#hes trying to help her in her bakery but um whoops

[invisibleraven]

Haunted Holidays

December 24: Fairy Lights <-AO3 link!

“I know you’re disappointed, I am too,” Julie said down the phone line. “But the ticket prices are just way too high to afford coming home this year.”

“I’m more than happy to pay mija, you know that,” Ray replied.

“No, I can’t ask you to do that,” Julie chided. “Look, I know it sucks that we’ll be apart for Christmas, but that means I have months to save up and come home for the whole summer next year, okay?”

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come?” Ray asked. “I don’t want you to spend the holidays alone.”

“I won’t be alone,” Julie assured him. “Reggie is stuck here too, and we’re going to have a nice, quiet Christmas together. But we’ll video chat for presents on Christmas morning, and it’ll be almost as good as me being there, okay?”

“You try telling your tia that,” Ray grumbled. “I’m sure she’ll call you later telling you to come home too.”

“Next year, I promise,” Julie vowed. “Te amo papi.”

Ray repeated the sentiment, and Julie ended the phone call with a sigh. Reggie offered her a cup of coffee, which she took with thanks. “Your folk take it any better?” she asked.

The tips of Reggie’s ears burned. “Oh um, I wasn’t planning on telling them? They don’t care if I come home or not-this will be one less thing to fight over. I usually spend the holidays with my MeeMaw, but she gets that the flights aren’t cheap. I’ll see her over spring break if I can.”

Julie flung her head back with a groan. “Man, why does everything have to be so expensive?”

“Capitalism?”

“Fuck Capitalism!” Julie proclaimed. Reggie bumped fists with her at that, and then they looked around their barren little apartment. “Won’t be much of a Christmas, but at least we’re together.”

Reggie hummed. “I’m sure we could go find a few cheap decorations and a second hand tree if we looked.”

“I unfortunately have a shift in an hour, so I can’t help with that,” Julie replied. “But feel free to look around, and if you find anything decent, let me know how much I owe you.”

Reggie gave a mock salute, and soon saw her off to work while he decided to hit the thrift stores. He had honestly never really cared about Christmas, but he knew it stung Julie to not be able to spend the time with her family, so for her, he was willing to go all out.

The next few days were rinse and repeat, with them working, and Reggie finding them decor, while Julie agreed to handle the food. It wouldn’t be anything fancy, but it would be better than nothing.

The morning of Christmas Eve, Julie rushed out of the apartment, with Reggie promising it would be fully decked when she came home. She had volunteered to pick up a shift today , since the tips would be good, and she could add them to her going home fund for next year. Or maybe pay Reggie back because she knew he spent more than he was admitting to on the holiday decor.

Of course the day dragged on, and Julie swore no amount of tips made it worth it-even if she could now swing by the bakery and pick up a tray of pastry for dessert. Plus a Santa cookie, just because.

Julie rushed home, almost giddy to see what Reggie had done with the space, and to have a few days free. Sure, it sucked not to be going home, but she had to make the best of a bad situation right? She kicked her boots off at the door, calling out “Reg! I’m…home?”

The space was filled with fairy lights, strung from the ceiling, the cupboards, around the windows. “Oh wow.” There was a tree in the corner, decked out with little decorations of red, purple, and gold. A laptop was set up at the coffee table playing a crackling fire, with soft music coming from it. There was garland and tinsel and holly everywhere, but in a tasteful way, not just flung over every surface.

“Hey, you like it?” Reggie asked, grinning from beneath a ridiculous pair of antlers he was wearing on a headband, a small red dot painted on the tip of his nose.

“Reggie… this is magical!” Julie said, setting her things down so she could hug him, whooping as he spun them around. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble!”

“Yes I did,” Reggie assured her as he set her down. “I know you’re bummed you couldn’t get home, so I had to make your holiday season as amazing as you.”

“Well I love it!” she declared. “Let me get my stuff off and I’ll start cooking, we can put on a movie, have a good snuggle.”

“Sounds like a perfect Christmas to me,” Reggie said. “As long as we can wear our holiday jammies too.”

“Well d’uh.”

Julie hadn’t gone all out for the food for tonight-just some fish tacos, but she had a small chicken for the two of them for tomorrow. Plus it would last days, so they could survive on leftovers for a few days. They ate quickly, then met back up with cocoa to snuggle while watching Love Actually-a favourite of Julie’s, and only because she had won the thumb wrestling match and narrowly beat out Reggie’s choice of Gremlins.

“At least you didn’t suggest Die Hard,” Julie said.

“I mean, it is a great movie, but it’s not a Christmas movie,” Reggie said. “You should be more happy I didn’t suggest the Star Wars Holiday Special.”

“Ugh nope!” Julie declared. “I’ve seen enough clips of that to ban it from our home.”

“What if I tickle you into agreeing?” Reggie asked with an arch of his eyebrow before pouncing, making Julie squeal as he assaulted her sides with his fingers, making her cackle with laughter.

“Stop! I give!” Julie declared, breathing heavily, flat on her back on the couch, Reggie perched over her, smiling down and a little winded. The fairy lights everywhere gave him such a golden glow, and Julie reached out, tucking some of his hair back. Sucking in a breath as he caught her hand, kissing the centre of her palm.

“Julie…”

Eyes met, and there was no more need for words, as Julie pulled him down for a kiss-a real, passionate, fiery kiss that had Julie whimpering into it and Reggie’s toes curling in his festive socks. A kiss that ramped up and then slowly petered off as they needed to breathe, pulling back with wide eyes and racing hearts. “Wow,” Reggie whispered. “Didn’t even need to break out the mistletoe.”

“You never needed mistletoe with me,” Julie promised him. “I never needed any of this.”

“I swear if you quote Mariah Carey at me,” Reggie fake threatened, but grinned as Julie pulled him in close once more, nipping at his ear, which made him gasp.

“I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know…” she purred.

“Oh darlin’, I swear, I’ll make all your wishes come true,” Reggie declared, scooping her up from the couch. “Just lead the way, and I’m yours.”

“My room then,” Julie declared, laughing as Reggie trotted them off.

Sure she hadn’t gotten to go home to her family that year, but Julie didn’t really care at that moment, because she finally got what she really wanted for Christmas all along. And the next year, she got to bring him home with her, and every year after that as well.

[garrotejima]

He isn't a baker. A cook, maybe, what with his delectable servings of scrambled gangsters and hand-tossed clowns, but concocting those insta-worthy cakepops of hers? Well... Perhaps not, not as that batter erupts through her cute and dainty little kitchen. Oh, good grief. Idly, Majima licks some clean off his lips. "Heh, ain't half bad. Oughta make me today's special, chef, whatddya think?"

@cvpidgalore​, I’M ENOUGH TO GIVE YA CAVITIES, SWEETHEART!

[idjitlili]

Oh no, all the hobbits Aragorn.

Aragorn x reader.

Request for Thatfoolishhuman 'I would love an Aragorn imagine! Could you do one where the Mc is a healer (like, she can make wounds disappear with her hands.) and she patches Aragorn up after a battle and he falls in love with how gentle she is.'

Summary: Imagine being apart of the fellowship, being Gandalf's niece , you learn some stuff from him whether he liked it or not. Basically following the fellowship in secret from Rivendell, until you slipped up.

A/n: Arwen and Aragorn aren't together in this imagine, he still grew up with Elrond. A pitch is a piggyback ride it's the original name for it. Totally didn’t make a meme for this

Word count:2253

Warnings: I'm British, so spelling for certain words differs, such as grey, colour, among other words, don't be mad please.

Growing up around a wizard, especially Gandalf the grey, you learnt a lot. He just left books laying around, books full of spells. Of course Gandalf wasn't really related to you, but he might as well have been. Your parents travelled a lot, so you ended up being around Gandalf most of your childhood.

Gandalf had taught you some basic spells, nothing major, healing spells mostly, children are clumsy. It was no secret your parents didn't like you running through the forests, saying it was too dangerous , general protectiveness, you guess. Many times they proved that they were right, many times you had fallen into traps left for animals. You would've probably bled out, if it wasn't for Gandalf.

Still living with your parents, no longer a child, not knowing what you wanted to do, you parents wanted you to go work in the local bakery, not wanting you to travel around like they did, dangerous times with black riders frequently on the road and such. But of course you didn't want a simple life.

Again your parents had left on business, this time you didn't go to Gandalf's house, you had maybe listened in, when going to visit Frodo , only to see Samwise Gamgee listening under the window. You know how it goes, Gandalf caught him, not you.

You ended up following Frodo, Sam , Merry and Pippin. Life is boring, might as well take a risk, you longed for adventure, like the mister Bilbo. 

Surprisingly the elves had not even noticed you at Rivendell, actually not surprising Gandalf had brought you there many times, so they probably thought you were with him. You had waited in the trees outside Rivendell's gates, for them. 

You hadn't know what was actually going on , or whether there would actually be a quest, but to your lucky there was. Not really lucky for Boromir though... soon enough Frodo and Gandalf had emerged along with 7 others.

You weren't noticed for a long time considering, Frodo's fault completely, when Frodo had fallen down the mountain in the snow, you had been hiding not so great in the snow, and of course Frodo landed facing you. While Aragorn had rushed back to Frodo, Frodo's face was laced with confusion as he stared at you.

"Y/n...?" Frodo had stood up, not realising he had dropped the ring, you rising with your backpack and coat one, with the snow littering your hair.  Aragorn had just stared too moving towards Frodo, carefully, the others travelling down to see what was going on.

"Oh, Frodo!  What are you doing here? I was just out to get some milk for my dinner." Standing calf deep in snow, freezing, yet your facing burning with embarrassment.

"I was wondering when you'd reveal yourself." Gandalf chuckling , of course he knew you were there, but what you didn't know was that Gollum had been not even three feet away from you..  Gandalf had turned back grabbing the ring from Boromir and launching it at Frodo, like he was Michael Jordan.

"Gandalf who is this?" Gimli of all of the fellowship had questioned you, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

"Y/n is my niece , now come along we don't have all day."

Thus, you were no longer a stalker , but part of the fellowship. Time had passed and you had lost your uncle, but it didn't feel right, you couldn't process his death, so you pretended he just slipped on some bread and was at home resting.

Soon enough you were all heading for Lothlórien, without realising it, you had stayed close to Legolas at this moment, mostly to bug him.

"If elves are so great, then how didn't you notice me? For all you know I could've been watching you pee, I wasn't but I could've been.  While you was sleeping I could've chopped your hair off and made a wig. Why do you look like your are apart of a dance routine? Why do you float? How does it feel to have a dick for a father?" Rambling on , you are surprised that Legolas doesn't whoop you, he could've, you wouldn't have been able to do much, you aren't the best person at defence.

You couldn't tell if you was annoying Legolas or not, but Gimli had kept smirking your way, as he stomped through the forest.

"Hey, Legolas? "

"Yes, y/n?" Legolas had sighed , he much preferred Gimli antics.

"Can I have a pitch?" But he had just stared at you, frowning, huffing you had walking around Legolas so you was next to Aragorn. Only for your ankle to roll, making you fall into Aragorn, it didn't necessarily hurt but. Aragorn had grabbed you and placed you back onto your feet.

"Um, Aragorn? You know you much better that Legolas..? Can I have a pitch?" You were undoubtedly attracted Aragorn, come on, he looks like a God. Fuck Thor. He didn't even answer just knelt down, allowing you to grip around his neck, and grab your calf's. Carrying on walking with ease.

Raising your eyebrows and smirking at Legolas behind you, he just never showed any emotion, except in that scene with Haldir , where he just smirks creepily in the background.

You weren't particularly close to anyone in the fellowship other than Frodo and Sam. But when Boromir died, yes it was sad, but where did the hobbits go? You had stayed close to Aragorn as he fought down the Uruk-hai as you hid in a tree. Before lifting you down, rushing to dying Boromir.

"They took the little ones,"

"Be still."

"Frodo! Where is Frodo?"

"I let Frodo go."

"Then you did what I could not. I tried to take the Ring from him."

Kneeling next to Boromir, "The hobbits Aragorn, but we shall get them back." Boromir was too far gone to be saved, the wrong brother died sadly. Boromir eyes had met yours once more , as he smiled , before he finished his speech to his king.

After Boromir was sent home, the fellowship was down to just four, rushing after Merry and Pippin.  "We must hurry! The hobbits Aragorn!" Five minutes of running , and you were already getting a stitch.  This was no time for jokes.

Soon enough Gandalf was alive, and Aragorn was dead, as Théoden had lead you all to helms deep. You had seen Eowyn, oh how heartbroken she was after she found out Aragorn was dead, that bitch knew him for what five minutes, she was already grinding up on him.

You were witch, she was a princess, obviously Aragorn was going to prefer her. Soon enough Aragorn practically marching into helms deep, injured but alive , what's with all the faked deaths.

After Aragorn had done his big speech and everyone had left to get ready for war, you had stayed behind obviously, you didn't want to confront him in front of everyone. "Uh, Aragorn?" You were unsure of yourself, honestly, you can't have a crush on a king. You swear kings have bad hair, lucky Aragorn didn't , look at the British royal family.. now that's embarrassing.

Aragorn had turned Aragorn to face you, waiting for you to speak, he definitely didn't fall from heaven, the Valar decided to test him by shoving him off a cliff.

"Um, I was wondering if I c-could help with those wounds, um, I didn't know if you needed help?" You were sure that your face was probably flushed red, it would be surprising if he could even understand you , as you stumbled over your own words.

Aragorn had nodded , before sitting down near by.  Grabbing the king foil out of your bag , along with other healing herbs, Aragorn had removed his jacket and undone some of the buttons on his tunic. Bringing a stool in front of Aragorn for you to sit.  You weren't about to chew up the kings foil,  tearing it up before trying to gently apply it to the huge gash across his chest.

A small groan had emerged from his lips as you had placed a piece kings foil to the gash too harshly. "Sorry." Looking into Aragorn's bright eyes , for a spilt second before going back to gently placing the kings foil. Aragorn stops you , by grabbing your wrist , not with force, making you look back up at him.

"Do not be sorry, I just fell off a cliff, I've been through worse." A smile reassuring smile plant on his face, but you can only think what is worse than falling off a cliff.

"Okay, sorry, I mean I'm not sorry, you are very intelligent or a king, there's warg! Let's go fight our enemy on the edge of a cliff. Um, actually that's embarrassing because I fell down a well because a owl scared me, I was stuck down there for hours, and then Gandalf found me and used a bucket to get me out. I had to sit in the bucket while he pulled it up."

Aragorn had let go of your wrist , allowing you to continue as you spoke, "you have not changed."

"Pardon?" Aragorn was smiling down at you as your eyebrows scrunched together.

" Last week I saw leaf , hit you in the back of your neck, you jumped three feet in the air." Your face flushed again, as you tried to contain a smile, as Aragorn laughed at you.

"I did not, that was not a leaf, it was a snake!"

"A green round snake, I believe you , y/n" you had stopped applying the kings foil, to put your head between your nerves , to hide your face in embarrassment . "It was a deformed snake."

"Last month, you skidded in mud and fell flat on your back, when Legolas put his hand on your shoulder briefly. Or when you kicked Boromir's cock when he was try-" sitting back up to look at Aragorn.

"You are right, next time it will be you that I will kick." Aragorn could not have shut his legs quicker, making you laugh at him, "I'll have to start wearing a shield."

"Never know when I'll strike, your balls are going to be deformed." Aragorn had gasped at you, as you brought your hand other his wound beginning to heal him as you chanted quietly.

"Such foul language, Gandalf would not approve." Looking up to Aragorn with a small smile, placing your other hand on his shoulder softly, to stop him from moving.  Really the healing didn't take very long, the cut left a blood stain though.  "Stay there," (or you get unprofessional neutering.) Grabbing the water pouch from your bag, and piece of cloth.

Before returning to sit in front of Aragorn with the damp cloth, wiping off the dried blood gently.  You couldn't help but feel like you had done something good today, you got to heal ,clean an very attractive man stopping his wound from getting infected and him dying. 

Plus,he's Aragorn, who wouldn't want to touch his chest.   As you finished, you had look down for your pouch, only to see how blood his hands were. Lifting his hand up to examine it, no way you were a doctor. " How have you not gotten infection? All that Orc blood going into your open wounds." Again having to heal all the  little cuts and slices on his hands.

It was no secret to Aragorn that he had developed a like for you, from the moment Frodo saw you sticking out in the snow like a mole heap.

“Tis the best you are going to be, after this battle you will covered again. Legolas probably glide through here, any minute asking where his beloved is.” Both of you standing up, grabbing your bag, you had leant up to press a kiss to Aragorns cheek, before turning away to head to where the woman and children were, Gandalf’s orders.

Aragorn had stopped you again, by the shoulder, causing you to turn back around. “Y/n, thank you. May I ask for something else?” Aragorns eyes looking into your e/c ones

softly, you had nodded. “Would you accept me courtship?” You had just pressed your lips slow onto his before pulling away.

The door was quickly opened “ARAGORN!” Legolas glided into the room, rushing towards you and Aragorn. Sighing “your beloved is here,” Legolas was stood between both of you, you had to walk around him, to wrap your arms around Aragorn,briefly embracing, before pulling away.

Legolas just stared, “I’m not hugging you too, leg a less, that’s what your name would be if you had no legs, because your legs aragorn”

[paper-chain-queen]

The Bake Sale * Yuki Soma X Reader

I know I’ve been kind of MIA. Just been caught up in a lot but I do want to get back to posting one shots and short stories now and then. I’ve had this sitting around, practically finished since early Summer. Just got distracted and kind of forgot about it... whoops XD

This is just a little something I thought would be cute :) hope you enjoy

Summary: Kakeru decided that he needs to be a good wingman and his best plan? Lie to the girl that Yuki keeps staring at about a bake sale that’s in need of cookies.

Also a huge thank you to @bubblegumnnebula​ for reaching out to me with such kind words of encouragement and reading this one over before I posted <3

Rating: Teen

Words: 5,000+

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.

.

The first week of the new school year and soft pink petals fell like snow in the courtyard. First-year student Sohma Yuki was finally able to find some space from groups of giggling girls as he carried his lunch in one hand, looking for a spot. 

“That’s not much of a lunch.” A matter-of-fact voice spoke out, and it made Yuki slightly jump as he looked over and saw a cute girl looking at the single rice ball he had bought for the convenience store last night. 

“Oh. Um. I guess I never really learned how to make myself lunch.” Yuki admitted, slightly embarrassed, but the girl just smiled, and Yuki felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Well I’ve got lots! Come on.” The girl took him by the hand and started heading to a tree were a few other students were hanging out. 

“By the way. I’m (l/n) (f/n). From class 1-B. Nice to meet you.” 

“Sohma Yuki. It’s nice to meet you too.” 

“Where is Nabe-Kun?” Another student asked as he raised a brow at Yuki, who clearly wasn’t ‘Nabe-Kun.’ 

“He stole my pudding cup and ran off! But look, a fellow first year!” (y/n) cheered as if she made some great discovery. 

It was a group of people he had never seen, but he looked over at the girl who had all but pulled him over was smiling at him. She wasn’t blushing and giggling like all the other girls. 

(l/n) (y/n) was just treating him like he was just another student, welcoming him into her group of friends like it was the simplest thing in the world. 

He still felt anxious about the new school and worried about by mistake exposing the curse in a school full of girls. But there seemed to be kind people who only wanted to sit and enjoy the sunshine and good company. Even with all of Yuki’s fears about the new experience, he looked over at the girl who had befriended, and she was happily chatting away with her friend before turning back to him. 

She was just smiling at him, offering him a tart pastry from her yellow bento and saying that he was free to take whatever he wanted. A smile as warm the sun, and Yuki felt his heartbeat quicken as he joined the small group and took part in their lunch.  

Yuki brought the desert to his mouth and timidly bit into it. He was with a burst of flavour and quickly devoured the treat that was a hundred times better than anything that could be bought in a store. 

The boy was looking forward to spending more time at school, with people who were kind and shared their lunches. Perhaps even make friends with people with warm smiles. 

. 

. 

 * year and a half later*

“Have a good weekend!” A cheery voice called out to a few girls who were on their way out. 

“You too (y/n)-chan!”  

2nd-year student (l/n) (y/n) waved to the girls before checking her phone. Something made her giggle to herself before pressing a few buttons and slipping the phone into her school bag. 

“What are you looking at, Yun-Yun?” Vice student council president Kakeru Manabe asked as he tried to follow the popular boy’s eye line. 

“Huh, oh um, nothing.” 

Kakeru looked over to where the school’s Prince had been looking, and there stood a fellow classmate. (L/n) (Y/n) from Kakeru’s class slipped on her shoes while putting away her school slippers. 

“YO! (l/n)-Chan!” The energetic boy yelled out to the girl who looked over at the boys. 

“What are-” Yuki tried to stop his VP, but he’d already skipped over to the girl and started up a conversation, throwing his arm casually over her shoulder, and they seemed to be close. Yuki battled with himself on whether to walk over and smack the boy upside his head. 

Kakeru said something which made the girl laugh sweetly, and Yuki couldn’t help but glare. 

What are they talking about? 

The Vice President looked back over at Yuki and waved him over, and the grey-haired boy suddenly felt very nervous. Yuki let out a sigh and walked over, hoping that no one would notice his sweaty palms. 

“This is our president, Sohma Yun-Yun.” This earned Kakeru a cold glare from Yuki, but his eyes widened when he heard the girl’s light giggling.  

“Ah, we’ve actually met before. But nice to see you, Sohma-San. I’m from 2-A’s class with Nabe-Kun (l/n) (y/n).” She bowed, and Yuki mimicked, trying to fight back the urge to deck the Vice President for dragging him into this. 

“Prez and I were just talking about a fundraiser for the cultural festival, and we thought maybe a bake sale.” 

“Wait No-” Yuki was about to correct him, but Kakeru brought him into a headlock and covered his mouth. 

“AND I know that your parents have the best bakery in town, and I thought maybe you could whip up some treats. With the Prez and my help, of course!” Kakeru proposed a broad grin on his face. 

“Sure, I would love to help. I’m working today and tomorrow, but I’m free Sunday if you guys want to come bake. Ah, speaking of work, I’m late. I gotta go, later!” The girl was off, waving to the boys as she speed-walked away before disappearing around the corner. 

Yuki was finally able to break free and brought a fist to the top of Kareku’s head. 

“Why would you do something like that?” Yuki scolded him, but he just gave him a cheesy grin before raising his arms and resting them behind his head. 

“Aww don’t be like that, Yun-Yun, I just thought I would help move things along. You’re always looking at (l/n)-chan.” Kakeru wiggled his eyebrows, and Yuki felt his face go hot. 

“I do NOT!” 

“You do” 

“NOT.” 

“Do too.” 

“DO NOT! Enough I’m outta here.” Yuki angrily put away his school slippers and marched off. 

“Don’t forget about Sunday! I’ll text you her address.” The energetic vice president waved vigorously at the blushing Yuki, who tried to block him out as he marched home. 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- 

The Prince stood in front of a baby blue and white two-story building. It looked like something out of a small European town, a wooded sign in the shape of a bird reading - ‘blue whisk bakery.’ The display window was full of baked goods, from loaves of bread to glazed donuts. 

Just looking at the delicious display made his mouth water. 

“Need something?” A tall man who looked to be in his early twenties, a large crate in one arm, glared down at Yuki, and suddenly, he felt like he was the size of a mouse. 

“I’m... I’m here to see (L/n)-San?” Yuki told him, a little nervous with the way he was looking at him. 

“I’m (L/Y). What do you want?” Yuki was now able to see the slight resemblance between this man and the girl from his school. It was subtle, but it was there. 

The colour of their eyes.... but (y/n) ’s are more...welcoming

“(L/N) (Y/N).” Yuki corrected, feeling smaller and smaller the longer he stood there. 

“She’s not here. Go Away.” 

“Nii-san!” A voice broke through, causing the two boys looked over, and there stood (l/n) (y/n), hands on her hips wearing a baby blue apron with daisies over her simple t-shirt and jeans, her hair up in a ponytail. 

Cute... 

“I don’t remember saying you could have a boyfriend?” The older boy scolded, but the slightly annoyed girl just rolled her eyes. 

“Okay, first of all. Where do you get off telling me that I can’t have a boyfriend? Secondly, He’s not my boyfriend. He’s the student council president, and he’s here to do baking. Remember? I talked about it at dinner last night?” (y/n) explained to him as she put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot.  

The tall man then scoffed and turned away, muttering something incoherent. 

“Fine, whatever. Figured he’s not your boyfriend, he’s almost prettier than you are.” The brother smirked as he kicked her behind the knee lightly, just enough to make her stumble.  

“Just go make your deliveries already, or I’m gonna tell Mom that you’ve been hiding a pet tarantula in your room.” (y/n) threatened, sticking her tongue out at the tall man. Yuki had to slightly turn his head to try and hide a laugh. 

“Alright, alright. I’m out.” the man scoffed before adjusting the crate in his arm before putting it in the back of the bike and driving off. 

“Sorry about him, he’s kind of annoying, but he’s my brother.” The girl apologized as she smiled at Yuki and invited him in. 

Before the two could step in, Yuki’s phone went off, and he excused himself to check it. 

A text from Kakeru -  

‘Can’t make it, sorry! Enjoy your date Yun-Yun. Oh and don’t worry (l/n)-Chan isn’t one of your fangirls XD’-  

“Is something wrong?” (y/n) asked as she noticed that Yuki had stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Kakeru-San can’t make it.” Yuki said through gritted teeth. 

“Oh, is he okay?” She brought her phone to check her texts and seemed to roll her eyes at something. 

He won’t be when I’m done with him 

“He’s fine.” 

“We can do this another day if you want?” (y/n) offered, worrying that maybe it would be uncomfortable with just the two of them. 

“No!” Yuki yelled out a lot louder than he meant to as he reached out and (y/n) widened her eyes a bit. 

“.. I mean.. Um. I wouldn’t want to put you out anymore. We should get on with it.” Yuki quickly rushed out awkwardly. 

“Okay?” (y/n) seemed unsure, and Yuki cursed himself for his poor word choice; his nerves felt like they were all over the place. 

Stepping into the cute bakery, his senses were met with the smell of freshly baked goods. 

“Oh is this the boy?” The woman from behind the counter had just finished helping a customer and turned to the two teens. 

“Sohma-San this is my mother, (mother’s name). Mom, this is Sohma Yuki, my school’s student president.” (y/n) made the introductions while her Mother fixed something on (y/n) ’s apron, fussing as he supposed good mothers did. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you (l/n)-San, thank you for having me in your shop.” Yuki was sure to be polite and bowed to the kind-looking woman who certainly shared many similarities with her daughter. 

“Hello sweetheart, nice to meet you. So exciting that you asked our honey bun for help with a bake sale. She’s been so excited, she was basically vibrating when she told us.” Her Mother teased as she gave the two teens a knowing smile. (y/n) only smiled back, a slight blush on her cheeks. 

“We’ll be in the back. Come get me if you need a hand with anything.” (y/n) told her 

“No need, enjoy yourselves.” 

“Oh, and Yuki-Kun. These cheese and jalapeño scones are delicious. She made them fresh this morning.” The woman grabbed one from under the counter and put it in a small bag before handing it to Yuki. 

“(l/n)-San I couldn’t possibl-” 

“Please, it’s on the house.” she winked; Yuki bowed his head and tucked the baked good in his bag before continuing to the back of the store. 

(y/n) was running around, grabbing containers and placing them at a station in the corner. The back of the bakery was bustling with a few other people working, baking, mixing ingredients and checking the oven for their baked goods. 

It smelt amazing, Yuki felt like he could practically taste the air if he just stuck out his tongue. 

“So what would you like to make?” (y/n) asked as she washed her hands at the sink and gestured for Yuki to do the same. 

“Umm.” 

Yuki wasn’t actually very familiar with sweets and (y/n) had might as been speaking another language because after cookies and cakes, what else was there? 

“We could do cupcakes or cookies? Cream puffs? Eclairs? Macarons? Macaroons? Or maybe even strudel? Oh, how about tarts!?” 

Yuki noticed she sounded a little more excited about the final suggestion. 

“Tarts?” 

“I’m in charge of the pastry shells, so we already have a lot in stock. We would just have to make a filling. Maybe a lemon meringue tart, they’re pretty easy to sell.” 

“........” 

“You’re not very familiar with sweets, are you?” The girl noticed the clearly bewildered look on the Yuki’s face and worried that she had overwhelmed him. 

Yuki just shyly shook his head, feeling like a fish out of water. 

“I’ll be right back.” 

(y/n) returned with a plate of various cookies cut in half and a few different tarts. 

“I figure we should have a little variety, and cookies would be simple enough to make alongside the tarts.” 

“Now, here is a small tart sample, and then these are a few cookies types.” She gestured for Yuki to try them, and he polity thanked her for the desserts. 

“The chocolate chip is a classic, but the oatmeal raisin sells well along with the molasses sugar, or we have delicious peanut butter cookies, and then there is the bird-nest, and we have sugar cookies with blueberry glaze. Those are a specialty.” (y/n) spoke with such enthusiasm that Yuki could hardly pay attention to anything but enjoy the beautiful smile on her face or the excited look in her eyes as she explained each cookie. 

“But my favourite is the macadamia nut cookie with white chocolate chips.” 

(y/n) was about to hand the cookie to Yuki, but it was snatched right out of her hands. 

“Thank’s for the cookies.” 

“We’ll take those too.” 

“WAIT, we were using those!” Yuki’s schoolmate raged, fire in her eyes as she looked at the cookie thieves. 

The identical-looking boys just stuck their tongue out at (y/n) before running off. 

“Sorry, my brothers are a bit of a pain.” She laughed while shaking her head. 

“How many brothers do you have?” The grey-haired boy was still in shock over how quick the two boys came and went. 

“Five.” 

“Five?!” Yuki’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as his jaw dropped, and this caused (y/n) to giggle. She had seen the infamous Prince around the school but never imagined him, such as an expression. 

She liked it. 

On the other hand, Yuki was still having trouble imagining having 5 brothers, he only had one brother, and he was a handful, sounded like some sort of nightmare. 

“Yep, and I’m the youngest, my parents REALLY wanted a girl.” She laughed while rubbing the back of her head, a small blush on her cheeks. 

The two got back to trying to decide what they would bake, but the answer seemed obvious to Yuki. 

“Let’s do your favourites.” 

“Are you sure?” She asked, but it was hard to hide her grin, excited to share her recipe with the boy. Yuki nodded, and she rushed to grab him a plain blue apron for him to throw over and even tied it for him as she rambled on about what she had to grab from the pantry. 

The counter was soon filled with various sheet and mixing bowls, and lots of different ingredients. Yuki could only recognize one or two. The flour and sugar. 

 (y/n) learned that Yuki is very much useless in the kitchen, but she helped him with everything. Patiently teaching him to properly whisk ingredients and roll out dough.  

The brother that been out on deliveries was back and was now working in the kitchen, he made sure to keep his eyes on Yuki, and the boy could feel his stare. Looking over his shoulder as (y/n) was busying and measuring something out, he caught the brother’s eyes as he took two large trays down with perfect balance. Even spinning them one-handed as he was trying to assert dominance over the workplace. 

It was slightly impressive to see a big guy so delicate with the baked goods; Yuki would give him that. 

“Soo, how long have you been baking?” 

“Probably since the moment I could stand up on a chair and reach the counter.” Yuki watched her soften as she thought back on the happy memories. He could just picture it, her as a little girl excitedly helping her mom make cookies in the kitchen, laughing and making a mess. 

“You seem to really enjoy it.” Yuki’s small smile made (y/n) ’s heart race. 

“I do. I always feel happy when I’m in the kitchen, like everything in the world is right. I get to create something that many people can enjoy, and I get to experiment with things to make something new every now and then.” 

“Sorry, I must sound so silly.” 

“It’s not. It’s... I think I understand, actually.” 

While Yuki wasn’t a cook or a baker, he was a gardener. It was something he did that made him happy, something that needed him, and he felt he could make the world maybe just a little greener. 

The two we’re placing their finished creations on the cooling rack when the bakery’s back door was pushed open, and a booming voice filled the work kitchen. 

“We’re home!” 

“Hey Pops!! (y/n) has a boy in the kitchen!” The twins piped up and (y/n) let out a sign while muttering that she was never gonna do anything nice for the twins ever again. 

“WHAT?!” Yuki heard heavy footsteps rushing through the room, and a part of him felt the need to run. 

Yuki was now looking up at two tall men, one was clearly (y/n) ’s father, and the other just seemed like a younger, male version of her Mother. 

Another one of her brothers? 

“And you are?” The tall man stared down at Yuki as if sizing him as he crossed his arms. 

“Dad! I told you-” 

“Sohma Yuki, I’m the student council president at our school.” Yuki subconsciously put on polite prince act, hoping it would be enough to get him by. 

“And you’re here because?” 

“....” This man’s stare was something else, and Yuki wished Kakeru was here to help. Or at least there to suffer with him at the mercy of the tall, intimidating man. 

“Dad, I told you! There’s a bake sale.” 

“And they couldn’t do it themselves?” The man didn’t take his eyes off Yuki, and the teenager had to gulp a bit. 

“Dad!” (y/n) whined, embarrassed over her father’s attitude, and that’s when an angel must have been listening to Yuki’s prayer because a saviour appeared. 

“Okay dear, that’s enough out of you. How about you go get started on closing up, and I’ll get started on dinner.” (y/n) ’s Mother came to the rescue as she dragged off her husband and what had to be another one of (y/n) ’s brothers. 

The Mother sent a wink Yuki’s way, and he covered his face, exhausted by everything. 

“I’m so sorry. They’re just... well protective, I guess.” (y/n) sighed as she continued topping the lemon tarts with the meringue. 

“I should tell you the truth..” Yuki decided to come clean. 

“huh?” 

“There is no bake sale.” 

“What?! Then... why?” (y/n) looked at him, and Yuki really wished there was a bake sale, so he didn’t have to come clean right now. 

“Kakeru-San was trying to help me, I guess..” Yuki admitted, and it made (y/n) freeze in her actions and turn to face him. 

“Help you with what?” (y/n) truly had no idea what he was getting at. She was honestly surprised that Yuki, the most handsome boy in school, even knew who she was. The brief meeting in the first week of school was most likely forgotten by the popular boy. 

Why would Yuki need help from her friend Kakeru with anything concerning her? 

“…. what happened?” Yuki asked. 

“What do you mean?” 

Yuki had been racking his brain, wondering what had made (y/n) stay away. He had seen her around the school; she had a warm laugh and always seemed to be a kind and friendly person. 

He couldn’t help but notice that she would smile at him when he passed her by, but it wasn’t like the other girls. She wouldn’t blush and get all fluttery and call him prince Yuki or anything, just smile like a passing hello and then return to her friends. 

“Did I do something to offend you, maybe?” Yuki asked, and (y/n) let out a sigh, and Yuki decided to push forward, knowing he probably wouldn’t have another chance. 

“No that’s” Yuki had stepped too forward and somehow pushed the bowl of the whipped meringue into the air, and it flew before landing. 

Right on top of Yuki’s head. 

I want the ground to swallow me up 

Yuki stood there with the silver bowl on top of his head, the white froth of the meringue and a gentle hand lifted the edge, peeking under while trying not to giggle. 

“I imagined none of your fangirls have ever seen you this side of you. I feel a little bad for them.” (y/n) giggled cutely as she lifted off the bowl and handed him a towel. 

Yuki looked over at her and the soft look on her face, her cheeks’ gentle flush, and warm, inviting eyes. Yuki felt his heart race as she reached out and wiped away some of the sweet froth from his face with a wet cloth. It was done so tenderly, and he found himself wanting to lean into her touch. 

“Back at the beginning of first year. You invited me to eat lunch with you but then..” 

“Oh..... well... um.” 

“You’re… fangirls made it pretty clear that I was to stay away.” (y/n) remembered that day like it was yesterday. She had been cornered the day after she had lunch with Yuki. One of the girls was even in his class and insisted that she had bothered Yuki with her presence. 

It had hurt. 

Because she was interested in getting to know the quiet boy with the small convenience store lunch. Yuki had been a little awkward at lunch, but there was something aloof and awkward about him, something that made (y/n) want to know more. But there was never a chance to talk to him, and the Prince Yuki Fan Club was more like an army then it was a fan club. 

So, she stuck to just giving him friendly smiles whenever they would pass each other in the hallway, which she doubted he noticed. 

“And then you never seemed to... always feel so far away. I figured that you just didn’t want to be friends-” (y/n) was cut off by Yuki, who had reached forward and grabbed her hand and (y/n) felt a jolt of electricity from the skin on skin contact. Both looked a little taken back, but Yuki continued on, wanting to be heard. 

“I really wanted to spend... More lunches together.” Yuki admitted, and it felt like some sort of mysterious weight had been lifted from (y/n) ’s shoulders. 

“Really?” 

“I’ll get the bath ready.” 

“And... maybe you wouldn’t mind staying for dinner? I know my family is a bit much, but my mom is a great cook.” 

“I’d love to stay.” 

. 

. 

. 

Yuki was now wearing some of (y/n) ’s brothers’ clothes, the second oldest who was away for college. He was studying business and was supposed to be graduating come the spring. He even came in for video chat for a bit while the Mother fussed over how he was eating and if she needed to go pay him a visit to restock his fridge. 

This was a close family, and Yuki felt like it was something that he wanted so bad that it almost hurt. 

Yuki was properly introduced to all of (y/n) ’s five older brothers, and while a few poked fun at (y/n) for having a boy over, it seemed she wasn’t afraid to sick her father on them. A glare from him was enough to shut them up. 

Yuki couldn’t help but notice that throughout dinner (y/n) would give the best things on her plate, which led to the brother who had come in with her father earlier, cutting his portion in half and sneaking it onto her plate. It was a sleight of hand, but he caught it. 

Conversations flowed with ease; Yuki had worried that he would feel like an odd man out, but somehow the family made room for him. 

The food was delicious, and the company was warm, and they made him feel like he had been simply part of their family for years. He could see where (y/n) seemed to get her cheerfulness and confidence; how else would one survive in a family with 5 older brothers. 

There was a bit of a break between dinner and dessert which (y/n) had made, and there was time for some sort of game that Yuki had never played, but (y/n) ’s father was actually quite patient in telling him the rules of ‘Cheat.’ 

Turns out the best player in the house was the Mother who came in for one last round and wiped the floor. The woman had a powerful poker face, which was surprising coming from the seemingly innocent woman. 

The strawberry shortcake that (y/n) made was the best thing that Yuki had ever eaten, and he even got dragged into an arm-wrestling contest for the final piece. He lost, but the other brother just laughed and split the last piece in two while saying ‘no hard feelings, pretty boy.’ 

Maybe it should have bothered him, but it also felt like he could fit in, just a little. 

A spot for him in that large warm family. Where the siblings looked out for one another, where the parents fussed over their kids’ eating habits, where everyone laughed together as they shared a meal. 

“Thank you for having me.” Yuki bowed to the family, and the Mother gushed over how polite he was while the father said he was welcome to come back. 

Y/n walked him to the door downstairs. 

The two teens stood on the sidewalk; the display window of the family baker way now empty. A ‘Closed’ sign hanging off the door. It had gotten so late, but Yuki had barely noticed as the time really had flown by. 

“Here, the cookies we made together and a few tarts to share with your family.” (y/n) handed him a nice blue bag paper bag that had some weight to it. They had certainly made a lot of goodies. Okay, (y/n) had done most of the work, but she would insist that they had shared the work. 

“I’m sorry about lying to you... about the bake sale” While Yuki hadn’t been the one to tell her about the bake sale, he had still gone along with it. 

“Don’t be, I know how Nabe-Kun can be. I’ve known him since middle school, should have known. I hope you had fun, though. I’m sorry about my family. They can be... a little much.” (y/n) loved her family but they had undoubtedly given Yuki a hard time it seemed, she worried that they had scared him away.

“Your family is very kind. I enjoyed getting to know them.” (y/n) let out a sigh of relief and gave Yuki a smile that could have lit up the darkest nights. 

“But I was really happy.... that you wanted to bake with me... And that you spent time with my family and me, Sohma-San.” 

“Please... call me Yuki... And It... It made me happy too.” Yuki admitted, and he wondered if only he had been braver, then maybe they could have been making cookies and having dinners together a long time ago. 

“See you at school tomorrow?” 

“Let’s have lunch.” She smiled, and Yuki couldn’t help but stare at cupid’s bow of her lips. 

“oooooh are they gonna kiss?” The twins called from the upstairs window, and the teens both erupted into red. 

His heart was hammering in his chest, still not believing he had been so close that maybe if he just leaned down a little, they would have connected. 

And soon, the entire family was popping their heads out the windows of their second-story apartment and peeping on the two teens. 

“Aww he’s so cute, honey bear, you better catch him before someone else digs in.” (y/n) ’s Mother teased, and she called out to her family to please stop. 

“Wait, no! No one’s touching my baby sister!” The 1st most protective brother called out, waving his fist at Yuki. 

“Wait I’m not-!” Yuki shook his hands and stepped away from (y/n) as if to give her space, but this started a whole new argument with the brother. 

“Are you saying she’s not good enough!” 

“NO! I-” 

“Then, What?! Do you not like her!? I OUTTA-” The older brother was practically hanging out the window with the middle brother holding the back of his shirt to make sure he didn’t actually fall. 

“I DO LIKE HER!” Yuki snapped under all the pressure as he clenched his fists. 

Silence.... dead silence, except for maybe the sound of his heart beating so fast that it wanted to jump out his chest and get out of there. 

“I like you too.” (y/n) broke the silence, and everyone watching from the balcony above laughed and started goading the two teenagers on. 

“Just kiss already!” The twins called out, laughing as they taunted, and Yuki could hear the parents scolding them and trying to get all their kids to leave their only daughter in peace. 

Both of the teens were bright red, but Yuki’s chest somehow felt so light. This family was certainly... loud and a little out there. But there was nothing but love and joy to be felt all around. (y/n) smiled up at him, her cheeks still dusted with pink, but her eyes kept looking up at him and then averting to the ground shyly. 

Adorable

Yuki wasn’t sure what came over him. He certainly didn’t want the large audience of her family’s hooting and hollering, but how could he resist when she was finally within reach? 

The teen leaned down, careful to keep the distance between them, even using his hand as some sort of force to hold her back and slowly, gently met her lips with his. 

As he expected, she tasted so sweet, but with a slight tang, a tartness from the strawberries they had been eating earlier. 

He wanted to lean down again, but an angry voice brought him back to earth. 

“Thats IT!!! I’M GONNA KILL HIM!!” 

“You better run.” (y/n) advised, unable to hide her giant smile and her pink cheeks, even in the dim lighting. 

“Lunch tomorrow?” Yuki asked, feeling confident that they would no longer just share brief smiles in the school hallways. 

“It’s a date.” And she leaned up and placed a quick kiss to Yuki’s cheek before he ran off before (y/n) ’s brother could lay his hands on him. 

As he walked home, Yuki felt like he walked on clouds and never looked so forward to school. Yuki could barely wait for the lunch hour where he could look upon that bright smile and perhaps even sneak a sweet kiss. 

His phone beeped, and Yuki checked the phone to see another text from Kakeru. 

- How did it go, Yun-Yun????????? I GOTS TO KNOW?!?!?!- 

Yuki never thought he would find himself doing this, but he was in such a good that he figured it would be fine. 

 - Thank you - 

Yuki also made a note NOT to share any of the tarts or the cookies he and (y/n) had made together. 

…. 

Okay, maybe just one, but that’s it. 

. 

. 

. 

[thiswasinevitableid]

47 for OT4, SFW or NSFW I love your writing! :))

Thank you! I went SFW for this one.

47: you overhear me complaining to my coworker about your ridiculous daily coffee order, whoops

“Oh christ, here he comes.” Duck mutters to Indrid as he pumps hazelnut syrup into a cup, “the one I was tellin you about.”

Indrid, stationed at the counter, tilts his head as he watches the windows, “would he be the one that looks like a lumberjack or the one who looks like a secret agent?”

“The second one. I dunno what it is, but his order drives me fuckin nuts. It’s super specific; dark roast, single origin only, heavy cream until it turns about that color” he points to the wall, “with a half pump of caramel and a half pump of vanilla. You’re gonna be that specific, just make it at home.” He’s busy putting a lid on  the drink and therefore misses Indrid’s hand waving. 

“I do, and it’s not that hard.” A deep voice makes him turn; the lumberjack, looking more amused than annoyed.

“And since you know my order so well already” the other man, smile, tight lipped, at him before turning to Indrid, “one of those and one large, black coffee.”

Duck starts the drink, making it as fast as he can so he can slink off into the back room. Shit, if the guy rats on him he could get in trouble, he’s already on thin ice after throwing out some rich kid for harassing the staff. 

Indrid takes the drinks, mouths, “go” and heads around the counter while Duck makes a bee-line for the supply closet. 

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

Indrid sets the cups down in front of the two men, then slides a plate with a large, hot monster cookie on it between them. 

“On the house, as they say.”

“This an apology cookie or a ‘don’t give us a bad review’ cookie?” The lumberjack smirks.

“Both.” Indrid says mildly, smiling and returning to his post.

 As he walks away he hears the deep voice whisper, “wouldn’t kick that one outta bed for eating crackers.”

A soft laugh, “Agreed. Pity his friend is an ass.”

When Jake and Hollis arrive a few minutes later to take over for him and Duck, he finds his boyfriend clonking his head into the wall by the break room. 

“Don’t worry, love, I smoothed things over.”

“Thanks. Just feel like a dipshit. Both for gettin overheard and complainin in the first place.”

“I assumed it was stress from waiting on interview results.”

“Yeah.” Duck pulls on his jacket, “still feel shitty though.”

“Come, let’s go home. I have some ideas for relaxation.” He purrs, kissing Duck’s cheek. 

“How may of ‘em are fuckin’-based?”

“Half.”

“Good, gives us some variety just in case.”

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

“We’ve paired you with another duo, if that’s okay?”

“Sure” Duck smiles at the Escape Room employee, takes Indrid’s hand as they follow him down the hall, “Aubrey says these are more fun in a group.”

“I look forward to--oh dear.” 

Duck turns to see the pair from the coffee shop last week. The lumberjack looks about the same, but the secret agent is dressed more casually than usual. His black hair is loose rather than slicked back, and he’s in jeans and shirt that reads, “Champ” with a dark outline of sea monster on the front. He almost looks cute.

“You’ve been  trapped in the lair of hostile, highly intelligent space aliens. You have an hour to escape. Good luck” The employee shuts the door, leaving the pairs to stare at each other. 

“Uh, hi. Again.” Duck waves awkwardly

“Hey.” The lumberjack waves back, “so, uh, this is hella awkward, right?”

“Yes.” The other three respond.

“Cool. Look, I dunno about you but I don’t wanna get dissected by aliens. So, bygones?”

The others nods and he smiles, “I’m Barclay, this is Joseph. My, uh, my boyfriend.” It’s distinctly odd watching such a large man blush like a schoolgirl. Joseph smiles, kisses his cheek, then looks around the room.

“Alright, we need to find the four symbol code to enter onto that pad. Spread out and look for places symbols might be hidden.”

They find the first one easily. Indrid’s eye for color and patterns helps them locate the second, and when a clue points to the third being high up, instead of having to construct a makeshift ladder or step-stool, Barclay simply reaches up and grabs it. It does not escape Duck’s notice that both Indrid and Joseph get appreciative looks on their faces when Barclay then moves a “cloning pod” out of the way all by himself. 

“I suspect the last symbol is hidden one something that is in...that hole.” Joseph points to the newly revealed wall lined with several cubbies, one of which has danger signs written all around it.

“Not it. Too close to a garbage disposal, and I have nightmares about putting my hand down that at the wrong time.” Barclay shudders.

“I would also prefer not to be the one to reach in; such elements often have a loud noise gimmick and I do not enjoy that.”

Joseph glances at Duck, blue eyes glinting with a not-entirely-friendly challenge.

“Fuck it, I’ll do it.” Duck steps forward and cautiously slides his hand in. Indrid’s instinct was right, as the whole starts vibrating with a loud, grinding sound. Indrid yelps, grabbing the other two men, who in turn jump and scream  in surprise. Duck grits his teeth, fights the urge to pull back, and finds a smooth tile waiting for him. When he removes his hand the noise stops, and he grins, triumphant, as he shows off the last symbol. 

“WHOO!” Barclay cheers and high-fives Duck  as Joseph punches in the symbols, stopping the timer on the wall, “shit, that was wild man, scared the living hell outta me and I wasn’t even  the one doing it.”

“Mmmm, my brave hero.” Indrid drapes his arms over his shoulder, kissing him.

“Sap.” Duck teases, kissing him back.

“You know, we make a pretty good team.” Joseph brushes stray hair off his face.

“Yeah. Would, um, would you guys like to go grab coffee or something?” Barclay looks genuinely hopeful, which is why, ten minutes later, Duck is sitting across from Joseph in a dark-wood coffee shop. Indrid has excused himself to wash his hands and Barclay is outside taking a phone call from someone named Mama.

Duck sips his coffee (black) as he watches Joseph measure cream into his mug.

“That explains it; guys who drink black coffee are always weird about guys who don’t.”

“Don’t Barclay drink his black?”

“Only when we’re out, when we’re at home he’s always making fancy coffee. Trying out new recipes. It works well. Or, um, mostly well. There was a green tea cherry espresso that was not his finest.”

“Eech. Heh, that reminds me of the time ‘Drid was so groggy he poured strawberry syrup into his coffee instead of caramel. Didn’t phase him one bit, but I felt like I was kissin a berry patch the whole day. Swear the man’s half moth or some shit from how much sugar he drinks.”

Joseph snickers, “sorry, imagining Indrid as a mothman is a funny image.”

Duck pictures it and giggles, which makes Joseph laugh harder. When they recover, he scratches the back of his neck, “Look, I’m sorry I was a dick about your coffee order. Just havin one of those weeks where everythin got on my nerves.”

“It’s alright. I’m not all that bothered by it. Not intellectually, anyway. Being particular or precise is something people have been, um, less than kind to me about in the past.”

“Nothin wrong with knowin what you like.”

Joseph glances out the window at Barclay, “No, no there’s not.”

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

It becomes a weekly arrangement; the four of them meet for some kind of activity, then go to lunch or dinner. Duck learns many things over those weeks; that Barclay can figure out how to reverse engineer Indrid’s favorite cupcakes from a local bakery, that Joseph has a worryingly deep yet very endearing knowledge of bad horror movies. That while Joseph is terrifying during a trivia match, Duck can still wipe the floor with everyone when it comes to the science categories. He learns that Joseph is trans, like him, and that Barclay and Indrid actually went to the same high school but were two years apart and thus didn’t know each other. 

Right now, he’s learning that he’s not as good at laser tag as he thought he was. 

They went during the cheaper hours, mid-afternoon on a Sunday, and while all four of them are on the same team they’ve gotten separated in the neon-tinted darkness. 

He can tell the enemy team has spotted him, and is moving as fast as he can out of range, when a hand reaches out of a darkened turret and pulls him in.

“GAHoh, phew, scared the hell outta me Joe.”

“Sorry, it was safer than calling out.” The space is small, built for kids rather than two twenty-six year olds, and so Joe is pressed right up against him as he watches the door. He might be the only guy Duck knows who wears honest to god cologne, clean and minty smelling, and the scent wraps around him when Joe pulls him back against his chest to hide them from passing opponents. 

“Fuck, that was close.” He whispers.

“Don’t worry” Joe murmurs in his ear, voice huskier than normal, “you’ve got me to look out for you.” He breaks away as if nothing happened, pulls Duck’s body out into the glowing chaos, while his mind stays in the little room, wondering what the fuck that was.

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

 “Can’t believe we got our asses handed to us by a bunch of eleven year olds.” Duck groans as they sit, licking their wounds along with soft-serve from a tiny shack that Barclay swears by.

“That one blonde girl is gonna grow up to be a sniper.” Barclay offers his cone (chocolate and sour cherry) to Joseph, who takes a prim bite.

“It may run in the family; I think her dad was the one with the ‘Go Army’ shirt.” 

“Oh, were we not supposed to be going easy on them?” Indrid cocks his head. The others stare at him in mute shock. 

“I’m kidding; I was utterly outmatched in there.” He grins before dragging his tongue up his cone (pineapple and marshmallow). When he reaches the tip he opens his mouth wider, taking it all in with a satisfied moan. He pulls off, stray ice cream dribbling down his chin until Joe hands him a napkin. Indrid thanks him, then proceeds to do the exact same thing, over and over, and Duck realizes neither of the other men have looked away from his boyfriend. Barclay’s legs are now crossed, and Joe’s cheeks are pink. Duck can’t really blame them--he knows exactly what Indrid can do with that mouth--but what’s stranger is he doesn’t feel jealous or annoyed. He knows Indrid sometimes struggles with looking, in his own words, “offputting.” It’s nice to see two other people catch on to just how hot he is. 

Then again, he kind of wishes Joe would stop staring and eat his own cone; he wants to see what his tongue can do, too.

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

“Watcha drawin’?” Duck slides onto the couch next to Indrid.

“Just random images.”

“That us with Joe and Barclay?”

“I, ah, yes it is.”

“Like it a lot. Christ you’re talented, it’s like how much you like us is comin’ right off the page.”

“Is, ah, is that so? I hadn’t noticed, ah, oh dear, I just remembered I need to go call Jake about covering my shift.”

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

Duck: That new barcade is finally open, wanna come with us on Saturday?

Barclay: Wish we could, but we got a friends birthday that night.

Duck: No big, let us know if you want to catch a flick on Sunday

Barclay sets the phone down, not remembering it’s a group text until Joe pokes his head out of the bedroom.

“Shit, whose birthday is on Saturday? We need to get a gift.”

“Oh, uh, no, no one. Just, uh, didn’t feel like going out but didn’t want them to think I was, like, angry or something. Sorry, shoulda asked if you wanted to go without me, shit, that was rude.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind time that’s just for us.” He crosses the living room, fiddles with Barclays hair, “but let me know if you want to see a movie Sunday, I’m happy either way.”

“Uhuh, will do.” Barclay nods, not really paying attention, as he imagines silvery hair in the dark theater and holding slender, cool fingers in his own.

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

“Why do I get the feeling you don’t actually have that DVD to loan me?”

“I do” Duck shuts the apartment door behind Joe, “but we got some things to discuss first.” He waits until Joe is sitting next to Barclay (lured here by the promise of cookies) and across from Indrid (lives here, not that hard to lure).

“Look, I don’t think I really gotta point out how weird it is that we went from hangin out every week to not seein’ each other for near a month. But what I do gotta point out is why it’s happenin’.”

“We’ve all been busy?” Joe hazards.

“Yeah, but we all were busy before and we made time for each other. Now we, myself included, are cancelin shit.” He takes a deep breath, “Barclay, Joe, you both got a thing for ‘Drid, don’t you?”

Joe nods while Barclay blushes and mutters, “yeah.”

“And ‘Drid, you got a thing for both of them?”

His boyfriend shifts nervously in his seat, but nods all the same. Barclay looks genuinely surprised. 

“Well, you three ain’t the only ones realizin’ you want more than you got. Joe, I, uh, I really like you. As in wanna date you. So, uh, that’s where we’re at.” He sits down next to Indrid, who instantly takes his hand. 

“That’s...wait, don’t we all want the same thing?” Joe looks between them, puzzled. 

“You’d really be okay with me dating Indrid?” Barclay asks softly. 

“We’d both be dating him. And I’d be dating Duck as well as you two. Assuming that was alright with Indrid?”

“....You know, I think it is.” Indrid squeezes Duck’s hand, “I was afraid to admit how I felt; I didn’t want to come between you and Barclay, because you clearly love each other, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Duck. But I’ve also seen how happy he is around you, Joseph; there is no reason we could not all work things out to be happy as a, ah, polycule? Is that the term?”

“Think so.” Barclay relaxes, “fuck, I felt so bad thinking that wanting Indrid would fuck everything up, don’t know what to do with my self now that I’m not stressing about it.”

“I propose we order dinner and just...talk.” Indrid rests his head on Duck’s shoulder, “I think that will help us sort out where to go from here.”

Duck orders takeout from the Chinese place down the block as Indrid and Joe arrange the living room into a place where they can all sit together comfortably and Barclay grab drinks. Soon they’re gathered on the floor, working out logistics and boundaries and hopes and fears between bites of fried rice and chow mein. Joe keeps notes, curling closer to Duck as the evening goes on. 

There’s a part of him that wants to jump straight to sex, to pin Joe to floor and fuck him while his other boyfriends do what they want to him, to Duck, to each other. But this thing between them is a new leaf in spring, vulnerable and just beginning to grow. 

So, after dinner, they cuddle up on the couch and floor to watch the midnight movie on local T.V, hands tentatively finding each other and bodies gradually resting closer together in new configurations. 

He falls asleep on the floor, Indrid spooning him and Joe resting his head on his belly. Wakes up with Joe curled around him and Barclay cuddled up to Indrid, snoring softly. 

Duck slips out of the configuration, pads into the kitchen to start coffee. When Joe sneaks up behind him he gasps, snickers as the taller man kisses him good morning. Then he grabs two mugs, smiling to himself at his luck as he opens the fridge. After all, he already knows just how his new boyfriend likes his coffee. 

[thewritewolf]

Two Cursed Detectives in Paris Chapter 2: Revealed

As first days at their cover jobs went, today could have gone a whole lot worse, all things considered.  

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

Eerie took a deep breath as she stepped out of her car, fighting down a whirlwind of emotions. Some of them were from just trying to drive around in this city - maybe she would have been better off applying as a bike delivery person. But it was too late to worry about that now. No, she had much bigger things to stress over.

Like mentally steeling herself for whatever reaction these little bakers would have to her curse. It was always the most humiliating part of meeting new people - having that part of herself that she didn’t like always exposed for the world to see. At best, people generally just gave her weird looks, as if she opened up a bottle of hair dye labeled ‘mossy green’ and just went to town. At worst, well… she made it through.

The door to the bakery rang and Eerie stepped inside. She quickly had to make a mental adjustment - two of the bakers were little just like she thought, but the other one was a giant of a man built more like a gorilla than a person. If it weren’t for the fact she had never heard of a gorilla-cursed man before, she would have thought that he was one of them.

Two of them looked toward her with a speed that could have only been reflexive, bright and honest smiles already on their lips as they began sounding out a greeting. A greeting that sputtered out quickly when their eyes landed on her, widening in surprise. Their smiles remained plastered on, but there was uncertainty behind them.

There was an awkward pause which seemed to catch the attention of the third person in the room, who paused in her sweeping. She glanced between Eerie and the older bakers, then walked over to Eerie. Eerie sucked in a deep breath, expecting the worst, but the girl stopped a respectful distance and gave her a smile.

“Hello! My name is Marinette. You must be the American exchange student helping out for the next couple weeks, right?”

Eerie switched seamlessly into the role she had made for herself. Returning the smile, she gave a polite nod. “Yes! I’m excited to see Paris. Delivery felt like the best way to do that.”

“Now, normally we kiss cheeks here, but I’ve heard you might be more comfortable with this?” Marinette held out her hand and Eerie cautiously took it.

“Oh, and my name is Eerie.”

“I’m thrilled to meet you, Eerie! Let me show you around the bakery. It won’t take long - we might be the best bakery in Paris, but we aren’t the biggest!” Marinette laughed and Eerie couldn’t help but laugh too. “Maybe we can even let you try some of our stock? What do you say, papa?” She asked, looked at the giant of a man in the back.

The man jolted. “Oh! Yes, definitely.” Earnestness returned to his grin. “And welcome aboard, Eerie! I’m sure we’ll learn a lot from each other.”

As she was guided into the back of the bakery by her newest friend, she already felt affection blooming for the younger girl.

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

Connor’s tail itched, which made sense given that it was strapped to his leg under his baggiest pants.

Despite what his dear partner and intern might say, he was pretty good at cleaning up. At the moment, he looked every bit the part of the foreign tutor brought in from out of the country to give lessons to a wealthy child. Provided that the foreign tutor was a little rumpled and smelled faintly like garbage from a dumpster dive on the walk over to the mansion. Turns out the instincts of his curse weren’t as easy to hide as his raccoon ears, which had only taken a half decent hat to conceal.

Stopping in front of a giant gate, he double checked that he got the address right before pressing a button right beside the gate. He jumped when a camera on a stick leapt out of the wall and a female voice came from nowhere.

“Yes? What is your business here?”

“Uh…” Connor took a moment to mentally translate what she had said and form his own answer. “Teaching English.”

“I see. Right on time. Go inside and up the grand stairs, first door on the right.”

Before he could ask anything, the camera retracted into the wall and the gate rumbled open. His hands idly passed over the space where the camera had gone through. Even with his well-honed sense of touch he could barely feel the depression in the stone. What kind of person puts that kind of serious money into gadgets that wouldn’t look out of place in a cheesy spy movie?

Then Connor walked into the mansion itself and saw a giant painting of a stern looking man and the most depressed child he had ever seen staring into the distance. Understanding began to dawn on him. He took a rambling path to the stairs, stopping to run his hands over the various objects and surfaces in the room. If there was a secret space for a camera, who knows what else they were hiding in here?

Just as he was reaching for the big bummer of a painting, Connor heard a door to his right open. He froze, hand halfway toward the artwork as he locked eyes with a blonde boy staring back at him. After a few seconds Connor realized the kid had said something but it went completely over his head.

“What?”

“I said, ‘I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.’ My father doesn’t appreciate people messing with his things.”

“Maybe but not here is he?”

“I… guess? Are you supposed to be my English tutor?”

“Yes.” Connor followed him into the room he came out of. “How know?”

“Because your French is, um…” The kid rubbed the back of his neck. “Not the best, let’s say.” He switched languages and said, “Would you prefer we talk in English?”

“Yeah that’d probably be for the best,” Connor said as nonchalantly as he could but on the inside he breathed a huge sigh of relief. He whistled as he entered the room. The bedroom was bigger than his entire apartment and most of it was just empty space. “You’ve got a decent set up here…?”

“Adrien. Adrien Agreste.”

“Connor MacThomas." His eyes locked onto the giant television against one wall and the Ultimate Mecha Strike game sitting just in front of it. “Say, kid, your English sounds fine as is, but I think it could use some work in certain areas. Specifically with trash talking. How about a few rounds of that?” He pointed at the television

Adrien’s eyes widened as he looked between the television and Connor, clearly torn. “This… this isn’t a test or something, right?”

“Of course it’s a test,” Connor said as he rolled over the back of the couch. “It’s a test to see how fast I can whoop your butt in Mecha Strike.” He took the controller in his hands, idly mashing buttons while he waited.

After a moment’s hesitation, Adrien sat down next to him, eyes locked on a spot above Connor’s eyes. While there was surprise, it mostly just seemed to be an innocent curiosity. It was then that Connor noticed that his hat was on the ground in front of him.

“Dang. Well, raccoon’s out of the bag then.” Connor reached into his pants leg.

“Um, what are you-” He cut himself off when Connor freed his tail from its prison. “Oh, cool! Tails are awesome!” Adrien coughed. “Or, uh, so I’ve heard. Anyway! Mecha Strike?”

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

“-Needless to say, after that whole thing with the glitter glue I try not to ask too many questions about what Connor keeps in his desk.” The two girls laughed.

“So…” Marinette began, a knowing smirk on her lips. “You talk about this Connor guy a lot.”

“Well yeah. He isn’t just my sorta boss. He’s definitely my friend. It takes a while to get used to him-”

“Because he eats things that definitely aren’t food?”

“-but he’s also good guy and a great partner. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.”

“Reminds me of someone I know…” Marinette said wistfully. She didn’t explain and Eerie didn’t press.

It was two hours into her first delivery shift and Eerie was actually having a lot of fun. Chatting with Marinette felt a lot like what she imagined having a younger sister would be like. If she thought she was attached to Marinette when they first met, she was absolutely protective of her now.

So when a giant monster in a business suit stomped into view down the street, Eerie’s first reaction was to make sure Marinette was safe. To her horror, she was unbuckling her seatbelt and jumping out of the car.

“MARINETTE!” Eerie screeched at her retreating back.

The girl in question froze and glanced back at her before a roar drew her attention back to the monster. “Sorry! We’ll meet up after the akuma is beaten. Find somewhere to hide!”

And just like that, she rushed off.

Surprise gave way to determination. She was not about to let this child run off on her own into a battlefield. Flexing her talons, Eerie reflected that at least her curse gave her some means of protecting herself - and Marinette, if it came to that.

Without another thought, Eerie followed.

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

When the first roar shook the glass of the room, Connor didn’t think much of it as he beat up Adrien’s suddenly-motionless character. A cheap victory is, after all, still a victory. As he got to work racking up his next win, Adrien took his controller out of his hands.

“Hey!” Connor frowned at Adrien.

“Sorry! Akuma attack,” Adrien said, as if that explained anything. “You should probably head home. Or to your hotel? Wherever you’re staying that’s safe.”

At the moment, Connor didn’t feel like going much of anywhere. They’d ordered pizza not too long after he got there and when they ran out of that he’d gnawed his way through the cardboard it had come in. Much to Adrien’s starstruck awe - it was always nice to find someone who appreciated the true benefits of Connor’s curse.

All that to say Connor was feeling fat and content and not in the mood for this attempt to push him out the door.

“Shouldn’t I stay here, then? Must be all sorts of defenses here, right?”

“Uhhh…” Adrien swallowed heavily. “Well, um… I need to take a shower! Yeah, akuma attacks always make me nervous and a nice warm shower is just what I need to calm down!” Adrien laughed with a hint of hysteria on the edge of his voice.

“Right… I’ll just… go then…?”

Connor took a few hesitant steps out of the room, Adrien watching him while casting nervous glances out the window. When the door closed, it was quickly locked behind him. Curiosity overcame him and he pressed his raccoon ears to the door while his hands floated over the knob of the door. As he listened, he pulled a bobby pin from inside his coat cuff.

“Come on, Plagg! Ladybug is sure to need our help for this one.”

“Uhhh kid, you sure you don’t want to wait just a little-”

“Claws out!”

Connor strained to hear more, but there was only silence. When he got the door unlocked, he saw that the window was opened. He rushed over to check below and caught a glimpse of a figure in black rushing towards the commotion.

The gears in his head began turning as he pulled out his phone and sent a few rapid fire texts.

Connor: We got a situation? My rich baby ran off.

Connor: He jumped out the window

Eerie’s reply came up just as he sent his second text.

Boss: Mine 2. Big monster? Meet up w/ me

Boss: WHAT GET HIM BACK YOU CAN’T GET FIRED

Connor: DONT WORRY I WONT GET FIRED OUR FAMILY WON’T GO HUNGRY

Boss: -_- Just come find me. We can look together.

Connor put away his phone and poked his head out the window. Good handholds, not very far to the ground… Piece of cake. His climbing technique might not have been graceful, but he made it down in record time. Breaking into a brisk jog, Connor felt pretty hopeful. After all, how far could Adrien have gotten?

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

Eerie sent the message, shoved the phone back into her pocket and turned into the alley she was sure she had seen Marinette go down. Sure enough, she heard Marinette’s voice just ahead… as well as one other. Her gut instinct prompted her to duck behind a dumpster and listen in. She pulled a hand mirror out from her purse to look around the corner.

“Are you sure she’ll be okay, Marinette? She’s new to Paris and this is probably her first akuma attack.” She frowned as she tried to track the source of the voice, but all she could spot out of the ordinary was a red shape on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Trust me, Tikki - Paris needs Ladybug and Eerie will be fine if I can beat this akuma as quick as possible. Spots on!”

Eerie’s jaw dropped as she watched a red energy transform Marinette into a spotted red hero. She was vaguely aware of the superheroes of Paris - their sudden appearance a year ago had hit the headlines even back in America for a couple weeks before the next big news hit. But Eerie’s daily life dealt with the paranormal, so she hadn’t given it much thought.

Until now, at least.

Marinette - or, more accurately now, Ladybug - turned around, hand pulling the yoyo off her hip when her gaze settled onto Eerie’s mirror. She pulled her hand back, but the damage was done - they’d locked eyes.

“H-hello? Who’s over there?”

Taking a deep breath, Eerie stood up. She was halfway to waving before awkwardly giving up halfway and putting one hand on her arm. “Hey, Marinette.”

“Oh no…” Ladybug paled, but she set her jaw and took on a commanding stance. Her eyes were pleading as she asked, “Please, for the sake of Paris, you can’t tell anyone what you saw. If Hawkmoth were to find out…”

Eerie nodded and couldn’t help but smirk. “Trust me, I know a thing or two about undercover work.” At Ladybug’s confused look, she added, “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, okay? It’ll make us even. Just go beat up that bad… thing? Whatever it is.”

Slowly, Ladybug nodded. “Alright. Can you stay here? I’ll come back after I purify the akuma.”

“I-” Eerie stopped herself. She really wanted to catch up with Connor, but that would have to wait. “Sure. Stay safe out there, kid.”

Ladybug smiled and for a moment, the confident mask fell away and Eerie could see the sweet bakery girl underneath.

“I will.” She gave a two finger salute and threw her yoyo. “Bug out!”

Eerie stared at the brick walls of the alley around her for a long moment, wondering how exactly her life had brought her to this point. Once again, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Connor.

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

The buzzing of his phone prompted Connor to pull it out, pausing part way through his clambering up the wall of a house.

Boss: Stuck in an alley. Safe but can’t move. Meet up later?

Connor: Sure boss. Still trying to catch the kid, but I’ll stay away from the fighting. Raccoon’s honor.

Boss: That doesn’t reassure me

Connor: >:O Raccoons are very honorable creatures

Boss: If you say so. Just stay safe. Please?

Connor: You got it boss

As it turned out, it wasn’t that much of a problem. The battle didn’t last long and the commotion was already dying down when he got close to the scene of the crime. Connor watched from the rooftops as two figures in what seemed to be spandex and leather fist bumped. The red spandex one he recognized from Adrien’s computer screen. The black leather guy he was struggling to place.

The two of them split up and before he realized it, Connor was tailing the black leather guy. His animal instincts weren’t wrong often and he’d long since gotten used to following them without question.

Years of stealthily tailing people paid off and he managed to follow behind the guy without alerting him. Connor poked his head over the side of the roof and watched as he looked behind him and hid himself behind a dumpster. A flash of green light and where the superhero was a moment ago, his rich kid was now.

A tiny floating cat stretched its tiny arms and was about to say something when it noticed a shadow in front of it. Looking back, Connor locked eyes with it.

“Ah geez. Looks like we got company kid.”

Connor clambered down to ground level, where he was immediately grabbed by both of his shoulders by a desperate looking Adrien.

“You have to promise not to tell anyone! Please, I can’t lose my miraculous!”

The panic in Adrien’s eyes stabbed Connor in the heart.

“Woah, buddy. Don’t worry. Deep breaths now, okay?” He brushed Adrien’s hands off and pulled him into a one armed hug as Adrien started to calm down. “I can keep a secret with the best of them, trust me. That’s kinda why I’m here, but we can get into that later.”

“So… you won’t tell? Not even my father?”

Connor thought back to the mysterious woman in the speaker, the absent father, the home built like a fortress. Was it to keep people out or to keep someone in? His eyes set in determination.

“Especially not your father.” He let go of Adrien and began walking. “Let’s go. We need to get you back home and I need to get back to my partner.”

“Partner?”

“I’ll tell you later. First things first, I need to keep this cover job and that means getting you back before anyone notices you were gone.”

“I… okay. Let’s go.”

As Connor lead the way back to the Agreste mansion, he wondered how he was going to break the news that he discovered a superhero’s identity by accident. Or could he even tell her?

[darkhymns-fic]

Sweet Desserts in the Desert

Lloyd and Colette are back on their journey for the Exspheres, but Lloyd still worries about how he left things between them last time. So worried that he hadn't remembered at all that it was his birthday.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel Rating: PG Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: For Colloyd Week Day 3: Birthday Present. Takes place after Dawn of the New World. Includes birthday cakes, baths, and maybe something about presents.

--

In all honesty, Lloyd had never really gotten used to the desert.

“Ugh, I was just sweating buckets not even an hour ago,” Lloyd was muttering to himself. Well, not exactly to himself. Noishe was with him, both hero and dog seated just outside of the sole inn of Triet. There was still the taste of sand on his tongue from earlier, but now the air was chilly, the night sky so clear with its smattering of stars. The wind blew slightly, along the faint rustling leaves from the scarce palm trees that dotted the streets.

He quickly went to put on his jacket which had been damped with sweat before, watching the clear night sky above him. Few people were outside, the hour getting late, and probably smart enough to know when to go indoors. But he couldn’t do that, not just yet anyway.

“Wish I had fur like you…” he muttered, still somewhat fumbling with his jacket.

Noishe’s ears perked at the statement, blowing soft mist in the air with each of his pants. But all that left his note was a confused whine.

“Ah, forget it.” Lloyd just half-buttoned his jacket before laying his hands on the ground leaning back. “Colette said she was just going to a shop…Wonder what’s taking so long.”

Finally back on their journey together, he and Colette had decided to traverse familiar places. It was also convenient, Triet only a short week’s travel from Iselia. Still, this desert town wasn’t exactly one of his favorite pitstops. Hot days and cold nights – the change was always sudden, and when Triet had gotten its first taste of snow after the world regeneration, it didn’t help matters. And Lloyd swore that it was chillier than usual now… even though the mana should have been stable. Maybe he was just sensitive to the cold.

Noishe saw his shivering state and decided to help Lloyd by shuffling against him, tail wagging excitedly. But he was also a Very Big dog, putting more of his weight on Lloyd than he probably meant to.

“Noishe! Don’t just sit on my lap without warning..” Lloyd grumbled. But only a little bit, since he was fighting to get rid of the fur that was now in his mouth. “And you’re all dusty with sand too!”

Another whine from Noishe, paired with shining black eyes as he looked at Lloyd.

“Oh, fine… I missed you too,” he said with a sigh, patting behind the big pointed ears. It had been nearly a year since he had just left Noishe at Dirk’s without warning. Since he had left everyone… and yet he and Colette were picking up right where they left off with the Exspheres. Just like that.

But things felt different, like the nights in Triet. Lloyd threaded his fingers through the comforting fur, growing silent. He felt different. Could he accept that about himself? Could Colette? And…where was she? Maybe she realized that-

“Lloyd!” Her voice broke through the hazy veil that had been clouding his head. He blinked. “Lloyd! Happy birthday!”

He blinked again. Huh? Another blink…It’s my birthday?!

Lloyd had to shove Noishe off him, just so he could finally see past the dog and his sea of green and white fur. In front of him was Colette, smiling so widely as she held something in her hands. In fact, it was so big that it seemed to almost cover up her arms completely.

“Whoa! You got me a cake?” Lloyd said so loudly, he was sure he must have woken up a few people from their homes. But he was too busy staring. Colette got him a cake! With frosting and everything!

“Yep! Sorry, I know it’s probably not as nice as the cakes they have in Meltokio…but they have a really cute bakery here. It’s just right next to that hole I made!” She sounded so proud, standing on her tiptoes as she held out the big confectionary treat. “I remember, because when I first came here, I wanted to see all of their desserts. And uh, that’s when I tripped.”

“Oh,” Lloyd said, then grinned along with her. “I guess I must have missed it last time. That’s cool they still keep it up there!” Though he wondered if a desert bakery made sense to him. What if all their desserts had sand in it? Desert…dessert…maybe there was a connection…

But the look on Colette’s face was so happy though, happy with him – and he tried to brush away that weird nagging feeling as to why she would, after all that he did. Luckily, the cake she held was a good distraction. It had swirls of chocolate frosting, topped with black cherries, and it even had all the candles for his age! It looked kind of a lot…How old was he again?

“Do you wanna have a slice?” she asked him, and of course he did!

“Yeah definitely! And no, Noishe, you’re not having any!” Lloyd said immediately, knowing the whines would follow, but he knew that cake just wasn’t good for dogs!

Then as Colette got closer with the cake, he noticed something different. “Is that my face on it?”

This was when Colette started to look a bit less confident. “Um, yeah. Hehe… well, the thing is, they don’t really have any current pictures of you…And I tried my best to describe you! But they still had that wanted poster hanging around, and I think people around here have grown fond of it…And…it’s kinda cute if you think about-”

“Colette, watch your step!”

But it was too late. There had been a stray pebble on the path, and that was more than enough to make Colette ultimately tumble.

“Whoops!”

Maybe it was fate that Lloyd was about to be bombarded with the cake that was decorated with a warped version of his face on it. Not like he had time to move out of the way, Colette only just a few steps in front of him. So that leering grin of his fell right over his own dumbfounded stare, in all of its chocolatey glory, the unlighted candles showering him as they collapsed to the sand-covered ground.

At least it tasted good.

--

Not only was he covered with sand from earlier as they hiked to Triet, along with his own sweat that was chilled to his skin from the coming of night – but he had chocolate frosting on his hair to top it all off.

“I’m so, so so sorry, Lloyd!” Colette had been apologizing, sounding like she was on the verge of tears as she guided him inside the inn. Noishe had been told to go back to the stables (Lloyd could tell because of all the high-pitched whining), Colette making sure he didn’t get a lick of any of the leftover cake that splattered to the ground. “I’ll clean it up for you right away!”

“Colette, you don’t need to, it’s okay!” Lloyd said as he looked to her. Or, well, he tried to. The cake was all over his face, and it was impeding his sight just a bit. “Just dump some water on my head and I’ll be fine!”

Colette didn’t say anything, but he guessed she shook her head to his suggestion since she was still leading him through the inn. He thought he heard a questioning noise from someone – probably the innkeeper, wondering why he had cake all over his face – but nothing else except for a door opening.

“Uh, Colette, where are you taking me?”

“We have to clean you up! There’s a bathroom down here. Let me help.”

This made him pause for a moment. “Uh. A what now.”

At some point, she let him go, but saw the shape of her (in his chocolate vision) move in front, retrieving a nearby bucket to dump into something big that stood within the middle of the room.

“Let me just fill this up! Then I’ll work on those buttons later…”

Triet’s bathroom was basically just a giant washtub, filled with now-tepid water from a nearby well. Not nearly as fancy as anything from Meltokio’s inns with their running water, or as unique like the warm hot springs. It was just a washtub, one familiar to Lloyd when he would have to fill his own from the river back home. And…when they had to use washtubs to cross the ocean a few times…

Lloyd saw all this once he got to wash his face a little from one bucket, his eyes and cheeks now clear of chocolate, though he couldn’t say the same for his hair. Colette was close, already helping him undress which he was just letting happen despite his weak protests. “I can bathe myself, Colette…” Still, the suspenders were already slipping off his shoulders, with barely a second to spare.

“Hm? Oh! Sorry, too fast?” She giggled, fingers lingering over his sleeves as she traced over the multitudes of silver clasps. “It’s okay, Lloyd. I know how to take this off! You don’t need to worry.”

“That’s not what I… Wait, how do you know?” It was not a statement from Colette that he had been prepared for. Still, he could only watch in fascination as she went about the landscape of his jacket, finally unclasping it with careful and thoughtful motions.

“Just trying to work out this sleeve button here…Oh, and I’ve had some practice with the one you gave me! It’s been really useful!”

“You still kept that ratty old thing?” he asked, genuinely surprised. He felt the sweaty jacket slip off him then, watching as Colette carefully folded it to lay on a nearby stool. Huh, she really had been fast with those buttons…

“Yeah of course! Okay, so now these belts…”

“I-! I think I got it, don’t worry!”

“Hm?” Colette looked up at him curiously, one hand gripping one of his lower belts. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, just…” His heart was beating fast, and if it weren’t for the remaining pieces of cake still in his hair, maybe he could have been smoother about this whole situation a little bit. “Are you like…actually okay with doing this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She tilted her head at him, her hair falling across her left shoulder. “You’ve stripped in front of me before, remember? Back at Dirk’s when you gave me your jacket!”

“But I wasn’t about to take a bath in front of you!”

“Hm, I guess so.” Then another smile. “It’s okay, Lloyd. I don’t mind at all!”

He heard the sharp clacks of his belts unbuckling as she got rid of them, one of them falling to the floor, his swords already having been put away earlier. “But…you’re acting like I can’t do this myself! I’m not a little kid… I’m… I’m 20 years old now!” He just remembered! “Yeah, I’m 20! And I can take baths by myself!” Okay, that sounded a little weird but it was true!

“Oh, I know, hehe. I just wanted to do this for you.” She pulled down his pants then, his boxers were now in view, their color dark and unassuming – a real contrast to all the red he usually wore. “And I need to make it up for ruining your birthday…”

“Huh?” He blinked. “But you didn’t ruin anything…”

“I dropped your cake like a klutz. It was my fault.” She said this while tracing the hem of his shirt, then stared hard at it. “Oh! Forgot about this too.” With that, she pulled the shirt over his head, getting it half-way stuck on his face.

“Colette, none of that is your fau-mmfhgg!” Muffled by the shirt over his mouth, both struggled a bit with it, Colette repeating her apologies over and over until he could finally be free from the fabric.

“Ahhh sorry, sorry, sorry!”

“S-stop apologizing! You have nothing be sorry for!” His head popped out, disheveling both hair and chocolate frosting everywhere. His head was still half-cake at this point. “It’s all my fault to begin with!”

That made Colette pause, clutching Lloyd’s black undershirt in her hands. It was still half-splattered in chocolate frosting, some of it from his hair when he had pulled it. “Lloyd?”

Well, that wasn’t a thing he meant to say out loud.

“Uh..n-nothing. Anyway, that washtub, right?” With sudden reflexes, Lloyd sprinted for the tub, grabbing the very edge of its wooden rim and leaping over it with all the energy he could muster! “Here I goooo!”

“Lloyd! You’re still wearing your boxers!”

Ah crap, he was.

Too late, for he had already splashed right into the washtub, getting lukewarm water all over the floor. He sunk like a rock inside it before breaking his head through the surface, feeling refreshed instantly. His hair must have been rid of the chocolate by now!

“It can be like I’m swimming then!” he explained to Colette with a thumbs-up. “You need to wear clothes to swim!”

“You can’t swim in a washtub,” Colette said, then made a soft hum. “Or can you? I’ve never tried it.”

“Well, if we can row washtubs, I don’t see why you can’t swim in them,” he said in all sincerity.

“Huh, you’re right! Sounds like it’s fun too.” Colette turned away and Lloyd felt a bit relieved, thinking she was about to leave. Then maybe he could get rid of these now soaked boxers too…

…And then Colette instantly came back with soap in hand. “Let’s get you washed up then!”

“H-Hey!” But Colette was also really fast? She was already next to him, rubbing soap suds into his hair, the water splashing around his ears. “Colette!”

“Oh? Did I get soap in your eye?” She was already sitting on a stool right next to the washtub so that she could continue to do her task with more comfort.

“No…” Lloyd was saying, remembering he had a complaint…Or something like it… But Colette’s hands were rubbing his head softly. So soft. Maybe it was something about the soap that made him relax a bit more, laying his head against the edge of the washtub, leaning into her hands. “Just…can wash myself…”

“I know you can,” Colette said, and her tone was more serious than before. Lloyd picked up on it, but the feel of her hands on him got him so relaxed all the sudden. He felt the soap suds sink against his hair, making him sigh pleasantly. This did feel really nice. “I just wanted to do this for you.”

“Hm…” He could only say and nodded. And maybe it was also just what the earlier part of the day brought with it – the water washing away all of his dried sweat, sweeping away the sand that had gotten stuck to his hands or caught in his fingernails, and even soaking up the chocolate from Colette’s birthday cake for him…It really was so nice.

“And I’ve had a lot of practice from washing up Noishe too! Your hair is just like his fur!”

Okay, that comparison may have gotten him out of the dreamy state he had been in, at least for a few seconds. “I-It’s not… And Noishe isn’t good at taking baths! He’d get water everywhere.”

Colette pointedly looked around the room, where water puddles formed all around the floor from Lloyd’s jump. “Hmm…”

“…That doesn’t count...” he pouted, leaning back into her hands. “I’m being good now, aren’t I?”

“Hehe, yeah. See? I told you I could help you with this.”

Another lazy nod, Lloyd already beginning to slip into that relaxed state, his body going a bit limp, half-floating in the water. “Yeah…You’re…good to me…” he said.

Her hands paused in his hair before going back to their circular motions, fingers and soap suds working together to unbind all the stress from him. A part of him knew he had said something too dumb and weird, but the other part of him was, ‘This feels nice, can I fall asleep now?’ Although maybe falling asleep in a washtub wasn’t a good idea…

“Hey, Lloyd? Can I tell you something?”

“Mmwha?” He blinked a few times. Jeez, he really had been about to fall asleep. “Yeah…you can tell me…” Though hopefully she’d keep washing his hair like that as she did so.

“I’m just happy I get to be with you again.” He heard the smile through her voice. “I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to for a while.”

Lloyd heard her words like he was in a dream, cocooned in warmth, floating within it. But, he needed to do something. He tried sitting up, all while still laying his head in her hands. “I meant…to come back…”

He didn’t hear her respond, still washing his hair. She was probably getting her clothes wet by doing this. My fault, he thought again, but kept himself from speaking too much. She most likely already thought he was being weird about this.

“You know…I tried to make you something like you did for me,” she said, speaking a little more clearly. “But I could never learn how to. I can’t make as beautiful things like you can. I should have tried to last year but, well, you were gone, so…”

His mind paused. The necklace. He turned to her. “You still have it?”

“Hm? Oh of course I do! I always have it with me.” Colette took away one hand to press against her neck. It had been hidden by her overcoat, but there it was, the light from the room reflecting off the links of the necklace’s chain. “See?”

“You dork, you’re getting soap all over yourself!”

“Ah!” Colette pulled her hand away, but some soap suds had fallen over her cheeks. “Sorry!”

But he laughed, somehow feeling…surprised. She really kept it. After he had just suddenly left her in the middle of their journey, she still had it with her.

He didn’t know what else to say at first, still seated within that washtub, the water more tepid, and the soap drying up against his ears. “I didn’t give you a gift for last year either.”

Colette paused as well, as if contemplating her next words carefully. One hand was still near him, gentle against his hair. “Your gift to me was staying safe. And…this is silly, but, I felt as long as I still had this, that I knew you would be safe.” He felt her soft airy giggle against his neck. She was still close to him. “It does sound silly, doesn’t it?”

Without thinking, Lloyd reached for her hand, covered in those suds, some of it trailing down his hand to drip into the water.

“Ah, careful! You’re gonna get it in your eye for sure if-”

He leaned up from the water to kiss her then, the feel of her lips tingling his nerves, warmth bursting through his chest like a small campfire in the cold night. The water drops echoed all around him heightened by the closeness of the room and the washtub.

Colette didn’t flinch or pull away, but leaned into him, any hint of shyness melting away. In her nearness, he caught even more glimpses of her necklace, its shine so bright.

When he pulled away, he meant to say something meaningful to her, as he did when they had gone back to Flanoir and he finally told her he loved her…

…Instead, he snickered. “Oh…uh, got some more soap on you.”

Colette blinked. Looked like she hadn’t expected that response either. “Oh? On my face?” And with her soapy hand, she reached to touch her cheeks, her nose, effectively getting it everywhere.

“Well, now you do! I meant your hair.” Lloyd grinned, reaching up with his other hand to get rid of those soapy bubbles caught onto the fine golden strands. But with the dripping water on him, he just succeeded in getting even more on her, and then just soaking her hair… but he wouldn’t give up! “Hold on, I got it!”

“Ahhh, Lloyd! That’s way too much!” She grinned, reaching for his hands again, clasping it in his own, and then leaned down to steal a kiss from him, the way he did with her… then felt her hands slip from his to rush through his own hair. It was like she was molding it with the strength of the soap.“There!”

“Heeey, what did you do to my hair?” He peeked a glimpse of himself in the water, and while the reflection was a bit hazy, he saw how she had used the soap to pull at his hair from the front, curving it like some weird pompadour.

“Now you match better with your picture!” Colette said with a laugh. “It looks cute!”

“Nooo, I don’t look cute!” Lloyd whined, but with a mischievous grin, he reached for her hair too, no longer being careful anymore. “You do!”

“There’s water getting everywhere-! Whoops!”

Lloyd probably should have expected that Colette would trip again, but he was still unsure how she was able to just tip over at this angle, falling right against him in the washtub, effectively overflowing the tub with both of them in it.

Her falls really were little acts of miracles.

“Well, at least you can get your bath too,” Lloyd said, not minding it at all as she floated on top of him, arms wrapped around her waist. “Since you’re already soaped up and everything.”

“But my clothes are all soaked,” she complained.

This only made Lloyd grin, forgetting all his previous worries and nervousness. Everything felt so natural – why did he think they couldn’t go back to how they were before? “I can help with that.”

“Ahh, that’s silly though..”

“It’ll be a fun birthday present!”

“Lloyd!” but she was laughing too and maybe they did a lot more swimming than bathing in the end anyway.

But it really had been a good birthday present all around.

[anaisfinallywrites]

Day 1 - February 8th “Cupid”

"We should probably put them in a room together to sort their shit out," Scott said thoughtfully.

The whole room was so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Scott looked up to see everyone was looking at him.

"I can't believe you're mentioning this now after all this time. They haven't exactly been subtle since from the very start." Lydia looks decidedly unimpressed with Scott's observation.

"We didn't get along from the beginning, okay? There was a lot of bad blood with him and me, him being passive-aggressively helping while I'm stubborn as hell to not listen to his advice. I'm slow on the uptake, not dumb." Scott retorted defensively.

"Isn't that the reason why we're having this very secret meeting that neither the two of them are present for?" Allison spoke up, trying to defuse the tension. "You can try all you want, princess but Derek is an immovable wall when it comes to Stiles." Erica chirped with way more mischief in her eyes than was necessary.

Boyd sighed a long-suffering sigh. "You can't blame the guy, okay? We all know his track record with relationships."

"We know," everybody chimed in perfect unison.

"Um," a hand was raised tentatively from the tallest guy in the room. "Are we seriously trying to act as Cupid for Derek and Stiles?”

All eyes honed in on the golden-haired cherub looking, boy. "Yes, we are." The answer was unanimously bland.

"What are you going to do? Love potion?" Kira asked sceptically.

"Nope," Scott said with a grimace on his face. "Jennifer Blake. He'll just kill us when he gets his head screwed on straight."

Lydia knocked on the table with her knuckles. "We can't be subtle with the two of them. We need a steamroller to make them see it. Any romantic movie ideas?"

The silence was telling.

"Ugh."

↬

"What are you doing here, Braeden?" Derek greeted the woman carrying a duffel bag in front of his door.

"I thought you said I could save money and stay at your loft whenever," she replied with wide innocent eyes.

He sighed deeply and stepped aside to let her in. "I'm not playing whatever game you're playing."

"Good to know that you know there's a problem." She walked in like she owned the place, dropping her duffel bag at the side of the sofa and sat down gently. "Valentine's Day is like two weeks away."

"Will you be my Valentine's?" He asked sarcastically.

"I'm going to ask Laura," she said, entirely too gleeful.

Derek made a disgusted face as he closed the door.

"So, you still haven't resolved your problem," Braeden stated with exasperation.

"Do you remember that time I nearly sucked out his heart because I don't have one? Well, I do. Vividly so," Derek said darkly, still standing at the door.

"He doesn't blame you. You do know that, right?" She looked at him pointedly. His face darkened considerably. "I blame myself even if he doesn't."

"At least you acknowledge there's something between you two. What with your passive-aggressive baking and Peter's grouchy remarks about his idiot of a nephew." Braeden leaned back on the sofa and surveyed her surroundings like she didn't just make the most profound observation about Derek Hale, Grump Extraordinaire.

Well, it wasn't profound observation. Try as hard as he might, Derek can't completely mask his longing stares and outright staring when it comes to one Stiles Stilinski. And everybody knows except the said object of affection, which is ironic considering the boy was supposed to be as sharp as a bloodhound with a scent and he views information and secrets like the only thing that would sustain him.

"Any plans to ask him out?" Braeden riffled through her duffel.

Derek harrumphed as he made his way to the kitchen. Not that he could hide all that much, open floor plan and everything. 

"I'm thinking about something," he admitted hesitantly.

Braeden made a whooping sound right where she sat.

And Derek proceeds to regret every life decision he made so far.

↬

"You're not supposed to mope about my brother at the freaking kitchen he works in," Laura grouched as Stiles beat aggressively at the batter that's probably unusable by now.

"Who says I'm moping about your brother?" Stiles retorted half-heartedly and stopped beating the abused batter.

"Aliens from outer space would have been privy to your most private thoughts about my brother." She didn't look up from balancing the checkbook.

Stiles snorts. "Ugh, how do I get over this stupid crush? It's worse than before compared to Lydia..." he pouted morosely into the batter.

"You two are entirely hopeless when it comes to anything regarding feelings," Laura commented not unkindly.

"You're - How are you and Braeden?" Stiles changed tack mid-sentence.

"We're good. Better than good, even. I, for a fact, know that she's planning a grand gesture in the very distant future. You, on the other hand," she taps her pen on her bottom lip in thought. "Well, you'll grow old and die alone as long as you don't man up and make a move."

"Well, I'm kinda waiting for your thick-headed brother to make a move actually. The ball is in his court this time around, anyway." Stiles muttered unhappily. Laura made an over the top shocking gasping noise. "Why didn't I know about this? How could I not even have heard a peep of this?!"

"We are very private people," he said seriously. And really, he's not even joking.

↬

And so, the mad dash begins. The pack are conceiving plans to help their assumed oblivious friends while Derek and Stiles are respectively trying to work up the courage or work out a plan to... take the next step. So to speak. 

As one would expect, it leads to some... well, disastrous results.

↬

The bakery is in full rush hour at eleven o'clock in the morning, almost lunchtime for everyone but still early enough to buy brunch to curb the hunger. 

Derek is always working at the bakery, and so is Laura. The only person who doesn't help out is Peter, not that he couldn't cook or bake to save his life but more to the fact that no one wants to put up with the constant "chatter" that comes out of his mouth. The rest of the pack, which consists of Scott, Kira, Boyd, Isaac, Erica, Lydia, Danny, Jackson and Stiles, they work part-time or full-time at the bakery. Laura says it's good bonding time, but really, who was she trying to kid?

Lydia and Scott were trying their best to concoct a plan that would put the two (not so) stubborn idiots in a situation to make them talk to each other, whereas Derek has been trying to work up the courage to go up to Stiles and just be... blunt, he's never been anything but passive-aggressively straightforward, anyhow. Stiles, on the other hand, is trying to make himself available time-wise. So far, every single time Lydia and or Scott manages to corner them, aka giving them space or a controlled environment, Derek is very tempted to take the obvious help. But the rest of the pack is observing with shit-eating grins on their face and so he thought better of it. Laura was resolutely staying out of this gay chicken shit, as she so eloquently puts it, but secretly she's having popcorn with Braeden to see what happens next.

So much for a helpful big sister.

Stiles couldn't take it anymore. He sighed long and loud, stared determinedly at Derek's turned back and just strode towards him. 

The pack held their collective gasps as much as they could during the rush hour, simultaneously helping the customers and stealing glances at their quarry.

"Derek," Stiles said his name quietly. He didn't need to say it out loud because of two reasons. One, Derek had always focused on him whenever he's around, be it his heartbeat or his breathing, Derek is attuned to it. (Stiles would say the hyper fixation is super creepy if he wasn't so gone on the grumpy asshole of a wolf.) Two, he knows he's special to Derek. Stiles doesn't know what it is that makes him special yet, but he will soon enough.

Derek didn't turn around to look at him, still busy with packing the baked goods (?) but his body swayed in his direction for a split second with his head tilted. He's listening even if he pretends he doesn't care.

"Uh, so. Valentine's a few days away. Are we making headway or are we still dancing around it like it's a pit of vipers?" Stiles muttered, careful to make his words audible only to the intended recipient. Luck is, however, on his side because the rest of the wolves in the bakery are still newborn bitten wolves, even if it's been a few months since. Lack of desire for training does wonders for Stiles being sneaky.

Derek finally turned around to face him, eyebrows and lips scrunched in a way that Stiles has long since interpreted as the exasperated 'What the hell are you going on about?' look. He couldn't backpedal fast enough to save his tattered dignity. "I mean, okay then. We'll be friends forever then. There's nothing bad about it. Having you as a friend is better than not having you at all, so if we can just forget this ever happened-"

"Stiles." 

"Uh, yeah?" Stiles asked hesitantly.

"Can we meet in the preserve and continue this conversation? There are too many ears here." Derek pointedly did not look at any of the wolves that surround the bakery.

Stiles took a deep breath. "Uh yeah, sure. No problem."

"You better be there instead of letting your brain run wild with an idea that's most likely untrue," Derek pointed his patented glare at Stiles. "I will hunt you down." Stiles shivered at the threat. Nobody should make a threat sound sexy. Like, seriously. On the other hand, he can concede that he does have a tendency to let his insecurities and doubts get the better of him but, have you seen Lydia Martin and Derek Hale? Anybody's self-esteem would plunge down an abyss and Stiles has been here before, once burnt and twice shy and all that shit. Rejection hurts no matter the better outcome that you got out of it. Lydia Martin as the best friend and sister he never had but wished he did is awesome but Derek is different. Derek is so different that he's probably not on the same planet, in Stiles's honest opinion. 

Derek is still looking at him, the glare softened a little, eyebrows raised up saying 'Are we clear?'.

"Crystal." Stiles nodded like his head was a bobblehead. "I will be there and I assure you that you won't need to hunt me down to get to the bottom of this." His voice cracked embarrassingly at the word.

Derek smirked like a cat with cream.

"Shut up, asshole." Stiles gave his own glare as he turned around to make his way out of the bakery. He ignored the questioning looks from the pack.

Stiles hurried home. He has a possible date to get to. Or just plain ole revelation. Derek is taking a break at one in the afternoon. Stiles only has so much time to ponder how this will end because he's about to get his long-awaited resolution. A few months late, but better late than never.

[guardiankarenterrier]

Sabine: "If we legally adopt you both, son, that might make planning the wedding a bit tricky." Ladybug: "Ma--Madame Cheng!"

(Send me 2 sentences and I’ll continue them like they’re lines from a fanfic.)

look this was supposed to be a short drabble and nOPE WHOOPS IM BAD AT SHORT I GUESS

uh, desperada spoilers in this

ps i BARELY edited this sorry for any mistakes

EDIT: now with an AO3 link! because i know my track record with losing my own fics on tumblr

“Well,” Sabine says, much more thoughtfully than Ladybug had expected or been prepared for.  “If we legally adopt you both, son, that might make the wedding a bit tricky.“ 

“Ma-Madame Cheng!” Ladybug exclaims, feeling herself flush brightly.  “I’m- I’m flattered, really, thank you, but this- this should only be temporary, we don’t really need-” Marinette swallows, trying not to look at Chat Noir.  “Um, adoption.“ 

She shoots a quick glance over at her partner after all, but his sudden starstruck look is both the opposite of reassuring and sends some unidentifiable emotion shooting through her.  She knows he’s been enjoying this particular akuma fight more than she has- she has the really, deeply unsettling sense that Chat Noir didn’t have this kind of fun as a child before and he seems to be trying to make up for as much lost time as possible as fast as possible.

When she’s honest with herself about it, Marinette’s pretty sure that they both enjoy fighting villains more than they should. They still aren’t usually having this much fun unless it’s Max that’s been akumatised.  (They’re never thrilled to see anyone akumatised, but Max has given them opportunities to pilot a giant robot and leap into a video game- to say that fighting him hasn’t been fun would be such an obvious lie).

This time Marinette had missed both the akuma’s actual monologue and explanation, because even though Chat Noir had been as quick as ever to tackle her out of the way the akuma has such a ludicrously fast recharge time that she’d had no trouble firing again.

Chat Noir had still tried to throw himself over her again.  Marinette is relieved he wasn’t successful, because he already looks about five years old, and she doesn’t want to test whether the effect is cumulative- but that means that she’s currently in the body of a five year old, too.

She hadn’t noticed when it was just Chat who’d been hit, but the akuma’s youth ray seems to change more than just their bodies.  Her Lucky Charm had been her own cat pillow in red-spotted glory and Marinette had spent too long staring at and fretting over it, to the point where they’d both had to hide to retransform.

And the bakery had been close by.

And the Lucky Charm had seemed to indicate that was where they should go.

And there’s a tiny, terrified part of her that’s cropped up since first being hit that had been crying out for her mother.

They’d both retransformed crouched on either side of a bakery counter, barely out of each other’s sight, and then before Marinette could get past her disappointment that they were both still children Maman had appeared only to exclaim over them both.

Maman laughs now, which is also not terribly reassuring.  "Oh, sweethearts, I’m mostly kidding.  I know you’ll be back to your normal selves as soon as you defeat the akuma."  She eyes Chat Noir knowingly, though, and adds, "Although, I might remind you that it isn’t only young children who can be adopted.  There are teenage adoptions, you know.  It might raise some difficulties to adopt you both but I can’t see that anyone would want to separate you, any more than I would keep my own daughter from her best friend.”

Marinette viciously strangles any and all noise that tries to escape her throat at that.

Chat Noir does no such thing, letting out a sound that’s more cat than human in his delight, and this time Marinette turns to face him entirely.

He looks as happy as she’s ever seen him. His ears and tail are both giving happy constant twitches, and his purring isn’t the loudest she’s heard it but it’s getting close, and his eyes have dilated wider than she’s seen them since the time Venom Rose had conjured catnip all around them.

The longer Marinette looks at her partner, the more the sudden crack in her heart widens.  He looks- he looks so happy about the prospect of adoption.  He looks way too happy about it.

Marinette’s not even going to think about her mother’s offer to adopt her.  Ladybug is used to a certain level of identity shenanigans, because it’s already a struggle juggling Alya and Nino knowing about each other and everyone knowing about Chloe and Adrien knowing about Viperion while Chat Noir knows about Aspik, which she still hasn’t found a good way or time to explain to her partner-

“Kids,” Maman says gently, breaking through Marinette’s racing thoughts.  “Can you fight like this?  Do you need help?” She reaches behind her without looking and seems to let a broom handle hop into her hand.  “I may not be a superhero, but I do know how to fight.”

“You do?” Chat Noir breathes, finally breaking his silence.  He’s bouncing on the balls of his feet now, tail tip twitching rapidly. 

Maman laughs.  “Dear, I’m a mother.  Of course I do.  How else would I make sure my daughter knows how to fight, too?  Although I admit she has a much better handle on strategy than I do, even at her age!”

Ladybug finally, finally breaks herself out of her deepening worry over her partner’s enthusiasm to wrap an arm around his elbow and tug before her mother can say anything else embarrassing or potentially dangerous.  She does not need Chat Noir to think of Marinette as being a strategist.  “I’m really grateful, Ma- Madame Cheng, but it isn’t safe without our powers.  We’ll be alright if we stay together, but thank you so much for your generosity!”

“If you’re sure,” Maman says, looking honestly disappointed.  “But I want you both to know you can come back here anytime, okay? Any time at all , and if you need anything at all.”

Marinette thinks that’s the end of it, and she finally gets her partner to move in the direction of the door, only to stop when she hears her mother speak up one last time. 

“I meant it about the adoption,” Maman says gently.   “For both of you.  I don’t know your home lives, but you spend a lot more time fighting for all of us than you do at home- especially you, Chat Noir, we have all seen how you protect your partner.  And no matter your decision- really, you are welcome any time.  There is always space for one or two more at dinner.”

“T-thank you, Madame Cheng,” Marinette manages, desperately looking away from her partner because the hope and happiness suffusing his face at her mother’s offer is too much.  It’s way too much. 

It makes her already-cracking heart sink down to the soles of her feet, because she knew already that Chat Noir doesn’t have the happiest home life, but she didn’t think it was so bad that he would be this over the moon about being invited to share her home life. 

It would be so dangerous to start having him over for dinner regularly. 

But he looks so happy, the expression transforming his child’s face in a much more open way than she’s used to seeing on him at their real ages.  The mask does nothing to hide his delight. 

She’s going to have to invite him. 

She doesn’t know how she’s going to handle Ladybug not making it to family dinners they’ve both been invited to, not without either hurting his feelings (because her goofy partner is far more sensitive than almost anyone has realised) or risking too many dropped hints.  But she’s going to have to figure out some way around that.

“You’re sure you don’t need help, you two?” Maman asks worriedly as she opens the door for them.  “You should gather some of your allies, at least.”

Marinette immediately pictures a five year old Chloe and winces. Five year old Alya, while an intriguing thought, also doesn’t strike her as a good idea.

But she’s known Nino forever and she’s confident he can keep his head in battle even if he suffers the same age reversion as they both have, and she thinks Luka would have no trouble remaining calm and focused as well.  Plus, Second Chance means that Luka can stay an adult even when the rest of them are struggling.

“We’ll get our allies,” she assures her mother, even though she feels a little odd about it. “We’ll all be okay.”

“-just come back here if you still need help,” Maman says firmly. “Both of you! Partners should stick together.”

Chat Noir is practically vibrating with happiness as he exclaims, “We will!”

Maman smiles.  “Good luck then, Chat Noir, little bug.”

For the very first time Marinette takes Chat Noir with her to Master Fu’s.  Master Fu had given her a go-ahead on it after Desperada, after Marinette had spilled the day’s events to him out of a desperate need for reassurance only for her Master to gently point out that she knows very well who the most reassuring presence in her life is and it certainly isn’t him. 

And for the first time he’d said it was time to be more honest with her partner, time to begin to let Chat Noir in on more secrets.

As paranoid as it makes her, Marinette wants to involve him more.  She knows it hurts him not to know, that he feels like she doesn’t trust him when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Master Fu doesn’t seem terribly surprised to see their child forms or that they’ve shown up together.  He slides the Turtle Miraculous off without being asked and hands it to Marinette, then raises a questioning eyebrow when she hesitates over the Snake Miraculous and looks at Chat Noir.

She looks between him and Master Fu, distraught and unsure how much of her upset is due to their forcibly changed ages.

“You know the wisdom of your choices better than I ever can, Ladybug,” Master Fu says gently.  “If you think it is wise, then let it be so.”

Marinette takes a deep breath, then turns to Chat Noir and says, “I can go and get Carapace.  Can you bring this to Luka Couffaine? He lives on the Seine, on a boat called the Liberty.  He shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Chat Noir’s pupils dilate again, with happiness or shock or both, she isn’t sure.  “I-I’ll go straight there. Thank you for trusting me with this, my Lady!”

Marinette stares after him, her heart pounding in a way it does not have her permission to do, and realises that if he’s this happy and Maman is that determined then there is no way her parents aren’t about to adopt a stray Chat as thoroughly as they possibly can. 

It’s not necessarily a displeased realisation. 

He looked so happy.  She’s used to his light-hearted humour, but she’s never seen his whole being light up when it had when Maman had started teasing about adopting them both. 

The more Marinette thinks about it the more she starts to like the idea.  Chat Noir seems to waver between just fit enough and skinny enough to worry her, and knowing that he’s eating dinner with her would be a relief.  Knowing that he’s getting a little more of the affection he seems to crave so badly will be a relief.

Letting go of her worries and accepting that her family has maybe (definitely) gained a Chat by now, Marinette takes off herself to find Nino.  Navigating at this age and size is marginally more difficult but far more fun and she can live with that trade-off.

And the sooner they defeat this akuma the sooner she can make sure that no matter what Chat Noir’s real home life is like, he’ll have an escape to her own family.

(And if she tries really hard she can ignore the screaming revelation that her mother is apparently a Ladynoir shipper).

[theyrejustbehindtheveil]

Now presenting my @mlsecretsanta gift for @phantompierce-okamoto. Merry Chrysler :)

Ao3

///////////////

“Look, all I’m saying is, if you put Ladybug and Chat Noir together, then all the black cancels out and you get Christmas colours.”

“For the last fucking time, Als, we are not tinsel bombing the heros of Paris.”

Chloé crosses her arms and lean forward “Yeah. Ladybug deserves better, Cesaire, and you know it.”

Nino frowns. “How would you even make that happen?”

“Ambush?” Alya says, slightly too eagerly in Marinette’s opinion.

“How about we don’t”

“But Mariiiii” Alya whines.

“Alya, you know she wouldn’t like it.”

“Yeah but Chat Noir would probably be down. Cats love chasing sparkly stuff.”

“Chat Noir would absolutely be down.” Adrien interjects.

“What makes you so sure, Adrien? Huh? What if he’s allergic to tinsel, same as he is with feathers.”

“He is not!”

“How do you even know that, Dupain-Cheng?”

“Um. The Ladyblog?”

...

“Okay but what if it was a tinsel akuma.”

“Alya!”

“Yeah but, Alya, how would you even make that happen?”

“Do not doubt my skills, Nino, for I am Ladyblogger and journalist extraordinaire!”

“And that gives you the power to influence akumas?”

“No but I’m very persuasive. And I know Chloé!”

“Hey!”

Marinette really honestly thought that would be the end of it. Just the stress of the end of the year sending them all a little loopy and ridiculous. And yet, once Chloé and Alya get an idea properly lodged in their heads, it’s nearly impossible to talk them out of it. And so, Marinette, and therefore by extension Ladybug, finds herself at the beginning of December, in the midst of the end of term assignments and homework and the upswing in customers at the bakery, also having to evade her friends and their plans, and the armloads of tinsel that were Chloé’s main contribution to this exercise.

“Guys, I really don’t think she’s coming.”

“C'mon Mari, don’t be so worried. This is totally gonna work. She always comes by this time on a Monday”

“How do you even know that, Alya?”

“My skills are many and varied and also Ladybug is bright red and we’re near my house. I can see her out my bedroom window.”

Ah. Whoops.

Minutes pass. Nino starts fidgeting, not used to staying still for so long. Marinette wishes she’d thought to bring her sketchpad or something as she fixates on the hatching of the brickwork across from her and the way the shadows fall across Alya’s hair.

“Alya, babe, I don’t think she’s coming.” Alya’s grip tightens on the bundle of tinsel in her hands

“Shhh Nino. She’s coming, I know it.”

Marinette wishes she could sneak away and draw them away, but her only escape route is blocked by Alya and Nino who are now… staring each other down. Marinette looks away. She recognises that intense staredown as one of the things that has a tendency to lead to the two of them making out against lockers. And walls. And on one memorable occasion, a rooftop.

Behind her, the plaster between the bricks has partially eroded away. She looks up. A few meters up, there’s a wrought iron balconette. And then further over, a ledge that trails around the corner of the building. Maybe, if she used the wooden crates stacked nearby to give her a boost…

…

“ Wait, where’d Marinette go?”

//////////////

Ladybug grins as she fistbumps Chat Noir. The akuma they just dealt with was an easy one, and they’re wrapping up almost as soon as they’d really gotten underway. The only complication in the fight had been also having to avoid Alya and Chloé stalking her and Chat with armfuls of tinsel. Luckily they’d been talking about it in the group chat, otherwise she’d have been caught out like Chat was.

He’s still got bits of tinsel in his hair.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Alya sneaking closer, a truly terrifying grin on her face. At the same time, a sharp beeping starts up from her earrings.

“Aw hell. Chat?”

“Mrrp?”

“I gotta bug out. You good to go?” Alya’s getting closer, and Ladybug shifts her weight, ready to swing out.

He draws out his baton. “Yeah! See you next akuma.”

“Bye Chat!” She calls as she swings out, and giggles at the cry of frustration she can hear from Alya in her wake.

...

On the bright side, Alya does show her the photos she got of Chat being tinsel-bombed. Her favourite is the selfie Alya managed to get of Chat, Chloé, and her all draped in sparkly tinsel.

“Send me that one?”

“Sure girl. But no sharing. I want to wait until I have one of Ladybug too, so I can post them together, and i don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“No spoilers, I promise.”

////////////////

Once again, Marinette finds herself trying desperately to dissuade her friends not to tinsel-bomb the superheroes of Paris, in what appears to be a losing battle for her dignity.

“All I’m saying is, you’re running out of time and she seems to have evaded you pretty easily so far.”

Alya goes from lying on the floor to bolt upright so fast that Marinette can hear her spine make an audible crack . “But Mari! We can’t just give up !”

Adrien looks up from the tangle of limbs he has wound himself into. “What if we asked her nicely?”

Nino twists to look at the tangle of boy behind him. “Adrien, buddy, she’ll never go for it”

“Okay so what if we asked Chat Noir to ask her nicely. I know - I mean, I reckon he would totally go for it.”

“But Adrien! The surprise! The mystery! She cant be ready for it! It has to be a surprise!”

Chloé chuckles from where she’s dangling upside down off the side of Marinette’s bed. “Chill, Cesaire. We got Chat, we can so get Ladybug too.”

Alya hops up to go get the whiteboard that Marinette has leaning against the wall by her desk so that she can drag it over to where everyone can see it.

“Okay so what we gotta do is this…

It is two days before Christmas, and Marinette is busier than a whole beehive trying to get everything done. Thankfully she’s finally started the school holidays, and has a bit more time in the day, but still. Between making and wrapping presents and helping her parents finish all the Christmas orders, she barely has time to keep up with Alya’s tinsel-bombing plans and shenanigans.

Ladybug’s had some pretty close calls, although thankfully no tinsel-themed akuma, much to Alya’s profuse disappointment. On one memorable occasion, she had to hide behind a parked car, detransform, and pop out on the other side ready to help Nino and Chloé look for the suddenly and mysteriously missing Ladybug.

///////////////

As of right now, she’s had a phone that’s been going off all day, indubitably Alya fretting about it being so close to Christmas without the photos that she wants, and trying to corral everyone into another strategy meeting. Marinette isn’t sure though, since she quite frankly doesn’t have the time to check her phone.

The sun is lying low on the horizon when she hears the akuma alert go off on her phone, a jaunty little jingle Alya programmed into all their phones one day while bored. Minutes later, Ladybug makes an appearance on the scene of the akuma, only to find Chat Noir grinning as he plays keep away with an akuma that looks like a really small and misshapen Christmas tree. He waves at her as soon as she lands.

“Hawkmoth is really running out of ideas if this is the best he can do,” Chat says cheerily to her as she takes in the scene.

“Yeah, at least we’re not gonna get killed by a Christmas tree,” she returns. “ You’re doing great Chat, but let’s get this wrapped up, I have like three places I’m supposed to be right now.

Her partner laughs, but then has to duck out of the way of the akuma intent on getting whatever the token Chat has back. She thinks it might be some kind of bauble, but she can't quite see.

The next few minutes mostly have Chat trying to get clear enough of the akuma that he can break the token.

“Just one more minute, my lady, I’m almost clear,” he shouts, incredibly loudly, before immediately throwing the token full force at the ground. It shatters, and she springs into action, yoyo snapping out at the little butterfly that escapes. Moments later she turns, expecting to see her partner ready for their usual fistbump, but instead her vision is filled with a mess of sparkly, colourful -

oh no

Her friends laughter fills her ears as she vanishes under armfuls of tinsel. Marinette takes a moment to mourn the last shreds of her dignity before letting a small smile escape onto her lips.

Merry Christmas indeed.

THE END

////////////////////

EPILOGUE

On Christmas morning, the Ladyblog posts a photoset that goes viral within the hour. It shows two side by side photos, one of Chat Noir and the other of Ladybug, both sporting nearly identical expressions of shock and both covered in tinsel. The third is a selfie, showing both heroes, still draped in tinsel, posing with three teenagers in santa hats. The internet identifies the girl who runs the Ladyblog and the daughter of the mayor of Paris, but they have trouble working out who the boy with the headphones is.

The caption reads: “MERRY CHRISTMAS LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR FANS!!!!

BONUS VIDEO COMING TO THE LADYVLOG IN THE NEW YEAR!!!!”

Suffice to say, the comment section goes nuts, and the site crashes several times that day, to Alya’s deep satisfaction. A very merry Christmas is had by her.

[mikauzoran]

Marichat Drabble: Laugh

The rain had finally let up that evening, but the rooftops were still slick from the deluge. Chat Noir nearly lost his footing twice as he raced to Marinette’s side. It was late, past midnight, and he had a feeling that he’d have to wake her up, but it would be worth it.

His pockets felt heavy with their cargo, and the sooner he was free of it, the better.

Two blocks from the bakery, on the other side of the school, he was surprised to find Ladybug sitting on a rooftop, feet dangling, gazing up at the stars.

“Good Evening, Buginette,” he greeted, breaking out the old nickname that suddenly felt so perfect.

Ladybug gave a start at the intrusion on her thoughts but smiled once she registered her partner landing on the chimney beside her. “Good Evening, Chaton. What are you doing out so late?”

“I’m sneaking out to see a girl,” he snickered with a wink, pressing a finger to his lips.

When her eyes widened and her coloring drained, he added, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng at the bakery. You remember her—super cute, couple of akumatized people in love with her, unhealthily brave as a civilian.”

That put the roses back in Ladybug’s cheeks. “Yes, I remember Marinette. Why are you meeting her so late? …Is she your girlfriend or something?” Ladybug teased just to spite herself.

“I wish,” Chat snorted, but Ladybug didn’t get time to process the statement before he continued, “Something important happened, and I need to talk to her. I have to give her something.”

Ladybug arched an eyebrow in a manner so reminiscent of Sabine, Chat almost laughed. “Are you okay, Chat Noir?”

He shrugged off her concern. “Oh, yeah. Don’t worry about it, Buginette.”

Ladybug considered him intently for a moment before deciding to let it go. “…It’s been a while since you’ve called me that, you know. It’s been a while since you’ve called me ‘Milady’ too. I’ve been ‘Ladybug’ or ‘Bug’ for a little over a year now.” She put the statement out there and then waited to see what he would do with it.

He hopped down from the chimney, settling beside her on the ledge. He looked up at the stars as he replied in a soft voice. “I needed some space to get over you. Pet names weren’t really appropriate anymore.”

She nodded, only half comprehending. “But now they are?”

“Just for tonight,” he whispered with a touch of wistfulness.

“What makes tonight special?” she wondered.

Chat turned to her, wearing an impish smile. “I’ll tell you later. So. What is Milady doing out late?”

Ladybug winced and then tried to pretend that she hadn’t. “The stars are so pretty after the storm. It’s calming, sitting here and looking out into the universe.”

“Ladybug, that wince wasn’t subtle,” he chuckled. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head. “I was…I’m kind of going through something, trying to figure things out, make up my mind, make some decisions. I want to share my identity with someone…someone I’m in love with…and Tikki…Tikki wouldn’t shut up. The only way to get some peace and quiet was to transform, so…here I am…sitting on a rooftop, thinking futilely and not wanting to go back home because that will only mean disapproving glares and lectures from my kwami.”

Chat nodded, trying to keep his face neutral. “Um…this guy…and feel free to tell me it’s none of my business, but…the guy you want to share your identity with…would that happen to be the guy you always…the one you rejected me for? Sorry,” he backpedaled. “It’s really not my business. I shouldn’t pry.”

Ladybug sighed, reaching out to give his knee a reassuring pat. “No. It’s…there’s another guy.”

“I see.” He was doing a pretty good job of keeping his voice even. He was proud of himself, especially considering how much he had riding on what she was saying.

“I’ve kind of…this past year since you decided to give up on me, I’ve…gotten to know someone. As a civilian. He’s a friend, but…he’s really wonderful. I want him to be more than a friend, but I can’t help but think I owe it to him to be honest, so…I want to explain everything.”

Chat nodded again, biting his lip to keep his anguish from showing. “Do you think he likes you too?” he asked conversationally. The night before it hadn’t sounded like Marinette had any hope for either of her loves. Chat wondered if he’d accidentally given her the resolve to do something about her feelings for the second guy.

Whoops. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

He was moving to London the next day. He was going to get Sabine’s little assignment out of the way, and then she was going to have to personally drive him to London to settle him in so that he could start getting over her daughter a second time.

“I didn’t think so,” Ladybug broke back into his thoughts. “I never thought so. He’s always been a bit of a flirt with me, even before we actually knew each other, so I never thought he was actually interested. I thought that was just the way we were together…but…” Her face was beginning to match the hue of her suit. “last night,” she whispered, touching her fingertips to her lips. “he kissed me.”

Chat’s head whipped around. He frowned. “What?”

“He…kissed me,” she repeated, rubbing at her lips, looking anywhere but at him. “It wasn’t—I mean, it wasn’t like a real kiss—Well, it was because our lips technically touched, but-but it wasn’t like a deep kiss or a long kiss or… He just gave me a little peck, but—”

“—Oh my God,” Chat gasped, hand flying to cover his own mouth as he stared at the love of his life twice over and realized that—holy crap—it was him. She loved him. HE was the second boy. HE was the one she was thinking about revealing her identity to. He was the luckiest man on the face of the earth. He was not moving to London!

Ladybug gave a start at his exclamation, turning to stare at him in alarm. “What?! What happened?”

He looked away. “Nothing. Sorry. Just…He must have some kind of feelings for you if he kissed you. I mean, people don’t just kiss people, right? You should…You should go for it.”

Ladybug blinked, feeling like she should ask him what he’d really been reacting to, but… “You think so?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, slowly regaining his composure. “Yes. Definitely. Go home and tell Tikki that it’s your life, and she needs to butt out a little. It’s not like you’re revealing yourself to the whole world. Just one guy who’s probably hopelessly in love with you.”

Ladybug gulped. “You think?”

Chat turned to her with a tender grin that held so many promises she couldn’t even begin to decipher. “It’s painfully easy to be hopelessly in love with you, Buginette,” he assured. “If that guy doesn’t return your feelings, he’s a twice-damned fool.”

She chuckled and shyly looked away. “Thank you, Chaton.”

“Any time.”

It was peaceful in the silence of the night for a minute as they both looked up at the stars, lost in their own thoughts.

“I don’t want to go home yet,” Ladybug muttered. “I’m not keeping you, though, am I?”

Chat shook his head. “I was planning on having to wake Marinette up anyway. She should be asleep, so it doesn’t really matter what time I get there. I can sit for a while longer with you, if you want me here.”

“Your company would be nice,” she admitted.

“…Wanna play a game?” he suggested.

“What kind of game?” Ladybug knew firsthand as Marinette that Chat’s games were usually tricky.

“A hypothetical game.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Is the game itself hypothetical, or is it a game comprised of hypotheticals?”

He rolled his eyes. “Semantics. A game of hypotheticals. I’ll go first. Hypothetically speaking, what would you say if I told you I knew your identity?”

Ladybug nearly fell off the roof. She pinwheeled her arms to regain her balance before squawking, “What?!” loud enough to rouse the dead of the Catacombs.

Chat raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. “Wow. That bad, huh?”

“Wh-What?” she repeated.

“Hypothetically, Bug,” he snickered. “But your reaction answers the question. Your turn to ask me one.”

“Uh…” She blinked, trying to get a handle on her heart beating in her ears. “Um…Hypothetically…what would you do if you had to choose between saving me and saving a bus full of children? You know. One of those classic supervillain ploys with the girlfriend and the sidekick hanging over vats of acid or whatever.”

“Save the kids,” Chat snorted, “if you hadn’t already broken free and saved them yourself.”

Ladybug hummed at that, sounding pleased with his answer.

“Hypothetically, what would you say if I told you I was in love with you?”

Ladybug nearly fell off the roof again. The look on his face was so earnest, it shook her. “Wh-What?” she choked. “A-again?”

He shrugged. “Still,” he chuckled. “I hypothetically fell in love with your civilian self while trying to get over you. This was before I hypothetically found out your identity and hypothetically realized I’ve been in love with the same woman for four years.”

Ladybug was silent.

“…So…hypothetically…what would you say?” he prompted.

“This is a weird game,” Ladybug sighed, looking away. “You’re making my head hurt. I just told you I was in love with someone.”

“Yeah, but that was in real life. This is entirely hypothetical,” he teased, enjoying the attractive blush crawling down her neck.

This was fun now that it was no longer soul-crushingly painful.

“Hypothetically?” she snorted, unable to share in his certainty about his feelings for her.

“Hypothetically,” he confirmed.

She rolled her eyes and turned to glare at him. “Let’s hypothetically get married.”

“Hypothetically yes!” he cheered, unable to hold back giddy laughter.

Ladybug sighed and reluctantly joined in his chuckle. “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying this. Hypothetically, where do you want to have the wedding?”

“Well, I had always hypothetically wanted to marry you at Notre Dame, but…”

They jointly winced, looking across the river to the Ile de la Cité.

“Maybe…by the time we’re actually old enough to seriously think about marriage, hypothetical or otherwise…Notre Dame will be an option again,” Ladybug whispered, reaching out and finding his hand.

He gave hers a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah…. So…hypothetically…what would you say if I told you I know who Papillon is?”

Ladybug jumped. Their hands separated. “Let’s go hypothetically kick his butt.”

Chat grimaced, looking away. “I have an amendment. What would you say if I told you I know who Papillon is, and he’s my father?”

Ladybug stiffened. “Chat Noir, you have a really twisted imagination sometimes. I know from what you’ve told me that your father kind of sucks occasionally, but he’s not evil. Let’s not hypothetically put him on the Papillon list…unless he’s done something to you. Did he do something to you? Are you okay?”

Chat shook his head. He looked tired. “I’m fine, Bug. He hasn’t done anything to me. He wouldn’t. He loves me…even if we are on different sides sometimes.”

Ladybug gave him a lingering look, unsure if she should let it go. “You’re okay?”

He gave her a smile. “I’m okay. It’s your turn.”

She pursed her lips. “Okay. Same hypothetical scenario with two vats of acid. Me and Marinette. Which one?”

Chat rolled his eyes. “There wouldn’t be anything for me to do. You’d both save yourselves and then team up to kick the villain’s butt. All I would have to do would be bring popcorn.”

Ladybug matched his eyeroll. “We’re both unconscious. Pick.”

Chat shrugged. “Fine. Marinette.”

Ladybug’s eyes widened, her mouth forming into a little “o” of surprise.

“And then you because the hero always manages to save both the sidekick and the girlfriend…but Marinette first,” he elaborated.

“You didn’t have to think about that very hard,” she observed, not quite sure what to feel.

“Do me a favor and scoot back away from the edge of the roof. I don’t want you falling for real. Please,” he requested.

She frowned. “Why would I fall off the roof?”

“I’m about to say something surprising,” he sighed, steeling himself.

She begrudgingly did as he’d asked. “Okay. What?” she prompted.

“This is in no way hypothetical,” he prefaced. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed, shaking her head.

“I am one hundred percent serious. I am telling the truth. I’m not joking,” he clarified.

“I get it, Chat Noir,” she groaned.

He nodded, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t have to think about it. It wouldn’t even be a conscious choice for me anymore. If Marinette were in danger, my body would just move on its own. I’m in love with her.”

Ladybug proved that Chat had made the right call in asking her to come away from the edge. “Wha—” she tried. She made two more aborted efforts before getting, “Really?” out half a minute later. She managed to sound hopeful and terrified at the same time.

“Really,” Chat cooed softly, smiling as he finally looked her in the eyes and confessed. “I am irretrievably in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Her hand went to her mouth in shock, covering the burgeoning smile there. A delicate blush slowly spread across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, partially obscured by the mask. She was trying to temper her response as Ladybug, but she looked so happy, like she couldn’t believe her own luck.

“I’ve been hopelessly besotted for over a year now. In fact, I fell for her within two weeks of deciding to give up on you. I fought with my feelings for a while, but…she’s like you, hard not to love. I was doomed from the start.”

Chat stopped there, smiling as he looked up at the stars, surreptitiously sneaking glances at Ladybug as she tried to sort through everything he had just laid at her feet. He wasn’t concerned with the fallout, though. She looked over the moon.

“She’s…really lucky,” Ladybug whispered, a giddy laugh raising in her throat.

That was Marinette’s laugh. How had he never heard his Princess in his Lady before? He hadn’t been listening.

“I hope she thinks so when I tell her,” Chat sighed, getting to his feet. “Well, unless you need me for anything else, Buginette, I’m going to go drop in on the love of my life. I’m thinking about taking the scenic route to clear my head, so I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes,” he added helpfully.

Ladybug scrambled to standing as well. “Uh…No. No, I’m good. I actually think I’ve reached a decision, so…” She smiled and laughed nervously.

He found himself chuckling at how adorable she was. “Good deal. In all honesty, I think things are going to work out for you, Ladybug.”

“Yeah.” She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, and her face was beginning to hurt from it. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Best of luck to the both of us, then.” With a wink and a finger salute, he was off.

[forests-green]

Spidersona Week 2k19, Day 5: Archenemy

AN: drug use, knives, general craziness, hospitals. Please tell me if I have to add anything else.

               “Della, I got a hit! Alex Griffin’s Picogram and Chatsnap! And just your luck, he’s going for a date at the Sweet Cup Bakery & Beverages!” Cali whooped as she typed frantically on her laptop and phone.

               “Wait the one you work at? How cool is that?” Della told her.

               “Just the one. I wasn’t working this afternoon because of tutoring, but I can call to see if I can take a shift now. How’s Sam, by the way?”

               Della growled. She still couldn’t believe that Cali had done an interview for the Chronicle as well as sold them a picture. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

               Cali turned her attention to her phone and frowned. “Della, you gotta see this.”

               It was Sam Jameson’s Chatsnap, and it showed her getting ready for a coffee date with her new friend Alex. The two girls turned to each other in shock.

               “Let’s go.”

               Cali nodded firmly. They needed to help her and make sure she lived to produce her play.

()()()()()()()()()

               Cali watched from behind the counter as Alex sauntered up to Sam. He’s not that bad-looking she thought. He was dressed up in a black button-down and lime green tie to go with black jeans. His black hair was effortlessly styled and made a sharp contrast with his weirdly pale skin. At least he opened the door for her.

               “Welcome to Sweet Cup! What can I getcha?” she asked, perfectly ready to tell Della when it was time. All she had to say was “frog” because that was totally inconspicuous.

               “Hey, aren’t you that girl who I interviewed about Spider-Star? Cali, yeah?”

               She laughed and asked again for their orders. “And, yeah, that was me. So glad you remembered.”

               Sam pulled out cash to pay for her plain mint tea, but Alex stepped in. “How about you choose a place to sit?” he said easily. Sam melted at his smile and wandered off.

               “Okay, I’ll pay you fifty bucks of you slip this,” he said quietly, holding up a small baggie of powder, “in her drink.” He gave Cali that winning smile again, but if they were to take him down, she had to take it.

               “What are you getting? Also, I want that fifty now.”

               He slid it across the counter while ordering a huge coffee with four creams and five sugars. He then turned around and blew a kiss at his date, and she blushed.

               “I’ll get your orders ready. Go sit. I’ll bring it over.” She told him nonchalantly.

               He sauntered off to go flirt like he wasn’t a threat. Little bitch, she thought. Good luck hurting her, you idiot.

               She quickly made the coffee first and dumped the powder and sugar in at the same time. She then made the tea like nothing had happened. Using her best “seductive waitress” walk, she plopped the drinks at the table and walked away.

               “Frog.” She whispered to her Bluetooth headset, feeling the arm knives hidden under her long-sleeved shirt. She was prepared on her end.

()()()()()()()()()()

               “So, he’s actually drinking the coffee? And has no idea it’s drugged?” Della asked incredulously.

               Cali smirked but didn’t say anything. “You’re smirking, I can tell.” The spider told her.

               It took a while, but eventually they ran out of things to say. This was probably because Alex had been getting sluggish from the first sip.

               “You wanna go someplace?” he asked her while rubbing his face. He was confused. Why wasn’t she asleep yet? The drug he had given her had to have been working by now. Alex could tell she was getting concerned.

               “Um, yeah, sure… Where do you want to go?”

               “Out the back door…”

               Sam was now visibly confused. “Why?”

               He managed to give her that winning grin again. “Do you trust me?”

               She remembered the way that Cali had spoke about Spider-Star, how she had asked for trust and was led to a better life. “Okay.”

               He stumbled out of his chair and slung an arm around her shoulders. “This way.”

()()(()()()()()())

               At the back door, there was an argument going on.

               “You cannot be outside for this. Please, Cali. I can’t lose you.”

               “I can hold my own, Spider-Star. Trust me. The only thing my deadbeat parents actually taught me was the use of a blade.”

               “Then wait inside! He might try to escape that way, and you can help Sam!”

               Suddenly, Cali stopped arguing. “That… is a good idea.”

               Surprised, Della opened the door for her.

               Blowing her a kiss, Cali said cheekily “Kick some ass, Spider-Star.”

               Della gave her a peace sign salute.

               Not five minutes later, Alex stumbled through the door with Sam. Della waited, and counted to eight.

               Then she jumped, landing squarely on his back. There was a tinkle of broken glass, and fog began to rise from under his shirt.

               “Listen- Sam, GO! I don’t know what this shit does, and you don’t want to breathe it in!” Spider-Star yelled. Sam turned and dashed away.

               Alex laughed. “I was wondering when I would see the Spider-Menace.”

               Della punched him across the face. (Peggy Carter would have been proud.)

               She then webbed him to a wall, her hand on his throat. Hers was itching due to the fog, but he laughed on. “You think she is safe? Or that tricky barista? This gas is something special, Spider-Bitch. I only use it when forced to, because its punch is way better than any you could hit me with. You’re a much better victim than some tranny, anyways.” He sneered.

               She went blind with rage. Slamming him into the sidewalk, she managed to tell Cali, “Stay inside! There’s a gas… makes you… slow… Can’t lose… you.” She slumped on the ground.

               “What a wonderful thing trained immunity is! I bet you’re just mad because I spoke the truth, huh? You and that tranny jokester?”

               But then, Spider-Star rose. Somehow, he got even paler. She gave him her best death stare, and he seemed to realize his mistake.

               But Della had made mistakes too. While she was waiting, she had been swinging all over the alley, leaving webs everywhere. He grabbed one, wrapped it around his hands, and clambered the side of the building. Still fatigued after the effects of the weird gas, she didn’t pursue him. She stumbled inside, to find gas had slipped in, leaving Cali knocked out on the floor.

               She grabbed Cali’s trench coat and called 911. “911, what’s your emergency?”

               “M-my sister, there was this gas, an-and now she’s passed out- “

               “Name and address?”

               “I’m Della… Cali’s the passed out one… an’ we’re at the Sweet Cup Bakery on Queens Avenue.”

               “An ambulance is headed your way. Are you okay?”

               “There was a man in the alley, and he got a bit beat up, I was watching, and Spider-Star saw him try to mug a girl, so she jumped on him, and that released the gas.”

               “Okay. The ambulance is outside. Please keep breathing. Your sister will be fine, I promise.”

               “Thanks.” Della exhaled.

               She could hear the smile in the operator’s voice. “No problem.” The operator did like helping people, and she was a Spider-Star fan. Not a bad start to her shift.

()()()()())(

               Della sat in the white waiting room. The nurses and doctors were constantly going in and out of Cali’s room, and all she could do was wait.

               I’m sorry, Cali. I’ll do better next time.

               Della closed her eyes and slept.

[it-refused]

Working Title: Forward, Back (20/?)

Summary:  Knowing what’s going to happen doesn’t mean Sans can stop it.  Maybe he could’ve put it off forever.  Sans decides to go.

Rating: T

Part Summary: They’ve found Sans.  Now what do they do with him?

A/N: Whoops, it’s been kind of a while, hasn’t it?    

>>First Part<<

>>Complete Parts on Ao3<<

--

The air started to get cold and Alphys rubbed her arms.  The cold air made her sluggish and tired, but at least with a fire monster nearby, it wouldn't get too bad.  

Papyrus was waiting outside his house.  His smile brightened when he saw them, but he kept fidgeting like he was nervous.  

"So, what's up?"  Undyne asked.  "We're grabbing his tailbone and hauling him out of this pit, right?"

"UM. THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA, UNDYNE, BUT HE SAID HE WANTS TO FINISH SOMETHING BEFORE HE GOES."

Undyne groaned.  "Maybe you can distract him, and I'll grab him before he runs off again."

"I AM NOT SURE THAT IS THE BEST IDEA?"

--

While they were discussing their strategy, Toriel tapped Frisk on their shoulder.  "My child.  Are you well?"  They had seemed distracted since they had heard that Sans had been found.

Had they lost interest in their mission, already?  Sans was alive, but they still needed to bring him back to the surface.  

Frisk glanced around while the rest of them spoke.  Toriel repeated their name, and they suddenly noticed they were being addressed.  They said they were well.  Relieved.

Toriel nodded.  "I did not quite realize how much I feared I was going to lose a dear friend until I knew he was still with us."  She would tell Sans that he had scared her "down to (her) bones." That would surely give him a set up he could work with, even in his weakened state.  

Papyrus knocked loudly at the door to his old home's basement.  Alphys stood closest to him, nervously fiddling with hem of her sweater.

"He can't fix it," Alphys said.  "Maybe he's so, umm, turned around?  He thinks he can?"  She swore, quietly.

Frisk nodded at Toriel and put their hand on her arm, for a moment.  They were trying to comfort her.  

"Then you can do it, and we can all go home," Undyne said.  

"N-no. I really can't.  We, um - I still feel like a jerk for just saying it, but - we both worked on it for ages."  

Papyrus gave up on knocking and yelled, "SANS!  YOU HAVE VISITORS." He opened the door.

Toriel stepped forward and went down first with Papyrus.  Her primary purpose was to heal, so she could not let herself hang back.  

Sans' lab was entirely new to her.  It was fairly neat, despite a thin layer of dust on everything that hadn't been touched recently. A tarp was set on the floor and pieces of machinery were set out on it, in an organized fashion that surprised her.  

The skeletal remnants of an enormous broken machine towered over the space.  The energy that came off of the thing, even broken, left her uneasy.  Toriel could not place the kind of magic that powered it, except that something she sensed reminded her of Sans.

The monster himself was nowhere to be seen.  "Sans?" she called.  Had he run off again?

"hey, tori," Sans said, from behind her.  He was on the steps leading upstairs and out.  

Toriel huffed.  She fought the urge to scold him, and lost.  "You have no idea how worried we have been, you old bag of bones!"  

Papyrus was visibly relieved when his brother made his reappearance.  The rest of their little group had followed right after Toriel, so they were all staring at Sans from the bottom of the stairs.  

Sans' face was blank.

"Did you forget how to use a phone?"  Toriel continued.  She started to say something else, but stopped herself in time.  She took a deep breath.  

This was not the time.  Papyrus was speaking now and she listened without really hearing him.  She had come along for a reason, hadn't she?

Toriel went over to Sans.  He was still on the steps, so they were almost eye-to-eye socket.  She gave him a brief examination, checking his HP and his general status.  Sans looked physically uninjured and he had no easy-to-spot symptoms of the types of illnesses he caught when he health was poor.  

He was at full health at the moment, not that it meant terribly much when he was at a single point.  

"should've practiced my routine if i knew i'd have such a big audience today," Sans said.  

"You should've figured we'd be here eventually."  Undyne put her hands on her hips.  "We're here to drag your bony butt out of this stinkhole and back to the surface."  

"eh. thanks but no thanks."

"You need a warm meal and to sleep in your own bed," Toriel said.  

Grillby nodded.  He had been like a ghost since he heard Sans was all right. He hovered by the table that was covered in papers.  He hadn't looked away from Sans since he appeared.  

"sounds great."  Sans stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back onto his heels.  "i won't be too much longer."

"Right! 'Cause you won't be any longer!  If the healer says you need to go home and eat, that's what's gonna happen," Undyne said.

Toriel recognized the risk.  The first thing they needed to do was keep Sans from disappearing to some new even more difficult to find hiding place.  

"That was not an order," she said.  "It is what would be best, but it sounds as if you are not interested in leaving."  

"heh. believe me, tori, i'd love to hit the road," Sans said, shrugging.  

It would be best for him to go home, but second best was just keeping him from running off again.  Toriel frowned.  Should she risk pressuring him into coming with him?  She had so little idea what was keeping him here.

"Uh...sorry for interrupting, but..."  Alphys knelt down next to the machine parts on the ground.  "Did you, um, get some idea how to fix this, Sans?"  

The pause before Sans answer kept stretching until Toriel wasn't sure if he was going to say anything at all.  Sans glanced at Papyrus before looking down.  "nah.  it's busted for good."

"Ok, good."  Alphys stood up and brushed grime off her legs.

"real great."  

"N-no, I mean, um.  It sucks!  It really does, but, Sans, if you were staying to fixed that, we might as well all move down here."  

"nah. it's as broke as a guy walking out of a bakery."  The pinpoints of light in his eye sockets suddenly clarified.  The light from them was sharp and piercing.  He was looking directly at Alphys.  

"So, uh, what's the project?" Alphys moved over to the papers by Grillby.  "N-no offense.  But if it's just you and something you're trying to build yourself, you'll spend half the time trying to remember basic engineering."  She adjusted her glasses.  "Sorry, Grillby, but the glare, uh..."

He stepped back.

"Thank you."  

"been a couple years since school.  not really current on my electrical engineering."  

Toriel snorted.  

Alphys didn't hear him.  "Oh my god!  This is going to break before you turn it on."  She grabbed a pencil and started making changes.  

Sans stepped back up the stairs.  Before Toriel called out to him, he walked out from behind the old broken machine.  He stood next to Alphys.  

"yeah but if you fix that, will it work?" he asked.  

Toriel was still keeping close track of his health.  His HP ticked up by less than a full point - not much, but enough for Toriel to notice.

"Sure?" Alphys glanced at him, and then looked back at the papers.  "You'll have to tell me what it's supposed to do, though, because all I can tell is that you forgot how to safely transmit energy and that this'll generate a small magic field."  She frowned.  "And I can still barely read your handwriting."  

"can't tell you.  but you're sure?  it'll work."  

"It will run, Sans," Alphys said, sighing.  "I just have no idea if it will do what you want it to."  

He paused, again.  Toriel had the impression he just did not want to discuss this in front of everyone.  

"If we are going to be here for the night," she said, "I believe it is time to make dinner.  Grillby, will you aid me? Undyne, I am going to want to have a clear space outside for all of us to sit."  

Undyne did not want to leave Alphys alone, but Alphys spoke quietly to her, and she agreed to help.  Frisk went with them as well, to Toriel's surprise.  

Frisk helped Undyne move a few rocks and then said they had to take care of some "human business."  

They left to, Toriel assumed, find a bush or a large enough rock for privacy.  A few minutes later, they sent Toriel a message saying they wanted to check something and would be back later.  They must have lied about their reason for leaving so that no one would insist on going with them.  Her messages asking about what they had to check were ignored.  

As ever, she had to accept that her child would do whatever they felt the need to do.  Toriel told herself not to worry.

Undyne stuck glowing spears in a circle around the space she had cleared. The snow melted down to the rock underneath around Grillby and the fire Toriel had built.  The temperature was tolerable, almost comfortable.  

After about half an hour, when the food was cooked and ready, Papyrus came upstairs.  He brought plates down to Alphys and Sans.  When he came back up, Undyne was ready with questions.

"How's the nerd squad doing down there?"

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS...HAS...NO IDEA!"  His frustration was clear. "SANS WANTS TO LIVE OUT HIS SCIENCE FICTION FANTASIES, APPARENTLY."

"Well, with Alphys helping him, they'll be done in no time," Undyne said.

"THAT WOULD BE A MIRACLE!"  He almost sounded bitter, but he took a deep unnecessary breath and shook it off.  "BUT MIRACLES HAPPEN EVERY DAY FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK HARD ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM REALITY."

"That's the spirit!"

"WHERE?" Papyrus turned back towards Waterfall.  "I THOUGHT THEY HAD ALL MOVED TO THE SURFACE."

Undyne laughed.  "You goober."  

Toriel was more than curious about what "science fiction" Sans and Alphys were engaged in.  She did not trust Alphys to exhibit the best judgment, especially while helping a friend.  Toriel would take her aside and speak with her alone.  She needed to be aware that they would find another way to help Sans if the machine he was building was dangerous or immoral.  

Grillby was another worry.  His typical silence made him as difficult to read as his husband.  The health of everyone in the group was her priority, she decided.

She leaned towards him.  "We should begin planning for when we take him home."  Toriel kept her voice quiet.  

He started when she spoke.  After a minute, he nodded.  His fire died down to a soft red glow.

"He will need to see his doctor as soon as possible."

"The guy Alphys sees is pretty nice," Undyne said.  Toriel had meant to keep the conversation between herself and Grillby, and she had not meant that kind of doctor, but it was not a terrible suggestion.

"I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CONVINCE HIM TO GO FOR...YEARS!  AT THIS POINT." Papyrus squinted at the contents of the plate Grillby handed to him. "HE DOES NOT LISTEN.  EVEN TO HIS FAVORITE BROTHER!"

Grillby shook his head.  "......he saw someone, for a while.  He didn't think it would work out, and he...didn't want to disappoint you, Papyrus."  He spoke carefully.

Poor Papyrus.  He was dumbstruck.  Yet another thing he had not been told. Toriel needed to cook something he liked for him, as a comfort.  

Toriel had known about Sans' three month stint and had not been surprised when he stopped going.  

"man, all these hangouts with the doc and i'm still the same height," Sans said to her, once.

"You may be as shrunk as it is possible to be," Toriel had said.

"yeah. maybe there's something better to do on my wednesdays."  

She had made an attempt to change his mind, she remembered.

"all that's getting shrunk here is the contents of my wallet, tori." He had never seen himself getting anything useful out of it.

"......he couldn't be honest with them," Grillby said, interrupting her thoughts like he had heard them and was correcting her.  

The fire Toriel had built crackled loud in the center of the circle of glowing blue spears Undyne kept active around them.  Grillby looked cold, compared to it.  

He continued to speak, almost agonizingly slow.  "There are.......things about the world that he learned when he was a scientist that he...feels obligated to keep from people."  

"We are all adults," Toriel said, prim.  "The world is not cotton candy and sugared snails, and it never has been."  

She did appreciate that urge, though, to keep bad truths away from people who could be hurt by them.  She had found that it often just caused more pain in the long run.  There had been a child whose pain she bitterly recognized now, after years of teaching children from all different walks of life.  If she had allowed herself to see that pain, back then, and to let that child know that she saw it - could she have changed things?  Could she have protected them?  Those were questions for late at night, when she was alone.

"...yes." His glasses pointed at her.  "...but what he learned is...central to his difficulties.  He felt he had to be dishonest, even with them, so it was never going to help."  

"He seems to have at least been somewhat honest with you," Toriel said, gently.

"...yes."

"And you are also not going to share what he said with us."

"......no, I'm not."

Sans would not have spoken with someone who would just blurt it all out to everyone.

"...it's more important that he be the one to say it, than that you know," Grillby said.  

Toriel nodded.  "But of course you are too close to help him in the way that a healer might.  As am I, honestly."  She remembered her angry reaction when she saw him again.  She sighed.  "And as are you, Papyrus."

"APPARENTLY I WILL ALWAYS BE THE LAST TO KNOW, ANYWAY," Papyrus said.

Grillby looked back down.  "You will always be his little brother."

"OF COURSE I UNDERSTAND!"  

Toriel was not so much surprised that Papyrus was angry as she was that he was expressing it so honestly.  He and Sans were two sides of the same coin.  She was positive that if Sans were there, he would be acting completely different.    After all, Sans was his big brother, and someone had to take care of him.

"Hey, if it cheers you up, Papyrus, I don't understand shit about any of this.  No one told me anything, either."  She patted him on the shoulder with a force that looked painful.  

Papyrus sighed.  "IT DOES.  THANK YOU."

>>Next Part<<

[jeonghanniesfool]

Mingyu: Bakery AU

Genre: FLUFF

Requested by: @askingzombies

A scenario where you are a baker and NonIdol!Mingyu is a regular at your bakery.

you had made it

after years of trying

and practicing

and saving up money

you had finally opened up your own bakery

a bakery and cafe fusion

it wasn’t a very big place

a small shop on the corner

you ran it by yourself

the only other person that worked there was a small boy by the name of Chan who sometimes worked the cash register for you part time

otherwise, you managed the register yourself

every morning you got up early to head to the bakery

you baked a new batch of goods every morning

you didn’t open until 11am

you baked when there weren’t many customers or all day if Chan was there

it was finals week and Chan had told you that he wouldn’t be coming in that week because he needed to focus on his studies

of course you understood

so it was just you for the week

you spent a lot more time at the register than you usually did

when there were no customers, you set up your bell and retreated to the back to bake

one day, you were in the back baking

and you heard the little bell on the counter ring as usual

you dusted the flour off your hands

wrung out your apron 

tucked a curl of hair behind your ear

and walked out to greet the customer

and lo and behold

a DASHING young man with dark hair

and is super tall

your heart nearly stopped 

but you put on your best customer smile

“hi are you ready to purchase?”

“yes”

his voice was so husky and deep

you avoided eye contact and quickly entered the prices for the pastries he was purchasing into the cash register

your heart nearly flew out of your chest

when you suddenly felt a warm touch on your face-- his thumb gently brushing across your cheek

“what are you-”

his hand flew back and his face was red with embarrassment 

“i’m so sorry there was just flour on your face and I couldn’t help it but-”

“it’s fine it’s fine”

but your heart was racing 

little did you know but so was his

he handed you a few bills

you quickly bagged his pastries and handed him his receipt and his change

“thank you for coming”

he offered you a lopsided smile and a little wave as he left

you didn’t expect to see him again

but he came back the next day

he didn’t buy as many pastries

he also asked for a cup of coffee which you gladly made for him

“thank you so much... Y/N” 

he had to bend over a bit to peer at the name tag on your shirt hence the hesitation

low key you loved the way he said your name 

he went and sat down at one of the three tables in your store 

sipped his coffee

and nibbled on a pastry

you hesitated 

you felt that it was kind of rude to disappear into the back room while one of your customers werer still here

so you decided to stand and clean the counter while you waited for your latest batch of bread to bake

when he finished his pastry, he stood up and waved

“good bye Y/N. Keep up the good work!”

the next day Mingyu came again

Chan had got out of his exams early and was manning the register when he got there

you were in the back room

“oh hi!”

you heard mingyu’s familiar baritone voice

“where’s y/n?”

“she’s in the back baking.”

“oh i see. you’re her part timer?”

“yeah”

you decided then to come out of the back with the heavy tray of freshly baked cheese rolls 

some of the other customers in the store instantly approached you and asked for a few

and you busily bagged them off and handed them to Chan

Mingyu moved out of the way of the other customers

“it’s alright I’m not in a hurry” he reassured Chan

Chan rang up the other customers

some left and a few settled at the tables to chat

Mingyu walked up to the counter as you began to replace the trays in your display case

“two coffees, please Chan.”

Chan handed the two to him and Mingyu paid

“Y/N, are you busy?”

your head snapped up to look at Mingyu, surprised

when your eyes met his

you had to avert them

his face was just too perfect

“um I was going to start another batch”

“it’s almost closing, are you sure?”

“why do you ask?”

Mingyu blushed and held out one of his cups of coffee out to you

“I had hoped that we could sit and talk?”

you accepted his cup of coffee and allowed him to lead you to one of the tables

they were fairly small tables

so small that when you both sat down

your knees were nearly touching

“you come every day and I still don’t know your name” you realized

“how rude of me. I’m Mingyu” 

he shook your hand

his large hand easily covered yours

you held a long conversation

he constantly showered you with compliments on your amazing pastries

“they’re absolutely beautiful!”

“thank you so much I’m glad you like them”

“almost as beautiful as you are”

“thank you- what?”

he came back every day near closing so that he could have a cup of coffee with you and enjoy your company

you had shyly told him that he was very handsome a week after he let slip how beautiful he thought you were

the smile on his face made your heart race

he was at the bakery so often the customers thought he was a worker

and when he expressed his interest in baking

you let him work under you

Chan thought it’d be problematic

because he wasn’t stupid

he could SENSE the sexual tension between the two of you (no i don’t write smut)

but what could he do?

it didn’t take very long for Mingyu to ask you out 

very dramatic that boy was

presented you with a cake 

of course you said yes

and Chan started praying to every god he knew to save him from third wheeling at the bakery

sometimes on breaks, you and Mingyu would try to create new pastries for fun

one day

you were kneading dough while Mingyu was rolling out some dough on the counter behind you

and you felt arms snake around your waist

and Mingyu’s warm breath against your neck

“babeee I need help rolling out the dough”

“you- you’ve done it a million times you don’t need my help”

“but babee”

he slipped his arms off of you and took a few steps back

“let me finish this first.”

“help me first”

his voice had dropped an octave and was almost cooing 

of course you sighed

and turned around

to be met with a face full of flour

“KIM MINGYU”

of course you were the owner of a business

you were too mature to join in a fight with flour

right?

nah

you tackled him with a handful of flour and he laughed

he grabbed you

and dragged you into the cloud of flour with him

and the two of you tumbled to the ground 

covered in flour

shaking with laughter

him on top of you

“Y/N, I’m glad I found your bakery”

“just my bakery?”

“i’m glad I found you”

and he gently pressed his lips to yours

a soft, warm, chaste kiss

...

...

...

“NOT ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR”

whoops. Chan was still there

[tokikurp]

Friday Treat

KuroKen Week Day 5- Pets/Bakery (AU) 

Summary-  “It’s Friday and that cute little two-tone blond comes in every Friday to get a piece of apple pie and a medium size coffee after work.” 

“...Okay so what if I have a little crush?”

I almost forgot about this until Lina reminded me. Whoops!

Enjoy!

AO3

“Tetsu, are you sleeping on the job again?” A voice called out, disturbing Kuroo from resting his eyes.

Opening his eyes, Kuroo spotted his boss staring at him with a knowing smirk on his face. The sleepy man shook his head while letting out a yawn. It was a slow day at the ‘Sugar’ Cafe, only a handful of people were relaxing in the cafe this afternoon. Some were reading and others were doing work on their laptops. A typical crowd for the early afternoon.

“Nope. Don’t know what you’re talking about, Koushi.” Kuroo answered, an obvious lie that only made Sugawara shake his head.

“Right, I can see you’re working hard.”

“Before you ask, yes I’ve already skinned the apples and I even helped Asahi cut them to make the pies.” Kuroo commented, letting out another yawn.

“Because a certain person likes the apples cut a certain way and you want them to be perfect for him.” Suga chuckled, leaning against the counter. Kuroo stopped yawning and froze when the silver-haired man said that. “And I hit the hammer right on the nail.”

“Oi!” Suga giggled as Kuroo realized he’d been caught. “Not true!”

“It’s Friday and that cute little two-tone blond comes in every Friday to get a piece of apple pie and a medium size coffee after work.” Suga smiled softly. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed your little crush, Tetsu.”

“...Okay so what if I have a little crush?”

“Dude, it’s way more than just a little crush!” A new voice joined them.

“Thank you, Yuuji. You took the words right out of my mouth!” The owner clapped as Terushima walked over and leaned against the counter, a smirk on his face.

“Tetsu, you have a massive crush on Mr. Game Designer. You think we haven’t noticed you cutting him a bigger slice of pie.” Terushima responded.

“Or telling Asahi to start baking the next round of pies so he can have a fresh piece.” Suga added.

“Or doodling on his coffee cup and adding cats on it.”

Kuroo stared at them and didn’t say a word. He wasn’t surprised by Suga noticing (he noticed everything), but Terushima noticing as well? His crush wasn’t little anymore.

“Okay, so what if I have a crush on him?” Kuroo sighed, crossing his arms and looking at the two in front of him.

“When are you going to ask him out?”

“Kenma’s a busy guy. He wouldn’t have time to date.” He sighed again, closing his eyes this time. Terushima snorted and Suga rolled his eyes.

“Dude, that’s a lie. If he’s interested, he’ll find time. Like Daichi did when he fell head over heels for, Koushi.” Terushima said while looking over to Suga, who nodded. Daichi was a lawyer that worked in Tokyo and found The Sugar while walking around the city. That had been over five years now and the two had been happily married for two years. Kuroo again, went silence.

“Rejection is something we’re all scared of.” Suga softly spoke. “But you never know until you try.”

“He’s right, man. I was terrified to ask Hana out and look where we are today! Three years and we’re still happy.” Terushima added. “Just ask him when he’s free next time and ask if he wants to go out to lunch or something.”

“Something where you can get to know him more and he can get to know you.”

“Uhhh, I don’t know, guys. I want to get to know him, but he works for a big gaming company and does all this work for them. Doesn’t seem like the guy who got time to relax-”

“Welcome to The Sugar!” Noya suddenly greeted, poking his head out of the window. “If these guys would stop talking, they’ll be with you!” He smiled and went back into the kitchen.

“Oh I am so sorry about that! How can I help you?” Suga asked as the three of them turned around. That was when Kuroo went slightly pale when he saw the two-tone blond standing in front of the cash register, staring at the three of them.

“Uh,” Kenma started before finding his voice again. “M-My usual please.”

“Um r-right sure!” Kuroo nodded. “Koushi, could you ring him up?”

“Of course!” Suga smiled as he went to the cashier. “How has your day been today?”

“Good.” Kenma responded, digging into his bag for his wallet. Kuroo pulled out the apple pie and the small to-go box.

He cut the pie (slightly bigger than usual) and closed it, tying the strings into a tight bow to keep the box close. Next was Kenma’s coffee, while writing his name, he began to wonder. Should he ask or should he not? The fear of rejection was holding him back, but he looked over his shoulder. Terushima went back to cleaning the tables while chatting with some regulars, a couple actually.

One of them was an artist and liked to come to the cafe to sketch his ideas out. The other did something else, Kuroo couldn’t remember what it was. But it was something big, maybe a doctor or maybe a businessman. Eita and Wakatoshi were their names, they’d been together for five years and just got engaged.

By the expression on Terushima’s face, he was taking in what they were talking about. Maybe it was about wedding plans? Terushima had briefly mentioned he wanted to propose to Hana, but just didn’t know when. He acted so different when Hana was around, he acted like Terushima. But at the same time, he acted calm. Hana also kept Terushima grounded and he made her laugh, her smile was honest.

Suga was still chatting with Kenma, the owner mentioned something about Daichi. Kuroo couldn’t picture getting to where Suga currently was, happily married for the past two years. Daichi and Suga completed each other, it was so strange to see. It was like fate had brought them together, like Suga was meant to open this cafe and Daichi was meant to find it. They made each other happy, Suga’s smile just lit the room up.

Could he end up as happy as them?

“I’m glad to hear the designs are coming along.” Suga smiled, making small chat with Kenma as they waited for Kuroo to pack everything up. Kenma gave a nod.

“I just hope I can sketch all the designs out before my deadline.”

“If you need a quiet place to work, come here. Don’t worry about the loud mouth, he’s usually in the back.” Suga smiled.

“HEY! I HEARD THAT!” Terushima hissed. The blond laughed and the olived-hair chuckled.

“I appreciate the offer. I might come here one night to get some work done.” Kenma liked the calm vibe The Sugar gave off, it also felt warm. He liked that.

“Alright, one slice of apple pie and a medium black coffee.” Kuroo said, placing the two items in front of the designer.

“Ah um thank you.” Kenma thanked, giving a nod. Him and Kuroo briefly looked at each other, Kuroo gave a smile and Kenma returned it, before the blond turned around to leave.

As Kenma returned to his apartment, he sighed. Why was he so shy to talk to Kuroo more than just the small talk they made. Why, oh why! He just wanted to get to know the cute guy behind the counter. Kenma looked at the coffee cup and noticed a heart, he turned the cup around and found a message.

Are you busy on Saturday (=^･ω･^=)? If not, lunch? Here’s my number in case you’re interested (xxxx-xxxxxx) (=`ω´=) ♡

“I can’t believe I did that.” Kuroo mumbled to himself, Terushima patting his back.

“Hey man, you did it! Now you just have to wait for a message-”

“What if he isn’t interested? What if he throws away the cup? What if he doesn’t notice the message? What if he loses it? What if he forgets the cafe exists? What if-”

“Alright, alright that’s enough. Stop being dramatic. That’s Kotarou’s job.” Terushima interrupted Kuroo’s mumbling. “Geez you’re just as bad as Kotarou was before he asked out Keiji.”

“And that says something!” Noya commented, passing by with a tray of bread. “Oi, Yuuji, can you hold the door open for me?”

“Yeah sure!” Terushima responded as he went to help, leaving Kuroo behind to think of the worst case scenario. Just as his phone rang in his pocket. That made him stop mumbling to himself and he pulled his phone out to see who was texting him.

[Received by Unknown Number]: It’s Kenma, I’m free on Saturday if you want to go out to lunch (*ﾉωﾉ)

Kuroo stared at the screen taken aback before smiling.

[falleyes]

Somewhere Else pt 6 - The Market, the Bar, and the Rooftop

Somewhere Else pt 6

Summary: All of the what ifs of Drake & Riley meeting somewhere else, in any other way.] 

Part 6 to Somewhere Else

Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4,  Part 5

“If we’d met somewhere else…anywhere else. At a club in New York or in an airport, or at a party…If you hadn’t been our waitress that night, and I hadn’t been sitting next to Liam…Do you think all of this…do you think it could’ve been different…between us?

“What the hell is a cronut?”

Riley halted in her tracks, nearly slipping on the curb she walked along to look at him incredulously. “Excuse me? You don’t know what a cronut is?”

“No. Should I?” Drake looked at her indifferently from where he walked on the other side of the sidewalk. Ever since the theater – the intermission, really – he’d been more distant, emotionally and physically. He would hardly look her in the eye and only spoke to answer any questions Riley had about places he’d traveled with as few words as possible. Drake wouldn’t even walk near her anymore, leaving a few feet between them or trailing behind. Riley hated to think that it was all because of what happened during the play’s intermission.

He’d almost kissed her.

Almost.

“Um, yes.” Riley said, snuffing out those thoughts and her extreme awareness of the (unnecessary) space between them. “They’re only the best creation known to man.”

“Cronut,” Drake repeated, one hand in his pocket as he tugged at his tie. “You sure you don’t mean donut?”

“Oh, they’re so much better than donuts,” she sighed out. The very thought of the delicious pastry had her craving one. “It’s got the inside of a croissant but the outside is like that of a glazed donut. I can’t believe you’ve never had one!”

“Well, believe it.”

“You know what this means, right?”

“I hope not…”

“You have to try one!” Riley exclaimed, hopping away from the curb to sidle up to him. “Tonight. While you’re still in New York. You won’t find them any better than here in The Big Apple!”

Drake looked sideways at her. “These cronuts… they’re simple right? Nothing fancy?”

“Simple, I promise,” she nodded. “But the taste is otherworldly. In a good way.”

“I’m a simple man, Cole.”

She grinned. “I don’t think anyone would argue with that.”

He shook his head, but Riley could make out the small smile on his face. “Yeah, yeah, have your laugh. Let’s see how good these cronuts really are.”

“Yes!” Riley whooped, skipping gleefully. “The bakeries are probably all closed by now, but I think I know just the place…”

Without hesitation, she grabbed Drake’s hand and immediately veered left, down a small side street.

“Hey!” he protested, stumbling slightly to keep up with Riley’s newfound speed.

“Come on, slowpoke!” she chuckled, tightening her hold on his hand. “You better not slow me down, we have cronuts to eat.”

Not having much else of a choice, Drake gave in and let her lead him around yet another corner. They weaved their way around city blocks and down questionable alleyways, Riley hardly taking a second to glance at street signs before going on her way.

“You got GPS system in there or something, Cole?” Drake questioned, only half joking. He’d already lost track of how many twists and turns they made; he had no idea how Riley knew where she was going without directions. Everything looked the same to him.

“I’m your guide tonight, remember?” she said over her shoulder. “It’s my job to know where to go.”

They went on like this for a short while. Riley chirping over her shoulder to promise they were almost there. Riley darting out across the street and calling out a hasty apology to the cab who slammed on the brakes for them. Riley holding his hand. Riley , Riley ,  Riley .

It was like he couldn’t help it. No matter how hard Drake tried to keep his eyes wandering around - see the neon signs, the ivy spreading over red brick, the tour buses driving by – they always strayed back to her. Her dark hair had slipped off of her shoulder and now fell freely down her exposed back, brushing against her white dress, which looked almost pearlescent as it flowed around her legs like moonlight rippling across water. The very sight of her striding before him, glancing over her shoulder with a smile dancing in her eyes and laughter playing across her lips, almost had him convinced that he was dreaming. Dreaming that he wasn’t actually running through this big city, there weren’t beautiful women named Riley with long dark hair and expressive eyes, and he wasn’t actually happy for the first time in almost a year.

And yet, Drake wasn’t dreaming. He was in the city, Riley was real - so, so real - and he was happier than he’d been since Savannah had left.

He must have been out of his damn mind.

He’d almost kissed her. Definitely out of his mind.

But in that moment, back in the theater, he felt so warm and so comfortable,  she was so full of life and teeming with energy in his arms – she always seemed to be doing that – and he was so drawn into her light, who was he to try and resist that? Then logic had gotten the best of him and he somehow managed to do just that. Step away.

After the intermission had ended, he tried to draw back, put those walls back up and keep Riley on the other side. He didn’t glance her way again during the show and he kept a few feet between them when they walked, doing his best to ignore the look she gave him when she noticed.

Then, she talked about cronuts and he was fascinated by the way she spoke, through and through. He couldn’t even put up much of a fight when she took his hand and led him away. Even now, he was still so hazed, he didn’t even realize they had arrived at the destination until the sound of waves lapping against the waterfront was clear in his ears and Riley ’s hand tightly squeezed his before letting go.

“Welcome to The Market. Generic, I know. But also a little pretentious, don’t you think? It’s so good, it doesn’t have any other name. It’s just The Market. Which market? The Market,” she said, walking forward to go down the nearest aisle. “Well…what’s left of it, anyway.”

Drake looked around. It looked like any ordinary market, with ripe produce on display and all sorts of dipping sauces to try, but there were also things he’d never seen before: donuts made out of spaghetti, pizza with macaroni and cheese, massive sandwiches thicker than his forearm… There was so much to see, just in this aisle alone, Drake thought his head might explode with all of this new information to process. Luckily, Riley didn’t give him the chance to stare until he had a puddle of drool at his feet, for The Market was winding down around them. Vendors were packing away their goods and taking down tents. Some greeted Riley as she walked by, some had knowing smiles at Drake’s dumbfounded expression.

“There’s so much food,” he said, swallowing as they walked by a place that sold Sloppy Joes. “Some weird food… but good food.”

Riley laughed. “It’s like all of the worst kinds of junk food, with a twist. Honestly, I don’t come down here too much anymore because if I did, I’d never stop eating.”

“Yeah, well, when day in and day out, all you get is fancy finger food,” Drake shrugged helplessly, his stomach growling. “All of this junk food looks like heaven on Earth.”

“Well it looks like I hit the jackpot with this one. You look like you’re about to faint,” she teased, glancing back at him and rolling her eyes playfully. “Come on, hurry up. If we don’t get cronuts, there’ll be hell to pay. I’ll get us something to eat after we snag some of those.”

Despite himself, Drake let out a hearty laugh and tore his gaze away from the oddities of the mark. “Dessert before dinner?” he raised an eyebrow, placing his hand over his heart. “Cole, you really know how to charm a guy.”

“Don’t act so surprised, Drake,” she grinned. “I do this with all of the gruff tourists I meet at the airport who also happen to be best friends with the crown prince of a country far, far away.”

“When you put it like that, it almost sounds hard to believe,” he chuckled, sarcasm coloring his voice.

“That’s because it definitely is. This whole thing? It’s crazy, like something straight out of a storybook,” Riley admitted, drawing a piece of hair between her fingers to twirl. “If I’m honest, it feels more like once upon a time.”

Her words sobered him and he looked down at her for a long moment before shaking his head. When he looked ahead again, feet mindlessly carrying him wherever she led, his lips were no longer smiling.

“Spare me, Cole. Fairy tales are for kids.”

“Oh, I think I’ve found heaven.”

Riley had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from laughing and risking spitting out her own food as she watched Drake, positively overwhelmed with bliss, eat his first cronut. They sat at a small circular table a few feet away from the tent they bought the cronuts from, and on the table between them sat a dozen of the pastries. Riley , unable to curb her own sweet tooth, had caved and purchased the last of the cronuts the vendors had for the day.

“This is pure gold,” she giggled, swallowing her bite while Drake closed his eyes and savored the sugary taste. “I can’t believe I’m actually watching this. Drake, you look so happy it’s adorable. I have to take a picture.”

“Shut up, I hate you,” Drake muttered through another mouthful of the cronut as Riley pulled out her phone to snap a picture. “Leave me alone. I like a good dessert. Who doesn’t?”

“Good point, good point,” Riley chuckled, stuffing the last bite of her first cronut into her mouth before shamelessly grabbing another.

After her second cronut, Riley stood up, wiping sugar from the corner of her mouth and dusting her hands off with a napkin. “Drake, do you think you can handle being alone for a few moments?”

He looked up at her, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. “Why? Where are you going?”

“It’s a surprise,” she said cryptically, holding onto her wrist behind her back as she rocked from her heel to toes, heel to toes. “You’ll see when I get back. Sort of. Can I leave you here alone or should I get the nice cronut lady to keep an eye on you?”

Drake scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Trust me, Cole, I’m not going anywhere. If one of us need a babysitter, it’s definitely you.”

“Oh, no, it’s not you running off that I’m worried about,” Riley shook her head and pointed at the cronuts. “It’s those. You better not eat them all, because if you do – “

“You’ll do what?” Drake teased, dark eyes glittering. “Threaten me with fancy clothes or leave me alone in the middle of New York? Because I think we’ve done that already.”

Riley rolled her eyes and let out a flat laugh. “Oh, you think you’re so clever, don’t you? Real funny. Do not eat all of the cronuts.”

Drake glanced at the pastries and then back at her. “Fine.”

“I mean it.”

“I know you do.”

“Because if you do…” Riley pointed a menacing finger at him.

“I’ll regret it,” Drake rolled his eyes, holding up his hands. “I get it, I get it.”

“Drake…”

“I won’t eat them!”

Riley stared him down for a few moments until finally, she straightened up and gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Save your appetite.”

And with that, she turned away and disappeared down another aisle.

After Riley was gone, Drake let out a deep sigh and sat back in his chair. “Sheesh, lady.”

He looked down at the pastries. There were still more than half a dozen; it’d be more than okay to take another one, right? Drake raised his hand to take a fourth, but then remembering how fiercely Riley defended the cronuts, he decided he’d better hold off.

He wiped his hands off and ran them through his hair, eyes resting on the spot where he last saw her. He shook his head and smiled despite himself. Some woman.

When Riley returned with a blanket draped over her shoulder and a picnic blanket in her hand, Drake had an idea of what she had in mind.

“A picnic?” he questioned, brows raised. “Isn’t it a little late for that?”

“I see you didn’t eat all of the cronuts,” Riley observed, ignoring his question. “I’m proud.”

“I’m glad,” Drake rolled his eyes as he stood up and carried the plastic container the desserts were kept in. “So where are we going?”

“To have a picnic,” she answered simply, smiling as he let out an exasperated smile. She started walking, leading the way out of the market.

“You’re not going to tell me about this little destination either, are you?”

“Nope!”

“Would it be too much to ask what you’ve got in that basket of yours?” he asked, already certain he knew the answer.

“Oh, yeah,” Riley nodded, shifting the basket to her other hand as if she was expecting him to try to peek inside. “You’ll have to wait and see. I’m not telling you.”

Drake sighed again and shook his head. “I expect nothing less of you, Cole.”

She grinned. “You know me well.”

Thankfully, their next stop wasn’t nearly as far as The Market had been from the theater. It was hardly even two blocks away and Drake was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a bar. But the downside…

“Cole, it’s closed,” Drake observed. The lights were off and there wasn’t a soul to be seen inside. He wondered how late it really was, but then again, it was also the middle of the week.

“I’m well aware of that, Captain Obvious,” Riley drawled sarcastically as she went up to the front door. “So it’s a good thing I have a key.”

He watched, surprised, as she pulled out a keychain from her pocket and picked one of the three she had on her ring to fit into the lock. It opened.

“Why do you just have the key to a bar?”

“Because,” Rylie grinned and faced him as she pushed the door open with her back. “I work here.”

“You work in a bar?” Drake knew his eyebrows were halfway up his forehead. This woman.

“I’m usually just serving food,” she shrugged, holding the door open for him. “Does that surprise you?”

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he followed her inside. “In the best way possible.”

The bar was small and cozy, with dark wood everywhere and golden lighting that gave the bar an almost rustic feel. The wall across from him was decorated with old pictures of people in the bar that he assumed must have been celebrities considering they were all signed. There was also a dartboard, darts wedged into the wood, and fliers for all sorts of things filled every open space on a corkboard in the corner. It was simple and full of character. He liked it.

“This is a nice place,” he told her, leaning with his elbow on the countertop as Riley walked around and looked at the shelves of liquor behind the bar.

“Isn’t it?” Riley smiled faintly. “You should see it in the winter. The bartender, Frank, he decks the place out in holiday decorations and there are tons of candy canes to go around. The heater’s almost always on, so no matter how cold it gets outside, it’s nice and toasty in here.”

Drake hummed in response as he looked around, trying to picture the holidays here. He wondered if he’d ever come back to witness a winter in New York City.

“Anyways…” she said, glancing over her shoulder as she grabbed two glasses. “What are you drinking?”

Drake grinned, seating himself on one of the stools. “Whiskey.”

Riley nodded and pulled a bottle off the shelf. “A whiskey guy, huh? Yeah, I see it.”

“I’d take a glass of whiskey over anything on that shelf any day,” he admitted, watching as she poured the amber liquid into one glass and slid it over to him before pouring a glass for herself. “You drink whiskey?”

Riley raised an eyebrow, putting one hand against the counter to lean against it. “Don’t act so surprised. Besides, I wouldn’t let you drink alone.”

“No, it’s not that,” Drake said quickly, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips as he thought back to their short time together on the bus. He’d felt bad about the way he treated her and had made a mental note to himself to make it up with her, maybe with a drink. Maybe with whiskey. “It’s just I had a feeling.”

“Ah, I knew you had some of those in there,” she smirked, tilting the glass against her lips and drinking.

“You know what I meant.”

“Of course, because I know you oh so well.”

Drake chuckled but didn’t respond, his eyes wandering around the room.

“Been one night, Cole,” Drake shook his head and downed his glass. “You already know me better than most.”

“Well, I’m honored.” Riley followed his lead and finished hers off as well. “Now,” she said, scrunching her nose slightly at the slow but deep burn in her stomach. Riley nudged her glass and the bottle of whiskey over to Drake before picking up the blanket and picnic basket again. “You take these and follow me.”

“We’re going somewhere already?” he questioned but did as she told. She led him down a short hallway to a wooden door that she unlocked with a key.

“Not far,” she said, shouldering it open. “Just up.”

Drake followed her up a few flights of stairs, past all of the residential floors, until they finally reached the rooftop. Immediately, a soothing breeze swirled around them as they exited the stairwell and stepped outside into the open air.

Drake blinked and looked around.

“Oh, wow…”

The building was much taller than Drake had originally thought when Riley brought him to the bar. Now, standing at the top of it - seeing over other buildings - he couldn’t believe there were skyscrapers that still towered over them. He wandered over to the edge, still staying on the other side of the short wall that rimmed the edge as he gazed out at the city lights.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Riley smiled gently, setting down their picnic basket and spreading out the blanket. She opened a small metal panel near the door they came through and flipped a switch. Several lights flickered to life above the stairwell, illuminating the rooftop in a faint golden glow.

“It’s…” Drake trailed off and shrugged, glancing over at her as she came to stand next to him.

“Yeah?” Riley prompted, her eyes meeting his.

“It’s…” His voice was soft and his mind had suddenly lost track of what he was about to say. He looked at Riley for a few seconds – a few seconds too long, in his book – before snapping back to attention. Drake quickly averted his gaze back to the skyline. “Incredible, yeah. It’s not…what it looks like down there.”

Riley studied his profile for a moment, pursing her lips. Why did he have to do that? Draw back into himself before she had the chance to try? She hated it, but she knew better than to overstep. Nodding, she faced the city blocks that stretched out before them. “I know what you mean. Down there, it’s crazy. It feels so compact but also endless. Like a maze. It’s overwhelming.”

“And up here, it’s an entirely different perspective. Like you step back from a – from a microscope or something,” Drake said, surprising her with his insightfulness. “It doesn’t seem so…I don’t know. Scary,” he muttered that last bit, feeling a bit childish. He was grown up, he felt like he shouldn’t be connecting cities to the word “scary” anymore. “That sounds stupid.”

But Riley didn’t seem to think so. She was looking at him again, eyes wide as she shook her head. “No, that’s…that’s exactly it. That’s part of the reason I like coming up here all the time. Whenever I feel like I’m in over my head or something, I come up here to step back and remember that it’s not as bad as it feels.”

Drake chuckled slightly. “You? Scared of this place? I can’t imagine it, Cole. You’ve got the city mapped out and memorized and everything just seems to bend to your will. If anyone can make it in a place like this, it’s you.”

“Drake…” Riley breathed out, touched by his sudden sentiment.

“I mean it Cole,” he said, glancing sideways at her before turning around to sit on the blanket. He reached for the picnic basket and added, seemingly as an afterthought, “I swear. Sometimes, you remind me of her…”

Riley followed him, her fingers tangling in her hair as she sat and crossed her legs. “You mean Savannah.”

Drake paused, going rigid as if he only just realized he’d let that last bit slip out. After a moment, he nodded stiffly. “Yeah.”

Riley frowned slightly and the crease that had formed between his brows at the mention of his sister’s name and the tenseness in his jaw. She reached out to touch his hand but fell short as he turned his head down and opened the basket.

“So, what do we have here?” he asked, starting to pull out wrapped up bits of food. “I’m starving.”

“Well, let me see,” Riley said, getting on her knees to lean over the basket. “I know you’re a simple guy, so I tried not to do anything too crazy. I hope you like barbeque.”

“Now you’re talking!” With obvious eagerness, Drake grabbed something covered in foil from the basket and unwrapped it to reveal a slightly squished but perfectly fine Sloppy Joe.

“You’re a fan?” she giggled as he took a bite, barbeque sauce covering his chin.

“Oh, you’re killing me, Cole.”

“I never want to eat palace food again,” Drake sighed out, letting his hand rest on his stomach as he stretched out on the blanket to look up at the sky. “I’m doomed to a life of fancy finger food.”

“Free fancy finger food,” Riley reminded him, packing away their food into the basket.

“Free doesn’t mean good, Cole,” he countered and she rolled her eyes.

“Only you would complain about free food,” she scoffed and he let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, call me a spoiled princess, won’t you?” he grumbled, glancing over at her. “You see this Cole?”

Riley glanced upward. It was just the sky, a few sparse clouds and a plane every now and then. “See what?”

Drake grabbed her wrist and, without warning, pulled her down to lay next to him. As she fell beside him, he got a clear whiff of her sweet but subtle scent and her hair tumbled across his arm in waves. He could feel her eyes on him, questioning. He pointed skyward.

“Do you see it now?”

“I don’t see anything.” Riley sounded slightly confused.

“Exactly.” Drake nodded, flattening his hand against the sky as he swept it along. “There’s nothing. No stars, nothing.”

“It’s because of the city lights.”

“I know that, but don’t you miss them?”

“Miss what?” Riley questioned, glancing over with an eyebrow raised. “The stars?”

“Yeah.” His voice was the softest she’d ever heard it.

Riley pursed her lips and thought for a moment. She propped herself up on her elbows, glancing over the edge of the rooftop at the Manhattan skyline. “I never really thought much about it, to be honest… I always had the city lights to distract me.”

“Oh,” he said simply.

Riley rolled over to face him, a smirk playing on her lips. “Oh my… Drake, do you have a soft spot for stargazing? I never would have imagined.”

His soft demeanor quickly vanished and Drake rolled his eyes. With a scowl, he reached over and gently shoved Riley’s shoulder, sending her on her back once again. “There’s no satisfying you, is there, Cole? Every time you learn something, you’re shocked. You’d think that after learning so much in one night, you’d stop being so surprised every time you find something out from a stranger.”

Riley opened her mouth to snap at him, but stopped short. “You’re right.”

“And to think, with how much you surprise me – wait, what did you say?” Drake sat up and looked down at her with furrowed brows.

“I said you’re right,” Riley shrugged, lacing her fingers together over her stomach. “You aren’t so bad, I know you aren’t. I shouldn’t be so surprised when I find something out that isn’t all rough. I just… stargazing. I wouldn’t have guessed they’d mean anything to you. The stars.”

“Well,” Drake said after a moment, drawing up his knees to lay his arms across them. “If I’m honest, I wouldn’t have guessed either. It’s just something with Savannah. We used to go out every year for this meteor shower. I guess I got into the habit of just going out at night to look at them when I needed to think. The stars, I mean. And after she left… It’s a little easier to forget she’s gone when I’m looking at them.” He reached for the bottle of whiskey, refilling his glass from earlier. “And drinking a little doesn’t hurt, either.”

“Drake…” Riley said softly, sympathetically. “I’m sure there’s not a second that goes by where she doesn’t think of you. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that every time she looks up at night, she misses you.”

Drake looked down at his glass and swirled the amber liquid around, bereft. He didn’t respond.

She felt her chest tighten at his fallen countenance. Unable to sit back and stare at an empty sky any longer, Riley sat up beside him, covering her hands with his. “Drake, maybe that’s why you were wrong to come here.”

He hardly glanced at her as he took a long drink from his glass. “What do you mean?”

“The stars,” she said, gently pulling at his hands. Riley got to her knees, tugging him with her as she stood up. She stood before him and gently squeezed his hands until he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “New York City doesn’t have them, not in the sky at least. She wouldn’t go somewhere that she couldn’t see the stars. I don’t know Savannah, Drake. But I know you, and I know she wouldn’t be able to give you up like that.”

“Riley, you don’t understand…” Drake shook his head, turning his head.

“Then help me.” Riley reached out, pressing her hand to his cheek to turn his face towards her. Her voice was unusually demanding.

Drake’s lips parted slightly in surprise as he looked down at her. A sudden warmth bloomed from deep within his stomach and rushed through his veins. It wasn’t the first time he’d had this feeling tonight, but he was far from used to it. Even so, he reached up to cover Riley’s hand with his own.

“Riley…” Something shifted, a new emotion coloring his eyes that Riley had yet to put a name to. It wasn’t quite sad - longing, almost.

“Don’t,” she said, shaking her head as she slipped her hand from his cheek. “Don’t say anything, don’t say you can’t. Just…” Riley stepped away but left her other hand in his. “Come with me.”

“Where?” Drake questioned, bending to pick up the picnic basket.

Riley looked up at him through her lashes as she gathered the blanket under her arm. “You’ll see.”

“You always say that.”

“And the best surprises are left unspoiled,” she said simply, leading Drake back down the stairs.

He chuckled and the sound almost had Riley grinning from ear to ear. She hated the way he looked and sounded when he was sad; she’d take a scowling Drake over an unhappy one any day. He wasn’t exactly smiling, but he had let out a slight laugh. And that was more than good enough.

“You couldn’t find Savannah here, and I’m sorry for that.” Glancing over her shoulder, Riley gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “But, Drake, I promise you. I’ll give you the stars.”

(tagging @thedrakeside )

ALSO THE BOOK ONE FINALE UM???  madeleine was so obvious but I still hate her so much???