#big yawn - said the way you would say big stretch to a cat

[tinteduse]

gn

[greg-montgomery]

sleepover - dbf!hotch x reader

for @hotchnerholic who requested: your dad went out of town so you’re staying at aaron’s place because you don’t like being alone <3

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

“Honey?” a warm voice whispered in your ear, and a hand shook your shoulder softly.

Your eyes were way too heavy for you to care, so you buried your head further in the sofa cushions and tried to fall back asleep.

The voice insisted. “Sweetie? Let me take you to bed.”

“Let me take you to bed.”

The Aaron Hotchner just offered to take you to bed and you were sleeping?

Using your hand to cover up a yawn, you opened your eyes and found his beautiful brown ones already looking at you. You blinked at him slowly as if you were a cat trying to communicate that you loved him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, cupping the side of your face. “Your back is gonna hurt in the morning if you spend the night on the couch.”

“Yeah…I…I fell asleep watching TV.”

“It’s admiring that you managed to fall asleep while a thriller is playing,” he joked, and offered you a pretty smile.

You turned your head towards the TV, and caught a glimpse of a guy in a mask sharpening a knife. “Now that is exactly the reason why I didn’t wanna stay home alone.”

Aaron chuckled and placed his hand on top of yours. “You’re safe here.”

It was hard to ignore the butterflies in your stomach when he was this close to you, so you tried to change the subject.

“I fell asleep while watching Shrek. I guess the thriller started after that.”

“Hm…You wanna watch it with me? Or do you wanna go to bed?”

Yes to the bed option, but only if it’s with you, you thought. But you knew that wasn’t going to happen so watching a movie with him was the next best thing.

“Sure, let’s watch it.” You smiled, and he smiled back. “Only, I’m warning you, I get scared very easily.”

“You don’t say.”

“Don’t make fun.” You pointed at his face.

“I would never,” he said, and leaned back on the couch stretching out his arm.

The space next to him looked so inviting. You could just curl up in his arms and not worry about anything else.

The fact that you were staying at his house was heavenly in the first place. But watching a movie with him? That was beyond your wildest dreams. You expected him to be gone all day at work. This? This felt like staying over at your boyfriend’s house and having a movie night with him.

“Wait,” he said, interrupting your thoughts. “I have popcorn.”

“Oh…yes please!”

You followed him to the kitchen, and observed him while he was filling a big bowl with popcorn.

His jacket and tie were off, and his sleeves were rolled up just enough for his forearms to drive you crazy. A man his age shouldn’t get this type of reactions from you, but he did anyway. As your father’s best friend he was forbidden fruit, but that didn’t mean you weren’t allowed to want him in secret.

“How was work?”

“Could’ve been better,” he sighed. And then he looked at you with a grin that made him more irresistible than you could’ve ever imagined. “But I have you here so it’s not too bad.”

What was breathing? “Thank you for letting me stay.”

“Thank you for trusting me to keep you safe,” he said, and signaled you with a head movement to follow him back to the living room.

“I mean…you’re an FBI agent. Who would have been better for the job?”

“Right,” he laughed.

The movie had started for a while now, so it was hard to follow the plot. Not that you necessarily cared about it – the only thing that was occupying your head the entire time was Aaron sitting next to you, his cologne, and how your fingers brushed a couple of times while you were getting popcorn.

Zoned out as you were, a loud sound coming from the movie made your heart almost stop and you hid behind your hands with a squeal. “Shit!”

Things only got worse, as the killer on the screen seemed to be unstoppable, chasing one character after the other. You curled up in the corner of the couch, grabbing a cushion to protect yourself.

“Hey…” Aaron said, looking certainly amused. “Come here.”

Careful not to look too eager, you went close to him and let yourself into his embrace. His arm rested around your shoulders, and he pulled you in close enough for your head to rest against his.

“Better now?”

“Mhm…” you could only say, as your heart was ready to jump out of your chest.

“Relax,” he whispered in your ear. “I won’t let him get to you.”

“Promise?” you whispered back and looked up at him.

“Promise,” he said and kissed your forehead.

part 2

[mono-dot-jpeg]

the best kitty - jingyuan

summary; mimi is just too lovable.

genre/extra tags; i love big cats sm :(, jingyuan is a cat trapped inside a general /j, fluff, comedy, clingy jingyuan my beloved, reader is a certified cat lover, big stretch and big yawn !!! iykyk

[gender neutral! reader] [reader is not trailblazer]

word count; 537

a/n; jingyuan enjoyers everywhere, we all actually love mimi /j i love mimi, i want to see mimi in game, Madge >:( hoyo you cowards show us the big cat and let me pet em

"oh, mimi! hi baby!" you cooed as mimi slowly strides over to you, pushing its head against your leg. it chuffs, greeting you as if you were one of its kin. "you look so happy today!" you soon sit on the ground, petting the oversized cat.

from afar stands a lone general. a general who is more than willing to cuddle with his lover but alas the beauty of his impulse buy is stealing all of your attention.

"ack- mimi, you're so big! you're gonna squish me!" the lazy cat rests on your lap, yawning. "big yawn!" you scratch its chin. mimi stretches its head back. "you're so pretty! love you so much!" you press your face into mimi's fur.

"i'm pretty too." jingyuan whines. he dejectedly crawls over to you and mimi. "what about me?" he pouts, moving to rest his head on mimi's body. he looks at you as he tries to gain your attention.

"mm, i don't know..." you pretend to think. mimi twists its body and gets up, leaving the general on the floor. you snicker, "i think mimi is trying to tell me something. what is it, mimi?" mimi spins two times before settling right by your side and laying down its head on your lap. "i think mimi said no."

"okay but you didn't say no." he sits up, moving closer to you to lean his entire weight on you.

"jingyuan!" you yelp as you're forced to lay on the ground. "stop it! you're heavy!"

"but you don't complain when mimi is laying on you!" he wraps his arms around your waist.

"mimi doesn't try to kill me with its weight!" you push your hands against his chest but this man is more than determined to get all your affection and leave nothing for his competition. "are you really jealous of a cat?"

"yes."

you sigh at his immediate answer. "can we at least lay on the couch or the bed?"

"no mimi?"

"love, mimi is more than big enough to figure out how to open a door. mimi will be breaking in to save me." you feel yourself get carried, wrapping your legs around jingyuan's waist to keep yourself steady. "mimi would never kidnap me like this."

"mimi is too attached to you." he huffed, looking down at the white lion. "i saw them first, they're mine." he sticks his tongue out. the pale lion chuffs, looking up at its petty owner. "don't look at me with them big ol' eyes." mimi chuffs again, butting its head against jingyuan's legs.

"i love mimi a normal amount."

"that's a lie."

"yeah, you're right about that. but i also love you. you really do not need to be getting jealous over a cat. mimi is just an affectionate baby."

"too late. mimi, y/n is mine." he's already running to the bed. mimi follows easily, the young cub slinks its way into the bedroom. "back! back i say!"

"jingyuan." you crossed your arms, giving him a pointed look. "i'll give your attention. don't scold mimi."

the white haired male grumbles before getting comfortable in your arms. "i'm supposed to be the one with all the attention, you know..."

"well, it's not my fault my lover bought a lion home. the least i could do is nurture the baby."

"mimi is anything but a baby."

[maapllee]

★ SHINSOU X READER

▻ Summary: You and Shinsou get caught by his mentor. [implied fem reader, aged up characters.]

▻ Fluff, awkward stuff, hope you like it <3

☁ I try to hide it in my face and it don't work, you see through that I just wanna get with you... ☁

A/n: good luck to those of you who have exams!

What is this, a funeral? Play some music: You right by Doja Cat

☀︎

You walked into the lounge behind the staff room to check on Eri. Present Mic being your mentor and Eraserhead being Shinsou's, you both had special privileges. One of them being steaming hot coffee on cold days.

Eri was lying on her tummy on the floor, colouring with pastels. "[Onee/ Onii] -san, you're back!" she exclaimed joyfully, jumping into your arms. You chuckled, catching the small child and encasing her in your arms. Eraserhead had put you on Eri-watch duty since he'd be busy for the rest of the evening. "Look! Look! I drew Papa Mic and Dada holding hands in front of their house and You and Onii san holding hands in the yard!" Eri showed you excitedly. "You're so good at drawing, Eri-chan!" You exclaimed while kneeling down to the now beaming girl's level. "Wait a minu- Why are me and Shinsou holding hands??"

"Mmm. Very interesting." A voice came from behind you, which you responded to with a squeak. Eri ran into the Shinsou's arms, the artwork now forgotten. "Shin! Don't scare us like that." You said while telling him off. "Oh, boo hoo. I can't help that you're a scardey cat." Shinsou said, rolling his eyes and walking towards the sofa. "You sneak up behind a person and then make fun of them for being surprised? What a bleak time to live in." You tutted, shaking your head sarcastically. "Enough bickering, Y/N. There are more important matters at hand, like watching Cinderella." Eri cheered happily as you sat on the couch, Shinsou starting the movie. Eri cuddled into you as she sang along to the songs, having watched the movie before.

"I'll head to the vending machine, Do you guys want anything?" You piped up, feeling thirsty. Eri, absorbed in the movie with her mouth agape shook her head half-mindedly. Standing up, you made your way to the corridor. Looking out the windows, you saw the trees gently swaying in the wind, highlights of the golden sunlight illuminating the bark. It was almost sundown, you thought to yourself. Sensei would be back soon. Standing in front of the machine, you kicked it. The darn thing was acting up again. Your head turned at hearing soft footsteps from the other side of the corridor. It was the purple-haired idiot dragging his feet along the floor, yawning while rubbing the back of his head. "Eri's asleep so I thought I'd give you some company." Shinsou said, mid-yawn. "Hmph. Like I'd savour your company." You stated, pursing your lips.

Shinsou backed you into the wall. "Speak up, pretty girl." Shinsou smirked while looking into your eyes. Smirking yourself, "In simpler words your pea brain can understand- you're boring." Tilting his head, Shinsou closed the gap between you two. "That's not what you were saying last night." He said, now nipping at your neck. "We should stop Shin, we need to get back to Eri-chan." You two jumped away from each other when a loud yawn interrupted your moment, the both of you looking in the direction of the disturbance. Eri was walking towards you two, sleepily rubbing her eyes. "The movie's almost oveer.." Eri wailed, putting her hands up wanting to be picked up. Big bro Shinsou swooped in, picking her off her feet.

☾

Shinsou put a cranky Eri to sleep as you stood leaning on one of the desks while looking at the now-black sky through the huge windows. You yawned, feeling sluggish yourself. You made a mental note of the things you'd have to do when you got back to the dorms. Rubbing your eyes, you looked at Shinsou who was now walking towards you. He stretched his arm to reach behind you, turning the lights down to dim the room. Your eyes wandered the room, falling on Eri, whose chest rose and fell as she breathed softly. Shinsou moved to stand in front of you, placing his hands on your hips and nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck. His hands snaked up to your back as you held him close, wordlessly. "Tired?" You chuckled, running your hands through his hair to comfort him. "I think I should change my name to Mr.Eyebags at this point." Shinsou joked, his hands now roaming your body.

You let out a gasp as your body made a 'thud' sound as it came into contact with the desk. Your hands were above your head, held firmly in place by Shinsou's muscular arms. You tried to wiggle out of his grasp, whining about how Eri was in the room and how Aizawa Sensei would be back any moment. Shinsou hunched over you, shushing you by placing a slender finger on your pouty lips. Not wanting to look at him, you turned your head in rebellion. "Oh, is that how you're going to play princess?" Shinsou said, pinning you down with one hand. Shinsou tickled your tummy and you resisted your very best from giving in laughing. You burst into a fit of giggles along with him just when you heard someone clearing their throat as the lights in the room flickered on.

Shinsou widened his eyes. "S..Sensei." Shinsou stuttered, trying to explain himself. You sat up, mortified. "Shinsou. Y/N." Aizawa said, pressing his temples. "How long has this been going on?" Aizawa questioned you both shifted your weight from one foot to another awkwardly. "A couple months." You piped up, your gaze falling to the floor. "We weren't gonna keep it a secret forever." Shinsou said, walking over to you. Aizawa shook his head. "I'm not saying I'm against it." Aizawa stated, now looking at you both. The silence in the room was loud, the three of you staring at each other. "....Is Yamada Sensei going to hear about this?" You questioned, wishing you could be buried a few thousand feet under the ground. "You bet." Aizawa shrugged, turning on his heel to walk towards the sofa. "Set a good example for your younger sister." Aizawa said, side-eyeing you both while picking up Eri who was still asleep.

Shinsou and You stood in silence for a while after Aizawa stepped out the room. "Wanna walk back to the dorms together?" Shinsou proposed, resting his hand on the small of your back. You nodded. "Sensei is never going to let go of this." You groaned, imaging the amount of teasing you'd have to endure from your mentor and Aizawa Sensei. "Good thing we're graduating soon, eh?" Shinsou said, poking your stomach with his elbow.

[clangenrising]

Month 13 - Newleaf

“You'll watch her the whole time?” Russetfrond was saying to Pantherhaze. “I don’t want anything to happen while I’m gone.” 

“I will, I promise,” said Pantherhaze offering a wilted-looking smile. “Please, just go enjoy the Gathering.” 

“I won’t cause any trouble,” Mystique said, sitting beside her guard for the night. She offered a smile of her own to the deputy and he scowled in response. She still didn’t understand why he was so angry with her all the time or why he seemed to think she was going to turn around and attack them the first chance she got. 

“You’d better not,” he growled. 

“Come on, Russetfrond,” called Goldenstar from across the camp. Almost half of the cats had gathered on the slope of the hill - Goldenstar, Yarrowshade, Sagetooth, Ospreymask, and Floodpaw - and they were waiting expectantly for Russetfrond to join them. He huffed and gave Mystique one more pointed glare before stalking off to join them. She frowned .

“Have fun!” called Barleypaw. 

“Will do!” Ospreymask called back. 

After another beat, the group turned and headed out. Mystique yawned and stretched and looked over at her guard. 

“So where are they all off to again?” 

“The Gathering,” said Pantherhaze as if that answered the question.

“Okay…” she raised a brow. “That’s not vague or anything.” 

“It’s a meeting between the different Clans,” he supplied. “Every full moon they go and-”

Sparrowpaw called over to them, “I’m not sure Russetfrond would approve of telling her all that.” He looked a bit anxious as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. 

“It’s fine,” said Branchbark, laid out in the grass with Aldertail. “If she stays for too much longer, she’ll figure it out anyway.” 

“Yeah, and besides,” Mystique said, “It’s not like I’m gonna try and kill you all or anything. I don’t know why everyone keeps acting like I’m some big threat.” Her eyes caught movement as Aldertail squirmed uncomfortably. 

There was a small, uncomfortable silence that baffled her, but eventually Scorch spoke up from the warriors’ den. “If you still don’t get it then you’re being dumb on purpose.” She strolled over to the prey pile and hunched beside it to inspect the options, tail swishing with all of the confidence that she had wielded back in the city. Mystique’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to space where her Name Charm should be. 

She considered shooting back but held her tongue. She still wasn’t sure where she stood with Scorch and she didn’t want any good-natured ribbing to be taken as an insult. Instead she cleared her throat and looked away, returning to her den in a way she tried to make casual instead of defeated. Scorch smirked and Mystique knew she hadn’t succeeded. 

Pantherhaze followed her and settled down outside the door. The rest of the cats in camp went back to what they had been doing. Scorch picked a fish from the pile and ate it on the Stoneperch. The apprentices finished their own meals and went off into the night together. Branchbark slowly convinced Aldertail to relax again and started grooming her pelt. Mystique watched them and chewed the side of her cheek in frustration. 

Why was she such an outsider here? She was fun and personable wasn’t she? Why did it feel like she had a symbol of doom hovering above her head that only other people could see? She wished her Folk were nearby. She wanted nothing more than to be pet and coddled. She sighed and flopped her head onto her legs. Pantherhaze tilted his head to look at her.

“Are you alright?” he asked. 

“No,” she groaned. “Am I dumb?” She tilted her head to look at him. 

“Oh, no, I’m sure you’re not,” he said, which wasn’t the most reassuring thing in the world. “Don’t let Scorchplume bother you too much. She can be…. Prickly.” 

Mystique shifted to face him more squarely. “No, but she’s right, isn’t she? I mean, what am I missing? Clearly it’s something or everyone wouldn’t treat me like I was a sprinkler waiting to go off.” 

“A what?” he tilted his head in confusion like a puppy. 

“A sprinkler,” she brushed the thought away with her tail. “It sprays water on a patch of grass or flowers.” 

“Weird,” he frowned. 

“Look, that’s not the point!” she shook her head, “What’s wrong with me?” 

“What’s-” the little warrior blundered, “I don’t-”

“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes. She heaved herself to her feet and started across the camp towards Branchbark. “Hey!” Pantherhaze scrambled to keep up with her. At the sound of her voice, Aldertail shrank into a ball again. It was, honestly, really annoying. 

“Uh-” Branchbark glanced between her and Aldertail, unsure what to do.

“I’ve got a question for you,” said Mystique. “Why does everyone think I’m a secret murderer or something?” Branchbark swallowed hard and sat up taller, giving Aldertail better cover and lifting his face up onto the level with Mystique’s. 

“Um, because you’re a rogue?” he said like it was a question. 

“What is that?” she pressed. “I’m a rogue? Since when?” 

“It’s just a word we use for dangerous groups of cats,” said Pantherhaze, tail twitching. 

“Okay, but what makes me so dangerous?” she said. From her spot above them all, Scorch laughed. 

“Well, all the kittypets we’ve met so far have it out for us?” said Branchbark in the same tone. “They’ve been starving us out, they’re trying to kill Aldertail…”

“Well, okay, but she’s a criminal,” Mystique scoffed. “Besides, it's not like I’m gonna attack her right now for no reason.” 

“You’ve contradicted yourself,” Scorch called airily. Mystique glared over, not appreciating the attitude she was giving.

“Yeah,” agreed Branchbark, “you just said you wouldn’t attack her for no reason but you admitted you think other cats have a reason to hurt her.” His tone was getting bolder, his jaw set with a defiant edge. 

“Well, that’s not-” Mystique tried. 

“And!” Branchbark kept talking, a fire starting to grow in him, “And, she didn’t even do anything! Her brother is the one who committed the crime!” Behind him Aldertail was shaking visibly. Her tail was tucked underneath her, her ears pressed flatly against her skull. 

“I-it was an accident anyway!” she cried shakily, hiding under her own paws. “He didn’t mean it, he didn’t-!” The kittens had poked their heads out of the nursery to watch. Branchbark wrapped his tail tightly around her and leaned down to run his tongue over her forehead. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said softly, “take a deep breath.” 

“Right, but-” Mystique took a step back, “Look, I didn’t do anything though! I don’t know why you’re angry at me.” 

“Exactly,” Scorch snapped, rising to her full height. “You didn’t do anything.” She stared at Mystique burning those words into her with eyes of blue flame. Mystique’s tail started to lash anxiously. 

“What was there to do?” she said, “I’d never even met her before now!” 

Scorch scoffed and leaped down to stride up to the group of cats. “You think you’re so good ‘cause you never do anything wrong but you never do anything right either. Razor and his pig-headed friends bully and kill and worse every day and you just pretend not to see it.” 

“I don’t-” Mystique’s stomach was tight. The recesses of her mind were screaming. No! Leave now! You’re too close to the shadow truth! She took another step back.

Scorch followed her into the empty space, staring up at her. “You just sat by and let him. You’ll claim you didn’t see anything but you didn’t want to see it! I don’t know what’s worse, honestly; Razor, pretending he’s done nothing wrong, or you, pretending to believe him.” Mystique’s fur bristled and the words stung, sinking deep into her and piercing holes in the wall protecting her from the shadow truth. She’s right, it hissed, bubbling up within her. 

Scorch was still going. “Tell me, Mystique: What will you do when he comes to kill us all? To drag me back? Will you shuffle your paws and turn away as he slaughters these cats? Will you go back to your Folk and forget it ever happened? Will you still convince yourself you were good?” 

Mystique reeled. “No,” she said on instinct. “No, of course not, I-”

“Really?” Scorch laughed. “That’s what you’ve done every other day of your life! Why change now?” 

‘Cause… ‘Cause I wouldn’t, Mystique thought, but no words managed to get through the chokepoint of her throat. How did she know that? She tried to imagine what she would do if Razor showed up in one of his tempers. The thought was paralyzing and that wasn’t a good sign. The shadow truth was starting to swallow her whole. He isn’t a good cat, it whispered, you know this. It’s been here the whole time. You don’t just know this, you have known. Her stomach roiled terribly. 

Suddenly, Pantherhaze was shoving himself between her and Scorchplume. “Hey, ease off,” he said, his little voice firm as he could make it. Scorch curled her lip, glanced at Mystique one more time, and then turned around.

“Fine,” she said as if she were perfectly satisfied, “I said my piece.” She swished back up to the top of the Stoneperch to finish her meal, brows lifted imperiously. To Mystique, she felt vacant somehow. She didn’t have much time to examine why though. Pantherhaze turned to her, looking concerned.

“Why don’t we go back to the den?” he said gently and she just nodded. Branchbark was glaring at her while Aldertail clung to him like she was drowning, shivering in fear. The kittens were staring. Mystique ducked her head and, like a coward, fled back to the safety of her cage.

[happyk44]

Obsessing over the concept of Percy having so many dreams about Nico dying in front of him in different ways at camp or on quests and he has no idea what to do about them so he starts trying to get Nico to hang out with him and tries asking him in subtle ways about what's going on, trying to figure out if Nico is in dangerous without possibly freaking him out about Percy's dreams (who would feel safe if someone kept having dreams about them being murdered by faceless entities in orange shirts or killed by monsters)i

It goes nowhere. Nico is apparently fine, flitting between camp and the underworld and New Rome as he wishes. With more underworld kids coming into CHB for the summer, he's started spending more and more time there though, and all Percy can think of orange shirts and Nico's blood drenched in them

Eventually he caves and drives to camp, hunting down and cornering Clovis, who's passed out in a sunbeam like a cat. Percy steps into the grass and kicks him gently. Clovis wakes slow and tilts his face towards Percy. He stretches long, yawns loud. Percy stifles a responding yawn and squats.

"What's up, Percy?" Clovis hums.

Percy tugs at his fingers as he finds the right words. "I keep having shitry dreams," he decides on. Clovis arches a brow. Percy sits back and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What does it mean when you keep having dreams about someone dying?"

Baby blue blanket creasing, Clovis cocks his head. "Who's dying?"

Percy grits his teeth. "Does it matter?"

"Well, some dreams are just subconscious processing and some are my siblings being weird." Clovis blinks slow. People compare him to cows a lot, that baby softness on his cheeks and easy going demeanour. But Percy sees a cat more than anything. Domesticated and pampered. "And some are prophetic."

The grit of his teeth begins to hurt his jaw. "How do you know which one is which?"

Clovis hums and sits up slowly. He reaches down to his toes and flexes with a long groaning grunt. He gives a little sigh as he pulls away. "Well, I'd have to ask them if they're doing things. As for subconscious processing, that's just what's going on in your brain. And prophecies..." He hums thoughtfully. "I guess you wouldn't know until it happens." With half-closed eyes, he faces Percy. His head lags to the side. "So is there anything going on your brain to worry about this person dying?"

"Well, there is now," Percy says through gritted teeth. Clovis laughs, a trilling dreamy sound. Percy glares at him. "Clovis."

He shrugs. "I can ask around tonight." He picks at a blade of grass. "Who is it?"

Behind them, Nico is calling out to someone. It makes Percy's skin crawl. Kids laugh and Nico laughs and Percy wants to grab him and hide him. Clovis's bright orange camp shirt makes him feel like a bull, caged up with some idiot waving a red flag in front of him. He needs to rush forward and break the things bothering him. Skewer them and feel their blood drip down his skin.

He's starting to lose his mind.

"It doesn't matter." He too aware that the gap between question and answer was too long.

Clovis isn't looking at him but he feels watched anyway. "It could," Clovis says. "But at least I know it's not Annabeth. Or Grover." Percy startles and Clovis's grin is soft. "If it was, you would have said it before you even sat down." He gives another big stretch then flops back on his blanket, rolling over into a warmer brighter patch of sun. "Actually, you'd say if it was anyone." He tucks his legs up into his chest. "You'd keep quiet because you don't want to worry them. Which means there's probably some real concern there."

His eyes slide fully shut and he doesn't speak again. Heart pounding, Percy watches his serene face. He doesn't like that Clovis picked him apart like that. But not much he can complain or deny in it.

Knees whining, he stands slow. Part of him misses the Achilles' Curse for that reason alone. He liked it more when his body didn't hurt because of constant strenuous activity and the passage of time. He runs a hand through his hair.

What is he supposed to do? Wait for Clovis to tell him that his siblings were being assholes for no reason? To sit down and meditate about the reason his mind was focused in on Nico dying in various ways? Or worry unendingly that the universe was giving him a sneak peek at the future and soon he'd be standing at Nico's memorial, trying to figure out which person around him was the killer?

"Percy!"

He startles and turns. His skin crawls as Nico jogs up to him. There's a little boy practically pinned to his side. The closet they grow, the more Percy wants to shove Nico down deep where no one can find him. Ocean depths. He'd like the darkness, Percy thinks. Then he slaps the thought away as his arms begin to rise, his gut yanking towards the beach.

"Hey." It comes out breathless and wispy. "What's up?"

Nico's smile is gentle. It makes Percy's stomach cramp, the idea of it gone forever, bled out on forest grass. "Joel and I were seeing if he could summon ghosts." He gazes down at the little boy still tucked into his side. The kid is looking at Clovis. "Might be a bit of a trial for him though."

When the kid doesn't stop looking at Clovis, Nico pinches his ear and he tucks his face into Nico's side instead. He gives a ragged breath but Nico's easygoing look doesn't change.

It flits to the top of his tongue, but Nico answers before Percy has a chance to open his mouth.

"Ker," he says, "is his mom."

There is little Percy has forgotten from any of his underworld adventures, including being chased by those spirits while trying to stop Ethan from escaping with the sword. Violent death and disease. Feasted on human flesh. They couldn't kill, but they could harm and give death a jumpstart.

Percy's shoulder gives a phantom throb at the reminder.

"Didn't know she'd be interested in having kids," he says.

Nico's lip twitches and his arm curved around Joel's shoulders tightens him closer. "He's technically adopted." Joel's face tilts further away from Percy. "She thought he was cute."

There's definitely more to that story that Percy doesn't know how to ask about, so he just agrees passively that Joel is cute and they move on. Joel doesn't speak to anyone but Nico or make eye contact. He's a barnacle on Nico's side.

All Percy can focus on is his bright orange shirt and the violent death that thrums in his veins and how close he is to Nico. It would be accidental, Percy thinks, if Joel killed him. It's clear he likes Nico. It would be accidental if Nico was torn to shreds.

Percy wonders how easy it would be to get water into his lungs from the bottle he drinks from, how suspicious it would be if he drowned on dry land. Quickly he leaves with rushed goodbye. His hands are already plunging into pockets for his keys. He doesn't hear Nico's goodbye.

That night he dreads his dreams more than ever.

Joel is there this time. His face is wet, half hidden in shadows. Nico is front of him, sword out, protective. Then things slip and it's not Nico and Joel anymore, but one older girl and two younger kids behind her. The kids look terrified but the girl is enraged. Her obsidian sword slashes at someone rushing forward.

The world is too bright, Percy thinks. There are no shadows. It's like the sun is standing in front of them.

The girl shouts and beats off a pair of people who charge at her. With snapped necks, they fall to the ground in front of her. She yells and shoves her sword into the ground.

It splits so easily. The grass trembles. The earth rumbles. Skeletal hands claw out of the ground. Hazy spectres join them. The girl turns and grabs the kids while people fight the entities she summoned. The world is so bright, but there's shadows at the edge of the sunlight. She won't stop running. One of the kids runs alongside her. The other is held in her arms.

The shadows twist and flex towards them. It's unable to spread into the light. They're closing in. The first kid is closer, free of the weight of another person. The shadows greet her but she stumbles to a sudden stop, spinning around and staring pleadingly at the girl Percy realizes is one of Nico's half-sisters from long before.

Are the kids' Joel's half-siblings? he wonders.

"Go!" the girl shouts. The kid hesitates but the girl shouts again, "GO!"

The shadows swallow the kid with a wispy black maw. The girl is almost there when the ground creaks and groans. It rumbles violently, separating and splitting at the very seams. The earth opens before her.

Percy can see the decision she makes before she makes it, jumping over a gap in the earth before it splits too wide. She doesn't stop running even as she tosses the other kid into the air. He screams, a bloodcurdling thing that chills Percy down to his bones.

The shadows catch him. And he's gone.

The girl pants, gripping her knees as she bends over. The earth stops quaking. There's a few seconds where the only sound is panting. But as the people they were fleeing from close in, the girl laughs breathlessly and turns around.

"Isn't it fun when we chase each other?" she says. "I think we should do that more."

The leader of the little group is some tall boy who looks like he's never smiled in his life. He's bulky. Each muscle bulges and he glares. The girl is unphased.

"How dare you?" he seethes.

She rolls her eyes. "Well, my dad protects their parents." She grins, eyes dark like the void. Her hands flex at her side. "Why shouldn't I protect them? Especially since you refuse to listen to reason." She gestures widely. "Just because Chthonic is in the title doesn't mean it's bad. Chthonic means dirt, earth." She just her chin towards one of the kids. "You are technically Chthonic." She shrugs. "Besides, you fucking morons, they're kids. What kind of dipshit is scared of little kids just because their dad picks up dead people for a living?"

Her arms haven't lowered from where she's spread them. Her hands flex again, each finger tapping in the air, one after the other. Percy can't hear anything else that's said. It all goes muffled. It's obvious arguing. Judging from the pulled weapons, there are threats abound.

Then the earth breaks.

It's not the same as the earthquake before. This is a complete cave-in, the ground falling out from under their feet. She's the only person who doesn't look terrified to be falling. They all disappear into darkness. Like teeth chomping, the earth slams back together and seals itself over.

Then there's his ceiling. His fan is going in fast circles, a soft whrrrrr.

Sweat is sticky against his neck. Oh, he thinks.

Violent death and disease being present at every meal, every training, every campfire song. Someone was probably unnerved by it. Unnerved by him. Nico's protective hold was a wall in front of the bomb. It needed to be broken down so the danger could be disposed of, bomb defused.

He doesn't know when he grabbed his phone. Only aware of it pressed to his ear by the ringing. It goes for a while. His stomach churns.

A tired "H'lo?" passes through.

His stomach doesn't settle. "Hey, Nico. Sorry." He glances at his clock and winces. "Did I wake up?"

Nico snorts. "No," he grumbles. "I'm a vampire." Quiet breathing, tense silence. "Percy? Why are we on the phone right now?"

"I..." Percy pauses. Glances up to his ceiling fan, still spinning in fast circles. "I just. Had a weird dream." Nico makes a "go on" noise. Percy bites his lip and leans against the wall, drawing his knees up to his bare chest. "Have any of your siblings had to..."

Fight against other campers? Run with a pair of kids people wanted to kill because they thought they were dangerous? Commit suicide to stop those from going after the kids once they were safely away somewhere else?

There's nothing good in those questions.

He closes his eyes. "What was camp like for your siblings? Before?"

"Uh." There's some rustling. "Not good. Most campers didn't trust us because of the whole Underworld children thing. Lucky for them, my dad doesn't really go around spawning kids on a monthly basis."

Percy snorted. His fingers wove themselves into his sheets so tight they started to go numb.

"But we didn't have a lot of friends. People avoided us."

Blood on dark grass flickers through Percy's mind. "Or killed you," he blurts out.

His mind shuts down at the words. He can't process what he's said, barely hearing the whrrr of his ceiling fan or the sound of his own breath. His skin floats away from him. Then pulls back solid when Nico says, "How did you know that?"

He swallows thickly. "Like I said. Weird dream."

"About my siblings being killed at camp?"

Nico viciously protecting Joel comes to mind and sticks in place. "No," he says after a beat. "Technically I think she committed murder-suicide."

"Which one?"

Percy hates that question. Sourness floods his tongue and he answers with a gritted, "I didn't get a name. She was fighting off other campers, trying to protect a couple other kids from getting hurt."

A sarcastic little laugh echoes through the receiver. "Yeah, that's happen more than once."

The sheets unwind from his numb fingertips. "Fuck."

"It's been over five thousand years, Percy," Nico says. "Things tend to repeat themselves a few times." Percy doesn't know what to say to that. "Why were you dreaming about one of my sisters anyway?"

"I don't know," he says. It's the truth. He has no idea. But he has theories. And he has fears. "She was just there."

Nico is quiet. The sound of his breathing is steady, and Percy hones in on it. He matches each inhale and exhale with his own breaths.

When Nico does speak again, he almost sounds far away. "That's odd." There's a creak and a thump, like feet hitting the tile. "Is that why you were talking to Clovis?"

No. "Yeah."

"Interesting." His voice is faint, before suddenly loud and fast. "Hey, I have to go."

Percy's stomach churns violently. "But-"

His words speed fast together as he says, "I have to go do something, I'll call you back later."

There's no dial tone, just a loud clattering that makes Percy's heart drop directly into his stomach. Clovis's sleepy voice eclipses to max volume in his head. And prophecies... I guess you wouldn't know until it happens.

A dozen thoughts blur through his mind as he hikes up the window to the fire escape outside his bedroom. He should tell his mom he's leaving, he should call Grover, he should call Annabeth, he should make someone check on Nico.

He gropes around the top of his dresser for a spare dog whistle then blows through it hard and sharp as he clambours out through the window, shirtless, shoeless, and panicking.

Mrs. O'Leary barks up at him from the dark alleyway. Shadows still cling to her dark fur. He doesn't even bother racing down the stairs. Just throws himself over the railing. Nico's name echoes in his head like a broken record as he falls. Soft fur grips tight in his hands. He doesn't feel the pain of landing, shadows swallowing them both before he can even recognize that he did.

It's strange to appear just a few feet away from a gaggle of kids threatening your cousin and the kid he's chosen to protect. Behind the group yelling words Percy can't hear under the roar of blood in his ears, there's a couple other kids - twins of Erebus - sneaking towards them.

They get close.

But they get caught.

Nico snaps forward and Percy's hitting the ground before he understands what's happening. It goes by so fast, he can barely remember his own actions. Everyone's still breathing. But banged up heavily, or unconscious. Joel is crying wheezy little tears while his aunts try to comfort him, and Nico...

Nico is gripped so tight in Percy's arms that Percy worries he might've broken something. He relaxes slow. Nico detaches. Mrs. O'Leary's hot breath huffs against the top of his head. Nico gives her a pat on the nose, not looking at Percy as he turns to Joel and checks in on him.

Percy's watching the slump of bruised campers before him. His blood feels too hot. Sweat drips down his back but his skin is too dry. He takes a step forward. A hand shoves against his chest and he gazes down at void eyes.

The world slams back into place.

He breathes.

"You are ocean water," Nico says very quietly. "Not blood and human viscera."

His mouth is dry. There's something inside him that wants. "Water is water."

"Not like that," Nico says. Percy swallows and steps back. Nico lowers his hand. Then turns to face Joel and the twins. His voice brightens up, feigned cheeriness, as he marches towards them. "Joel, do you want to go live with my brother's cult?"

Distantly Percy feels like he remembers Nico saying something about that once, but he can't remember what, so his mind draws question marks he doesn't ask as he twists on his heel. Nico crouches, speaking in a steady soft tone. The girls are holding each other's hands. They spare looks for the people who were scared of their nephew, and spare looks towards Percy. It's the same look.

They look away when Nico says something to them, vanishing hand-in-hand into shadows. Nico whistles and Mrs. O'Leary approaches with heavy steps. Joel hugs her leg. His ragged breaths are wheezed tired and weary into her fur. Nico keeps a steady hand on his back.

There is no murder-suicide this time. Instead the shadows swell and deposits the twins, with Mr. D and Chiron beside them. Nico cuts them off when Chiron tries to question him. He takes long way out with the girls on either side of him towards the Apollo cabin.

He doesn't follow the girls back into the woods with healers on their tail. Instead he opens the door to the Hades cabin and sits on a wooden chair. There's a buzz of white noise from a nearby noise machine. Otherwise everything is quiet. Nico's phone sits where it had been dropped to the ground minutes before.

His blood still feels too hot.

It feels like hours later when Nico walks in. However, the clock on the wall says it's only been twenty minutes. Joel is tucked up into his side. He goes down without a fight into Nico's bed. Lets himself be tucked in and drift off. Then Nico pulls another chair around and settles down in front of Percy, straddling the chair backwards. His arms cross over the top. His chin rests on folded wrists.

They watch each other. Then Nico moves to rest his cheek on his wrists instead. "You've been having those dreams for a while?"

Percy makes an affirmative noise.

"They haven't really been about my siblings, have they?"

He doesn't answer that. Instead, he says, "If people kept doing things like this, why didn't you guys make your own place?"

"We did," Nico says. "A few times actually. But no one liked that they didn't know what we were doing. So they made us come back to be hated and suffer." He snorts. "The old adage - keeps your friends close and enemies closer."

Percy doesn't laugh. "Why did she adopt him?"

Nico lifts his head. "Some things had happened when she found him. She took an interest and gave him her blessing."

"What things?"

Nico looks to the ceiling. "Things that help her fill her fridge with food to eat." His eyes flicker back down to Percy. "Only Chiron and Mr. D know the specifics. But Joel is fine." He glances over his shoulder. "He's a good kid. No one needs to be scared of him." He turns back to Percy. "Now answer my question."

Blood still too hot, Percy stares at a spot just above Nico's head. Then grits his teeth. "I don't like watching you die."

"I'm not scared of dying," Nico says. "None of us are. It's why it's always been so easy to take care of them. Take the dislike, take the insults, take the threats."

Percy stares at him. Then repeats, "I don't like watching you die."

Nico stares back. "You're not going to."

It's hard to believe that. So he leans forward, reaching out to grab the top of Nico's chair and pull it down until he can feel Nico's cool breath against his skin. "If I keep having those dreams, I'm gonna take a page from your dad's book and kidnap you."

Nico's lips twitch, but his voice stays even. "Then I guess you should keep in mind to make room in your dungeon because I'll be bringing a few people along." He lifts a hand and strokes a thumb down the side of Percy's face. "I heard your siblings were pretty protective too." His fingers slip away. Percy's skin yearns. "Something about how the ocean drowns what it loves and drowns what it hates."

That's not protection, Percy thinks. It's possession.

But he doesn't say that outloud.

Not yet.

He slowly lets the chair fall backwards until it lands stable on all four legs. He wants to deny Nico's statement about drowning. But he has - at least what he hates. Ahkyls, the mountain lion that tried to attack Grover, those kids. Only one success. But the want, the need...

"I should head home," he says slowly. It takes him a minute to process his words and stand up, heading for the door.

Nico makes a low noise and stands too. "Sweet dreams," he says once Percy has walked out into the night, still barefoot and shirtless.

Percy climbs onto Mrs. O'Leary's back. "I hope so."

[jays-bookmarks]

Stained Sheets (Scaramouche/Wanderer x gn!reader)

The Wanderer brainrot is real. Scarameow in the Cat House is coming soon I promise but in the meantime take this lil oneshot I wrote as a reward for finishing finals :3

Summary: You forgot your period was on the way and wake up to a mess in your sheets. Your roommate helps you with the laundry. (I wrote this with my own traveler & sereniteapot in mind but the details are vague enough that it can be read as anyone & any house lol. Could even be modern au) Words: 1092 Warnings: casual mention of blood & periods, reader describes their period as relatively mild, reader has pets (2 dogs + 1 cat), Wanderer is referred to as "your roommate"/"your friend"

You sighed as you took the last step down the stairs, shifting the bundle of fabric in your arms to keep it from dragging on the floor. Your roommate was seated on the couch, flipping through a book that was clearly not keeping his attention. He glanced at you as you passed by.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Washing my sheets.”

“Didn’t you just do that yesterday?”

“I know, which is why I’m so upset!” you threw your head back dramatically before looking back at your friend with a tired smile. “Plus, blood is like the most annoying stain to remove and there's just so much of it.”

“What?” At the mention of blood, your roommate’s eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat, closing the distance between you in a few strides and grabbing you by the arms. “Why didn’t you call me?”

You stared at him, stunned at his sudden reaction. “I… didn’t think you would care?”

“Ugh, you—” he looked to the side, a blush forming on his face as his grip on you tightened. “Of course I care. I’m the one who has to take care of you if you do something stupid and get hurt.”

You blinked, a smile slowly making its way onto your face as the realization dawned on you. As much as you wanted to tease your friend about how he just offered to be your personal nurse, you took pity on him and decided to clear up the miscommunication.

“That’s sweet of you,” you said. “But I’m not hurt. I’m just on my period.”

His gaze snapped back toward you, confusion evident on his face. “Your… what?”

You raised an eyebrow, leaning forward with a teasing grin and a playful tilt of your head. “What, you mean to tell me that in all your years—”

“I know perfectly well what that means!” He turned to the side, bringing a hand up to cover his flushed face while using the other to shove you away. You stumbled a bit at the force of his push but were too busy laughing to say anything back to him. The commotion drew the attention of your two dogs, who trotted over to you with expectant eyes. With an annoyed huff, your roommate turned on his heel and started toward the door.

“Where are you going?” you said between laughs.

“Away from you,” he replied, his face still bright red. As he approached the door, the dogs bolted toward him, running circles around his heels while he picked up his hat. You laughed as you watched the dogs shoot out the door with tails high in the air, a stark contrast to your friend’s sour disposition. He slammed the door behind him, leaving you to chuckle to yourself in the now quiet house.

You shook your head and turned toward the kitchen.

As you pushed open the door, the bundle of orange fur by the windowsill stretched out to reveal Fred, mouth wide open in a yawn. You bent down to scratch behind his ears. He closed his eyes and let out a contented purr, tucking his paws into his chest and curling the top of his body toward his tail. 

It didn’t take much digging to find a wooden tub big enough to wash the sheets. Humming to yourself, you began to fill it with water. Fred followed behind you, poking his face wherever you went.

You had just started dipping the stained cloth into the water when you heard the door open and shut behind you. You called out a greeting without turning around, but glanced back in confusion when you heard your roommate’s footsteps getting closer.

You tilted your head in a silent question as he entered the kitchen, taking off his hat and crouching down beside you. Before you could say anything, he shed his outer layers, along with his gloves, and grabbed the sheets from your hands.

“You’re doing it wrong,” he said, pointedly avoiding your gaze. Despite this, you could still see a tint of pink coloring the tips of his ears.

You laughed. “You didn’t even see me do it yet.”

He didn’t say anything to that, just dipped the sheets into the water and began scrubbing at the fabric. You watched him methodically work the blood out of the fabric, marveling at the expertise evident in his every motion. 

“Thanks.” You smiled, settling back onto the floor in a more comfortable position. He hummed noncommittally in response. Fred, sensing an opportunity, quickly made his way over to you and rubbed against your side. You reached over to pet him, resting your chin on your knees as you continued to watch your friend work. A comfortable silence fell over you, broken only by the quiet splashing of water. It was the first time you ever got to watch him so closely. The water dripping from his hands glistened in the morning sunlight each time he raised the fabric above the tub. Your eyes traced a path up his arm, studying the patterns embedded in his skin: A circular shape on the back of his palm, a line around his shoulder leading to a similar circular pattern on his chest, half covered by the sash around his waist… 

You blinked, heat rising to your cheeks as you realized what you were doing. You quickly turned your gaze to the floor.

“...Does it hurt?”

“Hmm?” You snapped back to attention, sitting a little straighter as you glanced at your roommate’s face. He didn’t repeat the question, perhaps content with letting the conversation fade once more.

“My period?” You asked.

Your only answer was a glance and a hum.

You looked up at the ceiling as you considered his question. “Not really. I’m one of the lucky ones, I guess. The worst I usually get is being really sore after standing for too long. Though, I know there are some people who have it so bad they can barely even move.”

Your roommate made no comment. Not finding anything else to say, you curled up again and turned your attention back to the tub. You absently stroked Fred’s fur, his purrs resonating in the quiet room.

The peace was quickly broken by a flurry of muffled barks and whines. Fred flinched, ears swiveling forward as he searched for the source of the noise. Your roommate shot an annoyed glance at the door. You laughed, pushing yourself off the floor and brushing yourself off.

“I’ll go let them in. They probably want breakfast.”

[meguemii]

Hardly Friends.

02. It’s Already Been Paid For.

Pairings- Megumi x Reader, Slight Nobara x Yuji (mostly platonic)

Synopsis- Megumi and Y/N used to be inseparable as children and just started drifting apart when they start high school they meet again in college. But you are roommates with each others best friends. Nobara drags Y/N to a party one night without knowing Yuji had asked Megumi too, they start their journey to regain their lost friendship on a two week trip.

Word Count: 1k

Master List

The loud sound of an alarm clock blaring from your phone speakers caused you to jerk up immediately. 8:30am. Too early to be up. The light poured in from your window as you laid in bed staring at your ceiling for a solid 5 minutes, contemplating on getting up or not but you were snapped from your thoughts as your phone started buzzing. Only Nobara would be calling you this early in the morning.

Nobara🌟 is calling

Answer Decline

Picking up she cheerfully greeted you with a good morning sunshine. “Do you wanna get breakfast?” she immediately asked. Sighing you give a quick yes. “Great! I’ll pick you up in 20. See you soon!” hanging up the phone. You quite literally roll out of bed and face planting onto your floor receiving a quick “SHUT UP I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!” from Yuji. ‘Probably has a killer hangover’ you thought as you got up and started getting ready for the day.

20 minutes went by quickly as Nobara knocked on your door, running to open the door for her tooth brush still in your mouth and a tube of mascara in hand. “Good morning gorgeous!” she said as she stepped into your home. Giving her a quick “good morning” although it was very mumbled because you had a tooth brush in your mouth. Heading back to the bathroom to finish your routine. Returning to the living room you receive a “You ready to go?” from Nobara as she got up from her spot on the couch petting your cat one last time. “yep! let’s go before Yuji comes out yelling for being too noisy” you say as the both of you make your way out the door, locking it behind you. “We just gotta stop back at my place real quick, I forgot my wallet.” she says. “Nobara it’s cool, I’ll pay.” you said reassuring her and also wanting to pay for once. “Good. But I still need to grab it since it has my drivers license in it” a quick mental face palm to yourself for being dumb as you two climbed into the car.

The two of you get back to her apartment and you immediately went to sit down on the island stool as she goes to find her wallet, pulling out your phone to pass the time whilst you wait. “What are you doing here?” a groggy voice says making you jump a bit. Looking up you’re met with a half awake Megumi as he stretches, his shirt rode up exposing his stomach as he scratches it with a big yawn. His hair is all disheveled, more than it usually is but it’s also flat. It’s weird for you to see Megumi like this, he almost looks tolerable. “I’ll be gone soon, don’t you worry. Nobara and I are going for breakfast.” you say to him playfully in an attempt to be civil with him. “Whatever” he replies flatly as he starts rummaging through some cabinets. “Nobara, do we have any advil??” he shouts to her from the kitchen. A quiet shout back could be heard “No, I took the last tablet this morning! Sorry! We’ll pick some up while we’re out!”. He groaned in annoyance. You in fact had advil in your fanny pack, debating on wether you should be nice and give it to him or not you ultimately decide to offer it to him. “Don’t worry ‘Gumi’ I’ve got some.” referring to him as his old contact name in your phone and he chuckles. “Your name in my phone was something like that too. N/N” you let out a small laugh as you hand him the container. He gladly took it and popped a tablet in his mouth dry swallowing it.

Nobara eventually came out and saw you and Megumi having an actual conversation for once in your lives and smiled. “Okay Y/N time to go!” getting up from your spot as you stood saying goodbye to Megumi and he waved off and said a quick “have fun”.

“What was that about?” Nobara asks earning her an eye roll . “I’m just trying to make amends. It’s been so long since Megumi and I were on good terms.” replying to her, she hummed in response. That was that.

It was now about 3pm in the afternoon as you sat on the living room couch playing on xbox mindlessly when a door open and close could be heard from behind. Turning around for a quick glance, Yuji stumbled out of his room towards the living room. He just sat down right beside you and yawns. “How you feeling Yuu?” asking him quietly just incase he has a headache which he replies with a “my head is killing mee” as he leans on your shoulder for support and you chuckle. “I think I left my advil at Nobara’s but there might be another container in the cabinet above the fridge.” He lets out a quick “thank you” as he gets up and saunters over to the kitchen to get the advil, which luckily there is.

Another hour passes and you’ve just been hanging out with Yuji playing split screen games when your phone goes off. Nobara is facetiming and picking up the call to be met with her face on the screen as she smiles and waves. “Hey girl! Whatcha up to?” she asks excitedly— weird. “Yuji and I are just playing games rn, what’s up?” she quickly replies with a “Hi yuji!” and he shoved your face out of the phones cameras view letting out an excited “Hey Kugisaki!” with a wave. Quickly pushing him away to resume your conversation with Nobara.

“So I was thinking..” immediately cutting her off with a sarcastic “While that can’t be good!” earning a scoff. “Shut up and let me speak. I was thinking all four of us should go on a vacation!” she shouts excitedly. “Where to?” asking puzzled. “Osaka. And before you say no. It’s already been paid for by Megumi so you and Yuji have to come.” she says sternly. An excited Yuji starts bouncing around the room chanting “Osaka trip, Osaka trip!” smiling at his antics and turning your attention back to Nobara. “When do we leave?” she smiles sheepishly. “The flight is in three days.”

Great. 3 days to get everything packed and ready.

Prev | Master List | Next

Sorry this is a shorter chapter, it was only meant to kickstart the story. You and Megumi are finally warming up to each other! But there’s going to be a lot of pushing and pulling in your relationship with him.. I have a lot planned for this and I have the next few chapters in the works.

I am really happy with this chapter. I went back an did a lot of editing, cutting down the usage of the word “you” because it’s sooo repetitive and it feels like reading literal plastic just mad boring. but i fixed it!.. i think. either way i’m happy with this chapter :D

engaging with my readers is my favourite thing so i wanna hear what you guys want out of this story and i’ll see where i can put it if it’ll fit the plot i have planned out already. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Tag List

@ladytamayolover

┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

pitiful little tag list [sobs] feel free to comment and ask to be added❣️

[ryuttaeng]

g!p yandere itzy inviting the oblivious reader over for a sleepover just to get in her pants? they spent days plotting and planning every step perfectly so nothing could go wrong. they take every hole she has raw and uses her body till daylight.

pairing: itzy x fem!reader

summary: five girls knows about you a lot. you’d even say they probably know much more about you than you think.

contents/warnings: smut, minors dni. g!p, gangbang, unprotected sex, breeding kink, blowjob, handjob, choking, degrading, pet names, praising, yandere!itzy, mentions of stalking, please do not read if sensitive/uncomfortable with such themes!

genres: smut, yandere

word count: 1,280

a/n: this ask was for @writers-gf but why not

you stretched, yawning, as you’ve been bored for a whole day now. thinking how you might spend your spare time, you got distracted by a notification on your phone. it was lia, that called you over for a sleepover with her and other four girls, like she just read your mind and immediately suggested you to come over.

talking about mind reading… there was some strange tension between you and five girls, it felt like they already knew everything about you even before you could share with something new with them.

lia could witness your brows raise as you was definitely surprised that she sent invitation just in the right time. smiling to her own thoughts, lia silently left your place, now leaving you alone without you knowing.

rest of the girls nervously waited for lia’s arrival or at least text, as they have been waiting for this opportunity for months. yeji nervously waited, pacing the floor, while ryujin nervously bit her lips. “what takes her so long? i thought we already planned everything perfectly, she just simply can’t deny the-“ ryujin was interrupted by the dorm’s door opening, revealing big lia’s smile.

suddenly, everyone turned to the door’s direction, as lia kept smiling. yuna quickly got up, wanting to ask what response she got from you, but lia spoke first.

“she’s in. and according to her, she will be here in… 3 hours.” lia said, proudly smiling, as the other 4 girls immediately changed in faces. if they planned this for so long, they can’t let it go wrong, right?

“make yourself comfortable!” yuna said in high voice, sounding very excited over something. you gave her a smile before you could greet other girls that already knew you would come visit them.

it always made you dumbfounded when they would finish the sentence for you or know exactly what you wanted, like they could read your mind.

you twitched at the feeling of someone’s hand on your shoulder, as you turned you saw wide chaeryeong’s smile, her second hand took yours, as she rested her head on your shoulder. “y/n, you know we love you, right?” your heart skipped a beat. you looked at her again, in confusion.

“what- i mean, of course i do know that! but what do you-“ you were cut off as yeji grabbed your waist, her cat-like eyes looking at you. “she meant that we truly love you. since our first meeting, actually…” yeji spoke, as she slightly caressed your face, slowly moving to your ears. “you have always had our attention, y/n. your eyes, your character, your love towards us… and if you consider us as a friends, we will prove you wrong.” yeji’s tone became more intense, while she was playing with your hair, lightly brushing her fingertips over them.

ain’t no way yeji said this. you’ve always wondered what exactly you felt towards them, but never dared to speak about it. “wouldn’t you like to spend time with us, y/n?” yuna whispered in your ear, making you shiver, “you’ve seemed very bored today, y/nnie. who knew that friend of yours will cancel your meeting?” you squeaked at the sudden feeling of ryujin’s hands under your shirt, her touch became more and more intense.

normally, you would question them how did they knew you had a meeting planned with your friend, but you couldn’t think clearly at the moment. you hummed when ryujin pulled up your shirt along with your bra, a whine following after your hum, as you didn’t expected yuna to lean down and bite your nipple, using her tongue to soothe the pain.

completely taking off your shirt with bra, you stood topless in the middle of the bedroom with five girls surrounding you. their hard on pressing against you while yeji and lia starts to cover your neck and collarbone with kisses, as ryujin kissed you.

“you have no idea for how long we’ve waited for this to finally happen, y/n.” yeji mumbled when ryujin moved her free arm down to your sleep shorts, not breaking the kiss. she played with your folds slowly, gliding her finger up and down over and over again before all girls guided you to the bed.

ryujin got in between your legs, as she pulled down your shorts, making you stand on all fours. yeji bends down and captures your mouth in a kiss. you hum in a sloppy kiss, letting out a whine, as you could feel yeji smiling through the kiss.

she pulls back, a line of spit connecting her mouth to yours, her eyes half-lidded. “you can’t handle it anymore, huh?” but before you could brace yourself ryujin thrust into you, making you let out a loud moan. “you feel that, pretty girl? your pussy grabbing my cock so good. you’re already leaking, you fucking bitch, that’s all you’re good for. god…”

yeji grabbed your hair, making you open your mouth as she shoves her dick in you, "you’re such a good girl." thrusting in and out of you, not letting you get a chance to breath, chaeryeong wraps her hands around your neck. “you’re a good girl, you can handle this, don’t you?” chaeryeong murmurs, while ryujin’s thrust became more intense along with yeji’s.

yeji mumbles something while she keeps her pace, feeling that she’s getting close to release, watching the tears fall from your eyes, as you let them take control "would you be a good toy for us, baby?" lia says, as she and yuna jerked off, watching you.

ryujin’s breathing gets heavier, as she starts thrusting frantically into you, her grip onto your waist tightening, making you let out a hum, as chaeryeong lets go of your neck.

giving you a particularly harsh thurst, yeji came down your throat with a groan. chaeryeong keeps her hand on your neck, making sure you’ve swallowed everything and only after letting you moan and cry out at full volume.

ryujin thrusting into you with almost animalistic pace, the sound of her skin slapping onto yours echoing, making you moan even more, moaning ryujin’s name, "fuck!" ryujin whines loudly as she releases deep inside you, warm jets of cum shooting out. she thrusts a few more times to empty out her cock before she pulls out.

before you could catch your breath, chaeryeong pulled you to her, she aligns her cock with your entrance and pushes in, jolting your whole body forward. you let out a whine, as lia and yuna grabbed your hands to jerk them off, while chaeryeong’s hips already snapping against you at a brutal pace.

you tried to wrap your hand around yuna’s length, barely being able to close your hand around her cock and began to stroke up and down, receiving praise from her, while lia pushed her cock in your mouth.

“you’re so pretty like this, we will make sure to have you like this all the time, y/n.” chaeryeong groans out as she feels your pussy tighten around her, making her thrust in faster.

"unnie pull out, let me hear her pretty moans." chaeryeong breathed out, as she’s thrusting frantically into your pussy while holding onto your waist, making you moan loudly.

seeing you like this sent chaeryeong over the edge with lia and yuna, as chaeryeong cummed into you, receiving a whine from you, as yuna and lia released on your breasts.

breathing heavily, you closed your eyes, feeling so tired, but being interrupted by someone’s hand rubbing your clit, making you open your eyes. you met cat-like yeji’s eyes and smirk on ryujin’s face when all of the girls stood in front of you.

“the night doesn’t end here, y/n.”

[all-the-things-2020]

No Better Place - Bonus Chapter

Bonus Chapter! “The Proposal” — Just a bit of fluff. I always knew Linus would have a hand (paw?) in Javi’s proposal to Cassidy. Time wise, it takes place between chapters 21 and 22.

Javier Pena was scared. Which was bullshit, because he was never scared. He’d faced sicarios and hired assassins in Colombia, his own father when he’d come home drunk off his ass in high school, even a fucking rattlesnake hiding under the log he’d sat down on while on a camping trip when he was ten. Nervous — hell, yeah, he’d been nervous a million times in his life, but never truly scared. Not like this.

He toyed with the worn velvet box in his hands. It’s no big deal, he told himself. She’s made it abundantly clear that she wants a life with you. This is just formalizing the arrangement. Still, he felt his throat start to close up every time he started to think about actually saying the words. It had been easy with Lorraine. He’d just done what everyone expected him to do, and he really hadn’t even had to ask her. She’d kind of assumed and he’d gone with the flow. But this … this was different.

Cassidy had never pushed him, never even mentioned marriage. Javi knew that he could keep his mouth shut, let things continue the way they were, and she’d be perfectly happy. A home together, even kids — none of that was dependent on a ring or a piece of paper. And yet, Javi felt like she deserved more. After all the shit she’d been through with her ex, Cassidy needed to know that he was going to be there forever.

She was away right now, visiting her mother. It was not her idea, but she’d been guilted into it because her Momma’s Aunt Lydia was sick and not doing well. “She says it’s my duty to see a poor old woman on her death bed,” Cassidy had said as she packed her suitcase. “If Auntie Lydia dies without seeing me one last time, I’ll never hear the end of it. Besides, I always did like her. She snuck me extra candy all the time. The good stuff, too, not that nasty old hard stuff she kept in the candy dish in her living room. Told me it was just as important to be myself as it was to be a proper Southern lady.”

The entire time she’d been gone, he’d been coming up with and then rejecting ideas for how to propose. Big romantic gestures were not his style, so champagne and rose petals were out of the question. Should he get down on one knee? Should he have a speech prepared or just wing it?

“What do you think, buddy?,” he asked Linus. The cat flicked an ear but didn’t reply. “Fat lot of good you are,” Javi mumbled. Linus yawned immensely and tucked his head under his arm. “She’ll be home soon and I still have no idea what to do.”

He sighed and sat the ring box on the coffee table before leaning back on the couch, covering his eyes with a forearm. His head was starting to hurt from overthinking this. He knew his dad would say all Cassidy needed were the four simple words. Will. You. Marry. Me. But Javi wanted it to be special, something she’d remember for the rest of her life, a story she could tell their grandkids someday.

He felt Linus stand up and stretch, the vibrations from the cat’s muscles traveling through the couch cushions. Javi envied the animal’s flexibility; he could hardly get up from a chair without making that little grunt he’d always associated with old people. Cassidy said he needed to stretch more, and Monica was bugging him to join the yoga class she attended after work on Wednesdays, but he kept brushing them off.

Linus jumped to the coffee table with a little thump and Javi opened his eyes just in time to see him bat the ring box onto the floor. “You little shit!” As he reached for the box, Linus hopped down and swatted it again, sending it flying underneath the couch.

“Seriously?” Javi grumbled as he got down on the floor. There wasn’t much clearance under the couch and he had to push the coffee table out of the way and lay flat on his stomach in order to reach for the box. Linus joined him, amused at having Daddy down at his level.

“Can you fetch?” Javi asked. The box was just out of reach and he squirmed forward, trying to get his arm an inch or two further under the couch. Linus simply purred and butted his head against Javi’s.

Suddenly, the cat jumped to his feet and darted away, just as Javi’s fingertips closed on velvet.

“What the hell are you doing?” Javi jumped up and back, banging his head on the coffee table. He rolled onto his back, looking up at a bemused Cassidy, who stood over him, Linus flirting around her ankles.

“Just retrieving something your little friend hid under the couch,” Javi said. Damn, that hurt. He rubbed at the knot that was already forming on his head.

“What was so important it couldn’t wait until the next time I sweep out his toy cache?” Cassidy said, squatting down and laying her hand on his sore head. She brushed a lock of hair out of his face with her thumb.

“Oh, nothing,” Javi stammered, trying to hide the box in his fist. Cassidy grabbed his hand and peeled his fingers back until she had revealed the velvet case.

“Is … is that what I think it is?,” she asked, dropping onto her knees.

Javi swallowed. “Um, yeah, it is,” he said. “It was my abuela’s.” His mouth was dry and he couldn’t meet her eyes.

Cassidy carefully took the box from his hand and opened it. The delicate silver ring, set with a tiny diamond and emerald, sparkled in the light from the lamp on the side table. “Oh, Javi, it’s … the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen,” she whispered.

“It’s not very big,” he said, but she cut him off.

“It’s perfect,” she said firmly. “Nothing like that monstrosity my mom wears.” She shuddered. “I always thought it looked gaudy and cheap. This … this is exquisite.”

She lifted it out of the box and held it up to the light. Javi wanted to say something but his tongue felt too big for his mouth all of a sudden.

“I’d like to wear it,” Cassidy said after a long moment.

Javi nodded. “Okay,” he managed to say.

She tilted her head. “I think you’re supposed to ask me a question first,” she said drily.

Javi laughed nervously. “Oh, yeah, right … shit … I’ve been trying to think of the best way to do this and now … I have no idea what to say.”

“Just ask the damn question, Javi,” she said.

He nodded again. “Okay, yeah. Um, Cassidy … will you marry me?”

She laid a hand against his cheek. “Of course I will, you big idiot,” she said sweetly. Now he could finally meet her eyes and he felt stupid for making such a big deal out of the whole thing. He smiled and pressed his lips against hers.

She pulled back from the kiss and slipped the ring onto her finger. “It’s a pretty good fit,” she said. “Just like you and me.”

As Javi wrapped his arms around her to kiss her again, he saw Linus sitting smugly on the coffee table, looking down at them. You’re a pretty good wing man, buddy, Javi thought, giving the cat a wink. Linus flicked an ear and started washing his face. His work was done.

[harufallinwonderland]

THE BRAINROT IS REAL!

CURETIEL TIME (how many fanfics have it been now 3?) @shinysparklesapphires

Here the ocs but this time PLOT TWIST

Curetiel IN POKEMON engough said.

Not much to say besides LETS GET THIS STARTED

——————————————————————————

Title: WAKE UP

The sun rises on the wonderland region with all the corviknights and pidgeys chirping and flying around and the kricketots playing there music waking up the people of the Sage town which has become A routine for the town’s morning well besides one person.

The young man Ink lays on his bed his Persian at the foot of his bed resting both completely ignorant to all the noise of the morning outside well untill Persian opens one of its eyes seeing A familiar white hair man walk into the room with his chandelure floating infront of him which leaves the Persian yawning before getting out of bed wanting to avoid being caught in the way of Ink’s daily wake up freak out.

The chandelure floats above Ink and making its flame grow brighter lighting up the room which in return Ink slightly opens his eyes looking at the chandelure like A grumpy night owl would to the sun and then to his “best friend” sitting on the corner of his bed fully dressed “hey Ink time to wake up” Marble says lightly uncovering Ink from his blanket before he could cover his head in protest.

Ink looks to the digital clock right besides him and tries to stop himself from having A heart attack “CRAP I’M GONNA BE LATE FOR WORK” he quickly got up nearly kicking Marble off the bed as A side thing as he ran to the bathroom to get ready and Marble just sighing heading back to there living room

A little while later Ink was in the living room in his gym leader clothes as Marble was brushing Ink’s Persian’s fur A big plate of eggs and bacon on the table and chandelure “BEFORE THAT I GOT T-“

“I already have all your Pokémon fed and all your gym trainers are at the gym ready for when you arrive also there a lot of trainers in town today so I made you A bigger breakfast than normal just in case you have lunch late”

“OH THANK YOU SO MUCH MARBLE” Ink says chomping through his breakfast and Marble finishing brushing Persian as thanks Persians rubs up on Marble’s hand with he responds with pets.

Ink finishes his breakfast getting up grabbing his poke balls running outside returning all of his Pokémon that hang outside in there poke balls besides Persian who was running with him making A b line straight to his gym with Marble with him as well and his chandelure floating right with them.

“Any idea how many challengers they are today!?”

“About 7 I have already scheduled each match for today with engough time for A short rest and some time at the end of the day for any last second challengers”

“Have I ever told you how screwed I would be without you and how much you mean to me Marble?” Ink says to Marble with A big grin on his face as they run.

“Yes everyday Ink although I am not saying I have A problem with it” Marble smiles back with A flight blush on his face.

—————————————————————————-

“Wild cat chase”

“Congrats kid you have beaten me amazing effort I can tell your on your way to great things here is your first gym badge the Sage town gym bag” Ink kneels down to A girl with brown hair handing her A small charm with wings at the side betraying the gym’s dark type theme.

The girl smiles taking the gym badge smiling as her growlithe tackles her “yes yes you did wonderful Komugi” the girl picks up her dog and bows to Ink as she walks out the gym and Marble walking up to Ink “seemed like A strong girl huh?”

“Yeah her and that growlithe were super strong out of those two pure will power and bond could probably could beat my 2nd badge team” Ink says waving the girl goodbye and then stretching returning the two Pokémon he used for the battle back to there poke balls while doing so.

“Anyway despite lunch being A hour late it’s still impressive you got through all the planned trainers today” Marble pats Ink on the back as they walk to the front of the gym telling all the gym trainers it’s break time.

“Yeah well there was A surpriseing amout of less experienced trainers today nobody above 4 gym badges although they wore out my teams for sure” Ink says sitting on A nice table that was in front of the gym as Marble puts some plates on the table then going to Ink’s pokemon to give them there food.

It was silent for A while Ink eating peacefully and Marble soon joining watching the town they live in go about there daily lives from there gym which were at the outskirts of town untill they saw familar faces “Oh Vivienne,Yuuki hiya!” Which catches the two girl’s attention.

They both approach the green hair girl Vivienne in some gothic lite clothes that seem impractical for A journey but she seems fine with her espeon next to her which has A dark bow on its ear and A blue hair girl with fake ears from A cat like Pokémon Ink can’t pinpoint right now and her meowstic next to them nibbling on A treat “Oh hiya Nya” the blue hair girl Yuuki greeted them with.

“So what brings you two into town?” marble asks taking A bite of his food after finishing.

“Out to challenge me for my gym badge?” Ink says seeming to be ready for the challenge already but Vivienne just nodding no “no not yet my pride would not survive if I didn’t challenge you when you can go full power at your 8th badge team” she says with A slight glare to Ink.

“We heard they were kanto meowths around the area and I wanna catch one nya” Yuuki interrupted before things can get tense which Marble silently thanks her for “yeah we were going for my next gym badge but Sage town was just A quick detour away so we are stopping by to feed Yuuji’s addiction to cat pokemon” Viv says which caught Marble’s ear not used to her groaning every sentence.

“Oh I can help you with that plus I wanted to catch one myself could be A nice bud for Persian” Ink says pointing at his Persian that was currently taking A nap on A cat bed near the table “well why don’t you join us for lunch I have left overs from making lunch you two can have” Marble offers before catching Yuuki’s gaze looking to his right in which he sees A kanto meowth in the forest near by stalking them before retreating back in with Yuuki and her Meowstic chasing it.

“Or maybe not” Marble mumbled “HEY WAIT FOR ME” Ink yells stuffing his face full of food before grabbing some poke balls running after them his Persian quickly waking up running with him.

“Idoits both of them” Vivienne mumbles out and Marble nods “but they’re our idoits”

In the forest Ink had trouble keeping up with Yuuki who moved so much like A cat despite being human and her meowstic that used its physic powers to either float through or blow away obstacles which in turn helped Ink clearly room for him and his Persians to run.

It was A constant chase untill Yuuki tripped on A branch from A tree she was planning to jump the meowth from leaving Ink running to catch her along with her meowstic and his Persian still chasing the meowth.

“Are you ok Yuuki?” Ink asks with Yuuki in his arms which she quickly jumps out from “yeah nya is fine but how do we find the meowth now nya?” She says sad that she didn’t catch the beige feline but Ink pats her on the back “hey my Persian was chasing it I’m sure if we walk engough we can find them” Ink says trying to cheer Yuuki up as said girl just nods proceeding to walk the same direction ink and Meowstic following.

They walked in silence for A bit before Yuuki spoke “so how been things with you and Marble nya?” She asks not making direct eye contact looking around.

“Well we have been fine last week he ha-”

“No I mean anything changed with your…relationship nya”

“Uh no why would you think that Marble is my best friend” after those words Yuuki just felt glad Marble wasn’t there to hear those words or else that would have probably been A clear stab to the heart for him.

“Yeah A friend you have been living with since you two turned 18 3 years ago yeah the bestest of friends” Yuuki rolls her eyes at Inks words as Ink gives A genuine nod making Yuuki regret mentioning this at all.

“He is my everything after all” and just like that Yuuki wanted to scream for Marble who probably hear this stuff everyday

—————————————————————————

Marble pours some tea into A fancy black cup for Vivienne who was sitting in Ink’s seat “well thanks marble” Vivienne says taking A sip after munching on her cupcake A bit and Marble just smiling sitting in his seat.

“I swear what is taking those two so long it doesn’t take that long to catch such A weak Pokémon” Vivienne complains through drinking her tea and Marble just chuckles agreeing with her but more out of concern rather than annoyance “well maybe the meowth tricked them” Marble chuckles out while Vivi just nods in A way that just drips of sarcasm despite not uttering A word.

“Well anyway I have A question for you Marble?” She placed her elbow on the table leaning her head on her hand and Marble raises A eye brow “yeah what’s wrong?” He asked but the smirk that grows on Vivienne’s face made him instantly regret it.

“So how been you and Ink been going?” She asked snickering which gets A glare from Marble “mind clarifying What you mean by that?” Marble asks in A stern tone to get her to back off but all she does is smirk more “on don’t play dumb how are you and Ink doing you two slow dancing in the moonlight yet, one room one bed situation come on”

“That’s engough out of you…there is nothing going on” Marble says taking A bite out of his sandwich which made his words come out more as A grumble then his normal polite tone “well why not come on just confess already your bassicly his spouse at this point he would be FUCKED without you and you know that”

“Yes I know but….i just don’t want to ruin everything….i mean he is my everything” Marble says looking away not wanting to confront Vivienne’s smirk but instead of that she had A sympathetic smile before she noticed what she was doing then going back to her smirk “weird that seems like something A certain someone else says a lot huh?”

Marble couldn’t bring out A physical response like he knew he had no out of this conversation that he could lose like he knows she is right “listen I get it Ink is super openly affectionate with his words but…he is like that with everyone you know that despite all your threats and such he still is A sweetheart to you excuse me for assuming he is just being close to his best friend” Marble blurted out breaking his normal serious and calm voice into something slightly more emotional and confrontational.

Vivienne just sighs “well are you ok with being just his best friend?” She asks him Marbles goes silent for seconds then minutes collecting his thoughts before speaking again gaining back some of his composure but not all “of course I don’t fully like it I want to be able to be more intimate with him but…I’m still happy just being with him makes me so happy being able to talk with him, live with him, take care of him and his pokemon, help him everyday despite everything if things ended like this it wouldn’t be perfect but it would be A nice happily ever after…”

“Am I even talking to Marble?” Viv asked leaving Marble confused “what happened to the guy that faced admins of dotsuku when they started invaded wonderland and fought them off,what happened to the guy who had no problems telling people to suck it up and talk out there problems huh?” Vivienne asked sounding somewhat gentle for once while A bit straight to the point making her words clear.

Marble stayed silent unable to deny anything she said then she sighs “sorry but listen I get that sometimes things like this could get you to be…not normal and I won’t force you too confess but just know there is going to be A day where everything boils over and you blurt out all you feel at A bad time and I’d say it’s better to confess before then and…you two mean everything to each other I doubt much bad will happen if he doesn’t feel the same” Marble sat there shocked that Vivienne could actually give out advice like this no insults just getting straight to the point leaving him to just nod.

“Heh wouldn’t it be useful to be able to follow your own advice?” Marble says but Vivienne just smirked at him “oh I did already”…… “HUH!?” He yelled in surprise but before they could continue Yuuki and Ink came out of the forest injured but not to much to be concerned about it.

“Got what you wanted?” Vivienne asks in which Yuuki nods holding out A ultra ball with A M she put on top in marker “GOT IT NYA” Vivienne nods “anyway we should get going we have hotel reservations in the town close to here and Marble consider my advice…or don’t” they quickly walked off like there trying to give them room to talk …..wait A second THOSE GIRLS!

Before Marble could compose himself fully he sees A bleeding cut on Ink’s head “holy crap ink are you ok!?” Before Ink can utter A word Marble sits him down and goes to grab A med kit in the gym and patches him up.

…it was silent for A bit just the two enjoying each other company but then Marble spoke “Hey Ink I lo…I mean I have A question” he interrupted himself before he could finish the fourth word and went to change subject proving Vivienne right even more then he would like to admit.

“Yeah Marble?” Ink answers tilting his head in questioning.

“Do you think…we are each other’s everything…in every life?” Marble wanted to face palm himself to the distortion world after saying that WHY DID HE SAY THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO CONFESS AHHH.

Ink was silent just stareing Marble in the eyes making Marble internally scream before his eyes light up and A big smile appear on his face him shining brighter than even the sun to Marble “OF COURSE I mean I would love it if that was true but….” He grew red even he seems to have A limit to his friendliness before he get embarrassed but at least he wasn’t alone with Marble silent because of embarrassment as well.

But Marble just smiles going back to treating the cut “thanks if we both can agree on it must be true and if not… we can just make it true Nagisa Ink” Marble says the biggest Grin ink has seen on him for A while appearing.

“Of course Honoka Marble” Ink grins back them being lost in there own world before being bought back to it by Kira running up to the two A smile on his face t oo

.

.

.

.

“I really did have A weird dream Honoka”

“Oh I did too maybe we can tell each other it after school?”

“Sure….oh it’s Hikari we should hurry and catch up with her”

“Yeah let’s go”

[jinanreona]

@trestole sent:

she places a hand in front of Ruggie, stopping him from grabbing the basket with clothes " Don't worry about that man, today the big cat himself is gonna do his own laundry, you can go have a break " she says before glancing back at said big cat in question " Ok lazy ass, time for the test, let's see if you can finally beat Horny in something and do your laundry better than him "

The hyena had looked puzzled at first when Dana had taken the basket, scratching his head as he merely watches her approach the lion lounging on one of the Savanaclaw sofas. Confusion quickly turns to mischief, his eyes practically twinkling at even the suggestion of Leona doing his own laundry. "Leona doin' his own laundry? Shshsh, this I gotta see." Not like he'd complain about having one less chore to do, especially one that came with a show~

Leona himself doesn't move even as the basket is presented to him, quirking a brow at the herbivore in amusement. He'd hoped she'd forgotten about that whole ordeal in the past, though it seemed she really was going to test him. What a pain.

He almost turns her away until the mention of the other idiot catches his attention, expression shifting to a wry smirk. "...Tch, I don't need to lift a finger to prove I can do the laundry better than him." Knowing the dragon, the guy would probably forget to take out the clothes from the washing machine until days later. Or worse yet, he'd find a way to make the poor machine explode if it made any noises he didn't like.

Still, if proof is what she wanted, he supposed he could postpone his nap for a few minutes. Getting up, he gave a stretch and yawn before beginning to walk away and towards the laundry room. He hadn't even taken the basket from Dana, seemingly expecting her or Ruggie to bring it for him. "Hurry up, I don't got all day." He'd do it once and never again. That should be enough for her, right?~

[crazyk-imagine]

Chapter VI: House Drop

Characters: Sulane “Sullie” Celeste, Jasner ""Jas" Verbane, James Diamond, Kendall Knight, Carlos Garcia, Hortense "Logan" Mitchell, Gustavo Roque, Kelly Wainwright, Katie Knight, Mama Knight Freight Train, Camille Roberts (Briefly mentioned) 

Warnings: Shenanigans, Sulane not feeling well, mansion sitting gone wrong, Monty the hairless cat being called a chicken, Sulane and Monty are not friends :(, Sulane showing her future potential as a producer, Jasner being both helpful and unhelpful, Kelly is a godsend

Word Count: 5,627

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

Jasner decides to take a break from auditions for the next few hours, debating on if he should work on some homework, he hadn’t been able to do yesterday or put it off until later and find Sullie. 

He shakes his head at the feeling of those damn butterflies moving around in his stomach whenever he thinks of her. He's happy to see her become the person he imagines she was before arriving in the Palm Woods, happy. 

But he’s also kind of scared because the pretty boy of the band seems to hate him. Which is kind of weird for him to think about when everyone else here seems to like him and yet, he thinks he knows why. 

Yesterday when he left Camille for a second to grab the smoothies, he may or may not have taken a minor detour and may have used his favorite form of travel in any building (he can find a blueprint to) the vents. 

He couldn’t tell what he was feeling when Gustavo asked them if they had experienced the kind of love, they needed to in order to “perfect” the song and James turned around to look at the only person who’s around them most of the time, that’s their age. 

He left without popping in to say hi, needing to figure out what he was feeling before talking to Sulane again. 

-

“How are you feeling?” 

“Huh?” She turns her head, staring at him. 

‘Oh… no.’ He smiles at her, has she always been this pretty? 

Is he slow to realize that she’s really cool and interesting and- he’s not just crushing he’s on the verge of falling for her, and hard. 

He sits on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs. ‘Act normal. She doesn’t need to know.’ “Whatcha doin’?” 

“Reading more letters. I found some hidden behind pasta in the cabinets.” 

“Oh, really. Do you,” his voice cracks. Jasner winces and shakes his head. “Do you want me to look around and see if I can find anymore?” 

“Not right now. I’m still reading through the first two weeks I was here. Apparently, Carlos got his first A which turned out to be a mistake because there were two Carlos’ in his math class.” Sulane huffs, throwing her head back against the cushions of the couch. 

They turn to look at one another, staring into each other’s eyes before she sighs. 

“Do you want to take a nap?” 

She shakes her head, stretches her arms above her head, stifling a yawn. 

“You’re lying. Come on, up you go,” he pats the cushion beside him. 

“Fine.” She sets the letter on top of the pile she’s made. 

He moves out of the way, smiling. “Lay down, I’ll watch something on TV and wait till you fall asleep before leaving.” 

She nods, already half asleep. 

He purses his lips, wondering what he can do to help make things easier for her. 

She’s been working so much more than he's ever seen and it’s taking a toll on her. 

He shakes his head, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch, carefully laying it across her before squatting, resting on the balls of his feet. 

He brushes a few fallen strands off her cheek, pushing them behind her ear. “If I ever get a big role and have to shoot out of town or something, I’d really miss you,” he mutters, watching over her until he realizes he needs to go to his apartment and make an audition tape. He doesn’t know why he said it, but he doesn’t regret it because he would.

S01 EP 06

She opens her eyes at the sound of Gustavo’s ring tone for when he calls, Darth Vader’s iconic music. 

She chuckles at the sound because she doesn’t like Star Wars (but watched all the movies because of Jasner and knew when she heard the sound, she had to find it). “What?” 

“Don’t you what me? I’m the one who signs that thing you call a paycheck.” 

“And I’m the one keeping your assistant sane because I’m amazing, want to try that again without so much attitude.” 

He grumbles. 

A heavy sigh comes through along with some rustling. “Sulane. I need you to get down to the studio, Gustavo needs help finishing the boy’s song. He can’t figure out this one line and he’s starting to get on my nerves,” Kelly tells her daughter. 

“On my way.”

-

She hangs up and changes before grabbing a piece of licorice and opening her door. “Freight Train, just the guy I wanted to see.” 

“You heading off to work?” 

“You know it.” 

“Piggyback?” 

“Please.” 

They pass by as the boys are doing something moronic but don’t stop. 

Sulane needs to keep her stupid meter on low today. 

-

Jasner walks out into the pool area, wandering over towards the guys listening to Logan explain fartology to Kendall and James. “It's basic fartology.” 

“He’s not wrong.” 

“Hey, Jas,” Kendall and Logan greet him.

“So how do we know when it's coming?” James asks. 

The three band mates leaned down. 

“I'm not sure,” Kendall responds. 

“Oh, guys. I wouldn’t-” 

It’s too late. They’re drenched. 

“Whoo! Did you get that on video?” Carlos shouts, excited about the results. 

“Should it be smoking like this?” Kendall asks, watching as his camera short circuits and smoke comes from it. 

“Man!” “Oh, man.” The boys exclaim, disappointed in their work.

- Ah, ah, ah-ah, ooh -

“I wanna be famous,” the band sings waving Kendall to sing his line. “You want to be the one who's living the life.” 

The producer pushes his mic button. “And cut!” 

“It sounded great, right?” Kendall asks, still feeling the adrenaline of singing with his best friends. He glances over to see the blonde doing a “stop” gesture and tilts his head in confusion… until Gustavo continues. 

“No,” he starts off, which confuses the boys. “Green day sounds great. You guys didn't make me want to vomit.” 

“Oh, Gustavo!” They all angrily rip their headphones off their head. “Come on!” 

Until the producer pushes a button and mutes them and he mouths to them, “I can’t hear you.” 

“Why can't you tell them they sound good? Or thank them for all their hard work?” Kelly asks, after smacking his arm. 

“Showing thanks is a sign of weakness.” 

“What about you know who?” She gestures to Sulane, who stands in front of the glass window, writing something in her notebook. 

“I stand by my previous statement. And besides, you don't hear them thanking me.” 

The teen girl lifts her notebook for the boys to see. “Say thank you or I end you all. You haven’t thanked him once and I think he’s hurt by it.” 

Carlos gives her a thumbs up. 

“Gustavo,” Kendall says earning the adult’s attention. “We just wanted to thank you.” 

The others chime in. “Yeah, thank you.” 

“Thank you so much,” Logan clarifies. 

“So much fun,” James adds. 

“It's been a blast,” Carlos tells him.  

Kelly nudges her boss’s shoulder. 

“I just wanted to say you guys,” the producer pauses for dramatic effect.

“Are done for the day. Kelly and I are off to North Carolina.” 

“Ooh, can you bring us back a tar heel?” The corndog lover asks, with a clearly excited tone. 

“Ooh, I'm thinking about bringing back a hot new band, that I can replace you with when you inevitably fail me.” 

Sulane pursed her lips, she knew this was going to happen, but she hoped he wasn’t going to do it to them. She pinches the bridge of her nose because she cares. 

Kelly gives the boys a sorry look and her frown deepens at the sight of her daughter. 

“Replace us?” 

They glance over at her. 

“Did you know?” Logan asks. 

She scoffs, rolling her eyes, placing her headphones on her head, needing to tune the stupidity out before exiting the room. 

The band follows their producer. “Gustavo!” 

“Stop!” 

“You can't be serious.” 

“You can't. You're not gonna replace us, not after you see my new head shots.” James lifts his headshots after seemingly pulling them out of his pocket. “One hot young doctor, one hot greasy mechanic.” 

“Ooh, ooh.” Gustavo says, removing them from the pretty boy’s grasp, flinging them to the side. “Ooh, I'll put these with the others.” 

James yelps and reaches for his headshots. 

Sulane glances at the boy from the corner of her eye. 

James feels her stare and quickly hides it behind his back. 

“Kelly,” Gustavo walks to his office backwards, “who'd you get to house-sit my mansion?” 

“Oh, you said that you would take care of that,” Kelly points out.  

“There is no way I would have ever said-” 

The more experienced assistant pulls out a tape recorder and hits play. “Kelly, I'll find someone to house-sit my mansion.” 

The producer groans. 

She glances over shoulder at the boy band. “I record everything now.” 

James gives her an impressed expression with an okay hand signal. 

Logan clicks his tongue and points to her. 

Kendall is impressed (and hopes Sulane takes notes). 

Carlos is a little scared but proud of her. 

Sulane wraps her arm around her mom’s shoulders, “I’ve taught you well.” 

“See! This is why I didn’t want you two working together. You’re both mean.” 

They scoff, rolling their eyes. 

Jasner walks down the hallway, turning right so he's standing behind the boys; he sips his smoothie. “What’s up?” 

The band jumps back, not expecting him. 

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” The blonde asks. 

“Shouldn’t you?” 

“Touche.” 

The producer rolls his eyes. “You can play your blame game later. Meanwhile, who's gonna dust my 100-inch plasma.” 

The boys step forward. 

“Feed my exotic pets.” 

They take another step. 

“And make sure my $1 million media room stays set at 68 degrees?” 

Carlos holds onto Kelly shoulder, slightly shaking while James does the same thing with Sulane as they answer. “We'll mansion-sit for you.” 

“Oh, you want me to let the monkey’s mansion-sit?”  

“Yeah, I thought we were dogs,” the brainiac points out. 

“You're monkey dogs. And the answer is no.” 

“Can I see you in your office, please? Mm.” The more experienced assistant shoves her boss into his office as Gustavo glances back at them, feeling very confused. 

-

The teen girl throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, you guys are desperate.” She pushes James and Jasner off her. “And I’m done. Bye.”  

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Carlos asks. 

“I have plans.” 

“But, watching Gustavo’s mansion is probably better than your plans,” James tells her, not wanting her to depart from them just yet. 

She sighs and he smiles and pulls her closer to the door so they can listen in. 

The group falls onto the floor and quickly pushes themselves off the ground… except for Jasner. 

The boy notices the raised brow he’s getting from Kelly. “I’m not going to waste a drop of this smoothie; I can’t find a raspberry one anywhere.” 

“What’s up?” Carlos says after pushing himself up. 

“Hey man,” Logan starts. “We were- we were just hanging out.” 

“I didn’t plan on this happening,” Sulane quickly adds. 

“Quiet and follow weird name.”

-

“There are five mansion-sitting rules at Casa Gustavo. One, stay out of my media room.” 

James gives him a thumbs up. 

“Two, do not open my living room fridge.” 

Carlos does an okay gesture with a reassuring head shake. 

“Three, keep the butts off my $40,000 Federico Benini couch.” 

Kendall gives him finger guns and then looks away, glancing over at the blonde, silently asking if he’s serious to which she nods. 

“Four, do not touch my Peruvian hairless cat, Monty.” 

“Ooh, I love cats,” Logan replies, with a smile. 

“Don't touch him!” 

The brainiac shrugs. “I don't even like cats.” 

The teen girl slaps her chest. “Oh my god.” She snatches Jasner’s smoothie from him and takes a sip. “That thing is still alive?! You haven’t accidentally cooked it.” 

Everyone glances over at her. 

“What? It was sitting in a bowl, and I thought he was defrosting some chicken.” 

“And five, if anything- anything is broken in my mansion, you are all fired! Are we clear?” 

Sulane shakes her head, “morons.” She walks out of the room as they continue to cheer. 

-

As Kendall tries to persuade his mom into letting them mansion sit, with the not so helpful assistance of Logan; he has to chuck a dinosaur chicken nugget at the other two to make his point. 

“You-” Sulane takes a deep breath, swallowing her food. “You are not old enough? You can be an adult and have a childish side, nothing too like major though you know… not like Molly.” 

Mama Knight glances in her direction. 

“Sorry, anyway, they’ll be fine.” 

“Fine, as long as she goes with you, and I want hourly updates.” 

“No,” Sulane groans, holding her head in her hands. 

The boys cheer until Carlos knocks over James’s chocolate milk. 

“You knocked over my chocolate milk.”

The helmet lover chews louder which angers his friend. 

“Whoa!” Carlos shouts as the pretty boy tackles him. 

Katie and Logan each take a nugget from the boys’ plates. 

“I'll be in charge along with the assistance of everyone’s favorite person.” 

She shrugs him off her. “Get off me.” 

-

Sulane opens the door to hear, “Katie, you're not staying. Get out of the duffel bag.” 

“Fine.” 

She shakes her head at the young girl’s behavior. “Sorry, Katie,” she and Kendall apologize. 

“See you.” Jasner turns around and thanks Mama Knight. 

The older woman smiles, “you’re welcome. I’m happy they have someone else to hang out with.” 

He turns around with a big smile on his face. 

“Why do you look so excited?” Logan asks. 

“This is the only time I get to see the inside of Gustavo’s mansion.” 

“So, you’ve never been here before?” 

“Only to the front door but that’s about it.” 

“Why?” Kendall chimes in. 

“Something about him not trusting me or thinking I’m going to destroy his mansion.”

The boys nod before running inside. 

-

The teen girl escapes to her room, not at all in the mood to even try and deal with the boys and their excitement. 

She rolls her eyes when she hears them having fun come from the media room. 

-

They decide to go on a journey to the kitchen. 

They stare at the fridge with their heads tilted. 

“Why do you think Gustavo locks his fridge?” Kendall throws out there. 

“I bet he keeps his heart in there,” James replies. 

“Or his victims,” Logan adds. 

“Or food,” Carlos and Jasner say. They turn to one another and high five. 

“Well, only one way to find out.” 

The brainiac turns to stop his blond friend from taking a step further. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you crazy? Don't you remember mansion-sitting rule number two?” 

They turn to a flashback of Gustavo telling them, “rule number two, help yourselves to anything you want in my living room fridge.” 

“That was not it,” Logan tells them. 

“Yes, it was,” the other four say. 

Carlos spreads his arm open, forcing Logan, Jasner, and James to take a step back. “Step aside, boys. My uncle was a locksmith. You just place your hands between the cylinder and the central housing, and then hit it with the sledgehammer!” The corn dog lover raises the item (he seemingly pulled out of nowhere) and screams. 

The found Gustavo’s holy grail… his pudding fridge. 

“Pudding!” They all shouted. 

-

Sulane walks downstairs, in need of an aspirin or something to get rid of her migraine, something that always happens whenever she thinks about visiting her mom’s grave. 

Once she gets what she needs and begins to slowly feel some relief, she decides to check on the boys and passes by the broken fridge. 

“What. Did. You. Guys. Do?” She sees Kendall reaching over to grab a spoonful of James’ pudding (and is successful). “Don’t you dare.” 

The leader turns to her, looking like a deer in headlights… and then the pudding falls from his spoon. 

The boys start screaming. 

“You idiot. Why would you do that?” 

“Gustavo's $40,000 couch!” Carlos freaks out. 

“Get your butts off his couch was rule number three,” Logan adds. 

“No, it wasn't,” Kendall shakes his head. 

They see another flashback. “Rule number three, keep your butts off my $40,000 Federico Benini couch.” 

“Okay, maybe it was,” the leader stresses the last word. 

“Gustavo's gonna kill us. And we're only 64 years old,” James adds. 

“Minus us two, right?” Jasner whispers to Sulane. 

She shrugs him away; this whole thing just turned her sour mood into an even worse sour mood. 

The leader pulls her out of her thoughts. “Which means we are more than capable of removing a pudding stain from a couch. Logan brain now.” 

“Right, okay, um- Gustavo has a cat, right? And cat litter's main ingredient is bentonite, which as we all know, is a natural absorbent.” 

“Why the hell do you know that? Do you study cat litter in your spare time?” 

The brainiac frowns. “Why are you so upset?” 

As these three talk, Kendall has Carlos and James getting started on their pudding mishap. 

“I’m not.” 

“You are though,” Jasner tells her. 

“Okay, well you two need to shut up because I’m fine.” 

“You don’t sound fine.” 

“Logan.” 

“Yeah.” He sees the look she’s giving him. “Shut up, right, got it.” 

-

“There, now we just relax and wait.” Logan sets the box of cat litter off to the side. 

“Did anyone think that maybe that Monty is going to see cat litter and think it’s in his litter box?” 

No one answers her as they scream when they see said cat hop onto the couch. 

“Whoa, what is that thing?” Logan points to the hairless cat. 

“Oh, it must be his cat,” Jasner and Kendall adds. 

“That's a cat?” Carlos asks. 

“No, it’s a chicken in disguise.” 

“I totally see it now. That’s freaky. I never saw Gustavo to be the kind of guy who would buy a naked cat. Did anyone else see that coming?” Jasner chimes in. 

The boys shake their heads. “J- just get him off before he-” 

“Marks his territory,” they answer together. 

Sulane throws her head back and claps her hands. “I told you guys.” 

“Get him off the couch,” Kendall screams. 

“Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.” Carlos lifts the cat, but it tries to fight back, and he chucks the cat to the other side of the room and out the door. “Uh-oh.” 

“There goes rule number four.” Logan sits down at the nearest table, feeling a little defeated with all their mishaps so far and accidentally sits on Gustavo’s party remote. 

A disco ball pops out of the ceiling and Carlos is scared. 

“Rule number five! If we break anything, we're fired!” James shouts over the music, freaking out. 

“Everybody, just calm down. All we got to do is get the stain off the couch, Find the cat, and raise the disco ball. We can do this together,” Kendall puts his hand out, wanting everyone to do it. 

“Uh- hi,” Jasner interrupts, putting his hand in too. “What about the pudding? You guys-” He clears his throat when he sees Sulane glaring at him. “We ate like, all of it. How are we going to restock his fridge?” 

Kendall purses his lips. 

Logan runs up to Kendall and Jasner who use the fire extinguishers to put out a fire they made. “I can't find the cat at all.” 

“I think I broke the statue,” James says, holding two of the statues’ pieces. 

Kendall accidentally sets off his fire extinguisher. 

“Okay, kid,” Jasner lowers the blond’s hands. “Don’t set it off again.” 

“Well, the good news is, this can't get any worse, right?” 

Carlos pops into the hallway and starts screaming. “The alligator's loose! The alligator's loose!” 

“Wait, is there a- Why is there an alligator?” Logan passes out. 

“Get him! Get him!” Kendall tells the others. 

“Leave him. He’ll be the bait. If we feed it, we can lock it back up.” 

They turn to look at her as she leans against the stair railing. 

“Sulane!” Kendall yells at her. 

“What?” She rolls her eyes. “Hurry up and grab him before you all become alligator food.” 

-

“How did an alligator get in here?” The leader whines as he holds a piece of meat on a makeshift “fishing pole”, standing on a ladder with Carlos next to him. 

“I opened the back door to let the smoke out, and it crawled in from Gustavo's moat.” 

Jasner’s head snaps in Carlos’ direction. 

“His moat?” James and Logan repeat from their section. 

“Oh, yeah.” Sulane’s voice echoes from the top of the stairs. “I could have told you guys that a while ago. They usually don’t leave the moat though.” She chuckles. “Maybe they like boy bands.” 

James and Logan frown at her. 

“What? It’s a joke.” 

“Nice alligator. Follow the meat.” 

The alligator yanks the meat and broom out of his hands. 

They slam the door shut behind it and cheer. 

Sulane walks down and watches them celebrate. “You guys’ better hope that alligator can’t open a door.” 

Jasner grimaces at the thought. 

“Now just to find Gustavo's freaky bald cat so Gustavo doesn't kill us,” Kendall reminds them. 

The pretty boy turns to Logan. “Call the FBI.” 

“For a missing cat? The FBI only works with serious crimes.” 

“Oh, that explains a lot.” James has a flashback of when he called. “FBI, help! My hair is limp and lifeless.” The call ends. “Hello? Hello?” 

“I know one of you used all my cuda massive hold.” 

“Focus,” Kendall regains everyone’s attention. “Now, there's only three possible places the cat could be hiding. One, he's roaming the neighborhood. Two, he's hiding up a tree.” 

They hear the alligator burp. “And that would be three.” 

“So, it might like a chicken in disguise.” 

“Stop joking about the cat being a chicken,” Carlos says, sounding all serious until he starts chuckling. 

“You can’t tell me it doesn’t look like one. If we find it, put it in a bowl and tell me it doesn’t.” 

-

The group stares at the orange cat sitting on the table. 

“You can't shave a cat,” the brainiac tells them. 

“Don’t you dare touch this cat.” Sulane grabs the cat, petting it in her arms. 

“Oh? Would you rather tell Gustavo we lost his and you know, have him replace us and destroy my dreams?” James screeches. 

“Where did you get the cat?” 

“I've got a guy,” Carlos answers Logan. 

Sulane and Jasner take a step back, glancing at the corn dog lover with concern. 

“Quiet. Hold him down steady.” 

James passes the clippers to Kendall. 

Carlos takes a step forward. 

“Don’t you dare,” Sulane tells him. “I will fight you and you will not win, corn dog.” 

“Licorice, please. Come on. You don’t want to destroy our dreams, do you?” 

She can see the look James is giving her from the corner of her eye. 

“Oh, I can't look,” the brainiac covers his eyes when Carlos takes the cat from her. 

“Would you chill? How hard can it be to shave a cat?” 

The leader turns the clippers on. 

-

They sit on the couch, whining when they see more of the house being ruined and torn into a million pieces. 

“Where did it learn to spray paint?” Carlos mumbles, watching the cat spray paint an exclamation point onto its “cats rule”.  

“We're doomed,” Kendall whines. 

“No kidding.” She says, holding an ice pack for him. 

“What’s this for?” 

“Your lip.” 

-

Meanwhile in North Carolina, Gustavo realizes he’s missing a certain group. “What's the problem?” 

“I'll tell you what the problem is. They do everything I say when I say it, and I can't stand it,” the producer pouts. 

Kelly smiles. “You know what I think. I think you miss your boys or your monkey dogs or your boy monkeys.” 

“Miss them? Me miss them? Ha! Ha-ha!” 

“You thrive on the chaos. They argue with you. They get in your face. They raise your blood pressure. And you like it. You need it. And that’s why you haven’t fired Sulane because she does the same thing but, better since she actually keeps you on track.” 

“Wrong! Okay, not wrong. But I can't abandon the windmills. I'm their hero. And it's not like there's record producers waiting outside the door ready to sign them.” 

Kelly gets up and opens the door, proving her boss wrong. 

He sighs, “okay, they're all yours.” 

-

“Oh, we are horrible mansion-sitters,” Kendall comments, taking a look around the place. 

Jasner pats his shoulder. “No.” 

Sulane snorts as she takes a bite out of her secret mansion stash of licorice. “Yes, you are.” 

James rolls his eyes at her comment. “You’re not helping.” 

“I’m not trying to,” she tells him. 

The blond’s phone rings, and he pulls it out of his pocket, “oh. Oh, good news. Gustavo and Kelly are coming back early.” 

“Oh! Okay, don't worry. I can fix this,” Logan runs to them with a laptop. 

“Yes! I knew the smart one would come through. What do you got?” James asks. 

“There's a 4:00 A.M. flight to Bolivia. We get there, change our names, raise alpacas.” 

The teen girl takes a deep breath before she chokes on her snack. “That is actually one of the best plans I have heard from anyone today.” 

“Yeah, I have a better idea.” 

“You're gonna call a cleaning service,” Carlos throws out there. 

“A statue repairman,” James adds. 

“And one of those places that gets the cats out of the alligators,” Logan says, with hope in his voice. 

“Ooh. All of the above.” 

“I’m going back upstairs. You all have fun.” 

“Oh no, no,” Kendall wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her off the stairs. 

“Noooo!” 

-

“Hey, mom, here's the sitch,” Kendall starts to say. 

“Zip it. I'm gonna need three liters of club soda, a sewing Kit, a bucket of vinegar, bleach, and get on the phone and find a place that delivers super-turbo bonding glue and semigloss white paint.” 

“Got it.” 

The gang nods. 

Carlos puts his helmet on. “Wait, what about Gustavo's cat?” 

Mama Knight pulls a box of cat food out of her cleaning supplies and shakes it. The boys cheer. 

“That's a cat?” Katie points to Monty. 

“No, it’s a chicken in disguise.” 

“That I believe. There’s no way this is a cat.” 

“Right.” 

“What are you all staring at? We're gonna be here all night. Go! Go, go, go!” Mama Knight sends them on their way. 

“That's right. Move it,” Katie adds. 

“You too! Go!” 

-

“Guys, it’s almost time!” Sulane shouts. 

“Okay!” 

“All right. Looking good, guys. And that glue will be dry in ten, nine-” 

“Bigfoot's on the campground. Repeat, bigfoots on the campground,” Logan repeats. 

“Mom,” Kendall says, extending the word with worry in his voice. 

“Five seconds and the bond will hold.” 

“He's coming up the steps!” Logan screams, freaking out. 

“Three, two, one, let's roll,” Katie drags her mom out of the mansion. 

“Mom,” Kendall screams, causing her to turn around. “Thanks.” 

She smiles and blows a kiss in his direction, until Katie grabs onto her again. “Come on.” 

“Oh, look who's here,” the leader says, with a fake yawn. 

“It's Gustavo and Kelly,” the pretty boy adds. 

“We slept here 'cause we didn't want to touch anything,” Logan clarifies. 

“Yeah. We're not just pretending,” Carlos says, basically giving them away. 

The boys pinch him. “Ow!” 

“Silence! Monty?” 

The cat comes prancing into the room. 

“The chicken has returned.” 

“I told you it’s not a chicken. Why are you down here with the dogs?” 

“I woke up too early and was bored.” 

“We'd love to stay and chat, but we got to get out of here,” Kendall starts walking past them, along with the others trailing behind him. “Thank you so much.” 

“Stop. There's something I need to say.” 

“Well, you can say something tomorrow, so-” The leader’s eyes don’t focus on the producer, and he turns away. 

The others add, “Yeah!” 

“See you at the studio!” 

“Guys? This is important,” Kelly tells them, getting them to stop. 

“We've been working together for a month now. And I just wanted to say, although we've had our ups and downs, the truth is, I luh- I luh- I like you.” 

The statue shatters and breaks again. 

“And we like you too,” Kendall says, calmly before shouting, “Run!” 

Gustavo groans, staring at the statue. 

Carlos walks back towards Kelly, placing the cat they almost shaved earlier into her arms. “Here. Have a cat.” 

“Thanks for the break. See you,” James runs back into tell them. 

“Sulane!” 

“Thank you so much, Gustavo! You’re the best!” She screams and runs away, never having felt this way before. 

“Aspirin. Aspirin. I need aspirin.” The producer goes into the one bathroom he shouldn’t have and locks the door. 

Kendall holds onto the door and informs the older assistant of the situation. 

Sulane stands behind him. 

“Oh, and by the way, you might not want to go in the bathroom.” 

“Alligator! Alligator!”

They glance at one another with wide eyes. 

“Run?” He asks. 

“Run.” 

They push each other closer to Mama Knight’s car, not caring about anything else other than getting away from the mansion. 

“Alligator!” Gustavo tries to get out without making things worse. 

-

Once Gustavo successfully escapes from the bathroom and gets the animal back into his moat, he finds the boys and yells at them for a solid… hour and a half. 

“Can I suggest we get smoothies and then we make a song?” Jasner chimes in, needing to fill the silence. 

“That’s not a bad idea after I ALMOST DIED!” 

Sulane nudges her friend in the ribs. 

“Ow!” Jasner whines, holding his side. “What was that for?” 

“Quite reminding him.” 

“I barely told him.” 

She narrows her eyes at him and looks away. “Why don’t you go out while I finish the song?” 

“Uh- no.” 

“Why not?” She puts her hands on her hips, “you know I’d do a good job.” 

“Maybe that’s a good idea,” Kelly adds. “I think it’d be a good idea to let them do their own thing while we stay away from the mansion for a bit longer?” 

“Fine.” 

The two exit the studio and go off onto their own thing. “Okay, guys you know what to do.” 

“Time to get in that booth.” 

She raises a brow at her friend. 

“What?” Jasner shrugs. “It was right there; how could I not take the opportunity to make a rhyme.” 

“Easily.” 

“Whatever just go on and do your pushing of buttons and sliding slash turning the nobs.” 

“Why don’t you shut up?” 

The raspberry lover rolls his eyes and decides to sit down. 

She puts her headphones on and gives them a thumbs up.

-

When the chips are down

Back against the wall 

Got no more to give

'Cause we gave it all

Seems like going the distance is unrealistic

But we are too far from the start

So we take what comes, And we keep on going

Leaning on each others shoulders

Then we turn around

And see we've come so far somehow

We're halfway there 

We're looking good now

And nothing's gonna get in the way

We're halfway there

And looking back now

I never thought that I'd ever say 

We're halfway there 

We're halfway there 

We're halfway there 

We're halfway there

-

She bobs her head and turns a nob here and there. “Atta boys,” she greets the boys after clicking the mic button. “You guys did great.” 

They cheer, all smiling widely at her. 

“We’re done for right now. I want Gustavo to hear it before I make my suggestions.” 

“Alright,” Carlos says. 

“Let’s celebrate,” Logan finishes for him. 

“Smoothies?” Kendall suggests. 

“Are you in my mind? I was thinking that,” Jasner says with a smile. 

“You really are weird, aren’t you?” 

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He grabs Sulane’s bag and wraps an arm around her shoulder. 

“Get off me you weirdo,” she chuckles. 

He smiles and pulls her into his grasp again; she doesn’t pull away and lets it happen. “Smoothies!” 

“You’re so weird.” 

Logan’s about to take a step forward when he realizes no one from the band is moving. 

“You okay?” Carlos asks James. 

“No.” 

“Is it because-” 

“Yes! Why else would I be upset? I mean, I’m watching the girl I’ve had- she’s hanging out with him. She invited him to help watch Gustavo’s mansion… if she likes me the way you guys say she does, why is she hanging out with him?” 

“Because he’s her friend,” Kendall answers him. 

“Friends don’t look at each other like that.” 

“You do,” Carlos points out, not really thinking about it or realizing that the pretty boy never officially confessed to his feelings for her. 

Logan nods with his lips curving to one side of his mouth. “True, but he also wants to be more than that with her.” 

The three boys stared at James with concerned expressions before leading him out the door to follow them. 

“What are we gonna do?” Carlos asks before they exit the building. 

“I don’t know,” the other two confess.  

The three let him walk out first when Sulane opens the door. 

“I think that’s the first time he’s been honest with himself about his feelings for her since we got here,” Logan whispers to the other two. 

“I know. What should we do?” Kendall asks. 

“I don’t think we’re the ones who are supposed to do anything. I think it’s up to them,” the brainiac adds.

Previously: Chapter V // Continue: Chapter VII

[spitfire-of-the-sea]

Sacrifice

Spade Pirates Scenario Ace, Masked Deuce, Aggie, Saber, Kotatsu and Saki

SFW! 2000k words; entry for @onepiece-bingo to complete my BINGO!

Pure brainrot, hopefully funny to more than just me. ;)

Sacrifice

„Ace!“

He felt hands close around his arms, pulling him back, and threw a glance over his shoulder, meeting Deuce’s eyes. His friend was tugging on him, willing him to take a step back, a step toward safety. Deuce’s expression was pensive, his eyes dark with worry.

“Ace, don’t do it…! It’s not worth it!” Deuce urged him.

Ace clenched his jaw and averted his eyes, looking forward.

“He is our only hope,” Saber said quietly. “None of us stands a chance, and you know it.” He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, his expression somber and sad. “I don’t like it but we have no other option.”

Aggie shook his head, unable to squeeze past Saber and Deuce to get to his captain. “Deuce is right. It’s not worth it, the risk is too high – and what for?! Ace, come back. We will find another way.”

“Not worth it?” Ace asked quietly, not looking at them. “Not worth it, you say?!” He straightened and shook Deuce off of him, feeling his heart thundering against his ribs. “I am your captain! I gave you all my word…! I am willing to make this sacrifice for you all. I am ready.”

“Ace, I’m serious… it doesn’t have to be like this. Give me time to think, I’ll come up with a plan. You know I always do,” Deuce said and shook his head. “Give me an hour.”

“We don’t have an hour and you know it…,” Saber whispered, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes. “Ace can do it. I believe in him! If anybody can come out of this unharmed, then it is him!”

Aggie still looked anxious. “I… I believe in you too, captain…!”

Deuce nodded, sensing that there was no point in arguing any longer. Ace had made up his mind and he knew there was no way to convince him otherwise now. “At least take Kotatsu with you. He might be of help, you never know.���

Ace looked at the giant lynx who sat a few steps away and watched them with curiosity, not grasping the gravity of the situation. His big amber eyes were fixed on his captain and his ears twitched when he heard his name. “You might be right. He’s uniquely suited for this. Kotatsu… will you help me?”

At that the cat got up and stretched himself, yawning, and then slowly made his way over.

“Alright,” Ace said and braced himself. “Here goes.”

His hand gripped the door handle and he gently pushed it down, slipping into the room. He tried to be quiet, but his boots made it difficult and he winced at the thudding sound his boots made with each step. The rising sun was illuminating the room dimly, the light only scratching at the corners of the bed yet. Soon, it would crawl up higher…

The figure in the bed in front of him shifted and he froze, his breath hitching in his throat, his heart in his throat. Kotatsu stopped one step behind him and gazed up at him questioningly. Ace waited a long moment and when the movement ceased, he moved closer to the bed.

Courage, Ace, he told himself. Courage for your friends.

“Hey… Saki?” He tried to use his indoor voice, something that didn’t come naturally to him and countless mornings had taught him it was the far better approach if he didn’t want to get pummeled with a pillow to the face.

A groan, then the woman in the bed shifted again, pulling the blanket over her head and successfully vanishing from his sight. He waited for a moment, then crouched down next to the bed to come level with her head.

“Saki-chan?” he asked and tentatively grabbed the edge of the blanket. Nothing happened, and he dared to pull it down, revealing a messy nest of sun-bleached hair atop a head that was buried into the pillow.

“G’ ‘way…,” she mumbled and blindly grabbed for the blanket again. He kept it out of her reach and got to his feet again. Easier to dodge that way, his movements weren’t as restricted.

“Listen, Saki,” he began. “I know it’s a bit early…”

A grunt and a blindly aimed fist. He barely managed to block it with his open palm, wincing. Why did she need to put so much force behind those punches this early in the morning?

“… a bit early but we were wondering…” he continued and gently placed her hand back down onto the mattress. “You see, we’re all really hungry… practically famished…”

“’s not m’ problem…,” she muttered and lifted the pillow to slip her head below in an attempt to block him out.

He waited for a moment and then sat down on the edge of the bed gingerly. The mattress dipped under his weight, sending her sliding toward him. Her elbow almost hit him in the ribs when she turned and he only just caught it in time. This time, he kept holding on as a preventive measure.

“You know, we have all the ingredients and your pancakes are really good and we haven’t eaten anything warm in days and we thought perhaps in celebration of a beautiful morning…,” he stopped to block her knee from connecting with his thigh. It took some strength, and he grunted with the effort.

“Make them yourselves,” she snapped but she cracked an eye open to glare at him and he used the chance to send her his biggest, brightest smile. “Ugh!” she made and closed the eye again, nuzzling back into the pillow.

“That’s just the thing, you see…,” he said quietly. “You make the best ones and you told me I’m not allowed to cook anymore after I set the kitchen on fire the other week, so there was really no other choice.”

“Burn it down, I don’t care.” She tugged on her arm and leg and he let go reluctantly, watching them vanish below her blanket again. He squinted, keeping his eyes on the spot where he could still make out their outlines.

“You don’t care if I burn down the kitchen?” he inquired, not because he didn’t believe her but because he thought if he kept her talking she’d eventually be awake enough to give up on sleeping.

“’s too early to care,” she answered and opened an eye again to look at the window. Her expression darkened immediately and he scooted a bit away from her. Within a moment a glare was directed at him. A glare that meant he was likely to have to catch another punch soon. “The sun is only just rising.”

“We couldn’t sleep anymore,” he explained. “Aggie’s stomach growled, and then mine did, and then Saber sang about delicious breakfast, and then we couldn’t sleep anymore...”

“How is that my problem?!” she snapped, dug one hand into her pillow, and pushed it between their bodies to create some distance between them, turning her back to him and closing her eyes again.

“Because you say you love us even if we’re idiots,” he answered happily and scooted closer again now that he felt she wouldn’t try to punch him. At least not right away.

“’s too early for that, too.”

He looked at her for a moment, then turned to Kotatsu and motioned for him to come help. The lynx blinked at him and Ace could have sworn he shrugged. Frowning, Ace returned his attention to Saki and placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her. “Please?”

“Fruit,” she said.

“Huh?”

“There are fruits in the larder. Eat those. Healthy breakfast and all that.” She shrugged his hand off.

“We had fruits yesterday. And the day before. We need something warm, something to start the day with energy!” He flopped down next to her, jostling her around and she heaved a heavy sigh.

“You don’t need any extra energy. You’ve got too much already,” she informed him and heaved yet another sigh when he threw an arm around her, squeezing her close to his chest.

“Pretty please, Saki?” When she didn’t react, he squeezed her closer and she huffed, struggling against him. “Pleeeease? Pretty please with a cherry on top?” She ceased her attempts at gaining freedom and slumped against him. He could feel her resistance melting. Or perhaps she’d fallen asleep again. “Hey, Saki? How about a deal?” No reaction. “Saki?”

He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. She lay still but he could see that she’d scrunched up her nose in annoyance so he was pretty sure she was still awake and just tried to ignore him into leaving. Hah! When had that ever worked? Looking over his shoulder, he motioned for Kotatsu to climb onto the bed and the lynx slunk closer, hopping onto the bed and staring down at Saki’s form for a moment.

Helpfully, Ace grabbed the blanket and pulled it up slightly, exposing her feet. He felt almost bad when she curled up her toes and drew her knees up to try and get her feet back under the warm cover. Kotatsu looked up at him and Ace nodded. Then the lynx leaned down and licked his big, raspy tongue up over her ankles.

Saki yelped and jerked up, her head connecting with Ace’s chin in a resounding crash before she dropped back onto the bed, curling up into a fetal position while clutching her head. Ace, meanwhile, saw stars and almost dropped off the bed. Kotatsu took a step back, tongue still out, and the door banged open with a thud, Saber, Aggie, and Deuce appearing in the doorway.

“Ace!”

“Are you okay?!”

“Don’t hurt him! Please!”

Blinking through tears, Saki rubbed her head and glared daggers at them. Then her eyes fell on Ace, who was still staring into space and tenderly flexing his jaw. Her eyes darkened and she gave him a violent shove, sending him tumbling off the bed. He landed with a muffled grunt, barely catching himself on his hands and knees.

They stayed like this for a very long moment, the men eyeing their captain fearfully and Saki glaring at them with enough ire to make them shrink back a step. Kotatsu slowly lowered his head and gave her toes another lick, distracting her momentarily.

“Saki… please?” Ace could be heard as he slowly lifted himself up onto his feet again. “Pretty please?”

“You,” she snarled, “are a menace.” And then she threw back the blanket and got out of bed, staggering when she almost tripped over Ace’s feet. He caught her and beamed down at her.

“Stop it!”

He blinked at her in confusion still smiling. “Stop what?”

“This,” she said and gestured at his face. “All this.”

Unsure what she meant, he looked at her expectantly but she only heaved yet another deep sigh and wrenched her arm from his grip. “Go take a shower.” With that she stalked toward the door and the three men there quickly made way for her.

“Uhm… S… Saki?” Aggie ventured and flinched when she turned her glare at him. “Which one of us?”

“All of you!” she snapped.

“At the same time?” Saber asked with a grin and wiggle of his eyebrows once she had passed by him and he was safely tugged away behind Aggie.

“I don’t give a single….!” she started to say.

“Saki!” Ace interrupted her, sounding slightly scandalized.

She stopped and turned and Deuce as the person standing between them quickly shrank away, pressing himself flat against the wall of the corridor. Ace stood with his hands on his hip and they stared at each other for a moment.

“You,” she said to him, “go first. Soap and shampoo and all. Take Kotatsu along. Then you set the table.”

She turned to Aggie and Saber. “Then Saber. Then Aggie. You better be smelling like fu…-,”

“Saki!” Ace interrupted again and she rolled her eyes.

“…like fabulous roses when you are done. Whoever isn’t won’t get anything, won’t even be allowed to lick the plates clean.”

“Uhm… Saki...,” Deuce said quietly.

“What?! I assume at least you took a shower yesterday?!” She kept walking without turning. “You can help me prepare the batter.”

“I mean, yes, sure, I just… uhm…,” he followed her quickly, fidgeting. “It’s just, you’re still basically in your underwear…?” He looked her up and down briefly, and stopped when she stopped. She was in panties and a tank top that fit her rather snuggly. Frowning, she looked down at herself, then shrugged and kept moving.

“Deal with it,” she muttered darkly.

“Oh, I am…,” Saber chuckled as he looked after her.

Saki ignored him and shook her head, rubbing a hand over her face as she pushed the door to the kitchen open. “When the fuck did I sign up to be a single Mom to five kids?!”

“Saki!” Ace called after her, very clearly unhappy with her choice of words but too late to stop her this time.

[jess-unkommentiert]

[3] It is his job to be 'the nice guy'

-> Heartbeats 💕 Masterlist

June 2022 – New Brunswick Right after the party – Y/N's POV Half an hour after Sebastian and Anthony left, y/n decided to head into her room, because she was tired as well. She looked for Christina to say goodnight to her and found her next to a few women – discussing about their next projects. She seemed kind of drunk while trying to convince y/n to stay a little longer. She refused, hugged Christina and went to the stairs to go to her room on the 2nd floor.

She opened the zipper of her dress and stored it carefully in the bag she got from the store she bought it. Then she changed into her pajamas: a black shorts and a red shirt with a comic cat on it. With a big yawn she crawled under her blanket, laying on her back – facing the ceiling. "What an interesting evening.", she thought. "I never thought Sebastian would be such a nice human being. He is so famous that I expected him to be more arrogant and aware of his fame. But talking to him was like talking to a normal person. I really enjoyed his company."

That night y/n had a hard time to fall asleep although she was very tired. Every time she fell asleep she saw Sebastian's face in front of her – laughing, smiling or winking at her. And every time she woke up again and realized that she couldn't clear her mind from that man and his steel-blue eyes. She knew that there are a lot of girls and women who have a crush on him, but she was never one of them. She admired his acting skills and heard a lot of stories from Christina about their time at college, but never though about him in a different way.

Somehow that changed this night, as she couldn't stop thinking about every word he said, every glaze they shared and every laughter that happened. "Stop being so childish. You are like a teenager having a crush on a celebrity for the first time.", she shook her head in disbelief what happened to her. She was sure this were the side-effects of the alcohol she had. She barley drank so that could be a possible reason for her strange thoughts.

As she still couldn't sleep she touched the golden ring on her left hand that was an heirloom from her Grandmother Charlotte. It was her engagement ring and she loved wearing it as memento of her. She was never a religious person but every time she felt lost or needed guidance, she touched that ring while asking silent for her grandma's advice. Obviously she never got a real response but most of the time she suddenly knew what to do or not to do. While touching her ring she tried some breathing exercises she learned at a meditation class and both helped her to finally fall asleep – without dreaming about the guy with the blue eyes.

The next morning she woke up with a little headache caused by the alcohol she had last night. She stretched her whole body, rolled around to her bedside table and saw a message from Christina on her phone: "Good morning sweetheart. Breakfast is ready. Come downstairs when you're awake" The message was sent half an hour ago, so y/n changed her clothes into black sports tights, a sports bra and an oversized grey shirt and jumped downstairs to meet Christina in the kitchen.

The smell of pancakes and coffee reached her nose as she entered the kitchen. Christina's cook (yes, that woman has a cook that helps her to maintain that stunning body) smiled at y/n with a "Good morning miss" while preparing a plate with pancakes for her. Christina sat on a table reading the newspaper when y/n sat down next to her.

"Good Morning. How can you be awake this early right after your birthday party? When did you even go to bed?" y/n greeted her friend. Christina sipped on her coffee and answered: "You get used to not getting enough hours of sleep in my industry. I think I fell asleep around 4am and now it's (she turned her wrist to look on her watch) 10:30am. I had more than 5 hours of sleep. That's an average night!" y/n sighed, because she would have been in a constant bad mood with only 5 hours of sleep. She needed at least 7 hours to be functional.

"I've seen you enjoyed your evening with Sebastian and his friend Anthony", Christina said teasing. "Okay here we go. What am I going to answer to her? How did she even realize what I was doing the whole evening? She was all busy talking to her guests." y/n though before she answered Christina: "Yeah, we met at the buffet and kept on talking. He is a really nice guy."

Christina raised one of her eyebrows, took another sip of her coffee before she answered carefully: "First of all: I said you were with Sebastian AND Anthony, but in your answer you only talked about Sebastian, I guess. You know that I know him for over 20 years and it is his job to be "the nice guy". He was always kind of a womanizer and he flirted a lot – having one-night-stands as well as short-term relationships. I mean he is turning 40 this year without being married or having kids. Think about it: There must be a reason for that." Before she could even continue on her rant about Sebastian, y/n laughed – making Christina raising her eyebrow even higher.

"I just said that he is a nice guy. I did not plan to marry him, Christina. No worries. Also you are turning 39 this year and you're not married and having kids as well. What is your reason for that?" y/n said also teasing.

She knew that Christina never wanted to have kids and had no plans to marry someone. She loved to be an independent woman and she had no need to change that. As y/n knew that (Christina was not secretly about that topic. She told everybody she knows that she's not gonna have kids or a husband so that they don't have false expectations) she thought she could risk that last joke. "Touché", Christina said smiling.

"Also I do not even have his number and he hasn't mine. So nothing to worry about, Christina. It was just a nice evening." y/n continued while eating her warm and fluffy pancakes. Christina knew that she was lying. She saw her eyes sparkle when she mentioned Sebastian's name. "Poor girl. I hope she will not be one of his trophies", she thought.

A few of her former college classmates told her that he had changed over the years, but Christina wasn't sure about that. She promised herself that if he ever came to her and asked for y/n's number she would refuse his request. Y/n's ex-boyfriend broke her heart about a year ago and she never really got over that. Christina did not want her heart to be broken again by this womanizer.

After they finished breakfast y/n packed her stuff and decided to drive back to Brooklyn. Thankfully she had a few weeks off before starting with a new project. She was in the hair and make-up team for a movie that was filmed in New York. She was very grateful for that, because she was able to sleep in her own apartment every night – she was not a big fan of hotel rooms for a longer period.

A few minutes later she packed all her stuff in her car and wanted to say goodbye to Christina as she realized, that they didn't even tried the cake y/n bought from Carlo's bakery. "Christina, there is a little surprise for you in the fridge. I totally forgot about that this morning. Give it a try and let me know if you like it!" y/n said and smiled at Christina while hugging her goodbye. Christina looked very surprised, nodded and waved her goodbye as y/n went to her car.

On her drive back to Brooklyn y/n tried very hard to not see those steel-blue eyes in front of her all the time, but she still seemed a little distracted. "Let's go back home, maybe take a power-nap and then focus on the upcoming movie. That was just one evening and I will probably not see him again. Oh and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have sushi tonight. No Italian food!"

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Forgotten Ties - Chapter 9 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Nim was sitting at the big table in the living room, ostensibly because it was easier to do his maths homework with a proper surface to lean on but the real reason was because Marigold had sat Skye down with the little kids to try to teach him how to read and Nim wanted to see what happened.

Would it be productive?

Almost certainly not.

But funny?

Yes, definitely that.

"Okay, so these cards have a letter on them, then a picture of a thing starting with that letter and the word written below."

Marigold slid a card in front of Skye.

"This one is the letter A and it has a picture of an apple. Can you think of another word that starts with an A? It usually makes an 'ah' sound."

"A... a... ahhhhh?" Skye said.

"Well... yes, I suppose 'ahh' is sort of a word and it does start with an A."

Marigold put the next card in front of him.

"B is for banana. It usually makes a 'bh' sound. What's another word that starts with a B?"

"Bear," Skye shouted.

"Good. That's right."

Marigold placed the next card in front of him.

"C is for cat. C usually makes a ck sound. What else starts with a C?"

"Cat is already the best word that starts with a C."

"Okay but what's another?"

Skye yawned.

"Kill?"

"That starts with a K. It's easy to get confused, though because they often make the same sound."

"That's dumb. Letters are dumb."

"Okay, let's move onto the next one."

Marigold placed another card in front of Skye.

"D is for dog. D usually makes a dh sound. What else starts with a d?"

"Dumb."

Nim laughed.

"He's not wrong."

Marigold sighed.

"He really isn't. Okay, next card. E is for elephant. E usually makes an eh sound. What else starts with an E? This one might be a bit tricky, so let me know if you need a hint."

"No, I already know this one actually," Skye said. "E is for Skye."

"Skye starts with a S," Marigold told him.

"No," Skye said. "I spell it with an E."

"Well, yes but the E goes on the end."

Skye groaned and flopped face down on the table, stretching his arms out in front of himself.

"Why does it matter?"

Marigold gave him a pat on the back.

"It would be a little hard to read things if the letters were just in a random order, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know," Skye murmured against the table.

"It's okay," Marigold said. "Learning takes time. It seems hard at first but it will get easier."

"I want a chicken nugget," Skye mumbled.

Jay wandered into the room and turned the TV on.

"Turn that off," Marigold told him. "We're doing homework."

"Wait," Jay said, gesturing to the screen.

The screen was centred on a man who Nim vaguely recognised as the press secretary.

Nim could never remember his name but he didn't like him or the government he often acted as the mouthpiece for.

"Our main concern, of course, is safety," the man was saying.

"What we need to do is sort out which hybrids are harmless and which might be higher risk, either due to inherent traits or past behaviour and then we need to find ways to balance any safety risks that exist."

The interviewer nodded.

"Of course. I think that's been a major concern for the public with recent incidents."

"Hybrid violent crime rates are lower than human violent crime rates and they haven't been rising," Marigold murmured. "They're just get more attention."

"Then, of course, there are longer term concerns," the press secretary continued.

"What we're really finding as hybrids become more common is that the human identity and place in this world is being challenged. We want to make sure that the strengths hybrids contribute are an asset but never something humans are in competition with. We're looking into work placement and management programs so that everyone can have their place and so that having hybrids as part of our community is something that benefits that community."

"Some might question whether this is fair," the interviewer said but it sounded rehearsed and there was no real challenge to her tone.

"Look, at the end of the day, most hybrids have made a deal with the Fae to cheat death. I can't blame them for that but when it presents a problem for society, there have to be controls put in place."

"What would you say to hybrids who were born the way that they are? Who never made that choice?"

"It's a tough situation, for sure. I don't think that's a position any child should be put in, frankly. We'll be looking at contraceptive options so that in the future, there will be no hybrids who didn't get a choice."

"Well, there go my balls," Nim said.

"Fuck."

Marigold let out a long sigh as the interviewer wrapped the interview up.

"I'm going to get the kids to put together bags of their stuff that can be quickly shoved into their school bags if we need to leave in a hurry. Clothes, precious items, things like that. I suggest you two do the same for yourselves. I don't know where we'll go or when will be the right time to leave but..."

She shrugged.

"What else can we do?"

"I kind of want to leave right now," Nim said. "I've heard that if you stay in wolf form long enough, you stop being able to shift. It's tempting, sometimes. Just live deep in the woods as a wolf for the rest of my life."

"That's a bad idea because wolves can't open cans," Skye said.

"I wouldn't need to. I could hunt."

"No, I mean, for me," Skye said. "I still can't use the can opener. I need you to keep having hands."

Nim let out a sigh interrupted by a short burst of breathy laughter.

"You're ridiculous."

"I know," Skye said. "I just think we should all stick together, Nim. I don't want you to leave me and I don't want to leave Marigold and Marigold won't leave the kids."

"I know," Nim said. "I didn't mean it. I wouldn't really leave you."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did leave," Marigold said. "If both of you did. Skye's right. I won't leave the kids. Honestly, even if I did, what would be the point? I'm not built for survival."

"I don't know if I could survive away from other people," Skye said. "I am half cat but I don't think I got the parts where you hunt animals and eat their raw meat. Either people give me food or I steal it. I don't know how to do anything else."

"The whole hunting and eating animals is a bit of a hypothetical for me, too," Nim admitted. "I've never killed anything before. Never eaten raw meat."

"Well, for now we'll just prepare as best we can," Marigold said.

"We'll get everyone packed and I'll start doing survival research. How to build makeshift shelters, forage for food, things like that."

"I'll start going for trips into the woods," Nim said. "Scout around a bit and try to find somewhere we could hide out."

"And I will donate all of my sausage roll money to the cause so that you can buy important supplies, like..."

Skye mused for a moment.

"Bear spray, so that we can attract bears to defend us from danger."

Marigold laughed.

"Thanks, Skye."