#but of fucking COURSE its from a gift shop in japan

[ahappydnp]

Am I the last one to realise the seal cushion is from Osaka Aquarium https://www.felissimo.co.jp/youmore/gcd762792/

THOSE RAT FUCKING BASTARDS

[starcloud-nova]

Favorite fics by some of your buddies on Tumblr and Discord?

God nonnie. You fucked up big time. You underestimated just how hard I can appreciate my friends. I’d like to formally apologize for how long and in-depth this got, but I would pick a stopping point and then go ‘oh! but i cant leave out so-and-so’ and then this got mega out of hand.

Organized by author and not genre! And if I didn’t include any of your works (or I did and it was not the one you wanted), please, don’t take it personally. I am trusting everyone who comes across this post to read the tags themselves, but for two of the fics I have left TWs in front of them.

Cassia’s fics:

Internet Enemies by @cassiopeia721 (x)

At school, Midoriya Izuku is ignored at best. At home, he's raised by a single mother who seems to be always taking night shifts, and who he communicates with almost exclusively through notes on lunch boxes and texts lying about his location. As such, Midoriya Izuku turns to the internet— or more specifically, an All Might fan server on discord— for companionship. Like most things in his life, it goes wrong eventually. It just takes longer than usual.

hypnic jump

Izuku finds himself somewhere he doesn't recognize in an oversized green jumpsuit with a hero he's never seen at his back. He's pretty sure he's dreaming, and subsequent events only solidify that theory into rock-solid certainty.

Paradigm Shift (Harry Potter)

Harry undergoes a paradigm shift at the beginning of his fifth year. (Slytherin Harry)

~~~

Kestrel’s fics:

Compass by @autisticmidoriyas (x)

Midoriya Izuku never had the chance to become a hero—or even to grow up. Fifteen years after his death, Akatani Izuku tries to save the life of a dying hero and in return receives a target painted on his back and a power humming in his bones.

All Might, Sir Nighteye, Ground Zero, Suneater, and Skyquake are left scrambling in the wake of Lemillion’s death to figure out who now holds One For All.

Intertwined with all this, the League of Villains’ war against Japan burns on. With the loss of Lemillion, the advantage is now theirs, and with the loss of One For All, victory is all-but-assured.

(What the villains don’t know is that One For All lives on in the blood of a boy who was always meant to be a hero.)

triskelion

A few seconds, and their lives—their life—is changed forever. Where three people used to exist, there is now only one.

While visiting the mall with their class, Izuku, Katsuki, and Shouto are the victims of someone whose quirk can fuse together objects … and people.

Permanently.

Facing down the fact that they may never be unfused, a long adjustment period lies ahead of them as they learn how to be themself and figure out where they fit into their families, their class, and their world.

the meaning of hope

One day, the smoke will reach its end. They hold out hope for that. Even with quirks, fires cannot burn forever. They will consume all their fuel, until there is nothing left, and they will wither and die.

~~~

Lilly’s fics:

Rise of the Rat Finks by Authoress_Lilly

“You're not in trouble Neito. You’ve been tapped to join The Rats.”

The boy blinks. “The what?”

Vlad opens up a folder and hands Monoma a flyer and a small pin in the shape of a rat. “It’s a sort of secret society here at UA.

Or: an excuse to put Monoma and Midoriya together in way too many words 😅

The Root to Villainy

Prompt: Izuku doesn't realize how fucked up his past was until Aizawa does an immersive class on villain origins.

Whoops?

~~~

Dance’s fics:

Never Take Your Problem Children To Costco by DanceInTheKitchen

“SECURE THE EGGS! I REPEAT SECURE THE EGGS!” Bakugou bellowed.

“YES SIR! AYE AYE SIR!” Izuku saluted.

Shouta is staring at his students, one of whom seems to be reenacting the Lion King with a carton of eggs while the other salutes him, and wonders. What the hell did he do in his past life to deserve this?? Past him must have committed some great sin, like putting sugar in his coffee, or being a dog person.

 Or, Aizawa, Bakugou and Midoriya walk into a Costco.

grow as we go

The dorms were silent, but out here in the open air, she felt both isolated and free. Isolated from the world, but free from the responsibility crushing her, isolated from her friends and family, but free from judgement. Up here, with only the stars and Iida as company, Momo felt like she could breathe.

They sat next to each other in silence, watching the stars silently crawl their way across the sky. Iida doesn’t break the silence, but he also doesn’t leave. It’s a silent promise, to listen if she needs it, or to keep her company if she doesn’t want to speak. It’s comforting.

She’s not sure when she speaks, it’s somewhere between staring up at the stars, and looking at the shiny dew covering the grass of the hills behind UA.

“I’m not ready.”

 Or, with graduation right around the corner, Momo has a conversation with Iida about what growing up means.

~~~

Azure’s fics:

A Helping Hand for All by azureskyy

Izuku doesn't know why everyone's talking about a certain hero analyst online. He's tried browsing through the forums and other sites, but he just can't find the person they're talking about.

Maybe he'll ask them later. For now, he has some analysis to do.

Or: Izuku is a well-known hero and quirk analyst across multiple social media platforms.

Not that he's aware of it, of course.

A Missed Chance

Two paths cross then diverge. In another universe, perhaps, they could have walked on the same path; they could have talked for the second time that day, and Izuku could have been given an opportunity that could change his entire life. And maybe, just maybe, he would have taken it.

But this isn’t that universe.

Or: What if All Might wasn't able to find Izuku after the Sludge Villain Incident?

~~~

Alice’s fics:

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by @makeitbluue (x)

“Did you think you’d be safe from me forever? That you could chip away at my power base and I would not care or try to hunt you down?” The man asks as he steps forwards.

Izuku scrambles backwards in his bed, searching the covers as he goes for his phone. If he can get a text off to All Might or Aizawa-sensei he can alert people to the potential danger.

But even as he moves, something in the back of his mind tells him he had heard this voice before. A different time, a different context, but the same voice.

~~~

Ely’s fics:

bend and break by @queenangst (x)

In a world where you can feel your soulmate's pain, Eijirou spends a lot of his life up until meeting his soulmate hurting.

draw and quarter

In District Twelve, no one volunteers.

When Aizawa Shouta’s name is called, no one says a word. He stands there for a moment, feeling all the world slow around him, and then he straightens his shoulders and walks to his death.

He will die fighting. At the very least, Shouta can promise that.

Shouta's name is drawn for the Hunger Games, alongside Shirakumo Oboro. No one from their district has ever won.

damage control

After All for One's defeat, Aizawa Shouta is grasping for ways to protect his students. At the same time, a discrepancy in Midoriya's behavior leads Shouta down a dangerous line of investigation and to a single question: if Midoriya is the U.A. traitor.

Between the Wind and the Water

Staying at U.A. for winter break, Izuku hopes it'll be a quiet chance to spend the holidays with Todoroki and supervising teachers All Might and Aizawa-sensei.

It's just his luck a gift-shopping trip turns into a gift from a villain, and Izuku's new Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk is not so easy to control. Neither are the secrets he's been carefully keeping.

a glimpse of tomorrow (looking back)

Subject: Aldera Time Capsule Ceremony Forwarded Message— This year marks ten years for the Aldera Middle School graduating class of 20XX.To celebrate, we would like to invite pro heroes Kingpin and Deku, Aldera alumni, to participate in a public time-capsule opening. We are incredibly proud to have helped them on their journeys to becoming heroes, and would be most honored to receive them as guests and for them to speak at the ceremony. [...]

"Well," Deku says, leaning over to turn the monitor towards him. His eyes flick over the contents of the email one more time. "If they haven't changed, then I guess we could return the favor."

Ten years down the line, Bakugou and Midoriya are invited to a time capsule ceremony at their middle school to read letters from their past selves, and look back on their past and how it shaped their future. For anyone else, it would have been a celebration.

For the two of them, it's an opportunity.

A look into Bakugou and Midoriya's past—through a future neither of them imagined—as pro heroes, agency partners, and friends.

of the mighty heart

It was just complicated. Kacchan had changed. Izuku had changed. What was between them was constant—Kacchan was always there—but even constants, Izuku supposed, could change, too.

...You saved me, sometimes you say Deku and it doesn’t sound so much like an insult, you say it like you mean it, you say it like you mean me.

After the war ends and the dust settles, Izuku is left in pain and feeling useless. There's still so much to do and people to save, and it's just... too much for one person.

And then there's Kacchan.

~~~

Fawn’s fics:

Bough Breaks by @fawnvelveteen (x) (trigger warning for discussion of rape/noncon)

In life, nothing is certain. Pro-heroes aren’t always the good guys. Children are not spared from the darkest realms of humanity. Izuku isn't acting like his normal self at school lately, and his homeroom teacher has taken notice. After learning about the mother’s new, unwelcomed boyfriend, Aizawa’s concern shifts into dread. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep his student away from harm.

Almost Moon (trigger warning for suicide) (Black Clover)

It was always at night. One of Noelle's squadmates, apparently, believes it's a good idea to walk across the rooftop, directly over her head while she is trying to get some sleep. Finally, she decides to confront the nighttime nuisance. What she discovers is something she never expected, nor did she wish to see.

~~~

Nez’s fics:

The True Successor by @neko-nez (x)

Toshinori is caught in a time loop.

~~~

Aodh’s fics:

new game + (the pros of being over-leveled, the catharsis of finally beating That One Boss, and a bonus social link) by @takeyamayuu (x)

Izuku hasn’t been noticed yet, being as far from the fight as he is. Or if he has, they’re dismissing him in favor of the larger threat of Aizawa-sensei. As they should, since he takes out the last one with a well placed kick, turning to face Shigaraki,

Izuku tenses, this is-

This is where his teacher’s arm is injured and then-

The Nomu.

One for All spikes to around fifty percent, his muscles stinging, bones creaking as Izuku darts forward, aiming for Shigaraki’s head with an axe-kick.

Second year Midoriya Izuku gets hit with a Quirk, skids into the USJ, and learns a little about self-care along the way.

~~~

Ghost’s fics:

fingerpaint bruises and a kick in the teeth by @ghoststrawberries (x)

There’s a sour taste in Shouta’s mouth as he stares at Jackrabbit’s bright smile. The smile he’s wearing in every clear photo of him. It somewhat reminds Shouta of All Might’s smile.

Jackrabbit might be a menace to the Commission, but there’s no way Shouta can believe that a man with that smile is anything less than good to his core.

“And I’m your last resort to handle this quietly.” He says knowingly, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“Precisely.”

Shouta’s gut response is to refuse.

The words “I don’t kill.” are halfway up his throat before they become stuck.

As an underground hero, sometimes Shouta Aizawa is called upon to do darker jobs than one might expect a hero to have to do. This time, when he's tasked with taking out a vigilante who's managed to bother the Hero Public Safety Commission one too many times, he's not sure he'll be able to follow through.

~~~

Amira’s fics:

And Now I See Daylight by @awake-my-oceans (x)

AnalysisOverload Current mood: HERO CON HERO CON HERO CON HERO CON

AnalysisOverload reblogged AnalysisOverload  Okay, let’s talk HeroCon. 

Look around, and you’ll see a lot of discrimination—against people whose Quirk is debilitating, against people whose Quirks scare us, against people who have trouble controlling their Quirk, against people who don’t have a Quirk at all. It’s easy to feel alone in a sea of discrimination.

Enter HeroCon:X.

A social media fic following Deku post-graduation.

The chaotic neutral’s guide to time travel

“You claim you are from the future,” Nedzu said, hopping onto his desk. “Do you have anything to prove this?”

Hitoshi fished around in his pocket. “Here’s my hero license,” he said, holding it up.

Nedzu opened his mouth, but Hitoshi kept right on going, producing a handful of odds and ends from his pocket. “Also a movie ticket, some dryer lint, some, uh, didn’t know I still had that but it’s old gum—“

That was when Aizawa walked in, capture weapon floating around him. “What’s the emergency?” he asked, clipped, as he kicked open the door.

“—and the left arm of a Deku plushie,” Hitoshi finished, unruffled. “My cat ate the rest.”

~~~

Aaaaaand that’s all I got. Thanks for making it to the end!

[combat-wombatus]

Hot Cocoa

Pairing: Iida Tenya x gn!reader

Warnings: brief cursing (mostly just bakugou being bakugou), some suggestive humor (m*neta is involved too)

Genre: fluff (a lil bit of crack bc why not)

WC: a bit over 8k? went slightly overboard with this idea and not entirely happy with the ending but i already rewrote it like 5 times so it is what it is-

(A/N): heya! so this is my first fic and i was kinda nervous about posting it...

it started out as an idea on @todorkihoe’s discord server but then it evolved into this monstrous nightmare so...it took me like a whole week to hash everything out and the logistics of the secret santa thing was an absolute nightmare. but it was worth it!!

It was the holiday season. Most people were taking time off of work to hang out with their friends and family. You had wanted nothing more than to relax in your hot tub with a glass of sparkling cranberry juice and scrumptious holiday cookies, but being a pro-hero meant sacrifices.

You were signed on as a sidekick in the UA Hero Agency’s Tokyo branch. The UA Hero Agency was exactly that: a hero agency formed by the most illustrious graduating class at UA. Not everyone from their class eventually went into the agency, but they were a large agency, with around 36 pro-heroes working full-time. This meant that they had several branches. You, a recent graduate from UA, knew these heroes who were a year above you at UA. They were special. When you started at UA, there were already whispers about “the Class of Legends”. Every single person who graduated the year after had been through enormous trauma during their years at UA. You thought that they were true heroes: strong, unbending even in the face of overwhelming adversity. They were only in their first year when they had been attacked by villains: twice. One of them had even been kidnapped. You couldn’t even begin to fathom how hard they must have worked to get to where they were today. They were resilient, and it showed. The UA Hero Agency is now one of the top Hero Agencies in not only Japan, but also the world. In fact, with their combined power, you wouldn’t be surprised if they happened to make an international branch. You knew that some of the heroes at your agency, Can’t Stop Sparkling and Pony, wanted to start something overseas but didn’t yet have the manpower to make it happen. You were sure that within a few years, their ranks bolstered by new graduates, they would take UA to the international stage.

So it was Christmas Eve. Even though you wanted the chance to chill out at home with some relaxing instrumental jazz and freshly baked sweets, you were out patrolling Tokyo’s vibrant shopping sector instead, on the lookout for villains who wished to ruin everyone else’s holiday fun. The mall was abuzz with shoppers, some hanging out in the verandas with cup of hot cocoa in their hands, others hurrying through, their arms loaded with shopping bags, searching for last-minute gifts they had previously forgotten to purchase. It was definitely not the worst patrol ever. The cozy atmosphere almost had you sighing in contentment, before you heard a voice shout, “thief!”

Of course a villain had to ruin the fun. They had a tendency to do that. You weren’t very comfortable using your quirk in such a loud, crowded area, but you bet that you could catch a small-time shoplifter without it anyways. You raced through the crowd, tracing the voice that had called out moments earlier. You saw a tuft of orange hair weaving unnaturally through the crowd of shoppers, and sprinted forwards, your eyes locked on the target. You followed the path they had created unknowingly for you, trying not to draw attention to yourself. It would only slow you down and light a fire under the criminal, which was exactly what you didn’t need.

Within moments, you caught up to them. Sneaking up behind them, you snatched their wrist and smacked your quirk-suppressing cuffs on it.

“Fuck!” He swore. How did he get caught so quickly? He could have sworn that there was no one chasing him. Pesky heroes. Relying on the comparative lack of heroes patrolling during the holidays, as well as the customary holiday shopping rush, was a sound strategy. He had done the same in previous years without getting caught. If only that damned, nosy civilian hadn’t shouted…

“Please do not resist arrest. It will be easier for all parties involved. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. There are eyewitnesses to your crime. Please drop your bags and hold out your other wrist.” You said calmly. You had a beautiful voice. It was calming and had a lilt to it that was a byproduct of your quirk. The villain did as you said, knowing that there would be no escape.

You sighed. Pressing a button on the comms situated in your ear, you reported the situation back to your office. You then called the nearest detective station and waited until their patrol car got here so you could hand the man over. Glancing at your watch, you realized your patrol was almost over. You did one last sweep of the premises, then headed back to the agency.

Today, the agency was the emptiest you had ever seen it. It was a large building, with 20 above-ground floors. In fact, it was essentially a mini-city. There was a heated indoor pool, a sauna, an elite gym that would make fitness junkies drool, a massage and spa, three verandas, and a rooftop greenhouse. It had a café reminiscent of the UA cafeteria, and all types of cuisines were available. In fact, Lunch Rush’s niece was working in the café, and the food was always heavenly. Sometimes, heroes from other agencies would drop off at the UA Hero Agency just for a bite of food after a long patrol. It was the unofficial headquarters of all the hero agencies in Japan, and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

Thinking about the café, you were suddenly hungry for some pad thai. Arriving at the door, you dropped off your comms and cloak at the door to your office and headed down to the café for some food.

“(Y/N)!!! You’re back!” Your friend squealed.

“Yeah Mina, just got off of patrol. Arrested this shoplifter trying to take advantage of the holiday chaos.” Spying her coat in her hands, you realized she was on her way out.

“Cool! You’re always so efficient with your arrests. Anyhow, I’m going to head home. My parents and I are getting some dinner together. I’ll be back for the party, yeah? Don’t open any presents without me!” Mina waved, a grin on her face. You assured her that you would make sure everyone waited for her to celebrate. You wanted to see your parents too, but they were currently on an international tour. They were famous singers, pioneers of a new genre of music. It was a sort of lullaby, but it wasn’t meant to put people to sleep. It was more of an enchanting, calming kind of music present only in fantasy books before your mother brought it to life. She was wildly popular, and your father was only too happy to support her. Speaking of which, your phone rang in your pocket. You took it out and accepted the video call.

“(Y/N)! It’s so nice to see you baby! How’s it going? I know you had patrols today but I forgot about the time difference and your father had to stop me before I called you and distracted you during patrols! He’s always so paranoid you’ll hurt yourself, sweetie. Stay safe, okay?” Your mother was always cheerful.

“Yeah mom, I know. I’m doing pretty well, actually. I arrested a shoplifter today,” you replied, recounting the same story you just told Mina. “Everything’s pretty calm here. How’s your tour going? I missed you,” you asked her.

“That’s good to hear sweetie!” You mom smiled. “The tour is amazing. I’ve never had such an international turnout before! Maybe I need to start considering singing in other languages! Everyone’s always so supportive.” You smiled at her, happy that she was enjoying herself.

“You deserve it Mom. I’m glad that your music is appealing to an international audience. You always work so hard. It’s nice to see that people appreciate all that you’ve done.”

“Thanks sweetie. Here, I’ll let your dad talk to you for a bit.” There was a bit of shuffling on her end as she handed the phone over to your father.

“Hey sweetheart,” your father’s voice boomed through the phone. You held your phone away from your ear, wincing a bit. Quickly dialing the volume down, you responded.

“Hey Papa. Mom said the tour was going well.”

“Yeah, it is. How’s the holidays going for you?” You heard the slight sadness in his voice. You knew that he wanted Mom to take a break in the middle of the tour and spend Christmas with you, but Mom was adamant about it. It was a holiday tour, after all, and tickets had already been booked. Some people were going to see her concerts as a way of celebrating, and she wouldn’t let them down.

“I’m doing good. It’s pretty peaceful here. No big missions or anything,” you say, in an attempt to comfort him.

“Ok, that’s good to hear sweetheart. We miss you.”

“I miss you too, Papa. Don’t worry though, I’ll be here when you guys get back. Have fun in Paris!” You replied, suddenly feeling sad. “Bye Papa! Bye Mom! I’ll see you guys soon!” You blew a kiss to the camera and hung up. Sighing a little, you trotted towards Emiko, the revered chef.

“Can I have a pad thai please?” You asked, putting your phone back in your pocket.

“One pad thai, coming right up!” Emiko beamed. “So, I hear there’s a party tonight. Should I make anything special?”

You thought about it for a bit, then shook your head. “No, you don’t have to. It’s mostly just for the presents. We already have the booze covered. I think Momo is ordering some special hors d’œuvres already and Sato is taking care of the cookies. Are you coming?”

Emiko shook her head. “I’m spending the night with my family and my boyfriend. I think I might make you guys some tiramisu though. I have all the ingredients and I don’t want them to spoil since I’ll be gone for a few days. Desserts are my specialty anyways,” she added. Then, with a knowing smirk, she prodded your arm. “Do you have anyone on your mind? You know, Mina and Ochaco hung some mistletoe up before they left…”

You blushed. Of course they did. Your friends knew all about your one-sided crush. You also knew that he would still be working here. He was always working. You were pretty sure that he had the mind of a robot, focused only on his work and his legacy. With those hand motions he made, you weren’t surprised if he actually was one. You shook your head to get rid of these thoughts. Emiko didn’t know. At least, you didn’t think she knew. You really regretted telling Mina about your little crush. With her tendency to run her mouth, you wouldn’t be surprised if the entire agency knew already. With the exception of your actual crush, of course. He was simply too socially dense to see the signs and too uninterested to pry.

Taking your pad thai, you scurried away from a smug Emiko and plopped yourself down at a table. You dug into your noodles and sighed in contentment. Maybe working during the holidays wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like you had friends who weren’t as busy as you were anyways.

You finished the last of your noodles, then got up and took your tray to the recycling area. Heading up to your office, you paused by Ingenium’s office. His door was cracked open, and you peeked inside. You had to muffle your giggles at the sight.

He was wrapping presents with such a focused look on his face that you found absolutely adorable. His brows were furrowed, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. He had a spool of ribbons laying on the floor next to him, as well as elegant white-and-gold wrapping paper and a roll of tape. What really amused you was the pile of paper, ribbons, and tape that was bunched together and tossed aside, obviously a result of trial and error. Iida looked frustrated. He had already put his presents in boxes so that they were almost uniform in size and easier to wrap, but he was clearly struggling. You estimated that he had forty boxes littering the floor, but he only had five wrapped. You watched as he ripped off the wrapping on the newest box he had started on, muttering about how hard it was to get straight edges with the wrapping paper. Knocking lightly on his door, you stuck your head around the doorway.

“Need some help?” You asked.

Iida looked up from unspooling more wrapping paper. His face brightened at your offer.

“Yes please, (Y/L/N)-san! I would greatly appreciate your aid. I seem to be having trouble folding the paper and trying to tape it together without it sliding from its position. If you could hold the paper in place while I tape, that would be wonderful!” He looked so excited, almost like a puppy.

You smiled at his eagerness. “Of course, I’d be happy to help.”

You sat down across from him and held the wrapping paper in place while he tore off a piece of tape. The two of you worked in tandem for around an hour, until you finished wrapping all the presents. You sat back, face flushed, and surveyed your work. All forty presents, wrapped with elegant paper and tied up prettily with a gold organza ribbon, were laid out neatly on the floor. It was a satisfying sight. Rolling out your back and cracking your knuckles, you got up from the floor.

“Those were a lot of presents, Iida-san,” you yawned, stretching your arms back like a cat. “Do you want to go down and get some hot cocoa? Emiko already left, but I can make us some.”

Iida got up too. His glasses were slightly askew on his face, and he had a dazed look about him. “That would be greatly appreciated, (Y/L/N)-san. Thank you very much for helping me wrap my presents. It was irresponsible of me to leave them until the last minute.”

“Of course, Iida-san,” you replied. “We were all so busy before the holidays I’m surprised you wanted to wrap everything as fancy as you did. I know that I just stuck my presents in bags, covered them with tissue paper, and called it a day! You didn’t even buy those sticky bows, you tied them with real ribbons. That’s dedication!”

Iida blushed furiously at your compliments. It’s the perfect time to confess to her, he thought. We’re alone, and there’s no one here to see if she rejects me. He took in a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to say something to you, but before he could, you grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway for some much-desired peppermint hot cocoa.

Humming lightly to yourself as you lead Iida down the halls, you entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Releasing his hand, you clasped your hands behind your back, hoping he wouldn’t notice how they were shaking slightly. Wow, you thought. I really did that. I really just snatched his hand like that. Ugh, he probably hated it every second of the way, he’s just too polite to say anything. God, my palms are so sweaty. Why did I do this to myself?

Unbeknownst to you, Iida was having a mental freak-out of his own. Ahh! She grabbed my hand! And she didn’t seem to hate it! Does this mean she really doesn’t mind my company? Maybe I actually do have a chance with her! No, stop, he told himself. She was probably just tired of how I was staring at her and decided to do something about it. Ugh, I was staring at her, wasn’t I? God, I’m such a creep. Iida wiped his palms on his slacks, then reached up and adjusted his glasses, trying to hide the obvious blush on his face.

“Ding!”

The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and the two of you stepped out into the lobby. The decorations had been up for two weeks already, but it still took your breath away every time you saw it. There were garlands of lights strung high all over the ceiling, and dainty little ornaments hung from the chandeliers. There was a huge Christmas tree next to the fireplace, the floor around it coated in snowy fuzz. You had to resist the temptation to jump in on multiple occasions. You couldn’t help yourself! It just looked so fuzzy and comfortable, like clouds of cotton candy…

The Christmas tree was decorated tastefully. There was a surprising lack of hero-themed ornaments, mostly due to Momo’s elegant decorating. You had all been in agreement when you refused to let Kaminari or Mineta even touch the tree.

Making your way to the kitchen, you relaxed a little when you breathed in the apple-scented candles. It was a surprising choice for a holiday scent. Usually, pine or cinnamon were much more popular scents. You had gotten the privilege to choose the candles though, and although you almost fainted sniffing at every single scent in the candle store, you decided on apple. It was nice and refreshing, with just a subtle touch towards the holiday season. You liked the change of pace from the usual holiday scents, and it seemed it was growing on everyone else too. You stopped at the cabinets that contained the hot cocoa bombs. Emiko had seen these as an online trend with the food community, and she had made dozens of them “as an experiment”. Everyone fell in love with them (because heroes are allowed to be childish!) and they stuck. Now, the agency had an entire cabinet in the kitchen dedicated to the delightful goodies.

“Oat or regular?” You asked Iida.

Iida had, unfortunately, spaced out again. He was thinking about how cute you looked, standing on your tiptoes to reach the cabinet.

“Hello? Earth to Iida-san,” you turned around and waved a hand in front of his face. “You okay there?”

Iida blinked and had to recompose himself again. He kept getting distracted. This was not good. Not good at all.

“Regular is fine,” he replied, his face flushing once again. He really needed to stop daydreaming.

You poured out some milk into a jug and heated it. Then, you placed a hot cocoa bomb in each mug, licking some sprinkles off your fingers as you did so. Once the milk was ready, you filled each mug to the brim, careful not to spill any. It smelled absolutely delectable. Taking a spoon from the cabinets, you stirred both cups slowly, letting the chocolate melt at an even pace.

Iida was watching all of this, and he was still having an internal debate over when to confess. Would it be better to wait until you both finished the hot cocoa? Should he even confess to you on Christmas? What if his confession ruined your holidays? He began to sweat a little, his anxiety rising with each thought. Before he could come up with an excuse to escape, you stuffed a mug into his large hands.

“All done!” You exclaimed, taking a sip of your own cocoa, careful not to burn yourself.

Iida was not so lucky. Distracted by his thoughts, he raised the mug to his lips and gulped.

“Shit!” Iida swore. You blinked at him, a little shocked since he never swore, then immediately put your mug down and raced to the refrigerator to collect some ice cubes. Iida promptly put his offensive mug of cocoa on the counter, glaring at it like it just murdered his dog. Dumping some ice cubes in a glass, you hurried back towards Iida and popped one in his mouth.

“You really should be more careful next time, Iida-san,” you chided. “I just made it! You shouldn’t take such large swigs of a piping hot drink!”

“Sorry, I got distracted.” Iida replied absentmindedly.

“Distracted? By what?” Your curiosity was now piqued.

Iida’s face turned ever redder than before. He averted his eyes and mumbled out some quiet words that you couldn’t quite catch.

“Sorry, what was that?” You gazed up at him. “I couldn’t hear what you said.”

Iida’s hands were stuck to his thighs to prevent himself from freaking you out with aggressive hand gestures, and he didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous in his entire life. He cleared his throat. “I said that I got distracted by you.”

Now it was your turn to blush. “Really?” Your voice was quiet, almost a whisper. You weren’t sure if you heard that right, and your heart was beating so fast you were afraid that he’d hear it.

Iida finally looked at you. “Really,” he confirmed.

You wrung your hands and stepped towards him. Raising your eyes to meet his, your voice a half-whisper, you gulped before your next words.

“I like you.”

Blinking twice, Iida unclasped his hands and pinched his forearm. He winced in pain, then blinked again. You laughed at his antics, then clapped a hand playfully on his bicep.

“I’m real, Iida-san. I’m right here!”

Slowly, a grin crept up Iida’s face. “Really?” He mumbled, obviously still not entirely convinced he wasn’t dreaming.

You chuckled at how you had just asked the same thing moments earlier, but then you grabbed his large hand with your smaller one and squeezed.

“Really.” You smiled bashfully.

The two of you stood in silence for a while, then Iida spoke up.

“I like you too, (Y/L/N)-san.” Feeling bold now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated, he drew his other arm across your shoulders and drew you into a tight hug. You sighed, feeling comfortable and safe in his arms. A part of you wanted to stay like this forever and never wanted him to let go.

“Would you like to go on a date with me on Saturday afternoon at 3?” Iida’s voice rumbled in your ear.

You were bursting with excitement. A date! A real, formal, date! “I’d love to, but why so specific?” You giggled.

“Ahh, well, my patrol ends at 2:30, so I thought-”

Of course Iida volunteered for patrols the weekend after Christmas. Did this man ever take a break?

“No problem at all, Iida-san. That sounds lovely.”

Iida released you from the hug and rubbed lightly at the back of his neck. “You can… you can call me Tenya, if you’d like.”

You were smiling so big that you feared your face would split. “I’d love that, Tenya.” His eyes crinkled when you called him by his first name. “And you can call me (Y/N).”

Iida nodded his head. “(Y/N). I like that,” he said to himself. He muttered your name a few times, getting used to the way it rolled off his tongue. You blushed and hugged him again, pressing your nose into his chest. He was just too adorable.

You wanted to stay like that, but your phone dinging incessantly in your pocket made it uncomfortable.

Mina

(Y/N)!!! my parents ordered this WHOLE-ASS TURKEY for dinner with JUST THE 3 OF US!!! how we gon finish it all?!?

Mina

*burps* we did it. we finished all of it. the whole turkey. (Y/N). we. finished. a. whole. fucking. turkey. pls send help i can’t walk (Y/NNNNNNNN)!!!

(Y/N)

want me to call u an uber … mina mina MINA MINA DID U PASS OUT im calling an uber mina istg

Quickly sending an Uber to the restaurant Mina was at, you put your phone back in your pocket and looked up at Tenya.

“Hey. Do you wanna get your presents and put them under the tree?” You asked.

Tenya quickly straightened up. “Thank you for reminding me, (Y/N). I had almost forgotten about them!”

“No problem!” You chirped. “Let’s go!” You took his hand in yours again and lead the way to the elevator. As the elevator chimed, the two of you waltzed in, hands still clasped together.

Humming a little tune to yourself, you stepped out of the elevator. You and Tenya entered his office, and each returned with an armful of presents, carefully stacked as to avoid damaging the delicate ribbons the two of you had spent so much time tying.

It was a tradition in the agency to get everyone something small. However, you participated in gift exchanges every year. This year, it was a Secret Santa-type exchange, but the UA Hero Agency did Secret Santa’s a bit differently. Instead of giving your partner the gift on Christmas Eve, the gifts were labeled with typed name tags in generic Times New Roman font. Then, there was the guessing portion. Everyone got 3 guesses at the party when they first open it, and after that, they get one guess per week. Whoever held out the longest (avoided being guessed) would win a batch of Sato’s homemade cookies, a week of free food from Emiko, and two patrol coupons (basically the adult version of homework passes). This year, you had drawn Bakugo as your partner. You’d decided to get him a ¥4,000 gift card to his favorite ramen restaurant, as well as a high-quality leather jacket. The gifts were pretty generic, and you thought that you had a chance at the prize. You chuckled to yourself when you remembered that last year, Momo had been so frustrated when she hadn’t figured out who had given her a pretty earring and necklace set after two months that she’d used Creation to make fingerprint dust and swiped it all over the box. It had turned out to be Todoroki. Needless to say, he’d won the prize that year.

The two of you made a few more trips, carrying gifts from his office to the tree. Checking the time, you saw that it had been an hour since Ochaco’s patrol ended. Right as you were about to call her, the front door to the lobby burst open.

“(Y/N)!!!” Your friend screeched, holding up a kitten with fur the color of cinnamon. “Look what I found on my patrol! I had to take her to the vet really quickly to make sure she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t seem to have an owner. Just look at her!”

You beamed. The kitten was absolutely ADORABLE. And not only was Ochaco safe, she brought a kitten back with her!

“Can I hold her?” You asked.

“Duh!” Ochaco passed the kitten from her arms to yours. Behind her, you saw Bakugou walking sullenly, arms drawn tight across his chest. You stifled a giggle at the sight. He obviously wanted a turn with the kitten too, but his pride wouldn’t let him as for it.

“We were coming back from patrols and I saw this little one stuck in a tree! And when I floated up to take her down, she just looked so sad. There wasn’t a collar on her or anything, so we took her to the vet. It seems like she was abandoned,” Ochaco pouted. “And so we asked the vet to vaccinate her and everything, and we brought her back here! Can we keep her? Mr. Grumpy over there already said yes.”

Tenya looked like he was about to object, seeing as this building had a no-pets policy, but then he saw how your face lit up and the idea and changed his mind. Maybe having a pet on the premises wouldn’t be too bad, he conceded. It’s not like there were other people sharing the building with them anyways.

“Of course we can keep her!” You squealed. Bakugou huffed a sigh. He’d have to deal with all these idiots fawning over the kitten for weeks, and he wasn’t happy about that, but there was no denying that the thing was cute. He’d mellowed out since his high school days and seeing a therapist for anger management classes certainly helped.

The kitten felt warm and fuzzy in your arms, and when you stroked it down its back with the palm of your hand, it let out a satisfied purr.

“What should we name her?” Ochaco asked.

You thought about it for a moment. “Well, since you found her, and her fur is brownish, why not Coco?”

“Coco! I love it!” She beamed. Coco purred again. “It looks like she likes it too!”

You smiled and looked down on the kitty. “Coco,” You murmured. “Welcome to the family.”

Just then, Mina burst through the doors, brimming with energy and not looking at all as if she’d fainted from turkey overconsumption.

“Mina!” You ran towards her. “I thought you fainted or something!” You accused, poking her in the chest. “You didn’t even leave me on read!! You just LEFT!”

“Chill, chill, girly, I’m alive and kicking! Just had to take a quick nap because of my digestive woes,” She flashed you a big thumbs-up. “And what’s this I see? Do we have an agency pet now? Did Shinso sneak it in his pocket from the cat cafe?”

“Shinso what?”

“Cat cafe?”

“I KNEW there was something fishy about his jacket the other day!”

You, Tenya, and Ochaco said at the same time.

Mina stared at all of you, then shook her head. “Never mind.”

Turning around, you looked at Ochaco. “I wanna hear about this later, you hear?”

“Alright, alright!” Mina shouted. “Change into your holiday gear! Let’s get this rolling!”

You had made a sweater especially for tonight. Knitting was a great way to relax, and huddling up in a cozy armchair with the soft yarn, some hot cocoa, and your favorite book, you had finished your holiday-themed sweater in two weeks. Now, you would finally get the chance to wear it. The sweater you made was white, a soft gold-and-silver threading woven through in the pattern of snowflakes. It was a basic winter pattern, but you were proud of your work.

Setting Coco down on the couch, you headed into the locker rooms to change into your sweater and some flannel pajama bottoms. Walking out, you noticed Tenya was still in his business attire, which looked pretty uncomfortable by your standards, although it did fit him nicely.

“Tenya,” you called out. “Are you wearing that to the party?”

He turned around at your voice, looking slightly taken aback. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering,” you replied. Good thing that your present to him was a nice, cozy, hand-knit sweater. You may or may not have thought about making him a matching one, but then you’d decided that it was too forward.

“You look…” Tenya stared at you. “You look…cute,” he said, with a small blush on his face.

Blushing at his compliment, you smiled and ducked your head. “Thanks.”

“Your sweater…it looks nice,” he added.  

Playing with the hems of your sleeves, you smiled up at him bashfully. “Thanks. I made it myself. I really like knitting. It’s kind of therapeutic.”

“Oh, wow. You are truly very talented, (Y/N)!” Tenya praised.

“Thanks.” You rubbed the back of your neck. It seemed like you had lost the ability to say anything else. Why did you suck so much at making small talk?

Just then, Mina stepped out from the locker room and saved you from any further embarrassment.

“Hey, has Yaomomo come down yet?” Mina asked.

“No, she hasn’t. Do you want me to go get her?” You answered.

“Nah, it’s alright, I’ll just text her real quick.” Mina pulled out her phone, fingers dancing rapidly across the screen, then put it back in her pocket. Minutes later, Momo stepped out of the elevator, already dressed in a red sweater and white jeans. She always looked so put-together. You were sure that she had a second quirk.

“Yaomomo!” Mina screeched, running up to her friend. “You’ll never guess what I ate for dinner!”

You groaned as Mina recounted her dining disaster. You loved Mina, but her tendency to tell her experiences to everyone multiple times could sometimes get a little annoying. Trying your best to tune her out, you tapped Tenya’s shoulder and moved to settle on the couch with Coco.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Mina shouted. “Come here!”

Begrudgingly, you stood up again, having just sat down moments earlier. “What is it, Mina?”

“We forgot to introduce Coco! Yaomomo hasn’t seen her yet!”

Oh right. You did forget. You lifted Coco with both hands, then scurried over to where Ochaco, Mina, and Momo huddled. Momo let out a quiet “aww” when she saw the kitty and lifted her manicured hands in a silent invitation to hold her.

You gently placed Coco in her outstretched arms and was about to turn and leave when Mina grabbed your elbow. “Not so fast, (Y/N),” she scolded you sternly. “Picture time!”

Mina took out her phone and swiped open the camera app. You girls all huddled together as she snapped a picture for the fans.

Settling back down with Coco on the couch, surrounded by your friends, you didn’t think that you had ever felt happier. One by one, more of your friends and coworkers began to trickle in, until finally, when a disgruntled Jirou arrived with a protesting Kaminari in tow, Mina stood up.

“Alright! Everyone’s here now, so let’s get this party rolling!”

She bounced off to the kitchen to grab plates for everyone. You could smell Sato’s freshly-baked cookies from here, and your stomach growled in response. Remembering the tiramisu that Emiko had made, you followed Mina into the kitchen.

Mina held a stack of plates that covered half her face. It was wobbling slightly, the entire thing almost toppling over multiple times. You had gotten out the fancier cake platter and was currently in hyper-focus mode, carefully moving the tiramisu from its cake mold onto the crystal platter. You breathed out a sigh of relief as the process was finally completed and the cake hadn’t been ruined.

Holding the crystal tray with both hands, you stepped out into the lobby, marched over to the coffee table in the center, and slowly set the tray down.

“Hey guys, Emiko made us some tiramisu,” You called out. “Come here if you want some.” You held a cake knife in your hand and began serving everyone.

Tenya watched all of this with barely-hidden admiration. You were just so competent. So hard-working, so kind, and so wonderfully skilled at everything you do. Even the things that you weren’t good at, you tried your hardest to learn and to improve. He was definitely in deep, and to be honest, he didn’t mind a single bit. You were worthy of being admired, and he vowed that he would let you know in all the ways he could.

As you served the last slice of tiramisu to Ojiro, you carried the cake platter back to the kitchen and sat down next to Shinsou, who was, not surprisingly, hogging all of Coco’s attention. Seeing you, Coco scrambled over Shinsou’s lap and faceplanted into yours. You laughed at her enthusiasm and snorted when you heard Shinsou mutter “traitor” underneath his breath.

“So Shinsou,” you started casually. “What’s this I hear about you stealing cats from the cat café?”

Shinsou’s face immediately turned a tomato red. He put his hands up defensively. “No, wait, you have it all wrong- I swear- who told you about it anyways? Never mind,” he stopped his waving motions. You snickered. You were definitely getting the full story out of him later. For now, you had things to do.

Strolling over casually to Tenya with Coco still in your arms, you very sneakily dropped her, front paws landing gracefully, onto Bakugou’s head.

“Hey! What’s this damn cat doing here!” Bakugou yelped. Coco also yelped, and it came to you that dropping her on Bakugou’s spikey hair was probably not the best idea ever. However, as Coco quickly scampered down and curled up on Bakugou’s shoulder, and Kirishima was sitting next to him to make sure he didn’t kill the cat, you felt a sense of triumph. Bakugo was smiling. Not smirking, not grinning maniacally as he beat someone up, but genuinely smiling. You gave yourself an internal high five as you moved onto your next goal.

You walked hesitantly towards Tenya, and when he turned his head towards you, about to ask what you were doing, you quickly linked your hand with his and started leading him towards the rest of the group.

“(Y-Y/N) ?” Tenya sputtered. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” You replied cheekily. “I want to hold hands with you!”

“B-but, do they know?” Tenya gestured nervously with his free hand.

“Nope, but they’re about to,” you grimaced, thinking about all the teasing you’d have to endure from your friends later. Better to just get this over with during the party, when everyone had the attention span of a goldfish and any embarrassing moments would hopefully be forgotten moments later when more exciting things came along, such as Mineta’s annual lingerie gift. Whatever the powers that be were doing, they were definitely not doing the world any favors when they let Mineta draw a girl for the Secret Santa every single year. But, for all the bad things you could say about Mineta, he definitely consumes enough material to have at least semi-decent taste in lingerie. Surprising, and sometimes gross, but not entirely unwelcomed if you could manage to forget who gifted it. The most disturbing thing was he knew all the girls’ sizes. You tried your hardest to not think about that. It’s not like you could erase his memory anyways.

You settled down with Tenya on a vacant couch, inwardly counting the minutes until someone noticed your position. Tenya looked vaguely uncomfortable, his posture ramrod straight, and you squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“No one’s going to judge or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” you whispered into his ear. “And besides, at least half the girls already knew I had a crush on you, so this won’t entirely come as news to them.”

Tenya relaxed slightly at that, then stiffened again when he noticed a pair of eyes glancing his way.

Midoriya had been excited at seeing Ochaco for the first part of the evening, but then had wondered where his other friend had gone. He knew Tsu was in southern Japan, as she couldn’t stand the cold and was operating in the warm coastal areas instead, but Iida being absent was strange. He had searched around the lobby, and when his eyes descended upon you and Iida cuddling on the couch, he was intrigued, to say the least.

He stared at the two of you for a solid minute, not wanting to disturb your peace. Slowly, he turned back to Ochaco, thinking that it wasn’t his place to draw attention to the two of you.

Ochaco, however, had no such qualms. Noticing how Deku began to space out during their conversation, she followed his line of vision to the two of you, blinked twice to check if she was seeing it right, then immediately let out a squeal.

Heads turned at the sound, and in moments, everyone was staring at you and Tenya curiously. You hadn’t noticed the attention yet, but Tenya had, and he grew stiffer and stiffer until you finally looked up at his face with furrowed brows.

“Tenya, what’s wrong?” You whispered. “Do you not enjoy cuddling? I can stop if you’d like,” your lips were pressed together in concern.

“I-it’s not that,” Tenya whispered back. “Look.”

You finally raised your head from his chest and saw thirty pairs of eyes staring back. After a few moments of silence, the room erupted.

“Iida-kun! Why didn’t you tell us?” Midoriya was the first to raise a question.

“(Y/NNNNNN)!!!!!!!!!!!” Mina practically screamed as she ran towards you. She clasped her hands dramatically over her heart. “YOU DID IT YOU DID IT YOU DID IT OMG YOU GUYS ARE SO ADORABLE EEEEE!!!!!!”

Half the room winced at her loud tone, and you quickly moved Coco from your lap to save her from the incoming bear hug.

Mina launched herself in your arms, then stepped back and shook your shoulders until you felt your brain rattling around in your skull like soupy mush.

“(Y/N)! What did I say, huh? Bitch I TOLD you that he liked you too, and you wait three goddamn months to finally make a move!?! Honey-”

Your face flushed red. Gently, you pushed her away. “Mina, stop,” you whispered, horrified that she was making a scene. It was too late. Ochaco and Hagakure rushed towards you, Momo trailing more slowly behind them. The boys were stunned for a bit, since you had always seemed so quiet and shy, much less Iida’s feelings towards you. As their initial shock wore off, Midoriya trailed after Momo to approach Iida.

“Congratulations, Iida-kun!” He held up his arms in front of his chest. “You and (Y/N) are really cute together!”

“Yeah bro! That’s so manly that you finally confessed!” Kirishima added, with a quirk of his lips and a thumbs-up.

“Tch. Fucking coward. Took you idiots three fucking months to confess, huh.” Bakugou smirked, but you could tell he wasn’t really annoyed. You actually somewhat got along with him, due to all the times Mina would drag you to hang out with her friends.

You struggled vainly against the arms of your friends encasing you. “Guys,” you pleaded. “Let me out, please.”

Reluctantly, the girls let go, and you immediately tried to redirect their attention. “Shouldn’t we start opening presents?” You asked hopefully.

“Oh, you sneaky little thing,” Mina wagged her finger in your face. “Don’t think we’ll forget about this, (Y/N), but you’re right, we should start opening presents or we’ll be here all night.”

“We’ll be here all night anyways,” Todoroki pointed out.

“You knew what I meant,” Mina sighed.

Mina enlisted the help of Ojiro and Shoji to pass out the Secret Santa presents; you’d all open the rest of your personal presents later.

The best way to go about this, after years of trial and error, was for everyone to open their presents at the same time. It would simply take too long for everyone to open theirs one by one, and you’d all realized that the people who opened theirs first had a significant disadvantage when it came to guessing who their partner was, as the ones who opened theirs later had the benefit of some options already being eliminated. When you opened your present, you tried your hardest to hold back a squeal. It was a limited-edition album from your favorite artist! You hugged it close to your chest, and immediately knew who gave it to you. Jirou. Her parents were musicians too, and you had bonded over your love of this artist. It was a thoughtful gift, and you were glad that she had given it to you, even though it immediately gave her away.

The rest of your friends opened their presents. Poor Momo. No wonder Mineta had looked so gleeful earlier. He had been her Secret Santa and had gotten her a lacy black lingerie set. Her face was so red you were beginning to get scared that she would hyperventilate, but you had to admit that it was a pretty nice set. Mineta was basically drooling at this point, and Jirou was trying to comfort her while sending a death glare towards Mineta. Mineta, meanwhile, had received a new video game. Sero had received a large pack of farmer’s market coupons, as well as some homemade mochi from Ochaco, who had blushed and apologized profusely for not being able to afford something better for him. Sero just grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, saying that it was completely okay and that he appreciated her effort into gift-giving. She had brightened up a bit at that.

Koda had received a new hamster wheel along with some toys for his various pets. Shoji had been gifted a comfortable-looking poncho, as well as three pairs of matching gloves. Ochaco had received a generous sum of money, Midoriya had gotten a new set of comic books, and Iida had received a beanie and a multiflavored pack of tea. Aoyama had received a makeup set, and had gifted a makeup set as well, evidenced by his inability to contain himself and pounced on Hagakure, asking if she liked it. Hagakure was ecstatic, babbling about how she could finally show her face and how she’d never really been able to afford a full set before and how Aoyama was so considerate.

Sato had received a new baking pan, as well as cute mittens and a trending recipe book. He had given Setsuna a batch of cookies, as well as a gallon of frozen cookie dough with instructions on how to make it. There wasn’t really a point in him trying to win the contest, since he would be one of the people providing the prize. Mina had gotten fuzzy socks and a blanket, Kirishima had received a new pair of tennis shoes, and Jirou had been gifted a new pair of headphones. Ojiro had received some sort of custom tail armor with spikes along with an Amazon gift card, and Todoroki had gotten a hand-made red-and-white sweater with a red reindeer nose smack in the middle, along with a gift card to a hair salon, tucked into a bouquet of red-and-white candy canes. The only person you could think of that would go so far into the color scheme was Hagakure, who seemed like just the type to make an ugly sweater for fun. Shinsou had received earmuffs, a silk eye mask with a note (“to help you sleep”), and some gourmet coffee beans (“in case you still can’t”). Mina had seen the little notes that came with his gifts and started teasing him relentlessly about how sweet his Secret Santa was and how it was so cute that he had a secret admirer. Shinsou looked very nonchalant about it all and grumbled about how he just wanted to pet Coco and then go to bed.

Finally, Kaminari received some Pokémon cards to add to his collection (yes, he collected Pokémon cards, what was wrong with that?) along with another Pikachu plush, as per usual. It was an unspoken tradition that whoever drew Kaminari for their Secret Santa would get him a Pikachu plush along with whatever else they decided to give him. He had about twenty, collected over various years from birthdays and holidays. If this kept up, he’d be able to fill an entire closet with them once he retired.

As the chatter slowly died down, you snuggled into Tenya again. At some point during the present exchange, Shinsou had stolen Coco from the couch you occupied. Stifling a yawn, you pulled out a bag and handed it to Tenya.

“What’s this?” He asked, a slight smile on his face.

“It’s your gift, silly,” you booped him on the nose with your index finger.

“Ah, I see,” he replied, still smiling. “Do you want me to open it?”

“Duh,” you giggled into his chest. “What else would you do with it?”

Chuckling lightly, Tenya removed the tissue paper from the top of the bag. He stuck his hand inside, then pulled out a sweater. The sweater that you’d knitted for him. It was navy, the color of the yarn matching his hair, with gold and white snowflake detailing. His heart skipped a beat when he realized that you had made this especially for him, with your own hands. Putting the sweater down beside him, he wrapped his arms around you and pressed his face to your hair.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” he whispered. “I love it.”

You flushed, but you hugged him back. “You’d better,” you teased. “I spent two weeks on that.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” Tenya ruffled your hair.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, just soaking in the pleasant atmosphere. Yawning, you stretched out your arms, careful not to hit Tenya in the face. You gently pushed his arm off of your torso and got up to go to the bathroom.

When you came back, Tenya was nowhere to be seen. You searched around the common area and stepped briefly into the kitchen, but he wasn’t there. Sighing, you grabbed your parka and padded outside.

“Tenya?” You called out as you stuck your head around the doorframe. He was with Kirishima and Todoroki, clearing the entryway of the building of snow. You leaned back along the handrails of the stairs and watched. Your friends were all just so nice. So caring, so wonderful, so kind. As Todoroki evaporated the last bit of snow, you stepped aside to let them all head back in. As Tenya reached you, he paused briefly, looking up.

“What?” You tilted your head up also, curious to see what he was staring at. Oh. So this was where Mina and Ochaco had decided to hang the mistletoe. If Tenya hadn’t looked up, you would’ve missed its existence entirely. You looked back down at Tenya to gauge his reaction.

He gulped, and softly taking your chin into his hand, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss on your lips. You leaned up to meet him, rising slightly on your toes and wrapping your arms around his neck. The kiss was long and sweet, and you were both a bit breathless when you let go.

You smiled sweetly up at him and took his strong hand in yours. Standing on your tiptoes again, you pressed another soft kiss to his cheek.

“Merry Christmas.”

Masterlist

[suchalonelysunflower]

Strings Attached (m.c)

Pairing: Michael Clifford X Reader

Summary: It’s been four months since your break up with Michael, but you still have to give him one last birthday gift. ~ A small piece for @devilatmydoor and @blackbutterfliescal Michael’s birthday celebration ❤️🦋

Warnings: Soft Angst, language, overthinking, some bad grammar probably (English is not my first language, I’m sorry)

Word Count: 1.9 k

Author’s note: Well hello there 👀 I have been struggling to find a promt for this Michael fic but I think I got it right this time ✌🏼 This is a genderless fic and I hope you can all enjoy it ✨ Reblogs, likes and comments/feedbacks are always welcome and encouraged! I love to hear about you guys ❤️ Hope you like it and Happy reading 🦋

My materialist and other Michael fics if you wanna be tag in future pieces please let me know!

Picture from Pinterest

You have to stop staring. It’s been half an hour already, probably even more. It’s almost pathetic, but you had to make a choice and it’s a matter of now or never. Though, you had to admit that the “never” option sounds really good at the moment.

You groan as you run your hand through your hair and turn around, away from the object that had you in this horrible dilema.

You have to give it to him, you have to. It’s his, after all. You bought it for him but how the hell could you know what would have happened just a few days later?

The fight started like any other, the usual ones you used to have whenever he came late from the studio or forgot an important date. Although this time you can’t really seem to remember the reason you both lit the match that ended up burning your little world. All you can remember is walking away and slamming the door on your way out. And just like that, it was over.

Almost three years of relationship thrown away by some harsh words and invalidated feelings. At least you could say it was mutual, you needed to get away and he didn’t stop you. Would you have stayed if he did? You knew the answer was yes.

The first few days after the break up were filled with angry emotions and bad coping mechanisms, yet once it all became real you realized the mistake that you both made. You were burned out, stressed and too tired and angry to have a normal conversation, and, suddenly without realizing, the spark became a fire and it was too late to salvage anything. The damage was done and you regret every single word as you saw the ashes fall once it was over.

You can’t deny the disappointment of him not calling, but, to be fair, you haven’t called either. You two can be very stubborn, you are alike that way. The thought of “maybe this was for the best” came as it went. How can this be for the best when you are still in love with him?

You miss him, with every beat of your heart you miss him and long for him and his touch. Not even when he went away for months on ends you missed him this much. Of course, whenever he had to leave you were reassured of his love for you. You were his and he was yours. No doubts, no walking away. And yet, you did.

The guilt of it all consumed you. And maybe, just maybe, this object could be the chance you needed to fix everything you once had.

“Oh, fuck it” You said in a sigh.

You grabbed the heavy object and walked up to your car, placing it carefully on the back seat, stopping only to take a look at yourself on the reflection of the window. You were set on what you were going to do, yet you still failed to hide the fear in your eyes.

What if he started over? What if you don’t have a place in his heart anymore? Maybe he doesn't even miss you as much as you do. Maybe he doesn’t miss you at all and you will just ruin everything for him today. Could he still love you still?

Shaking those thoughts away, you open the driver’s door and start your way towards the house you once (and still hope to) call home. There was no time to back up now. You had to do this, if not to fix it then to find some closure to all of this mess.

The music on the radio served as background noise to the thousand scenarios you created in your head, not all of them with a happy ending; but you still stayed hopeful, you had to be.

Your heart skipped a beat as you pulled on the too familiar driveway, the feeling of being so close and yet so far made your stomach rumble with anxiety. But you felt an odd sense of calm as you stepped out of your car, almost like coming back home after so long of being lost by your own mistakes and missteps.

You rehearsed the words you wanted to say to him in your head without realizing that your hand acted on its own and already knocked on the door, so once you saw him open the door and stand in front of you, you were a loss of words.

“Michael…” You breathed, the shock of seeing him became too much.

He was standing there, his hair was longer and a bit unkempt. His scruffy beard framed his face and made him look more mature, you always loved his beard and how it tickled every time he kissed your cheek. You almost smiled at that thought before you remember why you were there “Hi”

“Hi,” Michael said softly, almost like a whisper. The surprise was evident in his eyes as he looked you up and down. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, you lowered your gaze and noticed that he was still wearing the hoodie you gifted him a few years back “Wh- what are you doing here?”

You winced at the sound of his voice, it did not sound like him at all. The Michael you knew was always loud when in public, his bubbly laugh filling any silence there was and, when in private, his voice would always be soft, loving and calming. That was the Michael you knew, not this timid and broken man that was standing in front of you.

“I-” You started, but soon had to clear your throat as your voice sounded as weak and scared as you felt “Happy Birthday, Mikey” You offered instead.

Michael’s green eyes soften at the words. He hasn’t heard from you in months, yet he somehow knew, hoped even, that you wouldn’t forget him today “Thank you” He murmured, gaze gracing the floor.

You wanted nothing more than to hug him and hold him tight, you had to physically fight every urge in you to do so.

“I have something for you” You said with a more uplifting tone, trying to comfort him this way.

“Babe-” He said before realizing “Sorry. You didn’t have to…”

“I wanted to” You rushed before you dwell on the way he called you, feeling your heart grow with love “I mean, I already had it and I’m not really sure what to do with it since it’s yours and well, I can’t really use it and I really want you to have it so you-” You sighed. You were rambling and it didn’t make any sense right now “Just… It’s in the car. Michael, please?” You pleaded.

He sighed as he nodded his head. Seeing you has taken a toll on him since you were the last person he expected to see today, or ever if he was being honest. It gave him too many memories, too much hope.

Keeping his distance, he walked with you towards your car. He could tell you were nervous, he guessed it was because you didn’t want to be here in the first place but you wanted to get rid of whatever was in the backseat. One last piece of him for you to forget.

Funny how all those thoughts disappeared when you opened the door and his eyes fell into the object that was meant for him, making him almost forget to take a breath and keep breathing.

The guitar was perfect. That was all he could think off. The body seemed made out of marble, shining against the bridge and buttons that were colored silver and black. The strap was embroidered with his initials in a soft glittery grey, claiming itself as his. Yet none of that caught his attention like the stings and how 5 of them were clear, almost transparent as they clashed with the color of the neck, and perfectly in tune. But the sixth string that was placed in the middle of it all stood up with its ruby color, balancing everything just perfectly.

You watched expectantly as his eyes scanned the guitar up and down, wanting nothing more than to touch it but feeling reluctant to do it.

“I had it customized a few months ago… after we visited that shop you like?” You ventured, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence “I- I know it’s not that impressive given that you have thousands of other guitars and probably have one now that might be similar to this one. But you seemed to like one like this and-“

“It’s perfect” You heard him say. No shaking in his voice, no whispered tone or rushed words. Only sincerity and gratitude “It’s perfect, magnificent, even. I-I.. thank you”

When your eyes met his you could barely hold your emotions at bay. Oh, how you missed those green eyes. Especially now that they were looking at you with such gratitude and love that you almost forget you are not together anymore.

You cleared your throat, shaking the thoughts away “I’m glad you like it”

The two of you stayed silent for a moment, too much to say yet no words being exchanged between both of you. That’s until Michael noticed “The string… the middle one, why is it red?”

He knew you were a sucker for symbolisms; Easter eggs; hidden meanings; and surprises, this could not be a random thing.

“Remember when you went to Japan last year?” You asked, not daring to look at him just yet “You told me about that legend you heard about the red string of fate, that no matter how long or tangled it's become, the two people that are connected by it will find their way to each other. No matter time, place or circumstances, what’s meant to be it’s meant to be” You felt tears rolling down your face, but you couldn’t do anything to stop them as your eyes met his one more time “You’re my red string, Michael. Always has and always will be. And I’m such a fool for letting it tangled this much and letting you go”

Michael stared at you with glossy eyes, not wasting any other second without having you in his arms as he pulled you closer into a hug, wrapping his arms around you as you molded into him.

“These past few months without you have been turture” He said with his face hidden in your neck “I- I don’t know what went wrong but I was so afraid of fucking it up further that I just thought it was for the best. That you would be better off without me”

You chuckled through the tears “I was scared, too. I thought you were the one who would be better off without me and that you moved on” You held him tighter “I’m so sorry, Michael”

“I’m sorry, too, love. So fucking sorry”

“Can we please start over?”

Michael let go of you for just a moment before cupping your cheeks and crashing your lips into his in a slow, sweet, loving and awaited kiss “We were never over, love. I love you, now and forever. We are meant to be” He said as he placed his forehead on yours.

You smiled and brought him down to kiss him once again. “Meant to be” And you knew that from that moment on, everything would be alright.

[alreadyblondenow]

Sugar | 3

Jaehyun x reader // SMUT, Fluff, Angst, CEO!Jaehyun, student!reader Summary: Just as you thought your relationship with Jaehyun is getting better, things happened unexpectedly and you aren’t sure anymore who ruined your relationship, you or Jaehyun. Will everything go back to how it used to be? Or will the both of you live different lives from now on? Word Count: 3k Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, older Jaehyun, younger reader, age difference. If you’re uncomfortable, please click away. Explicit mature scenes, sex, Cheating?, mentions of other idols Note: This is the last chapter for Sugar series. :(( Soft vanilla sex with Jaehyun on this chapter hihi Sorry if there are misplaced words or wrong spelling. Complete Chapters:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Jaehyun prepared dinner in his penthouse as his way of apologising. He made his signature pasta which you love and even baked some cupcakes that you’re afraid to taste because they are burnt. He’s been asking a lot of you ever since he picked you up from your dorm also explaining that after his birthday, he needed to fly to Japan to take care of the business there and he was sorry for not telling you in the first place.

“I know it’s late, but” he pulled a small box from the pockets of his hoodie, “Happy Valentines day”

You opened the box and its a beautiful simple necklace that has a diamond pendant that perfectly matches the earrings that he gave you for your birthday. “I can only give you expensive gifts on special occasions like this, I hope you like it… And I’m sorry”

That’s all you want to hear from him, that he’s sorry and that he mean it. You kissed him on the lips and told him to put the necklace on you. “you’re beautiful” he whispers behind you, kissing your neck. Everything escalated quickly, the moment he kissed you deeper than he usually does.

He whispers sweet things behind you while he walks you to his bedroom and having  nonstop giggles here and there for the both you. In between kisses you tell him random stuff like how you will never get used to his employees calling you “ma’am” and that the cupcakes tastes awful but you love him for trying to make them for you.

The kiss somehow slowed down when he was getting you naked before he lays you in bed, he took off his hoodie and his sweat pants, all thats left is his Calvin Klein boxer briefs that you’re familiar with. And when he’s done stripping you himself, he can’t stop smiling like a jerk.

“What?” you asked him before laying down.

“Nothing. Its just… You somehow became even more beautiful than the last time I saw you naked” he explained, showing his dimples. And without warning he pushed you on his soft bed, hovering you and quickly placing kisses anywhere he likes.

“I’m assuming this is still for the Valentine boy?” you hum in approval. “And for valentines day? It’s gonna be a long night baby”

With that, you somehow got nervous because you knew how Jaehyun is in bed, the last time (and the first time) you had sex, he rammed his cock inside your pussy without any warning. But that felt good you admit.

Jaehyun snaps his fingers in front of you bringing your attention back to him. You see he already removed his briefs and you see his cock already hard. He slowly kisses you from your toes to your legs, he took sometime with your thighs kissing and pecking some spots, then finally kissing your pussy. Opening your folds gently, careful not to startle you. He suddenly pulls away, making you whimper and needy.

“By the way, baby, please no scratching tonight…” he requests with a smile. You suddenly remember the wounds from his back last time. You only let out a small laugh, making him laugh too.

He continues kissing your pussy and licking your clit slowly. You already knew what he’s doing. He’s taking his time and that he’s focused on making you feel good tonight. That thought alone made you wet and whimper while Jaehyun reaches for your hands and intertwines your fingers on his. You moan softly, breathing in and out deeply and gasping as you let go and you cum while Jaehyun is still devouring your throbbing pussy.

Leaving pecks on your thighs and on your pussy, he kneels in front of you and hovers you again. Kissing your lips sweetly and leaving marks on your neck he told you, “you look beautiful with wearing just that necklace I gave you” you blushed at his comment, meeting his kisses on your lips and encircling your arms around him making him locked inside your arms.

You feel his right hand creeping in between your bodies, touching your soft skin and teasing your wet folds. “can you spread your legs wider for me baby?” he sweetly request dimples showing on his handsome face. You spread your legs as wide as you can, making you whimper again because of Jaehyun’s finger doing a figure of eight in your pussy. Slowly.

It made your legs shiver and your head roll back, the position you’re in right now just made you ten times hotter Jaehyun thought. He loves how you open your mouth and let out soft moans, how you furrow your brows whenever he hits a spot perfectly, how your boobs felt against his chest whenever you breath fast. You looked perfectly fucked up he thought.

Jaehyun was so deep into admiring how you look right now, he didn’t noticed you’re already cuming in his fingers for a while now. Overstimulated, that’s how you feel.

“Jae-“ you call him out but he just smiles at you. “Can you cum again? You look beautiful when you cum, Please?” you can only moan and nod. He didn’t know that you’re already on edge, ready to cum for the third time tonight.  As he inserts three fingers in your pussy, you totally lost it and bit his shoulders.

He saw tears on your eyes and dries it with his clean hand. With heavy breaths and involuntary moans, you shiver underneath him closing your legs, trying to calm yourself from that sweet release Jaehyun gave you. You feel Jaehyun kissing your temple as he whispers something to you and he pulls away getting off his bed. You see his perfect figure walk away from you, you try to close your eyes after seeing his cute flat butt that you love to touch.

When Jaehyun came back his cock had a condom rolled on it, ready to fuck you already. His hands roaming around your body again, making you shiver, still sensitive from your recent high. “Are you sure you don’t want me to at least give you a blowjob?” you asked, reaching for his hands and putting it over your boobs making him knead them. He chuckled at your bold move. “I think, you’ve given me enough blowjobs for a lifetime”

Oh right, you thought. You’ve been giving him blowjobs every time you sense that he’s stressed from work, and that he’s too nice to ask for sex so you gave an alternative.

Kissing you deeply again, he spreads your legs wide for the third time this evening. Lining his big cock on your pussy and putting his head slowly, then he pulls out again. You voluntarily kept your hands above your head so you can’t scratch his back making Jaehyun laugh softly while he pushes his cock in side you smoothly.

“That was smooth” you said gasping once he’s balls deep inside you. “I made sure you get so wet during the foreplay” he moves his hips slowly, “didn’t want to hurt you. Its been too long” you blushed again. He moves his hips sharp making your boobs bounce, you grabbed them to stop yourself from touching Jaehyun but he noticed it.

He came closer to you, closer so you could kiss him and whisper sweet things beside your ear. Jaehyun told you that he was just kidding earlier, it doesn’t matter if you claw him the whole night he will still love you more in the morning. Hearing those words made you encircle your arms around him, kissing him deeply while he fucks you, crying tears of joy because it crossed your mind that he’s making love with you tonight. “I love you and I’m sorry.” he thrust in you faster than before, putting you on edge.

“From now and its you and me. Always.” he adds and you felt your fourth release for tonight. He gasps as he rides his high still not pulling out. He kissed your lips, smiling again on top of you. “You’re so handsome. I love you so much” you manage to tell him while you come down from your high.

The sex made you both hungry again so you head out in the kitchen and ate the leftovers you had from dinner earlier. You were both making fun of the burnt cupcakes, eating them even though it tastes bad. Drinking every wine Jaehyun gave you, making you taste different wines from different countries, all so expensive you thought.

You noticed he haven’t touched his phone or received any calls from his secretary. A very rare moment of Jung Jaehyun completely focused on you and you only. You hugged him tighter while you both watch the sun rise from his room and eventually sleep beside each other.

Reality slaps you hard again when deadlines and readings welcomed you back from your weekend with Jaehyun. Him on the other hand is back being the almighty Jung Jaehyun and manage their big company. He will be back to Japan again and will be back next week, and that made you miss him everyday more.

You were trying to finish this paper on a coffee shop near your school, when suddenly someone sat in front of you. That someone is not a stranger.

“Long time” Yuta says sipping on his coffee.

You tried to be nice, you figured theres no reason to be rude. “Oh hi, you come here often?” you asked, not looking at him because you’re typing.

“I’m the manager of this coffee shop” that fact made you look at him finally, you noticed his eyebrow piercing.

“Of course you do. Sorry, I totally forgot.” you sighed, going back to finishing your paper.

Yuta was telling you stories on how this store was his pride, and you admire his work ethics and how he managed the store successfully. You were long done with your paper and this time he was making you laugh about his stories of Jaehyun.

“Which reminds me…” Yuta said grabbing his phone from the table, scanning something from his phone assuming he’s going to show you something funny. Maybe a funny picture of Jaehyun?

He hands you the phone and you looked at the picture, long and hard. It is a picture of Jaehyun, but it isn’t funny. Not at all. The picture stabbed you on the chest.

It was a picture of Jaehyun and his family happily eating on a yacht, with Rosé.

You were asking yourself a lot of whys while staring at Yuta’s phone. Maybe Jaehyun got tired of bringing you along with him so he decided to bring Rosé instead. The fact that Rosé fits well with Jaehyun’s family hurts you even more.

Thanking Yuta for the company and  for showing you the picture, and you left with tears on your eyes. You went straight to your dorm, took a nice hot shower, and cried until your eyes hurt. Everyone was present and gathered around your bed the whole time you were telling the story. Wendy and the others didn’t leave your side the whole night.

By the time Jaehyun was back, you told him about what Yuta showed you. And you were even more surprised that he got mad at Yuta for showing you the truth and accusing you of flirting with him. Jaehyun mentioned that he saw you two during his party flirting at the bar and that he didn’t mentioned it earlier because he knew you wouldn’t do that to him.

“You’re right Jaehyun! I can’t do that to you! I didn’t flirt back but he wasn’t wrong all the time! Now, don’t turn this on me! The picture Jae, why?” you were both screaming at each other in front your dorm, almost sure that everyone inside can hear both of your screams.

Jaehyun didn’t deny it. He said it was an important family gathering, something for the public to see how their family is as perfect as how they imagined and that he couldn’t bring you with him because you had school. So his family invited Rosé since she’s in Japan for vacation. He was explaining calmly but the anger is still there.

“So you called her?” you asked bravely with a crack voice. A part of you didn’t want him to say yes. But he did.

The night was full of screaming and it ended basically, you asking for space. Jaehyun wanted to talk more but you couldn’t handle anymore any of his screams and anger so you turned your back and made your way inside your dorm. You were happy he didn’t bang on the door. Your friends showered you with hugs the moment you stepped inside. It hurts even more when you think about how much you love Jaehyun but life just keeps getting in the way, you just want to be alone for some time.

It’s been raining problems in your life lately, and you’ve been sad all week long. You have problems with Jaehyun, school problems, family problems and money problems. Your plate is currently full and you think maybe its time to let go of the things that makes your heart heavy.

When you’re finally ready to face Jaehyun again, you told him all about your problems and he listened attentively. Even promised to help you whenever you want him to. Apologising from the recent fight you had, he told you he freed his weekend schedule so the both of you could spend some time alone again.

“Jaehyun you didn’t have to-“ he cuts you off with a kiss. Letting you know he’s sorry and that it’s all his fault, it made you cry, your chest feels even more heavier now, you thought.

“Jaehyun, Im breaking up with you” finally you said it.

Jaehyun cant believe it of course, he will never let this go. “You didn’t mean that”

You sob, trying to collect the right words, trying to construct the sentence. “I’m not the right person for you Jae. And you’re clearly not the right person for me. I can’t do this anymore Jae.”

Crying your heart out in front of him, Jaehyun is caging you in an embrace as you slightly get off his grasp. “STOP PUSHING ME AWAY YOU’RE HURTING ME!” Jaehyun shouts he’s completely out of control.

You see Wendy and Mark ready to step in to get you. “Baby lets fix this like we always do” he asked of you gently, you see tears in his eyes now then you looked away. When Wendy gets a hold of you, Jaehyun knew it’s time to let you go again. He didn’t want to scare you, he wanted to be with you.

“Wendy, I was trying to fix it. Thats all. I didn’t mean to shout at her” Jaehyun begs in front of Wendy. She’s stopping him from getting closer to you. Mark is holding you now, guiding you to the car where the rest of your friends are waiting.

“I just shouted out of frustration Wendy Im sorry, please let me talk to her” Wendy wanted to punch him, “Act your age Jaehyun!” and she walks out, leaving Jaehyun alone.

2 months after the breakup, you were never the same, you cut your hair shorter than before leaving all the bad memories and problems behind. Wendy promised to lend you money for your college tuition, but the accounting people told you it’s already paid.

And there’s only one person who would do this, your ex Jaehyun. You forced yourself to meet up with him on a cafe near your dorm. He doesn’t looked like your Jaehyun anymore, he looked like the Jaehyun he is meant to be. Looking really handsome in his office attire, you cut to the chase and thanked him, “I’m accepting your help, because I really need it. I’ll pay you back someday”

He tried holding your hand but you’re quick to dodge, “I want to see you as a good friend who’s lending me money for my tuition and not because you’re doing it out of love or whatever” He got hurt, he can almost feel his heart is being torn into half.

When you were about to leave, he grabbed your right hand.  “Please dont leave me.” He begs, but you still left.

Six months have passed and he still pays for your tuition. You still see him wait from afar but all you can do is pretend that you don’t see him. Jaehyun didn’t know that seeing him wait for you still, hurts your heart. Pretending that you don’t know him so he can stop bothering you in public, breaks your heart into a million pieces. You cry every night thinking of him, thinking how much pain you’ve caused him and that he’s heart broken because of you.

When you were walking with Mark towards the exit of the school campus, Jaehyun thought you and Mark are finally dating. He didn’t stopped himself from confronting Mark, you on the other was scared Jaehyun might punch him again and create a scene that will make a bad image of the Vice President of the Jung Group of Companies.

You told Mark he can leave and head back to the dorm without you and that Jaehyun won’t hurt you. Mark was hesitating to leave you alone with Jaehyun but he respects your request.

“Boyfriend?” Jaehyun asked. “No, Jaehyun. He was just walking with me” he believed you.

Jaehyun got thin, he looks like shit if you’re being honest, he has dark under eyes and red eyes from crying you assume. He looked pale, his lips are almost purple it made you worry. Seeing Jaehyun so weak like this made you drive him home and take care of him. You touched his forehead and you were right, he’s sick. He’s fucking burning up and he even went outside just to check up on you.  

He’s laying now on bed, perfectly covered by thick duvets “You’re burning up. Jae, what are you doing? You should take care of yourself, you’re a fucking CEO for crying out loud, do you want me to get mad?” You asked him almost shouting while damping a wet cloth on his face.

“No” he answers weakly, he’s crying now. Eyes not leaving yours. Tears falling down on his pillow. It pains you to see him like this. As you look for meds in his room and around his penthouse, he seemed so lonely in this big house its making you cry. He must’ve been so lonely when you left him.

Arms encircling on your waist from behind, Jaehyun forced himself to get up and go to you. You felt his warm body due to his high fever. “It pains me to see you like this Jae” you said drying your tears.

“You’re crying too.” He turns you around slowly and dries your eyes.

“I cant help it” you defend with a quiet sob.

“Then be with me” he offers weakly. You dont answer him, you continue looking for meds again. He cries even more when you didn’t respond. “No more crying Jaehyun please, you’re burning up. You need to rest” you ask of him sweetly.

“I’ll love you forever y/n. Even if you push me away. I’ll wait. Coming back to you over and over again.” As to your request, he goes back to bed slowly feeling so weak.

As you damp the warm cloth on his skin, he was looking at your every move and looking deep in you eyes. What did I do to deserve such genuine man. You came closer to his face, being careful you might make him breath hard, “I’ll stay.”

“I’ll stay this time” his can’t believe what you just said, he’s too weak to jump around the room like a kid just to let you know how happy he is. But you do know he’s happy because his ears are turning red again. You tried to reach in for a kiss but he avoided. “Im sick I don’t want you getting sick too...” you laughed at him, caressing his soft black locks.

“Im sorry baby. Im sorry. Im sorry” you hear him apologise and it hurt you because it should be you saying your sorry. You made him stop apologising and joined him in bed, not getting under the duvet but still letting him cuddle you again.

You stayed with Jaehyun the whole night until his fever goes down. You nursed him and changed his clothes to comfortable ones. The next day, he’s feeling a lot better already. He woke you up with a tight hug and a sweet smile. You can tell that he’s still sick but he got better. “Feeling better now Jung Jaehyun?” you asked, hugging him back making you feel his heart beat. “Better thanks to you.”

Everything slowly went back to normal with Jaehyun, nothing too fancy but you started welcoming him again in your life. Although your friends were not okay with your decision, still they respect what you want and they still keep an eye on him.

Because of Jaehyun’s bad experience from your break up with him, every time you two  fight over something he comes crashing into you begging you not to leave him again. You think he was traumatised and you feel bad about it. “Jaehyun I wont leave. Were just fighting baby, its normal” from there on you were careful on picking fights with him.

The both of you were happier than ever. He finally learned how to defend you from his family and finally went on public dates with you not giving a single fuck what people thinks. And you on the other hand, finally learned to accept that you’re in love with a rich man who’s way more older than you, who pays for your college tuition, your dorm fee, and basically everything. You’re in love with your sugar daddy.

After graduating, Jaehyun finally met your parents and telling them everything about him. Except for the part where you first met of course. He proposed a week after your graduation in front of your parents and asked you to move in with him, you couldn’t be me more happier.

Being the over achiever that you are, you got your dream job only to find out that Jaehyun owns the company too. You didn’t have any choice, so you ended up working for him not wanting to throw away your dream job. “Don’t worry y/n, you got this job fair and square.” he said with a wink before leaving your job interview.

“Oh by the way” you were nervous on what he’s about to say. “See you at dinner, baby” and he left with a teasing smile.

The other executives asked about your relationship with Jaehyun. You didn’t expect them to be so clueless for you thought the whole world knows about your relationship.

“He’s my fiancé” you clear your throat so they could hear you properly, “Jung Jaehyun is my fiancé” you smiled awkwardly at them and you heard countless ooohs and aaahs.

THE END.

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First of all I would like to thank you for reading this baby of mine. It’s not much but I put heart into it hihi. I hope youre not disappointed or anything with the ending, I didn’t want to overdo things and go crazy writing about. But if you have questions about their wedding, y/n’s job, etc. I’ll gladly talk to you about it. Again, thank you so much if you’ve made it to this point!

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

May I request GHJPU for Sebastian? Sebby needs more love :D (eee sorry if any of this overlapped or its too much, have a cookie for your troubles 🍪)

DID SOMEBODY SAY LOVING SEBASTIAN HOURS!?!?!?!?! FERAL EYE GLEAM

Bless your heart!!! Sebastian has found a new and very dear place in my heart as of late, I would be delighted to offer my thoughts!!!!! :D (your cookie offering has been accepted with the utmost glee 🍪, I hope my humble writing efforts will bring you equal joy, lovely~💖💖💖) 

G = Gifts (How does he feel about gift giving? What are his habits when it comes to this?) 

Awwww haha, baby boy Sebby is honestly a very observant and reliable kind of S/O, I think. He will notice even the tiniest of changes in MC’s expression--the slightest shifts in her temperament. As a result of his attentive nature he has an easy time deducing the things she might like, always makes a mental note of where her eyes linger. Is there a classic she once loved in her time being published for the first time in their era, on display at a bookstore nearby? Noted. Does she hover near shops filled with self-care products--things like scented candles or lotions or bath salts, things she considers indulgent luxuries? Noted. Is there an outfit that caught his eye in a boutique, something he thinks would complement her complexion perfectly? Noted. 

The thing about Sebastian is that his gifts will be heartfelt, timely, and devastatingly thoughtful. Whether something small or something lavish it will always be precisely what she needs/wants, and she can sense the loving care he put into finding the perfect gift.

H = Holding Hands (When/how does he like to hold hands?)

Honestly? Sebastian has spent the better part of his life alone. His circumstances weren’t the worst; for all that he’s lost in his life he never went hungry, lived comfortably. But...that doesn’t change the fact that his life has been fairly devoid of meaningful human contact. Even in college, friends and close colleagues were hard to come by. The few people he did develop budding feelings for he always gave up on long before it could become any kind of substantial relationship. He was always the type to admire from afar, never really felt worthy of the people he liked.

It was MC that was the first to reach out to him, and for the first little while in their relationship she will be the one most naturally inclined to reach for him. He isn’t really used to having someone by his side like this, somebody who would be delighted to hold his hand--who wants to be close to him. It’s always a shock when they go grocery shopping and he just feels her fingers wrap gently around his. She blushes a little and says something about not wanting to get separated, but it’s clear what her real motivation was.

After those first few months, it becomes much more natural for him to reach for her hand when they’re traveling somewhere together or when they’re alone. He likes to intertwine their fingers, loves the way they fit against his perfectly. His shyness wears off after a while, and it’ll be rare to see them together without them holding hands--unless they’re cooking or at work.

J = Jokes (Does he like to joke around with or prank her? How?)

Do you know how cats have their eyes all narrow thin pupil but then they go REALLY REALLY round? That’s Sebastian. I tend to refer to it as “Silly Time Mode Engaged.”

Now then, his kind of joking is very dry and very deadpan. It’s subtle and immediate, so if you’re not attuned to it it can be easy to miss. That, or people just look at him weird because they don’t quite get the connection he’s making and/or the delivery feels off because his facial expression doesn’t change at all, completely flat. That being said, one of his all time favorite things to do is to say something absurd or nigh histrionic (which tends to be uncharacteristic of him) and wait for the confused head turn/startled laughter to hit. He will make puns and play on words all the time--he puts his academic knowledge to good use.

“I swear when I first met you I was convinced you were an AI.” “Alexa taught me everything I know.” He’ll bow. “Oh? Do I have competition, in that case?” “Your speakers are suboptimal (he pokes her freckles), but you possess what Alexa lacks.” “And that would be?” He’ll gather her close, smiling against her lips. “My heart.” :D cutest robot I ever saw uwu

Bonus bc I have a problem: “Is stealing hearts in Alexa’s programming? Just to be safe, of course.” “I think it’s safe to say it isn’t within the parameters of her design--but that doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods just yet.” cue sounds of tickling and laughter

The other way Sebastian messes with MC is that he is an ENORMOUS tease in the bedroom. He’s very much the kind of lover that prefers to tantalize and draw things out; a long, slow seduction that will render MC immobile from the pleasure by the end. The promise of a kiss is almost always only a whisper of the feeling he intends to drown her in. Remember that Sebastian’s stoicism belies a nigh inhuman ardor and self-control. He’s more than willing to leave her wanting in order to fully capitalize on that desire later at night.

P = Pet Names (What does he like to call her?)

Other than her name? HE DOESN’T AHAAHAHAHAHA Just kidding of course, but given where he comes from pet names between couples aren’t...really a thing…(take it up with Japan, I Was Today Years Old, my sappy romantic ass would never survive)

The funny inverse of this though is that he does NOT fuck around with people that try to call MC pet names. When Arthur Tries It™ he canonically goes all steely saccharine, openly telling the others they’re together. So none of that “luv” or “doll” business, he will not have it (he won’t fight the purebloods on it because 1. they’re more like doting grandfathers than anything and 2. Sebastian does not have a death wish). If MC has a nickname of some kind, then I could see him using that or adding his own spin on it with a great deal of affection c:

U = Upset (How does he act when she’s upset?)

Whether he was the cause or not, Sebastian has a single modus operandi when his beloved is upset (and to anyone who’s upset really) and that is to offer gentle reassurance/an apology. He is very, very sensitive to the feelings of others and really takes it to heart when someone isn’t feeling well. That being said, he won’t always be overt about his concern--he’s more the type to do little things that offer constant support/reminders that he’s there for them. 

If it’s something more serious, he will do everything in his power to minimize the harm done and sooth the MC. His attempts to comfort her will be tender, muted, and consistent; prolonged hugs, doubles his offering of sweets, makes her favorite foods, gives her a relaxing bath salt to use--anything that he knows for certain will coax her lips up into a smile. He’s the type to freely offer space for her to figure things out if she needs it, but he will also be watchful; he won’t let things escalate if she needs externalized support to heal (bc lbr some problems we can’t solve alone ;-;).

His other go-to method is to offer distractions in any capacity that he can. Will offer to teach her a new recipe, or find a new type of flower he wants to plant together, or make up some kind of project he needs help with. Sometimes he’ll genuinely need the help, but most of the time he does it for the express purpose of getting her mind away from negative things and focused on him/the present. It’s hard to dwell on upsetting things when you’re body is physically demanding something else from you, even more so if it’s a fairly complex task. She’s known to be very dutiful; she’ll be so focused on doing a good job she’ll forget the sadness/irritation for a bit and the intensity of the emotion might ebb slightly.

If the issue is lighter, he’ll probably just cuddle/tickle her back to fighting spirit, pressing kisses wherever he can reach until she starts giggling. In these instances he prefers to hug her from behind, a reminder that she doesn’t have to face anything unpleasant or unnerving all on her own; he’ll always be there to hold her steady whenever she needs him. 

And rest assured, this man is always gathering data to optimize his comfort capabilities. He is incredibly adaptable, and will always be watching her reactions closely to adjust his strategies.

[tcheschirewrites]

Happy New Year!

Part of me wanted to do a Year In Review post, like I’ve seen a few other creators do, but instead of talking about myself (which I do for the entire rest of the year anyway lmao), I’m gonna do a reclist instead, of the best fics I’ve read this year. A lot of it is BNHA, because that’s been my main fandom for 2020, but I did spend a decent amount of time in other spaces. If you see a **, that means there’s boning at some point – if the fic is in bold, then there’s a lot of boning. I @ed their Tumblr if I knew it off the top of my head, but I may have missed some.

BNHA

Don't Yuck Her Yum by rumblefish ( @rumbllefish) (League of Villains Gen)

Complete – A quick disclaimer, pia is a mutual and a friend. That being said, this is such a cute little snapshot into the LOV with everyone’s favorite Found Family trope. Now, I’ll admit to being additionally biased because pia gave me that sweet sweet Dadpress food, but her Spinner is also on point. Short and sweet.

the Issue of the Jeanist Corpse (the Jorpse) by Princeliest (Hawks & Jeanist Gen)

Complete – Witty and hilarious, a deleted scene when Hawks went to visit Best Jeanist before War Arc. I love how antsy Hawks is, and how fussy Jeanist. Also, I’m a sucker for putting a j at the beginning of everything for Jeaninst.

Queer Eye: We're In Japan! And There Are Pro Heroes Everywhere!! by night_of_the_living_trashcan (Background Erasermic Family)

Complete – I love a good Queer Eye fic, and this one is so spot on. The Fab Five couldn’t get a better candidate than Aizawa (well, almost; see below). And I’m a sucker for Erasermic family.

 **Yesterday's Gods by Karzai (All Might/Reader)

WIP - Reader character is an ex-military doctor who comes to work at UA. If you’re a fan of very well-developed backstories, and reader characters that are their own people, then this is the fic for you. This fic gives me huge Newsroom vibes - we’ve got a past romance, and the tension after years apart. We get present day when they are older and more jaded, and we get the backstory of the reader character and All Might when they were young and spry.

**surrender (whenever you're ready) by OfMermaids ( @ofmermaidstories) (Bakugou/Reader)

WIP - Bakugou accidentally destroys a florist’s shop. Bar none the best Bakugou fic out there - his characterization is so on point. He is grouchy but so vulnerable, he’s coarse and soft and insecure and such a perfectionist. The relationship with the reader character develops very naturally, and the chapters are long. Bonus, we get some bangin’ Kiri as well.

 **if i could keep cool by andypantsx3 ( @andypantsx3) (Todoroki/Reader)

Complete – I’m in love with the premise of the fic: a hired cleaner gets kidnapped due to a misunderstanding of the romantic variety. Andie’s Todo is well written, and the pacing of the story is nice and tight. An easy read.

 **Subject: RAPTOR by Tainted_Wine ( @tainted-wine)(Hawks/Reader)

Complete – The villains have turned Hawks into a Nomu, and reader works collecting semen for the facility for breeding purposes. Bigtime monster-fucking, but it’s very poignant and well-done. Very long, but well worth the time.

 **My Hero by HeroAssociation(Aizawa/Reader)

WIP – Reader character is a milf whose son enters a contest to meet his favorite hero and wins. The author’s Aizawa is really good, and the scenes with the reader’s son are very realistic for maternal love. And, I cannot emphasize this enough, reader character is a milf. It’s incomplete, and hasn’t updated in a while, but the premise is so cute I can’t not include it.

 suffer the signs by advantagetexas(Aizawa/Reader)

Complete – Baby’s first hanahaki. Honestly a very cute little hanahaki – no angst or sads, just two idiots in love. A nice quick read.

 But they're soft... by coffee_dessert (Aizawa/Reader)   

Complete – Aizawa gets turned into a cat by a villain’s quirk, and the reader character takes care of him until it wears off. I’ve heard this premise is popular? But I haven’t seen too too many, and this one is very well executed. Aizawa’s characterization is solid, and the pacing is very good. A very sweet read.

**no grave to hold my body down by Hawnks (supermintfluff) ( @hawnks)(Shinsou/Reader)

Complete – Pro Hero Shinsou saves the reader character, and they keep running into each other. This one is a good character study on adult Shinsou, and Hawnks’ writing is always very clean and lovely. I recommend going through their entire selection.

Love Like You by Queen_Kai (Shinsou/Reader)

Complete – Color Soulmate AU with a villain reader. Very cute, and I adore Shinsou’s characterization in this one. I honestly wish there was more, but it stands on its own very well.

Naruto

**Maid with Benefits by awolangel (Akatsuki/Reader)

WIP – Reader is hired to be a live-in maid to the Akatsuki, and also have lots of sex. This fic is hilarious, and so well characterized. The pacing is actually really good, as well as the development of all of the relationships. There are some characters that get more attention than others, but we do get a nice spread. Very fun escapism fic.

Moonshine by Victopteryx ( @ancharan) (HashiMada)

Complete – Prohibition Era Bootlegging AU. Author’s handle on both Madara and Hashirama is incredible (and they draw their own fanart, and it’s also incredible). A whole-ass meal.

Tobirama Kicks Some Sense Into Konoha by allseer15 (Tobirama&Naruto Gen) 

Complete – Tobirama gets sent back in time due to an accidental jutsu, and is horrified at the way Konoha is run, and promptly Rampages over it. Wonderful catharsis for anyone who wondered why it was okay for a rich-ass old man to just leave an infant a welfare check and a shitty apartment and dip out on his development even though he has the equivalent of a nuclear warhead in his upper intestine.

Misc

**Clouds by moriamithril (Star Wars Rogue One, Cassian Andor/Reader)

Complete – Reader character is a handler/assistant type figure to Cassian over a series of missions. We get a lot of emotions in this one – we get the tenderness of caring for someone who is ill, we get devotion, we get yearning, we get delicious jealousy. Well written and lovely.

Fresh Coat by scrapmetal (The Mandalorian, Boba & Din Gen)

Complete – Fantastic Boba and Din, the Mando culture representation we deserve. I’m love.

**A Far Greater Sin (Reader version) by Yavannie (The Mandalorian, Din Djarin/Reader)

Complete – Reader is a healer, and builds a relationship with Mando over the course of a couple decades. Great pacing, great RC development, and the author’s Mando is quite good. The premise/setting gives me wicked fantasy vibes, even though it’s obviously In Space, but that’s definitely a draw.

who's gonna save us now (when the ashes hit the ground) by chancellor_valdez (Ready or Not, Grace/Daniel)

Complete – My favorite of the “Grace and Daniel Survive Together” subgenere, this one is very raw with its emotions. There’s a lot of hurt, and there’s a lot of self-harming coping mechanisms. Recovery is ugly, and the author did a very good job showing us that. And their ending was lovely.

not your garden variety demon lord by rizahawkaye (Inuyasha, SanSessh)

Complete – Sango takes care of Rin sometimes, and gets confused when Sesshoumaru brings her gifts. The author’s Sessh is so good, and it’s a great exploration of a relationship we don’t see much of.

Mine Enemy by Ayrith (Inuyasha, InuSan)

Complete – I love this fic, okay. Fantastic character study in Sango and a lot of the rougher parts of her that canon shied away from, and the author’s Inuyasha characterization is fucking great. Just go read this, yes.

Frozen Plus One by Meowzy (Frozen, HansAnna)

WIP – Troll AU, ie the trolls cursed Hans and that’s why he is That Way. Look, this author has done such a good job with all of the characters. Their voices are very distinct, and it’s not a reach at all to see how it could have gone differently. And we get some sweet HansAnnaKris action, and it is just as we deserve. Honestly, this fic is so well written, it deserves the world.

Knives In by anomalation (Knives Out, Marta/Ransom)

Complete – My favorite of the Pen Pals subgenre, this one is a fantastic slow burn. Ransom is really forced to face himself, and Marta is such a babe. Meg makes a few appearances, and her confusion over her place in the world is really well done. A great enemies-to-lovers.

It's Not Anxiety, It's a Parasite by squadrickchestopher (Venom, Queer Eye)

Complete – Look, I’ve mentioned before, but I love a good Queer Eye fic. Eddie gets what he deserves, and the symbiote couldn’t be more happy. So funny and clever.

You Find Yourself in a Maze by FloaromaMeadow ( @zombiekaiba) (S0 Atem Gen)

Complete – Very short and very poignant, the style is modeled after text-based command games. It fits super well with the Season 0 aesthetic, and there’s so much punch in each command.   

Gaud's Grinch x Tony Fix-it Fic by gaudy_writes ( @biggest-gaudiest-patronuses)

WIP – Look, I know, all right. Just read it.

[snovaness]

A Letter

A letter part two

Part one

You should have kept in touch with him. It’s not like you didn’t want to but life got really busy and if you were being honest the time zone difference didn’t help at all. Eventually the messages grew scarce until there were no messages at all. The only reason you knew anything about him was through social media. His Instagram had gotten a flood of new followers ever since he joined MSBY team. People thirsted after him which you thought was strange considering you still saw him as college friend Usa-Chan. His life seemed so exciting while you had graduated school over 3 months ago and still hadn’t found a job.

You felt your phone vibrate and saw it was a notification from Instagram. Opening up the app you see a message from a guy named Atsumu Miya. His messaged read: hey I know you don’t know who I am but I’m Sakusa’s teammate. I am messaging you on behalf of the MSBY Black jackals team because as you know Omi’s birthday is in a week. I’m sorry that this is really short notice but we only recently found out about you being Omi’s best friend two days ago due to the drunken state Sakusa ended up in. The team is willing to purchase your ticket from where ever you are currently and fly you out to Japan. The team has a party planned for him but when we found out that you haven’t seen each other in over 2 years we thought that bringing you out to see him would be a great gift for him. Plus it would be something he actually would like compared to anything else we could get him. Please let me know as soon as you can so our manager can book your ticket. I hope you’re able to join us.

Seeing Kiyoomi again was something you hoped you’d be able to do the first few months after you left Japan but ever since the two of you grew apart you assumed it wouldn’t happen. Would he even be excited to see you? I mean a free trip to Japan sounds nice plus you could visit some of your other friends that you made there. You didn’t really have anything going on currently besides the occasional nanny job. “Fuck it I’m going to accept!”

Hello Atsumu,

I really appreciate this opportunity and I would love to take it but I have to be honest with you, Sakusa and I haven’t really talked to each other in over a year so I’m not too sure if he would be excited to see me. If the offer still stands despite this I am prepared to go at any moment. If not I still appreciate you reaching out to me. I wish your team the best of luck and it was really nice to meet you!

You didn’t expect a reply right away yet again your phone began to vibrate but this time it was from a video call. Well now you knew Atsumu was bold because he was about to video chat with a complete stranger. Without really thinking about it you set your phone against the cereal box and answered the call. You noticed a tuft of orange hair I’m the background as Atsumu sets the phone down. You panicked slightly when you began to hear their fast paced Japanese. Of course you knew they would speak Japanese but considering the message that was sent to you was in English the thought escaped your mind.

“Sorry if my Japanese isn’t the best also I’m in my pajamas because it’s currently 8 in the morning for me.” “Oh no worries! We just wanted to kinda meet you so that way you feel more comfortable around us.” A confused look settled onto your face but then 2 other guys came into the frame. “Hi! I’m bokuto!” “I’m Hinata!” “We’re all teammates with Omi Omi” you let out a slight snort. “You guys call him Omi Omi? I bet he hates that. I can just image the look on his face of pure disgust.” The guys chuckled “that’s the exact look he gave us at first but he’s use to the name now. Anyways I read your message that you guys aren’t really in contact anymore and we know that. He was really drunk a couple nights ago after we won our last match of the season and he mentioned how he wish you guys had better communication but the time difference made things difficult. Our manager will probably contact you tomorrow morning Tokyo time which I’m sure will probably be evening for you. But we’re thinking flying you out two days before Omi’s birthday which gives you one day of traveling and another for resting before the party. We want to see the face he makes when he sees you at the party, which is semi formal by the way.” You spoke to the guys for about an hour going over the details of the trip.

You felt the excitement bubble up in your chest as you saw the familiar scenes of the Tokyo airport. Atsumu himself had come to pick you up with the other two volleyball players. “How was your flight!” Hinata questioned. “It was amazing! You guys didn’t have to get me first class seats! I slept for about half of the flight it was so comfortable. I’m really grateful that you guys did this. Sakusa really has some amazing friends.” You had gotten to Japan the day before the party and even though you have bought enough clothes for a week your craving to shop for Japanese fashion took over. “I’m sure you guys are probably busy today but would any of you like to join me? I want to go shopping.”

You had an enjoyable day with Hinata who was the only one that could join you for your shipping trip. You had even picked up a few gifts for Sakusa himself. Staring at the gift bag that help the pink plush you smiled to yourself. Tomorrow you would be attending the party and would be seeing Kiyoomi after two years. A mix of excitement and fear began to rise in your chest similar to how it did when you arrived at the airport.

The party was in full swing by the time you arrived with Atsumu. Your hands slightly sweaty from the nerves. You noticed the tuft of black curls across the room and Atsumu warned you to hide from Sakusas view until it was time. “Omi Omi! Happy birthday! I’m glad you actually decided to come to your own party. I got you the best gift you could ask for!” Atsumu handed him a decorative bag that held the plush you purchased the day before. As Sakusa pulled out the bunny you made your way to stand behind him. “Sumu why did you buy me a pink bunny?” You put your hand on his shoulder “Now don’t tell me that you forgot all about your nickname Usa-Chan” the look on his face was pure shock.

“I- is this real? How did you know about all this?” He pulled you into a hug “Atsumu actually messaged me on Instagram and said it was a team gift for your birthday to invite me  since you know it’s been a little over two years.” He gave you a big smile “well your Japanese has gotten better. Plus your hair is different now but I won’t lie I already knew that from Instagram. Looking at you is like I’m in a dream right now because I never expected you to be in front of me again.” He placed a hand on your cheek “well you know me I’m a sucker for romance so I had to come back after that letter you wrote me” his face turned into a light shade of pink “ahh yeah the letter I wrote you when you left... we never talked about that so I thought you never got it”

For the rest of the party you hung around Sakusa and his teammates, Komori even spoke to you for a while. As the night went on all you could think about is how everything felt like it was normal, it was as if nothing had changed. Unfortunately, many things had changed since those college years. You still haven’t found a job while Sakusa was successful volleyball player. The two of you were on different paths in life. Your smile began to fade into a frown. Many thoughts burned into your mind ‘You shouldn’t have come to Japan’ ‘Sakusa forgot about you there was no reason to be here’.

“Hey what’s eating you up?” “I just feel a little out of place with all these successful people around me” Usa-chan’s laugh vibrated through the room as you spoke to Atsumu. “What do you mean? Omi Omi said you were studying to be in sports medicine isn’t that pretty successful?” You let out a sigh “It would be if I could find a job but it’s been a rough few months since I graduated. I was supposed to work with a soccer team in Spain but that didn’t go through since my Spanish wasn’t advanced enough. My only option is going to be in English speaking countries I guess.” You noticed a grin grow on Atsumu’s face. “You know I happen to know a team that is in need of a physical therapist. Hey Omi! I think I found the perfect person for our little Japan team problem”

You sucked in a deep breath when Kiyoomi made his way over to the two of you. “What Japan team problem?” There was a wiggle in Atsumu’s brows that looked troublesome. “We aren’t supposed to say anything yet but last week we got selected as official players for Japan’s Olympic volleyball team and I heard that the usual physical therapist they hire is retiring. I’m sure Omi and I can pull some strings.” “Wait did you even give her an option? You don’t even know if she wants to move to Japan. You can’t expect her to just pack up her life and move to a whole different country especially when a stranger is asking her too.”

“I would be willing if you asked me Kiyoomi. If you told me right now to apply for a visa for the Japan olympic team I would.” Pink began to tint his cheeks but you weren’t sure if he was blushing or if the alcohol had finally begun to take its affect on him. “Y/n we haven’t seen each other in 2 years it would be stupid for you to do that. I mean I’m sure you have offers back at ho-“ “No I don’t have any offers. I’ve been a part time nanny for my parents neighbors for 3 months now. Usa-chan… do you still feel the way you did when you wrote me that letter? I need to know if coming back here was a mistake.” There was an awkward silence which was Atsumu’s cue to leave the two of you alone on the balcony of the ball room that was rented out. “I thought I moved on. I even went out on dates with other people but I just kept thinking about that time we almost kissed in my car. I haven’t been able to escape from your grasp. Listen if you really want to move back to Japan… if you want to move here for me I can talk to the teams management.” He placed his hands on both sides of your face “I regret not keeping up with you I hope you know that Y/n” you nodded slightly “I regret never kissing you that night in the car.”

“I can fix that if you want.” Your eyes fluttered shut as the feeling of his lips began to graze over yours. All in one swift movement he pulled your face towards him to deepen the kiss. His mouth tasted of champagne and it began to feel intoxicating. He pulled away but you kept your eyes shut a few moments longer. Finally when you opened them you spoke. “ I never wanted to leave Japan in the first place. If I have the opportunity to stay here with you and find a job I would take it in a heartbeat. He smiled down at you. “Stay at my place tonight and I’ll make the call tomorrow morning.”

The next few days felt like an alternate reality. There you were in an interview for your paperwork to live in Japan with the lawyer of the Japanese olympic volleyball team, next you were heading back home to pack and great rid of somethings you would no longer need, and finally you were moving into your own apartment near the gym for the Olympic Games. With Kiyoomi’s hand in yours you walked into the gym together greeting all your new coworkers who would quickly become some of your best friends.

[thewritingstar]

ROCK’in around the Christmas Tree-Secret Santa Gift

so for the Secret Santa (on one of the servers lol) I got the lovely @michiamotippete !!!!!!!!

I whipped up a little Kiribaku holiday fluff (and minor steam) for you and I hope you enjoy this and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

For the @kuroshironekoserver event!!!

---

The cool cold air had taken Japan over during the winter months. Decorations for the beloved holidays had covered their city and everyone was rushing to finish their holiday shopping as Christmas day approached. 

Kirishima found himself inside the mall along side Mina and Sero. It was rare for them to have free time together since being a pro hero meant being on duty for most of their time. Of course Kirishima wanted all his presents to have meaning, but he desperately needed to find one for his boyfriend. 

Believe it or not, Bakugou was hard to shop for. He went ahead and let everyone else give him All Might merch and shirts but he didn’t want to fall under that category. Though he did buy themselves matching Ground Zero and Red Riot items because he knew he secretly loved flaunting his own stuff and not so secretly wearing his boyfriends. 

But he still need the gift. Ya know the big present that you save for last, the one that makes next year's presents even harder because you have to outdo yourself? The gift that makes the person receive it blush slightly as they try their best not to cry. The gift to end all gifts and makes you wanna spend the rest of your life wrapped in their arms? Yeah that. 

Easy peasy ...right?

“I don’t know why you’re worried bro, just sit naked on the bed and tie yourself up, he’ll like that.” Sero said and the heat rose to Kirishima's face before pushing him to the side. 

“Just because that's all you’re doing for Denki, doesn’t mean that will work for me.” Kiri quickly said and the boys went back and forth teasing before Mina complained about her shortage of caffeine, making them stop and get some coffee. 

“I still don’t know.” 

“Get him a rock.” Mina said. 

“I am not giving Bakugou a rock.” He stated and shook his head as he downed his coffee. 

“Well i'm out of ideas.” Mina shrugged and pulled them into another store. 

“Gee you’re so helpful.” Kiri shot back sarcastically. 

They trio ended up leaving the mall a few hours later. Each of their arms carried a few bags but even out of all the gifts, not a single one was for Kirishima's beloved boyfriend. 

“Don’t pout hun. I’m sure the perfect idea will come to you! You still have a week or two left. He’ll love anything you give him because he loves you.” Mina smiled as she kissed both of their cheeks good bye and hopped off the train with Sero as their stop was before Kirishimas. 

“Thanks Mina. See you all soon.” He waved goodbye and before long, he was departing the train as well. 

---

“What's with that face?” Bakugou asked as he stared intently at Kirishima. 

The red head broke from his daze as he refocused his attention on his explosive boyfriend who was currently ranting about being forced to work with Deku for the third time this month. 

“Oh uh nothing babe, sorry, just tired I guess.” He shrugged it off but it didn’t seem to get past Bakugou. The blonde let it slide for now as he finished up his homemade curry and brought his plate to the sink just as Kirhsima followed.

Kirhsima could feel that Bakugou was holding back from asking about his bluff so he did the only thing he knew to distract him, he poked his side. 

A sinister smirk grew on the red heads face as he saw Bakugou's hand tightened on the sponge and the signature scowl appear. 

“Ei.” He said with a dangerous warning but Kirishima was already gone with his playful mind and poked him again causing the blonde the drop the plate and drag him off to their room neglecting the dirty dishes. All Kiri could do was laugh as he was tossed onto the bed. 

“Don’t test me.” Bakugou snarled but it wasn’t meant as a threat but more...loving.

Pushing his limits, Kirishima sat up tapped Bakugou's nose. 

“Oops, hope I don't end up on the naughty list this year.” He winked before he was met with a deadly smirk and crimson red eyes. 

“Guess we’ll find out.” Bakugou let out a dark laugh. 

---

The next week came faster than the winter breeze and Kirishima still had not found the gift. He spent the morning going on a solo run as Bakugou was called into work early and he had a few hours until his own patrol started. 

His mind was racing for ideas but all the good ones had been taken. Two years ago he gave them matching promise rings, a thick black band and Baugous had an orange accent while his had red. The year before that was a photo album and poems he had written about him during their years at U.A and even the year before that he had creative gifts. 

But this one was big. It was their second year as pro heros and their fifth year officially together, though Mina likes to joke that they had been dating since that day they competed together in the sports festival. Somehow, he believed her. 

But now his thoughts went back to what Mina had said at the mall and a small smile came to his face. He checked his calendar and saw that he had three days until Christmas, enough time. He smiled as he popped his headphones back in and began to jog off his designated path and towards the perfect gift. 

---

The sun peered through the curtains as it stirred Kirishima awake. His arms tightened around the waist of his boyfriend and he nuzzled his nose deeper between the crook of the blondes neck. 

“Merry Christmas.” Kirishima sleepily slurred in Bakugou's ear and he was met with crimson eyes as Bakugou had turned in his arms. 

“Merry Christmas.” He repeated softly and planted a sweet and gentle kiss to Kirishima's lips. 

They had agreed to open their gifts once they woke up but five minutes later and Kirishima was back asleep with Bakugou following close behind. They luckily had the day off and decided that maybe sleeping in was the true gift, even if Bakugou protested a little. 

By the time they decided to open up their personal gifts, the sun had started to set and they were in front of the fireplace. The smaller gifts came first which consisted of hero merch, a new apron for Bakugou, new weights for Kirishima and a whole bunch of smaller items. Their living room floor looked of that of a five year old on Christmas day, paper everywhere. 

Bakugou wanted to give his final gift last and Kirishima nodded before handing over a small box to the blonde. 

“Now before you open this, I am aware of what is inside.” Kiri stated. 

“Well I fucking hope so.” Bakugou let out a laugh before tearing the wrapping paper off. 

He revealed a wooden box and cracked open the box. 

Kirishima waited anxiously for his reaction. 

First the blonde furrowed his eyebrows. Then he tilted the box slightly. His eyes darted back and forth between the box and the paper. 

“Um.” He said. “Rocks?” 

“Yep!” Kiri smiled and Bakguous lips tightened into a thin line before setting it down. 

“Thank you?” He tried to be polite but Kirishima's laugh sounded through the room. 

“Let me explain.”

“Please do.” 

Kirishima scooted closer to him on his knees and picked up the first rock. 

“When I was thinking of what to get you, I was lost. I mean what do you get the most important person when they already have everything?” 

Bakugou hummed. “I am important.” 

Kirishima playfully rolled his eyes before continuing. “Well I thought back to every important and meaningful moment of my life, and you were always there. So I went back to every place that meant something to use and collected these.” he gestured to the rocks. 

“I know it's lame and doesn't make sense but I worship the ground you walk on, so I thought if we could have a tangible piece of our journey, it would be worth something. So this one, it's from the field of the sports festival. Of course it's not the same rocks as before since you destroyed most of the field anyways but it was the first time you trusted me to help you, the first time you noticed me.” 

Bakugou stared at the other rocks in the box. He noticed that they now had small slips of paper attached and what they represented. 

“The beach with our first kiss. The campsite with the stars. The cliff where you said you loved me for the first time. It's all here.” Bakugou said as he took them one by one in his hands. The precious memories he loved came flooding back. 

“I thought that maybe we could start a little rock collection.” Kirishima chuckled. “Maybe when we travel or something.” 

Bakugou sat silently observing them all. 

“ I mean if you don;t like it that's okay too. I guess getting rocks isn't that great-”

“I love it.” Bakugou stated. His eyes met Kirishimas and he could see the truth in his eyes clear as day. “These mean alot to me. Makes me think about how lucky I am to even receive these.” 

Kirishima smiled and scooted closer for their noses to touch. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Bakugou said and pecked his lips. “Now it's my turn.” 

He stood and left Kirishima, grabbing a wrapped box on the mantle. “It's funny. The whole rock thing.” He came back to where he was and sat down before handing the gift to Kirishima. “We had the same idea.”

“You got me a rock too?!” Kirishima sounded a bit more excited than what it should have been. 

“Sort of, just fucking open it.” Naugou smiled and watched as his boyfriend torn the paper. 

“Kat-” 

“Not that its a competition, but my rock is much better.” Bakugou said with a smug smile as he watches his boyfriend's shoulders tightened back 

Kirishima sat as all thoughts left his mind. The instant the lid open, tears weighted in his eyes. He was focused on the perfect diamond sitting in the velvet ring box that he almost missed Bakugou's proposal

“So Eijirou Kirishima, will you do me the honor and accept this rock and me as yours forever?” Baugou asked.

In less than a second, Bakugou was laying on his back as Kirishima had literally bulldozed him to the ground and was practically straddling him. His face became wet with sloppy kisses and he could feel the tears dripping down his face. 

“Yes Katsuki, a thousand times yes.” Kirishima said breathlessly. “I love you so much.” He cried. 

“I love you too.” Bakugou responded by tightening his arms around him. He then let out a laugh as Kirihsima was busy looking at the ring on his finger, holding it up like a chick would in a Hollywood film. He just watched from underneath him thinking about how fucking lucky he was to be eventually wed to the kindest and hottest man alive. 

The rest of the evening was spent with them huddle in front of the fireplace talking about the different memories of the rocks and their plans for the future. Katsuki discovered that Eijirou secretly had a wedding all planned out on pintrest and kept waving his hands in his face since he couldn't keep his eye off the ring. 

“Merry Christmas baby.” Katsuki kissed his cheek and pulled him even closer. 

“Merry Christmas.” 

----

“So what did Bakugou give you?” Mina asked them as they all sat outside for coffee the next day. 

Kirishima and Bakugou looked at each other before he held up his hand. 

“A rock.” 

Mina stared at the shiny ring and practically shattered the glass behind them. “OH MY GOSH CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO!!!” She cheered and almost let her tears fall from the overwhelming joy of seeing her best friends finally getting engaged. “That's amazing and Bakugou what did your fiance give you?” She asked and Kirishima’s face rose to a pretty shade of red. 

“Rocks.”

“Oh you also proposed?” She got excited again. 

“No, like literal fucking rocks.” 

Her eyes snapped to Kirishima. “Kiri, love, that was a joke.” 

“They are special rocks that hold are memories, shut up!” He looked away but Bakugou kissed his hand. 

“I liked them.” Bakugou shrugged. 

“Bakugou baby i am so sorry.” Mina laughed. “But anyways. I'm the maid of honor right? Cause if im not, you won't have a wedding and that's a promise.” She threatened with a smile. 

“Of course Mina!” Kirishima smiled. 

“Okay good!” She giggled. “Now show me that pretty rock again.”

----

I hope you enjoyed this!!! This was super fun to do!!

[purplesurveys]

921

LOL was gone for a while to attempt doing that ridiculous 5000 survey myself again and I really thought I was going to breeze through it this time. 2 1/2 weeks and 2500 questions later, I need a fucking break. Need normal surveys plz.

What was the best thing to happen to you this week? Got to visit Gabie today! I brought Cooper as well so that she, her sisters, and their puppy Tofu could finally meet him. Fun day, but I am beat. The blackout yesterday also made me revisit painting, and that felt so good too.

Where do you put your keys when you get home? It always differs, idk why I never picked up a routine. Sometimes I set it on the dining table, other times on the decorative table in the living room, and other times I bring it up with me to my room.

Do you prefer hot coffee or iced coffee? I preferred hot (warm would be more accurate) for the longest time but once I went iced, I never wanted to go back. 

What's your phone background picture? I recently changed my lock screen to one of Audrey Hepburn. My home screen is still Hayley Williams.

If you could move to any country, what would it be? Anywhere with a clean and honest government sounds like heaven.

Have you ever seen a snake in the wild? No. Can’t say there’s a lot of them here in the city, and I’ve never seen any in my trip to provinces either.

What's your favourite movie from the 80s? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Do you have any posters, paintings or other artwork on your walls? I have at least one of each of these, yes.

What would your dream wedding be like? Huge. I’d want a long guest list, expansive food choices, and acts that can provide good music throughout the evening. I never really throw parties for myself, so I would want at least my own wedding to be big.

Would you ever take a trip to space if given the chance? Yesssssss.

How do you cope with anxiety? I'm lucky to have found different outlets, so that said I usually choose from taking surveys, watching a favorite channel on YouTube, turning to my dogs, going to social media to see dumb memes, or taking a nap altogether. Of course there’ll always be those days where none of these work out and I’ll have to just cry through the anxiety attacks until they’re over.

Are you expecting any phone calls or emails? I’m expecting an email from my college, yes. I’m currently applying for civil service eligibility and they’re asking for documents that only the college can provide, so I emailed them a couple of days ago asking for assistance, and that’s considering we’re still under a lockdown and most offices are still under skeleton staffing.

What's the weather like in your part of the world right now? LOVELY. I actually wear oversized sweaters to bed now and I even managed to wear a thick denim jacket out today. The rainy weather has settled beautifully, and I’m perfectly fine with 24ºC-28ºC everyday.

What was the last takeout food you ate? My mom bought me and my siblings a chicken sandwich and chicken nuggets each from McDonald’s last week.

Who makes you laugh the most? Definitely someone from my college barkada. I can’t decide whether it’s Aya, Kate, JM, or Jum; they’re all equally hilarious as fuck.

Do you know anyone with the same middle name as you? See these questions are always weird to me because my country has its own naming customs; it’s basically a mix of American and Spanish customs. We have two first names (where Westerners would understand their second ‘first’ name to be their middle name) and our actual legal middle name is our mother’s maiden surname (which I think doesn’t apply at all in the Western world). So to answer this I’ll go with our own customs and say that no, I don’t know of anyone who has the same middle name as me. It’s not a very common surname anyway.

What did you have done the last time you saw a dentist? Had a tooth removed. I don’t think it was a wisdom tooth; it was just a tooth at the back of my mouth that had been in pretty bad shape for years but was only discovered at that time.

What does a successful relationship look like to you? I believe the formula is different for every couple. Like I value constant communication and checkups, but others might not feel the need to be clingy or update their significant others all the time.

What do you like to put on your baked potato? Don’t really have these a lot, but I remember when my mom used to make baked potatoes with bacon and cheese and those were unbelievably good.

What field of science interests you the most? Biology. <3 I’m sure I would’ve taken up medicine if I only wasn’t so bad in the rest of the sciences.

What's the closest shop or restaurant to your house? There aren’t any nearby shops since I live in a gated community, but once you get out of the village’s main gate, the first thing to the left is a McDonald’s. To the right is a small complex with a hair salon, burger place, music school, and one of those boujee stores that sell hype clothing.

Do you have any family that live in another country? So many relatives. We’re Filipinos, man. We migrate everyfuckingwhere. As far as I know I have family living in the US, Canada, Vietnam, Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand.

What colour is your couch? Gray.

Do you know how to care for plants and keep them alive? Not at all. Every single plant that I’ve been given as a gift or party giveaway has died on me.

What was the most memorable birthday you've had? 18th was awesome. Cruise trip, hotel stay with friends, Tiendesitas + noodle date with Gab. How I got away with three separate celebrations without my parents saying anything about it I’ll never know.

Would you rather go to the beach or the mountains? Beach. The area where I live is mountainous as it is; as someone who’s always lived and studied in the city, a trip to the beach in the province never gets old.

What do you do for work? I don’t have any yet but I’m waiting for openings for our national agency for either history, or culture and the arts. My plans have shifted recently and I’m now eyeing to work for either instead of rotting away while underpaid at a corporate agency.

Have you ever been to see the circus? No. I wouldn’t be interested either; they all just seem so harsh and unethical. 

Are there any words that you hate or make you cringe? Sure.

What is the best house you've ever lived in? The one we live in today has been the most comfortable; but I also hold a lot of nostalgia for my dad’s parents’ house in Tondo because of how raw Manila life was there. Life wasn’t pretty, but it did feel real.

What was the first CD you ever bought? The first CD I actively wanted my parents to buy for me was probably the High School Musical soundtrack, heheh.

Do you look in the mirror before you leave the house? Yeah, always. Wanna make sure my shirt is tucked in properly (if it is), or that my jeans aren’t cuffed funny or whatever else.

What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? I’ve mentioned this before but it was the Indian dessert gulab jamun. Really did not expect the flavor that came in when it hit my mouth.

Have you ever seen someone quit their job in a dramatic way? I’ve never had a legit job, but when Jeuel quit the org a couple of years ago because of ~irreconcilable differences~ between him and us officers in the executive board it did feel a tad bit dramatic and passive-aggressive.

What movie reminds you of your childhood? Shrek 2 or The Game Plan.

Do you know why your parents named you what they did? The singer named Robyn was really big then and they ended up being fans of the name.

Do you have any bills that need to be paid? None of my own. My parents usually pay the family bills immediately, so I don’t think we have any pending payments for now.

What do you like to dip your fries in? Mayonnaise.

Is your house clean or messy right now? It’s always clean as my mom is extremely tidy.

What was the last email you received? It’s one of the job-hunting websites I’ve signed up for, giving me job alerts for new openings in my chosen industries.

Do you know someone who speaks without a filter? Yeah and I know people who do it responsibly and those who just come off as tactless.

Are you in any social groups? We call our college group the Daydrinkers, since our friendship began when we started constantly hanging out at nearby bars at like 2 PM, during our breaks lol. I used to be in a barkada in high school but Angela and I broke apart from that since we couldn’t deal with Athenna’s toxicity anymore, though I still keep in touch with most of them, like Chelsea and Kaira. Since then Angela and I have formed our own group consisting mostly of Angela’s friends from architecture and Hans’ friends from Ateneo.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Sigh, around 4. I don’t know why it was so few, but it also means that I’m currently drowsy as all hell at 9:03 PM. I will most likely turn in for bed after this.

What's your favourite kind of museum? Those that cover history, so museums that have artifacts and fossils and shit.

Do you believe in alternate universes? I like the idea, and I love literature that explores the idea of alternate realities, multiple universes, pocket universes, etc. Whether or not I believe they exist...idk. I don’t think about it that much in literal terms. < Yeah pretty much. Gaby Dunn wrote an amazing piece on multiverses and that was what got me to find comfort in the idea.

Whose house did you last visit? I was at Gabie’s place this afternoon. We had burritos, talked about career prospects, and puppy-sat our babies.

What games do you play on your smart phone? I turn to 1010 when I’m bored or anxious. I have like 30 other games but I never touch them lol, but I do keep them should the time be right to whip them out.

Have you ever been to Los Angeles? I have not.

What was the first concert you ever went to? Paramore, February 2013. I was a late bloomer; kids my age started going to concerts at least three years before that.

Do you know anyone who is colourblind? I don’t think so.

What's your favourite season and why? The wet season, because it’s colder and I hate the heat during the dry season.

Are you the youngest, middle or eldest child in your family? I’m the eldest.

If you had to make something for a potluck, what would you make? I recently watched this phenomenal recipe for 48-hour chocolate chip cookies that looked absolutely bonkers when they were done baking. I’d for sure give those a try for dessert. If that fails I’d just buy the food so that what I bring is more guaranteed to be good.

What kinds of decorations do you put up at Halloween? My family has never cared much for Halloween. It’s not even a legit holiday, so as much as I love Halloween I don’t think I would spend for decorations myself to decorate my own place. The only instance I imagine doing so would be if I have kids of my own who may want to get into the Halloween ~spirit.

How many tabs do you have open right now? In my current window, eight.

What's something you've been meaning to do but keep putting off? Taking another online course, just because it’s great to learn new things and earn free certifications while at it. I haven’t been doing a good job at being consistent with them, though.

What's the first thing you check on your phone at the start of the day? Facebook since it’s my primary social media now. Literally never thought this day would come.

Have you ever flown a kite? Yeah but it’s been a while.

Who was your favourite music artist when you were 16? This was the time I was slowly moving away from my punk phase and inching closer to Athenna’s music tastes, so I was into acts like Hozier, Banks, Daya, Twenty One Pilots, etc.

What are three things you usually always have in your fridge? Water, bread, eggs.

[lynnthekiristan]

✨ christmas fic because christmas is beautiful and kiribaku is beautiful

✨ if there's Katsuki there's language obviously so... be warned

✨ loads of fluffiness ahead, so get ready

...

𝕔𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤 𝕘𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕤

Eijirou was one sucker for the whole Christmas package. The little shit was already over-excited the whole year round, but when his favorite holiday came around, he blew up like a glitter bomb. He wouldn't stop smiling for a second during Christmas Eve and Christmas day. He obviously loved it all, but the light in his eye would glimmer the brightest when giving gifts. Somehow he /always/ knew exactly what everybody wanted, and he fucking squeaked when he saw the happiness he caused just by giving a tiny thing.

Now, Katsuki? He never liked that whole Christmas thing. He certainly despised the whole caroling around - for some reason everytime Christmas came around people started thinking they could actually sing, which they didn't. He wasn't fond of the feast part as well, chicken wasn't really his food. And he hated having to pretend he liked those lame ass gifts he recieved from his family, as if a pale green button up shirt was something he'd ever wear. But the lights, he enjoyed them. Not those over the top decorations, that shine so bright you have to fucking squint to look at them. Those yellow tiny lights, hung in windows, always had him looking up with a faint smile on his face.

But that was before he started dating Kirishima. It had been what? A month since he had /finally/ gathered enough courage to confess to Eijirou, and almost died of surprise when learning that Eijirou liked him back. They were already more than best friends before, honestly, so for them to transition into boyfriends was fairly easy. Katsuki had never been happier.

And then Christmas came closer and closer and he could clearly see Eijirou blooming into the most adorable little enthusiast, everyday a new present piling up on the corner of their room, and normally the closer to Christmas it got, the more pissed Katsuki got, but just being close that shining Eijirou made it impossible for him to be grumpy.

And it was insane how good he was feeling on Christmas Eve. It wasn't much of a religious date in Japan, more of a second Valentines Day of sorts. And Katsuki usually hated the couples cuddling nonstop, like the fucking holiday meant they could go around and bother everyone around. Well, needless to say he wouldn't let go of Eijirou, pretending he had found a mistletoe every two seconds and kissing him softly. And it wasn't like he wasn't enjoying it, seeing that he would chuckle every time, saying how Katsuki was dishonoring a sacred holiday tradition, but would shortly kiss him once again.

The clock had ticked the so awaited midnight, but Eijirou - that impatient fucker - had already given the presents to everyone. /Almost/ everyone. It got to the point Katsuki even worried Eijirou had forgotten about him, but wasn't caring that much. Being able to kiss Ei the way he did, to sleep and cuddle with him every night, was enough of a present.

Of course he couldn't help the little pain that spiked in his heart. Ei always loved giving presents so much, why wouldn't he give one to his /boyfriend/. Modesty apart, he himself had given shitty hair an exclusive vintage Crimson Riot package.

He shouldn't think about it that much. It would only make him sad, and him sad would take a bit of Eijirou's bright happiness, and that would be a crime.

He left the noisy common room to take some air outside the dorms, feeling the cool breeze ruffle his hair and make his breath appear in little clouds.

He didn't notice the presence of the redhead until his built arms wrapped the blonde's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.

"Hey Kat"

"Hey shitty hair"

Katsuki felt his boyfriend's chuckle rumble through his chest and he couldn't help but smile.

"I bet you're panicking over not getting a present"

Katsuki froze. Was it /that/ easy to read him, after all?

"Shut the fuck up"

Once more, a laugh rumbled through his whole body, making it hard for Katsuki to stop the blush that was already creeping its way through his face. It got worse when Eijirou turned him around, his crimson eyes looking at Katsuki as he were the most important being in the whole world, their faces inches apart.

He was almost kissing the redhead when he pulled apart and smiled softly.

"I've been brainstorming for weeks to try and figure out what present I should give you. I've been through every All Might collectibles store in this city, every shop, every site with the title 'What to buy for your boyfriend this Christmas?', but I couldn't find anything good enough for you"

Katsuki could cry. Wait, he was already crying. Maybe he would care later, but right now the only thing he felt was an absurd love for his boyfriend, the fucking love of his life.

"So I thought I'd... Fuck it's so stupid. I'm giving myself to you"

"W- What?"

Eijirou chuckled nervously as he scratched his neck.

"Shit... I'm fucking it up. God... I should just do it"

Then, Eijirou did what Katsuki would have never thought he would. He dropped down in one knee and took a little ring box from his pocket.

"Bakugou Katsuki, I have been madly in love with you since the day I set eye on that angry beautiful blonde destroying the robots in the entrance exam. You make me feel special, and like I can be the hero I want to be, right beside you. We're super young, I'm not saying we'll marry now, but... But this is a promise Kat. A promise that I'll be with you forever. Sure, we can... Get married if you want to and stuff, but only after were both the best heroes this country has ever seen”

Inside the box, a beautiful silver ring worked as pendant for a chain of the same color.

Katsuki was fucking wordless. He didn't know what to say. His heart throbbed so much he thought it would explode, he /really/ wasn't expecting that. Eijirou must have misunderstood his processing silence for a incredulous one.

"Sh- Shit I'm so sorry Katsuki, I thought it would be a- a good idea, clearly..."

"Shut up and kiss me shitty hair"

Eijirou stopped in his tracks, leaving his mouth open as if he was still talking.

"What?"

"Fucking kiss me, Ei"

He didn't need to be told thrice. Eijirou was quick to be back on his feet, smashing Katsuki's lips with relief. Soon the kiss started tasting salty and Katsuki parted from Eijirou to see tears flooding down his eyes.

"The fuck you crying for hair-for-brains?"

The crying 5'7" man laughed softly, carefully taking a strand of blonde hair out of his partner's face.

"I just love you so much, Kat"

"I know"

He said, smirking, before resuming his kiss. After quite a night (and some of the best fucks of their lives, to be honest) the boyfriends cuddled under the warm blanket Eijirou has chosen as his backup gift.

"Ei"

"Mmm~?"

"You fucking better start thinking now if you want to top this year's present for the years to come"

~ the end

[wistfulcynic]

Osaka-shi Serenade 2 / 4

IN WHICH there is Christmas dinner and intense bonding, drunken shenanigans, and smut!

SUMMARY: When Emma Swan’s high school sweetheart betrays her she runs away, as far as she can get… all the way to Japan. She tells herself it’s not running, it’s an adventure, but when she meets a handsome Englishman as broken as she is, will she be brave enough to embark on a new adventure with him?

A//N: THANK YOU ALL for the lovely response to this story! As I said it’s a very personal one, and slower and sweeter than the kinds of things I usually write. I loved living in Japan and writing this has been a trip down memory lane that I’ve very much enjoyed. I’m so pleased you’re enjoying it too!

RATING: M (for this chapter!!)

On AO3

TAGGING: @captainsjedi @teamhook @kmomof4 @winterbaby89 @searchingwardrobes @shireness-says @thejollyroger-writer @darkcolinodonorgasm @resident-of-storybrooke and of course @katie-dub and THANKING @distant-rose and @thisonesatellite for being brilliant betas. 

(please let me know if you would like a tag!!)

PART2:

Christmas was, of course, not a holiday celebrated in Japan. 

Of course it wasn’t, thought Emma, as she got ready for work on the 25th of December, five weeks after she’d moved to Osaka. Japan was a primarily Buddhist and Shinto country, and also, as Belle had explained to them in their last team meeting, the New Year was huge, and they would have a full week off for that. Emma understood.

But still, going to work on Christmas felt weird. 

She’d already Skyped with Ingrid and Ruby and wished them Merry Christmas. There was snow in Storybrooke and her adoptive mom had carried the laptop outside to show her the snowman she and Leo had built, and all the presents under the tree, and even though Emma knew it was really just another day on the calendar, although she’d already lived through missing Thanksgiving, although Christmas carols played everywhere in Osaka all. the. time. since she’d arrived, she still couldn’t help feeling sad. 

Adventure, she reminded herself as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Trying new things. There would be other Christmases.  

The expat pubs in Osaka, of which there were very, very many, seemed to understand her melancholy, or at least found a way to profit off it. Every one of them offered “Christmas dinner:” a choice of roast turkey or beef with potatoes and vegetables, smothered in gravy and accompanied by a pint of Guinness. 

“I like a good roast dinner as much as anyone,” remarked Killian as they stood in a hugely crowded pub, looking for a seat and observing as those already seated ate their food, “But that is not a good roast dinner.” 

“It suits me, mate,” said Will. “I intend to get pissed tonight, all I need is somethin’ to cushion the alcohol.” 

“Well, I’m going to find a less… popular place to celebrate the Yuletide,” said Killian. “If anyone would care to join me?”

“I will.” Emma didn’t like the look of the roast meats or the thin gravy, plus it was too loud in the pub and far too hot. She felt claustrophobic and very un-Christmassy.

“And me.” Anna had been subdued all day, for the past few days actually, and the prospect of a Christmas dinner had cheered her almost back to her usual self. But now she looked down again. “Let’s get out of here.” 

The three of them headed out into the streets, still busy and bustling though it was nearly midnight, and decided to walk towards Shinsaibashi. 

“There must be someplace there that’s nicer than that bloody pub,” said Killian. “I don’t know why we go to that place so often, if I wanted a piss-up in a run-down local I’d’ve fucking stayed at home.” 

Everyone was grumpy tonight, thought Emma. They could all use some Christmas spirit. 

“We could always go to KFC,” she attempted to joke. “A student told me today that’s a Japanese Christmas tradition. A bucket of KFC and a strawberry cake.” 

“No,” said Killian firmly. “I want a decent meal. I’ve been looking forward to it all day.” 

“So have I,” Anna agreed. 

They pushed forward through the thickening crowds, but when they reached the entrance to the covered part of Shinsaibashi-suji, where the lights were so bright it almost rivalled daytime and where shops, restaurants, pachinko parlours, and karaoke bars were all jumbled together in a bright mess of noise and energy, Anna held back. 

“I don’t know if I’m really feeling this,” she said. 

“What’s wrong?” Emma asked her. “You seem down.” 

“Yeah, I just— I don’t want a lot of noise. Can we maybe try someplace else? What about down here?”

They turned down a quieter side street, still bright and bustling but far less crowded. After a few minutes Anna stopped. 

“How about this place?” she asked, indicating a red-fronted building with a dark-painted wooden door and a sign outside proclaiming it Osaka’s best steakhouse in almost correct English. 

“Charley Brown’s?” said Emma, reading the sign. “Yeah, okay. Fine with me.” 

Killian opened the door and they went in, indicated with hand gestures to the smiling and bowing hostess that they wanted a table for three, then followed her up the stairs to a small candlelit table in a quiet corner of the spacious room. 

“This is nice,” said Emma, determinedly cheerful. 

“Aye, it really is,” agreed Killian. His earlier mood seemed to have lifted, but Anna was still frowning. 

She hovered next to the table as Emma and Killian sat down. “I don’t think I can do this,” she said. 

“Do what?” said Emma, trying not to be annoyed. “I wish you’d tell us what’s wrong.”

“It’s— it’s Kristoff,” she said, looking sideways at Killian. “My ex. I— he— I talked to him last night and I’m just— I’m not feeling great.”  

“Do you want to talk about it?” offered Emma.

“No. Thanks. I think I just want to be alone.” She tried to smile, though the strain in her face was evident. “You guys stay though, please. Have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Okay. See you.” Emma watched her go, then turned to Killian. “What was that about?”

He scratched behind his ear. “I think she’s just having some troubles with people from home,” he said. “She and her ex ended in a weird place.” 

Emma could tell that wasn’t the whole story but she wasn’t going to try to pry someone else’s secrets from Killian. He and Anna were close and had been friends before she’d met either of them, and it really wasn’t her business. 

Yet Anna’s departure left her and Killian alone together in an atmosphere that was undeniably and inescapably romantic. Their table was small and felt secluded in its little corner, lit with tea lights in decorative holders and by the soft glow of the shaded wall sconces above them. It was intimate and elegant, and the nicest restaurant Emma had ever been in. 

“Well,” said Killian brightly. “What looks good?”

The menu was extensive and a bit confusing, but Emma’s attention was caught by a small card tucked between the salt and pepper shakers on the table, advertising a Christmas meal that looked delicious, far better than what the pub had been offering. Five courses plus wine for 4,000 yen. It was expensive, but it was also Christmas, and Emma felt like she’d earned it. 

“I think I might just try this,” she said. 

Killian picked up the card and nodded. “Sounds great,” he agreed. “I’ll do the same.” 

The waiter appeared and they gave their order, and once he had taken it and bowed himself away, silence fell between Killian and Emma, alone with each other for the first time and for the first time feeling awkward. 

Emma was determined not to be. 

“So are you ever going to tell me the story of your notebook?” she asked him, a hint of challenge in her tone. 

“Do I look like Nicholas Sparks?” quipped Killian, and she chuckled politely but she knew deflection when she saw it, and she was not about to let it slide. 

“I have no idea,” she retorted, “But I suspect your notebook would be a heck of a lot more interesting than his.” 

“Not a Sparks fan then Swan?”

“Stop trying to change the subject.” 

Killian sighed, and rubbed behind his ear again. Emma made a mental note to play poker with him someday; with a tell that obvious he’d be an easy mark. 

“Well if you must know I was taking notes because… because I’m thinking I might write a book. Someday. And when I have ideas I think could possibly go in it, I write them down.” His ears had gone pink, and the tops of his cheeks. Emma could not have been more charmed. 

“Why would you feel like you needed to hide that?” she asked. “I think it’s amazing.” 

He shrugged. “It’s just theoretical at this point, I haven’t actually written anything. But I used to write short stories when I was younger and my brother always said—” he broke off. 

“What did he say?” she prompted.

“He said I had a gift.” Killian replied in a low voice. 

“Sounds like a good brother.” 

“He was.” 

“Was? What happened?” The words were out before she could think better of them, and she tensed, hoping she hadn’t pushed too far.

“He died.”  

She remembered what he’d said during their first meeting, on the subway. “Was that the funeral you wore the tie to?” she asked.  “The tie you threw away?”

He nodded, looking down at his hands where they rested on the table. “Yes.” 

“I’m so sorry, Killian.” 

“It was a long time ago.” He looked away again. 

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt.” She knew this, of course. Firsthand.

“No.” 

She also knew how important it was to talk about things that hurt. “Will you tell me about him?”

Killian looked up at her and she sensed apprehension but also relief, that he actually badly wanted to talk about this with someone who would understand. That he was hoping she would understand.

He had no idea just how much she did understand. 

“Liam was my hero. That might sound foolish—” 

“It doesn’t.” 

“—but he was. He was eight years older than me but he always used to let me tag along with him and his friends. I didn’t realise what a big deal that was until I got older myself. In the summer he would take me to the library and help me find books to read and then sometimes we would get the train to Weymouth and go to the beach. He made me play rugby even though I do not have the build for it because he thought it would make me tougher than football would, and when our father went into drunken rages he would take the brunt of it to protect me.” 

These last words came out all in a rush and his expression was almost defiant, expecting pity or judgement. 

She offered neither, just took his hand and squeezed it hard. 

“How did he die?” she asked. “If you don’t mind telling me.” 

“I don’t like to talk about it, but… I think I’d like for you to know.” He took a deep breath and his fingers tightened on hers. “It was a car accident. Just a stupid, pointless accident, only I was driving. I was seventeen and practicing for my driving test, and I turned onto a busy road and some arsehole wasn’t watching where he was going and plowed into the passenger side, and killed my brother. Instantly. Just like that and he was gone. The police said there was nothing I did wrong, but I can’t help feeling like—” 

“Like you should have been able to do something to prevent it.” 

Relief flashed in his eyes, and gratitude. “Yeah.” 

“I get it. My parents died in a car accident too.”

Relief turned to empathy. “Oh, love.” 

“Yeah. I was twelve, and my brother Leo was two. So we have that in common too, that big gap between siblings. My dad was killed instantly, like your brother, but my mom died pulling me and Leo out of the wreckage.” She paused, blinking tears back, breathing deeply, pushing down the panic this memory still incited, even after more than a decade. “She pulled me out first, I was easier to reach, then told me to wait while she went back for Leo. She got him free but she had internal bleeding and strained herself too much.”

Her voice broke, and Killian held her hand even tighter. “Fucking hell,” he whispered. 

“Yeah.” She swallowed hard, focused on her breathing. “It was pretty awful. My mom— she put Leo in my arms and then she collapsed and never got up again, and I— I have spent the past eleven years thinking if only I had stayed with her maybe I could have saved them both.” Her confession came in a rush, as his had done. 

“Or maybe you’d have been killed too.” Killian’s voice was hoarse. “You were a child, Emma, there is nothing you could have done. 

“Maybe. As it was all I had was a few bruises and Leo barely a scratch.” 

“But that’s good, love. You had your brother, and he had you. I’m sure knowing that would have made your parents happy.” 

It was the kindest thing anyone had ever said to her about the accident, much less someone who had lost his own brother so cruelly. Emma felt the tears she’d been fighting back spill over, and wiped her eyes with an embarrassed laugh. 

“So that’s why you don’t like wearing ties,” she tried to joke. “At least that mystery is solved.” 

“Aye. My father made me wear one to the funeral and cuffed me on the side of the head when I protested, said I was being disrespectful to Liam’s memory.” Fury flashed in his eyes, barely leashed, offering a glimpse of how terrifying he would be if he ever let it loose. Showing that his memories were as fresh as hers were. “Like he hadn’t spent Liam’s entire fucking life being disrespectful, like it’s so respectful to take out your drunken bitterness on your own bloody child.”

“So what did you do?”

“I put on the tie and I went to the funeral. Then when my brother was in the ground I burned the tie, and the suit, punched my father in his fucking face and left. I haven’t seen him since.” 

Emma could imagine him, young and lost and drowning in pain and fury. She wanted to hug him, but instead she gently rubbed her thumb across his fingers. “Where did you go?”

“I’ve always loved the sea so I went down to Weymouth, where I used to go to the beach with Liam. I went to the harbour there and found myself a job as a labourer on a fishing boat, backbreaking work but I was lucky to get it. I worked there for just over a year, until I had enough money saved to pay for university. What about you? What happened after your parents passed?”

“It was pretty confusing for a while. We stayed with my friend Ruby and her grandmother since my parents didn’t have any close family to take us in, but then the state wanted to put us into the foster system. They said they’d keep us together, but I didn’t trust them, so when the social worker came to talk to us I wouldn’t let her in. I held the door shut and then I kicked and scratched and bit her, and eventually she gave up and left. She was furious. She shouted at me that Leo could be adopted into a nice family and if I was good they’d take me too. She said I was going to ruin his life, but I knew my parents would have wanted him to grow up with his own family. Even if that was only me.” She gave a self-deprecating shrug. 

“Eventually my mother’s distant cousin, Ingrid, heard about what happened. She came and found us and took custody of us. Three years later she adopted us. She even moved to the little town where we lived so that we wouldn’t have to be separated from our friends and familiar surroundings.” She sniffed as tears prickled behind her eyes again. “I don’t know what we’d have done without her.”

Killian smiled, though he looked teary himself. “So a happy ending, then, of a sort.” 

“As happy as it could be I suppose. Leo’s thirteen now and he’s a normal, happy kid. He loves Ingrid and doesn’t remember our parents, which—” she paused and took a deep breath before speaking, words she had never uttered to another person, words she had barely even managed to think. But she’d already told him so much, what was one more painful revelation? She could analyse her seemingly irresistible urge to spill all her secrets to him sometime later. “—I almost envy him for that,” she whispered. “I miss them so much. Even after all this time. I cry every day on the anniversary of their deaths.” 

Killian’s hand shifted in hers, and she felt the soft brush of his thumb across her knuckles. “I cry on the anniversary of Liam’s,” he said, in a voice that held sadness and pain and profound empathy. He understood, of course. She’d known he would. 

The waiter arrived with their first courses, shattering the intimate mood, and abruptly they were self-conscious, pulling their hands apart and smiling with forced cheerfulness as plates were set before them. Emma could still feel the imprint of Killian’s fingers in hers as she picked up her fork. 

“This looks good!” she said brightly. 

“Aye. Far better than that slop from the pub.” 

They ate in silence for a minute and Emma, desperate for the ease of understanding between them not to grow strained searched for some topic of conversation less heavy than dead families. 

“So why did you—” she began.

“What brings you to—” started Killian, and they laughed. 

“I was just going to ask why you came to Japan,” said Emma. 

“Funny, that’s what I was going to ask you.” 

She grinned at him. “You first.” 

“Well it’s not that interesting a story, really. After uni I took an awful boring job, in public relations. I’ve no idea why I even took it, my degree is in Modern Languages, but they needed someone who spoke French so they offered it to me. The salary was better than any other offers I’d had and they said they were a ‘cool young’ firm and I wouldn’t have to wear a suit, so I thought why the fuck not for a year or two. But then before I knew it, it was five years later and I was bloody miserable. I hated every morning I had to wake up and go to work, but I stayed in the job because I didn’t really have any idea what else I even wanted to do. Then one day out of nowhere I ran into Graham in London. We’d been at uni together and hadn’t seen each other since, so we went for a drink to catch up and he told me he was there for an interview to teach in Japan. He made it sound like an amazing opportunity, said I should come too since they were still recruiting, and I had always wanted to go to Asia so I said I’d give it some thought. And then the next day my boss told me they were cutting the staff and offered me voluntary redundancy and I said hell yes, took the money, and before I was even out the door was on the phone with Graham for the details of that job.” 

“Wow, it’s lucky you ran into him.” 

“Indeed. We weren’t ever that close and I hadn’t spoken to him in years. It was just a weird coincidence that we happened to be in the same place at the same time. What?” he asked, seeing her face. 

“Nothing, really, it’s just I’m kinda here by weird coincidence too.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I— I wanted to get away. From my life, and from my ex.” She glanced up at him, hoping he wouldn’t ask for details. She really didn’t want to talk about Neal, not with Killian. But he just nodded for her to continue. “So I just randomly googled ‘jobs in other countries’ and this came up. I’d never even considered going to Japan or even leaving the US, but it was like once the idea got into my head I couldn’t get rid of it. I felt like I had to go. Ruby thought I was nuts.” She laughed. “Maybe I was. But also, like, the interviews were being held in Boston, which is a three hour drive and a longer train ride and I wouldn’t normally have ben able to manage it, but the day they wanted to interview me I happened to have plans to be in Boston anyway, with Ruby actually. It was just all so easy, like it just fell into place. I don’t normally believe in signs, but that sure as hell felt like one.”

Killian shook his head, an odd, small smile on his face. 

“What?” she asked him. 

“I was just thinking of all the little things that had to come together in order for us to meet,” he said. “The odds against it were staggering.” 

“And yet here we are,” she said softly, matching his smile with her own. 

“Here we are,” he agreed. 

—

They left the restaurant feeling content, full of wine and good food and the excitement humming softly beneath their skin at this hazy, undefined, unspoken-but-still-very-real thing that was blossoming between them, the attraction and the understanding and the sense of kinship that was unlike anything either had experienced before. Killian held the door for her and then when they fell into step his hand brushed against hers and Emma thought the spark might actually set her on fire. She edged closer and let her knuckles brush his in a way that was unmistakably deliberate, then his fingertips were tracing across her palm and— 

“Oi, Jones! Emma!” 

Will’s voice rang out from across the street and Killian and Emma all but leapt apart. 

She didn’t know why, Emma thought crossly. They hadn’t been doing anything, yet the nothing they’d been doing was new and fragile and intensely personal, and she imagined Killian didn’t want their friends interfering in it any more than she did. 

She glanced at him and he shot her a wry grin, and they crossed the street to join the group. Will was with Graham and Smee and all three were very much the worse for alcohol. 

“We are goin’,” said Will, with the painstaking enunciation of the very intoxicated, “to sing karaoke. An’ you two,” he poked Killian’s chest with his finger. “Are comin’ along.”

“Mate—” began Killian, glancing again at Emma. 

“Come on!” Will grabbed Killian’s arm and took a step forward, stumbling over the curb into the street and almost sending both himself and Killian flying headfirst into the gutter. 

Killian steadied them both. “I’m not sure you’re in any state for karaoke, mate,” he said. “Maybe we should all just go home.” 

“The night is young!” declared Will. 

“It’s almost four a.m.” 

“And we don’t ‘ave to be at work until three p.m.!” 

Killian looked imploringly at Smee and Graham. 

“Killian’s right, Scarlet,” said Graham. “You’re plastered and the rest of us are knackered, let’s get a taxi and go home. We’ll do karaoke another time.” 

“Fine if you lot don’t wanna sing. But I am not goin’ home yet,” retorted Will, pulling his arm away from Killian and stalking off, as best he could stalk when he could barely keep his own feet under him. They watched him stagger for a minute, and finally Graham sighed. 

“I’ll go after him,” he said. “Get him home safe. You guys don’t have to wait.” 

“You sure?” said Smee. “I can go with—” 

“No, you get a taxi with Emma and Killian, you all live in the same direction so it makes sense.” 

Emma and Killian exchanged looks. It did make sense, but Smee lived at the same subway stop as Killian, which meant…

“Okay.” Smee grinned at Emma. “I’ll be h— happy to escort you home, my lady.” She felt Killian tense up beside her, and when she glanced at him his jaw was clenched tight. He caught her eye and shrugged. What could they do? Ditch Smee because they wanted to be alone in the taxi, maybe go back to one or the other’s apartment together? 

Was that what they wanted? 

It was definitely what Emma wanted, and she thought Killian did too, but they could hardly discuss that here. 

Graham said goodbye and hurried after Will, chasing him deeper into the noise and crowds of Shinsaibashi, while Emma, Killian, and Smee turned in the other direction and headed for the taxi ranks on the quieter street of Midosuji. 

“Imazato chikatetsu eki, kudasai,” said Emma to the driver as she got into the taxi between Smee and Killian. Her stop was closest.  

“Imazato, hai!” he replied, and swerved the taxi in a sharp u-turn out into the street, tilting Emma almost into Killian’s lap. She braced herself against him and his hand came to rest on her knee, and when the taxi evened out along the wide avenue he didn’t move it. 

Emma shifted, as subtly as she could, leaning into Killian’s side and pressing her leg against his. She could tell he was looking at her but she didn’t turn her head, didn’t dare risk seeing his face. He moved his fingers against her knee, almost imperceptibly, and when she merely pressed her leg harder against his he slid his hand slowly up her thigh, just to the middle of it. Casually, she let her hand come to rest next to his, looping their little fingers together. She heard him exhale slowly, as if trying to control his breathing, and he shifted himself, pressing his body all along the length of hers and twining their fingers more tightly together. Emma glanced over at Smee, but he was leaning his head against the window, oblivious. 

All too soon they arrived at Imazato. Killian got out of the taxi to let Emma out. As she brushed past him he caught her waist and gave it a light squeeze. She looked up at his eyes, so blue in the bright lights from the subway station, brimming with emotions that made her heart race. Another time, his eyes said, and she nodded. 

Emma ran across the street to her building and up the stairs two at a time, all five flights of them. She was feeling exhilarated and jumpy and humming with energy. She flung open the apartment door and kicked off her shoes, almost dancing into the living room. 

“Do you mind,” said Aurora’s voice from the sofa. “We are watching a movie.” 

“Oh.” Emma turned to see Aurora and Mulan sprawled out with a laptop on the table in front of them, sharing a set of headphones. “Sorry. I thought you guys would be at work.” 

“We did a half day today,” said Mulan. 

“We finished about an hour ago,” added Aurora. “You’re back really late.” 

“Oh, I just went out to dinner with a friend. For Christmas. Um, Merry Christmas, by the way.” 

“About that,” said Aurora. “Just so you know, next week we’re having a party. For the New Year. With some friends from our shift. Just so you can make your own plans.” 

Mulan shot her an apologetic look, but Emma just shrugged. She was used to Aurora’s passive aggression by now. “That’s fine,” she said. “I’m, um, gonna go to bed now. See you guys later.” She could hear Aurora whispering as she slid her bedroom’s thin doors shut but she tuned it out. 

Her mind and heart were still racing as she got into her pajamas and flopped down on her futon. Just one more week, she thought, four more days of work and then they had nine days off for the New Year. Nine days of vacation, surely, surely she and Killian could find some time to be alone with each other again. 

She closed her eyes with a smile and fell asleep thinking about him. 

— 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 — 🇯🇵 

The following week passed much as the ones before it had. She saw Killian at work and he still flirted and shared his lunch with her and outwardly everything was almost the same. And yet… whenever the group was together they made sure to stand next to each other, closer than they would have stood before. They sat closer too, at lunch, and shared little private smiles, and now and then when she was laughing or talking animatedly she looked up to catch him watching her with an intensity that made her heart pound.

After their shift on December 29th the group headed out, back to Shinsaibashi to a new bar Will wanted to try. 

“I hear they make some fuckin’ killer drinks, mates,” he said. “There’s this blue shite, right, that has five different shots of liquor.” 

“Five, really?” said Graham. “You’d be dead.” 

“Nah, mate, not after one. It’d take at least three to end me,” chortled Will. 

He held the door open for them with a flourish, and rubbed his hands together as it closed behind him. The room was brightly lit, done in shades of electric blue and glaring white and the bar was made of glass and decorated to look like a fish tank. Emma frowned at it, watching carefully until she was certain that the realistic-looking fish were not actually swimming. 

“I think they’re just… part of the glass?” said Anna. 

“Yeah, I think you’re right. Weird.” 

The bar’s glass top was scattered with laminated menus, featuring pictures of vibrantly hued drinks. 

“That’s it!” crowed Will, pointing at a drink the same blue shade as the neon sign above the bar. “That’s the one. I’ll ‘ave one a those, kudasai.” He pointed at the menu and the bartender nodded. 

“Make it six,” said Will, holding up his left hand with the five fingers splayed wide and his right index finger held vertically across its palm. “My treat, mates.” 

“Roku, hai,” acknowledged the bartender. 

The bar was staffed by three terrifyingly efficient men, and their drinks arrived quickly. Emma took a sip of hers and grimaced. It was good, but it was strong. 

“What the hell is in this?” she demanded. 

“Not sure,” said Will. “I think one is absinthe.” 

“Isn’t that illegal?” queried Anna.

“Maybe not in Japan,” suggested Graham. 

“Absinthe is green,” Killian informed them, holding his drink up to the light. “Famously so. I don’t think there’s anything green in here, this is likely the bluest substance known to man.” 

They all laughed and kept sipping, and the more they sipped the louder their laughter grew until the blue beverages were all consumed and Will was asking the bartender for more. 

“I don’ think I could drink more,” said Emma, leaning heavily against Killian as the room spun gently around her, not even caring about the sharp look Anna shot her as she clutched the sleeve of his suit jacket. She liked Anna, very much, and whenever they were alone the other woman was friendliness itself but as far as very-pleasantly-buzzed Emma was concerned, she needed either to say she wanted Killian or not say it, but all these little wordless glares whenever Emma was close to him were starting to get tiresome. 

Especially as Emma had every intention of getting much closer to him before the night was done. 

Will was arguing with the bartender who refused to make them more blue drinks, offering them every other colour on the menu, and Graham was trying to intervene. Smee was watching them with his habitual slightly vague expression and Anna was pretending to watch while actually keeping her eyes on Emma as she laid her head on Killian’s shoulder and his arm snuck around her waist. 

“All right, Swan?” he murmured. 

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I feel good.�� 

It was one of the nicest buzzes she’d ever had, in fact. She felt light and loose and carefree, but not confused or out of control. Like she was floating on a marshmallow or rolling on a cloud of cotton candy. 

She giggled, which was not like her, nor was the whimsy. But maybe both were what she needed tonight, she thought. 

Will clapped his hands triumphantly as he won his argument with the bartender, who agreed to make them one more blue drink. 

“Have at it, lads,” Will said, offering the drink around the group. Emma took a large swig then passed it to Killian, who did the same. She swayed as the added alcohol hit her, and now the cotton candy was in her brain, clouding her thoughts and sweetening them. She tugged on the lapels of Killian’s jacket. 

“Let’s go somewhere,” she said, hoping the words didn’t sound as slurred as they did in her head. 

He looked down at her, his eyes glassy but intensely focused. 

“Where?” he asked.  

“Somewhere. Anywhere. Just— take me somewhere.” 

His eyes widened as he caught her meaning, then dropped to her lips and he swallowed hard. She swayed towards him but the room was far too bright and too full of their friends for what they both wanted. 

He cleared his throat. “Are you sure, love?” he asked. “We’ve had a lot to drink—” 

“I’m sure.” 

He nodded, eyes still on her lips. “Yours?”

Emma struggled to think. Did Mulan and Aurora still work tonight, or— but it really didn’t matter because she wasn’t about to bring Killian to her place if there was any chance of Aurora being present. “No, my roommates are home,” she said.  

“Is that a problem?”

“We have shoji doors, they are literally made of paper.” 

“Ah. Well mine has normal doors but my flatmate is having a party.” 

Emma wanted to snarl in frustration. How did other people do this when there was no privacy in this country?

Then she remembered how, from the whispers of other teachers and the blasé tales of her students. 

“What about a love hotel?”

Killian’s eyes finally left her lips and he stared at her. “Really?”

“Oh, come on, like you haven’t wondered what they were like,” she teased. 

“I have definitely wondered, but—” 

“There’s one just down the street isn’t there?” 

“Emma, let’s think about this.” 

“I don’t want to think.” She clutched his lapels again, pressing her body as close to his as it could get, close enough that their breaths mingled, that she could feel the catch in his against her cheek. So close that half an inch was all that stood between them and the kiss they had both been craving for a week. For longer. 

Well, that half inch and four very rowdy drunken English teachers and a glaringly bright Japanese bar. 

“I just want to be alone with you,” whispered Emma. “Just you and me somewhere with a door that locks and where no one cares what we do.” She released him abruptly and stepped back, towards the door, grabbing his hand from around her waist and giving it a tug. “I don’t care if it’s tacky, that’ll be part of the fun. C’mon. I’ll pay.” 

“You absolutely will not,” said Killian, and she knew she had him. He glanced around them and seeing no one was looking wrapped his arm around her waist again and steered her to the door. “Let’s go.” 

They stumbled out into the bustling night, just drunk enough to make the flashing neon seem softly romantic. Killian held her close against his side, his arm firm around her waist, and she slid her hand into the back pocket of his trousers. A wild giggle rose in her throat as she realised they must look like the sort of couple people shouted at to get a room. 

And that was exactly what they were going to do. 

The lobby of the love hotel was surprisingly elegant, with soft lighting and dark-wood panelling along the clean lines and sharp angles of the room. A smiling woman stood behind a large wooden desk in the far corner. She said something in rapid Japanese and Emma struggled to pick out any of the words she knew. 

Killian replied, also in Japanese. 

What the fuck, thought Emma, gaping at him, wondering if she were drunker than she’d thought. 

He shot her a slightly sheepish look as the woman began to tap on her computer. “I’ve been taking lessons,” he said. 

So had Emma, but she wasn’t anywhere near that good. 

Though her body was still thrumming with excitement she began to feel a bit awkward as Killian and the still-smiling woman arranged their room. There was only one reason people went to love hotels, the clue was quite literally in the name, and despite the fact that this was the woman’s job it felt weird to think that she knew what Emma and Killian were there to do. 

Killian caught the look on her face and squeezed her hand. “You can back out any time, love,” he said. “No hard feelings.” 

She shook her head, and returned his squeeze. “No. I want to do this.” 

He smiled and the look in his eyes made her belly quiver. 

The smiling woman handed Killian a key and a pamphlet and pointed them in the direction of the elevator with an elegant hand wave and a series of bows. 

“Come on, then, Swan,” he said, flipping through the pamphlet. “We’re on the twelfth floor.” 

“There are twelve floors to this place?”

“More, even, I think.”

They got in the elevator, which was as dimly lit as the lobby. The darkness made it easier to slide close to him again and press her cheek against his chest as he kissed her hair. 

She supposed that was the point. 

After the tasteful elegance of the hotel’s entrance and elevator, the sight of their room had them stopping dead in the doorway, gaping in shock. This, thought Emma. This is what I was expecting. The commitment to the theme was impressive. 

The room was large, with gently curving walls and tall, blacked-out windows, but what really drew the eye were the hearts. Heart shaped pillows of varying sizes and hues of pink and red cluttered the heart-shaped bed with its heart shaped headboard, over which hung a heart-shaped mirror framed in sparkly red hearts. The walls were striped with lines of fuchsia hearts and in the corner sat a small table, square but lacquered in black with bright red hearts and accompanied by two matching chairs, with heart-shaped backs. 

Emma tried to swallow her hysterical giggles but then she caught Killian’s eye. He was biting the inside of his cheek and when she widened her eyes at him they both burst into laughter. 

“This is brilliant,” said Killian, after they had caught their breath again. “It’s everything I hoped it would be.” 

“Exactly what I was thinking,” she agreed, and they both knew they weren’t just talking about the room. 

Their laughter had dissipated the awkwardness leaving only the insistent pull of sexual tension, and when Emma hooked her fingers under the waistband of his trousers and pulled him closer she could feel the pounding of his heart and the heat of his gaze burning into her as she slid her hand into his hair. 

“I’m feeling more sober now,” she whispered. 

“Is that bad?”

“Exactly the opposite. I want to remember this.” 

“So do I.” 

She pulled his mouth down to hers and stood on her toes to meet it halfway as his arms wrapped tightly around her. Their lips met softly at first and then harder, and Emma’s head began to spin again as she opened her mouth and his tongue stroked hers, soft and wet and warm and tasting faintly of alcohol. He kissed her firmly and with obvious skill but let her take the lead, responding to her cues and adapting to her pace, and for the first time ever she felt like kissing was something being done with her rather than to her, and for Emma this was a revelation. 

Soon she was breathless and barely able to stay standing on her shaky legs. She leaned against Killian, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her just off her feet and walked them over to the bed, lowering her gently onto the pile of heart pillows and following her down without breaking their kiss. He unbuttoned her shirt slowly, letting his fingertips trail along each newly revealed inch of skin until every last button was undone and she practically ripped the shirt away, desperate for more of his hands on her.   

They pulled apart just long enough for her to yank off her bra and toss it away and for him to remove his own shirt, heedless of its buttons, and when they came back together she moaned at the rough sensation of his chest hair against her nipples. It felt amazing, his skin against hers felt amazing, and the hard press of his cock between her legs made her heart race and her fingers tremble in anticipation. She bucked her hips against him and he groaned into her mouth. 

He tugged at the waistband of her trousers. “Get these off,” he growled, as with his other hand he began to undo his belt. Emma shimmied out of her pants and underwear, too eager to feel all of him against her to be anything like self-conscious. When they were both naked he paused, taking her in, then reached out a trembling hand to trace the contours of her breast and waist and hip with the tips of his fingers. 

“God, you’re beautiful,” he said, almost in a whisper. “I can’t believe—” 

“What?” she whispered back. 

“I can’t believe I’m here with you. This is like a dream.” 

She knew exactly how he felt. 

“You’re beautiful too,” she said, trailing her own fingertips over his chest and down his abs, stopping just shy of his cock. He caught his breath, the blue of his eyes almost lost to black, but managed a smirk. 

“Devilishly handsome, I think you’ll find, Swan.” 

She laughed. “That too.” 

He pulled her back into his arms, running his hand down her back to press her as close as he could, curving it around her ass to pull her hips into his. She gasped, rocking against the hard swell of cock, desperate to feel it inside her, when she was struck by a terrible thought. “Wait,” she panted, pushing against his shoulders. “Do you have a condom?”

Killian pulled back, panting himself. “No. But the love hotel provides.” He leaned across her and pressed a button on the side of the headboard. A small drawer popped open, from which he withdrew a strip of six condoms, smirking at her as he brandished them.

“Ambitious,” remarked Emma. 

“Aye, perhaps, but I do love a challenge.” 

He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed. “How did you know those were there?”

“It’s in the brochure.” 

“When did you—” she began, but he cut her off with his mouth on hers and his hand sliding up the inside of her thigh, making her gasp against his lips. 

“Hush, now, love, remember we have six condoms to use before two o’clock this afternoon, we need to stay focused.” 

Her chuckle became a strangled moan as his fingers stroked through her slick flesh, finding her clit with impressive speed and accuracy. He pressed it lightly with his thumb and then began to rub gentle circles around it. 

“Oh my God,” she gasped, half expecting him to reply with some quip about how just Killian would do, but he was too intent on watching her reactions to his touch. She could almost see him cataloguing what she liked, thinking vaguely that she should feel uncomfortable being the centre of such focused attention, but then he increased the pressure of his thumb and slipped a finger inside her and she forgot to think at all. 

She arched her back, pressing her core against his hand and her head back against the pillows as her hands clutched at them. She wanted to watch him as he watched her; the intensity of his focus and determination to please her turned her on as much as anything about him did, but her eyes refused to stay open, fluttering closed as the heady sensations built and intensified and then her orgasm burst over her and she actually screamed. 

Killian continued to stroke her until she opened her eyes then withdrew his hand, resting it on her hip as he propped his head on the other one, watching her with an expression that managed to be both soft and smug. 

“You,” she panted, “are looking awfully pleased with yourself.”

His smirk deepened. “Well, darling, I did just make you scream.”

She gave his shoulder a sharp shove, toppling him onto his back and quickly swinging her leg over to straddle him. “Let’s see who screams next,” she said. 

He cupped her breast, thumbnail flicking across her nipple and she tried to stifle her gasp, without success. He licked his lower lip, slowly. “You’re on, love,” he growled.  

Damn it, thought Emma, she was fully turned on again, ready to go. 

“Where’s the damn condoms?” she snarled, snatching them from his hand when he held them up. Ripping the first one from its packet she quickly rolled it down his length, following it with her body as he pulled her close to take her nipple in his mouth. 

“Fuck,” she moaned as twin bolts of pleasure shot through her from her breast and her core. “Fuck.” 

“That’s the idea,” murmured Killian against her skin. He gave her ass a light slap. “Get on with it, then. I thought you were going to make me scream.” 

Emma resisted the urge to smack him, instead lifting her hips and slamming them down, taking him deep, triumphant when he groaned and the hand on her ass gripped her hard. She braced her hands on either side of his head and concentrated on finding a rhythm, taking him as deep as she could and watching him as closely as he had her, trying to memorise what he liked best. 

There seemed to be nothing he didn’t like, and soon he was thrusting up to meet her, fingers digging bruises into her flesh as she leaned on one hand and dragged her fingernails down his chest. When she flicked his nipple as he had done hers, he made a noise she’d never heard before and flipped them over, lifting her knee up to to her chest and plunging back into her deeper than before. 

Emma no longer cared about the noises she herself was making; she was lost to everything but him, to the delicious friction of his cock inside her and his chest hair against her nipples, the softness of his lips on her neck. She’d had no idea sex could feel like this, like she was coming apart but also more whole than she’d ever been, her body incandescent with sensations that were almost more than she could bear. When she came it caught her by surprise, bursting from her core and flooding her with pleasure to the very tips of her fingers and toes. She gripped Killian’s forearm, nails digging into his skin as she clenched around him and he moaned her name as he came.

He collapsed and tried to roll away but she held on, wanting his weight on her for a few moments longer. He let his head fall against her neck and she could feel his breath ruffling the fine hairs on her nape as she sank her fingers into his own hair, damp with sweat, and as her senses slowly returned she tried not to worry about how not awkward this whole thing felt. 

Even with Neal she’d always been awkward after sex, and she’d known him for years before sleeping with him. The whole business of being naked with someone once the urge to fuck had gone made her feel far too vulnerable, to say nothing of the messy cleanup and the general damp stickiness of it all. She generally escaped as quickly as she could and went to take a shower. 

But with Killian not only didn’t she want to run she actually wanted to cuddle. His hand was moving up and down her hip in a touch more soothing than sensual, in time with her fingers sifting through his silky hair and it was… nice. Comfortable and sweet and lovely and she had no idea why this didn’t scare her. 

Eventually he turned his head and nuzzled her cheek, kissing it lightly before pulling out of her, careful not to lose the condom. He went to dispose of it and she stretched luxuriantly, ogling his ass as he went. 

“I could really use a shower,” she remarked. 

“There’s a tub in here,” Killian called from the bathroom. “A big one.” 

He poked his head out of the doorway, his expression at once challenging and shyly hopeful. “We could both fit,” he said. 

What the hell, thought Emma. She’d already blown up all her old rules and boundaries with him, and she wasn’t about to run off until they’d had at least one more round, so why not take a bath together? She pictured him flushed and damp and looking at her in that way he had that made her feel cherished. 

“Is it heart shaped?” she joked. 

He laughed. “No. A missed opportunity there, really.” 

“Oh well. Let’s use it anyway.” 

His face lit up before disappearing back around the doorframe, and a moment later she heard the sound of water running. 

“There are some bubbles though,” he called out. “In a heart shaped bottle.” 

“Good enough,” laughed Emma. “Put ‘em in!”

She rolled off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom. Maybe it was the residual effect of the blue drink, maybe the fact that she was still buzzing from the best sex of her life, or maybe it was just the way Killian looked at her, but Emma was feeling bold and sexy, and when she appeared in the bathroom doorway and his eyes darkened as they travelled slowly down her naked form that feeling only intensified. 

“You’re stunning,” he said. 

She grinned. “So are you. Are we gonna do this again?”

“I know by ‘this’ you mean ‘trade compliments,’ but I’m going to ignore that and say hell yes we are but let’s have a bath first.” 

“Good call,” she said, and stepped into the warm water. The bubbles smelled like roses and she sighed in bliss, and when Killian got in behind her and pulled her against him she snuggled into him with a sigh of a different sort, feeling happier than she could remember being since that dark, tragic night when she was twelve years old. 

NOTES: For anyone unfamiliar with love hotels, they are basically just hotels that are designed to be places for people to go to have sex. They are not specifically for prostitution, though they can be used that way, but more for couples who just need some privacy in a very densely populated country with thin walls. In many traditional Japanese homes the sleeping space and the living space is the same space, and people just roll up their futons and put them in closets during the day, plus extended families often live together, so you can imagine it's hard even for married couples to find any space to be alone. They're not all heart-themed, but many have other themes like anime or S&M, and increasingly they are getting rid of the themes entirely. 

You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel 

[ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade]

~ISEB in Japan: A Photo Journal~

If you’ve been following me on Twitter lately, you’ll know that I’ve been traveling through parts of Japan the last couple of weeks with my Ignis Play Arts Kai figure in tow. I posted a few pictures over there during the duration of my trip, but those barely scratched the surface of everything I got to do while in Japan. So I thought I’d put together a blog post of my journey while it was still fresh in my mind, featuring everyone’s favorite strategist in what I’ve been dubbing my Great Final Fantasy XV Adventure of 2019!

[Image-heavy content + commentary under the cut]

A brief backstory: I’ve wanted to go to Japan my entire adult life. For years, I’ve watched friends make the trek while I’ve been stuck at home with a severe case of FOMO. The only thing that ever stopped me from going was money (or a lack thereof), so I made the decision last summer to buckle down and sock away every dime I made to make it happen. My only concern before hopping on the plane was that I had missed the wave of FFXV popularity by about a year, but I would quickly learn that—other than not getting to eat any of Ignis’ recipes at the Square Enix Cafe—I had little to worry about.

Literally the only reason I brought my Play Arts Kai figure was so I could take this picture of Ignis at the Citadel (a.k.a. the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building), which was the very first place I stopped at on my first full day in Tokyo. The building + the surrounding plaza, while not 100% accurate, is a fairly impressive facsimile of the one in the game. It’s located in Shinjuku, which also boasts a lot of similarities to Insomnia. Having finished Episode Ardyn mere hours before jetting off on my trip, it felt like I had stepped off the plane and right into the game!

There just so happened to be an Animate right near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, so I popped in to get a feel for what kind of FFXV merch I’d be able to find two years after the game’s release and a year after its height of popularity. Turns out, there was quite a lot of swag to be found! Truth be told, I’ve never been one to chase down official merchandise (unfortunately my job doesn’t really afford that luxury), but I gave myself special permission while on vacation to buy anything I wanted. So I did! Including everything you see above. ^^;;

The next thing I did was take the train to Ginza to meet Lyle/@landscape-gonna  (@landscape_gonna on Twitter), and I simply cannot say enough nice things about her. If you don’t know who she is, there’s a 99.9% chance you’ve seen at least one of her Ignis costumes, and they are A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. We had chatted a bit previously on Twitter before I went full-on stan mode, asking her if she'd be willing to meet up with me (a total stranger) to have lunch and talk Ignis and Final Fantasy. Not only did she say yes, but she gifted me with copies of her incredible cosplay zines and was not the least embarrassed when I busted out my Play Kai Arts figure in the middle of a busy Japanese dessert restaurant haha.

See? Zero embarrassment here.

We even did Noct’s ultimate pose! In public!

I can’t begin to articulate how special meeting Lyle was for me—being brought together from opposite sides of the world to share in our love for Ignis/FFXV is a memory I will cherish my entire life. So Lyle, if you are reading this: どうもありがとうございます ! ٩( ᐛ )( ᐖ )۶

Lyle wasn't the only friend I had in Japan. Another friend of mine, Asuka (who happens to be well-versed in anime/video game culture), volunteered to be my guide through Ikebukuro/Otome Road the next day. Quick otaku lesson: Kbooks is a chain of stores that specializes in the resale of licensed merchandise. For example, if you missed out on some of the limited availability items from the Movic and the Square Enix Cafe collaborations, you might be able to find them at a Kbooks. Otome Road in particular has something like seven different Kbook shops in a 3-block radius, each one specializing in different products (sports anime, idols, cosplay, etc). I, of course, beelined for the video game shop...

...which is where I found this fucking thing:

I’m not gonna lie, I almost bought it. I just didn’t know what I would do with it besides scare the living daylights out of people when they least expected it lol.

Yoooo Adam I found ya boi in Ikebukuro

We popped into the cosplay Kbooks shop since it was right across the street and I found an Ignis costume for sale! Please enjoy this picture of me pretending to come up with a new recipeh (since this is likely the closest I’ll ever come to cosplaying as Ignis).

One of the things Asuka introduced me to was Hanami (picnic under the cherry blossoms, basically). I had timed my trip to coincide with the blooming of the sakura, and the experience of being in Japan during that time was indescribable. I took a bajillion pictures of the sakura while I was there and unfortunately none of my photos ever quite captured the beauty and magic of them in person, but here’s a lil’ pic of a tree in bloom at Yoyogi Park (with the Movic Ignis charm I bought at Kbooks earlier that day).

Another item on my Japan checklist was to stay at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Hakone, a town famous for its onsen/hot springs. Nothing in Hakone is cheap (at least, not during peak sakura season), and I had spent an absurd amount of money on a night at one particular ryokan with a private bath (shy husband haha). The private bath could only be reserved in 30-minute increments, and by the time we finally rolled into Hakone the bath we wanted only had one slot available for the rest of the night. So what did I do?

If you said, “Waste the first 15 minutes of your 30-minute, super-expensive onsen experience taking the perfect Ignis-in-a-hot-springs photo” then you would be absolutely correct lol.

I actually wasn’t planning on taking a bunch of photos of my Ignis figure on this trip, but after my husband tucked Ignis into my futon while I was in the bathroom, documenting my trip vicariously through Ignis ended up taking on a life of its own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I popped back over to Tokyo after my stay in Hakone, which is when I finally got to make the Great Nerd Pilgrimage™ to the Square Enix Cafe! Had the FFXV collab been going on while I was there, I might’ve forked over the cash to eat at the cafe, but I opted to skip out on lunch so I could spend more money in their shop. They still had a small collection of FFXV merch...

...including this acrylic Ignis stand that I wanted but thought I would never own after failing to find it at Kbooks earlier in the week. Huzzah!

Also, I just feel the need to let everyone know that this is what the outside of the Square Enix Cafe in Tokyo looks like lmao.

Our next stop was Kyoto, which we arrived in on Gladio’s birthday (April 2nd). Unfortunately I didn’t have time to draw anything for his b-day, but we did stop for a Nissin Cup Noodle in honor of Gladio!

One of the most memorable moments of my trip was when this boating incident happened, and it requires a little bit of backstory. On my first full day in Kyoto, I attempted to field two of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyoto: the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, and the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Both places have their beauty and historical significance, and I suspect during the off-season are inspiring sites to behold. In my case, both places were absolutely swarming with tourists, which really put a damper on my enjoyment of them. Defeated, I followed a local canal back toward my hotel, which is where I spotted a miniature boat enthusiast controlling a boat that looked eerily similar to the Royal Vessel. I pulled my Ignis figure out with the intention of simply taking a photo of the boat in the background; when the man saw me holding my figure and fumbling with my phone, he flagged me over and gestured for me to put Ignis in the boat. I wish I had documented how it all went down a little better, but as I was literally wheezing with laughter, the above was the best I could capture.

One of the more off-the-cuff decision I made was to dress in kimono for a day while in Gion (Kyoto). As the cherry blossoms were at their height during my stay there, you couldn’t sneeze without hitting someone who was dressed traditionally for the numerous festivals that were taking place throughout the city. As a white foreigner, I initially had reservations about wearing a kimono (for fear of cultural appropriation), but I did everything I could to be as respectful and reverent whilst wearing the garb (and the rental shop was certainly happy for the patronage). It was an amazing experience and I would definitely do it again!

Speaking of being respectful, I made it a point not to take pictures of Ignis while visiting any shrines (because nothing screams ‘douchey American’ quite like whipping out an action figure on sacred grounds), hence why I don’t have pictures of any of the major shrines we visited in this post. I did, however, spot this miniature shrine arch in an alleyway, and thought it would be okay for my equally miniature strategist to pay his respects.

Literally, a tiny shrine in an alleyway. I suppose even alleys have their deities!

Osaka is about 20 minutes away from Kyoto by train, and since I had already traveled all the way out to Kyoto, I went the extra few miles to stop by the Square Enix Cafe in Osaka. They actually had a smaller selection of FFXV merch than the one in Tokyo and I didn’t end up buying anything, but I would’ve never stopped wondering if I had missed out on something if I hadn’t gone and seen it for myself!

My last day in Kyoto was a week into my trip, and I still had five days left to go. After walking ~10 miles every day (no joke, I have the GPS screenshots to prove it!), I was really starting to feel the grind. I’m sure Ignis was also desperate for an Ebony after being lugged around in the bottom of my purse for a week lol.

Back on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo!

Weeeeeee (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ���

Said hi to Fuji-san!

Stopped for a delicious matcha parfait! (Shout-out to my husband who never once got annoyed with me whenever I busted out my figure in public spaces lol)

This was without a doubt the craziest and most unexpected find of any of my merch runs. I had gone to the video game Kbooks in Ikebukuro earlier in the week and had sifted through all their Ignis merch with a fine-toothed comb. This particular Movic charm was one I had been on the lookout for, but it was a rare pull even when they were readily available a year ago, and the only Ignis charm I came across in my first trip to Kbooks was the normal Ignis one (see my Hanami pic). I had no real reason to return to Ikebukuro after I got back from Kyoto, but on a whim I went one last time and BAM—this guy was hanging out there in his lil’ baggie, just waiting for me to get my grubby little hands on him. Jackpot!

All in all, I spent way too much money and I couldn’t be happier for it. The only thing I couldn’t find for the life of me was the Ignis cologne by Movic, but after searching through several Animates and Kbooks, I began to suspect it might be an online-exclusive item that wasn’t available in stores. (Which was probably a good thing for me cause I was already stretching my budget to the limit by this point haha.)

On my last night in Japan, I went back to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building—only this time I went at night when it was all lit up! I also went up to the observation deck on the 45th floor (something I didn’t know you could do the first time I was there) and enjoyed a fantastic view of nighttime Insomnia Tokyo. It was the perfect bookend to a perfect trip, and my heart is absolutely overflowing right now with love for both Japan and Final Fantasy XV!

[just-kessho]

Ambrosia: Dazai Happiness Week

[Day 2] Dress Up 

AU: None/Yokai(?)

Warnings: Suicide – this is Dazai, after all. Descriptions of blood and (slight) gore.

[Day 1] [Here] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7]

 [Surname] [Name] has seen many, many, many things because of her Gift, [The Eden Cycle], that may as well have granted her immortality. From joining the battles in the Edo Era that left a (though perhaps imaginary) metallic, coppery taste in her mouth whenever her memories rounded to the deceased, to the putrid smell of rotting bodies mixed with a strong stench of blood that insects would love to craw all over – and don’t get her started on the Dragon’s Head incident…

Oh man, even six years on, her hand would itch for the handle of her blade whenever she thought of that particular massacre.

But really, nothing could have prepared her for this image that she saw with her two eyeballs.

Dazai Osamu was infamous for many things, and failed suicide being one of them, yet he was trying to hang himself using that fur around his neck… which was just simply too short, thus resulting in the brunette really just trying to chock himself with it…

Key word there: trying to choke himself.

Because honestly, that piece of fashion accessory was still too short to be completely wrapped around his neck ending with a knot.

So [Name], being the loving girlfriend that she is, bee-lined straight to him and nearly used her tanto[1] (or well, one of the many that she has on her) that she usually hides all over her clothing to literally cut the thing to shreds.

But when suddenly remembering that the attire Dazai had on was on loan to them, and it was so delicately detailed anyway, she just had enough willpower to hold back.

Although with the male’s face turning a light blue, [Name] did have second thoughts.

Still, ultimately, she decided against using any sharp objects that could not only cut through the fur, but could also accidentally leave a worrisome red line along Dazai’s neck.

(Unlike her, it was rather easy, almost too easy to end his life, despite his many failed attempts. A red cut – deep enough – in his neck would mean a one-way trip to Heaven… a clean stab through his heart would also mean death… and heck, even falling down past a certain height equals an eternal sleep.)

“… You know,” [Name] did not want to think about how the living, breathing person in front of her could die anytime soon anymore, thus she settled on scolding him with an expression that she hoped conveyed her annoyance. “When Kunikida-kun said that a generous shop is going to loan us kimono, I don’t think he meant you could do anything you want with it.”

‘Rather annoyed’ were probably the two words to describe [Name]’s emotion presently, Dazai thought, yet he could decipher the faint twinkle in her eyes and the mouth that trembles for a fraction of a second clearly – after all, perception was one of his forte.

Was she truly worried for him, about him for a moment? How truly precious. He would have hugged her, tightly at that, yet eyeing the traditional kimono (or rather, furisode[2]) that she had on, the brunette held back – just barely. Like the expensive attire he had on, [Name]’s was perhaps even more intricate, and so more expensive. He wagered one of those styles she has on, it was probably worth at least two weeks of pay check for him, perhaps even more.

It was nice, refreshing even, to see her in colours others than the normal black and white, and while her furisode does still have those colours, hey, with the accompaniment of vibrant, pastel coloured flowers and purple, it brought out her beauty even more.

Heh, no wonder many borrow kimono for formal events like these instead of buying them outright.

Still, the same could be said for him – especially that high quality fur he has.

“But [Name]-chan~!” drawing out the female’s name that made her eyebrow twitch, Dazai continued as if that failed suicide did not happen, at all, “that fur looked so comfy, and it really is, so I thought my end could be comfortable as well as clean.”

“Yeah right, I had to waste my time trying to help you. That suicide was by far clean…”

A chuckle met her ears, and her eyes widened at the light laughter that was emitted from her boyfriend’s mouth. That traditional kimono with haori[3] really suited him. If you told her several years ago that Dazai can genuinely laugh with a light pink dusted across his cheeks, then she would have scoffed and walked away muttering “what a joke.” and “wasting my time…” all the while under her breath.

… Still, Dazai looked so happy, so carefree (well, carefree as he was without running calculations and at least twenty back-up plans for the agency) and so… weirdly normal in that expensive kimono of his, so she too, joined his laughter.

Though that did not excuse him for his failed suicide earlier, thus [Name] was going to add an insulting nickname to show her annoyance (not that it always did much, as Dazai would just smile slyly and continue, completely disregarding the nickname), but at the look of utter comfort that was on his face as he rubbed his cheek against the fluffy material, she settled with:

“What are you, a kitsune?”

“But it really is soft and fluffy… of course, no where near that silk known as your hair but come feel it, [Name]!”

And so she did.

Not because she herself wanted to, oh no, even if that fur looked really soft… but because of the way Dazai’s face lit up whenever he felt the item, and she knew if she doesn’t, he really would have annoyed her to no end.

Oh, who was she kidding? It was because of the famous ‘puppy-dog-eyes’ that was aimed straight at her, though strangely enough, today seemed less ‘puppy-dog’ and more… ‘kitsune-foxy’…

Still, it did the job of melting her resolve-

And was he fucking purring?!

No way, the infamous Dazai Osamu, defeated by a mere accessory that people would bat an eye against, purring in delight at its power-

Oh my, that stupid thing really is fluffy…

So, when Nakajima Atsushi, also in a expensive kimono that was way over his finances that the poor boy had to watch where he put every step, wandered in the room, sliding the shoji[4] door, wanting to ask them if they were ready, he was met with a peculiar sight that had him rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. The image of the two most dangerous people that he known of, snuggling into an accessory all the while seeming as if they were in pure bliss, was something that he would not forget in a hurry.

“Uh… [Surname]-san, Dazai-san… are you two ready?”

“Just give us a minute Atsushi-kun.” Dazai had answered, though all of them knew that it was a straight up lie, as they would need at least ten minutes. “[Name] here is looking more and more like one of those cat yokai you often find in old tales.”

“… Bakeneko[5]?”

“No, I’m more of a Nekotama[6] with my age…”

“… [Surname]-san, please stop speaking as if you are an old la-”

He suddenly stopped, for Atsushi realised the irony in the statement… though the actual age of [Name] isn’t known – not even to the female herself, but Vesalius (who was also invited, so Atsushi prayed that he would not strangle Dazai…) had deducted that she would be at least be two-hundred years, as [Name] often had nightmares – or well, past memories in her case – about days of samurai and warfare.

“All right, all right, Atsushi-kun, we’re going…” putting the fur around Dazai’s neck was hard, as [Name] had the sudden urge to just snatch it back and feel the softness eternally, but in the end, with Atsushi exerting a sigh, she, along with Dazai by her side, left the room.

Silently, without witness, the two shadows that were cast by both [Name] and Dazai held hands. Yet what was strange were the nine, fluffy objects (that somehow slightly resembled that weird fur-scarf that came with Dazai’s kimono) that were intruding from the shadow. These nine tails were the classic sign of a kitsune, and even the shadow of the furisode female have a tail, though this one was straight – exactly like a cat’s, yet with the end split equally in two halves.

Just before the light disappeared, thus taking the shadows with it, one of the nine tails found its way towards the tail of the nekotama, and the two enclosed around one another, much like how two couple would hole each other, never wanting to let go.

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

Notes:

 [1] Tanto: it’s basically a short Japanese sword that was used by the samurai. While I’m not 100% sure, I think Kyouka’s short sword qualifies as one.

 [2] Furisode: traditional kimono worn by unmarried woman/girls

 [3] Haori: a traditional jacket-like kimono

 [4] Shoji: those traditional paper sliding doors you often find in Japan

 [5] Bakeneko: a yokai cat that can shapeshift

 [6] Nekotama: a breed of bakeneko, born the same way as it, though only the oldest, largest (thus with more power and intelligence) cat could become nekotama. Nekotama have two tails

Done! Now, excuse me while I go reblog 2000+ photos of my husbando on my main trash blog. It’s not even 19 June here.

@dazaixhappinessweek2k19

[solecize]

REPLY 2009 ⠀ ⠀⠀.⠀⠀.⠀⠀.⠀(OR: 2009, YEAR OF US) — 002.

now playing: club no. 1 by super junior

summary: ten years ago, we found ourselves at a turning point in pop culture as the decade began to close. this was the year that brought the world obama, the death of michael jackson, and the highest grossing film of all time, avatar. however, in south korea, something big was brewing as well and it started off with infectious lyrics, colourful costumes, and sensational dance moves: kpop. the korean wave that started to build several years ago begins to find its footing in the international limelight in 2009. this was the golden era of kpop. this was the time of sorry, sorry. the debut of quite possibly the most different and groundbreaking girl group in korean entertainment, 2NE1. the rise of shinee, one of the most consistent boy bands of this era and beyond. the throne of bigbang would remain steady with their ventures into japan. and of course. . . snsd's gee that would solidify their place as the nation’s girl group and overtake their male counterparts. nothing can touch this legendary age.meanwhile, in the very city that milled and churned out these stars, eight teenagers were also coming to a certain close in 2009. youth was suddenly running out like grains of a darkened hourglass, as everything and everyone brought tension into their lives. where was the next step on their path? high school is nothing more than a cruel halfway point between childhood and adulthood, but this group of friends made the most out of it. after all, this is the youngest that they'll ever be. this age is the time where hopes rise higher than ever, where love burns the most passionately, and the desire for freedom expands the furthest. in 2009, we follow these teenagers' stories to the background music of the opening chapters of kpop's greatest legacies.but, ten years later at their high school reunion, where do we find them.”

or: highschool!got7, dancecrew!got7, coming of age, school reunion angst, reader x ?

APRIL 2006 (3)

Slick, strawberry ice cream never tasted so fulfilling until that day’s relentless sun. Though it was only spring time, it must have been at least twenty degrees outside and when the air conditioning system broke in our classroom, I was left an absolute mess. The workload of being a first year high school student was made into an unfortunate underestimation and the weather only caused more stress to my body.

“Yours looks good, I should’ve just gotten the same thing as you,” Youngjae frowned, as he looked at his own vanilla scoops. He leaned in to take a taste of my cone, but I merely interrupted with a noise of disapproval.

“Nuh uh. Nice try, Choi Youngjae, this happens every single time.” I turned my back so that he couldn’t take any and hummed.

All it took to convince him to skip his after school vocal lessons was a distressed IM, claiming that I had an emergency. Sure, it was probably wrong to use my loyal best friend just to have a companion to get ice cream, but he’d done the same thing on several occasions. I’d missed so much time at Hagwon because of him. Great minds think alike and Youngjae wasn’t even mad when I met up with him outside of his school with a carefree attitude, clearly not having any emergencies to worry about.

“I should’ve known,” he said upon seeing my figure approach him at the front of my school.

“Oh, shut up.” I frowned and punched his shoulder in what was supposed to be a playful way, but he nevertheless yelped at the contact. “I never get to see you anyway with you stupid training anyway. Live a little and spend the afternoon with your best friend!” At that, Youngjae grinned and he couldn’t say no. Next thing we knew and we ended up at our favourite ice cream shop.

We continued walking along the sidewalk a busy street in the Guro district of the city. It was only five o’clock and people were rushing to get home to their families; cars flying by, people trying to beat the rush onto the subway lines, bicycle lanes filled up. It was busy as ever, as Seoul as ever. There weren’t that many people our age around, as most first year high school students like ourselves should be at after school lessons.

“Do you ever wonder what will be like when we’re like them?” Youngjae was eying some older college kids inside a random cafe that we were walking by, as I tried to keep my long hair out of the ice cream.

Two of them appeared to be a couple, while several other kids surrounded them at the same table. They were laughing, listening to music, and flipping through American magazines and I could feel jealousy running through my veins. Their parents weren’t frantically calling them when they were late by a minute or two returning from tutoring or yelling at them to grow up. They were grown.

I replied, “I wonder what we’ll be like when we’re like them.” Pointing at a pair of people trying to hail a taxi, a man and woman dressed in business casual attire, it seemed like they were making their way back to home. I wanted nothing more than to grow up and relish in unknown liberation.

Youngjae followed my gaze and thought about it for a moment. “You’ll be whatever it is what you want to be—” I rolled my eyes at that. It wasn’t a secret that I wasn’t exactly sure of what I wanted in a career, lacking passion for any field or hobby. My parents wanted Jinyoung and I to pursue lavish medical careers, but he was the only one with the endurance and intellectual capabilities to do so.

“—And you will be a successful singer.”

A light tint of pink spread across Youngjae’s cheeks, ever so bashful regarding his ambitions. However, there was no doubt that he was eventually going to be a star one day. I’d never seen such comparable talent to him.

I continued on, “Maybe we don’t have to wait so long! Didn’t you say that your company is looking to debut a new group next year?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he dismissed my statement, “it’s not a guarantee, though. And what if they don’t even pick me to be apart of the group?”

“You’ve been under their management since the seventh grade! They’d be crazy to cut you.” I was still able to recall the day of Youngjae’s first audition to the company, where I’d accompanied him on the weekend instead of studying at home with Jinyoung. Nerves were never one to affect Youngjae, but on that day, he couldn’t stop shaking no matter what he did. It was only when he was finally called that he was able to take a deep breathe. He got the acceptance call the following few weeks after. I’d march right down to the company office myself, they wouldn’t dare take away my gifted best friend for four years just to cut him out of their boy group.

Youngjae shrugged, then looked back to where we were observing the two adults. They were gone. “By our thirties, we’ll be happy for sure and that’s all I care about. Maybe you’ll finally grow out of Super Junior—hey, don’t give me that look!”

I quickly rid of the bitter expression on my face and laughed. Tugging his arm, I told Youngjae that we should go to an arcade instead of watch strangers like some creeps. I thought, maybe this part of being a teenager isn’t so bad. For now, I was willing to embrace this and so was he.

PRESENT DAY (4)

“Remember that time that Bambam knocked over an entire shelf?”

Letting his name slip past my lips felt so foreign, it seemed like forever since talking about my old friend. It wasn’t like recalling a one time anecdote, but a piece of life. Jinyoung emulated the odd sensation, not hiding the way he paused his walking for a split second at the sound of Bambam’s name. Then, after getting over the initial feeling, he burst out into laughter.

Shoulders shaking with each chuckle, Jinyoung replied, “My god, that was fucking hilarious. It was after we found out that we qualified for the NDCCs, right?”

“And Mr. Lee gave him a weeks’ detention for it!” I nodded vigorously. There was no way that my mind could forget that day, especially not the priceless looks of excitement on the boys' faces. The memory was fresh in my mind, as if it had occurred the afternoon prior.

The two of us were the lone people in that empty hallway after choosing to explore the second floor. Jinyoung claimed that he wanted to find his first year homeroom for old times sake. He’d walked straight past the library, probably because of all the last minute studying that he used to do in there that continued to haunt him, but I took a quick glance inside. The interiors were darkened, but I could make out the familiar layout of the room for the most part. I hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time in there unless I had to during my years, so Bambam was the first thought to come to mind.

“Hey, our old lockers are somewhere here!” My brother exclaimed, having made his way into another corridor.

I didn’t need to follow his voice, remembering exactly where the lockers were. It wasn’t quite Jinyoung’s locker, but he often used Jaebum’s instead of his own, as it was situated on the undesirable basement floor. Mine was just two away from their shared space and by the end of high school, the three of us claimed the entire block as our own.

Passing by the iconic music room, I found Jinyoung kneeling in front of a block of lockers. I had to stop myself from entering, as I figured that it would be best to do it later when he was here. Watching Jinyoung peered into each one, probably trying to jog his memory, it was odd to realize just how old we’d become. Spending countless of days in this hallway for three years, yet my brother couldn’t even remember which locker was Jaebum’s.

“Oh! This one’s mine!” I giggled, spotting the locker immediately, even from the distance I was at. Stepping forward, I pointed to the one that was three away from mine. “This is the one you���re looking for.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “How did you figure that out?”

Smirking, I gestured to the corner, where faint lettering was carved into the metal. There was no way I was going to leave Haerin without a trace, so as I ran my thumb over the imprint ‘SJ,’ I was more than pleased to see that it lasted for ten years. I nearly forgot that I did this, but it was probably one of the best decisions I made before graduating.

“What—holy shit.” Jinyoung looked at the ‘SJ’ carving and was silent for a moment, blank stare. Then, he burst out into hysterical laughter, to which I made a face at. “And you were even playing, what was it? Club No.1! You played it on the way here. Some things never change, huh?”

He was right. Some things never do change and I was content with that, knowing I still had a bit of that high schooler in me. It didn’t matter if it was Super Junior or that childlike innocence, or even my first loves that blossomed in these hallowed halls. The years pass, just as my branches grow rapidly, but returning to my roots reminded me of how much I longed for those days once again.

MARCH 2009 (5)

Lee Donghae's angelic voice continued to ring in my ears the whole train and bus ride home from the fan meeting. It was like a broken song stuck on replay on my MP3 and there was not a single thing I could do about it—not that I wanted to. I'd felt as though I was on cloud nine the entire time I was there, despite the fact that their thirteen members were just little dots from the seat I was in. Minyoung swore up and down that Siwon stared right at her for the majority of the event and we argued about it for the entire commute home, just before she got off at the bus stop ten minutes before I did.

Skipping school was practically unheard of, but it was a risk I was willing to take for Super Junior.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school!" she waved at me happily, as she strolled out of the bus with ease. I could never imagine having such nonchalance in my step after missing a full day of class to see an idol group, not with my hardass parents. However, Minyoung mentioned that her mother didn't care, too busy drinking her life away.

Unfortunately for myself, things were different. I paid Jinyoung almost my entire part time salary for him to do his imitation of our father's voice and call in sick for me with the school. Nobody seemed to suspect a thing when the two of us "left" for classes in the morning, as I wore my uniform and carried my backpack. In reality, I had to make a beeline for Minyoung's house, where I would change into some more fashionable clothing and eventually, the two of us left for the noon fan meeting. We made time for us to be able to hope on the bus back home. Needless to say, everything went smoothly, at least up to this point. Sneaking out was fine, but sneaking back in? A different story and certainly the nadir of the day.

It felt obligatory to repeat examples of excuses out loud over and over again as I made my way home.  "Sorry I'm late! I had a few questions to ask about my physics test. . .no, no, that sounds too forced . ."

Any car that passed by me on the street that even had the slightest of semblance to my mother's or any patrol vehicle that belonged to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency granted a near heart attack. However, nothing came of these scares, so I continued walking along the sidewalk towards my house. There were some crazy things that teenagers did for their idols.

The only way to about successfully sneaking back in was the secret path. It led to behind the house from a convenience store that Jinyoung and I used to play in when we were kids. Looking back, we were absolutely insane. It was the scariest alleyway that I could conjure in my imagination, for it barely fit two bodies and allowed very little light to seep through. If it wasn't in broad daylight, I wouldn't be crossing this way at all. At the very least, it wasn't long after squeezing through that I could barely make out the house in the distance.

However, as soon as I stepped out of the alleyway, a large figure came out from the sides.

"Shit!"

Enduring the wind was knocked straight out of my chest, the other figure didn’t even seemed fazed at the sudden collision of bodies. I stumbled back a few steps, sputtering as I did so. There was a light chuckle and when I looked up, I saw Jaebum’s cheeky smile.

“And where do you think you’re coming from?” he raised an eyebrow at me and my heart stopped. I obviously did not think this far; Jinyoung’s friends were usually hanging around the house. I didn’t think that any of them would cause trouble, but then there was Jaebum, who would gladly give a side comment to my parents about my truancy just to see the look on my face.

I tried to play it off, pulling the best casual shrug that I was capable of. “School. I had to stay after school to ask Mr. Go some questions.”

“Last time I checked, you weren’t in class, especially without uniform on." Jaebum raised his eyebrows and reached out, touching my hair. "And you actually brushed your hair? You definitely went somewhere else."

There was no way. There was no way in hell that today was going to be one of the only days in the year when Im Jaebum, notorious class skipper, decided not to keep up with his hooky playing ways. However, looking at his semi pristine school uniform—I wasn’t going to count the buttons that he so cheekily left open on his dress shirt—I groaned. He had gone to class, which I didn’t count on.

Jaebum continued, "How come you haven't cut your hair? I think you'd look good with short hair." Giving unsolicited styling advice was his way of calling me boring.

“You. . .I can’t believe you actually showed up.” Last year, rumours flew around that Jaebum missed almost two weeks worth of classes in a row. In hindsight, saying two weeks doesn’t sound like lot to non Korean students, but there was no such shirking culture in any school in the country and especially not one as competitive as Haerin. Even the lazy students at least showed up and took a nap in the back of the classroom as opposed to outright not attending.

The said male grinned. “New year, new me.” Jaebum glanced at me, probably trying to figure out what exactly it was that I was up to. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Okay, fine. I skipped.” There was no reason for me to not admit it, Jaebum was going to force it out of me either way.

“Why?

“SuperJuniorfanmeeting,” I mumbled, my string of words sounding more like a singular, incoherent mess.

Jaebum just chuckled at me, getting a real kick out of the situation. It wasn’t like I was the goody-two-shoes type, but I’d always used to berate him for shirking his school work. I didn’t actually care, but it was more on the basis that I figured that he and Jinyoung didn’t have to hang out and be so damn loud in the living room if they would just see each other at school.

“Say that one more time, please.”

Setting my jaw, the glare I sent his way could’ve killed. “Super Junior fan meeting.”

At that, he only let out a loud scoff. “You skipped for Super Junior? Are you for real?” His chiding was nothing new to me.

There was one time when Jaebum tried sneaking into our house late at night to hang out with Jinyoung, as if they were a fucking couple. Who the hell does that that? Unfortunately, my brother’s room did not have a window and the two politely asked me if Jaebum could go through my window, then sneak through. I said no. That was supposed to be that, but the twat ended up knocking at my bedroom window at two in the morning anyway.

If it weren’t for the fact that I was up late on Facebook, I would have probably strangled Jaebum. I had no choice but to let him in, though, and the first thing that he did was make fun of the amount of Super Junior merchandise that I had in my room. Posters, stacks of albums, stickers, mugs, you name it. That was how I discovered Jaebum’s hatred for idol groups and how he discovered his favourite thing to use in order to vex.

“I don’t want to hear it, asshat.” Grumbling, I tried to move past him, but he stayed put.

Jaebum said, “Nope. I’m not going anywhere.”

It was almost time for my mother to return home for work and I couldn’t believe that he was choosing to play around now out of all the time he had in the world. He folded his arms across his chest, as if waiting for me to do something. The light shone on his medium brown hair and illuminated his playful expression.

“I need to get home!”

“And I need to get to the studio, but your dumbass brother decided to take his time flirting with Ms. Jung after school, so now I have to wait for him.”

I rolled my eyes, how very Jinyoung of him to do. Despite being senior class treasurer and all around boy next door, I knew my brother well and he wouldn’t be related to me if he didn’t have his sly side. He used his role on student council and high rank in academics to stay behind to talk with teachers, often to schmooze or just to flirt like he did with Ms. Jung.

“Gross. Just go to the studio by yourself, then,” I replied.

Jaebum chuckled. “No, because I’m a good friend who waits for his friends, especially when the said friend is getting details on beautiful Ahyeon." 

I had to snort at that. "You boys are disgusting. Just get going so I can." Hearing him talk about the Geometry teacher like that made me want to throw up without hesitation. High school boys, especially overly horny ones like Jaebum, always did in the hallways after any one of Ms. Jung's classes. She was young, pretty, and everyone raved about how she looked like some actress from Boys Over Flowers.

He was still in front of me. There seemed to be something we wanted to say, judging by the confusion playing in his eyes, but nothing came out. Tapping my foot, I raised my wrist to my line of sight and saw that I didn't have much time left.

"You should audition for the crew," Jaebum suddenly blurted out, though his tone stayed as nonchalant as ever.

That took me by surprise and for that, I looked at him like he was crazy. "Me? Yeah, right. Now stop wasting my time and—"

"—Jinyoung said you dance, you can't dance for us?" he cut me off. I was sure that he was joking, but judging by the sternness and what seemed like shame for asking me, I realized that Jaebum was indeed serious about his suggestion.

Obviously somebody had brought myself up as a suggestion for the crew member replacement. I wouldn’t know why Jinyoung would even do that, he was fully aware that I would repudiate such an idea. I couldn’t even imagine myself having to hang out with the boys or stand on a stage.

"Yeah, in middle school. Not anymore, I don't like dancing."  

If there was one thing that could wound Jaebum, it was speaking ill of dance. He cringed at my words, face scrunching up. I didn't have any passions in the way that he and my brother had dance, so I couldn't understand. The sentence allowed made him want to get out of my way, side stepping.

He said, "Well, if you change your mind, we're in the studio on Friday. Jinyoung and Mark have said good things about you, so I thought that it wouldn't hurt to ask, but I guess I was wrong."

I shrugged and was on my way, thankful that he managed to give up on me. Picking up a speed walk, I dashed towards the back door of my house and made sure that the interiors were empty before doing so. As I closed the door, I couldn't help but look over at Jaebum and I saw that he was still in that spot. It was embarrassing that not only Jinyoung told the crew about me, but Mark as well. Thinking about it made my face go hot and with that, I shut it and hurried to change before after school tutoring. 

[leaveharmony]

It’s so hard to type on the tablet so I did only the briefest of summaries at the time.  An account of random Tana encounters in NYC over supercard weekend, cut for length.

Anyway - I’d promised @lone-gunwoman-of-the-week a new york postcard, which with one thing and another I had forgotten entirely about until Saturday, when we passed a big rack of them outside a touristy place down the street and I stopped dead and pointed, “POSTCARD!”

We were on a trek to Macy’s at the time, looking to get mum an emergency replacement purse because hers had blown out its zipper with all the stuff she was carrying in it - the last straw was after Wrestlecon when she couldn’t find her Metrocard, and then it just gave up the ghost.

(Macy’s was way too expensive as an aside - we ended up going to K mart lol.  Those all closed here like two decades ago!)

So we got the postcard, and then a stamp at the other gift shop in the hotel...only I was in pretty rough shape so we decided to go back up to the room so I could actually write the postcard & address and such.  So we went back down to mail it, conveniently at the letterbox at the other end of the lobby.

Like I say, @joshi-hashi by total coincidence booked us at the same hotel where the whole roster was staying, so over the course of three days I ran into / saw, including but probably not limited to: Kazu, Ishii, Sho & Yoh, Yano, Tacos, Goto, Shingo, Naito, EVIL, Will, Shibata & his lions, Juice, Zack (we kept riding the elevator with him lol), Jay, Tama, Haku, Yujiro, Gedo, Jado, Taguchi, Rocky, Ren, Shota, Red Shoes, Sato, Marty, MiSu, Taka, Kota, Kagatsu & a few of the other Stardom girls, Sumie...

Again, I was in rough shape and mum was faring no better, so in the window of time between waking up and the show, we could have gone and done more tourist stuff but after the subway disaster on Friday, we elected just to stay around home base, Saturday.  And I needed to sit down, so we picked a spot on one of the long padded couches in the lobby to recoup a little.  Not a minute later, Tacos, Goto & Yano rounded the bend from the elevator - we’d somehow managed to time it so that we were sitting there as literally everybody was making their way across to MSG for the show.  Hand on heart, total coincidence...I just wanted to mail a postcard lol.  As obviously times when you can just sit there comfortably and watch the whole NJPW roster walk past are fairly limited in number, we elected to stay a while.  Kazu actually came from the direction of the doors but he did have a suitcase, so I have no idea where he’d been - he grinned at us when we waved though.  Shota smiled too, Kota managed somehow to smile, wave and bow without even slowing down because that’s just the kinda guy he is.  MiSu looked at us like we were nuts every time we waved lol but we kept doing it anyway.  Most didn’t notice - I always feel like being to forward is rude so we just kept to our seat & waved rather than trying to get selfies or start a conversation - everybody was obviously all over everywhere and busy.

I couldn’t help myself on a very specific occasion, though.  “We’ll wait til 3:30,” I said casually, fooling no one.  We had the end bench right by the little dividing wall that obscures the elevators; he emerged nearly right next to me and I sprang up like a jack in the box.  My hair was pigtailed and I had my hat on rather than the feathered headband & ponytail, and I was dressed like a normal human being rather than wrestling Cinderella, but he remembered me ^_^  I didn’t want to detain him or anything so we just clasped hands again & I wished him luck - though I guess it didn’t help much.  But I was so happy just to see him again, for what I figured would be the last (probably only) time casually.  Two really sweet Japanese ladies also spotted him on the way out and physically chased him down the lobby to say hi lol.  The pillars were a little in the way but we could see him beaming while they gushed over him, and then they took a selfie.  I guess they must have complimented his hair (which looked fucking amazing) because he told them getting it done for the show cost $300 lol.  It absolutely looked it.  We were still sitting there when they came back and of course they noticed my Tana shirt - they both had his shirts on too (I think he might have signed them on the spot cos they were both proudly showing me the autographs).  So we had a really lovely chat in what they could manage in english (much much better than my broken Japanese).  Rachel appeared not long after, summoned by my mention of Kota going past, and so we all talked a while.  I just.  I love wrestling lol and the kinship of wrestling fans.

Later, after Supercard (which was on whole at least live very good, apart from some really, really stupid decisions on ROH’s part) it was past midnight when we got back to the room; our airport shuttle was due to arrive at 3:05 last we’d heard, but mum had a text message waiting RE: a slight bump up to 3:15, something schedule or logistics related I guess.  So we figured that there was no point going to bed as we’d maybe get two hours’ sleep before the wake up call and it’d be better to use the time packing and getting everything arranged.  When more or less everything was, I went up to floor 12 to sit up at the common table with Elle & Rachel (admittedly I broke into a bit of a sprint when Elle texted to say Tana’d gone past lol).  By another total coincidence as we were sitting there loudly discussing the show, an absolutely lovely gentleman who works in what sounded like a v. important position with NJPW World happened to walk past and overhear.  He’s obviously got a vested interest, so he u-turned as I was saying “If someone had only just casually seen this as a first introduction they’d probably come away concluding New Japan is amazing and ROH is terrible.”

“New japan is amazing?” he echoed, to a chorus of Yes’s.  So we had a chat for about twenty minutes giving him general feedback, telling him how we all met cos of NJPW, how we first heard about it, watch every show live, showed him all our costumes for the show, etc.  He got a handle on Elle and Rachel’s names but kept calling me “Hiroshi” because he’d seen me the day before at Wrestlecon in my Tana dress lmao.   He was a real sweetheart - a fan turned employee, living the dream.  He thanked us for paying his salary, essentially lol.  I should have thought to ask him about putting out an english subtitled version of Shinsuke’s Wonderland interview XD

But I had to run not long after he left, cos I’d cut it a bit fine with 20 minutes or so before the shuttle was scheduled.  We weren’t sure if the driver would come looking or if we had to be outside, so mum checked the keycards while I ran to see if I could ask the doorman, figuring he/they would keep a better watch and know what to look for, or just know which way it would be.  That early in the morning there wasn’t a doorman, though.  So to play it safe we stayed by the doors just inside, keeping watch, figuring at about five min before the appointed time we’d go outside.  “The lobby seems so empty without all the wrestlers in it,” mum remarked.  I figured that late, everyone must have gone to bed already.

Not long after though, TAKA came in with uh...let’s just say ‘some lady friends’ and hope they were fully informed lady friends.  “There, happy?” I said to mum, looking back towards the door in time to see Kota heading for it with a few of the accompanying entourage I figure must have been staff, translators and officials - they were everywhere too, this weekend.  I thought for a split second, ‘Oh good, I’ll be able to congratulate him!’ before he faded to a gentle haze in the background, as the sun himself said something on the way past and walked on by the door, towards Macy’s.  I don’t even think I said anything to mum but she probably understood when I took off at a dead sprint, not even bothering to drop my suitcase handle, just towing it behind me like a little red wagon.  I blew past Kota without even looking at him (I’m so sorry dude!!!!) and went as fast as my poor abused knee could carry me the way he’d gone - he hadn’t gotten far, just tucked around a little corner by the entrance - I think he was gonna do another selfie or panoramic lol. 

Again, the man is fucking unflappable, as he didn’t even raise an eyebrow when confronted with a disheveled, panting nutcase in a trenchcoat and newsboy cap being smacked in the back of her legs w/ her own suitcase at the abrupt stop.  “We’re just waiting for our airport shuttle!” I blurted.  “So I get to say goodbye!”

He actually managed to look happy to see me, bless his heart lol.  He thanked me for the third time, for the doll I made him, and I just said thank you for everything.  Again - I don’t like to be too forward, I don’t even think I could bring myself to ask for a hug, I’m too shy & too much of a headcase wrt fear of being a burden or an annoyance.  But he came at me first, and when the Ace has his arms open to you, there is but one possible course, and that course is to throw yourself into them lol.  He is a wonderful hugger :’)  It’s like being wrapped in the embrace of everything that is good and pure in this world & that’s not even hyperbole, that was really how it felt.

I’m so glad I got to say goodbye.  I mean...it would’t have broken my heart, you know?  There’s always that “Oh maybe I’ll see him again at random” thought in the back of the mind but it’s utterly without expectation.  But I was blessed enough to have the chance to speak to him twice, by chance. 

It really was like a lil fairytale; my lil wrestling Cinderella dream come true in a way I never would have actually believed.