#always get so nervous when i open these waah

[littledoepeach]

[archiveikemen]

Abe no Yasuchika Main Story — Chapter 01

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(Gather demonic powers and break the deal with Tamamo... then I'll definitely open my own clinic!)

Keeping my dreams of leading an ordinary, blissful life close to my heart, I gathered my resolve and looked forward to the days ahead.

Yuno: Please take good care of me, everyone!

But the future awaiting me was about to take a more drastic turn than I expected.

All because of one person.

— The next day.

Morinaga: Did you sleep well last night, Yuno?

Yuno: Yes! Thank you.

We were summoned to the hall, where Tamamo and I met with Yoritomo and the others.

Tamamo: I’d like to request for my bed to be fluffier.

Kagetoki: My apologies, I wasn’t thoughtful enough to realise that you need to be in a similar environment as the forest in order to feel at home.

Kagetoki: I’ll arrange for the leaves to be brought in by the end of the day.

Tamamo’s tail, which he had hidden with some magic, appeared and started wagging unhappily.

Tamamo: You have some nerve to treat me, a nine-tailed fox, like some wild beast. You sinister four-eyed bastard.

Shigehira: … Hey, your tail is hitting me.

Tamamo: Is it?

Shigehira: D-Don’t bother me… s-stop… fluffy…

Yoritomo: Your image, Shigehira.

(He couldn't hide his happy face!)

Yuno: We’ve only just met last night, but Tamamo already gets along so well with everyone…

(Unlike myself, who’s still feeling nervous.)

Morinaga: Yuno, you seem like an earnest person.

Yasuchika: I know right—

Everyone: !?

(What.)

Tamamo: Evil creature, be gone!

Before I knew it, Yasuchika was seated at the end of the table, and Tamamo shot a blue flame his way.

Yasuchika: Waah!

With a wave of Yasuchika’s hand, the flames were extinguished as if they were blocked by an invisible wall.

(W-What on earth was that!? How did Yasuchika…?)

Yasuchika: I can't contain my excitement at the foxfire I haven't seen in a long time. Here I come!

Tamamo: Get lost, weirdo.

Yasuchika: We meet again! Yuno and everyone.

Tamamo: Listen up. Forget it, screw off.

(Amazing, he successfully got Tamamo to back off!?)

Yoritomo: Yasuchika, didn’t you go back to Kyoto?

Yasuchika: Well, I was supposed to.

Yasuchika: I received an urgent job offer yesterday.

Yasuchika: There’s this court noble who has another mansion in Kamakura, and many strange things have been happening there. So they wanted to consult the prodigious Onmyoji…

Yasuchika deliberately spread out his hands as he lamented.

Yasuchika: I would've loved to go home as early as possible, but this is what I get for serving the imperial court.

Yasuchika: Even if I was reluctant to get rid of my favourite ayakashi… I had no choice but to accept the request because that's my job!

Shigehira: How can someone who works at the imperial palace have that kind of mindset…?

Yasuchika: I love my job! My workplace is always filled with smiling faces.

Shigehira: H-Huh.

(Not only Tamamo, this guy also shut down Shigehira…)

Morinaga: Hmm. I understand your situation, but why did you come all the way to the castle?

Yasuchika: Right. I’m here to… extend my invitation to someone.

(An invitation?)

Yasuchika stood up and sat back down in front of me.

(What? … Erm.)

My breath caught in my throat when he pulled my hand to bring me closer to him, and I noticed how well-sculpted his face was.

Yasuchika: Yuno, do you want to become an Onmyoji’s assistant?

Yuno: What?

Yuno: Sorry, I’m not sure if I understand what's going on right now—

Yasuchika: You just need to make use of the powers Tamamo gave you, to defeat all the ayakashis.

Yasuchika: I get to see your powers up close, and at the same time you can accumulate the amount of demonic powers you need. It's a win-win!

Yasuchika: Not a bad deal, right?

Yuno: I- I see.

Tamamo: I strongly object. Yuno, say no to him. Let’s set his bangs on fire and burn them.

Yuno: Erm… can we spare his bangs?

Yoritomo: Yuno. As Tamamo said, you have the right to refuse Yasuchika’s offer.

(It definitely took me by surprise, but…)

(Thinking about it, wouldn't it be beneficial for me to get used to using my fox powers?)

(I accidentally used my powers last night when I lost control of myself, but I’m not confident that I can do the same on the battlefield…)

Yuno: Tamamo and Lord Yoritomo, I appreciate your concern.

Yuno: However, I wish to accept his offer as I find this to be a valuable opportunity for myself!

Shigehira & Morinaga: …!

Everyone stared at me in shock.

Yuno: I’m sorry if I’m being a hindrance in your time of need.

Shigehira: … You have a very strange way of thinking.

Morinaga: I’m sure Yuno will be alright. … Let me know if anything happens and you need rescuing, okay?

Kagetoki: Take a flintlock with you just in case.

Yasuchika: I’d appreciate it if Morinaga refrains from stressing me out with that creepy smile and Kagetoki would stop trying to burn my bangs.

Tamamo: You brought this upon yourself.

Yasuchika: That's harsh.

Tamamo shot an icy glare at Yasuchika who was still smiling gleefully.

Yasuchika: Ah, I almost forgot. I have a favour to ask of Lord Yoritomo.

Yoritomo: I don't want to hear it.

Yasuchika: Don’t be like that!

Yoritomo: Speak.

Yasuchika: I’d like to stay here in your castle while Yuno goes around getting rid of ayakashis.

Yasuchika: It’s easier to hold meetings if I’m nearby, right?

Yoritomo: I sure hope you’re not planning to do that because you want to hunt Tamamo down or something else.

Yasuchika: Of course not! I only want Yuno.

(The way he phrased that…!)

Yuno: That sounded very misleading…

Yasuchika: Should I have said that I’m fond of you?

(Why did you come up with something even worse…?)

— In the end, despite Tamamo’s protests, Yasuchika was granted permission to stay at the castle.

Yasuchika: Please be good to me from now on, Fox Princess.

Yuno: I- I hope you’ll go easy on me?

(I don't know what will happen if I just let him have his fun.)

Yasuchika: And off we go! Let's exorcise some ayakashi!

Yuno: Wait, right now!?

(Whoa.)

Yasuchika took one of my hands and pulled me up.

He supported my waist as I stumbled and dragged me towards the door.

Yasuchika: The quicker we are, the better.

Shigehira: … He’s not going easy on her at all.

Morinaga: Master Yasuchika never listens to anyone.

Kagetoki: He’ll only listen when it's convenient for him.

(What is this! What's with their level of trust in Yasuchika!?)

…

Therefore, even though I wasn't mentally prepared, I was brought to the mansion where strange things had apparently been happening.

(I heard that our client is Lord Sanemitsu. He comes from one of the most prestigious noble families.)

(Don’t be nervous, Yuno…)

Sanemitsu: Yes, it's really bothering me…

Sanemitsu, seemingly in his mid-thirties, looked completely exasperated and had his head buried in his hands.

Sanemitsu: You have no idea how much work I have—

Yasuchika: Oh, I don't need to know about that.

Sanemitsu: Huh?

Yasuchika: Please tell us as many details as possible about the strange happenings. I’m looking forward to it!

(Yasuchika!)

Yasuchika’s aloof and possibly rude attitude left Sanemitsu visibly confused.

Sanemitsu: Um…

He looked at me with a questioning gaze.

(I bet he wants to ask “is that Onmyoji okay?”.)

Yuno: … This Onmyoji is very passionate about his work!

Yuno: I admire his attitude of wanting to solve problems as soon as possible.

Sanemitsu: I- I see.

(Thank goodness! That was a little bit of an exaggeration, but at least he’s convinced…)

Yasuchika nodded his head, seemingly aware of why I was panicking.

Sanemitsu: The strange happenings started some time back.

Sanemitsu: Shadows appearing on the sliding doors, pillars making creaking noises, candle flames going out on their own… the servants got creeped out and ran away!

Yasuchika: Didn’t you just get married, Lord Sanemitsu?

Sanemitsu: Yes, I did. And yet there’s all this mess…

Sanemitsu: The other night, I was sharing a pillow with my wife.

Sanemitsu: A distorted image of a woman’s face emerged from the darkness, and just as my wife was about to scream, she was strangled…

Yasuchika: Ohoho.

(I never thought that anyone could be this happy hearing about such strange things…)

Sanemitsu: My wife and I tried to run away, but we fainted because we were so terrified.

Sanemitsu: When we woke up, there was no sight of that woman… but we immediately moved to another mansion.

(So they managed to escape. I personally wouldn't have survived that.)

Yasuchika: Do you remember that woman’s face?

Sanemitsu: No… I was too agitated to remember.

Yasuchika: Heh.

Sanemitsu flinched and looked away from Yasuchika.

Yasuchika: Understood! As of now, I haven’t noticed any big ayakashis in the mansion…

Sanemitsu: … So it was a small one?

Yasuchika: Do you wish to know?

Yasuchika suddenly turned his gaze toward the dark end of the hallway.

As soon as I looked in the same direction, I saw a small black shadow run across the floor.

(... I must be seeing things. Perhaps it was just a rat! I’m sure it is.)

Sanemitsu: Haha you sure like to joke around, Master Yasuchika.

Sanemitsu: Anyway, I want it dealt with as soon as possible. I beg of you.

Yasuchika: Rest assured. Yuno and I will stay here and investigate at night!

Yasuchika: Right? Yuno.

Yuno: R-Right.

(... Yasuchika said that he'll have someone to inform the castle so it’s alright for me to stay.)

Yuno: I don’t think that’s the main problem here.

Yasuchika: Did you say something? Yuno.

While we were waiting for the ayakashi to appear, it was already late at night.

Yuno: No, it was nothing. I’m just talking to myself to stay awake.

Yasuchika: Can I sleep if I’m feeling sleepy?

Yuno: That’s not what I meant. Yasuchika, you—

Yuno: No no, I’m scared of what might happen to me if I get left alone here, so can you stay awake?

Yasuchika: Waah Yuno won’t let me sleep~

Yuno: Don’t twist my words!

(This is supposed to be a terrifying situation, but with Yasuchika, I don’t feel too nervous…)

Yasuchika: Jokes aside.

Yasuchika: I don’t want to stay here for too long, so let's recreate the scenario.

Yuno: Recreate?

After fumbling around the long cuffs of his sleeves for a while, Yasuchika pulled out two paper cut-outs shaped like human beings.

Yasuchika: Using these hitogata… like this.

Yasuchika picked up a brush from the writing desk and scribbled a few characters on each of the hitogata.

(Are those names?)

Yuno: One of them has Lord Sanemitsu’s name written on it.

Yasuchika: Yup. The other one has his wife’s name. Here, hold this for me?

Yuno: Huh? Okay.

Yasuchika took my hands while holding the hitogata and wrapped my hands around it properly.

Then he gently blew the hitogata and chanted.

Yasuchika: — Transform.

(...! What’s going on?)

The candle light flickered even though there was no wind.

Yasuchika: Now that ayakashi will see us as our client and his wife.

(Really…?)

(He made it look so easy.)

Yasuchika took the hitogata and kept them away in his pocket.

Yasuchika: Want to give something a try?

Yuno: What do you mean by “try”—

(Ah.)

Yasuchika placed a hand on my cheek.

Yasuchika: This is our bedroom, and we’re a married couple.

Yasuchika: All sorts of weird things happen throughout the day. But that woman only appeared at night when the couple was together.

(... We were told that it was when they were sharing a pillow.)

I looked away because I was getting awkward.

(Don’t tell me…)

Yasuchika: Since it’s not going to show up if we just sit and wait—

Yasuchika: My guess is that it's because of either the people, the circumstances, or both.

Yasuchika: So I was thinking that if you and I acted “like that”, it would show up.

Yuno: Act “like that”....?

Yasuchika: That's right.

Yuno: The reasoning is logical, but…

(Wait, don’t you find this embarrassing?)

Yasuchika: It’s not that difficult of a task that you need to think so hard about it.

Yasuchika: At the moment, I’m the man you're in love with. Can you look at me like I am?

(Um…)

His captivating whisper made my cheeks heat up.

Yasuchika: Yep. That facial expression is good.

Yuno: I- I’m not making this face on purpose.

Yasuchika: Really? So does that mean you're genuinely into me?

Yuno: Yasuchika…!

(It was foul for Yasuchika to suddenly look at me like that. I know it’s all an act, and yet…)

Yasuchika: I like how honest you are.

Yasuchika chuckled and closed the distance between us.

Before I could resist, I was gently pushed down.

Yasuchika: Looking good so far. Let’s keep going, shall we?

Yuno: Wait…

I felt my body stiffen as Yasuchika whispered.

Yasuchika: Relax. I won’t do anything you don't want me to.

I subconsciously held onto those words that sounded so genuine.

Yasuchika: Put your hands on me. Even if we don’t do much, we’ll at least look like a loving couple.

Yuno: A-Alright.

I awkwardly wrapped my arms around Yasuchika’s back.

Yasuchika: Well done. You’re being a good wife.

Yasuchika: … You’re so lovely, Yuno.

(... Was that part of our act?)

Yuno: … Do you always have to do this sort of thing at work?

I asked in a low voice, hoping to distract him.

Yasuchika: It’s a little special this time.

Yasuchika put his lips to my ear as if he were going to tell me a huge secret.

Yasuchika: Let’s just say that an Onmyoji is a jack of all trades.

Yasuchika: Our little show of pretending to be lovers is just for work, however…

Yasuchika: You being my partner is like a bonus.

(I can’t… I can’t take it any longer…)

I grew desperate to escape the alluring air in the room.

Right when I tried to wriggle my way out…

Yuno: Huh…?

The candle light flickered.

(W-What.)

(It's freezing.)

The cold air made my skin crawl.

Yasuchika: You’re here.

Yasuchika got off me with a smile.

(...!)

Woman: Ah… ahhhhhhh…

A woman stood in the middle of the room.

(When did she— no, that shouldn’t be my main concern right now.)

(Her body is partially see-through.)

(Even though she’s “there”, she’s clearly not a human being.)

My breathing became shallow the moment I realized it.

Woman: … I hate you.

Woman: … I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.

The woman’s face was distorted, as if her resentment for this world had boiled down to this dark mess.

(Scary…)

I crouched down and my brain stopped thinking.

I couldn't even move a finger because of that unusual feeling.

The woman’s body shook like a mirage.

(Eek.)

And the next moment, a pale face appeared before me.

Yuno: N-No.

Woman: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!

I was about to get clawed on the cheek with her sharp fingernails—

Yasuchika: Hey.

Woman: Kyaa…!

With a snap of Yasuchika’s fingers, the woman was flung away by an invisible force.

(Was that Yasuchika’s magic!?)

Yasuchika: I can’t believe you skipped me.

A white talisman floated at Yasuchika’s fingertips, and the woman’s translucent limbs jerked as she slumped onto the ground.

Yasuchika: This is just a simple spell to subdue you. Please be obedient.

Woman: No… let me go!

Yasuchika: …

Yasuchika, who had appeared calm until now as he stared at her face, suddenly frowned.

(... What’s the matter?)

(No, I need to focus so that my fox powers will come out.)

I stood up with my trembling legs and concentrated on getting my fox powers out, but it didn't work…

Yasuchika: — Hey. You too, Yuno. Wait a minute.

(What?)

Yasuchika looked at me quietly.

Yasuchika: She’s being possessed by an ayakashi, but it seems that she’s actually a spawn of a living person’s wrath.

Yuno: Spawn of…?

Yasuchika: A person’s wrath can escape from their physical body as a living spirit and cause harm to people they hate.

(So this was made by a living person.)

Yasuchika: It’s rare for people to have the body constitution to let such spirits fly around freely, they’d have to hate someone to the point of death for that to happen…

Yasuchika: And this time, there’s an ayakashi possessing this living spirit and making it more powerful.

Yasuchika: Letting a living spirit fly around can cause one’s body to be severely weakened, so the ayakashi must have taken advantage of that.

Yuno: If you get rid of the ayakashi, won’t it weaken the living spirit…?

Yasuchika: Based on my observation, the ayakashi has begun to devour the soul of the person this living spirit escaped from.

Yasuchika: If you use your fox powers, the worst thing that could happen is that the person dies.

(And that’s why Yasuchika stopped me.)

Yuno: In that case, how do we…

Yasuchika: I’m sorry for summoning you. But can I kindly ask you to leave for now?

Yasuchika: But, of course, I’ll leave a marking so I can trace you…

Yuno: You can do that…?

Yasuchika: I can at least do that much.

Looking at the woman groaning on the ground, Yasuchika gave a light nod.

Yasuchika: That's the best option right now. It’ll get messy if she goes on a rampage.

Another talisman fluttered towards the woman.

Yasuchika: Leave.

Woman: Argh…

The sliding doors were thrown open as if someone had violently pulled it from both sides.

(Kyaa…!)

The woman’s body was thrown out of the room.

Yuno: What was that!?

Yasuchika: I asked my shikigami for help. An ordinary person may not be able to see him, but he’s a good boy.

(I don’t know what’s what anymore.)

Yasuchika laughed at the way I was stunned by everything that had just happened in front of my eyes.

Yasuchika: Unlike the guys at the castle, I don’t fight against the living…

Yasuchika: I deal with living spirits and ayakashi. They’re pretty strong too, you know?

We went outside after Yasuchika forcefully threw the living spirit out—

(There it is…)

Woman: Ugh… why… that person… I hate… very much…

(What are you trying to say?)

The woman struggled on the ground in a dark alley.

Yasuchika: Oops, sorry. You can move now.

Woman: Must heal that person. Must heal. Must heal. Must heal. Must heal. Must heal.

The woman kept repeating the same words like a broken record as she rose from the ground with a vacant look in her eyes.

Woman: I’m asking you to heal me…!

The air warped around her and the woman’s hair was rolled up.

(... oh no.)

In the blink of an eye, she was coming at us with extreme speed.

Yasuchika: Oh you’re very passionate.

Yasuchika chuckled and tossed the two hitogata into the air.

Yasuchika: However,

(Ah.)

There was no fire, but the hitogata mysteriously burst into flames and turned into ashes.

Yasuchika: You’ve got the wrong guy.

Woman: …!

(The spell used to disguise us has been broken!)

The air around us instantly grew tense and chilly, the woman was obviously furious.

Woman: You tricked me…!

Yasuchika: Calm down.

Woman: Eeeeeeeeeeeeekk I’LL KILL YOU…

Yasuchika: …

Yasuchika pointed a pale finger at the woman.

Yasuchika: I don’t enjoy being violent.

Yasuchika: But we have gone far beyond the point where talking would suffice.

(Who is that?)

Yasuchika’s smile had disappeared.

Yasuchika: Unfortunately, you can’t run away from me anymore. … How about you surrender?

A purple light flashed from his fingertips, igniting darkness of the night.

The words spun from his lips were like a needle sewing up the night sky.

Yasuchika: — You prisoner, sing from your prison. A sinful lullaby. Yes, let your rage dissolve and disappear.

Yasuchika: I command you to fall into a deep slumber…

[iisuya-simps]

A Kings Coronation (Royal au – Otoya x Reader)

A/N: I've been trying to write this since his birthday celebration card came out

Klab please let me marry this man ~ I will give him my s o u l

God, I wish this were me...

Enjoy~

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Word count: 2458

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The day of Otoya's 18th birthday. Today he would be crowned king and take over the kingdom. You woke up early and rode all morning from your country to see him. A few hours later you woke to the sun shining in your eyes, seeing how you slept most of the way.

It was crowded when you got there. Guards lined up at every corner. People came far and wide to witness the crowning of a new king. You had to push through the crowd to even get close to the main balcony when a hand touched your shoulder.

“There you are! I finally found you!” You feel someone's arms wrap around your waist. It was him. “Otoya!” You turn and give him a hug, he squeezes you back. “Thanks for coming.”

“How could I miss my best friend's 18th birthday/coronation??” “Haha, this place is totally packed, huh? Just getting over here to you was crazy.” “They're all here for you.” You give a warm smile.

“Congratulations, King Otoya Ittoki.” You curtsy. “Gosh... Hearing you say it all formal like is kinda embarrassing.” He scratches his head. “Well, I'll answer as the birthday king should.” Otoya puts his hands on his hips puffing out his chest. “You have my thanks, dear Y/N.” Then bows. “Maybe that wasn't so regal...” you both laugh.

“Well, today is about to kick into high gear so stick close to me, ok?” “I promise I won't leave your side.”

“Still, I'd find you even if you vanished into thin air. We'll have lots more time to talk if we stick together, plus everyone can know about us right?”

“Know about us?”

“Let's go!” You follow close behind him but find it challenging with all of the people. You hesitate to grab his hand but he takes yours first. You look up and see his bright smile and wink as he guides you through the crowds of people till he sneaks you inside.

“Hey, there's something I'd like to show you.” “Oh?” “Close your eyes.” “Otoya...” You whine. “Come on it's a surprise!”

“Fine.” You close your eyes and he takes your hand guiding you slowly down the hall.

“Don't peek, ok?” “I wouldn't dream of it.” You go down a few halls then Otoya puts his hands over your eyes. “It's just up ahead, so put your trust in me. Keep walking straight.”

Continuing down the corridor you approach some steps and a large door. “There's a small staircase so watch your step.”

“Shouldn't I be the one surprising you?” “Maybe. But it's not often we see each other. Just a few more steps and we're here!” He takes his hands away from your face. “Open your eyes!” Revealed to you is a grand balcony with a gorgeous view of the land. “Ta da!”

“Wow, Otoya!” “Are you surprised?�� “This is amazing! I've never been here before.” “This is the prettiest spot in the whole castle, so I had to show you! There's even an awesome view of the ocean!”

You can see every corner of the courtyard. You walk up to the railing and lean forward taking in the sights, Otoya joins you from behind.

“Beautiful isn't it? Wonderful weather, and a beautiful princess.” You giggle. “And a charming prince, soon to be king.”

You both heard a commotion from below. “Uhh, it looks like everyone is looking for me. They won't check here right?” He scratches the back of his head. “Maybe we should go back.” “Nah, it'll only be a few minutes, no harm done. Besides look!” Otoya shuffles in a bag behind his back.

“I brought us some cake for us to eat together!” You cross your arms. “Otoya isn't that for the reception?” “Well yeah but I want to eat it with you now... And it's my birthday so anything goes!” You shake your head and laugh. “Alright then, let's dig in.” “Yay!”

He places the plate on the table to the left of the balcony. “After you, princess.” He pulls out a chair. “How kind of you your majesty.” Grabbing two forks from his bag he sits across from you unwrapping the cake. “Waah, this looks sooo good. Itadakimasu!” You both took a bite savouring the vanilla cake and fluffy buttercream frosting.

“Mmm, I knew it.” “Knew what?” “That this cake is way tastier being here with you than at the party.” “Uh-huh.” “What? You don't feel the same way?” He pouts. “Everything's better with you, Otoya.” “Really? I think so too... With you I mean!” You both gobble down the rest of your cake not saying a word but simply enjoying each other's company.

“Ahh, that hit the spot. Shall we go?” “You have cake on your face silly. You'll look like a fool if you go out like that.” “Hmm? Where is it?” He licks around his lips. “No on your cheek, here.” You laugh stepping closer to wipe the icing with your thumb from his cheek. Sticking it in your mouth you then clapping your hands together.

“That's better.” “T-thanks...” He blushes but quickly recovers. “Well, the party's just getting started.” You place your hands on his shoulders. “Let's make this the best day ever!”

You and Otoya go back down to greet the people outside in the crowd. Staying closely by his side he never let you out of his sight. “Otoya there you are! I swear you have no sense of time. The ceremony is about to begin!” The queen crosses her arms. “Already?” “Yes, now let's go.” “But Y/N...” “I'll be fine.” You smile. He takes both of your hands in his. “I'll come to find you after, ok?” “Alright, now go get your crown.” You wink.

The crowning ceremony was lovely. Otoya took the coronation oath and made a speech. Afterwards, everyone gathered in the main ballroom then the celebration really began. You were wandering around near the edge of the ballroom when you felt a hand pull you around the corner.

“Hey.” “Oh hi.” You smile and fix your eyes on his crown. “So what's next, king?” “Hehe, come with me.” You spend the rest of the day greeting more people, enjoying the food at the banquet and listening to the royal orchestra. When nightfall came Otoya leads you away from the dwindling crowds to his bedroom to retire for the night.

“Wow, that was a blast.” You jump on his bed and sink into the duvet. “We hung out all day huh?” “Yup seems like it.” “Time flies when I'm with you. Oh! And did you hear the band? They were all like bweeh daa daa doooo.” Otoya mimics a violin shaking his head around.

“Ah! My crown is gonna fall!” He juggles it between his hands leaning over and catching it before it hits you. “Gotcha. Whoa!” The carpet slipping from under him he fell on top of you anyway. “S-sorry y/n!” There was a moment you stared into each other's eyes. You blushed a bright red then laughed.

“Cmon... no laughing. I just let my guard down a bit...” he pouts. “You're just a clutz, Otoya.” You scoot off to the other side of the bed. “Am not! I always act like a king should...” “Uh huh. So what does it feel like to be a king anyway?” He places his hand on his chin and ponders.

“It's not much different than being a prince yet I don't think. Though I guess a big responsibility falls on my shoulders now that I am a king. I have a whole kingdom to look out for after all. And you.” “I can look after myself.” “But you don't have to.” Otoya twiddles his thumbs together.

“Anyway... Today is special! After all, you're here with me.” He raises a brow. “Hey, why are you so far away? Didn't you promise not to leave my side? Come sit by me. You're making me lonely...” He pouts again. “Promise you won't fall on me again?” “Not on purpose.” “Haha.” You move closer and the both of you talk about the day's events. Though the whole time, you couldn't help feel butterflies dance in your stomach.

“I had a great time today, Y/N.” “Me too.” “Everything was so wild during the day, but now all I hear is you.” His hand caressing your cheek. You gaze, getting lost in his eyes. “Those lips hold the voice I cherish most.” His thumb brushes over your bottom lip. Leaning forward his lips meet yours as they come together in a sweet kiss. You stay like that for a moment, then part. You turn away embarrassed. “Wait what's wrong? Don't turn away.” He giggles. “You left yourself open for that.” You laugh too.

“Look at me.” He turns your head and your eyes meet once more. “I'm sorry I guess I just wasn't expecting that...” He places both hands on the side of your face slowly pulling you into another kiss. “Were you expecting that?” “Hehe.” You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him back. You melt into each other drawing out each kiss for as long as you could. “I don't know, were you expecting that?” You both laugh and he pulls you into his arms.

“Oh, Y/N...” He sighs. “I just want you all to myself.” “So selfish, your majesty.” “Hey, a king's orders are absolute you know. That being said, I order you to stay and talk all night to me.” “I guess I cant disobey direct orders.” “Hehe, no you can't.” You lay back and chat in his arms, steadily getting more sleepy you yawn.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” “I did arrange to stay for a few days.” “Really? He beams then suddenly gets nervous. “W-what is it?” You ask, both looking serious and sit up.

“Y/N, would you stay longer if I asked you to marry me?” Your eyes widened. “O-Otoya I-”

“I know it's sudden, I just can't wait. I want you to be mine.” “Are you sure? There are plenty of other princesses that are dying for your hand in marriage.” “Well of course there are other princesses, but you're the only one I have my eyes on. You're too special not to be my beloved.”

“Otoya...” A happy tear slides down your cheek but he wipes it away and holds your hands. “Hows about I ask you again tomorrow? More formally.” “Okay.”

You're unable to hold back the grin from your face. Marry Otoya? Being his friend is one thing but this is a dream come true.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” You get up and grab your purse shuffling around. “Close your eyes Otoya.” “Ok ok... You take the little box from your purse and open it to place a small wooden triangle in his hand. “You can open your eyes now.” He looks down at his hand to see a small triangular pick. “A pick?” He studies it. “For your guitar!”

“Wha-” reaching under the bed you pull out a brand new redwood guitar. “Wow! For me?! Are you sure?!” “Of course! Otoya takes the guitar running his fingers over the frets and strings. “Happy birthday Otoya.” He sets the guitar down by the nightstand beside him. “Thank you Y/N!” He tackles you to the bed holding you tight.

You spend the rest of the night giddily talking about your goals, dreams and aspirations for the future. Eventually falling asleep next to each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the morning you wake to a blushing Otoya combing his hand through your hair and your eyes flutter awake.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Otoya presses a kiss to your forehead. “Morning.” You yawn. “Did you sleep well?” “That was the best sleep I've had in a while.” Otoya beams. “Good, are you hungry? Would you like breakfast? I could have the cook bring us something.” “That sounds lovely.”

“I'll be right back!” Otoya rushes off to the kitchen and has a special breakfast made. He returns with the cook serving both of you a buffet.

“Otoya!! We cant eat all this!?!” "That's ok, there's plenty of variety so just pick what you want!” You share a large breakfast together in bed. Otoya insists on feeding you dessert, but after the feast you just had you couldn't possibly take another bite.

After a quick rest, Otoya leads you on a stroll through the garden. It's early spring and the flowers are just starting to bloom. You're walking along when you pull Otoya to a stop.

“Hibiscus!” You wander over to the colorful display of red, yellow, white and pink flowers. “Hibiscus is my favorite flower.” You hold back your hair and take in the sweet almost fruity fragrance. “Y/N.” Otoyas hand takes yours.

“We've known each other since we were kids. As the years have gone by I've realized how special you are to me as a friend and something more. I promise to love and protect you as I will my kingdom. With you by my side, I feel as if I can do anything. I will give you each and every one of these flowers and more.” Otoya kneels down in front of you.

“My heart belongs to you and only you.” You gasp as he opens the velvet box to reveal a dazzling yet subtle ring. “Say you'll be mine, forever and always.”

“Otoya...” You tear up once more. “Yes, of course I'll be yours!” He stood and took the ring out of the box placing it on your finger. You leap to hug him almost knocking him over in the process. This was better than you could ever imagine.

"Otoya, I love you." Your heart pounds as you pull back to look him in the eyes.

"I love you too, Y/N." You share a very heartfelt passionate kiss.

Otoya plucks a flower from one of the branches and tucks it in your hair.

“There, for my beautiful bride to be.” You plant a gentle kiss on his cheek and walk hand in hand back to the castle where you greet the queen.

You feel quite foolish when you realize that it was your parent's plan all along to get you two together, but it worked out so naturally you didn't care. You were getting married to the guy of your dreams, and that was a miracle within itself.

Your wedding was celebrated with your family and civilians from far and wide.

But with Otoya by your side, this truly was a dream come true.

[cutietobio]

scenarios w iwaizumi, lev and yaku with an s/o who usually dresses super conservative and comfort>style but wants to try stepping out of her comfort zone so on one of their dates she shows up more put together and wearing clothes that show a bit more skin? (like off the shoulder tops, shorts, skirts w/o leggings etc) n the boys get a little flustered or excited?? ;);) thank u! im trying to step out kf my comfort zone too so i felt like this would b cute nd make me more motivated not to give up!!

mmm yessss good stuff. this is the fluff I’m after. I hope you enjoy these, anon!! and I really really hope they motivate you because you’re beautiful and deserve to feel comfortable!! i love how these scenarios gradually increase in word amount as I go along I’m so sorry for the inconsistency oops.

IWAIZUMI

For your movie date with Iwaizumi, you were feeling a bit experimental with your choices in clothing. Instead of your usual conservative style, you wore a shorter skirt with your legs fully exposed, choosing not to wear leggings like you usually did. The rest of your outfit went along together nicely, but you felt a little self-conscious whilst overlooking yourself in the mirror. You have never taken such a risky clothing choice before, one gust of wind and your legs wouldn’t be the only thing on display. Luckily, the evening weather was quite calm.

Your heart pounded loudly in your chest as you approached the movie theatre, eyes scanning the many bodies of people in search of your boyfriend. You spotted him leaning against the wall, casually watching the crowd walk by, your mouth dried at the sight of him. His style was one you always loved, a mixture between edgy and casual. He looked good, and you could only hope he thought the same about you.

“Hey, Hajime-kun!” you greet with a friendly smile, opting to stand a few feet away from him due to nerves. Your voice caught his attention immediately and he opened his mouth to ask why you were standing all the way over there until his eyes fell on your outfit and his words died off in his throat, his eyes widening at your exposed skin.

“Babe?” you question, your smile fading ever-so-slightly. You weren’t sure whether his speechlessness was meant to excite or worry you.

“You…You look nice,” Iwaizumi muttered out, coughing into his fist as he turned to look to the side, avoiding eye contact with you. The tips of his ears were tinged red and his cheeks were equally as flushed. Catching this, your smile widened.

“Thank you, but I think you look better.” He scoffed at your words and held an arm out for you, which you hooked your own arm around without a moment to spare.

“Whatever, believe that. Let’s get inside,” you nodded in reply, enjoying his blushing state. Both of you shuffled inside, buying your tickets and snacks before heading into the movie.

After your date, Iwaizumi took you home. Both of you stood outside your house, gazing at each other, neither wanting to leave. 

“You looked great tonight. I think you should…dress like this more often,” Iwaizumi trailed off shyly, annoyed by how fast his heart was beating just by standing so close to you.

“Really? I was actually worried you wouldn’t like it. I’ve never dressed outside my comfort zone like this before but… you make me feel beautiful, so maybe I will,” you offer him a delicate smile, blushing hard at your admittance. 

“I make you feel beautiful?” Iwaizumi questioned in a whisper, and you nodded in reply. He appeared to be taken aback by your words.

“Yes, you do.” There was a bit of lingering silence before Iwaizumi took a step closer to you, his hand grasping your own gently.

“I’ll make sure you always feel that way.”

LEV

Your boyfriend always took you out on fun dates that mainly consisted of you going outside, you thought it would be time to dress more appropriately for the occasion of the summer festival that he wanted to take you to. The afternoon sun would be hot, added with the running around he would likely make you do, you wanted to expose more skin to keep you cool. That and you also wanted to push yourself to dress outside of your comfort zone and experiment with new styles.

You wore a cropped t-shirt, with a denim overalls/denim shorts and a suiting pair of shoes. Having never worn something so exposing before, you were obviously a bit self-conscious and found yourself continuously tugging at the hem of your shirt to cover up your skin. Due to its short cut, the material merely snapped back in place. It was too late to bail and wear something else as you were already a few minutes late for your date, so you swallowed up your doubt and headed out.

Lev was standing at the festival’s colourful entrance, actively searching the heads of people in hopes of spotting you. You did text him saying you were running a bit late, but he had faith you would be there any second now. Once he saw you, you were given no time to prepare and anticipate his reaction to your outfit, as he immediately manoeuvered through the crowd and brought you close to him with a tight hug.

“Found you!” he laughed out joyously with closed eyes, which popped wide open as he felt the silky texture of your skin underneath his hands. Pulling back, he stared down at you in curiosity. You gulped, wishing the earth would swallow you up as he took in your appearance.

“Waah! You look so beautiful!” Lev cried out, bringing you into another hug which you slowly returned whilst processing his words. He…liked it? “You always look beautiful, but these clothes on you look great!” He pulled away again, examining you with gleaming eyes of adoration.

“Thanks, I was nervous that you might not like it…” you admit sheepishly.

“Me?! How could I dislike anything about you?!” he whined out about your assumption, “you worry too much, princess! Let’s go have some fun!” Before you could blink, Lev grabbed his much larger hand in your own, lacing his fingers with yours as he guided you safely through the crowd. Despite his exciting demeanour, he always handled you with such care and love it made your heart swell.

Throughout the day, Lev could barely shut up about how great you looked. He would constantly remind you how good you looked with your outfit and point out things he liked about it. You ended your day with one last ride on the Ferris wheel, and whilst furthest from the top, he turned to look at you.

“I’m glad you’re feeling more comfortable!” his words touched your heart directly, and you hugged him, catching him off guard slightly but he returned the hug a second later.

“I should thank you for that, you’ve made me feel more open to trying new things. Like…getting on a Ferris wheel,” you giggle, breaking from the hug to peer down the edge of the cart. You paled at how high up you were, but Lev tugged you back before you could worry about the height more.

“I’ll always be here to support you, princess!” he said with his usual happy tone, nuzzling his cheek against the top of your head.

YAKU

Your boyfriend had always enjoyed taking you on traditional and romantic dates, this time, he had really outdone himself, wanting to take you to a pretty fancy restaurant where even a dress code was required. You took this opportunity to exit your comfort zone when it came to your style choices and decided to go shopping for a dress. It hugged your figure perfectly, exposing your collarbone and also dipping to your lower back. You had never worn something like it before and scrutinized it intently in the mirror.

Despite the unease you felt wearing it, you forced yourself to ignore those feelings and finished dressing with a pair of heels/flats and minimal accessories since the dress itself was quite eye-catching. You were dropped off at the restaurant and entered in, hoping your nervousness didn’t display across your features.

A figure approached you from your peripheral vision and you turned to find Yaku looking handsome in a crisp black suit. Your heartbeat wildly against your chest, feeling much more nervous than before. He looked so good, you could practically be moved to tears. At that moment, you forgot all about the insecurity you felt wearing your uncharacteristic dress and smiled at him warmly.

“(Name), wow…” he stated breathlessly, taking in the sight of you. He felt his cheeks warming up instantly, convinced that he truly had the most breathtaking girlfriend in the world. Yaku wished he could tell you that, but he feared you might think him to be too cheesy. “You look stunning,” his eyes met yours and he held out an arm for you to take.

“Thank you, I’m glad it’s okay,” you mumble with a blush matching his own, latching onto his forearm as he redirected you to your table that was decorated with white and gold cutlery and trinkets. 

“Okay?” he turned to give you an incredulous look, “It’s more than okay, you really made me lose my breath back there.”

“Stop,” you whine out softly, dipping your head to hide your worsening blush. Yaku merely chuckled, kissing your temple and pulling your chair out for you. You thanked him after having been scooted forward and the evening was spent indulging in delicious food and almost crying of laughter due to your wild conversations. He took your mind off of everything, and you honestly felt good in your dress.

Once the evening came to a close after desert, Yaku offered to drive you home rather than taking an Uber. Obviously, you agreed and enjoyed furthering your conversation in the warm confines of his car as you could admire him openly and tease him about keeping his eyes on the road if he turned to meet your gaze.

Upon reaching home, the two of you sat in comfortable silence, Yaku making no attempts to unlock the doors and you making no attempt to question why. You wanted to stay with him longer, so even if they were unlocked, you wouldn’t have left.

“Thank you for tonight, you really spoil me too much,” you speak softly, for it’s easy to hear each other over the dead silence.

“I don’t think I’m spoiling you, I’m treating you to what you deserve,” he argues warmheartedly, turning to give you a small smirk. It fell quickly, as his face morphed into that of seriousness.

“Oh no,” you express with a small laugh, “I know that look, you’re gonna-”

“You look really beautiful, (Name), I mean it. I can’t express how glad I am that you’re feeling more comfortable with yourself, and even around me. That really means the world to me,” Yaku declares with the utmost sincerity, grabbing both of your hands in your own.

Your eyes narrow affectionately, your mouth opening but closing shortly after as you have nothing to say. Pulling your hands from his, you reach over and tug him into a hug, your arms around his neck and your chin resting on his shoulder.

“Mori-kun, I swear I’m going to marry you one day,” you mumble, sighing out contently as he rubs small circles into the exposed skin of your lower back.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

[bpro-cardstories]

Hikaru Osari SSR

2017 ー Flower Garden [Flower Garden]

“I’ll do, I’ll do it! Leave it to me! Tsubasa-chan recommended me after all!”

Part 1

Tsubasa: ‘Everyone, we will start moving in about 10 minutes, so please prepare everything.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Okaーy!’

Momotaro: ‘..... Hikaru, you’re still not changed yet?’ 

Hikaru: ‘It’s only the hair left!’ 

(I wonder if Hikaru-kun is used to fixing his own hair? He’s quite skillful…..) 

Hikaru: ‘Alright, all done! What do you think, Tsubasa-chan? Does it look good?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes. Hikaru-kun, you’re skillful with your hands.’

Tsubasa: ‘The current hairdo as well, it looks good as always, very impressive.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Hehehe! It’s like a habit from when I was a kid, so I kind of got used to it.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Since you were small?’

Hikaru: ‘Yep. I have two sisters, right? Since forever I would braid their hair or tie them up into a ponytail.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘I see! What a good brother.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Eheh! If it’s braiding, I can do it!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Amazing…….!’

Hikaru: ‘Ah, I know! I will do it for Tsubasa-chan next time, too!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Eeh?’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Hikaru. Don’t just talk, clean this space. You have your phone and wallet lying there.’

Hikaru: ‘Mhm~ Tatsu, you’re like a mom! I’m not a child!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Look who’s talking, who was it again that forgot his wallet at the studio last time?’

Hikaru: ‘Ugh……!’

Momotaro: ‘Hikaru, you’re forgetting your toothbrush.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Eh!’ 

Kazuna: ‘This towel also is Hikaru’s, right?’

Hikaru: ‘O-Ooh, how weird, heh. Pi-chan, leader, thanks! I sure am loved by everyone.’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Haa….... . How troublesome.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ahaha……’

(Hikaru-kun’s hairdo really is perfect.)

Hikaru: ‘.......Okay! I’m also ready, Tsubasa-chan! Our next job is the lesson, isn’t it?’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, it is the dance lesson for the Flower Garden opening ceremony we talked about the other day.’

Hikaru: ‘Well then, with lots of energy, let’s go~!’

Part 2

ーAfter the dance lesson.ー

Tsubasa: ‘Everyone, good job.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Considering that we don't have time to practice, doesn’t it feel good?’

Tsubasa: ‘I agree. Because there are many songs you are used to, it was a stable and good performance I think.’

Kazuna: ‘Yeah, hopefully, the real one will be fine.’ 

Tatsuhiro: ‘The stage is smaller than usual…..’

Momotaro: ‘This is the extent to how we can adjust things during rehearsals.’ 

Tatsuhiro: ‘Yeah, agreed.’ Hikaru: ‘I’ve never been to Flower Garden, I wonder what the stage feels like?’  

Mikado: ‘Now that you speak of it, it’s a new place at Omotesandō*, yes?’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, that’s right. You can enjoy your meal there, and it seems to be a facility even for wedding ceremonies. I only saw the stage in pictures but there are a lot of flowers, it looks like a really beautiful place.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Hee, now I’m looking forward to it!’

(......Oh, right. I need to consult with Hikaru-kun about that matter.)

Tsubasa: ‘Uhm, Hikaru-kun. To be honest, there is a favour about the opening ceremony I’d like to ask you…….’

Hikaru: ‘Hm, what is it?’

Tsubasa: ‘The performing artists are asked to perform a champagne opening by a representative of each one. The venue asked for this favour.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘There will also be the flowers of the ceremony but I was talking to Yashamaru-san and thought that the one suitable to lift the mood is Hikaru-kun…..’ 

Tsubasa: ‘What do you think?’ 

Hikaru: ‘Eeh, are you sure about it being me!?’

Tsubasa: ‘Of course. If Hikaru-kun does not mind.’ 

Hikaru: ‘I’ll do, I’ll do it! Leave it to me! Tsubasa-chan recommended me after all!’

Tsubasa: ‘Thank you very much! Then I will pass your reply on to the other party.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Do that, thanks!’

(I’m glad that he accepted. Hikaru-kun is cheerful as usual, I’m sure it will become an enjoyable performance.)

Part 3

ーThe day of the opening ceremony.ー

Tsubasa: ‘Please move efficiently when the staff will call for you for the make-up and changing.’

Kazuna: ‘Understood.’

Hikaru: ‘Like this, swinging it like this…….’

Kazuna (surprised): …...Hikaru?

Momotaro: ‘Are you fine?’

Hikaru (startled): ‘........Eh?’

Tatsuhiro: ‘You didn’t listen to what she said at all, right?’

Hikaru: ‘Ah…… Sorry! I did mental training for the champagne opening.’

Mikado: ‘Though we already finished the meeting, right?’

Hikaru: ‘Well, I did listen to the explanation but…..’

Tsubasa: ‘It was only a verbal explanation since it is a performance without rehearsal.’

Hikaru: ‘You’re right. I never opened a champagne bottle. I’m a bit nervous.’ 

Tatsuhiro (pensive): ‘Isn’t it enough if you just swing the bottle?’

Hikaru: ‘Uwah, that works!’

Kazuna: ‘Hikaru, remember to aim the opening of the bottle somewhere without people.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Okay!’

Momotaro: ‘By no means, don’t look into the opening even if the bottle is open.’ 

Hikaru: ‘I know that much~! I properly listened to the explanation.’ 

Mikado: ‘It’s impossible for us to not worry, though. Considering the many failures of Hikarun……’

Hikaru: ‘Wait a sec, Mikachi! Stop with that right before the real thing!’

Mikado (smiles): ‘Oops, that was rude of me.’

Mikado (excited): ‘If you decided for it to become wonderful then it’s going to be great! Please do your best. ♪ Kyaarun ♪’ 

Hikaru: ‘Uh, what’s with this pose……’

Mikado: ‘It’s Mamirin’s cheerleader pose!’

Hikaru: ‘Mikachi’s support makes me happy but…… I’d rather be told this from Tsubasa-chan if anything!’

Mikado: ‘Oho, Tsubasa-san. It seems that you were called.’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh, me? Uhm……’

Tsubasa: ‘P-Please give it your all! I am sure, if it is Hikaru-kun, it will go well!’

Hikaru: ‘Alriーght! I feel like I can do it all perfectly!!’

Mikado: ‘How rude! Mamirin’s cheerleader pose also has tremendous power!’

Tatsuhiro (smiles): ‘Well, let it pass for now.’

(I wonder how Hikaru-kun’s champagne opening will be….. I’m glad if I could cheer him up but hopefully, there will be no injuries.) 

Part 4

ーAfter the end of the ceremony. Back at MooNs apartment.ー

Hikaru: ‘Aah~~~, finally home!’

Kazuna: ‘Good job. The opening ceremony came safely to an end.’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Yeah. Especially Hikaru’s champagne performance.’

Momotaro: ‘I’m relieved that the bottle cork didn’t hit my face.’ 

Tatsuhiro: ‘The guests were safe as well.’

Hikaru: ‘Right, right!’

Hikaru: ‘...... So, why is no one praising me!?’

Tsubasa: ‘Both Hikaru-kun’s champagne opening and the party were so much fun and a big success.’

Hikaru: ‘Tsubasa-chan thinks so, too? I was wondering as well if I could hear the cheers during the opening of the bottle!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Even though you were so nervous before the performance and did all that mental training.’

Hikaru: ‘Wrong, I’m strong when it comes to the actual performance! As expected of an idol! Right, Tatsu?’ 

Tatsuhiro (sighs): ‘Aah, yes, yes. I agree.’ 

Hikaru (excited): ‘Say, say, Tsubasa-chan, was I cool?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes. You were absolutely gorgeous and wonderful.’

Hikaru: ‘Really? Ehehe.’

Hikaru: ‘I was quite nervous at first. But it was like the award ceremony of the F1**! Once everyone will be able to drink alcohol, leave the opening of the champagne bottle to me!’

Hikaru: ‘Like today, I will do this flashy bang!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Stop it. I feel like the floor will be covered with champagne.’

Kazuna (smiles worriedly): Such a flashy way is not something you can do at home. We won’t be able to drink the alcohol at all like that.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Ah…… True.’

(I’m very happy that the opening ceremony ended safely. ….. As soon as relief takes over, I kind of feel sleepy. I was running around the whole day to support B-PRO.)

While Tsubasa is lost in her thoughts, Hikaru notices something.

Hikaru: ‘......Ah. Tsubasa-chan, wait.’

Tsubasa: ‘Hikaru-kun…..?’

He comes closer to her. 

(What could it be? Did something happen……?)

Part 5

Hikaru: ‘Tsubasa-chan, can I for a moment?’

He then comes closer to her.

Tsubasa: ‘Hikaru-kun? What’s wrong?’

Hikaru: ‘Stay like this, don’t move.’

Hikaru: ‘........ As I thought!’

Tsubasa: ‘W-What…….??’

Hikaru: ‘Tsubasa-chan, it’s disheveled here.’

Tsubasa: ‘......Eh? Ah, is it my hair?’

Hikaru (laughs): You’ve been moving around the whole day for us, thanks for that.’

Tsubasa: ‘No, I think that Hikaru-kun had a hard time as well….. Even if I am busy, my hairdo needs to be neat. I am sorry, I will correct it right away.’

Hikaru: ‘Say, won’t you let me tie your hair?’

Tsubasa: ‘No, I can do this much myself……’

Hikaru: ‘Come on! I won’t ruin it! Sit here!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘It’s the wrong choice of words, though.’

Hikaru: ‘It’s all fine! Here, take a seat!’

Tsubasa: ‘Ah, yes…….’

Hikaru: ‘I’ve always loved to touch hair, you know~’

Hikaru: ‘Tsubasa-chan has quite long hair. It reminds me of my little sister. Since everyone in MooNs has short hair, it’s not worth playing with it.’

Tsubasa: ‘..........’

(It makes you nervous somehow when your hair is touched by someone……)

He makes another discovery while she is lost in thoughts. 

Hikaru: ‘Uwahh! Tsubasa-chan, your hair is super smooth! How enviable~!’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh, no, that’s……..’

Hikaru: ‘And it smells nice~! It kind of makes my heart beat faster!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Eeh!?’

Mikado: ‘Wait a minute, Hikarun! What fun things are you doing there all alone! You can’t steal a march on us!’ 

Hikaru: ‘And I say I don’t!’

Kazuna (chuckles): ‘Hikaru, you really are used to it, huh.’

Mikado: ‘Leader, don’t be impressed by it, stop him~!’

Mikado proceeds to end it himself.

Hikaru: ‘Wait, Mikachi! Don’t get in the way!’

(Hikaru-kun, he doesn’t slow down even while he’s talking. He really is used to touching hair…..)

Hikaru: ‘...... Okay, done!’

Hikaru: ‘Here, a mirror, Tsubasa-chan! Look, look, what do you think?’

(Waah…… It’s much cleaner than when I tied it myself.)

Tsubasa: ‘T-Thank you very much! Hikaru-kun, you really are skilled.’

Hikaru: ‘Ehehe. It was my job to send off my sisters to school cutely after all!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘I am sure they were pleased as well.’

Hikaru: ‘If Tsubasa-chan is too, then I’m happy.’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, it is so lovely that it is a waste to undo it.’

Hikaru: ‘I’m very happy to hear that! If you have a hard time working and your hair gets disheveled again, let me tie it up for you!’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, at that time I will come to you.’ 

(It’s Hikaru-kun who is always a bit unreliable but when it’s about the hair, I also like to rely on him.) 

END ___________________________

*Omotesandō: Omotesandō (表参道) is a zelkova tree-lined avenue located in Shibuya and Minato, Tokyo, stretching from the Meiji Shrine entrance to Aoyama-dōri (Aoyama Street), where Omotesandō Station can be found. Omotesandō is known as one of the foremost 'architectural showcase' streets in the world, featuring a multitude of fashion flagship stores within a short distance of each other. [Source: Wikipedia]

**F1: Formula One (Motor racing sport).

[cutesuki--bakugou]

Happy Birthday, Dumbass

It’s November 18th! It’s Koge’s Birthday! 

Like her legit birthday, not the day I made her lol

This is based around a small snippet that I wrote in Memories, in case it seems familiar to anyone. 

Main Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Koge Naegi (OC) Early Relationship

Featuring:  Nene Date (OC) (alt Ne-Chan)

Rating: Teen | Cursing

Words:  2687

Genre: Humor / Fluff

Me 5:53 pm: I’m not gonna tell him. I want to see what he does. (・・)’

Ne-Chan 5:54 pm: u sure, ko-chan? what if he never realizes and u get upset? 

Me 5:55 pm: He hasn’t said anything all day… (⋟﹏⋞) He’s the only one besides you that knows it’s my birthday in the whole school. I’m already kinda sad about it… Honestly, he’s never acknowledged my birthday, even before we started dating. 

Ne-Chan 5:55 pm: WHAT?!??!! not ONCE?!?!!?! ko-chan, you should bring it up and see what he does! how can he be boyfriend material if he doesn’t even tell you happy birthday. 

Me 6:00 pm: It’s just how he is, Ne-Chan…. I’ve never gotten upset with him before when he didn’t remember my birthday, so he probably just doesn’t even realize it. ╮(╯_╰)╭ 

Ne-Chan 6:01 pm: no excuses!!!! no boy should forget his girls birthday, bad habits or not. if he doesn’t do or say anything, ill wring his neck!!

Me 6:02 pm: I’m keeping my hopes up that he remembers… (´･_･｀) If not I’ll just come to your dorm room and cry. 

Ne-Chan 6:04 pm: i really hope that he remembers, ko-chan. i know how important he is to you, and how much you want this to work. did he even say he’s coming by or anything? 

Me 6:05 pm: Yeah, he was actually supposed to be here at 6. （◞‸◟）But not for anything special, that’s just usually when he comes over or when I go over there, y’know, we switch off. 

Ne-Chan 6:06 pm: he’s late!!!! i’ll kick his ass, i swear it. ko-chan, i’m sorry, but i have to focus on homework for a bit. if u need to, just pop over to hang out, ok? 

Me 6:07 pm: Okay. (.づ◡﹏◡)づ. 

Koge let out a heavy sigh, letting her phone fall onto the bed beside her. Laying on her side facing the wall, she couldn’t quite get rid of his crushing weight that draped over her like a blanket. All day she had hoped for anything, a simple text or a quick sentimental exchange from her boyfriend in recognition of her birthday. By now, her spirit was broken, fighting to feel like she meant anything to him. She knew damn well that she did, that he wouldn’t give her the time of day if he didn’t care about her, but straight up forgetting her birthday? That was a blow that she knew wouldn’t heal easily. 

Pulling her pale blue gaze off the wall, she watched her fingers as she fiddled with a lock of her hair, observing the white strands with an excessive amount of focus to try and distract herself from negative thoughts. It didn’t really help, especially as she listened to her wall clock tick in the heavy silence of her room. 

Should I text him? He’s usually always right on time… He didn’t have anything special going on that I know of… Ugh, I’m being too sensitive, it’s only been like ten minutes! Giving an audible groan in frustration, she rolled over onto her stomach, shoving her phone away from her to resist the urge to text him. Once she felt like she was near suffocating, she turned her head to look out at her room, eyes instantly landing on the clock. Or maybe it’s been thirty minutes…. 

Then it was forty-five minutes. By now, Koge was really feeling like something just wasn’t right. She didn’t feel a sense of danger or worry like something had happened to him, but rather that he just… didn’t want to come. Had he realized his mistake and just decided he couldn’t face her now? He had seemed perfectly fine the entire day, not a single hint from him that something was wrong, but being this late was severely abnormal. 

Though, before she could really do anything about it, the familiar sound of his knock startled her. Instantly hopping up, she adjusted her crooked t-shirt as she trotted over to the door, opening it up without a moment of hesitation. 

“You’re late, Katsuki--” Suddenly, Koge found her words stuck in her throat, taking in the flustered look on Bakugou’s face. Not only that, but he was dressed quite nice, from what she could tell of his black pants and shoes. His scarf and thick red jacket hid whatever top he had decided on, and it was obvious to Koge that he was dressed to go out somewhere. 

Removing his hands from his pockets, he stepped inside, removing his scarf while Koge shut the door behind him. “Okay, Captain-Fucking-Obvious, could you be any faster to point it out?” 

Still a bit confused, Koge followed him as he walked further into the room, only growing more concerned with his actions as he kept his back to her on purpose. “Well, I was just… I had gotten worried something was wrong. Like, you just hadn’t wanted to come over or something.” 

“Why would I do that and not tell you?” Unzipping his coat, Bakugou glowered at her over his shoulder, the pink hue only growing darker in the tips of his ears. “I was late getting ready… I didn’t want to text you, because I knew you’d ask a bunch of questions or grow suspicious.” 

With a small shake of her head, Koge watched as he shrugged off his jacket, tossing it down onto the bed along with his scarf. Though, he kept one arm steady and in front of him, as if he were holding and hiding something. Feeling her cheeks begin to flush at the realization of what was actually going on, Koge clutched the hem of her shirt, waiting patiently for him to turn. “I just… got worried is all. You look really nice. I’m kinda… slobby in comparison.” 

“Don’t worry about that right now, Utsuro, you’ll have time to change.” Taking in a deep breath, shifting from one foot to the other, Bakugou finally turned around to face her. At first, Koge only noticed the intense embarrassment on his face, until her eyes fell to look at his hands. 

“Waah, Katsuki, you got me a gift?!” 

Koge stared at him with wide eyes as she observed the small blue gift bag and flowers he was presenting to her, though her statement only made him more flustered. 

“What d’ya mean?! You think I wouldn’t?” Bakugou snapped at her, shoving the gifts closer. “Just take them, damn it!” 

Carefully, Koge took both gifts, beaming up at him as all worry and sadness she had felt faded away. “You’ve just never gotten me anything for my birthday before. Thank you!” Pushing herself up on her toes, she caught his lips in a gentle kiss, before taking his hand to lead him towards the bed. Sitting down next to his jacket, she let the small bag sit on her lap, observing the flowers. 

Sitting down beside her, Bakugou ruffled his hair in nervous embarrassment, scoffing softly. “You’re thanking me and you haven’t even opened it yet…” 

“If it’s from you, Katsuki, then I know I’ll love it.” Tenderly, she inspected the flowers, fingering through them to see each one. They were soft beneath her fingers, vibrant and fresh for this chilly time of year. What’s more, is that the bouquet was elegantly coordinated, with the two main flowers being something very special. “Dahlias and Peonies… You remembered those were my favorite flowers, too?” 

“Eh… lucky guess.” Bakugou gave a small shrug, unable to resist the small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as Koge playfully nudged him in the side. Carefully as to not mess up the flowers, she placed them down beside her, turning her attention to the bag on her lap. Becoming more visibly nervous, Bakugou couldn’t seem to sit still, shifting in his spot as he kept his hands clasped together tightly. Koge noticed this, but decided not to mention it, not wanting to frustrate him further. He had obviously put a lot of effort into this, so whatever was in the bag must be incredibly special. 

Feeling her cheeks flush just thinking about how he had done this for her, Koge began to pull the neatly placed white tissue paper out of the bag. Along with her joy, though, came a guilt that weighed her down. She felt bad for expecting something out of him in the first place, like it was his duty now just because they were dating. They were both still so new to this, to caring for each other on a different level besides just friendship, and it seemed a bit harsh for her to expect him to do everything perfectly. 

“You know, you didn’t have to get me anything, Katsuki. I would have been happy even without it.” Koge turned her gaze up to him as she removed the long, black rectangular box from the bag, moving the now empty bag to the floor next to her feet. Narrowing his eyes at her, Bakugou gave a shake of his head, wringing his hands anxiously. 

“Tch, I couldn’t just not get you something, Utsuro… Seriously.” His voice was soft, his expression of kindness and adoration for her more genuine than she had heard from him in a few weeks. It only made the knot in her stomach grow, and as she opened the box, the butterflies almost exploded from inside her. 

The gasp that escaped her lips nearly made Bakugou jump out of his skin, his ears and face flushing hot, as did Koge’s. Inside the box was a very delicate necklace, a thin silver, rectangular plate connected to a slim chain. Embedded into the small plate were two shining diamonds, and the word ‘Crystalline’, representing her chosen hero name. The last touch was another delicate diamond, dangling from the bottom edge of the plate. Before Bakugou could even think, Koge had shut the box and thrown her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she fought against wanting to cry. “Katsuki! It’s beautiful!”

His face and ears on fire, he put his arm around her, pulling her in closer to him. “Don’t fucking cry, Utsuro!” Sniffling, she wiggled herself to sit on his lap, facing him and straddling his legs. His hands moving to her hips, he watched as she opened the box back up, carefully removing the necklace. Swallowing his bashfulness, Bakugou gave her hips a small squeeze as she put the box down on the bed beside them, mumbling as he spoke. “Check the back…”

Koge gazed at him curiously for a moment before she looked at the back of the plate as instructed, the heat in her face somehow growing more intense. On the back, there were two capital ‘K’s, separated by a small heart. She lost it, the tears spilling from her eyes as she held the sentimental gift close to her chest. “Katsuki… I love it!” 

With a huff, he reached up and gripped her face with both hands, wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs in that rough but gentle touch that only he could pull off. “Stop being such a baby, Utsuro. I knew you were going to end up like this.”

Taking the necklace from her, he helped her to put it on, letting his fingers trace the delicate chain once it was in place. Koge sniffed, wiping her eyes. “How does it look?” Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into a kiss, the fire inside him raging fiercely in need of her. She gave into him so easily, melting into his body like she was made of puddy. Even though every inch of her ached to keep going, she allowed him to pulled away, smiling as he pressed his forehead into hers. His gaze was so soft, that angry fire within him now smoldering in a way that Koge could only describe as passion. This necklace wasn’t just a birthday gift. It was much more important to both of them, something that expressed just how deep their connection was. 

“Beautiful.” Bakugou whispered softly, his hands caressing her small frame to him. “You’re beautiful.” 

“Me?” Koge couldn’t resist a soft giggle, placing her hands on his cheek tenderly. “I asked about the necklace.” 

“You’re the one that makes it beautiful. Stupid.” Bakugou playfully pressed his forehead harder against hers, making her laugh. “Don’t be a smart ass!” 

Giving him another kiss, Koge looked down at the necklace, running her fingers along the plate to feel the engraving. “It’s wonderful, Katsuki… Thank you so much. It’s so thoughtful and personal…” 

“I didn’t want to get you something that was just… random, I guess. I wanted it to mean something.” Bakugou let his hands fall to her hips, finally starting to truly relax, the nerves of her not liking the gift beginning to fade. But, now that the gift was out of the way, there was something else that Koge needed to find out. 

“It’s perfect. So, why the fancy clothes, hm?” Koge adjusted the collar of his dark red button up shirt, taking it upon herself to unbutton one more at the top, as it seemed a bit too formal for him. Bakugou didn’t complain, though he did click his tongue in annoyance. 

“You and your questions. I’m taking you out to dinner! Isn’t that obvious?” 

“It was obvious, Katsuki, I just wanted to hear it from you.” Koge gave his cheek a kiss before she hopped up off of him, nearly bouncing over towards her closet. “Where are we going?” 

“Not telling you. Just dress decent.” Bakugou stood, cleaning up the mess she had left of the tissue paper, discarded bag and black box. “But warm, too. I’m not giving up my jacket this time.” 

Koge giggled softly, pulling out an appropriate dress and leggings. “Warm but pretty, got it. I--” As she spoke, she was cut off by her phone going off with a text, Bakugou’s eyes pulled to the lit screen instinctively. His calm expression was instantly contorted into a scowl, glaring at Koge as he picked it up. 

“‘Did the little bitch ever show up’?! Is that how you two talk about me?!” 

Trying to contain her laughter, Koge ran back over to him, trying to snatch the phone of his hand, though he expertly held it up over their heads. “No, no! Nene was just concerned because I was feeling a little sad! She’s just trying to make me feel better.” 

With a click of his tongue, Bakugou opened up the conversation, still holding the phone up and out of range as he typed, speaking out loud. “‘Who are you calling a little bitch, you bitch’. And stupid fucking text face. Send.” 

Using the bed for leverage, Koge bounced up and snatched the phone, but it was too late. 

Me 7:10 pm: Who are you calling a little bitch, you bitch. (◕‿◕✿)

Ne-Chan 7:10 pm: PFFFT KATSU OMG IM GOING TO DIE

“You’re so mean, Katsuki.” Koge attempted to scold him, though she couldn’t stop the smile on her face. “Don’t be a butt to Nene.” 

“She’ll fucking live.” Bakugou latched his arms around her, squeezing her in close as he kissed her lips. Although it was rough at first, it quickly softened, with Koge wrapping her arms around his neck. She could easily melt into him, just lay in bed and stay in his arms for the rest of the night, warm and cared for. There was a fun evening ahead of them, however, and Koge knew that it would be something she’d never forget. Her first birthday with Bakugou as her lover, and she could only imagine the many more to come. 

When he finally let her go, his hands moved to cup her cheeks, placing one last peck on her forehead. 

“Now shut up and get dressed, Utsuro. I’m going to make damn sure you enjoy your birthday.” 

Koge couldn’t resist the smile on her lips, her heart fluttering in excitement. “Oh? Well, happy birthday to me.” 

“Yeah, Koge. Happy birthday.” 

[waywardfacegarden]

serendipity

hey so i came back at writing :) and it’s not the naruto fandom but uhh i figured i’d posted this here too :D first time writing for this fandom and it was hard af, but i hope you like it!! c:

Summary:

The first time is an accident.

The other ones not so much.

Posted on Ao3 like a month ago or so.

Featuring kissing, slow burn, boys being dumb and bakusquad :)

-

The first time it happens, it’s an accident.

It’s on the first days after the sports festival, and he’s still angry for that half-ass fight Todoroki gave him.

So yeah, Bakugou is arguing with Todoroki, leaning over his seat, when stupid Kaminari hits him from behind.

He slides forward, and, frankly, he had no idea how deep he was inside Todoroki’s personal space until he’s invading all of it. He staggers forward, Todoroki’s eyes open a fraction and, although he stretches out his hand to steady Bakugou’s arm, it’s already too late.

Bakugou crashes all the way down and stamps his lips against Todoroki’s in a, purely and honestly, awkward kiss.

It’s not even a kiss. Is just mouth in mouth, awkwardly pressed together, and it maybe lasts a bit more than it should, but give him a break, he was utterly surprised, okay?

Bakugou pushes himself away, trying not to think about how Todoroki’s lips felt chapped against his, and about the way Todoroki is looking up at him. Bakugou can’t put his nail on it, but he looks… confused, maybe?

“Aaahh, sorry, dude. Did I hit you?”

Bakugou turns around with a murderous aura emanating out of him, like waves.

Kaminari is very dumb most of the time, but it only takes him a second, looking at Todoroki and then at Bakugou, to put the pieces together. He smiles at him, then, but he looks scared.

He bursts out a nervous laugh. “Ah… hah— I— waaaah! Wait! It was an accident! An accident! Kirishima, help me!!!”

Kirishima tries to help, but he can’t stop laughing, and Bakugou only ends up getting more angry. He smacks them both in the head, glaring all the day at everything and everyone.

Stupid Kaminari.

Stupid Half-and-Half.

.

.

.

They don’t talk about it later, though. It’s not like they should, anyways. What are they supposed to say? It wasn’t even a decent kiss and it’s not like there were feelings involved.

So time passes, the months pass, and the memory of what happened has blurred so much that Bakugou almost seems to have forgotten it.

It’s not like he’s thinking about it, either. Not with everything that has happened.

The summer passes, Bakugou is kidnapped, the dorms arrive, the Provisional License exam happens, he and Todoroki fail it, he gets into a fight, the classes come back, and now they have extra classes.

It’s not like Todoroki and he had become friends in all that time, but now they have to spend too much time together because of those classes, and well, Bakugou supposes that the idiot is better than that girl (even if she does good illusions of Todoroki, hah, that was definitely hilarious) and baldy.

So yeah. He’s stuck with him.

It could be worse, he guesses.

They’re now babysitting brats again, and there’s these two little girls that made Todoroki and Bakugou a flower crown. Todoroki smiles awkwardly (but gentle and polite) at them, and lets one of the girls to put the crown on his head.

Bakugou, on the other hand, is definitely not using that, thank you very much.

That’s, obviously, until Todoroki just decides to put it in his head anyways.

Bakugou turns to look at him, irritated. "Hey, asshole!“

Todoroki, on the other hand, looks pretty amused for someone that is almost always wearing that boring expression on his face. He is now smirking at him (just a little bit, but still), and he has the audacity to accommodate the crown on Bakugou’s head and adjust his hair with his fingers.

“What? I think you look pretty nice.” The asshole is obviously trying not to laugh his ass off, and is pissing Bakugou off.

“You think you’re funny, bastard?”

“I don’t think so, I am.”

Bakugou huffs at him. "Oh, yeah, my bad, I forgot how hilarious you are.“ He exclaims, sarcasm spilling from every word.

Todoroki seems as impassive as ever, though. "Is fine, I accept your humble apology.”

Bakugou wants to punch his face. “Excuse me? I didn’t even—”

“Now you have to kiss!”

The childish yell from one of the girls has them both stopping their bickering and looking down at her.

“Huh?” Todoroki says, conveying Bakugou’s feelings in a laconic but efficient way.

“Yes!” The other girl says. “For the wedding!”

“Wedding?” Todoroki looks like a lost puppy, tilting his head to one side in tremendous confusion. Bakugou doesn’t blame him, though. He is just as lost.

“Uh-huh!” One of them says, excited, as she bounces on her heels, and then points to Todoroki. "You’re the husband and”, then, she points out at Bakugou, “you’re the wife! And you have to kiss each other! Like at weddings!”

Well, you can’t beat that logic, huh. (Sarcasm.)

No way. What the fuck. "HAH?“ Bakugou exclaims, “why am I the wife? No, forget that, why are we a wedding, what the—?”

Bakugou can’t finish his long complaining, though.

Todoroki leans in and —it’s barely a quick peck, but— there’s definitely a pair of lips on his that weren’t there before. They’re there and they’re gone as fast as they came in the first place, but they were there.

“Waah—” Bakugou steps back on his feet, blinks as he feels heat swirling around the tips of his ears. He frowns at Todoroki, who looks at him with the same bored expression as always, imperturbable. “You— asshole, what the fuck? Don’t kiss people out of nowhere!”

Todoroki barely bats an eyelid in his direction before turning to the little girls in front of him, who are jumping out of joy with bright, big eyes.

“Was that okay?” He asks, boring tone, boring face, as if he hadn’t just kissed Bakugou, holy—

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!”

“Yes!” The little girls squeal out in unison; they beam.

“Good, then.” Todoroki gives a little, firm nod, as if he was a soldier who just completed a mission and the captain gave him permission to withdraw after a report. Then, he turns around to look at Bakugou, who blinks in return, “We have to help Inasa and Camie over there.” He says, and starts walking.

Bakugou blinks in his place. One, two, three times. Four.

“Haaah?” He tramples behind him. “Don’t walk in front of me, asshole! And what was that about?!”

Todoroki just slides on the ground next to him. He barely raises a single eyebrow, just a little. "Mm?“

Bakugou stomps harder. "You just kissed me there—”

Todoroki raises his eyebrow more, an expression of confusion all over his face, like he doesn’t understand what the problem is. "They asked for it.“ He says, like is something obvious and he doesn’t understand why Bakugou is even mentioning the subject.

Bakugou raises both eyebrows and waves his arms, while Todoroki continues to look at him with the same expression. "Yeah, no shit.” Bakugou fake baffles, rolling his eyes. “That doesn’t mean you have to do it, dumbass!” He remarks, scowling at him.

Todoroki frowns. “But they could have cried if we didn’t do it, or—”

“We could have faked it, or, I don’t know, some shit!”

Todoroki’s frown deepens. "Oh.“

Always so eloquent. “Yeah, bastard, oh.”

Bakugou crosses his arms and stomps, watching Todoroki look like he just had an epiphany. He looks at the ground, purses his lips in a thin line, and when he looks at Bakugou, he has the decency to look at himself as awkward as Bakugou feels. “Sorry, I didn’t know it would bother you so much.”

Hah?

Todoroki turns on his feet and goes where wind-guy and illusion-girl are standing.

Haaah?

.

.

.

The third time it happens, it’s technically Kaminari’s fault too, like the first time. His and the entire Idiot Brigade’s.

"Pleeeeeeease.”

“Fuck off, Kirishima.”

“Oh, come on, dude, just one! It will be fun!”

“Fuck off, Pikachu.”

Bakugou turns the page without even looking over the cover of the book he’s reading while the irritating idiots keep making noise from his place on the floor. He scowls a little. Somehow, the Idiot Brigade managed to convince him to come down from his room to the lobby to enjoy the “wonderful and really fun” (quoting Shitty Hair) (vaguely improvised and messy, if you ask Bakugou) “pre-Christmas” party after the return to UA. With the new bedrooms, his dumbass class seemed to think it was an awesome idea to “share and hang out”, and even Glasses agreed with it as long as there was no alcohol or “too much noise that could disturb the tranquility of his fellow companions ”.

Whatever. It was stupid beyond limits, and Bakugou doesn’t even know why he’s there in the first place. It’s past nine o’clock, it’s dark outside, and he wants to go to bed now. And no, he’s not a grandpa, but he is bored, the music is loud (Glasses, what the fuck are you doing? Didn’t you want “silence” and “quiet”?) and he wants his eight hours of sleep to pay attention in class properly so he can beat everyone up and be the number one hero, thank you very much.

But now Kirishima and Kaminari are bothering him with some stupid, stupid game, playing “dares” like fucking dumb middle schoolers, and nope, there’s no way in hell he—

“Meh, leave him alone, guys.” Finally, a voice of reason in all this mess, thank— “he’s obviously scared one of the dares will be too much for him.”

“Hah?” Bakugou snaps, whipping the book against his lap and looking up at Sero’s dirty smile just mere meters from him.

“Oooohh.” Shitty Hair and Piss Hair have the audacity to sing-song like idiots in chorus.

“I see. Sorry man.” Kirishima says, but the way he’s grinning at him makes Bakugou think that he is enjoying all of this very, very much.

“Yeah, dude, all cool. Don’t worry about it.” Kaminari adds, grinning all wide.

Bakugou grunts as he feels how the vein on his forehead is going to burst out. He clenches his hands into fists, swings his legs off the couch and stomps on the floor, smoking.

“Who are you calling scared, assholes?” Bakugou stomps hard to where Kaminari holds a stupid bowl with papers inside. He takes it, mumbling curses under his breath about how stupid the game is, how stupid the party is and how stupid they all are, and pulls out a piece of paper (along with many others that overflow from the edge, spill and fall to the floor thanks to the strength with which he puts and removes the hand from the container).

He unfolds the paper so strongly; it is surprising it doesn’t break.

Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero continue to smile like the idiots they are.

On the paper, there’s only one word, scrawled messily in what he supposes should be the center of the white square.

Kiss.

Huh? Bakugou flips the paper over, picks it up and sees it against the lights. He scowls at it.

“What is this supposed to mean? Kiss? Kiss what?”

“Kiss who, you moron.” Raccoon Eyes says in her typical squeaky voice, smiling as wide as all the other idiots are. Ah. Why is Bakugou surrounded by so many idiots, and, most importantly, how and why does Bakugou even hears them. She giggles in an annoying way and then smirks at him. "We’re supposed to tell you who you’re going to kiss and you have to do it.“

Bakugou doesn’t like the malicious gleam that sets in her eyes a moment later.

"That’s fucking stupid.” Bakugou says, but there’s something that pulls in his stomach and threatens to tip his dinner out. He doesn’t want to kiss anyone, no, and this is all ridiculous anyways, because—

Mina shrugs. "You can always reject it if it’s too much for you, but you’ll have to take a punishment later.“

"But you know, Mina, kissing someone must be easy-peasy for him anyways, don’t you think?” Sero drawls, with a sardonic voice.

Bakugou is gonna kill him. Bakugou is gonna kill them all. Bakugou is going to tell them to go fuck themselves, that they can put their stupid paper and their stupid game in their asses, and that he is going to go to sleep now and he will not take any stupid punishment because the game is incredibly stupid anyways.

Of course, the lack of his usual hours of rest should be affecting his brain already, because what comes out of his mouth, bellowing, instead, is:

“Fuck you, Pinky. And fuck you too, Soy face. Fuck you all. I’m going to kiss whoever you want and is going to be the best fucking kiss they’re ever going to get because I'm that good in everything and I’m not a goddamn coward, you hear me?”

Of course, Sero and Mina don’t back down at all, like they were waiting for that kind of reaction.

Some of his classmates turn to look at him in the middle of his outburst, peeking over from their seats. Most of them have made at least one challenge from the bowl already, so they were paying attention anyways before the screaming. There is a myriad of different reactions. Most of them only look with curiosity. There is a slight anguish expression written over the frog girl’s face, tapping her fingers again and again on her lips; same as Uraraka, who sways on her feet standing next to her. Glasses seems extremely concerned that Bakugou is going to explode the living room at any time and Ponytail fidgets in her place, right next to where Jirou is smirking at all them, seeming amused. She has even lower the volume of the music.

“Um, guys, maybe—” Ponytail begins to say, her voice soft and elegant and polite as always, looking through her long lashes with a slight frown over the pink haired girl.

Ashido doesn’t beat an eyelash at all, though. Her smirk widens, and she crosses her arms over her chest, beaming. "Good, then.“

Bakugou growls at her.

Whatever. She just needs to say the name fucking now, so he can—

"I dare you to kiss—” by the way her eyes are shining, Bakugou almost wants to recoil. He swears to God, if she says Mineta or some shit, he’s going to— “Todoroki.”

…

… huh?

“HAH?”

There’s silence after he explodes, and then Kaminari snorts and Kirishima starts to chuckle besides him.

“You heard me, boy.” Mina smiles, all fake innocence and real devilish. “Go and give Todoroki the best kiss he’s ever gonna get.”

Bakugou growls at the clear mockery of his previous words, and there is something that slips slowly and dangerously inside him.

They want him to snog Todoroki in the couch right in front of everyone? Fine. He’s not a coward, he’s not backing off some stupid ass-challenge like that.

He turns around, and looks at where Todoroki is sitting, right next to where Bakugou was reading a moment ago on the couch, watching the entire conversation in silence. He blinks, and seems genuinely surprised when Bakugou walks resolutely towards him, as if he didn’t expect Bakugou to comply with what was said.

Well, no. It’s not like he wants to kiss Todoroki, he’s just not a coward.

Bakugou stops just in front of him and Todoroki looks up at him, seeming completely lost at what’s going on.

It seems like he is about to say something then, but Bakugou leans over, stretches his arm, takes him from the neck of his shirt and pulls him up. Whatever he was going to say dies on his lips when Bakugou crashes against him. He does a quiet, little, surprised sound at the back of his throat, and Bakugou leans in, swallows it in his own mouth.

If he’s honest, Bakugou has never kissed anyone before that’s not this idiot, and the previous times they weren’t even decent kisses, so he cannot say he has experience. Frankly, he has no idea what he’s doing, but he supposes it can’t be that complicated. Bakugou is naturally good at everything he does, so he just has to try something.

Todoroki’s lips are soft, actually, and from that distance, he can perfectly smell the shampoo of his hair. The fabric of his sweater wrinkles between his fingers when he tilts his head in another better angle, his knee resting at the side of Todoroki’s leg on the couch, his other hand sliding to Todoroki’s wrist. It is thin, and Bakugou’s fingers slide down his sleeve, his nails carefully scraping and scratching at the skin; honestly, he has no idea what he’s doing, but Todoroki makes a little sound that seems content and pleased once he does it, so he supposes that it’s okay. With his fingers there, he can feel Todoroki’s heartbeat rumble against his body, trying to get out.

It doesn’t feel that bad.

Trying to remember something he has seen in some shitty rom-com movie with the old hag time ago, or with Shitty Hair and Pinky, Bakugou pushes his tongue on the edge of Todoroki’s mouth, gently licks his bottom lip, sucks that very lip between his own, and Todoroki opens his mouth, pulls air, makes that surprise sound again. Bakugou takes the opportunity to introduce his tongue into his mouth, and then everything becomes a little fuzzy.

He vaguely notices the way Todoroki’s body relaxes (unravels, melts) at the same time that a song he doesn’t know explodes in the speakers behind him, all whispers muffled in the back of his head.

Frankly, the idea of ​​sticking his tongue in someone’s mouth, or of someone sticking their tongue in his, seemed totally unpleasant to him and nothing like to put on his list of things he wanted or wished to do. But when he leans in a little, Todoroki tilting his head closer to him, closing his eyes, his eyelashes tickling Bakugou’s cheeks— when Todoroki’s fingers move against the nape of his neck, get into his hair, pull Bakugou towards him, like he’s asking, pleading for more— when Todoroki breathes against him, making a soft, humming sound each time Bakugou moves his tongue in a certain way, his pulse rippling, going rampage against Bakugou’s fingers— when Todoroki’s tongue tentatively touches his, slowly, deliberately, as if he was afraid of doing it…

Well, Bakugou supposes it could be worse.

Then, Bakugou releases his sweater and pushes his hand gently against the top of Todoroki’s chest, breaking out to take air, to breath. Todoroki doesn’t open his eyes yet, his long lashes trembling against his cheeks. Their lips make a shameful, embarrassing, obscenely wet sound when they break apart, and Bakugou tries not to think about whose the thread of saliva hanging from his lips the moment he moves apart a little is.

Todoroki opens his eyes then, so slow, slow, slow, and looks at him. He looks at Bakugou like is the first time he had seen him, through the curtain of his eyelashes with stormy eyes full of emotions and glazed, and there is something in Bakugou’s stomach that pulls at him hard, like he’s going to vomit, but he doesn’t feel nauseated or disgusted. At all.

Todoroki blinks, and is at that moment when he realizes three things: one, he is still terribly close to him; two, he hasn’t moved his hands; and three, there is a sepulchral silence behind him except for the music.

Bakugou moves.

And then someone behind him starts to laugh. He assumes is Pikachu.

“Wow, dude, you went all out there—”

Mina starts laughing too.

There’s a light pink dust covering Todoroki’s cheeks, and he’s still gasping for air. Bakugou’s not going to lie, it’s almost—

“There. I’m going to bed now.” Bakugou says then. He turns around, just to find people with wide eyes, people blushing, and the idiots cackling or shit-eat grinning. "I hope you all die, assholes, so you can’t bother me anymore.“

"We love you too!” Raccoon Eyes says, grinning like a moron.

“Yeah, yeah. Night. Assholes. ”

Then he walks and disappears down the hall, his book forgotten on the couch. Once he reaches the elevator, he thinks he can still hear laughter and murmurs behind him.

“Wow, I think he broke Todoroki!”

“Yeah, are you okay, dude?”

Fucking morons.

.

“Haaaah?” Bakugou exclaims, perplexed. “It’s fucking what now?”

“Enchanted!" Kaminari quips up, like he’s dead serious, but grinning like a goofball. "It’s a quirk from a girl from Class B.”

Enchant mistletoes? What kind of quirk so useless is that? It’s fucking bullshit and he’s not going to buy that shit. Nope.

He’s not kissing Todoroki again. No.

Because, yeah, he apparently has to kiss that bastard again.

He can’t even calmly fight with him in the hall now because of these dumb morons.

“Hah, yeah, really funny, Pikachu. I’m going to believe that some girl has a quirk that enchants mistletoes. ”

“It’s not that, actually," Ponytail says, kindly, peeking over at the boy's side; and before Bakugou can sneer at the blonde, she adds, "her quirk is enchanting objects to bind them to people. If you don’t use the object for its "function”, you can’t detach from the object by far more than two meters. Kaminari thought it was a good idea to make a joke like this,“ she explains, and side-eyes him, mildly frowning in disapproval.

Kaminari smiles, "Sorry,” he says, like he’s not. "But is funny, Momo!“

Iida comes out from behind him like a fleeing robot, waving his arms like crazy. "It is not! Kaminari, that’s some serious behavior and—!”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Bakugou says, “so, what? You’re telling me I have to kiss Half-and-half again because that’s what mistletoes are for and if I don’t, then I can’t move from here?”

Momo looks anxious to respond, seeming afraid that Bakugou would explode Todoroki after she answers. "Basically,“ she responds, anyway.

"WH—”

Bakugou can’t finish, however, because Todoroki takes him by the nape of his neck and kisses him. Hard.

Bakugou supposes it is a bit to take revenge of him for that crazy kiss in the party, because he doesn’t think is so necessary for the kiss to be so open (somehow, he can’t manage to think of another way to describe it), but there he is, Todoroki, kissing him like his life depends on it, digging his nails into Bakugou’s neck, burying his teeth in Bakugou’s lower lip, dragging his tongue a little later and— wow, okay.

Okay.

Bakugou did not just make that sound, holy shit. He just didn’t.

He supposes that he actually did it, because Todoroki breaks up the kiss, lips bruised like at the last kiss they had, and fucking smirks at him. Smirks.

Then, he just turns around and walks down the hall.

“Bastard, what the fuck!”

Todoroki doesn’t even stop.

“ASSHOLE!”

He hates how he can feel Todoroki’s teeth on his lips all day.

.

.

He kisses Todoroki again.

He kisses Todoroki again, even if he was supposedly never kissing him again. He kisses him at Todoroki’s birthday party, after someone (he can’t remember, probably Racoon Eyes or Jirou) jokes about Bakugou kissing Todoroki as his birthday gift, given those “wild” kisses before, as she likes to describe them. This one is different, though. Is barely a peck, (and, obviously, a joke) (not like the others ones were for real, per se, but) but Bakugou feels like Todoroki leans a bit more and follows him (maybe not, it was such a subtle movement that Bakugou probably imagined it) after Bakugou breaks the kiss.

Is not a bad kiss. It’s not even a kiss if they count the others they have given each other already, and it’s just a joke so it’s fine.

Yeah.

.

.

.

He kisses him again, though. Six months later.

However, it’s Todoroki’s fault this time.

Some time after that third kiss on the party, or maybe after Todoroki’s birthday party, or just… along the way, Todoroki and Bakugou seemed to… get along, for lack of better, more appropriate words. Their relationship was somewhat complicated, he supposed, or maybe it wasn’t that hard to understand at all, but at some moment, at some point, Todoroki and he began to spend more time together. Just casual, while Bakugou was reading a book, or studying, or helping Todoroki with something school-related, about the classes they had, because holy Hell, Todoroki’s notes were a fucking mess and all over the place and how the HELL are you the fifth in class… who takes notes like this, Icyhot? Is this what you call notes? What the fuck? Really, what the fuck?

Or simply hanging out with the Idiot Brigade in one of their rooms or in the living room. Sometimes (weird times, scattered times) they would be alone in his or Todoroki’s room, quietly resting most of the time, each one with his homework, Bakugou scrolling through his phone while Todoroki binge reads some new manga he just bought.

Like that time, in summer, on a Saturday, when Todoroki knocked on his door at 11am (early, because Todoroki is a damn brick that can be asleep until 2pm, what the fuck?), and peeked through his doorframe, entering as if he were in his own room, sitting on his bed, a manga with the title Erased on the cover hanging from his right hand.

“What do you want, idiot?”

Todoroki had opened his manga on a bookmark and had laid down on the bed, starting to read. "Hmm. Dress up, Kaminari and Mina want to go to the mall, and Kirishima sent me to look up for you.“

Bakugou didn’t know when Todoroki had become so attached to the Idiot Brigade and started to spend more with them as a group, but it had only happened.

"Huh. So now you’re the official dog that comes looking for me?" Bakugou had snickered, and Todoroki had shrugged, still focused on his reading, without even sparing a glance at him.

"More like the one who has to drag you because nobody from the Bakusquad stands you in the mornings to do it.” He had answered.

Bakugou had kicked him before diving into his closet and then starting to dress up.

“I told you not to call it that, it’s stupid.” And it was. The name of his “group of friends” (more like, bunch of annoying idiots that stick to him) with which Kaminari had stupidly decided to baptize them and with which the Brigade of Idiots (plus Todoroki) had decided to come along was totally ridiculous. Idiot Brigade was so much better.

The Idiot Brigade didn’t think so, though.

“Hm. If you think about it, they called it like that because they care about you.”

“More like they're a bunch of morons that like to mess with me and make me angry all the fucking time.”

Todoroki hummed while turning on the page. "I think it’s their own way of telling you you are very important to them, even if you think is annoying. Because, for them, you are a very important part of their group, so—”

“Yeah, yeah, cut the sappy shit already; I’m ready.”

“I’m just saying— oh, wow.”

Bakugou looked up from where he was tying his converse and stood up, expecting to see Todoroki absorbed in a page of his manga (the only times he made some surprise sound or some noise loud enough to be heard), only to find him looking directly at him. Or more like, at his legs.

“What?”

Todoroki had blinked, looked at his face, and then back at his legs, seemingly unable to look away.

“You’re wearing jeans.” He had stated, simply, as if that was enough to explain everything and nothing at all.

Bakugou had looked at his jeans (ripped jeans) and then at Todoroki.

“Yeah” He had said, “is hot as hell and these are fresh enough”, he had frowned, confused, “what about it?”

Todoroki had blinked, suddenly emerging out from his stupor. And then he had looked away, suddenly interested in the one and only All Might’s figure sitting on the small table next to Bakugou’s bed. "Nothing.“

Bakugou had frowned, but he had easily brushed it off. To this day, he can’t quite understand why the Idiot Brigade was shit-eating grinning so much that day.

And looking back, he doesn’t really know why he is remembering that at this specific moment. Maybe because he has the same jeans on.

It’s Deku’s birthday and they’re in a noisy karaoke, and if Bakugou is honest with himself, he really wants to go to the dorms now. Not because Deku is annoying, because he is and he keeps thanking Bakugou so much for his gift (“It’s amazing, Kacchan! Thank you!”), but in fact they have already fixed (at least, somewhat, partially, mostly) that old hostility between them that, Bakugou will not admit it out loud, but it was largely his fault, or because Ashido’s squeaky voice screaming along with Uraraka’s at some girly song is giving him a headache, or because Kaminari keeps cracking bad jokes every fucking time he opens his mouth, but because it’s loud and the food is not even that good and he does not like parties. Maybe he is a grandpa, after all. Not that he’s going to admit that out loud.

Todoroki gets up from his seat and sways a little, because, oh yeah, he forgot to mention it, the fucking dumbass is drunk as hell because he's that much of a moron and he ordered a drink with alcohol without even knowing. The big idiot. After about three glasses, he must be a little drunk, if the way his eyes shine a strange glow when he looks at Bakugou is some indication.

He seems a bit off, too.

He supposes it’s part of the problem, aside from Todoroki being a complete idiot, and it is probably the reason why he ends up kissing him two minutes after the asshole gets up from his seat.

He looks at him through his eyelashes, with glazed, mesmerizing eyes. He says his name, barely audible with the shrill sound of the music, and then he lets himself fall on his lap, straddling his hips, descending to his level with a terribly slow movement that makes Bakugou feel dizzy (God, he seriously needs to get out of there, all the noise is affecting him. But at the same time, with Todoroki in his lap, he suddenly doesn’t want to get out and, shit, the sound it’s definitely affecting him), and Todoroki is saying something, something that Bakugou can’t listen, and then he leans in and down and he’s suddenly kissing him. Hard.

Todoroki is making out with him, in a messy, messy way, and is wet, and is hot, and Bakugou has his hands on Todoroki’s hips, and Todoroki has his hands on Bakugou’s hair, and it’s all really, really messy.

Bakugou doesn’t even know what he’s doing anymore.

Of course, the next day, when Todoroki is complaining about the fatal headache he has. laying down on his back on the couch, sinking his hands in his face when he remembers how he attacked (for lack of, uh, a better word) Bakugou the day before, apologizing to a thousand miles per hour, Iida scolding him about “inappropriate and indecent behavior in a public space”, and Bakugou is trying hard not to laugh out loud, he actually feels it was worth it.

.

They don’t kiss after that, though. In like, half a year or so.

Bakugou doesn’t know how he feels about that.

.

.

.

“Do you like Todoroki-kun, Kacchan?”

Bakugou almost chokes on air. He turns around mid-step on his moves to find Deku standing next to him in the gym. There are not people close enough around (nobody wanting to be a victim of the debris flying out because of Bakugou’s new movements) (which, by the way, does not happen that often, dammit) to listen, but Bakugou moves uncomfortably anyways. An anguish feeling starts crawling inside him. If someone hears— not like it was true, but still—

“What the fuck, nerd? What are you saying?”

“Hmm, well, I was just wondering, because the other day you—”

“No, I don’t like that bastard and I don’t know where did you get that stupid idea from.”

Deku tilts his head and. And he just stares at him. He scans his face like he’s looking for something, and it makes Bakugou feel idly hyper-aware of himself so suddenly.

“Whatever, shitty nerd, aren’t you supposed to be training? You’re not going to keep up with me if you keep doing that stupid thing with your feet every time you do your new move.”

He blinks and looks at his feet, and then at Bakugou again. "Oh. My feet. Right. Thanks, Kacchan.“

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just shut up already and go away.”

Bakugou does his best to keep a face and tone boring or irritated, but the stupid nerd must see through it as if he were an open book, if the way he smiles at Bakugou is some indication. It’s obvious he’s avoiding the subject he just mentioned on purpose.

“Sure, Kacchan. See you, then.”

-

Stupid, stupid Deku. Stupid nerd and his stupid, ridiculous ideas. He doesn’t like Todoroki. He definitely doesn’t like Todoroki.

Sure, they get along better after all the extra training together, and sure, Bakugou doesn’t want to punch his face all the time like before, and yeah, maybe they’re somewhat like friends now, but he doesn’t, does not like him.

No.

So what if they spend even more time together? It’s not like he doesn’t spend time with those idiots either. So what if Bakugou is helping him with some classes sometimes after school? Bakugou tutors Kirishima, Kaminari and Mina too. Maybe he’s less patient with them, but that’s because they’re fucking idiots. So what if they watch a movie from time to time in the living room? They’re never rom-com shits or something, and they usually do it with other people around. So it’s. Not weird. Not weird at all.

And Bakugou doesn’t like him. Nope.

(They haven’t even kissed in all this time!)

Not weird. Definitely not weird. Definitely not weird that Bakugou knows Todoroki’s favorite food now (is cold soba, what the ever living fuck?) —he even told Baldy that time too— and the way his face softens when he’s eating it. It’s totally, definitely not weird Bakugou knows Todoroki’s favorite manga, or favorite color. Not weird how Bakugou has noticed the way Todoroki frowns when he’s deep thinking, how he hits his pencil against his notebook when he’s trying to solve a particularly complicated algebraic problem, how his eyes look a different shade in the sunlight, how the center of his head mixes both colors of his hair when he just had a nap on the floor of Bakugou’s room (which is, definitively, totally and completely not endearing, no); how awfully terrible he is at cooking and at washing, too (seriously, how the hell can you live alone here, Icyhot?), how his face looks after receiving a message from Endeavor (the way it wrinkles and crumples, and there’s an ugly line on his forehead, between his eyebrows, and Bakugou’s hands itch to drag his fingers and make it go away—), how he has his small and rare smiles, which are soft and barely noticeable; how—

No.

Definitely. Not. Weird.

So what if Bakugou is noticing all these things? Bakugou is very observant, and he pays close attention to everyone even if he doesn’t want to. He knows Kirishima’s favorite food too, and he knows how awful Kaminari’s hair looks after gross sleeping and babbling in the couch when they’re supposed to be studying math with Shitty hair and Raccoon eyes. He knows about that irritating habit Ashido has of biting her nails when she’s nervous before a test, and about Sero’s weird taste in mangas too.

So it’s not weird, right? Right. It’s not weird.

He’s just noticing because Todoroki is spending a lot of time with him lately, so it’s just logic. It makes sense. Yeah.

Not weird.

It doesn’t stop him to think about it all day, though. And by the time he’s looking at the cold sky night, dressed in a simple jacket, baggy pants and a scarf, he doesn’t notice Todoroki looking at him until he says his name.

“Bakugou?”

Bakugou blinks. Todoroki is wearing a simple black turtleneck, a brown, long coat and black boots. There are some strands of hair falling on his forehead and Bakugou tries not to think about the fact that he wants to move them with his own hand, and neither about the fact that Todoroki looks like a fucking magazine cover model with just casual jeans (damn it, jeans? It was snowing just a few minutes ago, holy hell, what’s wrong with him? If he gets sick Bakugou is not making him soup again, definitely not) and a coat.

“Hm?” Bakugou makes a sound with his throat, because from Todoroki’s look, he assumes he is waiting for an answer. "What, Icyhot?“

Todoroki grimaces at the nickname, but says nothing. "I asked you if you wanted some,” he says, instead, and picks up the skewer he holds in his hand.

It must be from a nearby local. Their whole class is messily scattered around. Somehow (being really insistent and annoying, if you ask him) they convinced Aizawa-sensei to let them go out to see the fireworks for New Year. At this moment he must be regretting saying yes, though, as he bends over himself and apologizes for Mineta’s behavior with a young lady just a few meters from where Bakugou and Todoroki are.

Iida also seems about to have an attack, (Deku standing behind him trying to calm him down), relentlessly scolding Kaminari while he hangs like a goofball from the edge of the hill they are, Momo trying to calm him down and help, Jirou laughing like crazy at her side because of the poor dead state the blond boy is in after using all his electricity to fry whatever he has in his hand, Mina, Sero and Uraraka joining her in chorus while they bend over themselves and cackle, and Kirishima scratching his neck awkwardly, smiling apologetic at Iida, stumbling with embarrassed apologies.

It sure it’s a view. And if Bakugou was not having a damn crisis, it would have been… cozy, to use a word. Which, certainly, is disconcerting. When did he start to feel so comfortable with these idiots? (He knows it, but the number is alarmingly much earlier than it should be to mention it).

He turns to Todoroki, who has moved to look at Bakugou’s line of sight. He has a soft expression on his face. His lips barely curling up in a little, little smile, his eyes warm.

Bakugou doesn’t really know how much time he stands there looking at him, but suddenly, Todoroki is looking at him with the corner of his eye and raising an eyebrow, as if to say “is something wrong? why are you staring?”

“Uh.” Bakugou says, like a moron. "What is that thing?“ He asks then, pointing to Todoroki’s hand, and trying not to say anything stupider.

Todoroki looks at his hand and raises the skewer again. "Yakitori.” He says, and then he tips the food in Bakugou’s direction. "But is spicy, so I thought you would want some.“

Bakugou narrows his eyes. "You can’t stand spicy food.”

Todoroki shrugs. And then he presses his lips a bit in a way that makes it look like he’s pouting. "I can stand spicy food.“

Bakugou smirks before he can think better. "Yeah, sure.”

Todoroki frowns. "I can.“

Bakugou’s smirk widens. "Uh-huh.”

Todoroki just pushes the skewer into Bakugou’s mouth, quite-not-but-almost pouting all the way, and Bakugou chuckles. He bites before he even realizes the way it looks, because, even if he was a bit aggressive, Todoroki is feeding him.

“Just shut up.” Todoroki mutters under his breath, and Bakugou smirks after chewing.

“It’s really good.” He says.

Todoroki looks at him and is about to say something when Kaminari whistles.

“Indirect kiss!” He shouts at them, Mina and Sero cackling.

Bakugou stomps where they are and takes Kaminari by the neck with one hand, the other making a threatening spectacle with small explosions. Aizawa is hitting the back of his neck with a book just a second later.

Todoroki just looks from behind, cheeks a bit warm.

.

They’re standing in the middle of the crowd, waiting for the fireworks to start. Bakugou is leaning against a railing, the Idiot Brigade in front of him excessively talking and laughing at something, Todoroki at his side, looking at the sky in silence.

It has started to freeze more as the night goes on, and Bakugou has always been a little easy-to-get-cold, which is terrible considering winter in Japan.

It’s probably the twentieth time he rubs his hands together, trying, uselessly, to give them a little heat with friction, and he’s about to take his gloves out of his jacket’s pocket when Todoroki moves to his side among the people, makes himself space, press against his other side, his back against the railing now, and takes his right hand between his left.

Bakugou freezes.

“W—”

Then Todoroki begins to produce heat. From his hand.

Huh.

“Is it better?” He asks, looking at him through his long eyelashes. "You seemed like you were freezing.“

"Uh.” Bakugou says, like a moron. Through the crowd, he can see Kirishima and Kaminari smiling broadly at him behind Todoroki, and even Deku is giving him a kind of look that is getting on his nerves. Why are they suddenly looking at them? What’s going on? "Yeah, it’s good.“ What. What the fuck. Did he just—

Todoroki shrugs and continues with the same flat, blank expression without letting go of his hand. "Okay”. He says, simply.

God, he’s Fucked. Like, Fucked with Capital F.

He likes holding Todoroki’s hand. What the fuck. What the fuck, fuck, fuck.

Are his cheeks warming up? It seems like that. Shit, please no. What the fuck is going on anymore, his own body is betraying him.

Then, Todoroki squeezes his hand, and Bakugou looks at him only to look at the sky afterwards, to where Todoroki is looking.

A second later, the fireworks explode in the sky, coloring the black mantle with thousands of colored lights. It’s a magnificent sight, actually.

Beside him, Todoroki makes a noise, low in the back of his throat and his breathing catches softly. Bakugou looks down and looks at him, and it’s like he was suddenly looking at the world from another angle.

Todoroki has his head thrown back, his hair falling gracefully and moving with the bit of wind; his fingers are warm against Bakugou’s hand, his lips are partially open, surprised, in awe, and his eyes. The colored lights are reflected on there, and they are shining, shining, shining, and the expression on Todoroki’s face is so open, so impressed, and Bakugou remembers that Todoroki didn’t have this kind of things when he was a child, he didn’t have this as he grew up, and he realizes that is probably the first time he’s seeing something like this.

There is something that pulls inside of him. In his stomach, in his throat. His ears buzz a little, and there is a sticky, soft warmth that slides all inside of him.

Bakugou has never considered himself an inveterate romantic or something along that, but there is something, something, something there, inside him, that moves and pulls and destabilizes him. Something agitated and chaotic that is making noise, so much noise, and so loud, like the waves crashing on the sea’s coast in the middle of a storm.

Fuck. He likes Todoroki, doesn’t he?

Fuck.

Is this how it feels? To have… feelings for someone?  So indescribably warm, and soft, and messy and…

Todoroki looks at him, and his eyes open a fraction when he realizes that Bakugou is watching him back. Shit, Bakugou’s heart is going to come out of his chest. But Todoroki says nothing, just looks at him, squeezes his hand. His lips begin to curve a little, in that soft, private smile that is so him, and, somehow, it seems strangely intimate. 

He looks at the sky again, then, pressing his side just a little at his, probably very aware at Bakugou’s open staring and— oh yeah. He’s fucked.

He’s royally fucked now.

.

“You’re acting weird lately.”

“I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are.”

Bakugou doesn’t look up from the work on his desk. “I’m not.”

Todoroki sighs. “But you are.” He insists. “You’ve been… Hm. More quiet, I guess?”

Bakugou turns around in his seat to look at him, frowning, an annoyed scowl on his face. “Hah? What does that even mean, asshole?”

Todoroki looks him straight in the eyes and Bakugou feels that ugly tug on his stomach that hasn’t stopped bothering him lately every time Todoroki is around him.

They are alone in his room before dinner time on a Monday, Bakugou finishing Midnight’s homework due to Wednesday and Todoroki playing dumb by lazily reading Shingeki no Kyojin last volume on the floor instead of working on it too.  He doesn’t shut up about it lately, always arguing with Sero about Eren and Levi and some Armin too. Eldians this, eldians that. It’s kind of endearing, actually, even if Bakugou does not understand half of what he’s talking about most of the time.

“There’s something bothering you?” Todoroki asks, then, still looking at his eyes. “I mean, I know you don’t like talking about those things, but if you—”

Bakugou gets up from his seat to sit in front of him on the floor. “I’m fine, you moron.” He is not, though. Not with Todoroki so fucking close and so fucking pretty and so fucking nice.

Todoroki doesn’t look convinced at all. He leans forward just a bit, frown framing his face, opening slightly his lips, “But—”

Bakugou taps his forehead with the palm of his hand. Todoroki stops leaning and rubs at the place that’s been hit. He almost pouts. And is fucking endearing, holy shit.

“I’m fine. Stop worrying.”

Todoroki frowns. “Okay, but if you need to talk, I—”

“I know, asshole.” Bakugou says, and it doesn’t sound soft, but it feels soft. In his tongue. In the air. “I know.”

Todoroki looks at him for ten long, eternal seconds with something in his eyes before just sighing through his teeth and coming back to his manga. “I still think you’re acting weird, though.”

Bakugou raises a single eyebrow at that. “Do you want me to scream to make you feel better?”

Todoroki’s lips quirk up a little. “That would be nice, thank you.”

This goddamn moron. Why does Bakugou likes him so much?

“Well then”, he says, and sucks a bunch of air before screaming, “DIE! Die, die, die, die!”

He keeps going until Todoroki is laughing, actually laughing, and Bakugou thinks: ah. For that. He likes that moron for that.

.

They’re both eating in the dining room at the dorms, and Bakugou is, again, thinking about how Todoroki’s hair sticks in his forehead. It looks so soft. His hands itch.

This time, however, Bakugou does lean in and touches it. He fucking brushes the hair away from his forehead. Out of the blue. Fucking, stupid, goddamn idiot—

Todoroki looks up at him from his food, eyes mildly wide, surprised (looking a little like someone just hit him with a ball, or like a deer in the headlights, or like Bakugou just grow a second head in front of him).

“Uh.” Bakugou says. Like an idiot. He recoils awkwardly. Todoroki stares at him. “You need to cut your hair. Is long.” Goddammit, he’s so fucking embarrassing. Please, God, take him now.

Todoroki blinks at him. He touches his forehead, absently but hyper-aware of himself all of a sudden. “Oh. Okay.”

“Yeah.” He answers, croaks out. God, he is going to die. That’s the way he’s going to go, there in the middle of a half-dirty, half-clean dining room, in front of the prettiest guy in the world, after touching his hair.

Pathetic.  

He looks away.

Todoroki looks away too. For someone looking from the outside, he looked a bit dazed, a bit surprised, and definitely whipped with his hand still on his forehead and a soft blush on his ears and his cheeks.

Bakugou swears he hears someone face-palm themselves.

.

“You are both so dense it’s not even funny anymore, Bakugou!” Mina whines in his bed. “You obviously like each other and you’ve already kissed, so why not telling each other already?” She cries, like in agony. “I don’t understand! Is making me go crazy!”

“Yeah, dude, I swear I could cut your sexual tension with a knife. Is wild.” Kaminari says.

“Well, you actually wouldn’t because is really thick.” Kirishima points out.

“Right. I guess I just can see it then? Like, is painfully obvious.”

“I agree.” Sero pops out from behind his manga to say.

Bakugou scowls at them. “You are all idiots, he obviously doesn’t like me.”

There’s a pause. Then they all groan like they are going to die.

“Denser than a brick!”

“How can someone so smart be so stupid?”

“I don’t know dude, I think he’s doing it on purpose.”

“Well, I hope! If he’s not, he’s going to make me insane!”

“Right?”

“Yeah!”

“Like, remember that time when Todoroki was blatantly staring at Bakubro’s ass? Damn.”

“Oh, yeah. And that time Bakugou was obviously going to take his hand?”

“That would have been cute if I wasn’t so fed up of that shit already.”

“Mood.”

“OH! And the time they blushed like mad because Bakugou touched his forehead? We were right there!”

“They’re both morons.”

“God, yes, they’re so stupid.”

“Oh and that time when—”

Bakugou rolls his eyes. They aren’t like that at all. At. All. Piss Hair and the others were just all idiots and they liked to be dramatic as hell all the goddamn time.

“oH and WHEN—”

Gaaaaahhhh. Bakugou lets himself drop and lay down on the floor and facepalms himself.

He needs other friends.

Stupid assholes.

.

.

“I like you.”

It’s middle of February around 7pm and they’re standing outside the dorms. The weather is chilly and a bit cold, the sky already making itself dark, purple-ish and pink-ish and gold-ish above their heads. Soft white clouds.

Todoroki just stands there, looking so goddamm thunderstruck and so fucking stunning is making Bakugou go insane equally.

“I like you.” Bakugou says again, and his voice is not tremulous at all, but it is low, lower than the first time he said it, and his hands tremble a little when he moves his fingers to fidget with the scarf around his neck.

Todoroki blushes instantly, seemingly out his stupor, and he looks so fucking pretty. Bakugou doesn’t even feel embarrassed thinking it. He looks so goddamn pretty with his long eyelashes and pretty eyes and pretty face and— Bakugou has to restrain himself not to jump over and kiss the life out him.

“What?” Todoroki finally stumbles with, voice faltering and low.

Bakugou plays with the sleeve of his sweater and looks at the ground, to one side, to Todoroki and then to his own hand. “You heard me; don’t make me say it again.”

There is silence as Bakugou pulls the cloth between his fingers, his breathing in small wisps of white air.

He can hear Todoroki moving awkwardly in front of him. “No”, he says, eventually. “I mean. Yes. I heard you the first time— and the second, I just,” he pauses. Bakugou can see the movement of his foot against the snow. “Are you— you’re—” he keeps stumbling around his own words, and Bakugou looks up at him only to find him looking away, the pretty light blush washing over his cheeks. “You’re not messing with me, right?” he says, finally, voice soft.

Bakugou blinks. Of all the things he expected to hear, the things he thought he would hear—

He walks forward, towards him, and Todoroki turns his head, looks at him and steps back, one step, two steps, and Bakugou continues until he stops right in front of him. He reaches out and takes his arm, not strongly, but firm. Of course, Todoroki could get out of his grip at any moment if he wanted to and flee from there.

But he doesn’t.

Bakugou looks into his eyes.

“Why would I?” Why would I mess with you with something like that?

Todoroki looks at him. He gulps. Bakugou’s eyes snap and follow the movement Todoroki’s Adam apple do before looking at his face again three seconds later.

Todoroki looks at his side. “Well, because I…” he trails off.

Bakugou waits.

And waits.

And then, he squeezes Todoroki’s arm. “You?”

Todoroki looks at him, and he looks so lost. So very lost. Bakugou sighs.

“Look. Is fine. You don’t have to like me back, or some stupid bullshit that’s making you think like crazy. I just like you and I’m tired and if I didn’t say it now, then I’ll probably blurt it out later, because you’re always with me all the fucking time, and I’m not complaining but you have absolutely no fucking idea of how hard it is to not say it right—”

Todoroki blurts out, out of the blue, stopping Bakugou mid-sentence. “Can I kiss you?”

Bakugou almost chokes. “Huh?” He croaks.

“I— I know.” Todoroki says, looking at him intently. “I know how hard it is. I like you too. I know how it is. And I think about kissing you like, maybe all the time, so can I—”

“You like me?” Bakugou breaths out. “You like me back?”

Todoroki looks at him, seeming confused as to why Bakugou looks so surprised. “Yes. I thought it was pretty obvious and for a moment I thought you knew, so when you—”

“No, I didn’t! I didn’t know!”

“Oh.”

“I thought I was the obvious one.”

Todoroki blinks. “No. You. I mean. No.” He shakes his head. “At least I didn’t notice.”

“Huh.”

There’s a long pause until Todoroki looks at him in the eyes again. “Can I— I mean—”

Bakugou can’t help it, he snorts, knowing what Todoroki was going to say.

He steps forwards, leaning in Todoroki’s personal space. And he’s not going to lie, look at Todoroki’s trapped but ever so longing expression is a delight.

“Yes, you moron.” He says, and then leans in more. He can feel Todoroki’s breath against his face. He can see his eyes, close, close, close, and the long, long lashes. He’s so close that he can feel the soft hair tickling his own forehead. God, he’s so gorgeous. How can someone be so fucking pretty. “Kiss me.”

Bakugou has never (a little bit of a lie there, Todoroki really seemed to want to kiss Bakugou at that time in the karaoke) seen Todoroki so eager. He closes the distance between them, craving, and kisses him.

And, God, Bakugou kisses him back.

Bakugou kisses Todoroki as he should be kissed. He savors it, he enjoys it. He digs his fingers in his soft hair, slides them into the pulse of his neck, of his wrist, and Todoroki clings to him like a thirsty man in the middle of a desert, grasping at him desesperately as if he was a single lifeline in the middle of the whole, vast ocean. He leans against him; unravels and melts and tears apart over and over again. He sucks, bites, licks at Bakugou’s lips, and keeps doing sounds Bakugou so long yearned to hear.

God, this is so good.

And they keep kissing, and kissing, and kissing until they feel like freezing, and until Kaminari wolf-whistles while running at them from the door, and Mina cries, throwing her arms in the air and shouting the loudest “FINALLY!” Bakugou has ever heard, Kirishima happily smiling at them with Sero trailing behind.

“We were not spying on you!” Kaminari immediately rushes to say, which means they definitely were. Bakugou finds himself unable to care.

“About time.” Sero scoffs, but he looks genuinely happy.

“I told you!” Mina keeps crying. “I told you! You’re both so stubborn, you were going to make me go old with all the stress!”

Todoroki smiles lightly at her. Bakugou has never seen him so calm before. In a good way. “Mina, that can’t—”

“Well, you both were going to! I’m telling you, you were going to kill me!”

“Seems like we’re smarter than you at this, huh?” Kaminari grins at him. Bakugou just pushes his face with the palm of his hand. Hard.

“Ouch! You meanie! Even after Todoroki warmed you up with a make out session!”

Todoroki seems like he’s going to caught up on fire from embarrassing. Bakugou almost smiles.

“But you are both so cute! So cute! I’m so happy you finally worked it out! I’m gonna cry! I’m gonna cry for real!” Mina actually cries, hugging both of them.

Bakugou rolls his eyes and pats her on the back. “You are all so dramatic, you know? Bunch of goddamn morons.”

“Well, you’re our king after all.” Kaminari says, like is the funniest and most brilliant thing he has ever say.

Bakugou scowls at him. “Hah? What does that even mean, you asshole? I’m not dramatic!”

“You are, though.” Todoroki points out, and when Bakugou looks at him, Todoroki stares right back, deadpan.

Bakugou grunts. “If you weren’t so pretty, I would have punched your face right now.”

Instead of blushing, Todoroki smirks at him. He fucking. Smirks. “Oh, so you think I’m pretty?”

Bakugou scowls. “Don’t be so full of yourself, you know that already.” He has to know. Someone that pretty has to know they are pretty. “Asshole.”

Todoroki’s smirk softens into a real smile. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Huh. That sounded so much fonder than he expected it to.

“AH, they’re so cute! GUYS, THEY’RE SO CUTE! They’re going to kill me!”

“They are, but we better get inside because I’m freezing here already.”

“Yes, yes.”

When they’re heading inside, Todoroki grabs his hand like the cheesy dumbass he is, and Bakugou doesn’t even complain. He leans in Bakugou’s personal space, and whispers into his ear. “I think you’re really pretty too.”

Bakugou pushes his face away with the palm of his hand. “Ugh, you’re so embarrassing.”

Todoroki looks all through him and his snarky comeback, though, and he soft-smiles at him. Bakugou’s ears are getting really warm suddenly.

And when Todoroki leans in again and gives him a peck on the lips, Bakugou feels like dying, but in a good way.

-

Hey, hey, so. That’s it. I hope you all like it! :D Comments are very appreciated! Let me know what you think! c:

[idolish7rabbitchats]

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: 12 SONGS GIFT Rabbit Chat Part 1

Tsumugi: Tsunashi-san, good work! It’s almost Tsunashi-san’s birthday huh!

Ryuunosuke: Good work, Tsumugi-chan. Yeah. A year passed so fast.

T: There was many things happened. I'm looking forward to the project "12 SONGS GIFT"!

R: Thanks! It's a huge audition that many record companies and talent agencies are cooperating with, in which Gaku and Tenn participated too!

T: Yes! It's a huge project where the “singer of the birth month” would be the theme, and professional and amateur songwriters are going to join.

T: IDOLiSH7 participated from January to September. From TRIGGER, Kujo-san participated in September, Gaku-san participated in August, and now, it's Tsunashi-san's turn!

R: I’m looking forward to it. Honestly I was worried about it until around June. Like “Will I be okay alone?” and “Everyone is IDOLiSH7 is great huh” and such.

R: But when Gaku and Tenn were talking about it and it looked fun, I also couldn’t wait.

R: Like what kind of song will I sing and what will I talk about as the MC and such.

R: Even though it's still far into the future lol

T: I think the fans will also surely be happy that Tsunashi-san is looking forward to it!

R: Thanks. That would be nice.

R: Until the day of, I’m going to review and study the videos of Tenn and Gaku’s release events that Anesagi-san filmed.

R: And then, practice for the handshaking event too! I have to make sure I don’t squeeze too hard.

T: Tsunashi-san seems to have a strong grip! I never felt pain when you shook my hands...

R: Well a little kid might come too. I was thinking of shaking with the amount of strength you’d use to squeeze a sponge when washing dishes, how is that?

R: Or the strength of me making sushi without squeezing the rice?

T: I think either is fine! But if you do it that softly, I think that even though they’ve shaken your hand, it won’t feel like enough.

R: True. Then, I'll go with rice ball strength.

T: [Thumbs-up Pudding Stamp]

R: [Confetting Pudding Stamp]

R: Thank you for giving me advice. I started to gain confidence!

T: Don't mention it! Tsunashi-san, do you have a little more time now?

R: I’m fine. What happened?

T:  It’s a little early but, about your birthday, I was thinking I wanted to tell Tsunashi-san the things I’m grateful for everyday...

R: Waah, I’m happy!

R: Even though you’re thanking me, I haven't done much..... Still, I'm glad that Tsumugi-chan prepared this for me.

R: This kind of connection between people is amazing. I always send a formal message to Gaku and Tenn.

T: I see!

R: Yeah! It’s embarrassing but I could feel like I did something nice.

R: Ah, sorry for interrupting you!

R: Go ahead, Tsumugi-chan. I’ll treasure it.

T:Thank you! Well then, I will tell you.

T: To Tsunashi-san,

T: Thank you for always being friendly with IDOLiSH7.

T: Tsunashi-san always watches over Yaotome-san and Kujo-san reliably, and kindly, as TRIGGER's oldest member.

T: When I see Tsunashi-san being kind to anyone at anytime, I admire you and hope I could be like this.

R: Thanks. Tsumugi-chan is also very nice.

T: Thank you!

T: What’s wonderful about Tsunashi-san is that even though you’re reliable, cool, and such an amazing person, for some reason I can always talk to you naturally without getting nervous.

T: I wish the generous, non-affected Tsunashi-san, who opens his heart to anyone and treats them like family, can keep singing as Tsunashi-san. I'll support you with all my might.

T: From now on too, please continue to be like the Tsunashi-san who is TRIGGER’s older brother and IDOLiSH7’s senpai.

T: Happy Birthday.

R: Thanks!

R: Somehow it moved me.  I’m happy that you think of me in such a way.

R: I sometimes hesitate about what it means to "be myself,” but I'll work hard from now on, to not forget the words that I just received.

T: Yes! Please work hard!

T: [Fight! Kinako Stamp]

R: [Fire Pudding Stamp]

R: All right, I'll do it. I'm more motivated for the solo event.

R: So that I won’t lose to IDOLiSH7, Gaku, and Tenn who worked hard before me!

T: That’s great! I’m also looking forward to your “12 SONGS GIFT”!

[caticorn61]

Forget-Me-Not Part III

Summary: You could never forget him, but what happens when an accident causes him to forget you?

Genre: Angst (Chanyeol X Reader)

Word count: 3297

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six

December 12th. The calendar told you that today was your follow up appointment for your shoulder. Which also told you that it had been three weeks since the accident. Three weeks with no progress. Three weeks without being able to hold him and tell him you love him and have him say it back.

Within those three weeks, the dorm had fallen into a false form of normal. The kind where everyone pretended everything was fine but no one addressed the elephant in the room and the elephant was rather oblivious to itself. You haven’t had much time to talk with all of the members but you couldn’t say you minded. Baekhyun kept pretty close tabs on you, so did Suho. Making sure you were okay, that you weren’t in pain, and the others spoke with you when they could, some of them sharing a meal and catching you up on their schedules. You even helped Kyungsoo read for a script he had. For the most part however they knew you well enough to know when you wanted space. At first you couldn’t come out of your room. Just seeing him hurt you. Sehun told him you were just overwhelmed from the crash. Whether he bought it or not you couldn’t tell but it was good enough. Over the second week you had started making small talk with him. Slowly pushing yourself to try and talk to him, in hopes that he would make even the smallest connection. There were a few times you thought he had, where he would say something so specifically you or so  unique that only you would know. Like an inside joke you made up one day over pancakes, or he saw something silly that he hated and whines to you about it. This week you took that hope you found and locked it away in a place that you could feel it, a place that you gave it a little wiggle room to grow if it could, but never leave. Baekhyun and Sehun has dropped small things here and there. Minor slips of the tongue that seemed to go right over Chanyeol’s head. You noticed that in recent days it happened less accidentally, despite the doctors urgings to let the memories come back on their own. A little push wouldn’t hurt right?

You laid in bed, scrolling through every social media app you had for the millionth time. None of them providing anything more than a temporary, mundane form of comfort. You were nervous. This appointment would determine whether or not you could start using your arm again and in turn, whether or not you could start working again. You missed it, hell you needed to go back. It was your outlet. Makeup allowed you to be creative, each member providing s different canvas to work with. This week they were starting up with promotions again, Chanyeol included. The doctor had deemed him stable and healthy enough to resume his usual activities but had seen no improvement in his memory recovery.

The air was chilly against your skin as you peeled the blankets from you. The weather had gotten colder than you anticipated and it only made your shoulder ache more. You pushed yourself off the bed with a groan and tucked your feet into the little bunny slippers Chanyeol had bought for for Christmas last year. Your room, which up to this point was Xiumin’s but he opted to bunk with Chen until you were okay to go home. If you were honest, you weren’t really sure what home was anymore. It hadn’t been a place for years. The apartment you lived in was just a shelter, an empty place only filled because you had him. He made it a home. He was home. Now you felt homeless.

Chanyeol sat alone at the kitchen counter, today’s newspaper in his hands. You always chuckled at that. Even though you could find the news online he always preferred the old fashioned paper. His thick, black frames sat gently on his nose. On anyone else they would have been too much, but somehow he made it work. Behind them his eyes read the print carefully, his brows furrowed in annoyance as his tongue licked his teeth carefully. He did that when he focus really hard.

“What are you reading?” You said, breaking the silence. You grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge and open it with your teeth then grabbed another for him. Peach for you, strawberry for him.

He sighed with a growl and lazily folded the paper. “Nothing good. Just politics.”

You scoffed and smiled, handing the yogurt cup to him. “I’d rather read the cartoons.” Which is true, but you knew he loved that too.

He chuckled, his bright smile taking over, and he opened his yogurt. “So would I! Minseok got ahold of it before i woke up.”

“Doesn’t surprise me, he’s an early riser. Is he the one that made the coffee?” You asked curiously, you would kill for a fresh cup. The smell calmed you and have you a strange sense of peace.

“No, well he made a pot but everyone had their fair share. Also before i got up. I made that pot, so it’s fresh. Help yourself.”

You laughed. “Seems like we could both use to get up earlier huh? It would be beneficial to our morning routines.” You took a mug from the cubby, “do you want a cup?” He nodded and you grabbed another.

You prepared your cup the way you liked it, with as much cream and sugar you could fit in the cup. He liked his black,withthe smallest bit of sugar, but never any cream. He felt like the cream didn’t make a difference and always made fun of you for your coffee flavoured milk.

You slid his cup over to him and he took a sip.

“Aaah, refreshing.” He said and glanced at yours, “you’re gonna get cavities drinking that. You practically poured the whole container in!”

You laughed loudly, more so than you should have for something that wasn’t even funny, but it felt nice. He said the same thing the first time you had coffee together. It was before the two of you started dating, in fact it was the date, if you could call it that, that triggered the scandal that led to you dating. He took you out to get some fresh air. Both of you had felt overwhelmed, you with the decision of a lifetime teetering back and forth and him with the stress that the idol life brought him. Funny how that time brought you close, and in turn how you got each other through it. In fact this was the first sense of normalcy you’ve had in a while. Just you and him and your morning coffee. You wanted to savor this, right down to the last drop. To remember what was. You closed your eyes and pretended, just for a second, that you were home, and that he was yours.

“What are you doing?” He asked lightly. You opened your eyes slowly. He was staring at you intently, a sense of curiosity danced in his eyes. He used to be able to read you like a book, word for word, cover to cover. He could tell your mood by how you moved, even the smallest movement of your hand. You wondered if he still could. Could he see that you hurt when you looked at him? That you hadn’t smiled, hadn’t laughed, hadn’t been happy in weeks? The logical side of you knew that he had no clue who you were. But the romantic side of you? That side clung to every ounce of hope it could find.

“Just enjoying my coffee.” You said as you took another sip. You watched his eyes search your face for the truth and part of you hoped he would find it. You raised your cup to take another taste and his face lit up.

“Waah, what’s this??” Chanyeol pointed to your ring. You felt your heart drop to your stomach. You’d forgotten that you still had it on. You really didn’t know what to with it. You didn’t even know if you err engaged anymore. Taking it off felt wrong, like you were giving up hope, giving up what you had of him. It felt like you lost. So you kept it on, hoping someday this little piece of gold wouldn’t hurt you so much.

“Are you engaged??” His voice was filled with excitement, his happiness leaving a burning sting in your chest.

You fidgeted with the ring, “It’s...complicated.” You managed. Your eyes glued to the ring not daring to take it off, in fear that he would see your names engraved together on the inside. You felt the numbness pile back. That’s the only thing you could think to call it. The mess of every emotion possible in one go. Numb.

You felt a hand wrap gently around yours. You looked up slowly and met his eyes and immediately wished you hadn’t. He looked sad,as if he could feel your pain too, just by touching you. It ate at you,but no matter how bad you didn’t want to feel this you didn’t want him to feel it too. “You don’t have to tell me about it. Whatever happened, it will be okay, okay? I promise.”

You half smiled and took a deep breath, praying that you could exhale the cloud you felt inside. “I hope you’re right.”

“Where is everyone?” You asked. Chanyeol relaxed into his chair. He removed ball cap and fixed his hair, ruffling it up loosely, making it stick out in a boyish and endearing way. You chuckled at him, shaking your head at his antics.

“At their schedules, today is particularly busy.” He stated as he slapped his cap back on. “Except for me. My schedules resume tomorrow.”

You blinked. “Gone!?Baekhyun was supposed to drive me to my follow up in a half an hour!” You groaned and rubbed your eyes with your palms. The doctor didn’t want you driving just yet, and even if you could cars stressed you out. You hated even being in them.

“I can drive you.” Chanyeol said. “The doctor cleared me to drive, so i can take you. It’s no burden, I’ve got nothing better to do today.” Chanyeol stood up, straightening his hoodie and cleaning his mess,seemingly deciding he was taking you himself.

“Thank you.” You breathed. “I just want to use my stupid arm again.” You rubbed your shoulder. The sling the kept your arm in to prevent you from using your shoulder was probably one of the most annoying things you could have on. It made everything an inconvenience. Showering, sleeping, even walking. Now you had to be extra careful not to run into things or tap things with your right side. Honestly if the doctor didn’t give you good news you’d probably have a mental breakdown. You wanted to get back to normal. At least I’m one aspect of your life.

“I understand, the brace i had was annoying as hell. I only have to wear it at night now.” He chimed, “I can’t imagine how you must feel. Your a makeup artist right? That’s what the others have told me.”

“Yeah, and I’m supposed to be back at work with you tomorrow. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he says i still can’t use it. I just want to work again. I need one sense of stability back.”

He nodded simply. “We will make it work either way.”

You looked at him. “We?”

“Yeah! I may not remember you but I’m not heartless. Not am i stupid. I can see how much all of the member care about you. That makes you my friend too. We were in the crash together, so we will recover together.”

“Ah.” You let out. You slouched against the fridge, biting the inside of your cheek carefully. A small smile spread over your face. For some reason you found comfort in that small “We”. It was a trivial word that he meant nothing significant by. But to you, it was one of those droplets of hope that poured into your skin and gave you a little bit of faith to keep your head up. So you smiled and raised your cup. “Here’s to a happy recovery.”

“Cheers.”

—

You hated hospitals. Even before the accident you hated them. They were crowded with people, some obviously sick, some of which had no clear idea of hygiene and manners. Not to mention how loud it was. It always reminded you of pain, in some form, and frustration. You had been to the hospital multiple times in the past. In your teens you had cancer scares, apendicitis, your gallbladder removed, broken bones, all sorts of things. Every visit only brought bad news and stress. You hated it.

The waiting room you were in was particularly busy too. It was fifty fifty with young kids, ones who, obviously played sports and had some kind of injury and elderly folk who probably fell somehow. You sat with your arms crossed across your chest, legs crossed in an effort to make yourself as small as possible and not run into someone else’s chair space. You bounced your leg and fidgeted with the cloth of your jacket, trying to let your mind wander the pass the time.

Chanyeol laid a hand on your knee, calming your shaking leg. “Calm down.” He chuckled, “the worst he’s going to tell you is that you can’t use your arm for a while.”

You huffed, “Which would be fine and dandy if i wasn’t right handed. My fill in at work has to follow another group, so she can’t stay with you. You’ll be short staffed, and I’ve worked short staffed days, everything is set for a loop, and nothing goes right. At this point if he tells me not to I’ll probably just do it anyway.”

“I’d love to see you try, we will all boycott that. You’ll be fine. Just breathe.”

You took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I just can’t stand doctors.”

A nurse walked out and called your name. You looked at Chanyeol instinctively, and surprisingly his eyes met yours in sync. You nervously licked your lips and he shuffled lightly, his hand brushing yours oh so softly.

“Do you want me to come with you?” He asked quietly. You nodded slowly and and he took your hand as if it was the normal thing to do. The nurse led you back through the doors and ran you through the routine question. Date of birth, did you drink, family history, the whole nine yards. Waiting for the doctor felt endless. Thousands of answers ran through your head. A majority of them medically illogical but your anxiety soared at appointments. Chanyeol gave your hand a squeeze, the look in his eyes giving you small comfort that you had missed. You squeezed his hand back as a silent thank you. You missed holding him. Even as innocent as it is. You missed him.

The doctor entered the room with a light knock. He shuffled onto his swivel chair, clipboard in hand. He typed on the computer and brought up what looked to be your file.

“Alright.” He said spinning around to face you. He wheeled his chair over to your injured side and place a delicate hand on your bandaged shoulder. “Has the pain gotten any better?”

“It has. It’s worst in the mornings.” You stated. He moved your arm up and down slowly, his eyes watching you for any sign of pain. You winced as he brought it high.

“You’ve made good progress! It isn’t fully healed but i know you have been wanting to use t again for work. Given that your work generally doesn’t require heavy lifting I’m going to go ahead and allow you to use your arm. Absolutely no heavy lifting, don’t strain yourself and be careful lifting your arm up too high. I’ll refer you to a physical therapist to help you work back to that, but take it easy for now.” You felt a relief and excitement rush through you. A grin spread across your face, you’d hug the man if it wasn’t inappropriate. “Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect. Thank you.” You said, trying not to bounce off the walls.

He handed you a slip, “Give this to the lady at the front desk, she will schedule you an appointment for a month from now and will schedule you with the PT.  Be careful okay?”

You nodded and made your way to the desk. When you reached the receptionist you felt Chanyeol let go of your hand, and suddenly you felt stone cold. You had to fight the urge to reach out for him, and it pained you to stand still, smile still plastered on your face. He looked at you with glowing eyes and an even more cheerful smile.

“This calls for a celebration!” He pounded his fist meaningfully on the counter, the other shaking almost triumphantly. You cocked an eyebrow in confusion, “Let’s get lunch! My treat!”

—

You rolled your eyes behind your hands. Chanyeol insisted on surprising you for the place. Honestly if someone told you this was where you would wind up today you’d have told them to fuck off. But here you were. He was driving Suho’s car, given that his was totaled. You didn’t know it as well, the smell was different, the seats didn’t sit the same but Chanyeol still hummed. He still tapped to the beat on his steering wheel and danced in his own little world. It’s strange in a sense, how he wasn’t phased in the least by being in the car again, but with you, Chen had to hold your hand and talk you through it just to keep you from freaking out when you were released from the hospital. The panic had eased since then but everytime the car jerked or made a sudden move you felt your heart skip a beat.

“I’ll drive slower.” Chanyeol said suddenly, pausing personal concert he had going on.

“You, uh, you don’t have to do that. I’m fine.” You do yourself to make yourself seem at ease but you were certain you looked like a dumbass no matter what.

“I can see you tense everytime a car even honks. I’ll go slower.” He stated firmly.

“I’m fine!”

“No you aren’t. I may not remember much of the crash but driving isn’t as fun as it used to be. I know it has to scare you since you remember everything.”

You blinked. Did you hear him right? “You remember the crash?” You asked. You heard him shift in his seat and you pictured him taking his hand and swiping it nervously over his mouth, as if he knew something he wasn’t supposed to.

“Bits and pieces.” He said. “I remember right before the crash. It was peaceful. I remember you were with me too but i don’t know why. I-“ he paused, his lips opening and closing as he searched for what to say. Nothing came. Silence flooded the atmosphere and you couldn’t say you hated it. You didn’t want him to finish that sentence. It would only confirm a number of what ifs that cemented themselves under your eyelids. This way you could imagine a better what if. This way you could fake it.

“It’s okay.” You said softly, “If you don’t remember who I am. I’ll carry the burden for the both of us in the meantime. So it’s okay.”

—

[sunshinelulusplatoon]

OYTARSS: Chapter 2

(Well, said I do it since I was off so here’s chapter 2 to Of Yellow Tentacles and Red Shark Scales. If actually reading it, enjoy!)j

Chapter 2

Children’s stories and Curious Eyes

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. A week and I couldn’t get it off my mind. What was it? Where was it from? Had it always been there? Under the waves? Was it only now, that we could be in water, that we discovered it? Or I discovered it? I had so many questions and little answers.

Sitting in my room trying to concentrate on writing new music, I just sat there tapping my pencil as once again the creature was on my mind. Thinking on how each day after the incident, after making an excuse to Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, and the doctor on how I cut my tentacle and how I got the marks on my chest, I went back, looking the waters around the valley to see if it hung around but to no avail. What was it? Was it curiosity or something more that made me want to see it again? Its color, its shape, those eyes; I was just fascinated with it. Ugh, it was driving me crazy! Sighing and setting my pencil down, I figured I need to get out of the house for the rest of the day. Having already done morning meetings, which stopped me from checking the waters today, I was restless and frustrated and figured probably a walk around the cities would help my head. Getting up and shutting my computer down as I put my music sheets away, I grabbed my keys and phone as I locked the house up and left my family dome as I was the only one there at the moment.

Arriving at one of the smaller cities that led into smaller housing areas, I walked around for a bit; listening to the music playing and watching people pass by as I walked into one of the smaller living communities. As I walked, all I could do was think about the creature. Yet again! I wanted to know more. I wanted to see it again! Moaning in annoyance, I stopped for a bit as I tried to clear my mind of said creature. Long enough for me to catch the conversation the children across the street were having.

“HaHa! I’m the great zora hero! Great hunter of the sea! I will protect the princess from the mighty kraken!” one little boy went.

“Waah! Save me great zora hero,” the little girl cried; having a toy tiara on her head indicating she was playing the princess that needed saving.

“Wahaha! Great hero! You will fall to me today for I the mighty sea kraken will defeat you,” another little boy laughed.

Watching the little ones play as the boys played fight for the little girl, that word resonated in my head. Zora. Where have I heard that word before? Watching them play it reminded me of my younger days when I played in the open fields with Joey, Marwick, and Marcy. My thoughts then drifted to the music story with the old octarian lady who taught me things about my people. Would hand me books and stories to read.

That’s when I clicked. That’s when I remembered the book. That’s when I rushed towards the capital.

In the capital was the largest library in the valley. It was public but also used by the college Marcy was going to. Upon arrivingand to my luck, I spotted Marcy sitting at a table with a bunch of books on it as she was peacefully reading. “Marcy!” I called out. Popping her head up at the call of her name, she gave a warm smile and wave as I came closer to her. “Lulu! What are you doing here? I’ve never known you to be much of a reader,” Marcy spoke. “I know but something came up that I need to find a certain book. Marcy, where is the children’s section?” I replied. “Children’s section? What do you need out of there?” Marcy questioned. “An old children’s book from my childhood. One named ‘Zora: Legends of the Deep’” I replied.

Once in the children’s section, Marcy and I went to quick work looking for the book. It didn’t take long to find it and taking a seat at a table, we looked it over. The title in gold lettering, “Zora: Legends of the Deep”, the picture on the front was a humanoid sea creature that reminded me of the one I saw. Though this one on the cover looked different than that one. Its head wasn’t sharked shape, more so some type of whale, and looked feminine, colored in purple instead of red as it adorned pearls and golden jewelry around it’s body and it chest bore shape to breast like females have. For the scenery around it, it was underwater coral with little fish scattered around giving the whole underwater atmosphere.

Finally opening the book up, we looked through the pages as I took in information. Zora were known as a fairy tale creature though the book speculates they may have existed before along side the humans. Humanoid fish creatures, they could live on land and in water and were at most a peaceful and elegant race. Proper,  they were a strong and proud people but not vain. They were strong hunters, moving quite fast under the water to hunt and catch their prey and could travel across areas that most could not such as climbing up waterfalls and diving down to the deepest parts of large water. The pages went on explaining that Zora took on many different looks of different sea creatures such as whales, sharks, sting rays, dolphins, and many types of fish themselves. These looks, or sub-types as the book called them, made up the natures and attributes of a said Zora. The book then went on about how females were nurturing and males were hunters and protectors as well as the social system they have with a royal family at top and an army to protect the people. At the end, different small stories were told about some adventures zora had or encounters with humans.

Closing the book, thoughts were going through my head about the creature I saw and how things added up. “So it’s a zora,” I slightly spoke out loud. “What is?” Marcy asked, breaking me out of the my thoughts. “Oh...uh...Marcy, can you keep a secret?” I replied. “Depends. What’s this all about?” Marcy questioned. “Well, I kinda snuck off last week to go swimming in the ocean and I got attacked by a strange sea creature. But I think after reading this, that creature was a Zora,” I explained. “Lulu! You know you are not suppose to go off into the waters by yourself. What if it had actually killed you???” Marcy exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down but was very shocked and concerned. “I know, I know! I just got bored and wanted to explore. I couldn’t help it!” I replied.

After taking a bit to explained everything of what happen, Marcy sat their pondering. “It does sound like one. But if it is one, then these creatures are still alive and hiding from us to not know about them till now. I mean all we know about them are these fairy tales passed down from generation to generation. And nothing more. It’s only now that your people are able to go below the water’s surface to come in contact with whatever is down there. To think that some stories could actually be true. That creatures from the old world could still be alive is all but fascinating,” Marcy stated, seeming quite excited but nervous at the same time. “Yeah, I know. But the problem is I haven’t seen it since that day. I don’t know if it was just in the area or something that stays around these parts long enough for us to study it. I went back to where I first saw it but no luck there either. So I don’t if I’ll ever see again,” I sighed.

After reading some more information from other books we could find, some about anatomy and other things, Marcy had to get back to her studies so I decided to leave and head towards the surface for proper fresh air after I got Marcy to promise me she wouldn’t speak about this to anybody else. Arriving at the square, I popped through the manhole cover as Marie moved out of the way for me and started to walk around. “LULU!” a familiar voice called out. “JOEY!” I replied back as I rushed towards him. Hugging each other, it turns out Joey was here from the academy on a small extra break for a few days. “Turf Wars sis?” Joey asked. “Hell yah!” I replied before remembering I didn’t have any of my gear, “Fuck, I don’t have any of my stuff on me!” “That’s okay. I’ll just buy off a spare pair of duelies and tank for yah. Not like we can’t afford it,” Joey laughed. “True that bro!” I replied, laughing as well.

Buying the stuff from Sheldon, we found two more players to play with us before heading off into a match. Manta Maria was on role and once arriving I took in the smell of the salty air. It was refreshing. Turf Wars was refreshing. As the last of the counter went off, Joey and I rushed towards middle; but as we rushed there I felt this odd presence as if I was being watched.

First half of the match we were kinda loosing. The opposite team pushing us from middle we were kinda sunk till one of the players got two of them splatted and I got the other two. But we didn’t have enough time to get things re-inked if we didn’t do something drastic. So drastic we did. “JOEY! YOU TRUST ME?”  I shouted. “YOU SIS? ALWAYS!” Joey replied. “SQUID FORM AND GRAB ONTO ONE OF MY TENTACLES!”

As Joey did just that, I clung onto him before spinning around and with all the force I had, whip shot Joey into the air. So far I tossed him that he came above the top of the other teams spawn area, just as 3 of them re-spawned and were heading in the same direction back towards middle. Right over their heads, Joey clicked in his special and came down with a splashdown of his gun he was using and splatted all three of them. Joey bought us time as he got the 4th one and was inking their side as we were inking middle. Finishing up by the rails of the boat when the horn went off at the end of the match, we all watch to see as the Judds tally up the points, and announced we won the match. “Booyah!” I went, hopping around in celebration before I heard it.

A high pitch growl with chirps to it.

Hearing it, I turned towards the sea to see it.

Well, to see him.

After reading the books, I knew he was a male by stature and seeing him there I realized that the watching presence I felt throughout the whole match was his. He had been watching. Watching me!

Leaning against the rails, I gave a soft smile and wave before he started to move closer till he stopped and dunked under; as if something had startled him. Shocked and concerned, I was wondering what made him go back down till I felt an arm wrap around my neck and then my head being repeatedly rubbed. “NUGGY! NUGGY! NUGGY!” Joey shouted in excitement. “WAH! JOEY STOP IT!” I cried out as I tried to get out of him embrace, laughing the whole time. Finally let me go, we high fived and fist pumped before Joey stated overly hyped, “LULU! DAMN THAT WAS SICK! MAN I SPLATTED ALL THREE OF THEM AND THEY DIDN’T EVEN SEE ME! THAT WAS THE BEST SHIT EVER! THAT WAS CRAZY THINKING SIS! HOLY HELL WE GOT TO DO THAT AGAIN! COME ON! LET’S GO!” I just laughed. “Okay! Okay! Adrenaline rush much!,” I laughed. As we headed to leave, I looked back to see him pop back up and I gave a soft smile as I turned to head back.

With the roll, most of my matches were on Manta Maria and as we spawned, I would check with a side look to see if he was there. If not at first I would catch him watching later on. Observing. Trying to understand what was going on. What we were doing. Sometimes he had funny faces or looks of concern when I re-spawned and looked at him. Moments like that I gave him a big smile and thumbs up to let him know I was okay. Having him there though gave me some sense of confidence. I didn’t know why but having him watching wanted me more than ever to win. To show what I could do. We didn’t win every match but I gave it my all. How well I could jump over things. How well I could get things inked and covered. My fighting and splatting skills. Just all of it. The best I could show.

But like every day, the maps re-rolled and at the last match, the roll was called. Sadly Manta Maria didn’t pull up for rank nor league and giving a heavy sigh as the others were leaving, I turn towards the rails and looked towards the sea. He was watching of course but I could tell he could see the sorrow in my face as I gave another sight and a slow wave. That’s when he swam up to the edge of the boat. It was the closest I had seen him since that first encounter and he too seemed a bit sadden. As if taking the  hint that this was the last time he would see me here today. But his eyes seemed to understand as he too gave a soft smile and a wave. A simple goodbye and see you another time

That’s when my heart gave a flutter and then a sting of pain as I watched him dive back down into the water; watching his silhouette head towards open water.

Returning back to the square, Joey was waiting for me. “Hey, what took you so long? You alright?” Joey asked, concerned when he looked at me. “Oh..yeah, I’m fine. Kinda tired now though and I was just watching the ocean for a bit is all,” I replied, trying to perk my attitude up to not worry Joey. “Yeah, same here. I should be heading back to the apartment. This was fun. I’ll see you tomorrow. Your place? Games?” Joey remarked. Nodding for yes, I gave Joey one last hug for the day as we departed and headed back home.

Arriving home, I flopped on my bed after greeting everybody and letting them know how my day was. Laying there, I thought about him again. Him watching me play. Those looks of excitement he had at us winning. That soft smile and those golden eyes. Plopping my hands on my face, I rolled over and gave a heavy sigh and groan. Something about him. Just something made me want to know more.

Rolling back over, I listened to the conversation outside my door and groaned again.

More morning meetings!

[todrawthedevil]

so!

nisha used to be in foster care. she doesn’t ever really talk about or acknowledge what happened to herself (though her parents seem to know a lot of details about it, so she’s probably either opened up about it once or a few times or their parents got a file on it)

now, nisha has kind of... completely seperated herself from her past, like, she really hates to think about it and just likes to imagine she always grew up with the benedicts, y’know, especially because she was so so young when she was orphaned so it’s not like she has any memories with her actual parents or anything to rely on. 

but here’s the thing: nisha, as a child, was very very resourceful. and while the details of what happened are vague, i know that the abuse did get physical at times (nisha in tsg instantly goes into flight-or-fight mode in arguments and flinches if anyone raises a hand towards her) and... i think, at some point, she realized that she could get away from her situation if she got herself sent away. like, she went to the hospital and realized what a safe haven that could be, so she made sure she got sent to the hospital as often as possible - and i don’t mean this by getting physically hurt; i mean this by acting out so much she could get admitted to some sort of child psychiatry ward just so no one had to deal with her

although it rly only worked a few times before she got dumped at the orphanage but, yknow, she was thankful for it,

but thinking about that is sUCH an embarrassment for her... she hates imagining herself as this bad-behaved violent little child, y’know... honestly i feel like that, for her, is worse than anything else

so i feel like instantly she turned this solace she found in hospitals to a fear of it, it became this disgusting awful fearful thing that she had this ugliness in her and the only place she was safe from it was in a sanitized place like a hospital ward.

and this ties into ellen’s hospitalization years and YEARS later. i feel like nisha became a very careful and nervous child after that, especially when it came to her body, to try and avoid ever having to go back again, and then suddenly her biggest sister is in the hospital and she’s dying and nisha can’t take it. and then she’s hospitalized, again, and i feel like that seals it for her. she gets this diagnosis and nisha is instantly just like ‘nothing has changed i’m still this awful terrible child that deserves to be sent away’. and this is the point of her completely breaking down and never picking herself up again. her oldest traumas just meet with a new one, one that’s way worse than anything she can cope with, and it just... breaks her and this is such a parallel with nora rn actually WAAH

[kpop-melody]

BTS reaction to their daughter wants to marry them

Anonymous said :

Can I have BTS reaction when their 5-year-old daughter says she's gonna marry them when she's grownup because they are just so perfect? Thank you 😘

Hi darling~thanks for requesting ! ..here’s your requested ship and I hope you like it >< .

P.S : I read it ( 3-year-old ) ,I don’t know if this affects but in case you found something strange ;) .

Jin :

Jin's daughter was setting on her father's lap while he was doing for her a braid she asked him to do ,why ? ..because she is her dad's model and bestfriend ,and he will never refuse an order from her ! .

She stood in front of the mirror to see what her dad made ,but she was so short to even see her forehead ,Jin came and held her up between his arms .She looked at her hair and smiled brightly ,that smile which lights Jin's day and make him the happiest father ever .She looked at him and kissed his cheek , with a childish keen tone she said :

" You are the best daddy ever !" ,that made Jin look proudly at himself in the mirror .

"aren't I ? ..and now ,because I'm your perfect dad ,what will you do for me ?" He said with warm eyes as he kissed her chubby cheeks .

"what I will do ? ..ummm " she said while looking at her fingers ,it's a habit to look at her fingers and move them randomly while thinking ,that was the cutest thing Jin has ever seen .Then ,with wide eyes and a huge smile she said .

"I'm going to marry you when I am 23 !" ..she said while pointing at his nose .He had that shocked face and weird smile ,then put her on the ground .

"ohh babe ,I know I'm that pefect and you won't find someone like me but .. you can't marry me ! ..you know why ? ,because you will be always your perfect dad's princess !..now ,let's make some cupcake !" .

Suga :

When Suga has to make or produce a new song ,it's so normal to see his daughter next to him in the studio ,because it's her favorite time ,and he likes to spend time and share his achievements with her ! .She was on his lap that day when he finished making the song and decided to let her play with the piano or ,teach her how .While pressing randomly on the keys and laughing at every sound she was hearing ,she asked him .

"daddy ? ..you know how to play on this thing ?" ..she asked while looking up at him ,so he looked back at her .

"yes baby-girl ,this thing called the piano ,and those are the keys ,and I think I can play for you anything you want !" She smiled widely and looked admiringly at him .

"ohh ,really ? ..so you can play that song in Tom and Jarry ? " she asked while waiting for his answer with wondering eyes .

"yes I can ,listen to this ! " , he started playing professionally and she was so shocked yet so happy because of his skills .She hugged him the moment he finished ,so he did back ,then looked at him and said :

"can I marry you ? so you can play it for me everyday before I go to bed ? " ..she said in an innocent way ,so his gummy smile suddenly showed up .

"and why ? ..I can play it for you everyday before you go to sleep even if you didn't marry me " he said while playing with her hair and smiling ,so she pouted .

"NOO ,I'm going to marry you ! " she said while burying her face in his chest .

"as you like my angle " ..he said as he started playing the song all over again .

Rap Monster :

It was the learning hour ,as Namjoon was calling it .Him and his daughter ,everyday ,were sitting to the dinner table as he was telling her about random things in the world or history ,anything she wanted to ask ,he was there for her to answer  .One day ,he was telling her about the history of the T.V ,in a very simple way ,so her small mind can understand .

"and then the colored T.V was in every house in Korea ! " ,he said while swiping some photos in the iPad ,he always used visible tools to teach her .Suddenly she asked with opened mouth :

"waah dad ,how do you know all these things and they happened before you were born ?" ,he giggled .

"well ,books and helpful websites are available for anyone !" ..he said as he placed his chin on his hand ,so she looked at the library in the other side of the room .  

"so you read all these ? " ,he nodded with a shy smile ,so she shouted with her eyes locked on the books with shocked face .

"I HAVE THE BEST DADDY EVER !" ..then she stood on the chair and hugged him ,so he did back .

"you know you can read these too ? ..and maybe more ? ,so you can learn about anything in the world ?" ,he said as he pointed at the bookshelves near them .

"NO ! ..I hate reading ! .. " she said as she locked her arms near her chest with a frown .

"baby ? ..and how do you imagine to learn about what you want ? " he said with a stunned face ,she took a minute before she found the solution .

"I can marry you ! ..so you can always read books and give me learning hours !" ..she said with a huge smile ,he giggled at her childish thoughts .

"but you know you have to love reading now or then ! " ..he said with a warm smile which showed his dimples .

"ok ,but I'll marry you anyway " ,she said as she smiled brightly and opened the iPad again .

"now tell me about the history of dolls  daddy ! " she said as she showed him a photo of her teddy bear and sat to hear his lecture .

J-hope :

He was teaching her some simple dance moves in the practice room under their house .She loves to see her dad dancing in a professional way ,so she got jealous and wanted to be as good as him .That moment ,when she was in her dancing clothes ,she entered the room and he was doing some break dance moves in an amazing way ,with her penguin walk she ran toward him as the music was finished ,so he held her and swung her in the air ,which made her giggles get higher and higher ,she screamed the moment he stopped .

"YOU ARE AMAZING !" She screamed as she hugged his head .

"ohh and you are a perfect daughter " he said as his dimples were shown and he kissed her cheek a long one .

"dad ? ..I want to marry you when I grow up " she said with a cute tone ,so he laughed so hard .

"ohh babe ,you can't marry me ,cuz you are my little princess " she frowned ,as if she was that close to cry .

"but dad ,I want to learn those dance moves when I grow up !" ,he held her closer .

"and you will learn them ,you don't have to marry me ,mom will get mad " he said with a huge smile .She giggled ,they always used  to talk about you in your back ,that made her laugh so hard .

"ok ,but promise me you'll teach me this dance ! " she said as she started to whisper so you won't hear .He nodded and went to the player .

"I promise ,and now ,let's dance a little ! " .

Jimin :

He was sitting near her on her bed before she fell asleep ,talking about how you both met, fell in love and got married .As she was smiling ,hugging her teddy bear he finished and said :

"then you were born and our life became totally perfect" ..she smiled

"I like it " with a simple whispering way she said it ,which made him take a quick kiss and whisper :

"yes me too " ..

Then she started playing with her teddy's hands in a cute way ,he smiled again and said :

"I know you have a question ,ask .." , she mumbled after he finished :  

"you said you love mom so you married her ?" She said while staring at the wall .

"yes ,if you love someone you should be loyal and love him forever ,and that what I wanted when I thought about marrying mom !" He said while patting at her hair ,so she looked up at him .

"so ,can I marry you ? ..because I love you ?" She said with an innocent look and shiny eyes .He giggled which made his eyes turn into two black crescents .

"ohh babe ,I love you too!" He said as he stole a kiss from her cheek .

"so can I marry you ?" ..yes he tried to make her forget that question cuz he didn't know how to answer ,so he made a weird smile and got up .

"sure babe ,any time ..now ,go to the dreamland ,good night angel !" he said as he waved for her ,got out and shut the door behind him .

V :

They were watching a family series they used to watch everyday ,when a marriage scene came and and she shouted out loud .

"I HAVE A DRESS LIKE THIS DAD !" ,he giggled and looked down at her ,being silly till the max :

"yeh ,you should get married too !" ,he threw that sentence and didn't realize that his daughter was thinking about it the whole time ,so she suddenly stood up ,turned off the t.v and looked at him with a smile .

"I want to marry you dad !" ,a boxy smile made its way on his face ,then sat and looked warmly at her .

"why ? ..you still a little cutie " he said while squeezing her cheeks ,which made her pout :  

"but I want to wear that dress and get married ! " ..he kept looking at her with a smirk on her face , a while and he said with a keen happy wide smile .

"you wanna get married ? " she nodded with a smile ,so he took her and entered the room .

"then let's get the bride ready ! " ,she didn't know he was planning for a new game ,when he got her ready from head to toe ,then changed to his formal suit and started a photography session like a real bride and groom ,and she was having fun doing it too ! .

Jungkook :

Kookie and his daughter sat on the grass ,admiring the sky and talking about the clouds' shapes when his girl looked up at him and said :

"dad ! .. I want to marry you !" In the cutest tone and the most innocent way ,he used to hear this tone when she is that happy ,so he couldn't resist but smile ,we can't ignore the fact that he got nervous and shocked from his daughter's sudden comment but ,that didn't stop him from enjoying his girl's childish thoughts and have fun while she is in that spontaneous age ! .

"ohh ,wh- ..why ?" He said with a hesitant voice ,so she looked down at her dress and said ..mumbling :

"because ..because you said you married mama because you love her ,and I love you !" ..that moment Jungkook couldn't control himself but smile widely his bunny one ,super happy because how his daughter thinking so highly of him .

"ohh ,ok ..I'll marry you ,but we need to ask mom if she agrees " yes he was surprised but in the same time he was so glad of the way his daughter expresses her feelings ,so he kept admiring her as she ran straight to you to ask for your permission .

GIFs are not mine .

Requests : Close ! 

-Admin K .

[meirin88]

Important Note: This is a fic I've written on my old account @/sukinamonodesu. I'm reuploading my old works here under the tag #my fic.

This is part 2 of this fic since tumblr won't let me post it all together. Link to part 1 is here. Link to part 3 is at the bottom.

Originally uploaded on 5.20.18.

Part 2

Midnight 

(Ren and Nozomu lounging on the sofa.)

>Mori’s door opens<

Morihito: Eh… Why are you two still up?

Ren: *fidgets*

Morihito: Nozomu?

Nozomu: >putting one hand at the back of his head< You see, Soshi-senpai asked us to follow after Sora when he walked out earlier…

Nozomu: But we didn’t expect Sora to be that fast.

Nozomu: And before we knew it, he’s nowhere to be found… *nervous laughter*

Nozomu: >clasping both hands in front as he bows< Sorry!!

Morihito: *shocked* Wha…?

Ren: Uhm… S - Sou-nii is still looking for Sora-senpai, so…

>Door opens<

Soshi: >entering the common room< *sigh*

Nozomu: Soshi-senpai!!

Ren: Sou-nii…

Morihito: Soshi…

Soshi: Oh… You’re all still up.

Nozomu: >looking behind Soshi< Eh~ Sora is — not with you?

Ren: Eh… Then… Sora-senpai’s… *panics*

Soshi: >pats Ren’s head< Don’t worry. I’m sure Sora will be just fine.

Soshi: >looks at Mori< Sora will surely come back.

Nozomu: Hmm~ But it’s already this late, will Sora be okay?

>Cue loud thunder<

Nozomu: Waah! That surprised me!

Soshi: Oh yeah… It started raining just a while ago.

Ren: Eh… B - but Sora-senpai didn’t have an umbrella with him… *worries*

Morihito: *frantic* Phone! What about his phone!? Did any of you try to contact him?

(Mori hurriedly pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Sora’s number while frantically pacing back and forth.)

Morihito: *murmurs* Sora… Please answer the phone…

Soshi: >stopping Mori by putting a hand on his shoulder< I’ve already tried several times. He’s not answering.

Nozomu: Hmm…? But Sora was holding his phone earlier, right?

Nozomu: He’s been playing some sort of music game too… And he even went and said —

Nozomu: >imitating Sora holding his phone up in the air< ‘Woah! This game is so cool! Maybe they can make one of Soara!’.

Nozomu: Something like that.

Ren: Ah! That’s…

Ren: I remembered Sora-senpai saying that he needs to charge his phone before going to Morihito-senpai’s room…

Soshi: >ruffling his hair< I guess I need to give him a more strict lesson on his phone usage. Again. *sigh*

Soshi: >looking at Nozomu< And you’re joining in.

Nozomu: E–h~

(Mori, tightly gripping his phone, steadily moves towards their entrance.)

Morihito: I’ll try to look for him…

Soshi: Where? Did you think I haven’t look for him everywhere?

Soshi: *sigh* Let’s just wait. Sora’s not a little kid anymore.

Soshi: He should know by now to seek shelter to get out of the rain.

Morihito: ….

Morihito: Sorry… But I’m still going…

Soshi: >grabbing Mori’s shoulder to stop him from opening the door< Wait.

>Door opens<

(A surprised and wet Sora standing in front of them.)

Sora: Oh… Are you two going out?

Morihito: ….

Soshi: ….

Ren: Sora-senpai… *relieved*

Nozomu: Sora~! We were looking for you!

Nozomu: >rushed forward to Sora< Uwaah! You’re wet!

Sora: Ah… I guess I am. *nervous chuckle*

Soshi: *sigh* Come in and go dry yourself.

Sora: Y - yes, sir! >salute<

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

>Bathroom door opens<

(A relatively dry Sora standing before all of them.)

Soshi: So… Where have you been?

Sora: >nervously playing with the ends of the towel on his head< Uhmm… Just wandering around…

Morihito: >clenches fist< ….

Soshi: Til this late into the night?

Sora: I — guess I lost track of time…? *nervous chuckle*

Morihito: >clenches harder< ….

Soshi: And you obviously didn’t think to take cover when it started pouring.

Sora: *swallows* I was already nearby — so I kind of just charged ahead… Ahaha…

Soshi: *annoyed* You…! Are you stupid!?

Sora: Wha-! I’m not stupid! Besides, it was just a little rain!

Morihito: *murmurs* …ttle…

Ren: Eh… Did you say something, Morihito-senpai?

Sora: … Mori?…

Morihito: >stands up angrily< IT’S NOT JUST A LITTLE RAIN! WHAT IF YOU SLIPPED AND HIT YOUR HEAD OR SOMETHING! DID YOU EVEN THINK… NO, OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T! IF YOU DID, YOU WOULDN’T DO SOMETHING SO FOOLISH LIKE THAT!

(Everyone was shock speechless.)

Morihito: OR IS IT JUST FINE WHATEVER HAPPENS TO YOU SINCE YOU’RE NOT THE ONE WHO WILL COMPOSE OUR SONGS ANYMORE!? IS THAT IT!? *harsh breathing*

Sora: *startled* … That’s…

Ren: Eh?… Is that true, Sora-senpai?

Nozomu: T - that’s a lie, right!?

Soshi: Sora?…

Morihito: *breathes deeply* I like Soara! I like everyone in Soara! I like how everyone’s always having fun together!

Morihito: But the thing I like most is when everyone’s happily performing Sora’s songs!

Sora: Mori…

Morihito: I don’t want anything to change! I want to keep on singing Sora’s songs! With everyone! It’s no-good if it’s not Sora’s songs!

Morihito: >sitting down dejectedly; head bowed< It’s just no-good… Sora’s song is the only one I want…

Soshi: *whistle* As expected from Sora’s number one fan.

Sora: *blushing heavily* !!!

Nozomu: Oh~ Sora’s red as a tomato~

Sora: S - shut it, Nozomu!! *still very much blushing*

(Sora walks towards Mori, hugging Mori’s head to his chest and petting it.)

Sora: Uhmm… You know hearing you say that rea—lly makes me happy…

Sora: But I don’t plan to hand over the composing of Soara’s song to anyone.

Morihito: *frustrated* What are you even saying at this point in time? *bitter laugh*

Morihito: Even though you agreed with it… You’re saying ‘that’ now.

Sora: *confused* Eh?… What…?

Morihito: I’ve heard you talking with Wakatsuki-san…

Soshi: Ah. So it was you.

Soshi: I thought I saw someone by the door at that time.

Sora: What? What is it?

Soshi: You know when Wakatsuki-san asked you if it would be better to just let someone else compose Soara’s song.

Sora: Ah! That time!

Ren: Eh… So Sora-senpai really agreed with it?

Sora: *nervous chuckle* Ah. I guess I did, huh?

Nozomu: Eh!? Then Sora’s not gonna write Soara’s song anymore!?

Sora: >frantically waving one hand around< No! No! That’s not it!

Soshi: So~ you didn’t get to hear Sora’s moving confession huh?

Morihito: *perks up* Eh?…

Ren: A confession…

Nozomu: Oh~ A confession~ I wanna hear it! I wanna hear it!

Sora: *embarrassed* Wha…? I - it’s not a confession!

Morihito: >peeks up at Sora< Sora?…

Sora: Uh… That’s… Well…

Sora: I may have had said something along those lines… *blushes*

To be continued in Part 3.

[ryuuppai]

[i7] Nanase Riku Birthday Photobook Part 3: Riku and his Senior Idols

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Tsumugi: Thank you for joining me here today...! This is a project established in order to commemorate the release of the Riku Photobook, as well as to learn more about the real Riku-san.

Tsumugi: I apologize for calling you in the midst of your busy schedules, but I would be happy if you could talk to each other just like usual. Please have me in your care!

Riku: Um, everyone, thank you for taking the time to read the Riku Photobook! I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me here today, under this fine weather!

Tenn: Nanase-san, good work. Who suggested you use a phrase resembling that of a wedding day speech as a greeting? 

Riku: Ah, Kujo-san! Good work! When I asked Iori for help, I was told "There are tons of examples of opening greetings online," so I tried looking them up by myself as a reference!

Tenn: I see. Let's have a conversation with the three of us, including Izumi Iori, after this.

Riku: With Iori!? Got it! Also, thank you for agreeing to have a conversation with just the two of us, later. I'm looking forward to it!

Tenn: Right.

Momo: Can we, , , , jump into the conversation, , , ,?

Tsumugi: Momo-san...! By all means!!

Momo: Thanks! I didn't know when I should join in, so I was working while listening to the Rabbit Chat notification sound for a while lol

Gaku: Momo-san, thanks for taking charge of butting in. I didn't know how to seize the right timing either (lol)

Riku: Momo-san! Gaku-san! (1) Good work!

Ryunosuke: Is it okay if I join in too? Riku-kun, good work! Right now, the three of us are flipping through the Riku Photobook. 

Yuki: Hey, Riku-kun. I laughed with Momo while reading your interview with Nagi-kun. Conversations between a natural airhead and a pseudo-airhead are pretty funny.

Riku: Wah–! Thank you everyone! The pseudo-airhead, that would be Nagi ><? 

Gaku: By the way, Nanase. Tenn was reading it really seriously. I thought I'd tell you.

Riku: Really...!?

Tenn: Gaku, wait. 

Ryunosuke: He was even putting sticky notes!

Tenn: Ryuu.

Yuki: Having such simple-minded partners is troublesome isn't it, Tenn-kun.

Momo: Are you indirectly referring to Momo-chan!? lolol

Tsumugi: Um, I won't be publishing his part, so if you would like, please feel free to speak in a relaxed manner, Kujo-san...!

Riku: It's alright, manager! I'm just happy from Yaotome-san and Tsunashi-san telling me what Tenn-nii is up to!

Riku: I meant, Kujo-san! Sorry!

Tenn: Nanase-san.

Riku: Yes. 

Tenn: The cover, it was wonderful.

Tenn: I thought that the theme "Spending the morning with your lover" would be difficult for IDOLiSH7. However, in Nanase-san's own way, you were able to portray it well. 

Riku: Yes...! Thank you! It's thanks to Nagi, who produced it.

Gaku: You're right, the cover is pretty Nanase-like. Do you like strawberries?

Riku: They're alright!

Momo: Talking about that, Gaku was eating nothing but the strawberries from the cake, right? lolol

Yuki: He's the type to just take the best part. 

Riku: So Yaotome-san likes strawberries! We still have some leftover from the ones we bought for the photoshoot, so would you like to come over to eat them?

Gaku: Nah, it's fine! I don't like them to that extent

Yuki: Is he acting tough?

Tenn: He's acting tough.

Gaku: I'm not acting tough!!

Riku: Kujo-san, you look like you're having fun!

Ryunosuke: I'm sure it's because he's Rabbit Chatting with you, Riku-kun!

Riku: Huh......!

Tsumugi: Isn't that nice, Riku-san...!

Riku: Yes!! Kujo-san, I'm also happy that I can Rabbit Chat with you!

Riku: As centers!

Tenn: Yeah. Me too.

Ryunosuke: That's nice, it's kind of refreshing. Seeing the two of them chat. 

Yuki: "Center" has a nice ring to it. I wonder if I should become a center too.

Momo: Huh! What about Momo-chan!?

Yuki: Shortstop?

Momo: Is this baseball lolololol

Riku: I will be producing Kujo-san's soon too, but I'm really looking forward to the photoshoot!

Tenn: I'm looking forward to it too. Please go easy on me. 

Gaku: Is Tenn gonna strip? (lol)

Riku: He won't!!!!!!

Momo: I can feel an aura of revenge lololol

Tsumugi: You've been collecting a lot of materials, and buying a lot of magazines in which Kujo-san appears, after all, haven't you Riku-san. 

Riku: I was worried about whether I could showcase Kujo-san's appeal, so I borrowed materials from Iori! I'm pretty excited.   

Yuki: Riku-kun is the one who knows Tenn-kun's cool expression the best, after all.

Riku: It'd be nice if it was true but...!

Gaku: You know it's true, Tenn.

Tenn: You're pretty annoying. 

Ryunosuke: Right now, Tenn is all fidgety! Lol Isn't it cute!

Tenn: Why are you telling them

Gaku: That hurts, why are you kicking me Tenn!!

Tenn: Because you pissed me off. 

Ryunosuke: S, sorry Gaku! If that's true, then I should've been the one to get kicked... Tenn, please kick me!

Tenn: I don’t know what you’re talking about

Riku: TRIGGER also gets along well, don't they!

Momo: We also get along well, Riku!!! The rendezvous Riku from the special shot made my heart squeeze, so next time let's meet up and hang out too!! 

Yuki: Is meeting up the main thing.

Riku: Waah! By all means please hang out with me! Is it alright if I invite Sogo-san too?

Momo: Of course! But why Sogo?

Riku: Sogo-san is your fan, so I thought that it would make him happy!

Yuki: That's cute. You can invite Yamato-kun too.

Riku: So Yamato-san too. Got it!

Momo: I can feel Tenn's gaze through my screen Yuki. . . . . lol

Tenn:  What is this about

Tsumugi: U, um, I will be taking this moment to introduce the survey questions that I have received beforehand to Riku-san!

Riku: Wah–! I'm nervous! Lol

[Tsumugi: Are you into anything right now?]

Riku: Huh–! What am I into! I guess that I took interest in various instruments. I went to a music store with Sogo-san! If it would please the fans, I'd like to try my hand at a lot of different things!

[Tsumugi: I like the you who's always cheerful and looking towards the future.]

Riku: Huh! Who said this!? It's thanks to all of our members, our senpai TRIGGER and Re:vale, and all of our fans, that I can be in high spirits!

[Tsumugi: Please tell me the secret to being loved.]

Riku: Wh, whose question is this...!? I wonder if I'm being loved......? I always think "I really love everyone–" though!

Riku: Is it okay like this!?

Tsumugi: Thank you, Riku-san! I will be collecting these for publication. 

Ryunosuke: It's been a while since we've talked to Riku-kun like this, so today was fun! Right, Tenn. 

Tenn: Why are you turning to me. 

Gaku: Even though you were grasping your phone in your hands so tightly for an entire 2 hours before this talk because you were nervous (lol) 

Yuki: So Tenn-kun is also a soothing character.

Riku: Really? Tenn-nii!

Riku: Right now, I want to hear your thoughts not as Kujo-san, but as Tenn-nii.

Tenn: Jeez...

Tenn: I was looking forward to it.

Riku: Tenn-nii!!!!

Momo: Kya!!! It feels like we're peeking at a confession scene behind the school building, Yuki!!

Yuki: Have you peeked at one before. 

Tenn: The real thing will be our conversation in a few days, right Riku. Let's talk properly then. As IDOLiSH7 and TRIGGER's centers. 

Riku: Yes......!

Gaku: It's fine to talk to him a bit, as an older brother to his younger brother though, Tenn?

Ryunosuke: Gaku......

Tenn: If it's just a bit

Tenn: It's fine.

Riku: Thanks, Tenn-nii! These words, they're the best of birthday presents!!

Tsumugi: Thank you sincerely for agreeing to participte in the chat...! How could I properly thank you......

Tenn: Our offices also gave their consent, after all. It would be unnatural to avoid the fact that both centers have the same birthday. 

Yuki: So Yaotome Papa is unexpectedly weak to blood relations. 

Momo: Right–!

Riku: I'll do the conversation properly. I'll make sure that Tenn-nii's feelings don't go to waste.

Tenn: You don't need to think of it that way.

Tenn: You've grown up, Riku.

Tenn: You really have. 

Riku: I wonder...... I thought that I still couldn't stand on the same line as Tenn-nii. 

Momo: I'm sure that Tenn-chan was moved, looking back at all your efforts ><

Ryunosuke: Recalling our memories with IDOLiSH7, even I get teary. Tenn would all the more.

Gaku: Don't cry? (lol)

Tenn: Today's Gaku is really annoying. 

Gaku: Seeing you right now, no matter what you say I can't think anything of it. 

Yuki: But really though, Riku-kun really doesn't waver, doesn't he.

Riku: When I think "I want to do this!" "I'll definitely do that!," ironically, I tend to get tense...... It's because our members are always around me that I can act so freely!

Riku: I'm glad that I could meet such precious partners. 

Tsumugi: I feel the same way...!

Tsumugi: Riku-san, no matter the situation, you're always focusing on moving forward, and dashing into the present moment with all your might. That Riku-san has helped me through difficult situations countless times.  

Tsumugi: From now on, I'd like to keep being right beside you and looking after your activities.

Riku: Manager...

Riku: I've been hurt a lot of times, but now, I can think of those times as necessary trials to reach where I am today. 

Riku: From our small world of seven people, I was able to meet all of you, which allowed me to see what lies ahead, and to think "This was the right decision!"

Riku: I probably have relied on the sense of security of having people moving in front of us but... From now on, I'd like us to be the ones opening up the way!

Riku: It came out sounding like a declaration of war, but please keep having me in your care!

T/N

(1) Someone pointed it out, but there’s no actual reason why Riku calls Gaku by his first name here so I believe it is a mistake in the original text.

[ex-empire-adventures]

visiting

RP with @hetaliaindie  under cut.

Shiv stood in the airport by the arrivals gate, holding a garland of flowers, with a group of dancers all in traditional garb; they wore beautiful silk saris, shiny jewellery and hair neatly tied up in buns or braids. When he spotted the ex-empire, he smiled and clapped, the dancers assumed their positions, music played and they all smiled as they began telling a story older than most modern nations with their craft. He smiled and placed the garland on the great traveler. "Welcome! I trust that the flight was comfortable?" -------- Rome was a little nervous on how they would be finding each other in this busy crowded place. He sure was glad he picked up speaking English, which seemed to be the international language now. He didn’t have a translator anymore, or an army, or people taking care of his clothes, or feeding him,... He was very aware he was pretty much useless just being by himself. Rome had adjusted as well as could be expected in such a short time. New stylish shirt, shoes and trousers even. It made him feel a little uncomfortable but at least he didn’t look like the middle-aged (*cough cough*) homeless person he was now. Indie had said he’d pick him from the airport himself, but Rome didn’t expect him to put so much effort in it. He was really touched. “Seriously Indie, I don’t know if I should cry or laugh. It took me just 14 hours to get here.” He shook his head “Bless you, I haven’t had a welcome like this in... well... you didn’t have to do all this.” -------- He smiled and withdrew his hands after placing the garland on him, the hands were folded and he bowed slightly. "I had bigger plans, but logistics is Hell these days. Though I promise that it gets better still." He waved a hand, and the dancers stopped, all bowing before they walked off in a line. The clinking of jewellery could be heard as they made their way to rented rooms. He grinned, "Wait till you see your carriage." Of course, he had gotten for him a stunningly elegant limousine. Only the best for such an esteemed guest, especially since it was his first time there. The early morning air was surprisingly chilly, complete with light breezes. He opened the door for the Roman, "Mind your head, please." -------- Rome's eyes shined brightly by amazement. "You should have told me, silly, I feel akward and way underdressed." he spoke under his breath to the nation as he felt the whole world was watching. -------- He laughed, "I have escorted men who dressed humbler than you, now don't feel awkward." He added, "There's an old fable that's popular here, people should be wiser than to actually judge a man by his clothing in my nation. -------- Rome kissed the other lightly on the lips as he was accustomed to greet, then smirked "My sheep clothing seem to fool most ladies anyway, or perhaps people just want to believe..." He looked away as if in thought "Where is it we're heading?" -------- He froze for a moment before sensibly taking it a sign of brotherly affection. He smiled with a resigned sigh. "Well women can be catty creatures. We're heading out of the city, I figured you'd like a change of pace, a villa for your relaxation." He sat next to him and the driver happily welcomed him in an accent much too thick to be English. -------- "That would be welcomed, yes. It seems everything runs fast these times. Looking back I think the only thing that went fast was the replacement of my bosses" he sighed "How do you and the others cope with it?" -------- He was silent for a moment and leaned back on his seat. "I can't speak for others, but I suppose spirituality helps. Everything in this universe is constantly expanding and shrinking, in motion but constant. When someone dies..." He spoke softly, "well regardless of the many religions in my land, I personally believe that they all return and contribute to the essense of life. In that sense, I accept their deaths and free myself of the past. That was always my biggest problem with the speed at how fast new leaders stepped up." -------- "Interesting, still you look happy to see me. I'm not so sure what I believe any more. But I do know it's all more complex than I once thought. Not sure about the contributing part, to be honest. I think I've lived long enough for others. It may come off selfish but I am because I want to be. Only when my empire fell I realised I've always lived to others expectations now I only wish for some days just for me. " He looked outside the window "It's nice to see your beautifull country flashing by. I always enjoyed travelling." -------- "Of course I'm happy to see you." He looked outside the window and smiled proudly. Not every place of his was beautiful, but as they were driving to a more peaceful area, far from violence and far from decadence, the scenery certainly was delightfully grand. "I don't know if it's selfish, I'm not of the belief that I can understand your situation. But I don't see anything wrong with your wish at all, let me help make it come true however I can." It almost seemed like what the other desired was closure, and he thought that respecting that was the best thing to do as a host. "Have you anything that you specially want to see here?" -------- "you" Rome answered straight away and turned to look him in the eyes. "Im just here to see you, not to talk business or planning a possible invasion for a change. I was hoping you'd just have me too, no strings attached." -------- He smiled, leaning on the headrest and looking at the other through the corners of his eyes. He sat up straighter and looked to him, "I have faith in you, though I do think we won't be seeing Jaipur." He laughed and shook his head, "And I did hope for an answer more like 'A white Bengal tiger' or 'the Taj Mahal', but I suppose I'll have to catch you up to the famous sights here. Hmm. Perhaps you'd like to bicker with monkeys or eat from a banana leaf." -------- He laughed "Sorry for not beeing very specific how Id like you then. Ha HA I haven't really thought it threw to be honest. But Id love to try different food and maybe see the dyes at a market? All the colorfull fabrics just blow me away, it's so pretty! I'm sure there are cute looking birds here that are as wonderfull to me as the Taj Mahal. I'm easily distracted, caused me quite some trouble back in the days." he thought for a moment "Is there anything I should know up front, to save you for shame. Our cultures differ so, you know...?" -------- He nodded, "There's plenty to see, but something tells me you don't know that the Taj Mahal is a pretty looking tomb when you compare it to pretty looking birds." He wondered if the other did know, and was just pleasantly strange. "Ah, but we shall definitely visit the markets, and I will point out to you which fruits are only native to this land! Surely, I'll take you to the sandy beaches and monuments. Hmm, I hope you do not get overwhelmed here, culture-shock is very common with the tourists who come here for the first time." "No public displays of affection, walk away from beggars- especially if they're children asking for money. Depending on where we go, there may be different requirements. In holy spaces, there are steps or fields you must not place your foot on- I think that's a pretty good set of general rules." -------- "no touching?... You could have just stabbed me at the airport." Rome joked about it but it felt like being said he was unworthy like a slave. Then again, what was his position really as a retired empire. He tried not to show it. "Is it alright for me to pet animals?" -------- He chuckled, "Well, displays of romantic affection in public are what I meant. Those behaviours are generally reserved for closed quarters. Though most of the cities are westernised and you'll be allowed to do most taboo things as you're a foreigner! Worry not, you can certainly pet animals!" -------- "well roman taboos differ quite from modern western ones, I've learned. But I'm pleased to hear that. Are there dangerous wild animals here or venomous ones, snakes and such? Oi... Look what's that tree, that's beautifull, look!!!" he was excited like an eight year old. -------- He was about to ask him to elaborate before his attention was taken to the trees and he grinned. "A common tree, but if you'd look over there," he pointed with all five fingers, "that there is a banyan tree, the one with roots hanging down from the crown. It's my national tree! There are a lot of different plants and trees near the villa, I would recommend lying under its shade during harsh weather." -------- "That's so weird, I love it!" "I wish i could show you my home but most of it is gone. And what's not should have been" -------- He stared for a moment before bursting out into quiet and well-meaning laughter at the others remark on the tree. "Well then, may I ask about your tastes when it comes to food? Sometimes my cuisine may be overwhelming to the modern European, but you have had far more experiences in other lands, than the modern European. Is there anything you can't stand, or that doesn't sit well with you?" He nodded sympathetically, "History is not forgiving in what it chooses to remember and what it doesn't." -------- He laughed "Seriously, Romans are known to eat nearly anything. And I've been send to the most decadent banques so my boss could stay in bed reading poems to his boytoy. I'm not sure about eating things that are still crawling on a plate." He sighed relieved "At least you understand." -------- "Don't worry, unlike some Asian nations, I've never found insect eating to be tasteful. Though you must beware the flies, and the ants, and in your own body's case, the mosquitoes." -------- "Waah Indie I'm so EXCITED! When can we get out of this thing?!" airplanes and automobiles were great because it made travelling so much faster, but you had to sit still and that wasnt one of Rome's fortes. He got a fidget spinner out of his pocket to calm himself down. It seemed to work pretty well for him. -------- "Excited for mosquitoes?" The corners of his lips lifted, and he asked the driver. "Not long, ten minutes or so! The road is clear, so maybe it'll take a shorter time." -------- Rome faked a frown and watched the other from the corners of his eyes whispering "Jaipur surely has potential..." -------- "You're not burning down any cities, that would be very undiplomatic." He grinned and leaned his head on his palm. "And getting to Jaipur would mean hours of commuting, ten minutes is a much shorter time!" -------- Rome started snickering burrying his face in his hands. Then took a deep breath before turning to India again. "This is going to be the longest ten minutes in world history. It better be worth the wait" -------- He smiled and was silent for a moment. "It's just nine, now." He leaned forwards and moved the divider between them and the driver up. In easy-going and casual Hindi, they discussed the possibility of traffic cutting them off from their destination, and then he pulled it back down. He sat back and the limo went faster, "For both our sakes, we're hoping to make it in 5 minutes rather than 9." -------- Rome laughed so hard tears were running down his cheek. -------- He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, he passed him a handkerchief from his breastpocket and grinned. "Come now, if we get caught up in a traffic jam, the time it'd take us.... Well we would have been better off going to Jaipur." -------- "this is priceless. Your driver will dive us down a cliff because we're acting like eight year olds" -------- He gasped, and mirthfully pulled up the divider to tell the driver, "I won't pay you if you drive us down a cliff!" He closed the divider, "There we go, problem solved." The poor driver was confused. -------- "By all the Gods, you're killing me Indie." he took the handkerchief and wiped away his tears. "Im holding on to this for a while if you don't mind. Your words strike me and something tells me you're not done with me yet" He took a deep breath again "thank you" -------- He chuckled, "Keep it, I've learnt to keep all sorts of things on me when I leave the house. I have a spare." He also had a packet of roasted peanuts and other mysterious and arguably useless items that he fitted into his clothes. "Oh look! We're entering your temporary grounds. I think we're in them now. Hmm- oh yes, for as long as you stay here, that coconut tree over there is yours." Trust him to recognize the coconut tree and nothing else. -------- "Yes! I got my own tree, that's a great start." He already was trying to pick a new name for it. How did they get the coconuts out when they were all the way up there? Wait..."You don't got elephants at the villa, do you?" he looked concerned now. -------- "This whole ground is yours now silly, you have a lot more than one tree." He had the grounds, the villa, the well and the servants that maintained it now. He laughed, "No, I'm aware that if I want you to get used to them I should not force them onto you until you're ready. Though there are a few in a nearby temple." He smiled, "I was battling the idea of welcoming you with a domesticated tiger though." -------- Rome fell silent and gave him a puzzled look "I'm sorry... I might have given mixed signals... I can't except this gift. I'm really flattered..." Rome combed his hair nervously. "Im not ready" -------- He looked at him for a moment and helplessly laughed, "For as long as you stay here. When you're gone someone else will live here. Honestly, what goes on in that mind of yours?" -------- "I don't know, you confuse me greatly." he looked down blushing. "I don't know what it means here. But in the empire it would be considerd something like I'm going to wreck your career, by putting my dick up your ass, but don't worry about it because I promiss to take care of you. And Im not ready for such a commitment... Id like the big cat though" -------- He frowned, "Well here it's called hospitality and it's done with no such ulterior motives." He folded his arms and while he was slightly offended, he contemplated how their cultures were truly very different. In India, the guest was to be treated like a God. He was always extravagant with his gifts, and while that led to him being taken advantage of, he still adhered to his beliefs. He sighed and looked at the other, "Then you get the big cat." -------- Rome nodded "... I know, we are a vulgair bunch I get that a lot... Well,... thanks for clearing that up. Sorry if I have offended you." -------- He looked at him and shook his head, "No, you still took your great baths, that is something that your descendants had forgotten when I first met them." He smiled, clearly he was not meant to have been offended, it was a waste of energy to brood over it. The limo had paused in front of the Villa's gate, a servant opened it. "Well then, I promise you that all that I give you while you stay here are gifts of hospitable nature and goodwill, so you needn't worry at all." The vehicle moved again till it stopped outside the veranda. -------- "Thank you" Rome seemed relieved. The idea of being publicity degrated to a womens degree was very real and frightening to him. It was expected of him to be orderly, dominant and agressive to serve his people. Neighter the republic or empire had given him much space to keep lasting friendships or any other relationship. And now he made a fool of himself, just great. -------- He stepped out the vehicle excitedly and hurriedly moved around the car, just as the chauffeur opened the door for Romulus. He extended his hands and grinned as he presented the home. "Welcome!" Theatrics were sometimes, quite irresistible to the Indian. -------- Rome started snickering again and got out off the car. "Beautifull! And so is the villa. I'd be honoured if you would show me around" -------- He laughed, "But of course! Follow me." He waved at the chauffeur who without much difficulty would begin to reverse the car and move out. He opened the door, and then a second netted door to keep out insects, and gestured to the inside. "Hurry in before the mosquitoes spot you!" -------- "Is it really that bad with the mosquito's here?" He took a firm step inside, lingering in a doorstep he considered bringing bad luck. -------- He nodded, "Not unless you're wearing some sort of repellent, but I'm not sure that you are." He closed the door and smiled. The hall was large, and there were many divans, sofas and a large table fashioned in a native style that was only slightly influenced by an Islamic one. He removed his shoes and placed them near the exit. "The building surrounds an outdoor private bath (or pool), there's a slightly smaller one in the left wing if the weather's bad." He didn't expect the other to remove his shoes, though he'd be glad if he followed suit. -------- Rome almost directly took off his shoes too and glad so. "I like it. It has a really warm and welcoming atmosphere." finally he could wiggle his toes again. He placed his hands on Indies shoulders and pinched softly, then let go and did a little happy dance. "You will be dining with me too, right? I don't want to keep you from working ofcourse but I really enjoy your company" -------- He would have joined Rome in his happy dance if it weren't over so fast. The disappointment was almost visible, complete with a pout. But at the thought of food, he was very happy to say, "Of course I will be, I'm starving. Sorry for the intrusion, though." The floor was wooden and slightly slippery because of his cotton socks, but instead of falling he glided across the floor (of course he hadn't originally meant to). "Follow me, I had a meal prepared for you." And he had! In the dining room room of the complex was the entire package, he thought that it may have been too showy, but when did he let a chance to boast his magnificent cuisine ever slip past him? -------- Rome smiled broadly when he saw the other gliding on his socks. He himself wasn't wearing any and that was probably a good thing. "Ohh yo... I'm glad you're hungry cause I'm going to need help with all that" he laughed "I couldn't bake an egg by myself, this is amazing. What should I try first?" -------- "Who bakes eggs?" He raised a brow before passing him an ornate bowl of water and a napkin, "To wash your hands." He smiled and turned to a seat next to him where a similar bowl lay for him. -------- He washed his hands and dried them, looking at India. "Do you pray before eating and use cutlery?" -------- He paused, "Sometimes out of habit, but not really. And I don't use cutlery, though I suppose I don't refuse to either." He was a mess of cultures and European colonialism made it worse. "Do you pray before eating, I will join you if you do." -------- "I do not pray. Traditionally that's a girls job. I will take this moment to wish you all that is good and your enemies to ashes" -------- He smiled, "Then I wish you the same, though I pray that we do not become enemies." Sometimes it is hard to tell whether he's arrogant or respectful. He's both. He took the other's plate and served him a piece of each dish generously while giving an explanation of each. "This is a dish that's native to the north, it has cottage cheese, the green comes from spinach," he then revealed containers, "we don't typically have rice for breakfast, these idlis and appams are made out of rice-flour though." -------- "Ah, if it ever comes to that I wouldn't sell you for the world don't worry. I'd keep you close like a priceless jewel." Rome was delighted it all looked so wonderfull. "I think I might make me a ambassy at this very table for now! Ha ha. How do you say 'enjoy your food' in your speech?" -------- He may have flinched at the word 'jewel', or it may have been a reaction that never escaped his mind. "That's happened before, though I hadn't foreseen it at all." How condescendingly sweet was the title... The Jewel of the British Empire. He smiled, "I've over a hundred languages, but I'll teach you the Sanskrit phrase. Bhojanam svaadishtamastu." -------- Rome gazed at him in wonder. Only to snap out off it to try the phrase, he was sure he didn't say it quite right "I do hope I didn't accidentely say something innapropriate about your mother" he joked "Sometimes I just forget that you're older than me" he meant to say more experienced but that would have given the other to much to pester him with, he presumed. "So... hmn,... what's it like to be somebody's love then, if I may ask?" -------- He clapped his hands gamely, "It was a fair attempt! And thankfully you didn't." He gave the other a pleased look, for when he looked like he did, most of his own people had him bowing down to them despite his seniority. It was perfectly enough to pester him with, especially since the elders were always meant to be respected and forgiven. He considered the question for a moment, "Each experience was different. They were always more...honest in the old days, but in the last few hundred years, I've been lusted after more than I've been loved." He was always more capable of complaints than compliments, but he shifted away from that topic, back to the one that had been brought up. "It's really quite magnificent to be loved. Especially when the feelings are reciprocated. It's as if the planets aligned, the diseases cured, the world shifted into the light and the doom conquered." -------- "It sounds like a dream dipped in honey. You have a way with words. Do you like poetry? I used to write, with Greece and China mostly, I was thinking maybe pick it up again... It might be a little rusty, though." -------- He laughed, "Perhaps it ended because it was too dreamlike." He nodded at the question before the other had finished it. "Is that so? You must! Poetry, dance, music, painting, all the arts, we love them to a fault here! There have been many reknown poets from my land, it was something that earned the attention of the other Europeans during the 19th and 20th centuries. Truly, Tamil and Sanskrit are among the most poetic of languages." -------- "Oh, I'd love to read! Can you get me a copy. I'm reading some fantasy novel now and the story is entertaining but it's, meh.. It will help me to understand some of your languages better too. I Really like epic tales, love stories and witty jokes! You like art?! I'm gonna make you something!!!" Indie seemed to have pushed some right buttons there. Rome was overexited, he totally forgot to eat. (that's it, right there, you did it) -------- He smiled, "Epic tales? Well have the longest epic in the world, called the Mahabharata, it has 200,000 lines, featuring one of the greatest and oldest adventures in the world, complete with tales of wit and romance of course. You are?" He was not used to receiving gifts that were so significant -which is a little sad, really- "I'd be honoured to receive a piece of art from you." (Oh my-) "But first, you must accept my gifts, please have some food before it gets cold." He smiled and gestured to the table. "If there is anything you are fond of, the servants will prepare more immediately." -------- Rome ever had a great appetite because he never sat still in his life. Only when he was very focused drawing his mind and body was at peace. He had a bit of a sweet tooth but he seemed to like all flavors. He did however had a shocked reaction at a more spicy dish. He looked at Indie with a both thrilled as pained expression and a mouth half full with food. -------- Knowing what to do, he poured the other some cool milk, and separated the spicier dishes from the plainer ones. "Curd... Or yoghurt will rid you of the spiciness." He called a maid to bring some to them and gave it to him. "Are you not familiar with spicy dishes?" He was always confused by those who couldn't handle spice- what did they cook with?? -------- He coughed "I didn't expect it to be like this..." the yoghurt sure helped "This is not spicey, this is fire on a plate..." He didn't want to come off as weakminded though "Ok, Im ready, let me try that again" he still had tears in his eyes from the first try. -------- He laughed, "It's not that bad, I wouldn't serve you obscenely spicy food on purpose." He did admire the other's attitude though, "Why don't you mix it with the yoghurt, that way you could ease yourself into eating it instead of shocking your palate again." -------- "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger..." he took another bite "... this actually might be the death of me..." he just started waving his hands (not sure how that helps though he's a dork) -------- He sighed and started eating as well. Midway through his meal he made an off-hand comment like, "I would suggest that you don't continue forcing yourself to eat something that burns your tongue- unless you want your death to take place on the toilet." Which to him, didn't seem like quite a glorious way to die at all. -------- Rome hadnt thought about that really and decided he could always try again some later time. He smiled "this is so much better than that swedish crap i've been eating" -------- He chuckled, "Food from the north is made to keep one's stomach full and one's body warm. It's like that in my land as well, the south has more fish and coconut in their cuisine while the north have breads and potatoes." -------- "I used to eat lots of fish. Ah and I love fruits. My grandson likes it too I always brought him new ones to try. He's a good eater, strong boy. My youngest though is all bones, always been like that. When he was a still kneehigh people always thought he was a girl. Good boy, very talented in many things... Mmm... This is a nice dish..." He looked really happy "What do you drink around here; wine or beer?" -------- He nodded and identified the Italy twins by the other's description- he should remember to invite them both for food eventually. "Hah, I was confused for a girl at times when I was young- If I had to blame anything for making me so restless and eager to prove myself, I'd blame that-" He shrugged, "Both? Beer is fairly more common, though we have other alcohol that's native to this land as well. But many of my states have started prohibiting- I hope my tourism industry stays afloat despite it." -------- "Ofcourse it will! Ah, if a boy is quiet or fair looking or if he has long hair it's always like that. I think it's nice when people look a bit androgyn, like a angel so to speak. That, and skin smooth as marble, so pretty. My hair is so thick it's a curse. When I shave, according to Egypt, by the end of the day my cheeks are worse than sanding paper. And these messy curls are the worst! Total disaster." he said as he twirled his finger round his hair. -------- He shook his head politely, "What are you saying? That rough, half bearded look is popular enough here, and your curly hair is very charming. With some coconut oil, you can make it as shiny as silk." He smiled, "An angel, you say? Well the androgynous look is quite adhered to the idea of transvestism or the third gender here." -------- "You are the second person who said i should try the oil this week... what's that, third gender?" -------- "But of course, if it's about cosmetics, China and I are still ahead of the game. I'll have the servants bring you some later." He blinked, "We have a minority group called Hijras, who are considered 'neither fully male, nor fully female', they're born male but take on the female identity. They are ostracised, but have always been believed to have the power to bless you with fertility or curse you by taking it away." -------- "Really now,... we don't have those. not really anyway. Ah but when one of my bosses married he dressed as a bride and I was so moved i nearly cried. -------- He laughed, "Strange things move you, but I'm sure it must have been a lovely wedding." -------- "It truly was amazing. Lot's of dancing, drinking... I got SO drunk.. Pfffft. There were plenty of cute girls but i was way too drunk" -------- How nostalgic, he smiled and took a sip of some juice- not before offering it of course. "Did you regret it in the next morning?" -------- "A wise man once told me; regret is for the brainless. If you make a decision you should never question it again because you made it with the knowledge you had that day and no other... Yess I really regretted it." ha HA HA -------- He was in the middle of creating a sound argument against 'regret is for the brainless', tensing up and everything only to have his shoulders sink, and a sigh escape. "You.... Was this wise man, you?" -------- "Nah, I just made that up. It was really dumb to drink like there was no tomorrow" -------- He nodded, "If anything you should eat like there's no tomorrow." No bad advice. "Then excercise like there is a tomorrow." -------- "Well... that's excactly what we are doing now, aint it?" he said as he took one last snack on his plate "So what's the exercise? Want to eat some dirt for desert? we can wrestle and I'll let you eat some, tehee!" -------- He grinned, "Wrestling? That's fine with me, but I'm sure that I could make you eat your words instead." -------- Rome started laughing at him "You are ALL talk. Maybe we should just have a nice calm walk, far more fitting for an old man like you" -------- He chuckled, "Now, if you think it's that easy to provoke me, you're wrong. I wouldn't mind a nice calm walk, I could show you around the garden. But my sweet Roman friend, you must learn not to take your elders so lightly. For I would still definitely win against you in wrestling." -------- His eyes shone brilliantly and his smile was all mischief "Did I tell you about that one time that China kicked me in the nuts?!" -------- He shook his head with a silly grin, "Oh if pecan do it, so could I." -------- "You call him, what?!" -------- "A nut." He coughed into a fist and tried to keep a straight face. China is a rival, though they had once been close. -------- "nuts... ha ha, have you got nicknames for others too? What about me?" -------- "You? Well, I haven't gotten one for you yet. And I really don't give nicknames out that often. Though I do have a wealth of passionately created nicknames for England." -------- "Well then, I'm going to do my very best to make sure mine will be worth a tale when you do..." he thought a moment "... ah but you wouldn't kick me that would be cheating... But I'm going to take your word for it, like the responsible man I am and leave it..." the other had won him over by mere talking and won his respect, so there really was no need to fight him now "I will show you I am a man of many qualities and outgame you in some different field, just you wait!!!" -------- He smiled, "You did seem excited when I mentioned the arts, perhaps you could out-dance me?" No that would be slaughter. "Or perhaps you have an interest in archery? It's a sport that's very close to my heart! I assure you that many things are, I may truly be passionate about every field you could imagine." Likewise, his respect for his guest rose through their exchanges, but seeing him back up his words would be quite entertaining. -------- Rome leaned in a bit and just looked at the other with piercing eyes like he was scanning him. Then sat back with closed eyes as if he was processing it. Hmn, this was going to be tough. He needed to find something he could slaughter him with, without looking like a complete dick. "I need to think about it. Let's start with that walk, maybe then we come up with something." -------- Oh? He watched the other and smiled, it was nice to see that he was being judged and considered seriously. The only worrisome part was that he didn't know how good the other was at it. "Oh but of course." They were presented with refilled containers to wash their hands. Once he dried his hands with a napkin, he gestured to a direction that went into the house, towards a second exit/entrance out to a garden. -------- Roma didn't bother to pick up his shoes. He was glad to have them off. He did bring a small bag however that couldn't have hold more than a few books or clothing. That bag was all that he seemed to have brought on his trip. -------- He paused before a door on their way, "Ah my sincerest apologies! Would you like some time to settle in, this is a bedroom, the opposite room's a bedroom- you can take your pick!" -------- He pointed at the door without bothering to look inside "That one, I'm sure they are both lovely, let's just get some air for now, I'm fine really! I've been sitting still too much and I can sleep when I'm dead" he smirked and pulled the other along "come on, come on, come on..." -------- He shrugged, "That one it is, though you can always change your mind." Soon enough, he took the lead and pulled the other along. "Here you can see a spice much revered and loved these days, they used to call it black gold! Behold, the mighty peppercorn plant in all its glory!" Pepper, is grown on vines. -------- "It's piper, I didn't know it looked like this! They look like grapes but the size of berries. Ha Ha, that's cute. No wonder your food is so spicy!" -------- "We have more spices than these in our food of course." He laughed and looked around the garden, "There are many flowers here, but there used to be more." -------- "Do you have a favourite?" -------- "My national flower, you can't see any here though they may grow nearby. The lotus, it's been sacred to Hindus for a very long time. Do you have a favourite?" -------- "I like rosmarinus. I used to have them in my garden. The little flowers come in nice colors and they look so sweet. I used to draw them, it relaxes me. I can draw them from my mind, anything really. If I have seen it once I can draw it." -------- He smiled, "They suit you, somehow." How exactly did he mean it? "Oh? Do you have a photographic memory?" -------- "Is that what they call it these days? It is really handy when you need to invade a city too, say jaipur... Ah, but the girls loved the roses, ofcourse! Modern roses are rubbish, they don't smell as a sweet promise... They smell of nothing. The paper wrap is best" -------- "Hahah, it is handy but I'd rather live without it." But do you have it yourself or not, you mysterious hermit. "Oh, but how do you find the smell of the jasmines on your garland? They are used for temple worship as well because their smell is so sweet." -------- "Well, actually I like them best but ofcourse I wanted to pick something native. As much as I love my home, being away is very liberating. And it's scent always reminds me of it. " -------- Hmmm, "Do they remind you of a particular place?" A certain northerner came to mind. -------- "Egypt had some, but she's a lapcat that likes to stay inside most times. And well China's, but I only met him twice in person." -------- "And one of those meetings was a fight?" He smiled, but back then there were no troubles between the two. Life was quite different in terms of international relations, though he supposed he had his internal affairs to attend to. -------- "Ah well, I was VERY young and ready to prove my worth. So when I was sent off to 'make friends' as my boss would put it I had little patience for formalities. I was rude and got the fight I asked for because he was fed up with my piss teen attitude." -------- "Sounds like it was a short-lived fight. I taught him well." He's kidding, right? He grinned and shook his head, "Though perhaps patience is something we both lacked back then." -------- "yeah pretty much. I tried to hit him trice and he kicked me out. My men had a good laugh. I suppose they were just as annoyed with me after the long way getting there. But after that I was real polite. My boss even wrote him a thankyou note. We wrote for many years!" -------- "Really? He only gave you three shots?" Perhaps the old Chinese fellow was particularly irritated that day, even he'd have allowed at least five strikes. "Ah I am glad that you grew close despite that rocky start! Did you get the chance to learn a little of his language?" -------- Rome nodded, just three shots indeed, suposedly that was all that China had needed to know how to bring him on his knees. "Ah I know a little!!!" He took a stick and started drawing characters in the sand. His writing was quick and messy like a docters note, not elegant in the slightest, but it came from the heart. -------- *****Life that's scarse a hundreds years holds a millennium of fears, brief it's noon and long it's night, best then mingle dark with light. Merry-making while you may, wait not for another day. Fools that treasure up their sock after generations mock. Him that hold a bond with fate, none may seek to emulate.***** It was a poem he memorised. -------- He looked at it, and smiled. "What an interesting poem, it reminds me of an old Sanskrit one, though that one is far simpler in narrative." He moved to the left of the Chinese characters, and drew several lines of sharp and neat Sanskrit. "Look to this day: for it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course, lie all the truths and realities of your existence. The bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendour of achievement- Are but experiences of time. For yesterday is but a dream And tomorrow is only a vision; And today well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of joy, And every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day; Such is the salutation to the new dawn." Long poem, it was more of spiritual advice than a pretty picture, but he felt that the meaning was the same. -------- "You have a pretty handwriting even with a stick!" -------- "Thank you, I'm sure we both could do better on paper." He translated the poem as best as he could, though certain words had a lot more essense to them than their English counterparts. When he was done, he erased the markings, leaving only the Chinese. -------- Rome had listened to Indies brief explanation on the Sanskrit and it didn't make much sense to him just yet. After Indie had cleared the ground Rome took the stick and wrote, or rather drew, it back again in a strange order like it was a patern instead of words. In the end it was all there, albeith a messy reflection of it. -------- He looked at it delightedly and back to the Roman, "And now you have proved your words with actions. Though if the curl on that 'tha' is not prominent, it may be read as a 'ya'." In Sanskrit words were not only separated by spaces, but also it the fact that they would have one line connecting them together at the top. He didn't have to edit much, though for the sake of clarity he poured sand over gaps that were too close to each other and marvelled at it. It was always wonderful to see. -------- Rome erased it all again together with the Chinese. "Let's take all that away. A garden like this doesn't need words to do what comes so naturally." and he tossed away the stick as well "neither will you be needing this. I promiss to be a exemplary student" he winked. No need to beat him XD -------- He laughed and stood up, patting away the sand from his clothes, "You are right, though the wind would have taken it all away naturally." Call him sentimental. "Oh? If you weren't, I don't think I'd need the stick." Whatever that was meant to imply. With a wave to his side, he began walking. "These days it is rather important to take care of your skin, the sun's rays can be unforgiving in the afternoons." -------- Romulus quickly followed giggling "Ah, you are more off the open hand method then? A true classic, totally you" -------- "A true classic? Far from it!! Back in my day there was a 'treading over hot coals' method, which I of course went through." Gurus could be very strict! -------- Rome looked as him with a expression that screamed 'bitch please' "You don't have to try so hard. I'm not buying this nonsense nor piper today" -------- He grinned, "What, you don't believe it? But you're right, it wasn't a punishment. It's a test of courage and faith. It's not painful when done right." -------- "Let's get you in the shade, your brain is melting" -------- He blinked, "No I really am not joking about it, burning coals look kind of like beautiful flowers so it's a temple tradition in the south that is quite a few hundred years older than you." He thought it was well known as a feat, if not for its reasons. -------- He laid a hand on your shoulder "You should take a rest" he smiled -------- He smiled and moved the hand away, "I'll show it to you later today." -------- "Ha Ha Ha, ofcourse you will! So, what's next?" -------- "Perhaps we shall move to the pond, I could show you the lotus flowers, and then we can meet the animals here." -------- "I'd love that! If it's not too much trouble. I don't know if you have other things to do?" -------- "I've cleared my schedule for the next few days, I'm a free man." -------- "AHH YEAH!!! Then we can drink together maybe like there's no tomorrow, hahahaha! I'm so happy, I haven't had so much fun in ages." -------- He smiled, "Hah! Then we'll drink all evening and adventure all day long. I do hope you could keep up with that." He playfully teased. -------- "I was born ready! Let's check out the animals first" -------- "Alright! Well this isn't a a zoo, but all sorts of creatures find their way here. I'm partly to blame as I tend to lose myself and feed strays- they keep coming back. But I should say, happy strays are better than starving strays." -------- "Im like that. Feeding others is a token of love. And when you've known hunger yourself and you see somebody gulping it down with such force you can only relate and help out..." He fell silent for a while, lost in thought. "... That's how I found my grandson, poor thing." -------- He nodded, "Poor thing. No one should have to starve, especially not the young." And yet they did, and yet he had so much poverty in his land. As he predicted, a stray forest cat strutted in. With a smile, he presented her, "Aha! Beware the beautiful jungle cat, she's wild." -------- He slowly bent down not to startle the creature. Rome just watched threw his eyelids producing some kind of nasal puppy growls. -------- "Try not to get scratched in the face, she's not too friendly and rather territorial." HE STILL LOVED HER! He himself found small pets to be unusual and quite strange, he loved the wild and majestic animals in his land more than he'd ever be able to love a squeaky Chihuahua or hamster. -------- Rome did his best to control his excitement, he was moving his toes (and would probably wiggle his tail if he had one) he stook out his hand so the cat could smell it and approach him instead. "What are you feeding her?" -------- "Fish remains." He tilted his head, and was about to warn him when the cat approached his hand and lightly bit it. Not food- It circled him once and walked to the house, mewing outside the kitchen. "Don't be disheartened! I got a lot worse than that the first time- does it hurt?" -------- "..no it doesn't, it's just a warning. If she had wanted to hurt me she would have locked her jaw and claw me. My brother had a mean bite" -------- Your brother? He stopped himself from asking. "Ah cats are interesting creatures! Though they aren't really popular here- they never had much husbandry value." -------- "I LOVE cats! Dogs have been domesticated so much is takes out all character. A cat doesn't have a boss, it has servants to control. They don't take crap from anyone, hahaha! And certainly not from some silly roman" -------- He laughed, "Oh please, the average house cat scarcely has character. The wild cats here on the other hand- oh how majestic they are! The leopard, the cheetah- the tiger!! I am painfully biased towards the 'big cats'!" -------- "i don't think I've ever seen a cheetah before. They are slimmer than leopards right? I don't suppose you have wolves here, do you?" -------- "They look different as well, cheetahs have clear well defined spots while leopards have rosettes. And of course we have wolves! Everyone has wolves- Well until they started killing them, sadly wolves are endangered here." -------- "Ahh that's sad. They scare people sometimes expecially when they come in large groups. But they wont kill your crops like deer, or boars. Let's give her something before she gets into the kitchen to take it herself" -------- He nodded, "Ah but alas I have nothing to offer her. The maids will probably take care of it, I bet they're gutting fish right now." Sure enough the cat didn't return, she was probably eating. "But the fellows I'm going to show you are quite something, hold your belongings close to you." -------- What was all the mystery about? "alright, show me" what could it possible be, birds? -------- He narrowed his eyes and looked around as they walked. There were more trees around the area, not coconut trees...decent...midsized trees. He heard one! He turned swiftly and it was gone. "Oh it might have been my imagination... Those tricky things..." He turned to the Roman and was startled for a second before pointing behind him. "Monkeys-" he whispered. -------- Rome gasped "you got monkeys?!" he looked around if he could spot one. "what do they eat?" -------- They were right in front of him, curious and mischievous. He looked at them discerningly, as if one was missing and "Appu!" One of them ran over to him from behind the crowd and climbed over to his shoulder, he laughed, "Ah, my excellent kleptomaniac friend." He handed him a small fruit, "All of you, meet my excellent Roman friend." They had their eyes on him as he moved closer to Rome. Appu wooted. India had a way with animals and while he still suffered their moods, he was generally on their good side! -------- "what they pick pockets is that what you're saying. They are funny, look at the tails, ha ha! I like them!!!" -------- "Pockets, bags, noses, ugh they pick everything. But they are an entertaining bunch! And they're so soft." He gave Appu to him. "Cuddly babies." -------- Rome petted him but it soon excaped his hold to climb on top of him. He looked up "salve appu" -------- He laughed and the other monkeys climbed upon him, he kept walking with the added weight of a few more bodies. "Well then, the lake is near." -------- "hold on appu, don't fall off" he said as he hurriedly followed. "can they swim?" -------- "These can, the lake is part of their habitat. Though most monkeys don't swim bwchumnnggff-" He picked up a monkey that had taken to exploring his face and let it cling to his hand instead. "Ah there it is!" Green lotus pads gracefully floated across the river and baby pink flowers were in full bloom. There were a few insects flying over the water as usual, "It's not safe to drink, but here we are!" -------- "HAHAHA,... Oh my... that's so pretty... I can understand they are dear to you... They are really energic the monkeys i bet they are smart too!" -------- "Yes, the Hindus believe that the gods themselves sit upon these beautiful flowers as their thrones. Oh yes, if only their intelligence didn't go into their little thievery rings." -------- Rome giggled "have you ever tried yourself?" -------- He paused and his face was clearly flustered by the question. "Of course not." He had, many times, and many unholy words had slipped out of his mouth every time he fell into the water, though of course that was a very long time ago. -------- "You don't believe to be a descendant? You haven't even tried once? As gracious as you are if any God can do that, so can you." was he joking or not it was hard to tell -------- He was about to say something but the man made an intelligent argument that had his mind working a little backwardly. Snap out of that man! "Unfortunately our Gods seem to have no mass, but I do." -------- The Roman laughed. "and now with a bunch of monkeys and a full stomic it's even more. A well, my people sure believed so. According to the tales, I was left to drown in the river as a baby. But I have no memory of it" -------- "Are you not afraid of the water?" He never really feared the sea as most early nations had. -------- "no, not at all. Im a good swimmer actually. You know, baby's know how to float, it's supercute!" -------- He laughed, "Are you trying to convince me that you're a good /and/ cute swimmer?" -------- "YES!" he laughed "Nah, I was pushed off in a basket back then. And then the Gods were like; this one is too cute to die let's save him!" he grinned "But they got more than they bargained for!!!" -------- "They definitely did, ah but you're not quite so cute anymore~" He was on the handsome side now, which was a compliment he kept to himself. "The lotus is very hard to grow out of the wild, would you like one?" -------- "..." he didn't know what to say. Ofcourse somebody like Indie would not think he was cute. He smiled but his eyes didn't "No, please save it for a pretty looking girl, someone special" -------- He kicked off his shoes, "Alright then, I'll still get them for your room." He ignored the last part, he'd already decided to give them to him when he asked. He removed the socks and pulled up his trousers before wading into the lake. Just a little further.... And that's the story of how he ended up completely drenched from head to toe, scolding similarly drenched lemurs and holding up a large lotus flower for his guest. -------- Rome took the flower with slightly shaking hands before he started crying "I told you not to" the monkey had already ran off with his fidget spinner. "You are all wet, how am I supposed to keep my eyes off you now?! " -------- He would have patted him. But he was all wet so he had to courtesy to resist it. He pressed his palms together, "It's alright, I will dry up soon, life is as it should be. Om." Or in English, 'Pls calm down.' -------- Rome's crying redused to a silent snottering. He nodded to Indies words but avoided meeting his eyes "... It truly is majestic... this flower is" -------- What a pity, his spare handkerchief had gotten wet. He stared at the lemurs as they sped away indignantly- They'd caused him to lose his balance, those scoundrels! Ah but it was alright, the water was cold and refreshing. He wondered what made the Roman so sad. "Indeed, the gods sit upon them, but it's not just their throne. The lotus flower is the universe itself, the symbol of morality, goodness, beauty... We strive to be like this perfect bloom, to be flawless despite our murky surroundings, to work without attachment and to rise above the mud." He squeezed out water from his shirt. "Keep it." -------- "Then I quess Id better visualise this lotus than Jaipur in ruins when I try meditating again" he opened his bag "I've got a spair tee, if you like" -------- He snorted, "Another technique is to visualise a lotus where your heart is, a light emerging from it as your conscious mind grows aware and enlightened. The lotus is as much a symbol of the universe as it is, a symbol of you." He smiled and accepted the T-shirt, "You're very kind." He removed his own shirt and quickly, a flash of wheat brown skin showing before he covered up again. "Ah, perhaps I'll still change out of these trousers in the house. Will you stay here while I change or would you like to come back into the shade?" -------- "I'll ehh go back to the villa. Than we can take care of the lotus after you're done" he gave him a quick glance "...maybe a shower is a good idea to wash the green off your hair..." he looked like a mermaid. -------- He felt his hair and moved out a string of green. Aiye- "Sounds like a plan, let's go!" -------- Rome followed with a easy tred carrying Indies shoes. "You are a idiot you know that" a sooking wet idiot with a cute tush -------- He laughed, "It's been a long time since I've heard that. I almost miss it." He grinned, "No, I don't really miss it. Though I'm still walking on burning coals today to prove a point, and you can't stop me." He opened the door with a merry swing and gestured for the other to step inside first. -------- "Make it a cold shower too cool off that melting brains of yours" he's not the one who needs one. "I'll be in my room, reading. Don't forget to wash behind your ears" -------- "Hah, just you wait!" He winked and gave one of the servants a little fright. Some sort of handsome swamp monster had returned in place of their nation- oh? Or not, it was still the same old strange man. "I did just cool down you know, maybe I should have made you join me." He smiled and turned, "Alright then, I'll be back soon." -------- Rome got in the guestroom and filled the sink with water, carefully placing the lotus in it. Then with a sigh he grawled up the bed, took a cushion and curled up around it. His eyelids felt heavy of a sudden and he drifted away in chaotic dreams that didn't make much sense. -------- He had taken a quick shower, getting the gooplike substance out of his hair. And he remembered to wash behind his ears though he did make a face at it. He really could walk on burning coals! He'd practiced it in the past... Ah but actions would speak louder than words anyways. When he was out, he wore a traditional piece of clothing that was much like a large fabric wrapped around his waist and tucked in, a lungi. Many men still wore it in the south. He dried his hair out with a towel and reapplied the tilaka on his forehead. He slowly opened the guest room, only to see that the other had fallen asleep! He must have been very tired from his travels. India closed the door gently and made his way to the living room where he'd lounge on a divan and read the newspaper. -------- Damnit, there were just too many of them. Fight, fight harder! "Forma - Duo finis!" Why did they have assault rifles, this was madness. He took a quick look to the right to see his brother already burried beneath a pile of bleeding auxiliar soldiers, trying to get up. "PILA IACE" a cloud of pilae flew towards their opponents but the tank just ploughed threw like it was nothing. Man was he pissed off right now. "Gladium stringe - Celeriter" this was going to be a massacre "Parati - OPPUGNARE - Ad Victoria!" They charged, finally somebody had taken down that stupid machine gun, it was starting to get on his nerves. The iron wagon wasn't going to stop anytime soon but they had put stones and pilae down the barrel and if a pig could be lit in fire than so could the pigs inside that thing. And man did they squeel hard when it finally started to be a pretty bonfire. He giggled. suit you right, stupid, think you can destroy me I got more tricks up my sleeve. But loo, over the hills there they came in, eight, with towers as high as houses, angry looking elephants to trample them. His men fled in terror. One bumped into him and he was trown down the ground - and off the bed. He looked around breathing heavily. -------- He laid down the newspaper, he had finished with it- and looked out the window. Mere minutes has passed since he left the Roman to his nap. The man sighed morosely and slid down the furniture, onto the floor. He sat up and leaned his head on the cushioned divan. Another sigh. The newspaper was depressing and his boredom guilt-inducing. Alright then! He was going to meditate and clear his mind so that he wasn't such a wet blanket when the other did wake. He placed his hands on his thighs, palms facing upwards and his thumbs and index fingers loosely touching. He closed his eyes and hoped that he would find the answers to the day's moments of confusion. He could stay in that position for hours if no one interrupted him. -------- Rome got up grumbling and arched his back then marched out the room to find the other. "Indie?!" now where was that fool. -------- Why did the other cry? He was still rather worried about that, though he had brushed it off earlier. In the midst of heavy self-reflection, he hadn't heard him. There was a saying, that the ones who laugh the loudest, cry the hardest. And that just unsettled him. -------- He flung open the doors of the living "Ah, there you are" he tossed his shoes at his side "come put those on, we need to go... now" -------- He opened an eye, what was all the noise about? -------- "please? I don't want to go by myself" -------- He closed his eyes, brought folded hands to his chest and exhaled. "Where are we going?" He stood up and put on the shoes, "You were asleep when I had finished bathing, thought I'd let you rest." -------- "I can't sleep. I need to face those beasts of yours and I don't want to d... do it alone." he looked determined yet anxious "They hurt me... they scare me and I want to forget" -------- "Beasts?" He figured he wasn't talking about those monkeys. "What, the elephants?" Would it be more expensive to hire a man who'd bring it to them or to hire a taxi- no, of course, they could walk through the markets and go to the temple! "Hum, perhaps you should know that they're a different type of elephant from the ones you have encountered." Indian elephants were just so much sweeter than their African brothers- Or they were at least, tamer. -------- "they look the same to me. I suppose they are nice to the hand that feeds them. I only know them as means for war... You have them to protect the temple right?" -------- "They aren't exactly watchdogs," he grinned, "but I'll take this as an opportunity to show you around the markets as we travel there." He felt refreshed, the newspaper was left on the divan like a forgotten thought. "Perhaps apply some sunscreen, you don't want to get sunburnt.' -------- "i don't have any, should i really?... You smell nice, way less like a wet monkey now" -------- "You should, I think there's some in each bedroom. I've had to treat many burns, and I only have so much Aloe." He laughed and pulled the other along, as they found a room he joked, "People tell me my natural scent is that of petrichor and spices." -------- Rome smiled and shook his head "I guess I just smell like what one would expect from a sexgod, like uhm a sauna" he licked his finger and rested it on it's cheek "Tssss...." really now why did they need to make a competition out of everything? He poured water on his face from the sink and freshed up a bit before putting on the sunscreen. He run his fingers threw his hair. With a little water his messy locks became pretty stylish. -------- "A sauna?" These Europeans and their unusual tastes, "Believe me when I say that's not what I associate the smell of saunas with." He found his new style rather lovely, but he didn't say anything about it. "Alright, the markets await!" -------- He was glad they were finally going now and that they would do some sightseeing too. "Ah yes, I hope it's not too crowded." -------- "It's never not too crowded!" He said cheerfully and led him out the main exit this time. "Prepare to hear a lot of shouting and bargaining!" -------- "Oh, Im lousy at setting a good price. Either i pay far too much or they give it away for free because i terrify them greatly" -------- He grinned, "Not to worry, you'll have an expert with you." He gestured towards himself and bowed as if he were in front of an audience and not just the one companion. He looked at the other and gasped, "I'll have them do a puja for you since you're here!" A ritualistic prayer for favour from the gods, but he really wasn't giving him a choice. Better safe than sorry! "And we'll get you a new garland of jasmines outside the temple!" -------- "You are so sweet to me, thank you!" he sighed. Why hadn't he visited him back in the days or vise versa? Perhaps his brother had but well. He didn't want to bring that up really. "I am aware I kinda abruptly ended your meditation, if you like I can try and join you later today." -------- It wasn't so much an abrupt end as it was a perfect one, it was like his thoughts manifested onto reality and brought forth his guest. "Alright, perhaps you'll indulge me further and join me in some hatha yoga. If you're flexible enough, that is." -------- he coughed "flexible enough? What do I have to do? I can touch my toes standing" Anything else? "Ah yes, and I can touch my nose with my tongue, see?" -------- "I'll show you then, touching your toes standing is a great start. Some stances are just harder than others, it's a nice way to test your limits. However I'm limitless-" he grinned. "Don't talk to me about touching your nose with your tongue if you can't move your ears." One of his many natural talents, he illustrated it and laughed. -------- Rome laughed too. "That's so funny! Yes show me when we get back! I'm sure I will pick it up quickly with such a good teacher" -------- It was far too easy to appeal to his pride. He beamed, "You're right, you'll reach an advanced level very fast under my wing, you already have strength, with some stretching and discipline, you'll have everything. -------- "I'm happy you want to teach this old dog some new tricks. Is it far to the market?" -------- "Are you old?" He didn't know the answer to that- but then that would make him ancient... He shook his head, he was still young at heart. "Not by too long, a few minutes? Is walking as boring to you as riding a car?" Oh that gave him a very, very good idea. -------- "Ahh, according to some... but I ripe like a good wine :) Others just turn sour. Ahh and then there are those lucky few that aren't touched by time at all." he smiled " oh no, i like walking! and maybe its different if you drive a car yourself. The kids seem to enjoy it." -------- He smiled at the analogy, confidence was always attractive to him, "Ah but if you were my student earlier then time would not have touched you, our cosmetic and health knowledge are supreme." -------- "Maybe so. I was found beautifull and promising enough to turn heads in Greece but I was not courted over. There was a time where Id get drunk at any word China would spare me, but he did not want me." and it still hurt "and seasons and years passed, because I was to stubborn to let go... So, that's my story. Im practically raised by the army, all I know of other fields is by reading" -------- He was craving... affection? Yes, his earlier question about what it was like to be loved did fit the speculation. He put a hand on his back, though he wouldn't offer comfort to the private matters he mentioned. "Well then, I'm glad you're here, you can learn of many new fields by trying them out yourself. Maybe you'll outdo me in more than a couple." He smiled, nope not a chance. -------- "YES I can do that!" he was really motivated to crush the other and he wasnt scared to work hard for it "...huh?!..." he checked his pockets "the monkeys really did mug me. Im glad they didn't take my wallet... Or did they?" he checked his bag "pfffft, it's still here. By Jupiter if they snatch that from me, no more mister nice guy. It got the pictures of the kids and everything in it!" -------- "No, no, put that thing away!" He shook his head, "You're my guest, there's no reason for you to bring out any money. Though you should keep it safe, especially if there're pictures in it." -------- He nodded "you wont believe the trouble i went threw to get them. I even tied up God in his office... And I still don't have one of my Romano" -------- "You tied him up?" He sighed unsurprised, "Did diplomacy fail?" Tying up people was not very nice, he'd have at least bribed the deity with something. "Ah, I'm sure you'll be able to get one eventually, worry not." -------- "I sure hope so. He's angry with me, as are the women in my life,..." and his brother and who not really?! "... even my best friend stabbed me. Fitting for a roman, no?!" -------- He considered his response, and sighed. "People can be complicated, it's how it's always been." The streets were starting to get more lively, with people travelling to work, a few cars moved past them. Since they weren't in the middle of the city, they were spared the noise and honking. "Though I do hope you make peace with all of them if you can." -------- "Well, that's why I'm back, my main reason, to say Im sorry" -------- "Oh?" He smiled, "Apologies from the great Roman empire himself- somehow when it comes to you, I feel that people would rather have explanations than apologies. Especially those who admire you." -------- "I would be happy to provide both. Although Im not that well a speaker like say Greece" -------- "That is true indeed, well if you can get a price down for anything by 40% in any one of the stalls in the marketplace, you'll have made great progress in that area." -------- "Pfff... Ok I'll try..." he better pay attention to see how other people handled this. -------- "Watch and learn." He had centuries of experience in bargaining- he nearly got things for free when he was in the need. Though there was a time when he was completely unable to do so- The marketplace was colourful! There were many many carts selling foods and trinkets, people were dressed traditionally except for the odd shopkeepers daughter who was daring enough to wear jeans and a t-shirt rather than a chudidar. India stirred them towards the direction of the fabrics which the other mentioned wanting to see. -------- "See this dark blue fabric, and that purple, how do they do it? How do they make the purpura, Indie? Does the color hold in tempera, for paintings? " -------- "From flowers in the past- Oh you should have been here during Holi, it's a festival where traditionally we throw colourful powders or vibrant paints on each other- They tend to be naturally made so that they don't harm anyone! Yes it holds in tempera. But nowadays they use ugly synthetic dye for clothes. It's quite nostalgic to see handmade fabrics, back in the days I was at the pinnacle of fabric dyeing!" Ah the key was to make sure the cotton would permanently hold its colour- after that was figured.. hah! Well then he was the greatest fabric dyer in the world!! -------- "Really?! Id love to come next time to see. They don't mind foreigners attending?" he tried to picture it "Think we can buy colors here? I'd like to make something pretty just for you" -------- "Of course we don't mind! In fact it's been adopted by some other countries, it's nice to have fun once in a while! Though there is, of course, a great story behind it." He was still quite touched by the other's offer to paint him something. "I... You really don't have to... But ehm, you can buy them here." He suddenly found a really cute elephant figurine to admire. -------- "You really like elephants, don't you? It must seem silly to you that they scare me." -------- He looked at him and shook his head earnestly. "Not at all." He was able to meet his eyes, "I've known elephants that destroyed villages. They're well worth one's respect, be it through love or through fear. I hope that you can see their gentler nature too before you decide on fearing them once and for all." -------- He nodded "One hit me with his snout and nearly trampled me... And when Hannibal led them over the alps I totally lost my shit. You know you can be sleeping and suddenly there is one in your house. Im not afraid much. My youngest is afraid of spiders. He can't sleep if there is one in his room." Rome laughed "I shouldnt laugh but it's so silly. You are not afraid of bugs are you?" -------- He nodded, "Yes they can be terrifying, I'm sorry you had poor experiences with them." He hoped that he would get over them, they weren't so much beasts as they were gentle spirits... Plus they were so cute! The ones that were native to his land, at least. And even when upset, he could tame them fairly quickly. "No, but I can understand being squeamish about them. I know someone who's honestly a terrible person who has done terrible things, but the sight of a cockroach alone is enough for him to turn into a mess. Did you know that elephants are terrified of mice? It must be like how some of us are terrified of bugs." -------- "Really, ah but if he annoys you you can drop a chart of cockroaches in his living to bug him that's fairly easy! Ahh, i didn't know they don't like mice. We used to scare them with pigs we covered in tar and set alight. The sound they made, brrr. Kinda horrible when you think of it, hmn?" -------- He looked like he was picturing it and made a heartbroken face, "The poor pigs..." He shook his head, "Believe me, I'm not above it to use that if I must with him. Do you want an elephant figurine?" -------- "yes! But a small one so I can keep it with me for good luck." India was spoiling him. "Are you going to demonstrate it now?" Rome felt a little sorry for the shopkeeper already. "I do hope you enjoy my time spend, cause it's the only thing you'll take from me now. Please accept a few good memories to stay with you." -------- Hmm, a small one. He looked at the other, "There are so many to choose from, I'll demonstrate after you take your pick." There were so many intricate little carvings in the various figurines, elephants with their trunks raised, made out of wood, stone- and just about any material. No matter how many times he saw it, he always found them so cute. But he kept a discerning eye and a neutral expression. Rule #1 of the trade, don't get overexcited. -------- "maybe one of those made from malachite, that's a pretty stone. You should take one to match for yourself." that would be super cute! -------- He looked over to them and nodded, "Chic." They were quite adorable though, "Another one for my collection then." He called for the shopkeeper and of course the price for the two figurines were higher than that of say, the wooden ones. (As mun is not nearly as good as the great Shivaramakrishnan at bargaining, she shall now skip a scene.) "Ah thank you, I'm glad that you won't be doing this to your next customers." Honestly! It was actually far too expensive for something so small. He handed his Roman friend one of the elephants, wrapped securely in brown paper. "45% off~" -------- Rome was highly impressed. The other made it look so easy so he wanted to try as well. To get an idea of the progress he picked an item he could find at different shops. This way he would pick up quickly what the set price was. He choose to go for a nice fountain pen. If he was going to write again he needed one anyway. But the shopkeepers weren't so easy on him. It was a dead giveaway he was a tourist which meant easy money. Also he was a open book to read, so not one was going to lower the price much. He was visible frustrated by it and people enjoyed messing with him. When he walked away after a fifth try he looked like he was going to give up and sighed. He looked at Indie and when he caught his smile suddenly got an idea. He strolled around just making some silly jokes until he found what he was looking for. There was one stand he was looking at from across the street and he took his sweet time to unfold his magic. There, she spotted him. The woman blushed, turned away and looked again. He came closer now and asked if she could help him. He said he needed a present for a friend. He asked her name, complimented on her dress, asked about what places were nice to eat around here... and all the while flirting shamelessly. At some point he took his wallet and folded a bill wonderfully in the shape of a heart. He then took the pen he liked best wrote down something on the heart and left it in her hands. She smiled, he walked off with a even wider one back to Indie "40% off, The shopkeepers here all want to trick me, but their women sure seem to like me!" he laughed -------- He was trying so hard, it was hard not to smile. But five tries, and not a smidge of success... To be fair, some others had done much worse. Bargaining was not just a skill, it was a culture one simply grew up immersed in. It was the familiar memory of holding a parent's hand as they shake their heads and complain about the quality of an item, it was the memory of the shopkeeper's eyes lighting up at the challenge. Maybe it wasn't very easy to pick up from just one observation- He almost lost track of the other as he stood there contemplating the nature of bargaining and vaguely reacting to a series of jokes, but he soon found him and watched him try his luck with that woman who had laughed at his joke. Several moments later he had returned with a pen. "Is that so?" He chuckled and shook his head, "The poor darling may never be cured of her broken heart, but you did succeed." Bargaining was unfair by nature, he looked at the other and nodded. "You've led me to believe that if you are persistent, you will definitely get your thoughts and feelings across to those you want to speak to. Though I'm not sure if charming them will be as effective." He smiled and turned, "Let's get you your dyes." -------- "ah yeah!" he was happy they were about to see the colours. "I'm not a heartbreaker. I now have a pen so I can write my new beloved friend and it will last me what ten years maybe before I need to buy another. While I gave her sweet dreams that may very well last a lifetime." he smiled "Ah but you are quite right. Flirting with the ladies, that's easy enough. The men, they wont buy crap from me" -------- "Ten years? Well, if you want to buy yourself refills, I suppose. Though I'd rather buy a new pen at that stage." He laughed, "Oh yes, I'm sure she'll have sweet dreams over your charming encounter." He doubted it, but who knew how the minds of people worked. He grinned, "Yes, you're going to have to work harder with the men. Assert your dominance without endangering their pride, and that's often your best bet." -------- Rome nodded " I still have a lot to learn, I suppose. Some of the young ones look up to me because they picture a big structured empire built from scratch in a couple of years. HaHa! I couldnt have done it on my own. Also we missed out a lot, being on campaign all the while as a Republic. I think the best thing was we adopted other cultures into our own." he starts laughing "Germania's boy freaking fetishises me. It's SO weird! I feel like I'm the opposite of what he thinks I am" -------- He laughed, "If I haven't had my own share of experience with invincible empires, I think I'd have /fetishized/ your empire as well. You're seen as the pinnacle of discipline and military prowess, aren't you?" -------- "Discipline just means being pushed in a position that's convenient. Some are easily disciplined with rewards, but most by fear. I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of. And then there is me as a person too. I very much doubt that's what you see when you look in my eyes. No, I don't think I'm that disciplined. What reward was there waiting for me? What was there to fear, really? I might very well be the least disciplined person you'll ever meet." he played a little with his guirlande, smelling the flowers " I don't think I'll ever grow up. I'm not saying I can't be motivated, nor am I lazy, I think. I'm just a very passionate man, you need to rub me the right way" he giggled "But yes, compared to the others, our military was most skilled!" -------- He laughed, "Is that what discipline means to you? To me it means being able to separate one's individual concerns and suppress them for the efficiency and quality of a larger machine." He didn't think there was a right definition to it, but conveniency and efficiency were two separate matters. "When I look at you, I see a miracle, honestly. I don't know whether you are disciplined or childish, unmotivated or lethargic, but you are most certainly a miracle. As such, I think you're unpredictable and worthy of being a great friend or a great foe." -------- "I'm not a saint. Maybe If you surpress all you are for the greater good for too long, say a couple of thousand years, you too would start to hate the machine you are feeding. Of course it's efficient when everybody does what they are supposed to do. But may I question what I am supposed to do? Everything that exists is in a matter the seed of that what will be, as my boss put it. I have no taste for blood nor do I enjoy breaking things. I like to built things. I build a great empire out of sand only to give my boys a handfull. After all I endured I wanted them to have a good life. Therefore I am very content their military is a complete mess" he laughed "But now India... you DO rub me the right way... will you stop it?" -------- "Did you hate the machine you were feeding?" He understood that the other was immensely lonely. He wasn't quite a part of that machine as he actually was the machine. In that sense were nations solitary by nature? India may have been lonely once, but he was trained to see the world with different eyes. He did think he was a God among men, but that made him ambitious, to raise the standards of humankind, to elevate them by being with them. He was never lonely, he had a purpose given to him by himself! He didn't remember it, but he was terribly lonely and whiny as well, in the past. It was grossly egotistical on his part. He blinked, and from behind his roman friend, he put both hands on his shoulders. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, but I don't think I will. I'm curious to know what type of motivation I'm sparking." -------- "In a way yes I hated it. Because it drove me and my brother apart see? I was always trying to stress how much we are alike, he on the other hand pointed out our differences. He was my best friend and my greatest enemy. And I miss him greatly. I find it hard to except the credit for his efforts, cause truly he's the better half." Twins really are the worst. He was still angry for what he did. On the other hand he wanted to except his new chosen path. It was complicated on so many levels, Rome thought. Surely East crossed the line by fucking Greece though. And she knew, oh the bitch knew. He was startled when India touched him. "... Hmn see, you make me want to be a better man... I think I might just started to have a little crush on you. But no need to worry about it. " -------- "Is he now?" He smiled, the other clearly seemed to be a deep thinker, to be capable of critiquing himself in such a way. Or was it baseless gloom? He hoped for the former, because clouds of self-depreciation could easily ruin his otherwise golden radiance. What an expression, it didn't fully convince him that he only missed his brother. But brotherhoods so old were rightfully complicated. He sighed and ignored the thoughts that tried to depress him, of his neighbour and brother. He blinked and removed his hands, "Is that what it was?" He smiled, "Perhaps if you become a better man and impress me, I'll have a crush right back on you." He was downright cocky and he knew it, ...he didn't think the crush would last. He didn't treat it with much surprise at all, it may have even been a touch underwhelming. He wondered whether that was enough to extinguish the flame. -------- "HA! I sure hope not! Can you imagen all the gossiping ancients at the crossroads?! Greece would make your life a LIVING HELL." He put his thumbs in his jeanspockets and started walking "But make no mistake, I will better myself and impress you... better yet, I'll CRUSH you... Think of it as a warming up. After that I'll make Constantinople great again... I can't stay at Ikea forever, Swedish food makes me sick." he halted suddenly and beamed a most happy smile "wowww,... It's more beautifull than I imagined" he had found the dyes. -------- He laughed, "You'll crush me?" He was glad that he was in high spirits but honestly, "I'd rather that you don't try. Learn more about these times, you have far too much studying to do before you go around invading or building up cities." He really didn't care for gossip, "I had decent relations with Greece." He remarked before he looked over at the fabrics. "Isn't it? I was the very best with them. How many would you like?" -------- "But mummmm...." he said in a winey voice "seriously it's only fair I got at least half of Constantinople. And just think, I get to sent you lot's of nice food..." He sighed and put it to rest, India was probably right. Even though he had learned so much about the modern world. He didn't have his legions to actually invade anything. He was all talk now. But he could still bragg about his past accompliches. he snickered "Well MY relations with Greece were ANYTHING BUT decent." even that was a lie. His country was highly influenced be her and he loved her lot's. Ofcourse they had made out, but Greece could and would play him like a fool. "Hmn... just some basic earth colours, okers, black and white and maybe a bit of two brighter ones. I haven't got a clue what it costs and I don't want you to spend too much." -------- "You could send me nice food anywaayyyys." Why was he mimicking the whiny voice- he chuckled and watched the other sigh. Oh no, was that the sound of crushed dreams? It was...for the best, he decided. "Oh? I couldn't believe that, she seemed like such an amiable lady." "Basic earth colours?" He nodded and picked a few greens, yellows and reds. White and black, and then of course he picked a lot of indigo. Indigo was his most famous! "Choose as much as you like, what use is there in excess money if it cannot sate the desires of the esteemed guest?" -------- "Thank you Im so happy! I will learn to make food myself so I can send you! J.just you wait! " he was never going to repay this he thought "I will make you proud of me, your time will not be a idle investment I swear" -------- "You'll make the food?" What is this, he's being so spoilt, to be promised homemade food and an artwork? It was a little overwhelming and he was so grateful that he couldn't really say anything for a moment. Finally he smiled and nodded, "I'm sure it won't be, though rather than an investment, my time is a gift. I don't expect anything in return, and you needn't hold yourself to your words should they feel like weights." -------- "Weights? Never. You lift me up to rise above what I thought was possible. I am very thankfull" he put his hands together and bowed his head "That smile of yours was the only gift I truly needed. I'll keep it save and cherish it for a thousand years...and a day" -------- "And a day?" He thought he might have felt his heart skip a beat at the last addition, surely his standards were not high. What made him difficult was his negligence towards himself. He returned the gesture, bowing lower, "Your words are too kind, and the sincerity behind them, kinder still. My smile is a permanent matter of course, you may get tired of it." -------- Rome shook his head "I will grow tired of it the day easter and christmas fall on the same day, just as people grow tired watching dancing flames, the sun rising and waves washing ashore... you must show me the temple and tell me what it's for... -------- Well that put a silly grin on him immediately, "You are too generous." He nodded at the last bit, "I will show you the temple, it'll be easier to explain it when we're there. And I assume you are asking about my tilak and the Bindi on our foreheads. It is a Hindu custom," he touched the spot on Rome's forehead with his thumb, "this is where the soul enters and exits the body, the Ajna Chakra. By applying sandalwood paste on it, you are respecting the mind and soul. It's also said to improve your attention and intuition." The thumb moved upwards, "The different type of tilak can also help one understand which God the person worships, during religious instances. Women wear it in the form of a simple dot, married women wear it as a larger red dot." He withdrew his hand, "Like kohl, it also has cooling properties." -------- Romulus listened and seemed intrigued. "Do you have priests or virgins to look after the temple and do they also wear tilak or bindu?" -------- He laughed, "Temples tend to be owned by people who used to be from the Brahmin caste. They have families to take care of them- And yes, you will see it." -------- "This caste, is a familyline or house, or an institute of some sort? I am sorry Im trying to understand" -------- "The caste system (I've tried to dissolve it in these times) is a social hierarchy, the brahmins were at the top as people who are the closest to the gods. Then the warriors, the merchants and at the very bottom were the Untouchables, who are said to have been sinners in their previous life." -------- "That seems like a pretty fixed system that suits it's purpose but none can possibly escape from. Not like ours was much better I suppose. Both the free born and slaves were bound, in different ways -------- "We believed in the cycle of rebirth, and in that sense it was more than fair. You escape it by living righteously and being reborn into a better caste. But it's ultimately cruel and so nothing more than its legacy should continue." -------- "hmn,... Then you should know everything about how to be a good man with your experience. And your people have written down knowledge for those who want to make an effort to better their lives, no?... One of my bosses was really into that. He is known as one of the worlds greatest filosofers. " -------- "The more I think I know, the less I know, so I tend to just do my best and hope for good results." He sighed, "But of course, my people have written many rules and guides down, though I think it's most important to have a strong sense of dharma, and the rest fall into place." He paused, "Duty." He seemed rather curious when the other mentioned an old boss, he got the attention of the shopkeeper and looked back at him. "Which of them was he?" -------- Rome nodded, yes the more you know. "Ah... he's known as Marcus Aurelius. We ehh, change names at times. He was really kind to me. Even let me go travel and see Seres... we did make a short stop in Pandyan... It's a long time ago I don't remember the name of the city." -------- "You seem to remember him fondly," he took out his card and the lady shook her head. Only cash. But of course, he fiddled in his wallet for the price and kept it in her hand. -------- "Yes! And history has been kind to him luckely." some would claim the pax romana died with him. "We did we not meet back then, why didn't we?..." he was digging his mind. "I remember we had to keep a good pace even though I was feeling sick... we cut part of the main route, for some reason... " he shook his head his memory was too clouded. "Did you have leaders you were fond of, more than the others?" -------- He watched as the woman packed the dyes and he could feel the other's lapse in memory with just hearing his voice. "I did. Ashoka the Buddhist king was a force to be reckoned with, Akbar the Great from the Mughal empire was such a curious and wonderful man. There are many more, some dipped in mist within my memories as I fail to recall whether they were real or myth." -------- Rome laughed to that "And I thought MY mind was a mess" he sighed. "But I do think I've heard of this Ashoka before... But hey, let's put that in my bag, then we have our hands free." -------- He smiled, "Oh I'm sure that one was real. We use his chakra on my flag, saffron, white and green, with a navy blue wheel at the middle. It has twenty-four spokes and symbolises the twenty-four hours of a day, rotating, rotating without tire, to continue for an eternity." He took the dyes and thanked the woman. "The elephants (and coals) await us! Is there anything else that you would like to buy?" -------- Rome started grinning, whatever he was thinking he wasn't saying it out loud. "You're feeding me and everything. And since you won't let me invade nothing, what more do I need?" -------- He smiled and tilted his head, "What are you grinning about? Hm perhaps I am ideal company for swashbuckling young empires." -------- "I'm not telling" his grin widened. "but you may guess, HA HA" -------- "Is this about you still being sceptical about my hot coal walk? I will impress you nonetheless." -------- "You serious?! I don't want you to burn yourself please" -------- "Oh," he laughed, "since you said please, I won't burn. Though I had no intention of burning and I will still do as I wish." -------- Rome combed his fingers throw his hair and shook his head "You are a grown free man, by all means do as you wish. I'm still not certain what you are trying to proof though. Of all the ways you could pick to try to - impress - me, you had to choose walking on coals" he flung his hands in the air in a dramatic matter "You could have just got naked" -------- He laughed, "I don't tend to get naked for my guests (and its not the first time I've heard this...sadly), but walking on coals is no problem." He took his hand and held it firmly with his other, "Where's your spirit gone?" He was not going to be kept from it. It was that or snake charming. -------- "Very well... It clearly means a lot to you, show me. though I'm not sure what I think is scarier this moment. You doing just that or me getting trampled." he pouted "but it's not my fault if you get hurt in the process. Unlike popular belief I do not enjoy people suffering" -------- "I'm honoured that my safety is as important as yours." He let go of his hands and looked at him with a carefree grin, "Don't worry, your name will not be tied down to any mistake on my part." -------- "My name has left a much hated mark on far to many people, quite literaly. Let us go to the temple" -------- "Now do not go being depressed," he eyed him and held his hands behind himself, "the Mandir is a place of light. Put a smile on your face and let your heart be free of the past." He led the way. -------- Rome faked a smile and followed. Let your heart be free of the past? The past was basically all he was. Both good and bad. "What do elephants eat?" -------- He smiled at the question, "Bananas! Whole bunches of them. Though they'll like you more if you peel them and put in the extra effort." -------- "Should we bring some? Then maybe they wont smell my fear and peel me instead?!" -------- "They'll have some at the temple, don't worry. They really are gentle, you'll like them!" Very gentle and very smart. -------- Romulus wasnt so sure. "We will drink to celebrate after, right? If I do pet one, that is" -------- "If you take one for a walk with me, I'll even make sure to get the finest brew from my place." That was a little tricky these days, but if the other put in extra effort, so would he. -------- "Ww..." his voice cracked "Walk with.. you mean walk beside it? Ohh... I don't know India. What if I can't control it then the whole town is in ruin." -------- "I'll be with you, so of course that won't happen." He pressed his hands together, "They're not going to rampage with me around, and you don't need to control them, they're my friends." Because why wouldn't you have an elephant pal. -------- "You speak of them like they are big dogs. Like you can just let them lie down and roll over. Aah, I really am nervous, omg" he pinched India's arm "I can feel my heart beating in my chest" -------- He patted his shoulder, "I'll help you face them, you won't be in any danger and they are a different species from what you remember, maybe you'll notice their physical differences." -------- "I'll trust your judgement. This temple is it dedicated to one God or several?" he asked "Do you have a favorite?" -------- "I'm glad you will." He was honoured. "Oh, it's dedicated to one of Vishnu's most beloved avatars, Krishna." He grinned at the question, "Are you looking to get me in trouble?" -------- "Get you in trouble? They are a jealous bunch, is that what you are saying? Or is my company troublesome already?" -------- "They can be a jealous bunch, and your company is far from troublesome! You've been wonderful company." He nodded, "In seriousness, I used to favour Shiva the most, though now I think my admiration has shifted to Vishnu. Each God does play an important role though." -------- Romulus smiled shyly "What is Vishnu known for that you pick him?... Or is it a Goddess? See how little I know. I don't want to anger Vishnu... Sorry God, if you are listening, Im a silly tourist I mean no harm." -------- "Don't worry, he's one of the gods who never gets jealous or petty, he would not be offended." And as for why he picked him, how does one put Vishnu into words? He is like life itself! "I suppose it is only natural for me to appreciate him the most, he is associated with heroism and with protection. In Hinduism, we have the Vedic triad, three gods who are the most important from the entire pantheon. Brahma, he who creates, Shiva, he who destroys evil to make space for more creation, and Vishnu, he who protects what is good. In times of great evil, he is born to the earth and will become a saviour. According to the stories, he has done this 9 times already. He's like a guardian angel- That...And he's just really really admirable in each tale he plays a part in. He's collected and calm, within him lie the secrets of the cosmos." Only in India do you have such persistent fanboys for Gods or goddesses. Don't even get him started on Hanuman, the monkey God. -------- "He sounds like a great guy! You should tell me some of his stories when we have time to spare" -------- "Wonderful! Actually there's a perfect tale to pass the time with as we walk to the temple, it's about Vishnu and an elephant devotee of his." -------- "YEAH let's hear it!" Rome smiled -------- He laughed, "During the times of Akbar the Great, was a man so witty and intelligent in his court that his stories are well remembered. He was called Birbal, and unlike the Muslim emperor, he was a Hindu. Akbar sought for peace between the two groups and wished to understand this story. Once, there was a leader of a herd of elephants called Gajendra, he was a great leader and one who cared for his fellow elephants. He led them to the river so that they could bathe themselves, but suddenly, he was attacked! The jaws of a crocodile snapped shut on his leg and he cried out for help. But his herd backed away and began to turn away, as they had realised that death had come for Gajendra. Poor Gajendra struggled and struggled, to no avail. They say he held out for a thousand years, trapped by the crocodile, clinging onto dear life. But even his strength had its limits. With the last of it, he picked up a lotus flower with his trunk and held it up high," he extended an arm above him, as an offerring to the Lord Vishnu, as a prayer for help." There were almost by the temple, he could make out the shape. They say if you can view your destination, you're halfway there. "That's the temple, see?" -------- "I see,... then what happend? Did it got dragged down the water?" he was caught by the story already -------- He shook his head, "Upon hearing his devotee's prayer, Lord Vishnu himself rushed to the scene, looking for the one who surrendered control of their life to him. As Gajendra saw him, he exerted the last of his strength in raising the lotus even higher. At seeing this, Vishnu was moved and with his Sudarshana Chakra, a weapon that's much like a discus with jagged edges- he beheaded the crocodile and saved Gajendra. Akbar was rather shocked by the fact that Vishnu himself came down to help Gajendra when he could have sent any of his strong and loyal subjects to take care of it in his stead. Birbal took to explaining it later by telling the Emperor that his grandson was drowning in the pool. This was, of course, not the case, but Akbar jumped in himself to rescue his supposed grandson. The moral of that being that Vishnu treats his devotees with such personal care, it is as if he is family." -------- Romulus nodded "He is a good God. The elephants do know how to touch peoples hearts. We had some at the circus once, I did not go because I don't enjoy it. But a friend did and he said all left feeling sad because they wailed so bitterly and casts their trunks up to heaven. This friend never returned there ever again and became stoic. Seneca and Pliny also wrote about their greatness. The organiser of the event was cursed by both elephant and man it's said and he got stabbed." -------- He nodded, "It depresses me that we cannot take care of these animals and make proper use of them. For entertainment we have each other, why must tigers be chained and bears made to balance on balls?" He smiled without much humour, "There's a bit of poaching in my land, people kill elephants for the ivory. How pointless it is, the ruin a life so large and great, for a small bit of material." -------- "The Gods made many foolish people. But they may grow to do what is right. They should not anger you. Do not question why is it that these things happen and fill you with sorrow. Nobody is helped with such thoughts and you the last of all people." -------- "They don't anger me." He sighed but he was cheered by the other's words, "And it is impossible for me to be filled with sorrow when with it comes motivation to work against the nature of all things poor." Things will get better! "Thank you for your advice." -------- "We are all connected in a way, I believe. Only take the words that are of use to you that come from my mouth. Because I loose myself quite often, which is not very wise. I have still need to learn to shut my mouth and pick my words with more care. But you are making a great difference for my world this day. So that is progress, right?" -------- He smiled, "I don't know, maybe you were a better man before you met me. However, I can never know, so I'll believe that I made a positive difference." They were almost there! A cool breeze blew past them, shaking trees and letting flower petals and leaves fall onto the ground. "There's art in honesty and straightforwardness, there's science behind picking words with more care. Both are neutral choices, only you decide whether they harm or support. You're already very wise in the ways of art." -------- Rome smiled proudly at that. "Maybe" he looked at the leaves dancing in the wind then back at India "will there be paintings or statues of Vishnu in the temple of Krisna as well? Im curious to how he looks like" -------- "There will be statues, but honestly he looks different in every temple- ah but since it's a temple they'll sell paintings for worship outside! Imagine a dark man with beautiful eyes, like lotus petals, and a constant smile. He's normally lying on a large cobra with several heads, with his wife, the goddess of fortune and prosperity massaging his feet, floating on the cosmic waters that represent the universe." He was heavily romanticized, but which gods weren't? "Krishna is a form of Lord Vishnu so technically speaking, even the flautist with a peacock feather in his hair and doe-like eyes is him." -------- Rome giggled "He most be very charming indeed if the women lay at his feet like that. HA HA The temple looks really cool, are they all built likewise?" -------- "Oh yes, and his wife is madly in love with him. Everytime he is born to the earth, she comes with him, they always find each other and fall in love all over again." He was a romantic, and there was such beauty and aesthetic in the stories of Vishnu. "And Krishna had 16008 (or 16108, the stories are inconsistent) wives, each of whom he loved dearly and spent equal time with." "No, they vary from region to region, and they look different depending on which deity or which deities they are dedicated to." -------- "oh?" he froze and his mouth hanged open in amazement "seriously, that's the cutest thing ever!" ------ He grinned, "It gets cuter than that, he originally only had 8 wives, but 16000 (16100) of them were slaves of the demon Narakasura. After Krishna slew him, the women would not have a place in society as old servants of the late demon, so he married them out of kindness to protect their dignity. And they lived happily with him in his kingdom. One of the stories say that the mischievous God, Narada, asked him if he could take one of his wives -he had so many, after all- for himself. And Krishna agreed, provided that Narada would marry the one who he finds alone." He smiled, he loved telling stories, his eyes were still full of wonder and admiration, hands naturally moving to gesture and illustrate the nature of his words. "Narada went to the home of each of the 16008 wives, and in each home, his prospective bride was accompanied by Krishna who was very close with her, laughed and was intimate with her or even raised children with her. He finally realised that Krishna splits himself into a being for each wife and spends the night with them all simultaneously while in the daytime his selves combine as he performs the duties of a Prince." He actually learned to play the flute because of the stories of Krishna. -------- Romulus listened carefully and smiled all the while "I wish my Gods were as generous. Jupiter had quite some trouble with his jealous wife. Not as much as the Greek ones though. Personally I try to keep my relations with women open, it's not ideal but it's manageble that way. I could not handle more than two loves at the same time, Id go crazy I think. I was really blessed Greece and Egypt liked eachother." -------- "Haha," he had a sudden mini-film of flashbacks, one after the other, building up his spirits and crushing them, devastating him and consoling him all at the same time. He walked into a corner. Rubbing his head and torn out of his five seconds of silence he looked at the other, "You were blessed, catfights can turn ugly." -------- Rome nodded. It looked to him India had not been so fortunate with girls. "Well, girls are strange anyway" -------- He didn't have time to wonder what the other had thought to himself after watching his host walk into a wall, because when the stars faded from his view, he realised that they were by the temple. "We're here! Alright, now first we must remove our shoes and secure them." -------- Romulus tried not to laugh when the other hit his head "...ehh, you ok?" He opened his bag and took out a package of wipes offering them to India before he took a few to clean his face, hands and feet. Then took his spare sandals out. "secure them, you said?" -------- "I just showered," he said as he declined the wipes. He regarded the other fondly, "You know your temple etiquette, I'm impressed." It was very important to go into the temple with a clean body, but foreigners weren't required to observe each custom. "Yes, sadly they may get stolen by the time we return if we don't tie them to the pole." -------- "That would be a something, these.." he hold up his sandals "... Are the only thing that they truly 'respect', my boys" he smiled "I could put it al in the bag, although Id like to have the full experience, ha ha. Or uhm should I leave my bag here as well? I can take my pictures out, I have pockets in my jeans" having pockets was new to the roman. "If they take it then that's that. I try to live minimalistic now. It works rather well for me." -------- "They only truly respect your shoes?" He cocked his head to a side, "Your boys have strange tastes." He smiled and shook his head, "Carrying it in your bag is alright, just so long as your footsteps are pure on temple grounds, you needn't do anything else!" "Take your bag, you can carry all your items with you, though I wish you'd left some more in the house." -------- "Yes well, I'm not sure if they fear my fashion sense or the beating" he laughed. "Next time I'll leave it all at the villa. I'm just so used to carrying my stuff when I travel I didn't even think about it, silly heh?. This..." he shook his bag "...is everything I own, apart from my armor, which I left at a friends place in Reykjavic." He looked excited at the temple then back at India "It's just stuff. All that is important is stored up here" he said as he lay his hand on his brow. -------- "You sound just like an Indian aunty." He laughed, but in all his youthfulness, he still got the odd threat of being whacked by a slipper or rolling pin. "It's good to be detached from material things, but I don't know if you really are. I'll make sure that you do not part with your things if it can be helped." Unbeknownst to him, the monkeys had already taken his fidget spinner. -------- Rome put the sandals in the backpack and followed his friend to the temple silently. It sounded and smelled like a another world than the market they just visited. Temples were different yet the same in other countries. He felt truly at peace now. -------- "Now should we go to the elephants or the coals first?" He said with an excited smile, clapping his hands together as his hardened feet lightly kicked at the scorching temple grounds. The coals weren't a problem but he was trying quite hard not to hop around in front of the other. Of course he couldn't hide his relief when they came to a shaded path. -------- Rome shook his head, his new friend was an idiot. "Ok, show me your wonders first." they were quite alike, he thought. -------- Where was the lie though? Perhaps it was just a matter of eccentricity, all the ancients were excessively eccentric, India just happened to be worse than most. "Yes! Alright then, where was it again- that way? That way!" He dragged the other along, they could see children running along and playing, parents scolding them, those of marriageable age praying for luck- the atmosphere was bustling the way the market had been, yet it also felt different. As though there was a sense of lightheartedness in the air, everyone was smiling. It was a stark difference from temples dedicated to other deities. -------- Rome grinned as the other pulled him along. India's enthusiasm sure was contagious. Young countries more than often were so... serious. "You really are excited aren't you?" Rome still wasnt sure this was such a great idea but "you smile like an idiot" It was super cute to see him like this. -------- "Of course it's been years since I've done it!" That was cause for worry but clearly the thought hadn't reached him, he was immensely confident in his abilities. He found the coal pit, it probably hadn't been used in forever- there weren't so many young people who'd do it- burning one's feet off to prove their courage clearly didn't appeal to them in the way it appealed to more religious generations. "It's alright if I'm a cute idiot." He said as his eyes scanned for a handler, aha! He got one, he might have given the old man a fright for he must have only met him 20 years ago or so. "Shankar!" He called out in a similar tone and quickly got the man to light up the coals. He turned to his guest and whispered, "I think he thinks that I'm a form of the God... What do I do?" Would it be even more confusing to explain the whole nation thing or should the old man be humoured? It wasn't a simple and obvious moral choice. -------- Rome had to admit "fit for the asylum but equally cute" Rome thought for a moment "Let the old man think what he will. He'll be honoured..." he started laughing "When I was young I used to prank the poor souls. I would put on sandals and rub my feet madly at this wool carpet and then go around and electric shock people, HA HA! Some really believed I was the grandson of our King of Heaven. It was just a cheap trick but the faces they'd make... Ha HA" -------- He raised an eyebrow and laughed, "What a mischievous young boy you were!" The man looked old, perhaps he wouldn't live long- ah but somehow he may just live forever, one could never tell. In the end he went with his guest's suggestion, it wasn't a matter of personal pride, he just wanted him to have a good day. And he wouldn't do anything to purposely feed the idea! "Fit for the asylum?" He pouted, "Thats not very fair on me. My mind /is/ sharp." -------- "Hmn,... That is yet to be proven. But it only takes one look to see you're cuter than me. Maybe I get to outsmart you then. That's a honourable field to beat you in." he grinned "though I bet there are people who'd say Im just as wacko" -------- "Oh don't try to outsmart me," he spoke with such light-heartedness that even while he was facing the coals with as they were being lit, his tone was carried without the other seeing his smile. He turned to him, "Though of course you are handsome and there is no contest between our looks." Personally he was a better judge of the feminine beauty, for men it was hard to explain- there were too many different types of handsomeness that had never been given the same attention. Whether it was rugged or smooth, muscular or slender, there were too many handsome men to compare them all. It was during thought processes like this, that the Indian was filled with vexation as he couldn't understand why his country was yet to allow two men or women to be together. /Everyone/ is attractive and appealing. "The fire's been lit!" -------- Rome was about to challenge the other when India's reply left him speechless. He knew he should surpress his emotions because they would become overwelming. But he didn't. He accepted the compliment and felt so strong and beautifull he could move mountains now. He was all warm and fuzzy inside and it showed. "So it's on, this is it. I think you are really brave. I will cheer for you! " He bowed his head a little and gave him all the space to get ready. Please Gods watch over my friend, he's so precious. -------- He was dazzling- when he was so happy. India blinked at the sudden change, he hadn't thought it possible for the Roman to get even brighter and happier than he had at many moments throughout the day. Somehow, a part of him was worried that he'd made him feel too much, but he was also pleased that he left some sort of memory on the other. Though the latter was quite immature of him so he chided himself for it. "This is it!" He winked when the other made way for him. But beyond the coals was an idol of his beloved god, he folded his palms together, pressed them to his chest and bowed. The man gave him a garland of flowers and he took them carefully. "And now you'll see the walk." He murmured, before doing just as he promised. Now there was science to it, temperatures cancelled out and the time the coal made contact with his feet, whether they stick to the feet, how dry they are- it all mattered. But while watching him, it looked effortless and practiced. It was in equal parts fascinating and unnerving. He deliberately walked as slowly as the embers would allow, not rushing, but getting through the walk with grace, and back onto the sand at the other end. He hung the garland on the Krishna. A turn and a thumbs up, "See! It wasn't as bad as you expected, was it?" -------- Rome was blown away "That's incredible! How do you... Are you sure you're not hurt?" he turned to the old man "that's my friend, look at him" Rome run up to India and hugged him "sorry i doubted you, I saw you do this just now and I still not believe it!" Rome was blown away "That's incredible! How do you... Are you sure you're not hurt?" he turned to the old man "that's my friend, look at him" Rome run up to India and hugged him "sorry i doubted you, I saw you do this just now and I still not believe it!" -------- The old man looked just as stunned and India welcomed the embrace with a grin. "I'm sure, I'm sure." He lifted his legs and while they were covered in ash, there were no burns. He dusted them off easily, somehow even on one foot he looked as stable as an oak tree. "You must believe it, I will teach you how it works but I will not encourage you to try this /feat/ today." -------- "Oh, I'm so relieved you're ok." Pffffftttt HA HA HA "Ah indeed that would be a bad idea. The sand is warm enough for my feet!" the roman grinned -------- He smiled at the other's laughter, there were two types of reactions he was used to at this stage, groans and complaining or laughter. He genuinely thought he was funny so of course Rome's encouragement was confirmation of that notion. "Oh yes, the sand's scorching isn't it? Let's walk in the shade." He thanked the old man and bowed in front of the idol, before dragging the guest to a completely different part of the temple. "Now that I've done the impossible, it's time for you to bond with elephants." -------- Rome took a deep breath "Yes, I can do this!" he would make India proud. It was a totally irrational fear and he would face it. As simple as that. What could possibly go wrong? -------- India smiled encouraging but he was actually already running various scenarios in his head, how close to the elephant would he be able to bring the other, how would he keep the elephant calm- Should he let the Roman do this himself or should he lead by example? Elephants were brilliant creatures with much patience, but would something go wrong? He stopped the other and took some bananas from the tree, there weren't many ripe ones left but he got those on the brink. "Here, take half of these." He was going to do his best to make this as easy as possible. -------- Bananas perfect, he thought to himself. But felt tensing up already. Just because Rome was used to do whatever, whenever he was ordered to didn't mean he felt less. His mouth felt dry. He knew this would make him feel miserable, but that wasn't important. The fear was real, the treat wasn't. -------- He looked so tense, it made him feel a little bad, India pulled him into a tight hug. "Hey," he whispered, "calm yourself, loosen your muscles, breathe, breathe in as deep as you can, breathe out as much as possible, just focus on your breathing and you'll feel a lot more prepared." -------- He hold his breath with the sudden hug. Then slowly breath out again. He really was pumped up, ready for a fight. His nostrils wide, jaw clenched and soldiers stare picking up every essential detail of his surroundings. His arms hung unmoveble at his side when India wrapped his around him, like they were cut out marble. He did however lay his head against him. "yes sir, please let me go to feed it -------- How the Roman managed to get more stiff, went beyond him. He patted his head and looked downwards in thought, still hugging the other there. "Easy now, you're not about to wage war on Jaipur, are you? Hehe, I'm a little nervous, you /must/ comfort me from the thought before you go befriending elephants." He let go of the other and held his hands out wide, "I felt like I was hugging a tree!" What a bossy host he was, but he still felt that the had nervous energy threatening to spill out, call it a gut feeling. -------- There was a carefull grin on his face. He bit his lip and tried to order all the different thoughts plaging him. He dropped his backpack and bananas and duck back into a hug. The fingers of his rough hands, meant to wield a blade, running delicately over his back. He leaned into him with a whisper so close you could feel it "I could never harm you. -------- He laughed, finding the whispers ticklish and mirrored the way he felt the other stroke his back, "Is that so?" Perhaps there was a difference in 'could' and 'would' which the other ignored, but maybe there wasn't. "I won't give you a reason to, and neither will the elephants. Are you relaxed yet, or shall we walk around for a bit longer?" -------- Rome wouldn't let go just yet. "I'm glad we've came to an understanding. I will not tax Jaipur since you are so kind to part with it. It just needs a more fitting name" hmnn "I don't know, do I still feel like a tree to you?" apart from the broad chest haha "... I like your cuddles, they are better than Germanic ones. And you're not even drunk." -------- "Oi, who said anything about me parting with it?" He laughed, trust the other to take his opportunities when he saw them. "No, you're not much like a tree anymore, I'm glad too- Even I would feel like a fool for having seen a man in a tree." He smiled, "I'm the embodiment of therapy, of course my cuddles are the best." -------- "Ah you could carve a fine man out of it, mr tree hugger, but marble is finer." he let go reluctantly. "I don't need therapy. I have no sisters to grow a crush on, haha. Though id like it if you'd show me how to improve my cuddling." feeling lucky are we, Romulus? -------- "I could, but I prefer metal to stone and wood for such pursuits." He laughed, "You could get therapy for less than that these days." With a grin he winked, "It's not easy to teach, if you'd prefer, I could give you an ayurvedic massage instead." -------- "Really now?! Id love that, you spoil me greatly!!! But I still need to feed the elephants, because you showed your bravery too!" he indeed felt much better now "I promise to be a good boy and nice to them. They are your friends after all!" -------- Now those words certainly served their purpose in relaxing him. His lips curled to a smile and he nodded, "Then follow me, we'll head to their stables." What bravery, he had only done a small performance for the other, but if it inspired courage in him, then he had nothing to say. -------- Rome quickly slung his back over one shoulder and followed. As they got closer he heard one trumpeting and this startled him so much he grabbed the others arm rambling something in his native speech. -------- "Relax, they won't hurt you. They're not even out in the open- I think." He placed his banana-holding hand, as reassuringly as he could, on top of the hand that grabbed him. "And you will soon get used to their beautiful strange sounds!" -------- "I'm ok,.." he laughed nervously. He peeked around the corner if he could see them. "omg... They are huge!" Rome pointed his banana at India like a pistol "you, go first. If you do anything funny I WILL use this" he smirked -------- He stepped back, "Oh no! I suppose I have no chance now-" He took a banana from his own bunch and tossed it up, catching it as if it were a gun as well. "No funny business, you can't run away while I'm not watching." -------- "Not so fast!..." he aimed for the kill CLICK CLICK CLICK "why you little cheat, mine is unloaded!" he stuck his between his belt "Romans never run, dying in battle is prefered above decimation. Well,... there goes nothing, it was nice knowing you" Carefully but determent he approached the stables. He stopped only a few meters away facing one, breathing in his hands for a moment to calm himself. -------- "Unloaded? Hahah! That was not any action of mine." He returned the banana to his side gamely and nodded, "But of course, it was not my intention to insult your honour." He watched him from a distance as he walked to the elephants, still debating on his role in this matter. Finally he stepped up when Rome had paused, moving past him to the elephants and cooing soft greetings in the local tongue. He placed a hand on the trunk of one. "Gently, come forward and hold out a banana." -------- He stepped forward and peeled the banana. "On behalve of my people I ask p.please forgive us. We are really sorry." He looked at the big creature and tried to read it's eyes but it was hard cause his were tearing up. He kneeled and presented the peeled banana. "please accept" he was terrified. -------- Of course the elephant didn't quite speak, but the brownish grey trunk rolled around the banana and it opened its mouth wide, revealing rows of sparkly white teeth and in went the banana. And back down came the trunk. Shiv leaned in expectantly, and watched as the elephant expressed its gratitude by resting it's trunk on the Roman's head for a moment before removing it with a soft toot. "I think you've been blessed!" -------- Romulus almost didn't dare to look when the elephant brought the fruit to his mouth to happily munch it away. He looks a bit like a big cow he thought. His heart skipped a beat when the trunk returned. But instead of a smack in the face he got petted softly. India's comment brought a smile to his face. He stood up tall again. "This one is really kind" still scary though "Did you see how carefull he hold the banana? If he had more trunks he could play piano..." Rome joked. When turning to India he suddenly felt really lightheaded and his vision turned black -------- "They usually are, we pamper them so much here too, it's a lesson taught to them by example." He wouldn't go as far as to say that they are always like such. He was glad that Rome was keeping it together, he felt proud! "I saw, I saw! He really likes bananas, and you're a wonderful banana feeder. Hahaha, maybe one is enough to play the xylophone-" Time seemed to stop, he watched the other's legs, first seeing knees buckle, dropping the bananas, he moved quickly to catch him. "Ah well then, this is enough of a victory for today." He pressed his forehead against the other's and smiled, "You did really well, I hope you are still proud of it when you wake up." He got the others arm around him and walked a few steps away, bowing to the elephants before they left the area. Soon they ended up in the shade and India rested besides him, leaned on a tree. -------- When Rome opened his eyes again it took a moment to realise where he was. "1-0 for the elephant, Im seeing angels." He felt pretty stupid as he carefully got up again "...well... At least I did better than last time. I think this one likes me" -------- "He definitely likes you!" He helped him get up and lent him his shoulder, "I think it's a fair 1-1, you got something out of it by managing to feed him. Be proud of yourself." He looked at him for a moment, "Is this enough for today, or do you want to try again?" -------- It was a succesfull deed even though the end was a slight bitter. He was tired of all the emotions really. "You won't tell anyone, right?" he had a reputation to think of or whatever was left of it "I will do what you think is best. You are my guide and teacher, are you not?" -------- He had a twinkle in his eye as he smiled, "You mean I cannot speak of how you conquered the mighty elephant's heart and got a blessing from the icons of Lord Ganesh?" He patted him on the back, "Then my verdict is simple, you try again. I'm not one to encourage leaving work half-finished, you've come so far, you can only get further than this." He linked their arms together and held the bunch of bananas over his shoulder, "But this time we take him for a walk." -------- India was kind to him but would make him give everything and a little more. Then again Romulus was quick to do about anything for his new friend. In a way he just liked to show off his strenght and bravery to be the brightest pupil of the class. "Only if the elephant is okay with that." Romulus really was a puppy that took touching of any kind for a friendly pet. -------- He looked at the bananas through the corners of his eyes, "I think that the elephant can be convinced." Nodding in thought, he smiled. "We can spend some time with the youngster elephants, you might even find them cute." It was all part of his plan to ease the other into relieving himself of the unease. Of course it was a plan that he would not take credit for, any result at the end would be a result of Romulus' hard work alone. -------- "You mean they are brought here when they are young... Or do they breed them?" Rome could not picture it, it simply had never occured to him that they too had offspring like other animals "Do they have nests?" Imagen stumbling upon a nest full of angry little trunks?! -------- "Probably neither." The thought hadn't really struck him, "Well as they're temple elephants we really aren't keeping them captive, we are living with them." He chuckled quietly, "They're freerange Elephants, I suppose. Though carrying idols is all we really ask of them." The poachers however, would shoot them down for their ivory and the thought crossed his mind like a cloud dimming the light. But that was a separate matter. "Nests?" A shocking mental image, "They don't have nests, they tend to travel around the jungle in herds. Here they stay under the care of their mothers and caretakers." He removed his hand from the other's when he spotted an aforementioned caretaker, after convincing him, the man joined them to lead the way to the small elephants. India was clearly in awe of the little ones, he rested a hand on the Roman's shoulder and pointed, "Look at how cute they are!! They're like puppies- but cuter." Honestly, it was taking him Herculean efforts to keep from unlatching from his guest and hugging the rather big, little ones. -------- Rome was still processing what he was seeing. The smaller elephants were more moving about. "herds?" vague memories of sheep past his mind. These did not move like sheep. More like cows. "They don't lay eggs... they are nursed like cubs and calfs. They have mothers" He turned to India and seeing him cracked him up "Won't the mother eat us if we get too close?" -------- "Well not if you win her over," he winked. "These elephants are communal, they don't see you as a threat. They're quite intelligent, Ganesha the elephant-headed God is also known for being the God of wit." He rubbed the head of a small elephant that wandered near them and it squeaked. Elephants...squeak. "Isn't she adorable." He grinned and waved his hands, the elephant child waved its trunk. -------- "Hold on... You've got a God with a elephant head?" wow. Rome hid behind India when the little one came close. It was different now they were all loose. He laughed at the sound though, more like a relieved giggle. this was all crazy. He gasped and hold it's hart as the animal waved at them "oh my gods, it's waving at us like a human being. Tell me I'm not imagining things" -------- "Oh yes, I'll tell you about him later, if you're still curious. He's also the God of overcoming obstacles, maybe his story will inspire you too!" Poor Ganesha, though he was very very witty and India enjoyed his stories. He grinned and laughed, "You're not imagining things, they're very smart. Though this one is just copying me." He moved his away grandly and then towards Rome's shoulder grandly. The elephant followed and it lightly smacked him as its trunk slid down his side. India stifled a laugh and pulled the other along to the others. "You can pet them if you like, that which you felt is about the worst that they can do to you now." -------- He let out a panicked yelp but when the little elephant pulled back it's trunk and playfully hopped along he just stared at India in disbelief. He made it whack him. Romulus walked up to the little ones and tried to pet one. pulled his hand back. tried again. When he finally did it didn't feel like a snake like he thought it would. -------- What a sweet sight it was!! Well since Rome went his own way, India was free to dramatically fall to his knees and trap a little elephant in his loving embrace. "Aren't they sweet?" He rubbed its little head and sighed contently, elephants are the best. Animals are wonderful. Life is great. They were all so squeaky and cute, he could say he lived the perfect life and pass with no regrets if his death were to be in an 'elephant nest'. Ah, now this was why he found them dangerous. He gave too much of his heart to them, he gave the elephant one last hug and looked up at Rome, "How are you holding up?" -------- While India was enjoying his moment of pure bliss the poor roman ex-empire was attacked by a playfull bunch of elephants. He walked away, they followed, he walked faster... in the end he was defending himself with a folding chair as an improvised shield over his head and a broom against the nest of trunks patting him "save yourself" he said. -------- He blinked and tried not to laugh at the sight, "Are they troubling you? They must really like you, I'm sure they're only playing." He stood up and patted the dust off his clothes before ushering the elephants away from Rome, "Po da! Odi po°." He patted them away and got a trunk to the arm but didn't really find himself hurting over it. "You did wonderful- please don't hit me with your broom." Where did he even get that from? He set down the folding chair though. "I think they're ready with the bigger elephant. Are you ready?" °"Go on, run and go." -------- Rome played some chords on his broom then smiled tossing the broom back where he had found it. "you wont let it hurt me, right? I'm not as tough as I used to be... If he breaks my spine, this time, I'm not so sure I'll be able to walk again. I haven't really put myself to test it fully yet... "

[kyojurouwu]

rookie mistakes;

Pairing: Soldier:76 x Reader

AU: Werewolf!AU                  

Prompt: Rookie Omega!Reader keeps passing out on Alpha!Soldier's lawn

There it was again. The vigilante sighed loudly, setting down a book, that he was reading on a small coffee table. Cracking his neck, he stood up and went to the back door that leads to his lawn. He didn't even have to open to door to know who was behind them. He already knew what’s waiting there for him. Sleeping naked girl in the middle of his lawn. If it didn't happen so many times already he might be a little bit more shocked. Maybe as shocked as when it happened for the first time. He was just in the middle of his evening routine, his soldier-like habits did die hard - checking everything is locked and loading his gun kept him sane before he went to bed, still with one eye opened. And that was when it happened. He heard some loud noises from behind the back door, someone was definitely on his lawn. With his gun in hands, he opened the door and he sure as hell wasn't expecting what he saw and probably would be at bigger ease with some group of thugs wanting to get revenge on him. With how long he was already alive he wouldn't expect himself to get this thrown back with a naked girl that somehow ended on his lawn. But then his werewolf senses kicked in, smelling all around he was sure this wasn't any normal teenage girl getting drunk and ending up here, she was a werewolf, and omega at that. "You have to be kidding me," he murmured under his breath.

He went to get some blanket to cover her up with, then he heaved her up from the ground trying not to think of her naked form - his teenage years where he was controlled by hormones were long gone, but now they felt close again, unfortunately for him. Then you woke up, well waking up doesn't really give it enough justice. You jumped out of the little too hard mattress, landing on your butt, hair wildly flowing around your head and the blanket somehow managed to stay on your body and even entangle you in it more, it was almost impossible to move now. "What have I done?" You whispered, suddenly being painfully aware of your naked body underneath the blanket - and also your sore butt from the impact with the hard wooden floor. "I would love to know too, kid." Came raspy voice from the doorway. You slowly looked up, eyes meeting with red visor your blood ran cold. You heard about some vigilante, your brother told you to keep a low profile, never get anywhere near him. Your thoughts went wild, was he going to kill you? Or sell you? Or maybe- "Relax. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done that when you were out cold." His words made perfect sense, but you couldn't help but feel intimidated. And who wouldn't? This guy was tall and buff, which you could clearly see because of the plain dark t-shirt that didn't leave much to the imagination. Before you could check him out more, he let out an awkward cough and with words, "Get dressed and meet me downstairs." left the room. And here you were, after 10 minutes, sitting on a couch in a big violet t-shirt that was a tad bit too long, so you had to put it in the pants and let's not get started with how baggy those things were, but you were glad for not being wrapped in the blanket anymore. The vigilante was sitting across you in an armchair with his elbows propped on his knees and his fingers interlaced underneath his chin. He looked deep in thought and it made you even more nervous when you couldn't see his face, only the bright red visor. He moved ever so slightly, cracking his fingers and sitting more comfortable, but it was enough to make the smell hit your nose. It was somewhat familiar. "You are...an alpha?!" You almost shrieked, quickly covering your mouth. He let out a sigh. "Yes. And I believe you are an omega, rookie at its best." You nodded, head hanging low in shame. You didn't remember much from your werewolf escapade, it wasn't supposed to happen when the moon wasn't full but it suddenly hit you, there was no control. You remember getting out of the house and then everything turned black, your body succumbed to the transformation and there was something in your mind that drove you towards your destination. Almost magnetic attraction. Your train of thoughts got interrupted by his voice, still raspy and far too manly it made your insides tingle. "What do you remember?" You sighed, "Not much, it wasn't supposed to happen this soon. My ma' told me about it before she passed away. But then suddenly my body went out of control." "Hm. There had to be some impulse for that." He exclaimed, thinking. "I remember this scent, your scent." You said with cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "My scent?" You couldn't see that, but he cocked his eyebrow at your statement. "Yeah, it kind of calmed me down. Since I was on this 'berserk mode' it was almost unstoppable, I know that, but then I somehow ended up following some kind of scent and..." You trailed off awkwardly. "Here I am I guess." He seemed to be deep in thoughts. You were about to start apologizing, but then his visor turned to you again and he heaved a deep sigh. "You sure have a long way to go, kid. And just for now you can crash here if you lose control again. But know this, I am a wanted man and that means anything around me is always in danger." He then chuckled. "I am sure you already know this, judging by your first reaction to me." Your ears got red and with a quick 'thank you' you were out the door. While he mused about the first time meeting you, you were already knocking on his door. It seemed you managed to stay conscious through the transformation, that was a good step forward. You two became closer as the time went, you opened up to him and he - as crazy as it sounds - let his guard down a bit and told you about Overwatch and small bits of his past. Shaking his head to get rid of all the annoying thoughts, he grabbed the blanket that he got already prepared there and kept there for you if you decided to drop by, probably unconscious, on his lawn again. Opening the door, he didn't expect you to hammer straight into him and almost run him over. He quickly wrapped the blanket around you, but you didn't let go of him. You nuzzled your nose into his chest, taking in his scent and then you dazzled him. You smiled. You flashed him the brightest toothy grin he had ever seen and you could almost hear those walls that he built around his heart crack and shatter down, one by one. "I did it!" You whispered with your eyes half-closed. "I managed to stay conscious! But waah--the world is spinning lots." He hummed, fingers lightly combing through your mess of a hair and then resting on your cheek for a bit, letting you unconsciously rub into it. "You really did it." "Thanks ...Jack." The soldier's heart missed a beat when his name rolled drowsily out of your mouth. It was regrettable to say at least, but he couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips.