#We have been missing out too because look at this delicious art!!
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pastries & promises | jjk
⛓️pairing: hotnerd!jungkook x popular!reader
⛓️genre: smut, fluff, college!au
⛓️summary: After hooking up with the hot nerdy boy in your coding class over the weekend, you’ll use any excuse to keep his hands on your body all week long.
⛓️word count: 3k
⛓️warnings: catdilf!jk, dom!jk, sub!reader, daddy/kitten undertones, praise kink, dirty talk, oc is a horny lil brat, mention of getting wasted at parties, one instance of slut-shaming, oc makes an ignorant comment about earl grey tea lol, no explicit smut in this drabble
⛓️p&p masterlist⛓️
a/n: this takes place a few days after p&p jjk & oc start talking to give us a glimpse of what their new dynamic is like in & out of class✨ btw despite what oc says about earl grey, i personally love it;;
After a weekend of sex, coding, kitten shenanigans, and more sex, you wake up to a beautiful boy with equally beautiful tattoos nagging you to “get the fuck up” for the “hundredth time” because “class starts in twenty minutes” and “attendance is worth 25% of your grade.” It somehow slipped your mind that it’s already Monday. Can he really blame you after fucking you silly several hours ago?
You tug at the collar of his hoodie and pull him on top of you. Still very much naked beneath the sheets, you suggest, “Or we can just skip class and extend our weekend? I’m sure we can find something fun to do.”
“Nice try, but no.” Jungkook offers you a hand and pulls you into an upright sitting position. The sheets slide down your chest, and you catch the boy staring a little too long.
“And you expect me to walk into class without a bra?” It’s not your fault you rushed over to his place last night in nothing but a baby tee and leggings. Why bother throwing on a bra when you know it’s gonna be torn off your body the second you step into his room?
“I mean, I’m not against it.” His eyes are still locked onto your chest. At least he’s a guy who appreciates art when he sees it. When he’s finally done, he digs through his closet and throws one of his grey hoodies into your arms. “But this will keep you warmer.”
You sniff the hoodie. It’s clean but still has the very scent you’ve familiarized yourself with a lot this weekend—blossoms and bergamot. It smells delicious.
With a sigh, you hop out of the bed and collect your pieces of clothing from every corner of the room. Your thong somehow wound up slung over his computer screen, but better there than on the floor.
Once you’re dressed in your day-old clothes, you slip into the boy’s hoodie and drown in his scent. The warmth that engulfs you makes you want to adopt his comfy casual style. At least on school days. Maybe you wouldn’t dread going to class so much if you could just sit there and be all cozy like that.
You’d still prefer to stay home and fuck him, though.
“You know what, I’m not feeling very well all of a sudden,” you lie. “Maybe you should stay home too so we don’t spread any germs to our beloved classmates.”
“Maybe you should just go to class like a good girl, and maybe you’ll be rewarded afterward,” he throws back at you. The way you perk up is almost embarrassing. But you’ve definitely got a thing for being praised and rewarded for good behavior. Especially if the prize is something pleasurable. So yeah, you suppose you’ll endure class for a few hours so that you can have some more fun later on.
“Fine.” You wrap your pinky around his to solidify the deal. He gives you a look but doesn’t pull his finger away. “But just know that you’re a nerd for never skipping class.”
“And how do you know I never skip class?” He raises his brow with intrigue.
“We’ve been in at least three or four other comp sci classes together, and I’ve never seen you miss a day.”
“Oh, so you’ve been keeping tabs on me all this time?” He’s totally calling you out. But he isn’t wrong. As quiet as Jungkook is in class, it’s hard not to notice someone who’s so incredibly smart. Doesn’t hurt that you’ve always thought he was kinda cute too.
“I guess you could say that,” you admit. What you won’t admit, however, is the fact that you’d wanted to talk to him back then but didn’t know how to initiate a conversation. You might be considered popular, but you sure as hell don’t know how to talk to people unless they strike up the conversation first. And Jeon Jungkook clearly didn’t have any intentions of being the initiator.
Thank god for that partner project that started it all.
Just before the two of you can get out the door, a tiny mew stops you in your tracks. The kitten looks up at Jungkook and cries again.
“You have to stay home, little one,” he says, holding a hand up for her to sit and stay. Like the naughty demon child she is, she ignores everything he says and climbs up his leg and into his arms. You can hear her purring as soon as she rests her chin on her dad’s shoulder like an actual baby. It’s so tempting to take a million pictures of the glorious cat dad moment and set one as your phone wallpaper, but you’d definitely run out of storage. Good to know you have some form of restraint when it comes to your infatuation.
After ten heartwarming seconds, he sets the kitten down in her pink bed and gives her a new tiger toy that was special ordered from some fancy cat shop on the other side of the country.
“Stay,” he tells her again before rising out of his squat. When she does as she’s told, he adds, “Good kitten.”
Oh, how you wish he was saying that to you right now.
“Your daddy really spoils you, you know that?” you giggle, waving bye to the kitty. A second later, you’re overcome by the urge to latch around Jungkook’s arm as you both head to his car. “When are you going to spoil me like that?”
He doesn’t give you a specific answer, but you’ll gladly accept the way he shrugs with the faintest hint of a smile. The two of you haven’t been talking all that long, and yet, he seems to be tolerating your antics well. At the very least, he must like you a tiny bit.
On the car ride over, you feel like you’re forgetting something. And then the boy’s stomach rumbles. Neither of you has eaten anything since the impromptu fast food run last night.
“Ooh, we should stop by the cute little bakery near campus before class,” you suggest, totally not trying to avoid class for the thousandth time today. “I heard they have really good muffins.”
“We’re gonna be late if we make any detours.” He catches a glimpse of your pout as he makes a right turn. “We can go after.”
Your pout quickly becomes a smile because he keeps sweetening the deal. You’re very much looking forward to the promised pastries and sex after class along with anything else he might throw in.
When you get to class, the usual gal crowd is hanging around your desk. Except someone else is there sitting in your seat. It’s Big Tim. Great. You love confrontation first thing in the morning.
Before approaching the seat thief, you watch him throw a cocky ass smile at Jungkook who straight up ignores it as he takes his seat next door. You would’ve appreciated a little help, but there’s nothing from Big Tim you can’t handle. Besides, the two of you agreed to keep the whole hookup thing lowkey and out of the mouths of your gossiping classmates. Otherwise Jungkook would probably end up hearing a wacky rumor-fied version of it from his tattoo artist.
“Hi?” you say to the guy in your seat. You’ll play nice for now.
“Oh hi Y/N, we were just talking about you.” Big Tim gives you a much kinder smile than the one he threw at Jungkook—a byproduct of being popular, you suppose.
“About what?” You’re genuinely confused.
“There’s a party at my place this weekend, and I’m hoping you’ll be there.” This is the first time he’s personally invited you anywhere. Is it a coincidence that he’s doing it in front of an audience?
“Thanks for the invite, but I’m all partied out for a while,” you respond as honestly and gracefully as possible. You have no interest in hanging out with Big Tim, but parties aren’t completely off the table forever. It might be fun to bring Jungkook to one eventually, even though he claims he’s uninterested in getting wasted with people he couldn’t care less about. “Can I have my seat back now?”
Big Tim laughs it off like you weren’t being serious. “Aww, don’t be like that. It’s just gonna be a small thing with you, me, and a few others. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
You and him? You almost gag. That doesn’t sound like fun at all. And what’s up with him dismissing your gentle rejection? If he didn’t want to be rejected in front of everyone, he shouldn’t have hyped it up in the first place. Now it just feels like he’s pressuring you into going along with it because he knows you’re too soft to make him look bad in front of others. Unfortunately for him, that’s not going to happen.
“I’m seeing someone—a single father, actually—and I’ve been helping him with his kid. So I don’t have time for your party.” The single father part is a bit of a stretch, but you kind of like the sound of it. He’s your local hot cat dilf after all.
The girls’ jaws all drop at the same time. Big Tim’s smile also drops a bit, but he continues to shrug it off. “Helping a dad with his kid? Anything for a good dicking, I guess.”
Okay, buddy.
You tried to stay courteous about the whole situation, and this is what you get in return. He can say whatever he wants to make himself feel better about himself, but it’s also sad to see not a single one of the other girls step in and call him out on his bullshit. You’re sick of it.
“Are you done? Can you leave now?” You look Big Tim straight in the eyes, although you’re hoping the girls take a hint to leave as well.
They don’t. Because they’re too invested in how Big Tim will respond as he opens his big mouth once more.
“She said leave,” Jungkook snaps out of nowhere. If you had to guess, he was trying to catch up on sleep after that long night with you, and now he’s cranky and mad that Big Tim can’t just shut up and take the L.
Big Tim and the girls collectively turn their heads toward the grumpy boy who cuts the conversation off with a death glare to each and every one of them. As expected, Jungkook is the only person who’d ever take your side on anything. And that’s why he’s the only one who matters to you these days.
At long last, the crowd disperses and everyone goes back to their seats. Just in time for class to begin.
As soon as class ends, you stretch your arms out, slip past all the girls who want the deets on this mysterious dilf you’re seeing, and meet back up with said dilf outside the building.
“Bakery time?” You’re smiling awfully bright despite the shitshow that went down before class. But that’s the effect Jeon Jungkook seems to have on you. You’ll take a bad day every once in a while if he’s there to make it a little better.
“Don’t bakeries usually close early?” he asks in a calm voice as if that isn’t the most devastating thing someone has said to you all day. You hadn’t thought about that.
In a panic, you pull out your phone to check the time and google the bakery’s business hours. Before you can get your answer, the boy chuckles, “It’s open. I already checked. You’re just fun to fuck with.”
You’d fight him for messing with you like that, but you’re too distracted by that chuckle. It’s a rare occurrence that you’ll treasure forever. Who knew he had such a charming laugh? And how lucky are you to be the one to hear it?
“By the way, thanks for earlier,” you say as you hop into his car. “I was about to throw hands at Tim.”
“I thought his name was Jim.” The boy looks so confused. You love it. “But yeah, you should’ve thrown hands for all that shit he said.”
“He wasn’t wrong about the good dicking though,” you hum. You can’t even remember the last time sex was this good.
“Definitely not wrong about that,” Jungkook agrees with a big fat smirk on his face.
When the two of you arrive at the bakery, you’re delighted to see that they haven’t sold out of the famous poppy seed muffins you’ve been eyeing on Yelp. You try to get Jungkook on board with the muffin agenda, but he opts for a buttery croissant—another solid pick. You’ll definitely be stealing a bite out of that flaky pastry of his.
“Which drink are you getting?” you ask, eyeing the drink menu like it’s a map of Disneyland. Everything looks so fucking good that you don’t know where to start.
“A London fog.” You have no idea what that is, but it sounds boring. “It’s earl grey,” he clarifies upon seeing the ignorance in your eyes.
“Isn’t that what old people drink?” you snicker. “You’re a nerd and a senior citizen?”
“Well what are you getting? A hot chocolate, right? Because that’s what babies drink,” he teases back. Now that you think about it, he calls you Baby an awful lot in bed. If the two of you were dating, you wonder if you could get him to call you that all the time. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
You do end up getting the hot chocolate while Jungkook gets his elderly drink. As the barista is ringing the order up at the register, a cute sign catches your attention at the other end of the counter because there’s a cat on it. You wander over to it and pick up one of the baggies with fresh baked cat treats in it. What a coincidence.
“Hey Jungkook, look. Let’s get this for Lucy, too.” Excited by your last-minute find, you scurry back to the register where the boy is already slipping his wallet back into his butt pocket. Fine, if he wants to pay for your breakfast, then you’re paying for the kitty treats.
After you pay and secure all your food, the two of you return to Jungkook’s place. The first thing you do is seek out the kitten who’s busy taking a nap on the boy’s bed instead of in her own.
She blinks at you with heavy eyelids and twitches her nose toward the bag in your hand.
“Good morning, little cutie,” you grin. “I brought you some special treats.”
Her big ears immediately shoot up as she starts pawing at the bag. She’s so fucking cute you could cry.
“You have to ask your daddy if it’s okay to eat one now.” You continue to use your baby voice before turning to the daddy in question standing behind you.
“Just one.” The stern dad voice comes out. “And make sure you break it in half. She’s small, you know.”
“Yes, daddy.” By now, the word slips so naturally off your tongue. You meant for it to be sarcastic this time, but you’re also very aware of what it does to him and his body.
He watches quietly as you break the treat into bits and hold it in your palm for the kitten to gobble up. She meows, optimistic for more special treats, but you stick to the plan and give her more pets and cuddles instead.
“Your daddy is so mean, huh. He doesn’t want you eating any more yummy treats,” you blabber into the kitten’s ear. She makes a whiny sound in agreement.
“Hey, what are you two conspiring about over there?” Jungkook frowns.
“Oh nothing.” You’re about to shoo him away but notice his lock screen flashing on in his hand. It looks like a pic of you and the kitten conspiring together. “Wait, what’s that on your phone?”
“Oh nothing,” he mocks you before changing the subject. “Drink your hot chocolate already. It’s getting cold.”
You take a sip of it as you devour the muffin. Your drink is basically cold chocolate milk at this point, but at least it still tastes amazing. The muffin slaps too.
“Taste,” you say as you offer up your half-eaten muffin to the boy. He takes a bite like a good boyfriend would—except he’s not actually your boyfriend.
“It’s good,” he shrugs as he goes back to the flaky pastry. “The croissant’s better though.”
“Let me taste.” You grab hold of the boy’s chin and taste the butter on his lips. He kisses back with long, tender motions that leave you wanting far more than just a casual makeout session. There’s no doubt in your mind that he tastes better than both the muffin and croissant combined. You pull back for just a second to say, “Hey, wasn’t I promised sex after class?”
“Do the homework first. It’s easy.” Of course Jeon Jungkook has his priorities straight, and of course you listen because you’re craving more of his praise. At least he’s a good influence on you. “And I never said sex specifically, by the way. Is that what you were thinking about in that dirty little head of yours?”
He’s 100% right. Your horny mind just believes whatever it wants to believe. Right now, it's telling you the boy wants it just as much as you do. He’s just better at hiding it.
“It was heavily implied though,” you huff as you take your laptop out and start on a boring coding exercise on his bed. “The sex better be really good!” And that’s a threat.
“When has it not been?” Jungkook shoots you an arrogant look. Good point. And apparently he’s already finished with the assignment because he shuts his computer off and turns his attention to your screen. He sits his ass right behind you, slips his hands up into the hoodie you’re wearing, and whispers into your ear, “Now hurry up and finish. I’m waiting.”
#bts smut#jungkook smut#bts scenarios#bts imagines#bts fanfic#jungkook fanfic#jungkook x reader#bts x reader#bts fluff#bts college au#nerd jungkook
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im not even a kyo stan but like 😳 imagining the trope where childhood friends get seperated for a while and when they reuinte again, person a is shocked at how much person b has changed and now person a is confused and flustered around person b 🥺
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ different but familiar ₊˚ෆ
character(s): kyo kaneko
note: gn!reader ; fluff ; not proof read!
a/n: oh gosh i haven't written a proper fic in ages... i apologise if this is sloppy ;w; but hey, my first kyo fic o_o despite being a kyomie for a while now lol oops. i actually really enjoyed writing this, it made me feel all soft and warm on the inside hehe. this kinda ended on a cliffhanger, let me know if you guys want a part two!! thank you anon for the idea!! enjoy lovelies ♡
art credit
you were on your way to the coffee shop nearby to get your coffee before heading to work. you take a deep breath of the crisp autumn air as you walk through a carpet of leaves, hearing them crunch beneath your feet. you swing open the door and hear the little jingle of the bell before the delicious smell of freshly baked pastries mixed with the fragrant scent of coffee wafts towards your nose. a faint smile graces your features as you walk towards the counter to order.
"hi what can i get for you today?" the cheerful cashier asks.
"i'll have an oat milk cappuccino with 2 shots of espresso as well as a croissant please." you respond, giving the cashier a friendly smile.
"will that be all?"
"yep! thank you!"
just as you were about to pull out your card to pay, you see someone reach forward to tap their card on the machine. you turn to your left to see who it was. a guy with light blue hair smiles at you and says, "my treat."
as you walked over to the collection counter with him, you were trying to figure out why this guy looked so familiar. did you know him?
and then it hit you...your eyes widened as you looked at him
"kyo?"
he turned towards you with a soft chuckle, "took you long enough."
"oh my gosh...i haven't seen you in..." your voice falters as you try to recall the number of years
"thirteen years." he says as he looks at you with a small smile
"oh wow...it's been that long huh? how've you been? i hope mr. and mrs. kaneko have been well."
"oh yeah i've been busy, got a job that literally takes up all of my time. my parents are doing good though, thank you for asking about them."
"so...what brings you back to our quaint little town?"
"well...my mom and dad wanted to meet some old friends and catch up with them. i've been working tirelessly for months without a break so i decided..."
kyo's voice drifts off, melting together with the background ambiance of the coffee shop as you stare shamelessly at him, noticing the changes in his appearance since you last saw him.
oh wow, when did he get his ear pierced? his face changed a lot...it's a lot more defined now. also, he shot up so much what the heck?! i was taller than him when we were kids...that's so unfair, why do guys get so much taller after puberty...wait, was he always this handsome...?
"hey...hey y/n...are you done checking me out?" kyo's voice gets clearer again as you snap out of your thoughts. you feel your cheeks heat up after getting caught staring at him and because of the close proximity between the both of you. he leaned in to get your attention and now both of your faces were just a few inches apart.
you avert your gaze to compose yourself and mumble, "i wasn't checking you out..."
he leans back and chuckles, "uh huh...so tell me what i said then." he teases, a smirk evident on his face.
you stay silent because obviously you didn't hear what he said, he chuckles and flicks your forehead gently, "you haven't changed a bit, always spacing out."
you move your hand to rub the spot he flicked with a pout, "quit it, you're still as annoying as you were back then." you giggle after and he laughs too. it felt nice to joke around with him again. your heart swells with happiness, you've missed him — more than you thought you did.
the barista calls out your name and you go to grab your order.
"i'm assuming you're headed off to work now, where do you work by the way?"
"oh it's just 3 blocks down, that massive office building?"
"oh yeah, i know which one you're talking about. what time do you get off work?"
"6pm."
"oh perfect, i'll see you then. we need to have a proper catchup. dinner's on me too." he says with a boyish grin.
"no that's okay, i can-"
"nuh uh uh, no can do. um...i'm sure you have to start walking, it's almost 9am. you don't wanna be late to work do you?" he says as he places his hands on your shoulders and swivels you around to face the direction of your office.
you click your tongue and start walking, turning your head back to respond to him, "we'll see mr kaneko. i'll have my card ready this time."
"byeee! good luck at work! i'll see you at 6!" he calls out as he waves at you
you wave too and turn back around with a sappy smile on your face, your cheeks flushed. well that's something to motivate me to get through work today
#kyo kaneko#kyo kaneko x reader#kyo kaneko fluff#iluna#iluna x reader#iluna fluff#hana replies ♡#anon ♡#nijisanji en
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Intimacy in TTRPGS
(art by @geezmarty)
It's been a while since I geeked out about ttrpg design and I thought I'd dive into it! Some time ago there was discussion about intimacy and romance in games, and I wanted to talk about that today.
In particular this is about the Reveal Your Heart move in Apocalypse Keys and how it's a response to games that came before it.
Above is the Comfort or Support move from Masks: A New Generation. It's representative of what a lot of similar Powered by the Apocalypse moves are like (and many PbtA games since Masks have emulated this too).
In my experience with Masks it created a lot of lovely drama, "on a hit, they hear you" suggested that on a miss, they didn't. This often lead to delicious moments filled with angst: misunderstood feelings, good intentions not being enough, or being interrupted at the worst possible moment!
My main issue with this move and those like it (and it came up with various groups and players) was that most of the time it's hard for a player to correctly guess what would actually comfort or support another character in the moment.
It was also interesting that this was a move that was mostly about the person you were trying to comfort or support! Like most PbtA games, you're statistically more likely to roll a 7-9, which meant the target of the move was the only one who benefited mechanically.
This lead to a lot of awkward play. If we were lucky, the target of the move would speak up and offer a clear alternative "Oh that wouldn't actually comfort my character, he doesn't like being hugged or touched. I think what he'd want to hear in this moment is that he matters to you, that you think he's an important member of the team."
But most of the time something would go wrong somewhere - the target player wouldn't feel comfortable with speaking up, the triggering player would insist that this is what their character would do, etc. So the move would effectively not trigger, or we'd pretend it would and everyone would be awkward.
It just reminded me too much of my own personal experiences, where I would have to pretend I was happy with someone trying to comfort me because they had good intentions and it didn't matter if I was actually comforted or not. Seeing it play out, again and again, in Masks was something that always made me feel uncomfortable.
The trigger includes keywords like "offer" (suggesting acceptance is not guaranteed), "in a way that could be meaningful to them" reminds a player to place the target of the move's preferences first. Both results require the target to "open up to you", if they don't, the rest of the move just doesn't trigger.
Thirsty Sword Lesbians, which has a lot of Masks DNA in it, addresses this in an interesting way. It spells out a few things by refining the trigger and response of Emotional Support.
It felt a lot better in play, but for Apocalypse Keys and my own design preferences I wanted to shift the move into a different direction!
Reveal Your Heart (like every move in the game) taps into the relevant central themes. In this case the PCs are Omen-Class monsters who struggle with staying in control and handling difficult emotions (as well as the horrifying truth that they may become a Harbinger one day, and bring about the apocalypse instead of stopping it!).
The trigger here is dependent on a revelation of some kind, what are you revealing to another? This suggests vulnerability, or at least an innate truth of self. "try to sincerely connect to another" replaces the awkward and difficult task of trying to figure out what would comfort another person. This is a move that prioritizes an attempt towards intimacy, whatever that may look like. This is usually much easier to figure out, the question then becomes "how vulnerable are you going to be in this moment?"
Like in most Apocalypse Keys moves, I wanted each narrative choice to lead to a mechanical reflection. This further supports the idea that the narrative and emotional are mechanical and structural truths in the game - roleplaying and characterization are not separate aspects, they are connected to the act of playing. It also gives the players room to interpret what that means, "they gave you hope", what does that hope look like to you? How does it quell and calm the Harbinger that shifts and aches in your soul?
But! In general, I love how much intimacy and romance have flourished in the indie ttrpg space! It's definitely improved my play experience, and it's something I love to design around in my own games!
Essentially this move offers the players the room to name the feelings they have and lay bare the nature of their relationship. By the end of the move there's usually a sense that we've learned something essential about the relationship between the characters. No matter how small, it bears significance.
Many of the moves in Apocalypse Keys focus on relationships and intimacy of some kind, it's just very very queer that way.
#design breakdown#ttrpg design#indie ttrpg#sword queen games#masks a new generation#thirsty sword lesbians#apocalypse keys
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𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 - yang jeongin
pairing: yang jeongin x gn!reader, lovertober entry ii
genre: non!idol au, fluff, comfort, slice of life, childhood friends to lovers, boy next door
wc: 5.6k
warnings: language, making out, a lot of timeskips, willow symbolism, cheating, chaewon from lesserafim is a character in this?, attempted assault, mentions of alcohol, fighting, mentions of cuts/bruises/blood
you remember the day you met yang jeongin like it was yesterday.
you are eight years old, sitting at your kitchen table, intently coloring a picture of a cat with your brand-new markers. your mom is hard at work in the kitchen, the delicious smell wafting into your nostrils. you sigh, eliciting a giggle from your mother.
"are you sure i can't have any? that cake smells so good!" you whine, turning around to face her. she shakes her head, smiling gently.
"i'm sorry, honey. this cake is a present, so we can't have any." she explains, wiping her hands on the embroidered apron before placing them on your shoulders. "remember how the chois moved out of their house last month, because mrs. choi got a new job?"
you nod, a pout on your face. "i miss yeonjun."
"i know, but he was a little hard to play with sometimes, given he's eleven...and you're eight." she chuckles. "however, good news - our new neighbors, the yangs, moved in today. they have a son your age! isn't that lovely?"
"i guess..." you say, staring at your certainly...unique art. "i hope he's nice. all of the boys at my school are kinda mean."
"well, i met mrs. yang at the market today, and she was very kind. she seems like she'd raise her son to act that way, too." your mother reassures you. "how about when i finish frosting this cake, you come with me? you can meet the new boy."
so now, here you are: standing in front of the yangs' door alongside your mother, clinging tightly to the fabrics of her skirts. she holds a small pan in her hands, foil over the cake itself.
she rings the doorbell, waiting for a little bit before a small hand slowly slides the door open. you are met with a boy your age, looking at you with wide, curious eyes. he has dark hair sliced into a bowlcut, which you'll always tease him about when you are older. from behind him, his mother comes out, saying a warm hello to you before embracing your mom and letting her inside. you follow her, the little boy never taking his eyes off you.
"mrs. yang, this is yn. honey, say hi." your mother urges you. your small, pudgy hand waves. "yn, jeongin. jeongin, yn."
the two women start conversing about all sorts of things - farmers' markets, schools nearby, gardening and your mother's not-so-successful attempt at a vegetable garden - all kinds of topics that would bore a child to death. thankfully, mrs. yang notices this and kneels down next to her quiet son, whispering to him.
"jeongin," his mother says affably, "can you keep little yn company? i'm gonna talk to their mom." he nods, mouthing an "okay". he grabbed your hand and the two of you traverse outside to his backyard. you've been out here many times before, but the yangs have truly transformed it. they'd planted flowers, and put out furniture. you sit down into a wooden lawn chair, swinging your legs. jeongin stands beside you, before he finally speaks in a sweetly beautiful voice. you don't know it yet, but you'll live to hear that soft melody that floats from his lips.
"how long have you lived here?" he asks you.
"since i was...um...three?" you count on your fingers. you turn, pointing to the large willow tree in the back of his backyard. "you see that tree?"
"yeah," jeongin nods. he walks up to the green giant, running his small fingers along the smooth bark. "it's really pretty. how do you know it's a willow tree?"
"yeonjun told me." you reply. when jeongin tilts his head, you remember that the boy doesn’t exactly know your best friend. "he lived here before you. he taught me how to climb that tree." you stand beside him as the leaves that boast beautiful shades of verdant brush against your head.
"i like...climbing trees." jeongin says quietly, his cheeks flushed. you giggle. he points to the tree's branch, wide enough for two. "you wanna?"
this is how you come to sit upon the branch, your side pressed against jeongin's as he holds onto the trunk tightly.
"are you scared...what's your name? sorry, i'm not great with names..." you ask, puzzled. he uses a finger to mime drawing out his name onto the gnarled wood.
"yang jeongin." he spells out each consonant, vowel, and syllable. it takes that one time for the name to be forever etched into your memory.
"jeong...ugh." you sigh loudly, having trouble with his name. "can i just call you innie?"
"innie..." he trails off as he says it. "i like that. can we be friends?"
you nod eagerly.
"okay, but you gotta promise to be my best friend. forever. deal?" you extend your pinkie, your gaze hopeful.
this is the first time jeongin notices your aura. it is like the end of may, lush yet neither freezing cold or burning hot. it is warm and loving, graciously accepting any kindness it receives like spring rain to a garden, and giving that very kindness tenfold. he decides he'd quite like to stay basking in your radiance.
"deal."
now, you are thirteen years old, and jeongin is nothing short of your best friend. over the last five years, you have grown closer and closer until your mothers joke you are joined at the hip. you are lucky he's next door, so that after school you can just walk right into his house and upstairs into his room, if your mom isn't home. his parents love you to death.
you get home after a long day of school, and since you saw your mother's note saying she'd be working late, you immediately decide you'll make your way to jeongin's. but first, you throw your backpack to the floor, and excitedly run up to your bedroom to grab his present, wrapped in love and patterned paper. then, it is time to surprise your friend.
when you arrive, he is laying on his bed, earbuds in his ears. you can slightly hear his music when you sit down beside him, it sounds like some 90s rock song you can't quite make out. and then, you look at his face.
his eyes are shut almost daintily. they're not squeezed shut, as if he's trying to hide from reality, it's almost like he wants to dream. his lips are pursed, almost, and they look pillowy. you freak out once it hits you that you're not just thinking about a boy's lips, but the lips of your best friend. two hands are folded over the other, resting on his sternum. he opens his eyes and two dark pools of pure espresso filtered in a french café are gazing up at you.
"hi." he grins, his smile even cuter with his braces on. ew, no! what are you thinking?!
"hello," you begin, setting the present on his stomach. "happy birthday, innie! i know i've already told you, but i brought you a gift this time. therefore, i'm allowed to say it again!" in response to this, he sits up, eagerly staring at the mysterious box.
"therefore?" he raises an eyebrow at you. "what are you, a nerd? i've never heard that word in my life." you swat at his head, and he laughs loudly. he mutters something you don't catch under his breath, probably paired with a nasty nickname, but then he opens his gift, and he goes silent.
"these...are the shoes i really wanted. i never told you. how did you know?" he looks at you with wonder, inspecting them before realizing that they truly are the genuine article. his dream shoes were now his, and it was all because of you. "these are so expensive...did your mom pay for them?"
you shook your head, grinning.
"nope. i've been saving since november, because i remembered how longingly you'd stare at them in the window when we passed the shoe store. i've been babysitting to get extra money, that's why i haven't been coming around as often." he stares at you as if you are athena herself, equipped with endless novelty and wisdom. jeongin engulfs you in an enormous hug, squeezing you so impossibly tight it feels like the breath has been completely banished from your respiratory system.
"i love you, so, so much. you're the greatest friend i could ever ask for." the words ring in your head as you hug him back, a symphony of feelings and expressions energetically harmonizing to form a crescendo at complete fortissimo. your head is fucking pounding. your arms wrap around him tighter and tighter until he has to physically tap out, and you separate from him, a tad embarrassed. he's staring at your face rather oddly, so you quickly change the subject to avoid total humiliation.
"what song were you listening to? i could vaguely hear it when i came in." you say quickly, reveling in the way jeongin's eyes light up when you mention this. he takes out an earbud and places it in your ear.
"it's creep, by radiohead. it's really a beautiful song." he explains, grinning ear to ear as he presses play. the song that follows is a classic 90s rock song with haunting lyrics. but what startles you more is when jeongin sings along.
his voice is inexplicably alluring, soft and filled with emotion. the grief that hangs upon every syllable is beautifully gut-wrenching. you watch him, entranced by every moment of his lips and vocal cords. he sings the song like he has been personally wounded by the lyrics, and your eyes are opened. wide. jeongin never told you he could sing.
and suddenly...you feel a weird feeling in your stomach. it's warm and pools slightly, but it's so wonky that you feel sick. yang jeongin is like a spider, and he has officially caught you in his delicate web of silk.
one week later, it is valentine's day and you are sitting alongside jeongin beneath the graceful willow tree, now barren and cold as it boasts no leaves. you are too big to sit amongst its branches, but it does not mean your affections for the lovely piece of flora have faded one bit. you lean your head back until it hits the wide trunk and you sigh over-exaggeratedly, although you feel as if it gets all your emotions out.
"everybody was fawning all over you, innie. it was hilarious." you say quietly, and he nods, resting his head on your shoulder. "who did you choose to be your valentine? there were so many options."
he turns to look at you and it suddenly occurs to you the actual proximity between the two of you. he blinks, looking at you peculiarly.
"i thought we'd already established that we were each other's valentines. i even got you something?" your cheeks heat up at his words. when he thinks that you don't believe him, he pulls a satchel out of the pocket of his jacket. "here. look at them."
inside his fabric satchel are two rings, the insides inscribed with twisting silver tree branches.
"what are they, innie? oh my god…they're beautiful." you say with wonder, and he blushes sheepishly.
"these are promise rings. don't worry, they're not like coupley or anything, but they symbolize our friendship and how we'll be together until the end of time.. it'll be as if every single core memory of ours is one ring on the inside of a sequoia trunk. isn't that just lovely?" you nod eagerly, a little too excitedly, and he chuckles. "if it's not too much to ask - can i put it on for you? please?"
when you give your approval, the scene feels like something out of a fairytale. you are sitting beneath a huge piece of your childhood memories, fighting your own emotions as your best friend in the whole wide world looks up at you like you carry the universe on your back as he slips a silver promise ring onto your left hand. you admire it, your lips curling the slightest bit upwards as the sun's rays reflect off it. you can't fathom how happy you are. will things always stay this way, forever and ever?
spoiler alert: they won't, because now you are sixteen years old and jeongin has a girlfriend. this is his third one, to be exact.
and, for starters: you are hopelessly in love with him.
you feel really pissed whenever you see them together, his arm wrapped lazily around her waist, listening intently as she eagerly tells him about her day. but he seems so happy, you don’t want to ruin everything by confessing your feelings and making shit weird, so your mouth stays shut. you watch him laugh with her as they walk, hand in hand, and you don’t have the heart to point out that the silver accessory he wears on his ring finger is his promise ring to you. you can’t help but smile at the thought that it’s been three years and you haven’t seen him without it on once.
you sit beside him at lunch, and his girlfriend, chaewon, has an all of a sudden appearance that turns your longtime duo into a trio. you try to be nice to her, you don't want to lose your best friend of eight years just because you don't like the girl he's dating (and she's so sweet too), but there's this aching pang in your body as your heartstrings resonate with a melancholic concerto.
"yn," she says softly, her lips turned upwards as she smiles like a pageant queen. "do you wanna hang out after school? i wanna get to know you better, you're so nice!"
you're not sure what to say, so you nod. chaewon squeals excitedly and clasps her hands together. jeongin beams at the sight, and his infectious smile has you melting.
later, after your last class and a quick run home to change, you walk down the sidewalk to the local coffee shop, where you'll be meeting up with chaewon for your little hangout session. there she is when you walk in, in all her glory, her dark hair glossy and gorgeous as the waiter practically fawns over her. you feel a surge of jealousy, knowing people had never looked at you that way. hell, you've never even been in a relationship.
however, you can't help but feel a little flustered when she notices you, her eyes lighting up as she gets up to twirl you around excitedly, gushing about how stylish you are. her compassionate and bubbly personality makes you feel even worse. you feel like you're being so fake to her.
how would chaewon feel if you looked her dead in the eyes and told her you were madly in love and devoted to her boyfriend? would she stare at you in shock? would she rip her hand away from yours in disgust? or would she lean over the wooden table, a grin on her face as she crushed your hopes and dreams like a little bug beneath her heel?
however, your lips stay sealed and you shake the worry off as you converse with her, listening as she tells some story about her middle school days that you honestly couldn't care less about, and your mind trails off to the confusing math lesson you attempted to learn today. however, when her voice changes from it's usual high, cheery timbre to one that's softer and a bit nervous, you snap out of your thoughts.
"can i be honest about something?" she says, reaching over the table to take your hands in hers. you don't want to be a bitch, so you give her a warm smile and nod.
"of course, go ahead."
she launches into a rant about her relationship, but not in the way you expected.
"i'm so nervous. jeongin is like- the first guy i've actually had feelings for in a while and he's so kind and sweet and i love the physical touch aspect of our relationship. however...if we're gonna kiss i'm so scared, because i've never even had my first kiss. what if i'm not experienced enough and he dumps me? he's kissed people before. what if i suck compared to him?" your mouth drops open and chaewon looks at you weirdly. "is...everything okay?"
you nod quickly, a bit embarrassed you interrupted her train of thought. you were very confused. you and jeongin had reached that level of trust where you told each other everything...so why hadn't you heard about him having kissing experience? after you say goodbye to chaewon and exchange numbers, you march right over to jeongin's house. his mom opens the door, giving you a hug and letting you know that jeongin was studying upstairs. you throw his door open, and he jumps, startled. he's sitting at him desk, turned to stare at you with wide eyes.
"what was that for? if you make a dent in the wall, my mom's gonna be sooo mad." jeongin whines, and you sit down on his navy bedspread with a huff. "what's got you all riled up? did something go wrong with chae?"
that nickname makes your very blood boil. however, you remind yourself again and again that chaewon isn't the problem, it's who she's dating.
"no, no. it's fine, great, actually. chaewon is so sweet. i feel like we've hit it off. however, we were talking earlier and she said that...you told her you had experience with...kissing?" you stare at his suddenly very interesting ceiling to recollect yourself, before staring back at his face, which is redder than a tomato. "i, um, didn't know you'd been kissing people already. why didn't you tell me? i thought we didn't keep stuff from each other. unless you didn't think it was important or anything and i'm just making a big deal-"
"no, no you're not!" jeongin suddenly interrupts you, standing up out of his chair. you look at him, a bit frightened, and he walks over to his bed to sit alongside you. he hides his face in your shoulder, sighing loudly. "i didn't want chae to think i was some nerdy kid who was like innocent as hell...so i may have exaggerated some of my previous relationships? i have...never kissed anyone. and now, i'm gonna make a fool out of myself."
the words escape your lips before you can stop yourself. it's like you are tantalus, standing in the water, reaching desperately for those ripe, plum-colored grapes so horrendously out of reach. in the future, you'll look back and wonder if this was a good idea, knowing the consequences and rewards.
"you could, um, practice with me? just so you're ready for her. no strings attached or anything." you cover your mouth with your hands the minute you say it. what is he gonna think? he's gonna hate you...
but then you meet his gaze, and his cheeks are the color of pretty pink peonies. he's chewing on his lip nervously, twiddling his thumbs.
"okay." you never expected the words to escape his lips. so you inch closer, laughing off the nerves. "so...what do i do first?"
"so um...close your eyes?" you guess. jeongin lets out a laugh. "then how am i supposed to know where to kiss you?"
"then leave your eyes open!" you sigh, giggles coming from both of you. "let's just figure it out. i guess we have to like- feel it out?"
"you look really silly from this angle. it's like a fisheye lens."
"if you don't shut up i'll smack you, right here, right now." you reply teasingly, until he shuts you up with a kiss.
it is weird and unplanned, with neither of you really understanding how to do it, but after a little bit, you begin to simply feel the kiss out. jeongin's left hand goes to caress your cheek. it escalates and escalates until he pulled you down on top of him, and you snap back into reality, pushing yourself off him. you stand up, pacing, your face in your hands.
when jeongin tries to place a reassuring hand on your shoulder, you flinch.
"i'm so sorry, innie." you say, taking deep breaths. "i completely overstepped my boundaries. i go hang out with chaewon, and fuck, she thinks of me as a friend? and then the minute i arrive home i'm making out with her boyfriend. god, i'm a horrible person."
"hey, don't say that." jeongin says softly, pulling you into his arms and holding onto you tightly. "judging by the surprise and humiliation on your face after you suggested it, you obviously didn't mean what you said. it's my fault for making you go along with it. i'm so sorry."
"what are we gonna do about it?" you ask quietly, embarrassed. jeongin gives your hand a squeeze before replying.
"we won't bring it up. ever."
and so, again, you make a promise with jeongin, but this one is built off your undying loyalty to him. you pledge a promise of dishonesty and lying and infidelity. and just as you said, not a single word ever leaves your lips about it again.
this promise is broken when you are nineteen years old.
you, jeongin, and chaewon all ended up going to the same college. even though chaewon and jeongin's relationship did not last, your friendship with chaewon is nearing three years. you will not speak of your misdemeanor with her ex-boyfriend, though.
she's truly radiant now, with short black hair and a face sculpted like a pixie. and since she's been deemed the campus it-girl, being her best friend results in you going to a lot of parties. none of them are truly eventful until one cloudy night mid-september.
you're sitting on hyunjin's kitchen counter, a drink in your hand as you talk to the boy hosting the party. jeongin's here somewhere, you assume, and chaewon will be here any minute - she was at yunjin's getting ready. you've truly gotten accustomed to the ebb and flow of college life, which has been a lot easier with good friends. as this thought crosses your brain, the doorbell rings, loud and shrill, signaling your friends' arrival. you laugh to yourself, finishing your drink. you feel a bit tipsy, so you go out to the back porch to clear your head.
"aren't you cold? it's halfway through september, and you're wearing a tanktop. which is very flattering on you, might i add." the unfamiliar voice causes you to turn, and you fight back a grimace when you see who it is.
it's this guy who's been following you around non-stop since the start of your freshman year. you don't even know his name, but he's creepy as hell and winds up at every single party you go to. you never try and be alone at one of these parties because of him, but he caught you off guard this time. the douchebag leans against a support beam, beer in his hand, and a shit-eating grin upon his revolting features.
"oh, um, i left it at my dorm. i'll just grab one of hyunjin's before i leave so the walk home isn't freezing." you explain rapidly. as you go to slip back inside, he grabs your arm, his palms sweaty. you throw up a little in your mouth.
"you sure? i feel like we could get better acquainted. i could warm you up, i bet." he slurs his words, and you suddenly feel trapped like a caged animal. you try and slip out of his grip, but it's tighter than anything you've felt before.
"oh, no thank you. it's obvious you're under the influence-" you're cut off by the guy making an attempt to kiss you right on the lips, and you dodge him. "i told you to get off me, you dick!" you yell. your heart is pounding. it's like eleven at night, and music is blasting inside. what if nobody comes to help?
the man grunts, slamming you against the wall of the house. you let out a loud scream, praying somebody hears you. the man groans, muttering something about how women are so emotional, and puts a hand over your mouth. you're about to bite him, get him off you so you can run the fuck away, and then you watch as a fist connects with the man's cheek, knocking him to the ground. you look around frantically for your savior, and then you meet eyes with him.
yang jeongin has just saved your life. he's panting, his eyes wide and hair disheveled as he stares at his bloody fist.
"are you okay?" he practically yells, checking you for any signs of injury. "i was outside talking to chae, and then i heard you yell. i knew something was up when i heard a loud thump and a shriek. god, i was so worried that something happened to you." he wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. however, you can see from behind him, the man is getting up, and he's holding his beer bottle about to hit jeongin. and since you're already indebted to jeongin, the action is like quick thinking for you.
you turn, and the brunt of the force from the glass hits your arm. you let out a yelp of pain as the shards dig into your skin, and you sink to your knees.
jeongin sees red.
you blink and he's got the guy on the ground, beating the shit out of him again and again until hyunjin and chae have to physically pull him off the guy.
"jeongin, get yn home. i'll deal with this." hyunjin says darkly. he's annoyed that the party was ruined, but you know that he'll be so proud of jeongin once he learns the entire story. jeongin takes your hand and leads you out of the yard and onto the road. you shiver as the cool winds hit your skin, goosebumps forming along your limbs. jeongin notices this and takes off his jacket, enveloping you in his warmth.
"aren't you going to be cold, innie?" you say, wincing with every step. he shakes his head. "we'll be inside soon enough. can you walk, or does it hurt too bad?"
"i don't know, it hurts a lot..." you say quietly, staring down at the blood oozing from your arm. when jeongin sees this, he stops in his tracks, lowering himself to let you get onto his back in a piggyback position. being the gentleman he is (even though your legs aren't even injured), he carries you home. you won't admit it, but a small smile has formed upon your face.
when you arrive at your dorm, jeongin basically sprints to grab a first aid kit. you sit on the bathroom counter, swinging your legs. he comes back, holding rubbing alcohol and a pair of tweezers.
"this might hurt a little. i'm so sorry." he murmurs gently in advance. with one hand, his fingers are intertwined with yours, so tightly you think if you squeeze any harder they'll pop off. the other one carefully removes the glass shards from your arm and applying bandages. when your arm is safely wrapped, his hands turn your face left and right to make sure there's no sign of injury. once he's sure that you're okay, he leads you into your bedroom, dutifully turning around so you can change. once you're comfortably in your bed, jeongin sits next to you. his thumb grazes over your hand idly. the moon casts pale rays the color of fresh snow onto your comforter. it is plush and navy blue, sort of like the one jeongin's childhood room had growing up.
"i'm so glad that's over." you sigh, resting against the pillows. jeongin looks at you, concern upon his beautiful features. the way he looks at you like you could sail the universe, collecting the stars and constellations is infuriating.
"me too. that awful guy is lucky hyune pulled me off of him before i could really get to punching. i think i was gonna kill that guy." he stares at you, holding your hand a little tighter. "nobody even tries to lay a hand on you without suffering the consequences."
and like a delicate string of spider's silk, you snap just as easily as the webbed solution is made.
"if you keep playing with my feelings like this, innie, i think i'm actually going to sob." you say quietly. he tilts his head at you imploringly. "where do we stand as best friends? because now you'd literally fucking kill someone for me and i've been in love with you since the 7th grade. it's completely irrational and i'm so fucking tired of having to hide it. you and your stupid smile, your stupid affection, and- ugh! look at me. i'm a total mess, just stumbling over my words the second i see you. no amount of words, whether they are found in the dictionary or the bible can possibly equate to this overwhelming tsunami of emotions i feel when i see your fucking handsome face."
his jaw is absolutely dropped, and blood rushes to your head.
oh shit. i just fucked up our whole friendship.
and then one large hand reaches around to the back of your neck to pull you into the most intensely passionate kiss you've ever experienced. the emotion pulsing through his cracked lips will bruise yours, you think. you wrap your arms around his neck as the kiss deepens.
when he finally pulls away, he blinks at you, breaking out into a grin. "i'm not good with my words, either. however, i feel like actions are much more direct." he climbs under the covers, hugging you tightly around your waist. you rest your head on his shoulder, and your head fits perfectly, like the crook of his neck was architecturally designed for your skull. he leans in closer to whisper softly into your ear.
"i win, by the way. i've been in love with you since we were eight."
the intricate string of spider's silk that held the two of you together grows, shades of deep burgundy and crimson staining it the color of passion and love. maybe it was the invisible string of fate all along.
...
jeongin sits at the kitchen counter, taking in the peeling paint upon the walls. this is a house that has been loved dearly. from the kitchen's hub wafts the smell of warm, freshly baked bread. he sighs as the familiar scent brings him to ease. your mother walks out of the kitchen, the sourdough bread sliced gently into bite-sized pieces. she is not the lady she used to be, as her hair now sports strands the colors of rare metal and she has wrinkles from her warm, inviting smile. however, she is just as beautiful as jeongin remembers her to be. you clearly get some of your out-of-this-world-beauty from your mother. the rest comes from aphrodite's endless blessings towards you.
"it's been so long, dear." she murmurs, spreading butter onto a piece of bread. "congratulations on your relationship with my little yn. it'll be one year next week, already?"
"although, if i'm being honest...your mother and i always knew you two had a bond that went far beyond friendship. we placed bets on when someone would man up and confess. i was closer." she laughs softly. "so, what do you need? a good meal? advice? ...or is it something about yn?"
he nods at her guess.
"it is. mother," he begins, and your mother gets all flustered when he refers to her so tenderly. "i would like to ask for your blessing, so that i may marry yn. i don't think it's possible for me to wait any longer."
she gasps loudly, taking his hands in her gnarled ones and cheering. it's almost as if she's the one possibly getting proposed to.
"i would love nothing more for you to be an official part of the family, jeongin. however, you must promise me this. you will wake up everyday with nothing but devout love for yn, and go to sleep with that love or more. marriage is a lifelong commitment. if anything happens, communicate."
"i will, mother. i swear on my life."
a person's character is built on external influences. how they are raised, who they associate themselves with, etc. determines how they act. in terms of romance, your previous partners shape you as you learn from your successes and mistakes. this wasn't true for you, having been in only one relationship.
but you have a best friend of thirteen years that you can rely on to build you into the person you desire to be.
the sun is shining at the peak of summer vacation. the bright warm of golden daylight is enough to scare away any threats of bad weather as you sit in your garden. you check your watch again, waiting and waiting and waiting.
like clockwork, jeongin enters from the back door of your quaint home, his arms leisurely wrapping around your waist as he pulls you in for a loving kiss.
"i missed you." he says softly, pressing a soft peck to your nose. his hands find their way to yours, his soft skin brushing against the platinum wedding ring on your finger. your promise ring, matching the one he always wears, is nestled comfortably next to it.
and behind you, growing daintily in the garden is the fresh sprout of a young willow tree, ready to grow big and tall, forever sheltering you in its emerald embrace.
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#ren writes!! <3#evermourning#stray kids#skz#stray kids x reader#skz x reader#yang jeongin#i.n skz#i.n#jeongin skz#jeongin x reader#yang jeongin x reader#i.n x reader#in skz#in x reader#kpop#kpop bg#kpop x reader#lovertober <3
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Summer Festivals
A one shot ft the Haitani Brothers! They've been on my mind lately, I seriously cannot get them out of my head. Ran x Reader x Rindou - all characters are aged up! MDNI - NO MINORS PLEASE!
Warnings: threesome, alcohol, double penetration, alcohol, slight dubcon, semi public, fingering, m!oral, sex with strangers.
Summer festivals were your favorite, whether they were just food related, art related or music related - it was always fun. This particular summer had a special international food event that had you salivating at the thought. As you prepared your backpack with the essentials, tummy and headache relief pills, water, napkins, cash and charger - you realized that you were missing one major thing, sunscreen.
You headed out to the konbini, and as you were looking through the aisle for sunscreen - you felt someone bump into you. Turning around to see the person who didn’t even bother to apologize, you noticed it was a tall male with long black hair, some of the sections were bleached and he had a slender frame. “...excuse you.” You mumbled under your breath, the male stopped in his tracks and turned around, his eyes were beautiful. “What was that?” His tone was low yet coy. The smirk on his face made his handsome features look so devilish, you were so distracted that you failed to notice the second person standing next to him. “What?” The second male with glasses said, he had blonde hair with blue streaks, you could tell the sides of his head were shaved. He too had beautiful lilac eyes that burned holes into you. You were caught staring a little too long. “I said, excuse you…” Your tone was curt, making them glance at each other as you turned around.
“Excuse me…” The man with the long dark hair said right in your ear, it sent shivers down your spine. Turning to whisper in his ear you replied - “You don’t scare me.” The second male was now in your other ear, “Oh…We don’t? ‘Might have to change that…” They had you caged in the aisle, and were eying you up and down. “Is everything ok, miss?” An employee asked as they saw you come in alone and were making sure that these men weren’t harassing you. “She’s fine, we’re making plans for tonight, isn’t that right, gorgeous?” You looked over at the employee and smiled while nodding at them. The last thing you wanted was to miss out on the festival because you had to wait on the cops.
“So…shopping for some intimate things I see…” The one with the long dark hair stated, it made you turn around to look at the shelf - you were in the personal care aisle. Next to the sunscreen section was the sexual awareness section. He was smirking at the look on your face, you blushed when you realized that he was referring to the box of condoms. “Personally, we like these…” The one with the glasses said as he reached for the box and placed it in your hands. “O-oh my god, n-no, I was looking at the sunscreen.” You were flustered and stuttered, if this was their way of flirting, it was working. The box was an XL size and felt heavy. Their snicker made you jump and the box fumbled - you were quick to place it back on the shelf and grab the sunscreen, walking away from them. As you walked away, you retorted, “I don’t like men who exaggerate about their sizes, y'know.” Your tone was coy but smug - as if you were calling them out. “Wanna find out?” One of them said as you waved your hand goodbye. The nerve of those two…they are cute though. You think to yourself as you head to the checkout counter. Your face was burning from the heat that lingered on your cheeks.
Finally, after getting through traffic and thick crowds - you made it to the festival and everything smelled delicious. You could feel yourself salivating as you saw the number of people with different kinds of foods in their hands. Each booth had a different style and flavor, they were serving small portions so that the attendees wouldn't get full too fast and end up missing out on the rest of the food. Certain booths had longer lines due to the popularity of the type of food being served. Throughout the festival you were taking pictures of almost everything that tasted like heaven, when you were catching a break you started to look through the photos and posted them to your social media. It was nothing serious, but you enjoyed sharing the random little things in life that bring you joy.
As the night was winding down, you went to one of the dessert booths - this particular booth was popular in Roppongi for their creative style and delicious taste. While waiting in line, you felt someone bump into you and you turned around to face a familiar pair of lilac eyes. “You two, again?” “Ohh if it isn't miss…?” The one with the glasses said leaning in to cup your chin. His touch felt like fire on your skin. You weren't sure if it was the heat or something else that was making your body react this way. “Next? What can we get you three today?” The booth attendant asked you, thinking that you three were ordering together. “Oh, we're no-” You were cut off by one of them ordering. “We'll have two strawberry crepes with the vanilla ice-cream. How 'bout you, beautiful?” Butterflies began to run rampant in your stomach at him calling you beautiful. “...I’ll um, have the same.” You said meekly and turned away from them. “That will be x yen, thank you!” You pulled your wallet out and paid for all 3 crepes. You didn’t want to feel like you owed them anything. “They will be ready in a few minutes, please wait at the end of the counter.” The attendant pointed to your right hand side and you moved leaving the other two behind. “So...what are you doing after this?” The voice of the man with the glasses soon rang in your ears. It was one thing to flirt but it was another to disturb your love affair with your crepes. You bit your lower lip and they chuckled at your reaction. “I’m Ran, this is my brother Rindou...you are?” The one with the long dark hair asked you, his lavender orbs trailed over your body, admiring your curves and how well the clothes molded onto your body.
“I’m late to go home...” you retorted and proceeded to leave the booth. This earned you a low whistle from Rindou. “I think I’m in love.” he teasingly states as he watches you leave. The skirt you were wearing was swaying with your hips and he could catch a glimpse of your thighs. He wondered how it would feel to squeeze them. “Three strawberry crepes with vanilla ice cream?” Ran picked up the order and followed you. “Hey gorgeous, you forgot your dessert.” He said as he caught up to you and put the crepe right in your face, almost smashing it against you. He managed to get a bit of whipped cream on your cheek when you tried to turn away. “Oh for fuck sake.” Rindou’s hand grabbed your chin and made you face the opposite direction. “What the hell are you…?” Your words trailed off when he licked the whipped cream off your cheek. Your core began to throb and your heart skipped a beat. Why was this exciting you? What the hell was wrong with you? The blush creeped on your cheeks and your flustered state was making them smirk and chuckle. Ran placed the crepe in your hand and licked the ice cream while keeping eye contact with you. A small whimper escaped your lips. He heard it and leaned in to lick your lips, “I wonder if you taste this sweet too...” Your lip began to quiver and you felt entranced by his scent, his eyes and his touch. “Alright miss ‘late to go home’, wanna join us?” Rindou asks as he wraps his arm around your waist from behind. You squeaked as it caught you by surprise.
You were never one to get caught up so quickly, but there was something about these two that just made you melt. “Only if you keep your hands to yourselves.” Your response made them smirk. “I’m (Y/N).” “Hmm, she has a name...” Ran says while standing up straight. They motioned for you to come and sit with them on a bench. They sat down on each end, leaving the middle open for you - that was a little awkward for you. “Do I have to sit in the middle?” “Come on (Y/N), we don’t bite...” Rindou said as he patted the bench seat. You rolled your eyes and huffed, placing yourself between them and sat at the edge of the bench. A finger trailed from your neck to your lower back making you gasp. “Can you make those noises for us later on tonight?” Ran asked while trailing his hand up and down your back. “C-Can you not?” God you were such a mess. “What’s wrong? Don’t like how it feels?” He asked, giving you a pout. Now he was just being cruel. You didn’t even know them but they were touching all the right spots as if they knew you. “I know I’m gonna regret this later but I don’t have anything planned tonight, so I guess I can stay out a little longer.” You huffed and ate your crepe. A low chuckle could be heard from Ran, he was eyeing how your lips moved and began thinking what it would feel like to have them wrapped around him and his length.
“Wanna go for a drink after this?” Rindou said as he traced circles on your thigh with his left hand - you tried swatting it away but Ran then began to do the same on your other thigh. Your other hand was preoccupied and could only try to swat them away one at a time, it was giving you goosebumps. “S-Stop! It tickles.” Your giggle made them swoon, who knew it was this easy to keep you entertained and also how did you not slap them across the face already. You were enjoying this just as much as they were. “So gorgeous, what do you say?” Ran asked while inching closer to your ear, you could feel his breath fan the shell of your ear. It made you back away and into Rindou as he was inching closer to you as well. “I can’t say no, can’t I?” “She’s a fast learner.” Rindou says as he scoots his body closer to yours, they are caging you between them again. The heat started to rush down to your core, the way you unconsciously began to rub your thighs elicited a small groan from Ran.
After finally accepting their offer to hit Roppongi up (you wanted to stay local to the festival area), you three made it to a bar and the people there bowed to the brothers. It was surreal, who were they and why were these people bowing? They couldn’t be any more than 1 year or 2 older than you. The owner came out to greet the brothers, personally seating them at one of the nicer looking U-shaped booths. They allowed you to take a seat first - making you end up in the middle as they sat on the ends of the booth. One of the waitresses brought drinks over - they already knew what to bring to the table as soon as the brothers walked in. “Do you guys own the place?” You ask innocently, you weren’t used to this much attention nor treatment. They chuckled and glanced at each other, “You can say we own Roppongi.” Ran said while leaning back and taking a sip. Now you knew for sure they were bullshitting. Your laugh made them stop and they glared at you. You immediately stopped and squirmed in your seat. “Oi!” Rindou called out to the owner, you could see the owner’s face flash a look of fear - they adjusted their tie and calmly walked over. “Y-Yes, what can I do for you Mr. Haitani?” The man’s hands were slightly trembling. “Tell everyone in this shithole that this girl belongs to us, if anyone even looks at her, they’ll regret it.” Was he for real? “Wait a minute, I don’t belong to anyone!” You protested but the owner nodded and walked away. Within a few seconds, the music stopped and an announcement was made. “May I have everyone’s attention please? The young lady in table 8 belongs to the Haitani brothers. Please refrain from ogling the misses.”
Your jaw almost dropped to the floor, you began to notice that everyone turned away and even moved their chairs so that they wouldn’t face your direction. Even the much older men in the bar followed suit. “There, anything else you wanna find out about? Perhaps about the box you were too chicken shit to hold?” Ran’s low and coy tone had you covering your face. You were blushing, you didn’t like being the center of attention nor being claimed. “I think we broke her.” Rindou said teasingly as you kept your face covered. “Here, this will take the edge off…” Ran said. They didn’t even bother asking you what you wanted to drink, they just placed the glass in your hands and you stupidly drank. The way you wrinkled your nose to the bitter taste has them grinning from ear to ear. “What’s wrong (Y/N)? Too strong for ya?” Rindou asked while waving over the waitress for another round of drinks. “No, it’s just - this brings back memories of when I first got shit faced and blacked out in Roppongi.” Ran let out a laugh and questioned you on how it happened, or at least what you could remember. “An innocent thing like you getting piss drunk? I’m shocked!” The faux disappointed expression on his face had you fuming a little, why does everyone always assume that you’re an inexperienced good girl? Yeah, you kept a low profile but it didn’t mean you didn’t live a little. You began downing drinks to prepare yourself. When you explained to them what happened or at least what you could remember and what was told to you, they both stared at you wide eyed and their mouths agape.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?” You asked and nudged Ran’s shoulder, he covered his mouth and began to laugh, Rindou followed soon after and slammed his fist repeatedly on the table. They were laughing like a bunch of high schoolers. People were starting to stare and you heard the owner clear his throat in the distance, reminding everyone of his earlier announcement. “That was you?!” Wait, what? “You were that little happy chick who punched some dude for trying to ask you out?!” Rindou said between laughs, he was holding his stomach from how much it hurts from laughing. “Feisty little thing, aren’t ya?” Ran said while pulling out his phone. Oh no… He put the phone in front of your face and pushed play on the video. There you were, enjoying your time with your friends and by the way you were teetering, anyone could see you were drunk. However, your smile was cute and you looked so happy, it looked like they’ve been eyeing you for some time during that night. The audio was a little distorted due to the loud music in the background of the video. Soon some guy came into the frame and you could hear Ran snicker in the background, your face began to turn red with embarrassment as you knew what happened next. The guy placed his hand around your waist and whispered something in your ear. You politely shook your head no and pulled away from him, still sweetly smiling. However, the guy sntached your wrist and was met with a fist to the face.
You covered your face again, the embarrassment was too much. Soon you felt caged again between them. They enjoyed corning their prey. They inched closer and placed a hand on your inner thighs, making you gasp and grip their wrists - they did not budge. “You won’t punch us, will ya?” Rindou said as his hand inched higher. "We can't do that here! There's people everywhere!" You said almost in a whisper. Your face was dusted in pink, your breath hitched at their fingertips being cold and your lip began to quiver. "She says not here but she sounds like she wants it. Doesn’t it, little brother?" Ran's voice is heavy and makes your body heat up even more, though that's not exactly what you meant - your words gave away more to them than you thought. You were feeling light headed with the amount of anxiety, arousal, and alcohol in your system. They were toying with you. However, your thighs were slowly opening up for them, quivering as their hands were now completely under your skirt. You were beginning to pant and release your grip on their wrists, you screwed your eyes shut when you felt one of their fingers rub delicate circles over your clothed clit. The second hand was teasingly running long lines through your slick, it made your back arch and you began to sink into the leather seats. The table cloth was long enough to hide the actions that took place under the table. However, with the palpable look on your face - there was no denying that something else was going on.
“This wet already? We haven’t even started.” Ran’s devilish snicker made you whimper, his fingers were the ones playing with your slick. “Yeah? You’re wet just for us?” Rindou’s voice was now in your ear and his fingers dipped under the fabric and he could feel the slick pooling between your thighs. Your breathy tone was as sweet as honey and made them both shudder as they felt you clench around nothing. Ran’s finger plunged itself in your core, invading your delicate and warm walls - it made you throw your head back when he curled the digit to hit a sweet spot. “Ngh…wait, not here. P-Please.” You implored, but your request fell on deaf ears as a second digit was plunged into your core. Ran groaned at your tight walls clenching for him. “So tight -fuck.” You opened your eyes to meet Rindou’s orbs as he leaned in to place soft kisses on your plush lips and began to leave open mouthed kisses to your jawline and neck. The fire in your belly was getting harder to control when Rindou proceeded to put further pressure on your clit as he ran circles on it. You didn’t know what to even hold on to as your legs quivered from the familiar sensation building up. You hardly noticed the owner walking by and placing a pair of keys on the table. “Whenever you’re ready.”
You were so close when they both stopped and pulled their hands away. You whimpered, feeling so empty and on the edge of heaven. “Aww, don’t worry beautiful - we’ll pick up where we left off shortly.” Rindou says as he picks up the keys from the table and motions you to follow him. Completely forgetting where you were, you realized that people were staring in your direction and the whispers and snickers began. Walking past one of the tables, you overheard someone say, “The Haitani’s sure know how to pick them.” It made you feel ashamed for letting your desire get the better of you. Suddenly, the person who made that remark ended up kissing the table. Ran slammed the guy’s head into the table harshly and held it in place. “Anyone have anything else to say?” His tone was menacing and made your core throb. Everyone shook their heads no, they feared the elder Haitani but the moment they saw Rindou turn around - they began to panic and looked away. The younger one has a twisted liking to breaking people’s bones and hearing people scream in pain.
“Let’s go gorgeous…” Ran said as he lifted you, making your legs wrap around his waist. The glassy look in your eyes made him grin and grab a handful of your ass cheeks. “God, you’re so greedy.” Rindou said as he pouted at Ran’s actions. They lead you to an elevator, the moment the doors closed - Ran pinned you against the wall and began to devour your neck. You could feel him rutting his hips against you, it made your hips move with him - the friction was making you pant. Finally when you reached the 4th floor, the doors opened and Rindou stepped out, making his way to the end of the hall. Ran continued devouring your neck, marking you and making you whine at his teeth sinking into your flesh. When Rindou unlocked the door, he let Ran head in first - the way his eyes locked with yours made a shiver run down your spine. He could see the hazy expression on your face. You reach your hand over Ran’s shoulder to cup Rindou’s face and pull him in for a kiss. His lips curved into a smile right before they connected with yours.
What followed was you being thrown on the mattress - making you giggle at how your body bounced, the site in front of them was salacious. The way your shirt was disheveled and your skirt was hiked up, exposing your lacy panties had them palming themselves in front of you. You were feeling bold, so you decided to remove just your panties - keeping your skirt on and hiking it up higher. Your body moved higher on the bed and leaned against the headrest, dainty hands began to unbutton your shirt and show off your matching lace bra. They swallowed hard when you pulled the unlined cups down, exposing your breasts. You slowly spread your legs apart for them and your hand trailed down to begin running circles on your clit. They were getting a private show. With pupils blown, they started to take off their clothes and only stood in their boxers. The fire that flickered in your eyes grew brighter as your eyes raked over their skin and followed the lines of their tattoos.
Dipping two fingers in your core, you let out a filthy moan that made them bask before you. The sound of your juices grew louder when you began to pleasure yourself. “Naughty little thing aren’t you?” You moaned in response to Ran’s question. He was getting closer to your fluttering walls, he began to lean in when you stopped him by placing your foot to shoulder. “Nuh uh - you don’t get to have me yet…” Where the hell was this minx hiding this whole time? You went from shy and innocent (in their eyes) to filthy and coy. You were teasing them, keeping them on edge - they wanted nothing more than to have you screaming their names. To be fair, you did tell them no when they were toying with while at the bar, this was your petty revenge. When Ran backed away, you continued your motions - making them desperate. It didn’t last long though, Rindou snatched your ankle and dragged you down to him - he made you squeak in surprise. “Too bad, I’m not waiting…” He said as he pulled your digits out of your core and popped them in his mouth - swirling his tongue and licking them clean.
What followed was you being rolled over on your stomach and being put on your knees. The moment you looked up - you were met with the elder Haitani’s long and thick member. “Say ‘ah’.” You looked back at Rindou and noticed the filthy smile he had on his face. The tip of his cock was gliding between your folds, collecting the slick and he began prodding the tight ring of your back entrance. “W-Wait…what are you-” Your words were quickly cut off by Ran gripping your chin and making you face his direction. “He’ll be gentle…now, open that pretty little mouth of yours.” It was more of a demand than reassurance. Too engrossed in the fire that was running rampant, you complied and trusted him. You opened your mouth and wrapped your tongue around his member, licking and each drop - Ran groaned as your warmth took over. Within seconds his length was down your throat, the vibrations of your moans were sending electricity through his veins. Ran pulled your hair into a ponytail and controlled your movements.
The moment Rindou penetrated you, your nails dug into Ran’s hips - you were a drooling and moaning mess. “Fuck, she’s so tight…” He groaned as he bottomed out, you could feel every inch, every vein, every throb of his cock in your back walls that it was becoming harder to stay level headed. Tears rolled down your cheeks, Ran didn’t know if it was from you giving head or from receiving Rindou thick cock. Both Haitanis started to rock their hips at the same time - your eyes were rolling back as Rindou was hitting spots that made your legs tremble. “Oh? She likes that…” Ran says as he pulls your hair harder. It was making it harder for Rindou to steady his pace as your muscles kept clenching around his length. You felt your body begin to give into the fire, the more they thrusted, the louder your moans became. His hand gently pulled you away from his cock just enough where your tongue could freely roam his length. A smirk bled around your lips when you swirled your tongue on the underside of his tip - his hips stuttered and he let out the most innocent moan. Looks like he’s never had anyone tease him on this spot before. Before you knew it - Rindou’s hand reached between your legs to trace circles on your puffy clit, it made you release Ran’s member from your mouth as you began to moan uncontrollably. “Oh god! W-Wait!” You begged but he continued, you were now face down onto the sheets - bliss was drawing near.
The sensation that took over your body was paradise. Without even realizing it, you were grinding back into him, matching his pace as he drilled into you harder and faster. Ran felt a little left out as you were so preoccupied with Rindou, he reached over to Rindou and gripped his wrist - ultimately killing your bubbling orgasm. You whimpered at the loss of friction on your clit. “Don’t stop…please…” They both chuckled at you begging pathetically when just minutes ago you were telling Rindou to wait. “It’s no fun if I can’t get any attention, now is it? Huh gorgeous?” Ran said as he signaled Rindou to lay you down. He complied while still being buried inside you. Soon you were on your side with Ran in front of you, his lips crashed into yours and his arm hooked itself under your knee so that he could get into your honeypot. You had two cocks bullying your holes and you were about to lose yourself. “Pussy’s so tight…” Ran said as he had a hard time fitting himself inside you. His hips were now rocking back and forth, dragging his cock through your fluttering walls and making sure he leaves an imprint. He wanted you to remember him, to know that there will be no one else like him, no one else who can fill you up. They both were making damn sure that you would remember their names, their touch, their kisses and of course - their cocks. How could you ever forget them after this? From behind, you could hear Rindou reaching for something and Ran could only smirk at you.
Rindou reached between your thighs again and placed a small smooth object on your clit. You heard a ‘click’ and your body went into overdrive. He placed a bullet vibrator right on your clit and was using it to stimulate you even more. Ran was placing delicate kisses on your forehead as you gripped his bicep before you floated off into the abyss. Rindou followed his lead and placed kisses on your shoulder but decided to mark you with little nibbles here and there. Your legs were quivering as your coil snapped, making you come completely undone. Your moans were like heaven to them, they picked up the pace as you were riding out your orgasm - Rindou did not remove the bullet from its position. Your clit was sensitive with how much teasing was done throughout the day that it became overly sensitive. Both brothers could feel how you creamed around their cocks, how your honey dripped onto their cocks and it also threw them over the edge. Their hips stuttered as they filled you with their cum - you milk them dry as they painted your walls white. The room was filled with squelching noises, moans, pants, groans and everything in between. Rindou removed the bullet from your clit and turned it off - you three were left breathless. Both brothers pulled out at the same time, slowly as they wanted to see their handy work drip from you. Between breaths you spoke, “I don’t know if…I’ll be able to…walk home…” You chuckled at the end. This was a first for you, a new experience with people you just met. “Walk home?” Ran says as he tilts your chin up to face him. “You’re spending the night with us…we’re not done yet…” Rindou chimes in from behind you as he pulls a pair of handcuffs from under the pillow. Oh no…
End.
Tags: @shinichirosupremacy @bajifairyy @litle-crow @mikariko @buns-inhiding @nekoisme @erza-uzumaki @summerdasy @astrodiamond @nalyana @mjailene15 @minniettokki @lisedanie @reiners-milkbiddies @rinrinfoxy @bakkatakoyaki @giraffeosaur @stickysaladdonkeyhero @awkwardchick87 @shinouzen @hedaxhoseok @zamfir707 @bluerskiees
#ran x reader#tokyo revengers#tokyo revengers smut#tokrev smut#tr smut#tokyo rev smut#tokyo revengers x reader#tokyorevengers#ran smut#rindou#haitani rindou#rindou haitani smut#rindou smut#rindou x reader#tr rindou#rindou haitani#haitani ran#haitani#ran haitani#tr fanfic#fanfics#tokyo revengers fanfics#oneshot#brainrot
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PART TWO!! TEXT VERSION
it was so long since i posted the first one haha hope you didn’t forget 🥲🥲
again, if there’re any mistakes - please tell me ^^
part 1
part 2 art
The next 24 hours all I did was hiding in the wall even though I was quite literally starving. You can’t blame me though, I was fearful for my life, okay? After such a day anyone would have stayed in bed and questioned their life choices…
However, it was pretty much a life and death situation, so I had to get up and find something before deciding if I should stay here or find new home. It’s a decision that you can’t take on an empty stomach, every borrower knows that.
Before you ask, I wasn’t worried all that much about this guy telling other people about me as seeing small people is quite abnormal for them and in best case nobody would’ve believed him, in worst… he would’ve probably ended up in hospital, but we will never know.
So, like that, I collected my thoughts, emotions and gear and went out on another attempt to get food. To be honest, i think my stomach was at the point of acceptance, I didn’t feel any hunger until I finally got to the kitchen counter and saw some fruits. Human wasn’t there but it didn’t mean anything to me anymore, I was too traumatized by yesterday’s experience. *Sighs dramatically*.
Maybe because the day before was extremely unlucky, I was rewarded with something delicious. There were grapes which are super convenient to borrow as humans won’t see any of them missing, some raisins and nuts. I took one grape right away and my stomach growled so loudly, even a half-deaf human granny would’ve heard, I swear. I bit it and transparent juice started to run down my chin which I wiped off right away. It was such a relief to finally eat something, I can’t describe this feeling honestly. Better would probably be the feeling of relief after you endured your piss or, even worse, poo, for an indescribable long time and then you finally get to the toilet and it’s just… ahh.
Anyway, back to the story. As I said, I finally had access to food, but I couldn’t afford to fill my stomach to the fullest at that exact moment since it would’ve been too difficult to climb back home in that case. That’s why I only ate one grape and took another one home as well as a couple of raisins and some nuts. And then the idea popped in my head. What if I left some food that can be stored for a long time to that one my favourite hiding spot? I thought it was a smart decision since in the case I ran out of supplies or had to make an urgent stop I would have something edible waiting for me. So, with that I went straight to the place where human saw me not so long ago. Imagine my surprise when I saw that he left something there. On the other hand, it was quite expected… I was terrified to even look at it yet alone touch, but I couldn’t avoid the smell it had. I tried something like this only at my 10th birthday and my mom told me it was chocolate that we ate as a treat. It was some kind of desert that beans eat for pleasure. Maybe the human I lived with wanted to poison me with that? Or to somehow use it to make me become his pet? I still wonder about this at night, but even though I was really curious about that “offering”, I was more interested in surviving, so I went straight up behind the books where there was a small niche for me to hide. I placed all the things carefully and returned to the counter to pick some more. This day was pretty chill since the human showed up at his usual time and didn’t bother. He was as quiet and relaxed as ever with the only difference, that when he was in the kitchen, I could have heard the music from his phone. It wasn’t unpleasant, on the contrary, I liked it. The guy hummed along with it and his voice wasn’t so bad either to be honest, so I just lay in bed and listened till I fell asleep.
For the next few days nothing weird happened, everything seemed to go back to normal with the only difference that now the human was openly listening to music and sometimes sing very quietly along with it. I didn’t hate it, it didn’t bother me, so it was fine. Till that one day when I was, again, hiding behind the books (I swear, that spot must be cursed, but it was too dear for me to give up and abandon it) after taking a shower in human’s sink in the bathroom and being already on my way home. He showed up in the house earlier today again and I just barely had time to react and hide. When he entered the kitchen, I already sensed that something was off. The way he threw the keys on the table, how he tossed the bag on the floor and his jacket on the couch showed that he was really frustrated about something. Honestly, he was quite scary in that mood, though I didn’t see him being like that too often. Hell, I only remember that happening once in the whole year and I was in the walls, safe but watching this up close was kinda… unsettling.
However, to my surprise, that didn’t last for too long. The guy calmed himself down within like five minutes or so, trying to take deep breaths, then he sat on the chair at the table and… yeah, he started crying. He was crying very quietly, as was everything he did, holding back tears and sobs, as if he was scared someone might hear him…
wait a minute… do you think he might’ve been thinking about me? He definitely couldn’t have forgotten out encounter, right?
I sighed. This human wasn’t making my life any easier. It’s not like I was pitying him or anything, humans are monstrous creatures, evil and cruel and every borrower knew that… Nah, lying has never been one of my strengths so, frankly, I did feel bad for him. This human didn’t try to do anything nasty to me for the whole week, which was a complete opposite of what I heard about them, so I couldn’t help but hope that he wasn’t that awful. I suddenly got curious about him. If he had so many opportunities to catch me and hurt me, why didn’t he do that already? And why was he crying right now? Was he hurt or something? Is human life that difficult? Borrowers usually aren’t sentimental, we only cry on very rare special occasions such as when we’re badly hurt or it’s a deadly situation, or when we break two or more bones at once and there’s no one for us to help to escape and we’re left there to die alone. But this guy didn’t seem to be physically hurt or in any danger, so why was he sobbing?
I couldn’t help it and finally set my eyes on the “offering”. It turned out to be a small round box, which most likely was a human bottle cape with some continents: a piece of chocolate (as I already knew) and a note. Oh no, he wanted to communicate… so it could’ve been a trap in the end… even so, I was already beyond fixing and too far from following the borrower rules, so maybe it wont hurt if I read it just this once…
thank you for reading ^^
comments and suggestions are appreciated
@gtzel @smallsday
#g/t#g/t community#borrowers#gt community#giant tiny#giant/tiny#gt writing#tiny#ocs#oc#my ocs#borrower
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Jonelias week, with the slightest bit of spice this time!! TW for: exhibitionism, teacher/student relationship, everything's consensual tho
Day 4 - On camera / AU University
With once again delicious art for @kalgalen !!!!
Jon did not agree to this because he was particularly eager to do it, if he’s honest with himself. He’s already playing with fire just by fooling around with a distinguished professor of Oxford University, and this is a step further towards burning himself. Thoughts of what might happen if the pictures were seen by anyone else, or, worse, perhaps, if someone stumbled on Jon and Elias while they’re doing this, have kept him up all night yesterday.
But Elias had suggested it — casual and mild, while stroking Jon’s thigh, the last time they’d been in his office, and Elias spent so much time seemingly indulging Jon’s whims that Jon had just — Jon hadn’t thought of saying no. Jon was too curious to see what it would feel like, to be the one to indulge Elias, for once.
He is not regretting it either, now that they’re here. The fear of being caught, of being exposed, is still lingering at the back of his mind, but his guts are now filled with another sort of thrill all together. He knows, of course, that he loves Elias’ gaze on him, but this is — this is deeper; more intense; ever since Elias brought the camera to his face, Jon has been completely unable to look away from him.
Something’s still missing though. Yet again Jon is flushed and starting to feel a little breathless, following Elias’ quiet instructions mutedly, but Elias is still — poised; unruffled. This is supposed to be his fantasy. His desire. Jon licks his lips.
The camera flashes.
“I kind of thought you were going to go harder on the cliché,” he tries out, at last.
Elias raises an eyebrow. “I wasn’t particularly aware we were acting on one.”
Jon scowls at him, and Elias takes another picture. Jon’s heart makes a twisty little jump in his chest, at the thought that Elias seemingly cannot stop himself, that every little gesture, every little expression Jon makes has to be recorded. For him.
“You asked me to wear a skirt.”
“They suit you.” Elias says, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Jon has the distinct impression of being indulged again. He tilts his chin, unimpressed and a little annoyed. He wants to see Elias undone. Tentatively, he leans backward, opening his legs more, and moves his left hand, unprompted. His shirt falls a little bit more open.
“Thank you, sir,” he says, voice low and sweet. “But I thought you said I was distracting in them. Is it better now?”
Elias’ lips part; the camera goes off; Jon does not grin.
“I can take off a few more clothes, professor,” he insists. “If you think that might help.”
“Yes,” Elias says — and it sounds impulsive and tight, just enough that Jon knows he’s got him. Oh he will break his composure tonight, even if he’s got to make a fool of himself in the process.
#joneliasweek2023#jonelias#tma stories#the magnus archives#this one had no business being so hard to write when this AU has lived in my head for a good while now#damn you expectations
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Thoughts on new Dragon Age "teaser"? You have the best takes.
I'll be deadly honest, I didn't even realise it was out, that's how checked out I am, but I will always fall hook line and sinker for a delicious bait made of things I can chew on, so let's seeeeeee. I'll do first impressions for now. I'll warn you, I haven't done 'takes' in ages, I've seriously lost my edge and resemble someone yelling at a cloud more than someone with intelligent or at least entertaining takes. Proceed on your own volition. Note, I have not been keeping up with DA4 updates. At all. I am literally grasping at straws and screaming out of my arse.
I'll say this. I believe Mark Darrah who had retired from BioWare was brought back on to save this tattered ship that had failed to launch how many times now? If you were with DAI and Anthem especially, you know that when a vet of that calibre is being brought on board towards the end of production, you're fucked.
The sheer scope of the regions visited in the trailer... I wouldn't blink an eye if it was a turn-based strategy game, but it is not.
I'm surprised how shit the game visually looks, but it's been my criticism with the thus far released art, and now, environment assets. And again, I'm coming off of Anthem, and Anthem was truly, truly gorgeous. Now someone might argue that every DA has had its distinctive visual style. Well I thought DA2, for what it was, sure did look inspired. I didn't enjoy the game or the characters, but I enjoyed looking at it. Dragon Age Inquisition kind of lost me aesthetically, but I see what they did there. It was more generic, certainly not attempting to be photorealistic, but I saw the idea and accepted it.
Now this though? What is this? The panning over what I presume is Treviso literally looks like a mobile game ad.
Ok, fine, I'll not go in on the visuals, I'm too fresh out of art college and I'm so anal-retentive that my o-ring's more pinched than a pinprick about this stuff. Moving on.
I believe the new PC is an Antivan Crow? Since when are they fighting for all of Antiva? Everyone??? Since when?! Zevran's canonically not returning, and even he was compassionately practical on his best days. The Crows are not good people. They buy kids to train for miserable jobs meeting miserable ends. Oh, so we had a whole character who gave the Crows a finger for being the shitshow they were, but now they're this resistance task force? What, why, because the 'Islamic Borg' invaded?
Then. I feel like I'm missing a fuckton of contest because I haven't read the preceding comics and stories, I have one comic book from the DAI-DA4 interim and it ended so disappointingly, I never bothered after that.
We're really retconning all the complex and complicated factions into freedom fighters, aren't we. I guess such is the state of our real world. Always a plucky band of people belonging to formerly shitty fucking organisations suddenly saving the day like heroes, possibly somewhere along the way ruminating for 2 seconds on whether they deserve to pat themselves on the back, landing on 'but we will change how we operate, and we will save the world, always!'
I'm into the Rivaini squid though. I've never been fond of Rivain, not just because parts of the fandom like to present this place that has barely been talked about in canon like some haven for... idk. I just didn't expect squids. And you people know I love marine invertebrates. You know what, fuck it, here's my 'best take': have squid, will travel!
But that port city ravaged recently by the dragons in ruins looks like it's been in ruins for the past 2000 years, only recently excavated. It's so clean. And here I go again with the aesthetics.
Anyway, Falon'din and/or dirthamen is fuckin' around in Rivain, aren't they. Because I believe that head shape, multi-hands etc were presented in many of the statues we saw in DAII, and given that Falon'din's proverbial crows, envy and nightmare were so prominently featured, and sexyman Solas' outright resentment for former master Dirthamen and the vain Falon'din, welll... risen gods. Dirthamen at the very least was associated with watery depths, but they're twins (or are they? Perhaps the facets of one person altogether)...
Anyway, I'm more interested in what the fuck is happening in Weisshaupt. That part genuinely interests me. Circling back to Dirthamen, Razikale is the dragon of Mystery. Associated with Dirthamen, at least according to my theory, while Urthemiel was the Dragon of Beauty, and we keep getting indications that Falon'din was pretty, aggressive, and exceedingly vain. So Big Dirty's up next. Falon'din had the crows, right? Both defeated in DAI. He's out, more or less. And again, Solas most likely was Dirthamen's student before he decided that he himself didn't want to be but totally wanted to be revered. So my take is that Razikale, who got mentions in DAI is waking up as well.
The villain gods of this mess, the classic Dragon Age false gods we fight in every single game as end bosses, will be connected to Dirt. Eh. Same eagle, different liver.
Anyway I have a doubt that this kind of scope will end anywhere nice. The production's been fraught as fuck to the point where the panic button has been pressed many times. The art looks like a significant downgrade, the production has been filled with veterans just clocking the fuck out.
It doesn't sound interesting. I'm tired of saving the world as an Eastern European in late 2023. This kind of story does not speak to me at all anymore. Not after 2019, not after 2021. It looks dated and mediocre, the story is so old that if it goes where I think it will, it has no relevance or message for anybody but perhaps some American audiences (some). I'm just... I'm not.
The rah-rah I got from that clip leaves me ice cold. There is no rah-rah in such widespread misery. There are only curse words and the sound of grinding teeth, and everybody's a dick, and everybody's dick past is dredged up hard. No retcons.
I don't want it. It better receive insanely high marks for me to play it. And I loved this franchise, two of the PCs have gone on to be archetypal in my private works now.
The mystery is gone. The power creep... I don't want to hang out with gods. They should have never been brought into the story as characters you can extensively hang out with.
Edit: basically the entire thing sounds about as exciting as a somewhat well-produced mobile game. Which is fun to fuck with while taking the metro, but...
#maybe i'm still just salty about anthem#it actually looked beautiful#it was fresh and earnest and clunky and fun and had promise#instead we're dragging this old lame horse out of the barn and insisting on riding it#and boy does this old mare look miserable
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The Hitter and The Artist
Eliot Spencer x Artist! Reader
I hope this isn't terrible. It took why longer to write than I thought it would. Kinda based of my own art experiences, minus Eliot sadly. I hope you enjoy!
Warnings: none I can think of. Fluff, mention of scars and bruising, a hint to smut, but not a lot because I didn't want to.
Working as an illustrator was fun. I get to read stories and bring the characters and their adventures to life on the pages.
I had been trying to work on a children's book for weeks now, but have been so blocked I can't draw. The story is good and I have ideas, but trying to get them from my head to paper is proving more difficult than I thought it would be. Deciding I needed a change of scenery, I shove my sketchbook and pencil case in my bag and head out.
The brew pub in Portland was one of my favorite places to work. Good food, great atmosphere, and an abundance of people to watch and draw. I choose a seat at the end of the bar, I order a coffee and a small sandwich, and people watch for a few minutes, before I start working in my sketchbook. Hitting a groove, I let the hum of the pub fade into white noise.
The sound of a throat clearing jars me out of my bubble. I look up and see Eliot, an acquaintance that I knew from coming the pub so often, standing on the other side of the bar with his arms crossed, his tank top showing off his arms and shoulders, which is a bit distracting. His hair held back from his face with a bandana, an expecting look on his face, as if he'd asked me a question.
"What?" I ask.
"I asked if you were alright. You've been here for almost four and half hours."
I look at my watch realizing he's right. It was later then I had planned on staying.
" I'm fine. I just love coming here to work. But I've gotten enough done for today, I should head home." I say, beginning to pack up my things.
" You don't have too. You worked through the rush, which is impressive, you seem to be on a roll. Might as well stay a bit longer." He replies, while looking at my stuff on the table.
" Are you sure? I've already taken up a stool this long, I don't want to be a bother."
He smiles softly then shakes his head.
" You're fine. We're a pub, we're open later then most places. Anything you want to eat?"
I smile at him.
"Surprise me."
He nods then heads back into the kitchen.
I turn back to my sketchbook and work a bit more, glance up every now and then so I wouldn't miss his return.
He comes out of the kitchen with a plate of food, though now he has a button front shirt on over his tank top. He sets the plate down in front of me once I move my things. The mountain of food in front of me that looking positively delicious. I look up at him and give him a smile.
" This looks amazing. Thank you, Eliot."
"Your welcome, Y/N." He says with a smile that causes crinkles at the corners of his blue eyes.
We stare at each other for a second, before his name is called. He and I both look towards where he was called from, a older man and and a dark haired woman are sitting in a booth with another slightly younger woman across from them, who looks extremely upset.
He nods to them then looks at me.
" I hope you enjoy."
" I am sure I will."
He smiles again, then heads over to the booth, sitting next to the younger woman. I turn back to my plate, and take a bite. It turns out to be the best thing I've eaten in a long time.
Once I'm done eating I set my plate to the side, then bring my sketchbook back in front of me. I try to work on my illustrations again, but I can't seam to be able to focus on it so instead I turn to a new page, beginning to sketch Eliot. I draw from memory as much as I can, but have to glance over my shoulder once in a while to where he was sitting facing me.
Once again losing track of time, I jump when he appears next to me. I quickly snap my sketchbook closed so that he wouldn't see what I'd been drawing. He chuckles at the movement as he sits on the stool next to me.
" I didn't mean scare you again."
" I scare easily. Especially when I'm drawing."
He nods, then looks down at my closed sketchbook.
" Whatcha working on?" He asks, a knowing look on his face.
" You saw what I was drawing when you came over, didn't you?"
" Guilty."
I groan and hide my face in my hands, resting my elbows on the bar top. He lets out a quiet laugh.
" It wasn't on purpose. But I'd love to get a better look at it if you'd let me."
I move my hands to look at him. He has a look of genuine interest on his face, but he isn't pushing.
I pick up my sketchbook and turn to the correct page, before handing it to him. He takes it and just looks at it. A small, some what bashful smile crosses his face.
" This is amazing."
" You have a nice face."
His head snaps to look at me. A surprised look crosses his face, then a small smirk takes it place. The realization of what I said hits me like a train.
" Wait. Um. I didn't mean for that to come out like that - shit." I feel my face get hot.
" It's alright. You have a nice face too."
My face gets hotter at the compliment. He chuckles again then asks me about my drawings.
We end up talking about all kinds of things, from my love of art and illustration, his love of cooking, to stories about friends and work. He is reserved, but we get along like we were already friends.
Eventually I decide to call it a night. Since it's so late he offers to walk me home, which I gladly accept. We talk all the way to the front of my building. We stand on the front steps for a few minutes and continue talking. I finally build up the courage to ask him to come in.
He follows me inside. I show him some of the art on my walls, and some of my current projects. He doesn't stay long as it was already almost eleven. I walk him him to the front door to bid him goodnight.
"Would you want to have dinner with me? Not in the pub I work at?" He asks.
"Yes, I would."
" I'm free tomorrow evening, at six? But if that's to soon that's fine."
" Tomorrow is perfect. Where are we going?"
He squints at me slightly and leans forward to whisper.
" It's a surprise."
He leans away and says goodnight, then turns and heads back the way we came, glancing over his shoulder once then heading of into the night, leaving me a flustered mess in my doorstep.
I close the door and lean back against it, letting out a squeak of excitement. I manage to pick my self up and head to bed, even though I know I won't get much sleep.
The next day seems to drag on forever, I put on some music to work to while I continue on painting the illustrations from yesterday to pass the time. Which seems to work too well, as a knock on my front door startles me. I look at the clock and see that it's quarter of six. I place my brush down, turn the music off, and run to the door, pulling it open in a small panic.
" I'm sorry! I was painting to make the time go faster, and I lost track of time, I can be ready in, like ten minutes. I just need to put my paints away and rinse some brushes and change because I have paint on my pants and-"
" Y/N. Calm down. You look beautiful. I don't mind." He says.
" Ok. Um. Come in, I will be ready soon."
I step back so he can come in the door. I close it be hind him, then make my way towards my art room. Eliot follows me and leans against the door way while he watches my put things away. Once everything is rinsed, covered and put away, I turn toward the door way, finding Eliot looking at me with a look on his face I can't decipher.
" What?"
" You're beautiful. I can't help but watch you in your element."
I remember that I'm wearing old, paint covered pants, a ratty tshirt, and my hair is in a messy bun. This is probably the farthest from beautiful I can get.
" You're crazy. Let me go change."
He shakes his head again, with a bit more force this time. He then takes a few steps closer to me.
" You don't have to. You look good like this."
" I want to."
He nods, and let's me walk past him to my room to change. Once I'm done, I head back to where I left him. I find him looking at the paintings had been working on, I walk up next to him and look at the painting on my desk.
" What do you think? It's not done yet, but it's coming along well."
" They're great. I've seen quite a bit of art work in my time, but I think your art is my favorite. Your art should be in a gallery. I shouldn't be the only one who see it."
He turns, looking at me for the first time since I changed. His eyes wide slightly, a smile spreading across his face. I feel butterfly's start to swirl in my stomach, fighting the urge to kiss him
" You look beautiful. You looked beautiful before, but wow."
He steps closer to me, warmth radiating off him.
"Can I kiss you?" He asks, in a low voice.
" Yes."
He cups my face with his hands, leans down and presses his lips to mine. It's a soft kiss, slow but passionate. I finally have to pull away for a breath, he rests his forehead against mine. We just stand there, basking in the aftermath the kiss.
" We had a date planned." He whispers. " But all I want to do now is kiss you again."
I let out a airy laugh before pressing my lips against his again. He pulls away after a moment, his hands still holding my face.
" I don't want to get carried away. I asked you on a date and I plan to keep our plans."
" You never did tell me where we're going."
" I was planning to bring you to my place, to cook you dinner, romance you a little, the whole nine yards," he says.
" Well then. I hope I haven't side tracked you too much."
He shakes his head, the movement causing his hair to move out of his face.
"Not at all. Are you ready to go?"
I nod. He then takes my hand and we head towards the front door, turning off lights as we go. I grab my bag, then lock the door.
We walk down the side walk, he stops in front of an older truck, he motions for my to walk in front of him to the passenger side. He follows behind, and reaches to open the door for me. Once I'm settled in my seat, he closes the door and goes around to the driver's side and gets in. He starts the truck, then pulls away from the curb.
After a ten minute-ish drive, we pull into a spot in front of a five story building. He hops out of his side and makes his way to my side once more. I am about to open the door, but he beats me to it.
" I can open doors for my self, you know."
" I know."
He has a contagious smile on his face and he offers a hand to help be out of the truck. I take his hand and hop down. He closes the door behind me, and starts to head towards the door, never once letting go of my hand.
His hand is warm, large, and callused. He leads me through the first floor, passed a wall of mailboxes, and a staircase, to an elevator.
He presses the button for the top floor. Once there, he leads me down the hall passed two doors before stopping in front of one. He digs in his pocket and pulls out a set of keys. He unlocks the door and gestures for me to go ahead of him.
His apartment is nice. Lived in and neat. It's an relatively open plan. The door way leads into the living room, the to the left is a bar with chairs facing the kitchen, to the right is a hallway. What catches my eye most, it the bay window that takes up most of the living room wall in front of me. A wall of windows, with curtains pulled to the sides, and a glass door leading to a balcony, the view of the sunset off the balcony is beautiful.
"Pretty, ain't it? I thought you might like to draw while I cooked. If you'd like."
" I'd love too. But I'd rather help you if I could."
He nods. Then takes off his jacket and hangs it on a hook. He leads the way to the kitchen. He pulls ingredients from the fridge and cupboards. He asks me to chop a couple onions and a while he cuts a few chicken breasts, then he cooks them in a pan with butter and spices.
After he cleans up from that, he turns to me seeing the amount I have chopped, he nods then turns back to the stove to stir the pan of chicken, then puts other ingredients together as well.
Once we finish cooking, and have plates of food, we move to the table. We talk some but mostly sit in comfortable silence enjoying his amazing food.
After dinner I help wash up, even though Eliot said I didn't have too, I insisted. Once the dishes were washed and set to dry, he took my hand in his and leads me to the living room, then out onto the balcony.
There's a small couch and table to one side, leaving the rest of the space open. I walk to the edge, resting my elbows on the railing, Eliot joining me on my left a moment later. We stand in a peaceful silence. It's dark out now, but the light from in side casts a glow onto the balcony. I see Eliot look at me out of the corner of my eye, I turn to look at him in return. The light from the door, eluminates the right side of his face, his eyes seem to glow in the low light.
I place my hand on his cheek, pull him down to my height, and kiss him. He kisses me back, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me into his chest. I move one hand from his face to the back of his neck. He pulls away after a moment, we rest our heads together breathing slightly heavier that normal.
" I don't want to take this to far. This is only a first proper date," he grumbles.
" I don't mind."
He hums, both arms wrapping around my waist tighter.
" What do you want to do?" He asks.
" I want you to take me to bed, if you'd be so kind. I've wanted to see you shirtless for a while but then I saw you in the tank top last night, and damn."
He chuckles, then crouches and lifts me like I was no more than a dried leaf. The movement catches me off guard, causing me to let out a squeal and grip his shoulders tightly with both hands.
He carries me inside again, letting go of me for a second to close the balcony door, then makes his way down the hall, and into his bed room.
He sets me down on my feet, his hand coming up to my face, he hesitates for a second, before I close the distance between us again.
I run my hand from his shoulders, down his front feeling the buttons under my fingertips. I find the top one, unbuttoning it, then proceeding down his front. Once the buttons are undone, I help him shed it, leaving him in his tank top. He runs his hands along the hem of my shirt, his fingertips grazing skin giving my goose bumps.
" Can I take this off?" He whispers.
" Yeah. As long as you lose the tank top next."
He lifts my shirt up and over my head, tossing it away. He then grabs the hem of his tank top and peels it off, tossing it next to my shirt. He leans down to kiss me again, my hand finds his torso, feeling the newly exposed skin. I can feel the texture change, I pull away from the kiss and look at where my fingers found a what looks like a scar. I run my finger along it, it's a slice, about six inches long, running from his ribs towards his navel. I pull away from the kiss look at his torso more closely, I find more scars, cuts, burns, nearly healed bruises, and what looks like scars from being shot. One still pink and fresh.
"What happened?" I ask.
He lets out a shuddering breath.
" I was a soldier. Then I went into the private sector. Made some bad choices. Did things I can't be clean of."
The weight of his words hit me like a brick. He lets go of my waist and takes a small step back.
" We do to have to do anything. You can leave if you want to."
" I don't want to leave," I say closing the distance between us, and pulling him down into a kiss.
He relaxes in to it, his arms wrapping around me again. He takes a step forward, causing me to step back. He repeats this a few times before I feel the end of the bed hit the backs of my knees. He pushes me down onto the bed gently, my legs falling open and his hips slotting against mine, kissing from my lips to my neck, and down to my collar bone.
" I have wanted to kiss you since you walked into the pub months ago. This feels like a dream," he whispers into my skin.
" I had a similar want, just as long. I don't want to waste any more time."
I tangle my fingers into his hair, pulling at the root lightly, earning a growl from his chest.
He picks his head up and looks me in the eye, his pupils are blown wide. He grinds his hips into mine,
" Be careful what you wish for."
°°°°
I wake up to the sun shining through the window. I can feel Eliot pressed against my back, one of his arms around my ribs holding me to his chest, the other under my head.
I stretch slightly, the slight ache the runs through me a pleasant reminder of last night. I roll over in his arms carefully.
His face is relaxed, breathing steady, and the seamingly perpetual scowl is gone from his handsome face, his skin warm against mine. I untangle my self from his grip, and slowly crawl out of bed. The cool air of the room sends goose bumps across my skin. I find our clothes from last night in a piles on the floor. I pull my underwear, and grab his button up, slipping it on.
I make sure he's still asleep, then make my way to the living room. I pull my sketchbook and pencil out of my bag, then tiptoe back.
I settle as carefully as I can on the side of the bed, I open to a blank page, then begin sketching him.
He stirs after a little while. His arm moves towards where I was laying, he stiffens when he finds it empty. He opens his eyes, then lifts his head, he looks at my empty spot, then towards the end of the bed. We make eye contact and he relaxes. He lets out a deep sigh, then lays down again, tossing an arm over his eyes, his torso on full display.
I set my sketchbook aside, then crawl next to lay next to him. I rest my head on his chest, my arm leaning on his ribs, just below the scar I found last night. One of his hand lands on my back, rubbing soft circles.
" I thought you left."
" Only to get my sketchbook. You looked so peaceful, I wanted to draw you."
He lets out a hum, his arm squeezing me tighter.
We lay like that for who knows how long, before my stomach growls. Loudly. I can feel my face heat up, while Eliot lets out a deep laugh.
" How bout I make you some breakfast, darlin'."
" That would be amazing."
#eliot spencer#leverage#christian kane#eliot spencer x reader#leverage fanfic#eliot spencer x oc#eliot spencer fluff
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Sour & Sweet
(cover art by @kankuroplease)
The last dono fic was for @sunstaar!! Thank you for donating and being an absolutely kind and friendly last client! I enjoyed writing this for you. <3
Pairing: Kakashi x OC
Rating G
2544 words
To help him unwind from his stressful current situation, Fuyu decides to cook for Kakashi for the first time. It goes semi-well.
The best thing about dating Hatake Kakashi was the fact that he was a gourmet style cook. No matter what kind of dish was your favourite, Kakashi had made it before or was easily able to replicate it from taste or text alone. Fuyu enjoyed this fact about their life together a lot, always inviting herself over for dinner to taste some of his delicious food.
Of course, this was all due to the fact that he had lived alone from a young age, was forced to learn how to cook food correctly to eat healthy and well for a shinobi of his calibre. She knew all this obviously, having been around him from a young age and having had the opportunity to watch him from afar during his struggles with exactly this issue. At the time she was maybe too young to understand the amount of work it must have taken him to feed himself.
They’d always been around each other in some way or another, Fuyu and Kakashi, as friends and comrades and teammates and then eventually as a couple. Kakashi had been very busy at first, coming in and out of the village for ANBU missions, but then he was suddenly dismissed from the job and stayed at home more than usual. He used the opportunity to spend time with his partner and to cook for her. Fuyu was just glad he escaped the dangers of ANBU with a few scratches only.
Now he was supposed to become a Jounin-sensei for a young Genin team and though Kakashi himself didn’t seem to be very excited about the prospect Fuyu felt like it was the perfect job for him. No matter how much he could complain about not being suited as a role model, a senpai or a leader, he had always been a good one, at least from the things she had seen him do. In her eyes he would be amazing at this job, but each time she told him he would huff dismissively at her.
Still, she was stubborn enough to not give up on this, so she decided one day that she was going to make him a present. After some back and forth with herself Fuyu decided that she’d cook dinner for him, just to celebrate. They sat next to each other on the couch in his apartment when she suggested it, a strand of her hair strung around his finger leisurely. He had spent the last hour complaining about the last Genin team that had been given to him, how one of the kids had accused the other kid of cheating in the exam, a tedious matter Kakashi didn’t wanna think about anymore. “Maybe I should ask to be let back into Anbu”, he had said.
“Bullshit”, Fuyu replied without missing a beat. “You’ll be a great teacher to children who deserve to be taught by you. I think the fact that this is something you’ll do is something to be happy about.” She was trying to hype up the reveal of the present she had decided upon and Kakashi raised the brow over his uncovered eye. She continued: “In fact, I think we should celebrate that you are starting this new step of your life. Celebrate that you’ll soon be Kakashi-sensei.” She had rehearsed this in her head. Maximise the time spoken and minimise the time in which he could object, that was how you made a present to Hatake Kakashi.
“I’ll cook you dinner,” she said, “Usually you do it, but today, I will. Just because I’m so happy for you to enter this new part of your life. I think you deserve laying back a little and letting me take over.” She breathed out and looked at him with that defiant way she always looked at him. Like she was about to say “I dare you to disagree with me.”
Kakashi knew his partner's moods inside and out and so he stretched his neck just slightly without outright refusing. “You want to cook for me?” he said, amusement in his voice. “Here?”
“Yes here, I know your kitchen”, Fuyu shot back immediately. Kakashi wasn’t going to make fun of her for something like that, she wasn’t going to allow that. The Copy-Nin laughed and Fuyu had to suppress the urge to pull his ear to make him stop. “Look, I really like my kitchen. It’s not very big but it has what I need. I would rather have it perfect and functioning than having it burned down.”
He was being mean as a tease, this was the way he was when someone was kind to him. Fuyu knew this, but couldn’t stop herself from reacting to it anyway. “I’m a very good cook, you know,” she blurted out, hands waving through the air like she was trying to summon her familiarity. “If you’d come off your high horse and let me make something for you, maybe you’d find out eventually. But you just want to be an old grump for no reason.”
“Fine, fine, alright, you can do it if you want” Kakashi said and put a smile into his eyes. Fuyu smiled too, which happened to her automatically when she saw him doing it. He could be such an idiot, but at least he was her idiot and she was going to spoil him so much that he forgot to be a grumpy old guy for at least an evening.
Fuyu jumped out of his apartment, leaving Kakashi behind with one of the many Icha novels that could be found around his apartment. She couldn’t really get into the books themselves though she had looked into them as courtesy for him. Kakashi loved to get lost in them and Fuyu wasn’t objecting. At least it helped with the anxiety.
She knew just the dish to make. Kakashi loved broiled saury and miso soup the most so she decided to try herself on the fish dish. It was easy to get the needed groceries from a store not far from his apartment, fresh ingredients always brought in in the mornings from merchants moving between the villages. Fuyu was excited about the prospect of making him a better meal than he could ever expect, especially if it was his favourite.
“Kitchen is off limits!” she said once she was back, pushing the groceries past Kakashi who had come to greet her in the hallway. He just about had time to press a masked kiss to her temple before she left him behind, closing the door with a loud noise behind her. “You sure?” Kakashi said, stopping in front of it. “I could help you with utensils in case you don’t find them.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I can do it alone, thank you”, she insisted from the inside and Kakashi rolled his eyes a little. He knew her for long enough that he was aware that arguing absolutely didn’t help him at all in this situation, so he knocked a little against the door and said: “I will be in the main room. If you need me you can just yell”, he said and waited for a moment, ear open and tuned to the sounds inside. Pots were slamming and pans were being moved. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a little anxious at the prospect. Hopefully she wasn’t going to hurt herself.
He told himself that he needed to be a little more open and a little more trusting, after all he had seen her go through harder things than cooking fish, so it should be fine. He made his way back to the living room and sat on the couch, an Icha Icha book quickly back in his hand to distract him. Still, he was acutely aware of the sound coming out of the kitchen, ears turned up like a listening dog.
Time passed in which Kakashi read a couple of paragraphs three or more times to understand them right. He couldn’t keep the anxiety down no matter how often he told himself to trust his partner. After a while an odd smell reached his nose and he sat up in alarm. It smelled like there was a burning log on the fire. Fire. Something was on fire. He jumped up, dropping his book to the floor and in a few steps was at the kitchen door.
“Fuyu”, he said through it, his knuckles running over the wood. “What is going on? What smells like this?” She didn’t reply right away, clearly hurrying inside to clear things away. He could hear the sound of the pottery. “Fuyu”, he called her again, but she still didn't reply. Kakashi decided he had waited long enough and he ripped the door open to find his partner standing in front of his stove with sauce sprinkled all over her clothes and hair. She looked like there had been a food explosion. He blinked.
“What did you do?” he asked and had to suppress a laugh at her face looking miserable. “It burned”, she pointed at the stuff on the stove. “It went hot and went everywhere.” Kakashi circled her and turned the heat on the stove down, but to stop the sauce from exploding a second time he also moved it off the plate. He couldn’t help but grin under his mask. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Fuyu trying to get the drips of sauce out of her hair.
“I guess while you know how to handle ice, you are not really good with fire, huh?”, he laughed before he could hold himself back. Her head immediately snapped to him and he could see the red colour of shame in her frowning face. “Shut up, idiot” she said and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She ruffled her nose and pouted.
Kakashi turned his attention back to the stove and stirred in the sauce. It had burned badly at the bottom, probably been on high heat for too long when it should have been on medium heat most of the time. That was a mistake he had made countless times when he had tried teaching himself the dish and so he couldn’t blame Fuyu for making it. He looked at the pan in which the fish was laying and used a nearby knife to cut off a part of it. It smelled fine and looked exactly like his version of it looked, but he was still sceptical. He took the mask down and let it fall to his neck and took the hot piece onto his tongue.
“‘Tis ‘s good”, he said, trying not to burn the inside of his mouth too much. He swallowed the fish and breathed out. “What?” Fuyu asked, eyebrows still furrowed. He took a breath: “This is good. The sauce is burned, but not unsalvageable. The fish on the other hand is really, really good. You did an amazing job considering that it was your first time.”
Fuyu blushed a little and the praise and finally stopped pouting. She stepped forward to wrap her arms around Kakashi’s back as she so often did when he was cooking and cradled her head into his sweater. “Thank you”, she murmured, “That means a lot to me.”
Kakashi put a hand on her arms and used his free hand to stir the sauce again. “It means a lot to me that you are trying this hard for me. Nobody ever has before.” She knocked her head a little into his back. “Would you allow me to work on this a little? I think I could still make it edible. Only- only the sauce of course, you can still prepare the rest” Kakashi offered.
Letting go of him she said: “Alright, but only the sauce. I don’t want you to mess up what I already made perfectly.” He laughed and nodded. He stepped a little to the side so that she could also stand by the stove. The heat was turned back on.
Quietly, they worked side by side, taking spices and ingredients from the drawers or grocery bags. Fuyu noted that Kakashi had not put his mask back up and though she had seen him without it countless times, she still had to watch his face out of the corner of her eye as much as she could. She knew him long enough to understand that he only did this with people he trusted completely and that even though they had been dating for quite a while she was elated at that revelation. He was not uncomfortable showing all of himself to her. Letting her use his kitchen, even though he had suspected she’d burn it down. Complimenting her even after she had messed up. Kakashi was a good person. She smiled to herself.
They finished soon after that. Fuyu didn’t know how Kakashi had done it, maybe he had used magic, but the sauce now smelled enticingly good, just like most of the dishes that Kakashi was usually making for her. But also the fish and the vegetables were ready to be served and so Fuyu put them together in little bowls and together they two of them walked over to the living room.
Bowls in hand they settled next to each other on the couch that still had Kakashi’s hastily thrown down Icha Icha laying next to it. “You treat your most precious treasure this badly?” Fuyu asked with a grin and picked up the book with her free hand to throw it. Kakashi caught it and put it back on the coffee table. “No, I rescue my most precious treasure from burning herself alive”, Kakashi quipped back almost instantly. Fuyu shook her head. He was clearly too nice today. She needed a breath.
Legs knocking into each other as they sat side by side they began eating and right after the first bite Fuyu’s head darted up from her bowl: “This is good!” She kept eating on, tasting herself through the dish with an occasional: “Yes, this is really good!” or “I made this and it's great” until she fully finished her bowl. She put the chopsticks down and breathed out satisfied.
“I think I did a great job”, she declared and punched her leg in triumph. Kakashi, who was always a little slower in eating (to enjoy the different tastes so he said), chewed and swallowed the last of his share and after a sip of water agreed: “You did do a good job. It really tasted fantastic.” He put the two bowls into each other. “I didn’t really think you could do it you know-” he started and Fuyu knocked an elbow into his side.
Kakahshi laughed again and as always it looked good on his naked face. “Maa,” he said with a grin, “and who is cleaning the kitchen of all the sauce?”
“Well I cooked, so I should be allowed to have a free evening now, I think”, Fuyu said instantly and leaned back into the couch cushions.
“Isn’t that just convenient”, Kakashi said, putting both bowls into each other with a clang. “I will remember that for the future.” He leaned forward to leave a sweet kiss on her cheek.
#fanfiction things#hatake kakashi#kakashi hatake#naruto oc#kakashi x oc#thank you so much this was a delight and cute
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It is time for
This year the event will be hosted by Snow Miku! Not exactly magical girls but close enough design wise.
Here is the magical girl media consumed on this blog this year:
(Delicious Party Precure, Futari wa Precure Max Heart, Magia Record s3, Machikado Mazoku s2, Tokyo Mew Mew New, Magic Users' Club! (OVA), Magic User's Club! (Tv), Tropical Rouge! Precure season movie, Futari wa Precure Max Heart season movies 1 & 2)
At first it looked like I barely read any magical girl manga this year, but then ended up reading a couple in the final few weeks of the year:
(Magilumiere co ltd, Time Stranger Kyoko (reread), The Life After Retirement of Magical Girls, No Match for Aoi-kun, Magical Lollipop)
Also I read a lot of magical girl webcomics!
(Magical Mom, Sleepless Domain, Cloudy Wondrous, Apricot Cookie(s)!, Miss Guillotine, Strawberry Seafoam)
Then let's go through the events that happened this year. We had a tournament for the favourite Precure, and Cure Milky was the winner! This time it has taken even longer to draw the celebratory art for the winners than last year and I'm still not done, but I guess nobody but me really cares about that so all is well.
We also had a poll for most/least favourite magical girl elements, which I used to compile the most liked and least liked magical girls (though I think the least liked one turned out to be more popular). I really liked this idea and would like to do something more with it one day, or at least just get statistics on people's opinions on different magical girl tropes for fun.
I also did both Mermay and Witchtober this year (and Adorkastock Draw Everything June which I've done every year since its inception), which included a lot of magical girl content. I like these monthly drawing challenges since I enjoy drawing a set of themed characters, and usually the results are a lot more varied than the stuff I usually draw. So next year I'd like to do some more, but I'll have to find different challenges so it won't get repetitive, this was the second Mermay I did and while it mostly involved characters I never draw otherwise, I'd still like to give that spot to something else next time.
Saban Moon was unleashed to the public this year, which did not affect me that much since I have very little relationship with Sailor Moon, but I can still appreciate unearthing a secret alternative version of a well known character (also it was my most popular drawing this year)
This year I started and exercise project by trying to motivate myself with the reward of buying a Miku Nendoroid each time I exercise a certain amount of times. It has been mostly successful, or there are breaks but they are a lot shorter than they would ever be without a prize looming in the future. Much recommended!
Finally one thing that's different from last year that I didn't draw a lot of characters for my magical girl chibi series, because I was busy drawing a different kind of chibi series (hundreds of Pokemon chibis on my other blog). And this chibi style spread to several of my other fandoms too, I used it on the Witchtober, and I've done four (I think) sets of requests in it.
Finally a mention to my frustration on the lack of green Precures culminating in a series of green Precure OCs.
Then onto the awards!
Best Henshin Design goes to Cloudy Wondrous! A solid design where everything works together (I’m especially a fan of the cloud motif used in different places), and the unique details (crown, wing eyepatch thing) make it more memorable.
Best Team Design goes to Tokyo Mew Mew New! Granted I think I like the original designs more, but TMM team design is still strong here as well, it's recognisable as TMM but highly customisable for OCs.
Best Powerup Design goes to Strawberry Seafoam! Or they should probably rather be called separate forms on the same level with different purposes rather than increasing in power, but who's counting. They are all pretty (as are the other mermaids' transformations) but let's say the jellyfish one is my favourite, it has such warm glowing palette (but also an illuminated dark mode!) and it creates a unique silhouette.
Also a shoutout to Cure Spicy's Party Up Style "hat".
Best Civilian Design goes to Amane's winter look from Delicious Party Precure! It just looks so comfy...
Best Hair goes to Sae from Magic User's Club! It's pretty simple compared to the usual absurd magical girl hairstyles, but I like how the angular shapes make it memorable.
Best Magical Item goes to Bijou's pen from Strawberry Seafoam! It looks pretty, and I like magic where you actually draw your spells. And it's fun to see her style evolve!
Best Henshin Scene goes to the dresser henshin in Magilumiere! Overall it has a lot of creative henshin and I really hope it gets animated some day!
Best Fan Creation is the catch-all award for everything that's not from, like, a big corporation, and this year the competition is really tough with all these highly polished webcomics, on a normal year any one of them would have been the winner but now I have to pick one. And it is also this year's Best Work, so more on that later!
Best Relationship goes to the group in Magic Users' Club! Their relationships feel very natural, and everyone has something different going on with the other characters. And while there is a little drama, the overall vibe is delightfully positive.
Best Mascot goes to Kome-Kome from Delicious Party Precure! Personality or plot-wise there's nothing that interests me about her, but it must be said that I'm a sucker for progressively aging designs and she's also stupidly cute.
Best Supporting Character goes to the 4th wall breaking Director of Darkness, from Apricot Cookie(s)! He just cracks me up every time he is on panel with his friendly and welcoming attitude.
Honourable mention to Mari-chan from Precure who is the best character in the season but who unfortunately doesn’t get to do much.
Best Visual goes to the art style of Strawberry Seafoam! Bold and unique glowing saturated colours that somehow feel nostalgic. Special mention to all the swirly magic.
Honourable mention to the art style shifts Apricot Cookie(s)!, sometimes the art goes to retro manga or anime or 3d idol dance models for fun. And another honourable mention to the visual presentation of the Apricot Cookies website.
Best Audio goes to the Shiny Luminous / Queen theme in Futari wa Precure Splash Star (not the henshin one but the one when she’s doing something epic). Feels very majestic.
For the Best Scene I don’t have anything specific that comes to mind over everything else this year, so let’s say Kuroe’s fate in MagiReco, Shiny Luminous in the Max Heart finale and Grandma’s fate in Apricot Cookie(s)! can share it.
Innovation Award is for honouring a work doing something new and refreshing for the magical girl genre. This year I read several webcomics (that generally get to be more innovative than commercial anime) and even one actual manga that focused on "magical girls as a job", but each with a little different angle. So a shoutout to Magilumiere Co ltd, Sleepless Domain, Cloudy Wondrous, Apricot Cookie(s)!, Miss Guillotine and Magical Mom! With this many of them it'd feel a little weird to pick any for the "innovation award" over the same topic, so let's reward Magical Mom, for having, well, the magical mom! Magical girls whose mother is also a magical girl are of course a thing, but this time the child is a boy, and the mother also is an active and prominent character (and not just a background mentor), so that is new to me.
Then the Golden Mana Award, that is the dishonourable mention awarded to one thing I didn't like this year!
This year it goes to Porun from Futari wa Precure Max Heart. Frankly he was probably more annoying in the original Futari wa but I had something else to complain about that year so now it's his turn. For the life of me I can't understand how this would be an appealing character concept even for children, like don't even 5-year-olds get annoyed at a toddler sibling's tantrums interrupting their big kid play? Even his less overtly irritating scenes don't do much for me, since they rely on "aww isn't it cute how the baby wants to be with you" mushiness.
Also another dishonourable mention to downgrading Pudding’s jumpsuit into a dress.
Best Character goes to Kuroe! (from MagiReco) I really like her design (especially how it mirrors Iroha’s), her quiet and hesitant personality and her melancholic story that felt fresh among all the magical girls who excitedly jump into saving every passerby. Or I don’t really like how she fit in the larger narrative, but in isolation I think her story was interesting.
Best Work goes to Apricot Cookie(s)! It's really funny and the art is great, and the character designs are memorable. The heroine is charmingly dumb and everyone in her family is great. And it took a while to grow on me, but in the end the weeb references make me feel at home.
Plans for 2023
I didn't manage to get any of the shorter mg shows from last year's list (though I did watch Magic User’s Club which wasn’t on the list) so those are still there. I'd also like to watch two series from the Precure backlog, this year I only managed one.
Art-wise I plan to do more for the chibi series, and do another "x colour Precure oc" series. And I'd really like to draw more art that has, like, a background or a mood or a composition, but let's see if that goes anywhere.
(also hopefully more Miku Nendoroids)
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Great selection, this took me a long while to hunt down the answers! From the Fandom end of year ask.
favourite fandom you joined this year
Bit of a cheat because it's a 'sub' fandom, but I'll say Andor (star wars). Avatar is right there, yes, but it doesn't have the oomph of Andor. Avatar has a ton of missing character development, and if the world were more approchable, I'd see myself doing a lot of fix its and missing scenes.
Andor is difficult on the other hand because it's so perfect. Hard to feel like I have anything to add to the fandom. But it's the one show I've been rewatching to death and having so much respect for.
favourite fic of the year
This is basically impossible to piiiiick.
I'll mention Fathers & Daughters, even though it's my own, because you have to goddamn love a fic to spend more than a year slaving over it. And I dooo, and yes I AM working on the final chapter still, soz lol
The hottest smut I've read was Boundaries by Spiced, and well, I did nag about it when we discussed the idea, and it's a gift, but that doesn't change the fact it's the best :3 Very happy with it. It's hot by my ace standards. Basically very mindfuck focused. Fandom is Andor!
And then for multi chapter, I'm going to mention this absolutely insane and amazing FE3H complete fic To Those Who Are Never Going Home by MadameHyde. It's set after the game in an Empire win, where a lot of the Blue Lions find themselves teaching at Garrech Mach. I didn't read the tags so some reveals blew my little brain out of the water, it was amazing. Super prose, very character driven, really enjoyed it.
favourite fanart of the year
I thought this would be hard to answer, and then I realised it wouldn't be, actually, even if I'm cheating. BOTH these Maliketh fanarts have been my screen backgrounds for MONTHS. This one is on my phone and on my better Discord :
And this one is my laptop background :
They're dope and Maliketh is top pubber and I'm still obsessed with him. He's peak design and radiates blorbo energies. He's broken and I wanna fix him and pet him and--
favourite author of the year
@spicedrobot That one isn't too hard. I've read a LOT of their work this year, by vertue of doing a lot of beta swaps, and because they write some very delicious ships. They are responsible for 99% of my smut intake in 2022.
Also I think it says a lot about an author that you can beta them every other day and never get tired of their unhinged content. They're just that good. (They are in a constant state of wrangling me over my terrible comma game, so they're also very patient and could have strangled me a long time ago, yet they didn't!)
favourite creator of the year
Very hard choice, especially when it's so broad and I've already struggled with the fanart one… But I'm going to go with :
@aromansoul. I just really love their art, and finding them through a shared Silco obsession was delightful. They have a very unique style, with colours that seem to float and come in and out of focus. You'll be staring at a super rendered area and it's perfect, and then you look elsewhere and realise half the drawing is just broad strokes… Absolutely tricks my mind, it's delightful. Also they have some fantastic unique designs of their own content that I think are dope.
favourite OC you met this year
Ah, finally an easy one! Meet Rain Drenched Mountain. He's @scuttlebuttin's Predator OC and he's very sweet. I love his design, his lore, and I think he has great taste. Very handsome lad and each time I see more art of him I feel like a little kid. I mean, Scuttlebuttin is a big favourite artist, and where they're not in a very very distressing blood-gore-clown period, I'm always thrilled to see what they post. Just check out their Odin fanart for the new God Of War, it's out of this world!!
#phew lots of gushing#fandom#fanfic#fanart#anon ask#ask game#fandom ask game#fic recs#art recs#predator#elden ring#maliketh#rain drenched mountain#silco#andor#fe3h
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Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 22
Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla
Chapter 22 - Maximum’s Song
TIMELINE: This chapter takes place at the same time as Heavy Bakery’s Chapter 28, under a different POV. You can read it here
“WE DID IT, FAMILY!!”
Kanami's triumphant shout echoed through the kitchens, accompanied by the sounds of beer cans and juice glasses clashing in midair and the loud celebrations of all the Heavy Bakery employees, who were as ecstatic as she was.
"CHEEERS!"
They all drink together, Tomori, Hiro and Paikon with their beers, Kanami and Tomoyo with their juice. But with or without alcohol, the drinks tasted just like victory.
When Kanami appeared at the bakery at the beginning of the day, her face lit up in exuberant happiness, the employees already imagined that she had good news, and with luck, it would be the one they had been waiting for. But their expectations were exceeded, because no one there had expected that she had not only already found the ideal site, but was already able to acquire it with the least possible bureaucracy involved!
That was her oldest dream, and Tomori couldn't be happier for her friend, and for all of them. That was a new beginning for the Heavy Bakery, and after so much effort and suffering (especially on the boss' part), the feeling was of pure worthiness.
“How awesome, Kanaaaaaaa!” Tomori smiles a lot. “I was really running out of hope, that was a miracle!”
“Yes, even I was hunting,” Tomoyo nods. “Looking for a good site is really hard…”
"Yes, but my other friends managed to…," Kanami seemed about to cry, her eyes undulating. "I… I really…"
“You have a hot back now, right girl? It's really cool, you're wonderful,” Hiro hugs her, caressing her hair to comfort her. “We'll be able to grow and make that bakery-restaurant you wanted so much… and we wanted that too, we want to grow with you!”
"It will be a very good thing for all of us," Paikon nods, a little too enthusiastically; he'd already had more cans of beer than Tomori and Hiro put together. "Growing on the job is great, but the job growing with you is even better."
"Yeah!," Kanami sniffs, accepting Hiro's caresses while trying to hold back her tears. "The land has finally been acquired, and we can build in it now… we'll have to organize the plan, the space, which will be even bigger… there's the possibility that we'll have to hire more people…"
"But that's what we wanted to do from the beginning," Tomori nods. "I already have a list of what to ask for future candidates, I've been doing this since that time you were out of the bakery for a while…"
"Yes… but… what matters now… is that, as I promised, everyone will be on paid vacation during this construction period!"
"YEAAAAAH!!!," If that wasn't another wonderful news, none of them knew what else could be. Even Paikon joins the chorus of happy screams, while Hiro bounced around as if he had springs in his feet.
"My dream came true!," he shouts, scandalous as always. "Long live Kanami's hot back!"
"Hurray!," Paikon and Tomoyo shout together.
Kana shakes her head in affectionate exasperation. "Oh, you…"
Tomori could only laugh, still celebrating as she hugged Tomoyo tightly, making the girl gasp. She was over the moon with Kanami's achievements and excited for the future of the bakery, but a whole month of vacation was the icing that was missing for that delicious cake to be perfect.
Laughing to herself, Tomori was already pulling her phone out of her purse, wanting to send a message to Okubo, when the loud knocking sound on the bakery's front door interrupted their celebration. They all turn to the pantry window in surprise.
"Hey, the bakery is closed at this hour," Kanami comments, wondering, while getting up and leaving the kitchens towards the counter. Tomori, Hiro, Paikon and Tomoyo exchange puzzled glances, the three youngest employees immediately going to peek into the table area through the pantry window.
From that distance, they could only see Kanami's back, a little tense as she hurried to peer out onto the street. And that's when they hear her gasp.
"What the… Ohma? What are you doing…?"
"Yo."
They all widen their eyes when they hear the voice of Seaweed Head, who had become the bakery's number one customer.
"Ohma?," Tomori frowns, speaking low. "It's not possible that he already found out, is it…?"
Kanami opens the door, staring at whatever was on the other side in a silence that they understood to be stunned. And soon they hear Ohma's voice again.
"I think the news got out."
And soon other voices joined his, and Tomori's eyes widened even more as she recognized some of them.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself…"
"Me neither, I was too happy when I found out that they had closed the deal… and the meeting went well like that…"
"Frankly, you can't keep your mouth shut… but yeah, we're all happy."
"What's up? Are you going to invite us in, Kanami?"
"Mr. Seki?!," Tomori screeches, and Hiro and Tomoyo have to catch her as she leans too far over the edge of the pantry window and almost falls, as more voices follow Sekibayashi's.
"Yeah, we brought drinks!"
"And food too!"
"We even have things to do, if you let us. This is going to be a hell of a party, man, there will even be a barbecue!"
"Good lord, did they bring a complete party kit? With cakes and all?," Hiro's eyes widened while he and Tomoyo helped a very flustered Tomori to straighten up. She spits some hair out of her mouth, her eyes still popping.
"That's Rihito's voice! So that means...!"
"Oh… my god, guys…," Kanami's voice sounded quivery, almost emotional, as she took a deep breath, her back now a little shaky. "I… okay, you morons! Come all in!"
A collective roar followed outside, and that would have been frightening if not for the current circumstances. Kanami opens the door and steps aside, and then a veritable battalion of people enters the bakery, mostly huge, muscular men. But they were still all familiar faces.
Ohma is accompanied by an older man whom Tomori immediately recognized as the man who had called for an ambulance when Ohma and the four idiots saved her from that bunch of troublemakers (Mr. Yamashita, isn't it?) and a woman with blond hair tied back in a ponytail and looking very professional, with those formal clothes and glasses that immediately made her conclude that it must be Mr. Yamashita's secretary.
Further back came the group that almost made her freak out with joy: Sekibayashi Jun, accompanied by Haruo, Jose and all the other SJPW-affiliated wrestlers, carrying various bags and gadgets that she recognized as being suitable for barbecue. Koga and Ryuki were with them as well, the former a little embarrassed, but still smiling, and the later looking a little distant, but still calm. And the third group that entered right after...
She probably would have fallen over the edge of the pantry window this time if she'd still been leaning over it. There came Okubo, Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda, very excited and carrying not apparatus worthy of a steakhouse, but musical instruments. Okubo breaks into a luminous smile when he sees her through the window, waving his free arm as he holds the case of one bass guitar in the hand of the other.
"Hey, Tomori! We didn't have time to bring food too, but hey, we didn't come empty-handed!"
"You...!," She couldn't even formulate a sentence in that first moment of astonishment, leaving the kitchens with Hiro, Tomoyo and Paikon to join the newcomers. "But how did you…?"
"Apparently the Goku wannabe here spilled all the beans," Kanami sighs, indicating Koga with a gesture of the head, to which the boy shrinks a little.
"My bad! But seriously, sis, don't you think a feat like that deserves to be celebrated? Everyone here was so happy for you and wanted to congratulate you in person!"
“More of an excuse to party,” Ohma comments, to which Kazuo arches an eyebrow at him.
"And you disapprove of that, Ohma?"
"On the contrary. They brought meat. There's nothing to disapprove of."
"Oh, good, I was starting to wonder if you were another clone," Kazuo jokes, patting Ryuki lightly on the shoulder, who rolls his eyes.
"Yes, Ryuki… I still couldn't thank you enough," Kanami says, and pulls him closer, pointing to him while saying," "Guys, look, he was the one who found the site! He deserves an extra glass of milkshake..."
"Whoa, there's a milkshake too?!," Ohma exclaims and widens his eyes, very interested, and several others follow suit.
"Nice, will there be a milkshake too?"
"Milkshake for everybody, guys!!"
"No, wait… it wasn't…," Kanami tried to say, but Ohma, Ryuki and about five other fighters went to the counter area, Ryuki pushing the others away, so as not to break the machine. This made the bakery owner sigh in exasperation, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah, I said that… eh, I’m glad we’ll be closed tomorrow…"
“Life's inevitabilities, Kana, honey! Relax, I'll keep an eye on the bad boys to make sure they don't turn the kitchen upside down," Hiro assures, his smile almost predatory as he goes to join Ryuki in the task of keeping all those mastodons under control. "Oh, the sacrifices I make for this establishment... thankfully, for all those beautiful people, it's worth the effort..."
“And I'll get the bucket and mop. There's still no mess, but with this bunch, it's just a matter of time," Paikon sighs, but he doesn't seem to sound exactly angry. Kazuo gives a humorless laugh as the janitor walks away.
"Ahaha, S-sorry about that! I- I swear we'll cover the cost of any damages..."
"For any damage caused by ours specifically, please," The secretary adds, adjusting her glasses with a serious expression. "And nothing more. We should not be fully responsible for the excesses of these grown men..."
“H-Hey, Kaede, that doesn't include me, does it? I don't want anything deducted from my salary, I don't have money to pay for machinery repairs...!," Koga says quickly, alarmed, to which Kanami shakes her head, Tomori laughs out loud and Tomoyo rolls her eyes.
"It'll come out of the payment I give you for helping at the bakery, dumbass," Kanami points to him, making the others laugh at him.
"It's true, you're working as a helper at the bakery," Himuro comments, smiling. "In that case, it's better to set an example and go help your co-workers, don't you think? I want a chocolate milkshake."
"Me too! And put some of those sissy sprinkles on mine while you're at it, today I'm in need of some extravagances," Rihito laughs, and Koga gives them the middle finger, furious.
"Don't go thinking I came to work as a waiter, you assholes! I won't serve you!"
"We are the musicians, the souls of the party, kid! If you want some cool ambient music, you'll have to pay for it somehow," Okubo says, to which Koga snorts.
"Don't wanna! Your band ain't all that shit, anyway..."
"Say that again, motherfucker!," The three of them shout at the same time, while Kaneda just laughs softly.
"Just stick to the milkshakes while we're playing, it never sounds the same after you drink."
Koga turned red.
"So I'm going to be indebted forever...," he mutters a little loudly.
"Huh? What's that? Are you saying that I don't pay you well enough?!," she exclaims, going after him, and the boy jumps over the counter running to the kitchen. "Come back here!"
"Hey, Koga, now that you're going to the kitchens, bring me some water, please!," Kaneda exclaims to him while Okubo, Rihito and Himuro just laughed. "The drummer is the one musician who tends to sweat the most, you know…"
"Hell no! None of you have broke arms or anything!"
"I also want a chocolate milkshake, Ryuki," Ohma says. "Put everything I'm entitled to."
"Which means, nothing," Ryuki grunts.
"Damn kid, what did I do?," Ohma laughs.
'He's kidding," Koga comes back with a water bottle. "He's just too serious."
"I'm not,"
"Hey, Mr. Kaneda, there you go!," Koga throws the bottle to the drummer.
"Thank you!," Kaneda quickly picks up the bottle. "Now I'm ready to play!,"
"Kaneda gets his order, but we don't? I smell favoritism," Okubo grumbles, to which Rihito and Himuro nod while huffing. Kaneda laughs, opening the bottle.
"Try not to act like self centered rockstars, for starters. People tend to like you better that way."
"Oh, but then you are demanding a lot from us! Especially now, when we're going to play for potential fans," Okubo smiles at Tomori, who vibrates with excitement as she understands.
"You mean I'll finally be able to hear a Maximum the Dogegencho concert?!"
"And in a privileged seat, if it's up to me!," Okubo declares, his chest swelling with a very particular pride, while the other three idiots watched him with an air of laughter. "Such an event deserves a celebration on pair with it, right, guys?"
"Yeah! And guess what, Miss Uta!," Rihito leans towards the sous chef, opening an insinuating smile. "The idea of us doing a private show was all Okubo's."
"Yep! It was the first thing he thought of, after Koga had sent us that message," Kaneda nods, joining in.
"Yes! He said, verbatim, 'Tomori already wanted a live performance from us, why not take the opportunity?'," Himuro tells her, and Okubo blushes a little, snorting.
"You...! Yes, I thought of her! So what? Are you going to sue me for that?," He crosses his arms, a little sullen, to which the others laugh. Tomori can only blush too, her chest warm with joy.
"Was I the first person you thought of? That's so sweet of you, Naoya..."
And they all saw, as if by magic, the irritation in Okubo's expression evaporate and be replaced by stupid, open happiness. He scratches the back of his head.
"Ahaha, a- and who else would I think of? I mean, the owner is Miss Kanami, so technically that's who we should be playing for, right? But you were the first person who was really interested in listening to us, so... I...," He stops, looking to the side. And then he grunts, putting a hand over his face. "Rihito."
"What is it, man?"
"Tell me to shut up."
"Alright. Shut up, Okubo."
Tomori couldn't say why, but that made her laugh out loud again.
"So I'm to understand that the only sounds you're going to produce today will be from your bass, right?"
“I was told to shut up, miss, I'm sorry. Come talk to me when I'm feeling less stupid."
"Which means, never," Ohma grunts.
"And he says I'm the one who's mean!," Ryuki complains.
"He's my friend and he has the right to, you attacked me gratuitously."
"Cut it out, you two, you sound like siblings bickering," Kanami laughs while helping the others to set the barbecue kit up in the kitchen. "Yes, you can use the hamburger griddle, it's better than that barbecue there…"
"All right, boss!," Koga exclaims.
"Yes, let’s barbecue! And I'd be telling you to shut up too if you hadn't already told me to shut up first!," Okubo growls at Ohma and Ryuki, which only makes Tomori laugh even more. Laughter was coming so easily to her that night, and it had barely started!
"Seriously, we are very grateful! Kanny, Hiro, Paikon, Tomoyo... and me, of course," She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "Will I be able to hear some of the classics that were played that day you drove me home?"
"Of course! Unhappy Lullaby is practically our flagship!," Rihito exclaims excitedly, to which Kazuo, further back, makes a face.
"I still think that's a terrible song name..."
"And then, we're going to rock with Are You Happy," Himuro promises, and it's Ohma's turn to make a face.
"No! I couldn't get this shit outta my head the first time I heard it for weeks, I don't want it to happen again."
"You're not the one choosing, Tokita, this privilege is only for the girls! Which do you prefer, Kaede? Unhappy Lullaby, Are You Happy or a guitar solo from me just for you? Hnn?," Lihito arches an eyebrow at the secretary, smiling insinuatingly, to which she snorts.
"I'd rather let the bakery employees have the right to choose."
"I'm happy with anything, really! Oh, I can't believe it...!," Tomori gives a little jump of joy. "My request is coming true without me having to ask for it!"
"Request?," Okubo repeats the word, arching an eyebrow. Tomori stops vibrating, realizing what she's just said. She feels her face heat up a little as she looks away.
"Uuh... it's just that I... a few days ago, I thought of asking you guys if you'd like to play at the reopening of the bakery, when we manage to find a new site. Of course, we would find a way to pay for the concert-"
"You wouldn't have to!," Okubo suddenly exclaims, startling her a little. "We'd gladly do it for you as a favor."
Tomori's eyes shine.
"Really? Naoya, that's-"
"Speak only for yourself, Okubo!," Himuro suddenly exclaims. "I was going to charge at least for my participation!"
“Yeah, even if it was just payment in the form of complimentary food,” Kaneda jokes, and Rihito nods enthusiastically.
"Or in the form of your friend's phone number! See how cheap my fee is?"
"You should be ashamed of yourselves for saying such things..."
“Oh, there's no need to be jealous, Kaede! I would be equally happy with your number too!"
"That's not what I meant!"
"Miss Akiyama is right. Holy shit, you're the most self-serving pricks I've ever met!," Okubo grumbles. Tomori shakes her head, smiling reassuringly.
"It's okay, I said we wouldn't mind paying a fair price-"
"In the form of a phone number?!"
"In the form of money or food on the house."
"Dangit..."
"And if Miss Uta is willing to do that, what's the harm, Okubo? It just means she values our art," Himuro shrugs while Rihito pouts. Okubo wrinkles his nose a little.
"Hnf… in that case I wouldn't ask for money or food. I would ask for something else..."
He smiles in that way Tomori knew well; that sly, playful smile that always preceded requests for a kiss. Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda were giggling and Mr. Yamashita and his secretary exchanged very meaningful glances, but she paid no attention to any of that. She just kept thinking that if that was the only payment he would charge to play, then she would gladly pay-
"I don't care what Tomori pays you, as long as it's not for you to play Are You Happy! If you do that, I'll beat the shit outta you!"
"Damn it, Tokita!," Okubo turns to Ohma, indignant, while the others laugh. "When one of your pals is hitting on a beautiful girl, you don't interrupt him while making completely random threats! You shut your fucking pie hole and that's it! It's the basics of the bro code!"
"I haven't seen you hit anything yet," Ohma raises an eyebrow. "Especially notes. Just start playing already."
"Yeah, even I thought of that," Ryuki sighs, exasperated.
"Hey, keep the noise down!," Kanami warns, looking at the group at the back of the bakery.
"Eh, really Kana, sorry for the mess, we are just very happy…"
"Oh no, Mr. Sekibayashi, that wasn't you! And don't worry, I plan to close tomorrow to start working in the new site, so I guess a little mess won't hurt..."
"Oh yeah, that's true!," Tomori seems to remember who was there. "Oh my God, Sekibayashi!"
She takes off running, practically bouncing like a teenage girl who happened to see her idol across the street, talking to him and already pulling out her phone to take pictures.
"Mr. Seki, please! Can we record this moment?"
"HAahahaha, didn't we record a bunch of moments on that other visit I paid, miss?"
"I know, but this one is even more special! I mean, not that those others weren't special too, but… oh, it's just that my brother can't believe I met you in person! I need more proof to shove in his face!"
"Hahaha! Got it, Miss Uta. Come here, let's appease your fan fury," He laughs loudly, clearly used to that kind of situation. "Haruo, Jose, you get here too!"
Okubo could only stare like an idiot, which only made Rihito and Himuro smirk.
"Left aside for a pro-wrestler in his forties…"
"Bro, you hit rock bottom with a shovel so you could dig even deeper!"
"Yeah, apparently that's the only thing he can hit," Ohma snickers, and the other two scoff. Okubo puffs out his cheeks.
"Oh yeah?! So let's go, guys: Are you happy? Are you hap-"
Okubo is almost attacked by a flying Ohma, if it weren't for Ryuki and Hiro holding him back from the counter.
"Hold him down!
"My God, what is this?!"
"I told you I was going to beat the shit outta you, you son of a bitch!"
"Hey, cut that shit out!," Kanami screams. "Ohma! Sit down!"
Ohma stops short, looking at the baker. He stared at her for a moment, until he broke away from the two who were holding him and snorted, still annoyed, walking away.
Kanami looks at Okubo and points at him, her eyes like acid, "I won't be saving you next time. Behave!"
"Jeez, what happened?," Koga asks from the kitchen, now wearing an apron.
"We almost got a Punk Rock show, broken guitar and all," Hiro sighs, a little alarmed by the strength he had to use to hold Ohma down.
"Whoa, not my fucking guitar!," Rihito shouts, hugging the instrument, while Himuro and Kaneda doubled over laughing. "But holy shit, I never tought that Seaweed Head hated this song so much!"
"Me neither! Damn, now we know exactly how to respond when Kelpthullu starts messing with us, hahaha," Okubo exclaims, delighted. "And sorry about that, Miss Kanami, we promise we'll behave! Let’s start this concert, guys, I have a fan to win back!"
"Hell yeah!," Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda exclaim, still laughing, the smallest raising his drumsticks in the air. The others around celebrate when they see that there would finally be some music at that party; there was no better accompaniment to food, after all.
And further on, the pro-wrestlers snickered as they enjoyed the ruckus, still posing for pictures with Tomori.
"Hey, hermosa," José nods to get Tomori's attention. "I think your other idol is a little jealous, hahaha."
"I don't know why, young women aren't master's type," Haruo comments, a little confused, to which Sekibayashi laughs out loud.
"And even if they were, it would be pretty scummy of me to steal the only female fan that idiot has in all of the Main Island, hahaha!"
"No one has to steal me from anyone! My fangirl heart is big enough to fit all of you," Tomori decrees, all flushed with happiness, and the pro-wrestlers laugh again.
"That's good to know, miss. So Okubo over there has nothing to worry about, right?," Sekibayashi asks, smiling. He looks to the side, and Tomori follows the direction of his eyes.
There was Okubo, setting up the instruments with Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda, the four of them looking amused as they threatened to start playing that song Ohma hated, just to piss him off. Okubo laughed, his expression calm as he tuned the bass, his gray eyes glistening a little...
Tomori feels her chest warm again, an involuntary smile making her cheeks hurt a little.
"Haha, no. He hasn't."
* * *
The smell of roasting meat filled the entire bakery, enveloping everyone inside in an aromatic haze that made stomachs grumble. There were also bottles of liquor being passed around, and those elements combined made Tomori think of a steakhouse, or an pub; the complete opposite of what the bakery proposed, but just by looking at Kanami's happy and peaceful face, she knew that her friend had chosen to make an exception, just this once.
She herself had absolutely nothing to complain about the surroundings. The meat skewers that came out of the kitchens, courtesy of the visitors, were delicious. The booze looked good too, considering how fast it was going down, but that day, she had chosen not to drink. She wanted to be sober so she could enjoy that night to the fullest with her friends and idols.
And of course, to never forget the performance she was about to watch.
"I've only heard one of their albums. I've never seen them play live. Are they good, Miss Akiyama?," She asks Kaede, who was sitting between her and Paikon. The secretary turns to her.
"Oh… I've never heard them play live either, to be honest," She comments after thinking a bit. "But I've seen them play on a tv show once. They're not bad..."
"A TV show? How did I never know about that?!," Tomori comments, amazed, taking another bite of her skewer. "I've been following Naoya's career for years and I'd never heard of their band..."
"Naoya...?," Kaede repeats, her eyebrows rising a little. Kazuo, who was standing while waiting for the musicians to get ready, looks over his shoulder with a smile.
"Their success as a band was relatively short-lived. They produced an album, put two hits in the charts and then fell into anonymity again. The music industry is very volatile nowadays. Back in my day, when musicians became successful, it was for good..."
"Oh, c'mon now, boss!," Koga, already a little tipsy because of the booze, gives Kazuo a tremendous slap on the back, almost sending the poor old man to the ground. "Don't start with that 'in my time things were better' talk! Hey, you four!," He raises his beer bottle in the air. "Give us some good stuff, both to impress the bakery staff and to make this old geezer take back what he said!"
"Who- Who is the geezer, Koga? Have some respect! And don't hit my back like that, I'm going to wake up with them giving me more trouble than the office computer's operating system...," Kazuo whimpers, to which Koga, Sekibayashi and Jose laugh out loud.
"Chill out...," Rihito, finishing plugging the guitar into the sound box they had brought, smiles and points at them. "You don't need to risk the fragile health of senior citizens just to hear Maximum rock out."
"Who's the senior citizen?! I barely turned sixty! Ooh, and by the way, Rihito, we have to set up a day to talk about the current situation with your employees' licenses-"
"Now is not the time to talk business, Kazzy!," Rihito interrupts him, his smile widening. "Now it's time to make art. How are we tonight, folks? Are you excited?!"
"I'm drunk as fuck!," One of the SJPW pro-wrestlers screams.
"I'm single!," Hiro yelled.
"I want more milkshakes!," Haruo shouted.
"Play Golden Wind's opening song!," Koga yells.
“As long as you don't play Are You Happy, I'm good with anything,” Ohma grumbles.
"You just had to say 'yes', goddammit!," Lihito screeches, prompting another collective fit of laughter. Okubo, with the bass already ready, lets out a snort.
"Golden Wind's opening song? give us a break, kid, that's cheesy as fuck!"
"That's right, Okubo-"
"Battle Tendency's opening song is much cooler!"
"Oh, you shut up too, you nerd!"
Himuro rolls his eyes and takes the lead.
"See? That's why I'm in the vocals, you guys don't know how to stir up the crowd! Ahem...," He clears his throat, then opens a charming smile, "Good night to all the beautiful ladies of the Heavy Bakery..."
"And what about saying good night to the guys?!"
"No fat chance, now shut the fuck up! Anyway...," Himuro cleared his throat again amidst laughter. "We are Maximum the Dogegencho."
"I hope your music is better than your band's name!"
"Screw you guys! Let's get this over with, Kaneda, c'mon..."
Laughing, Kaneda raises his sticks in the air, rhythmically hitting them together.
"One, two, three, four!"
And the small audience cheers when the four finally start to play, Tomori even dragging her chair closer, her eyes shining and the wide smile seeming permanently etched on her face.
It was a totally different experience to hear them live, she concludes. On the album, as expected, the sound was perfect, with the quality that only professional studios could offer. In live, there was the unfavorable acoustics of the bakery, the loud incentives of the spectators and the very lack of tune of the instruments, which apparently had not been used for some time, to get in the way.
And yet, Tomori decided she preferred hearing them like this, because even with all the imperfections, she could appreciate how they acted while performing live. Rihito lost all his bravado, looking all smiley and excited as he played, again that cute idiot that had softened her heart on a rainy Sunday. Kaneda seemed very relaxed on the drums, no longer one step away from losing his mind with his friends' antics, just enjoying the moment with them. Himuro, even while showing off, still made room for his friends to shine with him, even singing along with Rihito at one point, the two harmonizing surprisingly well.
And Okubo looked more at home there than in an octagon, his fingers running over the bass strings, doing a little flourish that made her conclude that he was, in fact, very good with them. And she saw dedication there, just like she saw in every single one of his matches. He always did his best at everything he tried, didn't he?
He at one point raised his head a little, and her eyes met his. He smiled even wider, starting to move his body from side to side, showing off, making her laugh and clap her hands. The others around him laughed too, but he didn't seem to be embarrassed. It seemed he only had eyes for her in that audience...
The song ends with a final guitar solo by Rihito, and soon, the bakery is filled with clapping, screaming, cheers and whistles. They even hear pans being banged in the kitchen, which immediately makes Kanami scream amidst the din:
"Careful there, I didn’t find those pans in the garbage!"
"Sorry, Miss Kanami!
"I swear to God…," she snorted, losing her anger with a sigh, sitting down next to Ohma and talking to him while he held five skewers in his hands. Hiro, who had sat next to Tomori, nudges his friend with his elbow, and nods when she looks at him.
"Look, look…," he whispers. "These two lovebirds… I told ya, didn't I?"
She laughs as low as she can, her eyes twinkling mischievously as they stare at her friend and her favorite bottomless bag.
"And she still complains when we make fun of her! We'll get back to her, hahaha... but oooh, that was great!," She jumps up, clapping enthusiastically, going to the four idiots and jumping over Rihito's guitar wire. "It was even better than listening to you via album!"
"Really?!," Okubo and Rihito exclaim at the same time, delighted, while Himuro smiles with satisfaction.
"Yeah, we know. My presence usually makes things even better..."
"She was talking about all of us, you damn narcissist!"
"Wow, Miss Uta...," Kaneda scratches the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "You're not saying that just to be kind, are you?"
"No, I'm being very serious!," She says, grabbing Okubo's arm in excitement. "Your music genre isn't what I usually listen to, but it's nice all the same. You have a very good synchrony, it doesn't even seem like this concert was done on the fly!"
"Aaawn, Tomori...!," Okubo kicked the air a little, flushed with pleasure at her praise, and he wasn't the only one. Kaneda was scratching the back of his neck with his drumsticks now, happily, while Himuro stuck his chin out higher. Rihito vibrates with happiness, grabbing Tomori's hands and decreeing:
"You just earned the honor of being our first number one fan, Miss Uta!"
"First? Does that mean there might be others?"
"Of course! I'm sure your friend would love our music too, if I have her number to invite her to our next concert!"
"Aargh, for crying out loud, Rihito...!," Okubo puts his hand on his face while Himuro and Kaneda snort and Tomori rolls her eyes, although she's still smiling. Rihito ignores all of this, looking back with an expression of triumph.
"Did you hear that, you bitches? Now that's what I call feedback! Not all the whining about bad names and sticky lyrics!"
"You have to learn to take constructive criticism," Kazuo comments, crossing his arms, and Koga nods.
"That's right! That music just now was cool and all, but I need to hear more to form my opinion."
"Not to mention that Miss Uta has a crush on Okubo, so she's biased..."
"Ryuki!," Tomori screeches, mortified, at Ryuki's comment, and everyone else bursts with laughter at that, Hiro being by far the most scandalous.
"Ooh, boy, this party is getting better and better... Hey, darlings, how about an encore? I'd love to harmonize with you."
"Fuck, bro, I already told you to cut that out!"
"I'm talking about harmonizing while we sing, blondie."
"... Oh."
"Come on, can you play a song by Queen, or Jason Mraz?," He suggests. "I think my voice will be good for something like that, if you guys know how to play this kind of music."
"One from Queen? Yes, we do know some...," Himuro comments, thoughtful, while Kaneda asks curiously:
"So you can sing, Mr. Hiro?"
"And very well, Mr. Fox! I wanted to be an idol, after all, I already have the voice and the pretty face..."
"O-Okay, we're up for it, but not before an encore with another of Maximum's classics!," It is Okubo who exclaims, almost as red as Tomori. Hiro pouts.
"Are you going to make me wait even longer, baldie? I hope you have a good reason..."
"It's because he wants to show off a little more for Miss Uta! He got addicted to the compliments and now he can't get enough!"
"Oh, in that case go right ahead!"
“Screw you, Rihito…” Okubo grunts, rubbing his eyes hard as he endures another wave of mocking laughter. He looks sideways at Tomori, who was still looking down at the ground, embarrassed.
“Hey, don't listen to these idiots,” He mutters to her. “They call me a chatterbox, but they aren't too far behind..."
"Ahaha… don't worry," She smiles shily. "Yeah, it's embarrassing as hell, but it's not like it's a lie…"
She can't lift her head to look him in the eye, but she hears him breathe more deeply for a moment. He looked like he wanted to say something…but then Hiro made himself be heard again.
"Hehehe… so, bring it on, Handsome and his So-So bunch," he smiles a bit devilish. "I won’t say who is who…"
"Hell no, start talking! Who are the so-so bunch?!," Rihito demands to know, to which Himuro snorts.
“You guys, obviously, because he's called me handsome a few times already."
"And did you like it, Himuro? That's weird, to say the least..."
"Fuck off, Rihito!"
“Calm down, you two. Now I'm curious about this new addition to our vocals. Come on, Okubo," Kaneda invites, looking at Okubo over his shoulder with a half smile. "You can dedicate our next song to Miss Uta..."
"Leave me alone, Kaneda! But…," He turns back to Tomori, a little hesitant, but still trying to smile. "Would that embarrass you too much?"
"Well...," She plays with a lock of her hair, still embarrassed, and that seems to be enough for him for the moment. He smiles more.
"Okay then. I'll leave the dedication more implied. And thanks for the compliments," He thanks her. "Having you giving all this support just makes me want to come back with this band even more."
Even embarrassed, Tomori had to stop herself from pulling him by the shirt and kissing him right there, in front of all those people. She'd had enough publicity for one night, honestly.
"You can always count on your number one fan for that. Now go play, before they drag you away by force," She gives him an encouraging pat on the arm. "Don't doubt what Hiro is capable of when he wants something."
"I'll keep that in mind," He laughs, nodding. "Give us some more of your feedback later."
“Okay,” She nods, watching him walk away. And then she sighs, slowly returning to her chair, oblivious to the excited chatter around her. Even the presence of Sekibayashi, Jose, Haruo and all the other pro-wrestlers wasn't enough to steal her attention.
She again sits next to Paikon, who is finishing with another bottle of beer. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, turning to her.
"Look, I have to admit... these four stooges there aren't bad. The blond gorilla needs some polishing on that guitar, but other than that, their music is nice to listen to..."
“Yeah, it is…,” She nods slowly, still distracted, watching the four idiots get back in order with a distant expression on her face. Paikon stares at her sideways, one brow arched.
"Are you okay, Tomori?"
"I'm great."
"Did you drink too much?"
"Not even a single drop".
“Then what's up with that face?”
Tomori shakes her head slowly, resting her elbows on her knees, hands on either side of her face.
"Just thinking about the future. How far we've come, how things are going to be from now on... and how we're going to deal with the changes that are going to come. It's a little scary, Paikon..."
The janitor nods slowly, still watching her with a thoughtful expression. He then goes back to enjoying the happy, festive hubbub around them.
"Look, it might be. But the best things in life are sometimes the scariest. What good they bring is the reward for having faced them head on, I think."
"Heh...," She laughs softly. "Who would've thought that you'd be the kind of drunk who likes to philosophize?"
"At my age, all drunks are like that," He mutters, slumping in his chair, his eyes a little heavy. "Enjoy that you're still young and don't be philosophizing too much. Sometimes there's no point in thinking too much. Just accept these changes as they are..."
He went back to watching the racket the visitors were making, and Tomori wondered if he somehow knew what she was thinking. The man was no telepath, but she knew life had made him very observant. Not to mention she was being a bit obvious...
Speaking of which, there was another couple there who were being pretty obvious without realizing it. Kanami was smiling with Ohma by her side, and Tomori noticed how she had blushed as he offered her his last skewer with a smile, then got up to get more from the kitchens. For some reason that seemed significant, coming from such a bottomless bag.
Tomori smiles to herself. Yeah, changes were happening in all of their lives. Kanami's in particular. Ohma's arrival into it seemed to be the most impactful change yet, and despite the setbacks, she seemed to be handling it very well. And as for Tomori herself...
Soon, the four idiots had organized themselves again, and this time, Rihito put the guitar aside, putting it in the case and picking up an acoustic guitar. Okubo sits down next to him, propping his bass on his leg, and the bakery is once again filled with excited clapping and a few chuckles.
"Is this a university campus now?"'
"We'll need some pothead kids to reach that level!"
"Shut the fuck up! Ahem...," Okubo puts a fist in front of his mouth, clearing his throat, before pointing to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are Maximum the Dogegencho. I hope you enjoy this song as much as we enjoy the food and the people at the Heavy Bakery.”
"Oown, who knew this cute gorilla would be such a kiss-ass!," Hiro jokes, clapping his hands, and Okubo rolls his eyes at the laughter of the others. But he was smiling too.
"I'm no kiss-ass, just a faithful and dedicated customer! Both to the bakery and the staff..."
More laughter, only this time, Tomori took no part in it. His gray eyes had returned to meet hers for a second, communicating with her in that tiny fraction.
And when they finally started playing again, she found herself unable to look away, even though he was no longer looking at her.
Soon, the entire bakery was going along with the music in its own way: Hiro had gotten up from his chair and somehow convinced Kazuo and Koga to dance with him; they had a bit too much to drink, so she wasn't surprised when they went along without hesitation. Sekibayashi, Jose, Kaede and Paikon had started to clap along with the music, enjoying how it seemed to encourage the musicians. Tomori, still transfixed, accompanies them, eyes fixed on the bassist, who seemed to be having a lot of fun while following the chords that Rihito played on the guitar.
She wondered if she was making a fool of herself, staring at him like that, but she couldn't find it in her heart to care. Probably no one was noticing her, all of them concentrated on the show that the four idiots were doing, having fun with that strange, unconventional band, but that was still capable of holding attention. They had always done that, since the first time they showed up at the bakery, and now, just as Kanami couldn't imagine that place without Ohma's presence, Tomori found herself in the same situation with them. Okubo in particular.
Her hands stop halfway to a clap, tingling, her chest heating to a crescendo as she finally accepts facts she can no longer deny. Those feelings taking over her were no longer those of a fan going crazy about a chance to get closer to her idol. That part of her died the night she suffered a crushing disappointment. And now, she wondered if that hadn't been a blessing in disguise.
Damn... when did things change like that? Was it all too fast or did it happen so gradually that it took her a while to notice? She had no idea. What she did know for sure was that she had said things without thinking and that her words were now coming back to haunt her.
She had sworn to Paikon and to herself that she just wanted to have fun, to fulfill an old fantasy that would give her memories to take with her for a lifetime. And now... now she could only look at that man's serene and smiling face and want to have him for herself for a lifetime too.
She began to wonder when she had decided to change plans and fall in love with him. Was it when she understood that he was a human being like any other, with qualities and flaws? Or when she got to know him better and found herself a little smitten with that adorable, playful and emotionally insecure idiot, but who didn't let that stop him from going after what he wanted? She didn't know and probably never would. And it didn't even matter anyway.
It was one of the frightening changes that made her hesitate, but it was also the one that made her want to try the most, to go through with it. She felt it could work, if somehow he felt the same way. It was what Kanami was doing with Ohma after all.
If her friend was brave enough to throw herself headfirst into the unknown like that, why shouldn't she try too? She might not be a fighter in the literal sense of the word, but Okubo had told him that she still had the spirit of one. And fighters like the ones she admired weren't afraid to face whatever life threw at them. She shouldn't be either.
The song ends, followed by another round of excited applause, whistles and whoops for an encore. Hiro lets go of Kazuo and Koga, who were limping as they lose their grip, and waves an arm in the air.
"You rocked it, darlings! Now it's my turn to join too! Make room for me!"
“And will you be able to keep up with us, twinkie?,” Rihito asks, smiling defiantly, to which the cashier lifts his chin.
"Honey, I may not have a chest the width of a backhoe, but there's still plenty of breath in it to sing. Do you want to pay to see?"
“Nah, we'll take it without paying, we're all broke anyway,” Kaneda jokes, and they all laugh as Hiro runs to join them.
Tomori smiles at the scene, her eyes softening. It was good to know that her coworkers also appreciated the boisterous addition these fighters made to the bakery contingent. It was another incentive for them to never stop showing up there.
She couldn't say how long she stayed there, just listening to the music, watching everyone else eating and getting drunk while enjoying it too. Maybe it was two hours, or even more. She only knew that when Hiro and the four idiots took a break from their musical activities to also enjoy food and drink, it was already dark outside the bakery.
"And after this success, Maximum the Dogegencho asks for a break, ladies and gentlemen," Himuro announces. "The vocalists need to wet their throats, and the musicians, to rest their fingers. Make the most of this rest of the night!"
"A round of applause, please, because we deserve it!," Hiro asks, opening his arms, and the small audience erupts in excited applause, Koga sticking two fingers in his mouth to give a high-pitched whistle. Tomori claps too, laughing as she enjoys the impromptu band celebrating their little success.
"Boy, did we rock!," Okubo exclaims, exchanging a high-five with Rihito, who nods excitedly.
"I told you we still got it! It was all about warming up our fingers and windpipes!"
"Speaking of windpipes, you surprised us, Mr. Hiro," Kaneda comments, impressed. "You managed to keep up with Himuro without any difficulty. You're very good as a tenor."
"Wow, Mr. Fox, you really know how to make a guy feel special," Hiro jokes, and it was hard to tell with the bakery's artificial light, but Tomori had the impression of seeing him blush a little. "I like to sing, I always wanted to be an idol , and I insisted so much that my parents even paid for some vocal training classes when I was younger. And honestly, who doesn't get excited and unleash their voice's full potential when Somebody to Love plays?"
"I have to agree. Anyway, it was nice singing with you," Himuro pats the cashier on the shoulder, to which Rihito nods again.
"Yeah, it was! You are invited to future concerts at the bakery."
"Really? Didn't my presence make you worry that you might start to question your sexuality?"
"Fuck off, man! And I don't get uncomfortable when we're like that," Rihito shrugs with a pout. "Just keep this pattern from now on..."
"Sure thing! Let's seal our deal with a tight, totally platonic hug, shall we?," Hiro invites, smiling a lot and opening his arms, and Okubo, Himuro, Kaneda and everyone around laugh out loud when Rihito almost trips over a chair in an attempt to escape, alarmed.
"Damn it, why did I open my mouth! Go hug those who like that sissy stuff!"
“I'm not going to lie, it's kinda cathartic watching him get a taste of his own medicine,” Kaede says, downing another glass of beer in her mouth. And she almost chokes when Rihito comes towards her.
"But I accept a hug from you with pleasure, Kaede! Come on, won't you congratulate me on my performance?"
"Congratulations. There you go. Now go away," She commands irritably while placing an empty chair in front of her as if it were a barrier between them. "Ugh, I'm not sober enough to deal with this…"
"Need some fresh air, Miss Akiyama?," Tomori asks. "There's an alley at the back of the bakery, it's very quiet there. You can cool off there."
"I would appreciate it, Miss Uta-"
"I can also come to keep you company, I can even hold your hair if you get too sick!"
"No, Rihito, thank you! Could someone show me the way, please...? No, Rihito, not you!"
"I got it. This way, Miss Akiyama," Paikon gets up from his chair, a little sleepy because of his drinking. Kaede follows quickly, half relieved, and Rihito watches them go through the counter hatch and disappear into the kitchen with an annoyed expression.
"Eh, that's what I get for trying to be a gentleman..."
"Chivalry with a drunk girl can be interpreted in other ways, man."
"I wasn't going to do anything, dammit! She is the one who's too distrustful".
"You give all the reasons for it, bro. And ooh, Tomori!," Okubo waves excitedly, approaching with Hiro and the other three idiots. "You were watching, weren't you? Did you like this performance from now too?"
"I loved it!," She exclaims excitedly while the five men sit next to her. "Mainly how versatile you guys can be. You adapted to Hiro's voice in no time!"
"I was amazed by that too," Hiro nods, giving the quartet a wink. "You guys are full of hidden talents, huh. We are curious to discover even more of them."
This time, not even Rihito seemed uncomfortable or irritated by the innuendos in the cashier's words. The four of them make happy sounds, scratching the back of their necks or timidly kicking the ground.
"Ooh, you haven't seen anything yet! You should hear us playing in a studio, or with a more professional apparatus. Then you would know all the power of Maximum's sound," Rihito guarantees, and Okubo nods enthusiastically.
"If the invitation to play at the reopening of the bakery is still open, we can even provide such apparatus!"
"It depends on how long we have until then. By the way, when exactly do you intend to reopen at the new address?," Himuro asks.
“Oh, it will take a while. Kanny just closed the deal and acquired the new site, the construction hasn't even started," Tomori explains. "There's still the purchase of building materials, hiring a construction company, updating the contract with suppliers..."
“Damn, that's a lot of bureaucracy,” Okubo comments, making a face. Hiro smiles more at this.
"Ooh, but it will be so worth it. Tomori hasn't even told you the best part yet.
"Even better than the relocation you wanted?," Kaneda asks, and Tomori chuckles.
"Ahaha, not quite as much, but still great! After today, the bakery is taking a month-long break from activities-"
"What? Are we going to have to endure a month without this sugar shack's food?!," Rihito exclaims, shocked, to which Himuro looks at him frowning.
"They're going to change their address, so it would be the perfect cue for you to change that stupid term too! But yes, it is a pity that we'll have to spend a month without being able to eat here," He comments, but he sounds resigned. Okubo's expression, on the other hand, had completely collapsed.
"A whole month?! Wow, that's sucks!," He laments. "Not being able to keep you company during lunch time..".
"But you will, Naoya! You'll be able to keep me company at many other times," Tomori promises quickly, leaning over to hold his hand, whereupon he raises his head, alert again. She opens a huge smile. "Because I'm not going to work for a month, starting tomorrow! Kanny gave everyone a paid vacation!"
"Wait, really?!," He exclaims, his eyes wide, his face immediately lighting up. "A whole month without work?"
"A whole month!"
"So does that mean I'll finally be able to take you out without having a time to come back?"
"Exactly! Isn't it great?"
"ooh, hell yeah! Of course it is!," He throws his arms up in celebration, almost hitting Rihito and Himuro's chins, who almost fall off their chairs in an attempt to dodge. "But that's great for you too, Tomori! You honestly deserve it.
"Yes! Enjoy it and get some rest so you can return to work with renewed energy," Kaneda nods, and Rihito imitates him with excitement.
"Yeah! Dude, that calls for a toast! Wanna grab some beers?"
"I can't, I'll have to drive back," Okubo laments, to which Himuro smiles, putting his hands in his pant pockets.
"Sucks to be you. I'll want beer, but I'll celebrate in my own unique way too," And he pulls out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Tomori frowns.
"Are you going to smoke in here, Himuro? I mean, the bakery isn't open or anything, but still..."
"Huh? I can't?," Himuro blinks, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. "But they're doing the same thing..."
And Tomori sees, a bit startled, that some of the SJPW wrestlers have also started smoking, puffing on cigarettes between conversations. Sekibayashi seemed to be giving them a hard time about it, but none of them made a move to stop.
“Lord Satan below, Kana just let go of the reins a little bit and the horses are already running around the pasture like that,” Hiro comments, crossing his arms and arching an eyebrow. Tomori looks towards the counter.
"I don't have much of a problem with it, but Kanny hates cigarette smoke. I don't think she would approve and... uh, where is she?," She frowns when she doesn’t see her friend, neither on the counter nor through the pantry window. "I could've sworn she was watching what they were up to inside the kitchens..."
"Speaking of kitchens, Ohma is also gone," Kaneda frowns, looking at the counter as well. "I thought he would be hanging around the grill by now..."
"Tokita must have grabbed a bunch of skewers and gone out to eat alone, so he doesn’t have to share with anyone," Rihito rolls his eyes. "And auntie must have slipped away so she didn’t have to swallow the smoke that those ciggies are puffing..."
"Shut up. The owner of the establishment didn't complain, so there's nothing to discuss," Himuro shrugs and lights his cigarette. "They're moving locations, anyway."
Tomori and Hiro just sigh and shrug. That was the last day of service for the Heavy Bakery at that location, after all. It was okay to let visitors go overboard this time.
"Eh, whatever. I just know that no one here feeds on cigarette smoke. Man, I'm really hungry," Rihito comments, his hand on his stomach. "I hope they grilled more meat..."
"I'll go check right now," Tomori gets up promptly. "Then I'll bring a very full tray for all of us to share while I'm at it.
"Nice!," Rihito exclaims excitedly. "Can you bring some beers too, Miss Uta?"
"And milkshakes, please!"
"Damn, you really want her to have an accident again, don't you?," Okubo snorts. "Not to mention that she's on vacation. Are you already wanting her to work?"
"It's okay, Naoya, I don't mind bringing something for everyone. I'll eat with you after all," She guarantees with a smile. And then she thinks a bit, an index finger on her chin. "But maybe I'll need some help, considering what happened last time…"
"I'll help!," Okubo gets up immediately. "Then I can explore the kitchen. Are there any of your cookies left, Tomori? It would be the best dessert after a barbecue, haha."
“There are some left, but not many. You'd have to share with others."
"Wow, aren't you going to give your idol a special treat?"
"How mean, taking advantage of your niche celeb status to get free food..."
"Hey, hey, the 'niche' part was an unnecessary addition."
Laughing, Tomori beckons him with a wave of her fingers as she heads towards the kitchens.
"Relax, niche or not, I'm still your fan. I can separate the most
tasty-looking ones for you. Today I made another batch of Kuidaore Taro cookies..."
"Woman, you spoil me too much...," He pretends to sniff happily as he accompanies her. Rihito, Himuro, Kaneda and Hiro watch them walk away before exchanging meaningful glances.
"They're not even trying to hide their flirting," Himuro comments, and Kaneda smiles.
"I think we can see this as progress, no?"
"I'll see it as progress when these two finally get tired of all that foreplay and fuck eachother at once," Rihito snorts. "Until then, I'll keep saying this is just unnecessary drama."
“Wow, big guy, looks like we're finally agreeing on something!," Hiro exclaims happily. "Not that this shoujo-worthy romance isn't cute, but we already had enough sugar to cause a collective outbreak of diabetes. This is lacking spice! And I know exactly how to add it..."
"… Why am I suddenly having a sense of impending doom?," Kaneda wonders, shuddering slightly, to which Hiro smiles sharply.
“You have a keen sixth sense, Mr. Fox!"
“That's what happens when you've know these three long enough. You begin to feel the misfortunes coming with your own body."
"Drama queen...," Himuro takes the cigarette out of his mouth and blows the smoke over his shoulder. "But anyway, can we interpret these words as another one of your far-fetched plans coming up?"
"Ooh, man…," Rihito groans, throwing his head back a little. "I don't wanna waste any more food by making Miss Uta trip again! Especially if it involves beer."
"It won't be necessary, blondie," Hiro guarantees, leaning his elbows on the table and staring at them with those bird of prey-like eyes. "Remember what I said about not cooking pasta in cold water? Let's say the water is already coming to a boiling point."
"And how can you be sure?"
"You were very focused on the music, so you didn't notice Tomori's stares," The cashier chuckles. "The way she looked at baldie… that she-wolf is dying to pounce on him."
"She-wolf...?," Rihito and Himuro repeat, confused, while Kaneda frowns.
"So you think it's possible to resolve this issue today?"
"For sure! You came by car, neither Tomori nor any of us will need to work tomorrow, this party left both of them in the perfect mood...," The cashier goes on listing each point on a finger. "We won't have another better opportunity than this. But it will involve you giving up your ride home."
"Fuckin' hell, why are we always the ones who have to sacrifice something for Okubo to be able to get laid?!," Rihito asks indignantly. "First our dignity, then Miss Uta's friend's number, which, by the way, I still haven't received!," He points to Hiro. "And now our ride..."
“Calm down, sweetie. You'll lose his ride, but you'll get mine," Hiro pats his hand. "I drove to work today."
"Uh… wait, you can drive?," Rihito blinks. "Huh. How convenient..."
"I know, right! Everything is conspiring in our favor!," He claps his hands, excited. "So, are you up for it? If all goes well, we might even go out together to celebrate!"
"The four of us? And where would we go?," Kaneda asks, and the cashier shrugs, looking up.
"I don't know. I know a lot of interesting places, to be honest. Some clubs where your builds would be very successful, for example..."
"Hell fucking no, forget about it!," Rihito shivers all over, to which Himuro gives a hoarse laugh.
"As you can see, Rihito doesn't want other guys to do to him what he does to women."
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, we can go wherever you want," Hiro offers with an inviting smile. "The night is young…"
"Uugh... that insinuating voice tone drives me crazy, but if this shilly-shally between those two is to end...," Rihito huffs, scratching his hair, to which Kaneda laughs softly.
“We're working well on our altruism, aren't we? I think everyone here agreed. What's the plan?"
“Oooh, it’s quite simple, actually…"
* * *
"Fucking hell… don't you think you've had too much to drink?"
Okubo had never imagined himself being the one to say that kind of sentence. He was usually the one who heard it. But since he didn't intend to drive drunk, he was being forced into the role of the responsible friend, while glaring disapprovingly at the three idiots who decided to push their limits that night.
When he and Tomori returned from the kitchens with food, Rihito, Himuro, Kaneda and Hiro seemed to be in some kind of fraternization, toasting and drinking, as if they had suddenly become the best of friends. He even felt a little left out, but Tomori's presence had mitigated the feeling.
But now that the sous-chef had left the table to take a quick shower in the locker rooms, Okubo felt more and more like there wasn't a place for him there. The night was advancing, the celebration was waning while all those present fell into that happy and satisfied laziness typical of the end of a party, and still those dumbasses were not satisfied. On the contrary, they seemed even more excited now that they had alcohol in their blood!
"No, it's within our standards!," Rihito, red and smiling like an idiot, raises his glass of beer to him as if toasting. "And I'm not drunk yet! I'm sober enough to still think you're one ugly son of a bitch, for example."
"Fuck you."
"And anyway, we really need to wet our throats," Himuro comments, his voice a little slurred, while alternating between his beer and his cigarette. "We'll go back to our improvised stage soon!"
"Are you serious? You want to play and sing more?," He raises his eyebrows a bit. "Even you decided to go all out, Kaneda?"
"Yeah… it's a special occasion," Kaneda justifies himself, making a vague gesture and putting his hand over his mouth to stifle a small burp. "It's not every day that our good friends from our favorite bakery achieve such a feat, right?"
"Well said!," Hiro slaps Kaneda on the shoulder, almost making him hit his forehead on the table top. "Why should we inhibit ourselves? Today is a never-ending party, my balding friend!"
"I'm not balding, I shave my head because I- uugh, forget it!," Okubo huffs impatiently. "I don't have a problem with that. I just don't know who you intend to play for, considering that everyone here is already too shitfaced...," He comments while looking over his shoulder, contemplating the mess that the table area had turned into. Chairs scattered, the floor littered with beer cans and liquor bottles, visitors and employees alike so drunk they looked ready to sleep right there. He had no room to judge, Rihito and he had been in worse shape, but damn…
"Eeh, that's nothing!," Rihito makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Maximum's music is capable of even raising the dead from their tombs!"
"Yeah, people even come back to life to beg you to shut up..."
"Shut up, Koga, damn it!," He growls over his shoulder at Koga, who was slumped over a chair, Kazuo dozing with his head resting on his shoulder. "You and Kazzy were having a fucking blast while we played! Such an ungrateful audience..."
"Do you still think they deserve an encore?," Okubo asks playfully, to which Himuro shrugs.
“If they deserve it or not, We don't give a shit. We just want to keep playing. Right, guys?"
"Yeah! The show must go on and… eh… ooh, jeez, I think someone stole my drumsticks," Kaneda looks around, eyes widening a little, at which Hiro laughs out loud.
"Robbery at the Heavy Bakery! We have a thief on the loose! Hand over Mr. Fox's drumsticks and nobody gets hurt!"
“Who the fuck took Kaneda's drumsticks?! The drummer needs his sticks!"
"Haruo borrowed it, he said he had an itchy back and couldn't reach…"
"Damn it, Jose! Haruo, we need those drumsticks!," Himuro exclaims, and they all jump up from the table to hunt for the drumsticks, to which Okubo takes a step back.
"... Look, I'm not trying to be a party-pooper, but I really don't think you guys are that good enough to play anything," He comments, a little worried. "I mean, if things got to the point where I needed to be the mom friend, it's because boundaries have been crossed."
"Yeah, that's really bizarre. Just drink with us and we'll solve this glitch in the Matrix!," Rihito jokes.
"I can't, man, you know I'm driving..."
"Ooh, would you look at that responsible boy, acquiring conscience at the nick of time! Hey, guys!," Rihito shouts over his shoulder, smirking. "Okubo now knows that driving under the influence is wrong! Guess who made him finally realize this!"
"Rihito, shut up-"
"Miss Uta, obviously!," Rihito exclaims, ignoring Okubo's furious expression next to him. "He arrived drunk on their first date and she was furious! Poor motherfucker got traumatized, hahaha!"
"And you still say that I'm the loudmouth! You fucking tattle-tale!," Okubo yells, while the SJPW crew widened their eyes at him.
"Are you serious?"
“Dude, how could you do that?"
"Damn, bro..."
"Are you fucking stupid?"
"You're lucky she forgave you, pendejo..."
"Shut up you too! I already feel bad enough without you guys roasting me...," Okubo whimpers, looking at the ground and putting his hand in his pants pockets. Rihito pats his shoulder.
“Hey, guys, don't be so harsh. I'm partly to blame too, I was the one who insisted he drink that night-"
"Holy shit, another idiot!"
"What is wrong with you!"
"And he still complains that he's single!"
"Fuckin' dumbass!"
"Fuck you all!," Rihito yells while everyone around laughs loudly. "But anyway, Okubo busted a gut to prove he could be better and won Miss Uta's forgiveness, and now he's being the best boy possible for her, isn't he? I'm so proud!"
"Fuck off!," Okubo, very red, pushes his hand away when he tries to squeeze his cheek. "She deserves it and I'll do it gladly! And don't think I'm going to play with you if you keep being such a jerk..."
"Good thing you brought that up, man," Himuro says suddenly, still helping Kaneda and Hiro to look for the drumsticks. "We talked a little while you were in the kitchen with Miss Uta, and honestly? You don't need to play with us this time."
"... Huh?," Okubo blinks, caught off guard. "What do you mean I don't need to? I'm the bass player, man, an essential component!"
"That's debatable," Kaneda comments, sounding a bit disinterested. "I mean, Rihito has the guitar and the acoustic guitar. I know it's not the same thing, but they're a good workaround..."
"And we still have twinkie here," Rihito points to Hiro. "We'll still have four components, so you really don't need to participate. Chill out."
"Chill out- what's this? Are you dismissing me?!," Okubo exclaims, indignation making his voice squeaky. "Just like that? Your own bassist?!"
"Well, let's face it, the bassist is kinda the least necessary guy in the band," Himuro arches an eyebrow, to which Kaneda nods.
"I wouldn't say they're entirely expendable, but others can cover their part without too much trouble..."
"And honestly, which bass players are successful with women?," Rihito laughs. "I think even the drummer gets more girls, hahaha!"
"Hey, c'mon now..."
"Sorry, Kaneda."
“What the- Why the fuck are you being such assholes?!," Okubo asks, furious and astonished, while the others around him just laugh their heads off. "What did I do? If you're going to be such dicks like that then I'm really going to-"
"What's with all the screaming? Are you guys fighting?"
Okubo is silenced in the midst of his threat, immediately looking over his shoulder with a little start. Tomori had come out of the locker rooms, no longer wearing her Heavy Bakery uniform but casual clothes, her purse strap slung over her shoulder. She stared at them in confusion that only increased when everyone around her laughed even harder at the face Okubo was making.
"Uuh...did I miss something or...?," She asks confused, looking around, to which he quickly shakes his head.
"No, Tomori, you didn't miss anything. Just these idiots being assholes, as usual," He assures, facing his friends with resentment. "I was just telling them what they deserved to hear."
"Not that we were very interested… are you leaving, Miss Uta?," Rihito asks, to which she nods.
"Yeah, I am. Kanny has already dismissed everyone for the day, we won't even need to clean up this mess," She giggles. "She said this will be up to the visitors who brought a whole bar into the bakery, haha."
There's a collective groan of weariness, Koga's being by far the loudest. Sekibayashi claps his hands impatiently.
"Quit being lazy bums, we messed up, we clean up!"
"Thank you, Mr. Seki!," Tomori makes a small bow. "I hope to see you all at the reopening of the bakery!"
"Are you leaving then, Tomori?," Okubo asks, a little disappointed. "Too bad, at this point you were the only company I had. The only one who hadn't stabbed me in the back, I mean…"
"Enough said, then! Give Miss Uta a ride home," Himuro intervenes. "We already told you, we don't need you anymore for today."
"Yeah! Go on, dude, piss off," Rihito makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Get outta here and don't forget that bass over there."
“See you around, Okubo,” Kaneda waves, and Hiro blows him a kiss.
"Don't worry, big guy, I'll take good care of them. You can go with Tomori with no worries, okay?"
"Why the fuck are you pushing me so much?," Okubo asks, getting pissed again. "It even seems that you can't wait to get rid of me, you...!"
He then shut up when faced with the intense looks that all four of them were giving him. Hiro had one hand on his hip. Himuro arched an eyebrow. Kaneda smirked. And Rihito, eyes widening, gives a very confused Tomori a brief glance before turning back to face him, all serious, seeming to want to say something...
... Oh. Oooh, shit. Well, now he definitely got it.
“You fucking assholes...! You could've said something earlier!”, he complains in his thoughts, but his anger has simply evaporated. There was no more reason for it, after all. Tomori turns to him, still confused and a little shy.
"Uh… only if you can and want to, Naoya. No problem if you want to stay here longer, there's still time to catch the last train-"
"No, I'll give you a ride. I was already on my way out anyway. I don't want to look at these fuckers' faces anymore for today," Okubo decrees, staring at his friends with what appears to be contempt on the surface. But his gray eyes sparkled in a way they knew all too well. Rihito shrugs with a snort.
"Neither do we. Go, buzz off, twinkie here will give us a ride."
"Yeah, I will. Fuck you, and I wish you all a hell of a hangover tomorrow morning," Okubo goes to get his bass, while Tomori looked from one to the other with some concern. "And good night to you all. The food was delicious. See ya."
"See ya, man!," Koga and the SJPW crew wave; Kazuo, still dozing off, mutters under his breath and shifts in his chair. Okubo then smiles at Tomori.
"So, let's get going? There's something in the car I want to show you."
"Uuh- really? Okay then!," She nods, smiling, but still looking worried. "Good night to all of you!"
"‘Night, Miss Uta!"
The two wave, and the bell rings at the top of the door as they leave the bakery. Okubo looks into the establishment through the glass one last time and sees Rihito, Himuro, Kaneda and Hiro grinning at him, giving him a collective thumbs up.
He has to stop himself from laughing. Those idiots... even if nothing happened that night, he would still thank them later. That's what friends were for...
"Look, it's not that I'm not happy to be able to spend some time alone with you…," Tomori starts to say, still shy. "But I don't like to think that you're leaving the bakery like that, mad at your friends, whatever the reason is..."
"Ooh, that? Don't worry, we do that all the time," He guarantees, smiling to reassure her. "We argue over some random stupid thing, we curse each other, we each go our separate ways and then we're talking again the next day as if nothing had happened. It's routine by now."
"Ooh… that's not very healthy," She comments, blinking. "But if this dynamic works for you… it's just that I really don't want you to be on bad terms with them like what happened with Rihito that time," She holds onto his arm, looking up at him and smiling. "I want to see you always arriving at the bakery together, laughing, messing around and ready to fill your stomachs with our food. I want to see you leaving the bakery happy, not angry or upset."
If they weren't in the middle of a busy shopping area, Okubo would have picked her up and kissed her heartily.
“Damn, she's so cute!”
"Holy shit, woman…," He smiles tenderly, reaching out to caress the side of her face. "Blessed be the day I walked into that bakery for the first time and met you. I've been needing all this sweetness in my life."
"Stop it, you…," She giggles coquettishly, blushing a bit. "Don't make me want to pull you by your shirt and kiss you, there are people looking…"
"You can do it inside the car," He suggests, letting her hold on to his arm while the two of them went down the street. "Then I can give you your gift while we're at it."
"More gifts? And you say I'm the one who spoils you," She shakes her head. "I just hope it's not one of those expensive things you keep offering me."
"My, what a distrustful woman," He jokes, pulling the keys out of his pocket and unlocking the car further on. "Don't worry, it's a very simple gift, but still a nice one. The guys and I were at an arcade before we heard the good news about the new site. We won some cool prizes there, and one of them is for you!"
"Wait, really?," She widened her eyes, which were shining. "My God, Naoya, you didn't have to! You should've tried to win a prize for yourself!"
"Relax, I didn’t leave empty-handed! I got a cool Ultraman keychain," He says as they get in the car. He takes a set of keys from the glove compartment and shows the keychain in it, smiling satisfied. "See? Very cool, right?"
"Yeah, it's cute!"
"No, officer Hayata is not cute! He's a hero of justice, and heroes of justice are cool, not cute!," Okubo protests, and Tomori just laughs.
"Of course. Anyway, now I'm curious to see what you got for me..."
"Oh, yes!," He turns around in the driver's seat, looking back. "Yours is that box in the back seat... the biggest one, in this case. Those three forgot their prizes in the car..."
"Ooh, good thing we saw that before we left then! There's still time to go back there and give them their boxes-"
"No! I mean...!," He exclaims, but hastens to correct his tone when she stares at him in surprise. "I said I don't want to see their faces anymore for today and I meant it. If I go back to the bakery now, they won't stop making fun of me."
“Not to say that they're going to want to beat me up for wasting this chance...”
"Uh… wow, men can be so prideful over silly stuff," She comments, bored. "In that case, I can go back there and deliver them myself."
"No...," He speaks in a much softer tone this time, leaning down to touch her lips with his thumb. "Don't go, please. I'll deliver the boxes to them later, I promise. Now I just want to be alone with you. We didn't have many opportunities there at the bakery..."
His little plea works: she stares at him with her eyes huge, shining, her cheeks flushed. She smiles, looking to the side, her lids lowering.
"Well, when you put it like that… okay, I guess they can get the boxes later," She kisses the tip of his thumb, making him shiver. "But what about me? Can I get mine now?"
"Right here, miss!," He reaches out, picking up the box with an idiotic smile. "I saw it on the wall behind the prize counter and thought it would look stylish in your kitchen…"
"For my kitchen, you say...? Oooh, a neon sign!," She exclaims, smiling when she sees the product stamped on the box. "I never had one of these before! What is written on it?"
"Smile and Smash," He extends his fist towards her, smiling. "Because my favorite cook rocks in the kitchen, always with that beautiful smile on her face."
She follows the cue, bumping her fist into his with a gleeful laugh. And then she leans over the seat to give him a peck, her nose lightly brushing against his.
"Thanks. I loved it. I just feel bad that I can't buy you anything like that..."
"What you give me, no money can buy, Tomoh..."
"Tomoh…," She laughs again, her voice coming out hoarse and low in that sweet happiness. "It's the first time you've called me that…"
"If you don't like it, I'll stop."
"Quite the contrary. I want to hear you call me that again," She whispers against his lips, and he shivers again, his eyelids drooping and his fingers tingling with the urge to pull her to sit on his lap.
"Tomoh..." He whispers back, giving her another peck, letting his lips press against hers and stay there a second longer. "Tomoh…"
“I love you and I wish I had the courage to say it out loud.”
At the moment, he didn't have that ability. But he had the ability to reciprocate when she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss with a low moan, and that was enough for now.
It didn't take long before he let his hands act on their own and pulled her to sit on his lap in the driver's seat, his hands on her back and the back of her neck to support her as she hugged him, perfectly content to stay in that indecent position while kissing him. Holy shit, she was so receptive... it would be so easy to ask the crucial question, and then, depending on her answer, go out on the streets looking for a love hotel...
“No, step on the brakes! Where's the chivalry in that? You have to create the perfect mood so she doesn't feel like you just picked her on a random street corner!"
He wanted to tell his conscience to go fuck itself, but his need to respect Tomori was stronger than that urge. He gently pulls her away from him, smiling at her with some embarrassment.
"Haha, we- we better stop here before the cops show up and tow us to the station for indecent conduct, huh?," He jokes, then clearing his throat. "So, let’s go to your house? We can install the neon sign in the kitchen, if you want."
He waits for her answer... which doesn't come. The cheerful smile was gone from her face, and Okubo was immediately concerned to see her expression slump, her eyes settling on her hands as she turned her head to the side. She even bites her bottom lip, as if to keep it from trembling, and he is immediately alarmed.
"Tomori? What's wrong?," He reaches out a hand to touch her face hesitantly. "Was it something I said? I'm sorry-"
"No," She interrupts him, shaking her head, still not looking at him. "You didn't do anything, Naoya. That... that's the problem."
"... Huh?," He blinks, confused, not expecting that kind of answer. "What do you mean? I don't get it..."
"It's... It's just that I...m" She lets out a huge sigh, turning to him with her mouth clenched and her brow furrowed as if she's working up courage. "I didn't mean to be forward like that, but I can't think of any other way... did I do something wrong, Naoya?"
"Huh? What-"
"Did I make you uncomfortable in any way? Am I being too forward?," She asks, and now she's almost stumbling over her words, agitated by her nervousness. "You're not as interested in this as I thought? Or- Or is it me? If I'm not that attractive to you...," She swallows hard. "Please, just answer me, because I'm already going crazy here trying to understand while I'm holding back!"
"Not that attractive to me…?," He repeats, perplexed, that sentence sounding completely absurd to his ears. Holy shit, how could she think such a thing? Did she have any idea how much she was attractive to him, to the point where he even had a hard time controlling himself when they started making out like that?
... And from her somewhat desperate look, the answer was no. She didn't. His jaw drops even further.
“Fucking hell, she…!”
"Yes!," She nods, now gesturing frustrated. "I know you like me, you wouldn't ask me for a kiss every five minutes if you didn't, but that's different from really wanting to take things to third base. You can like someone, you can want to be with them, and still not feel like... you know..."
If Okubo's eyes widened any further, they would probably fall out of their sockets. Fuck... holy fuck...!
"So just answer me this, please! Do you want me that way or not? Because if not, then just tell me, so I can stop trying and getting frustrated every time...," She continues, sounding almost aggressive, but he was still able to hear the fear permeating those words. Fear of not being good enough, of being rejected...
"W-Wait!," He finally finds his voice again, holding her by the shoulders to make her stop talking, his eyes still bulging. "Time out! How- how could you think I'm not attracted to you? Holy shit, woman, you...!," He had difficulty even forming a cohesive sentence, such was his astonishment. "You're insane if you think these things!"
"I…," She moistens her lips, still nervous, flinching a little with his touch. "So you… do you want…?"
"I- Of fucking course, damn it!," He says while choking, embarrassed, but more concerned with clearing up that misunderstanding. "I don't even know how you can think otherwise! You're beautiful, funny, cute, kinda nuts, brave as fuck, fierce when you have to be... and so, so...," He runs his fingers down her arms, then touching her curves that tempted him so much. "Fuck, only a dumbass would look at all this and not want it all for himself..."
She gasps softly at his touch, sitting up straighter in his lap, which makes her breasts under her shirt touch his chest. Holy shit, holy shit...!
"Then…," She looks at him with a rather bizarre mixture of relief, perplexity and frustration. "My God, so why haven't we had sex yet?!"
At that moment, Okubo didn't know what he felt more like: throwing a punch in the air and screaming in triumph, or redirecting said punch at his own face.
Fuck, she wanted it, she had wanted it all along and he just sat there, making her wait like the perfect idiot he was...!
“No,” His conscience snorted suddenly. “You waited like you should have all along: respecting her boundaries and waiting for the green light. And now, here it is.”
"I…," He shakes his head slowly, needing to make an effort not to smile like an idiot. "I didn't know if- if you wanted to too… I didn't want to push it, I was enjoying how things were going, and so I... I thought it was better to wait to be sure...?"
"Holy shit, you…," She shakes her head in disbelief. And then she laughed out loud, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. "So that was you being a gentleman all along? My god, I don't know whether to be relieved or angry, hahaha!"
"Haha, s-sorry...," He laughs too, because honestly, what other reaction could one have in a situation like that? "I'm kinda mad at myself too, for not realizing it sooner..."
"Well, now you did, didn't you?," She looks up at him, smiling a lot. "So I just need to hear your answer to my question, one more time...," And she goes back to hugging him by the shoulders, approaching with drooping eyelids, brushing her lips in his again. "Do you want that, Naoya? Do you want me?"
He wonders, in that second of delighted euphoria, if starting to take her clothes off right then and there would be answer enough. But he concluded that she deserved to hear it from his mouth, loud and clear, as he held her by the hips to make her breasts press more against his chest, his breathing deepening, his eyes dark and dangerous.
"I do. I want you so fucking bad..."
"Then that's it. There's nothing more to discuss," She smiles more, tracing his lips with her tongue, "Today we really don't have to worry about the time..."
And his response is to kiss her with a fervor that was almost frightening. All that pent-up desire came pouring out of him like water from a broken dam, showing itself in the possessive way he grabbed her, squeezed her, stroked her sides, making her rub against him. And she didn't shy away, reciprocating in equal measure by hugging him tightly, rubbing her tongue furiously against his, digging her nails into his shoulders through his shirt as he leaned her back, wanting to rest her back against the car dashboard...
BWAAAAAAANNNN!!!
The sound of the horn, pressed against Tomori's back, filled his ears like the very trumpets of the Apocalypse, nearly knocking his soul out of his body in fright. He jumps into the seat, and his head almost explodes with pain as it hits the roof of the car hard.
"OW! HOLY FUUUUCK!"
Tomori nearly falls off his lap in fright, clutching at him and gasping with wide eyes.
"My God! Naoya, are you- are you hurt?! Sorry, it was me, my back pressed against the wheel!," She says quickly while massaging his sore head. "Sorry, sorry...!"
"Oooow… damn, I…," He babbles, his head throbbing. "I hope I can still get a hard-on even with a head injury…"
Tomori laughs out loud, throwing her head back before kissing him again, and despite the pain, he gladly reciprocates.
"Jeez…," She laughs softly when they move away again, still massaging his head (damn, it felt so good, he didn't want her to stop!) "We definitely can't do anything in this cramped space. So...," She hugs him by the neck again, smiling seductively. "Wanna go to my house? My bed isn't very big, but I assure you it's comfortable..."
He almost replies that yes, he would love to... and then he thinks of all those dead eyes spread across the four walls of that homosexual sanctuary, the grimaces that could almost be interpreted as mocking smiles, the sweaty muscles and their owners, many his acquaintances, enjoying the spectacular view that was his ass up in the air...
“Hell fucking no!”
"I- I…," He tries to smile at her questioning expression. "I have a better idea!"
"Better than my warm, comfortable bed? Damn..."
"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to test the strength of your mattress, but don't you think we'll be more comfortable in a bed where I fit too?," He suggests, touching her lips with his fingertips. "C'mon, let me spoil you a little more, just for today…"
"Oh God… you're lucky I'm too horny to protest," She laughs, giving him a quick kiss before getting off his lap, sitting in the passenger seat with an excited smile. "Take me wherever you want. I just want to be with you all night..."
"Me too, Tomori..."
“I want it for all the nights from now on, if you want it too”, he swears in his thoughts as he starts the car. And for the first time, he drove in absolute joy, knowing that this time, their night had no end.
NEXT CHAPTER
#Kengan Ashura#Kengan Omega#kenganverse#fanfiction#Okubo Naoya#Naoya Okubo#okubo x oc#kengan oc#Rihito#Himuro Ryo#Kaneda Suekichi#Tokita Ohma#Narushima Koga#Gaoh Ryuki#Yamashita Kazuo#Sekibayashi Jun#Kono Haruo#Jose Kanzaki#Akiyama Kaede#cookies'n cream#the heavy bakery series
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Fabulous Friday
Today was a fantastic day. My sister came to town. We have so much fun together, we laugh ourselves silly, and we just get each other. Gosh, that’s good for my soul. We tried to take selfie.
Our hair is telling you that it was a rainy day. The McGlaughn girl hair is more reliable than doppler radar. My Twinkie colored hair (half yellow, half white) is the bane of my existence, but I’m determined to see it through. I’m a granny, don’t judge me. Look at my lovely sister. She’s always had flawless skin, ringlets, and an adventurous soul. She’s what you’d call a once-in-a-lifetime woman. Unsinkable.
Anywayyyy, today has apparently been all about FOOD. I feel like I never want to eat again. We had lunch at Earth Tones Cafe and gobbled up their Chesapeake Artichoke Bagel. It’s an open-faced toasted bagel topped with a mixture of artichoke hearts, spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, parm, red pepper flakes, and Old Bay seasoning. Holy Cow. Earth Tones is a vegan cafe but this did not feel like a healthy choice....delicious, yes, but probably not on the American Heart Associations recommended list. We made a couple of stops around town and our final stop was Craft Bakery because Mickey had asked me to bring him one of their maple-vanilla lattes. Well, who goes into a bakery and just buys coffee? Not this girl. Two toffee bars, two blackout cookies, and one brown sugar and cinnamon pop-tart later, we left. I tell myself that I only buy baked goods as decor. I love having a few things under this cake dome, just because it’s pretty.
That doesn’t explain why there’s a blackout cookie missing. I won’t touch the toffee bars or the pop-tart but those deep chocolate cookies with a sprinkle of sea salt....they call to me. I wish she’d stop making them. My thighs can’t take it.
That said, my thighs walked me right up the steps to the Culinary Arts Center to collect the bowl I painted a couple of weeks ago. I’d participated in a fundraiser by paying to paint a bowl, and part of the price included a container of soup from Shore Gourmet when I picked up my bowl. The bowls had been fired and I ran by to get mine. My bowl turned out okay (I didn’t have enough time!) but I’m very pleased with the soup I chose. Perfect for these chilly, wet days.
YUM!
After the tasty lunch and that chocolate cookie, I figured I’d better make a veggie heavy dinner. Taco bowls with cauliflower rice! My stovetop was busy. Black beans simmered with onion, salt, cumin, a couple splashes of hot sauce, and a little water, cauliflower rice in a skillet sautéing with a sprinkle of salt and a blast of chili powder (fresh cilantro would is perfect in this, but I didn’t have any handy), and another skillet with lean ground turkey seasoned with all the taco spices.
Add some veggies and it’s a tasty bowl!
This is one of my favorite quick dinners - full of flavor and checks most boxes for a healthy dinner meal. Bonus, there’s usually enough left for lunch.
Thankfully, tomorrow morning we’re scheduled for a guided hike (more of a walk) at the arboretum. Always informational, but mostly I need to log some steps (and eat some salads). I’m hoping that all of the laughing today counts as an ab workout. If only. If that counted as a workout I’d be thin as a rail with washboard abs. I laugh a lot but those blackout cookies don’t care.
That’s it, my wonderful Friday - time with my sister and too much food. I’m a lucky duck. I hope that your Friday has been good for your soul. If not, I hope the weekend fills the gap. If all else fails, eat a cookie.
Sending out some love tonight. Take what you need.
Stay safe, stay well.
Nancy
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The Day Before and Officially Day 1 in Korea
We are off to Korea! I made it to JFK on Monday, and we drove the airport on Tuesday morning to make our 1:50 flight. Big props to the TSA agents at JFK - they are some of the nicest people that I have ever met, and thank you so much for not making this experience a nightmare that it could have been.
I would also like to make tribute to my toner that did not make it through security, but bless the security agent who let my face wash pass because it was approximately 3 oz. She is a true American hero, and if I could award Purple Hearts, she would be my number 1 recipient.
Let it be known that the flight from USA to Korea is not made for the wary. If you've been affected by the Asian diaspora, want to meet your home country, but hate long trips, sorry, wait another hundred years for teleportation to be invented.
The flight is a solid 14 hours and then some, and it is brutal. I think everyone looked at the flight time at around the 4 hour mark and couldn't believe that it had been only four hours. However, if you ever find yourself in this position, here are some friendly tips to make your ride as enjoyable as possible:
Don't watch any recent movies
Don't watch any recent TV shoes
Have a stack of books to get through
In-flight television is amazing. I was able to watch three movies on my watchlist: The Menu, M3GAN, and The Woman King. All three of them were great in their own special way and deserve their own blog post on what made each of them a great watch and helped greatly pass the time hour by hour.
Rose and I had wanted to stay up the entire flight, but we ended up sleeping for a couple of hours. That and the flight was punctuated with meals, it was hard to find a period of time where you felt comfortable to sleep. Being up for over 20 hours can break you, and while I was irrationally fearing that I would be deported for being too ugly, it honestly wasn't too horrid.
When we finally touched down to Korea, you can almost immediately tell you were in the a different country. The mountains looked pinched up, as someone was molding the earth with their fingers, so unlike the spikes you see in America.
In the US, we were missing the weather that just broke the heatwave. In Korea, the weather is supposed to feel like in the 100's. In a country that doesn't have too much AC, this is just another trial by fire we will need to suffer through.
The airport security wasn't as strict as it was in the US - we essentially just had to give the guards our passport and we were scotch free. We waited a while for our baggage claim, exchanged currency at the airport, and walked out our first steps in a new country.
The first thing I noticed in Korea was that there isn't as many trees. Due to industrialization, they must have paved down a lot of roads and cut down as many tress as possible. Many have been replanted and only not just making it into their senior years. It was a vast difference to Harrisburg where you couldn't make it ten feet without reaching a forest of some kind.
The roads were similar to America. We had an hour drive from Incheon to Seoul, where my family lived, and we passed by sights like giant statues and other art along the way. Incheon is the only national airport in Korea, and so if they wanted to impress their international visitors, this was the way to do it.
Our first destination in Korea was my aunt's home where we had kimbap and mukguk along with spicy pork ribs. The food was delicious, and all home cooking really is. It was here that I experienced first-hand Korean drinking culture.
They love beer.
Granted, I like a good beer myself, but they love beer. With dinner, we drank beer alongside a glass of water. On the other end of the table, they were pouring themselves glasses of soju alongside drinking beer. Everyone was encouraging to drink more and more, and honestly, I could not keep up.
The funniest part was that after dinner, everyone wanted to go out again to drink more beer and eat more food. Rose told me that whenever you have dinner, just be prepared to eat more afterwards, and she was not kidding.
After dinner, we all decided that we would go get chi-maek or Chicken and Maekju (beer). There I had 4 glasses of probably some of the tastiest beer I ever had, had popcorn (popcorn!) as a replacement for chips, and some of the butteriest fried chicken in the world.
It was also so fucking tasty, and honestly, I wish I had room to have eaten more of it.
We went to the convenience store afterwards to pick up some snacks, toiletries, and drinks, and I am so happy to report that there are a number of different beverages to try out. My favorite are the teas, but there are also a lot of ice coffees I want to try before I leave. Maybe I put out a beverage ranking post in the future as well.
Writing this, I am a little homesick, but I am excited to see what is next in store. Today is our first day exploring Seoul proper, and I can't wait to see what is next.
Until next time.
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Orphan: First Kill (2022)
I know 2009’s Orphan strains plausibility but its demented nature is exactly the kind of thing I lean into. The 2022 prequel, Orphan: First Kill also indulges in the same sort of loopiness but it could've gone even further. The biggest issue with this film is that it doesn’t assign its running time well; wasting time on a first half that’s a lot of “been there, done that” when there's so much stuff in its second half it could expand upon.
In 2007, psychiatric patient Leena Klammer (Isabelle Fuhrman), a 31-year-old woman with a rare hormonal disorder that makes her look like a 10-year-old child escapes from the Saarne Institute. Masquerading as Esther Albright, a child who disappeared 4 years ago, she is brought “home” to wealthy artist Allen (Rossif Sutherland), his wife Tricia (Julia Stiles) and their teenage son, Gunnar (Matthew Finlan).
There are at least 2 dead bodies before the plot even kicks in, which makes the title a misnomer... but never mind. After Leena/Esther's escape, "First Kill" tries to establish its murderous, insane protagonist as a master manipulator who can con her way out of any situation… but fails to convince us. Once accepted as the missing Albright girl, “Esther” makes all sorts of mistakes that you figure will reveal her as an obvious fake. It’s actually a bit frustrating because the first half of the movie is just repeating what we saw in 2009. Esther pretends to be sweet and innocent but she encounters these nasty people that make her true nature emerge, she’s got this thing for the father, the mom starts suspecting something is up, etc. The only major deviations are the prequel-y scenes that answer questions you really didn't need answering: how she learned how to make art with those black light paints, how she managed to get all the way from Estonia to the United States, etc. It's not surprising until we get to a critical point in the story. To tell you what happens means spoiling a big event about halfway through but I don’t feel too bad about doing this, since, without this innovation, the movie isn't doing anything interesting.
We learn - in a deliciously loony scene - that mommy has always known that Esther wasn’t the real thing. She knows the real Esther is dead - accidentally killed by her older brother. Now the tiny demon is trapped in a house with two people as - if not more - despicable than she is. It makes for a really interesting turn. Officially, we're supposed to care for the innocent bystanders - not the killers - in horror film sequels but this movie knows who we really came to see. It makes up for the unremarkable intro. In fact, it's too bad we don't spend even more time with this scenario. Maybe then we'd understand why Esther might think she could ever seduce Allen. As is, they just don't have enough scenes together for you to even believe she's fallen in love with him. I'm sort of so-so on this film, leaning a bit more towards recommending it than not but the second half of this movie makes me want to see another picture, one that pushes good taste aside even further and maybe has her worm her way into a family where the dad is just as twisted and evil as her.
While there are missed opportunities in Orphan: First Kill and there are a few points where it struggles with all of the questions we “wanted” answered, this picture won me over by the end. Initially, the film is treading on a lot of familiar territory but the second half moves in a clever and unexpected direction. I don’t know if it’s wild enough to get someone who wasn’t a fan of the original to be enthusiastic about it but as someone who really enjoyed the original, I feel Orphan: First Kill growing on me. (October 12, 2022)
#Orphan#Orphan: First Kill#movies#films#movie reviews#film reviews#Horror Movies#Horror Films#WIlliam Brent Bell#David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick#Alex Mace#Isabelle Fuhrman#Rossif Sutherland#Hiro Kanagawa#Matthew Finlan#Julia Stiles#2022 movies#2022 films
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