#this isn’t actually fruits basket but I’m funny

[maliciouscigarette]

Call it Fruits Basket because I’m a fruit and I’m frantically weaving between the sides of my line.

[harlowsbby]

With U 💘

Requested, a rainy valentine’s day spent inside I feel like jack would go above and beyond to still make it great.

“Dammit.” Jack cursed as he looked at the weather notification that had just been sent to his phone.

It was Valentine’s Day the day of love but unfortunately it looked like the two of you would be spending your Valentine’s Day indoors. It was meant to be raining all day today with severe thunderstorms.

It was around seven in the morning when Jack had woken up and saw the weather outside, he planned for the two of you to have a little romantic picnic but he figured if you couldn’t have the picnic outside that he’d bring it inside.

He saw that you were still fast asleep so he made his way downstairs to set everything up.

He took the picnic basket from out the garage and even packed it with a few sandwiches, chips, fruit and cookies.

When he was finished he made his way into the living room and moved apart the couches and started laying down blankets and pillows and put the picnic basket in the middle on the floor.

“You’re so in love it isn’t even funny anymore.” Ace’s voice came from the speaker of Jack’s phone.

“He really is because if it was me the whole day would’ve been ruined.” Urban spoke. Jack rolled his eyes at his friends and paid them no mind.

In the middle of setting everything up Urban and Ace ended up calling Jack to see what he was doing.

“You both are just jealous and hate the fact that I’m in love and you both aren’t.” He said.

“Whatever I don’t need a woman.” Ace mumbled. “We’re team single over here.” Urban added on and Jack simply rolled his eyes.

“Should I lite a few candles? Or is that doing too much.” He asked and stood back to observe and look at everything he set up so far.

Jack was a perfectionist he’d spend hours on something till he thought it was perfect.

“I’d say just a few.” Jack placed a few lit candles above the fireplace and took the rose petals he had bought and tossed them around the living room.

He placed your gift next to the basket along with a bottle of sparkling cider, neither of you drank so sparkling apple cider was the go to drink for the night.

“Wow, you actually did a good job.” Ace said and Jack went to thank him but stopped when he heard footsteps approaching.

“She’s up I’ll call you guys back.” He quickly said and rushed them off the phone.

Urban snorted. “Yeah fucking right I’m sure by the end of the week I’ll find out if I’m going to be an uncle or not.” Urban joked.

“You need to be finding out if you’re going to be the one making me an uncle.” Jack said making him Urban got mute.

“He got your ass.” Ace laughed and Jack chuckled and quickly hang up the call.

“Jack?” You called out for him as you made it downstairs. “I’m in the living room babe.” He called out to you.

When you made it into the living room you stopped in your footsteps upon seeing the dimly lit room, the rose petals everywhere and the picnic basket.

“You did all of this?” You grinned and he smiled and nodded.

“I sure did when I woke up this morning the news app said it would be raining all day with severe thunderstorms so I brought the picnic to us.” He smiled ear to ear.

“You’re so sweet.” You coo’d and made your way to him when you were finally in arms reach he brought you into him.

“Happy Valentine’s Day babe.” You smiled and looked up at him. “Happy Valentine’s Day Jack.”

Jack pulled back and looked down at you a small and silly grin played at the corner of his lips. “Can I kiss you?” You smiled. “Of course, you know you don’t have to ask.”

Before you knew it he was crashing his lips onto your lips he put one of his hands on the back of your neck and pulled you closer if that was even possible.

You wrapped your arms around him and started kissing back passionately he smiled into the kiss which made you smile as well.

He pulled away slowly and rested his forehead against your forehead. “I love you.” He said with the biggest smile.

“I love you too Jack.” Even though you were a bit bummed out you couldn’t spend your day outside. You appreciated the face that Jack was still was able to make up for it.

[livesincerely]

[bits & bobs] common knowledge

aka the ‘Jack didn’t know they were dating’ fic

00000

One of the last things that gets packed⁠—right up there with the wifi router, the stuff for the bathroom, and Jack’s good pillow⁠—is the calendar. Davey carefully peels it from its place of honor on the front of the fridge, almost the whole of April carefully x-ed out.

“The 29th is on Friday,” he notes as he tucks it carefully away, smiling softly. “We should try and do something.”

“Dave, we are up to our ears in fuckin’ boxes,” Jack complains from his spot on the floor, a roll of tape sitting on his chest as he attempts to become one with the carpet. “We ain’t gonna get our deposit back if we ain’t outta here before the first.”

“You were out of town on a contract last year and the year before that we both had the flu,” Davey complains. “It’d be nice if we could actually do something to celebrate this year.”

It’s at this point that Jack realizes he has no idea what the fuck Davey’s talking about.

“Dave,” he says. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”

“The 29th,” Davey says, like that alone should be enough of an explanation.

“What’s so special about the 29th?” Jack asks.

Davey frowns⁠. And not just his Jack, you dumbass frown, but the full-blown, pinched-mouth, brow-furrowed, Jack, this isn’t funny, stop it frown that makes makes Jack’s soul want to shrivel up and die whenever it’s pointed his way.

So, Jack pivots. Hard.

“I’m kiddin’,” he lies quickly, alarm bells blaring behind his eyes. What the fuck is on the 29th? “‘Course we can do somethin’. What about dinner at that Italian place we saw on the corner? It looked like a nice joint.”

Davey’s expression clears.

“God, I would kill for some tiramasu,” he says with a wistful sigh.

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that,” Jack laughs, more relief than anything. “I’ll call in the mornin’, see if they take reservations.”

“Perfect,” Davey says, with a beaming smile that makes Jack’s heart lurch for entirely different reasons. “It’s a date.”

“Yeah,” Jack says weakly. “It’s a date.”

00000

Jack panics.

Well, first he calls the restaurant and makes a reservation for two at 7pm.

But then, he panics.

He calls Katherine first, which turns out to be less than useless.

“Can you please stop cackling for three seconds and fucking help me?” Jack demands into the speaker, tugging at his hair in frustration.

But Kath just laughs and laughs until Jack hangs up on her in a huff. After about ten minutes, he calls her back—she’s still laughing.

He tries Tony next.

“You’re such a fucking moron,” Tony says, after sitting in dead silence for so long that Jack pulled the phone away from his ear to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. “I genuinely don’t understand how Davey’s put up with you for so long. I should send him a medal. Or maybe a fruit basket.”

“Quit with the wise cracks and help me,” Jack demands. “Davey’s, like, super fucking excited about this dinner an’ if I don’t figure out what the hell we’re supposed’ta be celebrating, he’s gonna kick me out before we even get moved in.”

“More like he’s gonna dump your dumbass and find someone who can actually remember an anniversary,” Tony snarks.

“He ain’t gonna— I’ve told you a thousand times, we ain’t like that,” Jack says, louder than he means to, flushed and flustered.

There’s another long, judgmental silence.

“Please seek professional help,” Tony says, flatly incredulous. “You are so beyond me, you’re orbiting fucking Saturn, Jackaboy—“

Jack hangs up on him too.

00000

“Are you upset?” Jack asks tentatively.

“I’m still deciding,” Davey says in a thin, even tone that really doesn’t bode well.

….

“Jack,” Davey murmurs, close enough that he can feel the whisper of his breath against his cheeks. “Apparently you haven’t noticed, but we’ve been dating for years. Tomorrow is our three-year anniversary.”

Jack, who had been swaying towards the warmth of Davey’s body, towards the promise of a kiss, freezes dead in his tracks. “What?”

But Davey just smiles. “Three years,” he repeats calmly.

“No, no, I heard you the first time, I jus’…” Jack shakes his head, hard, as if that with somehow make any of what’s happening make any kind of sense. “What?”

“When’s the last time you had sex with anyone but me?” Davey prompts—impossibly patient, all things considered. “Or went out on a date? Gave someone your number?”

“Not in fuckin’ ages,” Jack sputters, offended at the very thought. “You an’ me, we’ve got a good thing goin’. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“You wouldn’t cheat on me?” Davey specifies, tilting his head.

“Course not!”

“Why would it be cheating if we aren’t together?” Davey asks, pointedly.

Jack stares at him, trying to find the riddle hidden in Davey’s question. Because… Because…

“Oh,” he says blankly.

Davey laughs, curling his hands around Jack’s waist. “Oh,” he agrees.

“Three years?” Jack asks weakly.

“Jackie,” Davey sighs, apparently realizing that Jack needs this spelled out to him. “We live together. We share a bedroom. We spent last Christmas at your mom’s house and you introduced me to Charlie’s kids as ‘Uncle David’.”

“Oh,” Jack says again, because it really bears repeating. “How the hell have you managed to put up with my dumbass for three fucking years?”

“It probably helps that I’m madly in love with you,” Davey says, rolling his eyes even as another soft smile curls over his lips.

“Huh,” Jack says. It’s maybe not the best response, but it’s honestly a miracle he manages to say anything at all.

“You’re in love with me too,” Davey helpfully informs him.

“Well, I knew that part,” Jack huffs. Then, “How did you know that?”

“Because I know you,” Davey says, lacing their fingers together. “But feel free to say it aloud any time you like.”

“I love you,” Jack murmurs.

Davey’s smile is like the first days of spring: bright like sunshine, full of promise and full of hope.

And the taste of his kiss is even better.

[sommerregenjuniluft]

@jegulus-microfic september 9 — carry — 1.6k words — mentions of sex at the end of the chapter! kinda nsfw

or; in which Regulus has a tense neck and James is so, so helpful <3

Regulus has, frankly, had enough of carrying children around for the next three of his lifetimes.

Ron has busted his knee open on the gravel outside while playing catch and is now crying? Regulus is cradling him close as he whisks back inside and playing doctor as he gets the gentle disinfectant and band-aids. Neville had a little pee accident? Regulus is carrying him to the bathrooms with outstretched arms for a change of clothes. Harry is getting into a fight with another kid over a toy situation involving being mean to Hermoine? Regulus has to swoop down and take him to the quiet room to calm him down and then talk about voicing one’s feelings or getting the help of an adult.

The frown gradually eases off his little forehead behind his round glasses as he listens to Regulus, sniffling occasionally. He has a spiderman themed patch over his left eye that Regulus finds mortifyingly adorable.

Honestly, Regulus would have quit long ago if it wasn’t for how easily these little stinkers have weaseled their ways into his heart.

Regulus is 23 and his back is a tragedy.

His joints bop and creak and the muscles in his neck are stiffer than cement at his point.

Being bent over the low desks in the tiny chairs to help the kids arts and craft the decoration for this Friday’s Halloween party is not doing him any favors either.

“Stan Lee called, he wants his wall-crawling, web-shooting superhero back!” a warm voice comes from the door to their group’s room.

Well, Regulus supposes there might be one or two more reasons besides the kids he likes his job for.

Harry groans next to him without looking up, vaguely wagging his arm in James’ direction, “Noo, daddy, I can’t go yet. I need to finish my snow owl!”

Regulus finally lets himself look up from his seat to catch James crossing his arms and leaning into the doorframe. He’s in a crimson cable knit sweater over a crisp white button down and dark gray slacks that fit inappropriately snug in all the right places.

James nods solemnly, “Right, right, because the other five snow owls taped to your bedroom window need one more for company or they’ll be lonely, huh?”

Harry sighs exasperatedly, “This one’s not coming home with us.”

James raises an eyebrow at Regulus in question, badly concealing his grin.

“These are for the party on Friday,” Regulus supplies helpfully, quickly swiping the glue from Ron before he sticks it in his mouth the fourth time today. Lily was the one to sign herself up for bringing Harry as well as brownies and lemonade so Regulus isn’t too surprised it wasn’t at the front of James’ mind.

This one shoots up then, “Oh, fu—n,” gawking at his own slip-up.

Regulus levels him with an unimpressed stare, lips twitching.

James drives his fingers through his chaotic curls, “Yeah, funny thing, I actually meant to talk to you about it, Regulus.”

A gentle shiver tingles it’s way up Regulus’ spine, “It’s Mr. Black.”

James makes a face that says obviously, “I know, love,” licks his lips to conceal the cheeky smile threatening to spill. Regulus wants to hit him. “Lily actually had something come up, and I was able to postpone a meeting so now I’m the one bringing Harry and staying for the buffet.”

Oh.

“Oh,” Regulus’ jaw might drop a bit.

James hums happily and then steals a pen out of the little basket on the table next the door, “Unfortunately I’m no good with brownies, I do however make the best fruit sticks covered in chocolate— so,” points the pen at Regulus with a grin, “Where do i sign?”

Regulus ducks his head against the flush crawling up his cheeks as he stands up, “Um— I’ll get the list.”

“Oh, no worries, Regulus,” his colleague Dorcas leers from across the table, “I’ve got the gremlins managed. I think James would be happy to head upstairs with you and while you’re at it,” Regulus already knows what’s coming as Dorcas’ smile turns overly sweet, “I’m sure he could give you a hand with my new desk chair with those big muscles of his.”

Regulus looks over at James, “You don’t have t—”

“Lead the way,” James says with a wink.

James carries the oversized carton up the stairs without breaking a fucking sweat while Regulus had taken one look at it, nudged it with a knee to see how heavy it was and then told Dorcas not a chance in hell.

Because, as established, his back is a tragedy and all that.

It’s twinging now too as he takes the thick binder out of the cabinet and drops it on top with a thunk.

Regulus tilts his neck and lets his upper spine crack with a grunt, does the same on the other side while he flicks through the papers.

James looks at him with an unnaturally blank expression when he asks, “You okay?”

Regulus rolls his shoulders to ease the tension, making a non-comical noise.

“Well, it’s no surprise you have some back pain working with children.”

Regulus chuckles humorlessly, flicking a glance James’ way, “What are you, a physio-therapist?”

“Oh,” a smug chuckle that has Regulus turning warily, “Close enough.”

Regulus crosses his arms in front of his chest and waits for him to elaborate.

James cocks his head, mimics his stance and waits him out patiently.

Regulus has half the mind to kick him.

Asks, with an eyeroll that’s nearly painful, “Well, what’s your occupation?”

“I’m a chiropractor.”

“Oh, you’re kidding.”

“Am not, today might just be your lucky day.”

Regulus considers that for a moment.

He could easily shrug it off as a joke. Roll his eyes once more, hand James the damn list to jot down his name and stupid, sexy chocolate covered grapes and strawberries and god knows what else and then kick him the fuck out and back down to collect Harry and have him on his merry way.

He could do that.

Should, probably.

It’s just that his neck really fucking aches and it’s even gotton to the point of disturbing his sleep the past few days.

Regulus sighs, “I don’t have any cash on me right now.”

James snorts, “I didn’t expect you to pay me, love.”

Regulus worries his bottom lip between his teeth for another moment.

“C’mon you look stiff as a board,” James nods his chin at him and Regulus turns dutifully but not without another eyeroll.

James steps closer and immediately draws his left palm up over his back, thumb tracking his spine. “I’m warning you though, these babies have it in them,” digs the pads of his strong fingers into Regulus’ shoulders for enunciation.

Regulus blames what comes out of his mouth next on the mind boggling spice of James’ cologne, “I’m good with hard.”

The hands twitch against Regulus for a moment and he hears a noise that sounds like James is running his tongue along his teeth behind his lips.

Voice husky and breath tickling Regulus’ dark curls, “Alright,” a hand running down Regulus’ spine as a thumb digs into a pressure point in his neck, “Good to know.”

James seems to mostly palpate the hotspots of Regulus cramped muscles and the places of where joints would have to be realigned.

Body heat warm from behind and palms thorough as he kneads Regulus’ hard muscles and puts pressure along where he scans for more issues.

When he circles back to his neck and uses both his hands on one side Regulus can’t help but groan, shivering involuntary.

James makes a small cooing noise, “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry, I'm sorry.”

Regulus pants a breath, shakes his head feebly, “Mm, you’re good.”

“This doesn’t look too good, love,” James voice rumbles, closer to Regulus’ ear now.

Regulus hisses at the sting when James releases the muscle and goes over to the other side. His mouth drops open and he whines too loudly when James picks back up with his administrations.

“Regulus,” if he was less caught up the unforgiving press of his fingers Regulus maybe would have noticed how strangled James sounded.

He works him dutifully through the other side and then slides his palms past Regulus’ shoulder blades and rests them at the dip of his back for a lingering second before gently squeezing at his waist.

Prompts Regulus into turning around and coming to face the other man again.

His lips look a bit redder than Regulus remembers.

“Well, that’s all I can do for now without my office massage table,” James rubs at the back of his neck sheepishly.

Regulus rolls his shoulders out and notes with satisfaction how much looser he feels already, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, love,” James replies with a smile so warm Regulus melts a bit around the edges.

He feels embarrassingly gooey.

James ends up filling out the sheet and then leaving with Harry five minutes later.

When he shows up Friday noon he’s clad in ridiculously tight pants again and a ridiculously orange pumpkin jumper. Also cat ears for some reason.

Lily is able to join for a few minutes at the end, watching Harry perform the trick or treating song they had the kids learn and then taking him home.

James ends up staying to help clean up.

He feeds Regulus one of the last chocolate covered fruit sticks—grape, strawberry and blueberries, honey melon and peaches.

Regulus ends up blowing James for it, turning him into a groaning, whimpering mess as he sucks his heavy cock into the back of his throat and James retaliates by realigning his spine in a very non-chiropractor way.

They crush the rest of Molly’s blueberry muffins while they’re at it.

[yukisohmasmokesweed]

hii as someone w selective mutism, and after seeing your post regarding yuki being mute, i’ve had this question that wouldn’t leave my head: were kisa and yuki actually selectively mute or was it due to traumatic mutism or something else? maybe i’m just self-projecting, but despite us being mute for different reasons (it is possible to have SM from trauma, though it is rare), i always saw myself in both of them when it came to their muteness (i’m really sad yuki being mute was only touched on in kisa’s ep and then never brought up again) so their characters mean a lot to me. just thought I’d bring this up and ask since there isn’t any discussion surrounding this and from the posts that i’ve seen on here, people just seem to go w kisa having SM (and by extension yuki) and just say that it’s canon. being the projector that i am, i also assumed it was but still never thought it was “accurate” rep but then again, does it have to be? regardless of how it’s shown in the anime/manga, i think we’re all entitled to our own opinions on this, and that no matter what we think caused their mutism, all opinions r valid! i’m just so curious on what your take on this is since no one mentions anything like this in specific.

hello! funny you send me this ask today because i just rewatched the first ep of the reboot last night for the first time in a looooong time and have been thinking about fb all morning! as far as i understand it, selective mutism is an anxiety disorder that can definitely be triggered by trauma, and that is how i read yuki and kisa. i'm sure you have a deeper understanding of it than me as someone with that experience, but in my research on this (which admittedly was a few years ago) it seems there is a variety of reasons why children are selectively mute, one of them being abusive environments and a predisposition to anxiety disorders. i would absolutely argue that both yuki and kisa have intense social anxiety, even outside of their mutism; and that yuki, aside from diagnosing him with something, is a perfectionist, and perfectionism often stops people from doing things.

i was also really sad yuki's mutism was only touched upon, so i actually wrote a whole fic about it! i think this is an incredibly interesting aspect of yuki's character. yuki in childhood has no autonomy at all: his life is controlled by his mother, then akito, and akito does not listen to him (or anyone). the other zodiacs ignore him, and he becomes tokenized as the rat instead of viewed as an individual. very often, yuki shrinks into himself as a reaction to this. he already has to keep physical and emotional distance from his peers due to the curse, and his oppressive home environment pushes him to even more extremes. i think so much of yuki's mutism is a maladaptive acceptance that he will never be listened to and that what he feels or thinks does not matter, and so he sinks into a depression where one of his copes is silence. even after this episode, he continues to be softspoken and keeps his cards close to his chest—which is why i love his relationship with kakeru so much, because kakeru coaxes him out of his shell. after meeting kakeru, he begins expressing his opinion more candidly and becomes openly emotional in ways that are supported by kakeru's view of him as a human being. yuki spends so much of his life being objectified as either the rat or the prince (both similar roles where he is being held to an extremely high standard that is only an archetype and robs him of individuality and humanity) and he plays the roles that are assigned to him. it is only when he is shown true love and acceptance through tohru that he can begin to learn who he is outside of those perceived roles, and allows him to express himself as yuki in front of kakeru, who never bought into the prince thing to begin with.

i think the other thing about fruits basket is that it is very tropey, and selective mutism in the way it is portrayed in fb is very much a shojo trope moreso than it is a real portrayal of a disorder. i don't think natsuki takaya is "trauma informed" as we would call it now, as it was written 20 years ago inside of a culture that notoriously does not take mental health seriously. i think yuki and kisa's mutism is very much a narrative choice, so i definitely agree with you re: what you're saying about "accurate" rep. anyway thanks for the ask and your serendipitous timing! thinking about that rat boy <3

[sstwins]

Femslash Feb Day 2 - Sunflowers - Ymir/Historia

ok i thought this was going to be so hard for me but once i got the ground under my feet i actually LOVED IT

i think it was something i needed to write in a way. that closure

kinda spoilers but also like. spoilers from season 3 and it doesn’t say a whole lot just like you need to know that she dies. uhoh i might have just broke the news to you 

Brief Summary: It was funny. Just as Ymir was dying, she saw herself in a field of sunflowers.

Word Count: 804

Request by @miss-ali-lawliet

I’m still accepting ships for femslash feb!!! Send me your fave fem pairs and I’ll write you a fic sometime this month!! (13 spots left)

It was funny. Just as Ymir was dying, she saw herself in a field of sunflowers. All the world faded away… the chains tying her down, the hot breath of a titan about to eat her. And then the world was yellow.

“Come on, Ymir. It’s going to get late.”

Startled, Ymir looked down at her side to see a smaller girl with beautiful blonde hair. It was Historia, here, after all. She felt her eyes well up uncontrollably. Historia’s brow furrowed as she looked into the other girl’s eyes.

“Are you ok? Did I make you sad?” The girl covered her mouth. “Oh gosh. Maybe I was being too forward, having us come all the way out here alone. It’s ok if you want to go back.”

Ymir glanced down. Historia’s hands were tightly clenched around the handle of a picnic basket. The sight made her chuckle a little, wiping away a tear. “I should be the one asking you if you wanna go home. That basket’s looking awfully heavy for you.”

Historia huffed. “I told you I could handle it. This whole thing was my idea anyways.” She glanced up the path a short ways. “I was thinking we could stop on that hill. It has a beautiful view.”

What the hell. Why not go out in style. “Lead the way, princess.” Ymir bowed a little, making Historia even more disgruntled. She whipped around and started walking, and Ymir followed behind her, soaking in the view of the girl she loved more than anyone else. She would have given anything for her. In some ways, she guessed she had.

The view from the top really was gorgeous. All around them was a field of flowers, stretching out farther than Ymir would have thought possible within the walls. Historia put down her basket, taking out and unfurling a red and white checkered cloth.

“Let’s put that on the path,” Ymir directed her, “so we don’t squish anything.”

Historia cracked a smile. “That’s thoughtful,” she said, arranging everything. The picnic had fresh fruit, potatoes (of course), and…

“Meat?” Ymir questioned, looking down at its glistening bloodiness. “Where did you get your hands on that?”

“Oh you know.” Historia puffed up her chest. “I have my ways. Now come on. The sun’s going to go down soon. We need to get back before we’re missed.”

Ymir settled down next to the other girl. Slowly, they both began to eat, settling into the quiet peace of chewing. When Ymir reached for an apple, her hand brushed across Historia’s, and they both blushed. But soon, Ymir’s appetite slowed.

“This isn’t real, is it?” she asked, looking over at Historia. “You’re not really here.”

“It can be as real as you want it to be.” Historia smiled warmly at her. “I’m here as long as you need me. Until you’re ready to move on.”

And again, Ymir found herself starting to cry. “I shouldn’t have left you,” she whispered, scrubbing at her eyes. She tried to not show weakness usually, but Historia always brought out her vulnerability. “Not for those dumbass boys. I don’t know why I did that. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Ymir.” Historia placed a hand on her knee. “It’s ok. I understand. And I forgive you.”

Now Ymir was really crying, more than she’d cried in years. “I’m going to miss you so much,” she choked out, grabbing Historia’s hands in her own. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

Historia gave her a comforting squeeze. “You’ll figure it out. I know it. You’re tough. And neither of us know what’s waiting for you now. If anything, you should worry about me. I’ll have to keep going without you for years.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Ymir sniffed, the tears finally running out. “Can I get a hug before I go?”

“Oh, more than that.” Historia leaned up, grabbing Ymir’s face. She met her lips in a kiss that was everything Ymir had hoped it would be. Soft, and warm, and full of the love that she’d never thought she’d deserve. But it couldn’t last. And as Historia pulled away, Ymir knew it was time. 

“I guess this is it,” she said, gazing off towards the horizon. She could hear a dull roar in her head. Reality trying to pull her back. “Promise you’ll never forget me, okay?”

“I could never.” Historia said, giving her hand one final squeeze. “Now go and be the brave girl I know you are.”

Ymir smiled one final time as the tender scene was ripped away from her. The real world met her with gnashing teeth and a mouth open wide in front of her.

No one would ever know it, least of all Historia herself. But when Ymir died, she still had that faint smile on her face.

[hakubunii]

Nevermind ab me…tell me ab you. 🤨

Jdjsjsj Well, I just turned 24. I’m a leo sun, aries rising, and cancer moon. My venus is in virgo and my mars is in scorpio. (As you can see I’m interested in astrology.) My Chinese zodiac is rabbit which is funny bc I love Momiji Sohma from Fruits Basket. I’m actually very patient when people are getting on my nerves and it takes a while for me to get angry in the first place. When I DO finally get angry, I’m like super angry and “black out” so to speak. I’m pretty anti conflict and only really snap at people when I’ve been constantly provoked. I’m pretty hyper active when I’m tired and tend to fall into obsessions, my current ones being FNAF, JJK, Hakuouki, cosplay, and pickled sausages. I’m not good at baking but am good at cooking meals without provided recipes. I’m artistically inclined and love children. I don’t want to be a mother bc I’m scared of the prospects of them not having a good life bc of me, so I’d rather be a teacher (an art teacher, daycare teacher, or elementary). I’m painfully neurodivergent and listening to music really loud in my headphones soothes me or stimulates me in a way where all my pent up energy doesn’t become overwhelming. I’m actually hilarious even though I’m shy around people at first. I love positive attention and hate negative attention so I avoid it at all costs and try my best to be “a good girl”. I am kind and my love language is gift giving, and providing for others (like cooking meals, taking care of them, or simply listening to them talk). I’m super affectionate and pretty much want to be loved on and praised like 24/7 lmao. Finally, when I’m upset, I bottle it up and kind of retreat to somewhere I can hide so people don’t see.

✨ Extra bc I’m 5’2”, which isn’t horribly short but still short nonetheless ✨ Growing up, I didn’t realize that I was a short person- until people told me I was. I have no problem climbing up places to reach rather than ask for help and I’m not particularly bitter about it, unless provoked lmao. Anyways, I also thought ppl who were like 5’8” were tall and was flabbergasted when I realized they aren’t necessarily.

[sukirichi]

— just the two of us

request: I almost read all of your jujutsu kaisen writings and I love it. Your writing is really good! I do not know if a request about a fics🥞 about satoru gojo who is really in love and not very possessive with an oblivious reader. It will be fun to see Satoru try to flirt with her and she doesn't get it🤣

pairings: gojo x oblivious! reader

notes: THIS IDEA IS SO CUTEEE I absolutely loved every second of writing it! thank you for the request and I hope you like this! 🥞 breakfast has been served!

word count: 3.3k

warnings: none, other than this is unedited and written humorously rather than seriously~

masterlist !

Gojo doesn’t know whether he’s lucky – or completely cursed – over the fact you’ve got no idea he’s so in love with you.

It’s a bright sunny morning, perfect for outdoor training, and he walks with you all the way to school with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. You stretch your arms out in the sky to bask in the morning glow and warmth of the sun, sleeves pushed up to your forearms to “get that vitamin D.”

Satoru snickers at your statement, because you’d totally be getting a different kind of Vitamin D if only you’d notice him. Sometimes he wonders, if maybe you’d inherited the Six Eyes instead of him, would you finally be able to see him – or would you still remain unaware?

He doesn’t even know where it began. A year ago, Yaga introduced you as the newest staff member. You’d been so fidgety and nervous then, unsure of what to do and worried if maybe the kids wouldn’t love. They did, of course, how could they not. Not only were you extremely fun to be with, you’re also caring, fretting and even crying whenever one of the students got injured over a mission.

Shoko reminds you all the time that this should be normal for you by now, but you always cry every time, sobbing that they’re still only kids and should be out having fun.

Yeah, maybe that’s where it began. Your kindness struck a chord in Satoru’s heart, and before he knew it, he was falling for you. Hard. Next thing you know, he shows up five minutes before you leave for work, mock-saluting you before inviting you to breakfast. He does this every damn day, and you still don’t get a single thing.

“That café was really good,” you muse, fingers stretching outwards and giggling as the sun peeks through the spaces. Satoru sighs beside you, wanting nothing more than to slip his fingers through those softer ones. “We should go back there sometime. Maybe even take the kids with us this weekend so we can all have breakfast together!”

Satoru masks a snicker with a cough. It reminds him of the time Megumi called you mom and dad by accident, to which you happily responded with before tackling the boy in hugs, while the strongest jujutsu sorcerer only flushed in embarrassment.

Him being him though, Satoru played it off cool, flipping his hair before striking a pose. “Huh, a dad?” he smirks, “The only person who gets to call me daddy would be no one else but Y/N.”

The raven haired first year student immediately recoils in disgust. Meanwhile, the innuendo flies straight through you, and you peer up at him innocently with your head tilted to the side. “Daddy? Why would I call you my dad? My father is still alive and well, and I don’t see you marrying my mom or anything,” Just as Megumi nearly howls in laughter – another evidence that you’re really something else to get the usually stoic boy to lose his composure like that – you snap your fingers, the light bulb above your head practically shining. “Oh, I get it! You prefer younger women and you want them to call you that! Kind of like the hype for onii-chan nowadays.”

Hopeless, Satoru wants to say, you’re absolutely, utterly hopeless.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Satoru shrugs nonchalantly, sending a smirk your way. It usually drives everyone crazy, but you only smile back up at him in the same way you smile with everyone, and he tries his best to not show his shoulders are deflating. Nevertheless, he doesn’t give up. “How about you and I go out somewhere this weekend? The movies, perhaps?”

Say yes, say yes – please say yes.

Really though, he’s waiting for that ‘no’ already. Satoru knows you always go out of town during the weekends to visit your family in the countryside, only coming back on Monday the next week with a basket of fruits and traditional goods that isn’t so easy to find in the city.

But then you clasp your hands together in excitement, lashes fluttering delicately as you beam up at him. “Really? You’d like to go to the movies with me?”

“Of course I would,” Satoru tries not to stutter, hiding the fact that he’s completely taken aback. He’s the Gojo Satoru for heaven’s sake, he shouldn’t be this affected by anyone’s presence. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to?”

“Oh, nothing, I just thought you were busy. This Saturday, then?”

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, it’s actually happening – his mind was barely functioning at this point, and he even slapped his cheeks to snap him back to life. “I thought there was a fly,” he lied with a chuckle, “But yeah, Saturday. I’ll pick you up?”

“Yeah, sure!”

Satoru wouldn’t stop smiling the whole way to the school. Even when Yuuji had face planted into the ground and Megumi sprained his ankle from training, he wasn’t able to get rid of the ridiculously big smile that stretched across his lips. He’s floating in cloud nine, flowers erupting from his ears and heart-shaped emojis bursting in his background.

“Well, you look creepy,” Shoko commented in the faculty room the moment you excused yourself, “Did you land a date with her or something?”

“That I did,” he stated proudly, even banging his fist on his chest like a deranged form of King Kong.

“I can only hope Y/N makes it out alive,” Nanami announces from behind the newspaper he’s reading, legs crossed over another before he peeks above the paper, narrowed eyes dead set on the blindfolded man. “Don’t be too wild with her, Satoru. She’s a gentle soul despite being a sorcerer – I humbly suggest you don’t mess with her feelings.”

“Are you kidding me? She’s the one messing with my feelings by being so fucking cute all the time!”

“Who’s cute?”

Shoko nearly spits out her coffee the moment you enter, glancing around the room and sitting down next to a shock-still Satoru. Nanami only huffs in his seat with a shake of his head. It doesn’t take long before Satoru regains his confidence and recovers from his shock – he’s turned to you with his torso completely facing your way.

You bask in the attention, mimicking the gesture until your faces are mere inches from one another. The fact you’re so responsive and attentive to him yet still painfully naïve strikes a mental war of himself debating whether he wants to kiss you or knock your head upside down. Satoru chooses neither options as he leans closer, his smile growing wider when you don’t pull away, and he doesn’t stop moving until his lips are right beside the shell of your ear.

“You’re cute.”

Shoko shudders at the same time Nanami just gives up on everything, folding his paper and lying that he’s got someplace to go with Ichiji. Satoru patiently waits for your reaction; for you to crumble this time around.

You’re silent for a moment, brows almost right across each other when you register his words. Satoru ends up holding his breath for your next words, wondering: is this it? will she finally understand what I feel for her now?

Even Shoko ends up sitting at the edge of her seat, silently watching the exchange with interest barely hidden in her sparkling eyes. Satoru watches as your lips open, his eyes transfixed on the way the soft flesh moves. They tilt upwards, revealing a set of a wide smile – the smile he can never get enough of. “Thank you!” you giggle at his compliment, “You and Shoko are very cute too! And the kids too, especially Toge! Not that I’m saying he’s my favourite—”

“He’s definitely your favourite student,” snorts Shoko who is ignoring the way Satoru turns completely gray beside you.

It turns out you still haven’t figured it out after all.

“The kids this – the kids that,” the tall, lanky man whines, his head falling back on the back of the leather couch. He looks so utterly defeated you can’t help but lean over him to check if he’s okay, but Satoru pouts and hides his face under his uniform instead. “Why can it never be just the two of us?”

“Sorry, what did you say?”

This time, you’ve kneeled on the couch to hover him. You even pluck one side of his blindfold off to see how he’s doing, and suddenly thankful you can’t see the way his cheeks are absolutely flaming right now. 

“Nothing,” he assures, his smile hidden behind his shirt. You look absolutely adorable hovering over him like that – eyes wide and lips pouty – what he wouldn’t give to kiss those lips right now, but it isn’t the right time, and Satoru just needs to find a better way to tell you how he feels. “It’s nothing.”

It’s absolutely not nothing.

Saturday couldn’t come faster.

Satoru finds himself willing time to go faster. Once the awaited day finally comes, he wastes no time in choosing his best outfit; an oversized black shirt tucked into black skinny jeans before styling his hair up the way he likes.

He winks at his reflection in the mirror, going ooh and aah at how hot he looks. It’s another reason why he can’t comprehend why you don’t like him yet, when, uhm, he knows he looks damn good? He’s pretty funny too – and his strength and power is already a no-brainer. Satoru can’t wrap his head around any possible reason why you wouldn’t like him; it’s basically a life or death mission at this point.

With that end goal in his mind and a spritz of perfume later, Satoru sashays out his apartment. Even though it’s already dark outside and he spent the whole day walking back and forth in his room trying to come up with ways to confess to you, he acts coolly all the way to your apartment.

This time around, he’s more than confident. He’s going to have you wrapped around his pretty little finger, “Wow,” is the first thing he says, pulling his blindfold down just to look at you.

Satoru feels blessed in that exact moment to witness how the heavens took their time with you, creating only the best out of the best and birthing the most magnificent person ever. Suddenly, he grows an urge to run to the countryside and thank your parents for going funky one night and creating you, because you’re an absolutely magnificent gift and it really baffles him how you’re real.

“Wow,” he repeats again, and you chuckle when he shakes his head. “You look beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”

“Thank you,” you look him up and down, smiling in satisfaction. “You look very handsome yourself.”

Satoru’s been called handsome a million times before that it’s gotten too much in his head already, but hearing it come from your lips hits different. If he was excited before, it’s nothing compared to what he feels now when you loop your arm through his, dangling off his arm like you were a lover.

He knows it’s not real and this is probably just a friendly date for you – something he intends to clear up later – but it doesn’t stop him from puffing his chest up a bit, almost as if bragging to everyone around you that he was the one you’re with, and that he was the one you’re going to the movies with.

All your babbles about everything goes straight into one ear and out the other. He wants to listen to you, he really does, but he’s so intoxicated with your voice that he just ends up nodding at everything you say; his attention mostly on how sweet you sound and smell.

His feelings only intensify a hundred times more when you finally make it to the theatre. Not only is it dark, but you’re sitting right next to him, arms and thighs brushing against each other. He takes note of every little movement you make, smiling to himself when you don’t pull away from his thigh flush against yours.

In this close proximity, your perfume overwhelms his senses. He finds himself leaning closer just to get a little more taste of it, his arm resting on the armrest beside him and placing his cheek on his open palm.

He doesn’t even know what the movie is about. All he can see, hear, feel and recognize is you – nothing and no one but you. Just as he wanted, it’s just the two of you.

Satoru reaches out to the bowl of popcorn in his lap to distract himself from the need of kissing you already. He was so smug that he’s on this date with you; now he feels like the world is laughing and mocking at him because you’re so close yet so far away. The last thing he wants is to say something weird and have you running for the hills. It’s clear you don’t like him, after all.

You end up reaching for it the same time he does, making your fingers brush. It sends a jolt of electricity down his spine and he immediately retracts it.

Looking up at him with an apologetic smile, Satoru knows he’s messed up. “I’m sorry,” you blurt out, raising your hands in surrender with a nervous chuckle. “I should’ve gotten my own bowl instead.”

Satoru stares at you through his blindfold. You’re close enough that he can count your lashes – both top and bottom row – and he’s so stupefied at this point that he just says the first thing that comes to his mind; absolutely anything just to get your attention. “Cold,” he shows you his hand, “I’m cold.”

“Oh,” you nod and slip your fingers through his. Satoru nearly gasps at how electrifying the sensation is from having your smaller, softer fingers collide with his, your hands fitting perfectly in his bigger, calloused ones. Then, you close your intertwined hands and smush your cheek with it to transfer your heat – completely unaware that Satoru feels like he’s floating in his own Infinite Void right now. “Feel warmer now?”

“Yes,” he replies. “Extremely.”

Something beast-like wakes within him after that. Now that he knows you don’t mind touching him at all, Satoru can’t help but want to take out all his playing cards and just go fuck it. So he does – and he might regret, he might not – who cares? It’s just the two of you, and you’re the only one he ever cares about this much that he’d pretty much let you do anything at this point.

“You know,” Satoru begins, shifting until your joined hands are resting on top of his chest. His heart is just about ready to burst through its confines at this moment, but he holds back. It’s now or never. “Shoko and Nanami are annoyed that I talk about you all the time.”

Your eyes widen at his statement. “Really? Do you talk badly about me or something?”

“No,” he nearly groans in frustration, “You’re really pretty and cool. You’re amazing during missions, too, when you fight, it’s like I’m witnessing a warrior princess. So cool.”

This makes you laugh until the person sitting behind you rudely shushes you. You bow your head in apology, turning to Satoru with a softer smile this time; one that looks reserved and private compared to your big grins. “Oh, no,” he closes his eyes even behind his blindfold, “Don’t smile at me like that. I don’t think I’ll still be cool if I end up stuttering over my words.”

“Satoru!” you whisper-hiss, although your chest is filled with so much giddiness too that you’ve both forgotten about the movie; unaware that the entire theatre was crying over the main character’s friend’s death. “What are you going on about?”

He wants to laugh so damn hard. He thought confessing his feelings for you would end up in a pitiful heartbreak that you’d be weirded out and push him away. For a moment, he forgets it’s you, and that nothing is ever difficult or painful with you – other than, of course, you being oblivious, but that isn’t something he can’t fix. He’ll get you on the train one way or another.

“I have a confession.”

“Yeah?”

“I was practicing how to ask you out for a whole hour in the mirror,” Satoru whispers, careful to not ruin the melancholic mood of theatre. It doesn’t even surprise him that his world is filled with nothing but sunshine even if the world around you has descended into grief and loneliness. “I also called Nanami on first date tips.”

“Nanami?” you echo with a gasp, “Why Nanami?”

“Because he’s married, that’s why. Mans know some tips for sure.”

“Wait, so,” you chuckle nervously, and Satoru waits, waits for you to pull away or push him back – anything that would indicate discomfort. He’s patient the whole time, watching carefully as you only squeeze his hand and gesture to the both of you with your free one. “This is a date? Our first date?”

“Only if you want to be,” Satoru shrugs, grimacing afterwards at how sappy he sounds. “Well, I actually consider this our first date and I’ve been waiting for this for like forever now, so I sure as hell hope you want this too. I didn’t dress myself up today only to come back home crying.”

Satoru’s heart – if possible – only beats crazier and sings the syllables of your name when you start laughing harder to the point you have to muffle it by burying yourself in his bicep. He feels like his muscles and nerves could erupt at any moment. It’s crazy – absolutely insane – how you have him wrapped around your finger like this. He doesn’t complain though; he never will.

“I’m glad,” you mumble through his shirt, your erratic heartbeat matching kiss when you take the first tentative step of kissing his jaw.

Satoru stiffens underneath you, a low growl ripping from his throat. He’s feral, wild, drunk at the sight and scent of you. You make him feel like he’s fluctuating between dimensions, all the planets just crashing on one another until the stardust is left in your eyes because what else could be an explanation for what he’s feeling other than a supernova collision of hearts?

“You always make me feel so happy when you’re around that I still can’t believe you feel the same way. I was so worried that maybe you wouldn’t get my hints.”

Satoru groans, “What the hell? How long have you liked me?”

“I guess when you started bringing flowers to Megumi randomly just to piss him off.”

Satoru wants to rip his hair out. That was just a few weeks after you’ve started working with him, meaning you both have liked each other this whole time and he’s been suffering and feeling stupid just for nothing?

“God, Y/N,” he mutters to himself, “You really do know how to make a man go crazy, huh?”

That innocent smile on your face lets him know that as usual, you’re oblivious of everything. Satoru is right; he still can’t decide whether he wants to whack you in the head upside down. With a sigh, he ends up choosing the latter, nearly falling over his seat when you let out a surprised yelp at the feeling of his lips on yours.

It doesn’t take long before you grab onto his shirt and cling to dear life, laughter bubbling through your lips as you kiss. The sound is so precious he wants to bottle it up and keep it treasure for the rest of his life, but Satoru doesn’t rush anything.

With you and only with you is he ever capable of feeling like it’s just the two of you in a world filled with chaos and destruction.

[crazycookiecrumbles]

Her Favorite Lawyer (2)

A/N:  reblogs/comments desired/appreciated greatly. I don’t know if I’ll do a third part, I mean I SORT OF, have an idea if I turned this into a story, but I really just wanted to write a date.

Main Masterlist ​

Pairings/Characters: Matt Murdock x Reader

Warnings: talks about violence (bc Frank Castle is a treat), drabble, no warnings, really, some kissies

Summary:  In the middle of a heatwave, you find none other than Matt Murdock in your neigborhood.

WC: 2,691

After everything that had happened with Frank Castle’s case, you knew that it’d probably be a little while before you saw Matt again. You may not have been in the court room that afternoon, but you’d heard about the outburst that had gone down and you knew that that was the worst possible thing for an attorney to get out of their client.

To be quite honest, you didn’t expect to hear from him at all ever again. The rumor around the courthouse was that Frank’s outburst effectively destroyed the small firm of Nelson & Murdock, which made you feel disappointed. They were some of your favorite attorneys, simply because they were polite, they never shouted, and they always kept a decent pace when you were on the record. To hear how badly the Castle case had taken them down, it was disappointing for you.

But, funny enough, one day after all of this Frank Castle, Punisher chaos happened, you were out and about one Friday afternoon after work. You were busy getting a few groceries you needed before heading home, debating whether or not you’d even use these groceries when you got home, or get takeout and use the excuse that buying groceries meant you totally deserved a treat on top of it.

Stepping out of the grocery store, you were heading home when you spotted Matt Murdock feeling different oranges from the fruit basket outside. Tilting your head to the side, you casually strolled over to him and cleared your throat to announce your presence.

“Ah, Ms. Reporter, how are you?” Matt asked you before you could say anything.

You smiled in surprise, “How did you know it was me?”

How could Matt explain that he had been thinking about you, wanted to see you, but was trying very, very hard to not appear to be a stalking psychopath?  His trial was over so he had no reason to head back to the courthouse any time soon, thanks for that one, Frank, and he was currently on the outs with his best friend, Foggy, Karen, and wondering what the hell happened that cause Frank to turn like that.

But, damn it, stalking really was the truth for a situation like this.

“Your perfume,” he said after a moment. “I recognized it, it’s very distinct to you.”

“Can I take that as a compliment?”

“Please,”he nodded.

“Good,” you replied. “It’s nice to see you again, Counselor. I’m sorry about your case.”

He snorted, “Are you? You don’t have to be polite.”

You shrugged, “It’s one part polite, one part genuine. You had a very, very interesting, difficult case. You know? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t type of situation. He was obviously very hurt in his service to his country and as a result, well, you get the Punisher, but it’s so….so not black and white like Reyes was saying. But what do I know? I generally distrust attorneys as a rule of thumb.”

Matt was intrigued by this. He understood this baseline level of sympathy from Karen, but from you? The reporter who only experienced this case from the morning to the afternoon each day? It was curious, and he did want to know more, given that he himself was working on this.

“You must not want to talk about work right now, though,” you said quickly with a laugh.

“Actually,” Matt cleared his throat. “What do you think about him?”

“Him, or the case?”

“Him.”

You shrugged, “I’ve only got half the info, but it’s tricky, isn’t it? On the one hand, he shouldn’t be a decider of people’s lives, right? On the other hand, all these people he’s killed, that’s exactly what they do, or they traffic women and children, rape, murder, exploit the honest, the good, the young…why should we punish someone who is trying to do the right thing that the law can’t do? Which, by the way, the law is bound by an old, archaic system designed for and by the white man to protect just that.”

“And yet, you’re a court reporter.”

You shrugged again, “I have no standing in these matters, I just write down what is said.”

“So you support the Punisher?”

You sighed, “I wouldn’t give him a gun, but I wouldn’t block his way, either.”

“That is a very lawyer-y way to say you support him.” Matt teased.

“I think this case is way more complicated than just a yes or no-type of an answer, you know what I mean?”

“I understand,” Matt said.

You watched him. This man’s head was tilted off to the side. With the way his mouth was drawn into a tight line, brow furrowed, you felt like you had already ruined his day. Maybe Frank had been his client, but it seemed like Matt was simply representing the man and ignoring his own bias against him, as a lawyer should do.

“I feel like you definitely don’t like me as much now that I’ve said what I think about Castle,” you cleared your throat and looked around. “So this was fun — “

“I respect your opinion, and it is yours to have,” Matt said thoughtfully after a moment. “He is no longer my client, the case is over, and he is in the custody of the law, now. I don’t see why anything related to Frank Castle should come between us.”

“Yeah?” You raised an eyebrow, “You’ll love my opinions on the death penalty, then.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh, yes. I think we should have hourly hangings in Times Square, and create Twitch livestreams out of them.”

Matt snorted in amusement and smiled softly, “I’d heard reporters had a special brand of humor, I didn’t realize how dark it could get.”

“Oh, you have no idea, Mr. Murdock.”

“Maybe you can educate me over dinner,” he offered. “If you aren’t busy at the moment.”

You laughed a little nervously. You’d basically just told his man that you  understood why the Punisher did what he did, this man, a lawyer, one who you were certain had a tendency to lean towards the ‘good’ side of the law, given his client history and the types of cases he took on.

Yes, you stalked him online.

Yes, you definitely enjoyed what you saw, and the reviews you’d find of him online.

“You mean to tell me, even after what I just said about the law, lawyers, Castle, you still want to have dinner?”

“Despite our difference in opinions, I do find our conversations to be interesting, and the reasoning behind your opinions is insightful, even though it’s different from my own. I just think that we could have, maybe, fun talking about anything else other than the law.”

“Well, having dinner with you does go against my anti-lawyer beliefs, but I think we have the potential to find a good balance here,” Matt offered. “If you’d like.”

“Sure,” you glanced down at the grocery bag in your hands, “I do have to put this away, though. Would you mind? I don’t live far.”

“Not at all, allow me —“

“No, no, I can carry them,” you said as you two started walking.

“A blind man can’t carry groceries?” He teased.

“You know what? Yes. That’s exactly my reasoning,” You snickered. “I can’t risk you tripping and crushing the ice cream in here, Murdock.”

“I would, too, if I don’t like the flavor.”

“Yeah?” You told him your favorite flavor, “How do you feel about that?”

“Like I may fall over and take your bag with me,” He joked, reaching for your bag.

You laughed and slapped his hand down and out of the way while he chuckled, his hand instead resting on your arm for guidance as the two of you walked the hot city streets together.

“Smooth,” you commented under your breath.

“Thank you,” Matt smirked to himself.

~*~

After arriving at your apartment, you quickly put your groceries away so that you and Matt could get going. Matt pretended not to notice you texting on your phone the second you entered the apartment, and he feigned knowledge that, given the sound that each key emitted, that you were telling someone, a friend, clearly, that you and a man were in your apartment together, and that you told them exactly who it was in case you were mysteriously murdered or disappeared.

Well, he had to give you credit there, you were thorough.

“I didn’t even offer you water,” you said after a moment. “Sorry. Do you want any?”

“Depends, will you poison me?”

“Only if you turn out to be some undercover serial killer,” you remarked as you poured him a glass. “Just need a sec, and we can get going, okay?”

“Sounds good. Thank you,” Matt took the water from you and sat down by your kitchen counter. He shamelessly listened as you left a quick voice message with your friend about where you were going and what you were doing.  Matt was learning the type of person you were, careful, considerate, funny, which lead to you being charming in your own way.

“Let’s kick it!” You said, leaving your bedroom with a different purse and grabbing your keys off of the counter.

You and Matt made it all of three steps out the door before the background humming of lights and air conditioning suddenly turned off. You both froze in place, Matt listening to the sound of every single light in the building going off, followed by air conditioning, the elevator shutting down, and people now shouting in anger.

“Power outage, I think,” Matt said. 

“Shit,” you muttered under your breath, “Great. All my stuff is gonna go bad — fuck that, we should see if it’s just the building or — “

“The neighborhood, I think,” Matt said after a moment.

Curious to know if he was right, you walked towards the hallway window. Sure enough, the power was out for at leas ten blocks out, and that’s just from the direction you could see. Sighing heavily, you chewed your lip before spinning around. “I should call you a cab, send you home now before mayhem breaks loose. Not that it’s a bad neighborhood and you’ll get murdered here, but who knows if it’ll go to the rest of the city and — “

“But what about all that ice cream you bought? Can’t let that go bad,” Matt reasoned. “If, you know, you wanted company to help finish it.”

“Thought my ice cream taste was unacceptable?”

“I’ll allow it.”

You pondered on this for a moment, “I do have food that’s going to go to waste now since the power’s off and I don’t know when it’ll come back.”

“It would be a crime to let it go to waste. I’d have to report you.”

You chuckled, “Well, Matt, no funny business, okay? I’ve got a gas stove, a lot of knives, and people that know I’m with you.”

“Please, Y/N, I’m just an honest, Catholic man.”

“Oh, god.” you rolled your eyes and laughed, “The depravity in that sentence alone is incredible.”

Back in your apartment, you were gathering candles, lanterns, and your hand-crank radio. Matt listened as you explained all the supplies you had for ‘just in case’ moments like this. He sat at the counter and listened to you rattle off all the things you had to eat in your refrigerator. With a gas stove ready and a couple of candles lit, he was assisting you in reheating some old leftovers, and using the excuse that he wasn’t familiar with your kitchen in order to bump into you and press up against you from time to time. Of course, you were wise to this, but you didn’t exactly mind. 

You ended up sitting at your kitchen counter together, Matt wondering why he was offering to take you to dinner when your cooking skills alone were enough to have him wanting a second and third date already. Eventually, you moved on to the ice cream and other snacks you had in your freezer. It was almost like the two of you were children left in Wonka’s chocolate factory.

As much as it may have pained you to admit this, this was one lawyer you could get along with. Aside from that Punisher talk, chatting with Matt was easy. He was funny, sweet, charming, it lead to you accidentally making a Ted Bundy joke, but, thankfully, he laughed it off rather than saying you were right, grabbing a knife, and hacking you to bits.

While you were listening to the radio together, you glanced over to Matt and noticed chocolate at the corner of his mouth. You reached up to wipe it clean, and he froze for a moment before straightening up and twisting his body to face you.

“I think you’ve got some on your face as well,” he commented as he pulled your stool closer to him and reached up to cup your face with both hands.

You laughed, “Yeah? What, you see that?”

“No,” Matt replied. “I’m just making an excuse to kiss you.”

You squeaked quietly as Matt began to lean in. You leaned in as well, meeting him halfway before your lips tentatively brushed against his. Matt smirked and kissed you with a little bit more pressure, fingertips dancing along your jaw and feeling your hair as he tilted his head to the side. 

Suddenly the lights came on, the hum of your air conditioner returned, and you groaned as you realized you ate your bodyweight in ice cream for no reason.

“I guess you could say our kiss was electric,” Matt joked.

“Ugh,” you laughed and cringed. “You’re awful, Matt.”

“Yet, you still kissed me, Y/N,” he replied. Matt tilted his head to the side, a smile on his face, tongue running along his lip until he could hear a commotion taking place outside. He cleared his throat and straightened up,  “I should get going, I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“This was definitely an interesting first date, Matt,” you said as you walked him to the door. “At least let me call you a cab?”

“That’s all right. I’d like to walk, actually.” he said as he reached your door. “Don’t worry, I won’t trip into traffic.”

“Darn, I really wanted to see something funny on Twitter tomorrow morning,” you sighed while he shook his head at you.

“You’re dark, Y/N.”

“Yes, yes I am, Matt. Hopefully that’s not too much of a problem for you to handle.”

“Actually,” He cleared his throat. “ I look forward to it on our second date. Maybe we can get to go somewhere next time. Brunch?”

“Next time, hmm?” You hummed and smoothed down the collar of his shirt as you stood in front of him, “I could get behind that.”

“Good,” Matt leaned down, lips ghosting over yours as he spoke, “Good night, Y/N.”

Pouting, you quickly squished his face together in your hands as you leaned in and pressed your lips against yours. You pulled away, leaving him with a giddy smile and a dazed look, “Good night, Matt. Text me when you get home.”

“But I don’t have your —“

“I programmed it when you were busy going over the intricacies of a Meyer lemon versus a regular lemon,” you replied. “Fascinating chat, by the way.”

He chuckled and shook his head, “They have important distinctions.”

“Oh, I know, I know. Dweeb,” you teased. “I mean it, text me when you get home so I know you’re not dead.”

“Of course,” Matt nodded his head. He stole another kisses from you before leaving your apartment. After a moment, you shut and locked the door behind him, leaning against the door with a satisfied sigh.

Meanwhile, once he was outside your building, he marched right into the alley. He took a pashmina that was laying around your apartment and wrapped it around his head as he ditched his walking stick, jumped onto a fire escape, and ran to catch up to the theft he could hear taking place from your apartment building.

[leviiattacks]

CASHIER LEVI AND LIKE THE READER IS THE CUSTOMER AND IT’S LIKE THEY HAVE A CRUSH ON EACHTOHER

author note :: honestly not my best at all..... like at all..... this was actually pretty good but the entire draft got deleted and i just lost all my effort but i felt bad for starting it and not completing it for anon so you may take whatever i have managed to salvage. i hope u enjoy it :’( i am extremely sick rn and yeah writing is the only break i am currently getting from anything :-) SO AGAIN I’ M SORRY ANON..... i may write a 10k + word fic on this though so i can redeem myself bc this is just disappointing 😭

word count :: 3.3k

every single thursday you stop by ackermart. maybe it’s because the day is convenient for you or perhaps it’s because of a certain cashier that works the evenings...

HAHA it’s got nothing to do with a cashier why would it have anything to do with a cashier? :-)

today is like any other. you walk through the fresh produce aisle then proceed to make your way towards the bakery section picking up a loaf of bread

it’s stupid, you know it is but... you think you’ve worked up enough courage to speak to him today!!

and who is him you may ask?

levi at till number four. his tired eyes always happen to pierce into yours and his calloused thumbs brush past your skin when you hand him your rewards card

levi is what his bright red name tag says and although he doesn’t look like a levi you’d like to think your crush isn’t stealing someone’s identity so you believe that it’s his real name

anxiously fiddling with your basket you’re beginning to think this was a horrible idea

the girl ahead of you is flirting up a storm with him and although he’s not reciprocating it by any means you still feel deterred

levi bags the last of her groceries and looks up at her when she asks for a way to contact him. he doesn’t look mad... just bored?

“ma’am. this is an ackermart i don’t think it’s appropriate you ask me for my number. the customer service line is listed on our website.”

the woman raises a brow looking completely flabbergasted. okay, if everything before this wasn’t a warning THIS sure was

she stomps off when she realises levi isn’t kidding and you think you’d feel bad for her maybe if she was more respectful about it

“next customer.” levi calls over his shoulder and you shuffle forward pretending to be engrossed in your phone

“cash or card?” he asks plainly.

you hear the BEEP of your groceries being scanned and think on it for a while before replying with “cash”

you’re clearly pretty good at your pretend to be totally into your phone act because levi tries to get your attention but you don’t hear what he has to say till the third time he repeats himself

but even then you’re still unsure what it is he’s said????

looking down you see his hand is stuck out in front of you and now you’re even more confused

faltering for a second you look at his palm and then speak

“um, i guess your hand is nice? it’s pretty big compared to the rest of you actually.”

“i was asking for your cash?” he says and now you look at his palms in mortification

gasping you yANK your hand into your purse as you laugh awkwardly fishing around to find your money

“oh, OH i knew that. just kidding!! i mean- i meant that thing about your hand?? but i thought it was- i funny? yes the joke funny? i’m-”

he leans back into his spinning chair and sighs contently. “you’re not making much sense peaches.”

“pe- peaches??” you repeat. no way you’ve heard that correct

levi lazily points at the abundance of the aforementioned fruit in your grocery bags

“you must love em.”

“i, well yeah i do like peaches but i also like...” um??? what food would make you look sophisticated and professional?

OH YEAH

“FRENCH CUISINE :-)!!!!” you say rather proudly

“...cool. i guess.” levi hands you your grocery bag which is basically an invitation asking for you to get out

he doesn’t seem mad but he’s definitely going to look back at this encounter and laugh his ass off at how stupid you are

hanging your head down low in embarrassment you make your way out towards your car

there’s always next time!! maybe you can practice in the mirror yeah that does sound like it would help!!!

okay so.

it is officially next time.

actually you never got the opportunity to practice in front of the mirror because you chickened out of looking like an idiot even if it was in the privacy of your own home

but!!! you did try to practice some cool pick up lines because who doesn’t like a good pickup line or two??

the two mini milk cartons in your hand and the pack of doughnuts you have tucked under your arm aren’t too heavy so you aren’t too worried about having to wait in the line

for some reason the guy in front of you keeps turning around and glancing at you as if you don’t even exist

you are not casper the ghost

also casper is a little boy and you definitely aren’t a little boy

finally after a good five minutes the man ahead of you is having his stuff scanned but he’s STILL doing it. even levi notices and gives him an odd look which borders annoyance and anger.

“can i pay for your groceries? maybe walk you to your car?” the stranger asks suddenly

so that’s what this is, he’s simply taken an interest in you

my god this is new but it is uncomfortable and you’d rather say no

“oh, i actually walked here and no thanks i can pay for my own. enjoy the rest of your day!!” you hope your white lie is enough to fool the man but instead of agreeing as any other person would he looks majorly deceived

“i saw you in the parking lot.” ok this is getting a bit too uncomfortable for your liking

“c’mon i’m offering to buy your shit too?”

his voice is raising and you’re not sure what exactly you can do but thankfully for you the manager steps in and takes him away before any more threats can be made

the man had taken up so much of your attention you almost forgot levi was even there until you turned back around

“do you want a member of staff to accompany you to your car? it’s getting dark out.” levi’s comment helps ease your nerves and you try to laugh off what just happened

“i’m good :-)” you say shaking a little. you’re unsure if it’s the cold or the fact you still haven’t completely calmed down

“you sure peaches?”

“i haven’t bought any peaches this time.”

“you’re still peaches to me.” your cheeks flush at his confidence

wait, maybe this is your chance. you’re the last person in his line and they’re closing up for the day so...

“could you walk me to my car?”

and to your surprise even before you can take back what you’ve said levi agrees

it stays like that for a while.

every thursday levi walks you to your car by the end of his shift, all the while the two of you exchange a few words together

like last week you asked him what his favourite colour was (he said purple) you’ve learnt about his hobbies (he’s a decent cook), you’ve even found out about some of his own personal problems. he had mentioned suffering with insomnia in passing.

to be honest each and every time he walks you to your car he has to notice that you begin to park further and further away from the front entrance. but if he does notice he doesn’t say a word about it

“is that all you’re checking out?” you ask with a cheeky grin plastered across your face

looking down at your new dress your lopsided grin is far from fading away any time soon. you especially picked this one out after asking levi what his favourite colour was last week

god. this is so embarrassing but never actually have you had a crush this huge

levi who’s sat behind the counter shoots you a look which almost seems to be on the verge of uninterested. he isn’t entertaining this at all or this is just his typical bored face, you can’t really tell

BUT..... you still have a huge crush on him and you aren’t one to give up this easily

for the record you don’t harass him or anything, just the occasional hint is thrown around but he’s either really dense or doesn’t care

his expression does you no favours, you can’t tell what he’s thinking half the time

“you’re always buying energy drinks... might want to cut down on those they’re no good for you.”

warmth blooms in your chest. he’s just saying it to make small talk but the fact he even thinks to bring that up has your heart fluttering

“i- well- yeah i will!! just have a few overdue essays to get over with :-)” twiddling your thumbs together you think that makes your nerves too obvious so you begin to scratch at the back of your neck

if anything is a dead give away it’s your constant neck scratching, thankfully levi hasn’t picked up on it

“so you wore purple today?” his eyes linger on the thin straps of your dress and you feel the goosebumps rise up onto your skin immediately

“oh yeahhhh-”

“did i tell you yellow was my favourite colour last week?” he asks holding up a neon yellow pack of crisps and for the first time you see him smile

he looks so ?!|>\€|^ pretty ?!/)/&

wait?? yellow??

“didn’t you say purple?”

“no?” he crosses his arms playfully over his chest thinking for a bit

“maybe i did but no it’s really yellow.” he says as he hands you your bag

nodding your head you smile “yeahhhh sure it is.”

damn, now you’re going to have to find a yellow dress just to make him revert back to purple because who even likes yellow?? that’s a deal breaker right there??

update

it’s been two weeks!!

and a yellow dress has been found and secured B-)

it’s been a pretty rough day at work and you need to desperately collect a pack of green tea and get going

you don’t know when exactly being a secretary meant you had to babysit your boss’ children but that’s what the last week has entailed

being made to work overtime to this extent has had an effect on you and you’re ready to head home as soon as you swing by ackermart

not seeing levi for a week made you a little :-( because to be honest he’s the highlight of your thursday evening BUT!! you’ll be able to see him today at least

walking in through the entrance you’re met with connie smiling right at you, he holds the door open for you and smile back greeting him

“so you didn’t come last week...?”

it’s weird for him to ask that, after all you don’t really speak to anyone here apart from levi, you’re surprised you’re enough of a regular to be known by name

“oh i didn’t think anyone would notice? but yeah i had to work overtime you know what boss’ are like.” groaning you crouch down and look at the pot noodles on display

“i didn’t notice it. boss man did.”

“boss man?” you ask feeling out of loop

“levi.” connie answers as he hops into the backroom

????

isn’t he just a cashier??

“you still look confused.” connie remarks as he heads back out with a cardboard box full of pringle’s tubes

“levi’s the boss man, this is his store. he literally only ever mans the cash register on thursday evening because of you.”

at that you start laughing because it makes no sense at all to you

there’s no way connie is being serious

“good one.” you say as you stand up with a chicken flavored noodle in your hand

“i’m not kidding?”

turning around you give him a skeptical look

he sighs and shakes his head.

“listen. me and the part timers are tired of making bets on when he’ll give you his number and i bet that it would happen today so if you could confess to each other that would be perfect!!!”

“who said i like-”

“anyone with a brain can tell you both like each other.” he’s rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head you begin to take him a little more seriously now

“i... did i make it that obvious??” you’re directly facing him trying to get out as much information as you can

“yeah. very. at least levi wasn’t as bold.”

“i think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick he definitely doesn’t like me.”

connie gives you an “are you fucking with me?” look and you look away trying to distract yourself with the the canned goods lining the shelves

“he was worried sick when you didn’t come in for the entire week. he even asked me if he scared you away.”

“maybe i’m just his favourite customer?”

“favourite customer my ass he has a crush on YOU. confess.”

playing around with the ends of your sleeves connie sees he’s fighting a losing battle unless he gives you definitive solid proof

“please... i’ll get free barbecue if i win the bet and i’m kinda broke rn :-(” okay, you do want connie to eat well and be treated and maybe this is a good thing. if levi doesn’t like you then you can move on!!

“i’ll think about it.”

before connie can continue talking you make a beeline towards the tea aisle whilst throwing a “see you next time!” over your shoulder.

by the time you’ve gathered all of your groceries your basket is full to the brim. you’ve been lingering as much as you can out of fear but you think you’ve collected just enough courage to ask for his number

looking at the cash register levi is sat there and your shoulders slump. he’s probably going to say no and you’re going to look like a huge loser.

right as you’re about to take a step towards him levi finally spots you and gives you one look before standing up from his seat

“hi!” you wave at him

“...hey!” he smiles wide but he bites it back pretending it was never there in the first place

placing your basket in front of him he eyes what you’ve got

“hm... lots of peaches as per usual peaches.” the nickname that rolls of his tongue makes you tremble a little. will he call you that after you fuck everything up with this stupid confession?

his tongue pokes at the inside of his cheek when he gets to the heart shaped box of chocolates

“a gift for a friend? didn’t know you had those?” he teases as he scans the barcode

“gift for a crush!” you reply back enthusiastically as you dig through your wallet looking for your card

levi doesn’t respond for a few seconds and an awkward silence fills the air. you glance up to see him looking at you open mouthed in shock

“good luck.” he murmurs under his breath he’s not even returning your gaze at this point and is hurriedly scanning through your barcodes

“you okay?” you ask worrying about his mood

“yeah, yeah. great.” he’s quieter than usual.

the rest of your encounter is the same, levi silently bags your groceries and you can’t tell if this is a good or bad response.

just as he’s about to place the heart shaped box into your plastic bag you lunge forward holding his wrist to stop him

“no i don’t need those.”

he cocks his eyebrow upwards trying to analyse your expression and gain an understanding of your thoughts

“don’t tell me you’re chickening out. whoever it is will say yes.” he scoffs as he places the chocolates into the bag handing them over to you with a warm smile

there it is again. the fear returns and you swipe your tongue over your slightly dry lips.

no way.

is he telling you to confess to someone now? so he must not like you?

taking the bag away from him you scratch your neck out of habit and huff feeling frustrated

“he keeps giving me mixed signals.” you say hoping he catches your drift

“give him the chocolates and let him put two and two together. don’t even say anything.” his advice would be great if he weren’t the guy you were trying to confess to in real time

nodding you reach into the bag and bring the box back out before gently placing it in front of levi

“are you serious?” he asks and your face drops seeing the possible displeasure in his eyes

great, connie and the part timers just over analysed he doesn’t like you, obviously he doesn’t like you, why would he like you?

without looking back you hurry out, the embarrassment is eating you away now and the thought of ever returning to ackermart isn’t even feasible in your mind

at this point you may as well change your name, identity, dye your hair, have a few children and wear sunglasses the next time you come back so you look like a soccer mum and not the foolish y/n who thought they had a chance with their cute CASHIER???

god, you probably look like a creep

the sound of footsteps can be heard behind you and labored breaths follow before levi calls out for you

“please wait up.” he grumbles. slowing down your pace you let him catch up to you. he grabs at your wrist and sighs in relief

turning you see him savour the air

is this the part where he confesses he likes you too or—

“your receipt you forgot it.” he gasps as he opens your hand for you and places it into your palm

oh.

fingers clasping shut onto the paper you feel the humiliation seep into your pores

this.

is.

the.

worst.

moment.

of.

your.

life.

“open it.” he offer you a boyish smile and your nerves don’t let you find comfort in it

you grimace as you fold it open, you’re imagining he’s charged you an extra £100 for having unwanted feelings for him and if that’s the case you’ll die on the spot

but instead your eyes light up in joy. you’re pleasantly surprised

...

inside of the receipt is his phone number haphazardly sprawled across in black biro - you even double check by comparing it to the number for the customer service helpline

hello??

HELLO.?.!/)£ HIS NUMBER???

“if you just wanted to return the chocolate this is embarrassing.” he’s the one who’s now scratching at his neck and you find that he’s endearing this way

the streetlight from above illuminates him, the shadows cast over his face and his brows aren’t furrowed as they usually are

you open your mouth to reply but connie cuts you off unintentionally. he can be heard YELLING into his phone ecstatic that his plan has worked out

“I WIN!!! HA BBQ’S ON YOU JEAN!! MUST SUCK TO BE YOU.”

you and levi look at each other and laugh, reassuring the other of what has just happened.

well...

you guess this is the start of something new? maybe??

:-)

[missvifdor]

My MC /OC /YUU, in the doorframe of the entrance to Ramshackle:

My MC /OC /YUU: W -Why ..? Grimm, I'm not crazy, it's not my birthday. Or yours yet?

Grimm: No but I'm not going to complain, it smells so good! * Dive into the assembly of packages and gift packages in pink and red *

* The First Year Gang arrives to look for MC for classes like every morning *

Deuce: Eh! I didn't know you were so popular MC!

My MC /OC /YUU: Me? Popular? I reassure you right away, in my world I was considered as the weird and silent child of the class. So popular I have never been very popular.

Ace: Do you know at least what day we have?

My MC /OC /YUU: No ...?

Jack: It's Valentine's Day * Sniff the air * Ugh! All this sugar gives me stomach ache and toothache ...

Grimm: It's so good MC! * Eyes that glow * Free chocolate! I'm going to be happy to eat it all!

Epel: Easy, Grimm, they're at MC you should ask her before you binge without permission.

Grimm: * Touching eyes and adorable gaze *

My MC /OC /YUU: * Sigh * Isn't that risking your health at least? I mean .. you really look like a cat and chocolate is poison to them.

Grimm: Who do you take me for? A vulgar animal? I'm a monster, obviously I can eat anything!

My MC /OC /YUU: Alright. You can take it but out of the question that you abuse it and fall ill afterwards, understand?

Grimm: You are the best Dorm Leader! Yahoou! * Plunges back among the packages happily *

Sebek: IF WE DON'T HURRY, WE WILL BE LATE FOR CLASSES!

My MC /OC /YUU: Sorry, Sebek, I'm making you late ... Go ahead I'll take the packages inside and I'll join you!

Jack: Do not be ridiculous, we will help you it will go faster.

* Our happy group of friends are going to their first class of the day *

* My MC /OC /YUU going to sit in his usual place *

My MC /OC /YUU: Is it really happening ...? * Turns all red * I even get flowers, now.

Ace: * Smirk * You look so shocked, like this is the first time this has happened to you, Hehe!

My MC /OC /YUU: ....

Deuce: Is this the first time this has happened to you ?!

My MC /OC /YUU: I told you before, I was not very popular and not very pretty. Boys and girls aren't really used to looking around in my path and neither am I.

Ace and Deuce: * Mumbles * His world must be filled with blind people ...

* Later that day they pass Cater, Trey and Riddle *

Cater: * Put his arm around MC's shoulders * Hello lovely young lady! What are you planning to give me for Valentine's Day? Although, you know I prefer the salty.

Riddle: Cater! This is inappropriate!

My MC /OC /YUU: Don't worry, Riddle. Well Cater, I completely forgot that it was today and I don't have a present for you, I'm sorry. Besides, why do I have to offer you one, we are not in a relationship?

Trey: Tradition has it that girls give chocolates to their friends and loved one. Doesn't that work in your world?

My MC /OC /YUU: Actually, no. Valentine's Day is only a day for couples, at least that's how it is in my country but I know that in Japan, another country, it works the same as Twisted Wonderland. But if you really want chocolates, I can make some for you, that makes me happy! I'm only sorry I didn't give them to you on the right date ...

Riddle: Don't bother if you don't want to, MC!

My MC /OC /YUU: I really don't mind, I would only need to borrow the kitchens from Heatslabyul. That of Ramshackle is not sufficiently equipped or even in good condition to work in good conditions. Dust is falling from the ceiling all the time, I wouldn't want that to end up in the preparation.

Trey: It works, come see me after class when you finish I'll give you the keys to the kitchen.

* Later that day, in Heatslabyul's kitchen *

My MC /OC /YUU: Well let's see ... Rose and violet chocolates are for Riddle. The orange and blood citrus ones are for Trey. The spicy beef and chicken mini skewers are for Cater. Ace has his pastry cream strawberries. Deuce to his red berry and chocolate pancakes. Leona ... Her filet mignon meal basket with sweet and salty honey. Ruggie his donuts and donuts are ready, all they need to do is garnish and fill them. Jack doesn't like things that are too sweet or unhealthy ... so a mango and coconut sorbet. Azul pays close attention to her figure, so poached pears in honey. Jade un Canteloupe and blueberries with green tea and lime. Floyd strawberry chocolates in the shape of shrimp and sea animals. Kalim and Jamil hot chili chocolates and rhubarb and date jam that they can put on homemade brioche toast. Vil, Rook and Epel fresh fruit salad, French pancakes with rum and apple clafoutis. Idia ... chocolate and peanut butter pop cake with a Bubble Tea with tapioca pearls and mango and candies for Ortho. Malleus popsicles in the shape of a gargoyle and a bouquet of chocolate in the shape of roses, Lilia macaroons with mint and vanilla in the shape of a bat, Sebek ... A mini figurine of Malleus in dark chocolate and food coloring, for Silver it will be passion fruit Pasteis De Nata. And Grimm ... Squid with seafood and vegetables. Lord! I've never cooked for so many people! I'll put it all in the fridge and go home!

* My MC /OC /YUU coming home exhausted *

My MC /OC /YUU collapsing on Ramshackle's living room couch: Lord! I am so tired!

Grimm: Your hands smell full of delicious smells! Am I going to have some too?

My MC /OC /YUU: * Smells his hands and grimaces * Ugh! It especially smells like chocolate fish! It makes me sick ... I'm coming back I'll try to make this smell available, by all the gods ...

* Grimm who decides to wait for him while eating another packet of chocolate intended for MC *

Grimm: * Starts at coughed, disgusted * Yuck! These taste too weird !!

My MC /OC /YUU who comes back with his hands washed aggressively: You make a funny face, what's happening to you?

Grimm: These chocolates are too weird, I don't like them.

My MC /OC /YUU : Let me see? * Frowns and takes a chocolate to eat it * * Chew gently * Hmm ... it's true they have a weird aftertaste ... I feel weird ... M-My head spinning ... I can't feel my legs anymore ... * Fainted on the ground *

Grimm: Nyah! MC! Don't move, I'll get help!

* A few hours after taking MC to the infirmary, the strange chocolates were analyzed and an emergency meeting of the leaders and vice-dormitory leaders be given *

Professor Crewel: The results are clear ... The chocolates contained a love potion prepared in the most mediocre manner I have ever seen. So this has the effect on the Prefect of Ramshackle that she is falling into a deep sleep.

Kalim, with tears in his eyes: Is there no cure ?!

Crewel: Yes.

Leona, hiding her concern with aggression: And ?!

Crowley: The only solution for my dear MC to wake up is the ... The kiss of true love ...

Azul: I thought it only existed in children's books .. What if it doesn't work? How is it supposed to work?

Trein: That's the problem. The person kissing MC must be the person they love.

Ace who holds Grimm in his arms because the poor thing is absolutely devastated: Does MC at least love someone ?!

Jade: You are his closest friends, you should know that.

Deuce: MC never talks to us about that kind of thing and neither do we, she says all the time that it's her private life and that it's none of our business .... Oh MC ...

Jamil: Grimm, do you know?

Grimm who sniffs and holds back his tears: NOOooOoo ...!

Ace: Don't worry Grimm, we'll find the person who did this to her and she better be sorry for even entering this school.

Azul: Floyd will certainly be happy to help you find him, he has a special affection for MC.

Riddle: You can count on us too! We will make him regret acting in a manner so disrespectful and dangerous towards MC and the school rules!

Crowley: Come on gentlemen, let's try to act in a neutral and professional manner * Whisper to himself * If I find this little fool I'll be happy to kick him out of this school forever!

Malleus: If you let me deal with this man's case personally, I can assure you that he will never return to this school. Because he won't have any legs at all.

Idia: I'm still going to do some research approach to find out if there are no other solutions with MC!

Ortho: Big Bro, you'll have to come and try to wake MC up with a kiss first.

Idia panics immediately: I- I don't think it will work w-with me! How could MC love a geek like m-me ?!

Ortho, happily: Don't devalue yourself, Big Bro ! You have all your chances!

Rook: Oui, Mon cher, you have every chance! MC must obviously have noticed your unique charm!

Ruggie: * Whispers mockingly * Ah that, to be unique, he is! Shishishishi!

Lilia: * Laugh slightly * Let's see if our dear Idia has the courage to come out of his den.

Vil: That's enough you two, what we're talking about is serious. It is not time for jokes!

Trey, whispering sadly to himself: And to think that a few hours ago MC and I were talking in the kitchen and cooking like nothing had happened ... She had put so much heart into her preparations...

* Everyone is gathered in the infirmary plus the rest of the boys *

Riddle who blushes a lot: So uh ... how do we do it? Are we in line?

Crewel: The best is if you all wait outside and come one by one to Miss MC. If either of you ever wakes her up, I think you both need to discuss it.

The boys went by one by one and finally ....

Twisted boy: Okay ... It's my turn. * Enter the infirmary and approach MC * Hi MC. I'm sorry to kiss you without your consent but ... we have no other solutions at this time. Please forgive me .. * Kiss her *

My MC /OC YUU: * Wakes up coughing very hard until spitting out a piece of half-melted chocolate * WHAT THE HELL ?!

Twisted boy: You're awake! * Hugs her *

My MC /OC /YUU: * hugs him back * What's going on ?!

Twisted boy: * Explain everything to her * That's why I kissed you. Aren't you angry?

My MC /OC /YUU: No, no! I understand that was the only solution, thank you for freeing me from the negligence of the fool who gave me these cursed chocolates!

* My MC /OC /YUU finally realizes what it means *

My MC /OC /YUU: So uh .. Yeah I love you I guess ... But if you don't feel anything for me I totally understand and we can stay like we are now! I promise not to make this awkward or weird!

Twisted boy: Actually, it's good because ... I also feel the same way but I didn't know how to tell you.

My MC /OC /YUU: ... So ... you wanna go on a date with me?

Twisted boy: I would love that!

* Grimm who goes into the infirmary like a cannonball *

Grimm: MC! YOU ARE ALIVE ! MY HANDMAN, YOU WON'T EAT ANY MORE WITHOUT I TASTING IT FIRST! * Hopped into MC's arms to give her a hug *

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E116-119 (Dec. 15, 2020)

Hi! I missed the first three minutes or so and opened the stream to Brian giving an absolutely incoherent ...ad? for some jewel game? Six thousand jewels just for logging in? Some app in the app store and he’s literally been talking about this now for six minutes and I don’t know what he’s talking about. He finally wraps up, Laura brings the show to a close, and we’re all a little worse than we were before.

Ashley tries to get us back on track and Henry bays over her. Brian tries to ask the first question and breaks off into feigned sobs halfway through. This is chaos incarnate.

Tonight’s guests: Laura Bailey & Ashley Johnson.

How’s Yasha feeling right now about Molly? She and Jester both are desperately curious about whether there’s a spark of Molly left in Lucien that can be brought back. It’s not the same as when Yasha was controlled by Obann; this seems more like just the way this is now. They’d settle for even finding the good in him, like they did with Essek. Brian jokes that they can monitor his mental state if Matt’s Irish accent starts to slip a little bit.

Jester is a little wary about scrying on Lucien now since he’s able to see her back.  She’s interested to try again now that Fjord’s given her the necklace.

Ashley has to run and grab a replacement set of headphones from Brian after hers get “crunchy.” It’s pretty cute seeing them run around and smooch on another screen. Brian teases that he doesn’t have any more questions for Jester since Caduceus has been doing all the healing lately. Laura tells us indignantly that she had Heal prepared for Caduceus in that last big fight, but Fjord got to Cad first. Brian explains how this is the same as all the good jokes he always lines up for Talks but never tells. Ashley’s crunchiness continues and we go briefly to a technical difficulties screen while Brian hops up to fix it.

Dani pips in to get this show back on track. Save us, Dani!

Ashley hadn’t thought about the aspect of Lucien controlling his friends’ minds, but finds it really creepy. It’s a cool game dynamic, and it’s a little different because they’re there willingly, but it’s really weird.

Jester thinks that “the tarot cards know all. She wants to buy into it real hard.” If it doesn’t make sense now, it will later. Laura has an Idiot’s Guide to Tarot Reading.

They’re super interested in why Aeor is like it is. Were they more advanced than us? Did they evolve along a different line? Ashley loves sci-fi and is all about this, especially since she wasn’t there for Happy Fun Ball time & hasn’t been able to get caught up on some of the things she missed in between, so she’s using this as an erstwhile replacement. She can already tell there are some things from this campaign that will bother her the way the unopened box did from C1. She and Laura both seethe at the camera about having to leave the spider behind.

Cosplay of the Week! Harland3r on instagram with a gorgeous winged Pike with a shield & mace. It’s an incredible photo and the wings look great.

Travis distracts Laura by dancing like a Trex offscreen. That seems right for this episode.

Jester’s encouragement of Yasha pursuing Beau was important in a lot of ways, not least because Ashley considered herself as uninterested in D&D romance as Travis & was a little unsure of activating a romance among her friends. However, it felt really natural within the game and it was really helpful to have Jester’s in-game encouragement. Yasha’s grown a lot and is in a much more positive place and is ready to find out what’s possible. Laura: “Jester from the get-go has seen Yasha as this wonderful soul from the beginning, and has seen how sad Yasha’s been through everything, and to see the difference that she exhibits when talking about Beau is drastic and wonderful. Jester’s joy in life is helping others find joy.”

Ashley points out it’s also so fun to “yes-and” with Laura because you’re like a little kid being dragged along by the hand - you don’t know where it’s going, but you know it’s going to be fun along the way.

Ashley does have a sense of “thank goodness Marisha isn’t jumping right into this” so she can coax herself into it, but when she tried to figure out the poem she had a lot of drafts that didn’t survive. She intentionally crafted the letter to give Beau an out if she didn’t feel the same way. There’s a lot going on with Lucien right now and there’s constantly a running thought in the back of her head about “maybe Beau is not into this.” Even the last couple episodes with Jester & Fjord have had Ashley finally understand shipping.

Brian brings us to the moment “almost as romantic as the pre-season finale of the Bachelorette.” Jester was “goo” afterwards. Early on in the campaign, Jester was very forward with her flirtations with Fjord & he shut her down. And then he kissed her underwater and immediately went and slept with Avantika, and Jester automatically shut herself down, because she thought she was misunderstanding & would only be hurt by those emotions. She deliberately focused on just being there with her friends, making everyone healthy and happy. These last few episodes where Fjord was flirting back felt like “my teenage heart again, my first kiss, the boy I like actually likes me back!” and she was able to open back up.

Yasha definitely has some instrument plans for those bones. She doesn’t know if she’s going to add to her harp or create a new one.

Ashley and Laura cheer about Travis stepping out his comfort zone. Laura thinks it was really good that he was doing it with her, his real-life wife, to see if he likes that sort of stuff in his D&D campaign. “It was just so sweet. It was just so sweet.” Brian says he’s actually a really romantic dude & Dani is so glad he asked before the kiss. Brian: “It’s going to be so sad when he breaks your heart and goes back to the corpse of Avantika.” Laura: “It’s fine, Jester will be long dead by then anyway.”

Jester does believe the four-year time trade was worth it, but that the city leaves “a mark on your brain,” especially as in-depth as she saw it. “Jester’s always been reticent to talk about her age because she’s aware she’s perceived in a juvenile way by a lot of people, and she’s insecure about that. She grew up by herself without a lot of social interactions and is experienced in a lot of ways now and naive in others; she’s very aware of human emotion around her, but chooses to see it in a certain way.” Losing the time makes her wonder if she needs to grow up & become an adult about certain things now. Laura: “I think actually she’s closer to Fjord’s age now. Actually, I’m not sure about his age. I don’t know how old he is - I’ve never even asked Travis!” Brian: “I think he’s definitely fifteen.” Laura: “Travis, how old is Fjord?” Travis, off-screen: “Sixty-five,” but he’s had the Mask of Many Faces up this whole time. Later, he adds that he’s in his early 30s.

Ashley has really enjoyed digging into Yasha’s more humorous side lately. It’s how she gets comfortable as a player, making it fun and light in a way that this year needs. “It’s also really funny to think that Yasha doesn’t know how Message works.”

Brian congratulates Laura & Ashley both on their game awards nominations. Brian vamps trying to get himself in as the presenter, but incidentally refers to Laura as his sister in the conversation and it’s super cute. “I would like to be the one to give the award to either my fiancee, or my sister!”

Fanart of the Week: @ethanmaldridge with an illustrated page from the Katzenprinz book. It’s just beautiful.

Jester’s polymorph gambit was terrifying, but the stakes got even higher when everyone else got stunned. She does lament choosing a bunny at the start. “Frickin’ Fjord’s armor!”

Yasha loves being polymorphed lately. She thinks it’s kinda funny, especially given her rigid upbringing with such defined roles.

Laura feels like Jester and Vex are weirdly two halves of herself. Brian: “You see the very bargainy, I’m gonna use my wit & smarts to negotiate situations. But at the same time, you’re very open to what people are thinking & feeling and navigating that. What you end up putting out (though it comes across as innocent and naive) is something pure because she truly believes it.” Laura thinks Yasha and Pike are the same way for Ashley, though Ashley feels a little closer to Yasha right now. Sometimes you just feel really exposed. Laura compares how much idealism she put into Jester to her character from Fruits Basket.

Since Yasha didn’t belong to either side in the war, she’s not hugely concerned by the fallout; she more wants to make sure her found family are okay and safe. Jester is the same way, Laura tells us. Jester doesn’t have any greater vision of the Empire & Dynasty interacting; she cares about the people, and it hasn’t been until the vision with the city that she kind of woke up and realized they have to really stop this now. It feels bigger than the Dynasty/Empire. Ashley: “It seems more of a thing for Beau and Caleb to care about.”

Really, up to now Jester was mostly concerned about getting Molly back, but now the stakes seem much higher. “We have to do this. We have to complete this, to beat them, to keep them from doing this.” Yasha is just going with the flow for now. There’s a lot coming at them and they are ready to find out what’s next.

And that’s that for tonight! Brian thanks the crew especially for working incredibly hard on switching everything to home-based streaming. He then gets stuck halfway spinning around in his chair and the last thing we hear is him idly wondering “What’s Fjord taste like?” which seems pretty on brand for tonight’s show. Is it Thursday yet?

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

"Well, if it isn't my favorite upperclassmen who just got older today. Happy Birthday Leona! Congratulations on surviving this long, you're doing great sweety!"I present him a box wrapped in yellow paper with cartoon lions. "I got you a chess board, custom made with glass. I also requested for the horse pieces to be shaped as lions instead. Oh! And Ruggie wanted me to give you this on his behalf."I then hand him a basket filled with fresh vegetables, ignoring his disgusted expression. "Enjoy."

"You congratulate me on surviving this long in life, but I doubt you’d be able to survive in a game of chess.”

Leona plucked up a Knight--a lion of glass, with a flowing mane and fierce teeth--and holding it between his index finger and thumb. He peered at you through the chess piece, your features distorting thanks to the shape and bend of the glass.

“Care to test your survivability? And don’t worry--I won’t go easy on you.” He grinned sardonically, delighting in your protests. “That’s how Mother Nature works. She shows no mercy, so why should I?”

Leona’s smugness instantly vanished when you whipped out the basket of vegetables and placed it before him. He leapt a considerable distance back, eyes widening to tennis balls, face turning pale, and hair standing on end. You swore you could also see sweat beading on his skin, could see his fingers trembling as he gripped the Knight hard.

He might shatter it with his bare hands, you fretted.

Leona hissed--literally hissed--at you, and at the vegetables. Nearby party goers passed the birthday boy concerned looks.

“You get that crap away from me,” he spat vehemently. “And you can tell Ruggie he can shove it up his--”

“Aw, c’mon, Leona-san~ A few leafy greens never hurt anybody,” a carefree voice cackled. A familiar hyena poked his head out of a crowd. He was still dressed in one of his many part-time job uniforms, implying that he had just been released early from one of them.

“Nishishishishi. I guess your taste buds haven’t grown up all that much, huh, Leona-san?” Ruggie teased, wagging a finger at his Dorm Leader.

“Bastard...!! You know how I feel about... THOSE!!” Leona thrusted an accusing finger at the basket of vegetables.

“What, you can’t even say what they are anymore?” Ruggie laughed, shrugging. “Did you regress this past year, or what?”

“Take them back and feed yourself with those. I’m not touching them.”

“You’re rejecting my kind and generous gift?”

“I’m rejecting your bullshit, because this ISN’T funny!!”

“Really?” A hand flew to Ruggie’s mouth, which did a poor job of concealing his wide grin. “Cuz it’s plenty funny for me~”

“Oh? You think this is funny, do you?” Leona gritted his teeth, muscles tensing. He may have detested vegetables, but if there was one thing he hated more than that, it was having his pride hurt. His voice dropped to a sickly sweet purr. “Alright. I got it. I’ll play your game. You want me to use these vegetables? I’ll use them.”

He set down the Knight upon the glass chessboard with a harsh CLACK and dug a hand into the vegetable basket, retrieving a ripe tomato. Leona’s lip curled as he brought his arm back and chucked the fruit as hard as he could at his Vice Dorm Leader.

Ruggie’s ears flattened as the red projectile catapulted at him. “Shoot--”

The hyena yanked you over by the wrist, pulling you in front of him. In that moment, you weren’t a friend or a foe, but a convenient meat shield. A casualty of war between the two beastmen.

SPLAT!!

The tomato popped, its juices and seeds spilling down your face in little rivulets. 

“Thanks for the save~” Ruggie chirped.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away that easy!” Leona roared, reaching for more ammunition.

“Whoops, looks like he’s actually super pissed off now,” Ruggie sighed. “Better brace yourself for the follow-up then, Anon-kun~”

[myearts-uwu]

Bakery AU!

Pairing: Claude x Felix

Featured characters: Claude, Athanasia, Felix, Lily (at the very end of it)

Genre: Fluff. Just... it’s pure fluff in here.

This was supposed to be a single one-shot but I somehow decided to turn it into a short fic that has... two or three parts?

It’s just an adorable AU!

"York's Bakery...," Claude read out the sign displayed above the front door of the cozy-looking bakery. He hummed in disinterest. He was not exactly a huge fan of going out to buy bread or random pastries at a random bakery, let alone a bakery that had been opened for less than three months.

However, since his daughter was the one who asked if they could visit this new bakery together one day during the weekend, he had no choice but to say yes to her favour. It warmed his cold heart when her eyes lit up before smiling at him after he said that.

Why must he be such a softie for his daughter?

"Waa..."

Upon hearing the shaky breath of awe, Claude looked down and noticed the seven-year-old girl staring at the bakery with awe. Her small and chubby hand was holding onto the pinky finger of his left hand loosely.

"You seem to be excited to come here, Athanasia," he commented nonchalantly with a stoic face. He was not the best at showing his true emotions. However, his daughter knew that he was being entertained by her. "I still don't know how you've heard about this bakery, though."

Athanasia just giggled. "Oh, I always see it every day when the driver drives me to school, papa!" she answered. Of course, he wouldn't know about that small fact considering that he had never personally driven her to school. As the CEO of Obelia's Enterprises, he had to go to his office early in the morning. "And since the driver has been to this bakery before, he told me that this bakery's pastries are to die for! Es... Especially the chocolate muffins!" she exclaimed.

"Hm, I see...," Claude mumbled before ruffling Athanasia's soft blonde hair. Compared to the colour of his hair which was a more golden colour, her's leaned more on the lighter side. "Well, let's see if what Mister Han said is true and the pastries here are indeed 'to die for'. Let's go, Athanasia. We don't want to keep standing here, do we?"

Athanasia nodded and skipped towards the front door, tugging her father by his hand. Some random passersby noticed the father-daughter duo and either smiled or chuckled at the adorable scene in front of them.

Claude was about to push the door open but his own daughter had beaten him to it. She had let go of the blond's hand for a few seconds just so she could both of her hands around the door handle. As soon as she pushed the front door open, there was the sound of a small bell ringing.

Ding!

"Welcome to York's Bakery!"

The person standing behind the counter greeted the two newcomers with enthusiasm. Claude stole a small glance at the worker and the only thing he took note of was the messy bright red hair. As well as that large grin on his face that could make anyone's heart melt.

Besides that? He didn't look all that interesting to him.

All he could give the man was a curt nod for he was not someone who enjoyed talking to people.

"Hello!" Unlike him, Athanasia was a total ball of sunshine. She smiled back at the worker and waved at him. The man just chuckled and waved back.

"Why, Hello there, young lady," the man behind the counter said. "How may I help you on this wonderful afternoon?"

Claude gave the man a warning glance and he immediately tensed up. A sign for him to not act so close around the little girl. Times like these made Claude grateful that he had a natural resting bitch face. After that, he acted as if nothing had happened and picked up a tray to put the baked goods he planned on getting on.

Besides the one worker available in the bakery, Claude noticed upon entering the building the strong aromatic scent of freshly baked bread. It tingled his nose slightly due to how heavenly the smell inside the bakery was.

"Uhh... I heard that the chocolate muffins here are to die for! And I wanted to try one!" Athanasia told the man. She walked towards the front counter and pressed her face against the glass of the display case. "Whoa... you have a lot of delicious-looking desserts here."

"Hmm... they do cater a lot of baked goods here," Claude mumbled to himself as he picked out random bread he and his daughter would eat as light snacks. Sausage rolls, croissants, baguettes, buns, egg tarts, cookies... They were really selling a wide variety of baked goods. He grabbed the pair of tongs and started to do his own business.

The worker laughed at Athanasia's adorableness. "They're all freshly made, you know? Well, except for the cakes since we usually have them chilling in the refrigerator overnight." He looked around before winking at her. "But that's a secret between us, alright?" he said in a whisper.

'Someone seems to like that counter worker,' Claude thought when he heard his daughter laughing out loud. He stood in front of a tall basket made from rattan that had baguettes in it. 'Hmm... Athanasia would most definitely eat an entire long baguette as a snack in one sitting... I'm just going to get it for her.'

"You're funny, Mister!" Athanasia exclaimed while taking her hand out towards him. "My name is Athy and that grumpy man who's picking out the baked goods there is my papa!"

"... Grumpy?" Claude turned around and looked absolutely offended by how Athanasia introduced him to a random stranger. Him? Grumpy? Sure, he was not a huge fan of social interaction but that did not mean that he was entirely grumpy.

It only made him even more annoyed when the guy was laughing with her.

"Now, Miss Athy. It's rude to call your own father grumpy," he told her before gently holding her small hand to shake it. "My name is Felix, by the way. If you were wondering about my name, that is."

"Oh, I already knew what your name is," she said before pointing on the nametag that was pinned to the beige apron Felix wore.  "It's written on that nametag thingy."

"... Oh, I actually forgot that I had my nametag on me," Felix stated in slight embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head. "You have good eyes, Miss Athy."

"Athanasia."

The girl turned around to look at her father. "Yes, papa?"

"Have you picked out everything you want yet?" Claude asked while smirking. After placing the tongs in their original place, he put his free hand on his waist. "You don't want to return home without those muffins and cupcakes and cookies you were talking about before coming here now, do you?"

"Eh?! But papa, there's just so many things that I wanna try here!" Athanasia cried out. Her eyes darted around the baked goods inside the display case. "Ahh, I really wanna try those chocolate muffins... but the chocolate chip cookies look so good... Oh, but... but look at those macarons! And- And those chocolate bars with dried up fruits..."

Felix looked down at the indecisive girl and looked up at Claude. He laughed weakly. "I assume that your daughter has a strong liking to chocolate?" he asked.

"She's addicted actually," Claude answered before placing the tray on the front counter. He was going to have to pay for all these twice if Athanasia was still deciding on what she should get. "She actually had one of her teeth pulled out at the dentist last year because of a bad cavity. She kept denying that her tooth wasn't aching... but she always teared up whenever she ate anything."

Felix snorted while Athanasia looked at her father as if he had betrayed her. Which, in a way, he did.

"Papa, you promised you won't talk about that to anyone," Athanasia whined with a cute pout. She humphed. "I'm not going to talk to papa anymore!"

"Is that so?" With a calm expression on his face, Claude pulled out his wallet. "Well, good luck paying for all those desserts, then."

"Papa!" she whined again, earning more laughter from the man behind the counter.

He may not look it, but Claude knew how to be humourous... occasionally.

"M-My, you two are quite a hilarious duo," Felix commented while wiping away a tear from laughing too much. He went to the cash register to collect the blond's payment. The girl would eventually tell them what she wanted soon enough.

Claude looked around the bakery while Felix placed the baked goods he paid for into a large paper bag. "Are you the only one working here?" he asked, trying to make some light conversation even though he was not the best when it came to starting one.

"Oh, heaven's no. I'm way too inexperienced to be left working at a bakery all alone," Felix answered with a smile. "There are more people working here, believe it or not. The owner of the bakery, Lilian, is usually working behind the scenes in the kitchen. The same goes for the other ladies working here. Since I'm not that good at baking anything, I'm in charge of the front counter. Greeting customers, making sure everyone is content with the bakery's atmosphere, making sure no one steals anything from here... the usual stuff."

Felix was indeed a talker.

"... Uh-huh," was Claude's awkward response.

"Mister Felix! Mister Felix!" Athanasia called out.

Felix and Claude looked at the little girl. "Hm? Found something you like, Miss Athy?"

"... Can I get a chocolate muffin and those chocolate chip cookies? They look really tasty?"

"Of course. Oh, one moment, Sir."

"Take your time."

Claude looked at Felix who knelt down to grab a muffin as well as scooping out the cookies before putting them in separate smaller paper bags. When Athanasia approached him, he petted her head. "I thought you'd buy the whole bakery because of how indecisive you are when it comes to food."

"But papa, if I do that, then what will they sell afterwards? I don't wanna ruin their business!" Athanasia grinned innocently.

"... Well, isn't that nice of you?" Claude responded sarcastically.

Felix couldn't help but chuckle at them. "Here're your cookies and muffin, Miss," he said as he leaned forward to give the small bags to the girl after calculating the whole price of everything with the cash register.

"Yay!" Athanasia snatched the paper bags from Felix's hand. She immediately opened the bag with the cookies and pulled one out before munching on it.

Claude sighed. "Athanasia, can't you just wait for a few more minutes?" he asked her sternly. "At least eat the cookies once I'm done paying for everything."

"But... But papa. These cookies are amazing!" Her jewel blue eyes sparkled. There were a few cookie crumbs on her lips and her chubby cheeks were puffed out after eating more of the tasty snack.

Claude's shoulders dropped. "Athanasia... You're dirtying the floor with those cookie crumbs."

Felix had to stifle his own laughter. "That's okay, Sir. I can clean that up afterwards. Besides, your daughter here is obviously enjoying those cookies immensely, right Miss Athy?"

"Mhm!" Athanasia nodded her head, mouth still full with cookies inside.

Well, it was painfully clear to Claude that this worker was already smitten with his daughter... Which he couldn't really blame him for that. Even he had to admit that his daughter was a complete natural at manipulating people with her cute looks and personality.

Claude sighed and was preparing to pull out his money. "How much does everything cost... Felix?"

"That will be... exactly 13000 won."

Claude widened his eyes slightly. "... That's a pretty low price for this much we're getting," he muttered. "Especially for how high-quality everything looks."

Felix thought he had misheard something. "Low price? I... don't mean to be rude but that is a pretty high price. Not to mention that you're buying this many baked goods at once..."

"Papa could have bought everything inside this bakery if he wants to!" Athanasia chimed in. "Because papa is a big boss at a big company! A CEO!"

... Claude had to make a mental note for himself to remind him to teach Athanasia that she should not give out random personal information about either of them to strangers once they return home.

He was expecting Felix to pry more information about him being a CEO out of either him or Athanasia.

But instead, he just acted as if he didn't hear anything.

"Well, even if your father is a CEO of a large company, if he's able to sell out the entire bakery, I'm sure my boss would pass out from shock," Felix joked before pushing the large paper bag with everything Claude bought inside. "Funny story, she actually did end up passing up from shock after we were given our first ever large cake order for a wealthy child's birthday party."

"Well, I sincerely hope she won't end up passing out if more people end up ordering cakes and other pastries from this bakery," Claude responded. "She might have to go to a hospital if that happens a lot."

... Was that supposed to be a joke or something?

Claude cleared his throat from how awkward he suddenly felt and looked down at his wallet to pull out the exact amount of money he needed to pay for everything. "I'm... not that good when it comes to making jokes," he admitted.

"... Oh, that was a joke?" Felix asked.

Athanasia shook her head in disapproval. "Papa, you're terrible at making jokes. This is why people either think you're a serious grumpy man or a socially awkward man."

'When and where did she learn to be so sassy to her own father?' Claude wondered, trying to act calm.

"... Here's the money." He tried to ignore the quiet stare from Athanasia and gave the money to Felix. When he looked at him did he realise that this was the first time they made proper eye contact with each other.

For the first time since coming here, Jewel blue eyes met up with warm grey ones face to face.

Felix froze up all of a sudden, confusing Claude. He tilted his head. "Felix, are you alright?"

A few seconds later, Felix blinked multiple times before realising that he was still at work. There was a faint blush on his face and he smiled nervously. "A-Ah! My apologies," he apologised as he accepted the money. "I was... genuinely stunned at your eyes. I'm sorry if that sounds weird."

Ah, his eyes. It was considered a rare condition and the only people who had it were people in his family. The jewel blue eyes were always associated with the people within the Obelia family. His ancestors, his father, his older brother, his niece, his daughter...

Basically, they all had jewel blue eyes. The reason why? No one had any idea.

"It's alright," Claude reassured Felix. "I'm used to people being surprised by my eye colour."

"Oh, I see... Well...," Felix's words trailed off before putting the money inside the cash register. He then gave him the receipt with a warm smile. "Well, I just thought that your eyes remind me of sapphires somehow. It's nice."

"... Okay then?"

Well, this was a bit awkward.

"Papa, papa!"

"Hm?" After noticing the hem of his shirt being tugged down, Claude looked down and saw his daughter holding out a singular chocolate cookie in front of him. "... Athanasia, you know that I don't like desserts."

"But you might like it! You never know if you hate it unless you try it, papa," Athanasia told him in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice. That sort of statement sounded really weird when it's coming from a seven-year-old child. "The cookies are so delicious! Please, papa? Just one..."

Claude stared at her blankly before looking at Felix who shrugged his shoulders.

'... At least be glad that there are no customers inside other than us,' he thought begrudgingly before going down on one knee so he could be at the same eye level as Athanasia. He opened his mouth and his daughter happily fed him the single cookie. He then stood up and slowly munched on the sickeningly sweet and crunchy snack.

...

...

...

"It tastes... alright, I guess," Claude mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by the cookie in his mouth.

"See? What did I tell you? I knew you'd like it!" Athanasia said proudly with her arms folded across her chest.

Felix smiled at the girl's energetic demeanour. It seemed to Claude that he was wondering how such a small ball of energy came from someone who looked like he'd rather stay at home all day.

"Your relationship with your daughter is adorable, sir," Felix commented.

"It's Claude."

"Pardon?"

"My name. What? Since you did give my daughter your name and my daughter gave hers to you, might as well join in to not feel so left out, right?"

"O-Oh... Mister Claude?" Felix tried to say his name.

"Just drop the 'Mister'. Judging by your appearance, I wouldn't be surprised if we're around the same age," Claude told him.

"... As you wish... Claude... Ah, I'm sorry but it does feel a bit embarrassing for me to call you so casually like that when this is our first time meeting, haha!"

'... Hm. That's weird," Claude thought while he silently stared at the red-haired man who was running his fingers through his hair. For a moment he thought his heart skipped a beat. It was most likely his own mind playing tricks on him.

"If that's the case, then feel free to add in 'Sir' before saying my name," Claude said casually. He looked at his wristwatch and knew that it was time for him and Athanasia to leave this bakery. Annoyingly for him, his older brother Anastacius and his daughter Jennette were coming over soon in the evening and he had to... mentally prepare himself in order to deal with his brother.

"Well, Felix. We'll be taking our leave for today," he said before calling out Athanasia who was looking at the desserts in the display case. "Athanasia, it's time to go. Remember, your cousin is coming over."

"Okay!" Athanasia exclaimed before rushing towards him. She almost tripped but fortunately, she managed to grab Claude's shirt in time to prevent herself from falling. Giggling, she turned around and waved at Felix. "Goodbye, Mister Felix! It was nice talking to you!"

"Bye-bye, Miss Athy." Felix waved back.

Claude pulled the front door open and was about to leave the bakery but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Felix calling him.

"Sir Claude?"

"Hm?"

Claude turned his head around and looked at Felix with a surprised expression when he smiled warmly at him. A smile that would make anyone feel comforted just by looking at it.

"I hope you have a wonderful day. And please come again!" Felix said. It was something he'd say to every single customer who'd leave the bakery.

But there was something about the way he said that made it sound like he was actually looking forward to seeing Claude again.

And for some reason, Claude felt a bit... flattered by that.

"... Of course," was all he could say before leaving the bakery with his daughter. After the door closed behind them, the father-daughter made their way to his Mercedes-Benz.

The trip to the car was quiet. Athanasia was happily munching on her chocolate muffin while Claude was deep in thought about something.

"... I suppose we can make time to visit the bakery from time to time every Saturday...," Claude mumbled, still deep in thought. 'That Felix guy is quite an amusing fellow to be around.'

"Eh?!" Athanasia looked up at her father in complete shock.

That was obviously wonderful news for the girl because she really loved the snacks there.

***

Ten minutes had passed since Claude and Athanasia left the building.

"I heard a lot of laughter coming from here," Lily said as she came out of the kitchen to check up on her employee and close friend. Felix was busy sweeping the floor with a broom to get rid of the cookie crumbs on the floor. The brunette smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "You're whistling. Did something good happen to you just now?"

Felix slowly turned his head around to look at Lily. There was a goofy smile present on his handsome face. "If you consider a pretty man coming in here with his cute daughter and he's like... really pretty that you can't stop staring at him as a good thing? Then yes, something good did happen."

"... Ah, so you're in love with a customer. That's a first."

Felix chuckled to himself. "Ahh... I really do hope that they come here more often soon."

[hallowxiu]

Mammon the Avatar of... Cats?

pairing: mammon x gn!mc

word count: 1.8k

summary:  Mammon isn't exactly known for making the best decisions, so it doesn't come as a surprise when you walk into Satan's room and find a cat sitting in a pile of Mammon's clothes.

Hands on your hips, you stare down at the man in front of you. “Mammon,” his name comes as a sigh that leaves your lips, “how did this happen?” Everything in the universe was shouting at you not to ask the demon, that you probably were better off not knowing, but since when did you listen to decent advice since moving into the House of Lamentation? 

Of course, Mammon didn’t answer you- well, it was more like he couldn’t answer you, because right at your feet was Mammon… as a cat. You press your lips together in a thin line, glancing down at the pile of his discarded clothes before darting your gaze around the room. “I feel like I’m in a Fruits Basket episode if I’m being honest.” Mammon didn’t know what you were talking about. You weren’t surprised. You bend down and scoop the white and gray cat into your arms. You were currently standing in Satan’s room, the whereabouts of the demon unknown. You chased the second oldest demon in here after he explained to you an idea of his that would surely go wrong. The goal was easy, as Mammon described it. He would “borrow” an ancient book of Satan’s and then sell it to an obsessed witch. You attempted to tell him why this was a bad idea, but he wasn’t having any of it. So you chased him in an attempt to stop him, but before you could do anything you witnessed the demon trip over one of the many books scattered on the floor, which then promptly turned him into a cat. The issue was, you tried getting Mammon to touch the same book that turned him into a cat, only for nothing to happen afterward. 

“It would seem that you’re stuck as a cat.” He meows in response and you huff quietly. You shift the cat in your arms, wrap the book up in Mammon’s discarded clothes so that you wouldn’t make contact with it, and leave the room with both in hand. “We should probably hunt down Satan, he might know how to turn you back. And since you can’t talk, I guess I’ll have to be the one to explain your situation.” Which might work to Mammon’s advantage as Satan did hold somewhat of a soft spot for you in comparison to his older brother. 

An hour has passed since Mammon transformed into a cat and you’ve had no luck in finding the fourth born. “I don’t remember him saying he had any kind of business today, but Satan can be elusive when he wants to be.” You look down to where Mammon’s trailing alongside you, having ditched the comfort of your arms only half an hour ago. You figured he was getting restless and pacing around would help ease him. “I wouldn’t worry too much about your predicament. Most of the curses and spells attached to his books only last a day or two at the most.” It was slightly disappointing that he couldn’t speak as a cat; it made things a little lonely. You could only imagine how frustrating it was for him. “Well, I suppose we’ll just have to find a way to pass the time until you shift back.” Abruptly, you turn on your heels to face Mammon. “I could brush your fur? Give you treats? Take you on a walk? What do cats like; honestly this would be much easier with Satan, he seems like the type to know what cats would like to do.” You tap your foot as you think to yourself, Mammon just gazing up at you in return. “You probably wouldn’t like any of that anyway.” A sigh leaves your lips and you find yourself walking down the hall once again. “Well, we should be okay as long as Lucifer doesn’t--”

“Lucifer doesn’t what?” You freeze in place, squeezing your eyes shut as you let out another sigh. Great, that’s just what you needed. 

“Um,” you turn around to face the eldest born who managed to sneak up behind you, “nothing.” You quickly scoop Mammon back up into your arms. Lucifer looks between you and Mammon a few times. 

“Why do you have a cat? Pets are forbidden here, I’ve told you that time and time again.” 

“This isn’t my pet.” 

“It certainly looks like one to me.” 

“Well--”

“Did Satan put you up to this again?” 

“What? No.” You shift uncomfortably under Lucifer’s intense gaze. It’s then that he glances at Mammon’s bundled up clothes under your arm that resemble the shape of a book. 

“It’s Mammon, isn’t it? The cat.” A nervous smile breaks out across your lips. “Let me guess,” the demon rakes his bored gaze over the cat that can’t seem to stand still in your arms, “the idiot tried to steal something from Satan’s room and tripped over a cursed book which then turned him into a cat. Is that correct?”

“That would be… correct.” You say carefully. You glance down at Mammon and mouth ‘sorry’. 

“Well, how fortunate for the two of you.” There’s a wicked smile that plays out on Lucifer’s face and you find yourself taking a step back. “I just happen to be an avid cat lover myself. I’m sure Satan wouldn’t mind me watching over him until he returns home to give him a… proper punishment.” You exchange a quick, horrified look with Mammon. “If you plan on running away with him, Satan might be forced to think that you were a part of Mammon’s idiotic plan as well. You wouldn’t want that, would you?” You were beginning to think that Lucifer had a little too much fun scaring his younger brother. And you, too. 

“It’s not worth it,” Belphegor says as he passes the three of you in the hall, Beelzebub in tow. “Don’t let Mammon drag you into trouble for something you had no part of.” Beelzebub nods thoughtfully along to his twin’s words. 

“We’re going out to get some food. Do you want to come with us?” Beelzebub offers but you quickly shake your head. Even though Mammon was in the wrong, you’d feel at least a little bad throwing him to the wolves. 

“Suit yourself.” Belphegor snorts as he and his brother disappear around the corner.

“Um… I actually thought of a punishment myself for Mammon.” You timidly speak up once looking over at the oldest brother. Lucifer raises an eyebrow at this though says nothing, silently prompting you to continue. “Er, I was going to, uh, bathe him. Cats hate water, you know. Plus he smells, I think it’s been a while since his last shower.” You quickly lean back when a paw shoots up towards your face. A chuckle leaves Lucifer’s lips.

“If that’s what you want, then go ahead. I’ll tell Satan that you gave him a proper punishment when he returns home, but don’t be surprised if that’s not good enough for him. He wasn’t exactly in the best of spirits when he left this morning.” 

“Hey, don’t get mad at me!” You shriek as you barely avoid Mammon’s claws. “You’re the one who got yourself into this mess! If I didn’t offer to give you a bath, who knows what Lucifer would be doing with you right now. I can promise this is a much better ending for you.” You test the running bath water, making sure that it wouldn’t be too hot for him. You knew as a demon he could handle drastic temperature changes, but you weren’t sure if being a cat changed any of that. Were Devildom cats any different from human realm cats? You’d have to ask Satan about that later. 

You quickly pick up Mammon before he can run out of the bathroom, and glanced between his face and the tub, wondering if he’d even let you place him in the water. “Are you going to let me put you in gently or am I going to have to toss you in?” His large blue eyes stare at you. “I’m going to put you in the water now… please behave.” You hated this. This was just as much of a punishment for you as it was for Mammon. You were never much of a cat person, and you’d never attempted to bath one before. You should have just left with Beelzebub and Belphegor when you had the chance. You carefully lower Mammon into the water, which, expectedly, went as well as you thought it would. He was flailing in your arms, claws digging into your skin, and just overall avoiding the bathwater. “Mammon! Don’t be so difficult!” When you do get him in the water it’s almost worse. Water is going everywhere as Mammon tries to scramble out of the tub, but only submerges himself further in the water the more he panics. “I should have brought thick gloves for this.” A sigh leaves you as you lean over and carefully hold Mammon up so that he doesn’t accidentally drown himself. “Pull yourself together, Mammon.” 

It was halfway through the bath that you ran into your second dilemma. “Do I use pet shampoo on you or human shampoo? Would that make your skin break out?” Mammon only stares at you with narrowed eyes. “Um… maybe just getting you wet is good enough for now.” Sporting a sheepish smile, you lift him out of the water so that you can dry him off. “That wasn’t so bad, right--”

Of course, this would be the moment that the spell chose to wear off. 

You’re surrounded by a white mist, and the cat you were once holding feels a lot less… like a cat. It’s when the mist finally clears out of the room that you’re faced with a stark naked Mammon who’s leaning halfway out of the tub with your hands hooked under his arms. The two of you stare at one another in silence before you both let out a blood-curdling scream, each of you desperately scrambling to put as much distance between the two of you as possible. 

“How did the punishment go?” Lucifer’s sipping on his coffee with a barely concealed coy smile. Belphegor is lazily applying colorful bandaids all over your arms to cover up the scratches Mammon gave you during the bath, the two of you sitting on the couch in the living room. Mammon’s on the opposite side of the room, crouched in the corner with his back facing the rest of the room, his red face hiding behind his hands. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You mutter out with wide eyes. 

“Hm? Talk about what?” It’s at that moment that Satan walks through the door with a puzzled expression on his face. “Oh my, why are you covered in bandaids?” 

“Funny you should ask.” Lucifer takes another sip of his hot drink before looking over to Mammon. “Maybe you should ask your idiot brother for more details.”

[yourneighborbakugou]

To Love's End, Part 4

Read Part One / Part Two / Part Three Summary: When love isn’t enough to mold fate together. Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Fem!Reader Warning: angst, mentions of death Word Count: ~5.1k Playlist: The time we spent by Jordy Quirkless AU! Feudal Japan AU! A/N: Life has been really hectic so getting this chapter out took wayyyyyyy longer than I thought. This chapter was already drafted two months ago and I couldn't find the motivation to read through it for errors until now. We’re about half way through the story! Woot! Woot! Thank you, as always, for being patient with me. Thank you for reading my work and supporting me. I hope you enjoy it!

The fog is dense in the south countryside of Japan. The harsh breeze from sea flows through the small village at the edge of town. Deku stares out at sea as he recalls the last conversation he had with Dabi before his death. 

After a long day of recruiting members to their rebellion against King Sasaki, Deku and Dabi visit the local Izakayas (pub/tavern) to relax. Over gyoza and sake, Deku praises Dabi on a successful recruitment day. It was satisfying to see people come to the realization that Saski was unworthy of being King. They toast and drink multiple rounds of sake before Dabi placed a hand on Deku’s shoulder. 

“You have potential, kid. Don’t let fools deter you from your path.” Dabi says, taking a gulp from his cup of sake. 

Deku angrily chugs his sake and nods knowing exactly what he meant. If there’s one thing he knows about Dabi, it’s seeking revenge on those who’ve hurt you the most. 

Memories sprint in his head of his younger self running for his life through the forest. Screams and the fire raging behind him motivated him to keep moving forward. 

“Don’t look back. Keep going until you're safe--promise me Izuku.” his mothers words echo in repeat. 

Before Deku has the chance to reflect more, his trance is broken when he spots soldiers approaching in the distance--Tomura. Deku swiftly tucks the painful memory back into its safebox but he doesn't lock it. There was an important message Dabi shared that night that he needs to think on.

Tomura has never been good news to Deku. Ever since he joined the rebellion Tomura always had something against him. Deku didn’t come from a rich family and was instead chosen by hand by Dabi. Deku wondered if that was the reason. 

“Deku. Such a distasteful name.” Tomura says with self-satisfaction of his mocking. “Funny seeing you out here. Shouldn’t you be on your way to kill Bakugou?”

Deku bites his tongue knowing all too well that bickering with Tomura wasn’t a good choice. 

“Don’t worry. I’m just here to do my job--kill you if you don’t kill Bakugou.” Tomura grins evilly. 

Tomura tosses Deku a wrapped cloth before turning to leave.

“That should be enough for one try. I’ll be watching.”

Deku grips the wrapped cloth in his hand tighter. He’d expect his job to be tough but getting only one shot to kill Bakugou? Could he do it? 

Deku fights the thoughts in his head as he watches Tomura go out of sight. Deku has always watched Bakugou from afar since they were not on the same path. He wished he could’ve done more for Bakugou to show King Sasaki’s true colors before things had gotten so ugly. 

Throwing his cloak over his shoulders, he walks to his horse, One. 

“Ready, One.” Deku leans his forehead on One. One neighs in response and as the sun rises in the distance, Deku is off towards the north.  

Passing through the towns, Deku only makes necessary stops to sleep or eat. Yueei was at least a day’s ride. Late afternoon, Deku finds himself walking One through a village, passing through the market. Night was falling soon and stalls were beginning to close. Passing a stall that sold fruits, Deku stops in front of the woven basket that had fresh apples--50 yen, the sign says. 

“Would you like one, son?” An old woman speaks to him from behind the stall. “I’m closing shop and it’d be a shame for those to go to waste.”

Deku smiles and takes an apple in hand. Before the old women could protest, he left 1,000 yen behind. 

“Young man, your change!” The old woman yells from her stall. Deku continued forward with One, taking a bite into his apple. Apple has always been his favorite as a kid. Memories of him and Bakugou as kids walking between trees to pick apples with their mothers causes Deku to frown. 

Bakugou.  

In the late night, a shadow cautiously roams Yueei palace, making their way through the empty clearings and corridors, escaping the eyes of the palace guards. The figure slowly approached a room and crouched by the sliding door. They slid a white paper through the crack and waited. After a few seconds, a gold paper slides through and the figure quickly hides in their kimono.

“Don’t fail me.” a lady spoke in a low voice.

The shadow nods before vanishing into the night. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“My lady!” You call from outside Ibara’s chambers. When she doesn’t respond a second time, you make your way inside only to find Ibara hunched over her kotatsu. She’s mumbling about something you can’t hear and when she lifts her head to look at you, the bag under her eyes tells you she’s been crying. Her eyes were puffy and nose was all red. Carefully navigating the conversation, you asked Ibara what happened and she explained. 

She and Kirishima were supposed to meet for breakfast at their favorite spot in the palace but he never showed up. It wasn’t like him to not tell her if he couldn’t make it. Ibara waited over 2 hours and the food she cooked herself with Urakaka’s help went cold. What makes it worse is that it rained that morning and Ibara still waited. She continues to tell you Kirishima hasn't gone to see her or send her flowers/messages like he used to. Ibara was devastated. You nod in response to let her know you understood her. 

“Y/N, can I ask you something?” Ibara looks at you with sadden eyes. “And please don’t lie to me.” 

You take her hands in yours, hoping it will bring some resolve to her pain. Ibara lowers her gaze and nods, readying herself to ask you the question that was burning in her head since last night. 

“Where were you the other day?”

You look at Ibara confused, unsure of what she meant. 

“Y/N, please tell me where you were.” Ibara pulls your hands towards her lap and shuts her eyes. “Were you with Kirishima?”

“What?! Ibara, no!” You replied without hesitation and quickly shut down any ideas that would associate you with Kirishima. You’ve known since the beginning how much pressure Ibara put on herself to make things work with Kirishima. The truth was that Ibara’s time at the palace was going to be over soon. Her father had requested she go back home to help take care of their family estate. She only had a few months left and time with Kirishima was precious since he wasn’t going to be able to follow her. Knowing all this, the absolute last thing you want to do is jeopardize that for Ibara.

Thinking back to the day in question, you recall that was the morning you were at the wash house when you bumped into Bakugou---Ahhh, of course. You saw Bakugou that morning. That morning, you also knew Camie was looking for him and almost caught you both. She must’ve found out and lied to Ibara about who you were with. Not looking good, Y/N. 

“Camie told me she saw you with him. She said you kissed him.” Ibara spoke again but this time in a low tone you barely heard it. Ibara turned away from you, hurt that you may have actually done what Camie told her. “She also said she saw you with him in his room.”

“Ibara, I would never do that to you. Please, believe me.” You reach for Ibara’s hands, desperate to make things right. 

“So Camie is a liar? Is that what you’re saying?” Ibara swats your hands away before getting up towards the door. “I know Camie wouldn’t lie to me. How could you do this to me Y/N? You know how much I like Eijirou.”

Tears were now streaming down Ibara’s cheeks.

“I want you to leave. You can tell the housekeeper I don’t need you for a few days.” Ibara opens the sliding door and keeps her gaze low. “Please leave me alone.”

You know Ibara well, she’s made up her mind and nothing you say right now was going to work. Instead, you stand, take a bow and leave the room. Ibara closes the door behind you, leaving you standing there alone in the hallway listening to the soft cries from within her room. You pinch the space between your eyes to relieve the tension that was forming there.

The sound of swords clashing and grunts echo throughout the palace training grounds. Soldiers in the dozens are gathered around, training with one another. 

“Man, I’ve missed the musty smell of men! The epitome of manliness. Wouldn’t you say so Bakugou?” Kirishima crosses his arms as he and Bakugou enter the training grounds to observe all the men before them. 

SWOOSH

An arrow flies a few centimeters away from Bakugou’s face and he quickly catches it. A non-threatening shot; Bakugou grinned at the audacity of his men. This caught the attention of the men in the training grounds. Gasps of Bakugou’s sharpness turned the roaring training ground into a sudden stillness.

“It’s good to see you haven’t lost your touch.” One of Bakugou’s men, Sero, approached. 

“Of course, extra, you think I’d be beat easily with this damn arrow?” Bakugou says with a shit eating grin.

“It’s good to see you two. We’ve missed you out here.” says another one of his men, Kaminari, who was speaking in a teasing tone.

Bakugou tries to avoid these talks as much as possible but given the circumstances, he lets it slide. His men did save him and Kirishima. After merely saving Kirishima from the grasps of the enemies, Bakugou fainted himself. If it wasn’t for his soldiers bravery, they probably would’ve never made it home. 

Bakugou was pumped to get training and waved his men to leave them alone. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to come out here. Kirishima waves the rest of the men goodbye, following Bakugou to an empty spot in the training grounds. The doctor recommended light work only. Their injuries may not be bleeding anymore but the skin still needs time to heal. The training of choice then? Sparring. 

Both men remove their tops and wrap clothes around their hands and one on their head to move their hair out of the way. Kirishima grinned at Bakugou to cue that he was ready. Both men begin to throw jabs and punches at one another, trying to get a hit in. Bakugou would throw a punch, Kirishima would block. Kirishima would punch and Bakugou would counter. This went back and forth for about an hour before both men fell on the ground trying to catch their breaths.

Ever since they were kids, they’ve trained together to improve their combat skills. Their spar sessions have always been them giving each other 100%. Bakugou didn’t approve of half-ass training and Kirishima appreciated the toughness. It helped him improve his skills when he has an opponent who isn’t going easy on him for the hell of it. Bakugou may be better than him but Kirishima was not far behind. 

“Man, who knew not training for a few weeks would make us so rusty.” Kirishima says in between each breath. 

“Tch, who are you calling rusty.” Bakugou says nudging Kirishima in the arm. 

“Ah--Careful Katsuki. Wound.” Kirishima chuckles at the fact that he felt pain from a tiny nudge. He hears Bakugou not quiet say ‘sorry’ but knew that was what his intention was when he said ‘whatever’. 

“Kirishima?”

Kirishima quickly sits up at the sound of a voice he’s oh to familiar with. Camie enters the training ground, side eyeing the oogley eyes the soldiers were giving her. When Camie sees Kirishima was with Bakugou, her eyes lit up. Stalking over to the men, she smiled at Bakugou, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  

“Bakugou. I’m so happy to see you’re well enough for training again. I’ve missed seeing you out here on my walk to the study room.” Camie speaks in the sweetest tone.  

Kirishima clears his throat loudly to help Bakugou get out of the situation. “Camie, it’s good to see you too. Were you looking for me?”

“I heard Ibara wasn’t well this morning and wanted to tell you. Though, seeing Bakugou with you makes me extra happy.” Camie says as her eyes flirt with Bakugou despite no return of emotions from him. 

“Why don’t you both join Ibara and I for lunch after training? It’s been awhile since we’ve all had lunch together. Let’s all get along.” 

Kirishima looked at Bakugou and knew he didn’t like the sound of it. But he knew refusing Camie in front of the soldiers would also embarrass her and that’s very unmanly in his books. Kirishima would never allow anyone to be embarrassed around him. 

“Sure, we can do that.”

Bakugou quickly nudged Kirishima and gave him a death stare.

Half the day has gone by and Ibara was still upset at you since the morning. You’ve tried bringing her food, tried to clean her room, walk her to her studies but got rejected each time. 

Camie has really done it this time in punishing you. Ibara told you she wouldn’t need you which meant one thing--yard work. Plucking the weeds from the flower garden, you dump it into a waste bucket.

“Great job, Y/N. You’ve gone and pissed Camie off.” You say angirlying pulling a weed. “You could be doing easy work in the kitchen with Urakaka and drinking leftover sake.”

Task after task, you do as told--pulling weeds from the garden, cleaning the ponds from debris, disposing yesterday’s scraps for soil for the garden. By the time late afternoon comes, you find your limbs are aching, your back is in pain, and the pad of your feet just wants to rest.

“L/N! Bring water from the well to the wash house.” the housekeeper yells from across the yard. You respond with a ‘Yes, Ma’am” and move quickly to go fetch the water. With two buckets of water in your hands, you move slowly to the wash house. Walking past the great hall you can hear chatter and laughter. You stop by the door for a quick break for your arms, peeking inside. Looks like the court ladies and lords are having lunch. Blonde hair quickly catches your eyes and a smile tugs at the sight of him. 

Bakugou sat across from Kirishima and Ibara while Camie sat next to him. Ibara and Camie were laughing and Kirishima looked happy. Thank gods those two have made up, you thought before your smile disappeared. You caught Bakugou’s subtle smile which made your heart ache. He fit so well with people of noble status. With the reminder that your status is the reason you can’t be with Bakugou, you pick up the buckets and slowly walk away. 

By late afternoon you’re exhausted. You hate that you’ll be repeating this again tomorrow. Grabbing a roll of sushi from the kitchen, you head for a quieter space--the unused keep has always been reliable for situations like this. 

You exhale sharply as you lean your head against the tree. Your first bite of food for the day was satisfying. You quickly eat your food and gulp down water before basking under the shade. Closing your eyes, you listen to the crickets chirping in the distance, allowing yourself to relax. And before you know it you feel asleep.

In the midst of the chatter at his table, Bakugou caught a glimpse of you as you stopped by the door struggling with the pail of water. He chuckled at the sight before thinking of an excuse to leave to help you. When he looked at the door again, you were already gone. 

“Ibara, it’s good to see you and Kirishima together.” Camie taunts, knowing full well about the lie she told yesterday. “You two are really the perfect pair.”

“You’re too kind, Camie. We don’t look as great as you and Bakugou.” Ibara giggles as the sake they’ve been drinking starts to settle in her body. 

“Ibara, you don’t look so well. Should I call L/N to help take you to your room?” Kirishima holds Ibara by the waist as she becomes unbalanced in her seat. 

“No!” Ibara protested eagerly. The last person she wants to see right now is the person trying to steal her man. “Won’t you take me, Eijirou?” 

Kirishima turns red hearing Ibara call him by his first name in public. It’s not long before Kirishima is helping Ibara out of her seat. Bakugou and Camie waved them goodbye as they walked off down the corridor.

“Kat--”

“Don’t call me that.” Bakugou shuts down Camie’s attempt. He remembers the look in your eyes whenever Camie is mentioned and how you think she belongs to him or whatever. He needs to cut the weed before it causes more problems. 

“But you call me by mine. Why can’t I do the same?”

“Its different. You’re a court lady. Look Camie, I don’t want to beat around the bush. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. But I’m sorry I can’t return your feelings.”

“Stop! I don’t want to hear it!” Camie breathes heavily, taking a step back from Bakugou. The sake was starting to set for her now too.

“The Utsushimi family deserves someone more worthy than me. There are lots of suitable lords here at Yueei.”

“But I want you!” Camie peers through her lashes with prickling eyes.

“Even if you push me away, I’ll keep trying!” Camie wipes away her tears before turning to walk away from Bakugou.

Bakugou pinches the space between his eyes as the frustration from dealing with women sets a growing headache for him. It’s not that Bakugou hates Camie. But rather he knows what the lifestyle of being with Camie meant and he was not up for that. Bakugou didn’t fancy the court life at Yueei. He didn’t want royalty or money. He wanted to do a damn good job at his duties before retiring to have a quiet peaceful life. 

He needs to take a walk. 

Bakugou mindlessly strolled through the palace, nodding to a few soldiers he passed, and enjoying the calmness of the late afternoon. His feet took him to the far end of the palace before he knew it. The unused keep he found you after the intruder incident suddenly becomes noticeable. He quietly walks to the keep entrance for the first time since then. Opening one side of the door, the sight of you sleeping against the tree caught him by surprise. He sees the two buckets you were struggling to hold earlier not far either. A big smile finds its place on his lips as he walks to you. 

“Oi.” Bakugou bends down and pokes your shoulders. No response. 

“Overworked yourself again hm?” Bakugou shakes his head. He takes a seat next to you, careful to not disturb you. Seconds later, your head starts to slip forward. Bakugou quickly stops your head with his palm and angles you to rest on his shoulder. In your sleep, you hummed and wiggle in approval. 

Fuck, that was so cute. Bakugou covers his mouth to hide the red tint on his cheeks. He stayed as still as possible to support you.

“Baka.” You spoke in your sleep, drawing Bakugou’s attention. Bakugou raised an eyebrow, wondering who you were calling an idiot. “‘Suki, stay.” 

Bakugou tense at his first name rolling off your lips for the first time. 

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

His heart pumps loudly with no ending. Tingly feelings bubble inside him, makes him want to smile all the damn time with you, heart always aching to see your beautiful face--this feeling inside him, it’s been the same since the first time he laid eyes on you. Bakugou doesn’t understand how and why you make him feel this way. All he knows is that he loves it. 

Deep in his thoughts of you, Bakugou also dozed off. 

The afternoon was soon fading into night. The keep remains calm with a slight breeze entering and existing. A leaf flows by and brushes your nose, tickling you awake. You straighten yourself as you yawn.Your arm suddenly brushes a shoulder drawing your attention to the man sleeping next to you. Bakugou begins to stir as well and before you know it you both are looking at one another. 

“Bakugou. What are you doing here?” Flustered, you hide behind your sleeves.

Bakugou clears his throat and turns away from you. He doesn’t want you to see his rosey cheeks. “Was just checking on you.” 

How thoughtful he was. Before you can appreciate his thoughtfulness, your brain betrays you be replaying the hurtful scene you saw earlier that day of Bakugou with Camie.

“Stop overworking yourself.” Bakugou flicks your forehead. 

“Ow!” You pout covering your forehead. All the worries you had suddenly flew out the door.

“I don’t ask for my assignments okay. It’s just my luck today that Ibara is also upset at me so there’s nothing I can do.” 

“Besides, I’m a maid so I do as I’m told.” You lower your head in defeat, fingers curled on your apron. 

“Doesn’t give them the right to bully you.” Bakugou countered. 

“I wish it was that easy.” You scoffed standing up.  

“Who do I need to beat up?” 

“I’d like to keep my job so no thank you.” You chuckled, turning to meet his towering figure. 

“Well they have you sleeping out here in the open by yourself. What if something happens?” He inched closer to you. 

“But nothing happened because you were here.” You smiled big to him. 

You really knew when to be cute to him. Bakugou softened his eyes and smiled back. 

“Look, in a few days all the lord's will be here.” Bakugou starts but you know where this was going. 

“I won’t get in any trouble, promise.” You say bringing your pinky to him. Bakugou brings his pinky to yours to complete the promise. 

“Hey love birds.” Kirishima calls from the keep’s entrance. You both turn to see Kirishima dressed in his best Kimono. “His Majesty calls.”

“Gotta go.” Bakugou spoke softly before letting go to meet Kirishima. You watch them before turning to quietly squealing about the fact that you and Bakugou took a nap together. 

On your walk back to your quarters, you passed the kitchen and inside was Urakaka cleaning up for the day. 

“Any sake tonight?” You peaked through the door and waved. With the way Kirishima was dressed, you figured Lords were gathering which means the big guns were being served tonight. 

“If we get lucky.” Urkaka says as she winked at you. “Thankfully I don’t have to cook the meals tonight, only cleaning. So if there are any leftovers you bet we’re drinking them. For now, we only have tea.”

Urakaka pats the seat next to her at the table for you. 

“I heard things aren’t well with Ibara today.” Urakaka says as she pours you a cup of tea. You wrinkle your brows trying to figure out how she knows. 

“The maids have been talking.” Urakaka takes another sip as you nod in defeat and sip your tea. “Y/N, you know I don’t like butting into your business, but as your friend I feel obligated to say this.”

Urakaka explains that the maids are gossiping at the palace about seeing you and Bakugou together and rumour has it that you’re trying to get Camie jealous. Camie has also been vocal with the maids sprouting lies to them that you were a devious person and for people to be wary of befriending you. Camie even lied that Bakugou loves her and that you were stealing him from her. Maids you’ve known before Camie came to the palace, who you were on good terms with, also started to believe the lies. 

“What bullshit!” You exclaim in anger. “I am not stealing Bakugou from her.”

Urakaka motions you to calm down and to lower your voice. 

“Y/N, I know that but others don’t. The reason I’m telling you all this is because I worry for your well-being at the palace. Rumours like these never end well. Don’t you remember what happened last time with the maid that tried to go against the court ladies? She was found dead at the outskirts of town.”

Urakaka was right. The power court ladies have were truly terrifying. At any given moment you can be disposed of and replaced at Yueei. Thankfully King Sasaki has been kind to his people and ensures all maids who are to be fired or replaced are to be discussed with him first. King Sasaki was much tougher than King Yagi but nonetheless just as righteous. He always did right by his people. 

“Just promise me you’ll be careful?” Urakaka takes your hand in hers. You nod in agreement and give her a gentle squeeze. 

“Urakaka!” The housekeep calls from outside.

“Y/N! Good thing you're here!” The housekeeper enters the kitchen. “Make more tea and help serve it.”

Urakaka quickly helps you boil some tea and you’re soon on your way to help serve the guests. Making your way past the other maids who were walking back, you can’t help but notice the stares from each of them before the whispers began. 

Making your last corner to the hall, a fellow maid purposefully bumps into you,causing you to drop the teapot and burning yourself in the process. You yelp in shock. The maid who bumped into you made no apology. Instead, she looked at you with disgust and turned to walk away. 

Urakaka was right about the maids. With no time to waste dwelling in your sadness, you pick up your shattered teapot, wipe what you could with your apron before making your way back to the kitchen to get more tea. 

Urakaka runs to check on you when she sees your kimono had tea stains and hands were red. You say reassure her you were fine and ask for a new batch of tea. Urakaka nods and turns to busy herself with a new tea batch.

Hold yourself together, you say to yourself, wiping a fallen tear. You throw the wet apron into a bin nearby before grabbing a new apron to put on. The new apron hides just enough of the tea stains on your kimono, making you still presentable. This time, Urakaka comes along to make sure you’re okay. Getting to the great hall, you pause with Urakaka beside you. 

“Are you going to be okay?” She asks and you nod in response. You know Bakugou would be here and that would at least help calm you down. 

“Why do we have to wear this?” Bakugou groans when Kirishima brings in a flashy orange kimono with a black dragon engraved in the back. 

“We need to look our best tonight. Lord Sorahiko Torino is coming to visit to pay respect to the late King Yagi.” Kirishima helps Bakugou dress since they were already running late. Kirishima had got dressed as fast as he could first and thankfully found Bakugou in the nick of time. 

“Hurry.” Kirishima pulls Bakugou into the corridors and towards the grand hall where a small gathering of lords and samurai had congregated. Entering the room, they both bowed as onlookers stared.

“It’s a great honor to meet you Samurai.” Lord Torino bows as Bakugou and Kirishima approaches. 

“The honor is ours, my lord.” Bakugou returns the bow, Kirishima follows suit. 

King Sasaki motions the group gathered to take a seat at the table as maids began to serve tea. King Sasaki and Lord Torino begin to talk business while the Samurai’s chat aside on their own. Kirishima begins serving the samurai’s sake as they talk. 

Bakugou watches you enter with other maids and frowns at the sight of your condition. He didn’t remember seeing your Kimono stained nor your hand red. He remembers you telling him earlier you’ve been overworked by the housekeeper. 

“Isn’t that right Bakugou?” Kirishima says as he nudged Bakugou to get his attention. One of Torino’s samurai asked about his victory at Wakayama and Kirishima was more than happy to explain in detail how the battle went down. 

Bakugou nods, gulping down his sake, eyes still glued to you as you make your rounds to him. When you get to him, you smile and pour him a cup of tea. Orange suits him well. You thought to yourself when your eyes met him.Before your hand gets too far, Bakugou gently holds your wrist to stop you from leaving. 

“What happened to your hand?” 

You contemplate whether to tell him the truth. What would he do if he found out you were getting bullied by the other maids because of Camie's dislike of your relationship with him? 

“I accidentally spilt tea. Nothing serious.” You lie, quickly pulling away before onlookers notice. You try to walk away but is again stopped when he holds you by your apron. 

“Meet me outside in an hour.” 

You nod at his requests and make your way to serve tea to the rest of the group. Existing the hall, you see Urakaka talking to the housekeeper. 

“Ah, there she is.” Urakaka smiles seeing you returned. “Isn’t that right, Y/N? You said you’ll help me make gyoza tomorrow?”

You hesitate for a second not knowing where she was going with this but nod. Housekeeper agreed to have you help Urakaka tomorrow but insisted she can only let you for a day since the palace needed tending to. 

“Thank you for saving me.” You agonized over the task with Urakaka who only chuckles at your pain.

“I’m happy I’m stuck with kitchen duties. You know, I used to be jealous that you were a court maid.” Urkaka loops her arms in yours as you both make your way back to the kitchen. “But then I hear about your yard duties and boy would I rather wash dishes than pluck weed.” She laughed as she teased you. 

You playfully nudge her in annoyance but grateful to have a friend at the palace. 

“Thank you, Ochako. You’re always saving me when I need it most.” You say, squeezing her arm tighter. 

Night soon fell and you were done for the day. Waving Urakaka goodbye, you decide to head to the only spot you knew Bakugou would go to meet you. Though he didn't say it, you knew what he meant when he said ‘outside’. 

Opening the keep doors, you make your way in and sit down by the tree to wait. Pulling your knees towards you, you hug them in anticipation. 

A creak from the front doors draws your attention and a figure enters.

TO BE CONTINUED......

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