#try to avoid anything that shows it's just a bowl of ketchup

[admiringlove]

got a little something there

+synopsis: jjk boys when you wipe something off their face while eating.

+characters: gojo satoru; fushiguro megumi; itadori yuuji; inumaki toge.

+warnings: none, just some tooth rotting fluff.

+order:  pls pls pls do more jjk hcs! preferably something along with food?? like if you wipe something off their face or spoon feed them something you're cooking and they just blush adslkjd [submitted by 🌱 anon]

+author’s notes: i really liked this prompt so <3 also pls reblog, as they help me tons!

+navigation: main menu, jjk menu.

— GOJO SATORU.

we all know he’s cocky and has a huge ego. the two of you are enjoying ramen in the comfort of your own home, away from all the chaos just for a day. you’re sharing stories of your missions, and when it’s gojo’s turn to talk about his students, you suddenly stop him. 

he becomes petty, saying, “why do you always stop me when i’m talking? wait, what are you-”

he stops. literally just stops and sits there for a minute to contemplate what just happened. you’re staring back at him innocently, and then you break out into giggles after looking at him. 

gojo satoru is blushing. his hair is disheveled, his eyes are wide, and his finger is touching his lip. he was taken aback by the sudden contact you just made with him. 

“what did you just do?” he asks after pausing to compose himself. you chuckle, telling him that a bit of sauce was left on his lip.

“[y/n], you can’t just kiss me and laugh at me! do you know how cold-hearted you are?” he narrows his eyes at you as you almost spit out your water while laughing. you get up from your seat, picking up the finished bowls of ramen to put them in the sink. but before you leave, you press a small peck to gojo’s forehead saying, “well, i don’t mind being cold-hearted if i get to see you blush like a fifteen-year-old in love.”

he gasps, placing a hand on his heart as he pretends to be offended. but you know, that it’s these moments that make him feel truly at home. you’re both humane, vulnerable, and bare to one another. you have nothing to hide, and you’re a family. 

— FUSHIGURO MEGUMI.

you’re having lunch together after you managed to get rid of kugisaki and itadori for sometime. while those two were mesmerized by gojo-sensei’s “tokyo-themed” antics, you made a run for it. 

you ended up stopping outside a diner, and somehow at the same time, both your stomachs grumbled. fushiguro and you ended up laughing with one another as you walked in and ordered burgers. 

megumi’s chewing slowly as you mumble something about how it might rain soon, nodding along with you as he said something about rain bringing out more negative energy in people. you complimented at how smart he was, and he retorted with, “i’m not that smart, dumbass.”

and he reaches for a fry, dipping it in ketchup and popping it in his mouth swiftly. you smile at his actions, to which he raises an eyebrow. his mouth is half-full when he asks, “what are you looking at?”

“oh, nothing,” you grin toothily. you reach a hand out, and megumi confusedly places his chin on it, thinking you were doing that stupid trend again. you laugh, covering your mouth with your other hand as you wipe the ketchup off his lip. chuckling, you say, “there.”

fushiguro covers his face, looking away at the window. you’re staring at him innocently, blinking as you ask, “did i... do something wrong?”

“no, no,” he shakes his head, gulping down some water to hide his flushed cheeks, “you didn’t do anything. it’s me.”

“what did you do then?” you ask, wiggling your eyebrows as you sipped on your drink. you’re teasing him, he knows it. you know that he knows as well. but you continue to do so anyway, because a flustered fushiguro is a sight for sore eyes. 

“n-nothing. don’t worry about it,” he clears his throat almost immediately, trying to avoid all eye-contact with you. but you don’t budge one bit. you’re staring him down with narrow eyes, wiggling eyebrows and a smug grin.

“megumi, come on! tell me!” you whine, kicking his foot under the table. he groans, sighing agitatedly. he’s realizing that you’re not innocent after all, and it makes him even more flustered and irritated because of that.

“i said no.”

“meanie >:|”

— ITADORI YUUJI.

yuuji is a carefree boy. one that loves reminding you of how much he treasures you, and also the one who constantly is realizing how deep he’s fallen for you.

you’re in his dorm, watching really bad horror movies together as the two of you continue to criticize them. yuuji’s holding the popcorn, and you’re holding the ice-cream bowl. 

“oh my god, the plot is shit but the make-up is so scary,” itadori crunches on the popcorn in his mouth and hides his eyes. you giggle next to him, turning to look at his scared state as you say, “it’s not that scary. besides, we’re used to looking at real life scary things.”

“you’re right,” he laughs, unveiling his eyes. he didn’t expect the proximity between the two of you and he’s taken aback. he tries to fall back a little so he doesn’t make you uncomfortable, but the popcorn bucket ends up flying everywhere. 

“oh god-” you exclaim, clutching your stomach as you laugh. yuuji’s just sitting there with a deadpan expression, rolling his eyes at his own jumpiness. he shakes his head, pushing off the popcorn on the seat towards the floor as he says, “we’ll clean that up later.”

“you’ll clean that up later,” you correct. he whines for a bit, but then stops when an interesting scene finally comes on screen. taking a spoonful of the ice-cream in your bowl, he lays back, hand across the sofa behind you. 

when he catches you staring at him, he smiles. then he says, “[y/n]? why’re you looking at me like that?”

“[y/n]? hello?” he asks, and suddenly your hand is on his face, wiping away a bit of the melted ice-cream. 

he does blush, but he doesn’t hide it from you. he’s one to openly show his feelings and he wears his heart on his sleeve, so he’ll blush and give you a close-eyed smile. then, he’ll continue to say, “thanks, i didn’t notice it was there.”

him being a carefree fool in love definitely makes you all flustered. 

— INUMAKI TOGE.

honestly, this is probably the most domestic one. you’re cooking, and his arms are firmly, yet softly wrapped around your waist. his chin rests on your nape, as he watches you in solace. 

you’d stir the soup, then you’d lift the spoon up slightly to his mouth to give him a taste. inumaki would open his mouth smally, then he’d give you a hum of satisfaction. 

you’d smile, turning the stove off so you could turn to your boyfriend. but as soon as you do, your eyes soften and a small chuckle escapes your lips. 

he raises an eyebrow in confusion as you extend your hand and wipe the little soup stain off. and then, his heart does a few backflips as you giggle while pouring the soup into bowls. 

inumaki does blush. he blushes furiously. his cheeks are red, the tips of his ears are red, and he’s the type to show you that he’s flustered too. he loves it when you’re cupping his cheeks when he’s embarrassed. he can’t meet your eyes whlie blushing, but he’s still working on that. 

so as he just stands there, he waits for you to cup his cheeks and give him a kiss on the forehead. you turn around with the bowls of soup in your hand and your heart just melts. 

inumaki toge, fiddling with the ends of his sleeves as he looks down at the ground, flushing madly with his eyes widened. you place the food on the table and cup his cheeks(exactly like he wanted), but you lean in and give him a small peck on the lips instead(something he didn’t expect).

safe to say, inumaki toge loves you and your unpredictability. but he also sometimes intentionally eats food messily.

© all works belong to admiringlove on tumblr. plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

[jenomark]

OCTOBER

➔Pairing: Doyoung x Reader (Female) | Jaehyun x Reader (Female) ➔Other Members/ Characters: -.- ➔Genre: Plot (ft. smut, romance, angst, fluff etc.) ➔Warnings: Drinking ➔Word count: 5,300

➔Summary: You are dating handsome and lovable Jaehyun. You stay at his apartment all of the time, along with his roommate Doyoung. Doyoung has feelings for you, which he doesn’t quite understand. What begins as an innocent crush changes the lives of all three people over the course of seven months.

AUGUST SEPTEMBER

October 30, The Night Before Halloween.

  Doyoung’s eyes followed the sparklers tearing across the backdrop of night. The colors hurt his eyes, but he couldn’t look away from them. His eyes went in and out of focus, fairy lights joining in his vision, vibrant yellows and whites softening around the edges the longer he looked. He was acutely aware of his own breathing, the volume turned all the way up, and the noise of the party cancelling out. All of those things swirled round’ and round’, until the beautiful purple butterfly popped up in front of him.

“What did you say?” he asked.

  At once, the swarm of the Halloween party returned. The music was so loud that it vibrated his teeth. He could hear a distant drama playing out between a girl and her girlfriend, their voices feeling like they were swimming around in his brain. He could no longer hear his breathing, let alone his own thoughts.

“I said, do you want a drink?” 

  You stood before him, a sparkler in one hand, and a cup of alcohol extended like an olive branch. Dressed up as a butterfly in a lilac colored leotard, complete with a gauzy tutu and butterfly wings clipped to your back, you placed his drink in front of him. His eyes swept over your emotionless face before looking up at the antenna headband on your head. Your hair was curled, a fresh short haircut making you appear cute. Not that Doyoung had noticed, of course.

“Thank you.” he said.

  Doyoung was alone at the table. Everyone else was socializing around the backyard, tucked underneath the fairy lights or hanging around the empty pool. He watched a few people hovering around the food, their fingers digging into a bowl of pretzels before airplane-ing them into a cheese dip shaped like a pumpkin. In the corner, a couple dressed up as ketchup and mustard were dancing together, the tips of their bottles touching every time they moved. The yard was big, and it seemed that no matter where Doyoung looked, people were living.

“Why don’t you come join us so you’re not lonely?” you asked. “Me and Jaehyun could use some company.”

  Other than the expansive yard, the house had people occupying it. Doyoung hadn’t been to many Halloween parties, but it was exactly as he had imagined it. There were spiked punch bowls with floating hands of ice, jumpscare decorations and costume contests. Everyone had dressed to impress. It was exactly the kind of scene he avoided throughout his youth.

 Meanwhile, the little butterfly, though as pretty as she was, was one of the more chill costumes of the night. Doyoung looked down at his own and felt a shudder move through his body that wasn’t because of the cold. He felt embarrassment creeping up his neck the longer he sat and thought about what he was dressed up as. He didn’t like the attention whenever he stood up and moved, the odd ends of his costume bumping into things.

“I like sitting here. I’m not lonely.” Doyoung said, which was a lie. He was freezing, hungry, and he just wanted to go home and sleep. “I’m sure you don’t mean that you want me around, since you spend so much time with me.”

  You sat down in the chair next to him and huffed. “Is it the costume? I told you that you didn’t have to dress up in it.”

“I wanted to.”

You looked at him, narrowing your eyes. “Why?”

  The original plan was that you were going to dress up as a butterfly. You had picked it out at the tail end of September, and Doyoung could see how excited you were about it. For a few weeks after, he caught you looking at the costume, pulling it out of Jaehyun’s closet and letting your fingers work over the delicate beading on the wings. At that time, Jaehyun wanted to do a couples costume, which had worked out perfectly because there was a matching part to your costume: a butterfly net.

“Well, I wasn’t going to let the butterfly go without her net.” he said, his eyes not able to match yours.

  The more Jaehyun thought about being the net to your butterfly, the more he was terrified of being mocked by his friends. He gave up the costume after buying it, deciding to be a sexy James Bond instead. You never showed Jaehyun that it hurt you, but Doyoung was so observant when it came to you that he couldn’t help but see. So, within a week of the party, Doyoung shoved his original costume back into his closet and lied that he didn’t have one. He put on the head-to-toe black leotard that kept no secrets about his body, and put the net and tubing around his upper half. He was your safety net, literally and figuratively.

  You smiled briefly before reaching over and taking a sip of Doyoung’s drink that you’d brought. Seeing your smile in any capacity made Doyoung sure that he’d made the right choice. He felt like a fool unable to move, but it was worth it.

“I’m in a couples costume without my boyfriend.” you said. “There is a joke in there somewhere. You can take it off, Doyoung. You don’t have to wear it for me. I’m pretty sure you’ve already reaped all the embarrassment readily available.”

 Doyoung couldn’t help but laugh. You handed him his cup back and he drank from it, his lips touching the cool liquid, and his eyes boring into yours from over the rim of the cup. He set it back down on the table, picked up the netting from his costume and let it fall back down into his lap.

“Is there a bathroom in this place?” he asked. “I have to go,  but I’m not even sure how to get out of this thing.”

“You might have to take it all off.”

  Doyoung could feel his momentary good mood slipping. He thought about excusing himself to go home and use his toilet. He thought about the moment he’d pass through his front door and rip the leotard to shreds, taking all of his anger out on the fabric. He was deep in his thoughts of destruction when you spoke.

“I can help you. C’mon.” you said.

  You got up, holding your butterfly wings securely to your body so they wouldn’t get caught in anything. Since you were also wearing a leotard, Doyoung could see every curve of your body. He looked at your bare legs, which must have been so cold standing outside for more than five minutes. Before you turned around and held out your hand, his eyes were watching your ass and how the tutu lifted up just a little bit to reveal it.

You raised an eyebrow. “You’re one net that won’t be catching this butterfly. Let’s go. I’ll help you take off this monstrosity before I go back to my boyfriend.”

  He took your hand, and you lifted him from his chair with little effort. It was really the bare minimum, but the thought of your strength turned Doyoung on. He shuffled forward, making sure his tubing didn’t catch on the end of someone's wig and pull it off. The last thing he needed was getting into a fight at a Halloween party dressed like an idiot. You kept hold of his hand, weaving your way through the yard, telling him whenever the grass was uneven so he didn’t trip. But when you saw Jaehyun, you dropped his hand.

“What is going on?” Jaehyun said, seeing your face. When he noticed that Doyoung was up and walking, he grinned. “Welcome to the party! You know, it’s really a shame that your girlfriend isn’t here, Do-ie. She would have giggled seeing you dressed up like that.”

“I’m taking him to the bathroom.” you said, getting on your tiptoes to peck Jaehyun on the cheek. “He needs help.”

“I’ll do it.” Jaehyun offered. 

“No,”you said. “It’s okay. I have to go, too.”

  You motioned for Doyoung to come along, but he didn’t see you. Jaehyun grabbed a little bit of net and shoved him forward, nearly making him trip up the steps. Once inside, you grabbed his hand again. To anyone who didn’t know either of you at the party-which was a lot- they would have thought you were the couple.

“It’s just upstairs.” you said, looking back at him.

  The party inside was more wild. People were jumping all around, bumping into him and getting in his face. Doyoung focused on his feet, on moving behind you to get to the bathroom. He felt a little bit like a child walking behind their mother, but one look at you erased that feeling. In your presence, he never felt more like a man in his entire life. When you went up the stairs, Doyoung followed, trying to keep his eyes on the ground, and not up your tutu. Looking at you without your consent wasn’t the kind of man he wanted to be, even though everything in him kept edging him to look.

“Fuck, there is a long line for the bathroom.” you said, stopping at the top of the steps. You got on your tiptoes to look over the crowd. “That’s the negative part of going to a party in a big house.”

“Whose party is this?”

You shrugged. “Someone from Jaehyun’s work. I only come for the free alcohol.”

  Doyoung wedged himself into the back of the line, his body blocking off the entire hallway behind him. You followed, standing to his side, your little butterfly wings impatiently wavering the slower the line moved.

“I appreciate you coming with me.” Doyoung said.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Mmm.” he mumbled. 

  You looked at him. In the artificial light, he could see a sweep of glittery purple eyeshadow on your lids. There was a light blush on your cheeks and a pink stain on your lips. You looked so beautiful that he couldn’t look away. Though people were chattering in the line, the both of you were silent. Even as the line inched forward, neither of you talked.

 Doyoung felt caught up in his mind. He remembered the last few weeks and how pleasant they were. He had stopped being angry about you inhabiting his personal space. He stopped putting so much effort into being unhappy. He watched Jaehyun come and go from work with a smile. He was always there for you during movie night. He even helped you find a job you loved. He had made the girl he was dating his girlfriend, and had finally sealed the deal with her. He thought maybe it was the sex with her that had made him loosen up and feel happy, but he feared that it was all because you had truly seen him. He had been buzzing ever since.

“Why do you do that sometimes?” you asked, leaning against the wall, your wings getting smushed.

“Do what?”

“Stare at me and say nothing.” you said. “It’s like you have a whole monologue going on in your mind.”

Doyoung moved forward with the line. “I do. A monologue about how miserable I am in every situation. It’s not much, but it keeps me from having a mental breakdown.”

“And how do I fit into this?” you asked. “Plotting revenge? I took your boyfriend and now I must suffer?”

  You were joking, but Doyoung could hear the seriousness in your voice. You smiled to keep it lighthearted. You took his net and pulled him forward when the line moved.

“I don’t hate you anymore.” Doyoung said. “Haven’t you heard? My new rival is boyfriends who break promises to their girlfriends.”

  Suddenly, it seemed like the room had stopped moving. You knew he was talking about Jaehyun. He knew you knew. If you couldn’t sense his annoyance at Jaehyun before, you could feel it now. If he wasn’t mistaken, he could also feel your own anger sitting in the stuffy hallway with all of the drunk people, lined up in place that felt foreign. 

“Well,” you said. “I’m glad I’m not the one you hate.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever hated you, truthfully.”

“No? I think it was touch and go for a while there.”

  Doyoung shook his head. You smiled at him and choked back some laughter. His eyes widened in fake anger, his eyebrows raising up an inch.

“What’s so funny?” he asked

“I’m sorry,” you said, releasing a laugh that was like music to his ears. “It’s just that, in this lighting, with the leotard over your head, you look like an egg.”

Doyoung closed his eyes. “I hate this. I’m also glad my girlfriend isn’t here to see this.”

  At the mention of his girlfriend, you had stopped laughing. You coughed and tried to regain your composure. Doyoung moved forward again, nudging your shoulder gently with his to get you moving. You weren’t too far from the front of the line. 

“Why didn’t she come?” you asked. 

“I don’t know.”

  Doyoung did know. When he found out about the Halloween party, he was excited to invite her to her first real event with him that involved other people. She hadn’t met Jaehyun yet, hadn’t really heard of you. She was excited, too. She wanted to be let inside of Doyoung’s life, not just hovering on the outside, spending time at her place, or in cafes and bars that he hated. Because of the whole costume fiasco, she bailed at the last minute.

 You weren’t buying the lie. He could read it in your eyes. Instead of talking about it more, you gently touched his shoulder. “Hey, I am really glad we’re friends now. I don’t know many people who would do what you did for me tonight.”

“It’s nothing.” he said. “You needed me.”

 Maybe choosing to wear a couple costume with his roommate's girlfriend was the wrong choice, especially since his real girlfriend had already picked one out for them to wear. 

“We’re up next!” you said, growing excited. You moved your wings away from the wall and brought them back to their full glory. When Doyoung realized he was staring again, he looked down at the floor.

  It was his turn to use the bathroom. He barely fit through the door. You had to push him inside. As you shut the door behind you, Doyoung heard people groaning about the couple going in to have sex in the bathroom. He blushed, hoping you hadn’t heard them.

You put your hands on your hips. “Okay. How are we going to do this?”

  He didn’t like that you were eyeing him up and down. It made him feel too exposed. Though his junk was covered with nothing but net, his closed fist went to block you from view.

“Oh?” you asked. “You can look at my ass, but I can’t look at your dick?”

“No I-”

You put your hands on his shoulders. “Do-ie, relax. Anyway, you’re going to have to get naked. This won’t work, otherwise.”

“Turn around.”

“But I need to help you.” 

  You grabbed at his tubing, bending it out of shape and pushing it down far enough to free his head from the black condom. You were being so rough with him that he again got turned on. You fixed his wild black hair before stretching and pulling the neck and leotard further down his shoulders. Before you went too far and brought it all the way down his body, his hands stopped you. His touch was gentle, his eyes firm.

“I can do the rest.” he said.

You turned around. “Do you want me to leave?”

  But Doyoung couldn’t wait. He pulled and pulled the leotard down, his earlier Hulk daydream coming true. The top of it was ripping, but he didn’t care. He pulled it down, along with his underwear, grabbed his dick and aimed into the toilet. The sound of his piss was louder than it needed to be, but the relief he felt kept him away from the embarrassment he would no doubt feel as soon as he was finished.

“You’re really pissing with me in the bathroom.” you said.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hold it.”

  You held your hand over your ears, but you were giggling too. The moment was humorous, even to Doyoung. He finished pissing but he had started laughing with you, so there were still little bits dribbling out.

“How.. much.. more do you.. h-have?” you asked, your voice coming out in wisps.

“Don’t make fun of me!”

  You crossed your arms over your chest, and when Doyoung said he was decent, you turned back around to face him. The leotard was halfway up his chest because it was all he could get back up by himself. 

“That was the best piss I’ve ever taken.” he said.

“Let me help you.” you said, ignoring him.

  You yanked up the remaining length of his costume but kept the netting, tubing and the part that covered his head free. He was sweaty, and as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he thought he looked kind of sexy. He looked at you to see if maybe you thought the same, but you weren’t looking at him.

“Move.” you said. “I have to go, too.”

“Here? With me?”

“Well, yeah. Where else will I go?”

“I can wait outside.”

“No need.’

You pushed past him and started taking off your wings. “Just turn around and don’t listen. I have a shy bladder.”

  But it was hard for Doyoung not to listen. He had seen you in indecent ways since Jaehyun started dating you, but somehow, hearing your clothes hitting the floor and your naked body sitting on the toilet, it was a new kind of intimacy he wasn’t prepared for. It was a moment Jaehyun wasn’t a part of, and Doyoung didn’t know how he felt about it.

“Don’t listen!” you hissed.

“I’m not.” he whispered.

  There was a hard knock on the bathroom door but he ignored it. He was concentrating hard on the tile covering the bathroom floor, trying his best not to hear you peeing into the toilet bowl. But he did hear, and it drove him crazy with a feeling he couldn’t describe.

“I’m done,” you said.

Doyoung started to turn around but you screamed. “No! I meant that I’m done peeing. Don’t look. I’m naked.”

“Naked.” he repeated. 

  He could hear you breathing behind him, hear the way the costume sounded sliding up your body. He imagined the thin fabric covering your breasts, your nipples getting hard. He heard the scratchiness of the tutu snap into place. You turned on the water to wash your hands, and he remembered that he hadn’t either, so he closed his eyes and followed your lead.

“It’s okay.” you said. “I’m dressed, but I need help with my wings.”

He looked at you. Without the wings, you looked like a ballerina. The curls in your hair were falling out from the humidity in the bathroom. He didn't realize how hot it was getting with two people in there at once. He turned off the water and shook water from his hands.

“You’re staring.” you said, turning around.

“Sorry.”

Doyoung dried his hands on a towel hanging on a hook. He took your wings and fixed them to your back, his fingers touching the softness of your skin longer than he needed to. When he was done, you turned back around and inhaled deeply. On the exhale, you gestured to the bathroom door. Leaning over you, Doyoung flushed the toilet and walked out of the bathroom to a bunch of people clapping.

“That was record time, bud.” someone yelled.

“We didn’t have sex.” Doyoung said.

“Fucked her good.” someone else yelled.

  All Doyoung could see was a sea of eyes that wouldn’t understand. Admittedly, he began to feel good that the crowd of people thought you were his. He didn’t believe he was ever good enough to get someone like you. He looked at you to make sure you weren’t upset by the accusation, but your face was lit up with joy. You took his hand and directed him into one of the bedrooms at the end of the hall.

“Yes!” a voice echoed. “Fuck her even better!!”

“Ignore them.” you said, unfazed. “Look at this.”

  In the room you had guided him into, there was an old piano sitting in the middle of it. It was dark in the room but there was no mistaking it. The lights you turned on only made it appear more beautiful and grand, its ivory keys itching to be touched.

“How did you know this was here?” he asked. “I thought you didn’t know anyone.”

“Jaehyun talked about his musician friend. He said he had a lot of instruments in his house.” you said. “I didn’t want to be in the hallway anymore, and my guess was correct. I didn’t know what I’d find when I opened the door, but I think that’s where the fun is.”

“And where is the fun for you?” Doyoung asked, approaching the piano.

“In the not knowing.” you said. “And I’m good at that.”

  He could feel you watching him over his shoulder. Your words didn’t settle in his brain like they would if he wasn’t preoccupied. All of his thoughts were about the baby before him, the beauty in the future. Once he put his fingers on the keys, he didn’t know what would come out, but he hoped it was beautiful.

“How come you never told Jaehyun that you sing or play?” you asked, circling him.

“I never told you I play, either.”

  He looked back at you. You had the good will to appear sheepish. But it didn’t matter. Doyoung was so head over heels for you that any kind of eavesdropping only felt like progression in your relationship. Doyoung pulled out the bench and sat on it. The legs wobbled, but they held his weight fine enough. 

“Can you play me something?” you asked.

  You gingerly sat beside him, your weight joining his. It was a tight squeeze on the bench, but Doyoung loved the feeling of your warm, bare thigh against his. There was also a magical feeling in the air that kept him weighted down where he sat, the future suddenly looking not too grim. Doyoung felt comfortable, content, and free. 

“What would you like to hear?” 

“Anything.”

  Doyoung’s fingers were on the keys. He tickled a few of them and smiled when they played the most gorgeous sound. The person who owned the old piano kept it in good shape. As he geared up ready to play, he hoped it wouldn’t be so loud. He could still hear the music pumping away downstairs and guessed that no one would come in and check on them.

“Close your eyes.” Doyoung said. “Just trust me.”

  When you did as he asked, Doyoung started playing. He never really played for anyone other than when he did recitals as a kid. Growing up, his parents didn’t want him to pursue music full-time, so the piano was meant for chance meetings at music stores and moments that never came but he wished for, like this.

 The song he played was his own. He remembered it, closing his own eyes to play what he had written on paper years ago. It was romantic sitting in the room next to you, your eyes closed, just feeling the music dance all around you. Getting lost in song was his true passion, and though he didn’t plan on it, he started singing. His voice shook, at first. As each second ticked by, it grew stronger and more stable. Doyoung sang his heart out. It made him nervous that he was singing to you, and only to you. The three minutes went by quickly, the end giving out only because he started to feel nervous at what you would say about the impromptu concert. All of the negative feelings flew away when he opened his eyes and watched you clap slowly, your eyes teary, your smile relaxed.

“That was beautiful, Doyoung.” you said. “I can’t explain it, but it felt like I was frozen in time, like I was watching us from above, and everything was perfect and nothing could touch us.”

He felt shy. He took his hands off the keys and set them in his lap. “Thank you.”

“Sometimes I feel like you should quit your job and do singing full-time.” you said.” You sound so good. And the way you play...you’re special.”

“Thank you.” he said.

“I wish I could play like that.”

“You can.”

“I definitely cannot.’ you said. “The only thing these fingers are good for is breaking pistachios open and-”

  You stopped talking when Doyoung took your hand. He pressed your fingers down into the cold keys, his hand guiding you. He held in a key with your hand while his foot put pressure on the pedal. He played his song with your fingers, diligently dragging your one hand and using his other to fill in the gaps. You leaned in closer, your body enchanted by the sound you were making. Your head was almost on his shoulder, and for a second, Doyoung swore he could feel you wanting so badly to rest it there.

“There is so much more about you I’ve yet to learn.” you said.

“I’m a pretty open book.”

You side-eyed him. “Another lie. Doyoung, we’ve essentially lived together for three months. When will you understand that I know you a lot better than you think. I know all your secrets.”

Doyoung let go of your hand. “Not all of them.”

 There it was again: The Silence. Doyoung wanted to close the lid of the piano and leave the room. He wanted to walk his way through the house, passing Jaehyun without saying anything, and he wanted to go home where it was safe. Instead, he looked at you, his gaze falling to your lips. You leaned in first, brave enough to grab the side of his cheek and pull him towards you.

 There was no music in the room, but as you kissed, Doyoung could hear every single note of every laughter you’ve ever spilled because of him, every gasp, every sigh. He moved closer on the bench and put his finger underneath your chin, tilting your head up just a little bit. The kiss that started soft was getting aggressive, the feeling of his tongue wanting to break through your lips. 

 It was the moment he had been thinking about for months. His head was mostly empty of thoughts. There were no regrets. There weren’t any distractions, any inner monologues guiding him. All that was there were your lips and the softness of your hand against his face. He tasted your breath, your tongue, your lips. Somehow, the silence didn’t seem all that bad anymore. 

 But, then, Doyoung’s elbow came down on the piano and the sharp sound broke both of you apart. You wiped your lips and he got up from the bench, his fist up against his mouth and his eyes darting back and forth.

“I should go.” you said, getting up too.

“Right.”

  You walked across the room, passing Doyoung without looking at him. You barely made it to the door before you walked briskly back to him and threw your body in his arms. Doyoung’s hands were up your back, crushing your wings. He welcomed your lips with an open mouth, pulling your body up against his until he felt like one person. You both stood swaying in one spot, making out, and clinging to each other.

“This is cheating.” Doyoung said. You went to kiss him again, but he stepped back. “I can’t do it to Jaehyun, or to my girlfriend.”

“It’s already done.”

October 31, Halloween.

  There were so many empty candy wrappers in the bowl. Doyoung sat on the couch with the plastic bowl in his lap that was meant for trick-or-treaters. No one had knocked on his door for over an hour, so he figured the rest of the candy was his to share with no one. You and Jaehyun were out at yet another Halloween party, and he was left alone to watch old-timey scary movies and think about the previous night.

  He had kissed you a lot. After he said he wouldn’t kiss you again, he had backed you against the wall and kissed you some more. If he were actually drunk, he wasn't so sure he wouldn’t have placed you on top of the piano and fucked you. Still, making out was just as sinful as all of the things he thought about doing to your body. 

  Afterwards, you both went downstairs to find Jaehyun playing beer pong. He was cocky and drunk, and he had no idea that either of you had been gone for awhile. Doyoung couldn’t stick around. He leaned in and let you know he was leaving. You didn’t try and stop him. Ever since, he was wondering if it was a good thing. The less interaction you had together, the easier it was for him to stop thinking about kissing you.

Not really. He still thought about it.

  Doyoung was grateful for the second Halloween party, which he was invited to. He politely declined, citing his need for rest after a long party. Jaehyun thought his roommate got really drunk. If only he knew Doyoung was drunk with love, maybe then he wouldn’t let him around his girlfriend so easily.

 So, sitting on the couch alone didn’t seem so bad in the grand scheme of things. He could stuff his face with candy and wallow in his own feelings. There was a sting of jealousy whenever he thought about you having a good time with Jaehyun, the tail to your little cat costume in his hands. When the worst got the best of him, he imagined Jaehyun tugging you to him and kissing you on the same lips he kissed last night.

 The doorbell startled Doyoung. He picked up his bowl and went to the door, swinging it open with a cheery smile on his face. There was no one there, which made him feel foolish.

“Do people still do that?” he called down the hallway. “Ring the bell and run away?”

  Doyoung shut the door behind him. He rummaged his hands in the candy bowl as he walked back to the couch, plucking out a milk chocolate bar. Before he made it to his safe haven, the doorbell sounded. Quickly, he made it to the door and swung it open. Again, it was empty.

“If I catch you, you won’t like what happens to you.” he called.

  He shut the door but didn’t move from behind it. He would catch the kids who were messing with him. He waited a few minutes but there was nothing. He set the bowl down on the side table and opened the door to see you standing there.

“Hi.” you said.

“Hello.”

Your cat tail was in your hands. You looked worn out, the pink makeup on your nose halfway rubbed away. You smiled, looking down at his empty hands.

“Where is the candy?” you asked. “I heard there was some candy left.”

  Not knowing how to respond, Doyoung looked behind the door and brought the candy bowl. It sat against his ribs, dividing him from you.

“Trick-or-treat.” you said, your eyes not wavering from his.

“Treat. “Doyoung said, dropping the candy bowl on the floor, crossing the threshold, and setting his lips on yours.

[sunny-flower-girl-01]

Ohana- A Hawaii Five-0 Fanfic Chapter Four

This chapter is super long, so I apologize in advance lol. I’m hoping to still have the next chapter up next week, but I won’t has as much free time to write at work like normally do. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

FRIDAY NIGHT STEVE MCGARRETT’S HOME STEVE’S POV: 

“See, Gracie? You have to wait 4 minutes before you flip it, or it doesn’t get cooked on both sides.” I said, flipping one of the burgers over. She nodded that she understood, her arms wrapped around my neck to hold on since I had her up on my hip so she could see the grill better. We were just waiting on Thea and Nora to arrive, so I went ahead and started the food and asked Grace to be my helper. 

Mindy, Kono, and Max were in the kitchen getting the rest of the food together. Danny walked up behind me, nudging me in the shoulder and holding his arms out for Grace. She grinned and jumped into her dad’s arms. “Are you teaching my daughter the incorrect way to grill a burger?” 

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Daniel.” I said sarcastically. I flipped another burger and glanced back at Danny’s girlfriend that he brought with him today, Kari. “So, how is Kari doing?”  She was nice, blonde, and a paralegal. She seemed to get on with all of us just fine, minus Grace. Which, in my mind, was more important than her being friendly with us. It was very obvious that Grace wasn’t a fan of the woman. She had stuck with me for the whole hour that she’d been here already and had already asked me 4 times when Nora was going to come. Kari didn’t seem to be that big of a fan of Grace either. She gave Grace an indifferent smile when she became the center of attention, and with our group, that was quite a lot. We all loved that little girl. Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with her and was sure Danny and I were going to talk about it tonight when everyone went home. 

Danny shrugged. “She’s fine. She’s enjoying getting to know you guys.” I saw Grace roll her eyes and push away from her dad to be let down. I knew bringing up Kari around Grace like that probably wasn’t the best idea. Danny set her down and she immediately made her way back up to the house. Thankfully, he didn’t see her eye roll. 

“I’m going to wait for Auntie Thea.” She said. 

Before I had a chance to say it, Danny took a step closer to me. “Grace doesn’t like Kari.” He said quietly. 

I tried my best to hold back a laugh. “I could have told you that, buddy.” 

Danny sighed and smoothed his hair down. “God, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I mean, Kari is nice but Grace means more to me. She knew I had a kid and she just isn’t that interested in getting to know her.” He glanced over at the table I had set up across the yard where Kari was sitting with Malia, Chin, Adam, and Charlie. I felt bad for Danny. He had always told me that dating with a kid was difficult, but I had never seen him really struggle with it. It made me think about what it would be like with two kids. I tried to think about it but really the only person I wanted to be with was already having my kids. Since I found out that Thea was pregnant and we were spending some time together and we were talking more, I’ve really come to like and care about her than just the mother of my unborn children. And Nora has become really special to me like Grace has. I did invite her because the team wanted to meet her, but I also wanted her to get to know them like I know them. If I was gonna try and pursue this with her, I wanted all my ohana to get along. 

“Danno! Uncle Steve! Nora is here! Look! We’re matching!” Grace and Nora came running out of the house hand in hand. They were both wearing the same romper outfit over their bathing suits, but Nora was wearing navy and Grace was in army green. 

Danny and I both smiled at the two girls. “My two favorite girls, wearing my two favorite colors!” I said, scooping them both up into my arms causing them to giggle loudly. I looked up to see Thea walking out the back door with Mindy and Kono who were carrying bowls of food out. I smiled at her. She had on a blue and white polka dot dress. She smiled over at me, her eyebrows raising slightly when she saw me holding up both girls. I couldn’t help but grin at her. I loved watching her smile and seeing the dimples on her cheeks. 

‘God, she looks amazing’ 

“Can we go play in the sand?” Nora asked, staring over at the beach. I remembered Thea telling me she loved the water. I set both girls down and handed the spatula to Danny to finish manning the grill. 

“We’re about to eat so I’ll tell you what,” I said, looking at them. “After we eat, I’ll take you both out into the water. That way Danno doesn’t have to get his hair wet.” The girls giggled when Danny smacked me in the arm. 

“Hey, it takes a lot of product to make it look this good.” He claimed. 

Thea, Mindy and Kono walked to us. Nora quickly started to tell her mom about how we were going to go swimming after we eat. Thea smiled at the little girl who was practically bouncing. “That sounds great baby.” 

Mindy and Kono set their bowls down on the table that was set up for the food. “Alright that’s all of it boss. Let us know when to come make our plates.” Kono nodded. Mindy made her way back to the table with Nora while Kono linked arms with Thea and led her over to the group over at the table. I remembered Thea telling me that she and Kono went to high school together. It comforted me a little bit that not everyone here was a complete stranger to her. 

I watched them walk to the table and Kono started to introduce her to everyone. She had a smile on her face the whole time and took a seat right next to Malia. My family felt complete watching everyone sit and have fun together. 

I must have been staring for a bit because when I looked at Danny after he obnoxiously cleared his throat, he had the burgers on a plate and was setting them on the food table. “Stare some more, I don’t think she noticed.” 

“Shut up.” 

“Seriously. Maybe it’s time to thaw your heart and tell her you want to be with her.” Danny said, grabbing two paper plates. He handed me one. “Alright Super Seal. It’s time for your Dad Training.” 

“My what?”

“Your Dad Training.” He said. “You’re about to have not just one but two babies you’re responsible for. On top of that you’re practically in love with a woman who has a 7-year-old.” 

“Hey-” 

“So, do what I do and make Nora’s plate for Thea. The girls are going to eat at the table up on the lanai.” He gestured for me to copy him. 

“This is ridiculous.” I sighed but started to make the plate like he was. “I’m going to assume you know what Nora likes to eat.” 

He nodded. “She’ll basically eat everything but she’s allergic to onions. So, don’t put her food anywhere near onions.” He filled up the plate with a burger, plain with ketchup, mac and cheese, salad, beans, and the fruit salad. I did the same, quickly avoiding the small plate of onions that was set out for people to put on their burgers. I glanced up at Danny. 

“Should these even be out?” I didn’t want to risk her eating them and something happening. I think Danny noticed my small moment of panic and placed his hand on my shoulder. 

“No, idiot, she’s not going to go into anaphylactic shock by looking at them. She just can’t eat them or anything they’ve contaminated. She’s good about avoiding them or telling people she can’t eat them. Thea and Rachel both did give me a big speech about it the first time I had her over for a sleepover with Grace though. She always has an epi-pen when she isn’t with Thea- so get that nervous look off your face, it’s fine.” He handed me one of the plastic forks and turned to look over at the table. “Gracie, Nora! Come on time to eat, guys!” 

The crowd was laughing as they made their way over to the food table. Danny and I went and set the girls plates on the smaller table closer to the house. Grace has pretty much claimed it as her table anytime she is over. There were marks all over it from craft projects she had done on it. “Grace, go show Nora where the juice boxes are. When we get done and clean up, we can go for a swim, okay?” I said to her and watched them run off into the house. 

Danny rushed off to go make his plate with Kari as Thea walked up behind me. “Her burger doesn’t have onions on it does it?” She asked. She had that same nervous look on her face I’m sure I had a few moments ago. 

“No no, Danny told me she’s allergic. I just put ketchup on it.” I said softly. 

She looked a little shocked but smiled softly at me. “Thank you for making her plate.” 

‘Damn that smile will be the death of me’ 

I put my arm around her shoulders casually. “Let’s go eat before our friends eat all the food.” 

She laughed and nodded. We made our plates and sat next to each other at the large table. I noticed she constantly had a hand on her stomach, almost like she was nervous. Kono quickly pulled her into the conversation she was having with Malia and Charlie. 

“Thea used to surf with us in high school. She could have totally been pro if she wanted.” Kono said. 

Thea laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I was good, but nowhere pro level.” 

Mindy shrugged. “I don’t know, T. You definitely could have taken on Kalakaua.” She teased, causing Kono to throw the cap of her Longboard at her. I leaned back and watched the girls interact. Danny was having a semi-private with Kari. I couldn’t hear them, but I could tell from the look on his face he was upset, and Kari didn’t have a care in the world. I gave him a look, asking if he was alright. He just rolled his eyes and shook his head. He and Grace have that eye roll down pat. By the time we had both turned back to the group, the topic had changed. 

“Oh, trust me, Danny has several things to say about Steve’s crazy behavior.” Chin laughed as he drank his beer. 

“Crazy how?” Thea asked, turning to look at me and then over at Danny. I looked at Danny, silently asking him not to tell her anything but he ignored me. 

“Oh, this crazy bastard got me shot our first day working together.” Danny said extremely calmly. 

“You what!” Thea exclaimed, her eyes wide looking at me.

“Hey, I apologized! It was just an arm graze.” I said, putting my hands up to defend myself. “You were fine, you even punched me in the face.” 

“Yeah that was after you put me in an arm lock!” 

“Danny it was over a year ago, get over it.” 

“I-” I cut Danny off by changing the subject. 

“Anyway, anything else to talk about that doesn’t revolve around me?” I said, whacking Danny in the arm. 

Malia spoke up. “So, do you guys know what you’re having yet?” 

Thea and I both shook our heads. “No, we might find out in 3 weeks. Our last appointment the doctor said if they’re in the right position we should be able to tell.” Thea said while she stroked her stomach. 

“Are you planning on having a gender reveal?” Kono asked. I gave a confused look. 

“A what?” 

“It’s where the expecting parents invite friends and loved ones to find out the gender of the baby, or in your case, babies, after the ultrasound. Typically, the parents don’t know either. It usually involves a mild, but colorful powder explosive or a pink or blue cake.” Max piped up from the end of the table. 

“Jesus, why’d you have to say explosive?” Danny shook his head. 

Thea looked at me and then Kono. “Uh, we haven’t really thought about it.” 

“Do you want to do something like that?” I asked her. 

She nodded. “I think it’d be fun, if you’re up for doing it.” 

“Oh, he’s always ready to blow something up.” Danny chimed in. I rolled my eyes and told him to shut it. “Rachel and I did a cake for Grace’s gender reveal. White icing and a strawberry cake since it was a girl.” 

“Maybe we could make two smaller cakes. One for baby A and one for baby B.” Mindy smiled. 

“My aunt makes cakes for gender reveal parties all the time at her bakery, I’m sure she could do two for you.” Kono said. Thea just looked at me with a smile on her face. 

“What do you think?” She asked me. I had never done anything like this, or even heard of anyone doing it. 

I shrugged, leaning back in my seat. “It sounds like it could be fun. If you want to do something, we can.” I smiled at her. She turned to Mindy. 

“Alright but you have to plan it.” She laughed. The conversation moved on while we continued to eat. Max went into a long explanation about his fossil collection before Danny interrupted him. Despite my trying to keep the conversation off the “dangerous” things I do for work, the team ended up telling more stories about me. I was nervous she was gonna get scared off by some of them. We did have a long conversation about my line of work and what it entails. I wasn’t gonna be home the same time every single night, I was going to be in danger, and I could get called in at any moment. She told me that she understood and as long as I was making an effort to be there, that was good enough for her. I had gotten a better understanding of her childhood out of that conversation too. Her and Nora’s father was almost never around, and their mom was checked out. I had gotten a bit more information from Mindy about her background. Thea basically had Nora from the moment she was born. Her mom was incapable of raising her and Thea didn’t trust her to raise another baby. Her mother gladly handed her off to Thea. I lost my mother at a young age, but to know she was physically here and not involved would have killed me, I couldn’t even imagine that. 

After everyone was finished eating, the table was cleaned up and the food was put away. Everyone went on with their activities. Max, Charlie, and Chin were sitting and drinking longboards. Malia, Kari, and Kono were gathered around the fire pit that Danny had started up even though it wasn’t dark yet. I had gotten Grace and Nora ready to go in the water. Danny was standing about knee deep in, refusing to join us any farther than that. Mindy and Thea were sitting in the sand. They had both shed their clothes to sit in their bathing suits. It took everything in me to keep my eyes off of Thea and focus on the two 7-year old’s demanding my attention. I swam around in the water with the girls for a while, enjoying the intense game of Marco Polo they started and teasing Danny about not wanting to come join us.

Later after it got dark, everyone was gathered around the bonfire. I guess I wore the girls out because Grace was asleep in Danny’s lap and Nora was asleep, curled up at my side. I had my arm over her to keep her from slipping off the bench we were sitting on. Thea was on my other side, my arm over the back of the bench behind her. It felt nice having them both this close to me. 

“Jeez Steve, you really wore them out.” Danny said, looking down at his daughter. 

Thea shrugged. “It’ll make bedtime easier for Rachel, that’s for sure.” She said, yawning herself. Both their phones pinged at the same time. “Speaking of, I guess she’s here.” Danny got up, still cradling a sleeping Grace in his arms. He walked up the house. Kari followed behind him. Thea stood up and looked like she was about to take Nora from me. I shook my head and stopped her. 

“I can carry her for you.” I said. I stood up and gently placed the sleeping girl on my chest, her head resting on my shoulder. Her arms came up and wrapped around my neck. 

“Are you sure?” She asked, looking a little nervous. I wanted her to know that I wasn’t scared of kids, and that I didn’t care that she already had a kid. Again, I was thinking about the comments that Danny had made about dating with a kid. 

I nodded. “Yeah, I got her. You don’t need to be carrying her anyway.” 

We walked out to the front of the house. Danny was putting Grace in the backseat. Kari and Rachel looked like they were having a stare down. Thea sighed. 

“Here we go.” I heard her mumble before looking at me. “There’s already a booster seat in the back for her, if you’ll put her in, I’ll buckle her up.” 

“I can do it.” I said, but quickly realized how demanding that probably sounded to her. “I mean, if it’s okay with you, so you don’t have to bend down-” 

“It’s fine, Steve.” She put a hand on my arm and smiled gently at me. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to.” Her eyes glanced down at her hand. 

I took my hand that was on Nora’s back and put it on hers, squeezing gently. “Look, Thea, I don’t care to help out. With Nora or anything you need, okay?” 

She squeezed back and nodded; her eyes looked like they were watering up but she turned away before I could really see. She went over to Rachel while I carefully placed Nora in her booster seat. Danny stayed bent down in the car to show me how to maneuver the seatbelt. I was shocked at how easy it was. 

“Oh, don’t go thinking you’re a pro just yet, booster seats are easy. Just wait until you’re trying to put a squirming baby in a car seat with multiple straps and buckles.” He said, kissing Grace’s head and closing her door. 

“You’re really helping calm my nerves about this Danny.” 

“It’s what I do best.” 

Thea’s POV:

I went up to Rachel and gave her a hug. I knew she and Stan were going to talk about a divorce tonight, that’s why Grace was with Danny this afternoon. I wasn’t sure if she exactly told Danny what her plans were though. 

“I told him.” She whispered. I could tell she had been crying recently. “I told him and here I am having a staring contest with Danny’s girlfriend.” She rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater. 

I rubbed her arms soothingly. “It’s gonna be okay.” I tried to comfort her. “We can talk more about it tomorrow after the apartment showing.” Rachel and I were finally going to look at some new apartments and condos for me and Nora. She nodded, sniffling as she gave me a hug. I pulled back to look at her. “Are you gonna be okay with the girls tonight? I don’t care to take them if you need to be alone tonight.” 

She shook her. “No, I’ll be fine. I think some time with them might be what I need. Stan packed a bag and left after we argued, so he won’t be home.” 

I walked to the car to kiss Nora bye even though she was still asleep. 

“Are you okay?” Danny asked her. He probably saw how upset she was. I glanced over at Kari then looked at Steve. It was obvious he picked up on the anger radiating off of the blonde woman. 

“I’m fine Daniel. I’ll call you next week.” She said shortly and got in her car. The four of us stood and watched her drive off. Kari stormed off to her car, Danny quickly following her. We could hear the argument starting so we headed back to the backyard. 

“I’m gonna say bye to everyone and head home.” I told him. “Rachel and I are going to look at apartments tomorrow.” 

“You’re moving?” He asked, holding the back gate open for me. 

“Yeah, my apartment is only two bedrooms and the stairs up to it are starting to kill me.” I laughed. He looked at me like he wanted to say something. “What?” 

“Oh, nothing. Just let me know if you need any help.” He said, giving me a smile. “I know you’re not incapable of doing things yourself and I’m sorry if I’ve made it seem that way. I just want to be able to help.” 

I stopped walking and put my hand on his arm to stop him. “I know, and I really appreciate it. Just going to appointments with me and helping me with the doctors’ bills has helped more than you know. I promise I’m not over doing it.” I told him seriously. “Also quit listening to Danny about how scary pregnancy is.” I laughed. Steve laughed too, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, Danny has been giving me advice.” He chuckled. 

“Yeah, that Dad Training advice might come in handy though.” I giggled and walked towards the group. Everyone looked like they were getting ready to go. I heard Steve groan behind me. 

“Oh, God. You heard that!” 

After saying goodbye to everyone and giving a round of hugs, Steve walked me out to my car. 

“Thank you for inviting us tonight.” I said. 

He grinned at me. “I’m glad you had a good time. You and Nora are welcome here any time. I know she absolutely loved the beach, just like you said.” 

I laughed. “Oh, yes, she’s my water baby for sure.” I got in my car and Steve closed my door for me. “Let me know when you get home, okay?” I nodded and waved as I pulled out and headed toward my apartment. 

After my 10-minute drive, I parked and went to check the mail before slowly climbing the stairs to the apartment. I looked through the mail as I closed and locked my door. A large yellow envelope caught my eye. I set all my things down on the bar in the kitchen and opened it. 

Peter Kenwood, Plaintiff

Theodora Kenwood, Defendant 

Petition for Change of Custody

My breath caught in my throat. I reached for my phone and my first thought was to call Mindy. ‘No, she’s going home with Charlie tonight.’ My next thought was to call Rachel. ‘She has the girls, I can’t push this on her too’ I braced myself on the bar and sat down, dialing the number on my phone. 

“Hey, did you make it home?” Steve asked me after he answered. I was silent, trying not to let my tears fall. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, they fell anyway. 

“Can you come over?” My voice broke. 

I heard some shuffling on the other end. “Thea, what’s wrong?” He asked, concerned. 

“I-I just really need you.” 

[flyinbanachab]

Comfortember 13: Baking

"On your marks." Roy tied his apron behind his back and glared across the kitchen at Hughes.

"Get set." The other cadet returned the glare with equal ferocity.

"Bake!" The ref waved a handkerchief and stepped back into the crowd of spectators.

Read on AO3 or...

Roy ripped open the bag of flour, sending a burst of little white motes directly into his face. Coughing and avoiding Hughes' gaze, he grumbled, "This is so stupid."

And it WAS. How had he let Hughes pressure him into this? A bake-off. As if a soldier needs to know the first thing about baking. But as soon as Hughes started bragging about his kitchen prowess, it was on. Why couldn't he have just admitted he'd never made cookies before in his life? Why couldn't he just let Hughes have this one?

Because he'd rather fucking die, that's why.

Roy shoved the electric mixer into the bowl and turned it to high, spattering his entire station with butter and sugar. "Agh! Goddammit!"

He could hear Hughes laughing from across the room. Roy stared furiously into the bowl, gripping the mixer so hard his hands hurt. The audience cheered and booed, clapped and hooted. Of COURSE there was an audience. Of COURSE. They hadn’t asked for it, but cadets can smell potential humiliation. A small crowd had followed them into the kitchen.

"You're overmixing the dough!" Hughes taunted. "Show it some mercy, someone has to eat those!"

"Shut UP Hughes! It's FINE!" Roy growled, flinging globs of radically dissimilar size onto a baking sheet and shoving it into the oven.

Nine minutes later, it was decidedly not fine. Hughes' cookies, from what he could see from here, looked like cookies. Roy's cookies... he glared down at the traitorous flat bastards. Butter too soft, too much gluten, they're ruined, absolutely ruined, no way to fix--

Unless. UNLESS.

He looked frantically around the kitchen, something to, something to, anything to write with-- aha! Grabbing a bottle of ketchup off a nearby table, he ignored the crowd’s horrified looks and shook a glob onto the counter, spreading itwith his fingers into the world's jankiest transmutation circle. Good enough; he slammed the baking sheet down on top on it. A moment later, blue arcs of energy shot up, engulfing the baked goods. The audience gasped.

The blue light faded away to reveal eighteen perfect cookies on the tray. The audience erupted into noise.

"H... holy shit," Hughes stuttered, closing the distance between them. He leaned over Roy’s shoulder and gaped at the tray. "Was that ALCHEMY?"

Roy shrugged, mostly suppressing a smile. "Maybe."

Hughes picked up a cookie gingerly, between thumb and index finger, and turned it back and forth in front of his face. "Is... is it safe to eat?"

"Course it is!" Roy snapped.  "What do you take me for?"

"Well I didn't take you for an alchemist, that’s for sure.” Hughes raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you gonna try for certification?"

Roy clenched his jaw at that. It still stung. If only he had learned flame alchemy, he might have had a shot, but... "No.”

Hughes used his one brain cell to decide he shouldn’t press the issue and instead took an experimental bite. "Hey!” He said, surprised. "This is actually decent!"

"It's excellent, even," said one of the judges, breaking from what looked to be a rather nervous huddle. "Unfortunately-- we're pretty sure the use of alchemy is a disqualifier."

"WHAT!" Roy shook the tray accusingly at the judge. "You said make cookies, I made cookies!"

Hughes broke out in a shit-eating grin. "Nooo... we said bake cookies!" He clapped Roy on the shoulder. "Nice try though, really. Maybe next time we can have an alchemy-off and you can get even." And he walked away laughing.

Roy plucked a cookie off the tray and bit down hard enough to take off a finger.

[another-sonic-blog]

Stages: The Favor

Stages: Casual Friends Pt.2: The Favor (Chapter 7)

Pairing: ShadAmy (Friends to lovers SLOW BURN)

2K800

Previous: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/190413740165/stages-short-memories

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It has been a tough week for Amy. She had to quit from her job to go look for Sonic and Tails along Team Dark. Her boss wasn't one to give her vacations and when she asked for a couple of days off, her boss fired her on the spot.

It was a bit sad, she disliked the job, but she liked the restaurant.

Now she was trying to look for a job but it was hard when she didn't have a proper education.

She finished high school and wanted to strive for university, but looking at her financial situation, that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

She didn't have a proper apartment either. She lived on one of the dormitories the Resistance provided. It was alright. It got a little bit cold at nights but she had a lot of blankets, so she was fine. Water, light, and everything was provided as well.

She tried to be as positive as possible but it was hard when two of her agents left the Resistance that day.

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"I am sorry Captain, we can't just keep working here." One of the agents said, "I am sorry, but we need to look for a place that can provide enough for us."

"I completely understand," Amy said smiling.

"Captain, sorry for the comment I am about to make but..." he added, "G.U.N. is offering a lot of entry-level jobs. There is even an academy you can join for free if you are good enough. With your abilities, I am sure-"

"I didn't ask for an advice agent. If you may do so, please leave now."

.

She regrets now talking to the couple in such away. They were just trying to help after all. Now, they were only 10 members in the Resistance. Five worked on the building and the other 5 were outside agents, the ones who did missions.

The Resistance needed sponsors, but the Resistance was no G.U.N.

In a way, it worked as the celebrity industry.

Let's take Omega as an example. Omega was known for being a hero and was part of G.U.N's Team Dark. People once saw him drinking Royal Purple synthetic oil. The next day, the company that produces the oil, contacted G.U.N and they both made a contract that Omega and all vehicles of G.U.N should use Royal Purple oil.

It was a 25 million ring contract.

But enough of explanations.

She was ready to take on the world again. She had several interviews today and hopefully, by the end of the day, she will have a new job.

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"Agent-Sh-Shadow?"

"Yes?"

Shadow tried to remember the agent's name. Was it, Molly? Holly? He was bad at remembering names.

The girl trembled and she looked nervous. She looked at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with Shadow, which annoyed him.

"Can you look at me in the eyes?" He said as he picked up the girl's chin, so she could look at him.

He didn't mean to tease her or anything like that, he just didn't like it when new agents wouldn't make eye contact.

Of course, the young cat girl blushed at his gesture but it gave her the courage to continue.

The brown cat gave a quick look at her friends who were hiding, whispering encouraging words.

"Would you ..." The car girl looked at Shadow in the eyes and continued, "Would you like to go out with me?"

Was that it? All of this fuzz for her just to ask him to go out with her.

"Alright," Shadow said, "Let's go right now."

The brown fur cat girl wasn't expecting it to be so fast. She could hear her friends giggle and high fiving each other under the office's desk.

"Right now? But we are at work," she said.

"And? Let's go now."

Shadow walked past the girl as she followed him. This was so exciting for her, she was actually going to go a date with no other than Shadow the Hedgehog.

 Shadow and the girl stepped right out and entered G.U.N's private garden.

"Alright," Shadow added, "We are out."

Alright, she wasn't expecting this to happen. Was Shadow the Hedgehog really that dense?

"I meant...to go out as a ...date." The girl quietly asked.

Oh, so that was why she was so nervous. For Shadow, it was normal for girls to ask him out on dates. But he will always give them the same answer.

"My apologies, I don't-"

"He would love to take you out for dinner today, Ellie" Rouge suddenly appeared behind the couple as she placed her hand on Shadow's shoulder.

So, Ellie is her name? Shadow really thought it was Molly or something like that. His bad.

"What? No, I-"

Shadow stopped himself as he looked at the young cat girl. Her face shone as she smiled and she seemed just way too happy.

Shadow couldn't say no.

"I'll see you at 7 p.m. today,"

.

Amy was finally done with her second interview. The first interview was looking for a waitress at a fancy restaurant. The second one as a retail salesperson for a clothing shop. Her third interview will be later on, at a restaurant similar to the one she worked before.

She was hungry, however, and decided to look for a convenience store to buy a sandwich or something that could satisfy her hunger.

She walked a few streets down and through a store's window glass, she found her favorite red and black hedgehog.

Well, the only one she knew.

She entered the bookstore where she spotted her friend and walked towards him, trying to be as quiet as she could as she sneaked upon him. He was holding a book, 'How to date for dummies'

How interesting.

"Hey, Shadow!" Amy said loudly and he jumped a little. "What are you reading?"

"Nothing!" He said as he hid the book behind him.

Shadow didn't want to do it, he was actually going to back off and tell the girl he had other errands to do. However, Rouge stopped him mid-track as she made him remember the favor he owned her. Shadow now needs to pay his debt off to Rouge.

Amy smirked at him as she crossed her arms. "How to date for dummies?"

"It's been a long time," Shadow said defeated. "I don't think I am ready."

"If you don't think you are ready, then why do it?"

"Rouge obliged me to."

"I see," Amy added, "When is it?"

"Tonight,"

Amy looked at Shadow, he looked lost as if he was under big stress.

"Alright, let's go," Amy said as she took away Shadow's book and put it back on the shelf. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" Shadow asked.

"We are going on a date!"

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"Rule number one! On the first date, never take someone to the movies! Go eat! You can't have fun with an empty stomach."

"Is this why you took me to this hot dog food truck?"

"Yes...but I was actually hungry too."

"Of course."

Amy had a few hours left for her next interview and so, she was going to use her time to teach Shadow how to properly date. She was enjoying her cheap hot dogs but stopped eating as soon as noticed that Shadow wasn't eating.

"You won't eat?" Amy asked.

"I follow a strict diet," Shadow replied.

"Says the guy who eats three dark cholate cakes in one night."

"Touché."

Shadow asked for a hot dog and the vendor gave him one right away.

It was really good, better than he expected.

Amy smiled as she watched Shadow happily eat his second hot dog. He ate like a little kid, he had leftover ketchup next to his mouth.

"Wait," Amy said and Shadow looked at her. "You have something here."

She used her thumb to clean up the ketchup and lick the leftover of her thumb.

"Remember to be clean when you eat with your date."

"Says the one with ketchup all over her white shirt." He replied.

Amy looked down and indeed, she was dirty.

"Ugh, for the love of Chaos!" Amy said angrily and this amused Shadow.

He left out a small laugh.

.

"Rule number two! After eating, go and do fun activities together!"

Shadow and Amy entered an arcade. New and old games were at display but Amy was going straight to her favorite one. Pump it Up Prime 2!

"Let's dance!" Amy said as she went on top of the game, where the arrows showed and step on the central yellow button.

"I don't dance,"

"Yes, you do! You danced at the ball, didn't you?"

How the hell was Amy so good at these comebacks?

Shadow sighed, defeated he stepped on the game and stomped on the yellow button and clicked play.

Amy picked a song and they began to play.

Shadow was a natural at playing the game. Amy was barely level 7, she just couldn't keep up at how fast the arrows showed at the screen. But after a few rounds, Shadow was level 23.

Of course, he would be level 23, he is one the fastest hedgehogs she knows.

"Fine, I accept defeat," Amy said as she pointed at Shadow, "But you won't beat me at Racing Storm!

Racing Storm was a famous shooting game, and Shadow knew he was just made for it.

"Too easy," He added, "You know I will beat you."

"No, you won't!" Amy and Shadow walked towards the game as they approached the shooting game. "I am really good at this game! You know what, let's make a deal!"

This peeked in Shadow's interest. He picked up the plastic gun, "What kind of deal?"

"If you win, I will own you a favor." Amy added, "But if I win, you need to ask your date to go on a 2nd date with you."

Shadow looked at the game as he thought about the deal.

But there wasn't much to think about.

"Deal."

It was a tie. So, they both compromised. Amy owns Shadow a favor, and Shadow will ask Ellie on a 2nd date.

After, laser tag, bowling, air hockey, and even racing games, in which Amy and Shadow were very competitive, Amy was done for the day.

"Well, I have to go now!" Amy said as she looked at her watch.

"What? Why?" Shadow asked a bit disappointed. He had to admit he was ... enjoying himself just a little.

"I have an interview in 30 minutes," Amy added, "I need to go to the Resistance really quick and change my shirt."

Amy looked down at her white shirt and mentally damn the hot dogs she was eating earlier.

"What happened to your previous job?" Shadow asked as they both exited the arcade.

"I um ... got fired." Amy said quietly as she looked down to the ground, embarrassed.

"Why?"

"Um, he wasn't one to give free days to go look for Sonic and well ... yeah." Amy felt embarrassed and she didn't want to look at Shadow in the position she was. "It's a bit disappointing, I actually liked the restaurant."

Shadow hated when people wouldn't look at him in the eyes. So he did the same thing he did to Ellie. He picked up Amy's chin and made her look at him.

Shadow sighed as he took off his jacket and placed it on top of Amy's shoulders.

"Take my jacket, it will cover your stain and it makes you look more professional," Shadow said.

"Yeah, I am not fond of wearing jackets that have your name on the back." Amy added, "But considering that I don't have much time and it's actually a bit chilly ... I'll take it."

Amy smelled the jacket and of course, it had Shadow's cologne all over it. "Also, I think you put too much cologne."

"I am not wearing any," Shadow replied.

"If you say so," Amy teased, "So, you are giving me your jacket?"

"No, I am just lending it to you-"

.

"You are giving me your jacket?"

"No, I am just lending it to you,"

.

Shadow didn't finish his sentence and Amy noticed that it was him now not looking at her in the eyes.

"Shadow?" She asked, but there was no response. "Shadow?!"

"Uh, yes, yes. You can keep it, I have more of them anyways." He replied, still lost in thought.

Amy knew that this must mean something to him. He looked relaxed before, but now he had that anxious look on his face, terror, even.

And she dared to ask.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Amy asked, "You know ... about her?"

Words wouldn't come out of his mouth as he couldn't stop remembering.

.

"You promised wouldn't do it again," Shadow said.

"Sorry babe, I promise you this time, I will change."

.

"You are late again," Shadow waited two hours at a dinner table, waiting for her to appear.

"Sorry, I had to organize some papers."

Lies.

.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it!"

Amy's voice made Shadow jump back to reality. Breaking him free from his trance.

He sighed relieved as he nodded at her. Another day could go by without him having to talk about her.

Amy smiled at him as she patted his right shoulder softly. She didn't know the details about what happened between Shadow and ... his love interest. However, she wasn't going to put any pressure on him.

"If you ever want to talk about..." Amy added, "I'll be here. I'll wait until you are ready."

Shadow appreciated the kindness of Amy and he softly gave her a small smile as he looked at her.

A few seconds passed without saying a word and Amy decided to break the silence.  

"Rule number 3 for dating!"She said excitedly, "Never kiss on the first date. That will scare her away."

"Noted,"

Shadow felt confident now. After two years of not dating, he thought he wasn't ever going to be able to do it again.

But thanks to Amy, he had changed opinions about himself.

.

The next day arrived, and Amy woke up at the sound of someone entering the Resistance without permission.

She walked downstairs quickly and received the young man who looked lost.

"Sorry, is this the residence of Amy Rose?" The young green wolf asked her. He was dressed in a suit and looked very professional.

"Yes, that's me." Amy responded, "How can I help you?"

"Oh, nice to meet you, my name is Alexander and I need you to sign some documents."

Was this it? Was the government finally take away the Resistance from Amy?

"Look, I promise I'll pay soon. I just got a job and-"

"Pay? No, it's nothing about that." He replied, "You have become the new owner of MoMo's restaurant."

"What? There must be a mistake, I used to work there only." Amy said.

"Yes, but yesterday, Shadow the Hedgehog bought the restaurant and he named you the complete owner of the restaurant." The green wolf added, "In other words, this is a gift from him to you."

Amy couldn't believe it and she denied it as he moved her head from side to side, "There's no way I can accept it."

"He told me you would say that," The wolf smiled as he pulled out the documents and a pen from his briefcase, giving it to Amy.

"And he told me to tell you ... that you own him a favor."

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A/N: Here is a fluff piece for today's chapter. On the next chapter will see how good (or bad) Shadow's date went. And course we will be seeing a little more of Shadow's backstory.

The next chapter will probably come out next weekend. I am going to have a busy weekend but if I have time, I'll write a chapter this Sunday.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading!

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the beloved: @lonelysadblob​ thank you so much for your support! I am happy you like this story of mine <3 I am also such a big fan of your artwork! It’s amazing! @lonelysadblob

Next: SOON

[half-anidiot]

if you wanna cry make sure they never see it

im pretty proud of this so im gonna post it

title taken from boys will be bugs by cavetown; isabelle and james belong to @chinchinashi

word count: 3,528

content warning - transphobia, dysphoria, manipulation, brief racism, implied child abuse

Kieran sighed as they pulled a tank top over their binder - layer number one for the day. She hadn’t even arrived yet and their stomach was already rolling, something akin to wasps angrily whipping around in their midsection. The feeling was too violent and fierce for the delicate touch of butterfly wings, but the heavy buzz and vibration of wasps’ furiously flapping wings as they zipped to and fro like tiny yellow bullets fit almost too well. A white button up that was donned slowly (as if the more Kieran dragged their feet the more time it would take for Her to get here) was layer number two. Kieran inhaled slowly in an attempt to quell both their nerves and the heat of rage that flowed through their veins before exhaling as they began to button the shirt. With shaky hands, they moved upward, trying to quiet the one very loud thought that thrummed through their mind:

She shouldn’t be anywhere near James.

A shudder shook through Kieran’s body as they reached the top button, leaving it undone as not to choke themself. After everything James had been through by Her hand, Kieran would rather eat bugs (yes you heard them right) than have to look Her in the eye and feign politeness. As they tugged a loose black sweatshirt over their head (layer three), Kieran allowed themself to indulge in a fantasy that involved Kieran decking Her before kicking Her out of their apartment. The image of James crying popped into their head and quickly crumbled the thought to dust that Kieran begrudgingly blew away.

Finally, after tugging on a pair of black jeans, they walked out of the room with a hand running down their face like it was trying to drain all of the swirling thoughts running frantically through Kieran’s brain with it. They traversed down the hallway, socked feet carefully avoiding the creaky floorboard right outside of the bedroom door. Kieran stopped in front of where a framed picture of James and Kieran at a carnival hung on the wall painted the lightest shade of grey. It was exploding with colors - cotton candy pink, the bright green of neon signs, and the bustling, blurred forms of walking people wearing purple, blue, and ketchup red. One of their friends had managed to catch the exact second James jumped onto Kieran’s back. A grin the size of Texas was painted across James’s features, and Kieran could practically hear the laugh echoing from the picture. Kieran, on the other hand, was trying to keep their snow cone from falling to the ground beneath them as their mouth hung open in surprise. It was the perfect picture, filled with happiness and excitement that even the snapshot conveyed perfectly.

A frown tilted the edges of Kieran’s mouth downwards.

Even just letting Her into the house felt like it would taint any joy that it contained.

“Kieran?”

They blinked out of the reverie they had wrapped themself into at James’s call of their name before continuing towards the living room. Kieran tucked their hands into their pockets as they reached the end of the hall, watching as James moved the jar that contained Fred, the evil little bugger, from where it usually rested on the living room coffee table. James looked up at their entrance, face breaking out into a smile.

“Hey, Kier,” he chirped happily, eyes twinkling with a golden glow, “Where do you think I should put Fred?”

Kieran’s nose wrinkled in distaste, scrunching up the freckles that were splattered across their face like paint. “I think he belongs in a fire, personally.”

James frowned, a pout pulling out his bottom lip and yanking at the strings of Kieran’s heart. As he carefully placed Fred’s jar on the small table (really more of a stool) that held the key bowl next to the entrance, he said, “That’s mean. Fred has done nothing to you.”

“He exists,” they muttered under their breath as they walked over to the beige couch and flopped down gracelessly. Kieran’s mind began whirring again, gears spinning as their thoughts went into overdrive about what could happen today.

James came over and threw himself into their lap, prompting Kieran to, without thinking really, pull their hands from the confines of their jeans and wrap around his smaller form to cradle him to their chest. James snuggled in comfortably, resting his cheek on their shoulder. “I can see you thinking, Kieran, but you don’t have to worry! What could possibly go wrong?”

Kieran frowned, fighting back the sharp words that longed to claw themselves up and out of their throat. They could not, however, hold back one last attempt to get James to change his mind. “James, I...I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

James lifted his head up to look into Kieran’s dark eyes, a small frown of his own falling upon his lips. “I love her, Kieran. I want her to meet you.”

That was when the doorbell rang.

James lit up, an excited “I’ll get it” leaving his mouth as he scampered off of Kieran’s legs to run to the door. Kieran exhaled shakily, standing to follow behind him. The door was tugged open and James laughed, a joyous sound that was so at odds from what Kieran was feeling that it almost hurt to hear.

There She stood in all her dark glory. Tall. Lanky. All limbs and pale, scarred skin stretched tightly over bones that seemed to jut out in some places. Her face was a mask of rage that seemed permanently etched into her features, worn in by the winds of time and framed by heat damaged black hair and split ends that went well past Her chest. She was rough where James was soft, shadowed where he was bright - such a sharp contrast from the person Kieran had come to love so dearly that they were shocked at the relation the two held.

Isabelle Morales was the kind of person mothers would usher their children away from, warn them not to talk to, and give side-eyed glances as they passed by. Isabelle Morales was at their doorstep and Kieran had never wanted someone gone as much as they had her.

“Mom!”

“Hello dear,” James’s mother purred, a smile sharp as knives and dripping with malicious intent gracing her face. A moment passed and the smile slipped slightly, turning into something that, somehow, was even more dangerous than before. “Well, are we just going to stand here, or am I allowed inside?”

Kieran wanted to say “no, you’re not” and slam the door shut in her face, but instead they numbly stepped to the side with James, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady themself. Isabelle stepped in, carrying a cloud of noxious hate and fury with her. Kieran had to hold in a shudder. She studied their apartment with a sneer half forming on her lips, pulling at the thin sleeves of the white shawl she wore over a simple black dress.

“Well this is rather...nice. Almost too nice.”

Kieran could see the furrow forming on James’s brow from the corner of their vision and began to talk before he could say the thought Kieran knew he was thinking: how could anything be too nice?

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Ms. Morales,” Kieran said smoothly, holding out a hand that, by some miracle, they managed to keep from trembling.

Isabelle stared at the offered hand distastefully before dragging her gaze up and down Kieran in a way that made their skin crawl. The feeling of her eyes on them was like ants scurrying across their body, tiny feet taking them through crevices and into cracks where no one should have been looking. They would burrow their way in through pores and discover secrets that Kieran had long since repressed so that not even they could find them.

“Ah, yes...you.” The disgust that she was able to pack into those three words practically knocked Kieran over. This woman’s voice alone was toxic, but the inflections so subtly placed to convey every ounce of her opinion, yet leave just enough room for doubt was what really boggled your mind. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bit feminine looking?”

The question hit Kieran like a slap to the face. It was an offhanded comment, one that, in normal situations, wouldn’t have affected her target as much (Kieran had heard the unsaid “for a boy” she had not tagged onto the end of her sentence) as it currently was. But for Kieran, someone who had spent the majority of their life discouraging any sort of label related to “female” to be branded upon them, it would have been kinder if Isabelle had simply hit him.

Not that anything about the woman in front of them was kind.

Her thoughts were like barbed wire - twisted, sharp, and cutting at anyone who came anywhere near them. They caught at Kieran’s skin and ripped at it, pulling back the flesh to reveal the fear and insecurities beneath. Kieran’s hand started to tremble where it lay on James’s back, and he gave them a look of concern before his attention was stolen by his mother’s presumptuous question of, “Well, are you going to show me around or am I to just stand here?”

“Oh,” James chirped, the brightness that usually painted every word he spoke dimming at the end of the syllable before it picked back up again. “Sure!”

“Shoes,” Kieran said quietly, mouth barely moving. If Isabelle wanted to poke her nose where it did not belong, the very least she could do was respect the house rules and remove her shoes before walking inside.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Could you take your shoes off please? We don’t want to track dirt all over the house.”

“And why,” Isabelle began, voice tilting up in cruel amusement, “Would I do that?” A mockery of a grin slid onto her face as she flashed her teeth at Kieran. Her expression promised danger and was edged with something so vicious Kieran felt a shiver run down their spine. Something cold and scaly stretched from where it was curled up in their stomach and the urge to puke crawled its way up their throat. “That’s one of those Asian traditions right? Sorry, but I’m not Chinese. I don’t follow those.”

Kieran felt that old anger from their highschool years rise from where it was slumbering in their mind. Kieran wasn’t even Chinese for God’s sake. “It-it’s not a matter of tradition, I just don’t want di - ”

Isabelle waved a dismissive hand. “James can clean it up later anyway, not that big of a deal.”

Practically choking on their breath, Kieran blinked twice in horror before croakily demanding, “Excuse me?”

James placed one small hand on their arm, a smile that did not reach his eyes drawn across his face in tight lines. The smile was tearing at the edges - too wide, too full, too fake for it to fit on James’s delicate features properly. “It��s okay, Kieran. I can do it.”

“I just-it’s not a matter of whether you can do it or not J - ”

“Darling,” Isabelle interrupted, eyes glued onto Kieran’s, as if simply looking into them would reveal the secrets that they buried deep beneath the inky surface. “A tour?”

James nodded vigorously, stepping away from Kieran’s touch to lead his mother into the house. Her heels clicked against the wooden floor of their apartment. The sound echoed through Kieran’s head as they followed the pair around quietly. Nothing Isabelle said was terribly bad, just sarcastically scathing (“oh how quaint” and “well, that’s...nice” being the two most prominent phrases) until they reached the hallway and came across the picture Kieran had been studying earlier.

“Well now, this just won’t do,” Isabelle said brightly, as if her next sentence was to help them. “James, you look far too happy in this picture.”

Kieran whipped their head up from where they had been studying their feet in time to catch James’s expression stuttering on his face. “What...too happy?” The bewilderment that was heavy in every word made Kieran’s heart ache.

“It’s not good for you to be that happy, or have you forgotten that?”

James’s smile slid right off of his face and fell to the floor where it shattered into a million pieces. Kieran could see the shards lying on the ground in front of his feet, and the pure sorrow that James held on his innocent face had them shaking. “No, mom,” he said in timid, quiet acceptance, “I remember.”

“Good,” Isabelle said in a voice so sickly sweet, Kieran could practically taste it on their tongue. “I would hate for you to have conveniently forgotten everything I taught you when you were younger. Or maybe,” she said, turning to eye Kieran with a gaze hot enough to melt steel, “Your boyfriend taught you otherwise?”

James gave a soft, hesitant giggle, innocently announcing, “Kieran’s not a boy.”

For the first time that night, Kieran saw confusion make its way slowly into the glare that Isabelle seemed to permanently hold on her face. “A girl?”

“No, Kieran isn’t a girl or a boy.”

Kieran felt the floor drop out from underneath them as Isabelle’s fake smile turned into a sneer of pure and utter disgust. The scaly thing in Kieran’s stomach began to laugh, knowing as much as they did on what was coming next. “So what, she’s an abomination? What kind of twisted thing did you drag in, James?”

Their thoughts began to shift, going from slow murmurings of anger to the high pitched whines of self loathing and panic. Their thoughts gouged into their mind like jagged metal, leaving behind bleeding gashes until their psyche was weeping and screaming for help. This wasn’t happening - Kieran was supposed to be past this. Kieran wasn’t supposed to have to deal with this ever again.

“Disgusting freak. I can’t believe you let her touch you James.”

Kieran stood there, silent, eyes shifting to James to see if he would do something - anything in their defense. James opened and closed his mouth, looking like a fish out of water before stammering, “No, mom, Kieran is-I-I...they’re - ”

Isabelle purred in a low, malice filled tone, “James, you really have forgotten everything. What did I tell you when you were younger? I know what’s best for you. I know what’s right.”

“But - ”

“James,” she snapped, voice losing any pretense of being caring or worried for James in an instant.

He stopped, eyes turning downcast. Kieran felt their heart crack, not even bothering to fight back the wave of hopelessness that crashed over their head and pulled them deep beneath the surface of old memories. Years old waves of hatred slammed into them with enough force that their chest practically caved in.

“Sorry, mom.”

Kieran shriveled up where they were standing shoulders hunching inward to protect them from the onslaught they knew was coming.

Dinner came with a brutality that turned Kieran practically mute. The tremors that had shook their body had long since stilled, anxiety being replaced by a heavy weight that was slowly hammering them into the ground. They hadn’t even opened their mouth since the hallway. Instead, Kieran sat there and took every verbal blow Isabelle threw their way, not having the nerve to even look at James despite the worried glances they could feel him throwing their way.

“I mean, God, James,” Isabelle, shoving a bite of the pasta Kieran had made earlier into her mouth, said with such a self assured air that even Kieran was beginning to believe the shit she spewed, “What are you even doing with this thing? She isn’t good for you, putting thoughts in your head that something like her is okay. She’s out of her mind.”

Kieran poked at a noodle on their plate, waiting until she left and they could go hide in the bathroom to have a breakdown. Shadows wrapped around their head and whispered in their ears things they believed they had long since left behind. They hissed in low tones, parroting what Isabelle whipped at them with a sick glee flooding every horrible syllable.

“Do you even realize how much you’re hurting me by staying with her?” She scoffed, not looking like she was in pain at all. “Don’t eat. It’s too good for you. You make me sick James.”

Kieran snapped their head up, watching as James set his fork down with a gentle click of metal against ceramic. He didn’t look upset, or even surprised, just accepting and sad - like he absorbed every word she spat and turned them inwards. They realized with a start that James believed her. 

“Get out of my house,” they told her quietly, not missing the amusement that glinted in the lone eye she turned on them. It was gold like Jame’s, but there was an undercurrent of dust that ran through it, dimming the would be bright color into something rusty and burned through with decades of damage. 

“Excuse me?”

“Get out of my house,” Kieran snarled quietly, ignoring James’s small noise of protest. There were tears turning his honey eyes cloudy and all Kieran could think was to get her out before she made them spill over onto his cheeks.

Isabelle laughed. “This is ridiculous, James. She thinks you actually deserve to eat - ”

“Out,” Kieran shouted, standing up and shoving their chair back. It screeched against the floor in protest, the whine ringing in their ears as they watched Isabelle slowly rise, still chuckling. “Get out before I call the police.”

“Do you see how aggressive she is? You should come back and live with me darling. It would be so much better for you.”

Kieran practically saw red as they grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the house forcibly. Her protests and growls were overpowered by James screaming. His hands fruitlessly tugged at Kieran’s free hand, begging them to let her go, that she didn’t know what she was talking about, that she was sick.

“Kieran, Kieran please,” he sobbed, the sound stabbing Kieran’s soul over and over, tearing gaping holes into what was already damaged. “It’s my fault she doesn’t know any better! Kieran, please! She’s sick, it’s my fault, please!”

With water beginning to line their eyes, Kieran ignored him, ignored Isabelle, ignored everything but the grip they had on a thin arm that managed to put up more of a fight than they had been expecting. The noises of the scene swirled around their head like a tornado of shrieks and threats and pleas, tearing up every coherent thought Kieran had but to get her out. They reached the front door, and with one final shove, Kieran pushed Isabelle out. They took one second to absorb the offense and rage painted across her face in streaks of bruise purple, frostbite blue, and blistered red before slamming the door in her face.

James threw himself towards the wooden barrier behind Kieran, but they stepped into his path, catching his flying body and holding him against their chest. He cried, he begged, he screamed, clawing at Kieran's arms to get them to let him go to his mom, but Kieran held steady. It didn't matter that there were tears carving craters in their cheeks, it didn't matter that they were breathing so fast the room was beginning to spin - all that mattered was keeping James safe and happy.

That was all that had ever mattered.

Eventually, James tired himself out and wilted against Kieran's chest, broken whimpers leaving his lips every few seconds. The sounds ripped Kieran's heart out of their chest and threw it on the ground where it fractured into tiny pieces that could be crushed underfoot. They held James as they slid down the door, cradling him against their chest before tucking their face between his shoulder and his neck. Kieran felt and heard James gasp at the wetness that fell onto the warm skin, but did not have a chance to question it before Kieran inhaled raggedly.

And sobbed.

The noises forced their way up Kieran's throat, ugly, wet, and broken. It had been over ten years since Kieran had last cried in front of anyone, and they had not planned on breaking that streak. But with James in their arms, making such hurt noises and knowing they were the cause, it was too much. The flimsy dam Kieran had holding back their emotions broke, and everything came flooding in with a vicious vengeance from being repressed.

Kieran had been falling down that endless spiral all night, getting lost in the void of hate, disgust, and fear. All they had really wanted was for someone to pull them free.

James's hands were dancing along Kieran's shoulders and back in a panicked tango, distressed whispers of, "I'm sorry, I love you" flitting from his lips nonstop. Kieran just cried and cried, the unspoken thought crossing their mind more than once:

If you really loved me, why did you just watch?

[watchmegetobsessed]

Crush // Shawn Mendes mini-series part 2

part 2 wohoooo!! this is honestly such a cute story i love writing it, im currently finishing the last part so i’ll probably update very soon!

part 1

masterlist

The awkwardness soon vanishes. This clear new chapter we just opened with Shawn allows me to loosen up and just enjoy a nice evening. Aaliyah and Eric seems satisfied with the outcome, the parents seem to hit it off quite easily and when we leave they already start making plans for another meetup.

“It was so nice meeting you!” Karen sighs happily as she hugs goodbye to all of us.

“You too, email me that recipe you told me about!” Mom points at her and she nods her head laughing.

I’m just about to step out of the house when Aaliyah grabs my wrist and pulls me back. I look at her with furrowed eyebrows.

“I need your help with a little something. Can you come over sometime tomorrow?” she whispers confidentially.

“Um, yeah. Around what time?” I ask.

“Three pm?”

“Sure,” I smile at her and she lets go of me.

On the way back home I’m thinking about what Aaliyah could need help with and the only thing I have in mind is Eric’s birthday that is on the 29th. She must be planning something special for him.

I call Maddi around midnight when I’m already in my pj’s, but I know she must be still up, maybe even drunk. For my surprise, she answers the phone quite modestly.

“How was the family union?” she asks chewing on something. I throw the cushions off of my bed and crawl under the blanket.

“Um, very interesting,” I chuckle closing my eyes and just shaking my head at the thought of the evening.

“Uh, spill the tea!” She cheers clearly very thirsty for some drama, though this story is not as juicy as she would want it.

“Guess who Aaliyah’s brother is!” I say, but I don’t expect an answer so I just continue. “Shawn Effing Mendes.”

“What?! Are you kidding me?” She gasps. “How did Eric forget to tell you this small detail?”

“Apparently, he thought it doesn’t matter to me, which is kind of true, but there is more.”

“What more? Did he hit on you? Because I’m not talking to you again if he did. He is hot!”

“No, he didn’t, but what you don’t know is that we have history.”

“Okay, now I’m confused!? How do I not know about this?”

“Well, remember my ex, Dylan? I told you about him.”

“Yeah, the asshole who cheated on you,” she hums.

“Well, Dylan and Shawn used to be best buds when we started dating, but the guy hated my guts, or so I thought. He was always mean to me, talking against me and just… avoiding me like the plague.”

“I thought he is the nicest person on earth.”

“He might be now, but when I knew him, he treated me like shit. So it was pretty awkward to see him again after all these years.”

“And how did it go? Was he an ass again?”

“No. He was… nice. Well, we both acted awkward in the beginning, I didn’t know if he would continue his act with me, but he turned out to be nice. And then at one point he told me he is sorry for everything in the past and he was just acting like that because he wanted to amuse Dylan.”

I turn to my side and stare out the window.

“That’s good, right? I mean, he grew out that mean phase and he is all good now.”

“Yeah, it’s just still weird to be around someone I knew from my Dylan phase.”

“But it’s Eric who is dating Aaliyah, why would you be constantly around him?”

“Aaliyah asked me to go over tomorrow, I think she is trying to put a surprise together for Eric’s birthday, so I’m spending the afternoon at the Mendes house.”

“Oh, then keep me updated about the details and sneak me a shirtless photo of Shawn please.”

“Maddi!” I scoff laughing. “Why would I even see him shirtless?”

“Maybe he likes wandering around in his home without clothes on, how would I know?!”

“Unbelievable. I’m going to sleep.”

“Bye bitch,” she sighs making me roll my eyes at her smiling.

“Bye.”

  I sleep late the next day, it’s past noon when I actually make it downstairs looking like a real human being. Eric and Dad are watching a documentary on WW II. while Mom is reading the newspaper at the dining table. I join her with a bowl of cereal.

“Do you have any plans for today?” She smiles at me over her narrow glasses as she turns a page. I lean closer hitting a confidential tone.

“I’m helping Aaliyah today, she asked me to go over around three.”

“Oh, birthday surprise for Eric?” she asks clearly excited.

“I think yeah.”

“Great. And you will probably see Shawn again.” Winking at me she puts the papers down.

“Why does that matter?” I ask with my mouth full. She caresses my cheek before standing up and walking over to the sink for some water.

“Isn’t he a nice young man? I think the two of you would look cute together.”

“Mom, you are literally talking about the biggest pop sensation, he is not really the kind of guy who just casually dates,” I say.

In my mind all these celebrities are living their wildest life. Even if I were interested in Shawn in any way, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t even get in the game, he must have thousands of girls waiting for him in line. We are not really on the same page.

“Oh, come on. You guys knew each other in high school, you have a past, that connection must mean something!”

“He was an ass to me!” I blurt it out making her eyebrows raise.

“He was? What did he do?”

“It’s nothing,” I roll my eyes, but Mom gives me a demanding look. “He just didn’t seem to like me no matter what I did, he was avoiding me most of the time when I was with Dylan and also made some pretty rude comments sometimes.”

“Maybe he was into you,” Mom shrugs and I almost choke on the milk.

I start coughing like I’m about to die and my eyes start watering when I’m finally able to breathe evenly again.

“No fucking way!”

“Charlie! Language!” She hisses at me, but there is a smile hiding in her eyes. “You know, young boys tend to do it. They are mean to the girls they like.”

“Mom, it wasn’t in kindergarten, it was ninth grade or something. I think he just really didn’t like me back then and I don’t blame him.” I was annoying, thinking back at it. But hey, all teens are annoying!

“You can never know,” she sighs.

 I totally ignore the theory Mom tried to make me believe, there is absolutely no chance of the nonsense she told me, and this is what I keep telling myself as I’m on my way to the Mendes house.

“Hey!” Aaliyah greets me with a wide smile. She is now wearing some more comfortable clothes than the last two times I saw her, the grey sweats and lose white shirt must be her home wear. “Come in! My parents are out at a friend’s place, and Shawn…” she starts, but just when she is about to finish he appears on the top of the stairs.

“Is here,” he chimes in. I look up and there he is, in a pair of checked pj pants and a black shirt. Looking at it, I think Aaliyah has his shirt on, it seems like the same size.

“Hi,” I smile at him.

“Come, let’s sit.” I follow Aaliyah into the living room and we sit down to the couch next to their Christmas tree. From the corner of my eyes I see Shawn going into the kitchen and for a moment I’m actually disappointed he is not coming with us.

“So. I want to surprise Eric with cooking for him, but I have no idea what. I tried to find out what’s his favorite, but he says it’s his favorite to everything!” she growls frustrated. I shake my head laughing.

“That’s typical.”

“Yeah. So do you have anything in mind?”

“Well, he really like tiramisu. He can eat tons of it, all the time. That’s good for dessert,” I offer. Aaliyah has her phone in her hands and she is typing everything I say down.

“Okay, got it.”

“Um, he likes gazpacho. He thinks it sounds fancy and you know, he likes everything with ketchup, so a soup that tastes like tomato was made for him.”

“Oh yeah, he pours so much ketchup into his sandwiches, it’s crazy,” she rolls her eyes jokingly. “Okay, so gazpacho. Anything else?”

“Um…” I try to think about the times we went to restaurants and Eric got really excited over the food. “Oh, we were once at a place and he ordered grilled mushrooms and he couldn’t stop moaning, it was very embarrassing, but I guess this meant he really liked it.”

“Grilled mushrooms, perfect,” she nods to herself noting everything down. “Do you mind helping me pick out his gift too? I have a few ideas, I want to go into the city and buy it tomorrow, I already looked up some jumpers online, but I can’t really decide.”

“Sure, show me!”

We spend the next thirty minutes scrolling through everything she had saved as a possible gift. She found some really nice ones, her taste is fantastic. As the time is passing I’m starting to feel like I’m with a friend and not with my brother’s girlfriend and I’m just hoping Eric will keep her around for a long time.

She asks me to stay a little bit longer so she can show me the awkward photos she has taken of Erik since they’ve been dating, but she gets a call and excuses herself quickly. I stay there in the living room, looking around a bit, I haven’t really had the chance yesterday, I was too occupied with the situation.

Shawn walks in, this time he has a headband on, keeping his locks back from his face.

Damn, Maddi is right. He is hot.

I shake my head at the thoughts and try to look as casual as possible.

“How is the birthday planning going?” he asks plopping down on the couch next to me.

“Good, Aaliyah basically had everything right, I just had to choose the best options.”

“How crazy is that our younger siblings are dating? I mean, I was thinking about it yesterday, the last time I saw Eric, he was about twelve or something. No wonder why I didn’t recognize him when I met him,” he chuckles and I nod agreeing. Aaliyah changed a lot in the past years too.

“Yeah. Strange that they are not babies anymore. I mean, I’m still mad that Eric is taller than me.”

“Oh I remember how you always wanted to get taller!”

“You remember?” I ask surprised. I used to never stop talking about my height, later I accepted my fate.

“Yeah, I remember once you told Dylan how you want to wear the highest heels to the dance so you two can be the same height.”

I laugh at the memory. I remember it too, it was quite early in our relationship and Dylan asked me out for the Halloween dance. I wanted to look taller and told Dylan I would wear heels. Of course, I ditched the plan as I found out how uncomfortable they are and ended up wearing my Converse.

“And at the end I looked like a punk princess with my Converse and mini skirt,” I scoff at the thought of my outfit for that night.

“I think you looked pretty,” Shawn says and I look at him. I catch his small smile before he shakes his head clearing his throat. What the Hell? “High school feels so far away, right?” he quickly says.

“Um, well for you I guess, for me… not really,” I chuckle shaking my head. “Your life got turned upside down, but not much has happened to me since then.”

“What? I don’t believe you. I’m sure you’ve been having plenty of fun. Parties, dates and everything.”

I can’t help, a sad smile plasters across my face. He can’t be more wrong.

“Not really… I had some rough years after Dylan and I split.”

“Can I ask what happened? I mean, after the split,” he shyly asks.

“Well, since I was a dumb naïve little girl, I needed an entire year before I could even think about getting to know other guys. Now it all just seems like the biggest bullshit. I shouldn’t have cared that much. And I’m not a fan of partying, I only go out on birthdays and maybe New Year’s Eve,” I shrug. Maddi has been trying to boost me up a bit, she attempts to drag me out every month or so, but I’m really not that kind of type. I thought I was, when I was with Dylan, he was a popular guy, I kept going to these lame parties with him in the last year of our relationship, but I never really enjoyed them. Shawn was long gone by then.

“I’m sorry Dylan played you so bad.”

“It’s fine, I mean, not your fault,” I chuckle. “But what happened to you and him?”

He sighs scratching the back of his neck.

“Not sure, I guess we grew apart and I realized that he is an ass. When I became a private student we kept in touch, but I met new people and I saw how different a friendship can be, so… I cut him off, I guess.”

“Did you guys fight?”

“Not really,” he shakes his head. “Well, we had one last very awkward phone call when I was in Atlanta, if I remember right. It was forced and… just awkward, really,” he chuckles shaking his head.

“And your life has been better since Dylan is out of it, right?” I grin at him.

“Yeah, you must know about it.”

I laugh nodding. I know everything about it!

Before I could even think about what I’m saying, my mouth just opens and the words roll down.

“The only good thing I got from my relationship with Dylan is that I know you now.”

My eyes widen and I wish I could take it back.

“I- uh I mean…”

I don’t even know why I’m so nervous suddenly, I didn’t even tell much. But for some reason, I can feel myself blushing.

“I meant that he basically ruined my senior year and I needed so much time to get myself over him, but at least now we can talk like, normal people,” I quickly add somehow saving the situation.

“What do you mean he ruined your senior year?” he asks with furrowed eyebrows and I’m happy he didn’t get caught up on what I said before that.

“Well, he successfully made me push all my friends away, leaving me totally alone when we broke up.”

“Wait, what? How about that friend of yours, um… I don’t remember her name, you always sat together at lunch.”

“Rochelle. Oh Dylan played us dirty. He told me Rochelle keeps hitting on him and being my dumb naïve self I believed him and not her. We had this huge fight and I called her a bitch. No wonder why she didn’t care about me when I was alone in the last couple of months of senior year.”

“Ouch, that sounds horrible. I’m sorry he did that.”

“Why did we even like Dylan in the first place?” I ask laughing to myself. It still bothers me how blind I was, I wish I could just shake myself.

“I have no idea!” He sighs rolling his eyes. “I’m sorry your senior year got fucked up, I wish I could be there to have lunch with you.”

I turn to him and swear to God he is blushing! And it is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I feel the urge to touch him, anywhere, to take his hand in mine, but I stop myself.

“That’s… nice. Thank you,” I whisper touched.

As I’m staring at him I realize this is probably the closest I’ve ever been to him. I wonder how many girls want to be in my position, they see the popstar, the heartthrob from the stage, while all I see is the guy who used to be mean to me in high school but now we are friendlier than ever. I could never see him as a celebrity.

“Okay, so I found some- Oh am I bothering?” Aaliyah walks into the room with her phone in her hands and she is giving me a knowing look. I quickly clear my throat turning away from Shawn.

“No, you girls just… do your thing. I have to make a few calls.”

Shawn jumps up from the couch patting his sister’s shoulder before walking out of the room. Aaliyah takes his place, still grinning.

“What?” I ask her playing dumb.

“You guys… I felt the sparkle,” she says wiggling her eyebrows.

“What sparkle? Aaliyah, you see everything in pink because of my brother.”

“Oh stop, don’t tell me you don’t like him.”

“I don’t know him,” I say truthfully. “The last time I saw him I was dating a douche and he was also being a douche to me. I can’t tell if I like him, because I don’t know his new self.”

“But you seem to get along with him pretty well and I’m sure you are attracted to him.”

“I’m not talking about this with you, you are his sister!” I gasp feeling myself blushing again.

“Whatever. But I think you two would look cute together.”

I refuse to carry on with the conversation about me and Shawn and Aaliyah fortunately doesn’t force it on me. I leave the Mendes house around five, Aaliyah thanks me the help and I can’t help but feel disappointed I don’t see Shawn anywhere when I’m leaving. Aaliyah’s speech about me and Shawn is slowly getting to me.

By dinner, all my thoughts are racing around him and soon I find myself stalking his social media profiles. I knew he is very famous, but seeing the numbers on his pages makes me gasp. Millions of people are following him, waiting for him to post anything. The last photo he uploaded to his Instagram is with his family, Karen and Manny are smiling proudly into the camera while Shawn and Aaliyah are messing around next to them. Before I could realize what I’m doing I double tap the picture liking it.

“Oh shit,” I suck my breath in. I hesitate, but then I realize how dumb this is. He must be getting millions of notes every minute, he won’t see this.

Gaining some confidence from this, I decide to follow him and continue my stalking session. I’m a few months deep into his profile when I get a notification. Opening the tab my eyes widen.

shawnmendes followed charlieprkr

I guess I was wrong about the notification getting lost. A moment later I see that he has liked two of my photos.

One was taken on a family vacation. Eric and I are posing at the beach, I have a red swimsuit on and the wind is blowing my wavy blonde hair that was so much lighter back than from all the sunshine. The other one is a picture Maddie took of me last month. I’m sitting in our armchair with a mug of tea in my hands, smiling shyly at the camera. We had Christmas lights in the window and the lights made me look colorful in the photo.

I’m just about to put the phone down and go to bed when I get a dm. I’m not surprised to see Shawn’s username, but I definitely get excited.

shawnmendes I’m happy I’m not the first one to accidentally like your photo, though I was minutes away from that haha

I smile at the message rolling my eyes.

charlieprkr Ha. Ha. I was hoping I can easily hide in the millions of your followers.

shawnmendes You could have, if only I weren’t stalking your profile as well. Fate?

charlieprkr I guess.

My fingers linger across the keyboard, trying to think of something else to write and keep the conversation up, but nothing comes to my mind. I almost give up when I get another message from him.

shawnmendes I’m in a nostalgic mood, I want to have a walk in the neighborhood, around our school tomorrow. Would you like to join me?

My smile grows wider than ever reading his lines.

charlieprkr Totally.

shawnmendes Great! Sometime around 4 pm?

charlieprkr Perfect. Where?

shawnmendes I’ll meet you at your house and we’ll go from there.

charlieprkr Then see you tomorrow!

shawnmendes Yeah, good night Charlie.

[mariequitecontrarie]

Love Links

Summary: Belle can’t wait to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Gold, but when she realizes he’s acting strange, she thinks their relationship might be in trouble.  A/N: Sequel to Cufflinks  Written for @a-monthly-rumbelling  February: Poetry, Rowboat, Handmade gifts, Rain, Cuddle. Thanks @galactic-pirates and @maplesyrupao3, you guys are aces. Rating: G Word Count: 4100

On AO3

It was no ordinary Thursday morning.

Belle flew up the seven flights of stairs to the office, excited to see Gold and give him the first of many kisses on one of her favorite days of the year—Valentine’s Day. For the dozenth time since she’d left her apartment, she patted her pocket to make sure his present was still there. Wrapped in red paper and tied with a glossy white ribbon, the little box was snug and secure inside her coat, right where she put it this morning. This time there would be no losing it.

A little over a year ago, she’d given Gold a set of antique book cufflinks in the office Secret Santa gift exchange. Since then, he’d insisted on wearing them every single day. After today he would have choice. The double hearts fashioned from rose gold were understated, elegant, and charming. Two hearts entwined—like Belle and Gold had been since last year’s New Year’s Eve Party. She hoped wearing them would make him think of the two of them together and imagine a happy future.

“Someone’s all dressed up today.” Ruby gave an admiring whistle when Belle passed her work station on the way to Gold’s office. “Love the stockings, girl.”

Belle looked down at her thighs with a grin. There were little pink hearts embroidered all over her black fishnet stockings. Paired with her black leather pencil skirt and lacy red top, she felt flirty and a little daring. She admired Ruby’s red silk button-down tucked into hip-hugging black pants. “Thanks! Looking pretty hot yourself, love.”

Gold’s office door was closed, so she stopped at the coffee station adjacent to Ruby’s desk for a morning pick-me-up. The countertop had been turned into a buffet of baked goods and sweet treats to celebrate Love Day. Pink donuts, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and bowls of candy covered every square inch of granite. Here at the Regal Marketing Company, they knew how to do holidays properly.

“Anything to eat around here?” she joked, selecting a miniature heart-shaped cheese Danish and a handful of peanut butter M&Ms. “I could smell all this coming up the stairs.”

“Right? I’ve been waiting for you to get here so we can split a piece of that. ” Ruby tipped her crimson beret toward a towering chocolate cake. “Thank God somebody around here knows how to turn on an oven. I think Mary Margaret and Regina were up all night baking.”

Belle gave her a knowing look. “What you lack in the kitchen you make up for by taking on grizzly reporters and shiny television personalities,” Belle split a generous wedge of cake with a knife.

Ruby relied on takeout and frozen dinners on all the days ending in ‘y,’ but her media pitching abilities were legendary. They called her the Ball Machine because she never wore out on the phone and would badger reporters nonstop until they covered her clients’ stories.

Ruby grinned at the praise. “How did you get to be so amazing?”

“Years of practice,” she teased, handing Ruby her share of the cake. “Plans today?”

“A movie with Archie. Then who knows? What about you?” Ruby took her first bite of cake and moaned. “I wouldn’t call it better than sex, but it’s good. Damn good.”

Belle sucked a finger full of frosting into her mouth and murmured in agreement. Rich, dark, and delicious. Chocolate cake was a lot like love, she thought, licking the fork. Rich, sweet, addictive, and at times, strangely complicated. At least when your boyfriend was Darach Gold.

“Today I have lunch with Gold. Tonight I have dinner with Gold.”

She poured hot water into her mug and dropped in a bag of PG Tips tea, dunking it up and down while the tea swirled. Gold had been quieter than usual for the past few days, leaving Belle feeling vaguely unsettled. Valentine's Day would help set a happy, romantic mood. A day of spoiling each other was exactly what they needed to regain their equilibrium.

“Don't forget! Tomorrow night, you have plans with your work wife.” Ruby stabbed another forkful of cake. "Drinks at that new martini bar and chocolate is half off at Dark Star Pharmacy. We can ransack the store.”

“I’ll clear out the trunk of my car,” Belle teased.

She glanced at Gold’s office door again. It was still closed, which was unusual. Gold often joked that glaring the team into submission was far more satisfying when the door was open. When she squinted, she could make out the outline of him through the tempered glass, head bent over his desk in concentration. His Mont Blanc was moving at lightning speed. Maybe she could offer some inspiration?

Balancing her plate of treats and steaming mug, she started toward his office.

“I wouldn’t right now, sweetie,” Ruby warned.

“Why not?” That tiny frisson of worry flared to life again. She always stopped to see Gold when she came into work.

“He’s not in the greatest mood this morning.” Ruby lowered her voice. “Some secret project he’s working on, I guess. I brought him the de Vil pitch first thing this morning just like he asked for last night?”

“Yeah?” Belle nibbled her Danish and frowned again at Gold’s closed door.

“When I knocked and opened the door her growled at me and threw a balled-up piece of pink paper at my head. He told me to look at everything from a fresh angle right before he slammed the door in my face.”

Gold had been acting a little strange for the past few days, but Belle had been trying to ignore his pensive moods, deciding it was work stress. He was probably on deadline. Then again, it was a marketing company: they were always on deadline.

“Sorry, Rubes.” Belle forced a shrug, trying not to show her growing concern. “I’ll take him out for lunch today and try to cheer him up.”

“Please. Do it for the team.” Ruby stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “He hasn’t been this pissy at work since before you guys started dating. Last week when he heard me pitching Sydney Glass about the student video contest Storybrooke Bank is hosting, he actually paid me a compliment. I want that Gold back.”

An unpleasant chill chased up Belle’s spine. Gold had said goodbye quickly last night when he took her home after dinner, but they were both in a hurry to get out of the ice-cold February rain.

Her hunger waning, she pushed aside her plate of sweets and took a bracing gulp of her strong, black tea. “You don’t think he’s planning to break up with me, do you?”

The words sounded stupid as soon as they were out. There were a dozen reasons Gold could be stressed. Was he thinking of taking a new job out of state? Headhunters called him daily, begging him to come and restructure their firms. Stop it, Belle. He’s not going anywhere. She had a terrible habit of letting her imagination run away with her and jumping to all sorts of outlandish conclusions.

“What?” Ruby looked up from her cake. “What would make you think...? Oh! No, babe, no, wherever your mind’s gone bring it back. I didn’t mean Gold had gone all pre-Belle on us. I guess maybe I was exaggerating a little. In general, he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him.”

Ruby was right. She needed to rein it in. Belle wrapped her hands around her mug, welcoming the warmth into her chilled fingers. “You mean it?”

“Absolutely.” She polished off her cake and moved on to a chocolate chip muffin. “If nothing else, you’ve taken fifteen years’ worth of wrinkles off his face and added them to the end of his life.”

“Wrinkles?” Belle scowled. “They’re laugh lines and they make him look distinguished.”

Ruby shook her head and flicked a chocolate chip off her finger. “You two are nauseating. Honestly, Belle, don’t worry. It’s nothing more than a rough day.”

During Belle and Gold’s walk back to the office after lunch, she tried to put the idea of him calling it quits on their thirteen-month relationship out of her mind.

She tried not to think about the vague excuse Gold made last night about having to rush home in the rain for an emergency conference call when she suggested cuddling on the couch with a movie. She tried not to think about the daggers he’d glared at David Nolan yesterday when he suggested they change their plans in favor of a double-date for Valentine’s Day. And she tried not to think about the absent-minded way he’d picked at his lunch today, dissecting fries with his fork and rotating his hamburger to all four corners of the plate.

He’d spilled his glass of iced tea down the front of her blouse and smeared ketchup on his tie. Their conversation was stilted and awkward and when she asked him what was wrong, he blamed work and lack of sleep. But she’d been at his house four nights out of the last seven and he seemed to be sleeping— and not sleeping—with mind-blowingly orgasmic results.

When the waitress cleared their half-eaten plates, she tried to lift his mood by giving him the cufflinks. While she pinned them onto his shirtsleeves, he thanked her sweetly then fell silent for the rest of the hour. He remained preoccupied for the entire two-block walk back to the office building, his hair falling over his cheeks while he focused on avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk.

“I’m sorry about lunch, especially the iced tea,” he said when they approached their building. He opened the door for her, his wan smile not quite reaching his eyes.

“It’s okay.” Belle patted his shoulder. “I can wear my sweater over my blouse for the rest of the day.”

Another stiff smile and a frozen nod were her only answers. This morning she’d been obliviously happy and in love. Now it seemed signs and warnings that something was wrong were popping up everywhere.

She didn’t know what was bothering him and after Ruby’s comments this morning, she was afraid to find out. Could he have gone to the doctor and gotten bad news? Was last night’s conference call an interview with another firm? Hiding solved nothing, her mother often chided, but all she wanted was to go back to her desk and dive into the box of chocolate-covered cherries hidden in the bottom drawer. Chocolate was her favorite way of obliterating her problems. That’s why God had created it.

“Would you mind if we took the Dinosaur instead of the stairs?” He gestured toward the building’s ancient elevator, which they always avoided unless they had time to kill. “My ankle is sore today.”

She nodded, huddling into the back corner of the elevator for the interminable ride to the seventh floor.

“Belle,” Gold began when the doors creaked closed, “there’s been something on my mind. Something I must do, but I’ve been worried about doing it properly.”

She sank her teeth into her lower lip, trying to hold back a cry of distress. It was ironic. All day long she’d been trying to figure out what was bothering him and now, when faced with the possibility that she was the problem, she didn’t want to know.

As they climbed floors, she watched the arrow at the top of the elevator slowly start to move like the rising—or perhaps, in this case, the setting—of the sun. Stupid Dinosaur, taking its sweet time as usual. “Are you sure you don’t want to call me later?” she choked out. “Send a text?”

Coward.

“No, I’m sorry.” A muscle in his jaw ticked, a row of furrows lining his brow. “This needs to be said in person.”

“Now?” she squeaked, leaning back against the wood paneling for support. “In the Dinosaur?”

“Yes.” The elevator doors opened with a whine. “Hold the doors open and wait here, please.”

Spotting David and Mary Margaret standing nearby, she searched for an excuse. She didn’t want to be humiliated in public. “Is there some way... maybe we should speak about this privately? We could go to your office-”

“No.” He shook his head, his lips twisting into that stubborn little line she’d grown to know and love so well. “It has to be here. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Dejected, she nodded, a strange wave of déjà vu crashing over her as he walked away. A crowd of their coworkers was gathering around the elevator, their curious murmurs making the office hum with noise. It was like last New Year’s Eve all over again. Sure, the embarrassing scene where she announced her crush on Gold to the entire office had turned out well, but his bizarre behavior today was making her crazy!

She held down the button to keep the doors open, trying not to pay attention to the mix of inquisitive and sympathetic faces collecting around the elevator. Ashley left her post and slid onto one of the empty temporary work desks, eyeing her with interest, while Mulan and Merida came out of the conference room and hovered. Belle craned her neck around the corner to look for Ruby, but she was nowhere in sight.

Her fingers were starting to ache from holding down the Open Door button. Objecting to being held in place for so long, the Dinosaur fussed like a toddler who had been denied a cookie.

Cursing under his breath, Gold rushed to his office, his cane eating up the carpet.

Holidays—once a jumble of numbers and letters on the calendar he studiously ignored—had become a matter of utmost importance.

It wasn’t only Christmastime Belle loved, he discovered shortly after they started dating. She made a special point of throwing herself into all the holidays. Over the past year, they’d sung bawdy songs at McClain’s Bar over pints of Guinness on Saint Patty’s Day, helped dye eggs for a children’s Easter egg hunt, and set off fireworks on her parents’ backyard deck after consuming a giant bowl of dilled potato salad, something called a poke cake, and his first hamburger in five years, seared to a perfect medium and crowned with extra pickles. In November, after they’d eaten her dad’s “world famous” smoked turkey and all the trimmings at Thanksgiving dinner, Belle sweet-talked him into stringing up lights and decorating a fat little blue spruce at her apartment. The next day they bought a tree for his house and he hung a wreath on the door for the first time in countless Christmases.

He was taking time, smelling roses, living life to the fullest—experiencing every wonderful cliché in the universe. At some point, he had allowed the Americans’ punishing Puritan work ethic to control his life to the point where he was putting in more time than any American on the company’s staff. Thanks to Belle, these days he could be found in his office much less frequently. With her at the center of his days instead of work, life was colorful and fun.

Or it had been. Until today.

Valentine’s Day lunch with Belle had been a fiasco. After he dropped his menu under the table, spilled ketchup on himself, and burped loud enough to turn the heads of the patrons in the booth behind them, Belle had surprised him with a new pair of cufflinks. The twin hearts were a sweet echo of her first present to him—the antique book cufflinks that had become his instant favorites last New Year’s Eve—but he’d barely managed to utter a thank you.

What had he been thinking, taking her around the corner to the local diner for Valentine’s Day? Belle deserved a quiet, private, romantic date where he could shower her with all the affection and attention she deserved.

Somewhere between placing their orders and the blessed arrival of the check, she’d gone quiet and started gnawing her lip, a sure sign she was disappointed. The unnerving silence stretched between them for the rest of the lunch hour, multiplying his terror. After his awkwardness today, she might not want to spend any holidays with him anymore, let alone the rest of Valentine’s Day.  

And after a full year of special days spent together, he knew the only holiday Belle loved almost as much as Christmas was Valentine’s Day. Yesterday, she’d burst into his office carrying armfuls of streamers strung together from paper hearts and taped them all over his walls and windows. Love links she pronounced them, and looking at the cheerful red, pink, and white construction paper chains, he couldn’t have agreed more.

“What can I say, I’m in love with love,” she’d teased, rocking up on the balls of her feet to kiss him.

It suddenly occurred to him that of all the wonderful holiday traditions they had established as a couple, every one of them had been Belle’s idea. The barbecues, the fireworks, the decorations—all came from the heart and mind of Belle French.

He wanted to do something impulsively wonderful for her in return—give her something he couldn’t find in any store. Seeing her homemade streamers hanging in his office this morning inspired him, and he’d spent every minute from his first 6 a.m. cup of coffee until lunchtime making his surprise.

Now that it was time to take action, he was a bundle of nerves. What if she hated it? Rejected it? Told him she couldn’t accept a bumbling idiot who couldn’t get through lunch without embarrassing himself and her in the process?

“Then I’ll just move to another continent,” he muttered. He straightened his tie, took a deep breath, and picked up the jar.

Gold reappeared, looking more serious than ever, and reentered the whining elevator. He hadn’t been gone more than two minutes, but for Belle, it may as well have been two years.

He was holding one hand behind his back and her heart thudded in quick, nervous beats. Rational thought had been drowned out by the rabbit hole of paranoia she had fallen down. Like a pinball machine, her mind ricocheted from scenario to scenario. She couldn’t stop going to bed with Gold one day and wake up and work with him the next.

Quitting would be her only option, and the non-compete she signed back when she joined the firm would make finding another job heinous.

There was also the tiny problem that she was head-over-heels in love with him.

With the butt of his cane, Gold smacked the emergency button, shutting up the whining Dinosaur and keeping the doors open. “Little trick I learned,” he said with a wink.

She tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace and her lips stung from biting down on them.

From behind his back, he produced a glass jar stuffed full of pink slips of paper covered in black ink. Belle frowned in confusion.

He thrust the jar toward her, a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Open this, please.”

Curiosity flared to life, and Belle wrapped her hands around the cool glass. “What is it?”

“Open it and find out.” His voice shook as he spoke.

Trembling, she unscrewed the lid and pulled out one of the little rectangles, her heart hammering and her mouth dry. “‘I love the way you drink tea,’” she read out loud. She took out another slip of paper and unfolded it. “‘I love your curiosity and enthusiasm for life.’”

There were dozens of them, each covered in his distinctive, spidery scrawl. Belle was awestruck. It was the sweetest, most beautiful gift she could have imagined. And when she looked up to tell him so, he was kneeling in the middle of the elevator, his cane on the floor next to him.

“Darach,” she whispered, drawing the precious jar back against her chest, “what are you doing?”

“I couldn’t decide what to say, so I started writing down all the reasons why I love you.” He offered her a lopsided smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “There are so many wonderful things about you, Belle. So I decided to keep going. By the time I was finished, I’d written one for every single day of the year from now until next Valentine’s Day.”

He took a small, leather box from his jacket pocket.

“Are you...is this?” She clutched the jar, tears of relief and joy springing to her eyes. “I thought you might be sick or leaving the firm or even…” She swallowed, embarrassed by her lack of faith in him in light of such a beautiful present. “I thought maybe you were breaking up with me.”

“Sweetheart, no. Never.” He gazed up at her from his place on the floor, his heart in his eyes. “I’m so sorry I worried you. I would never do anything like decide to move away without discussing it with you first. And if I were sick, you would be the first to know. I was trying to be spontaneous and I suppose, well, I suppose I was a bit frazzled.”

“Only a little,” she acknowledged, beaming. Already her fears and misgivings were melting away, like icicles in the sunshine. He’d been preoccupied with surprising her, the sweet, darling man. “I’m sorry, too. I guess I went kinda crazy there for a while.”

“This is what Gold is like when he gets nervous,” Regina called out, reminding them that the entire team was watching Gold’s proposal and hanging on every word of their conversation. “Welcome to my life, people.”

“Thank you, Regina.” Gold’s mocking tone echoed through the office. “Subtlety never has been your strong suit, dearie.”

Everyone laughed, shattering what was left of the tension.

He held up the little box in his palm. “Belle, I’ve been carrying this around for weeks, waiting for the perfect moment. But there’s no such thing, so today is the day.”

“I called your parents last night,” he added in a rush. “To let them know. Your dad laughed and said I was asking the wrong person’s permission. Your mother cried into the phone the entire time, so I think she was pleased?”

Belle laughed while fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “Was that the ‘emergency conference call’ that had you running away from me in the rain?”

“It was.” He nodded sheepishly. “Would you put down the jar for a minute, sweetheart? I want to ask you a question.”

Legs wobbling, she did as he asked and he took her hands, his thumbs massaging her wrists in gentle circles. She couldn’t believe he was proposing and she was giddy with excitement.

“Belle, my life has been nothing but wonderful since you came into it. My one and only regret is that it took me so long to see what was right in front of me. I know this is our second Valentine’s Day as a couple, but I hope it will be our first Valentine’s Day as an engaged couple. Nothing would make me happier than spending the rest of my life loving you and celebrating all the holidays with you as my wife.” He paused to press his thumbs against her pulse, which was thudding like mad. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She helped him to his feet, laughing and crying while he slid the ring on her finger, a rose-cut center diamond set in rose gold and surrounded by a double halo of diamonds. She flung herself into his arms, sending him careening back against the wall of the elevator, the Dinosaur thumping in protest at being abused. “Yes!” she shouted again, “I would love to marry you.”

The office broke out in cheers and applause. Regina was grinning from ear-to-ear, Ruby was whistling and waving, and David cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone to shout, “It’s about time!”

Gold tucked her against his side and leaned down to whisper in her ear, trying to be heard over the shouts of the team. “We’ve certainly made a spectacle of ourselves today, haven’t we, Miss French?”

“Thanks to you, Mr. Gold.” Belle tightened her arms around his waist, clinging to him with all her might. She wasn’t going to let him go anytime soon.

“Well, I figured if you were going to make the grand gesture of falling out of the elevator and into my arms on New Year’s Eve, I owed you a very spectacular, very public marriage proposal on Valentine’s Day.” His dancing dimples told her he was quite pleased with himself.   

“You don’t owe me anything of the sort.” She slid her hand up his arm and into his hair, rubbing the back of his neck the way she knew he loved. “And you don’t have to be spontaneous to make me happy. I love you exactly the way you are, Darach. Plans, glares, ties covered in ketchup and all.”

“Even when I douse you in iced tea?”

She leaned in for another kiss. “Especially then.”

###

[hellomelusine]

Let me Dream, Let me Stay

A continuation of this so read that if you haven’t...also please ignore that I 100% switch tenses from part one to part two. When this goes up on Ao3 everything will be in present tense, I just - time. Big thank you to @happilyeveraftereveryday for looking this over for me

Rey has somehow incurred the wrath and pity of her waitress, by  doing productive things, like devouring two bowls of chips, downing a water, and continually  peeling the label from the empty bottle of Troegs HopBack Amber Ale. She had ordered the ale when she first arrived and settled in her usual back corner booth, was almost done peeling the whole sticker off, and he still wasn’t here. Her leg bounces up and down as she realized that she had messed up, she had miscalculated, oh god, she was going to have to come up with a reason why her fake boyfriend of two years suddenly couldn’t make it to the wedding.

“Ben Solo!” Maz’s voice rings out over the din of the evening crowd and the handful of TV’s perched in corners, broadcasting the Phillies game, while one lonely screen was showing the Capitals. Rey jerks, bottle spinning from her hands to topple onto the table where she blindly grabs at it, looking towards the door before frowning. Maz is making her way there, but the only person who has walked in - Kylo. Oh god, she was saved.

With quick movements she plucks up the scattered label remains and shoves them inside of the bottle, subtly watching Kylo talk with Maz. It’s a brief conversation, and whatever it is about has Kylo’s mouth turned down with an even more pronounced frown than usual.

“I was beginning to think you stood me up!” Rey tries to tease, but even she can hear the tremor in her voice as Kylo slides into the booth across from her.

“Sorry, Hux stopped me on my way out, needed some help with one of his files not formatting right,” he says, rubbing at his temples as he takes in the decimated remains of her snacks on the table. “It’s easier to just deal with him immediately, give him less time to stew.”

“Yeah, but he makes that face when you ignore him, you know.” She makes a show of stacking her chip baskets and smiles at him, “The one where he turns almost purple.” The hint of a smile finally began to show at the corner of his mouth and Rey counts it as a win, “So, I’m starving, I’m getting the nacho platter. What do you want?”

“The nacho platter is for four people, we can share,” he answers, picking up a menu and thumbing through it.

“We most certainly cannot share it,” Rey huffs, moving to stretch her legs out under the table, but accidentally catches Kylo in the shin, “Sorry,” she mutters, when he glares up at her over his glasses.

“You’re going to eat the whole platter?”

“Yes, but maybe, if you behave, I’ll let you have some. A miniscule amount, at most.” Rey grins as Kylo shakes his head at her and she sinks back in her seat. “So,” she starts, after giving him a minute to figure out what he wants, and before that pesky waitress who kept frowning every time she asked for more chips could come back, “you have a twin or something?”

Kylo snapped the menu shut as he looked up at her. “What? No, don’t be ridiculous, why would you - oh.” Rey frowned at him, but said nothing, “Maz.”

The waitress is back, bearing more chips accompanied by another glare and a beer for Rey. “Didn’t get stood up after all, I see,” Rey rolls her eyes at the comment but still manages to catch the way she eyes Kylo up - like a damn snack. When no one at the table says anything she smiles, “I’m April, I’ll be your server tonight, I can get you started with a drink while you look over the menu some more.”

“No, I think we’ve both decided, haven’t we, Rey?” Kylo asks, glancing over at Rey who nods, smiling up at April, who still hasn’t stopped looking at Kylo, who is valiantly trying to avoid eye contact, even when he’s speaking to her. “A Yuengling for me, the nacho platter and Maz’s Special Burger, medium rare.”

“You want fries, or more chips?”

“Fries, please,” he answers, tucking the menu back behind the condiments.

“Great, and you?” she asks, turning her body towards Rey, but not her eyes.

“He ordered for us both, so whenever you’re done gawking,” Rey’s whole body is shaking, and she’s surprised by the lack of tremor in her voice, but she does it. She stakes her pseudo claim, and April stalks away. “Sorry,” Rey says after watching her retreat, turning back to Kylo to find him blushing, “She’s been a bit of a bitch since I got here.”

“It’s fine, I guess.” Kylo laughs uncomfortably, “I should probably get used to it.”

“To waitresses telling you to leave because ‘he’s obviously not coming, honey’?”

A genuine laugh this time. “No, I meant you, being all,” he gestures at her, “you about me.”

“Oh, baby, I’m going to be insufferable,” Rey leans over the table and tries for a sultry tone, but Kylo just laughs again, and that’s okay, she thinks, because he’s got a nice one, and his smiles that come so infrequently are truly a sight to behold, so she’ll take it. “So back to the intrigue of Ben Solo,” Rey begins, pulling the new basket of chips toward her, when Kylo remains quiet she rambles, “If you don’t want to talk about it, you really don’t have to, I just-”

“No, it’s fine,” Kylo said, cutting her off and clearing his throat. “Ben Solo is my birth name.” Rey tried very, very hard not to laugh, but a small sound still escaped her mouth.

“What?” Kylo asked, brow furrowing as he looked at her.

“I’m just really relieved that there aren’t people out there who would actually name their kid Kylo Ren. I’m sorry, I’m being rude.” She shoves several chips in her mouth while Kylo continues to stare at her. “So how’d you pick the name you have?”

“It’s not important,” Kylo says grabbing the ketchup and giving it a quick shake. They lapse into a comfortable silence and Rey pushes the chips across the table at him. She watches him munch on a few while his eyes trail up to the TV in the corner opposite from their booth. If this were a real date, Rey would be offended, but it’s a strategy meeting, so she allows it. When the food finally arrives and April retreats, his intense gaze meets hers. “Let’s get to it.”

“Yeah, sure. First date?”

“Oh, I was going to ask about the wedding, but that works too. Here?” He gestures at the bar room around them.

“Smart,” Rey smirks, taking a quick drink, “Keep it as close to the truth as possible. Met at work, obviously,” she picks up a nacho and points it at him, “this part of the story I’ve already told, so, here we go-”

“I’m going to hate this, aren’t I?” Kylo interrupts on a sigh, squirting ketchup onto his plate and burger.

“No! It’s cute!” Rey defends, biting the nacho in half. “Right, so, we met at work not long after I started, we sat next to each other at a meeting,” she holds up her hand when he tries to interrupt again, “Finn already knows what happened, you can’t change it - so, you asked to borrow a pen, because yours suddenly wasn’t working. Good thing for you, I always carry around at least five,” Rey beams when Kylo quietly chuckles in acknowledgement of this fact; something he's teased her about more than once during the more bland meetings they’ve attended. “I give you the pen, and I proceed to take zero notes throughout the whole meeting, because I’m distracted by how hot you are,” Kylo chokes on his beer here, but Rey ignores him, “you don’t give my pen back, so then I just have to live my life knowing you’re a rude guy who’s incredibly hot - still a pen thief, though.”

“This, uh, is starting to feel a bit personal.” Kylo glances at her with a frown

“Good, because you did steal my pen the first time we met,” Rey huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And you’re clearly not over it.” He’s quick to point it out the hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

Rey laughs, “Of course I’m over it, babe, I’m trying to tell a love story for the ages here, and you’re worried about a pen.”

“I would like to point out, that you are the one that brought up the pen.”

“Because that’s how we met!” Rey tosses her hands in the air, and Kylo laughs again, “Anyway, cut to two months later, I’m moved into your department, desks super close to each other, it takes you a week and a half to notice I come in an hour early, like you usually do. You say hello when you pass by my desk, I’m still bitter about the pen.”

“Is that why you never said anything? Just grunted at me?” His tone is incredulous and Rey bites her lip in delight before schooling herself.

“Rude. Carrying on - I don’t know how you figured it out, but you figured out how I take my coffee, and you start bringing a cup for me every morning, for that place you always stop at.”

“But you hate that place -”

“Not the point, this is a fictionalized series of events about how we started dating. Plying me with caffeine in the morning works, regardless of where it comes from. I forgive you for the pen incident.”

“I feel like this is a really round about way of you asking me to replace the pen I stole from you three years ago,” Kylo huffs, leaning back against the booth, drink clutched loosely in his hand.

“Anyway,” Rey continues with a laugh, “you keep up your seduction by coffee for a few months, and one random Thursday, you ask me out, I say yes, and now here we are, two years later, deliriously in love.”

“Do we live together?” Kylo asks immediately, leaning back in.

“No, but we sleepover at each other’s places.” Rey is quick to answer, and equally as quick to steal a fry from Kylo’s plate as she does so.

“We work at the same place, why wouldn’t we live together?” Kylo counters, snatching the fry back from her with nimble fingers and devouring it in one bite.

“Ohhh, you haven’t earned enough friend points to learn my tragic backstory yet, sorry.” Rey frowns at the miniscule amount of fried potato clutched between her thumb and index finger before popping it into her mouth with a sigh. Biting her lower lip she starts to peel off the label on this new bottle, “It’s not unreasonable to think this won’t come up, so the short version is: I enjoy my independence, standing on my own two feet, you know? Plus there’s the long term abandonment issues.” She pauses before a falsely chipper, “Anyway! You don’t like it, but you’re content to give me my space about it for now.”

Looking back up, she finds Ben staring at her, his own bottle of Yuengling sitting poised on his lips for a moment too long before he tips it back and takes a long drink.

“You’ve really put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?” Kylo asks after settling the bottle on the table with a quiet thunk, Rey sags in relief that he’s moving on before she laughs.

“Yeah, uh, Finn and Rose, they mean well, and I love them, but they’re nosey as shit. I made the mistake of saying ‘I don’t know’ once when they asked how my boyfriend was, so then I had to make up a fight, and it was about that. You, boyfriend man, whoever, suggested moving in together, and I said no.”

“How long did the fight last?”

Rey smiles, “Almost two weeks? That’s the problem with fake boyfriends, you forget you have them, so you never resolve the fight until you’re asked about it again. Don’t worry, we had some pretty epic makeup sex.”

Kylo groans around a bite of food, and Rey preens while she waits for him to finish, “Please, please tell me you haven’t-”

“It’s fine, I just described a porno there’s no way Finn or Rose has ever seen and they were blown away. Probably also jealous? That was maybe six months ago, I’d like to dream they’ve forgotten, but if you get the world's least subtle thumbs up from either of them, it’s because of the porno sex we didn’t have.”

Kylo stares at Rey for a long moment, slowly chewing his food as she drums her fingers on the tops of her thighs. Rey thinks he might be blushing just a little, but in the dim lighting of the place, she finds it hard to tell. “It’s going to be a miracle if we survive the weekend., he finally declares.

“It will be fine, we have a month-ish to get ready, now, tell me your demands, sir.”

“First, I’m driving - I’ve seen your car, I have doubts it can make the whole trip.” Rey rolls her eyes at this, her car may look not that great, but she keeps it in tip-top shape, “Second, I want you to help Mitaka with Phasma’s latest project.”

“I thought you were supposed to do that.”

“You said anything, Rey.” Kylo points out, a decidedly devious smirk gracing his features now.

“Fine, fine. Mitaka is terrified of you anyway, between the two of us we should be able to keep on schedule.” Kylo huffs at this before popping a few fries into his mouth. “Is that it?” Rey asks, “I feel like I’m getting off really easy.”

“No, that’s not it. I get two random favors that I can call in, at any time, and as long as you don’t have any conflicts, you have to follow through.”

“Two?!”

“It’s a whole weekend, Rey.” Kylo points out and Rey concedes, “I think that’s it, for now, I’m sure I’ll think of a few more things in a months time. Now, how do you feel about PDA?” He swerves their conversation around so quickly Rey could laugh.

“Ugh, hate it.” she says as she plucks up a slice of jalapeno and pops it into her mouth, “but I don’t see a way to avoid it if we want to be convincing.”

“Right, hard limits?”

“No kisses with tongue?”

“Sure, how about we only kiss if it seems necessary to? Otherwise we just stick to hand holding and hugs.”

“Cheek kisses?” Rey asks, because her mind is running a mile a minute and knows there should be at least some mild lip touching somewhere along the way.

Kylo takes a long drink of his beer before nodding, almost seeming reluctant, “Sure, cheek and forehead kisses, but sparingly. What about dancing?”

Rey wants to point out that she’s probably too short for kissing his forehead, then realizes he will be kissing hers, maybe, hopefully at some point. She clears her throat, fingers fidgeting with the unused utensils at her place, “I’m not sure if there will be dancing, but if there is we can just run away.”

“How?”

“The venue,” Rey smiles, “It’s the Science Center, so we can literally fuck off and look at robots all night if we want...after the ceremony, of course,” she adds as an afterthought and Kylo chuckles as he picks up his burger. “This is off to a good start, I think.” Rey muses, pushing a nacho through a pile of melty cheese and sour cream. “Thankfully it’s not our wedding, so no need to kiss on command.”

“Right, just if the moment feels like it deserves it.”

“Right!” Rey knows her voice is too bright, maybe it’s to compensate to the waver in his, or maybe it was to cover the fact that it was one whole weekend, only a month away. He had agreed to it. She didn’t think she was that bad to look at, but it was hard not to feel a stab of hurt at the way Kylo was reacting to possibly needing to kiss her. They were friends, dammit, so what if she wondered what his full lips would feel like against hers - they were just friends, and they were awkwardly going to get through this wedding weekend, and on the Monday after they would go back to being friends and co-workers and everything would be fine.

“Rey?” Kylo’s voice penetrates her haze of wild thoughts and she looks up to find him frowning across the table at her, “We don’t have to do kisses at all, if the idea bothers you that much,” he tells her softly.

“No, sorry, they’re fine. I suggested them. I just got lost in thought.” She watches him watch her and she slowly pushes her giant plate of nachos towards him. “You want one?”

“Are you admitting defeat?” Kylo asks, grabbing one buried under a pile of toppings and shoving the whole thing into his mouth.

“No! I’m trying to be nice and share, but if you’re going to be that way about it, I take the offer back,” Rey grumbles and slides into the corner of the booth, taking the plate with her, “I am now the nacho gremlin, and you need to stay back.”

“Oh no, but you promised me anything,” Kylo grins, reaching over to grab another with his long arms.

“Can I take it back?” Rey asks, grinning right back, and laughing when he just lifts a brow and shakes his head ‘no’. “Fine,” she pushes the plate back towards the center of the table, then stretches her legs out on the booth cushion.

“What’s the dress code?” Kylo asks, scooping some nachos onto his now empty plate.

“Uhhh, nice?” Rey answers, not looking at Kylo, and instead watching Maz bop around tending to other patrons.

“‘Nice’ is not actually a dress code.”

“I can look at the invitation when I get home and text you. It’s not casual, but it’s not formal either. It’s also at the Science Center, so you know some asshole is gonna show up in jeans, but whatever. Just dress how you normally do at work, bring a tie as an option or something.”

“What are you wearing?”

“A dress,” Rey sighs, it’s the last thing she wants to wear, but there’s also no way in hell she’s wearing her office attire to a wedding where she wants to have fun and celebrate her friends.

“A dress?”

“Yes, a dress! Just because I don’t wear them to work - I wear dresses when the occasion calls for it.”

“What’s wrong with one of your pantsuits?” Kylo asks, and Rey turns to shoot him a glare.

“I don’t - wait, do you think I wear pantsuits? Because this is a problem, if so. Kylo, Kylo, it’s important to me that you know I don’t wear pantsuits. I wear slacks. When have I ever come to the office in some kind of power suit with a fancy blazer that matched my pants?”

“Is this a legitimate question?”

“Uh, yes, you think I wear pantsuits to work! I’m a 28 year old woman, and you think I’m out here, oh my god.” Rey grabs her bottle and chugs the rest, slamming it back onto the table. “Do not ever say that to me again.”

“Uh, okay, yeah, I will not, wow.” Kylo arches a brow at her and then with a finger nudges the nachos back towards her. “Do you want another round?” he asks, “A pantsuit apology round?”

“Oh my god,” Rey laughs into her hands, “you’re the worst, and sure, one more.”

Kylo sends a wink in her direction as he clambers out of the booth, “For what it’s worth? I think you look great in everything you wear to work,” he tells her before striding to the bar, leaving Rey to stare slack-jawed after him. With a distressed whimper, she polishes off the last of the nachos and tries not to think about the disaster looming on the horizon. If she survives the weekend of Finn and Rose’s wedding in close quarters with Kylo, without compromising their friendship, it will definitely be a miracle.

[carterashofficial]

Thanks, Aearyn

@aearyn was so unbelievably kind to tag me for this 

rules: answer these 85 questions and tag 20 people (ahaha no i wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy this took forever)

— what was your last…

1. drink: water. from the fridge. there might’ve been a dog hair in it because Scout and Abbey show their love through shedding. I didn’t care.  2. phone call: my old internship asking why I never got my w-2 form 3. text message: a coupon from World Market, if that counts. If not, i texted myself a spoiler for the kotfe fic so i don’t forget 4. song you listened to: Champion by Carrie Underwood b/c i love it and I NEED THE POSITIVITY   5. time you cried: UH... writing the kotfe fic. But i wasn’t actually crying. it was more like “im tearing up at this one scene b/c its breaking my heart”. Actual crying? been... so long i can’t remember.

— have you ever…

6. dated someone twice: ahahahhahahahahahaha.... ahahahhaha..... ahahahhahahahaha despite my best intentions, i’ve never dated anyone. I’ve been trying to change that. I want romance in my life. 7. kissed someone and regretted it: That would imply i’ve had my first kiss, and im 22 years old and still haven’t had it. APHRODITE WHY AM I SINGLE. I’M READY TO MINGLE 8. been cheated on: see above. Can’t be cheated on if you’ve never HAD A DATE 9. lost someone special: i would rather not consider this question, but Domino, Jewel, and my Grandma (all were very, very sudden and hit me like a bag of bricks).  10. been depressed: ha ha ha apparently i’ve had depression since i was 15. I was officially diagnoses in January of 2017 and have been on medication since. ahahaha  11. gotten drunk and thrown up: no I can barely get drunk even when i try, let alone enough for a damn hangover. Seriously. I can drink like Carmadda and not get drunk.

— fave colours

12. soft eggshell green 13. the blue at the edge of the horizon 14. metallic  anything

— in the last year have you…

15. made new friends: ........yes? i think? 16. fallen out of love: ahahahahaha no b/c i’ve never been in love (in the romantic sense and that’s how im taking this) 17. laughed until you cried: always 18. found out someone was talking about you: in the worst of ways 19. met someone who changed you: yes 20. found out who your friends are: oooooh yes 21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list: never been kisses

— general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl: all? how else do people find you on there? 23. do you have any pets: many. Scout, Abbey, the neon tetras (named the Heralds of Zildrog), my various shrimp, and Corypheus and Valkorian the golden inca snails  24. do you want to change your name: no, but i used to 25. what did you do for your last birthday: went bowling 26. what time did you wake up today: i woke up 3 times, once to Bug getting ready for school, then my mom asking if i opened the vitamins, then... i think 9 was when i finally crawled out 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: playing swtor or looking up some fresh and funky memes 28. what is something you can’t wait for: finished the next kotfe fic chapter and breaking everyone’s hearts. Or the next major expansion of SWTOR. I NEED ANOTHER CINEMATIC TRAILER LIKE GODDAMN 30. what are you listening to right now: nothing my house is silent and in the far, far distance, sometimes i can hear cars on the toll road 31. have you ever talked to a person named tom: i have an uncle named Tom. I have spoken with him. So Yes. 32. something that’s getting on your nerves: socialization. I can only take so much around others. If I was a Sim i’d have the lonely trait. 33. most visited website: Tumblr or my school’s student login page 34. hair colour: blonde/brown im really smack in-between and i just dye it lighter to make it blonde enough for me to be blonde 35. long or short hair: long. so long. down to my butt long                                   36. do you have a crush on someone: not sure. i like him, he’s funny and thinks im funny, and teases me back, but im shit at reading signs and far too much a coward to ask him out. I’m not sure. I had a major crush in high school that resulted in me falling in love with a guy but we never offically dated and then he crushed my heart. Long story. So i try to avoid crushes lest i break my heart again. 37. what do you like about yourself: bitch im fabulous 38. want any piercings: i got 3 in the lobes of each ear and cartilage in the left. If i get any more I think my mom would have a heart attack 39. blood type: ??????? no idea. I know my sister is O 40. nicknames: Milky (only drank milk as a kid, but this nickname has sorta phased away). Other nicknames give away my real name. But I do respond to my sister’s name. 41. relationship status: single and ready to flamingle 42. sign: Aquarius 43. pronouns: she/her 44. fave tv show: i literally can’t pick one b/c ive watched nearly every cop show on Netflix, including some that aren’t in english. All the cooking competitions i can find on Netflix and youtube, and im running out of TV to watch when i do art. Halp. 45. tattoos: Zero because my fatal fear is needles. 46. right or left handed: Left. left left left seriously i can.... maybe dip a french fry in ketchup with my right but that’s it 47: ever had surgery: wisdom teeth removed count? 48. piercings: 7 total in the ears and nothing else. 49. sport: I watch baseball and hockey (SPEAKING OF WHICH, GO DUCKS!). Used to play softball and some soccer. 50. vacation: if i can graduate a quarter early I want to go visit my family in florida and michigan 51. trainers: is... this british for shoes? i wear berkenstocks. only berkenstocks. because crocs are so comfortable but people judge. I also have hella wide feet where ever ‘wide’ shoes are too narrow. I can get by in Vans or my old old Nikes that i hardly ever wear

— more general

52. eating: whether or not if ketchup should go on it, ketchup is going on it. Unless if it’s breakfast food or desert. Breakfast food is my favorite and i could happily live off it it. 53. drinking: water, tea, juice, milk, Mike’s black cherry hard lemonade, monster energy drinks, RC Cola.... i drink a variety of things. Mostly water and tea. 54. i’m about to watch: i dont know I’VE RAN OUT OF THINGS TO WATCH ON NETFLIX 55. waiting for: myself to go out on a date and/or meet The Guy 56. want: many things. 57. get married: One day. 58. career: ssssssssttttttttttuuuuuuuuuudddddddeeeeeeennnnnnntttttttt

— which is better

59. hugs or kisses: i want both but maybe not from the same people. 60. lips or eyes: depends what each are doing tbh 61. shorter or taller: taller b/c im short and can’t reach the top shelf 62. older or younger: older but at this point im 22 and a lot of my classmates are 21 so like.... my generation. 63. nice arms or stomach: arms 64. hookup or relationships: relationships 65. troublemaker or hesitant: depends. like really depends. I’ll probalby go with troublemaker b/c they tend to be funny and on-the-spot and im a planner.

— have you ever

66. kissed a stranger: never kissed anyone..... ha ha ha 67. drank hard liquor: so yes. 68. turned someone down: ahahahhahahahaahaha haha ha. Actually yes I got asked to homecoming my senior year by this one dude who still gives me the creeps jsut tihnking about him. I politely said no. 69. sex on first date: never been on a date, never kissed anyone. Never ‘done the deed’. Would not do on the first date. 70: broken someone’s heart: uh my mom’s when I told her I had Depression and wanted to kill myself all throughout sophomore year highschool 71. had your heart broken: oh. Yes. 72. been arrested: no 73. cried when someone died: more like wailed loud enough that half the dorm floor heard 74. fallen for a friend: *side-eyes my sister* yeeees

— do you believe in

75. yourself: it varies over what. 76. miracles: I mean.... to an extent.  77. love at first sight: no 78. santa claus: I AM 22 YEARS OLD of course 79. angels: its complicated. my mom found a dead rat in our old house’s garage when i was 4-ish and all i remember crying for the dead rat when my dad tossed it in the garbage. My mom explained that an angel had already taken the rat’s soul to heaven. What did I picture the angel as? A carrot, wearing a tie, with mickey mouse-esque white gloves carrying a rat dramatically. This still haunts me.

— misc

80. eye colour: blue enough that you might drown in the ocean 81. best friend’s name: @athenascrown 82. favourite movie: if you think I can pick only one you’ve got another thing coming. but.... any star wars movie. If i had to pick one, Empire Strikes Back or Phantom Menace or The Last Jedi.... or Rogue One.... or Revenge of the Sith... 83. favourite actor: The guy who played the stormtrooper who hits his head on the door in Ep 4 84. favourite cartoon: the old Ducktales was a childhood favorite 85. favourite teacher’s name: I don’t want to put her name out here but she was my art teacher all through high school and she is one of the kindest souls ive ever met and if it wasn’t for her, i wouldn’t have gotten back into art

because this post took 5ever im not tagging anyone but if you want to do it, just say I tagged you and I’ll say i did

[leigh-kelly]

104 please

A continuation of this.

After Santana had been so upset the week before, Brittany is more anxious than ever to get to Lima. She knows how much she hates being home, and how much of an outcast she feels in her town, so she’ll be glad to just get there and be with her, even if it’s only for a long weekend. It’s only been a few weeks that they’ve been apart, but it honestly feels like forever for Brittany. She’s been going crazy doing mostly nothing but laying by the pool and working on some math stuff, and she needs some time with her girlfriend more than anything.

She leaves later than she’d wanted, and as a result, she ends up sitting in nearly two hours of traffic. She has no idea how there’s so much traffic in Ohio, but apparently there was some kind of accident, so she screams to herself in the car, thinking of how every single minute she’s stuck there is a minute less that she’ll have with Santana. It’s only the first weekend of July, and already she’s wishing it was August. She’s not thrilled about being back in classes, and constantly worrying that she’s going to fail, but she wants to be back with Santana full time. She hates distance, and this really, really sucks.

When she finally arrives in Lima, it’s after lunchtime, and she’s glad she’d thought to pack a sandwich for herself in the car. She’s always aware of these things, thinking of the obsessive schedules she makes surrounding food. She’d be lying if she said it still wasn’t a struggle every day, and that food didn’t control her life in a lot of ways, but she’s much better than she was, and at least now she knows that she absolutely has to eat, no matter how obsessive she can sometimes get about the act that surrounds it.

“Honey, I’m here!” Brittany calls out, knocking on the door to Santana’s mom’s house and waiting patiently for her girlfriend to come downstairs. 

“Hey.” Santana grins, opening the door and standing there in cotton shorts and a grey tank top. “You finally made it.”

“Please, what a nightmare. If I was going anywhere else but here, I would have turned around and gone back.”

“Well I’m glad you didn’t.” Santana pulls Brittany into the air conditioned house, and immediately kisses her. “I would have been majorly disappointed.”

“I’d never do that to you, you know. If I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it.”

“I know, and that’s one of the many reasons I love you.”

“Where’s your mom? The only reason I was goofy and called out to you like that was that I saw her car was gone.”

“She went into the office. Normally I’d really fight her about working on a Saturday, but...you know.”

“Avoiding the separate bedroom policy?”

“I really worked on her about it. I thought I might actually win, but...she was raised by my grandmother, I know she has certain rules for propriety, and apparently until I’m married, she doesn’t want me sharing a bed in her house.”

“I think it’s sweet. Shitty, but sweet.”

“I mean, I’m cursed with my stupid period this week anyway, so, I guess it only matters half as much as it would otherwise.”

“Well, I did bring you chocolate, and also it’s cold in here, so we can cuddle on the couch for as long as you want.”

“I don’t want to trap you inside all day because my uterus is the actual devil. The fair starts tonight, but we could go to the park or something, if you wanted.”

“Totally your call.” Brittany smiles, kissing her again. “I’m just glad I’m here, I don’t care what we do.”

Brittany knows Santana is really bummed about having her period when they still haven’t even figured out when they’re going to see each other again before school starts, so she tries to make her feel better. She knows sex is absolutely off the table, and Santana would probably die of embarrassment if Brittany even suggested it, so they end up making out on the couch for an extended period of time. Though they’re only a year removed from high school, they both feel so grown up, and Brittany can’t help but laugh a little that they’re making out on Santana’s mom’s couch. But still, she doesn’t let it ruin the moment, and she takes the opportunity for some good old fashioned first base action, massaging Santana’s breasts under her t-shirt. She leaves a mark just below her neckline that’ll remind Santana of the fact that she managed to make her come without even undoing her pants every time she sees it in the mirror.

Santana’s mother comes home from work not long after the separate on the couch—it’s almost as if Santana has some kind of sixth sense about it, Brittany thinks—and they have a late lunch with her. Maribel apparently has her own date to the fair, and Santana tries to pry information out of her, while Brittany grins and what a good mother and daughter pair they make. After the kitchen is clean, Santana grabs sweatshirts and a blanket from her bedroom, and she packs up the car with water bottles and snacks for later. Brittany thinks it’s cute how prepared she is, since she usually flies by the seat of her pants, and when Santana begins driving to the fairgrounds, Brittany grabs her hand on the center console and squeezes it tightly.

“So what’s there to do at this fair?” Brittany asks, though she’s pretty sure she can figure it out.

“The usual, I guess. Except the fireworks show is the best. Mom and I haven’t missed a year my whole life.”

“Am I cramping your style, stealing you away from your mom tonight?”

“Oh...no. I mean, I talked to her about it, and she was the one who wanted me to invite you out for the fair. It’s kind of the one place every single person in town takes a date. I’m glad I finally get to be one of them.”

“Well I’m honored to be your first date to the fireworks.” Brittany feigns a bow, despite being seated, and Santana laughs. 

Santana pays to park the car, and hand in hand, they walk through the grassy lot and up to the gate of the fair. Brittany laughs as Santana swats her hand away to pay for sheets of red tickets, and she takes in the sights and smells of the carnival. Her parents aren’t big into things like this, her dad gets too distracted and her mom’s shoes would sink into the mud, so she thinks this is exciting for her as it is for Santana. It’s the kind of date like she’d see in the movies, and the whole idea of it is so cute that she kind of wants to dance around. 

“You okay, Britt?” Santana bumps her side with her shoulder.

“Yeah, totally. Just really excited. Can we go on the Ferris wheel?”

“I was hoping you’d want to.” She looks down at her feet, a small smile spreading across her face.

“Obviously. I’m glad I don’t have to pull a scene from The Notebook and scale the thing to get to you.”

“That’s another one I haven’t seen.” Santana shakes her head. “But yeah, I’d prefer if you didn’t climb it, I’d probably have a heart attack.”

“Don’t have to. I’ve already won you over.”

“In spite of me.”

“And don’t be alarmed if I fall—“ Brittany sings. “Head over feet.”

“I love your voice.”

“It’s nothing compared to yours. Seriously, if you weren’t so set on your English thing, you could be a singer.”

“Britt, stop. I’m just a shower singer.”

“Still, you’re really good.” She squeezes Santana’s hand. “Alright, let’s do this Ferris wheel thing. But I’m totally kissing you at the top.”

“You’d better.”

Brittany is giggly while they wait in line for the Ferris wheel, mostly because Santana’s grin is so wide. She loves that she gets to have all of these big firsts with such an amazing girl, and she loves even more seeing how happy it makes her. When it’s finally their turn, Brittany steps back to let Santana get in the car first, and she slides in beside her, pulling the lap bar down over them. She doesn’t hesitate to grab her hand again, and as they rise up, Santana lays her head on Brittany’s shoulder. 

As promised, they kiss at the top, with the view of all of Lima beneath them. Brittany thinks it’s kind of sweet, seeing Santana’s whole hometown while she gets to kiss her. She knows this place has been rough on Santana, but it’s also where she came from, and Brittany is so glad that she gets to be part of this. When the ride is over, Brittany knows she should eat something for dinner, and she nudges Santana toward the circle of food stalls. While Santana picks out cheese curds, Brittany gets a corn dog, slathering it with ketchup and mustard, and taking a big bite out of it.

“Want some?” Brittany holds it out to Santana, who pulls a face.

“Ew, get that thing away from me. You know I hate ketchup.”

“Oops, I forgot.” She licks the ketchup off the side of her mouth and takes another bite. “‘S good.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Want some of these?” Santana offers up her paper tray of fried cheese to Brittany, who pops one in her mouth. “We’ll share a funnel cake later for the fireworks.”

“A few years ago I would have died at those words.” Brittany murmurs, savoring her corn dog in a way that still surprises her that she can. “But that sounds really good.”

“Can I try to win you a prize?” 

“Really? You have to ask? Of course you can.”

Santana leads Brittany to the games, and she finds a balloon dart stand. Considering Santana always says she has no coordination, Brittany is wholly impressed by the way she nails a balloon with each of her five darts. When the carnie gives her a giant stuffed whale, she proudly presents it to Brittany, who beams, and wishes she could kiss her right there. Then, clearly not satisfied with the stuffed animal, Santana steps up to a stall with little plastic bowls of fish, and she takes her bucket of balls, failing on the whole first attempt, and then buying another bucket, because she’s clearly become intent upon winning a fish for Brittany. When she’s finally successful, Brittany cheers, and Santana proudly takes the fish in the plastic bag, bowing a little as she hands it off to Brittany.

“Now we’ll have a pet in our room!” Brittany grins. “If I don’t accidentally kill it first.”

“Haven’t even moved in with you yet, and you’re already sneaking contraband into our room.”

“Oh, c’mon, the no pets rule is dumb, especially for a fish. My cousin in New Mexico snuck a rabbit into her dorm room, I don’t think the fish’ll be a big deal at all. We can just hide it behind your big stacks of books when the RA does room inspections.”

“I’m only saying yes because I agree that the rule is dumb, and also because it’s cute that you’re already planning a pet for us.”

“Duh, you won it for me, you should get to be part of its life.”

“Fair enough.” Santana laughs. “We should probably go get the blankets and sweatshirts out of the car and find our firework spot. It’s getting dark.”

Brittany follows Santana back out to the car, and she sort of stands idly as Santana organizes the things and lifts the bag containing them out of the trunk. She tries to take it, but Santana is insistent upon carrying it, and Brittany doesn’t argue. Instead, she takes her free hand and follows her to the grassy area where other people are already setting up. Santana spreads the blanket out on the lawn, and she offers Brittany a sweatshirt to combat the evening chill, combined with the feeling of too much sun throughout the day. Then, once they’re settled into sweatshirts and have their shoes off, they lay back on the blanket, heads touching and hands entwined.

“This is really nice.” Brittany tells Santana. “Even before the fireworks have started.”

“I know it’s going to sound so lame, but I seriously dreamed about doing this since I was fifteen and realized it wasn’t going to be a boy I wanted to lay with.”

“I don’t think it’s lame. I mean, you haven’t even seen all the cheesy movies, and this is pretty much the kind of stuff everyone does in them. It just feels way better when it’s real, and not someone you fell in love with an hour after meeting them.”

“Unrealistic. I love you a lot, but an hour after meeting you, I’m pretty sure I was just thrilled I had someone to have ice cream with. I wasn’t thinking love...yet.”“Ice cream doesn’t make you fall in love, coffee does, obviously.”

“You’re going to tease me about that until the end of time, aren’t you?”

“Pretty much, because it’s my favorite. Most romantic way to tell someone you love them is when they’re exhausted and they bring you coffee.”

“Best way to show someone you love them back is to bring them coffee when they’re exhausted.”

“You work so hard, Santana. I’m constantly in awe of you.”

“Britt...”

“I am. It amazes me, the effort you put in. I can’t even imagine it, because as hard as I work, it doesn’t even compare. And you love every second of it.”

“I do, as much as it drains me sometimes, I know what I want from my life.”

“I wish I did. My dreams involved working at a chicken factory, so this is all new for me.”

“I know.” Santana squeezes Brittany’s hand and snuggles closer. “But I know you’ll figure it out. That’s what college is all about, right?”

“I guess so. I mean, I guess I’ll crack this hypothesis thing someday, so that’ll give me something to go with. It’s just a question of whether or not I want to do math for the rest of my life.”

“Because you love to dance?”

“I do. A lot. And I know I’d be wasting my brain, but maybe I want to do that.”

“You asked me awhile ago to take a dance class with you. Is that still something you want?”

“I don’t know...maybe?”

“I will, for you.”

“But you hate dancing in front of people.” Brittany protests a little. 

“I know, but if it gives you the opportunity to do something you love, I’m willing to do that.”

“Really?”

“Really. You always support all my dreams, I want to support yours too.”

“Even though I’m not sure what my dreams are?” She asks, as the fireworks begin overhead. 

“Especially because you’re not.”

[sanversinsane]

The Tour: Chapter 4

I hope you like it! Let me know what you think! You can read the previous chapter here. 

It’s been two weeks and Waverly is certain of one thing….

She has feelings for Nicole.

Strong ones.

Romantic ones.

Ones that seem to follow her every day and night, which isn’t surprising considering how much time they’ve been spending together.

It was their 12th show of the tour and their biggest so far. They were somewhere in Iowa. It was hard to keep track some days because they were constantly moving. Either way, this particular show, something big happened.

Nicole was playing the last song of her set. The one she had just recently released to itunes as her first real single.

Her first single was a big deal, something she had panicked over for a few nights straight. Waverly could hear her, constantly tossing and turning in the bunk below her. She even sometime talked in her sleep, mumbling things about “doing better next time” or “why don’t they like me”. But once it was finally out, she was able to relax a bit. Waverly had quickly come to learn that Nicole’s biggest fear is rejection and not being accepted. All of her small panics came from moments where that fear lingered over her head.

Anyways, on this night, she stood on stage with her guitar, and the boys in their places behind her. “This is my last song of the night, but I just want to thank you for being such an amazing crowd.” The audience of 20 somethings cheered.

Waverly couldn’t help but grin from the side of the stage. She had gotten enough pictures that night and decided to just enjoy watching Nicole perform. It had quickly become one of her favorite things. “Anyways, this is a song I just released not long ago. It’s called “Something About Your Love” and I hope you like it.”

The crowd cheered louder and Nicole couldn’t help but smile as she started to strum. “One, Two, Three.” She counted quietly into the mic and then The music kicked in and her sweet smooth voice rang through the theater. “Yeah there’s something about your love.”

It was hard not to smile listening to the song, and it was impossible for Nicole to hold back from smiling as she sang it. Nicole had been keeping it in her back pocket for a while, but when her manager proposed it was time to release, at least one song, this was the one Nicole chose.

And rightfully so. It showcased all of her talents. Her voice, her lyrics, those unbelievable dimples. Okay so maybe that last one was only for Waverly, but still….the song was perfectly Nicole.

“You give me this feeling inside. Yeah there’s something about your love.”

It was that moment, Nicole stepped back from the mic for a second as she strummed, and that’s when they heard it. For the first time Nicole had an audience of people, singing her lyrics back to her.

Waverly’s eyes went wide and immediately darted to Nicole who was smiling so wide she couldn’t even sing. 

“Smooth like cognac I’m so in love.” She barely got out before pulling back from the mic with another outrageous smile.  

In that moment Waverly felt nothing but pride spring up inside of her. She knew how much that moment meant to Nicole and it was happening.

Between the pause for the next verse Nicole turned her head to see Waverly standing at the side of the stage. Waverly jumped up and down and gave her a big thumbs up, also smiling like an idiot.

“When there’s no turning back You give me faith I may seem like I’m doomed, like I made a mistake Cause just when i wanna run and hide You give me this feeling inside.”

As the song went on Waverly watched Nicole start to get emotional. Her voice sounded better than it ever had before, because you could physically hear her smiling. The joy that surrounded that moment was unlike anything any of them had ever seen.

The minute the song ended and Nicole left the stage she practically dove head first into Waverly’s arms. “Did you hear that?!” She squealed as she gripped onto the smaller woman.

“Nicole that was amazing!” Waverly held on just as tight. “I’m so so proud of you.”

Their moment was broken by Mike and Joe who jumped on their backs and then joined in the hug.

The adrenaline was running through all of their veins as they headed back to the bus. Nicole threw herself down onto one of the large couches, and rested her arm over her face. “That was by far the best show yet.” She blissfully sighed.

The boys immediately headed to the back of the bus and began changing their clothes. “You guys coming out to celebrate?!” They asked as they threw shirts over their heads that were...maybe clean.

Nicole sat up and looked at Waverly and then at the boys. “I actually kind of feel like just chilling tonight.” She said with a guilty face.

“Loser! Even Paul is going!” Joe yelled as he put on his pair of extra clean white sneakers.

“Sorry boys, I'm just...exhausted. I just want to stay in and watch a movie or something. I need to relax.”

“Whatever suite yourself.” Mike shrugged as he made his way to the front of the bus, in clothes that were drenched in cologne. “You coming out Waves?”

Waverly glanced over at Nicole who was looking down at her phone. Going out sounded fun, but being in the bus alone with Nicole sounded so SO much better. “Thanks Mike but I think I'm gonna hang in here tonight too.”

Nicole looked up from her phone at Waverly. She gave her a slight smile and Waverly felt that pull in the pit of her stomach, the same pull she had been feeling anytime Nicole had so much as looked at her for the past week.

Yeah being alone with Nicole sounded perfect in that moment.

“Okay guys….but don't complain when this whole thing is over and you guys didn't do anything but “chill” in the bus.” Joe scoffed jokingly as he met Mike at the front of the bus and they left.

“I love them, but sometimes I just need a break from their crazy.” Nicole sighed once they were gone.

“Did you want me to go with them? So you can be al-”

“No!” Nicole jumped. “I could use a girls night.” She smiled as she sat up. “Pajamas and cheesy romantic comedies?”

“Sounds perfect.” Waverly nodded.

Lately Waverly had been struggling with finding the balance between being Nicole's friend….and trying not to fall head over heels for her. Some days she could distance herself, put her feelings aside and be the friend that Nicole needed when she just wanted someone to listen or vent to. And other times….well, other times Waverly had trouble even finding her breath around this woman.

Waverly tried not to look, she really did. But the space was so confined, and it was hard to avoid seeing her anyways. So when Waverly glanced up as she pulled her pajama pants up, she caught sight of Nicole taking off the sweaty grey shirt she had worn on stage that night. She tried to look away, but her body wouldn't let her. From the corner of her eye she caught Nicole in her blue bra. Her skin was white, and milky, and full of freckles that Waverly had the urge to kiss. Her sweat pants hung low on her hips as she searched the drawer below her bed for a night shirt.

“Hey, how about Love Actually?” Nicole asked pulling Waverly from her shameless gawking. She quickly looked away as Nicole stood back up. She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks.

“Yeah...yeah that sounds good.” Waverly stuttered as she made her way to put the DVD in the Xbox. She had her back turned but she could hear Nicole come in and sit down on the couch.

When Waverly turned around she was greeted by Nicole curled up at the end of the couch, a bowl of bright orange cheese puffs in her hands, and a blanket covering her legs that were folded underneath her. She was wearing her glasses. She looked so cute, and nerdy, and so unbelievably soft. Waverly wanted nothing more that to curl into her side and feel her warmth.

“Cheese puffs?” Waverly asked as Nicole patted the spot next to her and Waverly took a seat.

“Oh yeah. They're kind of my guilty pleasure.” Nicole shrugged as she popped one in her mouth.

“Me too.” Waverly smiled as she thought back to the night they met, and the fact that her plans that night originally consisted of Waverly eating cheese puffs alone on the couch while watching Rom-Com’s. Now here she was...sharing a blanket and cheese puffs with Nicole Haught, while they watch a Rom-Com together.

Love Actually is a classic, one Waverly had seen enough times to know what was happening without even paying attention. Which was good because she somehow ended up pressed against Nicole's body. It wasn't like they were cuddling...but when they played the movie they both shifted to face the TV, and when they did they somehow managed to move closer to each other. It helped that they were sharing a blanket too, it wasn't very big so to cover both of them it require a close proximity to one another. Either way, Waverly was close enough to feel the warmth radiating off Nicole's body. Close enough to feel her breath tickle the back of her neck when she laughed. It all felt so comfortable and so right.

It was towards the middle of the movie Waverly had moved to grab more cheese puffs. When her body shifted she got a glance at Nicole's face. She couldn't help but giggle at the orange cheese residue at the corner of Nicole's mouth.

“What?” Nicole asked as Waverly laughed at her.

“Nothing.” Waverly continued to giggle. “You just have….” she motioned to the corner of her mouth.

Nicole brought her finger to the corner of her mouth to wipe it away, but it was the wrong side. “No. Here.” Waverly laughed as she swiped her thumb over where Nicole's top and bottom lips met. It was meant to just be light hearted help, but the moment she grazed her finger over Nicole's lip Waverly knew she was in trouble.

It felt like some cheesy scene out of a romantic comedy. Girl meets boy. Boy and girl get burgers. Girl gets ketchup on her face. Boy wipes it off of her face. Time stops. They kiss and live happily ever after.

It felt just like that. Except this time girl meets girl. Girl has been going crazy over other girl. Girl can't control her actions around other girl. Girl ends up wiping artificial cheese off other girls mouth. Both girls freeze. Time stops.

Nicole looked right at her. Waverly wanted to be embarrassed and recoil but she couldn't, Nicole had such a hold on her. It was the first time she really felt like Nicole saw her as more than a friend.

Without saying a word, Nicole's face changed a bit. She got this small confused smile on her face...there was a hint of mischief in it too.

Waverly swooned. She tried not to, but she did, and now she couldn’t hide it. Nicole could see it.

Nicole's tongue darted out of her mouth to wet her lips. Waverly couldn’t help but bring her eyes to that mouth. The mouth she had dreamt about more than a few times since the tour had started. She looked back at Nicole whose face had changed from light confusion to...hunger? Waverly wasn't sure what this look was, but she knew she liked it. A lot.

With that Nicole slowly started to move in.

Waverly could feel her heart beating out of her chest.

Nicole's eyes moved to Waverly's lips again.

Waverly leaned in to meet Nicole.

They were close enough now to feel each other's shallow breathing.

“Wa-”

A loud BOOM caused both of them to jump.

“Turn on channel 12!” Joe yelled as he busted through the bus door.

Waverly immediately yanked herself to the other end of the couch. Her whole body was shaking. They were so close!

Nicole cleared her throat and tried to compose herself as she sat up. She grabbed the remote but her mind blanked on what to do.

“Channel 12 Haught!”

Mike and Paul came in just as Nicole switched the inputs and changed the channel to 12.

“...time. Haught was the opening act for tonight's show. Once an unknown singer songwriter, is now an up-in-coming star. Her first single ‘Something About Your Love’ was released last week on ITunes and is already said to be in the top 10 of its genre.”

“Wait what?” Nicole's body froze. Her eyes went wide.

“If the crowd in Iowa tonight was just the beginning of what this young woman has coming her way. Nicole Haught is your next star.”

“Holy shit.” Nicole muttered as they moved to the next story.

“Holy shit.” Waverly echoed, her eyes glued to the tv.

They all stood, and sat there in silence for a moment before Nicole jumped off the couch to grab her phone.

“Guys….” she gasped and held her phone up to the group. “We’re number 4 on iTunes!”

The screaming that ensued was outrageous. Enough to break the windows of the bus. But no one cared. Waverly jumped off the couch into Mike's arms. He spun her around. Nicole was hugging Paul and crying into his chest. Joe was sandwiching her in the hug. Everyone was so happy.

Next thing Waverly knew she was hugging Nicole with all her might. And...yes, she was happy for her, but this was also the closest they’d ever been. Plus, they had almost kissed. So her mind was a bit hazy as Nicole held onto her.

But now Waverly knew Nicole felt it too. She knew she wasn’t going crazy.

There was something there.

Later that night when they went to bed, Waverly stared up at the ceiling. Her mind was racing with all the different things that had happened that night...but mostly Nicole. She couldn’t stop thinking about the woman in the bed beneath her. She could help but wonder if Nicole was thinking about her too.

[dragonasheswrites-blog]

The Heaven We Didn’t Choose, Chapter 18: In Which Sans Has a Heart

...But only a figurative one.  And he's still an asshole.

First: Chapter 1: In Which a Child Makes a Friend

Previous: Chapter 17: In Which Alphys is Terrible

Next: Chapter 19: In Which Piracy is Encouraged

Click here for the story overview.

“Sans!  Get her!” a voice crackled in Elemental.

Sans was already hot on Pele’s heels.  Literally.  Even if he didn’t have a trail of light and warmth to follow in the dark alleyway, she was disoriented and confused in a strange new place.  He couldn’t let her disappear into the night with no way to find shelter, regardless of what was going on with Grillby.

It was easy enough to catch the sleeve of her sweater in his phalanges just as she reached the main street.  She stiffened, just like she had when he’d held her hand to teleport, but didn’t lash out.  A glance over his shoulder showed that Grillby was still a safe distance away, hands raised and flames carefully controlled.

“Hey, kid.  Why don’t ya tell me what’s eatin’ you, huh?”

The fire girl just shuddered and curled in on herself while trying to put as much distance between herself and her captured arm as possible.

“Ooookay, wanna tell me why Grillbz knew your name, and why you don’t want anything to do with him?  ‘Cause I thought I was real clever, y’know, findin’ you a place to stay, but we can try someone else if you’d rather.”

“...Who…?”

That was a good question, actually.  “I...uh...I know the Captain of the Royal Guard.  She’s pretty, uh, intense, but she could probably find you a warm bed.  I’m gonna hafta tell her about you anyways, so she can get started on your papers and whatnot.  Or the queen-”

“...That’s...alright…”

“I understand Elemental if it’s easier for you to speak.”

She started struggling.  That didn’t seem to be the right thing to say at all.

Movement in the corner of Sans’s eye socket made him turn to see Grillby slowly walking up, carefully avoiding piles of snow that had blown in.  A few intermittent snowflakes evaporated in the agitated flames of his exposed head, almost painfully bright against the night sky.

“Pele,” the bartender said in flickering Elemental, both hands raised.  “Why are you here?”

She remained silent, but stopped trying to escape.  Her flames gave resigned little flickers.

“I, uh, brought her here,” Sans said when it became apparent that she wasn’t going to respond.  “She said she didn’t have anywhere else to go.  Found her in Alphys’s lab.”

“What?”

“Yeah.  Uh.  Alphys said she was an orphan.”

Grillby stopped, his flames still wavering.  He looked...devastated.  Sans had never seen the grouchy bartender look anything but angry or frustrated.  Not even when he left his old joint in the Underground, the one he’d built up for decades.

After a moment, the older elemental collected himself and gave a little sigh-like noise.  He smoothed out a little, more like a candle flame than a wind-whipped bonfire.  “Why don’t we go inside and talk.  I need to tend to the bar and I am sure it would be more comfortable for both of you.”

The obvious joke was on the tip of Sans’s proverbial tongue, but he didn’t want to set Grillbz off.  The guy’s temper was on a hair trigger at the best of times, after all.  Instead, he carefully released Pele and followed her inside, ready to catch her if she decided to bolt again.

She didn’t.  She did maintain a careful distance from both adults, but she stepped through the doorway without too much fuss.

Her flames flickered in obvious surprise when she got a good look at the interior of the bar.  What could be seen from the back hallway - the doorways to the kitchen and one of the private rooms, and the stairs to the upper level - wasn’t fancy, but it was a definite step up from the old Grillby’s in Snowdin.  Had she expected some seedy dive?

Grillby led them to the private room and left, citing bartending duties, but he looked a little shaky.

Pele still wasn’t talking.

And Sans really didn’t know what to do.  He texted Lesser Dog to ask him to keep an extra eye out and got an enthusiastic response, but that didn’t answer any of the real questions of the evening.  Sans had saved the kid on a whim, really.  If she’d been older, if he hadn’t found that little striped sweater in the lab hallway, he probably would have ducked his head and continued on his way.  That’s what was expected of monsters.  But…

“...Sorry…”  Pele was curling in on herself, her flames flickering lowly like the dying embers of a campfire.

“‘Ts fine, kid.  Were you, uh, down in the lab long?”

“...I...don’t know…?”

He hummed.  She couldn't have been down there more than a few days, not with the way Alphys was acting.  Still...an awkward silence fell.  What was there to say to a kid he’d pulled, pretty much at random, out of a situation where she’d been guaranteed a long and painful death at the hands of a mad scientist?

“So.  You.  Uh, you know Grillby?”

“...No…”

That didn’t sound like a lie, but it didn’t sound like the whole truth either.  He wanted to scream.  Trying to get answers out of elementals was, in his experience, an exercise in futility.  Getting answers out of an elemental who wouldn’t speak was on a whole ‘nother level.

It was a surprise, then, when she continued in broken Elemental.

“Grill-by was...father’s brother.  What call?”

“Uncle is the word we use, kid.  Can’t pronounce Elemental properly with this jaw,” he tapped the aforementioned body part, “so I’m not sure how you’d say it, but...yeah.  Grillby’s your uncle, huh.”

“...Uncle…” Pele crackled in English before switching back.  “There was...big fight.  No talking for much time.  Mother and father not want to go...up?  Go out?  Too much ties.  Connection?  But...hmm.  Thought Grill-by...would be angry.”

“So Grillbz and your parents fought, and you lost contact.  Then your parents didn’t want to go to the surface?”

The girl nodded.

“You said they had ties - some kind of connection - to the Underground.  Were they part of a gang?”

“Sparks,” the girl said, holding her left wrist loosely in her right hand and looking away.

That made sense.  The Sparks were a gang of mostly fire-type monsters based in Hotland; grabbing the left wrist (or comparable appendage) was one way they identified themselves to fellow gang members.  Sans had heard rumors of some fire and rock elementals among them but he hadn’t exactly kept up with the latest news over the past few years.  Still, it made sense that a group like that would choose to stay in their claimed territory instead of braving the rain and snow of the Surface.

“Pele, were your parents dusted?”

She tucked into herself further, which was confirmation enough in itself.  Sans sighed.  It was an old, familiar story: a kid orphaned by gang violence or infighting, then raised by remaining gang members.  Her parents had probably died years back, if her choppy Elemental was anything to go by; it was a difficult language for most monsters to pronounce.  Maybe she’d even been punished for speaking it, judging by her reactions.

The fact that she’d wound up in Alphys’s lab meant that the girl had either run away from the gang and into one of Alphys’s traps, or - and the thought was horrifying, even to a hardened guy like Sans - been traded off during one of her searches for test subjects.  Neither said particularly good things about the state of the Underground.  He knew things were getting worse since the Royal Guard was focused on the surface, but still.

Her reaction to Grillby explained why she hadn't gone looking for him, either.  She'd said she thought he would be angry with her.  She probably had her reasons, but...Grillbz was actually not bad, when nothing had set him off.  Many of the kids from Snowdin had earned a spare meal or two washing dishes in the bar, which worked out well for both parties.  It was why Sans hadn't thought much of bringing him a strange kid; that, and Pele looked like she could use a good meal or two.

Grillbz himself opened the door to the private room and entered carrying two trays.  The one he slid to Sans held a burger, fries, and unopened bottles of ketchup and mustard; the other held a stone bowl filled with what looked like glowing coals.

“Eat,” the elemental crackled to them both in his native tongue.  “I have an employee coming in about half an hour, if the lazy ass shows up.  We can talk then.”  He walked back out, not once glancing towards the girl.

Pele looked over at Sans, confusion radiating off her.  “...What…?”

He repeated what Grillby had said, paraphrasing a little.  “So, you really don’t know much Elemental, huh.”

“It has been...long time since speak.  Not...allowed?  Care-takers...did not understand.  Wanted...English.  But...hard to speak…hmm.”

“Gotcha.  Well, I understand it, and most of the folks ‘round here do.  Hell, even most of the humans who are regulars at the bar have picked up the basics.  At the very least they understand when Grillbz wants his money or is clearing out the bar.”  He grabbed a fry, dunked it in a puddle of mustard, then gestured at her bowl.

She giggled and slowly - very slowly, as if she suspected a trap - brought one of the coals to her mouth.  She didn’t make any kind of a chewing motion, but the glow of her flames brightened considerably over the next few seconds before dying back down.

The rest of the coals disappeared quickly after that.

Sans, on the other hand, savored his burg.  It had been months since he’d had the spare time and cash to have more than a quick beer at the bar to eavesdrop for information.  In fact - he checked his inventory - he probably had just enough left over from bus fare to pay for his meal.  It was annoying that most of his earnings went to Boss or apartment bills; maybe he could spend some extra time at the hotdog stand to compensate?

He had just finished licking the extra ketchup off his fingers (not willing to let anything go to waste) when Grillby walked back in.  The bartender was looking a lot more composed than he had earlier, his flames smooth and calm.  Sans was probably one of the few who could sense the lingering agitation in the other monster, and that was after long years of association and tenuous alliance.

Grillbz settled himself into the third chair at their table.  “So.  Pele, you are...a long way from home.”

The girl nodded after a moment.  The way she flinched whenever Elemental was spoken was hard to miss.

“Do you not speak?”

The way her flames curled screamed embarrassment.  “...Hard…”

“I see.  Well, let’s see how quickly you pick it back up, then.  How did you get into the Royal Scientist’s lab of all places?”

The ensuing conversation was painful to listen to - a combination of hesitant English and broken Elemental - but by the end of it Pele was picking up more and more of what Grillby was saying.  As it turned out, Sans was correct: the girl had been ‘traded’ to Alphys about a week prior for a favor.  What favor the Sparks wanted from (or owed to) Alphys was anyone’s guess; Pele hadn’t exactly been invited to those conversations.  She had tried to run away when she found out but had only succeeded in injuring herself.  The gang had been very unhappy about having to heal her before handing her over to the Royal Scientist, and she was still low on magic.  She’d been locked away in one of the cages in the back of the Lab ever since.

Throughout this explanation, Grillby grew more and more tense.  The flames that normally flickered up above his head to simulate some kind of crazy hairdo were so shallow that he looked practically bald.

Sans elected not to point this out; he didn't want to invoke the old elemental's fiery temper, after all.

After a moment’s consideration, the bartender stood and beckoned to the girl.  “...Come.”

“...Where…?”

“...Upstairs.”  Grillby’s English was always a little slow, but he was clearly trying to make it easier for Pele to understand.  “I...have rooms.  You will...be staying...with me.”

“...Really…?”

Instead of responding, he gestured the girl out the door a little more forcefully than such generosity required.  She complied without questioning further, Sans tagging along behind out of curiosity and a lingering sense of responsibility.

The second level of Grillby’s bar held rooms that he rented out to drunk idiots, less-than-legal deal brokers, and the odd human who wanted to engage in...personal activities while intoxicated.  Grillbz also had an apartment at the far end of the hall, but Sans had never been inside.

The group stopped at a door near Grillby’s private rooms, which he opened with a key strung on a loop of chain.  He handed the key over to Pele.  “Don’t...lose this.  Get some sleep.  You...start work...in the morning.”

The girl nodded, still looking a little lost.  She stared at Sans for a moment before closing the door wordlessly.

“Welp,” Sans said, stretching a little, “It’s been great.  I’ll be off-”

“Wait.”  The switch into smooth Elemental was a relief to both of them.

“Ooooh yeah!  Your money.  Well.  Here…”

“No.  Not that.  Come.”

Sans was stunned.  Had...had Grillby, once the most notorious miser in Snowdin, actually turned down money?  Or...did he want something more for dropping a kid on him without warning?  The skeleton fought down his trepidation and followed Grillbz down the stairs and back into the private room.

“What do you want?”

Sans started at the unexpected question.  “Uh…?”

“You want something.  That is the only reason you could have brought Pele to me.  How did you know we were family?”

Memories of a young human woman sitting at his dining room table flashed behind his eye sockets.   How ‘bout that deja vu.  “I didn’t.  Stars, man, I was just hoping you had a spare room or somethin’ that could get ‘er magic levels back up.  I didn’t know what Alph was doin’ to that kid but ‘er magic was pretty low.  I’m hardly an expert in elementals; most of the ones I knew back Underground either hate my guts or are part of the gang that sold her off.”

“How did you find her?”

It was a fair question; the Lab was hardly open to the public.  Or rather, it was, but getting back out wasn't guaranteed.  “Alph had something I needed, and I had a permit from the King to go and get it.  She must’ve forgotten I was in there.  I was on my way out, found a striped shirt in the hallway and went to investigate.  The rest...well.”

“Is the Royal Scientist going to come after her?”

“Uh, don’t think so?  She’s more likely to come after me, really.  I was plannin’ to get Undyne involved tomorrow morning; if nothing else, that’ll sidetrack Alph long enough to grab the kid and hide ‘er somewhere.”

For a monster whose concept of ‘eyes’ was a little vague, Grillby was a master at making someone squirm with a glare.  Sans managed to keep from fidgeting only because of his long exposure to Boss’s intimidation tactics.  “You really don’t want anything.  You had a plan.  What were you going to do after reporting her to Undyne?  Have her arrested for gang affiliation?”

“No?  I mean, has Undyne ever arrested a kid in stripes?  Nah, I was gonna ask around, see if she really was an orphan.  Thought she could get into a school or find some work or somethin’ to pay her way.  Something better than whatever goes on Underground these days.  Kid needs a family that’ll teach her surface manners and some way to earn money that won’t bring gangs - the Underground kind or Undyne’s happy little group - after her.”

There was another pause, then Grillby gave a strange, crackling laugh.  “You really have...changed.  I heard you were going soft, but this is the first I’ve seen of it.”

“Uh, r-really?  I mean, haha, you don’t actually think-”

“The child changed you.  Not Pele,” he said, amusement curling the ragged opening on his face that passed for a mouth, “The other one.  The ambassador’s child.”

“You...you know about Attie?”

“There are no secrets in a bar.  I am well-paid for my...discretion.  But you?  You aren’t the type to value money so highly, nor does your brother have nearly as good a hold on you as he thinks; his willingness to pay me for information about you says as much.  You must be doing this for...personal reasons.  Am I wrong?”

He wasn’t, but Sans didn’t really want to say so.

“It was certainly an unexpected development.  You were one of the monsters I least expected to have a soft spot for children.  Then again, you never did dust children, did you?”

“No.  But that doesn’t mean nothin’.”

“I know several annoying teenagers who would disagree.”

“Hmph.”

Grillby did his funny laugh again.  “Don’t worry; I haven’t distributed that information, and after what you’ve done for my family...I don’t intend to.  It isn’t even worth much at the moment.  It is strange, though, isn’t it?  Not too long ago, this would have been an incredible weakness for you.  And yet…”

“...Here, it isn’t.  Heck, most humans would see it as a good thing, bein’ too nice to kids.”

“Indeed.”

The warmth Sans felt wasn’t just because he was standing next to a man made of fire.  There was a strange camaraderie, an understanding of shared hardships and shared joys, that passed between the two in that moment.  For once, it wasn’t awkward to meet Grillby’s eyes, or whatever passed for them.

“I was emancipated by my brother shortly after Pele was born,” the elemental said, breaking the silence.  “I haven’t heard from him, his wife, or his children in years.  I thought they were all dead.  I thought I didn’t care if they were.”

That he’d thought incorrectly went unsaid.

A crash and the sound of tinkling glass broke the moment, and both looked away.  “Well,” Sans said, “I’d, uh, better get to my station.  LD can’t cover for me forever.  Uh.  How much do I owe you for…?”

“Nothing; it’s on the house.  Consider it thanks.  And do let me know if you find anything more about the situation.”

“Sure will.”

Grillby left the room first, headed towards the bar.  Sans went the other way, out the back door and into the alleyway.  He paused before teleporting back up the mountain.

It felt good, having an ally.  He seemed to be picking them up at a rapid rate lately: Attie, Frisk, Undyne, and now Grillby and Pele.  He practically had friends.  It was weird to think about, after living most of his life being the town asshole.

Speaking of which, he clearly wasn’t the only one who’d changed.  Who would’ve thought that Grillby cared about family?  Especially after he’d been emancipated?  This was the guy who was more than willing to roast some bones if, say, a skeleton eating at his bar came up a few gold short in change.  Not that Sans had ever been in that position, of course.  His hands curled reflexively; dish duty at a bar was one of the worst jobs ever, in his opinion.

With a sigh, he teleported up towards his station.

It felt like only minutes later that he was walking back down the mountain, leaving a twitchy Doggo in his place.  He’d been too preoccupied with going over his notes and wondering about Pele and Grillby, and time seemed to have jumped.  It began snowing in earnest halfway home; the comfort of his apartment was welcoming to his cold bones.  Boss was gone - as was the Takersfaire booth - so Sans had no interference getting to his room.  He immediately flopped over on his mattress.

As he passed out, he realized that he’d really only gotten three hours of sleep the night before.  Undyne was going to yell at him again if he stretched himself…

“SANS!  WAKE UP!”

Sans rolled out of the way on instinct as a bone attack struck the pillow where his head had been moments before.  “B-Boss?  Wha…?”

“I’VE BEEN TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP FOR TEN MINUTES!  GET OUT OF BED NOW, YOU LAZY SACK OF SHIT!”

He managed to climb to his feet despite the exhaustion dragging at his bones.  He glanced at the clock.  It was just past 7 in the morning, which was...not as early as it felt.  He must’ve used more magic than he thought, to still be so tired after what was - for him - an early night.

Oh, shit.  He’d forgotten to call Undyne, hadn’t he.

“GET TO YOUR HOT DOG STAND IMMEDIATELY!”  Boss growled.  “I WILL NOT STAND FOR ANY MORE LAZINESS IN THIS HOUSE!”

“It’s not a house, Boss, it’s-”

Thud.

The impact of bone on bone took away all the bonus HP Sans had gotten from sleep, and a few extra points besides.

“IMMEDIATELY, SANS!”

“I’m goin’, I’m goin’...”

He practically ran to his hot dog stand, not willing to give Boss any more reasons to punish him.  Once there, he pulled his phone out.

Undyne picked up on the first ring.  “WHAT??” she screeched.

“Wow.  What a nice way to greet a pal.”

“Oh.  Sans.  What the hell.  Is up with you.  You were.   So late.  Last night.”

“Uh…”

“Don’t.  You dare.  Pun at me.  I am not.  In the mood.”

“No coffee yet?”

The growl was confirmation enough.

“Riiight.  Uh, I’ll make this quick.  Soooo...stopped by the lab yesterday to look at...stuff.  Got what I needed, but picked up a...straggler along the way.”

“I swear to the stars, Sans, if you are calling me because you got involved in another shady gang deal trying to get drugs for a prank, I will rip off your skull and shove it straight up your-”

“I didn’t!  I didn’t!  Also: rude!”

“Don’t you talk to me about rude you little...no, y’know what?  No.  It’s too early for this crap.”

“Wait!”  He could feel her trying to hang up on him.  “I...it’s important.  I swear.”

“You have five seconds of my time, asshole.”

“It was a kid.  Alph had a kid down in her lab.”

There was a pause.  For a moment, Sans thought she really had hung up.  Then-

“WHAT???”

“Holy shit, that’s really not necessary!”

“YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THE ROYAL SCIENTIST IS EXPERIMENTING ON CHILDREN?  AGAIN??  WHERE?  WHO?  HOW MANY??”

“I-”

“TELL ME RIGHT NOW YOU ASSHOLE!!!  NGYAAAAAAAAAH!”

There was a loud crash in the background.  It turned out to be the first of several.

Sans waited for the noise to die down a little.  “Uh...you done?”

The only response was heavy breathing.

“Ooooookay.  So.  I only found the one kid.  Fire elemental girl, claims she’s an orphan.  The Sparks sold ‘er off a few days ago, we think.”

“We?”  Undyne growled.

“Uh...I took her to Grillby’s.”

“You took a child.  To a seedy bar.”

“Nnnnoooo?  I took a fire elemental child to the only other fire elemental I know who isn’t involved in some hella crazy shit.”

“That’s...debatable.”

“Alright, what fire elemental do you know who would’ve been a better option?  Yeah, thought not.  And as it turns out, they’re family.”

“What the hell?  Grillby has kids?”

“Nope.  Niece, apparently.”

“You showed up with his niece, and he didn’t immediately toss you out on your face?”

“Nope.  Weird, right?”

“You do know he was emancipated years ago, right?  It was a huge fight, apparently.  They still tell legends about it in the Guard.”

“He...may have mentioned something about that?”

“...It’s too early in the morning for this crap.”

“Whelp.  I’ll, uh, leave you to it.  Just wanted to give ya a heads-up so you’d know that there’s a new kid in town who’s gonna need paperwork.”

There was another muffled crunch in the background.  “Sans.  I hate you.”

“Uh…”

“Not only do you call me at SEVEN THIRTY IN THE MORNING, ON MY DAY OFF, but you DUMP A CRAPTON OF PAPERWORK ON MY ASS???”

“Well-”

“DON’T ANSWER THAT!!!”

“Y’okay.”

“AND DON’T YOU DARE BE LATE TO YOUR SHIFT THIS AFTERNOON!!”

There was a low scream as the call was terminated.  Forcefully.

Well.  That went better than he expected.  And better yet, it was out of his sweaty little hands.  It was a good day.

Or...so he thought.

Sans shuffled home later that night a tired, worn skeleton trying not to jostle a bad arm.  Work at the hot dog stand had been uneventful, but his double sentry shift had been absolutely hellish.  A group of teenagers, drunk or high out of their dead little minds, had decided to storm the mountain.  Literally ‘storm;’ it had been alternating between snow and rain for most of the afternoon and into the evening before settling into a cold drizzle.  Fortunately, their path had taken them within roughly two feet of one of the sentry posts so they didn’t just disappear onto the mountain.

Un fortunately, that post was the one Sans was stationed at.

The fight had been difficult.  His blue magic only affected one human at a time, and the kids had been too impaired to really care about what was happening to one of their own.  They also had a hard time registering pain; the weak bones he threw at them took tiny slivers out of their HP, but didn’t do much to slow them down.  He was authorized to use magic - Mount Ebott was monster territory - but he didn’t want to risk killing them and starting a real incident.

At least they recognized him as a threat.  The focus of the group went from getting up the mountain to beating up the monster who was single-handedly kicking their asses.  Luckily for him, whatever they’d pumped into their systems made them both reckless and bad at aiming.

Even a complete idiot gets lucky sometimes, though.

It had taken twenty minutes for the other sentries to start trickling in, and by then the damage had mostly been done.  Most of the kids, exhausted and finally feeling their injuries, had collapsed in various undignified piles across the clearing by Sans’s post.  A few got away but...eh, that wasn’t his problem.

One of the dogs had called Undyne, who had called the police (after chewing out all the sentries collectively and individually for waking her up, again, on her day off).  Sans had, naturally, been left to deal with the ensuing chaos of mediating between an angry, sleep-deprived Undyne and the extremely wary human police.

No one else had been hurt - thank the stars for small miracles - but it was still a literal and figurative mess.  Mud was one thing, but trespassing onto monster property was a pretty big deal for humans, especially since monsters on their mountain had the legal right to defend themselves in whatever way they saw fit once provoked.  He didn’t envy the cops or the kids; neither would have a good night’s sleep for at least a week once Tori got ahold of them.

Regardless, all of that led to Sans wandering home in the freezing rain at an unholy hour of the morning, stiff and sore and trying not to jostle an arm that wasn’t quite broken.  He really, really just wished that he could just take a shortcut home, but he couldn’t summon the energy.  He needed to start working out again...it had fallen by the wayside over the past week or two.

He paused.  That sounded like...a cry?  He hesitated, remembering what happened the last time he’d responded to a crying child, but hearing it a second time broke his resolve.  He’d just rescued a kid; couldn’t a guy get a break??

Responsibility really was going to be the death of him.

The sound was coming from a nearby alleyway, which wasn’t ominous at all.  He summoned a bone, keeping his wits about him, and angled himself so his bad arm was protected by a wall.  His magic gathered instinctively, ready to protect him despite how drained he’d been by the earlier fight.

The pavement of the alley was slick from the recent freezing rain and there were deep puddles where it had sunken.  Sans avoided those.  The noise seemed to be coming from a pile of garbage stacked around a dumpster further back, but he could see no movement.

He stalked closer.  It sounded like the noise was getting quieter; he couldn’t tell if the kid was weakening or moving farther away.  He paused and strained to listen over the patter of rain on pavement and trash.  Weakening, definitely, but it was sounding less like a child.  There were no words, for one, and no matter how close he got he couldn’t sense a human soul or any type of magic.

Movement from one of the boxes made him tense, bone at the ready.  He felt silly; it was a small creature, not nearly big enough to be a threat…

...but it was the source of the noise, he realized as he watched it squirm.  He dismissed the bone.  He’d wasted enough time and energy chasing after...actually, what was that thing?

Curiosity got the better of him and he stepped closer.  The box was soaked through and half-submerged in a puddle that was half frozen over.  There was something hand-written on the box, but it was smeared by rain and he couldn’t make it out in the dark of the alley.  The crying thing - whatever it was - clung to one side, trying to keep from sliding into the water.

It wasn’t until he stood right next to the box and looked in that he saw the other dark shapes in the water, sunken and unmoving.  He thought of the Dogi’s litter of pups and shuddered.

Trying not to overthink what he was doing, he grabbed the little critter by the scruff of its neck.  “Please don’t be a rat,” he muttered to it.  He had too many awful memories of the little scavengers from his childhood on the streets of the Underground.  “I will literally throw you right back in there with your friends if you’re a rat.”

He picked his way back out of the alley, gritting his teeth against the cries.  Once back in relative light and safety, he held it up.

It wasn’t a rat.

He examined the thing carefully.  It was furry, he could tell, even though the rain had matted its fur down to almost nothing.  The fur was too dark to pick out colors, but it seemed to be covered in stripes of brown or grey.  From what he could see it had big pointy ears, a wimpy little furry tail that was curled up between its legs, and a huge green eye with a little slit.

Cat.

Well then.  He’d always wanted a pet.  But seriously, what was it with him and picking up strays lately??

Sans carefully brought his bad hand up under the cat’s butt, then released his hold on the scruff of its neck.  Even the slight weight caused his arm to ache, but he held it steady.  The cat shivered; humans and other creatures with fleshy bits shivered when cold, he remembered.  (He deliberately did not think about Frisk shivering under her comforter, hours from death when her daughter dragged his sorry ass in to help.)

It seemed to be calming down, though.  He knew from conversations with Att...with humans that they perceived the magic radiating off his bones as warmth.  He was soaked through, but held the little thing close to his chest anyways.  It wasn’t like a little extra water was going to hurt it at that point.

He walked home quickly, no longer caring about his injuries.

When he arrived at the apartment complex he carefully pressed his bad arm against his side.  The little cat fit perfectly inside his jacket in the pouch formed by the crook of his elbow.  It didn’t seem to like him zipping the jacket up, but Sans knew that Boss finding it would be a death sentence: for it, definitely, and possibly for Sans as well with how cranky Boss had been.

He slipped the door open quietly, listening for anyone else in the apartment.  The only sound was the rain beating against the kitchen window.  He started for the hallway-

“THERE YOU ARE!”

“Shit, Boss!”  He shifted his arm, silently begging the cat to stay quiet.

“YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOME AN HOUR AGO!”

“I-I got a little banged up in a fight.  I, uh, take it you heard from Undyne what happened?”

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE APPRISED ME OF THE SITUATION, YES.”

There was a shuffle somewhere over Boss’s head as the residents of the apartment above theirs came to terms with loud noises at unfortunate hours of the morning.

“Then, uh, I’ll just…”

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

Sans paused.

“Remove your clothing.  I must examine you for injuries.”

“Wha... hell no, Boss!  What even??”

“YOUR GRAMMAR GETS WORSE EVERY DAY!”

“Why do you need to ‘examine’ me?”

Boss sighed, rubbing one knuckle along the smooth stretch of bone between his eye sockets.  “Because you were so careless as to worry the ambassador a few months ago, she is now under the impression that you are suffering from…��abuse.’”  He said the word like it meant a tendency towards screaming esoteric love poetry in public.  “Absurd, I know.  However, Undyne still demanded that I ensure you remain in good health to appease her highness.  I MUST, THEREFORE, ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE SUFFERED NO LASTING DAMAGE AFTER THIS SCUFFLE OF YOURS!”

Sans shoved the flare of anger to the side, where he could deal with it later.  “I’m pretty sure that was just when I was babysitting.  I’m not babysitting anymore.”

“ENOUGH, SANS!”

Boss shot an arm out and made a grab for Sans, snarling when his prey dodged backwards into the hallway and made a desperate break for his room.  Boss wouldn’t knock down the door and risk the wrath of the landlord, and thus, the queen.

...Probably.

He locked the door mere moments before Boss slammed into it fists-first.  “SANS!  OPEN THE DOOR!”

Sans tucked himself into the corner behind the door hinge.  Boss was bad at picking locks, but even worse at noticing fine detail when he was all worked up.  It was that or the closet, and he’d started checking the closet.

Thankfully, he seemed content with just yelling and banging on the door.  He settled down pretty well after about half an hour and stalked back off towards his own room, muttering threats the entire way.  Sans made a mental note to stay away from his brother for the next few days to avoid punishments.

No need to get the big guy into hot water with Undyne if she’d started poking her nose in their business again.  It wasn’t a big deal; he could handle it, and there was no need to get Frisk involved.

He chuckled in relief, feeling his jacket.  It was still soaked through pretty badly.  The cat, however, had curled up between his arm and ribcage and was making a noise like a small motor.

That must be the ‘purring’ thing he’d heard about.  It was incredibly soothing, actually.

Gently, he set the cat on his mattress and changed into dry clothes.  After a long moment of consideration, the threw his jacket over the back of his desk chair to dry out.  The rest of his clothes were kicked into the heap of laundry in the corner, but he wanted to wear his jacket sometime soon.

He flopped over on the bed to examine the creature he’d brought home.  It was looking better, actually.  It had pushed itself up onto four tiny paws and was wobbling around the bed; whether the wobble was due to weakness, injury, or the softness of his mattress he couldn’t tell.  The long cuddle under his jacket had done it some good, at least.  It was looking puffy and mostly dry across its back and the shivering had stopped.

Upon further inspection, it only seemed to have one functioning eye.  Both its eyes were open, but one of them was milky and pale in a way that reminded him of Undyne and the other monsters he knew whose eyes had been damaged.  For all that, it seemed to be getting around okay.

“Yer not sleepin’ with me,” he said as it crashed nose-first into his leg and flopped over.  Little black paw pads waved wildly in the air.  “I know your type.  You make all kinds of wet, goopy messes that I hafta clean up, and I’m not in the mood tonight.”

It started purring again, curled into a tight ball against his leg.

“Fine.  Lemme see…”  He scooped the thing up and looked around.  A space heater he’d been meaning to fix up was still in the closet, buried under spare mechanical parts.  It rattled when he turned it up, but that wasn’t the end of the world.  He didn’t notice too much of a difference in temperature, but he wasn’t especially sensitive to temperature differences to begin with.  Hopefully it helped.

He found a large cardboard box from...well, he didn’t really remember and it wasn’t marked, so it could’ve been from anything, really.  Into the box went a pile of dirty shirts; if they were already dirty, the gooey mess the cat was going to make wouldn’t do much damage.

The cat protested Sans’s attempts to put it down, curling itself around his phalanges and struggling to find something to grip with its claws, but he was able to wrangle it into the box.  For the amount of struggle it put up, it didn’t seem too upset once he got it settled; it curled right back up and started purring again.

He ran his phalanges over the cat’s head and ears, concentrating on the texture of the fur.  It was a strange feeling.  It was soft, but not like cloth; almost feather-like, really.  It didn’t feel much like dog fur, though he hadn’t had many opportunities to study that in detail.  Dog fur was...he didn’t know how to describe it.  Thicker?  He had given scratches to Greater Dog during his last shift at the hot dog stand (that guy was a real softy at heart, a secret Sans would take to his grave) and he’d been able to feel the individual strands of fur.  The cat’s fur was so fine that it seemed almost like one solid thing until his phalanges passed through it.

The purring stopped abruptly and Sans paused, worried he’d upset the cat somehow.  It didn’t react at all.  Its eyes were closed and its head had drooped down to rest on the sleeve of one of his sweatshirts.

Asleep, then.  He grinned.

Might as well join it.

[igrublocal]

11 Absolute Best Takeout Tricks for Weight Loss | Eat This Not That

Takeout can sometimes feel like a free pass. We secretly love it because it feels good to throw caution to the wind and surrender our dietary choices to the higher powers of whatever restaurant we're ordering from. It can even feel right to do that—takeout is a treat and we should be able to indulge as much as we want. This may very well be true if takeout was reserved for special occasions only, but during the pandemic, it has quickly become a reliable go-to in feeding ourselves and our families. It's safe to assume that no matter what your prior eating habits were, you are now enjoying more takeout food than ever. So it's even more important to be mindful of what you're eating and how you can make better diet choices, especially if weight loss is your end goal.

Don't think of healthy food as deprivation or an all-or-nothing deal—there are so many small, incremental steps you can take that will still support your weight loss goals. Try these tips and swaps next time you order takeout, and regain control over what you're eating. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest food and diet news delivered straight to your inbox.

Put it on a plate

"Eating your takeout meal right out of the container may cause you to eat more as portions are usually large, especially with Chinese or Indian dishes," says Lisa Andrews, MEd, RD, LD, and owner of Sound Bites Nutrition. Instead, turn your takeout food into a dignified sit-down dinner, where you're truly enjoying every bite at the kitchen or dining table. After you've filled your plate with one serving, put the rest of the food away so you're not tempted to go back for seconds. You'll also have leftovers for tomorrow—here's how to store them properly.

If you're ordering an indulgent dish, split it

If you really want to go for that chicken tikka masala or lo mein, get an order to split with your family, and supplement the meal with a healthier side order or a big salad. We often order way more food than we need because we think that each person needs their own main dish. If your splitting the food with several people, order fewer mains and mix and match among the group. You'll get to try several delicious things, and you'll likely feel more satisfied while eating less food. Here are the 101 Unhealthiest Menu Items in America.

Don't go for the unhealthiest options

If you're going to eat takeout several times a week, make sure you're balancing your fast food cravings with options that are more suitable for weight loss. Already had pizza this week? Opt for sushi, a salad, or a grain bowl instead. Craving Chinese? Go for it, but don't get the notoriously unhealthy General Tso's chicken (laden with fat and deep fried). Make sure you avoid 7 Worst Takeout and Delivery Foods Ever.

Order a healthy veggie side for a good balance

No matter what type of restaurant you're ordering from, there are bound to be several vegetable-forward options on the menu. If you supplement your meal with a side of roasted broccoli or a nice big Greek salad, you'll be less inclined to eat the whole order of pasta that came with it. This way, you're also making sure you're getting your daily dose of greens without compromising the main you truly want.

More on Restaurants

Ask for healthier swaps

Most restaurants will let you swap out white rice for brown rice or quinoa, and plain pasta for whole-grain pasta or even zucchini noodles. If you're getting a sandwich, go for baby carrots or a side salad instead of a bag of potato chips, and instead of French fries with your burger, how about a nice side of deliciously roasted Brussels sprouts or some sweet potato fries? There are so many ways you can lighten the calorie load of your meal! Check out our list of 40 Food Swaps to Lose Weight.

Don't ruin it with soda

Just because soda and pizza or soda and burgers seem like such a quintessential pairing doesn't mean you're actually obligated to order it. Try skipping soda (or any other type of fountain drink for that matter) to reduce your sugar intake and avoid unhealthy synthetic sweeteners. Instead try some seltzer water—the refreshing satisfaction will still be there without all the extra calories. Here's a list of 108 Most Popular Sodas Ranked by How Toxic They Are.

Do away with sugary condiments

Condiments are the spice of life, am I right? But they're also very easily overlooked when you're tallying up the calories of your meal, because we feel like they're just implied. Sauces like ketchup, sriracha, mayo, and honey mustard actually pack significant amounts of sugar, and the calories can quickly add up when we're using them on our food liberally (aka squirting them mindlessly on anything and everything). First off, try to appreciate the flavor of whole foods, vegetables, and meat without having to douse them in condiments. If you still need a bit of flavor, opt for a yogurt-based sauce like tzatziki or a fresh salsa. Learn about the best and worst condiments for weight loss here.

Get the dressing on the side or make your own

Salad dressing can be just as tricky as condiments. If you're eating a salad mixed with a ton of ranch dressing, you're doing yourself a disservice. Again, opt for lighter yogurt- or olive oil–based options, or make one of these healthy salad dressings at home. You can also ask for dressing on the side and use it sparingly in your dish. (Same goes for dips that come with your dumplings.) These are the 20 Unhealthiest Salad Dressings on the Planet.

Skip the fried stuff

Fried foods have a sneaky way of finding their way onto so many menu options that tempt us. From appetizers like fried potstickers, spring rolls, samosas, and mozz sticks, to mains that feature fried stuff like chimichangas, chicken parm, and French fries, it can sometimes feel like fried food is the easiest and most delicious option. But if you're truly watching your weight, the fried stuff needs to go. Opt instead for pan-seared or roasted protein like salmon or rotisserie chicken, baked or mashed potatoes instead of fries, and appetizers like salads, roasted vegetables, or hummus. These are the 19 Unhealthiest Restaurant Appetizers in America.

Blot the extra grease

It may seem silly, but you can actually get rid of a lot of extra oil from your food by blotting it with a paper towel. Make it a habit to remove extra grease from your pizza before you eat it, and you could be shaving off up to 40 calories a slice. Who's laughing now?

Even if you're opting for a dish that mostly consists of carbs, there are ways to minimize the damage to your waistline. If you're eating a sandwich or a burger, get rid of the top slice of bread and eat it open-faced; if you're going for pizza, opt for thin crust and avoid deep dish, and if you're craving a burrito, skip the tortilla and get a burrito bowl instead. You'll feel just as satisfied without being bogged down and zapped of energy. Get more tips with 9 Genius Tricks for Cutting Carbs You've Never Tried.

She Lost 100 Pounds—And Shows You How!

Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein lost her weight and kept it off—and in You Can Drop It!, she'll show you how to lose it, too. More than 240,000 clients have chosen her program—and now it’s yours to keep.

[it-refused]

Prompt:  Sans x Gaster (no family relationship), one of them having a really bad day and the other one doing anything to comfort them. 

Thank you for the prompt, @rag--tag, and no worries about sending me this ship.  This Gaster’s a completely different dude with the same name than the other Gaster I’ve written.

Rating: G

Characters: Gaster (non-skeleton), Sans

Summary: Gaster is struggling with a problem at work, and comes home in a bad mood.  I also wrote a little about them getting together, just to try and set in my head what their relationship would be like before I got to the h/c.  

Sans was, in Gaster's opinion: 1. a slightly above average physicist, 2. drastically below average height for an adult skeleton, and 3. someone who was embarrassingly good at reading faces.  

When his unimportant but increasingly distracting crush on Sans had become apparent to his friends, they encouraged him to subtly flirt and ascertain Sans' feelings from his reaction.  

Gaster had approached the experiment with caution, took his time with his planning and mental preparation, and then just blurted out that he liked the shape of Sans' hands right in the middle of a conversation about something entirely different.  

Gaster had taken part in experiments that had physically injured him that had left him in less pain than that single embarrassing comment had managed.

Most other monsters would have shrugged it off as the doctor being strange, as he sometimes was.  Sans had taken one look at Gaster's face and known exactly what he was trying to get across.  He would say later that Gaster was "not as subtle as he thought he was," but Gaster was certain most other monsters would have read the situation incorrectly.  

"wow.  you know i'm a popular guy, but i don't think i've gotten that one before," he said.  He scratched the back of his skull.  "uh.  thanks."

Gaster had tried to think of something to say, but his hands stayed still and silent, refusing to translate thought into words.  

"heh.  you've really got, uh..."

Gaster had never seen Sans embarrassed before.  He decided that it was important to remember that skeletons could blush.  

It made sense that he could, considering what he was made of.  Their deceptively different shapes hid that they were made of the same basic raw materials.  Gaster was not a skeleton, but he could also blush.  He could, and had actively been doing so, since before the conversation started.

Gaster attempted to move the topic back to the previous one, but trailed off mid sentence.  Sans was staring at him.

Sans cleared his throat.  "can't say you're bad at it when you can kind of guess i need to, uh, bone up on my skills in this, uh, area, too."  

Bone-up.  Because he was a skeleton, and was made of magic that was shaped like bones.  He was saying that he needed to study to improve his skills. It was possibly also a pun on the term "man up," but Gaster was less sure of that.  Gaster laughed, his mood lightening considerably.  Whether he was about to be accepted or rejected, he enjoyed Sans' wordplay.  When he noticed it.

"you want to get coffee or something?" Sans had asked.  Gaster wasn't sure why he thought he needed to "bone up" on anything.  He was not sure there was any simpler or more skilled way to get across his meaning.

--

Sans' talent at reading faces was impressive enough that Gaster did not return home in a bad mood under any illusion that Sans would not read his bad day off of him as soon as he saw him.  

He tried to avoid that moment.  Sans' methods for cheering him up were not always comfortable or pleasant.  For some reason it usually involved oddly placed whoopee cushions.  

Gaster spent more time than average in the kitchen making himself dinner.  It didn't bother him that his experiments had gone poorly.  Bad results sometimes said more than good ones.  Why was the substance not reacting the way he expected it to?  That was an interesting question.

He was more worried about the overheating problem in the Core.  So far all the solutions required power, which they couldn't guarantee access to.  The slightest power blip would cause a break in the cooling process and then there would start to be fluctuations that exacerbated the problem.  

All his other experiments had to be set aside, no matter how interesting, when the Core acted up.  No one was getting to the surface if they all died because of an explosion.  

"hey, doc. that's some complicated sandwich you're making," Sans said, behind him.  

"[THE PROCESS IS DELICATE,]" Gaster said.

"after an hour in here this better be the sandwich to beat all sandwiches."

Gaster looked down at his plate.  He had just slapped some items in between bread. Whatever he found.  It was a chips, ketchup, crab-apple, and more-bread sandwich.  It didn't matter what was in it, really.

"if you didn't have a headache already, eating that would give you one," Sans said.  "a bread-ache.  heh."  

Now that Sans mentioned it, his head was hurting a little.  Maybe eating would solve that problem.  

Papyrus had complained, once, that they both still ate like bachelors even though they were married, but Gaster wasn't sure how they were supposed to eat.  Sans made quiche sometimes, when he wasn't tired.  So.  Very rarely.  

"aw.  not even a smile?  i thought that one was pretty good.  i've got more sandwich jokes, you know.  call me sanswich from now on."  

His name did fit very nicely into the word sandwich, even if the joke did not make much sense.  Gaster laughed, which reverberated inside his ceramic head and made it ache.  

"ouch.  i'll keep these great jokes to a minimum, i guess."  

"[THAT JOKE WOULD WORK BETTER.  IF.  IT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORD.]"

"man.  you're right.  but you don't know what i'm doing until around the middle, right?"

"[IN THAT SENSE, I SUPPOSE IT WORKS.]"  

"hey.  you laughed."

"[I NEVER SAID IT WASN'T FUNNY.]"

Sans came over and nudged him.  "you like 'em more when they don't work."  

Was that true?  He tried to puzzle out if Sans was making another joke, but if he was, it was over his head.  

The sandwich crunched when he bit in to it.  It tasted interesting, and he felt his headache ebb slightly with the extra energy, but it was otherwise a failure.  The apple and ketchup clashed.

Sans noticed his distaste and took the plate away from him.  He tried Gaster's dinner.   "hey.  not bad."  Sans was fine with anything, so long as it involved chips or condiments.  "go sit down.  i'll make you something, since i had the whole day off and you have a look like the core spit in your eye."  

"[...]" Gaster didn't sit down.  He suddenly wanted to complain.  "[ITS TEMPERATURE AT KEY LOCATIONS CONTINUES TO RAISE A FULL 2 DEGREES ABOVE THE ACCEPTABLE MAXIMUM EVERY FEW HOURS.  WE IMPLEMENTED ONE OF THE EMERGENCY MEASURES AND IT DROPPED BACK DOWN.  AS SOON AS WE TURN THAT OFF, IT GOES BACK UP AGAIN.  WE NEED TO FIND A SOLUTION THAT EXISTS OUTSIDE THAT SYSTEM OR THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A RISK OF A CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE THAT PUTS THE ENTIRE UNDERGROUND AT RISK.]" He sighed.  "[THE HEAT WILL RISE.  AND RISE.  AND CONSUME US.]"

"darn.  but if your solution ends up being the one where a guy lobs ice into the core, i'm going to grow an ass i can laugh off," Sans said.

"[THAT SOLUTION IS.  ASININE.]"

"asinine." Sans snickered.  "welp.  i'd say leave a note for the fire monsters when we're dead, but it'd probably just burn up."

"[WHAT WOULD IT SAY?]"

"i don't know. 'whoops?'"  

"[THEY MIGHT GUESS THAT SENTIMENT.  WITHOUT A NOTE.]"  

"true."

"[PERHAPS.  AN APOLOGY?]"

"nah.  hey, maybe the whole mountain'll go, and the humans will have to look at the survivors behind the barrier all the time.  we can set up a rotation to flip 'em off."

Gaster enjoyed imagining this.

"there we go." Sans went over to the fridge and pulled out a milk carton.  It was for Papyrus, but Sans' brother never minded when Sans used it.  On the rare occasions Sans did, Papyrus would usually pick up a carton for Sans to use, and then end up drinking it himself.  "i don't get why you have to make this so complicated.  if you're too lazy to make food..." Sans opened up a cupboard and got out a box of cereal.  

"[I MAY NOT HAVE BEEN.  PAYING ATTENTION.]"  

"got it."

"[MY HEAD HURTS.]"

"ouch.  all right, fine.  if you sit down, i'll grab you your meds.  and then i'm sitting down too and taking a break after all this running around."

"[YOU ARE TOO KIND.]"

"sure."  

Gaster sat down in the living room with his bowl of cereal.  Sans had left the TV on and the tape he had in was paused.  A cartoon robot was staring at the screen, static partially covering them.  Gaster had seen this show before, and knew that pretty soon the cartoon robot would start kissing another cartoon robot, and Sans would fast forward through that to get to the parts he liked.  Gaster hit play and let the scene play out naturally.  

"ugh.  really?" Sans sat down next to him and handed him a small vial of purple, glowing liquid.  

"[WHEN YOU SKIP IT.  YOU MISS CRUCIAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.]"

"or you're a sap."  

Gaster made a face and downed his medicine.  His head stopped throbbing almost immediately, but the taste was awful and he could feel himself start to sweat.  

Sans yawned and stretched out, like he was going to slip his arm around Gaster's shoulders.  Like they were teenagers in a movie theater.  At the last minute, he changed positions entirely, laying so his head was on Gaster's lap.  "i guess i can nap through it."

Gaster dropped the empty vial on the floor and set the bowl of cereal on Sans' chest. It rose and fell as Sans unconsciously mimicked breathing.  

"you're a guy who likes to live dangerously.  if i roll over, there's milk everywhere."

"[STAY VERY STILL.]"

"ok."  He yawned again, and stretched, and the bowl almost fell.  

"[THAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I SAID TO DO.]"

"doctor's orders, huh."

"[I CONTINUE TO NOT BE THAT KIND OF DOCTOR.]"

"you sure?  i got a rash i need someone to look at."

Sans was trying to distract him.  It was working well enough.

Sans pulled up his sleeve and waved his arm in Gaster's face.  The bowl somehow managed to stay on his chest.  

Gaster grabbed his arm and peered at the strangely colored mark on the bone there. After a minute, he dropped it so he could have an easier time signing.  "[...]"  

"fatal, right?"

"[I CAN DIAGNOSE THAT.]"

"you missed your calling."

"[YOU SPILLED JELLY OF SOME KIND ON YOUR ARM.  THE LAST TIME I RECALL YOU EATING JELLY WAS YESTERDAY, AT BREAKFAST.  MY CONCLUSION IS THAT YOU HAVE NOT WASHED FOOD OFF YOUR ARM SINCE YESTERDAY.  MY DIAGNOSIS IS THAT YOU ARE DISGUSTING.]"  

"fair enough. when's the last time you had a bath, there, g?"  

Gaster considered. He had a very good memory, but he was struggling to recall when it was.  It had been very busy, at work.

"bro's right about us."

"[YES.]"  He had to also diagnose himself as being disgusting.  He looked down at Sans.  "[I AM VERY FORGETFUL.  YOU SHOULD RUN A BATH FOR ME SO I DON'T FORGET TO TAKE ONE AGAIN.]"

Sans snorted.  "now you're just seeing how much you can get away with.  that's what i get for being a little nice."

"[YES.]"   It was true.  "[YOU SHOULD TAKE ONE TONIGHT, TOO.  IF IT IS AT THE SAME TIME, WE WILL SAVE ON WATER.]"  

"that always sounds nice in theory, but then i end up with an elbow in my ribs and you're not the only one suffering."

"[THE WATER WILL HELP MY HEADACHE.]"

Sans laughed. "c'mon.  you don't even have one anymore.  you're trying to pull one over on me."

"[IS IT WORKING?]"

"i guess.  eat the delicious meal i slaved over to provide for you, and then we'll go scrape some grime off."  

Gaster nodded.  He tugged Sans' sleeve back down for him, and took the bowl of cereal off his ribs.

"i can tell you think i'm a sucker."

"[YOU ARE VERY TALENTED AT READING PEOPLE,]" Gaster said.

"wow.  thanks."

Gaster leaned down to kiss him.  There was a clank as bone gently tapped against ceramic.  Sans' bones were always a little bit warm.  He took Sans' hand and kissed his fingers.  

Gaster kept his phone on and nearby so that if someone called him to tell him that the Core was about to explode, he would know in advance.  He didn't get any calls, so the day certainly could have been worse.  

[kpopreacting]

Cooking Disaster

Member(s): Ten x Reader Type: Fluff, Comedy Words: 2366 Plot: They say Ten cooking is trouble, but you two doing it together is double trouble for sure.

》 FAQ // Masterlist

“Ouch!” you winced and quickly put the curling iron down on the night stand, waving your left hand in the air to cool the burn. Carefully taking your cell phone from the bed, you checked the caller ID. As a long sigh escaped your lips, you threw yourself on the bed and picked up.

“Taeyong, I already told you I won’t be late. I just finished getting ready.”

Your friend’s voice sounded tired and disappointed through the phone. “Listen, something came up.”

Your immediate reaction to his words was to sit up and frown. Nothing good came from a conversation when it started like that. “What do you mean by that?”

“I’m afraid we have to cancel the restaurant reservation,” Taeyong let out a deep sigh, "We can’t make it on time. We still have to practice until late.”

You tried to set up another date for the dinner, perhaps the next day, or the day after that, but your friend’s answer was still a no. You pouted and fell back onto the mattress, suddenly feeling empty. “That’s awful. I mean, I’m glad your popularity is rising, but… I couldn’t wait for this! It’s been a while since we’ve all hung out and ate a meal together.”

“I know. I’m really sorry, Y/N,” Taeyong half-whispered, sadness evident in his tone. You heard some rustling and murmuring in the background and then he spoke again. “I have to go now. Again, I’m so, so sorry. We’ll make it up to you.”

You shrugged. “I hope your practice goes well.” And so you hung up, threw your phone on the pillow and bit your lip in frustration.

Your new bright dress was on the hanger once again. After removing all the makeup and letting your hair loose, you walked into the living room in your favorite pajamas and threw yourself onto the couch, trying to ignore the cheerful singing coming from the bathroom where your boyfriend was taking an awfully long shower.

You took the TV remote from the coffee table and with one swift move turned on the TV. All the same re-runs of the same shows. You sighed. Now even if there was your favourite variety show on the TV, it wouldn’t be able to brighten up your mood. At least the noise from the bathroom finally stopped, you thought as you turned off the TV. You sat there in silence as if waiting for something to happen, but at the same time not expecting anything at all.

Then you heard a loud clang coming from the bathroom and turned you head to meet with the figure of your half-naked boyfriend, still wet from the shower and still in the mood to hold a solo concert - right then and right there. “Why are you dressed like that?” he asked, “You didn’t forget about the dinner again, now did you?”

You shook your head. “No, I had to cancel the reservation. They’re practicing until late again.”

“Oh… I knew it. I was hoping they would make it, though…” Chittaphon pouted and reached out to stroke your hair soothingly, “I’m sorry. I know how excited you were about that.”

“Shut up, I’m already feeling bad enough!” you pushed his hand away.

“Well, look at the bright side - more alone time for us!” he joked and shot you a playful wink in attempt of flirting, only resulting in you giving him a death glare, “Sorry.”

You shoved a handful of popcorn in your mouth to avoid thinking about what to say in response. Chittaphon watched you for a moment before reaching out and poking your ribs to get your attention. You jumped from the contact and looked at him questioningly.

“I have an idea!” he spoke, suddenly excited like a little kid in a toy store. “How about we cook together?”

“No, we’re not-” you rebelled right away, but he clasped his hand over your mouth, silencing you instantly.

“We should cook together tonight!” Chittaphon chirped with a funny glint in his eyes. When you stayed silent, without even trying to say something, he removed his hand and cocked his head to the side, “Why aren’t you saying anything now?”

“I’m trying to come up with an excuse not to kick you out of here.”

Chittaphon frowned. "That’s not a funny joke.”

“I wasn’t joking at all. I mean, the last time you tried to cook is pretty tough for me to forget.”

“Shut up. I’ve improved since then.”

You rolled your eyes. “I highly doubt that.”

“You’re offending me, Y/N.”

“Fine, fine! We’ll do it your way. Just don’t be mad when I say ‘I told you so’.”

“I won’t be mad because you won’t have a chance to say it. I’ll make sure we cook a delicious meal and it’ll blow your mind.”

“I really hope that’s just a metaphor.”

"Yah, Y/N.”

“You can’t keep denying the fact that neither of us can cook well, you know?”

“We’ll succeed…somehow.” Chittaphon bit his lip and jumped on his feet, “Come on now! Get up! We have a meal to prepare!…. I mean, after I get dressed.”

“Okay, so we need…” Chittaphon went through the cookbook, reading the recipe with a frown on his face, “We need two eggs, four cups of water, half a teaspoon of salt…”

“What are you- I mean what are we making?” you appeared behind him with a cute pink apron around your waist.

“Korean pizza, of course! Although, I could’ve picked an easier recipe… Look. Canola oil, sesame oil, crabmeat… Where’s the unicorn’s hoof?!”

You chuckled at his annoyance.

“You’re lucky I already have all of those.” you said. Picking up the blue apron, you reached out and tied it around his waist, making sure that every movement you made was slow and teasing. He looked over his shoulder and blushed madly, the redness of his cheeks seeming unnatural on his pale face.

“Yah, stop it…” he murmured shyly, moving away from you as if to grab some spices from the top shelf, only making you smirk in return, “So… It says: ‘In a large bowl, mix together the flour, eggs, water and salt.’… Alright.”

You took a large grey bowl from a cupboard, doing as instructed in the cookbook while he continued reading the text. He looked so focused on deciphering all the cooking terms he was in the face of - in fact, he was so focused it looked like you could sneak out of the kitchen at any point to order a take-out, without him even noticing. Which you did, only he did notice you and by the volume of his voice, you were sure the neighbours did, too. “Wait- Y/N? Are you here to help me or what?”

“Okay, okay, calm down!” you frowned after he called out for you, as you were lowkey hoping that he completely forgot about you, “What do you want me to do?”

“Um…” Chittaphon glanced at the next row of text, “'Heat some of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.’”

“I’m on it, Mister!” you saluted.

Chittaphon looked at you and pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder, “Thank you, Miss.”

“Well, that went well.” you coughed, waving your hand in front of your face as Chittaphon threw the destroyed pizza dough in the trash can, smoke and smell of burned oil now filling the whole flat.

“You do realize that this recipe takes about 40 minutes, but here we are now, an hour and a half later, and all we have is absolutely nothing?” you put your hands on your hips to make yourself look strict, but to him, you only managed to look even cuter than usual.

“We just picked the wrong recipe.” he responded, flipping through the cookbook once again.

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.” you muttered, chuckling a bit, “Admit it, darling, we just can’t cook well. Let’s just order something.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Chittaphon turned to you, “I promised we’ll make a delicious meal by ourselves…”

“So this is entirely your fault, Mister.”

He stopped talking and glared at you, dead serious. “I’m making this meal and you’re helping me, liked it or not.” he said slowly and clearly, “Understood?”

“No. You’re done cooking, get out of the kitchen.”

“I refuse to do so.”

“Oh really? How about now?” You reached out and took some of the flour into your hand and smeared it onto his face, making him jump in surprise with a yelp.

“Are you crazy?!” he yelled as he wiped the flour off with his sleeve, but only managing to make a bigger mess.

“No, darling, not at all. You had it coming, though.” you responded, keeping your cool.

“Why, you little…” Chittaphon grabbed an egg from the counter and smashed it onto your head. Your mouth instantly gaped open in shock. “Payback.” your boyfriend clicked his tongue and turned around to exit the kitchen like a victor, but stopped dead in his tracks when ice-cold water splashed onto his body, making every single fiber in it scream in protest. Slowly turning around, he glared at you with a murderous look on his usually smiling face.

“Oh, it’s on!” he hissed like a snake and rushed towards you. Of course, you tried to escape, but the rage was like a fuel to him and he grabbed onto your arm easily.

“Where are you going? Where are you going?” he taunted, pulling at your sleeve as you tried to run out of the kitchen, “Trying to escape?”

“Yes!” you yelped as he tugged at your sleeve and dug your heels into the ground.

“Not going to happen, darling!” he responded, “Not on my watch! It’s my turn now!”

Somehow managing to grab a handful of flour, he threw it into your face. You let out a high-pitched scream and struggled, trying to get away from him for dear life.

“How do you like that? Huh? It’s not nice, is it?” Chittaphon poked you tauntingly, laughing at your miserable attempts to escape.

“Hey! Do you have any idea of how I’m going to look after this?!” you yelled, which only made him laugh harder, “It’ll take me forever to clean up!”

“I don’t care, you had it coming. Don’t be such a drama qu- no, please don’t!” Chittaphon screamed like a little girl when you poured ketchup onto his hair and he let go of you, squealing and jumping up and down. “Holy mother of god, why?!”

It was your turn now to laugh. You leaned onto the counter and buried your head into your hands, shoulders shaking from laughing so hard. However, the laugh was immediately stopped by a bowl full of sesame oil splashing onto your clothes. And that was where you have had enough of it.

Rushing towards him, you grabbed him, pressing him against the sink to keep him in one place and opened the fridge. After realizing you took out a bottle of blackberry juice, he yelled and started trashing around, trying to set himself free. “No! No! No! No! Not blackberry juice! Please, don’t, I’ll do anything!”

“Despite your nice offer, I’ll pass.” you opened the bottle, careful not to let Chittaphon knock it out of your hand, and held it in front of his face.

“You wouldn’t!” he looked at you in horror.

“You think so?”

With a little twist of your wrist, the dark liquid was poured onto his face and shirt and he froze, his jaw dropping open.

“You maniac!” he yelled, stomping on his foot, “This is my favorite shirt!”

You let go of him and took a few steps back, just to escape his rage. But, seeing him like that, all dirty, with messy hair, and covered in sticky juice, you started laughing uncontrollably. Chittaphon glared at you as if you were his worst enemy. “What?! What’s so funny?!” he snapped with a voice full of venom.

“You!” was your response.

“You little-” Chittaphon grabbed a spoon from the counter and checked his reflection in it. As soon as he saw it, he knew you were right - the reflection was twisted, yet it was clear that he looked ridiculous. Then he started laughing himself.

“Well, you don’t look any better, you know?” he spoke through tears that were quickly forming in his eyes, as he punched your arm slightly.

“You look worse!” you poked his side and he yelped.

“Knock it off!” he said, earning a punch from you, "Okay, now, let’s clean this up and go to bed. You have a job interview tomorrow.”

“Oh…” you puckered your lips, “I kind of forgot about it.”  And really, you did. You dusted off the flour from your shirt as you started heading towards the kitchen door, your just as dirty boyfriend following after you, "We should hurry, in that case."

Unfortunately, Chittaphon slipped onto the oil-covered floor, pulling you with him. You both crashed on your backs, next to each other, and then just laid there without moving an inch.

“…We also forgot that the floor is slippery, didn’t we?” your boyfriend turned his head and looked at you, waiting for an answer. You pouted, not saying anything.

At that moment, both of you bursted into a loud laughter. You giggled and snickered, to the point where your eyes were full of tears and your stomach muscles started protesting. Too occupied by that, you never heard the door open and people enter your apartment.

There was a loud gasp and you both turned your heads towards the source of the noise. The members of NCT 127 stood at the doorway, still in their workout clothes with their duffel bags swung over their shoulders, and watched the whole scene carefully. Needless to say, they were shocked at the sight of the mess the entire kitchen was in and very, very confused at the couple’s behavior - everyone, except the leader. He simply turned to Johnny, who was standing right next to him, and cocked his eyebrow.

“You asked why we always order take-out?” he pointed at the laughing couple on the floor, “Well, this is why.”

~ Admin Taeyeon