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rainbowserenity · 7 years ago

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It started out as a little friendly competition.

Really, Lightning could get behind that. After all, how often had she done the exact same thing during training with her fellow Corps members? Challenging someone to a race around the track wasn't an unheard of phenomenon.

But at least with that, it didn't grow into something crazier.

Honestly, she should've figured something like this was inevitable when she and Hope moved into a little house right across the street from Serah and Snow. Having her sister living so close was like something out of a bad sitcom, but Lightning wouldn't have it any other way.

Except during the holidays.

“Ha! Suck it, Estheim!” Snow shouted at the top of his lungs, probably waking up the whole neighborhood in the meantime. He gestured wildly to the display of lights on his house. There were twinkling icicle lights and lines of colors running along the edge of the roof. He even had one of those lit-up wire statues that looked like reindeer. “Ours is the best on the block!”

“I don't think so!” Hope's hands were on his hips as he stood proudly in the driveway. Lightning rolled her eyes. Their own light display on the house was similar, but she had to admit, Hope's was arranged a little better. Not that she'd admit that out loud.

Serah was taking pictures of both houses, a huge grin on her face. “We'll have to get an impartial third party. Maybe Noel?”

“Good idea, baby!” Snow laughed and scooped Serah up in his arms, much to her delight. Lightning rolled her eyes again, especially when Hope glanced at her.

“Do that and you die.”

“Yes ma'am.”

Not that she didn't show her appreciation in other ways...

Noel had declared Hope's light display the winner. Snow demanded a recount before realizing it didn't quite work that way, but he promised that he'd get two more people to vote next year.

“We're not doing this next year,” Lightning argued.

“Sure we are! Me and Serah are gonna have the brightest house on the block, just you wait!”

This she did not doubt.

After the holidays were over and all the lights plummeted to ridiculously cheap prices, Hope and Snow scooped up as many as possible. Serah just seemed amused by the whole thing. “Maybe the winner should get a prize next year.”

“They're not going to do this next year.” Lightning frowned. “They're going to forget about it and put up the lights like normal people, so when families drive down the block, they'll be in awe and not wondering who the two grown men shouting at each other from across the street are.”

“Don't dampen their dreams, Sis.”

Despite her protests, Hope put even more lights on their house the next year. He refused to get one of those wire reindeer sculptures, though. “They're tacky.”

“You just don't like them because Snow had one first.”

Hope huffed out a laugh, a sure sign she was right. “No...!”

Lightning just smirked, holding onto the ladder as he tacked a string of lights up, then frowned and moved them down half an inch. No comment. “Did you find two more judges besides Noel?”

“Yes. Fang and Sazh said they'd come, but we have to feed them afterward.”

“We're going to get eaten out of house and home.” She pretended to mind. They hadn't yet made use of the two empty bedrooms in the house, so it was nice to have it full of people for a bit. “Why not Fang and Vanille?”

“Snow thought that she wouldn't be impartial, since she's one of my best friends.”

“You and Noel are close, though, and he was the first one you called. You don't call that impartial?”

“Yeah, but he's also close to Serah.”

“True.” Lightning held on a bit tighter when Hope slowly climbed down the ladder, only letting go when he was safely on the ground. When they were face-to-face, he wrapped his arms around her waist with a smile, pulling her close for a kiss. Or twelve.

“Hey,” he murmured once they'd finally managed to pull away. She wanted to close the space between them again. “You really don't mind this, right? Me putting up all these lights?”

“I think it's our electric bill you should be asking.”

Hope chuckled, reconnecting their lips. “Good point.”

That year, Sazh and Noel voted two-to-one in favor of the HopeLight display. The Snerah one wasn't nearly as exciting, they claimed, but Fang had been endlessly amused by those wire reindeer decorations. They all moseyed into Hope and Lightning's home afterward, demanding to be compensated. Snow bought all the beer since his display had lost.

That had been the best thing. Maybe she could get used to this.

And the thing was, as the years passed by, she actually did. It came as absolutely no surprise to her when she saw Snow and Serah's kids helping out with the lights when they were old enough. Rosa was actually quite skilled at knotting the wires together and making her dad go out to buy more lights. Lightning had no idea who'd taught her that, but considering Uncle Hope was Rosa's favorite relative, she had her suspicions. Josh was the smart kid who stayed out of it.

The first two years after she and Hope had their daughter, Seven, Hope's winning streak was broken since he was too busy helping his wife raise a kid. Lightning couldn't say she minded this a bit, but when Hope was feeling more confident and made a dazzling light show when Seven was a toddler, it was pretty great to see their daughter's eyes all wide and amazed.

And speaking of amazing...

“Hope.” Lightning glanced up, where her husband was puttering around the roof. Seven was stumbling around, looking like a marshmallow in her winter clothes. It'd already snowed this year, and the rest of the season was promising to be cold...if it didn't all melt from the heat from all these lights. “Is this really necessary?”

“Yes!” Hope had to shout to be heard from up on the roof. He was assembling some kind of insane contraption that had a Santa with his eight reindeer. There'd been another set with a Rudolph, but Hope refused to get it because Rudolph was so commercialized. He didn't seem to find any irony in this. “You saw Snow's last year, Light! His Santa waves and talks!”

“And is a complete nuisance.” That, admittedly, wasn't entirely true, since they all turned off the lights at a reasonable hour. Plus, there were those electric bills to think about. She signed, smiling a bit as Seven plopped down and looked around. “If you get anything that talks, I'm moving in with Fang and Vanille.”

“Like they wouldn't be just as noisy?”

“...Point taken.” Those two had no shame.

That year, Hope won a unanimous vote because none of them thought the constant 'ho-ho-ho!' coming from Snow's yard was all that endearing. The nonstop talking Santa was in the curbside trash by the new year.

As their kids all started growing up and got to help their dads out, the whole thing became something of a tradition for the whole block. Once the displays were all up and working, almost all of their neighbors would come and look at them. Hope and Snow had taken advantage of this and now put out collection boxes, where every donation went to a needy cause in the neighborhood. The simple loser-buys-beer get-togethers that they'd had was now a big block party – all of Seven's friends would team up and have snowmen (“No, Mommy, it's snowpeople,” Seven had explained in exasperation at one point) building contests with Rosa and Josh's friends. The adults would get tipsy and all bring a dish so they could have an 'impromptu' potluck, though Lightning knew for a fact that some of them made their dishes days in advance.

Not that she minded a bit.

“You're going to be able to see the house from space at this rate,” Lightning said a few years later, as Hope lined the roof with alternating colors.

“Not scientifically possible, Mom,” Seven replied. “The watts on these aren't bright enough.”

“Atta girl,” Hope said with a huge grin. Lightning rolled her eyes, though she couldn't hide her little smile. She knew just how to handle the conversation. After all, she'd been a teenage girl once, too.

“So, Seven.” She raised an eyebrow. “Any chance we'll see Sice come over to see the judging this year?”

Seven immediately blushed and sputtered out something unintelligible before mentioning homework and rushing inside. Hope chuckled.

“Oh c'mon, Light. That was unfair.”

“Maybe a little.” She held onto the ladder as he climbed down, like always. “But it means when we won't get any commentary when I do this.”

“Do wha - ”

His words were cut off with her lips. Somehow, the lights turned on as they kissed, bathing them in a twinkling glow. She ignored the wolf-whistle from across the street, knowing that Serah would shut Snow up the same way soon enough.

Even after so many years of holidays with him and this ridiculous tradition, it never failed to feel like something new every time. Funny how Hope had always had that effect on her without realizing it – every day felt new when they were together. Maybe it was because he was always by her side as they'd built this life.

A sappy thought, she mused as they continued to kiss, but she'd cut herself a break. It was the holidays, after all.

And eventually she'd pry herself away from his lips – he did have an eleven-year winning streak to uphold.

“Estheim's the winner!” Sazh declared with a flourish several weeks later.

Make that twelve.

(Unless I get a windfall of random inspiration, this might be my last fic of the year. If I've entertained you all, please consider buying me a coffee ❤)

#hopelight #hoperai #hopurai #hopelight fic #this is supposed to be silly and maybe a little cracky #not sure if successful or not lol #BUT HEY YOU GUYS IN THE XIII DISCORD #YOU ALL GAVE ME THIS IDEA SO #THIS IS FOR YOU~#but thank u all for reading my shit this year srsly #you're all the best <333333333

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volot · 3 years ago

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this is probably the best time to talk about it in light of all the silly crackiness, so!

i've mentioned in passing in a dash game that volo... actually can't sing! it doesn't come to him naturally, and if he were to try, he'd really struggle; it just sounds so-so, and because of that he doesn't typically try to. but he can hum and whistle just fine and keep a tune that way. he could definitely be taught, sure enough as many people can, but i imagine he'd be one of those singers who are soft-spoken and keep a lower, more neutral register.

this becomes a little bit of a problem when the celestica culture thrives so heavily on song and dance... but the former can be alleviated by the fact that he has enough musicality in him to play instruments! cuil once offered the idea to me that he can play guitar - very fitting for a traveler, and there's a double wordplay on pulling strings there that i thought was too witty to pass up - and i ran with it, and i like to think he knows how to play a grass whistle just for fun. maybe one day he'll learn how to play piano; that'd be a funny thought.

as for dance... in the same post, i mentioned he knows enough how; he's no professional and definitely no stellar star on the dance floor, but he knows how to move with a beat and ensure you have fun with it, at least, and that's what matters here. does he know any of the old celestica dances? likely not; maybe one or two if there was ever documentation on them, but he only knows it on paper, and not quite what it really looks like or how it's supposed to go beyond what's written and what these dances mean.

#staring at the celestica customs re: song and dance post i need to write............ Eventually #but cynthia mentions it was important to the sinjoh ruins so naturally i've got to implement it #i imagine there were solo dances and also partnered dances and things like that which.. yknow #hc.#study.#ooc.

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kae-karo · 4 years ago

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2020 fic roundup

howdy pardners 🤠🤠 in order to procrastinate more writing here’s my list of all the fics i posted this year (sorted predominantly by ship and mostly in order of posting) - ft a lot of dabihawks and a surprising amount of todobaku lmao. oh and my personal faves are **starred

dabihawks (x)

a lesson in romantics (x) - 66k across 4 fics - the collection of standalone memory loss fics! canon divergent and centered around either dabi or hawks losing their memories thanks to the wonderful commission :) some solid angst and getting back together content, always happy endings!!

haven’t had enough (x) - 5.7k - silly little quirkless au where dabi goes to claire’s to get his ears pierced. multiple times. bc hawks is hot

last of the real ones (x) - 2.6k - less silly, just as little, set in canon-divergence bc i couldn’t get the idea out of my head of dabi getting red wings tattooed on him before ever meeting hawks

**dancing after death (x) - 25k - one of my faves from this year, a canon divergent sort of getting together story involving nightmares, some bad burns, and a bit of dancing

if you fall (hold my hand) (x) - 7.4k - canon divergence (bc apparently i’m a slut for that) and some hurt/comfort, ft a bit of makeout-level spice

no shame (x) - 16k - ah, and here we really dive into the ‘crack treated too seriously’ category, where the league sells feet/hand/misc kink pics to fund their activities and dabi has some photography skills and a wing kink (or maybe just a hawks kink)

broken parts (x) - 23.9k - i stole my own idea for a vigilante!hawks from my tiktok, then twisted it into a severely angsty (with a happy ending) hurt/comfort fic intended to break my own heart and piece it back together. it worked

freeing icarus (x) - 1.8k - the first fic without a happy ending i think i ever wrote, because the canon dabihawks fight actually broke me. some dabi introspection

**to the stars that burn (x) - 3.9k - the second fic without a happy ending, based more around childhood friends dabihawks working at the commission together. bittersweet but without much sweet

**king of disaster (x) - 119k+ - i poured my entire soul into this series, a fantasy au where dabi accidentally binds himself to hawks (an absolute stranger) and shenanigans ensue - this has also evolved to include todobaku, shinkami, and kirideku

enemy of my enemy (x) - 2.6k - a quirkswap space pirate au that truly tested my ability to write action scenes, part of the random prompt collection i did during october 2020

without a fight (x) - 2.2k - a rival band au ft singer!hawks and a grumpy dabi, another of the random october prompts

todobaku (x)

like i’m bakugou (x) - 2.1k - it was supposed to be a MEME based on a TIKTOK but i made it kinda serious....and here we are. todobaku on a froyo date

take a bite of my heart tonight (x) - 5k - VAMPIRES lmao. honestly it was a blast to write tho lmao

**if we go down, then we go down together (x) - 9.3k - tdbk get stranded on a deserted island bc tropes are fun lmao. also todo tries to freeze the ocean like elsa which i think is where my writing skill peaked

cold rebellion (x) - 4k - quirkless au where its HALLOWEEN and theyre in a CORN MAZE and they don’t LIKE EACH OTHER BAKA (part of the october prompt fic collection)

make it spicy (x) - 5k+ - predominantly todobaku with a healthy dose of dabihawks and some shiggynatsu as well, a bakery and nightclub au (yes u heard me)

**stitch me up (x) - 35k - todo gets split into both halves of his quirks, sort of, and baku has to deal with it (and i love this au so much i had a blast working on it)

bakudeku

rescue me (x) - 11.4k - basically the concept of ‘what if baku and deku were actually childhood friends tho? aka some good wholesome content

**into the dark (x) - 3.3k - afterlife au and originally part of the random prompts, baku didn’t survive the sludge villain incident and deku’s been carrying that weight for a while. and then he doesn’t survive a villain encounter...keep an eye on this one cause i’m working on a part 2 lmao

are you with me (x) - 2.1k - future fic where baku and deku are both heroes and, appropriately, the wonder duo. lil angsty but ofc a happy ending, part of the random oct prompts collection

todobakudeku (x)

**kintsugi (x) - 117k - future fic where they’re all UA teachers, with some established todobaku + todobakudeku getting together, a lil sprinkle of erasercloudmic, a nice dose of shinkami and some great shiggy redemption arc + eri attending UA content

reunion (x) - 1.8k - another future fic lmao with some getting-back-together content. part of the random october prompts collection

kiribaku (x)

rewrite the stars (x) - 2.8k - also a mina&kiri friendship fic, a soulmate au where kiri doesn’t get the soulmate he was hoping for (part of the oct prompts collection)

the mystery gang (x) - 4.1k - tell me how i wrote this much about a scooby doo-styled fic concept lmao. anyway, part of the oct prompts, includes some bakusquad shenanigans

wasteland, baby (x) - 4.5k - bakusquad bodyswap post-apocalyptic au and yes it’s just as chaotic as it sounds lmao. part of the oct prompts collection

like the sun (x) - 2.8k - the beach episode + baku&mei friendship (which i learned is called kat and the hat???? adorable) fluffy content, part of the oct prompts collection!

something sweet (x) - 1.2k - the actual kiribaku prompt i got lmao. coffee shop meets scavenger hunt, we adore a grumpy barista baku lmao. part of the oct prompts collection

todokami/todo&kami

oh, worm? (x) - 16.5k - it was supposed to be a joke but oh my god i love the idea of both todo and denki being memelords and falling in love with each other over it

secret tunnel (x) - 3.6k - conspiracy theorist todo meets conspiracy theorist denki in college au format and it’s really just top tier content imo - part of the oct prompt collection

all i want for christmas (x) - 3.5k - it was supposed to be a crack concept but as per usual it became less cracky the longer i thought about it. todokami fake dating babeyyyy - part of the oct prompt collection

**hydrangea (x) - 2.9k - soft todo introspection about his lil dragon hoard of things that make him think of his friends, which he decides to share with denki

shiggynatsu (x)

**death of summer (x) - 28k - the first fic i ever wrote for them and the most chaotic meeting i could come up with within the realm of canon divergence lmao. todofam hosting...shmigaraki

terrible people (x) - 960 - a lil babie established shiggynatsu fic about shiggy’s bday, basically just soft and wholesome - part of the oct prompt collection

shinkami (x)

don’t want to say goodnight (x) - 3.2k - kyouka pov on a shinkami getting together lil thing that lived in my brain rent free for a long time

don’t want to say goodnight (x) - 1k - yes i’m aware i see what i’ve done lmao i see the mistake i made. anyway this one is villain!shinsou and villain!denki so it’s like,,,,,the slightly spicier version. part of the oct prompt collection

other

**twelve over, seven up (x) - 4.5k - a bit of aizawa introspection after oboro’s death, bittersweet but mostly wholesome

a danger and a wonder (x) - 2.4k - mina&tokoyami friendship and bonding over mina’s kid and hawks’ kid (who tokoyami is babysitting) - part of the oct prompt collection

fish and feathers (x) - 4.1k - my chance to flex my remaining runescape knowledge to have jirou and denki friendship via the interwebs content

a name freely given (x) - 4.2k - shigadabi fake dating royalty au where shiggy’s fae? sure why not lmaoooo. part of the oct prompt collection

kabloom flower shop (x) - 2.8k - a wrong-number tattoo shop/flower shop kirikami au that was lowkey hilariously fun to write. part of the oct prompt collection

awake me from my nightmare (x) - 2.3k - the only fic i’ve ever tagged with mcd, an among us au of all things. baku&uraraka friendship and betrayal, part of the oct prompt collection

**for the record (x) - 2.1k - shiggy&dabi...allianceship? sort of? lmao they’re angel and demon, spies, and part of like a rebellion thing. and they don’t like each other which is always fun! part of the oct prompt collection

a different kind of hero (x) - 1.1k - established tododeku future fic where todo just got his quirk stolen (and deku already lost his in an afo fight), mostly bitter with just a tiny spark of hopefulness. part of the oct prompt collection

forget me not (x) - 2.1k - kiri&uraraka friendship, amnesia and artist au like i really went off here but it was so sweet and wholesome and i had a great time. part of the oct prompt collection

**lightning in a bottle (x) - 4.5k - chaotic kamibaku getting together but they’re WITCHES it’s a MAGIC AU and BEDSHARING IS A THING. part of the oct prompt collection

passing notes (x) - 1.6k - shiggy&eri friendship which is a thing that would be hilarious if it happened in canon tbh. part of the oct prompt collection

no turning back (x) - 6.5k - shiggy&deku friendship but make it royalty au and a 5/1 trope just for kicks lmao. part of the oct prompt collection

worthy adversary (x) - 1k - baku&shinsou friendship/childhood friends au that deserved more than 1k lmao. part of the oct prompt collection

together (x) - 3.2k - denki&mina friendship but they’re allied with vampires to fight some werewolves bc why not right? also lil taste of shinkami just like tiny bit for the flavor™. i should really do a bit more with this au huh? part of the oct prompt collection

a good thing (x) - 1.2k - shinsou&aizawa friendship? fathership? sonship? u know how it is lmao. a little sprinkle of shinkami for the flavor. part of the oct prompt collection

brighter than the sun (x) - 730 - can u tell i don’t usually write miritama lmao. some soft parallels bc they are soft. part of the oct prompt collection

try again (x) - 1.4k - dabi&shouto siblingship but dabi can time travel bc i said so (actually bc the prompts said so but whatever lmao) part of the oct prompt collection

that’s it lovelies!! nearly 600k this year and some of my favorite fics i’ve ever written, and i cannot begin to thank you all enough for your incredible support, i adore you all so much 🥺🥺🥺🥺

#bnha #dabihawks #todobaku #bakudeku #shinkami #bnha fic

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littlemisskookie · 7 years ago

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The Story of Us

The Story of Us Ship: Hoseok | Reader Description: The story of your relationship with Jung Hoseok. Warning: Fluff, Angst, Slight Mentions of Fluff, Cracky Humor Word Count: 6,231

Day 1

I met a boy today.

Yesterday, to be more precise. Exactly 5 hours and 48 minutes from ago, from the moment that I'm writing down these words.

I've never really started a journal before- well, more accurately, I've never finished one. I've attempted and started various times, but I'd eventually lose interest or be too busy and never get back to it. Therefore, one of my many New Year Revolutions that no one actually intends to keep, was to start a diary again- and to finish.

Saying diary sounds so girly and feminine- makes me want to cringe. But what's wrong with feminine things? I like feminine things occasionally. Maybe the social justice warrior in me simply believes that this world's gotten to toxic on its synonymous meanings behind masculinity and strength.

I know it seems as though I'm rambling, but this exact topic is what brought me to the boy I've met.

His name is Jung Hoseok.

The name looks so pretty as I write it down. It's also so pretty, the way it rolls off my tongue. Sort of like those movie stars or singers with names that just sound like they were destined to be famous.

Believe it or not, Hoseok's face is even prettier than his name. I was half-wasted at someone's New Year's Eve party- I can't even remember who's it was already, can you believe that?- feeling mopey at the thought of having to down another shot instead of having a New Year's kiss like the fellow drunks around me. I just didn't want to randomly sexually assault some guy, grabbing him by the collar and smashing his face against mine out of self-pity. No, men deserve the same respect we should expect. Therefore I'm not going to shove my tongue down someone's throat like a sleazy frat douche.

So continuing along, I've got warm beer on the collar of my shirt due to my utter lack of coordination, and I turn and bump into a man. If he were across the room, I wouldn't have noticed him, probably because my vision's very hazy with this much booze, and he'd look similar to the pad of my thumb. Up close though... Writing can't do him justice.

But that smile. God, I think I melted. I don't believe in love at first sight, mind you- just infatuation and/or lust. I'll clarify, however, that my legs went to utter mush when I saw him. He seemed as radiant as the sun, warming the room despite it being a freezing winter day.

And I was the idiot who literally fell for him. See what I did there? Not figuratively of course- God, it's too soon for that. I'm not going to start naming our kids or some bullshit like that. (Astrid if it's a girl, Lucas if it's a boy.)

I'm sure he was just thinking, "Wow, look at this hot mess. I pity whoever's floor she's passing out on."

Or maybe that's just what he wanted to say.

Instead, like the true gentleman, I'm sure he was pretending to be, he rights me up and holds me firmly to make sure I don't make another klutzy accident. "Woah, are you alright? It seems like you've had too much to drink."

Let me tell you, his hands were so firm, with veins along the top, and his jawline was so sharp, and his cologne- oh dear God, he smelt nothing like the sixth grade boys who poured an entire bottle over their head in the locker room- he knew how to actually put on cologne! I wanted nothing more than to fall again and have another 'accident' by slipping right on his penis.

Of course, I didn't actually say that- he'd probably think I was psycho. Instead, I said, "Oops," and blushed profusely. "I suppose you're right."

As soon as he was sure I could stand on my own he looked deeply into my eyes and said- "Wow, your pupils are super dilated. I should get you some water to help you sober up."

Romantic right? Like the polite way of saying, "Holy crap, you look like a hot piling piece of shit right now! What a mess, I'm going to take pity on you so that you don't end up getting kidnapped while wandering through the streets." That would be a way to start off the year.

I simply nodded along dumbly as he told me to wait right where I was, and true enough, within a few seconds he's back with a bottle of water- unopened- and hands it to me. I thank him for it, and as I unscrew the cap- a very tight cap, mind you, that's how I know it's unopened. I'm terrible at opening unopened caps- someone bumps into me.

I should probably mention at this moment that I had decided to wear a white turtleneck to this New Year's Eve party. While I'd normally dress like a proud 50-year-old mom reliving her bimbo days as she's drunk at some retirement home party, where she works part-time, I instead chose to go the more practical route and dress warmly. Otherwise, my nipples would get so hard they'd burst from my shirt and say, "Hello, world!"

Of course, I'm sure you know that white clothing + water is never a good thing. Especially if you're wearing a black bra underneath said clothing. Therefore Hoseok quickly froze up, ushered me outside onto the balcony so we could be away from the crowd- and somehow, I'm too drunk to remember- got this big ass parka and draped it over me. Of course, being partially soaked and in the freezing cold in winter, isn't exactly the best case scenario. However, I didn't want to be that asshole who was like, "Thanks for the help, but you really made things worse." That, and I was looking to get wet somewhere else because of this guy if you catch my drift.

"Thank you," I say, bundling up. I know the parka is his because it smells like his cologne. I want to bury myself in it like the obsessive hermit I am.

Hoseok just smiles at me and shrugs, as if it's no big deal, which it totally isn't. "No problem, glad to help. You kind of seemed out of it."

"What's your name?" I questioned, unaware that I was about to be more blessed than the Holy Trinity itself once he dropped it.

"Hoseok. Jung Hoseok. And you?"

"Y/N."

His cheeks were so rosy from the cold outside- and probably because I also took his fucking parka- but I'm going to fantasize it was because of me instead. "Y/N," he said. "I like it."

It's a brief moment, and silence hangs between us. You know when you meet someone for the first time, and you don't know what to talk about, because you don't know anything you have in common yet? It was like that. I was just itching to find something to say, but when you're buzzed, it's sort of hard to figure out the right words or questions. I'm usually much better at these sort of things- just ask the middle school friends I used to have- I was a fucking wiz at truth or dare.

We hear shouting from inside, and the moment is over. 10!...9!...8!...7!...6!...

Hoseok looks to me for a second, and I'm pretty sure he was actually blushing this time. I feel my heart begin to pound a bit faster at the thought that he's going to kiss me, and I feel gleeful! Like a school girl instead of someone who's going to work hungover tomorrow.

"Can I kiss you?"

Yes yes yes!

"Sure." I say it in a way that sounds as though I would've followed it with 'whatever'. I'm surprised I kept my chill, seeing that in my head I was bouncing on the balls of my feet.

5!...4!...3!...

He leans in, and I can smell the cologne much stronger now, as though he applied it just below his ears, where his jawline curved upward.

2!...

Was this it? Was I going to get a New Year's kiss? I should've asked if he had herpes first.

1!...

He gives me a peck on the cheek. it's warm, and it makes me feel warm despite the bitter air stinging my cheeks, but it's warm nonetheless. Honestly, I prefer the fact he kissed my cheek instead of kissing me on the lips. Sure, I was slightly disappointed at the time, but now that I write this before heading to work, with a mild migraine and a sober mind, I'll tell you why the cheek was better.

He knew I was drunk, and if he were to kiss me or do anything further, it would've been taking advantage of my state. Secondly, a kiss to the cheek is harmless. It's cute, it's innocent, it's... sweet. I feel somewhat guilty for wanting to jump his bones at that moment, but it was the sweetest thing! Adorable, truly.

The moment is ingrained in my head, but the minute the clock struck twelve, everything else seemed to speed up. Before I knew it, I was writing in way-too-big-handwriting along his forearm, in sharpie, my number. He called me an Uber, and then I wake up in bed with a pounding headache and a message in my phone of a 'Hey' and a smiley face, with a little ramble about how he met me at the party and who he was. As if I could forget! (Scratch that, I could totally forget, drunk me is stupid enough.)

I've got to get to work, but something about this guy makes me feel elated.

Day 7

Mr. Jung Hoseok and I just went on a date.

A. Date.

Let me clarify if you didn't get that right.

Date.

Got it? Good.

We've been texting for a week and such, and he's so much sweeter and funnier through texts. He likes my sense of humor- despite how raunchy and weird I am, though it wasn't what he initially expected- and he's a lot more outgoing than I expected. He's louder than I thought- even through the phone when we called. My friends think I'm going fast since I called him, but I think it's silly. We haven't even kissed yet, who cares?

Oh, yes, the date! I should explain that.

So we decide to meet at this ice rink at the zoo. Every year they open one up right next to the ostriches- y'know, those big weird birds that vaguely resemble feet and look like they want to kill you? Those. Hoseok totally agreed on my sentiment about that- he said he was scared of ostriches when he was a kid. I said me too! (Total lie, I grabbed a pigeon once, not a good day for 6-year-old me.)

I wait for him in the middle of the ice rink, on my skates, and I see him slowly skating towards me. I look like the living embodiment of the marshmallow man- is that what he's called? That big giant statue thing with the donut that comes to life in Ghostbusters? Whatever, then the tire man they use for those tire commercials, you know the one. He looks like he could model for Abercrombie and Fitch. I was slightly scared that my drunken state had overglorified his in-person glory, but low and behold, he does not look remotely like a thumb! He looks like a fucking god!

And he asked me on a date!

So naturally, my first thought is, "Wow, what an idiot. Someone call Ursala because we've got a poor unfortunate soul over here."

My second thought is, "Wow, where did he get those earmuffs? I want some of those." (His grandma knitted them.)

My third thought was, "Holy shit, I'm falling!"

Sure enough, my butt landed so hard on the ice that I was sure it was going to crack, and all the little kids skating around us would be sunk into the depths of the ice rink. That or my ass would get frostbite. Instead, Hoseok laughed his ass off and reluctantly helped me up whilst wiping the tears off of his face so they wouldn't freeze like icicles.

Other than that blunder, which I can laugh about now, it went great. Our hands made us feel like we were both toddlers with thick fingers that resemble those cartoony ones, plump and fat with the mittens or gloves we wore, clasped around the other's as we skated along. Well, I was attempting to more or less- I'm not the best skater. He was mediocre, but every time he fell I made sure to jeer a good amount as payback before helping him. up. I enjoyed his company and he even laughed at my crude humor. Picture that, a decent guy actually liking me! I thought I was just a magnet for assholes, but here we are!

I went home with a smile on my face and possible frostbite on my ass, and a guarantee for a second date next weekend.

Day 29

Jung Hoseok finally kissed me.

I had kicked my roommate out so that I could watch a movie with him at my place. We were watching We're the Millers, an American classic in my opinion, with my humor down to the T. Hoseok laughed at it too, and it wasn't even the fake laugh you'd expect when you're forced to watch a movie you don't even enjoy. He snorted. Do you know how hard it is to fake a snort? A genuine snort? Like the one where you sound like a pig? God, he was an adorable pig.

It was the part where the kid made out with both his mother and sister I got to thinking- Hey, why hasn't Hoseok kissed me yet? We weren't official or anything, and there was no rush- hell, we were adults, not horny teenagers. But I figured it would've happened by now.

Maybe he could sense I was getting a little confused when I started breathing on my wrist to see if my breath smelled bad. (I had made sure to chew minty gum before the date, just in case.)

The entire night went by before anything happened, and I admit, I felt a little disappointed that he hadn't kissed me yet. I was walking him out of the building (because I didn't want him to be attacked by rapists or anything) and waving goodbye to him as he walked to his car when suddenly he froze in his tracks. My first thought was that he saw a rapist, but instead, he turns around and marches to me, a determined look in his eye, and he kisses me. He kisses me, and he kisses me, and he kisses me. His hands are on either side of my face as he pulls me in, and I didn't care at that moment that my nipples were probably poking through my shirt, or that my hands were so cold they were numb, I just kissed him right back, with my minty breath and everything.

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic to do it again.

Day 40

I'm officially Jung Hoseok's girlfriend.

We were both laying on the couch, my legs sprawled over his as we watch a movie he likes, a Japanese film named Let Me Eat Your Pancreas. (Stupid title, but I swear it's good.)

Suddenly the question pops up.

"Why haven't you asked about our relationship title?"

Strangely enough, it's not overthinking me who asks this question- it's him. Hoseok who simply goes with whatever I suggest despite my antics.

I simply shrug. "I guess we never got around to discussing it. I mean... I really like you. Do you like me?"

Hoseok laughs hard at that. "Are you kidding? I've liked you since I met you- heads over heels, in fact. I thought I was being obvious."

God, you should've seen the stupid grin plastered over my face. I looked like I had just committed a felony and gotten away with it. The same look my aunt would always wear at family reunions.

"Well, if we both like each other, why don't we date exclusively. Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" I question. "With me playing the part of the boyfriend, of course."

Hoseok snorts at that- that pig laugh again- of course.

"Then it's settled," I grinned.

"So you're officially asking me to be your boyfriend?"

"More like proclaiming, but whatever you want to call it," I shrug.

Hoseok laughs at that, shaking his head as he turns his attention back to the film. "Proclaiming," he murmurs.

Day 65

I can officially say that I've sat, sucked, and held Jung Hoseok's penis.

And by God, is it a blessing. I'm pretty sure his balls are even more symmetrical than most- and I've touched a lot of balls.

That sounded weird.

Alright, let me just get into what happened. We had been waiting a little while for it to come up- not that we had a schedule, but it wasn't the heated spontaneous moment they show in movies. We were in a heated makeout session, like usual, groping and grinding and all of that good stuff. I was grinding as though he were coffee beans.

Well, the gist of it was that he suddenly pulled back and raised his brows, giving me a questioning look. "Do you want to?" he asked quietly.

We had been dating a bit less than a month if you only count when we were official. But it didn't feel as though it were too soon in my opinion. So I simply kissed him again and asked what he was waiting for. Being the good roommate I was, I didn't let jizz get all over the couch, since it can be a bitch to clean up on that sort of material, and instead lead him to my bedroom.

Maybe I should keep it vague and pull a Donna by placing dot dot dot. But seeing how blatant I have been in this journal about my desire to jump his bones since I met him, I think I won't.

He gave good head. Good everything really. I think he liked the part where I slurped his dick like it was a melting popsicle in July the most. He didn't partake in pillow talk after the deed was done, though. The devil's tango, if you will. The horizontal hula dance- sorry, I'm getting off topic. He fell asleep. Maybe he nutted so hard it sent his consciousness to another dimension. So instead I smiled, kissed his nose, went to pee and snuggled beside him.

Day 117

Hoseok loves me.

I love him too, no doubt. We've been dating for months at this point.

The way it happened was kind of funny, really. I think our entire relationship is, in a sense. We were on the phone and he's away on some business trip. It was probably 3 AM or something, but I was up doing work and he's the type who doesn't feel like hanging up, willing to simply bathe in someone's presence, even if it's only through a screen. He's extroverted like that- he can't stand not having human interaction.

It was when I was yawning, finally wrapping up my work, and Hoseok, though two hours behind me, was getting tired, too. Both of us agreed to hang up, and as he was saying goodbye he accidentally blurted, "Good night, I love you." As soon as he realized what he had admitted, his eyes were the size of golf balls, and he kept murmuring, 'shit shit shit'. In his flustering movements and embarrassment, he dropped the phone, and whilst picking it back up he accidentally hung up.

I, meanwhile, was boisterously laughing the entire time. After the tears dried off my face I squealed to myself, smiling despite everything as I decided first thing when he came back I'd tell him that I felt the same. I had been wondering how to properly address it, but, then again, our relationship isn't exactly the smoothest.

God, I love that fucking dork.

Day 120

I told Hoseok I loved him.

I did it in a really cute way, being the very extra person I am. As I was picking him up from the airport, I decided to make a sign, the same way rich people make their butlers to hold up signs with their last names without anything better to do. On the sign, I put glitter and hearts and pink- trying to make it seem as corny as possible. It said 'Jung, I love you 2'. To top it all off, I had a heart-shaped balloon tied to my left wrist.

Hoseok laughed the moment he saw it, knowing it was just like me to go outrageously above and beyond with this gesture. He dropped his bags and came up to me, hoisting me in the air as though we were in some sort of romcom, and kissed me like it was the first time in years, and in between each kiss he mumbled, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Some people were glaring at the PDA, and the fact I was spreading the glitter from the sign everywhere, but I didn't care. I just cared about the fact that he was back, and he was home, and he was in my arms.

Day 352

Hoseok and I live together now. It's finally been settled. The last box from my now ex-roommate's apartment has been removed, and my toothbrush now sits in the same little cup as Hoseok's does. We spend so much time at each other's places, it was bound to happen. We already act like an old married couple, so I simply asked, "Hey, what would you think if we moved in together?"

He was surprisingly all in for it. He helped me pack and move my things, and here we both are, unpacking my clothes and dividing the drawers so I can cram clothes I no longer wear and lacy underwear I've never worn in the wedges and cracks. Hoseok doesn't complain though- instead of calling me out saying, "You wear the same bra and sweatpants every day, why do you need all of these shorts with writings on the ass?" To which I'd reply, "Fuck off, it was the 2000's." No, he simply says, "You can get the drawers on the left, and I'll get the ones on the right."

I think we work well together so far- but lord knows that living with Hoseok will change things.

The guy puts the toilet paper under instead of over. I'm living with a sociopath- might as well be Jake Paul!

Day 405

Today is my one year anniversary with Hoseok.

My boss forced me to stay late at work, and because of the shitty cellular reception, I was unable to call Hoseok to explain the situation. One of the employees I was supposed to manage severely fucked up, therefore I was the one who was forced to clean up their mess. The boss kept their hawk eyes on me the entire time, as though they blamed me for what had happened, and was scared I'd screw up again. I didn't even have time to whip out my phone to tell Hoseok I was going to be late. It was a pity, too, seeing as he was so excited about whatever surprise he had prepared for me.

By the time I got home, it was far later than usual, and there was dripping wax from the candlelit setup, and the pancakes- my favorite- were cold. Hoseok had fallen asleep at the table, wearing a cute apron and still clutching his phone in his hand.

I felt so guilty for missing our anniversary. Once I woke him up, I apologized profusely, trying to explain the situation. He was groggy, barely understanding what I was saying. I could feel how neglected he felt so, how betrayed and sad. Even when I showed him the tickets to the game he wanted to see- damn good tickets, too- he seemed depressed and sulky. He won't talk to me now, instead giving me a kiss and saying he'd go to bed.

I feel terrible.

Day 456

Hoseok and I got into a fight today.

It was over nothing, really. I forgot what it was over in the first place, but it escalated pretty quickly.

Somehow the conversation deterred to how his parents disapprove of me and how I don't seem to truly love him some days- that I don't take our relationship seriously.

I was sobbing by the end of it, my voice hoarse as I asked him to name examples. I couldn't deny what he said though- but he made it seem as though I put work over him. Not just the anniversary blunder, but the canceling of plans and making him feel neglected or unloved. The best I could fire back with was how his mother always glared at me and made me feel uncomfortable when we went to visit her, and I felt like some whore she thought was taking advantage of her son.

We're both going to bed angry to cool off- but I think it's for the best. I still feel the adrenaline surging throughout me in anger at his words. I hope we can fix this by tomorrow.

Day 623

Apparently Hoseok is cheating on me.

Ridiculous, right? I don't even believe it myself.

A girl friend of mine called me over to come hang out- said it was urgent. I just thought that if she was getting engaged she might as well tell me over the phone.

I think anyone gets a sense of dread when someone says the words, "I have to tell you something," or "I need to talk to you." It just rises panic.

But I wasn't prepared for this.

She says she saw Hoseok with another girl yesterday.

That's ridiculous. I laughed and told her she probably saw someone else and left it at that. Still, curiosity and dread clawed at me. Hoseok and I have been getting in more arguments lately- but surely he wouldn't cheat, right?

I went to confront him- no, no, ask is more correct- about my friend's suspicions. But he was so tired, I just sent him to bed. No doubt he had a long day at work. Besides, I trust Hoseok. There's no way he'd do something like that. The boy who was too afraid to kiss me on the lips he gave me a peck on the cheek? A cheater? Ha! I even laugh as I write this, it's so preposterous.

I'm sure everything's fine.

I hope.

Day 645

I believe Hoseok is cheating on me.

I can't even say it out loud and I'm writing it down.

We've gotten into a lot of fights lately, sure. How I'm too insensitive and don't take anything seriously, to how he focuses too much on work and doesn't acknowledge the hard work I'm putting in. It starts with the small stuff, like what Netflix show to watch, and it slowly escalates. It's been like this for a few months, but goddammit, I love him. I've been with him for so long.

I don't know what to do.

He's been late from work a lot more than usual these past few weeks. I didn't care- more time for me to be away- but then I got suspicious.

Today I found a pair of underpants that aren't mine. This red, skimpy thong. I haven't touched any of my lingerie since I moved in, I never felt the need to impress him after we began letting go. Lord knows he has. So I know it's not mine- and I'll be damned if he's wearing sexier thongs than I am.

No, I don't feel in the mood to be funny. I can't. I can't crack a joke and pretend everything's some comedy skit on SNL. My boyfriend of over a year is sleeping with another woman and it fucking hurts.

I think I'm going to go to bed.

Day 679

"Leave him," they say. "He's a cheating bastard."

I can't deny that bit. I know it- he knows it- we're just still pretending like we're happy. Of course, it's difficult with his dick lodged in some other girl's pussy.

We got in a fight last night and I was brought to tears. He went on about how I couldn't be serious for five minutes since I never seemed to be able to take things into account. I wanted to point out that he wasn't taking our relationship seriously- I almost did, too. I almost blurted out those words, called him exactly what he was, but I couldn't. I can't confront him. I just choke on my own words, as though I'm scared to admit it to myself.

So instead I leave, slamming the door behind me and going out drinking with the girls, downing my thoughts away as they repeat the same old words about how all men are trash.

I'm in the bathroom sobbing by the toilet as I write this. I still love him. How could he do this to me? I can't change who I am. What he once loved about me he seems to despise. He's sleeping right now- went to bed without waiting for me after we had a fight like he used to.

Life fucking sucks.

Day 700

He's leaving.

I heard him on the phone. He calls her 'baby'. I can barely recall the last time he called me that. He says the word promise a lot. She seems angry. I'm writing this as I listen through the landline. The idiot didn't even use his cell phone. He says it'll be in about a week before he breaks things off with me. Why hasn't he done it before if he truly loves this girl? He clearly doesn't love me anymore. Why does he stay? Why do I stay?

She doesn't believe that he's leaving but he keeps saying, "I promise, baby, I promise." I want to shout through the line that he hasn't kept a single promise he's made me, but of course, I can't do that. What mistress would care, anyway?

I wonder at times what she looks like. Sometimes I see a smear of her lipstick on our bedspread or a hair on our couch, and I find myself piecing together an image. She's pretty- prettier than me. That's for sure. She has to be if he's leaving me for her. I don't think I want to know, though. It'll make me feel more insecure about myself.

Maybe it was for the best. Both he and I were too stubborn to leave a toxic relationship on its own- so add a third party into the mix to act as a catalyst. Great fucking idea.

He's hanging up now. He told her he loves her.

It took him 117 days to admit he loved me. I wonder how long it took him to fall for her. To fall out of love with me. I wonder how many days it'll take for me to fall out of love with him. It feels like it'll be forever. I still flip my pages to the beginning of this little book, the beginning of it all as I recorded my- no, our journey together.

I guess it's appropriate this is where it ends.

I hope you're proud of yourself.

Day 707

The smoke from the back of the car makes you grimace as you stand stiff and cross-armed by the taxi, Hoseok lugging his suitcases and stuff into the trunk. He would get a friend to stop by tomorrow to pick up the rest of his stuff- assuming you don't burn it by then.

You had caught him packing last night when you finally confronted him, an explosive fight breaking out between the two of you as you both burst into tears. You at the fact he was cheating and leaving you, and him because of what had become of the two of you, how bitter and hateful you had become to one another. And then you both became hollow, cold shells to each other as he packed the rest of his things, getting up bright and early that morning to go to her place, to live there.

Your hands are shaking as you put your hand on his shoulder, and he slowly turns to you.

"Please don't try to convince me to stay, Y/N." His voice is hard and cold, and it makes you feel like an unwanted stranger. Perhaps you were. You barely knew the man before you. He was nothing like the man you had first met on New Year's Eve.

"I won't," you say softly. "I just wanted to give you... a goodbye present."

Hoseok pauses at that and turns around to face you completely, a small book in your hands. "What's this?" he questions.

You suck in a deep breath. "I can't bear to look at it- but it'd be a shame to burn it. You'd have better use of it than me, I think. It's my recordings of... the story of us, I suppose. What it was."

Hoseok's silent for a moment, staring down at the book. "I'm sorry things had to end this way," he murmured quietly, and for a second you're afraid he's going to cry again. Lord knows Hoseok was always a sensitive person.

You find a lump forming in your own throat. "I know you are," you simply say.

Hoseok opens the book to the first page, and you see him sniffle, a tear rolling down his face. Despite all of your friends screaming in your head to spit in his face and scream your head off at him, you see a sliver of the Hoseok you once knew, and you can't bear to show resentment at this moment.

"Day 1," he speaks, his voice cracking. "I met a boy today."

"Yesterday, to be more precise. Exactly 5 hours and 48 minutes from ago, from the moment that I'm writing down these words," you reminisce, quoting it word for word. "You don't know how many times I looked back at that first page, to the memory of when I first met you."

"I wish we could've started over," he said, voice a whisper as his fingers brush over the strokes of your words. "When did things change?"

"Keep reading and find out," you joke, hot tears rolling down your cheeks in fat drops. You feel angry. Angry at yourself for letting the relationship come to this- angry at him for cheating on you- angry, angry, angry. You brush them quickly, stepping back before he could even attempt to reach out to you. "It's a good story, through and through. It'll make for a good read in the car- since you don't get car sick, and all that." God, you remember how jealous you were when you found out that little fact.

There's a pregnant pause between you two.

"I'm still so, so sorry," Hoseok whispered.

For a moment, once again, he reminds you of Day 1 Hoseok, with those soft eyes and sweet expressions.

"Well, being sorry doesn't exactly fix anything, does it?" you spit bitterly, the anger rising once again. Hoseok didn't deserve a bittersweet ending. "It doesn't unfuck a girl, it doesn't erase months of lies, and it doesn't fix our relationship- more accurately what was left of it."

Hoseok doesn't say anything, letting you vent as you continued to berate him.

"I know I fucked up by putting work over you, but that doesn't give you an excuse to cheat. You said it last night- you should've ended things earlier if you really wanted to be with her. You just dragged me along- and despite what you think, I truly loved- no, still love, you. Otherwise, I wouldn't hurt so much. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stayed, cried, and fought for you. The fact I can't even mark that stupid little book shows that and more- and if you truly still don't believe my feelings, that book will prove it to you. Hundreds of days of you and I written there because I thought- I don't even know what I thought anymore. You're not the Jung Hoseok I fell for, and I guess I'm not the Y/N you fell in love with."

"Anything else you want to say?" Hoseok breathed solemnly, not even putting up a fight to defend himself. It angered you more that he wasn't fighting back, like your usual duals. He simply took it and stood there, not caring anymore. He couldn't even fight anymore. People only fought for things they cared about- and clearly, he didn't care about you anymore.

Yes, you want to scream. You fucked up. Badly. You're the antagonist in this situation, not me. You're the bad guy. We could've had a fresh start and worked things out- but you're the one who fucking fucked things up like the fucker you are. This is your fault!

"Nothing you don't already know."

Hoseok was tight-lipped, mumbling a goodbye as he left in the taxi, letting the story come to a close.

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pinktintedmonocle · 7 years ago

Text

The Setup - a Lucifer fanfic

The ladies decide to set up Pierce and Lucifer. Shenanigans ensue.

Cracky silliness - set sometime post 3.13 - "Till Death Do Us Part"

“BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER!” shouted Ella as she sat back down heavily in the booth, head lolling against Maze’s shoulder.

Chloe eyed the luminous cocktail clutched in Ella’s hand suspiciously. “What on earth is that?”

“It’s Southern Comfort, Bacardi, Peach Schnapps, Blue Curacao, lime juice, Grenadine, lemonade and just a dash of tequila. It’s my signature drink – I call it a ‘Lopez’.” Ella proffered the glass to the detective. “You want some?”

Chloe shook her head. “I think I’ll pass. I’d rather not spend tonight passed out in the ER having my stomach pumped.”

“Aww, c’mon! It’s not that much booze!”

“It is a fair amount of alcohol”, Linda said dubiously.

Charlotte shrugged. “I’ll try some.” She took the glass from Ella and had a long sip before she pulled a face and shuddered. “God, that’s strong! But also, so good.” She went to pick up the glass again, but Maze grabbed it first and downed the rest of it in one.

“Damn”, said the demon with an approving nod. “That’s some good shit.” A waiter passed their table and Maze called out to him. “Hey you, bring us five more of these ‘Lopez’ things.”

“That’s the party spirit!”, beamed Ella. “It’ll be just like our last girl’s night.”

“Our last girl’s night ended with Maze fighting three guys with a pool cue”, Linda pointed out.

“Ok, so maybe not quite like our last girl’s night, but we can still make it a night to remember, share a bit of gossip”, said Ella. She turned to Chloe. “Hey, one thing I’ve been dying to ask you about is that case you worked a few weeks back where Lucifer and the Lieutenant went undercover as a couple – I heard that they actually kissed! Is that true?”

Chloe shrugged. “Well, yeah, but it was just part of their cover. I mean, at least I think it was; it did go on for a while, and it was pretty passionate…”

Ella suddenly clapped her hands together, her face cracking into a huge grin. “Guys, I’ve just had the best idea! We should totally set them up! They’d be perfect for each other!”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “They’re the complete opposite of each other.”

“Exactly! You know what they say about opposites; they attract!” Ella looked around the table expectantly at the other four women. “Who’s with me?

“I’m up for anything that’ll raise a little Hell”, said Maze.

“Why not?”, Charlotte replied. “I could use some fun.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Chloe, Linda? C’mon guys, it’s my birthday, and you can’t say no to me on my birthday; those are the rules.” Ella widened her eyes and stuck out her lower lip.

Chloe sighed. “It’s a terrible idea, but fine. Count me in.”

Ella grinned. “Yay! You in, Linda?”

“Well, I suppose –“

“Great! That’s settled then!” Ella beamed. “Now all we need is a plan…”

**********************

Ella found Lucifer by the bar, where he was pouring himself a liberal measure of whiskey.

“Miss Lopez! Enjoying your party, I hope?”

“So much! It’s the best.” Ella sipped her drink then glanced towards the other end of the bar. “Although there seems to be one person who’s not having so great a time.”

Lucifer followed her gaze to where Pierce sat, cradling a glass and staring moodily into the distance.

“The Lieutenant?” questioned Lucifer. “I’m sure he’s having a lovely time; brooding alone in a corner is one of his favourite hobbies.”

“Even so, maybe someone should go talk to him, try and cheer him up a little.”

Lucifer sighed. “Well, I suppose I could spare a few minutes of my precious time…”

He started to move towards Pierce, but Ella stopped him. “No, not you.”

“Why not?” Lucifer frowned.

“Look”, said Ella, adopting a serious tone. “On the very rare occasions that I’m feeling a bit down, one thing that always cheers me up is a smile and a compliment from a cute guy.”

“Like me”, Lucifer replied, preening a little.

“Exactly. Only, I think we need to find someone other than you for Pierce.”

“And why is that?”

“Because”, Ella said, letting the word hang in the air while she had some more of her cocktail. “Because… you’re just not his type.”

Lucifer blinked, clearly shocked. “But I’m everyone’s type!”

Ella shrugged. “Well, you’re not his, hun. Don’t worry about it though; I mean, you can’t please everybody, right?”

Lucifer opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything Chloe and Charlotte joined them at the bar.

“Hey guys!” greeted Chloe. “What’s up?”

“Lucifer and I were just talking about maybe finding someone for Pierce”, explained Ella, “and I just happened to mention that I didn’t think Lucifer was his type.”

Chloe and Charlotte both nodded in agreement. “Oh absolutely”, said Chloe. “I mean, I wouldn’t take it personally, Lucifer. It’s just that I don’t think you’re the kind of person he finds attractive.”

“After all, you can’t please everyone”, Charlotte added.

Lucifer bristled. “Yes, I can please everyone! I can, and I do!” He gestured at himself. “I mean, how is it possible for someone not to find this attractive?”

“Maybe you just need to accept that Pierce is the one person you can’t win over”, said Ella. “Come on girls, these cocktails aren’t going to drink themselves.”

The three women headed back to their booth, low fiving each other as they weaved through the crowd.

At the bar, Lucifer continued to fume. “Not his type? Well, we’ll see about that…”

**********************

“Hey loser”, greeted Maze as she and Linda sat down next to Pierce. “You drinking alone?”

“I was”, Pierce replied wearily.

“This is Linda. Linda, meet Cain, killer of Abel, cursed to walk the earth for eternity.”

Linda held out a hand, which Pierce shook reluctantly. “Hi. Slightly terrifying to meet you”, she said.

“So, no date huh?” continued Maze. “You just rocked up to this party by yourself, saw everyone else having a great time, got all depressed, and now you’re drowning your sorrows. Alone.”

Pierce sighed deeply and sipped his whiskey. “Have you got a problem with that, Mazikeen?”

“No, no problem. I mean, it’s not surprising really. Even if you did find someone, fall in love, get married, have kids, all that shit, it wouldn’t be long before the person you loved withered and died. And then your kids would die, and their kids would die, on and on until there’s no one left and you’re back here at this bar, knocking back liqueur and trying to block out the pain. It’s just a shame there’s not another troubled immortal knocking around who you could share your torment with.”

“Well, there is Lucifer”, Linda pointed out.

“Oh yeah, there is Lucifer”, Maze agreed.

Pierce frowned. “What about Lucifer?”

“Just that he is also technically immortal, and as he’s not planning to return to Hell anytime soon he’ll probably be hanging around Earth for a while; maybe the next few millennia or so.

“And you do have a few things in common, besides the immortal thing”, chipped in Linda. “Both of you are from troubled families, and both of you seem to feel like you have something to prove to the world.”

Pierce’s frown deepened. “I suppose we do have a few similarities…”

Maze reached over, picked up Pierce’s glass and downed the rest of the whiskey. “More than a few”, she said, before Pierce could protest. “Just a shame you and he are so different in every other way. It would never work out.”

Linda shook her head. “Never.”

“Yeah. Never”, Pierce replied, although he suddenly sounded a little uncertain.

“Oh well”, Maze said breezily, hopping off her barstool. “Guess you’ll just be alone forever with nothing but your giant arms for company. Good luck with that.” She turned to Linda. “Come on girl, there’s a bottle of tequila down the other end of the bar with my name on it. Quite literally; I wrote a death threat on it when I left so that no one else would touch it. See ya, Cain.”

Pierce didn’t reply; instead he just stared down into his empty glass as the seed of an idea began to grow in his mind.

**********************

Once the five women had returned to their booth they made sure they had a fresh supply of cocktails and a good view of the bar, then settled down to watch.

After a minute, both Pierce and Lucifer stood up and started to walk towards each other. They met in the middle of the bar, ordered drinks and began to talk. After a few minutes they began to move closer, and Lucifer reached out to lay a hand on Pierce’s thigh. Pierce looked down at the hand, smiled, and lifted a hand of his own to cup Lucifer’s jaw. Lucifer grinned, then leaned forward to close the gap between them, pressing their lips together.

Ella squealed in delight. “Wooo! Guys, we did it!” She lifted up her glass in a toast. “Here’s to us!”

“To us!” chorused the other women, also raising their glasses.

As they started to celebrate their victory, Linda leaned into Maze. “We’ve just set up the actual devil with the first murderer. Was that a good idea?”

“Probably not”, replied Maze, adding another shot of tequila to her drink and grinning wickedly. “But it was fun.”

#Lucifer Morningstar #lucifer #lucifer on fox #chloe decker #ella lopez #charlotte richards #linda martin #mazikeen #mazikeen smith #marcus pierce #piercifer #luciferfanfic

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caseofthestolenspecs · 8 years ago

Text

Promptober Day 18: With Aranea

(For @miluette‘s Promptober!)

With Aranea, it was a misunderstanding.

Aranea Highwind. What could Prompto say about Aranea Highwind? She was just… a badass. She was strong, brave, and Prompto really liked her no-nonsense attitude. She kind of scared him a little, but he thought that maybe that kinda added to her appeal. There was something about a woman that could kick his ass that intrigued him, but he wasn’t about to get on her bad side to get firsthand experience. (He didn’t want to die.)

She didn’t pay him much mind while she had temporarily joined their party - he just kinda admired her from afar, wishing he could be as precise and hard-hitting as her during battle. Then, during a beast hunt, he heard her address him directly for the first time.

“Nice shot, Shortcake,” she said as she stepped past him, continuing on without so much as a glance in his direction.

‘Shortcake’?

Well, it wasn’t exactly his name, but she still acknowledged him nonetheless. Prompto hated that he blushed at the odd choice of nickname. Thank the Six that she was already several feet away, her back turned so she couldn’t see the effect her simple words had on him.

To his surprise and confusion, the compliments became more frequent after that. The nickname usage was constant. He wondered if it was because she had a spotty memory, or if she just couldn’t be bothered to remember his actual name. Prompto didn’t mind, though. He... kind of liked being called Shortcake. But only if it was by her.

Soon, it wasn’t long before he swore she kept looking at him. Smiling at him, then quickly glancing away whenever Prompto dared to look back at her.

Was… Aranea interested in him? Was she… flirting with him, in her own little way?

Oh. Ohhh no. Prompto… had no idea how to handle this. Aranea Highwind… was interested in him?! Just the very thought was completely ridiculous. And yet…

Shortcake.

Prompto hated that his heart had started to flutter when he heard that nickname now.

“Hey, Shortcake, got a minute?” Aranea said, gesturing behind herself.

They’d just finished eating dinner by the fire, and the others were all busy with one thing or another. Prompto was just messing around on his phone, wasting time until he decided that he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer and shuffle off to bed. “Huh?” He perked up when he heard Aranea’s voice. He wasn’t expecting her to talk to him at all, let alone hear her invite him off somewhere.

“Oh, uh… sure?” Prompto cleared his throat, hoping his voice didn’t sound as cracky as it no doubt was. He scrambled to tuck his phone back into his pocket and got to his feet, not wanting to dawdle when he knew Aranea didn’t have a whole lot of patience. When she saw that he was up, Aranea started to head for the trees, disappearing through the small path they’d cleared earlier.

Prompto sure hoped his hair was on point and that he didn’t look like a complete mess. Aranea. Invited him. Into the… woods? Oh. Oh. What reason would a girl have to invite a guy out to the woods with her, alone? Prompto’s mind began creating all kinds of scenarios, and none of them ended with him being totally calm and totally suave. Stay cool, Prompto. It’s all good.

Or so he thought.

“Listen. I’m gonna be heading off tomorrow, parting ways from you lot. Probably be gone before you guys even get up. Not sure when or if we’ll see each other again,” Aranea began, leaning back against one of the nearby trees. “Before I leave, I just wanted to let you know that you’ve improved these last few days in battle. If you focused just a bit more, you’d be golden. Looks like you’re not as bad as I thought, kid.”

Prompto felt his cheeks warm as he smiled faintly. A compliment… right? Wow, he had no idea what to say. “Heh…you really think so? Thanks,” he said, his nerves rising to the max as they struggled to take over completely, maybe make him trip over nothing and fall ass-up in a bush nearby, yeah, that works.

“Anyway,” she continued as she took a few steps toward him. “Thought I’d give you a little something. For good luck. Might help you out, until we cross paths again. If we even do, that is. A little something to remember me by.”

Prompto swallowed, his eyes widening.

“Hurry up and close your eyes, would you?” she muttered, taking another step closer.

Prompto felt his heart pulse, threatening to explode like a balloon filled with too much helium. This was it. This was it. Right? Holy shit. Prompto had never really thought about what his first kiss was going to be like, or when, or how, but he never in a million years thought it would be with a beautiful, incredible woman like Aranea Highwind, alone in the woods, and.. Oh Gods.

Prompto did what he was told, closing his eyes. All the while, he screamed internally and told himself over and over, Okay, stay cool, stay cool, dude, you got this, just… pucker up and it’ll be no sweat. Right? Right. You can do this.

And so he did.

And he waited.

And waited.

Prompto felt nothing but the cold night air against his lips, which were starting to feel a little tense from holding his pre-kiss pose for so long.

Aranea began to laugh.

“Shortcake, you were supposed to hold your hands out, too,” she said, grinning.

Suddenly, Prompto wanted to die.

“W-well… you didn’t say that! Why didn’t you say that?!” he yelped in an attempt to save his dignity, opening his eyes at last as he stared back at the woman. He wanted to be mad as well as embarrassed, but only managed to be embarrassed because the smile she had on her face right now was just, so pretty, and---

Aranea grabbed his wrist, lifting it up so she could place something in his hand.

“A silver bangle,” she explained as she closed Prompto’s fingers around it. “Thought it could be of some use to you in battle, help protect you a little more. Stronger you are, the longer you’ll be able to protect someone else. Right?”

“R-right,” Prompto glanced down at the gift. It was nice and all, but… He let out a soft breath. “Thanks, Aranea.”

Prompto sure felt silly now. Hoping the show of gratitude was enough, he turned so he could start heading back to camp before he really did trip and fall on his face. He froze when he felt her hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

“Actually, I’ve got a little something else for you, too,” she replied. “A last minute purchase. Like those idiots who rush around to all of the flower shops on Mother’s Day, trying to find flowers after everything’s long since been sold out.” She smiled, again, as she coaxed Prompto to turn back around. “You’re sweet. Kinda cute too, I guess. Don’t ever lose that part of yourself. All right? Stay just the way you are.”

Prompto wasn’t sure what she meant, and before he could ask, he felt the softest brush of lips against his own, and then, it was all over.

“Don’t stay up too late, Shortcake. Tomorrow’s gonna be a tough one.” Aranea tucked the longer side of his hair behind his ear, then stepped past him, heading back from whence they came.

Aranea Highwind…

He hoped he would see her again.

#prompto argentum #aranea highwind #aranea x prompto #promptober #writing #mine

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rainbowserenity · 7 years ago

Note

uuugh i can't choose can i request all 100 prompts?? 😂 But hey that request will take a long time so i'll go with no. 5 😅 I need more fluff

5. “I’m going to take care of you,okay?”

(alternative title: Cinderfella, the sorta cracky, slightly fourth wall-breaking Cinderella AU that was supposed to be just a silly thing to make me feel better but exploded to 6500 words, why does this keep happening)

Onceupon a time, in a kingdom far away – or maybe it was close by, depending on your current location – there lived an orphan namedHope. His name was oddly fitting, since a bit of hope was all heseemed to have a firm grasp on in life.

Unfortunately,since it wasn’t anything tangible, he couldn’t survive on that aloneand ended up becoming an apprentice to the only scientist in town,just too keep a roof over his head. The man gave meaning to thephrase mad scientist anddidn’t treat Hope that well, often making him do menial chores thatwere more for busywork rather than for science.

Becauseof this, Hope often found himself daydreaming of what it would belike to escape – to do what he wanted on his own terms and make hisown decisions, not simply drift along because his parents were deadand he had no means of getting anywhere else. Unless he had it inhimself to steal his mentor’s meager fortune – which he would neverdo out of principal – Hope knew he would be stuck here for a longtime, scrubbing floors and dusting old glass beakers that hadn’t beengood for experiments since before he was born.

Theone reprieve he had was when he was sometimes sent into town to pickup supplies. Sure, he wasn’t allowed to make multiple trips so he’dhave to carry around all his bags and packages like some kind of packmule, but it was nice to get outside the dreary old lab’s walls andsee a bit more of the kingdom.

Andas silly as it may have been for a grown man like himself, he oftenfound himself staring at couples walking hand-in-hand or familieswith their children, wondering what it was like to have suchaffection solely for you.

Hopehad loved his mother and admired his father, but neither of themcould do much when they’d already passed on into their next lives andhe was stuck here in this one, where he was about to be run over by acarriage.

Wait…

“Watchout!” the coachman called in a nasty tone of voice. Hope gasped andjumped out of the way just as a regal-looking carriage hurried pasthim. He accidentally dropped some of his bags and they were trampledand stomped on. If he were a bit more poetic, he would’ve added thathis heart felt worn and trampled too, but as he was, he was justhopeful that everything in there wasn’t ruined.

“Areyou all right?”

Hopeglanced up, immediately locked onto piercing blue eyes that seemedslightly familiar, but it was hard to think logically when his heartwas suddenly pounding as loud as the horse’s hooves that’d nearly runhim over.

“Um- ” He cleared his throat, trying to act somewhat confident. “Yes.Thank you, miss.”

Shetitled her head, stray pieces of unusual pink hair falling into hereyes. “Right.” To his surprise, she helped gather up his fallenpackages and placed them back in his arms. “I think you’re good togo. Try not to get run over.”

“Uh,yeah. Yes. Of course.” Hope had no idea why he suddenly felt sotongue-twisted. The woman couldn’t seem to stop starting at himeither, though her expression gave away little. If he was honest, herclothes weren’t much to look at – she was dressed even more plainlythan he was, if that was possible – so her eyes stood out that muchmore. It was difficult to look away.

Wasit love at first sight? Perhaps. Lust was more likely, he knew, butstill…

“…I’llsee you around.” She smiled ever-so-slightly. “Watchout. Thoseroyal carriages usually don’t watch where they’re going.”

“Oh,uh. Yes. Right.” How didshe know it was a royal carriage that’d nearly plowed him over? Thenagain, it wasn’t like he left the lab often enough to tell thedifference. “I need to getthis stuff back to my mentor, anyway.”

“Allright…?”

“…Yes?”

Shegave him an unimpressed look. “This is the point where you tell meyour name.”

“Oh.”Hope was pretty sure he was blushing now. Or maybe he was one ofthose lucky people who didn’t turn completely red when their facefelt stupidly hot. “…My name is Hope.”

“Hope,”she repeated. She quirked the tiniest of smiles. “Be careful outthere.”

“Iwill.”

Beforehe could say anything else – or before the idea to maybe ask herfor her name occurredto him – the woman turned and disappeared into the crowd just asthe clock struck the hour. Hope shook himself out of his stupor andhurried back to the lab, daydreaming all the while.

–

Thoughhe didn’t get out much because of his mentor’s demands, Hope couldtell when there was something big happening in the kingdom. It wasthat unexplainable buzz in the air that captivated everyone andspread, not unlike a plague. Only in a good way.

Whyhe felt this way, he had no idea…until the invitation came.

Hedidn’t know what it was at first, despite the raised print on theenvelope addressed to All Occupants of The Lab andthe smooth, fancy paper. It was obvious this paper was important.

Hewas right.

“Theprincessis throwing a ball,” his mentor said after he’d read theinvitation. “They’re inviting everyone in the kingdom fornetworking purposes and to find the princess a suitor.” He tappedthe envelope with a wicked smirk. “Perfect. Maybe I can finally getsome decent supplies in here.”

Hopeglanced around, wanting to mention the hoards of unused equipmentthat he was forced to constantly clean, but bit his tongue. It hadnothing to do with his question, after all. “Um, sir?”

“Yes,what is it?”

“I…Idon’t have a suit. Do you think that maybe I could…?”

Hopetrailed off when his mentor glanced at him with an appalledexpression, eying him up and down. “Why on earth wouldyou need a suit, boy?”

“Well…Ijust….I noticed that the invitation was addressed to all theoccupants here,” Hope managed to say. He always had a hard timevoicing his thoughts around his mentor. “And seeing as how I livehere, I thought…”

“You?”The old man laughed, looking like he’d heard the most hilarious jokeever. Hope had not been joking. “Do you wantto go to the ball?”

“I…”

“Lookat yourself, boy.” His mentor made a strange sort of disgustedexpression, which would’ve offended Hope had he not seen it from theguy all the time. “You’re common. You’re nothing. You’re lucky I’vekept you in all these years, that I’m still willing to keep a roofover your head. Know your place and be satisfied with it, because theworld is cruel and this is the best you’ll ever have.”

Hopejust stood there, swallowing heavily as his mentor waltzed out of theroom, muttering something about getting his shoes shined and lookingfor all the world like he hadn’t just cracked his apprentice’s soulinto pieces.

Itwasn’t as though Hope was unaware thatthe world was cruel and there was little chance he would ever escapefrom this place. He wasbasically all alone in the world and had little to offer aside fromhis brilliant mind.

Tohear it spoken to him so plainly was the cruelest form ofconfirmation.

Wasit any wonder that he dreamed of escaping, of doing more, somethingbetter? Perhaps he could meet a beautiful woman who appreciated thesciences and he’d use his mind to better the kingdom with herencouragement and why did the hypothetical woman in this daydreamhave piercing blue eyes?

Hopesighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he wasn’tallowed to go to the ball, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t imagineit.

–

Exceptimagination wasn’t enough, even if it was greater than science.

Whohad said that? He had no idea, since that quote was wronglyattributed all the time. Not that it mattered, not right now.

“Iwant the lab so clean I could eat from the slides and tables with norepercussions whatsoever.” His mentor adjusted his suit, agaudy-looking thing that had gone out of style a decade ago. “Doyou understand me?”

“Yes,sir.” Hope walked the man out to the carriage. Woooo, a night ofcleaning and dusting and not doing anything remotely good for hismental well-being. Story of his life.

“Good.Stay out of trouble.”

Hopewondered what the heck kind of trouble he could possibly get into,but said nothing as his mentor climbed into the carriage, not sparinga glance at his apprentice as the driver flicked the reins and theyclopped down the street, heading towards the palace in the center ofthe kingdom.

Allof a sudden, it was eerily silent. Hope assumed that everyone who wasable to get there was at the ball, undoubtedly the biggest, mostimportant event of the year. Yes, anyone who was anyone was dancingthe waltz and speaking to important people.

Toobad he wasn’t anyone – he was no one.

“Whatthe heck kind of attitude is that?”

Hopejumped with a shriek, covering his mouth with one hand when someone –that was a person,right? - materialized behind him without a sound. He noticed a secondlater that this person had managed to creep up on him because he wasfloating.

Floating.

“Whoare you?!” he managed to croak out.

Theperson – at a closer glance, they seemed to be male, albeit a verypretty one – floated towardsHope. “What, you don’t know how this story goes?”

“Story?What story?”

“Nevermind.” The guy shook out his luxurious brown hair. Glitter spilledfrom the strands and just kind of settled in the air around him,which might have been the weirdest thing of all. “I’m Noel. I’myour fairy godfather. I’mgonna take care of you, okay?”

“…Mywhat?!”

“Ohman, you really are a lost cause.” Noel sighed and floatedinto the lab, where Hope followed in a daze. Glitter was spillingaround Noel at an alarming rate. “Look, you want to get to theball, right?”

“Yes.”Hope was surprised at how easily the answer came, especially to acomplete stranger. “More than anything.”

“Thenguess what – it’s possible.”

“It’spossible?”

“Exactly.”Noel grinned and Hope blinked at him a couple of times, stillwondering at this guy floating in the lab and spewing glittereverywhere. Weirdly enough, the only thought that crept into his mindwas that Noel was probably floating because walking in the enormouspants he was wearing seemed impossible. “I’m gonna get you to theball, and it’s gonna be the best night of your life.”

“Waita sec.” Hope held up his hands. “How are you going to get me tothe ball? I don’t have a coach or horses or…or anything. I’m noone.”

“Howcan you be no one when you’re standing there like someone?”

“Huh?”

“Exactly,”Noel echoed. Hope wondered if Noel was actually trying to make senseor just actively confusing him. Maybe his mentor had slipped a littlesomething in the duster and cleaning supplies and now Hope washallucinating. That seemed logical.

Except…except…hewanted to believe.

“Everythingstarts with believing,” Noel added as though he’d read Hope’s mind.“So, like, do you believe I can turn a pumpkin into acarriage?”

“No.”

“No?!”

“Becausewe don’t have any pumpkins,” Hope pointed out. “We’re in a lab,not a quaint little home with a vegetable garden.”

“Goodpoint.” Noel glanced around and finally pointed at one of the oldbeakers that Hope had cleaned earlier. “What about that thing? Youbelieve I can turn that into a carriage?”

“I…guessso?”

Thatseemed to be all the incentive Noel needed. Ignoring Hope’s wideeyes, he made the beaker float outside and made some motions with hishands. Glitter swirled around the beaker, blinding it with light asit grew and stretched, the glass sounding like crackling ice as itformed a stunning carriage that made prisms with the rays of thesetting sun.

Hopestared. “How…”

“Don’task me how. Magic.” Noel grinned, looking over the carriagewith approval. “Man, these designs on it are a little weird,though. They look like…numbers, maybe?”

“That,uh…” Hope cleared his throat. “That doesn’t matter much to me,as long as it gets me there.”

Noelsnapped his fingers. “That’s what I need!” He floated back, onlyto return with a bunch of lab rats, their noses twitching excitedlyfrom being out of their mazes. “This’ll only take a sec.”

Withanother whoosh of his hand (and more glitter), some of the rats weretransformed into stunning horses with long, luxurious manes. Theothers became a driver and footman, who glanced around in confusion,probably wondering why they were so tall.

Hopestared some more. Asking how was useless, he knew, but…

“Ahem.”Noel gestured to the rats/coachmen, who scrambled to theirpositions. “What else...” he muttered.

Againsthis better judgment, Hope glanced down at himself. He was wearing adirty, ragged shirt, pants that were too short, and shoes with solesso worn that he may as well not have even bothered. His mentor didn’tbelieve in keeping his apprentice looking well. “I...”

“Sayno more.”

AfterNoel flicked his hand (more glitter), Hope spun around as thoughcompelled by some unseen force. He could feel the magicworking over his clothing and hair, transforming him into a differentperson entirely.

Andwhen the glitter faded, he may as well have been.

Thesuit Noel had magicked him into was of a style he’d never seen beforein any kingdom, yet conveyed all the taste and elegance of the mostelite. It was of varying shades of green, yellow, and white, whichshould have looked gaudy, but stood out perfectly with his hair andeyes. His shoes were shiny, his hair perfectly done, and his skin waseven so clean that he was sure anyone looking would actually be ableto see the light smattering of freckles across his nose that wereusually hidden by dust.

“This…”Hope held out his arms, looking himself up and down as best he couldwhile trying to keep his jaw off the floor. “Noel, I – how did -?”

“Youknow my answer.”

“Iguess I do.” Hope felt a little dazed. His arms flopped down, andit was only then that he noticed the yellow band tied around his leftwrist. “What’s this?”

“Plotdevice. Don’t worry about it.”

“...”

“Don’tlook at me like that! Look, time’s a-wasting, and trust me, that’s thelast thing you want to do. In you go.” He ushered Hope towards thebeaker-turned-carriage.

“Okay,okay.” Hope smiled despite himself, letting himself feel an ounceof excitement. He was going to the ball! It didn’t feel real, even ashe climbed into the carriage, almost wanting to sing out loud for it.His heart pounded in excitement.

Rightbefore it took off, Noel cried out, “Wait! Just one more thing!”

“Whatis it?”

“Getback here before midnight.”

“What?Why?”

“Themagic wears off at twelve,” Noel explained, trying to sound a bitominous, but all of the glitter cascading out of his hair ruinedthat effect. “Unless you can get home on an actual glass tube andsome rats, you’ll wanna head out before then.”

“Iprobably could,” Hope replied. “I am ascientist.”

“Yeah,well, don’t chance it, okay?” Noel patted the carriage. “Now goon! Have the time of your life and all that!”

“Iwill!”

Thecarriage started off and Noel disappeared in an explosion of glitter.Hope sat back against the cushions, watching the kingdom fly by,excitement building in his heart.

Perhapsthis really would be the best night of his life.

–

Thiswas the worst night of her life.

No,that wasn’t quite true – the worst waswhen Serah came home from a visit from the neighboring Villierskingdom with a ring on her finger and a fiance that followed heraround everywhere, making the pressure for Lightning to find ahusband and produce an heir heavier than ever.

Itwas stupid and medieval – everyone knew Serah would make a betterqueen. She already had a proposal from a neighboring prince, and notjust out of convenience, either – Snow genuinely did loveSerah. It was clear they could rule if they wanted to, thoughLighting personally wouldn’t trust Snow to put his shoes on byhimself.

Butnooo, just because there were all these laws andrules and she justhappened to be bornfirst, everyone was on her to find a husband, nobility or not, so shecould safely become queen – never mind that she’d been doing justfine ever since her parents died, thank you very much. A husbandwould only slow her down.

Allthe palace advisers didn’t seem to think so, however. They’d decidedshe needed to throw this ball and invite everyone in the kingdom inhopes that she could find someone to be with.

Sostupid.

Andyet…

Lightningbowed her head to the man that’d basically been thrown towards her todance with, letting him lead as the string quartet played a lazywaltz. He bowed deeply before sweeping her into the dance, notnoticing when he stepped on her foot and started yammering on aboutwaterfalls or something.

Hewasn’t the one. She knew that much.

PrincessLightning Farron wouldn’t have said she believed in magic or love atfirst sight, but there wasn’t much of an explanation for the way herheart had thrummed in herchest ever since her random meeting with that stranger, Hope.

Itwas so stupid – all she’d done was help pick up the packages he’ddropped, a delightfully mundane task that she normally never didsince she had servants waiting on her hand and foot. He hadn’t evenseemed to recognize her, maybe due to her disguise as a commoner,which was usually preferable but now she wondered if that was reallysuch a good thing when with every possible suitor that was presentedto her, all she could searched for were sea-green eyes and a mop ofsilver hair.

Sure,the guy could’ve been a terrible person. Maybe he had bad breath orpicked his nose when he thought people weren’t looking and all of herwondering was for nothing.

Buthow would she know unless she was given a chance?

Withevery new dance partner, however, her disappointment grew. EitherHope hadn’t come or he hadn’t gotten the invitation at all, despitethe fact that literally every person in the kingdom had been invited.Maybe he’d taken one look at the immensely crowded ballroom andturned away.

Sheglanced up when the doors suddenly creaked open, sounding incrediblyloud despite all the chatter and the music, and suddenly stopped,messing up the whole dance as she stared at the top of the stairs.

Ormaybe Hope would simply appear as though put there by magic.

–

WhenHope had been walking the long hallway to the ballroom, escorted by acouple of silent guards, he kept wondering if he should turn back andjust forget this whole thing. Just because he wanted togo to the ball didn’t mean he should.

He’dalmost expected Noel to sprinkle glitter over him and insist that hejust move, but nothing like that happened. Surprisingly, Hope wasgoing forward on his own confidence, something that didn’t happenvery often. It was difficult to feel confident when yourmentor/supposed father figure constantly looked down on you.

Maybeit was the outfit. It probably was, but at the same time, he knew itwasn’t merely the suit that was pushing him forward, giving him thethoughts that he could dothis, that he deserved to.Looking like a million gil definitely helped, but when all was saidand done, not even the world’s most comfortable shoes could move forhim.

Huh,maybe there’d been a little something extra in all of Noel’s glitter.

Allof the confidence came to a head when he stepped into the ballroom,staring down those long stairs and meeting an oddly familiar piercingblue gaze.

Everythingseemed to stop and time itself felt like it was in slow motion asHope walked down the stairs, every step bringing more whispers andstares from the crowds. Despite all that, they seemed to part for himnaturally as he approached the one person he hadn’t at all expectedto see.

Herbangs still fell into her eyes, though that did nothing to hide theirbeauty. Hope was so distracted by that simple fact that it took him afull minute of staring torealize that she was dressed in a glittering violet gown – a colorreserved for royalty – and had an elaborately designed tiara on herhead.

Oh.

Hope’seyes widened a bit as he finally got his head on straight and bowed,an arm over his waist and one sweeping out to his side, as wasproper. Or so he’d heard. If it wasn’t, he might be beheaded andthat’d be okay at this point. Itwasn’t like luck was normally on his side, Noel excluded. “Goodevening, your highness.”

Therewas a slight pause before the unthinkable happened.

Shecurtsied back.

Heglanced up to see her smiling ever-so-slightly, which he returnedwithout thinking. And then, as though ordained by fate, theyimmediately fell close to each other, his hand on her waist and theother grasping hers, waltzing into a dance that felt as old as timeitself.

Huh,maybe he did have themakings of a poet.

Herdressed swooshed his legs as they whirled around the ballroom. It wasactually a pretty pleasant feeling, but of course only came second tothe way her hand fit perfectly in his and how easily they danced asthough meant to do it.

“Iwas hoping you’d come,” she finally said in a low voice once they’dmade their way around.

Thissurprised him and he nearly stumbled, but somehow managed to stayupright. Maybe those shoes Noel had given him were magic. “Youwere?”

“Yes.I only had your name to go by, after all.”

“Howdid you…” As his voice trailed off and those eyes stared intohis, it suddenly hit him where he’d seen that gaze before.

Hithim like a carriage, maybe.

“You’rethe woman from the marketplace,” he said in awe.

“Ilike to get out there sometimes,” she said with a little smirk.“It’s difficult to rule a kingdom unless I know about it.”

“Iwould imagine so, your highness.”

Theprincess. The princess hadknelt down in the dirt and helped him pick up his packages. He wasdancing with the princess. Ofthe entire kingdom. Thatthought came front and center and he glanced around a bit, unwillingto let his eyes wander too far.

“Whatis it?” she asked.

Hesmiled nervously. “Everyone’s staring at us.” Indeed, they werethe only ones dancing, while everyone else was clumped up in a hugecrowd, wondering about this mystery suitor who’d come and put a smileon the princess’s face out of nowhere.

“I’dhardly noticed,” she admitted, tugging him a bit closer, her thumbtoying over his wristband curiously. Hope wanted to burst into songor maybe a choreographed dance, but settled for smiling and squeezingprincess Lightning’s hand in his.

Inall of his joy, it didn’t really occur to Hope that his mentor wasprobably in the crowd somewhere and likely recognized him…at leastuntil it was some time later and Lightning was leading him to thegardens outside.

Hismentor was at the edge of the crowd, talking to someone who lookedincredibly bored. Hope ducked his head a bit, though he knew nothingwould hide his mop of silver hair.

Lightningnoticed this. “Is something wrong?”

“N-No,your highness,” he said, breathing an audible sigh of relief whenthey were suddenly alone in the garden. She raised an eyebrow.“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

“MaybeI want to.” Now it was Hope’s turn to stare at her and she huffed alittle, her heels making low sounds on the pavement as they wandered.“I’ve always been…practical. Kept my eyes front. My goal hasalways been to lead a prosperous, happy kingdom. Nothing more,nothing less.”

“Yourhighness…?”

“Andthen I find someone who nearly gets run over by a carriage because hecan’t watch where he’s going.” Him. She was talking about him.Right? “And I can’t help but wonder if perhaps all the tales aretrue.”

Hope’shead was reeling. “What sort of tales?”

“Aprincess finding a suitor when it’s the last thing she wants. Theyhave a chance meeting and when they properly meet, it’s…”

“…It’samazing,” he finished in a whisper, his heart still thudding. Ithadn’t stopped from the moment he’d arrived to the ball, really.“Love at first sight always seemed illogical to me, but I can’t…Ican’t ignore what I feel when I look at you, when I dance with you,or even now, just talking to you like this.”

Lightninglooked at him, her expression a strange mix of wariness and hope.“And what is it that you feel?”

“Ifeel…” He had no idea if Noel really had givenhim a dose of confidence, because Hope was neverthis forward with anyone. He wasn’t meek, exactly, but he always madesure to stay in his place. His mentor insisted on as much, after all.“…I feel like I haven’t really lived at all until now. Idon’t even really know you, your highness - ”

“Callme Light.”

“…Light.”He smiled and took her hands, her fingers instantly curling aroundhis. “And you barely know me. But something about this just fits.Doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”She took a step, closing some of the space between them. “Maybethis night isn’t even real. Maybe we’ll both wake up disappointed.”

“Ifthis isn’t reality, I don’t care, as long as you’re there.”

Shelooked completely flabbergasted, and honestly, he felt the same.Dancing with someone he’d met by chance, only for them to be theprincess and they fell so hard after dancing? It was like a fairytale. Things like this just didn’t happen.

Butthen again, people also didn’t have fairy godfathers who magicallyturned beakers and lab rats into coaches and horses and clothed themin finery dotted with glitter.

Thethought gave him pause. Was any of this real? Her feelings – werethey brought on by the fancy clothes and fake confidence? When he wasback to being a dusty apprentice, would she still stare at him withan adoring gaze that he somehow knew was only reserved for him?

Ifthe tales were right, there was only one way to find out.

Lightningseemed to have the same idea, because she started leaning just as hedid. Up close, he could see the faint blush on her face, her longlashes that seemed to go on forever, especially as her eyes slowlyclosed and their lips were barely a breath apart…

BONG!BONG!

Hopegasped and immediately backed away. “I can’t stay.”

“What?”

Hedidn’t stick around to explain – how could heexplain any of this anyway? - and spun on his heel, immediatelydarting back into the crowd. He heard people murmuring and the soundof heels as Lightning chased after him, but he didn’t stop toapologize, not when every strike of the clock was like a deathsentence, just looming closer and closer.

“Hey,wait up!”

Atall blond man grabbed his arm, but Hope shook it off and continuedto run, dashing up the stairs and then bursting out of the ballroom.Vaguely, he felt something fall off his wrist and flutter away, butthere was no time to think about it. The lab rats turned coachmenwere frantically waving him over to the beaker carriage and Hope flewinside about a second before the horses ran off, galloping into thenight.

Maybeit was a reward for getting out of there before midnight – or justat it, anyway – because the magic lasted until they were but ablock away from the mentor’s house. Hope’s clothing faded away in aspray of glitter and he was left in his dirty shirt and pants. Thebeaker rolled onto its side and the rats scurried around, lookingconfused.

Hesighed heavily, scooping them up and letting them stay in hispockets. “I don’t blame you guys one bit,” he said as he walkedthe rest of the way back to the house. “I can’t remember the lasttime I panicked so much.”

Thehouse was still dark when he got back and he set the beaker aside,giving it a strangely fond look before putting the rats back in theircages. They seemed a lot happier to be back somewhere familiar andHope sighed again, finishing his thought to no one but himself.

“Butit was worth every second.”

–

Lightningstared at the piece of yellow fabric in her hand. It was slightlystretchy when she tugged on it, possibly an indication that it wasmeant to go around someone’s wrist.

Ifshe hadn’t been holding it, she would have believed that last nightwas simply a dream, or perhaps something out of a silly fairy tale,which was sounding more and more likely. This fabric in her hands wasclearly the plot device, which she used to scour the kingdom to findthe man who’d worn it…

Exceptthis was a wristband, not a shoe, which meant it could fit anybody.

Thenagain, she’d seen Hope’s face – twice now, in fact. Since shewasn’t a complete idiot, she could just gather all the youngsilver-haired men in the kingdom and pick them out from there.

“Soundslike a great idea, sis!”

Lightningfrowned and glanced to her side, where her sister Serah was beaming.“I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud.”

“Youtend to do that.” Serah seemed to find this hilarious, but herexpression softened when she saw Lightning holding the wristband.“I’ve never seen you so happy as you were when you were with thatman. You must find him!”

“I…”It was here that she felt like a complete idiot. “I don’t where helives.”

Serahstared for a second before giggling. “Really?! Who dances withsomeone the whole night, nearly kisses them - ”

“Howdo you know about that?”

“- and doesn’t even know where theylive? This really must be love, Light, because you neverlose your head like that.” Serah patted her sister’s hand. “At least you know his name, right?”

“Yes.” Of course she did. What kind of idiot spent an entire night with someone without learning their name? Never mind that she hadn’t learned it at the ball, exactly…

“Allthe more reason to find him. Where should we start?”

“Thebeginning, I suppose.”

Unfortunatelyfor her predicament, her kingdom was absolutely enormous, stretchingfor miles and miles across many lands and roads. At first, it wasnothing to travel from the outskirts going in, asking if there wasanybody named Hope living there or if they knew of him. A few homesdid have a silver-haired man, but they were always the wrong person.

Strangerstill was that nobody seemed to know who Lightning was talking about.Those who had gone to the ball recalled her dancing with him, ofcourse, but they didn’t know who he was. Nobody seemed to recognizethe wristband, either.

“Infact, your highness, this is the oddest fabric I’ve ever seen in mylife,” a seamstress said, looking it over with a critical eye.“It’s not something I’ve ever worked with. Perhaps someone conjuredit into being by magic.”

Atthis point, she wouldn’t doubt that, even though everybody knew magicwasn’t real. Pffft. Instead, she simply thanked the seamstress with asigh, getting into the carriage and letting her drivers take her to adifferent part of town.

Itwasn’t a question of if she could find Hope or not – shewould. This she knew without a doubt.

Butwith every wrong man, wrong house, wrong Hope, her heart grew heavierand heavier and the doubt began to creep in.

Untilshe arrived at the lab.

–

WhenHope heard a carriage stop in front of the lab, he didn’t think muchof it. His mentor sometimes got visitors to tour the place or who hadingredients for experiments to deliver. Typically when this happened,his mentor would make Hope go into the other room and clean orprepare drinks for the guest, acting more like a butler than anapprentice.

Butthis time, his mentor took one look outside the window and glanced atHope, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Go into the kitchen.”

“I’msorry, sir?”

“Gointo the kitchen and sweep the ashes from the fireplace,” he barkedout.

“Y-Yes.”Hope wandered towards the kitchen in a daze. His head had been in theclouds since the ball, something which his mentor seemed to notice.The guy was even more cruel than usual, making Hope do every tinylittle task that had nothing to do with science. Sweeping ash wasnothing compared to scrubbing the lab rats’ cages.

Hismentor closed the kitchen door once Hope was in there and he sweptslowly, ignoring all the clouds of ash that dirtied his ankles. Itdidn’t matter when his mind was a million miles away, thinking of alovely night where he danced with the princess…

“No,no, there’s no one else here.”

Hopeglanced towards the door with a slight frown as he heard his mentor’svoice break through his daydreams. It wasn’t really uncommon that theguy denied he had an apprentice – Hope was too common, after all –but there was something high-pitched and nervous in his words thatmade the broom pause.

Outof the corner of his eye, Hope saw a burst of glitter before he heardan achingly familiar voice.

“Areyou certain of that?”

Light.

Hopedropped the broom and immediately raced to the door to burst throughit like a hero in a story, but it wouldn’t budge. He pushed himselfagainst it and jiggled the knob, but nothing happen and he slumpedagainst it, feeling the fight leave him.

Hismentor had locked him in the kitchen, which only meant one thing –he knew Hope had been to the ball.

Therewere a thousand things he could do – he could shout, he couldcontinue to break down the door, he could use a flame from thefireplace to burn the doorknob off…but Hope did none of that.

Instead,he simply stood there in shock, fear planting his feet and sole-lessshoes to the floor.

Fora moment, he wished Noel would come back and dress him in that fineryagain so the confidence would come back. Logically, he knew it wasn’tthe clothes doing it, but that night at the ball had made him feel sodifferent – more like himself, the way he really was,instead of a simple, common apprentice to a mentor that wantednothing of his mind.

Hewas simple. He was common. He was an orphan with nothing.

“Whatwas that noise?”

“Oh,ah – just my dogs, your highness. I didn’t want them to run outhere and disturb you.”

Apparentlyhe was a dog.

“Idon’t give a damn about any dogs. You’re sure there’s no one elsehere, or that you don’t know of a silver-haired man named Hope?”

Butaccording to the desperation in Light’s voice, he was more than adog, a commoner, a simple man. He was someone that was needed.

Andhe wanted to be found.

Knowingthat it was useless to try anything else with the door, Hopeimmediately turned towards the kitchen window and opened it. It wasjust barely enough for him to wiggle through, though he could’vesworn he saw another flash of glitter at the moment he believed hewas stuck.

Instead,he fell to the ground and hurriedly scrambled to his feet, hearingpoised footsteps walking towards the carriage parked in front of thelab. His mentor was coming out the walkway, babbling about somethingas the princess was helped to her seat, but Hope barely heard.Instead, he walked out towards the carriage just as it started off,getting in the way of the horses and just narrowly avoiding themrunning him over.

Fora long, long moment, he stared at those perfectly groomed, whitehorses, the surest sign of nobility. The carriage was ornate andedged in gold, a far cry from the beaker he’d arrived to the ball in.

Thecarriage stopped.

Theprincess came out.

Again,there was a long pause where the two of them just stared at eachother, she dressed in perfectly fitted silk gown and he in a dirtyshirt and too-short pants with soot on his ankles. There was probablydirt and dust on his face too, hiding his freckles.

Butboth of them were unmistakable to each other.

Lightningsmiled a bit as she slowly walked towards him, not seeming to mindthe dirt at all. “Watch out. Those royal carriages usually don’twatch where they’re going.”

Hopehad a flash to their first meeting, before he knew who she was –before he knew who he was – and smiled. “I can’t say I’veminded their interference.”

Hersmile widened ever-so-slightly and she held out a hand. One of herattendants scurried forward and placed a familiar-looking piece ofyellow fabric in her hand and Hope’s eyes widened.

“Howdid - ”

“It’show the story goes,” she murmured, tying the wristband on when heheld up his arm. “A princess finding a suitor when it’s the lastthing she wants. They have a chance meeting and when they properlymeet, it’s…”

“…Amazing,”Hope murmured, finishing the sentence he now knew by heart.

Lightningran her fingers over the wristband, glancing at it before her eyesmet Hope’s again. “They say it ends with the couple living happilyever after.”

“Iwouldn’t call this an ending,” he said, confidence he thought he’dlost surging through him as he leaned in to claim the kiss he shouldhave at the ball. “More like…a happy beginning.”

Strangely,he thought he could vaguely hear the sounds of his mentor shouting“NOOOO” as he and Lightning kissed, but Hope hardly cared. For solong, he’d been lost, wondering who he was and being told to be happywith his place.

Butwhile he may have been common and simple in the eyes of some, he wasamazing in the heart of another.

Ithad taken time and maybe the help of a fairy godfather, buthe knew now where he belonged.

Glitter and all.

#Anonymous #hopelight #hoperai #hopurai #hopelight fic #I DON'T EVEN KNOW???#i was watching that epic 1997 version of cinderella #and i'm like #HEY I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO #only this is silly #i don't know how it got so long either #alsdkjf;lwiejf;lwiaefj #also i kinda had thoughts that the evil mentor was Bhuni #HAHAHA #but idk it felt weird to put a name to him #so just imagine Bhuni's face in all his scenes i guess #it's as magical as a plot device #8))))))))))

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