#i bet when scout asked chicken girl if she wanted to do it and she said ok they just went and played paddy cake

[ficswithtacotuesday]

I've honestly thought of this for so long. You CANNOT TELL ME that Spy doesn't have daddy issues. He abandoned Scout since birth, continued to ignore his existence and still acted like an ass when he become his co-worker. The only time Spy was a father to Scout was during Expiration Date and the 7th comic where he says he's proud of him, but both those times happened WHEN SPY THOUGHT SCOUT WAS DYING.

This man is terrified of being a father, and I think it's because he has some horrible trauma from his own dad. Spy probably had some rough times from his own dad that made him scared of becoming the same person as him, so he chose to be distant, only changing his attitude when the circumstances were extreme. Him being a spy just adds to keeping this distance, since no one really expects him to be open and he can keep it that way. Well except when it comes to, in this case, Engineer. Because daddy issues, and genuine feelings, but also daddy issues.

Thankfully Scout will break this cycle of generational trauma, not because he would be a great dad at some point in his life, but because he'll die a virgin

[cheemscakecat]

Scout unspoken character development.

So you remember how Scout was absolutely struggling to work out how to ask Pauling on a date, and didn’t have the confidence he needed to do it properly? In Expiration Date?

*loud silence*

It makes sense that he’d struggle, because dating requires you to be more vulnerable emotionally and that’s like the last thing he ever wanted to do growing up. His brothers saw being emotional as a weakness, and he still thinks like that because those were his role models.

That’s why he didn’t help Spy with the last wishes. He’s still got that mentality that he’ll be seen as weak if he admits that dying in three days bothers him. But if he makes fun of Spy in front of the boys, Spy’ll be the one seen as weak, not him.

To date somebody, you have to admit that you’re attracted to them, if not in love. He can’t admit that part, which is why he tries to be causal about asking Pauling out.

Like, even when he can tell that he made Spy furious, the awkwardness of that emotional situation makes him try to laugh it off and stay casual, not give him pause.

How much you wanna bet that “I’m sorry”, usually said sarcastically or with fake sincerity is the best he’d get from any of his brothers growing up? No discussion beyond that about what the brother should be sorry for, just “I’m sorry” because Ma is making me apologize.

That’s why he just moved on with his request for help, instead of going into a deeper apology and acknowledging why Spy is upset. He doesn’t know how. He doesn’t know that you’re actually supposed to, and he’s not a weakling for feeling that way.

He can’t accept the weakness of being bad with women, even though that’s why he’s in the smoking room asking for advice. That’s why he lies about the ratchet girl at the chicken place, who probably never existed.

What’s interesting is that the only thing he retained from his dad’s training was the dancing, which is an expression of emotions. He started out doing a casual, cheery boomer dance that doesn’t require a partner, with no risk of hurting somebody else if you mess up. But the dance Spy taught him requires you to be careful and move with another person, and is a lot more romantic.

But we know that music is something he loves, to the point that he hopes his favorite musician is secretly his dad.

But that’s not the only important development he makes in this short.

Scout doesn’t know how to respond to that, because if he ever tried to bring up what one of his siblings did to make him upset, they’d just laugh at him or say “I said sorry, what else do you want?”. But he cares about this woman and how she feels, so when she brings up what he did to make him say more than sorry, he can’t just move past it like he normally does.

He got so close to spitting it out! But what we did get is good progress, because he had to be more honest than usual. If she was paying even the slightest bit of attention to him, she’d be able to see what he’s trying to say.

He’s trying so hard, she doesn’t even know. I hope that someday he finds a girl that does like him, because she sure as heck doesn’t.

What’s interesting is that we have voicelines that imply he’s getting less uncomfortable flirting, even if it’s in his usual Scout way.

He didn’t act ready to take his shirt off around her in Expiration Date. That’s Scout getting more comfortable around her. So is him playing her dorky board game that his brother’s would clown him for looking at.

You have to remember, Scout is the youngest and considered the runt of the litter by his stupid siblings. He acts like he likes the way his arms look in Meet the Scout and talking to Spy in the smoking room, but he’s always comparing himself to other guys. He wouldn’t take that shirt off around most people, is what I’m saying.

I hope someday Scout goes through the character development he needs to find a real girlfriend that likes him. [And also not rely on physique as a tool for flirting].

[nimmy22]

A Mistake: Chapter 12

~ The following day, Saturday ~

"Do something, Wesker! These fucking imbeciles at the papers are starting to question my competence as chief all because of a pathetic group of boys you can't seem to dispose of." Irons seethed, slamming his cup of whisky on the desk, knocking his nameplate to the ground.  

Wesker gave nothing away of his emotions, save for a tick in his brow. His hands craved to wrap around Irons’ neck, giving it a swift snap. It's how he felt most of his days at the station. Irons was replaceable. The man didn't realize just how worthless he was to Umbrella. His replacement could arrive this very afternoon.

"We are working on finding the gang's nest. The big players keep using young boys for the jobs but tell them nothing about insider information. There are too many eyes watching us right now. We cannot use any special means to dispose of the group in order avoid questions."

"Just Do your fucking job right. I can't stand the news conferences anymore. the journalist's questions make me look laughable." Irons clutched his glass, throwing it hard against the wall. Tapping a finger on the armrest, Wesker didn't bat an eye at the behavior of the chief of police. One couldn't expect much from such a lowly creature.

"You seem to forget why Umbrella put me as captain of STARS. It isn't to keep up your public appearance but to protect theirs. I'm not the one who isn't doing his job. Deal with the journalists while I handle the little boy scouts." pushing back his chair, Wesker made sure to leave deep grooves on the freshly varnished floors. The scraping sound was like music to his soul. He didn't miss the deathly glare on his way to the door like hot iron rods.

Returning to the STARS office, Wesker ignored the gossiping of Chris and Jill about the newest trouble between their captain and Irons. Shutting the door to his office, he took a seat behind his desk. Through the office blinds, he eyed each present member of STARS. of course, no one was getting any work done, lazing around the office, making meaningless bets.

This simply will not do.

It was time they did some undercover work, gathering information about Raccoon city's newest crime family. These boy scouts wouldn't last long around here, especially since they fell on the radar of the real monsters in the shadows of Raccoon.

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

She sat alone on the staircase, elbows resting on her knees, wondering how the hell she got here.  The house was familiar to her. How many times has she looked after Sherry here? Still, it felt strange. It was his space, and she was invading it.

This was now supposed to be her home. The place gave no hints as to who lived here, lacking any personal touch. It was likely the work of an anterior designer following the most fashionable trends. The home of a bachelor.

Speaking of Wesker, he left after dumping her here last night and vaguely pointing her towards the guest room with a 'help yourself' to any food. As always, he gave her the bare minimum of info, not that she asked what he was up to. She didn't care whether he spent the night hiding bodies or doing legitimate police work. She was too terrified to sleep under the same roof, only a few walls apart. Does the man ever sleep? Shower? Eat?

She won't lie. She was glad Wesker left. But even with him gone, she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. More so the kiss than almost becoming a guinea pig. It was a lot to process, and she couldn't even begin.

For the nth time, she forcibly pulled her fingers away from her lips, scolding herself for replaying the memory again. This man was absolute bad news. She needed to get out of the house, and an incoming call from Claire had her scrambling to answer as quickly as possible. Her friend presented an idea, and Cara was all too grateful to join in.  

Pulling up Wesker's name in the contacts, Cara's fingers hovered over the letters, unsure of what and how much to tell him.  Where did they stand? Did he really mean everything, or was it a trick?  Was she free to leave? Did he give up completely on the idea of killing her?

"Going out with Claire. I will be back late." she texted, fully knowing a lot of info was missing. But it's not like he ever gave her a ton.

"Stay out of trouble.' came a replay moments later.

The words were unsaid, but Cara definitely heard them.  'I don't have time to drop everything and run over to the rescue each and every time you get in trouble,'

'I asked for help only once. The other time's nobody asked you to come.' Cara grumbled but deleted what she wrote. she could've gotten herself out of those situations...with a little bit of thinking. Actually, a lot of thinking.

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

Cara had to walk several blocks away from Wesker's house to prevent suspicion. If by any chance, Claire knew the address of her brother's captain, it would be a hole she did not want to leap into.

Standing in front of an old bookstore, she waited for her friend. The building was slightly rundown, its walls covered in graffiti, but the owners were a kind elderly couple. They pushed discounts her way, and she was guilted to buy something. She ended up buying a useless cat plushie toy after seeing that most books were non-fiction or raunchy romance novels. She would rather die than have Wesker coming across an erotic novel lying around his house.

She stared at the plushie as she leaned against the wall outside the shop. Cara considered giving it to Sherry the next time they met. This would be the first present she ever gave the young girl, and she could almost imagine the excitement on Sherry's face. It made her smile.

A helicopter passed overhead, sleek black and adorned with the Umbrella white and red symbol. Cara watched the chopper get smaller and smaller until it disappeared, heading in the direction of the Arkley mountains. she wondered about their business up there was. Looking around, no one else seemed to notice nor care. Maybe it was best to keep all knowledge to herself.

Seeing a familiar redhead and a motorcycle, Cara waved as Claire pulled up, handing her a helmet.

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

The barn smelled of sweat, dust, and old wood. The unmistakable smell of alcohol was thick in the air as it was passed around freely in cheap red plastic cups. She recognized kids from school, but many more were older, likely from Raccoon university. A light disco machine was nailed to the wall, casting the barn in a series of flashing lights. Tall Straw piles of hay distributed across the barn ensured there was no shortage of dark corners for people to disappear to.  For a moment, Cara considered hiding in the straw and then going home when the party was over. But seeing the sparkle in Claire's eyes about hanging out with her best friend threw the idea out the window. With a sigh, she followed her friend.

Over the course of the night, the girls danced and drank, carefree. A blond-haired boy was staring at her, Cara noticed. He attempted to walk up to her but turned around before getting within ten feet. He tried multiple times but always chickened out despite his friends constantly cheering him on. Claire thought it was cute and refused to stop openly staring at him and giving a thumbs up.  Cara swatted Claire's hands before holding them behind her back in a pretend arrest, pushing her against the straw pile.

"Sorry Officer! I was just trying to help you get laid," Claire giggled. "I hope you're into blonde's though,"

"This is so embarrassing. Stop, or I'm leaving," Cara snapped, feeling a blush heat her face as Wesker crossed her mind. Fuck, why now?

"Oh? so you are into blondes," Claire's smile was cunning. "Let me help you,"

"No. Bad Claire, bad, bad girl. No treats for you tonight." Cara scolded, Stealing the can of beer her friend stole from a guy before cracking it open and downing its contents. She wouldn't yet consider herself drunk, just pleasantly buzzed.

The boy ran off again. Cara felt bad for him and was actually tempted to go up to him instead. His friends kept a steady stream of alcohol into his hand.

"H-hey, " And then he did it, with the help of liquid courage, of course.

For the effort, Cara decided not to openly embarrass him with rejection but not lead him on either. Walking away backward, Claire gave her a thumbs up along with a suggestive motion of the eyebrows, making horrid shapes with her hands. Cara covered her face, hoping to purge the image out of memory. She'll get her back in no time.

Ben was a bit shy at first, but soon they got talking and enjoyed themselves. His hair was a few shades darker and shorter than Wesker's. She didn't have to look up at him as they stood at a similar, comfortable height. Slender and skinny, he would shrink to nothing beside the captain. Cara grimaced, realizing she had been comparing the poor guy to a demon. It wasn't his fault that her mind was occupied with someone way out of her league... the legal kind.

The barn was becoming more and more crowded, and the dancing crowd swallowed them. Sticking out like two sore thumbs, they did their best to dance. Cara felt awkward but seeing the dimples in his smile made her feel better even as it became a tighter fit among the crowd. They had to dance closer lest they got separated.

She wondered what it would feel like to dance with Wesker. He seemed like the sophisticated type. The awkward moves of a teenager would never be adequate for him. Did he ever do anything that was remotely recreational? What do villains even do in their spare time? Manipulating the feelings of underage girls looks like. What stupid, stupid thoughts.

She prayed all these ideas would go away soon, as the thrill of the kiss wore off, and everything went back to normal. Did she want to go back? Why in the world would he like her? she knew who he really was, and he still let her live. Why take the risk with her? she was just a seventeen-year-old. Useless to everyone, with no connections and no money.  

Fuck it. Cara refused to think about Wesker anymore tonight. There was a perfectly alright guy in front of her, someone her own age, someone in her league, someone she wouldn't have to hide. Someone who was looking at her with a soft expression, blinking slowly.

Cara placed her hands on either side of Ben's face and pulled him towards her, connecting their lips. He reacted instantly, kissing her back. His hands awkwardly hovered over her arms before stroking them softly.

He was a nice guy, not a terrible kisser, but she hated it. Hated every touch because it wasn't as good as with Wesker. She couldn't stop comparing, and it was frustrating, spurring her to kiss Ben harder.

She continued, out of spite, to kiss the boy who looked at her with affection. in the background, she heard a few boys cheering, likely his friends. This was wrong, very wrong.

A firm hand gave her waist a painful squeeze before it was gone, and she thought it was Ben. Her eyes flew open as she felt a warm breath by her ear. It wasn't Ben.

"If I was not undercover right now, this lesser specimen of a boy would've made some unforgettable acquaintances a lot sooner. You could've done so much better, yet you have chosen to this..." Wesker seethed by her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Her body froze, but Ben didn't pick up the cue.  Wesker's muscles were tense as he pressed against her back. She could almost hear the exhale through clenched, grinding teeth.

Then he was gone, slipping through the crowd just as he came. No one notices anything. Cara broke the kiss and shoved Ben away. "I'm sorry, it isn't going to work out." She hurried after Wesker, but he was already lost in the crowd.  

She shoved her way through the throngs of people but only managed to find other members of STARS in civilian clothes. None seemed to notice or recognize her. They must've been here on undercover work, but why? she put that question aside as there were more pressing things to worry about.

She felt sick and wanted to throw up, but nothing was coming up. she burst through the doors of the suffocatingly hot bran, raking her hands through her hair. The cool night air hit her heated skin, but she couldn't find relief. She wanted to be swallowed by the ground.

She needed to find Wesker. But then what? Apologize? Apologize for making her own choices? They weren't a couple.

She continued to look for him nevertheless. She walked further from the barn towards an old car junkyard. She thought perhaps a fuming man would need some privacy. A strong feeling in her gut told her this was the right way.

Cara walked far enough from the party that the music was nothing but a distant noise. It was dark and quiet, the perfect place for an assault. If Wesker decided to murder her, no one would find her for at least a week, stuffed in the trunk of a car. If ever.  

Grabbed from behind, she was thrown against a car. Sliding to the ground, she cradled her aching arm, squinting in the dark to see her assailant. Wesker kneeled beside her, his civilian clothes dark and expensive.

"Why cut it short? You should've kissed him more while you still can because he will be the last boy you will ever kiss." squeezing her cheeks harshly, he dragged his thumb with heavy pressure over the flesh of her lips, still swollen from kissing Ben.

As Wesker let go of her face, she felt the cold muzzle of a gun pressing against her temple. Her heart skipped a beat, but she glared at him straight in the eye. Daring.

"I don't know what you want from me! You told me to keep out of trouble, and I did. Yet here we are," Cara lied. She knew what he wanted but didn't know why he wanted it.

"Were my intentions not clear enough? Do I have to spell it out for you? But I suppose intelligence was never your strength,"

Wesker pressed the gun harder against her temple, her glare unwavering. "Go ahead. Shoot me. why do you even bother?"

Neither moved, naked eyes locked with no shades between. Cara reached up and pulled the gun out of his hands with ease. He didn't resist, glaring at her with a tense jaw. Looking down, she almost laughed, seeing the safety was still on. This man couldn't bring himself to kill her. It was all a show of intimidation, and she wasn't falling for it. Not anymore.

As she made to stand, his hand pushed her down. Thinking he wanted the gun back, she returned it to his hand and tried to stand. again, he pushed her down. "Can I get up now?" she scowled, staring up at him.

Things happen too quickly for her to process. The hands on Cara's shoulder grabbed her legs, lifting her off the ground as Wesker wrapped her legs around him before slamming her against the car. She was winded, gasping for breath as he watched her with a smirk. She grabbed his arms, digging her nails into his defined muscles.

"You're up now," he whispered before his lips kissed her neck, sucking and nibbling the skin. A moan escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth immediately.

Grabbing both her hands, he pinned them against the car. "I need to clean your mouth of all traces of that boy,"

"Are you going to rinse my mouth with soap or something? This is childish and-" Cara's words settled in a moan as Wesker began grinding a very defined length against her growing sickness. She tightened her legs around his waist, drawing him closer.

Trailing his nose across her skin, he followed the curve of her neck to the ear, taking the lobe between his teeth. She melted against him when his hot tongue entered her ear. His tongue plunged in and out repeatedly like a preview of what he could do to her. Her heart went on an overdrive.

"Just kiss me," Cara breathed, a tension building in her belly. She wanted to taste him. in addition to sparing any additional marks on her neck to hide.

"No,” nuzzling into her neck, he grinded harder against her, earning a series of moans.  

"You know who else wouldn't mind kissing me-" Wesker slammed his lips to hers, kissing her roughly, their teeth clashing. Cara melted further, a smile on her lips as her tongue danced with his. She savored everything, The taste of him, softness of his lips, his warmth, and the building friction between their bodies. There was nothing more she wanted.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Three gunshots were fired.

Cara was barely steady on her feet when Wesker dropped her to the ground, his eyes scanning their surroundings. What little they heard of the music was drowned out by distant screams of the partygoers.

"What's happening?" she questioned, grabbing his arm, but his attention was fixed on the barn.

"Stay here," Wesker warned, already talking to someone by an earpiece she hadn't noticed before.

With his gun ready, he took off, running towards the barn. Cara made to follow him but was pulled back towards the car by her hand.

The fucker handcuffed and left her in the middle of a junkyard in the dark.

[lifeofkaze]

An Art of Balance #2

A/N: Chapter 2, here you go. I can’t believe how much I missed writing, let me tell you :D Also, looking at my draft and at how high the word counts for every chapter I’ve written so far turned out… we’re in for a long one, hope you’ll stay with me through it. Enjoy!

Warning: mild swearing, use of alcohol

 Word Count: ~ 2.700

______________________________________________________________ 

Chapter 2: Secrets Spilt

Orion leaned back contently, supporting his weight on the bench with his hands and let his gaze wander through the Great Hall. It was looking magnificent as ever, packed to the brim with students new and old, chatting excitedly, the air humming with positive energy. They had just finished their welcome feast and waited for the new first years to be escorted to their common rooms, so the older students could follow up.

He felt a smile spread on his face. As much as he appreciated the summer break to reset and focus on himself, there was nothing quite like coming back to what was home to him. He looked at each of his friends around him, grateful for having found so many people over the last years he considered his family.

A group of newly sorted Gryffindors walked past, being ushered along by Gryffindor’s newest prefect. Charlie Weasley, star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Orion eyed him up curiously. He was undeniably gifted when it came to playing seeker. As a matter of fact, Orion wouldn’t put a professional career past his abilities. If they wanted to have a chance to win the House Cup once again, they had better watch out for him.

When he passed where Lizzie was sitting, he nonchalantly saluted her with two fingers put to his forehead and grinned. Lizzie stuck her tongue out to him before she started laughing and waved back. Charlie gave her a wink and continued along after his brother Bill and their charges. Orion noticed Skye giving Lizzie a glum look.

“Stop that, Jameson, this is competition you’re flirting with.”

“I wasn’t flirting, I was waving at a friend. Get a grip, Skye,” Lizzie snapped at her, clearly exasperated.

Skye only snorted at that. “Whatever. He’s in another house and on top on another team. You can be nice to him all you want, once we’ve shown Gryffindor the ropes on the pitch.”

“What if we’re playing them last, do you expect me not to talk to one of my best friends for the whole year or what?” Lizzie shot her an angry glance. “Besides, if you weren’t so consumed with seeing everyone as competition, you could actually benefit from me being friends with him. He is excellent on his broom. I bet he could even show you a trick or two.”

Skye bristled up at that and Orion felt resignation set in. He had hoped Lizzie and Skye would last at least a week until their inevitable bickering commenced. Although they had been playing on the same team for so many years, their different approach to the sport they both loved so much invariably led to tensions. Tensions that were his responsibility as the team’s captain to resolve.

“Everyone has their strengths as well as their weaknesses. We should not concentrate on others but focus on how we can overcome our weak sides to rise stronger than before.” He leaned over the table pushing the two girls glaring at each other gently apart. “It is no use to fight amongst ourselves when we have a common goal to achieve.”

“He’s right, you know,” Penny agreed happily. “I’ve had enough of the Cup being dressed in blue and bronze already. You two be nice to each other and take it back for us.”

Much to his surprise, Skye actually let it rest at that, only muttering a stubborn “They could show me shit, Jameson, as if…” but Lizzie wasn’t listening to her anymore. Rowan was walking past with their new housemates in tow and Lizzie jumped up, walking over to her. Though Orion couldn’t hear what they said, he saw Lizzie return of few moments later, looking puzzled and Rowan leaving with the first years.

He opened his mouth to ask what was bothering her but was cut short by McNully announcing Hufflepuff’s first years to have been the last of them and it being high time they left for their common room as well.

*

Saying he was relieved to finally be able to get out of his school uniform would have been an understatement. He shrugged into his battered coat, running his hand over the worn fabric. It had been with him for so long it almost felt part of his identity. Orion felt himself relaxing more and more. Laying back on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, he closed his eyes and let the familiar smell of warm wood and the fire from the common room wash over him.

This was home.

The other boys sharing the dorm with him were still gathered around the giant fireplace, but he didn’t mind. Although they were about to start their sixth year together, he didn’t really feel connected to them. The only exception was McNully, who shared his passion about Quidditch, albeit in quite a different way.

He propped himself up on his side and reached over to his nightstand, where he had put up pictures of his team he had collected over the course of the years. Picking up the first one he could reach, he fell back again, letting his mind wander back to the glaringly hot day the photograph had been taken. It was a snapshot of the team celebrating a last-minute win against Ravenclaw two years ago. He could almost feel the heat of the sun on his skin as he looked at the exhilarated faces of his friends. The sudden burst of joy mixed with relief of not being shot out of the race for the Cup had even let Skye forget the fight she had had with Lizzie at the time, both girls having one arm around the other’s shoulder, grinning like mad up at him.

A soft sigh escaped him. As much as he valued his friendship with both of them, Skye and Lizzie could both be a handful, especially when disagreeing with each other. Where Skye was peculiar with her subordinating every aspect of her life to Quidditch and expecting everybody else to do the same, Lizzie was extremely prickly when she felt herself or one of her friends being attacked. Most of the times their quarrel was nothing more than that and they quickly returned to being friends, but every so often it would turn into a downright fight.

Orion looked up when he heard the door opening and the soft noise of McNully’s wheelchair approaching him.

“Taking a trip down memory lane?” McNully came to a halt next to him, looking curiously at the picture Orion was holding in his hands.

“Yes, setting my mind for all the things that need to be done for the new season.”

McNully leaned closer, eyes shining excitedly. “And there are a lot of these! You need to find a new beater, scout out what the other teams are up to, assess their strengths and weaknesses- “

“Good to see you have already worked out my whole schedule,” Orion interrupted him flatly.

McNully gracefully ignored the rare sarcasm in his friend’s voice. “What did you expect, I had the whole summer to think about this. And if you want to know, I do think Gryffindor will be your hardest contender for the top. Contrary to us, their team remains unchanged and they only lost to us last year due to circumstances that are highly improbable to repeat themselves.”

Fading his voice out, Orion’s mind went back to what had happened in the Great Hall earlier. McNully was right. None of the other houses should be underestimated, but he had a feeling Gryffindor maybe deserved the closest look out of all of them. Although he really wouldn’t like to admit it out loud, in some way Skye had a point.

He looked over at McNully, lost in thought. “Do you think Lizzie and Charlie being so close could be a problem for us? Got any statistics for me on inter-house friendships influencing performance? Or was Skye overreacting earlier?”

The blond wizard only laughed. “Hey, don’t ask me about inter-personal relationships, especially regarding your teammates. After all,” and he rolled over to his own bed, smiling innocently, “I’m just your ever impartial commentator.”

 ***

 Lizzie’s face hurt from laughing. She leaned back against her bed post and wiped a tear from her eye while Tonks stopped her impersonation of Professor McGonagall, turning her face back into its original state. She reached for the bottle of cherry liquor they had been passing around. Shaking it gently she listened to the remainders of the liquid slosh inside.

“Uh-oh, girls, we’re almost done.” She set the bottle to her lips, emptying it in one big gulp.

“Oi, Tonks, let us in on the fun!” Skye protested but Tonks only grinned and burped before tossing her the empty bottle.

Lizzie felt herself giggling again, giddy from the alcohol coursing through her body.

Penny, who sat next to her, leaned forward and snatched the bottle out of Skye’s hands. Her cheeks were flushed and her voice already had slight slur to it. “To mark the occasion of me having my favourite girls ever back, how about a round of good old truth-and-dare?”

Everybody groaned but got up anyway and sat down in a circle on the floor. Penny placed the bottle in the middle and got her wand out.

“Remember, everyone not telling the truth or chickening out on the dare gets to live with neon green hair for the rest of the week. Except for Tonks who has to go with a boring colour of her choice.”

To emphasise the stakes, Tonks let her hair change colour, showcasing such a bright green it actually hurt to look at her.

Lizzie felt the familiar tingling on her skin as Penny cast the spell on them. She glanced sideways at Rowan, who didn’t look to keen on the prospect of the game, but said nothing. Maybe it would loosen her up a bit.

Penny spun the bottle. It came to rest on Tonks, who confidently chose a dare. Penny thought about it for a second. “I dare you to prank Madam Pince before the end of the week. “

Tonks laughed out loud. “Consider it done. And here was me thinking this was about something I don’t want to do.” She spun the bottle again, this time it stopped pointing at Lizzie. She tensed a little bit.

“Alright, Lizzie, truth or dare?”

Lizzie remembered the last time she had chosen the dare vividly. They had made her lecture Snape on every detail about her hair care routine, complete with a recommendation of her favourite shampoo. It had cost her ten house points, detention and a good chunk of her dignity.

Considering that, she really had no choice. “Truth, I guess. I’m too scared of you, Tonks.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you, we’re only on warm up. Have you been kissed before?”

Lizzie felt a blush creep up her face. Avoiding her friends’ curious faces she looked up at the ceiling. “Yes.”

“What?!” Penny shrieked, gripping her arm. “Who? When? Don’t be a buzzkill, tell us everything!”

Lizzie shook her head. “Not a chance.”

“You have to tell us!” Tonks complained. “You have to answer my question!”

“I know. I did. You didn’t ask for any details, so I have to tell you bugger all.” Ignoring Tonks’ pout, she grabbed the bottle and quickly spun it. She could feel Rowan’s eyes resting on her and felt a little guilty. She hadn’t even told her best friend about her first kiss.

She could still feel Rowan watching her while she dared Skye walking into the Great Hall at breakfast like a chicken but when she looked over, Rowan quickly dropped her gaze.

“Well, Lizzie, looks like it’s you again.”

She looked back to the middle of the circle where the bottle pointed at her for the second time.

Brilliant. She already pictured herself giving Snape an additional lecture on conditioner. She sighed. “Dare.”

Skye blinked innocently at her. “Smashing. I dare you to tell us who your first kiss was with.”

Lizzie looked at her dumbfounded. Tonks and Skye high-fived, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves.

“This is not how his game is working,” Lizzie protested helplessly.

“Yes, it is. Now spill the beans!” Skye replied smugly.

For a second, Lizzie contemplated how she would look with green hair, but with another glance at Tonks’s radiantly glowing head, she gave in to the inevitable.

Covering her face with her hands, she mumbled something incomprehensible.

Skye put a hand to her hear. “Sorry, can’t hear you!”

Exasperated, Lizzie threw her head back and exclaimed, “Alright, it was Charlie Weasley! There you have it!”

Her friends’ reactions came all at once. Penny was squealing, whereas Skye was glaring at her, yelling “Jameson, seriously?!”. Tonks was laughing her head off.

“I can’t believe it, Dragon Boy got himself a girlfriend!” she roared.

Lizzie fiercely shook her head. “Merlin, no, don’t you get any ideas! It was just that one kiss, nothing more. It was Christmas, there was a mistletoe and that is it! End of story!”

Penny couldn’t contain herself with excitement. “You two spent Christmas together? How come I never knew? Lizzie, you have to tell me everything. Right. Now.”

Again, Lizzie buried her face in her hands. Suddenly the prospect of lecturing Snape didn’t sound so bad.

Suddenly Rowan spoke up next to her. “You heard what she said. It was nothing serious and the dare is fulfilled. Leave her alone.”

Surprised, Lizzie looked over to her. For the first time that evening, Rowan smiled at her, albeit it was somewhat restrained.

She got up. “In fact, I think we’ve all had enough. Let’s call it a day, shall we?” With that, she snatched the bottle from the floor, grabbed her things from her bed and left the room.

*

Lizzie had been tossing and turning for over an hour now, listening to Skye softly snoring in the bed to her right. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through Mouse’s thick fur, who was rolled into a tight ball against her stomach. After returning from home, it always took her a few nights to get accustomed to sharing her room with other people again.

When she heard Rowan getting out of bed on her other side, she propped herself up onto her elbows. She could see her friend tiptoeing over to the dresser at the far end of the room, pouring herself a glass of water.

Lizzie watched her silhouette quietly. Better get this over with now.

She waited until her friend returned before turning to her side.

“Rowan?” she whispered quietly.

She could see the other girl looking up, although her features were indiscernible in the darkness.

“Lizzie? Can’t sleep, can you?”

“Yeah.” Rowan knew she always had trouble falling asleep for the first few nights. “Can I ask you something?”

Rowan didn’t answer immediately. “Sure, go ahead.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were made a prefect?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about you and Charlie?” she retorted. Lizzie could hear the hurt in her best friend’s voice.

She sighed softly. “I’m sorry, I know should have. We just thought, keeping this between ourselves would prevent stupid rumours from spreading. It was just for fun.”

Rowan didn’t reply at first. Then, “It’s alright.”

“Now you. Why didn’t you tell me about the prefect thing?”

“This has nothing to do with you personally, really. It’s just… you have gotten so absorbed into this whole Quidditch world; I feel like I can’t keep up. Sometimes it’s like I’m not that big a part of your life anymore, Liz.”

Lizzie felt a punch of sadness at her words. And a tad guilty as well. “You could have told me anytime. You are my best friend, Rowan, you are part of everything I do.”

Although she couldn’t see her face, she heard the smile in Rowan’s voice. “That’s good to know.”

They were both silent for a bit.

“Rowan?”

“Hm?” she replied sleepily.

“Thanks for helping me out earlier.”

“Sure. Good night, Lizzie.”

“Good night.”

Lizzie snuggled herself into her blanket, moving Mouse a little bit to make herself more comfortable. She couldn’t shake the feeling there was something Rowan had not told her. But before she could think on it any further, she had already drifted off to sleep.

[ariannjs]

AUNTIES OF KONOHA | A SasuSaku FanFic (One Shot)

This was a sudden idea but it was fun to write! The idea entered my mind when I saw a tweet by one of my friends in the SS fam wherein her mom and tita (aunt) stalked her crush. Haha. And then poof, I suddenly thought of incorporating the “Titas of Manila” vibe in it! 

If you’re a Filipino and you consider yourself a “tita” regardless of your age, I hope you enjoy this!

Cla, thanks to you, this was born! This one’s for you! I hope this fic would make you smile! Stay happy!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, nor any product, franchise, or establishment mentioned in this fic.

————

“Hi, Mars!” A high-pitched voice called the attention of Mikoto Uchiha while she was seated at one of the aesthetic tables of Cafe Mary Grace.

“Mare! You’re here!” Quite surprised, she stood up and leaned closer to her new companion to give her a beso on the cheek. “Kushina told me you might not be able to come, so I thought it’s going to be just the two of us.”

Mebuki Haruno slightly chuckled as they both sat down. It was also a surprise to her that she was able to attend their monthly hangout. Originally, she had somewhere else to go to, but she didn’t want to miss out on the updates with her amigas’ lives so she had to find a way to be able to meet with them. “Well, Sakura doesn’t have any classes so she took over all of my tasks for Sunlife today. Anyway, how are you?”

“Well, actually…” Mikoto suddenly picked up her Longchamp from the chair beside her and started rummaging its pockets. 

“What are you looking for?”

“My White Flower.” She sighed. “Actually, I was having some sort of a migraine this morning and it’s quite hitting me again now. Wait, where is it…”

Rolling her eyes, the caramel-haired woman clicked her small pouch open and gave Mikoto what she was looking for. “Here. And I thought Kushina was the forgetful one.”

“Oh, thank you!” Mikoto chuckled bashfully. “You’re still always the girl scout! I think I forgot mine somewhere at home since I used it right after I woke up too.” Opening the lid of the tiny bottle, she placed a finger on its mouth and waited until the liquid that could somehow miraculously heal all kinds of aches dampened the tip of her finger. She applied it on her temples and repeated the process until she felt the soothing sensation that she needed. “Tch. How I wish these headaches would stay away from me, but it’s returning every now and then.”

“Is that a sign that even at eighteen, Sasuke could still be a kuya?”

A subtle gasp escaped Mikoto’s lips as her gaze landed on Mebuki. And with the way the other woman wiggled her eyebrows at her, she couldn’t help but blush. “N-no, that’s not the case!” She cleared her throat and straightened herself on her seat. “Not at all. We don’t need more babies at home, Mare. Besides, I already have lots of baby succulents in my garden.”

Mebuki chuckled at how her friend struggled to keep her composure. “But 43 is not that bad, Mars. I’ve heard it’s still okay being pregnant at our age!”

“I don’t think Sasuke would appreciate having a sibling that is enough to be his own child.”

“Oh well, that could probably make your son more soft, you know? He’s so much like Fugaku! Imagine him taking care of an infant. I bet he needs that. Like a practice!”

Her laughter only received an eye roll from Mikoto. And if Mikoto hadn’t seen another familiar woman by the restaurant’s door, she was sure she’d have to endure Mebuki’s insistence on the matter for a couple of minutes.

“Kumares! Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry I’m late!”

Mikoto knew the newcomer wasn’t quite sorry at all, but she only grinned due to its familiarity. “It’s fine, Mars. We haven’t ordered yet.”

Kushina Uzumaki rounded the table and gave the two a beso before placing her grocery bags on the same chair where Mikoto’s bag was. “That’s great! Oh well. I wasn’t able to stop myself from dropping by at Watsons after I bought some groceries!”

“Who would be able to resist the temptation of Watsons? I could relate to you! I’m sure Mikoto could, too. Did you buy anything?”

“I wasn’t intending on buying anything, really.” The redhead chuckled. “But then I saw a new shade of this famous supermatte lipstick and I knew I needed to have one while it’s on sale!” She opened a small paper bag to reveal its content. Quickly removing the cap of the cosmetic, she twisted its body and showed the lipstick to her friends. “It’s gorgeous, dattebane!”

“Wow, that’s good for you! I’m kind of becoming lazy in shopping at malls recently. I often just hoard some stuff on Shopee and Lazada or ask Sakura to do the shopping for me. Besides, that’s kind of her thing nowadays too.”

Mikoto groaned slightly. “The joy of having a daughter.”

Mebuki chuckled. “Oh yeah, I remember you’ve always imagined that Sasuke would be a girl when you were still pregnant with him. But don’t worry, isn’t Itachi about to get married early next year? You’ll have a daughter-in-law soon!”

“You’re right.” There was a sparkle in Mikoto’s eyes upon hearing the idea. “Wow. You’re right! I didn’t realize that! Izumi’s such a sweet girl and I can’t wait for her to be officially part of the family soon!”

“My, my! I can’t believe things are going too fast! Just a little bit longer and you’re already going to be a lola, Mikoto!” Kushina’s unabashed laughter filled their side of the venue, but the redhead woman didn’t care about the heads turned towards her.

On the other hand, her statement made the Uchiha matriarch glare at her, and for a second, she somehow thought that she saw her eyes became red.

“I’m kidding, ‘ttebane! You know you’ll still be as charming as me and Mebuki regardless of our age! Anyway, why don’t we order first?”

“Good point. Cha! I’m starving. It’s almost lunch time anyway. Waiter?” Mebuki raised a hand to one of the waiters who instantly handed menus to them and asked for their orders.

Kushina was the first to respond, “I’ll get the signature ensaymada – kindly heat it, okay? – and please prepare a dozen of Cheese rolls for takeout. How about you, Mikoto?”

“Mine is...hmm, Chicken Inasal Sandwich with Tomato and Wansoy Salsa.”

“That’s all for you both? Alright, for me—wait a sec—ah, this! Dory and Saffron Cream Pasta and Mary Grace Hot Chocolate. You guys don’t want to add anything?”

Kushina shook her head, but Mikoto turned to the waiter once more. “Please add a cup of tea for me. Thank you.”

“We’re all set then!” The redhead hummed with delight once the waiter left for their orders. “So what’s up with you guys recently?”

“Nothing much, really. Same old, same old.” Mikoto huffed. “Fugaku still has lots of businesses he needed to attend to. But recently, he often brings Itachi to his trips, as training, he says. I don’t even see them much anymore until they came home last week.”

“Still the busy man, huh? Minato’s the same! I called him out about it. Just because he’s the Mayor doesn’t mean he needed to stay at his office and have overtime!”

Mikoto crossed her arms on the table, smirking in amusement that Kushina had the guts to call out her own husband. “That’s the First Lady of Konoha for you. And what did he respond to that?”

“Gladly, he’s been going home earlier lately. It makes me happy that I could prepare dinner for him again. The thing is, it’s quite difficult to tolerate him because it feels like he’s another teenager in the house!” Kushina massaged her temples as her friends snickered. “I’m not sure if he’s just messing with me or he’s trying to practice being sweet again.”

“That’s why Naruto isn’t maturing,” Mikoto quipped.

“You’re right, though. He used to tell me that Naruto got much of his traits from me, but maybe the immaturity actually came from him!”

“Oh well, what is it with our husbands and their busy lives? Kizashi opened another shop in Suna last month, so he hasn’t returned since then.”

“How fun! I mean, missing your husband sucks, but the all-girls company seems fun, ya know? With just you and Sakura at home!”

“Yeah. You and Mikoto are missing out.” The Haruno matriarch chuckled, and then he proposed, “Perhaps we could invite you both soon for dinner?” 

“Sounds good to me. Sometimes I can’t stand Sasuke’s brooding at home.”

“Count me in, too! Oh, hey! Food’s finally here.”

True enough, the waiter returned to their table with the meals they have ordered, making them pause to say a prayer and then instantly devour their food. 

“By the way, have you heard about this thing going on with Hiashi and Tsume?”

Two pairs of eyes glanced from their food to Kushina.

“You’re not talking about a romantic thing, right?” Mikoto asked.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“That seems like a joke, however.” Mebuki laughed before wiping her lips with a table napkin. “With how reserved Hiashi is, and how...how bold Tsume is, that seems like an extreme contrast.”

“I’m still not sure if it’s true. But we all know how Hiashi lost his wife to cancer so many years ago. And how...Tsume’s husband left them because she allegedly scared him, right? They probably need some romance once again.” Kushina shrugged while slicing her ensaymada. “Oh, well. It’s kind of being passed on to their kids because Naruto complained to me days ago about how Kiba seemed to be hitting on Hinata recently.” She snickered.

“But aren’t Naruto and Hinata together now?”

Kushina nodded with glee. “Yes, Mare! I was pretty surprised my son even had the guts to ask a girl out! Especially the Hyuga!” She laughed. “But yeah. Hiashi suddenly had a soft spot for dogs, and it seems like he often brought Hinata with him whenever they dropped by at the Inuzuka’s Petshop to have their pup checked up. And as told by Naruto, Hinata often mentioned how Kiba tried to spend more time with her.”

“Jealousy, huh?” Mikoto laughed. “Ah, young love.”

“I know! Naruto was pissed! I could remember how I was a bit like that – or worse – when a few girls hit on Minato back then!”

They all laughed, remembering how all of them were present in some of those encounters wherein girls threw themselves on the town’s young-looking mayor.

“Our husbands quite have the knack to attract girls, don’t they? Good thing Fugaku’s the kind who never even glances at his fangirls. To think that he still has lots until now! I’m not sure if I’d actually be bothered by the fact that Sasuke seemed to have gotten such attitude too.”

Mebuki bit her lip to stifle a giggle, mind lost in a memory that she wasn’t sure at first if she should share with her friends. “Speaking of Sasuke, I wasn’t able to mention this earlier but…”

Mikoto turned to Mebuki at the mention of her youngest son’s name.

“Well, how do I begin...I’m a bit bothered about why my daughter wasn’t introducing any guy that wants to court her. She wasn’t even talking about any crushes ever since, like every other girl! I was quite afraid that Sakura already became a plant or something. But weeks ago, I’ve tried asking her if there’s a guy that she likes and then – poof! – she went all red!”

“I think I know where this is heading…” Kushina snickered, but Mikoto only raised an eyebrow, wondering if she wasn’t catching up on something.

“She never mentioned the name of the guy. But…” The Haruno smiled mischievously, causing her two friends to lean closer as if a top secret information was going to be revealed inside the decorated walls of Cafe Mary Grace. “She described him – weird hairstyle, dark eyes, fair skin; also...quickly annoyed, rarely talks to others but engages in conversations with her especially through chats, and the one she often tags in memes despite knowing that he wouldn’t find it so funny.”

“So you’re thinking that it’s Sasuke?” Mikoto placed a hand on her mouth, unsure about what she should feel. “But we can’t be sure on the last descriptions!”

“The thing is...I’ve stalked my daughter online.”

“Stalked.” The raven-haired woman gave her a pointed look.

“Yes.”

Kushina guffawed in her seat while waiting for the next revelations of her friend.

“You stalked your daughter, Mebuki? Don’t teenagers dislike it when we invade their personal space?” Mikoto mentioned with her fingers forming quotation marks in the air. “That’s what Sasuke usually tells me whenever I ask him who he’s always chatting with on––” And then she gasped.

Mebuki and Kushina were looking at her now, pairs of blue and green eyes shining with delight at the notion that their friend seemed to have puzzled the pieces on her own.

“Oh, goodness.” Kushina chuckled once again. “I haven’t heard anything from Naruto, to think that they’re all best friends! This is great, ‘ttebane! But you haven’t told us yet what you’ve seen when you stalked Sakura.”

Mebuki laughed before she even got to say anything, almost making a vein pop on Mikoto’s already throbbing head. Because, how could they understand the story if the teller was laughing midway? 

“Well, I didn’t see her tag Sasuke on any meme.” The caramel-haired woman restrained another cackle.

“So how were you—”

“It was actually the other way around! I don’t know how I landed on that random Facebook page but I saw a comment of Sasuke tagging Sakura on one of those doctor memes albums. And then my daughter replied with ‘HAHAHA you’re the one who’s annoying, Sasuke-kun! I won’t be like this to my patients one day!’”

Kushina and Mebuki giggled like teenagers then, leaving the Uchiha matriarch at a loss for words.

“Who would have thought, Mikoto? We might end up as co-mothers-in-law!”

“I didn’t...I didn’t expect this. I’ve always known Sasuke to be the shy one. Although he always seems aloof, he’s actually just shy. I never even realized he and Sakura have developed such close friendship...or more. I used to think that only he and Naruto are the ones who are very close in their team.”

“Well, I was surprised with Sakura too. I know she adores both her bestfriends, I just never imagined she could adore Sasuke in a different way. If anything, I’d actually be glad if my assumptions are true.” She winked at her amigas. “They basically grew up together. And Sasuke grew into a fine gentleman with great values, props to you and Fugaku.”

“Alright! We must do something about this then!”

The other moms faced the redhead, each with an eyebrow lifted inquisitively due to her sudden declaration.

“Remember when we were helping you and Fugaku pass on letters to each other in class?”

“Oh my goodness, Kushina, that was a long time ago!” A crimson stain appeared on Mikoto’s cheeks as she remembered how her two best friends and their then boyfriends (now husbands) actually contributed to the relationship between the campus heartthrob and their batch’s top student. “I don’t think we could do such a thing for Sasuke and Sakura though.”

Kushina scoffed. “Of course we wouldn’t do the exact thing! For one, you and Mebuki should allow them to go out. Like, alone.”

“Actually, I’m fine with Sakura going out. She even usually goes out for some shopping with Ino. It’s just that I have a curfew for her. Hmm...maybe I could extend that whenever she’ll be out with Sasuke.”

“The thing is, knowing my son, he wouldn’t be straightforward in asking her out even if he wanted to. He’s so subtle at everything! I think he actually needs some push.” Mikoto nodded to herself as if she already has a to-do list of her own. Her two other friends grinned at each other, noticing the determination in the Uchiha’s eyes that seemed to be filled with hesitation moments ago. “You know what? This is actually a good idea. I don’t want Sasuke to end up being alone. He’s already getting a bit lonely now that his brother is not always around. And Naruto already has a girlfriend to give much of his time to.”

“Exactly!” Kushina clapped her hands, thrilled that they were going somewhere with this SasuSaku mission of sorts. “Those are great contributions, Kumares! I guess mine would have something to do with my son. Let me see...oh! Wait a minute! What if I ask Naruto to invite Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura for some sort of a double date? Oh my gosh! That would be so sweet, dattebane!”

The three women gazed at each other with silly grins on their faces. They only wanted to hangout and talk about life in general, what they didn’t expect was that they would end up strategizing as if they were gearing up for a school project, much like their High School days.

“Cha! It’s getting cold here.” Mebuki suddenly complained, immediately getting her small pouch that seemed to fit every possible item in it, which included a shawl that she brought out. Placing the shawl around her shoulders, she heard a familiar voice from behind her and for a second, her friends gave her meaningful looks that she didn’t quite catch at first.

For the one who had just entered Cafe Mary Grace was none other than her beautiful (and single) daughter.

“Oh, Sakura! You’re done meeting with everyone for their Sunlife insurance?”

“Yes, mom. I also picked up your box of Vitaplus goods,” the pink-haired maiden said while handing a package filled with health drinks.

“Wow. I didn’t know you’re into that.”

“Nah, Kushina, I have no time for networking, really. But I wanted to help a friend who’s into this, so I sometimes buy their big bulk. Besides, my future doctor here is kind of obsessed with these healthy stuff!”

Sakura only shrugged before greeting the other women in the room, “Hi, Tita Kushina and Tita Mikoto!” She then approached them with a beso on their cheeks. But for some reason, she was stuck in place when the Uchiha matriarch surprisingly hugged her, leaving her wide eyed.

“Great to see you, Sakura!”

She chuckled shyly as she pulled a chair from an empty table near them. “Um, thank you, tita. You too.”

“It’s so nice of you to help out your mom today, Sakura. Thanks to you, we were able to catch up with Mebuki today!” Kushina said. And then she smirked. “So how are you and Sasuke?”

Mebuki and Mikoto threw glances at each other while stifling their laughter. As always, it was Kushina who would do things right off the bat.

Sakura parted her lips in surprise, eyes blinking as all the titas in the table leaned closer to wait for her reply. “I...I’m fine? I think Tita Mikoto would know about Sasuke-kun, though.” She scratched the side of her head.

“That’s not what we mean, dear.” Mikoto smiled, grasping her hand from across the table.

“Right. How are you and Sasuke?” Her mom asked this time.

Her eyes widened at the implication of the hanging question. She fidgeted in her seat, looking down with the hope that the blush on her cheeks wasn’t prominent for them to see. “H-how are...we? But...t-there’s no such thing, mom.” 

The three women’s shoulders slumped, excitement suddenly leaving their system. Sakura was still trying to grasp the reason behind the on-the-spot interrogation when someone’s phone buzzed.

Saved by the bell, she thought.

It was Mikoto’s. A smile graced her lips when she saw the name on her caller ID. “Hello, Sasu-chan? Yes, we’re still here! Oh, you’re already right outside? Alright, thank you. I’ll be there in a bit.” She returned her phone inside her Longchamp before facing her friends with a beam. And for some reason, Sakura didn’t know if that was a good thing. “My son is there to pick me up. Let’s go?” 

Definitely not a good thing.

The other women agreed, settling their bill and gathering their stuff before exiting Cafe Mary Grace.

Once outside, they all saw a black Audi with Sasuke leaning casually against its side. Kushina, Mebuki, and Mikoto couldn’t help but grin like Cheshire cats. Sakura, on the other hand, shifted her weight from one foot to another, gripping the Vitaplus box in her arms even tighter.

When Sasuke sensed their presence, he glanced at their direction, eyes slightly widening at the presence of someone he didn’t expect to be there. But he quickly brushed it off and approached his mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek before gently lifting Kushina’s hand and pressing his forehead against it. He repeated the honoring gesture to Mebuki, which the woman responded with a cheery “Bless you!”

For a brief moment, it was as if the three elders were holding their breaths, bracing themselves while they waited to see how Sasuke would greet Sakura. 

Would he hug her, kiss her, hold her hand, or what?

Their expectations have faltered, however, when Sasuke simply turned to Sakura’s direction and gave her a nod. 

A simple, small nod.

That’s it? Mikoto blinked in surprise, slightly disappointed with her own son. He definitely got that from Fugaku! 

Sakura smiled in response at his raven-haired childhood friend, grinning a bit wider when she noticed the tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. Thankfully, their moms and aunt failed to see it.

“Do you mind if we give them all a ride?” Mikoto then asked once she recovered.

Sasuke – being Sasuke – simply shrugged and unlocked the car, opening both doors for them before assisting Kushina with her grocery bags to be placed in the trunk. As Kushina and Mebuki entered the back seat, he returned to get the box that Sakura was holding so he could also place it beside Kushina’s groceries.

He found his mom standing by the passenger seat then, with a hand on Sakura’s shoulder as if stopping her from going inside the car beside her mother. “Mom, what are you waiting for?”

“I’m actually thinking that Sakura should take the passenger seat so I and your titas could still talk at the back.” 

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her. “Couldn’t you do that with you in the front seat?”

“No!” Three voices startled him and Sakura, though he was just asking the question to his mom.

“Well, you see, they agree with me.” Mikoto grinned. “I mean, I just really missed your titas, Sasuke-chan.” She intentionally completed Sasuke’s name to better gain his favor, well aware that he hated being called with his childhood nickname in front of other people. “Besides, while we talk, you and Sakura could have some—I don’t know—catch up or something.”

There was a pregnant pause after that as Sasuke weighed the predicament, sensing something strange. But when he realized that there was no point discussing a petty thing, he finally nodded at his mom and waited for her to get inside the car beside Mebuki. He closed the car door and waited for Sakura to enter the front seat next, before closing her door as well and rounding the car to go to his side.

Internally squealing, the three women at the back seat gave each other knowing glances that Sakura was able to catch through the rearview mirror.

Her neck suddenly felt warm the moment Sasuke entered the car. There’s this weird pressure of being this close to him and having the elders behind them, watching them carefully contrary to what Mikoto said that they would still converse with each other.

She busied herself with her phone then. And upon unlocking it, she noticed the latest Facebook notification that appeared on her screen: Sasuke Uchiha mentioned you in a comment.

Biting her lip to fight her smile from growing, she threw a glance at the man beside her. What made all her tension go away was the fact that he was also surprisingly looking at her with a smirk playing on his lips.

And then Sasuke drove off to bring the titas home.

————

June 2019 | @AriannJS

————

Some terms that might need definitions:

Mars/Mare/Kumare - (Tagalog; derived from a Spanish word) appellation for a female close friend; appellation for your child’s godmother 

Kuya - (Tagalog) big brother

Lola - (Tagalog) grandmother

Tita - (Tagalog) aunt

Amiga - (Spanish/also used sometimes in the Philippines) female friend

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! :D

[aggresivelyfriendly]

Summer’s Child

"One, two, three, four, five!" Harry rattled off the change he was counting. He was not going to break into his California fund. He was not.

He'd made a promise to himself, this one he intended to keep.

After breaking silent promises to Jillian, and a big one of silence to himself, he'd keep this important vow to himself, no dipping into the Haight fund for any reason. There  was no chemistry set for him, and he totally ignored the telescope that was in his dad's popular science magazine.

The couch cushion landed with a thud over his shoulder while he scouted for $.30 more. That would give him enough for a burger. He'd driven by and seen Will's truck pulling out of the Dairy Barn on his way home from the library. It struck him as an opportunity to fix things. He hadn't seen Jillian in a month.

Not properly. He'd seen her with his eyes, like across the hall and sitting eating lunch quietly among the hyena like athletic table. He wouldn't approach her in that environment at all. It was asking for a beating, a physical one, he was already emotionally bruised.

Black and blue, like the time she'd convinced him to try the dock swing, and he'd let go either too soon or too late and one of his legs had caught the wooden planks. There had been splinters as well. Jillian had driven him home and patched him up before they realized. Her accomplishment had seen them jumping up and down and laughing. Well, he was really excited for her, but the bouncing made him grimace. Jillian didn't know how to drive, was afraid to. "Besides, they have streetcars in San Francisco!" Was her line. But she'd done it to save him.

That seemed like a long time ago, and all the contusions were beneath his skin, under his breast bone. Nothing broken but his heart. He could pretend during break that she was busy and not avoiding him. Once school was back in session though, there was no denying anything.

She hadn't looked at him even. And that gutted him absolutely, until one day his eyes lingered over her for longer than he normally allowed.  Jillian caught him, Harry found his intestines on the floor and his heart in their place. He'd expected her to look disgusted. Be disgusted. Especially after her perceived silent treatment, it seemed the only likely conclusion.

She looked like a bird with a broken wing.

That was what she looked like. Hurt. He wasn't sure how he'd hurt her. Harry was sure he was the injured party. The confusion was what fueled his current expedition. The fact was, they had a lifetime of shared worlds between them and he wasn't willing to let a misunderstanding or a new understanding change that.

He'd eat crow, or the burger she served him, and he'd never mention the apparently unfortunate fact that he found her wonderful and beautiful and shamefully sexy if he got to keep her.

Keep her was the wrong. No matter how gilded the cage he put her in, keeping her was like caging a bird. A being meant to fly.

He didn't want to keep her or cage her. But whatever arrangement there was between people that made them come back to each other, like the homing birds who roamed, worked, but came back. "Love?" He questioned out loud. He wanted that with Jillian. He wanted to always be the place she came back to. Where she was safe. If the love looked different than he hoped, he'd accept it.

He would not accept a separation based on nothing. They'd talk it out. Work it out. Be best friends, what the other needed. She didn't talk to him about Will before, and he guessed she needed to. You couldn't talk to your boyfriend about him being your boyfriend. Everybody needed somebody. She was his, he had always been hers. He'd listen to her about Will, not the night time stuff, hopefully. He imagined that would twist him up inside. What if she was doing, that, with Will? Worse, what if she loved him?

Those fears had been enough to keep him alone and sad, but realizing Jillian was sad too was a sight he couldn't walk past. Unwelcome knowledge was better than tripping over a wordless goodbye.

No wordless goodbyes, just unspoken support and comfortable silence and daily diatribes, like usual. So he would go eat a crow burger and try to fix it.

"Yes!" He crowed when he found the last quarter and got in his truck. He put on the radio and nearly clicked it off when Van Morrison came on. He loved Van Morrison, it was like poetry. He'd been explaining it to Jillian in the summer and she'd gotten really into it. Astral Weeks had been their lakeside soundtrack. Sweet Thing was written about Jillian, he was sure, just not how. If only he could be dynamite.

He hadn't listened since before Winter Formal, when the bluesy folk rock had promised him he could be born again, baptized in her love. He was gonna tell her, he'd decided to their soundtrack, then he'd chickened out or lost his chance when she'd been swept away. She'd flown their safe little coop, become sweet on someone else. That hurt.

But, instead of letting himself shy away from feeling what he felt for her, he listened to the music. Love was love, and he knew she loved him, or she wouldn't have looked so sad Monday in the lunchroom. He may love her different, but he could love her however she needed. He'd make a damn good job of trying.

His palms were sweating so bad he wiped them on his trousers when they nearly slipped off the steering wheel as he turned into the Dairy Barn. Will's truck was still missing, which was good. He had no idea what Will was really like. Except for a braggart who told his friends things they shouldn't know about nice girls' bodies. Harry would hold that against him more if he hadn't heard so many other guys talking like that. So many he suspected of lying, he decided that Will probably was too.

Harry still didn't want to know him, or be his friend, like Jillian would insist and want to start right away if Will was at ye olde dairy haus.

It was good he wasn't. He still felt like punching him.

Harry wiped his hands one more time and walked straight in. To get this done, then back on track and in line, he'd be a man of action.

It was quiet. The dinner rush was long over, now it was the odd person in for ice cream and the crew cleaning. Harry did his homework while she cleaned lots of nights, so he could take her home. He knew the rhythms as well as if he worked there.

She was dancing with a broom like she was atop a cloud. She was spinning and he wondered if she took flight if the roof would open for her too. He bet it would.

He didn't want to startle her. "Jillian" his voice croaked out. He hadn't spoken much since his meeting with the guidance counselor.

The broom hit the floor with a clatter. He watched it fall and bounce three times before it came to a standstill. All that potential energy converted to sound and fury. Well, so much for his good intentions.

By the time his eyes made their way off the floor, Jillian was holding her elbow with one arm while the other hand was worrying the blonde ends of her hair. She looked scared.  Which would be confusing if he didn't know that was her common response when there was a disagreement, a learned response.

He didn't think of their current estrangement as a disagreement so much as a misunderstanding. That's what he'd practiced in the mirror telling her. How he wasn't an option, not if she didn't want him to be.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" She scanned the parking lot quickly.

"I had a craving for a burger the way you make it." She always slathered on the ketchup for him. It was very un-English of him, but he loved the American condiment in heavy doses. Plus. "thought you might need a ride home,  all the way home." He shrugged but wanted to bite off his own tongue. It was best not to bring up that conversation. Well, he was here to bring it up, but in a way to make up, not make Jillian feel defensive about Will.

Because she liked him.

She liked Will and felt it was important enough to say it out loud. Which Harry knew to be significant.

Her face changed a smidgeon and he wondered if she'd shut down on him, or give him a serrated comment and then return to ignoring him. He drew in a breath to prepare for the slice.

She must have caught it, his brace. She sighed and shook her head minutely. "What are you really doing here?"

No bullshit, his Jillian, his best friend. How honest should he be? "I miss you." He flashed his hands, ready for the rap he deserved on his knuckles.

She sighed, then Hermouth quirked. "I miss you too. I don't like not seeing you everyday, and so much has happened, but I'm not sure it's real because I haven't told you."

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. And I have big news too." He was grinning. Could practically feel his dimples. She missed him too. Had things to share, because even her boyfriend knowing didn't make them feel real. He assumed Will knew them her life happenings. Unless they were about him. Harry's stomach twisted, because the news might be about Will, her being in love with Will. He was gonna have to make his innards cast iron to hear about that. But it was better than the last month without hearing her laugh.

She shook her hair and it danced. "I shouldn't have just left like that and not talked to you. When you didn't come after me, or talk to me, I thought you were mad."

"I wasn't angry with you. I was ashamed. Why would I be angry with you?" He couldn't think of a time he was mad at her. Maybe when she broke his magnifying glass when they were 9?

Jillian just shrugged. Did anger need an explanation? "I mean, we never talked about, that, is, like that. I was afraid..." she trailed off. "Never mind. You don't get mad. Not at me, for being honest. I don't know why I forgot why you're my favorite person." Her smile was silly.

He usually countered. "I'm your favorite creature, and you know it." They were 12 when she'd dubbed him her favorite person, 'Only person?' 'Fine. Creature.'  Echoed in his ear

He thought they'd just watched 'the creature from the black lagoon' that day. The reference was topical. There was more to the exchange, which Jillian filled in a moment later.

"I'd still like you, even if you looked like that- and still wore your glasses!" His dimples deepened at the old tease. They had so many inside jokes.

"Jillian?" Sandra Tucker, the girl who campaigned to get softball added at their high school and lost, who now managed the dairy barn, continued. "You planning on finishing this floor or flirting with your back up boyfriend?"

Harry didn't need any of Jillian's slicing words, that appellation cut him to the bone.

"No, I'll finish. Sorry." But her brow was furrowed and her cheeks flushed. If he didn't know her better, he'd guess embarrassed. But he did, she was mad.

Harry sat outside and thought about Sandra's wrong idea. Is that what everybody thought? That he was the guy she'd been with until she got somebody better and now he was still hanging around like the most pathetic person, creature, imaginable? He was singing 'Helplessly Hoping' when she brought him out the leftover fries from the pan. She huffed when she put it down but managed a smiler. Her hair was flyaway and he could smell her sweat, but the red cheeks were still anger.

"I'm ready soon. I have to take out the trash. I hate when I'm on Patio." Subtext: I hate Sandra right now.

He nodded. When he looked up and they connected eyes, hers turned down at the end, soft like the rabbit jacket she'd loved so when her daddy brought it home for her. She'd burned it when he left. Harry had helped, but he remembered petting it with her. And her back when she cried the last time she'd pulled it over her shoulders, though it only came to her elbows by them, then ripped it off, the seams giving further as it flung into the flames.

He cut off whatever sweet thing she was going to placate him with. "Yeah, I'm sure the toilet cleaning and taking out the trash plus double sweep and mop makes it everyone's favorite assignment."

She'd bit her lip. And he saw resolve. He'd wanted to talk, but not about Sandra. Or how being a backup instead of partner felt. She was feeling sorry for him. He was pathetic.

Thankfullly, "Jillian!" Came from the door.

The face Jillian made right then, and when she saw Sandra drop the big black bag on the pavement, right where it could rip easily and give her 20 more minutes work, could kill. Sandra had erased the admiration Jillian'd had for the girl who strove for small town equality. She may have been socially aware, but she was also a bitchy boss.

He was sitting in his truck with the radio on loud when he saw her pulling out her ponytail and walking towards him. He was happy 'Hey Jude' was on and 'Hello, I Love You' had ended when her butt thudded into the leather. She was a slight thing, but all her frustration hit the bench seat with force.

"Rough night?" He mused.

"Rough month." She leaned her head toward him and slid close so she could put her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah." He agreed and put the truck in reverse. His fingertips caught her shoulder when he extended it over the seat to check his path. She shuddered. He felt it when his arm went around her. He pulled it down her back and avoided touching her like she was sharp or on fire. He held the steering wheel until his knuckles were white and hoped she didn't notice under the stop lights. With her this close, the maneuver was uncomfortable.

"Sorry." He said low.

"Don't be."

They'd never been stuck with uncomfortable silences. Long stretches of air went unfilled between them, they never felt so tight.

Harry decided to break it just before they reached the fork. Her place or his? "Do you want to go straight home?"

She shook her head.

"Mine?" He made the turn and chanced a glance.

She was biting her lip worriedly. "Can we just drive?"

He had a test in the morning. "Yeah, let's drive."

It felt hard, until they sang 'Don't Worry Baby' and she hooked her arm through his. Harry clasped a hand over hers and drove to the lake. The edges were frozen, would be another month at least before you could walk on it , but the truck was warm and they were thawing.

"Oh! Dick moved out!" She suddenly said right after the last note. "Mom even told him his name was perfect for him and slammed the door."

"That's good!" He turned toward her with high eyebrows.

"Yeah, except I had to pay the rent this month. But it was easier because Will's parents spoil him. So I hadn't spent any of my paychecks." She sighed and flounced her shoulders against the back seat and threw her hands out before looking at him.

Harry winced, he'd hoped she'd been a moment to late with the glance, or that it was dark enough to cover for him. There was a gap between them now, so she could talk with her hands with all the space she needed to gesticulate and he needed to breathe.

"Buts it's so much better. Well, my mom was a mess for the first week, but then it got better!" She gleed up at him and he couldn't help but smile.

How much of a mess he wondered. Just passed out and raging, or like that time he had to help Jillian take her to the shower and turn on the cold full blast? She'd cried all the way through it. But when her mom came round, her eyes had turned to green glass, all emotion and wet reflected away.

He didn't help her dry her mom out this time, and he'd seen Will drop her at the Kellerman's recently. Jillian had done it alone, so he figured this heartbreak called for beer, not whiskey. It wasn't good, nor as bad as it could be. It just was.

That's what she'd told him before, when he'd tried to get her to talk about it a couple years ago. 'Does it make you mad?' He'd prompted a day to late.

'What?' She'd looked up from the paper she was supposed to be writing and he was allegedly helping her with. She'd slept over the previous night. Her eyes were red when she arrived and he'd tried to ask all the questions he'd had since her dad left the house and black eyes behind him. He'd started with the most important one.

'You okay?' He'd finally got out while he pulled her through the window. It was too chilly to ride, but her very cold cheeks against his told him she had along the dark streets and in her too thin sweater. They may have been cooler for the wet there. He had to check.

'It's nothing. Just too quiet.'

'Quiet where?'

"Everywhere. Except my head.' She'd taken off his sweatshirt to reveal flannel pajamas. It was obvious there were not so many places to shop in town . He was wearing the same ones. They may have been the Christmas present his dad had got for both of them. His pants were too short now. Hers strained at the third button down.  'Can we sleep?' She's called his attention back

He nodded, and stopped asking questions when she may have answered. Was he being a bad friend? Or was he being a good friend? "It's better now?" He asked on his back and felt her hand search for his in the small space between them. Twin beds weren't meant for two, it's why he knew he'd move to the floor when she nodded off. Safer there.

"It's always better now." And he didn't push, because he was happy he was her safe place.

Did he push now? Maybe because he let her not say everything it may have been better to say before it was to late. That's why they were in their current predicament. What he didn't say, what she didn't. Harry let her off the hook. Because she didn't want to talk and because the things he thought he knew but had not had confirmed already haunted him.

But they'd just started talking again. Now, asking now would muck everything up. Maybe send her away. And they had other things, more prescient things to discuss or ignore. Their current issues: his hard on and soft heart for her. Her rejection of both.

What happened now? They missed each other. She missed him. It counted for something.

"Are we better?" He heard himself say, like if he said it louder it would crack the ice.

Her face pinched and he waited for whatever that face, he couldn't remember ever seeing that one, meant.

Suddenly, Jillian turned to him on the bench seat and pushed his glasses up onto his head and gripped his shoulders.

Oh god, was she going to kiss him? He'd never been kissed, well that one time under the mistletoe. But they were twelve and he didn't count it. He just remembered it. Could still feel it in his dreams.

She leaned in and looked in his eyes and his fell closed without his permisssion.

"Please look at me. I know you can see this close." She cocked her head and smiled. He was glad he'd opened his eye to see it. "Does that make you farsighted or nearsighted? I always mix those up."

He could feel her breath.

"I'm nearsighted. I can see better up close." He swallowed, "Like your face right now."

"Harry, I want you to look at me." She breathed. "I love you."

Oh god. He'd put that on a record if he could. Spin it round for the rest of eternity. "I love you too!" Bubbled out, a geyser. All the pressure, years of feelings and history and hope. They loved each other. His heart raced, he was buoyed up to the top by all their force. He forgot universal laws though. What goes up..... He was grinning, but she'd gone back to biting her lip. If he wasn't so selfishly elated, he might have noticed.

"Harry," her voice was gentle. Like the flap of a wing. "I love you, and I want to be with you forever, and live with you and dance in golden gate park with flowers in our hair."

"Yeah, yeah, me too!" God this was exciting, even the beginning of the free fall. Could he take the leap and tell her his plans? That was relevant news. They could. He'd been accepted. Even had a back up place. He was about to jump when he remembered the bottom.

"So we can't, it's not, there can't, not that kind of love. It ruins..." She trailed off. "There can't be any romance between us." Her voice was sure, but the needle skipped repeatedly while she was trying to get it out, like a scratch over the very surface of their song.

"What?" He didn't understand. How could there be forever if there was no romance?

"Look, I know what all the movies say, I've seen them too. But look around you, and think. That stuff, it may feel far out for a minute, maybe 15, or a couple years like your parents. But it doesn't last. When you mess it up with kissing and screwing." She sighed. "It doesn't last. People get stupid and then they get mean. Men especially. And if I've learned anything watching my mom, the easiest way to make a guy split is to sleep with him, or depend on him. I'd die if you cut out on me Harry."

"But I'd never, I wouldn't.." but he was caught up in what she was saying. Her reasoning. Did that mean she was or was not with Will? "So you're willing to risk it with Will?" He really had no brakes on his mouth when he was all worked up. His thoughts just sped out, from his broken heart into broken pleas.

"I'm not, we haven't." She shook her head. And he felt such relief. Though why he couldn't say. He had no ownership of her virginity, just jealousy. "I'm making him wait."

"So he won't leave?"

She nodded. "Will's not important, well, he is, but he's not forever, Harry." She looked up at him and the moon shone off the whites of her eyes. Pleading and hope and resignation.

Jillian hugged him then, and it wasn't the kiss he hurtle toward the sky for, but the tumble down, well he just became part of the cycle again. The Jillian one, where she got his hopes up and he felt so high on her, her love, and then crashed down when it wasn't what he hoped. But stayed right by her, to be sucked under and pushed up and crashed down again. Helplessly, he hoped her way gave them Both what they wanted. Or something like it. He wanted to be forever.

"Okay." He heard himself agree to whatever she wanted.

"Okay?" She smiled and pressed her forehead together. "Far out! That means we get to be one, that we don't ever have to be alone! I won't leave you and you won't leave me. Promise?"

"Promise." He agreed and she hugged him up and like to crawl not just into his lap, but all the way into his heart. Like they were one person. And he didn't feel so alone. But Will made for an uncomfortable third. One he knew would hurt an confuse him as long as he was around.

After him? Who else would make them a triangle?

He may have been a big square, but he just wanted it to be the two of them, for each other, only.

He hoped, helplessly.

AN-I’m helplessly indebted to @emulateharry, @dirtystyles, and @bleedinglove4h! Thanks ladies! I hope you guys enjoy- little time jump next chapter, we’re gonna got to prom!

Talk to me! or scream at me-whatever!

[scandalouskc]

hii! can i request a jihoon (treasure box) fluff where both of you are trainees and he finds you interesting so he keeps pretending he has something to do in your practice room when he actually doesnt. thank youu!! :D

yes ofc! thank you for being our 2nd request! i’ve been waiting for you ;)

- C

+ i don’t really know what you meant by ‘interesting’ but i’m guessing you mean jihoon likes y/n?

requested - yes

warnings - nah boo boo

genre - full fluff for our squishy

word count - 880+

+yA’ll! my squishy jihoon post got so many notes and i’m seriously so happy. thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged. it seems so stupid for me to be happy about this but i am hehehe

- C

y/n had joined YG when she was only 12 years-old. upon joining, she has gained so many friends, one of them being park jihoon. their meeting was… odd, to say the least.

when y/n had first joined YG, she wasn’t familiar with things… obviously. she wasn’t used to their system despite being in pledis entertainment years before. their vocal coaches and choreographers were strict and harsh when it came to feedback. so the pressure on her to succeed was burdening.

that night, y/n was practicing at around 7 pm. she was the only one left in the practice room as her other members left for dinner. thinking she needed the extra practice, she stayed and danced. it was her 3rd time going over the choreography when she caught her senior staring at her through the glass door. park jihoon. when they caught eyes, he unexpectedly just stood there and watched. he didn’t smile or frown, he was expressionless. y/n shrugged it off and continued dancing, this time putting all of her effort into it(trying really hard to impress him).

once the song was over, not only was she proud of herself for not making any mistakes, but was satisfied with the face jihoon made at her performance. this time around, jihoon had a big smile on his face. jihoon waved at her and began to walk away. y/n ran to greet and thank him.

“sunbae!”y/n called. jihoon turned around.

oof my koreaboo is coming out

“hello, my name is y/n. thank you so much!”y/n thanked.

jihoon smiled, but cocked his head to the side.

“for what?”jihoon asked.

“if you weren’t watching me, i think i would’ve been in there more than i wanted to.”

“oh well, i didn’t do anything… but you’re welcome,”jihoon shrugged and patted her head before walking off.

“what was your name?”y/n asked, but he was long gone.

the next time they met was during the monthly evalution. all their choreographers and vocal coaches were there, and rumor has it, the CEO would also be coming to scout for a group to debut; but that was only a rumor.

y/n met jihoon’s eyes, she smiled widely. she even waved, luckily so did he. she looked away and started chatting away with her members. once the choreographers and vocal coaches entered, everyone silenced their conversations and bowed. the rumor was indeed a rumor, the CEO wasn’t coming. the announcement caused everyone to pull a face of disappointment, nevertheless the groups tried their best to impress the spectators. then jihoon’s group was called, y/n clapped loudly, but it was hardly noticeable. jihoon’s group was the most popular within the trainees and everyone knew them, everyone except y/n that is.

their performance showcased how hard they worked and, expectedly, all the spectators gave them good feedback. finally, y/n’s group. her members were all experienced, but she wasn’t. getting reassuring looks from her members, y/n got in her position. while waiting for the music to start, she once again met jihoon’s eyes. he gave her a thumbs up and signaled that he’d be watching closely, like he did when they first met.

through her performance, jihoon couldn’t help but find her interesting. her expression. her precise dance moves. everything, he adored. he smiled widely when they finally finished, y/n staring intensely at the judges. y/n gave it her all, and was luckily met with positive feedback. she sighed in relief, hearing compliments.

from then on, jihoon randomly appeared in their practice room. all the other members were familiar with jihoon, and some were actually quite close with him. y/n could sense the confusion from her members whenever jihoon would poke his head in.

countless excuses came from his lips, so many that the girls stopped listening to them after a while.

“just making sure you’re practicing,”he’d say.

or,”i came to clean up, you girls are so messy.” there was no mess.

“chicken delivery!”jihoon had no chicken in his hand, and instead of handing the girls any food, he sat next to y/n and listened in on the group’s discussion. 

one night, the girls were chatting it away on their break, and one of the members decided to bring jihoon up. 

“you know, jihoon’s been coming here an awful lot. i wonder why,”they said. 

“probably because of y/n..”one of them teased.

“unnie! no way! jihoon oppa is not coming here because of me..”y/n whined.

oh god my koreaboo, go back inside the dungeon

“just admit it, y/n. jihoon never came here before until you showed up,”they continued.

“i bet he’ll be here again in about 30 seconds,”another said. 

“what-”

y/n was interrupted by none other. park jihoon.

“you guys-”jihoon started.

“jihoon just take her already, god you need a life,”the eldest of the group said, standing up from her spot and walking out, the others following suit. 

“was i really that obvious?”jihoon muttered, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“yes!”they all exclaimed in unison. 

y/n chuckled. 

“oppa, huh?”jihoon smirked.

“you heard?”y/n groaned,”you’re older than me, it only fits to say so, right?”

“we’re the same age.”

“what?!”“it’s okay, just keep saying it, i like the way it sounds,”jihoon teasing, patting her head. 

y/n cheeks turned red from the skinship. 

“jihoon-”

“they were right, you know?”

“a-about what?”y/n stuttered out. 

“i do come up here because of you,”jihoon said. 

if it was possible, y/n’s cheeks turned to an even deeper shade of red. 

“let’s go get dinner,”jihoon suggested, wrapping his arm around y/n’s shoulders and leading her out of the practice room.

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

Tyrus Month: Basketball

Try Out For My Heart (AO3)

A/N: I’ve had this little fic playing around in my head since the finale and I finally found an opportunity to write it!

“All right! Everyone, gather around!”

The girls on the court paused their warm-ups and made their way to where Coach Coleman stood. On his right, stood Buffy and TJ, both holding clipboards and pens.

“Thank you all of you for coming to tryouts today,” the Coach began. “As you all know, this year, we are starting Jefferson Middle School’s very first girls’ basketball team and it’s all thanks to Buffy Driscoll, here, who petitioned the idea to Dr. Metcalf."

Buffy gave the girls a little wave.

"For those of you who make it today, I’ll be your temporary Coach until we find a permanent one. And since she is the reason that you are all here, it's only appropriate that Buffy will also be your future team Captain.”

He gestured towards her and Buffy took a step forward to the claps and cheers of the other girls.

“Hi, everyone, I’m Buffy,” she said with a giant and welcoming smile. “I’m so happy to see so many of you come to try out today. TJ, here.” She gestured towards the other Captain. “Is the boys’ team captain and he will be helping me and Coach evaluate your skills. So, do your best and bring your A-game!”

The girls clapped and cheered again. Then, Coleman told them to finish warm-ups and they would begin with some drills in 10 minutes, followed by a mock game.

Buffy smiled as she watched the girls talk amongst themselves.

“Wow… I didn’t think there would be this many girls interested in playing basketball,” she said.

TJ was surprised too, but considering Buffy was the first girl to try out for the basketball team, it probably just set the ball rolling (pun intended). And to make up for his past transgressions to the girl, he had volunteered to help scout for fresh talent.

“Well, I’m willing to bet you inspired them,” he stated, sincerely. “I was kind of hoping you’d take over as Captain of the boys’ team when I graduated, but this is cool too.”

Buffy’s mouth fell open. “Now you tell me?!”

“Hey, it was one of a couple of things I thought of to try and apologize to you.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow. “What were the other ones?”

TJ opened his mouth to answer then paused. “Honestly, that was the only one. Cyrus said he would help me come up with something else if you said 'no'.”

The girl snorted. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m very happy with having my own team.”

TJ flashed her a rare friendly smile. “You deserve it. Really.”

Buffy returned it. “Thank you. And I really appreciate you doing this with me today.”

“No problem, Driscoll. Besides, there looks to be a lot of great players here. I already marked off a couple we should keep an eye on.”

He looked down at his clipboard, flipping through sheets of applications and profiles of the students trying out. The profiles came with photos so he was able to observe the girls while they did warm-ups and practiced free throws. He meant what he said about them actually being pretty great. He kind of wished he had a couple of them on his team too, but he already ruined that.

“You know… Cyrus said he might stop by with Andi later.”

TJ looked up so fast that he felt his neck almost pull a muscle. “He is?” he asked, hopefully.

Buffy smirked.

“I… mean… Cool.” TJ nonchalantly looked back down to his clipboard but his heart was hammering in his chest.

Cyrus was coming to the tryouts. He was coming to see him. Okay, he was coming to see Buffy but surely, he knew TJ would be around too, right?

If TJ had known, he would have dressed better. It wouldn’t be the first time Cyrus would have seen him in just a shirt and basketball shorts, but he could have worn a nicer shirt! The gray one he was wearing now was all faded and old.

Letting out a chuckle, Buffy said, “I’ll go talk to some of the girls.”

She headed off to do just that.

When she had her back turned, TJ took the opportunity to run his fingers through his hair, fixing it and flattening some of the stray strands. Then, he checked his breath in his hand, glad that he decided on the chicken nuggets for lunch that day instead of the burger. Did he have time to run to the bathroom and check his teeth before Cyrus got there?

He felt almost silly, wanting to look good and decent for the younger boy. But, this was the first time he had a crush that actually lasted a long time instead of disappearing in a few days.

Cyrus was cute. Witty. Had a great sense of humor. Sweet. Kind. Loyal. Had a smile like sunshine.

He really liked Cyrus.

“Kippen! Come over here a sec!” Coleman called out to him.

Sighing, TJ jogged over to the Coach, hoping that their conversation wouldn’t take too long. He really needed a mirror.

The sounds of sneakers and basketballs bouncing against the floors greeted Cyrus and Andi as they entered the gym. Buffy was holding tryouts for her new team that day and they wanted to show their support.

Cyrus scanned the floor and found their athletic friend standing by one of the nets, looking serious with her clipboard and pen as she closely eyed the girls currently doing 3-pointers (he learned that from TJ!).

Swiftly, he and Andi found spots in the bleachers and sat down to watch.

Buffy saw them come in and waved before mouthing, “Ten minutes.” Then, she went back to observing her future team.

“Oh, I’m so proud of Buffy,” Andi gushed with a small clap. “And it looks like a lot of girls in school want to be part of her team. This is so exciting!”

“The rest of our semester and next year’s will be booked with games, for sure, but not to worry, I’ll jot them all down in my calendar,” Cyrus said, already mentally planning various signs and cheers.

On the other side of the court, he saw that TJ was watching another group of girls doing layups (another thing he learned from TJ!), his own clipboard attached to his hand. Cyrus couldn’t help but watch the handsome jock.

He had his serious face on. Others may find it intimidating but Cyrus thought it was cute. And that may or may not relate to the small little budding crush he had on him.

As if feeling eyes on him, TJ turned his head and looked towards the bleachers.

When he saw Cyrus, he broke into a smile. Cyrus waved, enthusiastically. The jock waved back before turning back to his task.

Cyrus sighed, dreamily.

“Are we really here just for Buffy or did you have another motive?”

He blushed and coughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied to Andi.

His friend was flashing him teasing grin. “I know that look. I hadn’t seen that look in ages.”

“What look? I don’t have a look.”

Andi placed a hand over his. “You know that I’ve got your back, right? And you can tell me anything?”

Of course he could. Cyrus trusted her and Buffy the most. But, in this case, this…crush…was still so new to him. So strange. And it confused him. So, while he was figuring it out, he planned on staying quiet. Just until he got a clearer picture of what was really happening with him.

Besides, TJ was first and foremost his friend.

“I know,” he replied, taking her hand and squeezing it. “When I’m ready.”

Andi easily accepted this and they went back to watching the tryouts.

Although he should be watching Buffy, his eyes couldn’t help but stray towards the other side of the court.

Ten minutes passed and the coach blew his whistle and announced a ten-minute break so the girls could rest and hydrate for a mock game.

Buffy came over to them to chat.

“I’ve never seen you so excited!” Andi exclaimed.

“Are you kidding me? I’m beyond thrilled!”

“And we’re thrilled for you!” added Cyrus.

Buffy sighed, happily. “Thanks, guys. Your support really means a lot to me. And I’m aiming to make this team the best in all of Shadyside!”

“It will be! I’m sure of it!” Cyrus piped with Andi nodding along beside him.

Buffy smiled. “TJ has been a huge help too.”

“That’s great! I’m glad you guys are really getting along!”

“I can’t believe Cyrus actually managed to get you guys to make up!”

Their athletic friend chuckled. “Well, it turns out getting to know someone can really surprise you. And he’s definitely full of surprises.”

“Awww, Slayer, thanks. I’m flattered.”

TJ came up behind Buffy, four water bottles in his hand. He handed one to her before giving the others to Cyrus and Andi and kept one for himself.

Cyrus tried not to let his hands linger against the jock’s as he took the water and said, “Thanks.”

“Don’t get used to it, Captain,” Buffy replied, sassily.

TJ rolled his eyes before turning his gaze to Cyrus. “I told her she could have been the boy’s team’s captain next year but I guess I would have to pass on the torch to someone else now.”

“You sound disappointed about that,” Cyrus pointed out.

TJ shrugged. “She was the best player… other than me, of course.”

“Not according to our last one-on-one.”

“I still want a re-match.”

“Sure, Kippen. Any time. Anywhere.”

“You’re on.” TJ turned to Cyrus. “Will you keep score again, Underdog?”

Cyrus nodded, excitedly. “Of course!”

“Can I watch?” Andi asked. “I didn’t get to last time.”

“Of course! You can watch me beat TJ… again.”

“Not unless I beat you this time, Driscoll.”

Before they could get into another argument, Cyrus decided to interject. “It will be a fun… and friendly game, I’m sure.”

Just then, they heard the coach calling for both TJ and Buffy so they bid the two goodbye and headed off to see what the man needed.

Andi’s phone ping-ed and her eyes lit up. “It’s Jonah!”

Cyrus still didn’t know how Jonah’s parents managed to convince the school that he could leave for 8 weeks for Frisbee Camp but he supposed being an athlete always had its perks.

Meanwhile, a few feet away from Cyrus and Andi, some of the girls trying out were sitting with their things, resting and hydrating.

Cyrus didn’t mean to eavesdrop on their conversation but they were quite loud and his ears were fairly good at picking up words and topics he was interested in… namely, TJ’s name.

“TJ is cute, isn’t he?”

“So cute. And he’s such an awesome basketball player too. Did you see how many layups he did at the last game?”

“Ugh, he’s so cool. Do you know if he has a girlfriend?”

“If he does, it’s probably Buffy.”

At that, Cyrus froze and he strained his ears even more.

“Makes sense. They’re both captains. And did you see how close they are?”

Cyrus’ eyes strayed to the said captains, who had finished talking to the coach and were now in deep conversation with each other as they scanned the sheets on their clipboards.

TJ said something and Buffy laughed.

Normally, seeing his best friend get along with a person he considered his close friend would have made him happy.

But… Cyrus wasn’t.

“They’re so cute together.”

“Do you know when they started dating?”

He felt a prick in his heart.

Not again. He couldn’t deal with this again. Another best friend dating a guy he liked? It wasn’t fair.

Before he knew it, he was on his feet, his breaths suddenly coming in pants.

Andi looked up at him, questioningly. “Cyrus?”

“U-Um… I’m gonna get a drink of water.”

“But there’s water right here-.”

“And chips! I-I want chips from the vending machine. B-Be right back.”

Without another word, Cyrus climbed down the bleachers and walked out of the gym.

“… so I’ll take group A and you'll take B,” Buffy explained.

“You got it,” TJ replied, circling some names on his list.

Coleman had made a list of players for their mock game and he and Buffy were each to keep a close eye on the players of each team.

“Huh, weird. Where is Cyrus going?”

TJ turned around right on time to see Cyrus walking out of the gym, the doors slamming behind him.

Andi was left on the bleachers, looking perplexed.

A strange feeling came over TJ and he felt like something was wrong.

“You know… you can go after him, if you want.”

He turned back to Buffy. She was flashing him a teasing grin and a knowing look. As if she knew what was going on inside his head…

“Just make it quick, the mock game is starting in 5 minutes.”

“T-Thanks, Buffy.”

He handed her his clipboard and dashed off to follow Cyrus.

He spotted him at the end of the hall, staring blankly at the vending machine there. It almost felt like déjà vu except, this time, it was the other way around.

Squaring his shoulders, TJ took a deep breath and walked over to the younger boy.

When he got close, he greeted, “Hey, Underdog.”

Cyrus jumped and hit his elbow against the glass of the vending machine.

“Ow.”

“You okay?!”

Without thinking, TJ took his arm to inspect for injury. Thankfully, the skin was clear of bruises.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Cyrus gently removed his arm from his hold. “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in there. With Buffy.”

“I have five minutes. I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

Cyrus couldn’t seem to look him in the eye. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You tell me.” TJ placed a hand on his shoulder. “You know I’m here for you, right?”

The younger boy looked up at him with his innocent brown eyes and TJ felt like he was drowning in a pool of them. He couldn’t look away.

“Do you like Buffy?”

TJ blinked, uncomprehending. “What?”

Cyrus bit his lower lip and TJ was momentarily distracted by the action that he almost missed what the other boy said next.

“I heard some of the girls talking. They think you’re dating Buffy.”

TJ didn’t mean to make a face… but he did. “I’m… not? We’re just friends. And I don’t like her that way. And isn’t she dating that Marty guy from the track team?”

“No, I'm not really sure if they still talk… but… you’re sure? You… don’t have a crush on Buffy?”

No, I have a crush on you! was what TJ wanted to say.

“I don’t have a crush on Buffy,” was what he said, instead. “Believe me, Underdog, I don’t. Okay? I mean, does it matter if I do?”

“Of course, it does! I’m her best friend!”

The exasperated tone suddenly made TJ suspicious. Cyrus looked distressed at the possibility that he could like Buffy. Could it be…?

“Do… you like Buffy?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Of course, I like her! She’s my best friend!”

“Let me re-phrase… do you have a crush on Buffy?”

It was Cyrus’ turn to make a face. “No! Again, she’s my best friend! That’s weird!”

TJ felt relief in his chest and a little hope bloomed as well.

“Then, why did you sound so mad when I asked if it mattered?”

“It just… does.”

“Why?”

Cyrus remained silent, his eyes trained on the floor.

“Cyrus?”

No answer.

“Okay, if you don’t want to tell me, it’s fine. But…” Feeling brave, TJ took one of the younger’s hands in his. “I’m here for you, okay? Remember that.”

Finally, Cyrus looked up. For a moment, he simply looked at TJ, as if reading him and TJ wanted to know what was going on in that cute little head of his.

“TJ… will you… hug me?”

The request was random but it had TJ’s heart beating like he was running a marathon.

Trying not to seem eager, he nodded and wrapped his arms around Cyrus, the younger’s head laying itself against his chest as his arms went around TJ’s middle.

It felt nice… this hug. It made TJ feel all warm and tingly all over and Cyrus’ hair smelt like lemon and orange. He hoped that he couldn’t hear how loud TJ’s heart was beating, though, that would be embarrassing.

“You give nice hugs,” Cyrus mumbled against his chest and it was probably the best compliment TJ had ever heard from anyone in his entire life.

He didn’t know how long they hugged. For all he knew, Coleman was screaming his name at the gym right now, but he didn’t want to break this moment.

Unfortunately, Cyrus eventually pulled away and TJ tried not to look disappointed.

The younger boy smiled up at him. “Thank you, I needed that.”

TJ returned the smile. “Any time, Underdog.”

Cyrus cleared his throat. “We should probably get back to the gym. It’s probably been more than five minutes.”

He turned to walk away but TJ gently gripped his arm. “If you need to talk or just need a hug, you know where to find me,” he told him.

Beaming like the sun, Cyrus nodded. “Thank you.”

Side-by-side, hands almost brushing, the two boys made their way back to the gym.

[woildismyerster]

Predictable

“Can I get uhhhh, finch soccer captain au where he likes the reader and she doesn't know”

“There are scouts coming this week to watch Finch play,” JoJo said, beaming.  He clapped his team captain on the back.  “He’s gonna get a scholarship offer, for sure.”

Finch rolled his eyes, but the way his shoulders straightened make you think he might believe it.  “If I don’t mess it up, anyway.”

“You’ve never messed up,” you scoffed.  “At soccer, anyway.  Everything else, sure, but never soccer.”

“As if you’d know.”  Finch flicked your forehead, grinning when you scowled.  “You don’t know anything about soccer.”

“I know the only thing I need to,” you smirked.  “That you make a lot of baskets.”

He gagged emphatically.  “I think that I’m allergic to you, Y/N.  I’m nauseous whenever you talk.”

“Stop talking to me, then.”

Finch did not stop talking to you, and it took more effort than it should have for you to ignore the meaningful looks JoJo gave you.

The trouble with being friends with Finch was that he wasn’t really friends with any other girls.  Most people who saw the two of you together assumed that he liked you because of it - Liked you.  You didn’t believe it for a second.  

“You’ll be coming to the game, right?”

You wrinkled your nose.  “Do you want me to?”

“Of course,” Finch said.  “Don’t I always?”

Yes, he did.  “Food after?”

Yes, always.  “Of course.”

“Alright, then.”

“We should skip the game tonight,” you told Finch.  “We can eat a bunch of food instead.”

“We’ll be getting food after,” he said.

“Like, a lot of food.  Just picture it - a couple extra hours of eating is so much better than running.”

He snorted, not looking up from his math worksheet.  “You won’t be running at all.”

You snagged his eraser to clear a mistake.  “Is that a no?”  

“Believe it or not, I’m going to have to pass.  It’s almost like I need to be there for my team,” he said dryly.

“Chicken.  You’re scared that you’ll like not playing.”  You stuck out your tongue at him when he smirked.

“I’m not scared of anything.”

“Play hooky with me, then.”

You wondered what you would do if he took you up on it.  He never would, of course, but what would it mean if he did?  That you were a bad influence, of course, but would it be a date?  Just two friends, hanging out?

“I’m scared of one thing,” he said.

You laughed.  “Alright, Finch.  I’ll go to your stupid game.”

“Maybe I’ll take off my shirt,” he teased.  “Would that make it worth your while?”

“Yes,” you said immediately.

He gave a startled laugh.  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Do.”

He smiled for a long time after you went back to work, and it made it hard for you not to smile back.

Soccer wasn’t usually that exciting to watch.  It was a lot of running; as impressive as that was, you were always zoning out and losing track of what was happening.  You would only realize that it was happening when one of the guys would whisper that you were clapping for the wrong team.

“You spend a lot of money to come to these games,” Crutchie grinned.  “I’d think that you would try harder to watch them.”

You shrugged.  “We both know why I’m here.”

Just like everybody suspected that Finch liked you, everybody knew that you liked him.  Everyone, it seemed, except Finch himself.  He had never questioned why you came to his games, and he had never been bothered by the fact that you hardly cared about the sport.  He was just happy that you went.

Despite your disinterest in the sport, you liked to watch Finch.  His movements were quick and instinctual, almost always leading the team to victory.  Of course he was the captain - following his lead was almost always the right call.

After the game, you waited by the school entrance for Finch to come out.  You assumed that he was going to be talking to the scout for a while, but you hadn’t expected it to take so long.  You were half tempted to leave before he got out, but the grin on his face when he arrived was worth the wait.

“They were impressed,” he said.  His smile was savage; it was the closest he ever came to gushing.

“Are they giving you a full ride?  Building a statue in your honor?  Naming their kids after you?”

“We’ll see,” he said.  He ran his hand through his short hair, as though it would change the way it fell.  “They want to talk some more.”

“My boy,” you crooned.  “All grown up.”

He straightened, looking down his nose at you.  “I’ve been grown for a while.”

You gave a hum of irritation at his smirk, but it morphed into something close to a purr when he slung an arm over your shoulders.  “My boy, acting like a child.”

“My girl, acting self-righteous,” he tutted.  “How original.”

“We’re doing the same thing that we do every single week during the season.  If you were looking for originality, you wouldn’t have invited me along.”

Finch, for all of his desire to be adventurous, liked structure.  He liked a framework for everything he did, and you both knew it.  Of course he had invited you along.  You were an essential part of his framework.

“Come on, then,” he said with an unrepentant grin.  “Let’s do something predictable.”

The guys, as usual, took the booth next to yours.  You and Finch always went out to eat after games, but the guys always sat nearby.  You sometimes teased them about it, saying that it would be easier to get Finch to go out with you if the posse wasn’t stalking the two of you.

They always threatened to ask Finch if he agreed, so you would shut up.

“I really don’t get what people see in Finch,” Race mock-whispered to you.  You were several feet away, and his mouth was right by Finch’s ear while he spoke.  “You know what they say about soccer players, and he’s the captain.  That makes it, like, true times a hundred.”

“What do they say about soccer players?”

He gave emphatic spirit fingers.  “C’mon, Y/N.”

You suspected that you knew where he was going with it, but the way Finch’s eyes got progressively narrower was too sweet to let alone.  “No, you’ll have to spell it out for me.”

“They’re terrible with their hands, if you know what I mean.”  

You snorted, and laughed outright when Finch smacked him upside the head.

“I’ll show you bad with my hands,” he snapped, but his eyes danced.  

“No need,” Race crowed.  “I see it every day.”

“I’ve never seen it,” you said.

“I’ll bet Finch wants you to feel it,” Albert said.

Finch flushed, taking a massive bite of his burger in lieu of answering.  

You watched him with raised brows.  That wasn’t the sort of comment to be embarrassed by unless it was revealing something meant to be left alone.  Your eyes flickered to the guys, who were snickering.

Oh.  Oh, oh, oh.

Lips quirking, you put on the lightest voice you could.  “Same.”

Finch choked a little, and Race reached over the back of the seat to pound on his back.  

“Thata girl, Y/N,” Romeo called.  “Tell your man what you want.”

You laughed, wiggling your fingers.

“You guys are the worst,” Finch said.  “I have more athletic ability in my pinky toe than any of you do in your entire bodies.”

“I don’t know what your kinks are,” Race said with a wrinkled nose, “but toes don’t usually help much.  Poor Y/N.”

Finch scowled when you laughed, but the pink of his cheeks made his eyes look bright.  He hardly looked away from you for the rest of the night.

“So,” you said when Finch parked in front of your house.  “When are you supposed to talk to the college people again?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Soon.”

“God,” you sighed.  It was half pleased, half nostalgic.  “Can you believe that we’re old enough to be talking to colleges?  I feel like I should still have nap time every day.  I can’t go to college.”

“You can’t do both?”

“You’re right.  I’m good at multitasking.”

Finch sighed and rested his head against the headrest.  “That’s good.  You’ll have to come to my games in college, too, so you’ll need to multitask.”

You gave a playful groan.  “No, Finch, I can’t take anymore of this torture.  I thought I was going to be getting away.”

“Never,” he said.  “No, you’ll come to all of my games.  You’ll be a soccer expert in the end.”

“That would be the biggest change of all,” you snorted.  “What a twist.”

Finch laughed and twisted to face you.  “I can think of a few bigger changes.”

“Oh?”

“I could quit soccer,” he said.

Finch leaned over the consol.  You stilled, not pulling away, but not wanting to move toward him if you were misunderstanding his move.

“I could major in musical theatre,” he said.  He spoke slowly and carefully, like he thought you would spook if he did anything sudden.

He braced one hand against the door behind you, and you closed the rest of the gap.  His lips were still a little salty from the rush of the game; a somehow appealing flavor when it was on him.  

You kept one hand on the back of his neck when you pulled back a little.  “Those would be pretty major changes,” you said, slightly strangled.

He hummed in agreement.  “This wasn’t that surprising, though.”

“Nope.  Predictable AF,” you grinned, and leaned in again.

[acesartemis]

fluffbingo - vacation / cordia

Requested by @dark-alice-lilith

"You — call this — a vacation ?!"

Cora chuckled as the huff came from behind her. The brunette turned around to see her girlfriend, whose face was as red as her hair, trudging up the mountain after her. Lydia's forehead glistened with sweat in the sunlight. Cora offered her water bottle to the huffing girl once she caught up.

"You said you wanted to get away from it all."

Lydia gasped as she took a gulp of air after downing half the water. "Yes, like the beach or"—she doubled over for breath—"I don't know—not this!" Wiping the sweat from her brow, she leveled a glare at Cora. "How are you not dying?"

Cora shrugged. "Werewolf?"

"Why did I ask?" Lydia muttered and Cora wanted to kiss her pout away, but Cora didn't have a death wish. "Do you really find this relaxing?"

Cora flexed her fingers, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Yeah… I spent a lot of time up here after... everything." The fire, mainly. She had ran the trails until her legs gave out, for weeks. But now, being up here was peaceful; quiet, and let her hear all the sounds of nature without the suffocating trees of the reserve back home. She also wasn't alone this time.

"So why come back—let me reiterate—for vacation?”

Cora's lips tipped up in a grin. "You'll see."

"Wait, further?" Lydia exclaimed, exasperated. But she followed dutifully nonetheless, and Cora knew the curiosity was spurring her on.

A hundred feet more and an abundance of Lydia's grumbling behind her, Cora finally stopped and dropped her hiking pack to the ground. She first unrolled the blanket she had packed, of which Lydia promptly plopped herself down upon. Cora immediately handed her another bottle of water, then began removing Tupperware containers of sesame chicken and rice, grapes, and chocolate pudding. Cora had never been a Girl Scout, but she wanted to be prepared for this special night.

"Not that I'm complaining—"

"You are," Cora interjected, amused. She popped a grape in her mouth as she settled next to Lydia.

"—And not that I'm not grateful for all this trouble, but we could have done this without the workout."

Cora leaned over and brushed a kiss to her girlfriend's temple. "My dear, we wouldn't be able to see this…" She waved her hand towards the sky, which (thankfully) had begun to turn a mix of beautiful pinks and purples and oranges. Lydia's shocked gasp made Cora fill with pride.

So far, so good , Cora thought as she took Lydia's distraction to remove the velvet box from the front pocket of the pack to her pocket without Lydia seeing.

After a few speechless moments from Lydia, and Cora taking the time to admire how bright of a red Lydia's hair was in the light, she broke the silence. "I bet you're starving, Lyds."

Lydia gave a happy sigh. "You know me too well."

In lieu of commenting, Cora opted for passing the chicken to her, along with two forks. The couple ate in silence as the sun steadily set in front of them. Lydia filled the silence by regaling Cora on the goings on in their pack of friends and, because even vacation wasn't off limits, she ranted about the absolute bozo she was partnered with at work.

By then, the chicken was gone. Cora decided to lighten her spirits by trying to shoot grapes into Lydia's waiting mouth. She loved the woman dearly, but she sometimes had a hard time of letting go and relaxing.

"Now this is more like it, you with purple balls in your mouth." Cora was already on the ground, cracking up from her own joke when Lydia gave an indignant squawk and launched herself at Cora in retaliation. They rolled with the momentum, Lydia's restless fingers tickling Cora's side to the point that Cora could barely breathe and thoughts of the box in her pocket forgotten, until…

"Ow, guess we should've checked for roc—" Lydia abruptly stopped talking and Cora, alarmed, shot up to a crouch, all traces of amusement forgotten as she looked around, ready for a threat.

The sound of a soft creak caused Cora to whip her attention back to Lydia and the sight made her stomach clench and she dropped back down to a sitting position, suddenly filled with fear.

It wasn't time. She's gonna freak. I'm dead. Cora's thought ran a mile a minute as Lydia looked at the contents of the box for what felt like an eternity.

"Is this—were you—?" It wasn't every day Lydia Martin was struck speechless, and Cora had made it so twice that evening alone. She wasn't sure if the second was good or not.

Cora gulped. The moon had come out, and the light lit up Lydia's face like she was an angel and Cora couldn't breathe, couldn't think, let alone say anything.

"Cora?"

"It's too soon, isn't it? I knew it. I should've waited, or for you to—its just…. I've never once felt this way before, and you know how hard it was for me to even believe I ever could. And so, you're it for me. You're beautiful and brilliant and so loving and supportive and I feel like a part of me is missing when I'm not with you… and I guess you're what my mom would've called 'my mate', but I don't want it to be like I own you and—"

Cora gasped as Lydia kissed her, deep and slow. She was straddling Cora's lap and her momentum and Cora's lack of resistance pushed Cora to her back with Lydia on top of her. It took Cora a count of five to figure out that okay, this may be good, or she's letting her down easy. And if this was their last kiss then Cora was fine with that.

Or she liked to herself, anyway.

Lydia broke the mind melting kiss with a warm laugh. "You're the dummy I want to spend the rest of my life with. Shocking, I know," Lydia teased and Cora nipped at her nose in playful response. Then her eyes widened.

"Wait, you said yes?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, but her smile was beaming. "I, Lydia Martin, would like to marry you, Miss Cora Hale. That's a yes."

"Thank God." Cora sagged back into the blanket in relief, wrapping her arms around Lydia happily.

[pokibal2001]

3. Surprise Kiss with Older!Manny/Frida

Hi, @mygardenofmuses?! It’s good to see you again! And thanks for the ask but…  Actually, despite my avid reading in romance books, I’m not that well-experienced in writing kissing scenes but regardless, I’ll do the short story with the best I can! ^_^

This short one-short takes place a few years after the events of C: TATD. and there might slight spoilers here and there… Don’t worry too much about it, just enjoy the ride!

—

“C’mon, you slowpoke! The cafe’s right there!” Frida exclaimed impatiently, pointing her finger wildly at the front entrance of said cafe.

“You know I’m right ahead of you, right?” Manny deadpanned bemusedly, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

The blue-haired gal snorted in amusement as she fastened her walking pace, “Of course I do. Just saying we should hurry a little.”

“Right… Is it because you can’t skipping?” jested the curly-haired teen, the smirk on his face growing bigger.

Frida huffed, “I can be patient! I’m just super excited, that’s all.”

Manny chuckled humorously, shaking his head. Frida had always been a super energetic girl, regardless of having powers or no powers. Granted, she has a really good reason to be quite excited about this particular occasion.

The cafe they were about to visit was a branch belonging to one of the most successful companies in the world that specializes in hipster-themed food and drinks that are both tasty and popular.

Manny couldn’t blame Frida for stirring in such pure excitement, because this cafe was exactly the type of place that served the blue-haired teen’s favourite types of meals. It helps that the cafe also allowed a venue opened for any local bands to perform.

For Frida, this was a dream come true for an aspiring rock star like her. Not only does she get to enjoy delicious meal that catered to her tastes, she also gets the chance for her band to organize a concert there!

She just has to scout out the place first, just so that it wasn’t a case of ‘too good to be true’ type of situation.

They had been burned by those cases before, especially during their stint in the the Ghost Zone. A realm of the afterlife so different from the Lands of the Dead.

(Frida and Sam still kept close contact with each other, despite what had happen. And Manny was too grateful for what Danny had done to help them when they were lost in those shadowy green depths)

Nonetheless, Frida was radiating optimism all over. If she’s happy, Manny was also happy and that was good enough for him. It helps that the curly-haired superhero was also thrilled about the occasion, but for completely different reasons.

Frida swung the glass doors opened, causing them to bang loudly against the brick wall so hard that Manny was surprised they hadn’t cracked from the force yet.

Multiple irked glances were sent their way but Manny, who was used to these type of stares in regards to their respective eccentricities, merely shrugged them off nonchalantly as he accompanied Frida towards the nearest table.

Since he was the first to reach the table, Manny was quick to pull out a chair for Frida before he quickly plopped down on his own seat. The blue-haired musician raised a curious eyebrow at her best friend’s odd sense of courtesy but simply shrugged and sat down on her chair.

“Oooh, look at the food!” Frida squealed as she licked her lips, “Manny, do you want chicken taquitos or steak burritos?”

Manny squinted his eyes at his own menu with wide smile, looking just as interested, “Hmm, they look pretty good! I think I’ll choose-” 

“AAHHH, MONSTER!”

“Muahahahaha! Kneel before my knees, Miracle City!” A annoyingly familiar voice of a mad scientist gloated.

There were numerous screams from the outside, the open windows of the cafe revealing several terrified civilians running for their lives from what seems to be a monster made of guacamole. 

Manny immediately smacked his face against the cloth-covered table, his chocolate brown eyes twitching as he moaned in pure vexation.

“Ai… Why now…?” The superhero-on-break groaned aloud. 

Frida simply huffed, crossing her arms as a flash of frustration crossed her narrowed blue eyes. 

“Dr. Chipotle Jr. again?” The rock star snorted, “You got to be kidding me, of all the rotten luck-”

“El Tigre! Come out, come out wherever you are!”

“Is he still sore about that?” Manny grumbled, peering up at Frida. 

The blue-haired gal hummed in contemplation as she rubbed her chin, “Well… He stopped sending me love letters, so that’s a plus.”

Reluctantly standing up from his seat, Manny sighed, “Let’s just get this over with.”

‘Now I know how Danny feels when ghosts barged into his personal time. Mine are freaking supervillains!’ Manny thought to himself in sympathy.

—

Half an hour later, with the screaming Dr Chipotle Jr. and his defeated Guacamole monster sent flying off into the air…

—

Unfortunately, the ensuring altercation between Manny and Frida’s heroic alter-egos with Dr Chipotle Jr. caused a lot more collateral damage than either hero had expected. 

Frida, having dispelled the magic of her super suit, ran in front of the rubble from the destroyed cafe. Slamming both of her hands against her cheeks as she kneeled down and wailed, “NOOOOOO! Not the cafe!”

El Tigre walk towards the distraught musician and crouched down beside her, a sympathetic grimace on his face as he unsheathed his right claw and rubbed her back soothingly. 

“Don’t worry, Frida,” He reassured her, “The cafe will get repaired soon enough!”

Frida’s lips trembled for a bit when all of a sudden, her bluebelle eyes brightened. The expression on her face suddenly lit up in such a manner that made the tiger superhero wary, wearing a specific type of expression that he recognized all too well. 

It was her crafty face, the kind Frida normally showed when they schemed together their usual array of pranks during their younger years. 

Not that they stopped playing pranks since then, but growing older also came with a lot of priority juggling in their lives. They’re still bonafide pranksters at their peak of their youth, but it’s just… They don’t do it as often as they used to.

Shaking the negative thoughts away from his head (It seems even he got the ‘Ghost Zone’ angst crawling in his head, as jokingly dubbed by his fellow Nicktoons), El Tigre stared pointedly at the devious-looking rock star. 

Normally, he’d happily go along with any scheme Frida makes up in her head just like how she also go along with his cunning plans of mischief for the sake of fun and giggles. 

However, considering how excited she was to have a day of their own spending time at the cafe that she wants to visit…

“Frida…” the tiger superhero spoke slowly, “What are you planning?”

The blue-haired musician turned to him with a wide, mischievous smile on her face as she said, “How about we invite Timmy here and ask him to make wish for us?”

“No,” El Tigre’s reply was swift and she deflated in reply, which causes him to quickly say, “If it was any other day, I wouldn’t mind! But I don’t feel like doing clean up duty to today if any of Timmy’s wishes went wrong.” 

Frida puffed her cheeks in dismay as she protested, “Aww, I wanted the cafe to be fixed quickly! What about Tak? His magic can fix this too!”

Flicking his belt, Manny’s super suit dissolved away as he shrugged at her, “We can ask Ladybug or the Winx for help. Their restoration magic are way more reliable than both Timmy’s and Tak’s.” 

Both of them stood up, settling in walking towards whatever direction opposite of the ruined cafe. Frida playfully narrowed her eyes at Manny as she faux-punched his shoulder, “Since when did you get so sensible?”

Manny chuckled bemusedly, “Well… Who else have to be the responsible boyfriend in this relationship?”

Frida’s eyes widened, “Responsi-”

Her boyfriend swiftly leaned forward, stopping just right in front of her face before planting a quick peck on her lips and Frida was too dumbfounded to react.

Manny smirked as he backed away, “That’s revenge for stealing my first kiss, Frida.”

His girlfriend blinked owlishly, before shaking her head and laughed, “You silly! If you want a kiss so much, just ask!”

Manny spread his arms wide in invitation with a shit-eating grin, “Then I humbly ask you, Frida Suarez, to kiss me senseless.”

“The answer is YES!” Frida exulted, jumping straight into Manny’s arms and passionately made out with him in the middle of the streets, uncaring of the horrified glances other people gave them from across the road. 

“I love you, Frida,” Manny whispered softly between his breaths. 

Frida smiled joyously in reply, “Love you too, silly.”

—

Omake time!

“Do I even want to know?” Marinette deadpanned, easily noticing the obnoxious-looking kiss marks on both Manny and Frida’s blushing faces. 

“Yep!” “Sure!” The two teenaged lovers exclaimed together, with Manny’s arm around Frida’s waist as he pulled her closer to him.

The French-Asian woman shook her head and smiled bemusedly as she replied, “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

“Ladybug!” Bloom called out from above, the guardian fairy of the Dragon Fire having finished her inspection of the ruined cafe, “I think we can do a simple two-person Convergence Resonance for the Restoration spell!” 

“Oh right, the Miraculous Ladybug?” Manny smirked while Frida snorted beside him. 

The spotted heroine stumbled and stammered, “I was only thirteen that time! How am I supposed to know it was too long!?” 

“But it’s so mouthy,” jested Frida loudly, as Manny burst out in boisterous laughter, “Why not just call it, the fix-it-up-all spell?”

Marinette covered her face with her hands, “Where’s Chat when I need him to dig me a hole.”

Bloom fluttered beside the heroine of Creation, a sympathetic smile on the princess of Domino’s face, “You’re not the only one with embarrassing spell names.”

Marinette just groaned. 

—

I hope you’ll enjoy reading this kissing prompt, @mygardenofmuses! I bet you’ll know full well who are the new characters that will appear in C:TATD!

[prompt-master]

Where's David

[tf2headshotcanons]

What kind of body's do the mercs prefer their female partners to have?

Soldier: Well, the bloke has Zhanna. Using Zhanna as focal point, it's clear that he likes a bulkier woman, be it muscle or fat (though a combo of both, he prefers the muscle ratio a bit bigger). Zhanna is also quite curvy for her build, so it's safe to assume that he likes both arse and tits. So he likes them both curvy and athletic, or either or. He may also favour strong facial features (like his own) yet femininity (Zhanna wears makeup - look closely - and has rather long hair). Overall, his physically perfect woman seems to be a blend of feminine and strong. As for height, Zhanna is rather tall if she can rival Solly's height, so he likes a tall woman. He likes dark eyes.Scout: Scout likes to think he likes the 36/24/36 ratio, otherwise known as the hourglass. If we're going on RED, he probably likes black hair too. Sound familiar? Well, it's scientific fact that people are USUALLY attracted to those that both physically and/or characteristically remind them of the parent of the opposite sex (on the premise of being straight). He's not wrong, but he ain't right either. It's true, he likes black hair. It's also true that he likes women with face shapes similar to heart or triangle (heart would be his mothers, triangle would be more closer to Pauling). However, Pauling isn't an hourglass. It true, she does look rather curvy, but it feels more like a stylistic thing more than anything. But we don't know that. HOWEVER, unlike his mother, Pauling doesn't have that sexy confident air about her. If you listen to her voice lines, she's more friendly, awkward nerd. Oh! And she had glasses, which Scout confessed to finding attractive in "Expiration Date". Final thoughts? Scout likes black or dark hair. He also likes glasses. Heck, he does like curves too, though a straight body type may more be his thing (or Pear if we're going on him loving motherly types and the fact that Pear is the typical "Mother" body type). He likes a frame he can protect. Finally, it's hard to determine her height, though she's usually portrayed quite short. Meaning, he loves a shorter woman, or at least shorter than himself. He likes lighter eyes.Pyro: I don't think it's relevant for Pyro. Why? He has Pyrovision. He sees everyone in weird cartoons, so much different than how they actually look. As a result, this will warp their appearance. Enemy BLU are cherubs, his CEO job had his colleges low-key look like Roblox. So appearance... Is whatever makes a lady look "cute" in his world. I honestly think he sees Pauling as cute or angelic in his world. It's also personality warped, so the kinder you are, the safer you look. However, scrapping the concept of his goggles for a moment, I think he'd probably prefer someone fatter. They're bigger, warmer, spongier (that's what I call me mums arms, before people get arse hurt) and overall cuddlier. They're easier to hug, and more comfortable to hug. Something as trivial as that would affect his judgement (and it's not a bad thing!) so I'd say a bigger gal. She's cuddly, and that's attractive to him. Height would have to be short than him (there was a blog about his real height, I'll have to find it, but I think it's something like 5"7). Also, if she had dyed hair, that would amaze him. Maybe even tattoos and piercings? He likes unusual eyes. Also, he may prefer women of colour.Demoman: In the comic where Soldier and himself went to the game, he had his arm hung around a lady looking suspiciously like Scout's Ma. Judging on his personality and that photo alone, I picture him loving a woman with curves. He loves something to cuddle and grab. He's a cheeky one. Though I like to think he loves curvy or big women in general. Not as big as Heavy, per say, but maybe slightly chunkier (kitkats) than himself. He loves to hold and cuddle, and although the motion of a thin woman seems appealing, he wouldn't have enough to cuddle. Though its Demo, I think he's open to most. I think the average height may be perfect for him - not too tall or too small. Overall, he likes a happy medium. He likes boobs, tum and legs. I also like to imagine he likes wacky hair, such as Afros or beehives. If his mom is anything to go by, he may like them short too. And he dies prefer women of colour over whites, and no that isn't racism. That's just his preference. Or at the least he likes enough colour to say she looks healthy (ie, pale may worry him). He likes Amber eyes.Heavy: I don't think he'll go for a woman who's slim. He'd be much to worried to accidentally hurt her. That and he's grew up with very muscular and strong beauties. He doesn't really think that modern models are the best icons for all women. Though he prefers someone on the shorter side, he likes her to be muscular or chubbier. I'm having at it that he may prefer dark eyes, lighter/medium skin and pale hair. I also imagine him liking shorter hair or hair in a bun. He'd like someone who doesn't look like his sisters, because he'd feel weird. Engineer: One of the trickier ones. I don't really know where to begin. However, I think he'd want someone shorter but because that's kinda tricky, he may find a woman much taller somewhat sexy. Especially her legs. I'm actually struggling with him, but I think light to medium hair, done in a 50s style. Brown eyes. I actually think he'd be into someone who looks like a housewife. That's probably watching too much Green Mile and my Southern stereotype, but I'm actually real stuck on him. I think he may think he likes slim women, but may favour someone chunky like him. He'd like a faintly looking woman he could protect.Sniper: Tricky dicky. There's 3 options MAINLY. One, he likes someone like his adoptive mum, Two, he likes someone like his real mami, tres, he likes a combination (most likely). His real mum is very tall, very thin, tan skin, dark eyes and dark hair. Personality wise, she seems miserable, nihilistic and a bit of a selfish rut. His adoptive mum, short, loveable chunky (mate, don't argue with me, she looks like she gives corker hugs!), light hair (possibly age but when Mundy landed, it was light... Oh! And she was thinner! More on that-), possibly lighter eyes, pale skin and a loving and selfless personality. After all, Mundy looks a lot like his real mum and a hell of a lot like his adopted dad (even acts like him). One thing to note, is that young Mrs Mundy had a pear shaped body - stereotypical mothers body in fiction. This leads to the beginning. He'll either like someone who looks like his real mum, his adoptive mum, or a mix of both. Genetically, he may prefer someone who looks slightly more like his real mum, but definitely someone with the personality of his adoptive mum. Overall, it can go either way.Medic: The hardest one for me, the Medic. After seeing the fanart of his "wife", I can only picture her tall, pale, skinny and blonde, with blue eyes and a snarky face. Skinny, sexy and with attitude his is go to. That's how I imagine it. However, if you want my two cents, I actually think he'd like the physically fit dame. Basically perfect BMI (a shitty scale if you ask me), perfect figure, basically the pinnacle of peak health. Actually, out of all the Mercs, I'd say he's the most strict of demanding on the physical looks of a lady. He has the "perfect" one mapped in his mind. Oh, and since we're talking physical, I'd imagine he'd want her to have all her organs and properly functioning. What? He didn't say he was perfect to date ;)Spy: He's difficult as he's probably been with the good, the bad, and the ugly. He's had a wide range and apparently a preference to them all. His type could be anything... But we have Scout's Ma to fill us in~ It's safe to presume what his son likes is highly influenced by himself. He's picked a woman with dark hair, black specifically, which means he prefers dark haired women. She's also very curvy, so it's a safe bet to say he loves curves to run his hands over. She also has a sexy air but NOT a skanky one (think: Fried Chicken Girl, who he clearly voices is a "tramp"). He LOVES sexy, but hates "trampy". So he has good standards, and can tell the sexual from the low esteem. He doesn't like women who do it for attention and to fill a hole. Another thing is that she appears somewhat tall. So... He probably likes women in the range of 5"6 - 5"11. Another key note, he's probably aware of psychology, so he knows that's Scouts type too. That and he's probably more drawn to a woman in red - ie, what science calls the most attractive colour on a woman... According to men (and for women it's blue on men, fyi). He likes deep eyes, ones you can get lost in and are complex.

[theoddcatlady]

Brother For Sale

I thought I wanted a little brother. When I was a stupid six year old.

Now I’m nine, a lot smarter, and I realized I made a huge mistake.

Tommy is the worst. The absolute worst. I hate him. It wasn’t so bad when he was a baby. He cried a lot but it was super cool to say I was a sister. All my friends thought he was super cute too.

It’s when he stopped being cute and starting being annoying.

It started when he was starting to crawl. My mom and dad freaked out. Took a bajillion pictures, even more videos, and wouldn’t shut up about how he was getting ‘so big!’ and that ‘Laura wasn’t even scooting yet!’

I hated that the most. When they started comparing us. Like ‘oh he’s crawling faster than she did’ ‘oh he’s walking sooner than she did’ and ‘Laura wasn’t this independent by this age!’ I felt so embarrassed.

Tommy learned to do more than crawl though. He learned how to be a real pest. The first thing he destroyed was the card I made for mom at school. I left my room for one minute and came back to find that it had fallen off the table and Tommy was chewing on it.

I screamed for Mom and swatted Tommy across the face. He immediately began to cry, followed by him coughing and one of the sequins I’d stuck on the card flying out of his mouth.

Mom didn’t even notice the card. She just thought Tommy could’ve swallowed more sequins and rushed off with him to the urgent care. He didn’t, by the way. His poop was extra stinky AND glittery though.

Tommy never kept his hands to himself. He was always grabbing my food, my hair, my toys… and mom and dad never told him off. They’d just be like ‘he’s just a baby!’ or ‘he just wants to play!’ He’d end up running off with my favorite toys and within an hour they’d be covered in drool or broken.

The worst day, when I chose to run away, is when he broke Lady Dollie. Lady Dollie was extra special to me. I didn’t even play with her that very often, she stayed propped up on my dresser. She had a special porcelain face and pretty eyelashes. I knew I had to be careful with her.

Tommy must’ve gotten in when I went to the bathroom. When I came back, Lady Dollie’s face had been cracked open and Tommy was waving her around laughing, calling her ‘Super Barbie!’

I slapped him so hard he fell over. When his bottom hit the ground he began to bawl and that’s when mom came. Not when she heard my doll break, oh no. When she heard her ‘baby boy’ start to cry.

I was clutching onto my broken doll and trying to stick her face back together, but it was no use. Lady Dollie was dead and Tommy had killed her.

But did he get in trouble for it? No. Mom said he had to apologize and he did, but he didn’t mean it. His cute brown eyes overflowing with tears might’ve fooled my mom, but I wasn’t stupid. He didn’t care. Mom asked me to apologize too. I refused. I did nothing wrong! It was my doll he killed!

Mom got mad, of course, and told me I could stay in my room until I apologized.

That’s when I decided I had to run away. I wasn’t loved anymore. They only care about Tommy. Not me.

I packed up my things in my Elsa and Anna backpack, some clothes, my wallet with a whole five dollars and sixty eight cents, and a picture of my parents. Just in case I might miss them. With Lady Dollie’s sister Lady Blondie tucked under my arm, I jumped out my window and took off down the street. I’d leave this terrible town and go live someplace else, with a new family.

I got lost though.

The streets became scary, with people dressed in dirty clothes sleeping on the corners and ambling about with cloudy eyes. Some asked where I was going, but most just laughed. One woman asked if I’d seen her Mars dog. I told her she was crazy and kept on walking.

But then I ran into Nice Man.

Nice Man was the only nondirty person out on the street at this time. He wore a crisp white suit and had a dark blue tie. He saw me waiting at the crosswalk and came over, squatting down to my level. He was really tall.

“You lost, sweetie?” He asked.

I shook my head. “I’m running away,” I declared.

Nice Man laughed. It was a nice laugh. “Well is that so? Why you running away?”

“Because my stupid little brother broke my favorite doll and I hate him and I wish someone would take him away!”

Nice Man grinned.

“Really now… why don’t we grab a bite to eat and talk about it?”

I’d not had dinner, I hadn’t been allowed out of my room thanks to stupid Tommy killing my doll. Nice Man took me to McDonald’s and bought me a happy meal with chicken nuggets and even made sure I got a super cool toy.

After the fries were gone, he began to ask questions about Tommy. How old was he? Was he sickly? What color were his hair, his eyes? I answered them, even showed him the picture in my backpack. Stupid Tommy had to be in the picture, I didn’t have time to cut him out before I left.

Nice Man, he’d told me by then to call him Nice Man, looked thrilled. “You know, sweetie, you’re the kind of person a man like me can do business with. See, I make movies. I’m a director. And I’m looking to cast a boy about your brother’s age.”

I sighed. Of course he was after my brother and not me. “Can’t I be in your movie?” I asked.

Nice Man laughed. “Nah, nah honey, you wouldn’t like stardom. Always moving, always being ordered around and being so busy, you’d be all tired out. I already have all the little girls I need right now anyhow. But I need another little boy. Some of the people who watch my movies wanna see little boys too, you know. But if you help me out, I’ll make it worth your while… you said you broke your Lady Dollie, right? Does she look like that one?” He pointed to Lady Blondie, who was sitting beside me next.

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah! She had brown hair and green eyes though… and Tommy killed her.” I still felt hurt about that.

“I remember honey, I remember.” Nice Man ruffled my hair and rubbed his thumb down my cheek. “I remember he hurt your dolly. If you take your brother to the park tomorrow, I’ll give you another one. And when your brother’s movies start taking off, I’ll send you more dolls. I bet I can send you dozens of dollies if he really becomes a star, dolls from around the world! Whadya say, sweetheart? Do we have a deal?”

I gasped. “And you’ll take my brother to make movies? When will you give him back?”

Nice Man chuckled and said the most magical words I have ever heard.

“Hon, he’ll be so busy, he’ll never come back.”

I was sold right then and there. We shook on it.

When I returned home that night, there was a police car in the driveway. Apparently my mom and dad had discovered I ran away and called 911. When I walked in the door, my mom hugged me so tight and apologized for yelling at me. I almost forgave her. Almost.

But the next morning when I saw Tommy trying to grab Lady Blondie from the dresser I knew he had to go.

To the park we went. I was super polite all day and Mom probably felt a little guilty that she treated me so meanly.

Nice Man was wearing a green suit today, and was with a pretty lady who had two little girls with her. When Nice Man saw me, he grinned and gave a quick wave before walking to the bathroom hut. The pretty lady with the girls walked up to my mom and began talking.

I knew what I had to do.

I walked to the men’s bathrooms. It smelled all musty and gross. Tommy was craning his neck around and asking where mommy was.

Nice Man walked out of a stall and grinned. “You came through, sweetie!” He produced a wrapped box from behind his back. “Here. For being such a good little scout.”

I tore the paper off and gasped.

It was Lady Dollie! Well, almost Lady Dollie, I knew she wasn’t really the same one. But she looked the same! I hugged the box to me and looked up at Nice Man.

Nice Man had picked up Tommy and gave him a lollipop. “All right, we gotta hit the road, bucko. Thanks for the help! Don’t tell your mom where you got the doll though- I don’t wanna ruin the surprise of her son being in the movie!” With that, he walked out and I never saw him again.

I played in the sandbox with my new Miss Dollie. Mom walked over and asked where Tommy was, and I lied and said I thought he was with her.

There were a lot more cop cars looking for Tommy than there were ever looking for me. Mom didn’t ask how Miss Dollie had her face fixed, I think she forgot she’d been broken at all. I kept my promise though, I didn’t tell her where Nice Man took him.

It’s been a whole year. Tommy’s gone, and everything is so much better. Mom is always so grumpy though. Dad’s a lot quieter.

But today is a special day. Because I got three dolls in the mail. There’s no return address, but I know who it’s from.

My brother’s movies must be good if they get me three whole dolls.

[ariannjs]

Aunties of Konoha | A SasuSaku FanFic One Shot

For Day 19 (Bridges) of SasuSaku Month 2019 :)

Rating: K

Summary:  The three women gazed at each other with silly grins on their faces. They only wanted to hangout and talk about life in general, what they didn’t expect was that they would end up strategizing as if they were gearing up for a school project, much like their High School days. (A "Titas of Manila" Modern AU)

This was a sudden idea but it was fun to write! The idea entered my mind when I saw a tweet by one of my friends in the SS fam wherein her mom and tita (aunt) stalked her crush. Haha. And then poof, I suddenly thought of incorporating the “Titas of Manila” vibe in it! 

If you’re a Filipino and you consider yourself a “tita” regardless of your age, I hope you enjoy this!

Cla, thanks to you, this was born! This one’s for you! I hope this fic would make you smile! Stay happy!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, nor any product, franchise, or establishment mentioned in this fic.

————

“Hi, Mars!” A high-pitched voice called the attention of Mikoto Uchiha while she was seated at one of the aesthetic tables of Cafe Mary Grace.

“Mare! You’re here!” Quite surprised, she stood up and leaned closer to her new companion to give her a beso on the cheek. “Kushina told me you might not be able to come, so I thought it’s going to be just the two of us.”

Mebuki Haruno slightly chuckled as they both sat down. It was also a surprise to her that she was able to attend their monthly hangout. Originally, she had somewhere else to go to, but she didn’t want to miss out on the updates with her amigas’ lives so she had to find a way to be able to meet with them. “Well, Sakura doesn’t have any classes so she took over all of my tasks for Sunlife today. Anyway, how are you?”

“Well, actually…” Mikoto suddenly picked up her Longchamp from the chair beside her and started rummaging its pockets. 

“What are you looking for?”

“My White Flower.” She sighed. “Actually, I was having some sort of a migraine this morning and it’s quite hitting me again now. Wait, where is it…”

Rolling her eyes, the caramel-haired woman clicked her small pouch open and gave Mikoto what she was looking for. “Here. And I thought Kushina was the forgetful one.”

“Oh, thank you!” Mikoto chuckled bashfully. “You’re still always the girl scout! I think I forgot mine somewhere at home since I used it right after I woke up too.” Opening the lid of the tiny bottle, she placed a finger on its mouth and waited until the liquid that could somehow miraculously heal all kinds of aches dampened the tip of her finger. She applied it on her temples and repeated the process until she felt the soothing sensation that she needed. “Tch. How I wish these headaches would stay away from me, but it’s returning every now and then.”

“Is that a sign that even at eighteen, Sasuke could still be a kuya?”

A subtle gasp escaped Mikoto’s lips as her gaze landed on Mebuki. And with the way the other woman wiggled her eyebrows at her, she couldn’t help but blush. “N-no, that’s not the case!” She cleared her throat and straightened herself on her seat. “Not at all. We don’t need more babies at home, Mare. Besides, I already have lots of baby succulents in my garden.”

Mebuki chuckled at how her friend struggled to keep her composure. “But 43 is not that bad, Mars. I’ve heard it’s still okay being pregnant at our age!”

“I don’t think Sasuke would appreciate having a sibling that is enough to be his own child.”

“Oh well, that could probably make your son more soft, you know? He’s so much like Fugaku! Imagine him taking care of an infant. I bet he needs that. Like a practice!”

Her laughter only received an eye roll from Mikoto. And if Mikoto hadn’t seen another familiar woman by the restaurant’s door, she was sure she’d have to endure Mebuki’s insistence on the matter for a couple of minutes.

“Kumares! Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry I’m late!”

Mikoto knew the newcomer wasn’t quite sorry at all, but she only grinned due to its familiarity. “It’s fine, Mars. We haven’t ordered yet.”

Kushina Uzumaki rounded the table and gave the two a beso before placing her grocery bags on the same chair where Mikoto’s bag was. “That’s great! Oh well. I wasn’t able to stop myself from dropping by at Watsons after I bought some groceries!”

“Who would be able to resist the temptation of Watsons? I could relate to you! I’m sure Mikoto could, too. Did you buy anything?”

“I wasn’t intending on buying anything, really.” The redhead chuckled. “But then I saw a new shade of this famous supermatte lipstick and I knew I needed to have one while it’s on sale!” She opened a small paper bag to reveal its content. Quickly removing the cap of the cosmetic, she twisted its body and showed the lipstick to her friends. “It’s gorgeous, dattebane!”

“Wow, that’s good for you! I’m kind of becoming lazy in shopping at malls recently. I often just hoard some stuff on Shopee and Lazada or ask Sakura to do the shopping for me. Besides, that’s kind of her thing nowadays too.”

Mikoto groaned slightly. “The joy of having a daughter.”

Mebuki chuckled. “Oh yeah, I remember you’ve always imagined that Sasuke would be a girl when you were still pregnant with him. But don’t worry, isn’t Itachi about to get married early next year? You’ll have a daughter-in-law soon!”

“You’re right.” There was a sparkle in Mikoto’s eyes upon hearing the idea. “Wow. You’re right! I didn’t realize that! Izumi’s such a sweet girl and I can’t wait for her to be officially part of the family soon!”

“My, my! I can’t believe things are going too fast! Just a little bit longer and you’re already going to be a lola, Mikoto!” Kushina’s unabashed laughter filled their side of the venue, but the redhead woman didn’t care about the heads turned towards her.

On the other hand, her statement made the Uchiha matriarch glare at her, and for a second, she somehow thought that she saw her eyes became red.

“I’m kidding, ‘ttebane! You know you’ll still be as charming as me and Mebuki regardless of our age! Anyway, why don’t we order first?”

“Good point. Cha! I’m starving. It’s almost lunch time anyway. Waiter?” Mebuki raised a hand to one of the waiters who instantly handed menus to them and asked for their orders.

Kushina was the first to respond, “I’ll get the signature ensaymada – kindly heat it, okay? – and please prepare a dozen of Cheese rolls for takeout. How about you, Mikoto?”

“Mine is...hmm, Chicken Inasal Sandwich with Tomato and Wansoy Salsa.”

“That’s all for you both? Alright, for me—wait a sec—ah, this! Dory and Saffron Cream Pasta and Mary Grace Hot Chocolate. You guys don’t want to add anything?”

Kushina shook her head, but Mikoto turned to the waiter once more. “Please add a cup of tea for me. Thank you.”

“We’re all set then!” The redhead hummed with delight once the waiter left for their orders. “So what’s up with you guys recently?”

“Nothing much, really. Same old, same old.” Mikoto huffed. “Fugaku still has lots of businesses he needed to attend to. But recently, he often brings Itachi to his trips, as training, he says. I don’t even see them much anymore until they came home last week.”

“Still the busy man, huh? Minato’s the same! I called him out about it. Just because he’s the Mayor doesn’t mean he needed to stay at his office and have overtime!”

Mikoto crossed her arms on the table, smirking in amusement that Kushina had the guts to call out her own husband. “That’s the First Lady of Konoha for you. And what did he respond to that?”

“Gladly, he’s been going home earlier lately. It makes me happy that I could prepare dinner for him again. The thing is, it’s quite difficult to tolerate him because it feels like he’s another teenager in the house!” Kushina massaged her temples as her friends snickered. “I’m not sure if he’s just messing with me or he’s trying to practice being sweet again.”

“That’s why Naruto isn’t maturing,” Mikoto quipped.

“You’re right, though. He used to tell me that Naruto got much of his traits from me, but maybe the immaturity actually came from him!”

“Oh well, what is it with our husbands and their busy lives? Kizashi opened another shop in Suna last month, so he hasn’t returned since then.”

“How fun! I mean, missing your husband sucks, but the all-girls company seems fun, ya know? With just you and Sakura at home!”

“Yeah. You and Mikoto are missing out.” The Haruno matriarch chuckled, and then he proposed, “Perhaps we could invite you both soon for dinner?” 

“Sounds good to me. Sometimes I can’t stand Sasuke’s brooding at home.”

“Count me in, too! Oh, hey! Food’s finally here.”

True enough, the waiter returned to their table with the meals they have ordered, making them pause to say a prayer and then instantly devour their food. 

“By the way, have you heard about this thing going on with Hiashi and Tsume?”

Two pairs of eyes glanced from their food to Kushina.

“You’re not talking about a romantic thing, right?” Mikoto asked.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“That seems like a joke, however.” Mebuki laughed before wiping her lips with a table napkin. “With how reserved Hiashi is, and how...how bold Tsume is, that seems like an extreme contrast.”

“I’m still not sure if it’s true. But we all know how Hiashi lost his wife to cancer so many years ago. And how...Tsume’s husband left them because she allegedly scared him, right? They probably need some romance once again.” Kushina shrugged while slicing her ensaymada. “Oh, well. It’s kind of being passed on to their kids because Naruto complained to me days ago about how Kiba seemed to be hitting on Hinata recently.” She snickered.

“But aren’t Naruto and Hinata together now?”

Kushina nodded with glee. “Yes, Mare! I was pretty surprised my son even had the guts to ask a girl out! Especially the Hyuga!” She laughed. “But yeah. Hiashi suddenly had a soft spot for dogs, and it seems like he often brought Hinata with him whenever they dropped by at the Inuzuka’s Petshop to have their pup checked up. And as told by Naruto, Hinata often mentioned how Kiba tried to spend more time with her.”

“Jealousy, huh?” Mikoto laughed. “Ah, young love.”

“I know! Naruto was pissed! I could remember how I was a bit like that – or worse – when a few girls hit on Minato back then!”

They all laughed, remembering how all of them were present in some of those encounters wherein girls threw themselves on the town’s young-looking mayor.

“Our husbands quite have the knack to attract girls, don’t they? Good thing Fugaku’s the kind who never even glances at his fangirls. To think that he still have lots until now! I’m not sure if I’d actually be bothered by the fact that Sasuke seemed to have gotten such attitude too.”

Mebuki bit her lip to stifle a giggle, mind lost in a memory that she wasn’t sure at first if she should share with her friends. “Speaking of Sasuke, I wasn’t able to mention this earlier but…”

Mikoto turned to Mebuki at the mention of her youngest son’s name.

“Well, how do I begin...I’m a bit bothered about why my daughter wasn’t introducing any guy that wants to court her. She wasn’t even talking about any crushes ever since, like every other girl! I was quite afraid that Sakura already became a plant or something. But weeks ago, I’ve tried asking her if there’s a guy that she likes and then – poof! – she went all red!”

“I think I know where this is heading…” Kushina snickered, but Mikoto only raised an eyebrow, wondering if she wasn’t catching up on something.

“She never mentioned the name of the guy. But…” The Haruno smiled mischievously, causing her two friends to lean closer as if a top secret information was going to be revealed inside the decorated walls of Cafe Mary Grace. “She described him – weird hairstyle, dark eyes, fair skin; also...quickly annoyed, rarely talks to others but engages in conversations with her especially through chats, and the one she often tags in memes despite knowing that he wouldn’t find it so funny.”

“So you’re thinking that it’s Sasuke?” Mikoto placed a hand on her mouth, unsure about what she should feel. “But we can’t be sure on the last descriptions!”

“The thing is...I’ve stalked my daughter online.”

“Stalked.” The raven-haired woman gave her a pointed look.

“Yes.”

Kushina guffawed in her seat while waiting for the next revelations of her friend.

“You stalked your daughter, Mebuki? Don’t teenagers dislike it when we invade their personal space?” Mikoto mentioned with her fingers forming quotation marks in the air. “That’s what Sasuke usually tells me whenever I ask him who he’s always chatting with on––” And then she gasped.

Mebuki and Kushina were looking at her now, pairs of blue and green eyes shining with delight at the notion that their friend seemed to have puzzled the pieces on her own.

“Oh, goodness.” Kushina chuckled once again. “I haven’t heard anything from Naruto, to think that they’re all best friends! This is great, ‘ttebane! But you haven’t told us yet what you’ve seen when you stalked Sakura.”

Mebuki laughed before she even got to say anything, almost making a vein pop on Mikoto’s already throbbing head. Because, how could they understand the story if the teller was laughing midway? 

“Well, I didn’t see her tag Sasuke on any meme.” The caramel-haired woman restrained another cackle.

“So how were you—”

“It was actually the other way around! I don’t know how I landed on that random Facebook page but I saw a comment of Sasuke tagging Sakura on one of those doctor memes albums. And then my daughter replied with ‘HAHAHA you’re the one who’s annoying, Sasuke-kun! I won’t be like this to my patients one day!’”

Kushina and Mebuki giggled like teenagers then, leaving the Uchiha matriarch at a loss for words.

“Who would have thought, Mikoto? We might end up as co-mothers-in-law!”

“I didn’t...I didn’t expect this. I’ve always known Sasuke to be the shy one. Although he always seems aloof, he’s actually just shy. I never even realized he and Sakura have developed such close friendship...or more. I used to think that only he and Naruto are the ones who are very close in their team.”

“Well, I was surprised with Sakura too. I know she adores both her bestfriends, I just never imagined she could adore Sasuke in a different way. If anything, I’d actually be glad if my assumptions are true.” She winked at her amigas. “They basically grew up together. And Sasuke grew into a fine gentleman with great values, props to you and Fugaku.”

“Alright! We must do something about this then!”

The other moms faced the redhead, each with an eyebrow lifted inquisitively due to her sudden declaration.

“Remember when we were helping you and Fugaku pass on letters to each other in class?”

“Oh my goodness, Kushina, that was a long time ago!” A crimson stain appeared on Mikoto’s cheeks as she remembered how her two best friends and their then boyfriends (now husbands) actually contributed to the relationship between the campus heartthrob and their batch’s top student. “I don’t think we could do such a thing for Sasuke and Sakura though.”

Kushina scoffed. “Of course we wouldn’t do the exact thing! For one, you and Mebuki should allow them to go out. Like, alone.”

“Actually, I’m fine with Sakura going out. She even usually goes out for some shopping with Ino. It’s just that I have a curfew for her. Hmm...maybe I could extend that whenever she’ll be out with Sasuke.”

“The thing is, knowing my son, he wouldn’t be straightforward in asking her out even if he wanted to. He’s so subtle at everything! I think he actually needs some push.” Mikoto nodded to herself as if she already has a to-do list of her own. Her two other friends grinned at each other, noticing the determination in the Uchiha’s eyes that seemed to be filled with hesitation moments ago. “You know what? This is actually a good idea. I don’t want Sasuke to end up being alone. He’s already getting a bit lonely now that his brother is not always around. And Naruto already has a girlfriend to give much of his time to.”

“Exactly!” Kushina clapped her hands, thrilled that they were going somewhere with this SasuSaku mission of sorts. “Those are great contributions, Kumares! I guess mine would have something to do with my son. Let me see...oh! Wait a minute! What if I ask Naruto to invite Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura for some sort of a double date? Oh my gosh! That would be so sweet, dattebane!”

The three women gazed at each other with silly grins on their faces. They only wanted to hangout and talk about life in general, what they didn’t expect was that they would end up strategizing as if they were gearing up for a school project, much like their High School days.

“Cha! It’s getting cold here.” Mebuki suddenly complained, immediately getting her small pouch that seemed to fit every possible item in it, which included a shawl that she brought out. Placing the shawl around her shoulders, she heard a familiar voice from behind her and for a second, her friends gave her meaningful looks that she didn’t quite catch at first.

For the one who had just entered Cafe Mary Grace was none other than her beautiful (and single) daughter.

“Oh, Sakura! You’re done meeting with everyone for their Sunlife insurance?”

“Yes, mom. I also picked up your box of Vitaplus goods,” the pink-haired maiden said while handing a package filled with health drinks.

“Wow. I didn’t know you’re into that.”

“Nah, Kushina, I have no time for networking, really. But I wanted to help a friend who’s into this, so I sometimes buy their big bulk. Besides, my future doctor here is kind of obsessed with these healthy stuff!”

Sakura only shrugged before greeting the other women in the room, “Hi, Tita Kushina and Tita Mikoto!” She then approached them with a beso on their cheeks. But for some reason, she was stuck in place when the Uchiha matriarch surprisingly hugged her, leaving her wide eyed.

“Great to see you, Sakura!”

She chuckled shyly as she pulled a chair from an empty table near them. “Um, thank you, tita. You too.”

“It’s so nice of you to help out your mom today, Sakura. Thanks to you, we were able to catch up with Mebuki today!” Kushina said. And then she smirked. “So how are you and Sasuke?”

Mebuki and Mikoto threw glances at each other while stifling their laughter. As always, it was Kushina who would do things right off the bat.

Sakura parted her lips in surprise, eyes blinking as all the titas in the table leaned closer to wait for her reply. “I...I’m fine? I think Tita Mikoto would know about Sasuke-kun, though.” She scratched the side of her head.

“That’s not what we mean, dear.” Mikoto smiled, grasping her hand from across the table.

“Right. How are you and Sasuke?” Her mom asked this time.

Her eyes widened at the implication of the hanging question. She fidgeted in her seat, looking down with the hope that the blush on her cheeks wasn’t prominent for them to see. “H-how are...we? But...t-there’s no such thing, mom.” 

The three women’s shoulders slumped, excitement suddenly leaving their system. Sakura was still trying to grasp the reason behind the on-the-spot interrogation when someone’s phone buzzed.

Saved by the bell, she thought.

It was Mikoto’s. A smile graced her lips when she saw the name on her caller ID. “Hello, Sasu-chan? Yes, we’re still here! Oh, you’re already right outside? Alright, thank you. I’ll be there in a bit.” She returned her phone inside her Longchamp before facing her friends with a beam. And for some reason, Sakura didn’t know if that was a good thing. “My son is there to pick me up. Let’s go?” 

Definitely not a good thing.

The other women agreed, settling their bill and gathering their stuff before exiting Cafe Mary Grace.

Once outside, they all saw a black Audi with Sasuke leaning casually against its side. Kushina, Mebuki, and Mikoto couldn’t help but grin like Cheshire cats. Sakura, on the other hand, shifted her weight from one foot to another, gripping the Vitaplus box in her arms even tighter.

When Sasuke sensed their presence, he glanced at their direction, eyes slightly widening at the presence of someone he didn’t expect to be there. But he quickly brushed it off and approached his mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek before gently lifting Kushina’s hand and pressing his forehead against it. He repeated the honoring gesture to Mebuki, which the woman responded with a cheery “Bless you!”

For a brief moment, it was as if the three elders were holding their breaths, bracing themselves while they waited to see how Sasuke would greet Sakura. 

Would he hug her, kiss her, hold her hand, or what?

Their expectations have faltered, however, when Sasuke simply turned to Sakura’s direction and gave her a nod. 

A simple, small nod.

That’s it? Mikoto blinked in surprise, slightly disappointed with her own son. He definitely got that from Fugaku! 

Sakura smiled in response at his raven-haired childhood friend, grinning a bit wider when she noticed the tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. Thankfully, their moms and aunt failed to see it. It felt like a privilege being 

“Do you mind if we give them all a ride?” Mikoto then asked once she recovered.

Sasuke – being Sasuke – simply shrugged and unlocked the car, opening both doors for them before assisting Kushina with her grocery bags to be placed in the trunk. As Kushina and Mebuki entered the back seat, he returned to get the box that Sakura was holding so he could also place it beside Kushina’s groceries.

He found his mom standing by the passenger seat then, with a hand on Sakura’s shoulder as if stopping her from going inside the car beside her mother. “Mom, what are you waiting for?”

“I’m actually thinking that Sakura should take the passenger seat so I and your titas could still talk at the back.” 

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her. “Couldn’t you do that with you in the front seat?”

“No!” Three voices startled him and Sakura, though he was just asking the question to his mom.

“Well, you see, they agree with me.” Mikoto grinned. “I mean, I just really missed your titas, Sasuke-chan.” She intentionally completed Sasuke’s name to better gain his favor, well aware that he hated being called with his childhood nickname in front of other people. “Besides, while we talk, you and Sakura could have some—I don’t know—catch up or something.”

There was a pregnant pause after that as Sasuke weighed the predicament, sensing something strange. But when he realized that there was no point discussing a petty thing, he finally nodded at his mom and waited for her to get inside the car beside Mebuki. He closed the car door and waited for Sakura to enter the front seat next, before closing her door as well and rounding the car to go to his side.

Internally squealing, the three women at the back seat gave each other knowing glances that Sakura was able to catch through the rearview mirror.

Her neck suddenly felt warm the moment Sasuke entered the car. There’s this weird pressure of being this close to him and having the elders behind them, watching them carefully contrary to what Mikoto said that they would still converse with each other.

She busied herself with her phone then. And upon unlocking it, she noticed the latest Facebook notification that appeared on her screen: Sasuke Uchiha mentioned you in a comment.

Biting her lip to fight her smile from growing, she threw a glance at the man beside her. What made all her tension go away was the fact that he was also surprisingly looking at her with a smirk playing on his lips.

And then Sasuke drove off to bring the titas home.

————

June 2019 | AriannJS

————

Some terms that might need definitions:

Mars/Mare/Kumare - (Tagalog; derived from a Spanish word) appellation for a female close friend; appellation for your child’s godmother 

Kuya - (Tagalog) big brother

Lola - (Tagalog) grandmother

Tita - (Tagalog) aunt

Amiga - (Spanish/also used sometimes in the Philippines) female friend

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comment box below! :D For my other SasuSaku works, check out this link! If you support what I do, please consider supporting me also on ko-fi and patreon! It would really help me as I gear up for a special post-birthday trip this November! Thanks & God bless!

- A

[guacnroll]

that 100 question jawn

Yeah so @starsburnouttoo tagged me in this like a month or two ago and I typed it up and never posted it so here it is.  My bad.

1. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED?

Closed.  I always thought some kind of monster was in there as a kid. Now it’s out of habit.

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS?

Why?  That’s just more shit to pack and potential spillage to clean up later.

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT?

Sheets tucked in.  You know, like a normal person.

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE?

I haven’t, but I would and I will.

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES?

I just use the memo app on my phone.

6. DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM?

I don’t use coupons unless I need them, so nah.

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES?

Swarm of bees, because they could probably be dealt with easier.  Smoke or some shit.  Worse comes to worse, there’s a better chance of survival with a swarm of bees.

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES?

I don’t think I’ve known any full Filipino with freckles.

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES?

Lmao barely.

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

Getting interrupted while tal-

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK?

There’s an app for that, bruh.  Count calories.

12. HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS?

I went backpacking in the mountains for a week for a class, so yeah.

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS?

A week.  At least we had toilet paper.

14. DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERES NO MUSIC PLAYING?

Why would I do that? I’m not even a good dancer in general.

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS?

I used to.  Not anymore.

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK?

Do engineering textbooks count as people?

17. WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED?

Twin because that’s what the apartment provided.

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK?

Suede – NxWorries

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK?

Why would it not be okay?

20. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS?

Listen man, there’s so much anime out there, and with that Steven Universe shit coming out, damn. Speaking of which when is Koe no Katachi and Kimi no Na wa getting subbed this needs to be a thing also back to Steven Universe what’s Cartoon Network doing like are they trying to lower rati-

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE?

If I don’t like a movie I’ll just stop watching it.  The worst movie I remember having to watch all the way through is the second Percy Jackson movie, and I only watched it because my little sister wanted to watch it.

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME?

I’d probably take a long drive somewhere, and find a nice secluded area.  Then I’d bury it there, and record the geo coordinates somewhere.

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER?

It depends on what I’m eating man.  You gotta match the drink to the food, bruh.

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN?

Chick-fil-a sauce, Polynesian sauce, BBQ, ketchup, honey mustard.

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

Filipino food’s da bomb.com.

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE?

Any Studio Ghibli movie, probably.  Or, you know, Shawshank Redemption.  Maybe Clerks? Idk.

27. LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU?

Someone at a New Year’s Eve party.

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT?

Luh mao.  Nah.

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE?

Yall are funny.

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER?

I dunno, like, sixth grade? Yall ever heard of e-mail?  Game changer, man.

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR?

I drive.  I better know.

32. EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET?

Nah.

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS?

I try to make sure that doesn’t happen.

34. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH?

Either chicken parm or pulled pork.

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST?

I was talking to a few of other Filipino friends earlier.  Bacon, eggs, and rice seems to be a staple in Filipino, or at least, Fil-Am culture.  Idk if that’s just an Asian thing or a Filipino thing, tho.

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME?

Electrical Engineering major and late working hours dictate between 12-3 AM.

37. ARE YOU LAZY?

Despite all the work I piled onto myself, I still find time to take naps.  So yeah.

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN?

Astronaut, Harry Potter, the usual.

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN?

Year of the ox.

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK?

My parents tried teaching me Tagalog as a kid but apparently my bitchass was like “Speak English I’m an ungrateful brat hahahah.”  I know a few words but other than that, nah.

 And English.  But that’s a given.

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS?

Nah.

42. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS?

Better question: who would answer Lincoln Logs?

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN?

Only on something that really matters to me.  So like “drop this class it’s getting in the way of your grades,” I’ll be like “nah.” Other than that prolly not.

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN?

I don’t watch a lot of late night talk shows, and those guys are like before my generation, bro.

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS?

My sister told me to watch this K-Drama called Goblin and that’s basically a soap.

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS?

If there’s no railing then yeah.

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR?

Not unless I’m the only one in the car honestly.

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?

Lmao nah.

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR?

Only when I’m with close friends or alone.

50. EVER USED A GUN?

Yeah.  It was pretty fun ngl.

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER?

Last year.

52. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY?

[has flashbacks of high school pit band]

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL?

The most stressful part of Christmas is my mom bringing us to Church for like 3 hours.

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI?

They’re pretty good.

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE?

Apple, probably.

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID?

Musician, author, scientist, somebody famous with lots of hoes and money, idk.

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

My friend claims he talks to ghost and I’m inclined to believe him tbh.

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING?

Yeah, a bunch.

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY?

Nah.

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS?

Don’t touch my chinelas cuh

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE?

Nah.

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED?

Sweatpants, t-shirt.   The basics.

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT?

Kanye West, floor tickets, TLOP PSU 2016 heh heh

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART?

Target bruh

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS?

I have a pair of Adidas sweatpants so like Adidas I guess

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS?

Cheetos if I had to choose.

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS?

I hate peanuts.

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN?

Ohhh you tryna go there? You think just because you know one obscure band means you’re all that but I bet you don’t even listen to prog rock you hipster piec-

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS?

I should.

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING?

Nah.  But the dream girl is probably Yuja Wang, so if you’re classically trained in any instrument then you’re probably an 8/10 in my book already.

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE?

Nah I got dem recessive genes bruh.

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE?

Like, once.  In third grade.  It wasn’t a huge thing.

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY?

The only time that would’ve happened in my life is when my sister was born.

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS?

I got a vinyl of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band b/c y not ya feel

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER?

I’ll probably buy one. Eventually.

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE?

The only thing I burn regularly is dat broccoli heh

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

Yeah, that’s like a thing most people do.

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT?

I’mma see Chance the Rapper soon, but other than that, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Isaiah Rashad, and I’d like to hear Yuja Wang perform some Prokofiev or Rachmaninoff or something.

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW?

Kanye West lol

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA?

Hot tea preferably.

81. TEA OR COFFEE?

I like both, but given my life I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee to stay awake recently.

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES?

Idk.

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL?

I know how to swim, I guess.

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE?

Who can’t?..

85. ARE YOU PATIENT?

I wouldn’t be able to be an engineer if I wasn’t :^)

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING?

I’ll figure it out when I’m at that point.

87. EVER WON A CONTEST?

Does winning a music scholarship for my high school count.

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY?

Nah.

89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES?

I’m not, like, an olive expert man.

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET?

Nah.

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE?

The living room I guess.

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED?

Yeah sure.

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?

Nah.

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH?

There was some cute bassist in the pit band in my junior year.  I prolly could’ve asked her out, but like she was a senior going to college so I didn’t really see a real reason at that point.

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY?

No because I try to be better than that.

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Nah.

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS?

Sure.

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Idk, blue, maroon.

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW?

I’m at home rn so nah.

100. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS VIDEO NEXT?

Is this a video?  This isn’t a video.

@katie-be-happy @bluebrry  What’s up yooo