#there are a few characters who are actually not dipshits. surprisingly enough for my story style

[gornackeaterofworlds]

i have a question. does april have any ulterior motives for befriending the turtles in the butterfly effect?

Hm. By ulterior you likely mean sinister, and in that regard, no. She is a "good" character. There will actually be an intermission sometime after this arc ends in a few chapters that will detail what happened during my disgusting time skip, where you might gain more insight.

But neutrally, yes!! The meeting scene means a lot to me because of everything that's clashing unspoken, a lot of decisions being weighed. So she does have a motive, the core of her character and many conflicts to come, that was the main reason she played nice. But she warms up to them as "people", though, and becomes a genuine friend as well, which is where she's at by the time the time skip is over. This isn't as rushed as it seems, they will get a lot of interactions together very soon for you to parse through. With it being so early, I'm not keen on plot dumping just yet, so I'm unsure of when said Intermission will release. But they will all get insight into their backstories that's not absolutely necessary for the main plot but as more of an added bonus

[yeahhiyellow]

First Lines Meme

List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Thank you so much @emiliaf25 for tagging me!!! I've seen a lot of fun writing tag games going around, but I haven't been tagged in any before now. This is probably due to the fact that while I write a lot, I don't publish most of my stories so like no one knows lol. I tried to put these in chronological order from newest to oldest, but they're not perfect, as I do not keep accurate time of when I write things (and probably should). Anyway, here are mine:

1. Blasting heavy metal so I can't think

"Heavy Metal": Detroit: Become Human (This one is in the form of a poem, so that's why it's a bit weird.)

2. Markus's head popped out of the last bedroom.

"Family": Detroit: Become Human (I still have to finish this one and publish it so I can't provide a link... yet)

3. I know I'm not enough.

"Enough": Detroit: Become Human (listen this is one of the angsty ones I never published so uhhhh)

4. CHRIS: Hank! Connor! What are you two doing here?

Unnamed: Detroit: Become Human (This one is formatted as a script soooo... yeah. It's also another one I am working on and have not and probably won't publish)

5. Crowley stood by the side of the road, his arms tightly coiled around his waist.

"Alone": Good Omens (aaaaand another really angsty one I never published, I have problems)

6. "What's wrong, angel?"

"It Started in 1957": Good Omens (currently not finished and has not been worked on for over half a year... probably should get on that at some point)

7. Every dystopian novel ever has some random teenage girl save the world. Unfortunately for the world, I don't think I can do that.

This was just an original story I started back in January that I wrote like a page of and never finished because I had way too many wips. Figured I'd put it in here anyway though

8. Finally, after 17 years of work, I had made it to the most prestigious school humanity had ever created.

This is another original story, however one that I have actually worked on for more than a page lol

9. RENATA: Oh, shit. This can't be good.

Function (Free Will): original. I have been working on this story for nearly 2 years now, and I'm still nowhere even close to done. It's formatted like a script and also has the same type of rpg choice-based storytelling as Detroit: Become Human. Add to that the fact that this story is meant to critique our current political and social society, systems, and structure and touches on a variety of incredibly heavy topics, and you have the recipe for writing a story that feels like it just. Never. Ends.

10. Demons aren't supposed to feel love.

"I Love You Too": Good Omens (I wrote this one a whiiiillleeee ago, as to why it's down here on the list. I only published it a few days ago, though, a little after I first saw you tagged me in this. So thanks for finally motivating me to do it lol)

11. "You obey or he's dead."

"Exit": Detroit: Become Human

12. "Come closer. Don't be scared."

"First Kiss - The Traci's - DBH Rare Pairs Week": Detroit: Become Human

13. If I broke that shotglass, I bet it could hurt me.

"Help": Detroit: Become Human (Essentially, I published this one on Tumblr and then proceeded to take it down later the same day. It was another angsty one.)

14. "Shut up, dipshit."

"Expectations: Shut Up, Dipshit": Detroit: Become Human (This one was actually from a zine I took part in that fell apart before anything could really happen. I never finished it, so I probably won't publish it, but I guess if I finished it I could. Will that happen, however? I doubt it.)

15. "You're back."

"Hannor Week: Living Deviant Prologue Compilation": Detroit: Become Human (*sighs* Now we're getting into the old stuff. Hang on, for I have no idea what atrocities lie ahead. Or behind?)

16. System Instability. Deviancy Detected. Contact Cyberlife for a inexpensive replacement, only $2000 with your warranty!

"Living Deviant": Detroit: Become Human (I wrote this story years ago and as a result it is so cringeworthy and has so many grammar mistakes I hate to even link it so I'm not going to lol)

17. "I'm just so glad we're alive, personally."

"Who I Thought I Was": Detroit: Become Human (Surprisingly, this one isn't actually too bad. I mean, it's definitely not good, but I don't facepalm and curl up into a ball when reading it, so that has to be a good sign.)

18. I heard a gunshot from around the corner.

"Dbh Revolution Week ~ November 13 ~ Connor, Hank, and Sumo": Detroit: Become Human

19. RK900 visibly shook as he looked into the mirror.

"Scarred": Detroit: Become Human (Another one that I never published, surprise, surprise. Given how old this one is and subsequently how bad and also utterly angsty it is, I don't think I'll be publishing it unless I, like, rewrite the whole thing, so.)

20. LAUREN: 8:51, hmm? I've already been here for 11 minutes, and no one else has shown up.

"Choices": a horrible original romantic comedy I wrote as a script 5 years ago. Tbh the idea wasn't even that bad, it was the execution of it that just... really sucked. So it's a good thing we're stopping here, as if I went any farther back in my writing history, I think I might just cringe myself to death.

---

Woo, thank god we're done with that! XD In all seriousness though, this was quite a bit of fun and got me to revisit pieces I hadn't seen in years. Thank you again for the tag!!! :DDDD

Now for which one is my favorite... there are some that are definitely good, and others that are definitely bad. I like numbers 2 (cute opening line for a fluffy fic), 5 (wordplay with "coiled" and Crowley being a snake), 7 (twisting of an expected trope), 8 (brings in scifi element and introduces the character's personality while hooking the reader in), 9 (set up for the tone of the rest of the chapter and immediately introduces tension), 11 (same as previous), and 12 (also attention-grabbing), so we'll just let those make up for whatever atrocities 16 (horrible imitation of corporate writing), 20 (just plain boring), and the attempt of 18 (I had the right idea of it being a hook, the execution however was horrific) were. I start a lot of my pieces with dialogue, or at least I used to. I became aware of that within the past year and tried to work on introducing stories in other ways, which I think I've done a pretty good job on. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd probably go with 7. I just really like the subversion of expectations that you get right away from it. It announces the trope loud and clear, but plays with it instead of following it.

While I'd love to tag lots of other writers, I unfortunately don't know many at all (listen I would love to read more fics but also tiiimmmeee). I'll just tag @konami-code-ao3 for now. However, if you see this and want to hop in, feel free!

[neruran]

Jumping Through Hoops

Series: My Hero Academia

Rating: T

Genre: Gen, Humour

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Kaminari Denki, brief appearances/mentions of Kirishima Eijirou, Ashido Mina, Sero Hanta, Jirou Kyouka, Bakugou Mitsuki

Other tags: Bakugou Katsuki Swears a Lot, rated for Bakugou’s potty mouth, Future Fic, mildly OOC

Summary: Bakugou walked into work with a sprained wrist one day.

Read on  AO3|FF.net

Inspired by Brooklyn Nine-Nine because I love that show, and that cold open is definitely one of the best. Wrote most of this two days ago at 4am and figured it was funny enough to post.

As the above tags state, this takes place in the future when the Bakusquad have their own hero office together. This is irrelevant to the story, but my headcanon is that the agency is named after Bakugou at his insistence, but they’re all his partners rather than his sidekicks. He throws a fit every time someone calls them his sidekicks because he doesn’t need underlings, they’re all people who stand on equal ground with him. They all point out that maybe if they changed the name to something more general people would stop assuming but nope, Bakugou’s too stubborn. Anyway, on with the fic.

It was an ordinary day in the Bakusquad Hero Office (that wasn’t the actual name, but all the heroes in said office except for Bakugou called it that anyway when the public wasn’t listening). At least, it had been until Bakugou walked in looking his usual Morning Disgruntled (as opposed to his Afternoon Annoyed or his Neutral Frowny Disinterest) and a brace around his left wrist. Immediately everyone became curious, because Bakugou hardly ever got any injuries that would require more than a bandaid and the few times he did usually meant extended hospital stays.

“Whoa, Bakugou, you okay?” Kirishima asked, standing from his desk. “What happened?”

“Fucking nothing, I’m fine,” Bakugou grunted as he passed them all, headed for his office. He was the only one of their group to have his own office room, having won the honour in an arm wrestling tournament when they first moved into the space, just barely beating out Kirishima. The rest of them had their desks gathered in the centre of the main room, something they found to be a blessing for socialization and a curse against focus.

“Yeah Kiri, leave him be,” Kaminari said, leaning in his desk as he watched Bakugou step into the office. “If he says he’s fine then he’s fine…”

The others exchanged looks with each other, not at all convinced by Kaminari’s attempt to not arouse Bakugou’s suspicion, but shrugged it off when Bakugou paid them no mind, kicking the door halfway shut. Once satisfied that Bakugou was going to be distracted, Kaminari turned back around, gesturing for everyone to move in closer.

“So I know our man Bakugou isn’t normally very forthcoming with this kind of stuff, but the fact he doesn’t look any more annoyed than usual and isn’t bragging or complaining about his latest arrest could only mean one thing,” he whispered once his friends and colleagues were huddled in.

“He’s...secretly doing some vigilante work?” Kirishima suggested, unsure.

“No, of course not, it means he probably hurt himself doing something stupid or embarrassing, but he’s trying to act like normal so we don’t get suspicious! Like, I dunno, maybe he hurt himself smiling like a normal person or something.”

“How the heck would he hurt his wrist of all things by smiling?” Ashido asked incredulously.

“I don’t know, Bakugou would find a way!”

“Maybe he just took up a new sport or something?” Jirou - who wasn’t part of their crew ordinarily, having her own hero office, but she was collaborating with Sero on a case that week - piped in.

“Like what? Last I heard, there hasn’t been anything called Murderball invented yet, and you really think he wouldn’t brag about a hard-won injury in something like that?” Sero countered.

Jirou shrugged. “Just a suggestion.”

“Oi, dipshits.” They all turned to see Bakugou standing just outside his office, glaring at them. Evidently they hadn’t heard the door creak open in their distraction. “I’m not fucking deaf, I can hear you just fine in my office.”

Kirishima was the only one who at all looked sheepish at being called out for gossipping; Sero, Jirou, Kaminari, and Ashido meanwhile all mimed varying degrees of innocence.

Rolling his eyes, Bakugou stepped closer, holding up his wrist. “Before you start getting some other dumbass ideas, an asshole plowed into me while I was walking home yesterday and I sprained my wrist when I fell over. Wasn’t an emergency and it’s been a stupidly slow week with work so I couldn’t get an appointment to have it healed until the day after tomorrow. Fucking simple as that,” he explained, storming over to the coffee maker and pouring himself a cup. “Didn’t think it was relevant to anything you idiots were supposed to be doing, so I wasn’t assed to explain.” Coffee poured, he turned back to the group, glaring. “Get your asses in gear. Since I can’t use my quirk with my left hand for the next 48 hours unless I want to make the sprain worse, you fuckers gotta pick up the slack, and anyone who’s sticking around to do paperwork will have me getting on their case to get it done.”

Disappointed with the lack of juicy details and properly cowed, the crowd dispersed, Kirishima and Ashido heading out on patrol while Jirou and Sero took to the break room to discuss their case in private. Kaminari pouted, turning in his chair to start work on some paperwork he was behind on.

“Hey Drooly.”

He looked up to see Bakugou standing beside his desk, expression carefully schooled to be unreadable. Idly Kaminari thought Bakugou’s “blank face” looked a lot like Todoroki’s default expression and had to wonder if that was on purpose. “Uh, yeah man?”

Bakugou did a quick glance from side to side, making sure the others were either gone or not listening before he leaned in closer. “Wanna how how I actually sprained my wrist?”

“Yes,” Kaminari answered immediately, eyes going wide in curious glee. Bakugou was confiding in him? Really? He knew they were good friends, but Bakugou generally chose Kirishima over him to tell secrets. This one must have been something big if he didn’t want to tell his best friend.

Bakugou paused a moment, then spoke quietly and seriously. “I was hula hooping.”

Well, of all the things Kaminari was expecting, that hadn’t been one of them, but boy howdy was it so much better than whatever his imagination could come up with. It couldn’t be real, Bakugou had to be pulling his leg. The disbelief must have showed on his face, because Bakugou pulled out his phone and tapped a couple times before showing it to Kaminari, revealing a picture slideshow of Bakugou indeed hula hooping. Kaminari couldn’t believe his eyes.

“My old hag convinced me to try a class out with her since Dad was busy, and it was actually surprisingly fun and relaxing,” Bakugou continued, swiping through the various pictures, likely taken by his mother. “I mastered all the tricks, because I don’t halfass anything. The pizza toss, the scorpion, you name it.”

This was too good to be true. Kaminari could feel himself practically vibrating in his seat at the sheer amazingness of this information. Oh, wait until the others heard this...Awestruck and so excited, he turned to Bakugou with wide eyes. “Why are you telling me this?” he whispered. Had he finally reached the same friendship level Kirishima was at? Was he beyond it?

Bakugou looked him dead in the eye. “Because no one will ever believe you.” And with those ominous words, he clicked delete on the photo album, destroying the evidence.

Kaminari’s face melted into absolute horror, a strangled sound coming out of his throat; Bakugou grinned deviously. “Nonono!” Kaminari wailed, reaching for the phone to try and reverse the deletion, but Bakugou cackled and moved out of the way. “Ugh! No matter, I can recover it, I’m sure it’s in a cloud somewhere!” Being the resident IT had to be good for something besides giving the shitty printer they’d gotten third-hand a little jolt to make it behave or performing percussive maintenance on the stubborn router.

“Nice try, but I already accounted for that. Those were the only copies that will ever see human eyes ever again,” Bakugou jeered. “Have fun!”

“You sadistic asshole!” Kaminari cried after him, dropping his head to his desk when Bakugou merely cackled harder and disappeared into his office, door properly closing this time. He wanted to sob.

Jirou and Sero poked their heads out of the break room curiously. “What just happened?” Jirou asked, voice confused and suspicious. Few good things happened when Bakugou cackled, she had a right to be wary.

Kaminari did sob, because Bakugou was right; he could explain all he wanted, but without evidence to back up his story, their friends would all think he was just making it up. Bakugou hula hooping, and enjoying it at that? You’d have be on some wacky substance to come up with that one. He regretted explaining to Bakugou how hackers and criminals cover their digital footprints and expunge incriminating information. His only other option was begging Mitsuki, and, well, Bakugou got his twisted sense of humour from somewhere. More than likely if he asked, she’d either withhold the evidence or deny it all together just to see him squirm more, especially if her son discussed his plans beforehand.

The next two days involved Bakugou casually dropping the word “hoop” in random conversations whenever Kaminari was in earshot (and twice managing to sneak “hula” in without raising any eyebrows) and relishing in his friend’s slow descent into madness. When Bakugou finally sauntered into work brace-less, Kaminari knew that he looked far too happy and excited than what was deemed normal, but he found he didn't care.

I'm pretty sure Bakugou is a sadistic troll when he's bored or properly motivated. Poor Kaminari. If you're wondering why he picked Kaminari, it was entirely because he was behind on his paperwork and was the least likely person to be able to convince his mother to send copies. Please leave a comment, kudos, or reblog this post if you enjoyed this!

[missblanchette]

Look, Papa, No Hands [1/1]

Series: Joker Game

Characters: Hatano, Amari, Emma, Tazaki; Some minor Amari/Tazaki, but it’s not a huge focus

Rating: PG (for Hatano’s language lol)

Summary: What better revenge is there than to teach another man's child how to ride a bike? (or: Hatano teaches Emma how to ride a bike. Amari is not happy.)

Words: 2517

Notes: Part of my Modern AU (btw this is @dollofdeath‘s new writing blog, hello~); Inspired by this tweet; Misleading title is misleading bc there’s no actual bike riding lmao but anyways, this is just a dumb thing I wrote for fun haha some things to note (which will make sense in a few lol), I hc Hatano as a gamer, Nintendo Switches are hard to find and expensive since there’s not so much produced:’) and ah, if you’ve read my previous modern AUs, you’ll have noticed that AmaTaza aren’t established yet but in this fic, they are -- I’m just jumping around in the timeline a bit hehe

You can read this on AO3! Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoy~! (ˊᗜˋ)

Hatano wouldn't usually call himself as "a dick." Sure, there are times where he's an asshole, but it's because the other person deserves it. Like whenever Jitsui's sadism becomes too overwhelming or Miyoshi's ego gets to his head or the fact that Kaminaga exists in general. He's not a dick for no reason -- it's just to put others in their place.

And today he feels like being a dick.

He clearly remembers how Amari did him wrong last week -- not that Amari's aware of the severity of the situation. After spending the entire afternoon in Akihabara trying to find a freaking Nintendo Switch (which he did, all at the cost of a whooping 45,500 yen and his will to live), Hatano ran into Amari who'd invited him to dinner and who was he to deny free food? But being the dumbass that he was, he'd forgotten the Switch at Amari's place and didn't notice until well after he got home..

"Oh, that...?" Amari said, the moment Hatano called and asked him about it. With just those two, simple words, Hatano knew it wasn't gonna end well. "I didn't realize it was yours and let Emma play with it."

So far, so good. Hatano even felt a little proud that Emma had taken an interest in gaming. But Amari just had to continue speaking.

"Then, uh, Frate ate it --" Oh shit. "-- and it broke."

Right there and then, Hatano's soul left his body. He'd been saving up for weeks to buy a Switch, even refusing Jitsui's offer to split the cost because he wanted to buy everything with his own money. That was 45,500 yen down the drain. Not to mention that dipshit Odagiri's probably gonna show off his Switch next time they hang out. Fuckin'. God dammit.

"I'm really sorry!" Amari said but Hatano had already grown numb. "I'll pay you back!"

Oh, he'll pay all right.

Amari's a nice guy, don't get him wrong; he's always been there for him and has helped him through tough times. In fact, if he's drunk enough, he may even admit to seeing him as an older brother. But that doesn't change the fact that he can be an airhead and Hatano is petty as hell.

So when Amari asks him to watch Emma, he doesn't hesitate. It takes some convincing to Jitsui to let her stay on such short notice, but Jitsui's happy to comply once he lets him on in the plan. After Emma's dropped off, Hatano waits fifteen minutes to make sure Amari's gone. Then, he turns to her.

"Hey, Emma."

"Yes, Uncle Hatano?"

"Ya wanna learn how to ride a bike?"

The sparkle in her big, blue eyes is all the answer he needs.

After what happened last week, Amari's had some hesitations leaving Emma with Hatano for the day. He thought for sure Hatano would just shoot him down, but surprisingly, Hatano accepts without any complaints. Though, Amari's not really in a position to question it since he's pressed for time. Not that he doubts Hatano (though, Jitsui's another story), but he's glad to see Emma all in one piece when he comes to pick her up. Hatano even sends them off with a smile, a sight he doesn't see too often.

"Papa, Papa! Guess what?" Emma asks as they take the elevator down. She bounces excitedly in his arms and despite how tired he feels, Amari can't help but share her enthusiasm.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Guess!"

"Hm, okay. You went to the aquarium and saw the dolphins today."

"Nope~ Guess again."

"No? Then did Uncle Jitsui let you help with his manga?"

"Nuh-uh. One more try."

"Okay then... you and Uncle Hatano made flour bombs!"

"No~" Emma giggles. "It's none of that!"

"Well, don't leave me hanging," Amari teases.

"Uncle Hatano taught me how to ride a bike!"

Amari chokes, nearly dropping Emma in the process.

"Are you okay, Papa?"

"J-Just fine, darling." It takes all his strength not to cry right there and then. "I-Is that so? How did it go?"

Emma wastes no time explaining the bike riding lesson and chatters on about how fun it was and how fast she went and how cool it was to finally be on a big girl bike, but it all goes into one ear and out the other as they make their way back to the car.

For some time now, Emma's been wanting to ride a bike, claiming that she's gotten too old for her tricycle. It's taken a while, but Amari finally ordered the perfect bike for her -- a bright pink one with those colorful tassels on the handles and a cute, little basket in the front. There's even a bell on it, because she says she likes the way they sound.

It was supposed to be a surprise when it comes in later in the week, but... he figures it doesn't mean much now.

Tazaki reserves his mornings for his birdies-and-me time and no one -- not even those closest to him -- is allowed to interrupt it. So when his phone rings, he's already going through possible forms of punishment to whoever's calling. Not even a hint of mercy crosses his mind when he sees "Amari 🐳💞" on the screen.

He answers, ready to reprimand Amari for disturbing him, but a shrill cry cuts him short.

"Uncle Tazakiii!!"

"Emma, dove," he says as calmly as possible. As he hears her hiccuping on the other end, he decides that maybe he'll make one exception. "What's wrong?"

"Papa, h-he won't get up...!"

Grip tightening on his phone, Tazaki's heart drops and his blood runs cold.

"Did something happen?"

"I-I don't know..." She sniffles. "I t-tried waking him up but he won't get outta bed."

By the time she's finished speaking, Tazaki's already put on his shoes and grabbed his keys.

"Don't worry, dove, I'll be right there," he says and wasting not a second, he scrambles out of his apartment. It's times like these that he wishes he had a car, but he's able to make it to Amari's place quickly nonetheless.

As soon as he gets there, Emma clings onto him for dear life. He takes a moment to help her calm down and reassures her that no, Papa isn't dead and yes, Papa will be all right (probably, he thinks, but he doesn't want to start freaking out either). Once she's settled down with Frate to keep her busy, Tazaki steels himself and enters Amari's room.

He finds a giant lump lying on the bed that he can only assume is Amari, but it's still and silent and Tazaki has to remember to take a breath in and a breath out and a breath in and a breath out and -- screw it, he can't possibly concentrate on his breathing exercises right now. With Emma out in the living room, he's allowed to freak out as much as he wants.

"A-Amari!" He rushes to his side and practically throws the covers off, and there's Amari laying face down without any hints of life. Kneeling down next to him, Tazaki takes one of his hands in his and starts shaking him. "Are you okay?"

The seconds tick by with no response from Amari and oh God, Tazaki thinks, how's he going to break this to Emma? She's already lost her birth parents, now she's lost another one and wait, being Amari's boyfriend means the responsibility of taking care of her goes to him. But he's not ready to raise a child by himself and oh no, his boyfriend's dead, how's he supposed to deal with this? He's never had a dead boyfriend before --

"Tazaki...?" Ever so slowly, Amari tilts his head towards him.

"Oh thank God," Tazaki says, cradling Amari's face in his hands. Taking a closer look at him, Amari's eyes are tired and dull and it's so strange seeing him without his usual cheer. "Emma said you wouldn't get out of bed so I thought something bad happened like you were paralyzed or you slipped into a coma or -- o-or --" Tazaki pauses to collect his thoughts. "I just... what happened?"

"Sorry for worrying you," Amari says, giving him a weak smile. "It's just that Hatano..."

He trails off, voice cracking. Tazaki leans in.

"W-What about Hatano?" Oh God, did something happen to Hatano that he's not aware of? He's a reckless guy, so it's not unlikely that he'd get himself into some sort of accident or get involved with the wrong people or --

"He... taught Emma how to ride a bike."

"Oh my God! I can't believe -- wait." Tazaki blinks once. Twice. Three times. Then it really sinks in. "What."

In his head, Tazaki replays the words over again and stares at Amari's sorry state. He opens his mouth to speak, but finds that he can't properly express himself with words. So instead he lets go of Amari, grabs the pillow from underneath his head, and smacks him.

"Ow! Why --"

"That's it?" He hits him again. "Emma was so worried about you and it was all because Hatano taught her how to ride a bike?" And once more for good measure. "What's wrong with you!?"

All the while, Amari sits up, arms raised in a vain attempt to defend himself from Tazaki's onslaught.

"You don't understand!"

"Oh." Tazaki raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

"A child only learns how to ride a bike once; it's an important bonding moment between a father and his child." Amari sniffles. "Hatano took that away from me."

Tazaki grips the pillow, having half the mind to hit him again. Maybe it's because he's not a father himself, but he finds Amari's reaction a little, well, ridiculous. Then again, he's used to ridiculous when it comes to Amari. Regardless, it must mean a lot to him if he's acting like this and that's enough for Tazaki to stop and consider the situation.

"That doesn't mean you can just mope around." He sits down next to him and lightly, hits him with the pillow.  "I know it hurts, but Emma still has a lot of firsts to go through and you'll be there for it."

Amari doesn't respond immediately, but he leans onto Tazaki's side.

"You have a point..."

"And you'll get the opportunity again, won't you?" He coughs, realizing the implication and quickly adds, "Theoretically. Hypothetically. Possibly. You might have more kids."

"But it won't be the same." Amari pouts. "Emma is Emma and those children are those children. It's a different experience."

"Is it really?"

"Of course!" Amari says. "Because each child is unique, so each experience won't be the same. And the chance I had with Emma --" Sniffling, he rubs his eyes. "-- was stolen, and I'll never get it back!"

As Amari plops his head on his lap, Tazaki sighs and runs his hands through Amari's hair. He's definitely gonna have to call Hatano about this.

Tazaki says he's gonna treat Hatano for the day but what Hatano gets instead is a one-on-one with Amari, courtesy of Tazaki himself.

"Emma and I are going out," Tazaki tells them. "You two aren't allowed to leave until you work things out. And don't either of you dare think about leaving because I will know," he says, looking directly at Hatano and Hatano doesn't quite get how Tazaki's able to rework Amari's lock so quickly so that it only opens from the outside, but it's whatever he supposes.  

"We'll be back by evening. You have until then to make up."

And with that, Hatano and Amari are left alone, seated across one another at the table.

Both of them refuse to look at each other -- or more like, Hatano refuses to look at Amari and Amari awkwardly tries to make eye contact -- but Hatano tries not to let the atmosphere get to him, and kicks back in his seat with his hands resting behind his head.

"So," Amari says, breaking the silence.

"So," Hatano repeats.

A beat.

"You taught Emma how to ride a bike."

"I sure as hell did." Hatano smirks as Amari winces. "The kid's a natural."

"I'm sure she is," Amari says. Hatano hears the cracks in his voice. "She's very quick to catch on."

"Unlike a certain someone," Hatano mumbles.

"Look at me, Hatano" The seriousness in Amari's voice catches him off guard and he does just so. He's not used to that disappointed look Amari gives him nor that serious tone he's using -- it's almost like when his own dad's yelling at him, but Hatano reminds himself Amari's not the same guy as his father. "Can you tell me why you did that?"

His words aren't harsh or demanding, but soft and coaxing and it's enough to make Hatano shift in his seat. Okay, maybe he's starting to feel a little bad.

"Because you ruined something of mine."

He could practically hear the ticking of the clock as he waits for Amari to reply. Amari's brows furrow and he tilts his head in that way he does when he's thinking about something.

"Is it about that game thing --"

"Switch."

"-- Switch thing?"

Hatano chews the inside of his cheek.

"Yeah."

"I said I'd pay you back."

"It's not enough!" Hatano slams his hands on the table. "I spent weeks saving up for that, y'know? It took me a while to find one in store too. And I didn't even get to open the box."

Amari holds his gaze for a moment before taking his hands in his. Despite how annoyed he is, Hatano lets him.

"I'm really sorry," he says, not breaking eye contact. "I didn't consider your feelings and I hurt you. I'll do anything to make up for it, I promise."

He heaves a sigh.

"But, you know," Amari continues. "You hurt me too. You also ruined something for me."

Here, Hatano looks away.

"You only have one chance to teach your child how to ride a bike." Amari swallows hard. "And now my chance with Emma is gone."

With that said, silence falls over and Hatano isn't quite sure if the quiet is any better. Hesitantly, he takes a peek at Amari and God, there's that kicked puppy look on his face. How the hell is he supposed to stay mad at that? Sighing, Hatano removes his hands from Amari's and crosses his arms.

"I guess," he starts, "it was a little bit harsh."

"A little bit?"

"Shut up while I'm apologizing."

Amari makes a zipping motion across his lips.

"Maybe I overreacted, but it was really unfair to you." He inhales deeply. "I'm sorry. Like really sorry and..." His mind is a tizzy, trying to think of some way to make up for what he's done. "You can teach my kids to ride a bike."

Slowly, Amari nods.

"All right. That's fair," he says, but then his nose crinkles. "Wait. I thought you didn’t want kids."

A pause.

"You can teach Yoru."

Another pause.

"Okay."

Later that week, Emma hit the town in her swanky, pink bicycle with Yoru at her side. They became internet sensations.