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anna-justice · 4 years

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Lost or Found - 24

Summary: As Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam and Kevin start their junior year in the wake of a tragic summer, the past year of their lives comes back to haunt them. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, this is for you! *UPSTEAD/BURZEK High School AU

...

24 - Evermore ...

“Your dad should have killed you when he had the chance…”

Hailey whimpered, her eyes clenched shut and beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.

“So you want to play hero one more time?”

She flinched in her sleep, her heart beating out of her chest, so fast that she thought it was going to explode.

“That works for me.”

Hailey shot up, screaming. The last thing she saw was the barrel of a gun. She clawed at her chest, trying to get a good breath. “Hailey?” Someone yelled, and then right after, her Aunt appeared in front of her. “Hailey, it’s okay.” Trudy reached out to grab her hand, but Hailey pulled it back, looking at her with scared eyes.

It had been a month since she had heard those words muttered aloud, but they plagued her dreams frequently.

The two weeks following that day, all five of them took turns rotating through the police station. Everyday there were new questions, more people to explain things to, more statements to clarify, it was never ending. Then, it just stopped. There was nothing else they could do, they had to wait for trial. And in the meantime, Erin was placed in a psychiatric hold facility, and her lawyers were defending her actions as a symptom as psychosis.

It bothered them all, that technically she was free, all because they could blame her attempted murder on a psychotic break. Especially when Kelly Severide was looking at time. A few days after, two detectives showed up at Hailey’s house, wanting a full recount of the last five months, and that included the night that she was attacked. When Severide was questioned, he had no alibi and he confessed to strangling Hailey. His excuse was that he was threatened the same way that the rest of them were, only in person. He claimed that he knew Erin was alive the whole time, but she threatened to kill his mom and sister if he didn’t cooperate.

Unfortunately, the only way to corroborate the story for a jury is to prove Erin mentally competent, meaning she was capable of carrying out her threats. To all involved, even Kelly, it was clear that she knew what she was doing, she was a mastermind, but to everyone on the outside, they were just a bunch of teenagers wrapped up in a murder.

The girl that everyone thought was Erin still hadn’t been identified, they had to dig up the casket for the second time. The only way they were able to ID it the first time was by the previous fracture and bracelet, but there are a lot of people in the Chicago area that have broken their left wrist.

So, with no new information and the date for the trial to begin still months away, they all lived life normally. Well, as normal as it could be after everything they went through. And normal for Hailey meant waking up every night screaming.

Trudy looked at her husband, who was standing in the doorway. They shared a look, a very familiar one. They repeated the same steps every night, like some cruel rehearsed dance. Trudy waited patiently for Hailey to calm down, just seated on the floor next to her. “Hailey, sweetie, you’re safe.” She repeated.

Every night it was the same, Hailey would snap out of whatever daze she was in and apologize profusely. “I’m sorry, I got scared…” She started.

“Shhh,” Trudy said, placing a hand on her leg, “It’s okay.”

Hailey nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m good, you all can go back to sleep.” She said, glancing at her uncle.

Trudy just nodded, she learned many nights ago not to fight her on it, “Alright. Goodnight Hailey, we love you.” She said, squeezing her shoulder.

“Love you too.” Hailey said, watching them retreat back to their room. They left the door open like they always did, Hailey sighed rolling over and grabbing her phone. She sent a quick text to her boyfriend.

Hailey: :(

It was a system that they started a few weeks ago. The first few nights Jay would stay up with her on the phone, or she would call him after Trudy and Randy finally left, but the lack of sleep began to play a part in their relationship. So, they decided that every time Hailey had a nightmare (or Jay, he wasn’t clean of them) they would text the other a frowny face, so that in the morning they would know what the other had gone through the night before without having to talk about it. It has proved to be useful.

Hailey laid down again, willing herself to close her eyes, but she couldn’t. Sleep was too vulnerable, so she laid there awake, just waiting for the sun to rise on (hopefully) a better day.

…

“What do you mean you haven’t picked out a costume?” Kim asked, as Jay slammed his door shut. Like every morning, they were all crowded around his truck, waiting until the last minute to head to class. The gossip still hadn’t died down, they were still the topic of every conversation, so they avoided it as much as they could.

Hailey shrugged. “I thought we weren’t dressing up.” She said, looking up at her boyfriend, who nodded in agreement. Halloween was tomorrow, and of course Kim had plans for all of them.

“No, I said we weren’t dressing up as the characters from scooby doo…” Kim said, giving Adam a pointed look.

Adam held up his hands in surrender, “Like I said, I’m sorry, it’s too soon.” He said, stifling a laugh.

Kevin rolled his eyes, “Yeah, you all know I’d have to be scooby. And I’m not dressing up like a dog.” He snapped.

“But Kev,” Adam said, faking a frown. “I thought you were my dawg.” Kevin glared at him, faking a punch as Adam jumped back.

“Anyway,” Kim started, looking back at Hailey and Jay, and ignoring the antics behind her. “I promised Stella we would all be at her party tomorrow night, you guys will be the only people without a costume.”

Hailey sighed, “Kim, we will get costumes, I promise.” Kim opened her mouth, but the warning bell cut her off. Hailey smiled, grabbing Jay’s hand. “We’ll see you guys later.” She said, before pulling him away.

“Please tell me you have costume ideas,” Jay said quietly.

“Nope.” They rounded the corner, Jay leaning down and stealing a kiss before they entered their classroom. Criminal justice was a little harder to sit through than it was before, but somehow Jay had managed to get his grade up.

They took their normal seats in the back of the class, waiting for the teacher to begin. “I have an idea,” Jay said, leaning on his hand.

“Okay?” Hailey said cautiously.

“I’ll be a firefighter, and you be a Dalmatian.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Hailey scoffed, “No.”

“Okay. You be the firefighter and I’ll be the Dalmatian.” He said, smirking.

Hailey shook her head, “Try again.” Jay fake pouted, retreating back to his half of the shared desk.

Finally, their teacher decided to start class, cutting their conversation off for the time being. After about 30 minutes of notes, he passed out an assignment, leaving them to work on their own. Jay turned to face her, smiling. “I’ve got another idea.” He said, Hailey gave him a pointed look. “Squints and the lifeguard from the sandlot.”

“Why? So every time someone asks us who we are you get to lay on the ground and make me kiss you?” She questioned.

“Exactly.” He deadpanned.

“Jay-”

“Okay, okay.” He said, laughing. He loved it when she got all riled up. “Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, cause you’re so short-”

“Jay!” She said, smacking his bicep.

He laughed harder, “Okay, in all seriousness...we can be Jack and Rose from the titanic…” He watched Hailey’s face slowly morph into slight agreeance, “And Kev could be the iceberg.”

“I’m done with you.” Hailey said shortly, stifling her own laugh.

Jay laughed at his own joke, watching his girlfriend pretend to be aggravated with him. “You love me, you know it.”

“Unfortunately…” Hailey said under her breath. She took a deep breath, “What about Danny and Sandy from Grease?”

Jay smirked, “You in leather pants? Perfect.”

“You’re hopeless.”

…

The next day, Hailey sat in Kim’s bedroom getting ready. They had about an hour before the boys were supposed to come pick them up. Kim and Adam were going as Romeo and Juliet, while Hailey and Jay had finally settled on Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Kevin had grouped up with some of the boys from his team, they were going as zombie football players, very original…

“Kim, you’re going to have to do this.” Hailey said, laughing in defeat.

Kim smiled, taking over for her. She was waiting for her to ask for help, she’d been struggling to french braid her hair for almost twenty minutes. “I got it.” They sat there for a while in silence, Kim carefully laying pieces of blonde hair over the others, she glanced at Hailey in the mirror, noticing the blank look on her face. “How are you doing?”

Hailey’s head snapped up to meet her eyes, she caught her off guard. “Uh,” She shrugged, “I’m okay, I guess…”

Kim scoffed, shaking her head. “I’ve said that word so many times recently that I’m not even sure it’s a word anymore.”

“Yeah…” Hailey said, letting her thoughts wander. “I get that.” And she did, it was like she used the word as a shield. It was her response to everything, and she wasn’t okay, not that it was really a secret. None of them were okay, but saying it made it feel like they were. And deception was something worth clinging onto.

“You know, we never talked about-”

“We don’t need to.” Hailey said, cutting her off.

Kim eyed her cautiously, “Okay.” She wanted to talk, but she didn’t feel like she had any right to push Hailey to. Not after what happened. “Done.” She said, a few minutes later, taking a step back to admire her work.

“Thanks,” Hailey said with a genuine smile, picking up the jar of flower clips they had bought that morning. “You think I should just put these everywhere?”

Kim nodded, “Yeah, I think so.” She reached down, clicking shuffle on a playlist, a random Taylor Swift song playing. They were both done talking.

An hour later, the two of them were sitting in Kim’s kitchen talking to her mom when Jay and Adam arrived. Adam just let himself in the front door, Jay choked on a laugh as he waltzed in like he owned the place.

The boys appeared in the kitchen, “Honey, I’m home.” He said, passing Kim and hugging her mom. Kim rolled her eyes as they all laughed, Jay’s hand finding Hailey’s back like it always did. He was so happy, even though life was still crazy, he was ridiculously happy. Watching Hailey smile and Adam joke around like he used to (before they used it as a distraction) was so nice, and familiar and just so damn good.

Hailey peered up at him, grinning as he pecked her lips. “Alright, let’s get a picture so you all can get out of here.” Claire said, ushering them together. Jay stood next to Adam, both of them holding their girlfriends securely against their waists. They all smiled brightly, relaxing after the click.

They quickly bid their goodbyes, making their way out to Jay’s truck. Hailey slid easily into the passenger seat, despite her nude heels (that she was already regretting), while Adam and Kim got in the back. They pulled out of the driveway, and somehow Adam ended up with aux cord. Somewhere in between an old Maroon 5 song and the Weekend, Jay’s hand found hers on the center console.

Hailey looked down at it and smiled. It was a simple thing that they did every single time they rode together, but it really symbolized how much things had changed. Hailey thought back to the day that he kept his eyes trained on the road, back when she cut him off when he tried to apologize. It was only two months ago, but they were different, everything was different, everything was better.

Jay followed her gaze to their conjoined hands, mimicking her smile. She didn’t have to say anything, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Part of him wishes he could go back and stay with her then, he felt like they had wasted so much time, but the other part of him knew that they were better for it. Neither of them were ready for what they have now, then. And what they have was worth the wait.

Finally they reached their destination, Jay having the park pretty far away due to how many people were already there. They got out, Jay rounding the truck to help Hailey down, even though she hadn’t needed it in a long time. The four of them headed towards the decent sized house, they could hear the music thumping from outside. Hailey slipped her hand in Jay’s, gripping his forearm.

Jay noticed the look of discomfort on her face, leaning down. “Hey, you okay?” He asked, eying her.

Hailey nodded, holding on a little tighter. “Yeah, just don’t want to get lost in the crowd.” Jay nodded, believing her lie. She couldn’t really explain it, but she had a terrible feeling in her stomach and the thought of being lost in a sea of people made her want to throw up. Even though it was over, Hailey still found herself looking over her shoulder and watching out for her. And even though all of that meant she was nowhere near being in a party mood, she wasn’t going to bring everyone else down, they all needed a fun night.

They made their way through the crowded makeshift dance floor, and found Kevin in a living area near the back of the house where he was sitting with Stella, Conner, Matt and Sylvie. “Hey guys,” He called, jumping up and clapping Adam’s back.

Stella stood, hugging Kim tightly, “I’m glad you guys could make it.”

Kim squeezed her, “Me too.”

Stella backed away, touching Hailey’s arm affectionately and giving her a kind smile that she returned. “I know it’s kind of crazy,” Stella laughed, “If you need something or just a break, the keys to the upstairs doors are hidden right under the doors, just inside the rooms.” She glanced at the obvious couples, winking. “I trust you guys.”

They all nodded, Kim blushing, a chorus of “great” and “thanks” sounding. The group dispersed, the five of them huddling up. “Obviously Hailey and I are gonna stick together, if we get lost, meet back here at midnight and we’ll head out?” Jay suggested.

“Sounds good,” Kev said, nodding.

Adam agreed too. “That works for me.”

That works for me…

Hailey flinched at those words, instinctively squeezing her eyes shut. Her breath caught in her throat. The image of a pulled gun flashing through her brain. She grimaced, trying to push the thoughts away. “Hailes…” She took another deep breath, doing everything in her power to keep her fear at bay. “Hailes.” Someone said, harsher, snapping her out of her daze.

“Yeah?” She asked quickly.

Kim eyed her cautiously, “I asked if you wanted a water…”

“Oh,” Hailey shook her head, “No, I’m good, thanks though.” She watched as Kim and Adam slowly disappeared into the crowd, her eyebrowed cinched together.

Jay stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the rest of the room, “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, concern clear in his bright green eyes.

Hailey nodded vigorously, “I’m good, I promise.” She said, his face didn’t change. He didn’t believe her. Hailey reached up, pulling him to her level and attaching their lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened it, pulling him even closer. Jay did his best not to get lost in the kiss, but with her it was so hard. She pulled away slowly, peering up at him. “Jay, I’m okay.” Kim was right, it didn’t sound like a word anymore.

Jay sighed, admitting defeat. “Okay.” He laced their hands together, leaning down and kissing her slowly before guiding her to the dance floor. They stood near the edge, Jay’s hand sitting on her hips as they swayed in sync to the fast music. They danced for a while before some of Jay’s teammates interrupted them.

Hailey stood securely at his side as they spoke, absently listening to the trashy rap music that was playing loudly throughout the room. “Fuck, shit, bitch…” The sound of a gun being cocked rang through the speakers and Hailey screamed. Suddenly the eyes of everyone around her staring at her. She was frozen in place, forcing the terrible memories away, but she couldn’t.

“Hailey.” Jay said, but her feet had a mind of their own and she was running towards the staircase, her lungs burning, she couldn’t get in a good breath. “Hailey!” Jay called after her, not even bothering to say goodbye to his team before taking off.

Hailey booked it up the stairs, dropping to the ground in front of the first door she saw, grasping aimlessly for the key. She slumped against the door, tears streaming down her face as she fought to breathe. Jay booked it towards her, crouching down and finding the key easily. He unlocked the door, then swept his hysterical girlfriend off the floor, carrying her into the room and setting her on the bed. She was still heaving in front of him, and Jay placed two hands on either side of her face. “Hailey, Hailey look at me.” He said, but her eyes stayed trained on his chest. “Baby, you’re safe, look at me, please.” She clenched her eyes shut, more tears falling down her face. When she opened them again, they met his and she launched herself into his arms.

Jay held her to him, rocking them gently as she cried into his neck. “I-I thought-” She stuttered, sobs wracking her body.

“I know, I know.” He said, trying to calm her.

“I thought it was over…” She said, and Jay felt his heart clench in his chest.

He ran his hand through her braided hair, no doubt destroying it. “It is, it’s all over, you’re safe. We’re safe.” For some reason that made her cry harder, maybe because she hadn’t for the past month, she had been bottling up her feelings to protect herself and everyone else. Because even though she was, she hadn’t felt safe in a long time.

Hailey pulled away after a long time, utterly exhausted. Jay couldn’t take the look of defeat on her safe, she looked so tired, so broken, that it scared him. How could he not have known how much pain she was in?

She couldn’t bear to look at him, so she kept her gaze fixed on her lap. He placed his hand on her thigh, and Hailey laid one on top of it. She sniffled, using her free hand to wipe the never ending tears from her eyes. “I’m okay.”

…

The following Monday, Hailey sat in the passenger seat of Jay’s truck. After the events of Saturday night, Jay had no choice but to loop in Trudy and Randall, he had to after he had failed to do so before. They spent the rest of the weekend convincing Hailey to see someone, to talk about everything they had been through.

It was probably the trauma left over from her parents, but the stigma that therapy made you weak was ingrained in Hailey’s mind, and convincing her to make an appointment was no easy task.

That’s how they ended up sitting in the parking lot of a private practice right after school, Hailey’s leg bouncing nervously up and down. Jay lifted their intertwined hands off the center console, kissing the back of hers. “I’m going to be here waiting, all I ask is that you go in there and try.” He said, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

Hailey smiled softly, nodding. She leaned across the console and kissed him slowly, hoping that she was able to portray just how much love she had for him and trust she had in him through it. Jay pulled away, taking her in. “I love you, Hailey Upton.”

“I love you, Jay Halstead.” She said.

“Now, go kick some ass.” He said and she laughed, opening the truck door. She shut it, giving him one last look before walking inside the doors.

She sat down in one of the waiting room chairs after signing in, a few minutes later an older man with big glasses popped his head out of the back. “Hailey?”

She stood, “Yes sir.”

The man smiled, “Come with me.” He led her back to an office, gesturing for her to sit on the couch while he sat in the chair across from her. “I’m Dr. Charles, but you can call me Daniel or Dan, or really whatever makes you comfortable.” He explained.

Hailey nodded, shifting nervously. “So, how does this work?” She asked.

“However you want it to, we can talk or not talk about anything you want.” He said, leaning back in his chair.

“Okay,” Hailey glanced at the ground, “The-There’s a lot…”

“That’s okay.”

Hailey grimaced, finally looking at him. “Where do I start?” She asked.

Dr. Charles smiled. “How about the beginning?”

Hailey sighed, taking a few deep breaths, ready to start confronting all the demons that she had been fighting for so long.

“Tell me everything.”

...

A/N: This is long but please, please, please read it!!

First, this is the end of this story, but it is not THE end! There will be a sequel and if you want to see a sneak peak, you can find it HERE. I am so so excited to continue exploring this version of these characters, and don’t worry, the next installment will be just as exciting as this one!

Second, thank you so so so so much to everyone who has shown love to and supported this story. It really means the world to me, you have no idea. This has been such an amazing experience and I have learned so much from writing this, so thank you so much for reading. You guys are truly incredible, and writing has helped me through a tough time in my life. I’m going to say thank you a million time, but thank you, thank you, thank you <3

This story evolved so much lol: in the beginning I had no plan, and then it changed like five times, and we ended up here, so here’s a few things that didn’t make it in.

Nadia was supposed to die in chapter 19, but I decided against it…

I debated Kevin and Stella getting together, don’t hate me for this ahaha

I almost made Kim lose her hearing, but I wasn’t sure I could do the storyline justice with everything else going on

I debated killing Adam (I’M SORRY, i’m sorry…)

And finally (cause you don’t need to know all of my secrets) I ALMOST broke up Upstead at the end

Anyway, there’s some behind the scenes action if you’re interested.

Back to the point: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING ME AND THIS STORY, I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, and i cannot wait to embark on this next journey together!!

So much love,

Anna

@lissethsrojas @puckluck28 @fuckyeahkillianemma @chilly7188 @thebigapocalypsewolf @karihighman @ruzek-halstead @anotheronechicagobog @snowwhite013 @tracysupton @angelsjedi @carissalizz

#jay halstead #hailey upton #upstead #upstead au #kim burgess #adam ruzek #burzek au #burzek #kevin atwater #erin lindsay #stella kidd #trudy platt #chicago pd #kelly severide #one chicago #chicago pd au

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skzsauce01 · 4 years

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love you to limx

Anniversary Request Special

Description: Jisung’s secret crush on his childhood friend, you, might not be so secret after all, especially when your tutee starts laying moves on you right in front of his iced americano.

Warning: none!

Word Count: 2.6k

Pairing: fem!reader x Jisung

“Y/N?” Jisung calls out as soon as you walk past the library doors.

You smile and wave to him while flashing your ID card for the person at the front desk. He waves you over so you go to him.

“Jisung? What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d make some extra money this semester, so I signed up to tutor underclassmen during this hour.”

You let out a gasp. “Same!”

“What are the odds?” he chuckles, feigning surprise. It isn’t like he bribed Chan, the head of the program, to tell him what time slot you signed up for, nor is it like he fought Hyunjin tooth and nail for this time either. The only reason why you and him are at the same place on a Wednesday afternoon is pure coincidence. Really.

You pull out the seat in front of his and take a seat. “I wonder who’s going to show up,” you ponder mindlessly.

“Someone who needs help with not math, I hope,” he mutters in reply.

“That’s what I’m here for,” you laugh. “There’s a reason why they ask you whether you’re in liberal arts or STEM on the application.”

“Ahh, right,” he blushes and distracts himself with his backpack. After a few seconds of digging, he realizes a new problem.

“Oh, shoot,” he mutters.

“What’s up?”

“I left my pencil case at my apartment!” he panics with wide eyes.

“Honestly, Jisung. You’re supposed to set an example for the underclassmen!” you tch, harshly pushing your pouch between you two to share.

“Thanks, Y/N~” he sings, choosing a pen. This one is bunny capped, how cute.

At that moment, a new voice interrupts,“Excuse me, is this the SKZ tutoring club?”

You smile at him and shift the organization’s logo for better visibility. “Yes! I’m L/N Y/N. And you are?”

Jisung’s jaw drops when he recognizes the boy.

“Yang Jeongin,” he replies, “and I desperately need help with calculus.”

He takes a seat besides you while smirking at the other male. Jisung knows this kid. He knows him alright; he’s best friends with his housemate and scheming math wiz, Kim Seungmin. The fact that he is here now sending snide looks at him cannot be good.

“Don’t worry; limits can be tricky,” you reassure him, unaware of the tension between the two. “You’ll get a hang of it in no time though.”

“Thanks,” breathes Jeongin innocently. “I’m counting on you, noona.”

“‘Noona?’” you giggle.

Jisung grits his teeth.

The hour goes by rather uneventfully other than the few times Jisung nearly screamed when Jeongin gets something he was “struggling” with before and your whole face lights up as you compliment him. A student came over with a question for Jisung too, but that only took twenty minutes of his hour. Besides that, he just sat with his head on the table, getting lost in your focused eyes and waiting for Jeongin to leave-- he means, for time to pass by.

Unlike the boy who came for Jisung, Jeongin’s session with you lasts the entire hour. Finally, when the clock strikes five, you two begin packing up your things.

“Thank you so much! I think I finally get it now!” Jeongin bows slightly.

“You’re doing great! Just have a little more confidence in your work, and if you ever get stuck again, SKZ tutoring is here to help.”

“I’ll be sure to come back during this time then. You were so clear and easy to understand.”

Yada yada yada. Save it and leave, Jisung wills while glaring daggers at his junior.

Jeongin doesn’t seem to notice or care as he leisurely zips up his backpack. Even worse, he insists on walking you to the door before you two finally wave goodbye.

“Finally,” Jisung mumbles when the boy at last walks away.

“What was that?” you ask.

“Nothing,” he hums. “Anyway, want to get ice cream to celebrate our first day at work?”

“With what money?” you joke.

Jisung scoffs. “Come on, I’ll buy if it’s such a big deal.”

“No. That’ll make me feel bad,” you pout.

“It’s fine. Think of it as thanks for lending me a pen,” he suggests, walking towards the shop. “Mint chip?”

“How’d you know?” you chuckle, clutching on to his arm to optimize your puppy-look angle. He is buying after all.

Jisung nearly goes into cardiac arrest the second he feels your fingers around his sleeves. It takes him a moment before he’s able to reply, “You’ve liked that toothpaste ice cream since you were five.”

“Hey! It’s not toothpaste flavored!”

He rolls his eyes and looks at you. You’re smiling. He loves it when you do that, especially when it crinkles the corner of your eyes. You’re doing that now, but not when you were with Jeongin, he recalls to console himself. That’s right; this smile is exclusive to him, your childhood bestie, only.

Before long, you two are seated on some questionable bench behind the statue of your school’s legendary football coach with frozen treats in hand.

“--and now I have to wait for her to finish that before I can even get started on the powerpoint.”

Jisung lets out a sympathetic hum before eyeing your ice cream. “Ah,” he says, pointing to his mouth.

You groan. “Why do you insult my ice cream then ask for some every time? Just get mint chip yourself if you like it so bad.”

“Hey, I paid,” he reminds you.

“Yeah, yeah.” You scoop some ice cream with your spoon and place it in front of his lips, and he opens obediently before clamping his lips over it to get all the ice cream from the dip of the spoon.

He then watches as you thoughtlessly scoop more of the treat and place it into your own mouth while continuing your story. Jisung turns away because of a creeping blush when you complete the indirect kiss. So what if he’s been tricking you into doing this since forever? He’ll still never get used to it; not unless he gets to try the real thing, at least.

After ice cream, you decide to head home to get in some studying. Jisung heads towards his own complex with feather-like steps. That is, until he opens his front door and sees what-- or rather, who-- is inside.

“Yang Jeongin?”

“Oh, hey, Hyung!” he chirps, not looking up from his game with Jisung’s housemates.

“What are you doing here?” Jisung demands.

“Relax,” sighs Seungmin. “We invited him cause we needed another player and you were too busy with your date.”

“S-she-- I-- It was not a date!”

“Oh really?” Hyunjin challenges.

“Oh really?” Jeongin piques hopefully.

For some reason, Jeongin irks him more despite Hyunjin being the one trying to purposely annoy him.

“Well, I-- uh--”

“You’re blushing,” Seungmin says without even looking up.

Jisung lets out a strangled noise and slams his room’s door behind him.

For the next few weeks, Jeongin shows up at tutoring a handful of times, each time annoying Jisung more than the last. His favourite days though are not only Jeongin free but tutee free all together because one, he gets paid for just sitting there and two, you.

Today, to his fortune, is one of those days. You lay with your head rested on an arm that’s stretched out in front of you on the table, invading Jisung’s area. He doesn’t mind though, mindlessly playing with your fingers and sipping iced americano.

“I seriously need a tutor myself,” you lament aloud. “That chem midterm is going to kill me on Tuesday.”

“Oh, come on. You still pass every time you say that.”

“But still,” you gasp dramatically.

Jisung rolls his eyes with a smile. “Well, if all else fails, you can still fall back on your education minor and become a teacher. You’re pretty good at that from what I see.”

“You really think so?” you squeak.

He nods.

“That’s only because all my students are so talented themselves. I mean, the only ones who come to tutoring are self motivated kids. Especially Jeongin.”

There his name is again. Jisung doesn’t respond and instead breaks the lead of his pencil against the paper. The motion shakes his hand which accidentally tips his coffee forward, covering the front of your t-shirt in brown.

“D-do you really like him that much?” Jisung stutters.

“Is that important right now?” you exclaim, quickly repositioning the beverage.

Your voice snaps Jisung back into reality, and he apologizes and digs in his backpack for tissues. Minutes later, the mess on the table is thankfully cleaned up before anything leaked to the ground. This means there is only one problem left: your clothes.

“I’m sorry…” Jisung apologizes for the hundredth time.

“It’s fine,” you sigh. “I’ll just see how much I can clean off in the restroom and sit here for another” --you check your phone-- “twenty minutes. It’s pretty quiet today anyway, so it should be fine.”

“But you have to walk home for another fifteen minute after. Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable?”

“Well I don’t have another shirt, so…” You bring your hands up and shrug your shoulders.

“Here,” Jisung offers, taking off his hoodie. “Just put this on. It should be better than a wet sticky shirt.”

You look at him from the corner of your eyes.

“It’s clean! Jeez!”

“I’m just teasing,” you joke, gratefully taking his sweater and promising to be quick in the restroom.

When you returned, Jisung was not ready for what he saw. Sure, he isn’t of large stature himself, but he likes his clothes loose, especially his hoodies, so with it on you, you exuberate hug-ability potential.

“Thanks again for the clothes,” you say as you sit down. You bat your sweater paw around a few times before grabbing your pen, trying to find your hand from under there.

Jisung coughs something incoherent while draining the rest of his beverage.

You two sit quietly as you work on your own things while waiting for students to show up. Jisung can’t stop peeking over his books at you though. That is until he shows up again, right as the two of you are about to pack up.

“Noona!”

“Jeongin!” you return, recognizing the voice.

He slides into the seat besides you and Jisung reopens his book to duck his head behind.

“You look so cute in that sweater!” he compliments.

Jisung bites his thumb. He wanted to say that!

“I’m older than you, you rascal,” you scold though obviously pleased.

“Age doesn’t have anything to do with the truth,” he shrugs.

You roll your eyes and lightly swat his shoulder.

“So, did you have a quick question?”

“Actually, I just came here to show you this!” The boy whips out some papers from his bag and hands it to you.

At first, you are silent. Jisung comes out from behind his wall to see what has gotten you so quiet. Then you stammer out, “O-oh my. Oh my! Jeongin, you did it! You got an A on your midterm!”

Disregarding your surroundings, you throw your arms over the boy.

“It’s all thanks to you,” he strangles out from under your embrace.

And then Jisung sees it. He sees it, the smile on your face as you pull away. The smile that crinkles your eyes. Before he can say anything though, Jeongin beats him to it.

“I also came here to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Well I know we have kind of a teacher-student relationship…”

You nod, prompting him to go on.

“But even so, you’re so patient and caring and smart that I can’t help but ask. Will you go out with me?”

“NO!”

The entire library turns towards Jisung after he slammed down his book in exclamation. He feels heat rising to his face as he looks around and sees all the eyes on him. He slides his foot half a step back, papers crinkling under the grip of his fingers, before he dashes out of the building without another word.

“Jisung!” he hears you call after him.

He runs and runs until he can’t anymore without even seeing where he is going. Once he finally stops to catch his breath, he realizes he is in front of the football coach statue. He has many memories with you here at this place; not only is it your favourite place to hang out, it’s also where you both opened your college acceptance letters at the same time, promised to be best friends forever as kids, and gazed at the stars whenever someone was feeling down. It’s also where he first realized he is in love with you.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

Jisung looks up and you toss his backpack at him.

“I’m sorry for making a scene back there,” he mumbles.

You either don’t hear him or don’t care, for you sit down at the bench and wave him over.

He defies your wishes and stands in front of you, head down and looking dejected.

“Shouldn’t you be with Jeongin?”

“Why would I be with someone else when my best friend is upset?”

Best friend. Is that all he’ll ever be to you?

“Well I’m okay, so just go.”

“No, you’re clearly not,” you object, taking his hand and pulling him next to you. “So tell me, what’s wrong? Do you not like Jeongin?”

It’s not like he dislikes Jeongin. The younger male is cute and funny, which is all the more reason Jisung hates him.

“No…” he admits quietly.

“Then why are you so upset?”

Jisung can feel his nails through his jeans as you press his head against your chest comfortingly. He’s about to explode; how can you play with his heart like this?

“Fine, you want to know why? It’s because I like you, that’s why! I like you and I don’t like it when other guys take you away especially when they’re tall and handsome and--”

You shut him up by pressing your lips against his cheeks. He turns to you with eyes as wide as discs.

“I didn’t accept his confession,” you tell him. “You wanna know why?”

“B-because of my outburst?” he mumbles incoherently.

“No, because I like you too, Jisung. And only you.”

“Y-you’re lying. Is this a prank? Are there cameras--”

“I’m not lying,” you promise, holding his arms down when they start flailing around in excitement.

“Well then, I think you missed my lips earlier,” he pouts.

“Oh, you cheeky little--”

He cuts you off this time by swooping in and holding you against him.

“Finally!”

The two of you break apart when you hear the voice.

“Jeongin?” you call, recognizing it.

A sheepish boy steps out from behind a tree followed by a few of his friends.

“Seungmin? Hyunjin?” Jisung gasps. “What is this?”

The trio look at each other before Seungmin speaks up. “We got tired of you two dancing around each other and not expressing your feelings, so we decided to expedite some things.”

“You mean--” Jisung points at Jeongin.

“Yep. I was all a ploy to get you to break,” he admits.

“For three months?” you exclaim.

“I think you mean, ‘thank you,’” Hyunjin interjects.

You turn towards Jisung. “I have a feeling we’ll be third, fourth, and fifth wheeled a lot.”

“Then let’s make them go away on their own accord,” Jisung smirks. He leans down and locks your lips into another kiss while dramatically tangling your limbs together.

“Okay, ew, bye.” The three yelp and scramble to get away from the scene, making Jisung snicker.

“Shush,” you scold, tugging on his collar with your sweater paws.

Oh, Jisung will shush alright, and he’ll make sure you do too for a good long while.

~ ad.gold

A/N: Thanks for your (actual) request! Hopefully this brings you back to campus during this shut down. #Pappy Waldorf

#han #han jisung #stray kids #skz #childhood friends #college au #skz fic #stray kids fic #stray kids fluff #jisung fluff #han fluff #stra ykids imagine #han imagine #jisung fic #fem reader #20200815

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soshesighs · 3 years

Text

Fic: Set The Bad Day By The Bed

Fandom: @speakergame

Pairing: Li/Speaker/Seb poly

Note: Title from the song “Orpheus” by Sara Bareilles. The line I wish I could use (but alas, you cannot use a whole line from a song for a title, as much as I might want to) and that I wanted to vaguely attempt to capture the feeling of in this little ficlet was “If the bottom drops out / I hope my love was someone else’s solid ground.” This is based on a conversation in the Speaker discord about which ROs would enjoy having their hair played with, so the original idea isn’t mine. (I imagine this being set when their relationship is all fairly new feeling, for some context.)

Lily Version here!

---

You startle suddenly from your daydream, feeling as much as hearing the front door slam, almost hard enough to rattle the house. Deft fingers briefly halt their ministrations as you strain to hear who it is that's arrived; you weren’t expecting any of your friends to drop by this afternoon.

A slight jingling, a heavy thunk as boots are set next to the door, and you instantly know who it is.

"He sounds upset," Sebastian murmurs, voice heavy, seconds from falling asleep. For a fleeting moment, your heart dances between feeling rightfully concerned and quietly pleased that you both immediately recognize your partner's footsteps; you can't help but be a little pleased at how far the three of you have come.

Concern eventually wins out, however, and your eyebrows furrow together as you hum a noise of agreement, leaning down to press a kiss to Sebastian’s brow as you think.

"It’s not like him to slam things around,” you agree. Your eyes bounce between the door to the bedroom and the man curled up by your side in bed, a debate warring internally. Sebastian is so content - finally allowing himself to relax some, even if he is still reading through your currently compiled case research - that you don’t want to disturb him.

But Sebastian, also ever observant, reaches a hand up to still the one of yours that’s still trailing through his hair, tilting his head up until his eyes meet yours. “Go,” he says simply.

You slump a bit, worrying your lower lip unintentionally. “But you just settled down,” you protest, sighing. “Besides, you know how he is. He needs his time. I imagine he’s heading to the library.”

As if a manifestation of your unease, your fingers begin to twirl a long strand of his hair again, unable to hold completely still. You respect the fact that Li needs time to himself to uncoil whatever aspect of his day has gripped him so harshly, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sit idly by.

The two of you sit there in heavy silence, the only sound the muffled turning of pages as Sebastian reads on for a solid 7 minutes, before he sighs and sets the file aside. After a pause, he says, not unkindly, “Your unease is slightly smothering, not that I’m able to focus much either. How about I make coffee and you can take some to him? If only one of us goes in, it shouldn't feel too intrusive."

If you practically bolt out of bed in eagerness, he doesn’t mention it, just chuckles to himself as he pushes up off the bed to follow.

---

A short while and one pot of hellish coffee brewed later, Sebastian sends you on your way. As you suspected, you spot Li’s silhouette curled up in a tight ball on a couch in the library. Not wanting to startle him by just appearing at his side, you knock softly on the archway until you get his attention.

His head snaps around harshly, deep, black eyes meeting yours from across the room. Even from here, you can see the bruise-like shadows beneath them, and you try to hold back from wincing sympathetically. To his credit, when he realizes it’s you, his eyes slip shut on a slow exhale, the slightest bit of tension leaving his body. After a second, he nods - the okay for you to come in.

You pad over, socked feet making only the softest muffled sound on the rugs. Coming up behind him, you slide a hand down over his shoulder from behind the couch and lean down to press a kiss to his hairline. His fingers grip the notebook and pen in his lap so tightly that his knuckles turn white, but you’re glad to see him writing. Hopefully it helps, you think to yourself, filing the information away to ask about later, if he’s willing to share.

“I won’t keep you,” you say, voice equally as quiet as your steps so as not to disturb him more than necessary. “But Bas made you coffee, so I wanted to bring it in while it was warm.”

He takes the cup and opens his mouth like there’s something he wants to say - like part of him wants to overflow and spill out whatever it is that’s strangling him inside - but nothing comes out. After a second, he gives the barest shake of his head, and you know for certain now that he needs more time.

You turn to go, but his hand rises up to cover yours on his chest, giving it a quick squeeze. “Thanks," he finally manages, his voice a bit hoarse from disuse.

“Of course, love. Anytime,” comes your gentle reply, and you hope he can hear the slight smile in your words and know that you’re fine - that everything is fine - and that you both understand. “Come find us in a bit, okay?”

He doesn’t reply again, but you don’t expect him to. Instead, you wait until he takes a sip and then head out, sliding your hand free of his embrace, content to leave him to his quiet meditation now that you’ve seen that he’s (at least physically) okay.

---

You barely step foot into the bedroom before you hear, “How is he?”

With a shrug, you crawl back up onto the bed, resuming your previously situated position against the headboard. “Exhausted, tense, locked up more than I’ve seen him in a while. But he was writing, which brings me some comfort. He says thank you for the coffee, by the way.”

Sebastian nods, a bit of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Not in so many words, I presume.”

“No,” you concede, reaching out a hand to will him closer. “But I could tell he was grateful. And thank you for humoring me. I know you were about to nod off.”

He settles against your side once more, head resting in your lap. “It’s not humoring you if I’m just as concerned. It’s hard leaving someone you care about alone when they’re struggling. Besides, I can sleep whenever."

“You’d think after all these years, I’d have gotten used to it. He’s been like this ever since we were kids, but…” you drift off, struggling to find the words. After a moment, you shrug, shaking your head. "And don't give me that, Mister 'I'll sleep when I'm dead'! You have no idea how proud I was to get you to stop pacing and lie down."

He grins, hand reaching up to cup the nape of your neck and pull you down for a kiss. "I'll rest once I've read through all of this - how's that sound?"

"I'll believe it when I see it," you reply, lips still brushing against his in the ghost of a touch as you do, and you swallow down his replying smirk with another kiss.

Eventually - when the need to take a deep breath begins to win out over the need for each other - you separate, fingers smoothing a lock of his hair back behind his ear despite the fact that its currently messy state is entirely your fault. “I know what you’re trying to do,” you whisper, a sly smile working its way onto your face.

“And what is that?”

You sit up fully and tap a finger on the tip of his nose. “You’re using me to stall. Get to reading, mister. You promised me you’d rest after, and I fully intend to see that through.”

With an over-exaggerated roll of the eyes, Sebastian picks the file up off his stomach and flips back to where he previously had stopped reading. “What exactly are you going to be doing while I’m reading your notes then, hm?”

“Providing incentive, of course,” you reply, as if it should be completely obvious.

Eyebrows raised and feigning indifference, he asks, “Incentive, huh? Remunerative, coercive, moral-?” He flips a page, eyes trained coolly on the words before him and looking for all the world like he’s completely disinterested in your current conversation. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

You laugh and don’t even bother to reply, merely beginning to scratch at his scalp, focusing on where his hair had previously been gathered into his trademark ponytail. He bites back a moan, but very quickly makes every attempt to school his features into their previously neutral position. “You drive a hard bargain,” he admits, meeting your eyes and pursing his lips to bite back the smile threatening to reveal itself. “I suppose I have to accept.”

“I suppose you do,” you agree, blatant triumph shining through every word. In time, he relents and pulls his gaze away from yours, focusing back on the work that, unfortunately, must be done.

You settle swiftly into a routine after that, with Sebastian reading and flagging specific aspects that seem particularly important or promising and you bouncing between massaging his head and simply playing with his hair, humming softly as you do - a lullaby from your childhood, you realize, having subconsciously gone for something low and soothing.

Just when it seems that Sebastian might once more be about to nod off, a quiet knock sounds from the other side of the room. You immediately freeze, eyes wide and hopeful, as the door slides open.

“Liam,” you exhale, tension you hadn’t realized you were still holding flooding out from what feels like your very bones at the sight of him.

He holds up the now-empty coffee mug and gives it a shake before setting it down on the dresser, his long and lanky frame leaning heavily against the door jamb. “Finished. Thank you again.”

Sebastian yawns - a rare sight in and of itself - and nods in acknowledgement before turning to angle his body more towards him. “You don’t have to knock, you know. I don’t know how many times we have to tell you that we want you here before you believe us.”

And Li finally cracks a smile at that: a crooked, barely there thing, but it’s there all the same, and it feels like daylight breaking through a monsoon. “Thought someone might’ve finally convinced you to sleep. I didn’t want to wake either of you.”

“Working on it,” you reply faintly. In an echo of your earlier request to Sebastian, you hold out your hand to him, silently beckoning him forward to join the two of you - if he’s ready.

He hesitates a beat too long, and in those few seconds you convince yourself that he’s going to decline.

"It's okay," you whisper, letting your hand drop back to the bed. Liam's eyes follow, watching as you reflexively clench the comforter in your fist; sitting still, especially when stressed or upset, has never been your strong suit.

Adam's apple bobbing harshly, Liam swallows and shakes his head. "I'm sorry for shutting you out earlier."

He pauses again, and you try not to let your heart catch hopefully on that last word.

Sebastian also immediately picks up on the careful phrasing, knowing as well as you do that Li of all people rarely minces his words or says what he doesn't mean. "And now?" he asks simply, setting the file to the side. "Feeling any better?"

Liam ducks his head, hiding his softening expression. When he glances back up, his trademark tilted smile is back in place. "Got room for one more?"

---

“Do you want to talk about it?” you eventually ask, voice barely audible even in the quiet of the darkened room.

Liam tenses a bit from his position now lying at your other side, head pillowed on the thigh opposite Sebastian who has, at long last, finally fallen asleep. “No, not… not yet.”

“Alright, I understand.” You trail off, finding it hard to voice exactly what it is you want to say. Between the three of you, Liam is the one who has the gift with words; you’ve never been particularly eloquent in expressing your feelings. Ultimately, you settle on saying, “Just promise me you’d tell us if it was something serious - if you were hurt or you needed our help? We love you, Li.”

You look down to meet his eyes, holding his intense gaze in the hopes that you can impart how serious you are with every lingering second.

He tears his eyes away after a moment and reaches out to your hand lying in front of him on the bed, slowly and deliberately running his fingertips along your palm as if trying to memorize every dip and line and callus. “I’m not good at asking for help, you know that,” he admits carefully, somewhat reluctantly. “I take care of people, not the other way around. That’s how it’s always been.”

“You have us now,” you reply, gently combing the fingers of your free hand through his forest green locks, attempting to untangle the knots you know he must have formed earlier by anxiously tugging at it. “You don’t have to bear anything alone.”

Liam glances back over his shoulder at Sebastian, whose face is more relaxed and at peace than he’s looked in days now that he’s finally crashed, who is the first to sacrifice caring for his own well-being to do whatever he can to help the two of you and all of your friends, who quickly and quietly wormed his way into both your hearts until he was so deeply entrenched that neither of you can imagine life without him now. And then, he nods.

“Yeah, I think I’m starting to understand that now.”

#speaker game #my fics #li/seb poly #so uhhhhh hi #I disappeared from the internet for quite a while and I'm sorry #I suffered a really heartbreaking loss in my family and have been struggling pretty severely with my own mental health in the meantime #which means I haven't written anything in... months #so be gentle with me!#apologies in advance for any mistakes

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briefololtragedy · 4 years

Text

Frazzled Friday

Kakashi x Sakura

Rated G

Follow up to Pakkun's plan. Kakashi and Pakkun have been coming to Sakura's coffee shop regularly. What happens when he comes a day late, hopefully some awkwardness.

Just popped into my head. Attempt at the two being awkward ducks. Fluff. Also posted on AO3

“ I need two large Caramel macchiatos with almond milk, one with half the caramel and the other with an extra caramel pump, one medium white chocolate mocha with a raspberry syrup. Could you hold the whip cream on that one? And then I need one large honey latte with oat milk and then one medium vanilla latte...Hmm and can I get six cinnamon scones.”

Sakura was ready to wring someone’s neck, she was frazzled. It would not pay to strangle a customer, who was going to give her money. However, she really wanted to strangle the snot nosed acne prone teenager who decided not to come into work today. It was Friday morning, one of their busiest mornings and she was short handed. She had to take a couple of deep calming breaths. Putting on her best smile and perky voice that grated her own nerves.

“Not a problem! We will get your order to you shortly.” She could do this. She loved her job, but her left eye started to twitch after the current customer paid for her order. So many sugary drinks. Sakura herself could feel her own blood sugar spiking. The customer then had the audacity to say they were in a hurry. Sakura made sure everyone got their orders in a timely manner, but for a suit to act high and mighty...Sakura had to recenter herself again. She was going to strangle Konohamaru when he comes in for his next shift. Scratch that after he is done with his next shift, she refuses to be short handed again.

Thankfully her other two workers had shown up for work today and were a godsend. She had recently hired a new employee with how well business has been. Thankfully the next few customers had reasonable orders. They had a mild lull and Sakura was able to take stock of the display case. Making a note of what was selling well and not. She was thankful that most of her items seemed to go over well with those who visited her shop. She was able to pop into the back and get some more of the baked goods to bring to the front.

As she went to refill the display cabinet she saw a fluffy white dog, who looked very family. “Kiba what brings you in today? Akamaru have you been a good boy?” Akamaru started wagging his tail and barking.

“I heard that you opened a new shop and had to stop by. I was surprised about dogs being allowed in here, great idea.” She wondered what he was up to. “Allowing dogs have been a great hit. Why don’t you treat Akamura to a delicious dog treat, while you tell me why you are here.” Sakura started to pack up a treat for Akamaura and Kiba gave one of her workers his order. When they told him his total he looked like he had been kicked. “What no special treatment for an old friend?” Kiba had a sheepish grin on his face.

“Kiba I’m running a new business, do you want me to close only a few months after opening? “ Sakura would not mention how she gave a complete stranger coffee and pastry on the house. Well he wasn’t a stranger anymore. Since that day Kakashi and Pakkun have been frequent customers. Although they hadn’t made it in yesterday like they usually do. Nope she wasn’t going to dwell on it, he had his own life and was just a customer.

“You're cold Sakura.” She had to shoot him a glare. “Kiba really it's busey what do you need?”

“So my sister, Hana, you remember her right. Well is having a launch party for her vet clinic and was wanting you to cater for it. “ Sakura looked at Kiba with an eyebrow raised. “Of course I remember your sister. She got all the good genes between the two of you. Why didn’t she call me herself?” Sakura was being slightly mean to him, but couldn’t help but perk up when she saw a familiar mess of grey hair. Her heart started to beat slightly faster.

“She knows that you don’t like to cater anymore and was scared to ask. Could you do it? Pleeeaase!” Kiba looked pathetic. She did adore his older sister and while she vowed to never cater for any company again she couldn't say no to Hana. Part of her thought process was being interrupted when she saw Kakashi and Pakkun at the counter ordering. He quickly looked to her and Kiba. She was hoping that they would stay, he was the highlight of her week.

“Fine. I’’ll do it for her. Have her call me with the details. And do us all a favor and go take a shower, you smell worse than a wet dog.'' She gave Akamaru a scratch behind the ears and watched them leave.

She tried to ignore the feeling in her stomach when she saw that Kakashi had sat down at a table by the window. He had his laptop pulled out and looked to have laser focus. Pakkun by his side like always. Sakura couldn’t help herself as she got one of the dog biscuits she reserved just for Pakkun as she went over to his table.

“There is my favorite customer! I missed you yesterday.” She couldn’t help herself as she lowered to the floor to pet Pakkun and give him his treat. He let out an enthusiastic bark and jumped up so she could pet his head.

Kakashi didn’t know how he felt at the moment. He doesn’t know why he stayed to have his coffee here after seeing Sakura with her boyfriend, he felt like an idiot. She barely glanced his way when he came in. The guy even had a dog, one that Pakkun couldn’t compete with. That guy's dog looked like it came from winning a dog show. He should have just taken his coffee and left. A wave of relief did wash over him as he saw the guy and his dog leave, shocked they didn’t do a goodbye kiss. He was lost in his wallowing that he didn’t notice Sakura approach.

“I’m your favorite customer?” Kakashi cursed his pitiful tone. He found himself slightly melting as Sakura looked up at him.

“Oh… I was talking about Pakkun. He has been my most loyal and regular customer since I opened. Plus look at this smushy face! How can you resist this cuteness?” Her voice took a higher register as she talked about Pakkun’s face, one that he had heard with his friend’s wives when they talked about babies.

“Your boyfriend and his dog aren’t your favorite customers?” Oh god Kakashi wanted to kick himself. Why! He was doing so well with talking to her after that first meeting.

Sakura didn’t know what Kakashi was talking about and was utterly confused. “Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.” She took a look at Kakashi and noticed he was more slouched over then normal.

“The guy you were talking to before coming over here isn’t your boyfriend?” Why couldn't the ground open and swallow him up?

“Kiba?” Sakura wanted to gag. “Kiba’s a friend from high school. He came to ask if I could cater for his sister. She is opening her own vet clinic.” Sakura wanted to get off the subject of Kiba. She decided to take a seat at Kakashi’s table.

“ I meant what I said that I missed you guys yesterday.Where were you guys?” She was hoping she wasn’t coming off as noisy or desperate. She had come to enjoy the moments she had with Kakashi, her mood had gone down yesterday when she realized he wouldn’t be showing up.

“I had a business meeting yesterday that made me want to bang my head on the table repeatedly till I passed out and would need medical attention.” Sakura was intrigued. She didn’t know what Kakashi did.

“Well I’m glad you didn’t bang your head. I would worry about even more brain damage.” Sakura couldn’t help but laugh at herself. She blamed her lack of social skills on focusing on academics more than socializing when she was younger.

“What was your meeting about, if you don’t mind me asking.” She at this point decided to pick up Pakkun and placed him on her lap, this was after he continued to paw her legs.

“My boss decided to discuss one of his new books and it got a little out of hand.” Kakashi couldn’t help but start to feel warm. Yep he was going to do this. He was going to tell her what he did for a living.

“Do you work in publishing?” Sakura was fascinated. Maybe she could get his opinion on some books to place around the coffee place for customers to read if interested.

“I’m an editor. The meeting was going well, but they decided to do an audiobook as a trial run. They were having an argument on who should be the one reading it.” Kakashi could do this. Him working for Jiraiya’s publishing company was nothing to be ashamed about. After he started working for them they actually expanded into actual literature, not that his precious Icha Icha didn’t count.

“I should get your advice on some books to have here. Who did they decide to read for the audiobook, is there book one i would know?”

“It’s for Jiraiya’s newest Icha Icha series.” Sakura couldn’t help but start to blush. Jiraiya was her best friend’s godfather and Naruto had all of his books.

“Oh… that would be interesting as an audiobook. Did they decide on a person?” Kakashi gulped.

“Me.” Sakura looked at him confused. Did he just…”You?” Sakura could feel like her cheeks were heating up more.

Kakashi couldn’t help but rub the back of his neck. He tilted his head to the side. “Yes me. One of the PAs came up with the idea. Kinda embarrassing really.”

Sakura wondered if she should turn the heat down. Was anyone else hot? She couldn’t help but imagine Kakashi reading one of those books, his deep voice.

“Do you not want to?” She wasn’t drooling right?

Kakashi could feel his heart racing. She hadn’t run off yet. “It’s just not something I ever thought I would do.”

Sakura doesn’t know what spirit came into her body at that moment that gave her the audacity to say what came out of her mouth. “I could always lend an ear, if you want to practice.” Sakura was sure her face was going to melt off.

Kakashi did not expect that. He felt warm imaging reading to her, yep he was blushing now. “Are you free sometime this week?”

Extra: Pakkun’s thoughts

Pakkun did not like what he saw when he entered the coffee shop. Who was this big dog and smelly owner? He wanted answers! He wanted to blame Kakashi for all of this. They have been coming for weeks and he wasn’t making any headway. Then they weren’t able to show up yesterday due to Kakashi having to work, didn’t he know there were more important things. Important things like delicious baked goods from a pretty pink haired woman who gave the best head scratches.

Yes he was extra needy with Sakura once she came over. He allowed her to grace his presence. He felt buttered up with the special dog biscuit. As he was eating it he heard mention of a possible boyfriend. Oh hell no! His plan was crumbling, like this delicious dog biscuit in his mouth. His anxiety was soothed when she said no and they continued to talk. He couldn’t help it when he curled into her lap. He felt like the heavens opened up when she offered to help his owner and then heard the mention of dinner.

#sakura x kakashi #kakasaku #kakshi hatake #Sakura Haruno #pakkun #naruto #fanfic #fluff

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chroniclackofselfpreservation · 4 years

Text

Creatures of the Night

Chapter 18 - to get burnt by an imitation

Back to the Beginning < Previous chapter / Next chapter >

AO3

Masterlist

(TW: pain, verbal abuse, mild violence)

(The title of the chapter comes from "A Promise" by Ernestine Northover)

So many variables, Logan thought, knocking the back of his head against the wall. He’d been sitting on the floor outside the cellar door for who knows how long now, mulling over the plan Virgil had proposed.

“She’ll be back any day now,” he’d explained. “After doing strong magic like that again, I’d be surprised if she wasn’t curious. We’ll have to ambush her. As far as she knows, the curse is still active. She doesn’t have any reason to suspect that Dorian will be on our side.”

“That’s assuming he’s willing to help out,” Roman had pointed out. “The whole reason he accepted the deal was so he wouldn’t have to battle Ursula. I would.”

“We all would,” Patton corrected.

Logan had remained all but silent throughout the process. The others let him be, under the pretense of “intense brainstorming,” but in reality, he was drawing a blank.

He knew nothing about Ursula or her powers, though from what Virgil had described, she sounded pretty invincible. Roman had supposed powers, but knew next to nothing about how they worked, Patton’s ability was more of a passive talent than a weapon, and Virgil was too high on the excitement of having his talisman back to think up a proper, coherent plan. Logan had stepped away, claiming he needed time to think things through—which wasn’t a total lie—and had ended up sitting in the hallway, thinking of nothing.

His eyes flitted over the symbol scorched into the door, its faint purple light pulsing every few seconds.

Is no one in this house normal aside from Logan?

He snorted at the memory of Roman’s words. Normal might be an objective term, but useless wasn’t. He knew any sort of plan that had even a chance of success didn’t involve him. He didn’t have magic. He didn’t have a year’s worth of experience fighting a demon. He had no supernatural ability to tell the future.

Logan was an elementary school teacher. He was that loser from the next class over who thought that looking at bugs during lunch hour was more interesting than talking to real people. He wasn’t a brave knight ready to defend his friend’s honor to an immortal witch.

The only thing he was good at was logic. Being ruthlessly objective. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he shouldn’t attend the mission. Really, he shouldn’t be involved at all.

Right. So stop being a baby about it and go tell them, he thought harshly.

Stuffing down the dread mounting inside of him, Logan forced himself to his feet and back into the living room.

Things had quieted down after the fiasco that was trapping a goblin in their cellar. Virgil had only given them the barest of details: he was Ursula’s henchman, powerful when he wanted to be, and a total jerk. Now that Virgil’s secret was out, however, he seemed content to roam the house in his feline form. Patton followed him around, making casual conversation despite the fact that Virgil was incapable of replying. The four thin gashes Remus had clawed into his cheek stood out against Patton’s otherwise blemish-free face. He looked like a walking oxymoron. Such a sweet, harmless person looking like he’d tangled with a raccoon over scraps of garbage. Patton had several small scars on his hands, but he’d explained that they were from accidents with hot glue guns and X-Acto knives while crafting with Dot.

“I’m too clumsy for my own good,” he’d say with a shrug and a laugh. Logan would fail to mention the fact that Patton almost never wore short sleeves, and the sneaking suspicion he had that his friend was hiding something. Or maybe he just likes cardigans. Stop being so paranoid.

Roman sat on one of the kitchen stools, a mug of tea Patton had prepared held close to his chest. His knee bounced restlessly as he stared at the ruby-red amulet on the counter in front of him, like he was waiting for it to jump out and bite him. His sun-tanned skin from the summer was starting to fade, which also meant the disappearance of Roman’s annual freckles. He always seemed to develop them in a swath across his nose, making him and Patton look almost related.

Logan blinked, realizing he’d been staring, and walked over. He pulled out the other stool and took a seat. Roman’s head twitched in his direction, like he’d recognized that Logan was there, but couldn’t quite pull himself out of whatever deep thoughts he’d been wading through. His shoulders were tense again.

Logan leaned over. “What tea is that?”

“Lavender.”

“Have you had any of it?”

“No.”

Logan reached out and grabbed the amulet.

Roman’s knuckles went white.

Logan held the jewel up to the light, examining it. “I think we should throw this thing away.”

“But I… need it,” he said, tripping on the words coming out of his mouth.

Logan cocked an eyebrow. “Really? I would think you’d want nothing more to do with it.”

Roman tapped a nail against the mug. “Well, yeah, I hate it. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to need it when we go up against Ursula.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve come to a conclusion,” Logan said, setting the amulet down. Roman relaxed a bit.

“What’s that?”

“You all will be much better off without me on this mission.”

Patton looked up from the corner of the living room, Virgil trotting easily across the back of the couch. He put his hands on his hips. “What is this wacky talk? Lo, weren’t you the one who wanted us all to stick together from now on?”

“Well, yes,” Logan admitted, “but I’m merely being objective. I don’t have any special skills to contribute, have no unique knowledge about the enemy, and will only be a hindrance to you three.”

Virgil leaped to the ground and resumed his human form, something Logan was still trying to get used to. “You aren’t useless, Logan. You contribute plenty.”

“Well…” Roman said. Virgil shot him an incredulous look. “No! Of course Logan isn’t useless. That’s not what I mean at all,” he amended, holding out a hand. “All I’m saying is that Logan might have a point. Virgil’s the most powerful one here, and I’m what this whole thing is about, not to mention I have a lot more experience with… this kind of stuff.”

“What about me? You can’t possibly think I’m more helpful than Logan, can you?” Patton demanded. “Unless you want me sleeping through the battle, there’s really not much I can offer either.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Virgil said. “You have inherent magic in you, so you can see the truth of things no matter what.”

“The truth of things?”

“That’s how you were able to see Remus and talk to him,” he explained, looking slightly uncomfortable at the amount of attention on him. “Magical creatures like him, or even some spells can be hidden from mortal eyes—like the spell on the cellar door. If… If I wanted to, I could make it so Logan couldn’t see any of it,” he finished haltingly as Logan’s expression wilted.

“It’s settled, then,” Logan said, though it pained him. This was Roman’s curse all over again, except now, he would be sitting at home, alone in the dark, waiting for three of his best friends to return hopefully in one piece.

“No!” Patton cried, looking desperate. “Virgil, if Ursula’s really so powerful, who’s to say she doesn’t come and attack the house while we’re out looking for her? If she’s seen through your eyes like you say she has, then she knows all of our faces. Logan would be alone. We’re safer if we all stay together.”

Logan sighed. “Patton—”

“No, he has a point,” Virgil cut in. “That does seem like something she’d do. I agree with Patton. We can keep each other safer if we’re all together.”

Roman bit his lip. “Okay... I still don’t like it, but you know her best, Virge. So, if you think we’ll be better off together, I’ll go with it.”

“I won’t be dead weight for you guys to carry around,” Logan implored.

Roman put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll definitely be more dead than weight if you stay here alone, Lo. Trust us on this. Besides,” he said, his face ticking up into that perfect smile that hid his fear, “I wouldn’t want you anywhere else. You know that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, Roman.” There. We’ll lie to each other and call it even.

Virgil suddenly swayed. He squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed Roman’s shoulder, steadying himself.

Patton’s smile vanished. “Virgil? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, grimacing. “It’s Ursula. She’s—gah!” Virgil cried out, clutching his head.

“Here. Sit down,” Logan said, carefully guiding him to the dining table. Virgil collapsed into the seat and pressed his forehead against the tabletop, hands tangled in his hair. Logan watched helplessly as his friend whimpered through gritted teeth, trying to control his breathing. At least this feeling of uselessness wasn’t new. Though they now knew the source of Virgil’s sudden headaches, they’d seen him deal with them for years. Each time, the most all three of them could do was sit and keep him company through the worst of it.

Patton placed a comforting hand on Virgil’s back, and Roman watched him suffer with a barely restrained rage burning behind his eyes. Virgil’s shoulder bunched, climbing toward his ears, his shoulder blades cutting sharp angles on his back. His breathing was short and shallow, punctuated by occasional groans or whimpers.

It was strange, seeing Virgil like this after having just seen him so energetic and excited after using the full potential of his powers again.

“Stop it!” Virgil growled, bristling. Patton jerked his hand away, and Logan shot him a comforting look. Patton nodded, though he looked extremely conflicted. They all knew he wasn’t talking to them. Virgil began to tremble, and a strangled sob escaped his lips. Logan’s chest caught. This was getting bad. Worse than most other episodes he’d had.

Patton made a soft, miserable sound.

Roman began pacing, shoulders starting to climb nearly as high as Virgil’s. His hand worked the air, like he was trying to grasp a weapon that wasn’t there.

Something clicked in Logan’s head. Something about seeing his friends like this shoved whatever feelings of uselessness he’d had out of his mind. He may not be able to do much himself in the way of fighting Ursula, but he could support those who could.

“Virgil, listen to me,” Logan said, lips inches from Virgil’s ear. “You can do this. I know you can. We have a plan, and we’re going to beat her.”

Virgil stilled, his trembling fading away. His shoulders relaxed, and he lifted his head. He turned and looked at Logan, a mirthy laugh bubbling out of him. Logan’s blood ran cold.

“You think so, do you?” he said, his lips quirking into a confident smirk.

“What…?” Logan managed through his fumbling mind. The dots were there, he just couldn't connect them. Or maybe he simply didn’t want to. Roman’s head snapped around at Virgil’s words and he stormed forward.

“You leave Virgil alone,” he growled, his voice taking on that tone that made Logan’s skin crawl. Like nails on a chalkboard, but ten times worse.

Virgil stood, the chair squeaking against the tile. His head cocked to the side. “My, my, little prince. You’ve grown, haven’t you! And it’s only been a year. How’s the curse holding up? Oh,” he chuckled, his voice lilting and patronizing, “you must be exhausted. Why don’t you sit down?” Virgil pressed his palm against Roman’s chest. Violet light pulsed outward and Roman flew back into the cabinets.

“Roman!” Patton cried rushing over. Virgil’s neck and arm spasmed, and he looked down at it, as if surprised.

“You’ve gotten more powerful, kitty,” he muttered. “What did you do to poor Remus?”

“We killed him,” Logan said, hoping to hide the tremor in his voice. They couldn’t fight Ursula like this. Not when it was Virgil they’d really be hurting.

Virgil’s attention snapped to him, a smile playing at his lips. “Really? You?”

“We all did,” Logan replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Patton has the scars to prove it.”

Virgil glanced at Patton, who touched his wounds a little self-consciously. He shrugged. “Alright, maybe you did. Makes no difference. You, on the other hand,” he said, his hand shooting out and clamping around Logan’s throat. “Tell me this so-called plan of yours.”

Logan grabbed Virgil’s wrist, but couldn’t pull away. His grip was like iron, though he hadn’t cut off Logan’s airway… yet.

Remain calm. “That would defeat the purpose.”

His nose wrinkled in a snarl. “I could snap your neck like a toothpick.” Virgil’s hand trembled, and he glanced at it angrily. Hope blossomed in Logan’s chest.

“I know you’re in there Virgil.”

“Shut up, you useless mortal. What chance do any of you have against me?” he snapped, his hold tightening. Logan wheezed. “Roman’s the most powerful one here, and he can’t even access his own powers. You’re all weak.”

“Let him go!” Roman bellowed standing.

Virgil threw back his head in a fit of laughter. “Or what? You’ll attack your friend? You can’t touch me, little prince.”

Roman paled.

“You underestimate them,” Logan choked out, the pressure in his head building.

Virgil pulled him closer, their faces inches apart. “Please, you’re the least interesting one here,” he sneered. “I’d kill you out of sheer boredom before you were anywhere close to an actual threat.”

“I know that,” Logan rasped. “But as long as they’re here, you don’t have a chance. Roman is the strongest person I know. Patton is incredible, even if he won’t show it. And Virgil is stronger than you.”

“Really? Well, I think it’s time you took a little nap,” Virgil growled, his lip curling. Instead of constricting, his fingers flew apart, releasing Logan—who collapsed to the ground, gasping and coughing. Virgil stumbled back, his whole frame shaking.

“You insolent little whelp!” he screeched, his voice high and stringy. “Stop it! I am your witch! Worthless, undeserving SCUM YOU CAN’T—” Virgil’s voice cut out and his whole body sagged, like the strings holding him up had been cut.

“Virgil?” Patton asked carefully.

Virgil lifted his head, panting. He gave a shaky thumbs up, then his eyes promptly rolled up into his skull. Roman shot forward, catching him before he could collapse completely.

Logan let out a sigh of relief, flopping onto his back and staring up that the ceiling.

Yes, he might be useless, but he’d definitely be there to make sure his friends weren’t.

#tw pain #pain tw #pain #tw verbal abuse #verbal abuse tw #verbal abuse #tw violence #violence tw #violence #mild violence

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mycupoffanfiction · 5 years

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His Second Chance Part 18

Bucky x Reader

His Second Chance Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Bucky comes back from Wakanda with Steve, ready to begin his recovery from his days as the Winter Soldier, but there’s one thing he doesn’t take into account - you.

Warnings: Slight anxiety, language, fluff.

Word count: 2500

Bucky is forced to face the press, a sad discovery is made and the Reader helps Bucky to process a situation.

ALL TAG LISTS ARE ALWAYS OPEN 💖 feel free to come and chat, my blog is always open for you 💕

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A sigh passed your lips as you stood behind a large black screen, behind a stage, peeking out to see crowds of reporters and attendees. “Was this really necessary?” You sighed, glancing over at Steve while Bucky was having his microphone tested. “According to Pepper, yes.” Steve sounded just as annoyed as you felt. “According to me, no.” He concluded, giving Bucky a sidelong apologetic look. “Can’t I go out there with him? This could be more damaging than helpful.” You hissed, trying to keep your voice down while you stressed. “No, he’s gotta do it by himself.” Steve shook his head, planting his hands down on your shoulders. “We’ll be here for him when he’s finished, he knows we will, sweetheart.” Steve tried to reassure you. “It doesn’t feel like it’s enough.” You murmured to no one in particular, but Steve heard you and he didn’t say it, but he agreed.

Tony and Pepper had set up a press conference, in the hopes that Bucky speaking out publicly could help to clear the air, not that you thought it would do much good for Bucky though. The crowd, while not the largest you had seen, was still very overwhelming. You were feeling anxious for him, you could only imagine what the poor guy was feeling while he was waiting at the side of the stage.

Why do I have to wear a suit? Why do I have to do this at all? Oh god. There’s so many fuckin’ people. There’s gonna be some real pushy assholes too.

She looks worried, god she looks like she’s about to have a fucking panic attack. Bucky looked on at you while you stuck close to Steve’s side, practically smooshing yourself against him.

Bucky strode over to you both, leaning in to Steve’s side as he gave him a hug. “Can you take her out? She looks like she’s about to panic and I don’t wanna worry about my girl while I’m up there.” Bucky whispered in Steve’s ear. “You got it, pal.” Steve nodded, clapping Bucky on the back. “Good luck, bud.”

Bucky pulled you against him, squeezing you tightly and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. “I’ll be alright doll; you stick with Stevie. I’ll be out in a while.” Bucky gave you a half smile, leaning down to kiss you on the lips. “You don’t want me here?” You sounded more than a bit offended. Shit, well done. “Pretty girl, I do, but you look like you’re about to keel over, I need you intact when I get off that stage.” He smirked, trying to play off his own nerves with light humour. You chuffed a little laugh and shook your head. “I suppose you’re right.” You reached up to peck his cheek before you backed out of his arms, uttering good luck to him before you stepped back and stood by Steve.

Steve had dragged you off to a little café around the corner, away from the press conference and tried to distract you with all sorts of random conversation, although, it didn’t work very well and you sat at the table, half listening while you chewed on your lip.

“I bet you didn’t think I didn’t noticed when I saw that Avengers comic book in that basement of your when I found you.” Steve smiled to himself, remembering the day he’d let himself in and examined your shitty living space. “You- what?” You almost choked on your tea. Your cheeks flushed red as you held your cup close to your lips to try and distract away from your flustered features. “Were you a fan?” He teased, leaning in a poking you gently on the arm. You let out a little strangled noise, embarrassment taking hold and making it very obvious what the answer was. “You were a fan!” He chuckled.

“C’mon, in all the years I can’t believe we’ve never talked about this, who’s your favourite?” He grinned, nudging you. “Steeeeve.” You groaned, putting your tea down and avoiding eye contact. “Is it me? I bet it’s Sam, no Wanda, probably Wanda.” He giggled like a school girl. “Stevie, Sam and Wanda weren’t part of the Avengers back then.” You reminded him, catching him out and he shook his head affectionately. “Don’t tell anyone, but you’re my favourite.” You smiled, looking up at him with a sweet look in your eyes. “Until I met Bucky and then he took your spot.” You grinned like the devil and Steve feigned offence, gasping and clasping his hand to his chest. “He’s not even an Avenger!” Steve cried out dramatically, the smile on his face telling you he wasn’t the least bit offended.

Bucky was peppered with questions on the panel, the host managing the crowd for him while he sat uncomfortably, gaze nervously flitting from person to person as he tried desperately to keep himself calm.

“Mr Barnes, is it still possible for you to become the Winter Soldier?”

“Was Hydra controlling you or did you have a form of choice?”

Breathe. Breathe through it, answer politely.

Bucky threw out a lot of simple no’s and yes’, but there were a few questions that boiled his blood or made him want to lecture the fuck out of the reporter. “Do you feel yourself a danger to your fellow teammates?” Not anymore. “Are you still a threat?” No. “Are you mentally able to live a regular life?” Urgh.

By the time it was over, Bucky was well and truly fed up of the array of questions that mostly felt recycled and rephrased over and over. Some felt like they were intentionally trying to piss him off and others were genuinely alright, although those were few and far between. But at least it was over and hopefully Stark would never make him do that ever again. Especially while wearing a damn suit.

“It was mostly awkward, lots of the same questions repeated with different wording, lots of uncomfortable questions about my personal shit.” Bucky groaned as he walked alongside you, top buttons of his shirt open, tie loosened and his blazer was replaced with a warm zip up hoodie instead. “You woulda’ hated it doll.” He chuckled to himself, imagining you wanting to mouth off every one of the rude reporters he’d encountered, knowing full well you would have gone into protective girlfriend mode had you been present. “I suppose it’s a good thing Steve made me go with him then.” You smirked. “Although that café wasn’t much better, I was just stuck in my head the whole time.” You sighed, leaning up against him as you followed Steve and Sam down to your usual coffee shop for some decent and well-priced hot drinks.

“C’mon sweetheart, the coffee ain’t gonna buy itself!” Steve called over his shoulder as you trailed behind him and Sam. You stopped at the window of your usual coffee shop, inspecting something while Steve yanked on the door to no avail. “They closed today? They’re never closed.” Bucky grumbled. You studied the note in the window, your heart dropping a little.

Out of business.

This was where you’d had your first casual date with Bucky, where you’d admitted feelings for each other. It was where Bucky had released all of his troubles from therapy, told you so many secrets. It was where you had experienced some of the best times of your life, albeit in a simple way. The baristas had been friendly, welcoming and you’d both become regulars. And now it was gone. It was closed and your bright, warm coffee shop was no longer there.

“Aw, of all the places to shut down!” Steve groaned. “They had the best fuckin’ coffee.” He complained, walking away towards Sam. “Language, Cap.” The pair of them immediately started bickering in the background as you and Bucky stood outside of the café. “M’sorry doll.” Bucky’s arm wound around your back, hand coming down to rest on the curve of your waist. “This place was our café.” You sighed, feeling a little silly that you were so upset about a café. “I know, darlin’.” Bucky kissed your temple. Bucky was just as attached to the memories in that coffee shop as you were, not that he was likely to say that out loud in ear shot of the boys.

“C’mon, we’ll try and find somewhere new to go.” Bucky pulled you away rather reluctantly. It’s always the good places that go. Bucky huffed to himself as he walked you over to Steve and Sam who were still playfully insulting one another as they walked down the street. “There’s another coffee place around the corner.” Sam announced over his shoulder to you both as he held his phone up with he map open, not that you could see the details at all. “Go left.” Sam prodded Steve. “Are you kidding? It’s this way.” Steve veered him in another direction, the two of them pushing each other about as Steve tried to get Sam to position the map on his phone correctly to show him that he absolutely knew the way there.

Idiots. “It’s this way.” Bucky grumbled as you caught up with them and overtook them both.

As expected, the coffee place you went to didn’t match the wonderful drinks you’d had from your usual place and you felt a little deflated from the overwhelming afternoon. All you’d wanted after Bucky’s press conference was some down time in your favourite café with your boys, but even that was out of the question.

Bucky walked into the kitchen from your trip out and stared down at a brown envelope on the kitchen island as if it had offended him. “You got mail?” Sam sounded surprised as he walked up beside him. All Bucky did was let out a gruff humph as he pulled his hoodie off. “Oh, it’s the results, isn’t it?” He sighed, leaning on his elbows on the island, trying to catch Bucky’s line of sight. “Open it, man.” Sam nudged him gently. Not sure I want to. Bucky just stared at the envelope, a part of him just wanted to put it away and open it when he’d gained the courage or impulse to actually do it. It wasn’t that he was worried he’d failed, he had a doubt in his mind, a doubt that passing would bring him any joy at all.

“C’mon, what’s the worst that could happen? If you failed then…” Bucky unintentionally blocked Sam out, his voice going muffled in his ears. He took a deep breath, eyes trained on his name on the envelope.

Imagine if ma was here. Would she be proud? Would she be proud of you dating a pretty girl with a soft heart? Would she be proud of the man you’re becoming? She certainly wouldn’t be proud of the man you were. That’s for sure.

You weren’t him though.

“Bucky? Hellooo?” Sam waved his hand in front of his face. “Where’d the Bucky of yesterday go? I miss the stupid cat photos and now you’re staring and being all silent like the day you arrived.” Sam grumbled. “Today did me in. Thought you hated ‘em.” Bucky spoke lowly before snatching the envelope from the island. “I kinda do, but they’re better than… Whatever this is.” Sam gestured at Bucky. “Thanks, Sam.” He huffed, turning to walk away. He only means well, keep cool.

“Doll.” Bucky sounded tired, bothered, frustrated even as he stood in your doorway. You hummed in response, looking up from your book as you sat nestled under a blanket. “Will you open this for me, please?” Bucky asked as he walked into your bedroom, holding out the brown envelope. You lowered your book and looked up at him from your position on your nest of cushions on the floor. “What is it?” You asked, closing your book. “Results.” Bucky replied simply, voice gruff and deep. He was in an almost reclusive mood, but you were just thankful that he had willingly come to you.

You took the envelope from him and got Bucky to sit down next to you. He awkwardly lowered himself onto your cushion pile and leant against you. “What’s got you too worried to open it, Sarge?” You asked, looking up at him. “I know it’s not the prospect of failing, Buck.” You quirked a brow before he could even think about lying to you.

Just tell her, she’ll know what to say, she always does. “M’not scared of failing.” Bucky grumbled. “M’scared of passing.” He sighed, lowering his voice to just above a whisper. You looked up at him, confusion scrunching your brows together for a moment before you processed what he’d said. “You’re not sure you want this, are you?” You asked, resting the envelope on your lap. “No.” Bucky spoke just above a whisper. But neither are you. “I understand.” You maintained a soft smile.

She never seems to judge, never seems to see you differently no matter what you tell her. Takes it all in her stride. Stronger than she gives herself credit for. Stronger than me.

“You don’t have to want it, Bucky.” You murmured. “Whatever is in the envelope doesn’t define you.” You looked down at it, fingers tracing over his name on the front. “It isn’t an order or an instruction to do something.” Gripping the envelope you picked it up. “At the end of the day, it’s just a piece of paper.”

“This paper doesn’t tell you to go into the Avengers full throttle. Doesn’t tell you to give up. Doesn’t tell you to live a different life. It tells you which doors are open and which are shut.” You handed him the envelope.

Bucky looked down at you, the corners of his lips curving slightly. A new light, a new perspective. It tells you which doors are open and which are shut. I knew she’d know what to say, she always does. Bucky took the envelope and slowly slipped his finger under the top flap, carefully peeling open the closure. With a deep breath and a slow, long exhale, Bucky pulled the papers out of the envelope.

Is this good? I suppose it is. Bucky lowered the papers, just enough for you to see the results and he shared a look with you. Bold letters, it was the only word you really saw on the paper, the rest of it could have been in another language and you wouldn’t have cared.

Passed.

“Think of it this way, all of the doors are open now, Bucky.” You smiled, his eyes softening as he met your gaze. “You can do anything.” You gripped his hand gently, Bucky squeezing your fingers slightly. “We can do anything.” You leaned up against him and Bucky let a smile crack across his lips.

As long as it’s with you, pretty girl.

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#bucky x reader #bucky x you #soft!bucky x reader #His Second Chance #bucky barnes #bucky fluff #bucky fanfic #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #avengers x reader

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flightfoot · 5 years

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Divergent Points Chapter 1

So I decided to write a sequel to Turning Points in a similar sort of style to the last chapter of it, as an episode rewrite fic with the new revelations that occurred in Turning Points affecting the episode’s plot. I’m not going to do this with ALL season 3 episodes, just the ones that I think would change in an interesting way that I want to write. So like, I wouldn’t cover Bakerix for instance, since the changes from Turning Points wouldn’t affect it much, and I don’t feel the need to write a fix-it for it. And some plots may not happen at all, Like Christmaster for example. Since Alya and Nino know just HOW swamped Marinette is and that she may have to leave at any moment, they don’t ask her to babysit and in fact, Alya volunteers to take over as Manon’s primary babysitter. She’s already ended up babysitting her a few times anyway.

Currently I’m planning to write chapters for Animaestro, Oni-chan (probably. I fee like I need to because it’s Lila related, but I’m unsure of how the plot would go), maybe Reflekdoll (though I think I’d focus on Alya more than Chat’s and Ladybug’s relationship), Feast, Ikari Gozen, and Ladybug. I may add more over time.

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Marinette was REALLY looking forward to taking down Hawkmoth.

Seriously, akumatizing poor August AGAIN?! He was barely old enough to walk, he shouldn’t have to worry about being turned into a supervillain!

Or, well, have his parents worry about it. She was pretty sure that he had no idea that Gigantitan had ever happened.

And akumatizing at NIGHT as well! She needed sleep! Chat needed sleep! And August’s parents sure as hell needed sleep, she knew how much of a handful kids were. Hopefully they wouldn’t stress about him too much, they really couldn’t do much to keep a toddler from feeling negative emotions on occasion, and August wasn’t old enough to self-regulate his emotions very effectively yet, especially since he couldn’t yet comprehend why he would need to.

At least Hawkmoth had chosen to do this on a Saturday night. It would have been WAY worse during the week.

But at least it was an excuse to see Chat again. Not that she NEEDED much of one - they’d been sneaking out to meet up with each other more often than they technically needed to anyway - but it was the principle of the matter.

Gigantitan spat out the Lucky Charm she’d summoned, a giant plastic donut, and slammed it into the topmost floor of her house. Since her parents were still on the street, she wasn’t particularly worried. The damage would be repaired when she used the Miraculous Ladybug and no one would have been hurt.

“Guess he likes the best macaroons in Paris more than a plastic chew toy. Gotta admit, he has taste.” Chat quipped.

Ladybug rolled her eyes playfully. “He does, but maybe we should stop him from eating my pa- I mean the Dupain-Cheng Bakery’s entire stock of sweets? They’d be brought back after I repair everything, but it still probably wouldn’t be good for him, and I hate to see the building smashed up, even temporarily.

Chat nodded, giving a flirtatious wink. “Of course milady. And maybe we’ll have some free time to hang out afterwards? I don’t think I could go back to sleep after this right away anyway.”

She giggled a little at that. “Maybe, kitty cat. Better hurry though! We need to deal with this and take August back first!”

“Right,” Chat straightened up, putting on his more serious face. “Better get to it then!”

Chat and Ladybug rushed at Gigantitan.

A Cataclysm and a call of “Miraculous Ladybug!” later, little August fell into Ladybug’s outstretched arms.

“Late night craving, huh?” Ladybug asked as she spun the toddler around. She hugged and kissed him. “Aw, you’re so adorable!”

“Gotta admit, I’m a little jealous,” Chat quipped.

Ladybug laughed. “Don’t be. As adorable as he is, YOU’RE even cuter. Don’t worry. You’ll get your kisses, kitty.”

Her earrings started beeping. “I should probably get back for now though. My parents might be worried. Bug out!”

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and yo-yoed back to her balcony.

Chat gave a lovesick sigh. “Ladybug’s so amazing. I can’t believe this is reality. That I get to spend time with such a wonderful girl. And that she likes me back!”

August din’t seem to care about his lovesick ramblings though. “Dummy!”

Chat blinked, taking a closer look at August. He realized what was missing. “Oh, right, the pacifier! How could I forget! It was your akumatized object this time after all. Ladybug must have accidentally taken it! Hold on, I’ll see whether I can get it back.”

He vaulted to Marinette’s balcony.

Marinette blinked. “Chat? What is it?”

“Dummy!” August called out, reaching out towards Marinette.

A look of realization spread across her face. “Oh! Right! I forgot I still had that.”

She handed it over to Chat, who placed it back in August’s mouth.

“Aww!” she cooed again.

Looking back up at Chat, she put her serious face on. “You really DO need to leave now. August needs to get back to his parents, and I need to show mine that I’m okay. I imagine they’ll be worried after Gigantitan shoved my Lucky Charm through my bedroom wall.”

Chat nodded, giving her a soft smile. “I know. But is there time for a goodbye kiss at least?”

She cursed his soft smile. He KNEW she couldn’t resist those. It was hard enough coming from Chat, but knowing now that he’s Adrien? She was a goner. “Ok, kitty. But just one! No turning it into a few dozen.”

He chuckled. “Fine, fine. You’ll need to keep to that too, though.”

She blushed. Both of them had a tendency to want to cuddle and kiss for way longer than they probably should. They really needed to officially announce their relationship soon. It was getting hard to resist making out while at school. The rest of the class seemed to heavily suspect that they were together - they’d been able to resist outright making out, but they COULDN’T stop cuddling close to each other - but they still hadn’t declared publicly that they were dating. It just hadn’t seemed like the right time. Plus, they needed to get their stories straight on how it happened first. The full truth obviously wasn’t going to fly.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, pulling him close.

Unfortunately for them, that was the moment her dad frantically opened her balcony hatch door.

“MARIne...” He trailed off, shocked at the sight in front of him.

His daughter, looking like a deer in headlights, embracing one of the Heroes of Paris, lips locked against his, a toddler held in Chat’s arms.

They jumped apart slightly.

Tom just smiled, making a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeal.

He emerged from the hatch, both Marinette and Chat stammering slightly, trying to think of some excuse for why they were making out, and both utterly failing. Tom put a hand on Chat’s shoulder, just as he started to make an excuse about needing to take August back. “Wait! Why don’t you have Sunday brunch with us tomorrow?”

Chat blinked. “Really?”

Tom nodded eagerly. “Of course! I’d love to get to know my daughter’s boyfriend better!”

Chat blinked. “You’re... not mad?”

“About what?”

“That we didn’t tell you?”

Tom hummed for a minute. “Well I would’ve preferred that Marinette had told us, but I understand. And if I’m going to trust anyone to do right by Marinette, one of the Heroes of Paris seems as trustworthy as you can get.”

Chat blushed.

Sabine popped her head out of the hatch. “Marinette- oh!”

Tom turned around. “I found out why Marinette’s been so happy lately! She’s gotten herself a boyfriend! A superhero, no less!”

Sabine took a closer look at the still-scarlet lovebirds. “Well, that explains why we’ve been hearing more voices from Marinette’s bedroom than usual. I just thought you were watching some videos.”

“You... heard us?” Marinette asked, sounding strangled.

Sabine nodded. “Yes. He’s been visiting a lot hasn’t he?”

Marinette gave up any illusions of getting out of this. “Yep.”

Sabine smiled. “Well I’m happy for you. But now that we know, can you please tell us when he’s visiting? I’m not going to tell you to stop visiting, but I like to know who’s over. Plus then I can make snacks for you both. I trust you two are being responsible?”

“Mom, we’re too young for that!” Marinette shouted, blushing harder.

“Always best to be prepared dear.”

“MOM!”

Chat’s ring beeped. Marinette tore herself away from glaring at her mom, looking at Chat concernedly. “You’d better leave and get August back to his parents now before you transform back.”

He nodded, smiling. “See you tomorrow for brunch, Princess.”

Chat turned and vaulted away.

Marinette watched him as he left, a soft smile on her face.

Which was quickly ruined by her father’s interjection. “Sooo, Princess, huh?”

“DAD!”

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

After depositing August back with his parents, Adrien barely made it back to his house in time. He collapsed onto his bed just as his ring gave a final beep.

Plagg flew out of the ring. “So Sunday brunch with the parents, huh? Sounds serious.”

Adrien gave a lovesick sigh. “Yeaah...”

Plagg shrugged, giving up on intelligent conversation for the time being. “Hey, I’m happy just so long as there’s cheese.”

Adrien mumbled something incoherent, but pulled out his phone.

Adrien: A little friend of mine would really like something cheesy to eat when I come over. Is there anything you could do? If it’s not too much trouble, of course.

Princess: It’s never any trouble. I was already planning on fixing some macaroons for my own little friend, I’ll make some treats for yours as well. We haven’t sold it in years, but we used to make this Camembert puff pastry. Does this look good?

Adrien stared at the picture she sent of the pastry, with it cut open to show the oozing camembert. He snickered a little. “Hey Plagg? You might want to take a look at this.”

Plagg looked up from where he was digging into his cheese stash. “What? I’m eating right nooooo....”

Adrien turned his phone around, showing him a picture of the pastry.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Plagg whispered, tears in his eyes. Abruptly he flew up, his meal (temporarily) forgotten. He squished Adrien’s cheeks between his little paws. “MARRY. THAT. GIRL.” He told him firmly.

Adrien pulled back slightly, laughing his head off. “I fully intend to, if she’ll have me.”

Princess: We need to figure what we’ll tell them about us... you know... dating. If Chat’s dating Marinette, then that means that he’s NOT dating Ladybug and that Marinette can’t date Adrien.

Adrien blinked. “...Crap.”

Adrien: Maybe we should ask Alya and Nino for advice? They might have ideas.

Princess: On it.

*On a group text with Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien*

Princess: Chat and I got into a bit of a bind today. I was on my balcony detransformed when Chat came to give me a goodbye kiss, and my parents caught us! They figured out that he’d been dropping by for awhile, apparently we weren’t as quiet as we thought. They want to have brunch tomorrow with my new boyfriend!

Alya: Sounds great to me! What’s the problem?

Princess: The PROBLEM is that Marinette can’t date Adrien and Chat can’t date Ladybug if Marinette’s already dating Chat!

Alya: Why not?

Princess: Because everyone would think we’re cheating on each other!

Alya: Open relationships and polygamous relationships DO exist, Mari.

Adrien frowned. “Open relationships and polygamous relationships? I’ve never heard of either of those.”

He googled the terms and blew his mind.

“You can be in a relationship with more than one person AT THE SAME TIME and have it be OKAY?”

Heart beating fast, he texted.

Adrien: Would this work, milady?

A few minutes passed with no response from the love of his life. The anticipation was killing him.

Adrien: ...Princess?

At last, a reply came through.

Princess: Sorry, just needed to scream into my pillow for a bit. These past several months before finding out Chat’s identity I was SO WORRIED and in denial about my feelings towards Chat because I was in love with Adrien and I didn’t think I could be with two boys at the same time, and now I’ve learned that even not COUNTING the whole reveal, I didn’t need to worry about that?! So long as Adrien/Chat was okay with it, of course.

Adrien chuckled, a dopey grin spreading across his face again. Any reminder that His Lady LOVED HIM BACK brought out the lovestruck fool in him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Adrien: So are we good? May I tell your parents about my lovely girlfriends, my sweet princess and my feisty lady?

Princess: Only if I can introduce them to my boyfriends, my dorky kitty and my kind prince.

Adrien: Oh, so I’m a prince now?

Princess: But of course. If I’m a princess, then what else could you be?

Adrien: Yours.

Bro: Dudes, as much as I enjoy watching you two flirt now that you FINALLY realize that you like each other, you know you’re still on the groupchat, right?

Alya: NINO!

Adrien blushed. He HAD forgotten. He’d gotten so caught up in flirting that he just... didn’t think about it. He had a feeling that Marinette was going through the same thing though, which lessened the sing of embarrassment to almost nothing.

God... Marinette was FLIRTING with him! Marinette loved him! He didn’t think he’d ever get over that.

Back on their private chat, he texted Marinette back.

Adrien: Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, milady. I shall be counting down the hours until this black cat crosses your path again.

He sighed and put away his phone. Time to get some sleep. Didn’t want to be tired for his date, after all.

--------

Adrien ditched his supposed lunch with his father almost immediately after it was *supposed* to start. His father had done it enough times to him after all, and he’d MUSH rather hang out with Marinette’s family than to sit on the opposite side of a huge table from his father, making awkward conversation.

Well... ‘conversation’. Could it truly be called that, when his father never listened to him? When there was no give-and-take? Most of the talks he had with his father consisted of his father chastising him over some infraction or telling him to do or not to do something. Not asking; TELLING. Like when he ordered Adrien to dress up as Chat Noir for Clara Nightingale’s music video, against his protests. Or when his father ordered him to practice a piano piece more and play it for him again later that day because he was unhappy with his performance, even over his protests of missing out on an outing with his friends that he’d already gotten permission for.

Then again, wasn’t that just how adults were with kids? Gabriel may have been the most extreme example, but pretty much all the adults he interacted with fell into the same categories. Nathalie mostly just told him when he could or couldn’t do something, though she would at least try to explain something if he asked her about it. His photographer was always ordering him around at photoshoots and chastising him if he got his performance wrong - not that Adrien blamed him, it was his job. Teachers always just lectured on material and told students what they needed to do. Even Master Fu only talked to him when he strictly needed to, during and after the battle with Syren, and that was mostly to give him a quick overview of what the guardians and Miraculous were and to give him the new cheese power-ups. It felt like listening to a teacher talk. He was given a lecture with some info, but he never really had a proper conversation with the guy, and he hadn’t seen him since.

“Children are to be seen and not heard.”

He’d never heard an adult actually say that line, but it seemed to be true nonetheless. It was part of why he valued his friends so highly. There was no one he could actually talk with who WASN’T his own age.

Well, not counting Plagg.

He gave Plagg a fond look. Plagg was the biggest change in his life. He was someone he could really, actually talk with, show every side of himself, and he was ALWAYS there. He didn’t have to worry about his father taking Plagg away and leaving him completely isolate like with his other friends, and Plagg didn’t seem like he wanted to leave Adrien. He tried to cheer Adrien up when he was down, or sometimes just roll his eyes at Adrien’s antics. He could be pretty annoying at times and Adrien could occasionally get annoyed or frustrated with him, but Plagg never seemed to get too upset with him in turn. He never dismissed Adrien’s feelings when he was upset. He did make fun of Adrien slightly when he was in what Plagg had dubbed ‘lovesick kitten’ mode, but at those times he was too far gone to care. Plus he liked just joking around a bit. It was a freedom he didn’t often have as Adrien, though since the Reveal, he’d been slipping in more jokes and teasing while he was with his friends.

Never around adults though. They would get upset with him, possibly even get word to his father that he wasn’t taking things seriously enough. Then his father might stop him from going out with his friends after school, or even pull him from school entirely and keep him trapped in his giant, empty room.

His breath hitched at the thought.

Plagg gave him a concerned look, but didn’t ask. Instead he just said, “Come on kitten, we don’t want to be late.” A greedy smile stole across his face. “There’s a camembert puff pastry with my name on it!”

Adrien gave him a deadpan look, shaken out of his depressing thoughts. “I can see you drooling.”

“Cheeeeese...”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Okay let’s go, the sooner we head over there the sooner you get your treat. Plagg, claws out!”

Chat Noir leaped out his window, heading to what he hoped would be a MUCH more enjoyable brunch than the one he just left.

------

Marinette paced nervously on her balcony.

“It’s Chat Noir. It’s just Chat Noir. He’s been here dozens of times before, this is no big deal. He’s just coming over to eat. It’s no big deal. SO WHY AM I SO WORRIED?!” she cried out, frustrated.

“It’s natural to be concerned about introducing your boyfriend to your parents,” Tikki told her. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, though. They already like him, right? And Chat’s a perfect gentleman. Knowing your parents, knowing Chat, do you really think they’ll have a problem with each other?”

“...No,” Marinette admitted.

Maybe before the Reveal when she didn’t know Chat as well, when she didn’t know BOTH sides of him, she might’ve thought that he’d be too over-the-top or flirty or something. And if she had invited ADRIEN over post-reveal to introduce him as her boyfriend to her parents... well. She had had a very skewed vision of him before, one that got compounded her anxiety and nervousness around him to the point that the Adrien in her head (or at least in her anxiety-fueled imaginings) bore almost no resemblance to the actual article.

But now she knew better. Even her worst anxiety couldn’t warp her vision of her partner much. She understood him too well.

Not perfectly - they were still feeling out this new post-identity reveal world, she was sure she’d be discovering new facets to his personality and worldview for a long time to come - but well enough.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Ok. I’m ready.”

Tikki smiled at her. “Good, because here he comes!”

Marinette glanced over to where Tikki was looking. Sure enough, she spotted a black figure jumping around, moving towards her.

He landed on her balcony a few moments later. “Well, Princess? Care to bring in this poor lost little kitty for a snack?”

She giggled and gave him a soft, playful punch on the shoulder. “I hope this kitty is ready for a feast. My parents tend to go a little... overboard.”

He gave her a dazzling smile. “Who wouldn’t when it comes to you, Marinette.”

She gave a slight squeak. Damn her kitty. Damn her prince. He KNEW she couldn’t resist that expression. He was totally giving her that look on purpose.

Luckily she knew how to get him back.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and a small smile. “Ah, but this is for you, mon minou. And you deserve it just as much.”

His face lit up bright red. He visibly melted into her touch as she caressed his cheek.

Revenge was sweet.

---------

Tom and Sabine waited downstairs with several trays of different heart-shaped treats.

Looking around at the different macaroons, cupcakes, and other pastries, Sabine seemed a little chagrinned. “I think we may have overdone it, Tom.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. That boy must work up quite the appetite, saving Paris almost every night! Plus he seems about Marinette’s age, he’s a growing boy.”

Sabine hummed. “I suppose so. And if there’s any left over, I guess Marinette could always take them to class.”

Tom laughed. “See! Nothing to worry about!”

Sabine noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes. She turned, seeing Marinette and Chat Noir making their way down the stairs. “Oh! There they are!”

“The lovebirds have arrived!” Tom proclaimed. Both of said lovebirds blushed, Chat scratching the back of his neck.

“Nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs Dupain-Cheng,” Chat said politely. Inside he was squirming. Come on, what do you say to your girlfriend’s parents? What do they expect from me? What are they going to tell me to do? Do I need to ask permission to date their daughter? Pretty sure they’ve already given that though. They SEEM happy enough with me... but that could change if I don’t say or do the right thing.

“Please, call me Tom,” Tom said.

“And I’m Sabine,” Sabine formally introduced herself.

Chat blinked. Call adults by their first names? Like how he’d call his friends? But it was so informal! Usually there was some sort of barrier, some sort of formality whenever he talked to (or was talked at, really) by adults, but Marinette’s parents seemed different.

How was he supposed to interact with them? What was he supposed to do?

“Okay Tom, Sabine,” he said awkwardly.

“We just finished laying out the first course!” Tom exclaimed. He hurried over to the dining table, gesturing for them to sit down.

Chat sat, Marinette sitting down beside him. As Tom brought out some macaroons, he noticed how close all four of them were sitting to each other. He and his father sat at opposite ends of a huge table, enforcing distance between them. But Marinette and her family all sat together, as close together as he did with his classmates. With his friends.

Actually, the last time he’d sat down and ate THIS close to other people, was all the way back at Christmas, when his father had permitted for all of Adrien’s friends, everyone who had been worried about him, to sit down and eat Christmas dinner together at the huge dining table, like one big family.

Funnily enough, his Father and Nathalie hadn’t eaten with them. They’d just stood to the side, watching as Adrien ate with his friends.

A lump formed in his throat. He wasn’t sure why.

Gingerly Chat grabbed a macaroon, eager to eat something and hopefully make that lump go away. It tasted as delicious as any Dupain-Cheng pastry did - VERY.

“Sooo... how did you two meet?” Tom asked.

Marinette looked like a deer in headlights. In all the excitement yesterday, they’d forgotten to put together a good story about how they met. Chat quickly decided to take the reins on this one. Marinette may be great at coming up with plans during battle, but she could freeze up just like everyone else under pressure, especially in social situations. He’d been privy to that first-hand.

He’d have to make this up on the fly. Hopefully Marinette agreed with his story and could follow his lead.

“I’ve known Marinette since she helped with taking down Evillustrator a few months ago. Even at the time, I knew she was brave, smart, and VERY cute.” He threw Marinette a flirtatious wink. “I didn’t see her much after that for awhile. I saved her from an occasional akuma, like the Gamer for instance. I ran across her again a few months after that, when I was lamenting Ladybug not showing up to a surprise I’d had planned. Ladybug had told me she had plans and probably wouldn’t be able to make it, but I still hoped that she would. When she didn’t, I went over to a nearby rooftop - Marinette’s. I was lonely and wanted some company. Turns out, she felt the same way. A friend of hers that she’d really wanted to hang out with hadn’t been able to make it to an ice cream hang out she and her friends had set up, and she was feeling down.”

At this point, Marinette had caught on, and decided to take over the explanation. No need to have him do all the work. “Both of us lamented how the people we’d wanted to spend time with hadn’t been able to make it. Chat decided to show me the surprise he’d set up for Ladybug. You should have seen it Papa! He’d placed candles on this one rooftop and strewn it with rose petals. It was beautiful!”

Chat switched over, taking his own turn. “After that... well... if I happened to see Marinette out on her balcony I’d talk to her. I MAY have dropped by the area more often than patrol required, exactly. As I talked with her more and more, I fell in love with her. How could anyone not, once they’ve met Marinette?”

Marinette’s blush could have cooked marshmallows. She KNEW he thought the world of her, but it still threw her hearing it.

She cleared her throat. “A-Anyway, one thing led to another, and these past few weeks we’ve been a bit more than friends. We haven’t been... DOING anything, and we don’t plan to anytime soon!” She added hastily, remembering her mother’s remarks yesterday. “But we’ve been... together.”

“We’ve been keeping it quiet,” Chat cut in. “If Hawkmoth knew that Marinette and I were a couple, he might target her to get at me. Only a few people know.”

Marinette took a deep breath. Best to get this out here before it caused problems later. At least this part they HAD worked out last night. “Also... you should know that Chat and I aren’t... exclusive. Ladybug finally realized what a CAT-ch she had under her nose. And Adrien... well...”

“Adrien finally realized what a MORON he’d been to not fall for Marinette sooner,” Chat stated bluntly.

Marinette giggled a little. “Anyway, accusations of idiocy aside, Adrien, Ladybug, Chat, and I found an opportunity to talk a few weeks ago. We found out that each of us had fallen for two people - turns out Ladybug likes Adrien as much as I do - so we decided that instead of competing for each other, we’d just... share. It’s been working great so far, though none of us have come out in public about any of our relationships yet. When we do, the plan is for only me and Adrien to declare that we’re dating, and for Ladybug and Chat Noir to do the same. It would be just as risky for Hawkmoth to discover that Ladybug’s dating Adrien as for him to find out that Chat’s dating me.”

Sabine and Tom gave supportive nods. Sabine spoke, “So long as everyone’s okay with it and it’s working well, I’m happy for you - for both of you. And don’t worry. We won’t tell anyone about either of you dating unless you say it’s okay to.”

Chat blinked. A parent asking their child for permission in order to do something? That- that was a thing? In all his life, he couldn’t remember his Father ever asking his permission to do anything. A parent had the right to tell their child to do whatever they wanted. The kid’s opinion didn’t matter.

But Marinette’s family didn’t work that way.

Tom turned to Chat. “I should get to know one of our daughter’s boyfriends better! What do you like to do when you’re NOT saving Paris, young man?”

What did he like to do? Well...

“I like to play video games?” he said almost questioningly. There really wasn’t much he did for his own entertainment. “Ultimate Mecha Strike III is my favorite. Marinette kicks my butt at it every time though.”

Tom and Sabine’s grins looked about ready to crack through their faces, they were so wide. “OUR FOURTH PLAYER!” they shouted.

Chat just felt confused.

Marinette looked a little exasperated and embarrassed, but smiled nonetheless. She explained. “All three of us are avid video game players. The reason I’m so good is because I practiced against my parents a lot, actually. We’ve been wanting to check out 2 VS 2 mode for awhile, like we had in that video game tournament Max and I won a few months back, for awhile now, but never had enough players to.”

“Can- can we play right now?” Chat asked, his heart beating fast. He wasn’t sure whether this was allowed, but he REALLY wanted to play. Fighting against Marinette in a video game was fun, but fighting WITH her? Chat with His Lady at his side? It sounded infinitely better.

Marinette gave him a soft smile. Butterflies fluttered in Chat’s stomach. “Of course, kitty.”

As the four of them played the game, Chat just kept on grinning. He was playing alongside Marinette, with her parents eagerly playing against them. They’d WANTED to spend time with him, seemed happy he was here. They’d talked with him, not just ordered him to do something. They wanted to know about HIM, what HE liked to do.

Had his father ever asked about what ADRIEN wanted? Had he ever cared?

Chat’s mech faltered as his vision blurred, allowing Sabine to score a hit and win a match for the first time since they’d started playing.

“Kitty? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Marinette asked, concerned.

He reached up a hand to wipe his eyes. It came away wet.

He was crying.

“O-oh,” he said. Why was he crying, he just- he just-

“I- I just can’t believe how FRIENDLY your parents are. They- they act as if they’re friends with me. They listen to what you have to say. They’re interested in what I like to do. They even said they’d ask permission before doing something involving you. And they seemed HAPPY to see you - to see BOTH of us! And they CARE about your happiness! I- I just- I-”

He broke down into tears completely. Marinette leaned against him.

Hesitatingly Tom and Sabine approached, match forgotten. This was much more important.

“Would it help if we hugged you?” Tom asked.

Chat looked up, crying even harder. He-he was asking what Chat wanted? It seemed like he was even asking permission.

These people... why did they seem to care about him, what he thought, what he felt, more than his own father did? More than any other adults in his life did?

“Yes please,” He croaked.

As one, Sabine, Tom, and Marinette gave him a long hug as he cried. The pressure felt nice. He hadn’t had a hug like this, one that made him feel safe and loved, since his mom had disappeared.

It felt like family.

They kept hugging him until he stopped crying. Sabine and Tom relaxed their holds, though Marinette continued cuddling up with him. He didn’t mind. He’d never mind being with Marinette.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sabine asked.

Looking at her face, Chat was certain that if he said ‘no’, that would be the end of it. They wouldn’t pry. They wouldn’t demand to have a conversation that he wasn’t ready for.

That made him want to talk more, knowing he really, truly had a choice.

“Yes.”

He took a shaky breath, focusing his attention on Tom and Sabine. “Y-you care about me. About what I want. Not just what you want me to do. Why?”

They exchanged worried looks. Tom spoke up. “Why wouldn’t we care about what you want? People SHOULD be worried about others. Should care about others wants and needs, and not just when they need something from that person. Beyond that, you’re someone my daughter cares about, and getting to know you even in this short time, I care about you as well.”

“But- but- parents DON’T listen to their kids! They don’t care about their feelings or their opinions or their thoughts on anything. So why do you?”

Tom gave him a gentle look. “Parents SHOULD care about their kids, about their opinions on things. About what they think. Do you have any adults you can talk to about this? Anyone to help guide you, since it doesn’t sound like your parents are talking WITH you much?”

Chat shook his head. Plagg was great, but he wouldn’t exactly count him as an adult, and his guidance... well. There was a reason he never asked Plagg for advice on love related matters. He didn’t have much experience navigating human social situations. Or caring. Plagg tended to just be blunt.

Tom and Sabine exchanged another look. They seemed to come to some sort of silent agreement. Sabine spoke. “Well then, how about you come to us if you need advice, or just to hang out for awhile? We’d be happy to have you.”

Chat’s breath hitched. They’d WHAT? “You- you mean it? I can just... come over? And talk with you? No strings? No appointments? Just- I want to come over, and I can?”

They both nodded, Tom speaking this time. “Of course if you don’t call ahead we can’t GUARANTEE we’d be here, but since we work here, there’s a good chance we will be. Any time you want to come over, for whatever reason, please, feel free.”

Chat gave a mute nod, smiling. “Can- can we go back to playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III?” he said waveringly. “I think- I think I need some time.”

“If you want to, then of course,” Marinette said. Her parents nodded, settling back into their previous positions, before his breakdown.

They played for another hour, until he was worried he might be missed and had to leave.

Before heading to Marinette’s balcony to pole-vault away, packaged of Camambert puff pastries in hand, he hesitated.

“Are- are you okay with this?” he asked her. “Me coming over to talk with your parents, I mean.”

She nodded, giving him a gentle, caring look that melted him into mush. “If I’d realized how bad you had it I’d have brought you over sooner kitty, secret identities or not.”

“But-”

She leaned towards him. His body realized what she wanted before his brain did. He leaned towards her, meeting her halfway.

They stayed kissing for several more seconds. By the time they broke apart, his previous objection, whatever it may have been, was forgotten.

“You should go now, kitty. Don’t want an interruption during goodbye kisses again, do we?”

“If it leads to another time like this one, princess,” he whispered. “I wouldn’t mind. Not in the slightest.”

But he really DID have to go. He left, the taste of her lips and the feeling of her family’s hug staying with him for a long time afterwards.

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

“Sooooo, have you married her yet?”

“Not yet Plagg, I can’t do that until I’m eighteen!”

“But her family seems to have already taken you in.”

“No, I can just come by whenever I want and stay over as long as I want and talk to them about stuff, and they’ll listen to me and ask about what I want to do and-”

“You should stay. You’re happier there.”

“I can’t. Father’s still- well, my father! Even if I wanted to, I can’t just decide where to live on my own. A court would have to decide that.”

“Bah. Petty human laws.”

“You just want to stay over there so Marinette can make you as many camembert puff pastries as you can eat.”

“They’re SO GOOD.”

“She’s bringing some to school tomorrow, carrying them around stinks less than just carrying plain camembert cheese around.”

“But that’s soooo looooong from now!”

“Now you know how I feel every time I’m separated from her.”

#divergent points #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #weredad #fanfiction

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how-to-survive-a-factory-tour · 5 years

Text

How To Survive A Factory Tour - Chapter 18

A Sanders Sides / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory FanFiction

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Okay. Okay! Oooookay, Roman, it’s going to be fine, everything is going to be fine! I mean, at least you won’t suffocate from a lack of oxygen now! And if you do end up dying, it’ll be in a possibly slightly faster way? Or at least slightly more painless?

Hopefully?

So, um, funny story. I was brought to this room, the Caramel Carving Room, I think Wonka called it, and some Oompa Loompas began to chisel me out. So good news! My eyes are now free to see my surroundings, and my nose is free so I can breathe. The bad news is my mouth is still covered though so I am unable to scream in abject terror, like I feel the need to.

That links to the next bit of bad news: all the Oompa Loompas who were in this room, either working or helping me escape my caramel prison, are now dead. I am surrounded by doll-sized corpses, and I won’t be surprised if I join them soon..

I have no idea where they came from, but a bunch of snakes just slithered out from the darkness and started to attack the Oompa Loompas! The venomous ones bit, the constrictors strangled, and left me the only living non-snake being in the room. They slithered back into the shadows, leaving me here, alone and terrified. Also close to puking, which is something I do not want to happen, given as the caramel in the way means it’ll just be reflected back into my mouth. Which is gross.

What do I do? I can’t cry out for help, I’m just stuck!

I feel close to crying, literally seconds away. I’m doomed to either dying in minutes, or being a living statue for all eternity…

“Roman!”

I look up. Virgil! Virgil’s just run in the door! Oh, my knight in pitch black and purple armour!

And Patton! Patton’s alive, and just behind Virgil, limping on crutches with a bloody bandage around his ankle.

But thank goodness they’re here! They can break me out, and then we can flee to safety-

Oh no. No no no no…!

I try as hard as I can to cry out and warn them, but I can’t. I scream as loud as I possibly can, but my words are indistinguishable. They’re just muffled cries.

“It’s okay, Ro, we’re gonna break you out,” Virgil reassures as he reaches me. It’s not me who’s in danger! Look behind and around yourself for Christ's sake! Can’t you see the Oompa Loompa corpses?! “Okay, how do we do this…”

“There’s a chisel there!” Patton points out. Virgil picks it up and starts breaking at the caramel at my neck to free my whole head. And while that’s good for me, so I can speak again, it’s not for them! Death is fast approaching! The reaper is watching, ready to take them away!

I don’t care if this isn’t the time for metaphors! I’m panicking!

Oh goodness, they’re getting close, dangerously so… Oh shit, oh fuck.

Virgil, either hurry up freeing my mouth or actually look around!

“Okay, one more break and your head should be freed and… There!”

Oh, thank god, I can speak! “SNAKES!”

Virgil and Patton both freeze. They share a glance, before both turning around. They’re facing away from me, so I can’t see their faces, but I can only assume their plastered with terror.

They finally see the corpses of the dead Oompa Loompas. Patton wretches as the sight of them. They also finally see the snakes slithering closer and closer.

“Oh fucking shit…” Virgil mumbles. “We’re gonna die, we are going to die.”

They both shuffle closer to me, backing as far from the snakes as they can. But the deadly vipers and pythons and boa constrictors and cobras and such keep advancing, coming at us from every side. We’re completely surrounded and screwed.

Patton’s started sobbing. Between his cries, he calls out to the door of the room. “LOGAN! I-I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’RE AWAKE TO HEAR ME, BUT… I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH, AND I ALWAYS WILL! NEVER FORGET THAT!”

Virgil bites his lip, before muttering. “You’re supposed to, like, confess things before you die, right?”

I nod. “Yeah. Well, um, I don’t actually know about real life, but, uh, that’s definitely what usually happens in movie-”

“For some weird reason, in my head, I called Roman handsome and dashing when he was fighting the dragon!”

I look away from the snakes to Virgil. “You what?!”

“Shut up, I panicking for you, adrenaline was pumping through my veins, I was thinking irrationally! Just like I am now for saying that because I probably have more important confessions!”

Before I can respond, I’m interrupted by a hiss. The snakes are a metre away from us. This is it. They’re getting ready to strike. We’re so fucked dead… Bye Dad, bye Pa, bye Valerie, bye Patton, bye Logan, bye Virg-

CRASH!

A large vat of caramel suddenly tips over and the rim slams into the ground. Liquid caramel flows out and covers the floor, and covers the snakes. Every single one of them. In mere seconds it hardens, and the snakes become frozen statues.

There’s a moment of silence between the three of us, all coming to terms with the fact we skimmed extremely close to death, but are still here. Are still safe. Virgil is the first to speak. “Can everyone, like, forget my confession?”

There’s the sound of footsteps. “I’d ask you to thank me for saving your asses, but I have some questions first.”

Patton’s eyes sparkle and a grin appears on his face. “LoLo!” He sprints over to Logan (well ‘sprints’ on his crutches, so it isn’t overly fast), throwing one of his arms around him and - I can only assume they confessed their feelings to each other earlier - presses a kiss to his lips. Logan’s face flushes a darker, more bluish purple, and then Patton pulls away. “You saved us!”

I, like Logan, now also have several questions. “Logan, what the heck happened?! You’re fat! And you have breasts?”

Logan sighs, leaning against the now empty caramel vat. “Yes, the matter of my size was one of my questions, along with where my binder is, and what on earth happened to Roman, and why are snakes trying to kill us?”

Binder? “Ooooh, you’re transgender! That’s why you’re so small and have a baby face!”

Logan glares at me. “Not all people born biologically female are shorter and ‘younger looking’.” He pauses. “But in my case, yes… Anyway, back to my questions?”

“Well… Lo, since it took so long to get you juiced, you had started to ripen by the time it started,” Patton explains. “It meant not all the juice could be gotten out. And there’s no other way, so… you’re stuck with it.”

Logan frowns, looking down at his stomach. He presses into it, I guess trying to come to terms with the news that he’d just have to get used to it.

Patton continues. “As for your binder...” He looks to Virgil, who reaches into his hoodie pocket and holds up a ripped chest binder.

Logan looks like he’s just been told a beloved pet just died. Purple tears are welling in his eyes. “...What?”

“I’m so sorry, Lo… but it’s okay! We could try and fix it?”

“Even if we could, it wouldn’t fit me anymore… I’ve definitely gone up a few sizes now…”

“Well… you can get another?”

“No, I can’t... “ He shakes his head, taking a deep breath. “I, um… When I was younger, my parents raised me and my brother to fit the stereotypes and expectations of our genders. My dad made sure my brother was a sports and fitness fanatic. My mum tried to live vicariously through me, and tried to make me obsessed with my appearance and femininity and all those things… Child beauty pageants aren’t a thing in Britain, so mum would take me on ‘holidays’ to America and force me to take part in them. Surprise surprise, I hated it. I wanted to focus on school and learning, I preferred blue and black to the pinks my mum would make me wear, and I eventually realised when I was six, I wasn’t even a girl but a boy. And that made my parents mad. I knew it would, so I didn’t tell them. I asked my parents to let me get my hair cut short, telling them I just wanted to try out a new look. They weren’t really happy about it, but let me. However, Joan accidentally called me my chosen name in front of my parents one day, and I was outed.

“My parents struck up a deal for me: I could be a boy if, like my brother, I pursued sport. I refused, wanting to focus on school. So, they refused to let me transition. They neglect and ignore me in every way except for when it comes to policing my gender identity. Ever since I got my first binder, they’ve monitored everything I order, so I haven’t been able to buy a second binder to wear when I’m washing mine, or buy a packer. They made sure I never went to the doctor for consultations about surgery or starting HRT. When I turned sixteen and no longer needed parental permission to change my name, I was ecstatic, since they couldn’t stop me.

“But anyway, in short, I can’t get another binder. My parents won’t let me.” He shrugs, wiping his eyes.

Patton doesn't waste time in pulling the berry boy into an embrace. Logan hesitates, before burying his face into Patton’s shoulder and hugging him in return.

“I have an idea,” I speak up. “Us three could, like, chip in some money to order you a couple new binders and send them to you? Then your parents won’t be able to stop you getting them because you weren’t the one to order them, and they won’t know they’re coming.”

Logan looks up, shaking his head. “No, you don’t need to do that…”

“I think it’s a great idea!” Patton smiles. “We should probably get you some new clothes too. I mean, they’re looking just a liiiittle small now…” He gestures to Logan’s exposed belly.

“Oh, no, I should be alright on the clothes stuff… One of the things I did when I was younger in protest of my parents was purposefully put on weight, since my mum was obsessed with keeping me ‘perfect’. When I changed my name and started to take more steps to transition, I started going to the gym and doing exercises which were supposed to give you a more masculine build and lessen curves, so I ended up working off all the weight. I still have all my old clothes tucked away somewhere in my closet, so I can just wear those until I pick up new things myself.”

“Oh, okay. But we’re still getting you those binders!”

“Well, you two will,” Virgil corrects, having gone back to chiselling me out the caramel. “I’m still broke. Sorry, guys, I won’t be able to pitch in.”

“That’s alright, Virge,” Patton reassures. “We understand.”

Logan, having calmed down substantially already, looks over at me puzzled. “So, can someone tell me what happened to Roman?”

“I valiantly fought a dangerous, caramel-breathing dragon!”

“More like made the most idiotic decision on your life,” Virgil mutters as he frees my legs, so the only part of me left encased are my feet.

I smirk down at him. “Idiotic? I thought you said earlier it was dashing and that I was handsome?”

His face burns and he glares at the ground. “Shut up…”

Logan turns to Patton. “Did I miss something?”

“Virgil decided to confess his feelings for Roman in his ‘final moments’.”

Virgil turns to them, glaring. “I don’t have feelings for him! It was just the adrenaline of the moment!”

“Oh, hush, Virge,” I grin. “Just accept it. No one can resist Roman Prince.”

Virgil glares at me, while Logan mutters. “I certainly can,” causing Patton to chuckle. “Anyway, my last, and probably the most important question: why on earth are snakes trying to kill us all?!”

Patton looks to Virgil. “Virge said he had a hunch as to why…”

Virgil doesn’t respond, but his expression darkens. He continues to chip away at the last of the caramel while the rest of us wait for him to answer. He doesn’t until I’m fully free. He stands and straightens up.

“I think Ethan sent them. I think Ethan set up all the ‘accidents’ to kill you.”

I blink at him, stretching my legs and trying to pick off small leftover chunks of caramel stuck to my clothes. “Ethan? Seriously? Wouldn’t it make more sense if it was, like, Mr Wonka’s fault? I mean, this is his factory. How would Ethan set up accidents for us in a factory he’s never been in before?”

“I don’t know… But it can’t be Wonka. I mean, why would he kill a bunch of his own workers?” He gestures to the Oompa Loompa corpses around us again. “Not to mention, Ethan’s just… weird! I mean, Ethan - a guy with half a snake face and patches of scales all over his body - we caught whispering into some bushes in a language with a lot of sibilance, almost like parseltongue in Harry Potter, and then it just so happens that you are almost murdered by, of all things, snakes? It has to be connected!”

Logan raises an eyebrow. “We have no evidence. Even if this is somehow true, we have no way to prove so.”

“We don’t necessarily need it. If we confront him, he might panic and admit to it. It’s our best shot. I mean, I’d rather we expose him now before whatever murder plot he has worked up for me happens.”

“But what if it wasn’t him?” Patton asks. “He might get mad or upset at us for accusing him.”

“In all honesty, Pat, I don’t particularly give a shit about his feelings.” Virgil starts walking towards the door. “Come on. We have a snake to expose.”

I share a glance with Patton and Logan, before we all follow him. Virgil is looking between two buttons in the lift. After a moment, he mumbles “fuck it” before pressing one of them.

The doors close, and there’s a pause, before we zoom off, Patton and Logan leaning against each other, neither of them used to the ride yet.

“Okay, so, do we have any idea what Ethan’s motive could be? Just why he’s doing this to us?” I ask. “There’s gotta be a reason. Like, if it were my brother who did this, I’d just let it slide as ‘oh, no motive, he tries to cause chaos and attempt murder almost everywhere he goes’-”

“He what?”

“But Ethan seems different. He seems like a man with a plan. He doesn’t seem like he’d do this without a reason.”

“True…” Logan nods. “Has he said anything to any of you that could drop hints? Because I only really had one conversation between just the two of us, and there was nothing suspicious there.”

“We just talked about musicals,” I shrug.

“I didn’t really have a conversation with him,” Patton says.

“Me neither. I went to the bathroom right after Roman got taken away, so I wasn’t really alone with him to talk to him,” Virgil adds.

“So we have no clue what the motive is…” Logan sighs. “Awesome…”

There’s a jolt as the lift stops, and apparently I’m the only prepared for it as Patton and Logan almost fall into each other again - even though they’ve both confessed, they still get awkward and flustered about it. However, I’m immediately distracted from them by Virgil, who was also knocked over by the force of the abrupt stop, falling backwards. My reflexes kick in and I grab his hand, catching him before his hits the floor, and then pull him back up.

Which in turn means that we’re stood facing each other, faces millimetres apart.

I grin. “Did you just fall for me, Virgil Sanders?”

His face is burning red and sours, refusing to look me in the eyes. “Is this really the time for joke flirting?”

“Who said it was a joke?”

And now his face is burning even more. Then the lift ‘bing!’s, and he shoves me away, straightens his hoodie, and steps out of the lift. The rest of us regain our composure, before following him.

Time to put my affections aside and get the snake to confess his sins.

--------

Roman is now available for asks

Taglist: @clone-number-1, @pumpkinminette, @i-have-n0-idea-what-im-d0ing, @jessicakennedy957, @why-should-i-tell-youu2, @dont-lose-urhead

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aalissy · 5 years

Text

Gossip and House Meetings

Chapter 9 of Dreaming in Black and White is here! I hope you guys like this one! It has a lottt of Adrienette! But don’t worry we’ll get back into the Marichat next chapter hehe! Lemme know if you liked it <3!

AO3

Marinette had a very hectic start to her morning. Unlike yesterday, where she surprisingly woke up on time for school, today she slept straight through her alarm. This led to her small kwami shouting in her ear, as her usual small, playful nudges hadn’t worked. Thus, Marinette’s eyes popped open due to the ringing in her ears and skirted straight to the alarm clock. The glowing, white light screamed that she was already five minutes late for class and with a strangled yelp, the fashion designer threw herself out of bed.

“I’m late! I’m so so late!” Marinette whined as the mattress tangled itself around her legs as she flopped in an ungraceful heap to the ground. Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, she grumbled quietly to herself, “You’d think a superhero would have more finesse than this!”

As the small girl shoved herself back up, Tikki giggled cheekily at her, “Yes, but you’re not exactly a superhero right now, are you Marinette?”

“No, I suppose not,” the fashion designer chuckled, “Think Ladybug would be able to do this faster?”

“Almost certainly,” her kwami winked at her, “But unfortunately Marinette, you’re not allowed to use Ladybug for situations like this.”

With a loud sigh Marinette turned to her closet and grabbed her usual clothes, “Still very tempting though,” she shot Tikki a cheeky smile before rushing downstairs after changing. Rolling her eyes, the small bug zipped after her, phasing through the girl’s purse. Kissing her parents goodbye, she grabbed a macaroon before dashing out into the Parisian streets.

Finally bursting into her classroom with a loud pant, Marinette apologized profusely to her history teacher. With a sheepish grimace, she took her usual seat next to Alya and watched in horror as her teacher began passing out a pop quiz. Tapping her pencil rapidly on her desk, Marinette attempted to recall any of the information she had skimmed last night. Chewing her lip nervously, she soon turned her quiz in, hoping her answers were correct.

When it was finally lunchtime, Marinette yanked Alya outside, “Woah, calm girl! You look super stressed! What’s up?”

“Oh, Alya,” the fashion designer moaned, dropping her head onto the other girl’s shoulder, “I got almost no sleep last night and I’m pretty sure I did not do well on that quiz.”

The blogger winced, “Ouch, I’m sorry, Mari. If you want to study with me, just let me know. Though I’m sure Luka would be willing to give you a few lessons,” she nudged her, a sly smirk forming on her face.

“Alya!” Marinette whined, her face growing flush.

“Hah! Made you blush!” her best friend teased before her face grew more serious, “But you know that’s true, right? That boy is smitten.”

Marinette felt her face grow even warmer before a small tap came from behind her shoulder. She yelped, whirling around to see a shocked Adrien staring back at her.

His face soon relaxed into a gentle smile as he apologized, “Sorry, Marinette. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure you didn’t, golden boy,” Alya stepped forward, her eyes narrowing in on the model in front of her.

Adrien blinked at the junior reporter before his gaze landed back on Marinette, “Well I’m sorry again, but I honestly just wanted to let you know that I can come over to work on the project.”

“That’s great, Adrien! I’ll see you after class then!” Marinette smiled brightly, waving cheerfully at him. He hesitated, his eyes glancing over at Alya before flicking back to her. I swear to God, Adrien, if you ask me if I’m alright being near you one more time, I’m literally gonna throttle you, she thought to herself angrily as her fists clenched briefly.

Before she could do anything stupid like punch him, Alya thankfully stepped in, raising one eyebrow at the boy curiously, “Need anything else, Adrien?”

The model hesitated once again before lifting a hand up to wave at the both of them, “No, sorry. Bye, Alya, bye, Mari!”

Her best friend watched him go with a look of slight confusion, “Oh my god, girl! What did you do to Adrien?”

“Huh?!” Marinette quickly whirled around from watching Adrien to face Alya with alarm, “W-what do you mean!?”

“That boy is absolutely infatuated with you! Did you see the way he looked at you?! It was like he barely even acknowledged my existence.”

“What?!” she screeched, her cheeks warming as she tugged on her pigtails, causing Alya to laugh, “Don’t be crazy, Alya! Adrien rejected me, remember?! Obviously he’s not in love with me!”

“Uh-huh, try telling that to him. I’m telling you that boy is in love,” the interviewer tsked slightly before shaking her head, “Poor Luka.”

Marinette’s lips tightened into a fine line, “Please stop, Alya! You know I’m still trying to get over him and this seriously isn’t helping!” she huffed before storming off to the bakery for lunch.

“Alright, alright,” Alya chuckled, quickening her steps to catch up with the girl, “All I’m saying is that Adrien might not want you to do that.”

“One more word out of you, Alya, and I swear you won’t be getting any free pastries for lunch!” Marinette spun around, jabbing a finger at the other girl’s chest.

“Just let me know how the study date goes?” Alya asked hopefully, to which she received a fierce glare, “Fine, fine! My lips are sealed!” she mimed zipping her lips closed and threw away the key.

As the two girls neared the bakery, Marinette nibbled on her lower lip in thought, “Though you are right. Adrien has been acting differently. I swear it’s like he’s been actively seeking me out. I’m pretty certain it’s to make sure we’re still ‘friends’ though.”

Her best friend chuckled, “Well I would respond but somebody told me to keep my mouth shut.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, “Fine. I give you permission to speak now.”

Alya shrugged, “Can’t. I threw away the key, remember.”

Marinette groaned before whining, “Ugh, Alya, please.”

“Well, to be completely honest with you Mari, I think being ‘just friends’ is the last thing on that boy’s mind. Whether he knows it or not.”

The fashion designer sighed as she opened the bakery door, “But that doesn’t make any sense. If he actually wanted to be more than friends he had the perfect opportunity last week when I asked him out. Besides he told me then that he was in love with someone else,” Marinette shrugged.

“Maybe that’s changed then,” Alya said before ducking into the bakery.

A brief smile flickered across her face before she shook her head furiously. No, she scolded herself in her head, I won’t let you go thinking that Adrien’s in love with you when he’s made it very clear he’s not. We’re getting over him one way or another!

“Hi, Maman! Hi, Papa!” Marinette waved cheerfully, an actual smile forming on her face as she followed after Alya. Her smile grew as they beamed back at her from behind the counter.

“Hello girls!” Sabine chirped, “The usual?”

“Yes please, Mme. Cheng. Thank you!” her best friend said happily.

Within a few moments, they both had a plate filled with hot chocolate croissants and macarons. With a quick kiss to her parents’ cheeks, Marinette thanked them profusely before leading Alya upstairs. Once seated at the desk in her bedroom, she began chomping on one of her chocolate croissants as her thoughts drifted back to her last conversation with Luka, “You know, Adrien was kinda weird around Luka, too.”

“Ooh, Adrien and Luka had a stand-off and you didn’t tell me?! Spill, please!” Alya leaned her head on her fist as she stared at Marinette eagerly.

“It wasn’t a stand-off,” she giggled before taking a deep breath as she thought back to yesterday, “I just thought it was kinda weird that he came over and put his arm around my shoulders when he’s never done that before,” Marinette shrugged. Her best friend began cackling, dropping her half-finished croissant back onto the plate as she wrapped her arms around her sides. “What?” The designer’s eyes widened, “What’s so funny?!”

“That boy has the absolute worst timing,” Alya finally caught her breath, wiping a tear from her eye, “That’s textbook jealousy, Mari. Seriously, either Adrien’s just realized he’s in love with you or he’s in denial and honestly hasn’t realized it.”

Marinette’s lips twisted to the side in annoyance, “Don’t be silly, Alya. Seriously, I need you to stop giving me hope. I really am trying my hardest to get over him! Besides, I already told you he literally said he was in love with someone else!”

“I only hope Adrien realizes soon,” the reporter murmured quietly.

“Anyways,” the designer said in an attempt to change the conversation, “I think it’s time for us to head back,” she picked up Alya’s plate which still held two light grey macarons.

“Hey!” the girl screeched, “I’m not finished yet!”

“You shouldn’t have kept saying that Adrien has a crush on me then,” Marinette stuck her tongue out playfully.

“Please, Mari!” Alya whined.

“Ugh, fine. But only because you’re my best friend,” she rolled her eyes as she handed Alya the two macarons.

“Yay!” the reporter cheered, “You’re the bestest best friend in the world!”

“Only because I supply you with treats,” Marinette quipped as she walked down the stairs after Alya had finished.

“Aw, come on, you know I love you!”

The designer giggled as she dumped the plate into the dishwasher, “I’m so not ready for science class. I hope Mlle. Mendeleiev is in a good mood today!”

Alya rolled her eyes, “Is she ever in a good mood?” Marinette laughed happily as they exited the bakery. Waving a quick goodbye to her parents, they began the short trek back to school.

When they finally arrived in the classroom they both whispered and giggled together for a few minutes until their teacher entered. “Can’t believe you’re actually on time for once,” Alya giggled quietly.

“Shut up,” she hissed playfully back, shoving her friend’s shoulder lightly, “I was on time yesterday, remember!”

With a teasing roll of her eyes, Alya’s turned her attention back to the front of the classroom as their teacher began writing on the board. Scribbling down notes, Marinette paid attention to the rest of her lectures for the day, occasionally getting sidetracked by a new idea for a dress that she just had to sketch. Finishing the mini belt for her new dress, she was interrupted by the sound of the bell. With a sigh of relief, Marinette began packing her bag. Her thoughts strayed to fabric and buying the new material as she patted her purse carefully to make certain Tikki was alright. Making her way outside, she waved a cheerful goodbye to Alya before the two parted ways to go to their separate houses. She paused, however, when she heard a voice calling out her name. Clenching her eyes shut for a brief moment, Marinette quickly opened them and turned back to face Adrien who was running towards her.

“Did you need me for something, Adrien?” she asked him with a bright smile.

His gaze darted away from hers as his hand reached up to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly, “Weren’t we meeting up to start the project today?”

Marinette blinked owlishly for a moment. Her?! Forgetting plans with Adrien?! What was going on today? “I-I’m so sorry Adrien! It completely slipped my mind! Of course you can come over!”

“It’s alright,” he smiled crookedly at her before gesturing to his limo with a low bow, “Our ride awaits.”

Her brow furrowed for a moment as she was struck with a rising sense of familiarity. Shaking the odd feeling off, she grinned at the boy in front of her, “Why thank you, kind gentleman,” Marinette giggled as she slid across the seat.

Adrien chuckled, following after her. His knee brushed lightly against her own, sending a small wave of heat up her leg as he turned to face her. Cursing her body for its reaction, she also turned to look at the model as he spoke to her, “So how was your day today?”

Marinette blew out a puff of breath, “Not so great. I didn’t get much sleep last night because I’ve been working on a commission. So I didn’t study as much for the quiz as I should have. How was yours?”

“Mine was good but exhausting. I had to wake up pretty early for a fashion shoot today,” he bumped his knee against hers comfortingly as he smiled, “But I’m sure you did well on that quiz, Marinette. You’re amazing and always get one of the highest grades in the class.”

“T-thank you,” she stuttered as her cheeks burned, “I’m glad you have more faith in me than I do,” Marinette gave him a small grin. Curse him and his stupid, charming personality, she thought to herself bitterly, he makes it so hard to get over him.

The limo came to a slow stop and Adrien’s eyes brightened, “We’re here!” he chirped, opening the door and racing into the bakery.

Marinette giggled as she followed after the boy, noticing him giving a polite smile and wave to her parents as he stood by the cash register. “Hello, Maman! Hello, Papa!” she greeted cheerfully with a happy wave. They beamed back at her before looking to Adrien as he placed his order. Turning to the model she leaned in to whisper teasingly in his ear, “Did you only want to work at my house because you wanted a pastry?”

“I, um, no?” he gave her an anxious grin as he waited for his croissant.

“Mhm sure,” she laughed at him.

Within a few moments, her mother was handing a warm croissant out to Adrien who thanked her graciously as he took a large bite out of the crispy treat. Digging into his pocket for some change, he was stopped by Sabine’s warm smile, “That’s quite alright, dear. It’s on the house,” she winked conspiratorially at Marinette, whispering rather loudly, “After all, a way to a man's heart is through his stomach.”

Marinette’s face dropped as she shook her head furiously at her mother, hissing out a low, “No!”

The designer’s eyes quickly flicked to Adrien, who merely blinked for a few seconds before chuckling lightly, “Thank you, Mme. Cheng.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart,” Sabine’s smile softened, “And remember to not be shy! Marinette always looks forward to your visits,” she winked again at the girl whose eyes were narrowed sharply in frustration and embarrassment.

With that last comment, Marinette grabbed Adrien’s arm who let out a quiet yelp, before yanking the boy away from the counter and her mother who just could not seem to take a hint. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed, “Thank you, Maman. I’m sure Adrien will enjoy his croissant but if you don’t mind, we'll be heading upstairs to work now,” blowing out an exasperated breath, she practically stomped up the stairs.

“Wow, Marinette, you’re really strong,” her eyes widened as she looked back at the boy behind her, who was rubbing his arm slightly.

Wincing, she nibbled on her lower lip, “I’m sorry, Adrien. I just didn’t realize she was going to say those things.” With a sharp tug on one of her pigtails, Marinette pushed open the trapdoor to her bedroom and tapped her fingers together anxiously as she waited for Adrien to follow after, “I’m really sorry again, Adrien. I haven’t told her yet about what happened so I don’t think she realizes. And really, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or any-.”

He stopped her rambling by placing both his hands gently on her shoulders, “It’s alright, Marinette. I really didn’t mind. Besides it’s not like she said anything too bad,” the model shot her a small, crooked smile.

“Oh,” she squeaked out, feeling a warm tingle race down her spine from the heat of his hands. Taking a small gulp of air, Marinette stepped out of his arms to clear her head, “Still, I hope you didn’t feel too awkward. She honestly doesn’t know I don’t have a crush on you anymore! I promise to tell her as soon as you leave!”

Yeah, right, Marinette, she thought to herself, sure you don’t have a crush on him anymore. Keep telling yourself that and maybe it’ll actually be true.

Adrien seemed to pause for a moment, searching her eyes for something, before he relaxed again, “I’m fine, Mari. It didn’t bother me at all, besides,” he grinned widely at her before holding up his half-eaten croissant, “I got a free treat.”

Marinette giggled, “Please, you know you could afford that and then another hundred, rich boy.”

He laughed, and with that the tension in the room slowly disappeared, leaving her with a warm flutter in her stomach. Winking at her, Adrien plopped his backpack onto the ground, “Suppose we had better get started on our actual project.”

“Right,” she nodded before going over to the chest next to her chaise, “We can use this as a table if you’d like?”

“Fine with me,” he took a step towards her as Marinette lifted the trunk up, bringing it toward the center of the room, “Need any help with that?” he raised an eyebrow at her as she placed it carefully down on her carpet.

“Nope,” she smiled at him, giggling before sitting down and opening up her own backpack. Taking out her notebook and the instructions for the assignment, Marinette watched as Adrien sat down across from her. With a few light taps of her pencil to her chin, she nibbled her lip, “So do you have any ideas about what we should do?”

Shrugging, Adrien’s lips quirked up slightly as he ran a hand through his hair, “Honestly, not really. What about you?”

Feeling a tingling urge within her hands to reach over and fix the strands that were out of place, Marinette curled them tightly within her lap to quell the desire. Clearing her throat, she looked down at the guide, “Well it says here that we need to design an experiment. We could do something simple like what patterns of clothing do people enjoy the most. That way we incorporate my interest in designing and yours in modeling.”

“That could be good!” he said excitedly, “We can go around asking people whether they prefer stripes or polka-dots.”

She nodded and began writing down a list of patterns, “Right! And then we could ask them if they prefer it when the designs are bigger or smaller.”

“Yeah, definitely! We’re going to ace this project, Mari,” Adrien held up a hand while beaming at her.

Hesitantly, Marinette hi-fived the boy in front of her before quickly resuming her writing, “If you want to begin drafting our outline, I can start on the survey.”

“Alright,” he gave a quick nod before beginning to scribble notes down in his own notebook.

The two worked in companionable silence for a while as the minutes ticked by. Unable to help herself, Marinette occasionally glanced up at the boy across from her as he worked. After her sixth peek up at the boy, she squeaked slightly when she noticed his tongue poked out at the corner of his lips. From there, her eyes were drawn to his adorable pout and it was all she could do not to lean over the table and connect their lips together. Her face warmed as her fists tightened, her nails biting into her palms.

Get a hold of yourself, Marinette, she berated herself in her head, Adrien does not want to kiss you. So you cannot go around kissing him! After a few moments of scolding herself, their eyes connected and he beamed at her happily. Flicking her gaze back down to her a notebook, Marinette mentally sighed, You cannot kiss him! No matter how adorable he looks!

Just as she finished writing up her survey, she was startled from the silence by a loud ding. She watched as Adrien grabbed his phone and scrolled through his texts, “Sorry, Marinette, but my driver’s here. Apparently my father needs me back for a photoshoot.”

“That’s alright,” she giggled, “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, right?” Marinette stood up as she watched him sling his backpack over his shoulder.

“Of course! I’ll be sure to print out the outline and ask my father if I can come over again after school if that’s fine with you?”

“Sure!” she smiled, “With the way we’re working right now, I’m certain we’ll get this assignment done in no time!”

“Great,” Adrien said happily before throwing his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Marinette blinked widely before hugging him back, her eyes fluttering closed. The scent of his cologne brushed against her nose and she sighed dreamily before stepping out from his embrace. Opening up her trapdoor, she gestured him through with a smile.

“Thank you,” he chuckled as he ducked down and headed towards the bakery.

Following him, she stepped outside into the cool, autumnal afternoon. The wind brushed against her face, causing her hair to sway slightly as Adrien turned to face her. Tucking a stray strand back into her pigtails Marinette waved a happy goodbye, “It was really nice having you over, Adrien. Hopefully, you can come again tomorrow so we can finish the rough draft of our project.”

“I’ll have to ask my father, but I’m sure he’ll say yes since it’s schoolwork. But anyway, thank you for having me, Marinette,” his eyes crinkled as he smiled down at her. A honk coming from the limo broke their gazes as they watched the Gorilla narrow his eyes at them.

“Oops,” she giggled, “Sorry for keeping you.”

“It’s fine,” Adrien waved it off as he shifted his bag higher up on his shoulder, “Goodbye again, Mari,” he shot her one last grin before ducking into the backseat of his limo.

She watched him go with a fond smile before turning back inside to have a long discussion with her parents.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #fic #fanfic #adrienette #marichat #ladynoir #ladrien

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trade-baby-blues · 7 years

Text

Bye, Bye, Bye

Pairing: Bones x Reader

Warnings: swears, angst

Word Count: 1938

A/N: requested by @auduna-druitt a million years ago. Based on the song “Rockabye” by Clean Bandit. I’m so sorry it took so long. I’ve been crazy busy between work and school! I didn’t follow the prompt exactly, because the mom isn’t in Starfleet :( Hopefully you still like it though! I didn’t proofread it because I wanted to get it posted. I’m gonna go back and fix all the errors when I get a chance.

Between the hum of the fluorescent lights and the sound of cars passing on the highway, sleep clouded your mind. There were no customers. Of course there weren’t. Who in their right mind would stop at a run down diner in the middle of Nowhere, Iowa during a winter colder than you’d ever felt (not that that was saying much since you moved up from San Francisco a few months ago).

Ran away, a voice echoed in your ears. You pushed it out of your mind as you rested your head on your arms across the countertop. As your eyes fell shut again, the bell chimed and the door opened, letting in a chill.

You snapped up, eyes going straight to the small bundle of coats and blankets curled up in the farthest booth. You watched the blankets rise and fall before sighing deeply.

“Sorry if we woke you up, sugar. Someone decided it would the perfect time for a road trip back home.”

The deep, grumbling voice warmed you up, despite the cold, and seemed to belong to an equally grumbly man. He glared at his blond friend, who seemed to be enjoying himself a lot more.

“I told you we could take the shuttle. You’re the one who said you prefer driving,” the blond said before taking a seat at the counter.

“I spend enough damn tim in artificial gravity and besides, shuttles crash. You should know, Jim. How many have you crashed at this point? Half a dozen?”

The blond man quieted down and you took the opportunity to offer both men some coffee. It was easy enough to figure out they were starfleet. Even if Jim had been able to stop talking about their mission for more than 5 minutes, ou clocked them as soon as they came in the door.

“Can I get you boys anything else? You smiled sweet as you could, hoping the men would give you your tip and keep on driving.

“Mm, I think I’m gonna need bout ten more slices of this pie, sweetheart,” Jim said.

“No more pie. Doctor’s orders.”

“Aw come on, Bones. You’re no fun.” Jim turned back to you, a sly smile on his lips and look in his eye that made you groan internally. “How ‘bout your number instead? Bones smacked Jim hard in the arm and he yelped in pain. “What the hell, Bones?”

“I told you not to bother the lady.”

“No, you said don’t other the pretty lady,” Jim said, voice teasing. Bones’ features darkened. He looked ready to strangle Jim, who was clearly holding back laughter.

“Mommy,” a soft voice said from the corner. Aiden stuck his head out from the blankets, barely reaching over the table. His hair stood at all angles, and you couldn’t help but smile at him.

“It’s okay, baby. Go back to sleep.” He nodded and slunk back down into the booth. You turned back to the two men in front of you. Jim was turned toward Aid, but Bones kept his eyes fixed on you.

“He yours?”

“No, I like to collect small children is all. They’re good for cleaning small spaces.” You smiled, clearing away the empty plates. The first hint of a grin reached Bones’ lips and you felt a swell of pride. You could tell by the lack of laughter lines he didn’t smile nearly as much as Jim.

“How old is he?”

“Four. He’ll be 5 in a week.”

“Dad must be proud of him,” Jim cut in.

Your smile faltered. “Wouldn’t know.” You turned away, stacking plates in the sink. You heard another smack and furious whispering. Then, silence as you scrubbed the dishes clean.

Bones was the first to break the silence. “My wife and I got divorced too. Our daughter Jo was about your son’s age at the time. You hazarded a glance at Bones, noticing a softness to him you hadn’t seen earlier.

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“I’m not.” It was barely a whisper and could’ve just been wishful thinking, but you heard Bones’ voice in your head the rest of the night, even as you dropped Aiden off at your parents’ house and got ready for your shift at the grocers.

Time trickled by like molasses off a cold spoon. The monotonous beep of items being scanned as the same top 40 hits playing on repeat made you wonder if you were actually dead and trapped in some sick purgatory. Your mind wandered and you thought about how your life had gotten to this point, from full ride to single mother. You were painfully aware that your parents couldn't understand but you would change it for the world. Aiden meant everything to you, and you wanted to give him everything you missed out on.

“Didn't I just see you at the diner, Y/N.”

The voice caught you off guard and your eyes shot up, drinking in the messy hair and dark circles under Bones’ eyes.

“Oh thank God,” you said. As your brain caught up with your mouth, you flushed a deep red and tried to apologize, only managing a garbled stream of words that embarrassed you even more.

“Don't hurt yourself now, sugar,” Bones laughed. It was a laugh you dreamt about. Well, you probably would’ve dreamt about it if you’d slept between the diner shift and the grocer.

“If I do hurt myself will you ki-”

“Mommy,” Aiden yelled, cutting off what would have been your best attempt at flirting in years. “Mommy, mommy, grammy and I came to see you!” Aiden wrapped himself around our legs before looking up at you with his big ol’ eyes. You couldn’t even be mad at him.

“I see that, pumpkin,” you said, ruffling his hair, “But I thought grammy was taking you to the park.”

“Oh yes, well, Deborah called and invited me over for a round of bridge and brandy so no park today.”

You stared at your mother. “And bridge is more important than your grandson?”

Your mother pursed her lips. “Yes well, I had hoped for more time to play bridge before I had one. I must hurry off or I’ll miss the first hand. Ta-ta.”

“Wait! Mom!” You tried to follow her, slowed down by Aiden holding onto your leg and giggling. “Mom, I can’t watch him. I’m at work. I’ll get fired.”

“Then you should have thought of that before you got pregnant, dear. We told you you weren’t ready.” With that, your mother turned on her perfectly polished heel and walked away. You closed your eyes, pulling Aiden closer to you and attempting to find some footing. Everything felt like it was falling apart. You knew you couldn’t let it. Not here. Not in front of Aiden.

“I know I’ve got no business offering, but I can watch the kid for you.” You turned around, excuses poised on your tongue. You’d never relied on a stranger for help. You weren’t about to ask Bones, but he cut you off. “I’ll stay right outside on the little toy car. You can see us through the windows. ‘Sides, It’s 3 p.m. You gotta be getting off soon, right?”

You read the honesty in Bones’ eyes and sighed again. “In an hour, yeah.” You fished in your pockets for some money. “Will you buy Aiden some lunch? I’m sure mom didn’t feed him yet.”

Bones held a hand up. “My treat. I insist.” You didn’t have enough energy to fight with him, so you stuffed the money back in your pocket and bent down to kiss Aiden goodbye and to remind him to stay in sight.

Somehow, the next hour went by even slower. You kept glancing out the window at Aiden and Bones. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. You could hear them laughing whenever the doors slid open, and you smiled every time. Finally, 4 o’clock rolled around and you clocked out as fast as you could, wanting nothing but a nice long nap. Aiden seemed to have other plans, of course.

“Mommy, Lee said he’d take me to the park. Can we go to the park?” Aiden tugged at the bottom of your uniform apron.

“Lee?”

“Short for Leonard,” Bones said.

“Well, I’m sorry Lee,” you teased, “but we’re gonna have to say no this time. Mommy needs some sleep. Come on, Aiden.”

“But mommy I wanna go to the park! You promised I could go to the park today.”

“I know baby, but grandma was supposed to take you while I was at work.”

“She didn’t! She didn’t take me. She said mean things and told me to stay in my room.”

Your blood immediately began to boil. “What mean things did she say?” Aiden quieted down, kicking the gravel with the toe of his shoe. “Aiden,” you said, dropping to his level, “Baby, you know you can tell me.”

He looked up through his lashes, eyes teary. “She said she didn’t want me. That my daddy didn’t want me and that’s why he left. And she called you names that I didn’t understand.”

“What names.” You were fighting to keep your voice level.

Aiden furrowed his brow, trying to remember. His voice was almost too small to hear when he spoke, but it was still strong enough to break your heart. “She said you were a whore. What does that mean, mama?”

You closed your eyes and stood up, holding tightly to Aiden’s hand. “It’s a grown-up word, sweetie. You’ll know what it means when you get older, like me. Now, let’s get you home.” Thankfully, Aiden accepted the explanation with a serious nod.

Bones placed a hand gently on your free hand, stopping you. There was sorrow in his eyes and a crease on his forehead, like he was thinking hard about what to say. Finally, he let his fingers slip between yours and held your hand, refusing to look you in the eye as if he was a lovestruck schoolboy again. “Maybe we can go to the park tomorrow if you’re free. We could have a picnic.”

“It’s supposed to snow,” you replied.

“I’ll pack extra hot chocolate.” Leonard brushed his thumb over the back of your hand and it felt like fire shooting up your arm. Your heart sped up from that one little touch and the soft smile Bones gave you was hot enough to melt the snow.

“Will there be marshmallows,” Aiden chimed in. “I love marshmallows. And we can build a snowman! Mommy, please can we go. I wanna build a snowman and have a snowball fight. Please please pleeeaase.” Aiden pulled on your apron again, pouting . You would’ve done anything for that face, and he knew it.

Smug little shit, you thought to yourself. “Okay, but mommy has to go sleep for about twelve hours first.”

“Yay! Thank you mommy!” Aiden threw his arms around your legs again before jumping over to Bones and giving his legs a tight hug too. “See you tomorrow Lee! Don’t forget the marshmallows!”

Leonard laughed again, and as the sound filled your ears all your worries slipped away. “I promise I won’t, kiddo. Now you be good and listen to your ma, okay?” Aiden nodded furiously, taking hold of your hand and beaming up at you.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Lee,” you asked Aiden.

“Oh! Yeah!” Aiden waved his arm wildly at Leonard. “Byyyyyyyeee!!”

“Bye.” Leonard smiled, waving to Aiden then to you.

“Bye,” you said. The corners of your mouth were still turned up into a smile that stayed with you even while you slept.

Tag list:

@outside-the-government @martinawalker @thevalesofanduin @goingknowherewastaken @yourtropegirl @trekken81 @feelmyroarrrr @yukki-art @atari-writes @pabegay1 @bolontiku @brooke-taylor0323 @daybreak96 @8bit-arc-reactor @jimtkirkisabitch @sjlovestory

#star trek imagine #bones imagine #bones x reader #leonard mccoy imagine #leonard mccoy x reader #my fics

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soshesighs · 3 years

Text

Fic: Set The Bad Day By The Bed

Fandom: @speakergame

Pairing: Li/Speaker/Seb poly

Liam Version here!

---

A slight jingling, a heavy thunk as boots are set next to the door, and you instantly know who it is.

"She sounds upset," Sebastian murmurs, voice heavy, seconds from falling asleep. For a fleeting moment, your heart dances between feeling rightfully concerned and quietly pleased that you both immediately recognize your partner's footsteps; you can't help but be a little pleased at how far the three of you have come.

Concern eventually wins out, however, and your eyebrows furrow together as you hum a noise of agreement, leaning down to press a kiss to Sebastian’s brow as you think.

"It’s not like her to slam things around,” you agree. Your eyes bounce between the door to the bedroom and the man curled up by your side in bed, a debate warring internally. Sebastian is so content - finally allowing himself to relax some, even if he is still reading through your currently compiled case research - that you don’t want to disturb him.

But Sebastian, also ever observant, reaches a hand up to still the one of yours that’s still trailing through his hair, tilting his head up until his eyes meet yours. “Go,” he says simply.

You slump a bit, worrying your lower lip unintentionally. “But you just settled down,” you protest, sighing. “Besides, you know how she is. She needs her time. I imagine she’s heading to the library.”

As if a manifestation of your unease, your fingers begin to twirl a long strand of his hair again, unable to hold completely still. You respect the fact that Li needs time to herself to uncoil whatever aspect of her day has gripped her so harshly, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sit idly by.

The two of you sit there in heavy silence, the only sound the muffled turning of pages as Sebastian reads on for a solid 7 minutes, before he sighs and sets the file aside. After a pause, he says, not unkindly, “Your unease is slightly smothering, not that I’m able to focus much either. How about I make coffee and you can take some to her? If only one of us goes in, it shouldn't feel too intrusive."

If you practically bolt out of bed in eagerness, he doesn’t mention it, just chuckles to himself as he pushes up off the bed to follow.

---

A short while and one pot of hellish coffee brewed later, Sebastian sends you on your way. As you suspected, you spot Li’s silhouette curled up in a tight ball on a couch in the library. Not wanting to startle her by just appearing at her side, you knock softly on the archway until you get her attention.

Her head snaps around harshly, deep, black eyes meeting yours from across the room. Even from here, you can see the bruise-like shadows beneath them, and you try to hold back from wincing sympathetically. To her credit, when she realizes it’s you, her eyes slip shut on a slow exhale, the slightest bit of tension leaving her body. After a second, she nods - the okay for you to come in.

You pad over, socked feet making only the softest muffled sound on the rugs. Coming up behind her, you slide a hand down over her shoulder from behind the couch and lean down to press a kiss to her hairline. Her fingers grip the notebook and pen in her lap so tightly that her knuckles turn white, but you’re glad to see her writing. Hopefully it helps, you think to yourself, filing the information away to ask about later, if she’s willing to share.

“I won’t keep you,” you say, voice equally as quiet as your steps so as not to disturb her more than necessary. “But Bas made you coffee, so I wanted to bring it in while it was warm.”

She takes the cup and opens her mouth like there’s something she wants to say - like part of her wants to overflow and spill out whatever it is that’s strangling her inside - but nothing comes out. After a second, she gives the barest shake of her head, and you know for certain now that she needs more time.

You turn to go, but her hand rises up to cover yours on her chest, giving it a quick squeeze. “Thanks," she finally manages, her voice a bit hoarse from disuse.

“Of course, love. Anytime,” comes your gentle reply, and you hope she can hear the slight smile in your words and know that you’re fine - that everything is fine - and that you both understand. “Come find us in a bit, okay?”

She doesn’t reply again, but you don’t expect her to. Instead, you wait until she takes a sip and then head out, sliding your hand free of her embrace, content to leave her to her quiet meditation now that you’ve seen that she’s (at least physically) okay.

---

You barely step foot into the bedroom before you hear, “How is she?”

With a shrug, you crawl back up onto the bed, resuming your previously situated position against the headboard. “Exhausted, tense, locked up more than I’ve seen her in a while. But she was writing, which brings me some comfort. She says thank you for the coffee, by the way.”

Sebastian nods, a bit of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Not in so many words, I presume.”

“No,” you concede, reaching out a hand to will him closer. “But I could tell she was grateful. And thank you for humoring me. I know you were about to nod off.”

“You’d think after all these years, I’d have gotten used to it. She’s been like this ever since we were kids, but…” you drift off, struggling to find the words. After a moment, you shrug, shaking your head. "And don't give me that, Mister 'I'll sleep when I'm dead'! You have no idea how proud I was to get you to stop pacing and lie down."

He grins, hand reaching up to cup the nape of your neck and pull you down for a kiss. "I'll rest once I've read through all of this - how's that sound?"

"I'll believe it when I see it," you reply, lips still brushing against his in the ghost of a touch as you do, and you swallow down his replying smirk with another kiss.

“And what is that?”

You sit up fully and tap a finger on the tip of his nose. “You’re using me to stall. Get to reading, mister. You promised me you’d rest after, and I fully intend to see that through.”

“Providing incentive, of course,” you reply, as if it should be completely obvious.

“I suppose you do,” you agree, blatant triumph shining through every word. In time, he relents and pulls his gaze away from yours, focusing back on the work that, unfortunately, must be done.

Just when it seems that Sebastian might once more be about to nod off, a quiet knock sounds from the other side of the room. You immediately freeze, eyes wide and hopeful, as the door slides open.

“Lily,” you exhale, tension you hadn’t realized you were still holding flooding out from what feels like your very bones at the sight of her.

She holds up the now-empty coffee mug and gives it a shake before setting it down on the dresser, her long and lanky frame leaning heavily against the door jamb. “Finished. Thank you again.”

Sebastian yawns - a rare sight in and of itself - and nods in acknowledgement before turning to angle his body more towards her. “You don’t have to knock, you know. I don’t know how many times we have to tell you that we want you here before you believe us.”

“Working on it,” you reply faintly. In an echo of your earlier request to Sebastian, you hold out your hand to her, silently beckoning her forward to join the two of you - if she’s ready.

She hesitates a beat too long, and in those few seconds you convince yourself that she’s going to decline.

"It's okay," you whisper, letting your hand drop back to the bed. Lily's eyes follow, watching as you reflexively clench the comforter in your fist; sitting still, especially when stressed or upset, has never been your strong suit.

Swallowing harshly, Lily slumps a bit and shakes her head. "I'm sorry for shutting you out earlier."

She pauses again, and you try not to let your heart catch hopefully on that last word.

Sebastian also immediately picks up on the careful phrasing, knowing as well as you do that Li of all people rarely minces her words or says what she doesn't mean. "And now?" he asks simply, setting the file to the side. "Feeling any better?"

Lily ducks her head, hiding her softening expression. When she glances back up, her trademark tilted smile is back in place. "Got room for one more?"

---

“Do you want to talk about it?” you eventually ask, voice barely audible even in the quiet of the darkened room.

Lily tenses a bit from her position now lying at your other side, head pillowed on the thigh opposite Sebastian who has, at long last, finally fallen asleep. “No, not… not yet.”

“Alright, I understand.” You trail off, finding it hard to voice exactly what it is you want to say. Between the three of you, Lily is the one who has the gift with words; you’ve never been particularly eloquent in expressing your feelings. Ultimately, you settle on saying, “Just promise me you’d tell us if it was something serious - if you were hurt or you needed our help? We love you, Li.”

You look down to meet her eyes, holding her intense gaze in the hopes that you can impart how serious you are with every lingering second.

She tears her eyes away after a moment and reaches out to your hand lying in front of her on the bed, slowly and deliberately running her fingertips along your palm as if trying to memorize every dip and line and callus. “I’m not good at asking for help, you know that,” she admits carefully, somewhat reluctantly. “I take care of people, not the other way around. That’s how it’s always been.”

“You have us now,” you reply, gently combing the fingers of your free hand through her forest green locks, attempting to untangle the knots you know she must have formed earlier by anxiously tugging at it. “You don’t have to bear anything alone.”

Lily glances back over her shoulder at Sebastian, whose face is more relaxed and at peace than he’s looked in days now that he’s finally crashed, who is the first to sacrifice caring for his own well-being to do whatever he can to help the two of you and all of your friends, who quickly and quietly wormed his way into both your hearts until he was so deeply entrenched that neither of you can imagine life without him now. And then, she nods.

“Yeah, I think I’m starting to understand that now.”

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elliotthezubat · 7 years

Text

DEATH CITY DAYS CHAPTER 39

life at black*star and tsubaki’s house gets more interesting every day

Higan: "...Hello. I love what you've done with this place." Sakuya: ^^;;; "Howdy." Belkia: *shiny eyes* "STABBY SLICY SUGAR GODDESS!" tsubaki: thank you... stocking: *SHIV THROUGH THE HEAD* no. Belkia: "...Otogiri? I will need blood..." Kid: "When she's through with you, you'll need a _lot_ of blood..." otogiri: understood. Black Star: *pushes past Naho and Lilac, glaring at Higan* "What are you doing here?" Higan: "...Lavender? Care to explain?" lavender: well... -she explains the situation- otogiri: lady tsubaki, please take care of us. Black Star: -_-;;;; "This is what happens when you give your address to weirdos..." Sakuya: *slaps Black Star upside the head* Black Star: "Ow!" tsubaki: noted. there's some empty rooms on the right hall, feel free to take your pick. otogiri: behave yourselves. Black Star: "WHAT?!" Sakuya: -_-; "I guess we're sharing rooms--" Belkia: "Dibs on the one with the biggest bed!" lilac:.......... tsubaki:...its ok. lilac:..................... otogiri: you should probably keep the sharp objects locked up for a while... lavender: if you hear anything in the night, that'll most likely be me~<3 Belkia: "But I need to sleep with Mr. Saber, Ms. Battle Axe, and Baby Switchblade!" *swings aroun a switchblade--that cuts off the top of Black Star's hair* Black Star: "????!!!!!!!!" Kid: "...Oh my sweet merciful me...This is a trainwreck." otogiri: then for now, keep lilac out of your room. naho: its ok lila. stocking:...... -_-; Sakuya: "...Can share rooms for now..." Black Star: *strangling Belkia* Belkia: D: lilac:....s-sakuya....can i....stay with you? Sakuya: "...Yeah, of course." -\\\\- naho:....QwQ Sakuya: "...Naho? You have a room picked out?" Belkia: *choked* "She could bunk with me--" Black Star: *smacks him in the head, knocking him out* "Stocking, go write on this fucker's face." naho: otogiri, lets be roomies! otogiri: ok. stocking: im not getting anywhere NEAR that clown! Black Star: "...Okay. Just tell me what to write on him, then." Kid: *hugs Stocking* "It's okay..." Sakuya: "I hope there is an air mattress, at least..." lavender: i think i know who im gonna be rooming with~ *grins* Higan: -\\\\\- "So good...Just go easy on me. They only got the glass out of my dick yesterday." Black Star: o______o stocking: EWW!!! D8> Kid: "We need to wipe our minds of this." naho: THAT'S WAY MORE THAN ANYONE NEEDED TO KNOW OLD MAN! Higan: "You're just jealous that you're not getting an--" -WHACK- otogiri: stop. Higan and Belkia: *collapsed on the floor* Black Star: "...I'll get the floor cleaner, before their blood stains it..." tsubaki: well, this has been an eventful start to the new year. Kid: " 'Eventful' is a polite way to put it..." -elsewhere, in the C3 cells- Shamrock: "...I have only one eye. And I still can see that these prison clothes are dreadful." -footsteps are heard, a young woman peeks into the cell, she is only wearing a large labcoat, but is otherwise unclothed- woman: ??? Shamrock: x\\\\\\\\o "Wh-What--What the hell?!" woman: are you a vampire mister? -the nametag on the coat reads 'Yukimi' Shamrock: "Y-Yeah...Why are you naked, um, 'Yukimi'?" woman: oh, mafura-chan is almost always naked, like father tells her to. Shamrock: "...One, who is Mafura? Two, who is 'father'? Three, why does Father tell Mafura to be naked? Fourth, COULD YOU PLEASE PUT ON SOME CLOTHES?!" mafura: *points to herself* mafura-chan is mafura-chan ^^ Shamrock: "...'Mafura Yukimi'?" mafura: *nods* man: mafura. what did i tell you about leaving your cell? Shamrock: *covers his eye* "This is...uncomfortable. Who is your father?" mafura: that mafura-chan shouldnt leave it... Shamrock: "...'It'? What is 'it'? Or who? Am I 'it'?" man: *he grabs her and drags her back* if anyone saw you...i'd be in trouble...so be a good girl from now on, ok? Shamrock: x______o;;;; "What is even happening here? Who are you? Where am I?" man:......*he takes mafura and closes the door* Shamrock: "Why was that woman naked? What are you doing?" -elsewhere- licht:.......*staring at lawless*..... Lawless: *panting, in hedgehog form...* kranz:....guildenstern, romina, and julian are beginning to wake up now... Lawless: "O-Ophelia..." licht:....*stroking his head* Lawless: "T-The subclasses...Are they...?" licht: they're alive.... Lawless: *sighs* "Thank you...Thank you..." -elsewhere- Anya: *groans...wakes up* tsugumi: hey anya. Anya: *squints* "Tsugumi? What happened?" tsugumi: well, your leg was broken for one thing... -in another room- momo: and, i dont remember what happened after that... Izuku: *holding an ice pack to his black eye* "Well...You have a great right hook." ^^;; momo: i am so sorry!! i dont remember punching you at all! Izuku: "I know, I know! It's okay...But the next time you zombie out--" Sid: "Excuse me?" Izuku: o_______o;;;; yukari: *lectures izuku's ear off* ochako: ^^; tsuyu:....anyway, you seem to be in good shape, and you'll be able to head home tomorrow morning. momo; that's good.....hmm? iida? are you ok? Iida: *icepack on his groin* *high-pitched* "I'm fine..." -elsewhere- Kuro: "...I'm sorry." -elsewhere- shinra: GAH!!! *wakes up, screaming in a cold sweat, and throws the blankets off....his feet are fine*.... Arthur: "AH! ...Shinra? What the hell?" shinra: *panting* .....s....sorry.....bad dream.... Arthur: "..." *sigh* "Want to talk?" shinra:....my feet....went up in flames....i was....t-turning....*teary eyed* Arthur: "Hey, hey...You're fine. Calm down...You didn't turn into a Flame Monster..." shinra:...*whimpering* Arthur: "..." *walks over, gives him small hug* shinra:...... -elsewhere- Sakuya: "All settled in?" naho: yep. lilac:.......... Sakuya: "..." *small bump on Lilac's shoulder* "It's okay..." lilac:....i dont.....feel well..... Sakuya: "...I'm sorry...Is it your stomach? Or...did you want to talk?" lilac:...i'd....like to go to bed now.... Sakuya: "..." *nods* "Miss Tsubaki and Mr. Black Star laid out the bed..." naho: ok....we need to be up bright and early tomorrow, tsubaki wants to discuss stuff in the morning. lilac:...o-ok... Sakuya: "...Night, Naho. Sleep well." -morning, tsubaki lays down the ground rules of the house- tsubaki: all good? naho: *she nods* Belkia: -_-;;;; otogiri: understood. Sakuya: "This is reasonable...Thank you, Tsubaki. We will follow these rules." Higan: "Oh, come on? That curfew hour is insane..." otogiri: 11 at night does seem fair. Higan: "Hmph." Belkia: "So, let me get this straight...How do we get blood, again?" otogiri: we still have the blood bags. Belkia: "And when we need more of them?" tsubaki: i'll do some part time work at a clinic. (thinking: i'm sure he'd be willing to lend a hand...hopefully) Black Star: "Yeah, me too..." Belkia: "...Could I have your blood? It smells tasty!" otogiri: *chop* behave. Belkia: "ACK!" Sakuya: *small laugh...then looks at Naho and Lilac* lilac:...i think....i'll stay home today....... naho:...take your time. Sakuya: *pats Lilac's back* Higan: "Well, I'm going to stay in and do some painting...Need a model, though..." -at school- Kid: "So, how are the new roommates?" tsubaki: a handfull, but i can manage. Black Star: -_-;;; naho: since we're all friends here, i guess we can introduce ourselves to the group officially? Kid: "Let us know if you need help...and if that awful Belkia gets out of line." Sakuya: *waves* "Hey. I'm Sakuya." naho: and im Naho Toguchi. please take good care of us ^^ soul:....so licht and lawless are still absent.... Sakuya: "..." naho:......... *remembering lilac's breakdown*.....yeah. Black Star: "Want any company?" soul:...sure. Black Star: "Cool..." -elsewhere- Relan: *hugs Shinra* shinra: thanks, rel. *hugs back* Relan: "You'll be okay...I'm sorry..." shinra: its ok. you didnt do anything wrong... Relan: "...Whatever happens, no matter what, I'm not going anywhere, Iris is not going anywhere...We will always be here for you." shinra: thanks...i love you. Relan: *kiss on the forehead* "I love you, too..." -elsewhere- Shotaro: "So, how is my workout routine working for you, Buddy?! As your life coach, I--" akaderu: *passed out* im dead. Shotaro: "...Jeez. Maybe 400 situps _was_ too much--" -elsewhere- Nals: "Well, this is dull..." alvis: find anything? Nals: *sighs* "Here's the relic." *holds up a device in the design of a snake* "I don't get what this is gonna do. What, Medusa wants a new toy for her kid?" alvis: we arent certain for sure. -elsewhere- Belkia: "Yo, Lilac! How you holding up?" lilac:.........*clutching his pillow* Belkia: "...Not great, huh? ...Want to see some magic?" -no answer- Belkia: "...Oh? What's this behind your ear?" *pulls out a giant coin* "Money!!!" lilac:............... Belkia: "..." *frowns* "Well...Maybe I should do...THIS!" *coughs, and a bouquet of lilacs appears in his hand* "Tah-dah!" lavender:...hey, there's a lot of books in the bookcase, maybe one of those might help? Belkia: "Good idea! I wonder what Ms. Tsubaki keeps here, anyway. Want some fairy tales? Short fiction? Operating manual for the DVD player?" lilac:..... otogiri:.....*making lunch* Belkia: "...Lilac? Talk to us. It'll make you feel better..." lilac:...i....did something bad.....didnt i?......it wont....bring them back.... Belkia: "...Oh boy...Um..." lavender:....*awkward hug* easy does it, kiddo... Belkia: "...Maybe...Mr. Tsubaki wants you to do something else? Or Ms. Tsubaki may be good on that whole 'make up for what you did' thing...maybe?" lilac:...... -elsewhere- misono:.....*staring up at the ceiling* Lily: "Everyone needs their time to recover, Misono..." misono:........to think shinoa is working with C3.......but this 'Demon Moon Company'..... Lily: "..." *pats his hand* "It's a lot to take in..." misono:....*small smile* you're pretty bad at keeping secrets, i see....still.... Lily: ^^;;; "I guess so...Sorry. I'm sure it was nothing personal from Shinoa..." misono:...yeah.. Lily: "...Maybe you can try coffee again?" misono: i'd prefer tea thanks. Lily: *pokes his forehead* "Ever insistent..." *smiles* -elsewhere- Shamrock: *trying to sleep...* "Awful." -upstairs- shinoa:..... mitsuba: thinking about your boyfriend? shinoa: maybe, are you? mitsuba: NU-UH!! XP shinoa: hehe~ shuuhei: "...Could you please cease this teenage romance nonsense and focus on your work? We still need to locate the remaining subclasses..." hyakuya:............(thinking:....yuu....mika....im trying really hard....but....) Jun: "...Hyakuya?" hyakuya: what? Jun: "Have you finished the tasks? Made sure our 'guest' is fed?" yumikage: i thought that chick with the ponytail was keeping them under control, at least that's what tinker told me... hyakuya: yeah yeah, im on it....but i still say we let him starve... shuuhei: "...Tinker? Is this true?" tinker: *she nods* at least she's keeping them out of trouble. that's what we do right? keep them out of trouble? shuuhei: "...Quite. Make sure he is not a nuisance. Keep asking him where his fellow subclasses are located. And keep that doctor in line..." tinker: doctor yukimi or johannes? cause the latter i have no idea where he is....but doctor yukimi...he gives me the creeps. *shudders* -elsewhere- Emine: "Shotaro told me to bring this to your boyfriend." *holds up bowls of cherry and strawberry yogurts* akaderu:.....pink doesnt count. *takes the cherry ones* Emine: "You can't blame someone for doing a bad deed...How is your work going?" -elsewhere- Asura: "What do you say to Daddy and Mommy?" heibito: i wuv you! mikan: good job sweetie! *smooch on the forehead* heibito: hehehe ^^ Asura: "Hee hee...Mommy and Daddy love you, too." mikan: ^^ Asura: *picks up Heibito* "You are our pride and joy..." -elsewhere- Kishiri: "It was so scary..." Q~Q vivian: awww. *hug* Kishiri: *hugs* "...Vivian. They did show me something, though. I...don't want to mistreat you." vivian: ?? Kishiri: "...I am lustful. I like women. I find them so attractive...and I am with you. And you are beautiful. And I want to know so much about you, because I don't want to screw up..." vivian: awww. *hug* ^^ Kishiri: "...What's your favorite food?" -elsewhere- tsubaki: we're home! otogiri: welcome back. Black Star: "Yo. How is it--" o____o Belkia: *sawing Higan in half in a box* "...What? I needed to practice my magic." lilac:..... Higan: "Hello. My attention is divided right now." Black Star: "??? Lilac?" lavender: *in a bunny girl outfit* *BA-DUM-TSH* on a drum set* lilac:.......*scarred for life* Black Star: ._.;;;; "What on Earth?" Higan: "...Okay, that is hot." Sakuya: "Lilac? You want to talk?" naho: O_O -later- otogiri: what have we learned, belkia? Belkia: *sitting in the corner* "Ms. Tsubaki's house is no place for bloody magic tricks..." otogiri: if you're going to do that, do it outside. Belkia: "O-kay..." *pout* "My Stabby Sugar Princess would like my magic tricks." otogiri: somehow i doubt that. Black Star: "Yo, Otogiri? How good are you with medicine?" otogiri: quite, since i did work as a nurse. Black Star: "Good to know...because my arm is still aching from workout today..." *shows a bruise on his arm* otogiri: right this way. Black Star: *follows* -elsewhere- *In an alley, someone sits, crying softly...* ame: *walking past with her mother* ??? ???: *looks up...in shock* "A...me?" ame: *she smiles* hiya mr tsubaki ^^ Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *struggles to smile back* ame's mother: ah... ame: mr tsubaki, what's wrong? Mr. Tsubaki: "...I...am alone now." *weak smile* ame:....do you want to stay with us tonight? Mr. Tsubaki: "!!! I...Would your family even have me?" ame's mother:....well, after all you've done for us, i suppose it's the least we can do for you. Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *POOF* *in fox form* "I...need to recuperate...take as little energy as I can...so, I'll be tiny..." ame's mother: alright then...but keep in mind we have a new puppy, so she might be a little wary of you. Mr. Tsubaki: "...I'll be good. I'll stay out of the way." -elsewhere- Kid: "...You feel anxious?" stocking: im....im fine... Kid: "..." *hug* "You're safe." stocking: thanks....*kiss* i love you kid. Kid: "I love you, too..." *hug* "Tsubaki is good at balancing things out..." -elsewhere- Lawless: *shudders* soul: how're you feeling? Lawless: "Tiny...This hedgehog form is embarrassing." soul: ......*tiny head pets* licht: ....it's adorable. *shiny eyes* Lawless: -\\\\- "Stop, Licht." soul: *sweatdrop* Lawless: "...Soul? Scratch my belly?" soul: 7///7' *pet pet pet* Lawless: ^\\\\\\\^ "Ah..." -elsewhere- Sakuya: *hugs Lilac* lilac:....*hugging* *sniffles*..... Sakuya: "You're okay...You'll be fine." lilac: *hic* im...s-sorry.... Sakuya: "I know...I know...Let it out..." lilac: *crying* naho:...i know we wont be able to replace them, but we're still here for you lilac. *hug* you arent alone. Sakuya: *nods* "We're here. Right now. Just get through tonight..." lilac: o....ok.....*hic* -the three of them all slept in the same bed that night- Sakuya: "Zzz..." naho:....... *nuzzles* Sakuya: *smiles...holds on close* Sakuya: "So nice..." -elsewhere- Mr. Tsubaki: *hiding* maddie: *bark bark!* *tail wagging* ame: hehe ^^ Mr. Tsubaki: "...Your dog is friendly..." ame: ^^ do you want to see my new room? we can have a tea party! Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *nods* -ame's room is adorned with blue green colors and a canopy bed. several crayon drawings are taped to the wall. there is also a dresser, a beanbag reading area, and a toy box. there is a framed drawing of ame with mr tsubaki and the other subclass- Mr. Tsubaki: *stares at the drawing* "..." *lowers his head* ame:...you said they're staying with the nice lady? Mr. Tsubaki: "...The nicest." Mr. Tsubaki: "But...some of them are lost...I think." ame:......*hug* thank you mr tsubaki, for making me not sick anymore. Mr. Tsubaki: -\\\\- "Ame...You are welcome...Are you feeling okay?" ame: *she nods* yep. i dont feel sick anymore! and lookie! my hair's beginning to grow back! *she points to her small braids* Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *small smile* "Your hair looks great, Ame." ame: ^^ -elsewhere- Akitaru: "Hanging in there?" shinra: yeah... Akitaru: *hug* "You'll be okay, kiddo." shinra: ...... -elsewhere- Higan: "Feel alright?" lavender: yeah. that felt good. *pant pant* Higan: *smirk* "Best keep it down..." *kisses down her chest* "Or you'll back someone up..." *reaches her clitoris...* lavender: a-ahhh~<3 Higan: *eats her out...his fingers pinching her backside* -in another room- Black Star: *tosses in bed...hears the moans...and feels...* -\\\\- "...Damn. Can't sleep." -elsewhere- Hibana: -\\\\\\w\\\\\\- gabriella: *pant pant* ho-how was it? Hibana: "So good...Master..." *pinches one of her nipples* gabriella: ah~<3 Hibana: "You are delicious..." *licks where she pinched her* -morning- Black Star: =____= "No...sleep." tsubaki: aww... ^^; Black Star: "Zzz..." *crashes face-first into Tsubaki* tsubaki: um.... ^^;; Black Star: "Mmm..." *hugs her in his sleep, resting on her chest* tsubaki:.... ^^; *pets his head* Sakuya: *yawn* naho: *streeeetch* morning sakkyun.... =w= Sakuya: o\\\\o "M-Morning...I...Um..." lilac: zzzzz..... Sakuya: "...Naho...?" naho: yeah? Sakuya: "...Thank you for being here." *smooch* naho: O/////////O Sakuya: -\\\\\\- "S-Sorry..." naho: .////////. i-i-its fine.... Sakuya: "...I just...wanted to show my appreciation...and I...I..." naho: ??? lilac: *holding him, still asleep* Sakuya: "...You and Lilac...are two of the most important people in my life..." *holds Lilac...and holds Naho's hand* naho: *blushing brightly* b-but...w-what about mahiru? Sakuya: "...I will always love Mahiru, in one way or another...And I also can see that the feelings are not the same right now...Naho...I..." naho: *she grabs him by the shoulder and kisses him* >//////< Sakuya: o\\\\\\\o "..." -\\\\\\- *kisses back* naho: ..... U//////U Sakuya: "...Wow. Naho...You are amazing." naho: >//////< *covering her face, blushing brightly* Sakuya: *small laugh...he kisses the hands covering her face* naho: *teary eyed* i...never thought...anyone could like me back... Sakuya: *hugs Naho, while still holding onto Lilac* "Why would you ever think that?" naho: usually, if i like someone a lot, but they like someone else, or someone else really likes them, then...i'd want them to be happy. if i make others happy, t-then i'd be happy too, right? Sakuya: *small laugh* "Is that why you spend so much time shipping boys together, instead of fulfilling your own desires?" naho: i-i guess so.... and hormones. >///< Sakuya: "..." -\\\\- "Hormones are a pain...Naho...I care about you and Lilac...Can all three of us be there for each other?" naho: *she nods* of course, forever and always. Sakuya: *smiles* "Always. Forever." *pats Lilac's back* lilac: *yaaawn* mmn? Sakuya: "Time to wake up..." lilac: *waking up* *yawn* Sakuya: *smiles* "Morning...We wanted to know how you are feeling?" lilac:...b-better....i think.... Sakuya: *nods* "Hey...You know Naho and I are here for you, yes?" lilac:...y-yeah.... Sakuya: "..." *hugs Lilac* lilac: *small blush* ah...? Sakuya: "We love you." lilac: >///////< Sakuya: "..." *small laugh* "You okay?" -at school- Kid: "Good morning, all." liz: morning. Patty: "Howdy!" *spots Naho* "Hey, girl!" naho: mornin~^^ Sakuya: "Hey...So, looking forward to classes today?" liz: yeah. Black Star: =___=;;; "Ya...hoozzzzzzzz..." Kid: "??? What is wrong with him?" tsubaki: he had trouble sleeping ^^ Kid: "...Understandable. I suggest a white noise machine." tsubaki: i'll have to pick one up then. Black Star: *drooling on his books* soul: *poke poke* Black Star: "Hmm..." *sleep talking* "Not there. I don't like vampire bites there..." soul: dude. wake up. Black Star: *opens his eyes* "Dude...I'm exhausted. Stop waking me up in my bedroom..." soul:...you're at school dude. Black Star: "...Shit." Kid: "Let's get you some coffee..." -elsewhere- Shotaro: "Hmmm..." *wiping kitchen clean* -elsewhere- reimi:...... Konro: "Good day, Sister!" reimi: !!! good day commander. ^^ Konro: *smiles* "How are you?" reimi: i've been well, we all have. Konro: "...I'm glad to hear. I think I'll say hello to everyone..." reimi: *she nods and lets him in*..........(thinking: i cant wait to burn him....ahhh, my sweet fire tornado, how i long to use you again~@ ugigigigi~) Konro: "Good day, everyone." hinata: konro! hikage: ^o^ *hug* sister: good morning commander. Konro: *hug* "Hey, kiddos! How you doing?" *nods to the Sister* kirei: *she smiles* Konro: "Hinata, Hikage, I brought you a new toy..." *pulls out a top* How 'bout you show it to the sisters while I talk with Kirei?" hinata: neato! kirei: *she nods* Konro: *walks with Kirei* "...How are you holding up?" kirei: i've been well....the sisters and i have been working on something that may help. Konro: "Oh?" sister 2: HYAH! *slaps a piece of paper onto konro's head.........nothing happens* he's good to go! Konro: .\\\\\. "Um...Okay?" sister 2: it's cool huh? its and illusion dispell charm! we got your research team's notes and made a counter charm to it! how that works im not sure, but eh, what can you do. Konro: "...Excellent! Sisters, how many of these can you make to cover all residents?" sister 2: we're working on it right now. hinata: *has a paper on her head* uwooo im a ghoooost. hikage: *also has a paper on her head* myon myon~ hinata: what the hell kind of ghost noise is that? hikage: *shrugs* Konro: "Heh heh...I will inform Commander Benimaru." -elsewhere- Nals: "Here is the relic you desired." neian: muu? Ponera: "Excellent." Medusa: *examines the relic* "Hmm...Should be workable..." shaula: what is it? Medusa: " 'The Leviathan,' said to contain a significant boost to snakes' abilities...Noah had mentioned it to me..." shaula: and ya took his advice? Medusa: "Shaula, really...It has been this long, and I have researched over and over again to verify what he told me. I am curious about what I can find, but intelligent enough to verify it." shaula: cool story sis. Medusa: -_-; ("It also helps that Noah talked in his sleep...and at other times...") -elsewhere- Kid: *presents cookies to Stocking at the cafeteria* stocking: *nom* mmmmm~<3 ^^ *smooch* Kid: -\\\\- "Sweet kisses..." stocking: only for you~ Kid: *smiles* "Maybe we can do something new this weekend..." stocking: like what? Kid: "We haven't been out to a club in a while...and I know a new one that's supposed to have a delicious strawberry drink." stocking: sounds interesting~<3 Kid: *smiles* "Then it's a date." -elsewhere- Anya: *sighs* "This is boring...and it hurts to breathe...Ow." tsugumi: you'll be better soon. Anya: T_T "I hope so..." -elsewhere- Benimaru: "Interesting...So, these papers will reveal the dopplegangers?" soldier: hopefully so. the combination of science and magic is one hell of a thing. Benimaru: "...Those sisters are more impressive than I have given them credit. Continue the random screenings." *takes a handful of the papers* "I have work to do as well." -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *sorting books* "So many..." ef: *she nods, putting text books into their shelves* Jacqueline: "Mai, what do you think of doing after graduation?" ef: !!! m-me? *she points to herself* Jacqueline: *nods* "Yes, you..." ef: *clears throat* s-sorry, i just....im not used to being called by my name... but, im not really sure...i know i'll most likely stay in death city..... Jacqueline: *nods* "I plan to stay as well. Are you considering EAT, or civilian work?" ef: im not sure yet... Jacqueline: *friendly smile* "I'm sure you could be a good member of EAT. And you are so smart that you would be helpful as a teacher, librarian, medicine..." ef: awww. >////<; Jacqueline: *shoulder pat* "I wish the best for you." -elsewhere- Relan: "Any plans for after school?" shinra: not sure yet. Relan: "Can always get coffee, or snacks. Maybe just walk..." -elsewhere- Yohei: "Sandbox, complete!" chie: it looks great! *smoooooch* Yohei: "Heh...I think WASHU and GET deserve a lot of credit." chie: good job you two ^^ WASHU: ^o^ -elsewhere- naho: *siiigh* it gets kind of boring in this city when there isnt an incident going on...hey bel-bel, how about you get set on fire? Belkia: "...Nah, I don't want to do that. I mean, first-degree burns are fun, but when you get to second, it moves from 'titillating' to 'holy fuck that sucks.'" naho: what about 3rd? Belkia: "Third are worse than second-degree. So those move from 'holy fuck!' to 'kill me now!" naho: then 9th degree- lilac: i-i-isnt that going t-too far? O-O;; Belkia: -_-;;;; "It only goes up to fourth. Can't I just cut myself off or something?" naho: *shrug* Belkia: "...Fine. I shall perform...THE GUILLOTINE OF DEATH!" *summons a guillotine* "I will need a volunteer assistant..." all: PASS Belkia: *pout* "But I'm going to cut my head off..." -elsewhere- Mr. Tsubaki: *in fox form...lying on couch...* ame: *watching cartoons with maddie on her lap* did you sleep ok? Mr. Tsubaki: "I did...It was just the dreams that bothered me." ame: ?? Mr. Tsubaki: "...Just about missing my family." ame:....*pet pet* do you want to visit them? Mr. Tsubaki: "...I worry it is too soon...And I can't face...someone with them. She must hate me." ame: ?? Mr. Tsubaki: "...Ame, I want to be a better person." -elsewhere- Black Star: *holding hands with Tsubaki* tsubaki: ^///^ Black Star: "You know...this isn't what I imagined when I thought about starting a family." tsubaki: well, things are certainly more eventful here now. Black Star: "Yeah...I think we got a bit less privacy now." tsubaki: perhaps... i could use a bath now though, it might help me to unwind. Black Star: "...Oh. I'm sure it would..." ^\\\\^ tsubaki: *she goes to get the bathrobe and goes into the bathroom* Higan: "??? Well, hello..." tsubaki:...............................................*she closes the door*...............i think i'll wait on the bath. *her expressions is calm, but you can tell she's broken on the inside* Black Star: "???" Belkia: *pops up behind Tsubaki* "This is why you should knock. I mean, really, Tsu-Tsu." naho: *excalibur* i feel your pain, tsubaki.....all too well. [she had the same thing happen to her when she first became a subclass] Sakuya: "I don't suppose you can just build an extra bathroom--" Black Star: "Do I _look_ like I have any money?! I'm not that Fire Brigade princess!" tsubaki: ah! actually, there is a second bathroom! you didnt know? Sakuya: "..." Black Star: "..." Belkia: "..." *The boys suddenly all have the urge to go* Sakuya: "OUT OF MY WAY!" Black Star: "ME FIRST!" Belkia: "GET LOST!" tsubaki: O.O; naho: -__-; -elsewhere- Tsukiyo: *paper on her face* "...So, I'm not an impersonator, right?" fang-hua: *paper on her face* seems not. ^^; Konro: "Good to know." *takes the paper gently off Fang-Hua's face* Benimaru: "Indeed." *rips the paper quickly off Tsukiyo's face* Tsukiyo: "AAAAARG!" fang-hua: *wince* it kind of feels the same as when you take off a bandaid. Benimaru: "Slight adhesive. ...Oh, wait, I should check Tsukiyo again--" *reapplies the paper--then pulls it off again* Tsukiyo: "AAAAAAAAAH! WHY, BENI-HOTTIE, WHY?!" fang-hua: commander... -_-; Benimaru: "...What? I rarely smile." fang-hua:.... 7///7; so i've noticed. Konro: "Fang-Hua, could you and the Commander finish with the rest of the random paper tests?" fang-hua: *salute* yes sir. Benimaru: *still a slight smile* "Between the two of us, we should have this work finished quickly." -elsewhere- Kid: *playing with Shiori* "Here's the ball!" *rolls it towards her* shiori: uwa! *catch* ^o^ Kid: "Hee hee! Now, toss it back..." -roll- Kid: *catches* "Good arms, Shiori!" -elsewhere- Lawless: *small pant, as he tries to resume human form--and collapses from exhaustion* "Ow..." licht: easy there... misono:.... Lily: "You'll be back on your feet in no time." *gentle smile* Hugh: *small groan* tetsu: hugh! are you feeling alright? Hugh: "Grouchy..." the mother: .....*concerned* do you need to rest more, big brother? Hugh: *nods* "And juice...And maybe a nap..." uzuki: *worried* Lily: "...Time heals everything...Maybe not to full extent..." *clutches his watch* misono:....... Lawless: "Don't know why this is taking me so long..." Hugh: "Young people just lack that get-up-and-go quality..." Lawless: *annoyed grunt* misono: in any case, the servamp of melancholy has gone into hiding, and his subclass are currently in the custody of tsubaki and black*star, save for one detained by C3. and with all the jinn in the city, we should assist in properly disposing of it to prevent further incidents. Lily: "...Yes...It will take time." mahiru: so for the time being, we'll just be taking part in purifying the jinn from people? misono: more or less. Lawless: *grunt* "Super. The kind of hiatus I've wanted..." mr sendagaya: tetsu, you have visitors. tetsu: oh? misono:....!!! oh for the love of..... -_-; Lily: *pops up* "Oh!" Mikuni: "Howdy!" misono: *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh* hello mikuni. tetsu: oh? oh right, misono's older bro. sup? Mikuni: "Yep!" *leaps up to Tetsu, vigorously shakes his hand* "Mikuni's the name, tracking vampires is my game!" *looks around* "...Jeez, you guys look awful." Lawless and Hugh: *angry twitches* Jeje: "Sssss..." the mother: glad to see you're in good health, doubt doubt. Jeje: "You as well...How are your subclasses?" the mother: ....other than the stolen car, just fine. ray: you're _still_ gonna hold that against us? the mother: yes. *to jeje* with you here, and melancholy M.I.A., that makes gluttony the only servamp not here...im still convinced he's in canada somewhere. Jeje: -_-;;;; "Jeez...Typical. I do not look forward to him learning what 'Canadian bacon' is..." -misono explains the current situation- Jeje: "Hmm..." Mikuni: "...Brother, you can count on us." mahiru: so who's going to take the first shift on this? sayaka: im here! sorry im late~! ^^ some weird people were asking me weird questions haha ^^; Jeje: "...Oh, no." *sympathetic nod* "Sorry." Lily: "Perhaps Misono and I should start?" misono: perhaps, you need to start training up your weapon again. jinn hunting may be a good place to start. sayaka: *notices mikuni* oh! you're the guy from the antique shop! s-say, that creepy doctor isnt with you, i-is he? O-O;;; Jeje: "We keep him at the shop, for many reasons. He should not be let out in public..." Mikuni: "Ah, shoot! Johannes ain't no thing! He's as harmless as a pussy cat!" Lily: "Training about be good..." *flexes* sayaka:...... Jeje: "If Johannes ever gives you trouble again, do not hesitate to ask for help." sayaka: thank you QuQ misono: anyway, we should get going then, we'll start by the park area. Lily: "After you~" -and so- misono: see anything yet? Lily: "I see some cuties~" misono: *chop* keep focused, damn you. -_-; Lily: *pout* "You brought me to the park, where everyone is so carefree and--" Bystander: *SCREAMING* Lily: "...Except that person." misono: *runs to investigate* girl: *holding a knife to her neck* i know you're here......please.....eat me up... misono: lily! Lily: "!!!" Lily: "Um...Ma'am? Hi. I'm here to ask that you please let down that knife. We would like to make sure you are safe and sound, 'kay~?" girl: please....take my blood..... misono: *THROWS CHAIR AT JINN* -that seemed to do it, and the girl drops the knife and passes out- Lily: *catches her, sighs* "A chair?" misono: well, that's what my lead is, so dont blame me U///n///U; girl: nnn.... wh-wha? guy: jeez kate, what got into you just now? kate: ??? misono:....... Lily: "You, um...just had a small accident." -elsewhere- Higan: "I said I was sorry..." tsubaki:...*sigh* it's fine. perhaps i should have knocked on the door first. Higan: "Yeah...But it's fine. I don't mind gender-neutral bathing facilities." naho: ......... tsubaki:....*sweatdrop* ok, new house rule; if anyone has to use the bathrooms for any reason, be sure to knock on the door first. Higan: *muttering* "Can be fun sometimes, sharing a bath..." lavender: hell yeah. Black Star: "Second house rule: lock the bathroom doors!" lavender: speaking of baths, i might need one. higan, mind helping me scrub my back~? Higan: "Of course~" Black Star: o~o;;; "...Squick." naho: *gags* Sakuya: "...Can we have a 'TMI rule'?" -elsewhere- Spirit: *chopping vegetables* sachiko: *stirring* ok...*adding some salt* Spirit: *smiles* "It's smelling great..." sachiko: thanks. i got the recipe from a neighbor when we first moved in. Spirit: "...I miss these opportunities, to get to cook with someone else." sachiko: *she smiles* i think it's ready for the next ingredient now. Spirit: "And they're all chopped..." *moves to add them...* sachiko: *she smiles* thanks, hun~ ^^ Spirit: "You're welcome, love." *kiss, as he carefully adds the vegetables* "...It's good when the ingredients come together." -elsewhere- Benimaru: "That is enough work for today." *bows* "Thank you, Kohana." fang-hua: *small blush* no problem, commander. *scratches her head* Benimaru: "...I am hungry. Care to share a meal?" fang-hua: are you sure? Benimaru: "Of course. I'm hungry, and it would be rude not to offer." fang-hua: well, i suppose it wont be too much trouble. Benimaru: *leads the way to a restaurant, pulls back the curtain* "After you." fang-hua: *she nods and goes in* worker: ah, commander! a pleasure to see ya! oh? who's this, have you finally decided to settle down? haha! Benimaru: *follows...sits by her at a booth* "Hmm. Nice atmosphere." fang-hua: yea- *blushes at the worker's comment* t-that's not how it is! Benimaru: *looks at worker* "We are here for dinner. I expect we will have a good meal--" *steady stare at the worker* "--or else." worker: OwO;; fang-hua: commander, please dont threaten him. -_-; Benimaru: "Just keeping people in line...I do not like being teased." -\\\\- fang-hua: ah...right... ^^; Benimaru: "Want to share some ramen?" -elsewhere- Black Star: *yawn, lies down next to Tsubaki* "After this day, I just want to sleep..." tsubaki: yeah....*hugging him* good night. -smooch- Black Star: ^\\\\^ "Good night, Tsubaki..." *smooch on--* Belkia: ^\\\\\^ "Thank you, Daddy." Black Star: o_O;;;;; tsubaki: O___O Belkia: "I had a bad dream. Mommy, may I sleep with you and Daddy?" -he ended up rooming with otogiri- otogiri: now, what have we learned? Belkia: *holding ice to his face* "Mommy is violent..." tsubaki: im sorry, but you did startle us. i guess i dont know my own strength in a panic... ^^; Belkia: *pout* "Apology accepted..." *cheerful* "And now Otogiri and I can be roomies!" otogiri: *monotone* yaaaay. Belkia: "See? She's excited! Maybe we can even share clothes!" otogiri: that hasnt stopped you before. Belkia: "...True. Just don't stretch out my favorite shirts, okay?" -in sakuya's room- naho: mmmmm, nice and warm~ =w= Sakuya: -\\\\- "Y-Yeah...I like this." naho: *she smiles* the last two times....it felt weird....but....im comfortable with you. Sakuya: "Same...I didn't share a bed before. But...having you here feels right." naho: *she smiles and nuzzles up to him* i l-...i really like you a lot.....s-sorry, i guess....im still just so nervous and excited at the idea of....b-being with someone who likes me back. Sakuya: *smiles, slides hand gently against her cheek* "I like you, too..." naho: *blushing* *smooch* hehe...even though...sham was my first kiss.....yours are nicer. ^///^ Sakuya: "Heh..." *small smooch back* "I would hope so..." *hugs* naho: mmmm~<3 Sakuya: *pulls blanket closer* "Comfortable?" naho: *she nods* Sakuya: "That's good." *holds her close* "...I can feel your heartbeat..." naho: U//////U *pulls his hoodie closer around her* Sakuya: "Hee hee..." *pats her hoodie* "That's a cute look on you..." naho: ^////^ hehe. Sakuya: "..." *small kiss on her nose* "Ready to go to sleep?" naho: *nuzzle*......zzzzz.... Sakuya: *smiles, whispers* "Good night, Naho..." -morning- Kid: *kitten yawn* "Zzz..." stocking: zzzzz...*holding him close to her chest* Kid: "Mmmm..." *holds her close* "So nice..." stocking: *stirring awake* hehe~ comfy much? Kid: o\\\\o "Y-Yeah? I mean...you are..." stocking: hehe ^^ its alright, if you want to touch them, its fine. Kid: o\\\\\\\o;; "..." *his hands hold her breasts...* stocking: *blush* ah.......hehe, you're so cute when you're flustered~ Kid: "S-Sorry...It's just that...I never thought I would be here, with someone as perfect as you..." *small squeeze* stocking: *blushes and smiles, kissing his forehead* so sweet~ Kid: "..." *lets go, and hugs her* "I love you, so much." -elsewhere- Black Star: *yawn* tsubaki: morning. *she and lilac are making breakfast* Black Star: "Morning..." *sniff sniff* "Hmm...Smells good. I guess Lilac is really helping you." *smiles* tsubaki: *she smiles* Belkia: *stomach growling* "I'm hungry..." otogiri: *she's helping as well* here, like this, see? lilac: o-ok....*following along with her instructions* Higan: "Morning, everyone..." lavender: *streeetch* smells good. a lot better than anything i could ever make, haha. ^^ Higan: *whispers* "You're not bad at makin' bacon..." naho: eeeew is that a euphemism? Higan: "...Yes." naho: ........well i just lost my appetite. lavender: ....perhaps maybe this isnt the right hour to talk about that ^^;; Black Star: "O-kay, new house rule: no sex talk at the breakfast table. Or lunch. Or dinner." Higan: "...What about at dessert?" otogiri: agreed. -elsewhere- Shotaro: "Done in the shower!" akaderu: noted. mono: *brushing her hair* Shotaro: "Then hop on in! You have an early start today!" akaderu: *grumbles as he goes in* Shotaro: *nods* "I'm gonna mold him into an outstanding person--" -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *buttoning her shirt* "Looking forward to today?" kim: *streeeetch* yeah. *straightening out her uniform tie* Jacqueline: *finishes* "...Need help with that?" kim: im good. you got your coat out? it's been colder than usual this winter... Jacqueline: *nods, as she holds up her own and hands Kim hers* "...You look nice." kim: thanks. 7///7; Jacqueline: o\\\\\o; "Um...Well. Off to school, then." *picks up Kim's bookbag, starts leaving--* kim: um, your bag is this one. Jacqueline: "..." *hands her the bookbag, grabs hers* "Right." -in school- Meme: "I hope these notes will be good for Anya..." tsugumi: im sure they will be. Meme: *nods* "At least she's getting through most of the recovery...Her poor leg..." *sniff* ao: it is quite unfortunate...*her tone is sincere* Meme: *nods, trying to keep it together* mio:....*holds meme's hand* Meme: *small squeeze* -elsewhere- Anya: "Nurse? My bed is stuck..." nurse: see the remote attachment? it should be able to adjust it. Anya: *takes the remote, looks at the buttons, and presses one--* *The bed goes up rather than down, knocking her forward with a start* Anya: "ACK!" nurse: careful now! Anya: "Maybe if the buttons weren't reversed like this!" *presses the other button, lowering her bed again...* "Hmph." nurse: um....miss........you're holding it upside down ^^; Anya: *glaring* "Then set it right-side up with an indication which side is up." nurse: very well ^^; Anya: "..." *small noise, as she wipes her eyes* nurse: oh, you did get some flowers that came in for you. Anya: "O-Oh?" *looks at them...* -some nice blue flowers are in a fancy jar with a ribbon and card attached- Anya: *sniff* "They look lovely..." *opens the card* "Hmm...Excellent penmanship..." Note: "Have patience, madam / There's no doubt you / Will soon recover your accustomed health / Wishing you a speedy recovery." Anya: Q~Q "...Oh my..." -elsewhere- Shima: "Yo, Sister!" iris: um....hi? shinra: can we help you? Shima: "...Oh! I was just wondering whether the Sister was busy and would want to get a cup of coffee?" Relan: -_-;;;;;; iris: yes. im very busy. -_-; -CHOP- izumo: down boy. Relan: o___o;;; "We found Tamaki's twin..." izumo: apologies for my classmate's behavior. *she extends a hand* Izumo Kamiki, a pleasure. Relan: "!!! R-Relan Koizumi..." shinra: Shinra Kusakabe, from the NOT classes and member of the 8th brigade, and this is Iris. iris: it's nice to meet you miss kamiki. Relan: "Y-Yes...Thanks for putting Shima in his place..." izumo: well someone has to. we'll be heading back to class now. *she tugs him by the ear back to homeroom* come on idiot. Shima: "O-Ow! Later, Sister! Talk with you soon--OUCH! That really hurts!" iris:..... *sweatdrop* Relan: "...What a creep." shinra: we got another kishiri in our midst. Kishiri: "You talkin' shit about me, Kusakabe?" shinra: O_____O AND WE'RE RUNNING! -elsewhere- Patty: *nom nom nom* "Mmm...Chili fries..." liz: *shivers* so cold out today.... TT~TT Patty: "Maybe you need another layer on, Sis? Or a scarf? Or new boots?" *holds up...* "Or a shopping trip with Kiddo's credit card?" stocking: ^^; Kid: -_-;; "Liz, just eat something to warm you up--" *snatches card back from Patty* Patty: *pout* -elsewhere- Jacqueline: "And...that is the last one! All books are now back on the shelf." ef: good job today! Jacqueline: *smiles* "Thanks!" *stretches* "Can take a break now..." ef: yeah. -elsewhere- gabriella: here's your latte, princess. ^^ Hibana: "Thank you, Gabriella~" *sips* "Hmm...Tasty. But where is that gopher? School should've let out an hour ago..." Rino: *throws open the door, panting, exhausted* "I-I-I'm here! Here! Stuck...*pant* Stuck behind at school..." Hibana: "Hmph." *sets down her drink* "About time." Rino: *takes two steps forward--then collapses onto the floor* gabriella:.... ._.; Hibana: "Oh no..." *walks over, picks up Rino* Rino: x_____x Hibana: *sigh* "Gabriella, put her to bed in the medical ward. I'll let her parents know she'll be home in time for dinner..." -elsewhere- lavender: *watching tv with lilac* lilac:....... *huddled in a blanket* Belkia: *small sound* "D'aw." *shiny eyes* lavender:....poor kid....he needs all the rest he can get....*frowns* Belkia: "...Want some snacks?" lavender: i'm good. *petting lilac's head* lilac:.....zzzz..... Belkia: *whispers* "How's Lilac doing?" lavender: like i said, he needs rest..... Belkia: "Hmm...A lot to go through..." otogiri:...... Belkia: "..." *sighs* "Now I'm bored. Anything that needs to be done around here, Otogiri?" otogiri: tsubaki said she needed help in the garden later. Belkia: "Oh! I can help with that!" -later- Belkia: "Oh! I can help with that!" -later- tsubaki: we're home! lavender: welcome back! lilac: *asleep in naho's bed, clutching a stuffed hello kitty plush* Sakuya: *looks around* "Where's Lilac?" lavender: naho's room. naho:....ah. Sakuya: "...Maybe check up on him?" naho: *she peeks into her room*......he's asleep... Sakuya: *nods* "I hope he's getting some good rest." naho:.....*tucks him in* lilac:........mmm.... Sakuya: *small giggle* ("So cute...") naho: *petting lilac's head* get better soon, ok? Sakuya: "We love you, Lilac..." naho: =w= our little cinnamon roll baby. Sakuya: -\\\\- *soft pat on her shoulder* naho: ^w^ Sakuya: "...Maybe make a dish for Lilac when he wakes up?" naho: sounds good. Sakuya: "Something flavorful and fulfilling...Good home cooking..." *sad frown* -elsewhere, in the cells- Shamrock: "Hey! You can't keep me in here forever!" -no answer- Shamrock: "Listen to me! I need blood! I need to be out of here! I need to get back to him!" -the door opens- mitsuba: chow time. *she slides it in through the opening on the floor* Shamrock: "...Tch. Finally." *looks at Mitsuba* "???" mitsuba: ......what?...if akane had been left in charge of feeding you, she'd have spilled your food on the floor......she...she doesnt like vampires all too much. Shamrock: "A lot of that going around...Where are the others? Your colleagues, I mean." mitsuba: upstairs. Shamrock: "Hmm...So, your colleagues send you down because one of them is upset by vampires...Interesting. And you? You are not afraid of me?" mitsuba: ....im just doing my job. Shamrock: "...Does not answer my question...Are. You. Afraid. Of. Me?" mitsuba:....no. but that doesnt mean i like you. Shamrock: "...Not what I was asking, either, but thank you for your directness." x_-;;; "I was trying to be intimidating..." mitsuba: look how well _that_ ended for ya. *she exits* Shamrock: D:< "Rude!" -elsewhere- Relan: "So, to review: we have some weird pink-hair stalker guy, and we managed to piss off Kishiri...Um...Are those things to check off some metaphorical 'bucket list'?" shinra: *shrug* iris: well, the new year has had an interesting start... ^^; Relan: "Definitely...Heh. I hope it's a good one..." *awkward shoulder pat to both Shinra and Iris* -elsewhere- sayaka: hope you dont mind us dropping in~ ^^ tsubaki: not at all! stocking: you better keep that weirdo magician on a short leash....or in a kennel. Belkia: *puppy dog eyes* "I don’t like the leash..." Kid: *pats Stocking's shoulder* "It is okay...The maids have been warned. And armed." naho: hey guys! lilac: h-hi... *meek wave* Patty: "Lilac! Kissy Face!" liz: hey. naho: are you _ever_ gonna let me live that down? -_-; Patty: "Nope! I got the memory of an elephant!" *looks at Sakuya* "...Who the hell are you?" Sakuya: -____-; "Sakuya." stocking: hey. soul: sup? Sakuya: "...Soul." soul: ?? yeah? that would be me. Sakuya: *looks him up and down...* ("I can smell that hedgehog on him...") "Hmm..." *puts his hands in his pockets, walks back to Lilac* soul: ???? lilac:........... Sakuya: *smiles at Lilac's pats his shoulder* "Let's have some fun while we're here, okay?" Belkia: *stands behind Otogiri, looking warily at the maids* "...Eek..." maid 1: *glare* otogiri: *sweatdrop* Belkia: "...I'll be good..." -later- Kid: "It does feel more cramped in here..." -_-;;; *Belkia is seated between him and Stocking* Belkia: -\\\\\\- stocking:.....*she sits up and next to kid* ^^ much better <3 Belkia: >_< "Curses!" Patty: *nom nom nom* "Tasty food, Tsubaki! You have any cooking helpers?" otogiri: *raises hand* Patty: *thumbs up to Otogiri* "Good work, Nurse Chef!" soul: aw, who blue shelled me just now?! naho: XP Sakuya: *chuckles* "Too bad, so sad." *speeds past Soul* soul: *frown* lavender: *grin* Higan: *stares at Liz* "...You ever think of modeling. I am a great painter..." liz: well... Patty: "THOMPSON...PUNCH!" *Patty slugs Higan in the face: it is super effective* Higan: *knocked back into the wall* x____x Patty: "Pervy old geezer!" naho: ouch >.o Sakuya: o_O "Good right hook..." Black Star: "Patty, watch where you're punching--you'll put a dent in our walls..." lavender: you alright there? ^^; otogiri:....he's had worse. Higan: x______x "Still...hurt..." Belkia: ._. *slides away from Stocking* stocking: good boy. *calm glare* Belkia: *small puppy whine, as he hides behind Tsubaki* tsubaki: ^^; Kid: "How difficult has rooming been?" tsubaki: it's been rather well, actually. Black Star: "Bathroom sharing is a pain, though." -elsewhere- Rino: *tosses in bed, before sitting up* "Wha--Where am I?" medic: med bay. you passed out. Rino: "...Oh, no...Did you call my family?" medic: your father will be picking you up shortly. Rino: o~o "Oh, no..." medic: is something wrong, miss tamiya? Rino: "...My dad doesn't know all the details behind me working here...like how I kind of broke into the Brigade..." medic: we'll keep that information confidential. Rino: T~T "Thank you!" *BANG* ???: "RIIIIIIIIIIINOOOOOOOO!" Rino: o_______o medic: ?!?! *knocked over by the large man* X-X ow. Rino's Father: "RINO! Are you okay?! Where does it hurt?! Anything broken? Do you remember who I am?!!" Rino: -_- "Just tired. I just feel sore. Nothing is broken. You are my very abrasive father." Hibana: "??? Gabriella, could you check on that noise?" gabriella: just mr tamiya ^^; -elsewhere- Emine: *yawn* lin: busy day? Emine: *small nod* "Someone didn't like my bad deed..." lin: aww. Emine: "The man had mocked a homeless person...so after Shotaro got the homeless person to the shelter, I followed the man and...well, in his defense, he did have on some embarrassing boxer shorts..." lin: *snerk* >3< Emine: *small smile* "Yes...He could run fast for someone with his pants around his ankles." -elsewhere- Lawless: *snore* romina: he musta really tuckered himself out, huh? licht: no kidding... Guildenstern: "A bit more time, and he'll be fine...I hope." julian:.....this hasnt been a good winter for him.... Guildenstern: "Had best do something kind, even for him..." -elsewhere- Arthur: *reading in bed* nozomi: what is it that you're reading, mr boyle? Arthur: "Something I can never get through--'The Once and Future King.'" nozomi: ah, i see. Arthur: *puts in a bookmark, gets out of bed* "How are you doing?" nozomi: well. and yourself? Arthur: "...Doing better, I think." *smiles* nozomi: ^^ Arthur: "...I was going to make some tea. Want some?" nozomi: sure. ^^ Arthur: *walks with her to the kitchen, starts heating up the water* "Have any plans for next weekend?" -elsewhere- Kid: *stretches* "This was enjoyable--thank you." stocking: ^^ *nuzzles up to kid* hehe~ tsubaki: ^^; naho:.....bel? O__O; Kid: ^\\\\^ Belkia: *frothing at the mouth, small chihuahua barks* lilac: Q.Q Kid: -_-;;; "Maybe you should muzzle him--" Belkia: "NO MUZZLES! You muzzle me, and I'll bite your face off!" otogiri: *puppet strings him up* down boy. Belkia: o_o; "...But I'm _up_ now, not _down_..." Kid: ._. otogiri:...... -______________________________-; Belkia: "I just wanted a hug from my Sugar Pop..." stocking:.....oh, did you say something? Belkia: D: "B-B-But...My delectable muffin top...I just want your love!" otogiri: *tightens the strings* behave. Belkia: "GAK! Girioto, not there! That's sensitive..." otogiri:...............*drops him into the snow* Belkia: "...Cold." naho: in more ways than one. Sakuya: *snort laugh* Black Star: "...At least Otogiri has good uses." stocking: *she locks the door* Belkia: D: Sakuya: "...Well, then--more snacks?" -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *watching TV* kim: *sitting by the heater in tanuki form* -w- Jacqueline: "??? Kim?" *small chuckle* "If you wanted to keep warm, I could use my lantern..." kim: zzzzzz...... Jacqueline: "..." *picks her up, sets her in her lap, wrapping her in a blanket* -elsewhere, in the snow- Mr. Tsubaki: *running in fox form in Ame's front lawn, jumping up and down in the snow* ame: *playing in the snow with her father* Mr. Tsubaki: *pops his head up, which is covered in snow, looks at Ame and her father...* "Building a snowman?" ame: *she nods* Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *moves his head through the snow, forming a snowball...* ame: ^^ Mr. Tsubaki: *wags tail* "Is this big enough?" ame's father: looks good. Mr. Tsubaki: *fox smile, as he uses his tail to pat down some of the snow* -elsewhere- Tool: *AH-CHOO!* saki: *she gives him a coat* here. Tool: "Thanks..." *sniff* "Kappa weren't made for snowy weather..." saki: aww. ^^; *hug* Tool: ^\\\\^ *hug* chie: well look at you two lovebirds. ^^ Tool: o\\\\\o *brain shuts down* saki: chieeee, jeez. ^///^; Tool: "D-D-D..." (holds Saki's hand) saki: ?? Tool: "Do-Do-Do-Do y-y-you..." saki: do i what? chie: *backs up to give them room* 83 Tool: "...Do you want to get dinner?" saki: i would love that. Tool: "C-Cool...M-Maybe Chie and Yohei can watch Io?" chie: sure, we could use the practice. ^^ Tool: "Th-Thanks..." *nervous smile* -elsewhere- Hibana: *sigh* gabriella: zzzzzz..... Hibana: "..." *strokes Gabriella's hair...* gabriella: =w= Hibana: *small kiss on Gabriella's cheek* "Love you..." gabriella: *hugs her arm* Hibana: *holds her, humming softly* -elsewhere- Kid: "Thank you for having us. Good night." tsubaki: get home safely. *wave* stocking: see ya. soul: later. Patty: "Night, Naho!" Belkia: *shivering* "G-Good night, my sourball..." stocking: *holds kid's arm and nuzzles* ^^~<3 hehe~ Kid: "Hee hee..." *holds her* Belkia: *small growl* naho: *pap pap* Black Star: *stretches* "Better clean up, then get some sleep..." otogiri: *she nods* Sakuya: "Lilac, hold the garbage bag open while I dump trash into it..." lilac: o-ok. Higan: *passed out on the couch* "Zzz..." lavender:....*she puts a blanket over him* you just rest up. Higan: *smiles, breathes a bit more easily* naho: *washing dishes* Belkia: *pouts* tsubaki: ^^; Belkia: "Why can't I appeal to my lovely lolli? Why won't she see we are meant to be?" otogiri:...... -_-; do you want me to sugar coat it, or should i just give you the hard truth? Belkia: "OoooooOOOooooo, I like sugar! Do that one!" *smiles widely* otogiri:....she likes someone else. naho: (thinking: and your personality doesnt help matters...) Belkia: "...I see. Well, I have only one mature action to take, and move on--" *pulls out a giant battleaxe* "--TO BIGGER WEAPONS! BWA HA HA HA HA!" otogiri: *CHOP* down. Belkia: *whimpers* tsubaki: ^^;; *she gets him an ice pack* Belkia: "Thank you Miss Tsubaki...at least you are nice. UNLIKE CERTAIN OTHER PEOPLE!" naho: well, otogirin calls them as she sees them. Belkia: *grumbles* "I could call things as I see them, too, you little half-pint..." naho: i may be small, but that just adds to my adorable factor! >u< Sakuya: *chuckles* "Definitely." naho: ^w^ Belkia: "???" *looks back and forth at them* "...Oh, come on! You two hooked up?! And I'm still single?!! What the hell?!!" lilac:...*pap pap* Belkia: TT~TT lilac: maybe....otogiri could- otogiri: i doubt it. lilac:...oh. Q.Q Belkia: D: "Not even a quickie? I mean, you shouldn't hide your talents under a bushel--just like you shouldn't keep those puppies under a sweater--" -CHOP- otogiri: -____-; Belkia: *collapsed, bleeding* Sakuya: o_o; lavender:...*calmly sips her drink* Black Star: *sigh* "Otogiri, clean up that mess." otogiri: understood. Black Star: *looks at Lavender* "...Not going to help clean up?" lavender:....*sigh* alright. Sakuya: "Awesome, Lilac--we got the trash collected! Just leaves wiping down the table..." -elsewhere- Kid: *stretches* "Happy to be home?" stocking: yep~ *smooch* Kid: *smooch, hug* "It's good to be back...and safe." *rubs her back* stocking: mmmmm~<3 Kid: *soft kiss on each cheek* "Ready to get to bed?" stocking: yeah. Kid: *unbuttons his shirt* "Same...It'll be nice to lie down again in our bed..." -a few days later, it was time for the test of courage- sayaka: so how are we doing this? Black Star: "You got to walk through the marked path, throughout town--and anyone who can't get back to the school in time will be called a wimp, a coward, a scaredy cat, and every other name we can think of!" tsubaki: -.-; kyouko: apperantly the path leads through some supposedly haunted areas. Relan: ._______.; "...I knew this was a bad idea. What is wrong with me?" shinra: it's ok, we've got your back. *thumbs up* Relan: *weak thumbs up* Sakuya: *looks around* "Can't be that terrifying..." naho: im sure we got this in the bag ^^ lilac: g-good luck...you guys... Sakuya: *smiles* "We'll be back in no time. Wait for us..." lilac: o-ok... -and so- Relan: *walking stiffly through the path, small whimper* sayaka: (thinking: so chilly....but this is fine so far....im sure i can handle anything!) Sakuya: "What's around this part of town, anyway? I don't see much scary--just the usual: low-lit lamps, some bats fluttering by--" Relan: o____o "Bats?" iris: hmm? there's a shop...'land of nod'....hmm. sayaka: O______O Sakuya: "...Huh. Weird name for a shop--" *Creepy noises of "WoooooOOOOOOoooo" heard* Relan: *hiding behind Iris, shaking* naho:....*knocks on the door* trick or treat? hehe X3 *The door creaks open...and a pair of eyes appear...and a wide, toothy grin* naho: OwO;;;;;;; sayaka: O________________________________O ???: *GASP* "Sweet Pea!" *Johannes has arrived* Johannes: "Good evening!" Relan: "...Huh. Not as terrifying as I imagined..." Sakuya: "???" sayaka: OHGODNOOOOOOOO!!!! *she sprints faster than she has in her life* IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! naho: ??????? Johannes: "..." *sad pout* "Where is she going? I was going to make espresso..." naho: O.O;; do you have any blood? iris: O___o Johannes: "...Blood? You're not, um, wearing a wire, are you?" naho: no?? Johannes: "...Okay. Come on in..." *stands aside* naho: awww, these dolls are so cuuuute! metsu: ?? naho: *she looks at metsu* are you a vampire too? metsu: 0-0 Johannes: "Quite a number of vampires in this town now, huh? Fortunately, I am a trained medical professional in all things vampires! Tell me, ma'am, have you had your yearly physical?" naho:...umm... o-o; Johannes: *pats her shoulder* "It is vital for your health--AND SCIENCE!--that you have your physical. Let my nurse guide you to my office and--" *POW* Johannes: *twitching on the floor* Sakuya: *twitch of anger* "Hands off." metsu:....my apologies for the good doctor's behavior. would you like a discount? Sakuya: "Maybe for one of the dolls for Naho?" naho: awww, this one is so cute! can i get this one? -down the road- sayaka: *panting* phew...that...that was....way to close....haaaa.... Jeje: "??? Sayaka?" sayaka: ?? oh, hey jeje, hey misono's bro. *wave* Mikuni: "Howdy, little missy! What you doing out at this hour?" -sayaka explains what's going on- naho: ^w^ *whistling* iris: ^^; Mikuni: "Neat-o! Can we join in? I love trying to scare myself!" Jeje: -___- Relan: o_o; *traumatized for life* iris: i suppose... naho: sure! Mikuni: "Yahoo! Let's get a-goin'!" -elsewhere- Shamrock: "Hmph. So boring." yumikage: oi, eyepatch. you know where dr yukimi is? was he in here at all? Shamrock: "...No. I have not seen him." yumikage: well...nevermind. *he exits* -elsewhere- Kid: "Looks very foggy out..." stocking: no kidding...and we're not too far from tsubaki's house either....*shudders* Kid: *holds her* "I know...but you're safe here." stocking: ^^ -cue creepy puppets- Kid: o____o stocking: YEEK! otogiri: *maneuvering the dolls from behind a bush* Kid: "What on earth is even happening?! Where did those come from?!!" stocking: oh right, test of courage thing...well it sure got us, huh? haha! Kid: ._.;;; "..." *nervous laugh* "Y-Yeah..." stocking: aww. ^^ *smooch* Kid: *holds her, small whimper* otogiri: how cute. Kid: "??? You hear something?" otogiri: ..... stocking: lets just keep going. Kid: *nods, follows, holding her arm* -elsewhere- Lawless: "Well...I'm humanoid again." *his hair is sticking up on end, like a hedgehog* "Mostly--" *POOF* *Lawless is back in hedgehog form* Lawless: -_-;;; "Curses." licht:....*sigh* do you need more blood? Lawless: *small hedgehog nod* *opens his mouth...* licht: *he puts a finger to the hedgehog's mouth* here. Lawless: -_-;;; *NOM* licht: *slight wince* ah... Lawless: ^\\\\\\^;; *sluuuuuuuuuuuurp...* licht: better? *POOF* Lawless: *humanoid...but hair still on end* "...So far, so good..." licht: ...*PUNCH* there. now order has been restored. Lawless: *collapsed on the floor* "Ow..." *springs up* "DAMN IT! You know I'm in a vulnerable state! If you punched me, I could've turned back into a hedgehog and not be able to come out of it!" licht:....sorry. 7///7; Lawless: "Yeah, you better be! ...And...thanks for the blood." -\\\\- -elsewhere- Wes: "So, why didn't you and Patty try the 'test of courage'?" liz: .....do i even have to answer that? Q.Q Wes: "..." *pats her hand* "It's okay..." *hug* liz: TT.TT Wes: *pats her back* "...Want something to drink?" -elsewhere- Gopher: :< "Scary..." kirika: eh, i've seen worse. Gopher: "B-But that's because you're so brave! And I'm...so not..." *looking at the cobwebs and shadows...whimper* kirika: *sigh* do you want me to hold your hand through this? (thinking: you baby...) Gopher: .\\\\\\\w\\\\\\\\. "Y-Yes?" -she does just that- Gopher: *shudder* "Oh! I...could feel your soul resonance on that one..." kirika: *shuddering, bright red* y-yeah, whatever man... Gopher: "..." Gopher: *smiles at her* "Thank you." -elsewhere- Black Star: "I wonder how many of them will chicken out..." tsubaki: .... Black Star: "..." *pats her shoulder* "I'm sure they'll be fine..." tsubaki: *she smiles* yeah. *From the bushes, something small is watching Tsubaki...* Mr. Tsubaki: "..." tsubaki:.....?? *she glances over* Mr. Tsubaki: *the fox tries to hide himself in the bushes...tries to stay quiet...* Black Star: "???" tsubaki:...*she shakes her head* nothing...just thought i saw something. Mr. Tsubaki: "..." ("At least C3 didn't go for her...") -elsewhere- Jacqueline: "No interest in that 'test of courage' thing?" kim: nah, im not scared of stupid kid stuff like that. Jacqueline: "..." *small smirk* "No, you'd just be scared if, say, your piggy bank suddenly was empty..." kim: you wouldnt! did you give it to that tsurugi guy?! Jacqueline: *crosses her arms, teasing* "Not telling..." kim: jackiiiie you're meeeean >n< Jacqueline: "Hee hee...I'm just teasing you." *pats her arm* "Your money is safe, right where you left it..." kim: good. =n= Jacqueline: *small hug* "I would never come between you and your money..." kim: aw, thanks. ^^; Jacqueline: *pat on her head* "You're welcome..." Jacqueline: *yawn* "Want to have some tea before bed?" -later- naho: *putting the doll on her shelf* hehe~ ^^ lilac:...its really cute.... Sakuya: "Suits you, Naho." naho: aww, hehe ^^ otogiri: so you took a detour from the challenge? naho: yeah, but the doctor was pretty creepy *shivers* Sakuya: "Yeah...Odd he'd have a servamp with him...and blood." otogiri: i see...theres not much we can do about that for the time being...tsubaki told us to behave... Belkia: "Weeeeeeeeeeeeell, I'm sure there are loopholes in that rule..." -chop- otogiri: -_-; Belkia: "OWIE!" Sakuya: *small laugh* "In the meantime, wouldn't hurt to keep tabs on that shop...when that creepy doctor isn't around." -knock knock knock knock- naho: ?? tsubaki: yes? Mikuni: "Howdy!" tsubaki: yes? may i help you? Mikuni: "I'm here to check in on you, on behalf of some mutual acquaintances of ours!" *spots Sakuya and the others* "Oh, there you are!" naho: o.o hmmn? who're you? Mikuni: "I'm Mikuni! You were at my shop earlier..." *low growl of a voice* "...and bought one of my dollies..." tsubaki: oh right! you're misono's brother, right? naho: OwO;;;; Mikuni: *smiles at Tsubaki* "Bingo! A prize for the little lady..." *holds out a rose to her* tsubaki: oh. thank you ^^; Mikuni: *smiles sweetly at Tsubaki, before looking back at the subclass* "And y'all behaving? Not causing any troubles for this nice young lady and her nice young meister?" naho: no sir! lilac: *shakes head* Sakuya: "No, never." otogiri: work in progress. Belkia: "Nothing that you know about--" lavender: *elbows him* ignore him. Mikuni: "Well that's good." *stares intensely at Belkia with a serene smile* "Because if a certain someone were to step out of line, they would face a wealth of misery..." Jeje: *pops up out of Mikuni's shirt in snake form, staring at Belkia* Belkia: ._. lilac: eek! naho: !! Sakuya: "...Better than if the snake come out of somewhere else..." lavender: oh? naho: sakuya! >///<; lilac: ???? Sakuya: *chuckles* Jeje: *glares at Lavender* "...Ssssss...." lavender: ....?? Jeje: "I'm watching you..." lavender: well join the party~<3 Jeje: "And if you hurt anyone I care about ever again, I will break your spine." lavender: OwO;;;;;;; noted. Jeje: *slides back down into Mikuni's shirt...* Mikuni: "Could I trouble you for a cup of joe, Tsubaki?" tsubaki:..........i suppose we have some in the cupboard. make yourself at home. naho: hey gramps, get up! Mikuni: "Thanky!" Higan: *clutches Naho's head, turning it to face him* "I'm. Awake." Mikuni: "?!!" naho: EEK! GROSS! >3< Higan: "You called me old, so I'm just letting you know that I'm--" *spots Mikuni* "...Doll Man." Mikuni: "Artsy-fartsy-pervy man." Higan: "..." *charges a flame* lavender: oh, you two know each other? tsubaki: *spray bottle* down! Mikuni: "Jeje...Let's do this." Jeje: -_-;;; "Not indoors." *CHOMP* tsubaki: *sword aimed at both of them* BOTH OF YOU JUST CALM DOWN! Mikuni: Q___Q;; "AAAAH! THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT!" Higan: *soaked* "...I'm wet." lavender: phrasing, BOOM! -after tsubaki diffused the situation- Mikuni: Q____Q "I'm sorry, Tsubaki...Just don't spray me. Jeje hates water." Jeje: *sips a glass of water* "That is a lie." tsubaki: *sweatdrop* Jeje: "At least you seem to be quite the negotiator, Tsubaki. I have not seen subclasses so well-behaved." tsubaki: i have them under protective custody for a reason. keyword _protective_. ....i wanted to keep a promise to someone. Jeje: *nods, whispers* "However, you are aware that C3 is concerned about their...potentially destructive behavior." tsubaki: ....im doing my best to keep them behaved and protected. but they've been well for the most part, with certain exceptions. *glances at belkia* Belkia: *puppy dog eyes* "Little old me?" otogiri: *chop* yes. Belkia: "Ow!" Jeje: "Hmm...Do you require any assistance, Tsubaki?" tsubaki: what exactly do you mean? Jeje: "Any resources? Additional persons present to monitor the subclasses? Perhaps materials to calm them down?" tsubaki: well...i'll consider it. Jeje: *nods* "Thank you." *looks at Naho* "Keep Lavender and Belkia well behaved, please." naho: *salutes* yes sir! lavender: i am behaved though~! *pouts* otogiri:..... lavender:.....oh....that....yeah, that was pretty shitty of me, wasnt it... ^^; forgive and forget? ^^;;;; Jeje: *snake hiss* "Tsubaki...I will leave her to you for acceptable punishment. Best not to escalate--not here." tsubaki: ....right.... *sweatdrop* Mikuni: "Well, then...Thanks for the coffee. C3 likely will be in touch with you..." *whispers* "Watch out for Tsurugi..." tsubaki: ?? tsurugi? Mikuni: "A guy...Kind of stuck up and serious." tsubaki:...noted. -elsewhere- Relan: *shudder* shinra: *hugs him* Relan: "Creepy...A-Am I still alive?" shinra: of course you are. Relan: *holds onto Shinra* "G-Good..." -elsewhere- Benimaru: *patrolling* kantarou's wife: good evening, commander. *she smiles* toshio: *waves* Benimaru: *smiles, bows to them* "Good evening. How are you both?" -elsewhere- mitsuba: hey, anyone seen tsurugi? he just kinda wandered off. yumikage: he's probably doing tricks for some random numbskull, the poor bastard. Jun: "Hey, want to see this trick Tsurugi showed me?" hyakuya: do i dare ask? -someone is heard screaming- hyakuya: ?!?! mitsuba: what the hell was that? yumikage: *runs to the source of the scream* Jun: *follows* "What is happening...?" -a worker is standing outside of dr yukimi's office. the inside of the office is coated with blood, and tsurugi is standing over the mess that used to be dr yukimi- Jun: *covers mouth* "Oh no..." yumikage: mother of-....tsurugi....what the hell did you do?! Tsurugi: *shaking* "What he...he did to her..." yumikage: ???? Tsurugi: "Touma...told me to...What this doctor did...What he did..." yumikage: easy there... hyakuya: holy shit snacks! what....did he do this?! Tsurugi: "I did what Touma said...It was important...Dr. Yukimi, that monster..." yumikage:.... -voice over the intercom- Tsurugi: "..." *covers his mouth* -Tsurugi Kamiya, Yumikage Tsukimitsu, and Junichiro Kurumamori, please report to touma's office as soon as possible.- yumikage: for fucks sake, now what? Jun: "Shit...This will be fun..." *eyeroll* Tsurugi: *dry heaving...* mitsuba: h-hey...i-its ok.....*not sure what to do* hyakuya: ....?? (thinking: touma?) Jun: "Come on...Let's get this meeting over with..." -in the office, there is a girl in a coat sitting on one of the chairs, she stares and tilts her head at them- yumikage:....who's this kid? Tsurugi: o_o Touma: "I called you here regarding this one in the room--and regarding a certain mess that needs cleaning up..." yumikage: i still dont know what's going on.... mafura: o^o~? Touma: *ahem* "Everyone, this is Mafura. Say hello to our new friends, Mafura..." mafura: it's nice to meet you all. mafura-chan's excited to see everything. ^^ Jun: "...Why are you speaking in the third-person?" mafura: ?? but there's five people here....isnt there? Touma: "...Mafura will need your assistance adjusting to our surroundings. Please guide her..." Tsurugi: *still in shock from earlier* yumikage: al....right then... the name's yumikage, but if you wanna call me yumi, that's fine. Jun: "I'm Jun." mafura:....?? *walks over to tsurugi* who're you? why do you have red on you? Tsurugi: "..." *starts crying, trying not to vomit* mafura: ?? Touma: "Hmph...Someone take Tsurugi away to get over this. The rest of you, get Mafura some clothes..." yumikage: !! come on, we need to get you to med bay, like, now! yumikage: come on new girl. Jun: "Sounds good..." *leads Tsurugi away...* -elsewhere- Yumi: "Shh...It's okay, Shiori. Mommy's here..." shiori: muguu..... lord death:..... ):> *worried* Yumi: "She feels a little warm..." lord death: my poor baby Q-Q Yumi: "Call the emergency room...and the car. I want her to be checked..." lord death: on it! Yumi: *packs Shiori's bag, goes to the car...* -elsewhere- naho: D8> lavender: doctor's appointment?? Sakuya: "Seriously? With which doctor? That creepy guy?" Belkia: *chuckling* " 'Witch doctor'..." otogiri: oh shush. tsubaki: well, mikuni scheduled your appointments. naho: o.o; Sakuya: -______- "Oh. So it _is_ that doctor...Creepy." lilac: *trembling* Belkia: "Hooray! I can get my shots!" otogiri:........................i'll stay here and make sure the house is safe. Sakuya: "???" *pats Lilac's shoulder* "You'll be okay..." Belkia: "D'aw, what's wrong, Otogiri? Afraid of the doctor?" otogiri:....... lavender: well, vampires dont get STDs, so that's one less thing to worry about~ naho: TMI! Higan: "Heh...Well, let's get going..." Sakuya: "Yeah, so you can make sure you can still get it up..." Higan: -_- lavender: oh he can get it up alright~ naho: TMI!! lavender: *AHEM* shutting up now. Black Star: "Would you all just get to your appointment already!" -and so- metsu: oh? naho: hi ^^; Johannes: "So many specimens--PATIENTS!--today--*SQUEE!*" lilac: *trembling* lavender: it's ok, kiddo. metsu: -__-; apologies for the doctor's.....'enthusiasm.' Johannes: "Well, then, who's up first?" naho: not it! lavender: i'll go~ ^^ Johannes: *opens door* "Right this way..." -later- naho: Q~Q that was terrifyiiiing... lilac: ....*clutching his wrists* *whimpering* Sakuya: *hugging both of them* "It's okay..." Belkia: *cone around his neck* -_____- tsubaki: that wasnt so bad, right? lavender: that went surprisingly well. otogiri:....welcome home everyone. Black Star: "Hey! ...Oh, Lilac? You okay?" lilac: *sniffle* naho:.....*hug* its ok lila... Sakuya: "Come on...Let's get some water..." -elsewhere- Rino: "Done filing, Miss Gabriella." gabriella: good job, rino. Rino: "Thank you, ma'am...Can I ask you something?" gabriella: hmm? what is it? Rino: "...Do you like me? Like, am I good at this work?" gabriella: i think you're doing a great job, for what its worth ^^ Rino: *nods* "Th-Thank you...I don't want to screw this up, I mean, more than I already have...Is this kind of work common for the Brigade, or just Princess's business?" -elsewhere- Mr. Tsubaki: *lying on the couch...* ame's mother: will you be staying much longer? Mr. Tsubaki: "N-No...I should have a place lined up." *weak smile* ame's mother: ah....we really do appreciate what you've done for us....i was...so scared of losing her... Mr. Tsubaki: "...You are welcome. I just...want to do better for people like Ame." ame's mother: *she smiles* Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *wipes his eyes* -elsewhere- Shotaro: "That is a lot of progress! Congratulations!" akaderu: *passed out* god kill me =_= Emine: "..." *pulls out a butcher knife...* chie: put it back. Emine: -\\\\\-; "Oh, alright..." *puts it away* Shotaro: *picks up Akaderu* "You'll feel better after a warm bath and some sleep..." -elsewhere- Kid: "Welcome home...And how is little sister?" lord death: just a little fever. my poor baby girl! TT~TT Yumi: "She'll be fine soon..." *strokes Shiori's head* shiori: *shivering* kirika:.... Kid: "Aww..." Yumi: "The medicine will be a bit tricky..." stocking: should i hold her or nah? Yumi: "It would help...She will be fussy, though." stocking: sshhh, its ok shiori. Yumi: "Open wide...It'll help you feel better...Please, don't fuss, Shiori..." shiroi: uuuuu....*whimpering* Yumi: "Here we go..." *spoon-feeds the medicine to Shiori...It tastes bad...* shiori: *crying* stocking: shhhh, its ok baby, its ok. Yumi: "We're here for you, sweetie..." *hums softly* -a few days pass- Yumi: *looking at Shiori* "Better?" shiori: ^^ Yumi: *smiles, holding her* "I'm glad...And guess who wants to say 'Good morning' to you?" shiori: ?? Kid: "Good morning, little sister..." shiori: kid! ^o^ Kid: "Shiori!" *picks her up* "Feel better?" shiori: hehehe ^^ Kid: "Hee hee...That's good." *sits Shiori in her high chair* "And time for breakfast!" -at school- Patty: "Just a bit more time, and we're graduates!" stocking: hell yeah! Kid: *smiles* liz: *she smiles* Black Star: "Thank goodness...That should be one heck of a celebration." tsubaki: yeah. Kid: "I already have a place in mind for the graduation after-party." soul: oh? Kid: "You'll like it: plenty of space, with decorations...plenty of sweets..." stocking: >w< Kid: *quick smooch on the cheek* "Anything for you~" soul: get a room. Kid: "...Okay." *teasing Stocking* stocking: kiddo~ not here~ the others are watching~ soul: OH! MY GOD! Kid: "Hee hee...Of course not, my delicious cupcake~" *smirks at Soul* "Some of you are so easy to tease." -elsewhere- Relan: *looking around* "At least the school is bright and shiny..." iris: *she nods* shinra: *shivering* Relan: "Shinra? What's wrong?" shinra: so cold out. Q~Q tamaki: you baby. Relan: *small glare at Tamaki* "Want to borrow my scarf, Shinra?" shinra: sure, though its mostly my feet that are chilly. -elsewhere- Jacqueline: -_-;;; "You can stop borrowing my clothes, Gopher." Gopher: "...But I like this skirt." -elsewhere- yumikage: *passed out on the couch* mphgh.... Jun: "...How long has she been lying there?" mafura: *asleep on the floor* yumikage: *he looks up* nyeh? *yaaawn* what time izzit? shinoa: around 9 in the morning. Jun: "Late. You weren't at your station." mitsuba: jeez, you look beat. yumikage: *stretch* jeez, getting her dressed is one thing, potty training is something else....fuckin hell... -_-;; Jun: "...What happened to her?" yumikage: she fuckin pissed on the floor TWICE! just how long was she in that place for....? hyakuya: O______________________________O what the actual fuck Jun: "...Yumikage, go to your room and get some more sleep. Hyakuya, we're watching Mafura today--and introducing her to some new...well, lessons, I guess." hyakuya: *excalibur face* fantastic. Jun: *pokes Mafura* "Hey...You up?" mafura: *yaaaawn* hmmm? good morning mr kuruma ^^ Jun: "...Morning. Do you need the bathroom?" shinoa: come to think of it, has anyone seen tsurugi around? yumikage: i'll go check....*he looks in tsurugi's room*......*sigh* again? Tsurugi: T_T "Don't you knock?" yumikage: *closes the door* *knock knock knock* oi, open up. Tsurugi: "...It's open?" -later- Jun: "Feeling better, Mafura?" mafura: mafura feels better now.....mafura's hungry now... yumikage: ok, how about we show you to the cafeteria? Jun: "Yeah, we have some good food there..." -elsewhere- Yohei: "Um, Chie? Tool seems...off." Tool: x_x chie: hey, you alright there? *poke poke* Tool: "How does one 'date'? Is it like 'chilling'? 'Lounging'? What does one do? I'm so confused..." chie:... 7w7 tuuuhl, you like my sister, dont you~? Tool: o__o "I AM ONLY ASKING A QUESTION!" chie: well so am i. Tool: "...Yes." chie:...you have my blessing~ ^^ Tool: ._. "What does that mean?" chie: if you want to be with my sister, then i'm perfectly happy for you two. Tool: o___o "...Thank you." *nervous grin* -elsewhere- naho: *watching tv* lilac: *nestled up under the kotatsu* zzzz... Sakuya: "Anything good on?" naho: just weather right now...looks like there's gonna be a blizzard soon...death city sure is weird, huh? Sakuya: "Yeah--how can a desert get a blizzard?" naho: *shrug* Sakuya: "Better stay bundled up, then. Break out the sweaters and scarves..." naho: *she nods and crawls under the kotatsu* nice and warm. =w= Sakuya: *small laugh* "There room under there?" naho: *she nods* Sakuya: *crawls in too* naho: *nuzzles* ^^ Sakuya: ^\\\^ "Warm enough?" *hug* naho: yep. *smooch on the cheek* Sakuya: ^\\\\\^ "Cutie..." *smooch on the cheek* naho:....zzzzzz... *She and lilac nuzzle up to him* Sakuya: *contented sigh...* "Get some sleep..." *closes his eyes* -elsewhere- stocking: .....SNEAK ATTACK! *hugs kid* Kid: "AAAH!" *giggles* "Sneaky!" stocking: hehehehe~ *smooch* Kid: *smooches back* "You are quick and stealthy..." stocking: hehe ^^ Kid: *hug* "I think today was a good day...How about you?" stocking: yeah. cant wait to bundle up in a sweater soon. we could share a scarf~ Kid: *chuckles* "I would like that...I love the look of your sweaters...and how good you look in them." stocking: oh~? Kid: *nods* "You look so cute, so nice and warm...and they complement your figure..." stocking: hehe~ Kid: *smiles* "And your laugh is divine." stocking: *smooch* <3 Kid: *kisses back, holds her closer* "And your kisses are like honey..." *small kiss on the cheek* -elsewhere- Tsukiyo: "Still no word on new clones in the area?" fang-hua: nothing so far....*shivers* Tsukiyo: "??? Still chilly?" fang-hua: yeah...but....i just have a feeling that...something bad is going to happen soon... Tsukiyo: "...See something around here to back that up, or just a feeling?" fang-hua: just a gut feeling.... Tsukiyo: *stomach rumbles* "Hmm...Not the kind of gut feeling I had in mind..." *pulls out two chocolate bars* "Want one?" fang-hua:...sure. Tsukiyo: *hands it to her...bites into her own* "No point worrying about these things until we see something...and I can't find those fakers. Everyone seems to be acting like they usually do, look like they did before--no one seems any less hotter than before." fang-hua: ..... ???: hey there~! -reimi smiles- fang-hua: oh, sister reimi. Tsukiyo: "Hey, there! Keeping warm?" reimi: *she nods* im not too bothered by the cold. Tsukiyo: "Well, good for you." *pulls her coat more tightly around herself* "I miss summer: warmer, less clothing..." fang-hua: -_-; well, spring will be here before you know it. Tsukiyo: "Awesome! Then you, me, and Sister here can rock the swimsuits!" -elsewhere- Relan: "Feel warmer now?" shinra: *nods* iris: ^^ Relan: "That's good..." *pulls the blanket closer* "This is comfy..." -elsewhere- Rino: "I'm heading out. Good night, Miss Gabriella." gabriella: get home safely~ Rino: *nods, exits...walking past an alley...* -silence- Rino: "..." *nervous whistle...* *Rustle in a garbage can* Rino: .______. ???: *mew* -there is a small cat there- Rino: "...Oh. Hello...tiny cat." kitty: ^^ Rino: "..." *holds out palm* -elsewhere- Lawless: *eating a burger* romina: ya'll feelin any better? Lawless: *nods, with his mouth full* "Definitely...Should be at 100 percent tomorrow..." romina: that's great! Lawless: -\\\\\\- "Yeah, I guess...At least I'll be able to walk around again." julian: and you'll finally be able to resume your studies! Lawless: o_o; "Um..." *clutches his arm* "Ow! Oh, no! I'm not quite well yet! I guess I have to miss more school--" kranz: *sprays with holy water* julian: D: how could you not be excited? romina: (thinking: julian ya’ll're such a nerd ^^; ) Lawless: *desperately trying to dodge the water--and failing* "Ah! School can be so boring! STOP SPRAYING ME! I fall asleep in the dull classes, don't get to hang out with my friends--GAH! MY EYE!" julian: but dont you share classes with some of them? like the evans boy? Lawless: *holding his hand over his eye* ("You got that stupid holy water in my eye...") "Yeah, but we have to be studying or paying attention to the teacher..." -elsewhere- Anya: *lying in bed...* "I can't sleep." -morning- Kid: "Mmm...So comfy." stocking: U////U Kid: *smooch* "Sleep okay?" stocking: yeah, did you? Kid: *nods* "Very well...Good dreams, too..." ("She was so pretty in that dress...") stocking: hehe~ *smooch* Kid: *smooch* "Mmm...You were in my dreams." stocking: oh~? Kid: *smiles* "You were beautiful...It was what I have dreamed of for so long..." stocking: *blush* Kid: *strokes her cheek* "And you dance so well...in my dreams or outside of them." stocking: awww. Kid: *smiles...as he pulls back the sheets, gets out of bed, and offers a hand to her* stocking: why thank you~ Kid: *leads her out of bed...puts a hand on her waist, takes her hand, and leads her to dance in the room* stocking: ah~ hehe~ Kid: *smiles* "You're light on your feet..." stocking: ^^ Kid: *kisses lightly on her lips, as they dance towards the bathroom* -elsewhere- Benimaru: *sipping tea* fang-hua: morning commander. Benimaru: *smiles* "Morning. How are you?" fang-hua: doing well. it's a bit chilly out.... Benimaru: "Can always warm up with a little flame..." -elsewhere- lilac: zzzzzz...... lavender: damn, thats one hell of a blizzard going on out there... Belkia: "Jeez...Glad to be indoors." lavender: yeah, anyway. otogiri: *observing the others* (thinking: and as usual, higan is completely unphased.) Higan: "More time for the finer things: art, beauty, painting, sculpting...other pursuits." lavender: 7w7 Higan: "Oh, Lavender, you look a little chilled..." lavender: it is pretty cold out~ naho: *excalibur face* do you have to be so gross in public, old man? Higan: "No--I can be nasty in private, too..." naho: I DONT WANNA KNOW THIS STUFF, OLD MAN!! >3< Higan: "Then stop listening..." *puts an arm around Lavender's waist* "Let's warm up..." naho: *hurk and flees to her room* lavender: lead the way~ Higan: *leads the way* Sakuya: -_-;;; *knocks on Naho's door* "It's me." naho: yeah? oh, hey sakuya ^^ Sakuya: "Hey, don't let that nonsense get to you...You feel okay?" naho: yeah, other than the mental scarring, im fine. Sakuya: *small laugh, nods* "Yeah...Creepy, right? Just...who would want to think about that?" naho:....did i tell you what happened to me on my first day of being a subclass? Sakuya: "Only a little bit..." *sits down in a chair* naho: the showers there could have really used an 'occupied' sign....*cringes* Sakuya: "??? ..." o___o "No...Oh, man...I'm sorry." naho: yeeeeeah.... *excalibur face* some things were not meant for mortal eyes...or immortal eyes for that matter... Sakuya: *nods* "At least with time you should be able to block out most of that...replace it with other memories." naho:..... .////////.;;;; Sakuya: "???" *realizes* o\\\\\\\o "N-Not that I meant anything...Or, um, maybe...I'm confused..." naho: ^^;;;;; did you want to study for classes then? Sakuya: .\\\\\. *nods* "Better do so..." -elsewhere- Shotaro: "I fixed the leak in the roof! Just before the blizzard got worse...Also--" *covered completely in snow* "I'm a snow man!" mana: *sweatdrop* you sure...are.... Shotaro: "Hee hee..." Yohei: "GET, vacuum the snow off of him, then get him a hot shower." GET: ^o^ -elsewhere- Hibana: "Dreadful weather...Glad to be indoors..." gabriella: *she nods* Hibana: *pats her shoulder* "Come on--I want to get some sparring in. Then we can kick back for the afternoon." gabriella: right! Hibana: *takes off her coat, revealing her workout attire* "You better get changed." *smiles* "I was ahead of you on this one..." -elsewhere- Jun: "Some storm outside..." yumikage: yeah no kidding. mitsuba: spring cant get here any sooner... -__- Tsurugi: "..." *looks depressed* shinoa: hmm? Tsurugi: *sigh, slight shudder* mafura:....*plomph hug* ^w^ Tsurugi: o\\\\\\\\\\\o "...What are you doing?" mafura: =w= yumikage: O____O Jun: *eyebrow raise* shinoa: oh my, it seems she's imprinted on you~ Tsurugi: *staring at them* D: "M-Me?! Why?!!! What?! How?!!" yumikage: *JAWDROP* Tsuguri: *small voice* "Help me..." ._. shinoa: awww, how cute ^^ mafura: hehe ^^ yumikage: (thinking: OHMYGODWHYTSURUGIOFALLPEOPLE?!) Tsuguri: "Stop 'aw, how cute'-ing and HELP ME!" *moves--and ends up hugging Mafura by accident* o\\\\\\o yumikage: *just about dies from shock* hyakuya: D8 mitsuba: O///O; mafura: ~? Tsuguri: o___________O *opens his mouth...no sound escapes...he passes out* x_x yumikage: oh for the love of.....*sigh* do you want to put him to bed or should i? mafura: ~?? Jun: "Tsuguri's room is around the corner. Mafura, please put him to bed." mafura: ???? yumikage: *siiiigh* fine, i'll do it then. *picks up tsurugi, piggy back style* Tsuguri: x________x mafura: ??? Jun: *pats Mafura's shoulder* "He's okay. He just gets a little nervous." *smiles* mafura: ~? -elsewhere- Mr. Tsubaki: *shivering* -someone left a bowl full of fish out in an allyway- Mr. Tsubaki: *stomach growl* -____-;;; *approaches the bowl of fish* "Not my preference..." -the door was left ajar- Mr. Tsubaki: "???" *he walks into the room...* -seems to be a sashimi restaurant- Mr. Tsubaki: *stomach growls* T_T;;; *small whimper* worker: hmm? Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *puppy dog eyes* worker: hey lil fella, did ya need a place to hide from the cold? Mr. Tsubaki: *small nod* worker: *picks him up*..dont see a collar or anything...you lost buddy? Mr. Tsubaki: *shivers* worker: .....hey boss, can we make a lil pet bed by the heater? Boss: "??? A fox? Rare to see those domesticated..." worker: still, it has happened. i saw this video of a guy with a pet fox and it actually laughed! looked different from this lil guy though... Mr. Tsubaki: "???" Boss: "Well, this is Death City. I'll get him something to eat--you make the bed." worker: hmmm, if he is someone's pet....*idea* *pulls out phone* hey lil guy, smile for the camera! Mr. Tsubaki: "..." *smile* -click- worker: ok. *he gets to making the pet bed* Boss: *cuts up some fish* "Here you go. Hope fish is okay." Mr. Tsubaki: ^^ worker: *typing something* found....fox, presumably someone's pet? appears domesticated and trained, black fur with white spots, red eyes....two tails...male.... aaand, posted! Mr. Tsubaki: *nom nom nom* "Mmmm~" worker: ??!! did it just talk? Mr. Tsubaki: o____o *cough, makes fox noises* ^^; worker:.....must be my imagination *shrugs* Mr. Tsubaki: "Phew..." -elsewhere- tsubaki: *checking her phone*....?! Black Star: "???" Belkia: *trying to fix a magic trick...* -someone made a post regarding a found animal....a fox...- tsubaki:...*she turns off her phone* .... Black Star: "What, Kid text you another image of symmetrical artwork?" tsubaki:...it's nothing. just spam mail. Black Star: "That sucks." Belkia: "Oh, you mean for those pills? Or free money from a prince in another country?" -elsewhere- Hibana: *on her back, panting* "Jeez, that was some workout...I just can't beat your right hook, Gab." gabriella: aww shucks ^^; y-you arent too hurt, are you? Hibana: "Nah, just sore...Nothing a dip in the hot tub won't fix." -elsewhere- Kuro: "Blizzard. Darn. And I was actually going to go out today." mahiru: well, at least we can get a head start on new years cleaning! Kuro: -_-; "Oh, be still my heart." *sigh* "Hand me a broom..." mahiru: *hands him one* remember this? *he chuckles slightly* Kuro: -___-;; "Nerd..." mahiru: ^^ hehe~ Kuro: "..." *starts sweeping* "You actually find this cleaning stuff fun?" mahiru: well, my uncle isnt home right now, so thinking simply, i should be the one to do it, right? or in this case, _we_. Kuro: -____-;;; "You know, cleaning up is more fun in video games." *starts sweeping* -elsewhere- Gopher: *pout* "This snow just keeps falling..." kotone:.... inori: *nom*....tasteless..... Gopher: "Well, trust me, that's a good thing. And you can always collect it from the air, add some juice, and you got snowcones..." inori: ?? Gopher: *pulls out cones* "Watch..." *collects the snow in his cone* "And now..." *pulls out a squirt bottle of cherry flavoring* "Here!" *hands it to Inori* "Hope you like cherry." inori:...*nom*....*shiny eyes* how...? kotone: ??? Gopher: *smiles* "The power of invention!" *hands a blueberrry snow cone to Kotone* "Want one?" kotone:...*nom*...t..thank you. Gopher: "You're welcome." *bites into a lemon one* "...Oh, good! It _is_ lemon!" -elsewhere- Kid: "Each snowflake...so different from the other." stocking: yeah. Kid: *holds her hand* "Stocking...Not all of them are symmetrical. But...they are beautiful, in their fragility." stocking: ....*blush* Kid: *smiles at her* "...Your beautiful, too, especially when you blush." stocking: >///< Kid: *cuddles* "Keep warm, sweetness." stocking: want to share a sweater~? Kid: "...God, yes." stocking: *pulls out a big sweater, but small enough for them to both be close together while wearing it* Kid: -\\\\\- *lifts his arms to crawl on in* stocking: hehe~<3 Kid: "My, my...So close to you..." stocking: *nuzzle nuzzle* hehe~<3 Kid: *hug* "Hmm...This is so comfortable...And you're right next to me~" stocking: this is the life~ Kid: *smooch* "I can't get over how great this feels...Stocking, you do have such a great body." stocking: as do you~ Kid: -\\\\\- "I try...Stocking, it was so long ago that I was so nervous to say 'hi' to you." stocking: *she smiles* hard to believe. Kid: "...You brought me to this point...and I am so grateful." stocking: i...im happy too...thanks kid. *kiss* Kid: *kisses back, holds her hand* stocking: i love you kid. Kid: "I love you, too, so much..." *small kiss on her neck* stocking: ah~ U/////U Kid: *smiles* "I am happy that you are so comfortable, to be this close..." *kiss on the other side of her neck* stocking: hehe~ Kid: "This was a great idea..." *turns slightly, bumping into her a bit from the front...* stocking: oh- o.o Kid: o_o "S-Sorry!" *his hand bumps into himself...* o___O stocking: ./////. Kid: .\\\\\. "Um...Stocking? I...feel..." stocking: *smooch* Kid: "!!! ..." *kisses back softly, hugs her* -elsewhere- Akitaru: "Want more hot chocolate?" shinra: *he nods* Akitaru: *holds the mug to him* "Here you go, son." shinra: *he smiles* thanks dad......i-i-i mean commander sir! >///<; Akitaru: *chuckle* "No problem." -elsewhere- Konro: "Keep warm." *puts a scarf on Benimaru* Benimaru: -_____-; fang-hua: ^^ Benimaru: "Let's just...get on with the patrol..." fang-hua: right. Benimaru: *starts walking, looking around* -elsewhere- Lily: "Quite a storm out." misono: *ACHOO!* *sniffle* *muffled grouchiness as he slumps into his mountain of pillows* Lily: *smiles* "I think another bowl of chicken soup should help~" misono: *mumbles* TT.TT Lily: "...Maybe a phone call with your girlfriend would put you in better spirits?" misono: =//////////= *covers face with a pillow* Lily: *giggles* "I'll be back with your soup..." misono:....*sigh* stupid cold.... Lily: *hums, as he heads to the kitchen--* Mikado: "MISONO! MY BABY! ARE YOU OKAY?!!!" misono: im fine father. -.-; (thinking: i thought he was going to be on a trip?) Mikado: "But how can I leave you in this state?! I should cancel--" misono: i can handle this reall- *GACHOO!* ow.... Mikado: "I shall tend to you! Come to my bosom, son!" *hugs Misono* misono: *muffled* what if i get you sick? Mikado: "I will work through it! Your health is so important! YOU WILL RECOVER FROM THIS MALADY!!!" misono: -__-; (thinking: oh god, if he found out about shinoa-.... ./////.;;; ) Mikado: "After all, a parent has to tend to their child--before sending them out of the nest to find love, romance, a spouse--" misono: ..... ./////////////.; right. Mikado: "..." *stares into his eyes* "...You met someone?" misono:..... >->;;;;; define 'met'. Mikado: o_______o; "...You had congress with someone?" misono: i dont believe i follow? Mikado: "You laid down with someone? Intimately? In a bed? Or the back of a vehicle?" misono: NO! IT WAS JUST LUNCH AT A CAFE! >/////<.... !!!! *covers his mouth* Mikado: "..." *shiny eyes* "D'aw! Please tell me they are rich...and have noble lineage...and that their name starts with an 'M.'" misono: *sweatdrop* well....remember that hiiragi girl from the christmas party? Mikado: "Hmm...Best two out of three!...Did you have a good conversation with her?" misono: well.....i suppose yes. 7///7; (thinking: until mikuni had to embarrass me, the bastard.) Mikado: "...When do I meet her parents?" misono: well, if you're planning a trip to japan, then i suppose then? Mikado: "Yay! I can't wait!" *happy clap* misono: (thinking: i have a bad feeling about this. ._.; ) -elsewhere- Hibana: =w= *yawn* "So warm..." gabriella: =w=~<3 Hibana: "Good workout, warm hot tub...another workout..." *hug* "How did you get to be so perfect?" gabriella: >////w////< *smooch* i love you~ Hibana: *surprised...kisses back* "Oh, Gab...I love you..." *cuddles* gabriella: ^^...say....you ever think about...i dunno...having kids? >///<; Hibana: "..." *looks a little nervous* "I...don't know. I don't know that I'm the mothering type...Aren't you afraid I'd be abrasive or something to them?" gabriella: just a thought. to be honest, im not sure if im cut out for it either. Hibana: "...I think you would be a great mother..." *lays a hand over Gabriella's stomach* gabriella: *blush* Hibana: "...Would you want to go to a sperm bank? Or did you have a guy in mind?" gabriella: im not sure, but if it came to it, i'd go for the sperm bank. i could never betray you like that. *hugs* Hibana: "Awwww..." *hug* "I just meant, did you know a man who would donate for us, not like you would be intimate with a man..." *smirks, as she pats Gabriella's bottom* "I don't like to share~" -elsewhere- Yohei: "Warm enough?" chie: yeah.....*rubs her stomach* just a few more months... Yohei: *smiles, holds her hand* "Imagine how he'll react to first seeing snow." chie: *she smiles* ^^ *rubs her stomach* hey toru honey, you warm in there? Yohei: *silly voice* "Yes, I am." chie: *giggles and kisses him* you goof~ Yohei: "Heh..." *kiss* -elsewhere- lavender: *panting* fuck that was great... Higan: "Mmm...No kidding. Great way to warm up the blood...Brings such gorgeous color to you...especially here--" lavender: ahh~ Higan: "Hmm..." *shifts his fingers inside her* "Anything else you had in mind? Tie you up? Something hot? Cold?" lavender: i wouldnt-ah~ mind something a little hotter~ Higan: "Candles? Or maybe I could heat up one of your toys?" -elsewhere- Kid: *contented sigh* "Ahhhhh..." stocking: *pant pant* mmmmm~ Kid: "F-Feel okay?" stocking: yeah...that was incredible Kid: *nods* "S-Same..." *rests his head on her chest* "Damn...You are amazing...Your mouth..." stocking: *she smiles and cradles him* Kid: *purrs* "This is great..." :3 -a few days later, after the storm had passed- liz: happy birthday, stocking! stocking: aw, you guys! Kid: -\\\\\- "We hope you like your gifts...and the desserts..." stocking: hehe~ *smooch* lord death: ^^ in a few days, i'll be shiori's birthday too! ^^ Kid: *smooch* Patty: "Wait 'til you see your gift, Shiori! It's gonna be big!" shiori: ^o^ Kid: "Hee hee..." *holds Stocking's hand* "So many birthdays..." stocking: *she smiles* Kid: *holds a box up to Stocking* "Happy birthday." stocking: thanks! *she opens it* *Inside are dessert truffles and a framed photograph of Kid and Stocking--the frame decorated like candy* stocking: awwww! *HUG* Kid: -\\\\\\- "I hope you like them..." stocking: *SMOOOOCH* Kid: o\\\\\\\o ("...She likes them...") -elsewhere- Anya: *cast is off, but still with crutches* kim: feeling better now? Anya: "Mostly. My leg is still weak, though." kim: ah. Anya: "Hmph. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time...Stupid vampire." kim:... Anya: *winces as she tries to move, then whimpers...* -elsewhere- Mr. Tsubaki: *nom nom nom* worker: any luck finding an owner yet, boss? Boss: "Nothing yet. Maybe someone will stop by to ask." *pats Mr. Tsubaki's head* "Little fox here certainly brings in customers." Mr. Tsubaki: ^^ worker:...hey boss...? Boss: "??? What's up?" worker:...nevermind. (thinking: does he even notice it has two tails...?) Boss: *shrug* "Back to work--money to make..." Mr. Tsubaki: ("No wonder he didn't notice my two tails...") *nom nom nom HIC* -elsewhere- Kepuri: *pats Akaderu's back* "Feeling better?" akaderu: yeah. Kepuri: *smooch* "My hardworking man...I'm proud of you." akaderu: =/////= Kepuri: "Keep this up, and things will work out...But first, I got you a little treat..." *holds up a box of red beetle-shaped gummy candies* akaderu: *nom* thanks. -///- Kepuri: *takes one, bites in* "Shotaro hasn't been too rough, has he?" -elsewhere- Belkia: "Please? I just want to see her for a little bit..." maid: no. otogiri: -_-; my apologies for my friend here. Belkia: -_-;;; "Oh, yeah? You and what army, maid-girl?" -several maids are brandishing knives, one actually has a chainsaw- ellen: it is mandatory for gallows mansion staff to be trained in combat, in case of intruders or unwanted guests. Belkia: o____o "...I've had dreams like this..." otogiri: please spare us the details. Belkia: -_-; "Fine, I'll leave...I'll just mail her gift to her..." -later, she opened it, with a pair of work gloves, just to be nice- *It's a magician's hat and wand* stocking:.... -_-; i'll just toss this into the fire then. Kid: "Good idea..." -FWOOM- -into the fireplace it went- *And then--* *POOF!* stocking: O_________O *Smoke pours in the room* Kid: *cough cough* "Ugh!" stocking: WHAT THE FUCK?! Kid: "What on earth--" o_____O;; "Stocking...I...Um..." -he’s covered in glitter- Kid: *AH-CHOO!* "Ugh...Now I hate glitter..." stocking: aww *brushing him off* Kid: "That was odd..." *sniff* "That crazy vampire..." stocking: im seriously going to kick his ass for this. but at least you're ok. Kid: *nods* "Next time, let's have a bomb disposal unit deal with this..." stocking: right. -outside- otogiri: seems your little plan failed. again. Belkia: *pout* "Darn. I wanted her to start performing magic...We could be a team! On the Vegas strip! 'Belkia and Sto-tan: A World of Magic'!" otogiri: -_-; Belkia: "Oh, well...Guess I'm stuck with you as my magician's assistant, Otogiri--" otogiri: -____-; Belkia: "Let's begin!" *takes his hat, and pulls it down to his ankles--and when he pulls it up, he is now in a Las Vegas showgirl outfit* "Ta-da!" otogiri: .... (thinking: no comment) -elsewhere- Rino: *reviewing paperwork* "You guys have a lot of expenses for a fire brigade." soldier: yeah. well we also got our research department as well as the princess' fashion career. Rino: "...The 'research department'? That's...creepy." -elsewhere- mafura: *nomming on omelet rice* Jun: "Taste good?" mafura: thank you mr jun. ^^ yumikage: *nom non nom* mitsuba: this is really good! Jun: *smiles* "It's the proper preparation that makes the food taste so good." mafura: ^^ tsurugi? do you want food too? Tsurugi: "Um...sure?" -elsewhere- Kishiri: *sigh* -elsewhere- Arthur: "Rock paper scissors...GO!" shinra: hah! Arthur: *"paper" with his hand flat* shinra: *lands scissors* Arthur: "I win!" shinra oh, i think scissors _beats_ rock. -_-; *Arthur does a small chop to Shinra's head* Arthur: "But 'sword' beats everything!" shinra: i didnt see 'sword' anywhere! Arthur: *holds up his hand, still in 'paper' form* " 'Sword.' See? 'Sword.' Rock, Sword, Scissors..." shinra: *sweatdrop* (thinking: what happened to him that made him this way?) Arthur: "And since I won, I get first choice of the snacks!" *takes one flavor of chips* "You can have the spicy ones." shinra: -___-; Arthur: "Go on--you lost. Eat them up. Can't be too spicy..." *opens his own bag of snacks, starts eating* -elsewhere- Hibana: *looking through a web site...* "Hmm...I admit, that _is_ cute..." gabriella: isnt it though? Hibana: *small pout* "How do parents have kids, and still globe-trot to Milan, Shanghai, and Sydney every year?" gabriella: *shrug* Hibana: *pout* "I mean, we are still young...and I have a lot of fun ideas in mind...but...I think we should see the doctor about options..." gabriella: possibly. -elsewhere- Lawless: "Yo, Soul!" soul: sup man, glad to see you're doing better! *high five* licht: hey. Lawless: "Ha ha! Yes, I am back to 100 percent...more or less. How you been without me around?" soul: well, we're just glad to have ya back man. lilac:.....!!! *flees* Lawless: "...Yeah..." -elsewhere in school- lilac: *breathing fast* Sakuya: "??? Lilac? What's wrong?" lilac: !!!! *he looks up, tears staining his cheeks* Sakuya: "!!! Hey, it's okay..." *holds Lilac's hand* lilac: *whimpering* naho: do you want something to eat? *she gives him a snack pack* lilac:....i think...i need to....see the nurse again....

#death city days

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