#its nice to have a guy who goes to drastic measures to fix something but genuinely does want whats best and goes to fix himself immediately

[vaugarde]

ok anyways lex and i just watched victini and reshiram movie. i was expecting to not care or even dislike it bc i didnt remember it much and what i did remember i remember not liking, but it was really cute ^^ def not quite as good as the others before it but its a fun time

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 5

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 5,219

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

I had perfected a system.

A system for avoiding eye contact with him.

You know… him.

He whose lips that my lips were last seen canoodling with.

That is to say, Lea.

It’d been a few days now since the little kiss incident - or Kissident, as I had taken to calling it in my head. I had not listened to Rayne’s advice, so had yet to talk to him. I’d tried, believe me, I really had tried. But just one look at him and the Kissident would flash through my brain once again in high-def and stereo surround sound, causing my heart to leap up into my throat and strangle me, making getting any words out impossible. I just couldn’t… I couldn’t do it. No way.

But that’s where my system came in! So flawless, yet so simple.

All I had to do was… not look at him.

As one might guess, that presented a bit of a challenge, given that Pizza Planet was straight across from us and given that, due to some cruel, sadistic twist of fate, his shifts seemed to almost always line up with mine. But to someone with my determination and ingenuity, not to mention years upon years of experience of avoiding human interaction like the plague? No sweat.

He looks my way? Oh hey, that ice cream cone I was getting for this customer is just right for blocking his line of sight to me. A glance from him? Man, the lights in here sure seem extra bright today, I’ll just pull the bill of my Ice Palace cap way down to shield my eyes. So much as a glimpse out of the corner of his eye? Gee, Kristoff, you make the perfect boulder for me to hide behind while I focus really hard on not existing. Or, oopsie, looks like I dropped something, time to kneel down and spend, say, I don’t know, the next five minutes picking it up.

But always, always look carefully before standing again. I’d learned my lesson there. No need for a repeat of the Kissident, thank you very much.

And if all else failed and I caught even the slightest hint that he might be out from behind his counter and heading my way? Whew, look at the time, I need to go on my break! Let me just slip into the back room and chill there until the coast’s all clear once more.

What’d I tell you? Foolproof.

Not to mention totally and one hundred percent mature. Look at me adult like a pro.

Hey, don’t knock it. It was the only way I’d managed to survive the past several days.

In any case, it was currently late afternoon. The heavy chimes of the mall’s iconic clock tower echoed throughout the all but deserted food court. By now, I was almost getting used to the rushes that came with lunchtime. Did nervous energy still course through my veins the whole time we were slammed with customers? Yes, but it wasn’t too bad. Turns out people are pretty friendly when you’re the one handing out the ice cream and feeding their sugar addiction. Plus, ever since the Kissident, I almost preferred the busy times. The throng of people was just one more thing for me to hide behind.

But now that it was dead and I had no such cover, I had to resort to one of my more drastic measures…

...a scoop.

One eye shut, I held the little metal contraption up, examining it closely.  For stains, mind you. Having sparkling, clean, spotless tools of the trade at my disposal was very important to me. Your health and safety are my top priority, dear customers.

And the fact that I was lining the scoop up perfectly so as to blot out a certain redhead from my view? Well now, that was just a bonus. Purely coincidence.

...wait… was he even still there? ...it had been several minutes since I had begun, ahem, “inspecting” the ice cream scoop. Had he really not moved from that spot? Maybe he was sneakier than I’d realized and had managed to somehow slip out from behind his counter without me noticing. Even now, as I stood here completely oblivious, he could be stalking, prowling, creeping up on me, about to catch me unawares.

I gulped, suddenly nervous. Maybe a quick look would be good… just to be sure the green eyed devil hadn’t escaped his pizza-scented, space-age themed domain. 

Licking my dry lips, I carefully squeezed the scoop’s handles together, making it split down the jagged middle just enough for me to peek through. Immediately, my muscles relaxed and I sighed in relief. Yup, still there, assisting a customer at the register.

I loosened my grip so the utensil snapped shut again, blocking him from my sight once more. Now the only person I could see at the little pizzeria was his coworker, a short, blonde guy currently pulling a pizza out of the massive oven and-

Wait a minute…

My eyebrows knit together.

Hadn’t Blondie there been working over at the Lucky Cat Café before? My gaze darted over to the little coffee place a few spaces over.  There the blue haired chick was again, but today she was accompanied by a big guy with slicked back, choppy brown hair.

Huh. Perhaps Pizza Planet offered better benefits and he’d jumped the java ship to sling dough instead? Or maybe-

“Hey! Are you even listening to me?”

I squeaked, fumbling the scoop for a few seconds before managing to get a firm grasp on it once more, hiding it behind my back as I whipped around to face the voice.

Riku stood on the other side of the countertop, arms crossed and eyelids drooping. 

I managed a weak smile for him. “Yes?”

One silver eyebrow quirked. “Then what was I saying?”

“You, er… wanted ice cream?”

“Okay, what kind of ice cream?” he rolled his eyes.

Oof, this one would be a little trickier.

Fingers fidgeting with scoop, I pursed my lips to one side. “...the cold kind?”

There was a snort from Frozone beside me as he counted the register. “She’s not wrong.”

Riku, on the other hand, merely narrowed his eyes. Somehow, I got the feeling he was not nearly as amused. Just a hunch.

Taking a step forward, I said, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! Please, tell me what I can get for you, I promise I’m listening now.”

He fixed me with that dull stare for a few more seconds before sighing and shaking his head. “Three scoops of the Spark Lemon on a cone and a bar of the Royalberry.”

“Coming right up!” I immediately set to work, grabbing a cone off the stack, sliding open the frosted glass, and plunging the (now thoroughly vetted by me to be completely hygienic and immaculate) scoop into the giant bowl of the lemony yellow ice cream.  It was just after I had plopped down the first orb onto the cone and was going to dig up the next one when I spotted it at my peripheral. A flash of that familiar blazing crimson. Aka You-Know-Who’s hair. Thankfully, he hadn’t budged from where he was last spotted, but still… a chilling reminder.

I hesitated for a heartbeat before stabbing down into the ice cream once more. Then my gaze shifted up to Riku briefly before flicking back down with a frown. “Um… do you think maybe you could… scooch a few inches over to your left? If you don’t mind?”

His brow furrowed, then he glanced over his shoulder towards the Pizza Planet.  Putting two and two together and releasing another sigh, he sidled over, obstructing Lea from my vision. 

“Thanks,” I smiled, carving out a nice big scoop for him.

“...you haven’t talked to him yet, have you?”

I winced, but said nothing as I plonked down the second ball on top of the first.

His face softened, “Well I did talk to him and-”

“Wait, you did what?!” I snapped, forcing Riku to jerk back in surprise.  My blood ran cold. Oh, not good, this was so not good! I groaned, “No! No, no, no! You talked to him?! How could you talk to him? Gah, now he’s going to know I’ve been avoiding him!”

A snort escaped him. “You think he didn’t know that already?”

“Of course not!”

“Says the girl who was doing this not two minutes ago.” He snatched the steel scoop out of my hand, twisting around to hold it out in Lea’s direction. 

“Stop that!” I lunged forward, stretching across the counter in a desperate attempt to get the utensil back, all while miraculously keeping the small stack of ice cream balanced atop its cone.  However, he simply hopped back out of my reach. Shoulders slumping, I looked to Frozone. “Little help?”

“Oh-ho no,” he chuckled, not looking up from tallying the munny. “I’m staying outta this.”

Gee, thanks.

Riku was still holding out the scoop as I looked to him again and hissed, “He’s going to see you!”

He bit back a grin. “And when you were doing it, you were, what, invisible?”

“No, but… but…” I released an agitated huff, “two people doing it is just weird!”

“Trust me, one person doing it was weird.”

With a tiny growl, I abandoned trying to get the stupid scoop back and instead straightened up to start pacing.  “I still can’t believe you talked to him,” I thrust the cone at him accusingly as I passed him on my little patrol back and forth. “I had a plan, it was a good plan, the perfect plan, a plan that was working, and now you’ve ruined everything and it’s all-”

“What was this oh so great plan of yours?” he asked, finally dropping his hand so he could fold his arms under his chest.

I froze mid-step, shooting him a flat look. “To not talk to him!”

He snerked. “And then?”

“And then to… to... continue not talking to him! Forever!” I stamped my foot down. “And we’d live happily ever after. Not talking. Ever. The end!”

So what if I was being a bit petulant? So sue me.

He’d frigging talked to him!

Riku could kiss my employee discount goodbye, that’s for sure!

His eyes crinkled as he shook his head, “Or you could try Plan B and do this crazy little thing called using your words to put this whole mess behind you two.”

I stared hard down at the cone in my hand, pursing my lips to one side. “But we never gave Plan A a real shot. I think it has potential, so maybe I should just keep working with that one.”

Riku puffed out a breath, handing me back the scoop. “Look, like I said, I’ve spoken to him, and he totally understands. Accidents happen. But you both have to work here, so you really should clear the air. Don’t you want to feel comfortable at your job and not have things be all awkward?”

“You do realize it’s me you’re talking to, right?” I scoffed as I took it from him and dug into the tub of Spark Lemon once more. “I’m the walking, talking human form of the blush emoji. Awkward is my middle name. At this point, I don’t think I know how to be anything but.”

“Well… you do you, I guess,” he shrugged. “Just know that he’s ready to talk whenever you are, okay?”

I paused, then slowly nodded as I topped off the cone with the third and final scoop. Then pulling a bar of the Royalberry from the compact fridges below, I handed both to Riku and rang him up at the register. As he quirked an eyebrow at me charging him full price, I shot him a blank look. “You know what you did.” 

He sighed through his nose, but a grin tugged at one corner of his lips as he paid. “Fine, whatever. See you later tonight,” he waved as he walked off, licking away at his ice cream.

“Is this gonna be a problem?” I heard Frozone ask and I glanced over at him.  He didn’t look up as he closed the register with his hip, instead just gesturing with his chin towards the Pizza Planet as he jotted something down on his clipboard.

Squaring my shoulders, I shook my head. “No, no problem, I promise.”

“You sure? Do you need me to bust any heads? Rough him up? Rearrange his face?”

I fought a tiny smile. “I’m sure. No face rearranging necessary, thanks.”

Now he looked up at me, eyes deadpan. “Am I going to have to drag you over there by the ear so you two can make up and play nice?”

All color draining from my face, I was rapidly shaking my head again. “N-no, that’s okay! You have nothing to worry about, I got it all under control!”

After all, I had my super great and totally amazing system that could not, would not fail me in any conceivable way!

His face broke out into a grin. “Good, that’s what I like to hear! Now you,” he pointed at me. “Tonight. Closing. First time all by yourself. You ready?”

“Absolutely!” I nodded. “I’ve closed with Kristoff the past couple nights now and I’ve got it all down. Seems straight forward enough, I should be fine.”

Frozone cocked his head, “Should be?”

“Definitely,” I hastily corrected myself. “I will definitely be fine. Better than fine. I will be perfection! You can count on me!”

“Fantastic,” he tapped a fist to the side of my arm before turning his attention to the second register.

Surprisingly, I actually wasn’t too concerned about it.  Like I’d said, it was pretty simple stuff.  Restock napkins and spoons, refill any empty ice cream tubs, wipe down surfaces, and so on. Sure, I was being given some responsibility, but I had zero problems with that. Responsibility was easy. Responsibility I could handle. It was people that I couldn’t deal with and that was the beauty of closing: there wouldn’t be a customer in sight. I’d be all alone, just the way I liked it.

Yup, I would be totally fine.

Not a single worry here. Nope.

Alright, one worry.

One big, whopping, massive worry that I really should have seen coming from a mile away.

Guess who also happened to be closing a certain pizzeria tonight?

That’s right! A certain redhead whose name rhymes with ‘flee.’

Which, coincidentally, is exactly what I wanted to do in that very moment.

But instead I took in a deep, calming breath and steeled myself as I continued to return our freshly rinsed and sanitized scoops to their homes on the Ice Palace counter so they’d be ready to go for the morning crew tomorrow. I concentrated very hard on not looking up, always trying to remain singularly focused on each task at hand. But as if my eyeballs had minds of their own, I couldn’t deny them a brief, furtive glance through my lashes in his direction every now and again.

Like right now.

Stupid mutinous eyeballs.

He was currently just in his work polo and khakis, having discarded his apron and visor. He seemed just as determined as I was to pour all of his attention into getting his closing chores done, never once looking my way… at least, not that I was ever able to catch anyway. Since Riku’d talked to him, he probably was fully aware of how uncomfortable this whole situation was for me and was now just doing his best to give me my space. 

Having just tied off a full garbage bag, he picked it up and I stiffened as he turned in my direction. But his gaze was everywhere and anywhere but on me, face impassive as he just kept pivoting into a one-eighty, slinging the trash over his shoulder and walking out the rear door of the Pizza Planet, probably heading for the dumpster. My whole body sagged as I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

Ugh, why did I have to be making this all so weird? We were just two separate employees working our two separate jobs at two separate corners of the food court! On the surface, you wouldn’t even be able to tell there was anything wrong. So why did I feel the need to spazz in utter terror every two goddamn seconds?

Grumbling softly to myself, I quickly deposited the last of the utensils into their spots. Maybe if I hustled, I could finish everything and split before he returned. Then this could be Future Elsa’s problem to deal with, because let me tell you, Present Elsa was feeling so done with it all.  Having already topped off the ice cream bowls in the display, I moved on to snapping their lids down before double checking that the freezers below were fully stocked. Then I began shutting everything down, starting with the registers.

It was just as I had moved over to the soft serve/milkshake machine and was reaching for its power button that it happened. That Pizza Planet door opened once more. He came back. I looked. Our eyes met.

Instant.

Panic.

My chest tightened and my finger slipped, pressing down on a button.

It wasn’t the power button.

A fact that I became immediately and woefully aware of as the machine let out a decidedly unhappy sound that could most accurately be described as a banshee screech, making me jump and stumble backwards. I watched wide eyed as it began to rattle and shake, its lights and digital display screens flickering in random patterns all over with no rhyme or reason.

I’d pushed that button. The one Kristoff had warned me about. The Anger Button.

Why’d they even put the dumb Anger Button right smack dab next to the Power Button?!

What was even the point of the Anger Button?!

Suddenly, the machine was spewing lime green ice cream at me. With a tiny yelp, I ducked, narrowly avoiding getting globbed in the face as it instead splattered against the wall behind me. Straightening up, I snapped at the machine, “Hey, stop that!”

Its only answer was to fling more ice cream at me, this chunk in a cotton candy pink. I managed to dodge that attack too if only just barely before making a dive for the power button, palm slamming down on it. And that… got me zilch. If anything, the giant tin can only seemed to rumble harder as it now shot out a neon orange gush that I had to sharply crane my neck to evade.

“I said stop that! Right now!” I scolded it. As if making demands of the thing would actually do any good. I mashed the power button several more times, to zero effect. Now in full on freak out mode, I desperately started pressing all the other buttons, flipping all the switches, and yanking all the levers as I continued to dodge the now rapid fire spray of chocolate-vanilla mixed bullets flying at me while its quaking grew more violent and its high-pitched shrieking just kept getting louder and louder.

I only seemed to be pissing it off more.

Like the legendary apple of biblical fame that never should have been eaten, I’d pressed the button that never should have been pressed. I’d enraged the ice cream gods and now they were punishing me. Smiting me for my foolishness, making me suffer their divine, sugary-sweet wrath.

“What do you want from me?!” I shouted at it in frustration, snatching my cap off my head and using it to smother the nozzle in a pathetic attempt to stem the never-ending flood of ice cream. “What will make you happy?! A ritualistic dance? An offering of my blood? The sacrifice of a small child? What?!”

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. A blur of movement. A streak of crimson. None other than a very familiar redhead vaulting himself over the Ice Palace countertop and landing right next to me.

I only had time to gawk at Lea before he was grabbing my shoulders and yanking me out of the way. The second my hat was off the spout, he was blasted with what was now a vibrant rainbow torrent of ice cream, drenching him from head to toe. Using one arm as a shield, he groped around the machine with his other hand until he found the power cord, seized it in his fist and ripped the plug out of the wall.

Almost instantly the machine stilled and the metallic screaming died down. The hush that followed was almost eerie by comparison. Wringing my cap between my hands, all I could do was gape as Lea turned to me, cold iridescent slush dripping from every inch of him as he wordlessly held the cord out to me. I blinked down at it.

...well fudge, why didn’t I think of that?

I mean seriously, I’d tried to negotiate with the damn bucket of bolts and even suggested presenting an infant up in offering to appease the almighty dessert deities before the mere thought of pulling the plug had crossed my mind.

I really needed to get my priorities straight.

I slowly took the cord from his hand before hesitantly looking back up at him. Still he was silent. Maybe he was trying to let me take the lead on this, waiting for me to make the first move. My lips parted, but nothing came out.

...well? Go on already, say something! Anything! Stop just staring at him like a total goob!

“You…”

You helped me when you had absolutely no reason to.

You were amazing.

You’re a total hero.

“...are covered in ice cream.”

...ah, me. Master conversationalist. Queen of Wit.

Stating the super obvious was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.

His head rocked back slightly at that. “Huh? Oh,” he looked down at himself with a soft chuckle. “Yeah, guess I am.”

Alright, Elsa, let’s try that again. Take two.

I cleared my throat and averted my gaze. “...th-thanks.”

Alright, so I’m not going to be winning any sort of originality awards there, but hey, I liked to think it was at least a step up from my last comment.

He gave a dismissive wave, sending a few multi-colored droplets spattering with the gesture. “Don’t mention it.” He rubbed the nape of his neck. There was a long, painfully awkward pause where neither of us spoke or looked at each other. Then he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “Well… guess I’ll be going... then...”

He turned, planting his hands on the counter, preparing to catapult himself back over to the food court side. But then he stopped, just standing there for a couple seconds before puffing out a low breath and glancing back at me. “Look, about the, ah… the-”

“Kissident?” I blurted out.

...what the hell, mouth? I’d told you that codename in confidence! I thought we were friends!

“...sure? Okay, yeah, I guess that’d be a word for it,” he rubbed a curled knuckle along his lips, hiding a tiny smile. Or maybe he was just wiping some of the frozen muck away. It was anyone’s guess, really. “Whatever you want to call it, do you think maybe we could just... forget it ever happened? Hit the rewind button and do this whole first impression thing over again?”

Could… could we even do that?

Was that, like… allowed?

Realizing I was twisting my work cap to the point now where it was going to be filing charges against me for domestic abuse, I loosened my grip on it slightly as I gave a slow nod. “I would… really like that, actually.”

Would you look at that? I’d not only managed to string more than two words together, but in a way that suggested some form of minor human intellect no less. Progress!

Wiping his hand off on one of the few dry spots still left on his pants, he stretched it out to me. “Hi there, name’s Lea. Got it memorized?”

I stared at it for a second, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. Then shifting the cord and hat to one hand, I reached out my other one to tentatively shake his. “Elsa. It’s... a pleasure to meet you.”

He grinned, “Likewise.”

And just like that, a weight had been lifted. All that stress and anxiety shrank down to next to nothing. Not completely gone, mind you. It’s not like you could totally erase something like the Kissident, not with a simple handshake anyway. But still, it was suddenly a lot better than it had been over the past few days. At least I could once again breathe in the presence of this man.

He also seemed to sense the tension banishing. My hand tingled a bit as Lea released it and he beamed at me, bouncing on his toes slightly. But then he frowned as he seemed to abruptly remember that he was still caked in sugary goop as he glanced down at himself again. “Shit, it really got me good, huh?” Hooking a finger in his collar, he tugged it out wide so he could look down inside and grimaced. “Ick, even managed to get all in my shirt. I love ice cream more than the next guy, but even I have my limits.”

And then, I kid you not, right then and there, still standing beside me behind the little Ice Palace counter, with all the scoops and cones around to bear witness, he reached over his shoulder, grabbed the back of his polo and pulled it up over his head and off.

A tiny noise escaped me that may or may not have resembled a “meep” as I dropped the cord and hid my face in my hat.

...had he really just done that? Surely not! I had to have imagined it! Although if it was just my imagination, why my brain felt the need to supply the picture at this exact moment was a whole other can of worms that I wasn’t particularly prepared to deal with at this time. But putting the Why aside, an overactive imagination would be the only thing that would make sense! I mean, it made more sense than some presumably half-way sane person just starting to strip in the middle of a public mall literally three seconds after being formally introduced to an all but total stranger!

Get a grip. It was all in my head. I had to be seeing things.

With a firm nod and a fortifying huff through my nose, I lowered my cap just a smidge to take a peek.

Then right back up the hat went.

Yeah, no, it was real. There was totally just some topless dude standing two feet away from me using his balled-up shirt to wipe ice cream off his abs.

...his well-sculpted, leanly muscled abs.

...not that I particularly paid attention to such things.

“Sorry,” I heard him say, my spine snapping rigid at the sound of his voice. “But this stuff’s gonna get super gross super fast unless I take care of it now. Hope ya don’t mind.”

Heart spasming and face sizzling, I shook my head quickly and opened my mouth to respond but-

“Hey! What are you doing back there?!”

I jerked my head up at the new gruff voice and looked out into the food court where two men now stood, one with his arms crossed, both scowling. The guy on the left was a big, stocky fellow with a square jaw and chiseled features, his ginger hair kept short and slicked back. His partner, who was almost just as big, had thick sideburns that hooked around his cheeks and wore his black hair in long dreadlocks tied back into a ponytail. They were dressed as mall security, the names on their uniforms reading Aeleus and Dilan.

As they both slowly stalked towards the counter, eyes narrowed on Lea, the one with dreads, Dilan, asked me sternly, “Is this degenerate bothering you, miss?”

My gaze just darted back and forth between the two of them as Lea threw his hands up, “Hey, woah now, you got it all wrong! I was just helping her out!”

Aeleus gave him a dull look, eyeing Lea’s current state of partial undress then curling his lip slightly. “Sure you were, buddy.”

“Oh come on! I don’t recognize you guys so you must be new, but I work here! See?” Lea unfurled his polo as evidence, only to discover the Pizza Planet logo on it had been hidden by a thick coat of ice cream. With a groan, he tried to swipe it clean, but the stuff had already hardened into place. Facepalming with a growl, Lea then looked to me. “Go on, tell them!”

...me?! He wanted my help?

Hadn’t he learned by now what a complete and total disaster I was in social situations?

No, don’t think like that. The guy had just rushed to my aid a few minutes ago and now it was time to repay the favor. I had this.

...I hoped.

“I-it’s alright,” I stammered out to the security guards, “everything is fine! This is all just a… a big misunderstanding! It’s actually just so silly, really. It all started earlier this week when he caught me off guard and all of sudden we were kissing and-”

“Excuse me?” Dilan asked coldly, turning his glare full blast on Lea. “Are you telling me this lowlife assaulted you?”

Paling, I rushed to reply, “No, no! It’s okay! It’s all good now because, see, just a bit ago, he charged at me, threw himself over the counter, slathered himself up in ice cream, took off his shirt and-”

Wait.

This was all coming out so wrong.

“That’s it, I’ve heard enough,” Aeleus ground out through his teeth, pulling a pair of handcuffs off his belt. “You’re coming with us.”

With a snort and a smirk, Lea pulled down his left lower eyelid with his middle finger and stuck his tongue out at them. “Fine then, be that way! But you meatheads’ll have to catch me first. Here!” He chucked his ruined shirt at Aeleus’s face. Then shooting a wink my way, he turned and bolted out the Ice Palace’s rear door.

“He’s trying to escape out the back!” Dilan catapulted over the counter as Aeleus snatched the polo off his face with a snarl. As he barreled through the same door, Dilan called back over his shoulder, “I’ll chase after him, you go around and try to cut him off!”

Aeleus gave a stiff nod before running off to the left and out of my sight.

So there I was. Soggy cap a crumpled wad in my tight, white-knuckled grip as I now just stood there, frozen and blinking in the middle of the Ice Palace, ice cream splashed across the walls and dripping from the machinery and ceiling.  And all I could do was wonder…

...how on earth I was going to explain all of this to my boss.

Author’s note: Oh em gee, at long last, HE SPEAKS! Not only that, he has absolutely ZERO shame! But that's okay, Elsa's got more than enough shame for the both of them xD And of course, I had to insert his obligatory catch phrase along the way xP But what’s this? The small, tentative makings of a possible friendship has started to form? Madness! And wouldja look at that… a certain pair of castle guards are now mall security, but Lea’s still giving them the ol’ runaround… guess some things never change xD Side note, looks like in this AU, Elsa is just as bad at controlling her ice cream powers as ever (buh dum tss!). And for those who don’t remember from BBS because it’s been too long or whatever, minor fun fact: Spark Lemon and Royalberry are ice cream flavors from that game! Worry not, I’ll exhaust the whole BBS ice cream list before long in this story, mark my word!

Next chapter, will this delicate new friendship blossom even further? Will Lea safely escape the clutches of mall security? And just how WILL Elsa explain the Ice Palace ice cream mess to her boss? Stay tuned to find out! Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve started following me, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[kythen]

Haikyuu!! - Bad/Bed Hair Day

Pairing: Kurodai

Summary: After Kuroo moves into Daichi's dorm room, Kuroo's hair undergoes a transformation. Cue an identity crisis and Kuroo and Daichi's many attempts to make things right again.

My piece for the Domestic Kurodai Zine: Midnight to Morning Coffee!

Also found here on AO3.

Word count: 2,671

"Kuroo Tetsurou?"

"Here." Kuroo raises his hand and yawns, slumping down in his seat. It is 8 in the morning, way too early for class, and Kuroo daydreams longingly of slipping back into bed with Daichi.

Instead of marking him off as present immediately like she always does, the TA looks confused, looking between Kuroo and the namelist, and Kuroo sits up, equally confused.

"Is something wrong?" he asks and the rest of his bleary classmates perk up in interest.

She frowns, looking at him disapprovingly. "It's against the school regulations to stand in for another student in class."

Kuroo straightens up, wondering if this is some weird dream he is in. "What are you talking about? I'm Kuroo Tetsurou. You know me. I just talked to you about our current assignment last week."

The TA looks wary as she looks him up and down. His classmates turn their attention on him and it is as if they are seeing him for the first time. Kuroo looks around desperately for a reflective surface. This feels like a nightmare and Kuroo hopes that whatever he sees reflected back at him will shock him into waking up. Maybe he is still in bed and getting cuddled by his boyfriend. Kuroo has only recently started sleeping over in Daichi’s dorm room and Daichi has started to warm up to having Kuroo in the same space as him in his sleep.

But when he checks his reflection in his phone, he is all there, Kuroo Tetsurou, hoodie thrown over his pyjamas and hair flattened down into something that isn't his bedhead. He tugs at the limp strands. He hadn't noticed that his hairstyle had changed. Maybe it was because his sleeping position had changed to accommodate one clingy boyfriend.

Kuroo looks up and sees the rest of the class staring. Acting on a hunch, he sweeps his hair up with his hands and holds it up in an approximation of his usual bedhead.

The TA blinks and checks him off the list. "Oh."

---

Daichi laughs, his head thrown back and his feet kicking the sheets on the bed, his grin as wide as the sky. It is the cutest thing that Kuroo has ever seen.

"Don't laugh," Kuroo whines, tottering over to Daichi on defeated feet and dropping onto the bed with him.

"I can't believe no one recognised you." Daichi reaches for Kuroo as Kuroo crawls over to him and drops into his lap, pillowing his cheek on Daichi's thigh. Daichi cards his hands through Kuroo's hair, the motion gentle and soothing, and Kuroo closes his eyes blissfully. If he were a cat, he would be purring now.

"I can't believe it either. I even had to show a professor my student ID," Kuroo complains. "Do I look that unrecognisable with my hair down? Is Kuroo Tetsurou all in the hair?  Who am I without the bedhead? Daichi, I'm having a major existential crisis right now."

Daichi sweeps Kuroo's hair back from his forehead, leaning down to press a kiss to his exposed forehead. "You're still my boyfriend."

Kuroo smiles dazedly at him, blindsided by the affectionate gesture, before his smile morphs into a scowl. "You didn't recognise me either when I came in. Nice try, mister."

Daichi pats Kuroo's hair back into place as he admits, "You do look different with your hair down."

Kuroo looks accusingly at him. "You do know that this is probably your fault, right? For being so cuddly and warm and nice to snuggle that I can't style my hair while I sleep."

"Is that what you call it?" Daichi raises an eyebrow. "I thought it was just bedhead, not some time-efficient strategy for hairstyling. Anyway, if it is my fault, you could always return to sleeping in your room."

"And miss out on the chance to spend more time with you? No way." Kuroo frowns. "There has got to be a way to get my hair back to its usual handsome style."

"I think you're pretty handsome with your hair down," Daichi tugs at the loose strands of Kuroo's hair, "but if it bothers you that much, why don't you try styling your hair in the morning?"

---

Solution 1: Hair gel

Kuroo slides into the seat Yaku had saved for him at the cafeteria and all conversations at the table immediately end. A shit-eating grin spreads across Yaku's face and Daishou looks like Christmas had come early for him. Kuroo immediately, and not for the first time, regrets that Yaku and Daishou had put aside their enmity in university to form a friendship built on roasting Kuroo.

"Hey, I didn't know that Yu-Gi-Oh got a new protagonist," Yaku says loudly, his eyes fixed on Kuroo's head. Or approximately five centimetres above Kuroo's head.

The both of them burst into laughter.

"Ha ha, guys," Kuroo deadpans, stabbing at his lunch with his chopsticks.

He doesn't think he looks that bad. Daichi and him had tried their best with the hair gel but neither of them had any previous experience with hairstyling considering that all Kuroo had ever used were two pillows to get his hair into shape and Daichi had never bothered learning to style his hair. Okay, maybe Daichi had gotten too enthusiastic with the gel to get Kuroo's spikes to stand up and Kuroo had been too much of a useless, smitten boyfriend to tell Daichi his spikes didn't stand that tall. They were soft spikes, nice to touch and friendly to stroke. Not spikes of doom that could take someone's eye out if he wasn't careful.

"Seriously, what happened to your hair?" Yaku wheezes, once he finally gets a hold of himself.

"My hair hasn't been right lately so we tried styling it a bit," Kuroo says, self-consciously prodding the stiff spikes on the top of his head.

"Honestly, I think I preferred it when I couldn't tell who you were with your hair down," Yaku tells him, still grinning.

"Daichi-kun isn't very good at hairstyling, is he?" Daishou remarks with a sly smile.

"Daichi has other strengths." Kuroo glowers at him, defending his boyfriend loyally. "Just not... hairstyling."

"I'd say he has a talent for it, considering that he's the one who finally defeated your bedhead," Yaku comments. "Weren't you trying to get rid of it?"

"I was, until I found out that my personal identity was inextricably linked to how my hair looked." Kuroo slumps down in his seat mournfully.

Yaku pats him on the shoulder sympathetically. "Well, you better find out how to get it back because your friendships are also inextricably linked to how your hair looks. I'll tolerate it this one time, but I'm not gonna be seen in public with you if you keep this up."

---

Solution 2: Don't cuddle Daichi

"That's harder than you think it is." Kuroo looks pleadingly at Daichi. "Don't cuddle you? That's like asking me not to breathe."

"Considering how you normally sleep, I thought you'd be an expert at not breathing," Daichi retorts. "I'm technically saving your life by sleeping with you."

"Yes, you are," Kuroo says reverently. Ever since he started sleeping with Daichi in the same bed, he swears he feels more rejuvenated in the morning.

"Look," Daichi props his hands on his hips as he looks down at Kuroo in his bed, all tucked in and waiting for Daichi to join him, "I don't like being apart from you either but if you want to get your bedhead back you should go back to sleeping in your room."

Kuroo props himself up on an elbow and peels back a corner of the blanket, patting the Daichi-shaped empty space next to him. "I'll keep my hands to myself this time." When Daichi doesn't budge, Kuroo gives him his best puppy-eyed look. "I mean, who's going to rescue me if I stop breathing in the middle of the night? I can't sleep peacefully without you, Daichi."

"You managed just fine without me for eighteen years," Daichi grumbles but he gets into bed with Kuroo, shoving at Kuroo's lanky body until there is a clear space between them. It isn't much of a gap, seeing that they are two broad guys on a dorm-sized mattress, but Kuroo appreciates the thought and he leans over to give Daichi a peck on the cheek before he turns off the beside lamp.

"Goodnight, Daichi."

Lips brush against Kuroo's in the dark before Daichi returns to his side of the bed. "Goodnight, Kuroo."

---

When Kuroo's first alarm goes off in the morning, he comes into consciousness warm and comfortable, his body moulded perfectly against Daichi. Kuroo blinks dazedly and reaches over Daichi to turn his alarm off before burying his nose back into Daichi's hair and shutting his eyes until his second alarm goes off.

---

Solution 3: Drastic measures

"I have no choice, Daichi. I have to do this," Kuroo says grimly.

"Just go back to your room, Kuroo," Daichi sighs. "I know I joked about you not breathing in your sleep but this might actually stop you from breathing entirely. Forever."

"It won't hurt me," Kuroo says confidently. "I've been doing this since I was a kid."

He holds out his two pillows. If he can't stop himself from snuggling up to Daichi in the middle of the night, then he wouldn't stop it. He didn't need his hands for this anyway, all he needed were for the pillows to be on either side of his head for the entire night.

Kuroo lies facedown on Daichi's bed and pulls his pillows into the optimal sleeping position before getting to work fixing them on either side of his head. It takes two elastic bands to secure the pillows to Kuroo's head and he turns his head from side to side and takes an experimental breath. It feels like his usual sleeping position and he reaches out blindly beside him, groping the sheets as he searches for Daichi.

"Kuroo, this doesn't look safe at all," Daichi says as Kuroo snakes a hand around his waist and tries to tug him down next to him. "I'm serious. You might actually suffocate in the middle of the night."

"'M fine," Kuroo mumbles out, his voice muffled by the two pillows secured to his head. He turns to the side so he can see out of the gap between them and he sees Daichi's worried face peering down at him. It takes a few more coaxing tugs before he can get Daichi to lie down beside him and he wraps his arms snugly around Daichi's waist, beaming at him. "See? Hands-free."

Daichi looks unimpressed as he mutters, "I don't know what this says about me that I'm dating someone like you."

"Hrm?" Kuroo asks, the pillows having muffled most of Daichi's voice.

"Nothing," Daichi sighs. "Just keep breathing until the morning please, Kuroo. I don't want to have to find a new boyfriend."

Kuroo tangles his legs with Daichi's, a wave of affection surging in him at how concerned Daichi is for him. "You won't have to. You're stuck with me, darling."

---

He can't breathe.

Kuroo opens his eyes but it doesn't make any difference when all that fills his vision is darkness and an oppressive force covers his nose and mouth. Panicked and still half-asleep, Kuroo reaches up and his hand meets something soft over his face. With a burst of desperate strength, he rips it off his face and gasps, gulping down quick breaths of air.

His clothes are sweat-soaked and his hair one matted mess as he shoves off the rest of the suffocating tangle surrounding his head and clutches Daichi close, seeking out the protective warmth of his boyfriend in the aftermath of his near-death experience.

"That was so scary. Daichi, I nearly suffocated," Kuroo whimpers, pushing his face into Daichi's soft hair and breathing in his comforting scent.

Daichi stirs, sighing against Kuroo's neck as he mumbles drowsily, "I told you so."

Daichi's hands stroke up and down the length of Kuroo's back absently, soothingly, and Kuroo lets their steady rhythm lull him back into sleep.

---

Conclusion: Failed

"I'm not letting you try out anything new after your previous attempt with the pillows," Daichi declares, folding his arms across his chest. He is planted solidly at the edge of his bed as Kuroo paces the room before him, thinking up some other way to get back his bedhead without having to give up on sleeping with Daichi. "You almost hurt yourself, Kuroo."

"But, Daichi," Kuroo says, aghast. "Nobody knows who I am without my trademark bedhead. I can already feel my identity slipping away from me, one limp strand at a time."

"You'll just have to live out your new life as not-Kuroo then," Daichi says firmly. He reaches up, beckoning, and Kuroo leans down to meet him, letting Daichi card his fingers through the loose strands of his hair. "Besides, it's not like I'm dating you because of your hair or anything."

"I distinctly remember you insulting my hair a couple of times before we started dating. And even after we started dating," Kuroo points out, moving closer and closer to Daichi until he gets Daichi flat on his back on the bed. Kuroo climbs onto the bed, bracing himself over Daichi and boxing him in with his arms as he looks him in the eye suspiciously. "Maybe this was your dastardly plan to get rid of my bedhead all along."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Daichi says lightly with a teasing gleam in his eye as he tucks Kuroo's hair behind his ear, letting his fingers brush against the shell of Kuroo's ear lingeringly. "So? What are you going to do about it?"

Kuroo can't let Daichi get away with this so he leans in to show him.

---

At the cafeteria, Yaku waves him over to their table and Kuroo slides into his seat, blissfully dazed and drifting on cloud nine after a good night. Yaku looks him up and down and Daishou takes one look at Kuroo before he goes back to texting on his phone.

"Hey, you managed to get your hair back to normal," Yaku says approvingly. "Congrats—if that was what you were going for."

"Normal?" Kuroo blinks and reaches up to touch his hair. He hadn't looked in a mirror before leaving this morning, his eyes glued shut by the early hour as he rolled out of bed, put on his clothes, and shuffled right out of the room.

Daishou turns his phone towards Kuroo and Kuroo finds himself looking at himself in the front-facing camera. His hair is back up in its natural, messy spikes, just as they had been before he moved into Daichi's room, and when he flattens them with a hand, they just spring back up into shape, untameable as always.

"Hair gel?" Yaku asks.

"Or did you finally move out of Daichi-kun's room?" Daishou suggests.

"Neither." Kuroo prods his hair in confusion, trying to figure out the logic behind his bedhead. "I just went to sleep as usual..."

He had fallen asleep and woken up in Daichi's arms, without bothering to think of a solution to tackle his hair. It had been late and the both of them had been exhausted after—

Ah.

"Ah," Kuroo blurts out loud, realising what exactly had shaped his hair last night.

Yaku and Daishou look curiously at him and Kuroo snaps his teeth shut, trying to will down the sudden burst of heat in his face. As much as he considers them his friends, he doesn't think he wants to reveal to them everything that happens between Daichi and him.

"I must be having a good hair day," Kuroo says as nonchalantly as possible, suppressing a shiver as he thinks about the grasping hands that had tugged at his hair last night. But he can't hold back a smirk as he thinks about what this says about Daichi's hairstyling skills. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.

[the-fitsquad]

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