#he did it again at the beijing show so hes like . giggling to himself about it. i'm really unwell like im seriously sick

[badnewswhatsleft]

WAIT.......patrick smirking to himself while singing elton john's parts during srar SAVE ME...........

(source) at around 1:00 onwards...... im being so serious look at his little face.......

[neonacity]

Black Daisies: Chapter 1

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

An NCT mafia AU with OT23. 

Summary: Working for the mafia comes with many layers. There’s excitement, violence, loss, and betrayals. Yet there’s also friendship, family, loyalty, and code. The last thing it needs? Love and all the complexities it brings. 

TW: violence, death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities. If you’re uncomfortable with any of these, feel free to skip. 

Author’s note: This is purely a work of fiction. In no way am I supporting all the illegal activities and behaviors that might be mentioned in the story nor am I implying that any member of NCT acts whichever way I may write them here--they’re all sweetiepies that need to be protected! 

That’s all! Enjoy! 

Slight static sounded from the earpiece as the woman behind a computer pressed a small button to activate it. A few miles away from her, the same low hum could be heard from the ear of a young man as the line came alive. The boy barely moved from the shadows where he was crouching, his head twitching just a little bit at the alert. 

“Haechan, target just entered from the main hall, door A,” a voice sounded from the small electronic bud attached to his ear. His eyes lifted to look at the shadowy pillars above his head where a quick glint of light confirmed that another boy hidden there heard the same words. 

“Got it, noona. Plan C?”

“Plan C. Where are Jisung and Chenle?”

“Two floors down from us. Jaemin’s with them. Renjun’s done with the wires.”

“Jeno, you good?”

Up above the rafters from Haechan’s head, a darker shade of shadows moved. The metallic glint flashed again, followed by a low sigh that could be heard from the earpieces of the two people involved in the conversation.

“So I can’t use my gun again?”

“No. I already told you, right? What’s family rule number 2?” The female voice answered from the other end of the line, a tinge of laughter lacing her tone. Haechan giggled softly from beneath the rafters, enjoying the banter. 

“....we don’t shoot people in the head and kill them.” 

“That’s right.” From her screen, the woman’s eyes followed the movements of their targets as the man boarded the elevator that would take him straight to the penthouse of the high rise building. Her nose wrinkled a bit as she watched him wound his arms around two giggling women who look half his age. 

Disgusting. 

“...there’s something we can do though…”

Haechan tightened the scruff of his gloves as he heard the soft hum of the elevator climbing closer to where he and Jeno are. He smirked slightly to himself as the welcome ding from the penthouse reverberated just one floor below them.

“We put them in their right place.”

“Good luck, boys.” 

A soft buzzing sound indicated the earpiece temporarily being turned off the same time loud explosions sounded from the floor and roof of the penthouse.

“Noona!” 

I whipped around on my creaky swivel chair to face the group that just bounded through the door, wide grin plastered on my face. The blonde boy who called my name closed the distance between us with his long, excited strides, cheeks plump from his smile. 

“Look what I got you! Pretty nice, eh?” He asked with pride as he took a seat beside me, opening his palm to show a blood red stone nestled there. I moved a little forward to squint at it before gingerly picking it up. 

“Red diamond. I think two carats, at least. Wow, that’s impressive, Chenle! Thank you.”

The boy’s grin widened as he turned to the others who just settled on the scattered chairs and bean bags across the plain cement floor. 

“See? I told you she’d like it!” 

“We almost got busted because he wanted to take it.” Another boy with light purplish hair piped up from one of the bean bags on the ground. It’s adorable how only half of his body could fit on it, leaving him with no choice but to splay his long legs on the floor. 

“Did not.” 

“Did yes.” 

“Shut up, Jisung. You’re just jealous I’m the one who got it for her tonight.”

I chuckled from my seat, rolling the princess cut diamond against my palm. The kids always do this--if it’s not Chenle who is giving gifts from their little rendezvous, it was the others. It was a sweet act, at least if anyone counts out the fact that it came from ransacking a high profile businessman’s penthouse.

“Who wants some ramen? I’m starving.” A black-haired boy asked from across the room where a counter was set-up to serve as the headquarters’ kitchen. Five heads whipped up and gave various forms of yes, making him turn towards the group, one hand on his hip. 

“Yah, Lee Haechan. Help me cook.”

A groan sounded from the leather couch as the boy in question winced at the request.

“But I’m tired. I detonated two bombs today!”

“And I had to unlock three high-security safes. Come on.” 

I chuckled as I watched Haechan pull himself up from the couch, his boots still on. Three consecutive beeps from the monitor behind me made me turn back towards the table again, fingers tapping over some keys to review the message.

“Noona, how about you? You want some?”

“No, thanks, Jaemin. Just ate,” I flashed him a quick smile before turning to read the notification on the screen. Slowly, the corners of my lips lifted into a full grin as my eyes finished scanning the words. 

“127’s back from Tokyo. They got the goods well and secured.”

“Whoah, really? I gotta ask Mark-hyung if he was able to get me my favorite chips!” A boy with black and white hair said as he swiped his phone up from the back of his pants pocket to send a quick message. Beside him, Jeno propped his head up from one of the love chairs, looking at me. 

“Who sent the message?” 

“Doyoung.” 

“Did he--”

“P.S. Tell Jeno I got him the silencer he wants,” I read the closing note on the message with an amused eye roll and a smile. Jeno gave an excited whoop from behind me, clearly excited over his new toy. 

I quickly shot a reply to the message, making sure to give them a quick update from my end. A green logo flashed after I hit send, a special kind of cyber filter that automatically deletes all traces of conversation that passes through my computer at my command. My eyes registered the familiar three letters before it flickered and glitched to black. 

NCT. 

For anyone living a mundane life, those three letters might be senseless. However, it’s a different case altogether for anyone who is in any shape or form involved with the underground. It’s a name that is often said in low whispers of reverence… or spat with spite. Whichever of the two, the name itself only means one thing to those who know it: the top mafia group ruling the underground of Seoul--if not the whole of Korea. 

The “family,” as I’d  like to call it, is divided into three different smaller sub-groups of varying specializations and activities. First is 127, the primary group in power over Seoul. The unit specializes in drug dealings, assassinations, and smuggling of firearms, and its members are also the ones managing the many businesses (both legal and illegal) falling under the protection of NCT. As the group with the most experienced members, they are also the ones who often go across countries like Japan where they also have their own hold. Limitations and Prohibitions: none.

The second group; Dream. Despite having the youngest members, the sub-group also has its own chokehold over the city of Seoul. Specialization: Heists and Ambushes. It doesn’t matter if it is a high-tech bank or a high-walled fortress like Alcatraz--once Dream sets its sights on a bounty, they’ll make sure to get it. Limitations and Prohibitions: no killing allowed. 

Finally, the third cluster: WayV; the current ruling crime group of China. Specialization: Organized Cyber crimes and biological warfare . While the sub-group has its original roots in Korea, it didn’t have any problem taking over Beijing’s underground in a few years time. They are considered the visionaries of the family--always one step ahead when it comes to anything technology touches and influences. Limitations and Prohibitions: none.

I leaned back against the chair and gave a soft sigh. Compared to the others, I don’t have as much exposure to the so-called thrills of the job. Still, I do admit that being the eyes and ears of the whole group is not a leisurely walk in the park. It’s been a few months of being temporarily assigned to Dream, but with 127 back, work will surely double again in no time. Not that I’m complaining with how well the job pays, of course--I did get a blood red diamond today, after all--but things sure can get tough sometimes. 

Lifting my arms up, I gave myself a well-deserved stretch before kicking back from the desk. The smell of ramen hit my nose, making me smile. Another day, another job well done. 

“Hey Jaemin, changed my mind about that ramen. I think I’ll have it after all.” 

Chapter 2: Overture

[qianoir]

After Midnight 3 - Stars

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: college dropout!Ten (WayV) x fem!reader

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: non-idol au, angst with fluff on top

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 13+

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing (censored), lying, family problems, mentions death of reader's father, romance

♡ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.9K

𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: @staysstrays

Preview < 1 < 2 < 3

Your head was pounding from your ears drinking in the tantrum of a 3 year old boy, the cries diving straight into your ringing eardrums. A young couple showed up with their child who started offing himself about your café not having some made up hybrid cake he wanted for the last 10 minutes.

The boy started flailing around and knocked his mother's iced Americano out of her hand in the process, landing the freezing and pungent liquid all over you.

The LED clock above you flickered with a new hour, freeing you from the café’s dark roasted chains. You ripped the soaked apron over your head and stuffed it into the back room’s washing machine before taking hold of your belongings and rushing out of the building after saying a quick “good-bye” to your mother- who was not about to deal with the coddled boy and you leaving all at once, so she kicked the spoiled family out, them following your irritated trail on the way through the doors.

You were walking fast to have a little costume change before meeting up with Ten and his friends, 5 o’clock coming within the next 20 minutes.

Y/N

Heyyo I had a little accident at work so I'm going to stop by my place to clean up before heading over to yours.

Once you were in your own space, you peeled the rest of the coffee soaked clothing off of your body, sticking the wet collection into the washer to cold soak after dressing up nicely.

TEN

d.amn it y/n you are too old to be soiling yourself

???

Y/N

That’s not what I meant!

TEN

Whatever ;p

Stepping out into the bright evening air, you realized you don't even know where the hell to go. The napkin with the address was in the pocket of your apron washing back at the café.

You recognized the street that leads to Décalcomanie, the street that leads to Myeongdong, and one leading to a duck shop.

Admitting defeat, you texted Ten.

Y/N

hey so I left the napkin with your address in my apron.. which I don't have would you mind sending it to me?

TEN

such a handful~

You followed the GPS to his address. His apartment building was on the other side of your school you usually metro to, so it was a pretty tiring walk. Arriving fashionably late, you knocked on door number 117.

There was a lot of commotion and screaming, as you were previously informed. Finally, Ten opened the door and waved for you to come in.

Taking your shoes off at the entrance, you saw three guys tackling each other, two others playing video games, and one really fine looking man behind an island in the kitchen.

"Hello!!" One of the guys being tackled shouted and waved at you which got him punched in the back by the guy orchestrating the tackling. You hesitantly waved back "Hi Y/N!!" The boy in the kitchen said with a charming smile.

"Lovely place." You said to Ten with a giggle as he closed the door with an annoyed look on his face. "Y/N, these are my friends,"

He took you over to the couch where the two players were. "This is Sicheng and Xuxi," The two boys playing Mario Kart threw a glance your way and waved with a smile. "these fools are Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang.."

Hendery strained to wave again under the two boys with a big smile on his face, as did the two others. Ten swayed you into the kitchen and introduced you to the last man. This guy was so handsome, like the Asian bachelor. "I'm Kun." The man greeted, kindly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Our Ten always talks about you." Yangyang says walking towards you two. Ten sent him a glare. "Is that so?"

"At least I'm not blind from having my head up my ass all day, Yangyang shut up!" His voice cracked, making you and Yangyang erupt in laughter.

"Anyways, if you'll excuse us- I invited Y/N here for us to be alone." He took your wrist in his grasp and led you to a room.

Ten pet a space on the bed for you to sit down while he leaned over his desk, searching on his laptop. A slow beat filled the room. You recognized this song- the song your dad would play for your mom in the car on long road trips: Something by The Beatles.

Something in the way she moves

attracts me like no other lover

Something in her style that shows me

I don’t want to leave her now

you know I believe and how.

Your parents were so in love. When your father first heard this song, he had made it their special theme to portray their love. They had both become big fans of The Beatles and always had this song pop up at least once in every holiday or event playlist or could be caught quoting it occasionally when the timing was right. Your heart sank in your chest at the memory.

You hadn't realized that the song had ended or that Ten was at your side watching you intently. You looked up at him and he offered a small smile.

"My parents used to listen to this song all the time."

"Really? Are you guys close?"

Your mouth felt sour hearing the inevitable question. “My dad died from pneumonia when I was younger. My mom tries to be present for me, but I know she misses him.” Tears puddled at your waterline as you forced yourself not to cry. “Sometimes I think she only keeps trying because she thinks I’m studying premed when I really hide pointe shoes in my closet. I don’t have the heart to tell her what I’m really majoring in.. because I’m terrified of us losing each other completely and frankly, she would never forgive me of my dishonesty if she would stay.”

"It's not wrong.. following your passion" Ten announced after a whole note of silence, "I'm sorry for making you bring up such a past, but I’m happy I can at least sympathize with you..” He looked away from you to recall his memories clearly.

“My parents didn't agree with me wanting to study dance either. And they certainly did not agree with me leaving my hometown in Thailand and dropping out of college to come here for the best art opportunities. Mine and the rest of the guys outside; all of us are a little more distant from our family than usual just because we are passionate." Ten confessed.

"I'm sorry." You weakly rasped.

"I'm not." Ten smiled at you.

"My friends and I are doing what we love without anyone holding us back and one day it's going to all pay off.. I know it will.. If it wouldn't I would have never dropped out."

You could understand where he was coming from. He is really passionate and faithful to his dreams, it is a little inspiring.

"And you seem to be doing good on your own, too. You're studying dance, which I'm sure you're amazing at, and working at the café to help your mom, letting people make a mess of you that you always undoubtedly pick yourself up from." You laughed, the sad tears rolling down your cheeks and turning to bittersweet tears of joy.

"Thank you, Ten."

"Anytime, Y/N." He handed you a napkin for your eyes.

A cough was heard outside the closed door, along with faint whispers.

"Lucas, shut the HELL up!"

Ten got up and opened the door, making four boys come tumbling inside the room.

All rushing to get up, Lucas stayed laying on the floor, "Uh, hi guys." he offered a charming smile. "We were just coming to tell you that dinner is ready?" Yangyang shrugged obviously.

Ten snickered.

"Nice try, guys-"

"Dinner is ready!" Kun yelled from the kitchen.

"What did I tell you?" Yangyang stuck out his tongue, cockily. Ten rolled his eyes and looked over at you,

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Uhm-"

"She is staying, I already made her a plate!" Kun yelled once again from the kitchen. The other boys ran out of the doorway to the kitchen.

"I guess it's settled then..." Ten sighed and reached his hand out to you, which you took. You were led into the dining room where the other boys sat. Ten placed you in a chair next to his and Kun’s.

Kun had made zhajiangmian, a Chinese traditional celebration/comfort food aka Chinese spaghetti. It tasted so much better than the bread pastries and milk teas you had been living off of in the past year.

Everyone was very talkative during dinner, you even found out that Ten choreographs his own dances for himself and the others to perform and learned that Kun has a degree in music from a prestigious university in Beijing. The boys you had dinner with were really fun to be around and gave you lots of energy after the intricate start to the new semester.

You didn't realize how lonely your little apartment was until now, even when sharing it with your mother most nights. They made you feel so comfortable and content after lacking companionship since your high school days. Also the food was really good, thanks to Kun.

Everybody finished their food but still continued the little chat at the dinner table "And this one time, Ten ate butter thinking it was ice cream! Who does that!?" Yangyang finished off his story punching the table with laughter.

You glanced at the time on your phone. It was almost 10 o'clock and you had to get to sleep early for your new 8 AM class.

Ten turned to you when he felt short tugs at his hoodie. "Cinderella has to get home?"

The room got quiet with Ten’s words, but quickly exploded in a swarm of whines and begs for you to stay. You gave them an apologetic smile.

Ten stood up, pulling me with him, "I'll walk you home." He was already at the door, kicking on his shoes. Everyone bid you good-bye as you waved to all of them before you and Ten were out the door.

"It's this way." You motioned in the direction of your apartments. Ten nodded and followed your path. It was silent the whole way, but it was a nice silence. It was peaceful with just you two. Arriving soon, you  stopped in front of the entrance and turned around to look at Ten.

"Thank you for having me over, I really enjoyed it. Your friends are really nice."

"Of course. I’m really glad you came. I like spending time with you and I think my friends do as well."

Smiles were exchanged and hearts skipped, both of your breathing patterns were evident in each other’s dialogue. "Do you have any last lyrics before we end the night?"

Your building never shines like the others in its distance. The only light around you is the one that blooms in space and allows the stars to twinkle down to where you stand. Ten took your chin is his hand and created perfect eye contact:

"Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do.”

He tossed your chin up before walking off into the night.

To Be Continued…

Something by The Beatles

Yellow by Coldplay

𝘲𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘳

[potahun]

“Wo Men De Ge” Archery competition /translation

Translation of some of the archery bits in this special edition of Ep.11 of Season 1, because it was hilarious at the time and this week’s episode in S2 made me a nostalgic bastard on main again. Starts from approx. 1:52 onwards and ends around 14:39.

MC Lin Hai welcomes Na Ying back, who makes her entrance by singing a song from Fei Yuqing. Lin Hai notes that Ayanga isn’t there yet (he was on the plane), so he would pair up with Fei Yuqing in Ayanga’s stead. 

The order of performance in the Episode is to be decided via one round of archery and one round of draws.

MC: So let’s do it like this. The youngest ones here are our Shen Shen and our Yi Qiao. Therefore, you two have the right to decide. You can pick your opponents. 

ZS: I’ve already decided about my opponent. I believe everyone here knows the theory of Tian Ji’s strategy for horse-racing. The weakest *designates himself* should pick the strongest....teacher Hua Jian.

ZHJ: !! *sings while shaking ZS’s hand* You look deeply at me~

ZS: *sings in the same tune* Last time you overtook me by a whole lap~ (at kart racing)

MC (to ZS): So your picking teacher Hua Jian today, is it for revenge?

ZS: I’m....helping everyone to get rid of the strongest first. *laughs*

ZHJ: He fell for it.

MC: Then, Yi Qiao, he took your master away. What about you?

YQ: I think...how about teacher Keqin? 

LKQ: *waves hi*

YQ: I think he’s pretty strong too, so I want to have a match.

LKQ: I’m good at a lot of sports....except archery.

MC: Then, the next one will be interesting: Xiao Zhan. You pick. Do you want to go against me or Xiao Ge? Your pick.

XZ: Then I’ll pick....Teacher Fei. (FYQ: Ey. Alright.)

NY (to XZ): Yes. Elder brother (Fei Yuqing), he’s got hyperopia.  (FYQ: Aayy *laughs* XZ: !!!!!!!!) He won’t be able to do it. It’ll all be blurry -- he’ll just see a pile of circles. No problem! He won’t shoot accurately. 

MC: Alright. Then, Na Jie, I’ll accompany you. Alright? 

First group up: Zhou Hua Jian vs Zhou Shen (Zhou-Zhou shooting)

Everyone shouts encouragements from the back of the room, while Zhou Hua Jian prepares to shoot. His first arrow scores a 5.

ZS: Wooow~

YQ: Not bad!

MC, singing: Aaaaahh Fifth Ring~ (Everyone laughs)  (T/N: It’s a famous song about Beijing’s ring roads that was a bit of a gag, called the 5th Ring Road Song)

ZHJ, pretending to be dissatisfied: The wind is too strong! Can someone turn off the aircon? 

Meanwhile, Zhou Shen struggles to even nock the arrow. 

ZS, laughing: Aiya...my arrow keeps on falling... (LKQ, watching him from behind: *snorts* Aiyo ya.)

After much struggle, Zhou Shen shoots a 0. Li Keqin stands up:

LKQ: OK OK! OK! OK! It’s better than I imagined! It’s better than your driving!!

Zhou Shen turns around to laugh back at him. Meanwhile, Zhou Hua Jian shoots his 2nd arrow...which also turns out to be a 0. 

NY: Ohh, which one is that?

ZHJ: No, no. That fell outside the target.

LKQ, standing up again: Zhou Shen! You can do it!

ZS, shouting towards the back of the room:  I THINK I CHOSE THE RIGHT PERSON. *cackles soundlessly*

ZHJ: You insult me! *laughs*

ZS: I’ve never participated in such a fair competition!! (ZHJ bursts out laughing)

FYQ: This arrow is an important one. 

LKQ (to ZS): A bit higher! A bit higher!

Zhou Shen shoots a 5. Much wow-ing and clapping ensues.

ZHJ, giving him a high-five: Whoaaa!! You’re too much, you! You’re too much! (ZS laughs)

XZ: Whoa, fate changed with just one arrow...!

ZS (to the back of the room): THE SCORES ARE VERY EVENLY MATCHED. *laughs impishly*

ZHJ: Alright alright. I’ve been too generous! I can’t let you win anymore.

ZS, leaning towards him: You certainly talk big. *cackles impishly* 

ZHJ, preparing to shoot: Whooa. OK! Here I go.

ZS, teasing him: It’s off, it’s off. A bit lower. It’s off, it’s off, it’s off...

Zhou Hua Jian shoots another 0 (it actually turns out Zhou Shen was right, it was way too high). 

ZHJ, laughing (to ZS): No matter where you shoot, you’ve won now. (ZS makes a face) What’s that expression for?? 

ZS: If I shoot above yours, I’ve lost. (ZHJ laughs)

Zhou Shen finally shoots his 3rd arrow. It’s a 3. Zhou Shen won against Zhou Hua Jian by 3 points.

ZS (to the others): Who would have thought I’d win on the account of the person I picked? *laughs*

Second group: Li Keqin vs Jiang Yi Qiao.

LKQ (to the others): I’ll tell you, I saw it earlier on TV, everything else is unimportant -- the most important thing is the mouth. *does a big-lipped fish expression*

ZHJ: Alright then, let’s have a look at how his mouth is doing.

Li Keqin actually does the thing with his mouth and shoots a very stable 7. Xiao Zhan proceeds to imitate the pose in an attempt to learn. Meanwhile, Jiang Yi Qiao is struggling.

YQ: Hold on, I’m shaking a little....

LKQ, laughing: Your mouth has to be like this. *does the fish lips again*

Yi Qiao tries it, shoots 3 arrows back-to-back and gets 0, 2, and 0 points respectively. Zhou Hua Jian and Zhou Shen are both dying at the back of the room.

ZHJ, standing up: You guys should check! *points at Yi Qiao’s last arrow on the wall* I’m sure a fly just died over there.

Meanwhile, Li Keqin shoots a 5 and a 4. Qin Shen Shen leads for the moment being, with 24 vs 7 points. 

ZS, clapping and welcoming LKQ back: Awesome, awesome, awesome.

LKQ: Ehhh, it’s all thanks to youuu.

Third Group: Lin Hai (standing in for Ayanga) vs. Na Ying.

Na Ying goes first.

NY: Eh. *winces as she shoots a 0 point on the wall* Eh...

XZ: It’s okay, it’s okay!

ZHJ, pointing at XZ: Yeah, it’s okay, there’s him going behind you, there’s still him.

ZS: It’s okay, there’s still Xiao Zhan!

XZ: What if they all go off-track? *laughs*

Na Ying shoots her other arrows and they’re all 0s. 

ZHJ, laughing: Hey, they’re all way up there!

Na Ying’s arrows:

LKQ: Great aim. All 3 arrows are around the same area... (ZHJ: If you move the whole target upwards, she’d be smack in the middle. )

For some reason, Na Ying nocks another arrow and slowly turns it towards MC Lin Hai.

ZHJ, from the back of the room: Na Jie, don’t direct your arrow at him.

MC, finally noticing the danger: Eh?! *jumps back and laughs nervously* Um...uh?

NY, smiling sweetly but in a vaguely threatening manner: Hehe. What I mean to say is...you’re up against someone old, so....

MC, reassuring but backing up slowly: No, no, no, I’ve got it. I’ve got it.

NY, still vaguely threatening: You get me, right...?

MC, with his arrow nocked (to NY): I know. *turns his head towards her* I’ll just shoot while looking at you.

MC Lin Hai shoots a 10 (full score) while looking at Na Ying. The whole room loses it, Zhou Hua Jian most of all. 

MC, half-collapsed and laughing (to NY): I...I was really looking at you just now! I just--

NY, in equal disbelief: My God!! You’re playing this hand against me...? That’s really too good!! Seriously...what’s the expression again, this is like playing the pig to eat the tiger!! Aiyoo.... (MC: I didn’t...!)

XZ: Is that a 10?? (ZS: Yeah it is.) *has a mental breakdown*

NY (to XZ): He went straight for that yellow eye! (XZ: He’s too good!)

MC Lin Hai shoots a 3 this time and takes a few timid steps backwards, backing away from Na Ying.

NY: That’s still very good. That’s still very good...

ZS, yelling into his hands: Lin Hai, have mercy! (XZ: Have mercy!!)

MC (to the others): I’m just building some foundation for Xiao Ge.

FYQ, with utmost comfort: First place confirmed~ (The others laugh)

MC Lin Hai’s last arrow is a 5. Fei Yuqing claps for him, while Na Ying makes a small salute, fist against palm. MC Lin Hai returns the salute.

NY (to MC): That was really cool. (MC Lin Hai bows)

Last group: Xiao Zhan vs Fei Yuqing

Before they start, Lin Hai realises that Xiao Zhan has some prior experience with archery because he did it in the Untamed/CQL. Na Ying proceeds to add to Fei Yuqing that he probably won’t win, because Xiao Zhan has the basics down. Xiao Zhan protests he was only playing around at the time. 

His first arrow is nonetheless an 8. Everyone cheers. 

FYQ, smiling: It’s starting.

Xiao Zhan gets a 6 in the meantime. Fei Yuqing casually gets ready to shoot; he’s not even holding his arrow the standard way.

LKQ, quietly: Xiao Ge is probably gonna be really good.

MC: Xiao Ge, you can do it!

Fei Yuqing lets off his arrow and shoots a 10, while the whole room collectively loses it. 

Everyone: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LKQ, excitedly (to ZHJ): I JUST SAID THAT! I JUST SAID THAT!

ZHJ (back to LKQ): YOU JUST SAID THAT!! 

ZS, looking like his soul’s been sucked out: Wooho ho ho.....A 10.......!

Fei Yuqing proceeds to engage in his own brand of celebratory dance:

FYQ (to the others): Hey, this wasn’t a fluke...! *does a cute silent giggle*

XZ, feeling pressured again: Na Jie...!!

Xiao Zhan shoots his last arrow and gets a 4. 

NY: Good. Good. Good, good. (to FYQ) We’re already at this stage, actually, so you can just use your usual state of mind.

While Fei Yuqing prepares to shoot his 2nd arrow, Na Ying starts to sing one of his old songs to distract him, and he ends up getting a 0.

FYQ: Aiya. (the others fall down laughing behind him) Who sang that? Who sang that?

ZHJ (to NY): It’s definitely you who distracted him!

FYQ: Who sang “Nan Ping Wan Zhong”? *turns back around and prepares to shoot* I can’t let my guard down...

NY: Come on, I’ll do another song. “Yi Jian Mei |One Trim of Plum Blossom”. *starts singing with Zhou Shen*

Fei Yuqing gets a 0 again. Everyone collapses in laughter, while Fei Yuqing laughs helplessly. Xiao Zhan bows to him. 

MC (to NY): The song you’re singing, are you sure it’s not “One Arrow’s Gone?” (T/N: Also “Yi Jian Mei”, but with a different intonation)

Fei Yuqing finally returns to the table, laughing:

FYQ (to NY): The more you sing, the further away from the centre I get! 

NY, apologetic and laughing at the same time: Elder brother...Elder brother, I’m sorry...! Elder brother, let me tell you, I’m part of those who are a little mean in variety shows.

FYQ, singing the tune of a famous song: You’ve wounded me~ (NY, singing together with him: And yet just laugh it off~!)

[omgjasminesimone]

Facetime

Raleigh x MC (Cadence Dorian)

Author’s Note: This is the smuttiest thing I’ve ever written, I’m kind of embarrassed, haha. Set at some indeterminate point in the future when Raleigh and Cadence are officially together, no more fake relationship.

Rating: NSFW

Summary: Raleigh and Cadence make do with phone calls and facetime while they’re both on tour.

Word Count: ~1550

Raleigh closes the door to his hotel room firmly, he even puts his ear to the door to make sure his security team is retiring to their own hotel rooms and leaving him alone. He’s satisfied when their retreating footsteps become inaudible.

He tosses off his leather jacket, walking to the large window and looking out at his hometown, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Of course, Raleigh didn’t grow up on the nice side of town where his 5-star resort is located. Raleigh’s old barrio features no high rises or high-end boutiques. Here in the penthouse suite of San Juan’s nicest hotel, Raleigh knows he’s really made it. He closes the curtains, losing the nighttime view.

Raleigh glances at the clock. 10:28 pm. No time for a shower, he’ll just take one afterwards. Raleigh kicks off his sneakers and socks, grabbing his phone off the desk before making himself comfortable on the queen mattress. His eyes are glued to his phone as he waits, so he admires his phone background.

It’s a paparazzi shot of him and Cadence, walking hand and hand eating ice cream cones. It was taken back when they were ‘pretending’. But the unmasked affectionate in both their eyes makes it obvious it was already real, even if it took them a long time to admit it to themselves. He smiles when his phone screen alights, ‘Corazon’ flashing across the screen. Of course, she’s right on time.

He answers before it can reach the second ring. “Hey babe.” He greets.

He can practically hear her smile. “Hi Raleigh.”

“Why is this an audio call? I thought we were facetiming.” Raleigh questions.

“I’m calling you through wifi because I don’t have service here in Beijing. And the wifi is weird, it’s too weak for facetime. I think it might have something to do with the firewall?” Cadence theorizes.

Raleigh frowns, running a hand through his hair. “I wanted to see you.”

“Aww, are you telling me heartbreaker Raleigh Carrera actually misses his girlfriend?” Cadence teases.

Raleigh expels an irritated breath, not having the energy for their usual banter. “Of course I miss you. I haven’t seen you in person for six weeks. I hate that we’re both on tour.” He admits sincerely.

Raleigh is only touring North and South America, but Cadence is on her first world tour. Raleigh’s team forced him to do one world tour after his first album, but he hated it. It was exhausting, flying from country to country, shows every other day. Now that he’s a bigger star with more power over his own career, he’s refused to do it again. But Cadence has no such power at her label yet.

“I miss you too baby. I can’t wait to see you in New York next week. I’m so excited to take a break for a whole week. I might sleep the whole time.” Cadence reveals.

“Well, I can agree with you not leaving the bed all week. I’m not sure how much sleeping you’ll be doing.” Raleigh says suggestively, picturing all the things he wants to do to her.

“Oh? And how will we pass all that time in bed?” Cadence asks flirtatiously. He can hear water running in the background. She’s probably running a morning bath. It’s one of her pre-concert rituals.

Raleigh groans as he pictures her lithe nude form submerging in the warm water. “I wish I could see you. Phone sex is a lot more satisfying with visuals.”

Cadence laughs softly. “Raleigh, I’m a songwriter. I’ll paint you a picture with my words.” She’s put on her sexy, sultry voice. The one she only uses when they’re alone.  

“Well, in that case I’ll tell you exactly how we’ll pass the time.” Raleigh says, undoing his belt with his free hand and freeing himself from his jeans and boxers. He braces the phone with his shoulder as he quickly tosses his shirt off and to the floor. He reaches for the lotion on his nightstand, lathering a generous amount into his palm before gripping himself. He groans as he imagines it’s her soft hand instead of his own. “Get in the tub.” He demands.

“Ooh…so bossy.” Cadence teases as he hears the water slosh as she slides into the tub.

“You know you love it when I boss you around. And when I tie you up.” Raleigh strokes as he remembers that particularly memorable night at a hotel in Las Vegas. He strokes slowly at first, allowing the pleasure to build up.

“I do like to give you control sometimes, just because it’s different. We both know I have you wrapped around my little finger.” Raleigh frowns, and she must know he’s frowning, because she laughs, the sound like musical bells. Her giggles die down. “I’m sorry. Wasn’t trying to ruin the mood. You were supposed to be telling me what you’re going to do to me. Continue.”

Raleigh continues to stroke up and down his shaft slowly, eyes closing as he leans back into his pillow. He tries to keep his voice measured as he replies. “I don’t know if you deserve to know now.”

“Please Raleigh. I need you.” Cadence knows he loves when she pleads, when she begs.

He speeds up his strokes, squeezing himself a little roughly. “First, I’m going to rip all your clothes off. So don’t wear anything you care about when you come to my apartment.”  

“Noted. Maybe I’ll show up in that trench coat you like. With nothing underneath it.”

“Fuck, yes. You do that. We’re not going to make it all the way to my bedroom because it’s been way too long since I’ve been inside you, felt your walls tightening around me as you claw down my back….”

He hears the water sloshing in her bathtub, the squeak as her foot moves along the ceramic. “I want to feel you inside me…” Cadence mumbles, and from her breathy tone he knows she’s touching herself.

“I’m going to fuck you right there against the door. But first I’ll make sure you’re ready, I’ll touch you all over.” Raleigh promises.

“Where will you touch first?” Cadence asks, breathing unsteadily as her fingers move in and out of her sex.

“I’m going to plunge two fingers into your pussy.” Raleigh replies, and he can almost picture the blush rising on her cheeks at his crude words. “While my tongue laps at your nipples. I’ll keep going, fingers moving in and out, until you’re begging me to let you cum. After you beg, that’s when I’ll finally taste you. I’ll do that thing with my tongue that makes you lose your mind.” He swears, licking his suddenly dry licks as his hand continues moving.

There’s silence for a few moments besides both their heavy breathing as Cadence absorbs that. “Well, reciprocation is important. So once I get off, I’ll make sure you get off too. I’ll get on my knees, take you into my mouth….”

“Keep going.” Raleigh pleads, feeling himself getting close as his hips start to move with his hand’s actions as he pictures it.

“I’ll take you as deep as I can, and I’ll use my hand to take care of the rest of your hard cock. I’ll suck and lick until you cum in my mouth, and then I’ll swallow.”  

“Mgghhm.” Raleigh groans as he cums, ejaculating on his stomach accidentally. He sits up, grabbing a tissue from the nightstand. “Did you cum?” Raleigh asks as he cleans himself up.

“No….but I’m close.” Cadence informs him.

“Good, because we haven’t even gotten to the main event yet. At this point, I would pull you up to your feet, and we’d make out until we have to stop for air. Then I’d lift you up, pinning you against the door.”

“And I’d wrap my legs around your waist.” Cadence supplies. Raleigh hears a plop, her feet dropping into the water from the tub’s rim most likely. He also hears the small moans she’s letting out, confirming how close she is.

“I’ll slide inside you, slowly Cadence. Inch by inch, until we’re as close as we can possibly be.”

“Raleigh…” She moans, and he can picture her head falling back against the tub, fingers moving frantically as she chases her release.

“I’ll pull almost all the way out, before plunging back in. Faster, and faster, until you’re writhing Cadence. Until you can’t feel your legs. Until-“ Raleigh stops abruptly when he hears the dial tone. Raleigh pulls the phone away from his ear, looking at it in confusion. What the hell?

..

An hour later, Raleigh has showered and is getting ready for bed. He’s half heartedly watching a trashy telenovela when his phone rings. It’s an unknown number, which he usually wouldn’t answer, but he makes an exception.

“Hello?”

“Hey Raleigh.”

Raleigh smiles at the sound of Cadence’s voice. “Hey Corazon. What happened? You hang up on me?”

He can hear rustling, she’s fidgeting nervously. She doesn’t do that often nowadays. “I…dropped my phone in the tub.”

He laughs, loudly and non-apologetically. “You should have put me on speaker babe, left your phone on the counter.” His laughter continues as he imagines how hard she must have orgasmed to spasm and drop her phone into the bath.

“It’s not funny. It’s broken. And I just bought the newest iPhone too.” He can picture the pout that’s likely on her pretty lips.    

“You bought it? I have so much to teach you about fame babe. People give us phones.” Raleigh chastises.

“Well, I can’t get a new one until I’m back in the states. This is Fiona’s number if you need to reach me. Don’t send any dirty pictures to this number.”

“But you love those.”

“I know. Good thing I get to have you in person in a week.”

…

..

.

Author’s Note: I don’t have a Platinum taglist, so let me know if you’d like to be tagged in more Platinum stuff! I promise the next one will be less smutty.

[ilynong]

misunderstanding | han mubo

Han Mubo doesn’t like you, but you’ve literally never spoken to him before.

for anon:  I would like to request a "Hate to lovers" with him. Like y/n was a new staff member but she was always fooling around, joking and being loud with the baby line... Which according to Mubo only made them more difficult to handle and that's why he doesnt like her, because she was "unprofessional".

yall im really sorry i didn’t like how this turned out but im so exhausted maybe i’ll come back and rewrite yikes

under the read more bc this is hella long

so you were a new staff member on the idol producer set

you were hired as an intern, since you were still in college and majoring in film production

it was you and two other people from your university who were hired, so the three of you mostly did things together

and since the three of you were younger, you quickly became friends with the younger trainees on the show

they were under a lot of pressure, so it wasn’t uncommon to see the three of you with the usual suspects-- zuo ye, li quanzhe, justin, qian zhenghao and the other munchkins

you’d joke around and tease them, and it really seemed to help them take their mind off of how stressful everything was

and you formed a particularly close friendship w zuo ye!!

he was just so sweet and kind and you felt super protective of him

but one night, you were cleaning out the practice rooms when you found him crying by himself????

and so the two of you talked and he explained that he felt like he would never be as good as his ges

and ofc after that he came to you for a lot of advice

one afternoon, you and zuo ye were chatting about the upcoming position evaluations

zuo ye was laughing at a joke you’d made when han mubo came down the hall, both of you quieting at the sight of him

you hadn’t ever really talked to mubo, so you were confused as to why he was glaring at you like that???

you’d literally never spoken to him, but it really seemed like he didn’t like you

“zuo ye, shouldn’t you be practicing?” mubo asked casually, still glaring over at you

you raised an eyebrow at that, patting zuo ye’s shoulder, who nodded and trotted off quickly, obviously intimidated by the dark atmosphere

there were a few beats of silence, and then mubo spoke

“can you maybe not distract my trainees? i know that it isn’t the same for the staff, but these are our dreams, and zuo ye really doesn’t need anything distracting him.”

you scoffed at that, glaring back at han mubo

“if you think what i’m doing is distracting, maybe you should check yourself and your ability to lead,” you shot back before stalking off, fuming at the encounter

as filming continued, you kept noticing instances where you’d be joking with a trainee or something and mubo would roll his eyes or cross his arms

you’d even spoken with qin fen about it, who was pretty chill, and he just shrugged

“this means a lot to mubo, i know it’s hard to understand but he really cares deeply about this project.”

grudgingly, you did admit to yourself that you understood his perspective, but you were still pissed about how he’d approached the situation

when zuo ye and the others were eliminated off the show, of course, you were heartbroken

but you and zuo ye stayed in touch (ofc !! he’s ur son???) while you continued with filming

and you could just sense mubo being salty about it

anyways so eventually, the final episode rolls around

all the staff are super stressed and pressured bc it’s a live show

so literally everything has to be perfect

mannn they got you running around the place, buying gallons of coffee as the writers and producers pull multiple all-nighters

you chat with qin fen a few times, asking how zuo ye’s doing and such

a few nights before the livestream of the final episode, you’re in a training room helping a few members of the ‘mack daddy’ team get their timing down, since the dance instructors were all busy

qin fen is sitting next to you, citing his old bones as the reason why he wasn’t practicing

as ziyi shows chen linong a move again, qin fen turns to you casusally

“you know, mubo feels bad for yelling at you,” he said offhandedly, making you roll your eyes

“han mubo can tell me this himself,” you retorted, leaning back against the mirror as linong copied the move. “linong, you were a beat off.”

linong shoots you a thumbs-up as qin fen groans, running a hand through his hair

“mubo...” qin fen’s voice trailed off, “he’s bad at expressing his emotions. trust me, i’m the one who he vents to.”

you glanced down at the clipboard in your hand, “that’s nice.”

with a sigh, qin fen got to his feet, rejoining the formation of sweaty boys

your conversation with qin fen is forgotten until the day of the final filming, when zuo ye tackles you with a huge hug, clad in his grey idol producer suit

he’s immediately chattering away as you guide him to where the boys are supposed to sit, peiyao, zimo and mubo a few steps behind the two of you

as the two of you talk, you can feel mubo’s stare trained on you, and as you turn and make eye contact with the older, you feel your heart speed up for a quick min??

but you shrug it off, running to join the film crew that you were assigned to

about an hour before the show goes live, one of the cameramen asks you to grab his clipboard

“it’s in the office on the floor of the dorms,��� he says, shooing you off, “hurry, hurry!”

you nod, trottiing off towards the main building obediently, feeling your lungs burn with the simple exercise

rip

anyways you grab the clipboard and hurry back to the elevator, punching the button as many times as possible

“wait, hold the elevator!”

you watch with wide eyes as mubo barrels into the elevator, clutching an inhaler in one hand, obviously out of breath

“um,” you say intelligently, refusing to acknowledge how good mubo looked with his hair and makeup done

mubo looks down at you awkwardly as the doors of the elevator close, hand going up to ruffle his hair

instinctively your hand shoots out to stop him, grasping his wrist

mubo’s eyes widen at the contact, hand going back to his side

“sorry,” you say softly, blinking quickly, “instinct. the stylists are always scolding us for not monitoring you.”

mubo chuckled at that, shifting his weight slightly

“no worries,” he replied, a little less awkward now, “i just had to grab qin fen’s inhaler, don’t want anything to happen.”

you glance over at the inhaler in his hand, nodding in understanding

there’s a few moments of silence, and you’re actually about to die from how awkward it was

“hey, um,” mubo coughed, “listen, i’m sorry for what i had said before. it was out of line.”

you peer up at the taller, raising an eyebrow

“did qin fen put you up to this?”

“peiyao, actually,” mubo grinned, and you chuckled at his joke

“it’s fine,” you replied as the elevator doors open, the two of you walking back to the big filming studio, “i mean, it wasn’t fine, but i understand why you said what you did.”

“i’m really sorry, though,” mubo reiterated, “i tend to get really tense and weird around people i--” mubo’s voice cut off, and he coughed awkwardly again, “um, around people. i’m weird around people.”

you raised an eyebrow as mubo metaphorically crashed his car of a sentence and watched it burn

“fuck, sorry,” mubo groaned, almost dragging a hand through his hair before you sent him a withering glare, “ugh, fuck, i’ll just stop talking.”

you giggled at that, the two of you entering the big studio

immediately, the sound of staff and trainees alike yelling, chattering and practicing their various songs washed over you, making you wince at how loud it was

mubo had a similar reaction, visibly flinching before starting to head over to where the oaca trainees were seated

“hey, mubo,” you called out suddenly, surprising yourself as well as the other, “good luck today.”

mubo paused in his steps before sending you a smile

“thanks.”

the final filming went past in a blur, and soon you were congratulating the trainees who made it and comforting those who didn’t

and before you knew it, you and your classmates were packing your things and on the long bus ride back to beijing

(rip)

on the bus ride back, you had a lot of time to yourself to reflect on the events

and your thoughts kept coming back to that moment in the elevator with mubo

like bruh that’s some shit from a fucking drama or something

you’ve finally figured out that you have a crush on mubo, and you’re traveling miles away from your one chance

your friends from uni pick up on the fact that your mind is clearly somewhere else, but at this point, you know that there isn’t anything that you can do

your only connection to mubo is through the other oaca boys, but you knew it would be awkward to reach out to him in this way after the odd way you’d parted

about a month after the end of idol producer, you’re sitting in a cafe near your university, working on a paper that was due in a few days

as you sigh, rubbing your eyes, you hear someone cough

“(y/n)?”

you look up from your computer screen, and your eyes widen in surprise as you see han mubo standing there, also looking a little startled

“oh, mubo?” you raise an eyebrow

“do you mind if i sit with you?” mubo asked tentatively, taking the seat after you nod quickly, moving your notebooks off the table quickly

“what are you doing here?” you ask in confusion, tapping your fingernails against the keyboard on your laptop

“oh, we’ve been coming to this cafe for a while,” mubo explained

the two of you struck up a conversation after that, catching up on everything that had happened after filming ended

you felt bad for zimo and zuo ye, with the amount of homework they were still catching up on

and to your surprise, the conversation with mubo wasn’t stilted or awkward at all

in fact, you found yourself giggling as he made a few jokes in between sips of his coffee

mubo glanced down at his phone offhandedly as you laughed at his latest joke, swearing under his breath

“shoot, i’m late for practice,” he said, quickly tugging his sweatshirt on over his head

“oh, i’m sorry to keep you,” you apologized quickly, instantly feeling bad

“no, no,” mubo shook his head as it poked through the neck of his hoodie, “this was really nice! i just lost track of time.”

you nodded a bit awkwardly, unsure if you should ask mubo for his number or social media or something

“hey, we should do this again,” mubo said suddenly, hovering over you with his fingers running through his hair, “chill at a cafe or something, i mean. you’re really chill to talk to, and qin fen has been on my ass about asking you on a date.”

you laughed at that, shaking your head as you imagined qin fen scolding mubo

“get my number from zuo ye,” you said playfully, smiling up at the trainee, “you’re already late enough for practice.”

mubo’s eyes got wide as he fully realized just how late he was, hurrying out of the cafe in a dash

“i’ll see you later!”

was the final episode of ip filmed in a different city from the training site? yes. does this make this scenario factually inaccurate? yes. do i care? yes. am i tiredt and not willing to figure out a better plot device? yes.

[kasumi-chou]

Magic in the Air

This is a small fic for the lovely @bibibingka as a part of a SS exchange I participated in! It was both fun and frustrating to write. I never realised just how out of practice i was of writing characters that aren’t Victor/Yuuri/Yurio until I started this fic!

AO3

Guang-Hong let out a breath that immediately turned to fog in front of his eyes as he watched the first snowfall of the season.

It was strange, being halfway across the world but still being able to witness the first natural snowfall of the season.

He still couldn’t quite believe it, he was actually here in America about to spend Winter with two of his best friends.

“Guang-Hong!” A voice called out, immediately catching his attention. He turned and smiled when he spotted a young man hurrying towards him, huddled in a jacket that seemed too large for him.

“Phichit!” he called out, trying his best to not jump up and down in his excitement in fear of slipping on the wet surface below his feet. He couldn’t help but laugh as the tanned male seemed to ignore the ground and charge straight into him, wrapping him up in a tight hug and sending them both tumbling to the ground.

“You’re finally here!” Phichit all but shouted in his ear while squeezing the life out of him. He let out a squeak of a laugh as he squeezed back.

“It is so good to see you!” Phichit sighed when they broke apart a few long moments later before they got to their feet, smiling brightly at each other as they did so.

He was actually here! In America, about to spend the winter with his two best friends, Phichit and Leo de la Iglesia.

Speaking of Leo, he threw a glance over Phichit’s shoulder, hoping to spot his missing best friend. He tried to hide his disappointment when he didn’t spot Leo standing off to the side, waiting for his turn to greet him.

Phichit seemed to let out a chuckle while throwing an arm across his shoulders and began pulling him along. He barely had the chance to grab his luggage as he was dragged away without warning.

“He’s not here. He didn’t manage to finish whatever his teacher has assigned him in time,” Phichit explained with a knowing smirk. He couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment at having been caught looking for his other best friend. It wasn’t exactly a secret – at least to Phichit – that he had a small crush on Leo.

“But don’t worry, he swore that he’ll meet us for dinner,” Phichit said while throwing a wink in his direction.

He opened his mouth, but whatever he had been about to ask escaped him as a small fluffy head poked out of the collar of Phichit’s jacket.

“Phawta!” he cooed at Phichit’s adorable familiar. The adorable clouded leopard blinked at him drowsily for a moment before letting out a small chirp in greeting.

“We’ve been so excited for you to get here that she tired herself out,” Phichit explained as he lifted a hand to gently scratch underneath the wild cats chin.

“Where is Zhen?” Phichit asked, seeming to look him up and down, searching for his own familiar.

He couldn’t help the blush that rose to his cheeks under his best friend’s gaze.

Familiars in his home country were a sacred thing, only meant to be revealed behind closed doors to family and lovers. In America, it was the opposite of his home land. Familiar were basically put on pedestals, shown off like prized pets rather than a physical projection of a person’s soul.

So, it had been rather frustrating to his two best friends about how secretive he was about his own familiar. It had taken months of skype calls after they meet for him to even reveal the name of his familiar, revealing her was still off the table for the time being anyway.

He dropped his gaze down to the messenger bag hanging at his side which held his familiar, who seemed fine, despite being thrown around slightly when Phichit had knocked him to the ground.

“Does she want to come out?” Phichit asked, seeming to notice where his gaze had floated to subconsciously. He quickly shook his head while turning his attention back to Phichit.

“N-no,” he answered quickly.

“Well, she is allowed to here if she wants too,” Phichit reminded him with a bright, cheerful smile on his face.

He nodded his head while wrapping a hand tightly around the strap that held Zhen securely at his side.

He still couldn’t believe it sometimes, that a person like Phichit was his friend, and Leo too.

They had all met in Beijing a few years back, having been seated together randomly at one of the shows of the famous summoner, Victor Nikiforov. His shows were few in numbers, and tickets sold like crazy, for what he understood, Victor hadn’t been to America in a number of years which had prompted Phichit and Leo’s sudden trip to China for the show.

The show had been taking a small intermission when he had overheard the pair that he now considered his best friends, questioning each other in English about the location of the nearest bathroom. Having been studying English for a number at years at that point, he had – what he had hoped was politely – butted into the conversation and told them where the closet bathroom was.

And everything after that was history. Apparently, he had been given immediate best friend stasis for helping the pair and hadn’t been able to shake that pair since then – not that he had really tried.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Phichit declared suddenly, “Let’s find something American to eat so I can snap Leo and torment him for not finishing his potions in time.”

“Okay?” he barely managed to mumble before Phichit speed up, pulling him along with him.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“What?”

He gasped, staring at Phichit with wide eyes as the tanned male giggled from across the table.

“I know, right,” Phichit said while nodding his head.

“Yuuri?! Dating the Victor Nikiforov? Like, the famous summoner Victor Nikiforov?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yep,” Phichit giggled, nodding his head.

“How?” he questioned.

“Used his enchanter powers, clearly,” Phawta said from Phichit’s lap.

“He went home for the winter, and apparently Victor tracked him down and now they are dating,” Phichit explained to him, seeming way to giddy about the fact that Yuuri Katsuki – another one of Phichit’s friends that he had only spoke to a handful of times himself – was suddenly dating the world renown summoner.

“Tracked him down? Have the met before?” he questioned in confusion, causing Phichit to giggle again, “Oh dear,” he mumbled to himself, knowing exactly what they giggle meant.

“We went clubbing,” Phichit said brightly, “And Yuuri may or may not have had a drink too many.”

He opened his mouth to reply, only to jump in surprise as Zhen suddenly shifted in his messenger bag that was resting between his feet. He froze for a moment, feeling Zhen shift around into a more comfortable position before settling down again. He sighed to himself, ignoring the disappointed look that appeared on Phichit’s face as he returned to the piece of cake Phichit had gotten for him. It was full with enough sugar to give both his parents and teacher a heart attack if they knew he was eating it.

“He really shouldn’t be so surprised. He is an enchanter after all,” Phichit sighed while scooping up a spoonful of his own cake and popping it into his mouth.

In a world full of magic, it still fascinated him about how many different types of magic there were.

Magic to summon beast of legends like the summoner, Victor Nikiforov.

Magic that enchanted, seduced and tempted, which Yuuri possessed.

Magic to create potions to do anything and everything, that Leo could made.

Magic that manipulated reality that Phichit specialised in.

His own power seemed bored in comparison.

A simple Wu, or Shaman in the English language. Only able to heal, manipulate weather – only to a small degree – and to interpret dreams.

Nothing exciting, like being able to fool a person into walking in a continuous circle forever or creating a potion that could allow a person to breathe underwater.

He let out a small sigh as he shoved the rest of his cake into his mouth, chewing on it while staring across the table at Phichit.

“So, when are you and Leo hooking up?” Phichit questioned, causing the piece of cake he was trying to eat to get stuck in his throat. He lifted a hand to his mouth and coughed until his airway was free of sugary cake once again.

“Phichit!” he gasped in horror, causing the tanned male to burst into more delighted giggles at his response.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

He let out a small sigh as he kicked his shoes and wiggled his toes happily at the sudden freedom.

They had finally made it to Phichit’s place where he would be staying for the extent of his stay in America. Since Yuuri had decided to return home for the winter – and possibly longer depending on how his thing with the Victor Nikiforov went – his room was currently vacant. Yuuri had been generous enough to offer the room to him while he was away, which had been a huge relief on his holiday budget.

“Make yourself at home! You should be able to squeeze a nap in if you want!” Phichit declared while shrugging off his coat. Phawta seemed to just appear at Phichit’s feet, stretching her little paws out in front of her.

“If I nap, I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight,” he admitted as he shoved his luggage to the side and shifted to take his own jacket off. He bit back a smile as heard more than saw Zhen poke her nose out of the messenger back and sniffle the room curiously.

“I forgot about jetlag,” Phichit seemed to mumble under his breath while walking through the room. He watched as his friend seemed to talk across the room, flipping a switch here and pushing a button there. By the time Phichit plopped onto the couch, the television was on, the room was suddenly being filled with warm air and by the look of it, the internet might have been turned on if Phichit’s phone was anything to go by.

“Internet password is on the fridge. Help yourself to everything in the kitchen,” Phichit called out to him.

“Don’t touch the crispy seaweed strips!” Phawta declared rather loudly while settling on a nearby windowsill.

“Leo just messaged me, said he just needed to clean up and then he would be here,” Phichit finished off his list while throwing a smirk in his direction. He ducked his head in embarrassment as he fiddled with the strap of his messenger bag.

He glanced down at his clothes, wondering if he looked okay.

“Relax, you could be wearing anything and lover-boy would think you look nice,” his friend sighed dramatically, an obvious eye roll included in his statement.

“O-okay,” he mumbled, ducking his head in embarrassment.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

He stifled a yawn, blinking slowly at the television in front of him.

He couldn’t sleep now! It didn’t matter that the couch was ridiculously comfy and that Zhen had escaped the confounds of his messenger bag and managed to curl up under his shirt without being spotted. Sleeping now would screw his sleeping pattern. He only had to stay awake for a couple more hours. Just long enough to have dinner with Leo and Phichit.

He jolted suddenly as he felt a lightweight drape over him, he glanced up to see Phichit smiling down at him softly.

“I have ordered us some take out. You look ready to drop,” Phichit commented, patting him gently on the head. He let out a sigh while shaking his head to knock the tanned males hand away.

“We can go out!” he tried to insist, only to earn himself a raised eyebrow in response.

“You were almost asleep a moment ago,” he opened his mouth to protest, only to pause and perk up curiously as he heard the front door of the little apartment pop open.

“I brought food.” He couldn’t help the smile that rose to his lips at the all too familiar voice that came from the doorway. He quickly scrambled to his feet – almost tripping when his feet got slightly tangled in the blanket Phichit had thrown over him – and hurried towards the front door.

“Guang-Hong!” Leo called out to him, smiling brightly at him before he all but barrelled into the man.

“Leo,” he couldn’t help but sigh as he hugged his other best friend tightly.

“It feels like forever since we last saw each other,” Leo replied while squeezing him tightly back.

“We skyped not even twenty-four hours ago,” Phichit piped in from the background.

“Wasn’t talking to you,” Leo huffed, causing him to giggle in response. He pulled back and smiled brightly up at Leo.

He was actually here, in America with his two best friends.

“Did I hear the word food?” he questioned, earning himself an amused chuckle as he was handed two plastic bags.

“American Chinese,” Leo announced, causing him to spin around and glare at Phichit. The tanned – or most tanned seeing as Leo was also tanned in comparison to himself – only grinned at him from the back of the couch.

“You have to experience it, Guang-Hong,” Phichit declared.

Zhen let out a muffled snort from the pile of blankets where she had been left when he had scrambled to greet Leo. The sound seemed to startle Phichit, who jumped away from the couch like it was suddenly caught on fire. He giggled at Phichit’s reaction, only to grin brightly as Leo threw an arm over his shoulder.

Yeah, this felt right.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

Despite his best efforts, it did seem he wasn’t able to beat jetlag on his first night, finding himself awake a little after three in the morning.

He glanced around him for a moment before jolting upright, finally taking notice that he was in a bed, a bed he didn’t remember falling asleep in.

He remembered having dinner, seated between Leo and Phichit on the couch as the ate food that should in no way be called Chinese food.

It was both weird and exciting to be here with them, physically with them. Their whole friendship had been created online, firstly in a group chat which had quickly evolved into a group skype call.

“There is too much noise here,” Zhen mumbled suddenly as she wiggled her way out from the blankets that had pooled at his waist when he had jolted upright. He smiled as he opened his eyes to the beautiful red panda who climbed into his arms and nuzzled into his neck with a content sigh.

Zhen was classed as a rather boring familiar back in his homeland, but he didn’t care about the disappointed look his parents gave Zhen whenever they saw her. She was beautiful to him, from her little black nose all the way to her gorgeous striped tail.

“It sure is different,” he agreed softly while slowly dropping back down onto the bed.

“Make it rain,” Zhen suggested while pulling away from his hands to drape herself around his neck like a scarf, “That would quieten it down.”

“Too much effort,” he reminded his familiar, who huffed in response.

Controlling the weather was difficult. You had to factor in a number of things, from current temperature levels to the humidity level. It was impossible to just snap his fingers and change the weather from rainy to sunny.

“Interrupt their dreams,” Zhen suggested, flicking her tail to hit him in the face.

“That is rude and an invasion of privacy,” he pointed out while raising a hand to scratch behind her eat.

Zhen let out a hum as she accepted the pat happily, only to hit him in the face with her tail yet again.

“We could go try and pat Leo’s familiar,” Zhen sighed out, causing him to pause in surprise.

Pat Leo’s familiar? Physically touch Leo’s familiar?

The thought alone brought a deep blush to his cheeks. He couldn’t!

It didn’t matter that Daniel – Leo’s familiar – looked like the softest, fluffiest cloud with his winter coat. He wouldn’t dare touch the male arctic hare without Leo’s permission.

What if he saw something he wasn’t meant too? What if he found out Leo had a crush on someone else? What if-

“But he looks so fluffy,” Zhen sighed, hitting him in the face again. He huffed as he captured the striped tail in his hand and gently dragged his hand down it, directing it away from his face as he did so.

“No,” he stated simply, earning a dramatic sigh in response.

“You suck,” Zhen huffed.

“We suck,” he corrected, earning a defeated sigh in response from his familiar.

“We don’t suck,” Zhen told him while curling around his neck perfectly.

He let his eyes slide shut, as he tugged the blankets up to his shoulders and let the sound of the city attempt to lull his jetlagged mind back to sleep.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

Guang-Hong couldn’t help but giggle as he stumbled forwards with Leo’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, listening to Phichit screech from behind them.

It was barely nine in the morning, but they were all awake and ready for the day.

Since the moment he announced holidaying in America for the winter, Phichit had created a list of things that the three friends had to do, a list that had to be started that day, his first official day in Detroit.

Phichit had begun giving them a list of things he had wanted to do today, only for Leo to declare half way through the list, that he had already organised for them to go to a cat café for lunch, something that seemed to ruin all of Phichit’s plans for the day.

Despite the rather chilly weather, the city still seemed alive.

People were everywhere, hurrying along in their own little world.

Unlike in China, it was easy to tell who possessed magic. Familiars were plastered by their owner’s side, many big and bright and eye-catching.

He let out a gasp while grabbing onto Leo’s jacket and tugging on it.

“Is that a reindeer?” he questioned, pointing towards a large deer like creature with huge antlers. Leo seemed to chuckle at his excitement before letting out a hum.

“Looks like it,” Leo seemed to say before he noticed Phichit’s snickering from behind them.

He felt a blush heat up his cheeks as he quickly let go of Leo’s jacket and shoved his heads into his pockets in embarrassment.

“Have you never seen a reindeer?” Phichit questioned while finally catching up to them. He shook his head in response, trying to be subtle as he stared at the reindeer that stood outside a store, standing tall and proud.

“It is so big,” he mumbled in awe, which caused his two best friends to laugh. He let out a huff at the pair and ducked his head lower.

He blinked as he noticed Daniel hopping barely a foot in front of him. He stared down at the hare, wondering how he hadn’t notice how close he was to kicking the fluffy bunny every time he took a step.

“So, we can cross off Guang-Hong having a panda,” Phichit giggled, catching his attention.

“What?” he questioned, blinking at the pair, “A panda?”

“Phichit thought that maybe you had a panda familiar and that is why you didn’t show it off,” Leo explained.

“An adorable panda to cuddle, it sounds perfect for you,” Phichit declared.

“I think,” he stared, glancing between his friends confused, “I think you would have already realised if I had a panda.”

“We were teasing,” Phichit huffed, nudging their shoulders together.

“How do people live with big familiars?” he questioned the pair, earning a baffled look from the pair.

“Don’t know,” Leo stated simply.

“Practice?” Phichit said slowly and hesitantly.

“Oh,” he mumbled, finally realising how stupid his question probably sounded.

“Now, the cat café,” Leo butted in.

“Why?” Phichit huffed, causing him to chuckle as the pair seemed to argue between themselves for a moment in quick English that he couldn’t quite keep up with.

Suddenly, the breath in his lungs seemed to freeze. He came to a halt and glance upwards, staring up at the sky for a moment before he felt something nudge against his leg curiously.

“Guang-Hong?” a small voice questioned, finally breaking his gaze from the sky.

“Oh, um,” he said, glancing in front of him to see Leo and Phichit staring at him with raised eyebrows, “We should get under cover,” he suggested suddenly. The pair stared at him for a moment longer before shrugging and waving him over. He hurried back to his friends, grabbing a hold of their arms and pulling them to the nearest covered area.

It was almost immediately after they were covered the sky opened up. Rain, cold rain quickly started falling all around them.

“Wow,” Phichit mumbled while bring out his phone to document the moment as he stood pressed against the wall with Leo next him – Daniel was now cradled in Leo’s arms, his adorable little feet visible as he hung limply in his owner’s arms.

“You felt it?” Leo questioned.

“Yes?” he replied hesitantly.

“How? Did someone else do it or?” Leo questioned, trailing off and staring at him with a curious look on his feet. He felt his cheeks heat up – or heat up more, he couldn’t be sure if the blush had settled down from the earlier teasing from his friends.

“No,” he says, shaking his head, “I mean, it’s pretty easy to tell when someone does manipulate the weather, but I sort of just… felt it?”

“Felt it?” Leo questioned.

“The humidity increased which normally means rain or snow and since the temperature didn’t change it meant it was going to snow,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders as he turned to look at the sky. A shiver ran down his spine, causing him to pull his jacket tighter around him in an attempt to keep himself warm.

“You could tell all that?” Leo questioned, sounding impressed.

“Yeah?” he replied with a shrug.

“That’s incredible!” his friend gushed, causing him to pause. How was that incredible?

“Didn’t you say you could also interpret dreams?” Phichit suddenly piped up while colliding into his side and wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Yes?” he replied hesitantly.

“Do me!” Phichit demanded, smiling brightly at him.

“What does that mean? Interpret dreams?” Leo questioned.

“Um, I-I can see what a person is dreaming about. And, um, certain things can be translated?” he tried to explain with a shrug.

“Guang,” Phichit whined, “Do me!”

“I can’t,” he mumbled, “It’s better to do it when someone is asleep or have just woken up.”

“That’s so cool,” Leo mumbled, “I just make potions.”

“Potions are cool!” he quickly stated, earning a giggle from Phichit that seemed to grow his already red cheeks.

“Not really,” Leo mumbled with a shrug.

“You can make people breath underwater or fall in love! I can tell when it is going to rain or if someone is having a wet dream,” he pointed out, earning a deep chuckle from Phichit.

“Wet dream, huh?” Phichit cooed in his ear, causing him to quickly pull away from the Thai boy and hurrying to the opposite side of Leo.

“Phichit’s being mean,” he whined, looking up at Leo with big round eyes in hopes that he would get some backup.

Instead he received the most breathing-taking laugh he had ever heard.

Life was sometimes so unfair.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“Look!”

He couldn’t help but gasp as he held up the tiny kitten that stumbled into his lap not moments ago.

He couldn’t believe it! He was in a cat café and everything was amazing.

There were cats everywhere and more and more kept coming up to him, meowing for attention.

It was amazing.

“Guang-Hong, smile!” He blinked at his name before flashing a shy smile at Phichit who quickly began snapping photos of him with a lapful of cats and kittens.

He jolted in surprise as a cat jumped onto his shoulders, purring happily and nuzzling against his head, after only a moment he finally realised that it wasn’t any old cat perched on his shoulders, but Phawta.

“She’s jealous,” Phichit called out, earning a hiss of dismay from Phawta.

“You’re jealous too,” Phawta stated before nuzzling against his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

He sat there for a little while longer, giving attention to all the cats and kittens that approached him before finally dragging himself off the ground and towards the table that Leo was situated at. He paused beside the table, staring at the large milkshake that was situated in the middle of the table, with cream and chunks of chocolate placed on top.

“You okay over here?” he asked while taking a seat beside Leo.

“Oh, yeah,” Leo said with a nod, “Cat’s just don’t… like me?” Leo supplied with a small smile.

“But,” he mumbled, “You organised this?”

“Because you said you like cats,” Leo explained. He blinked at his best friends whose cheeks seemed to turn red at his confession. “Oh, I got you a drink,” Leo mumbled, pushing the milkshake from the middle of the table towards him. He couldn’t help but smile in delight as he grabbed the handle and took a sip, humming in delight at the over-sugary drink.

At this rate, he was going to go home fat with how sugary and delicious everything in America was.

“Oh, lovebirds, smile!” Phichit called out, causing him to turn towards Phichit with a dark blush on his cheeks.

“Phichit!” he shrieked in embarrassment.

The giggle that left Phichit’s lips felt familiar, almost like he had heard it multiple times that day or something. He covered his face in embarrassment and ducked his head down.

He was beginning to hate Phichit and his teasing.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“I’m off guys.”

He blinked in confusion while glancing over the back of the couch, where he was seated with Leo, watching some American show that he didn’t understand.

Phichit was standing at the front door, dressed extremely nicely as he slipped on his winter coat.

“Where you going?” he questioned as Phawta appeared on Phichit’s shoulder, an adorable bow wrapped around her neck.

“Ah, date night with mystery man?” Leo questioned, causing him to look at the male beside him in confusion.

Date night? Mystery man? What was going on?

Leo raised an eyebrow at him before glancing back to Phichit.

“You didn’t tell him?” Leo questioned.

“I’m off, don’t wait up for me!” Phichit said suddenly, blowing them a kiss before hurrying out of the apartment before any more words could be exchanged.

He shifted around to face Leo, who was staring at the door in confusion.

“Explain,” he demanded, a pout on his lips. Leo turned to him and gave him a soft smile.

“Ah, he met some guy and has been sort of seeing him,” Leo explained.

“Sort of?” he questioned, “Does he dress up that nicely for ‘sort of’?”

Leo stared at him before shrugging in response. He huffed while settling back into the couch, facing the television to try and finish the episode they were watching.

He couldn’t believe that Phichit was seeing someone. Okay, that wasn’t what he couldn’t believe. He couldn’t believe that Phichit hadn’t told him.

He thought they told each other everything.

“Want to go get ice cream?” Leo asked, causing him to blink and finally take notice that the episode had finished while he had been pouting over Phichit.

“Yes,” he answered all too quickly, jumping to his feet and hurrying to get his jacket, shoes and Zhen.

American ice cream was amazing.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“Tell me!”

He demanded the next morning as Phichit finally stumbled out of his room, a rather obvious hickey visible on his neck.

“Tell you what?” Phichit questioned while making a beeline for the coffee machine.

It was a strange contraption that both Leo and Phichit seemed obsessed with. Had neither of them heard of tea or something?

He had been appalled on his first morning here to find out that the apartment didn’t have tea at first glance. Thankfully, Phichit had gone through Yuuri’s hidden stash of food and found a large tin of decent green tea.

“About mystery man!” he demanded in a huff.

Phichit continued to fiddled with the coffee machine until it gurgled to life – no, seriously, gurgled like some drowning beast. Phichit left the machine gurgling while walking over to join him at the adorable little circular dining table.

“We met at a gay bar,” Phichit stated simply.

“Wait,” he said softly, tilting to his head to the side in confusion, “I thought the drinking-”

“Drinking age is twenty-one,” Phichit confirmed.

“Gay bar?” he questioned in confusion, earning a nod.

“Yep. It’s call a fake id,” Phichit said, winking at him. He sat there, sipping his tea for a moment before letting out a small hum.

“So, where is lover-boy?” Phichit questioned, glancing around.

“Leo,” he corrected, “went home last night. Saying something about needing to change clothes.”

“I see. So, you two didn’t bang or anything while I was gone?” Phichit questioned, causing him to choke on his drink in surprise. He all but slammed his mug into the table, coughing harshly.

It took a moment for him to catch his breath again.

“Phichit!” he gasped in horror, earning a delighted giggle from the boy.

“A-at-at least I don’t have a huge hickey on my neck,” he declared. Phichit paused before slowly rising a hand to his neck.

“No,” Phichit mumbled to himself before bolting from his seat and stumbling across the room to a mirror that was hanging on the wall.

He bit back a smile as Phichit groaned in dismay while staring at his neck.

“God damn it,” Phichit all but whined while turning back to him, “How am I meant to hide this?”

He gave a shrug in response while picking up his mug of tea again and taking a sip.

“Innocent my ass,” Phichit huffed while turning back to the mirror.

“So, what’s his name?” he questioned. Phichit was silent, simply touching the mark on his neck before letting out a rather dramatic sigh.

“Seung-gil,” Phichit said in a soft tone. It almost sounded like Phichit had sighed the name with how softly it had been spoken.

“What type of magic does he do?” he questioned.

“He’s a mentalist. It’s both so frustrating and fascinating. My illusions don’t work on him,” Phichit declared while turning away from the mirror and walking back to the table.

“Don’t… work?” he questioned.

“He just always knows. It’s like he feels around everyone’s minds constantly, and that is how he can gauge if what he is seeing is real or not,” Phichit sighed while slumping into the back of his chair, “He’s… like no one I’ve ever met.”

“It sounds like you two are a pair made in heaven,” he commented, hoping that he had gotten the English phrase right.

“Oh god no,” Phichit laughed, shaking his head, “I’d say the complete opposite. We are so different and I think that is why it works.”

He opened his mouth to ask another question, only to be cut off by a round of knocks on the front door. Phichit got to his feet and answered the door, which revealed Leo. Leo stood in the doorway with Daniel poking out of his winter jacket, hair tousled and sprinkled with snowflakes.

If he wasn’t sure of his sexuality at this point, he was pretty sure he could confirm it now.

He was gay. Gay for one of his best friends.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“A carnival?”

Phichit nodded his head at his question while typing away on his phone.

“Yeah! You’ve heard of a carnival, right?” Phichit questioned. He turned his gaze to Leo, who looked at Phichit before rolling his eyes. He giggled in response before smiling innocently as Phichit finally looked up from his phone.

“Right?” Phichit questioned again while eyeing him closely.

“It’s sort of like a festival, right?” he replied, only to bite back a giggle as Phichit returned to his phone.

Almost as soon as they had finished the breakfast that Leo had brought with him – a breakfast of sugary pastries, he was beginning to think Leo enjoyed feeding him – Phichit had been rather distracted by his phone.

It wasn’t exactly hard to figure out why though, with the smile plastered on their friend’s lips and the blush that seemed to appear randomly every now and then.

“Sort of,” Leo hummed, “There is lots of games and children’s rides and stuff.”

He nodded his head slowly, thinking he understood it.

“We can go on a ferris wheel together!” Phichit gasped suddenly, startling him and almost causing him to drop his new mug of tea.

“Or you could go on it with your mystery man,” Leo piped in. Phichit immediately pouted, causing both Leo and himself to giggle in delight at their friend’s adorable reaction.

Phichit – never one to lose – quickly turned to him, his pout replaced with a smirk.

“Or, you know, you two could go together.” He ducked in his head in embarrassment, hiding behind his mug in a poor attempt at hiding himself.

“I’m not very good with heights,” Leo stated.

“Fine, the love tunnel than,” Phichit suggested. He glanced up slightly, firstly at Phichit – who was smirking at Leo – and then to Leo – whose cheeks were tinted a lovely shade of red.

“What’s ‘the love tunnel’?” he questioned meekly, quickly turning Phichit’s smirk on himself.

“It’s a boat ride which couples and people in love ride. Completely romantic,” Phichit ensured him.

“Phichit! Don’t be mean,” Leo said suddenly, seeming to kick Phichit’s chair and cause the older male to burst into giggles.

“You two are so easy to tease,” Phichit laughed before getting to his feet and leaving the table, humming happily to himself.

He watched Phichit leave before turning to Leo, catching the other male looking at him.

He didn’t know who looked away first, but he was pretty sure Leo’s cheeks were just as red as his when they finally looked away.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“You can win toys?” he gasped while turning to his two best friends with wide eyes.

He didn’t care that both of them laughed at him because he was going to get a teddy bear tonight even if it was the last thing he did.

“Yeah,” Leo said, nodding his head, “Do you want me to win you one?”

He couldn’t help but nod his head in excitement before all but jumping on Leo.

“Nawwwww, look at that,” Phichit said, clearly trying to be a tease – how he had gone so long without realising just how much of a tease Phichit was beyond him.

“I don’t see you promising to win anything,” Leo replied, causing Phichit to shrug his shoulders in response.

“It’s too easy,” Phichit stated simply while walking towards one of the van type things that seemed to be selling food.

“Easy?” he questioned, letting go of Leo to hurry after Phichit. As much as he wanted a teddy bear, food seemed like a good thing to start with.

“Phichit cheats,” Leo commented while catching up with them.

“I do not,” Phichit gasped.

“He uses magic,” Leo whispered, causing Phichit to huff in response.

“It works like that?” he questioned curiously.

“What? Twisting reality to make it seem I’m in front of the counter when I’m behind it?” Phichit said, shrugging his shoulders in response.

“Cheating,” Leo repeated.

“They are scammers anyway,” Phichit replied simply. He frowned and glanced towards Leo in confusion.

“A lot of the games, you can’t actually win,” Leo explained, patting his shoulder in response.

“Why not?” he questioned with a frown.

“Because they are scammers,” Phichit stated, not exactly answering his question.

“Don’t… they have like, magic detectors or something?” he asked, glancing up at Leo for answers. His friend simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

“They are rather expensive here, so I doubt it,” Leo told him.

“Welcome to America,” Phichit said while pushing his way to the front of the line to order some food. He stood with Leo, looking around curiously.

It didn’t take him long to spot the exact teddy bear he wanted to take home with him that night.

Handing up at the front of the stall was a large plain teddy bear with big fluffy ears.

“Guang-Hong?”

He blinked in surprise before glancing down to see Daniel huddled between his feet, ears twitching up at him curiously.

“Hi,” he mumbled hesitantly, still not use to actually talking to another person’s familiar. He couldn’t help but bite his bottom lip as the hare twitched its nose up at him, making his little whiskers move.

“Did you see something you wanted?” the hare questioned while hunching up onto its hind legs to try and see what he was staring at.

“N-no! I mean, yes,” he stuttered out.

“Yes or no?” Daniel questioned, only to be cut off as Phichit appeared in front of them, arms full of food.

“Got to love carnival food,” Phichit hummed while shoving a stick into his hand that held some sort of round thing.

“It’s a potato,” Phichit informed him, causing him to frown in confusion. The thing at the end of his stick did not look like a potato.

“A deep-fried potato,” Phichit added, grinning at him before diving into some roll with meat in the middle.

American food was strange, but also rather delicious most of the time – so he hesitantly took a bite out of the ‘potato’ that had been given to him.

He blinked as he carefully chewed on the mouthful before smiling in delight at the crunchy yet soft potato.

“Wow!” he gasped before taking another bite, only to earn amused laughs from both his friends.

He really needed to look for more friends, maybe ones that didn’t laugh at him this time.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“You really want that teddy bear, don’t you?”

He left out a huff as he threw his last ball that he was holding at the pile of bottles in front of him, only to let out a frustrated whine when only the top bottle toppled over.

Sure, he wasn’t the most active person, but he still knew how to throw a ball and hit things. How had he only hit the top bottle?

He just wanted the teddy bear! He didn’t care how obvious his attempts now were.

“Guang-Hong.” He glanced up at the call of his name.

“What?” he mumbled, totally not pouting.

“Let me try,” Leo offered, causing him to squint at his best friend for a moment.

“No,” he replied simply while digging into his bag for more money to try again.

“Hey! If I win, you can keep the prize,” Leo said while grabbing his hand, “Just one try!”

He eyed his friend carefully for a moment, totally not still pouting before letting out a sigh.

“One,” he mumbled, crossing his arms across his chest.

Leo smiled before quickly turning to the person in charge of the game and paying for one round. He moved out of the way so Leo could line himself up, shifting on his feet as he watched Leo roll one of the three balls he had gotten in his hands.

He blinked as Leo glanced towards him before flashing him a bright smile – a beautiful smile that set his cheeks alight – before throwing the ball.

He heard a stuttered gasp, which drew his attention away from Leo’s smile and to the pile of bottles – or at least where the bottles had been.

He couldn’t help but gape as he saw the bottles on the ground, all of them on the ground.

“What-how-” the person in charge of the game stuttered out.

“I’d like the big teddy bear, please,” Leo said, pointing at the teddy bear he had had his eyes on since the moment he saw it.

The bear was taken off its shelf and handed over to Leo – with a rather disgruntled look from the person in charge of the game.

He smiled and clapped his hands at Leo’s accomplishment before letting out a gasp as the bear was shoved into his arms, blocking his view of everything in front of him.

“For you,” Leo said.

He smiled as he hugged the bear tightly and nuzzled into it, feeling the soft fabric against his skin. He was totally going to send this home, there was no way he was leaving it behind.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, hoping he was loud enough for Leo to hear from behind the teddy.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“When did we lose Phichit?” he questioned as he walked beside Leo, humming a soft tune under his breath.

After Leo had won the bear for him, they had gone around and gotten some more food before stopping to watch a few of the magic shows.

There had been a few amusing enough shows, but it hadn’t taken long for them to drift away from the carnival and begin to walk around the surrounding park areas that the carnival was next too.

“I think it was after your eighth game attempt,” Leo said while adjusting the teddy on his back.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself whenever he looked at the teddy, because Leo had won it for him.

“I think he saw mystery man,” Leo hummed, causing him to snap his attention back to his friend.

“What!?” he gasped, grabbing a hold of Leo’s jacket and pulling him to a stop, “We have to go back!”

“No,” Leo laughed while shaking his head in response, “Let him have his night with his mystery man.”

“Leo,” he whined, throwing a pout in, “How often do we get something to hold over Phichit?”

“Just… stay with me a bit longer,” Leo mumbled, causing him to pause.

“Stay?” he questioned softly, tilting his head to the side as Leo shifted around so they were facing each other.

“Yeah,” Leo mumbled with a shrug of his shoulders, “I just, want to spend the night with you.”

He stared at his best friend for a long moment, feeling his heart start to pound in his chest.

Was Leo saying this because he liked him? Or was it because they didn’t get to spend much time together as friends?

Leo couldn’t like him, right? Why else would Leo be refusing to meet eye contact with him.

He took a deep breath while clenching his arms at his side.

“I LIKE YOU!” he shouted before pushing himself up onto his tippy toes and pushing his lips into Leo’s in what he hoped could be a kiss.

He’d done it, finally done it. He had admitted his crush and kissed him. He could now disappear in a hole forever now.

He pulled away quickly and all but dropped into a crouch, burying his face into his hands in embarrassment.

He waited, expecting to hear Leo walk away, instead there was silence.

He heard a breathless chuckle come from Leo before his hands were gently pulled away from his face, uncovering his eyes and revealing Leo, crouched down in front of him.

There was a light blush on Leo’s cheeks, and he couldn’t tell if it was from the weather or not.

“Can’t I see my boyfriend’s face?” Leo asked softly, letting go of one of his hands to brush a strand of hair out of his face.

“Boy-boyfriend?” he squeaked, earning a soft chuckle in response.

“Yes, boyfriend,” Leo said, nodding his head before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips.

A kiss he happily returned.

Until he realised Leo had dropped his teddy on the ground.

🐻🦁🐹🐶

“Ah!”

He gasped while gently letting go of Leo’s hand and hurrying to take off the messenger bag draped over his shoulder.

“Hold this!” he all but demanded, shoving the bag the held Zhen into Leo’s hand before hurrying towards the shop that was displaying bags of all sizes.

He had been using the same bag that held Zhen for ages and she always seemed rather squished in it.

He stumbled a step in his hurry, noticing that Daniel had kept at his heels while Leo had stood there frozen.

He wandered around the shop, checking a number of bags before finding it.

It looked like a messenger bag but the tag on the inside read satchel. He opened the main flap of the bag and smiled at just how much room the inside gave.

He hurried to purchase it before returning to his boyfriend’s side.

“What did you get?” Leo questioned.

“A new bag for Zhen!” he explained while holding the bag up.

“Oh,” Leo hummed, smiling down at him sweetly. It was an adorable smile that he couldn’t help but lean up and kiss shyly.

They stood there a moment, blushing before he cleared his throat.

“Can you open that bag,” he instructed, earning a blank look from Leo before he glanced down at the bag he was holding.

“This bag?” Leo seemed to question, looking at him confused.

“Yes,” he nodded while opening up the new bag. Leo seemed to stand there for a moment before finally opening up the bag the held Zhen.

At the open invitation, Zhen sprung from the bag, quickly jumping to his shoulder and shaking herself off.

He couldn’t help but smile shyly as he heard Leo gasp in surprise.

“Wow,” Leo mumbled, arms going slack with the now empty bag in his hands.

“Um,” he said, rising a hand to scratch Zhen under the chin, “This is Zhen,” he introduced the red panda perched on his shoulder.

“Pretty,” Daniel said while pressing into the side of his leg. He blinked and glanced down to see Daniel on his hind legs, looking up at Zhen with his little nose twitching adorably.

Zhen let out one of her soft barks before diving into the new bag he was holding open.

“Cold,” Zhen declared in English for them all too hear. He giggled as his familiar’s statement while draping her over his shoulder before reaching over to grab Leo’s hand.

Leo squeezed his hand before suddenly leaning down and pressing a kiss against his cheek.

He couldn’t help but smile brightly up at his boyfriend – Boyfriend! – while tugging him along, letting them continue their walk down the street.

[digimonnetwork-project]

Episode V

Previous episode

The Deep End

It was a beautiful day so when class was out, Kaiyo immediately went to the locker room to change out of her uniform and into casual clothes. A lot of students just waited until they got home, but there were a few other girls changing in the locker room, including the transfer student, and Kaiyo noticed Isamu heading for the men’s locker room with Aki and Masato in tow.

She smiled, looked like the three of them got things sorted out. She wondered if they’d made friends with Ju yet. Kaiyo rushed out of the school and headed straight for her favorite bakery. Nana had given her some money to pick up a loaf of bread for dinner and she had saved enough to splurge on a few spendy pastries for an after school snack.

The sky was clear and the sun was warm, with the weather so nice she decided to cut through the park and enjoy the clearer air, rather than sticking to the streets and car exhaust. The girl rummaged through her bag for the treats and pulled out a stick of Dango to munch on as she walked. There was a slight rustling in the bush to her left, Kaiyo ignored it, thinking it was probably a bird or an animal, but gave a short shriek when something leaped out at her.

“Give me some of that!” The stranger demanded, stomping the ground and raising his fists. Kaiyo blinked.

It looked like a young kid wearing some kind of costume, a really well made one, but he spoke with the clarity of an older kid. He stomped his foot, er, his hoof impatiently while awaiting her to follow through with his demand.

Kaiyo clutched her bag of treats closer to her, whatever this thing was- a kid in a costume or some spirit who lived in this park- he had very poor manners, and Papa and Nana had raised her not to deal with this kind of attitude. “Say please first!” She instructed, standing straighter, digging her shoes into the dirt and refusing to give into his rudeness.

“What?” the stranger cocked his head, clearly not used to people standing their ground in front of him.

Kaiyo reiterated, “Ask nicely and say please, and I’ll give you some of my pastries.” She said, raising one hand away from the bag to wave her pointer finger at him “But I’m not handing them over to some jerk who jumps out of the bushes at me!”

His eyes widened in surprise, but narrowed quickly, “That’s stupid! Do you have any idea what I could do to you? Just give me some of your food!” Kaiyo refused to be intimidated and began stepping away, turning around and breaking into a run. It wasn’t long before the creature was shouting after her, “Wait, come back! Come on! I need something to eat! I’m begging you!”

The desperation in his voice made her stop and turn back around, “If you’re willing to beg, what’s so hard about saying please?” She asked as the little creature ran to catch up with her.

He leaned over panting for a second and refused to look her in the eyes as he spat out, “Fine, give me some of your food, please!”

“Tsk tsk. That’s still not very nice.” She waved her finger at him a second time, and gave him another chance “Try ‘may I have some of your food, please?’”

Papa taught her to be firm, Nana taught her to be polite, and both of them taught her not to waste her time on people who could do the same for her.

The stranger glared at Kaiyo, she was starting to feel a little mean, the poor thing was obviously starving, but she couldn’t back down now. “May I have… some of your food…please?” He seemed to struggle to make himself say that, his pale green face was turning pink from humiliation.

Kaiyo smiled and proudly announced, “That’s better! It could use a little work next time, but a deal’s a deal!” She reached back into her bag, and pulled out the desserts she’d bought. “Sorry, I don’t have any real food, I just bought some treats.”

The little guy’s eyes lit up regardless, as he snatched them out of her hand like he was afraid she’d change her mind.

She’d intended to bring them home for her grandparents and have some for her lunches this week, but this guy definitely needed it more than she did. He scarfed down her Imagawayaki, Manju, and Daifuki and didn’t seem to be slowing down. Looked like his  table manners needed some help too.

Nana and Papa would have to be happy with whatever was left for them, she supposed.

“My name’s Kaiyo Nakano.” She introduced herself, deciding that at the very least they should know each other’s names.

Her strange little companion had his mouth full of food, but nodded to acknowledge her, and seemed to know better than to answer without swallowing first.

“Puckmon” He said bluntly, and reached toward her for more.

However, Kaiyo closed her bag and lied about being out of food just to ensure that she had anything to bring back for her grandparents. “What do we say after someone gives us something nice?” She said with a half teasing tone.

The creature looked away from her, the color rising back to his cheeks, and quietly muttered, “…Thank you.”

Kaiyp giggled and gave him a quick pat on the head for knowing the right answer, he pouted and growled when she did but Kaiyo laughed it off and turned to continue her way through the park.

“Come back tomorrow, Kaiyo!” he shouted behind her, making her turn again and open her mouth to correct him, but he seemed to realize his mistake immediately, “I mean- will you please, come back tomorrow, Kaiyo? Please?” He added an extra please to the end as if trying to butter her up.

Kaiyo giggled and waved to him, “Sure! And I’ll bring something with actual nutrition! You work on those manners, alright!” She heard him grumbling to himself before he shouted an agreement and she was allowed to leave.

She looked back though, Puckmon was nowhere on the trail, but her near empty bag was all the proof Kaiyo needed to know she hadn’t imagined the encounter. The girl turned around again and continued her walk home, thinking about Puckmon, overcome with an odd feeling, like something really important had just happened to her.

Finally she got through the park and started down the street to the convenience store her grandparents managed. She covered shifts from time to time, but not tonight, Kaiyo wanted to prepare for meeting Puckmon again by getting him something good. Ahead of her, she recognized Aki from her class. His face was bright red and he shifted his duffel bag around his shoulder nervously, must have forgotten it at school and had to go back for it.

The pair waved to each other as they passed, but didn’t stop to chat as Kaiyo went to her family’s store and Aki continued the other way toward the warehouse district to meet his friends. “I can’t believe I forgot my bag!” He muttered to himself as he picked up his pace.

A block passed the park Isamu, Masato and Ju were waiting at the corner where he’d realized he’d forgotten his bag and run back to the school to go get it. They were checking out the warehouse District for abandoned buildings to hide their Digimon at until they decided it was safe to go back to the cabin Isamu and Ju had found earlier.

Though, with how run down this part of town was, Aki wondered if maybe it was a better idea to stay here. Maybe he’d make that suggestion when he found his partner and actually got a say in where they hid them.

“Alright, you didn’t forget anything else, did you?” Masato teased.

“Nope.” Aki assured them, “I even double checked my locker to make sure I didn’t leave my homework.”

“Right, I believe you,” Ju grinned, “So where was I?”

“You just just finished explaining the hub prizes.” Isamu said, “So tell us about these Bugs.”

“I want to hear about the Court of Demons.” Masato argued.

Ju chose to explain the Bugs first, “The Network is a man made Digital Space, like an online RPG it has its share of technical issues, most common it’s glitches with building structure or gravity, but sometimes they manifest as Bugs.” She told them, “Rumor has it that they were originally an attempt by humans to create artificial Digimon but they’ve grown into their own Digital life form and attack the city. Admins keep a lookout for them and all captured Bugs are kept in the Bug Core below the City to use as enemies in the Coliseum.”

“That sounds like a practical use for them.” Aki said, pushing up his glasses, “So we don’t really need to worry about Bugs too much then, right?”

“We always need to worry about Bugs.” Ju said, shaking her head slightly and inadvertently making Aki feel really stupid “Even Rookie level Digimon can handle a small pack of Bugs, but if a horde shows up it could be very dangerous. The attack on the Network that we got that e-mail about is bound to draw a horde to the City, the Admins will be up to their necks cleaning up damage and fending off Bugs, it might take up to a week before the Network is running again.”

Masato groaned, never having enough patience, “That’s not fair, I want to meet my Digimon partner!”

Aki for one was a little relieved, having to wait a week gave him time to prepare himself to talk to Digimon about a partnership. He wasn’t very smart, and wasn’t good at much aside from swimming, he needed to make sure he could present himself in a way that might convince a Digimon he was worth teaming up with. No way he could get someone cool like Namaemon, but a small, calm Digimon might be something he could take care of and rely on.

They approached a building that Ju pointed to, “This is the place I was thinking we could hide the Digimon.” She said, “I had Cannismon and Leptomon check it out, they like it. It’s not that different than the warehouse I hid them in back in Beijing.”

“Speaking of the attack,” Masato said, barely acknowledging Ju’s comment about the warehouse, “You mention something about a Demon Council, what was that about?”

“The Court of Demons.” Ju corrected, and ushered them inside where the Digimon were already making themselves at home, having gone ahead when Aki turned back to get his bag. Ju sat down and bit her lip, “The thing you guys need to understand about the Digital World is that it’s very dangerous, that’s why the Network exists, so Tamers can meet with their partners in a safe environment”

It was one large room, probably once storage for one of the businesses that had gone under a couple of years back. There were boxes still stacked together, though the bottom ones had been torn open by rats or squatters. Others had been toppled over with brand name clothes spilling out, old and dusty but with price tags still attached. There were large windows above them that let in the light, and stairways to landings that had other storage units that would provide cover if anyone but the kids came in.

After taking in the sight, Ju continued her explanation “One of the leading reasons the Digital World is such a mess is because of the War. It’s been going on for years, and there used to be hundreds of different armies fighting for control. These days there’s only two major groups left, the Court of Demons and the Court of Angels.”

“If there’s only two armies left, why is it still so dangerous?” Aki asked, and again felt like an idiot for not coming to what should have been an easy conclusion when Ju explained

“Because the reason there’s only two left is because the other armies eventually all took one side of the other, making the war primarily over one thing,” She said, pausing for a heartbeat and glancing at all of them to make sure they were all paying attention to what she was saying “Whether Digimon should join with humans or exterminate them.”

“The Court of Demons was the group that’s attacking the Network, isn’t it?” Isamu asked, Ju nodded in repose, “So is Gray with the Court of Angels and that’s how he knew about the attack?”

Aki wished he had Isamu’s confidence.

Ju shrugged, “I don’t know how Gray knew. Nobody knows how Gray knows these things. The reason he’s so famous is because he hasn’t left the Digital World in years, it’s probably that he has lots of contacts.”

Silence fell on the group, Aki was having second thoughts about this Tamer business when he remembered that because of the Network they would never need to get mixed up in this war. He relaxed a little, if he found a partner and they trained together in the Network, maybe he could work up the courage to enter the actual Digital World and help refugees or something, but what could someone like him do to stop a war?

Finally Isamu spoke up again, “Well, it's huge and it looks like the Digimon like it here.” He said, “I think maybe we could move some of those boxes around and have some makeshift furniture, until we can scrap together some money for real chairs.  With a little time and effort this could be a great hideout, Puckmon can keep that cabin I was thinking of.” He leaned down to pick up a bit of ripped newspaper and move it into a nearby box.

“Puckmon?” Masato asked, raising a brow as he did a head count of the Digimon in their group.

Isamu “Oh, right. He’s a rookie Digimon Ju and I met a few days ago. Did you guys hear about the monster in the woods the news reported? That was him.” Isamu said, and gave a slight shrug, “He’s a little on the obnoxious side, but I don’t think he’s dangerous. Actually, I was thinking he might be a good partner for Masato.”

“Really? Where is he now, I want to talk to him!” Masato exclaimed, but Isamu and Ju calmed him down, saying that after the news report Puckmon probably went into hiding.

Aki’s heart sank a little. Isamu and Ju already met another Digimon that could be a potential partner and immediately felt like he’d be good for Masato, not him. Granted, based on what they said, Aki could agree that kind of Digimon was definitely not his type, but it still nagged at him to not have someone think of him first.

As his friends continued to talk about the mischievous Digimon, Aki suddenly felt very excluded and like he didn’t belong with this group. He didn’t want to leave without saying anything, but he also had no idea what to say, or if they’d even listen to him.

Thankfully his phone gave him just the excuse he needed to leave. Beep! He checked the text while everyone turned as if remembering for the first time he was here. “That’s my mom.” He told them and quickly shoved the phone into his pocket, afraid to interrupt their conversation. “She wants me to go to the market and pick up some vegetables for her. I’d better go.” Aki said, backing away.

“Oh, okay.” Isamu said, “You can come back later and play with the Digimon when you’re done.” He added.

“Bring us back some treats!” Leptomon piped, rubbing against his leg, causing Aki to jump a little since he hadn’t seen the white twin come up. Her sister padded up beside her looking up to Aki with a similarly hopeful look, but said nothing.

“Um…okay.”  Aki replied, sweating a little, Wemicmon bounded over too, but Isamu stepped in front of him to give Aki space to hurry out, relieved to be away from them, while Isamu scolded his partner. All these Digimon... it was a little overwhelming. What was he thinking?

He could never be a Tamer. The thought echoed in his head as Aki made his way out of the warehouse district.

He wasn’t good enough for this sort of responsibility.

Aki joylessly completed his errand, his mom had a list for him and promised to pay him back every expense that came out of his allowance. This was the only thing he was good for, swimming and being man of the house for his single mom. Maybe someone out there had it way worse, but that didn’t stop Aki from being miserable...Things would have been different if dad and Yūko hadn’t…

No, Aki, don’t do that to yourself, he reminded himself, Have all the pity parties you want about how pathetic you are but don’t think about them

To save himself time going home from the market, Aki chose to cut through the park. It was a really nice day and the clean air helped him relax. It wasn’t long before he got the surprise of his life. He heard rustling in the bushes to his left, and walked a little faster, assuming it was a bird or small animal, and was taken aback when something leaped out at him.

“Found you!” A small femine voice greeted, “Aki Mikami, I’m going to be your partner!” The voice belonged to a creature that resembled an otter, she had long ribbon-like ears and light blue hair with dotted markings on her face the same color, her main body was covered with brown fur.

Most noticeable was the gold ring around her front left paw, there was some sort of inscription on it, but the boy didn’t recognize any of the symbols.

Aki may have only learned about Digimon a few hours ago, but he certainly knew enough already to recognize one when he saw them. Or at least recognize what the term partner entailed. “M-my partner!?”

That was... fast.

The Otter nodded,and bounced around happily “My name is Lutrimon!” She greeted,  and jumped up so suddenly that Aki almost  didn’t have time to catch her, “I’m really looking forward to working with you, Aki!” Lutrimon cried, nuzzling her tiny head into his neck.

Aki was speechless as he stroked the Digimon’s long body. His Digimon? She wasn’t exactly calm, but she was small, he could probably fit her in his bag, and her form and colors strongly suggested a water element.

She was absolutely perfect! “I’m looking forward to working with you too!” He grinned, Aki was so excited about this sudden development that he didn’t even stop to consider how odd this encounter was. Just wait until Masato and the others saw this! That reminded him “Oh! I should introduce you to the other Tamers!” He said, unzipping his duffel bag to invite her in, “Do you mind? I’d like you to be a surprise” He grinned widely

Lutrimon nodded enthusiastically, “Sure thing! Great idea, Aki!” She declared and climbed in, Aki made sure she was nice and comfortable before turning back the way he’d come and running back to show off his partner.

His friends jumped when he burst through the door, “Guys, you’re never going to believe what just happened!” He shouted, reaching for his bag to let Lutrimon out.

“Did you accidentally leave something here?” Masato started to laugh but was silenced when Lutrimon jumped out of Aki’s bag and shook herself off.

“Hello!” She greeted, “My name is Lutrimon, I’m Aki’s partner Digimon! It’s nice to meet you!”

The other Digimon immediately came forward to greet the newcomer while the humans stood dumbfounded at the very sudden partnership. “I can’t believe this!” Masato groaned, “How did you meet your partner before I met mine?”

Aki opened and closed his mouth, only now was it dawning on him that Lutrimon had  known him by name and sought him out. He gave his partner a quizzical glance, but Lutrimon had an answer for that, “I saw Aki at the swimming championships and I’ve been looking for him since!” She said, giving him a determined nod. “I knew he was the one I’ve been looking for! He’s the best swimmer in the district!”

He had to think about it, “Championships? You mean the annual swimming school competition?” Lutrimon nodded, but it only threw Aki for another loop “That was months ago!” Aki gasped, she’d been looking for him that long? He could have had a partner before he even met Isamu, let alone, Ju.

“Uh-huh!” She purred and leaped into his arms again.

Isamu pulled down his goggles to get a reading on the new Digimon, “Lutrimon, champion level Holy Beast type.” Isamu pulled his goggles back up and squinted at Lutrimon before pulling the goggles back down, to double check the information. “That’s what it says, Champion level Holy Beast.”

“Digimon come in all sorts of sizes, so it’s not odd to see a Champion this small.” Ju spoke up, reaching over to gesture to the gold ring that Aki had noticed earlier, “She’s got a Holy Ring,” She said, looking at it in awe.

“Champion? Holy Beast?” Aki blinked awkwardly, not understanding what any of that meant.

Isamu took the job of explaining, “Remember earlier when Wemicmon Digivolved? He’s a Rookie level Digimon, the Champion level is the next stage up. That means Lutrimon is the same level as Namaemon.”

“And she’s a Holy Digimon.” Ju added, lifting up her D-Guantlet to show a few images from her catalogue of Digimon she had encountered “There’s a few different varieties like Beast, Dragon, Knight and Bird, but in the grand scheme, Holy Digimon are actually pretty rare.”

“Wh-what does that mean?” Aki asked, still confused, and starting to get a little uneasy.

Lutrimon turned to him with a happy smile, “It means I’m pretty special, so we need to take good care of each other!”

The joy Aki was feeling started to drain out of him, Lutrimon was a special Digimon, and he was beyond inadequate. There had to be some kind of mistake, he couldn’t really be partners with this Digimon. Masato provided just the right comment to completely shatter the delusions he’d been having since meeting Lutrimon in the park.

“Where’s the glove-thing? Aren’t you supposed to get a glove-thing when you meet your partner?” Masato asked, while Isamu and Ju corrected him by reminding him that it was called a ‘D-Guantlet’

Aki put Lutrimon down on a nearby box, looking at her sadly... he’d been so excited too, “I didn’t get one.”

“Aki, it does-” Lutrimon started but Aki felt tears well up in his eyes and turned around to run out of the warehouse, “Aki, wait!” Lutrimon called and Aki could practically feel her running after him, while Ju and Isamu shouted his name too.

Well, he wasn’t much of a runner, but Aki had longer legs, if he could just keep moving maybe he’d get away and not have to face the disappointment of not being her Tamer. If only it was that easy. Aki was right about having longer legs, but Lutrimon had more stamina and a good sense of smell. She followed him for at least two hours, seemingly not caring if any other humans saw her.

Finally it seemed like he lost her, Aki was out of breath and his nerves were completely shot. His flight had brought him back to school, the pool was still open for swimming team members to keep their exercise up between competitions and Aki thought a few laps would help him relax.

The pool was completely empty, Aki thought it was weird that not even the pool supervisor seemed to be in his office, perhaps he was out getting a bite to eat. Aw well, he knew Aki wasn’t going to drown, he wouldn’t mind the boy taking a few unsupervised laps around the pool. Aki kept his swimming trunks and towel in his duffel bag, which was why he carried it around everywhere, and quickly changed so he could get started.

He didn’t notice that he wasn’t really alone in the pool until he’d completed two laps, and it was too late.

A shape flew at him in the water, all but tackling him and forcing him under the water. Aki was expecting Lutrimon, the small otter-like Digimon was just dedicated enough that he supposed she would have figured out he’d gone to the pool.

But he was wrong.

He didn’t know what this Digimon was, but he knew it wasn’t as friendly as Lutrimon. It reminded him of a tadpole that had gotten it’s legs but hadn’t quite become a frog yet, it was green and had a big red sail on its head. Was it going to kill him?

The Digimon spoke, being an aquatic type, it only needed it’s gills to breathe under the water. “I am Betamon! I need to get stronger! Be my Tamer and I’ll let you live!”

Aki, unfortunately, didn’t have gills, he couldn’t speak underwater, and tried to communicate that to the rogue Digimon by desperately pointing to the surface, but the Digimon only growled and threatened to drown him if he didn’t answer. He could hold his breath far longer than Masato, one of the few things Aki could claim to be proud of was that he could even hold his breath longer than the rest of the swim team. But even Aki couldn’t hold his breath forever, bubbles of air slipped passed his lips, and his vision started to go black.

Lutrimon!

Aki didn’t remember what happened next, one moment he was slipping into unconsciousness, the next his head was bobbing above the water. Something small and furry was guiding him to the edge of the pool, “Aki, wake up, please, he’s coming!”

He didn’t need another wake up call, he remembered the creature that had been threatening him. Though weak and dizzy, Aki managed to swim to the edge and crawl out. Coughing and sputtering he looked up with blurry vision to see Lutrimon hop out of the water with him, “Are you okay?” She asked, touching her paw to his hand gently.

“Y-yeah.” He mumbled around a coughing fit.

Lutrimon nodded to him, and turned back to the pool, “Do you think threatening to drown humans is really going to get you a Tamer, Betamon?” She asked the strange Digimon who was still in the pool, “It won’t, you’ll just kill them, and I won’t stand for that! Aki is my Tamer and I won’t let you hurt him!” She cried and jumped back in the water.

“Lutrimon, don’t!” Aki called out, “ I can’t be your Tamer, I don’t have one of those glove things! I can’t make you Digivolve!”

Lutrimon paused in the water and turned back to him with a smile, “You don’t need to make me Digivolve, I’m already a Champion, remember? I don’t need to Digivolve to beat this creep!” She winked and dived under the water where she zipped around at incredible speed.

The battling Digimon jumped out of the pool together, heading straight toward each other “Beta Slugger!” Betamon began slicing at the air, trying to dice the little otter up with his sharp claws.

Lutrimon was prepared for this, “Neptune Rush!” She called out, and her body became surrounded with a blue aura, water rose from the pool and projected toward Betamon in pressurized streams.

Betamon was knocked off course by the attack and flailed helplessly in the air, but Lutrimon’s attack wasn’t finished. Her blue aura blasted off her body similar to Namaemon’s final attack earlier that day, only her attack was made from pure energy, not fire and it took the shape of some winged being, Aki wasn’t sure what that was about.

Whatever it meant, it knocked Betamon out cold. The tadpole Digimon splashed into the water and floated belly up on the surface, just unconscious for now. Lutrimon twirled in the air, landed gracefully in the pool and began swimming back toward him.

Aki opened his arms to catch her, already knowing that she was going to leap out of the water at him, “Lutrimon, that was amazing!” He exclaimed.

Lutrimon laughed, “So, will you be my Tamer now, Aki?” She asked, Aki hesitated to answer and the otter pulled away from his embrace, she looked at him with sad eyes, “Is there something wrong with me?” Lutrimon asked.

“No! Never! The problem is me!” Aki replied quickly, and noticed Lutrimon’s confused blink. He sighed and started to tell her the truth, “My dad was ...a really smart guy, he had a great job and won a lot of competitions. My older sister was doing long division when she was in first grade, but me…I couldn’t even get 100% on a subtraction test.”

“Aki…” Lutrimon put a paw on his shoulder.

“It was like that as long as I could remember, Dad and sis were always going off to competition after competition while mom and I were left behind, never good enough. One day Dad took my sister to an international tournament in America and never came back, I was in second grade.”

Aki had always blamed himself for never being good enough, no matter how much his mother tried to encourage him that he could do anything he set his mind to. He couldn’t...Maybe he wouldn’t.

“I don’t understand,” Lutrimon said, cocking her head, “What does that have to do with you being my Tamer.”

Aki frowned, “I’m not good enough for you!” He said bluntly, “Look at you, you’re a Champion level who could fight off another Digimon without my help and you’re a Holy Digimon. You’re…You’re perfect! I’m not worthy of you!” Tears slipped over his eyes.

He was afraid of letting down everyone who believed in him…

Or afraid that he would succeed and leave them all behind...

He felt Lutrimon bury her face in his neck, nuzzling him slightly, “It’s not about being worthy Aki.” She told him, “You don’t need to be able to win a bunch of competitions or get 100% on a test to be a good Tamer. Do you know why I want you to be my Tamer?”

Aki shook his head. She’d mentioned that she’d been searching for him since seeing  him compete in the Swimming Championships, but if competitions didn’t matter to her then why?

She pulled away and smiled at him, “Because I think you’re perfect!” She said, “You may not be an academic like your dad or your sister, but look at what you accomplished  through your dedication to your passion. You’re a champion swimmer and are going on to big leagues next season! I believe you can do great things Aki. You just need a little encouragement and to dedicate yourself to them! I want to be there for you, glove-thing or no glove-thing, I’m your partner!”

Aki felt tears welling up in his eyes again, but for a different reason than moments ago. “Th-thank you Lutrimon!” He said, hugging her close, “I wish I could be your Tamer, for real!”

Just as he said that, a light started to glow on his right hand, and when it faded, a bright Blue glove with a strange watch was now on his wrist. “A glov- I mean- what did Ju call them?- A D-Gauntlet!” Aki gasped, staring at it in wonder.

Lutrimon smiled, “See, Aki? I knew you were the one!” She wiggled in his grasp and pawed at the device, “We better take care of that Betamon. He could kill someone next time. Push these buttons to convert him into scan data, your friends can help you find a way to get him back to the Digital world later.”

“Okay.” Aki replied and did as she instructed, he didn’t even fumble and mess up the sequence, the scan went smoothly. “Conversion completed. Rainbow Plate detected. Equip or Store, Rainbow Plate?”

“What’s a Rainbow Plate?” He asked.

“It’s a rare item that’s used to power up Aquatic Digimon,”Lutrimon replied, “But only champion level Digimon can use them. I guess Betamon wanted a partner so bad so he could use the Plate before someone won it from him.”

“Oh.” Aki replied, “I guess you just won it fair and square then. Hm, we’re not in battle, so I guess we’ll store it for now.” He decided.

“Storing Rainbow Plate.” The D- Gauntlet announced.

With that out of the way, Aki returned to the locker room and changed back into his clothes. Lutrimon waited in his bag, content to take a nap after her battle, even if it had been a brief one. Aki couldn't remember the last time he’d felt so good, even earlier when he first met Lutrimon he’d had a small feeling of doubt.

He left the pool just as the Supervisor was returning and informed him that he’d let it slide this one time, but warned him not to use the pool without an adult around to contact in case of an emergency. Aki agreed, after his close call earlier he supposed it would have been better to wait anyway. He continued on, stopping at a convenience store to buy treats for the Digimon like he had promised, and to the hideout where they happily greeted him. His human friends were nowhere to be seen.

Having not been allowed to ask for snacks earlier, Wemicmon was eager to speak up and inform him what had happened to them, “They went out to look for you!” He piped around a candy bar, “Ju said that sometimes D-Gauntlets won’t appear until after you battle together, Isamu wanted to try setting up a mock battle between me and Lutrimon”

Aki started to feel like an idiot again, but the little voice in his head that usually mocked him for not coming to the obvious conclusion instead reminded him that he had no way of knowing that a D-Gauntlet didn’t just appear when a human and Digimon met. It was okay that he didn’t know that, and there was a lot of stuff he still needed to learn. It was okay to be an ametuer.

“Well,” Aki said, lifting up his D-Gauntlet to show off to the surrounding Digimon, who gawked up in amazement, “ I better call them and tell them ‘too late’ I guess” He laughed.

Leptomon jumped up and pawed at his knees enthusiastically, “Congratulations, Aki!” She beamed.

Even Cannismon, the quieter of the two waved her tail happily, “And congratulations to Lutrimon!” She said approvingly, “Where is she, anyway?”

Aki put a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion, “She’s taking a nap.” He said and pointed to his bag, “I need to get home, mom’s going to want those vegetables.” He stood up,

thinking about lifting Lutrimon out to stay with the other Digimon, but decided against it.

It was their first night as partners, they had a lot to talk about.

On his way home, his partner started to stir, “Hey, Aki?” Lutrimon poked her head out of the duffle bag, “I think you’re going to be a great Tamer.” She said, leaning her face against his arm.

Aki found himself smiling, and scratched behind one of Lutrimon’s ribbon-like ears.  “I think I will, too” He replied.

And he believed it

Next Chapter

[captainvictoryboat]

Behind The Scenes 3 (3.5/???)

Author’s note: So I’ve been looking over the parts of BTS 3 that I have so far... and omg I just want you guys to get to the Japanese cities! To me, that is where I notice most of the drama happening! Sorry that this part is shorter than the last, but its because its the continuation. Sorry for any errors.

Genre: drama??? idk

Word count:1720

City: Beijing, China (3rd day)

Summary: Jungkook’s late bithday outing continued

WARNINGS: Physical abuse

Other Parts: HERE

This is my GIF. I made it based off of this scenario series.

Jungkook slowed down even more, taking in the image of Suga all over his “girlfriend”. Suga was standing over y/n as she stared up at with a smile on her face. “What the fuck are they doing? Why are they holding hands?!?”

-

BACK TO Y/N

“Ah-hem!” You and Suga turned to find Jungkook standing next to the two of you. “So… What’s going on here?” he asked.

When you saw Jungkook, you immediately pulled your hands away from Suga.

“Y/n is cold.” Suga said blankly.

Jungkook looked down at you. “Then let me be the one to warm you up!” He smiled. He pulled Suga’s sweater off you and placed his own jacket over your shoulders.

Jimin cringed his face when he noticed Jungkook was back. “Are you guys done?” he asked. “Let’s get going!”

“We’re going.” Jungkook said grabbing your hand.

-

After visiting a few more stores, you all found an adorable candy store. It was wall to wall candy and decorated so colorfully. In a rush of excitement, you all dispersed across the store.

You happened to have followed Suga when you both got excited about looking for the chocolates. Sadly, Jungkook’s hand found yours and he kept you close to him, staying by the giant lollipops. You were staring up the rainbow colored ones at the top of the shelf, when you felt Jungkook give you a back hug, “Can we do a “time out” real quick?” he whispered into your ear.

“Yeah.”

He pulled you to one side of the store with less people.  “So, earlier when I saw you and Yoongi, its best that like- just don’t do stuff like that with him. It would have been bad if a fan saw you guys.”

“Oh, well it’s not like it meant-“

“I don’t care what it meant or didn’t mean, just be careful cuz people are always watching!” he snapped.

“…Ok…” you peeped.

He let out a heavy sigh. “Sorry… it’s just… trying to keep up with the whole truce thing…”

“Yeah. I get it… Thanks.”

“…Time in? Or did you want to say anything?”

You shook your head. “Time in.” To sort of make up for it all, you pulled Jungkook into a hug.

He wrapped his arms around you. “C’mon, let’s get ourselves a shit ton of candy.”

“But I still don’t have any money.” You whispered.

“I know. I’ll pay for it… Just please don’t buy any cotton candy.” He laughed.

“I won’t.” you smiled

You both went around the store, goofing off, picking out candy and playing with the little toys they also sold.

After about half an hour, you all bought an armful of candy and went back to the van. On the ride home, you sat with Jungkook because you both decided that it was best to post an update.

“Hi ARMY!” Jungkook smiled. “Again I want to thank all of you for the happy birthday wishes. The guys, y/n and I just finished my late birthday outing. Right Jagi?” He asked pointing the phone at you.

“Yup.” You smiled shyly.

“Where did we go?”

“Um, we went shopping for you… We went to eat and you forgot your phone.” you laughed. “Then more shopping, then we got all this candy!” you smiled, holding up the bag of various candies.

Jimin poked his head into the shot. “Look at all this chocolate!” He exclaimed, fanning out a few chocolate bars.

Jungkook zoomed in on the bag of candy he bought for the two of you. “All this candy and it’s still not as sweet as my jagi!”

“Not that dumb line again!” Jimin yelled. He took the phone from Jungkook. “Ok ARMY, for all our sakes I’m going to end the video now. Bye!”

The rest of the ride back was chill. You all mostly showed each other what you got and just ate candy.

-

The three of you came back in to the hotel room to find V already sleeping in the bed he shared with Jimin.

“Tae! Wake up! We got candy!” Jimin exclaimed as he jumped on top of V to wake him up.

You and Jungkook giggled at Jimin’s hyper mood as you both walked over to your side of the room. For some reason the lights were off, but you could have sworn you left them on when you left. “Maybe Tae turned them off when he got back.” You thought.

You placed your candy on the dresser and slipped off Jungkook’s jacket.

Both you and Jungkook froze when you noticed a figure in your bed.

“You fucking scared me!” Jungkook shouted.

Jimin and V went to the halfway point of the room to take a peek at what was going on.

The lamp next to the bed flicked on and illuminated Rap monster’s face. Under the yellow light the features of his dark expression looked much more intense. “Did little y/n have some fun?” his voice was dark and stern.

You knew not to ignore him, but you didn’t know how to answer him. “Um- I- uh-“

Rap monster stepped off the bed and slowly made his way over to you. “Wasn’t the city so beautiful? It must be so fun to go out and travel and see the world! This must feel like a vacation, doesn’t it?” He questioned mockingly.

The others stayed motionless as you struggled to think of something to say. “Umm, I-“ you could  feel yourself taking steps back as he inched his was up to you.

Suddenly Rap monster clamped his hands around your throat and slammed you against the wall. “Listen to me you fucking bitch! This isn’t some fucking getaway! Just because we aren’t at the dorm, doesn’t mean you can go around getting comfortable!” He tightened his grip and you couldn’t breathe.

Your finger reached for his hands, but you were already weak and your attempts did nothing.

“Let go of her!” Jimin shouted. He ran over to try and get Rap monster off you.

Rap monster swiftly slipped one hand off your neck and used it to elbow Jimin in the face as he came up to him.

Jimin quickly fell to the floor on impact. “Fuck!” He huffed as he grabbed his eye.

Rap monster pulled you close to him and then slammed your head against the wall. “I own you! Don’t you forget that!” He spat. His hands loosened from your neck and a smirk grew on his face as he watched your body slide down to the floor. With nothing more to add, he calmly left the room.

“Are you guys okay?” Jungkook asked once the hotel door clicked shut.

Jimin came up to you, still grabbing his eye, “Y/n, how’s your head? It sounded really bad.”

“It hurts.” You whimpered.

“Tae, go get Minho over here. Jungkook, stay with y/n. I am gonna to go check my eye.”

Jungkook crouched down beside you. You tried to get up but he softly held you back. “Just stay there.” He said softly. “If your head is hurting, you don’t want to risk anything. It can be serious.”

It took a while, but V eventually returned with Minho. Minho checked Jimin first, simply giving him an ice pack. When it came to you, he did a quick run through and asked you a few questions. “Well, you don’t seem to have a concussion.” He concluded. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Just take some pain relievers and you should be fine.” He handed you some travel packets of medicine he had in his pockets.

You quietly thanked him and he left the room.

Jungkook carefully helped you up from the floor and you tried to just get over it and wash up. Sadly, you only had the strength to brush your teeth. You took the medicine and slipped under the covers.

Jungkook later joined you, going under his sheet. You noticed he was a bit surprised to see that you were still awake, just staring at his pillow. “I thought you’d be asleep.” He whispered.

You shook your head.

“You okay?”

Again, you shook your head.

“… Wanna talk about it?”

You looked up at him. “Is he really willing to talk to me?” you thought. You moved yourself closer to him and nodded.

“Um, who do you wanna talk to? Yoongi? Hoseok? You always talk to them about this stuff right?”

“Oh…” you thought. “So, he doesn’t want to talk. He just doesn’t want to deal with me.” All you did was nod at him again.

He got up from the bed and headed out the room.

“Where are you going?” you could hear Jimin ask.

“Just go back to sleep.” You heard Jungkook say as he closed the door behind him.

Not even three minutes passed when you heard the door open. You heart sunk when you only heard one set of footsteps come into the room. “I knew they weren’t going to come.” You thought.

The steps came over to your side of the bed. The lamp was flicked on and Jungkook sat himself at the edge of the mattress. “Umm… Well, they were awake, but, uh, they aren’t really gonna be much help to you right now…”

You gave him a tiny nod and turned over on your side. You could feel your tears falling, but you didn’t bother to wipe him away. What mostly kept you from doing so was the fact that you could feel Jungkook staring down at you with pity.

He turned off the light and made his way to his side of the bed. However, instead of going under his sheet, he went under yours and moved up next to you. “I know that I’m not Yoongi or Hoseok, but if you still want to talk, you can…” He offered awkwardly.

You wiped your eyes and moved closer to him. You tried to talk to him, but your voice was so shaken it was mostly series of whimpers and mumbles. Despite your inability to form actual words, he still listened to you.

Unlike when you were both pretending, Jungkook wasn’t as physically comforting. It wasn’t until you were just plain crying that he hesitantly brought you into a rather awkward hug. Only occasionally did he say, “It’s okay” or “Just don’t think too much about it.”

[murkymuse]

Title: Having The Faith To Soar

Fandom: Yuri On Ice

Ships: Gen

AO3, Previous

Chapter Two - Practice, Practice, Practice

Hello! I’m Vera Kotova, a self-taught amateur skater. Through an unlikely twist of chance, THE Yuri Plisetsky saw me skating and was impressed enough to call his coach! Now I’ve been whisked away to St. Petersburg so I can train under one of Coach Feltsman’s associates. Meanwhile, the Grand Prix Series continues with the Cup of China! I can’t wait to see Yuri skate again! 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Vera groaned and rolled over to reach for her noisy phone on the nightstand. The screen glared with a notification: Ballet Practice. Vera practically rolled out of bed and turned the alarm off.

Ever since moving to St. Petersburg, she had a very strict schedule to keep. Six mornings a week she had alternating physical training and ballet practice. Of course, she had school after morning practice five days a week. Her favorite time of day was the afternoon when she was able to practice ice skating.

“You might have some potential but you currently lack a solid foundation to build on,” Coach Feltsman had told her, “If you want to seriously compete, training needs to become your life.”

What else did she have in life anyway? A dead father and a mother that barely paid attention to her. Vera would gladly throw her body and soul into the only thing she did have: ice skating.  

So, while her sore body longed to sleep another hour or two, Vera quickly got ready and left for the ballet studio. As she exited the apartment building, the sounds of the city – cars, people, seagulls – invaded her ears. The tall buildings and crowded streets were vastly different from the sparse town she’d lived in up until now. It was still a little overwhelming; she hadn’t yet felt comfortable wandering outside her bubble of apartment-gym-ballet studio-school-ice rink.

Maybe if she asked nicely when the season was over Yuri would go with her to explore the city? He did say he’d check in on her progress, even if he hadn’t been specific on when. But with the Cup of China quickly approaching and then the Grand Prix Finals after that… Then Nationals and then World’s… Vera wasn’t expecting to see Yuri Plisetsky again any time soon.

That was okay. She’d work really hard so that next time saw him, he wouldn’t regret giving her this chance.

Vera’s drifting thoughts cut off as she pushed the door open and entered the ballet studio.

The rink was strangely empty and quiet when Vera got there. She checked her phone and realized that she’d somehow managed to arrive a good fifteen minutes early. It was still unusual because this rink was typically open to the public right before the skating class. Maybe someone had booked it earlier?

Vera shrugged, not caring about the specifics, and went to put on her skates (that they were truly hers and not rentals still made her grin). She hadn’t gotten a chance to skate alone in weeks. There was no way she wasn’t going to take advantage of the empty rink.

As she skated out onto the ice, she put her earbuds in and stuffed her phone in her pocket.

Sic mea vita est temporaria, cupit ardenter caritatem aeternam

Vera hadn’t attempted skating Agape since moving to the city. Now she felt a difference in her skating. Her balance was even more stable; her motions were both more fluid and precise. She smiled softly before going into her first jump.

The sound and feel of blades against the ice as she made a perfect landing was beautiful and thrilling. Feeling even more confident, she continued to flow with the music.

Once she and the music came to a still, Vera blinked and realized that she’d gathered a small audience. Coach Lebedeva was standing rinkside with a bemused expression. A few of Vera’s rinkmates were there as well; their faces filled with a mixture of excitement and disbelief. One girl, who had her hair in a high ponytail, had her phone held up to take a video.

“Um…”

Vera’s cheeks felt a little warm; and, she wasn’t sure what to say. However, her rinkmates broke the silence for her.

“That was so cool!”

“I didn’t know you could land an axel!”

“How long did it take you to learn that?”

“Thanks. I first managed it about six months ago. And a few years,” she managed to answer.  

Before anyone could say more, Coach Lebedeva clapped her hands to get their attention. “Alright everyone, stretch and get your stakes on. And, Anya, don’t post that video online without Vera’s permission.”

Anya guiltily put her phone down, shooting an apologetic smile, and then went to get her skates on.

Once the rest of her rinkmates joined Vera on the ice, Anya skated up to her, “Some of us are watching the Cup of China at my house later. Do you want to come?”

Vera wanted to say that she’d go but the words got stuck in her throat.

“…I can’t. I have to finish a project for school,” she lied.

“Oh, maybe next time.”

“Yeah.”

The awkward pause was broken as Coach Lebedeva instructed them into edge drills. As it could be expected from a group of pre-teens, the class was an organized chaos. Students laughed and joked while skating in every direction; and, the coach would call out corrections or glide over to help when someone was struggling. Despite all that, practice always seemed to go by quickly to Vera. Soon enough her rinkmates were heading off the ice. When Vera didn’t follow them, the coach gave her a look but said nothing. Vera took that as permission to continue and stretched into the Biellmann position again.

As parents arrived to pick up her rinkmates, she tried not to pay them any attention. However, it was impossible to completely block out the drifting chatter.  

“Anya,” the voice was soft and sweet, “How many of your friends are coming?”

Anya listed off half the class. Excited giggles echoed across the room as Anya’s mother began ushering the group toward the door. Vera frowned as she switched the positions of her legs and went into a spin.

It was only after all her rinkmates had left that Coach Lebedeva’s called out, “That’s enough for today. If you practice much longer, you’ll miss the men’s short programs.”

Since the Cup of China didn’t start for another hour, Vera figured the coach was just saying that because she wanted to leave but couldn’t with a student still on the ice.

“I’m coming,” she replied as she skated off the rink.

That Seung-gil guy was about finished with his short program; the crowd cheering as the commentators exclaimed in excitement over the flawless combination he just landed. It was at that exact moment reality suddenly hit Yuri like a freight train.

“Yuri,” Yakov’s voice was distant, “Come on. You’re up next.”

He felt rooted to the spot, unable to move. The ground seemed oddly distant and blurred as well.

“Yuri?” A hand lightly placed on his shoulder. Lilia. “What’s wrong?”

Wrong?

Grandpa had rarely been able to come to his competitions but he always watched them on tv. Now, for the first time since Yuri moved up to the Senior division, Grandpa wasn’t sitting at home with the tv on to watch him skate.

A sob was building in the back of his throat. Yuri bit it back as a kernel of molten anger settled in the pit of his stomach. He absolutely refused to breakdown here and now! He could get through this! He could get out there and give one hell of a performance!

He just needed to move.

“Yura.”

He glanced around until his eyes found Otabek. His friend’s expression was as stoic as ever but Yuri knew him well enough read between the lines. There was no pity found in Otabek’s gaze, just the certainty that no matter what Yuri would give it his all. That he would soldier through.

“Davai.”

Yuri took a deep breath and then gave Otabek a thumbs up.

“It’s time,” Yakov said.

Yuri nodded and began walking toward the rink. He had a medal to win.  

The next night found Yuri kicking the locker room wall and muttering insults under his breath. He honestly didn’t mind losing gold to Otabek but he lost silver to Seung-gil?! What the hell?!

“Between the gold from France and this bronze, your spot at the finals is secure,” Yakov stated from behind him, “You’ll do better there.”

Yuri glared at an invisible point. “I will.”

Hours later Yuri knocked on a hotel door. It took a minute for it to open and reveal Otabek. Seeing Yuri, he opened the door wider and shifted aside. Yuri walked right in and immediately sprawled on the couch.

“I’ve sat on more comfortable benches.”

Otabek simply nodded before nudging Yuri so that he’d make room. Yuri grumbled but complied. Then Otabek just waited for the rant he knew was coming.

“Yakov didn’t even lecture me! He always lectures me after I skate!”

“He’s trying to be sensitive.”

“Well, it’s weird! I don’t want him tip-toeing around me!”

Otabek hummed in response.

“It’s bad enough that Katsudon and Viktor keep calling to check on me,” he continued with a grimace, “Bleh! I swear if Lilia goes easy on me when we get back to St. Petersburg I’ll kick someone.”

Otabek’s mouth tugged up ever so slightly, unnoticeable to everyone but those that knew him best.

“Not Lilia,” he said.

Yuri gave him an incredulous look. “Hell no! I don’t have a death wish!”

There was a beat of quiet as his word choice sank in. Then Yuri rolled off the couch and ended up face down on the floor.

“The carpet is more comfortable than that stupid couch. Someone should complain to the hotel.”

“I’ll be sure to mention it,” Otabek replied, his voice so flat that it was impossible to tell if he were joking or not.

“Good.” Yuri pushed himself back up and leaned against the couch. “We’re still going to Beijing Zoo before the exhibition show tomorrow, right.”

Otabek nodded. “You’d disown me if I tried to back out.”

“Damn right I would.” His eyes suddenly went wide like he remembered something important. “Oh! Watch this.”    

Yuri then pulled out his phone and swiped until he found the video he wanted. Otabek leaned over Yuri’s shoulder as he started the video. It was of a young girl skating with familiar movements.

“The kid you mentioned?”

“Yeah. Yakov’s friend sent the video yesterday,” Yuri answered, “Would you believe she’s only been formally training for less than two months?”

Otabek watched to the end before replying, “Then she has overwhelming natural talent.”

“Right!”

The students were gathering their things and trailing out the door when Vera’s phone started playing Allegro Appassionato in B minor. The teacher gave her a disapproving look but couldn’t say anything since it was time to leave. Vera stuck her tongue out once the teacher glanced away. She then unlocked her phone to see a text:

Vera let out an excited noise that earned her a few odd looks from her classmates. She didn’t notice though as she quickly gathered her stuff and zipped up her coat. Then she was out the door.

The air outside was chill; and, the ground was damp from it drizzling earlier in the day. Vera’s breath turned to mist as she glanced around. It didn’t take long to spot Yuri. He was leaning against the fence with his hoodie pulled over his head and scrolling through his phone.

“Yuri!”

He looked up as she sprinted over to him.

“Didn’t you just get back from China? I watched your programs!”

“We got back a few days ago,” he replied, “Come on. Yakov will yell if we’re late.”

Yuri began walking down the sidewalk; and, Vera had to practically jog to keep up with his long strides. She filled the walk with questions about his trip. While Yuri was happy to answer general questions about China, his replies about the competition itself were short and sharp. Vera fell silent after a few minutes.

It didn’t take much longer for the building to come into sight; its sign had ‘Sports Champions Club’ spelled out around the flag. There were a few people milling outside the entrance but they weren’t dressed to skate or workout. Yuri suddenly stopped in his tracks. Vera stopped a step later and looked back at him questioningly.

“Da-” He glanced at Vera and made an annoyed sound. “Tch. Can’t the reporters let me train in peace.”

Since they had yet to notice him, Yuri grabbed Vera’s hand and started walking.

“We’ll sneak past them and go through the back.”

He led her around the side of the building to an ‘employees only’ door. Either someone had left it unlocked or it’d been purposely left that way for this situation. Whichever reason, they were able to get inside without any issues.

Once they’d passed through a storage area, they entered the main lobby. Vera blinked as she took everything in. It was large but not overly crowded; just a few employees going about their work and a group of men with hockey shirts talking to each other. An employee greeted Yuri and gave Vera a curious look but everyone else ignored them.

They entered the rink then. Only Mila (THE Mila Babicheva!) was on the ice, spinning and jumping as she practiced what Vera recognized as her short program for the season.

“Woah.”

“There you are!” Coach Feltsman shouted.

Yuri joined his coach by the ice, while Vera trailed behind him. He began stretching as he replied, “There are reporters out front again.”

“It’s because you refused interviews after the Cup of China.”

“They can stay out of it,” he replied darkly.

“You won’t be able to dodge them forever.”

Vera, feeling a little lost by their argument, went back to watching Mila skate. How cool was it that she would be sharing a rink with both Yuri Plisetsky AND Mila Babicheva, if only for a day?

Mila’s short program practice run soon ended. She glided over and grabbed a water bottle, listening while Coach Feltsman critiqued. However, she soon spotted Vera and leaned over the rink wall.

“So this is the little kitten you’ve adopted, Yuri,” she said with a wide grin.

Vera blinked. “Kitten?”

“Shut up, hag!”

“I can still lift you.”

Yuri groaned in annoyance. Mila turned back to Vera.

“What’s your name?”

“Vera Kotova.”

“Kotova, huh?” She laughed. “See, she is a kitten.”

Yuri rolled his eyes and went to put on his skates, grumbling all the while. Mila continued smiling after him.

“…Um,” Vera said as she tapped Mila’s arm to get her attention, “You’re my favorite female skater.”

Mila stared at her a moment before shouting, “Yuri! Yakov! We’re keeping her!”  

Yakov just shook his head at his students’ antics. “Mila, work on that step sequence again. Yuri, warm up.”

Mila returned to skating, while Yuri finished lacing his skates and went to the opposite side of the rink. Vera stood there not sure what she should do until Coach Feltsman snapped at her.

“What are you waiting for? Stretch and then get your skates on.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

It wasn’t long before she too was on the ice, working on basic drills before she moved on to practicing her jumps. Maybe it was because she had been watching Yuri and Mila practice out of the corner of her eye but a thought suddenly popped into her mind: What if she tried a double?

With that idea urging her on, Vera jumped higher and spun faster. A full rotation… 540 degrees… a full 720 degrees! Vera’s heart leapt in excitement for a split second. Then her blade landed wrong. She tried to counter-balance but it was too late. She hit the ice with a solid thump.

“Ow.”

The sound of blades gliding to a stop echoed in her ear. When Vera looked up, both Yuri and Mila were staring down at her in mild concern.

“I’m okay,” she said as she scrambled up.

“Vera!” Coach Feltsmen yelled from the side of the rink, “Have you been given permission to start practicing doubles yet?”

Vera glanced down guilty. “…No.”

The coach’s frown deepened, while Mila snickered.

“You fit right in.”

Vera blushed at the compliment.

“You botched the landing because your foot was angled sloppily,” Yuri commented.

She nodded and then glanced back over at Coach Feltsman with pleading eyes. “Can I try again?”

He stared at her a moment before answering, “We might as well see if you can manage a half decent double salchow before practice is over.”  

[nerdishfeels]

Third time lucky- Kaider Fanfic

Hey guys! So I promised @channary that I was gonna write her a Kaider Fanfic. And here it is! This is kinda inspired by the crime au headcannon I had written for tlc which I previously posted on my blog. Enjoy! ——

He was going to do it. 

Kai promised himself he would do it this time.

For the past two New Year Eve parties, Kai had lost the nerve to tell Cinder his true feelings. The first party Cinder hadn’t attended but the second one, she did. And he blew it. 

It was annoying the hell out of him. 

He never understood why he was so nervous. He had made countless speeches to the press and even addressed his colleagues with a natural air of authority. But still, his nerves clung to him like an unwanted guest whenever he was near Cinder.

He had always liked Cinder; he always admired her strength and spunk. She had had a rough time with the discrimination from her other colleagues. Yet he never understood why. Cinder being a cyborg never bothered him. He’d warned them to lay off her, but of course, they never listened to him. After all, he was the ‘kid who became head of the NBPD department because of his father dying’. 

From then, they both had each other’s backs and soon, they both earned the respect they deserved. 

His colleagues’ cheers erupted into his mind, bringing him back to reality. 

He shook his head as he watched a group of them punch each other’s shoulders. 

He had invited his whole department for another New Years Eve party. Sadly, Jacin and Winter couldn’t attend- they had plans of their own- and neither could Scarlet and Wolf. Despite their urge for a break, they were still undercover, following the lead of a recently discovered mutant soldier.

But the ones he tolerated had come. And they were still as reckless as ever. Once, they had smashed his antique vase after brawling with each other. That vase was his father’s favourite. 

He had subtly warned them of their jobs this time round. But even with the limited alcohol available, you simply couldn’t change some people. 

Music blared in his living room. Men and women ate and drank, giggled and chatted. Some people attempted to dance too- not that Kai could watch them without smirking. As Kai made his way through the crowd, he greeted some people and pulled awkward smiles at the leers he received from the women. 

Kai stopped on the threshold, glancing outside his front door in the distance. Cinder still hadn’t come. She never had an interest in parties until Kai forced her to come. He hoped she would come this time too. 

‘Hey, bua-ss.’

Kai turned to his left to find Thorne approaching him. He stood before him with his typical smirk. 

‘You can call me Kai, you know.’

'I know but I’ve always wanted to say that such I was a kid. So, “boss”, are you waiting for a certain someone? You’re doing that puppy eye look again.' 

Kai laughed. 

'I’m not… Am I?’ Kai asked, his anxiety growing. 

Thorne held Kai by his shoulders. 

'Relax. That’s a good thing. Makes you more attractive towards the ladies. Though i am jealous how easily you can do it. I had to master mine,’ Thorne said, almost to himself. 

Kai removed Thorne’s hands and shoved his sweaty hands in his pockets.

'Do you know where Cinder is? Did Cress tell you anything?’ Kai asked. 

Thorne shrugged. 

'Cress told me Iko was practically dragging Cinder to this party. Iko also hinted that you should be prepared tube blown away. Cress hasn’t arrived with them either so this must be one hell of a surprise.' 

Thorne raised his eyebrows mischievously. 

Kai smiled before frowning. 

'Wait, does everyone know about my feelings for Cinder?' 

'Yup. This is old news really. Though betting on whether you’ll tell Cinder or not never does get old. And I’m on a winning streak,’ Thorne grinned as he took a swig of his cocktail.

Kai glared at Thorne with disbelief. 

Thorne swallowed abruptly. He grinned sheepishly. 

'I did bet you would tell her this time. Sorry boss,’ Thorne apologised, rubbing the nape of his neck. 

A shrill of delight sounded from the door. 

Kai straightened up as he saw Iko waltzing in. Her blue braided hair danced over her shoulders, a choker on her neck. She wore a matching silky lilac top and fitted dress. Her stomach peeked out in between. 

Behind her, Cress walked in, pulling on her fur scarf that draped around her shoulders. Her blonde hair was tightly curled, bouncing with her movement. She wore a red frock that hugged at her waist and flowed out. Cress consciously tucked a strand behind her ear. 

Thorne choked on his drink and drank her instead with his eyes. Kai patted Thorne’s shoulder with a smirk. At least he wasn’t the only one mesmerised by a 'certain someone’. 

And then it was Kai’s turn to slack his jaw. 

Cinder strolled into the hallway, rubbing her bare arms. 

Her burgundy, short dress draped over her right shoulder and along her arm, leaving her left shoulder bare. It then carved her figure perfectly down, bringing out her beautifully rounded hips. It stopped at her knees, revealing her cyborg leg and high heels.

Her hair was bundled up in a bun, two sticks protruding it. Her eyes caught Kai’s, a smile spreading across her face as she clasped her clutch with both hands. 

Kai’s heart fluttered. He ignored Thorne’s and Iko’s sniggers and waited for Cinder to approach him. 

'Hey.’ She greeted. 

Kai swallowed and recovered his voice before greeting her back. 

'You look… amazing.’ Kai breathed out.

Cinder blushed, touching her hair. 

'Thanks. If it wasn’t for Iko, I would have been totally underdressed.' 

'Luckily you had me to glam you up! Great party you have here, Boss!’ Iko exclaimed, nodding her head to the music. 

'Thank you, Iko. And please, call me Kai. Hope you enjoy yourself!’ Kai called as Iko followed the source of the music. 

'You’re quite a sight yourself,’ Cinder complimented, taking in his black, open- collared shirt and matching black trousers. 

Kai ran a hand through his hair. 

Thorne wrapped his hand around Cress’s and turned to Kai and Cinder. 

'Cress and I are going to go show off some moves. Want me to get ya a drink, Cinder?’

When Cinder shook her head, Thorne dragged Cress away and danced with her on the dance floor.

Who would have thought the guy who was always held upside down, drinking from a huge keg, was now sober and dancing with a girl that held his complete attention.

Kai smiled.

'He’s changed, hasn’t he?’ Cinder’s question shook him from his reverie.

'He sure has. It’s good to see someone can control that guy. Other than you, of course,’ Kai remarked, inclining his head to her. 

Cinder let out an exasperated sigh. 

'I know. It is tiring, babysitting Thorne. But he is the one guy who stood by me despite me being “different”. Other than you, of course,’ Cinder repeated, nudging his shoulder. 

A wide grin spread across his face. He savoured the touch. 

Cinder glanced at the bustling crowd. Kai noticed her rub her arms again. 

Kai touched her arm and leaned near her ear. 

'Do you want to go somewhere quiet?' 

Cinder nodded. 

'I’m sorry. I can never get used to this kind of environment. Iko, on the other hand..' 

Kai followed Cinder’s gaze. 

Iko shimmied with Cress on the dance floor, both of them miming the words to the music. Thorne joined in. 

Cinder and Kai exchanged laughs. 

Holding onto her hand, his other hand stuck in his pocket, Kai guided her through the crowd. Kai noticed several approving glances from the men as they stalked Cinder with their eyes. 

Kai countered them with a stern look of his own, repelling their glances. 

Kai guided her up the stairs to his room where a large balcony stood in the distance. He opened the doors, embracing the welcoming of the calming breeze. 

He let go of Cinder’s hand as she trailed over and held the railing. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. 

A smile tugged at her lips. 

Kai leaned his back against the railing, with a smile of his own. 

Cinder opened her eyes and sighed. 

'You have a great view by the way. I wish I had a view like this!’ Cinder exclaimed. 

'Well, you can always come up here. It’s great. Especially at night.' 

Cinder smirked.

'Are you giving me unlimited access to your bedroom?' 

Kai bit his tongue. His cheeks flushed. 

'Yes. I meant no. You know, like whenever you want to hang out or need somewhere to relax…’ Kai trailed off as Cinder suppressed a cute chuckle.

Kai laughed along. 

He ran a hand through his hair. 

'You know what I mean.' 

Cinder nodded, her cheeks tainted pink. 

They both glanced at the vast view of New Beijing. 

'So… Do you have any New Year resolutions?’ Cinder asked. She interlocked her hands together. 

To be with you, Kai thought. He moved the thought to the side. 

'I don’t know. I usually don’t make any. Sometimes life has something else planned for you,’ Kai said, his voice growing low. 

He thought about his father. 

Cinder planted her hand on his. Kai side-glanced at her. 

'You know, for being the youngest head of the NBPD, you’ve done a pretty good job. It couldn’t have been easy, having to deal with some hard-headed people. But you did. And your father would be proud of you,’ Cinder said, a sympathetic look on her face. 

A spark lit in his heart. 

Kai planted his hand on hers. 

'Thank you.' 

Kai cleared his throat. 

'What about you?' 

Cinder stared at him blankly before remembering her question. 

'Oh, I used to.’ A small smile played on her lips.

'Every new year, my sister would drag me to the window where we would watch the new year fireworks. She would always ask me what my new year resolutions were.

And when I didn’t have any, she would always say with a wide, toothed grin, “To find someone who would love me.” She also wished the same for me. Someone who would love every part of me.' 

Cinder lowered her eyes. 

Kai noticed her eyelashes grow glittery with tears in the moonlight. 

His mind thought back to when Cinder had previously mentioned her sister, Peony. How she had also died from the letumosis disease Levana had spread across the city. His heart ached.

'She never got to fulfill her wish. And I’m not sure I’ll fulfill her wish to me.’

Cinder stopped, clearing the emotion from her throat. 

Kai swallowed. He had to tell her. He couldn’t keep it in anymore. 

Kai faced her and held her hands in his. 

Cinder gazed up at him with her moistened eyes. 

'I’m sorry about your sister. It’s not easy losing someone you love. I cannot imagine how hard it must have felt being an outsider because you are a cyborg. But I want you to know that you do have people who love you. Very much.' 

Cinder stared at him, her eyes more focused. Kai shook back the nerves that threatened to ruin his moment. 

'I mean, you have Iko… And me,’ He whispered. 

Relief flooded through him. 

Cinder’s eyes widened. 

Kai took a step closer to her. 

'Cinder. I have always admired you ever since you came to work for me. I loved how courageous and strong you were under the heat of the job. When you stood by me that day when everyone else didn’t, I knew… You were the one who I want by my side. Not only professionally but personally. 

'I don’t care if you are a cyborg or if we work together. I… I want to be with you. And I will love every part of you. Always. I love you,’ Kai whispered. 

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. 

Cinder smiled with the corner of her mouth. 

'It’s about time. I thought you would never say it.' 

Kai creased his forehead. He sighed.

'You knew?' 

Cinder touched his nose with hers, her hands gently gripping his collars. 

'I had my suspicions. And Thorne with his obvious hints made it concrete.’

Kai sighed heavily. 

'I’m-' 

Cinder pressed her lips against his. She dropped her clutch bag, her free hands creeping into his hair. Kai held her closer, feeling her warmth melt into him. 

He pulled the sticks from her hair, letting it unravel onto her back. His fingers played with her hair. 

Muffled voices counting down numbers sounded from below. 

They pulled apart reluctantly, their eyes closed briefly before opening.  

Cinder wrapped her arms around his neck. 

'Any last wishes before we enter the new year?' 

Kai grinned. 

He rested his hands on her hips. 

'I’ve already got my wish,’ He answered, stealing another kiss from her before they both joined the countdown.

On cue, fireworks sparkled across the night sky. 

Kai heard Cinder gasp as she realised that the fireworks were shaped into words. 

“I love you, Cinder”, it read. 

Cinder smiled widely and kissed his cheek. 

She interlocked her fingers with his. 

'I love you too,’ she said. 

As they watched the fireworks, Thorne snuck away from the room, pumping his fist with triumph.

'Third time lucky!’ He beamed to himself.