#but fr happy it still makes waves in the fandom

[sloaners]

Gosh, people are so sweet in Akatsuki Babysitter’s Club comments, TO THIS DAY! 😭😭 Thank you 💕 I get an email alert every so often and my day is made

[yellowocaballero]

HEY!! Your trigun swap au is so very good!! I've always loved roleswap aus as a concept, and yours is the perfect example of why. it's all about the balancing act of twisting the (swapped) character's background/mentalities for maximum domino effect while not actually *destroying* the character ya know? you still gotta recognize them, it's half of the fun. just some little nudges here... and there... with the delightful result of a changed plot/world that you can discover anew

Also I surprisingly vibe with Dr Knives. a lot. what can I say I guess it's the fucked up superiority-inferiority/guilt complex with a dash of imposter syndrome. also the transgenderism. he's just like me fr fr (minus the speciesism and bloodlust) 1/3

SPEAKING OF! I'm literally a week late for that but chapter 4 may be my favorite so far. it's got it all: Ww's bloodlust coming through and being given a GUN, M&M being #JustNormalGunsmokeKidsThings about it, Knives being incredibly tired and enthusiastically murderous in turns, TRANS PEOPLE!! Funky morally dubious trans men ! Intersex nonbinary Knives (in humans terms) !! small internal rants about ecosystems!

I particularly like that one bc I too found myself twitching whenever I see (in fics or fandom at large) Gunsmoke being shown as a ~hostile, barren~ planet when, like.... *waves agitedly at the Tomases* *waves frantically at the WORMS, in all their INCREDIBLY DIVERSIFIED sizes and shapes* tell me there isn't an entire ecosystem supporting and including these bad boys. And god do I wanna know about it. Terraforming this terraforming that. Enough. I want bio-worldbuilding fics that are just as weird and unhinged as the rest of trigun (2/3)

To go back to Nicholas : I loved his discussion with Knives about fate and predestination and stuff (esp since -I may be reading too much into it, but it’s interesting that Knives says he doesn’t believe in predestination anymore, and just a bit later goes about how his personality is Like That bc he’s Biologically Programmed for it), and his last words in it are especially ominous. WHAT were you gonna say about Vash. How does it concern Nicholas. This is gonna bite them in the ass later isn’t it.

Also ur last asks/answers REALLY doesn’t reassure me about woowoo’s fate. Is he gonna die. Is he gonna end up going thru the same things than his canon counterpart (concentrate of medical-and-general unethicality). Idk what those flags are for but boy They Are There.

Aallll that to say I absolutely love that fic and can't wait to see what you do next with it, thank you so much !! (3/3)

This is so nice thank you so much :D :D :D To comment in order:

Roleswaps are no fun if you can't recognize the character. You're absolutely right - the funnest part is to make the smallest changes possible, and see how they cause the biggest differences. That's true of every AU, honestly - you guys know those 600k shonen manga aus where something major is different but every story beat is identical to canon? Or they're identical to every other au? They're addictive but without substance. Also sounds boring to write.

It's so funny that you (and others) vibe with Dr. Knives! From my end, he has my own very wry deadpan and self-esteem problems. Characters who have both a ridiculously inflated ego for comedy purposes and some real self-esteem problems for drama purposes work great.

I was surprised that so many people enjoyed the trans thing so much! I didn't expect it to make people so happy. Of course it's a nice surprise. I don't remember why I made the BDN decision (funny, probably) or the 'Knives invented gender reassignment surgery' thing (funny definitely), but a very active decision and something that made Knives above every other character fun to write is that he is not a human being and does not think of himself as such. The way his body experiences emotion is different, his body itself is different in a way that probably includes genitalia, and there's no reason for him to experience gender the same way. As I'm about to talk about in the upcoming chapter, he casually refers to himself as a thing and with it/its and it doesn't affect his superiority complex whatsoever.

I...would not have said that this is trans by myself, if that makes sense, because I wouldn't have wanted to say "in order to really hammer in how this character is INHUMAN then I'm gonna make him not male or female and prefer neopronouns!". It's just the shape of the character, to me. BUT LIKE IF Y'ALL LIKE IT! NO PROBLEM! I was just worried I might be saying the wrong thing, so I didn't want to say it, if that makes sense. Y'all can say it though.

Trigun worldbuilding is nonsensical and hideously vague and as a writer if you stop and think too hard about silly questions like "where does the wood come from" or "why is Vash eating salmon sandwiches" then you go insane. But...yeah, Gunsmoke's like any other ecosystem, and its worms and thomases seem to be doing great! It's not Gunsmoke's fault it is almost completely uninhabitable to humans. It sucks for us, but...does Knives care about that??? Lmfao???

There is a shitton to say about Knives' relationship with predestination and inevitability, because it's why he made the worst decision of his life. I think of it as...reasonable, in a lot of ways. If all you knew about humanity was what you read in history textbooks, and human history ended with the destruction of Earth and themselves, how would you feel? Everything humans have done, they do again. And if they dissected your sister, in an act of cruelty that they had done to even themselves...of course you'd worry. Of course. If you're young and scared and you can hear the screams of the dead in your ears, of course you feel like it's going to be you or them. And if you're.........Millions Knives.......and reverse!Vash.....then eliminating the threat is just good business sense.

And you aren't reading too much into it - Trigun in so many ways is about choices, and the impact of your choices. Your decisions are you own, and you must take responsibility for them. Decisions have weight in Trigun. I think what ppl miss sometimes about Vash is that he also wants to fuckin' murder people sometimes. He wants to be violent, he wants to hurt. He just chooses not to. Sometimes choosing pacifism is a hard fucking choice, and I think wiping that away does a disservice to the character. So if Knives would say, "Well, it's just who I am, I had no choice, I had no control, I just go nuts and murder it's not on me..." - what does that mean, in Trigun? It's??? Like??? A pussy thing to say???

But, the way I thought about it - what Knives is fighting is his internal sense that he is predestined for cruelty. He knows "who he really is" and any attempt at goodness is futile, because he's secretly bad and will always be bad. And he fucks up sometimes and starts exploding worms. But Knives chooses goodness, and I don't think he's really cottoned on that his choice to do good is more important than his internal desires to do bad and his history of badness. Because he hates himself.

I think what Knives knows now as an adult is that our lives have paved a path for us to tread. Sometimes that path is innocent, and sometimes your life paves a very nasty path. But it's our choice if we walk it or not. Knives knows what his path is, and it gives him extreme shame - but he chose which one he walked, and that's what I judge him on. Still funny how much he loves murder though.

[kuroimarzipan]

FFXIV for the fandom ask!

Favorite Male Character

nearly five years ive been playing this game. nearly five years i have been plagued with thoughts about a man named curious gorge. do you understand what this does to a person. do you

Favorite Female Character

im so glad that ysayle is alive and happy in my canon and kissing my ocs and a valued member of the scions. it sure would have been bad if something different had happened to her that wasnt this!!

Least Favorite Character

i feel like saying the guy from the weapon trials would like. be too easy an answer. too easy to hate. no you know what actually he's not even fun to hate like the other characters i dont like. he just sucks major ass. i dont even remember his name

Favorite Ship

every time these two show up on screen i am taking 203502395 screenshots and making wild gestures at two lines of dialogue that even slightly imply anything about them

Favorite Friendship

Favorite Quote

"I am the waves that bear, I am the winds that guide. I am the evening stars, I am the morning sky. I am born of the sea, and there shall I die."

orrrrrr if we wanna be funny this entire screenshot bc every single option is an accurate and honest answer from roeh

Worst Character Death (if any)

SCOWLING SCOWLING SCOWLING. SE let a woman live challenge (failed)

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment

im such a huge sucker for moments where all the people you helped on your adventures come together and cooperate to help give the hero that final push to save the day and we've had that like. twice now in msq and it still gets me every time

Saddest Moment

visiting seto after everything and he like recognises ardbert sorry that shit got me fr

Favorite Location

dravanian forelands and thavnair are close seconds but la noscea is my home for ever and ever

[noisycitrine]

Re Riz's brutality: nodnodnod There is absolutely nothing better than a character that goes from bleeding-heart, sweetheart, to brutal killer at the snap of a finger.

Re, the three sisters: I assure you I had rage fit, I spent nearly half an hour ranting at my friends, while comparing raw manga page and localization. Somehow, the localization used the word 'adoption' despite being nowhere to be found in the original text, and that caused a huge misunderstanding to happen in the english fandom. A lot of things; like the three sisters' potential make sense, if they are Isabeau's actual, blood daughters. Princesses have lot of karmic potential than orphans, especially if their mother is, well, Isabeau. A lot of things get a lot more heartbreaking too; Corbeau very obviously excluding Isabeau from her many declarations of protections? She knows the actual Isabeau is already lost, having used Fleche's wish to attempt to restore the real Isabeau's sanity, but failing. Lapin's nonchalance? Same reason. Only Minou who does not know the real Isabeau. You know, the actual loving, kind Isabeau, who Corbeau and Lapin praise endlessly and reminisce fondly about their memories with her, in Minou's MSS. Minou, hilariously, getting worried and growing suspicious of Corbeau, thinking her the Maiden prophesized to bring the end to Isabeau is a lot more tragic in hindsight. Miscommunication galore right there. Does not help that Minou's wish links her mind to the witch Isabeau either.

That is why I love love love Tart 4 event. I love watching the sisters actually affirming their love and support for one another.

Re: "in tart’s case because there’s a WAR, and in riz’s case because she’s afraid to lose her. so despite it being at arm’s length… it’s still nice to have someone that close, and let them be that close, even if it’s not as close as you COULD be. it’s the closest they’ve felt."

Okay, had my screaming fit to see that Hesitation piece on tumblr again......Then I zeroed on what I quoted like hungry cat. ''in Tar's case, because there is war...'' I shall freely interpret this as Tart being her sweet, idealistic self and had this entire plan to help Riz open up and I dunno, maybe travel around the world post-war? See Riz's homeland? (Speaking of Riz's homeland, do you ever think of Riz's doppel and cry over how many reference to Italy it has? Birth of Venus, Carnival of Venice, Hawkwood's coat of arm...I love how detailed her doppel is)

"it’s still nice to have someone that close, and let them be that close, even if it’s not as close as you COULD be. it’s the closest they’ve felt."

Can already imagine Riz thinking herself some sort of bad luck charm oaigepaogj puts RWBY Bad Luck Charm on survivor and guilt complexes are hella of a nightmare, especially in medieval time where treatment is impossible to get....It makes sense why Yachiyo, who suffers the same issue, is the one to connect with Riz in Tart 1....That is pretty thoughtful of the staff ngl.

*Waves Tart 4 supremacy flag* LET THEM CONNECT ON EMOTIONAL LEVEL WITHOUT ALL THE TRAUMA PLEASE GOD I NEED THEM TO BE HAPPY

best character archetype fr 🙏🙏🙏 love riz hawkwood

now that you point out karmic potential of princesses, i stand corrected!!! you’re right!!! i wish masu wasn’t so weird about then being sisters :((( it’s the only aspect of tart magica that i actively dislike LOL

god you’re RIGHT though. i love the sisters so much, it gives a lot of depth to their character!!!! they think theyre doing the right thing and protecting each other… BUT ALAS… ONE LIKES THEIR MOTHER MORE…

event 4 genuinely FLOORED me. my buddy and i thought it was gonna be a funny little romp but walked out genuinely invested in minou’s character. dude i remember being told it’s just a slice of life about them putting on a play can you imagine the SHOCK we had about what it REALLY WAS

good event… good event… even if all riz did was eat honey gallette. it’s what she DESERVES!!!!

re: hesitation

YES A MILLION TIMES YES i like to think tart was ABSOLUTELY planning on travelling the world with riz afterwards!!! i like to think throughout the manga she had that brand of religious guilt that it wasn’t so important amodst the bigger things (the war, god’s chosen monarch,etc) but internally… it’s all she ever wanted. GAH i LOVE TART

riz’s doppel is my FAVORITE DOPPEL!!! i have more thoughts on it but i’m about to be late for work lol

AND FOR SURE!!! yachiyo and riz genuinely are such a good duo, also a good ship. really bigbrained move on the writer’s part there. love me some survivors guilt

ANYWAY IM RUNNING LATE TO CAFE JOB. I’LL DEFINITELY STEW IN THESE THOUGHTS FOR THE REST OF THE DAY

[inoobwriter]

Life At U.A High School: Part 1

Summary: It’s you first day at U.A high school. And now you have to fight... everyone in class 1-A?! How will the students of class 1-A react to you? With they like you? Hate you?

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Main Pairing: Midoriya x Bakugo X Todoroki x Reader

Word Count: 2.4k words

Art Cover by Me

Next Part: (Click here)

*****

*Notes Before Reading*

1. In this fanfiction the MC is a female so if you're a male reading this please ignore the drawings since the MC is portrayed as a girl.

2.  I gave a canon design to the reader but obviously, if you don't like it you can imagine whatever you want to look like. 

3.  IMPORTANT: This is my first fanfic in a long time so the romance will start off really slow and if you wanted smut, well this is not it chief.

4. My writing isn't my strongest skill so feel free to tell me any mistakes you read during this story.

5. Because I don't want to spoil which character the MC (You) will end up with I decided to post at least the tags of the ships mentioned in this story.

6. This story takes place between season 2 and 3 right after class 1-A finished their first term exam.

***I, DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS EXCEPT MC READER***

***PLEASE DO NOT REPOST OR STEAL MY ART FROM THIS WITHOUT PERMISSION***

Well, that's it for now! I might update this in the future.

Please enjoy my fanfiction and see you later! :D

*****

Part 1:

It was another normal day for the students of class 1-A, first-term exams had finally been over and everyone was happy more than usual as their nightmares have finally ended. They finally had a short time to relax and not worry about anything. They all were looking forward to summer vacation as well as the training camp. Today was their last day before summer vacation started. Yet for some reason, as they were walking in the hallways of the school Iida demanded more than usual for everyone to head to class early. Obviously, everyone ignored him and took their sweet time. Eventually ten minutes before class started Iida started to yell at everyone who was walking in the hallway to hurry up.

"Come all now! As students of U.A, we should all be punctual to class! Even if it's the last day for the first term here!" Iida said while waving his right hand, "Midoriya! Hurry up but no running in the halls."

"Coming!" Midoriya said speed walking to the class, "Man, I should really start waking up more early." He wheezed

"Oh shut up nerd." Bakugo yelled, "And you! Why are you so much of a pain in the ass than usual."

"Bakugo!" Kirishima said, "You really need to calm down! You can't be saying that to our class representative!"

"It's alright Kirishima," Iida said as his glasses cracked from rage

'It's not alright.' Everyone except Bakugo thought, 'He's clearly mad.'

Iida then adjusted his glasses as Yaoyorozu walked right next to him. "I wished we had more time to talk about this," Yaoyorozu said looking at Iida

"Which is why I urge them to get here early." Iida stared at everyone, "Well can't be helped. Listen, everyone, we have something important to say!"

Everyone walked towards Iida and Yaoyorozu.

"To answer your question Bakugo." Yaoyorozu said, "We're having a new student!"

"Wait for real?" Midoriya asked surprised

"All right!" Kaminari said

"What really?" Ashido said excitedly

"Wait how come you didn't tell us before?!" Sero asked

"Forget that!" Mineta said as drool came out of his mouth, "I wanna know if it's a girl."

Almost all the guys were shocked as they have not realized this before. The whole class became excited and started wondering how the new student would look like.

"Aww, I hope they are one!" Ashido said excitedly

"Yeah it would be nice to have more girls in this class," Jiro added.

"You said that, not me," Mineta said as he had a stupid pervy look on his face.

'A new student.' Midoriya thought excitedly then suddenly he realized something, "Hey Iida." Midoriya said as he approached him, "I didn't know we could have a new student in our class."

"Hey, what heck!" Kaminari yelled at Midoriya

"Yeah! Why are you suddenly against it!" Mineta said, "I bet you want her all to yourself!"

"We still don't know if they're a boy or a girl Mineta." Tokoyami spoke unfazed

"No, it's not like I'm against it." Midoriya said, putting his hands slightly up, "It's just... don't you think it's strange?"

Everyone then looked at Midoriya and thought about it for a minute

"It's true."Uraraka said, "Normally you would take the entrance exam at the start of the school year."

"Yeah." Sero scratched his head, "Plus I never heard anything about entrance exams being taken during the school year."

"That's because it isn't announced publicly."

Suddenly the door to the class opened and Mr. Aizawa walked in and looked toward them. Everyone was already in their seats and stayed silent as they watched him walk up in front of the class.

"Alright listen up. Today we have a new student joining your class."

From being quiet and scared of Mr. Aizawa everyone started being loud and excited about it being true. Everyone was wondering where they are.

"Enough." Mr. Aizawa said with a stronger tone.

And just like that everyone had quiet down and went back to being afraid of him.

Mr. Aizawa then turned to the door, "You can come in now."

And just like that, you walked into the classroom.

"Introduce yourself." Mr. Aizawa said

"Hello! My name is F/N L/N and it's a real pleasure to meet you all! You said as you had your hands on your cheeks.

Everyone was excited until they saw your face. 'Hah?' Everyone thought, 'Why is her face like that?'

 "You have no idea how excited I was when I found out I'll be in your class! The famous class 1-A who managed to witness first hand, the League of Villains and work alongside with the pros!" You said.

"Huh, you know about that?" Yaoyorozu asked you

"Of course! It was all over the internet and TV, I'm so honored to be here!" You said bowing down to them

"That's isn't necessary," Iida says embarrassed, shaking his hands around. Everyone was flattered by your admiration.

"Man I already like her!" Kirishima said putting his arms behind his head feeling proud of himself.

Everyone seemed happy to see you and so were you. You really admired how ordinary kids around your age got to do heroic things for others you wanted to become someone as brave as them. But you were more excited when you saw-

"Not to be rude or anything." Midoriya said, scratching his face, "But why do we get a new student? Shouldn't L/N have waited next year?"

"Right! As the class representative, I ask that you tell us why, sir!" Iida said as he stood up and raised his hand

"Sit down," Mr. Aizawa said then he turned to look at Midoriya, "As for your question, we normally don't."

Everyone sat there confused as they stared at him. Mr. Aizawa sighed and explained, "Every year we have an entrance exam to get into this school, the written and practical test. If you fail the exam you have to wait until next year to retake it. If you've been recommended then you have a different exam from the rest. However, not only do we accept students who get recommended but we also scout for students. Obviously, we tend to recruit them at the beginning of the year as well but sometimes we find gifted students later than others around the end of the first term."

Everyone looked confused on how the school managed the scouting for students part. Mr. Aizawa sighed again, "Basically if the school finds you worthy enough and you didn't participate in the entrance exam you get another shot to become a student here. Not only does U.A high school help its students become the greatest heroes, but we also let others know that they too are also worthy of becoming heroes if they chose to. "

Midoriya then soften his look and looked down at his table, 'Just like how All Might told me that I too can become a hero as well.'

"Oh so were you the one who picked L/N?" Aoyama asked

"No." Mr. Aizawa sighed, " They got scouted out by someone else and just happened to pass the exam and now they were assigned to me."

Mr. Aizawa said, defeated, "Another student to make my life miserable."

"WE ARE THE ONE'S SUFFERING! WHY ARE YOU SULKING!" The whole class yelled at him.

"Anyways." Mr. Aizawa said as he gave both the class and you a glare, "Let's go to the training grounds." He started to walk towards the door, "Since I know you guys are curious about L/N's quirk we might as well train while we're at it. Everyone go change into your gym clothes and meet me on the training grounds. Yaoyorozu you take L/N to the locker room and introduce her to her locker." He said as he walked out of the classroom.

"All right! I can't wait to see your quirk!" Ashido said excitedly as she was running up to you

"Yeah hope it's something flashy!" Kirishima said

"And elegant like moi," Aoyama added as he was all sparkly

Everyone gathered around you and you quirky got fluster.

'Omg everyone wants to know about me!' You thought

"Tch." Bakugo said as he got up and walked, "Hey loser!"

You looked at Bakugo as he pointed at you, "You may think you're all hot shit for being recruited by the school but just to let you know I'm going to be #1, so I'll crush you!" He said as he left with an irritated look on his face.

'Oh...my...god!' You thought as you stared at him leaving, 'I thought I was gonna die!'

"Sorry about him." Midoriya said as he walked towards you, "He can be really mean at times."

"I can tell." You said panicking, "He looked like he wanted to murder me!"

"Yeah, he does that a lot to us." Kirishima said, scratching his head, "But I promise he's a good guy after you get used to him!"

"I hope not." You said suddenly getting nervous, "I don't want to be yelled at for the rest of my life."

As you stretched your face out of fear Iida demanded everyone to hurry up, you then followed Yaoyorozu to the locker room along with the rest of the girls. Everyone was cheerful and were welcoming you to their class.

"It's so nice to have you here," Jiro said

"Yeah one more friend to have!" Uraraka said clapping her hands

"Another girl to hang out with," Asui said looking up as she was thinking about something

"After this let's all hang out together!" Ashido said raising her hands up high.

As you nodded happily Yaoyorozu led you to your locker to get ready for the spar, 'I can't believe I'll be sparring with everyone. The top class of first-year! I can't wait to see all their quirks.' You thought excitedly. Then as you were ready to close your locker and follow the rest of the girls you paused, 'I'll be sparring with him... I hope... he's really is as cool as he was online.' you blushed as you bit your finger.

After a while, everyone gathered up on the training ground and Mr. Aizawa stood in front of the class and started talking, "Ok." He said as he reached out into his pocket and pulled out an eyedropper and started to put some on his eyes, "Who wants to fight L/N first." He said as he put away the eyedropper.

Everyone started to shout and raised their hands,

"Me! I wanna go first!"

"No fair I called dibs first!"

"Pick me~" Mineta drooled

"Well before we do anything I will explain the rules of this fight." Mr. Aizawa said as he raised his hand to them, "Both of the students will have bandanas on their heads, and whoever steals the other one's bandana first wins."

"Oh so just like in the mocking battle at the sports festival!" Hagakure said raising her arm up.

"Heh," Bakugo said smirking as he stretched one arm up, "Too easy."

'Yeah too easy indeed.' Midoriya thought as he put his hand on his chin, 'There's has to be a reason why.'

"Well in that case I'll go first!" Kaminari said walking towards the center of the stage. You then walked to the other side where Mr. Aizawa was.

"I'll promise I'll go easy on you." He smiled

You smiled back, "Oh no, don't hesitate. Please give me your all!"

Kaminari blushed a little as Mineta got salty, 'I should have been first!'

Everyone went to the sides to get a better look at the fight that was going to happen.

"But Mr. Aizawa!" Iida raised his hand, "To fight with a beginner that's just-"

"Begin." Mr. Aizawa ordered ignoring Iida's concern over you

"Don't worry pretty girl I'll promise this will only sting for a moment," Kaminari said as he started to run towards you, quickly charging electricity to his right hand

Midoriya noticed what he was doing, 'He's changing his technique from the sports festival. During the festival, Kaminari went full-on and used his attack open wide without any calculations and lost.' He then took out his notebook and started to mutter loudly as always making everyone sigh around him, 'There he goes again.' Everyone thought

"Interesting even Kaminari can think enough to improve his skills," Midoriya said, "All he has to do is-"

'Is getting a closed range on L/N and she's done!' Kaminari thought getting closer to you, 'I'm almost close! Now I gotta make sure I touch her-'

As he thought about his sure victory a hole suddenly appeared under him and he fell. Everyone was shocked wondering where he had gone too. Suddenly Kaminari appeared falling off a hole in the middle of the air a few yards off the ground of the other side where you were. By the looks of it, Kaminari had used up his quirk and was now in his dumb state. You walked up to Kaminari and took his bandana off his head.

"Thank you for at least trying." You smile as you walked to Mr. Aizawa handing him the bandana.

Almost everyone looked at you with shock, others kept their straight faces, and one even looked like furiously writing something on a notebook.

"Well what did you expect?" he said as he stared at everyone, "Everyone wants to know about L/N's quirk and what better way than to spar." He then turned around to look at them. 

"There's a reason why they are here, to begin with." Mr. Aizawa said in a serious tone, "They were specifically scouted from school and passed all the exams. Including the first term exams."

Everyone stared at you widely and stared back at Mr. Aizawa

"Do you think we let just any beginner into your class late in the school year?" Mr. Aizawa said with a serious tone, "Well think again."

Midoriya then looked at you and got serious.

"In this school, we help all students become the greatest heroes, we also let others know that they too are also worthy of becoming heroes if they chose to work faster and harder to catch up with you guys."

'That's right.' Midoriya looked at you, 'If Y/N got accepted by the school and is already at the same level as us.'

"I waited for the day we got to meet! Please." You said as you looked straight at Midoriya.

'Y/N must be very strong.' Midoriya thought as he closed his notebook and responded back to your glare with determination in his eyes.

"Show me what makes you guys the talk of the school." You blushed slightly "...Midoriya"

1: The New Student (End)

* Hope you like it and want to see more!*

*****

Chapter List

Part 2

*****

[h1kari]

Hellllllo! My name is Natalia. I am apart of the Haikyuu fandom. Here is a list of stuff about me.

I go by she/her pronouns

I am a Sagittarius, tho idk how much that fits. I have really bad adhd and social anxiety but when I am a pretty extroverted person at times. I try to make everyone my friend. I am really really focused on my studies since I have had my parents shoving the importance of it down my throat my whole life. I am also a people pleaser and have a hard time putting myself before others (I am working on it tho). I would also say I am the funny friend cause I use trauma as a coping mechanism🤗. I am again a people pleaser and my few friends mean the world to me so I would probably help them hide a body no questions asked.

I am Italian and Argentinian with brown hair and blue eyes. I am also not confident in myself what so ever. The only thing I like about myself is my eyes cause people’s go to thing to compliment me on is that (although it’s always after I compliment them so it may just be a coincidence). I have fairly curly hair that goes to my shoulders. I am 5’5 and don’t know my weight cause I’m borderlinjng an ED sooo.

I really enjoy clothing and have a vast fashion sense. So I could be wearing a cottage core dress one day then the next a oversized sweatshirt with a collar peeping out and jeans the next. Not so much into like emo, grudge, goth stuff like that tho.

I love acting. It has been a huge part of me for a while. Singing and dancing to. Also when I am bored I like to pick up a new language although I only speak sign language and English fluently (I’m getting pretty good at Spanish tho). I also want to go into the medical field when I am older.

Okay random things. Uhhh my favorite color is yellow, I like reading and writing, and my favorite number is 2. Sorry if this isn’t helpful.

first of all YOU’RE ARGENTINIAN HELL YEA SAME HERE M’AM, ok now yea: i ship you with 🥁🥁🥁oikawa! Aight let’s get to it 😼

So i feel like you’d meet pretty much by chance, like for example, one of you forgets your umbrella on a super rainy day, let’s say that’s you. Except you didn’t ‘forget’ to bring one, you gave yours to one of your friends cuz they themselves didn’t have one (you guys couldn’t share cuz they had to get another route) You were slightly regretting your overly kind gesture while walking down on the pouring rain. Oikawa spots you, he had noticed you before all this tho, he knew how normally good natured you were, your grades, talents, beauty and style hadn’t gone unnoticed either. You’d caught his eye, he just didn’t know how to approach you, yet. As he saw you trying to stay dry, going from shop to shop, he called out to you, waving his umbrella around. You didn’t wanna “bother” as you said but he insisted. So there you were, lightly holding onto tooru’s sleeve while you both walked down the street. Not much time had gone by since oikawa started chatting you up, asking questions, being all popular-star-student charming. You felt calm and appreciated in his presence, like he was genuinely interested, and he was! That rainy day was the exact push he needed to talk to you.

Couple months late and you guys are really close, walking home together, you going to his matches, studying together, shopping together etc. He loved how more extroverted you were now that you were friends friends. He definitely let down his ✨ooh so charming and calm guy✨ mask, i mean- he could still charm your pants off, but around you he was more childish, like when he’a around iwa, yknow? That being said, his team sees his crush a mile away, are you blind or something?? Fr. They’re like god you idiot just ask her out so you can stop fawning over her in secret. You like him too, obviously, but he’s got every girl after him, it just makes you feel icky- like you don’t deserve him, and it’s not like you’d be any different from all the girls after him, right? (NO YOU DUMB BITCH SORRY FOR CALLING YOU A BITCH BUT OFC YOU DESERVE HAPPINESS), then, as you fall for him more and more, you also distance yourself more and more. This leaves oikawa feeling like shit cuz he thought his fliriting and romantic advances were making you uncomfortable so he’s like “got it” all angsty. You guys don’t talk for a while.

Like a week later you have this drama acting show, and dammit of course he’s gonna go! He’s seen you work so hard for it and he knows how passionate you are. Fuck this!! Fuck the uncomfortableness and angst, he just wants to be with you!! He decides, he’ll tell you everything after the show and if you turn him down, he’ll just have to live with it.

You do amazingly, of course, he’s left speechless by your performance and each second he’s more and more eager to see you, actually see you. After the show he finds you, you’re surprised to say the least, but happy to see him again

“What’re you doing he-“

“I have to tell you something”

“...okay”

And so he tells you. He had planned what he’d say but his mind is blank, so he just sputters whatever he’s feeling and he’s felt all this time. You’re like holyshitholyshitholyshit and tell him you feel the same

“I’ve missed you”

(😭)

Aight that was pretty long. bUT now couple shenanigans. You’re both obviously fashion icons, and fashion icon + fashion icon = fashion couple. Ngl sometimes he wants to match outfits w you and you’re like sir-🗿cuz most are pretty cringey, so one birthday of yours he decides to give you a prank like gift, this atrocity:

He jokingly gave you the beast one, and now one of your many inside jokes is “YO-DA”

Another thing, you guys help each other, as all couples should. He’s helped you relax more in terms of studying, telling you it’s okay to take it easy and that he’ll 100% help you to take more stuff off your back. You deserve rest. He’s also helped you become more confident in yourself, putting your needs above other’s wants. He loves how kind you are, but he hates seeing others take advantage of that kindness. OH ALSO you both use humor as a coping mechanism 😍 iwa-chan is very worried.

DATE IDEAS: going to the theatre, you guys get the chance of seeing the ✨arts✨ and you can dress all fancy. You usually go out for dinner at a nice place 😌 also study dates!! He loves bothering you, you just look so cute!! All concentrated!!! Plus it’s a great way to get you to relax more. Sometimes you also teach him languages, he finds it sososo cool that you love learning them, can speak it AND that you’d be patient and willing to teach HIM 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 this mans has heart eyes for you and you only, forever

Hope you liked it!! Have am awesome daynight and thanks for the submission ^^💞💞

[misscgyn]

Everybody Wants a Piece of Max (Caulscott Fanfic)

*gif not mine!!

Fandom: Life is Strange

Pairing: Max Caulfield x Nathan Prescott

Prompt: ’Stop ignoring me ignoring you.’ & ‘I’ve been called worse.’

Summary: Max had a petty fight with Nathan when he learned that she hangout with Warren alone at night. He got so jealous of it.

Chapters: 1/1

Word Count: 5,253 words

Warnings: Nothing. It’s all fluff and very slightly implied smut.

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20625446

Note: It has been four years already and I’m still a fucking trash for Caulscott. So here we are, my first Caulscott fanfic ever. I never really post my stories but kinda want to share this with my fellow low-key Caulscott shippers who still ships them in 2019. Enjoy.

—————

“I told you, we just ate dinner and watched the movie. Then went home!” Max was trying to explain Nathan about last night with Warren. But Nathan, being stubborn and hot-headed as he is, he didn’t like the idea of Max and Warren hanging out alone. Nathan was marching out from the dorm while Max followed behind him. She want this argument to be done and just doesn’t want to start this day with another quarrel with him. But it seems it already started.

“You basically went on a date with him!” Nathan continued to walk to his class even though he doesn’t feel like attending on it. He, himself, doesn’t really understand why he’s so mad about this. But one thing’s for sure, he is unhappy with it. As per Nathan’s case, unhappy equals sad and sad equals mad. So, yeah, smad.

He walked faster and he felt Max was trying to match his pace causing him to hasten his footsteps further. Max had enough and grabbed him by the arm causing him to stop. Max turned him around to face her. Nathan just rolled his eyes at her while Max stood in front of him and quietly catching her breath after the not-so-running-yet-also-not-walking marathon they did.

“Okay, Nathan. How many times do I have to tell you that Kate, Brooke, and Stella were supposed to be there, to be with us. We planned to hang out together but they ditched us!” Max exclaimed. She pinched the bridge of her nose trying to not be annoyed any further and just chill down. She deeply regretted that she told Nathan about what happened yesterday but she also doesn’t want to keep things from him. She should have known better on how he will react on this.

A week ago, Warren and Brooke was complaining on Max of not having her to hang out with them anymore. Ever since she became friends with Victoria and Nathan, the trio were constantly together. Victoria likes to visit cafes and exchange photo tips with them and Nathan was their go-to-driver. To be fair, she doesn’t really have any choice but to hang out with them especially when Nathan is around. He will practically drag her to his truck along with Victoria and take them to wherever they want.

So to make amends, Max told Warren, Kate, Brooke, and Stella that she will spend some time with them on Tuesday (which is yesterday) for a movie night and dinner. All of them agreed on the plan but when d-day came not all were able to come.

Max went to the parking lot and saw Warren leaning on his car while typing on his phone. Max greeted him and Warren glanced at Max with a disappointed look. Max asked him why and he told her that Brooke can’t come because of some accident she had caused during Ms. Grant’s class and she had to write a report on it to be submitted by tomorrow. Stella also can’t come because of diarrhea or food poisoning. She said that she bought a bread from a sketchy vendor and for the whole day, she was in-and-out of the toilet. Warren scolded her of buying from a stranger knowing that he looked sketchy. In her defense, the bread looked really tasty.

Max was saddened about the news but she tried to be optimistic. She was hoping that Kate sure is coming so she dialed up her number but she wasn’t answering. Max told Warren that she’ll just get back at the dorm to check if everything’s okay. Max ran back to the dorm and knocked at Kate’s door. Kate let her in and she asked her what was wrong. She saw Kate is ready to go based on her clothing but she looked restless while staring at her rabbit. Kate told Max that her rabbit is acting weird and is probably sick because it hadn’t eaten its food since the morning. Kate apologized to Max for not being able to come to movie night. She just can’t leave her sick pet alone which Max understood. Max told her that they can hang out next time again and went back to Warren.

Warren saw Max running back in his direction. He knew that Kate couldn’t come as well when he saw Max jogging back alone. He asked Max if she still wants to go but Max said yes so they ended up spending time together.

“Yeah, sure.” Max snapped back from her flashback when Nathan responded with his disinterested tone. Max groaned. She knew that Nathan is still not finished arguing on this thing.

“You know what. I’m not having this, early in the morning. Let’s just talk later.” Max sighed in defeat. She just really not in the mood to argue right now. She didn’t even have her coffee yet for this drama.

“Yeah, right. Go start your day with that loser-Gayram, Caulfield.”

“See you later, Nathan.” Max said defeatedly.

“Whatthefuckever.”

Max shook her head and separated ways from Nathan. She doesn’t want to go along with Nathan’s anger so she thinks it’s for the best to leave him alone and settle things later. Luckily, she doesn’t have any morning classes with him so it’ll be less annoying. But right now, she really needs to drink her coffee.

—————

It was her last class already and she hadn’t heard anything from Nathan, yet. So she thought of texting him so they could talk after class. It is not her intention to finish this day without talking to him.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

Hey. Are you okay? Talk later?

Nathan usually replies immediately when he’s not mad. But he is mad, so Max wasn’t exactly expecting him to reply soon. Max shoved her phone back to her pocket and return her attention to the class.

Max and Nathan thinks that they aren’t the typical all fluff couple you would see in movies. They are not like those in a relationship that radiates in sweetness, in fact, they are opposite of it. They always bicker and have petty quarrels (which mostly started by Nathan) that suddenly end up with a cuddling session and just forget what they were fighting about. Their fights weren’t that serious in the first place like there was a one time when Max started to watch a new season of Doctor Who without Nathan and he got so upset about it. He wanted to watch it together with her. He felt like he was ’cheated on’ by Max where Max thought it was not a big deal and they can still watch it together. Nathan annoyed her to death by throwing Max side comments about her apparent ’cheating’ for a week. What Max did to stop him from being an annoying little shit as he is, she barged at his dorm carrying popcorn and cookies and offered him to binge watch the show together. At first, he was going to protest but when Max tone felt like a ‘take it or leave it’ moment, he got scared for the latter. Knowing Max, she means it when she says it so he’s happy to obliged. Despite their many petty fights, it doesn’t always end up in a serious one.

But for Victoria, they just have an unconventional way of expressing love for each other. She finds them really cute couple especially when Max get teased by Nathan. She looks cute when she turns red out of annoyance. Sometimes Victoria teams up with Nathan which Max always felt unfair because she has no one to back her up. Well, Victoria is Nathan’s best friend after all.

The bell rang indicating the end of the class. Max saw Victoria coming at her desk.

“Hey Victoria.”

“Did you two fight, again?” Victoria’s voice sounded like fed up already with her friends’ antics. She wasn’t surprised that Victoria knows about this. Nathan has a thing where he makes sure that he pointed out on people that he’s mad at you. He’s like a kid, Max thought.

“Well, yeah. It’s because of last night. I hang out with Warren. By the way, have you seen Nathan? I was expecting to see him at lunch but he’s nowhere to be found.” Max told Victoria.

“Oh that’s why he’s so pissed at your friend. I actually ate lunch with him at Ziggs. We drove there and he ratted you out as, usual.” That’s Nathan’s routine. Whenever they fight no matter how small it is, he would rant on Victoria about it. Meanwhile, Victoria finds their fights as a great source of entertainment so she had all her ears when it happens.

“What did he say?” Max questioned.

“I think you two should just talk about it and probably have sex or whatever. That’s how you resolve things, right?” Victoria teased. There was a smile plastered across her face.Max blushed at her response.

“W-we d-don’t…” Max tried to answer but Victoria’s hand landed on her shoulder, gently tapping her. She knew that she liked seeing her embarrassed. Although, Max and Nathan have been dating for a while now, they haven’t really done it yet besides from cuddling and kissing.

“But seriously, Maxine, you’re boyfriend is all jealous with you and Warren. And I don’t think he’ll be done arguing about it any time soon.” Victoria told. Max cringed by the name but she understood her statement. He knew Nathan wouldn’t be so happy about it after pointing it to her that Warren had a thing for her before which Max didn’t knew. She told Nathan that he was just being a nice friend but Nathan knew better than that.

“Thanks, Victoria. And… Max never Maxine.”

“I know. Au revoir.” Victoria smiled teasingly at her and waved goodbye. Max waved back and begin to clean up her desk ready to leave the room.

When she went out, she saw Kate talking to Ms. Paxton. She waited for them to finish their conversation before greeting her friend. Kate looked distressed which made Max worry about her. Max wondered what happened to her pet rabbit last night.

“Hi Kate.”

“Max! How did it go last night?” Kate tried to be cheerful but the sadness in her voice can’t be completely hidden.

“It was fun. We ate dinner and saw the movie just like what’s planned. How was your rabbit by the way?”

“Glad to hear that. Oh, Max. I had her taken to the vet earlier because she didn’t eat anything at all yesterday. I was so worried. But the vet told me that she’s gonna be fine.” Kate explained. Max placed her hand on Kate’s shoulder while the other was holding Kate’s hand. Max gave her a squeeze to comfort her worried friend.

“Ahh…That’s why you missed Ms. Paxton class earlier. I’m sure she’s going to be okay, Kate. You, too should take a rest.”

“Thank you, Max. I promise that I will make it up to you and Warren next time.”

“It’s okay, Kate. We understand. Like I said, we can all hang out together next time.” Max gave her quick hug and walk back to the dorm together.

—————

Max just finished her assignments and checked the clock. It was already ten o'clock. She really lost track of time after writing essays and doing her portfolio. She checked her phone and surprisingly, there still no responses from Nathan. She decided to text him again.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

Nathan, where are you? I haven’t seen you all day. Call me.

Max waited for a response or a call but there’s nothing. She assumed that he didn’t want to talk later after her class since he didn’t replied to her text so she went full focused on her assignments. Max started to feel weird because Nathan usually at least reply like ’fuck off’ or just emojis to her when he’s mad. But he never ignored her texts not until now.

Max decided to just sleep and maybe tomorrow Nathan is ready to settle their petty fight.

—————

Afternoon came by and Max still hadn’t heard on Nathan. They had classes together this afternoon but he skipped it, like usual. Although, she can’t hide her worry about him. Max is wondering if she is underestimating the weight of their argument between her and Nathan. Should I be worried? She asked herself.

The whole day went fast and Max had no single sight of Nathan. Not even Victoria had saw him. Max tried to call him and spammed him with text but there’s not a single reply from him.

Max texted him again despite the lack of response.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

Nathan, please reply. I’ve been trying to talk to you but it’s you who don’t want to be contacted. I don’t even see you!

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

Let’s talk please. I’ll wait at your dorm later. See you.

—————-

Just as she said at her last text to Nathan, she went to his dorm and waited for him. She was actually expecting to see him but to her disappointment, an Nathan-less room welcomed her.

She sat on his bed checked her phone again to see if he already replied. She sighed that he’s still not answering all of her messages and call to him. Is he ignoring my messages? Max wondered to herself. She began to grabbed a book laying around his room and read it to get over her boredom of waiting.

Hours had passed but Nathan hadn’t came back to his dorm. Max grew worried and began to think what if something happened to him. What if he’s in an accident? Or a fight? Or a hospital? Max breath deeply to calm her thoughts and began dialing Victoria. She hope that she knew where were his whereabouts.

“Hello, Victoria.”

“Hi, Max! What’s up?”

“Are you with Nathan? Do you know where he is?”

“Oh my God, Max. You two still hadn’t make up? Wow. Just when I thought you two can’t stand not seeing each other for a day. Both of you only lasted not talking to each other for four hours the last time you fought. This is a record-breaker, Max.”

“I know and I’m getting worried about him. So please tell me Victoria that you are with him right now. Or at least saw him today.”

“I’m sorry, Max. I am currently at my parent’s house right now. We just got back from dinner. And no, I also haven’t seen Nathan today.”

“What if something happened to him, Victoria?” Max voice faintly cracked by that sad thought. She is really getting worried about him.

“Max, calm down first. Maybe Nathan’s just chillin’ somewhere. Max, if something would really happen to Nathan, I promise you that I would know it. I will try to contact other Vortex members if they saw Nathan. I know there’s a party outside the campus right now. Maybe Nathan’s there. I’ll get back to you.”

“Thanks, Victoria.” She hang up her phone. At least Victoria didn’t seemed panicky on this situation which made Max to be somewhat relieved. If something is really wrong with Nathan, she would know it. They have known each other since childhood. 

Max suddenly remembered of Kate’s pet. She went on the vet right after class and they hadn’t had the chance to talk about her pet’s condition. So she sent a quick text to her which Kate responded immediately. She told Max that she will be bringing it back to her dorm tomorrow morning. They will just observe her for the night before completely discharging the pet. Max was slightly relieved on Kate’s but still stressed out by Nathan.

She was about to text him again when a notification popped up on her phone. It was from her social media and was from Nathan’s. She clicked it and saw Nathan posted a photo of him and some Vortex club members in a party. Maybe this is the party that Victoria was talking about.

There were no captions on the photo but the image is evident enough to see that he’s having a good time right now. Max was both furious and relieved at the same time (but mostly furious) because Nathan’s safe and he is really just purposely ignoring her texts since he’s able enough to update his social media account. And don’t even try to argue that he may be using a laptop right now and probably lost his phone, cause damn who carries a laptop at a party except the DJ. And knowing Nathan wouldn’t bother to borrow a laptop or someone’s phone for instance just to update his social media, that’s just not him. And most especially, losing his phone is definitely a no-no. He may lost his car keys or wallet but not his phone. That kid is legit scared at his father if he misses a call from him so losing his phone is not an option here.

She texted Nathan again to let him know her sentiments.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

Nathan, i know you are still upset about last Tuesday and I have explained it to you many times but you won’t listen to me. And i’m trying to reached out to you but you don’t answer my calls nor my texts.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

I got worried about you thinking you might have been in an accident or something since I haven’t heard nor even seen you at school today. Only to find out that you are there partying somewhere I don’t know.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

I’m not mad about you partying. I don’t really mind when you party with Zach or whoever. What I’m mad about is that you can’t even tell me that you are fine at least. I know you are just ignoring my texts. You know, I am very very much worried about you. You could’ve at least sent a ‘K’ or a ‘fuck you’ so I know that you are okay.

To: Nathan

Fr: Max

AND FINE, Prescott. If you’re giving me the cold shoulder, I can give you one as well.

Max aggressively spammed the sent button. She get out of Nathan’s bed. Before going out of his room, Victoria had told Max what she already knew.

‘I fucking hate you, Prescott.’ She cursed under her breath. She left his room and stomped her way back to her dorm.

—————

Max had asked Victoria to help her pick up some books for their photography class presentation. So they went up to the library but Max didn’t expected to see Nathan with her. Not that she acknowledge his existence tho. He just boredly stood there like a statue.

Max was actually happy that he finally showed up but still refused to talk to him. Neither he is talking to her as well.

Victoria was busy looking for books, same with Max. Victoria was trying to reach a book from a higher shelf but it’s too high up. She asked Nathan to get it for her but before he even reaches it, Max was quicker to get a ladder and reach the higher shelf. She felt Nathan is shooting daggers from his glare but she didn’t care.

“I think this is enough.” Max told Victoria and walked pass on Nathan.

Victoria sensed some tension between the two but just ignored it and hoping it will be gone soon.

—————

The two kept up with their little game, Who ignore Whom better. And without a doubt, Max is winning. Nathan seems to be soon beaten at his own game.

Max was buying a drink on the vending machine when suddenly she saw Nathan on her peripheral vision visibly walking towards her direction.

“Caulfield.” He called but Max was stubborn enough to resist to respond. She wants Nathan to get a taste of his own medicine.

“Max! Are we seriously keep going to do this?!” There was frustration in his voice but Max doesn’t want to waver and continued to ignore him as if he doesn’t exist.

Nathan then snatched her drink from the vending machine to get her attention but Max was firm.

“Weird. I feel like the vendo is talking to me. And my drink is now gone. Sooo weird.” She sarcastically said. Nathan was about to say something but the class bell rang and Max immediately ran back to the room.

—————

It was lunch time and Max was sitting with Kate, Warren and others. She saw Nathan walking with Victoria and quickly looked away when she stretched her hands and pointed at Max making Nathan to look at her. Max pretended to not to see him and quietly ate her lunch.

Victoria noticed how Max and Nathan diverted their glances. It was obvious that they are still not okay and looks like not gonna be okay soon. She and Nathan sat on another table and just quietly ate their lunches as well. Victoria rolled her eyes and was thinking how awkward it will get on their next classes. She and Nathan are sitting beside each other while Max is just across them. She wonders how she will play cupid for her two stubborn friends.

—————

Their next class went well. But not for Victoria who was distressed by the two of them. Both of them were like releasing a cold and dark aura that Victoria felt all throughout the lecture. So immediately after the dismissal bell, she dragged Max and Nathan at her table and snapped at them.

“Okay, enough! You two should make up now! It’s really uncomfortable and unsettling being stuck in between lover’s quarrel. I don’t want that shit, okay?!”

“I’m sorry, Victoria. But do tell your friend that he started this.” Max retorted completely ignoring Nathan’s presence even though he’s right behind Victoria.

“Well, tell that bitch that if she didn’t hang out with her gay friend then none of this would happen!” Nathan replied.

“OKAY STOP!” Victoria had her one hand on her hips and one was shushing both of the bickering couple. “I had enough of this jealousy drama of you two! I was enjoying it at first but now it’s not fun anymore. So please fucking kiss and make up!” Victoria stormed out of the room leaving the two glaring at each other.

‘Fuck!’ Nathan cursed as Max left the room with Kate.

—————

Max was at Kate’s room checking up on her bunny. It’s livelier now and had started eating the food again. Kate offered her room to Max after hearing the fight earlier at the classroom. Max told her about why exactly they are fighting and Kate just chuckled and told Max that she had faith that the two of them will resolve it really soon. Initially, Kate wasn’t quite fond of Nathan before because of his intense demeanor. But he changed when he’s with Max. He’s still mean and screamy but otherwise he seems nicer and somehow relaxed. She finds them adorable as well. Kate was actually the first one to figure out that she and Nathan were a thing after she heard Nathan in Max’s room practicing his apology to Max. Ever since then she suspected the two but never really confronted Max about it. She was waiting for Max to tell it to her herself. She was understanding enough of them since the pair aren’t exactly what people expected would be. A mean guy and a nice, quiet girl. They tried to hide it at first but eventually learned to not care anymore and Blackwell students seemed to shake it off as well.

“I can’t believe why am I dating a guy like him, Kate.”

“It’s because you like him, Max. Love him.” Kate replied in almost a giggling way. Max looked at her and shook her head. For what Max knew, Kate is also one of the biggest shippers of them. She always tell them that they are growing themselves together. On how they make each other better.

“I just— he loves bickering all the time and—”

“That’s basically both your thing!” Kate interrupted. “Are you going to talk to him now?”

Max stood up from sitting on the floor. “I don’t know.” She replied to Kate.

Max said thanks to Kate for offering comfort then went back to her room. She opened her door and was about to lie down to her bed when he saw Nathan sleeping on it. 'Was he waiting for me?’ Max mentally asked herself.

She watched Nathan’s chest to slowly rise up and go down. He’s in deep slumber. A sleeping Nathan looked like as if he doesn’t choke people when he’s awake. She observed his light brown curly hair fall on his face. He looks really peaceful when he’s sleeping. She walked on her desk to get her camera and snap a photo of a sleeping Nathan. Her camera loudly clicked but fortunately it didn’t wake him up. She shook the photograph and stared at it. It looked like a rare pokemon sighting sleeping at peace, it was a great shot. It made her smile.

She went over her desk to do some homework and update her diary.

—————

After some hours, she heard noises behind her. She bet that Nathan’s now awake based on the sound of his groans. Still, Max didn’t looked at him and continued to work on her assignment.

“Max….” he quietly called. Max was still ignoring him.

“If you keep on doing this. I will keep on ignoring you too.” Nathan said in annoyance but Max didn’t budge.

“I said I’m ignoring you!” Nathan yelled but there is no response from Max.

“AAAGGHHHH!” Nathan rake his hand to his hair out of frustration but Max still didn’t bat an eye on him.

“Stop it!” Max held down her pen but still not looking at Nathan.

“Stop ignoring me 'ignoring you’!!” Nathan finally said causing Max to look at him. Max perked her head up to Nathan, whose leaning on his back while seating on her bed and his hair is at chaos. Max find it cute but she hold her giggle to herself. They have to do some ’talking’ first.

“I-I’m sorry.” Nathan said with his head down.

“Why did you ignore my texts?” Max asked.

“Because I wanted you to miss me! I-I was trying to make you jealous so I posted that photo so you know that I can have fun with others too… But i didn’t think enough that you’ll get worried when I don’t text you back. I’m sorry, Max.” Nathan explained. She was right, she just beaten him in his own game. Nathan is really childish despite his tough image which Max finds adorable to him.

“I-I just really don’t like you hanging out with Gayram.” Nathan was nibbling his hands together and shoot a glance at Max. Although, Max is glad on Nathan being unusually calm about this. Most of their fights sounded like who can scream louder but not today.

“Nate… I will seriously hang out more with Warren if you don’t stop him calling that name.” Nathan frowned for a bit and sighed on her reply.

“Okay, okay… Sorry. I just get so…” Is he going to say it? Is he going to admit it? Admitting what he feels is rare on Nathan’s case 'cause he never admits anything. Max remembered when Nathan can’t believed that he actually liked her. Victoria had to rub it on Nathan’s face before he even finally acknowledge it. Because he never thought it would be her. Maxine Caulfield who can make Nathan Prescott tolerable as he described.

“So ’what’, Nathan?” Max questioned. Although she knew what exactly he will say. She just wants him to admit it. Nathan rub his palms to his face and… “I’m jealous, okay?!” Max smiled and half of her can’t believe he actually said it.

“Nathan Prescott is jealous of Warren Graham huh. That’s a headline.” Max teased. Nathan groaned and grew annoyed of Max’s remark. He wants to protest but she isn’t wrong about it. He is indeed jealous of him.

“Apology accepted. And I’m sorry too for ignoring you ignoring me.” Max just can’t stop herself from teasing Nathan.

Nathan brushed his hair trying to fix it and saw Max grinning from ear to ear.

“What?!” Nathan’s back again with his natural self, the hot-headed self.

“You looked so cute. So fluffy.” Max chuckled. He hates being called 'fluffy’ but Max thinks that is just the best description of him. He looks tough outside but in reality, he’s a softie.

Nathan get out of the bed and went to Max. She stopped chuckling when Nathan placed his hand on her nape and lifted her chin, meeting his blue orbs. His rested his forehead on hers feeling the growing warmth between it. He looked at the tiny freckles on her face which he always admired. Max lifted her hand to reach for Nathan’s hand on her face. The pair refuse to blink and just let themselves be mesmerized on each other. They stared at one another’s eyes for a moment before Nathan dived in for a kiss. Their lips met and felt like they were both hungry for each other, longing, and passionate. Max briefly pulled away and whispered ’I miss you.’

“I know you do.” Nathan replied confidently. Max rolled her eyes and Nathan gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I miss you too.” They shared a kiss once again but this time it went more than that.

—————

“Max…”

“Hmm…?”

“Stop hanging out with Graham?” Nathan told in a semi-command and semi-plead tone.

“Not gonna happen. You know you can sit and hang out with us some time. I’m sure you and Warren will agree on Doctor Who. Both of you are nerds on it.” Max offered him. Although she knows it is not the best idea but he should try sometimes. It’s not like they’re going to gang up on him so they could take revenge on him bullying them before. Though, that could happened, she wondered.

“Fuck no! I don’t wanna join your loser’s club. And I’m not a nerd!”

“Said the man who always quotes something referenced to Doctor Who.” Max sarcastically retorted.

“Besides you’re dating a someone who belongs to the ’losers’ club you were saying.” She added.

“I-I mean… you’re not a loser, Max.” Max wasn’t offended by it because she knows he doesn’t mean it. She just like to tease him as always.

“It’s okay. I’ve been called worse.” She replied. Nathan looked at Max who is lying next beside him. Max saw his face and he’s squinting again. He’s mad.

“Wh-what?! Who the fuck called you something worse? What did they called you?! I’m gonna kicked that motherfucker’s ass.” Although, Nathan sometimes call Max names like 'bitch’, 'ass’, 'cockfield’, where Max counters it with 'dickbagtheasshole’, 'little shit, 'dumbass’. It’s kind of their endearment with each other. But Nathan doesn’t appreciate it when other people call her that. He become all over-protective all of a sudden and he always made sure that no one messes with him or Max.

Nathan waited for her response but Max was just grinning and said…

“Your 'girlfriend’.” She looked up at Nathan and leaned for a quick peck on his lips. Nathan raised his brows and knew that Max was teasing him so he would like to punish his little girl and gone all alpha mode with Max again.

- End -

Post note: I know I’m very very late but 2019 me still crave for Caulscott fanfics i don’t even know who still reads them other than me. This is inspired from one Caulscott fanfic I’ve read before, I don’t quite remember but it was a pretty well-written one. Ghaaad i suck at remembering things. I think I’ve read too many fanfics. This is like a fanfic of a fanfic. Nonetheless, I still want to share this with you. This is my first ever fanfic of Caulscott and first to be posted in Tumblr and I don’t fucking know how Tumblr works. I mean I’ve been a long time low-key reader here but I never really posted stuff on my blog so if someone can send help how this works, please rescue me from the technological ignorance. Anyway, I’m still a trash for Caulscott like I said and still figuring out if I will ever get out of this fandom but there’s no way out, I guess. 

Comments, re-blogs, and/or likes are highly appreciated (but not obliged) if you enjoyed this short fic. Sending love to all strong Caulscott shippers through this years. What a trash we are! Jk! 💖💖💖

[goofygomez]

Anniversary - Clouis Oneshot

Description: Clementine and Louis have been together for almost a year, and Clem begins to ponder on how to celebrate such a special occasion.

Wordcount: 5700

A/N: Hey there! I’m finally posting some new content. Shocking, right? I wanted to write this in honor of Clouis’s actual anniversary, which is today (September 25th). Aside from that, this fic is doubly special because it is dedicated to one of my best friends in the fandom, whose birthday was just a few days ago @missdaisymayrio. Happy Birthday, Layla, hope you enjoy your handmade gift!

As always, comments, reblogs and likes are greatly appreciated, since I deleted my previous account and I’m trying to be more active now. Enjoy!

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Clementine paced her room impatiently, muttering under her breath, the carpet muffling the thud of her crutches. Violet was sprawled at Clem’s bed, silently thinking of Clementine’s request. The two girls had been in her room for about an hour, trying to come up with something Clem could give Louis for their anniversary. They only had a week left, and so far, no ideas came to mind.

“What if you just… didn’t give him anything?” Violet suggested for what felt like the hundredth time.

Clem rolled her eyes and turned to her best friend. “I can’t do that,” she said. “He already gives me these little gifts every couple weeks that he finds on supply runs, I have to do something for our anniversary.”

“Can you believe you guys lasted a whole year?” Violet said, changing the subject. “I owe Aasim an energy bar.”

“You guys bet on us staying together?” Clem said indignant, sitting down on the bed opposite Violet.

“Not really,” Violet shrugged. “Mostly on who would freak out about this date first, and I lost.”

The early morning sun was streaming through the winder between them, bathing the carpeted floor with a golden hue, punctuated by the boards stuck to the window hinges. A few birds chirped happily to the rise of a new day, while the fluttering of their wings traveled softly to the room.      

“So you’re saying that Louis hasn’t freaked out…?” Clem asked, furrowing her brow.

“Knowing him, he’s had your present on the ready since the day we met you,” Violet said, making a gagging noise. Clem smiled.

She thought back to all the good times she and Louis had had over the past year. All those stolen kisses in supply raids seemed childish at the time, but Clem still kept them close to her heart. After all, how long had it been since she’d allowed herself to feel childish? She’d had to care for AJ for almost seven years now, and her formative years hadn’t exactly been a picnic either…

In truth, the escape those small tendrils of happiness gave her was the most wonderful gift Louis had ever given her. Though she hadn’t said so to him, it had very easily been the best year of her life. If only she could muster the courage to say those words instead of rehearsing them a thousand times in her head.

After a few minutes of lingering silence, a knock came from the door, and the usual sing-song voice of Louis sounded from the other side. Clem was pulled from her thoughts as they both turned to the door.

“Violet, Aasim wants you for something!” he was saying.

Rolling her eyes, Violet walked to the door and flung it open. Louis was standing at the threshold, one hand up mid-knock and the other in his pocket. His usual smile was plastered on his face, and his eyes sought Clementine at once.

“Hey there, morning,” he said.

“Morning,” Clem said with a smile, picking up her crutches and limping to Violet’s side.

The blonde wasn’t as pleased to see him, however. “You could have just said you wanted to see Clem, no need to make up excuses,” she said in a bored tone, pushing past him and waving a lazy hand back to Clementine. “See you later, Clem.”

“Yeah,” Clem said feebly, turning to Louis. “What’s up?”

Without a word, Louis let himself into the room offering his right hand to her, his left still tucked in his trench coat. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead, making her blush. She didn’t know why she still blushed after a year of being with the most affectionate person she’d ever met, but Louis wasn’t complaining. Even with the slight elevation the crutches offered, Louis still towered over her with ease, to the point where she often wondered if his father had been an NBA player.

“Not much,” he said, taking a seat on the spindly chair by the desk, helping Clem down to sit on the bed. “Just wanted to see you, is all.”

“That’s it?” Clem asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at his left hand. “And what’s that you got there, huh?”

He looked down and feigned surprise, making Clem roll her eyes. He retrieved his hand from his pocket and produced a small parcel wrapped in what looked to be old newspapers. A bold headline on the front claimed that ‘Stock market plummets as the recession continues.’ Whatever that was, it sounded serious, Clem thought.

She examined the small package in his hands and cocked her head, confused. “Are we having a game of Pass the Parcel?” she asked innocently, looking up from the parcel and seeing her boyfriend’s face break into a smile.

“Nope, but that sounds like fun,” he said. “What’s that?”

Clem chuckled. “It’s this British game where you pass a wrapped object around and keep removing its layers,” she explained, “and whoever gets to remove the final layer gets the parcel.”

“And how do you know of this game?” Louis asked, intrigued. “Ever been to the UK?”

“Not really,” she said, shrugging. “But I did have a British classmate back in elementary school. His name was… Mark something? I don’t really remember.”

“Sounds like a grand ol’ chap!” Louis said in a lousy attempt at a British accent, tipping an invisible top hat and adjusting an imaginary monocle.

Clem could not help but laugh at her boyfriend’s antics, looking from him to the small package still clutched tightly in his hands. Curiosity was burning inside her, yet she decided not to push him for it. Instead, she chose to expand upon their subject of conversation.

“So,” she said, leaning forward. “Have you ever been outside the states?”

Thankful for the chance to just chat about meaningless things, Louis put the parcel on the desk and scratched his chin meaningfully. He hummed a song as he thought, which Clementine recognized as ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine.’

“Well, I went to Spain with my parents when I was seven,” he said. “Some place called Majorca or something fancy like that.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” Clem said, leaning on her elbow. “Did you learn any Spanish there?”

“Not really,” Louis admitted, shrugging. “We didn’t really go out much, except to restaurants and shit.”

“Fancy,” she said, chuckling.

As she heard him talk about the time his dad took him on a hiking trip up some mountain or other, her mind began to wander. She thought of all the times they themselves had taken a hike through the forest, Louis helping her up fallen logs as she struggled to lift her crutches over moist soil. She always loved how passionate he became about the most insignificant things, like the movements of the moon in the sky and the shifting bugs within the forest.

Without thinking, her eyes drifted over to the parcel on the desk and by the look of it, Louis took note of that. He grabbed the package and laid it on his lap. Looking up at her, he handed her the wrapped object and waited expectantly.

“What’s this?” she asked, curiously turning it in her hands. It was rectangular and thin, much like those old VCR movies her parents used to watch sometimes. She shook it softly, expecting it to rattle, yet it made no sound.

“Open it,” he urged, gesturing to a loose piece of home-made wrapping paper.

As she tore open the newspaper, her excitement never wavered. Louis looked on in silence, a smile etched on his face, expectant. The only sound between them was of ripping paper and the chirping birds outside. When she got to the final layer, she almost dropped it from shock.

“Oh my god,” Clem gasped.

She was holding a framed picture of her, AJ, and Louis standing in front of the school. Louis stood in the middle, his left hand around Clem’s waist and his right hand on AJ’s shoulder, clutching it affectionately. The three of them were smiling widely, their cheeks flushed from the heat. Clem remembered that day vividly. It had been around three months ago when Louis had found a Polaroid camera hidden in an abandoned classroom.

The frame itself was carved with small words along the edges, snaking across the entire surface of the wood. Her mouth agape, she raised her eyebrows at Louis, who beamed. It seemed the birds outside had sensed the awe in the room, for their singing had ceased to let room for the words that Clem was trying to form. Unfortunately, none would come.

“Look closely at the frame,” Louis said, almost in a whisper, too excited to contain his voice.

Instead of pursuing speech any longer, she did as she was told. Upon closer inspection, another gasp escaped her. Etched on the surprisingly smooth wood, spreading in a clockwise rotation, were the beginning lines of Clem’s favorite song.

“Oh my Darling, Oh my Darling,

Oh my Darling, Clementine.

9 – 25 – 2011”

Words seem to come back to her at once. “Louis, this is beautiful,” she managed to say, looking up at him again.

“Happy anniversary,” he said cheekily. Clem’s eyes went wide, fear that she’d forgotten the date creeping up her spine, and Louis chuckled, apparently reading her mind. “Don’t worry, you didn’t forget. I was just too excited to wait another week, so I figured I’d give it to you now.”

“That’s nice,” Clem said, smiling softly. “How did you do this? I didn’t think that camera would actually work after so many years.”

“Neither did I, but Tenn helped me find a book with instructions on how to develop pictures. It’s surprisingly more difficult than the movies made it out to be, to be honest,” he added, furrowing his brow.

“Well, tell Tenn thank you from me later,” Clem said, clutching the frame tightly to her chest. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, her eyes filling with tears against her better judgment.

Louis stood and kneeled beside her, placing his hand over her right knee. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” she said, dabbing furiously at her eyes. “I love it.”

And indeed, she did love it. That evening, as she paced the room once more, the framed picture of their ninja family, as Louis called them, sat on the bedside table. The downside of the gift being so incredible, Clem thought ruefully, was that now she had to work twice as hard to come up with a great one herself. How could she ever hope to compare to a beautiful handmade gift such as that?

The answer to her question, thankfully, came to her in the form of Aasim a few days later. He walked up to her as she was doing her usual walk around the perimeter. For the last few months, Aasim had been trying to grow a beard, much to Ruby’s dismay. Despite his best efforts, it was patchy on spots and did not look nearly as cool as he’d hoped it would.

She chose not to comment on it when he beckoned her to a corner of the wall. She followed his gesture and leaned against the wall, thankful for a small relief from having to carry her whole weight on one leg.

“What’s up?” she asked, intrigued.

“I heard that you still haven’t found a present for Louis,” he said, cutting straight to the chase.

“Yeah,” she said, slightly ashamed of herself.

“I got something you could give him,” Aasim said, smirking.

Clem surveyed him, scanning him for any signs of a package. When she found none, she stared at him with a puzzled look. “If you do, you hid it very well,” she teased.

Rolling his eyes, Aasim shook his head. “It’s not exactly an object,” he explained. “I just want to help you out, since Louis can go a little overboard with gifts sometimes.”

Thinking of the frame on her bedside table, she nodded vigorously. “Why are you helping me?”

“He’s my best friend,” he said simply, shrugging. “And I know he’ll love this.”

And so, Aasim relayed the information to Clementine. The more he talked, the more Clementine liked the idea. Barely twenty minutes later, the plan was in motion as Clem and Aasim made their way back into the school for dinner.

It was a testament to how excited she was to give Louis his gift that she barely slept that night, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Two nights later, she dreamed of Louis turning down her gift because it was too simple and did not compare to his. No matter how much she argued, he would not change his mind.

She woke with a start on the morning of September 25th, cold sweat running down her back and forehead. The clock on her nightstand told her it was nine-thirty, much later than she usually let herself sleep. The bed on the other side of the room was empty. AJ must have let her sleep in while he went on patrol with Tenn, she thought.

He would be seven years old soon, Clem realized with a start. Had it really been that long? With a yawn, she lifted herself from the bed and grabbed the crutches that leaned against the bedside table. She stretched her right leg, looking down at the stump on her left knee.

No matter how many times she looked at it, she was still not getting used to the feeling. Sometimes it even felt like she had it back, a tingly sensation where her toes were supposed to be. She would look down in excitement only to be disappointed time and time again.

“I guess this is how Reggie and Lee felt, huh,” she mused to herself, thinking of their amputations. Had Reggie had so much trouble adapting to his new reality? Clem surely was…

After donning her leather jacket and denim jeans – the latter was still tricky business with only one leg to support herself – she waddled over to the door and walked into the hallway to face the day ahead. Upon arriving at the courtyard, she looked around and found Aasim standing by the gate, speaking to Willy. She walked over to them just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation.

“-me know if anything’s moving around out there,” Aasim was saying. Willy nodded and turned back to his post, holding a hunting rifle they’d found in a nearby town.

When he turned, he spotted Clem standing beside one of the tables and walked up to her. “Morning,” he said. “Slept well?”

“Not at all,” Clem said truthfully, “Have you seen Louis?”

“I sent him on a supply run with Violet, as promised,” he assured her, nodding. “It’s on the other side of the forest, so you’ll have enough time to prepare for when he comes back, which should be around dusk.”

“Good, thanks.” She looked around and saw the rest of the group milling about their respective chores. The morning sun blazed above them, the last vestiges of summer lingering for a few more days yet. Despite the warm weather, the first leaves of fall had already begun to fall onto the courtyard, spraying the ground with a bright orange and yellow hue.

Ruby was using a large rake to clear a path between the admin building and the greenhouse, muttering a soft country song to herself. Tenn and Omar were discussing lunch and dinner plans for the day by the pot, apparently deep in conversation. She did a headcount in her head, coming up one person short.

She was about to ask Aasim about AJ when her question was answered. The boy had just walked out of the admin building’s doors, his trademark revolver in his hands. When he spotted Clem, as was his custom, his eyes lit up and he rushed to her, much like he’d done that fateful day almost a year ago.

“Clem, you’re up,” he said excitedly, stashing his gun in his back pocket.

“Had a fun patrol?” she asked him, ruffling his overly long hair. He’s overdue for a haircut, she thought to herself, making a mental note to ask Ruby for scissors.

“Yup,” AJ said, nodding. “I found a couple of rats in an abandoned classroom, but I couldn’t catch them.”

“Best not to try again, kiddo,” Clem warned him, frowning. “They could bite you or something.”

AJ furrowed his brow as well, thinking hard. “Can rats make you turn into walkers?”

Looking around to Aasim for assistance, Clem shrugged. The man did the same and placed a reassuring hand on AJ’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I don’t think they can,” he assured the boy. “I think Louis got bit once when we were like twelve. Had a nasty scar on his finger, but hasn’t turned since.”

“You never know,” AJ muttered, looking down in thought. Both Clem and Aasim laughed, confusing the young boy even further.

Excusing herself, Clem led AJ to one of the tables and asked him to sit down. AJ did as he was told, leaning on his elbows in the same fashion Louis did sometimes at dinner. It was uncanny how many mannerisms the boy had picked up from the young pianist.

“Anything interesting to report?” she asked conversationally, resting her chin on one of her hands, tiredness still tugging at her eyelids.

“Not really, other than those rats I told you about,” AJ replied, shrugging. “Sometimes I try to make up games to pass the time, but I’m not very good at it.”

Clem raised her eyebrows, a smile etched on her face at his innocence. “Games such as…?”

Looking down at the markings on the table, AJ said, “Um, well. Like counting how many windows there are in the entire school.”

“Sounds like fun,” Clem said, nodding. “And how many are there?”

“Couldn’t remember the numbers past seventy, but I think there’s probably a lot more.”

“Yeah, we’ll work on that a little more, how about that?”

AJ nodded vigorously, clearly eager for another session of homeschooling with the rest of the group, all of whom had added something to the table when it came to educating Clementine’s young charge.

So far, Ruby had taught him to tend to small plants, which he didn’t find particularly fun, but still pleasant nonetheless. Aasim and Louis had taught him to tie a number of knots for traps, most of which were still too complex for him to memorize them, but his spirit never wavered. Since Clem could not easily move around, Violet had taken over training him in a rudimentary form of hand-to-hand combat, which was definitely AJ’s favorite new subject.

“So,” she said, scratching the back of her head. “I’m going out of the school tonight.”

“Like, into the forest?” AJ asked, puzzled. “Why at night?”

“Just… something,” she said vaguely. “I won’t be sleeping in our room tonight either, but I’ll be back in the morning before you wake up.”

She’d been expecting some sort of interrogation, and maybe even sadness, but she hadn’t expected what came next.

“No,” AJ said simply, crossing his arms. “No, you’re not going out unless you tell me what you plan on doing.”

“What?” Clem asked, taken aback.

“I’m tired of you not telling me stuff to protect me or whatever,” he said, making air quotes with his fingers; another one of Louis’s teachings. Damn you, Louis. “Either tell me or I won’t let you go.”

Sighing, she looked back at the gate through which her boyfriend was gathering supplies for the group. She figured nothing would change the young boy’s mind, so there was no use in arguing back. She turned back to AJ and nodded, pursing her lips apprehensively.

“Alright, you deserve to know, I guess,” she said.

Taken aback by the quick change of heart, AJ’s eyes went wide and he fell silent, his mouth slightly open in anticipation.

“Today is mine and Louis’s anniversary,” she said, unsure of how to approach such a delicate subject.

“Anni – Anniversary?” AJ said slowly, his look of wonderment still present on his face. “What’s that?”

Thinking hard, Clem chose her words carefully. “It’s like… a birthday,” she explained awkwardly, tilting her head to her side. “Like a birthday for our relationship. It’s been exactly one year since he and I got together, you understand?”

“Yeah,” he replied, still looking puzzled. “But what does that have to do with going out at night?”

“You see, when you celebrate an anniversary, you give each other gifts,” she said, pointing to the window that led to their room on the inside. “Like that frame he gave me the other day. And my gift to him is hidden outside in the forest, and it’s better to give it to him at night.”

“I see,” AJ almost whispered, his eyes running the length of the table, scanning the markings that he himself had added onto. “Can you tell me what it is? Maybe I can help you.”

Clem chuckled and reached over the table, tapping his nose affectionately. “No, kiddo,” she said, shaking her head. “This is something for just us, I’m sorry.”

AJ nodded slowly, a little crestfallen. “I understand,” he told her, smiling back at her. “Thank you for telling me, though.”

She placed a soft hand over his and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.”

Sure enough, that night, Clem was waiting for Louis at the gate around dusk. The sun was beginning to set on the west, the orange tint of the sky the only evidence that it had even been there minutes before. She nervously tapped her right foot on the concrete, thinking about the route Aasim had told her to take.

“A right, left, then another left,” she was muttering to herself. Seemingly out of nowhere, another voice replied with a cheerful yet tired tone about it.

“What, did your GPS break down?”

Whirling around as fast as her crutches would allow, she now stood in front of a tired-looking Louis, whose forehead was matted with sweat. He carried a medium-sized box with a few cans of beans, tuna, and what looked like expired candy.

“You’re back,” she exclaimed, smiling. “I was getting worried.”

“Worry not, I have returned,” he said, extending her arms theatrically. “I’m starving, actually.”

“Um,” she said, stopping him from rushing to the admin building. The rest of the courtyard was already empty, as they had had an early dinner. “I was actually thinking we could go out for a walk, don’t you think?”

She gestured to the forest, where an owl hooted loudly and flapped its wings. Louis raised an eyebrow at her, puzzled.

“Is this some joke Aasim put you up for?” he said, chuckling.

Sure hope not, she thought to herself. “No, I just wanted to show you your gift,” she said in a convincingly innocent tone. “Happy anniversary, Louis.”

She reached over and planted a soft kiss on his cheek that seemed to reawaken his senses. His face parted into a grin and made sure to leave the box of stuff by the gate. When he was done, he clapped his hands together. “That’s awesome, scavenger hunt sounds like fun,” he quipped, leaning down and taking her hand in his.

The couple started walking forwards, Clementine mostly leading the way. Despite not being accustomed to seeing her stump every morning, she had become quite adept at moving around on crutches, mostly due to Louis’s and AJ’s assistance. She trudged through the muddy grounds, making sure not to sink the wood too deep into any loose dirt patches.

The dark forest loomed ahead, the full moon shining brilliantly above them like a beacon, beckoning them to go deeper. Their steps were punctuated by the crunching of dry leaves, the only sound other than their breaths and the scuttling of small animals. Louis followed Clem without a word, and Clem went through the path in her mind over and over again.

At one point, about an hour after they’d departed, Louis’s resolve was beginning to waver. She heard him clear his throat behind her.

“Hey, Clem? Where exactly are we going?” he asked, his right hand in Clem’s and his left holding Chairles loosely.

Clem took a moment to stop and look around, grinning at him. “It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I just told you now, would it?”

Louis sighed and nodded wearily. “I guess you’re right,” he said, smirking back at her. “Lead the way, Sunshine.”

Clementine chuckled as she turned and started back up the winding path. “Sunshine?” she asked, shaking her head.

“What? I think it’s cute,” he said, shrugging. “I was trying something, give me a break.”

“Alright, I’ll give it to you, it was kind of cute,” she admitted, rolling her eyes. “But don’t get too used to it.”

“Too late, Sunshine,” he quipped, picking up the pace to be on par with her and looking down at his girlfriend.

Sighing, Clem shook her head. “I guess I had that one coming,” she conceded, squinting as she looked for the signal Aasim told her would be around. When she spotted a small red handkerchief protruding from a spruce tree to their left, she knew where she was.

“We’re very close, only ten minutes left,” she told him, squeezing his hand affectionately.

“Can’t wait.”

For ten minutes they trudged through the thicket of trees that seemed to deepen the darkness around them, yet a single strand of silver light still illuminated their path for them. At long last, the small path opened up into a small pond the size of a large swimming pool. Around it, the roots of the trees shied away from the edge, yet small, white flowers blossomed on the reed-filled bank on one side.

Both Clem and Louis took in a deep breath as they took in the sight in front of them, their hands still intertwined. The lack of treetops above let enough moonlight shine through that visibility was enough to move around. They walked towards the edge of the water and around the pond to where a small clearing stood, almost expecting them to take the spot for themselves.

“Woah,” she heard Louis say as he looked around. “How come I’ve never found this?”

“Aasim said you probably haven’t wandered this far north,” she explained. Louis extended her hand to help her down and sat down beside her, setting the crutches on her side. “He claims to be the only one to know about this place.”

“Well, I’m sure Ruby knows about it too,” Louis said cheekily, smirking. Clem chuckled and silently agreed, making a mental note to ask Aasim if he’d brought Ruby here.

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes, basking in the beauty of their surroundings. The cold autumn breeze blew past them, making Clem shiver and wish she’d brought an extra layer of clothing. Louis seemed to have read her thoughts, for he took off his trench coat and draped it over her shoulders, much like she’d seen men do in those cheesy movies her mother used to love so much.

“Is this my anniversary gift?” Louis asked, looking up at the star-strewn sky.

“Uh, yeah,” Clem said lamely, scratching the back of her head. “I thought you’d like it.”

Backtracking, Louis nodded vigorously and smiled at her. “Oh, I love it! It’s very romantic,” he said, running a hand through his dreads and pulling them backward. His green shirt stuck to his body from sweat, making him seem slimmer than he was. Almost in unison, they both lay down on the bed of leaves, their hands intertwined at waist-height.

They talked about their days, Louis telling her about a couple of walkers he had to take out to get a hold of those expired candies. Unfortunately, once he’d tried one of them, his illusion to give them to AJ had been crushed. It hadn’t stopped him, however, from bringing them back just in case.

“You really went to all that effort for AJ?” she asked, tilting her head as much as she could, given her position on the ground.

“Of course,” he said, as it if was the most obvious thing in the world. “He’s your little dude. Our little dude.”

After saying the last words, Louis looked away quickly, his cheeks flushed. Clem’s eyes were wide, yet she did not flinch. As scared as she was of planning her life ahead, she knew her future, however short it may end up being, contained Louis in all scenarios.

“He really is,” she said reassuringly, placing a hand over his cheek and leaning in awkwardly. She planted a soft kiss on his lips, pulling him towards her. She heard his intake of breath as he deepened the kiss, running his thumb over her cheek.

After a few minutes, they broke apart, taking deep breaths as they regained their composure. Both their cheeks were flushed, and Louis’s chest was rising and falling rapidly.

“That was interesting,” he said croakily, barely above a whisper.

“Yeah,” she breathed, her eyes falling to his lips and back again to his brown eyes; the brown eyes that held so much joy in them and managed to reflect his smile every day, no matter how bleak the world may look now.

“Thank you, Louis,” she said finally, closing her eyes.

“What for?” he asked, puzzled.

Clem rose and leaned on her elbow, looking down at her boyfriend’s face. No matter how many times she had rehearsed this in her mind, the actual thing was much scarier than she’d ever imagined.

“Thank you for being there for me,” she explained, unable to meet his eyes. “For not giving up on me even when I seemed to give up on myself. In all honesty, I thought you’d leave me like a month into our relationship.”

“You know I’d never do that,” Louis exclaimed, almost defensively. Clem laughed softly despite herself.

“I know you wouldn’t,” she assured him, placing a finger over his lips to shut him up. “But that’s just how my mind works, don’t worry. And now, it’s been a whole year and we’re still together.”

Louis nodded with a smile, tilting his head as if to say, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“So I guess what I’m trying to say is,” she whispered, finding the courage to look Louis in the eyes. “I love you.”

Louis’s eyes, those that were always so confident and full of joy, opened wide as plates. His mouth fell agape and his heart seemed to have skipped a beat from the movement he made. As a response, he leaned in and placed another kiss on Clem’s lips. When they broke apart once more, they were both smiling.

“I love you too, Clementine,” he whispered, much gentler than Clem had ever heard him speak.

Somehow, they both managed to chuckle heartily, seemingly unable to keep their eyes off each other. For a few minutes, the two of them was all that mattered in the world. They were everything that was real, and everything else was just outside intrusion. No owls hooted nor frogs croaked as if the forest were holding its breath to give the couple the silence they deserved.

For minutes that seemed to stretch into hours – hell, it could have been days, – none of them spoke. Their hands rested on each other’s waists, Louis’s hand drawing small circles on a bit of exposed skin on Clem’s side, which made her giggle softly.

At the sound of her laugh, Louis smiled and kissed her again, as if he could not get enough of it. Neither could she, however, so she didn’t stop him.

This time, a sound did break their seemingly impenetrable silence. A small cricket had rested upon a small rock, drawing their attention to it. Suddenly, Clementine remembered the second part of her present.

“Oh shit, I forgot,” she exclaimed, looking around the ground, searching.

“You hid something else in here?” Louis joked, following her gaze.

“No, silly,” she said, rolling her eyes yet smiling nonetheless. “Got it!”

She was holding a small rock the size of a golf ball. Louis looked at her with a puzzled expression and waited. Clem lifted herself up to a sitting position and threw the rock in the middle of the pond, disturbing its waters as ripples exploded from where the rock had hit it. For a few seconds, Clem thought she looked foolish and thought maybe this really was a prank by Aasim.

After a few moments of pure silence, however, her prayers were answered. A small lightning bug appeared from within the reeds, lighting up like a small light bulb in the night. It flew out into the air and towards the sky before more followed. More and more fireflies were emerging from the darkness and lighting up the surface of the waters in a bright yellow hue.

“Wow,” she heard Louis whisper as he himself scrambled to a sitting position beside Clem.

Together, they watched the dance the fireflies made, wavering in the cold breeze into the autumn sky, joining their brethren toward the stars, seamlessly fading into the darkness. The scene reminded her of those times in New Year’s, when her parents would light up a balloon and let it loose into the air, joining countless others from their neighbors. The breath seemed to have escaped Clementine as she marveled at the dancing lights, and she knew Louis was thinking along the same lines.

“That,” he said from beside her, placing a hand on her thigh, “was beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” she said, making her own lame attempt at being as cheesy as her boyfriend. To her relief, he found it rather amusing and laughed.

“I think I’m rubbing off on you,” he said cheerfully, kissing her cheek. As was usual, she blushed.

“Yeah, maybe,” she said, turning to look at him with fire in her eyes, heat rising to her cheeks once more. “Happy anniversary, Louis.”

Smiling once more, Louis said, “Happy Anniversary, Firefly.”

[pocket-luv101]

Dramatic Blond || Part 2

Fandom: Servamp Ships: LawLicht (main), KuroMahi (side) Characters: Hyde, Licht, Kuro, Mahiru, Lily

Summary: Hyde enrolls in Juilliard to win back his ex. But then he meets Licht who helps him discover a new dream. He will become a famous actor and show his ex that he’s someone serious. (Legally Blonde AU)

Part 1 || (Part 2)  || Part 3 || Part 4

“I thought you were going to help me practise my improv, Angel Cakes. You’re paying more attention to Dr. Jekyll. He’s cute and all but I asked you to come over to help me with my improv class. You can pet him and read lines from a hat at the same time.” Hyde waved the upside-down hat in front of Licht. When he didn’t respond, he tapped the hat against his nose.

Licht swiped the hat from him and used it to lightly hit him as retaliation. Slips of papers flew into the air between them and Hyde waved them away. He picked one of the papers from blond hair and unfolded it. “Scenario: You are a demon who patrols the underworld. One day, you see an angel on the other side of the gate. What is the first thing you say to this angel?”

“I don’t remember writing that as a prompt.” Hyde took the paper from him and found that it said something different. He chuckled and said: “Of course, you would make something up with angels and demons, Lichtan. Can’t you take this seriously and read the lines like I asked you to?”

“You asked me to help you with improv and that’s what I’m doing. These prompts are from your textbook so you already thought of lines in response while you wrote them down. This is the best way to help you create a scene on the spot.” Licht told him. His reasoning made sense to Hyde so he nodded. “The angel tells you that he intends to break down the gate. How do you respond, Demon?”

“With a declaration of peace and love.” He cupped his hands around Licht’s. “Sweet angel, there’s no need to be so violent. Give us a chance before you decide we’re all evil demons. I will open the gate for you and show you the Demon Realm. We’ll go wherever your heart desires. Maybe you’ll discover that we’re not so different and decide to stay with us.”

“Demons took the love of my life. I cannot forgive them for their crimes against angels.” Licht said to change the direction of the improv skit. Even if he was merely practising his acting, he felt flustered by his light flirting. Hyde was attractive and he could easily picture him on a large stage. More than his looks, he was talented. His eyes appeared sincere and his smooth voice was almost able to trick him.

“Your angel left you for a demon? Then there’s only one thing we can do, Angel Cakes. Let’s date and make your ex jealous! So, what do you say?” He asked but Licht’s response was to hit him with a pillow. Hyde managed to catch the pillow and tossed it back to him. He chuckled and gathered the loose papers. “I guess I went too far. Let’s pick another scenario.”

“Give me a second to think of one you can’t turn into a cheesy rom-com. Do you have any suggestions, Jekyll? Squeak, squeak.” He spoke with the hedgehog as if it could understand him. Their interaction made him chuckle. He could almost believe that the two were having a conversation. He was certain that there wasn’t anyone else like Licht though.

His hedgehog hopped off his lap and scurried into an opened closet. Licht stood and followed the small animal. He guessed that it wanted to explore its new home and it was drawn to dark places. He pulled a cardboard box out of the closet so he could find Jekyll. As he set the box aside, he noticed a colourful scrapbook inside. He didn’t think Hyde would own something so childish.

Hyde noticed him staring at the scrapbook and he took it out of the box. He sat next to Licht and opened it on his lap. “I made this when I was a kid. My baby brother must’ve put it in here when we were packing. Lily is pretty sentimental. It’s a scrapbook of my dreams. My drawings haven’t improved since I made this so it would be impossible for me to get into Juilliard on my art skills.”

“Your drawings aren’t the best but these dreams are interesting. Is this a farm of hedgehogs?” Licht found Dr. Jekyll and petted him fondly.

“A petting zoo, actually. I planned to only have hedgehogs in my zoo. They’re the cutest animal in the world so you don’t need anything else.” He told him but he was a little embarrassed of his six year old self. Licht didn’t laugh at his silly dream though. He pointed to the next picture and Hyde told him, “That’s me building a fortress on the moon. I also want to find a talking whale and befriend him.”

They continued to go through the scrapbook together. He flipped to the next page where there was a stage drawn in crayon. “I forgot about this one. I wanted to star in a production of Hamlet with my friend, Ophelia. We planned to rewrite the play and have Ophelia actually team up with Hamlet. They would pull an elaborate prank on the Uncle. The ghost dad helps them too.”

“You read a Shakespearean tragedy like Hamlet when you were a kid? I can barely understand those plays at this age.” Licht didn’t know if he should be impressed or question how a child discovered the play. “You know a lot of quotes from Shakespeare’s plays. Did you practice them with Ophelia like what we’re doing right now?”

“She joined the drama club in high school and I would help practice her lines. Ayato didn’t like me hanging out with her though. I tried to tell him that Ophelia and I were just friends but he was pretty possessive. Ophelia and I eventually stopped talking and we drifted apart.” He shrugged but Hyde now regretted losing that friendship.

“Isn’t that a big, red flag?” Licht understood that it was difficult for the person in the relationship to see those flags in the moment. His mother dated demons because she thought they were fallen angels. She was a hopeless romantic and believed she could fix them. They broke her heart more often than not. It taught him that demons won’t change until they want to improve themselves.

Hyde closed the book. “My new dream is for Ayato to see me on that stage and regret dumping me.”

“Why is your new dream still centered around your ex when you have this scrapbook of better goals?” Licht leafed through the pages. He thought that it was a shame he gave up on himself long ago. He didn’t know if he could say anything to dissuade him. “Greedy isn’t the worst thing to be, as long as you’re honest and work hard to get what you truly want.”

Hyde’s phone buzzed and he checked the email. “They just posted the audition dates and requirements. It looks like we have to cancel our study session next week. I have to pick a monologue and memorize the short scene they sent me. This is going to take up my weekend and I probably won’t get a big part.”

“Only if you act half heartedly. Print out that script and I’ll read through it with you.”

Mahiru hummed softly as he polished a trumpet. He considered himself lucky to have a music shop close to Juilliard but it kept him very busy. At least he managed to find free time that day. He was expecting a visit from Hyde and Licht since they agreed to have lunch together. He loved both cooking and music. Mahiru offered to cook for them and they were out buying groceries.

The door chime rang, signalling that someone had entered his store and he looked up. It wasn’t Hyde or Licht though. Mahiru didn’t recognize the man. Due to his blue hair, he assumed he was also attending Juilliard. He put on a professional smile and greeted the man. “Welcome. Is there anything you’re looking for? I would be happy to help you.”

“Are you Mahiru?” The question made him pause but he nodded. Mahiru didn’t know how the man knew his name before he gave it. Then, he said: “Hyde told me about you. I wanted to talk to you about him.”

“You must be Ayato.” His brown eyes narrowed. Hyde had only told him about one other man in his life that went to Juilliard. He had to admit that he looked different than he imagined. The man was handsome but much older than Hyde. He appeared to be only a few years older than Mahiru. When he started to speak, Mahiru raised his hand.

“Let me stop you right now. Hyde told me about you, Ayato. It was wrong for you to string him along and I won’t let you do that again. Hyde is my friend. Whatever you want from me, my answer is no. So, please leave my store right now.” Mahiru gestured to the door but then he noticed Hyde’s car in the store window.

Mahiru tried to think of what to do as Hyde parked his car. He was worried that Hyde would cause a scene once he sees his ex-boyfriend again. Before he could, Hyde spotted them as well and waved happily to them. He walked inside and yelled: “Hi, Nii-san! You came earlier than I thought he would.”

“Nii-san?” Mahiru repeated in shock. He looked between the two and Kuro nodded. He couldn’t find a family resemblance between them. Yet, it was clear that the two were siblings by the way they interacted with each other. Hyde poked Kuro and then hugged him briefly. After he talked with Kuro, he faced Mahiru to introduce his brother.  

“It looks like you already met my brother, Kuro. Is it okay if he joins us for lunch? I accidentally agreed to hang out with him today without realizing it’s the same day we were supposed to have lunch. Kuro doesn’t drive down to New York often.” Hyde explained. Mahiru felt guilty for his earlier assumption and readily nodded. “It looks like Licht needs help with the bags. You two talk while I help him.”

“Just put the bags on the counter. I’ll start cooking in a minute.” Mahiru waited for Licht and Hyde to leave until he apologized to Kuro. “I am so sorry I mistook you for Ayato. Hyde didn’t tell me he had a brother but it was still wrong of me to make assumptions. I was planning to cook ramen. Is there anything special you want in your bowl? It’ll be my way of apologizing.”

“Don’t worry. I know the family resemblance is hard to see.” He was glad to see that Kuro was understanding. “I’m happy that Hyde has a friend who would defend him. Honestly, I was concerned about him enrolling in Juilliard. It would be troublesome if he started dating Ayato again. He’s an adult but I still worry about him. Actually, I wanted to ask about him and Licht.”

“They’re close friends despite their differences.” It was clear to Mahiru that he cared for his family. He smiled up at Kuro and placed the trumpet in a case. “But they do need supervision or else they’ll find something to fight over. Go join them upstairs while I flip the open sign. You and your brother must have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I’m pretty sure Hyde has a lot more to tell me than the reverse. I don’t get the chance to meet interesting people often. Well, today might be an exception.” He said before he walked away. Mahiru could feel himself blushing as he watched Kuro leave. He didn’t know if he was flirting with him but his subtle smile was rather charming.

Hyde stayed behind while his brother walked up the stairs. He looked between the two and a knowing smile spread across his face. After Mahiru locked the shop door and flipped the open sign, he approached him. In a teasing voice, Hyde said: “What do you think of my brother? He seems to like you. It’s rare that he’s taken with someone so quickly. You should have another lunch with just him.”

“Kuro seems like a good guy but I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship.” He told him. “Anyways, I’m busy with my music shop. I don’t know if I have a lot to offer him in a relationship.”

“Don’t say that, Mahiru.” Hyde clapped his hand on his back. While he and Licht were neighbours, he doubted they would’ve become so close without Mahiru’s advice. He thought he could repay the favour. “We’ve known each other for a few months now but I rarely see you go out. Close the shop on a Sunday and go on a date with Kuro.”

“I doubt he’ll ask me out.” Mahiru shook his head.

“Let me show you a trick! It’s called the ‘bend and snap’. When you want to catch a guy’s attention, pretend to drop something. You bend down, wait a few seconds and then stand up like so. It shows off your ass and he won’t be able to take his eyes off you. Now, follow me.” He dropped a pen on the ground. Hyde bent down but then he heard a loud clatter behind him.  

He looked back and saw that Licht was struggling with a drum set. He must’ve accidentally walked into the instrument. Hyde went to help him and straightened the drums. He laughed and asked him, “Are you okay, Lichtan? You’re not the clumsy type who walks into things.”

“It was nothing!” He insisted with a blush. He hoped Hyde wouldn’t be able to see how flustered he was. Licht didn’t know how Hyde would react if he told him that he distracted him and made him walk into the drum set. He couldn’t meet his red eyes so he turned to Mahiru. He changed the subject and said, “I came down to ask if you want any help cutting the vegetables.”

“That would be great.” Mahiru smiled at his friend. “I’ll have lunch ready in twenty minutes.”

“I’ve never been to a musical before. It was more fun than I thought it would be but it’s a little too flashy for my tastes.” Licht told him as they walked out of a small, local theater. The sunlight made him wince after sitting in the dark for an hour. A shadow fell over him when Hyde held a textbook over his head. He grinned down at him and lightly tapped the book against his hair.

“Lighting and other technical things are the unsung heroes of a production. They enhance the actor’s performance. I guess you wouldn’t feel the same since you want to be a concert pianist. You’re the type who prefers working alone too.” Hyde said and replaced his textbook in his bag. “I picked the musical so what do you want to do next?”

“I need to stretch my legs after sitting for so long. Let’s walk through the plaza and look around.” Licht suggested but he was already walking forward. They fell into step next to each other and discussed the musical. He was rarely about to pull himself away from his piano but going to the theater was a fun change of pace. Hyde’s company made it better than he would admit.

Licht left his class and his attention was drawn to a crowd across the courtyard. He was curious about what had their attention. “What’s so interesting about this wall?”

“Our professor must’ve just put up the audition result.” He took his hand and pulled him towards the crowd. Hyde thought that it was best to wait for the crowd to thin before he checked the list. He did his best at the audition but he doubted he got a large part. “Will you come watch me even if I’m just an extra on stage?”

“Did you see what part you got already?” Licht stood on his toes in a vain attempt to see past everyone to the audition result sheet. The text was too small for him to see at a distant. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed Hyde shake his head. “Then why would you say you’re an extra? You’re hopeless, Shit Rat. I’m interested in seeing that play though. What is it?”

“Romeo and Juliet. I like that play but I was hoping that they would put on one of his lesser known plays. Maybe a comedy like…” Hyde trailed off. Licht noticed his gaze appear far away and he turned around to see what caught his attention. A man approached them but he didn’t recognize who he was. He saw how Hyde stiffened. “Oh, Ayato. I don’t see you around campus often.”

“I switched programs a week ago.” Ayato told him. Licht found himself stepping in front of Hyde slightly. He didn’t know why he felt protective of him.

“You switched majors in the middle of the semester?” Licht didn’t hide how doubtful he was.

“His parents are influential people in the music industry and they’re almost as wealthy as my family. Almost.” Hyde whispered into his ear. Licht rolled his eyes at Ayato and it was clear that he was far from impressed by the man. “I didn’t see you at the audition. What part did you try out for?”

“My fiancé and I auditioned to be Romeo and Juliet.” He answered. The short answer echoed in Hyde’s mind and he felt himself froze. Fiancé? They dated for nearly seven years yet Ayato proposed to someone else shortly after their break up. A few months ago, the news would’ve devastated him. Hyde neither felt sad nor upset now.

“Shit Rat, who’s Tybalt?” Licht interrupted them. He faced them and tapped his knuckles on the piece of paper. “You’re playing him and not an extra. I don’t remember much from high school English class but I think he’s important.”

“I got the part?” Hyde knew Licht wasn’t the type to lie but he was still in disbelief. He skimmed his finger over the names until he found his own. Next to his name was ‘Tybalt’ in black and white. He read it a few times and a smile slowly spread across his face. Suddenly, Hyde hugged Licht. He spun in a circle and his feet was lifted off the ground. “I got the part!”

“I know, Shit Rat. I was the one who pointed it out to you. Put me down before all this spinning makes me puke. I will throw up on you.” He warned. He felt dizzy when he placed him on his feet again. Licht wasn’t angry after he saw Hyde’s large grin. He had never seen him so happy or proud. That smile had a charm that made his heart skip.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get the part without you, Lichtan. Thank you. I’ll take you out for dinner as a treat.” He took Licht’s hand and started to pull him away. He faced Ayato and said, “You’re playing Mercutio. I can’t wait for our big scene together.”

Hyde grinned at Ayato before he walked away with Licht.

[iamapoopmuffin]

Victims With Numbers

Fandom: Nanbaka/Corpse Party (crossover) Genre: Horror Characters: Hajime Sugoroku, Samon Gokuu, Kiji Mitsuba, Kenshirou Yozakura, Jyugo, Uno, Nico, Rock, Tsukumo, Liang, Upa, Qi, Honey, Trois, Musashi, Sachiko Shinozaki, Ryou Yoshizawa, Yuki Kanno, Tokiko Tsuji, Yoshikazu Yanagihori, Yoshie Shinozaki, Takamine Yanagihori, some OCs to take the role of Kizami later on instead of actual Kizami Includes major character death.

Chapter 14 of ?

Liang and Keiko had found their way back to the bathroom. The one taped shut with the charms that seared flesh. There had been no further sign of the ghost child, nor of the spirit that had saved Liang before. It truly seemed as if it were just the two of them in that building, though he was sure he could hear footsteps now and then. They'd found little to do, beyond circling the building a few times, trying to find something that might be of use. A way to open the main doors, a clue to where the others may have gone, just anything. At first, the only new thing Liang could note was that someone had scrawled over a flyer stuck to the wall. Before, the flyer had been uninteresting. A bake sale advertisement from before Heavenly Host closed its gates. When they passed the flyer for maybe the third time, it had blood on it. Not in splatters or drops either, no spray or lean. It hadn't just gotten there by mistake. No no, something was written there, scrawled in sloppy and shaky Chinese. Smeared in unsteady blood letters with several jittery mistakes, parts of the lettering reversed, trails where the writer's hand weakened and fell from the paper, and points where the letters went over the edge of the paper and onto the wall instead.

ART ROOM

FR

    IE

        ND

2 1 7 1 4

       111111111KNIIIIIII

DO   T  R S   H  OL E    R TH  

H E L P

It was most likely from the spirit from before. A message to someone, to tell them to meet in the art classroom, just as the spirit had told him verbally, as well as something indeterminable.

Perhaps this message was written for the lost little girl to find.

Perhaps there was someone else here he was supposed to meet with.

Perhaps it was something the man wrote before he died, and the message was never even meant for Liang.

But that begged the question of how many people would actually be here expecting to communicate with their friends in Chinese. From what he could tell, the majority of people trapped here were from Japan, which made sense. The building itself had been Japanese, and the story, the legend of the school and of the deaths was one circulated in Japan. So it must have been meant at the very least for a Chinese speaker. The next question was what did the numbers mean? If the writer was from Nanba, it made sense for him to signal to specific people with numbers, but the numbers used didn't specify any of the inmates, except for maybe Qi and himself. More than anything, that was unnerving. The jumble of 1's and unfinished hanzi only complicated the message further. Something the spirit, possibly, tried to write with the last of his strength, making it an important message, but one that he could not fully tell.

Shortly after this, Keiko's sharp eye had spotted something in one of the cabinets in the art classroom that Liang had overlooked. Beneath a needle-like implement sat a white board, a thin rectangle with writing on it. A charm. If he remembered correctly, there had been similar charms around the temple where he'd grown up. It was Keiko's opinion that the charm might counteract the ones on the bathroom door, and Liang, knowing that if done correctly such things indeed had the potential for great power, had agreed to retrieve it from the cabinet. The door was locked, but unlike the front door, this one could be broken or forced. They just needed something to help them cause a little extra damage. Some of the works of art around the room would have been enough to do the trick - the room still held works from when the room was in use. Children's paintings on the easels, clay and papier-mâché models and chalk doodles stacked in the corner. Some of these items were perfectly innocent creations made by children of the past, including the odd picture or piece that looked very phallic but was undoubtedly just a clumsy drawing of a fruit bowl or animal. Other pieces matched the dark atmosphere of the school. A painting of a person hanging by their neck. A piece of paper with a red scribble and the caption 'man went splat'. A model of a child's hand with what was undeniably blood staining the fingers. Depictions of pain and fear, some in far too much detail to be the work of a child. In the end, Liang had picked up one of the clay models, judging by the scoring a cactus, and used it to break the glass of the cabinet. Taking care not to cut himself, he lifted the charm from its place. There was a genuine power within it, he could feel it.

Which was why they'd chosen to return to the bathroom, charm in hand. No discussion, but no certainty. Liang carefully laid the charm before the doors before stepping back, one arm held out to the side to keep Keiko away from any potential danger ahead of them. At first, it seemed as if nothing was happening, and then he felt the heat. It came off the charm in waves, banishing the icy cold of the abandoned school. It quickly got warm enough that the two of them began to sweat. When the first of the warding spells on the door caught fire, Liang pulled Keiko back a few more steps and held a hand up for some degree of protection. By the time all the spells were alight, the fire burned too bright to look at.

"The school's gonna burn down!" Keiko squeaked in terror. "We can't get out! We're gonna die, we're gonna-!" She cut off and went into wordless screaming as Liang pulled her back even further, stepping in front of her to block her from the flames. He felt the heat against his back threaten to burn any skin it could find. He dared a glance back, to see how the fire was spreading, and was surprised to see that the fire seemed to not so much as skim the wood of the door. It burned away the paper spells, turning them to ash, and then sputtered out, taking all the heat with it at once.

Slowly, he turned to the door and took Keiko's hand, leading her forward as she, realising the heat was gone, opened her eyes and tried to calm herself down. He didn't look at her, but he could tell she was in tears and very, very afraid. When he reached out to the door, he found the handle was cool, as if it hadn't been exposed to the fire at all. The door slid open now without hesitation, and Liang stepped into the boys' bathroom.

The bathroom was in a better state than those he had seen before, at least. There were about five stalls, as in the girls' bathroom in the main building, but all of them were locked. From the top of the stalls, he could see ropes coming up and leading to some point along the high ceiling. He wasn't sure the ceiling was meant to be that high. A few urinals stood at a low height, blocked and flooded, but not broken. Usable. Between the urinals and the stalls, a young man with purple hair was curled up in foetal position, entire body tense and very, very still. From where he stood, Liang wasn't entirely sure if the young man was still alive or not. He was either petrified in fear in the truest sense of the phrase, or he was freshly deceased and entering a state of rigor mortis.

"Motomu?"

Liang looked to Keiko as she shuffled into the room. Her eyes were fixed on the purple-haired boy on the floor, who looked up in response to his name, his movements stiff and almost unnatural.

"K-...Kei-chan..." The boy, Motomu, got to his feet, and Keiko ran to him, sobbing. The two embraced, and Liang watched them, a smile on his face. At the very least, he could be happy they'd been reunited. He decided to hang back, let them have their moment for now, and tried not to listen to their conversation. They were fairly loud, though, and it was rather awkward.

"I was so scared, big brother!"

"I know. I'm sorry. But it's okay, Kei-chan. I won't leave you again for as long as you live. I won't let the ghosts here hurt you."

"Yui...Yui was-"

"I know. Makishi too. I saw them both. I bet it was that ghost girl holding the scissors. But I saw someone hurt someone else from their own school..." The elder brother took something from his back pocket and held it out behind Keiko's back, shifting his grip to angle the object slightly. "But don't worry. Big brother will take care of everything."

In a moment, Keiko was thrown to the floor, and Motomu pinned, his arm held high over his back. Liang's knee was digging into the boy's spine, keeping him down, and he had a vice-like grip on Motomu's wrist. In the boy's hand was a knife. By the looks of it, it was new, and a professional hunting knife, but had been used and hastily wiped clean. A faint smear of red still stained the surface. From where Liang had been standing, he'd seen, from the corner of his eye, Motomu preparing to plunge the knife into his sister's neck. A quick twist of the wrist, and the boy released the knife, allowing the inmate to kick it across the room.

"B...big brother?" Keiko managed from her place on the floor, staring at the boys in shock, tears forming in her eyes already. Liang's focus, of course, was on her attacker.

"You were going to attack your own sister?!"

Motomu, to his credit, completely ignored him. "Keiko! What's wrong with you? You just went off with a stranger? I get you were scared, but you don't know this guy! He could have hurt you! Look at him, look at this place! Look at what happened to Yui. For all you know, he could have done that."

"Care to explain why you're armed, and why you're turning your weapons on us?"

"Have you seen the corpses, genius?"

Fair point, at least for the first question. "Where did you get the knife from? Why did you attack your sister?"

Motomu twisted in his grip, trying to look him in the eye. "Why did you go to prison?"

The atmosphere seemed to drop even further. The suffocating darkness wrapped around the three of them, and Liang could sense the murderous intent beneath him increase.

"Motomu. We need to work together to find a way out of this place. We can't turn on each other. Every second we're here, we're in extreme danger. We need to know you don't add to that danger. Why did you point the knife at Keiko?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"You've barely answered any of mine."

"We can't get out of here."

"You've given up?"

"Not exactly."

"But you've turned to hurting others."

"You're no saint."

"What is wrong with you?"

Motomu twisted a little, trying to look Liang in the eye. There was something about the look in his eye that seemed very wrong. Something in there was cold, and dark, and tinged with insanity. He dropped his voice low, likely so his sister would not hear his next words. "Let me tell you this much, all you need to know. The spirits here are killing people, and those people are desperate to survive. But they can't. The ghosts will kill them, or they'll suffer some accident, or starve or dehydrate or sicken, or someone else will kill them. Someone like me, or maybe someone like you, right, Mr Criminal? Because I can see it in your face, you're no stranger to the stench of blood and rot, are you? You're not as disturbed as all the poor, innocent kids who come in here and die in some horrible, tragic way. And this place? It can twist your mind, poison your thoughts and make you want to kill. Not me, though, so don't worry.

"I've just always hated those people. Fake smiles. Platitudes. Pretence. Doesn't it all just make you so angry? But there's so many rules out there, rules that fall apart once you're in here. You can do whatever you want. Go crazy. Let loose all those nasty little thoughts and feelings. You don't have to serve your time or repent for anything you did wrong in the past. No prison, no punishment, just the freedom to suffer and cause suffering until your last breath."

Liang inhaled sharply, a thought coming to him during Motomu's words. "Those people you mentioned, the ones who had been killed...Yui and Makishi...did you do something to them?"

"It doesn't matter if you're killed by the ghosts or killed by me. Either way, you die."

[aworldoffandoms]

Runaway - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Duty Calls

Pairing: Liam x MC [Ariel]

Word Count: 3, 857+/- (my words got away with me)

Rating: T 

Warnings: Minor swearing

Summary: Liam continues with his duties as king but stumbles upon information that brings him a step closer to getting the answers he seeks.

MASTERLIST

Tag list: @hopefulmoonobject @annekebbphotography @am-i-invisible777  @blznbaby @khakie4 @lauradowning29 @blackcoffee85 @captain-kingliamsqueen @moneyfordiamonds @super-secret-fandom-blog @jovialyouthmusic @zaffrenotes @ao719 @umccall71 @carabeth @furiousherringoperatortoad

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Pixelberry and all characters belong to them. The plot is all mine.

A special shoutout to @ernestsinclairs ! Thank you for all your edits, suggestions and rewrites! You are honestly the best! :) 

The sun had chosen today of all days to hide behind the clouds as Liam exits the palace to head into the capital. Situations like a queen’s disappearance still didn’t exempt him of his duties. There was the grand opening of a new cancer wing of the Children's hospital, the annual yacht race preparations, the tedious task of approving foreign business licenses afterward. A little pang speared him in the heart as the first task strayed into his mind. The treatment had been set in a new healthcare scheme that Ariel had spearheaded as queen. One last act of the most benevolent person he knew. Families would be able to claim treatment on this scheme and be able to pay the treatment off within their price range. A win-win in any case. Liam would do anything to make it easier on the families going through turmoil with a sick child.

Liam knew he needed this, not only because Regina had urged him to, but for his people as well. He hadn’t been out of the palace for an official engagement in almost a month. His people were getting anxious and it didn’t help that the media was exacerbating the situation -- even bringing up Ariel’s disappearance more than twice in each broadcast.

In all instances, Liam had to agree with this statement, because, in some way, it was true. Although finding Ariel was his top priority, he feels his heart squeeze with guilt as he realizes that his people, his country, needs their King. He couldn’t afford them losing faith in him now.

Having a country which didn’t support him would be the final nail in his heart and his mental stability.

Ariel needs me also…

Liam had to prioritize in some way. This searching was becoming all-consuming and maybe, just maybe, it was starting to wear on him.

He was exhausted all the time. Less than 4 hours sleep, paired with those eight o’clock meetings every day and signing off on royal papers in between, while also searching for Ariel and he’s already on thin ice.

This was unhealthy and his people were starting to see the cracks.

Liam steels himself as he squares his shoulders while taking a deep breath and plasters the regal smile on his face he used for all royal occasions.

As soon as he steps out of the black SUV, the dulled voices of the crowd outside erupts into cheering and loud exclamations from the excited crowd at seeing their King again.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

“Oh my goodness! It’s the King!”

“I feel like we haven’t seen King Liam in ages. Does he look tired to you?”

That last comment hit a nerve but he pretends not to notice and keeps his carefully composed mask on his face as he continues his march towards the hospital.

He gives the crowd a smile and waves as he makes the rounds talking to a few commoners and nobles that have gathered for the cutting of the ribbon.

Bastien then guides him to the wing of the hospital where he is met with the Director of Medicine of the Cordonian Children’s Hospital. What was her name? Ingrid, probably.

Ingrid curtsies and raises her hand to Liam and gives him a smile. “Thanks for coming, your majesty. We are so honored to have you here.”

Liam smiles, reciprocating the gesture as he gives the director a firm handshake. “I am always happy to offer my support in any way possible that helps the children of Cordonia.”

Ingrid flashes him another warm smile.

“Well…if you’ll follow me I’ll give you a tour of the new wing and then you can cut the ribbon to commemorate its opening.”

Liam nods as he follows Ingrid with Bastien and the King’s Guard following close. The media trails behind them with a few cameras recording his journey through the hospital with avid interest.

The tour goes well and Liam offers a genuine smile to the cameras as he cuts the ribbon. On his way to the car, he stops and offers a few words to some kids that were clamoring to get a glimpse of the king. He had a few kind words to them until Bastien ushered him away. Duties in Valtoria awaited.

Hana and Maxwell had put all their energy into keeping that duchy alive and since both were on the Royal Council they had enough power to help. Liam had no qualms with that, given that he gave Ariel that duchy, to begin with.

Another royal engagement and another day without his queen. He almost wonders if this is what he’ll end up doing for the rest of his life. Taking it day by day, barely existing as the world moves on around him.

Liam sighs as he loosens his tie, stepping into the wardrobe that he once shared with his wife. His eyes glance to her side and another wave of pain spears through him at seeing it empty.

He swallows the lump in his throat. How can he still feel this way? Why can’t he move on? It was like he was stuck in mud or bound by chains and only Ariel had the means to get him out. She was the only one to lift him from this horrid, dark place that he’s been in ever since she left.

Liam turns around to step onto his side of their wardrobe and strips off his official daily regalia. As he shrugs off his jacket a flash of white catches his eye under the lights and his breath catches as he realizes that it was his royal wedding outfit. His heart thunders in his chest and his mind flits back to that day when Ariel’s face lit up as their eyes met from opposite sides of the cathedral. He wanted to run to her but knew it wasn’t the customary thing to do and instead marvelled at her beauty.

He runs his fingers down the sleeve of his wedding jacket, despite the pain he feels he can’t help but smile. He has to remember the good times he had with Ariel. He needs to have hope. That’s all he has left.

As he turns to go into the bathroom, his fingers catch on something as they were still trailing down the front of his jacket and he snaps his head to his white tux and furrows his brow.

What could that possibly be?  

Liam’s brow creases even further as he steps closer and digs into the front pocket of his jacket. His fingers latch on to something hard and paper-like. He lifts it from its confines and finds a folded piece of paper.

His eyes narrow as his mouth twists in confusion.

“What is this?” Liam mumbles as he flips it over.

Something nags at him and his stomach clenches when he realizes that this is another letter as he finds his name on top of it in the unmistakable cursive script of his wife.

Why would Ariel write me another note?

Liam’s heart almost stops. A new note? She honestly couldn’t break his heart more than she already has? Her words in her goodbye letter still haunt him.

He gulps as he slowly opens the note with shaking hands. His pulse increases when he finds his name at the top of the note, but it patters off in confusion when he finds a cluster of letters underneath it.

***

B TF WHBGC MABL YHK PHNK IKHMXVMBHG. 

PAXG RHN WXVBIXK

MABL, FTR RHNK CHNKGXRZ MTDX RHN MH FHLVHP  – KHNY TGLPXKL PBEE UX MHXKE

UX LTYX, FR EHOY

***

I am doing this for your protection.  When you decipher this, may your journeys take you to Moscow - your answers will be there.

Be safe, my love

***

What in god’s name is this?

They were all a jumble of words, though their meaning was obviously forthcoming. Something so important and astounding that it could blow this whole investigation of trying to find his queen wide open. As a king…should he know what this means?

Maybe he came across a topic like this in his studies as a teen, but being a teen and a prince at the same time, he’d followed in Leo’s example just once, wanting reckless adventure and wallowing in luxury. His education was important, but he found himself bored with Machiavellian theory and fork placement for five hours a day when all he wanted was to sneak out and play maze tag with his friends and brother.

Right now, he wants to kick his younger self.

One thing was for sure…he needed to get this piece of paper deciphered and the only person who knew how to at least try to understand that paper was Regina. Surely she would be willing to help - this was her daughter-in-law and the chance for a grandchild after all.

Liam wants to get to it straight away but as he glances at his watch, the time had simply flown by. Regina would most definitely be asleep, and she didn’t particularly like to be waked.

He’d ask her in the morning, he thought to himself as he felt a yawn overtake him.

Stepping in front of the vanity, the contents of the note still perplexing him as he finishes, dries and gets ready for bed.

Liam closes his eyes, the letters dancing behind his closed lids.

His gut told him that those jumbles of words were important. Hadn’t Ariel been the one to teach him that? It had to be a test. But…why did it take him two years to find it?

That suit jacket had hung on his shoulders for so many times since her disappearance…how did it just show up now?

Could it be possible that Ariel had planned this in her own way?

Liam’s face lights up in a smile, even as sleep starts to come for him. To this day, Ariel still surprises him. Her unpredictability and decisiveness always manages to surprise him. Damn, she was a force. And he loves her more for it.

I miss you, Ariel.

Liam’s eyes prickle with tears, the cloud of sorrow almost drowning him again as the remains of his broken heart melt on the floor as it calls for his life back.

Liam turns to his side and splays his hand out on Ariel’s side of the bed. He sighs. He wishes. He yearns and he aches and desires for her to be beside him so he can cradle her in his arms, sink into her scent of freesia and strawberries.

Liam drifts off into a deep slumber with the face of his beloved behind his eyes, hoping wherever she was, she was thinking of him too.

***

“Breaking News just coming out from Sweden...Prince Carl Philip has been confirmed missing by King Carl Gustav and Queen Silvia. The prince was last seen out with friends before disappearing after a royal engagement. The prince’s security detail was reportedly neutralized.

The Swedish Royal family has released a statement to the public:

“We are utterly distraught at the prospect of our son, Prince Carl Philip, missing. Our security staff and national police are looking into his disappearance. If anyone saw anything last night, please ring the royal press office at 9398-2345-5443 or email at royalpressoffice@swedenroyal.com

We thank you for all your thoughts and prayers at this tough time and we hope against hope that Prince Carl Philip will return to us soon.”

______________________________________________________________

“Prince Carl Philip was out celebrating his third wedding anniversary at the Villa Solbacken.

This news comes as a number of other royals have disappeared throughout Europe. Queen Letizia of Spain went missing three months ago. Today marks the one year anniversary since Prince Amedeo of Belgium also went missing. It’s been two and a half years since Queen Ariel of Cordonia vanished into thin air. Should the rest of Europe be worried?

Royalists like to think so. However, we cannot jump to conclusions.

Please remember that if you have seen or heard anything about Prince Carl Philip, let the royal press office know on the number on the screen.

Until then, I’m Kerri Constance, goodnight.”

“Seriously, Liam? You’re watching this shit?” Drake says as he arches his eyebrow at his best friend.

Liam gives Drake an exasperated scowl, his eyes still trained on the screen.

“No, Drake. I’m not watching this shit for fun. I’m watching it for a reason. The Prince of Sweden has gone missing.”

Drake’s eyes widen as he settles beside the king in the palace drawing room. The TV was blaring the six o’clock news, the anchors eagerly jumping on the story of the newest missing royal.

Liam stares intently at the screen and Drake just watches him for a minute, seeing the cogs turning in his mind. He was thinking and Drake liked to think that Ariel was on his mind. After all, why wouldn’t it be?

“They have been running this story all day. They’ve mentioned Ariel’s case a few times already.”

Drake nods as he leans forward in his seat, as he glances up at the TV listening to the anchorwoman talk about the missing prince and other royals that have been vanishing over the last few months.

“Have other royals been disappearing too?” Drake inquires.

Liam nods as he leans back against the couch, ticking off all the missing people on his fingers.

“They have. The Crown Prince of Denmark, Queen Letizia of Spain, the Belgian Prince, and Princess Marguerite of Monaco. She was at a summit for international relations with country leaders at the Royal Palace there. She went to freshen up, never came back. They’re . . . understandably upset over there.”

Damn! That many royals missing over a few months? And all of them in Europe? 

That put a bad taste in Drake’s mouth. 

Something didn’t feel right.

“Have you had any luck with the prisoners?”

Liam finally tears his eyes away from the television to give Drake his undivided attention. An actual smile seems to play on his lips, although faint.

“Yes. Under careful interrogation by Bastien and his men, they have managed to uncover plots that they were going to implement if the kidnapping was successful. One was using past indiscretions against us to blackmail into abdicating. They also got some information about some offshore accounts. Bastien did some digging and all of these link to many places in Europe and America.”

Drake nods, their American contact's words straying back into his mind. Nazario was his name, was it not? He’d be valuable in the future.

Liam sighs, his expression grave.

“I have a feeling that The Sons Of Earth have been funded by these people. And it seems like they are pretty powerful people considering that none of the money has been found anywhere else. Anton was sneaky. He went undetected for months as Ariel’s press secretary...so I wouldn’t put it past him to somehow get away with this.”

Liam glances down at the paper in his lap, fingering it for a few beats before he hands it over to Drake.

“What’s this?” Drake asks, his furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, the deciphering of the code now at play.

“A note I found in the pocket of my wedding tux.”

Drake’s eyes widen as he stares at Liam, then glance down at the note again. “What? How did it get in there? It’s been nearly three years since your wedding.”

Liam shrugs, exhaling heavily. “I have no idea. Ariel seems to have had everything under control even before she left. My guess is it’s a code or something.”

Drake glances at the note. The letters swam before his eyes almost teasingly, beckoning him to come and decipher them. But after a few minutes, the only thing he’d gleaned was that it was a sentence of some sort. What a pity that was. 

Drake leans forward on the couch as his mind runs, his mind latching onto some information he gathered when flitting through a Cordonian history book during one of his many journeys through the palace when a ball was underway. “I swear it was in a book...but I remember you mentioning something when we were kids...when that warrior Queen that founded the five kingdoms would use ciphers and hidden messages to send her allies details of where she was when she was in exile? Could this be something like that?”

At Drake’s words, Liam freezes, his back straightening in firm realization.

“Drake,” is all he says, the word pushed out like the dying breath of a man gasping for air.

Drake’s heart beats heavily, his stomach twisting in concern for his friend. Liam hadn’t stopped staring at him for a good two minutes.

“Uh...yes, Liam?”

Without a word, Liam snatches the cipher from Drake’s palm and stands up, charging out the door and stumbling into the main atrium.

“Liam, where are you going?”

Liam glances back at Drake, his eyes alight with the determination he saw only a few weeks ago when they were all gathered in his office.

Liam smiles. “I’m going to Regina to get this cipher figured out. She has experience with these. She had to decipher some letters my father would get in the mail. And then…”

“And then... what?” Drake says, Liam’s animated state disconcerting as his actions were almost robotic in nature.

“And then we find Ariel.”

Liam doesn’t say another word and continues on his way, Drake following after him at a brisk jog, still trying to catch the man’s attention.

“Liam...wait! Are you sure this is the right way to go?”

Liam glances behind his shoulder, addressing his friend as he takes the gilded steps up to the third floor two at a time. 

“Of course I am, Drake. Just have a gut feeling that’s all. I have no indication how long this,” Liam pauses, raising the folded piece of parchment up in the air. “...has been sitting in my jacket for. For all I know, it was there the whole time and I was too dense to notice it! It was right in front of my eyes this whole time!”

Liam takes a deep breath, his pulse rising in anger, his fists clenching beside him. He was angry. Angry at himself for being so consumed by his pain that he didn’t see the little details. At Ariel for sending him on this wild goose chase. At this whole situation. He should be living happily ever after with Ariel and here he was trying desperately to hold on to anything that could give him that.  

Add that to the fact that European royals are going missing and, deep down, Liam had no idea what was happening.

How could he be so foolish? How could he be so blind, so overcome by his pain that he couldn’t look at his wedding tux until nearly three years later? What kind of lurid joke was this? Had Ariel intentionally put that there? Would she be angry at him that he had taken nearly three years to find it?  

Liam sighs as he glances at Drake.

“What else can I do? Bastien has spent the last two weeks interrogating the captured prisoners. This may be the last bit of evidence we have. It could be what breaks the case and we have a solid lead.”

Drake stares at his closest friend and his heart tightens as he sees the light he saw earlier faltering in those blue eyes.

He couldn’t see his friend falling back into those old, destructive patterns again.

Drake sighs, nodding in resignation.

“Okay, let’s do this. Whatever answers we get from Regina - I’m with you all the way.”

Liam’s mouth lifts up in a winsome smile as his hand comes to Drake’s shoulder as he tightens his hold in gratitude. “Thank you, Drake.”

Drake shrugs. “All good.”

Liam chuckles at his friend's noncommittal answer as he knocks on the door three times. The pounding in his ears grows louder by the second until it’s replaced by another noise - the pattering of feet behind the door. A voice calls out, and Liam answers as he steps through the door.

“Regina? It’s Liam.”

Regina glances up and her grey eyes slightly widen as she catches the sight of both of them, disheveled from their trek up the stairs, Liam still slightly breathless.

“Liam? What is the matter? Is there something you wish to discuss with me?”

Liam nods. “Yes, there is Regina.”

Liam lifts the paper, Regina giving it the careful appraising look she was so famous for. “What is that?”

Liam takes a seat in front of Regina and passes over the note with the incomprehensible jumble of letters written on it.  Regina stares at it, before opening what was given to her, her fingers almost hesitant as she does so.  

Liam stares at his step-mother with intensely, his eyes scanning her face for any twitch or change in expression.

So, when he sees her eyes widen and a gasp escapes her lips, panic sets in. “What? What is it, Regina?”

Regina glances up at him, her eyes wide with shock. “Liam…”

Liam grits his teeth as he says, “What is it, Regina? Did you decipher it?”

It surprised Liam that it only took Regina a few minutes to read the cipher, but he shouldn’t be so surprised about that considering that she did it for his father all the time. He still kicked himself for not studying them in greater detail.

Regina sighs as she gestures in vain towards the letter in a futile attempt to explain its meaning.

“This cipher isn’t complex in the least but what it says is rather direct.”

Liam gives Regina a pleading look. “And does it entail exactly?”

Regina sighs, raising her gaze to his, her words blunt and piercing.

“It says the answers you seek are in Moscow. Ariel left to protect you. But from what?” Regina shrugs, as she shakes her head. “I’m not quite sure. But, I’m guessing it’s something big if it entails her leaving you and Cordonia behind.”

“Could the Sons of Earth be more involved in Ariel’s disappearance than we first thought?”

“As much as I don’t want to believe it -- I think they are. If we find the answers in Moscow…maybe the real reason that Ariel left may be revealed.”

Liam groans as he stands and runs his hands through his hair again, the frustration settling back into his shoulders.

He finally turns to Regina for a faint smile.

“Thank you so much, Regina. I will keep you updated on what we do next. You have helped me out immensely.”

Regina smiles and then turns back to the book she was reading, a quiet signal that the conversation was over.

Drake follows Liam out of the room, his voice ringing a little too loudly for his liking in the deserted palace halls.

“Liam. What do we do now?”

Liam glances to Drake, his eyes set in steely resolve, his jaw set.

“I’m not wasting any more time. We are going to Moscow. Tonight.”

[rainsonata]

Apple & Cinnamon

Fandom/Shipping(s): Elsword; none Rating: K Word Count: 2,281

Summary: Another Halloween passes where Add is dragged out to go trick-or-treating, Ciel tries to stop the kitchen from going ablaze, and Elgang learns that the streets are not completely safe.

Notes: This was written for the Elsword Halloween-Mafic Collab you can see here.  Be sure to check out everyone’s awesome fanart/fanfics! 

Of course he noticed.  With most of the month and even the one before it reminding him of the coming day, summer faded and was replaced with crimson leaves and chilly nights.  With the streets decorated in black and orange to aisles of candy and costumes down the market stalls, how could he forget? 

Which was why Add locked himself in his room, huddled in a blanket at his desk to work on a new project with headphones covering his ears to avoid the sound of children, and possibly more, shrieking into the night.  It was getting dark soon and the streets would soon be filled with children and rowdy teens in costumes begging for candy.  He enjoyed his sweets, but to beg?  The Mastermind scoffed at the notion of acting like a slave again for something he could buy at his own leisure.  Staying in Feita last Halloween was a poor decision and he was determined not to have a repeat of that.   

“Add!”

He heard his name being said repeatedly in the background.  Looking up from his monitors, he took off his headphones to hear the thumping against his door and growled.  There were locks on his door for a reason!  Add stood up and walked over to open the door to reveal a certain redhead standing at his door.

“What is it, brat?” Add covered his forehead with one hand.

“What are you still doing here?” Elsword asked, “Want to go trick-or-treating with me and Chung?”

“Aren’t you too old for this?” Even though Chung was there, he focused on Elsword because the Rune Slayer was the one suggesting it.

Elsword maturely stuck out his tongue, “Aren’t you too young to have white hair?”

Add twitched and touched his sidebangs in self consciousness, “My hair is natural!  And what are you, a gator?”  What was Elsword wearing?

“Perkisas!”  Elsword cried in offense, “Can’t you tell I’m a dragon?”

If Add looked closer, the horns became more prominent on Elsword, but the cardboard wings stuck out from his back was poorly drawn and the tail dragged on the ground when he walked.  He looked nothing like the god of greed.  Chung was a pirate with worn out clothes, an eyepatch, and a triangle hat.  Was the Hamel prince shaking his head as Elsword was still ranting on about his costume?  Add almost pitied him for putting up with all that.

“Ah…” Add nodded, but still thought it was stupid.

“Free candy, free chocolate, what’s not to like?!”  Elsword exclaimed.

“We can save some candy for you,” Chung said as he adjusted his eyepatch.  “I’ll make sure Elsword doesn’t eat them all.”

Thank gods someone was sane enough to understand him.  The idea of getting free chocolate was tempting, but a holiday garnishing itself in the dead and the unnatural was something he could afford to skip out on.  Why should he be celebrating things that don’t exist?

“Hey!” Elsword protested, “But he doesn’t even need a costume since he’s part cat and his jacket has ears.”

“That’s not a costume,” Add snatched the jacket away from him before he had the chance to soil them.

“But we’ll get more chocolate if you come,” Elsword said.

“Eeek!”

There was a shriek downstairs.  The three of them hurried down to see Ara in the kitchen with cracked eggs on the floor and Ciel letting out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples in as he tried calming her down.  Add was impressed he hasn’t thrown the Sakra Devanam out of the kitchen yet.

“We still have enough to make plenty of batches,” the Dread Lord ran a mop through the tiled floors with Ara stepping away from the mess with a lowered head.  “Why don’t you work on shifting the flour instead?”

“If you insist…” She went over to the counter to open a bag of flour when she noticed Add, “Are you going somewhere?”

When did she start baking?  Add looked at Ciel for an explanation with the half demon giving him a toothy grin.

“With all these trick-or-treaters, I needed extra hands to make cookies.  Wanna join?”

Add rubbed his temples and looked outside the window to see children already out in the streets with their parents and friends.  Did he really want to stay home to juggle making sure Ara wasn’t breaking something while dealing with small children until this damn holiday was over?  He could resort to stealing Ciel’s cookies, but with the demon butler handing them out to trick-or-treaters and Lu being on ‘cookie duty’, security would be tighter than usual and he wasn’t up to wrestling with neither just for the extra sugar.

The scientist feigned a sigh, “Sorry, but I promised I would go with these losers.”  He would rather face Feita ghosts than stick around and see the kitchen become hell.

“Losers?” Elsword protested.

Chung laughed, “We better go before Add changes his mind.”

Damn right he might change his mind, Add grunted to acknowledge that he was ready when he slipped into a pair of comfortable shoes and left with those two.  Oh well, at least he could refill his chocolate stash.

For all the complaints he had for Halloween, Add found himself loss for words when their bags were quickly filled up with candy and chocolate.  Who knew people could be this generous, or was it because they already ran through a dozen houses with Elsword and Chung persistent on finishing the neighborhood?  It almost made up for the dumb questions and comments people threw at him about his jacket.  That jacket was hand sewn, thank you very much!  And no, they couldn’t touch the ears!

Add had a shine in his eyes when he unwrapped a chocolate bar, biting off a corner to test out its taste and closed his eyes in happiness.  Not too sweet, but not too bitter.  He opened his mouth for another bigger bite when Elsword shouted from behind.

“What’s that?”

Add covered his ears and was about to shout at the brat for being too loud when he saw it.

A woman stood alone with dark long hair contrasting her pale complexion and covering her face.  Her hands reached out to Add, waving at him and moved towards his direction.  As she approached them, he caught sight of her face, stark white as her dress.  When she noticed them, she opened her mouth to let out a shriek and fell over with a thud.

“G-ghost!” Add stumbled away from her and ran the opposite way, not hearing Chung and Elsword going after him.

It was hard to see what was in front of him and he didn’t want to light up Dynamo to attract the ghost’s attention.  He ran to the first thing in front of him and clung onto it with his eyes shut, hoping the ghost would go away if he was far enough.  What was a ghost doing here?  They weren’t in Feita any more and the neighborhood should be free of demons.

His heart was still pounding when he saw shadows walking past his hiding spot.  Trying to make himself smaller was hard to do when he was as tall as most adults, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up on trying.  Add froze he heard someone shouting his name.

“Add!” The Tactical Trooper spotted the albino hiding behind a tree trunk, “There you are!  We were looking for you!”

“We?” Add noticed the plural.  When the scientist noticed the ‘ghost’ from earlier walking behind Chung, someone grabbed him by the back of his collar to stop him from leaving.  He whined at being held back, but saw that it was Elsword and turned to see what the redhead talking to someone.

“I thought you weren’t going for candy tonight.”  Elsword cocked his head to the side with a puzzled expression.

“I’m sorry, Add!”  Ara burst out and leaned over into a bow deeper than needed.  There was a big bump formed on the spot where she fell over from earlier, rubbing her face to show white powder smeared on her hand.  “Ciel ran out of ingredients and sent me out to buy more.”

Add stared at her, biting the corner of his lips to stop himself from swearing at his mistake.  What kind of joke was this?  Ara was the ghost?  The flour on her face must have been there because she tripped over something and landed her face into the cookie dough until Ciel gave up and sent her away.  Heat rose through his cheeks as Add averted his eyes because he felt those three looking at him too.  How was he supposed to react to this stupidity when he couldn’t found words to describe the mix of anger and embarrassment bubbling in his chest?

He snorted, “Did you lose your way too?

“Add!” Chung looked at him with disapproval and clicked his tongue before asking Ara in a kinder tone, “You need us to help you?”

Ara nodded, “That would be great!  Is that okay with everyone?”

Elsword grinned, “We’re pretty much done with hoarding candy, so no problem!”

Add was glad to sway the topic away from himself, “Yeah, sure.”

If they finished this quick, that meant more cookies, right?  He rubbed his hands to blow warm air into his palms from the wind picking up and playing with his ponytail.  It was getting cold and he was more than ready to head back (N-not because he was scared or anything.  He was tired, yeah.).

Ara smiled, “Let’s hurry before Ciel runs out of cookies to hand out.”

They were greeted with the smell of frosting and sugar in the kitchen with Ciel backing out with a tray of cookies.  Placing the tray on the countertop, the half demon dropped rush instructions to them before chiding at Lu to step away from the cookies.  There was little time for any of them to argue when Ciel assigned them to their places.  Add measuring the ingredients, Ciel mixing the batter, Lu watching the timer to make sure they baked evenly, and Elsword and Chung handing out cookies and candy.  They were sweating when the traffic flow outside was slowed down.

“I think someone was too loud and told everyone about Ciel’s cookies,” Elsword collapsed into the couch in the living room.  “I think I rather be the trick-or-treater than be the one handing out treats.”  His horns were crooked from running around and bumping into things because of his hoodie falling over his face.  Chung didn’t look any better with his eyepatch slipping down his face and his hair was a mess from the humidity.

“Are you saying this is my fault?”  Lu feigned a gasp of surprise with a laugh, “Ciel’s cookies are too good not to mention them!”

“These aren’t chocolate chip cookies,” Add held up a cookie to eye level.  All of Ciel’s cookies were good, but he was a little disappointed to see that his favorite didn’t made it today.  Knowing that most of the trick-or-treaters were gone and Ciel was too tired to scold at anyone, he stole a bite and bit one shaped like a white cat.  Sweeter than the usual, but the cinnamon and sugar melted in his mouth and made the scientist want more.

“Sugar cookies are easier to decorate,” Ciel handed a cookie to Lu, “Thanks for holding up there.  There should be enough for us.”

Lu almost shoved a cookie shaped like a skull into her mouth with a pleased sound of content.  She didn’t complain when Ciel chuckled and ruffled her hair with a pat on the head before offering the tray of cookies to the group.

“You decorated all of these?  You really outdone yourself, Ciel!” Chung said with wide eyes.

He was looking at assortment of cookies before him, one that had a phoru wearing a pointed hat and purple robes.  After cooling down for a few minutes, cookies in the shape of pumpkins, spiders, and apples were decorated with frosting before transferred over to plates.  The frosting and glaze took extra time because they were running low on food coloring, but they were lucky to have bought extra from the store.

“I didn’t decorate them,” amusement gleamed in Ciel’s eyes when the boys stared.  “Ara did.”

Add turned to see the older woman startled at the sudden attention, shuffling in her seat and looking down at her nails with new interest.

“It was fun giving them different colors and making them smile,” Ara smiled.  “You did the hard work and baked them.”

“And now they’re going to be in our stomachs,” Add cackled.  “Not bad.”

“Hey, don’t eat all of them,” Lu whined when Add got to a ghost shaped cookie before she did.  “They’re mine.”

“Not if I get to them first,” Add glared her.

Ciel sighed, “I made enough for everyone, not just you two.  Don’t overdo it or you’ll all get stomach aches.”

“We should do this more often,” Elsword nibbled on the end of a cookie.  “It was fun, wasn’t it?”

The kitchen was a mess with flour on the counter and the floor, the trash can filled with eggshells and emptied flour bags, and the kitchen was going to smell like cookie dough for a few hours.  His muscles strained from the labor, but it was strange that it didn’t bother Add.  It was like a good kind of pain, the kind after seeing satisfying results of an experiment or when the prototype for an invention didn’t explode in his face.

“I guess it was,” Add said quietly, but his face was betrayed by a rare smile.