#which are really just based off the waiters at a cafe i went to the other day

[crabsnpersimmons]

Dear Crabsie,

I have brought thou a gift to defend thyself against any fishy thoughts, especially those which bringeth with them sadness and disdain, have these items to fortify your mind :

Okay have a nice day 🫂✨💕💥‼️

Dearest Starrie,

I was so thrilled upon receiving your notice of such a thoughtful gift that my joy rivalled that of my passing exam mark! However, I was simply aghast to discover that your gift had fell victim to the capricious nature of my postal service! I was looking forward to disrupting the tender tranquility of my housemates with my sweet kicks, but alas, the universe deemed this gift too powerful—too dangerous on the wrong feet. I am unworthy of such a gift. I only pray that whoever has received such a paragon of personal footwear will give them the honour and care that they deserve.

Your Humble Jestie,

Crabs

meanwhile...

but where did the other shoe go?

[jazwritesalot]

Shaken, Not Stirred - Chapter 1: Amaretto Sour

Pairing: Shinsou Hitoshi/Kaminari Denki, ShinKami Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia, My Hero Academia Rating: Teen & Up Audiences Total Word Count: 22,634 Tags: Aged Up Characters, AU - College/University, AU - No Quirks, AU - Coffee Shops & Cafes, Barista/Electrician/DJ Kaminari, Waiter/Bartender/Psych Student Shinsou, Bakusquad Shenanigans, brief one-sided KamiJirou, side KiriBaku, background EraserMic, background CamieJirou, comedy, alcohol consumption, drinking, house parties, bar scene, implications of depression, cat cafes

Link to AO3

Written for the ShinKami Big Bang 2020

Summary: Kaminari Denki is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Juggling three jobs seems impossible at times, but he manages well. That is, until romance gets in the way. After a failed attempt to woo his long-time crush, he finds himself slipping into a downward spiral. With a not-so-gentle nudge from his roommates, he finds himself at the doors of Cool Beans Cat Cafe. What he finds beyond those doors may just be the push he needs to get better. The hot waiter is just an added bonus.

“For the love of God, can you please stop? You’re so freakin’ annoying! I’m only going to say this once, okay? I’m not interested in you, so back off.” The words replayed themselves in his mind nonstop since the moment she uttered them. It had been a little less than a month since the unfortunate accident that Midoriya had at Tape Deck, and Denki was sure it was going to work out in his favor. Sato had called him in a panic once he heard about the broken arm, asking if he would mind picking up some of Midoriya’s shifts for him. He jumped at the opportunity, figuring that spending more time at work with Jirou would give him plenty of opportunity to put the moves on her until he was able to work up the courage to ask her out. It was a total win-win. Or so he thought. It was one of the rare days where Sato left the shop early, so that left the store with Bakugou manning the kitchen, Denki the register, and Jirou finishing out her shift as the sole bicycle delivery driver. Clearly his attempts to woo her were in vain, for the moment the electricity-based pickup line left his lips, she whipped around, delivering the words in a harsh tone, eyes narrowed and face tinged red.

Things had been awkward between them since that day, unfortunately for him. There was the sting of rejection, sure, but he was hoping that they could at least go back to their normal friendship and banter. However, he was proved wrong again and again as she continued to ignore his very presence at work for the next week. He couldn’t really talk about what was going on with his coworkers since he was working pretty exclusively with Bakugou, who was as prickly as they came. Why his roommate had a crush on him, then proceeded to date him, Denki would never know. It got both better and worse when Midoriya returned earlier than expected; better since he had less shifts to fill in for, yet worse since he went back to working the lunch shifts, which put him back to working more closely with Jirou, who was still ignoring him. His heart just wasn’t into it, or anything, anymore, which was a tragedy really, since he did enjoy this job. Because of this, he found himself calling out more frequently, which he knew was kind of a dick move, but he just couldn’t help himself. He knew he needed to just be honest with Sato about what was going on. The man was very kind and surely would understand and fix the schedule for him. Unfortunately, the truth would have to wait another day. He picked his phone up off the arm of the couch, exiting out of the picture of the schedule he took and dialed the cafe.

“Sugar Rush. Sato speaking. How may I help you?” He could hear the ovens buzzing in the background and Uraraka’s laughter filling the air. 

“Hey Sato, sorry for calling on such short notice, but I think I’ve come down with a stomach bug. I won’t be able to make it in today. Sorry,” he lied.  

“That’s okay, Kaminari. I’ll get your shift covered. Feel better soon,” Sato assured in a warm tone before ending the call and Denki almost felt guilty about lying to him. With a heavy sigh, he placed the phone down on the coffee table and stretched out on the couch, his eyes roving the ceiling, looking for patterns in the uneven, flaking paint. He let his mind wander aimlessly as time crawled by slowly, ruminating in what he could have done differently to avoid this entire mess. 

The sound of footsteps clambering down the stairs brought him out of his head and he blinked blearily. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed from his phone call to Sato and now, but he was pretty sure he dozed off a little bit. Kirishima rounded the corner, humming along to whatever song was playing on his phone, when he stopped short at the sight of Kaminari’s prone form. 

“Dude, shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” he asked as he popped a headphone out and looked at his phone. “Or well, weren’t you supposed to be at work like thirty minutes ago?”

“Sato called me off. I guess it’s just not been busy enough for me to be there,” he shrugged, sitting up to make room for Kirishima. He hated how easily the lies rolled off his tongue, but there really wasn’t anything he could do about it now. 

“Man, that’s strange, since finals are coming up next week,” Kirishima mused before brushing it off and moving to stand in front of the mirror in the room to fiddle with his hair instead of joining him on the couch.  

“You’re in a good mood. Have plans?” Denki asked, trying to keep up appearances as he slumped back down across the cushions.  

“Yeah! Katsuki gets out of class soon, so we were going to have a lunch date before his shift tonight,” he smiled.

“Dressed like that? I’m sure Bakugou will love that,” he chuckled, hoping that it was believable enough to pass as he looked over Kirishima’s outfit. The guy was a fashion disaster in his black joggers paired with a white “suns out, guns out” tank layered underneath a short-sleeved navy blue button down with cartoon sharks patterned on it. If he decided to wear his crocs with that, Denki would yell at him, on principle alone. 

“He doesn’t mind,” Kirishima laughed. “Better to be myself with him rather than who the media wants me to be,” he called out as he walked to the bathroom, returning with a tub of hair gel.  

“That’s gotta be the only reason you are able to maintain such a low profile out in public despite your popularity.”

“That, and everyone still thinks I have black hair. Makes it really easy to go undetected when they’re looking for someone who doesn’t exist anymore,” he mused while spiking his hair. They existed in silence, save for Kirishima humming, while Denki watched him work, mulling over his words. What would it be like to be with someone who cares about you for who you are, not for what you are? The silence was short-lived, however, as Kirishima’s phone started buzzing incessantly against the table under the mirror. A grin lit up his face as he swiped his pinky across the screen, answering the call and putting it on speaker. 

“Hey babe! I’m almost ready, just doing my hair.”

“Sorry Ei, but I’m going to have to take a rain check on our date,” Bakugou grumbled. 

“Oh? Did something happen in class?” Denki felt like he shouldn’t be overhearing their conversation, but he was curious as to why Bakugou would cancel at the last minute. It wasn’t really like him. Instantly, the realization hit him, and he felt a ball of panic weighing down on him. 

“Not class. Kaminari freakin’ called out again, so Sato called me in.” Denki was frozen in place, watching the realization hit Kirishima as his hands stilled in his hair. He faintly heard the fridge door close too, meaning Sero was also hearing this. 

“He did?” Kirishima asked, wiping his hands on a damp towel he had also brought out from the bathroom, his eyebrow quirked as he looked at Denki, who couldn’t look away no matter how much his brain was screaming at him to run and hide.  

“Something about a stomach bug, I guess. Now I gotta work a freakin’ double shift today on top of studying for finals. I swear to God, Dunce Face better actually be sick. I’m tired of covering his shifts.”

“I’ll hit him up and see how he’s doing. Anyway, when is your break? I can stop by then and we can have a mini date. How does that sound?” 

“Sounds good to me. I’ll probably take my break once Deku gets here at three. I’m about to head in, so I will see you then. Bye.”

“Bye babe! See you then!” Denki was still sitting there, petrified, as Kirishima ended the call and turned to face him, arms crossed over his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sero leaning against the entryway to the kitchen eating an apple.

“I thought Sato called you off, Denks?” Kirishima asked. 

“Did I say that? Whoops, my bad. I meant to say I called off,” Kaminari laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. 

“Denki, when is the last time you went to work?” Concern was written all over Kirishima’s face. 

“Last week. I think you were busy doing filming.”

“Filming finished three weeks ago, Kaminari,” Sero chimed in as he finished off his apple. How long had it been since he last worked at Sugar Rush? Two weeks? He couldn’t really remember.  “Let me ask you this—have you worked any of your jobs recently?”

“What? Of course I have!” He had, hadn’t he? Sure, it had been probably two weeks since he worked at Sugar Rush. And maybe he had been neglecting the emails and texts from the local bars about putting on a show. He had at least answered the work phone for his electrician job... four weeks ago. Shit. 

“Kami, I know Kirishima helped you out with your rent for this month. Don’t lie to us.” Denki bit his lip, averting his eyes from Kirishima’s worried gaze and settling on Sero’s face, which looked both disappointed and concerned. It’s not like he liked lying to them. It was just easier than the truth. Sero shifted and the kitchen light glinted off the metal through his nose, catching Denki’s attention.       

“When did you get your septum pierced?” Kaminari asked both in genuine curiosity and in an attempt to change the conversation. How much had he missed?

“Like two weeks ago. But that’s not the point, Denki.”

“We’re just worried about you, man,” Kirishima said softly, sitting down next to him on the couch and clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You haven’t left the house in weeks.” Oh shit. They had noticed that?He hadn’t even realized how much time he had been spending around their house.

“That, and you haven’t even worked on any new mixes,” Sero added, collapsing into the spot on the other side of Kirishima. “I miss hearing the bizarre shit blaring from your room.”

“I guess I just really haven’t been feeling inspired lately,” Denki shrugs, leaning back against the cushions, head tilted back to stare at the cracks in the ceiling. 

“Does this have anything to do with Jirou?” Kirishima asked quietly and Kaminari whipped his head to the right to stare at him.

“Wha? How did you?” he babbled. He couldn’t remember ever saying anything to either one of them about what went down between the two of them at work. He was also pretty sure he had done a decent job of keeping his emotions and reactions in check whenever she got mentioned at home. 

“Katsuki may have mentioned something to me the last time I saw him,” Kirishima admitted sheepishly. That made sense, Denki supposed. Bakugou had been at Sugar Rush on that ill-fated day—he remembered hearing the low whistle coming from the kitchen before Jirou stomped off, leaving the shift early, much to the chagrin of both he and Bakugou. Having to tell customers that deliveries stopped early was never a fun thing to do. 

 “Jirou? What happened? I thought things were going good between you two?” Sero questioned as he turned to face him, his chin resting on Kirishima’s shoulder. 

“I don’t know. I guess I just built it up in my head too much. I totally thought she was into me, you know, but I guess not. So it’s no big deal.” Denki moved his gaze away from the pair and blinked up at the ceiling again, trying to will the tears away. 

“Not a big deal? Kaminari, you’ve got to be kidding me, right?” Sero asked, brow quirked. “You literally got caught lying to us about your work schedule by Kiri. Clearly something is not okay here.” 

“It’s really nothing guys. You don’t have to worry about it.” He felt himself shrugging again, trying to give off vibes that he really was okay. He hated that they were worrying about him over something so stupid. It was just a crush—it would go away. 

“Bullshit!” Kirishima snapped at him. Denki sat up and stared at him in shock as his jaw dropped. Out of the three of them, Kirishima was the one with the patience of a saint. If he was the one to snap at him, he must really be concerned. “We worry because we love you, bro. If something’s wrong, you’ve got to trust that we will be here to help you out.” Kirishima’s earnest gaze was the final tipping point for Denki; all of the tears and emotions that he had been holding back for weeks all came spilling out. Sobs wracked his body and Kirishima was quick to pull him into a bear hug, squishing him against his chest. Sero stood and moved to the arm of the beat up couch, sitting on it and rubbing Kaminari’s back soothingly as he let it all out, finally telling them about the interaction they had at work and what was said. 

“It just… it hurts guys,” he hiccuped after getting the story out. “ And that’s the most confusing part. It shouldn’t hurt like this. There was never a guarantee that we would get together, so why in the world does it feel like my heart was ripped from my chest and stomped on repeatedly?”

“You really liked her—it’s that simple. You guys have a lot in common and when you talked, it seemed like you could see a future with her that was more than just the friendship you already had established,” Sero reasoned as he ran his fingers through Denki’s tangled hair. When was the last time he brushed it? He couldn’t quite remember. 

“But doesn’t that just make me an idiot? I was asking for more than she was comfortable with,” he sniffled. 

“Nah, I don’t think it makes you an idiot. Maybe you could have backed off before it got to the blowup, but there’s really nothing you can do about that now.” Kirishima’s chest vibrated with his words, which started to lull Kaminari into a sense of peaceful bliss.

“Besides, if you’re an idiot, what does it make this one here?” Sero asked, sticking his thumb in Kirishima’s direction. “He has us wingman for him and forgets to set an alarm to be here on time. What a loser,” he snickers. 

“But clearly it worked out for the two of them,” Denki pouted, looking tilting his head to look up at Sero. “What about me though? I don’t know what I should do. Do I try talking to her?”

“I think the best thing you can do regarding her is to give her some space. If you try talking to her too soon, she may think you’re trying to hit on her again.” What Kirishima said made sense, but it still left a sour taste in Denki’s mouth. He hated when his friends were mad at him.

“You should try doing something to get your mind off her, off the situation. The longer you sit here in the house, the worse you will get. Maybe you should try picking up a shift at the cafe, just so you can get out of the house,” Sero suggested. 

“And risk running into her? She’s been avoiding me like the plague. Not to mention Bakugou might actually try and kill me if I randomly show up to work one day,” Kaminari whined, sinking down until his head was resting in Kirishima’s lap. 

“I’d make sure Katsuki wouldn’t kill you,” Eijirou assured him with a grin. “He may try and maim you a bit, but I wouldn’t let him kill you.”

“Gee thanks. That makes me feel so relieved,” Denki deadpanned, blinking up at him. 

“Okay, if not the cafe, why not try calling around and seeing if there is any electrician work that can be done? There’s got to be at least one building that needs repairs of some sort.” As if the fates were listening to Sero, Denki’s phone started to ring, the annoyingly loud ringtone signaling that it was his work line and not his personal one. The three of them turned to stare at it, not quite believing the luck that was bestowed upon them. 

“Dude, are you a wizard or something?” Kirishima asked. 

“Kaminari, you better answer that or so help me God,” Sero threatened lightly and Denki scrambled to grab the phone from the table. 

“Chargebolt Electric! Kaminari speaking. How may I help you?” The cheer in his voice sounded forced, even to him. But this was necessary. Just a step on the right path to getting better. 

“Kaminari? Hello! I am so glad you called! My name is Yamada and I am a world of trouble like you wouldn’t even believe. I’m at work and my walk-in cooler unit just stopped working. Is there any way you can come and fix it? I’m desperate here,” he begged. 

“I’m not quite as familiar with that piece of equipment as I would like to say I am. I’m not sure if I would be the best match for you,” he admitted with a sigh, shoulders drooping. He was actually kind of excited to get out of the house for once. 

“I’ve called around and everywhere else has said that they have no experience working with it. And they all referred me to you, saying you are the best in town. Please, I’m begging you here. I will pay you triple your hourly rate. This is urgent.” 

“Holy shit,” Kaminari wheezed under his breath. Triple his rate? Good god, he would be able to pay back Kirishima with that money. His gaze flickered to his roommates, who were both looking at him questioningly. 

“Please say you will help me. I don’t know what else to do and I really need this to run my operations today.” The desperation was clear in his tone and Denki felt a pang of sympathy for him. 

“Send me the address and I will be there as soon as I can,” Denki assured, already rolling himself off of Kirishima’s lap and rushing to his room. 

“Thank you so much! You will not regret this at all! I will text you the address ASAP!” Yamada agreed before hanging up. He let the phone fall from his hand and bounce on the mattress while he yanked up a pair of jeans and switched from his nightshirt to one of his numerous band shirts that was littered all over the floor. Huh, maybe he should get around to cleaning his room? 

“This will be good for you, Denks,” Sero called to him from his perch on the couch as he ran out of his room, hopping into his tennis shoes. 

“I agree! And remember man, if you need us, let us know. It’s not like it’s hard to find either one of us,” Kirishima reminded him as he also was putting his shoes on. 

“Says the man who was gone at least 4 days a week for filming. Also, your crocs are an offense to every god known to man, please burn them,” Kaminari teased while shrugging on his black and yellow hoodie, already feeling a little bit better. He grabbed his tool bag from the entryway and slung it over his shoulder. “Time to learn everything there is to know about walk-in coolers before I get there! See you fools later!” he called to them before he raced out the door. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

The journey to the destination wasn’t a long one, thankfully enough. It gave him just enough time to read up about the repairs he would need to do without letting his mind wander too much. Before he knew it, he was walking up the steps to Cool Beans feeling more refreshed than he had in weeks. 

“Hello? Is anyone there?” he called out as he entered the cafe, closing the door softly behind him, mindful to not let any of the cats out. He was forever thankful that Yamada gave himthat heads up before he got there. He looked around the waiting area for signs of any human life. There was a low curse that came from somewhere to the right of him, beyond the doorway, and Kaminari wondered what that was about.

“Damnit, I swore I told Eri to lock the front door.” Denki looked over to where the grumbling was coming from and nearly choked. The man looked like he could belong on the cover of one of those alternative music magazines that Sero was subscribed to. The sleeves of his white button down t-shirt were rolled all the way up, revealing heavily tattooed arms. The front of the shirt was unbuttoned to reveal a black tank top that had what Denki could only guess was the logo for a metal band underneath. His vibrant purple hair was pulled back into a loose bun with wisps escaping and curling wildly around his face. And what a face it was—Denki could appreciate a man with piercings, he is friends with Sero, after all, and this man was no exception to that rule with the metal threaded through his lip, eyebrow, and bridge. What really captivated him, however, were his indigo eyes, which were lazily locked with his. This man could tell him to kiss his feet and Denki was pretty sure that he would in a heartbeat just from his hypnotic gaze alone.   

“Welcome to Cool Beans. Unfortunately, we are temporarily closed right now,” the man said, his low voice bored which should not have sent a chill down Denki’s spine, but that required further introspection that he didn’t want to delve into at the moment. The man quirked his eyebrow up at him—was that two piercings??—and Denki realized he was still standing there staring at him like a fool. 

“So I heard. The name’s Kaminari and I’m with Chargebolt Electric. I’m here to look at your walk-in,” he said as he jiggled his tool bag nervously. He was forever thankful that Sero combed his hair out during his earlier melt down as the hot stranger looked him over with a small smirk. 

“An electrician, huh? Well, you look like death warmed over,” he grinned, scooping up the big white and black fluffy cat that had walked up and started rubbing against his legs, demanding attention, as Denki talked. 

“You’re not looking so hot yourself, handsome,” Denki shot back as he took in the deep bags under the man’s eyes. A chuckle left the other as he lightly rocked the cat and gave it a small scratch under its chin and that was when he realized that he had accidentally used his flirty voice with cat-man. What was he doing ? “Forget I said that. Anyway, am I right in assuming that you aren’t Yamada?”

“You would be correct,” cat-man snorted. “The name’s Shinsou. Pops is the one who called you.” Shinsou squatted to let the cat go as it started wriggling around in his arms and dusted his legs off as he stood back up. “Follow me. I’m sure he’s still moving the product to the freezer so it won’t spoil.” It was all that Denki could do to not nod his head stupidly (or check him out discreetly) while following him, nor to scream loudly when a young girl came popping out of seemingly nowhere in a uniform similar to Shinsou’s, cradling a sandy-colored cat in her arms and speaking rapidly in a soft voice, the words too faint for Denki to pick up what she was saying. Shinsou ruffled her hair, chuckling at whatever she said and Denki was almost certain he had just heard the sound of angels. How was it fair for one man to be this hot? The small girl flitted away back toward the entrance of the shop after assuring that she would lock the doors this time and they finally reached the kitchen. 

“Pops! The electrician is here!” Shinsou yelled out and there was a loud bang with an even louder curse following it before a man emerged from inside the freezer, rubbing the top of his head. His hair was tied up in a loose ponytail and Denki blinked at him before recognition set in. 

“Wait—you’re Yamada? But don’t you work at Hands Up Radio?” he asked as he placed his toolbag on the ground. He knew his memory was a little fuzzy, but he swore he remembered being stuck in a conversation with this man for a good hour a couple months ago. 

“Oh wait! You’re Chargebolt Electric? Welcome, Little Listener! It’s nice to work with you again!” he smiled, showing off his perfectly straight teeth.

“Wait a second, you know each other?” Shinsou questioned, grabbing the case of eggs from the counter to transfer them over to the freezer. 

“Not closely, but I did some work at Hands Up a couple months ago for him. I guess I just didn’t make the connection that Yamada was also the radio host, Present Mic.”

“That’s right, Little Listener! Knowing that you’re the one doing the work here makes me feel better! And there’s no need to be so formal with me—feel free to call me Hizashi,” he said, giving Denki a hearty pat on the back. “Hitoshi, leave those on the counter. They just came from the market, so no need to chill them yet.” Shinsou shrugged and put the case of eggs back on the counter and grabbed another case of ingredients that Denki couldn’t identify from where he was at to put into the freezer.  

“Sounds good, Hizashi!” Denki grinned. “Now, how about you show me where the problem is.” Hizashi perked up instantly, and he followed him into the walk-in, already sucked into the chatter coming from the older man. It had been quite a while since Denki had really gotten to flex his electrician muscles, so he was eager to get to work.  

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The repairs didn’t take as long as Denki had anticipated they would—thank you, internet—and he was putting his tool away after only around an hour of repairs. 

“Hey Hizashi, do you need any help getting your kitchen put back together?” Denki asked as he exited the walk-in. Instead of coming face to face with Hizashi, however, he ran face-first into Shinsou’s chest as he was leaving the freezer with a bucket of ice. Cubes sloshed out of the container around them, and Denki held his nose, which was throbbing from smacking it. 

“Whoa, you okay there?” Shinsou asked, putting the bucket up on the counter and went to take Denki’s hands, but before he could, Denki squeaked and took a step back. He was already in the midst of a bi panic—he didn’t need Shinsou accidentally adding onto it by holding his hand (even if it was for medical purposes). 

“Yeah! Of course ‘m fine! No need to freak out!” he flailed his hand, the other still over his nose. Shinsou just arched his eyebrow and shrugged it off before grabbing the ice bucket again. 

“Suit yourself. I’ll let Pops know you’re done.” He walked out of the kitchen and Denki was this close to smacking himself on the forehead. What a way to be an idiot. He pulled his hand away from his nose and was thankful to see that his nose wasn’t bleeding, at least. What a story that would have been; “oh yeah, I got a bloody nose from smacking my face on a hot man’s rock-hard pecs. No big deal.” He could hear Kirishima and Sero laughing already. 

“How’s my favorite electrician doing?” Hizashi asked, wiping his hand on a towel as he walked into the kitchen. 

“Not bad! Thankfully it was a pretty easy fix and I didn’t have to go out and get any special parts. That really saved on some of the costs!” he laughed. 

“Cost really isn’t a worry right now. I’d rather spend the money to get things fixed properly than go cheap and have it break down in a couple of days.”

“I still can’t wait to see how you explain this to Dad. He had been harping on you for weeks to make sure all of the appliances are up to par,” Shinsou snickered as he came back into the kitchen, putting the ice bucket up. 

“Don’t you have a bar to be attending to, eh Hitoshi?” Hizashi said with a forced smile, eyebrow twitching. 

“Oh, you’re right. Probably don’t want me spilling any more of your company secrets, huh?” he snarked back, before locking eyes with Denki. “The lighting has been going haywire recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw you again soon.”

“Alright that’s it!" Hizashi laughed, playfully shooing Shinsou out of the kitchen. “Get back to work before I get Shouta to dock your pay for mentally tormenting me.” Shinsou’s cackling laughter reverberated throughout the kitchen, and Denki’s skull, as he left the room and went back into the cafe. “Sorry about him. He just can’t help being snarky. I am scared to see what he may teach Eri in the years to come. Anyway,” he smiled, “how much do I owe you?”

“Um, give me a second,” Denki awkwardly chuckled, typing away in the calculator on his phone. “Since there weren’t any parts that I had to order, I only have to charge you for my labor. Which is 15,000 yen an hour. I hope that’s not too crazy of an amount for you.” 

“Are you kidding me? That’s practically a steal! You’re almost undercharging yourself. But, as I promised, I would pay you triple your hourly rate. Let me go get the money.” Denki’s jaw dropped—he thought that Hizashi was kidding about that. He disappeared and came back with the wad of yen and pushed it into Denki’s hands. 

“This is too much, I swear. Can I help you with anything else? Like, do you need help putting the stuff back into the walk-in?”

“Well, I was going to have Shinsou or Eri help me, but if you’re offering, then sure, why not!” The two set off to move all of the produce and day’s meat into the walk-in. Between the two of them, the job was done in no time. 

“Was there anything else you needed from me today?” Denki asked, looking at his phone for the time. It was only a little after 1300, which wasn’t bad at all. He just needed to make sure he avoided the path to Sugar Rush, lest Bakugou see him and try to kill him on sight. 

“I don’t think so, but you must be hungry. Why don’t you stay for a while and have a meal on me? For all of your hard work.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose. Besides, I have food at home, so it’s no big deal,” Denki chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Oh, but I insist. You have done an amazing job today,” he said, directing him to the bar area of the cafe. “How do you feel about cold soba?” he asked as Denki slid into a seat at the bar. 

“It's nice! But really, you don’t have to worry about it. Or, at least, let me pay for it. I feel bad for taking a free meal.” It wasn’t like he didn’t have the cash to pay for a meal now, after all. 

“Not a chance, Little Listener. Also, feel free to order whatever you want from the bar and Hitoshi will make it for you. And if you want to go spend time with the cats, let Eri know and she can set you up with some time with them,” Hizashi instructed before heading to the kitchen, leaving Denki alone with his thoughts and Shinsou. 

“So, wanna take him up on his offer for a free drink? I’d like to say I’m pretty decent at mixing them,” Shinsou asked, throwing a towel over his shoulder. 

“Hmmm, what about an Amaretto Sour? It’s been a while since I’ve had a good one,” Denki responded and Shinsou hummed before grabbing a glass and the bottles of Amaretto liqueur and sour mix. He found himself being mesmerized by watching Shinsou move, pouring the liqueur, sour mix, and a splash of Sprite into the shaker. A few shakes later and he was draining the liquid into a highball glass that had a couple of ice cubes in it. He garnished the drink with a cherry and slid it over to Denki with a satisfied smirk on his face. 

“One Amaretto Sour. Shaken, not stirred,” he grinned while wiping down the counter. 

“You’re such a dork, Haven’t heard a James Bond reference in a hot minute,” Denki snorted. A cute dork, not that he would say that to his face, though. The first sip of the drink was enough to ruin Denki for any other Amaretto Sour he could ever come across. How dare Shinsou say he’s only ‘decent’ at mixing drinks. “Dude—this is the best drink I’ve ever had. Do you like, go to school for bartending or something?”

“Ah, no. Nothing like that. I took some mixing classes since those were kind of required once we got the bar installed here, but otherwise I just learned by trial and error.” He didn’t look up as he spoke, too focused on cleaning the glasses he had just dirtied. “I actually am going to school for a degree in psychology, if you can believe that.”

“Well,” Denki started, eyeing Shinsou up and down, “I’ve known you for a total of maybe two hours, but I can say that that definitely tracks for you,” he announced confidently. “What I’m trying to figure out is why the cafe, though. Not that I’m really one to speak, since I also work at a cafe, but a cat cafe? What even made you interested in that?”    

“The cafe? Oh, well my dads own Cool Beans. It’s somewhat a family affair, I guess you could say. My little sister, Eri, mans the front counter, Pops and Dad switch off on running the kitchen, and I have the wonderful pleasure of being the barista, bartender, and waiter. It can be a bitch and a half to get everything done on a busy day, but it’s not all that bad. Especially when we can take a break and just chill with the cats.”   

“How is it working with cats?” Denki asked while nursing his drink. “I’ve never had a pet before, so the idea of having many little bodies working around you seems so cool to me.”

“It can be somewhat challenging, since they can mask when they don’t feel well. But the group of cats we have here right now are all super friendly. Some don’t get along well with one another, but there’s plenty of room for them to get their space and destress. Besides, we are all cat people here, so we all know how to read their body language to know what they need.” His back was to Denki as he reshelved the bottles but Denki could just picture the small smile that was crossing his face as he talked about the cats. 

“You sound like you really know your stuff. So, do the cats just get free rein over the cafe? Or are they only allowed in one area?”

“Well, they used to be able to roam around the dining area and the front lobby, but we had an incident a couple months back where we had a customer harassing the cats because he had too much to drink. Since then, we had to section off a room that is for the cats specifically and people can reserve times to go in and play with them. We have one cat, who is actually our family cat, that is a recurring escape artist. So, we always have to keep an eye on him.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, and while nodding along to what Shinsou was saying, Denki found himself being distracted by the intricate butterflies that wrapped around his forearm. 

“That’s some really nice linework you’ve got there. Where do you get your tattoos done at?” Denki blurted out before he could stop himself. Shinsou blinked at him, looked at his arms, then back to Denki. 

“Uh, I got these done at Tentacole’s. I came across Shoji’s portfolio and really liked his work. Awase, who also works there, was the one who did my piercings,” he admitted with a small blush on his face and Denki was pretty certain that talking about himself made him uncomfortable. 

“Oh! That’s sick! My roommate got some of his tattoos done there. He and Shoji were good pals back in high school, so Shoji hooks him up. I thought the art style looked familiar. Say, you said you’re studying psychology. What school do you go to?” he asked as he finished off his drink, a small thrum of energy running through his veins. 

“What is this, twenty questions?” Shinsou laughed. “I study at University of Akihabara. Why? You study there too?” 

“Nah, I went to Isamu Technical School. That’s where I became a certified electrician. But one of my roommates goes to UA. Well, he does the online program route since his work schedule keeps him pretty busy.” That was the understatement of the century, not that Shinsou needed to know. “I also have some coworkers that go there. Heard a lot of good things. Maybe one day I will go back and get a degree in English. That seems like fun.”

“Don’t let Pops hear you—he’s a substitute teacher for English classes. He can, and will, talk your ear off about English literature for hours,” Shinsou grimaced and Denki laughed. 

“Oh I can only imagine. The last time I did work for him, he talked my ear off for hours about different aspects of radio broadcasting. It was interesting stuff though. Definitely worth being late to my other job.” 

“It’s not nice to talk about others when they aren’t there to defend themselves,” Hizashi chided, appearing from the kitchen with a bowl of cold soba and Denki’s stomach growled loudly. Guess it had been a while since he last ate, huh? As he dug in, he listened to Shinsou and Hizashi playfully banter and Denki made a mental note to come visit this place again, not only for the amazing food and drinks, and cats, but also to get to know the mysteriously hot waiter a little more. He could sense a friendship—and crush, who was he kidding?—budding and he would be damned if he passed this up. He just needed an excuse to stop by again. Oh well, he was sure he would think of something.  

[bustedmachine]

A comprehensive list for Characters, Aus, and Nicknames:

So buckle up this is probably going to be one of the longer posts. I tried to organize it in a way that makes sense who knows if i succeeded

Au: Fellswap Gold

———— Fellswap Gold is the au in which everything is taking place. I’m definitely tweaking things(side eyes the shit out of my own oc) but for the most part i like the worldstate as is because the world building the original creator did is fucking awesome. Basically 1950s-1960s style kinda world where the underground has been freed and there is a relative sort of peace at this point in time. relations between monsters and humans are somewhat tense.

The boys live in a city that was built at the foot of ebbot that was designed to be the place where humans and monsters could prove coexistence possible. Though not many humans were really chomping at the bit to go live there.

FellSwap Gold Papyrus - Pap, Pyrus

FellSwap Gold Sans - Sans, Fearless

Fellswap Gold Alex - Alex, Human, Firestarter(It was One Time!)

Au: Fellswap Violet

———— so this is one of the aus i had a hard time researching initially and im planning on trying to go looking for more info before i write anything for cash. Most of my current knowledge of him is tangential to other crossover fics.

For the purposes of this fic though Cash served a role in his underground as something of an information broker and protection dealer(among other things). in his timeline the monsters have been freed and Cash has been on the straight and narrow for a while.

Fellswap Violet Papyrus - Purple, Cash

Au: Dancetale

———— Campbell is the closest we actually get to a classic sans and i wanted him here because for one thing i think the dynamics of dancetale are so cool but also i dont tend to see a lot of fics that include him in the crossovers. So why not? Also he looks so soft and squishy in comparison to the fell aus. In Campbells timeline The Underground has yet to be freed. This may be important later

Dancetale Sans - Campbell

Au: Gourmet-tale

———— par is from an au my friends designed that i made an oc for and then also made a couple of variants of as time went on. They are my baby tbh and i love them dearly. So dearly as to kinda wanna watch them vaguely suffer.

This particular variant is from an au where the monsters were never sealed underground. This world is high-key very food focused to the point where honestly this au is basically a cooking anime. Par works in a hole-in-the-wall cafe as a waiter. Also to be noted Par is in fact a variant of Alex. Yeah remember how i mentioned monsters were never sealed? Yeahhhh humans dont really exist anymore by this point in time; theyre basically nonexistent as the species got subsumed by monsterkind.

Par the Fire/Earth Elemental - Par, Hothead

Au: nonexistent

———— Broadcast’s au no longer exists and whoever they were before what they are now, they do not know and do not care. Broadcast exists because they are mainly based on the idea that the multiverse is essentially a living organism and things like broadcast exist to destroy decaying cells before they spread decay to healthy cells. The cells in question are the infinite verses that exist.

Their job so to speak isn’t necessarily to destroy everything in their path but to look for the things that are already decayed to the point of no return. Sometimes Broadcast can save a bit of something that hadn’t decayed yet or, in rare cases, even fix a decaying verse by destroying the source of decay before it gets too far along. They’re less a god of destruction and more just the cleanup crew. They are also half of a pair of their own. And together they very much exist in a yin and yang like balance, creating from destruction and destroying from creation both in turn. All in all they were very fun to make but they are essentially an oc inspired off of error rather than a variant of error!Sans himself by this point.

If you want info/references about error!sans go take a look at LoverofPiggies here on tumblr.

I’d also suggest taking a look at the “forced god of destruction” tag on Ao3 as that played some pretty good parts in broadcasts design as well

Error! Alex - Static, Broadcast, Bars, Editor

Au: Storyshift Swap(bara)

———— hoo boy so i had a very specific idea for cobalt initially and when i went to do research because surely someone had already created this au yes? Yknow what i found? Practically nothing. So very much in keeping with the rest of this fic i rolled up my sleeves and went i guess im making it??? Storyshift is already confusing ill admit and swapping everything around definitely made it moreso but i had fun with it.

Cobalt lives in the ruins, very much haunted by the decisions his brother has come to and has been desperately trying to protect each child that goes through the ruins. He has yet to succeed. Needless to say The monsters have yet to escape the underground in his timeline.

Storyshift Swap Sans - Robes, Cobalt

Au: SpaceOpera

———— ooh this is a fun one. So technically Antares is as he is described however i want you to toss everything except the bare bones of the Outertale au out. It wont help you here.

This is another au me and my friends made and never posted anything about ever. But we were obsessed. This thing got so much worldbuilding to it! I got to design a whole ass planetary system and lifecycle!!! Ooh it was fun! So i wanted to pull one of the characters in for this. Antares is also the only one who would recognize Par as there is a version of them within his timeline. Speaking of:

Antares’ timeline is a long and convoluted one this is in part due to Monsters not being a singular species within his universe. They are various species who are all united(for the most part) by treaties and the like to a galactic community. Antares is from a species that looks vaguely like skeletal insects. His original planet was also destroyed and he was among the few lucky enough to survive the following extremely difficult years(this is where the horror part is accurate) his people are currently within the rebuilding process of their home and culture on a new planet and are on the mend.

Horror OuterFell Papyrus - Antares

[hetalia-has-a-secretary]

kids au? or better human au? I do not know, but the allies and the axis are reunited with their first love s / o. To which they never managed to confess what they felt and S / o is better than they remembered. Some headcanons of the school time in the past and of the reunion of both.

This is a Hallmark AU (Hallmark is an American channel that has the most romantic, but cheesiest and slightly annoying romance movies. I'm talking like, that one miscommunication that messes up the almost official relationship, despite both the man and woman finally getting along after they tried to dislike each other even though it was painfully obvious they liked each other). But yeah, this would be a Human AU lol.

Allies an Axis reconnect with S/O!

Allies:

America:

His heart and body stopped dead on the college campus.

Standing in front of him was S/O. Someone he hasn't seen in years.

They had moved away the day he was going to admit his feelings to them.

He remembers the times they ran across the road they lived in, and played underneath a tree in the field.

He remembered the one time they cut open their knee, and he had to carry them back home. Even though they could still walk, he wanted to be their hero.

Time skip back to the present, they were back!

He ran to them full speed, and hugged them, telling them how much they missed them, and how much he loved them.

"Alfred? Alfie!?"

He sputtered as he realized what he had admitted too, and hearing the childhood nickname brought blush to his face.

His S/O smiled and pulled him in, repeating his vows of affection.

England:

He scoffed at the group of people who were being a bit too rowdy in the town library.

He eventually had enough and was about to ask them to tone it down when he caught sight of a familiar face.

His S/O was standing in a group of their friends. Their happy aura making them twice as lovely as they were the day the had to go back to their hometown. Supposedly to help an old friend.

It seemed that even back then they spent most of their time reading the worst rated books to each other.

Joining all the little craft fairs the librarians held at the establishment. He still has the bracelet S/O made him.

He had to swallow the lump in his throat. Eyes eventually locking.

S/O had excused themselves from their group, and immediately ran to him, hesitating to hug him.

Arthur stopped them from doing so, and for some reason did the most cheesiest thing. He kissed the knuckles to their hand. No turning back now.

He complimented them, saying they looked just as beautiful they day he wanted to admit his feelings to them.

He was lucky they felt the same.

France:

He spent his whole college career trying to make it into the modeling industry.

He had books and books of clothing designs to submit, but all had failed. And he was left working as a barista in some shady coffee shop.

He sighed as he heard the bell ding, a new customer who would probably complain about the mucky drinks.

But as he turned he was immediately taken back to the day his S/O first moved to town.

They lived across the street from him, and his S/O had turned around seeing him standing on the sidewalk, getting the mail.

They had both shyly waved to each other, and for a few days Francis left them small gifts, too shy to talk to them face to face, and never able to tell them his feelings.

But now, they're standing in front of him.

They hadn't recognized them, but he was so lost in thought the only thing he could manage was to wave at them

That waved must have rang a bell Because his S/O went "Wait- Are you the kid from across the street? The one who left me like, a pink paper airplane on my porch?"

His face went 50 shades of red as he started spitting out excuses and apologies.

After taking his order, he noticed they left their receipt behind. And a cell number.

China:

Balance. Focus. Deep breathing.

All things Yào had for his martial arts training in the park. He was working on his Tai chi when some stranger's dog had ran under his legs, knocking him over.

All he could hear was someone apologizing, finally getting control of their dog.

He shot up to yell at the stranger but something stopped him.

The stranger looked painfully familiar, so once introductions were made, it dawned on him.

It was S/O. The two of them use to hide away from the other kids in grade school. He was the only asian in their class so he got picked on by everyone but S/O.

They had found an abandoned shack in the woods and they cleaned it up, making it their own. A base to go to when they were troubled.

Yào cracked a smile at them, and teased them about how he use to have a crush on them, a way to see how they felt.

He couldn't stop the blush that came with S/O admitting to crushing back at him.

Russia:

He had met his S/O in his second year of College. It was unexpected.

They had came into the school year almost half way through so they seemed extremely lost.

Knowing how akward and hard it was to be in that situation he built up the courage to try and talk to them.

"E-excuse me. Do you need the- to be- shown round school?"

His broken english wasn't as bad as it once was, but his nerves caught up to him. Even hearing S/O laugh made his heart flutter.

He was surprised when it wasn't at him, and when they said yes- his stomach was doing backflips.

That was then, this is now. He had to go back to Russia, and they had said their goodbyes, thinking they'd never see each other again.

But after a year or so he decided to move back to America. Back to the town that gave him so much.

He'd be lying if he wasn't hoping to meet his S/O and maybe, just maybe, admit to what he felt.

He already knew S/O wanted to work at a certain place in town, so when he got the chance he went straight there.

To his sadness though, they weren't there. Nor did they ever work there.

Passing by the campus he was surprised at what he saw.

They were still in college?

Turns out a few class credits from high school didn't take, so they were slowly working on earning them back.

But the reunion was a welcomed one. Both had run into each other's arms at the sight. Ivan immediately showing confidence and asking if they were dating anyone.

"No, why?"

"Well, now you can be dating! Me, da?"

The smile his S/O was all he needed for a yes.

Axis:

Germany:

His college days were long behind him, including his dating days.

They were on his mind often, and even though he never told S/O how he felt, in his heart the time they spent together was all he needed to satisfy him.

That was until one day someone called his construction company to help get a roof fixed.

There was something about their voice that sent an odd, familiar sensation down his spine.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he went to the site himself.

The person who opened the door was S/O

The same person who helped him bring Feli to the nurse's office when he was "accidentally" pushed down some stairs.

They helped Luddy calm his anger and nerves over the days Feli had to recover from a fractured ankle and a broken finger.

Now he stood at the door, just as pleasantly stunned as S/O.

They hit it off like they weren't apart the last 5 years.

Japan:

His heart sank the day his parents were rejected the ability to go to America.

The day they were supposed to fly in, was the day someone in an office lost track of some documents. Preventing them from even getting a green light to even go.

Even with the sad news, it wasn't going to stop him. He made all the calls he could, and decided to take a break after two hours.

Walking through town he soon spotted someone working outside at a cafe.

It was an old friend of his. It was S/O.

He wasn't planning on eating just yet, but he had to know for sure if it was them.

Years ago they had ran into him, more literally than metaphorically, and since then they would hang out when they could.

One specific memory was during high school, and they decided to play tennis. He couldn't help but laugh as his S/O got the ball stuck in the fencing more than once.

Sitting down, he waited for someone to take his orders.

To his surprise his waiter was S/O, who recognized him off the bat.

Deciding to take their break early, they got them and Kiku their desired food, and chatted.

Before going back in the clock, Kiku had asked them when they could talk next.

His S/O gave a day and address, and said "So it's a date then?"

Kiku could do nothing but blush and nod, maybe a bit more agressively than he wanted too.

Italy:

Deep breaths. One step at a time, he tells himself. The very first day of middle school.

He was always a really shy kid, especially at school.

He can be a bit loud at times but he's really a gentle soul with a heart of gold

Sometimes, even in your own country, that can get you looked down upon. Sometimes it just takes someone from the outside to remember there's more on the horizon.

He first met his S/O (a transfer student for the next couple years) the first day school started. He was already too nervous, but his S/O saw the amount of alone time he has, minus his brother being near by, and decided to try and make friends.

The conversation went okay, the language barrier being a slight set back, but the more they hung out, the easier both of their languages became. By the time his S/O left, they were pretty fluent and Bilingual.

It's been almost years since then, but he spotted his S/I, ironically, the first day of College.

They were unmistakable from their signature laugh, and Feli had gained a lot of courage talking to people since he met them.

Tapping them on their shoulder, an odd wave of giddiness filled him. What he once thought was happiness from having a friend, he now recognizes as love.

It took him a few weeks, but he eventually asked them out, and the beating in his chest filled his ears as they said yes.

Thank you so much to the Anon who spotted the fact Italy was forgotten! Thank you~!

[avenging-fandoms]

Heather / Grayson Dolan

*not requested, got inspiration by listening to this song *based on the song “Heather” by Conan Gray  *in which yn reminisces on the times she had with her ex-lover, grayson, and then is disturbed from her thoughts when she sees the two of them enter the cafe *WARNING: fluff, a little angst *PLEASE send me requests!!!!! i can do whoever :)

MASTERLIST

I still remember Third of December Me in your sweater You said it looked better On me, than it did you

“it’s kind of chilly, don’t you think?” grayson shivers and you nod, rubbing your hands together. he wraps his arms around you, bringing you into a coffee shop. your nose is hit with the beautiful scent of brewing coffee, and the shop is warm. grayson takes off your coat and you thank him, sitting down at a table for two. 

you look over your menu and sniffle, the cold making your nose red and runny. “is that my sweater?” grayson asks and you blush, looking down at the navy blue sweater. “it looks better on you than it does me. i like it on you” 

a waitress comes over, taking your order, introducing herself as heather. you order a coffee and a heated up muffin, while grayson gets a tea and an everything bagel. 

Only if you knew How much I liked you But I watch your eyes, as she walks by What a sight for Sore eyes Brighter than a Blue sky

you sip your coffee, nearly moaning as the warm liquid flows down your throat. “that definitely made everything better, huh?” he asks, that sweet smile on his face. you nod, biting your lip as you try and hid your cheesing smile. ‘how do i tell him i like him? do i just blurt it out?’

“grayson i-” you start, but she came back. 

“here is your muffin and bagel, enjoy” heather laid the plates on the table and you smile, thanking her. you look up, noticing as grayson slyly watches her walk away. your heart shatters a bit, wiping your mouth with your napkin. 

‘why wouldn’t he be watching her? she’s gorgeous, a sight for sore eyes. she had those perfect blue eyes, of couse he watched her. she’s everything i’m not’

“did you want to tell me something? you started but heather came over” grayson asks, snapping you out of your thoughts. you gave him a soft smile, shaking your head and sipping your coffee. he continued to talk about his new brand idea, but you could’t focus on his words. 

She's got you Mesmerized While I die

you slid your coat back on, wrapping your scarf around your neck. grayson goes to the counter and pays, and you can’t help but watch as he flirts with her. she’s laughing, and he’s smiling. you wanted to look away, but you couldn’t. 

grayson turned and you looked away, looking down at your phone. “you ready to go?” 

“uh, yeah. i think i’m gonna go back to my apartment. i’m feeling a bit good and i don’t feel really good” you lie. 

“oh, really? i can stay and we can watch a movie or something” he says. as much as you want to say yes, you can’t. you just watched him flirt with the waitress from the cafe. 

“no, that’s okay. thanks for our snack” you gave him a quick hug, heading back up to your apartment. why did it hurt so bad? was this death? no, it was worse than death- it was heartbreak. 

Watch as she stands with Her holding your hand Put your arm 'round her shoulder Now I'm getting colder

you tap your pencil against your chin softly as you read over your text book, frustrated that you couldn’t get the question. the waiter calls your name and you go and grab your coffee, thanking him and sitting back down. you found a new coffee shop a street down from your apartment, and claimed it as your new spot. 

the bell dung at the door, indicating someone had walked it. it wasn’t just one person, it was two. grayson and heather. your heart sunk, you hadn’t seen grayson in months. ever since you two went to the cafe and you went home early, he never called you back for another date. now you knew the reason why. 

the two of them stand in line, her hand holding his with a smile on her face. he kisses the top of her head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and stepping forward to order. a shiver ran up your spin, remembering the time at the other cafe when he did the exact same thing. where he met.. her. 

But how could I hate her? She's such an angel But then again, kinda Wish she were dead

you tried. you tried your best to find reasons to hate her, but you couldn’t. she looked like an angel, and she must’ve been if she made grayson smile as big as he did. what a sight for sore eyes, huh?

on the other hand, she took grayson from you. he never called you after meeting her, and your blood boiled. you wanted to jump her right then and there, yell and cry and tell her you wanted her dead for what she did. for stealing grayson. but you couldn’t you wanted to be as invisible as possible. 

“yn? is that you?” 

too late. 

Why would you ever kiss me? I'm not even half, as pretty You gave her your sweater It's just polyester, but you like her better I wish I were Heather

“go find a seat for us, i’ll be back in a minute” grayson kisses her and she nods, giving you a look before sitting in a booth on the other side of the cafe. he takes the seat across from you and you close your books. you pull your headphones out, painting a smile on your face and looking at him. “so.. how-how have you been? school going well?”

“oh, uhm, yeah. it’s almost winter break so i’m excited. how’s your business with ethan going?” you ask, but you didn’t care. you both knew what you really wanted to ask him about. 

“it’s good. we’re nearly finished, h..heather actually designed the perfume bottles” you nod, rubbing your arm. you glance over at her and you sigh, tears forming in your eyes. 

“why would you ever kiss me, grayson?” you softly spoke, grayson’s eyes now focused on you and only you. 

“yn what are you ta-”

“i’m not even half as pretty as her. with her.. blue eyes and perfect art skills” you sniffle, looking at his confused state. “you gave her your sweater, grayson. the one i wore”

“it’s just polyester, yn, it wasn’t anything special. plus she found in in my closet, i never even touched it because it reminded me of you” grayson explained but you shook your head. 

“but you like her better, grayson. you always have. ever since the date at the fucking coffee shop she worked at” you quickly packed up your things, throwing on your coat. “i really.. i wish i were heather” you choke, speeding out the door and letting out a sob as you race to your car.

grayson sat there, dumbfounded, a furrow in his brow as the girl of his dreams sat behind him, but the girl he was destined to be with walked out of the coffee shop. 

“grayson? you coming?” heather asked and he looked at her, thinking about his answer. “gray?”

[hiatus-for-forever]

Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Summary: For his birthday, Bakugou gets a date with his crush while they set up a party at the dorms

A/N: This is late cuz I had writers block during his birthday.

Quirk:  You can control plants and make them grow from the ground. You need a base through, like a seed or root and you can make it grow from that. You can move it and make it grow bigger and taller than it is (i.e. you can make a flower huge if you wanted to). If overused, you get dizzy and could pass out.

Warnings/Genre: fluff, cursing, suggestive content somewhere, ooc Bakugou

WC: 1,711

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

You were in the common area as they were explaining the plan to you. The doofuses, also known as the entirety of class 1A, made a plan called Operation: Blaze It which was trying to surprise Bakugou with a birthday party. People were planning how to set everything up and decorate a cake you made beforehand. 

At the moment, the said hot-headed man was training with Todoroki, knowing there was no way he would turn down a chance to beat the half-and-half bastard’s ass as a birthday present . As the rest of the class trying to convince you to go through with distracting Bakugou, you were sitting there shaking your head.

“Nope, not doing it” you said, lips pressed to a thin line

“Please!” Kaminari pleaded

“Nuh uh”

“But all the other girls are busy, you already did your part by making the cake”

You liked Bakugou, that part everyone suspected but you never confirmed. Rightfully so as they only occasionally bothered you about him. But it was these times when they pushed you together you regretted enjoying the special treatment he gave you. He yelled and cursed at you less, even being caught helping you out with lessons or training from time to time. 

“Why does it need to be a girl? Can’t Kirishima do it? Y’know being the only other guy he doesn’t completely hate!?” You tried to reason

“Nope, he’s using his teeth to help open packaging later” Sero adds

“What about Jiro? She never annoy Bakugou and she’s not annoying” You suggested

“I disagree” Kaminari butts in, passing by while holding a box of decorations to be hidden.

“As you said, they never talk, it would be uncomfortable”

You grumbled, after going through a list of anyone else but you. They gave out excuse after excuse, hiding the real reason they wanted you to do it this way. In reality, the Bakusquad promised Bakugou a date with you. You didn’t know, of course, as they didn’t know for sure if you liked him back and just used this excuse. 

“Oh yeah and the reservation is under your name” Kaminari said

“.....What?” you seethed. They said to distract him, not to take him out on a date!

“So you take him out to a cafe and keep him away from the dorms until about 6:30 pm” Kaminari said as you tried to swing at him

“So this was set in stone and I had to argue for nothing!? You bitch!” Ojiro had to step in and hold you back with his tail as Kaminari cowered behind Tokoyami and some others in charge of buying more stuff. 

“You should get changed, they’re gonna be back soon” Ojiro sweat-dropped as you glared at him. You sighed

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, the dumbass Pikachu is the only one with a death wish here” you growled as Kaminari ran to ‘uh- check on the stuffs’. Ojiro let you go and you stormed off to your room.

You put on a some denim pants with a simple black off shoulder shirt. You wore black boots and stuffed your phone and wallet into your purse. You finished light makeup and brushed your hair. You headed down and as you exited the elevator you heard a whistle from Kaminari

“Whoo Y/N you look hot. Looking pretty for your date I see” he smirked

“Dumbass Pikachu” you grumbled and sat on the couch with your arms crossed and a scowl on your face. Kirishima came and sat next to you, “Bakugou’s just getting ready, here, to pay for your date” he handed you some money.

“It’s not a fucking date” you said lowly and Kirishima chuckled, “sure” he said and walked away.

You slumped back down in the couch and took out your phone and scrolled through Instagram. The elevator was heard opening and Bakugou stepped out and Kaminari hollered at him too, this guy does not stop bugging you two. 

“Wow Bakugou, it’s the first time I’ve seen you wear something this nice” he said. Bakugou glared at him as he cowered away, “Your date’s over there” Sero snickered and pointed at your direction, Bakugou already making his way over.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP” you and him yelled simultaneously as they did so. You directed your glare at the floor and grabbed Bakugou by his wrist, missing the way his cheeks tainted pink. “Let’s go” you said and pulled him outside.

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

The walk to the cafe was quiet, the cafe itself being really busy and known for its amazing treats and coffees. You can’t really walk in in the middle of the day expecting to find a seat as to why they had to call in for reservation. The place was pretty much full, not being as noisy as the people respected the fact it’s a cafe people come to enjoy their time. You told the busy waitress your name as she directed you two to a table and excused herself to get back to her work. 

You sat across from Bakugou and looked at the menu. You looked up from the menu and met Bakugou’s eyes. Deciding to break the ice he sighed, “Sorry you were dragged into this” 

You smiled nervously, since neither of you knew how the other got in this position internally screamed at yourself ‘DOES HE KNOW ITS A DISTRACTION? WHAT DID THEY TELL HIM? SHRUG IT OFF SHRUG IT OFFFFF’ 

“It’s fine, they gave us money to spend so let’s waste it all” you laughed as you swore his lips curved up a little. A waiters and waitresses were talking and sent a waiter to your table. You noticed this and told Bakugou to be ready with his order. Then you got an idea to mess with him. 

You jokingly gasped and he looked up at you, “Do I dare? Do I dare tell the waiters it’s your birthday?” You teased

His eyes widened and gave you a scowl, “Absolutely the fuck not” he said

You giggled and shook your head, “I’m just kidding, I won’t”

The waiter was called to a different table and he told a waitress to take care of your orders. She walked up to you, “So, what can I get for this lovely couple?’ she smiled

Your faces turned red as you looked away from each other, “We’re not dating” you said as Bakugou shook his head with a ‘nope’. 

She apologized as she took your orders, yours being a parfait and his being coffee jelly. She wrote it all down and walked away as you two were left with an awkward silence. You pulled out your phone and discreet picture of him and posting it on Instagram with the caption ‘aww he’s not screaming 💥💘 @bakugou_katsuki #BlazeIt’  You said, hinting at his party

He was scrolling through social media too and saw the picture he looked up at you and you giggled. He smirked and took a picture of you too laughing your ass off and posted it with the caption ‘This bitch is so annoying get her away from me 😠 fuck you @Y/N-the-flower’

You pouted at him and went to your phone to comment

‘no u’

You smirked at him and laughed. He snickered with you, the awkwardness finally fading away. You turned off your phone, refusing to look at the comments of yours and Bakugou’s pictures

U 2 having fun? 😚

Get some!!1!

Yall should just fuck already

The tips of his ears turned red as he read the comments and mumbled, “These fuckers”

You pushed his phone to his chest, “bitch, don’t mind them” You smiled and he put his phone away. The treats came and the waitress set down a milkshake, “Um, we didn’t order this” you said politely.

“Oh excuse me, it’s on the house for those cute couples who haven’t got together yet” You blushed again, and he scowled at her as the young girl chuckled, “Thought so”

She placed the parfait in front of you and the coffee jelly in front of Bakugou and the milkshake in between you two while setting down two straws. “Enjoy!” she said happily and left you two. You looked at him and shrugged as you pulled the parfait closer and stuck the spoon in the chocolate strawberry treat. You brought some of it to your mouth and brought your lips around it, moaning at the sweet taste. 

Bakugou’s eyes widened slightly at the whole thing, blushing and feeling his pants tighten. You looked at him, “dude, why aren’t you eating the food here is so fucking good” you said, unintentionally making a suggestive comment. 

“Uhm...” he said slowly taking a spoonful of his coffee jelly. You got another scoop of parfait and kept the spoon in your mouth a little longer. Bakugou was watching you with a weird abnormal expression in his eyes. You gazed at him with questioning eyes, “What’s wrong? Do you want some?” you asked and scooped some in the same spoon you used and brought it to his lips. 

The cool metal hitting his lips snapped him out as he reluctantly let you feed him. “You’re right, it is good” he grumbled. “Why were you acting weird anyway?” You asked, noticing how uncomfortable he looked. You slipped your foot out of the boot when you realized why, and rubbed it against the bulge you knew was in his pants. “Stop it!” he growled as you laughed and slipped your foot back in your boot.

 You smirked, “aww hell yeah, I fed Bakugou Katsuki without dying and I teased him” you cheered

He shoved a spoon of coffee jelly in your mouth to shut you up. “Now were even, and not a fucking word about this to the others!” he told you. You just giggled and nodded, swallowing the coffee jelly. You went back to eating as you just realized you indirectly kissed him...twice. You shook your head to push the thought to the back of your mind and ate another spoonful of parfait. 

You finished your parfait quickly as Bakugou did with his treat too. You both stared at the milkshake until you decided to speak up. “So, we gonna share?” you asked handing him a straw and taking the other for yourself. You grinned at him, “Wanna do that thing when we share and drink at the same time?” 

He shrugged, trying to hide the fact his heart was pounding. You took the straw from the paper and stuck it in, mixing up the contents of the tall glass. You then brought licked the unmixed whipped cream that remained on the top part of the straw, leaving some milkshake on your cheek. 

He called your attention, “You have a little something there” he said and pointed to your cheek, you licked as far as you could tasting some on your tongue so you thought, you got it. 

“Is it gone?”

“Ugh, dumbass”  he groaned and reached to swipe the drink off your cheek

“Thanks” you mumbled, turning a bright shade of pink

“Oh, what happened to confident little Y/N? Does touching your cheek make you blush?” he mocked

“Shut up, idiot” you said and grabbed his straw and put it on the other side of the milkshake. “Let’s take the picture”

“We’re taking a picture?” he asked, “Hell no”

“But it’d be cuuuute” you whined

“Fuck off”

“Please?” 

“No”

You stayed silent, “fine” you pouted pushing the drink away from you

“UGH” he groaned, “FINE! I’ll do it. No pictures!” 

You smiled and pulled it to you slightly, leaning on the table as Bakugou did the same, trying to keep his eyes from your cleavage. You both took a few sips and he pulled away first. You pulled away after a few more sips, “See! Harmless” you stated and pulled the milkshake for just you to drink.

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

The milkshake was finished, you and Bakugou taking turns drinking from it. You looked at your watch, 4:03 pm. How the fuck were you supposed to distract him for 2 and a half more hours!? You payed for the treats you ate and stapped outside with Bakugou. 

“L’right, let’s go back now”

“NO!” you yelled unintentionally He looked at you with an eyebrow raised.

“I-I mean, uhh let’s go somewhere else”

“No, I’m tired”

“But I wanna go shopping” you said reluctantly, though you hated shopping

“No you don’t”

You sighed, “Yeah no I don’t...  But I wanna train”

“I already did earlier, plus you can’t train after we just ate”

You sighed and looked around for a distraction as he started walking away. “Wait!” you turned to your last resort

He looked back at you, “What?’

“Uh, um... I like you” You said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. 

He chuckled, “After today it’s pretty obvious”

You scowled, “Shut up”

“I like you too dumbass, ‘s why the dumbasses promised me a date with you”

You realized why he agreed to go with you and your eyes met with him. “You said you were tired, right?” 

He nodded and you smiled, “Come” you said and grabbed his wrist once again. You led him to some woods and found a familiar trail of red carnations (that symbolize love, pride and admiration) that you followed, dragging Bakugou along. You reached a part of the woods that was just a big open space. It was full of flowers of all kinds, sizes, and colors. You let go and ran to the middle of it. He slowly walked to you as you giggled at the tumble you took. You saw him and pulled him down, a bed of daisies grew fast enough to catch him. He shook the shock out of him as you talked, “Daisies convey loyal love or could also be used to symbolize ‘I will never tell’ so this place is our little secret” you said.

He nodded and took in your features, your bright eyes, smooth hair, and perfect smile. You flipped over and looked at the sky, your face, relaxed and calm. “When no one knows about it, it stays quiet and peaceful, kinda weird bringing you here” you chuckled

He looked at the sky and put an arm behind his head, his other hand moving down to intertwine your fingers with his. “So, what’s up with this place? How’d you find it?” he asked quietly

“An old woman used to live in a house here and she was an old friend of my grandma. She allowed to come here and told me that when she passed away not to use the house since it was dirty, dusty, and full of pollen so she just told me to bury it in the soil and expand her beloved garden. So I did” you breathed out with a smile

He smiled when he looked at you and you met his eyes. “Wanna do something cool?”

He smiled, “Sure” and sat up. You didn’t stand up though, “You don’t need to move, I think there’s one here” you said referring to one of the tulip seeds you planted everywhere. You pressed your palm to the ground and activated your quirk

The ground rumbled as a huge tulip grew from underneath you. You laughed excitedly as it lifted you and Bakugou up, resting you two inside its halfway open petals. You rested against each other, your torso fell on his chest as he leaned back on a soft but firm petal. Your laughs softened as you got comfortable on his chest. He wrapped an arm around you and closed his eyes, allowing you to gaze at him and stealthily set an alarm for 6 o’clock. Soon you dozed off too.

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

The alarm sounded loudly, waking you and Bakugou, the latter groaning and moving to stretch. “Sorry, sorry” you said, voice croaky from the nap, turning th alarm off and getting up. You rubbed your eyes, getting used to the light of the setting sun. Shaking Bakugou awake you suggested to get back before it gets dark and hard to get out of the woods. He nodded while groggily getting up, you using your quirk to get the tulip to drop you two down on the soft grass. 

You shivered from the lower temperature and Bakugou took notice. He wrapped his jacket around you and you put your arms through the holes. The sleeves that only reached halfway through Bakugou’s forearm, reached past your wrists. He thought you looked adorable, being small and all, but the moment is ruined when you decided to mock him, “Wow, didn’t know the Katsuki Bakugou was a gentleman”

“Shut up before I take it back” he grumbled

“Okay, okay” you threw your hands up in surrender

“Also,” he started, “Call me Katsuki” he whispered

“What was that?” you asked, feigning innocence

“CALL ME KATSUKI GODDAMNIT”

“Hey, hey, no need to yell, Katsuki” you said, his name rolling off your tongue

“Shut up, let’s get going” he secretly did like hearing you say his name. But he hid it whilst tugging you to the direction of Heights Alliance. You laughed and held his hand, leaning onto his arm. The walk was nice and comfortable, the both of you at peace with one another.

You reached the dorms, forgetting about the surprise party as you walked in the dark building, still latching onto Bakugou’s arm. The lights were suddenly turned on, everyone jumping out of their hiding places. 

“SURPRISE!!” everyone froze on the spot, seeing you clinging onto Bakugou, wearing his jacket.

“BAKUGOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND!?” everyone erupted into cheers as you buried your face into Bakugou’s chest as everyone tried to pry information out of you.

[evendeadlmthehero]

The Keepers (2/10) “The Hulk and Arrow”

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Based on after the events of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: FFH

Summary: The Keepers, they call themselves. Little children know them as Santa, The Easter Bunny, Leprechaun, Jack O’ Latern and you. You’re Valentine Cupid; a seducing-angel who’s good with arrows. The Keepers have been a secret for centuries, but when one member goes rogue, this forces The Keepers out of hiding and needing the help of The Avengers.

‘The Keepers’ Masterlist

The quinjet hummed quietly as it neared it’s destination. Bucky had stood in the back, adding knives to his pockets and bullets to his guns. He had hoped that the mission goes smoothly. That Bruce won’t require to Hulk out on anyone, and that he wouldn’t have to shoot anyone. He didn’t want to add to his body count.

Your face however had haunted his mind. He had never seen someone as beautiful as you. Your beauty was not the standard of Hollywood. Your beauty was so unique that it had its own standard. One that went above and beyond Hollywood.

“Okay, it’s 1 minute to land. We’re landing on the old Avengers building in New York,” Sam spoke, grabbing the shield from the ground. “We got clearance from the new owner. Lets make sure this goes smoothly guys, no casualties. It’s in, out and then questioning these guys. You know your missions. You know your assigned targets. Don’t underestimate them. We do not know them and they can be a threat. Make sure you watch each other’s sixes.”

The Avengers nodded, standing up to ready themselves. Sam then looked at Bruce who was standing in the back beside Wanda. “Bruce remember, when I give you the signal, that’s when you come in. You will only be called if things go south and the targets won’t cooperate.”

“Well hopefully it won’t come down to that-“ Bruce had spoken, but stopped when he looked outside when the view of New York had come into view. There was a great snow storm covering the city. Snowflakes fell profusely, which were carried by what looked like a tornado. 

There was also flashes of fire near the ground but Bucky couldn’t see where the source was. Snow mist was everywhere, blocking his vision. He couldn’t see anything at all but ice and fire.

Sam quickly ran over to the pilot seat, switching the flight mode from automatic to manual. Bruce also walked over, taking the co-pilot seat that had a bigger chair due to his hulkiness-size. Both men tried to manuver the quinjet away from the tornado. “New plan, we’re going to land on the bridge!”

Mist had clouded his vision and he was unable to see anything. He was flying in blind. Bucky walked over to the windows, looking down at the city. His face had morphed into shock when he saw the same old man controlling both the tornado and snow. He then fell back when he saw something flying in full speed passed the quinjet.

“What the fuck.”

5 hours earlier

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Good tidings we bring, to you and your kin. Good tidings for Christmas and a happy new year.

You sipped your coffee, a blanket wrapped around you as you listened to the radio. It was the day before Christmas, the first Holiday since the disappearance of Jacko. Your hair was a tangled mess, bags under your eye. Yes, Jacko was still missing and you had yet to recover.

You wore your Christmas sweater, black leggings and snowmen socks. You were desperate to keep the Holiday alive, despite everyone being in a gloomy mood. You hadn’t had a proper nights rest since the 31st of October and you haven’t been out since then.

Truth is, none of you have been out since that night. Nicholas Santa and Osterhase had both went out in search for Jacko and Saint had stayed with you. If Nick and Osterhase were to go missing, at least you and Saint would be safe to remain has Keepers.

But they came back, to your luck. However they were the bearers of bad news when they had announced the official disappearance of Jacko. He was gone, he really was. And there was nothing that you could do but wait.

“Maybe he ran away,” Osterhase spoke, when he and Nicholas came back from their search. You sat down on the couch, tears streaming down your face as Saint rubbed your back. Nicholas looked away in sorrow, feeling guilty that he couldn’t find Jacko. “Maybe he wasn’t ready to be a Keeper.”

“The guy is almost 200 years old, Osterhase!” You yelled back, wiping your tears away furiously whilst getting up. Saint got up with you as well, trying to hold you back from doing something irrational. “What would he go back to? Everyone he knows is now dead! If anyone was not ready for the Keepers, it’s me! I had a fiancé, a family, and you took that away from me! You all did! And they’re still out there, thinking that I’m dead, yet I’m still here!”

Your thoughts vanish from your head as Nicholas walked into the room, donning a red shirt. When he armoured up, that’s when his infamous red suit with white fur outlines came to light.

When you first became a Keeper, you always wondered how Nicholas gave presents without Adults getting suspicious about there being random gifts scattered under a tree that they never bought. Then you found out that Nicholas implanted false memories into their mind, one of them buying the gifts for their children. The fact that he also had the power of invisibility also enabled him to remain anonymous.

“Good morning,” he muttered to you, buttoning up his coat. You gave him a little nod, taking a sip from your coffee. You watched him getting dressed, a feeling of sickness coming over you. You and Santa were not as close as you were to the other members, but you were still worried about him.

“I’m coming with you,” your voice just above a whisper. It was hoarse, due to the nights you spent crying. Nicholas knew this, as he heard your cries during the early hours. He stopped buttoning his shirt when he heard your voice.

“Coming where?”

“Tomorrow,” you finished, putting your mug down on the coffee table. “For Christmas.”

Nicholas scoffed, shaking his head at you. He scratched his beard before his blue eyes made its way towards you. “I’m centuries old, I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t care how strong you think you are Nicholas,” you replied back, getting up from your seat. “I am coming whether you like it or not.”

You crossed your arms, standing in front of him in determination. By the looks of it, Nicholas knew you weren’t backing down. And by the slight tint of pink on the tip of your ears, he knew that meant you wanted to cry. He let out a sigh, continuing to button his shirt up.

“How about you and I go to that little cafe in the City you always tell Osterhase about, yeah?” Nicholas spoke, before walking over to the door, his hand on the handle. He stopped when he saw you weren’t following him. “Are you coming or not?”

You stared at him, before nodding slowly. “Let me just get dressed.”

•

People murmured around you as both you and Nicholas were sitting in the cafe. Nicholas was sipping some lemon tea whilst you settled for a red velvet cake. It was quiet between you two, a sense of gloom settling in. Both of you felt like you failed as a Keeper. Like if you couldn’t save your own family, how did you guys expect to save the world?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Nicholas spoke, blowing over his tea to cool it down. You looked at him in confusion as he took a sip. “You talk in your sleep every night since Jacko went missing. You want the Keepers to go public. But you have to realise, that we can’t.”

“And why so?” You told him, taking a bite off your cake. Nicholas was about to speak before a waiter walked up to the table, placing a Nutella crossiant on the table. You looked at it confusedly, before facing the handsome waiter. “Sorry, we did not order this.”

“Don’t worry, it’s on the house,” he replied back, giving you a wink. He walked away, leaving you and Nicholas alone. Nicholas looked at you with an annoyed looked. You shrugged at him. It’s not like you had control over your seductive abilities.

“Anyway, back to what I was saying, we simply can’t,” Nicholas spoke, placing his cup down. You looked outside the window, seeing the sky slowly darken, despite it being only 12pm. Your attention went back to Nicholas as he kept speaking. “The Keepers work better when they’re hidden from the public’s knowledge, from the Universe’s knowledge.”

“You did nothing,” you interrupted him, pushing the plate away from you. “You guys did nothing for New York, nothing for Sokovia when I said we should go and fight and nothing when Thanos had obliterated half of the universe. But no, that doesn’t matter. Because none of The Keepers vanished. Because we’re dead already, right? None of us turned into ash so we didn’t need to fight a battle that didn’t affect us. But what exactly do we do, huh? The Keepers are meant to save the world yet we deflect the biggest battles on Earth to who? The Avengers?”

“Valentine, you know we can’t fight publically and the Avengers had it handled anyway if I sensed for a second that they didn’t then I would’ve gathered the Keepers. We fight when there’s no one else left to fight. Like in London-“

“Who says we can’t be public?” You spoke back, trying to get the truth out of him. He rubbed his chin in anger before letting out a sigh. “Jacko told me The Keeper’s were once living amongst humans, fighting with them, not away from them. We can make a stand Nicholas. We can help find Jacko without being tied down to our anonymity, we can get rid of The Avengers who fight for glory and install a new band of heroes who-“

“Last time we were public, all of the Keepers got killed!” Nicholas whispered-yelled at you, slamming his fist in the table. You went quiet at the revelation, leaning back to your seat. He then sighed, a look of sorrow pooling his eyes. “Long ago, dark elves ruled earth. Without any opposition, without any question. I used to give gifts to little children to make their days just a bit better. My sister, Saint Patricia used try to make people believe that certain things had luck within them, you know, like white doves, four leaf clovers. Just random objects, and she would tell people they had luck within them just to give them something to believe in. And they did believe.”

“My uncle, Jackson Latern, used to play pranks, you know,” He smiled fondly to himself. This had also cause a smile to break out on your face. “And gave us treats. Lots of them. Drived my mother mad. It also didn’t help that his brother, my Uncle Osterhase, who had protruding teeth, give us chocolate as well. My bestfriend, yes my best friend. Valentino Cupid. A ladies man. Every girl, and man, was in love with him. He was also very caring and loved everyone. Even our annoying neighbour who used to steal our toys.”

“The celestials gave us powers in order to help regain Earth from the Dark elves, only if we keep doing what we do. Me giving presents, Valentino spreading love and so forth. We were heroes of the public, until one day,” Nicholas spoke, shaking his head at the memory. “Their leader grabs this red stone, the reality stone, and kills everyone. Everyone but me.”

“I’m so sorry,” you whispered, tears welling up in your eyes.

“You see Valentine, that’s why we do things undercover. We die slowly, in a timely death. Not all at once with one person remaining to gather the rest of the Keepers and train them all by himself whilst trying to deal with the grief that his friends, his family, is now gone. The Cupid before you died, but at least us remaining four had each other,” He replied back.

“Nicholas, you know there will come a day where we’d have to go public, right?” You spoke to him, grabbing his hand. Nicholas looked away, letting out a scoff. “It could be today, tomorrow or centuries after we’re all gone. But there will come-“

You stopped, retracting your hand from Nicholas. You stood up, which got the attention of everyone in the room as you did it so abruptly. Nicholas looked up to you, his faced morphed with confusion as he looked at your concentrated face. “What is it Valentine?”

“Hate,” you spoke, a slight tremble in your voice. Hairs on your skin stood up as every thing around you slowed down. Voices, people and the whole atmosphere had slowed down.

Within a millisecond, you had ran towards a little girl sitting near the window. In that millisecond, your wings has sprouted from your back and your armour had replaced your clothing. Strands of your hair begun to braid itself but before it could finish you jumped, your eyes watching the bomb slowly crash through the window.

You grabbed the bomb that had previously wanted to land near the girl, and placed it underneath the armour that covered your stomach. The final strand had finally braided itself when the bomb went off from under you and your wings that created a barrier between you with the bomb and everyone else in the restaurant.

Everyone gasped as they saw you, a women who grew wings on her back. Many had grabbed their phones, taking photos. You got up, looking at Nicholas. He had looked shocked at both the bomb and your appearance. You looked at him, slowly backing away as you felt the presence of more hate, more bombs and more enemies surging towards you. “I guess today is that day.”

You then took off, your fists clenched beside you as you flew. Your wings pointed downwards as you reached speeds of 600 miles per hour. You were fast, but you could go faster if you wanted. You saw aircrafts, many small aircrafts, flying towards New York. You slowed down, grabbing an arrow from behind your back.

You had three different coloured arrows; pink, green and black. Pink was for love, green was to spread hate and envy and black were the ones you used to fight. They were essentially photon explosives. You aimed at one of the aircrafts whilst flying in great precision, causing the aircraft to explode before coming down.

This happened for over twenty minutes before you landed on top of the old Avengers building, looking at the more hundred and thousands of aircrafts that were coming out of nowhere. You couldn’t do it all by yourself. There were too many.

You looked down, seeing civilians scramble around and running in chaos. There were screams and police were trying to round up everyone and get them away from the centre of the city.

You breathed in heavily, trying to regain your breath. You let out a sigh, your face morphing into determination. You had to save these people. You had to prove to Nicholas that you can go public. Your were about to jump off the building and fly before a burrow formed two meters away from you. Specifically, it was Osterhase burrow that allowed him to transport places.

The burrow got big enough until three individuals popped out; Osterhase himself, Saint and Nicholas. You let out a scoff, shaking your head. “If you’re going to stop me from fighting guys, it isn’t going to work.”

“Oh no, we aren’t,” Osterhase spoke, drawing out his swords from behind his before giving you a grin. “We’re here to fight with you.”

You looked at Nicholas unsurely, not believing what you were hearing. He nodded at you, making you smile. “I still don’t agree, but it’s kind of too late anyway since you grew your wings in front of everyone which will probably be trending on twitter.”

You shook your head at him, giving him a grateful nod. You then looked back into the city, seeing weird creatures terrorising civilians. They were small, stodgy and had fangs for teeth. You had never seen anything like this. You then looked at your teammates you looked as equally as horrified as you. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll cover the sky. Any aircrafts have to go through me. Osterhase, you cover the ground with Saint. Osterhase if you see a pedestrian, use your burrow to get them the hell out of here. Nicholas, create the biggest damn snow storm you’ve ever seen. Hopefully that will throw them off course.”

“Got it blondey,” Saint Patrick spoke, getting out his golden encased staff, his green armour now in full show. Osterhase then formed a burrow, before he and Saint disappeared from sight. You then looked at Nicholas with a smirk.

“This is just like London all over again,” you spoke, as you started running towards the edge of the building. Nicholas also started running towards the edge of the building.

“You and I remember London very differently,” he yelled back as you both jumped. You hurled towards the ground, feeling the wind against your face. You felt the cool chill blast as Nicholas formed a snow tornado around him. You then sprung your wings out flying back up towards the numerous aircrafts.

One in particular being the Quinjet.

•

“There’s just too many,” you heard Osterhase speak as you flew back onto the ground. Osterhase, Nicholas and Saint stood in a circle as you guys regrouped after an hour of fighting. “It’s like you kill one, and then the whole family comes to visit for the funeral. It’s been an hour and we’ve yet to make progress.”

“Osterhase is right,” Saint spoke, his hand on his hips. There was dirt in his face and a cut on his lip. You pulled a loose strand of hair behind your ear as you looked around at all the ruins. “We need to find the one source that powers them. They must have a leader or something.”

“Yeah,” Osterhase replied back, his fur now matted with sweat. “We have to find the core of this thing or else we’re screwed.”

“Then let’s find the core-“ you spoke before you stopped speaking. You looked at a figure that stood still behind Osterhase. A familiar figure. But he had looked different to what you had remembered. “Is that-“

You couldn’t complete your sentence, because you couldn’t believe it. Nicholas looked at where you were staring, his face morphing into disbelief. “Jacko?”

You smiled, your eyes tearing up in happiness. Your feet begun making there way over to him. It started off as a slow jog before going into an all-blown-our sprint.

“Valentine wait!” You heard Nicholas yell from behind you, but you didn’t care. Jacko was here, and you were filled with happiness, hope and relief. You continued running towards him, but he had made no move towards you. You then saw him draw his arm back, a flame igniting in his hand.

You stopped, confused at what he was doing. He then looked at you with a dark look, resulting in a chill going down your spine. You let out a breath as Jacko hurled a ball toward you. You felt heat coming towards you before Nicholas had fused it out with his own ball of ice.

You looked at Jacko, gulping as you took a step towards him. He tilted his head to the side, watching you closely. “Hey, it’s me, it’s Valentine.”

“Valentine, get out of the fucking way now! It’s not fucking him!”

“It’s me, okay,” you ignored the pleads from the rest of The Keepers as you got closer to Jacko. You then whispered the next words, careful to make sure the other Keepers didn’t hear. If they knew what Jacko had revealed personal information to you, it would result to the permanent banishment of his title, resulting in his ultimate death. You didn’t want the others to know what Jacko had revealed to you about his past.

“Your name is Louis the Secound, son of King Louis the first. He wanted you to be the heir to the throne. But you fell in love, remember? And you bought a farm, and you raised two beautiful children,” you spoke, your bottom lip trembling as you shakingly reached out to his face. He leaned to the side a bit, trying to delve into the palm of your hand. “You were the first person to talk to me about the past, knowing the repercussions it may bring if others found out. But you still did it. Louis, please, come back to me. Come back from whatever spell a wicked being has casted upon you.”

He looked up at you, his eyes flickering with fire every now and then. You smiled at him, seeing that you may have sparked some recognition in the man’s head. But you were wrong. He quickly weilded a flame in his arm, going in for the strike before you felt the ground below you consume you. You then let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in as Osterhase created a burrow from Jacko to next to him.

“W-what do we do?” You asked the Keepers. You were heartbroken and gutted. Your plan had failed and it seemed like emotional memories wasn’t going to aid you in getting your friend back. “He’s not- he’s not himself. We can’t just leave him, we have to do something.”

“Let’s knock him out and bring him back home, simple,” Osterhase stated before he started sprinting towards Jacko. Saint looked at you and nodded, before following Osterhase with his golden staff.

You felt a hand grab onto your arm. You looked at the source, seeing that it was Nicholas. He gave you a sad smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll get him back. He’s strong, that fucking bastard.”

He then created a snow storm, flying across towards Jacko who was currently fighting both Saint and Osterhase with fire. You let out a little sigh, before you sprouted your wings from your back and flew towards the fight.

Instead of using your black arrows, you opted for the pink ones. Maybe it will bring some sense of love and remove the hate that has poisoned his veins. You flew into the burrow that Osterhase created and came out the other side near Jacko, shooting an arrow successively onto Jacko’s arm. Jacko let out a blood-curling growl, before shooting a flame towards you. Before it could reach you, Saint had re-directed the flame away from you with his staff.

“You’re going easy on him,” Saint grumbled at you before running back towards the fight. You rolled your eyes at him, flying back again near Jacko. Osterhase used his swords, cutting the flames that kept rolling in towards him. Nicholas cooled down the flames that came towards the rabbit with his freezing abilities.

“Hey guys, just like we practised?” You asked your fellow Keepers that were still sane. Saint smirked at you, before positioning his staff. You ran towards his staff, before he used it to fling you across to Jacko. As Jacko was distracted by you and the arrow you were pointing at him, Osterhase created a burrow for Saint who was sucked into the ground and spurted right out near Jacko. He used his staff and wacked Jacko in the head before using the end part of the staff to knock the air out of his lungs.

As Jacko was hunched over, Nicholas used his freezing abilities to freeze his upper and lower limbs into the floor. You landed on the floor before walking over to Jacko. You then stopped, watching as Jacko kept letting out chilling screams and growls, one that was animalistic.

However, before you could do anything, tanks rolled out from behind you. It was the U.S. Army. The tanks had their weapons pointed towards all of you. They came out from behind building, a mechanical road deafening the entire city.

There was 20 tanks pointing their weapons at all of you. You then heard helicopters, looking up to see four. Ropes fell down from them and men and women in army clothing slid down the rope before rolling on the floor and pointing their machine gun at all of you.

“Freeze. This is the U.S Army. Drop all of your weapons and remain still. If you do not cooperate, we will use force.” You heard someone demand from the speakers. Wind blew against your face as you watched more tanks, more helicopters and more soldiers coming into the City.

Another plane, one that was bigger, had landed in the middle of the street, it’s force taking you a step back. This time it was shield agents, donning a black suit and even bigger guns.

You looked back to where Jacko was, only to see he was gone. You looked at the remaining Keepers, there faces in shock as well. He was just there, how would he have left, you had thought. It was a mystery that you had yet to solve. How easy it was for Jacko to disappear without a trace.

A man came flying down with his mechanical wings, a gun pointed towards all of you. He was followed by a man with a metal arm, a women wearing red clothing and Spider-Man. The other Keepers had de-armoured themselves and you were about to as well until another figure emerged from the shadows.

It was him. It was The Hulk, or as he liked to go as now, ‘Professor Hulk’. It didn’t matter to you. He had killed you and taken away your life. You could’ve been 36 years old today, married with your partner with children. But no, you were dead and stuck at the ripe age of 25.

“Bruce, what are you doing here, we said emergency only,” The dark-skinned man spoke to the giant as his eyes were still on you four.

“I saw tanks and I thought it was an emergency,” he replied back, before facing the rest of the keepers who had there hands up and de-amoured. All of them, but you.

You felt your blood boiling, staring maliciously at the Hulk. You grabbed the black arrow and pointed it towards him.

“Woah, woah, woah,” The Keepers and The Avengers had spoke to you at the same time. You felt everyone’s gun click as they all faced you. Bucky watched studied you intently, wondering why there was so much hate filling your face at the presence of Bruce. He saw as your whole arm was trembling as well as your bottom lip. You were struggling and Bucky could tell.

“Valentine, put the arrow down,” Nicholas had hissed at you. You glared down at the Hulk who seemed taken back, wondering why he was singled out. “Put it down now before you do something stupid.”

Your breath was shaky as you continued to stare down Bruce. All the guns and tanks were pointed towards you. You could kill him right now and end your life in return. But you couldn’t. You couldn’t let the reason for your second death be because of the same person. So you let out a little huff, trembling as you put down the arrow, de-armouring.

At your surrendered, the Avengers and Army ran towards you, arresting the lot of you. Bucky had walked towards you as you finally made eye contact with him. He gave you a slight hesitated look, as if he was afraid of your presence. You let out a scoff before bring your wrists towards him, letting him cuff you.

Bucky was trying really hard to ignore the attraction and pull he felt towards you. It felt like he was on drugs the moment he had touched the soft surface of your skin. It took him a while before he was able to cuff you. He then guided you towards the quinjet, a tingling feeling surrounding his body as your dorsal area was in close proximity to his anterior area.

As he was guiding you, you made eye contact with the Hulk. You glared at him with all the hatred you could muster. The beast who had used his anger to murder you. To ruin your life. You could never hate anyone, you were the goddess of love. You were a Cupid, a Keeper.

But you hated him.

Taglist (comment below if you want to be tagged because I forgot to add some people)

@xxpapasfritasxx

@evanstush

@willowtree42095

@wh1te-tsh1rt

@gracfulpenguin

@thenormreedus

@jeonjungtokki

@lokixme

@paullrud

@wendaiii

@lost-moon-child96

@fangeekkk

@vgiselle

@just-a-littlebit-of-everything

@marvel-ousnesss

@winnielinleigh

@all-I-need-is-marvel-and-coffee

@psychoticobsession

@ilovemysupersoldiers

@love-devvie

@acunningstargazer

@theprettynerd

@leasly

@chook007

@jessyballet

@grace-writes-shit

@yeahhemmings-

@jumpxjess

@myfriendstexts

@aspiring-fangirls-world

[msjr0119]

Hold my girl

Part 1 - Back in the Big Apple

No one really knows about TRR Main characters past …. Most of this series is based on flashbacks from her childhood. I’ve changed the main characters name to, Freya Johnson as Riley Brooks is used in my other series.

This series has been on hiatus for months! Click here for the introduction.....Tagging my combined tag list from everything I’ve done- if you want to be removed let me know 👍🏼

@annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @beardedoafdonutwagon @drakexnadira

******

Daniel was tired from his shift at the bar. He had offered to work overtime doing a 12 hour shift- not like he had anything better to do. Barely staying awake, constantly yawning, constantly checking the clock. Time was going slow today. His thoughts were all about seeing Freya Johnson again.

Before Freya up’d and left for a once in a lifetime adventure to a Mediterranean country, it was fun at work. They always laughed and mimicked the customers. She was fun. She made him enjoy work. Their manager treat them both like absolute shit but having each other got them through their shifts.

He was happy for Freya, he just missed her deeply- he had known her since they were four years old and was always close to her, taking her under his wing. He grew up to love her but knew he didn’t want to cross the friend zone. Daniel was happy having Freya in his life as his ‘BFF’.

Every year on the 19th February, they would both book the day off work. It was a date that meant so much to Freya and having Daniel with her every day for the last eight years on that date meant so much to her. It was her adopted parents anniversary of their death.

They would do some of the things her parents used to do with her when she was younger; having cronuts for breakfast in her favourite cafe along with the special vanilla milkshake, a walk around Central Park taking in the beautiful scenery and ending the day seeing a musical on Broadway.

After the musical, they would visit the graves of Grace and Paul Johnson. Freya would place a beautiful bouquet and tidy up the flowers and grass growing around them. When they passed away Freya decided to update them on this date about her life by writing a diary and reading it out to them. She placed the diary at the front of their grave and updated it every time she visited. Also around the graves were photos of the Johnson’s with Freya when she was younger, photos of Freya and Daniel, photos of Freya’s life achievements such as gaining her degree- her parents would have been so proud of her she always thought.

After the visit, Daniel would then drive them both to the local beach and to the secret cove that Freya called her “secret place” and let off Chinese lanterns into the sky in memory of Grace and Paul. Freya knew that is wasn’t a secret and there was other people that visited the beach but it was the memory of what her parents said to her that always stuck in her mind.

*****

12 years ago, Freya aged 12

“Now Freya, this is mine and your moms secret place. We used to come here when we fell in love whilst on vacation. It is special to us, and this is always why we wanted to share it with you. Maybe in your future you can share this with someone special in your life?”

“Dad? What if I don’t find anyone special? I only have Daniel as my friend. Everyone else is horrible to me.” She said in an upset tone of voice. Not really wanting to hear her parents response, she skipped some stones into the sea.

“Freya sweetheart, you are special, you are beautiful, clever and kind hearted. You will have a wonderful future ahead of you. I promise. We will be with you all of the way.” said Grace softly as she pulled Freya in for a tight loving squeeze.

*****

24hours ago- New York

The bar was extremely quiet. Daniel was bored, twiddling his thumbs. There were two locals in; James Mckrey and Brody Clark.

Brody was the local “playboy”. Had a new girlfriend every day. He sucked at relationships. Would always come in the bar and flirt with Freya. She knew creeps like him and knew how to handle him.

James was the lonely lightweight. He always moaned about how crap his life was, hence why he got drunk nearly every night. Daniel and Freya always felt sorry for him. Half the time they had to get him in a cab when it was closing time to make sure he got home okay- they were waiters who didn’t get paid enough for this shit.

Daniel couldn’t cope being on his own with these two and his arsehole manager. Just then Daniel heard the doors swing open. Daniel walked out of the kitchen yawning whilst putting on a fake smile.

“Good afternoon, my name is Daniel and I’ll be serving you today. Do you both need a tab.... o my god Freya?”

“DANIEL!” Freya ran up to her best friend and gave him a big tight hug. Hanging onto him for dear life, she had missed him dearly and began to regret going awol.

“You just up’d and left. You could have called or text to say you was back.”

“My cell phone coverage has been limited in Cordonia...”

“Maybe you should switch plans?” The man with the smirk said sarcastically.

“Well I’m glad you’re okay. Looks like you’re doing good. I’ve missed you.” Daniel looked over at the man who was with Freya. He looked familiar but Daniel couldn’t pin point why?

“This is Drake, my hot date.” Drake looked confused as Freya said this, rolling his eyes back he couldn’t wait to have a drink and then leave. Just then Daniel snapped him out of his trance.

“You always did have good taste.”

“I’m not her ‘hot date’! I don’t even like her that much. I’ve been lumbered with her.” Daniel noticed his friends smile fade, he knew it would only take a matter of seconds for her to fix that fake Oscar winning smile. Which it did.

“Whatever pal. Please follow me to the most romantic spot in the house! What can I get you guys?”

“One whiskey neat please.” Said Drake.

“Make that two specials Dan” smiled Freya, she knew what was in the whiskey special- if that wasn’t revenge for Drake being an arse she didn’t know what was.

Daniel walked over and poured their drinks and took them over to the booth. Every so often Daniel would check on them and chatted with them both.

“So are you back in New York for good? Or just visiting?”

“Just visiting with the royal court. We actually have a party we need to get to. I’ve missed you so much Dan, I will come and visit more often. And keep in touch. I promise.”

“I’ve missed you too Freya, it just isn’t the same here without you. Take care you two. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you soon.”

He smiled and waved at her and Drake as they left. Would she keep in touch? He hoped so. He had wondered if she had visited Grace and Paul’s graves on her visit? Did she tell Drake about them? Or was it just Daniel that knew? Thoughts kept roaming through his head. He didn’t have the heart to tell her whilst she seemed so happy, that he had visited the graves on behalf of her whilst she was away. He had tidied up the graves and explained to them that Freya was away but would be back soon with an update in her diary and on her new life. He loved the Johnsons, they made him feel welcome into their family, so he felt he should do that if not for Freya but for them.

Daniels shift wasn’t ending for a few hours- his friend had left only a matter of seconds ago and he was already contemplating texting Freya but she was at a party with nobles. Would it be rude of her to read it? Daniel thought. She could read it after the party?

“Hey, it was great to see you and meet grumpy Drake! Sorry if I’m interrupting you. I’ve missed my friend so much. You seem so happy. But I need to ask you something? Dan x”

*****

Leaving the bar, Riley and Drake walked slowly through the streets of New York. Throughout her time in Cordonia, she had fallen for Drake Walker. Fallen deep and hard. He built walls around him, and she intended on knocking down each and every one. However she kept failing. She knew that Liam loved her- but she couldn’t return the love, her heart was set on the jerk that was horrendous to her.

“Why are you such an arsehole with me? Can’t you handle a joke?” She held the railing, overlooking the Hudson River.

“I’m not an arsehole Jono. I just hate that I get lumbered with you all the bastard time.” Freya began uncontrollably crying, her heart felt as though it was being stabbed constantly as if she was voodoo doll.

“Jeez! Thanks a lot Drake. See ya later.”

Riley stormed off wiping her tears away, Drake regretted what he had said. The last time he saw her cry was when she was dragged out of the Coronation. He also regretted annoying her, as he was now struggling with directions to get back to the hotel.

Freya- I don’t hate you at all.

[nightmaretyrantvantas]

So I’m finally getting around to writing out a bunch of info about my Sander Sides au so I hope youre all ready--(its like 1 am im so sorry for any spelling mistakes and missed tags)

So its 1 am on a work night and I cant sleep and I’ve had lots of ideas and canon things for this au bouncing around my head for days and now TONIGHTS THE NIGHT ITS HAPPENING IM DELIVERING YOU ALL THE DETAILS AND EVERYTHING I CAN THINK OF AND TYPE 

Also please feel free to ask about this! I know I got a few new followers from all my recent sander sides art and also thanks to @sugarglider9603 reblogging some art I made of their au I got the biggest flood of exposure and attention on my art ive ever had and I have so much to thank them for, for all recent exposure ive gotten the past couple days( theyre so sweet and lovely and easy to talk to sugar deserves all the love--) and its given me a huge surge of motivation and confidence to post this. And please, my inbox is always open to talk about my aus or my art! Ask questions, send requests, send headcanons or ideas, send fluff angst im open to anything and I try to do all requests sent to me(sooner or later)

Oh oh! and please id you catch any and all the little inspirations or anything let me know

And finally this au is a LAMP au with Remile and Demus on the side

Ahem ahem anyway onto the au!!!

More under the cut so I dont flood your screen too bad!

Ok so! 

This Au was originally inspired by @residentanchor‘s amazing fanfic A Lesson in Practicality and also a little bit by @prettyinaccurate‘s fanged virgil au( I’ll get more into that further down) 

So it takes place in a (currently) unnamed bigger city I based off San Francisco and Sacramento( because I live in Cali and those are the two major cities ive really visited ya know?) The boys are all in various stages of their twenties when they move into a four bedroom apartment together: Patton Foster is the oldest of the roomies at 27, then Logan Masters at 26, Roman Prince at 24, and finally Virgil Collins at 22. They move in together because it all works out for them really, the apartment is in a good distance to all their current jobs, whether by bus or even in Pat’s case in walking distance and with all four of them it was well affordable and was pretty nice. I mean hey it even came with a little communal balcony ( since theyre on third floor of the building) 

Things are understandably a little rocky at first , i mean isnt it always though?

Virgil has alot of anxiety and so he tends not to talk really at all at the beginning unless he ABSOLUTELY had to, mostly communicating in noncomittal noises and soft grumbles, and he was fresh out of collage and barely two years into his job and out on his own for the first time and he wasnt really ready for it either like christ too many people

Patton was bright bubbly and caring. This wasnt his first rodeo with roomies, I mean cmon, hes been sharing a room with his older brother Damian(deceit) on and off almost all his freakin life, nor was it his first time living on his own with strangers(hes lived in two different parts of two when he was job hopping before he settled down in his current part time job)

Roman was extroverted loud and exciteable, he too was used to sharing his living space( he had TWO siblings after all) and before he had moved into the apartment he had tried living on his own and with other roommates while he attended collage, but those just didnt work out well ( he ended up staying with his older brother Remy in his studio apartment across the city while he finished out that semester and searched for a job to keep an income.

Logan was serious minded stern toned and confident, he had a minor degree in teaching that he was slowly repursueing and had been out on his own for awhile before he had moved in. And though cold at first he soon found his group of housemates...enjoyable.

Its about a month into them living together that they learn exactly why despite slowly getting close and getting to know each other Virgil still kept a wide distance: He had entirely sharp teeth.

“ I dunno....I was born with them..theyve always been a sharp pain in my ass...” - virgil, about his teeth

Of course just having sharp teeth wasnt bad enough oh no. You see a few years back when he was about 18 he was young and dumb and made horrifically stupid and reckless decisions under peer pressure and ended up doing something that not only pointedly (haha oh god im not funny) chipped his front teeth but it fucked up his teeth pretty majorly, he went from having a normal overbite to almost having a goddamn underbite and crooked all his teeth, and the only way to fix it( because somehow miraculous for all the damage done it turned out to be mostly reversable aside from the chipping) was getting braces to realign his teeth. So he’s had pretty purple braces over his fangs since he was 18 and they werent expected to come off until he was AT LEAST 25 and he was insecure about them. ( he got mocked for them through his two and a half years of junior collage)

Once the gang finds out they are understanding and helpful and dont make a big deal about it( though virgil gains a significant amount of more vampire related nicknames from roman)

Once they get close and comfortable around each other the apartment is pretty warm and lively! 

Virgil works at the art store as an assistant manager and head stocker( a bit of a dream come true since he was an art student)

Roman works as a part time waiter at a family resturant as well as working at a nearby theater( he was of course a lovely theater major) 

Patton worked at a nearby cafe and bakery as a bit of everything! He helped wait tables, serve behind the counter, and helped in the back in the kitchen( the owners were family friends and he’d been working there almost four to five years at that point, boi knows how to do everything) 

Logan worked at a big name bookstore, and also provided tutoring sessions for highschool students on the side by commision

More FACTS~~

Family ages for the big families go as follows:

Fosters: Damian(28), Patton(27)

Prince: Remy(26), Roman(24, older twin by 10 minutes), Remus(24, younger twin)

Emile is 27 and is a licensed therapist and works as a counselor for young adults that volunteers at the nearby library to ready to children

Remy works as a coffee barista in Emile’s building

Remus does alot of odd jobs, kinda working as an independent for hire and gets a surprising steady flow of work and pay. Hes still a trash man though, but hes a successful trash man( partly thanks to Damian calling in favors with connections)

Damian works at a law firm slowly moving into the position of prosecutor

Virgil doesnt really get along with his family and at some point Emile offers to take virgil in as his adopted brother, with Damian assuring him if he wanted concrete legal papers to start changing his last name, cutting ties with his family, anything needed for it he’d see to it that they’d be providing(something our boi really appreciates)

Remy visits Emile on his breaks since hes literally just...two hallways down and vice versa

Damian and Remus live together in the next, slightly smaller city over because Damian’s work transferred him to a different office in order for him to keep moving up in the ranks so to speak. 

Hes also good at what he does.

Family nights happen whenever they can

Patton got to teach them how to cook alot of complicatied dishes from scratch, a bonding time he adores

Roman got Virgil an Espeon hoodie after they all start dating and virgil loves it and wears it alot around the house because its a thicker hoodie and warm( though he tries to ignore the big ears and the obnovious tail

Virgil also loves visiting Roman’s work on what Ro likes to refer to as “ hellish days” AKA kids day which means goofy kid friendly theme days. His favorite was probably alice in wonderland day when Roman was Tweedle Dee

Roman played J.D at the local theater and likes to hum some of the his songs to switch up the Disney

The balcony is covered in houseplants and and a corner of old blankets and pillows to sit and chill on

Once a month Logan and Patton have what is affectionately referred to as the Cat Discourse

After any particularly rough days at work Patton tends to massage Logan’s shoulders and back to make sure Lo doesnt get any really bad stress knots

in return when Logan sees Patton’s head a hard day he makes Patton’s favorite drink and pulls him into a hug and let the older man fall asleep in his arms while they watch movies

Pat and roman sense each other’s bad days and order in some cliche diner food and hole up in pattons room with Pattons computer and relax the shittiness away with comedy specials and movies 

Likewise Virgil has a knack of picking up Roman’s bad days and always grabs a couple glasses and a bottle kinda cheap wine and they end up curling up together on Romans bed marathoning Disney movies on Virgil’s laptop 

and when Virgil closes himself off more than normal Logan manages to lure him out of his room and they end up sitting out on the balcony quietly talking and stargazing

so loving and fond and soft with each other

you hurt one of them you gonna get BEAT by the others. 

Speaking of getting beat, never EVER mess with Roman or Remus in Remy’s proximity

Remy Andrew Prince can and WILL fuck you right up if you hurt his little brothers. He’s protective.

and where Remy will rearrange your face Damian will ruin you mentally and legally if you so much as mistreat a single freckle on his little brother’s face, despite knowing that Patton is fully capable of taking care of himself. 

Everyone protects Virgil, dont mess with or hurt virgil or you have the pack coming for ya throat

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats all I have for right now! Of course more will be added but now its almost three in the morning and I have work at 1:30pm and im sleepy finally! But I hope you guys like this! And please, feel free to talk to me about it, my inbox is always open!!

Taglist: @phantommoonpeople @sweetsweetemo @loganberrysanders

[merry-kuroo]

The Last Embers - A MHA Fic - Chapter Two

Hello. This is my first MHA fanfic and its a AU. I hope y’all like it (or not. that’s cool too.) This is based off a idea I wrote about for my Intro to Creative Writing class almost four years ago and I thought it would be cool to apply this to MHA.

Summary:  Less people in the world are being born with Quirks and those that have  Quirks begin to lose them between the ages of 25-30. This has caused the  decline of Pro Heroes and Villains. Those that graduated from Class A  at U.A. have turned 25 and are beginning to witness the decline of their  Quirks. How will they cope and how will it affect their relationships?  Meanwhile, Izuku searches for the next successor of One For All, even  when he's told its pointless...

Chapter Two: Love Like This; Kirishima and Kaminari Part II

Chapter Summary: Kirishima and Kaminari talk about the loss of their Quirks and their relationship. What happened three years ago, and can Kirishima be upfront with Kaminari about his true feelings?

Read it on AO3 too...There’s some notes on the AU as well

June, 3 years ago

They discovered Lulu’s Cafe during their third year at U.A. Kirishima had been busy at Fat Gum’s Agency and once they were done, Amajiki wanted to show him new parts of the surrounding area. They walked around the neighborhood until they came across the cafe. It was nice, quiet, and the food was to die for. After Amajiki went home, Kirishima went into the cafe and ordered curry.

Kaminari texted and asked him when he was coming back to the dorms, and Kirishima told him where he was at. Twenty minutes later, Kaminari had walked in and ordered the same type of spicy curry as Kirishima. So, on days when Kirishima was busy and couldn’t come back to the dorm, Kaminari was always there to greet him at Lulu’s Cafe. This routine continued until they were twenty-two.

When Kirishima invited Kaminari to dinner with him, he had done it under the pretense of telling him about how he signed with Amajiki's Pro Hero agency...and his feelings.

His feelings for Kaminari started out small. During their first year, Kirishima noticed his face always got warm when he talked to Kaminari, then he got a few butterflies every now and again. Training with Kaminari. Eating lunch with Kaminari. Playing video games in the dorms with Kaminari. Everything Kirishima did with him brought him so much joy.

It wasn't until the beginning of their third year that Kirishima realized he was in love with Kaminari. It wasn't puppy love or a fleeting crush. Kirishima couldn't imagine life without him, and he knew he needed to tell him. Except he didn’t tell him in high school. He thought it was best to wait until they were adults.

So, Kirishima waited for him to show up. He was bouncing his leg up and down nervously. It was entirely unmanly. He had ordered Kaminari's favorite drink, an ice tea. Kaminari wasn't usually late to their meetups (Kirishima couldn't call it a date).

"Hey," Kaminari slid into the booth. Dark bags were sitting under his eyes. His face was puffy and red, like he had been crying for hours.

"Is something wrong?" Kirishima asked.

"No, no. Everything is fine." Kaminari smiled. "Tell me what's up."

"Well, Amajiki-senpai is opening up his own hero agency, and he asked me to join him." Kirishima said.

Kaminari was quiet for a moment, and he took a long sip of his ice tea. Kirishima was expecting a jovial response, and it was unusual for Kaminari to be this quiet.

"Okay, now you have to tell me what's wrong," Kirishima said.

"I lost my Quirk," Kaminari said quietly. So quiet, Kirishima was almost sure he hadn't heard him.

"W-what?" Kirishima said. "But you're not 25 yet. How is that possible?"

"I don't know." Kaminari put his head in his hands.

"It'll be alright. I'll help you." Kirishima smiled. He desperately wished he could provide more comfort for his best friend.

He got the sense that Kaminari didn’t want to be at the cafe anymore, so he paid for their drinks, and the two of them walked outside. Summer had just arrived, bringing with it an intense humidity. There was no one else on this street except for them. Kirishima scrambled with what to say, and how to keep Kaminari with him.

“Kirishima,” Kaminari said. He turned towards him, and the sorrow in his eyes was almost too unbearable for Kirishima to bear. “I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? Where are you going?”

“Well,” Kaminari shifted his feet. “Jirou was with me when I realized I lost my Quirk. So we talked and we are going to move to Yoru City. Jirou is opening up a music store in that area and she wants me to help her run it, and also give guitar lessons as well. I’ve improved a lot over the last few years. Anyway, it’ll give me something to do and--”

“Why?” Kirishima asked. “You don’t have to leave.”

He smiled sadly. “I feel like I do. There is no place for me in this city of Pro Heroes. I want to start over.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to move so far away!” Kirishima cried. “What about Bakugou and Ashido?” He stepped forward. “What about me? You’re leaving me too.”

“We can stay in contact. It's not like we’re going to stop being friends, Kirishima.”

Friends…

“You know we’re more than friends, Kaminari,” Kirishima said, his words were heavy on his heart. He didn’t know if Kaminari would find them true, but they were Kirishima’s truth. “Don’t run away from that. Don’t run away from me. Don’t use Jirou like that.”

Kaminari narrowed his eyes. “I’m not using Jirou. She’s my friend and she’s been really supportive.”

“Then let me support you too! Don’t just pick up and move just because you lost your Quirk. Face everyone and tell them you lost your Quirk. Look, it's going to happen to all of us. It's inevitable. No one is going to treat you differently just because you lost your Quirk a few years before you were supposed too!”

Kirishima reached out and took hold of Kaminari’s hand. Kirishima missed the jolt of electricity that would run through him whenever they touched. “Please, don’t choose her over me.”

The two men were quiet for some time. A hot wind blew past them. Kirishima looked up at Kaminari. When had he gotten so tall?

“You look at me with so much pity, Kirishima,” Kaminari said. His voice sounded strained, as if it was an effort to get the words out. “That’s the difference between you two. Jirou still looks at me the same. You--” Kaminari took his hand out of Kirishima’s. “I’m sorry, Kirishima.” Kaminari hugged him, but before Kirishima could even process what had just happened, he pulled away.

Kirishima said nothing as Kaminari made his way down the moonlit street, knowing that no matter what he said, it would not stop Kaminari from leaving him nor would it provide him with comfort.

---- --

 December 14, Present Day

The waiter placed two plates of curry on the table. Kaminari’s eyes lit up. “Wow, that smells so good! I’ve missed the curry that’s served here.”

 Maybe you shouldn’t have left…

Kirishima didn’t respond, and began to eat. He and Kaminari had talked a bit about their respective lives. Kirishima told him about his plans to become a firefighter, and he even told a few stories about his work as a Pro Hero. Kaminari talked about how he and Jirou’s music store was sponsoring a big music festival in March, and that several of his students were participating.

It felt nice to catch up, but Kirishima didn’t really want to talk to Kaminari about his former Pro Hero life. He finally understood how Kaminari must have felt that day when he told him that he was joining Amajiki’s agency. Three years later and the two of them were both Quirkless.

When they finished eating their curry, Kirishima asked him how he dealt with being Quirkless. “I feel like I’m going crazy. I was so used to using it everyday. It feels weird now that it’s gone.” He explained.

“Yeah. You feel empty, right?” Kaminari said.

“That’s one way to describe it. Yeah, I feel empty. Sometimes my heart feels heavy too,” Kirishima admitted.

Kaminari nodded. “I get that. You should just take some time for yourself. Find a hobby or a new TV show to binge watch.”

Or I can just skip town and ignore my best friend’s messages! Kirishima bit back his retort and just nodded along to what his friend was saying. But Kaminari knew him better than that.

“I know what you’re thinking. No, you shouldn’t skip town like me,” Kaminari laughed. “That...that was a rash decision.”

“Yep.”

“I should’ve talked to you.”

“That would have been nice.”

Before the silence could drag on any longer, Kaminari’s phone buzzed. He checked it and then he sighed.

“Jirou is staying in a hotel.”

“Okay, which one? I can give you directions.”

Kaminari shook his head. “No. I’m not staying with her. I was actually hoping I could hang at your place.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to spend the night with your girlfriend?” Kirishima asked.

“What?” Kaminari’s face turned red. “No, she’s not my girlfriend. I told you she’s just a friend.”

"I believe you. I'm sorry, Kaminari. I'm being petty. But that isn't right. I'm still hurting from the loss of my Quirk. I won't take it out on you."

Kaminari gave him a small, sad smile. "And I should've been kinder to you three years ago. I'm sorry, Kirishima. I'll work hard for your forgiveness."

"You don't have to work--"

"No. You let me know your true feelings and I brushed them aside because I was hurting due to the loss of my Quirk. I should've responded to your feelings and I didn't. For that, I'm sorry."

Kirishima couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kaminari wanted to earn his forgiveness. He was finally going to receive an answer to his confession. He swallowed. "And what is your answer? To my feelings."

Kaminari gave him an award winning smile. “I love you, Kirishima.”

The words didn’t have the impact Kirishima thought they would. He dreamed of Kaminari returning his feelings, but something about this didn’t feel right. His heart wasn't pounding, and there were no butterflies in his stomach. It didn't mean that he loved Kaminari any less, however. Maybe it's the timing...

He was silent as Kaminari paid their bill, and they stepped out into the crisp night air. The two men walked the same path they had walked three years. Kirishima stopped walking, and Kaminari turned towards him. “Did I freak you out?” He asked in a small voice.

Kirishima shook his head. “I’m happy, but maybe establishing a relationship so soon is not the best idea.” He tried to gauge Kaminari’s reaction. He looked disappointed. That was a good sign.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve loved you since high school and hearing you return my feelings is a dream come true. But right now, I need to adjust to my new life. You needed time to adjust too, I realize that now. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want a relationship with you. I’m just asking you to wait,” Kirishima explained.

“Of course. I’ll wait for you.” Kaminari blushed. “And we can continue to work things out.”

“We can see each other on weekends,” Kirishima suggested. “Yoru City is only two hours by train, right?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be visiting you. You need to focus on your new career path. I’ll support you no matter what.” Kaminari grabbed Kirishima’s hand, and squeezed. He still missed the little jolt of electricity that came from Kaminari, but the warmth from him was a nice sensation too.

They stood like that for a while; on the sidewalk, grinning like idiots while snow flurries landed on their clothes. Kirishima was the first one to take a step forward, keeping Kaminari’s hand in his.

He was happy things seemed to be working out, but he knew that working on his new relationship with Kaminari would be hard at times. They had both changed in the last three years, and it would take some time to get to know each other again.

But if Kirishima could have more moments like these, where all felt right in the world because he was with Kaminari, then a love like this would be worth it.

[wolffishgrin]

Coffee or Milkshakes?

Pairing: Kim Jongin x Reader

Genre: Smut, Fluff

Warnings: Well..smut. So!

Word Count: 1950

You checked the time on your phone for the fifth time. It wasn’t that late. Your roommate would definitely not worry. After all, you were what two hours late? Fuck she was going to kill you. You forgot to inform her. Again. You were searching for her contact when you bumped into someone or rather something hard. Oops.

When you looked up to see the object you dashed into, you felt like someone knocked the wind out of you. He was a specimen that you rarely see and he definitely didn’t look like a friendly neighbourhood guy. Everything his sleek body adorned, was screaming money, from the shiny, black Louis Vuitton to the Rolex on his wrists.

“Are you done checking me out?” The man straight out from a movie poster spoke with a smirk on his handsome face. You gained composure and an apologetic look braced your face after being caught in the act. You could clearly see his abs through his white shirt which was dripping in the coffee which you spilled. Man you were calling for trouble and he was clearly not helping you out here.

“I’m sorry for…” You let that trail off because you really couldn’t figure out what exactly were you sorry for; his stained expensive shirt, his coffee or for checking him out.

“No need to apologise love. I never said that it offended me.” His sentence left you hanging in there, mouth open in confusion. And with that he walked past you to get some tissues, you guessed.

You were about to walk out of the cafe when you heard him calling.

“So miss, how are you going to compensate for my coffee?” You gave him a confused look. Reading your expressions he said. “How about you tell me your phone number.” Woah. What a creepy guy, you thought and made a mental note of not judging people by their looks.

“Well that escalated quickly, Mr?” You gestured with your hand towards him prompting him to tell his name.

“Kim Jongin, but for you my lady it’s Kai”

“Kai” You repeated his name and you liked the way it rolled off your tongue.

You weren’t sure about the phone number situation but a cup of coffee wouldn’t hurt, you thought. So you turned towards the barista who has been drilling holes through her gaze from the past five minutes; reason very well known. You could sense all the jealousy oozing from her.

“Two cups of whatever this gentleman was having”

She took your order maintaining her serious stance although she did look nervous, fumbling voice and trembling fingers, the common symptoms, when an intimidating man is around. Kai had that effect on literally everyone but why not on you?

“It’s a date then?” He teased. His eyes going all dark and smirk sliding up his lips.

He led you to the table on the far corner of the restaurant, far enough for no one to see or listen to what exactly you both were talking about. He pulled the chair for you and then went and sat across the table, opposite to you. It was awkward. Here you were sitting with a complete stranger that too on a self declared date. You tried looking everywhere to avoid his eyes but this one time your eyes met and he kept staring at you. In response so did you, not backing off at first but he didn’t budge. So you finally gave up and dropped your gaze to your lap.

“I didn’t get your name?” He broke the silence.

“Y/N” Wow suddenly you lost your voice too because you swear you tried to say it much louder than what came out of your mouth. You cleared your throat and said it again.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N”

“That’s a pretty name for a pretty lady.”

“So tell me what are you doing here, late at night dropping milk shakes on hot men?”

“You think you’re hot?” You retorted without thinking. The gall of this man.

“Don’t you?” There. You lost your voice again, struggling to speak and your heartbeat unusually fast. You did know how to dig up your own grave, didn’t you?

You were about to come up with some lame ass excuse to hide your embarrassment when thankfully, the waiter came up with your order. You took the opportunity to calm yourself down and thanked the waiter. As soon as he left you put your mouth to work and started drinking your shake using the straw. But all these tricks were useless because you could feel his eyes on you all this while.

This was a bad idea and you knew it. The only defence mechanism you had, your milkshake also seemed to reach its course and you had no choice but to look up. So when you did, you met his gaze again. And again there was silence, just the two of you staring at the depths of each other’s soul. From this close you could see his features very clearly, those brown eyes, generous nose and sensual lips. How would those feel on you? This sentence seemed to have a different effect on you. You were literally squirming in your seat with thighs closed so tightly that if your vagina had a nose it would have passed out long ago.

What? What the fuck was wrong with you? You practically met the guy like five minutes ago. You shook the thoughts away from your mind and found yourself asking him, “What is it?”

He didn’t break the eye contact and whispered in a sensual way pausing in between to make it sound as arousing as he could. “I’m just thinking..what would be sweeter… this shake… or your lips?”

You gasped at his candor. How could he utter those words so easily and how could you melt in an instant?

“It’s not like you didn’t think about it?”

“Your hitched breath, raised voice, flushed cheeks and crossed legs says it all.”

And before you knew it you were tumbling in an unknown apartment with lips intertwined and hands sliding all over each other’s body exploring as much as you both could.

He shut the door behind you, pushing you against the wall, kissing you with the passion you’ve never felt before. It was raw and yet dominating. His lips slipped down to your throat finding the sweet spot on the base of your neck which left you moaning in his ears. The smile you felt against your skin was more than enough to tell you that he was pleased with your response.

His lips found yours again while his hands trailed down between your legs. He rubbed your mound through your pants, your back arched in response and your hands clutched to his head, pulling at his hair. And then in a wink he turned you around, arms flat against the wall, his hard member digging in your ass. He pulled the hem of your top, removing the material and discarding it on the floor while his hips ground against your ass and you could do nothing but moan in response. Next came your bra leaving you naked above your waist. He cupped your breasts and rolled the nipples between his fingers making them into pointy peaks. By this time you were more than aroused and wanted him to take you then and there.

“Please, Kai.” You said between your moans and pants.

“What is it that you want princess?” He whispered in a dangerous way and then sucked the sensitive skin under your ears and you could do nothing but arch again, straining your swollen mounds into his hands.

Sensing your helplessness he lifted you in his arms and carried you to what you assumed to be his bedroom. The room was dim and warm with his scent looming in the air. He placed you gently on the bed and then started unbuttoning his shirt. You propped up on your elbows to enjoy what the view had to offer which definitely didn’t leave you disappointed. The finesse in every inch of his toned abs left you thinking that god definitely took his time with the man in front of you.

While you were busy drowning in appreciating his body, your eyes lingered down to the bulge straining dangerously in the confines of his pants and you gasped, which didn’t go unnoticed resulting in a shallow scoff by him. You quickly reverted your gaze and in a jiffy he was onto you kissing you breathless. His mouth traveled south capturing your aching peaks in his mouth one by one and his hand cupped your vagina, stroking it, rubbing it and finally inserting his digits inside you. You didn’t know how to process so much and you didn’t know how your body didn’t already break from all of this so you just grabbed the sheets at your sides, as much as you could. Damn he was good at this. Unconsciously, your mind drifted, wondering how many woman had he slept with before to make him so good at it and the thought made your heart clench and you closed your eyes.

But all your worries vanished when his tongue found your sweet spot. Your eyes rolled back in its sockets, your toes curling and your hips rising from the bed from the slow circles his tongue was making on your swollen nub. He grabbed your hips restricting your movements, the grip so strong that you half expected it to leave marks on your skin. Soon you felt you were climbing towards something untouchable, something building inside of you from all the sensations. The walls of your vagina started clenching and it all came to an end, like a damn breaking loose and you rode your high moaning, screaming, clenching and cumming around his tongue.

When your breath normalised and you opened your eyes you saw him getting up and walk in to the bathroom. He returned with a towel in his hands and cleaned you up. The towel was warm just like his gesture and you felt, almost.. loved. But this seemed like a routine, a routine he maybe followed with all his lovers.

He dropped the towel carelessly on the floor and threw his shirt for you to put on. You hands automatically got to work but you kept thinking why didn’t he go further, did he not find you good enough? You felt a pang in your chest and tears threatening your water line.

He lied down beside you and pulled you to his chest while covering both of you with the duvet. He patted your head softly, fingers playing with strands of your hair.

“I know what you are thinking.” He paused “but the reason I stopped has nothing to do with you.”

You raised your head from his chest to look at him. Your eyes met and he kissed your forehead.

“All was fun until I brought you to my apartment and then I realised how precious you are and well..this…this isn’t a conventional way to start dating but…”

“Dating? You want me to be your girlfriend?”

He smiled and said, “Yes I do. I can’t rectify this situation but sure we can start afresh and move forward, only when you want to.”

“Jongin” You looked in his eyes and whispered, kissing him. It was the only word you were capable of speaking at the moment. You couldn’t figure out what was messing your mind more? The mind blowing orgasm you just had or his out of the blue confession.

“Stay the night, y/n” He cheekily added.

Your lips curved into a smile.  “I will. But let me just inform my roommate. She’s gonna freak out though.” You said while getting up in the search of your phone.

[jeff-stillcoolasazombie]

The Waiter and the Hotel Heiress - Chapter 3

Rating: K+

Length: 1554 words

Also read on AO3

A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! This chapter isn’t my favorite; it is very much an establishing plot/ bridge chapter, which is why it’s so much shorter than the others. BUT I have BIG plans for my next ones. Also anyone familiar enough with the film Eloise at Christmastime will notice here (and in the next few chapters) that I rearranged some scenes, what things happen when. But I did this so that each of Eloise’s stories coincides somehow with the flashback story, if that makes sense. Anyway, hopefully I can have the next chapter done and posted fairly quickly, but in the meantime, here’s a holiday present.

PS: I hope y’all can figure out who Hans’s friend is supposed to be based on the name I gave him.

Chapter 3: Inquiries

“Anna?” Hans’s voice called in the distance. He walking into the dress parlor, a place men normally dared not go unless they absolutely had to. The audacity he had coming in here, Eloise thought. Trying to sneak a peek at the bride?

Anna rushed down from the podium. “Oh, I better get out of this dress,” she said to no one in particular. The seamstress led her over to the changing panel to help her undress. “Just a minute,” she called out to Hans once she saw his silhouette had gotten close enough. “You remember Eloise, don’t you, Hans?”

Hans disguised his sour expression upon seeing the child sitting there. “Of course, how could I forget such an angelic face?” he said, feigning charm. Eloise gave a half-hearted acknowledgement with a fake smile.

Hans leaned toward the dressing panel to talk to Anna better. “I just wanted to tell you, darling, that I’m off to lunch with a colleague of mine. I’ll come back by the room when I’m done.”

And after an agreeing comment from Anna, Hans was off to the Plaza cafe to meet his friend.

Eloise was still tremendously suspicious of Hans. She knew there was something not right, that he wasn’t worthy of Anna the same way Kristoff was. Still, if she was going to convince them of that, Eloise would need to find a legitimate reason for why Hans wasn't a good fit. And she figured that since she so far was the only person skeptical of Hans, it should be up to her—Eloise—to set things right.

She figured spying on his lunch was her perfect chance. She said goodbye to Anna, assuring her they would cross paths again, and then headed to the kitchen.

Eloise knew she couldn’t be too obvious with her spying. She decided to enlist the help of the head chef Patrice, a snobby French man who had the patience for the girl’s antics only sometimes. Her plan was to hide under a dessert cart and have Patrice wheel it out as bribery for Hans and his friend. It was perfect because if Hans was the type of entitled jerk that Eloise thought he was, he would think nothing of being offered free dessert from the hotel.

Patrice surprisingly obliged.

He took out the kitchen tray that was full of delectable cakes freshly baked that morning for display purposes. “Desserts, gentlemen. Compliments of the hotel,” the chef said when he got to their table. “I’ll give you a few moments to decide.” And he stepped aside to head back to the kitchen, knowing Eloise was in prime position to eavesdrop.

Once certain they were alone, Hans’s friend guffawed. “You’ve really got them wrapped around your finger,” he said with a laugh.

“I know,” Hans replied. “Anna is one thing, I never figured her father would be so easy.”

A pause and then the friend asked in a whispered tone, “How’d you do it?”

Hans leaned in closer to the table, and said in a lowered voice, “Borrowed money all across the country, made it look like I had my own fortune, so I couldn’t possibly be after Anna’s.”

“And they really don’t suspect anything?” His friend sounded happily astonished.

The charm arose in Hans’s voice. “I figure once we’re married, I’ll use her money and pay everyone back.” His friend began laughing incredulously again. “No, no, seriously, Wes. She’ll even end up paying for her own engagement ring.”

Eloise almost leaped out from under the dessert cart and screamed upon hearing Hans. She had to fight to stay silent and not blow her cover until Patrice returned for her.

But this was confirmation of what she’d suspected. Hans didn’t love Anna at all! He was just using her for her money!

What a villainous fiend!

But the six-year-old knew that even if she told anyone of Hans’s nefarious motives, no one would believe her. She was just an imaginative, precocious little girl with a knack for well-intended mischief.

The only thing Eloise could do was ensure that Anna ended up with a man who actually cared for her, who loved her, and then Anna would marry that right man instead. And that man was clearly Kristoff.

----

FIVE YEARS EARLIER

The next day after the late night piano lesson with Anna, Kristoff asked as many employees as he could about their experiences with the heiress. Each one had something different to say.

Miss Anna had been living at the Plaza since she was a little girl, said the housekeepers. She was attending an elite private school in the city until recently. Now she studied French and Spanish from a private tutor, among other subjects.

The kitchen staff said her favorite food was chocolate. You wouldn’t know that from her room service orders, but she always snuck some whenever she was in the kitchen.

The bellhops said that there weren’t many people outside of the Plaza that she was friends with; the Plaza was basically her entire world.

And yet for as much as Kristoff learned about the heiress, no one seemed to have any experiences with her similar to his own from the day before. There was genuine positivity and praise all around towards Anna, comments that she was always helpful and kind, but only ever that. Nothing more personal, whether because the rest of the staff knew how to maintain professional relationships with their employer’s family or because Anna was more keen on distancing herself.

“Perhaps she is more drawn to you,” Robert said to Kristoff after noticing his inquiries, “because you two are so close in age.”

Kristoff gave the older waiter a confused look. “There is no one else in her personal life she can hang out with?”

Robert shook his head. “The only person she was ever close to was her cousin Elsa, but she stopped visiting when Anna was around ten. And now that Anna does all her schooling here, she really doesn’t get out much.”

“Why doesn’t she just go out and make her own friends outside of the hotel?” Kristoff was absolutely flabbergasted that the heiress would willingly seclude herself.

Robert chose his words carefully. “Mr. Arendelle is very protective of his daughter, and he doesn’t want her philandering around the city. At least in the Plaza, he knows everyone and everything going on.”

“Seems like she’s a princess in a tower,” Kristoff said quietly. He knew it would be better for his job if that opinion stayed his own.

Robert assured him that wasn’t the case. “If it’s a tower, Anna has her free run of it. She loves the Plaza with all her heart.”

And Anna loved the people who worked at the hotel as much as she loved the hotel itself, but she clearly had her favorites. As the weeks went on Kristoff observed Anna’s behavior around certain employees.

She preferred Michael out of all the bellhops because he would let her pack and push the luggage trolleys with him.

Even though she wasn’t allowed in the lounge, her favorite bartender was Joe because he would give her a cranberry soda during his shifts.

She loved Ms. Thompson at the front desk because she played punny word games with her.

And very quickly, Kristoff became her favorite waiter. After his first week of serving her breakfast as a new employee, she kept requesting Kristoff specifically. It might have been a bigger deal if Jerry, who normally did that, minded more, but he just went about his work like it was nothing.

Kristoff on the other hand couldn’t keep from analyzing the change. While he consistently enjoyed Anna’s company, he needed to be aware of crossing any boundaries. He was still at work, still a new hire. He didn’t want to do anything that would send him to the manager’s office for a scolding. He always tried his best to treat Anna like he would any other guest or resident.

But that was easier said than done when everyday Anna would sneak a note onto Kristoff’s room service cart. At first it would be a message saying to meet her at this place at this time. But as their late night meetings became more of a sure thing, her notes became less specific and more personal. Sometimes they were just thoughts in her brain that she wanted to share, other times it was a question about Kristoff’s own life and interests.

“White lights are my absolute favorite Christmas decoration.”

“Have you ever listened to the Oklahoma! musical album? I’ll make sure to play it when you come tomorrow.”

“Yesterday I learned the Greek myth about the constellation Andromeda. I really must tell you about it sometime.”

“Do you miss life in the mountains? Because I think living in the city is grand!”

At first Kristoff wondered at the purpose of these non sequiturs; why was Anna telling him these things? But after a while, he grew to expect it, grew to enjoy her randomness. He delighted in answering any of her questions during their nightly piano sessions. He also found he was getting pretty good at playing as well.

Eventually, all the employees began to associate the two together. Anna could always rely on Kristoff, and Kristoff would do anything for Anna.

He was her mostly companion.

[zethirdmind]

FOOD REVIEW BY EXPERT FOOD EATER

I have often reviewed food on the singular qualification based on the fact that I have occasionally had food in my life. I have also seen Masterchef Australia, US and India several times. Not happy with these achievements, I have also watched almost all episodes of Binging with Babish and Buzzfeed Worth It on Youtube. Therefore, forgive me for being an expert on the topic. Normally, I would wax lyrical on the most fantastic cuisine I have ever had, from the exquisite biryani at Kundana (who deliver even at 2 o’clock), to the value for money easy bites. However, today I would like to narrate my story of a culinary experience that taught me a thing or two about life.

It all began one day when I saw an advertisement for a newly opened restaurant in Elgin Road called Sumo Dough in Calcutta, which apparently had the best tiramisu in the city. Being a connoisseur of tiramisu myself, a lover of the combination of the choco and cafee, I resoluted [resolved] to go there and personally test their menu, just like a Michelin food critic would do, all undercover. They would never find out who I was. I would slip in under the radar, judge their tiramisu with all my experience, and come out with a most informed opinion, and influence the various culinary enthusiasts in the big city. I would go the very next day.

My problems were immediate and extreme. I did not have the money to take a cab to the cafe itself, so I had to beg a friend to drop me anywhere near Elgin Road, from where I could walk. As a wise man once said, walking before a meal is good thing. My good friend however, dropped me 4 kilometres away from where I was supposed to be, essentially even farther from my location than I was before I asked him. Nevermind, I thought, the exercise will only make the food taste tastier. I walked the whole way while listening to Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off and eventually reached Sumo Dough, awaiting me.

As I walked inside, I noticed the beautiful interior almost matching my sense of style, with orange walls and green hues, matching my lime green blazer and orange pants. I was immediately impressed. The owner must be someone who possessed class. I went and ordered the tiramisu, and the waiters looked at me with wide-eyes, and I fear they may have looked beyond my ordinary demeanour and noticed the extreme wit hidden inside, one which was about to critically analyse their restaurant. Sensing this, they gave me prime seating near the toilet so that I could access it anytime, and kept me out of the view of the other customers, for a truly personalised experience. I was even more impressed.

The famed tiramisu arrived. Times City had not been wrong: it looked delicious. The tiramisu was cuboidal in shape and white and brown in colour. It was supported by a sprinkling of cocoa powder and a swipe of chocolate syrup which enhanced the look. Again, this restaurant impressed me. I almost did not want to take a bite of the thing, as it would mean ruining the piece of art. I took a bite and felt things I did not think I could feel before. I kept taking bites until I was finished, stood up, thanked the staff, and left without a word.

The following day, my review came out. My mom read it and didn’t say a word to me. Maybe I had really impacted her. I decided to take all my friends to the cafe to let them have a taste of it for themselves. Over the next few months, I took each of them to the cafe to let them see what I had seen and come together with me and feel as I was feeling, as they say in yoga and all, connect with me on a cosmic level.

And all of them were of the same opinion as me: It was the worst tiramisu they had ever had in their lives. The whole thing was a shambles and nobody wanted to be friends with me anymore for having introduced them to this place. Sumo Dough even closed down for a while because otherwise they would have been picketed by a mob. The cocoa was bitter and not tasty, the cafee bit was not cafee tasting and the chocolate sauce was like dark brown water. My life has literally never recovered from this experience. I hate Sumo Dough.

[pennylanefics]

“Why do you hate me?” - Ben Hardy | part 9

*gif not mine, creds to whoever :)*

a/n: ben isn’t in this much, besides flashbacks. this is sort of a small filler chapter. it’s also lengthy with description of Ben and the reader’s situation, pretty much summing up everything that has happened.

warnings: a little swearing, i guess

July.

Two months pass, nothing changes. Your family left shortly after your confrontation with Ben, leaving you on your own again. Not that you minded, you would rather be left alone and not bring anyone down with your mood.

Ben.

Every single day, you wondered how he was doing. Sure, he was a jerk, and lied to you, and jumped to conclusions based on stalker-like photos taken by his friend. You couldn’t help but still feel things for him. I mean, you were practically in love with him for the longest time, ever since you were still filming for Bohemian Rhapsody, almost two years ago. It’s not exactly easy to let go of something like that. Maybe it was? You haven’t even had a relationship with him, every time you were about to tell him you were ready, something came up. Like him getting a new role and traveling to Italy, then that whole situation with Sally showing up at his house, and finally the confrontation at the park. Maybe you two were just not meant to be.

At the moment, you were still in bed, despite it almost being noon. That’s how you spent most of your days, although you knew it wasn’t healthy, mentally or physically, you had nothing to do or anyone to see. You also didn’t feel up to do anything, the guilt and heartbreak too overbearing.

The curtains were closed, shielding the light from entering the room, the only light was coming from the lamp on your nightstand. You laid on your side, phone in your hand as you scrolled through your camera roll, reminiscing over moments during filming for the movie. You smiled softly seeing a picture of Joe and Gwilym next to each other, Gwil sticking his tongue out right next to Joe’s ear, which was covered by the wig covering his head. You swiped left and a photo of Ben dressed as a ‘Rogerina’ graced your screen. You giggled and remembered a memory from the photo.

You and the girls, besides Lucy, had a day off, but decided to come on set anyway. The I Want to Break Free scene was being shot today, and you’d be damned if you missed it. You three arrived on set, you dressed in sweats and one of Ben’s hoodies as you didn’t feel like making an effort, and saw the four boys all dressed as their respected characters. Gwil had his ‘hair’ wrapped in multi-colored curlers, giant bunny slippers adorned his feet, and he wore a pink nightgown. Joe was dressed as an old woman, a black trench coat, gloves, and a black hat resting on his grey wig. Rami had his white shirt and black latex skirt on, stockings and high heels, makeshift breasts in his shirt. You giggled softly at how similar he looked to Freddie.

And Ben, wearing a schoolgirl outfit, black tights covering his long legs, a short skirt covering his nice butt, a white button-up with a tie, and a long, blonde wig replacing his Roger Taylor style one. Upon seeing him, your eyes immediately landed on the eye liner and eye shadow covering his eyes. You had to admit, he looked amazing as a woman. You walked up to him with a huge smile on your face.

“You look beautiful, Ben.” He blushed slightly under all of the makeup on his face.

“Roger looked better. My legs don’t look like his at all,” he joked, sticking one leg out and patting his thigh. You chuckled at this action and stepped closer, bringing him into a hug.

“You still look so good, bub.” He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, but was interrupted by being called to set. You went to stand with Katherine and Leila in the back, watching as they all took their positions and started the shot. Ben continuously looked up at you between takes, often smirking and shooting you a wink. You blushed every single time, leading him to teasing you after he was done for the day.

Tears sprung to your eyes as you remembered every moment all of these pictures were taken. Swiping more and more, you landed on the photo of you and Ben when they were shooting the BBC screening of Killer Queen. The picture is of Ben standing behind you, your head turned in his grip as you smile up at him, and he smiling down at you. His arms are around your shoulders, your hands were on his forearms; the picture clearly showing your bandaged wrist from the events of that day.

You and Leila were visiting the guys today while they shot the BBC scene. You were going to surprise Ben as you hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, due to the break the cast was given. You told him you weren’t able to make it today, but that of course was a little lie. Making your way onto the set, you two saw the guys with your backs turned, talking to Dexter. Leila smiled at you as you slowly creeped up behind Ben, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, which, weirdly, scared him. He jumped and pushed you off of him, still not knowing it was you. The harsh push caused you to lose your footing and fall backwards, landing on your wrist. You hissed in pain and closed your eyes, immediately hearing Ben’s apologetic and soothing voice.

“I’m so sorry, love. I had no idea that was you! I thought you said you weren’t coming to set today!” By now, a small group crowded around you, making sure you were okay.

“I was going to surprise you. But I instantly regret that.” He looked at you with worry in his bright green eyes.

“Are you able to move your wrist any?” He asked you. Shaking your head, he helped you to your feet and called for the doctor. A nurse whisked you away, Leila following and telling Ben to stay, as he is needed for the scene. The doctor that was always on set in case of any injuries concluded that you fractured your wrist. You groaned and laid back on the small bed.

“I just wanted to surprise him,” you mumbled to yourself more than Leila. She laughed lightly and shook her head.

“Do you want to go back out there and watch?” You nodded as a response and stood up, being careful not to use your left hand to get down.

Once you two were back on the set, you saw the guys in their positions, ready to start filming. Of course, that was ruined by Ben leaving his drum kit and making his way over to you.

“How bad is it?” He asked frantically.

“Ben! In your place!” The director yelled, agitated that he left. You shook your head and pushed him towards the set.

“Finish your scene, bub. By the way, you look so good in blue.” He smirked at you and ran back to his spot. They quickly ran through the first few takes, Ben starting to become anxious as he just wanted to make sure you were alright. Once they were finally told they were finished, Ben practically ran through his drum set and over to you, where you sat in his personal chair.

You were talking with Leila as he suddenly appeared, the same worried look on his face.

“Now please tell me, what’s wrong?” You softly chuckled and grabbed his hand.

“My wrist is fractured. They said all I should need is a cast for a few weeks, then a brace, and it should be healed.” He immediately burst into tears, hating himself for hurting you, even if it was an accident.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t want to hurt you, please know that. I thought it was Allen.” You looked at him strangely.

“Why would Allen rub his hands over your back?” He sighed and shrugged.

“I thought it was him messing with me. Because you usually do that, rub your hands on my shoulders. I thought it was him pretending to be you because I didn’t think you were coming, and-“

“Ben, stop! You’re babbling. Everything’s fine. I’m not too hurt, yeah i’m in a little pain, but not unbearable. Thanks to this wrap, it’s keeping my arm stable.” He sighed and ran his hands over his face. You stood and pulled him into a hug.

“Never got to say hi,” you murmured into his chest. You felt it vibrate due to his laugh.

“I missed you,” he whispered, pulling away to look into your eyes.

“I missed you, too.” Leila tapped your shoulder and held her phone up, signaling she wanted to take a picture. You turned around in Ben’s grip, his arms instinctively wrapping around your shoulders. You reached up to grab his forearms, moving your body a little so you could look at him. You both smiled at each other, almost forgetting you were having your picture taken.

Your mind was going crazy with every photo you looked at, tears continuing to stream down your face and pool on your pillow.

The vibration of your phone brought you out of your little episode, and you noticed a text from Gwilym along the top of your screen.

from: Gwil 🐩

Would you like to meet up for some lunch today? I miss you, haven’t seen you in forever!

to: Gwil 🐩

Of course! I miss you too :) wherever you want is fine with me.

from: Gwil 🐩

How about that small cafe by the shopping center we went to when I visited you? In half an hour?

to: Gwil 🐩

That works for me. See you soon!

Reluctantly, you pulled yourself out of bed and started to get ready. You just slipped on a simple t-shirt and jeans and collected your wallet, phone, keys, and shoes. You left as soon as you finished with your hair and makeup.

Arriving at the small parking lot, you quickly parked and practically ran to the door, noticing you were late. Did it really take you that long to get ready? You threw the door open and saw Gwilym sat at a booth, drinks and a plate of fries already on the table.

“Hey (Y/N). It’s so nice to see you again,” he said, standing up to greet you with a hug.

“Yeah, same here. I missed you, but I understand you’ve been busy.”

“It really sucks. But I had the day off, so I figured I come and see you.” You both sat down, opposite of each other, and started looking through the menu. After you both ordered and the waiter took your menus, Gwilym let out a small sigh and looked down at his clasped hands.

“Is something wrong?” You asked, sensing his uneasiness.

“Yes, actually. Have you spoken to Ben recently?” You felt the color drain from your face, your throat going dry.

“No, why?” Your voice came out just above a whisper. Thankfully, he didn’t notice it because he was too caught up in his words.

“He just hasn’t been himself recently. I tried visiting him last month, and he told me he was busy with stuff. The same day, he posted photos of him and Frankie on his Instagram story. Then, Joe, Rami, and I decided to go out to dinner one night a couple weeks ago, so we of course invited him. Surprisingly, he agreed and came. But, he was so quiet, he kept to himself, wasn’t laughing or engaging in any conversation unless he was spoken to. It was very strange. I don’t know if something happened with you two because I remember you were the only thing he ever talked about on set, you know, once you made up.” This time, you let out a soft sigh and closed your eyes, trying to keep the tears in.

“Okay. I haven’t spoken to him in two months because he was an asshole to me. But you know what? I still love him. And it hurts me.” You took a deep breath and prepared yourself for the small speech you were about to give. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, your food arrived just as you were about to start. Giving Gwilym a look that said, ‘I’ll tell you later,’ he nodded and started eating. You two switched topics for now, talking about any new roles Gwilym’s been looking at. He of course turned that on you and asked if you were thinking of auditioning for anything new.

“As much as I loved acting, I think I want to become a writer. Whether it’s a book or scripts for movies or TV shows, I just want to write.”

“Well, whatever you do, I would love to read or see whatever you publish.” You smiled lightly, feeling happy with your decision. Your parents weren’t supportive of that choice either. They wanted you to become a successful businesswoman; not working in the Hollywood industry. You just didn’t want to be sitting in an office cubicle from 9-5 every day of the week.

You and Gwilym continued to converse about random things, eventually finishing your meals and enjoying some dessert, which of course were milkshakes.

“Do you want to come over and I’ll explain everything that happened between Ben and I?” You whispered, not trusting your voice. Gwilym noticed your nervous composure and pulls you into a hug.

“If you don’t want to tell me, I completely understand. I was just curious as to why Ben’s been acting so weird.”

“I don’t mind telling you. You deserve to know, Ben’s your friend. And if he won’t tell you what happened, I will. It just might take me some time to get everything out. And, I also don’t want you taking sides, because there’s my side, and there’s his side.” He nodded along with your words.

“I promise I won’t take sides. But you said he was an asshole to you? That’s already a bad start for him.” You laughed lightly trying to ease the tension.

“Let’s go back to yours, okay?” He asked, walking with you to your car.

“I took an Uber here, so I kinda need a ride…” his voice tapered off, chucking a little at his mistake. You shook your head, laughing at his forgetfulness and told him to get in.

Once you arrived at your apartment, you were starting to feel scared about finally come to terms with what happened between you and Ben. Sure, it’s been two months since you last saw him, six months since the last time you were in his arms. But you haven’t exactly talked to anyone about this whole situation, this is the first time you are actually going to speak about it.

You slowly took your place on the couch, Gwilym following suit. He sat relatively close to you, incase you needed to be comforted; and you thanked him for that because you were definitely going to need it.

“As I was saying before, I haven’t seen Ben in two months. Haven’t heard from him either. But I’ll get to that later. This whole situation started after the premiere of Bohemian Rhapsody. After the screening was over, we went to his hotel room to talk and just spend time with each other. And, you know that whole situation about how we wanted to wait until after filming and press tours were finished with to start dating?” He nodded at your question, gesturing for you to continue. Sighing, you tried to prepare yourself to relive the heartbreak.

“I was going to tell him I was ready to start a relationship, finally. Before I was able to tell him, he blurted out that he got a new role in a new movie. He told me he was leaving for Italy the next week, and then Dubai. He said he wanted to wait even longer to start our relationship. I, of course, was heartbroken, but understood that he didn’t want to start off with him being gone for six months, with a couple weeks of a break in between.

“So we spent that last week with each other. Ben also told me he would wait for me, no matter what. That he would still feel the same for me in six months. I told him I couldn’t wait anymore, but I knew I was going to. I couldn’t get over him that easily. Two months passed, and he was back in town during his break. The day he was back, I wasn’t available, so I met with him the next day. Apparently, he went on a “date” with some girl that Andy set him up with. After he told me he would wait for me, wait to start a relationship, with me. But, in my defense, I did tell him I couldn’t wait anymore, so I can’t be mad at him for doing that.” Gwilym instantly grabbed your hand and rubbed your knuckles.

“The next day we spent together, I went over to his place at like nine in the morning. We cuddled and watched a movie, took a nap, then got some lunch and did some shopping. Once we got back, we sat on the couch, getting ready to start a movie marathon. I was also going to tell him I didn’t care that he was going to be gone for another four months; I wanted to be with him. But, that girl he went out with showed up, saying that since their date got cut short, she wanted to go out again, that night. I instantly left, without hearing his side. But, what’s there to say when some girl knocks on your door saying that.” You took another breath and thanked Gwilym in your mind, that he was staying quiet and letting you take your time.

“Apparently there was more to the story than what I saw. He continued texting me for another month, saying that he was set up with. Andy apparently told him that this girl, dare I say her name, was wanting to become an actress. So, Ben being the nice guy he is, went against his will and decided to have dinner with her, in hopes of giving her advice on acting and getting jobs. That was all a lie that Andy made up. Andy was angry that I was holding Ben back from being happy, that I was dragging him along. This is all the things Ben has told me in his messages, by the way.” Gwil nodded at your words.

“So, after technically hearing his side, I came to the conclusion I was the one in the wrong. He had a right to explain himself, and I didn’t let him. I planned on seeing him once he was home from filming permanently, but I never got any text or call. I feared that if I messaged him, he wouldn’t respond, sort of as a way to get back at me for not responding for a month when he was trying to tell his side of the story.”

You now started to choke up, coming closer to what seemed to be the end of you and Ben altogether. Gwilym scooted closer and pulled you into a hug, realizing how it was getting harder for you to talk.

“Shh, it’s okay, take your time.” Some tears escaped your eyes as you rested your head against his shoulder. After a few minutes, you pulled your body away from his and wiped away your tears.

“My family, uh, was visiting for a few weeks two months ago. I went to the park with a few of my younger cousins, and I spotted Ben there. And he wasn’t alone. He was with the same girl who he told me was boring, dull, only saw him as “Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor” or “Peter Beale” on Eastenders. The same girl that made suggestive comments about him to his face, who he had a terrible time with that he left the date early. The same fucking girl.” You paused to regain your composure, trying to stay strong.

“I took a break from my cousins to clear my head and he followed me. Had the audacity to ask how I was doing. Then, accused me of going out with some guy, who happened to be my cousin. You want to know why he did? His creep of a friend took pictures of me, without me knowing, and sent them to Ben, saying how cozy and happy we looked together.” Gwilym’s eyes widened at his friend’s actions.

“Are you kidding?” You shook your head, now more angry than sad.

“I finally broke and started yelling at him. This time, I didn’t want to hear his side. I told him I was actually wanting to talk everything out with him, to hear his side of the story in person, to apologize for not giving him a chance. But I took everything back, told him to be happy with that girl, whatever she is to him. Told him he was giving me mixed signals and lying to me about this whole date thing. One moment, he’s telling me that he doesn’t like her, she means nothing. The next, I’m seeing them together at the park, cuddling, looking sort of happy together. And finally, I told him I never want to fucking see him again.” Gwilym was silent for a few moments while he took in everything you had just told him.

“Sorry, I know it’s a lot to take in.” He nodded but just looked up at you.

“I think you should go see him.”

[chrysaliseuro2019]

Sandy Shore

Next morning it was time to move on from Nea Moudania. There was more peninsula to discover. After another hearty breakfast this time augmented by another Theodora specialty cake. This time a sort of chocolate cake. It did not seem to involve much sponge though Liz advises there was a base of it. Above that was chocolate mousse and on top of that about 2 cms (looked like 3) of whipped cream. My heart sank about the only thing that I found appetising about that was the sponge which was thin on. Liz had to pull her weight for two of us. I was beginning to understand why the sweet section of breakfast was more extensive than the savoury one. Clearly Theodora had a sweet tooth though the spanakopita was excellent, flaky and very tasty and she said was her favourite. Time for us to move on and Liz bade farewell to Theodora which apparently involved a big hug to her ample bosom. I did not know this at the time but as I separately went to say my farewells and thank you I stuck my hand out and was on the end of a Lathamesque fist pump. Apparently Theodora gave some last pieces of advice to Liz on destinations but finalised with "after a couple of days, if it's not working you can come home ie to the Sokratis as she had rooms coming free". It felt a bit like home too. On Theodora's advice we were heading for a town called Chanioti well down the Kassandra peninsula. Very booked out so we had had to take a large hotel for 3 nights not really our preference. However it had free cancellation right up to midnight on check-in day (which seemed by odd) and so we determined that if we saw anything better on the way to it we would switcheroo. The peninsula has a very narrow channel which separates it from the mainland. We drifted down slowly trying to stick to the coast. Got out at the little town of Nea Fokea and had a look at the byzantine tower and a little chapel. It had possibilities as a little Marina there and beach but a bit too early in our journey so kept going. We stopped for a coffee at a fairly ghastly place. A beach bar where there were wall to wall umbrellas cushions and sun lounges. Average age 25 and the music pumped up to a high level of decibels. Close to the bar you had to yell to make yourself heard. We made the coffee a take-away. Further on we saw a sign to another beach but as we pulled off the road we saw a couple of buses and then in the car park there were around 5 more. Clearly a venue for day trippers. We passed on and this was the ongoing story really. Nothing really jumping out at us. Either the odd big town which did not really look the goods or quite remote places where you don't know where you might get a feed. Didn't see many vacancy signs either. One slightly disconcerting thing is there seemed to be far more apartments for rent than hotel rooms. For us, the one or two night stayers, this is less than ideal as they really want week long bookings. Also you can't always walk up and find someone on the premises though in some places the owners are on site and have just sub-divided their house. We also hit some heavy traffic as basically there is one road in and one road out. At least on this side of the peninsula. We had been warned about that but we could see perhaps a 2-3km queue of dawdling traffic heading out with congestion in various other places too. Hopefully they were going home because the weekend was looming and it was back to work Monday. Could be painful for us getting back out if this is the norm. We finally arrived in Chanioti which was a small maze in itself and very lively but found our way to the hotel. It was every bit as soulless as we feared. Smart enough but a dozen people hanging around a pool with very little atmosphere. 3 nights here would not be fun. We went and had a look at the beach which was about 200 metres away and things went from bad to worse. Umbrellas and beach beds as far as the eye could see in either direction with the music going loudly as well. Not much serenity here. We retreated thinking - where to next? This joint was a last resort if we drew a blank elsewhere but we had now been going for 3 hours+ without a sniff re ally. On we went towards the bottom of the peninsula. Went down several back roads pointing to little towns but either nothing much there or on one occasion the 5 star resort complete with a fleet of Greg Norman yachts and the $$1000/night price tag. As we crossed over and started to make our way up the other side (western side) of the peninsula we found a nice little town called Loutra Beach (not to be confused with a similar place that seems to be on an island). Liz googled away looking for a room while I knocked on several doors where apartments were for rent. Liz had one possibility while I drew blanks. We headed into the centre of town to check Liz's lead but she had been led up the garden path by someone she spoke to. Nothing. We hadn't eaten anything since breakfast except for a few nuts so stopped for a Greek salad and soft drinks. Now around 5.00 and no closer. We tried one final hotel on the outskirts which was up a very steep hill, so great view, but nada. On we went steadily heading down the peninsula but nothing much jumping out. Tried a couple more hotels by walking up at Fourka Beach but again nothing and then Liz's perseverance on booking.com paid off. The hotel Paralio at Possidi beach which was close by had a room free with sea facing balcony. We whipped down there Liz took a look while I waited with the car in an area which didn't allow you to park ie residents parking (a local nicely tried to shoo me away but was happy when I said it would only be a few mins). Thumbs up from Liz and we were in. It was around 6.00 pm and a big day really but soon realised that the effort was worth it. Dinky room right on seafront ie sea across the road with balcony just above street level. Immediate dip in the sea as we were pretty hot. Enjoyed some drinks on our balcony post that. Also we decided that we weren't going to find anything much as user friendly and well located as this so booked a second night. For dinner we tried a couple of the nicer restaurants in town but both fully booked (as they were the following night which was Saturday). A very nice couple of locals who had just sneaked onto the last table in one of the restaurants sympathised with us. As soon as he heard where we were from he broke into a "throw the shrimp on the barbie" routine. Life must have been a bit too easy as there was no sense from the guys in the restaurant that a table might free up if we came back in 20 mins. It looked like one sitting even though some people were clearly going to finish in the near future. Even the young couple had had to talk them into giving them a table which was free but sort of in the passageway. We ended up going to the restaurant 50 metres away which was not as flash but just as full. Total bedlam as it was quite large. Seating seemed to be arbitrary. In fact also went there the next night and after I enquired of the boss lady who took all payments if we could sit at a certain table I was told if it's free just sit there. Service took a long time and we didn't choose particularly well. Liz had the stuffed peppers which can best be described as ho hum. I had the moussaka, tasty enough, but the copious amount of béchamel sauce fixed me up big time. The digestive system is not fond of creamy stuff. Also of course had a Greek salad. Very amusing young waiter who was not allowed to take orders (he was a meal deliverer and table setter upper) though he could get me a beer. As he spruced the table up by putting the table cloth down and separately brought the meals he stopped us if we tried to assist him in any way, saying - "that's my job". All with an infectious smile to go with the braces on his teeth. Despite the fare we enjoyed the ambience and were right by the sea. A short stroll around the very small village before heading home. The béchamel kept me awake and even tried a minnie heave (unsuccessfully) so have sworn off that. The next day was all about the beach. Breakfast was a disappointing event. Because the breakfast room was small we were encouraged to take our breakfast back to our own room. No hardship that as we had the balcony. Choice was very ordinary. Three sweet cereals no muesli, fried eggs sitting in a Bain Marie together with minuscule saveloys, cold pancakes. One of the pastries with custard was good as was a slice of cake with jam. Greek yoghourt was good though not much effort required there. We felt they are just going through the motions. Breakfast was included in the deal so they had to provide it but had skimped and didn't give a "toss", breakfast was not winning then business. Their location across the street from the sea was. Off to the beach though for a pretty full day of relaxation. I did go past the two flasher looking restaurants and managed to book one of them for the Sunday night. We also adjourned to a neighbouring cafe for lunch as our hotel was not serving food that day due to some kitchen issue. A very healthy club sandwich and chips was shared. That night we decided we liked the previous night's place enough to return. Just would choose differently. In truth its slim pickings in terms of choices in this town (with a number of clone restaurants) once the two main restaurants are full (and neither was very large). It was bedlam again and chokkers. A table was free literally near the entrance so away from the seafront which wasn't so bad as the wind had got up and it was a bit cool. After our advice to grab wherever is free from the boss we jumped in but we were so tucked away that service was not forthcoming. Not that it was fast in this place at any time. Luckily a table became free at the front by the sea we moved swiftly to grab it just ahead of others and we braved the wind which wasn't too bad as it turned out. Service eventually came and we shared grilled squid and sardines and a salad. Another pleasant evening and at the end the manic maitre de did spend a few minutes chatting to Liz which was nice as he had seemed pretty disinterested. Just run off his feet. Next day Liz was up earlier than me and walked to a neighbouring sandy promontory. Probably a couple of kms walk and it jutted out about 400 metres into the sea. She returned for breakfast and then I did the same. Very nice to walk out there and by the time I did it was pretty hot so I got right to the tip and had a quick swim to cool off. Water very clear around there and a bit cooler as more exposed. The rest of the day followed the usual routine of a beach day. We did have a pork gyros and chicken souvlaki for lunch. Pork good chicken not so. That night after drinks on the balcony we headed to the nicer restaurant. Food was undoubtedly better quality as was the clientele. Maitre de also charming. Liz's seafood pasta, more risotto like was plentiful and very tasty and I had octopus marinated in onions, tomatoes and whatever. Very very nice. Our time at Possidi was at an end. It had been painful finding it and as often is the case a combo of perseverance and luck got us there and in particular in our very pleasant room across from the sea. Just the right size of town/village (small) with enough action and good beach. Liz made a good point about the beach (they all seem to be sandy in this neck of the woods) which was that it was narrow, perhaps no more than 20-25 metres where we were, but that stopped there being masses of beds and umbrellas. We left wanting a little bit more which is always a good way to go.

[yutasbirthchin]

₩15,000

Group: MONSTA X Member: Jooheon Word Count: 2221 Genre: Fluff

a/n: I wrote this for Jooheon, switched it to Kihyun halfway through and then eventually changed it back to Jooheon. Let’s all laugh at my indecisive ass lmao. Also the readers ex in this is based off of my ex so let’s all laugh at his dumb ass.

Pushing through the staff room door into the restaurant your eyes quickly landed on a newly empty table, you walked towards it to clean it up for the next customers. Noticing a phone left on the table you looked towards the entrance to see whether anyone was rushing back in, but you couldn’t see anyone so you slipped the phone into the front pocket of your apron and proceeded to clean the table as usual.

“Hey y/n, you didn't happen to find a phone around anywhere did you?” Your coworker shouted from behind the till. It was five minutes before closing and just the two you were left manning the cafe. You'd already cleaned and tidied up, it was simply a matter of waiting until 9:00PM to leave and lock up. The phone had been long forgotten as you were so busy working, but hearing your coworker mention reignited the memory in your brain. You touched the front of your apron and felt the outline of a phone, reaching in to pull it out of your pocket you shouted back a reply. “Yeah, I’ve got it, give me a sec.”

As you walked towards the front of the cafe, the phone vibrated with a notification. As a matter of habit you glanced at the phone; quickly realising it wasn't yours you were about to disregard it but suddenly registered the lock screen. You stood in place staring at the screen.

Your friends had invited you out for a meal to catch up. It had only been two weeks since the summer holiday started and so it hadn’t been too long since you all last saw each other. Alice, your best friend, had warned you that you needed to dress to kill because your ex would be there but you weren’t sure you really cared to show off. It would be fun to turn up looking amazing to rub it in his face but if you completely glammed up it would be obvious to everyone what you were doing and that would only make you look more desperate. You didn’t want to look desperate, especially when you were actually over him. In the end you settled for your normal look, picking a simple outfit you liked and choosing to not overdo it.

Arriving at the restaurant almost two hours later you released a small sigh of relief, you'd made the right choice. Not only had your ex brought a girl who was totally glammed up, but he himself had obviously put a lot more time into his outfit and hair than usual. “I was totally gonna whoop your ass for not dressing up but girl I was so wrong, look at those two! How obvious is it that they're trying to show off?” You heard the familiar voice of your bestie as she came up behind you and linked her arm in yours.

“I know right.” You agreed, failing to hide your laughter. “Could they look more desperate?” The two of you walked to the table where you greeted the seven already seated.

You all conversed as you waited for the others to arrive and it had quickly become apparent to everyone at the table that your ex was trying to make you jealous. You were sat at the edge of the table and when Sammy had arrived your ex had quickly offered her his seat and now sat on the other side of his girlfriend, which of course, was opposite you. It was pretty comical the way he was going about it, him constantly finding a way to bring his relationship into the topic of conversation. It wasn't bothering you, in fact you found it pretty boring. However it quickly became apparent that everyone else was lapping his stories up. Even Alice had her full attention on him, listening as though it was the most interesting tale in the world. They all knew he was doing it to rub it in your face, but they couldn't help being captivated by him. That's what he was good at: public speaking and captivating an audience. He hadn't captivated you yet though, and maybe that's why he kept going.

You felt a little isolated. It felt more as though you were a random stranger watching a group of friends reunite and catch up. You ate your food in silence as you loosely listened to the conversation. They were talking about how they had gotten together and that it was love at first sight, he described it as an intense feeling of love that made all his previous loves look like nothing in comparison. You chuckled quietly to yourself at his not-so-subtle (yet unsuccessful) jab at you.

Three hours later you weren't sure as to how you’d stayed awake the whole time but you had. Your ex had seemed to have exhausted every aspect of his relationship and had nothing else interesting to say. He sat defeated for a while before deciding to initiate very obvious and very intentional skinship with his girl. He just didn't seem to get the message that you really didn't care. As the conversation became more neutral you joined back in, no longer feeling like an outsider. Eventually though, all conversation died down and it was evidently coming towards the end of this gathering.

As the bills arrived your heard a number of responses from your friends:

“Don’t worry babe, I’M paying.”

“Woah its cheaper than I thought.”

“Did I really eat that much?”

The waiter left the table and Alice noticed the frown on your face. “Whats up, y/n?”

“He didn't give me my bill.”

“He didn't?”

“No.”

“Did anyone get an extra bill by mistake?” She asked the rest of the group, but it was to no avail.

You called the waiter back over and asked for your bill. “Oh, sorry! I didn't think you'd want it since it was already paid.” He replied matter-of-factly handing you the bill.

“It's already paid? By who?” You questioned.

“One of the guys that were sitting there.” He replied, pointing at the table next to you. You sat there in disbelief, staring at the bill in your hand not really sure of how to react. Your friends were all looking at you confused too.

“Well damn, y/n.” Alice broke the semi-awkward silence. “You didn't even try to look good today and you've got random guys paying the bill for you.” You couldn't stop the smile of satisfaction playing on your lips as you saw your ex’s expression in your peripheral.

“Next time maybe you should glam up, they might pay all our bills too!” Sammy piped in and you all laughed.

You should be creeped out by it, you knew you should be. But for some reason you weren't. You regained your composure and walked out of the staff door. “Here's the phone.” You said to your coworker who pointed your attention to the man standing on the other side of the counter. You recognised him as a regular. As you caught eyes you knew you didn't have to ask any questions to confirm he owned the phone. His expression went from shock to awkward embarrassment, like a child who'd been caught doing the wrong thing.

“Thank you.” He replied, taking the phone from you. He stood in place for a while staring at his phone as if pondering his next move. He eventually looked back up at you. “Hey, umm.. y/n.” He started, his eyes briefly moving to look at your coworker who wasn't paying attention. “You guys close soon, right? Are you free after your shift?”

You smiled at the man standing on the other side of the counter. “Sure, I'll be out in 5.” You replied, and he nodded.

“Coffee? It's on me.” You offered him as you stepped out of the cafe. He must have been unsure as to whether you would actually meet with him after your shift because his face lit up as he saw you coming towards him. Despite it being late of an evening you were sure you could feel the suns shine on your skin as he smiled with his whole face, his eyes crinkling up and adorable dimples appearing on his cheeks. You couldn't help but smile back.

“Thank you.” He beamed. “But you really didn't have to pay for it, I’ll pay you back next time I'm here.” He said as he took the cup from you, his fingers brushing yours slightly.

“There's no need for that. After all, I owe you ₩15,000 don't I? Or am I wrong in thinking it was you?” You asked him. There's no denying that his lock screen photo was of you, and you were sure it was a picture of you that evening when a random stranger had paid your bill. You didn't believe in coincidences, you knew it had to be him.

Jooheon laughed nervously, avoiding your eye. “It's not that much money…” He mumbled, but it was loud enough for you to hear.

“Exactly, so it shouldn't matter that I pay for your next few coffees.” You countered.

He laughed again, this time in defeat. Looking up he seemed to realise the two of you were still standing outside the coffee shop. “Umm.. There's a park around the corner... would you like to go for a walk?”

“Sure.”

The two of you walked through the park side by side, silently sipping on your coffees in a somewhat comfortable silence. It was dark out, but the light from the streetlights lining the path was bright enough to see without trouble. The cicadas and distant passing of cars were the only sounds heard over your footsteps, it was peaceful.

You'd snuck a few glances at your companion whose mind seemed to be moving a mile a minute. He was clearly thinking too hard to be paying attention to his surroundings so when you grabbed his arm to pull him out of the way of a bin he screamed and dropped his coffee. You couldn't stop the loud laugh escaping your lips as he stood there in shock.

“You scared the life out of me!” He exclaimed.

“You weren't paying attention to where you were walking, you were going to walk into the bin.” You explained. The light from the nearby street light did little to hide the red traces of embarrassment settling on his face. “At least you were pretty much finished.” You said, referring to the coffee cup rolling down the path.

Jooheon buried his face in his hands and sighed, shaking his hands. After he had recovered from his embarrassment he moved to pick the cup off the ground and drop it into the bin you'd saved him from walking into.

“Thank you.” He said eventually. “...I promise I'm not usually like this.” He added with a small chuckle. “I really hoped you wouldn't be the person to find my phone… my lock screen… ahh this is embarrassing.” He looked directly at you for the first time in a while. “I'm not a creep, I promise.” A worried expression played on his face and you laughed.

“Why did you pay my bill?” You questioned.

“You looked really lonely even though you were with a lot of people, they were all talking to each other and ignoring you so I felt bad… I, umm. I also think you're really pretty, although you probably guessed that already.”

You smiled. “Well thank you, it was really nice of you. Also you should have seen the look on my ex's face.”

“Your ex?”

“He'd been trying to make me jealous all evening and then when he found out someone had paid my bill, ahh, you should've seen his face. It was priceless. Thank you for that too, it was very satisfying.”

He laughed. “You're welcome.” Jooheon replied as his face lit up again. “When my friend dragged me to his favourite coffee shop I didn't expect to see you working there. In all honesty I didn't think I'd ever see you again, which was why I had the picture. I know it's a little weird but I liked to think I made you smile that day after you spent the whole meal looking down, so I wanted the picture as a reminder… I-”

“You did make me smile.” You interrupted, and his face somehow shone brighter than before. “How long were you planning on watching me from afar though?” You teased; but it was also a serious question, which he didn't hesitate to answer.

“I don't know. I didn't know whether or not I was going to, that's why I'm so nervous.” He said, wiping his hands on his jeans. “I could tell you'd seen my lock screen from the look on your face, so I thought it's either now or never. I know this is probably a really weird situation for you, but I would really like to get to know you.” He looked into your eyes, clearly unsure about how you would react.

“Should we start from the beginning?” You asked. He was obviously confused, so you stuck out your hand. “Nice to meet you, I'm y/n.”

Relief washed over his face, his beautiful smile returning as he took your hand and shook it. “Lee Jooheon.”