Ok yes no im dead..everyone literally ignored asgore LIKE WHAAAAT not only tumblr but tiktok,youtube,ao3 and everywhere else TT like when i told my friends if they heard the name undertale they went "oh you mean sans?" ASGORE

but awweh imagine going on a date with him just you resting ur head on his chest after you two are done drinking tea and watching anime cuz I said so and him playing w ur hair

I have some words w this fandom

OH THANK GOD I WAS READY DO DO EVERYTHING AGAIN but I can't..my..doggy..can't leave ma boy alone smh

HAH I would help u with that..mcpeepaw..no-

Oh btw is ur Internet okay now? Just curious and obviously not hormny

-🧅

Wonderful you came by..

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A/n: Yknow I had to do it man,, it was too good of an opportunity not too, but my internet is still out so I won't be able to post anything huge but I can post smaller stuff!!

Warnings: None!!! Simply pure fluff drabble guys ily all

[ masc!reader | masc pronouns used ]

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With the sun dropping down behind the mountains and moon in the horizon it didn't take much convincing for a resigned king to drop the shears in a now empty watering can to simply stare at the lovely marigolds, stroked by the gentle light as if the world seemed to praise the flowers lovely existence, it caused the monster to let out a deep rumble in response catering back. Albeit odd to some within the gardens he'd spent day and night slaving over for the school their ex-wife taught at. The mere thought sent a twinge of melancholic memories to their poor mind, but it did remind the goat about something further important then twiddling his thumbs about the past.

You.. Oh, his darling, such a sweet boy you were truly. Wondering back into his mind like a tidal wave melted all feeling from his body only to shiver in the chilled air, but he seemed to be growing quite warm in the face with slight color peeking from beneath his sheen white fur. Brushing it off only to become more giddy with their movements as Asgore rushed to put away their tools for tomorrow and begin walking down the street back home, eager to see their little guy stare up at him with those lovely doe eyes, that somehow always seemed to be filled with pure adoration towards the king, oh truly did they feel smitten toward his human.

No matter how you two started, with the distaste and solemn sadness plastered in his being when you'd walked into the flower shop. Only for it to morph in confusion after pushing the bouquet you'd asked for far too many opinion on back into Asgore's hands after paying. Back then the certain fondness the boy had sent him before walking out without much more had left them wondering if you'd come back, and then you had. Every other Wensday you'd walk into the shop to buy flowers from him just to never accept it after paying no matter how much Asgore had seemed to insist upon you taking them. It became routine until the point he'd stop even asking you and plopping them into a vase next to the register with fondness, at least until not showing up for ovee half a year. It was so lonely as each Wensday at 5pm they'd sit in the shop simply awaiting you to walk through those doors just to rest you elbows on the counter with buttercups in hand as you'd compliment the shirt he'd put on that day.

It wasn't until Spring the next year Asgore would be graced to see the boy, who had them hooked from the first honey sweet compliment spilled from your lips slow like molasses driving them mad with curiosity and a certain sadness when it all seemed to go away, but what a joy it was after slipping into the store silently to walk up and hold out flowers you'd been growing in your own backyard in attempts to impress the retired king did realization hit them. Though once he did his precious baby boy pressed many kisses along their face passing soft praise and sweet nothings!

The ingrained memory always seemed to paint a lopsided smile on Asgore's face, once gaining sight of your shared home it took much restraint to simply sprint to the door no matter how much pain it'd cause later. Though with your previous scolding in mind the king had taken their time before breezing inside the home silently as to surprise you, but what he didn't expect was snacks to be on the coffee table and a warm blanket to be on the large couch as a TV was playing those add cartoons with a low volume almost sounding like static to their ears. Asgore couldnt help but feel his heart thump within their ribcage at the sight of you buried between the blankets sleeping peacefully.

Slipping off their shoes next to the couch and trying to lower themselves down beneath the covers with you only to have you stir away with bleary eyes from sleep to have a soft fondness at him being there. Oh such a sweet boy you were, after a few moments of you pressing small kisses to the back of the kings hands and a soft yawn you'd moved to sit in their lap with your legs splayed to once side resting your head on Asgore's chest to listen to their soft heartbeat gently drafting back into a blank nothingness of comfort. It wasn't perfect, nor did you two speak many words. But Asgore wouldn't trade times like this with you for the world.

Christmas present (Tom Holland x reader) - smut!

Word count: 2.8k

Description: Christmas sex with your husband Tom on the floor right next to the christmas tree.

Warnings: Pretty much smut in all of it’s glory, just a little dominant Tom.

Note: Is it too late for a christmas imagine? Watch me still post this! I really wanted to write something smutty and holiday-related, so I hope you enjoy this. Merry christmas ya’ filthy animals!

Masterlist

Christmas has always been a wonderful holiday for you, especially since now you got to celebrate it not only with Tom, but with your beautiful twins. This was your third christmas with them, and each time you tried to make it more magical for the kids. The presents part played a huge role, although you didn't want to spoil them of course, but what kid doesn't get happy opening Santa's gifts on christmas morning? That happiness always filled your hearts with joy, so it was your duty as parents to make them believe for as long as possible that a magical creature was giving them stuff for being on the 'nice list'.

Of course they were stubborn and you had caught them before trying to sneak on the middle of the night to find Santa, which is why this year Tom had to take them to bed and stay with them until they fell asleep, so you could put the presents under the tree without them seeing anything until the actual christmas morning.

"Are you done now?" A voice behind you broke the silence startling you, making you slightly jump and almost throw the wrapped present in your hand.

You turned around and calmed yourself down when you saw your husband laughing at your reaction as he entered the living room. The fireplace and the dim lights of the christmas tree were the only things that illuminated the dark space.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me. I thought the boys had caught me" You said, putting a hand on your chest to feel your increased heartbeat slowing down.

"You know I love it when you call me pet names darling, but I'm not really feeling the 'Jesus Christ'" He joked, feigning disgust with a scrunched nose.

You rolled your eyes at him and tried your hardest to keep yourself from smiling at his sassy comment and adorable face, turning around and bending down to finally put the last present under the tree. As you got up from your position you felt his thick arms wrap your body from behind, placing his head on your shoulder. The christmas hat you all wore for the family photo was still in his head as well as yours, the fluffy fabric tingling your neck.

"The kids are sleep now, are you done yet?" He asked once again, trying not to sound so desperate. You shook your head, but before you could reply his lips lightly brushed your ear. "I still have to give you my christmas present" He whispered in a husky voice, and you didn't even need to turn around to know there was a smirk plastered on his face.

You felt goosebumps travel through your arms for a second, when Tom got in the mood to seduce you the little fucker was an expert in it, he knew he only needed a few words in the right tone to have you in the palm of his hand.

And this time was no exception.

"We just need to eat the cookies they left for Santa" You finally replied, trying to keep your voice as steady as possible, although Tom didn't need to hear your voice quiver to know you were already melting under him.

"Such a shame love, I was thinking about eating something else" He said, his british accent always made everything sound sexier.

For a second you both felt grateful you were wearing an off shoulder dress, because it gave him the perfect access to kiss your neck. He began leaving a trace of wet kisses all the way from the crook of your neck to your shoulder, making sure he sucked on all the right spots to leave some barely noticeable marks.

But he knew damn well they were there.

"Fuck, Tom" You couldn't help the little moan that escaped your mouth, and you felt his body vibrate behind you when stopped his kisses to chuckle at you.

Four years of marriage and he would never get tired of the way he made you moan.

He continued kissing your neck as he trailed his hands down your back to unzip your dress, you felt a cold wave of air hit you for a second when the fabric fell on the floor, although you found warmth immediately when he wrapped his arms around you once again, this time leaving kisses further down your back.

"God, you're so gorgeous" His husky voice and his kisses were enough to make your breathing louder and more desperate, something Tom loved and couldn't help to smirk at.

Since he was having way too much fun at the way you reacted under his touch, you decided to play a little with him and wiggled your ass on his already growing crotch. You heard him suck in a breath as his cock twitched under his pants against your hard ass.

"What love? Do you like it when I do that?" You innocently asked, moving your ass again but your hips were soon stopped when he placed his firm hands on them.

"Oh darling, you're such a naughty naughty girl" He shook his head in disapproval, turning you around to face him in a quick movement, his left hand was resting on your cheek now and his other hand was placed in your waist to keep you in place. "Naughty girls don't get presents, do they baby?"

Even though the room was barely illuminated you could still see the playful lust glistening in his eyes, and the way he bit his bottom lip while he ran his eyes through your whole body, now only covered by some sexy underwear you had for the occasion, was sending you through the edge.

"I can assure you honey, I've been a good girl" You batted your eyelashes innocently at him, placing your hand on top of his to give it a light peck. "Will you reward me for being good?" You smirked at him "Please?"

You brought your hand to his crotch to gently squeeze it, and the way his body tensed up by your action was hard to miss. Tom had to chuckle once again as he licked his bottom lip, every time he seemed to have taken control over the situation you managed to turn the roles around.

But he always knew how to take back control.

"First you're gonna have to prove me that you're a good girl, and then you can have your reward" He said before taking your hand from his crotch so he could walk a step back. He crossed his arms over his chest, making his muscles pop up under his shirt. "On your knees, now" He ordered and you couldn't help the way your heart began beating faster at his bossiness.

You immediately complied knowing exactly what you had to do, and wasted no time in moving your hands to his belt to unbuckle it and quickly take down his pants, his very noticeable erection was left only covered by his underwear.

"Someone's eager" He teased at the way you quickly removed his clothes and you could only laugh, because you knew damn well he was eager too.

You put your hands on the elastic of the boxer, playing with it for a few seconds before finally pulling them down, Tom's hard dick hit his abdomen as soon as it was freed from the fabric. You took a firm grip on it admiring the view, and almost missed the way he softly squirmed under your touch, you looked at him straight in the eyes before defending your eagerness.

"Pardon me darling, I was also thinking about eating something else the whole night" You winked at him referencing what he had said before, and with that said you finally put his hard cock in your mouth.

"Fuck darling" He let out a breath he was holding, and now he was the one melting under your touch.

You began slowly sucking his swollen pink tip, running your tongue up and down half his length while one of your hands pumped the other half. You kept your eyes focused on him, as you knew how much Tom loved eye contact while you sucked his dick.

"Oh baby" Tom had to control his moans from being too loud as your mouth wrapped around his member, almost swallowing his whole length. "D-don't stop honey" His once bossy voice was becoming quite submissive now, you loved the power you had over him.

Tom had always adored the view of you sucking his cock on your knees, this time in particular was driving him crazy, considering your red lipstick perfectly matched the christmas hat still on your head.

"Look at you, such a good girl ... always taking me so easy" He praised, as he moved his hands to the back of your bra to unclasp it and throw it away, giving him a perfect view of your boobs.

You smirked and stopped sucking for a moment, his dick leaving your mouth with a loud 'pop' as you held it with your hand.

"I told you I could be good, love" You said, slightly wiggling your boobs at him from your kneeling position "Now why don't you prove me how good you are and show me those pretty abs of yours" You said, dropping his member to unbutton his shirt, yet he stopped your hands before you even did anything.

"I'll take care of that, you continue what you're doing darling" He ordered once again, and you had to ignore the way your pussy got wetter at his words.

You just nodded and put his cock back in your mouth, the member was so hard one might've thought it physically hurt him, when in fact he was enjoying every bit of it.

He was quick to unbutton his shirt and take it off, the only fabric now on your bodies were the christmas hats on your heads and the pair of panties you still had on. You admired his chiseled body as you kept savoring every bit of his cock, loving too much the way it traveled down your mouth.

Tom admired the view from his position as he tried his hardest not to moan out loud, your swollen lips had the red lipstick smudged around your mouth and on his cock, and your tits occasionally bounced with your movements.

Tom put his hands behind your head to try to push it deeper on his member but he found it easier to begin thrusting in and out of your mouth, making you gag a little bit when it hit the back of your throat but he knew you didn't mind. In fact, he was sure your panties were probably drenched in the juices of your dripping pussy.

And yes, he was damn right.

Tom began grunting and throwing his head back in pleasure as it became harder to keep his composure, and he knew it wouldn't be long until he drowned you in his cum. To him, there's nothing he loves more than coming in your mouth and admiring the way you swallow everything, but in this exact moment he still wanted to fuck your brains out in that cute little hat.

He thought about taking you to bedroom to finish your session there, but the bed seemed to be too far now, and fucking you next to the christmas tree was a fantasy he had been dreaming about the whole season.

So he couldn't come just yet. At least not until he had his cock inside you.

He suddenly pulled back from your mouth and you yelped when you felt the cold floor under you as he laid you down right next to the tree. You didn't even have time to process anything before he spread your legs around him and moved your panties to side, thrusting into your wet pussy without a single warning.

"Oh fuck, yes Tom yes" You took no time to moan his name and throw your head back, and Tom had to cover your mouth to keep you from screaming his name out and waking up the kids.

"Shh Y/n, remember you have to be a good girl. You don't wanna get caught, do you?" He teasingly asked as he harshly pounded into you, and you shook your head. "Fuck how I love this pussy, always wet for me" He continued in a low voice, loving the way his cock buried between your wet folds.

Harsh breaths and panting filled the room, along with the sound of your skin clashing together. Tom was clenching his jaw to keep his grunts minimal, from how tight your walls clenched around him to the way your boobs bounced under him he was having a hard time containing his moans.

"Shit darling, you feel so good" He panted, putting his hands on your waist to help him slam into you harder.

"Oh right there baby, don't stop" You moaned, he was stretching your walls just right.

You also knew you shouldn't be too loud, even when his dick filled you so good it made you want to let the entire neighborhood know you were his and only his. You looked at the ceiling, and smiled when you realized you were fucking right under the mistletoe you had put up that morning, Tom followed your gaze and smirked too when he saw the hanging plant.

"Mistletoe means kiss" He announced like a little child smiling, before lowering his body for his lips to meet yours.

He put a hand on your left side for support while the other cupped your cheek, his tongue already dancing with yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck to kiss him deeper and your legs around his torso, moaning into the passionate kiss when he began hitting that spot. His thrusts began getting sloppier, you knew he was close, but so were you.

Moments like these were the ones you were most grateful for, passionately making love under a mistletoe with your husband, only wearing christmas hats because you felt like it. Your sweaty bodies were only illuminated by the lights on the tree yet they were enough to even see Tom's tiny freckles.

The moment was just perfect.

"I'm so close baby" You moaned out on his lips, feeling the pleasure building up and running through your body. "H-harder please" You begged as you needed him to be just a little rougher, covering your own mouth when he complied and harshly slammed into you.

"Fuck darling, you drive me crazy" He grunted as he picked up the pace, he felt how your pussy contracted around him signaling you were indeed close. "Come for me baby girl, I'm right behind you" He felt his member starting to twitch inside your pussy, begging for a much needed release.

"Shit shit Tom– I'm ..." You couldn't finish your sentence as your body finally released the tension, a wave of pleasure invaded your whole body as your legs shook on his sides. You couldn't catch your breath for a second, as the orgasm left you as a panting mess on the floor.

"Fuck, darling" Tom wasn't so far behind, he grunted one last time before pounding into you a few more times until he couldn't hold on anymore.

Tom didn't know what got to him, but he took his dick out of you as soon as you came and pumped it a few times on your body, coming all over your stomach. You felt the warm liquid fall on your still shaking body as you rode out your high, smirking when you saw Tom's flustered face as he spread his load on you.

He looked so cute coming with that christmas hat.

And you looked so hot all sweaty and covered in his cum.

He finally laid down beside you, his panting matching yours, the exhaustion from your previous activities finally catching up on you. You took the christmas hat off your head to clean the salty substance from your body, throwing it to the side when you were finally dry.

You rolled to your side to cuddle him and placed your head on his chest, hearing his rapid heartbeat under you as he played gently with your hair.

"I told you I was a good girl, although I can be naughty when I want to" You whispered, his chest vibrating as he laughed.

"A good girl? Honey you're the best" He affirmed before softly kissing your forehead, he couldn't help the smile on his face. "Merry Christmas darling"

"Merry Christmas baby" You whispered, smiling back at him and leaving a light peck on his chest.

"Now let's eat those cookies and go to bed before those little earthquakes find out Santa's not real" He laughed, grabbing a blanket from the couch beside you to cover your bodies, but before you could stand up, you noticed two little boys standing with their mouths wide open in the entrance of the living room.

"Santa is not what?"

hey! since it’s joot’s bday, can i request him and the reader celebrating his bday?? 💕 thank you! btw i love your writing it’s so good 🥺💖💖

[ Pushed this one into priority since it’s his birthday - don’t worry, I’m still working on other requests! c: ]

When you awoke that morning, a smile upon your face, heart racing and mind buzzing with plans, ideas, speculations, hopes and dreams and wonders, it was as instantaneous as a nerve synapse sending a jolt of excitement throughout your body, reminding you over and over (although you certainly didn’t require the reminder) that today was one of the most important days of the year.  The man of the day lay awake beside you, sitting up with his bedside lamp on, browsing through a marine biology magazine.  By the sleep in his eyes you could tell he hadn’t been awake for very long - good news for you.  He didn’t so much as have a cup of coffee yet, and you committed that fact to memory as you hesitantly emerged from under the covers, gaining his attention.  “Good morning, birthday boy,” you greeted with a grin, leaning over his chest to catch a glimpse of his reading material.  Most of the words were a foreign language to you, but that didn’t matter, so long as he was content with them, which, you noted, he was, between your glances up and him and down at the magazine.  You liked the pictures.  You could understand those.  Marine life truly was beautiful, even if you didn’t understand all the ins and outs of it all.  

You didn’t receive a response save for a small pat on your head, a hand running through your hair, and a small noise of approval from Jotaro, who never once broke contact with the magazine.  To him, this was bliss.  You fixed yourself back to your side of the bed, slinging your legs off the side and preparing to hop out only for his voice to stop you in your tracks.

“Where are you going?” his voice was still raspy from resting, and your head tilted to the side, opening your mouth to reply only for him to continue, “Stay with me for a little longer.”  The words melted your conflicted heart, whose tug-of-war between ideas was easily overcome by his request, and you smiled, more than happy to oblige, settling your head against his chest in an area he’d lifted his arm from, mechanically forming a spot for you to sync into him without second thought, you falling against him and his arm wrapping around you.  Coffee could wait, then.  Jotaro wasn’t the biggest cuddler in the world, but nevertheless he enjoyed your presence against him, even if his attention wasn’t completely devoted to you: just knowing that you were there, against him, irremovable and irreplaceable, was more than enough.  Your eyes followed his across the pages, diverging whenever a picture appeared.  Every now and then you’d recognize a fish from prior marine magazines or photographs, and, with great enthusiasm, would ask Jotaro if it was indeed the animal you thought it was.  With every correct answer he would give a nod and something like pride would bloom in his eyes.  In this volume, a variety of aquarium-ready species were being analyzed, most of which you knew, but every now and then a new surprise leaping up.  You’d ask what it was, and Jotaro would tell you the name, in addition to what it liked, the tank requirements, salinity levels, chemical balances, pH and hardness requirements, and ideal temperatures and habitats for it.  The sound of his stoic, confident voice fell like a beautiful song of tranquility against your ears.  

Eventually, upon reaching the second to last page, you shot up, a squeal escaping you.  Whatever that was, it was adorable!  “Jotaro, which one is this?” you inquired with puppy-dog eyes, guiding his view over to the specific picture with your pointer finger, staring up at him and awaiting a reply.

A corner of his lip tugged up.  “You like that one?  It’s a dog-faced pufferfish.”

“A dog-faced pupperfish?”  Your eyebrows knitted together with confusion as you examined it closer.  It did have a face reminiscent of a dog, but….“Isn’t that a little redundant?”

“Pufferfish,” he corrected, his chest rumbling against your body in a small snort dangerously close to forming a laugh.  He took your hand in his and guided it to the footnotes section of the page.  “They tell you here.  Good grief…”

You chuckled in response, a flush rising to your cheeks and planting a kiss on the bottom of his jawline as you slowly pulled away.  This time, he allowed you to do so, and you slipped out of the room and into the kitchen, taking two mugs and filling them with Jotaro’s favorite coffee blend, fixing it up just the way he liked it, before calling him out to the dining room after you’d finished making his favorite breakfast.  He wasn’t much of a morning person, or a night person, or an evening person, or - wait, where were you going with this?  Your thoughts were quelled as he emerged in the doorframe and took a seat next to you.  “Thanks.”

“Of course,” you replied, warmth radiating into you from his presence, watching as he dug in only for you to do the same.  A quiet morning like this was sometimes uncommon, so you thanked whatever greater spirit that may or may not have run the universe that today was such a day.  He deserved nothing less than perfection on his birthday.  And you were determined to deliver it.  After you were done and the dishes put into the sink, you began to implement your plan.  

Your first stop was the city aquarium.  Not the local one - that was way too small, and you knew it.  Besides, you were pretty certain Jotaro had already memorized all the types of fish there, and that wouldn’t be as fun as experiencing a new one.  You’d never been yourself, but it was huge.  As you and Jotaro strolled through, he’d occasionally point out a species or two per each exhibit, going over its basic information, only for you to point to a good four or five with childlike animation and ask if he knew what they were.  Usually he had some idea, but it was cute when he didn’t.  He’d rest his head in his hand, index finger lining against the bottom of his lip as he thought it over, only to give you a shrug as an answer.  Just as quickly as you were willing to put his knowledge to the test he was ready to do the same with you.  He made sure to pick easy ones, ones that almost everybody knew, giving you a nod every time you got one right (and bonus points if you could describe the species in more depth besides its name).  The way that you stood on your tip-toes or knelt down was adorable to him as you attempted to face the fish.  It was like you were saying hello to them, always offering a smile, before turning with your final verdict back to Jotaro for judgement.  When you messed up, it was usually with more difficult species, and you’d always pout without his praise, to which he would offer you his knowledge, and you would commit it to memory.  He hadn’t known where he was going when he initially got in the car with you.  Of course, he knew it was his birthday, the first one he would be sharing with you, but he was honestly surprised at how far out of your way you’d gone for him so far.  To some, that might not have been much, but it was everything to him.  There was nothing better than enjoying his most beloved hobby with his most beloved person in the entire world.  Usually his birthdays were just like any other day, he saw no purpose to elevating it as though it had some special purpose, of course, he knew you would’ve been planning something or other.  

As the two of you neared the end of the exhibits, a familiar face caught your attention, and you dashed off from Jotaro, who had lost you within the blink of an eye, narrowing his eyes and searching for you only to find you at the last tank, where you were bent over and fawning over something he couldn’t see.  “Jotaro!  Look, it’s the dog-faced pufferfish!”

He settled in step beside you, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning forwards to get a better view of the reason you were so elated.  Even he had to admit it was pretty cute.  And he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t considered setting up an aquarium of his own, maybe in your bedroom, with marine life of its own, including if not especially those beautiful ‘pupperfish,’ as you had decided to call them.  The fish followed your face as you moved about its tank, keeping speed with you as though it never wanted your face to disappear, wiggling its tail as though a thrilled elementary-schooler at the sight of candy.  The fish’s disposition was reflected in you, a giant grin plastered over your face as you watched it.  “Do you like them?” you queried, taking a step back and instead fixing your expression back on your boyfriend.

“They’re interesting,” he replied, which was basically his way of saying ‘yes.’  He cast you a glance before beginning to walk off, you trailing behind him as you asked where the two of you were going next.  You already had a place in mind, but for whatever reason Jotaro seemed determined to designate the next choice to himself, and, as it was his birthday, you relented.  Whatever he wanted was what you wanted.  

To your surprise, he took you to an aquarium store.  You’d both visited often to look at the fish and plan for tanks together one day, Jotaro making up most of the compositions, of course, as you were still very clearly a novice with respects to fishkeeping, and you were rather excited to be there once more until your phone shook in your pocket.  You flicked it on and nearly threw it across the room.  Of course.  Of all the times your gift could have been ready, it was now.  Right as you walked into the place that had made it.  And, of course, as soon as the two of you began making your rounds, one of the workers called out your name.  Jotaro cast you a confused gaze as you followed the employee, him deciding to let you sort out whatever business you had there, the nature of which he couldn’t so much as put a finger upon.  

Well.  You’d planned to show it to him when it would arrive at your house, but, as the worker regretfully informed you, the only vehicle capable of such a large delivery was currently out of commission.  Basically, you were left with two options.  Give Jotaro his present in the presence of plenty of others, or show it to him at your house presumably days after the actual celebration was over.  Wonderful.  You pleaded with the employee, who simply shook her head and attempted to explain there wasn’t the slightest possibility that the two-hundred-gallon tank would fit in any of their sedans.  Admittedly you knew it wasn’t their fault, but you hated the fact that either way you’d have to ruin his gift like this.  

Just as Jotaro was beginning to head over to you, you stuck your head out from behind the aisle of custom-made tanks with various home-carved wood finishings, offering him a nervous grin.  “Hey, Jotaro, I’ve got something to show you over here.”

The tone of your voice and confusion within your own expression slightly startled him, but he gave you a nod and rounded the corner, only to be greeted with one of the most beautiful aquariums he’d ever laid eyes on.  The wood trimmings, stand, and cover were all a dark brown, embroidered with a small pattern of waves along the tops and bottoms, running the full length of the gigantic tank.  Tall drawers, perfect for sump storage, equipment placing, and settling food drew the bottom compartment into three sections, while atop the glass cover just beneath the chestnut top lay two LED lights, both with a variety of settings to encourage different aspects of aquarium growth.  He’d taken you here to get a small tank (big enough for the desired fish to be comfortable, of course) for your bedside, spurred by your reaction at the aquarium and how fond you were of his hobby, but now he was completely and totally at a loss for words.

“I’m sorry.  This isn’t exactly the ideal place to give you your gift, but I couldn’t get it delivered today, and I didn’t want it to be late,” you apologized, folding your hands in front of you nervously as you took a few steps back, showcasing the full size of the tank.  “But you were always talking about how you wanted an aquarium in the bedroom, so I thought I could get one customized for us.  I didn’t know what size, but I stole one of your books to get the dimensions needed for your favorite species,” you chuckled, trepidation still causing your voice to waver as you took in the unchanged expression of your boyfriend.  

He took a step toward you and, much to your surprise, slung his arm around your neck, a somewhat stunned incredulous (well, subtly surprised, but that was pretty much ‘shocked’ under Jotaro standards) look overcoming his face as he took it all in once more.  This was his?  That was where his book had gone?  You’d prepared all of this?  For him?  “[Y/n],” he began, and you tensed, awaiting some sort of disappointment, “thank you.  This is beautiful.”

You gave him a relieved hug.  “Of course!  It’s your birthday, after all.  I’m just sorry we have to wait to get it home.”

“Just knowing you did this - that it’s even here - is enough for me,” he responded lowly, hugging you to his side for a moment before letting go and heading back to the fish aisles

With befuddlement, you stumbled on after him, asking, “Wait, wait, what are you doing?” as you struggled to catch up with his long legs.

“Well, we have a tank.  I think some planning is next,” he replied, gesturing towards the vast variety of marine animals the store housed.  You broke into a smile and joined him.

Your eyes were absolutely taken by the gorgeous rainbow of colors that lay before you, everything from live rock to corals to fish to invertebrates, horseshoe crabs sifting through the sand in the brackish exhibits and gobies sticking their heads out from their holes in sync with their shrimp companions.  Where would the two of you even start?  Sure, you’d planned for Jotaro’s favorites, but he wasn’t exactly the most forthcoming with those ideas, so a great deal of it was left to the imagination.  

The both of you drew to a halt at a familiar sight.  You let out an enthralled gasp, suddenly forgetting everything around you at the view of the tank, watching those sweet faces press against the glass to meet yours.

Jotaro’s chuckle was the only thing keeping you tethered to reality.  “Then we’re starting with a dog-faced puffer.”  

submission:

@joonzreina: “hi tum, how are you?!. i wanna congratulate you on your 100 milestone!. keep up the good work!. if you don’t mind, may i please request a matchup with the hq boys only please?. i am she/her, straight, latina, and 5”0. i have light brown eyes, long dark curly brown hair, and curly bangs. my personality is described as wild, crazy, hilarious, hot tempered, blunt, sarcastic, brave, loyal, and kindhearted. i only have a 3 best friends that are like family to me. i will stand up for myself and them no matter what!. i’m a leader too. my hobbies consists of me watching anime, kdramas,/netflix, sleeping, eating, reading manga,webtoons, and astrology. i am a huge believer in astrology!. i love listening to rap/rnb and kpop!. i’m a very affectionate person too and who isn’t afraid of skinship. i would kiss my man on the lips all the time!. what i look for in a man is for him to respect me, who loves affection/skinship, tall, sweet, caring, funny, understanding, protect me, loves affection, and who will always be there with me through thick and thin. my aesthetic would be baddie vibes, like dark red colors, black, sexy colors, light pink, and just i don’t give a fuck vibes/bad bitch energy!. i’m 20 years old old so NSFW would be good to put!. my favorite color is pink and neon green!. thank you so so much tum, you’re such a sweetheart!. i hope you have a wonderful night!. take care hun!. i can’t wait to see what content you post!”

notes: firstly, thank you so much for your kind words, sweetpea 🥺 i love seeing your url in my notifs, your support means the world to me! i really hope you approve of this matchup, because much like the last one, bo was the first person i thought of after reading what you sent. thanks again for your sweet self and i hope to see you more ❥ drabble under the cut because it does include NSFW content!

why i matched you:

» i might be completely biased when saying this, but bokuto is literally the whole package when it comes to relationships. he will always be there for you, will always protect you, will love you unconditionally, etc. like there is not a single thing he wouldn’t do for you once you have him wrapped around your little finger. 

» bokuto loves how passionate you are about your friends/family because he feels the same way about his loved ones. he knows you’d do anything for them, and finds it incredibly admirable that you’re willing to go through extreme lengths to protect them. he values loyalty a whole lot, so you’re a perfect partner for him in that aspect!

» your confidence and bravery are definitely somethings that attract him the most to you. we all know he’s got his lil’ “emo” moments, because in reality he does have the tendency to doubt himself and his abilities when faced with certain challenges he doesn’t know he’s ready for. but you’re always there to help him see how he is capable of facing those challenges! your own self confidence really pushes him to be the best he can possibly be, and he really idolizes you for that. even if there are times where you actually end up being the one to struggle, he’ll never fail to remind you how proud of you he is and how much he looks up to you!

» affectionate? bokuto’s got you covered. man LOVES having near constant skin-on-skin contact with you. whether it’s a hand wrapped around your waist/shoulders, fingers interlocked with his, or even resting his chin on your head, he’s gonna take advantage of any chance he gets to hold you. his favorite thing to do is come up behind you when you least expect it to wrap his arms around you, bury his nose in the crook of your neck, and whisper how much he missed you/loves you against your skin. the action never fails to make you smile.

» bokuto absolutely ADORES your aesthetic, he’s constantly in a state of “how can someone be so adorable yet so hot at the same time?”. because it’s true! your bad bitch persona really meshes well with your sweet n’ kind personality, and it definitely threw him for a loop at first. but now? baby he praises you CONSTANTLY. there’s not a day that goes by where he isn’t complimenting what you’re wearing, how your hair looks, how sharp your eyeliner is, etc. like he is your personal hypeman. and you DESERVE it.

» bokuto is really the kinda guy to keep you on your toes, but that’s just part of his appeal. there’s never a dull moment with him and he loves seeing you smile or giggle because of his antics. you really just make his heart melt like a marshmallow over a campfire with everything you do so he wants to make sure he’s enough for you with everything he does. he’s gonna give you his all no matter what - so make sure you’re prepared for that kinda commitment, because this boy will want to put a ring on your finger someday!

drabble:

“Kou, c’mon, I’m trying to finish this chapter!” You whine halfheartedly to your absolute brick wall of a boyfriend, who is currently laying open mouthed kisses at the space just between your neck and collarbone. Your attempts at pushing him away are futile, and you begin to wonder if he has always been this dense. Bokuto only chuckles at the gentle gasp you emit once his tongue pokes out to lave at your soft skin. Of course he would take advantage of your distraction with his muscular hold. 

“Baby you’ve been saying that for the past half hour.” He shifts on the sofa to rest between your open legs, elbows perched on either side of you, thumbs doing god’s work at rubbing circles against your hips. You’d be lying if you said what he was doing wasn’t enticing, but…

“I-It’s just a long chapter, I can’t help it! Seriously, I only have a few more panels left.” Your bottom lip juts out into a pout, eyes wide in pleading. As antsy as Bokuto was to cover your entire body with his kisses, he can never say no to your sweet, sullen face. How could he? It always turns him into putty in your hands without fail. With a (fake) groan, he plants his cheek back against the surface between your breasts, arms looping around your frame just as they did before he started teasing you. That’s when an idea springs to the forefront of his mind. Oh, he’ll let you finish that chapter alright. 

“Fine,” He huffs, turning his head so his chin is resting on your chest. His eyes burn into yours with a playful glint and an equally playful smirk plastered to his features, “you have 1 minute.”

“What?”

“Starting…” Bokuto’s grin grows impossibly wider, tongue peeking behind his pearly whites, “now.” And with that his skillful hands snake their way under your sweatshirt to feel as much of you as possible. Bokuto thanks his lucky stars that you opted out of wearing a bra today, making it much easier for him to trace his digits over your peaking nipples, calloused thumbs rolling sensually over each pebble. Your sharp intake of breath only spurs him on further - and your weak, breathy whimper encourages him to follow suit with his tongue trailing up your stomach, nimble fingers sliding the hem of your jumper upward to expose more of your heated skin to his merciless lips. 

Suddenly the comic on your phone screen has no room for your attention as Bokuto’s ministrations demand all focus to his sinful lips, eliciting another mewl from your agape mouth. You quickly lock your screen and let your head fall back into the cushions once his tongue finally reaches your sensitive tits. The feeling only intensifies when he lets out another heated laugh in response, relishing in the way your back arches into him. 

“Heh, that’s what I thought, baby.”

deadline for matchups is (08/29/20)! be sure to submit your entry before this date and check the tag #tumplaysmatchmaker to stay updated!

BTS Caretaker CH11

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 2,741

- Author Note:I made double update today to make up to the missing weeks! ^^ i appreciate your feedback and comment, just drop in my ASK BOX :)

Previous | Next

Chapter 11 

Journey back to his dorm feels like forever, the night skies were sombre and starless, and it seemed to mock Jin’s current state.  He purposely walked slowly along the empty streets in hope he could eliminate these unimportant worries in him.

When he was first brought into the company, he had zero knowledge and skills. Even though, it was indeed true skills can be shaped over times, but it was not an easy journey for him. He worked extra hard to make himself worthy in the group. Some may find it was ridiculous to scout him and turned him into one of possible Bangtan’s members.

Jin never missed a day excreting his sweat and tears, singing at the top of his lung, dancing his heart out just to ensure he is worth to be called as Bangtan’s members. His visual alone was not enough, he needed more.

Daesang awards were huge for them and up until now they still could not believe how this thing could happen overnight. They worked their ass off for years, not they wanted to brag and claimed they were better than other idols out there. Different people has different struggle in life. Each of the members has their own struggle too, including him.

He’s aware of the hatred thrown to them over the years, but the support from Armys manage to cover that up. Jin smiled to himself at the memories that he shared with the members and Armys. He would never get tired performing on stage, something that he would do forever.

His attention shifted to a store across the road. Absentmindedly, he crosses the road with a wide grin plastered across his face, there stood huge Bangtan’s standee in their Puma’s outfits. To be frank, he was proud of their achievement. Sometimes, it fascinated him to see their faces everywhere in the city.

It was too much to be called as a dream.

It was real.

“You did great” he whispered under his breath, and he took few more minutes to stare blankly at the standee in front of him. It felt like they had fulfilled the impossible in life.

Tapping his finger on the glass where his standee stood handsomely “You never cease to amaze me Kim Seokjin, good looking as always” he complimented.

When it came to self-compliment, Jin knew the drill.

It somewhat helped him to go through rough times in life, a little self-confident that is all he needed. Then, he would face even the hardest hurdles in life without any single whine.

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

Pinching the bridge of her nose to ease the ache, Seul sighed tiredly, scanning the now organized place with a wide grin “That took me forever!” she stretched a little. Unlike yesterday, she went a little later than usual, because she had to serve an early shift considering Wongeun is out of town for a week.

Checking every nook and cranny of the place, Seul entered that one room which she hated the most, Jin and Suga’s room. As irrelevant as it might sound, the room alone sent tingle down her spine. It brought back to that day when Yoongi and her just.. let’s stop it there. How it was not easy for her to just ignore this thought away, but they were talking about a kiss that they shared. Unintended kiss.

Seul walked pass Yoongi’s room and went straight to Jin. Crouching down in front of the cages where he kept Odeng and Eomuk, Seul decided to feed those two little not so innocent creatures. If it weren’t for them, the thing with Jimin would not happen.

Speaking of Jimin, it rendered her speechless. The topic of Jimin and Yoongi are something that she wanted to avoid for the rest of her life.

“Let’s eat Odeng-ie.. Eomuk-ie…” said Seul gleefully. Setting the food on floor, she sat down cross legged while her fingers fiddles with the lock. As soon as she unlocked the cage, the two siblings sprinted out happily and went straight to their source of happiness.

Seul strokes the top of Odeng head with her finger softly not wanting to scare it away “Eat well, you are so adorable” she giggled.

She then plugged her buds and tuned to some random songs like RM’s Mixtape whom she chose to ignore at first but only to fail her. It was not easy to completely ignore good songs especially Bangtan Sonyeondan’s songs. She had to admit this one fact that they were genius including Min Suga. The honesty in the songs that they produced gave life to her dull self. Guess, their songs are becoming Seul’s main therapy.

Letting out small chuckle, she watched the siblings fought for food and went around and round like a happy kid “It must be less hassle for animal like you. You have nothing to worry off, only to survive in this harsh world. That is not until you find the best owner that can love you without boundaries, then you are set to go” she whispered, giving Eomuk’s small head a soft pat.

After spending for good 30 minutes monitoring Odeng and Eomuk , Seul decided to call it a day, keeping them back into the cage. “We will play again tomorrow, I hope your Jin daddy would not be mad at me. Don’t tell him” she giggled.

Tapping her hand together, she rose up leaving the room silently. To her surprise, she was welcomed by the dark room. Seul tilted her head in confusion “Did I turn off the light? I don’t remember doing that” scrutinizing the room to find any sign of soul inside.

Seul turned her heels to serve the food that she cooked earlier on the table, the boys would be back anytime. With a light heart, she hummed to Bangtan’s songs while keeping her hand busy until everything is arranged perfectly.

A loud bam coming from the front door surprised her, Seul cursed mentally knowing what might come to her. Will she face another nonsense moments with one of the members again? Screw this, meaning it was a sign for her to leave immediately without them knowing. However, it was rather weird that she didn’t catch any commotions from the front considering how loud the boys could be sometimes.

                    It was a long silent only sound of light footstep could be heard across the room.

Her eyes eyed her stuff that lied helplessly at the corner of the room, thankfully it was away from prying eyes. Stealthily, Seul made her way without making any sound so she could leave instantly. As she was about to gather herself again and flee from the scene, her ears perked up, those sound of soft sob drew her attention from her stuff.

Who is crying? Her brows knitted together. Seul got up, bailing her earlier plan to escape. She was more interested in finding the source of that soft voice. To her, it sounded broken and for an odd reason her heart clenched in pain.

Her heart pounded as she searched for the owner of the sad sob. Due to the darkness in the room, she didn’t even realize the soft thing beneath her “Oh my god, im s-“her eyes shot open upon her skin made contact with the thing there.

His head was buried in his knees turning him into a fragile kid who feared the darkness.

Jin head snapped at the friction, and he looked at Seul with confused look. Even in the darkness she could see his eyes glistening with tears, something told her, he was indeed broken inside. “Who…are you…” in comparison to her encounter with Jimin, this one with Jin was rather calm. Most probably Jin was more mature and think a little rationally, she supposed.

His voice was raspy and gruffy, and Seul continued to stare at him in confusion and concern. He was supposed to flip out or scared at least because after all he found a stranger in the same room as his. Why would he act all calm and alright? Could Yoongi or Jimin told everyone about her existence? That could be it judging from Jin’s ignorance.

“Are you urm alright?” Seul inquired timidly.

Jin nodded slightly as his kept his meaningful gaze making Seul recoiled in her stance “You are Mrs Hwang’s daughter?” Jin mumbled. “I think I saw you before, that eyes” his lips were pressed into thin line trying to recall the memories.

“I don’t remember meeting you” she blinked.

He shifted, and even his little movement got her nervous. Seul stared blankly at Jin’s hand, he held out his palm to her direction as if like an offer but what was that for again. She hesitantly reached her right hand to his warm one, and Jin’s strong grip almost knocked her down.

Using Seul weight as a support, he pushed his body up, standing straight with a soft sigh.  

“Never mention this to other” he warned.

“I..dont have any intention on telling anyone. Urm.. I will probably just go” she pulled her hand away from Jin’s grasp. Now she missed the emptiness and warmth that she felt earlier. Why was she like this? Was she that desperate for a touch?

Nothing came from Jin, so she took the cue to walk away before anyone else appeared and she didn’t want to be cornered by the group. This was not the time to be investigated. He reached around and took hold of her wrist gently but firmly causing the girl to turn her body again facing Jin “Can I have a cup of hot tea?” he blurted out.

Seul was losing her words, first Jin was too beautiful and secondly the words coming from his mouth alone got her heart flipping weirdly here and there. Crazy Ji Seul.

“Su..re…I will get it for you” she coughed softly, slowly slipping away. She could feel his gaze throw daggers through her head. Was he always that calm? However, he looked like he was over all shits in life. Did something happen to him? Where were others?

 ------------------------

The atmosphere was rather awkward, glancing over the man across her, Seul mentally complimented Jin’s visual. It was her first time seeing him up close, so it was fascinating to see the popular guy who became a talk of town due to his overflowing charms. She had to agree that Jin is dashing and super good looking.

Jin took a long sip from his hot tea, it helped to comfort his heart.

Finally breaking the silence, Jin let out an exhaust sigh garnering Seul attention “So are you a fan?” he looked up meeting her bewildered stare.

“Mmm.. not really? I listen to your songs though” she replied abruptly.

“Are you sure you are not a sasaeng?” he raked his fingers in his hair not breaking the contact with Seul. Jin was studying her diligently, since he only heard the story from Yoongi and Jimin. He had no choice but to believe Yoongi’s theory. When he first heard it from Jimin few days ago, Jungkook and him was shocked that it matched Yoongi’s story. Leaving them with no choice, they decided to trust Jimin and Yoongi, therefore just like that the rest of the members were being informed about this Mrs Hwang daughter situation. Well, minus their managers of course.

The boys decided to take this matter in their own hands. If what Seul told them was the truth, then what choice did they have. The caretaker ahjumma had been awfully nice to them, the least they could do was to seal the secret away from their managers and Bighit.

Depending on the root of the story and it validity, of course.

“Do I look like that ‘oppa please notice me juseyo~’ kind of girl” Seul mimicked a fangirl voice and rolled her eyes.

The corner of his lips was tugged into a small smile “It is too much a coincidence that you are the caretaker ahjumma’s daughter, how can we trust you?” he pressed.

“That is up to you, I am here to do my job as requested by my mother. And if it weren’t for her, I would not be here invading your so called personal space. I think I explained to that Suga guy and some weird guy who go around the house shirtless” she stopped, hissing under her breath for spouting nonsense in front of Jin.

“Weird guy who wander around the house shirtless? What exactly happened to you and Jimin?” he raised his brows with a deep frown.

Seul flustered “Nothing. I thought he told you everything considering the first thing that came out from you was ‘Are you Mrs Hwang’s daughter?’. Didn’t rude Suga tell you everything?” she snorted hoping Yoongi would not reveal the kisses.

“ Rude Suga” Jin shook his head in disapproval, “That is offending me Miss Mrs Hwang’s daughter” he exclaimed.

“Heol, I admired your strong bonds with Suga” she looked at him disbelief. Then the table turned silent again, as they were deep in their own thought trying to decipher things around them. On the other hand, Jin was too exhausted to start another mouth fight. For now, he trusted her seeing how she acted. Seul was definitely not a fan or worse sasaeng fan.

Seul cleared her throat easing the awkwardness “So, what happen back then?” she chewed her lower lips.

Not expecting the question from Seul, Jin face felt and now he returned to his sombre self “That one..i am having that moment where my mental shut down by its own. It is unavoidable and make me feel shitty. I feel like I have achieved something in life, but it still fails me” he murmured.

“Whatever happen to you, remind yourself that no pain comes without a purpose. You just have to move on from what is hurting you, yet don’t you ever forget the things that it taught you. Jin-ssi, just because you are struggling doesn’t mean you are failing. Every great success that you achieve now is a worthy struggle for you. Then, you realize that the hurdles that you face is not found on the path, it is the path itself. Do not be afraid to get up again and to try. I know you are worthy to be in Bangtan. Everyone does.” She exhaled softly.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her, and the lecture began to sound like a melodious music to his ears. Jin stared at her wide eyes as if it was some kind of joke that this person whom he just met could read through him like an open book. He found the strength to smile again afterwards which flustered Seul. She will never get used of Jin’s good look, it was dazzling.

“That takes my breath away..Mrs Hwang..mm?” before he could continue with the long nickname that he gave her, Seul blurted “It is Seul. Ji Seul” she smiled awkwardly.

“Seul..” he hummed with a shy smile.

“It is like you could read through me, thank you for that. I appreciated it Seul-ssi” he stretched out his hand to the cup direction, taking a short sip from it again while eyeing Seul. He remembered now where they first met. It was the elevator girl looking confused and broken. So, that was her.

“I need to go back, it is late. I don’t want to cause any uproar when the rest came in. This maybe probably our first and last meeting Jin-ssi. I will perform my job under the radar from now on” she professed.

Jin flinched upon hearing her random blabbered, Seul got up from her seat bowing politely “There are food for everyone, urm except for Suga” she patted her lips and scolded it making the older guy chuckled.

“I didn’t mean to sound bias but he…nevermind. I will take my leave now” she rubbed her neck, gathering her stuff and exited the area before she made fun of herself in front of him. Her steps came to a stop halfway to the living room, and without turning back to Jin “And, Jin-ssi.. Remember before anything, to be yourself and love yourself. It is the recipe to happiness” Jin tilted his head staring at her back with genuine smile. There was astounding power flowing in this room the likes of which he had never felt before.

“We will meet again for sure Ji Seul”

This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Carry On Countdown - Day One

Notes: I am so stressed out posting this! It’s my first tumblr fic (I’ve got two already on AO3), and I’m so nervous. I am also so excited to be doing this, but I won’t be completing all the prompts. 

Attempting to post this at work, during my lunch break. I got this idea when listening to The Sounds’ “Midnight Sun”. The lyrics are beautiful (Give this band a listen, they’re amazing). Takes place in the future after the events in Wayward Son. Huge thanks to @carryonsimoncarryonbaz for the Beta read. 

I will also be posting this on AO3, either later on today, or after the Carry On Countdown is done. 

Day 1 Prompt: Sun/Moon

Title: Midnight Sun

________________________________________________________________

I will be coming with you. Tonight, you’re all that I want; You’re all I have; You’re all I need. 

SIMON

“Baz? Where are we going exactly?”

“You really need to learn to trust me, Snow.”

Baz grasps my hand firmly in his own. He’s leading me down a winding path. I’m starting to become impatient with our little journey. It seems like we have been walking for hours. The uncertainty coupled with the darkness of midnight would normally make me nervous. However, every time I’m with Baz, I feel safe. He makes me feel safe.

We’re walking along a footpath in the Kent Downs. We had decided, a week ago, to take a small holiday away from London. It’s been a little over a year since our previous “holiday” (depending on your definition of holiday – it was more like a bloody nightmare) in America. A year since we almost lost each other. A year since I begrudgingly decided to go back to therapy.

It hasn’t been easy. Going back to therapy. There were moments where I wanted to give up. Actually, they occurred more often than not. The demon of self-doubt perched on my shoulder was, at times, much louder than the spirit of perseverance. Days where the demon was especially loud were the days where Baz and I would get into a row. They were never particularly bad ones, just a lot of frustration from either side. Baz, from not knowing what to do to help; Me, with myself, for falling into the familiar toxic thought patterns. Those days, I’d look at Baz and again wonder what this beautiful vampire saw in me and when he would decide that it just wasn’t worth it anymore.

Those days were the worst.

I had decided long ago that I would fight for us. I’m not sure when exactly everything clicked into place, but sometime after the talk on the beach in San Diego, I think I realized that Baz and I completed each other. And that whatever I had to face or battle, it was better with Baz by my side. That no matter what argument we had, Baz would always be there, ready to talk. 

And Baz never pushed me. Not through the struggle to talk about my feelings or my trauma; Not through the days where I was in a particularly bad mood; Not through the many long nights struggling with intimacy; Not through any of it. Crowley, I loved him so much for that. Eventually, with Baz’s patience and love, I had begun to find my voice again. Through finding my voice, I started to gain confidence again and the rest had begun to fall into place

I’ve even started to become comfortable with my wings and tail. Although Dr. Wellbelove had offered to remove my extra appendages, I decided to reject his offer. They are a part of who I am. To amputate them would be comparable to removing my arms or legs. I’ve learned to appreciate and love them. Besides, Baz adores my wings, so there is no way I’ll be removing them. I’ve found a way to live with them. Whether it be to spell them invisible, or to act as if they were a part of an elaborate costume when walking in town. 

Things were getting better. 

We had decided to take this little holiday in Dover, as a sort of celebration for how far we’ve both come. We decided to go to Dover because Baz’s family has a small cottage in the town that was rarely used. It had fallen into disarray within the last fifteen years. Baz had requested, to his father, that in exchange for fixing up the place, that he be allowed to use it freely. After going over budgets and plans, Mr. Grimm agreed. 

So that’s what we’re primarily using this holiday for. Our plan is to spend the summer fixing up the small cottage. To be honest, I don’t understand the significance of the place, but Baz seems to be happy, so I just go along with it. It’s been interesting, to say the least. Neither one of us really has any experience with renovating a property, so it’s been a learning experience if anything. 

Today was spent getting acquainted with the townsfolk, particularly with the small business owners who could supply us with the materials needed to complete our project. It never ceases to amaze me, just how polite and courteous Baz is with everyone he meets, and how they are all charmed by him. Most of them even seem to know who he is and who his family is. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Pitch influence spread all across the United Kingdom.

“We’re almost there!” 

My thoughts are interrupted by Baz’s animated voice. I can feel my heart fluttering as Baz turns back to me. The light from the moon is hitting his white skin, making it look nearly pearlescent. His deep sea-grey eyes are shining with glee, almost in an innocent, child-like manner. Even in his light grey jeans and dark blue jumper, he looks elegant. He’s always elegant, the beautiful git. Baz lets go of my hand and starts to run up ahead, raven hair flowing in the wind. He turns to me and joyously beckons me forward.

I’m spellbound by him. I’m always spellbound by Baz. I’d follow him anywhere and everywhere. I give Baz a half-smile and follow, hands shoved into the pockets of my Levi jeans. 

I’m glad that I follow him here, because what he has to show me is beyond incredible. A small sound escapes my lips as I take in the view. Just up ahead, is the cliff’s edge. But it isn’t the cliff’s edge that exhilarates me, but what lies beyond it. Just over the cliff is an endless array of sea and stars. I turn to Baz, whose expression can be summed up as a combination of amusement and delight. 

“Baz… this is… it’s… incredible.” I feel long cold fingers intertwining with my own, and a soft bump on the side of my face as Baz leans closer to me. 

“These are the White Cliffs of Dover. We used to come here often when I was a child, before my mother died. She loved this place,” There’s a hint of mournful nostalgia in Baz’s voice. I now understand why the holiday and project were so important to him. I offer him a kiss on his cheek and give his hand a small squeeze.

“Come. Let’s sit down for a while, shall we?” Baz sits down on the grass and pulls me down with him. A giddy laugh escapes my lips at the surprise and at how uncharacteristically light-hearted Baz is acting. I assume that it’s due to being in a place where he felt true happiness. I settle in and snuggle up close to Baz. His long legs are pulled up close, and his hands are resting lazily off his knees. I reach over and grasp one, as I lay my head on his shoulder. As I feel a soft kiss being placed upon my head, I can’t help but smile dreamily. One of my wings wraps around Baz in a protective embrace. I’m so in love with him right now. I look out to the endless sky and sea, and back to Baz. 

“Baz?”

“Hmm…?”

“I want to try something.”

Baz arches an eyebrow at me, “Oh? Should I be worried?” I flash him a playful smile. 

“You really need to learn to trust me, Pitch.”

I decide to ignore Baz rolling his eyes and his embarrassed smile, I know he loves it when I call him by his last name. I lift myself up from the ground. I wonder if this is a good idea as I roll my shoulders back and stretch my neck. I stare ahead, with a look of conviction plastered on my freckled face. My wings stretch out behind me and flap in the wind. I look down at Baz who is frowning at me.

“Snow… what are you…”

I don’t let him finish, because I’m off. I sprint towards the edge of the cliff and jump. I barely hear Baz shrieking as the wind rushes around me. 

“SIMON!”

___________

BAZ

He’s a damn fool!

Simon Snow is a damn bloody fool who takes a sadistic pleasure in scaring his boyfriend half to death. 

At least, that’s what’s going through my mind as I watch Simon soar into the sky from the bottom of the cliff.

I had tried to grab him as he sprinted off the cliff, but I just missed him. And for a moment, I truly thought the world was ending. For a brief moment, I believed that everything was lost. I was ready to jump down after him. Luckily, Simon flew up from the darkness in a matter of seconds, and my fear turned to fury. As Simon took off into the sky, I just stood near the edge of the cliff (not too close as these cliffs were known to be highly erosive — a fact that I would have gladly shared with my idiot boyfriend had I known what he was planning on doing), arms crossed over my chest and an angry scowl across my face.

As I continue to stare at him, I cannot stay mad. Simon is breathtaking. His wings flapping magnificently as he glides through the air. I sigh as Simon spins around and flips over. It is incredible. A man obtains a pair of wings and all of a sudden they start pulling stunts as if they are in Cirque de Bloody Soleil. 

I can feel myself melting inside. Simon looks alive. 

So alive.

Over the last year, Simon had been making so much progress, and today, it was all coming to a head. Bit by bit, the love of my life was becoming more and more like himself. He was finding his light once more, and it was such a beautiful thing to see. As Simon soars in the sky, I take a deep breath, so as to not show the happy tears that were forming in my eyes. With his bright smile, Simon is a beacon in the night. A sun amidst the darkness of midnight. 

My sun.

Simon spins around, dancing amongst the stars. He is so elegant, so graceful. He belongs there. The skies have accepted him as one of their own. A reimagined version of Apollo. 

Suddenly, he twirls back towards the cliff. I roll my eyes as Simon dives towards me. Before I can comprehend what is happening, my feet are longer touching the ground. In one fell swoop, Simon has scooped me up with ease and is taking flight once more. 

I yelp in surprise and wrap my arms around Simon’s neck. Simon holds me close, one hand under my legs and the other securing my back. 

“Snow! Have you gone mental? Put me down!”

“Baz. Trust me.”

We rise higher and higher. I feet the wind whipping around my hair, and I wish I had my mother’s scarf with me. I am glad that I’m wearing a thick jumper, even though I had begun to get a chill. I clutch onto Simon tighter, more for warmth than in fear. Suddenly, Simon stops soaring and straightens his body out. I look out and gasp in surprise. I can see the town on one side, and the coast of France on the other. The tiny lights dotting the cliffside like the fireflies we had seen in America. I look above us, and where the sky is normally full of clouds, it is now full of tiny speckled stars. 

It is breath-taking.

I turn to Simon and smile at him. Cheeky idiot, knows I’d love this. He knows that I’d remember our brief moment of closeness in America. The night we lay in the back of a pickup truck and just held each other. 

I do. I remember, Simon. 

I move one of my hands to his face. I trace my finger down the curve of his jaw and study the moles that dot his features. Simon’s eyes are lit with wonder, his smile bright enough to light our way home. My other hand moves to Simon’s chest to feel his heartbeat. It is strong, steady. 

Simon leans over and plants a soft kiss upon my lips. He smiles lovingly at me. I decide to grab a hold of his neck and pull him down in order to respond with a deeper kiss of my own. The sudden shock of passion causes Simon to lose focus and he loses a little height. Our kiss breaks and I giggle in surprise.

“Next time you decide to play cliff-diver, warn me first, will you?”; I say as I playfully hit Simon’s chest. Simon laughs and rolls his eyes. 

“What, and have you try to convince me not to do it? No, I think this was more fun.”

“I think you’ve finally gone mad.” I drawl while poking Simon’s nose. My hand reaches up to twirl his curls affectionately. Simon leans over me and plants another kiss on my forehead.  

I feel a soft breath on my cheek. Simon speaks tenderly to me, “It was bound to happen eventually. I am in love with you after all.” 

My heart stops. And my breath hitches in my throat. I blink stupidly at Simon, slowly trying to comprehend what just happened. 

He loves me.

Simon Snow loves me.

I grab Simon’s face and draw it towards mine. I nuzzle our noses together. This amazing, insane, disaster of a man loves me. I feel so happy in that moment, that I am practically dizzy. I plant two delicate kisses upon Simon’s closed eyes. 

“I love you to.”

Simon laughs and embraces me into a final deep kiss. We remain that way for a few more moments, lost amongst the skies. 

Oh you, will be shining on me. Like a Midnight Sun, you’re the only one who could set me free. You will set me free.

Flame of the Heart - Chapter 1

“ZUKO!” Azula screeched from beyond the doorway.

Zuko looked up from the book he was reading as his sister tore into the room, a gleaming evil grin plastered on her face.

“You’ll never guess!” Azula chuckled, “Father just captured another village and he brought back all the villagers!” “What for?” Zuko asked, rising to his feet, suddenly intrigued.

“For slaves duh!” Azula replied, rolling her eyes, “How thick are you?” Zuko frowned, “What bending nation are they from?” Zuko inquired.

Azula shrugged, “I don’t think they are a nation, just a random village.” Zuko’s frown deepened and before he knew it, he was following Azula out the room and to the terrace, overlooking the courtyard.

Looking down, Zuko saw that about thirty people or so had been brought in and were shuffled over in a corner, several fire bending guards keeping them caged like animals with their spears. Zuko noticed that none of them wore blue like water bending tribe, golden like air bending or green like earth bending… but grey and white? That was a new one. Almost every one of the people Zuko saw had jet black hair and fairly dark toned skin. The palest of the adults was as tan as Zuko and the darkest was about four shades darker.

“They look so weird,” Azula cackled. “Look at their clothes! And their skin!”

Zuko had to admit in his mind that their skin tone was unusual, but he found their clothes unique and rather pretty. The men all wore grey pants tucked into knee high black boots, white long sleeve shirts underneath dark grey jackets with tassels on the chest, shoulders and sleeves. They each wore a white band around their forehead, and each had different stones stitched to the band, all different shades of blue, green, red and orange. The women wore snug grey leggings and black leather boots that seemed a little more feminine than the men. Their dresses had short sleeves but underneath their knee length grey dresses them wore long sleeve white shirts. The skirts of the dresses were V shaped in the front in back (like Indians) and the hems had white tassels.

Zuko and Azula found their way down to the courtyard where their parents and Uncle Iroh had come to inspect the people. Iroh and Zuko’s mother were standing off to the side, giving the villagers sad looks and Zuko felt the same as his uncle and mother.

The Fire Lord approached the villagers and the three guards guarding them stepped out of the way. Almost immediately, a toddler child ran forward, giggling and trying to get at a chicken that had wandered by.

The child ran right into the path of the Fire Lord and Zuko felt a deep fear grip his gut. His father was going to get mad… when suddenly.

“Marcus! Come back!” a young voice called.

Out of the crowd of people rushed a young girl who looked like she could be about Zuko’s age and scooped the toddler up before he got under the Fire Lord’s feet. The girl held the child to her chest but kept her head down as she slowly backed up from the Fire Lord.

“Halt!” Zuko’s father called.

Zuko bit his lip. Oh no!

“Come forward,” the Fire Lord insisted in a commanding voice.

The girl slowly took a few steps forward, still holding the child to her chest.

“Put the child down.” The Fire Lord demanded.

The girl did as he instructed, and the toddler rushed back to his mother who scooped him up fearfully. Zuko and Azula crept forward towards their mother and Uncle Iroh to get a better look. Zuko saw that the girl’s outfit was different than the other women’s and she wore a hood over her head which shielded her hair and her face.

The girl’s outfit was the same design as the other women’s but instead of it being all grey, it was all white and the tassels on her dress hems, sleeves and chest were a pale blue and around her waist she wore a deep burgundy belt. Around her neck hung a silver chain from which hung a blue crystal and amber crystal. Zuko could tell by seeing her hands that she was much paler than the rest of the villagers, even paler than Zuko… almost fair toned!

Fire Lord Ozai approached the girl who was still bowing and reaching over, pushed her hood back. Everyone around took a step back and gasped. Her hair, if it was down and not braided, would have reached her waist but it was pulled back into a long thick plait down her back with feathery bangs framing her forehead and the side of her face… and it was golden! Zuko had seen people with fair hair… but nothing like this! It was like she was carrying the sun on her head… it was a pure honey, sunny golden.

“Lift your head,” Fire Lord Ozai ordered.

The girl slowly lifted her head to look up at the Fire Lord and everyone was met with a pair of huge crystal blue eyes, a petite round nose sprinkled with soft freckles, an adorable chin, pink lips with a dented upper lip and if the girl was smiling, she would have dimbles.

“What is your name?” Ozai insisted

“Shira my Lord,” the girl whispered.

“Hm,” Ozai hummed, “And who are your parents?” When the girl didn’t reply, Ozai lifted his hand, prepared to strike the girl and Zuko found himself moving to rush forward but his mother gripped his shoulder to stop him. However, Iroh beat him to it.

“Hold on brother,” Iroh said gently, “Let me take care of this.” Iroh knelt in front of the girl and lifted her chin gently. As he did, everyone saw that there were tears appearing in the girl’s eyes.

“Are you afraid child?” he asked gently.

The girl slowly shook her head which made Iroh’s eyes widen and a smile appear on his face, “Well that’s good! Why are you crying then?”

The girl slowly tried to look away from Iroh and her eyes landed on Zuko. Zuko’s amber eyes widened in shock when amber met blue. She was beautiful! At least in Zuko’s eyes and the tears appearing in her eyes, the pinkness of crying appearing on her cheeks and her nose made her look even more beautiful. Zuko had never found a girl beautiful before. He had found Mei pretty… but not beautiful.

The girl slowly looked back at Iroh and whispered something that only Iroh heard.

“What is taking so long?” Ozai groaned.

Iroh rose to his feet and placed his arm around the child’s shoulders, “The girl is an orphan brother. Her parents are dead.” A hush fell over all present while this was taken in.

Zuko couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from the girl. She was standing next to Iroh, feeling slightly out of place but occasionally she would glance out of the corner of her eye at Zuko with a shy but intrigued look on her face.

Suddenly he was brought out of his daze when he heard his father begin to order his guards to send the villagers to the stocks to work. Zuko tensed beneath his mother’s comforting hand and his mother noticed this.

“Excuse me my lord,” the woman said, stepping forward. “Would it be alright if I took the girl in as a handmaiden? She is too young for stock work.”

Iroh smiled and was about to agree when Ozai spoke up, “Absolutely not! Have you no sense woman? Can’t you tell from the blue eyes and fair skin that she is water tribe?”

At this, Zuko saw the girl look at Ozai, puzzled and he knew that Ozai’s guess was wrong.

“Father!” Azula shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “Allow me to take the girl… as a slave girl! The position of a handmaiden is too high for scum such as her. Slavery is best.” Zuko felt the deepest urge to fire bend at his sister but he knew he shouldn’t. Ozai nodded and Zuko felt his mouth go dry.

“Good idea daughter. You shall have the girl as a slave. Take them away.” Zuko turned his eyes back on the young girl and as the villagers were pushed away to be taken to their quarters, the girl lifted her blue eyes and met Zuko’s gaze… and smiled.

******************

Zuko peered around the corner. Good, no sign of any guards. Azula had gone out to play with Mei and Ty-lee. She wouldn’t be back for a while and she was always loud when coming into her room so Zuko would know when to scram. Carefully he approached his sister’s room and pushed the door open. He closed it behind him and locked it. He knew there was a key to open it from the outside, but it was in their mother’s room. So, if Azula returned and found it locked, she would have to go get the key.

Zuko scanned the room and almost let out a gasp when he saw what was tied to the girl’s bed. Around one of the large bed posts of Azula’s bed was a long black rope…. Tied securely, it was about three feet long before it tied around the wrists of the young girl! The girl was on her knees, her arms tied behind her. From the look of it, she was asleep for she was leaning forward, but it looked so uncomfortable and painful that Zuko bit his lip.

Crossing the room in three strides, the boy grabbed the knot around the girl’s wrists and untied them. The girl slowly lifted her blue eyes to look at Zuko before they grew wide in shock.

Zuko smiled at her before crouching in front of her, “I’m not going to hurt you.” The girl seemed to relax slightly at his words, but he could tell she was still on the alert. Reaching forward, he gently pushed her long golden hair out of her eyes and behind her ears. Then reaching down, he clasped her hands and lifted her to her feet. The girl’s knees buckled and Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her steady. The girl’s eyes fluttered as nausea overtook her. Without thinking, the prince reached down and scooped the girl up into his arms. Carefully he placed her down on the end of Azula’s bed, so she was laying down. The girl rolled onto her side and her eyes fluttered closed.

Zuko smiled as he sat down next to her and drew his knees up. As the girl slept soundly, Zuko watched her. Her golden hair trickled over her shoulders, around her waist and slightly over her sleeping face. Her mouth was slightly parted as she breathed contentedly. She was wearing traditional fire nation slave attire which was a red top with no sleeves that left most of her stomach bare, a skirt that came to her knees, tight leggings underneath and sandals. Zuko had to admit, she was beautiful… but the red didn’t suit her blue eyes and golden hair. She had looked much better in her white attire.

Slowly he reached over and ran his tanned fingers across the girl’s pale cheek. Compared to her fair skin, his hand looked so dark and almost rough and harsh against her fair skin. The girl stirred slightly, and her eyes propped open.

“I apologize your highness,” the girl said, sitting up. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.” Zuko smiled at her soft, sweet voice but stopped her when she was about to stand up. He gently set her back down on the bed, so she was seated.

“I don’t mind. You must have been exhausted.” The girl looked down at her hands and began to fidget with her skirt. Zuko smiled. She must be confused as to why he was being so kind to her, considering how Azula treated her.

“I’m sorry about my sister. She isn’t nice to anyone. Not even my mother.” The girl kept her head bowed so that her hair shielded her face. Sighing, Zuko reached over and grasped her hand with his. At this, the girl looked at him, a startled look in her eyes. Zuko smiled at her.

“I want to help you. I wasn’t able to convince my father to help you so I will try my hardest to protect you from my sister.” The girl bit her lip and looked down at her lap again, “But why master?” Zuko reached over and cupped her chin with his hand, lifting her eyes to meet his, “First, don’t call me master. Zuko is just fine. As for why… no one should be treated like this and you are not a servant. You were a free person before your village was captured. You should not be victim to such a life.” The girl’s eyes pooled with tears and she bit her lip to hold them back, but she couldn’t contain them and they streamed down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands and let the tears seep through her fingers, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

Zuko gently wrapped his arms around the girl’s shoulders and pulled her against his chest, stroking her hair, “It’s alright. You’re safe now.” After letting the girl finish crying, Zuko gently lifted her head and looked into her eyes, “I do not believe I know your name.” The girl wiped her still damp face with her hand before managing a small smile, “Shira, ma…Zuko.”

A huge grin crossed Zuko’s face and he smiled at the girl. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to the girl. Shira stared at it as if he had just offered her the key to the world. Slowly she took it but instead of using it, she clutched it in her hands as if afraid to let it go.

Zuko smiled, about to say something else when he heard the all too familiar voice of Azula. “I have to go,” he whispered.

Shira nodded. She got down on her knees next to the post and Zuko tied her hands back to the post. However, he made sure that they looked tight, but were really loose. He helped Shira prop herself against the post so she could sleep easier later. He slipped the handkerchief into her pocket so Azula wouldn’t see it before looking into the girl’s face. The tears were gone but she was looking drowsy.

“I’ll be back tomorrow night,” he whispered.

Shira nodded and smiled, “Thank you…. Zuko.” Zuko smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before jumping to his feet and rushing to the door. Peering out, he saw that Azula had left to go locate the key. Slipping out, he made sure the door was closed but unlocked before rushing off. The moment he was a good distance from the room, a huge grin spread across his face.

Kierarktina Kids Headcanons pt 4

Before we get into this, as usual, here are the links to part: 1, 2, and 3

In this set of HCs, we finally get to meet the second kierarktina kiddo! Before that, we get to see some more wholesomeness that is the family just being iconic, and also another guest appearance by the Wild Hunt! I hope I do this wonderful family justice! Now, without further ado, here is the long awaited part 4 of my kierarktina kids HCs!

·         When we last saw the family, Mark, Tina, and Lia were visiting the gang of the LA Institute, Cristina had revealed to Emma that she was expecting

·         By the time that Mark and Cristina and Lia decide that they ought to head to Faerie, Emma is the last to say her goodbye for now and congratulates Mark, and asks him to pass on her congrats to Kieran too

·         Kieran doesn’t know yet, and they’re excited to tell him when they get back

·         So, the three hold tight to each other as Cristina pulls out the Eternidad, taking them to the forest outside of the cottage

·         Because of wards, they can’t transport directly inside the cottage, even with the power of the Eternidad

·         So once they arrive, they notice the sun is setting

·         They unlock the door and are met with what looks to be an empty cottage

·         They take Thalia to her room, helping her get changed into a comfy pair of pajamas

·         When Mark heads to their bedroom he’s met with the sight of Kieran curled up asleep, cuddling a pillow to his chest

·         His hair is a very pale blue, usually a sign that he’s happy

·         Mark gently climbs into the bed next to him, which startles Kieran, his hair darkening immediately as he shoots up

·         When he realises that it’s Mark, his hair pales again, furthering this family’s Wholesome™ agenda

·         When Cristina gets into the room, she’s already mentally preparing herself to tell Kieran about her pregnancy

·         She gets in bed, but slides over Mark so that she’s in-between them

·         Kieran is not opposed to this new sleeping arrangement, but usually when they switch up how they sleep, there’s a reason

·         Cristina has a huge smile plastered over her face, so Kieran sees she isn’t upset about anything

·         She leans in and whispers to him that she’s pregnant, her eyes welling up with happy tears

·         His hair flared a very pale blue, nearly white, when he heard the words

·         He’s so happy and excited about it that he nearly jumps out of bed

·         He chooses to express his happiness and excitement with a big ol’ kiss and a tight embrace

·         He vows to protect and love their next child as much as he loves Thalia, stating that they will of course be regarded as a Prince or Princess of the court too, despite not being his blood

·         If that’s okay with Tina and Mark of course

·         Which it totally is, they’re a family of royalty and this baby is going to be as much of a Prince/Princess as their Lia

·         The next nights that they are together, the boys are sure to keep Cristina between them protectively

·         They start wondering how and when to tell Lia

·         They know that she has expressed interest in having a little sibling, but there’s still that lingering fear that she could have changed her mind

·         So, about a week and a bit after they told Kieran, Cristina takes Lia out for the day

·         They have a girls’ night (which they often try to do, they also have daddies-daughter days where she is just with her dads and it’s wonderful)

·         (they also have times where it’s just one of them and Lia because they feel that although it’s fun to all be together, individual bonding with their daughter is super important too)

·         But anyway, today, Tina really wants to try and get that emphasis of how much she loves her Lia and wants to assure her that their girls’ nights will always be theirs, even if a baby comes along

·         So, nearing the end of their night out, the girls go and get some ice cream, and at the ice cream parlour, there’s a mother and a fairly young baby

·         Tina feels her heart flutter a little, just looking at the sweet mother and child

·         Lia looks from the baby and mother to her own mother and asks when she’ll get another baby

·         Wow, perfect timing, Cristina thought, but in the moment sort of dismisses it being like “that would be nice, huh?”

·         After the girls get their desserts, Cristina takes Lia to a table outside the parlour

·         She asks her what she thinks about having a little brother or sister

·         Lia goes on about how she really wants one someday because then she can have someone to play with

·         She also says that she would protect them no matter what, saying that she would make sure they are safe

·         Cristina feels like she might cry just a bit, like wowie Lia is so sweet and she is so excited to tell her

·         So, not long after Lia’s explained all the things she would do with her baby brother/sister, the girls have finished their desserts and Cristina tells Lia that she has something very important to tell her

·         Lia, knowing the gravity of the word “important” immediately puts on the most serious look, her little eyebrows furrowing together, her eyes regarding her mother’s with 100% focus

·         Cristina moves to be squatting down in front of Lia’s chair, matching her serious look, but smiling big as she says to Lia

·         “I’m glad that you are so excited for a little sibling,” she takes Lia’s hand, “because inside my tummy, there’s a little baby growing.”

·         Lia’s hair flairs up a light blue-green, a huge smile on her face.

·         She throws herself from the chair she’s in into a hug with her mom, squealing as she talks about how the baby should be born soon so that they can become best friends

·         Lia then backs down for a moment and pats her mom’s tummy

·         She goes up closer to it, and whispers “hi, baby, I’m gonna be your big sister!”

·         Cristina feels a little tear escape, the night only continues to get more sweet

·         Jump ahead a few weeks, Cristina’s now, like, 3 and a half months pregnant and is really showing a lot more than she had at this point with Lia

·         She isn’t too put off by it, but it does slightly concern her as at this point, she’s feeling more pregnancy symptoms sooner than last time, and a lot more aggressively

·         Like, she’s getting a lot more back pains and more pressure on her abdomen, and more morning sickness than she had when she was pregnant with Lia

·         Upon sharing these concerns with Kieran and Mark, they urge her to get it checked out

·         Since Silent City has had very limited access, she had to opt for calling up a warlock, and who better than one who doubles as a nurse?

·         Catarina Loss is summoned to a small apartment just outside the city of New York (where Cristina and Mark often stay when they aren’t in Faerie)

·         She does some tests with Tina and the baby is completely healthy, she explains to Cristina that it is very common to experience increased sensitivity during one’s second pregnancy, and that she and the baby will be fine

·         While she’s there, she can’t help but ask Catarina about the sex of the child

·         She’s adamant that it doesn’t matter to her, but she’s just curious and also Lia has been asking if she’s gonna have a baby brother or a baby sister and not being able to know really thins out the child’s patience

·         Catarina smiles and tells her that she’s having another girl

·         With bubbling excitement, Cristina can’t help but share a hug with Catarina before she’s off

·         That night, Cristina stays in the apartment, speaking quietly to her growing belly, telling her little girl how excited she is to know more and more about her

·         Despite only having travelled back to the mundane world that morning, she was advised to stay the evening as to be able to rest before making another trip to Faerie

·         She sends a fire message back to Kieran and Mark (who are both staying at the cottage with for daddies-daughter time) about how she’s found out the sex of the baby, but wishes to tell them in person

·         Doing this only makes them all more excited about their growing family

·         The next morning Cristina sets out to make her travel back to Faerie

·         When she arrives back, she walks the short distance from the edge of the forest to the cottage

·         It always startles her when she seed a flash of dark reddish-brown clad Fae whilst she walks through, even though she is well aware that the cottage is always surrounded by redcap guards

·         She is met with Lia running to the door once she opens it, her daughter smiling a big smile at her

·         Once they’re all inside, Tina goes on to explain that there’s nothing to raise any concern with the baby

·         Lia is quick to ask if she knows if she’s gonna have a baby brother or sister yet

·         Finally, Cristina looks up to Mark and Kieran with a smile and says: “we are going to have another girl”

·         Both Mark and Thalia actually jump up and down briefly with excitement (well, Thalia continues to jump around the room, her hair shifting to a bright green and to a pale blue as she bounces around with a huge grin on her face)

·         Kieran’s reaction was definitely more subtle, as he tends to be a bit less openly expressive

·         However, much like their daughter, his hair takes over him and it melts into a pale blue streaked through with light green

·         The quad celebrate with many hugs, and Thalia is determined that now she knows that she’s gonna have a sister, that she will be sure to let her play with all her favourite toys, and she will teach her how to be a Princess

·         Thalia lowkey loves getting dressed in her fancier clothing and making pretend court hearings with her stuffed animals, pretending to be a ruler of both Faerie and the Shadow World

·         It highkey makes all three of her parents cry just a little because it’s so Wholesome™

·         Hopping back a little to a thing I mentioned in my previous HC, we got some more stuff about the Wild Hunt

·         So ever since the Wild Hunt had been acquainted with the Princess of Unseelie and they all adore her, they’ve begun leaving her little tokens from their hunts on occasion

·         When they go on raids, and ravage the dead, they collect the finest of items, often bringing her gifts

·         Like, sometimes outside the cottage, there’s a random necklace, or a pretty ring and they all have a leaf tied to them with Thalia scratched into them

·         One time, there was a diadem that was left on the steps of the Mexico City Institute when Cristina and Lia were staying there

·         Again, it had a leaf strung to it, addressing it to the Princess of Unseelie

·         There was a day when the Lia and her parents were out for a walk in the fields of Faerie

·         They like taking walks as a family, but are always sure to stay in the safest parts of Faerie that they can be in, even though not everywhere is the safest when with a three year old Princess of a powerful court

·         The peaceful walk was interrupted by the horn of the Hunt, low and booming

·         Mark and Kieran panicked a little knowing that the horn was an announcement of their arrival, and usually a warning of imminent death or danger

·         Out of instinct, Mark puts an arm out to shield Cristina’s belly, and Kieran dashes ahead for Lia (who always is in their sight, but often likes to wander a few steps ahead of them)

·         Suddenly, hundreds of white blossoms fall from the sky all around them, Lia starts dancing around in the raining flowers, happily waving to the Hunt as they pass overhead

·         Kieran, Mark, and Cristina all smile at the flowers and their daughter dancing happily around

·         The event of it raining flowers spreads around Faerie quickly as it was quite the magnificent feat

·         Not everyone heard the Hunt’s horn, so stories are quick to form on the reason for the spurt of floral rain

·         Some say that the Princess of Unseelie has powers to summon the most beautiful rains

·         Some say it was a blessing to the Princess by the highest powers

·         And some know that it was the Wild Hunt, but not all know why they brought down flowers around the royal family

·         When word gets out to the Wild Hunt that Cristina is expecting another baby girl, there was a baby rattle delivered to the doorstep of the cottage

·         Instead of being addressed to Lia, it had an ivy vine tied around it, the leaves on the vine forming a message: for the next Princess of Unseelie

·         It felt too odd to take the possession of what was assumedly a deceased infant, but it was the thought that counts

·         Instead of giving the rattle to the baby, Kieran and Cristina decided that it would just be a decorative piece in the room that she would share with Lia

·         The Wild Hunt, despite being a group of fearsome warriors who ravage the dead, really do have some gentleness hidden within their brutal ways, and it always makes the family smile when there’s a new token left for them

·         Going ahead a few months, Tina’s about 8 months in, and she and Lia are out and about with Emma having a girls’ day (Lia loves her aunty Emma, and finds herself often following her more closely than her own mother when the three of them are out)

·         Mark is off with Julian, having a bros day, hanging out with Ty who is back on a break from Scholomance

·         Anyway, the girls are out walking along the beach, Lia stopping every now and again to collect shells and sea glass

·         Cristina and Emma reminisce on their early days of friendship, when they first met four years ago, how things have changed

·         Emma watches Lia with a wistfulness, wishing she could go back to when she was a young child, playing on the beaches with her parents, and Julian and his family

·         Of course, she says nothing, but Cristina sees the expression on her face, one that shows a longing and also a hopefulness

·         Being brought up during a war, having lost loved ones during it, both Emma and Cristina can only hope that Lia won’t have to suffer through a similar fate

·         Meanwhile, Mark and his brothers are catching up while simply enjoying each other’s company

·         Both Julian and Ty express their excitement about the new addition into their extended family, talking of how exciting it is to have a new baby

·         Of course they still consider Lia their family, but she is determined that she is “not a baby anymore” and is fully prepared to become a caregiver to her baby sister

·         Julian envies Lia in a way that he cannot fully explain to the others

·         He hopes and prays that she won’t have to ever be forced into having to become an actual caregiver to her baby sister

·         He knows that the new baby will be born into love and happiness, but he can’t help the looming memory of what it really means to be the primary caregiver to siblings when you yourself are but only a child

·         There are a lot of feelings shared during this visit, and when it’s finally time to go, Mark, Cristina and Lia bid their farewells and they all hang on to each other as they take the Eternidad out and head back home to the cottage 

·         When they arrive, they are inexplicably separated

·         Mark and Lia head in to the cottage after alerting a group of redcaps of what was happening

·         She was found not too long after a bit deeper in the forest, unwell

·         The travel and the shock of their immediate arrival must’ve set something off, and she had realised that she was going into labour

·         A healer was sent for, and a messenger was sent to Kieran to alert him of what was going on

·         Cristina is brought into the bedroom, the healer arrives shortly after and boots Mark from the room

·         When Kieran arrives nearly an hour later, he is lacking his usual composure

·         His hair was a mess, his eyes were frantic, he looked as though he had rolled through dirt on his way

·         Kieran asked Mark for updates, but Mark hadn’t much to tell him other than that things were going well, at least he believes they are

·         Lia was in her room, when she heard that her little sister was coming, she was set on making her and her sister’s room look pretty, so she went off to clean her room

·         It was usually a nightmare trying to have Lia clean her room, as she had always had it all to herself for the most part, and was very adamant that her toys didn’t like being put away

·         Anyway, back to the Panicked Dads™

·         He and Mark asked to be able to be able to see Cristina

·         The healer would not allow him or Mark in to see Cristina, believing that their panicky, anxious state could harm the delicate energy that was filling the bedroom

·         Kieran tried to be all “I’m the King here, let me in” but the healer just straight up shuts the door in his face

·         After several hours of long, excruciating labour, Cristina was relieved to hear her baby crying, knowing it was a sign of her good health

·         Finally, her boys are allowed to come in, and Mark’s eyes immediately well with tears

·         He looks down at their new daughter, marvelling at her pale skin, dark brown tufts of hair, and plump cheeks

·         She’s so adorable and everyone is all around quaking

·         Mark and Kieran are asking Cristina how it was, if she’s doing all right, if she needs anything

·         Cristina is beyond exhausted, she has the baby resting in her arms, but asks if either of them would like to hold her

·         Both of them put their arms out, but it’s Kieran who ends up holding her first

·         Mark stands beside him, running the back of his hand ever so lightly along her cheek when she reaches a hand up to grab his finger

·         He cries again

·         The fathers move to sit on the edge of the bed, Cristina is resting but still facing them

·         She watches the beauty in their expressions as they marvel at the newest addition to the family, smiling as Mark’s arm goes to cradle under Kieran’s

·         The pair of them hold her, and as if she knew what was happening, Lia peeks her head into the room

·         She hops up on the bed and looks at her baby sister and smiles big, leaning over to kiss her on her cheek

·         Lia crawls over to her mother and cuddles up to her, thanking her for giving her a sister

·         Cristina pulls her eldest daughter in for a hug, telling her that she knows that she will be an excellent big sister

·         The question that hangs in the air is finally asked by Lia, who gets up from her mother, and moves over to sit beside her dads and new sister

·         “What’s her name?” she asks, peering over at her

·         Kieran, Mark, and Cristina had talked endlessly about names before coming to their conclusion

·         Her name is Kalliope (keeping with the theme of Greek Mythology based names that I just, ugh, I love them)

·         (also, idk if I mentioned it before, but Thalia was one of the Greek Muses, and so was Kalliope, and that was unintentional on my part, I just love those names)

·         Then, again as with Thalia, even though a “faerie name” wouldn’t hold any power over her, they gave her one, it’s Nereida which is the Spanish version of Nerissa, so we paying homage to Mark’s birth mother and also I just really like the name, oops

·         Anyway, Lia looks over at her baby sister, and she smiles at her

·         “Hi, Kalli, I’m your big sister,” she beams

·         The parents all share an adoring look, loving the nickname that’s already spouted, and just adoring their baby girls being so Wholesome™

·         Before long, Kalli starts opening her eyes

·         The parents are still too busy marvelling at Lia interacting with Kalli, so they didn’t notice until Lia pipes up with:

·         “Look, papa,” Lia point to Kalli, “she has eyes like one of yours!”

·         Sure enough, little Kalli is looking around at her family with Blackthorn blue-green eyes

Yunho x reader short "Sleepyhead"

aHh this is my first post, so i hope it'll do well!!

info??

genre(?): Fluff, im sure -

warnings: none that i can think of

Also! I am fairly new to the fanfic writing community, and i am quite young (age 13-), so im still a little bad at punctuation and grammar, i highly apoligize if there are any mistakes!!

onto the story!!

[11:48 PM]

"I wonder when he'll come back.." You say, looking out of the window and sighing. It's been hours since your boyfriend left, he said he would've been back in around 30 minutes prior to the time he left. You finally get out of your bed and lazily walk downstairs to the living room, searching for something to do to get your mind off of him. While walking, you decided to watch the first movie you saw on the television, You wanted to challenge yourself if you spotted something new. Your soft hand glides across the couch as you walk, searching for the remote.As you pick up the remote, your finger lays on the power button. You turn on the television. The television was now on, the colorful icons illuminate on your skin. You press on Netflix. To your surprise, the first movie you spot was Harry Potter. Harry Potter was your boyfriend's favorite movie. He loved it dearly, he would always recite the character's words out loud when the two of you watched it together. You pressed on the movie and played it. You couldn't lie, the movie was pretty good, the characters were interesting, and the plot was nice as well.

[15 minutes later]

After a while, you fall asleep on the couch, face first into the arm rest you had laid your on earlier.

[12:08 AM]

The door suddenly bursts open, a puppy like aura fills the room. Your beloved boyfriend had come back. Yunho closed the door behind him and dropped his bags. He races towards you, assuming you were just sulking because he had arrived hours later than he had promised. He tapped you a few times and waited by your side with a huge grin on his face. You didn't move. Yunho then playfully hit you. He whispered. "Come on ya moody cutie, I just had to run a few errands I forgot to run before, and my phone died, so I have an excuse to be arriving this late!"

You still didn't move. Yunho pouted and turned you so your face was out of the arm rest. You were still peacefully sleeping, unaware that Yunho had finally arrived back home.

Yunho's cheerful grin turned into a soft one, he stared at you, admiring your adorable sleeping face. He slowly raises his hand to your head and pushes back a few strands of hair covering your face. Your eyes squint open. Yunho looks away in panic. You look at Yunho for a second, and arise from your position, embarrassed that he had just seem you like that. Yunho flinches at your sudden action, but stays looking away from you, facing the television which was playing his favorite movie.

Yunho smiled and let out a soft "Aww." You were still a bit groggy, so to your disadvantage, you didn't hear him. Yunho looks back at you with a huge, playful grin plastered on his face. A dorky smile makes its way onto your face, you giggle at bit as you fix up your hair. "Your finally awake you sleepyhead!" Yunho said in his loud yet, soothing voice. You fiddle with your fingers and look down. "Was I really asleep for that long?" You said, clearly embarrassed. Yunho chuckles and decided to tease you a bit, it was always something he would do, but you were always too naive to figure out what he was doing. "You slept for hours, I could've fallen asleep right then and there watching you!" Your face turns a bright red. Yunho's voice softens a bit. "I could've fallen asleep looking at your beautiful face.." Yunho said, lowering his volume as he spoke. The room was dead quiet, the only source of noise coming the television behind Yunho. It was like your worlds fell quiet, like there was no crime in the world, the trees and animals silent, the night and day sky filling the earth with it's wonders. You looked at Yunho. Yunho looked back. He was clearly embarrassed, not because his face was red, but his ears were. You always payed attention to every small detail, you found out recently that Yunho gets embarrassed when is ears get red. You giggle a bit. Yunho looks at you in alarm, worrying that what he said was a joke to you. You slide off of the couch into Yunho's presence. His long arms and big hands devour you. You close your eyes and started whispering, breaking the silence between the two of you. "You say the sweetest things, Yunho." You dig deeper into his chest as his arms tighten around you. "I appreciate that.""I appreciate you." You said in a soft tone. Yunho looks down at you for a second and then closes his eyes. You can hear his heart pounding in his chest. You smile."Yunho, i really love you" Yunho held onto you like you were the whole world. You were his whole world. He held you as tightly as he possibly could, taking in each word you said as his heart leapt. Yunho opened his mouth, letting out word he would say to you, and you only. "Your my world, I love you too, sleepyhead."

thank you for reading! i hope it isnt too bad considering its my first time doing this TT

snowy season

You couldn’t imagine a winter without Junhoe by your side. Not anymore.

♦ Pairing: boyfriend!Junhoe x girlfriend!reader/you

♦ Genre: fluff, fluff, fluff (+comedy and some light angst in the beginning)

♦ Words: 1.5k

♦ Season Series with soft bf!iKON: Yunhyeong // Donghyuk // Chanwoo // Bobby // Hanbin // Jinhwan // Junhoe

♦ Dedicated to: @binkygee​ because she’s one of the sweetest, kindest, loveliest people I’ve ever met ❤️

♦ A/N: You can also check out iKONICShelves which is a brand new iKON network for writers and readers in the iKON fanfic community (all platforms!).

Snow used to remind you of the bad times. 

That was the time you couldn't escape from home, thus you couldn't escape from all the anger and frustration that your parents triggered in you. Everyone was convinced that you had a loving family, one that was perfect and flawless. The truth couldn't have been further from all the assumptions. Your parents were supportive ‒ in some cases. Your parents took your side ‒ sometimes. Your parents wanted you to be whoever you wished to be, and they accepted you just the way you were ‒ never. They always found something to point out, to criticize, to make fun of. That's why you used to spend so much time outside your house, let it be at the school library, at the mall or at the café with your friends. However, getting home at night in winter was more frightening than spending your time with your parents. Since you lived in the suburbs, only one bus came in every hour, and it darkened quite early. Not to mention that your neighbourhood wasn't the safest one either.

Ever since you met Junhoe, snow wasn't such a bad thing anymore. You met him at a Christmas market when you accidentally bumped into each other, the story of how you two met as simple as that. There was nothing extraordinary about that; you were with your brother and he was with his group of friends. You both apologized, then went on your separate ways. 

However, a week later, you noticed him in your favourite independent café where you frequently went because they had the best caramel latte in the city. Plus, they had one of the nicest staff which was a huge bonus when it came to eating (or for that matter drinking) out. You didn't come up to him because you didn't really have a valid reason to do so. Yet, you noticed him and he noticed you, a small appearing on both of your faces. Not until you visited the café next week, did you actually start talking. The café was crazy busy, and you could barely sit down, so you opted for the seat beside his instead of the one beside a creepy old dude.

Everything was history since then; you started out as mere friends, then friendship turned into something more serious. You started dating after two months of getting to know each other. You grew fond of each other through conversations above a steaming cup of café and through walks along the icy river that ran across the city.

Small wonder he always had something special for each winter you spent together. He exactly knew your relationship with parents, thus he tried his best to make you forget about your painful memories related to winter by creating heart-warming memories instead.

This winter was no different.

Junhoe couldn't stop talking about the annual Christmas market, suggesting more and more activities that were related to the winter celebration.

"How about ice-skating on the Town Hall Square? And there's also a carousel there. Not to mention that a week before Christmas, they'll hold an outdoor movie night when you can watch Frozen," he chattered happily, not giving a crap about the disapproving glances people threw in his direction.

You were having a chill afternoon at the independent café where you met, talking about your plans and duties in December. Your boyfriend was quick to bring up the Christmas market topic, much to your amusement. He was way too adorable when he got immersed into something.

"They play Frozen?" You raised a curious eyebrow at him. A movie night wasn't unheard of, if anything, it was a tradition during your city's Christmas market. However, you had never seen an animated movie in the programme book before.

"Yeah." Junhoe shrugged with that infamous deadpan expression of his. "You know, they want as many people as possible."

"You sure you've seen it right?"

"Yes, it was there. Come and join us for the winter fun ‒ Frozen at the outdoor cinema, December 17th, 7 pm," he cited as if it had been in the news, his unworldly expression making you chuckle. He seemed just as excited as if he had been someone 10 years younger, and his childish joy was contagious.

However, you couldn't deny that you were a bit suspicious, so you decided to check the facts for yourself. Frozen was indeed in the programme booklet of the Christmas market, though not in the way you had expected. It was mentioned in the kids' section. It was stated that they welcome kids up to the age of 14, and there was also a special discount for families. You didn't know how strict they were, thus you gave a call to the organisers.

"So you can't watch the movie if you are an adult?" You repeated the words, furrowing your eyebrows in question.

"Only if you are with a child under the age of 14," the woman on the other side of the phone stated flatly, her voice as bored as if she had been answering the same question over and over again.

You didn't know what kind of regulation was that and what was it for, yet a day after Junhoe first mentioned the Frozen movie night, he also looked into the issue, and found the very same result. Needless to say, he was disheartened. He was sulky for a while because he had already planned out how you would spend the whole day on December 17th. You felt guilty for doubting him, yet at least he didn't have to get to know about the whole thing on the spot. That would have been way worse.

You felt so sorry for Junhoe that you wanted to do something for him. After many failed attempts, you finally came up with an amazing Plan B. Though you needed to convince your 6-year-old cousin who told you at least thirty times that Frozen was too childish and cheesy for her liking before you bribed her with an entire month worth of chocolate, the plan was actually pretty good. Not just because you were the one who came up with it.

So on December 17th, you went to the Christmas market with your little cousin ‒ Daseul ‒ and your boyfriend, Junhoe. Those two didn't really know each other, small wonder Junhoe always whispered questions into your ears such as:

"Do you think she likes me?"

"Did she really laugh at my joke? Was it that good?"

"Would she be mad if I bought her something?"

"Relax, Junhoe," you reassured him with a pat on his back after some more questions. "She likes you, okay? She wouldn't be here if she didn't like you," you tried your best to soothe his nerves because truth to be told, Daseul was a very adamant and very strong-headed girl despite her age, so if she wanted to leave someone behind, she would do it without giving it a second though. Plus, she was hard to please, so seeing how she laughed and enjoyed herself beside Junhoe, you were sure she didn't plan on running away.

"Good." Junhoe let out a long, long sigh as if all the weight had been lifted off his chest.

"You are doing great. Just be yourself, she likes it," you encouraged him, and gave him a quick peck on his left cheek. Him, on the other hand, turned to you and attacked your lips, squeezing all of his gratitude into one very long, very passionate kiss.

"Argh," Daseul snorted from behind you. "You guys are gross," she huffed, turning her head to the little wooden houses instead of you two.

Junhoe was the first to back away, smiling sheepishly at her words. You two exchanged a knowing glance because that's exactly how you felt when you were her age. However, as time goes by and as everyone matures, love doesn't seem so gross anymore.

"Ah, kids these days." You shook your head, a mischievous grin plastered on your face. Junhoe reciprocated your reaction, turning back to watch her reaction.

"Ah, adults these days," Daseul added cheekily. Junhoe and you, you both burst into laughter seeing her theatrical reply. Even though she wanted to appear all fierce and mature, she was as adorable as a little puppy.

Needless to say, the rest of the night was full of teasing remarks on Daseul's parts, and after a while, Junhoe also joined in, his sassy side showing. They got along even better when they were teasing each other, thus you had the time of your life watching their interactions. Watching Frozen was just a tiny part of the wonderful day you spent together, the rest just as heart-warming and fun as the movie itself, if not more. You were supposed to be a family (at least for the movie night), and you had to admit that it wasn't even that odd.

After that day, you could totally imagine Junhoe as a father, and even though you would want to wait for a couple more years before having children, you were sure that he would make an amazing father.

Tommy. Where are You Now? Tommy, Where are You Now? Tommy. Where are You?

Author: Thymeth

Year: 2007

Rating: PG

Pairing:  Howard/Tommy, Tommy/Vince, Howard/Vince.

Was this the renowned zookeeper Tommy Nooka? This short, beady-eyed, wide-headed, yellow-skinned man? There was nothing at all remarkable about him. Well, except for his odd looks. But Howard prided himself on being able to look past a person's physical shell and find what was underneath, what really mattered. And the instant Tommy shook his hand and began showing him around the zoo, Howard knew that he had found a man he would like. A man who deserved admiration. A man who, if Howard was worthy, might in time become a friend. Perhaps even a soulmate. Tommy was a leader of men and other leaders like Howard were naturally drawn to him, that was the way it should be. Tommy knew what he wanted done and he managed to get people to do it too. These were qualities Howard regarded highly and always looked to improve in himself. Perhaps he would pick up some tips from Tommy. Or perhaps their inevitable friendship would buy him enough respect not to need sharpening his skills; things might end up just falling into his lap, now that he was at Tommy's side. "And this is the Porpoise Pool," Tommy said, pointing out at the water, "That grey one is Mr Fergusson, that grey one is Shuffleboy and the last grey one is Magic Plaster. We have no dolphins, as you can see, because, and always remember this, Howard: dolphins are evil." Howard met Tommy's eyes and nodded. How could he question such a claim? It would have sounded ridiculous coming from anyone else, but not from Tommy. Tommy had natural authority, he knew everything. This was a proper man, a man's man, a man of action. And Howard was instantly his biggest fan. * Howard was sweeping the Lemur Cage. Tommy had set him to work instantly, telling him 'waste not, want not', and trusting him with such an important job. It was a tiny zoo, Howard had quickly realised, and yet there were so many animals. Every available bit of space had been utilised to its full potential, it was an architectural wonderment. Designed by Tommy, of course. Was there anything the man couldn't do? Howard swept some leaves out of a corner and was met with a quiet squeak. Curious heads peeped down from the branches above as he bent down to find a lonely lemur lying curled up in the corner, black-and-white tail wrapped around itself. "Hey, little fellow," Howard said, "You alright?" But the lemur just looked up at him with huge eyes. "You don't look too good," Howard said and reached out to stroke the furry head, "Are you ill, mate?" The lemur didn't move, it didn't even blink when Howard touched it. Howard didn't know what to do. Did he leave it here and go and fetch someone? Or did he pick it up and take it somewhere? If he left it, what would happen then? And if he took it with him, what if it escaped? But what if it got worse while he was away? Or better? What if he broke it when he lifted it up? What if it bit him, did it have rabies? What would the other keepers think if he left it here on its own? And what would they think if he came prancing by with a wild animal in his arms? Oh, so many questions, why couldn't he just make up his mind? Tommy would have known instantly what to do; he was a man of action, not of pointless thought. Howard would go to Tommy, Tommy would sort it out. But what about the lemur? Again, back at the starting point. Make a decision, Howard, make a flipping decision! He glanced up in the branches, as if the other lemurs could help him. Their little eyes shone dark down at him, uncomprehending. He was getting nowhere, this couldn't go on, he had to make a decision, now. So he lifted the lemur up into his arms. It didn't protest, as if it was half-asleep. "Come on, little fellow," he said and got to his feet, "Let's go and find Mr Nooka. He'll put you right, you'll see." Howard walked back through the zoo, peering into every nook and corner, looking for Tommy. In the Lizard Lounge he found him, standing on a stool with his sleeves rolled up past his elbows and his hands muddied as he scooped dead lily leaves out of a small frog pond. "Erm..." Howard tried, clearing his throat, "Mr Nooka, sir?" "Tommy, boy, Tommy," Tommy said, turning towards him, "No sir-ing here, lad." "Right, si... Tommy," Howard said, awkwardly. "Now, what seems to be the problem, Howard?" "Well, si... Sorry. This lemur looks a bit ill, I thought. I brought it with me, I didn't know... I mean, I... Sorry." Howard hung his head. Of course he shouldn't have brought the animal with him, what an incredibly stupid and irresponsible thing to do! But Tommy hopped off his stool, wiping his hands on his jacket, and came over to him and stood on tip-toes to look. Howard lowered the lemur and Tommy poked it in the stomach and peered into its eyes. "I'm sorry, Howard," he said slowly, "I'm sorry you had so see this. And on your first day too." "See what? What do you mean?" "I'm afraid it is dead." Howard stared at Tommy before looking down at the animal in his arms. It seemed heavier and its head lulled from side to side as he lifted it up again. It was dead. "Did I kill it?" Howard asked, his voice just a whisper, "I shouldn't have moved it. Oh! I'm sorry, Tommy, I'm so sorry." "It is not your fault, Howard," Tommy said, "We all die. Remember that: we all die." "But..." He could have saved it if he'd only made up his mind sooner, fetched Tommy sooner, not moved it, not sat around worrying what the other keepers would think of him. What would they think now? 'Howard Moon kills lemur on first day'. "It is the natural order of the world," Tommy said, laying a hand on Howard's arm, "Some animals are born and some die, that is the way it's supposed to be. Let me take this one and you go back and finish your sweeping." Howard nodded silently and placed the lifeless body into Tommy's outstretched arms. Back at the Lemur Cage, the other lemurs were watching him beadily from the branches, as if they knew what had happened and no longer trusted him. * You couldn't dislike the other keepers, you had to work side-by-side with them every day, so disliking them would've made life hell. But you didn't exactly like them either. They were fine, nothing more. They were simple, not terribly bright any of them, and yet they thought they were geniuses. Megalomaniacal, almost, as if they owned the world and had the right to sneer at everything. And they all seemed to adore Tommy. Oh, Howard, you are blind, aren't you? You're just like them. You suspected it, but you never let it form itself into a conscious thought. These were the kind of people Tommy surrounded himself with, because they're easily manipulated if treated the right way. Tommy knew how to do that. You never learnt, no-one ever listens to you or follows your orders. No-one really seemed to be friends. Everyone accepted each other, but nothing more. Bob Fossil pranced around not really doing anything, Graham worked in the ticket booth, Kerouac padded around looking out at the world sullenly from under his messy hair, Tony Ice the travelling hobo looked a right mess no matter how starched his uniform jacket was. The only one you could almost like was Tommy's private psychic Naboo. You didn't believe in all that card-reading and star-gazing nonsense, but Tommy clearly did and Naboo seemed friendly enough. And so life at the zoo continued. Tommy taught you everything he knew and you did everything you could to impress him. It was almost a competition between the keepers to be Tommy's favourite and Tommy milked it for all its worth. Few workplaces could boast of such a loyal and hard-working set of employees. All for a smile or pat on the back from Tommy. You never questioned it, as if he owned your soul. The shortest of glances from him made your stomach twist, a few words with him in the morning made you smile for the rest of the day. Some disgusting people might have said you were in love with him. It wasn't love, was it, Howard? It was respect, admiration, hero-worship. Not sissy-like love, no sir! Tommy was a man's man, a man of action, he didn't mess about with silly emotions like love. Those day-dreams about him were just a result of an over-active creative mind, weren't they? Your mind was running wild at the moment because you didn't have the time to sit down and write your novel. Once you had the time, your brain would be tamed and thoughts about hiding in the broom cupboard in the Reptile House with Tommy all squashed up against you would be wiped from your brain. * "That is not true!" Howard was standing outside Tommy's office, hand raised, about to knock. "I will not stand for this!" A loud clatter came seeping out. Howard knocked tentatively and opened the door. "Is... Is something wrong, Tommy? I heard shouting..." he asked carefully. Tommy was sitting behind his desk, arms crossed and frowning deeply. "Probably not," he answered resentfully, "Tell me, Howard, when did beating up someone at a nightclub become illegal?" Howard regarded Tommy a moment. "I think that's been illegal pretty much always." "Damn," Tommy answered. "Why? Has something happened?" "No, nothing you need worry about, Howard," Tommy answered, his face clearing, and he looked up, "You wanted something?" * Tommy had beaten someone up? You couldn't believe it. Tommy? Your Tommy, that gentle little man with the soft touch and love of lizards and cheese? How could he beat up a man? Someone had to be stitching him up. The rest of the staff were tense at lunch, talking in low voices. You sat down next to Kerouac. "Well, it's not much of a surprise, really," he was saying, "I mean, what with that situation with Paulie last year." "Why, what happened?" you asked. "New boy," Kerouac answered, "Only been here a week or so. Pissed Tommy off, wouldn't follow orders. Tommy 'most broke his arm." "He did break his arm," Graham chirped in, "Ugly incident, had to separate them meself." "What, Tommy?" you asked. You couldn't believe this. You wouldn't believe this. "Yeah," Kerouac said, "He's always been like that, violent episodes." "I heard," Tony Ice said, sitting down, his hobo-mojo as strong as ever, "I heard he used to drive down to Brighton on the weekends, used to beat up mods. Used to charge at 'em, headbutt 'em off their scooters." "Well, Tommy hates mods, doesn't he?" Graham said, "They enrage him on sight. Rockabilly Rhino he calls himself." "Are we talking about the same Tommy?" you asked, "Tommy Nooka?" The others nodded, sharing glances. "You've been a lucky one," Tony Ice said finally, " 'E's been pretty gentle with you. Ain't no-one 'ere expectin' it to last, mind. 'Specially not now." And Tony Ice wasn't wrong. You'd never seen anyone change personality so suddenly. No longer the kindly, smiling Tommy who'd tell you about his weird and wonderful dreams or encourage you and gently correct your work. This was a freakshow standing in front of you, enraged like a temperamental four-year-old that'd been refused a chocolate bar at the shop. But a four-year-old with the strength and speed of a grown man and the cruelty of a barbarian. Everything he said was venom-laced and every movement was aggressive, on the verge of violence. You lost count of how many buckets of seed you got thrown at you, and how many insulting nicknames could be created by rhyming words with 'Moon'. The man Tommy had beaten up was an important businessman. The story would have created a huge scandal - especially for Tommy and the zoo - had it reached the papers. But it had been elegantly hushed up by a shady figure referred to as Bainbridge. And Bainbridge's silence, it turned out, did not come cheap. In fact, just a couple of days later he was running the zoo. "Right," Bainbridge had barked that morning, glaring out at you all, "I'm in charge now and all zoo business will go through me. My name is Dixon Bainbridge but to you I will be known as Mr Bainbridge. I will have no nonsense at this zoo, I expect you to work hard for your pay and not piss around. I have a position as general manager opening, applicants will report to me in my office after lunch. Get to work. Good day." You didn't get that general manager job, Bainbridge gave it to Bob Fossil. Fossil had no qualifications, and that was the reason he got it: he knew nothing and couldn't go against Bainbridge's wishes. Not that Fossil would anyway; Fossil had received quite a bad punch-up from Tommy a couple of days ago and was still not over it. He latched onto anyone who disliked Tommy and right now the biggest bully was Bainbridge. And Fossil was his biggest fan. The zoo was crumbling at your fingertips, you could see everything cracking, like seashells underfoot. Nothing was right under Bainbridge's rule. The animals were no longer the centre of attention: all Bainbridge cared about was profit. Graham was given an electrical baton to make sure no-one who hadn't paid their ticket got in. Naboo was set to work in the kiosk of all places, and forcefully mocked every time Bainbridge passed. Bainbridge seemed to despise everyone and you most of all, Howard. You believed it was because you stood by Tommy still. It wasn't: he just didn't like you. * "Howard, I need you to do me a favour," Tommy said one day, coming stealthily into the Deer Enclosure, as if he was being followed. "Yes, of course," Howard said instantly, straightening up from where he was emptying seeds and fruit into a trough. "Good lad," Tommy said, "You see, I have set my eyes on a new keeper I'd like to employ and I need you to go and talk to him. Make the final move, so to say. He is quite young, I need someone who's, as they say, 'down with the kids' to talk to him. Would you do that for me, Howard?" "You can still hire new people?" Howard asked and instantly wished he hadn't: Tommy glared so angrily up at him Howard was afraid he might burst into flames. "Yes, I ruddy well can! I still own this zoo, I decide how it is run!" Howard accepted instantly, afraid what would happen if he didn't. Anyway, whatever might piss Bainbridge off was fine by him. And Tommy calling him 'down with the kids' made him secretly very proud. He was down with the kids, he knew the word on the street, hadn't he even started buying music on these new-fangled CDs rather than on old-fashioned vinyl? He left the zoo without anyone knowing and went to the café Tommy had told him about, the one just by the school. And, just as Tommy had said, there sat the boy he had been sent to talk to. Howard recognised him instantly, he was impossible not to notice. He was beautiful. He was surrounded by mates and was chatting with them of all, smiling at everyone. A natural focal point, the one person everyone was automatically and inexplicably drawn to, for no reason other than he was alive and just might smile at them. He ruffled his half-long brown-gold hair with one hand as he talked to a smiling girl. He flirted with her effortlessly, as if he wasn't even aware of what he was doing, putting his head to one side, looking up at her with wide blue eyes, giggling when she talked and smiling when he answered. Only when the woman behind the counter almost shouted at him, did Howard realise that he had been standing in a daze just staring at the boy. "Sorry, yeah," he said and turned to her, "Cup of tea please. And a... a croissant." "Don't do them foreign dishes," the woman answered, "We only do proper, hearty English food here." "Right, sorry," Howard said, rocking on the balls of his toes, "A sandwich then. Cheese." "Right you are," the woman answered and Howard paid her. Finally he could make sure the boy was still there. He couldn't keep glancing over his shoulder while he was ordering; he wasn't a paedophile. He sat down and the teenagers were still there, sprawled around two tables chatting amongst themselves, eating crisps and drinking tea. The woman behind the counter didn't even seem to register them. Tommy had said he assumed they came in here every day. Howard finished his sandwich and emptied his cup and the teenagers were still sitting there. He could've just walked up to them when he had first arrived, asked for a private word and been done with it. Why was he dallying like this, he'd already been here forty-five minutes now, wasting his own and Tommy's time. "We'd better get back," one of the boys said and got to his feet. The rest followed his example, except the one Howard was here to talk to. "I haven't got classes yet, you go," he said. "Yeah, you do, you've got maths with me," one of the girls said. The boy just smiled and shrugged. "Fine, whatever," one of the other boys said, "See you later, yeah?" "Yeah," the boy said and nodded, "Later." The group left, some of the girls waving, and suddenly the café was empty. The boy glanced around disinterested, his huge eyes resting on Howard a moment before returning to a magazine on the table in front of him. Howard could hardly breathe, as if the air had been punched out of his lungs, as if his bare soul had been prodded. What was this boy doing, those eyes shouldn't have to look at something as ordinary and boring as Howard. He belonged on the dancefloor or a stage, or at least somewhere more colourful and lively than a tiny, down-trodden café frequented by nobodies. Old doubts returned to Howard, thoughts he'd not had in months, not since he started at the zoo. He had grown so confident lately, knowing that he was easily the most superior of the keepers and Tommy's favourite. And now just a short glance from this boy had wiped it all from his memory. What was he doing? What on earth gave him the right to talk to - even think about - someone like this? Could he even go over to him? What would he say? What if the boy didn't want to talk? And what would he think of Howard? What if Howard came across all desperate, like a child molester? His brain was buzzing again, noisy with too many questions and doubts. It had always been like that - until he had started at the zoo - and now it returned even louder, dizzying. Everything was muddled up now, ready to pound him to the ground. Only one voice could he make out clearly, Tommy's voice: "Howard, I need you to do me a favour." He couldn't let Tommy down like this, not with all that trouble at the zoo. He'd have to go through with it. "Hi," he found himself saying, standing by the boy, "Sorry, mind if I sit down?" The boy looked up at him, his eyes seemed even brighter now, shrugged and turned back to his magazine. "It's a free country." "What are you reading?" Howard asked, sitting down, hand on the table, afraid he might fall over. "Magazine," the boy answered. "Look," Howard said, deciding it was best to cut to the chase, "I have a proposition for you." The boy looked up again, raising his eyebrows. Could there be a creature more lovely anywhere? Everything he did seemed right, every facial expression suited him, as if he didn't even belong to this world. "Yeah?" "Yeah. I'm from the zoo. I'm Howard, by the way." "Vince," the boy answered, "Vince Noir, rock'n'roll star." "You're in a band?" "I'm in several bands, you've probably seen me out there, I'm a mesmeriser." "Sorry, no," Howard said guiltily. As if it was his fault he hadn't heard of Vince before. "Oh," Vince said and smiled, "I suppose our music's a bit too cutting edge for your taste anyway." "Oi, you," Howard said, "I'm cutting edge, I cut the cutting edge. Yessir, with my edge-cutter, I keep it in my garage." "I've seen your edge-cutter, it's as blunt as your hair-do," Vince answered. "What are you saying about my hair?" "I mean, look at it, what's going on there? It's as if it's not even there, it's like discarded spiders' webs." "Well, it's better than..." Howard began and stopped suddenly. Had they just said those things to each other? Were they actually having something like a conversation? A conversation that flowed this beautifully? A conversation that could seem as if they were throwing insults at each other, but was really just a laugh? As if Vince didn't actually mind talking to him? "Better than what?" Vince asked with a cheeky, little smile, "No haircut is better than mine, not even Bryan Ferry's. I should know." "Sorry," Howard said and looked away, suddenly sober again, "I don't usually talk about haircuts with strangers." But Vince giggled and Howard couldn't help turning back. And Vince's giggle wasn't nastily meant; he was just giggling because that's what he did. And Howard found himself smiling, as if they were sharing an inexplicable joke, a joke that neither even remembered now. But it didn't matter because it wasn't the joke itself they were laughing at: they were laughing just because they could. "Genius," Vince said, still smiling. "Anyway," Howard said, trying to straighten out his face, "I'm from the zoo, we have a job opening and we'd like you to take it." "Me?" Vince asked, his face suddenly changed, his smile replaced with distrust, "Why? What have you heard?" "Heard?" Howard asked, taken aback, "I haven't heard anything, I was just sent out to talk to you." "I'm not a freak," Vince snapped, "I won't be ogled at." "We're not going to put you on display," Howard said, smiling at Vince's silly idea, "We want you as a zookeeper." "It's not funny," Vince answered, almost angry now, "You don't know what it's like." "Know what what's like?" Howard asked, narrowing his eyes as he studied Vince's face, "Do people ask you to work at zoos often?" "You don't know?" Vince asked, leaning forward slightly, "You don't know why you want me at your zoo?" "No," Howard answered, "I was just sent here to talk to you. And it's not my zoo, not really." "I knew that," Vince answered, sitting back again, "Who would put you in charge of a zoo anyway? You'd lose track of your shoes if they didn't follow you around." Howard could have taken that bait in so many different ways, it ticked his insides with all its possibilities. But he couldn't: he was here to do a job. "So, what do you think?" he asked, "Do you want to come and work at the zoo?" "I'll tell you why you want me," Vince said, leaning forward again as if he couldn't keep still, resting his elbows on the table and dropping his voice conspiratorially, "I can talk to animals. You want to exploit my gift." "Talk to animals?" Howard asked, "You what now?" Was Vince pulling his leg? No-one could talk to animals, that was impossible. "I can," Vince answered, "Don't you believe me?" "Not really, no," Howard answered, "How long have I been talking to you, what, five minutes? First you tell me you're a rock and roll star in bands I've never heard of and then you tell me you can talk to animals. Of course I don't believe you." "Fine," Vince said and shrugged, "I'll just stay in school then." "What, you'll come and work at the zoo if I believe that you can talk to animals?" Vince sucked in his cheeks, making his cheekbones stand out even sharper, and wrinkled his nose as he mulled this over. "No?" "And why are you in school? You're not even in class." "I have this lesson off," Vince said, turning sharply to Howard, "I'm not bunking off if that's what you think." "I don't care what you're doing," Howard answered, "Why should I? You're not the centre of the universe." "I am right now," Vince answered, almost coyly, "Why else would you be talking to me?" Howard stared at him. Was it really possible to be that confident? He couldn't work him out. What was Vince seeing when he looked at Howard with those eyes of his, was he looking into his innermost thoughts? Could he see that Howard was already hugely taken by him? And who could blame him, Howard had never met anyone as beautiful. And especially not someone beautiful who also wanted to talk to him. Because Vince did want to talk to him, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed, would he? He wouldn't have told Howard that he could talk to animals if he didn't want to keep the conversation going. Unless this all was some sort of elaborate, cruel joke. "What?" Vince asked, still watching Howard, his face mirroring Howard's expression. "Nothing," Howard said, shaking himself, "Look, my boss asked me to tell you there's a job for you at the zoo if you're interested. If you're not, well..." He let the last sentence hang there in the air, half-way between a threat and a promise. Vince frowned, clearly battling with himself. "I've got exams..." "What, GCSEs?" "Yeah." "GCSEs aren't important," Howard said, "They don't teach you anything about the real world. Come and work at the zoo, you'll like it." "Do you work there?" "Yeah." "What with?" "Hoofed mammals mostly," Howard answered, "And in the aviary sometimes." "I like monkeys," Vince mused, mussing up his hair, "And frogs and lizards. And sealife. I like most animals, really." He seemed to be changing his mind and Howard waited for him to finish thinking before speaking again. "So?" "Yeah," Vince said, meeting Howard's eyes and smiling, "Alright, I'll come and work at the zoo." * You didn't like the look on Tommy's face when you came back to the zoo with Vince in tow, did you, Howard? It wasn't a cruel look. No, far from it. Tommy seemed so happy to see Vince, as if he'd been looking forward to this moment for ages and ages. And as Tommy introduced himself and started telling Vince about the zoo (he used the exact same words and phrases he had when he had told you about it all that time ago), you saw in Tommy's face desire clear as day. Tommy fancied Vince! Of course you didn't use those exact words in your mind, but in essence that was what you thought. Were you jealous, Howard? Did Tommy's sidelong glances up at Vince as he showed him around make your insides burn? Did the way Tommy touched Vince's arm when he pointed out the different porpoises make you want to push Tommy into the pool and never let his head re-emerge out of the water? Was it jealousy, Howard? If it wasn't, what was it then? You still trusted Tommy, you knew he'd never harm Vince, so it couldn't be that you were worried for Vince's safety, could it? Admit it, Howard, your secret's safe here: you were jealous. You wanted Vince for yourself, as if it were you who'd found him. You fancied him, didn't you, Howard? You fancied him the same way you had fancied Tommy. How quickly your feelings for Tommy transformed. When you had left the zoo this morning you adored Tommy with all your heart. When you returned and saw him looking up at Vince with that leering gaze of his you hated him. That's how you knew what they were talking about and what they looked at: you followed them, didn't you, Howard? And you hated yourself for it. Why's that, Howard? You still don't know. Strange things, emotions, aren't they? Tommy showed Vince into the Lizard Lounge and you hovered by outside, pretending to be sweeping. "Move, Moon!" came that dreaded voice and you scampered out of Bainbridge's way. He burst into the Lizard Lounge, shouting at Tommy. You hid quickly behind a corner as they re-emerged and heard their conversation perfectly. "What the hell is this, Nooka?" "Your finger?" Tommy answered. "I own your arse, Nooka, don't be making jokes if you know what's best for you. You know exactly what I'm talking about. How dare you go and hire new people, I never gave you permission." "He has a gift, he will be the best zookeeper you will ever see, just you wait." "You will tell him he's fired." "I most certainly will not. This is my zoo and I run it as I see fit." "I think you'll find, Nooka, it is yours in name only. I run this ship now." "And I think you should remember Zoo Regulation 409, subsection C." But just then there was a high-pitched screech from the Lizard Lounge. "Pray excuse me, work calls," Tommy said. "You, sir, are going nowhere," Bainbridge answered. You heard Tommy squeak and you peered carefully around the corner. And you saw Bainbridge holding onto Tommy's shoulder, digging his gloved fingers deeply into Tommy's flesh, Tommy's face screwed up in agony. But you didn't care. You didn't care if Tommy was in pain. You almost smiled. "You'll see me in my office," Bainbridge said, "You'll come quietly and without a fuss." With every syllable you heard Tommy yelp, and you knew Bainbridge was pinching him harder. But you didn't care, did you, Howard? Because as they passed by, you heard a second screech from the Lizard Lounge: Vince! You rushed to him like a mother wolf to the rescue, slamming the doors open. Vince was standing frozen by the frog pond, staring at something on the bank. He was trembling, as if fearing for his life. You walked up to him, carefully, trying to discern what it was he was looking at. Then you saw: it was a newt. A newt had managed to get into the frog pond and was standing staring back at Vince, ready to pounce. "There, there, little man," you said, the endearment falling so easily from your lips as if you'd been calling him that all your life, "It's just a newt, don't panic." But Vince didn't answer, still staring at the newt and trembling. Could you...? Could you touch him? Could you take hold of those shoulders and gently bring him back to the real world and save him from the newt and become the hero of the day? The newt began opening its mouth slowly and you heard Vince gasp slightly and he trembled worse. You couldn't dally, you knew not making up your mind fast enough could have disastrous results. So you took hold of Vince's shoulders. "It's alright, little man, it's just a newt." Vince seemed to snap out of his trance and turned sharply towards you. "I didn't... It just..." "It's just a newt," you told him, "It sensed your surprise and started staring at you. You were trembling. Never tremble with a newt, Vince: it changes sex." "Really?" Vince was looking up at you, you still had your hands on his shoulders, you were standing so close. "Really," you answered. "I didn't know that," he said and put his head to one side, "It was telling me to get out of this place, that there's some bad ju-ju going on round here." You almost laughed then. Were Vince's words funny? Or was it relief? Or nerves, perhaps, because you were so close to him, you could see the fine details in his face and in his eyes? Or because what he said the newt had told him was true? "That Tommy bloke," Vince said, "Is he coming back? I like him." You let go of him then, as if he'd burnt your palms. * Howard sat in the cafeteria with a cup of tea going cold in front of him, just brooding. It wasn't fair. It was not fair. He'd just rescued everyone from a rampant llama and all Tommy did was accuse him of bestiality and hit him with a broom. He'd just saved the zoo from being closed; that llama had hoofed vicars and doctors and little girls. No-one had been able to get near it but him. So what if calming it had involved him getting off with it? Wasn't the end more important than the means? "Hey, you finished with the sugar?" came a voice and Howard looked up. Fossil was standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Yeah," Howard said, waving his hand vaguely in the direction of the sugar cup, "Help yourself." "Did you see the long-necked spittle-man running loose today?" Fossil asked, sitting down and spooning sugar into his coffee, "I heard some guy made out with it." "Yeah, yeah," Howard answered. If Fossil was pulling a joke he was not amused. "Bainbridge is really pissed, said Tommy let it out on purpose, to make a mess and underdig him." "Undermine him," Howard corrected without thinking, "Is Bainbridge really saying that?" "Yeah," Fossil said, his face glowing like a schoolboy that had just recited his homework perfectly, "Bainbridge has been trying to get rid of Tommy for weeks and weeks." "Oh yeah?" Howard couldn't help getting curious. He wouldn't mind if Bainbridge got rid of Tommy. "Yeah," Fossil answered, "But they've got lots of papers with long words on them, they make the road rocky, Bainbridge says. He can't fire Tommy, it's in the papers. And he can't ever own the zoo until after Tommy's dead." After Tommy's dead. Howard shouldn't be thinking such a thought. Tommy couldn't die, he was a proper man, a man of action, men of action don't die. But wasn't it Tommy who had told him ages ago that we all die...? Howard couldn't believe he was thinking such a thought. Was he really contemplating what life would be like if Tommy was dead? He'd have Vince all to himself then. And he'd no longer live in fear of being beaten up and verbally abused. Obviously Bainbridge would be running the zoo, but perhaps that wouldn't be so bad after all. Perhaps if Tommy wasn't there to make life difficult for him, Bainbridge would turn out to be quite a good zoo-owner. Perhaps the reason he hadn't properly got to know the detailed runnings of the zoo was that he didn't want to have to talk to Tommy all the time. Perhaps with Tommy out of the way, Bainbridge would buy some new animals to replace the ones that had died lately. Life wouldn't be that bad if Tommy wasn't in it, really. Howard smiled as he thought about it. Him and Vince sitting outside the Keepers' Hut drinking coffee and chatting. Him and Vince being on nightwatch and looking after the zoo. Him and Vince travelling to and from work together on the tram system. Him and Vince working their way up the ranks, becoming king keepers. It would be brilliant. "Maybe Bainbridge shouldn't try and fire Tommy," Howard said, looking at Fossil, "Tommy could be made to disappear, you know." "What, in Naboo's magic cabinet?" Fossil asked with a sneer. "No, of course not," Howard answered, "I mean, look around, this is a zoo. There are plenty of dangers out there." Fossil stared blankly back at Howard a moment before the suggestion sunk in and a smile grew on his face. "I've just got an idea," he said, as if he had surprised himself, "I gotta go, I... gotta... pick some flowers." He was on his feet so quickly he almost knocked his chair over and hurried out of the cafeteria, leaving Howard behind smiling to himself. * You don't remember the next morning very well, do you, Howard? The only thing you remember clearly is that you had Vince standing next to you. "Listen up," Bainbridge said, pointing out at the group of zookeepers standing there in front of him, "I have important news. Tommy Nooka, the owner of this zoo, fell in the Ocelot Pit last night." A gasp moved through the crowd. "He was killed instantly, the ocelots munched him down, there was no possibility of escape. I'm sure he'll be missed." No-one could speak, everyone was standing in shock. Except you, Howard. You almost laughed. To think, Tommy was no more, as if your little chat with Fossil last night had made your darkest, innermost desire come true. It wasn't you who had pushed Tommy into the Ocelot Pit. But it was still you who killed him, wasn't it, Howard? Because you put that idea into Fossil's head and Fossil told it to Bainbridge. Had he told Bainbridge it was your idea or had he presented it as his own? If he had told Bainbridge it was your idea, did that mean Bainbridge would be blackmailing you now? You'd have to watch your step. But you weren't worried about that just now; all you were thinking about was Vince. Because Vince was standing there with his hand over his mouth, struck dumb with shock like the rest of them. Yesterday you'd been so unsure if you could touch him. Now you didn't even think twice about it, as if there was no barrier between him and you any more, and you lay your arm around his shoulder. He looked up at you with huge, scared eyes. "Is he dead, Howard?" he asked, his voice tiny like a lost child. You squeezed his shoulder and he snuggled closer, looking for comfort. "I'm afraid so, little man." "And," Bainbridge continued, "The Jungle Room is shut. No-one is allowed in there. No questions. Get back to work. Good day." "What do I do now?" Vince asked, looking up at you, "Tommy was going to teach me everything he knew." Everyone was wandered sombrely back to work but Vince didn't pull away from your embrace. "You'll stay here, of course," you said, "The job's still yours." "But I don't know anything." "I'll teach you." "Really?" He didn't seem to believe you could even teach an apple how to fall to the ground. "Yeah, you can be my apprentice." "Apprentice?" he asked, unable to hide his smile, "Who are you, the Wizard of Oz? No-one has apprentices any more." "If you don't want training that's fine," you said, "Go back to school if you want." You would never have spoken to anyone else like this, as if you didn't care; anyone else you would have begged to stay. But you knew that Vince knew you weren't serious, you knew he knew exactly what you meant. It was as if the two of you had the same mind, a mind that understood the other perfectly. Vince smiled properly now and looked down. "Nah, I'll stay. A couple of days at least." Those days became weeks, weeks became months and soon it was as if you'd never done anything else. You never let yourself think about Tommy and soon he slipped out of your mind, as if he had only appeared in a distant dream. We all dream, but do we really dream? Vince showed you the magic in the world, the magic you hadn't dared believe existed before. He showed you that there were magical things happening just around the next corner, if only you were prepared to open up your heart to them. No-one made you happier than him and yet no-one made you doubt yourself more. Everything he did and said affected you, every frown filled you with despair and every little smile made your whole world joyous. A Mrs Gideon was hired to take care of the Reptile House. You pretended to be in love with her to keep Vince in his place, as if to make sure his ego didn't grow too big with all the attention you were giving him. But he knew you were only pretending and he didn't care at all. You often remembered your first conversation with him: "You're not the centre of the universe," you had told him and he had answered "I am right now." And he was, always.

Demon Hunter

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Word count: 5k (oneshot)

Synopsis: Maybe Ken’s been watching just a little too much anime.. maybe.

(A/N): Reposting this as a tester. I want to see if I can fix the gif issue I’ve been having with my drafts/posts lately💀 Side note, I’m not currently on my desktop tumblr so I’ll try to add the Read More option when I wake up and turn on my laptop, sorry for any inconveniences!

🎀

I was just at home, laying on my plush sofa when I noticed my phone light up. The notification was from none other than my boyfriend, Ken, and I couldn’t help the grin that came upon my face.

“Hello?” I answered the call.

“Baby! I miss you, can I come over? I’ll buy food~,” he chirped.

“Yes Ken, of course,” I chuckled, “you’re always welcome. I was just watching reruns anyway.”

After a bit of more mushy conversation, I left my spot on the couch to tidy up the house a little before his arrival. He’d driven over soon enough, greeting me with a bear hug the second I managed to open the door, kissing all over my face as I dragged him inside just enough to shut the door behind him. Something stood out to me however, it was his jacket.

“Babe, uh, not sure how to tell you this.. but I think you bought the wrong size,” I joked.

“What, the hoodie?” Ken asked as he pointed to the red, front zip hoodie he was indeed wearing.

“It looks almost twice your size, why didn’t you just get one that fits?” I tugged on the white strings of the hood playfully. “Or did you just want a baggy sweater?”

“Actually,” he drags out the word as he slowly unzips and removes the sweater, “it’s for you.” Eyeing him with a curiously raised brow, I silently urged him to continue. “You know how you’ve been obsessing over InuYasha recently, sweetheart?”

“Of course love, why?” I have a good idea why, but I’d love to hear his explanation for this. So I kept baiting him to speak up.

“When we were watching the show last time, InuYasha gave Kagome his robe to protect her,” Ken relayed.

“So is this supposed to be the Robe of the Fire Rat?” I had to contain a giggle that was dying to burst.

“Kinda,” Ken gave me a lopsided grin, paired with his adorable eye smile. “You seemed to find it cute, so I wanted to recreate it.. like our own little insider.” His voice trailed off as suddenly his face drops.

“Ken, what is it?” I worriedly tug at his shirt. He looks down at me solemnly, placing the soft jacket over my shoulders and hugging me close. “Honey, you’re scaring the life out of me.. what’s wrong?” I crane my neck to look up at him as he smooths a hand over my hair.

Leaning down by my ear he whispers, “I’ll protect you, don’t worry.” I proceeded to freak out, thinking of what to do if there was a killer, or a robber in my house, or if there was a rapist on the loose or… When I realized what Ken was doing, it dawned on me that I couldn’t have been farther from the truth. This dork goes up to the closet in the hallway, and with a deadpan expression, pulls out of my old toy swords won at some arcade, warning me to stay behind him for safety.

Before I can begin to question his logic however, it all comes to light fairly quickly. “Hah, puny demon, you’re no match for me! What is it you want, the jewel shards? Come at me, then! Tessaiga!” And with that he unsheathes the sword.. at my yipping little Pomeranian, barking along excitedly for playtime. This grown, nearly six foot man, was pretending a puppy was a demon, fighting it to protect me, sweater and all.

After the shock had worn off from thinking there was any real danger, I watched my goofball of a boyfriend and fluff of a pup chase each other around the living room, smiling at their antics. It wasn’t long before I’d joined in as well, with my arms finally through the huge jacket sleeves, so it wouldn’t fall off my now dwarfed form. It was velvety soft, though perhaps a bit thick, and smelled of what I can only describe as Ken. His favorite cologne and something sweet, leading me to think he was probably eating candy earlier, which could partially be the cause for his extra hyper-ness today.

Somewhere along our silly chase, I nearly trip over myself, and he manages to catch me, tossing me over his shoulder with a hearty laugh. My poor dog now exhausted and laying in his bed, Ken carries me back to the couch, positioning himself under me so we could cuddle.

“You’re too cute for words, Ken Lee,” I mumble contentedly into his chest.

“But you still give me a run for my money, cutie pie.” I blushed at his words of endearment.

“Quick question. If you wanted to give me the sweater, why’d you wear it on your way over?”

“Because I wanted it to smell like me when I handed it over,” Ken paused, “ok that and I wanted to do the whole dramatic demon fighting stunt I pulled,” he confessed sheepishly.

“Dork,” I muttered with a grin plastered to my face, knowing he could feel it rather than see it as I was still against his shirt, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips.

“No hard feelings?” I felt him mumble against my lips.

“None whatsoever, my love. In fact, I’m beyond grateful you went through all this trouble.”

“It’s no trouble if it’s for you, my darling.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it tenderly, making my heart melt knowing Ken truthfully meant his words.

I playfully shoved his shoulder once he’d let go, resting my face in the crook of his neck, feeling elated. “Whatta day, I got my own Robe and you managed to unsheathe Tessaiga,” I joked.

“Does that make me your half demon?” He pulled back just to wink cheesily.

“Sure thing, as long as I’m your Kagome,” I winked back.

“But what if I liked Kikyo,” Ken teased, earning a glare before he laughed maniacally and apologized, hugging me tighter.

“Don’t think I forgot, you promised you’d buy food,” I pouted cutely, “how about we order Japanese?”

Ken snorted at my lame choice and pinched my nose before muttering “weeb” and kissing the tip. I yawned loudly, catching us both off guard. “How about we order after we take a nap?” Ken chuckled, asking if I’d stayed up late last night, to which I nodded. Busted, I had lost track of time because I ended up on the weird side of YouTube. That and reading click-bait articles, which I really should stop falling for.

With his beautiful, melodic voice, Ken sang me a lullaby, rubbing my back gently meanwhile. A soft tune and loving touch, sleep called out to me irresistibly. Engulfed by his scent and rhythmic heartbeat, I gave into the pull, and our demon slaying journey to Feudal Japan was put on hold. After all, even half demons need their beauty sleep.

🎀

(A/N): I really hope you all liked it, and as I’ve probably mentioned before, InuYasha quite literally showed me a whole new world. Bc withhout it I wouldn’t be the kpop/anime nerd I am today lmao

Wishing you all an amazing day~ Oh, and if you noticed any typos, feel free to point them out and I’ll fix em asap!

♥ Best wishes, as always. xoxo, Berry 🍓

Only You ♡

Word Count: 1,817

Member: Yanan x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Requested: Yes

aquarium date with yanan 🐟

The chilly breeze blew across your cheek, giving you a small chill. You pulled the sleeves of your sweater down over your hands, keeping them close to your body as you walked down the sidewalk. It was the end of autumn, and winter was about to begin. It was starting to become sweater weather, which was really just cuddle weather. Your boyfriend Yanan was the perfect cuddler, especially when it was this time of year.

It had been awhile since you had seen him, so he had suggested to take the day off and just spend it together, which made your stomach fill with butterflies, all of them flying around vigorously in anticipation and excitement. You knew that it didn't really matter what you were doing, if it was with him then it'd be the best time of your life.

This particular date was a secret, though, which made it all even more exciting. With each step you took, you felt even more nervous. For the date, partly, but you just wanted to see him and hug him since it had been so long. You loved him so much, that just being away from him for even a day was too long.

You checked the time on your phone as you continued to walk along the busy street, on your way to the coffee shop that you were going to meet him at so he could take you to the "secret date location." Yanan didn't seem like the spontaneous type when you first met him, but he was always keeping you on your toes by planning little dates to do with you that were kept hidden from you so you went in blindly. But, it was fun. Not knowing what you were going to do that day with him felt thrilling. Him having the job he does didn't make it easy for you two to do things all the time, so whenever you would get together, it made it even more special.

The time on your phone read 11:57 am, 3 minutes before the time you said you'd be at the coffee shop. As you looked up, you saw the building you were meeting him at and immediately recognized the boy sitting at one of the outside tables. Your heart sped up but your feet slowed down, almost like you were afraid to make him move from his position. He was sitting in the black metal chair, one arm resting on the back and the other holding his phone up. He looked so serious and straight faced, so handsome. It didn't last long though, you assumed he could feel you staring, as he looked up and saw you, a wide bright smile appearing on his face.

He slid his phone into his pocket and walked to you, enveloping you into a firm hug. The muscles in his arms stiffened around you, pulling you as close as he could against him. In the midst of the crisp breeze, all you could feel was his warmth. You let out the breath you were holding, a sigh of relief knowing you were back in his arms again. You rested your cheek against his chest, his heartbeat echoing in your ear. You pouted a little as he pulled away to look at you, missing the warmth of his body against yours. "I missed you." He said sweetly, smiling down at you. He kept one hand on your forearm as he looked at you, not breaking eye contact.

He slid his hand down softly, letting it fall into yours and intertwining your fingers as you stood on that street outside the coffee shop. But, before you could say anything in response, he gripped your hand tighter than before and pulled you, leading you down the street. "Where are we going?" You raised your voice, unsure if he could hear you with all the traffic going on. "So many questions!" He responded, keeping a tight grip on your hand as you two made your way to wherever he was planning on taking you. "That's literally the only question I've asked!" You couldn't help but laugh at how he was behaving, you missed him so much.

After the two of you crossed an intersection, you were now walking side by side, hand in hand, down the busy sidewalk to the unknown. You were going to keep pressing about where you were going, but you figured that he's not the type to give up so easy, so you just went along for the ride, or walk, and just enjoyed being in his company.

After about 15 minutes of walking, you looked up and saw where exactly he was taking you: the aquarium. You rested your cheek against his arm and smiled, squeezing his hand. "You're taking me to the aquarium. You are so adorable!" You giggled and walked in front of him, swaying your hands with his in excitement. "Yeah, I mean, I thought it'd be fun. I'm glad you're happy." He gripped your hands and pulled you a little closer, keeping your hands up and swaying back and forth with the chilly breeze. "Of course I'm happy. You know as long as I'm with you, I'll always be happy. Let's go inside!" You walked back to his side and walked into the building hand in hand with him.

It was such a beautiful sight; different hues of blue bounced off the walls, dozens of huge tanks holding all sorts of colorful, vibrant fish. Little kids were smiling so big as they saw all the fish up close, pulling on their mothers' hands to get them to explore everything they could. The atmosphere was just so bright and happy.

After Yanan bought your passes to see everything, you began to walk around with him, taking it all in. "They are so beautiful," you whispered as you gazed into the tank with the fish that were colored like a sunset. "I can tell you what's more beautiful...you." You laughed aloud and hit him softly on his arm, feeling your cheeks start to heat up. "Would you stop?" you shook your head, a smile plastered to your face as you continued to look at all the aquatic life swimming around behind the glass.

After awhile, it was time to get to see some sea animals up close, which you were the most excited for. Yanan, not so much. "It's not like they're going to rip your face off or something. They're penguins, not sharks." You didn't want him to miss out on something like this because you knew he'd regret not trying. Trying to reason with him was hard sometimes, though. "You never know. Watch: now that you said that it'll actually happen. Take a good look at this handsome face because it won't be there forever." "You're being dramatic. Nothing will happen, not while I'm there. I'll fight a penguin if it tries to hurt you, for real." You were joking, obviously, but it brought light to his worries and made him laugh, easing him a little.

You walked through a door leading to the penguin habitat and you couldn't hold in your squeal of excitement. "They are so adorable, look at them!" You gripped Yanan's hand as you got closer, reassuring him you were right there with him. As the person working there was talking about all the information about that specific type of penguin, you kept your hand intertwined with Yanan's, using your other hand to rub up and down his arm to comfort him. He smiled slightly, gripping your hand tighter without looking at you.

After he was done talking, he let everyone there know that you'd be feeding them, so you were handed a small bucket filled with small fish to share with him. As you moved closer to the penguins, you saw that he was actually smiling, and it made your heart warm. He carefully and slowly gave a fish to a penguin, cautious of his actions. The penguin didn't really care about what was happening really, all he cared about was he was getting fed. You side-hugged Yanan, just feeling so happy in that moment. You were feeding penguins with him! You couldn't believe it.

After feeding all the penguins you two could, and eventually running out of fish for them, you made your way back to the main part of the aquarium to look at more fish and other animals. "I'm proud of you," you leaned against him, letting his arm wrap around your shoulder as you two walked. "It was actually really fun. I'm glad I did it. And I'm glad you were there with me."

Before you were going to leave, you spotted a sign that read, "Great Barrier Reef Tunnel" making you stop dead in your tracks. "It's the tunnel! We have to go through it!" You pulled him along until you got to the entrance, when you stopped walking and stood still in shock. The sight before you was a beauty beyond words; a huge tunnel of different colored fish and other animals in all directions, swimming above and around you. The water was the most vibrant blue and it looked like you could just stick your hand in and go swimming with them.

As you walked further, you couldn't keep your attention on just one thing; your head was constantly turning, trying to see every detail you could. It was unreal. You felt a soft, warm hand lock with yours, shifting your gaze from the fish to Yanan's eyes. You were both smiling, unspoken words of happiness shared between the two of you with just one look. Your heart began to race as you noticed him moving in closer to you, erasing the empty space between you. His hand that wasn't holding yours held your cheek, his thumb delicately moving the strands of hair that had fallen on your face. You could've sworn you saw his eyes twinkle as he smiled, and then his lips met yours. You closed your eyes and pushed yourself into him, leaving no space left between you and him. Your whole body got warm as his arms wrapped around you, pushing you against his chest firmly. You smiled into the kiss as you rested your hands on either side of his waist, his pillowy lips moving tenderly against yours.

It didn't last as long as you wanted, and you involuntarily pouted slightly as he pulled away, resting his forehead on yours. He kept his hand on your cheek and kept his eyes closed as he let his heart rate go back to normal. "I love you," he whispered it so softly, that if you were any further away from him, you wouldn't have heard it. But, you did. You were never more sure of anything than you were in that moment, and without hesitation, you said it, too.

The Daily Life of Loving a Really Cute but Dense Vampire Ch13

Ch13 - Special Chapter: A Happy Mother’s Day

Author Notes

Wrote this back in May for Mother’s Day, hehe~ :P

Happy Mother's Day to all my lovely reader's mothers~ *O* Without your honourable mums, there won't be you to be reading this story! Hehe~ X'D So, I'm grateful to them and you alike!

May you enjoy~ XD

Summary: Honoka aged 5-years old ropes Maki and Umi into her Mother's Day Big Plan to make all of their Mothers happy!

“Maki-chan! Umi-chan!” the tiny gingerhead grabbed two other tiny hands in hers as she pulled her redhead and bluenette childhood friends under her blanket where her younger sister, Yukiho, aged four, was waiting already.

“W-What do you want, Honoka?” Maki asked with an irritated tone though she willingly climbed onto the gingerhead’s bed.

“Let’s hide first!” Honoka urged and helped cover up any possible light coming through from Umi’s side.

“Why are we hiding?” Umi asked.

“Because…” Honoka whispered with both hands cupping her mouth.

“Because?” Umi and Maki could not help but whisper in return.

“Because we’re planning a biiiig surprise for our mums!” Honoka whispered excitedly, her blue eyes seemingly shining in the darkness of the covers.

Honoka felt a small tug on her orange shirt so she looked over at her younger sister.

“Big surprise?” Yukiho asked in a small voice.

Honoka’s grin widened and she gave a firm nod. “Yup! A biiiig surprise!”

“Y-You’re being very loud, Honoka…” Umi looked around worriedly, though they could not see anything from outside the blankets.

Honoka clamped both hands over her mouth. “I-It’s okay, I don’t hear anyone around. Right, Maki-chan?”

Maki looked away. “I certainly can’t hear anyone.”

Umi placed an understanding hand on the four year old redhead’s shoulder; we can’t blame Honoka for forgetting that Maki is not vampire and does not have enhanced hearing.

Maki nodded her understanding before looking back at the gingerhead. “So what’s the plan?”

Honoka beamed, this time her pearly whites joined her bright blue eyes in illuminating the space. “We will swap places to shower love to each of our mums!” Honoka declared happily as though her plan made a lot of sense.

Maki raised both eyebrows while Umi looked afraid. Yukiho tugged at her older sister’s shirt again.

“Yes, Yukiho?” Honoka was still jolly.

“What do you mean?” Yukiho asked the question everyone wanted to know.

“I mean this.” Honoka then went and explained her grand idea, and took a good half hour persuading Maki and Umi into it.

  The second Sunday of May rolled by, marking Mother’s Day. All three Kousaka, Sonoda and Nishikino households took an off day from the Sweets Shop, Dojo and Hospital respectively just to celebrate this special day.

Honoka grabbed her younger sister’s hand and ran over to her mother, still clad in an apron as she was going to begin cleaning the house.

“Mum! Mum!” Honoka had a huge smile as she ran up to her mum to tackle her in a huge hug.

Honoka’s mum laughed. “Yes, Honoka?”

Honoka faced upwards to her mother with a blinding smile. “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!” She shouted while her mum chuckled. “Your turn, Yukiho!” Honoka urged her soft-spoken sister to do the same as her.

“U-Um…” Yukiho fidgeted behind Honoka.

Honoka’s mum patted her younger daughter, encouraging her. “H-Happy Mother’s Day, mum!” Yukiho managed to shout, made eye contact with her mum before staring at her older sister to know how well she did.

Honoka was still smiling broadly and she gave Yukiho a proud twist.

Honoka’s mum laughed again. “Thank you, sweeties.” Honoka’s mum kneeled down to be of the same height as her little daughters and gave each of them a peck on the forehead, eliciting happy giggles from her children.

“Well, we’ll be off now, mum! And don’t do your chores yet! I bet U-” Yukiho clamped her hands over Honoka’s so that she does not spoil the surprise. Honoka nodded for Yukiho to release her. “I bet it’ll be done before you know it!” Honoka rephrased before taking her younger sister’s hand and running out.

Honoka’s mum smiled at her energetic pair of children as she followed them downstairs.

At the front of Homura’s door was Umi and Honoka exchanged a high-five with the blue haired girl. “Good luck, Umi-chan! Maki-chan is?”

Umi smiled nervously. “Maki is at my house already. And good luck to you too, Honoka…”

Honoka changed into a bat with her younger sister and flew off to the Nishikino’s mansion.

  Honoka-bat smiled with all fangs when she saw Maki-mama waiting for the two Kousaka sisters outside her front gate.

“Maki-mama~!” Honoka-bat called for Maki-mama’s attention below who looked up with a welcoming smile and outspread arms.

Honoka-bat did a happy flip before she transformed back to human mid-air for Maki-mama to catch her, which Maki-mama did perfectly, with a giggle.

“Aren’t you energetic, Honoka?” Maki-mama hugged Honoka in her arms before putting the five year old down to pat Yukiho who landed nicely beside her.

“Hehe~ Of course I am! We’re here to show you how much we love you too, Maki-mama!” Honoka wriggled out of Maki-mama’s hold to jump to the ground, she whispered to her little sister.

“Hm? Let’s go inside?” Maki-mama was going to turn around but stopped.

“One…Two…! Happy Mother’s Day, Maki-mama!” Honoka and Yukiho shouted in unison. Maki-mama beamed happily as she felt a new warmth in her heart, and she chuckled.

“Thank you. It’s like I suddenly have two daughters.” Maki-mama grinned as she gave each sister a pat.

Honoka giggled. “You mean four! Because Maki-chan, Umi-chan, Yukiho and I have always been your daughters!”

Maki-mama grinned at Honoka’s words. “Yes, indeed. Now come on in, so that I can pamper my two energetic daughters here right now.” Maki-mama winked.

Honoka jumped for joy as she rushed into the house. “Yay~”

“O-Onee-chan…” Yukiho called as she ran after. “Aren’t we supposed to do the pampering…”

“Ah, you’re right!” Honoka quickly ran back and took Maki-mama’s hand in hers. “Any chores for us to do? We’re experts!” Honoka tried a wink of her own, though she was not used to it, so it came off as a blink and a nod at the same time.

Maki-mama smiled down at Honoka’s energy. “Mm…How about we dust the furniture?”

“Roger!” Honoka saluted and ran for the storage in which the dusters will be found.

Maki-mama watched on, making sure to follow. She knows how clumsy the gingerhead can be.

  After an hour or so of cleaning the Nishikino’s mansion, Maki-mama saw Honoka and Yukiho sitting and standing close to the piano.

“Want to play the piano, Honoka, Yukiho?” Maki-mama opened the piano.

“Eh?! Really? We can?!” Honoka’s eyes were shining with excitement while Yukiho stared at the Grand Piano in awe.

Maki-mama chuckled. “Of course. I can teach you.”

“Yay~!” Honoka spun around in her seat, but when her eyes rested on the sea of black and white, her hand stopped above it.

Maki-mama smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s quite easy.” Maki-mama placed her hand above the gingerhead’s to guide her to each chord while telling her what they are. Yukiho sat beside her older sister trying to listen in, but after some time she fell asleep on Honoka’s lap.

  Perhaps another hour or more had passed for Honoka’s first piano lesson. Honoka stretched with a very satisfied “Mm~” and broad smile. Maki-mama smiled proudly at their progress.

“Want to play with Maki’s dolls?” Maki-mama stretched and started for the second floor.

Honoka nodded excitedly and prodded her sister awake. “Yukiho, Yukiho! Let’s go play with Maki-chan’s soft toys! You know? There are really cute ones!”

Yukiho rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. “Onee-chan?”

“Come on!” Honoka pushed her little sister to guide her down the piano bench carefully.

The moment they reached Maki’s humongous princess-like room (it’s even bigger to Honoka and Yukiho since they were small in size), Honoka rushed for the princess bed.

“Softness~!” Honoka yelled as she jumped on the bed and let her face smack into the softness of the quilt blanket. “Ah~”

Maki-mama giggled as she saw Yukiho plastered her face on the side of the bed to feel what her older sister was feeling.

“The soft toys are here, Honoka, Yukiho.” Maki-mama pointed to a corner of the room with the soft toys of bears and bunnies and other arrays of animals sitting at a table and child-sofa.

“Ooh~!” Honoka rolled off the bed and picked up a dinosaur soft toy.

Yukiho went beside her older sister and picked up a bunny.

“Would you like something to drink?” Maki-mama asked.

“Blood O?” Honoka’s eyes started shining again.

Maki-mama chuckled. “Only a small bit, okay?” Maki-mama winked.

“Okay!” Honoka saluted once more. “How about you Yukiho?”

Yukiho looked down shyly.

“You can tell Maki-mama anything, you know? Maki-chan’s house has everything!” Honoka spread her arms wide.

Maki-mama chuckled. “Do we now?”

“You sure do!” Honoka flashed Maki-mama a broad smile.

“Um…” Honoka and Maki-mama gave their attention to Yukiho. “Can I have…B?”

Maki-mama smiled sweetly. “Of course. Entertain yourself while I get your drink.”

“Okay~” The two sisters chimed.

It did not take long for Maki-mama to return with their orders.

“Maki-mama.” Honoka picked up an orange haired doll that had a side ponytail in a ribbon and blue eyes.

“Yes, Honoka?” Maki-mama turned away from playing Yukiho for a moment.

“This doll looks really familiar…” Honoka pouted thoughtfully.

Maki-mama looked at the doll. “Oh, that’s…”

“That’s?” Honoka stared at Maki-mama with curiosity.

Maki-mama considered telling the five year old that the doll was modelled after her, and Maki personally asked Santa to gift it to her last Christmas. “That’s Maki’s favourite doll.”

Honoka blinked. “Eh? I thought this was Maki-chan’s favourite doll? She hugs it to sleep too!” Honoka picked up the teddy bear which had an adorable yellow bowtie on it.

Maki-mama chuckles and whispers in the gingerhead’s ear. “This doll that looks really familiar to you is Maki’s secret favourite.”

Honoka got excited from the word ‘secret’ and puts both hands to her mouth to signify that she won’t tell anyone, while Maki-mama laughs heartily; knowing she got at least one point on her 5-year old daughter.

  Umi, just as Honoka mentioned before leaving her house, have done a splendid job of helping Honoka-mama in cleaning the house. The tables and televisions were all dusted and the bedsheets were changed together too.

“Honoka-mama…I want to clean the top of that shelf.” Umi pointed at a shelf.

Honoka-mama smiled. “Okay. Be careful now.” Honoka-mama picked the small bluenette off the ground and raised her to a height which the five year old can easily run the duster through the shelf.

“Thank you, Honoka-mama. It’s all clean now.” Umi smiled with a nod of approval to the person carrying her.

Honoka-mama smiled, pleased with Umi’s efforts. Honoka usually doesn't try to dust the top shelves or put in the extra effort to clean the bottom of tables and bed.

“You’re so diligent, Umi-chan.” Honoka-mama gave a pat to the bluenette who smiled with pride.

“This is just normal daily duties. And dusting every corner is only right as a proper lady.” Umi held her head up with pride.

Honoka-mama chuckled. “Honoka needs to learn a thing or two from you.”

Umi nodded sagely. “I agree.”

“Well, we’re done cleaning the entire house. So why don’t you go take a break. I think Honoka’s room isn’t so dirty now too.” Honoka-mama suggested.

Umi looked at the direction of her childhood friend’s room, then back at Honoka-mama. “It’s okay. I’m here to spend time with you, Honoka-mama.”

Honoka-mama smiled. “Alright…Then want to join me in baking special Mother’s Day manjuu?”

Umi’s almond eyes light up with excitement at ‘manjuu’ since she loves Homura’s blood manjuus. “Special Mother’s Day manjuu?”

“Yup. And you can present them to your mum later too.” Honoka-mama put a hand out for Umi to take if she’d like to.

“Mmph!” Umi took Honoka-mama’s hand and pulled Honoka-mama in the direction of the kitchen below.

Honoka-mama chuckled as she followed the manjuu-loving five year old.

  In the kitchen, Honoka-papa was preparing some dough.

“Honoka-papa, are we making normal manjuus too?” Umi asked.

“That we will. But you can focus on the blood manjuus, Umi-chan.” Honoka-mama helped answer as her husband focused on beating the dough.

Umi beamed. “Will there be all types?”

“Yes, there will. So there will be an array of choices for everyone.” Honoka-mama smiled sweetly as she took out some of the blood from the fridge.

“How do I get the shape?” Umi asked with eyes all ready to learn.

Honoka-mama took Umi’s hand in hers to guide her in moulding the shape of the manjuu such that she can add the blood in before closing it.

“This…and like this.”

“Wah…” Umi was all smiles at her first success. “Let me try on my own?” Umi asked before jumping the gun.

“Of course.” Honoka-mama stood beside to watch.

“This…and…this… There!” Umi lifted a completed blood manjuu, that was relatively smaller since she moulds it with her own hands as compared to having Honoka-mama’s support earlier.

“Well done, Umi-chan. After we get more completed, we will place it in the oven.”

“Okay!” Umi chimed as she got to moulding more manjuus.

  Maki was sitting in Umi’s room. She does not have to do any chores in her home, so she did not see the need to partake in chores at Umi’s house. She did wish Umi-mama a Happy Mother’s Day before staying in her childhood friend’s room.

Maki looks around the room, not exactly looking for something, just restless. The five year old’s violet eyes caught sight of an exercise book that was quite worn out. Wondering what it could hold, the redhead picked it up, and what she saw inside surprised her. “Kousaka Honoka”, the name of her other childhood friend was written inside from page one to the last page.

Umi-mama walked in to check on the soft-spoken redhead. “Maki, are you alright on your own?”

“Ah, um.” Maki hid the book behind her, feeling guilty of looking at someone else’s belonging without permission.

“Is there something you want to ask? About that exercise book for example.” Umi-mama’s keen eyes caught sight of the exercise book in Maki’s hand the moment she stepped in.

“Um…I’m sorry for looking without permission.” Maki lowered her head.

Umi-mama smiled. “I’m sure Umi wouldn’t really mind.”

“Um…”

“And that you’re willing to apologize, it’s a sign of true honesty.” Umi-mama approached the redhead.

“Mm…Why is the book all Honoka’s name?” Maki asked as curiosity took over her.

Umi-mama looked at the book for a moment before smiling again. “Well, Umi was to choose her favourite word or something she learnt every day to write in the exercise book as a task. And I guess she chose to write the name of someone she learns something new of every day.”

Maki nodded. “I see…” Maki placed it back with the second exercise book that was already half filled with Honoka’s name.

“Want to sit outside for some fresh air, Maki?” Umi-mama suggested as she started for the door.

Maki followed silently.

  In the garden of the Sonoda household, a full setup for with a paper umbrella and mat was laid out in the open space.

“I’ll be practicing traditional blood drinking. You can feel free to sit around and watch.” Umi-mama took a seat on the mat in a seiza position, while Maki sat close by to observe.

Umi-mama added the blood from a teapot into a traditional tea cup, before she stirred it with expert speed and the appropriate amount of times needed. Maki leaned in closer with curiosity to observe from close up.

“Want to try?” Umi-mama asked as she finished up stirring the blood-tea.

Maki nodded and Umi-mama passed her a cup to stir.

“Like this?” Maki asked.

“Slowly speed up, and tilt it at this angle.” Umi-mama guided Maki’s hand to the correct angle while Maki sped up the stirring of the brush.

“Nicely done.” Umi-mama smiled and stood up when she heard the doorbell rang. “I’ll be right back.”

Maki nodded as she stared at the blood in her hands. While staring, Maki thought of Honoka and her desire to make every mother happy and decided to get creative. Maki ran to Umi’s room to grab a calligraphy brush and ran back. She dipped it into the blood-tea to write Umi-mama, I love you” on the light purple mat that Umi-mama laid out when she does her Traditional Blood drinking.

Umi-mama returned and saw Maki’s writing, and a grin grew on her face. “That’s so sweet of you, Maki.”

Maki smiled broadly and her smile grew even wider when she saw the gingerhead behind Umi-mama.

“Maki-chan~! Did you have fun? I mean, did you show how much you love Umi-mama too?” Honoka ran up to Maki, but before Maki could answer, her calligraphy caught the gingerhead’s eyes. “What is this?” Honoka ran up to the mat.

“Maki wrote it for me. Isn’t she sweet?” Umi-mama answered while the rest of the party gathered in the Sonoda’s garden.

“Aww, Maki, do I not get one?” Maki-mama asked from behind.

Maki blushed and ran up to her mother to hug her.

Maki-mama giggled. “I can feel your love for me, Maki.”

Honoka jumped to her feet. “I’ve got an idea! Maki-chan! Umi-chan! Come on!”

Umi went closer to Honoka who grabbed the calligraphy brush that Maki used and dipped it into the blood she thought was ink. “We can add our messages too!” Honoka started writing. “Maki-mama and Mum, I love you!”

Umi smiled and took the brush from Honoka. “Honoka-mama, I love you!” Umi wrote and added an “Umi too!” beside Honoka’s and Maki’s writings.

“Ahh! That’s such a good idea! Honoka too!” Honoka took the brush again and quickly wrote “Honoka too!” beside Umi’s and Maki’s writing of love for their mothers.

Maki tapped Honoka’s shoulder to let her in. “Hehe~ Here you go, Maki-chan.”

Maki wrote the same “Maki too” beside Honoka’s and Umi’s. And now, the light purple mat was filled with blood calligraphy of how much Honoka, Umi and Maki loved each and every one of their mothers’ lots.

Umi stood up with a proud smile. “I made manjuu for everyone with Honoka-mama.”

Honoka’s eyes started shining and mouth began watering. “I want to eat!”

Everyone laughed at Honoka’s enthusiasm before Maki-mama spoke up. “Don’t you have something you want to share with everyone, Honoka?”

Honoka cocked her head to the side for a moment. “Something..?”

Yukiho pretended to play air-piano for her older sister to see.

“Oh!” Honoka put a fist to her palm in eureka. “Maki-mama!” Honoka ran up to Maki-mama to take the older redhead’s phone.

Everyone sat around and Honoka raised the phone up ready to hit play. “This is from us to Maki-mama, Umi-mama and Mum!” Honoka declared and she pressed play on the phone screen.

“Happy Mother’s Day to you~” was sung by Honoka and Yukiho through the phone, with a slow, amateurish but adorable piano played by Honoka herself as she was guided by Maki-mama earlier in the day.

Maki and Umi shared a look before joining in the song.

The day ended with everyone eating manjuu made by Umi and the Kousaka parents, while they sang along to Honoka’s “Happy Mother’s Day”.

Author Notes

Was inspired to share tiny Honoka, Maki and Umi’s Mother’s Day Special with everyone~ =v= And I hope everyone enjoyed it~ hehe~ XD

Leave a comment if you like~ ^^

Ken Lee, Demon Hunter

Genre: Fluff Warnings: None Pairing: Ken (VIXX) and reader Word count: 5k Story type: oneshot (A/N): This is originally from from my AFF, but it’ll be my first post on here, sort of as a tester. It also serves to make my blog look less empty.. haha!

I was just at home, laying on my plush sofa when I noticed my phone light up. The notification was from none other than my boyfriend, Ken, and I couldn't help the grin that came upon my face.

"Hello?" I answered the call.

"Baby! I miss you, can I come over? I'll buy food~," he chirped.

"Yes Ken, of course," I chuckled, "you're always welcome. I was just watching reruns anyway."

After a bit of more mushy conversation, I left my spot on the couch to tidy up the house a little before his arrival. He'd driven over soon enough, greeting me with a bear hug the second I managed to open the door, kissing all over my face as I dragged him inside just enough to shut the door behind him. Something stood out to me however, it was his jacket.

"Babe, uh, not sure how to tell you this.. but I think you bought the wrong size," I joked.

"What, the hoodie?" Ken asked as he pointed to the red, front zip hoodie he was indeed wearing.

"It looks almost twice your size, why didn't you just get one that fits?" I tugged on the white strings of the hood playfully. "Or did you just want a baggy sweater?"

"Actually," he drags out the word as he slowly unzips and removes the sweater, "it's for you." Eyeing him with a curiously raised brow, I silently urged him to continue. "You know how you've been obsessing over InuYasha recently, sweetheart?"

"Of course love, why?" I have a good idea why, but I'd love to hear his explanation for this. So I kept baiting him to speak up.

"When we were watching the show last time, InuYasha gave Kagome his robe to protect her," Ken relayed.

"So is this supposed to be the Robe of the Fire Rat?" I had to contain a giggle that was dying to burst.

"Kinda," Ken gave me a lopsided grin, paired with his adorable eye smile. "You seemed to find it cute, so I wanted to recreate it.. like our own little insider." His voice trailed off as suddenly his face drops.

"Ken, what is it?" I worriedly tug at his shirt. He looks down at me solemnly, placing the soft jacket over my shoulders and hugging me close. "Honey, you're scaring the life out of me.. what's wrong?" I crane my neck to look up at him as he smooths a hand over my hair.

Leaning down by my ear he whispers, "I'll protect you, don't worry." I proceeded to freak out, thinking of what to do if there was a killer, or a robber in my house, or if there was a rapist on the loose or... When I realized what Ken was doing, it dawned on me that I couldn't have been farther from the truth. This dork goes up to the closet in the hallway, and with a deadpan expression, pulls out of my old toy swords won at some arcade, warning me to stay behind him for safety.

Before I can begin to question his logic however, it all comes to light fairly quickly. "Hah, puny demon, you're no match for me! What is it you want, the jewel shards? Come at me, then! Tessaiga!" And with that he unsheathes the sword.. at my yipping little Pomeranian, barking along excitedly for playtime. This grown, nearly six foot man, was pretending a puppy was a demon, fighting it to protect me, sweater and all.

After the shock had worn off from thinking there was any real danger, I watched my goofball of a boyfriend and fluff of a pup chase each other around the living room, smiling at their antics. It wasn't long before I'd joined in as well, with my arms finally through the huge jacket sleeves, so it wouldn't fall off my now dwarfed form. It was velvety soft, though perhaps a bit thick, and smelled of what I can only describe as Ken. His favorite cologne and something sweet, leading me to think he was probably eating candy earlier, which could partially be the cause for his extra hyper-ness today.

Somewhere along our silly chase, I nearly trip over myself, and he manages to catch me, tossing me over his shoulder with a hearty laugh. My poor dog now exhausted and laying in his bed, Ken carries me back to the couch, positioning himself under me so we could cuddle.

"You're too cute for words, Ken Lee," I mumble contentedly into his chest.

"But you still give me a run for my money, cutie pie." I blushed at his words of endearment.

"Quick question. If you wanted to give me the sweater, why'd you wear it on your way over?"

"Because I wanted it to smell like me when I handed it over," Ken paused, "ok that and I wanted to do the whole dramatic demon fighting stunt I pulled," he confessed sheepishly.

"Dork," I muttered with a grin plastered to my face, knowing he could feel it rather than see it as I was still against his shirt, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips.

"No hard feelings?" I felt him mumble against my lips.

"None whatsoever, my love. In fact, I'm beyond grateful you went through all this trouble."

"It's no trouble if it's for you, my darling." He grabbed my hand and kissed it tenderly, making my heart melt knowing Ken truthfully meant his words.

I playfully shoved his shoulder once he'd let go, resting my face in the crook of his neck, feeling elated. "Whatta day, I got my own Robe and you managed to unsheathe Tessaiga," I joked.

"Does that make me your half demon?" He pulled back just to wink cheesily.

"Sure thing, as long as I'm your Kagome," I winked back.

"But what if I liked Kikyo," Ken teased, earning a glare before he laughed maniacally and apologized, hugging me tighter.

"Don't think I forgot, you promised you'd buy food," I pouted cutely, "how about we order Japanese?"

Ken snorted at my lame choice and pinched my nose before muttering "weeb" and kissing the tip. I yawned loudly, catching us both off guard. "How about we order after we take a nap?" Ken chuckled, asking if I’d stayed up late last night, to which I nodded. Busted, I had lost track of time because I ended up on the weird side of YouTube. That and reading click-bait articles, which I really should stop falling for.

With his beautiful, melodic voice, Ken sang me a lullaby, rubbing my back gently meanwhile. A soft tune and loving touch, sleep called out to me irresistibly. Engulfed by his scent and rhythmic heartbeat, I gave into the pull, and our demon slaying journey to Feudal Japan was put on hold. After all, even half demons need their beauty sleep.

/////

(A/N): I really hope you all liked it, as I mentioned, InuYasha quite literally showed me a whole new world. Without it I wouldn't be the kpop/anime nerd I am today lmao

Wishing you all an amazing day~ Oh, and If you noticed any typos, feel free to point them out and I'll fix em asap!,,

♥ Best wishes, as always. xoxo, Berry 🍓