On Vs off

FkuMori- New Year's Kiss

Hey, hi, hello, I have no justification for writing somethig so painfully long, but I hope you like it @vanafloria ♡ uwu

Crimson sunlight barged through the forest of skyscrapers and motels, allowing only a few remaining rays to stumble in a wide white office of a new clinic center, meeting their end either on a tidy desk or on a spotless lab coat of dr. Mori. He owned and managed the whole complex for barely eight months now, and despite it seeming out of place, the surrounding neighbourhood warmly welcomed this new branch of the health industry. Before its arrival, small gangs had a habbit of housebreaking and robbing the entire area, spreading fear amongst its residents and ultimately leading to a decay in economy, which most considered beyond repair. Yet, thanks to the generous heart of this ex war doctor, these problems were solved in the shortest possible time, leading quite a large number of people into an almost religious worship of his being. Fully aware of the fact, Mori dedicated vast amounts of energy in maintaining his public image- as long as the ordinary people were happy with his honey-glazed mask and dulcet words no problems will be caused, they will act as sheep following their shepherd through the fog. This logic, however, was not something he shared with his employees, more precisely his bodyguard, Fukuzawa- a man roughly his own age, but of strong stature. He oftentimes communicated in such a blunt and harsh manner that Mori felt obliged to step in the conversation for the tensions to settle. It was exhausting, especially after explaining him the meaning of his actions numerous times, but in the end, he couldn't afford better. Not only from a materialistic standpoint, but also because Fukuzawa was the best man in his line of work, rising up almost to a level of legend. Even upon a mere mention of his nickname, "The Silver Wolf", most of the underworld's bravest members would quiver, for the man's natural bloodthirst was a force colder and more ruthless than a Russian winter. He was far too valuable for Mori to dismiss and leave in another person's grasp.

In spite of this minor problem though, the business ran precisely as intended. The whole area became a neutral zone after doctor himself spread the word of his refusal to associate with the law enforcement. Sure, he faced hardships and doubt at first, but being spared and trusted by the two biggest crime organisations in town helped significantly. Everyone he knew now thought he was just a simple man who wanted to help people, which, in a way, wasn't even that far from the truth. Thinking about this, Mori didn't even realise he neglected his work until the phone-alarm notified him it was time for his lunchbreak. Feeling only slight discomfort about the matter, he swiftly he draped himself within his feather jacket and headed straight to the nearby bakery. Having stepped outside, his eyes narrowed due to the force of a razor sharp wind jolting his hair, leaving him with a view field wide just enough to get him to the desired destination. The bakery was small, albeit tastefully decorated. It possessed a rustic aesthetic, with its wooden, dark amber walls and shelves that blended so well with them it would be impossible to imagine one without the other, alongside two big square windows, one placed next to the door and the other on the West wall, allowing sunlight to highlight all of the beauty inside. Naturally, as it was Christmas time, decorations added to the aesthetics too, making even the baked goods taste more delicious than usual.

Upon entering, Mori fixed his hair and stepped into the line for making orders. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to get, but the queue was long enough for him to comfortably decide, or so he thought. Suddenly, an old woman came up to him and started a smalltalk asking him about the clinic and poking fun at his hair that he "ought to shorten". This was all an everyday occurrence to which he had gotten used to, up until one question.

"So, how will you spend the New Year's eve, dear?" she said with genuine curiosity.

"Oh, as usual, I shall occupy myself with work." the doctor replied and he truly did mean it. Over time holidays lost their value to him, and while a necessity in this society, he did not enjoy them for the most part, as he felt even more empty during those times, thus trying not to pay them too much attention was the best possible solution.

"Oooh." mumbled the lady "That's noble, but it must be terribly lonely, especially after having spent Christmas at work as well."

Admittedly, Mori was stunned by her bluntness, but he couldn't deny her words, even with his employees by his side, he felt the same as always during this time period. Still, he had to reply with something, so he conveniently used the exact thing he was thinking about for inspiration.

"Don't worry, Fukuzawa will be with me. After all, we are like brothers." he exclaimed, but for some reason didn't understand why he only mentioned this one man.

While they could surely be brothers by age, there wasn't much, apart from his skills, that dazzled him about Fukuzawa. So, brushing this off as a simple element of chitchatting, he continued to talk to the lady until he took his order and left the bakery, sprinting back to his office.

Having walked so fast he almost had difficulty maintaining a normal breathing pattern, he stopped in the entry room to gain some strength. It was now noticeably warmer compared ti the outside, but still, he felt no need to take off his jacked as he felt winter might bite down to his bones. Sitting there like a student in the school yard, he started thinking about his words once again. This time he had the freedom to explore all the possibilities, and an interesting idea occured to him. Mori then finished his meal as usual and headed back to his office, having a few buissnes partners already waiting for him. Unon greeting them politely,he called on Fukuzawa to guard the room until the meeting was over.

...

As dawn neared it's peak, the doctors hands lost their usual composure and craved for a resting place to stop their fatigue caused tremor, but contrary to his body's wishes, Mori took care of his equipment, changed his clothes and ramained to wait for the new shift to start. He didn't have to do this, obviously, but a part of him thought it was right and he hadn't done anything like that in a while. His mind was absent as he gazed into the rising Sun, mesmerised by it's colours and the flickering snow contrasting it. Losing track of time, and eventually his consciousness, the next thing amethyst eyes saw were white strands of hair shimmering next to them, appearing so light and soft they may have been unreal for all Mori knew. This fascination could have continued, but soon a deep voice broke off the illusion and reality came back into place. Fukuzawa was arched over his employer, looking at the weak body with concern.

"Shouldn't you go home and rest properly?" he asked as the younger man shook from his drowse and offered a hand to help him get out of his chair.

It took him quite a while to voice his answer, but nevertheless, Mori agreed with this and the two decided to head towards their homes together. However unusual it may seem, this isn't the first time they travelled together, it happened every once in a while and they would often engage in awkward conversations during it, but lately their communication improved (partially because of their debates about the neighbourhoods residents) so it was definitely a nice opportunity to snatch. Mori freezed as soon as he stepped outside, giving him a subjective feeling that his eyebags suddenly became a few shades darker. Jokingly commenting on this, he was greeted with an attempt of a reply "That's why you shouldn't wear jackets inside." and a smile. Fukuzawa may have been older, but he was definitely the one who had to learn when it came to these things. Still, Mori didn't mind his bodyguard's awkwardness when it was directed at him. He could never pinpoint the exact emotion he felt at those moments, but he knew it was something warm and for a long time he didn't think anything of it, but as of yesterday he became quite keen on exploring it, so he lead the conversation further until the blue eyes had lost their usual harshness. It is true that most of the trip had already passed by that point, but at least it was worthy. Now was the right time to ask:

"Say, what are your plans for the New Year's eve?" Mori continued with his usual tone.

"I assume I will spend it working." Fukuzawa replied coldly, retrieving to his natural attitude.

"Well if that's so, wouldn't you like to make me company during the countdown? It's not like we will leave the clinic, but it's nice to celebrate a bit, no?"

"I- I would have to agree, but what about the patients or the lurking danger?" the silver haired man asked with a serious voices , averting his sky blue orbs to his side.

"Hmm, a few drunks here and there shouldn't be much of a problem. I've had these experiences before, you know?" Mori proclaimed in a pensive tone.

"I don't see anything wrong with it then." Fukuzawa said, much to Mori's delight.

As planned, two men parted ways soon after, heading for their respective homes for a good rest, but somehow neither felt tired anymore.

...

Before coming to his clinic that evening, Mori stoped by an acquaintance's shop at the back of an alley near the town center. The man was a smuggling genius, holding seven mass storages, both in and out of the city, filled with opiates of various kinds, but at this small shop he brought only the finest of alcohol- be it original or fake, he had it all, oftentimes so well matched in characteristics that the drink's authenticity was for the consumer to evaluate. Despite this tho, he would never put Mori in the said position, for he owed him greatly. The store itself had two levels, the lower being almost twice as big as the one above, but nonetheless well-equipped with rare finds. Overall aesthetic was quite modern, filled with various shades grey as well as few metallic surfaces (shelves and the register most notably), but it would've been extremely bland if there werent a few pop art paintings hanging on the walls and bringing some actual colour in the room. Not really how most would imagine a liquor store, but it possessed a certain charm, especially for upstart people who stood in awe upon entering, with greedy eyes drinking from every bottle they recognized from a magazine they read before that one party in order to impress a lovely nobleman. But unlike these people, Mori wasn't all that impressed by this space, he already set his goal and this was simply the best way to fulfil it. He followed his acquaintance to a certain part of the store and upon a short wait, the man came back with what the doctor wanted- a bottle of Highland Park '68 . With a delighted smirk on his face Mori expressed his gratefulness and exchanged a few business related ideas with the smuggler.

Having put the bottle of expensive whisky in his bag, he set for the clinic, arriving earlier than usual although there wasn't much he planned to do but sorting some paperwork. Emerged in work, time flew by and before he knew it the clock hit nine, marking the beginning of Fukuzawa's work hours. Forseeably, he arrived on time and made his presence known to Mori immediately. Though his tone and words were professional, there were hints of insecurity behind them as he didn't quite know how to hold himself that night. As it is only natural, the dark haired man noticed this and decided to put his plan to action. Dramatically proclaiming his exhaustion, Mori suggested they both take a glass of whisky and without hesitation Fukuzawa accepted this offer. After all, the Silver Wolf was no stranger to alcohol, most notably spirits. He didn't know exactly why he liked this type of liquor to such an extent, but he never concerned himself with that question- the taste and the high was all that mattered, and surprisingly, this drink possessed both of the said qualities. Sitting in chairs, much like a doctor and a patient would, they sipped their drinks slowly, expressing thoughts of it's taste, colour and scent, but other than that the conversation seemed to end, making the whole situation awkward for a short while- until the rush of alcohol hit them. It did require two glasses of whisky, but it was worthy, as Fukuzawa relaxed significantly after every sip he took. Mori wasn't much of a drinker himself, so seeing this big, strong man getting tipsy before him was a pleasant surprise, and not only that, but his cheeks were slightly red emphasizing his blue eyes to the point where Mori had to put extreme effort not to stare at their beauty. Instead, the doctor started talking about their common mentor- Natsume Soseki. This proved to be a good topic of choice as Fukuzawa lead the story of their meeting and later anecdotes from trainings. Like the one time his sensei tried to catch a butterfly with his bare hands, or the time he casually lounged not on the regular sitting area of the couch but on it's back. This made Mori laugh more than he had imagined, to the point his abdominal muscles hurt, actually. This reminded him of his experience with Natsume-sensei, so naturally, he decided to share his discovery of the mentors unreasonably big collection of cardboard boxes.

Stories of their mentor soon turned into jokes, but after continuous use of whisky, the conversation took a more serious turn. They didn't remember how they got to the topic of loneliness, but it was obvious neither of them particularly enjoyed the subject.

"Loneliness increases inner strength and individuality, but our human nature is always there to chain our improvement." Fukuzawa claimed.

"Isn't it also in our human nature to adapt and evolve? While it is necessary, is it truly the only way we can help our growth? After all, even plants die if watered too much, don't they?" the younger man replied, but was met with silence.

"Well, it is New Year's eve after all, we shouldn't be talking about such things!" Mori added in a silvery voice, putting his usual smile on.

Forcing a smile on his face, the older of the two extended his arm to get his glass "If that's the case, why don't you pour me another one, doctor?"

Almost mechanically doing as he was asked, Mori suddenly remembered "Ah, wait!" he exclaimed as he jerked the bottle "It's not midnight yet, we should wait for the countdown, look how little we have left!"

Blue orbs focused on the bottle and blinked in surprise "Wow, that much? I mean, we drank that much."

Mori laughed to this reaction and fell off his chair from the force he used to nod his head, which in response caused Fukuzawa to snort as he lent him a helping hand. As expected from a drunk person though, the fallen didn't get up, but instead pulled the the other one down with him. With both of them on the floor now, they continued giggling like a pair of teenagers smoking behind their school, hoping not to get caught. It was strange how well they can get along, given the chance. As they sat next to each other, Fukuzawa took Mori's hand without a word and moved it close to him, causing the other man to blush, but before he could do anything the Silver Wolf narrowed his eyes and drew his head close to the handwatch to examine it.

"Two more minutes until countdown!" he said as he turned around to face Mori, who at this point had a perplexed look on his face and was only able to utter an "oh".

Fukuzawa then quickly crawled to the table an brought the bottle to a still confused doctor.

"Eh and the glasses?" Mori asked.

"Ugh. Who cares." the other replied with a sigh.

With their eyes fixed on the watch, these two anxiously waited for the final ten seconds. It seemed that time passed much slower now that they stopped talking, but that didn't really bother Mori. He could feel the pressure of his head leaning against the other and soft white hair caressing his cheek- in a way, he even wanted this to continue. Alas, the time they waited for came and both of them counted until zero, but before doctor wished his bodyguard a happy New Year, Fukuzawa was already taking a sup of the old whisky. It was unlike his usual, compound self, to disrespect a custom, but he was extremely drunk by this point, so the younger man took it as such. Sensing that the time is right, he started gently removing the bottle from Fukuzawa's mouth, advising him not to swallow the drink as he cupped the confused man's face and moved his own body close to his, giving him a deep and slow kiss. It was bitter and it burned, but he would give anything to do it over and over again.

"Happy New Year." he said weakly upon breaking the kiss and catching his breath.

"Yeah. You too." a flustered Fukuzawa replied, still in shock over what had just happened.

After remaining in the same position for a few seconds, Mori decided to back away, thinking this was all a bad idea to begin with, but as he was about to move, he felt strong arms holding him back and draging him even closer to them.

"Mmm? What?" he asked teasingly, but his lips were locked in a kiss before he knew it.

Who coud have guessed such passion laid behind those cold blue eyes? Those who seemed so detached and out of reach, slowly luring him into lust day by day... are they even the same as these fierce, devine eyes before him? Mori wondered, but that was a question that had to wait for the next day. All he craved now was to be liberated from his bottled up desires, and his saviour was ready.

January Twenty Fourth’s Writing

"Eve, stop, I'm trying to be serious here.  Someone is here to see you." He grumbled, trying to get away from her hand, while his cheeks turned bright red. "I'm depressed.  Let me have this." Giving a gentle huff, he awkwardly bent down and was allowing her to style his hair.  He looked anxious but didn't move away from her for once.  "There.  Now you look perfect.  Now go to prom with your man, Lebby, don't let me keep you up." "No, Eve, you don't quite understand."  He pulled the door open, pointing at Reine and Lapis, who stood in the doorway with bags in their hands, prom dresses on.  Her heart fell into her chest with one quick, fellow swoop as she stared at Reine, who was obviously exhausted from doing who knows what.  Her breath hitched but she just peered at her with her eyes burning with both salty tears and pique.  "There's someone here to see you," Caleb finished.  She hadn't realized that their staredown hadn't taken that long, as Reine averted her regretful eyes in a hurry once Eve had glared at her. "I don't care.  I don't _want_ to see them.  I didn't stay home to be humiliated further.  Escort them out on your way out, please." She abruptly elbowed Caleb, who was being pushed out of the room.  He began to protest, but Reine's voice broke through his in power and volume, which caused him to fall silent. "Please don't shut us out, we want to help you, I made a mistake, and, and, and I want to make it up to you.  Please let me do this, Eve, I know you still have so much to give." Reine's voice pled, which sparked a certain kind of anger in her voice.  She had abased her name, embarrassed her, humbled her.  She had no right to show up in her household and try to make it up to her.  The effects of her actions were irreversible.  Before shutting the door, Eve inhaled deeply, walking towards Reine before stopping in front of her.  As Reine looked up at her, she stared deeply into her eyes, feeling the cold wind of unforgivingness. "You are not welcome in this household any longer.  Take your leave or I will call on security to escort you now.  You have belittled my name, our family name, and put both my brother and me in grave danger with our father." Reine's eyes began to grow dismal and sorry, tears beginning to growl.  Eve scoffed and leaned close to her, the betrayed expression beginning to show even more the closer she got.  "And all for some social rank that won't matter in ten years.  You'll look back at your life and realize that you purposefully sabotaged my life just so you could be considered cool.  And how will that feel, to tell your future husband and children that you were a terrible teenager with a bloodthirst beyond what even the "Queen Bee" had seen?  This isn't the Hunger Games, Reine.  This is my life and I'd appreciate if you'd... If you'd just... _Stay out of it."_ Her jaw clenched, tears dripping down her face as she rapidly blinked, aggressively shaking her head to try to get rid of the tears. "Eve, please, just hear me out.  I know, I was wrong.  I shouldn't have--I shouldn't have done this to you.  I was blind sighted by my own power, and I couldn't think straight--properly.  I wasn't thinking.  I'm wrong, I regret it, _please,_ Eve, don't just shut me out.  You can never look in my direction again, you can ignore me for the rest of your life, you can beseech me as I have to you... But let me do this for you, just this once, let me try to make it up to you.  What I've done can't be erased... But I really thought that maybe... You could come out stronger, more beautiful and confident, than before.  You can show the idiots in the school--a-and, and the world, for that matter!  You are who you are and there's no changing that. And not only because you're perfect just the way you are." Trying to force a smile on her face which was saturated with tears, she just kept choking and stuttering while struggling to induce her. Eve simply stared at her, fear glimmering in her teary eyes while she slowly put her head on her shoulder, her forehead resting against some bone in it.  Reine took the action as a hug and pulled her into one.  The two exchanged a slow, equally remorseful embrace as Reine gently trembled in absolute terror that her awkward apology wouldn't be accepted.  There was a momentary pause before Eve whispered, her head resting in the crook of her neck, which made it a bit easier for Reine to hear her hushed tone. "How do I know I can trust you...?" She murmured into her, to the point where Reine could feel her warm breath against her skin.  Bowing her head as she leaned into her, attempting to comfort her more, she tried to whisper back, matching her tone. "I don't know, but I'm just hoping you have some shred of faith in me..." A wisp of Eve's calm laughter blessed Reine's ears, and it was that moment that she realized that she was forgiven, even without the words being uttered to her.  She couldn't help the overjoyed grin that grew on her face. "Now, princesse, I couldn't help but have faith in you...  I always have, after all, even when you were simply using me to get to my brother's boyfriend.  I knew you'd come through your haze eventually."  Hesitating, she pulled away from her, holding her shoulders with a semi-shocked look on her face. "Wait are you suggesting that--" She cut off, looking at Caleb and then at Kace, who shrugged and put an arm around him.  Caleb looked up at him with a beaming expression, eyes glowing with pleasure before he leaned into him gently.  Looking back at Eve, she nodded.  "But you were--How?" "Caleb and Kace began dating at the beginning of this school year.  Around the time that I began acting as Kace's girlfriend, so no one would get suspicious of their relationship.  Our father believes that Kace comes home with us to spend time with me, and I purposefully fill guest rooms so he's "forced" to stay with Caleb.  Because we can't be trusted to be in the same room, because we might have sex--Oh shush, Kace, I'm not that unpleasurable. And it's his words, not mine." Kace had coughed, looking a bit disgusted by the notion that she suggested them getting it on together.  "So Caleb comes along with us so he can make sure we're being PG-13." She shrugged, a cocky leer on her face as she looked at a shocked Reine with pride in her eyes.  "So Caleb spends time with Kace, they do their own thing, and I tag along to make it believable.  And to scout out the cute girls, but I already found the cutest one." Reine looked confused for a moment, opening her mouth to question who the cutest girl was.  Even so, she began to look a bit jealous.** Eve rolled her eyes, huffing in annoyance before holding up her hand to get her not to speak.  Her mouth closed and she spoke again.  "It's you, idiot." Sighing in relief and her stressed composure falling. "Okay, well, thank you.  That's a little bit of genius."  She paused for a moment, chuckling to herself as she stared her down, a soft smile on her face as her tone turned from admiration to teasing.  "So you can come up with that, but you can't do Physics?" Scoffing, Eve gave a fake 'offended' little smile. "You didn't go there." "I did!" "Alright, you two." Lapis finally spoke up, her hands on her hips, the bags that she had been holding resting at her feet.  Her eyebrows were raised, a sassy smile on her face.  "Let's do what we came here to do and stop flirting around.  We have a way's to go... I didn't think we would, but I guess we really do." Lapis was found checking Eve out as she spoke, looking her over and noticing the dried makeup on her face before shaking her head.  Reine gave a determined nod, and both picked up the bags. "What... Are you here for?" "We're going to prom, silly!" Caleb grinned, vocalizing up again while the overjoyed boy put his hands on his chest, almost squealing in excitement. "Together.  Gay and damn proud of it." Kace pulled Caleb into his side, a confident look appearing as he stared down at her.  A determined smirk replaced his smile.  And as Eve looked around the little group, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.  They were quite the sight now, but once she embellished them, they'd be a sight for sore eyes.  "You already have the dress, your makeup takes up most of your bath--Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing!" Catching himself halfway through, he awkwardly waved his hand to try to remove her glare off of him. "You made me beautiful.  Now let us help you return to that same beauty that you love so much," Reine reminded gently, putting a hand on Eve's shoulder while staring at her with a meaningful look that I can't quite put my finger on oopsy.  Eve shook her head. "I didn't make you beautiful.  You were beautiful before the makeup touched your skin.  I made you remember that you're beautiful, and I corrected your posture and the way you speak.  I made you confident in yourself.  If makeup helped you do it, so be it."  She huffed, looking around.  "But fine, let's go to prom.  If you try to step to me I'll crush you." She threw a look at Reine before stepping back.  "But I know how to clean myself up.  I can do that on my own.  I think you all are the ones that need help." "What?" "Is that an insult?" "You _just_ fixed my hair, Eve, please don't fix it again." She gave a gentle chuckle, looking at him and winking. "Oh, you're first on the list.  I guess all I have to say now is... Come with me and we'll get everyone's makeup and hair done.  Your dresses need to be ironed so you can borrow some clothes."  They looked at each other, obviously a bit shocked at the fact that she was commanding them to be the ones changing in and out of dresses.  "Caleb, call for Minnie and tell her what's happening.  Kace, I'll make you a list.  Lapis and Reine, I'll get you some sweatpants and shirts.  Get into them ASAP and give Minnie, my maid, your dresses, then meet me in the bathroom.  If we're doing this, we're doing it right." She threw open her door, Caleb scattering in a different direction while the others followed her.  She strutted into the room, while Lapis looked around in awe. "This place is huge, this is your bedroom?" Kace shrugged. "They're all like this.  The Emmanuelles are loaded, but now's definitely not the time for that."  Eve threw two outfits at both Reine and Lapis, who put their bags down and got hit with them. "Change.  Fast.  Face the walls and Kace?  Get out." She pointed at the door.  "I'll slip the list under the door." He did as told, and she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.  The door closed and the two girls began changing while she scribbled a list of items that she would need in about ten minutes.  Thinking carefully before slipping the piece of paper under the door, she looked down.  "Do you two need help?"  After a quick disapproval from both, a gentle knock came to the door.  "Who is it?" "Minnie, your maid.  May I come in?" "Yes, ma'am, please do."  As she was being handed dresses, by her two friends, Minnie strutted into the room with Caleb's butler holding an ironing table, the iron itself, a bag, and a case of water.  He looked very obviously overwhelmed, but she seemed not to care.  Quickly exchanging cheek-kisses, the two smiled at each other. "I'm glad to see you're back to normal, my dear." Eve chuckled gently, shrugging as she beamed up at her motherly figure staring down at her with a pleased expression. "So am I.  I really need your help, we have a lot of work to do.  Can he set up the ironing board over there?  We might need two, though, I mean, we have three dresses to iron and Caleb's suit is looking a bit crinkly."  The Butler began walking to the corner, setting up what they would need to iron.  Minnie took out waters from the thing, tossing them each at every person in the room, which now included Caleb, who didn't walk as fast as the maid and butler. "What are these for?" Lapis.

"Drink, it helps your skin.  With this much makeup, we're going to need it.  Keep properly hydrated throughout the night as well," Minnie instructed, motioning to Eve, who was already chugging her bottle of water.

Word Count: 2,220 Day Twenty Four Complete

Some days it’s 500.  Some days it’s 900.  Some days it’s two thousand, two hundred, and twenty.