#but then my brain went off in a wintery direction

[httpiko]

idk I just started drawing and I ended up w this. Also the Irisu Syndrome OST fucks. It is great to listen to when you need to be all melancholic n stuff.

[oldtvandcomics]

To get some positivity in this tag: Let me tell you about my recent bustrip to Prague! While narcoleptic. It was really great, and a bit tricky, and I think we can use some stories of disabled people doing fun things.

Background story: I was visiting my grandmother, and took the bus both there and back, because it's different, and because I really wanted to actually see some more of the Europe I spent my life running there and back through (we live in the West, my Grandmother in the East). On the way back, I spent two nights in Prague. It was a highly anticipated part of the trip, as I still kind of miss the city after my one year there. It was also the most tricky part of the whole thing to manage.

You see, my bus arrived at 6.00h, and check-in at the hotel was at 15.00h. Which is a good nine hours between the two.

I am pretty much guaranteed to fall asleep every three to four hours.

Rest of the story under the cut.

For those not aware of the weather right now in Eastern Europe: It's COLD. And SNOWY! So when I arrived at the bus station, my first reaction was pretty much "Nope!", and I went into the bathroom to put on an extra layer of clothes. I was fine after that.

You can walk from UÁN Florenc bus station to the Old Town pretty easily, which I knew because as I said, I've been there before. So I walked there, and stopped to buy myself some breakfast in a big supermarket at a metro station. After that, I went the usual way down to Old Town Square and the clock, and continued on to Charles Bridge.

At that point, it was still only between 7.00h and 8.00h, so of course there was close to nobody on the streets, only the people who had to be there. And snow. Lots of snow. Charles Bridge. People. Charles Bridge, normally black with age and full of tourists, was WHITE! And almost completely empty. I was there at sunrise. It was impossible to describe beautiful.

Pictures don't do it justice, but here are some. The river. People. The river was damping!

And yeah, this is Old Town Square.

I usually don't get this magic-place-feeling from Prague, because the people cover it up. Which is actually one of the reasons I like it, they cover up some of the useless noise in my brain, too. I'm more functional in a big city.

Anyway. This was clearly an exception. It really felt like walking in a wintery fairy tale. The only thing missing was a ghost.

After that, I went to the hotel, and dropped off my backpack. I like to travel with a light luggage, which made moving around earlier possible. And hotels are fine keeping luggages locked up in some room before check-in and after check-out.

I then took the tram number 22 direction Nádraží Hostivař. This was planned. One, I know the line, and know that it passes by two big shopping centres. Two, I know that I always fall asleep on any moving vehicle, and public transportation is a reasonably safe place to sleep.

Which is exactly what happened, I woke only when I was at the second shopping centre. So I went and looked at some shops, and bought myself a gift of three ice bear figurines. I sometimes like to take pictures of these plastic figurines, and the snow triggered that. I'm very sorry that I didn't have my actual collection with me. But the bears did a wonderful job, too.

This was behind a random tank station, where there was a table with benches where the snow was still completely untouched. So I played a little around there.

Then I took the tram to the other shopping centre, fell asleep again on the way there, looked a bit more at shops, had lunch in the KFC on the top floor and finished my book, then it was already time to take the tram back to the hotel. I fell asleep during that trip again, then I went to the hotel, checked in and got my room. All in all, I had managed to survive those 9+ hours without any greater discomfort, which is, honestly, better than I'd expected.

The end. Here are some more bears from the next day.

City wildlife. <3

[dabisqueen]

REDEMPTION PT.1

Ok so bear with me. I am not a native English speaker and I am just writing for fun. I dont make money off of this. Just my brain sh** written down in words, including typos. I am not a Hemingway and there are bad sentences, even logical mistakes. Sorry, not sorry. It’s my story.

PS: this is a spin-off from my first story

Shōto x Reader, Dabi x Reader (brother's rivalry)

Pt. 1 of 6

Word Count: roughly 2.5K

Synopsis: You are quirkless, nevertheless Shōto Todoroki falls in love with you. And you for him. That is, until Dabi steps between you both

Warnings: 18+, smut, angst, hurt but also a lot of comfort, bondage, some physical abuse, alcohol abuse, smoking, sexual assault, some violence, noncon, unprotected sex (pls be smarter in real life and protect), oral sex, creampie, roughish sex, kidnapping, quirk use, yandere behavior, mildly toxic relationship, pregnancy (oops, spoiler alert!)

I’m terrible at trigger warnings (TWs) so please let me know if I should add some or mine are inaccurate

>> MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! <<

Pt. 2

________________________________

In a world full of quirks and heroes I was one of the few not bestowed with any kind of gift. I worked at a small local flower shop after I graduated from high school. My apartment was located in a mediocre residential complex, nothing special, merely consisting of one room with a bed and a cooking nock. But I was able to afford it and loved it. It was located on the second floor and had a cute little balcony. Watching the sunset, sipping a glass of wine while enjoying the sweet scent of the flowers and plants surrounding me was my favourite way of enjoying the evening.

I wasn't exactly the quiet type of girl, but I liked keeping to myself. When others partied on Saturday, I found myself strolling along the river banks of the town, appreciating the serenity of the quiet evening, birds singing their evening serenade. My friends were few but the ones I had stuck to me like glue. I have had a few boyfriends, but nothing particularly steady, they just never gave me what I was searching for.

It was a beautiful morning in May and looking out the window I saw the cherry blossoms in the distance smiling at me. The weather proved to be intoxicating and warm, so after getting off work I decided to attend the Hanami festival.

The gravel road was covered with cherry blossoms, the green foliage shone in the evening sun's loving light as I mingled with the crowd, taking in the cherry forest's sweet smell. Strolling underneath the trees, a mild breeze suddenly blew and made the light pink petals fall round me like wintery snow. I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the feeling of the pink snowflakes fluttering across my face, the fragrant incense almost numbing my mind when I suddenly bumped into someone and lost my balance. I squealed and was about to fall when two strong arms caught me mid air.

My gaze went up to meet a pair of heterochromatic eyes, one turquoise and one grey. Bicolored hair swaying slightly with the wind, the evening light reflecting in it as my rescuer asked with a shy smile if I was ok. My lips opened and closed, struggling for words as he helped me up, chuckling.

“Are you by yourself?” I nodded shyly.

Cocking his head, he took in my sight and asked with hopeful eyes “Want to join me?” He nudged his chin indicating the direction he was heading in and I gladly accepted.

All around us people were drinking sake or tea and eating their home-cooked meals to mark the occasion. We wound our way through the crowd, subconsciously seeking out a more quiet area of the park. We enjoyed ourselves, talking and laughing a lot, while we strolled through the crowd.

I learned that his name was Shōto and he had just graduated from U.A. academy, working at his dad's office. As the night slowly descended upon us, lamps started to illuminate the park with warm light. We finally arrived at an old cherry tree, overlooking a small creek flowing by. The colorful blossoms painted the water with their petals as we stood there and enjoyed the silence around us. He picked up a cluster of pink and white flowers that had fallen onto the soft gras and gently tugged it behind my ear. Before I knew it, our fingers gently wrapped around each other, as he gazed into my eyes and raised a hand to lift my chin. Lost in the sensation of his soft lips latching onto mine I sighed, our delicate kiss quickly descending into passion, with little regard for what was going on around us.

The following weeks, whenever his work allowed it, we saw each other, spending hours talking about us, our past. When he mentioned that Endeavor was his father, I almost choked on my drink, spilling it everywhere.

"What the…" I snorted, "Endeavor, for real?!"

"Not proud of it, but, uhm yeah," we both laughed, as I tried cleaning up my mess.

"Why not?" I tilted my head and he told me about the reason for his scar, why his mom got so angry. My hand gently reached out to his face, soft fingers caressing his burn scar, while he never let his eyes off me. I leaned forward to kiss his scarred skin, so in love with him, his past, his suffering and his strength. I was completely overwhelmed by the love for this man.

One evening he showed me pictures of his family on his phone - his mom Rei, sister Fuyumi and brother Natsuo. As we went through the photographs I noticed another young man in the older family pictures, white hair, same cerulean eyes as Shōto and pointed it out. A sadness in his voice took over as he recounted his memories about his eldest brother Tōya, who had disappeared, probably died when Shōto was still young. We comforted each other as I told him about my tragic past, losing both parents in a villain attack a few years ago. There was a special bond between us, made of love and sorrow, that no one else shared with us. It was comforting, knowing him around, the way he held my waist while we were kissing, the way his mesmerizingly beautiful eyes gazed into mine. I felt at home with him, nothing ever could get between us, we knew we had found each other.

________________________________

It had been a long week, people celebrating the blooming summer with buying floral arrangements. I had been busy in the store handling all the requests pouring in, as our flowers were well known for their freshness and good quality. Shōto got slammed with a tight schedule, rotating unusual patrol hours and working late into the night in the office.

We were fighting to find time to spend together as we both worked relentlessly, so it was not until Saturday that we met again. It was our first time spending the night together and my heart started pounding at the thought of it. I heard a soft knock on my door and jumped up, opened the door and threw my arms around Shōto's neck. He dropped his bag, lifted me up and twirled me around, his soft laughter filling my room as he nestled his head in my neck.

“Missed you,” a low moan escaped him as our lips met and I breathed into his kiss "Me too."

I had prepared his favourite, Soba noodles. His bicolored eyes didn't stop looking at me longingly, following my every movement. The tension was hot in the air after we finished eating dinner. While I rinsed off the dishes, I felt Shōto’s touch on my body - his large hand holding my waist tenderly as he bent down, kissing the nape of my neck while his crotch pressed against me from behind.

"Are you ready for tonight?" he rasped into my ear, hot breath brushing my skin and making me shiver with pleasure, “I want you, all of you.”

My skin started getting heated as my nervousness increased “I am nervous”.

“Don't be” he turned me around, still pressing me against the counter as he cupped my cheeks, delicately holding me like I was made of glass.

Tracing my slightly parted lips with his thumb, he lifted my chin up towards him and leaned in for a sensual kiss. My eyes turned wide as his sweet breath ghosted my face. When our lips connected, I closed my eyes, stars darting behind closed lids, sparks running through my body as a throbbing heat awoke deep inside of me. Our tongues met and intertwined as he tasted me, exploring the depth of my mouth, as the kiss grew more passionate. I raised my hands and laced them into his silky hair, pulling him even closer into the kiss while he slowly started tracing along my sides.

I could feel his hot excitement growing bigger in his pants and automatically reached down to press my palm against his crotch, carefully striking it. He exhaled sharply, his kiss getting wilder, breathless until he finally parted.

Panting he gazed at me and whispered with his low husky voice, "You are going to be the death of me".

With one swift movement he lifted me on his hips, my legs and arms wrapped around him, and carried me over to my bed, where he gently laid me on the sheets. My hair fanned out behind me as I arched my back, so he could pull my shirt off, exposing my delicate skin and lacey bra. He elicited a beautiful whimper from my lips as he scooped a hand behind my back and unlatched my bra with a snap of his fingers, pulling it off.

"So beautiful…" he groaned to himself, awed by the sight.

My pants and underwear flung to the floor next. He reached behind his back, pulling his shirt off with one swift move, exposing his defined muscles and abs. I inhaled as he shrugged his jeans off and pulled down his boxers, his huge cock springing into full view. I gasped at the sheer size of it, thickly veined and glistening with precum.

As he bent forward to lean in to another kiss, our skin met, his touch irresistibly icy and hot at the same time. We continued kissing as he trailed his hands up my waist and started circling my breasts. He captured my soft moans with his mouth as he gently slid his rough hands over my delicate skin. His lips left mine and I winced at the loss, as he peppered my cheeks and neck with small little kisses.

"Baby, you are gorgeous!" he cood, nose brushing down my middle, burying his face between my breasts, before moving to one of your nipples, sucking and biting at the soft flesh.

He delighted in the soft moans that escaped my lips before he started pinching my nipple with his right, cold hand, while his left, hot to the touch, cupped my other breast so he could latch onto my pebble again. I winced at the temperature difference, purest pleasure washing through my body like jolts of electricity. His palms were massaging me, brushing over my oversensitive skin as I slowly rolled my hips against him.

"Shōto," a choking gasp fell from my lips, "I want you, now..."

He hummed in approval before letting go of my mound, "You ready, baby?" I nodded.

"Really!?" He smirked, his hand, icy to the touch, trailed down my stomach, making my hair stand up until I felt him slide his finger over my swollen folds, caressing it with every stroke. As one of his fingers slid inside of me, I mewled at the size of it, so much thicker than mine. My eyelids fluttered with lust and I bit my lower lip to suppress more moans.

“Nuh-uh, no holding back” he teased and slipped yet another finger inside, as shameless moans kept falling from my mouth.

“You sound so sweet,” his thumb caught my clit, rolling circles into it, increasing his speed until my breathing became faster and my eyes rolled back in my head. He curled his fingers inside me, watching me react like it was pure electricity as he rubbed that sensitive spot inside of me. My pupils dilated and unfocused, I felt the knot inside myself beginning to tense up and my body started to shudder.

“Now you are ready,” he watched me as my perfect lips part, a soft longing moan vibrating from my throat.

Still in a foggy haze, I felt him withdraw his hands and spread my legs apart. His hips brushed against my thighs as he positioned himself in front of my sweet folds, rubbing his cock along my slit.

“So wet, you are perfect” he whispered, mesmerized by the sight of my essence dripping onto the sheets. He leaned forward, a hand on each side of my body as he gazed down at me.

“Look at me,” he whispered longingly and our eyes locked as he slowly pushed forward.

"Oh my god," I choked out, my lungs sucking in air and I raised my hips to make room as he started to fill me up inch by inch.

"Tell me if it’s too much.” He hissed as he carefully eased all the way in. I winced as I felt my wet walls stretching around his girth, clenching, sucking his cock all the way in. He panted in my neck, buried incredibly deep inside of me. My chest heaved as he carefully pulled out of me, then back all the way in. He started moving with slow, heavy thrusts until I was a whimpering mess below him. With every move I could feel the thick ridge of his cock rub against that one special spot on my gummy walls. He rolled his hips and I threw my arms around his neck, my nails digging deep into the soft skin of his back.

“You are incredible,” he groaned and I whimpered at his words, feeling myself clench tighter. Shōto took up the pace, now thrusting into me, his head falling forward, sweat rolling down his cheek.

“Please cum on me, baby,” he managed to get out between ragged breaths and my mind started to fog over as I felt the coil inside my core snap. I keened, shameless moans falling from my mouth as my mind exploded with pleasure. My body buckled under him, as continuous waves of pure pleasure washed over me. The way my cunt squeezed around him in the aftershocks of my orgasm had Shōto following me shortly after, bottoming inside me a final time as he came deep inside my quivering walls.

His hand found mine, fingers sliding between mine, intertwining as we both whispered words of love against each other's lips. We stayed like this until our hearts stopped racing and our breathing had calmed down. When he pulled his softening cock out of me he rested his head between my breasts, taking in the sweet scent of me.

“That was… beautiful,” he murmured into my damp skin and kissed it softly, “Can't wait for more.”

He laid down next to me and I nestled into his arms and rested my head on his chest. He stroked my hair gently and kissed the top of my head. We continued caressing each other, enjoying the moments of perfect harmony. After a while we got up and took a shower together, heated kisses falling under the steaming water. We made love over and over again until it was deep in the night. Our bodies sweaty and totally spent, we snuggled up to each other. His perfect nose ran circles along my neck as he whispered with heated breath “I love you.” I gazed into his grey and turquoise eyes and whispered my love back to him. Turning off the light, we quickly fell asleep in each other's loving embrace.

________________________________

Pt. 2

[muertawrites]

Fireside (Zuko x Reader)

Word Count: 1,775

Author’s Note: I am so deeply sorry this took so long to post. I don’t know what happened but after Thanksgiving the creative part of my brain completely shut down and all I could do was lay in bed and play video games. But it’s back now so 🎉🎉🎉 happy new year to all of us! 

I got this request a WHILE ago and had written something else for it but after reconsidering, I totally hated it, so this is the rewrite for some cozy, wintery goodness. I also love this idea because I’m constantly cold - my feet and hands are always freezing and even in summer I’ll wear sweaters and hoodies because aircon can get pretty chilly when you have the body temp of your average vampire. 

Now for a little update: in the new year, I’ll be focusing more on original works than fanfiction. I’m still going to finish Two Halves, and I’ll still write fanfiction (because it’s still super fun) but I have so many ideas for original works that are taking over my brain that it seems only fitting to shift that direction. If you’re on my subscriber list and would like to only receive alerts for fanfic, let me know and I’ll add you to a separate list. 

I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday, taking time to relax and spend time with loved ones, and generally just glad to have survived this shithole of a year. Here’s hoping that 2021 goes better - 2020 set the bar pretty low so it shouldn’t be too hard. 🥂

Snow was a rare occurrence in the Fire Nation. Summers typically scorched, followed by peaceful autumns and mild winters; a little rainfall was all one typically expected during the colder months in the Imperial City. 

This year, however, was much different. The mountains that bordered the villages and towns throughout the island were white capped under gray skies; streets were slickened by thick layers of ice that settled between cobblestones and creased the panes of windows; bracing breezes swept through landscapes unaccustomed to such unforgiving weather, carrying flurries of snow that bit at cheeks and cloaked the world in a dull ivory veil. Winter came to the Fire Nation seeking a cruel, unwarranted vengeance.

You woke in the middle of the night to find the fire beside your bed had died, leaving your borrowed room in a state of bitter, slicing cold. It wasn't the first time the Firelord’s palace had left you uncomfortably chilled since your arrival for his New Year’s celebrations, as the building was never meant to withstand this type of climate - sweeping ceilings, open breezeways, and tall windows with thin shutters ensured that the cold had its way. Being from the Northern Earth Kingdom, used to sturdy wooden lodges with massive fire pits that could burn an entire tree trunk with one lighting, this strange change of the typical season made you ache for home. 

Knowing there were no matches beside the hearth (given the sheer amount of fire benders that resided in the palace), you gathered up your courage and begrudgingly rolled from your mattress, taking the blankets with and wrapping them tightly around yourself. The walls around you creaked, shifting under the push of moaning winds, as you slipped into the hallway in search of your host. 

You were thankful that Zuko decided to keep his personal wing of the palace confined to a space that was mostly enclosed; the only breezeways in this part of the sprawling estate surrounded its courtyards and gardens, and were blocked by sets of heavy wood doors that shielded the inner parts of the building from being overcome by the elements. As you walked, traipsing through the corridor under your mound of blankets like some sort of shadowy, death-bringing phantom, you passed one of the windows that overlooked the gardens, and found it frosted under heavy white tufts of snow; puffy, clumped flakes whirled down from the sky, falling haphazardly as they escaped the grip of the whipping wind. Even in the relative warmth of the palace, your body shivered thinking of how frigid the air outside must be. 

Because of the abnormal cold, Zuko moved his mattress out of his bedroom and into his sitting room, where a large, decorative fireplace stood nestled into the far wall. You approached his sleeping form with gentle, quiet steps, being careful not to startle him; you lay a hand on his shoulder and he jolted awake, drawing a sharp breath in as he twisted to face you, blinking blearily to make out your features in the dark. 

“What are you doing?” he muttered. 

“I'm cold,” you whispered in response. “My fire went out.” 

Zuko sighed, fixing you with an irked, exhausted expression. 

“Seriously?” he groaned. “This is the third time this week.” 

“It's not my fault nobody has any friggin matches in this place,” you quipped. “And besides, why bring a servant all the way up here when I have one of the world’s greatest fire benders down the hall?”

Zuko huffed, then rolled back over in an attempt to shove you off. 

“There should be more blankets in your closet,” he grumbled. 

“I'm wearing all of them,” you retorted. 

You stood above him, waiting, but got no response. Shivering, and with an exasperated sigh, you pulled back the blankets around him, shuffling between them and nestling into his back; he snapped his head around once more, eyeing you suspiciously. 

“... Isn’t this a little uncomfortable?” he wondered. 

“Not really,” you replied. “We used to do this all the time when we were teenagers.” 

“We haven't done this since we were teenagers.”

You hummed, recalling your time together during the war. Even on the hottest days, your body was cold, your fingers always reasonably corpselike to anyone who happened to touch them - Zuko was one of those unfortunate people, and the lack of circulation in your limbs came as quite a worry to him. Throughout the day, he would take one of your hands in his, heating his palm until your skin took on a more lively temperature. When he noticed how much you layered at night when the air became cooler, he started sleeping nearer to you, eventually curling up around you to keep you warm. After the war, when he got into the habit of visiting you around the winter holidays, you still found yourself seeking him for warmth, tucking your hands into the sleeves of his robes or curling his palm around your icy fingers, finding sanctuary in the way he heated his skin to appease you. While it was true you hadn't slept together since you were younger, you hadn't ever needed to - desperate times called for desperate measures. 

“I should have remembered that you get so grumpy when you're tired,” you teased him, rubbing your feet against his; he hissed, but didn't pull away. 

“You're freezing,” he commented. “I should have remembered you're dead on the inside.” 

You giggled, sighing happily as the familiar heat of his skin warming like a furnace chased the chill from your toes. You slid your feet up along his ankles, causing him to shiver; his body tensed for a moment, then eased into your touch, quickly finding comfort in its familiarity. 

“Aang used to assume we were a couple because of this,” Zuko mumbled. “He still does.” 

“You're just a good friend,” you replied. You nuzzled your face into the broad, solid expanse of his back, breathing in his scent of scorched wood and sea salt. He felt like home. “Good friends don't let their friends freeze to death.” 

Zuko chuckled, taking hold of your hands that lay on his waist and cupping them within his own; he held your knuckles up to his mouth and huffed warm, smokey air onto them, heating them until they no longer felt cold. He tucked them beneath the fabric of his tunic, keeping them tepid between the fabric of his undershirt. 

“Uncle says the same thing,” he mused. “He says we treat each other like lovers, whether we realize it or not.” 

“My neighbors have asked me what my husband does that takes him away for so long out of the year...” you commented, eliciting another breathy laugh from your companion. “But I think I'd know if you were in love with me.” 

Zuko rolled over, turning to face you; his arm latched at your waist, his chest almost pressed to you and your noses grazing each other in the small space of his mattress. You blushed, the color blending with the soft, balmy glow of the low hearth behind him. 

“What makes you think I'm not in love with you?” he wondered. 

You paused, watching the flames flicker over the angular features of his face. Though he was silhouetted, and so close he seemed to envelop all of you, you could make out a tender gleam in his eye; could feel the flutter in his chest as he split it open, tentatively revealing his heart to you. 

“... I'd like to think you would have mentioned it,” you answered after a moment, “but I know you better than that.” 

Zuko grinned; you watched the curve of his cheek as it swelled with the action. 

“I might have mentioned it,” he murmured, his voice lilting with a gentle mirth. “Just not to you.”

“Of course not,” you teased. You mirrored his smile, easing into him as his foot began to stroke against your ankle once more. “Either way, I know you don't love me.” 

“And why is that?” Zuko whispered. 

“Well… you never write to me about anything exciting,” you replied. “You always seem so content to write to me about your thoughts, or what plays you've seen recently, or your conversations with Iroh. You never tell me about the impressive, world-altering Firelord stuff or your incredible exploits as a warrior.” 

Zuko smirked, raising a hand to brush some hair away from your face. His fingers were calloused and lukewarm, tracing over your temple with consideration and care. 

“Why else?” 

“You've never tried to kiss me,” you noted, “or touch me like a lover. You never try to push our boundaries past anything that's comfortable for us. Even right now - I'm laying in your bed, but you refuse to touch me in a way you're unsure of.” 

“Then you don't love me, either,” Zuko added. His body had gravitated flush to yours, your legs braided together under the pile of blankets you'd buried him in. “You only want to sleep with me when you're cold. You could just as easily call a servant for help.” 

“And you only want to keep me warm out of obligation,” you agreed. “It wouldn’t make you look very good if I died of hypothermia on your watch.” 

For a long moment, Zuko gazed at you. You basked in his silence, the easiness of his form so close to yours, the native feeling of his arm around your waist and his breath tickling your cheeks. The fire snapped quietly in its hearth, its flames rising and falling in time with his inhales and exhales. 

“I’ve missed this,” Zuko admitted in a whisper. “Laying with you. I wish we could do it more often.” 

“I’ve missed it, too,” you affirm. “I always used to sleep better with you.” 

“And that’s it?” Zuko teased. 

“That’s it,” you giggled back. 

He chanced a kiss to your forehead, pressing his lips between your brows and letting them linger there, savoring the coolness of your skin. You shut your eyes, giving yourself entirely to his touch. 

“In the new year… do you think we could be lovers?” he asked as he pulled away. 

“... I think your uncle is right,” you murmured. “I think we already are.” 

With a faint, bashful smile, Zuko pulled you closer (if the act were even possible), hugging you tightly to him; you held him close, pressing the whole of your body to his and soaking in his steady, comforting warmth. As the wind howled outside, shaking the flimsy wooden eaves of the feeble shelter around you, you fell asleep in the heat of his fireside, safe in the knowledge that his arms held you. 

📚 table of contents 📚

✨ join me on patreon ✨

☕ buy me a coffee ☕

{ subscribers: @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @celamoon @omgwhattheeven @i-am-not-a-thot @fandomtrash1616 @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @just-another-romantic @berkeliums @eridanuswave @oleander-in-the-wind @kinismanditory @lammello @peppermenty @theawesomefactor123 @loganrwebb @ijustwannabecanadian @a-hopeless-fan @softvv @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @pearl-stonecutter @crazy0t @commander-rex @kittyddandnyla @abbyarchie @smol-grandpa @nonbinary-rogers @themanwiththemetalarmsdoll @witchywrter @canibea-whore-yet @fuckwhateverfuck @eridanuswave @duh-dobrik @sum-stuff13 @whalerus @yeetletzgetitjae @thedemigodsarealivebitch @irreplaceable-ecstasy @mysticpeacecrusade }

[moonlady9]

Age reversed; sakura the girl next door and Kakashi’s old “baby sitter” finds out how much he’s grown up

Oh I love this one!! Super hot! Thanks Anon for the prompt!!

Kakashi/Sakura

Explicit

Kink of the Week: Babysitter

Grown

https://ko-fi.com/moonlady9

Sakura was walking out of the restaurant with her take out in hand when she bumped into a very muscular man. She felt strong hands on her shoulders as he steadied her.

“I’m so sorry…” she stated.

“Sakura?” he asked incredulously, “Sakura, is that really you?”

She looked up to see who could be saying her name with such familiarity. She didn’t immediately recognize the eyes that smiled at her until she looked up to see the shock of silver hair that was unnatural in someone so young.

“Kakashi?” she laughed, “Oh my god! I haven’t seen you since you were an awkward teenager.”

Kakashi grinned as he unconsciously wrapped an arm around her waist, releasing her quickly in case it was inappropriate. “I’m sorry, it’s just been a long time.”

“It’s okay. What are you doing here?” She fixed herself after his embrace.

“I just moved, got my first job after graduating.” He raked his fingers through his hair as he took her in. Her just standing there so unexpectedly radiant had him feeling unbalanced in the best way.

“Wow! Congrats on the new job. Time really flies. You’re so tall now, I remember when you barely reached my shoulders,” she teased with a giggle. He certainly had grown. He was built lean and strong, now she was the one that barely reached his shoulder. His face had matured, it was all angles and sharp features except for his soft eyes.

He chuckled bashfully, “It’s been a long time since you moved away and stopped being my neighbor.”

“That it has. Um, listen, I just got off work and have way too much food, if you’re not busy, would you like to catch up, help me eat this takeout?” Sakura smiled sweetly.

“I don’t have anything, I was just trying to look for some food and if it’s really no imposition, I would love to catch up with my old babysitter. Maybe you can let me know the best take out spots.”

“No imposition at all, I’m excited for us to catch up.”

Kakashi was impressed by her medical degrees and her nice apartment. They ate on the floor, spread out over the coffee table. They caught up, reminisced when she would take care of him when his dad had to work. He was reminded of the innocent crush he had on his babysitter at twelve years old when she was sixteen. Now, watching her smile, her emerald eyes dancing, her rosen hair bouncing, maybe that crush was starting to not become so innocent now.

Sakura couldn’t stop admiring him, he was quite handsome and grown, Kakashi always seemed older than his years, but seeing him now, he was such a man and at the same time so young. She felt herself flush at the mention that he didn’t have a girlfriend at the moment, for some reason her heart delighted in hearing he was single.

It didn’t go unnoticed to him when she mentioned she was single too, having just left a relationship. Then there was their closeness, when had they gotten so close that he could smell the sweet spring scent of her hair? Was it him or her that had moved closer? Or both? He did know that it was him that closed the gap of their stretching finger as they entangled over the table. And she grabbed him in return.

His eyes swirled like storm clouds as the connected with hers in a gaze that she had never thought to come from him but now that it was aimed at her, she wanted fall into the heat. Her body moved independently of her thoughts, just wanting closeness, she leaned forward, and suddenly she was surrounded by his wintery scent and taste as he kissed her. Her brain froze for a moment wondering how this had come this far, but as his warm lips kissed her softly and eagerly, she melted into him, kissing him back.

She tasted like fresh berries; her hands were clenching his shirt pulling him to her as her kisses became more heated. He wanted to follow her into the flames. He didn’t care anymore how they got into this situation, tugging each other’s clothes off with impatient hands, he just wanted this to continue. Her nails scratched lightly down his bare back as he bit the side of her breast.

“Your so beautiful,” he murmured, thinking that younger him would be thrilled to know that he was seeing Sakura naked and flushed with desire.

“You’re so handsome,” she returned as his tongue lavished her breasts. She moaned as his fingers went between her legs to tease her slick slit. “Oh!”

He grinned as he swiped over her clit making her jolt. “I would fantasize about you.” He kissed down her stomach.

Sakura looked at him as he made his way down. “Oh yeah?”

“I wondered what you tasted like.” He dipped his tongue past her folds to her entrance, savoring her as she moaned above him. “Better than my fantasies.”

“Oh god!” His fingers and mouth were finding every weak spot. “Where did you learn that?” she cried as he suckled her pearl and curled his fingers inside to touch her just right.

His chuckle was muffled as he made his own sounds of pleasure. “I’ve grown, Sakura. In lots of ways.”

“Oh fuck!” she cried as he moved relentlessly “Yes—oh gods—yes, you most certainly have.” Her legs trembled and involuntarily closed around his ears as she climaxed. “Oh Kakashi!”

He withheld his smugness as he watched her, she arched so beautifully, biting her bottom lip as her eyes fluttered. He lapped up her orgasm as she came back. He crawled up to kiss the corner of her lips gently as she giggled. “How else can I show you how much I’ve grown?”

Sakura grinned glancing down. “I think I want to see for myself.”

She sat up pushing him down on the floor, switching positions. His erection standing proud, but she started by kissing him instead. His talented tongue swirling as she tasted herself in his mouth, it made her head spin. Her hand ran down his chest, her lips followed, trailing down, stopping to nibble at his pale nipples, making him growl. She giggled at how sexy and adorable she found his blushing face when she reached his lower abs, licking at the angled dip of muscles that pointed her towards her prize. His silver curls adorning his impressive cock.

Stars flew across his vision as she sucked the head gently, adding her tongue. This was better than his fantasy. If only teenage him had known how truly blissful her mouth was. And then she was taking him all the way in, he choked out a raspy moan as her mouth and tongue did things he didn’t know could be done. Maybe he still had more growing up to do.

Sakura would have chuckled if her mouth wasn’t preoccupied. He was writhing under her. His hand fisting her hair but not moving as if he was unsure what he wanted, he had one eye open and the other closed, like he didn’t want to take his eyes off her but at the same time he was in his own world. She moved over him slowly making sure he could watch her lips and tongue flick over his pretty cock. He really had grown, but he was already shaking, groaning her name as he climaxed, filling her mouth with his spend. It reminded her that he was still young after all, and luckily because of that, his stamina kept him hard.

“I’m sorry, it felt too good, I just couldn’t…” he started to apologize.

She silenced him with a peck to his lips, “It’s ok, I didn’t want to stop either. You have a very nice cock, Kakashi.”

He blushed at her praise; his cock twitched as if in acknowledgement. Her eyes were bright as she smiled at him. His hands found their way to her waist pulling her into his lap as they kissed. “Sakura, you’re amazing.”

The fiery touches on each other had both clinging and desperate for more.

“Kakashi, I need you,” she moaned.

“Me too.” He reached for his pants, she reached for her purse coming back with a condom each. They laughed.

“We might need both.” He smirked.

Her stomach flipped at the promise. After he rolled on the condom, she could barely contain herself as she lifted her hips to align herself to his length. His hand held her waist as she sank down, both letting out sounds of pleasure as they joined. Every delicious inch that entered her stoked the fires within her belly.

If her mouth was blissful, her pussy was heavenly, so warm and inviting. He sat up to hold her, his knees lifting so he could bring her closer. “You feel incredible,” he panted.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, placing her heels on the floor so she could have a better angle, “So do you.” She peppered him with short breathless kisses.

They thrust into each other, his pelvis meeting hers as the did their best to feel bring each other pleasure. Their skin overheated, perspiration starting to cling them together. They ate up every heavy pant, every raspy moan, every broken plead, just relishing how much they both had changed and grown over the years.

“Did you fantasize about this when you were younger?” Sakura teased as she nipped at his neck.

He chuckled as she pulsed her walls around him ending with a delighted groan, “It wasn’t this nice in my head. It seems I had a terrible imagination back then.”

She giggled, finishing with a cry as he snapped up into her, hitting her spot just right. “Oh yes, right there.”

Taking her directive, he started to slam into her earnestly, memorizing her unabashed begs of more and harder. He wanted to see her climax again. He wanted to feel her around his cock, he wanted scars of her nails digging into his shoulders, he wanted to ingrain her into his memory as she orgasmed again.

Sakura screamed as the blaze of ecstasy overtook her. His words of encouragement and strokes of his cock inside of her kept her floating in bliss. Then he was gripping her hips with bruising strength, his own groan of climax reaching her as his cock pulsed inside of her.

She placed her forehead on his in hazy satisfaction, smiling at him. “You really have grown.”

Kakashi laughed, “If you want more proof, I am more than happy to provide it.”

“I do have more condoms.” Sakura smirked.

[beautifulletdownfics]

‘someday, someday’ :: tumblr edition, #21

I woke up to Harry.

"What are you—

"Shhh," He interrupted my sleepy confusion, his arms were digging under my body and pulling me out from the back of the sofa I had been sleeping on, "Just hang on a minute ..."

He leaned over me slowly and lodged himself between the back of the sofa and my body, his arms tightly holding around the duvet I was burritoed in. I very much felt like I was about to fall onto the floor and an involuntary yelp escaped me to express the thought. The jolting movement caused an unpleasant rush through my head pointing to the hangover brewing.

"I've got you," Harry reassured me, straightening up and pulling me even closer against his chest. He wiggled his legs slightly to sandwich mine and help us both to sit snuggly. Flashes of our intimate moments the night before rose in my mind as Harry’s cologne triggered a vivid memory.  His hands now were soft and gentle but my mind remembered them searching my body lustfully and I couldn’t stop the way my heart started racing from the memory.

"Your hair is wet," I told him dumbly, feeling the cold wetness from a stray lock stick to my cheek.

"I had a shower." "Here?" I frowned, Harry hadn't been here when the girls and I had arrived back at my house sometime around four in the morning.

"No," I could feel him smiling as he pressed his lips to my forehead, "I showered at home and came straight here to make sure you survived the night.”

I turned my head up to meet his, grinning back at him when he seemed surprised by the movement. I went straight for his lips, wanting to feel the same sensation of glorious mindlessness that I had kissing him last night. Harry hummed against me and quickly deepened the kiss, dragging a hand up my back to hold the back on my head. The material of the knitted jumper he was wearing scratched my cheek and I smiled against him when he flipped one of his legs over both of mine to trap me further. Just when my body was starting to get into the rhythm of the kiss Harry slowly pulled back from it. His lips found my chin and my nose and then the side of my mouth before he stopped completely and just looked at me.

He didn’t say anything for a few beats, "That was very nice. How was the rest of your night last night? What did I miss?”

I pressed my pointer finger to his chin, inspecting the way his lips were pinker from having kissed me, “I think I have a bruise on my leg from a bar stool.”

Harry’s laugh exploded out of him before even he could contain it and I lowered my hands back between us against his warm chest to snuggle down in the cuddle, “What on earth did you get up to with a bar stool? Should I be jealous?”

“We ended up at a karaoke bar and Bel needed a boost up onto a stool but she fell off and it crashed into my leg. She has an egg on her head.”

“Jesus Christ, is she okay?” Harry’s chest was shaking with laughter.

“She’s mad she messed up the lyrics to Life for Rent.”

Harry nearly snorted when a deeper laugh overtook him and he settled into a long, deep laugh, “She picked a Dido song?”

I was grinning at the way Harry could hardly get the words out. I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to be the one causing this bubbling of joy from him but I loved every second of it. I closed my eyes and settled into the feeling of being held and tried to forget the headache swirling around my head.

“Life for Rent is actually a beautiful song,” I defended quietly.

“It it,” Harry agreed, “It’s just so left of centre. I was surprised ... I needed that laugh, thank you.”

"My pleasure, but if my leg needs to be amputated, boy, are you going to be sorry your initial reaction was laughter."

"Didn't think I'd ever see a day I could say Nina Lawrence was being over-dramatic," Harry said dryly.

"You've unleashed a monster."

“Sounds like you had a fun night?" He asked quietly, his lips moving against my check, "What time did you get in?"

My mind was running at a million miles from Harry being so close and stumbled on my answer, "I did. Somewhere around four I think."

"And you're a good host so you've let them take your bed?" He asked, referring to the girls.

Yes, but I wish I’d taken you up on the offer to stay in yours last night.

"Four in the bed was a bit too much." I confirmed.

"You looked very cosy out here, I wasn't going to join you but I found I couldn't resist."

"I wasn't expecting you this morning," I said, broaching the topic of why Harry was at my house.

He'd surprised me last night when he stayed with my family after my performance at Royal Albert Hall until midnight. Eventually he’d whispered in my ear he needed to leave if he was going to be able to sing properly today. In the excitement of my performance I had forgotten he had his own to think about.

Soon after I ended up going out with the girls, who were keen to have one last dance in London before going back home up North. I wasn’t complaining about him being here this morning, but I thought we had our Christmas farewell the night before.

Up against Harry’s car. For about twenty minutes.

"I'm here to sneak you out for a quick breakfast before the others wake up,” He said, and I felt myself blush at what I had been remembering from the night before, “I was thinking about it last night after I got home and I just kind of decided I wasn’t particularly happy with not seeing you this morning when if I was organised I definitely could.”

Harry’s fingers were drawing distracting circles on my back and feeling the vibrations from his voice as he spoke from having my head pressed against his chest only made it all feel a special kind of intimate.

A lovely warm feeling filled me at his words. If seeing him hold his own with my family and friends last night wasn't already enough to reassure me of Harry fitting in my world surely seeing the effort he put into getting to spend time with me was convincing enough. If only the dirty voices of doubt in me could see that.

I hadn't said anything, Harry squeezed me slightly, "Can I have one more date before you leave?"

"'Course you can," I mumbled back, dragging my hands up and tugging at the neck of his jumper.

"A true gentlemen would have come over and cooked breakfast for all of you ... My compromise is that we bring breakfast back for the girls, what time do you think they'll wake up?."

"They won't surface before midday. The train we’re getting is at 1:30.”

"Great, we have plenty of time then ... On a scale of one to ten how much does <i>your</i> head hurt right now?"

"A four but growing."

"You need some food. And fresh air," Harry said decisively, "A green juice and some breakfast and you'll be good as new."

At the thought of getting up a heavy weariness fell over me, "Or we could just stay like this all day."

Harry hummed into my hairline and squeezed his arms around me again, "Very tempting. But I'm actually extremely hungry, I went for a run earlier."

"Earlier?" I groaned, "What could be earlier than this?"

Harry laughed and without any warning sat up, keeping his hold on me and forcing me upright as well.

"Wait," I protested meekly, needing a moment to take stock of exactly how bad I was feeling.

"Are you going to vomit? Should I be worried about alcohol poisoning?"

I hit his arm lightly, "No, just give me some warning next time."

Harry gave me ten minutes to creep around upstairs and get myself decent for breakfast. It required sneaking into my room for a change of clothes, the three lumps that were Isobel, Sam, and Georgie taking up all of my bed didn't make a sound or movement while I did so. Still, I scrawled out a note for them at left it on top of Sam's phone where it was charging.

Harry had waited for me on the sofa, and when he heard me coming down the stairs he met me at the bottom of them, all rugged up in this coat and a scarf. I followed him out the door, sneaking a look at his bum in the trendy, loose blue jeans he was wearing. He looked fantastic.

Harry grabbed for my hand when outside I started walking towards his car, "Nope, this way," he corrected, tugging me towards him and starting to walk in the opposite direction down my street, "I Googled, there's a nice looking place just around the corner. I thought we could just walk there?"

"You're a man with a plan," I commented, swinging our joined hands between us.

"I'd hate you to think I don't have my shit together," Harry quipped back, "Besides which, I take you and breakfast very seriously."

Oh boy.

"My brain can't decide yet if food sounds good or bad," I groaned, pulling my sunglasses down from the top of my head. The wintery London chill was in the air but we were being graced with an uncharacteristic sunny morning.

The cafe Harry had in mind was a little busy, but Harry walked in with purpose, asking for a table for two of us. We ended up tucked into a corner, Harry sat with his back to the window and immediately opened the menu reminding me not for the first time just how hungry he was.

I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the menu, the third thing on the breakfast list was ricotta pancakes with strawberries. I didn’t need to see any further options.

Harry deliberated over two or three options however, looking crestfallen when the waitress came over and he had to make a final decision. He was trying to avoid dairy for the day to help with his voice.

Once I ordered food with a coffee he pointed to the menu and said “I’ll have this one. With bacon,” a small frown, “And mushrooms.”

He also ordered two green juices, promising me it would help with the thudding in my head.

“Is an OJ not good enough?” I lamented after the waitress left.

Harry grinned at me, “You’re a precious drunk.”

“I am not still drunk,” I defended quickly, taking my sunglasses off my head and putting them on top of my phone on the table.

“Precious hungover then,” He edited warmly. "I really like your family and friends. Last night was great.”

“I thought so to. Although they’re all a bit mad too,” I cringed remembering Bel and Georgie singing a very, very old One Direction song at Harry last night at the hotel. Tequila shots made them quite musical.

As if he knew the moment I was thinking of, Harry spoke up, ”I liked it, it was fun. If I was a plumber they’d have made sewerage jokes all night. It’s okay. I can take it.”

"They all went easy on us, trust me,” I was thinking of all the times my mum made eyes at me throughout the night when she’d caught Harry watching me or being sweet in some way.

"I'm looking forward to getting to the stage where they don't. Hopefully."

He was fishing for reassurance, I smiled and squinted at him, knowing he knew what I was going to say but it was important I said it anyway, "They all love you, don't worry."

Harry's smile brightened and his eyes locked on mine, “I like this ... You never used to make eye contact, it would drive me mad.”

My friends forgotten, suddenly I felt I was under his scrutiny, his attention wafting from one line of conversation to another without warning, "What?"

"You'd look at my chin or my nose, and if we made eye contact you'd look away so quickly it was as though it never happened. It drove me crazy."

I winced, "I can't imagine why you bothered persisting. Sorry."

“I could tell you, but I’m not sure your hangover can weather how sappy I’d get,” Harry said, saved by the bell that was our drinks being brought over to the table.

I was sure the waitress had heard the last of the conversation though, and felt her looking between us knowingly. I felt my face heat and when I chanced a glance across to Harry he looked like the cat that ate the canary.

“Are you still buzzing from last night?” Harry asked when we were alone again.

“Yeah,” I smiled at him, “But the better question is are you excited for your performance tonight?”

“I am” Harry provided carefully, adding a perfectly measured spoonful of sugar to his black coffee and stirring it through.

“But?” I prompted

“I’m a little nervous,” He admitted. “I always am when it’s a telly thing, they’re always a bit awkward. Singing to a camera and then an audience that’s not really into it … It feels like work where proper live shows don’t really. But it will be nice to be back up on stage with the lads.”

I nodded at him diplomatically, “A healthy dose of nerves is a good thing I’ve been told, means you don’t take it for granted.”

“You’re telling me even Protégés even get nervous?”

“Are you ever going to drop that?” I groaned.

“Nope.” He said easily.

“I was shitting myself before last night … I’ve never been good at the ‘healthy dose’ part of that,” I said with a slow smile.

Harry’s face dropped just a touch, but I hadn’t meant to berate him in any way. It had served as a reminder of something to him though and I watched him struggle with what to say next. I decided to rescue him.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” He answered immediately, looking painfully earnest.

“You were so kind to me, right from before I even realised you knew I existed …” I paused, not know how to ask the actual question part, Harry watched me carefully, “Why?”

Some part of him relaxed slightly, “I’d like to think I’m kind to pretty much everyone. It’s the default, my mum would always tell us that when we were kids: Being kind should be your default setting.”

“And what about if someone is a jerk?”

Harry’s smile returned, “Kill them with kindness.”

“What about if someone is kind of standoffish and disinterested in even a pleasant, casual social interaction? What if they barely give you the time of day to be kind?”

“Are you referring to yourself?”

“Maybe.”

“Wear them down until they date you.”

Now I was left without knowing what to say, and my shock evidently played out in my expression because Harry watched me carefully but smiled at whatever he saw. He’d won that discussion by being honest and I could see Harry knew he had me.

“Nina it was never about polite kindness with you.”

Our food had arrived and the smell of sweet, warm pancakes made my stomach rumble with delight, “What does that mean?” I asked, waiting a moment before taking my first bite. It was delicious.

“I’d heard Rodger and Max talk about you well before I met you. They’re nuts about you and the way Rodger would speak about you used to annoy me, if I’m honest. Early on he corrected my assumption he had a thing for you, I think I told him to just hurry up and marry you already,” Harry shook his head at himself, “I used to think ‘if she’s so bloody great how come she never comes to anything’. I started joking that you didn’t really exist, that everyone had invented you as a wind up.”

“You did?”

Harry was laughing at the memory, “I did. Then I left my hat at your place and Rodger told me you would be home to give it to me.” “I’d forgotten about that,” I said, “I always think Rodger’s party was the first time we met.”

“That hurts,” Harry feigns a pain over his heard, “Standing outside your house feeling as though I’d been stabbed in the heart or I was about to throw up is one of my most memorable moments.”

I winced, “What a memory.”

“The second I saw you I was done for, Nina." He said slowly, his expression sincere but cautious as though he was treading carefully with his words, "I’d had all this build up from everyone about about how incredible you were that as soon as I saw you I got a crush ten feet tall and as wide as the sea ... Everyone had failed to mention you were gorgeous too.”

I knew I was bright red, but I could see Harry wasn’t going to save me from my embarrassment, he held eye contact and waited for me to stop internally protesting what he had said. Hearing that Harry's attraction had been so instantaneous both reassured me and had me feeling guilty, it had taken me weeks to get to that point.

"I should really start paying Rodger for whatever he's saying about me."

Harry laughed and nodded, "You really should ... I wasn't just being nice for the sake of it, Nina. I wanted you to like me as much as I liked you. I had that fun but soul destroying feeling where you're so into someone it's addictive and you just want to see them again. It was so annoying not get enough time with you on your own—I’m sounding like a maniac right now, I know,” He hurried, “But I’d find myself so pissed off at Rodger speaking over you or Max jumping in to save you from having to answer. I knew if I just had the time with you alone you’d open up more. I hated that every time I saw you it was coincidental, I just wanted to get to the point where I could plan when I'd get to see you next on my own. I’d make plans with Rodger or Max not knowing if they'd bring you along as well.”

"Harry," I said gently, waiting his remembered frustration play out in his features.

"I'd be crushed every time you didn't appear," He continued slowly, "And after the Regina show, you disappeared for weeks and I never felt like it was my place to reach out directly. I was pretty sure you hated me. "

"I'm sorry, I never hated you."

"I know," Harry smiled, "I can be a romantic dramatist."

"I think I thought I'd embarrassed myself to Kingdom Come and you'd want nothing to do with my drama anyway."

He deflated a little, "I'm not going to be like him, Nina," Harry paused to make sure I knew who he was referring to, "If you're going through something I want to know."

I sighed and dropped my chin into my hand, propped up on the table, "You're pretty lovely, know that?"

"I'd really like this to work for us, Nina, and I don't want to push you but at the same time I don't want to allow there to be any room for you to doubt it. Or me."

We were both finished eating and I watched Harry for a moment. He never seem phased by anything, so having him reveal his feelings when I was hesitant to assume them was pleasant in an unexpected way. Usually the thought of someone noticing me in a social setting made my skin crawl, but knowing Harry had been watching and wanting to know me better was settling somehow. To also have him acknowledge what I had told him about my last relationship and the dynamic there was also reassuring, if not scary. It was always a heavily guarded secret inside me, and I wasn’t used to having him privy to it yet.

"This means I'm going to have to add you to my Christmas list, doesn't it?" I asked playfully, delighted when Harry's face lit up in response.

"You sure do.”

“I think an M&S voucher should suffice,” I teased, trying to look thoughtful.

Harry raised his eyebrows at me, “That would be lovely actually, I could use some new underwear.”

Harry looked proud of his quickness, and he took his time taking a long sip of his coffee, watching me over the cup. I simply smiled back and tried a little of the juice he had ordered for me, scrunching my nose up at what I could only describe as a green flavour.

“Oh god,” I coughed, “That tastes like a garden.” Harry beamed at me, “It’ll put five years back on your life.”

+++

“Bye Harry!” “Bye Harry, we’ll be texting our review after tonight!”

“Harry,” Bel leaned forward between Harry’s front seats, looking as though she was tossing up between multiple things to say, finally settling on, “Don’t trip.”

Harry barked out a laugh at that, promising her he wouldn’t, “It would probably make great TV though,” he added, “I’m sure there are lots of people that would love to see me land on my arse.”

Bel seemed to consider that for a moment, then seemed to shrug it off, “We’ll see you when we see you, Harry. Thanks for the ride.”

I turned in my seat to watch her slip out onto the footpath outside Farringdon station. Harry had made good of his promise to take breakfast back to my house for everyone. We left the cafe with arms of pastries and coffees, and then he insisted on saving us the Uber fare by driving us to the train up North himself. Harry popped the boot for them and looked in the rearview mirror to make sure it had opened.

“Have a great Christmas,” He said quietly, pulling me back, Harry’s eyes flicked back to the mirror as I registered that we wouldn’t have much time to do this goodbye.

“You too,” I said, turning to face him in my seat.

“Have fun and be safe and miss me loads,” He added, shifting around and leaning on the middle console towards me, he curled his index finger at me, “C’mere.”

I smiled and leaned in towards him, Harry’s thumb and pointer finger met my chin and he gently pulled it up to the right angle for him to lower in for a kiss. Harry pulled back after one chaste attempt, giving me only enough time to lick my lips before we were pressed back together, his tongue giving only the shortest tease. He dropped his fingers from chin and sat back in his seat.

“I’ll see you on the 28th,” He confirmed, turning his head to me, “But I’ll talk to you before then.”

“Yep,” I nodded, “Break a leg tonight. And save me some of that croissant bread and butter pudding your mum makes.”

Harry laughed, “I will. She’s going to adore that you’re so keen for it.”

Georgie’s face appeared next to my window, “I need to go.”

“You do,” He agreed, reaching for the side of my face and pulling himself over the console again to give me one last kiss, “Be good.”

I screwed up my nose at him as I opened my door, “I’m always good.”

“You still need to sign the program from last night for me," He said quickly, just as I was about to shut the door, "I’m getting it framed.”

I rolled my eyes at him, "Bye Harry,"

"Merry Christmas, Protégé!"

++

"I fucking hate you.”

I did. I really did. But my face cracked into a grin and I walked back into Bel’s family lounge room carrying a tray of teas. Georgie was modelling a One Direction t-shirt she had pulled from God knows where and Bel was busy pinning a Liam badge to her pyjama top.

“Where did you even get those!”

“It was a two for one deal online,” Georgie told me happily, “Sam didn’t think it was a good idea for us to keep teasing you, but if you ask me she’s being unsupportive.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Sam said, moving over on the two-seater she was on to make room for me. I linked my arm through hers when I sat.

Bel’s parents were away visiting with her sister and brother-in-law in Glasgow, not returning until the following morning. Her dad had the TV sound system to shame all sound systems which apparently meant we had to watch Harry on the telly there. The empty house was enough to sell me on the idea, mine was full of cousins and family who would delight in teasing me about Harry. But this would be the first time I would properly witness him singing and I didn’t think I could handle it if I couldn’t just focus on him and what I was seeing.

We were making an old school sleepover of it, which we had decided upon on the train back earlier today. We all had gone to our respective family homes and then repacked for a night at Bel’s. The food had been ordered in and it was about half an hour until the program started. While we waited for Indian to arrive we chatted our way through numerous pieces of gossip from our wider friendship group in Blackpool, and back to our family Christmases.

It was tradition that we met at the pub on Boxing day where it seemed everyone we knew under thirty five who was home for the holiday season all went to debrief after surviving spending an extended period of time with their families. The same thing happened on New Years Day before everyone headed back to London or Manchester to their regular lives.

"How's that bruise on your leg?" Bel asked suddenly, looking across at me and nodding at my covered legs.

"It's okay, how's your hea—

"—You should’ve gotten Harry to kiss it better,” Georgie cut me off.

“Yeah,” Bel agreed, a devilish smile on her face, “I bet he’s really good at that kind of thing.”

“What!” I squawked, watching Sam stand up when the doorbell rang. She waved off any help in collecting the food and I was left to Bel and Georgie’s inappropriate giggling.

“Harry’s fit, take it graciously.” Bel said.

“He is!” I defended, “But I don’t need to bloody hear it from you.”

“If I had a guy like Harry I’d be snug as shit about it,” Georgie exclaimed, standing up to help Sam unpack the food onto the coffee table. “I could use some new relationship sex. It’s always so delightful.”

“Oh my god,” I groaned.

“Here we go,” Bel rolled her eyes, “Horny Georgie.”

Georgie had the audacity to look wounded, “Sorry, what year is it? I won’t be shamed for liking sex!”

“Nobody was shaming you, George,” Sam said calmly, “But next time take a breath before you mention Nina’s new boyfriend and then sex, mmm?” “I wasn’t saying I wanted to bang Harry!” Georgie said to me quickly.

“I know,” I smiled, wanting to get as far as I could from this conversation as quickly as possible, “Pass me a plate.”

We already had plates and cutlery ready. I watched as the containers were popped open. Bel moved to kneel at the table and started to serve herself bits of all the different curries we had ordered. Sam gave Georgie one last look, and I wished I knew how to save them from each other’s strong opinions. Really I just wanted to move the conversation away from my sex life. I didn’t have the energy to explain why Harry and I hadn’t slept together yet.

Food was just the distraction needed to reset the conversation.

We spent the next hour talking and eating our way through the first part of the Charity Gala on the telly. There was an all-star line up with all the usual suspects in the London music and comedy scene. We gossiped our way through who was who, who was good and who wasn’t really actually funny.

I felt like by the time it was One Direction being introduced that I had lived half a life time in nervous anticipation. I had been preparing myself for a shift, or for at least seeing a side of Harry that I hadn’t before which had the potential to make me feel uncomfortable.

I knew that the band hadn’t performed together very much in the last twelve months. Harry had said that much himself, and it was a fact that was getting played up all night in the lead up to them performing. The world had missed them, the presenter kept saying, as the moment they were on stage was built up—it was clear they were being presented as the big act of the night.

Finally they were announced to be after the ad break. Which gave me enough time to refill my glass of wine and chew my way through a handful of Dairy Milk buttons.

“Don’t eat your hand, Nina,” Bel joked from her spot across the room.

“Shut up,” I mumbled, “It’s this or projectile vomit on your mum’s good rug.”

"Why are you freaking out so much about this?"

"I haven't seen him perform before," I provided quietly, trying to hide the quiver to my voice.

Sam's arm came around me and she held me in a side hug, "This shouldn't change your opinion of him," she said just to me, sensing there was more going on than I was letting on.

"I just haven't seen it before," I reiterated, wondering what 'it' was and why something about the whole concept of seeing Harry perform made me feel uneasy.

The ad break came to a close and there was no introduction to the act or the song, a thumping drum beat started and panning shots of the audience facing the stage took over the screen. The girls quietened around me but Sam kept her arm around me, giving my shoulder a slight squeeze.

The introduction to the song went too long. I kept anticipating the start but the drums kept going and the intro rolled on. Eventually I heard what was distinctly Harry's laugh through a microphone and then he started singing.

The camera panned on him first. He was grinning and a little red but he stood where he was and sang beautifully in an impeccable upper lower register. He swayed slightly to the beat, the silky material of the shirt that was poorly tucked into his jeans moving softly with his hips.

"That's your man, Nina," Georgie clapped towards the TV when Harry stopped singing and someone else took over.

The camera panned over all the members of the band, holding on the drummer for a little while and then going back to get the shot of the audience with the four members of One Direction facing them.

Harry had lovely tone to his voice. It rumbled out of his chest smoothly and his harmonies cut through the melody perfectly. He looked like he belonged exactly where he was on stage. Each time he was on the screen he was interacting the the camera, the audience or a bandmate. Harry made it all look fun and when the song came to and end he joined the others in happily greeting the people in the room with them, thanking the crowd for having them.

"And all of you at home too," A voice off screen said, I wasn't sure which member.

Harry appeared on screen again, screwing the lid back onto a water bottle, and then leaving it to walk back to his mic stand, "Thank you for having us," He said simply, "This is Story of My Life."

They played through the slower song and I stared at Harry's spot on the stage the whole time, only noticing his bandmates when the camera left him and I was forced to. The girls were making observations around me but I wasn't really listening. It was so strange to be looking at Harry in that setting.

He had slowly become such a strong force in my life and I was finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that there was such a huge part of him, of his life, that I'd not experienced at all. We hardly spoke about his job and I was left wondering why. He was clearly so good at it and I was concerned by the fact he hadn't shared much with me.

The next song started and I turned to Sam beside me, "Harry never talks to me about his job. Is that odd?"

She craned her neck to look at me properly, her brows drawn like she didn't understand where my question was coming from, her features then rose into surprise, "Nina, I ... No, I don't think so. Don't ... Don't psyche yourself out. Harry's so into you, you'd have to be an idiot to miss that."

I looked back to the screen, watching Harry sing his heart out on live National television, "We don't talk about who he is. I mean, look," I waved my hand at the television, "He's fucking Harry Styles ... Why is that only just hitting me?"

"Because he's not that to you, babe," Georgie added gently from across the room, her eyes understanding, "He's just a lad. He's just your Harry. And I know we give you both shit ... Well, mostly me," She half shrugged, "We give you shit about him but if he was some famous fuckwit we wouldn't act like we do." "He's set the tone," Bel jumped in, "He didn't walk in and throw his name around, and now he's sharing it with you. It's probably awkward for him to bring it up with people."

"I think it's my fault," I said. "I've been so bad at asking him about himself, I alway feel so awkward and I didn't want him to think I was digging for that, you know?"

"Don't overthink this," Sam hugged my side, "He's mad about you, and I bet he appreciated not feeling like was a factor with you.."

The only real window into Harry's job and the status that came with it had been my attending the dinner earlier in the year where I'd met some of his friends. Friends, who as it turned out, had sent a photograph of the night to someone working at a media corporation. I'd been distracted by the fact Harry had lied about how we knew each other, and I hadn't focused really on the fact that was what his life was like sometimes, and why.

The 'why' was this, what I was watching, Harry being on stage and a part of this universally known and loved band.

"Nina," Sam pulled me out of my thoughts, "He's really bloody good. Appreciate his job for that, don't get stuck on the rest of it ... You've got music in common, let that be something wonderful."

She was right. Having music in common with Harry was wonderful.

"He's so cool," I said without thinking.

"Right," Georgie huffed, "How do you think we all bloody felt watching you last night?"

"His voice is really lovely," I could feel a blush rising.

"Now we're talking!" Sam said, jamming her fingers into my ribs, "That rockstar is yours."

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I replied softly, hoping nobody would elaborate on the matter. I regretted saying it as soon as it came out of my mouth. I hadn't felt any pressure with Harry on the topic, so why it fell out of my mouth in that moment I couldn't say.

“Ah,” Georgie waved off my comment easily, “You’re whatever the step before boyfriend is.”

I hope so.

[queennicoleinboots]

Bear Business, part 2 (Joebear POV)

I growled with authority and was eating a large barbecue chicken leg. I wore a crown that Bruce the Ace of Brake-fixing and my wife honored me with. Xara, my beautiful wife, walked in the woods naked.

She was..... sexxxxxaaaayyyy!!

Zombies were walking behind her and checking out her butt.

I wasn't having that, so I stood up and pointed my butt in their general direction. I broke wind, and they disintregrated. My ass is the answer to the zombie apocalypse.

I AM the only bear allowed to make love to her temple for now on. She is my wife, and I am her husband, which means protector.

I shall always protect my wife from stupid bullshit.

"Bae Whuhh!!!!" she shouted. "Join me."

"JOIN US, BAE WHUHHH!!!" more zombies shouted as they appeared in the swamp.

Xara and the zombies then danced to seriously spicy salsa music.

Lord, give me strength! Mexico has come to the swamp. Ugggghhhhh!!!! I thought this was America. Pretty soon, it is going to be a property of China, but why Mexican music and Mexican zombies right now? My fat ass was not ready to dance to seriously spicy salsa. I was taking a shit that thwarted the zombies. Even flies thought it was stank.

Our young black and white cat named Miss Oreo came storming into the swamp. She always had energy. Kissy, our female orange cat that grew to be twice the size she was months ago, followed Miss Oreo. Garfield's soul had just left his body to be with the Father a week ago. Kissy, Xara, and I miss him more than words can describe.

Macrula screamed and brought more humidity upon us. A wall of rain fell from the sky. I guess he knew our pain, too. Angels sense things.

"Hoowoo Bae Whuhh you sexy!" Xara said. At that moment, she started her period. She had swamp vagina. She needed business more than ever. "BAE WHUHH!!! I NEED BUSINESS BAEWHUHH!!!" She was also crying because she missed Garfield. I will provide business when my sadness subsides. I love my wife, but I need to mourn the loss of my boy. It was time for bed.

"Kissy! Kissy!" I called in a low melodic voice. "I need you, Kissy Kissy."

Kissy ran over here to lay with me. My eyes glossed over, and my vision turned watery. I couldn't see, so I closed my eyes and cried.

I called, "Bae! Come lay with me!" My voice was shaky.

Xara laid with me. A barbeque chicken pizza fell out of the sky. She and I ate pizza together.

Count Macula, Jr. walked over to us while he was eating pizza. He was still a forever young white cub. Apparently, he was also in a freezer.

The Apparently Kid from YouTube yelled "APPARENTLY" before the remaining cast of PeeWee Herman shouted while wearing zombie masks. Apparently, a mask doesn't protect you from a zombie virus.

A YouTube ad was shown on one of the trees in the swamp. The narrator's voice boomed, "COMING SOON, A STORY THAT WILL WARM YOUR HEART, RATTLE YOUR BRAIN, AND SEND YOU IN ANOTHER DIMENSION. DISNEY'S NEW FILM: COUNT MACULA, JR. CLIMBS A WINTERY MOUNTAIN IN TRANSYLVANIA TO FIND HIS FAMILY THAT HAD BEEN ABDUCTED BY THE FBI. HE FINDS MANY FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY, AND THEY CLIMB A MOUNTAIN TOGETHER AND FORM A BOND LIKE NO OTHER. WHAT DO THEY FIND? ONLY THE FBI KNOWS."

I growled vehemently at the screen.

The video shows the title: FROZEN: COUNT MACULA, JR.'S SAGA.

The narrator continued, "COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU. Youcanonlyenterthetheatreifyouhave receivedtheCoronavirusvaccine."

The ad stopped playing.

"The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story. The FBI knows my life story," Count Macula, Jr. said in his high-pitched Southern accent as he sat down and ate his pizza. "I didn't take the vaccine, so I am not making a dime off of it. They're a bunch of crooks in the Beast system. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this. They will go to Hell for this."

Peter was also eating pizza, but he was also watching the cartoon movie, Animal Farm, based on the novel by George Orwell. His eyes were wide as they stared at the monitor in a large oak tree.

Bruce the Ace of Brake-fixing and Megara were also eating pizza. They had three female cubs. He sang opera as entertainment for dinner. I sang with him because my body was ready.

Paul the Goat rode Hollywood while they both ate pizza.

Kissy then ate Xara's pizza crust and meowed as though she were a wind-up toy. It was the longest and most beautiful meow I had ever heard. She was something.

Macrula descended from the Heavens with a sense of urgency. He looked like a black and red bullet coming down at the swamp.

Count Macula, Jr. blinked as he looked at him and took a bite of his pizza. "Apparently we have entered Heaven. This pizza tastes like Heaven. Excuse me. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make. I have a cub call to make," he spoke before he growled a great cub growl eight times.

Bruce the Ace of Brake-fixing did some vocal exercises before he, too, joined in bear chorus.

I growled in bear chorus before Miss Oreo stole a bite of pizza from me. "OREO, lay down!" I growled at her. Miss Oreo stared at me before she continued to chew. That girl made us crazy sometimes.

Paul the Goat bleated before Hollywood neighed loudly.

Peter turned away from the scene with the small pig shifting his eyes rapidly, and he started to bleat before he looked up at Macrula and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

Macrula spoke with vigor, "I am Macrula, a dark angel with regrets, angel wings of redemption, and have traveled across many planes of existence. A cat called upon me. What shall she have me do?"

I have a boner. I could not describe how much I wanted to pull Xara's long brown straight hair and use it as a handle to yank her pussy back and forth on my cock. DAAYUMN!!!!!

Kissy looked at Miss Oreo. Miss Oreo looked at Kissy. They were confused cats.

Macrula spoke again, "I heard a cat that sounded like a wind-up toy."

Kissy looked at him and meowed again. "Sorry about that. I was excited about pizza crust. When I eat pizza crust, I'm in heaven. Thank you for coming."

"You are most welcome, cat of great beauty," he said. Yes, Kissy was a beautiful cat. "What shall you have me do for you?"

"Well, we are having a great swamp party, despite the fact that the swaaaamp is completely dissemated," Kissy said as she meowed.

Pauno, a Greek God with green eyes and black curly-hair and Kendrick, Peter's ex-girlfriend and Pauno's current wife, also wandered in the swamp. They also were eating pizza.

Peter smirked awkwardly and looked back at the movie as he hunched his shoulders. "Siiiiiiiighhhhhh. Who invited them?" he mumbled and shrugged as he stared at the monitor intently.

"Peter?!" Kendrick said as she sat near him to watch the movie with him. "I didn't know you liked Animal Farm! It's one of my favorite dystopian movies ever." She ate a bite of pizza.

Peter sighed and looked over to Kendrick before he spoke, "It seems appropriate. After all, we are living in dystopian times. Communism is becoming a thing." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't even recognize this country anymore."

The swamp bubbled up before a woman with long red hair like Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit started crawling from the large puddle in the middle of said swamp. She was covered in mud and leaves. She looked familiar. She looked like a mud-covered Poison Ivy from the DC Comics. She then went over and hugged Peter around his waist. At least she defied the social distancing laws that were in place by Biden's rule.

Of course we all know that Biden isn't actually the one in charge. He answers to the Illuminati, a bunch of Reptilian elites who rule the world under Satan's law.

"Hey, Peter," the Poison Ivy cosplayer in mud said as she kissed the left side of Peter's neck.

Peter smiled and put his long fingers around those of the woman. "Oh hey, Jessica. Why the hell did you emerge from the mud?"

I then growled a great bear growl with force before announcing, "That's great, Jessica Rabbit! Now if you excuse me, I need to lick ass." I jumped up and mauled Xara before putting my head in her ass.

"BAE WHUHH!!!!" Xara shouted as she shook her divine booty and did the backfat dance in front of everyone. She still was bleeding like a stuffed pig. Xara's ass is the best form of meat. All it needs is bear white sauce with extra honey, if you know what I mean.

I growled in her rear end before I stuffed my tongue deep into her ass and started to lick as though it were a honey hive. Her cbocolate was dee-dee-deelicious. Lucky Charms had nothing on this.

Macrula laughed a hearty laugh before he addressed Kissy. "I am not going to lick your cat ass if that's what you are implying."

I hope not. Please don't lick cat ass. That's disturbing.

Kissy looked at Macrula in confusion before she meowed again. "No. I definitely did not call you for that. I simply meowed out of enjoying pizza crust," she said.

We went down the swamp drain in a clockwise direction because we were in North America.

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

There were pictures of Xara all around this mansion. I was in some of the photos. Other photos had late Oreo, Sr., late Garfield, Kissy, and Miss Oreo. There was one photo that all of us together. That's strange. Oreo, Sr. passed away before Miss Oreo was born.

At that moment, I realized I wasn't in reality. I was located in Xara's mind. And I was floating. I heard echoing voices in the distant saying "BaeWhuhh."

"Baebae!" I shouted quickly. My penis was as hard as a diamond. Then the head of my penis turned into a diamond with a slit in it. I burped.

Our cats and four other people were floating with me.

Jessica Rabbit, an actual white rabbit with red flowing hair on top of her head was in Xara's mind with me.

"Where are we?" she asked me.

"In my wife's mind," I said as I started to rub my diamond head against the wall of Xara's brain. I growled like the King Bear I was. My growl echoed throughout her head. It felt so good. I growled louder, and the world started to shake.

....

My diamond head exploded and popped off of my penis. I heard it clank at the bottom of Xara's intestine. That felt nice! My honey spurted.

"Where am I going?!" Jessica Rabbit called loudly as she got caught in the river of my bear juice.

"I don't I don't know," I called.

A large female angel with white wings, straight brown hair, and blue eyes flew around and was drinking my flowing bear juice. Xara was floating with me and beating my bear butt. There was another angelic woman who had red hair, green eyes, and a few freckles on her face.

"Excuse me. I am going to be expelled in 30 seconds. I have a therapy appointment in Xara's bottom. Do you mind, sir?" Jessica Rabbit asked.

I flew to the top of Xara's mind, but my eyes remained on Jessica Rabbit. Xara farted loudly. The sound of that tuba made my ears bleed.

"Owwwww! My ears!" I shouted. I sighed. "Oh my!!!"

Xara pooped loudly and expelled Jessica Rabbit into the toilet that she was sitting on.

"May I have ice cream?" I asked.

Xara then manifested Rocky Road ice cream and gave us both bowls. Kissy and Miss Oreo were licking from the fountain of ice cream that flowed in the middle of Xara's brain.

"There isn't enough ice cream to satisfy me!" I shouted.

Xara then formed a mountain of ice cream that cosumed me. And then I consumed the ice cream.

"You grab the ice cream and take the ice cream if you want it," Xara said. "BaeBaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Baeabaaaaaaaaaeeee heyheyheyhey!!!"

Truer words have never been spoken.

"Thank you," I said as I shot cum in her mouth.

Xara held me in an embrace of tree vines that came from the walls of her mind. She wrapped them around my legs, groin, and chest.

Miss Oreo laid next to her. She pet that kitten with her fingertips. Kissy floated on Xara's head.

I floated down to Xara's asshole and growled loudly as my tongue licked wonders inside of her anus. "I am the easiest person to get along with. I'm a passionate bear. I love you," I said.

"Ooh hoo Bae!!!!!" Xara shouted in excitement.

"You are wonderful. I love you, too, boo," I said.

Macrula and the redheaded angel with green eyes sang an angelic duet of Michael Jackson's "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" to celebrate our love.

Macrula started singing, "Each time the wind blows,I hear your voice so.

I call your name

Whispers at morning

Our love is dawning

Heaven's glad you came."

Xara, Macrula, the redheaded angel, the brown-haired angel, and I were transferred to Heaven.

Macrula continued to sing. "You know how I feel. This thing can't go wrong. I'm so proud to say I love yoooouuuuu. Your love's got me high. I long to get by. This time is forever. Love is the answer!"

The redheaded angel began to sing, "I hear your voice now. You are my choice now.

The love you bring

Heaven's in my heart.

At your call, I hear harps

And angels sing!

You know how I feel

This thing can't go wrong

I can't live my life without you!"

Macrula then sang again, "I just can't hold on! I feel we belong!

My life ain't worth living

If I can't be with you!"

Disco lights shown down at the three angels.

The brownhaired angel, Macrula, and the redheaded angel started to line dance and sing.

"I just can't stop loving you!

I just can't stop loving you!"

They stood up straight, planted their feet firmly on the large cloud between them, and stuck their right arms out in front of them with their palms flat in a "stop sign" formation.

"And if I stop!" they sang. Then they dramatically put their palms to their heart and swayed in the wind as they sang this next line, "Then tell me just what will I dooooooo!!!"

Then Macrula stepped out of the line and sang, "I just can't stop. Loving you."

Music played.

Macrula continued to sing, "At night when the stars shine

I pray in you I'll find

A love so true."

The redheaded angel sang, "When morning awakes me. Will you come and take me?

I'll wait for you."

Macrula sang, "You know how I feel. I won't stop until I hear your voice saying

'I do.'"

The redheaded angel sang, "I do!"

Then all the angels sang, "This thing can't go wrong. This feeling's so strong. Well, my life ain't worth living

If I can't be with you!"

Music played for a second before they sang again, "I just can't stop loving you!

I just can't stop loving you!"

They stood up straight, planted their feet firmly on the large cloud between them, and stuck their right arms out in front of them with their palms flat in a "stop sign" formation.

"And if I stop!" they sang. Then they dramatically put their palms to their heart and swayed in the wind as they sang this next line, "Then tell me just what will I dooooooo!!!"

Macrula stepped out of the line and sang, "I just can't stop loving you."

Music played.

"We can change all the world tomorrow," Macrula sang.

"We can sing songs of yesterday!" the brown-haired angel sang.

"I can say, 'Hey farewell' to sorrow," the redheaded angel sang.

"This is my life and I want to see you for always!" all three angels sang. "I just can't stop loving you!"

The female angels sang vibratto for a second.

"I just can't stop loving you!" Macrula sang loudly.

"If I can't stop!" the female angels sang.

[meirilorii]

Wintery Kiss

A Detective Conan and Magic Kaito (DCxMK) fanfic

Summary:

“How did you even find me here Shin-chan?”

A fond chuckle. “Of course I’d find you. I’ve been chasing you for years now that you won’t be able to hide from me anymore, KID-san.”

Kaito pouted, curious, but smiling all the same. “That doesn’t answer my question the slightest bit oh great detective.”

Kaishin/shinkai

Cross posted from Ao3 under MeiriLorii

It was a dark, cold night.

The wind blew past in low freezing degrees as everything around him constantly turned colder, moving his clothes and mussing up his already tousled hair as a few more unruly cowlicks were swept up in several different directions. Exhaling a puff of warm condensing air, the young man sitting desolately by the only occupied bench tugged his light thin clothes —certainly not ones for this kind of weather— firmly around his body in a weak attempt to conserve body heat, contemplating.

It was pretty useless, he knew, as he could barely feel the frigid air. Although.. should he be worried..? Some panicky part of his brain had been whispering that the numbness should be an alarming forewarning that his body was not getting the right temperature it needed. Warmth. But he could barely remember the feeling as he stared at the hand he had been unconsciously rubbing the entire time he had been sitting there. Waiting.

Oh. Right. He had been waiting for someone to make an appearance, right? But for the life of him he couldn’t remember who he’s been waiting for this entire time. Who’d be so important to warrant his patience to wait out in the open with the weather this unstable? Was he even waiting for somehow who will make it or would this be in vain?

Actually, he couldn’t really remember much from the time he had woken up from that brightly lit room. Just that he had to come to this place, something familiar, whatever it might cost him because apparently some part of him feels that this place was important; that it held a remarkably meaningful memory that refused to be recovered from deep within the pit of scrambled mess that was his brain.

This had to some kind of weird dream. He knew from some part deep inside him that people don’t just forget everything in one day. They don’t just wake up from an unknown place he subconsciously knew as a hospital room only to go someplace they thought they should be but apparently couldn’t seem to figure out the reason behind as to why.

He couldn’t even remember his name.. Why his left hand had been covered in bandages —something that had become a makeshift glove— and the faint desperate feeling still thrumming through his adrenaline pumped veins when he had run away from that room.

The young man had to be missing something important, and the thought itself made his head hurt that he had stopped trying to think of it too much in hopes that the pounding headache would just stop.

Somewhere far across the male, the large clocktower chimed its musical bell, the large hand moving to point directly upward towards the sky as it rang its call before midnight.

One more hour..

Just then, sometime after, something soft dropped down bellow his left eye to turn into freezing liquid, moving down his cheek before the wind started to pick up again from its earlier lazy breeze.

Snow. His mind supplied once more as he held his bare and almost frozen hand outward to catch more of the falling white flakes as they started to descent down from the puffy greyish-white clouds overhead.

He could barely recall —a memory?— being drenched as the cold ball of ice soaked through his coat and clothes, someone throwing him a handful in retaliation to start a playful snowball fight. Either that or they’d form something out of the pile that had accumulated that day. (Who’s idea it was or if those were even real or a figment of his imagination, he’s not sure anymore.) Of warm fireplaces, shared blankets and cups of hot beverages. Lazy and comfortable silences that droned on as the nearby grandfather clock slowly ticked away the seconds to lull him into a light sleep..

It was somehow disconcerting how he was starting to long for something he couldn’t even fully remember, but nonethess, he surmised that the winter chill couldn’t be much good for his sore and bandaged up self. (He’s only clad in a pair of what should be his jeans and a light long sleeved shirt. Not exactly heavy and heat conserving.)

But.. He was starting to feel sleepy. He’s tired and he just wanted to take small nap..

Unable to stop his lids from dropping, he fell into a light daze like slumber..

“Hey, Kaito, what do you want to do for Christmas?”

The innocent question snapped said magician out of the mathematical equation he had, for once, been studying about for exams. Normally, Kaito would just wave his hand and skim through his text books with an uncaring air. He usually passed with flying colors anyway even with his obvious inattentiveness during lessons but for now, he deemed a few brush ups and advance topics would do him fairly well especially with his course of action for next week.

Which he hadn’t informed Shinichi as of yet.

And the detective had been the one to bring up about the incoming holidays.. Which was a bit unusual ever since he had known Kudou Shinichi and had started to drop by frequently by the mansion after they had sorted out their own individual mess. Out of the five years that he had known him, this was a first for Christmas, —this year being the one he had managed to finally have the courage to ask Shinichi if he could room with him because despite one of the guest rooms practically being his by now, he still wants to make sure he’s welcomed to stay for far longer than a few days. It was just too spacious and quiet by himself and he just figured that with both of them living by themselves, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Well, it had always been Kaito forcing him out of work for a much deserved break so..

Ah. Shit.

“Eh.. Christmas?” Chuckling sheepishly, Kaito scratched the back of his head lightly, tapping one end of his mechanical pencil by the corner of his lips as he sent his roommate a crooked grin.

Shinichi in return just blinked at him, one raised eyebrow urging him to go on and elaborate as he went back to typing away in his own laptop. Kaito willed himself not to read in too much on the small shift of his body language, telling himself that it was most definitely not disappointment that had shined through the other’s azure eyes for the briefest of seconds before it went back to the usual indifferent stare.

Thief or no thief, he still thinks that the detective was very much annoying whenever he does that. Closing him off as if he couldn’t read him. And well, maybe the smallest bit challenging and attractive. But that’s from a tiny part of his brain that he had tucked way back since it always sprouted nonsense about adorable snappy detectives..

Shaking his head to rid himself of such distracting thoughts, the magician opened his mouth for a response, feeling much like a bastard who’s just making excuses and he cringed inwardly even as his face outwardly showed his deepest sincerity.

“It was just yesterday and I would have told you about it right away but then you’ve got a case until late in the evening.. ” Shrugging lightly, he leaned his head over the heel of his right hand, left hand absently flipping his pen between his fingers and nervousness showing through as the pace picked up with the detective’s show of near callousness.

“Anyways, Kaa-san called and informed me about having scheduled a magic show over New York. Something about a Christmas reunion between her and Oyaji’s common friends that I just have to make a small show for.” Trailing off, he counted off a few seconds before adding. “I was scheduled to go next week and will probably be gone for the duration of about two weeks until after Christmas and well.. I was wondering if somehow you’d be able to come too since we’re given an early break..”

Kaito already knew the answer, but he mentally crossed his fingers anyway.

The continuous clicking and clacking of keys stopped momentarily as Shinichi leaned back on his armchair after a beat of tense silence from Kaito. He looked worn out around the edges and the magician made a mental note to himself that he’d have to pester the detective this weekend just to have the other stop wasting away his day offs solving through a bunch of case files and either going or stumbling over crime scenes.

Apparently, Kaito was Shinichi’s living, walking, and working omamori that cancels out the detective’s corpse magnet abilities. Kaito would always remind him so whenever he’d drag him out for an impromptu vacation and Shinichi would just sigh every time and submit to his whims with little to no struggle. Though the magician secretly likes to think that that’s because his companion might enjoy those out of the blue outings with him.

And it wasn’t like he has anything to lose when they both have everything to gain out of it anyways.

Shinichi’s a detective, but as much as he loves his work and would do anything for justice, Kaito knew that sometimes things just felt too dark that sleep couldn’t even save him from nightmares, the magician dragging him out whenever he felt like the detective needs an out for a while. He empathized with that fairly well. “That sounds great Kaito.” Shinichi’s grin looked genuine although it doesn’t seem to reach his eyes. Kaito knew that look far too much —he’s pretty used to that by now, so why did he feel as if he had just been punched in the gut?— that he had anticipated the next words even before the other opened his mouth to continue, “Your mother must be really proud of you and I’m happy that you can finally start your career from here but.. ”

Kaito cut him off when Shinichi’s words skirted around the conversation, his mind, for once, was unable to come up with the correct set of sentences.

Lips twitching upward into a slight smile —the magician couldn’t do more than that else it would be too fake. “ Yeah. Kaa-san won’t stop telling me that over the phone, so kind of guessed she was.” His normally cheery tone was a tad more neutral than usual, but Shinichi, who he was sure to have caught the slight change, didn’t say anything. Kaito sensed the guilt however, the tenseness over the other’s shoulders, and he suddenly felt undeniably warm as his smile softened into a decidedly indulgent grin.

“But hey, after you’re done with that case with Takagi-keiji, we could always celebrate the new years together, right?” If his words had come out more hopeful, neither decided to comment about it.

The detective should have expected that part really, what with the moonlighting thief’s habit of sending his doves after him after a certain accident —not so much of an accident as it was a cleverly planned one. Though.. That meant Kaito knew and had still tried to ask him if he would be able to make it. Isn’t it just sad that this almost felt like he’s abandoning the other?

He should be feeling annoyed with all the stalking, but he only felt fond exasperation, the latter one winning out over his features as he crossed his arms with a soft sigh.

“Why do I even bother?” Shaking his head, Shinichi could feel a tug on his lips and he didn’t even bother to hide his amusement as he faced the magician fully from his position. “Just try not to blow the house up with all the fireworks.”

And Kaito’s laugh, relieved and content, rang over the halls of the Kudou residence, filling the previously empty house with its warmth.

“-to! ”

He could faintly hear someone shouting something, the words and meaning lost to him as he was still feeling groggy from the impromptu nap.

“Oi! Kai-”

Someone was shaking him now, and even though he felt quite annoyed with the treatment to his limp body, he couldn’t bother to bring himself to move just yet. His eyes felt as if it was bolted close and his arms and legs heavy with lead.

“—you said…”

What were they saying? He couldn’t really think much of anything else at the moment, head feeling as if stuffed with cotton. That was before his head throbbed with a vengeance, more vicious and twice the earlier pain, forcing him to move much closer to that comforting wamth. A soft near inaudible whimper left his dry throat when the movement aggravated what should be numb skin and flesh, bandages slowly being stained red.

“You idiot!”

As the fog over his senses slowly lifted, Kaito could feel his source of warmth shake but he was still unable to discern the reason as to why with his brain still trying to reboot.

“Why’d you..” A choked whisper as the speaker tried to regain composure. “Gods Kaito.. We’ve been searching for you for hours and you’re nowhere to be found. I thought.. I thought he got you this time for good and..”

..What?

Oh. Was that Shinichi? It sure sounds like it. He must be suffering from a pretty bad concussion if he’s ever forgotten his favourite critic for even just a second. But that also doesn’t sound quite about right. Why would Shinichi be acting like this and be reduce to such a mess?

“-nichi?” His voice was horribly hoarse that Kaito gave a brief thought about drinking something to patch the soreness of his throat.

The detective immediately froze before he slowly leaned his head back from the embrace he’s wrapped the magician with, turning wide blue eyes at the groaning bundle in his arms and clashing with hazy and clearly pained and disoriented indigo.

Unable to word anything out the first few seconds with waves of relief spreading through Shinichi’s stiff form, he sagged back down around the other, arms holding him in a carefully tight hold to avoid aggravating his wounds any more that they already are.

A comforting silence settled between them, Kaito returning the hug as much as he could without hurting himself by moving too much. Both of them just basking in each other’s presence, not wanting to break the moment just yet.

It was Shinichi who did.

“I’m sorry.” His memories are still a jumbled mess but Kaito supposed that he should have seen this one coming from Shinichi. The amount guilt from the words alone does not sit well with him. “If only I had picked you up at the airport in time then..”

No. It wasn’t his fault, really. “I don’t blame you Shinichi. The case was important and—”

“You don’t understand Kaito!” Cutting him off, the other male raked a frustrated hand through his otherwise neatly combed hair, which Kaito only now realized looked much like his own nest of messy strands from the abuse it must have gone through this whole time. “The guy we’ve been after, the serial killings all pointed towards the same thing and.. and after we finally traced the next victim..” Another choked sound escaped him and the magician suddenly had a horrible feeling where this was leading to.

He decided to shut the detective up before he could start getting all logical on him. He likes that part of Shinichi, —he’d even admit to having admired him because of it, that strong sense of justice— he really does. But sometimes, when it comes to times like this, letting him go on gives him more reason to blame himself for something and thus pulling him deeper into self-reproach.

“Shinichi.” He started, breathing through his mouth and noticing his companion shiver lightly in his arms. “It’s not your fault. I can’t remember much but I think I saw you before I black out. You were able to stop him before he was able to really get me right?”

“Yes, but—”

“The plane landed earlier than planned considering the anticipated heavy snow. Not your fault I was planning on surprising you at the precinct.” Kaito waited for more rebuttals from the detective and continued on when nothing came. “You came to stop him. That’s all that matters to me.”

Shinichi shook his head, a shaky breath slipping past chapped lips. “I could have lost you. I.. He was able to escape as I was checking you for serious injuries. I thought he got you for real when you disappeared from your room.” It ended with a soft whisper, traces of fear still evident.

He snuggled closer towards his roommate, content, more than willing to provide physical reassurance. “I’m fine. I’m here. I could only imagine that you caught him this time with a painful hit by that soccer ball of death of yours.” A simple statement that spoke volumes of how much faith he had on the other.

“Yes.” It seems that Shinichi understood perfectly well, the implications not lost to him with how he tightened his hold around the weakened magician. “Yes I did..”

The silence stretched on as the tension slowly left the detective.

“How did you even find me here Shin-chan?”

A fond chuckle as Shinichi propped his head over Kaito’s, rubbing his back soothingly, willingly sharing body heat. “Of course I’d find you. I’ve been chasing you for years now that you won’t be able to hide from me anymore, KID-san.”

Kaito pouted, curious, but smiling all the same. “That doesn’t answer my question the slightest bit oh great detective.”

Faint snicker. “To be honest? I’ve sort of had a feeling that I’d find you here. You’ve always been the sentimental type and this was the place we’ve first met so I just went with my instinct.”

“Really?” The magician let out an amused snort, knowing there was more to it that the detective isn’t telling but willing to let it go with how tired he was.

Shinichi lightly laughed, shaking his head. “Kaito?”

“Mmh?”

“Please just.. don’t do that again.”

Smiling from his position on the detective’s lap, Kaito hummed, not wanting to risk nodding his head as he shifted just the tiniest bit closer, enjoying the scent of pine and mint that was solely Shinichi. “Okay.”

“..and Kaito?”

He was starting to get sleepy again, only this time he felt safe and warm, being wrapped securely with Shinichi watching over him. He certainly could get used to this. “Yes?”

“Let’s get you back home.”

“Yeah.” Grin stretching wider, and with all the warmth he could muster, Kaito glanced up towards Shinichi as he was carefully lifted up into his arms. The first time the other had admitted it to be just that after the past year of Kaito moving in with him. “Home.”

And as the clocktower strike midnight, Shinichi gave the now slumbering magician a feather light kiss on his forehead, silently promising to himself to always treasure something so precious.

[grandhonker-blog]

Skyscape: Part 7

"So you're wizards?!" Dan shouted, as the four of them ran out of the compound. Distant shouting could be heard echoing through the empty desert.

"No!" Torro shouted back. "We're the Resistance! We fight against the corrupt-"

"Yeah, sure, whatever, but you can still shoot fireballs!"

"Just one of the perks." Torro said, as they ran through the outer perimeter fence.

Running up to one of the cars parked near the building, Torro pressed something in his hand, which turned out to be its key. The car beeped, and Torro was the first in, opening the driver door. Sitting, quickly, inside, the rest of them got in after him. Mabel sat in the front passenger seat, while Kara and Dan sat in the back.

"Alright, let's go." Torro revved the engine, and the hovercar, which was already floating up in the air, seemed to fling forward, and Dan was pressed back into the soft polyester of his seat.

There was about a minute of silence, accompanied by the roar of wind buffeting metal. Then, like a knife breaking through ice, Mabel spoke.

"Well... that went relatively well."

Immediately, all the tension in the car was let out like air from a balloon. Torro laughed, and Kara began taking off his shawl.

"Yeah. I was expecting to have to escort like 4 people. I guess, in that sense, we really lucked out."

Mabel sighed. "Yeah, but still... no offence Dan, but... you're only a kid."

Before Dan could say anything more, however, Kara, for the first time, spoke. "Yeah, well, I'm only a year older than him."

Kara had taken off his shawl. His face, Dan supposed, wasn't anything special. His features were casual, barring the light-blue, glowing eyes. His hair, however, was bright red, and tied behind him in a ponytail. His white clothes contrasted it to a very extreme degree.

Dan kinda liked it.

"So, we're going to the Base, then?" Kara asked.

"Uh, I guess. Unless Mabel can afford for us to crash at her place. I don't know how safe it is over there right now." Torro said, turning, almost guiltily, to Mabel.

Mabel smiled. "Torro, I'd love to, but, the State's gonna be looking all over for us. My apartment isn't exactly in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, good point." Torro paused, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Guess we're going home, eh Kara?"

Kara nodded. He turned, casually, to look around the car, and Dan's and his eyes locked.

Looking back, Dan has almost always claimed that his "Dreams" are a bit of a weird experience to describe. The best description he can give you, perhaps, is probably like having a person completely fill up your entire brain. Like having that person literally push out every other thought, and replace it with a memory so powerful, that, at least the first time it happened, he almost fell unconscious.

But what was the memory?

---

Dan was a boy. He was about nine years old, and sleeping in a tent somewhere. His eyes were closed, but faint, morning light shone through his eyelids.

He was cold.

"Wake up!" a voice. It opened his eyes, like the wail of an alarm. He was up, in an instant, and dressing. He walked out of the tent, wearing a warm coat and ski pants. He moved a tangle of matted, bright-red hair out of his face.

"Good morning, master." He said.

"Good morning, Sown-In-Ashes." The man said it, Dan immediately noticed, not like a phrase, but like a name.

It was strange, sharing someone's thoughts. Dan was still... Dan, but when he was looking at something, or thinking about something to do with the dreams, his and the thoughts of the boy, Sown-In-Ashes, sort of... melded together.

The man in front of him was much taller than he was, but pretty average in height for a grown man. He wore a casual, dark hoodie, and a pair of jeans. This struck Dan as odd. The weather was much too cold for clothes like that. But Sown-In-Ashes, apparently, did not think so. The man's hair was a bleached white, and reached down, in straight strands of hair, to his shoulders. His eyes, much like, Dan remarked, Kara's, were an ice-cold light blue.

"We're moving again. You know what to do."

"Yes, master Jalid." Kara smiled, and moved back towards his tent, removing all the poles, and packing it up.

After their rather small camp was all in their backpacks, Dan, or, Sown-In-Ashes, moved, with Jalid in front, north.

For hours, they trekked through a wintery mountain range. The huge monstrosities rose in every direction, with their snow-capped sides filled with huge, dark elms. The sun shone above them, in a cloudless, clear sky. The wind was harsh, but not too strong. Dan could barely feel his nose, but his coat managed to protect him quite well. The snow was fresh, and Dan's small feet sank in it, making his walking slow. He had to run several times, to catch up to Jalid.

When they finally stopped, it was well past mid-day.

"We'll eat here. Then we're walking until evening." Jalid said, for what were his first words in several hours.

Dan was too tired to say anything.

They made a small campfire, and sat around it for a time, Sown-In-Ashes warming his face, Jalid relaxing against a tree a ways away. Dan had wondered, several times, how Jalid had managed to stay warm in the weather, but had forgotten about it by then.

Several minutes passed, and Dan had already realized there was something strange.

A bird was singing.

In all his time walking through the wilderness, he had never heard a single bird. Not a caw or a chirp. Nothing.

Then, as if on cue, a small bird appeared from the trees, and flew, carefully, to Jalid's shoulder. Jalid didn't seem surprised to see it, or, in fact, to see that it was on fire. Or rather, it was made of fire.

It chirped something, several times, into Jalid's ear, and dissipated into steam.

Jalid nodded.

"Well, you're staying here for the night."

But as soon as the last word was out of Jalid's mouth, Dan felt like a huge bubble of dread, which he had not felt growing, burst inside his stomach. It was as if he had been walking towards the edge of a cliff, and, without seeing it, had almost fallen in. He had jumped backwards, and, like cold water washed into his face, his vision blurred, and he was, again, sitting in the back of the car, with Kara, Torro, and Mabel.

"What in the fuck?!" he shouted, and nearly jumped out of his seat.

[smithya93-blog]

Bird Brained- Chapter 7

Maze was cold.

Had he dreamt a live of luxury inside the Capitol's palace walls? He sat up, but his hands sank into the snow around him. It was spring, wasn't it? An open expanse of wintery tundra surrounded him. The chilly wind beat at him as he struggled to stand. The tundra was lit in an eery midnight glow, as if the sun had turned purple overnight. Where was he?

He began to walk, trudging through the uneven ground in what he hoped was south. He couldn't actually see the sun, where the light was coming from. Before him rose a steep structure, like a pyramid but with six sides. Maze couldn't remember the name for that, hexagon? It didn't matter, he approached it regardless of its geometric makeup hoping to get out of the freezing air.

He heard movement, the sound of feet marching.

Behind him figures moved on the horizon. Thousands, millions maybe if he had the time to count. Spanning miles, they lumbered along in single mindedness. The scene sent a wave of fear through him. He was defenseless, nowhere to hide and the hord was gaining on him quickly.

He ran.

As fast as his feet would carry him he ran south. His breath freezing in his lungs, the newly human legs unused to the strain of such movement. He needed to keep going, but he wasn't getting anywhere. The Hoard approached him closer and closed in by the second. He needed to get past that structure, toward the shadowy Divide on the horizon before him. He was so far away, the peaks barely rising over the frozen land. The sound of his blood beat in his ears. He would never reach it.

His vision went white.

      The morning hit Maze like a ton of bricks. He had decided against sleeping in his nest and woke suffocated by bedsheets. Right couldn't hold onto being human in his sleep.

It was much too early for anyone else in the castle to be up. But after that dream, he didn't really want to go back to sleep anyway. He went to the showers. Opening the door revealed he was not alone, a cloud of steam blocking his vision.

"Morning." His voice was croaky and his eyes filled with sleep as he greeted his compatriot.

Maze could make out the figure of Ruit, despite having completely pressed himself against the shower wall with only a view of his backside. The shorter man was hiding his face wrapping his arms around himself. He glanced over at Maze with a look of almost fear in his eyes.

"You okay man"

"Please come back later."

"It's a communal shower.."

"I know but please" his voice cracked like he might cry.

"Are you okay... like for real?"

"I don't want to be seen naked"

"I am also naked it's not like I don't know what's going on down there."

"You actually don't so please leave."

This was unexpected. Watching Ruit interact with Lonan and Lekan he found him to be stubborn, brash and proud. But in this moment he looked.. for lack of a better word defenseless. He rewrapped the towel around his waist.

"I'll wait outside. Stop anyone else from coming in." the other man seemed to relax a little at the gesture.

"I would appreciate it."

Maze took his leave and waited until Ruit emerged. He paused beside Maze having gotten fully dressed inside the steaming room. "Don't say anything about this to anyone else."

"Why would I?"

"To compromise me"

"Compromise you? What does that even mean?" He cocked his head looking Ruit over, his short cropped hair was pushed up and messy from the shower and his clothes were cockeyed having been pulled on in the warm damp room.

"I'm.. It's complicated"

"Spell it out for me?"

Ruit scoffed and stormed off. That was an interesting exchange. He showered and got himself ready for the day without thinking about it again until he returned to his room. Ruit was rifling through his empty dressers. "You have no belongings?"

"What the hell.. Why would I?"

"I need blackmail"

"What is your problem"

He paced the room back and forth for a moment seeming to fight with himself.

"You want me to spell it out for you?"

"I don't particularly care either way..." he grabbed the clothes that had been brought for him and started to get dressed.

Ruit turned his back to Maze in embarrassment. "However, you seem to be uncomfortable and fighting some weird internal battle.. so if you want to talk about it.."

"I wasn't.. born a man" His fists were clenched staring at his feet.

Oh.. OH well now he felt like a jerk. He continued getting dressed quickly waiting in case Ruit wanted to say anything more. When he remained silent he clapped the other man on the shoulder.

"Just let me know if you need a shower guard."

"Eye for an eye."

"What?"

"Tell me a secret about you so we're even."

"What are you ten?"

"No I'm cautious"

He shook his head. This kid was unbelievable.

"Okay... um... I didn't leave the regalia to find myself.. I ran away."

Ruit turned around "Were you scared?"

Maze felt that was an opportunity to bond with the feelings Ruit was displaying so he nodded.

"I still am, about a lot of things.. but I've decided to stop running."

Ruit seemed satisfied by that response.

"That's kind of humiliating"

"Yeah, so it would suck if that got out"

"You guard the shower and I'll guard how much of a pussy you are"

"Bold words coming from you."

Ruit laughed smacking his shoulder and headed out to the balcony. "Thanks."

"Whatever"

He jumped down to his own terrace using the bedsheet rope he had climbed up with. The kid could have used the door, but he was quite stubborn.

At dinner that night Ruit took the seat beside Maze eating silently.

--

Maze was growing fond of court. Hanging onto Lekans shoulder as they debated points on how the region should or shouldn't be run. The Guards and Ulyss weren't around to baby or smother Lekan. The prince was in his element here. Arthula had given Lekan the reins to hold court today while she spent her attention on other matters. Matters that she had been incredibly cryptic about.

"I disagree with this motion." a congressman stood addressing Lekan informally "The idea that taxes should be staggered based on income alone is preposterous. The upper class already have far too many taxes to deal with as it is, layering on more based on their income would surely knock down funding to charitable causes."

Lekan looked up at the man bemused. "Oh? You think so, I believe that siphoning a portion of funds from the uber wealthy will help to steady the economy. Lower income families are noted to spend more often than the wealthy."

"The wealthy are spending their money on taxes, for their homes, and accoutrements.. Things of high value that bring culture and pride to our region.. Not five pieces for groceries here and there" The man laughed "It is foolish to think that-"

"But they don't bat an eye at buying groceries." Lekan interrupted the man holding up his hand. "The upper class spend their money on frivolous things because they don't have to worry about feeding their families. Why would it make sense to tax people who don't have the money for it?"

"Well their taxes go to paying for their healthcare and education. It's not like they don't have the opportunity to make more money, if the tree grows fruit too sweet it will eventually rot."

"Maybe, but these are people, not apples. And I don't believe it is right to tax people more than is appropriate for their level of income." "The wealthy have worked hard for their money" The man was starting to shout. "Why would you steal from them what they have worked so hard for?" "Inheritance requires no work." Lekan sighed.

"If an estate draws in no income then they would run out of funds!" "Sounds like a rotten apple to me" a few members of congress chuckled at the princes remark.

"You are mistaken young man." The congressman leaned over the table belittling the soon to be king with his mother out of the room. "These people come from generations of hard working individuals who wanted the rest of their line-"

"That's enough Gorem, I hear your concerns but it sounds like a selfish desire to hold onto money that could be distributed to public works and fund the growth of our kingdom." He sat back. "It would do you some good to live off of the wage of a common farmer or shopkeep, you know."

"As I stated before, the people have ample access to means to improve their lives." The man was getting angrier, his chubby face blossoming red with his intent. "Laying heavier taxes on the rich would ruin the economy, without their trade with the east and south we as a country could fall under!" "I fail to see how purchasing a hand painted portrait of yourself contributes to our economy, especially if you belittle the artist into working for less than their worth." Lekan folded his arms. "I know of your background in case you forgot."

The man sputtered at the direct insult. "What would you know of that! You are a child. Your inability to hear reason will be your downfall."

Maze preferred to keep himself quiet during court, but this guy was crossing a line. He squawked a warning. Standing up on Lekans shoulder and squawking again.

"Disgusting bird."

Lekan remained stony faced reaching up to cover his beak, silencing him. "My crow is not easily riled up like this, I don't think he agrees with you" a few more muffled chuckles arose from the congress.

Gorem huffed "Well if we are all taking advice from birds now we might as well follow the desert vulture and pick off corpses." He slammed his fist on the table.

Lekan ruffled Mazes chest feathers trying to get himself to relax. "I fail to hear any reason in your argument aside from self interest." Lekan tapped the arm of the chair as the man fumed. "Twenty pieces means more to a lower class citizen than you. If you both have to pay the price of twenty pieces in taxes, you will be fine. Your income will be stable, and you can still afford your paintings and accoutrements. A regular civilian may have to forgo a meal or medication." "The upper class deserve to be treated as such!"

"We need to feed people, and see they are taken care of. The people come first."

"And what do we do when everyone in the kingdom just gives up knowing their precious king will be happy to hand feed them for the rest of their lives. Where is the restraint!"

"Allowing people to prosper in their given interests is what brings about progressive action and gives people the desire to work where they like.. Instead of following a trail of money to excess or exhaustion." Lekan stood to his full height. Not his usual smaller that he was humbling posture. His full magnificent height "I would rather my people live comfortably within their means and be able to afford to live the way they choose than-"

"YOU FOOL you are not even king and yet you sit here and spoil your region to ruin. You are still a child not yet fit to be a ruler." He fumed leering down at Lekan. "You think that giving the people everything on a platter will fix their problems?"

"I want people to have the funds and resources to fix their problems. They will contribute if you give them a society worth contributing to!"

"A society where excelling financially is frowned upon because you are taxed in excess! Unbelievable your smothering charity will-" One of the Congresswomen reached out to try and quell the angry speaker. He retaliated with a curt slap to her hand.

That was the last straw for Lekan. "You may disrespect me to make yourself feel better, but you do NOT under any circumstances disrespect your fellows. I want you out of this courtroom and a replacement from your city appointed immediately."

The man swerved to retaliate but found himself face to face with the screaming crow.

"{GET OUT}" oh that one came out easy. "{GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT}"

The startled man backpedaled over his chair and onto the floor. He departed the room as quickly as his feet could carry him.

"Court is dismissed" Lekan left the room before the congress had finished bowing out.

--

It wasn't often Lekan needed to blow off some steam but he found himself in the fencing hall before long, practicing parries, thrusts and forms. The crow had taken off after seeing that the fight had died down and the threat had alleviated.

He felt disgusted with himself for getting so heated over the debate. This is why he hated congress, most were decent and held pleasant argument conceding when their point was overruled, some were just.. so aggressive. He wasn't object to new ideas and changes to law by any means but he held unwavering values that his people came first.

As he practiced his forms he tried to think of something else. The other pressing matter that was becoming annoyingly important. This business with Ulyss was starting to take over his life. He personally wanted to find someone special. Someone who meant more to him than anything else in the world. Their recent date lead them into the city to watch the lights festival. A considerate and emotional date. His face grew warm at the memory of Ulyss moving in at the crescendo of the festival, and the soft kiss they shared under the light of the fireworks. It hadn't been his first but it was certainly memorable.

Unfortunately Ulyss was not memorable. There wasn't anything in him that felt a particular way about the other man. He wanted the beautiful romance his father and mother had. Someone who brought him reprieve from tense moments like these and broke up his monotonous daily life.

He sat on the worn mats of the gym taking a break, had he ever even met anyone that made him feel that way? Was he idolizing this idea of the perfect man too much. What if he found someone and they were just using him for a step up in the world, as Ulyss was clearly aiming for.

Maze came to mind.. he hadn't stopped thinking about that elusive stranger since his sudden arrival into his life. He seemed to be hard to track down. Never in his chambers, always in some other part of the castle but never lounging. Its like he took sprints around the halls to see how quickly he could vanish from room to room. Maze was a complete mystery to him. He was ever intrigued by the mans jovil and sarcastic demeanor. It had to have been him that night he was attacked, whether it was a hallucination or something else. His presence seemed to swim in the back of his mind at all times.

"Sparring alone is kind of pointless isn't it?"

He spun around to see the devil himself perched in the doorway. Lekan was glad to see that someone had been bringing him new clothes. His long black shirt dipping down to show, at length, his chest. It seemed to be way too big for him, but it was almost endearing. He noticed the bandages wrapping the man's chest were gone. Lupit was doing a good job in patching him up at least.

Maze noticed the gaze "Your sister lent me something of yours to wear.. she insisted it after she saw my feather cloak for the third time." He laughed "She's entertaining"

"You've been making friends with my family?" He pushed the thought of Maze wearing his old clothes from his mind quickly.

Maze shrugged "Didn't intend on it. She sort of pushed her help onto me." He picked up a spare saber from the holder to the side of the ring.

"Would you like a partner who only knows how to fight with a longsword?"

"You... use a longsword"

Maze nodded. "I find them funny."

"Why?"

"they're like regular swords but big."

"how is that funny?"

"I don't know.. why did they feel the need to make a sword size in between regular and broad."

Lekan laughed. " But your arm is broken?"

"Well it's a good thing I'm a lefty and fencing only requires one hand."

Lekan shrugged and got into position. "Should I explain the rules?"

"Please."

They spared for a while, Maze making an excellent fool of himself and losing many times. He was impressed by the giants power but mostly with the speed and precision in which he was able to control himself. He would be a terror on the battlefield.

When Maze finally called uncle he was dripping with sweat. "Wow, who would have thought a giant like you would be so fearsome in the ring."

Lekan laughed "Is it that surprising?"

Maze shrugged "You interact with things like the slightest gust of wind might break them. But here your like.. some kind of.." he paused trying to think of the right word.

Lekan had taken a seat beside him casually pulling his hair down to retie the bun. Maze watched the moment starstruck. His nimble fingers untangling the curls and corralling the falling bronze strands away from his dark glistening skin. The way his focus remained locked onto Maze even after sparring, those summer eyes so reminiscent of the valley spilling out at the feet of the Great Divide. The simple everyday moment felt like he was being given the opportunity to watch a god walk across water.

--

Maze was not good at fencing, at all. He was too forward rushing and didn't take any time to think about his actions. Just goal oriented on scoring the point, and yet Lekan found the engagement enjoyable. Maze responded well to criticism and by the end of the match he might have been considered an armature fencer. Even with a broken arm. The man took a seat on the floor commenting on Lekans ferocity in the ring.

Lekan knew his demeanor changed when he was in a match. He just felt less compelled to be gentle. It was the one time he could really let loose. He sat beside Maze listening to him as he spoke. His voice sounded as if he had used it loudly and gruffly most of his life. Like shouting was his primary source of communication. Despite that, the sound was oddly pleasant to listen to. The way birds singing in the morning could be taken to be annoying but also charming and beautiful. He had this way of speaking with bland humor that Lekan found incredibly appealing. He wanted to hear what Maze thought of the word. How his outlook on life left him in such a position of apparent apathy and sense of futility.

"You interact with things like the slightest gust of wind might break them. But here your like.. some kind of.." he paused for a moment seeming to scrutinize Lekan intensely before sighing out.

"Like a god"

Oh. That wasn't a new one but, it sounded so much better coming from his lips. Lekan laughed it off feeling the heat in his cheeks rising. "Oh.. I don't know about that."

Maze shrugged, "It's my compliment you don't get to decide how accurate it is."

Lekan waved his hand.

"I'm serious."

The prince went quiet playing with the blunted tip of his saber. "What do you think you've found here.. In this castle." Maze didn't know him. That was too high a compliment for him. He really didn't deserve that kind of-

"I've found someone who.. makes me want to abandon my apathetic sensibilities."

Okay now Maze was just talking out of his ass. There's no way Lekan would believe that.. but it wasn't a lie. "I might.. not know much about you yet, but I listen. To the people around you, to your family. To you." He shrugged, "I.. want to know everything about you" so he could stop pretending that he didn't already.

Lekan nodded "Okay.. I can believe that.. but I do believe you are idolizing me.. I am not.." he shook his head. "Nevermind.." he stood stretching. "This was fun.."

"Tomorrow?" Maze requested eagerly.

"Tomorrow?"

"Will you show me more tomorrow? I enjoyed the impromptu lesson" Maze stood with him ignoring the bead of sweat he watched trail down Lekans chest. The prince laughed nodding.

"Sure tomorrow." Maze beamed and Lekan felt a part of him melt. He hadn't seen that look from the newcomer and it was.. breathtaking.

----

Show your support by reading the next chapters on Wattpad!

[in78weeks-blog]

Adventure in Coachella Valley

About a month ago I found incredibly cheap roundtrip tickets to Palm Springs and instantly bought my tickets. While I began planning my trip, I realized that my college friend Lor-Shing lived in LA - only an hour and a half drive away. She was free for half of the weekend so she decided to come join me in the desert.

I arrived on Friday at 11am. I was planning on working remote for the day and Lor-Shing had some work to get done, so we found a coffee shop nearby and stopped in for the morning.

Though we had work to get done, we were both so eager to catch up and talk about all that had happened in our lives since the last time we saw each other. Giving ourselves more work and study breaks than we deserved, we found little moments to share anecdotes and eventually dove into a informative and self-reflective conversation about our personality traits and enneagrams.

Realizing that we were doing more talking than working and that we weren’t expecting to get too much work done for the rest of the day, at 4pm we packed up our belongings and sat in her car figuring out what to do next. We decided to venture into the snowy mountains of Mount San Jacinto via the Aerial Tram. We drove through the canyon leading to the base of the clouded mountains that towered over the town. The steady incline was proving to be a challenge to Lor-Shing’s sedan, but we let our conversation about life and love drown out the sound of the high rpm gear shifts of the car.

We beat the tour bus by a couple minutes and avoided waiting in the painfully long and restless line of tourists eagerly awaiting their trip up the side of the mountain. We entered the tram and as we began our ascent into the misty clouds above, we were surprised to feel the platform begin to turn. The circular platform made three rotations on our 15-minute ride to the mountain, giving us a view of both the mountain station ahead and the valley below.

For a 5 minute segment of our ride, we entered into a Jurassic Park like scene as the thick fog kept us from seeing only a couple hundred feet around us. My childhood fear of pterodactyls appearing from a dark fog crept back into my heart until we broke through the fog and were enlightened to see a wintery landscape atop the eerie cloud blanket.

We stepped off the tram into a cold wintery wonderland, much like the snowy Colorado mountains I had just left hours ago. Around us were unprepared Californians fashioning their flip-flops and short sleeves and Lor-Shing mentioned that this was the first time she had seen snow since living in Washington years ago. We wandered among the shaded forests on the mountainside, occasionally sinking into the deep snow and stepping back in shock as my stylish booties and Lor-Shing’s cloth sneakers weren’t built for cold and wet conditions.

We made our way back to the warm cabin and found a secluded corner to enjoy our hot chocolates and continue our conversation about where we were headed in life. In between our reflective conversation, we lulled into long spells of silence, where we turned our face to the sun and let the self-reflective thoughts sink into our hearts. The sun was beginning to set so we decided to make our way back down to a more favorable warm climate 10,000 feet below.

We were both tired from the travels and adventures of the day so we stopped in at our AirBnb and took a long nap to recover. I was jerked awake, and in a panic checked my clock to the surprise that I had slept for two hours. We were both incredibly hungry so we quickly found a Mexican restaurant to fill our stomachs. By the time we were done eating, it was too late in the day to do anything else so we went back to the AirBnb with a pint of dairy-free ice cream and called it a night.

Lor-Shing needed to leave by 12:30 to make it back to Los Angeles, so we decided to get an early start to Joshua Tree National Park to make the most of our remaining time together. I had visited Joshua Tree National Park once while I was a college student, but the drive was completely unfamiliar to me. We arrived as the ranger was getting to the entrance station so we were hopeful to be some of the first people in the park.

We had no rigid plan so we drove through the park and stopped at unique spots along the way as they peaked our interest. We climbed among the rocks, wandered through the Joshua Trees, leisurely enjoying the warm sunlight against our skin.

We stumbled across some boulderers in the park, so even though I wasn’t properly dressed, I borrowed a pair of shoes from the friendly climbers and jumped on a couple easy climbs. I caught myself saying “I definitely need to make a climbing trip out here” several times and made a mental note to reach out to climbing friends later to gauge interest.

We spent most of our time at the Jumbo Rocks area, wandering among the massive tan-colored rocks, laying out on the surface of the rocks and letting the sun warm our skin and hearts. There’s something about carelessly wandering around a foreign landscape, throwing my arms in the air and twirling with and against the wind, that makes me connect with my whole self. Letting the emotions of my heart manifest in frustrating screams, a fit of laughter, or uncontrollable tears, creates space for my heart to show her true colors, and gives my brain the opportunity to catch up and recognize where my heart’s at.

This time, twirling to the beat of the joyful music in my heart, I laughed and smiled, and thanked God for friends like Lor-Shing that ground me and remind me of the gifts He has granted me in this stage of my life. I thanked Him for granting me the opportunity to experience freedom like never before, and trusting me to share my story with the world.

We walked, we danced, we laughed, but it was soon time to say goodbye. Goodbyes are difficult, especially when you don’t feel like you’ve had enough time to properly catch up. I still had so much I wanted to do with Lor-Shing, but she had to return to her ever-changing life in Los Angeles so at 2pm, she dropped me off in downtown Palm Springs and she was on her way home.

My plan was to wander around the town of Palm Springs until it got dark, then return to the airport to pick up my rental car. I had four hours to kill, and an entire town to explore, so how bad could it be? I didn’t realize that Palm Springs was a very bougie town, and unfortunately didn’t find anything that interested me as I walked around town. I also wasn’t hungry so stopping into a restaurant to enjoy a meal wasn’t an option. I found a quiet spot on a side street and took a moment to enjoy people watching and sitting in silence.

Finally it was time to return to the airport to pick up my rental car - a sweet silver Toyota Corolla. It was already dark, but I wanted to try my hand at night photography so I drove back out to Joshua Tree National Park and spent two hours in the cold trying to capture the light of the stars against the beautiful desert landscape.

Instead of finding a place to sleep for the night, I decided that I would car camp in my rental car so I could be more flexible with my schedule. My next destination was a two hour drive away and my plan was to car-camp in the desert area surrounding it, but after an hour of driving, I was too tired to continue driving. So I stopped in at a 24 hour fitness parking lot and called it a night.

I slept surprisingly well in the Corolla, a much smaller vehicle than my Highlander that I’m used to, but made it work by putting down the back seats and sticking my feet into the darkness of the trunk. I woke up awfully early to take quick shower at 24 hour fitness before heading out to my next destination. After getting freshened up, I drove south along the Salton Sea and witness a beautiful sunrise. The pink and orange sky silhouetted the palm tree farms in such a way that I felt like I was on the beach.

I arrived at Salvation Mountain just as the sun was beginning to peak over the hill. As I was driving up, I could see a couple hundred feet ahead of me the massive lettering on the side of the hill that read “GOD IS LOVE”. The excitement in my heart grew to a skip-and-a-hop toward the vibrant mountain that proclaimed the love of Christ to the world. There were a group of girls taking photos of each other and admiring the 50 foot display of faith and love.

After the girls left, I was the only one remaining and proceeded to walk around the property, examining the hallowed out vehicles that were plastered with the same messages of faith and love. While wandering around, a voice in the distance called out “Good Morning, how are you doing today”? I turned around toward the voice and tried to make out the person who it belonged to. After a couple seconds, I saw a man with crazy curly hair in the shadow of an RV waving and walking in my direction. I answered “I can’t complain. I get to worship Jesus on a Sunday at the most magnificent place in the world”.

He introduced himself as Ron, one of the caretakers of the mountain. He told me about each of the cats that lives on the property, their different personalities and a couple anecdotes about each of them. As other visitors came to have their look, he stayed by my side, shouted a quick greeting and continued on with the conversation we were having.

We didn’t talk too much about faith, although I wish we did. It seemed he was happy to have someone around to listen to stories from his daily life. He was very proud to be part of the salvation mountain family and being a part of the movement to share the love of Christ with others.

For some context, Salvation Mountain lies in a off-the-beaten-path desert town called “Slab City”. Slab City isn’t much of a city at all really, it’s just a collective of vehicle-dwelling folk. Most of the population lived in RVs but it didn’t seem these vehicles were used for transportation at all. Run down tarps and steel sheets held up by wooden posts were makeshift porches outside the entrance of campers ironically decorated with the colors and designs of the desert.

As a charcoal grey Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van sped down the dirt road adjacent to Ron’s home, he let out a snarky comment about “those people” and how they glamorize living out of a vehicle. Oh if only he knew that I was “one of those trendy car-dwellers” too. He’s right though, I don’t understand the lifestyle of the vehicle-dwellers in Slab City, and I hope I don’t seem like I claim to be. That honest comment that Ron made gave me a lot to think about on my drive back to Palm Springs.

Per Ron’s suggestion, I made a quick stop at East Jesus - a whimsical art installation just down the road. From the fuselage an old Cessna plane to a huge wall of old tube televisions, this interesting destination did not disappoint. Here I met a man of many names, but apparently the people here call him “Wizard”. His long beard, excessively tall and crooked wooden cane, and long tattered trench coat suggested that the nickname was founded from his appearance rather than his mystical powers. Wizard aimlessly pointed at several parts around the property and claimed creative genius and manual effort on several of the art pieces. Free from his wizardly mysterious speech about the purpose of the East Jesus art installation, I walked around to each piece to appreciate the handiwork.

After a morning of interesting conversation and much to think about, I drove back to Palm Springs, enjoying the Palm Tree farms along the way.

Next stop was the Moorten Botanical Garden. I heard about a beautiful cactus greenhouse and was excited to see it for myself. The botanical garden held all kinds of desert plants, from the dense fountain-style leaves of the Aloe Vera plant to tiny button cacti. At the entrance of the garden and final stop of the botanical garden loop was a shop with an array of succulents and desert plants that were for sale. I desperately wanted one but my small living space and airplane baggage limitations held me back from making a spontaneously rash decision to purchase a new plant friend.

With a couple hours remaining before I had to head to the airport, I decided to head out to Indian Canyon to see the biggest California Fan Palm Oasis in the world. I didn’t bring any athletic shoes so I wasn’t going to be able to go on a very aggressive hike, but I found two short hikes to explore.

The loop hike at Andreas Canyon was a living, ecological dichotomy. In the desert hills of Agua Caliente Nature Preserve was a lush green oasis sustained by the stream formed from the snowmelt of mountains many miles away. Walking into the valley of the dry barren mountains, I felt my lungs being coated with the moisture from the oasis surrounding me. To the right of the trail was a rock wall carved out from years of steady water erosion, and to my left was the flowing of a crystal clear stream that supplied the nutrients for the massive palm trees that provided my shade.

The loop took me on on the canyon on the south bank of the stream where I could get a aerial view of the oasis against the backdrop of red stone. Back when I would go hiking in the Pacific Northwest, I would be in awe as I looked at a mountaintop view of dense forest around me and ask the daunting question “How many trees do you think we can see from here?”. Asking this question at this particular spot on my hike didn’t seem so daunting. In fact from where I stood, I could probably give you an accurate number within the hour.

It was growing dark and the time to return the rental car was creeping near so I began my drive back to the airport. With a camera full of photos and a happy heart filled with new memories with an old friend, I was heading home to Denver with a smile on my face.