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#the days after that it gets a bit wavier

caapsiizzereads · 9 months

Text

Meet me in the afterglow

Jamie Tartt x f!reader

Words: 2,7k

Warnings: language, a bit of angst (with a happy ending this time)

A/n: part 2 for Tell me that I’m all you want 🫢

Jamie has never been more excited for the pre-season. The weather in London is delightful today, the sun is shining and the temperature is at that perfect level of warmth where it doesn’t feel too hot. He’s back at Nelson Road Stadium, right where he belongs. No funny business this year. Jamie’s smiling cheerfully as he’s walking down the very familiar corridors, holding a cup holder with two cups of coffee in his hand. He strides into your office, and you smile brightly at him, putting your work aside and giving Jamie your full attention. You happily slip back into your routine.

Jamie had barely seen you during the off-season. If you weren’t working, you were somewhere away with Jason. You’d been to, like, four different countries in five weeks, living your best life. Vacation definitely suits you – you look so radiant and well-rested. Your hair is wavier than usual, your skin is glowing, and your posture is relaxed. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?

“I’ve missed this,” you say after fifteen minutes of chatter and giggles, and Jamie grins at you. “Almost as much as I missed this,” you add, smugly bringing the coffee cup to your lips. Jamie rolls his eyes but laughs nevertheless. God, he missed this too.

The blissful happiness doesn’t last long. Jamie doesn’t care much about what people say on the Internet, even if it’s everyone predicting that Richmond will get relegated again because it’s just poop-eh, yeah?

But then there’s something else.

“Did you know that Roy and Keeley broke up?” Jamie all but burst into your office.

You mimic zipping your mouth and throwing away the key.

“Oh, come on!” Jamie flops on the chair in front of you and sighs dramatically.

You shrug, unaffected. “How’s Roy doing?”

“Well, I promised not to say anything either!” Jamie crosses his arms determinedly.

Jamie doesn’t know whether it’s a lawyer thing or just a you thing, but he’s pretty sure that one stern look from you can make him spill all of his deepest secrets. So, predictably, you just raise one eyebrow, and it’s enough convincing for him to start talking.

After a short conversation, you agree that it’s a sad turn of events because Roy and Keeley were really good together.

“You and Jason are good?” Jamie asks because it feels fitting. He’s somewhat made peace with the fact that you’re in love with someone else. As long as you’re happy.

“Yeah, we’re good,” you smile.

It only gets worse from there.

Jamie is in your office the first thing after he hears that Zava might be joining the team because if someone knew anything about signing a new player, that would be you. You say that it’s just something that Rebecca wants, but it is very unlikely to happen. That is, until it does.

“Who the fuck signs a contract with ‘you’re welcome’?!”

Usually Jamie doesn’t like it when you’re mad, but nothing is more comforting for him than knowing that he has your support in his disliking for Zava. He becomes almost a permanent resident at your office. Every day, it’s “Zava this” and “Zava that”. Reminds you of the time when Roy first rejoined Richmond as a coach and refused to coach Jamie…

On the upside, Richmond is on a four-week winning streak. Like Zava or not, you’ve gotta admit that he is a hella good player. Before you can even finish that sentence out loud, the look on Jamie’s face is one of full-on betrayal. You roll your eyes, the fragile male ego.

“At least I'm still your favorite player,” Jamie declares self-assuredly.

“I'm sorry, at what point did I ever say that you are my favorite player?” you sneer at him, crossing your arms.

“It’s implied!”

“Aah,” you nod in faux agreement.

“So who is it then? It can’t be Zava.” Jamie will jump off a cliff.

“Lewandowski.”

Jamie shrugs, “Fair enough, he’s fucking great. I can be second after him.”

“See, that’s funny, because I don’t remember saying that you’re my second favorite either,” you say with an amused smile on your face.

“Oh, fuck off!”

Things haven’t been going really well for Richmond ever since that match against West Ham, they haven’t won a match for four weeks now. Needless to say, it was a little bit depressing. There is something else bothering Jamie, though. You’ve been acting weird lately, distant. You weren’t at the match last week, you told Jamie you couldn't hang out twice in one week, and when the third time you finally agreed, it seemed like your mind was somewhere else the whole evening. He gets that you want to spend time with your boyfriend, but Jamie wants some scraps of your time too! It takes you hours to reply to his texts, and even when he comes to your office during the day, it feels like even having a simple conversation with Jamie costs you effort. You just seem tired in general.

Jamie has been quietly sitting in your office for five minutes, waiting for you to finish whatever it is you are so busy doing. Not knowing what to do, he takes your coffee cup and takes a sip.

He grimaces in disgust. “What is this?!”

“Triple espresso,” you answer without looking away from your laptop.

No milk, no syrups, no joy, nothing.

“That’s disgusting.”

“Then don’t drink it,” you snatch the cup back.

“Not getting enough sleep?” Jamie smirks and wiggles his eyebrows at you.

The look on your face just screams that you don’t find it funny one bit and can’t wait to be done with this conversation.

Jamie’s shoulders slump, “Are you mad at me?”

“For what, hurting my coffee’s feelings?”

“I don’t know! But you’ve been acting weird! You always say you’re busy, you don’t reply to my texts, you don’t make fun of my outfit choices, and I wore a jacket with shorts yesterday.”

“The fact that you know that it’s something I would make fun of you for means that my job here is done.”

“It was raining for the whole day two days in a row, and you didn’t even complain!”

“It’s London, it’s always raining.”

“And you always complain!” He’s got a point there.

Jamie looks genuinely worried, and you didn't mean to upset him at all. You sigh weary. “It’s not you. It’s just– I needed some me-time.” Jamie keeps looking at you, waiting for you to continue. “Jason and I broke up.”

Well, that was unexpected. Jamie doesn’t really know what to say. His previous attempt at post-breakup comforting wasn’t exactly successful.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” you say apathetically. “Sometimes people are just not right for each other.”

“I thought you guys were great.”

“Yeah, me too,” there’s a very bittersweet tone to your voice.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Jamie gets the hint. There’s only one thing that he wants to know anyway. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” That doesn’t sound very convincing even for yourself, and judging by Jamie’s skeptical look, it doesn’t for him either. “I will be,” you rectify, feeling a lot more sincere now.

His own selfish feelings aside, Jamie never really wished for you and Jason to break up (well, maybe except for the first, like, two weeks), and with you clearly being upset about it, Jamie doesn’t have it in him to feel pleased or hopeful about the fact. What you need right now is a friend, and that’s exactly what he’s going to be.

It’s fascinating how healing a good girls night can be because a week and two hours of screaming Taylor Swift songs later, you were terribly hungover but feeling like a whole new person. Luckily for you, your boss was one of the said girls, so after lunch, the two of you decided that there was no work that required your immediate attention and was worth all that suffering and, with a clear conscience, went home.

The loss against Man City was pretty bad. Especially considering that Zava left the team. And the sport in general… Jamie wasn’t so upset about this, but you weren’t particularly excited about all the paperwork that it left you with. Richmond hadn’t won a match in nine weeks, which was pretty discouraging too. You even invited Jamie for dinner after another lost match to cheer him up a little bit.

Then finally, a miracle happened, and Ted “came up” with some “total football” thing, which, once they had figured it out, seemed to work really well for the team. After they won a match again for the first time, Jamie invited you for a celebratory dinner, on which he cheated because he ordered takeout instead of cooking. You didn’t really mind, though, because Jamie’s cooking abilities are limited to a short list of dishes that he can make himself and a bit longer list of dishes that he can make if you tell him what to do, and you didn't feel like playing Nigella.

Richmond is on a winning streak, and the team’s spirit is exceptionally high. Jamie has been on his best game too, which he can admit that he has Roy to thank for, because he is mature like that now. Life has been really good lately.

The practice is over, and Jamie’s on his way to go and pester you when he bumps into Keeley in the hallway.

“Jamie!” She doesn’t appear to be as surprised to see him. “Walk with me.” She wraps her arm around his and starts leading him down the hall.

“You know that (Y/n) helps me out with the legal stuff in the firm, right?”

“Yeah.” Jamie’s not sure where this is going.

“So yesterday I asked her to come to this meeting with me ‘cause we were signing with that one guy. And he had his lawyer with him too, and he was, like, really hot. The lawyer, not the guy. And he was totally into (Y/n) too. I didn’t even know you could make legal terms sound so sexy…”

Keeley glances at Jamie, who resembles a kicked puppy at the moment. “I’m telling you all of this because you better put your big boy pants on and ask her out before somebody else does. Again.”

Jamie doesn’t even feel like asking how and how long she’s known, he just nods at her, and she gives him that sweet smile of hers and leaves.

It’s been almost three months since you and Jason broke up. Jamie’s been more than happy to be the one you spend your free time with again, and he’s been content with how things are between you enough to not want to risk it. He hasn’t seen you being really interested in someone anyway, but he’s seen people being interested in you. Evidently, it was just a matter of time before someone caught your attention too.

Jamie goes directly to your office, and the first thing that he notices is a big bouquet of flowers on your desk. Jason stopped renewing them a few weeks after your breakup, so it’s gotta be from someone else.

“Nice flowers,” Jamie announces his presence in the room. “Who are they from?”

“Just some guy I met at Keeley's meeting yesterday,” you say noncommittally.

So it is him. “Why is he sending you flowers?”

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but my guess is that he wants to ask me out.” You look pleased.

It’s now or never. “Don't go out with him,” he blurts.

You frown. “What?”

“Don’t go out with him,” he repeats with more conviction this time. “Go out with me.”

You contemplate him for a moment. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Jamie hadn’t really thought it through.

“Just let it go, Jamie,” you say insistently.

“The fuck I will!” There’s no going back now. “I want this. You.” That comes out a bit desperate.

“Right,” you scoff.

Now it’s Jamie’s turn to frown, “What?”

“For fuck’s sake, Jamie!” Even with your patience, there's a limit. “You only wanted me ‘cause you couldn’t fucking have me, which is somehow even worse than if you never wanted me at all.” You glower at him. “And now again. I’m not some fucking trophy for you to want just because someone else does!”

Jamie is completely stunned, just sitting there with his mouth open, not being able to come up with a single sensible thing to say.

Your attention turns to Higgins peeking through the door frame, “(Y/n), I need your help with something.” You have never been more grateful to see him.

“I’ll be right with you,” you nod at him, smiling. He reads the room and decides not to wait on you here.

When Higgins disappears from your view, you turn back to Jamie, “We have a good thing here. Let’s not ruin it.” With that, you get up and walk away.

You haven’t seen Jamie since your little talk yesterday. This is probably for the better because you needed some space after everything. You’re done with your work for the day, but instead of going home, you’re sitting in one of the thousands of seats at the empty stadium, staring at nothing in particular and a lot going on in your mind. The sunset is absolutely stunning today. The sky is colored with all kinds of shades of red, orange, and pink, illuminated beautifully by the afterglow of the sun.

You see in your peripheral vision that someone is walking towards you, and the clashing colors of the clothes that someone is wearing are enough for you to know exactly who this is.

Jamie takes the seat next to you. You just sit there in silence for a minute before he finally speaks up.

“You were wrong, you know,” he starts softly. “I’ve always wanted you. It’s only when I couldn’t have you that I realized it. I’m sorry I was an idiot. Shouldn’t have taken me so long.”

You keep staring forward, so he continues.

“You are not a trophy, but you are my best friend. It means more to me than you know, and I didn’t wanna risk losing it. But then Keeley told me about that guy, and I thought I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t say something.”

You finally turn to look at him. Jamie’s looking at you with those puppy dog eyes of his, which makes it’s impossible to be mad at him. You give him a small smile. “You wouldn’t lose me.” He smiles too.

It gives Jamie the courage that he’s been looking for, and he gently takes your hand in both of his. “Give me a chance. Just one date. And if you hate it, I swear I’ll never bring this up ever again.”

You study him for a moment, and his eyes look so hopeful. “Alright, Jamie Tartt,” you smile at him. “Make it worth my while.”

Winning the last match of the season, Richmond finishes the season in second place. Not bad for a Premier League comeback. Today’s celebration is Ted’s last day with the team. He sure as hell will be missed, but today is not about sad farewells – it’s about appreciating the people around you and everything that awaits you in the future.

Ola’s is filled with music, laughter, and joy. Jamie looks around the room: Dani is having a drinking contest with Beard, Richard and Jan Mass are having a passionate debate about something, Ted is spinning Rebecca in the rhythm of Never Gonna Give You Up, surrounded by Keeley and the rest of the players cheering and dancing next to them. Like one big and very happy family.

Jamie is pulled out of his thoughts by the movement in front of him and the sound of glasses being put on the wooden table. Then you pull him up by his arm and start dragging him with you towards the dancing crowd with a carefree smile. Jamie eagerly takes your hand in his and lifts it above you, making you twirl. You laugh and give him a quick kiss on the lips. Life has never been better.

A/N: did i sneak in the name of the songs in the most literal corniest way? yes, and what about it.

#jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt imagine #ted lasso fic

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cerealforkart · 1 year

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I made myself these little dress up dolls because everyone’s getting changed all the time, here’s the first batch, outfits pre-episode 13

Design notes under the cut

[part 2] [part 3]

Lincoln

* I would first of all like to thank Lincoln for being shaped like a model (long boy) and thus very easy to dress up

* I forgot that Link needed to tear off his sleeves to make Normal a diaper in lesson 14, so in lesson 11 he grabs a sweater when I assume he goes home between escaping the FBI and returning to school

* Lincoln is so comically tall the Teeny costume (which I just moved from Normal to Link and edited to match Link’s pose) only reaches his knees. It actually looked so stupid that I had to edit it to make the Teeny costume slightly longer in the legs

* Link has two roombas in his room, he’s a clean boy, he isn’t walking around Taylor’s house in his bare feet, he doesn’t trust like that, it’s sock time

Scary

* I actually originally planned for Scary to have more piercings, but I forgot to add them in lesson 1. Let’s just say her mom won’t let her go crazy on the piercings, from what we’ve heard in rad facts (wouldn’t let her get a tongue piercing or learn guitar) that sounds in character

* I wanted to do the Shit Garden logo on Scary’s shirt like one of those metal bands that only people who like metal can actually read, but I only have so much time and patience

* I want so badly to play with Scary’s hair more, but I haven’t really had the chance, I hope there will be more excuses to give her different styles in the future, I like the braided bun for fancy occasions a lot

* Big T-shirt and shorts are peak pyjamas, love it for her. Also, you don’t need to know how long I spent trying to come up with something for her shirt to say

Normal

* Don’t tell anyone but I kind of miss drawing Teeny’s big stupid head every day, it was easy comedy

* I did actually draw a Jimmy Buffet design on the shirt before scribbling over it, you can barely see if you look closely

* I don’t actually have anything to say about Normal’s dance outfit so I guess I’ll just take this opportunity to talk about my Normal design in general. He was the one it took me the longest to land on and I’m still unsure if I’m happy with him, I want his hair to be long enough to just sorta hang and be greasy, but not so long that it will get in his face too much and I still consistently fail on it

* Not much to say about his sleepover fit either. Froggy :)

Taylor

* I had originally planned for everyone to be wearing their bracelets on their left wrists but in episode 8 it’s mentioned that Taylor is wearing his on his right, at that point I think I had only drawn Taylor’s bracelet once so it was easier to just change his and let him be a special boy (also, they keep the bracelets on post-FBI because Taylor never really has an opportunity to take it off and the others wear theirs in solidarity)

*After Lesson 10, Taylor swaps out the crest of friendship from Digimon to wear his dad’s ring of swapping as a necklace, he tends to grab at it when his dad or the topic of betrayal comes up

* I hate Taylor for his dance fit. No longer my favourite son

* Not really a design note but I watched the Sailor Moon dub in three parts on youtube with my little sister huddled around our home computer after school, we’re real OGs

Hermie

* I finally decided to add the Joker makeup to my Hermie design, I found a powdery sorta brush to use for it so now he’s a true clown. Good for him I guess

* You may notice that I’ve tweaked my Hermie design and his colour scheme just a little bit. This is because white Hermie is dead and you know what? Good for him. I also made his hair a little wavier for Scam, you’ll start seeing the updated Hermie design (as if you can tell there’s a difference other than the very slight change in hairstyle) in lesson 16, because I drew the lesson 15 pages before episode 23 came out and I wasn’t going to go back and change them

* Stupid Joker tie. Hate it

* No sleepover fit for Hermie. Tragic. They need to have another sleepover and include him

#these are so much fun #love my kids #love their stupid outfits #dungeons and daddies #dndads #lincoln li wilson #scary marlowe #normal oak #taylor swift dndads #hermie the unworthy #doodly

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callsign-bunnie · 1 year

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Should I start paying rent in here?

Hey uh.. heard that part 3 of prof graves AleRudy love triangle was a thing.. you ever tried it? Oh you have? Any idea where it might be… no reason just uh, lil curious *dumb wink*

If you remember Kaleb has my number, cmon every one knows Kaleb. Oh how do I? We go way back man, met trying that why can’t we be more stuff! He hasn’t mentioned me? Oh yeah I used to be kinda shy but we’re good mates- what do you mean he never touched that stuff?! Course he did *sweat drop*, doubt he’d save it just for us. Maybe he just didn’t feel like sharing aye?

(I got carried away with this under cover cop thing)

I think this might be my friend, the typing style is similar and they're the only person I know who would spell Kaleb with a K. Regardless, this is my favorite bit I've ever done, please keep doing it

Did Rodolfo feel guilty about still going to see Professor Graves after his classes on Monday? Maybe. But… Rodolfo wasn’t sure if he felt so guilty towards Graves or Alejandro…

Maybe it was both.

Maybe.

But, that didn’t stop him. In fact, maybe it encouraged him, slightly, as he slowly packed his things, watching the other students leave. He’d stuck his camera in his bag, in case it was something he wanted to take a picture of, deciding to learn his lesson from Saturday.

Sunday… Sunday had been wonderful. He’d woken up to a hot breakfast and he’d woken up entirely too late. But, apparently Soap had canceled on him, so… Something to do with Ghost. Rodolfo hadn’t minded, he’d spent the day with Alejandro.

He wondered how long this would last. He was getting so much more attention than he’d ever gotten before and he knew it wouldn’t last, but… how much longer would he have? He didn’t know. Did he want to?

Rodolfo shook off the thought and went down to Professor Graves’ desk when everyone was gone. “You said you had something to show me?” Was he skipping his next class for this? Maybe.

“I do!” Graves grinned, looking up from his laptop. “I already talked to the teacher of your next class, so you don’t have to worry about that. You’ve been excused.”

Rodolfo relaxed and nodded. He loved the way Graves seemed to consider everything. He was so sweet and thoughtful… Alejandro was sweet, too, but he was impulsive and maybe a bit immature. Though… Alejandro was one for small details. Tiny things. Why was he comparing them? He didn’t know.

“That’s great.” Rodolfo finally said, smiling. “What is it?”

Graves stood and led him to his office where Rodolfo frowned as he saw something large and covered in a cloth. He watched his professor pull down the cloth and then he was staring at the same painting as from the book. “It’s a recreation, of course. But… I thought you’d want to see it before I had it sent to the museum.” Graves explained, turning to look at him.

“It’s…” Rodolfo was in awe. He went to the painting, looking over it, at all of the detail. He and the royal really did look so strikingly similar. Every part of them was the same, save for the royal’s hair, which was a lot wavier than Rodolfo was willing to let his get. “It’s beautiful.” He finally said.

The painting was large enough that Rodolfo and the Royal had a perfect equal scale, a 1 to 1. He jokingly posed the same, resting his left hand on his stomach and his hand on where the large ruby of the necklace would be, before turning and looking at Graves. “What do you think? Think I’m a good substitute for the real thing?”

“You’re almost a carbon copy.” Graves laughed before coming over, adjusting his pose ever so slightly. “There. Perfect. Hmm… I wish you had the jewelry on, I’d get a picture.”

“I have a polaroid camera in my bag,” Rodolfo confessed, dropping the pose and shaking his head. “I don’t really take pictures of myself.”

“Why not?” Graves frowned. “That’s a crime, you’re too beautiful for that.”

Rodolfo blushed dark red, his brain failing to work for a moment. It only got worse as Graves reached up and brushed some hair from where it had fallen in front of his eyes. “I just… never get the chance. Soap doesn’t really take pictures of me and it’s hard to take pictures of myself with that camera.”

Graves tilted his head before shrugging. “I’ll fix that.” He grabbed a chair from nearby, placing it in front of the painting and then smiling. “Sit.”

Rodolfo blushed but did as told, curious what he was doing. He frowned when he watched Graves rummage in his bag and then he was pulling the camera out and setting it on his desk. Then, he came over and helped Rodolfo pose and Rodolfo found himself blushing darker as he realized Graves was posing him like the painting.

He held the pose, keeping his face neutral like the painting, and then he looked at Graves, managing not to flinch at the flash. When it was done, Graves took the picture and held it, coming over. “Did you know that you didn’t need to shake old polaroids?” Graves asked when he came over.

Rodolfo frowned. “No, I guess I didn’t… I um… I’m only 20. I didn’t… own a polaroid camera.” He winced, waiting for the typical comments that millennials and really anyone over the age of 30 made towards anyone under the age of 25.

“Makes sense. They became pretty much obsolete by the time you would have been getting a camera. This polaroid snap is pretty good, I like the specifications.” Graves smiled and then held out the picture.

Rodolfo blinked at his words and then relaxed. Of course Graves wouldn’t make those comments, he was too mature for that. He smiled and took the picture, looking at it. The picture made him realize just how similar he looked to the royal, touching over their faces. Well, he already knew, but it was still just uncanny. “Thank you…”

“Of course.” Graves nodded and then Rodolfo was jumping at another flash. “This one will be mine.” He chuckled, taking the picture and then handing Rodolfo the camera back. “You looked too darling, I had to.”

Oh, Rodolfo’s skin turned dark red from that statement. He had to look away as he took the camera back, again thanking Graves. He went to his bag and put the camera in it, as well as tucking the picture in a pocket.

“You know… I was thinking.” Graves came over, wrapping his arms around Rodolfo’s waist from behind. Rodolfo melted as Graves kissed the back of his neck, closing his eyes. “I should take you out. The museum is great and all but… I’d really like to take you out. I know this bar…”

“I’m 20.” Rodolfo reminded, shivering as Graves lightly nipped at the back of his neck, before turning around in his arms. “My ID says I’m 20.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Graves shook his head. “They’ll let you in. As long as you’re with me… They’ll let you in.”

Rodolfo blushed. “You’re not going to be responsible and keep me from drinking?” He teased, though he didn’t care. Rodolfo had drank before. He’d drank a lot before…

“You won’t be drinking.” Graves laughed. “Neither will I, likely. The food is good and it’s a little more classy than the typical bar. Only a little. How does that sound?”

Rodolfo paused and then smiled. Of course he’d go. “Yeah.. I like that. When?”

“Friday?” Graves asked and Rodolfo nodded. “Perfect! I’ll text you when I’ll be picking you up.” He kissed Rodolfo’s cheek before letting him go. “I look forward to it.”

“Me too…” Rodolfo melted and then waved before grabbing his bag and leaving.

Rodolfo was hanging out with Gaz, his other friend. Why? Well, Soap had blown him off again for Ghost. He could only imagine what they were doing. “So…” Gaz said as he took his hair down out of the towel he was using. Gaz had used Rodolfo’s shower, since his was apparently broken. “Soap told me you were with Professor Graves on Friday.”

“Of fucking course he did.” Rodolfo muttered, already irritated. “Look, if you’re here to judge me-”

“I’m not.” Gaz assured, sitting on the other side of the coffee table and taking a bite of the pizza he’d brought over for them. “Actually, I think it’s great. Gets you away from Alejandro.”

Neither Gaz nor Alex, Gaz’s boyfriend, seemed to like Alejandro much. Of course… neither would give Rodolfo a straight answer on why. Even before he and Alejandro had started to distance, they just didn’t seem to like him. It was odd, but Rodolfo had given up on trying to find out why. “Well… No. Because Alejandro and I hung out on Saturday.”

“Ah.” Gaz frowned and then went quiet, looking down at his pizza for a moment. “Well… Are you going to go fully back to Alejandro?”

Rodolfo winced. He didn’t know. “I… Have a date, I think, with Professor Graves this Friday.” He paused when his phone buzzed, blushing when he saw it was Alejandro, who’d sent him a picture of a flier for a concert on Saturday. A candlelit symphony. He melted when Alejandro sent a Want to go? And immediately sent back that he would. “And a date with Alejandro on Saturday.” He smiled and showed Gaz the picture.

“That’s sweet.” Gaz nodded and furrowed his brows. “So… You’re going to go out with both?”

“One or both will lose interest in me, eventually.” Rodolfo shrugged, not really that concerned about it, at the moment. “So… I’m enjoying it while I have it.”

“I see.” Gaz nodded, frowning again. “I… I’m happy for you. I’m glad you seem to be getting some attention. You need it, mate.” He smiled at Rodolfo and touched his hand before sighing. “Why did Soap blow you off again?”

Rodolfo hesitated before sighing. Gaz and Soap seemed to be getting along less and less. It started with Gaz getting with Alex and then Soap got with Ghost and… neither of them hung out unless Rodolfo suggested something. Even there, it was tense the whole time. “Ghost. He’s busy with, you know, being a rockstar. So… I don’t know.”

“Of course he is.” Gaz rolled his eyes. “That sucks, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Rodolfo smiled. “It means I get to hang out with you.”

“That’s true.” Gaz nodded, grinning. “And I like hanging out with you.”

Rodolfo relaxed, nodding. “I like hanging out with you, too. How are Alex and Farah? Well, and Malika.”

“They’re great!” Gaz perked up. “Though, Farah and Malika are honestly kind of gross. Farah always has her in her lap and they are constantly touching! Not in any sexual way, but if Malika gets within five feet of Farah, Farah just has to start touching her and grabbing her.”

Rodolfo laughed, loudly, since he remembered Alex and Gaz being the exact same way when they got together the year before. Alex constantly had his hands on Gaz and Rodolfo remembered he and Soap teased Gaz about it, endlessly. “Reminds me of someone.”

“Hey, we weren’t this bad.” Gaz blushed. “Or… I don’t remember us being this bad.”

Rodolfo rolled his eyes, since they had, indeed, been that bad. “Sure.” He pat Gaz’s arm and then put his elbow on the table. “And Alex has been doing okay?”

“Yep! Better than okay.” Gaz nodded and melted. “He’s perfect. I love him so much… We’re already at a year and I feel like we still just started dating.”

“I’m glad to see those rose colored glasses still haven’t came off, then.” Rodolfo nodded, really happy for his friend. Alex was a really great guy and Gaz deserved that. “Hey, do you think you could come over and help me dress for this date on Friday?”

“Of course.” Gaz beamed. “Why not ask Soap, though?”

“He’s going to flip his shit if I tell him!” Rodolfo immediately said. “Besides, he’s busy this Friday. All week, in fact. I’ll barely see him.”

“Good.” Gaz muttered, sighing. “It’s none of his business who you date.”

Rodolfo definitely agreed. He shook his head and looked down at his plate, tracing the edge of it. He didn’t understand why Soap was judging him so hard. “No, Rudy, look at me.” Rodolfo looked up, startled. Gaz’s expression was intense. “I mean it. It is none of his business. He, of all people, should not be judging who you choose to date. Got it?”

Rodolfo frowned but nodded. “Yeah… I got it.” He blushed, confused why Gaz was suddenly so intense. “I mean, besides Ghost-”

“Ghost is the reason.” Gaz groaned. “He… runs with a really bad crowd, is all I will say. And Soap knew before he started to date him that he did. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

Rodolfo blushed but nodded. “Okay…” He frowned more, now even more confused. Why hadn’t Soap ever told him that? But, he shrugged it off and got up. “Want to see what Graves gave me?”

“Sure!” Gaz smiled, seeming to relax a bit.

Rodolfo went to his wardrobe, which had been issued by the college, and opened it, looking for the blue jewelry boxes and frowning when he couldn’t find them. Odd… He’d put them in there… He looked through his drawers before suddenly getting a hunch.

Oh, he’d fucking kill him.

Rodolfo went to Soap’s wardrobe, looking in the bottom drawer, and then making an irritated sound when he found the jewelry boxes. He took a picture of them and sent it to Soap. You’re stealing my shit, now? That’s fucking petty.

The message was read pretty much immediately, but Soap didn’t reply. Rodolfo took the boxes out of the drawer and came over, sitting down at the coffee table again and making a frustrated sound as he showed Gaz. “I can’t fucking believe him!”

“I can.” Gaz rolled his eyes. “He’s self righteous, probably thought he was doing it to protect you.”

“Fuck him.” Rodolfo shook his head but opened the jewelry boxes so Gaz could see, relaxing at seeing the jewelry pieces were still intact. “They’re a bit too fancy for Friday but… I love them.”

“But… not for Saturday…” Gaz grinned. “You should wear them that day.”

“No, that feels- No. That feels wrong.” Rodolfo’s face flamed bright red. “I wouldn’t do that to Alejandro.”

“Would Alejandro know unless you told him?” Gaz tilted his head. “Does he even know you’re seeing Professor Graves?”

Rodolfo paused and looked at the pieces, touching over the earrings and necklace. He would really like to wear them… “Fuck, I don’t have clothes for Saturday, either. I don’t… know how to dress elegant like the symphony wants.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I do. Alex takes me on those kinds of dates all the time.” Gaz waved his hand. It made sense, Gaz and Alex were both loaded from family money. Adopted family money, but family money all the same. Gaz’s father, John Price, and Alex’s moms all three co-owned several very successful businesses.

Well, Alex and Farah’s moms. It was… complicated.

“Oh. Well… I don’t think I own anything like that.” Rodolfo frowned.

Gaz laughed. “That’s fine! I’ll take you shopping! I’ll even pay for it, as long as you let me pick what you wear!”

Rodolfo blushed dark. “But it’s a date with Alejandro…”

“You’re my friend. I’m not going to let you have a shit date, even if I maybe don’t like the partner.” Gaz shook his head. “I’m not Soap.”

“I don’t think Soap would do that, either…” Rodolfo frowned before wincing when Gaz just gestured to the jewelry. “Do you think you could keep them in your dorm? Just… for now.”

“Of course.” Gaz nodded and smiled. “They might encourage Alex to get me my own pieces.” He joked, holding the necklace up to his skin.

“I think emerald would be better.” Rodolfo remarked, but he smiled.

“I think you might be right.” Gaz agreed and put the necklace back, being ginger with it. “Let’s go on Thursday! I can help you find an outfit for Friday as well! Since I doubt you have much for a bar.”

“I do not.” Rodolfo agreed. Even if it was meant to be a bit classier… He didn’t think he’d have anything for it. “Alright. Thursday. I like that… Hey, maybe you can bring Malika and I can get to meet her!”

“Perfect!” Gaz smiled. “Thursday.”

Rodolfo’s Tuesday and Wednesday were uneventful. Graves ended up canceling class on Wednesday and while Alejandro texted him plenty, neither of them had a schedule that really allowed for them to randomly hang out. Plus, whatever had Ghost super busy apparently had Alejandro busy as well.

Whatever.

So, when Thursday rolled around, Rodolfo was very happy to go and pick up Gaz and Malika. Gaz had decided on the shopping mall, since there were some stores that he knew would have clothes. Which is where they were, now.

Malika was a sweet omega, following Gaz closely. She and Rodolfo had already had a brief conversation about their classes and Rodolfo found that she was fairly intelligent, if not a bit clueless. Gaz informed him that it was because she had had a rough childhood, so Rodolfo decided not to ask about it.

Now, he was watching Gaz look through clothing on a rack in a store that sold “Elegance Wear” for omegas. There wasn’t honestly much difference in how male omegas and female omegas dressed. It mostly had to do with their secondary sex characteristics. Seeing as female omegas had breasts and male omegas had dicks.

Female alphas and male alphas honestly differed more. It was a bit more socially acceptable for female alphas to be feminine, so they could wear dresses, though more and more opted not to.

In this store, clothing made to fit male omegas had an M next to the size and those for females had an F. Rodolfo was a 16M, for instance, but Malika was apparently a 14F. Apparently Alpha clothing sizes were a bit more complicated, which Rodolfo didn’t get why. But, he wasn’t going to bother questioning it.

Clothing that could be a bit more neutrally worn just dropped the M and F. Most clothes in a walmart, for instance, would just be a size and that was it. And, seeing as female omegas rarely wore the underwired bra that female alphas did, apparently their bras were a bit less complicated to size as well.

Alphas had to play games with their sizing, too, apparently.

Well, Rodolfo did suppose it could be important to them, since size used to be a huge thing for alphas. Not so much, anymore, but it had lingered. Bigger alphas were definitely respected a bit more. Just like smaller omegas were often seen as more desirable.

“Rodolfo-”

Rodolfo’s head whipped up and he blushed, seeing Gaz and Malika were both looking at him. “Yeah?”

“Have you paid attention to a bloody word I was saying??” Gaz huffed, crossing his arms.

Rodolfo winced, since he hadn’t even been aware Gaz was talking. “No…” He admitted, going over to him and seeing that Malika was holding two outfits. A blood red velvet dress, which had a black blazer over it, and a the other was an outfit with black pants, a black corset blouse, and the same black blazer.

“Which do you prefer?” Gaz gestured between the two of them, leaning against the rack. Apparently, Gaz used to be a bit of a nerd in high school, but… well, status was everything. The name Kyle Price said a lot, and it didn’t say dorky nerd. According to Gaz.

Rodolfo looked between the two of them, considering. “Um… I kind of like the dress.” Admittedly, he was thinking of the painting, since the Royal had been wearing a dress that looked close to red velvet in it.

This one had the same off the shoulder neckline, which was the most common style that male omegas wore. It didn’t look weird with a flat chest. “I like it.”

“I do, too. I really think it’ll match that jewelry.” Gaz smiled. He’d had Rodolfo send him pictures of it and so he held it up, asking Malika what she thought.

“Hmm…” Malika tilted her head. “I think the gold really goes with the dress, but I’m not liking the blazer… What about cream?”

“No, cream would be too vintage.” Gaz shook his head.

Rodolfo made a face. Right. Malika’s major, which Rodolfo had yet to actually hear, apparently had something to do with fashion. Rodolfo’s major did not.

Malika seemed to agree, looking around. “Well, he can’t go without something over it, it’s going to be 50 degrees and there is no sleeve. I mean… if he does go, Alejandro may offer his jacket.”

“Yeah, we can’t have that.” Gaz snorted, putting the jacket back on the rack. “I’m giving him Rudy in this dress, I’m not going to give him that much.”

Malika continued to look around before leaving and coming back with a white shawl. It was also velvet, though a much fluffier velvet, and it had a place that one could use a broach, though Rodolfo didn’t own a broach. “I like it.” Gaz nodded, putting it over the dress. “Very elegant.”

Rodolfo was starting to worry it was too elegant. “I’ll be overdressed.”

“The event is black tie.” Gaz waved him off, starting to walk over to the shoe section. “I’m more worried about you being underdressed.”

“How do you know that??” Rodolfo followed him over. “I doubt it’s black tie, Alejandro doesn’t like those kinds of events.” Huh, Graves was taking him to a bar and Alejandro was taking him to a symphony that was supposedly black tie… Weird. It felt like it should be the opposite.

“Because I searched for the event. Don’t worry, Alejandro planned to tell you, I yelled at him over it.” Gaz’s tone was like he was reading off a manual. “He forgot. However, he confirmed it’s black tie.”

Rodolfo was more surprised that Gaz had bothered to speak to Alejandro than he was that Alejandro was going to a black tie event. But, he didn’t say anything, watching Malika and Gaz pick over the shoe section. When they seemed to find acceptable shoes, he shook his head. “Can I see how much everything costs?”

He wasn’t surprised when Gaz just laughed.

They went up to the counter and Gaz smiled at the cashier. “My boyfriend called up earlier. Alex Keller? He opened a tab.”

The cashier nodded. “Yes, he did, I can see it. Can you give me the last four of the card?”

Gaz gave it and then put the clothes on the counter. Rodolfo rolled his eyes. Gaz could afford everything, himself, but Alex was a bit more traditional in that he believed an alpha should spoil their partner. Granted, Rodolfo was a bit more traditional than both of them, but as such, Gaz rarely paid for anything.

Soap had always joked ‘if it’s not Daddy’s money, it’s Daddy’s money.’ Of course, he meant that joke in a mean way, but Gaz had just let it roll off himself and laughed about it. (Soap was again one to talk since Ghost paid for damn near everything for him. Ghost was paying his college tuition, Gaz was paying his own.)

Rodolfo then followed Gaz out. “Okay, that’s one outfit. What about the other?” He went to take the bag, but Gaz didn’t let him. Whatever.

“We’re just going to go to a simple store for that one.” Gaz said. Malika caught up to them and she ended up taking the bag, dropping something inside. “Obviously, you don’t need Elegant Wear for a bar.”

Rodolfo agreed and they went into a clothing boutique that Rodolfo did not think he’d be able to afford on his own, but which seemed to have much more casual clothing. He liked the style, looking around. Already, though, it appeared Gaz and Malika were building an outfit.

Black jeans, which Rodolfo preferred, though they appeared to be skinny jeans. Then, a white button down. Black tennis shoes, too. “It’s simple, he can wear the components anywhere else, I like it.” Malika nodded.

“What do you think?” Gaz looked at Rodolfo.

Rodolfo shrugged. They were clothes. “I like them. I think I have all of the components of that in my dorm.”

“Yeah, so? New clothes.” Gaz shook the hangers.

Rodolfo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, new clothes.” He chuckled, amused by the two. He went over, noting that the clothing was a bit nicer than whatever he owned. The jeans had a soft, almost velvet feel and the material seemed to have a bit more give. The shirt was a lot lighter of a material and Rodolfo did finally notice that it was tied in the front. “I like it.”

“Perfect! Well, that was easier than I expected.” Gaz went up and paid for everything before coming back. “Alright, I’m starving, let’s go eat.”

Do you want to be added to this taglist? Reply to this post that you wish to be added to the taglist and I will start to tag you in it every time I post it. You can also use this form!

@thegodofsleep @caspertheassholeghost @lieutenant-storm @roachboy @vergilnelosparda @del79jji @thisisthedarknessofmymind

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silverflame2724 · 1 year

Note

On the Aesthetic tastes of our Demonic Grandmaster Twink

Or WWX repeatedly gets mistaken for being both Luo Binghe and Crimson Rain Sought Flower on many separate occasions.

WWX isn't sure what to think of being repeatedly mistaken for a Demon Emperor or a Calamity.

Didn't know whether the requester wanted Yiling Laozu WWX or post-canon WWX so I went with Yiling Laozu WWX. (I'm pretty sure this is what you wanted but just send me another ask if it's not.)

Also uhh, not entirely sure what was expected of me, like whether this was a canon divergence and/or if you wanted interactions with Luo Binghe and San Lang. So I just went with WWX being generally confused on whether to be flattered or not at the comparison and ripping his hair out over his limited wardrobe options lol.

______________________________________________________

Wei Wuxian's hair was always wavier nowadays. Not that he couldn’t help it. He was too busy trying to keep himself afloat to care about how his hair looked. And though it only caused some minor inconveniences - such as being a rat's nest to comb through in the mornings - it really never was a cause for worry.

Well. At least until that day.

That day was the same as any other day. He had been wandering through a town, his hair up in a ponytail due to the heat and had been idly minding his business when someone seemed to double take at him and say, “My lord?”

Wei Wuxian blinked. The two people in front of him had a strange....inhuman aura. Due to his sensitivity to resentful energy, he focused a bit more and realized that the two in front of him were disguised demons! No human had that amount of resentful energy - if you exclude Wei Wuxian himself.

“Umm, no. Sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone.” Wei Wuxian tensed up. Intelligent demons were no longer hostile to humans, due to their king making some sort of deal but one could never be too careful when dealing with their kind.

“Huh. You possess a similar amount of demonic energy as our lord, so I assumed you might be him. Hearing you now, I suppose you’re not.”

Wei Wuxian looked at them. “Your....lord? You mean, the demon emperor. Luo Binghe?”

“Yeah. Our lord is half-human so it’s not like we mistook you for nothing. But, how interesting......you seem to be fully human, yet possess an incredible amount of demonic energy......”

“Uhh....thank you?”

“Mm.” The talkative demon’s partner nudged him. “Oh, we have to go now. Bye.”

“Bye.” Wei Wuxian shrugged off the strange interaction within a few days.

However.....

Wei Wuxian had been lounging around the Burial Mounds after being banned from doing any work (due to his worsening condition). He was also in a terrible mood, eyes flashing red as he muttered curses to himself.

"Wow,they really weren't joking. You really do look like A-Luo!" A somewhat sprightly woman look him up and down and Wei Wuxian paused in his mumblings.

"......What?"

"Ah! How cute! You even sound alike when you're grumpy! Ah, if only I had a way to show this sight to A-Luo and Shizun......maybe I can bring them here!"

"What."

"Oh, my name is Ning Yingying by the way. Nice to meet you, whoever you are!"

Someone else appeared by here side, tugging her away, "Ning-shijie, Shizun is calling for you."

"Ah, I'll be there. It's too bad that I have to go. See you later!" And in a blink of an eye, they were gone.

"........What on earth happened just now?"

He went back to moping around until Wen Qing found him and practically tossed A' Yuan at him to improve his mood.

His mood did indeed improve.

Wei Wuxian kept on being mistaken as Luo Binghe and it was getting kind of annoying. After conversing with the demons and discovering that their lord favored the colors he wore and often wore his wavy hair up in a high ponytail, Wei Wuxian wore his hair down. He couldn't quite change his clothes though since black was cheap and other colors were not.

Little did he know that this was not the end.

............................

Wei Wuxian shook his head, trying to clear his mind from the myriad of voices haunting him. It had been a few months since he moved to the Burial Mounds with the Wen remnants and he had been all too busy trying to come up with ways to help them survive. Too busy, in fact, that he didn’t notice the way many ghosts and resentful spirits alike took a double take at him when he wandered around his cave in his red inner robes.

Eventually, though, as their situation cleared up, Wei Wuxian began to concentrate on what the ghosts were saying as he wanted to know why they kept on bugging him.

“He really looks like him, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, if we disregard the fact that he’s human, then of course!”

“Uhh, excuse me, what do you mean by that?” Wei Wuxian asked as many other ghosts echoed their sentiment.

“Oh! Uh, Young master Wei, it’s just, when you’re dressed in all red like that and have your hair covering one side of your face, you just....you really remind us of Crimson Rain Sought Flower!”

Wei Wuxian didn’t know what to say to that. “Should I....take that as a compliment?” He didn’t know how he felt about being compared to first a demon lord and now a Calamity-level ghost!

“Oh, of course you should! Crimson Rain Sought Flower is quite handsome, you know! If he weren’t married, all of the ladies and gents would have tried for his hand. Not that his married status makes anyone try less. Although, some of us are kinda terrified of him.....”

”Uh.....huh.....” Should I.....just stopping dressing in black and red?

"You'd be better off not being a demonic cultivator, Young Master Wei!" A spirit called cheerfully. “Your resentful energy content is so high that most do end up mistaking you for a calamity or a demon. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if you became one of those after you die!”

Wei Wuxian sighed.

_______________________________________

Yeah....that’s all I got for now. If you would like me to write more on this, perhaps WWX becoming a calamity, just shoot me an ask or message me!

Hope this was good enough. I’ve not been on my top game recently.

#mdzs #svss #tgcf #wei ying #wei wuxian #luo binghe (mentioned)#san lang (mentioned)#just a short on how WWX's clothing and hair resembles the other two at a certain angle #fluff??#mentions of WWX's resentful energy content being so high #he's mistaken for a non human being

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annoyinglandmagazine · 1 year

Text

Female Caranthir Headcanons

She really just likes her peace and quiet. On a good day she’ll sit in the living room with embroidery, a book or some equations and she’ll just sit there for the afternoon with some tea and biscuits. She curls up by the fire wrapped in blankets while doing her father’s books for him and half holding a conversation with Maedhros about politics.

She tends to dress more understated than some people (Maglor) but she does have a very clear preference for more feminine clothing. She wears floor length dresses with trailing sleeves most of the time because she enjoys the way they swish around her, usually in shades of red and purple. She often embroiders little stars onto all her clothes when she’s bored and adds pockets to a lot of her pre-existing dresses so she can carry her needles and thread around. She’s almost as curvy as Maglor but it’s slightly less noticeable because she’s a bit taller and dresses in a more old fashioned way as she finds the idea of attracting attention very unpleasant.

She makes a lot of clothes for her siblings as well and her sisters often find little intricate designs on their clothes after arguing with Moryo and know to accept this as an apology. After the Angrod incident Maedhros sees one of her cloaks has little flowers and leaves carefully embroidered on the edges. She cries quietly then, because she knows that she hasn’t entirely lost her sweet baby sister that used to fall asleep on her shoulder when she was having a bad day. She wears the cloak to a meeting of the war council the next day and Moryo knows her sister hasn’t given up on her.

She has a few favoured necklaces made by Curvo and her father but other than that she doesn’t usually wear jewellery. She has a whole routine when it comes to combing and washing her hair as it is significantly longer and wavier than most of her siblings. She braids it intricately fully up on her head every morning and is very smug about how much less it gets in the way compared to her siblings.

She’s quiet and doesn’t really know how to express herself through words. She rarely talked at balls and things and generally preferred not to go to them as she hated the idea of having to pretend to enjoy herself. She often got very bothered when she was in social situations and tried to bottle it all up. This usually ended in her ranting for hours to Maglor or Maedhros until she ran out of energy. She very rarely expresses her emotions to them either she’s just very quietly affectionate to her siblings, combing out their braids or resting her head on their laps and they know that she loves them. Even after everything when they’re out of public view her sisters will usually greet her with a gentle hug and kiss on the forehead, knowing that this is important to her.

When she is almost of age she starts hearing things around Valinor that make her very uncomfortable. People start discussing the possibility of her marriage prospects. They say that her more ladylike mannerisms, child bearing hips and her understanding of wives need to be seen and not heard would fetch her enough suitors. She is absolutely disgusted at the idea that she would be expected to marry a man purely because one would see her as a worthy prize, the dark haired daughter of Feanor. Why would she want to marry them, and leave her family that she is so content with behind? And the evaluations about her physical appearance about her physical appearance and ability to have children as if that’s her only purpose make her blood boil. The third one angers her even further the implication that her being quiet was as a result of her acknowledging her place in society rather than her lack of desire to converse with certain people.

When she gets suitors her father can tell she is distressed by them and offers to turn them away but she says she’d rather deal with them herself. She decides if what they fear most is a woman who will speak for herself she’ll give them exactly that. She lets loose all the rants, all her biting sarcasm and insight and tears into those men til there’s nothing left. Feanor has never been more proud of her. Afterwards she cries into Maglor’s arms for over an hour.

But it works and she finds that if the only way to be respected is to go on the offensive she can work with that. She no longer strains to hold back her emotions instead getting used to letting them go in anger and her insults become legendary. This is why people are so surprised when she gets on with other races so well. But when people make her feel at ease and talk to her with respect as a person she doesn’t need to put up the facade of anger instead talking as one person to another straight to the point with far less of a sense of superiority and airs than many of her kind.

#God this might be the longest thing I’ve ever posted #I just have a lot of Moryo feels ok?#I may write a sequel about lesbian halenthir #silmarillion #Caranthir #maedhros #daughter of feanor

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tickledpink31 · 13 days

Note

⭐ Minako ⭐

Oh wow, that was fast. 😅

There wasn’t really anything specific stated other than Minako, so I’ll just talk about the thing that I’m dying to talk about her.

Minako’s hair and wardrobe

Now, I recall making character designs of Minako’s parents, but they’re due for a more polished design, especially Flora since I intend to give her wavier hair. I like to think that Minako and Alexis both got their mother’s wavy hair.

And yes, I did say Minako’s hair is naturally wavy. Along with using spells to do her space buns, she also straightens her hair. She started doing this when she started going to Hogwarts because she believed her hairstyle and natural waves made her look too childish. It was either the space buns or the waves that had to go, and she said goodbye to her waves for a good six years. However, she gradually stops straightening her hair ever since she landed in Twisted Wonderland since she is going back to her ancestral roots (heh).

As you can see, I tend to switch between Minako’s straight hair and wavy hair. It really depends on my mood

People like to say that Minako is as pretty as her mother, and there is some truth to that. At a glance, Minako takes after her father, but the colour of her hair and her complexion is where the resemblance stops. The structure of Minako’s face matched her mother in almost every way from the shape of her eyes, her nose, and her smile. It goes beyond looks too. Minako and Flora are ambitious individuals and love the outdoors. I have this scene in mind that Minako will look in the mirror one day and realize how much she looks just like her mother. It horrifies her and saddens her a bit.

When Vil finds out that Minako’s hair is naturally wavy, he gets on her case for not letting her waves develop, so he gives her some styling creams and oils suited for type 2 hair.

Another trivia about Minako’s hair is that during her second year of Hogwarts and still processing her traumatic summer, she started styling her hair is several different ways to cope. Dyeing her hair, chopping it off, growing it back again using potions—every week, she would look different, it got to a point where Minako was considering shaving her head so an intervention was staged as requested by her housemates. They put her in the duelling club as a better alternative of coping, especially since she got kicked out of the Quidditch team for fighting with Warren Willoughby.

Okay, moving on from hair, we have Minako’s wardrobe. She is a vintage and thrift store lurker. I actually have a wip right now showing the progression of Minako’s outfits from her muggle life in London to being spirited away to twisted wonderland.

Life before NRC, her outfits still generally had a vintage flare to them, but the fantastical elements are quite subdued and are very muggle-like. I feel like she unconsciously tried to keep her magical and muggle life seperate as a result of being forbidden from using underage magic. Now, being twisted wonderland, Minako’s outfits become more and more grand and spectacular (i.e. Alice frock from the revenge unbirthday party, the event outfits, her dorm uniform, which I have yet to pick a design for). Her skirts will become bigger, there are more sparkly embellishments, maybe even some outlandish patterns.

I’m also into the idea of Minako adopting a similar colour palette to Crewel’s to showcase their guardian-child relationship. Minako’s main colours are already black and white and even wears splashes of red as nod to Mickey’s outfit.

Phew! Thank you for letting ramble. I thought this would be quick, but I should go to sleep by now so that I can wake up for work early tomorrow.

#ask #director’s cut #twisted wonderland x harry potter #twisted wonderland #harry potter #epics of ink and light #epics of ink & light #oc: minako nezumi

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mushroom-for-art · 2 years

Text

I made a Hexolot oc cause the shape species design and concept pleased the brain so much, the Hexolot species was made by @my-quirk-is-fred, I just put her in a Star Trek uniform cause it pleases me.

Hexolot is currently unnamed probably won't get a name but here's some facts that I came up with for this oc specifically but honestly I could be wrong about things as I don't know much about Hexolot:

One of their parents was a purebred Hexolot while the other was a Pre-hexolot, in which the techolot ended up staying with a Pre-hex tribe for a time as they repaired their stuff to safely travel back to society, the Pre-hex tribe was kind and let them stay and they were smart and respectful enough to be a good guest and avoided fixing tech around them out of respect. Obviously two of them ended up having a nice time together before the modern day Hexolot left to return to society so this Hexolot has some old throw back genes through wavier tentacles as on reference the modern ones looked more chunk, extra tendrils joint bits and is likely a bit taller than peers (but shorter than a Pre-hexolot), very sad they didn't get extra tendrils tho :(

This Hexolot answers to really any pronouns used like many others but has started to resonate with the She pronouns after being exposed to it by other species that use/have those kind of genders and kinda thinks yea that's pretty cool I'll have that

Language expert! Catch her translating languages when technology fails and being able to learn new ones on the fly. Probably unintentionally holds a record of most languages she's just never checked. Will sometimes use incorrect English to comfort humans who are nervous such as "I come in the peace", knowing its kinda stereotyped alien talk and it eases newcomers on board.

She cant stand language nitpickers though who refuse to see the joke and try to lecture her on grammar speech and languages, meanwhile she's mentally polishing her languages trophies cause this bitch. But let's them rant, or leaves the conversation if they're boring.

Also dislikes people who try to act like they know more than her, let's them crack on and struggle with language stuff before taking over when they fail.

Adores humans though, look at them!! Timy!! So soft!! An apex predator awa! Thinks they're great, especially with Earth's many languages, would sit chatting to someone for hours while playing with their hands (5 fingers!! Five!!!)

#my art #my oc #Hexolot #My-quirk-is-Fred 's Hexolot species #My-quirk-is-fred 's species #I just drew it but conceptually belongs to them #Go look at their art not mine cause their art very cool

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nzn43 · 2 years

Text

Willpower AU

Full explanation(and art you have probably already seen)

The Willpower Au take place after dark lord is defeated and everything is settled.

A mysterious stick figure has entered into Alan's laptop through an website the stick figures were looking through.

They acted friendly yet a very twisted game was played throughout

This game is a test of how much will you have put into defeating the enemy or putting your will into your perhaps most or least trusted friend.

This Mysterious stick figure goes by Will and was first met by Red. As Will acted friendly so did Red. They quickly became friends so Red quickly introduce Will the RBYGO. Will who came from the internet already knew but decided to have Red introduce them anyways. Will greeted, just saying hi's.

It took a bit of time for Will to get to know the RBYGO and what they do exactly...

Previously, when the RBYGO left the internet and TCO behind. TDL was approached by someone.

Back in the present day, It was at least 3 am, Will knew the stick fight don't sleep but TSC do, so it's easy to target them. After all, they are the strongest, attack the strongest and it might downfall the others. TSC had the lack of willpower to fight Will as they weren't deem as a threat till now.

Next day, TSC wasn't waking up, Green tries to wake them up over and over again but decided they are probably even too tired that sleep overtook them. Though Green does have a suspicion something have happened but have no way to prove it. Will came to visit next day and TSC has not woken up, Green started to get worried. Tries to check anything wrong with TSC, searching up what it exactly is happening. Green's will was so focus on TSC and trying to get them to wake up that it has completely lost focus on Will. Green became the second to be taken. Slowly, Blue and Yellow fell real easily. Red was wondering what was happening and probably thinking they were having a sleepover and slept to hard so Red tried to wake up Yellow and Blue. Usually making loud sounds though Red is not all dumb, they knew something happens as Yellow is asleep, the one stick figure they know that usually don't fall asleep. (Yes, each of them fought Will and was physically winning but their soul wavier)

That's when Will reveal themselves to Red.

The Fight was not easy as Will can control and use Red's friend strength against them. Though, had Red never figure out Will's weakness, they would have been like the others.

Red was able to take back what suppose to belong to his friends, his friends was able to trust him to use their strength(Mostly TSC).

Though, Red's will wavier, giving out the most weakness against Will.

Red knew of this and quickly switch out to his instead of his friends being taken again.

Because of the switch, Red allowed his willpower be taken but in doing so was able to release the others back into their body. Despite Will knowing more of their power, they did not know about this when Blue and Yellow come running. Will moved back as Blue and Yellow took a much more defensive stance. A underwhelming power came closer and closer. TSC passed by Yellow, Blue and Red. "Rest well" The fight became much more intense but Will used a move where TSC had to choose between letting Will go or destroying Will and his friend all together. Of course, Will did not expect TSC to actually give off a murder intend. Suppose Red did demand TSC to not let Will off free. In doing so, both Will and Red's died.

TSC let off tears as Red tries to reach towards TSC, telling them it is alright. Green finally came with first aid, Red falling into the depth of the void.

#ava #ava red #ava second coming #animation vs animator #alan becker #ava dark lord #a bit of them #ava blue #ava green #ava yellow #willpowerau #au

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bluesdesk · 3 years

Text

ZELDA HEADCANONS

Sun:

-- considers "Zelda" and "Hylia" as 2 different identities. When she has to act as Hylia (to give a serious order, to do some magic...), she moves her fringe to her left side. Also when Sky makes her angry in a discussion she is like: "remember I can be Hylia!" and not "remember I'm Hylia"

-- she wears shorts under her dresses, she would be pretty uncomfortable without them.

-- She has a very strong personality, like a girlboss, and she's as chaotic as Tetra

-- She's Hylia, and so she must handle magic pretty well. Also Sky didn't have problems, if not more frequent nightmares and lightning scars and fear of thunderstorms... But "fear of thunderstorms" doesn't even count! However, she noticed her hair became lighter near the tips, and wavier.

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

Dot:

-- the girly princess? No way! She grew up with Four, she's a smith too, she loves adventures and festivities. The fucsia jacket is a hoodie (she covers the hood with her cloack), she wears leggings and seakers nunder the dress, that's actually a high waisted long skirt she can remove

-- her hair is kinda orangey! Also it's pretty long

-- she's a relative of Four! In the italian version of Minish Cap she refers to Link's grandpa as "uncle Smith". This might mean Smith is her uncle, grand-uncle or greta-granduncle? Dot's mom might be Smith's younger sister for example.

-- She had a pretty simple life before MC and FS. Dot had learnt some magic because of the whole "descendant of a goddess" thing. Not much, and she preferred to not use it. So, when she got petrified by Vaati's magic, she got the signs of it. Her hands and feet are as small as when she was 12 (MC), and her hair got way straighter than before. And when Vaati kidnapped her, she got some eye markings, like tattoos, on her arms.

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

Lullaby:

-- genderfluid! But their father doesn't really support them and when they feel like a boy they just become Sheik and go in the woods or at Lon Lon!

-- They have a tanned skin and dark blonde hair

--They do want to be a mom though. Dusk is their daughter!

-- They can handle magic well, but Lullaby turned into Sheik for the first time when they were really young, and this had an impact on them. Their blue eyes became red with the Sheik mask (yeah I headcanon it as a mask!), and the repetitive use of it made their eye color turn from blue to violet even when they're "Zelda". They also got a sheikah eye symbol on their left eye, which they cover with their hair.

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

Dusk:

-- She grew up with her grandpa (Lullaby's father)

-- She has Lullaby's skin color! Also she's thin and tall

-- She didn't attend a royal/exclusive school but went at Twi's same one so they were friends as kids. She also studied swords and archery!

-- She simply didn't recognize Twi as a wolf, she thought he had become a spirit, because she didn't know he had the triforce too!

-- When Ganondorf turned her into his puppet, her skin became pale, and she had those black scars/signs and her eyes turned yellow. Her light power kinda healed this, but she now has light brown eyes, that turn blue when she's really happy and yellow when she's angry. Her skin color changed back to normal but her lips are always more violet than normal and she still has those black scars.

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

Artemis:

-- Dusk's great-great-granddaughter! She has a similiar face, but her colors are different. Also she has chubbier legs.

--When the war started, she took the master sword and trained with it, until Impa told her she had to leave it for the next hero

-- She's been training with magic for a long time, since she can really use it perfectly, and she masters different kinds of magic. Every scar/sign she got is from the enemies' weapons, and not magic

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

Flora:

-- She refused the whole princess/goddess thing, she just refers to herself as a scholar, researcher and adventure.

-- she loves Sheikah clothing! She has stealth lessons with Paya

-- she tries to imitate Wild's cooking in secret, but she refuses to admit it because of the "powerful hero/ useless princess" thing

--She has also been training a lot with magic, and when she sealed herself and Calamity Ganon, her powers were awake. But being sealed for 100 years, with constant light powers on, and Calamity Ganon surely did something. The constant light made her photosensitive, and her hands are burnt, not as badly as Wild's face of course, but you can recognize they are. The usage of a newly awakened magic, for so long time and with that intensity made her unable to use magic for the next years after she came back, and if she'll ever get her magic back, it'll be only few.

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

Tetra:

-- She grew up knowing her name wad Tetra. She didn't know it was just a nickname, so for her "Zelda" is a nickname she doesn't even like. In the italian version of WW/PH, her name is Dazel. She prefers Dazel over Zelda when she has to do royal stuff.

-- even as Zelda her skin is dark and her hair is all curly

-- Wind's grandma loves her and already adopted her in her mind XD but she keeps telling her she needs warmer clothes and she also gives her lots of Wind's clothes that became too small for him

-- she has blonde freckles on her dark skin, Aryll says she's a starry night

-- chubby!!

-- She had never heard of magic before her first adventure, so you might imagine she must have taken it really badly. She has a messed up sleping schedule and she falls asleep in the strangest ways, positions, and times. One second she's arguing with you, the next moment she's asleep, even if she's on her feet, this thing can get dangerous for her so she always brings someone (mostly Wind) with her. She has scratches everywhere from her petrification too, and being petrified surely didn't help with her previous situation.

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

Fable:

-- she loves to wear pink and sky blue together! Pink is her favorite color and sky blue represents the goddess. She's a fan of jewels too!

-- Don't touch her hair, she'd get mad!

--Legend's step sister and somehow twin! She and Legend have different mothers and the same father (the father became a king after the marriage with Fable's mom, the queen). Oddly enough, they were born the same day of the same year.

-- She knows how to use a sword but she mostly uses magic and she can kick pretty well!

-- She can use magic almost perfectly, like Artemis! However, being in a painting gave her some lighter/"discolored" spots on her skin, pretty much like vitiligo. Just few spots, as she could handle that magic well too.

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

Aurora:

-- a child. She's like 10/12. A pretty smart kid!

-- redhead, tanned skin, curly hair and lots of freckles!

-- autistic, her stims are most likely jumping and moving her arms! She loves springs and water in general, she could spend her entire days with fairies in a spring! Pretty enthusiastic about literally anything too!

-- she sees Hyrule as an older brother

-- She had negative memories about her brother, and giving the adjective "brother" to Hyrule is like turning the page, seeing that adjective with a new meaning

--The poor kid often thinks her dreams are reality. She has problems in distinguishing vivid dreams from reality as she had been asleep for too much. On the other hand, she barely sleeps.

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

BONUS:

Phantom/Angel (Spirit Tracks!):

As the great granddaughter of Tetra, Phantom and Link should be related (One of Spirit and one of Phantom's parents must be cousins) Unless Spirit isn't the great grandson of Tetra and Wind... but maybe the great grandson of Aryll instead! This would explain why Spirit is in contact with the pirate crew but not royal, and since their first common relative is so distant (Wind and Aryll's parents) they wouldn't be considered as related and the fact they didn't know each other before would have more sense

-- She took her personality from Tetra AND Wind: her will to help and be a hero too, still being a bit sassy, and a little rebel (escaping from the castle). She's like, a perfect mix of their personalities.

-- As for her design, she has wavy hair, a slightly tanned skin (she's not dark skinned, unlike Tetra), she loves earrings and she has a lot of them!

-- She wasn't used to magic, she knew that but not too much, so being a phantom and leaving her body because of said magic had an impact on her. Her eyes were originally dark blue like Tetra, but they're now pink to purple and yellow! Her skin got lighter after ST, and so she wears makeup to seem less pale. Her eyes get irritated easily (red eyes when possessed) and she spaces out a lot, sometimes she has dissociative events

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feelingofcontent · 3 years

Text

DNP Rewatch: The Truth About December

Date video was published: 12/23/2013 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 210

Dan’s last video of 2013 and the last 2013 video of all. He tweeted when he got the idea for this video, I’m guessing. (Sidenote: we finally have Dan tweets again! He accidentally deleted a bunch, so there haven’t been any to link to since posts about 2011.)

Dan filmed this while he was in India with his family for Christmas. He left London just the day after Phil headed up North. He didn’t think he would sleep on the plane, but he did and someone took a creepshot (yikes 😨). He had to find an internet café to have enough speed to upload this video.

0:03 - nice festive intro...oh wait.

0:16 - Phil is definitely one of those people

0:25 - DNP really were in the “work tornado” in 2013 which was probably part of the reason

0:36 - “deep inside me” and the zoom in for emphasis 😳

0:50 - I mean...he’s not wrong. That’s how December feels a lot of the time.

0:56 - must be borrowing a family member’s shirt there.

1:00 - this is quite a bit of filming and editing effort for doing this on holiday

1:14 - I wish. There is no “relaxing downhill slope” of work

1:21 - “super awkward parties” too real.

1:29 - more borrowing of clothes for sure. That is not a Dan shirt 😂 (He reply-tweeted to someone that they were his dad’s.)

1:48 - his hair is getting progressively wavier as he gets hot throughout filming

1:55 - I would not survive without online shopping. Actual stores in December are my nightmare.

2:07 - I’m not so sure about the practically of bringing an extremely furry hat to India. Also: that is quite the face.

2:33 - awwww, that is sweet. DNP both do really get into it with their decorating and everything every year. 🥺

2:56 - Dan getting real there

3:12 - “the entire world is procrastinating” is a nice thought but unfortunately not as true as I would like it to be

3:38 - yeah. that’s true. January, yikes.

4:07 - I knew he talked about being in India somewhere in the actual video. “Festive and moist” is not a phrase I needed to hear. 😂

I agree with Dan on a lot of these thoughts about December.

Also while in India, he spent time on the beach and celebrated a sandy Christmas, apparently, lol. Dan headed back home on December 28 (Phil got back the day after that). He also hit 3,000,000 subscribers!

DNP were both back home for New Year’s Eve (1, 2) and had some friends over.

On to the 2014 videos!

#dan and phil #dnp #dnpRewatch #daniel howell #danisnotonfire #dan howell #daniel howell videos #The Truth About December

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themanip · 3 years

Text

yellow roses

⤳ blurb: lee felix and his seven friends are chosen to go to america and attend a private high school. with only three able to speak english fluently, they get assigned another student to help them navigate american high school. they quickly come to realize that the sweet girl who speaks korean is much more than who she shows during school hours.

⤳ pairing: lee felix + willow arroyo ⤳ genre: romance, coming of age, drama, fluff, eventual smut, very angsty ⤳ warnings: chan being super sweet, cursing, mentions of bullying, not much to worry about this chapter ⤳ word count: a little over 3.1k

"Can you turn that music down, please?"

Ronnie tapped her shoulder softly, which surprised the young girl. Swiveling around and yanking a headphone out of her ear, she crinkled her eyebrows at the balding man. "Sorry?"

"Can you turn it down? It's so loud I can hear it," her manager stared at her with blank eyes, and she nodded gently. Pulling her left hand from the swamp of dishes and dirty water, she dried her hand on her apron, and clicking the volume button to a lower setting. "I get it, Winnie. It's not the greatest job in the world, and you wanna listen to music and your grumpy manager is being an ass," she let out a soft chuckle at his words.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I don't mean to be an ass, I'm just exhausted."

"It's alright, I get it. I worked like you did when I was your age, and I know how much it sucked. It was just better for me because I got paid double what you do," he smiled softly, clapping his hands together.

"Minimum wage is no laughing matter, Ronnie. I eat one-fifth of a lemon bar for lunch everyday," she eyed him fake angrily, and his eyes softened. "Really?"

"No, what the hell," she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Usually it's a bagel or something,"

"Okay," he sighed softly, taking his cap off and running his hands through his hair. "If you wanna close up a bit earlier, I can come in at five instead of seven,"

Her hands halted as she scrubbed a plate, and she smiled gently. "No, it's okay," she finished washing the last dish, and set it on the drying rack. "You have Eliot now, and I'm sure Olivia isn't getting much sleep without you home during the night, so go home, and take care of your son,"

She melted at the thought of his newborn son, and how beautiful he is. She wasn't extremely good with children, but babies made her absolutely swoon. She also knew how hard newborns were to deal with, and having Ron not home to help probably made things hell for his wife, Olivia.

"You sure?"

One solid nod and a tired grin sent Ronnie on his way home, knowing he would recieve a full night's sleep. Despite the intense amount of work, she loved the diner. It was always warm, she always had at least one plate of food if she needed it, and Ronnie cut her a lot of slack.

She dried her hands off on her apron once more, and headed to the front of the restaurant near the island of stools. It was past midnight now, and occasionally there were some older customers who came in drunk, or just got off work. It seemed to be a quiet night, so she figured it wouldn't be too bad if she took a quick pee break.

On the other end of the diner were the restrooms, and she scrambled over there. Her footsteps and the dark shadows in the bathrooms often creeped her out, she went in, did her business, and left. Once she opened the door, she spotted two bewildered teenage boys at the front door, looking around with wide eyes.

"Hey, are you guys open? I saw it said twenty-four hours but—"

He had an Australian accent, and it made Willow purr on the inside. "Yes! Yes we are, I'm sorry," she sighed in embarassment, and rushed to the front of the diner. Her boots, which usually help her feet with the consistent standing, are now a nuisance as she stumbles across the floor.

"Oh no worries, we know it's kind of late,"

As Willow stumbled next to the boy, who she now saw another boy standing next to him with red cheeks. His accent was beautiful, she thought. He was also inhumanely good looking. The one who'd spoken to her had darker brown hair, on the wavier side. He had a larger nose, and his lips were quite full. He was beautiful.

The other one stood silent, and Willow smiled and held menus. "Booth or do you wanna sit at the island?"

"Uh, booth please," the brunette spoke up once more, and she silently led them to a booth that was clean and somewhat in the middle of the restaurant. Gentle background music filled the silence, and all that was heard was soft scuffling as the two boys followed the only girl working.

She sat them down, and the other blonde boy smiled sheepishly. "Here are your menus, can I get you something to drink first?"

"Can I get a coke, please?"

That time, it was the boy who'd she never heard speak. His voice was deeper, almost curiously soft. The brunette spoke once more, "Do you have tea?"

"Of course, sir. Unsweetened or sweetened?"

"Oh, sweetened please," he nodded thoughtfully, smiling. "I will be right back with your drinks, take a look over the menu and you can let me know what you want at your earliest convenience," Willow smiled genuinely, and she bowed slightly. She didn't even mean to, she just felt odd alone, at midnight, with two teenage boys in her diner.

"She called you sir, Chan," the blonde boy whispered to the one opposite him, this Chan character. "She's really nice, we have to leave a good tip," Chan responded, and that's all Willow managed to hear before she started making their drinks.

The next hour or so dragged on, with Chan, Willow, and the other figure, whom she'd learn is Felix, and her coming back and forth to collect orders, serve seconds, cook said seconds, and giving refills. Each time, Chan would apologize for inconveniencing her as if it wasn't her job, and she would smile softly. She could tell that he would never be rude to fast food workers or people just intending to do their job.

Usually, there would be a chef, or at least someone who can cook, and at least one other person working. The past few weeks had been Willow mostly by herself, picking up extra shifts, and as long as it wasn't busy, she could manage cooking and waittressing. She got paid double time, and she picked up overtime on days where Ron did not want to come in early. He also didn't want to burden Helena, one of his other over-nighters, who'd just gotten back on her feet after a house fire.

She wasn't a bad cook, and she was quick on her feet. She could hold down her own, and Ronnie knew that. Hence he trusted her with his entire diner, on most nights, and to hold the fort down. She would now easily bring home paychecks over a grand, with taxes taken out every week. As her two very cute customers continued eating their seconds, she scribbled messily on her notepad on the counter.

She stood on the inside of the island counter, and was counting expenses. She had a lot of shit to worry about, bills included. Gas, electric, dog food, groceries. She could take maybe three hundred dollars off her bill fund thanks to her mother, but it still didn't help in the scheme of things.

Frustrated, she scribbled out her list. She had to worry about this later, there was no need to worry before she got her paycheck. Her eyes felt heavy, and she tried to rub the sleepiness from them. She had at least five more hours before she could even think about leaving, and she still had to clean this place from top to bottom.

"Do you think we could get the check, please?"

Chan's timid voice broke her from her daze, and her face reddened in embarassment. She had forgotten they were here. Setting her pen down hastily, she shuffled over to grab the printed out receipt, and held it tightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to zone off like that," she set the check down, and took notice of their neatly stacked plates with silverware crossed on top. Her cleanup would be very easy, and she absolutely loved when she had customers like this. "Oh, no worries," Chan smiled and eyed the check. "Is it okay if I take these?"

Pointing towards the stack of plates, the other boy, Felix, quickly grabbed them and handed them to her. Underneath the plates, their fingers touched briefly. A sheepish smile followed from both, and she quickly scurried to put the plates in the dishwasher. All she had to do was get them checked out, clean the three plates, clean the milkshake cups, the soda cups, and sweep. Some general maintenance, and if nobody else came in, she was in for a decent night.

"Hey, you didn't charge us for the milkshakes," Chan mentioned softly, slight accusatory tone. "They're on the house," Willow smiled back from the bar island, and Chan cocked his head in confusion, "if that's okay,"

"That's really kind, thank you," once again, a gentle, dimple-filled smile from Chan, and a sheepish, red-cheeked one from Felix. She wished to hear the blonde boy speak again, his voice so rich, so deep. He seemed sweet.

Her first thought was that they were boyfriends. It angered her, but only in a way that two of the cutest guys she'd possibly ever seen were together. It was adorable, to say the least. Little did she know, they were definitely not together.

Willow came to collect the money, and Felix stared up at her. "Are you from around here?"

Her eyes widened, and her mind went blank. That was usually how someone asked if she would be missed had she been kidnapped. "That sounded really creepy, I'm sorry," he clarified, and she loosened her shoulders a bit, "We are new to town, and we don't know where Glarien Avenue is. We just moved in, and can't find our way back. The GPS says the street doesn't exist," he finished quickly, and she nodded gently, deciding on whether or not to tell him.

"Oh, uh," she bit her lip, "the street got a new sign on accident, and the GPS or whatever national database that programs the information never got updated, I guess. If you pull out of here, take a left and go forward like three-ish blocks. There's gonna be a bright yellow house, and once you see that turn right, and then take a sharp right again and if you just keep going down you should see Glarien. If you get lost, just come back,"

It took only five minutes for the two Australian boys to clear out, and for Willow to finally take a breath. As she took care of all of the dishes, she went for the check last. Their total was somewhat cheap, twenty-three dollars, for two full meals, two sodas, a sweet tea, and extra sides of fries.

As she counted out the money, she was thoroughly confused. There were two twenties, and two fives. There was fifty dollars here, and their meal was less than thirty. On the check was a small note.

Really good food, really good service. We hope you have an amazing night, and whatever is left after our tab is paid is yours. Thank you!

An exasperated sigh left her mouth, and she sat in the booth where the two boys sat. Staring at the money in front of her, her chest felt heavy. All of her emotions poured out, and the thought that a strangers kindness' brought her to tears was shameful yet elating. That would be three less hours she would have to work, three more hours of sleep, or soccer practice, or studying. More time to not stress over bills.

She sat there for a few minutes, breathing in and out, as deep as she could. Wiping her face of any tear remnants, she stood up, collecting the money in hand. As she eyed the clock, she sighed inwardly. It was only 2 AM.

A little less than five hours later, she was walking into the doors of LaPrine High School, with at least two hundred other students. For seven in the morning, teenagers were pretty damn annoying. Squeals and loud murmurs was everything that she could hear, and it made her turn her headphones up louder.

For a private school full of snobby inbreds, there were some okay kids there. Most of them were the scholarship kids, who'd had their fares paid for, like Willow. If someone found out that you were a scholar student, you'd immediately be laughed at and taunted. She managed to keep hers a secret, though. She excelled, and she made sure to throw in an occasional snicker when needed to prove she was just one among the bunch.

She wasn't popular by any means, but everyone knew her. She was a suck up, that was for sure. Every teacher liked her, her grades were impeccable, and she was an all-star soccer player. She managed to have better stats than Ian Rewns, the past all star soccer legend, and he wasn't even a midfielder.

She also was known to stay pretty quiet, and to herself socially. She had a few casual friends, some classmates she talked to, but nobody really close. She was okay with that, she was pretty busy anyways. She had school from eight in the morning to three, then soccer practice from four to six-thirty, and if there wasn't a game, she'd go home around seven, and at eleven she would go work the graveyard shift at the diner. On average, she'd get four to five hours of sleep. Friends, or a social life, just take away from that time.

As she stopped at her locker to pull out her textbooks, she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Ms. Arroyo," it was her principal, Mrs. Samson. "Can you come with me, please?"

It was only two weeks into the school year, so there wasn't much she could get in trouble for. Maybe it was to rearrange her classes? No, every class she had was only alotted for that specific hour, there was no way. Her tuition? God, she hoped not.

"How are your classes so far?" as they rounded the office hallway, Mrs. Samson was making casual conversation. The clicking of her heels intimidated Willow a bit, but she'd known her for over a year. She wasn't as scary as everyone made her out to be. "They're good, I just finally settled in,"

"I know this year seems like it may be hard, but by the looks of your GPA next year, I think you'll be satisfied with it." Praise made Willow purr like a kitten, and her entire body tingled at the realization that this probably wasn't bad.

"Me too," she replied softly, and Mrs. Samson held the door to her office open for her, and they stepped in. Her office was tidy, shades of light blue and gray, and was a little too cold for Willow's liking. "Come and take a seat, hun,"

Unsure still, she took a seat. Her back didn't touch the seat, her anxiety from not knowing why she was there overtaking her comfortability. "You're not in trouble, don't worry," the older woman smiled at her as she took her own seat opposite her desk.

"So, I know you are a busy girl," she looked at her with eyes of compassion, and a soft smile decorated her face. "I have a proposition for you," she continued.

"Do you happen to remember when you did student tours for the incoming freshman?" Her first year at LaPrine, she was allowed to do student tours as community service hours for NHS. She was actually so good at it, and the organization of it, that she got to do it again this summer, and handled it all by herself without any staff. It was pulled off effortlessly.

"Of course, this year too," Willow nodded in agreement, and she waited for the woman to continue. "Well, if you agree to help me for a while this year, I will make sure all of your community hours are taken care of, and anything else you need help with will be considered done,"

Willow wanted her to get to the point.

"What is it?"

"Remember on your National Honor Society resume, you said you're bilingual and speak more than just English? You weren't lying, right?"

Willow laughed so hard she nearly bust a lung, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "Mrs. Samson, my last name is Arroyo. But of course, I can speak more than just Spanish, though,"

"You listed Korean, correct?" she eyed a piece of paper, which was most likely her aforementioned resume.

"Yeah, I can speak it somewhat fluently, and I can read Hangul well, I sometimes have trouble writing it, though. I don't imagine I'll be writing Korean letters, will I?" Willow's Hangul was absolutely preposterous, any native Korean would agree.

"No, that's silly," The elder crossed her hands together, and leaned forward. "Starting tomorrow, we have eight foreign exchange students coming from Korea, and you are an exemplar student who also happens to speak said language. One is a native English speaker, and two others speak it fluently. The rest can manage only a conversation or two, so you can understand our worry. I'm sure it would be nice for them to have a friend as well,"

"For the rest of the year?"

"Yes, but I'm sure that they'll manage to speak more fluently as the year progresses," and Willow shook her head, "I'm not worried about the language, I just don't know how that would work,"

"How so?"

"Well, are they all girls? Are they boys? Is it a mix? And won't their classes be much different than mine?"

"They're all boys, ranging from sophomore to seniors, and they're super sweet. Very respectful boys, from what I hear. I promise you, I will make it worth it if you help me out, and at least be a friend and reliable student to these boys. And no, they will not all have the same classes as you, but it will probably be courses you have taken, save for the seniors."

"I will also put in a good word for you to Mr. Ramirez, and how that head position on the team should be an exemplar student and player," she mentioned the soccer coach, and Willow cringed inwardly. She hadn't spoke Korean, in full length sentences, in over a year. She could remember it, but she'd be rusty.

"Okay, but you owe me one. No, more like eight; you owe me eight, Mrs. Samson."

"Deal. Come in tomorrow early if you can, and you can give them the tour. I will be here as well, so if you want to meet me in the cafeteria, I will bring you coffee."

"I like my coffees with extra creamer and sugar."

"Done."

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commander-orca · 2 years

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You were the child a shooting star blushed upon and so... It left you a gift (2)

Tags: Suoh x Rochalizo, Modern college students AU, fluff, Christmas, established relationship, nudity, sex scenes, reassurance, perhaps a tiny bit of angst, physical & emotional parental abuse, school deadlines, daily domestic life, cuddles, insecurities, masturbation, existential crisis, panic attacks, mutual understanding, light forms of self harm, sibling issues, ok I lied there's quite a lot of angst, but there's a lot of good too, working through a relationship, domestic delight, hanging out daily, sleepovers every night w/ your best friend who's also your boyfriend, living a good life despite everything

Note: AAAAAAA. This chapter took so long because I had lots of tedious exams to study for and then came the Christmas gatherings and it's been hard to find time to write. I hope you'll like it

CHAPTER 2/? probably out of 3 or 5

"Rochi? You're up?"

Rochalizo turned his head to the right, twisting his own neck so he could look behind his shoulder. The position asked for much uncalled-for stiffeness and tension in his tendons and he turned to the other, shifting his body for his eyes to meet the voice. A vague shape stood in the unlighted living room's entrance, the whiteness of it contrasting neatly in the dark. Even as it had come to a standstill, it was as though it hovered the room in slow, subtle top-down floatings in its white baggy short-sleeved pyjama shirt and its pants just as baggy. His pants which had turned a soft yellow-white, having been put in the wrong pile of laundry. Puffy from the drying, his hair bloated around his shoulders and cheeks, slightly wavier than usual and shining humbly in the pitch black spot, if it wasn't for the far table lamp and the inefficient light in the corridor. As a result, his right leg and the same side of his face was coloured in the shade of a drowsy sun.

"God, you scared me...", breathed Rochalizo, in relief after a mild feeling of panic, "Um... Why d'you look like this?"

— 'Like this'?

— You look like the Ghost of Christmas Past".

Suoh's eyes shone with playfulness and he walked up to him, his rubber slipper soles squeaking slightly on the wooden parquet. It became obvious half way-through, that he had swollen the sound himself.

"I've come to haunt you, Ebenezer".

He joined him on the grey couch, chuckling, throwing an arm around his beloved who also chuckled at their shared little reference and poked his nose into Suoh's chest. The latter looked cheery although it was blatant he was confused as to why Rochalizo was here. But Rochalizo didn't intend to answer at first; he only took it as opportunity that Suoh was here to huddle against him joyfully.

Suoh hugged him back tightly, smiling foolishly at this half-smirk Rochalizo had just done. One he usually eyed him with when he anticipated the cuddles he would himself come get and it was stupid and adorable in Suoh's eyes. Because he smirked like a first-time-rule-breaker. Perhaps this couldn't be helped considering the way he had been raised, the displays of affection in their family seemingly as rare as frequent had been the fear. His hands tightened a little around his hips which were bare, where his Planet of the Apes pyjama shirt fell too short. He hoped that one day, he would no longer associate warmth with forbiddings and shame. Or exceptionnal luck, an opportunity of which only occured once in while.

As soon as Suoh returned the embrace and peppered kisses all over his face, Rochalizo's body began slipping slowly against the large armchair. It didn't get uncomfortable; they both provided support for each other's backs and the large cushion was mellow. His view had gotten limited to the ceiling and the stains on the upper walls before his thoughts even notified him he was all slumped. Suoh's body, still preciously held against his breathed calmly, puffs of air blowing on his clavicles. He, solely moved when strictly needed, as he would've felt bad disturbing this moment. And he wished it would have lasted forever. It was simple, so terribly simple. But Suoh's puffy and already tangled hair which fluttered in the draught stirred up by his own small exhalations caused his throat to tighten. And, the sound which reached his ears as he treaded fingertips through them to massage his head knotted the twist in his stomach even deeper.

"Hey... Why aren't you sleeping?", whispered Suoh's voice a little above his jaw, his hair flipping in his face was still warm from the hairdryer.

Rochalizo was about to tell exactly the reason why; he was so tired, he couldn't sleep and perhaps the remaining stress of the day still filled him with adrenaline and so, he hadn't been able to. But he then remembered something else. He had been wanting Suoh to explain why he had been eating so little for the past three days. He felt suddenly bad for neglecting this matter as it was something he had noticed quite early on, ignored at first and then, had kept on forgetting to bring it up. Knowing Suoh, it was unlikely that he would bring it up himself. And so, he lied. He didn't feel proud of it either for he genuinely loathed exercising dishonesty with Suoh but...

"Because... Earlier, after dinner, you told me you'd explain... That existential thing...?"

Suoh tensed in his arms and for a second, from the light push in his elbows, Rochalizo thought he'd get up and leave. Exit the lounge, walk blindly through the narrow corridor and flee to their bedroom, walling himself up in their little reading spot. But had he perhaps intended to, he did no such thing and began relaxing again against him after a while.

"So?", the other pressed him, nudging him a little.

He wasn't particularly bothered by listening — he liked it actually especially when it came to observing behaviour on the whole — nor was it waiting for the pieces of information to collide one by one, slowly, as the other would take his time to tell. But with no element whatsoever, he had nothing to work with. Without the necessary tools, he was getting frustrated at his own incapacity to begin reasoning and finding a few solutions.

Suoh's head popped up from his neck and suddenly hung above his face, close by one or two matchsticks. He gave him an awkward smile, a fake one, even if quite genuinely kind.

"What? Oh... Was I too direct again?"

They had talked about this before. Of Rochalizo's blunt honesty and of Suoh's more delicate approach. It wasn't as much of a problem as it had been at the start of their relationship. In certain situations which had called for them to try helping, for every comforting word Suoh had offered, Rochalizo would have wished to hear about a remedy, a quick fix. The opposite was also true: offering solutions was not what Suoh yearned for; he was better off with being lent a sympathetic ear. Comfort with their personal methods generally left the first one in a state of stress having not been advised, while the second was left upset because he felt unheard and dictated commands. These days, — and said days must be dating back to a few months now — they were able to navigate conversations without risking rasping against each one's feelings too badly.

Suoh did nothing but smile again but he looked away this time, avoiding answering the question. He kissed Rochalizo's forehead and admitted, in a timid whisper:

"I don't know how to start".

Rochalizo's eyes sparkled as he made eye contact with him again.

"Wait give me a sec, I'll google random first line generator".

Suoh giggled, bending over towards Rochalizo's face as he laughed and then falling back in place.

"No, I meant... I meant... Oh be quiet, you know what I meant. You're teasing..."

The boy uttered a few quiet laughs too, enjoying that flustered smile which had arisen on Suoh's face and yet this embarass best balanced with ease now as the corners of his lips wouldn't come down. Rochalizo knew Suoh didn't alway like when he was made to laugh while he hadn't planned to and had intended to keep serious instead. He could get upset and he had in the past, because it was not how he liked to talk about important matters. He desired gentle words and thought certain conversations required that one keep a straight face. This was why Rochalizo tried not to overdo it. But despite what Suoh thought was appropriate or not, he could tell that this one joke had made him a little more comfortable and a little less self-conscious.

Rolling to the side, he lay down beside Rochalizo, their shoulders and ribs touching. He grabbed his hand in his, as he often did when he wished to confess something and trusted the other person to make him feel good enough. He waited until Suoh would be ready and the right words to describe what he felt thought up and his sentences made. In the street below, a few cars passed by in a racket and some sound of flushed water went down the pipework and throughout the walls. When there was nothing again, he acutely realised the silence had fleshed out. Next to him, Suoh's hands were moving in rapid fidgetings and his mouth churned.

"Hey... I'm not gonna laugh at it you know", reminded Rochalizo, who was getting a bit concerned, "Just say it. Even if you think I'll think it's dumb".

His mouth opened but Suoh's words were sealed, as it seemed. For some reason, he still lacked the confidence that his words would be well received. Or he thought himself crazy right now, believing he was making a fuss about nothing, or being the only one feeling a certain way, which the other doubted, very much. Rochalizo moved on the couch so he could lie on his side and place his weight on his elbow. In a timid pout, he asked, imagining it could help:

"You want hugs?"

He must have found the right thing to say because Suoh's face lit up by a little and he shifted closer, rubbing his face onto Rochalizo's chest and pressing further even as Rochalizo's arms had wrapped around his shoulders. His breath was warm and sneaked through the other's shirt, on his thorax, so much so that that patch of skin of his under it had gotten equally warm. Rochalizo couldn't reach his skull for a kiss in this position but his hands roamed his upper body, stroking the nape of of his neck and his shoulder blades with the flat of his palms, aiming to pamper as much skin as he could. Under such relaxation, Suoh moved up and a tiny bit away, in a way which let their gazes interweave if he wanted to, but the closeness of which also allowed some looking away. He still lay in the other's arms and his eyes lowered as he began speaking.

"The thing wrong with me is that, I feel like... I'm not cut for this world sometimes..."

The other watched him, analysing. The emotional impact of those words hit him too. Not by a lot, however still more than he would've expected. What he was particularly cross about was the absurdity of this statement. He failed to see how Suoh would even come to this conclusion, the leads of which were either far-fetched or ridiculous. Rochalizo's head began shaking in disbelief.

"Get out..."

Suoh bit his lip, sucking in a little air.

— Not in all things, Rochi but... I feel like a stranger sometimes to... To what I should be... And like everything I do is shattered by my own fault"

Rochalizo's brow frowned. He pressed the bridge of his nose with a hand he freed and massaged it before sliding it back around Suoh's shoulders.

"I promise I'm trying really hard to follow, but you're being very vague".

This remark had the merit to wrench a small smile out of Suoh's before it disappeared and he looked stolid again, almost sad. His right hand came grasping at the front pocket seams of Rochalizo's shirt.

"There are so many things I'd like to do... I want to make a positive change somewhere... For someone or something... I want to be of help... But there are so many things going wrong, I... I feel overwhelmed..."

As his tongue loosened and the words, finally allowed out flied from his mouth, Rochalizo focused, operating small nods for himself. The pieces of the puzzle assembled and he thought he could now begin to see clearly what had been bothering him.

"I try to... Stick to one thing, but even in one I see so many things requiring attention and I'd like to offer my help for everything and yet... I burn out so fast and I hate myself because after only a while... I want to give up and go home. I'm not helping anyone the way I am".

But the more he talked and the more he got agitated. Fed by each thought accompanying his speech, his breath quietly wheezed between words, cutting them in halves at times as though he was choking himself out of oxygen. Not only his hands, his body felt fidgety against his and the bitterness in his voice added a worrisome coarseness to that tone. Eyes that didn't return the gaze were open wide. He was panting.

"I really... Do my best to listen to people's feelings but... I always turn out useless because I get so quickly filled with all of their feelings... And they stick with me for days... I can't do anything until those feelings leave me... I can only overthink... I wish I could just... Bury my feelings into the ground. I'm not of any use... It's as though... It's as though it's all pointless... If I didn't exist it'd the same... I'm not making any difference... I'm..."

At this point, Suoh had begun shaking and his breath was hissing. Rochalizo cut him off by grabbing his arm to pull him closer. It seemed to him that as he was shifting far away into those terrible thoughts, he had also gotten physically father. Filled with a sense of dread, he watched Suoh open his mouth, praying for air which didn't enter his mouth, given the number of times he heard him gasp and his chest heave while he, was forcibly made to gag as though he would puke. His arms, tightening around him in a way which must have hurt were hot and sweaty; a trembling clammy hand gripping onto Rochalizo's forearm proved his entire body must have been.

"Hey... Hey Suoh... Come back", he entreated him, crushing him into a hug and stroking his back vigourously, in the hopes that it could calm him down.

How had that happened? Suoh had started alright. He was talking and... And almost without a transition he had spiralled into... A nervous breakdown? A panic attack? He wasn't sure what it was, but he himself was getting terribly anxious. Fortunately, he was recognising the symptoms since he had already had panic attacks. And to double their luck in their misfortune, he knew Suoh knew them too for he sometimes talked about how he experienced his panic attacks — which was a weight off their shoulders because he wouldn't worry at the newness of the situation, mistaking it for a heart attack as some did. This wasn't the first time Rochalizo saw him under severe stress. But it was the first time he saw him in the middle of a crisis and merely looking at him made him feel like his guts were liquefying. Rochalizo tentatively waved a hand in front of his face, thinking it might help make up for the missing air but eventually feeling like an idiot.

Shaking like a leaf, Suoh looked like a mess, panting all the while, his nails sank into the other's arms. He snuggled up to Rochalizo desperately, shrivelled like dry fruit and some sniffling had begun punctuating his breathlessness. Rochalizo sadly wondered if he had begun to cry. He wouldn't ask nor check but his heart was in pieces. Clenching teeth, he exhaled painfully and his hands wrapped around Suoh. He began rocking him gently, stroking his hair. He tried as best as he could to gloss over the fact that he could feel Suoh's jaw opening and closing against his chest as he perhaps tried to get himself to stop crying if he was, or breathed out long groans that he made sure to keep silent.

"Suoh... Treasure..."

He recognised not being able to see how he had decreed that he was useless and how such a situation caused him distress. However he could understand how Suoh could feel terrible in such a restricted moral stance. Working himself towards an ideal of greater good to exhaustion and (unjustly) dedicating all of his time... What he could see on the other hand, was that he had been ruminating those dark thoughts lately and that presently, — no matter how Rochalizo couldn't fathom that — the idea of his efforts amounting to nothing to serve others caused him to hurt a great deal. Suddenly, he felt fear about the possibility he might not be able to help Suoh get through this. He began regretting having addressed the topic. But... Looking at his face marked by pain, he was sure Suoh must've carried this burden for too long than it was healthy to and the prospect that this discussion might be the release point for him made all thoughts of regret disappear.

"It's gonna go away. I'm... I'm not leaving you, okay?", Rochalizo whispered, his voice faltering a little, but trusting his words would carry his care, his fingertips coaxing Suoh's neck cervicals.

He should have addressed this earlier, when the issue wouldn't have been as dire. But how could he have told? Suoh was a master at hiding what he felt, often preferring to neglect his own needs for the sake of keeping one's good mood unspoiled. For a while longer, he kissed his hair, wiping off the sweat of his head with the ends of his pyjama shirt while Suoh caught his breath.

It was frustrating that he could do nothing. He wished he could have made him feel better instantly instead of powerlessly watching him hurting in his arms. There was probably not much that he could do except for providing logic. Suoh should know better than to let himself fall into that trap; he couldn't help everyone and he would never be able to. And even if he could, that would be beneficial for neither parties. Moreover, he shouldn't be blaming himself for what he felt; until proven otherwise, science had found that people had different sensitivities. In no way, was he responsible for how his brain worked. And actually, he could remember tons of times where his emotions had given insight into a situation or helped them.

It was about time Suoh's head reappeared above him because his back had gotten stiff waiting for him to calm down. He didn't show his impatience though, that would've been an asshole move. His beloved's face was gloomy and mixed in pink tones over a paler-than-usual complexion. He looked as bad as though he had cried, his features drawn and his eyes weary, but he could now attest that he hadn't. He had been close... Rochalizo's heart compressed into his chest like an empty carton of milk. All he wanted to do right now, was to protect him. But he was also quite irritated.

"Sorry...", muttered Suoh sheepishly, his voice still husky with anxiety, "I didn't think it was that...

"Yeah, can you stop supposing for a minute?", Rochalizo winced, some anger in his voice but which contrasted with the kind strokes he yielded to Suoh.

He sighed and cupped his face, making their foreheads touch.

"How can you make such good assumptions about others but fail at making them when it's for you?"

Suoh sniffled miserably and shrugged. He timidly tried to earn more comfort by rubbing his face into his which Rochalizo encouraged, his hands on Suoh's neck pushing him into a tighter hug. They hugged for a while, not speaking, Rochalizo's hands in his hair, brushing endlessly through the roots of his hair. Since they were so close, he dropped the sound of his voice.

"Are you okay?"

Suoh's head nodded slightly through still unsteady breathings. He was breathing fast but its speed was decreasing slowly and he was getting calmer by the minute. He could tell he also got sorrier as he regained self-awareness, but if it came to that, he would cut him off again.

"Alright, good", Rochalizo heard himself mutter, feeling such relief, he wanted to groan and he proceeded to drag Suoh into another embrace.

Half the flush from his face had washed away when Rochalizo pulled back again and said:

"You know... You're right. I do think your problem's completely stupid".

Suoh swallowed his lower lip, made uneasy by this statement which devalued what he had just confessed. If he hadn't been prepared it would come, he could have felt worse and made a mental note to shut up the next time. But by dint of work and thanks to all these months spent with Rochalizo, he had learnt more or less not to take things too much at face value. He had had the occasion to see many times how he worked; he was not outspoken for the purpose of hurting others, he was because his inner logic drew him to it. For sure, one could get a bit hurt by that coldness, but he meant well. And if he had been under the impression before, that his feelings were the ones being trampled on, he had been wrong. Although clumsily, Rochalizo was always on his side, defending them. Defending him. In Rochalizo's mind, one's problem wasn't inherently linked to one's worth which could cause fights when he started attacking opinions. But that was all a misundertanding of his intentions. What he ridiculed was not him but the problem tormenting Suoh, dismantling it with disdain as way to search for a workaround.

"... I don't see how it's stupid...", Suoh tried to answer, which he knew, would translate into Rochalizo's language to 'I can't see the solution you're seeing'.

Rochalizo kept still and silent for a moment, eyes grave, an investigation going on in his head. He seemed to be looking for words, his hands stroking the other's neck. Then, looking fiercely into Suoh's eyes, he pulled him in for a kiss. Roughly, he embraced his lips, bumping and diving into them, with a harshness that expressed his previous worry and doubts. This wrested out a very tiny whimper from Suoh who felt his musles relax almost instantly. His hands clutched in the orange hair and he kissed back urgently. He was feeling Rochalizo stretch out his most tender flesh and pulling at his lips blissfully and he was grateful for it. He hadn't realised how much he had been needing this and he felt evenly grateful that Rochalizo had guessed it in his place. Or not guessed it and only done it to comfort him. The result was the same.

Rochalizo pulled back as harshly as he had kissed him, a thread of drool on the edge of his wet lip and his eyes shining wildly. Suoh's already shaky heart from the kiss skipped a beat.

"Listen. You hate your feelings. Sure, sounds like they put you through hell regularly. But they're amazing, 'cause I know you. They give you that will of steel when you're passionate about something and that ability that's... Almost creepy to really see what someone is".

Suoh's lips twitched slightly upwards as he listened, but had to refrain it so it wouldn't look like he was hiding behind a mask again. Because he smiled easily, perhaps as a way of validating others. But that didn't mean he felt better. Had he been alone right now, he knew his smile would have faded fast and he would have yielded to feeling low for the rest of the night.

"Perhaps... But I'd be getting more things done if I was tougher and had more energy. It seems so easy for others. They don't get drained as fast...",

— But you're better at it than anyone. Who the fuck said talent doesn't need a rest?", Rochalizo retorted, in a sharp voice.

— Hmph, okay", said Suoh, from whose throat escaped one reluctant smile, "But... I still wish I was less sensitive... And less caring. It ruins me sometimes..."

Playing with his few bracelets, Rochalizo's gaze grew forceful, a hint of fury in them as if the mere thought of someone having instilled that idea in Suoh's mind was enough of a crime.

"You have no idea how I wish you saw how amazing you are. People... People who aren't as loving as you stress me the fuck out".

This time, he drew a faint giggle from Suoh. A real one.

"But... Rochalizo... You are one of these people...

— Your point? That just goes to show you can't date yourself".

Slipping away a little to curl up against the armrest, Suoh moved his head in vague nods, showing he agreed. But Rochalizo could tell he perhaps hadn't said the right thing or what Suoh would have expected to hear. Or perhaps it was the turn the conversation had taken that he didn't like. He could be fussy about the ways he secretly desired to be reassured but almost never obtained those specific ways because he would never be vocal about them. He would never say it exactly. That drove Rochalizo crazy. All of that interpreting he had to put himself through with Suoh could be tiring.

"Don't filter. Say what's on your mind", he asked, suddenly enclosing Suoh's hands into his, his fingers folded over his.

Suoh looked away, looking a little ashamed to be unveiling his private thoughts. But, as he trailed eyes over their hands holding, his expression by a lot and allowed some opening on what was going through his mind. He trusted Rochalizo when he held his hand like this. It made him feel safe.

"Do you think... My life is meaningful?"

Rochalizo bit his tongue. He did so he didn't blurt out the wrong thing nor some overused reheated opinion that could be formulated in no more than five words. Tricky. He thought to himself that sometimes, certain conversations with Suoh would require that he came prepared, having watched videos or written a paper on each philosophical topics he would try to bring up. No need to even begin considering it, that would fail. He would often ponder why Suoh got stuck on such superfluous problems. That must be no way to live. Problems which, he was sure, could be solved by getting out of one's head, taking up some activity. Doing this from time to time could remind him that life wasn't just a downward spiral nor did it required a necessity for him to find some abstract spiritual meaning to enjoy things. He could just be...

That is why, before, he would've answered with a short, realistic 'Asking for life's meaning gets in the way of living your own life. Stop asing yourself that all the time'.

That was before, though. Even if he still felt this way deeply, he had readied himself to sugarcoat it a little. And to both his surprise and pleasure, it no longer seemed like concessions. He was very much head over hills in love and therefore had been wiling to adapt for Suoh. Anything that would help him feel better, he would try to say for him, because nothing was more important. He brushed his thumb against Suoh's knuckles gently.

"Your life is already full of meaning, treasure. I've seen many things making you happy before and today too, and I think it's already nice".

Suoh nodded, admitting silently and with refrained embarrassment that he sometimes forgot to be appreciative for the everyday, more than he wished for.

"Of course, knowing you, you'd want something bigger... A big helping project I guess. But you're in the process of creating it. Look at what you're studying, look at all those guys whose rants you listen to on a daily basis. If you're not already there, then you're close to getting there".

Rochalizo felt some weight on him; the other had lain his head on his shoulder, not parting their fingers but holding them stronger.

"So can I just carry on the way I am?

— Compulsory. But you'd need a battle plan for sure...", Rochalizo commented, stroking his chin in contemplation, remembering his previous concerns about his sensitiveness.

He filled his cheeks with air and his gaze slipped to the side, which he did when he intensely thought about something. Unconsciously, he had switched to a more composed attitude, thinking Suoh was worthy to be taken seriously regarding what he was struggling against and deserved a thorough analysis.

"I'd advise you to... Get into the habit of thinking people are just having shit days and it's their faults if they're rabid, not yours. Also, — his eyes slipped into Suoh's as he carried on — have them ask before they start ranting to you. For those who try to feeling-dump on you just fuck them up verbally...? Redirect them to therapy, seriously... Don't let them get to you. Definetely can't help anyone feeling miserable yourself. I care".

Those last three sentences had been uttered with such a soft tone and care, Suoh found himself almost blushing. He nodded. He had braced himself for Rochalizo's tactical problem-solving and had prepared to ask for some comfort instead. It wasn't always apparent but Rochalizo could sometimes really abuse of that method, treating people's stories as though they were exercises on a maths test and acting like a pragmatic solution overrode the need for attention and care. But, all things considered, what he had said right now was quite sensible. Making a clean sweep of his swearing and exaggerations, his words shed some light on an exit door. He got surprised at how he found them meaningful and useful, but after all, reminded himself he should not be. It was Rochalizo. His mind was brilliant, that's why he had fallen in love with him.

"Yes... That makes sense... I should keep that in mind".

Suoh nervously rubbed at his eye. Although knowing the other was right, he was finding it hard to replace his inner logic by Rochalizo's words and felt lousy for not succeeding.

"I hate that... Even knowing that, I'll still get overwhelmed if I can't give everywhere I see the tiniest bit of injustice... And I know it's ludicrous and impossible. But it's difficult for me to let go of that..."

Rochalizo's sarcastic sneer filled the room.

— You think Mother Teresa had time to worry about the things she couldn't do? She chose her battlefield and ignored the rest. Is that wrong? I guess. Could she do otherwise? Nah. That's the only thing you can afford to do.

— Rochi, come on, I'm not Mother Teresa!", protested Suoh, who was chuckling for good this time.

— No... But you sound as though you two have similar timetables and plans..."

Suoh had kept twisting a strand of his hair around his index, hiding his laughter as he bent his face forwards. This time, he laughed aloud and leaned into Rochalizo's arms. The latter displayed a proud smile, happy that he had been able to get to cheer him up a bit. Suoh protested anew, giggling, merrily pressed onto the other's arm and shoulder.

"Come on...

— My point still stands", commented Rochalizo, raising an eyebrow provocatively.

Suoh's laughter slowly faded away and he regained a more composed face.

"That's... What you said is... True, of course. And I already know this consciously but... It's a tough pill to swallow...", he replied, hesitant.

"But it's not so bad, right?", Rochalizo argued, seeking to meet his eyes as he lifted his back off the sofa, "You can focus on your cause. And you can be happy. Don't listen to those douchebags who claim you can't be until global unfairness is fixed... You deserve to be happy even if the world's a shithole. It'll always be. It sucks but once you get that into your brain, you'll be fine... You deciding to help is already doing more than many people ever will".

Lying his head down on Rochalizo's lap, Suoh's eyes watched him from underneath. His face felt warm and his stomach capsized like a ship on stormy waters. Whatever magic had kicked in, he couldn't stop looking at him, nor could he stop that foolish smile directed at him from hatching. His words, when they poured out of his mouth, were filled with esteem and yearning for Rochalizo.

"It's crazy because... I already know all those things... But... I feel so much better when you're the one saying them and reminding them to me..."

OoOoO

Owls were hooting in the nearby trees and a few airplanes roamed the dark sky in distant roars. The wind caused a slight flutter through the rose trees and the bushes on both sides of the road which rustle could be heard from the living room's nevertheless closed windows. Suoh's restless fingers tapped away at the computer keyboard. He had lost track of how much time had flown by since he had begun writing his essay. It might have been a bad idea to start writing it now; he still felt a bit dizzy from his panic attack and now tiredness was taking over. But his organisation had asked for this and he had felt in his core that betraying the planning he had carefully arranged would have made him feel worse than the mere exhaustion he was feeling in this moment.

He and Rochalizo had hadn't talked for long after he had calmed down from his crisis. A few jokes and laughs had been shared until the hugs and kisses on cheeks had replaced the words. He had then remembered that he intended to write at least half of his essay before tomorrow and had taken out his laptop before Rochalizo's bewildered eyes — such structure and consistency in his tasks would always unsettle him wildly to Suoh's entertainment. He had complained that Suoh overworked himself, attempting to drag him to bed but without much surprise on his part, Suoh had declined. Since he wouldn't come to bed with him, Rochalizo had insisted on staying until Suoh would be done, swearing he would see him sleep.

But his long day seemed to have finally caught up with him... In a few minutes of waiting, his soft head on Suoh's lap, he had begun blinking more and more until he kept his eyes closed for a while, reopening them in confusion, until he didn't reopen them. Suoh hadn't felt the need to look to confirm his suppositions; the small adorable snoring reaching his ears had made him swoon and smile endearingly. He couldn't care less that Rochalizo couldn't stay faithful to his silly oath. Where he was, sleeping peacefully on his lap, with a clingy hand on Suoh's thigh, he was being all the more helping and supportive. Whenever he had felt like giving up and ditching work, he had absent-mindedly trailed hands into his hair and felt energy and encouragement from the mere action of touching him.

Suoh deleted his last sentence; he had written certain words twice and the sentence in itself expressed its ideas in very heavy-handed way. He couldn't work anymore. His mind was filled with thoughts of Rochalizo. Staring blankly at the screen, his hand sneaked out to the fiery hair and caressed him thoroughly. He jumped very slightly when his touch earned a groan from him. Rochalizo shifted a bit in his sleep and his arm fell around Suoh's hips. Suoh thought it was insanely cute that he was unconscious and still remembered as much to snuggle against him. He contemplated his squashed cheek on his thigh, a lone sparkle rolling from his tear duct to bottom lid and his half-opened mouth, the view of which brought some warmth to his chest. Rochalizo's eyebrows frowned faintly and rose up again oftentimes, uncovering mildly quivering eyelashes as he reacted to a dream Suoh had no idea of.

Because he looked adorable in this position and because he wanted him to spend a peaceful night, dreaming of things which would make him feel good, he bent over. Curving his back, he stretched to kiss his cheeks and philtrum. He managed to do that by craning his neck — however only from the tip of his lips, placing small featherlight marks of tenderness on his soft skin and pulled back wincing, rubbing at his now hurting back and neck.

"Worth it", he nevertheless whispered for himself, smiling widely through the wince.

He wasn't so sure what caused the next thought. The way Rochalizo lay down and slept so unconcerned, with his chubby leg across the armrest or perhaps how his own train of thought led him to wonder what he would do the next day since it was already a little past midnight and he was considering catching up with sleep himself. Suddenly, he was recalling about the other's appointment, which, and if he remembered well was almost certain to be scheduled for tomorrow morning. Had Rochalizo remembered? Or forgotten? That was a hard thing to stake on. But, due to all that had happened today, Rochalizo's long and tedious day, his nasty fatigue, their long talks and his crisis early on, he preferred and was more inclined to believe it might've slipped his mind. And that would be a shame truly, for he knew how long he had been waiting for a proper appointment.

"Where's your phone, baby?", whispered Suoh quietly, twisting himself around to scan their the living-room.

His gaze wandered on the low table, the chairs, the carpet... From his spot, a few blind spots could be escaping from his sight, but he had the feeling Rochalizo wouldn't have put his device there anyway. Putting his computer away, he tried moving the other's arms gently, pushing him a little so he could check if that filthy phone hadn't gotten stuck between the sofa and the other's sleeping hoodie or in its folds. If he had fallen asleep on it however, there would be no way to tell and the operation was declared doomed. Speaking of doomed... As Suoh tried to push Rochalizo's head, aiming to inspect the zone his mass of hair was hiding, the latter groaned from discomfort and shifted back in place where his head had lain before.

Suoh sighed and gave up. Taking out his own phone, he set up an alarm for tomorrow at 8. This would probably annoy Rochalizo greatly if his appointment turned out to be at 11 and he had planned to be waking up naturally before going. But this version of the story didn't sound like him at all; him, who couldn't maintain a planning, who procrastined sleep all the way and remembered things once it was too late... Suoh was betting his left hand this wasn't a practicable scenario. Besides, he didn't know the date for sure but should he wake up a little earlier for nothing, they'd have been better safe than sorry. Since himself would have the chance to sleep in some more tomorrow morning, he left his phone there on the low table, not so far from the other.

Withdrawing proved itself to be the hardest part. He thought he'd never be able to, worried that he could wake Rochalizo up while he'd get up and make the couch wiggle in a ghastly creaking sound. Half way through, he also realised he would've wanted to stay and cuddle up against him for the rest of the night. But he managed to convince himself he didn't wish to be woken up uselessly when he was in need of getting back a few hours of sleep he had gradually lost during the week. Fetching a thick blanket to cover Rochalizo with and a fluffy pillow to make up as replacement for the support his lap had been for his head, he tucked him in, enfolding the sheet corners around his sides and up to his chin. Then, he kneeled by the bed and placed a last kiss on his brow. When all lights had been switched off, he walked out to the other room in a light flutter of clothes, his brain desiring only rest. To rest for an eternity.

OoOoO

Through the rapid falls of powder flakes, snowy streets had filled with the yellow lights of headlights, restaurant signs and flashing shopping windows. The pathway to town seemed an entirely new one, save for the few strewn cobbles the large footprints of passerbys in their fur boots uncovered. Rushing out of the bakery from the corner of the alley, people in thick coats walked fast, carrying piles of pastry cartons. Some walked the streets a little more slowly, making detours around the clumps of snow and avoiding the long icicles which gracefully (but threateningly) hung from the roofs. Some hikers rested on a bench on the park's side, unburdening themselves of their frozen backpacks, chatting and readjusting their coats lazily. As he was being attentive to the commotion, Suoh almost walked into one of the pines bordering the road. Bumping against a heavy-loaded branch, he cried out a little in surprise when he felt some snow slide down his back. Getting rid of the unwelcomed snow in his coat took a bit and by the time he had done that, he was now feeling colder than he already had when leaving the house. And it was only mid-day!, supposedly the warmest hour of the day... Rubbing his hands together and holding on to his beanie for dear life through the building up breeze, he resumed his walking.

His surroundings changed when he found himself at an intersection, chalets aligning on the edge on the road. You could see their warm lights, spilling out of the grand windows and colouring the neighbourhood in a homely radiance. A comforting presence, although the day hadn't darkened enough yet to wish to be stepping in its light and away from the early night. A little smoke escaped the brick chimneys and, nestled between two wooden shutters, a red blanket fluttered in the cold air. On the other side of the house, on the elevated patio, someone was shaking the sheets above the streets. Distracted then, they looked behind their shoulder to answer a voice inside and dragged the sheets indoors. Suoh paused his little stroll, flimsily envious that he wasn't up there inside, drinking hot cocoa and in company of some loveliest boy. His thoughts had drifted where they generally would. He grabbed his phone to send Rochalizo a text.

'Are you done yet?', he typed as best as he could, not feeling his hands anymore and his fingertips already completely frozen.

He answered within the next five minutes during which Suoh wandered around the stands of mulled wine and hot coffee, blowing some air into his pink hands, considering buying one to show them mercy.

'Yeah. Where are you?'

'At the hot beverage stand. Care to join me?'

'Why would I? It's not like we have something planned or anything...'

Suoh bit his lips, stifling a giggle and began playing with his hair.

'Heyyy... I'm being courteous. You'll regret mocking me the day I get mean like you.'

'Try me.'

Suoh looked around for a place to settle down, his legs sore and wishing for a calm spot to keep texting Rochalizo witout needing to step on the side as he was constantly passed by people in a rush on the lane. He walked up to the outer stairs of a supermarket and tried sitting there, under the Christmas lights, but he was chased off by a couple of kids playing tag and went back to where he was standing before. He found shelter under an old roof, in a place where the streets had been deserted, hoping he could still be found there. Thinking for a while, walking in circles in the snow, he tried imagining what a mean text could look like but didn't get very inspired. He ended up not replying anything to Rochalizo and waited for him to join, watching as the village sank in white more and more.

First hearing a pair of boots trailing in the snow and scrapping against the asphalt, he took notice of him a few seconds before, making out his puffy dark blue fleece lining and then found himself caught into a rough and loving hug. His belly heaved in a few happy jerks, content as he was to be touched; the ginger hair still smelled of the shampoo he had poured in yesterday and his lukewarm breath was on his frozen ears. The other pulled back shortly, letting out these cute low bits of laughter, his hands firmly grasping at his shoulders. His smile so broad and luminous shot right through him, reflecting an expression of gratitude. It grew too rapidly close, melted into his. Suoh's eyes rounded up as he felt Rochalizo's lips ram into his, kissing with the strenght of his whole jaw, his mouth twisting around like a pleasant clamp around his. Suoh forgot how to breathe, not so used to such public demonstrations of affection coming from him. Kissing back, he blushed wildly despite himself.

"Thanks for the alarm clock", Rochalizo breathed out in a white cloud of air as he parted from Suoh's chapped lips, still beaming.

Suoh stepped back and admired his goofy smile; he had not expected him to be this grateful. But it often turned out Rochalizo was happy about the small things. He waved some air about his face, aiming to get rid of that creeping sensation of excitement in his stomach which drowned all coherent thoughts presently. All he wished to do right now was to snuggle against his shoulder and he did, mumbling a few words sillily, his arms wrapped around Rochalizo's side.

"I thought you might've forgotten".

Rochalizo looked down a bit awkwardly, staring at his feet.

"Well, you were right...

— Were you on time?", Suoh asked in a kind and thoughtful voice, kissing his flushed cheek and as an accidental result, getting the few snowflakes that had stuck there into his mouth.

— Thanks to you, yep. You really saved my ass. But um... So", he pursued, stamping a little impatiently, "Are we just gonna stay here and freeze to death? Why were you here anyway?, you were impossible to find!"

This remark had the one concerned burst out laughing. He had no idea where his footsteps led him sometimes. Not that he had a habit of getting lost, but he was known for wandering off and finding himself in generally impractical places. Although when the two of them were to attend something together, the cause for their lateness was almost always because of Rochalizo's desorganisation.

"The one you should be blaming is you! You took so longgg... Now I feel like a deep-frozen dish!", whined Suoh, dancing on the spot as a way to bring his legs back to life, feigning to be complaining, his blue hands squashed to his cheeks.

Rochalizo looked as though as he was searching for something to snap back, but then, his eyes widened and he smirked nervously, looking away.

"I'm not gonna make that joke... You'd like it too much..."

Not understanding at first, Suoh's eyes probed him for a while. But he had gotten used to analysing sentences and look for jokes with Rochalizo. He probed him until he was almost certain he had guessed what would've have been the joke. His smile widened and he seductively batted eyelashes at Rochalizo as he leaned on him.

"Say it...

— In your dreams.

— So you don't think I look like a meal?"

Rochalizo snorted.

"A very shuddering one. Come here".

Grasping Suoh's hands, he got a little concerned at how cold they were and then, generously opened his coat for Suoh to huddle into. Suoh didn't wait to be told twice and almost banged into him, sheltering into his warmth, smiling dumbly as he pressed his aching hands to Rochalizo's quite warm chest. The latter covered him as best as he could with what the coat could still cover and wrapped his arms around him. As they cuddled, more snowflakes had fallen on his hair and their ice felt slightly unpleasant to Rochalizo, however freeing his arms and letting go of Suoh was not a possibility.

"Hey, by the way...", Rochalizo asked, his hands petting Suoh's back slowly, talking hesitantly as though he was testing waters, "Do you think you could buy my ticket for today?"

At this point, Suoh was floating on his little cloud of serenity. The question made him giggle like a drain, laughing as if he had never been told such a funnier thing and he pressed himself against the other even more, in his eyes a madly smitten spark. Prodding a smiling mouth against his ear, he lay a dozens of kisses on Rochalizo's necks in response,

"I'd buy you anything if you asked, baby..."

Rochalizo scoffed, however, it came out a little strangled. He held him tight and with accentued tenderness. His heart beat so fast he felt jittery now.

"That's... Not a good mindset.

— Hgh... Let me be romantic...", Suoh protested softly, pouting into his hair, "So is forgetting your wallet at home if you want to play who's the best-behaved child.

Rochalizo started with a few words, retorting in indignation, but they didn't lead him anywhere close to an explanation.

— I didn't! I just... I... Um... I'll pay you back as soon as we're home okay?"

Curious of what had caused such a frantic reaction, Suoh's head popped up from inside his hood and stopped inches from his face.

"You don't need to... You always gift me things", he reassured him, stroking his cheek, forgetting how cold his fingers still were, "But what happened then? It got stolen?"

Rochalizo's head threw backwards, wishing the earth would crack open and swallow him.

— No... I... Urgh fine. I gave it all, okay?"

— Gave it? Wait...", Suoh trailed off, falling out of his childlike state, "To whom???"

Suoh almost begged him to answer, getting anxious he could have met an assailant or worse, a bully he wouldn't have mentionned before for whatever reason. Rochalizo gave in, embarrassed and thinking Suoh would make a big deal out of nothing if he didn't tell him.

"To the homeless guy..."

Almost immediately, the worry peeled off his face. It got replaced by surprise, and then a moved smile. Suoh did not say much but the way he looked at him expressed the most of his admiration and endearment, or so Rochalizo thought he could identify. When Rochalizo attempted to defend against potential mockery, he was surprised to be faced with only light scolding. But even that didn't last long. He agreed and poorly defended himself, eyes towards the ground, explaining he felt it had been his duty, although knowing it had been unprompted of him. He would've expected another lecture on his impulsiveness but instead, Suoh cupped his face again and gave him a bright smile.

"You are too kind Rochi".

Pulling him close, he kissed his lips softly, with ardent intention. Their lips moved in loving brushes until neither of them felt the cold and lost perception of space. Moving at the same pace as his lips, Rochalizo's hand gently pressed Suoh's back neck in and out of his fingers. Suoh clutched to his warm mouth and tongue, running fingers through Rochalizo's hair, wishing they were home already, settled on the sofa with a good movie the end of which they wouldn't get to see.

Rochalizo was the first to move off, looking all the more annoyed that this must come to a stop but stressing the important problem of Suoh's nose and neck getting too cold. He suggested they should get going for that first reason and also because they would miss all the buses if they stayed here in the middle of this nowhere land.

He was approuved by Suoh's lively laugh who bopped his head and grabbed his wrist to lead them back on a more frequented path. Rochalizo pulled Suoh's hand into his glove to warm it up and they held hands, walking down to the bus stop. The alleys were filled with the smells of Christmas trees some merchants displayed on the side as they called out to the passing people and the door to nearby pub had been left ajar, letting out loud chatter and the tinkling of glasses clattering and champagne bottles being popped open. On their way, they met an elderly couple walking out their dogs, groups of teenage friends and a herd of skiers which at this point had Rochalizo let go of Suoh's hand. With Suoh's money, he went to pay for both their tickets and as he sat on the waiting bench, Suoh huddled against him. Rochalizo protested in bad faith, but as the other insisted he would die from the cold, he let him and they kept still, appreciating in silence the roof above their heads. The snow had intensified again.

Once settled on the bus, they unpacked the sandwichs and brownies Suoh had bought for them and started eating. Then, gobbled the rest as fast as possible when one of them pointed out the sign for no food allowed. Rochalizo didn't let him touch the brownies box however, for he had found instructions on the back for a kid construction game that was offered as a bonus in the lot. They got into a playful scrap, one trying to keep the box at arms' lenght and the other, landing small hits in his ribs. It resulted into a bitter defeat for Suoh who had to watch him figure out the mecanism and assemble whatever was inside before he could get a bite. As Rochalizo eventually gradually discarded the chocolate bars, Suoh took his revenge by eating them all.

After they fought a second time and Suoh got tickled dangerously close to fatality, they took a break relaxing. The latter leaned his legs on Rochalizo's and they watched through the window together for some time. Because the other stood in half his field of view to the window, Suoh coudn't really let his gaze drag onto the outside passing cars and streetlights and he watched him instead. Him and his lovely reflection in the glass. Under his blond strands, his eyes drew a rapid movement, watching a flock of birds crossing the sky. His mouth was slightly open, his tongue unconsciously toying at that specific spot in his mouth...

"Hey", Suoh called to him softly, "How did it go at the dentist's?"

Rochalizo turned around, looking confused.

— Huh?"

Suoh was betting he didn't hear the question. He repeated himself patiently.

"Oh... Um... That".

The other's face torn in embarrassement, looking almost guilty that all of this had happened. As though he was responsible for the current situation and the previous months he had spent trying to heal. This reaction secretly turned Suoh furious; his muscles tensed and he felt his jaw clench, hurting. The rush of adrenaline was tightening his throat, but he didn't allow his cold anger to be shown. He kept smiling and talking to him softly.

"Are you still in need of being prescribed antibiotics?"

As Suoh decided to pursue with more factual questions rather than vague ones which also required his opinion, Rochalizo seemed to unwind a little and became more confident in his own answers. Generally speaking, concrete demands were his thing. He shook his head.

"They said I should ideally finish the dozen of medicines we have left at home, but that there should be no need for me to buy another pack. I should still check in on the recovery of the wound from time to time and see how I feel though..."

Suoh's jaw declenched, taken aback by such great news and gave him a genuine smile. Both his hands leaped into his hair and he cupped his cheeks in excitement, brushing the hair off his face.

"That's the best thing I've heard this week!! God, I'm so happy!"

Rochalizo offered him a small, shy smile and agreed quietly with a flickering of eyelids.

"What about the stitches? Do you know when they can remove them?

— Not within something like three months apparently?

— Hmm..."

Suoh shifted closer to him and rubbed his arm in sympathy. He lay a kiss on Rochalizo's shoulder, an action which made Rochalizo look him in the eyes with a questionning look.

"Aren't the stitches annoying to you? Generally when something's changed in your mouth you can't help playing with it.

— Oh totally!", said Rochalizo, raising his voice as if he had awaited an opportunity to complain about it all day long, "I always have to stop myself because if I didn't pay attention, I know I'd be ripping every seam one by one".

Suoh winced at the image this scenario had just created in his own mind. Some flesh wide open, striped in blood and through the pink underlayers of skin, roots of teeth almost half visible... He pressed his eyes close a moment, lowering his head. No, he was overreacting. But he felt anxious now. Not only would he risk getting infections from an open wound in his mouth but his jaw could also be injured to the point of there being permanent consequences. He had already worried too much that fateful day, at the hospital. His heart wouldn't be able to take it if Rochalizo ended up back there again.

Rochalizo's mouth opened, coming to awareness as to how his words could have disturbed Suoh. Timidly, he brushed a hand against Suoh's which were tidily placed on his thighs. He should be more careful... He knew how he could be sensitive on those matters, his vivid imagination not helping.

"Sorry for the graphic image... I didn't mean to".

Suoh's eyes met with him again and he smiled, in a way of assuring that it was nothing. His fingers tightened around Rochalizo's hand.

"At least you were lucky that it didn't make eating painful...

— I know... That would've been a pain. Eating and... Everything else".

Rochalizo stared at him, scratching his own legs which were turned towards Suoh, as his body as a whole must have been. His eyes slowly slipped from the blinking eyes of his beloved to his mouth. He was right, they were fortunate it had not come to something worse. These past weeks, the worse he had had to deal with was the pain when brushing his teeth and this stinging ache that would come at nighttime. Had the wound been deeper, it could have impacted any affectionate gesture... He couldn't begin to imagine how frustrating that would have been; to hurt every time he yearned for him. Suoh caught his insistent look on his mouth and grinned. He leant his face towards him, eyes gentle, just like when he asked for a kiss.

"And I would've gone crazy if I hadn't been able to kiss you for entire months..."

Rochalizo quietly agreed, eyes dragging on the curvature of the pink lips. He liked when his mouth twitched or stretched in such an attractive way. How his upper and bottom lips would part slightly, bringing out their luscious softness. Rochalizo's eyes went up again, swallowing hard.

"I would've asked anaesthesia. I can't get through without your kisses".

Suoh beamed and his face carefully bumped into Rochalizo. His mouth was close to kissing him when Rochalizo pushed him away. He tried to make it as kind of a gesture as possibly doable but wondered if the panic he felt hadn't turned it into something rougher than he had expected. Suoh moved back, eyes widened in confusion. Rochalizo gave an anxious look around.

"Not here. Please".

Suoh's mouth closed, feeling quite disappointed but didn't comment on it further. He knew what that was all about. He would've loved to say he didn't mind; that getting Rochalizo's affections in the end was all that mattered. It wasn't necessarily true. But it wasn't something that ruined his days and that he spent time depressing about and so, he could permit it. It was annoying but that was about all. He was used to the other flinching when he tried to be too affectionate in public. He had his reasons...

"Let's find a spot when we get off, okay?"

Sighing, Suoh nodded and his head came resting on Rochalizo's shoulder. The latter brought a hand out to support his lower back. Then, Suoh rose up from his shoulder again, having remembered another thing he needed to ask and ask he did, with much enthusiasm, hoping for more good news.

"And the tooth? Anything new?"

Rochalizo's face lightened up, turning away from the chair in front he had fixed his eyes on and to Suoh again. He straightened up, hands grasping both his arms.

"They said they can order a very realistic tooth from a research lab and have it sent it over to me!"

Suoh started squirming a little on his seat in excitement.

"Yess!! Oh my word, finally!

— But!", Rochalizo interrupted, not wishing to raise Suoh's hopes too much as had been his earlier this morning, "I'll need to be on a waiting list because there are many demands. And the lab only produces a small quantity of teeth a year. I subscribed to the waiting list and counting from today it's gonna be... Four months of wait".

Suoh nodded through his explanation. However, he didn't look as bummed out as Rochalizo would've thought he'd be. He smiled at him, brought a hand to his knee and squeezed it delicately.

"Those months are gonna fly by fast, you'll see. It's already amazing that we have the technology to fill your gap, innit?"

Rochalizo's brow furrowed slightly, reconsidering. He hadn't thought of the situation in this particular aspect and, suddenly he felt immensely glad that Suoh was with him. His radiant optimistic perspective on some things was something he tended to forget he needed. He was reminded at times like these what he loved about him and how good and hopeful Suoh could make him feel, succeeding in completely shifting his perspective around with a few warm words.

"You're right... I... I shouldn't be impatient. It's gonna turn out okay", he said, granting Suoh the look of someone very much in love.

Suoh moved his hand to hold his again and Rochalizo pressed his fingers together in his palm, barely refraining from crushing them in explosive affection. He was so focused on enjoying Suoh's head on his shoulder and their intertwined fingers, he kept smiling dumbly. With all his thoughts directed at him and him standing so close he completely missed on Suoh's hand tightening more and more, until it began to almost hurt. And that right here wasn't excitement. A little too late, his brain notified the pain to him and he glanced at Suoh who now looked down. From an outside perspective, he looked calm. However he could see the ceiling lights racing in his pupils, a quiet anger lighting up yellow tongues of flame on the surface. And the slight frown to his brow. A green strand of hair fell on his face and his jaw clenched to the limit; he looked fiercer suddenly.

Rochalizo nudged him, barely daring to touch.

"What's on your mind?"

Suoh looked up. Good will only wasn't enough this time to erase the fury he felt through each ones of his muscles.

"It's nothing...", he tried, the forced smile on his face no longer sweet but dark and livid.

"Come on you liar", Rochalizo murmured, quite uneasy, "Do you see the face you're pulling right now?"

Suoh sighed again. His attempts to control himself brutally faded like the waxed face of a doll and he appeared fully infuriated before Rochalizo. His voice and hands began trembling, as though he wished the fruit of his wrath would materialise so he could take it out on it.

"Your father had no right to do that. I despise him".

His assertive words cut through the air like blades — and they were all the more intimidating since he so seldom exhibited such self-assurance in condemning people. Yet he had uttered them almost reluctantly as though they burned his tongue like a name provoking instant repulsion. Rochalizo noted for himself that Suoh rarely hated people, his peace-loving nature compelling him to look for the smallest inkling of good within everyone. Even rarer of him was to be expressing his hatred for said individuals out loud for everyone to hear. When he did, it was no aleatory incident. The problem consisted in an absolute breech in his inner values and from there, he lost all naturally-inclined goodness. Rochalizo did not hate his father, but he understood that Suoh would.

Not knowing what to say, he ducked his head and gazed at the luggage that was being joggled under the seat in front. Hunching above him, Suoh's palm crunched against his own face, disgruntled. The hand that found him and caressed his hair was tender, no longer contrasting with his voice which had softened. But if one kept his ear open, the kind words he spoke still jittered around slightly, nervy and upset.

"Forgive me, Rochi. I didn't intend to be harsh with my words. I apologise if they hurt you. Only...", he trailed off, biting his lips in frustration, "I have a strong view on what it means to be a parent. I... I can't abide that he harmed you".

His shortness of breath made apparent his desire to say more, to rid himself of manners and express himself through prejudiced and intolerant terms. He gave in, a growl in his throat.

"I wish the bastard would go to jail already".

The other silently waited, nor concurring nor disagreeing. He would rather not do that when Suoh resorted to swear words, meaning his opinion was final and not possibly adaptable. Past the first couple of days after the incident, as far as he could remember, Suoh had been angry all the time. He had fidgetted a lot, restlessly walking in circles, lost his temper over small things, not eaten, cried... That rage had diminished over the course of the months but he nevertheless remained bitter and full of resentment. He also had gotten more protective of him. Rochalizo wished he would forget about all this already; it was hurting Suoh more than him. That time where Suoh had gotten into a fight with his brothers had been bad enough. He knew he had also tried to meet his father, but that on the other hand, Rochalizo hadn't allowed.

"Look, I...", he tried, wondering if Suoh would cut him off, but as he was not met with an objection, he pursued, searching for his words, "Recently I've been trying to... Put some distance... Between my Dad and I...

— Have you?", Suoh insisted, probing him.

"Well..."

Rochalizo stuck his hands into his fleece. This way, he could stretch his arms, relieving some of the stress he was feeling and he liked how they formed a sort of fence between him in the world. He felt trapped into a heavy, emotional, angst-inducing conversation and he didn't like that.

"... You know we never were that close, but... I don't... Keep him up to date as much as before... 'Specially since...

— Since?

— Most things are about you and... He doesn't quite like you... Um... Well, what he's heard of you rather...", mumbled Rochalizo, shrugging his shoulders bashfully.

Suoh raised an eyebrow with contempt. That expression didn't fit him, Rochalizo thought. He didn't feel close to him nor like he knew him anymore when he displayed such a face.

"Good", he retorted harshly from the tip of his lips, before momentarily turning his face to the window and the snowy fields the bus was passing by.

Rochalizo sank into his seat, uncomfortable, looking in the opposite direction. Why had they engaged in such a topic? He felt wretched. Suoh's rancour was legitimate and he understood him; had he been in his shoes, he would've been even angrier. However, he could not help feeling down at the perspective of Suoh being indifferent to his Dad's preferences. Some part of him had hoped, faintly, that they could get along and persisted timidly, even now after all that had occured. There was even more of a sting in his heart when it came to listening to him dissing his father with no second thoughts. By logic, his reaction was entirely justified. And yet he couldn't refrain himself from wishing Suoh would grow to forgive him and — an even improbable wish — would end up liking him. He couldn't explain it; that was illogical and god only knew (if that fucknut existed) how he hated being illogical. He loved that Suoh would defend him by speaking out freely and angrily against his Dad, and yet, he also hated when he did because it felt as though... As though Suoh rejected a part of him? Was it what it felt like?

"I'm so sorry my love...", he suddenly heard, those words uttered over him in a sweet, caring tone.

Rochalizo's eyes rose to meet Suoh's. He now looked awfully guilty. Rochalizo realised he had been silent for some time, which was surely how Suoh had guessed how he felt about all this. Unlike him, Suoh had been good at reading someone since the dawn of time. His considerate arms encircled him and he hugged him tightly from the side. Digging into his neck, his warm face rubbed against the roots of his hair.

"I keep apologising and then repeating the same mistakes. I'm the worst... I shouldn't be saying that to you. It's your Dad after all and you must still love him despite everything".

Rochalizo found some comfort in his words. He didn't know if he still loved his Dad either. But somewhat, he still felt drawn to him, wished for his affection and his approuval. Not seeing his father in a long time made him feel like something was missing. After all, he had been the one to raise him. He felt it would be ungrateful to cut ties with him and to disregard all the things he had been given throughout his childhood and teenage years. Every decision of his, every class lesson, hobby, toy, meal... He owed them to his Dad.

He had said he had tried to set up boundaries and he hadn't lied. He often felt guilty of that bahaviour, wondering if a child should rightfully keep things from their parents and limit information as though they were the enemy. But as the establishment of those boundaries had made him feel better, he wasn't so ready to give them up. Perhaps physical boundaries would have been wise to implement too like Suoh had suggested a few times, however he couldn't help coming back home and seeing them and letting them touch him. Not letting them close felt good for only a while. But quickly, the feelings of a noose tightening in his gut made it unsustainable, made him feel too awful a son, too awful a brother to stick to them. And why do so? There were things he must have exaggerated as to how unfair they had acted with him, moments he must have overracted as to how belittled he had felt... All things considered, Rochalizo felt easily aggrieved, that was a flaw of his. And his family weren't so bad at core. They had had good times...

"Yeah...", Rochalizo merely said.

He was glad Suoh could fathom the possibly he didn't hold grudges against his Dad and didn't choose to impose his thoughts on him. A less insightful person might have tried to enforce his views on him and asked that he stopped seeing his family. He himself might have suggested that, finding himself in such a situation... Yet, Suoh was understanding, as always.

At first sluggish, he hung into Suoh's arms like a ragdoll. Then, slowly returned the hug, tilting his head to the side so that it bumped slightly against the other's.

"I'll keep those things to myself, okay?", said Suoh, whispering to him in a soft voice, nuzzling against his temples, "I don't want you to feel like you have to take a side. You should never have had to in the first place..."

Rochalizo held Suoh's arms against him, spreading them over his body as he would with a blanket.

"Yeah I guess... Perhaps that'd be better but... S'not ideal for you to keep everything inside. You can just say it, I don't mind.

— You do mind", Suoh objected, "I'll speak then but will do my best to stay polite... Even if you know what I think deep down... — he sighed, rubbing Rochalizo's shoulder with his thumbs — I don't want to make you feel bad for still caring. It's normal for you to feel this way".

He paused for a moment, his hands moving across the other's chest, finding his heart beneath the layers of clothes.

"You will always be safe with me... I'll protect you from anything".

How senseless and absurd to promise such a thing. Realistically, this was a doomed commitment, as dizzying high claims made for painfully disappointing results. Harm couldn't be avoided, only cared for and Rochalizo didn't want him to promise. And yet, when Suoh uttered those words close to his ear, hugging him and all the parts of him that had always shaken in unavowed fear, he would have heard them again ten times over.

Although he was glad Suoh thought it was natural he still visited his folks, he was also very appreciative that he would serve as a shield between him and his family from time to time.

He didn't know why, but his eyes were moist and he felt his chest pinched by an invisible fist; promises of safety always made him feel this weird and twisting and irrational feeling inside. He did his best to stifle his messy breathing, focusing on the other's kind attentions to avoid a ridiculous cry. He snuggled against Suoh for some more and the latter didn't let him go.

In the newly fallen silence, Rochalizo noticed that they had almost arrived. Through the window, he could identify the old skating-rink sign and the dancing lights on its external facade. Turning his head towards his beloved, he snorted, rethinking something.

"I find it funny...

— What is?", asked Suoh, his eyeballs adorably round.

— That you're all peace & love and yet you say things like that...", he explained, moving his hands in casual waves.

Thinking he was grasping at what the other was hinting at, Suoh bit his lip, half-ashamed yet half-curious to be confirmed what was apparently so amusing.

"Things like what? 'I wish he was in jail?' When I said that?"

— No. Well, yes partly but... What you said last week..."

Suoh wrapped an arm around Rochalizo's hips, knowing fully well the words had already been said and that therefore, they couldn't impact him anymore (Rochalizo's very original reasoning). That they wouldn't make him flinch since they weren't new. But... He wasn't taking the risk.

— Last week... Oh. 'Had I been here I would've torn off his every hair one by one'?

— Yeah yeah, that... It's funny coming from you, the absolute pacifist. You could never do such a thing".

Suoh tried to laugh at it. He wanted to, however hardly managed. He closed his eyes, paying attention to the deep unrest that was spreading once again in his chest and intoxicating his thoughts. Next to him, Rochalizo had stood up on his knees on the carpeted seat. He looked happy, pointing to him the outside scenery through the window, having already moved on to chirping joyously that they had arrived. Suoh beseeched himself not to ruin his excitement. He looked like such a sweetheart. But that would have been too much sorrow to hold back and so, it spilled from his lips. He lost all self-control when it came to this.

Seizing Rochalizo by his waist, he pulled him in and sat him on his lap. The other mouthed some little surprise sounds and the beginning of some fussing, not liking such a private pose in public. There, Suoh wrapped him with his arms and held him intimately, his sad face on Rochalizo's shoulder. The other stopped moving.

"You laugh but... That day, when I heard the news on the phone... I was so appalled and enraged... And distraught, I could've done anything..."

OoOoO

*Two months ago*

It had been a quiet day. The TV was on, broadcasting an old documentary which played out in the living-room, unwatched. On the wooden table which faced it, two candles flickered in rapid swaying, moved by the cold air that rushed through the open window. A little farther, on the bigger table, two cups of steaming hot tea waited. Suoh paced the room up and down, carrying a bucket of fresh clothes that was too big for him, storing books and pencil cases, putting away Rochalizo's boat model and its scattered pieces, straightening the cushions on the couch and watering the plants on the small fireplace. Soon the only untidied spot in the room, Suoh's school notebooks lay untouched. He would generally settle in the living-room when he couldn't concentrate anywhere else, big open spaces somehow increasing his focus. At the end of the way, however, he had found that he hadn't worked at all and had kept finding excuses for his lack of attention such as, blaming the messy lounge. At least, those moments of rare procrastination gave him an opportunity to do the chores, which he would do thoroughly but, once in two weeks, or once a month. What? He had never claimed to be a saint.

Sitting down with his work, Suoh grimaced and realised he could try all he wished today, it probably wouldn't work out. And so, giving up on his revising, he texted Rochalizo something. The latter didn't answer and Suoh didn't expect him to; although it was late and Rochalizo had said he should be back by now, Suoh understood that family reunions would typically overrun. He also figured he would have some catching up to do with his family.

Those were the happy, oblivious times Suoh still misunderstood Rochalizo's relation with them.

He didn't talk about them regularly and Suoh had assumed they were this kind of family that was shy and reserved in their affections but still loved to spend time together. When Rochalizo did bring them up, it was always to respect a skill or quality he admired in his brothers and wished for himself, connecting their existence to prideful associations. His Dad was the less frequent topic, mentionned by him with uneasiness but respect and so, with a lack of information to feed on, Suoh had imagined he was the gruff but secretly caring type. Rochalizo seemed like he had been grateful to have him as a father which consequently had lead to him not to question that. Only, a few things had intrigued him for the time they had moved in together, such as, while Suoh had put up several photos of Sami and him on the kitchen wall, Rochalizo hadn't at all. And this time he had asked to see photos of his family which Rochalizo had wilingly agreed to show, but when it had come to showing those where he'd be included in the photo with them as a group, he had refused and ended the conversation, as well as leaving the room. Again, Suoh had deducted he was just shy and self-conscious, thought he didn't look good in those particular pictures.

Picking up one of the tea cups, Suoh brought it to his lips and drank a few sips, sadly giving up on waiting for Rochalizo to start downing it. However bizarre he thought their family bond was, he, who couldn't conceive a successful family without its tons of affections shared and interest in each others' lives, he couldn't criticise the other's strange ways of maintaining ties. Suoh's definition of family was also a tad uncommon. Having been raised in an orphanage, he had never cared much for parental presence; family was for him the few friends he had bonded with back there. It wasn't much but it held for him a capital importance. It meant seeing them as much as he could and getting some quality time was in order. Well... To tell the truth, it was more of an ideal. He had felt too tired these past weeks to suggest meetings and even weekly hang outs with Sami he had had to postpone.

But family to him was important. This could explain why, the more time passed and the more he wished to meet Rochalizo's family. He had pushed that idea at the back of his mind for the first months, thinking it was too early to meet someone's family at that point in a relationship. As another couple of months had gone by, he had told himself people like Rochalizo didn't feel comfortable mixing up such very private parts of their lives together and that waiting couldn't do any harm. These days, he was considering it again. His love hadn't faded in the least; he loved Rochalizo deeply and wished to know more, so much more about him.

To pass the time and not wait for him endlessly like a depressed dog, Suoh put his mind elsewhere and called Sami. They chatted of both the little trivialities and some very specific anecdotes which came to mind. Suoh learnt that Sami had enroled in a martial arts course recently and that she did very well, as no one would have doubted. She had also made a couple of new friends and struggled with school but had taken a liking for the theater classes and thought she should join a theater group next year. Her recent obsession with comics had grown serious and she had stolen a shiny belt from a store in the shopping mall near the orphanage. A friend of her had skipped school to spend some time with her crush and she had generously covered for her. Suoh had hung up feeling happy, fulfilled and sleepy. No matter how fun and delightful those chats were, Sami was such a chatter that he had to put an end to each phonecalls or he would be on call all night.

After that, he cooked dinner a little late, if his miserable attempt to cook deserved the label. He made a salad, eggs and put some carrots in the pan. He left a bit for Rochalizo on the side that he put into a box in the fridge and also roasted some meat for him that he let under a lid on the hotplates.

Opening his phone distractedly as he washed the dishes, he noticed Rochalizo had tried to call him twice while he was on a call with Sami. He called back and let the phone ring on the sink for two minutes while he finished the job. But even as he hung up and called anew several times, no one picked up. Suoh stowed the dishes rapidly and sent Rochalizo another few texts including a "where are you?" and an "are you okay?".

He fidgetted a little nervously. It was 10:45 PM. Perhaps Rochalizo had tried to call to notify him that he would be eating dinner with his family, as Suoh knew they had a habbit of eating late yonder. However it was just a little unusual of him that he had not sent any texts but so far, nothing so alarming. Besides, as he would never spent the night at theirs, he held the definite belief Rochalizo would be back before or for midnight.

Suoh decided he was stressing over nothing, if not completely overreacting and proceeded to go for his evening routine. He put on those white pyjamas with little flowers, brushed his teeth and stretched his muscles at the foot of the bed. Sitting down on the carpet, he calmed his mind with a meditation exercise he tried to be consistent with but didn't always had time for on busy nights or on nights where Rochalizo talked him out of his previously scheduled plans. And Suoh generally let him; the unexpected felt fun when it was with him. Grabbing the fantasy novel he had already read half through, he climbed in bed and, wrapped in covers, immersed himself into the story. Before doing that however, he put his phone into the bed drawer where he would generally switch it off for the night. But once more, he hoped for a call from his beloved and couldn't resist leaving it unsilenced.

Slowly, he felt he was falling asleep. He had read three chapters but now, the book had begun to fall out of hands and it took a few times at least for his sleepy brain to undertand the meaning of the longer sentences. The numerous names for characters and places in this fiction also troubled him greatly and he had read the last page not comprehending who had been doing what and for heaven's sake, what for...

He put down the book and lay his head on the pillow, ready to yield to slumber as he was craddled by the flanel sheets warmth and the subdued lights he should've put out. On his desk, the fragrance dispenser released a sweet smell of orange blossom throughout the room. His lids blinked, fighting sleep...

That was when something in the drawer began vibrating. Suoh's peace within the bedroom had filled abruptly with the sounds of his ringtone which seemed loud, so loud now and shrilling. Groaning, Suoh hid beneath the pillow an instant, feeling incredibly lethargic but also taken aback by his own exhaustion ; had he fallen asleep? What time was it? And who was calling? Determined to get an answer to each question, he dropped his arm into the drawer to get his phone, quite grumpy, he could admit it. However, seeing Rochalizo's cute contact picture showing on his screen, Suoh conceded a tired smile and, remembered of his previous worries which were now soothed, he sighed in relief. Gazing at this photo of him made his heart swell a little. It was nothing too fancy: the photo had been taken at a pottery event they had gone to this summer. Frozen in the moment, Rochalizo was shown before his half-moulded chunk of loam and looked right at the camera, displaying his hands covered in dirt, his face absolutely glowing. He sat on the edge of his seat in excitement, bearing a soft and thrilled smile like he was saying — 'look!! isn't that so fucking cool?!'. In this photo, he looked like he was having great fun, exploring with his hands and failing, and trying again, getting the hang of it. Suoh chided himself for often coming by this precious memory and looking at it without seeing it these days, due to the habbit of passing by it so frequently. This photo reminded him how much in love he was.

Picking up, even through weariness, Suoh's voice found a way to sound all merry.

"Baby! I was concerned. Are you on your way?"

Suoh crushed the phone against his ear, expecting Rochalizo's sweet voice. But his question received no answers and, pricking up his ears, it was as though he had dived into deep waters, where all sound got muffled and nothing reached him. There was only a dreadful silence at the other end of the phone that made him suddenly afraid to breathe audibly. It wouldn't have been frightening if he had heard the background sound of some bus being driven, if he had heard the whistling of the wind, the loud and bothersome shouts of late-partygoers. All of those sounds, in spite of not hearing who he wished to hear, would have meant something comforting for him, as he'd have deducted the other's voice was covered but that he was safe, on the road and coming home. If he had heard anything else but profound, disturbing silence... This silence that seemed to swallow him the more he took heed of it; it froze his bones and made him feel insane by the second. Until...

Suddenly, some rustle of clothes reached him, first faint and then, messy and strong, as though an object was being rubbed right onto the speaker. Suoh jumped in fear, recoiling, but still holding the phone tightly. Several hushed voices began speaking all over each other in the background. They whispered things, mumbling orders according to some rough tones and rude intonations, however, talked fast and stammered, wriggling in shock as their voices would reach a high note every so often. Among them, a voice a little louder that Suoh managed to make out clearly uttered a 'Fuuuuck. I told you he'd answer! Hung up! Hung up!' On the front plan, presumably the one who held the phone and was closest to the speaker muttered a single 'Oh my god, crap—'. Some more juggling with phone and then the faint sound indicating the end of the call.

Suoh couldn't move for a good minute. His thoughts had mingled and banged together so brutally, it was like he had lost the ability to think. As he slowly recovered from the call and closed his hanging mouth, he spread a hand over his now sweaty brow. He felt feverish now. Processing what he had just heard, he slowly lowered his phone and stared at the screen. He went and checked the 'recent calls' section, just to make sure he hadn't hallucinated what had happened and to testify the author of this horrifying call really had been from him. Yes, he observed, it really had been Rochalizo. Or at least, his phone.

But it hadn't been him in person.

Suoh tried hard not to freak out. Surely Rochalizo was still with his brothers and those had played a prank on him. Perhaps Rochalizo had wished to introduce him to his family on the phone and said family had talked louder than him, gotten shy and hung up. But why hadn't Rochalizo texted him anything yet?? He always told him when he didn't come home for the night. Why did he have such a bad feeling about this??

Checking the hour was enough to dispel any of his rational explanations and escalate his fright. 3:00 AM. Who the hell called at such an hour of the night?! Not Rochalizo. He would've quietly come home. He had the key to the door. Not Rochalizo. And not anyone sane.

The realisation came slowly, cold shivers down his back. Then, Suoh's heart almost burst out from his chest as his mind went to the worst possible outcome. He had been kidnapped. He had been locked up somewhere and tied up while someone now pretended to be him. He had been assaulted for his phone and now was all alone, on drugs, in a grim basement. He had been confined into a bag and shipped into a plane, departing in an illegal flight who would sell him to an underworld business of human slaves. He had been trapped into a lorry where they would cut his tummy open and sell his organs and leave him bleeding out. He had been stabbed in a dark alley for his money and had been disposed of in a trash bag, his precious body chopped in a dozen pieces.

Suoh brutally got out of bed, walked up to the kitchen and came back. His head so heavy and scarified by roaming angst, he struggled to keep his balance, under the impression he would implode from within, his brain and arms and legs breaking apart and splashing any moment, spreading around the room. He was a living aching worry which ached to crawl out of his skin. He walked into several pieces of furniture on his way. He couldn't see anymore; but he needed to walk, walk and breathe some air or he would pass out. He walked around the flat a few times, in the meantime, his body reacting, in turn, to the news, and reacting just as critically as he had been. Shredding his insides, his stomach stung him with an appalling stomach ache and turned so violently, Suoh ran back to the kitchen and puked into the sink.

Spitting it all, the acid liquid burned his throat and his eyes watered. He felt his body become limp and weak as he coughed out all he could, until he didn't feel anything move up and down his esophagus. Yet his stomach heaved again as he drew a breath and he spit again, spewing more saliva than anything this time. It hurt terribly. It hurt so much, but the pain distracted him from everything else and so, he found in it a release, a form of ease for his mind. When his throat ached too much to continue and he could only gag without a result, and when the bile seared his mouth so painfully it got him canker sores, his body trembling and faltering, he lay motionless, with his head bent into the sink, inside both his still hardly supporting arms. His breath husky, he sucked in air, exhaled short and erratic puffs, breathing in his vomit. Once he felt stronger as to straighten up again, he noticed he no longer felt as much pain as before and gazing vaguely around at all the mess and, he switched to autopilot mode; checked for traces of puke in his hair, washed his mouth and washed away his puke in the drain.

Perhaps those simple actions achieved in appeasing him but as he did, Suoh was able to regain some control of himself and started looking at things more calmly. None of his thoughts and none of his stupid worrying were useful to him or to Rochalizo right now. He was in danger right now. He had no idea what those people on the phone who had called him wanted out of him. And unfortunately, be couldn't remember their genders nor how many they were; as soon as he had heard other voices, he had pretty much blacked out. Perhaps they wanted him to negociate with them, asking that he bring a ransom to a meeting point, promising to turn Rochalizo back to him. Perhaps they had called to intimidate him and order him not to call the police. Suoh looked around the flat, feeling suddenly observed and very afraid, alone, in their small flat whose windows could be easily accessed from the streets. But... Whatever that call had been about, Suoh didn't fall for such boorish bargaining. If Rochalizo was in danger, and he surely was, he was gonna call the police.

Sprinting to the bedroom, he grabbed his phone in haste, typed his password with shaky fingers and clicked on the phone app. He thought he had accidentally typed a wrong number because he was brutally startled by some spontaneous ringtone and an unknown phone contact appearing on the screen. He hadn't called. It was that unknown number calling. Past the first moments of surprise there came fear and Suoh considered not answering. What if it was them again? But at the same time... The number wasn't the same. And what other party could be calling him at 3:00 AM, except for a potentially helping one? Someone good might have news... If he happened to miss a very helpful call, he would not forgive himself. It could be important. It could be important, he tried to convince himself over and over, while another part of his brain screamed at him to turn it down, frightened he would answer yet another call like the first one tonight.

"H-Hello...?", Suoh said quietly, biting his lips so his teeth would stop shaking.

"Good evening, Sir, this is—. We apologise for the late call. Are you Suoh?"

Suoh's breath stopped. How could they know his name? He had not yet announced himself and his status didn't include this information. He could have hung up out of panic but somehow, the voice on the other side didn't sound untrustworthy. Unfortunately he hadn't heard what that person had said for as brief introduction of themselves, but it seemed professional and understanding. Although... It equally stressed him out because Suoh got the dreadful feeling they knew something. Suddenly, he remembered that the news could be terribly bad. That they could tell him Rochalizo was...

"Y-Yes, that's me...", he replied, his voice barely cooperating through.

"Do you know someone called Rochalizo?"

His interlocutor had butchered his name badly, but Suoh would have recognised it out of a million ones. At the mention of his beloved name, he began breaking. He was breathing so fast he thought he would break into a heart attack. All of his previous appalling and gory thoughts came back to mind and he had to put his phone on the table as it began to slip from his very moist hands. Was this the part where he would be told they had found his cold dead body in a river? Would he be told he had been shot by a stray bullet and agonised alone as he had died without anyone around? Would he be told his bloodied crushed body had been found under the metro train, just as it had driven half-way over him? Suoh started sobbing quietly.

Those things didn't only happen in movies... It took him such an effort to talk again. He was seeing Rochalizo's lifeless body in his mind whenever the words tried to form in his mind.

"Yes... I do", he answered, the waters rapidly gathering in his eyes.

Suoh waited, barely standing up, holding back tears, finding the time it took for his interlocutor to talk back excructiatingly long.

"Sir, I repeat, this is Hospital St James, near the working port. Rochalizo's had an accident. Please come there as soon as you can".

The phone call ended there. And as Suoh watched his phone slowly, then brutally fade to black, he stood alone again, in the dark, empty kitchen.

#cotw fanfiction #cotw #children of the whales #children of the whale #kujira no kora wa sajou ni utau #les enfants de la baleine #kujira no kora #knk #suoh #suou #rochalizo #rohalito

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scribomaniac · 3 years

Text

Something Wicca This Way Comes Ch 15

Left punch, left kick. Right punch. Right punch again. Double kick.

Killian absorbed blow after blow as he held the punching bag still for Emma. She had good form, though that didn’t surprise him. What did surprise him was how often she used her legs to attack. He’d offered to show her a few boxing moves earlier that day and she’d accepted with only a bit of hesitation, which was an improvement in Killian’s opinion. He wasn’t sure why he’d suggested boxing. Liam had been busy in the kitchen, experimenting with some potions, and Will was reviewing the Book of Shadows in the attic, searching for any clues that would help Emma defeat the Source.

Emma had made great strides when it came to controlling her magic, so perhaps it’d been a mixture of that and his own boredom. Or perhaps he thought he’d be able to teach her something new. Perhaps he’d imagined himself standing behind her, showing her how to stand and correcting the placement of her arms while she leaned into him. But of course he should have known that Emma knew how to box, or, more accurately, how to hit. Perhaps, he now imagined, they’d be able to spar one day.

Eyes flickering down to watch Emma lick her lips, Killian thought about the last kiss they shared. It had been quick and brutal but had started a fire in his veins that had taken hours to douse. She had said that it was a one time thing, but the glint that had been in her eyes said differently. He hoped that if he bided his time, if they took it slow, that spark might turn into something more. Into what, he couldn’t be certain. There was still much left unsaid, after all, but Killian would be a fool to deny he still had feelings for Emma. He wanted to explore those emotions more, wanted to explore them with Emma.

“Alright,” Killian called it after one especially vicious kick to the punching bag. “Let’s not over-do it, Swan. Time for a break.”

Emma looked like she wanted to argue, but instead shrugged her shoulders. “Fine. I’m going to check on Will—see if he’s found anything.”

“I’ll come with.”

Emma’s brows raised and she paused at the foot of the steps. “Oh, you don’t have to if you don’t want. I mean,” she looked back to the punching bag. “I know you wanted more time down here to yourself.”

Now it was Killian’s turn to raise a brow, but he just rose one as he asked, “Trying to get rid of me already?”

“No! I just mean,” she bit down on her lip and then shook her head, “never mind.”

Killian hummed, following Emma up the stairs. “I’d take your company over an old punching bag any day, Swan.” It’d been meant as a joke, but he could see the way Emma’s shoulders stiffened. He grimaced, wondering if he’d made her uncomfortable.

They ascended the rest of the stairs in an awkward silence, and Killian thought he’d never been so happy to see his younger brother than he did then. “Find anything, Will?”

He walked over to the Book of Shadows. Emma hung back by the door, keeping an eye on the Book as if she thought it’d try and attack her.

“Not yet,” Liam answered for him, walking into the attic just after them with a few vials of potions in his hands. He placed them over on a side table and then placed his hands on his hips. “I wonder if we can summon an upper-level demon up here. I’d like to give the new potions a whirl.”

“Not a great idea,” Emma said flatly.

Killian snorted. He looked up to catch her eye, but she quickly looked away. Trying not to feel too deflated, he placed his hand on the Book of Shadows to get a better look at the page Will had opened.

Without any warning, Killian’s breath left him and his mind was pulled into a premonition.

Will and Killian dragged Liam’s body through the attic’s entrance, his dead weight making it hard for them to walk. They laid him on the floor on the far side of the room, watching the door for their assailant. Liam’s face bore deep scratches, and his eyes fluttered as he tried to stay awake.

“Come on, Liam,” Killian patted his cheek while keeping him upright. “Come on, mate, you need to wake up.”

“Should we call Tink?” Will asked, not taking his eyes off the door.

Killian shook his head, “No, not yet. We can’t distract them—”

A great burst of fire appeared in the middle of their attic and a slender figure stepped out from its fiery mouth. A demon with oily, scaly skin stood before them. The smile on his face was one filled with glee and it filled Killian with a sick sense of dread.

Bringing his hands up like a magician, the demon, his voice high-pitched and shrill, asked, “What a day this has turned out to be, hmm? Now, who wants to die first?” He pointed a finger at the brothers, waving in between the three of them, “Eeny, meeny, miny—”

“Liam!” Killian yelled, shaking his brother hard enough to rattle his brain.

Eyes snapping open, Liam’s hands reached out and the demon exploded. The explosion was short lasting though, as the demon’s body began to reassemble, and a shrill laugh echoed throughout the room.

With a gasp, Killian returned to the present.

“What did you see?” Will asked, his eyes wide and his mouth tense.

Killian shook his head and looked over the Book of Shadows. “A demon attacking us.”

“What’d he look like?” Liam asked, sidling up next to his younger brother to look over his shoulder as Killian flipped through the pages.

“Like a crocodile.” Killian flipped page after page, but so far he was having no luck. He hated having to looks through the Book. It’s pages were so old and frail but there were so many of them too. He could never be sure if the thing he was looking for just wasn’t in the Book at all or if he’d accidentally skipped past it. Grinding his teeth, he silently begged one of his ancestors to guide him to the correct page. “He had scaly skin and yellow eyes.” His teeth were atrocious too, but he didn’t see the point in adding that bit of information. Out of his periphery, Killian could see Emma take hesitant a step closer. “He was powerful—I’d bet he worked directly under the Source.”

Emma stepped forward, then took another step back before asking, “A crocodile? Are you sure?”

Killian looked up, “Aye, you know him?”

She nodded slowly, “Yeah, only he doesn’t work for the Source. He is the Source. You just described Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Rumple-what?” Will asked.

“That’s the Source?” Killian’s jaw dropped. “Shit.”

“What else did you see?” Liam asked urgently, placing his hand on Killian’s shoulder to bring his attention back around.

Mouth turning dry, Killian thought about what he saw. “I saw—I saw him attacking us. Liam, you—you were bleeding and Will was,” brows furrowing, Killian shook the image away. “Let’s just say it wasn’t looking good for us.”

“What about me?” Emma asked, mouth drawn down into a severe frown.

Licking his lips, Killian shook his head again, “You weren’t there.”

Beside him, Liam stiffened. “What do you mean, she wasn’t there?”

“The vision wasn’t long, alright?” He looked around the room at everyone. “I don’t know any more than what I saw.”

Growling, Liam turned towards Emma, “I swear, if you betray us—”

“Oh, knock it off Liam!” Will stepped into Liam’s vision, obscuring Emma from his view. “You yelling at Emma isn’t helping anything. We need to figure out our next move. Is there anything in the Book that can help us?”

“I don’t—” a gust of wind knocked Killian’s hands away from the Book of Shadows. The pages flew of their own accord. Heaving a sigh of relief, Killian said a small “Thank you,” when the Book finally settled onto a page. “Who’s this?”

“Malcolm?” Liam read, confusion clear on his face. “That another name for the Source? He doesn’t look like a crocodile.”

“That’s not who I saw in my vision,” Killian murmured as he read the page. The illustration for him was of a young boy with dark blond hair and a wicked smile. There was hardly information written about him. But what it did say was interesting. “Also known as the Piper of Hamelin, Malcolm is an immortal creature who preys on the life force of children. No spell or potion could vanquish him and so he was trapped and hidden away by James Jones.”

“James Jones,” Emma quirked a brow, “who’s that?”

“Our great-great-something great-grandfather,” Will answered. “Do you think he’s the one who moved the pages? But why? What does Malcolm have to do with this?”

Killian stared at the drawing of Malcolm. The longer he looked, the more the boy’s smile seemed to taunt him. He could almost hear laughter, cruel and loud and not unlike the crow of a rooster, echoing in the back of his head. Killian had never wanted to punch a drawing before, but he found his fist curling tightly all the same.

“I’ve never heard of him before,” Emma said slowly, “but I think James wants us to talk to him. Anyone know where granddad stashed him?”

“It doesn’t say,” Liam frowned at the page, “and dad never told us anything about this.”

“Shocker,” Will snorted, then quickly looked away when Liam looked up to glare at him.

Liam hummed, but didn’t call Will out. Instead he said, “We’ll just have to ask him.”

Finally averting his gaze, Killian looked at Liam and then Will. Then, with a smile he turned onto Emma, he said, “It’s time for a séance.”

Like a well-oiled machine, the Charmed Ones set about to gather up their supplies. Killian grabbed the candles, Liam opened the Book to the proper page, and Will grabbed a stick of sage. Once everything was lit and ready to go, Liam read, “Hear these words, hear our cry, spirit from the other side. Come to us, we summon thee, cross now the great divide.”

Within the circle of candles Killian had prepared, a ball of light emerged, and then in a flash, a man bearing a striking resemblance to Killian stood before them. His hair was longer and wavier, he had an impressive mustache, and there was a hook where his left hand should be, but besides all that Killian found a near perfect reflection staring back at him.

“It’s about time you summoned me,” James said, crossing his arms and glowering at his descendants as if they’d just stolen something precious from him.

“I’m sorry,” Emma raised her hands, at a loss, “who are you?”

“I’m your salvation, me’dear. The way you lot are heading you’ll be dead at the Source’s hands in a fortnight.”

Will looked helplessly at Killian, “A fortnight?”

“Two weeks.”

“Aye,” James nodded solemnly, “even with your precious Savior, you won’t be able to do much against Rumpelstiltskin without his dagger.”

“Dagger?” Emma asked, her voice sharp. “What dagger?”

“I don’t know too much about it, just from what I’ve heard whispered from other spirits, ye’see?” James stroked the edge of his mustache. “But I know that without it your cause is hopeless.”

Killian frowned, wondering how in the world this dagger was supposed to help with anything, and why they’d never heard of it before. “If this dagger is so important, wouldn’t the Source keep it locked away safe in the Underworld.”

“Of course not, you idiot boy!” James practically spat.

Emma hummed in agreement, “If it’s really that important then Rumpelstiltskin would want it as far away from the Underworld as possible.” Noticing the confused glances aimed her way, she shrugged, “Being the most powerful puts a target on your back. There’s always someone looking to take the throne.”

“So where would he hide it?” Liam asked. “Could we scry for it?”

James sighed heavily, “What did I do to deserve such half-witted grandsons.”

“Hey!” Will protested.

“It’ll be heavily guarded,” Emma said, ignoring the insults being thrown around. “The Source wouldn’t trust demons to watch over it, but he’d use enchantments.”

“The only creature that knows where the bloody thing is, and what’s protecting it, is Malcolm.” James jerked his chin towards the Book of Shadows.

Emma shook her head, “No, that doesn’t make sense.” She looked at Killian. “Rumpelstiltskin would never trust anyone with that information, why would—” she shook her head before continuing, “and I’ve never heard of a demon named Malcolm. Why do you think he’d know anything about this?”

James looked down his nose at Emma, surveying her. Killian didn’t like the way he seemed to be sizing her up, as if he might consider her an enemy. “I wonder,” James eventually responded, his voice a slow drawl, “perhaps you knew him by his moniker. Does the name Pan mean anything to you?”

Emma’s skin turned pale and her jaw fell open. James nodded. “Thought that might do it.”

“What?” Will looked back and forth between Emma and James. “What does that mean? Who is he?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Emma said roughly. Not taking her eyes off James, she asked, “Where is he?”

“I banished him to another dimension, one where he couldn’t harm innocents any longer. You’ll need to go there to speak with him, but beware!” His large blue eyes bore into the Charmed Ones, making Killian’s back straighten. “Pan is not to be trifled with. Do not accept anything offered from him, do not engage in his games, and do not listen to any of his lies. Get in, get the information, and get out.”

Killian gulped, “Is that all?” When James turned to glare at him, he looked away.

Liam, always there to save the day, intercepted by asking, “So where is this dimension and how do we visit it?”

With a wave of his arm the Book of Shadows once again came to life. Killian walked over and saw the intricate spell written. “Astral projection?”

“Aye, and at least one of ye will need to stay behind to ensure you find your way back. It’s easy enough to get lost amongst the stars and you don’t want to overshoot it.”

Liam joined Killian, looking at what they’d need to do for the spell. “We’ll need to name of the dimension. What’s it called?”

“Never Land.”

#charmed au #something wicca this way comes #ouat #emma swan #killian jones #captain hook #james hook #liam jones #liam jones ii #peter pan

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starbuck09256 · 4 years

Text

Paperwork and coffee

Fictober day 13

After detour before chinga

tagging @today-in-fic

I look over the mountain of paperwork in front of me. For months I thought about how that was the one thing I wouldn’t miss when I was gone. Needless forms poor trees whose sacrifice was wasted on blue and black ink littering pages of information already on pages 6 and again on page 10 and one more time on page 15. I wonder how Mulder does it, somehow some way that man always has all the paperwork done and on time. Mulder is a lot of things but he isn’t careless about the x-files. He makes sure every single thing is properly filed in his mess of an office. Organized chaos, I sigh heavily wishing I had just let Mulder fill these out too. I bit my lip looking at the clock, it’s still early only 9 the fact that he isn’t here yet makes me wavier about going to get a coffee. Will this be any less painful with a soul full of foam and creamy espresso. My appetite has returned in more ways than one. I chide myself again for making a pass at Mulder. I need a vacation, a real one. I’ve always wanted to go to Maine in the fall, see the leaves scattering in the wind swirling around the colors of sunset. I could use a giant Lobster with melted butter in every crevasse. A convertible so I can breathe the sea into my body. I push the paperwork aside, boot up Mulders computer and start to look for a small bed and breakfast where you can see the shore through those craftsman style windows. I turn the radio on low as I click through each page. Check the obscene large vacation time I have. I think of Mulder having to be forced to take 5 days off, I remember the giant Elvis sunglasses he bought me and think of taking a picture with them on the trip. Maybe I even buy him one of those giant Lobster claws. I chuckle to myself and the door clicks. Mulder is smiling at me.

“What’s funny?” he asks as he is balancing a coffee and donut bag in his hands.

I get up to help him. It's the good coffee from the coffee shop 3 blocks over. I take a sip and Mulder places his cup on the desk with the bag he’s standing close and chewing his lip. We didn’t talk about the wine or the cheese, or singing a song in the middle of the night, or what it really means for us that I’m still here, waiting. I gesture with my hand, sigh and smile up at him.

“I was thinking about those Elvis glasses you bought, and umm maybe going on vacation. After everything that I..well we went through I could use some sea air. I was thinking maybe Maine.”

I look up at him and he stares at me and touches my hand on the desk.

“I love Maine,” he whispers. He traces my fingers and then his hand is up brushing against my cheek.

“You do?” my voice is breathy like it’s lost in the fog.

He nods and his face is leaning down to mine. I’m transfixed in my spot with one hand on the desk as he closes the gap between us, and then his lips are on mine and his fingers slide back into my hair and his tongue sweeps into my mouth. I can’t help but whimper against him as my own hand goes up to pull him closer. He pushes against me his body is warm and while normally I would be relatively alarmed at being trapped between a man and the desk right now I’m desperate to be closer. My body aches for more and oxygen as he explores my mouth. He pulls away caresses my hair with his other hand. I bite my lip in confusion. What just happened? What does that mean? Why after all this time of all the chances was it here in the office with a coffee.

“I’m sorry.” he says and I am trying to think of a thing he did wrong.

“What? Why? Do you..” the lump in my throat is so large and I want to run.

“I should have done that earlier, so much earlier. You came into my room with wine and cheese and this morning when I was brushing my teeth, I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about how much I wanted that...this. Uh…..us.” his voice waivers at the end.

“I’m an idiot, Scully. I have no idea why you are still here with me or how you don’t know how much more you deserve but I’ll try to make it worth your while for as long as I can.. And I can start with taking you on vacation to Maine or wherever you want to go.”

I can’t help grinning at him. I loop my arms around his neck, try to tilt up to his impossible height and kiss him deeply. His hands press into my back and I try to remember if kissing was always this good, and why I’ve gone so damn long without it. I realize of course that it’s because I waited so long for the one man I swore I wouldn’t kiss, swore I would not let him be a repeat of past transgressions. But now as my tongue lovingly strokes his and his hands roam up and down my back spreading warmth all over my body. I realize I was the bigger idiot for thinking that I could ever not fall for the one person who is my equal. When we pull apart this time both grinning and a little shy. I let my fingers travel up his shirt to the soft blue tie that I got him 2 christmases ago.

“So umm..” he’s nervous and chuckles as I slide my hand up and down his chest.

“When are you thinking we could go?” I look past him to the pile of paperwork that is figuratively looming over my ability to leave with Mulder in tow right now.

I could leave now to pull Mulder into my apartment and not leave for a week. I tap my hand lightly on his chest and sigh. I want to leave now, I want to explore every single inch of him with my fingertips and I want his lips everywhere and the last thing I want is to smell his cologne and feel his eyes as I sit awkwardly in that chair dodging papercuts like the plague. I look at him with a still sadness that I can’t just tell him to lock the door.

“I have so much paperwork…”

I want to cry because he is stroking my wrist and chewing on his lip that has a slight smudge of my lipstick on it. He looks over the pile, the pile that waits on my normal clean in box that surely would never have more than 20 papers at one time. He laughs and I want to hit him. That he would wait until the one time I would absolutely have to stay in the office before turning me into a reckless employee who would leave at 9:45 just because she desperately needs a tryst with her otherwise platonic partner. I want to slap him in the arm for laughing. But he has pulled my fingers to his mouth and is kissing them and sucking on them a bit and watching his tongue has me slightly transfixed.

“Scully…” my name spilling off his lips as he leans down once more and offers me a quick peck which is the last thing I need before the daunting task in front of me.

“Honey, I just have to file those, I already finished all the paperwork.” He laughs again and picks me up spinning me around in our much too small office. We wouldn’t be able to do this if we had another desk down here. But he starts to kiss me again and his lips travel down my neck finding all my sensitive spots far too quickly.

“What?” I can barely mutter as my body hums in deep pleasure. His hands find the top of my shoulder and he gives them a squeeze.

“I did all of that already, even your parts. You’ve been sick for months, working when you could barely stand, I figured the least I could do was your half of the paperwork, you are so very stubborn so I took over almost all of your stuff months ago. You already finished your version of the reports right?” I nod I had at least kept up on our case reports and my 3-4 page megar reports that certainly didn’t contain the dramatic prowess they once endured. Mulder picks up the phone and is already talking to Skinner.

“Hi I think Scully and I should take some vacation time after everything with Blevins and that seminar. We have no new cases worth following up on so I would like to put in an immediate request for myself.” he looks at me holding up a 1 or a two.

My lips fall apart, oh my god. Two full weeks with just him and I and his mouth and I can’t even control my own fingers as they hold up two. The grin I get from him could light up space. He passes me the phone.

“Hi sir, yea just with my recent recovery I think it might be a good idea for me to take advantage of some time as well as things to settle here.”

I can’t believe I’m doing this, that we are doing this. Mulder is already locking filing cabinets and eagerly shuffling the paperwork that I thought would be my nemesis. He is leaning over and clicking on some website I had up and pulling out his wallet. I forget sometimes how he can be when he has a mission, uncompromising, unyielding oh god. I will most likely be his mission later. I feel the flush in my chest as he takes another sip of coffee and hands me mine. I sip and it’s perfect, subtly sweet but clearly he has heard me say that I’m still cutting back on the sugar, but it’s creamy with a nick of cinnamon at the end. The sip calms me down and allows me to focus on finishing the rest of the conversation which is just that Skinner has no problem approving what we need since Belvins is dead and he has better shit to do than babysitting Mulder over the next two weeks anyway. I nod and find Mulder tapping his foot at our printer looking anxiously. He grabs the papers off the printer and drapes his jacket over his arm grabbing the bag of pastries and putting in his mouth.

“Thanks sir,” he mutters into the phone and grabs my hand eagerly with the one free one he has left. I grab my coffee as he throws my coat at me pulling our office door and ushering me out.

“We can slow down you know.”

But god we have been going at glacier speed for years and truthfully if I had more coffee in me I probably would have bound up the stairs faster and already be tapping my foot while he fumbles for the keys.

“Do you want me to go slow at first Scully?” He says he is already halfway up the stairway leaning down towards me.

“How slow?” and his voice has dropped an octave I’m now on the step above him.

He cups my cheek and kisses me so painfully slow I realize now I should have just locked the door downstairs so that the anticipation wouldn’t kill me. I shallow hard as his lips leave mine. “I’m driving.” I mutter taking the last three steps quickly and grinning at him from the parking garage door.

“We gonna get a convertible Scully?” I already am halfway to my car with the keys ready to bring us and the car to life.

#fictober20 #myfic #msr #mulder and scully #season 5 #fluff #coffee #paperwork of doom #the x-files

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demonic-bun · 3 years

Text

Just watched Tugs' amazing vid about Scottsman's USA tour and I gotta say, I wonder how this affect the Sudrian engines? Specifically Gordon.

Like Imagine you're Gordon in 1969. You hear news that your brother is going to the US on a tour there, hosted by Alan Pegler, the guy who saved your brother from scrapped in the first place.

You start to get nervous, considering that people think he'll be stuck there for all eternity. However, as the first year of the tour went off without a hitch, you start to relax, and even chuckle at the fact that he had to deal with some american ruffians on his first test run on american soil. He's the Flying Scottsman, the most famous steam engine in the world. Surely, nothing bad will happen to him...

Right?

Eventually as 1970 rolled by, you hear that the prime minister, the one that was funding the US tour in the first place, was booted from office and was replaced. That's when you start to worry. How the bloody hell will they get funding now? When you hear that the 1970 tour is gonna be shorten so that they can get the two war coaches delivered there, you start to ease up a bit. At least he'll get home safely, even if he isn't able to visit the rest of the US.

However, you hear that they didn't raise enough as they'd hope during their canadian excursion, meaning they'll have to ship him back to the UK, at the heavy risk of going bankrupt. After that, you don't really hear from them for an entire year of 1971. That's when the anxiety and fear starts to kick in. Surely, if Alan isn't able to keep Scottsman, he's not going to be struck there for the rest of his life...

By 1972, you finally hear news from your brother, which is a huge relief. Then the news hits you: Alan Pegler wants to take Scottsman to San Francisco to raise money on "British Week". It's a rather insane plan. Is Alan really going to drag Scottsman all the way to San Francisco for some holiday? Just to get some funding? You start to really stress about your brother's predicament. Your faith in Pegler starts to wavier, and you start to fear for your brother's life more and more... You don't hear from them for a while, until you hear news that Scottsman's successfully reached San Fransisco, just in time for "British Week". You sigh in relief. Maybe this plan was worth it. Maybe Alan wasn't being too cocky with his luck. Maybe Scottsman will return home someday...

After that... Nothing. You haven't heard anything from them for a long while. Your co-workers try comfort you, saying things like maybe he's been delayed or maybe it's because of some silly thing the US has. But the more you don't hear about him, the more you start to worry more and more...

Then one day, your waiting in a siding for your next train. You then see your controller walking up to you... Except... He has a very from expression on his face. Uh-oh... Surely you haven't done anything to upset him or something. Thankfully, you aren't in any trouble....

In fact, he has news from the US. Your face lights up with excitement as you haven't heard about your brother in quite a while.... But you remember the grim expression your controller had on his face and start to worry...

Then he gives you the news. News which hits him harder than any station wall or barn ever could.

Try as he could, Alan wasn't able to pay of his debt for the cost of the entire trip and...

He lost ownership of Scottsman.

Alan Pegler, the man that saved your brother, the only surviving sibling you have left, has lost Scotty. And he's now US government property, no longer belong to the UK.

Your heart sinks as it slowly starts to become devastatingly clear...

... He will most likely won't be coming back to England...

...And you'll most likely never see him again.

@mothtrrash

#Long Post #vent (?)#Like man #The horror he must have felt when the news hits him #I know Scottsman does get saved and returned to England #But man #Poor Gordon...

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