#yeah even I was shocked when I went through the shots and realized I'd narrowed it down to EIGHTY

[victorluvsalice]

We’ve reached Winterfest again in the Chill Valicer save, and I was wrong in my prediction about how many posts this update will be! It’s not seven!

IT’S EIGHT. Yeah, uh, sorry about the glut of posts today, but apparently I took WAY more pictures than I thought I did for this one. *facepalm* What can say, it’s Winterfest! A lot happened! So let’s get right to it!

-->First things first -- remember how Alice was looking pretty Furious when we ended last time? Well, after her little nap on the porch, she went to “mark her territory” in the front yard --

And that was enough to send her over the edge into a rampage. XD Welp! I had her go around scavenging the farm for goodies while Guidry stole one of her easels to paint, Smiler played some modded Sims Forever, and Victor got his breakfast and went to chat with Smiler -- she picked up a time capsule (which I believe had a Hopper in it -- already had that one, so sold it), a fossil rock, some phazonite, and two common upgrade parts, nice. AND she managed to regain control of herself on the very first try! Pretty damn good for a rampage, I feel!

-->However, Alice wasn’t really feeling good about it -- her temperaments make her really worry about her more beastly behavior. :( So after another quick nap, I sent her inside to chat to Victor and get some advice from him. He was only too willing to cheer her up and listen to her ruminations on being a werewolf --

-->And THAT was the extra bit of XP she needed to finally become an APEX werewolf! Maxing out her werewolf rank, hooray! I promptly chose Super Speed as her next werewolf power, because that will DEFINITELY be useful in the future, believe you me. Gotta say, THAT is a Winterfest present --  well, that and Guidry helpfully taking care of the laundry. XD That ghost annoys me sometimes, but he also does his part when it comes to the chores!

Oh, but speaking of Winterfest -- we gotta make the farm look appropriately festive, do we not?

[l-egionaire]

Owl House Fanfic: I Did Not Account For This

Amity had kissed her.

Amity had kissed her!

A cheek kiss sure, but still! Her abuela's cheek kisses definitely hadn't felt like that!

She had to talk to someone else about this.

Luz's mind raced as she ran down the street of Bonesborough. Her eyes darted around until they finally locked onto Gus's house.

She headed over to it and hammered on the front door. "Gus, Gus, Gus, Gus, Gus, Gus, Gus!"

When there was no answer, Luz groaned and dug around in her pockets until she found an Ice glyph. She tapped the paper and it morphed into a key that she then used to unlock the door.

Luz dashed inside and up the house stairs to Gus's room. She kicked open the door.

"Gus, I need to talk you! I-."

But Luz fell silent when she saw what was going on inside: Willow and Gus sitting on Gus's room floor, their eyes closed and their lips pressed together.

Willow's right eye chose that moment to slightly open, only to pop wide when she saw Luz standing there. She pulled away from Gus and leapt up, her face burning red. Gus opened his own eyes in confusion only to panic and become flush faced when Willow tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out Luz in the doorway.

"Luz! I can explain! This is, uh, just an illusion!" Gus said meekly

Willow looked at Gus with a raised brow. "Really?"

"What? It was all I could think of!"

Luz regained her voice and cried out "Wha- when did this happen?!"

"Well, kind of just now." Willow said. shrugging her non injured shoulder.. Though her voice was calm, she was still blushing brightly.

Luz eyes ping ponged back and forth between Gus and Willow for a few minutes until her mouth turned into a face splitting smile.

"Tell me everything!" She yelled with glee.

Gus and Willow looked to each other.

"You want to take this one or should I?" Gus asked.

"Lets just both tell it." Willow said.

"Come on! I want to know" Luz said excitedly.

" Okay. So, those Glandus kids turned out to not be that great. Their "quest" turned out to be robbing an illusionists graveyard. I couldn't go through with it, so Mattholomule and I scared them off. It was actually pretty cool. I put an illusion over the graveyard and-."

"Get to the shipping parts already!" Luz cried.

"Okay, okay. So, after I came home, I found Willow here."

"I was worried Gus was still feeling down after what happened with the pixies, so I thought I'd come by and try to make him feel better." Willow chimed in.

"So, we sat down and started talking. About the Glandus kids, the pixie incident, and kind of just us in general. I-I kind of had a crush on one of those Glandus kids and she was the one who was probably the meanest to me. But Willow told that it was her loss and any girl would be lucky to have me."

"Awwwww" Luz 

"And then I started to realize how much Willow meant to me. We'd been friends a long time and been through a lot together. Next to my parents, she's probably the most important person in my life.  And well, I kind of, sort of, started to realize that she was really pretty." Gus's blush deepened.

"And hearing that that Glandus girl shot him down made me think over some things too. Gus was always there for me.  Even when everyone else saw me as 'Half-a-witch-Willow' I still had Gus. And I started to notice he was kind of handsome.  After that we started talking about how we felt and then, well, you saw what happened next." Willow's cheeks darkened as well.

"Oh dios mio, eso es tan lindo! I can't believe this! So, are you guys a couple now?" Luz asked.

The two of them once again looked at each other.

"Well…" Gus started.

"We're taking things slow." Willow said. "The kiss was nice, but we're not going to rush into anything."

"Right! Of course. Taking things slow…..But if I asked If you'd be interested in getting lunch with me tomorrow?"

"I'd like that." Willow took Gus's hand into her own.

"Eeeeeeeeh! Okay, you two are officially my new OTP! Ugh, I'm so happy for you!"

Gus chuckled. "Thanks. But what are you doing here anyway? Did you find something at the library with Amity?"

Hearing the name "Amity" Suddenly returned Luz's mind to its buzzing post-kiss state. Now it was her turn to blush brightly. "Oh. Right. That."

Willow's eyes narrowed knowingly as if she could read Luz's thoughts. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Well. Funny story actually. Amity kind of, sort of…..kissed me."

The two of them stared at her for two minutes until Willow turned to Gus, held out her hands and said "Pay up."

Gus groaned and dug unto his pocket. He pulled out a handful of snails and dropped it into Willows open palm. "Aw man. I'd been saving up."

"I promise I'll put it all towards our lunch date." Willow said. She looked back to Luz. "So, What happened?"

"Well, I went to the library and Amity and I tried to find out more about the last human who'd lived here. But she said that the book was in a restricted area so we had to be careful while looking for it-."

"Get to the shipping parts already!" Gus teased.

"Urgh, fine. So, I accidentally made Amity lose her job. Than, I went through some trials to get her job back. And when I went to take her her job card she had purple hair and was pretty and she helped me realize I have an Echo Mouse with the information I needed and she said I had a way of digging into people's hearts and then she kissed me on the cheek!"

They both stared at her with wide eyes.

"Wow. Good for Amity. I knew she had it in her." Willow said.

"Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean? And why did you two exchange cash?"

"We kind of had a bet going on which of you would act on your feelings first." Gus admitted sheepishly.

"And I bet Amity would act first." Willow boasted.

"How did you know she would?"

"Because I know Amity. When push comes to shove, she goes for what she wants."

"Wha- wait, you mean Amity does like me?"

"Duh. I'm shocked you didn't know. It was kind of obvious." Willow pointed out.

"But-but-but what about her crush? At Grom, she had someone she wanted to ask out!"

Gus and Willow just stared at her pointedly. It took Luz a second to understand and her eyes widened in realization.

"I'm her crush?" She whispered. 

"Duh." Gus said.

"But-no that's-why? Why would Amity have a crush on me? After all the trouble I've caused her, why would she like me?

"Because you're a good person, Luz," Willow said, coming over and placing a gentle hand on Luz's shoulder. "Sure, you can get in over your head sometimes but you're also brave and you care a lot about people. It’s not hard to see what she saw in you."

"Yeah. You're great. Heck, I’d date you! Er, if I wasn’t dating Willow I mean” Gus chuckled nervously.

“Nice save.”

Luz was completely stunned into silence. Someone liked her like she liked them. And not just anyone, but Amity. It almost didn’t feel real.

Finally, she said. “So, what should I do now? With Amity I mean.”

“Well, maybe you should do what Gus and I did.” Willow suggested.

“You want me to go kiss Amity in her bedroom?!”

“What?! No!” Willow spluttered. “I meant that you should go and talk about how you feel. Make sure that you’re both on the same page with what to do next.”

“You’re right. Thanks Willow.”

“No problem.”

Luz went over to the door, but before she left she turned back to Gus and Willow and teasingly said. “I’m going to leave the door open up here. Wouldn't want you two love birds doing anything inappropriate."

Willow glared at her. "Oh why don't you go make out with Amity already?"

"Going to work on that!"

[takamakisu]

Connected

This is a super indulgent fanfic where Mishima actually gets treated nicely by Akira and Co. so whoooo-

Being the admin of the Phan-Site, while a job of passion, was extremely tiring. Mishima spent many sleepless nights banning trolls, replying to comments, and creating forums. Life became a routine: go to school, do homework, manage the Phan-Site. Visit the shops, manage the Phan-Site. Eat, while managing the Phan-Site. Take a nap. Phan-Site. Phan-Site. 

Phan-Site.

Phan-Site.

Phan-Site.

His fingers flew like spider's legs over the keyboard of his phone and laptop, determined to carry the little world that he had created on his shoulders like a modern day Atlas. The Phantom Thieves needed him, he HAD to help them, he had to he had to-

Some jerk was going off about how the Phantom Thieves were "immoral" and "a danger to justice. Mishima automatically moved his finger to ban another troublemaker, then squinted at the username. 

DetectivePrince???

Mishima blinked once, twice, and belatedly realized that Goro Akechi himself was on his site, wanting to start an argument about the moral ethics of the Phantom Thieves. A ghost of a smile flickered across Yuuki's lips, and instead of banning, he clicked the "reply" button instead. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, why not humor it? After letting Akechi have it, an argument between the two ensues. Other users joined the fray and laughed at the detective prince, and Mishima smugly banned the annoying, stuck up guy once he'd had his fun. What a moron. Felt good, to finally be in control.

Unfortunately, Mishima hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, and he bumped into the door of the cafeteria, shaking himself to bring his surroundings to standstill. A mild blush painted itself over his cheeks and he looked around nervously to see if anybody had noticed- and of course they had. They were hiding their mouths behind their hands with shaking shoulders, and Yuuki felt a wave of irritation wash over. "Oh yeah, sure, laugh!" he snapped. "Don't you guys have anything better to do?" In a huff, he entered the cafeteria, then stationed himself at a table in the back, as always. And as always, he kept an eagle eye on the Phan-Site. It was the last thing he checked before sleeping (if he slept at all) and the first thing he looked over in the morning. The days began to blur together, and tired became his neutral state of being. But he kept at it, because they needed him, and he needed to be needed. It was the only thing he had going for him, only thing that made him worth something..

Another day at a table alone in the cafeteria, and Mishima blinked somewhat blearily at his phone, scrolling through threads as words began to blur together. And then suddenly, his device was swiped away, and the boy looked up absolutely flabbergasted into the bespectacled face of Akira Kurusu. "Hey," Yuuki cried when the shock wore off, eyebrows furrowing. "That's mine. Give it back!" He reached for it, but Akira held it up higher, and irritation erupted in Mishima's chest. Shooting up from his chair, he angrily stared the other brunet down and leaped for his phone, clawing at it desperately. "Stop it!!!!!!" 

"You are absolutely obsessed with this thing," Kurusu replied calmly, his tenor voice mellow as he kept the phone just out of reach. "Every time I see you, your face is buried in it. When was the last time you slept?" he demanded, eyes narrowing. The anger was shocked away, and Yuuki merely stared, unable to formulate a response. "You don't even remember, do you Mishima?" he frowned. Students were watching them now, mouths and eyes wide open. 

"Why do you care?" Yuuki challenged, anger washing over again. "Just give me back my phone. I need it," he hollered, and his voice broke and his vision began to blur as he reached up and up and up but it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough.

"Why do you need it, Mishima?"

"Because I have to run the Phan-Site and if I don't have my phone, I can't do that!!" Yuuki's voice shot up into the higher ranges to the point he was almost shrieking, and hot tears began to leak out of his eyes and he hated it, he hated it so much. Why couldn't people just leave him alone?! "GIVE IT BACK, I SWEAR TO GOD-"

Akira grabbed his shoulders and shook him mildly, grey eyes stormy. "STOP IT."  Mishima was stunned into silence, and his chest heaved. "Do you see what this thing-" and he held up the phone- "is DOING to you? You're so consumed with it that it's become like a part of you and you don't even know who you are without it anymore. The Phan-Site is not going to crash and burn if you're not there for one day. It is going to be fine. You, on the other hand, are running yourself into the GROUND. Do you ever take any time to yourself? Outside of this??"

Silence.

"This is an intervention, Mishima," Akira declared. "You are going to take better care of yourself. And I won't take no for an answer." With that, he pocketed the phone, and Yuuki stared hollowly, eyes and cheeks red from tears. "Now, come on."

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"You're coming to sit with me." Whispers began to rise like winds, and Kurusu turned on his heel to go back to his table. Mishima moved to follow him, but his surroundings became hazy and he stumbled, unbalanced. When did everything start moving….?

"Ngh-" 

"Mishima?"

He was falling. The next thing he knew he was in Akira's arms, and the whispers had gotten louder. "What's the matter?" Kurusu asked, concern heavy. Yuuki didn't answer. His head felt like somebody had stuffed it full of cotton, and he couldn't think straight. "Okay, um," the taller boy stammered, "let's just..let's go to the nurse, yeah?" Putting Mishima's arm around his shoulder, the duo made their way to the nurse's office. Thankfully Yuuki wasn't ill, merely overtired, and he drifted off after a few minutes. When he came to, Akira was back. "Mornin' sleepyhead. Time to go."

"Go?" Mishima echoed, turning his head towards Akira. "Go where?"

"Home. Classes are over for the day."

The shorter boy shot up like a rocket, eyes huge. "WHAT?! I slept that long!?" 

"Sure did. You gotta take better care of yourself," was the calm reply, and Mishima felt a prickle of shame. "And since you passed out before eating lunch, dinner's on me." Through the sea of people they walked to Leblanc, and Akira grabbed two plates of curry, setting one in front of Mishima. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said, "I got your phone still. Eat up, and then you can have it back." Yuuki began to eat quietly, and Akira did as well, comfortable with the silence. After a few minutes, Mishima put his fork down, surroundings blurring again, and bit his lip, burying his face in his arms.

"Woah, hey," the messy haired boy gasped. "What are you crying for? I knew Boss's curry was good, but I didn't know it was that good-"

"Why do you care?" Yuuki choked, scrubbing at his eyes. "Nobody else does. Not my parents, not anybody in the school, so why do- it's my fault your record was leaked it's my fault people hate you, Kurusu!" 

"Mishima, that wasn't your fault," Akira said firmly. "Stop taking burdens that aren't yours to carry. I don't hold that against you, okay?"

"I'm sorry," Yuuki muttered, because he didn't know what else to do, or say.

"It's not your fault. And to answer your question, I care because it's what friends do."

"..friends?" Mishima whispered, looking up incredulously.

"Yup, you're my friend now. So you're stuck with me. Whoohoo!" Akira grinned, and in spite of himself, Yuuki grinned back, weakly. 

"You're a great guy, you know that?"

"Nah. I'm just doin' the right thing."

"Sounds like something a Phantom Thief would say," Mishima replied with a knowing smile, and Kurusu's eyes widened slightly. "You thought you were subtle? I know that was you. I'll bet Sakamoto and Takamaki are in on it too. But don't worry! I swear not to tell a soul. That's what friends do, yeah?" he nodded, going back to his curry. "They keep‎ secrets." Akira nodded in reply. 

"Thanks for being our biggest supporter. Just remember to take care of yourself, too." 

After eating, Mishima went home, feeling significantly lighter, and he realized as he stepped inside he'd left his phone with Kurusu. 

….oh well. He'd be okay. He had a lot to think about, anyway.

The next day, Yuuki plodded along to school, and during lunchtime began to make his way to his regular seat. But a gentle hand to his wrist stopped him in his tracks. "Hey," a feminine voice said, and he looked up into Ann Takamaki's baby blues. 

"Takamaki-san??"

"Come sit with us," she went on, gesturing with her head towards the table with Sakamoto and Kurusu. "Nobody should be sitting alone!" 

Mishima blinked twice. "I don't wanna be a bother or anything-"

"You're not. Come on, silly!" Ann chirped, pulling him along to where her friends were gathered. Ryuji grinned at him from ear to ear, toothily. 

"Hey man! What's up?" 

"I'm...good?" Mishima ventured, hesitantly taking a seat. "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys, Takamaki-san."

"Just call me Ann!" she smiled, and he nodded, slowly. 

"Oh, uh- alright." 

Lunch was nice, and Mishima felt wanted for once. After it was over, he stood to go, but Ann tapped his shoulder. "Hey."

"What?"

"What's your cell? So we can keep in touch." 

"Oh uh..I don't have my phone on me."

"Really?" Ryuji questioned, eyebrows raised. "That thing's so attached to you it's like it's your girlfriend or something," he joked, playfully punching the brunet in the arm. Wordlessly, Akira passed Mishima his device, face set. A beat.

"Wait, why do YOU have-"

"Intervention."

"Ohhh," the blondes chorused, nodding and muttering in understanding. "So, Mishima," Ryuji went on, "I'm thinking about going to the arcade after school. You wanna come with?" 

Yuuki's grin is soft but full. "That sounds fun, Sakamoto. I'd love to."

"Ay man no need to be all formal and all that. Jus' call me Ryuji."

"Ah- okay Ryuji."

"Oh, hey!" Ann piped up, pulling out her 3DS, "Almost forgot to check on my town."

"You play Animal Crossing?!" Mishima cried excitedly, then shrank in embarrassment "Ah, sorry. I just- um."

But Ann just grinned at him. "Sure do! Wanna exchange friend codes?"

"What's so excitin' about picking fruit and talkin' to animals, anyways?" Ryuji wondered. "I don't get it."

"It's relaxing!" Ann huffed, puffing up her cheeks. Mishima nodded in agreement. 

"Yeah. The guy who created the game actually did so because he missed his family and he wanted the player to experience a sense of community," he explained, moving his hands as he talked. "It's helped a lot of people feel like they had somewhere to belong, if only for a while. You actually get closer to your villagers the more you talk to them too, and- they basically become like your friends!" He's rambling, and Mishima goes quiet, embarrassed again. "Um. Yeah."

"Huh. That's pretty cool," Ryuji nodded, and Yuuki grinned. 

Ann exchanged friend codes and phone numbers, and Mishima felt ten pounds lighter for the rest of the day. The arcade was really fun too, and the four of them went out to eat afterwards and by the time it was time to go home, Yuuki was tired, but in the best way. 

...he still hadn't checked the Phan-Site. Pulling it up, he was surprised to see that a post had been made by him, with several replies. 

Hey guys! I'm not going to be quite as active for a little while, I've been super tired lately. I'll still be here of course, but I need some time to recuperate. ~Admin

To his shock, an overwhelming amount of the replies were positive. 

That's OK! Take care of yourself! 

Your health comes first man no sweat

get some rest king u deserve it 

He's crying again. Maybe people really did care. Maybe he really didn't have to put every waking moment into this. 

..but who got into his account? His phone had a password so somebody must've hacked it to- 

He'd have to thank Futaba later. For now, he was going to bed. Akira was right. It wouldn't die if he wasn't there 24/7, and he had friends now; people who cared about him. Pulling up the group chat, he sent a text:

hey guys! i had a great time today. thanks for everything. 

Three dots appeared, and then Ryuji replied.

 [no prob bro]

[we shud hang out more]

Ann was next. 

[yw! we had a good time too :)]

And then Akira.

[nbd

im going to bed now gn]

[good night!]

Mishima put his phone away and drifted off, looking forward to school for the first time in a very long time. Life wasn't magically sunshine and rainbows now, but with 3 new friends, it was going to be a lot easier.

[theinnernerd]

I got a Twitter and kinda ditched tumblr... :( this is my attempt to change that.

This is Altean Lance from a scene in my fic The Shadow of a Prince ✨🤗✨

I’ll post an excerpt below because I CAN!!!! OmG I MISSSD the tumblr platform. I’m so FREE! I can write HOWEVER MUCH I WANT about this post.

Maybe it’s nostalgia but tumblr>>>>>Twitter. And that’s on that.

It was in the dead of the night when an alarm on Keithek’s suit started beeping.

He had been trying to doze off, not feeling like readying himself for bed, but feeling sleepy enough that if he sat down and rested his eyes for a bit, he could get a decent few minutes of sleep that would sustain him for the day tomorrow. But the beeping pulled him out of the sleepy haze he had managed to sink under in an instant and he was suddenly wide awake again.

Keithek sighed. Lance had left his room.

Standing, he went to go find him. Rounding a few quick corners before he finally got to him, the boy still seeming to glow under the low light of the hall as he walked quietly down the hall.

Keithek sighed again, shaking his head, annoyed. Did the prince really think he was being sly? He knew that this was something his sister had decreed would be strictly forbidden until the threat was neutralized. Clearly, the prince still didn’t care.

He walked up behind him silently and as soon as he was within a foot of him he cleared his throat and tried not to take pleasure in the way the prince squawked with surprise and shot his gaze over to him. As soon as his blue eyes landed on Keithek’s, they instantly narrowed with anger. He let out an annoyed humph and groaned, thrusting his hands into his already tousled hair as he turned back around, clearly annoyed.

He was devoid of any jewelry or other adornments. He wasn't even wearing his crown. Seeing him without his usual get up was... strange. More strange than he thought it would be. The blue marks beneath his eyes were almost more apparent without the usual amount of decoration, and his natural features, in Keithek's opinion, were enhanced.

“I don’t think I need to explain to you that you should be in your room right now your highnesses. You aren’t safe to walk the halls alone at night.”

“How the hell are you even- you’re- it’s literally the ass crack of dawn and you’re in full quiznacking uniform?! Do you sleep? What the hell?”

The questions felt directed more to himself than they were to Keithek or anyone else. He muttered them unhappily, glaring at Keithek with almost as much distaste as the queen herself. Keithek pretended he didn’t notice the similarities in their unhappy facial expressions from the shape of their pointed faces to the curved narrow slits of their eyes. He ignored the feeling of slight discomfort he felt when seeing the queens face resembled so clearly in the princes annoyed and exasperated face.

“I’m alerted whenever you leave your room. It’s my job to be ready to stop you from making stupid decisions.”

It seemed that both the prince and himself were a bit surprised at the forward ness of that comment and the slight lack of professionalism that Keithek had let slip.

The prince brushed it off though and turned around, ignoring him as he pushed forwards where he had been going down the hall. The glare that Keithek received from him when he had stepped in front of him and stopped him from moving forward was vicious.

“Move.” He said shortly. Staring Keithek down, using their slight difference in hight to his advantage.

“You know I can not do that your highness. Keithek replied tiredly.

Lance groaned sliding his hands down his face in demonstration of his irritability. “What's your fucking problem, man?! Can't you just let me go for a walk around my castle at night if I want?”

“No.” Keithek said. “It's still dangerous.”

The prince looked visibly exhausted, running his hands through his hair and sighing. “Fine. You know what? Fine! Asshole! God! My life is the most pathetic…” He kept mumbling as he turned on his heel and began walking down the hallway again to go back to his room, getting far enough away after a while that Keithek couldn’t hear what he was saying anymore, and suddenly Keithek felt guilty.

He could sympathize, in some ways, with the prince, even if what he was doing was irresponsible and they both knew it. He wanted to be left to his own devices. He wanted to live his life. Having someone like Keithek on his back had to be frustrating. So for whatever reason, he took pity on him and blurred out something he really hadn’t expected he would actually say.

“I can accompany you however.” Keithek said to Lance’s back quickly. If you would like.

Lance halted in his steps, pausing a bit before turning back, giving him a skeptical look.

“Technically I am instructed to keep you in your room, but…” Keithek hesitated. He wanted to earn Lance’s trust. To show him that he was on his side, and that he trusted him too. He chose then to drop formalities, letting his spine relax a bit, offering Lance a look of solace.

“Look, I get it.” He said. “Sometimes You need a distraction, and trying to sleep just doesn't work. My job is to keep you safe, and I'll do that. But Nobody has to know about my breaking minor rules if it helps you relax…”

Lance just stared at him seeming as though he didn't believe his words. His eyebrows furrowed, but he turned around.

“Ok....” he said, drawing out the word. “Then I'm going to the kitchens.” He began walking forwards again and Keithek quietly trailed behind him.

Lance stretched, rolling his shoulders and yawning as they reached the entrance. He walked languidly to the counter and began collecting an assortment of food on his plate. Keithek stood at attention by the door, watching him. He filled a glass with some liquid Keithek couldn't name, and took a seat at the table, draping himself over the edge, one arm propping him up.

He was about to lift the glass to his lips when he looked up at Keithek, like he was only just realizing that he hadn't sat down with him.

Lance drew his eyebrows together and gave him a slightly irritated look of confusion.

“What, you're not allowed to sit either?” He asked sarcastically, gesturing to the seat across from him like it was ridiculous that he wasn't already there, his face twisted in annoyance.

“No, I'm allowed but for your safe-“ Keithek began but Lance cut him off, rolling his eyes.

“Oh my god, Just fucking sit down.” He said.

Keithek bristled in surprise but obeyed the prince, walking tentatively to the seat across from him, Lance’s eyes following him as he chewed, seeming to inspect him, looking him up and down.

When Keithek sat, Lance looked back at his plate, chewing and looking to be deep in thought. A long quiet ensued as Lance ate before he spoke up.

“How old are you.” Lance asked unprecedentedly, still watching the food he was pushing around.

Keithek was taken back by his question but answered after a moment of hesitation. “Twenty four,” he responded.

The prince quirked an eyebrow. “Geez, your pretty young to have such a giant stick up your ass.”

For perhaps the umpteenth time that night, Keithek didn't know how to respond to one of the princes unexpected comments.

“Do you ever, like, not take things so seriously?” He asked. Meeting his eyes.

Keithek's heart skipped, without permission when their eyes met, shocked at just how strikingly blue they were under the dim glow of the kitchens lights.

The prince was presenting himself to Keithek in ways that he had never seen him. Away from nobles, citizens of Altea, and even his sister, Lance was incredibly more casual. Almost like how he had been with the big Altean with yellow markings. Just less… friendly. He had a snarky sarcastic sense about him that Keithek hadn't assumed of him when they first met. Rather he seemed to be the professional, stubborn, hard ass that he was accusing Keithek of being now. Why he was choosing to show this side of himself to Keithek of all people, he didn't know.

When he didn't respond, Lance continued. Taking another sip from his glass. “Look. He said. I don't like being smothered, and I don't like unnecessary tension. But if my sister is going to sick you on to me for the rest of time I'd rather get over all these stupid formalities, and tell you that you are the last thing I want in my life right now.”

He paused, allowing himself to chew and swallow his food.

“But, he continued,” I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get out of this, so if you start treating me like a person rather than a fragile little flower, and loosen up a bit, we'll get along fine. Let me live my life and if there's ever someone going to stab me in the back, then you can stop them. But I'm not going to tolerate coddling and whatever other shit rules Allura gave you on how to treat me, got that?”

With his words, Keithek finally felt that he was starting to understand the prince. At least in some ways. What he was asking for was respectable, and Keithek was willing to give him that, as long as he knew that he was going to be with him at all times, like Allura had instructed him to be.

The prince was becoming more real with every interaction they had. Here, in this room, watching him slump over the table and eat his food with the most unamused face Keithek thought he had the ability to make, without his royal attire and glittering adornments, he looked normal.

Keithek nodded. “Yeah. He replied. I get it.”

“Great.” The prince said unenthusiastically, before he lifted himself back up, downing the last of his drink and then walked to put away his dishes. Keithek pushed away the mild surprise he felt upon witnessing an Altean royal wash his own dishes, his hands soapy as he scrubbed the surface of the plate before rinsing it off with water.

When the prince grabbed the entire bottle of the drink he had been sipping on earlier, Keithek looked curiously at him and asked, “what is that stuff.”

The prince frowned, looking down at the bottle. “If it’s any good?” He said, “It will help me forget that we ever had this conversation.” And with that, he took a big swig, right from the bottle, meeting Keithek’s eyes in a deadpan stare before he turned and walked out the doors. Keithek followed him silently back to Lance’s room, watching as he wordlessly scanned his hand to open the doors and walk inside, leaving Keithek in the hallway without another word.

[conner-grace]

The Detective and his Little Assistant (part 6)

(Part Index)

Chapter 4: Compiling the Evidence

Tuesday, June 14th

*Akechi's P.O.V*

I slapped the snooze button on my alarm, growling as pain shot through my hand. I lifted it up to my face as I cracked my eyes open, there was a noticeable purple tone to part of my hand.

"Great..." I groaned, happy I normally wore gloves so Kaito-kun wouldn't worry. I actually had bruised my hand when I slammed it against the table last night. "Damn, I really did lose my cool last night, guess this morning will be running instead of cycling." I murmured, 'I only lost my cool because he's a good asset and consultant on cases I'm having trouble with...and friend, that gave me a second chance after he realized I was using him...and didn't even threaten to go to the media, or even ask the big question I knew he wanted to...' "And that's the cue to get out of my head, and bed for that matter." I mutter before doing exactly that to head out for a morning run before heading to school.

*Akira's P.O.V*

The alarm on my phone went off, I groaned shutting it off. I rubbed my eyes of sleep, before sitting up with a start, remembering that student council president found out about the Phantom Thieves.

"Do we have to meet up with her after school?" I groaned, both dreading and curious as to who her target was.

"Don't forget, boss wanted you to talk to that kid who was with the stupid detective yesterday." Morgana sighs, next to me on my bed.

"Oh, yeah..." I sigh, really hoping this isn't something I'll have to deal with until I'm done dealing with whatever Makoto-senpai wants.

"Well, let's get ready and head out." Morgana smirks, hoping off my bed, me following in suit and getting ready.

***

I was looking around the platform for that kid 'Sasaki-kun...was it?' I thought, before spotting him. He was leaning against a wall, on his phone, in a spot with a less dense amount of people. I starting heading over.

"His name's Sasaki Kaito, and he's the same year as you, if I'm remembering correctly." Morgana reminds.

"Thanks." I murmur, reaching the shorter boy. "Um, Sasaki-kun?" I ask, the boy quickly looked up, before pocketing his phone.

"Kurusu-kun." He greets with a bow of his head, though keeping his eyes to the ground, standing straighter against the wall. "You s-spoke with Akechi-senpai yes-yesterday, is there something you n-need?" He asks, stuttering slightly.

'Jeez, just how shy is this boy?' I thought, sighing. "Well um, you came up in a bit of small talk between Sojiro-san and I, and he wanted me to let you know there's still chai for you at Leblanc." I relay to him, though not missing how his head snapped up enough for me to see his storm cloud eye as soon as I mentioned Boss.

He smiles slightly. "Thanks, and t-tell Soji-san I'll b-be there as u-usual." He smiles, making me blink in shock.

"Soji-san...?" Morgana asks.

"Can I pet him?" Sasaki-kun asks energetically, reminding me Morgana sounded like a cat to normal people, as the boy was now looking around my arm to Morgana, who'd poked his head out of the bag.

"Umm, sure." I said, a little shocked ‘does he have.

Sasaki-kun put his hand up to Morgana's face to let Morgana sniff him like a normal cat would, and thankfully Morgana did, after which he started petting Morgana gently. "Are you taking him to the vet by Shujin?" He asks, smiling as he pets Morgana, who seemed to actually be enjoying it by the lack of teeth and claws.

"Uh, yeah." I lie, wondering how he knew my school, then wondering when he'd gotten a good enough look at my uniform to tell.

"Why? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him, though he does have some really pretty eyes." He asked, looking at Morgana as much as he could without moving or taking him out of the bag.

"He's, uh, got an upset stomach." I lied again, happy Sasaki-kun moved his hand to scratch Mona's neck, making him purr before he could counter that lie.

"Oh, poor thing, did he throw up?" He asks worriedly, using both hands to scratch mona's neck and under his collar, making Mona purr louder, and seem almost like putty in the kid's hands.

"Yeah.." I continue, not knowing why I didn't just tell him I was taking Mona to school with me at this point.

"Haha, of course there's an animal involved for you to be so friendly so quickly." A voice chuckled from the side, Sasaki-kun seeming to jump a little as all of our heads snap over, to see none other than Akechi Goro, Ace Detective

*Kaito's P.O.V*

"Haha, of course there's an animal involved for you to be so friendly so quickly." A voice chuckled from the side, making me jump slightly as we all looked, though just seeing Akechi-senpai.

"Heh heh, you caught me red-handed. But, just look at him, he's so cute, and his eyes are so pretty." I smile, as I pull my hands away from the cat's face, causing him to shake his head and look to me with his unique blue eyes. Akechi-senpai blinked in shock at them, 'heh, the cat and Akechi senpai are a little alike, they both have unique, beautiful eyes, and they're both quite adorable at times' I quickly looked down, feeling my cheeks burn slightly at my thoughts.

"Anyway, why are you taking him with you to school you?" Akechi-senpai asks Kusuru-kun

"He's taking him to the vet near Shujin, apparently the poor thing threw up this morning." I answer for him, though pretty I was sure it was a lie. Considering I knew  Soji-san, and even though he had a soft spot for small and furry animals, if one threw up in his beloved cafe, he wouldn't let it back in the house for at least three days. Even if it had done so in the attic, where Kusuru-kun was probably staying, since I'd never heard his name before yesterday, and I'd known Soji-san for almost 6 years now, well all that plus his unsureness of his voice in his answers. Though, since he didn't go to Aoyama, or like he'd be a suspect in Akechi-senpai's current cases, I just left it alone and covered for him.

"Oh, well, I hope he feels better soon." Akechi smiles, and his smile was actually slightly more honest than that stupid TV smile I constantly saw, only slightly though...

"Me too, though we should probably head to the spots to catch our trains, it was nice talking to you both." Kusuru-kun smiles before heading off. I nod as he leaves and Akechi-senpai and I head off too.

*Akira's P.O.V*

"You should probably watch out for him, he's probably sharper than he looks if he and that stupid detective are friends. And he'll probably show up at the cafe if Sojiro-san knows him well enough to ask you to talk to him." Morgana warns as we head off to my train.

"I know, I know." I sigh, thinking 'this really couldn't wait till after Makoto-senpai's thing'. "Anyway, we'll have to focus on him later, until the bit with the student council president is dealt with at least."

"Hopefully he'll wait that long to pop up." Morgana sighs as if reading my mind, before hiding in my bag as I stepped on the train.

*Akechi's P.O.V*

Kaito-kun and I get on our train as he gives me a seat while he stands, as was usual if there only one seat. I'd quickly learned not to fight him on this.

"So, Kaito-kun, I noticed you were blushing slightly after you pointed out the cat's eyes to me, was the feline really that cute?" I smirk, chuckling as he gasps slightly and looks away, even the tops of ears tinting pink this time 'he's so cute when he-wait, why am I thinking this?!' I quickly shake my head, looking to my lap, only to feel my chin gently being lifted up, only to be met with Kaito-kun's face a couple inches from mine, his hand being what lifted my chin.

His storm cloud eye narrowed. "How much sleep did you get last night?" He asks fatly, though annoyance lacing his features.

'Damn, I forgot he can always tell when I don't get enough sleep faster than I can tell on him' "Umm, would you believe 7 hours?" I chuckle a little nervously, I hadn't had the time to even try hiding the sleep deprivation under my eyes with make-up this morning.

His hand dropped back to his side with a sigh before he snorted, pretty much in my face considering he hadn't moved his. "I'd believe half that." He groans annoyedly.

"Fine, four and a half, maybe five." I sigh, giving in.

"It'll be another 45 minutes before we reach our stop, try to rest and I'll tell you when we get there." He sighs, finally pulling back and reaching in his bag, pulling out a pair of dark sunglasses and handing them to me.