#whatever I’m pissy now i took a break to make dinner i got so upset lmaoo okay back to it

[paperficwriter]

My Own Worst Enemy

Here is a KiriBaku request I wrote for @batneko based off this fantastic prompt! Thank you for your commission, Bats!!

If you are interested in commissioning me for Boku no Hero Academia or other series, please check out my commission guidelines here!!

Cut is for length, not for content.

Of all the things that Kirishima had done in his life, including getting accepted to UA, the top hero school in the country, it all seemed like absolutely nothing compared to being able to kiss Bakugou Katsuki.

And not just kissing him. Kissing him in his room. On his bed. No one else had ever even been allowed to go into his space in the dorm, and although there wasn’t much to speak of so far as belongings went (Bakugou was pretty minimalist), he did have an actual bed. He could still remember the first time Bakugou invited him in, his heart pounding, and he lit up into a smile.

“Dude! No futon?! Seriously?”

Bakugou had rolled his eyes. “When my quirk manifested, I had to have more space, and if I didn’t sleep on a mattress I got pissed and burned holes in the floor.”

Kirishima stifled back a laugh as he jumped onto it. It was the most comfortable surface he had ever been on: a little firm but also soft. Pillowy. “That sounds like you, for sure. Does Momo know you have a bed too?” he teased.

“No. And it’s going to stay that way, Shitty Hair.”

He wasn’t sure what else they did that day. Probably studied, maybe watched some videos on his phone, but he knew that at some point he had put his head on Bakugou’s shoulder and dozed off. Class had been busy that week, he recalled, and he was stressed, and with his back pressed against the wall Bakugou had been so close and warm and…

If someone had asked a year or two before if he ever thought he would wake up with a blanket around himself and Bakugou stroking his hair...well, he would have just zoned out and fantasized about it for a minute, then shaken his head and said it would never happen. And yet. It happened, Bakugou’s fingers carding through his hair, quite obviously breaking up the product so it was soft and mostly down when he sat up.

“What?” Bakugou had asked, a pink glow brightening the bridge of his nose.

Kirishima didn’t know how to answer. In fact, he hadn’t known how to for weeks until finally he was in that room again, and he blurted that he had wanted so much for Bakugou to kiss him that night, and Bakugou stared at him and then…

Kissed him.

Had it seriously been that simple?

And sure, maybe he would like to say now that it was a romantic movie kiss with all the bells and whistles. He would have liked to look back and say that Bakugou Katsuki, who would never let anyone come even in arm’s length of him physically or emotionally, swept him off his feet, but...it was awkward, leaving him wondering if it was his first kiss too. One with too much teeth, a tongue thrust into his mouth like a creature seeking a hiding place, and at some point he thought he cut himself on one of Kirishima’s canines. A false alarm, but an alarm nevertheless.

“I guess we’ll just have to practice,” Kirishima joked, his smile turning melty when Bakugou fingered one of the spikes of his hair.

“Whatever.” Bakugou had been dismissive that day, but the following afternoon, he dragged Kirishima into his room. Then again. And again.

And he really had improved. He wanted to ask, to tease, if he had been practicing on some other pair of lips, but he was too busy falling into that warm afternoon of sunshine and ice cream and a cool breeze and all his favorite things wrapped up into one that was Bakugou kissing him. His memory about everything else sucked (at least that's what Aizawa would say) but this…this he gripped tight in his brain.

Bakugou's arm around his waist, holding him against his front where he laid on his side.

Warm, soft lips opening and then closing over his, brushing one moment, pressing hard the next.

The wet noises, the little breaths, even the brush of his fingers against his cheekbone.

If Kirishima opened his eyes - and he didn't often because Bakugou somehow always caught him and snarled at him to “stop fucking staring, weirdo” - he could see how soft Bakugou's face would become. The eyebrows normally knit in an angry 'v’ would go loose. Maybe even turn up a little. The angry line of his mouth now came in to touch his, open or puckered slightly or…

Bakugou's phone vibrated.

“Really?” Kirishima chuckled, balling his fist into Bakugou's black shirt like he was going to fight him. “You left your phone on?”

“Like you turned yours off.” There was the glare again.

“It's at least on silent!” The vibrations started again, obnoxiously loud on Bakugou's dresser. “Want to get that?”

“Fuck ‘em,” he grunted, and he gave Kirishima's bottom lip a wet lick, kissing him again as soon as his jaw dropped. “I'm busy.”

Busy. That was about the extent of it. Whenever Kirishima was in his room and either one of their friends or a classmate or even Midoriya came by, he was always “busy.” Or, if they called him while they were out together eating lunch or dinner in the city, he was “fucking busy.” And if they wandered back into the dorms together and anyone even breathed in Bakugou’s direction to ask where he had been, he’d scream that it wasn’t any of their fucking business.

Kirishima waited for that to bother him. He waited for some sort of pain to settle in, to feel maybe a little bitter or angry or upset, that Bakugou wasn’t telling everyone about him. But then...he liked this. He liked having this something with Bakugou. And he loved everything that went with it, too.

When the phone finally got to the edge of the table, Kirishima pushed Bakugou away to reach out for it. “Oh my god, dude, I can’t handle it anymore. If you’re not going to answer it, at least let me.”

Bakugou groaned as he rolled over on his back, and Kirishima had zero doubts that he would have just let it dance to the edge and clatter to the floor. “Do what you want.”

Kirishima pressed the button on the side of the phone, and there were several texts from Kaminari. Many of them were just Bakugou’s name, but the most recent one said, “Baku, you have to come see this guy. He’s huge. He has some apex predator quirk?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING??”

“Kaminari is talking about some...guy?”

Bakugou took the phone and glared at the screen for a second before he swung his legs up to stand next to the bed. Okay, maybe now Kirishima regretted messing with the phone. He wanted to go back to kissing, and instead Bakugou opened his door. A new challenger had approached and Bakugou clearly had to see if his territory was being threatened. “Come on. Let’s check it out.”

Once they were both out in the hall, they could see and hear clearly that there was a commotion down by the common room. Both boys and girls from not only 1-A but other classrooms were gathered around a single figure, a figure so tall that they loomed over the heads of the students. It was hard not to notice the dramatic bearing of the person who frankly looked more like a teacher than one of their own, and it was only the uniform that gave it away. He (Kirishima didn’t want to make assumptions about gender, but it was difficult not to, given his physical appearance) was broad-chested, and he had the traits of a lion. Kirishima had seen other people with animal characteristics - Tokoyami, of course, and Hound Dog came immediately to mind - but this guy was…a lion. With a gorgeous full mane around his head, gold eyes, and rich sandy fur that seemed to cover his entire body. When he smiled, he showed off perfect, sharp teeth.

“Wow,” Kirishima breathed.

“What?!” Bakugou snapped.

“Nothing! He’s just…” He whistled low, avoiding Bakugou’s narrowed gaze. “You have to admit he looks really cool.”

“Appearances aren’t everything,” Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as they wandered up to where the crowd was a steady buzz of sound. When he heard Kaminari’s voice, Bakugou glanced up again when he joined them. “So what’s with this guy, Drooly?”

Kaminari’s face appeared as excited as Kirishima felt. “So his name is Yuri, right? I mean, that’s not really his name, but that’s what he chose for his exchange name. And he’s a transfer student from a sister city in another country and he’s going to live with us for a few weeks and he’s super nice and cool and --”

“Fuck, just suck his cock already,” Bakugou interrupted, rolling his eyes. “What about his quirk?”

“Oh yeah!” Kaminari, as always, was completely unfazed by Bakugou’s attitude. “He was talking about how he has this quirk that kind of jives with his lion genes from his dad’s size of the family, and he can, like, grow his fangs and his claws and run really fast and --”

“I guess it doesn’t suck,” Bakugou concluded. “Where does he rank in his school?”

Kirishima elbowed him lightly. “Somehow I doubt he’s bothered talking about where he places in grades, unlike some people...”

“Actually, he’s third! Just like you, Bakugou!”

He couldn’t be entirely sure, but did Kirishima see Bakugou just tense slightly? Sure, he could get pissy about the fact that Iida and Yaoyorozu were both ahead of him, but Yuri wasn’t even enrolled at UA. Why did he care?

“Excuse me.”

Bakugou, Kirishima and Kaminari turned at the sound of the voice. Yuri was standing right in front of them, two duffel bags casually over one shoulder, and the crowd had parted but remained hovering around him, watching the interaction with close interest. He smiled, and Kirishima had never thought that he would care that much about what someone’s voice sounded like, but Yuri could read the dictionary and he’d be happy. It was smooth and rich, the deepest voice he had ever heard, and despite his accent, he spoke their language flawlessly. “Are you Kirishima Eijirou?”

“Me? Yeah. Yeah! Hi!” Why was he feeling nervous? He shook his hand rather vigorously. “Nice to meet you!”

“I read about the fight you were involved in when you were serving as intern with Fatgum and cooperating with the professional heroes in this region. It was very impressive.” Man, oh man, that voice. So manly. “When I saw that I would be staying in your school’s dorms for a week, I hoped I would be able to meet you.”

Kirishima blushed, and it was only because he had turned his head down sheepishly that he caught the expression on Bakugou’s face, one that was close to scathing. “You’ve probably heard of Bakugou Katsuki, too!” Kirishima blurted. “He won the sports festival during our first year.”

“Ah, yes.” It was hard to read the tone Yuri’s words took on, then, but he spoke slowly. Deliberately. “You were quite something, Bakugou. Although it did not seem you were satisfied with the result, despite your success. I could not help wondering if your fellow classmates appreciated your careless regard for your win.”

Kirishima and Kaminari exchanged a glance.

“Maybe they should have been fucking better, and they could have gotten that piece of shit medal, then.” Bakugou squared his shoulders. Kirishima knew he was waiting for Yuri to throw some other slight his way so he could knock it out. That’s usually how these interactions went, anyway.

But it never happened.

It was like a light switch being flipped. Rather than following up, Yuri returned his full attention to Kirishima, blinking slowly as his dark lips spread into a grin. “I will be staying here in the city for some time. Perhaps we could go have some dinner together?”

It took Kirishima at least ten seconds to realize that he was being asked out. And maybe it wasn’t a date but...it wasn’t not a date either.

“Maybe!” he finally chirped. “That could be fun, right, Bakugou?”

He wished he was more surprised when he turned to see Bakugou stalking away. Yet somehow, that was just the way he was: Bakugou Katsuki, volatile and yet somehow completely predictable, more ticking time bomb than hand grenade.

---

“I don’t like that fucking guy,” Bakugou said as he stabbed his spicy curry with his chopsticks. He hated that he kept glancing up at Kirishima talking to that giant housecat. They would grin and talk, and now and then he would catch him flexing for Kirishima, or showing his sharp claws, or…

“I think he’s nice!” Ashido gushed, sipping her tea. Kaminari and Sero nodded in agreement, and he scowled at all of them. What did they know?

“You would.”

“I think he’s just pissy because Kirishima is spending more time with Yuri than he is with him,” Sero pointed out, like Bakugou wasn't sitting right there in front of them.

“Fuck off. I don’t give a shit who he hangs out with.”

“Oh yeah? Is that why you keep shoving Kirishima into the classroom when Yuri is calling for him down the hall?” Kaminari volunteered.

“Or why when Aizawa was going to partner Yuri and Kirishima for sparring you practically screamed that you volunteered to fight Kirishima instead?”

“Or when you pretty much yelled in his face that Kirishima had a study date with you and that’s why he couldn't go out for karaoke?”

“All right, you fucking asshats, I didn’t ask for your opinion!” When Bakugou got up, his chair clattered to the floor behind him. He didn’t have to listen to this shit. Flipping them off, he stormed over to the garbage can to throw away the remnants of lunch. Hell, he’d barely touched anything. He had thought when he bought Kirishima lunch that he would finally get a chance to just sit down with him and talk for five seconds, but the minute Yuri came over, that had been it. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a surprise that he lost his appetite.

As he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed out to the lawn, kicking the door open in front of him, he could still hear those three fuckwits laughing in his ears. They hadn’t been wrong, and that was the worst of all. It made his insides feel as explosive as his hands when he thought about each of those occurrences. And not once had Yuri been a shit to him about it, not like Bakugou would have been if the tables were turned. Despite his big, bad appearance, Yuri completely tuned him out, his entire focus on Kirishima.

Kirishima, who definitely didn’t seem opposed to the attention.

And it wasn’t like Bakugou had gone silently into this whole situation. He had mentioned it to Kirishima at least several times. “I don’t get why you even like hanging around him,” he said, lying on the bed. He had wanted to go back to where they were that first day, but Kirishima kept sitting up, legs crossed, looking at his phone and reading over snippets of translated articles about Yuri and his school. “Don't get used to him. He’s going to be gone before you know it.”

“He’s really an awesome guy,” Kirishima said, not looking up. “He’s in all these clubs, and he interned for a big-name hero in his country. He has a lot of great stories! Give him a chance!”

“I have to focus on school. And you should be, too, jackass.”

Kirishima had shoved him over, grinning down at him. “I’ll catch up on studying! I promise.”

The whole scenario had left a bitter taste in Bakugou’s mouth.

“Bakugou?” Even at the sound of his name, Bakugou didn’t turn as he kicked his way through the manicured grass. He didn’t have to. He recognized Yuri’s voice immediately, the cadence with which he said his name, the consonants popping on his tongue. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Better keep up, then. I’ve got shit to do.” Maybe he would get tired of following him. Why was he here? He didn’t want to talk to this guy…

Even despite his efforts, he could hear the grass crunch as Yuri jogged up to his side. The wind rolled across the quad, ruffling his mane in a way that made Bakugou hate him even more, because it was perfect, like a goddamned commercial with his stupid face on it. “There is something I am not clear about, and I have been unable to confirm this with you or with Kirishima.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Is Kirishima your boyfriend, or is he not?”

That got his attention. Bakugou stopped walking. “What the...why the fuck are you asking me that?”

Yuri put his hands on his wide hips, and Bakugou hated how much taller he was, forcing him to crane his neck up. “I can tell that there is something between the two of you, but...you are never...particularly kind to him. There is a physical chemistry, but I cannot tell if you have a relationship or if you do not.”

Bakugou wasn’t sure what he was going to say but even the start of the word crackled and dissipated in his throat. He tried again. Nothing. “That’s none of your fucking business!” he finally expelled. That had worked fine before with everyone else.

And yet…

“It is my business, Bakugou,” Yuri said patiently. “Because I wish to court Kirishima, but I cannot do this if I do not understand the nature of your bond.” Now Bakugou was fuming. Courting? Bond?! “Are you intimate with Kirishima? Are you engaging in --”

“Shut up! Don’t ask me that shit!” For lack of further response, though, since Bakugou did not want him to continue that line of questioning, he finally allowed himself to admit, “But yeah, we make out and stuff.”

A slow nod. “But you are not boyfriends?”

“What the fuck does that even mean?!”

“So...you are not.”

“I...We…” Bakugou felt like he was choking. Suddenly he was reminded of the sludge monster, of drowning in the black ectoplasmic goo when he was trapped by the League of Villains. As much as he wanted to reply, he couldn’t. Couldn’t focus, couldn’t find the words, couldn’t get the air behind what might have been the words.

Yuri’s expression changed. Suddenly he seemed less annoyed, and more...sympathetic, and that only made Bakugou’s rage build. “Do you have feelings for him?”

Bakugou wanted to run away. “Do I look like the kind of asshole who would make out with someone I don’t care about?”

“Have you spoken with him about how you feel?”

“He knows!” Small explosions set off in Bakugou’s palms without him even intending for them to, and his voice had become so shrill it echoed in the field. Kirishima knew. He had to know. Right?

Yuri didn’t look away, not even flinching from Bakugou’s quirk triggering. His words were flat. Calm. “Are you certain? Perhaps your ‘making out’ is enough for him. Maybe you are not together because he is waiting for someone who is more deserving of him. Someone who will treat him like a whole person, who will do ‘stuff’ with him but also be kind. Who will love him.” He shrugged. “Maybe he does not want you.”

Maybe he does not want you.

Bakugou didn’t remember what happened between the field and his dorm room. He might have bitten off another curse at Yuri, or he might have just run away. It didn’t matter. His stomach was in knots, and it hurt worse than when All Might had gut-punched him during their exams in the first year. His brain was trying to play back recordings of every conversation between him and Kirishima, and each one brought back...nothing. He had always been left assuming that this - whatever this was - worked for Kirishima, that he was happy with it.

But now…

Doubt.

Doubt that left him lying on his bed for several hours until there was a knock at the door. One that he recognized. God, was that how well he knew him? That he could tell when it was him knocking on his dorm room door? Bakugou stayed where he was, until he knocked again.

“Bakugou? You around?” he finally called.

“Go away.”

“That sounds like a ‘yes’!” Fuck, he could hear his smile, and it hurt to picture it, to recall the taste of it. “Can I come in?”

“Which part of ‘go away’ don’t you understand, Shitty Hair?”

Of course the door opened, and Kirishima walked in like he owned the place. He had changed out of his uniform into his t-shirt and shorts, plopping down on Bakugou’s bed across from him. “You know that if you don’t tell me just ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ I’m going to interpret what you’re saying as Bakugou-speak for ‘I want you around but I’m too much of a baby to tell you.’”

“Oh, fuck off.” Bakugou grabbed his pillow and shoved it against his stomach. For a moment, everything in the room was silent. Why was Kirishima just staring at him? “So. Did Simba ask you out or what?”

“Yeah.”

Here it comes. Bakugou braced himself for it. “What did you say?”

Kirishima smirked. “What do you think?”

Maybe it was the way Kirishima responded, but it sparked at the circle of gasoline that had been soaking around Bakugou’s heart, and he all but yelled, “I think you should just fucking say ‘yes’ and get it over with. Have lots of fucking manly furry babies for all I care. You two deserve each other.”

And then something happened that Bakugou wouldn’t have expected in a million years.

Kirishima laughed at him. He laughed and grabbed him up, pillow and all, and pulled him into a hug that he refused to loosen. “Is that what all this has been about?! Is this why you’ve been acting so cagey the last few weeks?”

Bakugou figured he would push him away, shove him off the bed, or even roll away, but he didn’t. He might have slapped a little at Kirishima’s chest, but it only made him more intent to have his way and cuddle Bakugou into submission. “I said I don’t care,” he mumbled bitterly.

“Yeah, you very clearly don’t care.” Kirishima’s fingers stroked his wild blonde spikes, and even in spite of himself Bakugou could feel his body relax, his muscles loosen. “I said ‘no,’ you know. I wouldn’t do that to you. Obviously.”

“Don't fucking ‘obviously’ at me.”

Another laugh. “You're the one I want.”

“Even though we’re not…” Bakugou buried his face in Kirishima’s shoulder. “I’m so shitty with this kind of thing. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you weren’t serious.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m always serious.” He reached his arm around his side so he could tug his shirt, pull him in closer. Even without his quirk, Kirishima was a rock. “Especially with you.”

“You don’t think I know?” Kirishima paused to kiss his temple, and Bakugou made a little sound at the affectionate gesture. “After all those study dates and massages and buying me meals and cheering me up? Those mean a lot more to me than any ‘relationship talk,’ dude.”

Bakugou was still, breathing in the clean scent of Kirishima, of his freshly laundered clothes, the shower he had taken. They had gone so long without talking about any of this, and he wasn’t about to start, but… “You’re really okay with this?”

“By ‘this,’ do you mean...you?” Kirishima sounded so tender, soft and sincere, and when he rolled Bakugou over to kiss him, Bakugou let him take the reigns.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

[comefeedtherainn]

Uhhhh... So if you're doing prompts, could I request... mshenko, 48? 😆 thank you thank you

Hi friend! Sorry this took me a couple days, shit got weird yesterday and I couldn’t write hehehe. I love this prompt, thank you!

48. “Come inside, I’m sorry.” - “Not until you apologize.” - “I just said I’m freaking sorry.”

Kaidan was annoyed. Shepard could tell.

Now. Dating Kaidan was probably the most blissful thing Shepard had ever experienced, he was a great man, kind and honest and loyal. He was, however, also incredibly passive aggressive and apparently expected Shepard to be a mind reader when he was upset.

He’d been grinding his teeth and pursing his lips since John had gotten home from physical therapy, the quiet of their secluded home even more blaring with Kaidan’s signature cold shoulder. They sat across the table from each other now, halfway through dinner, but Shepard was too distracted by the waves of irritation rolling off of Kaidan to finish. He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and quirking an eyebrow.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong, or do I have to guess?” he asked dryly.

Kaidan leveled him with a supremely unimpressed look, and Shepard almost took it back. Almost.

“You’re not funny, John.”

“I’m funny sometimes,” Shepard pointed out. “Come on. You’ve been pissy since I got home.”

“I’m not pissy,” Kaidan snapped. 

“What do you call that?” Shepard snorted.

“Irritated.”

Shepard raised the other eyebrow to join the first. “…okay. Irritated, then. What did I do?”

Kaidan let out a huff through his nose, eyes on his plate. “Nothing. It’s fine.”

“Kaidan.”

“Just-! I haven’t seen you all day. And you didn’t message me.”

Shepard stared at him, then snorted. “Seriously? That’s what you’re bent out of shape over?”

He knew he’d stepped in it when Kaidan’s eyes flashed at him, and he was already grimacing when Kaidan stormed out of his chair and straight out of the house and into the backyard. He did this a lot, when he didn’t want to fight - just took himself outside like a puppy. Shepard sighed, getting out of his chair to follow him.

He stood in the doorway that led onto their porch, the trees surrounding their property illuminated by the moon. He hugged himself against the slight chill as he watched Kaidan glaring off into the distance, his back toward the house.

“Kaidan. I’m sorry, alright?” Shepard huffed. “Come back inside.”

“Not until you apologize.”

“I just said I’m sorry!”

Kaidan turned toward him, his eyes narrowed and his nose a little screwed up, like it always got when he was mad. Not cute, not cute, don’t get distracted.

“It was a crappy apology. Try again.”

“I just don’t get why - can we do this inside? I’m freezing my balls off,” Shepard whined.

“No. Talk fast.” Kaidan was shivering, too, but he was stubborn as hell. No way Shepard was winning this one.

“Fuck’s sake. Okay. I just don’t get why not talking all day made you mad at me,” Shepard explained. “We’ve gone a lot longer apart, if you recall.”

Kaidan made a frustrated noise, raking his fingers through his own hair. “It’s not just that!”

“Well I’m not a mind-reader, Alenko!”

“This happens every day!” Kaidan told him insistently. “I wake up and you’re already gone, then you stay gone all day and don’t message me to let me know what you’re doing or when you’ll be back. Then when you come home it’s the same shit every night, and it’s like…I don’t know. I’m just scared we’re getting into a ‘routine,’ and like you don’t wanna spend time with me as much, now that we’re not gonna die in the foreseeable future.”

Shepard softened as Kaidan babbled, clearly worked up and starting to pace and gesture wildly with his hands. Hm. Well. That made a lot more sense.

“You should’ve just told me that, K,” he said gently. “I didn’t know you were feeling weird.”

“I thought I was giving signals,” Kaidan muttered, pouting a little.

Shepard snorted. “Kaidan. You and I both know I’m a complete dumbass, you can’t just ‘send signals.’ It’s not like I don’t care or I’m not paying attention to you, I just…am dumb.”

The corner of Kaidan’s mouth quirked. “You’re not dumb. Don’t say stuff like that.” He grimaced, rubbing his arms with his palms vigorously. “Okay, yeah, let’s finish talking inside.”

Shepard laughed quietly, and they both retreated into the house. Shepard made them both hot chocolate, and they curled up on the couch, facing toward each other with hot mugs in their hands.

“So. About the routine thing,” Shepard said. “I actually kind of really like how predictable stuff is right now? Everything’s been so fucking crazy my whole life, it’s nice for it to just be fucking quiet. I can just go home and watch vids with my boyfriend and no Reapers are gonna jump up my ass because I relaxed for five minutes.”

Kaidan smiled weakly, his gaze directed into his mug. “I like it, too. Mostly. Sometimes, I just…I mean, maybe I’m the problem. Maybe I’m the one that hates routines.”

“Maybe. I also’ve told you before that you’re the first like, serious relationship I’ve had,” Shepard explained. “I mean I had boyfriends and shit but it was never anyone that I wanted to spend my whole life with or anything. Plus shit’s been crazy since as long as I can remember. Always trying not to die. And then with us, it’s…when we got together, everything was so chaotic, and the…uh, desperation, I guess, not knowing if we were gonna die, set a weird standard for us.”

Kaidan nodded slowly. “Yeah. It’s like, now that we aren’t always running from something, we don’t know how to stand still.”

“Don’t break out the poetry on me, K, it’s way too late in the day for that shit,” Shepard teased, grinning when Kaidan snorted. “Okay. So I’m gonna make more of an effort to pay more attention to you. To this. And maybe we should start going on dates or something.”

Kaidan’s eyes lit up at that. “Yeah? You wanna do that?”

“Yeah, sure,” Shepard shrugged. “I’m good with whatever, honestly, and if it’ll make you happy then I’m definitely into it.”

Kaidan smiled, leaning over to peck his cheek. “Love you.”

“I know, I know - I’m the best.”

“Never mind, I hate you.”

feel free to send me a number!

[twi-sight2020]

Bella spills her soul to Edward

Part two begins well enough, Bella says that things are getting better, she’s finally feeling more settled, sitting with friends at lunch. Fairly  typical things. I laughed a bit  when she talked about how terrible Volleyball was and how she didn’t know an answer in Trig because , Same Bella, same.  But then she talks about how it’s worse because Edward isn’t there.  Now, at first her reasons seem rational enough, that she is waiting for this guy who treated her like a leaper  to pop up out of nowhere. BUT, then she seems almost upset .....not to see him. Which, I mean, I have no idea why, because of some guy treated me like this, the only thing I would want to do would be never see him again, and Good riddance, but...maybe I’m the odd one? Anyway, Mike continues to follow her around and Bella begins to compare him to a puppy. Which, seems her opinion changed pretty quick from last chapter when she thought he was cute and they had things in common. Nothing he’s done seems creepy or overboard but suddenly she considering him “overly friendly” and later a bit of nuisance. Is it because she’s seen Edward and can’t think of anyone else? Is it because Teenagers are ever changing? Or because Stephanie Meyer didn’t feel like writing more nuanced humans and wanted to focus entirely on Edward and Bella’s relationship? I tend to think it’s the latter, which, to be fair, isn’t something unique to her. Most romance novels (particularly those geared towards teens) tend to give the main love interest  the majority of the personality traits while secondary characters suffer. Just an observation. The rest of the school day is glossed over fairly quickly. and the Bella goes and gets groceries, starts to cook dinner because Charlie is incompetent. She thinks about about the Cullen’s and their fancy clothing and cars. And here we see her  making th observation that even the Cullen’s clothing and expensive taste serves not only to set them apart, but to fully alienate them, that they want the isolation. Which, is fitting except...you know...if they wanted to keep a low profile, maybe don’t do that? Of course,we could argue that they do it for the human’s protection. We know that Jasper, especially, doesn’t really need to seem approachable, because one papercut and it all goes to hell (Which, sidenote, I’ve been in HS, papercuts, fights, etc are so common, like how has Jasper not massacred the whole school?) Bella got home and emails her mom which, you know, it might have just been smart for her to ...call her mom when she got in yesterday? or for her mom to call the house in forks to check in? Like....they have phones, probably more likely to hear that then check an email but...whatever. They are reading Wuthering Heights for class,and Bella decides to read it again. Now, personally, not my fav book and I wouldn’t be reading it for funsies (more into the other Bronte sister’s writing) but , I appreciate us getting to see that Bella does actually seem to be smart and interested in school. She makes dinner, they eat, Charlie ask about school and Bella brings up the Cullens in Which Charlie’s GIANT Man-crush on Carlise is revealed. Ok, might be an exaggeration, but Charlie is really pissy at the thought of town’s people talking shit about the family, and when Bella points out how attractive the kids are, he does say “You should see the Doctor.” Is Charlie just complimenting him, or does he have a crush? In cannon, def a compliment because  there is pretty much a NOHOMO ban in these books, but hey, girl can dream. All that aside, Charlie really does defend the family against the small town suspicions around newcomers, and it’s...pretty nice actually, I forgot that book Charlie isn’t automatically suspicious of the family and really adores all of them, except Edward which, you know.... The next week at school is glossed over, with small bits about how the local library sucks (I know the feel)  and how her school quizzes are super easy. The she commits the cardinal sin of hating snow, and my snowbunny self weeps. And then, of course, Edward comes  back to school and Bella is a bit of a mess , blushing just looking at him, which, understandable considering how the guy made her feel. Nothing much happens till Biology( other than Edward doing a creepy stare at lunch) but in class, things get...interesting. For one, Edward finally speaks and it’s...very normal. For two, we again get to see Bella’s smarts, even going so far as to have the teacher comment her and Edwards are well suited as partners, and we gain the knowledge that Bella was an advanced placement student in her old school.  The two of them then have an odd conversation where Bella spills the real reason she moved to Forks which is... yea, “Mom was unhappy so now I live here and I’m going to sigh about it forever.” On the one hand, it’s a super nice gesture, on the other, she completely miserable and it SHOWS to the point that, even without being able to read her mind, Edward notices it.  And I’m not saying that this isn’t a good glimpse in to her self sacrificing personality -we see that over and over again throughout the series which is consistent- but it does leave me wanting something more to be the cause of her angst. Which, you know, is probably me asking for too much , but that’s that. There’s a few little bits about him being good at reading people (haha) Edward still acting weird, leaning away from her, hands clenched. Class ends and Edwards takes off while Mike immediately finds Bella and seems a bit jealous. they go to gym where Mike is nice and her team has learned to get the hell outta the way when Bella is up to serve. The only other bit of anything interesting is Bella almost hits another car in the parking lot and looks back to see Edward laughing at her. not a bad chapter, but I remember now that the books are almost unbearably slow and detailed at times. Some people are fans of that, I never have been. Which is ...odd considering that I love long Movies like Gone with the Wind, and old books and poetry to the point of being a lit major. But..... i guess when I’m reading YA I tend to expect things  to happen and these intro chapters have a lot of detail I don’t find necessary. Like, time-skipping is fine, I don’t need short paragraphs about EVERYTHING that happens in Bella’s day. But, I  remember that this is a first time writer’s book and that...tends to be a pitfall in early works.  The pro’s of this chapter though, man, Edward’s “I find you hard to read” “I’m usually a good reader” God they are funny as hell in hindsight. Like, Edwards had his moments in the films, but MAN, he is a lot more of a lil shit in the books and I LOVE it. Also, sorry this took so long, after my stuff this week, I needed a break, and I have some more medical test Monday, so you, know. Life does things. But I’m keeping up with this , don’t worry.