapping his palm down on the countertop and proudly declaring, "I'll have one of everything, my good man!"

"What?! No, no, stop, he's joking," I hastily told the cashier, who froze mid-ringing the order up as he gave us a flat look with the one blue eye not hidden behind bangs. To Lea, I whispered, "What do you think you're doing?"

He shrugged, grin not faltering. "Figure ya gotta like at least one of 'em."

I stared at him. Then my shoulders slumped and I hung my head, grumbling, "...Junior Mints."

"You heard the lady," he chirped to the theatre employee. "And throw in a small popcorn and large Kupo-Kola too please!"

Once the junk food was acquired and paid for, we moved out of the way to join Riku and Rayne as Sora and Kairi bought their own goodies. While we were waiting, I opened up my candy and reached inside, retrieving a minty, chocolate-coated treat and popping it into my mouth.

"Can I have one?" Lea asked beside me.

I gave him a blank look. Then I glanced down at his hands, otherwise occupied with a full soda cup and a bag practically bursting with popcorn. Digging another Junior Mint out and holding it up between us, my gaze met his once more. "Say ahh."

Face brightening, his lips parted wide.

I inserted it into his nostril.

He blinked a couple times, then snorted which had the byproduct of dislodging the Junior Mint. "Okay, guess maybe I deserved that for being a lil pushy about getting you the candy."

"You most certainly did," I said matter-of-factly, eating another one. A pause while I slowly chewed before swallowing and mumbling, "...but thanks for doing it anyway."

"Heh. Don't mention it."

Kairi and Sora rejoined us then, arms piled high with sugary delights. Jeez, all that on top of the gigantic Mexican dinners they'd both devoured less than an hour ago? One had to wonder how the two of them managed to stay so skinny.

It didn't take long for us to locate our theater and when we entered, all the lights were dimmed for the trailers that had already started to play. We quietly found our seats close to the middle of the auditorium and we settled into them, Lea to the right of me and making up one end of our group while Rayne took up my other side, the rest of the gang to her right. It seemed the cinema had recently renovated with new, barely-used cushiony sofa seating, the kind that reclined.

As I pushed the button that popped out the chair's footrest and made myself more comfortable, I caught a glimpse of the others. Half way through a strand of red licorice, Rayne flinched when Riku was suddenly in her face and chomping down on the other end of the candy. Grinning, he took a few more bites, bringing their lips closer together until he could give her a smooch before pulling away, looking quite pleased with himself as she blushed and snerked, giving his shoulder a light shove. Kairi was tossing Milk Duds towards Sora's open, awaiting mouth and rewarding him with little kisses every time he successfully caught one.

Worrying my lower lip between my teeth, I glanced towards Lea out of the corner of my eye as he crunched away on some popcorn. Should we be acting all… couply right now? Like the others were? I mean, it was a dark theater… did we really need to keep the act up in here too? Would anyone really notice? Then again, I'd noticed our friends being all sickeningly cute and I hadn't even been trying to, my eyes had just wandered. So maybe it wasn't such a stretch to consider the two of us were also possibly being observed, even in here.

My gaze flicked down to the armrest I shared with Lea. It was wide enough for both our arms to lay on it side by side, elbows touching. He wasn't holding my hand at the moment, instead just resting his about an inch away from mine. Which, now that I noticed, actually felt a bit weird, oddly enough. I guess I was starting to get used to it. But perhaps I should look at this as an opportunity for some more practice. An exercise in me being the one for once to initiate a display of affection. I seriously couldn't get away with him being the one to start it all the time, right? Surely, I had to act like I liked him too.

Which, to be fair, I kind of did.

Even if it was a secret.

But now I had to wonder how does one go about, ah… what was the term? ...making a move? I'd never had to do it with my ex. I'd never particularly felt the urge, nor had he ever really encouraged me to have more initiative in that area. He'd always been the one to take charge and that seemed to be the way he'd liked it. It seemed to be what was expected of our relationship, by him, by my family, by the world of upper society that I had lived in for so long. But I was no longer in that world. Things were different here. I was different. And I needed to show that to my parents. And one way I could show that was by doing this.

So then… exactly how do I do this?

...well I suppose I could start by moving my hand in the general direction of his. Seemed simple enough… right?

Gulping and holding my breath, I slowly, oh so very slowly started reaching for his hand. As my fingers crept closer, the pounding in my ribcage grew louder and louder. A hairbreadth away from skin contact, I hesitated, what little courage I'd mustered already dwindling. But after a second, my face hardened. I needed to do this. For the sake of Operation Boyfriend But Shh Not Really. For the sake of a continued future free from my parents' control. With a newfound resolve burning in my chest, I pushed on.

My pinky barely brushed against his knuckle.

Nope! No way. Mm-mm, not happening!

I snatched my hand back, blushing furiously.

The blush of a failure. Pathetic.

However the touch, no matter how light and brief, hadn't gone unnoticed. Lea glanced my way, his head tipping slightly. Then he smiled, shifting his popcorn out of his lap over to his right while moving the soda from the cupholder between us to the one on his other side. Then he lifted the armrest separating us, folding it back between our chairs before slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close so my head was pillowed by his chest.

I tensed for several seconds before relaxing against him, clearing my throat and, if possible, blushing even harder.

Well then.

Guess I no longer needed to worry about us not looking couply.

Even if I hadn't been the one to initiate.

...tomorrow. I would do a better job tomorrow.

As the last of the trailers ended and opening credits for the movie began filling the big screen, Lea ducked his head down next to mine. I could feel him grinning against my ear as he whispered, "This boyfriend model comes equipped with all the latest technology, including hilarious movie commentary. Would you like that feature enabled now?"

I leaned my head back a bit as I turned to look him in the eye. He cocked a playful eyebrow at me. Feeling one corner of my lips tug up, I whispered back, "Commentary on."

"You got it."

I was not disappointed.

"Is this really totally necessary?"

"Oh absolutely. Your uncle's spies could be anywhere, ever vigilant and watching at all times."

"Even here? In the parking lot for my own apartment?" I frowned dubiously.

I could feel him nodding against my hair. "Especially here. I'll have you know I've seen at least three cars pass us already, each one more suspicious and shady than the last."

Date night had been a rousing success, if I did say so myself. We'd had a good time with friends, dinner was amazing and delicious, and the movie had been excellent. But as everyone knows, all good dates (even the fake ones) must come to an end. And at the end of every date, some sort of goodnight ritual is often at the very least customary, if not absolutely essential. Traditionally, this usually takes the form of the infamous goodnight kiss. However, since I'd already taken any sort of liplock completely and one hundred percent off the table, Lea had instead opted for a hug.

One… extremely and uncomfortably long hug.

...okay, that was a lie. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. In fact, was actually quite nice. Pleasant, even. Ten out of ten, would recommend.

We stood next to his car at the moment, my apartment building just a few yards away. After he'd parked and we'd both climbed out, he'd pulled my arms up to wrap around his neck, his hands once again finding their way under the leather jacket to encircle my waist, hugging me close as he'd rested his cheek atop my head. And so we had remained for quite some time now.

Kairi and Sora were no longer with us, having parted ways back at the mall, but I could see Rayne and Riku off to one side near their own vehicle, enthusiastically taking part in some cuddle time themselves while they waited for me. Which actually I really appreciated. Without their added presence here, I'd probably be getting a lot more awkward a lot more quickly about The Hug That Would Not End.

That said…

"We've been at this for at least five minutes now. Wouldn't you call that a bit, er.." I shifted my feet, resisting the urge to squirm, "...excessive?"

His hold on me didn't budge. "Gotta be convincing. 'Sides, we're obviously still in the honeymoon period of our relationship. You know, when the couple takes forever and a day telling each other goodbye a thousand times before actually leaving. Otherwise known as the No-You-Hang-Up-First phase."

My brow furrowed. "I thought that was only made-up for TV. Real people don't actually do that, do they?"

"Yup," I felt another nod. "Trust me, I'm an expert. I know these things."

I squinted off into space. "...haven't you only ever done one night stands?"

"Shush, I said trust me on this," he murmured.

And shush I did. I suppose I could look at this as a sort of… endurance training? Get me more used to his hugs so I'd be less awkward about them in public? Make them seem more natural? Yeah, okay. This might be good for me. Let's see how long I could keep this up.

...answer? Not long.

Tentatively trying to pull away, I began, "Alright, maybe we should-"

"One more minute," he insisted, squeezing me tighter and shifting his head down now to instead nuzzle against my neck. His nose was cold and his breath tickled against my skin, making my cheeks warm. Welp, so much for not squirming.

Huh. He really seemed to be taking this whole pretend boyfriend thing very seriously. This was some extreme dedication to the role.

And there my insides went all over again, doing the whole warm, fuzzy, squishy thing. Alright, just breathe. Deep, calming breaths. Remember: Conceal, don't feel.

...maybe just focus on the concealing part. The not feeling part was already a lost cause.

"Ya know," Rayne's voice suddenly piped up nearby, causing me to jump, "maybe you two don't have to say goodnight just yet." Lea straightened up, loosening his grip on me just enough for us both to turn our heads to see she'd joined us. Gracing us with a sly smirk, she said, "I mean, if you want to really drive this date home for any eyes that might be prying, Lea could always, ya know..." her eyebrows bounced as she leaned in closer to whisper conspiratorially, "stay the night."

"What?!" My face erupted into blistering heat, the likes of which would've put the Sahara Desert to utter shame. "N...No! Absolutely not! How could you possibly even-"

She laughed, her finger booping my nose. "Relax, you silly goose. Of course he'd only sleep on the living room sofa! S'not like your grunkle's minion would have x-ray vision into our home."

Oh.

That's what she'd meant.

Well of course that's what she'd meant. It's not like she'd ever really suggest…

Actually, no, this was Rayne we were talking about here. I honestly wouldn't have put it past her.

She elbowed Lea in the arm, "So whaddya say, stud?"

He smiled, removing one hand from my waist to rub at the nape of his neck. "Well, I'd planned on getting some reading done for my classes tonight. But I do have my book bag in the backseat, so I suppose I could just as easily read here on your couch." His gaze shifted back down to mine, "That is of course, as long as you're okay with it!"

My face still recovering from its abrupt and devastating heatwave, I looked down and muttered, "Well, I… I suppose, ah… sure. Okay. I mean, just to keep up appearances… " My eyes flicked back up towards Rayne, "Thanks. I guess that's… actually a pretty good idea."

"Of course it is! I came up with it!" she beamed, planting her fists on her hips and puffing up her chest. Then she turned back to her husband, pressing her lips to his cheek as she linked her arm in his and led him over to the building entrance. Lea at last fully released me, but only long enough to unlock his car and pull out a messenger bag that looked heavy with textbooks. Kicking the door shut, he slung the strap of the bag over his head to hang across his chest before slipping an arm around my shoulders, grinning down at me as we followed the other two inside.

Once in our apartment, he removed the arm while Rayne pulled some spare pillows and bed sheets from the closet, tossing them onto the longest couch for Lea. Then grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, she unscrewed the cap and held her drink up high. "A toast! To Lea's sleepover! May it be the first of many!" she declared before tossing her head back to chug half the bottle.

Riku just snerked, shaking his head while Lea scratched his cheek with a weak chuckle and walked over to drop his bag on the sofa next to the blankets. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fingers between my eyebrows with a soft sigh. Still, she had a point. I suppose it was only natural for my "boyfriend" to stay the night with some amount of frequency. Oh gosh, I hope this wouldn't be too much of an imposition on Lea.

As Rayne recapped the water bottle and put it down on the kitchen table, Riku stepped up to her, taking both her hands in his and pressing their foreheads together. "Hon, why don't we head to bed early tonight?" he asked, tone low and eyes hooded.

"Mmm," she breathed him in, smiling up at him through lowered lashes and nodding, "sounds good." As he pulled her towards their bedroom, Rayne glanced back at us. "Good night, you two! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she winked and waved before disappearing through the door, closing it behind her.

Silence followed. It felt strangely sudden and almost deafening.

I slowly turned to look at Lea.

He looked back, giving me a tiny smile.

That's when it struck me.

This was the first time in two full days I'd been alone with Lea. Like, really alone. Not in public, not where we had to put on the boyfriend-girlfriend act. Even when it'd just been the two of us in his car earlier tonight, even then we'd still had kind of been in the relative safety of pretend date mode. Besides, driving around in a car was completely different from being alone with him here, now, in my apartment late at night. Now that there was no more reason for all the hand holding, forehead kisses, and other little touches, things felt… well I wouldn't exactly say wrong per se, but more felt just kind of… off?

Panic was beginning to set in.

My mind was drawing a total blank.

I… didn't know how to be around him now. Not when we didn't have to fake a relationship anymore.

I'd forgotten how to act normal.

I think he could sense it too. The weirdness that had suddenly popped up out of nowhere. His eyebrows knit together, his gaze shifting about for a couple seconds. Then he opened his mouth to say something.

"Good night!" I loudly blurted out first.

Then I was in my bedroom so fast, you would have thought I'd spontaneously developed the power to teleport.

I slammed the door shut behind me, pressing my spine flat to it, eyes wide and taking shallow breaths through my nose. A few seconds passed where I just forced myself to inhale and exhale slowly a few times, trying to calm down. Then I winced, lightly banging the back of my head against the door.

Good job, Elsa. Way to make things mildly awkward. And for no real reason at all, you useless, hermitic dope!

With a small scowl, I shrugged out of the leather jacket and tossed it onto my bed. Then I unzipped my ankle boots, kicking them off and started pacing the length of my room back and forth, my hands twisting at my braid.

I couldn't just leave things like that. I had to talk to him. I had to toughen up and find an excuse to march my butt back out there. But what excuse?

My feet paused mid step as I glanced around my room for a minute before landing on one of my walls. Not just any wall. The one I shared with Riku's and Rayne's bedroom. Then I lightly tapped one fist into my palm. That's it! I quickly moved to my nightstand, opening the top drawer. Amongst its contents was a plastic baggie of earplugs. Digging out a pair and dropping the bag back into the drawer before closing it again, I then stepped over to my door. I took a second to take a deep breath and gather myself, standing up straighter and flicking my braid back behind me. Then with a firm, determined nod, I turned the knob and pulled, walking back out into the living room.

Lea was sitting on the couch that would be doubling for his bed tonight, arms splayed out wide to either side atop its backrest while he read the textbook that laid open in his lap. He'd pulled his hair out of its ponytail so his crimson locks were once again wild and free and he'd taken off his long-sleeved undershirt, now just wearing the tee.

Looking up at me, he all but leapt up to his feet. "El! Hi! I-" he grunted as the book he'd apparently forgotten was in his lap crashed down hard onto his foot.

I sucked in a tiny breath through my teeth with a frown, taking a step forward and reaching a hand out, "You okay?"

"Fine," he groaned. "I didn't need that toe anyway. It was only holding me back. Just dead weight." He laughed it off as he picked the textbook up off the floor, tossing it behind him onto the cushions before crossing his arms, "So, was there, ah… did you forget something?"

"Yes," I took a little step towards him, then frowned, glancing away. "Well, no…" I started to take a step back before catching myself. Wrong way, dork. "That is to say, sort of… er, I just...hm…" I thrust one fist forward, opening it palm facing up to reveal the earplugs, "Here!"

He stared down at them blankly. Then at me.

"Oh!" I gasped. "Right! Some sort of explanation would probably help." I gave a nervous heh. "So… uh… you know, those two," I gestured with my chin towards my roommates' bedroom door, "well, they just… the look they were giving each other before they went to bed, it's… well, it's a look I'm very familiar with from them. You know the look, the kind that should come with its own Marvin Gaye soundtrack. And those two… when they get going, they can really rattle the old headboard, if you know what I mean." A beat. Then I blanched. "Of course you know what I mean! Right, moving on. So uh… they are not quiet about it and they're definitely not quick. And these walls? They're thin. I'm talking like tissue paper thin. And not even the good Kleenex Deluxe kind of tissue, more like the cruddy, two-bit kind you'd get at the dollar store that just disintegrates if you even so much as breathe on it." Great, now I was just plain babbling. "These walls may as well not even be there for all the sound they block. Or rather, don't block. Then again, if they weren't there, then we'd not only hear but also see-" Wrap it up, girl, wrap it up. "A-Anyway! So just… just take these. You'll thank me later, believe me."

His eyes crinkled and he nodded, plucking them from my hand. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. Thanks."

Good. Okay. Yes, this was going well.

...huh. Though… slight hitch in the plan…

What now? I hadn't exactly thought this far ahead.

Maybe this was enough. I could now just make a graceful exit, leaving things in a better place than where I had previously. Yeah, that sounded good.

I gave him a tight-lipped grin, inching backwards as I pointed towards my room. "Okay then, I think I'll just…" But as I turned, my eyes landed on Rayne's and Riku's door again and I froze and grimaced. "Ah, shoot," I hissed under my breath.

"Problem?" I heard Lea ask behind me.

I shook my head, "I meant to ask Rayne to unzip my dress before she went to bed since the zipper is just where I can't reach and-" I blinked, then glanced over my shoulder at him sheepishly before fully turning to face him. "And why am I even telling you this? Forget I said anything. It's nothing, I'll figure it out."

"I can do it," he tossed the ear plugs onto the coffee table between us before stepping around it.

Waving my hands rapidly back and forth in front of me, I said, "No, it's fine. Really, you don't have to-"

"Don't be silly, just let me help you," he came to stop in front of me.

I tucked in my lower lip. Maybe I was just being silly about this. I mean, what was the big deal? Really? "...o-okay," I sighed, turning my back to him once more and sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, running my hands down its length a few times. At least my old nemesis, The Blush, had the common courtesy to wait until I was no longer looking at Lea before creeping its way up into my cheeks.

I could sense him taking another step closer to me, could hear his gentle breathing as I felt his fingers undo the clasp at the top of the zipper. One of his fingertips incidentally grazed my skin and I couldn't stop a tiny shiver. Then there was a pause. Like… a long pause. I frowned straight ahead, uncertain. Nothing seemed to be happening. I turned my head slightly, stopping just short of actually being able to look back at him. "...everything okay?"

"Uh… yeah, the uh…" he cleared his throat, "...the stupid thing just got stuck for a sec there, but it's all good now." At last, the sound of the dress unzipping reached my ears. "There ya go, you're all set!"

My hand darted to clutch at the back of my dress, holding it together as I whipped around to face him. My blush? Only seemed to be growing in strength. I started backing away, "Th-thanks… for that. That was really… something. Nice! That was nice. Of you. To do that… for me. I-" I crashed into my door frame and stumbled. "Oops. Heh. Who put that there? Um… anyway…"

And on that eloquent and fully formed note, I dashed into my room, banging the door closed. Then I puffed out a breath, slumping down to sit on the floor as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Great. Just dandy. I hadn't left things mildly awkward this time. Oh no, I'd only left them mega, ultra, super awkward now. Progress! Superb. Just perfect.

That's it. It's decided. I'm not fit for human contact. I was just going to barricade myself in this room and never come out ever again. Ever. Period. The outside world would be better off without me anyhow. Good bye, people. Hello, sweet sweet solitude. I-

I heard a muffled buzz and my head snapped up. It'd come from Lea's jacket on my bed. I squinted at it for a second. Then it clicked. My phone! I half crawled, half scrabbled over to it, digging into the pocket and pulling it out, swiping the screen.

There was a new text from Lea.

2nite was fun

I blinked, looking over at my door. Then back down at my phone, pursing my lips to one side. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a second. Then slowly I began to type.

I thought so too.

I waited as those three little dots hopped in a row.

We shud totes do it again sometime

A huff of amusement escaped through my nose, the tension starting to leave my body.

I'd really like that.

Then I tipped my head to one side, grinning slightly as I tapped away further.

I'm paying next time though.

The dots were dancing on my screen again.

Aight, if u insist. But b warned, Im not a cheap date

Now I actually laughed.

I can live with that.

Perhaps I'd been a bit too hasty. Maybe there was no need to barricade myself in here. Not just yet anyway. I'd hold off for a bit.

At least long enough to see what tomorrow would bring.

Author's Note: Anyone else notice Lea's shirts seem to be getting tighter and tighter every new excuse he has to see Elsa out of his work clothes? I think he's subconsciously putting on a courtship display to present himself as a sexually viable mate xD Ahem, moving on… Fun Fact 1: Fuente Del Oro is a real, Coco-themed restaurant over in Disneyland Park in Paris! Google translate says the name means "Gold Fountain", oooOOooo pretty! I really hope Coco makes it into one of the future KH games eventually! Fun Fact 2: Elsa's dress this chapter is inspired by her purple dress from when she sings Into The Unknown in Frozen 2! Just picture it shorter and more cocktail-dressy. And I know in the movie, that purple dress is a nightgown, but shhh, we'll just forget that part. And the dress Lea described in his "how we met" story? Loosely based on Elsa's Show Yourself dress - again just picture it shorter, more practical and more sundressy xD Also if you haven't heard of it, Before Sunrise is a real movie, not to mention a real SAPPY movie. Kind of slow, but cute. I'd actually never heard of it until I started writing this chapter - saw a gif go by on tumblr of the lead couple from the movie doing something adorable that made me go "oh gosh, that's SO Lea and Elsa!" and had to watch it xD I'm kind of happy it came along when it did though, cuz it gave me inspiration for Lea's "how we met" story :)

Next chapter, what new challenges will Elsa face in her adventures in fake dating? Will she ever be able to work up the courage to initiate a display of affection herself? Just how much of a "not a cheap date" is Lea really? What about his shirts? CAN they get any tighter? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[byuneebuns]

Calluna

Minhyuk x Reader Supernatural AU

Tags: Fluff, Oneshot, Witch AU, Supernatural AU

Author’s Note: I wrote this in July of 2018, right before I saw Monsta X in SF, and it has been sitting in my drafts since then. I just re-worked it a little and I think it’s finally ready to let it see the light of day. I hope someone out there enjoys it. ♡ 

A large plume of dense magenta smoke was billowing from your cauldron, smelling strongly of pine needles. You fanned at it eagerly, trying to ignore the dread creeping into the pit of your stomach as you recoiled from the pungent odor.

‘Pine needles? Isn’t it supposed to smell like flowers....?’ You thought to yourself as you glanced at the open spellbook by your side for confirmation.

The jewel-tone clouds finally started to dissipate and you chewed on your lower lip as you peered nervously into the depths of your cauldron, silently praying your hard work hadn’t been been for naught.

In the bottom of the large metal bowl was a substance reminiscent of tar in both consistency and color, bubbling ominously.

“No, no. This isn’t right at all.” You muttered darkly to yourself, your fingernails digging grooves into your palms from how tightly your fists were clenched with frustration. 

This was your third attempt at a particularly complex potion to mimic feelings of love and you were at your wit’s end trying to figure out what exactly you were doing wrong. 

This wasn’t a love potion in the sense that it made someone else fall in love with you: It was a potion that made you feel all of the warmth, the fullness, the contentedness of loving and being loved in return. It was happiness in a bottle, so to speak, and much like the feeling was difficult to describe so was it to replicate.

You squinted at the narrow, cramped cursive text that covered the pages of your spellbook, wishing for the thousandth time that your late Aunt hadn’t been so hasty when recording her creations. Her handwriting was illegible at best, and most of her homegrown spell instructions were riddled with scribbles and footnotes that contradicted each other.

“It must be nice to be a genius.” You sighed to yourself, closing the textbook and staring wistfully at the ceiling. A small wreath, only about three inches in diameter, of smooth wood and white heather swayed from a long string attached to the low ceiling beams of your small cabin, almost playfully teasing you. It was her last parting gift to you before she left you alone in the world. It had been a year since she passed away but the heather had never yet wilted, something you were certain she’d accomplished with her powerful magic. You’d never gotten to ask the meaning behind the wreath but you could sense that it was important in some way you’d yet to comprehend.

Your parents had died from illness when you were too young to know them, leaving you alone with your mother’s much, much older sister. She’d raised you as her own and although you knew she was no spring chicken you were still extremely unprepared when she told you that the end was coming. She went peacefully in her sleep but it never felt like she’d truly left you, so you managed to avoid feeling too lonely.

“Auntie, couldn’t you have bought a typewriter? I can’t read this, and what I can read doesn’t make sense. Now I have to go out again.” You whined at the charm, receiving only taunting silence in reply.

You groaned again, pulling on your boots and cloak and trudging out of the cabin with a final sigh.

Your feet carried you towards the tree line of the forest you called home. Your cabin sat in a wide field that was dotted with wildflowers and surrounded by trees that seemed tall enough to touch the clouds in the bright blue sky above them. Your Auntie had always told you that a witch belonged in nature, but that it should be revered and respected. Nothing more than was needed should be taken, partly because wastefulness is considered evil, but mostly for fear of angering the protective spirits of the wood. They never showed themselves to others but you could feel their presence all around you, watching your every move from somewhere just out of sight, as soon as you stepped in their territory.

Your caretaker had been much more well-acquainted with the wood than you were. You had spent plenty of time playing there as a child, but she often ventured into them alone when you were young, leaving for hours at a time without explanation. You suspected that she was practicing advanced magic in private that she didn’t want you trying to copy. You never dared to follow her, knowing that she would catch you immediately and not wanting to suffer the consequences of your curiosity, but you’d always hoped that someday she would deem you worthy to accompany her. She’d kept so many secrets from you until her last breath, which you routinely tried not to let eat a hole in your heart. She had her reasons and they were her’s alone.

Your feet slowly made their way along the soft, mossy earth, your arms swinging freely at your sides, a small smile playing on your full lips. You felt so blessed to get to live somewhere so breathtakingly beautiful. The trees were so thick that only small, green-tinged rays of the sun were freckling the forest floor. You were so relaxed in the silent woods that you failed to notice the pair of eyes following you closely as you journeyed on.

You finally reached your destination, a tiny clearing in the woods with herbs and berries of differing varieties as far as the eye could see. You’d been fortunate enough to locate the little sanctuary not long after your Aunt passed and it had since become a beloved destination for you to find peace in solitude, ingredients for meals, and supplies for spells. It was, needless to say, an important place for you both in terms of your survival but also your spirit.

You knelt down, carefully picking stalks of herbs and collecting berries in your basket. You left a small cloth bundle, tied tight with a ribbon, on the ground nearby. This was almost certainly a garden being cultivated with the magic of forest spirits, so it was only polite to leave an offering as payment.

“I don’t like cucumbers.” A disparaging voice suddenly called over your shoulder.

You spun around and stumbled backwards in shock, tripping over an exposed root and crawling backwards on your hands, ignoring the stinging pain in your ankle.

A tall, thin man towered over you, watching you with thinly veiled amusement. He took a step towards you and you gasped, scrambling backwards into a bush as you desperately tried to put more distance between the two of you.

The stranger bent down on one knee and plucked your offering from the ground, untying the ribbon with nimble fingers, and pulled a sour face at the contents.

“It always has cucumber, why can’t they just be normal?” He grumbled, pinching the tiny sandwich between his forefinger and his thumb, a pout blooming spectacularly on his mouth and marring his elegant features.

Now that his attention was directed elsewhere you were able to get a proper look at him. He looked to be about your age, maybe a few years older, had a thin frame with broad shoulders and otherwise even proportions and was deceptively muscular. He had delicate cat-like features with high cheekbones, his face promising mischief. Straight brows hovered over almond-shaped eyes with glittering black irises, and a small, straight nose with thin lips and a sharp jaw. His hair was the color of fresh snow, messy and sticking up oddly in places, and upon closer inspection seemed to have some small leaves and twigs tangled in it.

In fact, the closer you looked at him the more wild he appeared. There were smears of dirt on his arms and face and his shirt was torn in strange places, like he’d fist fought with a thorn bush and lost badly. His pants were worn and had large grass stains at the knees. He looked like he hadn’t seen a proper bed or bath in ages.

Despite his forlorn appearance, he was truly stunning.

He turned to you with a scowl.

“Don’t you know how to make anything else?”

Your initial shock having subsided, you felt yourself practically swelling with indignation.

“I can, thank you very much. And those aren’t for you anyways, they’re an offering for the forest spirits.” You huffed, crawling forward gingerly on scuffed hands and knees to snatch the container from his ungrateful hands.

He looked at you incredulously before tipping his head back and laughing, earning another look of apprehension from you.

“Well the forest rejects your offering. Come back with something tastier.” He said, taking your basket from your unsuspecting grip.

“H-hey!”

Your mouth fell open in disbelief as you watched the man replacing everything you’d carefully collected in its original place.

A lunatic. 

There was no other explanation. He was a lunatic.

“Excuse me, but what gives you the right to decide my offering isn’t good enough?” You spat, trying and failing to get past him to retrieve your belongings.

“No one needs to give me the right to decide what I will and won’t accept.” He replied haughtily, tossing your now-empty basket in your lap.

You glowered at each other for a few terse moments before you burst into hollow laughter.

“What is so funny?” The man’s arms were folded across his chest now, his pout returning in full force.

You stopped laughing when you saw how serious your companion was.

“Are you really trying to tell me that you’re some kind of forest spirit?” You said, your voice deadpan to emphasize your disbelief.

“I prefer nymph since I have a physical form, and my name is Minhyuk.” He said matter-of-factly, watching you with tense, wary eyes.

You blinked once, twice, three times before speaking.

“You’re really...a nymph?” You asked, feeling every bit as stupid as you doubtlessly sounded.

Minhyuk rolled his eyes.

“No, I’m an elk.”

Your cheeks colored with humorless embarrassment. You’d always imagined forest nymphs to be more...fairly-like? Small and playful, happy creatures, perhaps with little translucent wings. Not like this...sassy man that was eating the berries you’d planned on taking with you, his expression surly. 

“So...you really won’t let me take anything unless I bring you something else?” You asked, your disbelief evident in your tone.

“Oh, you’re still here? I hadn’t noticed. A blueberry pie sounds nice. The old lady used to bring them every so often, so I’m sure that you have a recipe somewhere.” He said in between mouthfuls, ignoring your visible annoyance.

“Until then I guess you’ll have to find somewhere else to forage seeing as this is my house you’re in.”

“Wait, what about an old lady?” You asked, brow furrowing with confusion.

“Don’t you have a pie to bake?” Minhyuk stood, clearly signaling that your conversation was over.

“I’m not making you a pie, you brat!”

“Then I guess you won’t be making much else, either.”

The sight of his parting smirk would haunt you for days to come.

***

“Stupid nymph.” You hissed before you stuck your thumb in your mouth to nurse the bead of your cherry-red blood that was forming on the fingertip. You glared at the bush you’d been foraging through, unsure if your irritation was from your finger being pricked or from your lack of success. 

You’d been desperately trying to find high quality ingredients elsewhere for nearly a week but suddenly it was as if they were scarce, or worse, ceased to exist. The tiny garden, however, remained a treasure trove of wildlife, mocking you and your inability to access it without being accosted by an overly large child. You had no trouble finding an abundance of blueberries wherever you looked, though.

You had every reason to suspect that this was Minhyuk’s doing. Of course you couldn’t really confirm it was anything more than bad luck but you could have sworn that you heard him snickering each time you found nothing and grew more frustrated.

“I’m losing my mind.” You sighed, tugging your hair at the root.

“You’ll go bald if that’s how you cope with stress.” A smug voice from over your shoulder commented.

“You-” You spun around, tripping over your feet in your haste. You tottered forward, swinging your arms to try and break your fall. Minhyuk’s surprised face was the last thing you saw before you fell into something solid, something that was very obviously not dirt.

Minhyuk’s firm hands gripped your shoulders and pushed you back into a standing position an arm’s length away, his dirty cheeks flushed a dusty rose.

“Ugh, its you. Why am I always falling when you’re around?” You grumbled, your former ire returning after the shock of his sudden appearance faded.

“I can’t help it if you’re falling for me.” He replied with a self-assured smirk and a shrug. 

“Would literally rather dive naked into a pit of poison ivy.”

“That can be arranged. Why are you wasting time here anyway? Shouldn’t you be baking?”

“I already told you, I’m not making anything for a brat like you.” You snapped, crossing your arms with finality.

“Guess you’ll have to give up whatever experiment you’re working on then. You won’t harvest anything here without my blessing.”

So he was behind this after all. True to his word, you hadn’t been able to forage anything at all since your last meeting.

You fumed, turning over your options in your head. As much as you couldn’t stand Minhyuk it surely would be less effort to bake for him than it would be to try and find a new place to gather, wouldn’t it? Every fiber of your being was revolting against you as you considered this, screaming that it was the principle of the matter and you shouldn’t submit to such an arbitrary demand, but logic slowly won out.

“Fine. But you’re helping me.”

***

“I do hope that you’re better at magic than you are at baking.”

“I would be done already if you just let me use my magic to begin with!” You practically shouted. Your appearance mirrored your companion’s, your faces and clothing speckled with flour. Your hands were stained blue and your failed attempt at crafting a blueberry pie by hand sat ominously on the windowsill where it was cooling.

“It tastes funny if you don’t make it by hand. Nymphs can’t tell lies, you know, so trust me on this. It isn’t the same.” Minhyuk grumbled, his nose wrinkling with the depth of his pout.

“How many people  are honestly bringing you pies for you to claim to know the difference?” You whined, but you were met with silence instead of the snarky reply you’d come to expect. You couldn’t help recalling having a similar argument with your Aunt in your youth. She, too, had always insisted that food tasted better when made with powers of the heart rather than with magic.

You turned your back on the oven and found Minhyuk eyeing your ceiling with a somber expression on his face.

“Um...are you okay?”

His snapped towards at an alarming rate, his features carefully rearranging into their default expression of haughtiness. 

“I’m fine. Just wondering if you’re polite enough to make sure that thing isn’t poisonous before you try to feed it to me.”

You stuck your tongue out in response but your eyes wandered to where his had been fixed moments before, and you felt a curious sensation in the pit of your stomach when they found the white heather wreath swaying peacefully exactly where Minhyuk had been staring so intently.

“You were looking at that.” Your finger pointed at the wreath, your voice questioning even though you’d made a statement.

Minhyuk watched at you, momentarily stricken silent, his eyes searching yours for something unknown.

“So what if I was?” He challenged, narrowing his eyes.

“Do you know something about it? Its a token my Aunt left me.” You asked tentatively, watching Minhyuk’s face closely.

“So what if I do?” He countered with a stony voice, his shoulders squared.

“Can you please tell me more about it?” You could feel your hands starting to shake with emotion.  

“Do you know what white heather symbolizes?” He asked slowly, after some consideration.

You shook your head in reply.

“Protection and the granting of wishes. One of her final living acts was to make that for you. It takes an incredible amount of power to craft an undying flower for someone not innately attuned to nature. She was very talented. She loved you very much.” He explained, his voice soft, his eyes seeking out the wreath again rather than you.

“How do you know that?” You breathed, your voice quietly shaking from the tears you were trying to swallow.

“I helped her make it. Did you never wonder what she spent so much time doing alone in the woods? I met your Aunt when I was still small. I still remember the day that she brought you home. She was so enamored with you. She tried many times to get me to leave the forest and meet you, but I refused.” 

You watched a small, sad smile curl Minhyuk’s lips upwards ever so slightly, bringing a pang to your heart as you quietly waited for him to continue.

“She still made time to visit me even though she was busy with you. It was hard at first and I was jealous, it gets lonely in the forest, but I managed. She would come and talk to me for hours, show me spells of her own design, bring me all kinds of food, ask me how the plants were doing, and I would show her some magic of my own. Nymphs are not very different from witches, you know. We both use magic, just of a different variety. We commune directly with the spirit of nature and create, where as you create based on things that we’ve already made. Yeah, your aunt didn’t much care for that observation either.” Minhyuk laughed loudly at your disgruntled expression, but his eyes were soft and kind as he reminisced on his past, making him even more beautiful to behold. His laughter slowly died out, giving way for the sadness to creep back into his eyes as he looked to the ceiling again.

“When she knew that she was dying...she came to me and asked how to create life. I refused at first, afraid that it was too ambitious for her frail form, afraid it would harm her, afraid of what she wanted to accomplish...but she was relentless. She came every single day and begged. When I finally asked her why, her answer was simple: for you. She wanted to show you that she was always with you. So I showed her, and of course she was eventually successful. She asked me to watch over you but...I still couldn’t bring myself to meet you. So instead I made that garden and I’ve been maintaining it ever since.”

Minhyuk ended his story with a deep sigh, sounding as if a great weight had been lifted from him, and finally returned his gaze to you. Your breath caught when he took a step forward and extended a hand towards you, using the tips of his fingers to brush away the tears that had been streaming down your cheeks unbeknownst to you.

“Why did you wait until now to reveal yourself to me? You’ve really been watching me all this time?” You whispered, your voice cracking.

“I had no choice when you started only leaving offerings with cucumber in them. I can’t eat cucumbers, they’re too disgusting. And because...because she always wanted me to be your friend. You such were an ugly, loud, mud-covered brat when you were young but you’re...different now. So I thought I should grant her wish after all.” A deep crimson blush, made even more vibrant in contrast to his snowy hair, blossomed across his cheeks. It must have been contagious, because you could feel heat rising on your face as well.

“W-what do you mean I was an ugly brat?! I was a normal child.” You blurted out with indignation.

“No, you were gross, just like that poor excuse for a pie.” He answered, his sassy attitude returning despite the lingering pink tinge of his cheeks.

You took the insult in stride, choosing to ignore it rather than start another battle of wits that you were sure to lose.

“You said that you were lonely. Where are the other nymphs?”

“They’re all spirits now. When a nymph comes of age they can choose to keep their corporeal form or they can become spirits. Most choose to become spirits because, I mean, you’re becoming one with nature and what more could you want than that? We aren’t born very often so it makes for a lonely childhood, which is another compelling argument for choosing a spirit form- you’re never technically alone again. I chose to stay in this body.” He finished matter-of-factly.

“Why?”

“I loved the old lady. I didn’t want to leave her. She asked me to watch over you for her and I wouldn’t want to leave you either. Even if you were a snot-nosed brat.”

“Well, you know they say that the ugliest ducklings are destined to become the most beautiful swans, so I’ll thank you for thinking so highly of me.” You teased, tapping Minhyuk’s nose with your finger playfully.

To your general astonishment his saturated blush from before returned.

“I never called you beautiful.” He stammered, looking away from you.

“But, do you think I’m beautiful? Nymphs can’t lie, right?” You asked, smirking as you peered at him, trying to get a better look at his face.

“No, nymphs can’t lie. And yes, I do think you’re very, very beautiful.” He whispered, still refusing to meet your eyes.

It was your turn for your face to glow like a sunset. You’d asked, expecting a snarky answer, not fully believing what he’d said previously about nymphs being bound to their honesty. Your lips formed a small, wordless “oh” as you stared at him, awestruck.

“You’re still a terrible baker though, so don’t let it go to your head.”

***

You pulled the oven door open with apprehension, bracing yourself for another failure, and gasped loudly when instead your eyes fell on what appeared to be a flawless blueberry pie.

You bounced on the balls of your heels excitedly before carefully extracting the dessert from the oven and placing it on the windowsill to cool where you could admire it safely from afar.

“Ahh, I can’t wait to show Minhyuk!” You squealed, clapping your hands together.

“Can’t wait to show me what?” 

You whirled around, more shocked than you perhaps should have been to find Minhyuk leaning against your doorframe.

In the weeks that had passed since he shared his stories about your Aunt with you he had been a near constant presence in your home, always making stupid excuses for why he’s there like “I’m just making sure you aren’t hiding any cucumber in my pie”. You had offered to let him stay over since you felt a little bad for him sleeping in the outdoors alone, but he always shyly declined.

“Come, look!” You were already dragging him by the hand to the window to show him your handiwork.

“Wow, that doesn’t look half bad.” He whistled, eyeing it with great interest, eyes sparkling. He took a step towards it, arm outstretched, earning a whack on the shoulder from you.

“It isn’t ready yet! It still has to cool or you’ll burn yourself.” You chastised, moving protectively in front of your masterpiece, hands on your hips.

“Okay, fine, fine.” Minhyuk said, massaging his shoulder with one hand and stifling a yawn with the other.

“Sleepy?” 

He nodded, swallowing another yawn behind his large palm.

“Its getting harder to sleep outside at night these days. Getting cold. I heard that long ago, when humans were less prevalent on Earth, it was more common for nymphs to choose to keep their physical forms. I always wonder what they did to keep warm.”

“Why don’t you take a nap while the pie cools? After you eat maybe we can think of some solutions for that.”

Minhyuk nodded, too exhausted to argue. He refused to be led to the bed though, insisting instead to sit next to you on the couch and sleep sitting up.

His resistance didn’t last. Before long he slumped to his side, his head tumbling into your lap. You caught your gasp in your hand, stifling it and carefully setting down the spellbook you’d been perusing while he napped so your movements wouldn’t disturb him while he slumbered.

You watched him sleep, oddly comfortable despite the slight awkwardness of his face pressed into your bare thighs. Without thinking your hand found his hair, smoothing it gently, relishing in how impossibly silken it was, your fingers gliding through the soft strands like they were water.

Minhyuk’s eyes shot open and you went to pull your hand away, embarrassed, but he caught it in his, holding you firmly in place as he adjusted himself so he was facing you. He stared up at you, blinking the sleep from his eyes, not speaking or removing his head from your legs.

“I-I think the pie should be ready by now,” You supplied after several long moments of silence, hoping to diffuse the tension in the air. “Why don’t we go get some?”

Minhyuk didn’t move immediately and something in his expression was making you feel like you were frozen in place, like he was seeing right through you and counting each of your racing heart beats in slow motion.

He finally lifted himself from your lap and quietly made his way to the kitchen and sat at the dinner table, waiting expectantly. You retrieved the pie, regretting that you hadn’t tried it yourself first as you cut a generous piece for him and slid it on a plate. You were silently praying to anyone that would listen that it would taste as good as it looked.

To your surprise Minhyuk didn’t hesitate to pile his fork with the pastry and bring it to his waiting mouth. You had expected him to make some catty remark about you trying the first bite, or taking a tiny bite “just in case”.

‘He must really be exhausted if he’s being so docile.’ You thought to yourself as you watched him chew with bated breath.

When he swallowed you swallowed with him out of nerves. The seconds of silence seemed like they stretched into hours as you waited for his reaction, but it never came. Instead he simply loaded up his fork again and took another bite, closing his eyes while he chewed. He continued like this until his plate was as clean as when you’d taken it out of the cabinet.

“Well? How was it?” You finally inquired, unable to contain yourself any longer, your nervousness making your voice come out in a higher pitch than normal.

Minhyuk stood, the sound of the chair scraping the floor making you jump, and moved towards you as if in a daze.

When his lips met yours, they tasted strongly of blueberry and sugar. You were too surprised to move at first but the ice around you slowly melted as he held you and your arms slowly circled his waist as your lips molded to his, your eyes fluttering closed.

His hands crept down your waist, gripping your hips firmly as he deepened the kiss. You felt your legs starting to wobble while he explored your mouth, the sweet taste of sugar and fruit on his tongue overwhelming your senses. His hold on you was all that was keeping you upright and you were starting to wonder if this was going to be the way you died, in the arms of a beautiful man without a breath of air left in your lungs, when he pulled away at last, chest heaving while you both struggled to catch your breath.

Minhyuk leaned forward, kissing your forehead softly in stark contrast to the heated one he’d pressed to your lips moments ago.

“It was wonderful.” He whispered, his lips moving against your forehead as they formed his words. He took a step back, his eyes overflowing with affection, and moved past you and out of the room. You followed him as he stumbled into your room, his exhaustion evidently taking over as he collapsed into your bed face first.

The deep breaths he was taking were confirmation enough that he had fallen asleep. You smiled tenderly as you looked down at his sleeping form fondly. Warmth bubbled up from the very tips of your toes, spreading throughout your body in a wave, making you feel impossibly at peace. You sighed through your nose, contented. Seeing him sleeping in your bed just felt so...right.

You padded back to the kitchen as slowly and silently as you could muster so as not to disturb your slumbering guest. You moved to cover the remaining pie and put it in the refrigerator for later, but stilled as something odd caught your attention from the corner of your eye.

Your cauldron, which you’d abandoned with your last failed experiment still stuck like cement to the bottom of it, was bubbling merrily. You rushed over, panic-stricken, and gasped when your nose was assaulted with the scent of fresh florals. The failed potion from before had sprung to life, it’s contents now a color that reminded you of Minhyuk’s hair, a comparison that made your cheeks flush involuntarily.

Then, as if you were struck by lighting, you were rooted to where you stood with the gears in your mind turning faster than you could comprehend. You glanced back at the sleeping nymph, realization finally dawning on you. A soft gasp slipped through your lips and the rosy color on your face deepened to a blazing scarlet.

You tentatively dipped a ladle into the concoction, sniffing its contents gingerly before taking a hesitant sip. Your eyes squeezed shut, a smile winding its way through your lips. You’d finally done it. You laughed to yourself at the irony of the situation, your eyes settling on the heather wreath swaying delicately in the breeze from the open window.

You’d been trying to all this time to create something that you were lacking when the ingredient you needed was what you were missing all along.

[hoodoo12]

Familial Ties (And How To Break Them) 6/14

Mature. Features lingerie. ~

Thanking (and tipping) the polite steward who brought her luggage up from the lobby, Pate wheeled the duffel bag-style suitcase into the room, finding Beetlejuice already lying on one of the beds with his hands tucked behind his head and his ankles crossed. Smiling at him she hefted her bag onto the other bed, zipping the flap open and pulling out her laptop before seating herself on the mattress with it.

She thought back a little mournfully of the cheap hotels they’d stayed the night in on the drive, sharing a bed, lying so still while her heart fluttered madly in her chest, wishing so badly that he’d roll her over and kiss her or she could pluck up the courage to do it herself after their disastrous first attempt.

She’d thought the two beds would make things easier, for both of them, but even just the few feet separating them felt like a chasm. Pate swallowed, an ache in her chest, then let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.

Her fingers flew across the keys, searching for nearby centers of worship.

“Huh. There’s a Catholic church at the other end of the Strip,” she said, somewhat surprised. “That was easier than I thought it’d be. They’re bound to have holy water, a fount or something for the parishioners.”

She looked over at Beej, who shrugged and shot her a thumbs up with a “no sweat” sort of air. Humming thoughtfully to herself, Pate closed her computer, swung herself off the bed and pulled her toiletry bag and a change of clothes from her suitcase.

“I’m gonna shower real quick and knock off the road grime, then we can head right over there!” she said. “Sit tight. Won’t be long.” With that she padded into the bathroom and shut the door.

He had half a mind to wander into the bathroom after her, but thought her screaming profanities at him would get them kicked out of here, even in Vegas. Instead, he opened her tablet, found it dead, and informed her of this upsetting state of affairs through the door. When she yelled back the charger was in her bag, Beetlejuice figured that was enough permission to go through it.

He found the cord in a side pocket, then ignored it to dig into the main section of the suitcase. It wasn't anything he hadn't already done--he didn't need to sleep, and needed something to do while she was, even if it was creepy--and found again the article of clothing that was his favorite: a wine colored negligee and matching panties. He loved the soft satin of it between his fingers, and the slight scratchiness of the lace.

Pate was occupied. Could be for a while. With all that in mind, and a burning desire that overrode some rational thought, Beetlejuice shucked his suit and underthings, and squeezed himself into the lingerie. It was only slightly tight on his shoulders and was of course too short, plus his cock, even flaccid, strained the slip of satin of the panties, but he liked it.

Pate stood in the bathroom, having shed her clothes and arranged her things in the shower, waiting for the water to heat up. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling oddly self-conscious despite the fact that she was alone in the room with a closed door between her and Beetlejuice. Some tiny hopeful flicker imagined what it might be like if he simply barged in, took her face in his hands and kissed her. Then maybe he’d back her against the wall and pin her there with his body while his hands roamed. Her eyes slid closed of their own volition, her hands wandering idly, imagining it was him touching her.

The room was filling with steam, heat wafting across her skin. Whether from that or the gentle pressure of her fingers, her nipples stiffened. As her fingertips skated softly down her belly Pate caught herself with a gasp, shaking her head as if shooing a troublesome fly buzzing at her ear. She had to focus. Keep perspective.

Just as she was about to step into the shower she noticed that she’d left her loofa in a sandwich bag in her suitcase. She briefly considered calling through the door to ask Beej if he’d bring it to her (then maybe grabbing his hand and pulling him in with her) but, frustrated both with the situation and with herself, she pulled her pants and shirt back on, not bothering with underclothes, and went to get it, leaving the shower running.

Pate opened the bathroom door but barely made it two steps before she pulled up short with a silent gasp. Many different trains of thought went careening through her brain all at the same time: ’Oh fuck oh shit oh fuck oh shit he found it’, followed by a tiny spike of annoyance that he’d gone through her things, overridden almost immediately by a flash of scorching warmth that started in her groin and spread rapidly through her whole body.

When she’d been packing her bags she’d found the babydoll negligee set in her underwear drawer and had tossed it into the suitcase on a wild whim. She’d managed to screw things up so completely the first time they’d been intimate, and while she hoped for another chance she hadn’t really expected to use it on this trip. Hadn’t she, though? Simply by bringing it?

Regardless, the sight of Beetlejuice in her lingerie, which on him was more of a tank top and underwear that left very little to the imagination, was both amusing and invasive at the same time and it filled her to the brim with a desire to shove him back on the bed and fuck him breathless right here and now. Which made her wonder, he didn’t breathe, did he? Semantics. What happened instead was that she squeaked out,

 “Beej?”

Caught, he was frozen. Caught, he was torn between a quick-as-a-blink clothing change -- well, it'd just be dragging his ratty suit back on, over the satin and lace -- and just letting this happen.

Just letting this happen won, because that was less work. It didn't make it less surprising, however.

"Fuck, Pate!" he squeaked. "You should knock on doors before you go through them!"

His utter indignation, the accusatory tone that lost most of its effectiveness because his voice was about an octave higher, it was simply too much.

Pate burst into uncontrollable laughter, her arms curling around her middle and tears springing to her eyes.

“I’m not--I’m not laughing at you, I swear!” she wheezed, bracing herself against the wall between her bed and the en suite.

Panting, gasping and still giggling, Pate wiped her streaming eyes and grinned at him.

“I think you might wear it better than me!” she joked. Giggling harder she held out a hand, pointer finger up, and made a corkscrew motion. “Gimme a little spin?”

She caught him in her clothing, her soft and sexy clothing, and she was laughing. Laughing! That was nowhere near the response he'd have ever expected; he'd been on the receiving end of surprises like that in the past -- satin panties just felt so good on his cock!

Beetlejuice dropped the faux indignation and grinned.

"Oh," he replied, "you like this?"

As she requested, he turned. The hem flared a little as he did, and when he faced her again, he dropped one hand down the front of the top, down his chest, opening the front slightly as it went. He didn't let it get all the way to his crotch, although his cock had taken some notice and was slightly harder now, just like his nipples.

"Like what you see?"

He may have been joking, with his ever-playful and flirtatious demeanor it could be difficult to tell. But in fact, she did like what she saw. As long as they were flipping the script anyway, Pate favored him with a wolf-whistle.

The satin clung to his hips and love handles and the slope of his soft, round stomach. It flared gently when he twirled for her, giving her a nice glimpse of his ass. And when he tugged on the low cut neck she got her second surprise of the night: a glint of silver against his pale skin and verdant chest hair. His nipples were pierced.

Humming appreciatively, Pate grinned widely at him, nipping on her bottom lip.

“It’s certainly a good color on you,” she quipped, but it was also true. The dark magenta hue suited him.

Chuckling more softly now, she padded over to him.

“I, um . . . I wanted to surprise you.” she admitted a bit bashfully.

The whistle made him grin and almost, almost, finally run a hand over his cock, now barely held in place by the thin satin of her panties.

"I guess I beat you to that, baby?" he asked. "I didn't mean to steal your thunder. Or your lingerie! But here we are, so . . ."

He opened his arms as she walked into his personal space.

Her smile faltered just a bit, and Pate stopped herself just shy of stepping into Beej's inviting arms. Her stomach still hurt a little from the laughter of only a few moments ago, but a heaviness was making its presence known in her chest even as she turned the small, flimsy smile up at him.

"I wanted to make it up to you," she said. "The . . . the other night. What I said, how it . . . how I hurt you."

Her fidgeting hands raised to her hair, pulling the fine strands over her shoulder, twisting it between them, fussing busily with it just for something to do.

"I haven't had a lot of luck getting close to people," she confided, clenching her teeth and swallowing hard, feeling her lip tremble even as she tried to keep a casual smile on her face. "They get tired of me, I guess, and they leave."

She shrugged, as though it didn't really matter, a bitter metallic taste in her mouth. "After awhile I just stopped trying. I got tired of being left behind, thought maybe I was just on my own, y'know?"

Dammit all, her eyes felt hot and heavy, burning with tears that she did not want him to see. She looked at the floor, at the visible patch of his emerald chest hair, anywhere but at his face. But now that she had started the heaviness in her chest wouldn't let her stop. He needed to know that the problem wasn't him, it was her.

She took a deep breath around the heavy weight, forced herself to look up and meet his eyes.

"Now that I actually want to get close to someone again, it's like I forgot how. So I try to think my way through it and, well . . ." Pate let out a self-deprecating laugh. " . . . you were there for that clusterfuck."

There’d been laughter and she stepped up to his arms and then she stopped? Beetlejuice listened to her reasons and his arms fell back to his sides for a second, until she got to “ . . . they get tired of me, and then they leave.”

That made him laugh. The story of his life!

His laughter startled her, he could tell. Maybe he’d tell her about the shit pile of his life later. He wasn’t sure. But how could someone who’d willingly spent several days in a car with him, who’d come to her own conclusion that asshole Rigel needed sent back, who’d stowed this absolutely delicious lingerie in her suitcase possibly think that he was going to leave her?

With a thought, her lingerie was replaced by his suit, and he took the initiative to step to her. With one hand on her waist and the other slipped over her shoulder to the side of her neck to keep her from ducking her head away, he replied,

“Baby, this time you had a real reason to be concerned. You called up two demons: one suave, devilish handsome one, and that prick Rigel. It’s understandable to be cautious. But I already told you I’m not like that--and yes, I get the irony of trusting a demon not to lie! But--”

Words weren’t going to convince her. He could tell. Actions would be better, so he leaned in and kissed her on the mouth.

Although his hands tightened involuntarily, he didn’t push it. And he managed to remember that people needed to breathe, so he broke away before she required air again.

“Okay, Pate?” he asked quietly. “Now. Finish your shower, or let’s just go get this thing done. Then we can concentrate on more important things, like much less clothing and finding out if demons and humans fit together.

“Spoiler alert: they do.”

He released her then and bent over to pick up the top of the babydoll negligee she’d found him in to return to her suitcase. Later she’d find out he’d kept the matching panties on.

Pate's heart pounded against her ribs when Beetlejuice took it upon himself to close the distance between them, her hand reaching up to loosely grip his wrist when his own hand pressed to the side of her neck. At his soft words of reassurance, the weight in her chest evaporated and she felt lighter than she had in a very long time. She sighed through her nose when he dipped his head to catch her mouth in a quick kiss, blushing but smiling at him in response.

"I was hoping you weren't gonna wear that to the church," she jabbed. "I don't have enough cash on hand to bail you out if you get arrested."

She stuck her tongue out at him, but retrieved her loofa and returned to the bathroom for a quick shower. Twenty minutes later she emerged, ready to go. She flashed Beetlejuice a fierce smile.

"Let's go to church."

 tbc

[edream93]

Come With Me and Take The Ride (This Is Where You Wanna Be)

Okay so like a month or so ago, someone in the Descendants fandom posted a post asking for someone to write a Huma Greatest Showman AU. I unfortunately didn’t write down or remember who so I can’t tag them and this might not even be what they had in mind but...I hope they enjoy this oneshot if they read it!

You can also find it here on AO3 or FF.net. Please like, reblog, and/or leave a comment!

She watched as three young children played across the busy city street. Their patch worked clothes hung limply on too thin bodies and she knew without a doubt that they probably hadn’t had a decent meal in days and more than likely wouldn’t have one tonight. And yet, their smiles shined brightly, like they had no worries or fears in the world. The two older siblings danced with laughter out of the small grabby hands of their toddler younger sister, their moves exaggerated and deliberately slower to give the giggling young girl a chance.

Even dirty, starving, and probably with very little to call their own, they had each other.

Her stomach twisted at that thought. She blamed the slightly moldy bread she had earlier.

“CJ!”

She sighed turning her attention back to her growing irritated companion. “I’m listening, Fred.”

“Really?”Freddie Facilier arched an unconvinced brow, hands stubbornly on her hips. “Then what I just say?”

Calista Jane Hook, rolled her eyes. “Something along the lines of ‘blah, blah, blah, CJ is the best. I wanna take my pretty little lips and-”

A netted fingerless glove covered CJ’s mouth, hiding the satisfied smirk that grew on CJ’s lips at the minute but telling way that Freddie’s cheeks darkened. “Hush, you brat, before I make you sleep on the floor tonight,” Freddie growled.

Moving Freddie’s hand from her face with one hand, her other hand using their close proximity to creep slowly up the outside of Freddie’s thigh. Freddie’s cheeks darkened further, a glint in her amber eyes that promised much pain in the near future for CJ (or perhaps it was pleasure, it was always hard to tell with Freddie sometimes).

Before CJ could say something that she thought would sound very much sauve and get her out of trouble with her adorably grumpy maybe-something-more-than-a-friend, a familiar tailored red coat caught CJ’s eyes, immediately causing her to suddenly push away from Freddie to get a better look. Freddie squeaked enraged but CJ ignored her as she watched a familiar red leather clad back slip through one of the nicer bar establishments of Auradon City.

Freddie quickly caught sight of him too, demeanor quickly changing from enragement to concern hidden behind a disinterested facade.

“You need me to go with you?”

“No,” CJ tugged on her own red jacket, well worn but easily one of the nicest things she owned. “I can handle him,” she paused taking in Freddie’s darker skin and the three short white marks under each eye that seemed to glow eerily in tandem with her breathing, announcing her non-fairy magical lineage for all the world to see.

Though frilly flowery words were never part of this longtime...thing with Freddie, in the quietest moments of the night, when CJ’s mind was buzzing with wondrous ideas while everyone else slept on, she would turn on her side in the bed that they shared, taking in Freddie’s relaxed features. Within the depths of her heart, CJ knew that Freddie was one of the best things in her life, even if the hierarchical system around them thought differently.  

Looking from CJ’s face to the sign in the bar window, CJ shook her head. ‘No Non-Fairy mages or creatures allowed!’ it read in glittery fairy ink.

“I can definitely handle this,” she said once again, not completely certain if it was for Freddie’s sake or hers. “Besides, I’ll need you to pay my bail if things go bottoms up.”

Freddie stared back at her with an unreadable look before she snorted, leaning back with practice casualness against the brick wall behind her, arms crossed. “I guess we’ll see if I like you enough to do that, chere,” she smirked before the corner of her lips turned down in a deep frown. “Just make sure you don’t get into any mischief with them spirits. We got a show later tonight and we can’t have our charismatic leader puking her guts in a paid customer’s hat again!”

“When you say no mischief with spirits,” CJ grinned already halfway across the street, walking backwards, “are you talking about drinks or…” she wiggled her fingers making a groaning sound. “Because you know they might have both here!”

“Figure it out Hook!” Freddie laughed, the sound crisp and clear like fresh fallen autumn leaves. It was a drastic difference from the much more muted atmosphere of the bar that CJ walked into.

The room was dark, windows covered with thick dark materials that blocked out the early afternoon light. Only the wall of bottled liquid behind the bar counter, some sparkling, some glowing, provided the only source of color in the otherwise dull room. Seven older men sat in a dark corner, a few of them already looking like they had fallen halfway into their glasses, looked up at her entrance, bloodshot eyes staring a bit too long at the red leather of her coat in drunken recognition. Thankfully, they lost interest in her quickly, one starting to sing an old mining tune, the ones still conscious enough joining in.

The smell of pixie dust, rolled and smoked in big cigars by some of the one of the patrons, a fuzzy looking...blue being with droopy but intelligent eyes, hung heavy in the air, the smoke curling from their dark blue lips and into the air in magenta and lavender colored ringlets of smoke. The smell alone burned CJ’s throat and she wondered idly if the contents of the cigars had been cut with iron as she sat down unceremoniously at the bar next to the familiar red clad frame.

“Whatever yer doing here, I want no part of it Calista Jane.”

Pouting at the use of her full name, CJ made a small hand movement in front of her and a glass of shimmery brown liquid, flecks of gold with streaks of iridescent blue shimmered at the top. A small ball of light hovered expectantly over the drink, hindering CJ from taking it before she tossed a handful of coins and a few old thimbles onto the counter in payment.

Once the little fairy barkeep had moved onto another customer down the way, CJ took a long sip before speaking. “Can’t a girl want to see her dear old big brother without there being some ulterior motive?”

“Not when she’s a grubby little half pixie that likes to cause more mischief than she can handle, like ye, she can’t,” he murmured refilling his shot glass with an already half empty bottle of unassuming clear liquid that was probably the strongest drink the bar had, hitting it back with little reaction, refilling the glass again like clockwork. “Also, ye must not know the meaning of being disowned if ye think anyone here wants to see ye show yer face around here again.”

CJ took another sip of her drink, ignoring the way her hand clutched tightly around the glass at his last comment. At least some things hadn’t changed, she thought as she took in his appearance. Perhaps she was just a sentimental sucker but she found herself grounded in the familiarity of her brother, Harry Hook.

His dark hair was messy as always as if the wind had ran her fingers through it and the usual kohl around his eyes was smudged much to thick for this time of day, indicating her probably hadn’t slept in his bed last night. (CJ internally frowned, not wanting to know whose bed he had slept in.) Nicely tailored paints were tucked into nicely buffed black boots. His shirt had a few buttons undone and looked wrinkled, but in a way that she knew had the noble ladies and gentlemen he often surrounded himself with yearning to rip it off him. CJ knew with just a look that it was probably made with the softest material imaginable, its worth more money than she had seen in the last year or so. The only piece of clothing that wasn’t new and definitely not from one of his many admirers was the familiar and almost identical to her own red leather trench coat that seemed to clash in just the right way with Harry’s much finer clothes.

He’s still a sentimental sap. CJ observed. I can work with that.

She finished the rest of her drink, ignoring Harry’s impressed whistle as she downed most of the glass in one go. It burned down her throat in a devastatingly delightful way and she had to remember Freddie’s earlier warnings about not getting sloshed before a show. But was it really her fault that Harry was so irritating that he drove her to drink?

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Hook family drinking habits!” he giggled self deprecating around his own drink before tossing it down just as fast as CJ had done.

“Well then I’ll get straight to the point. I want you to be my business partner, Harry.”

He paused, hand holding his refilled shot glass, frozen half way at his lips.

Good. Caught him off guard.

“I need someone with your flair for dramatics, eye for detail, and who I can trust will at least yell before trying to stab me in the back.” She watched him unfreeze, throwing the shot back easily as if there hadn’t been an introduction. “The show is good,” she continued. “More than good, but it can be better! It will be better. With your help.”

Harry snorted. “Ye don’t want my help. Just my influence. Influence that brings a lot of heavy pockets with it.”

Smiling innocently, CJ batted her eyes. “Well you said it, not me, but since you’re offering, that kind of influence would be extremely beneficial for my-”

“No,” Harry cut her off, raising the bottle to pour himself another shot only to see that the bottle was empty.

“No?”

“Uh huh,” Harry frowned, looking up and down the counter for their fairy barkeep only to not see the telltale ball of light. “In this context, I believe it means, ‘to deny’,” he jumped over the counter, eyes glued to the bottles of lined spirits - some pixie, some regular, all worth more than CJ had ever made even during their most successful shows so far. “‘To put an end to before it even begins’,” he waved his hand in a dramatic dismissive fashion before seemingly picking a bottle indiscriminately and reaching somewhere under the counter for a clean shot glass with little searching. He was familiar with this bar apparently. No surprise there.

“Trying to follow old Da to an early grave?” CJ sneered when after two times of refilling his shot glass he pushed it away and drank directly from the bottle. The fairy barkeep finally appeared, chiming angrily at him before seemingly giving up and going back to their other customers as if this wasn’t that unusual of an occurrence. Harry sprawled himself across the counter in that disheveled but pretty way that he could always pull off, bottle dangling precariously from his ringed fingers.

“Awa’ an bile yer heid!” he drunkenly whined. “Who gave ye the right to start meddlin’ in my life again? Haven’t seen hide nor hair of ye since ye shucked off old Da’s inheritance, like ye were too good for it. And now ye think ye can just waltz back into my life?” He leaned towards her, his eyes bright and focus despite his obvious inebriation. “I said no,” he said firmly. Blue eyes hard like glass. “I don’t want anythin’ to do with yer silly little freak show or with you.”

CJ pouted, pulling out her final card.

“Harriet would have helped me.”

It was a testament to how long she hadn’t seen her brother, to how their paths had greatly diverged that she found herself caught off guard when his hands darted out quickly and grabbed her forcefully by the collar. Harry dragged her so that she was half on the bar counter, her face close to his, all previous tired drunken irritation gone and replaced by pure 100% Harold James Hook fury.

Her mind flickered back to the children she had seen playing outside and realized what the feeling she had tried to hide actually was: jealousy. Those children had never been the Hook siblings. They probably actually got along.

Harry’s grip tightened on her collar, his eyes sobering until all she could see in his two blue pools were anger, shame, and sadness swirling together until all that was left was rage.

“Harriet. Is. Dead,” Harry seethed, “And it’s because of you.”

They glared at each other before he released her with a none too gentle shove.

Harry turned back to the bar, grabbing another random bottle, uncorking it sharply with his teeth, and drinking straight from it.

At that point they were obviously drawing attention from most of the other patrons but CJ didn’t care. Her hands clenched at her side. Harry wasn’t the only Hook sibling with anger issues.

“How long are you going to keep blaming me?” she seethed quietly before jumping onto the counter and forcefully tugging the bottle out of his hands and throwing it onto the ground. “HUH?!” she shouted. “Don’t you think I tried? She was my sister too, you know! I tried to stop her! But Harriet Hook always did what Harriet Hook wanted to.”

She jumped down in front of him and shoved his back none gently against the wall of alcohol, bottles rattling, crashing down around them. Neither of them paid the other bar goers that quickly got up and left or the poor barkeep fairy that dropped dejectedly in the air at the mess any attention.

“At least she died doing what she loved. She was fearless! She would never hide behind the fancy skirts of the highborn faes and noble killjoys and their rules on ‘appropriate’ forms of magic. All magic was beautiful to her and she wanted to show that to everyone and Harriet was the only one who believed that I had the imagination and vision to make that happen.”

CJ brought herself closer to Harry, so that their noses squished together bruisingly, tears growing but never falling from her eyes.

“You’re just as guilty as me for her death, Harry. We needed a third for the spell and you didn’t show up because you were too afraid of Daddy Dearest.”

Again, Harry shoved her away. Instead of retaliating with rage, he turned from her and moved with tired steps to sprawl back on top of the counter. “The spell would have have been shite either way,” he murmured into the wood. “Fairy blood doesn’t run through me veins like it does with you...like it did with ‘Ettie.”

CJ stepped over the shards of broken glass, stepping closer to him. Her own rage, just as quickly as it had come, had cooled into something less intense but just as driven. “Three is always a powerful number. You just being there would have been enough, Harry. Spells always worked out better for Ettie and me when you were there.”

Harry snorted, a wet sound that he tried to cover with a weak laugh. “Power of three,” he muttered, using the back of his arm to to wipe under his nose quickly glancing at CJ, all the hot air blown out of him. “Not so powerful with only two fuck ups left.”

Sighing, CJ rolled her eyes. Obviously this was a waste of time. She hopped back over the bar counter, ready to leave when she heard Harry sigh, calling out to her.

“C’mon. Let’s take a look at this circus of yers and see if it’s worth my time.”

Pausing, CJ allowed herself to smirk before she smoothed her features out and turned back to him.

“Oh, once you see it you’ll never want to return to your drab old life again.”

Harry rolled his eyes at her confidence from where he was still sprawled along the counter before heaving himself up and jumping down to his feet, reaching for the top hat he had sat on the bar stool next to him.

CJ grinned ecstatically, rushing out the door.

Already grumbling to himself, Harry made to follow her but was stopped short by one peeved fairy barkeep chiming angrily in his face.

“Alright! Alright,” he hissed, not even bothering to count the bills and coins and thimbles that he tossed onto the counter. “If that doesn’t cover all it, send the rest of the bill to…” he paused in thought before a squished up dissatisfied face came to mind. “Lady Mal. If she asks, it was her associate, Jay made this mess,” he winked before rushing out into the street, hat firmly on his head as he searched the crowded streets before a distinctive head of always knotted looking blonde hair.

“Come on!” CJ crowed, appearing at his side. She grabbed onto his arm and moved them through the crowd with such speed and dexterity that only someone who had fairy blood in their veins could manage. It was like their feet barely touched the ground, and with the excited buzz and chime that was unconsciously being emitted from his sister, Harry wouldn’t be surprised if that was true, CJ bursting with enough happy thoughts for the both of them.  

It wasn’t long before they appeared before a tall brick building with banners proclaiming “The Greatest Show on Earth!” and many different depictions of what Harry assumed were each of the acts.

He didn’t have time to take in the banners as CJ quickly tugged him to the side and back of the building, entering through the back door and into a space where there was a flurry of motion and movement of people and animals rushing back and forth, either preparing for their acts or helping others get ready for theirs.

“Wow, you actually managed to get him.”

Harry looked up to see Freddie Facilier looking down at them from her perch on a railing of the backstage stairs that led up to what Harry assumed was where some of the circus members handled the above lights. It had been awhile since he had seen her and she looked just as smug and mischievous as she did as a young child all those years ago when CJ had first snuck her into the house when their father hadn’t been sober enough to be aware. The top half of her face was painted into a white skull, covering her natural facial marks and she wore a dress of greens and golds and purples that would have looked gaudy on anyone else but made Freddie look every part like the shadow bayou queens she descended from, a small worn black top hat with a red trim and a purple feather perched on top of her head.

Though he had grown up with her long enough to think of her as another bratty younger sister, when he made eye contact with Freddie, Harry felt as if his shadow was crawling up his back, squeezing his neck slightly in warning. He blinked and the feeling instantly disappeared. When he looked down, his shadow moved on it’s own, making a slow slashing motion along its throat.

Freddie smirked innocently when he glared back up at her, her message clear: Break her heart again and I’ll have my friends on the other side hurt you.

“I told you I would, Fred!” CJ grinned as she bounced on her toes, a slight golden glow around her, completely unaware of what just happened before tugging Harry suddenly up the stairs, pass Freddie who hopped off her railing, shuffling her cards as she made her way to the stage entrance. Harry used his free hand to rub his neck as words continued to bubble from her CJ’s mouth in excited little squeals that verged just on the edge of sounding like chiming bells.

Harry was just about to tell her that he couldn’t understand half of what she was saying when she got excited like this when she suddenly stopped them on one of the highest platforms of the stairs, pulling aside a curtain that led to a balcony.

For a moment, as he stepped forward, all Harry was aware of was the bright glow of the stage lights and the sound of the decent but small crowd below. Up along the catwalk several of the stage hands worked in unison to turn over a large bucket that was designed to rain down water on the center stage. The whole building seemed to quiet as the sound of rain falling and the smell of sea salt filled the space. Even though Harry could see from his position that the stage hands had poured all the water that had been in pail out, it still rained down below onto the stage, a soft rumble of thunder accompanying the noise.

Suddenly, one of the stage lights fell on a built platform perpendicular to the one Harry and CJ stood on. Harry watched as a strong looking blonde man dressed as if he were sunshine personified in loose fitting gold pants and a tight sleeveless matching vest stepped until he was just at the edge.

“Is he one of them flying acrobatics, I’ve heard about?” Harry looked curiously to CJ.

“He is trained in that,” she grinned, still at her spot by the balcony entrance. “But that’s the later half of the act.”

And with that, the blonde man jumped off the platform with no ropes or nets to catch him, audience letting back shocked screams and yelps below.

Harry rushed to the edge of the balcony, sure that he was going to see a blonde pancake on the ground but instead he was able to see just as the magic sustained rain stopped, all the water coming to the center to create a pool shape, the blonde diver diving safely in with a splash that had the children of the audience squealing with delight and the adults grumbling in their soaked clothes.

“Here comes the main star of the act,” CJ grinned appearing next to him.

The blonde diver waved at the audience before swimming to the top of the pool, the water only rippling slightly as his head broke through the top. The water began to warp around him, breaking its shape and twisting until the blonde man was no longer in the water but sitting on top of it, the magical liquid taking the shape of a giant seahorse under him.

The children in the audience laughed and a few of the adults cheered as the blonde rode the water seahorse like a cowboy around the stage at a lively pace, sometimes almost looking like he was about to be bucked off but not quite.

“What is he?” Harry questioned. “Part merfolk?”

“No. Watch.” CJ’s grin grew as if she knew the best secret that he didn’t.

Frown set deeply, Harry continued to watch as the water seahorse and its blonde rider continued to float around the stage.

Suddenly, the seahorse began to float higher and higher, it’s bucking getting slightly more erratic the higher it got. The audience gasped as it looked like the blonde was loosing what little grip he had, if had any grip at all with the water. He was just about eye level with Harry when the water of the seahorse under him suddenly fell out, breaking its form. Gravity only took a second before it had the blonde hurtling to the ground.

Again, the audience gasped and Harry found his heart in his throat as the blonde flailed in his descent, growing closer to the ground...until he wasn’t because the water that had fallen back to the ground already shot back up underneath him. Instead of catching him and turning back into the seahorse as Harry assumed it would, the water and the blonde continued their trajectory upwards, a rope swinging towards them that the blonde caught with practiced ease, reaching out towards the floating water with one hand just as an arm formed from the liquid. Within seconds the water was no longer an amorphous blob but a fully fleshed young woman.

Harry watched with rapt attention as the blonde grinned, allowing the direction of the rope he was holding onto give him the necessary momentum to toss his partner impossibly high into the air until she was just above the height of the balcony.

The girl seemed to hover as she flipped and spun with precise movements in the air, knocking the breath out of Harry as if a wave had crashed on top of him. He took in her teal and white partially braided updo that wrapped and swirled around her head like a windswept crown and the way that the blues and greens and golds of her outfit caught the light like the rising sun bleeding into the sea. It was only when she arched her back, preparing to dive through the air before her decent that her brown eyes caught his. In that second, she grinned, a mischievous mesmerizing little tilt upwards of her lips that felt like she was sharing a secret just with him and would have him dreaming about those sparkling teal painted lips pressing against his skin for weeks to come.

And then she was descending, falling with such control that she had to be using magic, catching the bottom half of a swinging hoop that the blonde was now standing on the top half of. In tandem, they both swung their hips causing the hoop to swing in a large circle above the stage. The girl laughed delightedly, a full and confident sound, as the hoop as it circled around also began to spin quickly as she pulled herself up on the hoop only by her arms her legs together, toes pointed down.

The sound of thunder cracking shook the building just before what looked like lightning seemed to hit the hoop. Just at that moment, all the stage lights flickered off and the girl’s laughter were abruptly silenced, causing the audience to gasp again as they were plunged into darkness. Surely no one could survive being hit by lightning like that.

Put only a second passed before the stage lights turned back on with the blonde boy and the teal haired girl standing safely in the center of the stage, both smiling proudly hand in hand as they took their bows to the enthusiastic clapping of the audience.

Harry was glad he was leaning against the balcony railing. CJ would never stop laugh if she knew how weak his legs felt.

“W-who is she? I mean,” Harry coughed, trying to cover up his mistake. “Who are they?”

“Uma and Gil. One of our most daring acts, as you can see,” CJ said proudly as if it had been her act that he had just witnessed. “Those two were amongst the first to join. Ettie,” she paused losing slightly before continuing. “Ettie picked them out herself. Once they joined in, a handful or two others followed immediately after them,” she said snapping her fingers. “Just like that. Like they were waiting to see what would happen with those two.”

Harry nodded, his gaze still watching as Uma and Gil took another bow before turning and making their way backstage. He tapped his finger thoughtfully against the wood of the balcony, mind already filled with brown eyes and matching wicked little smirks.

“I’ll join ye for eighteen percent.”

“Eighteen percent? Of my show?,” CJ scoffed as if insulted. “I’ll give ya seven, and that’s being generous.”

“Fifteen,” Harry fired back turning towards her.

“Eight,” Cj growled.

Harry tutted, wagging his finger as he pulled a flask out of the inner pocket of his jacket, taking a long sip that seemed to make CJ fume more. “Twelve,” he burped.

Red bleeding into her face, CJ stomped her foot with an angry chime. “Maybe nine!”

“Ten!”

“Fine!” CJ shot out her hand. Harry took a moment to grin to himself. He reached out, giving her hand a hard shake.

“No need to frown, Callie. Ninety percent is still a lot for ya,” he patted her on the head.

Crossing her arms, CJ muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” Harry frowned.

“I said I only have eighty now.”

“What happened to the other ten?”

“That belongs to me.”

Harry turned to see Uma in all her teal and blue and green and gold glory leaning against the entrance of the balcony, her gaze sharp and appraising as she looked him over, taking in everything. From this close, Harry could see that an actual crown made from woven nets and starfish and shells and a few beads was securely tucked into her hair. Dramatic gold eye shadow was slightly smudged and a layer of sweat shined across her skin.

Harry fought the urge to bow down and kiss her feet.

After what felt like a long moment Uma looked away from him, apparently bored with her appraisal of him and either not seeing or ignoring the way Harry deflated.

“So this is your brother? The infamous Paramore of Auradon?” Uma said to CJ. “Didn’t know that those snarky fairies and snobby gentle stiffs liked to share their beds with a guy who looked,” she paused to sniff the air delicately before frowning, “and smelled like he was impersonating a dead skunk.”

“I’m sure I can persuade you differently, darlin’,” Harry dragged his own gaze teasingly up and down her body, lingering on her lips as he bit his own in a way that had Lady Audrey nearly ripping off his pants after the concert he performed at the other night before her husband Lord Chad Charming had pulled her away with a huff, a flirty wink thrown over his shoulder at Harry when his wife wasn’t looking. “That is, if you give me a chance and maybe somewhere a little more...private to make my case.”

Uma growled, and Harry found her anger just as much of a turn on as her smirk. He could only imagine what his body would do if she ever gave him an uninhibited smile.

“How about you give me a chance to drown you?” she snapped back.

CJ rolled her eyes before moving pass them, yelling over her shoulder for them to find a room as she made her way down, to prepare to close the show. This made Uma’s face squish up in a way that Harry found adorable before she stomped away, muttering curses and promises of his death under her breath.

It was at that moment that Harry decided that maybe he would like this circus of CJ’s after all.

[mag--pie]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINI PT 2

PART TWO TO MINI’s BIRTHDAY GIFT @minichen123 [AO3 Link]

Yoshiko stared up at the beauty in front of her. It was like she was looking at a  painting. The woman’s long auburn hair fell into a cascade going down her back. Her burning honey eyes stared into Yoshiko’s magenta eyes. The woman smirked as Yoshiko crawled backwards.  She got closer and backed Yoshiko into the girl’s bedroom wall.

“So, what have we got here?”

“U-Uh… I…”

The woman placed a finger on Yoshiko’s chin and forced her head to look up at her. “Who are you?”

“Y-Yoha-”

“I know for sure that’s not your real name,” the woman said.

Yoshiko’s body shook with fear as the woman’s face got closer. “Cute little thing we have here, huh? So girl, tell me your name.”

“Y-Yoshiko….”

“You’re human, right?”

“There’s others out there?!”

“Yeah there aren’t. You just summoned a normal human from a summoning circle. Obviously there is,” the woman deadpanned.

“Of course,” Yoshiko said, facepalming.

“Now, tell me, why would you go through the dangers of summoning a demon? You could have gotten some creepy one. Like Nico. God she’s a bit of a problematic one.”

Yoshiko couldn’t believe any of it. A real, actual demon. Right in front of her. It didn’t help that the demon was hot too. It was even a surprise the ritual from some dumb website had worked. Sure, Yoshiko had to traverse to the dark web but it was somewhat worth it. After all, there was a beautiful woman right in front of her.

This had all started when Yoshiko had asked Hanamaru about cult books. Of course, the other girl had known a whole lot of different cult books. One of them had caught Yoshiko’s attention. It was titled ‘The Grand Grimoire’ and only God knows why Hanamaru knew about this book. The book had promised it would summon Lucifer but Yoshiko had taken it as a joke. It was a book from the 1400’s afterall.

Yoshiko set up the summoning ritual and a large spark appeared during it. It was a bright pink flash that basically blinded Yoshiko while it happened. All of a sudden, the demon had come out of the flash with smoke coming from the floor. It was surreal how quickly it happened.

“S-So uh, miss….”

“You may call me Riko.”

“Alright, Riko, so how are you here?”

Riko frowned. “You summoned me?”

“I didn’t think it’d work…. Also, isn’t it bad or something for you to give me your name?”

“First of all, dark magic is very real and still very alive. Nico had to answer to five different calls in the last couple days. Sucks for her being one of the more popular demons in pop culture. And secondly, no because you need my full name,” Riko explained.

“But I tried summoning Satan? Lucifer?”

“No one ever wants to summon ‘Satan’ because big scary demon lord will murder or something. It’s kind of boring in all honesty. I expected more people. Even if they were crazy enough to try, they always used the wrong ritual.”

Yoshiko’s jaw fell. “So if I’m getting this right, you’re Satan.”

“Basically?”

“Holy shit. I just summoned Satan. And it was on complete fucking accident,” Yoshiko muttered.

“Well, what do you want?”

“Uh, what do you mean?”

“People usually have a reason for summoning demons.”

“Well….”

Riko sighed,”Since you just wasted my time, you’re going on a date with me.”

“A-A date?!”

“Yep. This is my first time out of the underworld in a while so you’re entertaining me. Plus, you’re cute.”

“M-Me? Cute? Uh R-Riko I-I honestly think you-” Yoshiko stammered.

Riko giggled,”Yup, cute. So I’ll see you in two days! Prepare for our little date.”

Riko winked as she opened a portal. Yoshiko could see a different version of her room that was dark and eerie. As soon as Riko stepped through completely, the portal disappeared. Yoshiko stood with her mouth hanging. She really had encountered Satan or, her actual name, Riko.

You would think that coming up with date ideas would be easy but Yoshiko had never done anything like this before. She was planning a date for Riko too which made matters even worse.

The first day she spent trying for this was mostly internal screaming. How do you even plan a date for the lord of the underworld? Yoshiko’s search history had been a bit questionable. It ranged from ‘why does the the grand grimoire work’ to ‘how to plan a date with satan’.

The second day, or the final day, Yoshiko decided she would take the normal approach and take Riko out to an amusement park. So once she decided that, she stressed over what to wear. It was very tempting for the girl to wear her fallen angel outfit but she was scared it would offend Riko. She opted for a burgundy skirt with a white long sleeved shirt. The shirt had a large pink heart on it. On top of it all, she wore a leather jacket.

On the day of the date, Yoshiko woke up to Riko standing in her bedroom. The girl jumped before Riko started to laugh.

“Well good morning to you too,” Yoshiko mumbled.

“Yes yes, Yoshiko.”

“Its YO~HA~NE!”

Riko stayed silent for a moment,”How about Yocchan.”

“That doesn’t sound very intimidating.”

“I get you need to be edgy but its cute!”

Yoshiko huffed,”Alright then.”

“So where are you taking me?”

“This amusement park nearby. It's pretty nice.”

Riko giggled,”What a cliché.”

“S-Shut up,” Yoshiko said, embarrassed.

Yoshiko hadn’t been able to look at Riko’s outfit until now. It looked absolutely amazing on the girl. Riko wore a purple dress shirt with a black vest on top. The girl also wore black slacks. To top it all off, there was a black tie on her. Yoshiko was stunned.

“Y-You look nice.”

Riko winked,”Thanks, you look wonderful!”

Yoshiko felt her heart leap out of her chest and crawl back in. She didn’t know if she could handle being around Riko for another five minutes let alone an entire day.

Riko grabbed hold of Yoshiko’s hand. “Let us go now.”

“R-Right… so today we’re going to the amusement park down by the city.”

“Oh?”

“It’s not very big but, its still really nice!”

“Well I’m intrigued. Take us then,” Riko said.

Yoshiko led the taller girl through the streets of the city. It wasn’t as big as Tokyo or New York City but, it was still impressive. There were buildings that grew to the sky. Different types of stores were set up along the sidewalk. Yoshiko knew a few of the stores but most of them were almost alien to her.

“Are we almost there yet?”

“It’s right there.”

Pointing to a group of buildings, Yoshiko was able to see a large ferris wheel above the rooftops. It was a block down the street and Riko’s face showed great interest. Yoshiko stepped up to the admission booth and bought the two of them tickets.

Once they entered, it was like another world. Everything was colorful and cheery. Many of the rides looked exciting to go on but some of them seemed a bit out of place from the happy amusement park.

“I want to go on that one!” Riko said. The amber eyed girl pointed at one of the more thrilling rides.

“That seems a bit… big.”

“I know. It looks fun!”

“You might regret it…”

The two step into line of the ride. It wasn’t long as most people were sane enough not to step anywhere near it. In almost a few seconds, they were at the front of the line. Yoshiko gulped. She knew this would end badly for her.

They sat down into one of the cars and strapped in. Yoshiko could see Riko bouncing up and down next to her. Once they reached the top, Yoshiko took one last glance at the auburn haired girl. She was pale and her knuckles were white.

“I regret this so-”

The coaster flew down the ramp and Riko screamed. After what seemed to be an eternity, they finally stepped off the ride. Riko sat down on a bench just outside the exit.

“I-I don’t think that was fun.”

“Yeah. A bit.”

“We should go on other ones. None like that though.”

“Right.”

The duo went through the park riding nearly every ride they had to offer. Of course they had skipped the more intense ones. It was nearing evening when Yoshiko grabbed Rikos hand and pulled her towards the ferris wheel.

“This is super cliché but go here.”

“Yes. Very cliché.”

The two stood in line once more. They were seated into a cabin soon enough. The ride slowly reached near the top before Yoshiko stared at Riko.

“Is something wrong?”

“N-Nothing.”

Riko smirked,”There’s something up with you.”

“N-No nothing at a-”

Yoshiko was cut off by the sensation of lips touching hers. Feeling her face go red, she leaned into the kiss. It felt like an eternity before they parted.

“Wh-What.”

“Yocchan, you’re great.”

Yoshiko stayed silent, her mouth hanging open. The ride came to an end and Yoshiko stumbled out of the cabin, Riko close behind her. The duo left the park together and headed to Yoshiko’s home. Riko stopped the other girl before she could go in.

“Thanks for today.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Y’know,” Riko started,”I really like you.”

“O-Oh really…”

“Yeah, so I’ll come again some other time. Talk to you later,” Riko said with a wink.

The auburn haired girl disappeared as soon as Yoshiko blinked. In her hand was a note.

“Call me -Riko.”

Yoshiko sighed,”Now Satan wants me to call her.”

Nevertheless, she did.

[eosforge]

The Laipougsa Revolution (Part One - Laura) Prologue

Hello to all guys, gals, and nonbinary pals! This is an original work, inspired by this post (thank you, OP, and all contributers, even if I can’t see what you posted). I ask that you do not repost to another site; if you do, I expect that you credit me properly. In a few days’ time this will be cross-posted to ao3 under Original Works (I will put a link to my a03 account then). I intend to continue this with one-shots centered around each character’s attributes (which will be regarded as peculiarities and in numerical order), and when I have enough I will begin to compile a master post (to be linked to when created).

Alright, let’s jump in! Welcome to part one of The Laipougsa Revolution!

Prologue: Laura Is Not A Laipougsa

She was on her back - torso straight and diagonal, neck curved against the cold stone wall. There was nowhere to go; her knee had buckled when she had turned to run away, and her left leg was turned in a way it shouldn’t have been able to turn. Her entire body was trembling and throbbing with pain. Her left arm - the one not braced against the ground - raised to protect her front, fist clenching.

Did Laura know how to throw a punch properly? She couldn’t remember.

The sound of hooves and claws, along with the click of boots, made the hair on her arms stand up. Those were the creatures chasing her. One may have been human once - as they were a biped - but certainly wasn’t anymore. The humanoid had a strange amalgam of human and unnatural features; there was the sleek black pixie cut, human clothes (including a face mask that covered the area where the nose, mouth, chin, and neck would be on a human), and almond shaped eyes; there was also the pointed ears and the horns, which grew out of their temples (the skin there surrounded the base of their horns, which were bony white and ridged) and arced around their skull; at the base of their neck the horns turned outwards and abruptly tapered into a sharp point.

The other creature, something that was not a deer and probably never was, walked on four legs. The front set had hooves, while the back had paws with claws. It had a scaly tail that tapered into a blade-like bony point. Its head and neck were that of a deer, and it had the antlers to match, but its eyes... the sclera, irises, and pupils were dark blue, and there were no veins that she could see. The entire creature was furry (with the exception of the tail, the hooves, and the antlers) and dark brown in color.

Laura had seen the thing that was not a deer easily smash through a concrete wall, first driving the tail tip into the wall to make a weak point and then battering it twice with the tail. Laura had seen both the biped and the thing that was not a deer ram through bulletproof windows with their horns. Laura had seen the biped’s horn ridges glow pink, had seen the pink energy expand and arc around the biped, had seen that energy change whatever it touched into something else. It has to be magic, Laura had thought, because it had taken time for it to affect her and then stopped affecting her entirely once she got out of range; that magic had changed her mind, changed what her eyes were seeing, into something that wasn’t really there.

Her stomach dropped at the creatures’ increased volume, chilly anxiety thrumming through her. Her eyes filled with tears, weighing her lashes down; they slid down her cheeks, unnoticed. She was going to die here.

The creatures got closer, slowing as they approached. Laura flinched, shutting her eyes and leaning into the wall. Her heartbeat pulsed through her body; the clicking of the creatures’ feet stopped right in front of her. Heat - humid heat, the type that New Yorkers experience in summer when it’s about to rain - washed over her. “Please don’t kill me,” Laura gasped, the sentence strangled because she had started to sob softly. The anxiety was choking her by this point, her medicine being the only thing that was preventing her from having a panic attack.

Nearly everyone she loved had died at the whims of these creatures - they had told her to run, which she had, and then she had heard the sounds of fighting. Those sounds were snuffed out all too suddenly, and then the biped and not-deer walking had been all that remained.

Warm air that was weighed down with power hit her face. Laura flinched back and let out a shriek, curling into a ball, trembling, whining pitifully as the motion jostled her broken leg. The biped’s boots clicked as they walked around her; the power - because that was the source of the heat, it had to be - pressed down on her more. Oddly enough, it became easier to breathe. The girl felt like she would pass out when she felt a tap on the shoulder.

Laura stayed curled up, trembling. There was another tap, this one harder. The not-deer snorted into her face, nudging her temple with its wet - and soft - nose. The not-deer nudged her again, firm and insistent.

Why weren’t they killing her?

Laura cautiously tilted her head up and cracked an eye open. The not-deer’s face was inches away from hers; the creature was staring at her curiously, blinking every couple seconds, breathing into her face. It was actually kind of cute. She let her eyes flit right.

The biped was crouched next to her, hands on their thighs, staring at Laura was an exasperated look. Once they had her attention, their eyes lit up; they lifted their hands so their palms were facing outwards and Laura flinched, curling into herself again but keeping her eyes open.

The biped paused, then looked to the not-deer for help. The not-deer bent its knees and slowly sank to the floor, as if the action took a lot of effort and would hurt if it went too fast. It nudged Laura’s neck with its nose now that it was at a better height to do so, putting pressure against Laura’s neck to make her turn her head towards the biped. Laura had no choice but to oblige.

When she didn’t open her eyes, the not-deer leaned over farther and licked her eyelids. It had a warm, wet tongue. Laura flinched, shaking her head; the not-deer drew back, thankfully, allowing Laura to swipe her hand over her eyelids to get rid of the slobber. “Hey!” She protested, sounding like she was scolding a dog. Laura uncurled, letting her legs slump sideways and ignoring the throb of pain from her broken one. She braced her right hand against the ground. “That was uncalled for!” She twisted so she could point a finger in the creature’s face. “Bad not-deer!”

The not-deer leaned back a little, ears pinned back against its skull, and had the decency to look ashamed - well, as much as an eldritch abomination could look ashamed.

Laura turned back to the biped; their hands were in their lap again. “And you - “ she snarled, only to cut herself off when they raised their hands again. Laura flinched back, but didn’t curl into a ball this time.

Then they began to sign. “Can’t talk, no mouth,” they imparted. Laura’s eyebrows shot up; it was a good thing she knew ASL. And the biped was disabled, just like her, albeit in a different way. “Sorry about...” Their hands clenched, eyes flitting right as they searched for the right words. “...that,” they finally settled on. “I didn’t kill them, but I did have him” - the biped turned towards the not-deer and gestured with their chin - “freeze them. They’ll be okay, but unable to move, and nothing will happen to their bodies while they’re in that state. I don’t regret doing so; to get to you it needed to be done.” A pause. “They’ve been hunting my people for months. I wanted to kill them, you know, but then you wouldn’t have let me sign.”

Well, they weren’t wrong. Laura would have fought them if her leg wasn’t broken and if she wasn’t scared out of her mind. She would have called for help had her phone been charged.

Get to me? Why would they need to get to me?

Their eyes locked onto Laura’s; their sclera were white, irises magenta, pupils black but lined with a ring of bubblegum pink. Their skin was dark, but not that dark, reminding Laura of the color of red clay. Their short hair, sleek and bubblegum pink - hadn’t it been black before? - was now mussed and sticking straight up in places. Their column shaped lean muscled body was covered by utilitarian clothes; the outfit consisted of a white round-neck t-shirt, gunmetal gray cargo pants, and black laced-up military boots. It was the type of outfit the family and Laura normally wore, and now the fabric were dirty as well; there was a smattering of blood against the part of the shirt that arced around their small chest.

So the outfit - and that magic, Laura presumed, which made sense considering what she had seen that day - was how the biped got in here. Odds were that magic extended to the not-deer - which was easily the size of a Thoroughbred horse.

“I’m Illieris,” they continued, when it became obvious that Laura wasn’t going to reply. They had to spell out the name, and they did so in 5 seconds. “Pronounced ILL-ear-US. I use she/her pronouns.”

Laura blinked. The biped was female. She had a name: Illierus. Laura had no clue what exactly Illierus was - she may have been human once, but wasn’t anymore, if she had ever been - so Laura decided to refer to her by name instead of the biped.

And Laura’s family had been hunting Illierus’s people for months? She had to have interpreted that bit of Illierus’s sign wrong. Laura’s family were the kindest people around - maybe a bit too prideful and a bit too traditionalist and a bit too insistent that unchangeable things could be changed, but still kind.

Remember the emotional abuse? And the overprotection, how someone in the family always follows you everywhere, how your laptop and phone are constantly invaded? And their reaction to most of the things you do that’s natural? Her brain reminded her.

Okay, so that would explain why Illierus had her not-deer freeze them. Her family wasn’t the greatest; that was just a lie she told herself, fearful of the consequences if she had addressed all of the above. Laura now wanted to get away from them more than anything, which would be easy because now they were all frozen. That still doesn’t explain why she wants me, though.

Illierus gestured to the not-deer, whose head swung around to look at its owner. Then she snapped her fingers to get Laura’s attention; both Laura and the not-deer focused on her. “This is Korien,” Illierus signed, spelling the not-deer’s name out as well. “Pronounced core-e-an.” Korien snorted, drawing Laura’s attention, then opened its - his? Her?- mouth and cheeped, entire body jerking as it did so. Laura’s eyes widened at the unexpected noise.

What the hell? It sounds like a cheetah. Is it a chimera?

Illierus snapped her fingers, drawing Laura’s attention again. “He’s a good boy, don’t worry, he just looks scary,” she signed, letting her hands fall. She braced her weight on her right hand, then leaned forward and let her left curve around Korien’s furry check. The not-deer let out the mrr noise that cats sometimes do when regarding a human that startled them, then produced a smaller cheep and closed his eyes, leaning into Illierus’s hand. Korien’s eyelids were translucent; like his and Illierus’s horns and his tail it was probably a defensive measure.

Laura’s eyebrows furrowed, but she nodded along all the same. She was the most frightened she had ever been, but at least she was getting an explanation. Illierus sat up straight, fingers still stroking Korien’s fur, and raised her right hand to begin signing single-handedly. “We’re here to get you, unwitting Laipougsa” - this word was spelled out, a pronunciation (Lie-po-g-sa) given  - “out of this horrible place and bring you home.”

What the hell was a Laipougsa? And why did Illierus - the person with the fucking horns and pointed ears - think Laura - the one who was completely human, if a little strange - was one? Laura was black-sheep Laura, intersex-biologically-but-a-girl-gender-wise Laura, developed-mostly-female-secondary-and-tertiary-sexual-characteristics Laura, likes-practical-sneakers-and-boots-with-simple-dresses Laura, black-kid-adopted-into-a-white-family Laura, dark-skinned-long-kinky-hair-in-an-afro-brown-eyed Laura, hourglass-shaped-body Laura, short-and-chubby-but-the-weight-is-distributed-evenly-so-it’s-not-a-problem Laura, unnaturally-strong Laura, actually-really-honestly-panromantic-and-demisexual Laura, shame-of-the-family Laura, you’re-odder-than-we-thought Laura, punished-every-time-she-instinctively-did-something-that-didn’t-align-with-family-values Laura, naturally-flexible Laura, behave-like-a-proper-lady Laura, likes-the-outdoors-and-the-heat Laura, are-you-sure-she’s-not-one-of-them Laura, she-experienced-and-heard-and-saw-something-that-no-one-else-did Laura, she-hit-the-top-of-her-head-against-the-door-but-that’s-impossible-because-she’s-not-that-tall Laura, are-you-sure-she-doesn’t-have-a-fever Laura, constantly-running-hot Laura, (mis)diagnosed-with-schizophrenia Laura, put-on-antipsychotic-medication Laura, never-ever-left-alone Laura, always-being-watched Laura, never-had-privacy Laura, weird-ass-brat Laura, oh-so-that’s-why-that-happened Laura, not-schizophrenic-and-taken-off-the-antipsychotics Laura, constantly-dismissed Laura, mentally-ill-with-an-anxiety-disorder Laura, she-needs-to-be-tamed-and-molded-so-she-shines Laura, friendless-because-of-her-weirdness Laura, don’t-come-here-again-she’s-not-something-to-gawk-at Laura, takes-antidepressants-to-manage-her-anxiety-disorder Laura, here’s-something-so-you-can-stim-covertly Laura, don’t-do-that-honey-someone-will-hurt-you-do-this-instead Laura, nearly-18-with-little-independence Laura - 

Okay, so she didn’t want to stay with her family anymore. There would be no one to stop her from leaving; everyone in the building sans the three of them were frozen, after all. She was a senior in high school; she was set to go to college in several months’ time. (If anyone asked, she had graduated early.) Some out-of-state colleges and universities had already accepted her, but the start of the autumn semester was several months away and she had yet to decide on where she was going. And she didn’t have any relatives outside of this house. So where would she go?

...oh, right. Illierus had offered to give her a place to stay - ”to bring you home” she had signed. But where was Illierus’s home? Laura would never fit in there. Because there was no way Laura was a Laipougsa; she was completely human, if a little strange.

...right?

Oh, who was she kidding? Laura being a Laipougsa sounded more plausible than her being human. That was probably the reason she never fit in.

[chadpetersondatingblog]

8 Couples’ Halloween Costume Ideas From The ’90s That’ll Give You All The Nostalgia

Oh, the ’90s. What a time to grow up. I can’t be the only one who still has boxes of stuff from this era lingering in the attic. Whether your toy of choice was a Furby or one those Neopets that were fun until they died because you kept forgetting to feed them, the ’90s are the perfect time for you to reminisce on if you’re still searching for the perfect Halloween costume idea. If you and your boo are looking for the perfect ’90s couples costumes, then we’ve got you so covered.

However, be warned: All of these costumes may result in some serious nostalgia. But before you start calling your mom begging her to ship you a care package full of those thick, ruffly scrunchies, take a breath. Although the ’90s may have been super amazing, you most definitely would not be sitting here right now combing the web for costume ideas because the internet was still super weird and way less fun. Plus, it took forever to log onto AOL. Remember that crazy sound that the computer used to make while it was connecting?

But luckily, Halloween is the perfect occasion to get your throwback on, so there’s no need to get too down daydreaming about sippin’ Capri Suns in your Heyday.

1. Reggie And Otto From Rocket Power

Nickelodeon

Few ’90s kid shows will reach the glory of Rocket Power. At the time, it felt like there was nothing cooler than watching this group of awesome kids getting into all kinds of shenanigans. Now that I think about it, this show was also pretty diverse for its time. so kudos to Nickelodeon for that one.

If you decide to show up at this year’s Halloween festivities dressed as brother and sister pair Otto and Reggie, then be prepared because you’re gonna be dishing out some serious nostalgic realness. Naturally, whoever decides to go as Reggie is gonna need a medium-length purple wig. All she needs now is a magenta/pink shirt — brownie points if you have the time to cut out a yellow rocket design to glue on the shirt — red sunglasses, and army printed cargo pants. Otto is definitely gonna need some kind of gingery wig, sunglasses, green headband, yellow shirt, and athletic shorts. If you’re feeling ambitious, then by all means, feel free to grab your skates and spend the evening rolling from venue to venue.

2. Tommy And Angelica From Rugrats

Nickelodeon/Klasky Csupo

Rugrats was the bomb. The best part of this costume idea is that it is hilarious and pretty easy to throw together for all of my procrastinators out there who like to wait ’til the week of to start figuring their lives out.

All Tommy needs is an adult diaper and baby blue crop top. Can’t find a crop top? No worries. You can also just buy a normal light blue shirt and cut it to give it that authentic baby look. Angelica could most definitely use a blond wig — although it’s not totally necessary if you’re in a pinch. Throw on an orange sweater and purple dress over it, and you’re good to go. Just don’t forget the matching purple hair bows for Angelica’s pigtails and baby bottles, which can conveniently be used to hold some of your alcoholic refreshments for the evening. You can thank us later.

3. Corey And Topanga From Boy Meets World

American Broadcasting Company

Who could forget the adorable young lovebirds Corey and Topanga from the ’90s sitcom Boy Meets World? This is another great throwback-inspired costume that requires pretty minimal planning.

First things first, Topanga needs a denim vest if you’re going for the classic girl next door look — although if you want to get creative and spend some time browsing her other looks, then don’t let us stop you. She’s also gonna need a white shirt and a skirt; might I suggest corduroy? Now you have a perfect excuse to head on down to your local thrift store. If the Corey to your Topanga doesn’t have naturally curly hair, then you should probably opt for a dark curly wig; it may give the costume more of a goofy vibe, but it will definitely help with recognizability factor. As far as clothes go, Corey has a ton of artistic freedom. A denim button-down, argyle sweater, or just about anything else will work as long as it’s a bit oversized.

4. The Olsen Twins Then Or Now

Gerald Wu Productions

Nothing screams the ’90s quite like the Olsen twins. For better or worse, we watched them grow up right before our eyes. There are a ton of different routes you can go when trying to emulate these cuties. The easiest way is to invest in two identical blonde wigs to communicate the whole twin vibe. Next, you’re going to need two matching dresses and accessories. If you’re going for a more current Olsen twin look, then keep the wigs, add some oversized black sunglasses and all black clothes, and you’re good to go.

5. Beanie Babies

 WBIR10 News

Who doesn’t remember the bizarre ’90s kind-of-sort-of toy, Beanie Babies? The secret to pulling this costume off is one thing, and one thing only: that infamous “ty” tag that made millions of children’s hearts beat a little faster. Grab some construction paper or poster board, and get to work. Don’t forget to fill in the tag with your beanie name and information about yourself.

6. Wayne And Garth From Wayne’s World

NBC Films

Ah, Wayne’s World — a cult classic. Reminiscing about this goofy duo is just the thing to get all the ’90s kids dreaming of a time when VHS tapes were a life source and Nintendo was your favorite pastime.

If you and your partner would like to pay homage to this super silly film, then I’ve got some really good news for you: This couples costume is available already assembled with all of the necessary costume components. That means you have absolutely zero excuses to not have your life together come October 31. If you’re feeling like putting in the extra effort, then Garth is going to need a grungy white band tee, blue flannel, blonde wig, and large framed glasses. Wayne needs a Wayne’s World hat and black tee — and voila.

7. Your Two Favorite Chipmunks From Alvin And The Chipmunks

NBC

Sometimes, cartoon animals are too cute. Like, straight up, if you look at them too long, you will definitely get weirded out by how adorable and symmetrical they are. Alvin and The Chipmunks were definitely too cute for their own good. That’s why deciding to dress up as two of these little guys is a fantastic idea, and if you’re a couple who loves the spotlight, here’s your excuse to break out into spontaneous song and dance.

All you’re gonna need is an oversized turtleneck sweater to match the color of your chosen Chipmunk — make sure if one of you decides to be Alvin that you spray paint a yellow “A” onto your sweater — and a red hat for Alvin and/or glasses for Simon.

8. Kim And Ron From Kim Possible

Disney Channel

I can’t be the only person who thought that the theme song to Kim Possible was actually a catchy pop song that I wish was a full four minutes. A ’90s inspired Halloween roundup just wouldn’t be complete without these two. Although the show technically didn’t come out until the early 2000’s, I was still all about it.

If either you or your partner is a red head, then it’s settled; they’re playing Kim. For the rest of you ginger-less couples, guess what? There’s a wig for that. Kim is also going to need a black cropped turtleneck sweater and cargo joggers. Ron is also going to need a black turtleneck with matching black gloves and cargo pants.

Check out the entire Gen Why series and other videos on Facebook and the Bustle app across Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.

Subscribe to Elite Daily’s official newsletter, The Edge, for more stories you don’t want to miss.

8 Couples’ Halloween Costume Ideas From The ’90s That’ll Give You All The Nostalgia

from Meet Positives http://ift.tt/2fwgGNY via IFTTT

[thewonderginger]

Asexual Ward Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 IS UP Y’ALL!!!!

An Empty Vessel But A Full Heart

Chapter 3 --> Follow me on Ao3!

Moving Forward, Falling Back

Ward and his younger sister Joy explore an LGBT event at their school but it ends a bit darker than they anticipate.

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

Two months later

“You’ve got to try these rainbow macaroons,” Joy exclaimed holding the treat to Ward’s face.  He smiled at his sister and took it from her hand stuffing the whole thing in his mouth.  

“Is reary goord,” he mumbled through the food accidently breathing out some bits on Joy’s shoulder.

“EW!” she cried and Ward laughed at her as she brushed the crumbs off herself.  They headed to the next booth in the school common area.  This one was advertising drag performances.  Ward swallowed the sweet cookie as Joy grabbed a flier, her mentioning how beautiful all the women were and that she and Ward should get a front seat.

“Yes because I want a sexy man in a sexy dress to give me a lapdance while my sister watches,” he joked as they meandered down the rainbow clad event, booths lining the sidewalks as people meandered from one table to the other.

“They’re not strippers, they’re performers,” Joy informed him, tucking her short hair behind her ear.  She had dyed it a dark brown and for the first time they looked like brother and sister.  “They don’t give you lap dances”.

“Oh,” Ward replied.  They were coming up to a white man in short shorts and a tank top standing next to a cone taller than him, small flags of many colors poking through like porcupine spikes.

“Get your pride flags folks!” the vendor shouted.  “Support men’s shelters with five dollar pride flags.  We got homosexual, lesbosexual, pansexual, bisexual…”.

Joy skipped towards the man as Ward watched her excitingly decide on a flag.  She was estatic to come to this school next year since she was graduating high school early.  He’d never show it but he was more impatient about her attending than she was. He was ready to have someone around who understood him even if she didn’t know everything.  Joy paid the vendor and returned to Ward waving a magenta, lavender, and blue striped flag.

“Did you want to tell me something?” Ward joked.

“Its for you doofus,” she said tickling his nose with the fabric which he flicked out of his face.  “Trying to be supportive of the bisexual community.  Is that okay bisexual community?”

Ward snorted and they continued through the event, watching performances, learning about school clubs, and of course Joy wanted to join all of them.  She could probably run all of them too, Ward thought to himself feeling both extremely proud and extremely jealous.  

They were about to leave for dinner when they came across a booth of people dressed in purple shirts.  Joy went up to the table eager to learn as always and Ward followed her, the little flag sticking out of his back jean pocket.  The booth had a black, white, gray, and purple striped flag in front with the the text reading “A-SEXY AND WE KNOW IT!”  There were fliers and pamphlets and few stuffed toy plants with little happy faces embroidered on them.  Joy would love those.  Heck, Ward loved them.

He started listening to the person at the booth (“Well there’s aromantic, asexual, its a small community but awareness of these orientations is growing. Some people don’t experience…”) when he saw Jesse across the yard.  Ward moved to stand behind a tall banner next to the booth removing himself from Jesse’s possible view. He knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help but look at him.  Jesse was helping fold up a booth table a good ways away from where Ward was.  Two guys lifted the table and waved at Jesse, him returning the gesture, when a tall black guy walked up behind him.  Jesse turned and immediately kissed the man.  Ward was stung but an immediate numbness radiated over it as his lids drooped down.  There was no point in being shocked or hurt.  Ward was about to look away and ask Joy to hurry up when he saw the pair make a sudden move.  The guy took Jesse behind a tall banner on their side but before they were completely covered, the guy’s hand latched on to Jesse’s groin who responded by biting his bottom lip.  Ward looked away dropping his head and then just started walking.  He only got ten feet when Joy came sprinting after him.

“Ward, where are you going?” she exclaimed holding a booklet from the booth in her hand.  She took his arm and he turned towards her looking over her head.

“I’m just hungry,” he said blankly.  “Let's, uh, let's go”.  He continued down the path and at first Joy didn’t follow.  Then she came at him again quickly, grabbing his arm and moving him faster down the sidewalk.

“I didn’t see him there, oh my God,” she stated.  “Yeah for sure let's go.  I’m sorry”.

Joy met Jesse a few times.  They got along well.  Like brother and sister.  She said she couldn’t wait to have a new Meachum in the family if that's the surname they took.  Ward screwed that relationship up for her.  Another reason why it's better for him to be alone.  This pain sucked but hurting Joy would be the worst thing he could ever do.  

He wiped his eye with his thumb as they stood in the elevator to their car.  He was holding the pride flag against his leg but he was feeling anything but proud. Joy held his arm the whole time and it was a comfort.  But she didn’t know the whole story.  Just the break up, just the heartbreak over one relationship.  He was too ashamed to tell her the whole truth but he made sure she knew it was his fault.  She said it wasn’t but she didn’t know.  And she never would.

They made it to Ward’s car in the structure as Joy leafed through the booklet.  They entered the vehicle as Ward turned on the ignition.  Before he could put the car in reverse a text went off on his phone.  It was from his dad but he put the name in his phone as 'Work’ to avoid suspicion.  He was about to open the message when Joy made a curious noise.  Ward looked at her and she glanced at him reading out loud from the booklet.

“‘ Asexuality’ ,” she read. “‘ A sexual orientation where the person does not experience sexual attraction’.   Hmm,” she nodded.  “‘ Though the spectrum is wide and various most ace people may not participate in sexual conduct and/or intercourse ”.  Joy nodded again then threw the booklet into the backseat.  “Sounds like these people just need to get laid”.

Ward smiled at the comment when another text message alerted on his phone.  This time from Franklin.  He opened the message from the head of the board and read the words.  Then he read them again.  Then he read them another time trying to get the message through his brain.  His face must have looked shocked because Joy’s voice was concerned.

“Ward whats’ wrong?”

He looked at her and then back at the text.  “Um, it's Markowitz”.

“What did that bitch do now?” Joy said exasperated but Ward shook his head holding out his hand for her to stop.

“Her daughter committed suicide,” he finally said.  Joy looked at him with wide eyes.  “She’s quitting.  ‘ Effective immediately’ ,” he read from his phone screen.

Notes:

I totally forget that east coast colleges are different from west coast so if you've been to Columbia and my layout description is different I'm sorry I've never left the west coast and I am trash. Also short chapter this time because I'm giving myself time to catch up.

[siren-dragon]

Overdue (Ardyn Izunia x Reader) Ch. 3

Here it is, the final chapter of Overdue! I will honestly say, I am so grateful to everyone who liked this story (which was surprisingly a lot) and that I’m glad you all took the time to read this. ^_^  Also be sure to check out @artistic-fangirl-shenanigans artwork for the Librarian Ardyn this story is based on.

Now then, here we go!

“Who’s the guy?”

You jumped slightly at the sudden question, just barely avoiding eyeliner smearing across your eye to your temple. Glancing up at the mirror, you saw your roommate Aranea staring back at you with a knowing look. Placing the eyeliner down you marched past her to your room, picking up your clothing on the way. “Someone who asked me out, why do you ask?”

“Because I’ve only seen you put this much effort into your job at the garage and that all-you-can-eat burger contest at the Summer Festival last year.” She called back from behind the wall.

You flushed at the mention of the later, tugging off your towel and pulling up your undergarments. “Hey, I won tickets to Altissia, so you can’t degrade that.”

“You’re still not answering my question (f/n): who’s the guy?”

“Just…someone I met is all, nothing more.” You said, pulling on your dress before walking back to the bathroom.

Aranea rolled her eyes at that before turning away, waving her hand aimlessly at you. “Whatever you say. I’ll just be at Specs’ place, in case you decide to have more than just ‘dinner’.”

You spluttered incoherently as Aranea disappeared into her own bedroom, closing the door behind her. Looking back into the mirror, you couldn’t help but feel giddy at the want to impress you were feeling. You never thought Ardyn would ask you on a date, though in retrospect it was only to return your overdue book. But the sudden offer of dinner took you completely by surprise before your body practically vibrated with euphoric excitement. Glancing at your watch, you noticed you had an hour before the meeting, causing you to look for the final touch for your makeup.

After all, it was never polite to be late.

Ardyn tugged at the collar of his shirt for the third time in the last 10 minutes, the normally comfortable clothing feeling ridiculously tight. He stood beside the front of the library waiting for (f/n) and briefly wondered if she was even coming. Perhaps he was a bit too forward with her, and had most likely scared her away. After all, librarians were not exactly the most sought-after individual when it came to the world of romance and perhaps she realized that she could do better. Or maybe that she-

“Hey Ardyn!” came a familiar voice, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. “I’m sorry that I’m late, my roommate needed help with something.”

He could not help but stare at you, his previous thoughts chased away by your very presence. Gone were the jeans and t-shirts he often saw you wear, and in its place, was a black, sleeveless dress with a scoop neckline; the fabric clinging to your chest and waist before flaring out into an A-line skirt. Your hair was half-up and half-down, pinned back by a simple silver clip. And painted across your lips was a lipstick the exact shade of his own magenta hair. Ardyn blinked at you in stunned silence, your appearance taking his very breathe away.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long.” You asked, cocking your head to the side.

He smiled, “not at all, my dear. And seeing you here…it was worth the wait.” Holding out his arm and smirking as your eyes rolled over his formal attire in a appreciative manner, he asked; “Shall we?”

You grinned before taking said arm, “yes, we shall.”

The two of you walked across the park toward the restaurant that lined the edge of Lux Park’s lake, the illumination of the lights reflecting off the water’s surface. Ardyn lead you toward the restaurant’s entrance, the name Maagho written across the top in glowing neon cursive. Entering the eatery, you gazed around in amazement at the intimate lighting, dark-hardwood interior, and velvet cushioned booths all along the room. The hostess smiled at Ardyn, completely ignoring you much to your amusement, as she leads the two of you to an empty table beside the window overlooking the lake. Ardyn moved behind one of the two chairs, pulling out the seat for you which caused you to blush at the gentlemanly action.

“Thank you,” you said politely, sitting down.

“Your welcome, my dear.” Ardyn answered back kindly.

The hostess frowned at the lack of attention from your magenta-haired companion, before retreating to the foyer. Looking around the restaurant, you couldn’t help but giggle at the situation you were in, your fingers running across the soft cotton of the tablecloth. “I have to admit, despite seeing you for the past several weeks…I know next to nothing about you.”

He chuckled, “Sadly, the feeling is mutual my dear, though that is easily remedied. Is there something that you wish to know?”

“I guess my first question would be why you aren’t wearing glasses.”

Ardyn blinked in surprise at your question, the large spectacles that typically rested atop his nose were gone, showing his golden-amber eyes to the fullest. He scratched the back of his head nervously, a sheepish smile spreading across his face that reminded you of a shy school boy. “I am incredibly near-sighted, which causes my need for corrective glasses or contact lenses. I thought contacts would be more appropriate for our engagement. Is it not to your liking?”

“Not at all, I suppose I just grew use to seeing you with glasses…they bring out your eyes.”

An eyebrow quirked up as his smile morphed into a cheeky smirk, “so you spent your time at the library observing me (y/n)?”

You froze briefly at having been caught before flipping the menu upward to hide your face and the subsequent crimson coloring that flooded across your face.

“Erm, perhaps we should order our food…”

He laughed at your obvious deflection before lifting his own menu. “Don’t worry (f/n), the night is still young.”

As the evening progressed, the two of you began to learn more about the other, the typical awkwardness usually associated with first-date questions not applying to yourself or Ardyn. He felt like an old friend that you wished to disclose every detail of the life your life when they were gone. And that was how you spent the entirety of your dinner, simply speaking to one another and enjoying the presence of each other’s company. You shared that your job was one of an engineer, working at the Hammerhead Garage, while he told you that he had a collection of sweater vests and scarves. Ardyn spoke to you of having a love of sweets, especially ones with Ulwatt berries, while you told him that what your favorite flowers were.

Back and forth your banter continued between you both, neither of you even noticing the late hour till the hostess approached your table to inform you that the restaurant was closing shortly. You moved to grab your wallet from your purse, only for Ardyn to offer the server his own card. “A gentleman always treats the lady, my dear,” he explained.

“Alright, but I pay next time.” You grinned, standing from the chair. “Are you sure we can still use the library this late?”

“Of course, I am the Head Librarian. And it is only to return a single book, no harm done.”

Though as you both approached the front door of the restaurant, the tell-tale sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. “Uh oh,” you said, the scent of rain filing the air.

“I’m afraid we will have to make a run for it.” Ardyn said, grabbing hold of your (s/c) hand. “Off we go!”

The two of you bolted out of the restaurant and only ran about 30 feet before the rain started. The downpour of water splattering across your dress and making you thankful you choose black instead of white. Ardyn kept one hand clamped around your own while the other held his fedora down upon his head, both of you sprinting for the media center. After a few minutes the library appeared, the rain starting to come down in buckets just as you two skids under cover. You looked at your wet clothes and hair, but couldn’t help but laugh at Ardyn’s appearance; his wet locks plastered to his face making him look like an angry cat. He narrowed his eyes at your amused expression, pulling off his fedora and shaking off the excess water. “Is there something you find particularly amusing, my dear?”

“I-I’m sorry,” you gasped, smile still on you face. “But you remind me of an angry cat right now.”

“Is that so? In that case, you wouldn’t mind me saying you remind me of a dog back from an unsanctioned swim in the lake.” He teased you, mirth dancing in his eyes.

You smirked at the analogy and then proceeded to shake your hair much like said animal, drops of water splashing against him. Ardyn chuckled at your response before opening the library doors and flicking on a single lobby light. He moved to the front desk, turning on the computer while you retrieved the book from your purse, placing it on the Check Out table. The library looked much more different with the lack of people; though the strange scent of plastic, old paper, and air freshener still permeated the air. You shivered slightly as the chill from the rain soon began seeping into your skin, making you briefly wish for a coat.

And after that very thought, a soft fabric was soon draped over your shoulders, causing you to spin about to see Ardyn standing behind you in only his dress shirt and scarf. His jacket was too large for you, swallowing your smaller form immediately. It was surprisingly warm, though slightly damp, and had a delightful spicy scent which enveloped your senses and made you wonder if all Ardyn’s clothes smelled so wonderfully.

“There now, we wouldn’t want you to catch a cold now.”

“Thank you Ardyn. You know,” you said as you smiled up at him. “for a literature nerd, you are such a gentleman.”

“Now what’s wrong with being a literary nerd?” He asked in feigned hurt.

“Absolutely nothing. Besides, didn’t you know?” you spoke, taking a step closer to him, your faces mere inches apart. “they’re the ones who get the girls.”

You then tilted your face upward, pressing your lips gently against his own. He froze briefly, surprised by the action, before responding in kind. You felt his hand clinging about your waist, pulling you closer to his chest while your hands made their way up his shoulders and around his neck. He hummed appreciatively as your fingers started tangling themselves within his hair before his tongue brushed against your lips asking for permission. Smiling into the kiss, you were more than happy to oblige, shivering in delight as you breathed in his cologne and twisted your own tongue against his own.

At long last the need for oxygen made itself known, and the two of you broke off your kiss, a slight trail of saliva breaking off. You looked up at Ardyn, who was currently giving you another sheepish smile. “Well now, I can’t say I wasn’t hoping for that to happen.”

“I think it was long overdue,” you giggled placing another chaste kiss atop his lips. “Though it’s best that we continue this somewhere else.”

“I believe my flat is closer, my dear. Shall we (f/n)?” Ardyn grinned, allowing a hand to trail down the side of your hip.

“Most definitely.”

You both shutdown the library before rushing out toward the parking lot where Ardyn’s car waited, laughing as the rain soaked both of your clothes. Your overdue book laying forgotten on the front desk.

“So, where’s Ardyn?” Lunafreya asked.

Noctis shrugged, pouring both a cup of coffee. “I don’t know, fell asleep after he left last night. Maybe he got lucky and went back to her place.”

Lunafreya spoke a word of thanks before accepting the offered cup. “Well, regardless of whether or not that happened, I hope he had a good time.”

“Good morning to you both.” Ardyn spoke from behind, emerging from his bedroom.

“Morning Uncle- “Noctis froze mid-sentence, staring at his estranged Uncle with wide eyes, Lunafreya mimicking his expression as Ardyn moved past them toward the kitchen. He was dressed in dark grey t-shirt and pajama trousers, his hair messy and glasses perched upon his nose. Though what really caught the two’s attention was the multiple lipstick kisses that littered Ardyn’s mouth, cheeks, and neck; all the same color as his Uncle’s wine-colored hair.

“How was your outing?” Luna asked bravely, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing at her disheveled colleague.

“Marvelous, my dear Luna…simply marvelous.” Ardyn replied before returning to his bedroom carrying two cups of tea.

A stunned silence fell upon the two friends before they turned to look at each other. Noctis took a sip from his coffee cup before placing it down on the table again. “Guess the date went well.”

Luna couldn’t help but laugh.

There it is, the end of the story. Let me know what you guys think!

Also, I’m going to be taking requests for Ardyn stories if anyone wants to see something specific. I haven't written anything angst-based so I may try my hand at that, who knows? :)

Take care everyone!

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [11]

Judge’s vision blurs around the edges and the hum of the Orbiter is a sound that’s in his bones, his his skull - the sound of space is a solid and tangible presence in his ears.

He forces his eyes to focus in on the screen in front of him. He’s close to something, he knows.

Whispers trail down the back of his neck, ghosts from a time Judge forcibly left behind. He wishes it could leave him.

The ambient sounds of the Orbiter and all the things it must do to keep him alive, to keep him healthy and able, are familiar and routine.

Judge focuses on the bright light of the surveillance footage that he’s been looking over. There are pieces missing here, to finding out what it is that’s got the Corpus so riled up. There’s going to be an auction soon - and the only thing that could get those old men so excited and sanguine is Orokin technology.

The question is - is it a warframe? Is it a tenno?

Is it something worse?

“Judge?” Kore’s voice rasps out. He turns around, neck stiff and looks at Kore.

Midas is curled up with her in her sleeping bag, the snoring Kubrow is lying on his back, paws flung up and soft little puppy snores coming from his mouth. Judge grins a little.

Kore lifts her head up, her short cropped pink hair messed up in a dozen different directions - her normally flat bangs have lifted off her face to reveal the full almost circle of green-blue Void scars.

Her multi-colored eyes are squinted at him, “Did you even sleep? What time is it?”

“Dunno,” Judge says, turning to look in the direction of the navigation panel and the large windows at the controls. Then he realizes that it wouldn’t help much.

The orbiter is in orbit. Time is measured in shadows and rotations.

“Judge, go to sleep,” Kore yawns, a jaw-cracking thing that makes Judge smile, a little regretful that she even woke up.

Kore’d just gotten back from two back-to-back two hour surveillance drops, and then a four hour patrol of Uranus.

She’d boarded his ship, threw down her sleeping bag, and went immediately into it, zipping the thing all the way up to her chin before Midas started to whine and paw and nudge at her head until she let him in. Valencia had trotted in after a few minutes later, dragging another blanket in her powerful jaws, half tossing it down on the floor next to Kore, sitting on it and turning around in a complex series of motions to tuck herself in.

Judge doesn’t remember when the last time he stood up was.

“I’m close to a break through, Kore,” Judge says, “Do you think I could get into this Corpus auction?”

“You’ve got hair,” Kore groans, “There aren’t any Corpus with hair, Judge. They’re hairless rodents.”

“Shit,” Judge presses his thumb to the corner of his lip, “Wait - what if I wore a helmet?”

“You’re brown,” Kore stresses, “The Corpus are so white that fresh snow looks dirty. And you’re too short. Even the withered husks that are the Corpus rich aren’t as scrawny as Tenno are.”

Judge turns around to tease that at least he’s still taller than her but Kore’s eyes are looking directly at him.

His heart abruptly stutters in his chest.

Kore’s eyes are violet and magenta.

That’s not Kore.

That is not Kore -

It smiles at him, winking. “Something wrong, partner?”

Judge gasps, legs lurching - but collapsing immediately underneath him again as he tries to backpedal away. His legs are useless and numb as the thing that’s pretending to be Kore sits up, sliding out of the sleeping bag - smiling -

His heart pounds in his chest and he feels the build up in his hands and arms and chest before he can even think it -

A blast of magenta void energy bursts out of him. Judge skids back on the floor, back hitting against his mod station and the thing that is Kore raises its arms, yelping as it crashes into the corner of his Orbiter behind the Sentinel charging station.

The thing that has Kore’s face crumples and Judge scrambles to stand.

This is a dream. It must be a dream. Isn’t it a dream?

Kore’s eyes were magenta - Kore’s eyes are yellow-green-pink, just like his are magenta-pink-purple. Kore’s eyes are not the color of his Void energy. Kore’s eyes are the colors of spring, Earth made new.

Judge tries to stand but his legs refuse to work. Is this a dream? Is this the result of staying sitting down for so long, or is this something else -

Loud barking and Judge turns - another blast of energy erupts out of him as he holds his hands up to his face.

The hulking body of dream-Valencia crashes into his foundry, tumbling onto the control panel and view-pane.

Another dark figure in the corner of his vision, Judge turns, hands held up and he hears the whispers of the Void growing louder and louder -

He bites his lip but - but does he feel it? In this moment he can’t tell if he’s biting his lip and the room spins as he tries and fails to stand.

The sound of space, the sound of the Orbiter - the dull drone of machines and electricity fills his ears like cotton.

Midas’ yaps sound so far away.

Judge turns, and the thing that was Kore is gone and there is nothing in the sleeping bag and fear and panic rise in him, building and swelling and undulating and -

“Judge!”

He turns and it is the thing that is Kore and it throws something at his face -

He coughs, surprised as he inhales something that feels hot and warm and he blinks, startled, looking into spring eyes, Kore’s face is pale and blanched and she looks so small without her transference suit, so small and bright against the dark interior of his orbiter.

He breathes in, surprised and starts to cough and wheeze. It burns. It’s hot - and -

“Judge, you’re awake,” Kore’s voice, closer. He wipes at his eyes, shoulders heaving - “Judge, you’re awake. It’s me. It’s me. It’s Kore.”

Judge vomits.

Kore’s hand is on his back, then, the back of his neck, pushing his head down as he struggles to breathe.

Midas sounds closer, now and when Judge’s vision clears he’s sitting back against his mod station, knees drawn up to his chest.

The Kubrow pup immediately runs up to him and squeezes into his arms, yapping confusedly. His grippy little paws snag into Judge’s shirt as the puppy plasters himself to Judge’s chest. Judge’s arms go around the pup automatically and he looks at Valencia who’s watching him, wary and crouched low to the ground.

“Kore,” he wheezes, turning to her. Her eyes are right. Those are the right eyes. “What - ?”

“Red flavor,” Kore says, holding up the empty canister.

“Red?”

“You can’t taste in transference,” Kore says, “Because our frames don’t have mouths. And you can’t taste in regular dreams, either.”

She sets the canister down and goes back to her sleeping bag, picking up Valencia’s blanket and she starts to clean up Judge’s sick.

His ears burn with shame and regret. He moves to help her but she shakes her head.

“I - I’m sorry - I “ Judge tries to find the words.

“You couldn’t tell,” She says, nodding, “I know. It’s gotten worse, hasn’t it?”

Judge says nothing.

“Since Harrow,” She says.

Judge closes his eyes, “Midas please stop licking my face, that isn’t for you.”

The puppy whines as Judge pushes the pup’s face away from his.

“I put water next to you,” Kore says, “While you were out of it.”

Judge reaches down blindly, until he feels the familiar not-quite solidity of a water packet. He opens it eagerly.

“It’s Rell,” Judge says, head hitting back against the mod station behind him. “I keep - I just keep thinking about him, Kore.”

Kore doesn’t say anything but he knows she’s listening.

“What if I turn out like that? Kore - what if I knew him? What if I could have saved him?”

“I’m sure you would have tried,” Kore replies.

Judge startles a little when he feels something large and warm brush against him. He opens his eyes and Valencia’s blunt nose is nudging his leg, golden eyes wary but concerned.

“Sorry,” He says, tentatively holding his hand out to her. Valencia nudges his hand softly, then turns around and curls her massive bulk against his side. He slowly leans against her, palm pressed against her large back, feeling her heat through his skin, and the feeling of her breathing.

“Kore, what if we could have helped Rell? Do you - do you remember him? I should remember him. Why didn’t I help?”

“You might not have been there at that moment,” Kore says, tossing the soiled blanket to the side, sitting across the Orbiter from him. “You can’t help that. It’s over, now. He’s dead. And it’s what’s best. We couldn’t have done anything to change that. We were cruel, Judge. We were cruel on that ship. We were children and we didn’t realize we were becoming something else.”

“Not all of us,” Judge protests.

“No,” Kore concedes, “I knew what I was becoming. But I was cruel, Judge. I was untouchable, you said it yourself.”

“I told you, I didn’t mean it like that - “

“Judge, I have always been looking out for myself and only myself,” Kore cuts in, “I don’t remember Rell. I barely remember you. I know what I should have done. I know what would have been morally right. But I also know that I would have done nothing to help him, or to hurt him. And that is cruelty, too.”

“That’s not true,” Judge protests.

Her eyes soften, minutely, “Judge. The only person I try to do things for is you. No one else.”

This is true, Judge mentally concedes. But it does not make Kore a bad person.

“Judge, you’re awake. You aren’t like Rell. You aren’t responsible for what happened to Rell,” Kore continues.

Judge and Kore sit in silence for a while. Judge trying to piece himself together, Kore waiting.

“Let me see your head,” Judge says. Kore doesn’t move, he beckons at her. “I know I hit you hard. I can see the dent I made in the ship.”

“It’s just a bump, Judge,” Kore says, slowly moving over to him, “I got my shield up in time.”

“In front of you, not behind,” Judge says, “Let me see it, Kore.”

Kore obligingly lets him inspect her head, and the back of her shoulders. Bruises, they’re going to be deep and painful, but he can’t see anything else.

“I’m sorry,” Judge repeats, this time to her.

“It’s fine. I’ve had worse.”

“It really isn’t fine,” Judge replies. “Kore - what - what do you dream of?”

Kore’s eyes are deep and bright. He can feel her trying to see if he wants her to lie or not.

“Ballas,” Kore answers, voice soft, “I dream about Ballas. And flowers.”

Judge closes his eyes and Kore drags her sleeping bag over to him, sticking her legs into it as she leans her head against his shoulder.

Judge’s hand finds hers and he feels the hum of her Void energy against his.

He closes his eyes.

The Void whispers.

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: My Fair Yugo (4/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

A few days have passed since Yuto's job offer and the mystery of Yoko and Lono's familial relation. At one point, Yuto realized that if he and Lulu were to get married, then that would mean Yuya would end up being her cousin-in-law. The Sakaki/Osaku family tree might be getting crazier with every possible thought. Aside from that, life has been going normally for the Yu-Salad and Bracelet Girls.

Today, Yuya and Zuzu were continuing with their training with Frederick, Allie, Tate, Gong, and Sora at the You Show Duel School. They were practicing different special summoning methods, including XYZ Summoning, something Zuzu suggested on the day she, Yuya, and Gong dueled against Julia, Dipper, and Kit respectively. Right now, she and her tomato-haired friend were demonstrating how to Fusion Summon to everyone else.

"Alright everyone!" Yuya exclaimed. "Time to swing this performance my way with Performapal Trump Witch and my newest addition to the show: Performapal Card Gardna! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"

Card Gardna looked like a card with green eyes, a smiling face with oval blushes, white gloves, and white shoes. Its card had a magenta and black checkered pattern on the bottom half, two light yellow rings surrounding a pink circle and a yellow star on the upper half, and a light gold border with 12 light gold studs around it. Yuya used his Scale 4 Trump Witch and Scale 8 Card Gardna to set the Pendulum Scale, enabling him to summon any monsters between Levels 5 and 7.

"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 5 and 7 all at the same time!" Yuya continued. "Swing far, Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready...to SWING INTO AC-"

"RinRin!"

Everyone was surprised to see that Yuya was no longer on the Duel Field, especially Zuzu. Taking his place was none other than his Synchro counterpart Yugo. Why is he unexpectedly taking over? Regardless, the Yu-Salad boys were experiencing another side effect Declan mentioned back at the dance.

"Yugo!" Rin exclaimed after Zuzu let her take over. "What was that for?!"

"Oh, come on, Rin!" Yugo said. "These people have seen Fusion Summoning so many times! How about mixing things up with a Synchro duel?"

Rin asked why he wants to Synchro duel and he stated that all he knows is that the High Council was immediately disbanding after Yuya won the last Friendship Cup. Besides, the last time the banana-banged Duelist dueled was against Yuri. In other words, he's just finding an excuse. At the same time, the spectators thought Yugo was goofing off.

"But Yuya-" Rin started to say.

"Enough with Yuya!" Yugo suddenly yelled. "Ever since the dimensional war, it's all about him! So what if the Duelist from the Synchro dimension won't be able to fulfill his lifelong dream of winning the Friendship Cup?! Look at how amazing the Pendulum Duelist is! Don't worry about losing your Duel Runner to your brainwashed-crazy childhood friend! We should all focus on all the smiles the tomato-haired Duelist brings! Sure, who cares about all the others as long as YUYA IS ****ING HAPPY!"

Tears started to form in his eyes. Despite Yuya having to deal with his father's disappearance and Zarc's growing darkness during the war, Yugo endured much worse events. He grew up in the Commons as an orphan, almost lost his childhood friend at the hands of Leo, had his only Duel Runner destroyed when a Fusion Parasite monster controlled Rin, and he is now fused with his three other counterparts, one of them in which he had a hatred for all because of a simple misunderstanding.

Skip escorted the students back into their classroom to give Yugo and Rin a few minutes to themselves. While the Synchro Duelist snapped about how it's all about Yuya, the Pendulum Duelist felt terribly guilty. He had no idea his counterpart felt this way until just now. He wants to make it up to him, but he doesn't know how.

"Yugo..." Yuya tried to say.

"SHUT UP!" Yugo yelled, slapping midair as if he was trying to hit Yuya.

"Maybe we should give them some space," Yuto advised.

"Agreed," Yuri said. "Perhaps the girls are doing the same thing."

Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri retreated back to their shared mind, with Zuzu, Lulu, and Celina doing the same thing, leaving their Synchro counterparts the only ones left on the Duel Field.

Yugo fell to his knees, sobbing hard. "Why?!" he shouted. "Why do I always get the short end of the stick?! Why does Yuya get everything?!" He angrily punched the ground.

Rin knelt next to Yugo. "Don't feel bad," she said. "I didn't really have an easy time either."

Yugo looked up at Rin, tears staining his cheeks. "R-Really?" he choked up.

"I wasn't really sure what was going on," Rin explained. "The other girls said they believed in someone I never heard of, but if he was going to save us, I figured I had no other choice but to voice my support. But then..." She sniffled a bit.

Yugo knew what Rin meant. Throughout the entire Interdimensional War, she has never met Yuya until after the ARC-V incident started. If she was going to be completely honest, she felt the most hesitant about Yuya trying to save the Bracelet Girls from Leo's clutches, especially when the darkness from Zarc was gradually consuming him.

"I don't really remember what happened," Rin continued. "The next thing I knew, I was fused to those other three girls. The rest is a huge blank."

Yugo mentioned he doesn't remember much either. The huge blank was when all four girls fainted and each disappeared to fuse back into Ray. At the same time, all Yugo remembered was he lost against Yuri and his soul merged with his Fusion counterpart, with the darkness taking hold of him. Then, when the dimensions split back into four, he, Yuri, and Yuto were fused into Yuya; Zarc's reemergence most likely caused his memory to draw a blank.

Back in the shared mind, Yuya still felt bad about his Synchro counterpart. More so, his sudden lash of anger further upset him, especially when he was "slapped" on the face. The Pendulum Duelist placed his hand on his cheek, feeling the nonexistent pain from that "slap". All he wanted to do was help, but he felt like he ended up making things worse. Yuto and Yuri stood not far from Yuya, talking about what they should do for the rest of the day after that heated incident.

"Don't listen to that moron," Yuri told Yuya. "It was your dueling style that erased the darkness from Zarc's heart."

"He's right," Yuto agreed. "My dueling style is more passive-aggressive, so I would have made things worse if I was in your spot."

Yuya looked up at the two counterparts. He thanked them for trying to make him feel better, but he also wondered what they were going to do about this. Yuto said to leave the situation to Rin and let her handle it. He could tell she's got it under control.

At that point, Rin was hugging Yugo as he sobbed. "It's okay," she said, stroking his blueberry-colored hair. "We both underwent a lot of stress during the war. We should embrace each other's comfort."

Yugo nodded as he continued sobbing. Despite everything they went through and their differing personalities, they still have each other and that is what's important for them. As they embraced each other, he was feeling her warmth on his body and it was soothing. This may be the first time he didn't mind her motherly personality; even from the way she was comforting him was like a mother comforting their child. The two spent the next few minutes embracing each other as the Speedroids user calmed down.

Eventually, Rin spoke up. "If you want, we can have a sleepover at Zuzu's place," she suggested, her fingers still caressing Yugo's hair.

"Hmm?" Yugo muttered, still in a slight trance from the comfort.

"We can discuss new dueling strategies and come up with ideas for our new Duel Runner," Rin continued. "It'll be just like old times, just the two of us on the streets of New Domino City."

Yugo looked up, seeing Rin's smiling face. "You mean it?"

"Of course," Rin answered.

Yugo shifted his position to hug Rin in response. "Thanks RinRin," he said, happy to have a friend like her.

Later that night, at the Sakaki house, Yugo was getting ready for the sleepover with Rin; he finished taking off his Turbo Duel suit and began putting on his short-sleeved, teal shirt, white shorts, and a pair of light teal sneakers. No matter what clothes he's wearing, he's always confident about his looks… Maybe a bit too overconfident… Just when he was about to pack a toothbrush, some toothpaste, shampoo, and his deck to bring with him, Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri appeared.

"What's with the bags?" Yuya asked.

"Rin invited me to a sleepover at Zuzu's place," Yugo answered. "Nothing special."

Yuto looked alarm. "A date?" he asked.

"I beg of you, moron. Don't screw this up!" Yuri said.

"And don't get her upset," Yuya said.

"As someone who has proper dating experiences, I would advise you to be yourself," Yuto chimed in. "But that won't work for you. Treat Rin like a beautiful princess."

"So I should act like a stuck-up, one-dimensional prince from one of those old animated fairytales?" Yugo humorously asked. "Got it."

Yuri groaned in frustration as he rubbed his forehead. "At least comb your unruly hair," he said.

Yugo wasted no time as he went in the bathroom and combed his dual-colored hair. Yuri rhetorically questioned why it was even a miracle that he was going out with someone like Rin. Shortly thereafter, he began to teach the Synchro Duelist about etiquette. Since he grew up in a high class environment, it was the perfect time for him teach everything Leo taught him. As the old saying goes, "The student has become the master."

"Is this really important?" Yugo asked as he had to walk across the room while balancing a book on his head. "Me and Rin came from a poor environment."

"Yes, it is important if you want to win her heart," Yuri said. "And the correct phrasing is 'Rin and I'. Get it right!"

Yuto and Yuya watched Yuri's lesson as they waited for their turns to teach Yugo about etiquette. Yuya pointed out that this is one of the easiest lessons in history, but Yuto reminded him that they'll be teaching real lessons once Yuri was done. The Pendulum Duelist looked back at Yugo, who was still balancing the book on his head. He hoped all their advice will pay off for him tonight.

Not long after that, Yuya taught his Synchro counterpart everything he knows about acting and how it should be utilized in dates. He needs to find the right balance of when it's appropriate to act or take things seriously. As for Yuto, he demonstrated his skills on how to properly talk to girls. He used his years of growing up and his first date with Lulu as references to keep Yugo's quick-tempered, loud, and rude behavior in check. Pretty soon, they were finished with giving out their best advice.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Yugo said, combing his hair once more.

"You look great," Yuto said. "Just remember to speak in a calm tone and listen to her."

"But don't forget to keep a good posture!" Yuri emphasized.

"And you have to convince her that this is the real you," Yuya added.

Yugo took a deep breath as he placed his comb on Yuya's nightstand. "Alright," he said. "I got this."

He gathered his bags and headed downstairs to meet up with Rin. He is really looking forward to the sleepover, but at the same time, he will be darned if she finds out that the boys mistakenly prepared him for a date. For now, he gathered his courage to use the tips and tricks he learned for tonight. He was about to say "What's the worst that could happen," but decided not to because let's face it: literally anyone who says it ends up with some kind if worst-case scenario. It's a known fact.

Meanwhile, at Zuzu's house, Rin had already gotten changed into her pink top and yellow shorts, which were usually her pajamas. Zuzu asked what else she and Yugo were going to do aside from discussing deck strategies and ideas for their new Duel Runner. The green-haired girl replied that they can always watch a movie or two, play Duel Monsters, and plan for any more future tournaments besides the Friendship Cup since it was still dubious that it'll continue next year. The Synchro duo were determined about becoming professional Turbo Duelists. Celina and Lulu couldn't help but chime in at Rin and Zuzu's conversation.

"Don't you have other plans for the future?" Lulu asked, suggesting something else.

"Like what?" Rin asked.

"Maybe forming a connection?" Lulu continued, smiling wide.

"Like a dueling connection?" Rin guessed. "I'm not sure Yugo would feel alright with tag teams..."

Celina let out a groan. "I wish she was talking about a dueling connection," she said. "Lulu was talking about you and Yugo getting married."

"Oh, that?" Rin asked. "We already did that."

Celina, Lulu, and Zuzu were shocked by this revelation. When did this happen? Have they reached a decision yet or did they already decide? They asked Rin what their plans were at the moment.

"What plans?" Rin asked. "Me and Yugo got married when we were little kids. The Headmistress even helped with the ceremony. It wasn't really special."

Wait, what?! Marriage at a young age?! How is that even possible?! This further threw the three girls for a loop. …That is until they quickly realized most kids pretend to get married. Looks like they may have to explain to their Synchro companion what marriage actually is.

"Uh... Rin?" Zuzu began. "Do you know what marriage is?"

"Of course," Rin answered. "It's a friendship promise between two close friends, which perfectly describes how I feel about Yugo."

"My mother and father are making wedding plans for Yuto and me," Lulu clarified. "Do you think we're close friends?"

Rin initially was about to say "Yes," but she remembered that Lulu and Yuto were dating. She soon processed this and was staggered by this. Romance was involved in marriage? But she and Yugo aren't even dating; they are each other's best friends and practically have a mother-son relationship. She might need a minute or two to let this sink in.

"Ew!" Rin exclaimed as she heard the doorbell ring, prompting her to leave Zuzu's room and answer the front door. "I don't feel that way about Yugo! He's a great friend, but he's loud, rude, and easily angered! Why would I even fall for someone like-"

When she opened the front door, however, she saw Yugo at the front door, only slightly different. She noticed he looked a lot cleaner with neater hair and a better posture. Pink blush faintly appeared on her cheeks.

"Hello Lady Rin," Yugo said, speaking in a calmer tone. He paused to gently hold Rin's hand and kiss the back of it. "What a delight to see you this evening."

"Y-Yugo?!" Rin asked, unknown why he was making her feel like this.

"Don't worry," Yugo said as he entered the house. "This is the real me, the one I hide from the public."

Her blush grew a bit more visible as she let Yugo into the house. At the same time, there was something about him that seemed a bit off. All her life, she knew he was never a proper person until just now; she decided to keep an eye on him…without having this weird feeling interfering. What even is this? I hope this isn't love I'm experiencing, she thought.

The Synchro duo headed upstairs to Zuzu's bedroom, where Rin said they will be hanging out for most of the night. She told Yugo that he can put his bags not far from the bed and she'll set a mattress up with a blanket and a pillow for him in a few hours; if not, he can always sleep on the couch.

Yugo lightly chuckled. "I don't think a couch is necessary," he said, carefully placing his hand on Rin's hip. "If anything, we can go back to our usual sleeping methods."

Rin quickly stepped back and cleared her throat. "So...how about discussing design ideas for our new Duel Runner? I have a couple of plans to make it battle-proof."

Yugo said he would love to discuss their new Duel Runner's design, giving Rin a quick kiss on her cheek in the process. At this point, she is slowly becoming more convinced that this isn't the Yugo she knows. Lulu, however, had more of an opposite reaction, commenting on how much he improved on his behavior and is acting more gentlemanly. That's just it; Rin is completely unsure of whether or not she likes the new Yugo, despite the blush giving out a clear indication.

The two then began on what designs they should use. Although each one provides different statistics in terms of speed, traction, durability, and so on, they all have one thing in common: battle-proofing the Duel Runner.

"I was thinking about adding special shockproof shields near the handles," Rin said, her blueprints laid out on the floor. "I know they're expensive, but I was hoping Lulu could help provide them for us. And... Are you even listening to me?!"

Yugo, who had wrapped his arms around Rin's body from behind and pulled her in close, was clearly not paying attention. "I hear you, Lady Rin," he said. "Your idea is amazing."

Usually, someone would tell the other that they need personal space, but that's not the case for Rin and Yugo. Since they grew up together, they don't have personal space. Heck, they're even fine with a girl and a boy sleeping together in the same bed…platonically, of course. Yugo is not the affectionate kind of person. Correction: Yugo wasn't the affectionate kind of person. Rin doesn't mind hugs from him, but this is taking it on a whole new level. …And the blush isn't making the the situation better or worse, despite how pinker it keeps getting.

Ultimately Rin got fed up. "Enough already!" she exclaimed, pushing Yugo back. "What's with you?!"

"What do you mean?" Yugo asked, remaining calm. "This is the real me."

"No it's not!" Rin insisted. "I appreciate that you finally cleaned up, but your behavior isn't right! Where's the big-mouthed moron I made the friendship promise to?!"

Within Yuya's shared mind, Yuri heard that. "Is that why he doesn't react when I call him by that name?" he wondered aloud.

Yugo pondered at what Rin was talking about and—gradually returning to his old self while still keeping a bit of a calm demeanor—let out a sigh. Looks like it was time for him to come clean about his behavior.

Yugo let out a small laugh. "Sorry about that," he said, relaxing his body. "The guys thought this was a date, so they gave me this weird advice on how to act."

"That's more like it," Rin said. "But I like your cleaner look more."

"Really?" Yugo asked.

"You smelled worse than Yuto," Rin explained. "And you look a lot nicer with neater hair."

Yugo blushed heavily. "RinRin..." he breathed out.

"Don't get carried away," Rin said. "We still need to improve our initial Duel Runner designs."

The two continued working on improving their new Duel Runner and eventually settled on a design that is battle-proof and has some useful stats. They agreed to work on building once the separation is successful. Until then, they practiced their dueling skills, trying out different strategies to what works and what doesn't. As usual, Yugo is still persistent and claims he will never give up whenever he's backed into a corner.

Rin let out a heartfelt sigh. "You still don't give up," she remarked.

"'Course I won't," Yugo replied. "That's one move I'll never make."

"Then I guess I'll have to keep up," Rin said as she played a rather interesting-looking card.

It was Polymerization. She hadn't used a Fusion card since her previous duel with Yugo when she was brainwashed by the Doktor. How is it in her deck? Rin didn't mind it because she has no ill will towards Fusion, even when Yuri kidnapped her. The only question is how Yugo will react to this. There's only one way to find out.

"I'll combine Winter Bell with the Ice Bell in my hand to Fusion Summon Crystal Bell," Rin explained as she did so with her cards.

Yugo was shocked that Rin still had Crystal Bell. He started flashbacking back when she first used that monster and how it decimated him in that duel and destroyed their first Duel Runner. Rin noticed there was something wrong with him and asked him to see if he was okay.

"Why do you still have that card?!" Yugo asked, still hyperventilating. "You should have ripped it up by now!"

"Calm down, you moron," Rin said. "The card actually has nice stats, so I decided to incorporate it into my dueling as a secret weapon. Zuzu and Celina have even gave me some advice on how to properly Fusion Summon, with Zuzu giving me this vintage Polymerization card as a starting point."

Yugo had slightly calmed down at this point, but he was still concerned. "But what about-"

"Lulu ripped up Independent Nightingale as soon she could," Rin explained. "Even though the rest of us are using Fusion, she's still traumatized."

Yugo let out a sigh of relief. He is glad to know not all the Bracelet Girls are using Fusion in their decks. Can you blame Lulu? Ever since the Invasion, she developed resentment for this special summoning technique, and her getting abducted and brainwashed didn't help at all. Now having calmed down, Yugo and Rin continued with their practice duel.

Later that night, the two were watching a movie in the living room. They were left speechless at the amount of movies Zuzu and Skip owned, but they both settled on watching Beauty and the Beast; right now, they're at the scene where Belle and the Beast were dancing. Rin always loved reading that fairytale as a kid, so seeing its movie adaptation was enjoyable for her.

Without warning, Yugo held Rin's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Yugo...?" Rin asked softly.

The green-haired girl stared experiencing the same weird feeling from earlier, only this time, it felt more comfortable. The blush returned and became a visible light pink on her cheeks as she looked at Yugo. His typical personality seemed to have coincide with his cleaner appearance, as if she was seeing him in a different light. For the first time, she thought that he looked cute.

Without thinking, Rin leaned in and gave Yugo a quick kiss on the cheek, causing Yugo to blush heavily. "RinRin..."

He realized that Rin had been cute all along and never batted an eye on it until now. Her short, apple green hair and orange eyes helped display her cuteness; he even liked the way her nose scrunches up whenever she gets angry. He softly smiled and laid his head on her shoulders, slightly surprising her. She looked at Yugo resting on her and couldn't help but smile back. She turned her head back at the TV screen as the movie played.

Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri were astounded at how everything turned out. Even though it may not have been a date, their advice have paid off in the end.

"We should have just let Yugo be himself," Yuto pointed out. "He seems to have things working out."

"Only because I told that moron to clean his appearance," Yuri informed. "There's no way he could have won over RinRin looking like a slob."

Yuya was taken back by what Yuri said. "Come again?"

"Yuri's right," Yuto said. "Now we're finally dating Rin."

Yuya and Yuri were nonplussed at what Yuto just said. He quickly corrected himself and said he meant to say "he's" instead of "we're". They both knew what he meant to say, but they were more concerned about what he said. Based on the worried looks on their faces, they soon caught on as to what may be happening to them. It looks like the mind merge may be occurring quicker than they initially thought.

"Guys..." Yuya said. "We need to speak to Leo as soon as possible."

[elizabethnightingale4]

What Happened, After

She looked at him and he shared the look, a calculating look. Slowly she from the back of her ratty jeans she pulled a small pistol and held it by the barrel. "Okay." He looked at her confused for a moment before taking his other hand out from behind his back, holding the gun by the barrel and offering his hand. "Thanks." She shook his hand firmly and quickly. "Alright we have to find somewhere safe for the night. Also, there are three other children, I uh, have to grab them really quick-" "Wait, you have kids with you too?" He looked suprised, "I have two siblings with me too." She smiled slightly. "Alright then lets get these kids together now." She smiled. "Have them play for a bit." He grinned. "Sounds great." "Heh" She put her gun and her crude dagger away. "Alright," She turned to go back to the car they had locked themselves in. He watched her go before heading back to his siblings who looked scared. "Hey you two. We have some friends tonight, and some real food." His half starved siblings looked up at him with wide eyes. "Do you mean it?" His sister was holding her twins hand tight. Their tiny bodies were slowly wasting away from his inability to find food in the apocalypse. It was killing him. "Yes silly head. Of course I mean it. Lets go before they decide to leave us." "Are there little kids bubba?" "Yeah bro, and they want to play with you two, so lets go!" He finally got the two of them moving down the road. Cora wasn't sure about these people. The boy looked like he hadn't eaten in a long while, and hunger could make even the most loyal betray their friends. She sighed and knocked the SOS signal to her siblings. Her sister was obsessed with maritime disasters and had insisted they use it. "Hey you three, its safe now. We have some dinner company." "W-wh-what do you mean Sissy?" Kenny looked at her sister, her eyes wide. "Stop st-t-tuttering loud mouth." Meg was always upset with Kenny. "Don't fight. We have to be prepared for anything." "Yeah listen Meg. We have to be on our best behavior." "You're right Davey." She smiled at her brother and patted his head gently. "Alright guys, UP AND AT THEM!" She fake yelled, striking a pose. All three of her siblings rolled their eyes. The three filed out of the car. her brother toof her hand and the other two held hands walking next to her. "Sissy! There are little kids! A boy AND a girl!" Kenny was so excited she clapped her hands together. "Welcome back." He grinned. "Looks like have a mini army on your hands." She chuckled quietly; "Yeah, if they threw fits it'd be hard to handle." she sighed, "theres a town a few miles down the tracks." She points to a rusted railroad track. "We saw a sign a while back for it. I worried poachers might be residing there though because of all the graffiti and nooses on the trees." She trailed off, "but uh, I think its our best shot though. Its getting late and repers come out at night." "Yeah, okay, sounds like a plan. Lead the way General." He grinned again, gesturing for her to lead the way. "Why do I have to lead?" He shrugged, "Well, you seem the best prepared to lead." She glanced at him. "Are you calling me bossy?" He just laughed, "Careful Sugar, you might ruin that pretty face with all those wrinkles." "Already flirting huh?" She started moving ahead. "Heh, it got you to lead didn't it?" She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him a smile barely staying off her face. "You sneaky fucker." He just laughed. "To answer your question though, I wasn't flirting. I'm not really into magenta heads." She laughed now, starting to walk again. "Yeah, when ever we find a hair place I take a new color. Wait for the new one to fade then change it." "What for?" She just shrugged, "Just something I did before the End, and I can't find my regular color any more." He picked up his sister and put her on his shoulders. "What was your 'regular' color?" "I've forgotten what the word for it was but it was like.. Okay it was like a dark purple that faded into a pink at the ends-" "Ombre" "Thats it!" She shifted her giant backpack and moved her duffle bag to her back. "How'd you know that?" "Oh, my girlfriend did that too, just with red and black." "Heh, yeah it was pretty popular before the End." She watched her sisters balance on the rails next to her. "Remember to watch out for traps you two." They replied together, "Yes sissy." "You know its been years since we met someone who wasn't insane." The girl grinned. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. We are all mad here. Some of us just hide it better than others." He was quiet, "Damn you were a nerd weren't you?" She snorted, "Didn't you see my shirt?" Shrek is Love-" "Shrek is Life. Someone had a tumblr." "Yeah I did." The children were walking a little further up the tracks, even though no trains had run since the power had shut off, it was never safe to wander too far from one another. She called them back over. "Who was your favorite band?" She laughed a the question, "Well?" "Sorry it's just weird being asked such normal questions after so long. It was probably the Beatles or maybe the Barenaked Ladies. Although I do carry a fondness for any sort of musical." "Oh?" "Yeah, I wanted to be a stage performer before the End." She shrugged, "musical theater and band were my beat yo." "Oh god never say that again." "What you got a problem man?" "Dude don't talk like you're from the sixties either." "Damn son, there is no pleasing you." She grinned "Damn straight." She laughed and took out a water bottle and drank from it. "You know, winter is hot on our heels. My siblings and I are headed down south to stay away from the cold." "Florida's supposed to be like super dangerous." "I was thinking of going to Louisiana. They still have some sort of state there, everyones cool and chillax." He was silent for a while and they walked on in silence for a few yards. "I thought you'd be smarter than to believe in fairy tales." "You have to believe in something otherwise you lose hope an hope is like super important... man." "Pffftt" he looked down and sighed, "Hope is an illusion. We created it to get away from the bad shit in the world." "Wow thats depressing... yo." "Quit it." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "So uh, can I carry one of your bags or something? I feel bad letting you do all the work." She snickered "And who said chivalry was dead?" "Uh some guy?" She smiled, "Oh gods bro, you can barely hold you siblings, let alone a bag full of shit." "Yeah sorry, I was just trying to help." "Yeah I know." The two passed the next hour in silence listening to the children laughing and running around. A roar was heard over head as a Canadian plane dropped supplies to an unknown group of people who would soon be dead now. Cora whistled and her siblings came running back to her followed by Ashton. "To the trees. Now. No talking, no rough housing, and be very careful." They nodded and followed her over to the wooded area next to the tracks. "Hey what are you doing?" His siblings followed the other children into the woods. "Get off the tracks before you get us all killed." An echo sounded from a not too far away yell."We're gonna eat great tonight."The boy stumbled and Cora yanked him into their spot as from around the far bend came a large crowd of poachers, hooping and hollering. "Yo, Grait!" A scout picked up the water bottle Cora had dropped and handed it over, "It was still spilling out." The one who took the bottle looked to the woods. "Shit" She whispered pulling the kids behind her and hiding them behind a rocky outcropping, dropping the bags beside them. She took out her dagger as the man with dried blood across his face shouted, "Shut up! We aren't alone." The whole group fell silent and Cora looked at her new friend and gestured for him to watch the kids as she moved closer again, watching them through the dense brush. "WHos there? Come out. We won't bite, hard." He grinned, the rotting flesh sewn into his cloths caught her nose and she gagged, covering her nose with her hand, trying to keep from making noise. "Aw are you a she?" Cora quietly tried to size the group up. There were almost thirty grown men, a handful of younger guys and one female. Her neck had a chain attached to a lease, one of the men held it. "Oh we won't hurt you if your of the fairer sex. Come on out." The silence that followed was only broken by a few bird calls. "Go in after her." He ordered, lighting a cigerette and looking away. A few of the men walked into the woods as Cora scaled a spruce tree to keep hidden. "Grait, I think shes long gone. Theres nothing but birds out here." Everyone groaned and made general angry remarks. Such as "This ones getting worn out and refuses to eat." and "we wasted all that time." The party slowly made its way down the tracks and out of sight. Cora waited about ten more minutes to move back down from her tree. "I'm glad there weren't many girls." He looked shaken "She didn't. She didn't have any teeth." He looked horrified as Cora went over and patted the kids heads and grabbed the bags, "Yes. She must have put up quite a fight to be in such a tortured state." "You say that like its nothing!" "I've seen worse-Whats your name?" They looked at each other for a moment. In the past few hours they had talked about a lot of different topics but they never asked each other their names. "It's, it's Steven, I'm 16." She smiled, "I'm Cora, I'm 16 too. Its good to meet you. She walked to the tracks. "We have to keep going and get to the town. "How did you know they were coming before they made noise?" "You haven't been near the north in a long time have you?" "No?" "The Canadians think that they're helping or at least I hope they do, but the air buckets bring little kids and the weak. It makes for easy pickings for the poachers." She sighed going forward on the tracks "And poachers rarely keep others around for long." "Are you saying-" "Animals are too fast for them to catch, the dependents of animals however, such as long pig." She had this look of hate and pain filling her face. "I had another sister once. She was eight when they caught her and I had to choose between abandoning my other siblings, giving away their hiding spot, or letting her die alone. The last bullet I had stopped her from experiencing what the chained woman felt." They were both silent for a while. "I love my siblings more than life." She trailed off again, continuing to walk. "I just.. I keep my eyes and ears open. I watch and remember everything I can. The tracks are a path probably right to the drop off. We knew there were poachers in the area. even if they hadn't come its safer to hide for a while after an air drop." he was quiet for a while. "I wish I'd been able to be a kid for longer." The girl nodded in agreement. "I don't think she'd blame.." He trailed off again and took a bag, patting her back. "Lets go find somewhere to rest for the night?" She smiled, "Thanks, yeah lets find somewhere."

[ashleyjacksonblog]

8 Couples’ Halloween Costume Ideas From The ’90s That’ll Give You All The Nostalgia

Oh, the ’90s. What a time to grow up. I can’t be the only one who still has boxes of stuff from this era lingering in the attic. Whether your toy of choice was a Furby or one those Neopets that were fun until they died because you kept forgetting to feed them, the ’90s are the perfect time for you to reminisce on if you’re still searching for the perfect Halloween costume idea. If you and your boo are looking for the perfect ’90s couples costumes, then we’ve got you so covered.

However, be warned: All of these costumes may result in some serious nostalgia. But before you start calling your mom begging her to ship you a care package full of those thick, ruffly scrunchies, take a breath. Although the ’90s may have been super amazing, you most definitely would not be sitting here right now combing the web for costume ideas because the internet was still super weird and way less fun. Plus, it took forever to log onto AOL. Remember that crazy sound that the computer used to make while it was connecting?

But luckily, Halloween is the perfect occasion to get your throwback on, so there’s no need to get too down daydreaming about sippin’ Capri Suns in your Heyday.

1. Reggie And Otto From Rocket Power

Nickelodeon

Few ’90s kid shows will reach the glory of Rocket Power. At the time, it felt like there was nothing cooler than watching this group of awesome kids getting into all kinds of shenanigans. Now that I think about it, this show was also pretty diverse for its time. so kudos to Nickelodeon for that one.

If you decide to show up at this year’s Halloween festivities dressed as brother and sister pair Otto and Reggie, then be prepared because you’re gonna be dishing out some serious nostalgic realness. Naturally, whoever decides to go as Reggie is gonna need a medium-length purple wig. All she needs now is a magenta/pink shirt — brownie points if you have the time to cut out a yellow rocket design to glue on the shirt — red sunglasses, and army printed cargo pants. Otto is definitely gonna need some kind of gingery wig, sunglasses, green headband, yellow shirt, and athletic shorts. If you’re feeling ambitious, then by all means, feel free to grab your skates and spend the evening rolling from venue to venue.

2. Tommy And Angelica From Rugrats

Nickelodeon/Klasky Csupo

Rugrats was the bomb. The best part of this costume idea is that it is hilarious and pretty easy to throw together for all of my procrastinators out there who like to wait ’til the week of to start figuring their lives out.

All Tommy needs is an adult diaper and baby blue crop top. Can’t find a crop top? No worries. You can also just buy a normal light blue shirt and cut it to give it that authentic baby look. Angelica could most definitely use a blond wig — although it’s not totally necessary if you’re in a pinch. Throw on an orange sweater and purple dress over it, and you’re good to go. Just don’t forget the matching purple hair bows for Angelica’s pigtails and baby bottles, which can conveniently be used to hold some of your alcoholic refreshments for the evening. You can thank us later.

3. Corey And Topanga From Boy Meets World

American Broadcasting Company

Who could forget the adorable young lovebirds Corey and Topanga from the ’90s sitcom Boy Meets World? This is another great throwback-inspired costume that requires pretty minimal planning.

First things first, Topanga needs a denim vest if you’re going for the classic girl next door look — although if you want to get creative and spend some time browsing her other looks, then don’t let us stop you. She’s also gonna need a white shirt and a skirt; might I suggest corduroy? Now you have a perfect excuse to head on down to your local thrift store. If the Corey to your Topanga doesn’t have naturally curly hair, then you should probably opt for a dark curly wig; it may give the costume more of a goofy vibe, but it will definitely help with recognizability factor. As far as clothes go, Corey has a ton of artistic freedom. A denim button-down, argyle sweater, or just about anything else will work as long as it’s a bit oversized.

4. The Olsen Twins Then Or Now

Gerald Wu Productions

Nothing screams the ’90s quite like the Olsen twins. For better or worse, we watched them grow up right before our eyes. There are a ton of different routes you can go when trying to emulate these cuties. The easiest way is to invest in two identical blonde wigs to communicate the whole twin vibe. Next, you’re going to need two matching dresses and accessories. If you’re going for a more current Olsen twin look, then keep the wigs, add some oversized black sunglasses and all black clothes, and you’re good to go.

5. Beanie Babies

 WBIR10 News

Who doesn’t remember the bizarre ’90s kind-of-sort-of toy, Beanie Babies? The secret to pulling this costume off is one thing, and one thing only: that infamous “ty” tag that made millions of children’s hearts beat a little faster. Grab some construction paper or poster board, and get to work. Don’t forget to fill in the tag with your beanie name and information about yourself.

6. Wayne And Garth From Wayne’s World

NBC Films

Ah, Wayne’s World — a cult classic. Reminiscing about this goofy duo is just the thing to get all the ’90s kids dreaming of a time when VHS tapes were a life source and Nintendo was your favorite pastime.

If you and your partner would like to pay homage to this super silly film, then I’ve got some really good news for you: This couples costume is available already assembled with all of the necessary costume components. That means you have absolutely zero excuses to not have your life together come October 31. If you’re feeling like putting in the extra effort, then Garth is going to need a grungy white band tee, blue flannel, blonde wig, and large framed glasses. Wayne needs a Wayne’s World hat and black tee — and voila.

7. Your Two Favorite Chipmunks From Alvin And The Chipmunks

NBC

Sometimes, cartoon animals are too cute. Like, straight up, if you look at them too long, you will definitely get weirded out by how adorable and symmetrical they are. Alvin and The Chipmunks were definitely too cute for their own good. That’s why deciding to dress up as two of these little guys is a fantastic idea, and if you’re a couple who loves the spotlight, here’s your excuse to break out into spontaneous song and dance.

All you’re gonna need is an oversized turtleneck sweater to match the color of your chosen Chipmunk — make sure if one of you decides to be Alvin that you spray paint a yellow “A” onto your sweater — and a red hat for Alvin and/or glasses for Simon.

8. Kim And Ron From Kim Possible

Disney Channel

I can’t be the only person who thought that the theme song to Kim Possible was actually a catchy pop song that I wish was a full four minutes. A ’90s inspired Halloween roundup just wouldn’t be complete without these two. Although the show technically didn’t come out until the early 2000’s, I was still all about it.

If either you or your partner is a red head, then it’s settled; they’re playing Kim. For the rest of you ginger-less couples, guess what? There’s a wig for that. Kim is also going to need a black cropped turtleneck sweater and cargo joggers. Ron is also going to need a black turtleneck with matching black gloves and cargo pants.

Check out the entire Gen Why series and other videos on Facebook and the Bustle app across Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.

Subscribe to Elite Daily’s official newsletter, The Edge, for more stories you don’t want to miss.

8 Couples’ Halloween Costume Ideas From The ’90s That’ll Give You All The Nostalgia

from Meet Positives http://ift.tt/2hLQ0x3 via IFTTT