#though would people follow them or do they just enjoy complaining hmmm

[sweetfirebird]

... I suppose... if there were youtubers or booktokkers (is that a word?) or instagrammers or people who just do reviews on websites or on other sites... that do regularly talk about/review/promote indie and small pub queer romance (or queer fiction, for those who want a broader search or don't like romance), I suppose... those would also need to be advertised, if they existed.

[triptychgrip]

If the Katsuki-Nikiforovs ever took GQ Magazine's Couples's Quiz game...

...it would be an utterly sappy and unhinged rollercoaster, as I cover in Chapter 7 of my post-canon, Olympic-Games-focused Yuri!!! on Ice fic (which only has 4 chapters left until completion!). Yuuri, understandably, feels the need to profusely apologize to the GQ production staff for putting up with him and Viktor (plus the friends they'd invited to watch the filming, which includes Yurio and Christophe, among others).

Indeed, as I note Reddit user r/OohYouMakeMeFeel_369's reaction: "I laughed my ass off when I saw Yuuri's tweet a few hrs ago where he tagged the filming crew and promised to buy them some strong sake for putting up with them. And then, omg Viktor followed up by inviting them to Yutopia. My fav Russian continues to be #NumberOneHasetsuTourismAmbassador"

If you've watched any of the actual Couple's Quiz game series, you might note that they usually end the quiz with some form of the question: "What does your partner love most about you?"

Even though my fic is currently over 200K words, this scene is definitely in my top 3 favorites I've written, because it allowed me to try to capture how Yuuri and Viktor -- who, at this point, have been together for over 5 years, and married for nearly three -- perceive the other's love.

In particular, it allows you to see the traits that they've come to appreciate about themselves by way of the other's vantage point: something that was particular gratifying to create headcanons around as it pertains to Yuuri's increasing confidence through canon, which continues to grow as he and Viktor face life's challenges together. All in all, this chapter will give you the warm-fuzzies, and I believe you can still enjoy it even if you don't want to read the larger fic (though I do hope you'd give it a chance, especially if you are interested in seeing how their relationship might have evolved).

Below is an excerpt that I hope piques your interest in checking the story out. Note: as it gets closer to completion, I'll probably post more excerpts from the first 10 chapters, because I sort of sucked at promoting this fic when I first started posting it to ao3 back in November...lesson learned!

------

“Never mind their gross kissing,” Yurio loudly complained, throwing them a look of disgust as if they’d just insulted Potya. “What I want to know is what the score is now that Katsudon got all 3 right.”

Jamie answered almost immediately.

“Ok, remember: there’s still a final question for you both, which are big multi-pointers,” he called out, flipping a few pages of his clipboard. And, since neither of you have used your three hints, you could each get an additional three points when everything wraps up, if you decide not to use them. So with that disclaimer, Yuuri is currently in the lead, up by 1.5 points.”

Before Yuuri could outwardly celebrate his small leg-up, Chris piped up with a predictably suggestive comment. 

“Hmmm, I wonder if dear Yuuri will be able to maintain his lead? I believe he can, he’s always had such excellent stamina, after all…”

As his voice trailed off, Yura turned to face him with a pronounced scowl on his face. 

“You need new material, Giacometti. These two have been together for years: it’s time to show some damn evolution.” 

He then began to mutter under his breath, saying something that sounded like “resting on his fucking laurels, what a waste,” which made several people nearby laugh. The Ice Tiger had a bit of a point: stamina jokes were so 2017.

While Yuuri was pleased with his lead, he was slightly nervous around what Jamie and Tarneka had selected for their final questions. There had definitely been some bizarre ones nestled within the ‘bank’ of options the two co-producers had emailed them a few weeks back. As he’d filled out his answers and allocated the points for the thirty questions he was supposed to submit – having to eventually move to a different room away from Viktor, as they’d kept distracting one another with their snickering – he remembered barking out mildly hysterical laughter at a few of the options in the last category. 

“What might your life be like in a parallel universe?” had stumped him, and he wondered if his husband had been brave enough to pick that one out; it was the kind of wacky, philosophical question he adored.

“Only 1.5 points behind…that’s nothing,” Viktor spoke up, with a gleam in his eye. “Don’t get too comfortable, Mr. Katsuki-Nikiforov.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Katsuki-Nikiforov,” Yuuri lobbed back, only a split-second later, before slipping into focus mode and reaching for the last notecard.

Before he could lay a hand on it, however, his spouse called out to Tarneka and Jamie.

“Are you able to dock points for intimidating the competition?” he asked, sounding put-out. 

Yuuri blinked, unsure as to what he was insinuating.

“You have on your very eros nothing-can-stop-me face, and I won’t be able to concentrate if I’m too distracted by how hot you look,” Viktor continued on in Russian, furrowing his eyebrows, cutely. 

Powerless against the giggles that burst forth, he clapped a hand over his mouth as he watched his love’s eyes begin to narrow. 

“You can’t be serious, Vitya,” Yuuri wheezed, following Viktor’s lead and switching to Russian. “This is just my face! It’s not like I’m doing anything on purpose.”

Yuuri missed the ensuing retort amidst the sound of Tarneka’s ask to Yura for a translation of their back-and-forth: a request the Ice Tiger very firmly denied.

“Trust me, you’re better off not knowing,” he griped, before marching over to stand near them, just out of the camera frame. 

“Get a grip, old man!” he hissed in Russian, staring daggers at Viktor. “This thirsty idiot act may have been acceptable a few years ago, but the time is long past for you to realize that the person you married is just a man. For fuck’s sake, Katsudon isn’t some god.”

Viktor visibly bristled at these words, and Yuuri mentally prepared himself to intervene.

“I resent that, Yura,” his husband replied, loftily. “My Yuuri is divine; he’s not ‘just’ anything! Did you even see his Sports Week magazine cover? When I saw the final proofs, I almost fainted: all the blood in my body began to rush straight to m– ”

“Mmmmmph!”

[leffee]

Hii!

So I've recently followed you both here and on Wattpad... And I was having some questions. You don't have to answer them! I'm just curious? I guess.

Question 1. So what do you think of Fgod Error? Also, known as Forced god of destruction Error? Or do you like canon Error more?

Question 2. Bad Sans Poly! Yes! But what about yandere Bad Sans Poly? Not that I support yandere in real life! But I do like to write about it.

Question 3. That isn't really a question just an idea... Okay so yandere Bad Sans Poly, without Error at first. But then they become yandere for Error slowly over time! And if I want to make it even more angsty, throw Fgod Error in there too!

And now I want to make this...

Anyway, I hope you have a good day/night! Take care of yourself! Stay hydrated and eat enough!

Hello! No worries, I loove answering questions :> If you ever have any more feel free to send them, I'll be delighted, however absolutely no pressure. And thanks for following me, I hope you like your stay.

So I actually made a post talking about this very topic, it's here if you want a longer answer:

But in short, or if you just don't feel like reading this one, I'm not a big fan of Fgod. Like, the concept is good, is has a belivable motive and story and all that, but it's just not something for me. However, if it just existed I wouldn't complain, it would be just another iteration of Error and I don't mind those. But it's everywhere and I hate it. It's always the same story, it's boring, plus there must be some people who believe it's the true canon Error due to how popular it is and I don't like it. Oh, and also I hate seeing Error as a god which this Au of course presents him as. He's not a god, he's literally just a dude who can die like any other and is not immortal in canon. However, I admit, it's a useful concept and I use it sometimes when I don't feel like making Error more complex. I just slap a "he destroys because he must" label and call it a day. So in short: the concept is good although not something for me, and I dislike that it's so overused. If you like Fgod Error good for you people, really! But I can't say that I like it. Out of the two I definitely like canon Error more.

2. Ahh Bad Sans Poly is always good, isn't it? And a yandere one you say? Hmmm, I can get behind this concept, though I need to be in a specific kind of mood to apprecaite it fully, believe me, I went through this before and I did write at least one yandere story (this was for Insomnia though). Though how would it look like with a poly? Everyone is yandere for everyone? Anyway, I do like it :].

3. !!! Listen, lIstEn, I once saw this drawing of exactly that. Bad Sans Poly and they are yandere for Error and IIIII loved it (I'll try to find the artist later and see if I can repost it here). It might be unexpected, but I usually actually like Error being the yandere one in the ship, or just the one being obsessed with the other person minus the controlling behaviour or just lessened. I don't know why, but yandere Error?? Sing me the f up. Anyway, of course it's up to you but this sounds like a lovely fanfic idea, not to mention that it's Bad Sans Poly bby! My truest OTP. I don't want to brag, but I feel like I made this poly a bit more popular with my writing and I couldn't be happier, beacuse more people need to appreciate it WITH ERROR IN IT.

Aaaand that's it, I hope one way or another you enjoyed this interaction, have a good one too.

[wisteria-lodge]

unBurnt lion primary (badger model) + badger secondary

Hello! It’s nice to meet you (and I hope I’m in the right place for this)! I’ve followed you for quite a long time and I really enjoy your thoughts. I was wondering if you could help me out with my primary? I’m fairly certain I’ve figured out my secondary (badger), but I’m struggling with my primary–it could be either badger or lion (both answers I’ve gotten), or maybe even a twist from left field (bird?).

All right, let’s sort you out :D

The only primary I think I certainly don’t have is Snake, though I think I wanted to be a Snake. Growing up, I was obsessed with the idea of having a best friend. When I finally got a best friend, we grew incredibly codependent, so much so that it was devastating when she broke up with me 

Hmmm. All things being equal, this sounds like a Badger primary. They’re probably the most in danger of going co-dependent. But young Snake is also possible - young Snakes tend to put a LOT of importance on best friends and first romantic partners, and I do think it’s interesting that the way you phrased it, you and your friend “broke up.” But, a Burned Lion latching onto an external source is also possible. 

(I couldn’t choose between her and the potential blowback of my community, who I thought wouldn’t support me, leaving me friendless where I was living. I made no choice. She left).

Oooh, that sounds pretty darn Badger. At very least, an intense Badger model. 

The only person I really trust fully anymore is my mom, but I recognize that she’s not always right, and I’ll argue against her when she’s not. 

Probably not a burned Idealist (at least not right now.)  

I think sometimes love, to me, is permission to be a lot more honest with people. 

First, that is an absolutely beautiful way to think about love. A very relatable way to think about love. But that focus on honesty and authenticity... does tend to be a Lion thing. 

I think I’m a badger primary because of patterns. When I moved as an adolescent, I felt completely unmoored, and I immediately tried to find a community to attach myself onto. But I don’t necessarily think I took my morality from the group of people I was with; rather, I tried to do things I thought would be best for the group, after understanding how it worked. 

That is the description of a Badger secondary, which we know you are.

There was an element of the group that desperately lacked, so I created a one-woman-stop where I essentially did four tasks at once so that we would have this strong structure that would benefit everyone. 

Yeah, you’re a LOUD Badger secondary. Badger secondaries are all about that sort of “The DnD party needs a healer, I guess I’m playing a cleric,” kind of mentality. 

My friends called me out for not delegating well, 

A common Badger secondary problem. We do tend to think “but what if we worked harder” :/

so I tried to fix it by creating a team (which felt strange. I love to work, but I would hate to devalue anyone by not accepting their help when offered). When the team’s work wasn’t very strong, I asked them to make it stronger. I had very strong feelings about the “right” and “wrong” way to do things, and about the kind of quality of work we needed to put out (which: was I taking this too seriously and potentially being hard on people who were helping me? Probably. It would have been different if we had been just messing around, but people were counting on us to do good work, and we had to make it count. Plus, I like doing work I’m proud of.) 

ugh, the CURSE of the group project. This is one of the reasons that I *do* think Badger secondaries often struggle as team *leaders.* I mean you can train yourself out of this mindset of course. But still. Annoying. (and the temptation to just do everyone else’s work is still there.) 

Now, in a new location in a new community, after hearing what hurts the group and the common problems are (and getting extremely frustrated) I decided to try and organize us so we can fix it. I hate complaining about something that could be fixed without trying to fix it 

I think whatever community/communities you’ve been part of have been extremely Badger. I want to say that this is a very Badger way of thinking about things - it’s pointless to talk about the problem unless you also have the solution.

and I’m tired of watching my friends get hurt. I try to join communities that agree with and support my morals, 

See, I’m really leaning more Lion primary for you. You’re using a lot of Badger language, but it seems a little more external and conscious, while when you talk about Lion... that’s just the way things are. Morals first, communities second, that’s a Lion way of thinking about it. With Badgers, the community becomes the morality. They have this way of picking up and carrying the communities they’re a part of with them. 

but I also very deeply believe that we can make things better in communities that are worth it. 

I would hope that any primary could/should be able to believe this. 

I feel like that sounds fairly lion, but sometimes I can’t tell where my ideals end and my communities begin, because so much of what I believe is based around the way people deserve to be treated. 

You almost certainly have Badger-flavored morals, and ALSO you’ve got that Badger secondary which is extremely concerned with things being done *fairly* and *right.*

I know that I tend to have an idea of certain codes people should follow and beliefs people should have. A lot of it I get from my parents; they taught me a lot about everyone’s value as people, about being kind to others, and about hard work. A lot of it I learned from the leftist internet in my teenage years. I learned during that period the downsides of “outsourcing” my moral code. 

Hmm. “Outsourcing” your moral code is an interesting way to put it, and honestly sounds much more like Burned Lion than anything else. I don’t think any other primary would put it quite that way. I wonder if I was right with my first guess, and you *were* burned when you were younger. 

While the opinions I was expressing were ones the people around me shared, and I still believe in a lot of what was said, I don’t think the way in which I went about those movements was always empathetic. 

While this could be a few different things depending on the circumstances, I relate HARD to that Lion Badger combination of “I don’t regret what was said; I regret the specific way I said it.” 

I do believe that there is no hierarchy of humans and that we’re all in this together, but I also know that I’m inherently pretty judgemental (as much as I try to appear like I’m not). When someone does something I think is really rude, or expresses a belief I have problems with (nothing big, but maybe something small), I don’t share with them as much, and we become less close. They still deserve fundamental human respect, but I trust them less.

Yeah. You’re an idealist. You’re a Lion. No wonder this was so relatable, we house match. 

I know this got fairly long winded and I’m sorry; I tried to edit it down. I hope you’re having a lovely day! Thank you so much!

You are very welcome, and I thought this was quite short and to the point. 

[bokettochild]

Hmmm if you need ideas I always love cultural difference shenanigans so maybe Twilight and Hyrule or Warriors and Hyrule having jarringly different cultures?

I didn't really touch on cultures much, since I'm still learning a lot about the games in general, but here's three boys discussing the educational systems of their respective provinces!

(Asks are open still, if anyone wants a story, feel free to request it! I will try my best! (Crossovers aren't off the table, but I can't promise I'll write them))

From Ordon to Catalia

“So, you’re telling me,” Warriors states disbelievingly. “That you, the Hero of Hyrule, couldn’t even speak Hylian until mere months before you saved the kingdom?”

The traveler nods, a faint flush dusting over his browned cheeks at Warriors’ question.

Twilight shakes his head, a smile on his face. “Who’da thunk it? Chin up traveler, I didn’t even live in Hyrule when I saved it.”

“What?” Warriors turns to him, royal blue flickering with disbelief as he stares from one country hero to the other. “Seriously? Both of you?”

“Well,” Hyrule tugs at one of his curls, eyes glistening with mischief as he speaks. “I mean, Legend saved like, four other countries, and he wasn’t from any of them.”

“But the first country he saved was Hyrule.” Warriors asserts. “And at least he was sent to the other places or something, unlike you two.” The captain stares from one to the other. “Traveling through the kingdom and just happening to run into the Royal Nursemaid?” He turns to Twilight, disbelief still written clear on his face. “And chasing monsters, if I recall correctly. What the heck, guys?”

He can’t help but take a bit of pity on Warriors, the captain has only ever been outside of his Hyrule’s main areas when time traveling, and the poor man clearly has little to no familiarity with the provinces and kingdoms beyond his own home, save for whatever rich and stuffy nobles talk about when royalty from the other kingdoms comes to visit. But even so, Wars lacks the faintest clue of the world outside of Hyrule’s borders, and that's just a little bit sad.

He leans back on the bed that he and Hyrule are sharing, it’s been a few weeks since they were last at an inn and he fully intends on enjoying the plush beds while they can, even if it is a bit too soft for his own comfort. “We could tell you more about them, if you like?”

At his side, Hyrule nods, smile bright if not a bit wistful. “I’m always willing to share about my home.”

Warriors hesitates, caught between disbelief and curiosity.

“I don’t think even Legend has been to Catalia.” Hyrule muses, but Twilight sees the sparkle in Hyrule’s eyes, he’s tempting the captain in a way the both of them know is sure to work.

“That so?” Warriors muses. “Well, I suppose so. Although,” He turns a cynical eye to Twilight. “I’m not sure how much I actually want to know about farm life.”

“Your loss, city boy.” He scoffs in response, a wolfish smile pulling at his features.

It’s nice, he thinks as he leans back further, letting Hyrule pull his thoughts together and Warriors shake off the surprise of their previous words, to just sit and talk with his brothers. Time and Legend have roomed with Wild so he doesn’t have to worry about the Cub making trouble without him there to watch him, and for the first time in a long tie he can just sit down and talk with his other brothers. He doesn’t know why Time let Four assign rooms like this, but he isn’t complaining if the others aren’t.

“Well, what would you like to hear about?”

Warriors frowns, staring at Hyrule for a moment as the Traveler flushes darker under his curls. Maybe the healer wasn’t as ready to talk as he first thought. “How about, your family, what sort of people are they?”

Hyrule stares at the captain disbelievingly for a moment. “You’ve met my mom, remember? And I don’t really remember much of my dad, he went missing when I was a kid.”

“Oh,” Warriors flushes, a strained smile taking over his features. “Right.”

Hyrule giggles softly. “I’m not mad, Cap, just surprised that you forgot. Although to be fair, not many people probably think about it since I look like a Hylian.”

“Yeah, about that, how does that work?”

“Hylian father, I look more like him in this form. We may be from Catalia, but he was there entirely because he was fleeing the destruction of Hyrule. He met my mom in the Aver Forests, where she’d been wandering for the last few years. Great fairies can leave their pools if they so choose, but they do so rarely. Unfortunately, mom had too because of the increase of monsters in Hyrule.”

“What is the Aver Forest?”

“The biggest, lushest forest in all of Catalia!” Hyrule spread his arms wide as if to indicate how big it truly was. “I’m pretty sure it’s just the other side of the lost woods in my time, since it’s so close to the border. It nothing like Hyrule, but it is, was, home.”

“So, did yer ma follow you to Hyrule?”

“Not exactly.” The traveler replies with a small frown. “She came after Hyrule was made safer again. I can’t exactly leave the country freely anymore, so she came to see me. It’s a good thing too, since getting potions is far more difficult than just bathing in her pool.”

“Are potions really that expensive in your time?” Warriors asks, concern flecking his gentle gaze.

“It’s not about the price,” Hyrule frowns. “It’s more that most people don’t know how to brew them, and finding a person who can is difficult.”

“Ah, supply and demand.”

“Pardon, what?” The traveler looks up to the captain in confusion.

“Supply and demand, you know,” Wars states like it’s common knowledge. “When lots of people want something but only a few people can provide it? It’s the reason shops can get away with charging so much for things.”

Both country heroes stare at him.

“Have neither of you ever heard of it?” The captain blinks at them, leaning forwards on his bed. “How is that possible?”

“Not all provinces have a school, Wars.” He replies, chuckling softly at the surprise on Warriors’ face. “For farming communities we focus on animals and plants, don’t need no fancy education to plow a field.”

Hyrule stares between the two of them. “Alright, this might be a Hylian word I haven’t learned yet, but what is a scewl?”

“A what?” Warriors echoes, turning to face the traveler.

“A scewl?”

“A school?” Twilight translates, brow furrowed until the Hero of Hyrule nods in confirmation, after which he relaxes again. “It's a place people go to learn to read and write, and to count and do equations.”

“And here I thought there weren’t any in Ordon?” Warriors teases lightly.

“Get off it, Cap’. We don’t have schools, but we do have books, I know how to read and if I can learn more than I will.”

“Ah, self-taught?”

“Mostly.” He shrugs. “Hylian’s real different from Ordon-Standard, even if they’re essentially the same.”

“That makes no sense.” The captain deadpans, staring at him blankly.

“I mean, even though they have a lot in common, the way people speak and pronounce things, the vernacular and what not, is quite different that Hyrule proper.”

Hyrule blinks at the two of them owlishly. “What are equations?”

A glance is shared between them. “Math.” Warriors answers. “You know, adding, subtraction, multiplication and division?”

The traveler raises a brow, but he's shrinking in on himself in the way he does when he gets nervous. “What are those? Multipulycation and division?”

Warriors stares cautiously at the traveler, gaze gentle but concerned. “Hyrule, do you not know how to do math?”

“Do you know how to count?” Twilight tries instead.

“Of course!”

“Can you combine numbers?”

“That’s counting, but with bigger numbers.”

“Can you subtract it again?”

“Yes.” Hyrule answers slowly.

“Can you multiply?”

The traveler stares at Warriors nervously. “I just told you I don’t know what that is.”

The captain, bless his heart, looks genuinely hurt. “Good grief, what sort of mentor is Legend? Not making sure you know basic multiplication?”

And Hyrule flushes, but his brows furrow as he pushes himself straight, always defensive of his mentor. “He didn’t know, and he’s a great mentor! He’s been showing me how to grow trees!”

“Legend knows forestry?” The captain starts.

“He has an orchard.” Twilight reminds him, light laughter bubbling in his chest at the understanding that crosses Warriors’ face at the words.

“Right.” The captain turns to Hyrule. “How about this, Legend can teach whatever it is he teaches you, but when he’s done with that for the day, you come find me? Math is a wonderful thing, even if it is a tad complex, and it'd be a shame to let you go without knowing it.”

Betrayal makes itself known as Twilight pulls away from the two. “You like math?”

Horror blooms on Warriors’ delicate features. “You don’t?”

“Arithmetic is the bane of my existence and if I didn’t need to know how to count rupees, I would willingly forget it.” Twilight spits out.

“It’s wonderful!” Warriors defends. “Everything makes sense and has a logical explanation! You can count on it having an answer every time.”

One dark brow raises as midnight blue stare back at the captain, unimpressed. “Except when it doesn’t. Except when you have to graph equations but you can’t because they don’t have answers. Except when there’s two missing numbers and nothing fits in together, except when the numbers decide to become letters and you have to spit up the alphabet along with your equations.”

“How much math do you know?” Warriors raises a brow.

“Too much.” He isn’t even ashamed of the shudder that makes his pelt tickle against his cheeks. “Wild is a literal genius at it, and I can’t even number how many time he's decided to use it to explain some hare-brained scheme. Trajectory and angles and-” He shivers again. “No thank you. It’s like he ate a math textbook and just keeps spitting it back up, every time he wants to do something dumb.”

The captain whistles lowly, royal blue eyes sparkling. “You mean he has theories and reasoning behind all that? Dang!”

The glare shot the captain’s way is nothing short of threatening. “Do not encourage him, or so help me, Wars. I can hardly contain him some days as is, he doesn’t need someone else egging him on.”

“Oh, trust me,” Gloved hands raise in a non-threatening motion. “I just want to pic his brain, maybe he can help me tutor the traveler here.”

And Twilight almost asks him not too, almost begs that the captain not, before realization hits. “You know, that is actually a good idea.” He smirks. “I’m surprised.”

The deadpan look he receives is well worth it. “You wound me.”

“Were your skin not so delicate, I wouldn’t.” He returns, smile stretching wider. “But that aside, if Wild is busy tutoring Hyrule, he won’t be off blowing things up, and if Hyrule gets a better education out of it that's even better.”

“I’ll ask him about it.” Hyrule answers, eyes lighting up in a way that looks innocent, but considering the kid is Legend’s descendant there’s a very good chance that it isn’t fully. “Maybe he can teach me some tricks while he’s at it.”

“No!” The voices ring at once, but it’s already too late, Hyrule is tapping his chin and muttering low under his breath as a wide smile stretches over his face.

“What have you started.” Twilight whispers, horrified.

“I’m sorry.” Warriors returns, just as grim. “I won’t tell Legend if you don’t.”

[doomstypewriter]

Excuse me while I panic

Hi, I'm back from finals, but my brain is kind of dead right now, so enjoy this silly two-shot in the meantime.

Word count: 996 | AO3

Summary: Roman needs to get on with the program, realise his crush on Virgil and ask him out, because it's getting ridiculous.

At least Janus thinks so. Everybody does.

A wild crush has appeared, except it was there all along, Roman is just dumb <3

“It’d be a pity if you got over yourself and told Virgil you loved him already. Not that I care about his happiness or anything”.

Roman turned to face the back of the room, where Janus was sitting with a lap full of Patton, who just shrugged in agreement with a quizzical smile.

The treacherous acceptance Patton showed after Janus’ out-of-the-blue comment almost made Roman gasp.

“I just said I want to hang out with him this week”.

“And marry him the month after that, I suppose” Janus retorted.

“Okay, first of all, nah-uh, and second of all, I’d have expected this outright attack for you, but, Patton, are you going to stand watching him bullying me?!”

Just when he was about to reply, Janus intervened again, pretending to be distracted playing with Patton’s curls.

“Not quite, let me rephrase that for you: bullying you into getting ahead in life”.

“Hello?” Roman gestured at himself, only to feel even more increpated by Janus’ glancing at him up and down. “I’m dashing at all times, it’s you who should be putting in the effort”.

As per usual, Janus smirked, unimpressed. He ran a finger, scratching lightly, up Patton’s neck. Underneath the cardigan, a pair of shoulders rolled in a contained shudder.

“I already have. You, though, have achieved nothing. Also, why am I detecting” Janus said, raising a hand to cup behind his ear, “a hint of defensiveness? Honestly… well… as honestly as the budget allows, I am saying this for your sake. Take notes or something, Roman”.

Roman’s weight shifted from one leg to the other, he crossed his arms and gasped, for real this time.

“Excuse me?”

“Excused. I’ll dictate it for you: number one, dot, Janus has made me realise my lack of ambition, comma, I will ask Virgil out”. Janus changed the tone for a second, considering. “Hmmm… let’s say, at once, sounds very you, doesn’t it? Blah, blah, no ambition, I’m very dim, I will ask Virgil out at once, full stop. New paragraph: number two, dot, from now on, comma, I shall listen to Janus’ advice, comma, because he’s so right all the time, full stop”.

Once Roman came out of his astonishment, he closed his gaping mouth and pursed his lips like a child.

“Okay, that’s it, you did this. I’m calling the nerd”.

Janus had no time to complain, as Logan was summoned immediately thereafter.

“Lo, are you okay?!” Patton stirred in place after seeing Logan’s looks.

There, in all bizarre glory, stood Logan, draped in a lab coat with some unidentified stains, knee-length black rubber boots, safety glasses with what dangerously looked like a speckle of blood and a pair of gloves holding a scalpel.

“Don’t worry Patton, he’s just been playing with Remus” Janus offered.

Logan examined the room quickly, then cleared up his throat and blinked himself into his usual attire.

“I was in the middle of something”.

“Clearly” Roman muttered sarcastically.

“What do you need?” Logan made a point to ignore Roman’s comment.

Janus smiled calmly.

“Roman just called you so you can prove him wrong”.

Before the prince could retort, Logan nodded with a vague hint of amusement.

“Well, I can certainly do that”.

“You won’t need to, because it’s him who’s saying” Roman paused and endeavoured to make his best impression of Logan, “falsehoods”.

Logan frowned and crossed his arms.

“That is to be expected, so what is the context?”

“He says I need to ask Virgil out because he’s always right”.

Roman went on saying something along the lines of ‘like, I like Virgil, but not like that. And he’s just implying I’m in love with him, and I would know because, hi, Roman, romance? And Patton isn’t even defending me!’. All of that, Logan didn’t listen to, deciding to speak plainly.

“That’s incorrect, Janus gets things wrong often, it is, in fact, a statistical improbability to be right all the time. But, to be fair, out of all of you, he holds a higher average”.

“Exactly, that’s what I said” Roman shook his hand forward as if to underline how justified he felt. A moment later he went quiet. “Wait…”

“No need. I’ll finish dispatching this soon. So, no, Janus is not always right, but you would do well to heed to his advice on this occasion, seeing how it would help resolve your feelings for Virgil”.

“What?”

“Thank you, Logan” Janus said.

Logan nodded, satisfied with a good job.

“No need, happy to help”.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Roman exclaimed. “I have no feelings for Virgil…” he reconsidered, “not like that!”

In a quick save, Logan hid his laugh with a frown and an inhale.

“Excellent example of being wrong, you’ll be a great help to Logan’s statistics” Janus grinned.

Everybody was looking at him.

Normally, he’d like that, because it was the natural order of things. At the present time, though, he felt paralysed by a sudden onslaught of contradicting feelings and thoughts. Unfortunately, all of these things running through his mind popped in and out too fast for him to process them as more than a jumble of nonsense.

That is to say, he drew a complete blank, cursing his ADHD.

“But-but… I’m not in” he started slowly, trying to organise his ideas.

Then, went down with the first thing to come out of his mouth because working under pressure is not his thing.

“Like, I spend a ton of time with him, but what do you know? And, honestly, you’re just jealous Virge pays more attention to me because he’s almost as great as me. By the way, Janus steals your crofters when you don’t look, someone has to say it, because we’re outing people’s secrets, except not mine’s ‘cause I’m not in love with…”

Patton stood up, knowing he’d have to help everyone brace themselves.

All at the same time, the following was spoken or shouted:

“Snitch!”

“He did what?!”

“Oh my... I’m in love with Virgil”

Next>>

Thx for reading. Reblog or comment if it made you laugh <3

Taglist: COME AT ME BRO, COME AT ME, write a comment and tell me to tag you for the next chapter, I DARE YOU /nm /lh /j

[roanniee]

SO.

Let's try this again🤸🏻

Also Idil vibes strong on this one. I can't say Gil bc Gil calls Ate Sel smth specific like she does with me.

Ship the @mythos-blogs Crew

ps. here's the server <3

@admiringlove

Baby Sam is very hard working and focused on whatever she's doing that sometimes, she forgets to take care of herself. So, I see Sugawara Koushi with her perfectly, someone caring and understanding, but knows better than to let her overwork and tells her when enough is enough. The both of you do struggle with a few things, and when you fight or have insecure moments, you sit down to talk about it instead of shouting at each other. Overall, a really good match I say.

Baby Sam also kins Oikawa and I ship Oikawa hardcore with Suga LMAO

@ninjamomo

Me. That's my wife <333

Okay but for realsies. I ship Idil with Bokuto Koutarou. Bokuto and Idil would be just... soft love. I see dancing in the rain, bathtub relaxation hours together and cuddling in bed. Idil knows that Bokuto is a busy man, and Bokuto knows he is a busy man. But that doesn't mean that they were gonna let the relationship go. Oh no. Those two will hold on like a cat with his claws on the couch. A really really soft, supportive and strong love.

@tooru-luvs

I actually had a hard time with Ms. Zizi. See, I haven't interacted with her much. But, based on the interactions of hers that I see on my tl, I can see that she is very playful but also can be serious. Hence, why I say that she'd be amazing with Kuroo Tetsurou. Kuroo is playful and an overall gremlin, but he's very caring ang knows exactly when to be serious and how serious. He'll help her with anything he can help her with, but he also knows when no to because it's something Zizi needs to do for herself. Likewise, Zizi knows when to be cheery to make Kuroo smile, but also when to sit and talk to Kuroo about a delicate matter. They'd both ground each other, while matching the same playful energy.

@rokudaddie

HEY I CAN TAG HER NOW KSKSKS

ME ME ME ME ME

anyways hehe. Gly. Lovely, sweet, Gly. She's very caring, but my god does she also enjoy chaos. Hence, I'm putting her with Hoshiumi Korai. We all know Hoshiumi is a little gremlin with a heart of gold. The way these two are together would be immaculate. They're chaos together, but even with all the chaos, they have time to look at the other to make sure they're okay. PLUSSS! Hoshiumi will always unconsciously be touching Gly, just to make sure that she's there. Gly would unconsciously make sure that Hoshiumi is in her peripheral vision too.

@moonlit-island

Ooooh Raya! Raya is so damn sweet and caring and uplifting. I love her sm. Hehehe anyway I ship her with Tsukishima Kei. The Tarot cards said so, and so did the zodiac signs. SKSKS Anyway! Yes, a really good match. Raya's got a really good head on her shoulders, but I see her watching all the chaos from the sidelines, much like Tsukishima. When they're together, they'd start the chaos and then sit back and eat popcorn as they watch the world burn.

@laineeey00

Ate Laine? Some will definitely say Kita, because it's Ate Laine, but I say Hirugami Sachiro. Hirugami would be such a good man for Ate Laine. I imagine them sitting down in the living room, books spread out on the table. Just silence while studying, but every now and then, one of them would look up to look at the other, smile and then return back to what they were doing. Ate Laine makes sure that Hirugami takes breaks and Hirugami makes sure that Ate Laine isn't stressing so much. Just so cute honestly.

@betheydocrimewrites

Ah, Adult Sam. Hmmm. Adult Sam is a whirlwind of chaos and sweet, sweet angst. I definitely see them with darling Yamaguchi Tadashi. I see them in bed, Sam on his laptop, and him just hugging them tight when something they were writing was choking them up. But, Sam is just overall an amazing person that they deserve someone so sweet and caring like Yamaguchi. Obvi, it is reciprocated, and I see such a sweet love in the works.

@melsun

Oooh. Alice.

Melian and Matsukawa Issei would make a very interesting pairing. Both independent yet still co-dependent on each other. Melian knows how to calm Matsukawa after a tough day at work, and Matsukawa knows how to keep Melian from stressing. Matsukawa would also hype Melian up so much?? Like any outfit Melian wears, Matsukawa's right there telling them how good and amazing they look and how well they matched the outfit up. Honestly, just a very functional household and I love that.

@lovemeian

oh oof Lavi. I want to say Meian but for reasons I cannot disclose, I won't say that for now. I will say though, that she will be so good with Dabi. Lavi has a few things she needs to work on, and Dabi is always there for her. Actually lbr, they both have issues to work on, but I feel like together, they'd overcome that. I feel like they'd?? Actually be so understanding of each other that it shocks and confuses others bc?? hello it's Dabi?? but yes, a really good match.

@writewithmarites

Me <3

Severus Snape. Ate Tes is chaotic. I'm sorry but her default in the server is chaos, especially with the bot around HAHAHAHA but anyway! Severus would be so good to ground Ate Tes, keep her from getting a little too chaotic BUT ALSO, he can help her when she's not taking care of herself. She also helpes him with his potions, and it makes the job easier on him. But of course, Severus is a slytherin, and most of the time he'd be the one inciting the chaos and we just don't know it. Anyway, Ate Tes is honestly so wonderful and I love her sm and she deserves someone to tame like the serious, bratty, angsty Severus Snape. <333

@saudade-mayari

ME. AGAIN LMAO. <3

ANYWAY

Nozel Silva. Nozel and Ate Sel. Oh gosh what a thought. Nozel is....arrogant, prideful, and he sees himself as someone more important than others. But, the man does know respect and he does care for people, especially Ate Sel. I have no doubts that Ate Sel can make that man kneel and follow her wishes, but I also know that Ate Sel would not let this man get away with his arrogance and pride. Nozel cares for her a lot. She's his partner, the carrier of the future of House Silva, and the only one that has caught his attention. He loves her, and that man would drop nearly everything for her.

@risumu

Eris! Eribabe and Ojiro Aran. Idek why. But the vibes would be so immaculate. I see road trips and early morning dancing in the kitchen to an indie song one of them is hyperfixated on. I also see late night walks to the convenience store, holding hands and just silence? Basking in each other's prescence. Eris definitely steals Aran's sweaters to the point that Aran buys two of his sizes so he can interchange them. One to give to Eris when the one she took doesn't smell like him anymore. Love all over the place.

@sunarent

Mel. That's it.

Okay but also, I see Iwaizumi Hajime. I was thinking about Suna but the more I think back about the things I know about Ali and our interactions, I see Iwa. I feel like they'd understand each other so much. And the love isn't seen much, not because they don't love each other, but because it's something they need to say really. It's more shown in the touches and kisses and cuddling. They know that they love each each other, and that's enough for them.

@tetsvhoe

Honestly I want to say Kuroo but.

Kozume Kenma. Gwennie works so hard and stresses so much. Her sleeping sched is unavailable lmao. Kenma would be so good for her because he knows how it is, to be stressed and not have an actual sleeping sched. I feel like they'd be good together. In all honesty, they'd probably take care of each other more than they would themselves but no one is complaining really.

@slutbench

MY BABYYYY. MY DAUGHTER. I LOVE YOU SM AND I SWEAR I'M NOT MAD.

I ship you with...

Azumane Asahi. Why? Because you remind me of Noya sometimes. Very energetic, a little bit of low moments and just a ball of sunshine in general. Asahi is perfect for you, Mija. He'd be able to just connect with her in ways others just don't understand. People would say that Asahi is too...soft? They'd say someone like Daicho or maybe Bokuto would be better for you, Mija, but really, he's perfect. Asahi and Gil. He balances her out in so many ways, even if no one else can see it.

@ushisrever

NIA!

Ushijima Wakatoshi. Really, the two of them are perfect. Stoic, quiet, can be chaotic. Very protective, even if the two deny it. Nia, you and Ushi are like...pillars? Support? Quiet, unmovable, but still, everyone knows you're both there, and you don't really leave people's minds. I see the two feeding off of each other's energy, especially when it comes to protecting others that they care about. (Looking at you, Lavi) I see hours where it's just her watching him playing in the background and he just looks at her, smiles, and then goes back to playing. It's really cute.

@sumebreaks

MAIA! HI! We haven't interacted much, I'm so sorry for that sweets. bUT BUT BUT!!!!

You're so sweet and caring and loving??? I really see you with Miya Atsumu! I see Tsumu bugging you to take a break and give him attention. BUT! I also see you?? Bugging him, telling him to get off the court or he's sleeping on the couch HAHAHA I feel like you two really just? Connect. Both playful, both caring, both are busy with their own things so there's not too much expectations that cannot be met for now. Idk I really see a love that's always there, no matter how busy they get.

@vindictivtsumu

AAAAAH DEVON HUN!

I love Devon and their writing so much??? Omg. Yknow who would be amazing with them? Akaashi Keiji. Akaashi is very articulate and just overall book smart in my opinion, and I see that him and Devon would fit so well. He is Devon's personal beta reader HAHAHAH BUT!!!!! Devon also watches Akaashi edit and points out anything that he missed. I see days when they're just sitting there, talking softly to each other that the sound of typing was louder. But that's okay bc you both are content and happy and in love.

@ricflairdrip20

I just met you not even 24 hours ago hehehe HIIII

I will not lie.

I asked for help from Ate Sel HAHAHHAHA

But!!!! She says Ukai Keishin, and honestly I see it. The nsfw-rp channel is the reason why and I'm not saying more HAHAHAHA I see nights when it's Keishin and her just? Idk having fun and being kids bc lbr that man can be a kid sometimes. I also see them taking care of each other in unconventional ways, ways that would not be okay for others, but it's her love language with him. V v v domestic.

I HOPE Y'ALL MYTHOS CREW LIKED THAT MATCHING UP BYE

[oikawaplssteponme]

PART 8 | previously: part 7 | masterlist

pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x fem! reader

ratings/warnings: swearing, fighting

synopsis: When UA’s hot heads, Katsuki Bakugou and you, are forced to put your hatred for each other aside and plan the third year Prom, things end up getting a little heated...

a/n: hi hi!! 💕okay so the prom that im describing throughout this fic is like your ‘basic’ prom so to say. that’s simply because that’s just how i personally know how prom works :) i just wanted to clarify that in case some of you were confused since i didn’t really mention that before and i hope you don’t mind :)) anyway, enjoy xx

•

Eight: tantrum

To say you were embarrassed was an understatement. You felt awful for not giving Deku an answer, and even worse for running away. You didn’t even realize you were moving until you found yourself locked in your room. You felt so stupid. Why didn’t you just say yes to Miydoria? It’s not like Bakugou was actually gonna ask you. So why did it matter?

It was the next day and you were seated in homeroom. You didn’t even want to look at your classmates, let alone Deku. You felt so bad for blowing him off like that.

You watched as Deku took a seat next to you, as he usually did. Trailing behind him was Bakugou, who didn’t give you some witty insult as he did most mornings.

“H-Hi Deku,” you said nervously.

“Hi Y/N!” He smiled brightly. Your eyes widened.

Is he not mad at me?

“How are you?” You asked.

“Good! A bit tired though, I was up late doing some training,” he replied. You nodded.

“Uh, look about yesterday-”

“It’s okay if you don’t have an answer just yet. I can wait,” he reassured you. You sighed.

“Mind if we talk at lunch?” you asked. He nodded.

“Well aren’t you two cute?” huffed Bakugou. You looked at him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” you groaned. Bakugou just shrugged and before you could bother him again, class began.

As the morning passed, you found yourself at lunch. You sat with Deku and Iida as you usually did. You felt kinda awkward, not engaging in conversation as you normally would.

“Hey Deku mind if we talk now?” You interrupted. Deku looked at Iida and watched as he got up from the table.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” smiled Iida. You now faced Deku and took a deep breath.

“Look, Deku, I really appreciate you asking me to Prom. It was super sweet and I loved the poster,” you began. Deku just smiled at you, nodding at every word you said.

Is he even listening to me?

“But, um, here’s the thing. I-uh, I don’t think I’m gonna go with a date. I kinda wanna just enjoy the dance with everyone...as a group, you know?” Deku stopped smiling.

“But we're going in the same group anyway?”

“Yeah, true. It’s just that I’m-“

“Wait did someone already ask you?”

“No, no, uh it’s not that. I just...gosh I’m really sorry Deku. I just would rather go without a date. Anyway, I’m gonna have to be running the dance so I probably won’t be having fun away. I’d hate for you to have a shitty time because of me,” you explained, which was the truth. Odds are you’d be scrambling around the dance making sure things are going well. It would be unfair to Deku to drag him along. Nevertheless, Deku looked disappointed.

“But I’ll save you a dance! How’s that?” You attempted to cheer him up. Deku looked back at you.

“I’d like that,” he smiled. You felt a wave of relief fall over you.

“Perfect. Thanks for understanding,” you said. Izuku nodded.

“Of course, but I sorta already told my mom you were going with me so do you mind if we still take a picture together on the day of Prom?” You laughed.

“Yeah that’s fine Deku.”

~

After school you followed your normal routine of changing out of your uniform and into something comfortable then going down to the basement. Prom was approaching quickly and you knew there was still much that had to be done.

The door was locked but you could see light peeking out from underneath. You began to knock on the door, hoping Bakugou was inside.

“Katsuki!” You continued to knock.

“I know you’re in there dumbass, it’s me!” You finally heard footsteps approach the door. The door swung open, revealing an annoyed Bakugou.

“Woah what’s with your face?” You asked. Bakugou didn’t say anything, he just turned around and sat back down.

“Uh okay...hey did you ever contact Present Mic about DJ-ing? Apparently he actually charges for school events,” you said. Bakugou paid you no attention.

“Well I called the flower shop for the centerpieces and they said they can give us a deal for 20 but we would have to buy the larger size.”

Still nothing.

“Bakugou? Hello? I’m trying to talk to you.” You went over to him and nudged him. Nothing.

“I know damn well you aren’t giving me the fucking silent treatment right now,” you huffed. You had to clench your fists to stop yourself from doing something stupid. Bakugou shrugged.

“THAT'S IT!” You grabbed the back of Bakugou’s shirt and pulled him to stand up. You dragged him to the wall and pressed your forearm against his neck.

“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM RIGHT NOW? HUH?”

“I bet you wish I was Deku right now, don’t you?” Your eyes widened.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bakugou just shrugged. You began to get more heated so you applied more pressure to his neck.

“So that’s what your little tantrum is about? Deku?” Bakugou huffed angrily. He pushed you off of him and pinned your wrists to the wall.

“I AM NOT HAVING A TANTRUM!”

“THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THIS?!”

Bakugou opened his mouth as if he were going to yell at you again but he stopped himself. He let out a frustrated sigh.

“Did you say yes?” he asked. You gave him a confused look.

“Yes to what?” Bakugou sighed.

“God you are so fucking stupid…”

“I AM NOT!”

“WELL DID YOU SAY YES TO HIM OR NOT?” You suddenly realized what Bakugou was talking about.

“Do you mean about Prom?” You asked. Bakugou looked down, nodding slightly. You groaned.

“No Katsuki. I told him no.”

Bakugou looked at you with widened eyes.

“Wait, you didn’t choose Deku?”

“What? No, I didn’t choose Deku. Why would I choose Deku?” You questioned. Bakugou looked back down at the ground.

“Everyone chooses Deku…” he mumbled.

“Well I didn’t so clearly not everyone,” you smirked.

Bakugou let go of you from the wall. You rubbed your wrists. Bakugou leaned against the table, his face resting in the palms of his hands. You walked over to him and gently moved his hands so you could see his face.

“Anyway, I don’t think Deku can handle all this,” you joked, gesturing to yourself. Bakugou let out a small laugh.

“I hate you…” he mumbled. You chuckled.

“I hate you more.” You let go of Bakugou’s hands and sat down on the table as you usually did.

“Now that you’re done throwing your fit, will you please go pick up the streamers we re-ordered? They’re in the office,” you said. Bakugou groaned.

“Fine dumbass.”

“Thank you Katsuki,” you smiled.

“Whatever.”

~

“Why are suits so expensive?” groaned Bakugou. You chuckled.

“Just rent one or something,” you suggested. You and Bakugou were still in the basement, though little planning progress was being made.

“Why are there so many different options?” Bakugou was struggling to find the correct attire for the dance. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Here let me see.” You moved to sit next to Bakugou, taking his laptop and scrolling through the page he had opened.

“Did you want to get a specific color?” You asked. Bakugou shrugged.

“I don’t know how this shit works.”

“Well if you wanted you could get a colored suit but that also depends on if you have a date or not. You’d look pretty stupid if you and your date had clashing colors,” you explained.

“So if I have a date I have to match with them? That fucking sucks.” You laughed.

“All you’d really have to do is find a tie that’s the same color of whatever dress or clothing that they are wearing. It’s not as difficult as it seems.”

“Hmmm okay…”

“The easy choice is just to get a black suit and tie. That never goes out of style. Like this one.” You pointed to the nicely tailored suit on the computer screen. You couldn’t help but get excited at the thought of Bakugou dressed up.

“And uh, those flower things that people wear. Do people still do that?” He asked. You chuckled.

“You mean corsages and boutonnières. Yeah but again you only need to worry about that if you have a date. Like the tie, the flowers you pick would probably match the colors you two wear.”

“For someone who hates Prom, you sure do know a lot about it,” said Bakugou.

“It’s kinda common knowledge dumbass,” you teased.

“Oh shut up!” Bakugou took back his laptop. “Don’t you need to get your dress or something?”

You groaned.

“Don’t remind me. I have no idea what kind of dress I’m gonna get. And the worst part is that it has to be long,” you complained.

“Why don’t you just ask Yaoyorozu to make you one?” He suggested.

“I asked and she said no because that would be ‘damaging to the economy.’ I just think that she’s gonna force me to go shopping with her and the rest of the girls in class.”

“Ha well have fun with that,” teased Bakugou.

“Hey isn’t it way past your bedtime explosion boy?” Bakugou looked at the clock on the wall.

“Not past yet. But I’m going to bed.” He began to pack up his things.

“God, you’re like an old man,” you joked. Bakugou rolled his eyes.

“Well maybe if you got more sleep you’d actually beat me in a fight for once.”

“Seriously?”

“Did it sound like I was joking?” You huffed and followed Bakugou up the stairs.

“Fine I’ll get some stupid sleep Katsuki.”

“Good. Night Y/N.” Bakugou walked back to the dorms and you stopped to take a deep breath.

That stupid boy is gonna be the death of me.

•

[taglist OPEN: @vangoghpoets @vangoghmusings @bokutory @complimentaryhugsgirl @cloudswritings @kriswu46 @neodnyl @evivn1 @jazzylove @mileven-reddie @whalerus @misssugarless @random-fandom-girl-24 @fanfiction-and-stress @ushiwakatrash @minhoswife @addictofsupernatural @the-shota-king-masayuki @freyafolkvangr @fourteenow @tamaguchi @lalayy @athenarosaline @blxck-coffee @katsukibabe @thatonegeekchick @that-chick212 @bibly @nxynxy @theunknownrandom @flustered-blue-eyed-sex-muffin @94potterhead @moonlightaangel (if your name is bold, i couldn’t tag you) ]

[jubilantwriter]

Jaspvid Week 2021: Day 2 - Baking

(AO3)

@jaspvid-week

Togetherness is Soft and Warm

Summary:  Based off of Ellohcee's Kiki's Delivery Service AU.

David forgets that working for Clementine means more than just making deliveries. An impromptu lesson is all it takes to remind David of how rewarding it is to create something to share with another. Bread isn't always meant to be eaten alone, after all.

Word Count:  3121

////

It's a rather slow day in the bakery today.  David blows his bangs out of his face as he slouches behind the cashier, watching as the townspeople go about their merry way.  It's a nice and sunny day out, and he's only a little bit jealous that he's in here working while everyone else is enjoying the sunshine.  Ah, well, he needs a little bit more money anyways - there was a nice looking cat dish that he wanted to get for Max since the little black cat keeps complaining about the dish he has now.  A bored sigh escapes him as yet more people walk by the bakery.  Not a single customer so far, and he's been sitting here for what feels like ages.

"Davey?"  A sweet voice calls for him from the kitchen. 

"Yeah?"

"Can you come here for a mite?"

"Okay!"  He hops off the stool happily and walks into the kitchen, the heat from the ovens blowing up against his face as he blinks in surprise.  "...Oh!"

"Oh, sorry, hun."  Clementine dusts off her hands with a laugh and gestures towards him to come closer.  "I take it's pretty borin' out there, huh?"

He fidgets with his black shirt and shrugs.  "I mean, it's not too bad.  Sometimes someone will wave at me when they pass by!"

"Hmm, do they now?"

"Yeah!  And, um, they all seem to be enjoying the sun too, and they all look so relaxed..."

Clementine chuckles as she bends down to David's level.  "Do ya wanna take a break from work for a bit?"

"N-no!"  With an embarrassed blush, he waves his hands frantically in front of him.  "I don't mind working!  Who knows, maybe someone will need a delivery soon!"

"That's very true!"  Clementine nods along, her bun bouncing as she straightens up.  "But... hm..."  She taps her chin, looking off into the distance.  Curious, David follows her line of sight and sees her staring at nothing in particular.  

"Is something wrong, Ms. Clementine?"

"Just a bit."  She cradles her head in her hand as she sighs dramatically.  "Ya see, the bread's been sellin' like hotcakes since you joined with your lil delivery service, but I haven't been able to keep up with the demand!"

"Is that so?"  He gasps and covers his mouth.  "Oh no, I'm so sorry!"

"Now now, that's not a bad thing!"  She takes his hands and lowers them from his mouth.  "It's a good thing, really!  It just means I gotta work a little extra harder to keep everyone happy."  With a wink, she lets go of his hands to reach for a spare apron.  "And since it's mighty slow out there, I was wonderin' if you'd like to help me in here instead?"

"You mean... to bake bread?"  He looks over at the roaring ovens, and then to racks of cooling baked goods that lined the walls.  "But... it looks like you've already got enough to sell."

"Don't be silly!"  She walks over to the flour covered counter and pats it.  "What I've learned in all my years of bein' a baker is that there is always someone who needs a little treat, be it a roll or a muffin or even a warm, fresh loaf."  She smiles and gestures him over, helping him put the apron on with ease.  The old thing covers up most of his dark clothes, and she adjusts the bandanna around his neck so that it too can be partially covered with the apron.  "Plus, it'll be loads of fun to bake with someone else for a change!  I know I do most of my bakin' in the morning, but it won't hurt to do some smaller batches during a slow time, don'tcha think?"

"Mmmm..."  He rocks back and forth on his heels, looking out to where the front of the bakery is still quiet and empty, and to the kitchen where Clementine is grinning with a bright smile.  With a nod, he smiles back bashfully.  "Okay, I wanna help!"

Baking bread always did seem like a lot of fun!  Whenever he crept down a little too early, he'd always see Clementine hard at work, the dough she prepared the previous night already being shaped and kneaded and worked to perfection, and the smells...

Goodness!  And now he gets to help in making such treats!

"Wonderful!"  She claps her hands together and giggles, a small puff of flour erupting from her hands as she does so.  David laughs along and stands eagerly by her side as she pulls out a dusty bowl.  "Now, we'll be startin' from scratch here, so would ya kindly get me-"

The door to the store opens as the bell jingles.  Max walks in from the front, his feline face scowling as he yowls at David.  "Hey!  You've got a visitor!"

"Hold on," he keeps the apron on as he stops Clementine from going to the front herself, "I've got this!  It'll just be a sec."

"Alrighty, hun."

He grins as he races to the front, intent on helping their customer as quickly as possible.  "Hi, how can I-!"

"Davey!"  Jasper rests his arms on the cashier's counter, grinning brightly as he does so.  "There you are!"

"Jasp!"  He runs over and hugs the other boy, the two of them laughing brightly as they part.  "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was feeling kinda hungry, and I thought, hey!  The bakery's got some sweet bites, and I'll get to see Davey!"  

"Oh!  If that's the case, is there anything you want?"

"Hmm..."  Jasper looks around the bakery, hovering by the shelfs and displays as he sizes up all the treats.  With a grin, he turns back to David and shrugs.  "Dunno!  What do you suggest?"

"Um, lemme see..."  He walks over to Jasper's side and looks at all the baked goods on sale.  There's muffins, rolls, biscuits, sweet breads, and so on... but perhaps, because he's been living with Clementine for a good few months, despite the good quality of all the food, he can't help but think that they've been sitting out too long and gotten a bit... cold.

When he thinks of a pleasant treat, he imagines it fresh from the cooling rack, warmth still radiating off of it, but having rested long enough that when he bites into it, all of the flavors that Clementine had carefully worked into the dough comes out perfectly.  He taps his chin and looks around the bakery some more.  His gaze lingers to the back of the bakery, where Clementine still waits for him.

Maybe... if he asks nicely...

He grabs Jasper's hand, shocking the other boy as he tugs him towards the kitchen.

"W-woah!  Davey, hang on-"

"Ms. Clementine!"  His call startles the woman, her reverie broken from where she was busy petting Max as he drank some milk.  "Is it okay if Jasper joins too?"

"Hm?"  Her gaze lands on the brunet standing next to David, the boy suddenly bashful and nervous as his hand is held tightly in David's.  "...Oh!  Of course, I don't mind at all.  You know what they say - the more the merrier!"  Before Jasper can protest, she looks around and finds one more spare apron.  She quickly puts it on Jasper, the poor boy being dragged about too quickly for him to keep up with the energy of both redheads.  "There we are!"

"What- what are we doing?"  Jasper finally manages to get a word, looking at David bewildered as the other boy grins and tugs him towards the counter.

"We're making bread!  Or something!  Actually, I'm not too sure."  He looks over to Clementine as she begins setting the ingredients on the table.  "What are we making?"

"Well, it can be anything you'd both like."  She hums thoughtfully to herself as considers the options.  "We can make something small, like biscuits and cookies.  Or we can make something filling, like pies if I've got the ingredients for it.  Or we can just do something simple!  Like a bread of sorts."  

"Hmmm..."  David taps his chin and looks to Jasper.  "What do you think?"

"Mmm, how about something sweet?"  Jasper meets David's gaze and grins.  "I think sweet breads are pretty stellar!"  

"I'm okay with that!"

"Sweet bread it is then."  

Clementine is incredibly patient with them as they bumble their way through her instructions.  Flour is spilt here and there, but she merely laughs it off and helps them make the right measurements.  David is intent on following her instructions through and through, though Jasper tries to have his own little ideas once in a while.

"Jasp!"  David bats away a giggling Jasper as he holds an orange up in his hands.  "We don't need that!"

"Hmm... actually."  Clementine holds her hand out and Jasper places it into her hand.  "I think we can do something with this."

"Like what?"  Jasper's mischief changes to genuine curiosity as she takes a tiny looking grater out.  

"Well, oranges are sweet, aren't they?  And the rinds of these fruits make for a lovely smell."  She rubs the rind against the grater, producing a zest as Jasper and David ooh and ahh next to her.  "Why don't you keep this up for me, Jasper?"

"Yes ma'am!"  He dutifully takes the orange from her and mimics her actions, his tongue sticking out a bit in concentration.  David can't help the giggle that escapes him as he watches Jasper work.  The brunet looks over at his giggle and makes a confused grin.  "What's so funny?"

"You were making a funny face, like this!"  He mimics Jasper's earlier look, earning a laugh from the other boy as he then makes a more exaggerated face.  This draws a stronger laugh from David as they continue to make faces at each other.  

"Now now, no horsin' around!  We still have bread to make," Clementine chastises, but her tone is anything but harsh as she smiles fondly.  "We still got plenty to do!"

"Yes, ma'am!"  

The rest of the time is filled with aimless chatter as the two boys follow her instructions, mixing the fresh orange juice and zest into the dough.  Jasper at one point managed to smear some flour on David's cheek, resulting in David smearing some flour on his face in retaliation.  Before they can start chasing each other around the counter, Clementine has them watch her knead the dough before letting the boys each take their turn.  Jasper is all gusto as he pushes and pulls the dough energetically before getting tired.  David takes over, and he tries to be more precise than Jasper, making sure the dough isn't too sticky before looking over to Clementine for her nod of approval.  When she dubs it done, she takes the dough and places it to the side and covers it.

"And now we wait for it to rise."

"Won't it take long?"  David looks out the window and frowns, the sun setting in the distance as worry sets in.  "Jasper, will you be able to stay long?"

"Mmm... well, I think I can push it until a little after eight."  He folds his arms behind his head and smiles wide.  "I should have some time until then!"

"That we do.  Why don't we bake some other things like cookies?"

"Yeah!"

Baking, as it turns out, is much more exciting than he anticipated.  There's something amazing with being able to make something from scratch with his own hands.  Sure, he's made eggs and pancakes before, but he's never truly baked.  And having Jasper next to him adds to the fun as the boy turns to do silly things that make David laugh.  For instance, trying to juggle a few eggs before one of them lands on his head.  Or even mixing the batter a little too fast and getting bits of it all over his face and apron.

Whatever Jasper does never fails to bring a smile and a laugh to David's face.  Nighttime comes far too quickly, and by the time Clementine pulls out their final batch of muffins and cookies, Jasper makes a startled jump as he checks the time on his watch.

"Shnikes!  It's super late!"  He rushes to pull the apron off in a panic.  "Aw man, my mom's gonna kill me-"

"Hold on, let me help!"  David unties the knot from behind and takes the apron from Jasper.  "There we go!"

"Now just a min," Clementine says as she walks to the front of the bakery, grabbing a paper bag and dropping a few of their recently baked goods into it.  She hands it to Jasper with a smile.  "For you and your ma."

"Oh, thanks," he says, fumbling to reach into his pocket to pay.

"No need, hun!"  She begins pushing Jasper towards the door as he stammers and tries to argue.

"But I gotta pay-!"

"Sweetheart, you helped make the treats, you don't gotta pay a cent for them!"  With a chuckle, she gently pushes him out the door and winks to David.  "Now why don't y'all say goodbye real quick while I go clean up and close the shop?"  She waves to them as she retreats back to the kitchen, leaving David and Jasper by themselves.  Jasper grins easily, holding the bag with one arm as he turns to face David.

"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be baking today when I came to get a snack," he says lightly, making David laugh awkwardly as he rubs his arm, "but I had a lot of fun!  It's... kinda nice to learn something else for once."

"Yeah, and it was nice to hang out with you here in the bakery.  I know I haven't been around much since I've got to do my deliveries and stuff but...  I promise to hang out with you more!"

"Nah, don't sweat it."  Jasper winks easily as David looks away with a blush.  "If anything, I'll just come find ya myself!"  

"Like today!"  They both share a laugh before Jasper shuffles his feet awkwardly.  

"Well," he says with a soft smile, "guess I'll be catching you on the flipside later?"

"Of course!  I miss flying with you, especially since the weather is so nice right now..."  He sighs, disappointment settling in as he realizes that he'd been spending more time working and training than he did taking time for himself.  A small voice reminds him to be careful, before he burns himself out again.  Before he can dwell anymore on his thoughts, a hand lands on his shoulder as Jasper's crooked grin greets him.

"We can do it whenever you're free.  I'm always willin' to wait for ya, no matter how long it takes.  You know me, I won't get upset."

"...Of course not."  A smile finds its way back to David's face.  Jasper always did have that special talent of cheering David up.  

It's probably why...

"Oh- shoot, I really should go now."  Jasper backs away quickly when he realizes the time yet again, awkwardly running backwards as he waves to David.  "We'll fly again soon!  See ya later, Davey!"

"Bye, Jasp!"  He waves to his retreating figure until he can't see him no longer.  As he walks back into the bakery to lock up, he finds that the entire place feels... more empty than it usually is.  Max coils around his feet, looking up at David with an unimpressed look.

"Stop moping," the cat says, stretching himself out as he leads David back to their room, "it's not like he's gonna be gone forever."

"Still..."  He sighs softly and looks around the kitchen, Clementine already gone now that their mess has disappeared.  "I kinda miss him already."

"Oh YUCK, that's DISGUSTING."  Max makes a hacking sound, making David chuckle at his dramatic antics.  

"What?  It's not wrong to miss friends after they leave!"

"Sure.  Friends."  Max quickly walks away, looking over his shoulder to glare at David.  "Now hurry up!  I wanna fucking sleep."

"Max!"  He follows after the cat, a little thought tugging at this thoughts.  "We talked about this- OH NO, THE BREAD!"

-----

Clementine wraps up the loaf in paper and slips it into the bag.  It's a start of another day, and he's actually got a few deliveries to make.  She smiles as she hands him a slip with a name and address.  

Jasper McFadden.  

She winks and pats his shoulder.  "It's still gonna be warm if you manage to fly as quickly as you normally do."

He blushes and hugs the delivery close to his chest.  "Right.  Um, see you later, Ms. Clementine!"  

"Fly safely now!"

He runs out of the store and quickly settles himself on his broom, concentrating with an ease that comes second nature to him.  The lift off is seamless, and he launches himself high into the air, already soaring towards his destination.

As he circles around the familiar neighborhood, a voice calls out to him from high walls as the brunet signals him down.  "Davey!"

"Hey!  I've got a delivery for you!"

"What's it?  I don't remember ordering anything."  Jasper takes the offered bag from David and pulls out a nicely braided loaf.  The soft sheen and sweet smell of oranges immediately has Jasper widening his eyes.  "Oh!  This is the bread we made yesterday!"

"Yeah, Ms. Clementine wanted me to deliver your fair share."  He stays on his broom as he hovers by Jasper.  "It should still be warm so you should try a slice!"

"Hmm, actually," Jasper looks up at David with a mischievous smile, "do ya have any other deliveries to do?"

"Um, no I don't think so."

"Sweet!"  He holds up the bread to David's eye level and gestures him down.  "Wanna try some with me?"

His heart soars at the suggestion, and he lands all too quickly as he stumbles into Jasper.  The other boy catches him easily and laughs as David straightens himself out.  

"I take it that you wanna eat some?"

"Yes!"  He grins brightly, already looking forward to spending more time with Jasper.  The scent of the warm bread wafts between them as Jasper leads him towards his house.  As they tear into it with jams and butter, the softness of the bread shows of their combined hard work, and Jasper makes a show of pointing out each little bit of zest that he made to his mother and David.  The bread is fluffy as he pulls the braid apart to eat it.  Perhaps its his bias to freshly baked goods, or maybe just simply the fact that he made it himself with Jasper and Clementine - whatever the reason may be, David just can't help but think that this bread is the sweetest he's ever tasted.  

[lia-jones]

Growing Together - Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Proof Is In the Brownie

Author's note:

Hello beautiful people! It's been such a long time since I have posted, and I'm truly sorry for the no-show, but things ahve been hectic at work and I really couldn't get myself in the right headspace to write, but now we're hopefully rolling! I struggled a lot deciding whether I should write this chapter or not. It doesn't feel like my usual narrative, some of you will find it unusual, and still I had to get it out of my head. If you can, leave me a comment or an ask with your opinion!

So, without further ado, let's get to it!

“Oh God.” I croaked, looking around. “I think we took this thing way too far.”

Victor lifted his head from my shoulder, disheveled hair still covered with flour.

“You think?” He frowned. “We destroyed the kitchen.”

Feeding Instructions

“Andy, will you come here for a second?” I heard Victor call from the hallway.

“Yeah.” I stopped beside the aquarium, running my fingers through my wet hair.

“This is how much you give him.” He showed me a small plastic spoon with lobster pellet food. “Twice a day. Once in the morning, once in the evening. No more than that.”

Here we go.

“Are you also instructing me on how many times I should feed our son, or is it just the lobster?”

“You forget you fed him, and then you feed him more than necessary.” He dropped the food into the aquarium. “He’s getting fatter, his exoskeleton doesn’t even get a chance to harden.” He paused, staring at the aquarium. “Maybe I should make you a sheet to keep track of his feeding.”

“For the last time, Victor, I am not overfeeding the lobster! I am perfectly able to remember if I have fed him or not, I’m not senile.” I walked back to our room, starting to feel annoyed.

“This from the person who forgot her phone inside the refrigerator.” I heard him follow me.

“That is different, I was getting a yogurt for Owen and I was holding the phone...”

“I would buy you some memory supplements, but you’ll probably forget to take them.” He mocked me.

“You know, if you are so worried about the lobster, don’t go.” I turned to him. “Stay and feed him yourself.”

“You know I can’t do that. I need to make sure everything is running smoothly before the inauguration.” He held me by the waist.

“Right.” I leaned my head against his chest with a heavy sigh. ”And I need to stay behind to look after LCG and help Goldman if he needs me.”

“It’s only for two weeks.” He pressed his chin on top of my head. “Then you’ll meet me in Paris, and we can make up for the lost time.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around him, like somehow my embrace could force him to stay. Although traveling was a big part of Victor’s job, since we got Owen he used to avoid it as much as he could, and I got used to having him with us all the time. I knew LFG France was a big project that demanded a lot of his attention, especially during the first months, and he had no choice but to go, yet I still resented the fact that I would have to endure two weeks without his warmth, sleeping alone in a cold bed.

“In the meantime, will you please try not to kill our pet?” He broke our embrace, pecking me in the forehead. “Twice a day. No more, no less.”

“Oh, for the love of-”

“Nevermind, I’ll just ask Owen.”

And with that, my husband left me alone in our bedroom, probably to avoid the insults I was about to throw at him.

A Brownie a Day Keeps the Sadness Away

“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Owen poked his eggs. “But I have to go to school today, I won’t have any time to be with you before we leave.”

“We have tonight.” Victor smiled at his son.

“It’s no use, it’s not enough time.” The boy pouted. “And I’ll be too sad to enjoy it anyway.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at my five-year-old drama. Victor gave me a knowing look.

“Well, that being the case, I may as well return the tickets I bought to the Insectopia exhibition.” Victor spoke casually, his eyes on his phone.

Owen dropped his fork and looked at his father, his sweet brown eyes sparkling.

“We are going to see Insectopia today?”

Victor got up from the table calmly, retrieving an orange cardboard box from the fridge.

“We were, but since you are so depressed, you may not want to do it. I even bought your favorite brownies from Hungry Hippo, but I understand if you lost your appetite.”

“I can have brownies for breakfast?!?” Owen’s eyes opened so wide I thought they were going to pop out.

“Finish your eggs first.” Victor took three more plates from the cupboard, serving us all brownies. Owen took his fork again, eating his eggs in a rush.

“Done!” He announced after what felt like 10 seconds. “I want a brownie please!”

“God, Owen, did you even chew your food?!?” I looked at my son’s plate, surprised to see it empty. But I don’t think he even heard me, already busy cutting his brownie.

“Hmmm, these are sooo goood!” Owen closed his eyes as he took a bite of his brownie. “The best brownies ever, better than all other brownies! Not even Dad can make brownies this good!”

My husband’s face fell.

“My brownies are not this good?”

“No, these are so much better!” Owen replied with his mouth full of chocolate.

Victor gave me an inquisitive look. I sipped my coffee, pretending not to notice.

“Hmm.” He frowned, cutting a piece of his brownie with the fork and bringing it to his mouth. After a moment, his frown deepened. “They are. But how?”

Playing My Brownies Right

As usual, we drove Owen to school and headed to LFG Tower to work. On a regular day, Victor and I would spend our commute time talking about our daily affairs, clients we would meet, who would cook dinner or pick Owen up. But since it was his last day at home before he flew to Paris, all of that seemed irrelevant. The whole day just felt a bit sad for me.

“I wish you could take the day off for us to spend some time together. It’s been ages since we had some time for ourselves.”

“Some other time.” He sighed. “I need to get some last-minute affairs in order before I leave.”

“Can’t you take some time and have Goldman do it?” I complained. “You’ve been working non-stop.”

“I should take care of some things myself.”

“Funny, back when I was publishing my study, you were such a firm believer in delegating.” I squinted at him.

“Different situations.”

“Because I’m me and you’re you?”

There was a moment of silence, and I smiled thinking Victor was mulling over my astonishing comeback. Turns out, he wasn’t even listening.

“Do you think those brownies are better than mine?”

“That is your main concern right now!?”

“Well, are they?” He insisted.

“Ok, consider this a lesson of tough love.” I turned to him. “Yes, they are. Happy Hippo’s brownies are vastly superior to yours. And that’s ok. You don’t have to be good at everything. Someone can’t be good at everything.”

“I beg to differ.” He frowned, watching the road. “My whole life, I worked hard to achieve perfection, and I have reached it. I believe that with consistent effort and dedication, one can be good at anything.”

I stifled a laugh.

“Not brownies, though.”

“Don’t think I can’t tell you are mocking me.”

“Oh no, I’m going to lose brownie points.” I poked him.

“Will you back off?” He poked back. “I have plenty to do today, I don’t want to catch moronitis from you.”

“You know, if you were so good at everything, I’m sure you would have no trouble delegating your tasks to Goldman and spending the day with me.” I gave him a daring look. “In fact, I bet you can’t.”

“You bet?” He smiled mischievously at me. There was nothing Victor loved more than a good challenge. Unfortunately for him, I was well aware of that.

“Want to make it official?”

“It depends. What are the terms of this bet?”

“For today, until Owen arrives from school, if I dare you to do something, you’ll need to do it, and you need to do it perfectly. If I win, you’ll have to admit you are not good at everything. Also, you can’t nag me about anything for a whole month. Not about lobster food, not about the mess I make in the bathroom, nothing.”

“Fair enough. So if I win, you’ll have to always agree with what I say and act accordingly for a month. During that time, what I say goes, and you can’t go against it. And you will have to acknowledge my prowess as well.”

“I always have to agree? So I can never tell you that you’re wrong?” I frowned.

“Not for thirty days, you can’t.”

“Not even if you are talking your way into sleeping on the couch?”

“That won’t happen because you’ll always agree with me.” He smiled. “See? It’s a foolproof plan.”

“You have to win first.” I dared.

“I’m confident about my chances.” Keeping a cautious eye on the road, he pressed the screen of his phone. “And to show you I mean it, I will complete the first challenge.”

“You’re taking the day off?” I smiled, surprised to see my teasing work so well.

“I was already planning to, you idiot.” He pretended to be angry, although I could see him suppressing a smile. “I only had a short meeting to attend and then I would whisk you away from the office for some time for two. Sadly, you had to act childishly and ruin the surprise.”

Awww, soft Victor. I leaned against his bicep, my heart filled with love for this man. It almost made me feel bad for planning to make his day a living hell. Almost.

Put Your Mouth Where Your Brownie Is

“A supermarket? That’s your idea of time for two?”

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a quiet day at home, just the two of us.” Victor replied, filling our cart with several items. “And cooking together seems like a nice activity.”

“Well, since you’ll be gone for so long, I thought we could use some more…” I batted my eyelids at him. “... intimate time.”

“Fear not, I will not leave my wife unsatisfied.” He smiled.

That smile was enough to leave me a babbling horny mess. Get it together, Andrea.

It wasn’t until we stopped by the dairy fridge that I paid close attention to the contents of our cart: chocolate, sugar, flour, and a stick of unsalted butter Victor had just put there.

“We’re going to bake brownies.” My good mood was gone at that exact second. We were supposed to be taking time for us, how could he even think about brownies?

“We are going to try and recreate that recipe, perhaps even improve it.”

“Well, don’t use that butter then. Use this one instead.” I retrieved a stick of regular butter from the fridge.

“I will not use cheap butter to bake.” He put the salted butter in its original place. “It alters the consistency and flavor. It belongs on warm bread, not brownies.”

I could say I was disappointed that Victor was more concerned about his pride than the short time we had to be together before his trip. I could even say that it upset me how condescending he would sound sometimes, always telling me how to do things, like I was Owen’s age. All of these were true, but that wasn’t what was bothering me the most. Victor would leave soon, and we wouldn’t see each other for two weeks, and I knew I would be a needy insecure mess during the time he would be away, barely able to sleep on that giant bed by myself, missing his loving whispers in the morning, his huge sweaty body making love to me. To add insult to injury, this distance didn’t seem to affect Victor at all. He was cool as a cucumber, like this long trip away from his family was just another Tuesday.

I felt entitled to some pettiness.

“You know what? Forget about the old bet.” I took the stick of butter and placed it again in our cart. “Let’s make a new one. Same consequences, different challenge.”

“What do you have in mind?” He came closer, looking me in the eye.

“Simple.” I stared back defiantly. “The best brownie wins.”

All is Fair in Love and Brownies

The terms were pretty straightforward: we had fifteen minutes to prepare the batter, after which we would put both trays in the oven, simultaneously, and bake them for the exact same time. If we couldn’t decide on which brownie was the best, Owen would have the final say. The winner would have absolute power over the household for a month, and could not be defied during that time, unless in dire circumstances.

We placed the ingredients on the counter, along with the bowls and pans we would need. Victor started the timer on his phone.

“Ready?” He glanced at me.

“Let’s get this party started.” I smiled.

It was showtime.

Victor and I loved cooking together, but our cooking methods couldn’t be more different. I was more of a messy cooker, leaving eggshells on the counter, and flour everywhere, and most times my clothes would also become victims of my culinary endeavors, while Victor was methodical and clean, neatly arranging his ingredients on the counter, carefully measuring each one of them. Surprisingly, we worked pretty well together: Victor quickly embraced my spontaneous side and I obviously benefited immensely from his methodic one. Side by side, as competitors, not so much. That became clear when I grabbed the flour and placed it absentmindedly on the counter, the bag still open.

“Close the bag after you use it.” Victor paused his mixing to close the flour bag. “Clumsy as you are, you’ll spill flour all over the counter.”

“So what?” I shrugged, busy mixing my batter. “It’s just flour, we’ll clean it afterward.”

“Have you noticed how filthy your side of the counter is? How can you work in such chaos?” He scolded. “Eggshells everywhere, flour and sugar on the floor…” He wiped my forehead. “How did you even get flour on your face?”

And there he was again, talking to me like I was five. Oh boy.

“I’m sorry, is my mess making you uncomfortable?”

“Just stay on your side of the counter, I don’t want to get stains on my shirt.”

That was enough. If Victor was so adamant about treating me like a child, I would act like one.

“Oops!” I tilted the sugar jar over the counter, sugar spilling all over Victor’s side. “You are right, I can be really messy.”

“What’s the matter with you?” He quickly grabbed a cloth. “Are you trying to aggravate me on purpose?”

“Maybe I am.” I shrugged. “I mean, I’m sure a perfect man like you must be prepared to deal with all challenges life throws at him, including a messy wife.”

“A little sugar isn’t going to stop me, if that's what you think.” He gave me a smug look, returning to his work. “I’ll still win.”

“Is that so?” I paused my mixing, wondering what I could do to get him pissed.

“Easy now, don’t go doing things you might regret.” Victor raised an eyebrow at me, like he somehow had read my mind.

“I think my batter is ready. Tell me what you think.” I grabbed the spoon I was using to mix and whipped it towards Victor, a bunch of brownie batter landing on his neck and face. “Yummy, right?”

Victor paused, his eyes closed, taking a deep breath as he wiped the chocolate from his face. For a moment I thought he would just scream at me and storm away. I had something quite different.

“Not quite ready yet.” He took the flour bag and dumped it all over me. “It needs more flour."

“Are you sure?” I gave him a defying look, after wiping some of the flour off me. “Have another taste.”

And I did the unthinkable. I took my mixing bowl and poured it all over his shirt and pants.

“For the record,” Victor said after recovering from the initial shock, “you were the one who started this.”

I really can’t tell who threw what next, but the next thing I know is we were in full battle mode, ingredients flying everywhere. Victor got a clear advantage when he remembered he had some eggs close by. Thankfully, I was quick to react and managed to avoid being bombarded by opening the fridge door and hiding behind it. And that’s when I saw it. The can of whipped cream I had bought to garnish the other brownies, and that Victor had refused to use because food in a can is unacceptable. Well, I would put it to good use now. I emerged from behind my improvised shelter, shaking the can vigorously.

“Now, if you’re smart,” I pointed the nozzle at him, “you’ll admit defeat and walk away.”

“If you were smart”, he walked confidently towards me, “you’d know it takes a lot more than whipped cream for me to fold.” Before I could react, he grabbed both my wrists and made me twirl, holding my arms behind my back, the can forgotten on the floor. “Now admit defeat.” He whispered in my ear, from behind me.

“Oh, bite me.” I scoffed.

He didn’t waste a second. He took my earlobe in his mouth and bit it hard.

“Satisfied?”

I gave him a daring look.

“Harder.”

Bigger Brownies to Bake

My defiance was like a trigger in Victor’s mind. He didn’t give me any time to think or react, turning me effortlessly in his arms, his mouth taking mine in a passionate kiss. And just like that, our food fight turned into a steamy make-out session.

Yes, the kitchen was a mess, and Victor would be leaving soon, but none of the things that bothered us before seemed to matter at that moment, as we focused solely on each other and the way we felt, the world a blurry notion in the back of our minds. We simply gave in to our lust, kissing, touching, teasing, hands ripping clothes apart and throwing them on the ground. Victor was far from cold, despite popular belief, he was a very intense man, and loving him was just as intense. Every time we gave in to our feelings like this, it was like being swallowed by a gigantic yet pleasurable wave, only hoping we would come out whole in the end. We made love right then and there, on our kitchen island, too entranced to think of anything else. It was only when we came down from our high, landing in each other’s arms with a wide grin on our faces, that we minded the real world again.

“Oh God.” I croaked, looking around. “I think we took this thing way too far.”

Victor lifted his head from my shoulder, his hair covered with flour.

“You think?” He frowned. “We destroyed the kitchen.”

Our eyes met for a second before we both burst into laughter. Problems like a dirty kitchen seem so silly when we’re happy.

“Will you tell me why you have been so moody with me lately?” He pulled me closer to his chest.

“I haven’t…” I started defending myself, but gave up when I noticed him glaring at me. “I have been moody, yes, you are right.” I sighed. “I know this is stupid and you’ll probably make fun of me, but the idea of having you away for so long… it’s unsettling.”

“Idiot, it’s only for a few weeks.” He chuckled. “Before you know it, you’ll be taking the jet to meet me.”

“See? And that infuriates me too!” I pushed away from his arms. “Here I am, pouring my heart out, and you laugh! Like this is a joke, like there is no reason for me to be feeling that way, especially when it’s clear you won’t-”

He pressed his lips against mine, and as usual, my thoughts evaded me completely. His kiss was sweet and soothing, taking away all my anxiety. He took my face in his hands and broke the kiss to look into my eyes, his voice with a sweeter yet vulnerable tone now.

“You are usually so good at reading me.” He smiled. “How can you think I don’t care?”

His eyes were filled with such honesty that I began to question my reasoning as well. That man did nothing but love me, deeply, every day. How could I possibly question that? I watched as he lifted my wrist, holding the red ruby charm between these fingers.

“I carry your heart with me.” He whispered.

“I carry it in my heart.” I returned.

“I may not say much, but my word is biding. You never need to worry about these things, you have the answer to them already. Here.” He pointed at my bracelet. “Here.” He took my left hand, kissing my ring finger. “And hopefully, here.” His hand rested on my chest. “Even when this gets you in trouble.” He tapped my forehead with a smile. “I give all these reminders and still you forget? You are in dire need of those memory supplements.”

“Damn it.” I shook my head. “You won.”

“No, the terms were that the best brownie would win. We didn’t get to bake them.”

“You wanted to prove to me that you are perfect.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “And you did. You are absolutely perfect. At least for me.”

“Well, that being the case…” He came closer, brushing his lips against mine. “I think we have a tie.”

The kitchen was pristine clean when Owen came from school, and our little adventure became our secret, a private joke we shared in our moments of intimacy. Another proof that, even in chaos and uncertainty, we would always find each other.

This project has been going for a year now (it started in February 2020) and it won't be over any time soon, so I would like to ask you, as much as possible, for your support, because we still have a very long way to go. So, if you enjoy the work, don't forget to comment and reblog. It gives it traction and enables other people to learn about it, and for me to get more excited about what I do.

[silver-mist]

BTS In The SOOP EP4 - HOBI’s REVENGE (The full recap)

I havent done a recap since Ep 1 and technically that wasnt a recap but more for fun. However, after watching today’s episode, I felt inclined to share some thoughts as I found this to be such a lovely and heartfelt episode that truly exemplified not only each member and how they are as well as dynamics between them so im making this exception. This may be a long read for some but if you make it to the end then ❤️and feel free comment. Welcome to a summary/analysis of my thoughts throughout this episode full of cute moments between certain member “ships”. I put that in quotations to point out that I look at these platonically in a friendly way (with the exception of 1 lol) but also as a way to emphasize how each member looks to another as different likes and circumstances arise. We all can fully see that OT7 truly have a special bond unlike other idol groups who pretend for years only to be discredited later. However, it shouldnt come as a surprise that some members are closer to some than others and that isnt a bad thing, just like we all may have that 1 or those 2 people we wanna tell first when you have a major life event or need to just talk. That is the main reason for my recap today, to talk about these and how it genuinely warms my heart because even though they may not act like their full real selves here, after all, this will be seen on broadcast by the general public and not just fans, this is probably the closest we get to their domestic normal selves, no narrative, no event or photoshoot to prepare for, just them doing things as they go. 

We start off after the dinner scene where everyone has dispersed into their own thing. Cue to V sitting by himself in the main house about to sing karaoke. As anyone who has followed him along the years, you already know that he often prefers his own “me” moments and its just cute to watch him start singing to his hearts content that its even pointed out by his hyungs as they sit outside further away chatting. Its nice to see him happily enjoying whatever he feels like doing with no care in the world but I do shy away from calling him an introvert as he can be the social butterfly. 

We then cut to Namseok sitting outside, drinking some beer, having a heart to heart. The rap line has obviously been close for a long time but the way Hobi speaks about his chat with Joon that night and how it feels natural and not awkward shows you that they gravitate towards one another vs possibly some other members in terms of lets say normal adult discussions where its not about jokes or laughter but just growing up and responsibilities or random hobbies and its a beautiful thing to see. Between Hobi wishing he could sing (I think he has a lovely voice and should try it out even when he thinks he isnt good) to Joon talking about writing in a journal or feeling like this is a break they should have where they retire, its cute, its normal non celeb talk, and just a moment between 2 likeminded friends. I’ll finish off this scene with another *Joon should just not touch things in general* moment when he drops the mosquito defector and all Hobi does is smile and reply... 

(Friendship Goals...)

Jimin decides to join shortly after but doesnt have a beer in hand, the hyungs are quick to point that there is some in the other fridge but Jimin dismisses it and goes to sit as all he wants is to be in their company awww. He mentions that he will take some cold medicine and Hobi immediately questions if he’s feeling unwell to which he replies that he is in fact not feeling well. This cause an immediate reaction of concern from the hyungs as Joon tells him to put his hood on to evade a bit of the cold air and Hobi insists in a serious manner to not disobey and do as they say after jimin says its fine. Double awww 🥺

Their night ends with Minimoni heading out to another mini tournament of ping pong because why not, Jimin trying to convince Hobi to watch them because awww, and Joon telling Jimin to not torture Hobi like that 😂. Joon reading the room and knowing its not his thing cracks me up, baby mochi just wants him around haha.

The scene then cuts to the next morning where we finally see Yoongi waking up from him sleep nest in the search for water. He is still out of it as he cutely blames someone from taking his water to only realize a few moments later that that someone was him 😂.

Lil meow meow cutely wobbles out of his camper to go get a drink only to suspiciously look around like he’s spotting the cameras. Perhaps to make a Yoongi Part 3 impromptu advertisement??? We all know how good he is at those 😂. He finally asks himself “What should I do”. Story of my life he probably thinks in his mind... meanwhile I go, just rest. 

We then cut to another episode of the Chronicles of Jin: The “It’s still Hot” saga where I genuinely wonder why he still chooses the tent when im sure another arrangement is possible but do you boo. As always, the forever RJ representative cutely wears his pj’s as he heads to the main house not before stopping to do the most random thing ever... 

The editor’s caption speaks for itself lol.

He finds his way inside to stumble upon baby Tae still kinda sleepy looking complaining to the sink where dishes were left unwashed the prior night. His annoyance cracks me up and then he starts to play with a mini skillet/stove? and we finally get a moment of Tae cooking... yayy. He cutely complains as the rice is not staying together and tests out the sugar level to then realize it needs more and its adorable. Hobi wakes up and heads downstairs to encounter Jin at the piano again and cutely heads towards Tae to smack his butt and ask for some food, cue VHOPE cuteness, which later continues when Hobi wants to time Tae’s food with his jog haha. Tae again complains about the dishes and proceeds to drag a chair closer to the stove because I guess the 2 second distance from the table is too much? 😂Cute..

Back to 2Seok which to what I have seen in videos is not often, agreeing to go for a jog as well as disagreeing on how to go about it. Jin is like America (we go out to the store in sweats with unruly hair and not give an F LOL) and Hobi is like Korea (Where everyone dresses nice no matter what the occasion) Side note* this is my perspective as an american who has visited korea, they just do fashion better over there and I want to buy it all ☺️. I guess Hobi ends up finally convincing Jin to change because next thing they are out and about in their morning jog.

Back to baby Tae and random inexplicable moment of the episode #2... He removes the plate from the chair then proceeds to sit on the floor to taste his treat when the chair is now empty...🧐😂

2seok is now on their jog down the road and Hobi stops to rest on the side with Jin judging him “We only ran for 3 minutes and you already want to rest?” LOLOL. He then proceeds to take some of Hobi’s water and insists on carrying the bottle back because it makes him look good on camera. LMAO Jin, stay humble always... 😂. Hobi just does a literal SMH.

Cutscene to the view where different rooms are shown at once and I spot the second room next to Jungkook in the floating house with the door open.. Hmmm who opened it I wonder? Was someone using the room??

Back to V being his cute self enjoying his “me” time. He proceeds to play again with the rc boat and I almost panic a little at what seems like he may fall into the water trying to place it there. Good thing he doesnt but he gets the wrong control remoter and rushes back to get the right one. Once it finally moves its like all is right in the world. Cute. We get a short glimpse of him in the floating house and seeing that Jungkook is still fast asleep.

We then see Yoongi back at the top house heading in to read his book, shortly after the 3 amigos V, Hobi and Jin are walking in as Jin previously mentioned he was hungry, cue to start of meal prepping. 

We finally see the final member we havent seen wake up, baby mochi in all his fairy like self is still in bed. Tae is the first to open the door to his room and proceeds to cutely jump over him, play around, get pushed back and complain and then just lay on top of him with his butt facing the door. Excuse me while I melt in cuteness..my VMIN heart... ❤️

Only to literally do a 180 and LAUGH my ass off when Hobi walks in, sees them there and just goes NOPE.. walking out 😂

Apparently 2seok have decided on their meal plan and the ever so helpful ray of sunshine seems at a loss on how to set the charcoal on fire, note that he could have asked Jin but he heads to Yoongi for help (Bring in some SOPE love :)). Either way here I was hoping Yoongi would just chill and it seemed like that was the plan until he saw Hobi’s lostness and eagerness to help so he decides to step up again and help out. It’s kinda evident he didnt plan to when he goes “Oh ok” after being told what they plan to eat but proceeds to jump in at Hobi’s lostness in terms of making a fire. Cute. 

Cue back to Hobi disturbing the soulmates and whatever little cute slaps Tae was giving Jimin to probably wake up to ask him to fetch the torch because hes finally done running between the houses like last episode lol. The ever obedient Tae obliges immediately, Jimin remains in bed. 

Were back at the main house and maybe not every caught on but its ADORABLE how Joon goes out with the plan to play with the boat like Tae but leaves it abandoned to see where all the other members are. Note, he is for some reason limping all of a sudden and I think it may have to do with why he left early for personal reasons, I hope he was ok. Potential theory, could Jin slapping the boxer bag have anything to do with it? 🧐.

Anyways, even with his leg issue he literally walks around to the other house, checks on all members and ends up back at the main house sitting next to Jungkook, encouraging him as he is building a glider and then ultimately telling him he will keep him company by sitting next to him and reading a book. Even takes care of him by bringing him a drink. Awwww KookieMonster ❤️

anddd were back to the others in the upper house. 

SOPE taking the lead with building a fire..

TAEJIN figuring out the fish with Tae sporting an adorable hat and looking lost but still willing to help his hyung. Cutely Tae later makes Hobi aware on how this is his first time putting a knife on a fish and learning that a fish’s life is previous. AWWWW.. 

Its the little things that I like to point out, the members gravitate towards who they feel more in tune with. Tae to help Jin and Suga to help Hobi although the opposite would have be interesting to watch lol.

We then get Yoongi thawing out the ribs, Hobi trying to get veggies and LITERALLY pulling out the roots of a poor plant 😂, Yoongi legit pulling up a chair to read while cooking (poor thing haha), Jin crying because hes wasting the fish fillet as hes still learning, Joon adoringly looking at JK while he continues building his glider like a big brother, JK finally giving up and whining that hes gonna ask Hobi for help (HOPEKOOK cutely building a glider? yes please), JK looking over to see what Joon is reading, giving up again and ultimately moving out with Joon looking up like “You leaving me?” and then looking at the camera LOL. 

The 3 cooks up in the upper house are busy in their own thing when Jin asks for the location of the wrapper with SOPE rapping in return making a joke about them being the “rappers” haha. 

Back at the main house Taekook are cooking together. It makes me laugh at the difference between the hyungs cooking above. For starters, JK is cooking sausage for some time but I legit wanna teleport myself over there to tell him “Hey, cut it in pieces, you are burning the bottom of it but the inside is still raw” 😂... thankfully he does that eventually.... Meanwhile little sweet Tae is getting fancy on us and bringing his wine habits into the mix making an appetizer and struggling to open the Jamon packet even though (as the camera clearly zooms in on) the scissors are right next to him...These two are funny. 

Finally someone acknowledges that Jimin is still alive somewhere LOL and its none other than Yoongi who says it out loud in the kitchen then passes by his room but instead of waking him up just cheers him on then walks away haha (YOONMIN ❤️)

However that lasts for about 2 seconds before Yoongi comes back and ask Jimin to gather the others from the other house for lunch as the other members are busy and Jimin listens obediently by rolling over and calling Joon and with a hoarse voice letting him know Yoongi’s instructions. Poor Jimin, he sounds unwell 🥺. Joon goes to gather the younglings, Tae makes it up and decides to decorate the cheese with a red umbrella only to look dissatisfied and make it a blue one lol. They then have some random cuts of moments because JK’s sausages appear on the table but we never see him walk up and then he magically walks out the house but dont show any of that.. hmmmm. I’ll leave my thoughts at that since some people might understand what im alluding to :). 

Yoongi is taking out the ribs and accidentally drops a piece and we get the following reactions;

Yoongi: little scream 😱

Joon: Just use the 3 second rule 🙂

JK: Just wash it and then recoat it with more sauce and that should fix it 😄

To which Yoongi can only look slightly flabbergasted at the suggestion and throws it back “Do you wanna eat them?” hahaha

They all finally gather at the table including Jimin and I see that both him and Joon look a little off, I hope they got better soon after but for sure they seemed sick. Jin sweetly talks about always wanting to make the dish he prepared and how complicated it is and refers to it being a hard dish to make for a Family (the BTS bond is one of a kind). All the members admire the sampling of food, Jimin calls out the cuteness of Tae’s umbrella on the cheese, JK helps Jimin break the ribs apart, Tae tells everyone to try his appetizer, the member’s cutely all aww and ohh when they find out he cut the melon 💜, everyone but JK and Tae seem to know the dish, Hobi and Jimin cue to immediately try it for their friend so he doesnt feel left out, after trying it he cutely asks Jimin how it tastes and waits for his response, another awww, soulmate responds with its diff (which probably isnt his taste but eats it anyway for him ) lol and it zooms out with someone asking (sounds like Jin?) what they will have for dinner to have another member whom I cant tell reply LETS STARVE.  These clowns 😂but I get it, it took like hours to cook each meal.

They get ready to clean and apparently prep something for dinner with Joon washing the dishes and eventually asking Jk for help who is busy cooking rice eventually summoning Jimin who heard his name with Jk cutely smacking his butt to tell him Joon called him to then Jimin telling Joon not to worry and he will take over ( I reread this whole sentence and ran out of breath haha but then again im not here for proper grammer.. oopps). This leads us to a sweet domestic Jikook moment where he asks JK to help him dry the dishes and the other obliges and they just fall in routine.. just cute.

Joon heads back to the main house to pack and I honestly think he probably was heading for a doctor check up, he just seemed out of it 🥺

Jimin gets done with the dishes and ends up next to Tae as the soulmates cutely discuss the game he is playing and Tae announces his kills and loses.

Jimin is then next to Hobi in the other house who is getting ready to customize his shoes, he asks Jimin to join but he doesnt seem enthusiastic to the idea so Hobi just goes “I’ll just do what I like” and to me sounding a little sad since this isnt the first time hes asked Jimin to do an activity with him lol. Before walking away Jimin starts singing a song about it. Yoonjin are back again as buddies down the lake fishing and we get a sweet after interview of Yoongi admitting he is not interested in fishing but he does it because Jin invites him. You KNOW you only do those kind of things for your closest friends or family and that was sooo sweet. YOONJIN goals!

Back at the house we see that Jimin ultimately decided to join Hobi and we get cute JIHOPE moments. Im glad because I honestly got the vide since the beginning of in the soop that he wanted to spend more time with Jimin and hadnt had the chance. They both decorate a shoe each and are careful not to splatter on each other. I also spy with my little eyes... an Iphone?? tsk tsk tsk.. all the others are at least trying and Jimin is like nope hahahaha. If that was indeed a samsung then my bad.

Next thing we know JK and Jimin are harmonizing and sounded just beautiful, can we get another subunit please? I know they did Who and We dont talk anymore but a legit korean song.. anyone? Ok.. moving on haha

Now here is a group I havent seen hang out together often, I  know yoongi mostly keeps to himself but I was wondering if we would see any interactions longer than just passing food or related to meal prep between Yoongi and JK/Tae but here we are, the 2 kiddos singing and the hyung just watching on. Yay..

We later see Jimin revealing his excitement over the art project and im glad he enjoyed doing that with Hobi.

Hilariously enough, not long after, while deep into another song, Yoongi tells Jk that he needs to get out to pack. Jk’s reaction? Proceed to continue singing and kinda ignores hahaha. Cue to the camera angle still showing JK doing his thing and an exasperated looking parent *aka yoongi* just staring at him like 😐

They all head to pack their belongings and we fast forward to them playing games in the upper house. While Jimin is packing he walks out and asks to no one in particular where his hanbok piece is, then sees Jk playing in with the VR and proceeds to go up to tickle him cutely (domestic much? 🥰). This is ironically followed up by mischievous Tae wanting in on the fun by standing up from his spot and moving behind JK and after what seems like thinking it over, carefully tugs his pants down but not with the intention to actually pull them. JK laughs at this and goes “You shouldnt do that” hahaha. Which begs the question, did he know who tried to pull a fast one on him? LOL  

Everyone is back to their usual roles, the 3 cooks prepping the dinner, the maknae line just doing their thing between JK still in the VR game and Vmin cutely playing games in the corner. Yoongi seems like he NEVER rests, poor thing. He sees them prepping the ramen and suggest they add meat and ends up cooking meat. He is such a DAD and im all for it. While all this is happening there is a whole ruckus in the background and we hear the maknae line having a blast but only get a short glimpse of what is happening when the camera is still on the cooks. Apparently Jimin is now on the VR game and Jk decides to mess with him by taking a controller away and putting it behind his back, as Jimin tries to reach out to find it somehow, mischievous Tae is back at it and steals the other and moves it all the way to the other side presumably above the food shelf LMAO. I gather from the way that Jimin reaches UP and not straight out when reaching towards JK and the controller that this is DEF not the first time this has happened and when it has JK played the “I am taller and you cant reach this” stance, so of course Jimin’s instinct is to reach above his head hahaha.

They finally get down to eat and they all run to the table, I spook a cute Jikook moment of JM sitting next to JK and pulling the chair up leaving little room LOL, then Hobi still needs help so Jimin proceeds to go in to help with JK not far behind and a cute JiHopeKook hug alongside a Jikook sweet moment (I see that waist caress there JK 👀🥰😂😏) and they all make it back to the table with their meals ready. Tae makes sure to remind Jimin there is also meat for him to grab. Aww, ive lost count of the times that these two have been looking out for the other and its just so subtle but sweet af. 

Its time to finally go homeeeee. They all decide on who’s going in what car and then suddenly Jin remembers to check his fishing rod. 

Now... you may be wondering why I called this Hobi’s revenge. Well well well.. I want to say that slowly, Hobi decided to butter Jin up by hanging out all day long to eventually go full betrayal mode muahahaha. I kid I kid. But as life turns out, Hobi was presented with an opportunity to return the favor of Jin’s BV4 master plan to abandon him in New Zealand. Well well well... how the tables have turned. He tells his plans to the other nearby and they immediately agree 😂. Cue to a total pandemonium... Hobi rushing them in, Yoongi slowly walking to his car because of course he aint gonna run, Jimin trying to drag his suitcase, Tae running from the house in a cute manner probably going hehehehehe as he hears the plan, Jungkook walking up to them with no idea whats going on, having like 1 second to understand it, and then immediately running unsure of what to do until Jimin goes “Help me load this in!”. 

Jin finally approaches and they get in in time and start driving off. Jin finally goes heyyyyyyyy and cant believe what is happening, shouts out Yoongi, like you cant do this to me LOLOL. You can see Yongi’s big ass smile through the windshield which is even funnier. For a second he stops and it seems like Yoongi decides to have mercy on him, even open the door for him to stick his suitcase in. Hobi, Jungkook and Jimin seem to believe it as they are seen walking back up away from the car guessing the plan is a no go. That is until Yoongi goes full AGUST D and says “Who's the king, who's the boss?”... JK but lets just pretends he says that 😂, and literally does start driving off. Jihopekook see this and run their asses back to the car like little kids and laughing all cute as can be HEHEHEHEHE and they end up leaving Jin there LOL. Revenge is a dish best served cold and you just got served Jinnie.

Legend says Hobi slept well that night. 

The end. 

Hope you had fun reading this long post, probably will never do another since it took forever but I had fun making these gifs and pics and typing in my 2 cents hahaha. Borahae everyone 💜

[deepspaceclawstation]

Ok you know what? Fine. I don't enjoy writing about this because it sounds too much like whining to me but staying quiet about this won't benefit anyone either. So here, I'll just spit out this post and then we can all be on our merry way.

An early draft of this post started something like this - "Hey y'all! I joined tumblr exactly 3 months ago and I've recently crossed the milestone of following 160 other blogs so this calls for a celebration!!!"

Did I know what I was going to do for it? Hell no! I usually don't care for anniversaries and such, not even my own birthday. Despite all that, I was genuinely excited to do something to mark this day because this time my overall experience on tumblr has been overwhelmingly positive and I've talked to so many cool people on here, however briefly. However, turns out there has to be a change of plans. Something happened that made me mass unfollow a bunch of folks so that now I no longer follow 160 blogs.

Yeah, this is about the reservation post (sigh). When I reblogged that ask with my additions, I didn't get any response initially, though people were still liking the original ask. Then a few folks replied (positively) on the post and reached out to me on pms about their own experiences either with discrimination or talking about discrimination on online forums. It was not until two semi-popular blogs reblogged my addition and the post actually got outreach that the anons appeared.

All three of them were basically telling me to shut up, though one of them was weirdly obsessed with Jats for some reason which was confusing af coz 'jaat' in Marathi and Hindi means caste so for a while I was sitting there like bhau we all have jaat what tf are you on? (Also, I'm not Jat?? I don't think I even know any Jat? Not sure where they got that from. Maybe they thought that a previous reblog was about me though why they would think that is a mystery.) The fourth one appeared a few hours ago and was complaining about my making every post about me (???). I'm assuming they were talking about my replies on a desiblr's post about reservation. I didn't think they were that popular but apparently they have followers dedicated enough to send people anons for dissenting opinions?? (This is also weird as I posted those replies early in the morning and I don't think even the blog I was talking to has seen them. Maybe they have a follower who obsessively stalks their blog? Idek.) I won't necessarily classify these asks as 'anon hate' tbh (more like...negative anons?) but the fact that four separate people (Ig based on timing, tone, and writing style, could be wrong) disagreed with me so strongly that they took few minutes of their precious time just to send me an anonymous ask letting me know how exactly I'm wrong to voice my views is...I don't know how to digest that.

And yeah, I know there were only four of these and people get such asks daily over here but...this is a miniscule blog! My follower count is very small! I'm mutuals with more than half my followers and have had at least one conversation with 80+% of my mutuals! Before this whole fiasco, in the three months I've been here I've only received two asks, only one of them negative (incidentally also telling me to shut up which hmmm....).

Idk why I'm writing this post tbh. This is not a callout or anything since I don't even know the identity of these people, and neither is it a call to action. I just...don't want negativity just for speaking about issues important to me? Like, okay you disagree with me about the reservation system but surely sending negative messages to a Dalit person isn't the way to go about it? (Not that these people follow me I'm 100% sure of that.)

While looking at the original post on @/remorse-confessions to get the timeline right I came across another post on that blog about reservations. It was by the (anti?) Jat guy (reblogger, not anon) and basically was the same argument reiterated to seem like it was coming from an informed source. Sigh. So yeah, through its notes a mass unfollow ensued and I'm now no longer following 160 people and even though through the course of writing this post I've crossed a follower milestone, I'm no longer in the mindset of celebrating anything. Too bad, it could have been fun you know.

[yungidreamer]

Catch You

The fourth oneshot in my Kinktober series

Summary: Mingi is a guardian angel who loves his assignment. Sure he spends all his time protecting her from a series of unlikely events thanks to a curse that has been on her family since her great grandmother, but hey she’s cute, funny, and smart. It’s not a bad deal really.

Wordcount: 2.7k

Content warnings: Really, nothing...maybe an unrequited crush? This is mostly a pure fluff humor piece and a little bit of how I imagine Mingi would be as a guardian angel out there living his best life.

Suggested music I’m Gonna Be by The Proclaimers and Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

Mingi sat at the end of her bed. She was so precious when she was sleeping. So much less trouble, too. Not that he would change charges for anything in the world. She was just a little more work than he had anticipated. Not everyone had a guardian angel because, well, not everyone actually needed one. Most people had ordinary luck, lived ordinary lives, and didn’t have a generational curse.

She was different. Her great grandmother had pissed someone off enough to have gotten a curse that had lasted for four generations. He hadn’t been told what had been done and he hadn’t even thought to ask when he was assigned to her. Maybe he should have, then he would have been better prepared.

Soon she would be getting up and starting her day, and his, but for now she was tucked in and sleeping peacefully. He wished a little that she knew he was there. Maybe it would make things just a little bit easier. She would look a third time before crossing the street or just go a little slower in life that would give him a little more time to react.

Alas, she didn’t know he was there, didn’t know how hard he worked to keep her alive and well, didn’t know that she had worked her way into a little corner of his heart. She lived her life, ignorant of him, as she was supposed to.

The alarm on her bedside buzzed, starting both of their days. While she groped for the ‘damned machine’ as she often called it, Mingi deftly pulled the glass of water out of the way, letting her turn off the alarm before setting the cup down on the bedside table again so it would be where she left it when she got a drink before getting out of bed. She was at least pretty predictable, he consoled himself.

She stretched, took a drink, and threw back the covers with a smile, ready to start the day. First thing was first, he narrated in his head, shower. Together they headed down the hallway to her bathroom. Stripping off the shirt she had slept in, she tossed it into the laundry basket, barely making it in and, somehow, unbalancing it until Mingi hopped forward, catching it and setting it right. Would it have killed her to have the laundry on the floor? By itself no, but the curse sort of worked like a Rube Goldberg machine, relying on a series of highly unlikely events that alone were inconsequential, but cumulatively could lead to her death.

How did a basket of laundry play a part? Well, the laundry falls, covers up the bar of soap that had dropped (something he had picked up yesterday), she steps out of the shower to find that her towel had dropped into the toilet (thanks to a loose screw he had instead tightened three days ago) so she steps out dripping wet instead, leaving a puddle on the floor that, in combination with the soap, makes for the perfect bathroom slip and slide that ends with her smacking her head against the edge of the tub and… well that would be the end of his assignment.

So that was most of his day, spotting those odd, unlikely events in her life that could lead to her untimely end. She turned on the water and undid her hair before stepping in under the water. Mingi checked inside the tub, having a niggling suspicion that something was slightly amiss. Nothing in the tub… the curtain rod was fine… ah-ha! Somehow the hot water faucet was loose and… slowly turning itself on more? Ugh, why? With a sigh, Mingi sat down on the edge of the tub holding the faucet in place. When she was done he would mess with it, make sure it was tight and do a little something to clear the curse that was animating it. But now, he would just hold it and let her take her shower in peace.

“I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too,” she sang as she soaped herself up behind the curtain. “Thursday, I don't care about you, It's Friday, I'm in love…”

Was it Friday again already, Mingi wondered to himself. I guess it is, he recalled, singing along with her as she belted out her favorite start-the-day song for Fridays. She was cute when she sang in the shower, so uninhibited. No one was listening, well no one but him and he didn’t really count.

He felt her hand go through his as she turned off the water, signaling the end of her shower. Letting go of the faucet, Mingi moved over to the other side of the bathroom, deliberately giving her his back while she put on her towel and dried off. She was still singing and he hummed along with her, listening for where she was in the bathroom. Teeth were brushed, a bit of makeup put on, and hair was fixed up for the day.

“You’re having a good hair day,” Mingi commented with a grin.

“Man, if only I knew what I did some days to get this look,” she muttered to herself, almost as if she had heard his compliment. “Not that I am going to complain on the good days.”

“You always look lovely, though,” he sighed, following her as she headed back to the bedroom to get dressed. Putting on her underthings first, she went to her closet to decide what exactly she was going to wear today.

“Hmmm, is it a lacy sort of day or badass business woman sort of day,” she wondered aloud, flipping through her wardrobe.

“You’re badass even in lace,” he said, sitting on the end of the bed, chin resting on the heel of his hand.

“Maybe something that is both?” She pondered, pulling out a vintage styled button up and a dark grey pantsuit.

“Good choice,” Mingi agreed, giving an approving thumbs up. She pulled on her clothes and checked everything in the mirror before deciding she was ready to take on the day. Mingi caught the empty hanger that dropped itself off the rail, putting it back up before she noticed or it could cause any havoc. Giving it a tap and a stern look that said, I’ve got my eye on you, he turned to follow her as she headed down the hall to the kitchen. 

Her steps were confident as she headed to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. Mingi was always on his toes here. Here he had to be nimble and eagle eyed. Really, why did they have to concentrate so many potentially deadly things all in one place. He had a distinct sense of relief when she picked out granola and some yogurt for breakfast. Thank you, he said to the universe, as she took a seat at the counter and opened the magazine she had left half read there the day before. No stove to watch for things that mysteriously ended up sitting on the element. No knives that seem to leap off the cutting board. No toast that got stuck with the strength of a magnet on the inside of the toaster. No burns from shockingly hot coffee or tea.

“You know,” he told her, taking the seat in the chair closest to her. “I love these days where you make my job so much easier.” She flipped through a couple of pages as she took bites. “Anything interesting?” He peeked over at the magazine to see what she was reading about. Diversity and Dynamics: the wonders of the Amazon Rainforest. “Really? It has 10% of the total global diversity? Neat.” Reading over her shoulder was always fun. She was curious and really enjoyed reading about a little bit of everything. Since she graduated college a couple of years ago, she had kept that curiosity for new information and for all kinds of topics. Without a doubt, he was never bored with her.

Rinsing the dishes, she put them in the dishwasher, which Mingi re-closed behind her when it decided to just fall open again when she turned to rinse her hands. Pursing his lips, he shook a finger at it, sending a warning to the device with his mind. 

“You can be replaced,” he reminded it, sternly. The machine, properly chastised, stayed closed this time.

Well fed and ready to start the day, she headed for the front door, gathering her bag and her shoes along the way. Mingi followed, staying close as she entered the wider world, yet another space where he felt like he had to be on guard. He took a playful karate pose as he stood near her at the bus stop, eyeing the passing people and cars as he hovered near her. With her headphones on, she might not notice something that came up behind her.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’m watching your back.” Together they boarded the bus and he stood guard by her seat as she looked out the window as the city passed by. This was one of her favorite parts of the day, he could tell by the way her shoulders relaxed and her lips quirked into a little smile as she day dreamed, looking out at the buildings and the people passing by.

When her stop drew near, he lightly brushed her shoulder to make sure that she noticed and pressed the button to call for the bus to stop. He caught the door as it tried to close early on her giving it a parting slap and a disapproving look as the bus pulled away, forcing him to jog to catch up with her. At least it wasn’t far to her office. The modern, tall business block looked largely the same as the other half dozen multi-storey office buildings in the surrounding neighborhood. There was nothing terribly dangerous about the space...except for the hours of tedium...and maybe the long stairwells. Luckily she worked on the seventh floor and preferred to get her cardio going the long way to the bus so that she could pick up a cup of her favorite coffee some mornings.

In her cubicle she put her things down and switched on her computer, taking a moment to spin in her chair while she waited for it to boot up. Mingi gave it a little extra push to keep its momentum, smiling as he did so. With a sigh, she straightened up and scooted her chair in to actually start her work day. If Mingi slept, he might have done it during this part of the day. Spread sheets were just...mind numbing. But at least, when she was in her cubicle, a paper cut was the biggest threat to her for the most part.

Mingi took a seat on the open part of her desk and entertained himself making the leaf of the fern on her desk ripple in the non-existent draft. Nothing anyone would find out of place but at least it was something for him to do.

“Coffee,” she said, pushing herself back.

“Oh are we having actual coffee today or are you going to decide to get a hot chocolate again instead?” He asked as he trailed behind her. Shuffling down the hall, she waved at a couple of co-workers as she passed on the way to the breakroom. In the little kitchen like breakroom she pulled a mug out of the cabinet then shimmied over to the fancy coffee machine. Putting the cup on the little shelf under the spigot, she started going through her options on the screen.

“Mocha, I think, today,” she decided after a lip biting moment of deep consideration.

“Both,” he nodded approvingly. “I like it.” 

“Ahhhh,” she gave a satisfied sigh after taking a sip. “Caffeine.” They headed out of the kitchen and Mingi caught the handle of the cleaner’s mop that decided it wanted to fall into her path just before she turned the corner. He hurried ahead and caught it before she could even see it, giving her a little bow as she passed, blissfully ignorant as she enjoyed the drink in her hands.

The morning was unremarkable and largely uneventful, though he did have to keep her mocha from spilling itself… twice. When lunch came, she decided to go to the little cafe at the end of the block, which meant at least their trip into the wider scarier world was short. Mingi walked ahead of her, using his wings to part the crowds of people to make her walk easier. It wasn’t that people could see him or could even really feel him, but they just sort of instinctively avoided him. Brushing into him felt...odd, perhaps even uncomfortable, like a chill or a static shock so people just naturally avoided it.

They looked into the bakery case as they stood in line at the cafe. Mingi thought the croissant sandwich looked especially tasty today along with the raspberry swirl cheesecake. He gave the case over them a little tap, hoping to bring her attention to them. She looked at both, considering them and did take the croissant but skipped the cheesecake today.

“I hope you aren’t skipping it because you think you need to diet again,” he sighed, watching her eat from the other side of the table. “You’re pretty you know. Not only that, you’re smart and funny, which is what someone should really like about you anyway.” He pointed out, kicking a napkin out of the way just before a passerby would have slipped on it, taking her table with them as they fell. Instead they just passed by without incident.

“You sure you don’t want the cheesecake?” He asked as they got up to go. “You can always snack on it later.” She didn’t get it but she did give it a somewhat longing look as she passed it by on her way out. 

The afternoon passed with only a few minor incidents and it was finally time to head home again. And, hey, it was even Friday! Mingi watched as she packed up her things and shut everything down, ready to head home.

“Do we have any plans this weekend?” He asked as they headed to the elevator. She sighed and looked at her phone, scrolling through something as she paired and pulled on her headphones. “I guess that is a no.” He shrugged and gave her a little chuckle. I mean, who was he to complain about another Friday evening of Netflix and nosh?

The bus ride home was thankfully uneventful and home was almost exactly how they left it. He had to close a few cabinet doors, pick up a pen that had rolled itself onto the floor, and tighten the shower tap he hadn’t gotten to this morning. Still, it was overall nothing big and soon they had both settled in for a relaxing start to the weekend.

“So, what about ordering something in?” He sent the idea to her, hoping she would skip cooking, just to give him that little extra time off.

“Ooo, pizza sounds really good,” she said aloud, now that there was no one around to think she was odd for talking to herself. Getting out her app, she put in an order as Mingi looked at her adoringly. Sometimes he suspected she knew he was there. Sometimes he thought she did things just to make his job just a little easier and he really loved her for it.

They watched a few hours of a newer drama on Netflix, both talking to the characters as if they could hear them. Complaining when they made stupid decisions and cheering for them when they did something great. It was really his favorite kind of night. Just the two of them and something that made her laugh. He would swear her smile could have lit up the whole world.

Soon it was time for bed and she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She changed into her nightshirt and pulled out the book she had been reading and climbed into bed. Mingi sat on the other side of the bed, laying back to read the book over her shoulder until she started yawning and shut off the light. She pulled the covers up over her shoulder and turned on her side. Before he knew it, she was asleep, happily making little puffy breath sounds as she breathed.

“Sleep well,” he whispered softly. “I’ll be here keeping watch, don’t worry.”

He really had the best job.

Masterlist

[illfoandillfie]

5 Simple Rules For A Successful Fake Relationship: The Perfect Match (Epilogue)

5 SIMPLE RULES MASTERLIST

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

Summery: What happens after you tell Ben you love him?

Warnings: SMUT (18+), oral sex (f receiving, implied male receiving), fingering, nipple play, it’s mostly just fluffy bullshit lmao

Words: 7129

A/N: Epilogue time! Apologies for taking so long to get this written, it’s been a rough few weeks. But we’re finally here!

Taglist:  @laedymoon  @dtfrogertaylor  @vee-ndetta @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor  @hannafuckingsucks  @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @supersonicfreddie  @taron-egrotten @johndeaconshands @borhapbois

@coni-martina @hardforbenhardy @cubedtriangle @vicouscirce @arianabrashierstuff @pattieboydwannabe @maggieroseevans @theprettyandthereckless​

Being in Barcelona with Ben was like having a fresh start. One without intrusive photographers or the pressure of being walking advertisements for a movie. You almost had to physically push Ben out of the hotel on the first morning you were there. He was reluctant to leave you but, being lead actor, couldn’t exactly skip work. At any rate, you wouldn’t let him. It wasn’t so bad spending the day holed up in his suite. You went back to bed after he’d left and then, once properly rested, put music on as you caught up on emails and the like. In the afternoon you popped downstairs to explore the square the suite looked out on, visiting a quaint little bookstore, a shop full of touristy knickknacks, and a cute café that sold maybe the strongest coffee you’d ever had. Having so much time to yourself also gave you a chance to call Felicity and have a long conversation with her, filling her in on exactly what had happened after you got on the plane. She was thrilled to hear it had gone well and took a large part of the credit for herself. 

“Afterall, I was the one who told you to get off your arse. If I hadn’t you’d still be crying in bed,” You laughed and conceded she had a point, “but you’re not the only one who gets credit,” “Fine, but it’s like 90% down to me.”

But, even with so much to occupy you, by the end of the day you were eager for Ben to get back, bored of being on your own, ready to have the conversation you’d both been too tired to fully have the previous night. When he di[d finally walk through the door it was obvious he was just as keen to see you. You heard the thump of his backpack hitting the floor just inside the door and then him calling your name. He found you on the couch and rushed up behind you, leaning in for a kiss when you tilted your head back to greet him. “I love being able to do that,” he said softly as he sat down, making you smile. He asked how your day had been as you shuffled closer, letting him drape an arm around you and pull you against his chest. And for a while that was all you talked about, your day and his, everything you’d got up to. His had been a little busier, working with the stunt coordinator and fight choreographer in the morning so they could film the scene in the afternoon. Completely different from the prep you’d done for The Perfect Match, but you could tell how much he enjoyed it from the way he spoke about it. Even if he did end up with a few bruises as proof of his hard work. Before long though you had to address the question hanging over your heads, had to have the talk. It wasn’t an easy conversation. It took some time and meant being open about the previous few months – the insecurities and fears that had kept you from recognising and acting on your feelings, the impact being in the public eye had on you, the pros and cons of dating another actor and, perhaps most importantly, potential challenges you would face because of your previous history. You both readily admitted there’d been some rough moments when you’d handled things poorly and the question had to be asked of if you’d be able to move on from those patches and any wounds they’d caused. Any lingering reservations you had about Ben and his willingness to make it work were quickly put to rest. He was the first to offer up his vulnerabilities, both personal and professional, and discuss the space where they intersected with you. It was all you needed to be fully assured he was in it for the long haul. Of course, you reciprocated his openness with confessions of your own, harder to get out than you’d imagined, but he was patient and leant you a reassuring hand squeeze when you needed it. It wasn’t exactly fun but it was a necessary evil. And by the time you were done you both knew exactly where you stood and were in agreement about how to move forward, making it all worthwhile.

Neither of you felt much like going out afterwards though so you ordered room service, making sure to get a bottle of wine with the food, and celebrated quietly. Ben ran down to the nearest store and bought a few candles to make it seem a little more romantic and promised to take you out on a proper date the next night. “So would that be our first date? Or does everything from before count too?” you asked around a mouthful of food, looking at Ben across the candle lit table. “Huh, good question. I think it counts,” “Really?” you laughed, “I was about to say it doesn’t. It was all planned by other people and not really…real,” “Hey, not everything was planned out for us. That date where we painted mugs was all my idea and, might I add, something I’d thought about specifically to impress you. It was on my list of potential dates in case I got the chance to ask you out after we wrapped. Same goes for that brunch place I took you and the ice skating rink. Also those dates were part of what me fall for you so they kind of have to count.” You had to smile at that, “When did you know?” “Uh,” Ben dropped his gaze to where his hand lay on the table, “Our first date.” “Really?” “I’d already liked you for a while and then you went and decorated a mug with lyrics from the song I heard every time I looked at you.” It wasn’t until after he’d finished speaking that he lifted his eyes again, giving a small shrug. “That’s so ridiculously sweet, Ben, I might have to kiss you about it.” “Well I’m a sweet guy Y/N,” he was almost laughing when you made good on your threat, standing up from your side of the table and nearly pouncing on him. He just pulled you further onto his lap, the dinner forgotten as you revelled in the knowledge that making out was allowed now, encouraged even. “You wanna move this to the bedroom?” Ben asked, illuminated by the dancing flames more than the lights you’d left on. “I don’t normally sleep with a guy on the first date,” you said, pretending to weigh up your options as you twirled a strand of Ben’s hair around your finger. “We just agreed it’s not our first date. Closer to our fifty first probably.” “Hmmm, you make some good points, babe,” His face lit up and you nearly fell of his lap as he sat forward, “are we allowed to do pet names again?” You groaned into his shoulder but he just chuckled “You wanna move this to the bedroom, cuddle bunny?” “I hate you,” “No you don’t,” you could tell he was grinning, even with your face buried in the crook of his neck. “Little bit.” “Aww c’mon cuddle bunny, don’t be like that. I’ll make you feel real good.” “I don’t know Ben, you’ve got a lot to live up to.” “I do?” “You don’t remember? First night I stayed over at yours you made some pretty big claims about what you were capable of. Said if anyone asked I should tell them I came like three times,” you put air quotes around his words. “So you’re saying if I prove that I really am that good, you won’t complain about cuddle bunny or any other nickname I come up with?” “I never said that,” “You basically did and the challenge has been accepted.” You broke into giggles as he pushed you from his lap, only to lurch forward and kiss you, smiling himself. He led you into the next room, discarding clothes along the way.

                                                        ***

You laughed as you sat on the bed, watching as Ben hopped through the doorway on one foot, trying to kick his pants off his other leg as he went. Your shirt and bra had been lost somewhere between the table and the bed, his shirt discarded even earlier. He gave you a slightly sheepish smile as he finally managed to free himself from the jeans and followed you towards the bed. You leaned back, still on the edge of the bed, propping yourself up on your hands to keep your eyes locked on him and he followed, caught your lips again though softer than before, one hand hovering just above your shoulder, fingertips barely grazing you. It was miles from the first time you’d slept with him, when you’d both been full of alcohol induced confidence and a lack of clear thought. You pushed yourself closer to try and let him know he could be firmer, that you’d like it if he was. Instead he pulled back even more. “Is something wrong? Do you not want to do this?” “No, no I absolutely do. Just,” he smiled again, the shy half smile that made him seem even more boyish than usual, “you’re gorgeous and I kinda can’t believe this is happening. Again. Just give me a second to let it sink in.” “Benjamin I swear, if you start crying,” “I’m not going to cry,” he chuckled, “probably.” You waited, watched his eyes roam over every inch of you from your hairline to your waist, leaving a trail of warmth in their wake. Finally he kissed you again, already almost breathless, his hand cupping your jaw as if he had to work up to touching you elsewhere. Slowly his touch fell lower, neck, collarbone. When he grazed your breast he pulled his hand back again but you hummed at the contact and he replaced it. You stopped holding yourself up, let yourself lay back against the mattress as his lips moved to your throat, his thumb teasing the nipple it found to a stiff peak. It left your hands free to wrap around him, hold him against you. “Do you mind if I leave some marks?” “Go ahead,” you said, far more concerned about losing the feeling of his mouth on you than what would be left when he was done. You felt him nuzzle his nose against the underside of your jaw, and then a tingle down your spine as he found a spot to leave a large purple bruise, close to where he’d first given you a hickey at your request. You made a low hum and tilted your head to the side, exposing more of your neck to him, and he delighted in filling the space with more marks. Three along the column of your neck, one on your sternum and one on your right breast. “How’s it look?” you asked, as he raised his head from your chest. “Perfect. But that could just be because your boobs are right in my face. Very nice view.” You gave him a light pinch for his cheek but he didn’t react, far more interested in creating another hickey on your chest. “Hope you weren’t planning on filming any topless scenes anytime soon,” he mumbled, moving to repeat the process on your other breast, “makeup’ll have a hell of a time covering all these.”

By the time Ben was ready to continue his trail lower you were aching for more. Your underpants were slick with your need, nipples hard as Ben’s saliva caught the cold air he blew over them. Again you were struck by how different to last time it was. Then it had been fast, only minutes between being pushed up against the door and having his fingers in you. But now? Now Ben was taking his time. You understood why, of course. Back then you’d been trying to reach the end before either of you could think for half a second about it being a bad idea. You’d been drunk and clueless about how much you’d both wanted it to happen. All you’d had to do was palm him over his pants and he was raring to go. Not so much this time. He was certainly worked up, you’d found as much when you’d tried to cop a feel. But he stopped you before you got too far, laced his fingers through yours so you couldn’t stroke him off. He responded to your whine with a line about having a reputation to live up to and then let go of your hand as he slipped off your lap to the floor. He made you wait as he tugged your pants from your legs and then left another mark on your hip. You opened your legs wider for him, earning a small nip against your thigh. “Wish I’d done this for you last time,” he said softly, kissing the spot that was still tingling from the scrape of his teeth. You propped yourself up on your elbows to watch, “If you’d done this last time I’d have confessed my love a whole lot faster. Could-coluld’ve saved me the cost of the flight here.” You voice shook as he pressed his tongue to your soaked underwear and you briefly wished you’d packed some actual lingerie and not just your every-day sensible cotton knickers, but Ben clearly didn’t mind. “Cute panties,” he said between sucks through the material, “that wet patch from your pussy or my mouth?” He laughed as he pulled them off you, dropping them unceremoniously to the side as he sat up higher on his knees.

The next thing you knew was Ben’s fingers on either side of your lips, pulling you open. He glanced up at you, grinned when you whined softy, didn’t break eye contact as he dragged his tongue over you. No more build up, no more playful comments as he took his time exploring you. Just his mouth on you, determinedly pushing you to the edge. You let your head fall back with a squeak as he nudged your clit with his nose, following it up by sucking the nub into his mouth, pulling a moan from you. Your breath caught when he slid two fingers along your slit, coating them in your arousal and a whiny expletive was your response to one entering you. Ben pulled back and gave you a wink as he added another finger. You’d have told him off for being so cocky if you hadn’t felt so good. Instead you fell back to the mattress completely. “That feel good baby?” He asked between licks, stretching you out, trying to find the same spot he’d reached last time. “So good Ben,” “I love the way you say my name.” He pressed a third finger into you, shifted the angle slightly, and without thinking you twisted a hand into his hair, let him hear his name again. He hummed though you weren’t sure what caused it, only that it felt incredible, his lips wrapped around your clit. With soft encouragement he made you tip over the edge, squirming under him as you rode it out. He was gentle when he pulled his fingers from you and left a kiss against your thigh, waiting for you to come back to earth before he began gloating. “That’s one. How do you want the next? Same thing?” It took you a moment to figure out what he meant but he filled the time by kissing a path back up to your lips, shorter than the trip down had taken. “Well? What next?” he asked again when it seemed like you weren’t going to reply. “I could blow you,” you said, once again dropping your hand to try and rub him through his underwear. “Save that for another time. I’ve got a promise to make good on and an adorable nickname to give you.” “I was hoping you’d say that. Really want you in my pussy.” Ben laughed and leaned in to kiss you again, evidence from your orgasm still on his lips and chin, before pushing himself away to finish undressing. You watched him closely, taking in the V that was exposed and the light trail of hair leading under his waistband, the way his thumbs hooked into the material, the slightly theatrical wiggle he made to shake his pants off, how the second he was free of the fabric his hand came up to stroke over his length, seeking some brief relief. He turned away to grab a condom and you made yourself comfortable on the bed, moving to lay back against the pillows rather than hanging over the edge. And then Ben was practically diving on top of you, making you giggle as he kissed you again and again and again. Until he stopped to sit back on his legs, tearing open the condom with his teeth. “Can I?” you asked, pulling your lip between your teeth. “Sure,” As Ben nodded you sat forward, took the condom from him and closed your other hand around him. “Shhhhit,” he breathed out,” “C’mon babe, ‘m already h-hard. Just wanna be in you.” You hummed in agreement but took your time rolling the latex down his shaft as you pulled him into another kiss, thoroughly enjoying the noises he made in response. Soft throaty sounds, little whines muffled by your lips. You would have been happy just jerking him off except for the needy throbbing between your legs that made you hyper aware of how empty you were. “Lie back for me,” he said softly as soon as you pulled your hand away. You did as requested, settling back against the pillows once more. Ben nudged your legs open wider and finally sank into you, both of you gasping at the feeling. You moaned softly when he slowly pulled back and thrust forward again, wrapped your legs around him because it was the only way you could think of to get him closer. Carefully he took one of your hands in his, laced his fingers through yours and then repeated it with the other hand, holding them against the mattress as he fucked into you. His forehead dropped to yours as he let a curse slip into the air, “Didn’t a-appreciate your pussy enough last time. So fucking tight.” You couldn’t think how to respond, just squeezed his hands, your breath catching in your throat as he rolled his hips against you.  He kept the pace steady as he caught your lips again, less coordinated kisses that didn’t always get you full on the mouth as you moved with each measured thrust. Each one seemed to make it harder for you to breathe, your breaths coming in short pants, often accompanied by small whiny noises as you felt yourself getting close again. “Yeah?” Ben asked against your ear, a response to a particularly drawn out whine, “that good, huh?” If you’d been able to form coherent sentences you would have come up with some sort of witty way to tell him you needed more stimulation to actually get off. Instead all you managed to do was stumble through the words close, please, more as he nibbled on your earlobe. “Show me,” he rasped, releasing one of your hands so you could slip it between your bodies. I wasn’t long before the speed of your fingers on your clit outstripped Ben’s movement, your growing need to finish pushing you to rub faster, press harder. He groaned into your neck as you finally hit the edge and pulsed around him, pulled out before it became too much. You let your legs fall from where you’d hooked them around him though you whined at the loss. “Don’t worry,” he said softly as he took your hand and lifted it from your cunt, “more where that came from.” Ben pulled your hand towards him, leaning in to close the gap and suck your fingers into his mouth. You were sure you could have cum from that alone if he hadn’t already made you cum twice.

It didn’t make it easy to catch your breath or calm down entirely, but Ben was content to wait, thoroughly cleaning your fingers before he released them. He pressed a kiss to the inside of your wrist before he let you take your hand back. You let out a shaky breath as you looked up at him and almost laughed, “Jesus,” He stroked your leg gently, “Still one more to go, if you’re up for it. Not too sensitive?” “A little but I should be okay.” “Good. I really wanna give you that nickname. Annoy everyone else with how fucking adorable we are” “Shouldn’t have reminded me what the stakes are, maybe I am too sensitive,”

“What if I said I just wanted to fuck you until I cum then? More acceptable?” That did make you laugh, “Much more acceptable.” Ben grinned, his tongue darting out from between his teeth, and then readjusted your position. His arm wrapped around your hips, pulling you up into the air, as he leaned on the other and slid back in, deeper than before. “This okay?” “Y-yeah, yes,” As soon as he knew you were okay with the new position he began moving, faster than before. The angle he held you in meant he was hitting your sweet spot consistently which, aside from feeling good, meant your clit got a bit of a break. It felt even better when he dropped his head forward and gently tugged on your nipple with his teeth. You brought one hand up to grab his hair as he switched to soothing the nipple with his tongue. You had a hard time getting out anything other than a few curses and his name as his thrusts became more urgent but Ben had no trouble telling you how good you felt. Well, some trouble. His words came out stuttered and breathless and interrupted by curses of his own or sometimes muffled by your breasts. But that was a turn on in itself. Hearing Ben losing control, coming apart, because of you. It was enough to make you want to cum faster so you could hear him moan through his own release. You remembered what he sounded like last time and were eager to hear it again. So once again you let your fingers find your clit, shivering at the slight discomfort as you tried to match Ben’s rhythm. “God I’m gonna,” you managed to choke out, fingers tightening in Ben’s hair. “P-please Y/N, cum. I ne-ed you to cum.” Your voice caught in your throat as you tipped over the edge again, Ben doing his best to hold you up as he lasted about a second longer, pretty moans spilling from his lips.

                                                       ***

Afterwards you could barely find it in you to move. You stumbled on jelly legs towards the bathroom as Ben cleared away the condom and straightened the sheets, ready for you to curl up with him. You had just enough energy to fall into bed and lean your head on his chest. He pulled the covers over your legs and stroked your hair with one hand, his fingers catching in the odd tangle though he was careful not to pull too hard. His other hand smoothed up and down your arm, so gently it took you a few passes to notice. He was quiet for a while, watching you relax against him. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, “Think that means I win, right cuddle bunny? Or do you prefer honey bunch? Snuggle bug? Sugar bear? I could go on,” “I think cuddle bunny might actually be the lesser of all those evils,” you mumbled. “You sure that’s not cause you got used to it and now you kinda like it?” You gave a non-committal hum in response. Ben’s chest shook as he laughed but he protested when you made to sit up, assuring you he liked having you leaning on him like that, “Told you before, I like being the boyfriend and what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t let you use me as a pillow?” You couldn’t help but smile when you heard Ben refer to himself that way, happily settling back against him. He was right, the title suited him. You couldn’t wait to introduce him as such to Felicity and your other friends.

You stayed in Barcelona with Ben for a few weeks. Once or twice you snuck a peek at a gossip blog or a twitter hashtag, but most people’s attention seemed to be diverted from you onto other unlucky couples. There were a few threads about you not being home and a handful of photos of Ben and other cast mates taken from their Instagram accounts, sometimes accompanied by speculation of if their relationship was purely professional, but nothing much else. You were both thankful for that. It was easier to find your feet as an actual real couple without being hounded about it or seeing speculation about yourselves. You were free to visit restaurants and tourist spots on dates, explore the city together on days Ben wasn’t filming, just be more or less normal. A few times you accompanied Ben to set or out with the rest of the cast, listening in as they teased him for how much happier he was now that you’d arrived. There were a couple of sticky beak questions about the breakup the first time you joined them for dinner, but you laughed it off as nothing more than misinformed rumours and they readily believed you. Aside from being contractually obligated to keep the secret, it was just easier to pretend the previous few months had been real than try to explain it all. Of course, pretending was made all the easier by Felicity and Joe knowing. Joe had been happy when Ben told him the good news. He’d been a little annoyed too and threated Ben with the silent treatment, claiming it’s what he deserved for being so stupid, the sudden click of him hanging up startling you both. Ben’s phone rang again about thirty seconds later as Joe called back to claim responsibility for your reunion. “I totally knew you idiots liked each other and if I hadn’t helped, Y/N never would have got to Spain.” Ben leaned in to where his phone rested on the table, speaker on, “If you knew why didn’t you tell me she was into me?” “Pretty sure I tried! But you were too hung up on being all heartbroken to listen to me.” “Umm incorrect,” “Should have heard yourself man, boo hoo Y/N doesn’t love me like I love her, wah wah wah. Didn’t want to hear anything else.” Ben flashed you a disapproving look when you let out a snort of laughter and then turned back to the phone, “You’re such a dickhead,” “Call me cupid, Benny boy, I’m the reason you’re not crying in the shower anymore.” “You’re fucking full of it, cupid,” “Go on Y/N, tell him I’m right,” “Well,” you said, trying not to laugh again, “Joe did tell me where to find you,” “Exactly!” came the shout from the phone, “Y/N, I’ll give you some of the credit for actually flying to Spain, but It’s like 85% down to me.” “You should meet my friend Felicity. You’d get along.”

On quieter days when everyone was doing their own thing and neither of you felt much like leaving the suite, you’d sit around and help Ben learn his lines or stretch over his lap and work on a crossword puzzle together. Although, that was if you made it out of bed. Ben ran through his condoms in the first week you were there, both of you eager to make up for the missed opportunities and all the time you’d spent pining for each other. More than once he came back to the hotel to find you wearing nothing but one of his shirts, which invariably ended with him between your legs in one way or another. Or, when he was flushed and sweaty from whatever action scene he’d been filming that day, he’d slyly announce he needed a shower and suggest you join him. But eventually the real world called, quite literally, in the form of Mary letting you know you’d got the part in the witch movie. It deserved a celebratory drink out at a bar the cast had found, where you and Ben riled each other up so much you had no choice but to relieve the tension the minute your door was shut behind you. And then again first thing the next morning. Unfortunately, you couldn’t stay more than a few days after that. You had to fly back home and begin prepping for your new role. Thankfully it was being filmed around London, saving you from having to head out to the US straight after getting home from Spain. But it did mean leaving Ben, an occurrence neither of you were thrilled about, feeling like you’d not had as much time together as you would have liked. You decided to do something special for your last night so Ben booked a table at a nearby restaurant. He met you there straight from set, wearing nice pants and a dressy shirt rather than the trackpants and ratty tee you'd seen him in that morning, where you surprised him with a bouquet of flowers similar to those he’d given you on your make-up date so long before. “I love them,” Ben laughed, kissing your cheek as he pulled you into a hug, “I think the colours make my eyes pop,” You playfully shoved him away towards the restaurant but he grabbed your hand and pulled you against him. He was about to kiss you when a familiar clicking sound distracted him. Both you and Ben looked around, surprised and confused, and saw a young woman walking down the street, fingers quickly taping against her phone. Ben ushered you inside the restaurant and, as soon as you took your seats, pulled out his phone. “Bad news. She tweeted it.” “Guess that means the honeymoon’s over,” you sighed. “And we were so close too. Fucking busted with about 10 hours to go.” “Oh well. S’pose everyone was gonna find out anyway. If it wasn’t now it would have been in a few weeks when you get back home.” “Not like we aren’t used to it. So how about,” he poured you both a glass of water from the bottle on the table, “a toast. To being so fucking interesting the whole world wants to know if we’re fucking.” You laughed as you clinked your glass against his a took a sip.

The pre-production part of your new movie kept you busy which had its pros and cons. On one hand it was tiring and a lot of new information to take in. On the other it kept you distracted from the distance between you and Ben and the barrage of questions you were receiving about him daily. You met the women who were playing your sisters and spent a lot of time rehearsing with them, particularly focused on learning how to pronounce the spells you’d be casting and the names of the potions you’d be mixing. Ben chuckled when you told him you’d spent an hour being coached on how to pronounce a single word, a process which included a basic Latin lesson and lots of repetition. “Well at least I didn’t end up with a black eye from it,” you said, pointing at him through the video chat screen. Over the weeks you’d been apart you’d relied heavily on phone conversations and face time calls to keep in contact. There’d been a visit or two when you had the chance but both of you were busy and keen not to be splashed through every gossip rag around so they were few and far between. The calls were easier, more private, and quickly became part of your wind down routine – come home, snuggle up on the couch, and talk to Ben for a few hours. “Hardly having fun if you can’t accidentally get knocked out by a poorly thrown weapon,” “I beg to differ, but you do you Benny,” you laughed, reaching for your coffee. The mug Ben had painted for you. He smiled when he saw it. “Aside from learning Latin and not being beaten up on a daily basis, how’s the movie going?” Ben asked as he reached behind him to adjust the pillow he was leaning against. “God it's been so good so far. The girls are so lovely and fun to be around. Plus, y’know, as someone who spent a lot of her childhood making mud potions in the backyard and playing Harry Potter, getting to run around throwing spells and stuff is kind of a dream come true.” He laughed again, “you’re such a nerd, I love you.” “Shut up. How’s it going in Spain?” “Well I have a black eye and I miss you so... Nah, it’s all going really well. Copped a bit of shit after you left,” Ben rolled his eyes, “apparently I was depressed. But this shoot has been so good. Gonna be kinda sad to be done.” “How much longer have you got?” “Couple of weeks, I think.” “You should come over to mine when you land, I’ll cook you dinner,” “Yeah? I’d like that.” “Course you will, nice home cooked meal, a blowjob, what’s not to like.” “I’ll let you know when my flight is so you can prepare – buy ingredients, do jaw stretches. What’re you laughing for? I’m serious, we both know how big I am.” He laughed, breaking the façade of seriousness as his tongue stuck out between his teeth. “Are you ready for it?” “Beyond ready, I miss sex.” “Not what I meant. There were a few paps waiting for me at the airport last time I was coming back from visiting you. Mostly yelling questions about if we’re really back together.” “How bad is it?” “Not as much attention as we were getting while we were doing press for the movie but it’s pretty annoying.” “They’ll calm down. After they see us a few times and they find someone else to lose their shit over.” “Yeah, probably. But you’re still good with this happening, even with the extra attention?” “Y/N, babe, we talked about this already. We always knew it was likely to happen and nothing’s changed since then. I still want to be with you.” “Just checking,” “I know. Now, I don’t have to be on set for another half hour so why don’t you tell me more about this blowjob I can expect.”

Ben was right, though it took longer to die down than you’d have liked. Felicity alerted you to a number of articles both in print and online after Ben got home. It almost felt like the days of promoting The Perfect Match – photos of you walking hand in hand and sitting at cafes and sneaking kisses on street corners being tweeted and commented on, articles about your latest date and speculation on if another breakup with imminent. The difference was this time you didn’t recognise the people taking the pictures. But, after a month or so, when it became clear you weren’t going to start arguing in fancy French restaurants again the magazines and websites started posting less and less. “It’s like Mary said,” Ben shrugged when you brought it up, “people like conflict and we’re not giving them any.” And that was true. Without the pressure of keeping your feelings hidden from each other or yourselves you were less prone to sulky silences and terse words. Plus no one was telling you to break up for attention. In fact, the months after Ben came back from Spain were better than you’d let yourself believe they would be. You were still working on the witch movie, working title: Toil and Troubles, spending most days and some nights bent over cauldrons of smoking liquid nitrogen and pink slime, or running through forests hoping your pronunciation was correct. Ben visited, sometimes to take you out to lunch or to drop off items you’d left at his place that you were bound to need. Convenient excuses. But welcome nonetheless. At the very least it was good practice for when you introduced him to your friends and family. Felicity insisted on meeting the man who’d caused her best friend so much heartache within the first week of his arrival, a situation that gave you more anxiety than any of the paparazzi ever would. But your worries were for nothing. Ben was perfectly charming and took Felicity’s one or two snide comments with good grace and a suitable amount of remorse. She pulled you aside later to let you know she approved and could see why you liked him so much. You breathed a sigh of relief at that, not needing her approval but glad to have it anyway. That first meeting made you less nervous about the ones that followed, even when it came to your blood relatives. And then, of course, you had to make good on your promise to his mum. He’d had to smooth things over with his family first, having made such a big deal about breaking up with you before he took off to Spain. They’d been surprised when he told them things weren’t working, having believed you quite happy during your visit, and more surprised when they saw you were back together. But if they thought Ben was making a mistake with rekindling the romance they didn’t show it. Angela and Keith welcomed you back to their home with warm smiles and more food than the four of you could eat. You left, still giggling at some of Ben’s baby photos, with a plate of leftovers in one hand and an invitation to come back soon.

It wasn’t until after Toil and Troubles wrapped that you decided to move in together. Ben suggested it casually one night while you were eating dinner in front of a rerun of Friends, the one where Chandler moves in with Monica. The suggestion was accompanied by a joke about how you’d been dating for nearly a year if you counted all the Perfect Match stuff, but you knew he wasn’t really joking. You’d been thinking about it too. You flipped a coin to see who’d be selling their place and didn’t complain when it was you. Ben’s house was already your second home, might as well make it your only one. Luckily, with your movie having started post-production, neither of you were filming and so were free to jump into the process of packing and decluttering and moving. It wasn’t long before you were carrying a box of your clothes up the stairs of Ben’s house, your house now. He followed with another, dumping it in the middle of his living room and telling Felicity to put hers down with it as he ran out to help one of his mates with a bookshelf. The requisite pizza was bought for lunch and beer provided as thanks for everyone’s help before they left, leaving you and Ben with a living room full of boxes and no inclination to go through them. Instead you weaved your way through the blockades, flopping, exhausted, onto the couch. You stretched out, Ben laughing as he lay on you, his head on your chest. “Just a little break,” he said with a yawn and before you knew it you’d both dozed off, warn out from the days exertions.

You woke to Ben digging through the box closest to your head. “Which one of these has all your kitchenware?” he asked when he saw you watching him. “Should say kitchen on the top in blue sharpie, why?” He stood up and walked to another stack, shifting a box off the top of the pile, muttering the word kitchen to himself over and over. You let him search, taking a moment to stretch out the stiffness from napping on the couch. “Did you see those magazines Felicity left?” he asked as he moved another box out of the way. “No, where are they?” “Kitchen bench. You’ll laugh.” You ducked into the kitchen and opened the first one, a copy of Woman’s Weekly, flicking through the pages until you were met with an image of you and Ben walking down the street together. He was looking at his phone and you were talking, head turned toward him. A red circle drew attention to your hand and underneath it was a slightly blurry close up of the same section. Scanning the paragraphs beside the photos the word engaged jumped out at you making you snort. “Knew you’d find it funny,” Ben said, peeking over your shoulder. “It’s not even a proper ring, just some cheap costume jewellery. And it’s on the wrong finger. Bloody hell they’re desperate.” “Look at the other one,” Ben stuck the kettle on to boil, glancing over to watch you as he opened his cupboard of mugs. You pulled the issue of Heat out and riffled through its pages too. “Oh my god,” Ben laughed, “I know right! Pregnant, really?” “I’m never wearing that dress again. In fact I’m going to go find whichever box it’s in and throw it in the donations bag right now,” Ben caught you around the waist before you could take a step, “Don’t do that cuddle bunny,” he pouted, “I love you in that dress. One of my favourites.” “Because it’s easy to take off?” “Because you look cute in it. Being easy to take off is just a bonus,” he pulled you in close and kissed you as you laughed, “speaking of, with you moving in we’ll have to give you a proper welcome. I’m thinking start up against the front door, work out way through every room,” he pinched your bum suddenly, just to emphasise what he meant. “Cool your jets horndog, gotta move boxes out of the way before we can even get to the front door. And I think I need a coffee before I even think about sorting boxes.” “It’s a good thing I was about to make us coffee then. I found your kitchenware by the way.” You looked for the first time at the counter where Ben had set out the makings of coffee. There, amongst the canister of sugar and bottle of milk sat two mugs. The two mugs you’d decorated for each other, side by side.

[lameykindaworld]

Skateboarding and Snowboarding Aren’t the Same

Summary: Langa teaches Reki how to snowboard

Rating: General Audiences

AO3 Link

“Alright, how does it feel?” Langa asked.

“Umm…” Reki shifted the weight on his feet and moved around a bit.

When Langa had offered to teach him how to snowboard, Reki had jumped at the idea. However, now that he has a board attached to his feet and is slowly growing cold, he isn't sure how to feel.

“I guess it feels okay.”

They currently are standing on the flats near the lodge. He was borrowing one of Langa’s old boards and also his helmet. When Reki asked what helmet Langa would wear, Langa had only laughed and said, If I crash on the bunny hill I deserve it. Trust me, you’ll need it more than me.

“Try moving around a bit. Waddle and stuff. Get used to it. Then I can teach you how to actually move around on the flats,” Langa instructs.

Reki wiggles his feet a bit, he doesn’t fall. He twists his body and board, he doesn’t fall. He tries to jump, and right as he started to feel like he landed it, his board slipped out from under him and he fell. Reki lands on his butt with a curse, and when he looks up, Langa is smirking at him.

“What’s with that look?” Reki demands, getting back onto his feet.

“Oh nothing, just enjoying your pain.”

Reki sputters, “What? Why?!”

“After having you witness me trying to skateboard for the first time, it’s nice to see you struggle a bit.” Reki shoves Langa hard, but it only results in him losing balance. Flapping his arms in an attempt to save himself, he feels himself losing the battle to gravity. In a frantic attempt to save himself, he grabbed Langa to steady himself. That only made Langa smirk more.

Damn him.

After Reki is steady, Langa goes and grabs his board. He comes back over a second later and starts strapping in his right foot. “Okay, enough screwing around. Unstrap your right foot and we can practice moving on the flats.”

Reki lets out a sigh, he hopes falling won’t become too much of a habit. He reaches down and starts working on freeing his right foot. “So when are we going to use that fancy chair lift thing you were telling me about?”

Langa thinks for a second, “Maybe after lunch.”

“After lunch?!” Reki exclaims, it was 9 in the morning, they had just started!

“Well, we have to get you turning and stopping on the magic carpet before you can ride a chairlift. Otherwise you will find yourself careening down a hill with no way to stop. Also I am not sure what the learning curve will look like with your skateboarding background.”

Well, then.

After he gets his foot out, Langa shows him how to use his free foot to push himself around. For Reki, it was a bit of a learning curve to have his front foot attached at a 90 degree angle to the board, but he eventually figured it out. Surprisingly it was easier to push with his foot in front of the board rather than the behind like he would do for skateboarding.

Soon enough he was comfortably moving around across the snow.

“This isn’t that bad--” Reki couldn’t even finish his sentence before he hit an icy patch, he lost his balance, and the board flew out from under him. “Ow…”

Langa only snickered, but after a couple more minutes, Langa announced Reki was ready for the magic carpet.

•••

The magic carpet turned out to be a very small section of hill that was fenced off for the beginners. A small conveyor belt that you step on and brings you up the hill, giving it the magic carpet name. That was all fine. However, every single other person there besides Langa and Reki was either a child, a parent, or a teacher. Not only that, but Reki kept having to dodge small children that came careening down the hill.

“Do we really have to start here? I feel like I am accidentally going to clothesline a child,” Reki complained.

Langa shook his head, “Yep. So come on.”

Langa glides over and onto the magic carpet with ease. When Reki tried to do the same, his board started moving before he could really process what was happening. He feels gravity take control and soon he’s falling over into the snow mound on the side of the magic carpet.

“What are you, a newbie?”

Reki looks up and makes eye contact with a small boy on a pair of tiny skis. “Uh… yeah.”

The little boy shook his head and shoved Reki’s board off the carpet. Reki stared, flabbergasted, as the kid easily stepped onto the conveyor belt and went up the hill. Halfway up the hill, the boy made eye contact with him and stuck out his tongue.

Reki groaned, that 5 year old really just showed him up.

“Come one Reki!” He heard Langa call from the top, “If it’s easier you can just take off your board and walk up the hill.”

That sounded like a much better idea.

After walking up the hill, Reki straps the board back on his feet and starts learning how to actually snowboard.

He learns to stop on both his front and back edge. Then he works on turns which take forever. More often than not, when Reki tries to turn, he ends up careening down the hill barely being able to stop himself from running into a child.

“Reki, you aren’t doing it correctly.”

Langa is a bad teacher.

“Like I don’t know that,” Reki yells back up the hill before falling on his back in the snow.

A second later, Reki hears the recognizable sound of a snowboard stopping and looks up to see Langa.

“You need to shift your weight from toes to heels, then to turn the other way, go from heels to toes. With your skateboarding background it shouldn’t be that hard.” Langa crouches down next to him and pokes him on the forehead.

Reki groans and curls in on himself. “It’s different when you have a board that will go every which way! I keep turning in circles…”

“Come on.” Langa grabs Reki’s arm and starts pulling him up. “Once you get the turns down we can go take a break and get hot cocoa.”

Now that’s more like it.

•••

An hour later Reki can finally turn somewhat consistently and stop without falling over. Which in his books, is a success. So that means he now finds himself squished next to Langa in a crowded lodge drinking hot chocolate.

“Hmmm.” Reki lets the steam from the cup warm his face. The lodge is a huge building with plenty of room, yet the entire cafeteria area, and waiting areas, are full of people. Reki and Langa had tried to find a table to sit at in the cafeteria, but every table was in use. That left them to check the lobby where they found a spot at a small bench that was more of a seat and barely fit both of them.

“Mhmm,” is all Langa said in reply. Langa’s face was frost bitten and red, his hair all messed up from his hat. He looked all raggedy, it was cute.

“So what do you think of my progress?”

“Well, it’s a little different than I expected. What normal beginners are good at you failed, but what beginners usually fail at you succeeded. I guess your muscle memory is to blame,” Langa said, shrugging and taking another sip of cocoa. “Though, if you feel up to it, we could go to the chair lift now and eat a late lunch to avoid crowds. It’s about 11 now, so we could go back out and eat lunch at 1:30 or so.”

Reki felt his heart leap. “The lift!”

“Yep.”

“But you said after lunch?”

“Well, you can stop fine and you’ve crashed plenty while you skateboard, so I figure you are more of a harm to yourself than others so we should be fine.”

•••

Thirty minutes later and Reki was not fine.

Firstly, Langa spent five minutes explaining how to get on and off the chairlift. In theory it made sense. When he got on, Langa asked the attendant to slow down the lift, so he got on fine. However, when they got to the top, the chairlift did not slow down. While getting off Reki panicked and screwed up, resulting in himself crashing into Langa. They both fell to the ground in a heap and the whole chair lift had to be stopped.

Next, he went down the hill. It was all fine and dandy till a little kid on skis came barreling down the hill and cut him off. To avoid crushing the child, who was easily a third of his size, Reki had to bail. Which meant falling on his butt to stop quick enough, and the force of the action hurt so bad it was for sure going to bruise.

Finally, right as he was gaining speed in his turns, Reki’s legs froze up. It was probably his fifth time going down this run, and he finally felt he was getting the hang of it. However, he chickened out on a turn and found himself careening nose first down the hill. He probably wasn’t going all that fast compared to his skateboarding, but without the ability to bail and a board attached to his feet, Reki was terrified.

“Langa!” Reki yelled as he tried to stop, he couldn't get the board to turn, he felt frozen. Everytime he tried to stop, the board would wobble and Reki would freak out.

“Put your weight on your heels!” He heard Langa yell from somewhere behind him.

Oh yeah!

He shifted his weight and the board went horizontal to the slope, but with that much speed, and not enough control, his back hit the ground followed by his head. He felt his head rattle in his helmet as he spun around multiple times before coming to a stop.

“Ow…” he muttered, closing his eyes. t makes more sense now that you mostly get bruises and broken bones…

A second later he heard Langa stop beside him. “Are you okay? That was a pretty hard crash.”

Reki just groaned and shook his head. “I think I’m done now.”

[little-birdseeker]

Relaxing in Kugane

[A short story i wrote together yesterday. Because i really wanted to write something again, so, well... i did. Hope you'll enjoy it! <3]

With a deep relaxing sigh, Isabelle let herself sink into the warm water, especially with a light breeze that let the steam around her dance a little bit. Hot springs were the best, period! She had to show Nalama them someday, and her parents as well, yes! Didn’t mom tell her that he complained regularly about his backache? The hot spring suuurely would work wonders for his back, especially if someone would give him a massage - something she experienced herself firsthand, although his back would be waaay worse than hers, deeefinitly!

But as this was a hot spring for everyone, she was wearing her own bikini, of course, unlike in her bath at home. But the hot spring had some very important advantages: first of all, she didn’t have to clear it herself, and second, she was able to meet plenty of new people here! Like the old man the last time. He had told her about various stories from his life, and as it turned out, he was a skilled weaver himself. Or had been, as his body wasn’t as precise as in the past. But he wanted to teach her this and that, especially some techniques from the far East she hadn’t learned in Ul’dah! They juuust had to find some time for it, but that shouldn’t be too complicated, yes!

She also had met some new customers in this hot spring, as well as new friends. For most of them, her pointy and fluffy ears had made them curious, as Miqo’te weren’t as usual around here as they were in Eorzea, while others… well, she wasn’t sure, but they had their reasons as well! And the last group of girls she had met, they had shown her this little spot! Perfect for smaller girls like herself, as the water was juuust deep enough to reach her shoulders while sitting! And it was also a liiittle bit hidden, so not everyone was able to take a peek! Not that she minded, but at times it was a nice change of pace.

With another sigh, Isabelle let herself sink a little more into the water and enjoyed the moment as she closed her eyes. Yes, life was good.

After dozing for a while, she heard some footsteps. Or… more like the splashing of someone's feet, heading towards her little spot. A quiet “Oh.” could be heard, followed by... silence. That didn’t sound right! Isabelle opened her eyes a bit, just to see one, no, two guys standing a few meters in front of her. Were they staring? Her ears twitched a bit, as she was examining the nasty intruders with her half-opened eyes. Well, she couldn’t blame them, if they were staring, but still… she was juuust enjoying some alone time! Couldn’t they have just come like… later?

“Hmmm? What iiis it?”, the red cat girl asked a few moments later while opening her eyes completely, as both of the guys didn’t bother to do anything at all. “Oh,uhhh... sorry! I, uh, we thought you were sleeping and didn’t want to disturb. Right?”, the smaller guy said while looking at his comrade. “Uhm… yes. Yes, we didn’t want to wake you up! Didn’t think someone would be here.” Isabelles eyes wandered from one guy to the other, back and forth. Both of them had rather long black hair, with a quite muscular body. With some scars on them? And while the bigger, bulkier guy wore some greyish shorts, the ones of the smaller were black. She didn’t know them, but as far as she knew… they looked more like someone from the forge. Or the barracks.

“Well, but I'm here, as you see!” “Uhm, yeah. We, uhm… noticed”, Small Guy responded with a nod.

“But as we’re here now… hope you don’t mind some company”, Big Guy added and went ahead to sit down near her right side, from where he continued to look at her.

“Right, right. It’s our usual spot, you know?” Without even waiting for Isabelle to object, he sat down left from her. At least they did leave some distance. Isabelle gave a soft sigh, but it was too late now. Well at least she was able to talk to new people!

“Ahhh, nothing beats a bath in a hot spring, ain’t it?” Big Guy gave off a laugh while looking at his buddy, before taking another glance at Isabelle.

“Sure is, sure is. Especially after a long day with a friend”, Small Guy agreed and strechted his legs in the water. “Ah, but don’t forget our lovely company we have here today! Would you mind giving us a name so we know which beauty is here with us?”

“Iiisabelle”, the Miqo'te answered truthfully with a smile, leaving out her surname. She would not make that mistake again! “And youuu are?”

“Oh, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman, i see. Well, i’m Koyo, and my friend here-” Koyo, or Big Guy as Isabelle had called him, pointed to Small Guy. “That’s Tetsu.”

“You new here? Can’t remember to have seen such a lovely woman with, uhm…” Tetsu gestured with his hands while trying to find the right words. “Such, uhm… cute ears, yeah.”

“And we see lots of people everyday. Guards, you know? You know the Sekisegumi, don’t you?”, Koyo Guy Tetsu explained, having his eyes still locked on her. “We’re under the people all day.”

“Ohhh, so you can swing a sword around? Slish! Slash! Like this?” Isabelle gestured with her arms, as if she was swinging a sword around, although it looked more like she was a danger to all present persons if she really had a sword in her hands.

“Yeah…. like that”, Big Guy Koyo noded, but was somehow distracted - probably by her awesome presentation of sword fighting skills!

“But nooo… I'm here since, uhhhh…” Isabelle slowly tapped at her cheek, her eyes turned toward the sky, before she tipped on her fingers as if she was counting. “Uhm… at least two years! I think! Yes!”

“For so long?! How did we-? Well, uhum”, Small Guy Tetsu caughed. “Anyway, what brings such a beautiful woman here? To this lovely city and this hot spring?”

“Oh uhm… I'm a weeeaver! Learning new techniiiques, sewing dreeesses…. aaall kinds of stuff!”

“And you need to relax a bit after work, right? Ah, we doing the same”, Big Guy Koyo laughed. “Oh what would I give for some sake now. But no, nothing is allowed here. Pfah…”

“Yeah, it’s a shame. We should go and drink some after, whatcha think, Koyo? Isabelle, you should come too, we know where to get the best sake in town.”

“Hmm… Iii will think about it. But for now, i juuust want to relax here a bit!”

“Of course, of course”, Koyo nodded. “Nothing against a bit of relaxation. I mean, we have a great view here…”

“Yeah…”, his buddy agreed with him.

They were right, the view was amazing. You could see the sea from the hot spring, see the incoming and departing ships, without looking directly into the sun. Some seagulls were screeching nearby, and the sound of the nearby waterfall was soothing. Although… both of them weren’t looking at the sea right now. Maybe they knew it a bit too well, Isabelle thought. Or… well were they staring at her, she wondered…?

She didn’t give it much thought though. “Yes, i looove the view!”, she answered with a smile. “But you aaaren’t looking at all! Look how beeeautiful the sun is reflected by the sea! I looove to see it!”

“Oh, uhm, yeah, uhm… i got… distracted a bit, yeah”, Small Guy Tetsu stuttered.

“We’re just captivated by your beauty, that’s all. Right? Also… have to admit, you’re quite big for such a small lady, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmmm…? Ohhh! You mean theeese!” With a sudden realization Isabelle looked down on her chest, which was floating a little bit on the water. “Thaaat’s what you have been looking at!” Why hadn’t she realized it sooner? Well, not that she minded though, they looked nice. But still, intense staring was still veeery much rude!!

“Uhm… yeah…”, Small Guy Koyo nodded slowly. “What did you expect? And they come with a cute face too, right?”, Big Guy Koyo laughed. “Suits you well!”

“They do have a gooood size, yes!”, Isabelle giggled and gave her chest a little proud squish. “But you have staaared enough, right?”

“Oh come on, can you blame us to admire such a great view? Can’t see that anyday, can you?” “Uhm, i caaan…”, she corrected rather rude Big Guy Koyo, who was still staring at her.

“Oh, you can, but what about us? How big are they anyway? They are practically huge, not to say-” “Biiig enough! Thaaat’s what i can say!” Her snappy answer surprised Big Guy Koyo, but he didn’t bother for long.

“Well, that’s something I would say…”, Big Guy responded with a suggestive laugh, which Isabelle responded with ‘Wouldn’t be toooo sure about that…’ in her thoughts, even though the guy was at least two heads bigger than her.

“Buuut i’m here for relaxation, so pleeease don’t bother me!” With those words, Isabelle leaned back and closed her eyes again, trying to ignore both of the brutes.

“Urgh, why do you always have to be so…”, Isabelle heared Small Guy Tetsu talking to his friend, probably. Not that she was interested anymore - those were juuust the usual idiots. Those that weren't interested in herself, but her body. People she wouldn’t want to get to know any further.

“Don’t know watcha mean. I was friendly, right?”

“That’s not- So, now what?!”

“Well, it’s not like she could stop us if we do something like-”

As soon as his hand touched her breast, Isabelle jumped. With a loud SWOOSH, all the steam around the hot spring was blown away, as magical wind blew away from her. Everyone in the hot spring could see the waves in the water, created by the sudden air strike. Isabelle's right arm pointed forward while she was standing in the hot water, while the Big Guy, responsible for the sudden outburst, was lying a few meters away on top of his friend, several meters away from Isabelle. He had a big bruise in the middle of his chest, probably from the magic attack Isabelle had launched directly at him.

An “Urgh…” came from both of them while trying to get onto their feet again. “What was that fo-” “Nooo touchy!”, Isabelle interrupted Big Idiot Koyo, while her voice, still as high as usual, but far louder than you would normally expect, sounded through the hot spring. “And nooo looky for you as well! Leeeave me alone!”

Both men looked again at the small cat lady in front of them. To be fair, she was still cute, even with her angry face, but something seemed off. Especially as the steam, which was rebuilding slowly, seemed to spin around her rather fast, as if, yes… as if there was still a large amount of wind aether gathered around the Miqo’te.

“Okay, okay, got it. Didn’t do anything, though, but sure, if you say so… Come, Tetsu, let’s leave this beast alone. Should have known better after seeing the ears.”

“Yeah, still an animal at heart. What a shame.”

Isabelle tried to ignore the words, although they did hurt a little. But she knew the real animals here, and it wasn’t her, that was for sure!

After they left, she sank into the hot waters once again, trying to relax for real now. The nerves of some men… really. Just because she was small! Why couldn’t they all be gentlemen like… like Tatara, yes! Or… or like Redolent Rose! Shure, he had taken a peek every now and then, but at least he did it respectfully! She gave a deep sigh and sank a bit further into the water, where she blew a few bubbles like she did in her own bathtub. Well… at least they were gone. And as it wasn’t the first time something like this happened, although the others didn’t go as far as to touch her chest… the owner would understand what happened this time. Again. She should tell him about it later. But for now… finally, it was time for some relaxing!