#but instead of proposing properly you burst out into song

[normalties]

waiting for the day when I can sing a marriage proposal as an actual marriage proposal to someone someday

[ecemichi]

Ring.A.Bell Chapter 13

Time: (On the day of the PV shooting.)

Arashi: Well? Do you think this'll work for the shooting, Anzu-chan?

Wonderful. In that case, all my hard work won't go to waste!

Mao: They must use your methods in Hell, Arashi... You're a real Spartan.

Arashi: But it's thanks to that that you'll be able to give the best proposal possible. ♪

Of course, there's still plenty of room for improvement — in fact, if I had the time, I would've pushed you muuuuch farther.

Midori: Eeh~... It’s already a lot…

Anzu-san, sorry for having caused such a ruckus because of my misunderstanding.

Mao: Yeah, I... caused a pretty big fuss too, so I'm sorry.

Oh? You didn’t mind it much? I’m glad…♪

Eh? You have so much work to do you don’t have the time to give for such worries?

Mao: Ahaha, that's so like you. Alrighty then! Go ahead and look after us idols as much as you'd like, Anzu.

Midori: Hm? It looks like the shooting will start in a bit. Then, we’ll be off.

Mao: Guess I'll get going too, then. We'll be givin' it our best shot, so don't look away from us for even a second, alright~? Producer. ♪

Eichi: Hey, won't you say my name like you always do?

Your voice is more soothing than any music I’ve ever heard, as if an angel itself had come to greet me.

Not a single person in all the world knows if the road ahead will be a happy one or not...

However, so long as you call out for me, I can live a blissful life.

Ah, truly... I truly do need you in my life to be happy.

I'm glad you feel the same.

Thank you for always being by my side.

And now, I can return that sentiment. I vow to remain at your side, until the day death sees fit to part us.

>

Keito: …Don’t expect a rose coloured marria—Ehem. Sorry. I spoke in a harsh manner by habit.

But you understand who I am, moreso, you accept me for who I am.

That kind side of you delights me.

I wish to convey my feelings more honestly, but… But with my personality, it might be a little hard.

However, it would be a bit unfair if I’d be the only one receiving this kindness.

That’s why I’ll take whatever measures are needed to properly convey these feelings.

It’s my vow to you—As we’ll be sharing the joys and sorrows of life together from now on.

Thank you for always supporting me.

To fulfill our dreams together that cannot be fulfilled alone—

Let’s take one step at a time together… I love you.

Leo: I love you, I love you, I loooooove you! I really, truly love you!

... Just kidding. ♪

I've got a world’s worth of love in my heart, but y'know what? It’s still no good. It’s not even close to the amount you deserve.

When I'm with you, I'm so happy I could burst!

... But at the same time, I’ve learned what it’s like to feel lonely too.

This pain I feel when we're apart, the yearning that joins hands with it... I never would've felt these if I hadn't met you!

But weirdly enough, I don't mind 'em at all!

You wanna know why? 'Cause because of you, of what I feel for you, the sound of "love" has only become more and more harmonious. As if I was playing with a completed piano, with every white and black key present!

That's why... no matter how many quarrels we have, or if there's ever a time that our differences might feel like burdens on our minds... Will you sing with me?

I'd wanna, because my songs are ever-flowing with my love for you.

From now until forever, l wanna pen my notes next to yours on this music sheet of life—and compose the longest love song this world has ever heard!

If it's with you... I know we can do it.

Mao: (Damn, I'd expect nothing less from our seniors! They're really amazing...

No matter how hard it is to say, I've gotta stay strong! I've gotta do my best too...!)

Since meeting you, I've found happiness around every corner...

I think if I hadn't... then I never would've noticed just how much joy there was right under my nose.

I really wish I could've said something cool, like "Just follow me!"...

... But instead, you were the one who led me. As hard as it is for me to admit that now.

That's why... That's why, I want to walk with you, hand in hand.

Side by side. Step by step. Let's go together.

That way... Even if we're apart, we'll still be connected to each other—y'know?

If we lose sight of one another, we'll always know where the other's at. So let's walk the same path together, from now until forever.

So... Um... What I mean is...

... I love you.

So please! Let's spend the rest of our lives together!

Midori: Umm… Since the day I met you and… you took my hand…

The pain and worries in my chest slowly started to fade away.

Everything around me began to bloom in colour.

I didn’t understand why it felt like things were slowly changing as the days went by… But now, I think I finally know the reason.

I liked today, more than yesterday—and tomorrow, more than today… All of that is because you provided me with “love”, little by little…

We laughed together on happy days, cried together on sad days. We worried together on hard days and held hands together on joyful days.

Through that, you slowly bestowed me with “love”…

That’s why, I was able to like myself a little, too.

I still… don’t know much about love or whatever… But, it feels right to call this feeling in my chest that.

I've always given up on everything, but for the first time in my life… I don’t want to abandon something; I don’t want to let go of you.

Umm… Could you… stay by my side like this forever?

I’m still far away from being reliable, and I’m still pretty pitiful but… I truly want to shower you with kindness.

I will always love you.

(Oh… My brother must’ve, also…)

Mao Leo Eichi and Arashi tl: Peace

Midori and Keito tl: me

JP proof: Mika Enstars

ENG proof:ryuseipuka

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[mrpenguinpants]

Genshin: Royalty AU [V1]

I’ve been a hermit ever since covid dropped lol. Yes, you’re doing social distancing right. Imagine going outside? Ptff, what a weird concept. But I’m happy you’ve stuck around for so long despite the constant brainworms I have. Oho?? More crumbs 👀 Lemme just crack my knuckles real quick. I’m throwing a reader in just so I have an excuse to tag everyone haha. These are a lot more scuffy compared to my usual HCs but let me brainrot for a sec. 

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Genshin: Holding Hands [V1]

Genshin: When you’re cold [V1]

Genshin: University AU [V1]

Genshin: Roomate HCs [V1]

Genshin: Mythos AU - Cat Xiao

[Masterlist]

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@youaskedfurret​​ @diaxfeliz​​ @wintergreen-aix​​ @aethwie​​ @thegayrubberducky​​ @lovelykittycatmeow​​​ @yuunoagivesmelife​​ @dokidokisama @rokipersonal​​ @minakohasmanyhusbandos​​ @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess​​ @yuu-yuukurotsuki​​  @qimiie @onowie​​ @hanniejji​​​  @mikeysbike​ @unionwitch​ @musekala​ @sunnshiii​ @stanzastic​ @akaasea​ @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz​ @dai-tsukki-desu​ @thicmitten​ @nonniechan​ @htnicayh​ @genshins1mpact​ @morthecreator​ @aanne2601 @aklxojjk​ @fulltimeventisimp​ @legionqueensav​​​ @castinluckgamer​​​

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Zhongli

Your first impressions of Zhongli was that he was an egotistical and selfish brat. To be fair, you might have adopted some of those qualities yourself but you were both children at the time. Your sister, Guizhong, was tasked to take care of Zhongli in place of his parents which lead to your first meeting with the infamous Imperial Prince. At first, you were excited to finally meet someone who was the same age as you and Guizhong was always so kind. But when he turned to face you two, he just asked if Guizhong was supposed to be his concubine. You weren’t sure whether to gag or throw your shoe at him but Guizhong quickly intercepted before you could do anything that could get you killed. It’s only until you spent more time with him that Zhongli tells you that he has never had someone care for him or want to spend time with him without some alterative motive. 

Zhongli radiates sheltered child from birth. To outsiders, he seems really slow on normal everyday tasks but that’s because he’s never had to worry about doing mundane things. He’s always had someone else to do them for him that when he’s out in public, he just stands around and waits for someone to help him. It’s incredibly awkward for everyone in the situation when Zhongli forgets to bring mora and just stands off to the side until one of his servants comes to pick up his check. That’s how Zhongli got such a bad reputation of being a spoiled brat despite being a well-mannered and polite man. When he drops something he just turns to look at you, back at the object, then back at you. You have to pound it into your brain that no, Zhongli is not a lazy and he isn’t trying to be insulting, that’s just how he’s lived his life. When you tell him he is fully capable to picking things up, because what if he dropped something important when he was older and the wind swept it away, he pounders the thought as if you’ve just explained the meaning of the celestials to him that you give up and just pick it up for him. 

A Prince from Mondstadt named Venti used to come to Liyue for playdates while their father’s talked business and politics. He was the complete opposite of Zhongli but you genuinely liked him. While he was a bit more bolder and hyper compared to the calm and quiet Zhongli, he would always try and get Zhongli out of the palace and outside. You end up missing so many fun and interesting things when you’re locked up in your study room. How can the next Emperor care about his land when he doesn’t even know what it’s like to live there? It was the first time you and Zhongli went out just for fun and you might have gone a bit overboard in hindsight, but Venti’s personality and the feeling of freedom to do anything was addicting. Plus, watching Zhongli’s reactions to all these new feelings made him feel a bit more human. While you knew that Zhongli would do everything for Liyue, you never got the impression that his heart was in it. 

From then on, you and Zhongli try and carve some time out of his schedule to go down to the streets and have a little bit of a break. When you both built kites and scaled all the way to the mountains to fly them, it was the first time you’ve seen Zhongli be bad at something. He always had such elegance and perfection whenever his teachers asked him to do something but as soon as the kite took flight, it would stumble then come crashing down. Zhongli had the most heartbroken puppy expression on his face that you couldn’t help but burst out laughing. While you’re on the ground gasping for air and probably have the most ridiculous expression on your face, Zhongli smiles gently as he looks at you then back to Liyue. The moment is ruined when Guizhong comes running towards you both and scolds you for sneaking out. 

While it’s somewhat annoying when other attendants in palace gush about how well Zhongli is growing into becoming the next emperor, both in smarts and appearance, you have to somewhat agree with them in some places. If you want to know the history of Liyue or how to properly place a tea set, he can tell you in incredible detail. However, when it comes to social cues and interactions, he’s awful at them. Everything is treated a business deal that it makes everyone somewhat nervous or uncomfortable that you’re internally dying at any social event he goes to. But despite the awkwardness, he has a lot of admires that frequently send him letters of marriage or adoration that you have to shift through. It makes you a bit uncomfortable reading the flowery language but it surprised you a bit how many people have the misconception that Zhongli planning to have you as his spouse. When you mention this to Zhongli as a joke, he returns to his thinking pose and he contemplates the idea before nodding and agreeing with the letters. He proposes to you right then and there and it’s such a sudden development that your brain has finally broke and you pass out. 

Venti

Venti is one of those royalty types that spends so much time outside and away from his duties that he’s basically thrown his cape and crown to the wind. The first time Zhongli visited Monstadt, his first impressions of Venti were him singing to a crowd. While Zhongli doesn’t understand why Venti would spend his time on music rather than his studies, they still get along well. Mostly because Venti has a very easy going personality, even if he’s a bit blunt, but whatever comments he makes fly over Zhongli’s head. Unlike him, you’re the complete opposite. You’re a knight in training with an earnest heart that wants to protect the City of Mondstadt with your entire being. While you don’t necessarily hate Venti, because he never asked to be born into the royal family, you can’t help but get frustrated at his nonchalant attitude towards everything aside from alcohol and music. 

Your first meeting with him was during your time training under the Favonius Knights. You wanted to get a bit more practice late in the night when Venti stumbled upon you bullying a poor wooden dummy before he announces his arrival. He laughs a bit at your fumbling as you quickly get into a proper kneel but he waves it off saying it was unnecessary before he asks what you’re up to. You’re in mid-explanation when Venti cuts you off with a yawn and you can feel the irritation creeping up on you as you snap back why he’s outside instead of inside the safe walls of the castle. Your irritation grows even further when Venti smugly grins, patting himself on the back from getting a rise out of you, before he reaches into the bag you just noticed he was carrying to produce sheets of music. 

While his teacher’s drone on and on about the production of wine, he is busy writing songs in his textbooks. While he understands the importance of his role, he thinks the people can rule themselves just fine without his help. He wants to leave his crown and become a bard and live an ordinary but free life. How he’s always sneaking out to go explore without the world constantly breathing down his neck. Whether his posture is correct or if he’s memorized the history of berries wouldn’t matter. Honestly, Venti is weighing his options of either staying as a royal or leaving everything behind to pursue the life he wants. When he finishes his heart-felt speech he expects you to give him those same pitiful and woe is you eyes but you’re just angry. You can understand his sentiment, living a life that you never asked for isn’t fun, but suddenly packing your things and jumping ship would only cause chaos and conflict. At least have some sort of replacement before you leave damnit. 

Now it’s your turn to be surprised, rather than taking offense to you, a nameless knight, basically insulting the him, the Prince, he lights up in excitement. He rips his cape and crown off before he’s shoving them onto you before you can even say anything. He’s almost bouncing on his feet as he tells you that you can freely take his crown and become the next in line. You have no idea how that would work but he mentions that he knows a man named Albedo that can help change your appearance to look like him. That way, you get to protect the City you love so much and he get’s to live the life he’s always wanted. It’s completely fool proof with no flaws whatsoever! Except for the fact, that he is jumping way too far to conclusions, he’s shoving his responsibilities onto you, and most importantly, you don’t the first thing about Venti and how to act like him. 

Before you know it, Venti has dragged you to meet his Father to personally appoint you as his personal knight. He doesn’t take no for an answer even though you aren’t qualified at all to be protecting someone of high position as him but Venti’s always been a handful that someone needs to watch over him. You have no idea how one night managed to throw your entire life into this chaos but you’re not sure if you can even get out of this situation at this point. 

Kaeya

It all happened so suddenly. You and him were playing in the gardens when his father rushed in and took both of your hands and dragged you to the border to Khaenri’ah. The land you were both used to seeing, the friendly baker that would always give you both sweets, or the magic that used to flow so freely was transformed into red cubes. You were both scared and confused but as you both reached the border oh Khaenri’ah, a large gate that leads to the above world of Teyvat, his father tells you both to run as far as you could and never look back before he pushed you both in. It wasn’t until years later that you both discovered that a corrupted god had taken control of Khaenri’ah. Now, everyone believes that the Khaenri’ah prince is dead because he’s been missing for so long and whatever hope Khaenri’ah has is gone. For his own safety, he had to change his name to Kaeya and you both found yourself at the gates of Mondstadt. 

It took a lot of adjusting for the both of you but Kaeya especially. Your mother had dropped you into the care of Kaeya’s family for a short while before everything went downhill. She was a bit on the neglectful side but she was still your mother and you knew she was alive. On the other hand, Kaeya lost his entire family and nation in a single moment. Whatever pure happiness and bright personality he used to have quickly regressed until he was a shy and quiet kid. You know he blames himself for what happened even if there wasn’t anything he could have done but he’s grown a fear of outsiders so he tends to avoid other children his age. Instead finding comfort in playing with the funny looking abyss mages and slimes that are on the outskirt of Mondstadt. While he doesn’t seem bothered by the weird comments other people make of him, you know deep down he does get hurt, that it makes you so mad that you end up lashing out. 

You end up getting into a few fights as Kaeya patches you up. He scolds you and says that he doesn’t need you to go so far for him is when you make him a promise that you’ll protect him with everything you have. It’s the first moment since everything happened that he seems to gain back that life in his eyes. He blinks at you before he chuckles sheepishly and comments that you can’t even tie your shoes correctly do you stumble a bit. You’re a bit embarrassed at your sudden proclamation but stand determined about it. You both end up making a pinky promise to stay by each other’s side until the very end. 

When you’re both older and in the position of Captain and Teacher in the Favonius Knights is when he seems to be a bit more open. You both end up gaining a reputation of the laid-back Calvary Captain that bother’s the strict but kind Teacher. He’s always waltzing in the middle of you class to tease you before you end up throwing something at him to get him to stop embarrassing you in front of new recruits. You end up getting back at him with your woe is me acting and push all your paper work on him. Since he loves spending so much time in your class, he should know how to do all your paper work right?. Despite all of this, if anyone needs to find Kaeya or you, you’re basically a packaged deal. Always attached to the hip. 

Kaeya knows deep down, at some point he’s going to have to go back to Khaenri’ah and save his people but he’s conflicted. While he knows it’s selfish that he get’s to live a life of freedom, he wants to be selfish. Not just for him but for you as well. You’ve both basically lost everything and now that things are okay, he doesn’t want to give that up. While you both promised to stay together until the end, you’re the only person he has left and he doesn’t want to rope you into his mess or have you worry about him. He’s heard of the blond traveler in black and blue that is searching for the lost prince of an unnamed kingdom, knows that the peaceful life he has right now will come to an end, but he pushes it aside. Besides, there are more important things to attend to. Today might be the day he tells your students about how you fell into a lake because you got scared by a frog. 

Jean

Jean is incredibly dedicated to her role and to her people because she’s genuinely a good person and wants to see people happy. Especially her sister Barbara. She’s a bit awkward and clumsy in her execution but she has a lot of heart. Being her personal knight, you know just how hard she works and you admire her greatly for her ideals and nature. She has such a professional and gentle façe when she’s out in public but as soon as she’s behind closed doors, she’s collapsing into your arms as the world lifts for a short while. You chuckle a bit amused at how different she appears to the outside world, how the ever prime and proper Princess wakes up with a rat’s nest, how her favourite food is pizza, or how she throws these 7 inch heels out the window as soon as a ball is over. 

Due to Jean’s kind-hearted nature, when it comes to more pushy people she can’t seem to say no to. Travelers or citizens that think they can take advantage of the Princess is what makes your blood boil. While she isn’t stupid and knows that people are taking advantage of her, she wants to extend any help she can. Not for her public image but because that’s how she is. While it warms your heart that people like her exist, as her knight you can only let so many things slide. When some shady peddler tries to lead Jean somewhere, you’re already stepping in and smilingly sweetly as you grip the peddler’s hand in a death grip and not so subtlety say that he better have a good excuse for why he wants to drag the Princess away or there might be a problem. 

When Jean is overworking herself and nearing her breaking point is when you step in. You may be her knight but you’re also her friend and you know when it’s time to stop her destructive habits. She might complain and reassure you that she’s fine but you don’t accept that. If she was “fine” her temperature wouldn’t be the same level as a pyro slime and she wouldn’t have such dark circles under her eyes. It’s a simple bend and lift to carry her in your arms that she ends up stuttering before going pink and let’s you carry her to her room. While she’s screaming into her hands, you’re preparing medicine and everything she’ll need to make a full recovery. 

The hardest times for Jean is when her Father constantly pesters her to find a husband. Jean is an independent person and while yes, while being a workaholic isn’t against help, but she doesn’t believe she needs a husband just to make her entitled to rule her kingdom. Besides, Jean is secretly a hopeless romantic. You’re very tight lipped about secretly finding her love story books hidden under her bed unless you want to see her self-combust. You try your best to comfort her but there’s not a lot you can do for her situation other than offer words of reassurance and try and get her mind off things. While you’re patting her on the back she’s looking at you as if you’re the most oblivious person in the world. 

Albedo

Albedo is a renowned alchemist that helps royal families with their problems with the use of his intelligence and abilities in alchemy. Something that only a few people can do throughout Teyvat, you being one of them as well. At first, you had admired Albedo and his abilities and saw him as a bit of a role model for young alchemist. Until you actually met him in person. He’s pretty much an emotionless void of a person that he comes off as extremely unempathetic when he listens to the woes of royals. While you sort of agree, the problems that royal’s commission you for are completely ridiculous and selfish, he doesn’t have a moral compass and if he can benefit from it. He’ll do it, no matter how questionable it may seem. 

Maybe it’s because you have a little sister figure in your life to stir your moral compass but it still get’s you irritated. It’s always a joy to see Klee when you come back home from your travels that whatever bad mood you were in suddenly washes away. But when you knock on Alice’s door only to have it open to reveal Albedo holding Klee in his arms does your world come crashing down. Klee is completely ignorant to your internal screams as she scrabbles out of Albedo’s hands to give you a hug and take your hand in hers as she leads you inside. You can almost feel the inner workings of Albedo’s mind as he stares at you blankly as Klee shows you the new art she drew.  

You both don’t mention or talk about it even when you happen to cross each other’s paths outside or you both end up seeing each other at Alice’s home. It’s a bit funny to you, to the outside world Albedo seems so aloof and untouchable, and yet you’re here watching him get tired from chasing Klee around and trying to stop her destroying her home with her bombs. It almost makes you smug when Klee listens to you better than Albedo, it might seem a bit petty and small but you don’t care. He ends up getting back at you when he ends up one-upping you in front of the royal court. He does a quick scan of the room before his eyes land on you and he shoots you a small smug smile before his face returns to it’s neutral expression. You’re clapping along with everyone with the most strained smile you can muster. 

You manage to find out from Klee that Albedo enjoys drawing that the next time you see him, you ask if you could see him draw something or if he had sketches on hand. You’re fascinated by his drawings, more so than his actual research discoveries, as you look at the tiny details he’s managed to capture. Outside of Klee, no one’s really been interested in his drawings that he can’t help but feel a little flustered when you’re gushing about his work. It’s different from people praising his alchemist efforts, you’re not someone whose staring at him like he’s on a pedestal when you say you like his drawings, and it feels genuine. He offers a small smile and says that if you’d like, he’d love to show you some more sketches. 

You’ve never noticed it until other people bring it up but Albedo seems close to you. Usually once he’s done his business he leaves but if you happen to be around, he sticks around a bit longer just to speak with you. How he seems comfortable to relax in your presence and even leans in closer. How he complies with your requests without any benefit to him. You’re not sure what type of relationship you hold with Albedo. You don’t think you’re friends but you’re definitely closer than acquaintance. If taking care of a a hyper active walking bomb doesn’t bring two people closer than you don’t know what does. But at the end of the day, you find you don’t really care. Not everything needs to be labelled and categorized like things are in alchemy. People don’t seem to understand but you always duck out and escape before you’re questioned further about your personal life. Unbeknownst to you, Albedo is watching you go as he ponders your words. 

Childe

Childe is such a clown. He’s an assassin that doesn’t know the first thing about being subtle and is just in it for the fighting. He’s really just an incredibly egotistical bastard that likes being friendly with his targets, just to see their shocked expressions when it’s him that comes to take their life. He’s actually a pretty down to earth guy. While other assassins in the Fatui either have tragic backstories or some sad pitiful tale, Childe just laughs at them. His family is still alive and he’s never had any true hardships in his life. He’s pretty disliked for this reason but he’s a skilled enough fighter that it somewhat makes up for it. 

Just when Childe’s life is at its peak, is when he slips and falls into the abyss. For the first time, he had to face against a threat and in a situation he has no control over which is completely foreign to him. He barely manages to survive until he’s saved by an unknown figure that goes by the name Skirk. While he’s grateful he’s still alive, facing his mortality for the first time gives him a lot to reflect about. Thus he makes the impulse decision to train under Skirk and grow stronger until he’s able to climb out of the abyss. That’s when he meets you who was travelling with Skirk for the same reasons. Your first interactions with this unknown teen is him challenging you to a fight, just for you to throw him over your shoulder as if he weighed nothing. You expected him to get angry or cry but instead he’s standing right back up and grinning like a psychopath as he asks for another fight. You’re looking at Skirk with the most, are we seriously bringing this child with us? look. 

From then on, it’s been the three of you travelling through the floors of the abyss. Skirk tells you the stories of this place, how it used to be a great nation before corruption cause the citizens to be morphed and transformed into monsters. You and Childe learn how to fight alongside Skirk against these monsters until it ends up becoming a competition between you and Childe on who can kill the most monsters. Skirk is a bit worried that when you both are back into the outside world, if he should be worried about how morbid you both might appear. But while you’re both yelling at each other who actually landed the last kill on the regisvine while the hilichurls are cowering in a corner does he just accept that things aren’t going to change. The world will just have to accept it. If you both actually teamed up, and you have before, he thinks you both would be unstoppable but you’re both too stubborn. 

Despite your rivalry, Childe still has his big brother instincts that whenever you get hurt he’s huffing over you like a mother hen as he scolds you for being so reckless. You’re ignoring the fact that he’s bleeding out while you have minor cuts because you don’t want a crybaby Childe on your hands. Even the harsh conditions of the Abyss, you both find ways to entertain yourself. Childe always challenges you to a fight every second of the day and he always ends up with a sore back when you knock him off his feet. And he always makes the joke that you’re sweeping him off his feet which ends up with him screaming bloody murder as you charge at him. It doesn’t help when he’s still yelling comments behind his shoulder that you might get mistaken for a gorilla when you’re both outside that Skirk has gotten so used to this that he simply ignores the attempted murder going on behind him. 

When you’re both strong enough to climb to the gate of the Abyss, Skirk feels almost like a proud parent. Giving you a head pat and a hard slap to the back for Childe does Skirk wave you both off. You’re trying to mask your tears as Childe grins and promises to see you on the other side, that you’ll definitely meet up in the future no matter what. But when he finally returns to the Fatui, works his way back up to being an assassin, he almost thinks Skirk is laughing at him when he realizes that his first target is you. Not that he’s bothered by it, he'll be happy to see you again and see if he can finally beat you. 

Baizhu

Baizhu is the most suspicious doctor in the history of all doctors. Some citizens aren’t even sure if he’s a qualified doctor but alas, he’s very good at his job and is a lot more tolerable compared to the Alchemist Albedo so that’s how he’s been able to keep his job. He works under the Liyue emperor so even if citizens had issues with him, it’s not like they could do anything in the first place. People aren’t sure whether he’s joking or being honest when he explains what he’s been privately working on behind the scenes. From experiments to rituals, they are taken aback but Baizhu just smiles and says he’s just kidding. Being his assistant, you have to constantly reassure others that Baizhu is a bit of a sadist and likes to get a rise out of people. Besides, why would a doctor be so interested in those type of things? It’s incredibly unnerving but no one questions it. They won’t know what to do in the first place if their suspicious are correct. 

While Baizhu knows how to do his job, he’s always sending you to do the dirty work. From getting medicinal plants up on the very top of mountains or bringing cranky old men their prescriptions, whenever you’re done one task he’s got three more for you. He could at the very least take the trash out while he’s busy doing nothing. At least the job has a few perks. You’ve always had numerous health issues and while Baizhu’s reputation is a bit on thin ice, you wouldn’t trust anyone else to look you over. He’s a bit weird about it, you’re pretty sure Baizhu will never love another person emotionally but when it comes to the science behind a human body, he’s absolutely smitten. He tries to reassure you that he does care for the wellbeing of Liyue but you wave it off at him trying to butter you up before he asks something ridiculous of you. 

You and his snake, Changsheng, do not like each other. You think she’s an annoying and bratty snake that Baizhu needs to throw into a jar to shut up while she thinks you’re a complete nuisance and doesn’t understand why Baizhu keeps you around. Baizhu has tried to get you both to reconcile but it always devolves into a petty argument of back-handed insults until Baizhu has enough and tells you both to quiet down. To be truthful, both of your hatred towards each other stems from two completely different reasons rather than disliking each other’s personality, but you can never bring it up to Baizhu. It’s not a conversation anyone wants to have. 

If he has one positive, it’s his adopted daughter Qiqi who is just an absolute sweetheart. She’s shy and prefers to follow after Baizhu and you like a lost duckling. While Baizhu might be the worst boss in this history of all bosses, it makes you grin smugly internally when Qiqi chooses to stay cuddled in your arms instead of his. Qiqi is 95% the reason why you stay in this job, not that Baizhu would ever let you leave, because you’ve genuinely grown fond of someone for the first time the same way she has for you. You bring her along whenever you need to give prescriptions to citizens just so she isn’t stuck in within the same four walls and the locals love her. From her forgetful nature or how she shy’s behind your legs whenever someone new approach's you both. It’s so cute that people tend to ignore the floating rumours that Baizhu is reanimating his previously deceased family. 

---

I have no idea if I’m just uncultured or if “Always and Forever” Au’s are a thing. I hope you all like this 👉👈 it’s kind of messy and all over the place and I lowkey don’t know if I like my brainrot (there’s a lot of issues ik). I kinda want to do a part 2 where I include other characters but let me know if that’s something interesting? Oh and feel free to add to this, I’d love to hear your ideas. 

[omgrachwrites]

The Princess and The Duke - Chapter Four

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: As the Princess of Spain, you were always supposed to marry King James of England to make an alliance between Spain and England. When he marries a woman at his court for love, you are married off to his best friend, Sirius Black the Duke of Bedford to keep the alliance. However, the court is riddled with secrets and a rebel in the North starts to rise against the Throne. Royal AU.

Warnings: fluff, lil bit of angst

Words: 2547

Disclaimer: This gif and the wedding vows do not belong to me!

Translation: Mantenerte fuerte - Stay strong

A/N: Happy New Year guys! Here’s to hoping this year will be better! I used the wedding vows from Game of Thrones in this chapter hahaha! Hope you guys enjoy this part and please let me know what you think and let me know if you would like to be tagged! I love you all! xxx

Chapter Four - Spring Music

Sirius could hardly think clearly or concentrate on his work, he couldn’t concentrate on his work for King James and he could hardly concentrate on his med that were holding Calais brilliantly for him and the King. All he could think about was her, the Princess, Y/N; he couldn’t get his mind off of her proposal of marriage, even though she had explained her reasons to Sirius. He had never wanted it to be this way, he had wanted to throw a magnificent party and invite his friends and even his enemies.

Sirius had wanted to properly show Y/N off and show everyone who threated James’ rule that he had the full force of Spain at his side. But then again, he supposed his marriage would prove that, they wouldn’t have needed to have a party. It troubled him but he couldn’t help thinking that Y/N had been forced into marrying him so quickly. Whatever was going on in Cumbria had sealed their fate and perhaps the rest of England’s.

Sirius didn’t have time to dwell on anything more because the door to Sirius’ study burst open and Remus stormed in, frowning at a letter before he flopped down on a chair, rubbing his temples. Remus had avoided going back to court for a while now and Sirius was sure it had something to do with Sophia, Y/N’s lady in waiting.

“Are you alright?” Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

Remus looked up from the letter and sighed, stretching out his arms behind him, “apparently, there’s some powerful Lord at court and he wants his daughter to marry well. The King writes that this Lord wants to meet with me when I return to the English court,” his eyes grew sad and Sirius bit his lip.

Remus was his best friend and in an ideal world Sirius would have Remus marry someone for love. Unfortunately, Sirius knew things couldn’t always turn out that way, not everyone could be as lucky as King James and Queen Lily.

“I’ll talk to James, surely he can’t make you marry someone that you don’t want to, and I know that he’s the King but he’s also our friend.”

“He made you get engaged to Princess Y/N, she’s beautiful and considerate but you didn’t choose her.”

Sirius laughed dryly, if he hadn’t had to marry Y/N then he would have stayed an eligible bachelor for the rest of his life, “I agreed to take Y/N’s hand in marriage and to be honest, I’m glad that I did because she’s one of the good ones,” he said truthfully, “but I also knew that it would be the best course for England but it doesn’t have to be that way for you,” he cleared his throat, “speaking of Y/N, you haven’t seen her have you?”

Remus smiled and nodded, running a hand through his hair, “she’s in the library, or she was the last time that I saw her. I was talking to her about the wedding and she seems rather excited about it.”

At Remus’ words a warm and floaty feeling blossomed in Sirius’ chest, “really? Huh, well I’m pretty excited too,” the two young men shared a smile before Sirius bid his friend goodbye and he set off for the library.

Just as Remus had said, Y/N was in the library but she wasn’t reading a book. Instead, she was staring at her hands and Sirius could have sworn that a couple of tears slipped out of her eyes and slid down her cheeks. What could she be crying about? Unless, unless it was something to do with him or the wedding. Sirius got a bitter taste in his mouth as that possibility crossed his mind.

Even when she was crying she was so hard to look away from, she was so devastatingly beautiful. Something in Sirius’ chest squeezed hard as Y/N wiped the remaining tears off her face and combed her fingers through her hair. It made him sad to see her so upset, he had to try and ease her worries.

“Y/N, are you okay?” he asked, his voice echoing slightly in the vast room.

Y/N jumped slightly, her bottom lip trembling before she offered him a weak smile, sniffling slightly, “I’m fine,” her voice sounded wobbly and it seemed like she was on the verge of tears once again, “it’s nothing that you need to worry about, I promise.”

“Oh, Y/N,” he hesitated when Y/N’s eyes got more teary and her lips parted just a little bit, he gulped and proceeded to say what he needed to. He needed her to hear him, he needed her to trust him, “we’re to be married and I always want you to feel like you can come to me about any worries you may have, even if they’re about me,” he sat opposite her and lifted her cold hands to his lips, kissing over her knuckles, warming her hands with his lips and he dropped his voice to a whisper, “please Y/N. Let me in, don’t push me away, we’re in this together remember?”

Y/N gave him a weak watery smile as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Sirius shivered at the feeling of her warm lips against his skin, “sometimes I almost forget how kind you are,” she sighed wistfully and cupped his cheek, “I received a letter from my parents today, I wrote to them with news of our upcoming marriage and my father sent me one back to tell me that he and my mother won’t be in attendance,” her lips trembled and she looked just like a lost child, “the most important day of my life and my parents won’t be there. In his letter my father told me that he wanted to come but my mother fought him every step of the way. But, it’s silly,” she wiped her eyes and looked away from him.

Rage started to simmer and came to a rising boil in Sirius’ chest; he couldn’t believe that the King and Queen of Spain wouldn’t be attending their own daughter’s wedding. Y/N looked so heartbroken, he just wanted to make it better, “it’s not silly if it upsets you, and they are your parents after all. If it helps, my parents won’t be there either,” he hesitated for a second, “well, they’re dead but if they were alive then I wouldn’t let them come. My mother was a horrid bitch.”

Y/N let out a surprised giggle of laughter as she almost touched his lips with her thumb, her sparkling eyes studying his face, “I take it that you and your mother didn’t get along then? I can’t think why because you must have been the ideal son.”

Sirius let out a dry bark of laughter, he was so glad that Y/N would never have to meet his parents, “I was the black sheep of the family, the disappointment. Regulus was always the favourite, he was everyone’s favourite.”

“Not mine,” Y/N whispered, looking up at Sirius from beneath her eyelashes and Sirius felt his heart speed up, “Regulus isn’t my favourite,” her first kiss was tentative and shy. Sirius could hardly revel in the feeling of Y/N’s lips because she pulled away too soon.

Y/N bit her lip and looked at him with her sultry gaze and there was a light dusting of pink across her cheeks, she looked so beautiful and intoxicating. Her gentle fingers cupped his cheek and she pressed her lips against his more firmly. Sirius sighed against her soft lips and threaded a gentle hand through her hair as he kissed her back.

After a beat she pulled away and let out a tinkling laugh, “perhaps we should have waited until our wedding to do that.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Sirius’ lips curved up into a smirk, causing Y/N to roll her eyes with a smile, “so, tell me about your wedding dress, what does it look like?”

Y/N’s face lit up at his question but she raised an eyebrow, “isn’t it bad luck if I tell you?” she asked and Sirius shook his head.

“It’s only bad luck if you show me.”

Y/N nodded, looking satisfied with his answer, “well, it’s champagne lace lined with golden thread and that’s all the information you’re getting,” she giggled and Sirius nodded with a smile though he did feel a little disappointed.

“It sounds beautiful.”

Y/N flushed at his words, “it is, I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful dress and I’m so thankful that I’ll have a kind husband who will respect me,” she smiled and placed a hand over his.

Sirius grinned bashfully and stood up, holding out his hand to her, “come on, you must be hungry. I’ll have the kitchens make you something special. Do you have any requests?”

Y/N smiled and graciously took his hand, “hmm, something with honey and fruit,” she giggled and rested her head against his shoulder.

“Your wish is my command,” he chuckled, grinning down at her as they walked down the bright, sunlit corridor.

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

It was a warm radiant morning on the day of your wedding, the birds were chirping their beautiful song and there was the scent of flowers on the wind that was almost a promise of what was to come. It seemed like God himself was smiling down upon you today. The King himself helped you into the magnificent comfortable litter that Sirius had procured for you. The King was to be walking you down the aisle today; he was going to be giving you to Sirius since your father wasn’t coming.

The knowledge that your father wasn’t coming felt like a dagger to your heart, in all honesty you didn’t really care that your mother wasn’t coming; you just wished your father was. He had written you a second letter telling you how proud and sorry he was but his words did nothing to soothe your aching heart.

With a sigh, you uncorked a bottle of springtime wine and poured yourself and Sophia a goblet, adding liberal amounts of honey, you drank deeply sighing with pleasure as the sweet taste danced along your tongue.

Sophia accepted the goblet with a thankful smile but you could see the sadness in her eyes. The news around the chateau was that Remus had returned to court because he’d had an offer of marriage. The news troubled Sophia and you had spent many nights with Sophia crying herself to sleep in your arms. You just wanted to make her feel better.

Sophia smiled at you as she sipped her own goblet of wine delicately, “are you excited Y/N?”

You nodded, there was a fizzle of excitement blooming in your chest already, “I’m nervous too, I always knew that I would be a wife one day but I was unprepared on how it would make me feel,” you admitted, biting your lip.

Your dear friend smiled kindly as she leaned forwards and placed her hand on top of yours, “it’s completely normal to be nervous,” she spoke to you gently and you smiled at her, you were so grateful that she was by her side.

You looked out of the thin curtains of your litter to look at the surroundings as you travelled through the woods to the small grove where the chapel was. The beautiful trees and the dappled sunlight that streamed through them slowly but surely seemed to calm your nerves and you smiled, taking in one deep breath. All too son the litter came to a halt just outside the cluster of cherry blossom trees that shrouded the chapel from view.

King James helped you out of the litter and smiled at you as he took a little bow, “you really do look beautiful Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” you grinned back at him as you took the hand that he was offering you.

Your nerves increased as he led you through the curtain of pink petals and you looked up at the trees and smiled as the petals began to fall as soft as a kiss and settled in your beautiful hair. You closed your eyes as you took a deep breath of the sweet scent of the trees. Sirius had been right; the air was practically fizzing with magic. The most beautiful piano music floated outside of the open door of the pretty chapel and it seemed to diminish your nerves ever so slightly.

“Mantenerte fuerte,” you whispered to yourself, remembering the last words that your father said to you and with your head held high you walked through the front doors of the chapel, on the way to your future.

You gasped in delight as the weak sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, making rainbows in the air; you reached out a hand to the quivering beautiful light. Queen Lily also looked beautiful in robes of forest green and flowers in her hair. Biting your lip, you looked over at the altar where your future husband was waiting for you. You smiled, feeling your eyelashes flutter of their own accord. He looked so handsome and he grinned at you with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks and those gorgeous grey eyes were shining as brightly as the stars. His teeth worried at his bottom lip as you floated towards him, not even sparing a glance to the spectators, they didn’t matter. It was only him that mattered.

When you reached the altar, King James lifted your hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to it before he joined your hand with Sirius’ and he clapped his best friend on the shoulder before going to join his Queen. Sirius’ lips curved up into a nervous elated smile as he squeezed your hand gently and you smiled back before the priest cleared his throat and began the service. The priest proclaimed that Spain and England where to be joined today but you weren’t really paying attention; the only thing you could think of was Sirius’ hand in yours. You jolted slightly when it was time to say your vows.

“Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am yours and you are mine, this day until the end of my days,” you said together and smiled all the way through. It wouldn’t be so bad being Sirius’ wife, you knew that he would respect you and care for you, and you would do the same for him. It would be something, anything was better than nothing. Even if you never fell in love with each other, it was going to be okay.

“You may kiss your bride,” the priest prompting Sirius and the flush on Sirius’ cheeks only deepened.

Sirius took a deep breath as he cupped your neck and leaned in gently to press a chaste kiss to your lips, it was a pleasant kiss that made your lips tingle and your heart beat wildly. Before Sirius could properly pull away, you took hold of his shirt gently and tugged him back to you, threading a hand through his hair as you kissed him back, nipping at his lower lip slightly. He chuckled into your mouth and the outside world seemed to melt away until it was just you and him.

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@smiithys​ @elayneblack​ @amelie-black​ @siriuslyjanhvi​ @pregnant-piggy​ @lindatreb​ @mabelle-cherie​ @hxrgreeves​ @britishspidey​ @mads-bri​ @classicrocketqueen​ @sxtansqueen​ @hufflepuffzutara​ @missmulti​ @bruxa0007​ @ourstarsailor​ @fific7​ @squ1dward​ @2410slb​ @sunles​

[heywardsarchive]

a very burrow christmas {Harry potter}

Summary: Harry and his girlfriend enjoy Christmas with their favourite people, the Weasleys. This is a no voldy au so every one is alive and happy:')

A/n: this is written by me and @pregnant-piggy 

(he has no right to be this cute wtf)                                                    

"Harry," y/n said trying to shake Harry's grip off her waist. "Haaryyy" she said in a sing song voice poking his cheek. "Wake up Potter!" She picked him again. "Ugh, lemme sleep l/n." Harry grumbled pulling y/n closer in his arms. "Five more minutes." He said snuggling his face into her neck. "Fine." She sighed playfully and melted into his embrace, falling asleep once again.

They were woken up properly when sirius barged into the room screaming "WAKE UP." He saw the sight in front of him and he almost let them be and leave. Almost being the word here, instead he called out to his best friend very loudly. "Prongs! Your son is trying to make you a grandfather early!" There was a series of clangs and crashes and ran in James Potter with crooked and a slightly red face. "What? Where?" Sirius snickered and pointed at Harry and y/n who were now waking up due to the commotion. "What's going on?" Harry asked groggily.

"Nothing, just sirius being an arse. Now wake up and get dressed, you both have to go the burrow today." James told his son and his girlfriend.

Harry groaned and nuzzled his face in y/n's shoulder. She giggled and pushed his head away, ignoring the googly eyes Sirius and James were making. 'Come on, Harry. The Weasleys are waiting for us. And you know how Ron gets when he has to wait.' In the doorframe, Sirius and James chuckled, but one look from Harry was enough to send them away. He and y/n got dressed in silence, both lost in their thoughts. When they came down, James and Lily were sitting at the dining table, both a mug in their hand and a smug smile on their face. Harry grumbled something about 'embarrassing him with their stupid faces' and James laughed loudly.

Still slightly grumpy, Harry ate his breakfast quietly. "So y/n, when are your parents returning?" Lily asked Y/n. She put her galss of orange juice down. "Oh, they'll be joining us tomorrow for Christmas at the Weasley's house." Lily nodded. "That's good." "Alright kiddos it's time to go." James clapped his hands together. Both Harry and y/n grabbed hold of their bags. One by one they walked into the fireplace and flooed to the burrow.

Harry reached first. He stepped out of the fireplace and and a second later out came y/n. She dusted the soot of her clothes and smiled at Harry. As Harry turned around, he was immediately hit on the face with a blob of frosting. Y/n burst out laughing. "You look so stupid Harry." She said, still laughing extremely loudly. "What a horrible day!" Harry whined.

The culprits behind the frosting on Harry's face walked to them with sly grins on their faces. Ofcourse it was fred and George. "Hello Harry, did you enjoy your Christmas welcome?" They said in unison. "No." Harry grumbled. "It was amazing, good job guys." Y/n high fived the twins. "Are you my girlfriend or theirs?" Harry asked her feigning betrayal. He put his fingers to his face and removed some of the frosting and rubbed it all over y/n's cheeks. She gasped. "No you didn't!" "Yes I did." Harry said mockingly.

Y/n took the piping bag from Fred's hands and squeezed it all over Harry's unruly black hair. "You've started war woman!" Harry declared and snatched the bag from her and ripped it on her head. "Ewww." She groaned. By then, all the Weasley kids had gathered, hearing the commotion. "Er, hi guys." Harry and y/n said sheepishly. "You had a frosting fight, without me?" Ron asked in betrayal. "Join in?" Y/n asked him. "YES!" He cheered.

Everybody grabbed some frosting bags and started throwing it at eachother. "What is going on here!" Mrs Weasley arrived, looking at the mess created in her living room. Everyone froze in their tracks and dropped whatever they were holding. "I asked you kids to frost cookies, not each other! Now clean up the mess. Stat!" Her face was red. The room was silent. "Do not worry kids, we got this." Fred and George said. They whipped out their wands and muttered a spell and the room was back to normal. "You're welcome." They grinned.

With the very little frosting that was left, it was quickly decided that the cookies would taste just as good without decoration. After everyone was washed up they sat in the living room, calming down from the frosting war. All were happily discussing what gifts they hoped they would get, when Ron proposed to play a game. Chutes and Ladders was taken out and everyone sat around it.

What was supposed to be an innocent game, soon turned into a battle in which no one was spared. Loud laughter erupted every time someone had to slide back to the start and groans from everyone but the player came whenever they could ascend a ladder.

Harry was the first one to give up. He still had the same, although maybe a little less, mood he had had in the morning and when he had to go back to the start for the third time, he threw his pawn away and declared he was done with the game. He pulled y/n on his lap and rested his chin on her shoulder as he watched how she slowly made her way to the last box.

'I won! I won!' she exclaimed when she placed her pawn on the final box and she threw her arms in the air. Everyone laughed bittersweet at her victory, but y/n noticed nothing of it as she turned around to Harry and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry chuckled and placed a kiss on her temple. She however threw all her weight in the embrace and together with her boyfriend she fell to the floor.

Harry's chest was rising and falling with his laughter and y/n was lying on top of him. She lifted but kept hovering over him. The look on Harry's face was so delicate that she couldn't but place a soft kiss on his lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled into the kiss when he heard everyone around them groan and yell.

'MOM! y/n and Harry can't keep their hands off each other!' Ron screamed to the kitchen and y/n climbed off Harry, not hiding her smug smile on her lips. She looked at Harry and he winked at her, his cheeks as red as the hair of the Weasleys around him.

It was night by the time the game ended and everyone's stomach was growling in hunger. "Kids, time for dinner!" Mrs Weasley called out. Everyone ran to the table, mouth watering at the smell of the deliciously steaming food. Roast turkey, cranberry sauce, pie and chocolate cake among others was spread out on the table. Everyone dug in and relished the delicious meal. Mrs Weasley this is so good!" Harry said in delight. "Thankyou dear." She smiled. Soon all the food on the table was cleared and nothing but a few crumbs remained.

Since it was Christmas Eve, Hermione suggested that they sang Christmas carols. Ginny decided that they sang o Christmas tree. Everyone sang along singing off tune, but still the Christmas cheer filled the air. The burrow never failed to brighten the mood. After carols, everyone dropped their gifts under the giant tree in the middle of the living room. Fred and George tried to sneak glances at the boxes which had their names on them. They even almost ripped one of the gifts open before mrs Weasley smacked their hands away.

Around eleven pm, mr Weasley handed everyone mugs of hot chocolate as everyone sat in the backyard. It was snowing and one could see their breath in the cold. "It's so nice outside." Ginny muttered. Everyone nodded in agreement. Harry rested his head on y/n's shoulder and she kissed his forehead. "I love you." He whispered. "I love you too." Y/n whispered lifting Harry's chin to place a kiss on his lips. "Gross! Get a room." Ron teased. Harry stuck his tongue out at his best friend and he rolled his eyes teasingly.

It was getting very late and everyone started to nod off. One by one they retired to their rooms. The girls were together and Harry was to share a room with Ron. Y/n placed a kiss on Harry's forehead and followed Hermione into the house.

*****

Full from the food and the merry feelings, y/n found her sleep quickly. The soft chatting of Hermione and Ginny lulled her asleep and soon she was off in dreamland.

Harry in his shared room with Ron missed y/n's warmth and her embrace that he was used to fall asleep to. He kept talking with Ron until the little hours, but eventually he slept in too, the warmth and comfort of the burrow easing him.

If the next morning no one had woken from the rooster that was screaming bloody murder at the crack of dawn, they were woken by the enthusiastic and loud talking of the twins, who were the first ones to wake up and had no intention of letting everyone else sleep in on this Christmas morning. So while Ron tried to turn around in his bed once more, the door of the bedroom burst open and Fred and George jumped on their brother's bed. 'Come on, Ron, it's Christmas!' Fred exclaimed and he and George kept pestering Ron all the way down to the living room, where the rest of the sleepy family sat.

y/n was sitting in the corner of the couch, resting her cheek on her hand. Her eyes were almost falling shut when Harry slumped into the place next to her and rested his head in her lap. She raked her hands through his messy hair and Harry felt his eyes slowly closing.

'I can't believe it, I talked to him for hours last night and he wouldn't fall asleep. You put your hand in his hair and he is off,' Ron grumbled, though he didn't look annoyed; he had a smirk on his face.

'Well, what can I say,' y/n laughed. 'It's a Christmas miracle.' *****

After a delicious breakfast made by Mrs Weasley, everybody gathered around the tree to open the presents. As the last person sat down, James and Lily Potter came out of the fireplace, followed by sirius a few seconds later. "Sorry we're late." Lily coughed. "Someone forgot to do their present shopping." Sirius looked sheepishly at the ground. "But we're here now." He declared.

Gifts were being passed out and everyone was excitedly opening them. Mrs Weasley knit everyone a Weasley jumper with their initial on it. Mr Weasley have everyone gifts depending on their likes. Sirius gave everyone a joke shop gift. Fred and George were the only ones who appriciated the gift. Finally, Harry opened y/n's gift. She anxiously watched his as he carefully opened the wrapping paper. He then lifted the gift, it was a scrapbook that she had spent months putting together. Harry flipped the book open, on the front was a picture of them in their first year, after Harry won the match, then after that there were pictures and small handwritten notes on every page. "Do you like it?" Y/n asked expectantly. "I really do!" Harry replied hugging her.

The gifts were opened and the mess was cleared. The children sat down on the sofa and we're about to play exploding snap when ginny exclaimed, "it's snowing!" The game was forgotten and everyone pulled on their coats and went to backyard. It was the first snow that year and it felt magical. Lily put on a casette that played muggle Christmas carols. They were all wizards but something about the atmosphere felt even more magical.

"Dance with me." Harry extended his hand out to y/n. "Gladly." She took it. He pulled her close and they swayed to the music. "I love you." Harry kissed her forehead. "I love you too " she smiled.

Lily and James watched the two lovers dance outside and their hearts swelled. It reminded them of them in their youth. Y/n's parents had arrived by then and they too watching them dance felt their heart warm up. It was beautiful to see the two of them so young and in love.

Hermione pulled y/n away from Harry, telling him that she needed to steal y/n from him as they needed another team mate for their snow ball fight. Harry shook his head and stood beside ron who was watching Hermione with slightly red cheeks and a small smile. "You should ask her out mate." Harry told him. "I don't know who you're taking about." He said defiantly. "Sure man, I belive you." Harry nudged his shoulder and they both shared a small laugh.

Harry was still talking to Ron when he was hit in the face by a snowball coming from behind a fort of snow a little further in the yard. As the cold snow dripped of his face and ice cold drops of water made their way into the collar of his coat, Harry quickly ran to the fort of the other team. He crouched down behind the wall of snow and turned to George, who was captain of this team.

'Spy on them, while Gin and I get ready to attack them,' George said and he pushed Harry into the battlefield unprepared. A little lost he stood in between the two teams, but then he walked closer to the team y/n was on.

Her team hadn't noticed Harry yet. They were all bent over a drawing in the snow, that Fred was pointing at with his wand. Harry looked over his shoulder and gestured for George and Ginny to come closer. They approached the little hill of snow slowly and carefully. 'ATTACK!' George yelled and he and Ginny jumped over the 'fort', throwing snowballs at the persons behind it. Loud yells and screams erupted from the people behind the snow and a real battle, as the one with the frosting the previous day had been, erupted. Snow was thrown back and forth until everyone was cold and blue and Mrs Weasley called everyone inside for a hot chocolate.

After everyone was warmed up again by Mrs Weasley's amazing hot cacao, they stationed in the living room. Just when Ron was about to sit next to y/n,  Harry jumped in his place, forcing Ron to sit in the spot next to Hermione. Harry shot y/n a sly grin and she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, while lied his head on her lap, silently asking her to play with his hair.

Y/n chatted with everyone around her while Harry's eyes started to droop. "Done go to sleep now, it's almost time for dinner." He groaned. "But you're comfortable." She flicked his forehead. "I'm up, I'm up." He said sitting up on the sofa. After a few minutes, food was set on the table, once again the table was filled with scrumptious food. Salad, sandwiches, mince pie, pasta and others were layed out.

Conversation flowed nicely on the table as everyone dug into their food. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. As Harry watched y/n talk to Ginny animatedly he couldn't help but feel that he was the luckiest man on earth to be with a person like her. He held her hand under that table and she intertwined her fingers with his. They smiled at each other, eyes holding so much love that it almost overflowed.

Harry and y/n were a match made in heaven and neither of them planned on letting the other go anytime soon *******

taglist: @kashishwrites

[ikleesfiction]

Will you follow through if I fall for you?

Fandom : One Chicago Word count : 2,409 words Disclaimer

Previously on this fic : Part 1 🞂 Part 2 🞂 Part 3 🞂 Part 4 🞂 Part 5

Part 6

It's been a few days since your date night with Jay. It went much better than you expected. You knew from the start that Jay is a good guy and probably a sweet lover too. But after that night, you found out that there's more to him than his good look and easy-going attitude. Jay's gentleness soothes your insecurities. His understanding warms you from inside. It's hard to feel miserable when he's around. You cannot help but latch on to him.

You and Jay keep texting and calling each other every day, but you only got to meet him once since then. For a coffee date before he ran to work while you went for your PT session. His job doesn't leave a lot of spare time, so you relish all the time he spends with you.

You hear your phone rings when you have your lunch. There is a video call request from your best friend and work-mate, Alex. "Hey, you! I miss your stupid face!" you greet him.

"You know what's not stupid?" Alex ignores your greeting. "The new material I received this morning

He refers to an email you sent him last night. Instead of sleeping, you wrote some lines and tinkered some notes on your electric keyboard. It was still very rough, but you and Alex swap ideas all the time. They could be a bar of melodies or chord progressions. Or maybe a single line that you cannot get out of your head, even there's no context to it.

"Wanna work on it soon?" Alex proposes.

"Yeah, sure!" you easily agree.

"You know I'm gonna ask how you come up with that song idea, right?" Alex probes further. He got an idea about your sudden burst of inspiration, but you haven't told him anything yet so far.

"You can ask. I might not answer", you nonchalantly retort. "Are you asking now?"

"I would, but I just arrived at my parents' house for our weekly dinner", Alex turns his camera phone and shows you his family dining table. "Say hi to Y/N, Pop" He lets his parents know that you're on the phone.

"Hallo, Liefje" Alex's parents greet and wave at you. "I miss you, Y/N. How are you doing, darling?" Alex's mom squeals at you.

"I miss you guys too. I miss home," you utter mournfully.

"I saw your dad last week. He and your mom cannot wait to have you back home next month. As are we." Alex's dad informs you.

Your face gets even more upset. "I haven't told my parents yet, but it's gonna be another two months. It's not working out as good as they wanted"

Alex's parents let out a sympathetic noise. "Oh great, I still have two more months to hide all my chocolate from you" Alex teases you instead. He knows if he doesn't throw any humor here, you're going to weep. The family laughs at your offended look.

"Where's Sara?" you ask them when you didn't notice Alex's little sister on the table.

"She's getting ready for a date after dinner. Said they will go stargazing. Can you believe it?" Alex skeptically recounts to you.

"Hmm, that sounds romantic. Good for her." you hum your appreciation. Alex can see twinkles in your eyes.

"Of course, you thought it was charming", Alex sounds vexed.

"Why are you so grumpy about this? You have a hit song that compared someone's eyes with the moon", you remind him. "Last time I checked, that song already got more than 400 million streams on Spotify". Alex just grumbles incoherently, while you can hear his father's booming laugh in the background.

"Alex, would you please call your sister down for dinner?" Alex's mom orders him.

"Alright, ma. Gotta go, Y/N. I'll call you later when I'm back at the studio. Bye, sis!" Alex ends the call.

◢◤

Kelly Severide comes to your place in the evening after he finished his shift. He called you on your cell several times, but you didn't pick them up. He knocked on your door for a few minutes without answers. Worried that something bad happened to you, he uses his key to open your apartment door. You gave him a spare when you began your recovery from the incident. Since you got nobody in town except for the 51 Family, you thought at least one of them should have access to your place, in case you need help.

Kelly sees you sitting on your corner desk with headphones on. Your head is nodding to the beat you're working on. Relieved to know you okay, but feels a bit annoyed, Kelly taps your shoulder lightly. You jump in surprise, almost fall from your chair if Kelly doesn't hold you down.

"Kelly! What..! Why are you..??" your heart is still pounding in shock, makes you unable to finish your thoughts properly.

"I knocked! And called you many times! Neither you answered! I was afraid that you fell and unconscious so I used my key", Kelly exclaims.

You check your phone and see seven missed calls from Kelly. "Sorry, I left my phone on mute, somehow"

Kelly goes to raid your fridge and takes a bottle of apple juice. "Your fridge needs beers" he judges. "Go, get ready! We'll hang out at Molly's. Everyone misses you", Kelly orders you.

"I'm working, Kelly. Just because my work has no shifts, doesn't mean I can go anytime you want", protest you.

"You work for your best friend, who's in another continent right now. You can slack off for a bit" he dismisses your complaint.

"I'm making big progress here. My writing juice is flowing", you point at your laptop.

"One hour. I give you one hour to work. Then I'm hauling you out of here. In the meantime, I'm gonna order take out for us", Kelly decides.

You only mumble your disagreement, knowing that you're gonna lost the argument anyway. So you just put your headphones back on your head. However, Kelly pokes you again five minutes later, with his phone on hand, "Hey, do you want Thai or Greek? I'm in the mood for Greek right now", Kelly playfully asks you.

"Yeah, Greek is fine" you start to feel bothered.

He leaves to order the food while you're back to do your work. Ten minutes passed, Kelly drags a chair from the kitchen island to your side. He knocks on the table to catch your attention.

"Hey, I just remember, Brett said they saw you rescued somebody at the swimming pool last week. How did that happen?" he questions.

You let out a desperate sigh. "You're not going to let me work in peace, are you?"

Kelly just grins. "C'mon, we haven't hung out for a while. Lots of drama to share"

You save your work in defeat and then move to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Kelly sits on the couch with legs resting on the coffee table. You place yourself next to Kelly.

"They extend my therapy for another month" you restlessly play with your bottle cap.

"Is it not going well?" Kelly asks in concern.

"I got cramps that day at the swimming pool. They worried I damaged something. So they prefer to be cautious" you fill him in.

"That's when you rescued Dr. Manning's son " Kelly tries to clarify.

"Well, I just pulled him out of the water. The pool guard was the one who helped him breathe" you shrug.

"You assisted. It still counts as a rescue", Kelly insists. "Bet if Dr. Manning knew, she would buy you drinks at Molly's forever"

"More like got invited to dinner at their place," you mutter.

"Hmm, that's probably true" Kelly pauses for a moment, thinking. "Wait, did you meet her?" he grills you.

"Yeah. And her fiancé. I came to the hospital to check on Owen. Then next thing I knew I'm having family dinner with Manning/Halstead clan", you convey to him.

Kelly's phone chirps interruptedly. "Food's here" He goes to pick up the food from the delivery guy. "Alright, let's eat then we can go to Molly's"

◢◤

Jay is nursing his first beer as he watches Will bottoms up his third glass of whiskey. Will called him earlier in the evening, claimed that he needs bro night out after a shitty day at Med. Jay's initial plan to have dinner with you got scrapped before he even asked.

"Maybe you need to pace yourself, Will", Jay suggests to him as Will signs to Otis for a refill.

"Yeah, Doc. Maybe you want to switch? We have a nice Dutch craft beer chilling here", Otis offers. But Will is still holding out his empty glass to him, silently demanding for more. "Okay then" sighs Otis as he fills the glass.

Jay hears the commotions at the other end of the bar. He recognizes some people from Firehouse 51 there. Christopher Hermann is cackling, while Matt Casey grins widely. They pay attention to someone that is sitting among the group, but he cannot see who because Severide is blocking his view.

Jay checks his phone while he finishes his beer. He received a text from you beforehand, told him that she's going out to meet her friends tonight. He texted back, wishing her to enjoy her night out, but got no replies. Will notices Jay's scrolling on his phone and asks, "Do you need to go back to work?"

"Nah, just checking my texts" Jay puts his phone back in his pocket. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Not in the slightest. But I still have to go to work tomorrow. If I wanna do better than today, I cannot do that with a hangover" Will sulks. "Hey Gabby, I would like to try that craft beer Otis suggested" he requests to Gabby who passes by.

"Would you like one as well, Jay?" Gabby offers him.

"Alright, why not.." Jay accepts the new bottle.

"Is this a new batch? Don't think I ever have it here before", comments Will after his first sip.

"Yeah! Just start to come in this month. It's a friend's favorite. She hooked us up with a supplier directly from The Netherlands. You like it?" Gabby enthusiastically claims.

"It's good. But still not Bourbon", Will pouts. Jay lets out a snort while Gabby snickers.

Jay looks around the bar as he savors his beer. He paused when he thought he saw you sitting among the 51 Gang. Will notices and looks in the same direction. "Is that Y/N?" asks Will.

Jay stands up for his seat, "I'm gonna go say hi to her"

◢◤

You feel a palm pressed to your back as you hear someone's saying from behind, "Didn't expect to see you here tonight"

You turn your back immediately as you realize whose voice it is, "Jay!" shout you excitedly. You open your arms to hug him. Jay lands a chaste kiss on your lips before hugs you back.

Kelly and Matt look at each other over your head with eyebrows raised. "Well, that's something I didn't expect" goads Kelly.

"Severide, Casey" Jay gives them an acknowledging nod with his hands stay on your hips.

"How do you know each other?" Matt asks curiously.

Jay opens his mouth to reply, but you hear Will's interruption, "You guys finally made it, huh?" Jay rolls his eyes at his brother.

"These guys have been sending heart-eyes at each other since they first met" Will tips off the 51 gang. "Which I arranged, by the way. But this result was unintentional"

"No, we're not!" you try to deny.

"I was there, Y/N, at your almost first kiss" Will divulges.

"Oh my god!" you hide your blushing face behind your palms. Jay smacks a kiss on the side of your head, amused while the group makes fun of you.

"I guess this happened after Y/N rescued Owen?" Sylvie asks to confirm.

"Ooooh yes, our next year candidate!" Hermann yells. The others just clap and whistle in response. You thud your head to the bar table, abashed.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. We are proud of you" Casey remarks. "That said if you want to go to the academy..." he continues.

"Nuh-uh, I love my job, thank you very much" you quickly state.

You spend the rest of the night beside Jay, chatting and laughing with 51 Family and Halstead brothers until you let out a big yawn. "Tired?" Jay asks you softly.

You nod, "Beer always made me sleepy"

"Let me settle the tabs, then I'll take you home" Jay squeezes your shoulder as he stands up.

Kelly observes you and Jay throughout the night. When Jay left your side, he lowly speaks to you after making sure everyone else is busy conversing elsewhere. "So Jay Halstead is the one who got your juice's flowing, huh?"

"Kelly!" you slap his arm, agape.

"I mean your writing juice! You said it earlier!" Kelly yelps, but his smirk contradicts his words.

"You're the worst" you just shake your head.

Kelly's face turns serious for a moment, "Does he know about your situation?"

"What situation?" you try to sound innocent, but Kelly just gives you a look.

"Told him about the collapsing stage" you deflated.

"Have you told him that you're leaving in two months?" Kelly pushes.

"It's still too early. Who knows, Jay might end this soon", your voice sounds unsure.

"Don't think so. He looks quite smitten by you. Should probably tell him soon", Kelly disagrees.

"I'm happy right now, Kels. Can I just enjoy this for a while?" you start to lose patience with him.

"He deserves to know" Kelly persists.

You look down at the table, your fist is clenched in frustration. Jay comes back and notices the tense atmosphere. "Is everything okay?"

You reply with a forced smile, "Yeah, let's get out of here" then stand up from your seat and give Kelly a quick hug, "Thanks, Kels"

You move to say goodbye to the rest of the group, which takes a bit of time since everyone wants a hug or has something to tell you.

"C'mon guys, my boyfriend has waited long enough" you cry out when Sylvie and Gabby hold you back from going. The group guffaw even louder and playfully nudges Jay, who just beams brightly at you.

"Good night, guys!" you casually shout, finally getting away from the rest of the group, with Jay's hand in yours.

Next on this fic : Part 7

+x Taglist +x

@shipshipshipau @itsdesiree86 @thevelvetseries @annaallicce

[zecretsanta]

FIC: Right to Left

To: @duelistguard

From: @erisofimladris

Summary: Sometimes, a wedding this long-awaited is overwhelming in the most amazing way. Inspired by “Morphogenetic Sorrow’’ from the 999 OST and written for ZEcret Santa 2020! Spoiler warning for the entire Zero Escape trilogy.

Author’s Note: When I saw the prompt to write a fic inspired by “Morphogenetic Sorrow,” my mind instantly went to the way the song was integral in the scene where Junpei saves young Akane, and then reappears when he proposes to her in ZTD. I have held this story in my heart for many years and am thrilled to write it now! Happy holidays and enjoy :)

There is a new pressure on Akane’s left ring finger.

A gentle hold, almost like a hug surrounding the skin. It was the same feeling she remembered from when Junpei slid the ring on her right ring finger in Dcom, when she had been shouting at him for leaving her to SHIFT away from a timeline where he died. The ring turned that day into such a jumble of emotions that she hadn’t been able to process it properly, not until they were out of the facility and she watched the diamond glint in the harsh Nevada sun.

It brought back memories of another time when she’d wanted a ring from him but didn’t live long enough, and another time when she’d worn the ring on the wrong finger for decades because she was trying too hard to save the world from a horrible fate that she had no time for love.

But this timeline features neither of those things. She is alive, young and free from every obligation on her shoulders, and all that remains is to make her own happiness. And yet, because there is no plan for this moment, no rehearsal until it feels like she’s done things a thousand times before, she wakes up with sudden nerves.

As she prepares, she resolves to find five things she can see, four she can feel, three she can hear, two she can smell, one she can taste. It came from some website either she or Aoi found back when they were preparing to act in the Second Nonary Game and had to stay calm. Her senses were the only thing keeping her alive, and honing them while keeping her calm was an efficient way to do what needed to be done. Not to mention, it wasn’t hard to wrap her head around using numbers, even if it was a different mechanic than what she was preparing for. Counting things like this could help make everything make sense.

It made sense now, too - it felt like ten million things had to go the right way for this day to happen, and considering the Nonary Games, Dcom, and hunting a terrorist fanatic, that number didn’t seem like that big of an exaggeration.

She snapped out of her thoughts when the whirlwind of outfit preparation was finally done and the doors to the room opened at last.

She sees Junpei first - his hair, finally organized; his outfit clean and crisp; just like she’d imagined him as her groom when she was the awkward girl in middle school who clung to him as her only close friend. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Aoi finally cracking a smile by her side as they start to walk. She hadn’t imagined a ceremony involving both walking down the aisle and drinking nine sips of sake from three separate cups (more numbers, she couldn’t help but giggle), but this hodgepodge feels like how their relationship came together. Everything stopped being simple and straightforward so many years ago that it felt like their wedding should be the same.

Three more things to see. Maria in a flouncy dress offering Gab a treat. Carlos, on the other side, swiping a pillow away from the old “ring dog.” The slight rustling of clothes as everyone settles into position, ready to get started.

She shuffles forward, feeling the silk of her mother’s kimono - the one that came inexplicably to her mind when she was on the floor by the submarine, imagining the life she wondered if she would get to have when everything was over. Back to the present, her shoes are pinching. Her hand is slightly cold as Aoi’s leaves and he retreats to the side.

The sound of Aoi’s footsteps as he withdraws catches her slightly off guard. She knows he’s never truly leaving - he’s the type to be in her life forever, especially considering - no. She needs to stay in the present, in the voice of the officiant who sounds like he needs a tissue but that would detract from the solemnity. Shoes, voice. She needs one more sound. It comes in the clink of the cups as Junpei bumps into the table, and she can’t stifle her smile.

Smell isn’t hard - the sake has smelled strong ever since she stood next to it, flowery but with a definite hint of alcohol. She’ll have to moderate that, she’s not used to alcohol like certain people named Junpei standing to her right and smelling like nervousness and corn flakes and Junpei.

The taste of the sake overwhelms her mind until the only thing she can think is, This is it. I’m marrying Junpei. Not in a dozen timelines from now, but right now. Right now.

After the ceremony, there is a new dress. Instead of silk against her skin, she feels the sudden heaviness of satin. All she can see is Junpei’s smile, and the happiness rattles around in her skull until she is almost delirious with it.

Her senses blend together when she makes her way out in pinchy shoes to hearty applause. Cake from Junpei’s fork fills her mouth, sweet and chocolatey and she suddenly has the energy to dance all night. Diana’s laugh as Sigma decides now is the time to sing along with the music blends with the voice of Akane and Junpei’s sixth-grade teacher, who she managed to track down, saying that it’s nice to see some of her old favorite students, especially after one of them left her school so long ago. Her diamond ring clacks against a glass when she takes a drink of something that smells spicy, and she almost spills it when she feels Gab stepping on her dress as he makes his way across the room, quickly followed by the clomping footsteps of whoever she assigned to keep track of him. Different strengths of hugs from Carlos, Diana, Aoi, are those really tears on his cheeks? She has no time to think about that when she feels the taste of Junpei’s lips against hers a thousand different times when he finds her making her way around the room. They leave when it’s too dark to see anything outside; she catches herself wishing the moon was bigger and lets out a laugh as she rests her hand against the door handle of a rather fancy car.

“There’s one more thing,” Akane says as they settle into the car, finally, blissfully alone except for the very professional driver. Unlike so much of their time together, this is the first time Akane gets to experience this moment. She doesn’t know what Junpei might find funny or sad or exhilarating. She can only hope he feels the same way she does as she rummages in her little white purse and pulls out a small voodoo doll.

“That’s it, then,” he says. Even without being inside his head, Akane knows that how he wrinkles his face a little means that he is unsure what she is thinking or wants from him.

“I know we didn’t do an entirely traditional ceremony, but I thought I’d bring something lucky for you.”

She almost burst out laughing when his facial expression looked like she’d just hit him with a frying pan. “Lucky?” he finally asks. “Isn’t this the doll you went back for when you were - ”

He still hasn’t figured out how to talk about it, but then again, he hasn’t had years of practice. She smiles. “The very same.” She runs her finger over the worn surface of the fabric. It’s been years since she needed it, but the fabric still feels like love.

“But how could something that made you go back there be lucky?”

“Because I had something to go back for,” she said. When he didn’t reply, she prepared for another one of her explanations which, thankfully, she didn’t have to rehearse. “You were the person who gave the most hope in my life. I went back for this doll because I dreamed that we would be able to have a moment like this one day, and even though things really didn’t go the way I expected - in the beginning, at least - I couldn’t be happier that we’re here together. Another one of my long stories short, this doll brought us back together, even though it made a lot of other things happen too. It was worth it.”

“But…”

Akane smiles. It’s finally over. She is finally in her happy ending, and the past can take a back seat. “It was worth it,” she repeats as their hands meet over the old, worn fabric. The ring on her left ring finger glints in the moonlight as they finally head home.

[thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness]

THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION LIVE BROADCAST 23rd APRIL (NOTES/TRANSLATION)

Appearance:

 Kaoru (DIR EN GREY direngrey.co.jp/)

 Joe Yokomizo (Writer / DJ)

 Tasai Reporter (Tokyo Sports)

 God ?

Fuankun

Notes before Reading: This is the special livestream of The Freedom of Expression from last 23rd April.  They are going to talk about several topics for an hour ( Corona virus situation, Dir en grey activities...etc) Please be aware that the sound goes on and off at some parts because of their connections or some related problems. Sometimes they are all talking at the same time or can’t hear each other properly so sometimes their talk is a bit confusing or random. Thanks to @dkv7st  for uploading the video. Please don’t forget to subscribe to their channel and watch their videos to support the program. Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts. It’s going to be a long ride.... ---- Kaoru:  This is Kaoru from Dir en grey, the live broadcast of The Freedom of Expression has begun! I’m with Joe-san and Tasai-san, do you hear me? Tasai: Glad we could make it! It seems that Joe didn’t realize they are already live as he seems to be messing with his headphones. Tasai: Joe, we already started…. Kaoru: The program already started! Joe: Oh! It started…. God: God is here too! (cut) Joe: Today we are doing a live broadcast….from here (his device) I see all your comments at the chat...because of that, if you have any questions or comments for Kaoru, please write them and I will pick some and tell Kaoru….Today we are doing a live stream of The Freedom of Expression….Kaoru,  you already did a live stream with everyone last 28th March….you all did a live without audience… Kaoru: That’s it. Joe: Since then, 2-3 week have already passed but, if you want to report something new, please do it first… Kaoru: Anything new to tell? Nothing….(Sound gets a little off for a while) Joe: In other words, you are a guy that does not change much his routine… Kaoru: That’s it, as always, I have a list of things to do, but yesterday, as today we have this livestream…I kind of rushed over some things… Joe: I see…by the way, are the new songs ready? Kaoru: Of course! Joe: Ohhh! You said it! That means that the new album can be finished earlier…. Kaoru: I don’t know that yet…(sounds get off for some seconds) Kaoru: Today, originally, was the final live of the tour…. Joe: I see, I see….(sounds get off) Tasai: Kaoru…how was doing that live broadcast? (28th March) Kaoru: I think it was a good experience, doing a concert and broadcasting it… also for the band….I think it become part of our history…(the sounds goes off at the end of the sentence)… Tasai: I watched it too, and somehow... Joe: *cutting Tasai* I watched it too…. Tasai: All the comments were about how cool it was… God: It was really cool! Kaoru: Eh? God also watched it.. God: I did! I was really moved… Kaoru: You were moved? Do you know our songs? God: I know them… Tasai and Kaoru start talking at the same time, but both are trying to ask God which songs he likes. God: Eh? Kaoru: For example, what songs do you like? God: Which ones I like the most? Eh…it depends of the time… They all laugh, and God says something more about it. Tasai: At the time we were at Interfm87, it was the release of ‘Utafumi’, and we aired it there…. it’s a great memory of that time for me… Kaoru: It was at the time of the release, right? Joe: That’s true… God: I like that one… Joe: Which one? God: Eh well…what I was going to say? Kaoru: What were you going to say? (laughs) Joe: God, somehow, everyone is unsure about you…. they are saying that you seem to not know much about Dir en grey… God:*nervously* I enjoy them and…really, they are the best! They are cool…The World of Mercy is good but Vinushka is so good… Kaoru: You really know them well… God: I do know them well! Joe: You really know them well, God… God keeps trying to proof he is a Dir en grey fan while the other three are laughing hard. Joe: God, do you do things like buying their CDs and listen to them? God: That’s it. Joe: God, can you sing something for us? God sings something and Kaoru burst into laughs. Joe: Thank you so much! That was God! God keeps singing, Joe thanks him again for singing for them but points out his voice is a bit off.  -Joe talks again about the live without audience they did last March, how about performing without audience must feel different after having performed in front of lots of people before, like it makes you thankful for being able to perform like that previously. Kaoru agrees, and says that even if they did it with their 100% there was that feeling (of it being different) as there weren’t any audience but he adds that even if they were performing without no one in front of them, they did it knowing that a lot of people was watching them. Then, he says that it felt like being isolated which makes Tasai and Joe laugh. -Kaoru tells Joe his image(video) looks blurry and Joe says it seems his Wi-Fi isn’t working properly but he says it’s not his fault and he can see everyone well. He repeats again that if you have any questions or comments for Kaoru, please write them at the comments and he will pick and read some to Kaoru. -Kaoru asks Joe about how he is doing now and so. Joe says he is fine but when it comes to his job, he doesn’t have now interviews to do or so. He says he is spending a lot of time at home. Tasai says it’s the same for him, he mostly at home all day, he is only using the phone. In that sense, Joe says it feels kind of lonely. He used to meet a lot of artist and he would take energy from them, even if it is also his job. He thinks that now a lot of people is working remotely from home, so they don’t need to take the train which is a good thing, but on the other side, but humans are social animals and now we are not meeting other people, there are also things that doesn’t let us be happy. Joe: Honestly, I’m going to confess that it became a time for watching porn… Tasai: You don’t change, Joe… Joe: Don’t say that, Tasai… Kaoru: Do you watch a lot of it? Joe: Well…about watching it a lot…. it’s not corona but computers can potentially get another type of virus from it…. They all laugh. Tasai: I weighed myself before this live broadcast…. I got two kilos due to Corona…. Kaoru: That happens when you stay at home… Joe: What about your weigh, Kaoru? Kaoru: It didn’t change… Joe: It didn’t change? But as you can’t do concerts, you don’t drink alcohol there…is it ok? Kaoru: Even when we have concerts… (that doesn’t happen) Joe: I see….as usual…. Now, when it comes to news, there are only news related to Corona virus, the theme of this program is The Freedom of expression so…a lot of news like that are striking us… When Joe is about to read the news he chose, God cuts in. It seems that we couldn’t hear his voice and it’s because he messed up, it’s God’s fault. They take a few seconds to check it’s now ok, and the sounds gets again a bit off until it seems it’s ok and now, we can hear again God’s voice. When the sound is clear again, Kaoru is talking about eating wakame ramen, a new one which doesn’t have noodles. Tasai: Wakame ramen without noodles? Kaoru: As it doesn’t have noodles, it has a lot of wakame….(*he posted about this the next day on his blog*) Joe: But then that’s not ramen! Kaoru: Let’s go and buy it, eat it and share our thoughts on a program…. They talk about doing it or eating it while they drink. Joe says God is reading the comments, then he ask if it is ok that shares some news he wants to, after everyone saying it’s ok to share, he says this news is about something really important right now so that’s why he chose it for this livestream. To sum this up, a lot of shops are closed due to the Corona virus, in order to avoid its spreading but this is causing a problem when it comes to pay the rent. So, the government is trying to figure out how to solve this problem.  The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which is in charge, has proposed a plan to offer financial aid (rent support) to medium and small companies or owners of these shops or business to pay the rent and to pay their employees. It seems that the opposition party proposes instead a postponement of the rent payments. Joe: God, you are quiet…. God: Because it doesn’t affect me….as they are talking about the rent of companies and shops… Joe: That’s true, it has nothing to do with home’s rent…But this…. how is it going to be? For example, in the case of renting a live house or so…how is this, Kaoru?... Kaoru: How is going to be? (laughs) Joe reads the comments. Some people are saying “rent is so high!” and so. God: If you do some monetary offering to God, it’s ok! Joe: An offertory, right? Joe reads again the comments, some people are worried or affected by this rent problem. Tasai: It’s something serious… They talk about what about home’s rent. Joe: I hope they do it with home’s rent too… Joe asks the viewers to write about how this is affecting them. He says writing it it’s going to be like an “stress out” exercise, and he is going to pick some answers and read them.  Joe reads some comments about people working in shops or owning one. Some say that now people is not coming to buy as before. Tasai: That’s true, at the supermarket there are only grandmas and grandads…. Someone asks if they are now doing “take-out”. Joe says that for lunch he has a pattern, he eats at a shop and buys a bento for dinner. Tasai: I’m doing it at home…nikuman and such things… Kaoru: Are you doing nikuman? Tasai: To release my stress…. it’s  really fun… Joe: Do you use them to decorate dishes? God cuts in and proposes Tasai to sell his nikuman. Tasai says if he should do the nikuman and manju and God would sell them. God is like “let’s sell them” “let’s sell them” Tasai: Who is going to buy that? Joe says that Kaoru should do nikumans too. God: Let’s do them together! But Kaoru says he is not into it. Tasai asks Kaoru if he cooks, and Kaoru says that barely, that he only cooks fried veggies or ramen. God says he should do nikuman. Joe tells Tasai to post his nikuman recipe at Tokyo sports. Tasai: You want to read that? Tasai starts saying the ingredients of the nikuman. Kaoru says he doesn’t have to do it now and Joe agrees. Joe: There are comments saying that they want to eat nikumans made by Kaoru… God: “Please do a cooking livestream” …. they are writing that… Kaoru: At the comments? Joe asks the viewers to write what they want to see Kaoru doing at a livestream, besides cooking. Joe: Mostly making songs…. do you watch films at home? Kaoru: I do. Joe: But basically…. making songs… Kaoru: That’s it…. I also play FF…. Joe: What’s that? Tasai: Final fantasy… Kaoru: At night, before sleeping, I play a bit… Tasai mentions the Final Fantasy VII Remake, released last March… Joe: Oh, I’m going to tell Kaoru this one….” please make a live stream working out” Kaoru laughs. Joe: Let’s do it… Kaoru: Working out…. I have done it…. Joe: “a live stream about guitar chords” … But Kaoru seems to not be into it. Joe: Oh, there is another… a play list with the BGM from the venues… Kaoru says that he publishes them in his blog, so please go there to check. Joe: There is a question about if you play animal crossing? Tasai: I do! Kaoru: I never played it… (he says something about not playing games so much for 3 years ago?) Joe reads a comment saying that they should do a live stream playing some card games. He says they could do that, but he doubts it would be interesting to watch. Tasai: I want to do it while we drink…. Joe: Ah! Someone says to do a talk with Dir en grey members with Shinya as MC..... Kaoru: The MC…. can’t say anything…. They all burst into laughs… Joe:  If the MC can’t say anything…. the talk doesn’t move forward…there is another saying they want to see you drawing…there are a lot of comments… There is a comment that wants them to play Othello with Shinya. After saying that there are many suggestions, God cuts in jokingly, Joe says that there are a lot of comments with suggestions, like a video of Kaoru doing his make up like he does for lives, or an introduction of his closet… Kaoru: I can’t show you my closet… Joe: Now you are at home as usual, and your daily life hasn’t change but, do you buy stuff online? Kaoru: I buy things that I need, yes…. Joe says that as he is spending a lot of time at home, he is really tempted to buy things online. He says there is also the temptation of porn. One of the comments ask Joe what kind of porn he watches. Joe: Thank you for that question! (laughs) Do you want to know? If you know it, what are you going to do?.... Tasai: It’s not night yet… Joe: It’s not that late…. but as I’m at the radio at late night, maybe  I can tell there…. because now it’s still afternoon, I don’t feel like I should say it… Joe: So, today would have been the last day of the tour… Kaoru: That’s it…as for now, the tour is postponed to may…. but…we still don’t know when will be able to play… Joe: It can’t be helped due to the circumstances… Joe says that if the circumstances changes, maybe they can make it, but Kaoru says it doesn’t depend only on them saying “let’s do it” but also if people would feel safe enough to come. God mentions asks what they are going to do with the 100.000 yen (930$/854€ aprox) that the Japanese Government is going to give to Japan residents. Tasai: 100.000 yen… Joe: 100.000 yen…. Kaoru, what would you do with them? Kaoru: I would spend them on things for daily life, right? Joe says that he would be thankful for those 100.000 yen, but he thinks that if the government just give that as support, it’s going to be hard. Kaoru says the problem is not only “now” but also what will happen in the future. Joe asks God what he would do with that money or he doesn’t need it. God says he would spend it in some food (?).  Joe says that he wants to eat something delicious to release stress, but shops are closed. Tasai replies they should cook nikuman together. Joe laughs and says he is craving for something sweet as he likes sweet stuff. Kaoru: Joe, do you cook? Joe: I don’t…. I used to cook a bit when I lived in USA…. things like curry, but now I mostly do “men’s cooking” …. things like sunamon (Japanese sour salad)….I can’t do elaborate dishes… Joe says he doesn’t even have frying pans at home, Kaoru says he has. Tasai asks him what he eats at home, and Joe replies that, as he said before, he eats out and when he must eat at home it’s more cups like yakisoba cups. After talking a more about foods they make at home, Tasai wants to show Joe a picture to see if he can figure out what’s in. Joe asks him to wait a bit as he has the comments in his screen and can’t see the picture properly, so he is going to open youtube by himself in another device. Joe: Eh?! What’s that? Tasai: What is this? Kaoru, can you guess what is it? Joe doesn’t know what it is, but he says it doesn’t look good. Tasai: You are right! Joe: Is it a hamburger? Tasai explains he was trying to do a jumbo gyoza. Kaoru says it doesn’t look like that at all. Joe jokes saying that it’s not necessary that he shares the recipe. aoru says that there is a person related to the company (label) who got the Corona virus. He asks if it is ok that he invites him to the conversation, after the other’s approval, he adds him.

Fuankun: Hello, hello…I’m Fuankun…. Tasai: Nice to meet you… God: I saw you on tv! *Fuankun opened a youtube channel about him dealing with the Corona virus. He seems to be the president of some visual kei company related to Sunkrad. He seems to work with Arlequin (visual kei band)

After some seconds of introduction and asking how he is doing, Tasai wants to know if having Corona virus is painful or if it was hard for him. Fuankun says it wasn’t painful, but he mentions he lost his sense of smelling so much, that he couldn’t even smell natto even if it is was close to his nose. God starts telling some unrelated story about natto, that ends with Joe telling him to go back to the topic.

-Kaoru asks Fuankun what was the highest temperature he had and Fuankun says he reached  39.6ºC, at that point he thought he was really bad and went to the hospital and got positive for Corona virus. Then, he spent two weeks at the hospital and then he was moved to a hotel where he spent 5 days until he tested negative last 19th April. -Joe asks him how his appetite was, and he says as he wasn’t feeling well, his appetite was low. He explains that he was hospitalized quickly. Kaoru: You could be hospitalized right? Now I think they are not doing that… Fuankun says that now they are cases people who are infected can’t be hospitalized. Tasai asks him about what treatment was he given, and he says he tool medicine for infectious diseases, medicine for congestion and another one for the fever, just that. God asks if he had many injections and Fuankun says he got injected twice. God: Did it hurt? Fuankun: It hurt a little... The other three laugh and Joe says usually injections hurt. God says he is scared of injections. Joe says someone is asking at the comments if he can say the name of the medicine he was given, and Fuankun says it was “Levofloxacin”. Joe asks him if it is a medicine for Corona but Fuankun says it’s for infectious diseases in general. Joe says that maybe it’s a bit too much to ask him this, but he wants to know if Fuankun knows how he got infected. Fuankun answers he was just doing his regular daily life so he doesn’t know. Tasai: How did you fell when you were told you had Corona? Fuankun: “I can’t believe this is happening to me” ….I never thought that I would be infected by Corona… God says that people who got Corona and are cured now are invincible and that’s something amazing. So now that Fuankun is healthy again he has to work a lot (as he is invincible now). Later, Joe says if it is ok to ask something, he wants to know if he is suffering any discrimination related to Coronavirus. Fuankun says as he is still living  under quarantine he can’t tell. God: I don’t want to meet Fuankun…. Fuankun: Me? God: Yes, is that discrimination? Joe: That’s discrimination, God! God: Oh, then I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Joe: You should be the most compassionate one but, God seems to be very narrow-minded… this question is also of a sudden, but you still have to go back to your daily life right? Fuankun: Yes, right now it’s not my usual daily routine at all…. Joe says that he doesn’t know until when things are going to be like this, as Kaoru already said, but they are going to keep taking precautions. Kaoru: You have been ready helpful, thanks for taking part of this, Fuankun. They all thank him for joining them. God: I actually have a big heart!!! Everyone let’s take care of Fuankun! Joe: But he has to be alone now, I don’t think that’s possible… God: But we already became friends… Joe: Rather than that, why you don’t do your best for his complete recovery? Kaoru: That’s true, Can’t God do that? God: I’m going to make some masks…. tiny ones… Tasai: Did you receive them? (Japanese Goverment said they were going to send 2 masks per home) God: I didn’t receive them yet… Joe: I wonder if the people who is watching this have already received them… Many people say in the comments that they haven’t received them yet. Someone in the Shibuya district says that they have received them, Joe says he is also in Shibuya district, but he hasn’t received any masks.Joe wants to read some interesting article about masks from USA if they have time. *The news is about Mindy Vincent, an enterprising Utah resident, who has designed a apenis-covered face mask to keep people away and prevent the spread of Corona virus. Vincent first posted about her “#projectpenismask” initiative Thursday in a viral Facebook post with over 400,000 shares and 170,000 reactions. The masks were sold out within an hour* Joe: Very USA-ish news… God: I want that…. if I saw it, I would buy it…it’s a mask for men…. Joe says he saw the picture of the masks and the penises printed in the mask are very small. That’s why you only see them if you are close to the person, so if you can see them clearly, it means you are not keeping the social distance. They are wondering about the price of these masks. Joe. What about you, Kaoru? What kind of mask would you make for yourself? What kind of print? Kaoru: One with that part of my face printed….so it doesn’t look like I’m wearing a mask…. Joe reads in the comments that people is saying they would buy those mask of Dir en grey. Someone says they would want a mask with one of his drawings. Other person says they want a mask with the picture of the jumbo failed gyoza of Tasai on it. God: There are people watching from Italy too… Joe: From Italy? Thank you… Kaoru: Well, we have been already in for an hour….I think it’s about time…. Joe: It’s about time to say goodbye…. Kaoru:  We are right now living under theses circumstances…I think it’s good we are able to make this program…these are difficult times for creating content…. we almost look stupid…but we want to make it interesting…we want to raise our voice… God: I want to do it while we drink! Joe: I agree! I agree! They say they should make gyozas but Kaoru thinks that it’s going to be hard being just 3 people. Tasai says he is going to teach them and Joe teases him saying that he doesn’t think he can be a “teacher” of doing gyozas. God: Someone is saying hello from Poland….but at this times wouldn’t it be sayonara? God says he is already feeling lonely. Joe says they should do another live stream soon. God asks if everyone is doing good.Kaoru says that today’s livestream was a bit of a sudden as they were told yesterday, but it’s ok. Next time they will try to announce it before. He alsos says that tomorrow (24th April) a new The Freedom of Expression program will be up. God: Everyone, please take care of Corona! Everyone: Yes, please take care! Kaoru: Thank you for watching this live stream!.....please subscribe to the channel…. Joe: Please take care!

[nonstoplover]

everglow ~ Luke Hemmings (song drabble)

my masterlist │my song drabbles

song used as inspiration: coldplay ~ everglow

words: 2.1K

approximate reading time: about 10 mins

warnings: mentions of death, cancer

a/n: i just love this song. ever since it came out i’ve been in love with it. but i was too much of an immature child to actually realise it was such a sad song *smh* until i a couple months back had an idea to make it an imagine and started analysing the lyrics. sorry it became so sad. hope you still enjoy it. love ya xx

"...Oh they say people come, say people go, this particular diamond was extra special And though you might be gone and the world may not know, still I see you celestial..."

"You have to move on sooner or later, Luke," Michael pats him in the back as he passes him in the kitchen on his way to the fridge. "That's what-"

"I know!" Luke exclaims back furiously. "I know, 'that's what she'd want'. Everybody tells me daily."

"Then why can't you see the truth in it?"

"Because it's nonsense. No one can really know what she'd want or not want, because she's gone!"

The tears gather in Luke's eyes and he turns his head away from his bandmate. He's slowly getting sick of hearing this sentence almost every day.

(y/n) would want you to move on.

But what if he just can't? It's not like flipping a switch inside him. He loves her, and nothing would or could change that. And why the rush? She passed away only three months ago, why can't he mourn properly - as he himself wishes to do so?

"...Like a lion you ran, a goddess you rolled Like an eagle you circled, in perfect purple..."

He doesn't even notice the tears rolling down his cheeks until Calum's worried face appears in front of him, kneeling on the tiles. "Hey, you alright?"

Luke takes a shaky breath in, trying to shake the sadness away again, but it seems stronger and as a sob escapes his lungs, he wordlessly shakes his head, falling on his knees in front of his friend. Calum puts his arms around him, hoping to give the poor boy some much needed comfort as he cries in his embrace.

"You can tell me - tell us - about it, you know that, right?" Luke hears Cal's quiet mumble, and he blinks rapidly to push the tears away.

Leaning back, he raises his hands to wipe the wet lines off his face with his shirtsleeves as he sniffles loudly, nodding his head.

Calum stands up, grabbing him by the arms and pulling him up before making his way to the living room, pushing Luke in front of him, not letting go until they're both sitting on the couch. Michael follows them suit and drops on Luke's other side while Ashton gets seated in the armchair opposing them.

"...So how come things move on, how come cars don't slow When it feels like the end of my world? When I should, but I can't let you go?..."

They wait patiently for their heartbroken friend to speak, and after a couple minutes it eventually happens, the words bursting out Luke with the barrier that kept them in for the past months finally out of the picture.

"I just can't understand how the world could go on like nothing had happened when she, the engine that made my world turn, is gone."

It sounds so simple, so logical, and the other three friends share a look, wondering what they could answer to such a confession that would ease Luke's pain. Soon it turns out they don't have to say a thing as he continues. And maybe it's better to just let him say everything he wants out loud, anyway.

"I can still feel her. Constantly. Her warmth, her light wherever I go and whatever I do," he places a palm on his chest. "It fills my entire chest."

"...But when I'm cold, cold, when I'm cold, cold, there's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow There's a feeling within me, an everglow..."

"We had so many plans," and for the first time in the past couple minutes, Luke's voice finally gives in and cracks. "So many places to visit, so many memories to make."

Visions flash inside his mind, visions of (y/n) and random pieces of their life together - from when he first asked her out, when they had just started dating four years ago, when they moved in together, when he went to the jeweller to choose the most perfect ring only a year back, before they found out she had pancreatic cancer.

He remembers the day when he once visited her in the hospital and decided to cheer her up by eventually proposing as if it was only yesterday. She looked so fragile, so pale, her beautiful (y/e/c) eyes cloudy. It was a sudden decision, and he moved to carry it out without a second thought, kneeling on the cold hospital floor and pulling the small, velvety ring box out of his jacket's pocket. Oh, how much he blessed himself in that moment for carrying it with himself every day to her, waiting for the perfect timing to show her the jewel.

(y/n) frowned, not having a single clue about what was going on before he opened the box and spoke the words as casually as if he was only asking about the weather. Will you marry me? A soft giggle left her body immediately, one that was so quiet that it just broke Luke's heart again. He was used to her hearty, boisterous laughs, not a giggle resembling the noise a butterfly makes when it flutters its wings. But at least she giggled. That's success.

Are you crazy? She asked with an adoring smile playing on her lips as she glanced down at him from the tower of pillows. No, I wanna marry you, he answered with a serious face. And from then on, planning their wedding - one that they both knew would never actually happen - was part of the routine they had every time Luke visited her. Which was every day - well, except a couple when he had unmissable band duties, but even then he made sure somebody went to her.

"...But the changing of winds and the way waters flow Life is short as the falling of snow and now I'm gonna miss you, I know..."

A bitter, dark chuckle leaves his lips, his eyes cold and emotionless as he stares at the floor in front of his feet. "I can't put the ring away. It still lies on my bedside table," he admits.

His bandmates share another look, only turning back to him when he stands abruptly, leaving the room. "I need a paper tissue," he announces just before he disappears in the doorway.

Rummaging through the bathroom shelf Luke tries his hardest not to look at (y/n)'s part - where she kept all her finery equipments, and where he still keeps all of them - as he pushes everything aside to find a new package of tissues. There has to be at least a couple unopened ones left, his mother bought him an enormous amount just a week or two ago. He couldn't finish them all.

He frowns, pausing for a moment to think back to how many times he actually needed a tissue in the past couple days, then with a shrug he stands back up, moving to the bedroom instead. At least in his bag, or in the bedside table's drawer, there has to be a goddamn tissue.

Just as he thought, there lays a couple fresh ones, and he sighs, pulling them out and sticking them in his sweatpants' pocket except one he unfolds to dry his eyes and blow his nose. When he's finished, Luke makes his way back towards the living room with a new thought forming in his head.

"...But when I'm cold, cold in water rolled, salt And I know that you're with me in the way you will show..."

As he gets closer to the room though, his bandmates' voices enter his ears and when his name pops up, he comes to a halt, freezing in spot on the corridor.

"I don't know, man, Luke's beyond recognition by now," he hears Ashton speak.

Am I?

And would you blame me if I was?

After half of my heart, half of me has been ripped out of me?

"What I think is that he should try to write songs," Calum continues. "That's what he's good at, and maybe it'd help him write his feelings out."

Write songs?

"That's a great idea, but I don't know how you could suggest that to him without immediately making him think that you just want a couple new hits," adds Michael.

That's right...

With a shake of his head Luke moves again and enters the room, pretending that he heard nothing from the ongoing conversation that comes to an abrupt stop when they notice his figure.

"I think I'll head out for a walk now," Luke announces, nodding towards the front door. "I'm sorry for cutting this short, 't was nice seeing you."

The other three immediately stand, their heads moving in understanding nods, but before any of them could say a word out loud, Luke's already halfway out of the door.

"...And you're with me wherever I go 'cause you give me this feeling, this everglow What I wouldn't give for just a moment to hold, because I live for this feeling, this everglow..."

He doesn't come for the next one and a half hour, wandering around in his neighbourhood subconsciously. He pays no attention to his surroundings, where he goes or who is around him, he just walks, buried deep within the world of his thoughts as he walks, his hands stuck in his jacket's pocket.

The idea of writing his feelings out that he’s heard Calum propose back in his house comes back again and again to his mind. Maybe it actually would be a great idea. Maybe it would help deal with these awful, undescribable feelings he never should've experience - at least not so soon.

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

"Today marks day 183 since (y/n) died and here I am with 62 finished songs. This is the last one," Luke speaks to his phone set on his desk, front camera opened and rolling.

His guitar lays in his lap and his fingers effortlessly move to the needed position. He plays the first chords, letting the sound gently fill the room as his eyes stay trained on the small, creased notebook that sits between his phone and himself on the wooden surface.

Soon he starts singing, his voice quiet and overwhelmingly emotional, but he just can't help it. Somewhere during the song he looks at the hand that's wrapped around the guitar's neck to make sure he plays the following chords perfectly - not like he would play them wrong anyway, but it makes him feel calmer when he looks - and when he does, he could swear that from the corner of his eyes he sees (y/n) standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a proud, loving glaze in her eyes.

It encourages him to keep going. He can feel her support hang in the air and fill the room up. She wants to let him know - wherever she is at the moment - that she'll support him no matter what.

No matter what he does, what he thinks, who he's with. She just wants what's best for him. It's like he could actually hear her voice say the words. Let me go. You'd want the same for me if it was the other way around.

And he knows she's right. If he was the one that died, he'd want her to move on and leave him and his memory in the past so she could live a happy life with someone else, because she deserved to have all the experience and memories they wanted to make together, even if it's with another person.

And this thought is enough for him to slowly make peace with the outrageous turn his life has taken, and suddenly he knows that even though she'll always be a part of him and will always have a piece of his heart, he will be able to grow to let the grief - and her - go.

"...So if you love someone, you should let them know Oh, the light that you left me will everglow..."

.::the end::.

my masterlist

[insomni-snacc]

Mx. Shoggoth, I Presume? Part 2

Now 100% more gender inclusive! Also, I lied about updating next week, I'm doing it today! Instead of making costumes! *cries in procrastinate*

A Handful of Proposals

"I never expected things to get this far," Lydia groaned and flopped over on the couch, slightly muffling her words with one of Dilia's extravagant throw pillows. "I just… I didn't want people to know I had some sort of live-in babysitter, and they already knew about 'Uncle BJ' so I just started calling you Aunt/Uncle Y/N and… then people just started assuming you were married and I didn't know what else to say and then they all wanted to meet you guys and so I mentioned-the-trip-and-now-youre-chaperones-and--"

"Whoah-ho-ho girl, slow down. We're not upset." You placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. It was a bit surprising to see the teen so flustered. You wanted to make sure she knew everything was alright, even if she did basically fake-marry you to a demon behind your back.

"You- I mean, we're not?" Your 'husband' sounded a bit off. You shot him a questioning look, still comforting Lydia.

"No, we're not. And you know what? Having to pretend I'm shacking up with this old bug is a pretty small price to pay for a family trip to NOLA." You pulled the pillow from her face to give her what you hoped was a reassuring look. You added some finger guns for good measure, just to reassert your Cool Status. Yup, so cool.

"So, you're still going?" Lydia perked up.

It was Beetlejuice's turn to be reassuring. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, doll. Besides, no other chaperones would let you get into as much trouble as this dynamic duo." He pulled you into a headlock and ruffled you hair. "Isn't that right, my other half?"

Seeing Lydia smile was definitely worth whatever hell this demon was planning on putting you through. You laughed and spun in his arms to release his headlock, throwing in a light jab to his gut for good measure. "Yeah, it'll be fun! There's way more than just cemeteries to check out, too. I know you're there for you music class, so I was thinking we could--" you paused when you felt an odd weight on your left hand. You lifted it to you face to find a comically large engagement ring, nearly as big as your fist. "Beej."

"What? Just gotta let 'em know you're mine, babes."

You tossed the ring at his head, and he moved to catch it out of instinct. The moment it made contact with his hand, it burst into a nest of spiders. He gasped before quickly snapping them away. He met your seething glare with a sheepish grin. "That wasn't supposed to happen for about another hour. Still, gotta love a man with a sense of humor. Right, schnookums?"

"I know your games, hun." You pulled him to your eye level by his tie, using the pet name as venomously as possible, "try to make the next one a bit less obvious."

You failed to notice the slight pink twinge in his hair as you sauntered off, satisfied with your mock threat.

The Ghost with the Most proposed to you another six times that week, if you could call them proposals. Each time, either the ring or Beetlejuice transformed into something meant to terrify you, or the proposal was so cartoonishly romantic that you would shut it down immediately.

Frankly, the one where he created a barbershop quartet of BJ clones to serenade you with crude songs was your favorite, but you couldn't tell him that. He was your friend - your hilarious, charming, socially awkward friend - but the last thing you needed was that smug look he always gave you when he knew he'd made you laugh.

It wasn't until you were loading your luggage into the car that he had so much as looked at you with anything but mischief in his eyes.

Beetlejuice slinked up to the car with a look that, had you not known him better, could have passed for humble. He fiddled anxiously with something in his pocket.

"Hey… can you uh… can you come with me?"

You nodded, following him to the back of the house. He only turned to look your way again once you two had reached the back porch. He ran a hand through his pink hair and steeled himself. For the first time since you'd met him, there was a beat of silence between you and Beetlejuice. Uncomfortable and worried for your friend, you decided to be the one to break it. "What's up, Beej? Everything ok?"

He cleared his throat and straightened. "Yes."

"... Are you sure? I haven't heard a 'tootse' or 'babes' in the last ten minutes, and you're pinker than an Amazonian dolphin. I know pink means you're uncomfortable, so what's up?"

"What? Pink doesn't mean --" he shook his head "Nevermind. What I wanted to say was… well, I wanted to give you this." He thrust his hand from his pocket, pressing a small black box into your palm.

You held it curiously, slowly lifting the lid with your other hand. Inside was a simple, tarnished, silver engagement ring with a small black stone. It looked to be fairly old, definitely not from this century, at least. You met his eyes and could have sworn you saw a glimmer of something new in his expression that took you by surprise. Before you could place it, he looked away, scratching at the back of his neck.

"Look, I know I joke around a lot, but if we're gonna do this whole marriage - er, faking thing, we do need the proper accessories. It's not like I ever got a chance to do this properly anyway so… you know. Will you?" He forced himself to glance at your for just a second before shyly turning away again.

"Will I what, Beetlejuice?" You were a bit surprised at how breathy your tone was, barely above a whisper.

He cleared his throat again, shaking himself a bit before taking your hand with a small smile. "Will you be my fake spouse?" He gently slid the ring onto your finger and allowed himself a small chuckle in a bid to come back into the cool, aloof personality he had grown to depend on.

You grinned right back at him, completely unaware of what you were doing to his poor, undead heart. "Of course, can't think of anyone else I'd rather be fake married to, Bug."

Part 1 here:

[aerinmelina]

Talent Night

A short broppy oneshot :) Song by Taylor Swift. (And yes, I changed one of the words on purpose to fit the trolls a little better IMO.)

——

Branch applauded along with the rest of the crowd when the troll on stage finished their performance, although he did so with considerably less vigor than Smidge and Biggie, who were ecstatically vibrating in their seats.

“Did you see what they did?!” Smidge shouted.

“The swords? The flames? Those amazing dance moves?” Biggie asked. Branch could’ve sworn he saw stars in the larger troll’s eyes.

“Amazing! It was amazing! Branch, what’d you think?!” Smidge couldn’t contain herself. Her enthusiasm was over-the-top, but amusing nonetheless. He made eye contact with Milton, Smidge’s boyfriend, and the two men smiled over the little troll’s antics.

Milton took hold of Smidge’s hand while Branch replied, “It really was a pretty impressive performance.” The applause finally died down just in time for the entire congregation of trolls to hear Smidge exclaim, “Pretty impressive?! It was magnificent! Astounding! Hypnotic! Action-filled! Dangerous! Daring! Omigod, Branch, it was way beyond pretty impressive!”

A ripple of giggles and laughs washed over the otherwise quiet audience. Branch felt a little self-conscious because of the very public berating he’d just received, but he had to laugh when Smidge clapped her hands over her mouth and sat back down, apparently having realized that she’d just yelled over a quiet crowd.

“Omigod, I’m sorry, Branch,” she said in a low voice.

“No worries, Smidge,” he cheerfully replied.

“Everyone, shhhh,” Biggie said in a dramatic whisper. “It’s Poppy’s turn!”

Branch looked back toward the stage and his brain stopped processing rational thoughts when he caught sight of his princess in the sparkling dress she was wearing. Princess. Queen. Whatever. She was absolutely stunning.

Poppy approached the microphone in front of her in a somewhat subdued fashion, which was very strange for her. Where was her usual energy? That unrivaled and perpetual pep in her step? When she’d asked him to make sure he made it to Talent Night and said she was going to perform, he had pictured a cheerleader-level of spirit and animation (per usual). Was something wrong?

She looked toward the table where Branch, Biggie, Smidge and Milton sat, and flashed them a grin before she started strumming her guitar.

Interesting. She seems happy, but why so... I don’t know... serious?

He continued to ponder that thought for a moment, then realized that she was actually singing and he’d missed the first part of whatever she’d been playing because he was lost in thought.

Oops. Dial it back, Branch. Focus.

He tuned back in, then shook his head and narrowed his eyes into a squint as he tried to make sense of the words she was singing. It took him a couple of seconds, but when she reached the chorus and sent what looked like a somewhat shy smile his way, his hair stood up on end and he felt very suddenly aware of every eye that was slowly turning his way.

Can I go

Where you go?

Can we always

Be this close?

Forever and ever and ah-

Take me out, and take me home

You’re my, my, my, my

Lover

Wait. Hold up. Wait. Was she singing about him? Did he dare to hope? Then again... who else would she be singing about? Unless she’d secretly been spending time with another troll behind his back... Branch shook his head at that thought before it was given a chance to develop any sort of credibility within the paranoid section of his mind and instead listened more closely to the song while he tried to fight off the blush that he could feel was creeping into his cheeks. His heart made pleasant leaps inside his chest.

We can let our friends crash

In the living room

This is our place

We make the call

And I’m highly suspicious

That everyone who sees you wants you

I’ve loved you three summers now, honey

But I want ‘em all

Can I go

Where you go?

Can we always

Be this close?

Forever and ever and ah-

Take me out, and take me home

You’re my, my, my, my

Lover

He stared at Poppy while she sang, utterly speechless. She passed her instrument to Guy Diamond, who seemed to have magically appeared out of nowhere beside her on stage, and started walking toward Branch as she sang the next part. Poppy held constant eye contact with him while singing, and Branch felt goosebumps start to rise along his skin when she finally reached him and took hold of both of his hands.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my

Lover

My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue

All’s well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my

Lover

She winked at him, and he couldn’t help the enormous grin (and magnificent blush) which broke out across his face in reaction.

And you’ll save

All your silliest jokes for me

And at every table

I’ll save you a seat

Lover

He spun her around and then pulled her close, into a dance, while she finished the rest of her song. She was so warm and soft, and she sang the song so beautifully and earnestly... he was pretty sure he could have lived contentedly in that moment for the rest of his life.

Can I go

Where you go?

Can we always

Be this close?

Forever and ever and ah-

Take me out, and take me home

You’re my, my, my, my...

Oh, you’re my, my, my, my...

Darling, you’re my, my, my, my...

Lover

The song came to an end, and the entire crowd of trolls all seemed to wait with baited breath for something to happen. No one applauded, but when Branch tore his gaze away from Poppy he found every troll staring at the two of them with giant smiles and expectant eyes.

He looked back at Poppy, who simply asked him, “Well? What do you think?”

His brain wasn’t functioning properly. She’d shattered all of his thought processes. At least... that’s what he’d say later. Maybe it’d make his actual response sound less stupid.

“Huh?”

He heard a chorus of stifled snickers and an “omigod” and facepalm from Smidge, but above all that he heard Poppy’s laughter ringing. Her beautiful, delighted, contagious laughter. He grinned at her, and realized later that it was probably an incredibly dopey grin. Whatever. He was caught up in the moment. Can’t blame a troll for enjoying the present! It’s a gift, for crying out loud!

“Branch! I just sang you an entire song about—oh, you know what? Forget it.” She maintained her grip on one of his hands, still grinning, and knelt in front of him. “Branch, you are the troll for me. You give the best hugs, you listen to me rant about whatever I want to rant about, you encourage me to be a better queen and leader, you help everyone around you in whatever capacity you can, and you do your best to keep everyone safe. You are selfless, you’re honest, you’re brave and smart and funny, and you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes, but I love it anyway. I love you. Will you-?”

“No! Poppy! Stop! This is wrong!” He suddenly came to his senses. What was he doing?! He couldn’t let her be the one to ask him-! Not after he’d already been planning to propose tonight! Unacceptable!

...although it was also very reassuring and heart-warming.

Oh no. Wait. Why’s she biting her lip like that? She usually does that when she’s trying not to cry. Is she about to cry?!

His brain screamed at him to “fix it” when a crestfallen expression flitted across her face, and with a quick motion he pulled Poppy to her feet, gave her a brief-yet-hopefully-comforting hug, and then knelt down in front of her instead.

“I’m, uh... I’m nervous,” he began, and another round of snickers made it to Branch’s ears, reminding him that they were not as alone as he’d originally intended. “Poppy...” he trailed off.

Oh, come on. I’ve practiced the words at least a million times by now. Why can’t I just say them to her?

“Cat got your tongue?” Poppy prompted after several long moments of silence.

“Ha ha, very funny,” he replied.

She stuck her own tongue out at him. “I’d be happy to finish my sentence if you’ll let me.”

He shook his head. “No. Now stop talking and let me think.”

She smirked, and he glared at her for interrupting his thoughts for at least the hundredth time that evening.

His distractedness was totally all her fault, of course.

Branch cleared his throat and started over. “Poppy, you have brought me so much happiness. You’ve taught me how to take a step back and relax sometimes. You’ve shown me how to make friends, and how to be a good friend in return. You’ve helped me to really trust again. You’ve shown me that there’s hope for today, tomorrow and all of the rest of the tomorrows, too.

“Your presence is like the sun in what would have otherwise been my cold, dark life-“

“Branch, will you marry me?!” she blurted out, absolutely demolishing his poetic tangent right as it was just about to begin.

“Really?” he responded. “You just had to get there first, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, covering her mouth with her free hand. “I couldn’t help it.” Judging by the way she was starting to bounce up and down on the balls of her feet, she really couldn’t help herself.

“I wanted to ask you,” Branch said. “I had a whole spiel planned and everything-”

“Omigod, Branch!” Smidge yelled. “We’re all dying over here! Just say yes already!”

Poppy laughed at her friend’s outburst, then pulled Branch to his feet and shrugged her shoulders. “What do you say?” she asked. “Marry me? Be my man?”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes at her in a good-natured fashion, then pulled her face toward his so he could plant a kiss on her lips. The crowd oohed and aahed in response.

I really wish we were alone...

He broke apart from her and asked, “Does that answer your question?”

She smiled and pulled him back in for another kiss, which was interrupted by a certain troll shouting, “Will one of you please just say yes already?!”

“Yes!” both Branch and Poppy yelled. He made eye contact with her, and she burst into bright laughter which wound up eliciting a similar reaction from him as well.

This woman would be the death of him.

I’ll die a happy troll.

The rest of the trolls in the crowd cheered and clapped, which turned into a whole lot of whooping and whistling when Poppy again smashed her lips against Branch’s.

“I’m sorry I stole your thunder,” she said to him when they broke apart. He could barely hear her over the din of the crowd, but he could tell that she most certainly was not sorry. Not in the slightest.

Branch shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, no problem. I guess that’s just one less poem you’ll get to hear.”

Her eyebrows drew together in a pout. “Wait... you won’t say it for me? Ever?”

He shrugged again. “I dunno. Guess you’ll have to marry me and find out.”

Poppy poked him in the chest. “Oh, you’re so on. I’m gonna marry you so hard!”

Branch felt his face immediately heat up again. Poppy winked at him and took a turn to shrug her shoulders herself. “I said what I said,” she stated. “Interpret it how you will. Now I’m gonna head over to the stage to get this show back on track. Bye! Love you! See you later!”

He fumbled for words as a hundred images flashed through his brain all at once. “Wait - Poppy!” he called after her, but it was too late; she was already almost at the stage.

He watched as she ran to the microphone and asked everyone to take their seats once more in preparation for the next performer, as what was surely another dopey smile decided to grace his countenance. He found his seat along with everyone else, and wondered if Poppy was planning to come over and sit with him at any point in the near future.

Branch didn’t have to wait long. Within a few minutes, he felt Poppy’s lips softly press against his cheek. When he turned to face her, she pulled up a chair next to his and wove her arm around his, then leaned against his shoulder and sighed.

“I love you,” he quietly muttered to her, in an effort to not draw attention away from the troll who had taken the stage after Poppy.

“I love you more,” she replied, tearing her gaze away from the new performer in order to make eye contact with him.

“I’ve loved you longer,” he countered. She lightheartedly punched him in the arm.

“Yeah, well I’m gonna love you forever,” she vowed.

Branch smiled. “I’ll love you forever, too,” he promised.

[yamamuragaku]

Excerpt: Novel IDOLiSH7 Ainana Academy

Novel: Sasaki Teiko

Character Draft/Illustrator: Tanemura Arina

Original Work: Bandai Namco Online

(C) IDOLiSH7

In the darkness, a phantom flower bloomed.

It was a digital art flower projected on a jet black wall as if ink was painted on it. In a space where there was nothing, a speck of emerald green light suddenly flashed. Shining young buds quickly spread, leaves flourished, and at the tips, seven flower buds--fleeting like the moonlight--grew.

As the flower buds grew, each took on a different color and soft flower petals gently unraveled.

Here was the recording studio of a web-distributed program.

The ones filming were the members of the budding idol group, IDOLiSH7.

It was the recording of the final episode of the mini drama "Ainana Academy".

"Ainana Academy" was a drama in which Yamato, who planned to control the school, joined with Sougo and Iori to confront Nagi, Riku, and Tamaki.

Bright lights were lit simultaneously. The camera crew was on standby.

At the cue to start shooting, against a background of faintly lit digital art flowers, Nanase Riku, dressed as a cheerleader in a white chouran with the sleeves tied with a red ribbon, raised his voice.

"I hate the darkness! I hate your darkness! That's why with the power of love, I will burn away all your hatred! I will not forgive you--"

A gentle and honest voice resounded throughout the studio.

At that moment, a warm and pleasant atmosphere spread all through the studio.

No fragments of hatred could be felt from the way Riku crisply shouted, nor his direct gaze. Instead, Riku was making puppy dog eyes.

Confronting Riku was Ousaka Sougo, who was wearing a cape like a vampire, and Nikaidou Yamato, playing a doctor in a white coat, whose face relaxed.

"...Sorry, Riku. I don't really feel hated by you. It feels like I'm actually being forgiven,"

Told Yamato, who was fiddling with the stethoscope hanging around his neck.

"Um."

"If you say it with more contempt, onii-san might feel it."

"Uh...um."

Yotsuba Tamaki, who was waiting behind Riku, snorted.

Riku stared at Tamaki who just made fun of him. Tamaki, a current high school student, looked really good wearing a uniform casually and stylishly.

He looked back at Riku and as if a switch was flicked, Tamaki began roaring with laughter.

Standing to the side, Izumi Iori made a face like he swallowed a bug. Iori was properly wearing a uniform buttoned all the way to the top, with glasses as accessories. Iori pushed up the bridge of the glasses with his fingertips, and sighed heavily.

However, the director could not be heard saying "cut." In other words, filming continued.

"I-I will not forgive you!!"

Quickly turning towards Yamato and Sougo, Riku said his lines once more, for good measure.

Right in the middle between Riku and Yamato, Izumi Mitsuki who was tied up and sitting with an apron on, looked over Riku with a nervous expression. Next to him was Rokuya Nagi, holding a glow stick and wearing a happi. Nagi crouched down, untied Mitsuki, and stood up.

"OH! Riku. Hatred doesn't suit us. Even if your partner is the leader of darkness. When our weapon is ready, you'll feel not hatred, but love. So, Riku--"

Nagi informed with a smile. Hair of gold and eyes of blue. Anyone would be fascinated by the beauty of Nagi, who came from a small country in Northern Europe.

"Let us sing."

"What?! A song?!"

Riku batted his big eyes.

"Yes. Because we are IDOLiSH7. Come on, music!!"

Nagi snapped his fingers.

Music began playing.

While they were acting out the mini drama, in the background, a paradise of digital art flowers started playing, each bud blooming.

"...I didn't hear anything. About this."

Riku opened his mouth flabbergastingly. It seemed that not only Riku but the other members besides Nagi didn't know to sing there.

Mitsuki was the first one to suddenly run off. He raised his hand in front of the camera,

"Does each person have a mic?"

And signaled to the staff. The members each picked up the mics prepared by the staff.

They automatically settled into their positions.

The intro ended, and Riku's singing voice resonated in the mic. His overwhelming singing ability and rich singing voice enveloped the entire studio.

At first there was a bit of confusion, but once Riku began to sing, everything was clear.

A sparkling singing voice that would drive away the darkness burst out, and Nagi said, "Good job," and gave a thumbs up with a smile, and took his turn.

While Sougo waved his jet black cloak, he made a careful step.

Mitsuki's petite body jumped according to the music, exciting the staff.

Tamaki's dynamic dancing drew everyone's gaze.

Yamato looked at Tamaki's dancing, and showed a daring smile.

The appearance of Yamato, who was twirling the stethoscope while casually singing, immediately conveyed that, "Come to think of it, this is a scene from a mini drama."

He made a gesture like he was acting in a play, and while singing and dancing, Yamato’s presence overpowered Riku and Nagi. Iori immediately reacted to Yamato's acting, and he forced his way in front of Yamato to support Riku. Yamato was instantly impressed with the ad-lib and smiled faintly.

The director's "cut" still could not be heard.

The studio was dyed in IDOLiSH7's color.

IDOLiSH7 was asked to appear on a web-distributed program two months ago.

The first member who heard about this was Iori, who heard it from Takanashi Tsumugi--a manager belonging to the talent agency, Takanashi Production.

Although Iori was an idol, he had confidence in his analytical ability, and assisted Tsumugi a lot. However, that Iori took on the role of Tsumugi's brain was a secret to everyone. There was fear as a current high school student, whether other members might show resistance to the youngest among IDOLiSH7 leading the group.

"A web-distributed program...?"

"Yes."

As idols, IDOLiSH7 was a bud that just sprouted. With hidden sparkling and shining energy, they are absolutely "real idols", but they're still rather unknown to the general public.

As for the reason they haven't made their break yet, it was obvious to Iori. They had too little exposure.

If you listened to their songs and saw their dancing, you would become a fan. That was the only ability and charm they held. However, there were almost no TV programs that invited the rookie idols IDOLiSH7.

During this time, an offer arrived at the agency for a variety program that would be distributed online, rather than on TV.

"That's right. I think it may be good to try this,"

Iori said, checking the terms of the request. However, Tsumugi made a surprised face.

"Eh? Really? But before, didn't you say you had a concern about doing online programs?"

While Iori discussed IDOLiSH7's future development with Tsumugi, she recalled what he formerly expressed.

"Yes. I said that. We are an idol group that attracted attention from online videos. The assumption that we are familiar with online distribution is correct. But..."

Because of an accident, IDOLiSH7 had to sing outdoors during a storm, and a video of that went viral and drew them a lot of attention.

Idols of the Internet age. The video circulated among people who liked and favorited it on social media. Spread without corporate promotion, the radiance of a new and fresh group called IDOLiSH7. That was one of our weapons, Iori thought.

But at the same time, he understood that this precarious position was a double-edged sword.

"On the other hand, if we rely too much on online distribution, there's a possibility we may develop an unwanted reputation. If I may say this freely--I don't want us to become 'cheap idols.'"

"Cheap...idols...?"

"Yes. It's a really subtle balance...but with one misstep, cheap idols will fail. Now is an era where anyone can post online. Amateurs can get popular by posting videos online, and they collaborate with companies to make videos. In that context, we must think of what it means to be professional idols. It isn't just about increasing exposure."

Tsumugi listened with a despondent face. Although Iori wasn't mad about Tsumugi's management, he sometimes caused her to make this kind of face. Her chest hurt a little.

"But...I think it's fine!! IDOLiSH7's singing and dancing are not cheap. You're the real deal. You're true idols. I know for a fact. I believe when people see you, they'll definitely understand!"

Tsumugi looked discouraged, but as soon as she bit her lip and took a deep breath, and her big eyes moistened, she turned to Iori and declared this.

Iori, taken aback, gulped. Because she said this with a puppy dog face without calculation--manager is scary.

"Of course,"

He replied immediately. Because Iori himself "knew" that IDOLiSH7 was the real deal. 

The idol group that ran before them--TRIGGER--wasn't strong in variety.

Therefore, it was a good strategy to target the areas in which TRIGGER was weak.

Also--.

"This time, the web-distributed program seems to have a tight budget at this stage, so we need to tackle the project sharply. As for the film editor, a freelancer is better than a well-known one, but..."

He looked over the proposal, and checked the names of the staff along with the plan.

Before, Iori saw one of the names of the people involved with the filming in an interview online.

The name came up in a question about "interesting people lately" in the globally active, up-and-coming digital art group, Y-Classic.

He was a student who attracted attention in the art world for the stylish video he created as a hobby, which spread by word of mouth and became famous.

"I watched the video he made. In addition to his skill, his excellent way of showing the theme, the beautiful imagery, the quick tempo, and how it made you laugh, was understandably popular. If we find that kind of fresh talent and attract him to our program--isn't it okay to entrust ourselves to him?

Tsumugi stared in wonder and muttered, "I didn't know. There was someone like that in the staff."

"Our greatest weapon is Nanase-san's singing. If they hear our singing and see our dancing, the viewers will definitely understand that we are the real deal. Finally, if we make a corner showing our singing and dancing, along with the main point of the proposal, the mini drama ‘Ainana Academy’, I think the staff will surely challenge it and make something interesting. This job seems worthwhile."

"Understood. Then, I'll take accept this job!!"

Tsumugi responded energetically.

Five days later, the script for the drama arrived at the agency. A job for all the members of IDOLiSH7.

Within the group, MEZZO" already formed as a two-person unit, and Tamaki and Sougo had their CD debut, so their workload would further increase. Their responsibilities would grow, but even so, the two in MEZZO" were overjoyed.

In the first place, Tamaki and Sougo didn't have the slightest intention of only doing MEZZO". Rather, for the sake of debuting with IDOLiSH7 as seven people, they had been working hard to cut through as the advance guard, and clear a path.

It wasn't lip service; they were seriously acting with those intentions. Therefore, when the manager wanted to focus on IDOLiSH7's management and business, MEZZO" had a lot of work where it was just them alone. 

At a small and weak agency, idols were being produced. They couldn't buy a car for exclusive use yet, so the two people in MEZZO" moved around by train. For the time being, they hid their faces with sunglasses and hats, and moved with their idol switch off. Even so, people who notice will notice, but they haven't yet experienced someone overbearingly talking to them and causing a racket. 

However, Tamaki was disappointed in hearing "there's still quite a ways." 

Tamaki stepped into the highly exposed entertainment world because he wanted to find his missing little sister. He had not revealed this reason to others yet, but he thought he always wanted to be more famous. He wanted to appear on TV a lot more. It would be good if his sister saw his existence.

Tamaki had his head in the clouds while he was riding the train with Sougo. They were sitting next to each other on an uncrowded seat. To the public, MEZZO" got along very well, but the truth was entirely different.

"Tamaki-kun, did you properly read the script?"

Sougo took the script out of his bag, and began reading it. It was also Sougo who put effort into remembering their travel times. He was serious. He was the type of person who thought what you ought to do today, you should accomplish today. It didn’t mean he was not serious. He always kept his eyes on the ball, which was why he was now only thinking of their next job.

"I'll do it later,"

He brusquely responded. Sougo slightly lowered the corners of his eyes.

It was unknown how many times it had been repeated.

The two have had similar back-and-forths many times.

Sougo looks very kind, and spoke with a gentle tone. With an atmosphere like warm spring sunshine, Sougo was basically always gentle and kind.

However--sometimes Sougo gave instructive guidance to only Tamaki. Tamaki was displeased with this.

"Since it's a job for the seven of us, we must do our best. We discussed this when the job came in earlier. The recording is the day after tomorrow. If we filmed separately, it would look unnatural, so we're doing it on a day when everyone can gather together."

It always felt like this. Sougo just gave Tamaki a lecture.

"Okay."

"To match our schedules, the staff hurriedly booked a studio. Everyone suddenly had to memorize their lines, and they were even individually practicing in the dorm."

"Soo-chan, did Mikkii tell you to be so loud?"

It was a mini drama about a school. Sougo was cast as a hot-blooded teacher.

Sougo was worried about how to act hot-blooded, so he consulted Mitsuki about various things. According to Mitsuki's advice, Sougo tried waking up the sleeping Yamato with a loud voice and took him along running, loudly interrupted Nagi who was proclaiming his love for ‘Magical Girl★Magical Kokona’, confirmed the schedule, and earnestly asked, "For the next job I want to raise my level of enthusiasm, so please watch ‘Magi★Kona’ with me. I will use it as a reference." Even if Nagi wasn't asked, he was always devoted to spreading the word of "Kokona's splendor". When Nagi realized, he had Sougo sitting in seiza in front of him while reciting "Kokona Love", while Sougo nodded with a serious expression vowing to "study a lot".

"What was that, practice?"

Sougo nodded with a troubled face at being seriously asked this..

"It was practice."

"It was noisy."

"...."

"Last night, Soo-chan was so loud, I lost motivation."

Sougo, deeply serious about "creating a hot-blooded role", approached Mitsuki for a consultation. At Mitsuki's advice, he gently laughed, said "I'll try," and straightened his posture. Afterwards was a rare scene of Sougo loudly waking up Yamato.

Sougo boldly challenged Yamato who easily brushes those things aside, and yelled from the pit of his stomach. Sougo did not usually raise his voice like this.

Yamato dodged with a, "Sou, are you drunk? Don't run around, sleep next to onii-san," and it ended in failure.

Mitsuki laughed at Sougo's failure and said, "Don't mind." Sougo replied "yes" with a serious look on his face. Riku, Nagi, and even Iori surrounded Sougo and let out a laugh at the gap between the endeavoring Sougo and the everyday Sougo, 

At everyone's smiling faces, Sougo said, "Being hot-blooded is tough," and showed a bashful smile.

However, Tamaki could not laugh.

The inside of his chest felt prickly and unpleasant and hurt a bit.

When Sougo was around people other than Tamaki, he always gently laughed like a flower swaying in the spring wind. He did not get mad at anything Mitsuki said, and acted earnestly in accordance with Mitsuki's suggestions.

Sougo did not consult Tamaki, among other things. He did not rely on Tamaki.

Even though he knew he was unreliable, Tamaki still did not like it.

"Is that so. Sorry. So that I don't bother you, Tamaki-kun, I'll quietly practice in my room starting tonight,"

Sougo said with a troubled face.

He was bewildered by the apology. However, that wasn't it, thought Tamaki. Tamaki didn't want Sougo to apologize to him. But he also didn't intend to complain.

Even though he didn't say it was a nuisance--.

Did he mean to sound that way?

Sougo was good at extracting unpleasant words from Tamaki.

Tamaki got depressed at telling him to throw away his blunt words.

Sougo also got depressed being told that.

The two in MEZZO" were not good friends in the slightest.

Once again, the inside of Tamaki's chest prickled.

Sougo hid away the beaming smile he showed everyone from Tamaki, and the shutter in his heart made a loud sound and fell with a clatter. He pushed aside the feeling of "Today's smiles are out of stock. The store is closing now."

Sougo began reading the script fervently. Tamaki still felt like he wanted to say something, but he was irritated and without saying anything, he firmly pulled down the brim of his hat and closed his eyes.

So then, the recording of the web-distributed program started.

In the studio, each person was reading the script which was prior distributed, and Yamato who was wearing a costume, asked Riku,

"As I thought, isn't this look tight for onii-san? Wearing a high school uniform after all this time at the age 22 feels too much like a punishment."

One corner of the program was a mini drama--"Ainana Academy".

Somehow, Yamato was forced to wear a high school uniform. He wore a navy blazer, red necktie, and white button-up shirt.

"The size seems right. Yamato-san, it's a perfect fit. Where is it tight?"

Riku answered Yamato with a straight face, and looked over Yamato's school uniform from the front to the back.

Yamato didn't know what expression to make at being thoroughly examined, and looked to the sky.

Riku spontaneously burst out. Even if he explained his reason to Riku, he would not understand. Yamato pushed his glasses up and muttered.

"Mitsu, Sou, and even Nagi get to play teachers, so why am I playing a student..."

"Ah, I also thought something was strange. I wonder why I'm playing the youngest character. It feels weird that Iori and Tamaki are playing my senpais."

Yamato tilted his neck at Riku who was wearing the same school uniform.

"Oh. Rikkun is my kouhai?"

Tamaki, who was wearing a school uniform, asked Riku with the sense that he "just found out."

"Yeah. That's right."

"Oh."

"Yotsuba-san, incidentally I'm playing your classmate,"

Iori confirmed with Tamaki.

"Really? Okay."

Iori was also in a school uniform. He wore an armband that said "Student President" on his sleeve, and blackish green glasses. They were the type of frames that would look uncool depending on the person who wore them, but they fit Iori's fresh and neat look very well.

"Tamaki-kun.... You read the script properly?"

Sougo heard the conversation, and asked Tamaki worriedly.

Sougo wore a cool blue three-piece suit. The necktie was tied in a small knot, and he wore thin frame glasses. With silvery-green glasses adorning his serious-looking features, Sougo looked sharper than usual.

"Yeah."

"Not just read it, did you properly memorize the lines?"

Iori asked Tamaki to confirm again.

Sougo stared worriedly at the silent Tamaki. Tamaki, who was sensitive to people's emotions like an animal, noticed that Sougo was feeling anxious, and his chest prickled.

"Yeah."

Again, he made an uneasy face. Tamaki just made Sougo worry about him.

Mitsuki nonchalantly cut through the silent, awkward atmosphere formed between the two in MEZZO".

"Sougo's just like a teacher. Although he isn't hot-blooded. So math teacher-ish! If you were a calm and kind teacher, you'd be fine without having to practice for the role!"

Sougo made a troubled face at these embarrassing words.

"Mikkii is better than Soo-chan as a teacher"

Tamaki said softly.

"Really? Well, I'm also a teacher though. Of home economics"

Mitsuki's role as a teacher did not seem bad at all. He was wearing a necktie, but instead of a jacket, he wore a traditional knit sweater.

"...So why am I a student? Even if I wear a school uniform, I don't know whether I look like a student, so onii-san is really worried"

Yamato grumbled again. He was not seriously convinced.

"OH! Now that you say that, I am also really, really worried whether I look like a teacher! My elegance naturally flows out. My unparalleled beauty can't be thought of as of this world. I'm troubled about how to look like an ordinary teacher. There's no reality where such a beautiful teacher is in this school, so will any viewers complain?"

Nagi put his index finger against his cheek, and with a worried face, let out a sigh.

Was his wide-collared white shirt silk?

The sheen was clearly different from everyone else's shirts. There was no tie, and there was the impression that the suit was not ready-made, but an exquisite brand.

"Nagi's confidence is always impressive,"

Mitsuki had a distant look.

Nagi was pondering about something.

"It's fine because sometimes there are really beautiful and cool teachers,"

Riku said with sparkling eyes.

"It's fine if Nagi doesn't speak,"

Mitsuki continued.

"Really? But Mitsuki, I have dialogue too."

"Isn't it fine if you don't add OH or HEY to your lines, and avoid ad-libs and winks?"

Mitsuki sheepishly replied as if he had misgivings.

"But my role is a special English lecturer. 'OH' is in my lines."

"...OH......"

Mitsuki let out an "OH" from the bottom of his heart. Yamato laughed at the same time. Iori crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. Tamaki's expression did not change at all, while Sougo made a bewildered face. Riku grinned.

A girl ran towards them from the crowd of staff who were staring at them from a distance.

"...Um, excuse me. Can I take your picture? I want to take a group photo of you behind the scenes, and upload it to my blog for publicity."

"Yeah. ...It's fine, right? Manager?"

Mitsuki looked around, and asked for confirmation from Tsumugi who was talking to the staff.

After getting Tsumugi's approval, the costumed members of IDOLiSH7 turned toward the camera and smiled for the group photo.

On the other side of the camera, "kyaaa" could be heard from the women in the staff.

Nagi winked at the women.

Filming began. It was a scene where Riku, a transfer student who was late on his first day of school, was running to school with bread in his mouth.

Riku was running.

He was running--with a loaf of bread in his mouth.

Naturally a loaf of bread was not something you could just hold in your mouth, so he supported it with his hands while darting his eyes about. Looking like a small animal frantically putting food that's too big in its mouth, he put on a serious expression and filled up with motivation to run.

Everyone watching became rowdy. Even Tamaki, who was in a bad mood, burst into laughter.

"...Why is he running with a loaf of bread in his mouth? Is it this kind of scene?"

Sougo said incredulously.

"Sorry, it was my fault. It said in the script that it was a scene where he runs with bread in his mouth, so I bought some freshly baked bread,"

Mitsuki said.

Since it was freshly baked bread, it was not sliced.

"I thought about cutting it later, but I forgot.... It unexpectedly became an interesting scene..."

It won't block Riku's throat, right...?

In a sense different from being worried over his acting, all the members watched over Riku anxiously.

As Riku ran with bread in his mouth, he bumped into Iori at the street corner.

It was a clichéd opening scene.

Iori who was waiting across the street corner according to the script, looked considerably distressed at Riku's appearance, who was running at full speed with "a loaf of bread in his mouth."

Forgetting to act, Iori lost his bearings, made a surprised face, and came to a halt, and then Riku crashed into him.

Even though Iori tried to stop Riku who was protecting the bread, from falling, he bounced back, got his foot stepped on, and he pulled Riku towards his chest to support him.

The bread was sandwiched between them, and his face became mixed with astonishment and worry. Iori said,

"Isn't it dangerous? Why were you running with bread in your mouth without looking ahead? You--"

They were lines from the script.

"S-so...sorry."

Iori apologized to Riku, but they were positioned much closer to each other than it stated in the script, and although it wasn't a scene where they hugged, it looked like they were hugging.

In a panic, they suddenly let go of their hands. The chain of events reflected the odd innocence of a fastidious youth in the throes of puberty, and all the members watching the filming let out an "oh."

"Cut!! That was a good scene. Yup. You two were also good. It was different from the script, but your ad-lib was definitely effective. Let's go there. One take."

The director, in a good mood, clapped his hands.

[jae-canikeepyou]

| signs | j.jh

pairing: jaehyun x fem!reader genre: fluff a/n: another scenario for you all yay! excuse the grammar if there are sore ones down there.😂 ideas pop up to me at midnight and i probably wrote this with half-lidded eyes/sleepy self lol this is a prequel to this! 😊 enjoy reading! ~j.

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you twirled several times in your new dress, admiring the style and design you recently bought from your savings. it was your favourite outfit. especially today when it was summer; your floral yellow smocked bandeau mini dress shaped your body. gladly your best friend gifted you a new curler and because of that, you tried your best to doll up for today’s occasion. and as much as possible, you kept your makeup natural.

the mirror in front of you revealed your husband jaehyun, eyeing you from head to toe as a smile crept his lips. he rubbed the nape of his neck in surprise that no matter how he looked at you, he always told himself that he chose the right one for him. “wow..”

your lips curve to a smile from ear to ear. “so.. how do i look?” you swayed as you held the hems of your dress, tiptoeing on your wedged heels with fresh white manicure. on every new outfit you wore on dates with jaehyun, you felt like a princess. and this time, you got married, queen was the definite and suitable word now.

“do you want my honest opinion, love?” his hands snaking to hug your waist where he rested his chin onto your shoulder. jaehyun looked at your side profile for a while before looking back at the mirror, in awe that his wife was his world now.

you giggled at his reflection, his ears turning from pink to beetroot red. “i think you’ve said it already.” you kissed his cheek. a scoff from him made you laugh so hard, he chuckled at your reaction.

“damn, i can’t really hide them, can i?” he kissed you back and let his fingers inter-locking with yours. “c’mon, we’ll be late.”

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the drive to the beach was a long one, but since jaehyun was with you, it was ever so often that car karaokes were the norm. it became daily. he called it ‘car’aokes instead, and you sighed at the corny bad pun. yet despite his failed attempt on bad jokes, his voice was so soothing you secretly could not help yourself to record his vocals while he was immersed into the songs he played. today though was quite different. jaehyun wanted to enjoy the drive with a track from chet baker.

you brought out your sunglasses and fixed it onto the bridge of your nose. “love, here.” you handed his pair between your fingers and he took to wear it.

“the vibe’s great.” he turned to the next street. “sun’s out and i’m with you. this is the life.” you hiccuped at the sudden cheesiness, feeling his hand onto yours as you hummed in response. “‘everything happens to me’ is great.” he smiled, referring to the title song track.

at the corners of your eye, you spotted the crystal blue of the sea with white sand in contrast. you sat up properly that it caught jaehyun’s attention. “gosh i love the view!” you squealed as if you’ve seen it for the first time. you loved beaches, which was why for your honeymoon just a month before, you and jaehyun went to the maldives. heck you wished you never left.

“i love this view better.” he said under his breath as he smiled, but you couldn’t hear it since you excitedly vlogged the scenery. minutes later you both arrived at the car park just by the beach. jaehyun unbuckled his seat belt and grab the essentials. just by the outdoor hut and public toilets, he noticed how men would eye you differently. and because of these kinds of indicidents, he became protective. you felt him pulling your body closer to him. “stay close to me, y/n.”

you sensed what he meant and you assured him that everything will be fine. “aren’t we close already?” you teased as you both walked to the party.

“closer is better.”

upon arriving to the beach, johnny and your best friend min-ju welcomed you both. their one year old son youngmin, immediately ran to you with his wobbly legs and squeaky shoes; it was a gift jaehyun chose for his first birthday.

“hey buddy!” you bent down, later carrying him in your arms. “i heard you’ll be a big brother soon! oh min-ju he looks just like you.” the compliment made her blush. she then brought you to the nearby restaurant where the others had been.

jaehyun had his hands in his pockets, smiling to himself at the sight of you as he followed you from behind. johnny nudged him, making the lad blush. “so how was the honeymoon?” he wrapped his arm around his shoulders, attempting a head rub.

“it was great. could’ve stayed there longer but i had to work with the team right after-”

“will youngmin expect a best friend in a few months?” johnny’s grin crept his lips and for sure he wanted to see his best bud’s reaction.

“oh my go- dude!” jaehyun attempted a punch but was stopped by taeyong, yuta and taeil.

“what did we miss?” taeil asked the younger ones. curiosity grew in him when he spotted jaehyun’s red ears. “yep, i think i got what you mean.”

the party began shortly after lunch. at one table, there were two buckets of blue and pink, and post-its beside them. variety of foods were placed nearly onto the tables. you stood beside jaehyun, who wrote his guess onto the squared paper as you poked his cheek. “i think it’s a boy.” you said.

“my guess is a girl.” jaehyun held your waist, walking to the rest of the group. there was a short video tribute, of how johnny’s family had started; from the proposal to the birth of youngmin. games were played too, and it somehow ended up becoming a bet of who will have their next child. now, johnny and min-ju stood at the front with youngmin as they lead everyone out to the beach. the baby’s gender was about to be revealed.

phones and cameras were up already to record the moment. johnny had his baseball bat ready and min-ju threw the ball. blue powder scattered the air and you hopped in joy, cupping your mouth for a louder volume. jaehyun found that trait of yours cute and imagined the time when you both become parents some day in the future.

his friends approached him and johnny soon followed. “congrats johnny!” mark shook the older’s one hand. behind the dimpled man, little did jaehyun know that his friends planned to tease him again and obviously it was johnny’s idea.

yuta nudged jaehyun, trying to point out how his wife and you, were conversing by the hammock. “looks like they’re having a good time.”

“y/n, how was maldives?” sakura sat beside you, handing you fresh orange juice and cookies.

“tell me about it. i’d want to live there forever. it’s all stress free.” you munched onto the cookies as you told her how the place truly felt like paradise.

sakura giggled at your hungry self. she noticed how much of a foodie you were today and leaned in to whisper. “you can’t be.. uh pregnant right?”

you bursted out a laugh with cheeks that made you look like a hamster. automatically your hands waved in the air. you held your dress and made your stomach shape visible through the fabric. “it’s a food belly though.” you tapped onto it.

jaehyun choked on his drink when the droplets slid down his lips. quickly he put down the glass he was holding as he watched you giggle with sakura. smirking at the scene, yuta saw the lad with a teasing mind. “it’s probably a sign, jae.” he said, making him cough.

*cough* “it can’t be that fas-” he trailed off, later realising how he slipped. “ah! it’s not what you-”

“so youngmin will actually be expecting a best friend in the months coming.” johnny interrupted, overhearing the conversation. “great i’ll tell him!”

“uh wait we haven’t really plan-” jaehyun stumbled his words, panicking that how to reply.

squeals and laughters from children stopped the men from teasing jaehyun. they looked over to where you were, surrounded with children who thought you had a life inside you by tapping your belly. your flustered state caused you to fan yourself from the heat. whether it was from the temperature or the reaction towards the children, heat still crawled your body.

you carried youngmin in your arms and he pointed at your stomach. jaehyun rubbed the nape of his neck; a lost for words. he really wanted to have a family with you, be a father to your kids and watch each other grow as parent.

his tinted ears caught the attention of his friends. “is y/n really pregnant?” taeyong asked.

“babies are crowding over her.” taeil took a sip from his drink.

“she’s loved by everyone because she’s a teacher. i’m guessing it’s instinct for children to know if a person loves children.” jaehyun looked at you.

“well, i’m sure she’ll be a great mom.” taeil said, noticing how jaehyun held his chest that was probably hammering quick.

the party was ending and you later stood beside jaehyun, his hands rubbing circles at your back. his lips took your attention where teeth marks were seen. whenever he would bite his lips, it only meant that either he was thinking too much, or that he was stressed. he felt fingers brushed onto them made jaehyun turn to you. “hm?” he hummed.

“are you okay?” you asked with worry in your eyes. he didn’t respond, but his large palms pulled you to rest on his chest for a hug. “well if you are, i think we should be heading home.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you had already fastened your seatbelt. jaehyun soon opened the door, typing away on his phone as he waited for the air conditioning to settle down. his brows furrowed onto the luminated screen.

[22:54] john suh: “u might want 2 buy a pregnancy tester. :p”

[22:55] john suh: “there’s a possibility ;D”

[22:56] jae jung: “we’ll do that if symptoms comes, johnny. lol take care on ur way home. see you at the office in 2 days. :p”

“love?” he shot up at your voice and grabbed your hand.

“yes?” he asked and you pointed at the back.

“they’re flickering headlights?” you giggled and jaehyun embarrassedly stepped on the gear with his faint dimples.

whilst on the way, jaehyun decided to stop by the convenient store before heading home. he opened the roof for fresh air and to stargaze. he thought that a little night snack wouldn’t hurt, so when he saw you entering the car with a bagful of snacks, all he could do was to hide his reaction from you. you sat comfortably with your legs rested onto the dashboard, munching away your favourite sushi roll and chips. he saw your slowly-hyped up self, dancing to nothing but the sound crunches your mouth made as you created your own song out of pure happiness.

when you danced, he then remembered the children back at the party. his eyes took a quick glance towards your belly and did notice a belly. his loud gulp caused you to turn at him. “okay, what’s up with you?” you giggled. “you’re all so tensed right now.”

“uhm n-nothing.” jaehyun said as his fingers gripped so tightly onto the stirring wheel.

you eyed him with a smirk, and a short stare-off happened. “are you sure love?”

“of course!” he attempted a smile but gulped unknowingly.

“uh-huh. i recognise that kind of gulp.” you popped another piece into your mouth.

jaehyun inhaled deeply enough that his lungs were running out of oxygen. all kinds of ideas came flooding his mind. did you know what he was thinking as you looked at him? he anticipated for the answer and the silence was killing him. maybe you overheard his conversation with the guys? of the possibility that you might be-

“you’re hungry too, aren’t you?” you laughed so loud that jaehyun did the same. “you could’ve just gotten a pack for yourself!”

“what?” a dumbfounded jaehyun asked with his mouth slightly open. “oh gosh..”

“look i even got your favourites!” you fumbled the insides of the paper bag. “see!”

jaehyun pursed his lips, grabbing a red handkerchief from his pockets to wipe the sweat rolling down his temples. as he finished doing so, a piece of chip appeared before him. “y/n my love. you are so cute.” he said with his ears dusted with pink shade.

“it’s my dress that makes me feel cute.” you singsonged.

“no i mean i find you really cute when you’re hungry all the time. you’ve had cravings here and there. sometimes it’s out of the blue too. the guys even joked about it but i just can’t help thinking that you might be-” he felt you kiss his cheek as he said his feelings in one breath. you smiled at him lovingly, and you found your hands interlocking with his.

“the guys could be right though.” you spoke in a soft voice. jaehyun had his hopes high earlier with his friends, but right now the assumption was confusing. “but they could be wrong too. jae, we’ve been wanting to start a family. i know that completely. we even talked about this back in college and i really can’t wait for that time to come when there’s mini you’s and me’s. we have to wait for the right time.“ you said as you caressed his cheeks.

“okay.” he finally smiled. “i guess i just got excited at the thought of it. because the hyungs have their own children and i’m kinda lacking behind.”

“it’s never a race to start a fambam! it’s a process that needs effort and dedication.” you said. “and for the record, mark’s still single so you’re way a step ahead.”

“but you just said it’s not a race.” jaehyun chuckled.

“did you know mark actually planned to pursue me back in high school?” you teased jaehyun again. his smile slowly disappears on every word. “but you were better at scoring the jackpot so yeah.” you gestured yourself.

jaehyun’s face cringed at your self compliment. yet he wouldn’t say he didn’t like it. “that’s because you’re really cute, hot nerd.”

“nah you’re star player who caught my eye, hot coach.” you felt your neck being pulled closer. he looked at your lips and tilted his chin slightly for a kiss.

there were only two things; the signs earlier could be wrong or that it was going to happen soon. jaehyun knew anyway, that you both were to be parents later in the future.

[acourtofhopeanddreams]

So in Love - Chapter 3

Written based on a “what if” I talked about in one of my canon compliance pieces for Theonsa

CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2

The royal family is on its way to Winterfell and Sansa can’t stop talking about prince Joffrey. Normally Theon likes being in her company, but this time he just wants this visit to be over. Because the sooner prince Joffrey is gone again, the sooner Sansa will realise that her true love and handsome knight has always be there.

*This will probably be Theon dreaming about marrying Sansa for a long time, but I promise, he will get noticed at some point!*

The great hall was filled with laughter and music. Bottles of wine were carried around by servants and maidens and plates with food were scattered all over the wooden tables. Winterfell wasn’t really known for its big parties and huge dinners and most likely not even this one would make a true impression on the royal family. But for the North it was almost revolutionary and without a doubt the event of the year.

“Normally you never shut up and now you haven’t been talking for at least five minutes.” Robb planted an elbow in Theon’s side and Theon shook his head.

On the opposite side of the table sat Sansa. She wore a pretty dress and her red hair waved around her angelic looking face. She had always complained that minstrels never bothered to travel to the North and that there was never anything amazing to do. But now she was thriving, drinking in the atmosphere.

And the flirting smiles Joffrey sent her way.

Theon clenched his jaws when he caught another one of their stolen glances and he tightened his grip on the spoon his was holding until his knuckles were pale white.

“Theon? Should I get you a doctor?”

He didn’t need a doctor. He wasn’t ill. But he would feel a lot better if that stupid crown prince and his stupid family would be on their way back to King’s Landing again, far away from Sansa and far away from the marriage he kept on hearing rumours about.

“Is it true?” He turned his face towards his best friend and he bit on his bottom lip.

Robb furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “Is what true?”

Theon rolled his eyes and he dropped the spoon on his plate. The clattering echoed through the entire hall, but everyone was too busy with their own conversations and the exciting new people crossing their paths to notice him. “Is Sansa gonna marry Joffrey?”

Robb shrugged. “I don’t know.” He looked at his sister and at the crown prince, seated at the table of honour next to the empty seat of his father. “I’ve heard Robert proposed the idea to my father. But from what I know he’s still thinking about it.”

Theon let out a mocking chuckle. “As if your father is ever gonna say no to the King.”

Why did that Jon Arryn guy have to die? If he hadn’t died, King Robert and his Lannisters would still be in King’s Landing. The crown prince wouldn’t have laid eyes on Sansa and Sansa wouldn’t have dreamed about becoming his Queen.

Robb chuckled. “Why does it matter? Sansa seems to like the guy. I have no idea what she sees in him exactly, but as long as she’s happy, everything is fine, right?”

Of course Theon wanted Sansa to be happy too. He wanted her to wake up with a smile on her face each and every morning. He wanted her to sing songs while walking through the hallways of her castle. He wanted her to be surrounded by friends and people who liked her. But more than anything he wanted her to be happy with him. He wanted her to wake up next to him. He wanted her to sing songs because of him. He wanted to be one of those people who liked her, who loved her.

And somehow he had allowed himself to hope that maybe that dream wasn’t out of reach. He had been stupid. He had been incredibly stupid.

“Wait a minute…” Robb’s jaw dropped and he wrapped an arm around his best friend’s shoulders. “You’re not in love with Princess Myrcella…” He had a glimmer in his eyes that Theon usually loved, but hated right now. “You’re in love with Sansa!” He chuckled. “O, I can’t wait to tell Jon about this.”

“Please…” Theon whispered and shook his head. He was kinda glad that the bastard sat as far away from the royal family as possible, because that meant he was also seated far away from Theon and Robb right now. But Theon knew that begging would probably only make things worse, so instead he leaned back in his chair and tried to look as uninterested as possible. “As if I’m not a far batter match for her than that stupid crown prince will ever be.”

Robb raised his eyebrows and then he burst into some annoying endless laughter. “Theon…” He patted Theon’s shoulders. “I don’t wanna be rude, but that boy is gonna be our King one day. And if my sister gets the chance to be his queen and likes that, I don’t think there is a better option in Westeros for her.”

Theon crossed his arms over his chest and he bent his head to hide the tears burning in his eyes. “He only likes her because she’s pretty.” He mumbled. “If she marries him, he’ll force her to be pregnant all the time so she constantly has to push out beautiful babies.”

“And that’s not why you’re in love with her?” Robb tried to muffle his laughing, but failed hopelessly.

“No!” Theon raised his voice and looked up again. “She’s more than just pretty! She’s smart and funny and kind. She sings beautifully and she makes all those lovely clothes.” Theon took a deep breath. “And when she enters a room, it’s like…” He searched for the right word. “Like the sun starts shining.”

“O boy…” Robb shook his head in utter disbelief. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Arya!” Sansa’s high pitched scream interrupted their conversation before it could get even more uncomfortable. A blob of food slid down her cheek and quickly her friend tried to wipe it away. “It’s not funny!”

But it only worsened Robb’s uncontrollable laughter.

“Robb…” This time it was Theon’s turn to plant his elbow in his best friend’s flank. “I thought you wanted her to be happy?” He hissed between his teeth. “Does she look happy to you now?”

“Fine, fine…” Robb stood up from his seat to get Arya out of the room.

It was way past her bedtime anyway.

But just when Theon was about to stand up to offer Sansa his help, he noticed how Jeyne Poole already guided her safely out of the great hall to get herself properly cleaned up.

Damn it. He had just missed his chance to play her knight in shining armour.

[elcorhamletlive]

fandom: Marvel Ultimates ship: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark tags: Established Relationship/Fluff/Marriage Proposals

There’s a dramatic, loud, romantic song in Tony’s ears when he wakes up. He blinks his eyes open, a little confused. His face is smushed against a firm, warm surface that he immediately identifies as Steve’s chest. He considers closing his eyes and going back to sleep, but Steve is reaching for the remote a little frantically, so he can’t really settle back on his embrace properly.

“Everything okay, darling?”

“Yeah.” Steve uses the remote to lower the volume, and that’s when Tony finally identifies the source of the sound, coming from the huge plasma TV in the middle of the living room. “Go back to sleep,” Steve grunts, blue eyes turning towards him. It’s no more affectionate than the orders he yells out in the field, but Tony can see the worry in his gaze, feels the way his hand roughly ruffles his hair. Steve’s touches are always a contradiction, a strange mix of firmness and hesitation. Tony never gets tired of them.

Tony glances at the watch on the wall. It’s not very late yet, which explains why they’re on the couch and not in bed. Steve’s arm is around him, holding him closely, and Tony buries his face on his chest again, inhaling that pleasant musky scent of his that’s so addictive. It’s a true travesty that Steve doesn’t usually do hugs, because he just feels so wonderful. Tony melts into the touch, more than a bit pleased by the fact that he’s the only one who gets to have it.

“Is it the season finale?” Tony asks, twisting his neck a bit to get a glimpse at the television without giving up that precious spot over Steve’s chest. On the TV he recognizes the reruns of the latest season of General Hospital that he recorded for Steve to catch up on, when he inevitably kept missing episodes because of work. He watches as a couple hugs and twirls happily on the screen, under that same music. “Did they finally get together?”

“They’ve been together for three seasons,” Steve states, giving Tony a grumpy look.

“Hmm.” Tony mumbles against the fabric of Steve’s shirt. “Of course, now that you mentioned it—“

“Knock it off,” Steve says, but his mouth curls a little, as if he’s suppressing a smile, and Tony nuzzles his face against the curve of his neck. “You hate the show.”

“I’ll admit I might be a little oblivious to its appeals, darling, but I’m sure there are many,” Tony says, even though that’s a blatant lie, because General Hospital only has one appeal to him, and it’s in the shape of the big supersoldier he’s cuddled with right now. “If they’re already together, what’s the song all about?”

“They just got engaged,” Steve explains. His hand ruffles Tony’s hair again, more absent-mindedly, and Tony can’t fight back a sigh, eyes fluttering closed for a moment as he enjoys the touch.

“It still seems like a dramatic soundtrack choice,” he says, because he can’t help poking Steve a bit about the questionable quality of his soap operas.

He’s entirely unprepared by the way Steve’s face closes at the comment.

“Some people want to get married,” Steve grunts, and the sharpness of his tone, more than anything, makes Tony blinks his eyes wide awake.

“What?” he asks, a little flabbergasted by the reaction. Steve rarely closes off at light teasing like this, anymore. Usually he grunts, complains, and lets Tony kiss the grumpiness off his face. Steve’s posture is suddenly rigid, and he avoids Tony’s eyes, staring at the TV screen firmly.

“Just because it’s not your thing, doesn’t mean other people don’t care about it.”

“Not my thing?” Tony lifts his head, propping himself up on his arms to stare at Steve’s face more directly. Steve’s words rarely say much, but his face can spell out a book of different emotions and thoughts, and Tony got pretty good at reading it, the past few years. Or he thought he did. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean, darling.”

Steve shrugs in the least convincing performance of nonchalance humanity has ever seen. “Back in the day, that was how we did things. If you got a girl, and you wanted to do right by her, you married her.”

Like Steve planned to do, Tony knows. He searches Steve’s face carefully, looking for cues. Steve visits Bucky and Gail regularly now, but Tony imagines it must still hurt, the promise of a life he lost.

“Nowadays, it’s… different,” Steve says, making a gesture to encompass the room around them. Tony takes the change to nestle closer, to lay his hand on Steve face, caressing his cheek.

“Definitely,” he agrees, voice light, stroking Steve’s chin with his thumb. “Now, we can all happily live in sin.”

Steve scowls at the TV as if it offends him deeply. “That’s not what I mean,” he says, and his hands are off Tony now, falling to his sides. Tony can’t see it, but he’d bet anything he’s clenching his fists. “Back then, people did… this, too,” he continues, and Tony makes the wise decision to not tease Steve into saying the expression living in sin, at least not now. “’s just… Now, anyone can do it. Get married. It’s, it’s easier, I suppose.”

Tony tries to gather some sense form Steve’s words, but he’s as lost as he can be. “Anyone?”

“Yeah.” Steve finally turns his eyes towards him, and his blue gaze is too tense for the conversation they’re having, Tony thinks. “It’s law now, isn’t it? Anyone can do it. Even…” He gestures between the two of them.

Tony raises his eyebrows. “Even…?”

“You know. Two fellas.” Steve repeats the gesture, and there’s a flush on his cheeks now, as if he’s doing something other than stating societal changes. Tony’s breath hitches. “Like…”

“Like you and me?” Tony says, voice weaker than he means to, because his heart feels at his throat, now. Surely, he’s not getting this right. There’s no way…

“Yeah.” Steve breathes. He swallows. “Yeah,” he repeats, looking at him with a mix of tension and resignation. “Like you and me.”

There’s a loud noise of someone apparently dying on the TV, but Tony barely registers it. He feels unable to even blink while staring at Steve’s face.

“Steve,” he manages to whisper. “Would you…”

The flush on Steve’s face deepens, and he looks away. “You don’t want it,” he says bluntly. “I get it. After—“

“I—What?” Tony stutters. He feels dizzy, and a part of him wonders if maybe he still hasn’t woken up yet. “Steve,” he calls, hand going to Steve’s jaw, gently making him turn towards him. “Steve, are you saying…”

“Damn it, Stark, will you drop it?” Steve says firmly, finally turning towards Tony. But Tony can’t drop it, not now, not with the way those eyes are looking at him.

“Would you… Would you want that?” Tony doesn’t recognize his own voice, too soft and weak. “To—To get married?”

Steve presses his lips together. His eyes dart away from Tony’s, glancing at the TV. “’s the way it used to be. When you were, you know. Going steady with someone.”

“You never mentioned it,” Tony’s hand is clutching his chest now, and it feels like his heart is going to burst out of it. “You never—“

“I’m not complaining.” Steve’s voice is firmer now, his gaze turning back to Tony’s. “You asked me to move in and I did.”

As if Tony needs to be reminded of that. He remembers it perfectly, how Steve went still at the suggestion, then nodded and said Okay with a flush on his cheeks. Just that word had made Tony’s entire month. Getting to have Steve by his side every day, waking up next to him, curling up on the couch with him while he watched his soap operas – that already felt so precious and impossible.

Marriage, though. A promise for a lifetime. Steve never broke his promises. To think he’d want—He’d look into Tony’s eyes and want—

“Darling,” Tony starts. He should probably gather himself together, regain some composure, but he can’t bring himself to do it. “Do you want to get married?”

A part of him expects Steve to look away, to go rigid under him, to regret and retreat in response to the obvious neediness of Tony’s words. But instead he turns to Tony, eyes bright and nervous and stunningly beautiful, and sustains his gaze as he speaks.

“Yeah,” he mutters, and Tony can feel that he shakes a little although he doesn’t look away. So brave, he thinks, more than a little dazed, completely lost in those eyes. Steve’s so goddamn brave. “But you don’t—“

“Steve,” Tony breathes, and for a crazy moment he just wants to say his name, again and again. “I didn’t—Sweetheart, I had no idea. You—You want us to get married? Are you sure?”

Steve peers at him, that unyielding gaze that he gets when nothing in the world could change his mind about something. “I told you,” he says, and Tony’s blinking too fast now, feeling his eyes burning. “I’m serious about this. I don’t take these things lightly.”

“I know,” Tony says. He’s over, completely undone, heart swelling heavily on his chest, head spinning and tears prickling at the corner of his eyes when he leans over to press a kiss onto Steve’s mouth. “You don’t take anything lightly, you wonderful, stubborn man,” he whispers against Steve’s lips, those soft lips that are his to capture again and again. Steve’s arms are around his waist again, and Tony rests his forehead against his. “Oh, darling, marry me?” He punctuates his words with kisses all over Steve’s flushed face, stopping only to watch those amazed, wide eyes. “I would’ve asked ages ago if I thought there was even a chance you’d say yes.”

“You—You would—“ Steve stutters, and Tony is overwhelmed by the spark of hope on his eyes. “Yeah?” he asks, as if he can’t even bring himself to say it, and Tony understands it completely.

“I can get a minister here in an hour if you want to. Half an hour, maybe.” Tony says, voice light although he’s not even in the vicinity of kidding, and Steve huffs out a laugh, leaning forward for a kiss.

“It’s a bit late,” Steve mutters against his mouth. His hands stroke Tony’s back, coming up to his shoulder blades. “We don’t even have rings yet.”

“I’ll take you shopping first thing in the morning,” Tony declares, hands cupping Steve’s face, pressing sloppy kisses over his cheeks. “And then I’m sending flowers to the writers of General Hospital.”

Steve frowns at him, arms tightening at his waist, but Tony can see the way his eyes sparkle, so bright and happy like he’s never seen them before. “You’re not sending them anything,” he says, but there’s a smile threatening to come up at every movement of his lips.

He’s so beautiful. He’s gonna be Tony’s. Tony’s husband.

“Darling,” Tony whispers. “I’m sending them an entire flower shop.”

[nraidx74]

Sick Day (little Noctis x Prompto)

A continuation from my AU after the first encounter. A little one shot about little Pom2 getting sick. But soon he will have some help so don’t worry and he will be all better. Enjoy!...

==========================================================  Hearing that his Blonde Angel was sick due to a fever, Noctis couldn't calm down. He wanted to see him as quickly as possible, but Ignis wouldn't let him. Saying that he might catch it too. Usually, if Ignis already said no, Noctis would comply and won't argue anymore but this time it's different. His Angel was sick, his ball of sunshine has become grey. Going to school felt like a chore now, not that it wasn't before but after Prompto came to his school, he always finds it much more enjoyable to go to school but when he heard from his teacher that Prompto was absent. He didn't enjoy being at school for a second. He just wanted to bolt out and see his little blonde friend.

After arguing for a while with Ignis who still says no and Noctis still wanting to go. The two of them couldn't find a compromise until Regis proposed.

"You can go but only for a while, just to be able to see him. If he's asleep then you are to come back home"

That was enough. He just wanted to see his blonde friend. He couldn't settle for less. Ignis let out a defeated sigh and put a mask on Noctis. Saying that he should never take it off while being near Prompto. Noctis nodded and so off he went to visit his blonde friend at his apartment. With both Ignis and Gladio by his side of course.

=========================================================

In front of Prompto apartment, Noctis was kinda nervous. He had never gone to a friend's house and this is Prompto's home as well. It was double the nervous attack, but he wanted to see his friend even if it's only a glimpse. Just to see if he was okay. Ignis knocked on the door.

"Excuse us"

The door opened with Cor looking really tired. His face looked exhausted like he wasn't getting any sleep at all. He growled but didn't do it out of annoyance, instead, it was just his habit when he felt tired. Noctis flinched a bit but he won't let this be a barrier to see his Angel.

"We are sorry to disturb you, but Noctis wanted to see if Prompto feeling fine"

"Sure, come in"

Cor let them through the door. Noctis could see that it was a one bedroom apartment, a small living space compared to his home. Noctis looked around wondering where his friend is sleeping at. Cor pointed at the left door which was his bedroom. At that moment the Raven boy realized that the two of them was sharing a room. Noctis tried to get that out of his mind... for now. It is much important to see his friend first, making sure that he was okay.

He bowed his head lightly and entered their bedroom. Meanwhile, Cor had gestured for the two boys to sit down on their couch. Ignis gave him a white plastic bag. Filled with some energized drink, some medicines, a few pudding cups.

"We hope this will help"

"Thanks, need it. That boy hadn't eaten anything yet. Bought some jelly and some porridge but it couldn't do down his throat. Even if he managed to swallow something he would puke it a moment later"

"How's his temperature? Is it still high?"

Ignis asked concern.

"It has gone down a bit compared to last night, but it's still high"

Pushing his glasses upward, Ignis looked like he wanted to do something but he felt that he shouldn't overstep his boundaries. For even if Cor is his Lord friend that doesn't mean that he has warmed up to him. But a small nudge from Gladio, made him looked at his huge friend. A smile appeared on his face and hinted to him that it was okay. After all, he's Noctis friend. At least that's what his face looked like he was saying.

Ignis let out a small cough and looked at Cor.

"Do you know the reason for his fever?"

"A cold, maybe... I mean what else can a fever came from"

Cor looked so inexperienced with this parenting stuff. He was still new at this and it was the first time the boy actually got sick so he didn't what he should do at this moment. Ignis quickly knew this, he was quite perspective to this kind of things after all. Ignis stood up.

"If you let me, I can make him some nice porridge and some hot milk with honey. His fever might be the result of his body adjusting to the new environment around him. Usually, children would break down in a high fever. Eating some food and drinking hot milk usually helped to calm down their nerves. It's good to just give them medicine to lower his fever but other than that a few night rest would do him some good"

"So he isn't having a cold?"

"Does he have a runny nose or started to cough?"

"No, he hasn't coughed at all it's just he has this fever"

"Then he doesn't have a cold, after making the porridge I'll check his throat if it's swollen. That would prove if my hypothesis was right"

Just hearing all of this, he was really taken back by how capable this guy is. He may look strict but he was actually caring to this extent. A perfect housewife material, Cor kept this to himself. He was really glad that Ignis came to the rescue. But truth to be told he was getting worried about Prompto if his fever hasn't come down by noon he was going to take him to the doctor but it seemed to have Ignis is as good as having a mother.

"You can use the kitchen, it would help me a lot if he can eat anything"

"Yes, I will do my utmost. I'll take a look in the fridge if I found something I need missing then I'll-"

"I'll go and buy it"

Ignis looked at Gladio who was smirking at him. As if he was saying 'told ya' Ignis brushed it off as he looked through the fridge and pantry. He texted what he needed for Gladio to buy and he was off buying it. Cor gave him some money, though Ignis imply that he doesn't need to. Yet Cor persisted, it was for his Son. Not wanting to argue any further, Gladio was off to buy the stuff Ignis needed. While Ignis told Cor about how to care for Prompto and what he needs to watch out for his health. Cor took out a note and wrote it down, this felt as if he was asking pieces of advice from a well knowledgeable mother. But he keeps this in his head too.

===========================================================

Noctis had entered the dim room, due to the curtain being closed. He looked over and saw Prompto sleeping. He was holding a huge stuff animal. Almost as big as him. When Noctis looked at it closely, the plushie inside his embrace was a huge yellow bird. Kinda like a chicken but was not it. As Noctis tried to figure out what kind of animal it was, Prompto shifted his body in his sleep.

He was breathing shallowly but it was enough to see that he was still deep in his sleep. The Raven walked beside his bed and looked carefully at Prompto's freckled decorated face. His face flushed due to the fever with a damp cloth on his forehead. He looked like he was in pain. This actually breaks his heart. To see his usual sunshine, unable to do anything and lie there.

He wished he could trade places with him. But it was impossible, carefully caress his wet hair. Doing it oh so gently so he won't wake up the blonde.

"Noct..."

Eh... Noctis was surprised to hear him called his name weakly. How did he know that it was me? He wanted to ask him but felt a little guilty for waking him up. Prompto eyes fluttered as he gazed at Noctis eyes.

"Yeah... It's me, I heard you were sick so I came to see you"

A weary smile appeared on his face.

"I'm glad... you came, Noct..."

Noctis wanted to smile back but with the white mask over his face, Prompto couldn't see it. He wanted to take it off but Ignis told him not to, so he just had to let it go. And just be satisfied that he can see his friend. Noctis continued to stroke his hair when Prompto suddenly grabbed his hand and held it to his cheek which was hot to the fever.

"Your hand feels nice, Noct"

"Is it?"

"Yeah, it's cold. Feels refreshing"

Prompto half-lid eyes glistened as he tried to smile. Noctis felt something squeezed his heart. Due to his fever, Prompto was panting a little trying to get as much air into his lungs. Seeing him like that, Noctis was getting worried.

"Prompto are you okay? You're panting a lot"

Prompto grunted a bit trying to speak but it was hard. Seeing his condition declining, Noctis was about to burst out of his room when he could feel the weak blonde held his hand tighter.

"Don't... Pant*... leave me..."

"I'm not going to leave you, I'm going to call your dad"

But Prompto didn't let go of his hand.

"No... Pant* Don't leave me... wheeze*... Please..."

He sounded so sad that Noctis felt sorry for him. Maybe he was having some kind of nightmare due to the fever.

"I understand, I won't leave. I'll stay here as long as you need"

Prompto weary eyes sparkled as he smiled happily with his flushed face.

"Really? Wheeze*...."

"Yup, that's why you should sleep. You need to get better"

"Okay..."

Even though he said that, but his crystal blue eyes still gazing at Noctis. Somehow Noctis knew that he wanted to ask of him something.

"Do you want me to do something?"

Prompto looked surprised but he hid his tiny head under his huge blanket before peeking through it shyly. Either Noctis was imagining it or his face was a little bit redder than before.

"Umm... Pant*... Can you... Umm wheeze*... sing a lullaby for me... Pant*"

"Huh"

Noctis was surprised that he asked him for something like that. This time Noctis flushed though no one would know because of his mask on. He wanted to say that he can't or there's no way that he would do it. But when he saw his blonde friend was looking at him with glitter in his eyes, he knew that he can't dodge this one. Well, it's not like he can't sing it, it's just he was embarrassed to sing in front of anyone.

"Fine... But you have to go sleep after I sing"

"Yay, I will"

His sunshine like smile came back which made Noctis felt glad. I guessed he wouldn't mind singing or doing any embarrassing stuff if it means Prompto can smile like that to him. Noctis took off his mask, he can't sing if he can't breathe properly so the mask got to go.

With a little cough, Noctis started to hum a song that his maid used to sing to him when he was smaller. Once he got the tune downright he softly sang the lyrics. Prompto was amazed that Noctis actually sound nice. Though he didn't know the song of the lullaby it sounded nice to his ears. Slowly but surely, Prompto slipped from his consciousness and fell asleep quietly.

Once Noctis saw that his blonde friend had fallen asleep he thinks that it was okay for him to go now. He was able to see him and even talk to him so he was satisfied. He was also worried that both Ignis and Gladio was getting bored waiting for him. Gently pulling his hand away, he tried his best not to wake him up. As he finally let go, Noctis felt a little bit lonely, he actually wanted to hold on to his friend a little bit more. He let out a small sigh and put up his white mask again before exiting the room.

Only to find both Ignis and Cor in the kitchen while Gladio was sitting in the living room looking at them. Noctis came over to Gladio.

"Hey"

"Gladio, what is Ignis doing with Cor?"

"They're cooking"

"Cooking?"

"Yeah, Ignis wanted to show him how to make hot milk with honey also porridge for your little friend"

"Why?"

"Ignis noticed that Cor looked troubled, he wanted to make sure that Cor knew what he was doing. I think he didn't realize what was causing your little friend fever until Ignis told him about it"

That was new, he never knew that Ignis would care for others. Usually, he would keep it to himself. He knew that he was caring but usually only to those he deemed thrust worthy. Maybe he was actually fond of Cor and Prompto. If that's true then he's glad. Noctis went to the kitchen as well.

"Ignis"

"Noctis, you are done visiting Prompto?"

"Yeah"

"I see, then I'll talk a little more with Cor. Can you wait for me in the living room?"

"Can't I help too, Ignis?"

That was surprising for Ignis, he never once thought Noctis would offer his help when all this time he never even cared about anyone. Nothing wanting to lose his rare opportunities, Ignis smiled softly.

"Yes you can"

Noctis smiled, he wanted to do everything he can for his blonde friend.

==========================================================

"Ugh..."

Fluttering his eyes opened, the blonde opened his eyes slowly. Prompto shifted his little body to look around. He still feels feverish but it wasn't bad as before. At least he could sit up without swaying too much. He looked at the window and noticed that it was already dark. He must have been sleeping for hours after Noctis sang to him. He wondered if the Raven has gone home, well he should have.

Feeling a little bit better Prompto wondered if his Dad was home, he wanted to make sure that he wasn't alone anymore. He crawled out of bed and peeked outside his room. There was light in the living room so Dad was home. He let out a sigh of relief. Pushing the door slightly, he was surprised to see both Ignis and Gladio in his house.

They were next to his Dad in the kitchen. Still feeling wobbly, Prompto tried to call out his dad with his hoarse voice.

"Daddy..."

Cor quickly heard the little voice and looked at his side surprised to see Prompto up and staggering.

"Prompto, why are you walking around?"

"I wanted to see if you are home, daddy"

"I'm here, I ain't going anywhere. Especially not with you still sick like this. How do you feel?"

"Tired and dizzy"

"I guess you are still sick, huh? Well before you rest why not eat something first"

"Yeah"

Cor picked up Prompto and took him to the living room where he was surprised to see a sleeping Noctis on their couch.

"Noct?"

His voice brightens as he called out his Raven friend.

"I'm sorry to intrude on you, Cor. Using your kitchen and borrowing your pillow for Noctis to sleep on"

"What are you talking about, Ignis? I should be the one apologizing. You have done a lot today. I'm happy to lend a pillow or two for Noctis. But boy he sure can sleep"

Cor put Prompto close to Noctis, because he knew that he would want to without the Blonde actually saying it out loud. Just seeing his sparkling eyes as he looked at the Raven was enough.

"Be a good boy and wait there, I'll plate everything up"

"Okay!"

Prompto felt a lot better now, though his head pounding he still got to see Noctis so it's fine. Ignis and Gladio are here too which made it even nicer. He liked to be surrounded by a lot of people. After a few moments, he could smell something nice from the kitchen. He hadn't had any food so he was pretty hungry and now that he was feeling a little bit better his stomach growled without restrained.

Everyone laughed when they heard it, he was a little bit embarrassed but in the end, he laughed as well.

"The porridge is done"

"Thank you Ignis, why don't you three have dinner here as well? After all, you made a lot of food other than porridge. Might as well ate it together"

"No, we can't intrude more than this. Once Noctis woke up, we will be heading home"

"I insist, you both have done much. This the least I can do"

After cooking and teaching Cor how to cook actually made Ignis a little bit hungry but he was stubborn to admit it. So Gladio stepped in.

"We would gladly take that offer"

"Gladio, we can't we have-"

"Isn't it more the merrier when eating dinner? Any care Prompto look like he wanted to eat with all of us. Just looked at that puppy eyes"

As Gladio pointed at Prompto who was still sitting next to Noctis looking at Ignis will the most adorable puppy eyes. No matter how stubborn and cold-hearted he was, he could never say no to that eyes. Giving off a small sigh, Ignis nodded his head. Admitting his defeat.

"Great, Prompto wake Noctis up so we can have dinner together"

Prompto nodded and slowly shook Noctis up. Feeling grouchy, Noctis didn't want to wake up but when he slowly heard his name being called by Prompto's voice he opened his eyes unwillingly. And was greeted by Prompto's sunshine like smile. That startled Noctis into him waking up completely and stumbling from the couch. He never had to sleep in such a narrow space before so he didn't realize that he was close to the edge when he moved backward.

"Noct, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..."

He said with a growl. Gladio laughed when he saw that, but quickly picked up Noctis helping him to stand on his two feet. Rubbing his head where he could feel a small bump.

"That should wake you up, huh sleepy beauty"

Gladio teased.

"Shut up!"

Shoving Gladio hand from his head. Gladio went back to the kitchen to finish helping setting up while Noctis turned to his blonde friend. He looked a little better now, his face still looked flushed but he didn't look pale like before, the color was starting to return to his face which made Noctis felt glad. But just to make sure that he was getting better, Noctis place his hand on the blonde forehead, so he can feel his temperature.

Prompto giggled at the sudden touch but it felt nice. He was still a bit hot but Noctis cold skin seemed to cure it. His dizziness even disappeared.

"You temperature isn't as hot as before, that's good"

"Yeah... And it's all thanks to Noct"

"Huh!"

Noct was surprised that he was the reason for it.

"What do you mean?"

"My nightmare didn't appear because you sang-"

Quickly Noctis covered his mouth but it was too late the other already heard what Prompto said. Gladio was the first one to smirk and utter his opinion.

"Oh~~ My Little Noctis, sang you a lullaby, huh!"

And that's the cue he needed to hear. Gladio won't let this up. He might as well spread it to everyone in the mansion. Noctis let out a sigh as Gladio continued to laugh. He knew that he'll be hearing this for a while but at least he's glad that he could do something for the blonde. With a soft smile, he gazed at his friend.

"I'm glad that it helps"

"It sure does, you have a really beautiful voice. I would like to hear it more sometimes"

He said giggly. Well that's that, Noctis held Prompto's hand and they went to the kitchen. They sat together at the dining table which was too small for the five of them. Not like Cor actually imagined that they had this much guest. Good thing he stocked up on plastic chairs at least they didn't have to eat on the floor. Everyone was eating the porridge and some chicken soup that both Iggy made with the help of Cor and little Noctis.

Eating it with a happy expression, Cor was glad that at least Prompto managed to let his food go down his stomach this time.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah, it is"

"Ignis was the one who made it"

Prompto looked at Ignis with a smile plastered on his face.

"Thank your Ignis for the food"

"You are welcome, Prompto. I'm glad that it suits your taste. Though I did have some helped from your father and from Noctis"

"Noct, helped too"

"Yes, he did, it was the first time he ever did"

Noctis tried to look away due to embarrassment. But he couldn't when Prompto was sitting so close to him and now beaming him with his sunshine like eyes.

"...I just wanted to help"

He finally said it, without any warning Prompto suddenly hugged his friend.

"Thank you so much, Noct, you are the best!"

He wanted to say be careful but hearing him say that, pushed down his intention to scold the blonde. Instead, he petted Prompto's head.

"You better know it"

He said with an arrogant tone. Which earned him a tighter hug from the Blonde boy. He was so happy for some reason. And it was contagious, Noctis also felt happy. It was the first time he could actually be himself around other than Ignis and Gladio.

"Okay you two, stopped being all over each other"

Cor pulled the two apart. He needs to make sure that his Son is still in arms reach. He was glaring a bit at Noctis but at this moment, the Raven didn't pay attention to it because he was still gazing at Prompto. He was so adorable eating his food. That's when he noticed that there was some food on Prompto's cheek.

Noctis touched his cheek softly to pick the food up.

"There's food on your cheek"

"Oh, thankz"

Noctis licked his finger and continued to stare at Prompto eating his food happily, completely oblivious at the eyes that were staring at them. Both Gladio and Ignis somehow knew where this will lead to but when they saw Cor was about to snap. They tried their best to convince him that they are still children they didn't know any better. Cor let out a sigh.

"I'm not giving up"

He stated, revering to Noctis who was too focused on looking his friend eat. Ignis let out a sigh as well.

"This might be a losing battle"

"They are both stubborn, I wonder how this plays out"

A war between father in law and son in law, who would win? Well, the future was never certain but everyone including Cor knew who was going to win in the end. But that doesn't matter as long as the ball of sunshine stays a ball of sunshine in their eyes.