#big bow dress cuz she a gift

[jollyart]

Wanted to paint this outfit worn by Chanmina in this music video cuz I love her (outfit shows at 1:05)

and I also wanted to draw bbygirl Hinata since I haven't painted her in a while.

so why not kill two birds with one stone :D

#my art #naruto #hinata hyuga #fanart #chanmina #big bow dress cuz she a gift #LMAO #sorry

[urhoneycombwitch]

you oughta know: part I

Spring Break

series masterlist

foreword: since Eddie Munson is our collective Ken doll to dress up as we please I present to you my new and improved: dirtbag!college!Eddie. now with 50% more tattoos and a splash of 90s grunge college academia aesthetic.

cw: drinking, intoxication, R has breasts, R and Eddie are slut4slut in this

___

The bass on this houseparty’s stereo pumps through the floorboards, rattling every wall of the building. Hiding out in the less-stimulating kitchen seems like a good option for tonight.

Apparently, this other guy thinks so, too, ‘cuz soon it’s just you and him across the counter from another. He’s handsome, actually. Moonlight from a window above the sink highlights strong cheekbones and a sharp cupid’s bow as he helps himself to a glass from the cupboard.

Slinking out from elbow-rolled shirtsleeves are thick, dark vine tattoos; they wind around his forearms, smattered with hair and freckles, the ink trailing to end at his wrists.

You lean forward onto the counter separating you two (well aware that you’re spilling out of your top), then tip the neck of your beer bottle at him- “Eddie?”

He spins to face you, raises a pretty brow, long lashes sweeping over auburn eyes- “Uh- maybe? Who wants to know, dollface.”

A scrunch of distaste with your nose at the nickname, you barrel through the discomfort- “Oh, I thought it might be you. I’m Robin’s roommate. She said her weed guy had cool tattoos.”

The guy’s face lights up with a lopsided smile, dimples peeking out as he preens, “So you think they’re cool?”

You roll your eyes, take an unamused sip of beer, press a bit further into your hands on the counter. A little thrill at your small victory- his eyes flicking down once, twice, to your cleavage- you ride the alcohol-gifted looseness and adrenaline. “Psst. Hey. My eyes are up here, perv.”

It’s a tease. A goad masked as chiding. Eddie sets his glass of water down, doe eyes fixed on yours, not falling for the trap of your quick inhale- “You seriously sayin’ that to me, when you’re the one with your tits out?”

He tsks, walks those big boots over, leanin’ in to your counter space, close enough to smell the spice of his cologne- “Would almost think you like the attention.”

You swallow hard. Hold your ground, looking up at him through your lashes, bust still on display- “Yeah, and you’d probably like to be the one to give it to me. In your dreams, pal.”

It’s getting harder to play hard-to-get as Eddie bumps his hip against yours. The whites of his eyes are slightly bloodshot (you can smell the heady undercurrent of weed wafting from his clothes), while the black of his pupils are already blown out with feverish lust. “C’mon, have a heart, angel. Can’t fault a boy for dreamin’.”

And goddammit if you don’t melt for that line. (He really is a rather great lyricist, as you’ll come to find out this upcoming semester.)

In retrospect, you’ll never admit it, but you did make the first move- pressed him right up against Linda Satler’s kitchen counter and kissed him, with tongue. Robin walked in on the two of you and got in a full shriek before either of you realized someone else had come in, jumping apart like two children caught arms-deep in a cookie jar.

“God, gross,” she gags, louder than the wave of sound flooding in from the open door. She crosses the room in a few swift strides and plucks at your elbow, a reproachful whisper- “I sent you to get weed, not to make out with the dealer!”

“I am getting weed, Robin,” you insist, patient but firm, pulling from her grasp to turn back to Eddie, teeth worrying at your bottom lip that shimmers with mixed saliva as you ask, sweet and simply- “Can I please have some weed?”

It wasn’t actually your plan to butter Eddie up for a better price (another fact you’d remain stoically opposed to, later), but he gave it to you, all the same- a laughably low amount for a bundle of pre-rolls.

Robin’s eyes bug out at the amount he hands it over- then she smoothly pockets the goods and pats you on the shoulder. “Okay. My mistake. I actually love that you’re both getting acquainted in this manner. You have my blessing to do it a bunch more, just- not when I’m in the room. M’kay?”

She grins cheekily at Eddie before looping her arm in yours, pulling you with her towards the door- you call out before it closes behind you both, “Robin’s number is our landline! You can call me there, if you want!”

Eddie stands still for a few moments after you’re swallowed up by the noise of the party, palm flat to the twinge in his chest. Cupid’s arrow, he can feel it sinking in.

He’s an RA, this semester. Really can’t afford to be seeing cute girls and selling them weed- at least, not at the same time. Gotta straighten up a bit over Spring Break, he thinks.

Then he cracks the window open. Lights up a joint. Smokes out into the fresh night air and tries really hard to think of anything other than your tits. (A game of mostly losses.)

#upcoming fic #dirtbag!Eddie #college au #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson smut

[munsonsreputation]

congrats on 500!!!!! 💞💞💞💞💞

i wanna request #4 with you’re on your own, kid and steve. he grew up not having many friends / not real friends and he’s kinda had to look out for himself since he was young, but now he finally has people, including a gf who cares about him v much and makes it v known that he’s not alone anymore (and who maybe grew up similarly? ). 🫶 maybe steve kinda has a hard time with it at first tho cuz abandonment / trust issues 💔

hi j!!!!!

im so sorry that this took so long for me to complete, but i hope i was still able to to your request justice!!! i 110% believe that steve harrington is yoyok coded and if he heard this song he would have a whole ass breakdown thinking about his life.

i had such a fun time writing this and it was really really heartfelt!!! i hope you love it and thank you so much for your support!!! 🧸🌃💘

Birthdays were never easy nor special for Steve Harrington, mostly because his parents never made it a big event or celebration to be getting older.

Instead, it was treated more as a lecture. His parents would bring him to a fancy restaurant. His mother would sit quietly, bowing her head as his father went on and on about how Steve needed to be more responsible so that he could work for his company.

Steve would have to patiently sit through two grueling hours of that dinner. Poking and prodding at his steak and mashed potatoes as he pretended to listen. There was no singing happy birthday. No making wishes or blowing out candles. No surprise presents or hugs from either of his parents. Just the mere reminder that getting older meant getting more miserable.

But at some point, his parents must have gotten the hint that their idea of a birthday celebration wasn’t appreciated nor wanted by their son. So instead of trying to make up for those lost years, they stopped trying all together. Awkwardly handing him a card full of cash—not that Steve wasn’t grateful for it, but simply a hug or even a genuine smile from them would have sufficed just as much.

So yeah, Steve’s birthday was never his favorite time of the year, but he vowed to make everyone else’s special.

He went big for everyone’s birthday. Full fledge themes and decorated houses. Whole sheet cakes with an immense amount of candles. Birthday hats and noisemakers. Messily wrapped, yet jaw dropping presents that he knew his friends were dying for.

All of Steve Harrington’s friends had the best birthdays because of him.

But his girlfriend…even better.

Steve threw you elaborate celebrations ever since you two had begun dating. Your favorite one so far is when he turned his parents’ home into a huge escape room for you and your friends. Everyone dressed up in their best outfits and roamed around the house, trying to find the clues he had planted hours ago. He pretended like he didn’t have any idea, not even giving you a single hint as you squeezed his hand and begged.

Eventually, though, you all figured it out, and then he gifted you a key to his home as one of the gifts. Your favorite gifts he had ever given you. Mostly because it allowed you to drop in and visit him whenever you missed him, but especially because it got you into his home to set up a birthday celebration of his own.

You knew Steve wasn’t fond of his own birthday. All of his friends knew it was a touchy subject, so they didn’t go all out, but you were more than determined to make up for all those years. Steve had made your birthday so special and you wanted to show him how loved he was.

“He’s here!” You screeched quietly, peeking away from the living room curtains completely dimming the space where you and your friends were hiding.

In order to properly execute Steve’s surprise party, he unfortunately worked his entire shift alone. Robin had called a few minutes after he clocked in with a convincing story of how she caught the cold just the night before. She even hung up the phone without greeting him a happy birthday, and though he hated his birthday, he missed the annoying greetings that his friends would offer countless amount of times until the clock struck midnight.

The only greeting he received today was from you, early in the morning, before he had gotten up and got ready for work. Your voice dripping with sweetness and palpable slumber as you serenaded him with happy birthday and told him that you loved him a million times. You reminded him of the “plans” you had made, for him to pick you up after work and go to a fancy restaurant a few minutes into town.

That was essentially the only thing keeping Steve going for the rest of his sad twenty-second birthday. The moment for him to finally see you face to face and pretend to endure a night full of annoying happy birthdays coming from his favorite girl, when it sounded the sweetest coming from you.

You listened as the keys jingled from the other side of the door and watched as the lock turned open, before hopping up from your spot on the floor, followed by the others.

“Happy Birthday, Stevie!”

The shouting filled the room, along with the noisemakers and whistles coming from you and his friends. The entire area decorated with balloons and streamers hanging from the ceiling.

You, front and center with your arms expanded, greeting him with a smile big enough to take up the rest of your face. A party hat sitting perfectly at the top of your head as he made his way over with an exceptionally big smile on his face, enough to show his appreciation for the tricks he knew were up your sleeve.

“Babe!” you screeched with a laugh, draping your arms around his neck as he hoisted you a few inches off the ground and laid a kiss on your lips, thanking you for this.

You could feel the smile seeping from his face as he continued to kiss you. The kind of smile within a kiss where you can feel his teeth and lips just rest upon yours, taking everything in before he kissed you again.

“Break it up you two!” Robin joked, stretching the elastic of a party hat over Steve’s head and snapping it in place.

He winced dramatically, as you giggled, staying by his side as all his friends took the time to give him a hug and warm wishes.

For once in his life, his heart swarmed with a whirlwind of emotions for someone other than you who could evoke such a feeling. He loved his friends, he always had, but this was something that they did not only out of the kindness of their hearts, but with taking the chance, knowing that he wasn’t fond of his birthday.

The children seemed more excited than him, thrusting a messily wrapped box in his hands as they swarmed around you and him, “Here open it!”

“You’re supposed to wait until present time, idiots!” Eddie snickered, knowing exactly what was in the box and why the kids were so excited to present it to Steve in the first place.

Dustin flashed Eddie the middle finger from behind, keeping his eyes on his dearest babysitter with a toothy smile on his face, “Open it! You’re gonna love it!”

Steve looked at you, a grin on his face as you nodded and rested your hands on his shoulders when he began shredding away at the paper with ease. The pure expression, like a little kid opening the best present on Christmas morning flashing to your eyes as you watched him realize what it was.

A pair of sneakers that he had been eyeing since the footlocker displayed the shoe a few months ago. He’d been telling you that he was going to pull the trigger and buy it one of these days, but alas he never did. Just merely admiring the leather behind the glass of the store and walking past it as he clocked in and out of work.

Originally, you were planning on buying it for Steve’s birthday gift, but the kids seemed more adamant about wanting to band together in order to purchase the special gift for their one of a kind favorite babysitter.

“Holy shit…did you guys rob the footlocker?” He sought stunned, plucking up one of the pairs and inspecting the material.

El and Max both giggled, rattling their heads as they explained, “We all saved for the last couple of weeks. Me and El babysat Holly for a few bucks. Dustin and Lucas went around mowing lawns. And Will and Mike did a few car washes.”

“And what about me?” Eddie chided in again, as if he was the savior of this plan the children had hatched out.

Dustin groaned, turning around towards Eddie then back to Steve, “And Eddie gave us a ride to the mall to pick it up.”

Looking around the room at the knuckleheads he had babysat since his junior year of high school, they’d grown so much, and really were the kindest kids in Hawkins. Sure, they loved to give him a hard time now and then, but it was out of love, and doing something as nice as this—taking up what literally was part-time jobs to get him something as sentimental as this was everything to him.

He settled the box on the ground, opening his arms as he closed his eyes and nodded his head. “C’mere…c’mon.”

“Happy Birthday, Stevo.” El whispered, being the first of the kids who settled into his side and embraced him affectionately before the others followed suit.

Your heart warmed at the sight, taking in the precious moments like this where Steve really was the kind of man who was grateful for the little twerps that made his life a little more interesting. He never grew up with siblings himself, or really any family members around his age, and part of this felt like it was healing his inner child—the little Steve who craved for family that actually cared about him.

The hug only last a few seconds, but Jonathan managed to capture a photo that would definitely be framed and put on a shelf in Steve’s bedroom. When the children pulled away, and Steve reached under him for the box, he turned towards you.

“Gonna head upstairs and put these away. Can you come with me?”

You smiled, nodding your head, taking his free hand and following him up the steps and into his bedroom where he had shut the door. You took it upon yourself to take a seat on the end of his bed, watching his back while he shuffled through his closet, trying to find space for his new kicks.

“I’m kinda impressed the kids managed to save up all that money in a few weeks.” You laughed, resting on your elbows, as Steve didn’t respond.

What you couldn’t see were the tears welling up in his eyes, but you didn’t miss the small croak he had let out in an attempt to swallow off the sob.

“Babe, what’s the matter?”

Your voice was soft and soothing, taking you from his bed right to him, where you placed a comforting hand on his back and leaned forward to see more of him.

His eyes sealed tightly and his bottom lip trapped between his teeth to fight off the urge to just cry into your arms. He couldn’t pinpoint these emotions, and the first thing he thought in his mind was being angry at himself when he should be happy because his girlfriend and his friends did this amazing thing for him.

Steve shook his head, still not uttering a word, yet following you when you took his hand and sat the two of you on his bed. He felt the silly party hat come off his head where you pulled it off and did the same to yours.

“D-did the party upset you? I’m so sorry, Steve, I just wanted to plan something special because you also do something special for everyone else’s birthday.”

He couldn’t just let you sit there, assuming this was your fault because it wasn’t. And if anything, Steve was just so elated that this was even happening, but he was also so new to this kind of thing.

“No, no, it’s not your fault.” He captured your hand and swiped away at his tears with the other.

Your eyes wandered up to his face, giving his hand a firm squeeze when you searched his teary eyes, “You can tell me what’s the matter…I’m always here to listen.”

Steve knew you were always the shoulder he could cry on and the ears who would listen to his endless thoughts. He had opened up before about birthdays and how his were always difficult to face, so it wasn’t necessarily fresh news to you.

“I—I don’t feel alone.” He stammered a little ache in his speech, but swiftly dispelled with a slight smile.

You tilted your head sideways, trying to make sense of his words, “I don’t think I understand?”

Steve nodded, swallowing and taking a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts so that he wouldn’t spend an hour with you up here, venting about everything he was feeling.

“I guess, I never viewed my birthday as something special, you know?” He said, looking at you and you nodded, rubbing your fingers across his palm, calming him.

“I’d just used to sit at home and avoid my parents because they didn’t know how to handle my birthday either…but it’s like for the first time, I was actually glad that it was my birthday, to have you, and all my friends here for me.” He clarified.

You knew that there was still more he wanted to say, as he took a deep breath and squeezed your hand back, “I—I’m just terrified of losing it or…or even believing that so many people would care enough about me to want to celebrate me.”

He let out a shaky breath, tearing his eyes away from you and staring at his floor, trying to make sense of everything in his mind.

But suddenly you spoke, reached over to grab ahold of his hand where he looked back into your sparkling eyes.

“Steve, you have no clue how much me and the rest of our friends love you—you’re the rock of our friendships and our lives, basically.” You chuckled, watching as he shook his head in disbelief.

But you nodded, eyes going a little wide, and you started again.

“Seriously, I mean it. You’re the person who always organizes and plans everyones birthday party. You force the kids to make up when they’re all fighting over stupid shit. You’re the first person I call about good news, bad news, hell, all the news because you’re my rock and I care for you so much. More than words can even begin to describe.”

Your fingers loosened from his, instead holding his cheeks in his hand where you could feel the skin lift as he smiled against you. Those teary glossy eyes turned into the pools of happiness and warmth, staring back at his person.

You knew that Steve struggled a lot with accepting love, but you also knew that there was a part of Steve that always believed in loving everyone around him. You just needed to help him see that.

“I know your parents might not have been the best, but that’s the beauty of life…” Your thumbs swept across the high points of his face, and Steve swore he could feel your the pulse in your fingertips that rested, comfortable on the rest of his face.

“Because family doesn’t always have to be blood. Family can be the ones you choose to keep in your life, so even if at one point you felt like you were alone when you were a kid, you’re not anymore. Because I’m here, we’re here, and that’s something that no one can take away from you.”

Your voice and your words were like a calm wave meeting his shore of horrible childhood experiences that he had to endure all alone. Now suddenly washing all of that away. Your eyes gawking passionately into his was like another wave, this time leaving behind him with a shore that was fresh. New shells of memories embedded into the sand and for once in his life he let go.

Steve let go of all of that pent up anger and resentment, replacing it with contentment and hope. He knew that he probably would never have the greatest relationship with either of his parents, but he had you to look forward to. He had his chosen family that he knew would always be there no matter what.

For once, he felt like a weight lifted off of his shoulders from being afraid of embracing the people he loved and the same love they held for him. That this moment wasn’t too good to be true, it was just true. A moment that he wanted to take and taste forevermore.

“I love you.” He grinned, taking his hands and pulling you close enough to connect your lips.

Everything in the past that Steve let go was a new step he was taking, one where you would always hold him and stand by.

You breathed him in, appreciating Steve and everything that made him who he was. That today was a special celebration of showing the person you loved how grateful you were for him.

“I love you too, baby.”

When you pulled away, you clutched his hand, standing up and looking towards his door, then back at him. He could face this, and he was looking forward to facing the rest of his birthdays with a smile on his face.

Steve reached for the silly party hats, placing his back on, and laughing when he put yours on.

“Let’s get this party started.”

leave a comment and let me know if want to be added to my taglist!!

taglist: @translatemunson @kennedy-brooke @manda-panda-monium @tvserie-s-world @givemeth @steveharringtonswife @astolenkiss @loving-and-dreaming @awkotaco24 @engenelxver

#munsonsreputation #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x you #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington #steve harrington x fem!reader #taylor swift x stranger things #steve harrington x taylor swift #stranger things imagines #stranger things imagine

[korizzybee]

HCs on being Noé’s Tween!sister (12-14)

Being the smarter sibling, not saying Noé is dumb…he’s just not the brightest

Ion care what anyone says Noé definitely knows how to cook (it’s them black genes in him) and he always makes sure you’re fed!!!

Noé trying to preserve your innocence

“No boyfriends until you’re my age!!!”

Also being a vampire and he’s so sweet he lets you drink blood from his arm to regain strength 🥹🥹

Y’all are definitely those clingy siblings who cuddle together you only really have each other in this world

Vanitas loves you very much he also views you as his little sister

I feel like Noé got you guy’s dad’s looks but mom’s personality, so you’d have the latter (unless you wanna have both dad’s looks and personality)

Patching him up after he battles people and scolding him about it

You do Noé’s hair, but you’d be damned if you let him do yours (I feel like he doesn’t know how to really do his own hair so unless you want knots DON’T LET HIM TOUCH!!!)

You, him, and Vanitas going around causing chaos 😭😭

You helping around the cafe, sweeping, taking orders, cleaning the tables etc

Being Domi’s little doll!! She dresses you up in frilly dresses and everything!!

Domi laying her head on your lap as she rants to you abt her crush on your big bro as you just play in her hair and say “oh wow….!! I would’ve never guessed you liked him….”

You and Vanitas being like BFFLs!!! Your dynamic is like the HEAVEN 2 HELL song (Hazbin Hotel)

You and Noé are both sassy asl so you have sass sessions together

Roland absolutely squealing when he meets you bc you’re so adorable? Can he adopt you? Let him put pigtails and bows in your hair pretty pls?

MODERN AU!!!

You, Noé, and Vanitas playing Crazy 8 together (cue Vanitas screaming bc he doesn’t have a red card and you keep hitting him with draw 4’s)

Vanitas being a dumb high school student (senior since he’s 18), Noé being and even dumber college student (freshmen cuz he 19), and you being a gifted middle school student so you tutor them both 😭😭😭

Noé driving you and Vanitas to school, him giving you a kiss on your forehead so you have a good day (platonic y’all we are NOT the tanizaki siblings….)

Late night McDonald’s runs? Late night McDonald’s runs.

You, Jeann, and Domi having girls nights and Noé and Vanitas always tryna crash it

Noé let’s you put make up on his face and he wears it proudly!!!

You, Noé, and Vanitas definitely do those “reading your confessions” videos on YouTube (one of you always end up traumatized 💀)

Imagine “acting like my brother for a whole day challenge” but with Noé

Sneaking onto Noé’s college campus to give him the answers to his next test and to see Domi

You eating Noé’s doordash and him not even being mad because he’s happy you’re getting food on your stomach!!! 😔😔😔

Always beating Noé in connect 4 bc he doesn’t know how to strategize LMFAO

#vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #noe archiviste #noe and vanitas #noé archiviste #noé x reader #vnc noe #x Black reader #KorizzyBee’s work #noé archiviste x reader

[ridinroundtowntheygonfeelthisone]

back in your asks, can i get a motherfuckin uhhhh ☎️ or 🦷 ( or both if you feel so inclined )

I don't have much going for Phone dude yet sorryyy (Forgot to mention that becuz i'm an idiot)

Also sorry for the wait, my computer was acting up (and I randomly got a severe lack of motivation)

Jaime "Jeremy" Santana-Fitzgerald 🦷

-Born September 11, 1970

-Age 42 (2012-Current)

-Mixed ½ Puerto-Rican(Mestizo) ½ African American

-Has a brown skin tone similar to (@/msalay) Yala .V.'s + Vitiligo

-Has dark brown, thin almond eyes,

Medium, straight brows

Bulbous/Rounded nose, slightly visable bridge

Full, tan/brown colored lips with a soft cupid's bow

-4B, jet black afro

-Clean shaven

-He's like 5'7

-Has an "ample" body shape

-Wears a shit ton of sweaters/sweater vests(with the button up/dress shirt) no matter the weather

-Didn't wear earrings that much but he got gold heart studs as a gift and wears them like 24/7

-Has Autism/ASD

-His first language is English and his second is Spanish

-Born in America

-He had lived in a small home with his father, mother and his twin, Fritz (Missing Child Fritz)

-When he was around 8 his parents got a divorce and his mother was the one that ended up getting custody

-Their mom was in a pretty bad state at this point and they moved back to Puerto Rico beacause their mom needed a LOT support from her family (including financial, until she got a job)

-Their mom's family was pretty happy to not only have their daughter(/sister/niece, etc) back but to also have their grandchildren/nephews/cousins living with them as well

-Jeremy and Fritz LOVED it, living in such a big house with so many relatives seemed so much better than living in that small house with just their parents and eachother, even the community seemed better in their eyes

-Butt eventually their mom decided she was ready to get back on her feet and they moved back to America in 1985 when they were 15

-Their mom started going to nursing school, with the help of money from her relatives, and Fritz and Jeremy seemed old enough to either stay home alone or go out with no adult supervision so they frequented some weird Pizzeria/Family fun center

-Jeremy started hanging out with a young employee there named "Fritz" (Fritz Smith, I'm definitely changing his first name later)

-And Fritz started making new friends at the Pizzeria so things seemed good

-Anyways "Fritz's" shift ends and he suggests that he and Jeremy go hangout somewhere outside of the Pizzeria and Jeremy agrees

-Then when he gets home his brother isn't there and he thinks "well he's probably just spending time with his friends or something and lost track of time"

-Then later his mom gets home and asks where Fritz is, Jermey says he's not sure, his mom gets worried but he's like "don't worry he's probably with a friend"

-Next morning he isn't there and NOW Jeremy's worried, he goes downstairs and his mom's panicking as on the news it speaks of a girl named Suzanne who had been hanging out with friends at "Freddy B. Fazbear's Pizzeria" and had been reported to have not came home last night by her parents

-Ofc Ms. Santana thinks the same thing happened to her son and so she reports a similar case to the the police and other parents end up doing the same

-Months go by and nothing in particular shows up and later "Freddy B. Fazbear's" faces a few lawsuits and ends up shutting down

-Ms. Santana feels bad for continuously taking money from her relatives but with how things are she doesn't have a choice

-Jeremy decides to get a job to help his mom and ends up working as a cashier, like the good friend he is, "Fritz" drives Jeremy to work :)

-A year or so later (in 1987) "Fazbear Jr's" opens up

-And since Jemery's mom is still in nursing school and Jeremy ends up hearing about how "Fritz" is working at Fazbear Jr's cuz it has decent pay, he ends up working there despite hating the Fazbear's franchise

-I thinks nows the time to say that Jeremy's real name is Jamie and the only reason he gets called "Jeremy" at the work place is because his supervisor/manager could really care less about whether he gets his name right also I just like to think that he was the least fave employee <3 (probably got something against him beacause of the lawsuit)

-He doesn't tell his mom because she thinks she'll freak out and ends up keeping/hiding the extra money for himself

-He obviously feels bad but tries to think of a positive side like "Well in a year or so when she finally graduates and gets a nursing job, I can use the money I saved up and move out so she doesn't have to worry about anything but her job and her self"

-So anyways "Fritz" goes on about how he wants to move out of his parents' house, mostly cuz it wasn't the best environment, and so he and Jeremy end up making this plan of how they were going to move out together and get some house out of town, not to far so Jeremy can still see his mom from time to time and yeah

-They meet a new coworker named Micheal and they end up becoming friends with him for a while

-"Fritz" ends up applying for newer postition of "night guard" cause it's said to pay more, he ends up not showing up to work the next day

-As soon as Jeremy's shift ended, he went over to check up on him

-"Fritz" was basically just paraniod asf and when Jeremy tried to ask him what happend he kept on being incoherent or vague all Jeremy could understand was when he said they needed "to get as far away as possible from this town/place"

-They ended up having an argument

-The next day Jeremy went to work and on his way to the storage/back room, y'know(Bite of '87 happend)

-Jeremy gets hospitalized which leads to his mom finding out about the job and she was NOT happy about it (She wasn't like, mad at Jeremy or anything just worried and stuff)

-Ok so I'm getting like really lazy to explain but he recovers, "Fritz" finally tells him what's going on an they both get the fuck out of that town

-They did NOT graduate high school("Fritz was already kind of a drop out even before the incident and stuff)

-For college/university stuff, "Fritz" got offered the opportunity to work in exchange for college tuition and Jeremy had a tuition reimbursement plan

-Anyways they get older, graduate, get better jobs, etc.

-Him and "Fritz" do get married later on

-So now he just lives a decently normal life with his husband. Until he decides to be a beta tester for a VR new game made by the Fazbear company that is

I'm tired asf rn but watch me wake up tmr, re-read this and find a bunch of spelling and grammar mistakes

#fnaf #fnaf au #jeremy fitzgerald #Jaime “Jeremy” Santana-Fitzgerald

[sunny-flower-spot]

“Oi, Sunny. I have a gift for you. Don’t ask why I’ve decided to be generous with you for once—just go ahead and try it.”

Gingham patterns with lace, ruffles, and bows sewn throughout the dress in a bright canary yellow radiated the room like a morning’s ray of sunshine, matinal and welcoming in its warm embrace. A large bow situated at the waist with short, puffy sleeves ending in more layers of ruffles, surely to embellish the wearer in its cheerful aura. Without another word, Ruki gave it to the girl before him and beckoned her to change attire.

“You’ve been well-behaved as of late, so I figured you deserve a small reward, even if it’s just new clothing. Personally, I think it would look beautiful on you. And it reminds me of the usual jacket you have on anyways, with its animated hue and everything. How fitting. Perhaps I’ll even grant you the privilege of leaving this manor for once, and we can go somewhere you’ve never visited as a token of my appreciation. I insist.”

"A gift..?"

Sunny's wide and curious eyes remained, but her lips which had been slightly parted in a 'o' shape transformed into a big, excited grin. Had he stumbled across it by chance? Or did he go out of his way to find a dress that would suit her? Either way, she was over the moon.

"Waaaaah~! Its so so soooo cute!" She wailed while taking the garment into her arms, eyes sparkling as she examined its design.

"Roger that! Trying on the cute dress now! Hehe!" The excitable girl skipped off to her room and got changed in record time before rushing back to Ruki, wearing her gift with the ribbon tied at her waist a bit crooked. When she first looked in the mirror, she felt a bit bashful seeing herself in a different style than her usual clothes, but the feeling would subside swiftly, as she liked the way she looked in the frilly dress. "Hehe, does it look nice on me? I feel pretty~!" She spun around, entranced by the graceful fashion in which the dress swished around before turning her attention to Ruki.

"And an outing with Ruki? Yay! Yahooo!!" She cheered with a fist pumped into the air. She thought to herself that he must have been in a great mood.

"Where are we going? Ah! Nonono! Do you already have a place in mind? 'Cuz if you do, I want it to be a surprise!"

#sunny ogawa #ruki--mukami #diabolik oc #rp #//I'm drawing her in that asap omggg

[fatexbound]

@epitomees​ said:

“Naoto-kun!!” The darker blues and indigos contrasted against the sunny, bright colors decorating Inaba’s shopping district, making it easy to spot Chie’s intended target. She knew too well Naoto wouldn’t loiter around school grounds for long especially due to today’s important celebration.

The detective’s birthday.

Once Chie caught up with the first-year’s pace (which wasn’t too difficult, considering she walked rather slow), she breathed a happy noise and broke a wide, infectious smile. “Hey hey! I know you don’t like making a big scene at school with birthday stuff, but I wanted to grab you for a sec before you went back home!” Two gifts occupied Chie’s hands, unwrapped since she didn’t have any wrapping paper at home. A small bag of chocolate candies sat in one, and a collectible Pusheen plush in the other dressed as a detective. “The chocolate is coffee beans! You know, if you wanna snack on some instead of drinking it all the time.” Very crunchy too! “And this little guy I call the Cat-tective, cuz it reminded me of you!”

Naoto’s birthday | Still accepting

Heading straight home after classes was her intention, if only to avoid any unwanted attention from anyone who might know of her birthday. Her slow pace did catch someone’s eye, however, and her head turned upon hearing a familiar, high-pitched voice. A short-haired bowlcut and a green jacket with smiley faces made it obvious who it was. 

“Ah, Chie-senpai. Hello. How are--” She came baring presents for her that made her pause her line of thought. A bag of chocolate candies was fine, but a Pusheen? One of the most famous cat plushies in the world just for her? That was a real shock for the detective, and a very pleasant one at that. Not to mention those coffee beans in the candy, too.

“I must say, I did not expect you to be so thoughtful, Senpai. Perhaps my previous judgment was wrong. I shall accept these and take care of... my new assistant. Thank you very much.” She’d take both in her hands with a bow of her head and a hint of a smile before taking off.

She’s very happy indeed.

#epitomees #Naoto answers; #Those Irreplaceable Days | Post!P4 Naoto #long post #bless you Chie aaa #she's a happy bean #Naoto's birthday 2023

[fuckyeah-dragrace]

literally loved the single mom emojis you did so here's some more! I'll add random emojis and give context but chose to ignore if u want

🦁-zoo trip and/or school field trips

📚-Ava learning to read or her first day of school

🌙- you chose!

I’m glad you loved them💕💖 I really enjoyed writing them and these are so fun!

🦁 Zoo trip Headcanons

Considering the fact that Jasmine absolute adores animals, it’s no surprise Ava loves them too

Like she’s absolutely obsessed with anything fuzzy, small, and 4 legged so they take her to the zoo one day and she is in HEAVEN

Like when I tell you she didn’t stop smiling and she was just 🤩 all day

Daya and Jasmine definitely got there steps in because omg Ava is a bolter, like she just runs to the nearest exhibit

Eventually she gets but in the baby carrier which she isn’t happy about but then falls asleep

If they had to big there favorites to exhibits to see, Jasmine likes the big cats obviously, Daya adores the butterfly sanctuary and Ava only ever wants to go see the bears

No but the funniest thing happened when they went to the big cat exhibit

So Daya was holding Ava in like the carrier, like ones you clip onto strollers, and Ava was already asleep in there and while Daya and Jasmine were looking at a leopard

And ya know Dayas like swinging the carrier around, chatting with Jasmine

The leopard was literally watching Daya swing the carrier and it kept on getting closer and closer till it was like right up to the glass and they both freaked out and sat like 😦

But the biggest struggle at the zoo is the gift shop at the end because Ava grabs like everything and Jasmine is such an enabler because have you seen those eyes??

Ava ends up with just one stuffed animal, took a lot of negotiation, and she sleeps with that polar bear every night

Jasmine also may have bought the cutest little koala onesie and surprises Daya with it one day

📚 First day of School Headcanons

Obviously this is a little further into the future but Ava absolutely loves learning and she can’t wait for school to start

She can’t sleep the night before, she has her entire outfit planned down to her hair bow, her backpack is right next to her bed, she’s even practiced how she smiles in the mirror- she is ready

Daya and Jasmine are absolute wrecks seeing her act so big and they know they’ll only cry more in the morning

Morning of, Ava is running the house and keeping everyone on schedule cuz she doesn’t want to miss her first day like she goes and wakes up her moms and Jasmines like ‘5 minutes’ and Ava literally sits on the bed and watches the clock until it’s five minutes (Daya laughs at that)

Jasmine goes and makes breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes that look like a cat, Ava’s fav) while Daya gets Ava dressed and they way Daya almost cries seeing Ava in her uniform—

She does the little twirl with her skirt and Daya hugs her so tightly and Ava laughs at how silly her mommy is

Jasmine goes and does Ava hair into her favorite braid and that’s when Ava gets a little nervous and asks if it’s scary and Jasmine just 🥺 and gives her all the kisses and says that she’ll be fine

The photo shoot they have before getting to school 😤 top tier

They get to school and there standing outside of the classroom when Ava just kinda freezes and gets so scared and holds onto her moms hands

She gets a big big hug from her proud mamas and she’s off to class smiling and already talking to other kids

Now, if you think Jasmines a crybaby, Daya outdoes her by a country mile

It’s like a constant stream of tears all the way home and Jasmines like laughing at how adorable Daya is and they go home and just cuddle till Daya stops crying

Choice!

📆Work Headcanons

So Daya performs like night shows on the side to her day job and Jasmine loves having a kinda rockstar as her girlfriend

When Daya has like late shows or gigs, Jasmine always FaceTimes before she puts Ava to bed so Daya can say good night to her and wish her luck before her performance

Jasmine tries to stay awake till Daya gets home but when she does get home, Jasmines usually asleep on the couch

Daya thinks it’s adorable and has so many pictures of Jasmine

Jasmine surprised Daya at one of her performances and she was extra sexy that show, and Jas and Daya get very well acquainted with the storage closet

Whenever Daya has like a lunch or afternoon gig, Jasmine always stops by with Ava who wears her dragonfly onesie that Daya got her and loves seeing

When Ava’s older and she comes to see Daya perform, she always dedicated a song to her

When Jasmine has long rehearsals and Daya gets super bored, she makes TikToks of her and Ava doing the most random of stuff (all not posted for privacy’s sake)

Just like the funniest stuff every and she even does some of the dances with Ava in the carrier strapped to her chest, who’s so chill and smiles through her moms dorky antics

Jasmine comes home and is very confused to see Daya dancing to Lizzo while Ava’s in the carrier with her sunglasses, totally unbothered and done with Daya

One time Jasmine comes home to see Daya holding a blanket wrapped around Ava and lowering her to try and grab the pacifier off the floor with the mission impossible theme playing in the background

She stands there for a good minute and really questions why she decided to date this dork

#rpdr #rpdr s14 #jasmine kennedie #daya betty #jasya #single mom au #I will never get tired of these #also #the leopard was actually something that my dads said happened when he took me to the zoo when I was a baby 😂 #but like now im so emotional thinking about kindergarten Ava #💓💓💖💞💗💕💓💓💖💗💗💖💓 #for ceaserslies #nat answers

[heavymetalover]

Call Me Daddy (Michael Langdon x fem reader)

{i imagined scruffy sojourn michael w this one but i left the description kind of open so yall can imagine whichever teehee}

Summary: Michael is about to become your step dad and the two of you have an unusual relationship…

Warnings: DADDY KINK DUH, smut, dirty talk, fingering, vaginal sex, dom!michael, hickies, rough sex.

WC: 5.5k

A/N: ive done the unforgiven… omg.

this is a different format from my other stuff. i didnt see anyone doing this and yall know me and my daddy issues I HAD TO. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE anon me, message me, whatever, if you want more parts cuz im down.

~~~~

 You had an average run-of-the-mill life with your mom. The two of you lived in a sizable suburban Los Angeles estate; your mom worked for most of her waking hours to keep you comfortable and you worked your ass off to stay in your top college. You had a few friends that would pop into your life when your mom left town, a few boyfriends here and there, even your mom dated around. Everything felt normal until Michael came into the picture.

Your mom has been dating Michael for a few months now, but every time he’s around he brings an eerie feeling along with him. Despite being nearly half her age, he has the soul of somebody from the eighteen hundreds. The way he composes himself, how he speaks with the utmost confidence and how his stares linger too long; his glacial blue eyes always watch you like he can see right through your clothes. 

You’ve been skeptical of him since the day you met him. When you shook his hand and accidentally removed one of his large rings, he nonchalantly told you to keep it. You decided to sell the huge diamond-encrusted Cartier ring and use the twenty thousand dollars to help pay for college.

Since then you’ve avoided the two of them in protest of their relationship. You knew it was juvenile to evade them, but the man turned you on more than you’d like to admit. His soft-waved blonde hair, fluffy lips, jawline for days, prominent cheekbones, and how can you forget the eyes… Everything about him looked planned, like he was designed to be flawless.

On a mundane weekend morning, your mom calls you from downstairs. “Y/n!” her voice echoes through the halls.

You stop reading your favourite book and take out an earbud. “Yeah?!” you yell back, looking up from the pages for a moment and waiting for her to say something else, but the house is silent. You pretend to ignore her call and go back to the story.

“Y/n!” your mom yells again.

You sigh and drop your book, rolling off of your bed and skipping down the stairs to see what fresh hell awaits. As you approach your mom, who’s opening her mouth to call you again, you smell something unusual. Something you haven’t smelt since your dad left. Cologne.

“Honey, he’s here,” your mom whispers to you, putting a hand on your shoulder. You try turning away to run back to your room, but your mom stops you. “Can you be nice for once, please?” she begs, squeezing your shoulder.

“Whatever, let’s get this over with,” you groan and shimmy her hand off of your shoulder.  

Michael works at the dining table, setting up three plates and utensils. You’re planted to the ground in awe, you’ve never had to eat dinner with the two of them before. It crosses your mind that they must be confronting you about bypassing them these past few months, your fight or flight response is already kicking in.

Michael looks up at you, finally acknowledging you and capturing you in his ocean blue eyes with a nanosecond of contact. Your mom moves in between the two of you and takes some food out of a paper bag. “Michael and I wanted all of us to eat dinner together,” she skips to stand beside him. You widen your eyes at her and cross your arms in objection. She widens her eyes back, you can practically hear her nagging you to be polite.

Michael puts his arm around your mom. “Your mother and I thought it best for us to… start acting like a family,” he says.

Your eyebrows shoot up and you can’t hold back your smile. “A family?” you laugh. You purse your lips and start walking backwards, aching to escape Michael’s spell. “Mmm, I think I’ll pass,” you turn around to start walking away.

“Y/n,” your mom snaps. You stop in the middle of a step and twist back towards them, taking small, reluctant steps to approach their little function. “We have something to tell you,” she says and immediately after, vaults her hand out to you.

You take it hesitantly and look at her, still trying to figure them out and failing. “What?” you ask.

“No, honey, look at it,” she rolls her eyes, “look at my hand.”

You gawk at her hand, her third finger is dressed in a huge diamond ring. It looks big enough to pay off your whole house. You unintentionally let out a dramatic gasp and drop her hand, she continues to hold it up for you. “It’s the bloodiest diamond he could find in the LA area,” she explains, “We’re in love.” She smiles and places her hand on Michael’s chest, looking up at him with hearts in her eyes. He gifts a small kiss on her lips.

You scoff and shake your head. Any tension that you felt from Michael has dissolved. He’s been dating your mom for five months, five fucking months. Who does he think he is? Are they both nuts? “You’re joking, right?” you ask, completely stunned by how brash the whole situation is. “Are you guys pranking me?”

Michael grins at you, it makes you melt and you hate yourself for it. “Call me daddy,” he sneers.

----

It’s a quaint Wednesday evening when you decide to take a break from studying and grab a snack. You’re scrolling through Tumblr when you walk out of your room and smash your face against a sturdy chest. “Jesus!” you gasp, looking up at Michael standing in front of your door; one of his hands is in a fist, ready to knock on your door, while the other is behind his back. “You scared the shit out of me!” You playfully push his chest away from you, trying to shake off the sudden rush of adrenaline.

He drops his fist as he stumbles back slightly. It’s the first time you’ve talked to him since they announced their engagement. Michael moved in about a month ago and it’s been hard to ignore him since he sits, day in day out, typing away on his laptop in your living room.

“Sorry,” he apologizes. “But I have to admit it’s nice to hear your voice again.”

You lean against your doorframe, trying to act casual as if he hadn’t just knocked the wind out of you completely. “Did my mom come home from work or something? She send you here?” you ask, declining his attempts to meet your eyes, instead you stare at his lapel.

“No, I got you something,” he explains, wiggling the surprise behind his back.

“Another Cartier ring?” you joke. “Oh, or is it a new girlfriend? Because that would be even better.” His eyes find the ceiling in annoyance and it feels rewarding, you were starting to think he couldn’t be cracked. “Did you get me an apartment, so I don’t have to live with another failed marriage?”

“No,” he snaps back, starting to sound impatient with your infantile attitude. You straighten up at his belligerent tone. He slides into your room, keeping the gift hidden behind his back. “It’s thoughtful, something I know you’d like, but… if you’re hellbent on loathing my existence, why should I be so kind?” he asks. He somehow manages to speak reserved, yet impossibly intimidating. Every word that leaves his lips demands to be heard, it sends chills down your spine. “Right?” he prompts.

You take in a breath. “Right,” you force yourself to agree, mostly because you’re curious to see what the present is. Another part of you is getting bored of acting like a hermit and going days without social interaction. “Obviously it feels weird; I barely know you and you’re becoming my dad and you moved in, everything just seems so fast,” you explain yourself. You saunter back into your room to meet him. “I’ve been a bitch. I’m sorry, Michael. Seriously.”

He takes a step closer to you, you’re only inches apart. You can feel the heat radiating from his body and fight the urge to wrap your arms around him. “We’ll work on ‘Michael’ later,” he replies. You’re about to question what he means by that when he takes the present out from behind his back. He holds a black bag in between the two of you and you immediately recognize the store. “I heard you on the phone with your friend about something red, lacey, with a bow. I think I found it…”

You take the Victoria’s Secret bag from him without saying a word. You have no words to say. You don’t know if you should thank him or refuse the gift or slap him for listening to your personal conversations. Your mind races wondering if you’d gossiped about his good looks on the phone with your friend.

You silently pry open the bag and paw through the lingerie, mountains of cute panties and bras, digging through things you were never able to afford but always wanted. And, of course, Michael bought the red, lacey one piece you were talking about with your friend. There’s a stillness in the room as you look through the bag. “You bought all of this for me?”

“Yeah, I can’t see how your mom would fit into any of those.”

All of the pieces are just your size, it’s the perfect gift… just not from your stepdad. “How did you even know my size?” you stop looking at the bag and make the mistake of falling into his eyes.

“I went through your clothes,” he carelessly shrugs.

You drop the present by your side. “You went through my clothes, like, my lingerie?”

He slowly nods his head, acting as if it isn’t strange for him to invade your privacy how he did. You huff and he begins looking agitated with you again. “Would you like if I returned all this stuff? I thought you’d like it.”

“I do,” you mutter and kick the bag away from him, you’re not jeopardizing this gift with your uncontrollable sass.

“Good,” he spits back.

“Just… don’t think you can just buy yourself into the family,” you mock. You catch yourself subconsciously crossing your arms over your chest to give yourself a breast lift, but you don’t stop.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he smirks. He looks down at your cleavage and it feels like all the air is sucked out of the room. “You have quite the collection of lingerie you keep hidden at the bottom of your drawers,” he observes, “like a dirty guilty pleasure.” You peer up at him, again trying to read him, and again failing. He uses one of his fingers to hook onto the thin fabric of your shirt, your tits are practically pouring out and begging to be the center of attention. He tugs at the fabric, looking under your shirt and inspecting your boobs suffocated in one of your intimate Victoria’s Secret pickups. “Kitten’s all dressed up?” he whispers, his fingertips graze the embroidered details.

You bite your lip, anticipating the second he’ll rip the bra off your chest. “It’s all for you,” you tease, pushing your tits together even more, “I’m always dressed up for you, Michael.”

He breathes in, groaning under his breath. “I thought I told you,” his voice is low and intimidating, “call me daddy.”

You’re drinking in a breath of his cologne, shifting onto the tips of your toes to give his soft lips a rugged kiss, when the sound of keys rattling downstairs takes you out of it. Michael still stares at you, his fingers continue to linger over your clothed tits. “Michael!” your mom calls from downstairs.

You look up at him with fear in your puppy dog eyes and Michael grins. He shoots you one last, knowing, glance before leaving your room. He leaves you without saying two words. “Yeah, babe,” he answers your mom, closing your bedroom door behind him.

What the fuck just happened?

----

Holding back your gags, you grasp your friend’s hair as she projectile vomits peach schnapps into an expensive toilet bowl. Her phone rings in her pocket and you huff, digging through the pockets of the leather jacket you lent her and pulling out a vibrating iPhone. You pick up the phone with an ill “hello”, answering too late and looking down at the screen. She must’ve ordered an Uber a while ago, there’s a ton of notifications that the driver’s outside. “Oh shit,” you mutter under your breath. “Your ride is here!” you yell at her, trying to pull her onto her feet.

“What?!” she yells into the toilet bowl.

You roll your eyes and lean down beside her ear, “I said, your ride is here!” you yell over the thumping music.

Your friend stumbles around, trying to stand up in her six-inch heels. You pull her onto you and her head rests on your shoulder, she goes limp against you. “Stop, come on!” you shout over the music. “You have to g-”

You’re cut off by your friend puking onto an expensive mini dress you bought for tonight’s party. This shindig was supposed to be a fun little escape from your school life, your home life, Michael, all your stress. You expected to make new friends, meet hot guys, but instead you came an hour late and have been nursing your friend the whole night. You’re seriously going to kick her ass tomorrow.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, her breath reeking of throw up.

You toss her arm over your shoulder and start walking her out of the bathroom. “I’m going to kill you tomorrow, you know that?” you say in her ear and she lets out a small, apologetic whimper.

A cute guy who was talking you up earlier approaches the two of you. He holds two red cups in his hands and shrugs when he sees you. “What the fuck, y/n? You disappeared on me!” he talks to you over the bass-y music. “I got our drinks!” he shakes the cups in his hands and hands one over to you, as if completely ignoring your drunken friend hanging off of your side.

Your friend staggers, nearly bringing you down with her. The cute guy helps you pick her back up and you sigh, annoyed at how much of a disaster your night has turned into. He knits his eyebrows at your sour attitude, then finding the vomit on your dress, he looks back up at you. You see his doe eyes grow apologetic when he mouths a weak “sorry” to you, stepping out of your way. You shake your head as if telling him it’s fine; you just wish you had more time to get to know him.

You continue dragging your friend along your side and hear someone call out your name from behind you. You whip your head around; your hair irritatingly sticks to your lip-gloss. “Hope to see you again!” he calls after you. You nod in his direction and resume walking your friend, who is nearly passed out on your shoulder, to the front door. When you walk out of the house, you’re assaulted with the smell of salt water. Despite this night turning into one of the most frustrating nights of your life, at least you got to visit a Malibu beach house.

A big, black SUV is parked outside of the house and you rush her to the door. Opening the backseat and stuffing her inside the seats in the back. “The app says where you’re taking her, right?” you ask the Uber driver, your voice sounds muted from being struck by loud music all night.

He nods and reads out her address. “Y/n,” your friend slurs, gripping onto your arm with all her strength, “you’re a really nice… you’re a… you’re a really good friend, you know that? Like, seriously,” she pauses to hiccup, “thank you for taking care of me tonight.” Her words are so slurred that it’s nearly impossible to make out her compliment, but you just nod in hopes it’ll get her to let go. She drops your arm and hands you your pricey leather jacket, bunched up in a ball, before shutting the van door.

You throw on your jacket, protecting yourself from the ocean’s breeze, and watch the van drive away when you notice a familiar car parked across the street. The SUV blocked a four-seater Maserati parked on the other side of the road. Michael’s sedentary in the driver’s seat with a cigarette hanging from his lips. You balance yourself on your ridiculously tall heels and stomp over to his car. He doesn’t even see you coming, he’s leaned back in the driver’s seat reading a book.

You crouch down and knock on the glass of his window. His eyes meet yours for a second and he slowly rolls down the window. A mob of cigarette smoke escapes the car and he chucks the stick onto the pavement. You’re both quiet for a few moments, the crashing ocean waves fills up the silence.  “How did you know I was here?” you ask.

He finally puts down his book and looks at you. “Just trying to be a good dad,” he responds.

“Ugh, ew,” you groan. “You’re my step dad.”

He adjusts his seat to start driving, his eyes looking you up and down as he does. “Looks like your night went a little… rough,” he jokes and nods towards the puke on your dress. “You need a ride?”

You look back at the party. As much as you wanted to live up the night, you’re already in too much of a bad mood to go back in there. It doesn’t help that your new dress is covered in puke, too. You turn back around to Michael, he awaits your answer with a cocked brow. “You can’t tell mom,” you sigh, walking around the car to get into the passenger’s seat. The luxury car’s butterfly doors obnoxiously open up for your entry. “Not a word,” you assure him as you slide into the leather seat.

He starts up the car and one of his Led Zeppelin albums begins to play. “I picked you up at the library,” he quips.

He starts driving along the empty coast and you decide to skip the seatbelt, you don’t want to dirty his car with your friend’s retch. His eyes glance over to your seat for a moment, he notices you second guessing the seatbelt and puts a hand on your thigh. You look up at him and intuitively try to tempt him, biting your bottom lip and batting your lashes. “I’ll protect you if we crash,” he whispers, his fingers lightly caress your thighs.

You put your hand on his and slide him further up your leg. He keeps one hand on the wheel, eyes on the road, but when his eyes do meet yours, it makes all the nerves in your core feel like a wave pool. Your dress is short enough for him to reach your panties without any hassle. Your hand is on his when his fingers begin to rub your pussy, still dressed in a pair of panties he bought you. “Baby’s already wet for daddy,” he says under his breath, kneading your clit in small circles.

You feel your stomach erupt with butterflies, you’ve never felt a nervousness so intense before. A rush of thoughts suddenly violates your mind, you try to shut them up but they keep coming. This is wrong. You shouldn’t be doing this. You’re disgusting for enjoying this. His fingers have been in your mom before.

You dig your nails into his skin and pull his hand away from you; bending over in your seat and clutching onto your stomach. You only had one drink tonight, you shouldn’t be feeling this sick.

“I-I’m sorry,” he stutters, “are you okay?”

“I think I need air,” you grumble through the sudden sickness. “Can you pull over?”

Michael only takes a minute to find an empty parking lot on the beach and pull into it. You get out of the car without saying a word to him and take off your heels, throwing them into the backseat of his car. You’re already starting to feel your anxiety subside as you shuffle through the cool sand and pace towards the erratic waves crashing on shore. This is one of the reasons you loved LA, the tons of tiny, empty beaches. The ocean at night, and how it constantly smelt like salt water, how it relaxed you.

The breeze blew through your hair, a part of you felt like running into the crashing waves, but a voice took you out of it. “Y/n!” Michael called behind you, over the sound of the whistling wind. He trudges in the sand to get to you; you faintly snicker at his dedication. “Are you okay?” he asks once he’s closer to you.

When you see him, face glowing in the moon light, golden locks blowing in the ocean breeze, face twisted with concern, it all settles. Everything feels like it’s in the right place. Your stomach, although still turning with butterflies, no longer feels sick.

There’s a pause between the two of you; both of you deciding to admire each other instead of the beautiful ocean view beside you. Then, it feels like everything clicks. Like the two of you mentally communicate your longing for each other, your desire. Both shutting your eyes and diving in for a kiss at the same time.

His lips smash against yours, sucking your face, and his tongue quickly invades your mouth. He kisses you like he’s craved your lips for years, passionately cleaning up your mouth with his eager tongue.

Michael works your jacket off of your shoulders and you shimmy it to the ground. He unzips your dress, the zip running along your naked back sends a shiver crawling down your spine. He abandons your lips for a moment to pull down your dress, exposing your bare chest and expensive panties. You’re too lost in lust to even realize you’re half naked on a public beach.

You’re both panting and releasing all of the built-up sexual tension. He stands back up and kisses you again, his hands cup your ass and he gives an echoed smack; his fingers creep down your legs. He grabs onto the back of your thighs and hoists you up, you lightly yelp into his mouth and wrap your legs around him. His large hands hold you up and he leans down, resting you onto the jacket you’ve thrown onto the sand.

Once you’re laid down, he begins rubbing your pussy again. His cold rings adding a different sense of pleasure as he rubs you into entropy. He slides your feeble panties to the side and spits down on your cunt, shoving his finger inside you. You moan at the sudden intrusion, taking in a breath of the salt-scented air. “That’s it, baby girl,” he whispers, adding in another finger, “I want to hear you moan for daddy.”

You take in a breath and whimper as he curves his fingers inside of you, slowly pulsing against your g-spot. He touches you as if he already knows which parts make you crumble. “Ooh yeah, daddy,” you cry and grind on his fingers, pushing him deeper inside you, “right there.”

“You’re my dirty little slut, huh?” he asks, gliding in another finger. Your eyes roll back in pleasure. “Little girl likes to get fucked by her daddy?” He adds another finger, completely stretching you out. Your breath gets caught in your throat and you can’t reply. “I asked you a question.”

You meet his cold eyes for a second, before you throw your head back in pleasure. “Yes!” you breathe out, feeling the heat rise in your body. Your sensitive cunt throbs under his gluttonous fingers, persistently fucking you and begging for more. “Yes, oh, keep fucking me just like that, daddy!”

His fingers find a rhythm inside of you, constantly bringing you to the brink of climax and slowing down. “Such a dirty little girl,” he teases and spits on your soaking cunt. He pulls out his fingers and holds them to your lips. You grab his hand and suck on his long fingers, tasting the cool metal rings mixed with the sweet taste of your pussy.

You sit up and lock your lips with his again. Both, you and Michael, unbutton his shirt; you want to feel his flesh against yours as soon as possible. When you get to the bottom, you slide your hands up his body and square the shirt off of his shoulders. His perfect, porcelain skin shines in the moonlight. You want to appreciate it for a moment, but he’s already unbuckling his belt.

He’s propped on his knees, unzipping his black pants and bringing them down to pull his erection out of his briefs. It springs out when you start grabbing for it, he moves back and clicks his tongue. “My greedy little girl,” he mocks, “you don’t get a taste until daddy says you do.”

He pushes you down with one of his hands. His touch is so delicate, yet so commanding. Everything he does is done with conviction and a power that only you could dream of, he is inherently dominant over you. He strokes his long, girthy length over you, you’re practically drooling at the sight. He spits on himself and rubs it into the head. “Spit on it,” he orders.

You sit up and weakly spit on the tip of his cock; it’s too late when you notice your mouth is dry from nervousness. He shakes his head. “You’re so pathetic, you can’t even spit on me right,” he sneers, divorced from the nasty words leaving his lips. He presses his dick against your folds and your fingers curl into your jacket, awaiting the moment he plunges into you. “Say the word, baby girl, say you want me,” he’s lingering at your entrance.

“Please,” you whine, your pussy is beating against his hard cock, “please dad.”

He pushes his head inside you and you grab his arms for support, digging your nails into his skin. He’s so thick, you’ve never felt something so large obtruding your tight cunt. He moves in slowly, reading your stunned facial expressions to see if he should continue stuffing himself inside of you. You let out tiny weeps as he digs deeper into your hole, but you can’t manage much more.

Michael thrusts himself into you until he’s balls deep, even he can’t help but groan. “My little girl is so fucking tight,” he grunts under his breath. He starts to hammer himself into you, going so deep that you feel like pushing him back, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. His cock is so thick that it hits every nerve you could imagine; it’s hard to gather a single word.

He lets out a small chuckle at your reticence. “My innocent baby’s never felt a real cock before, huh?” he taunts, still pounding his length into you. You open your mouth to speak, but settle on shaking your head. One distinct tear runs down the side of your face while stifled cries pass your trembling lips with each time his balls smack into your ass. “You’re taking me like a good fucking girl,” he admires, “my good little slut.”

He lifts up your leg and rests your foot on his shoulder. You’re twisted onto your side, trying to look over your shoulder to see how vigorously he pounds into your cunt. Michael’s new positioning hits exactly in your g-spot, you feel your leg shaking under his grip. “H-holy shit,” your voice trembles, you let out a built-up breath. “Keep going, daddy! Right there, right there, I’m so close,” you’re begging, voice is flooded with desperation. You don’t care how childish you sound, you want nothing more than to come all over Michael’s big dick. “Don’t move, please, please,” you grab onto his arm again.

Tears overflow your eyes when you look into his. Just seeing his determined light blue eyes peering back at you makes you unravel even more. He has no remorse for how weak he’s making you, how vulnerable you’ve become, his unmistakable dominion turns you on.

He listens to your wails, finally granting you the satisfaction you’ve been begging for and plows into your g-spot. Your grip on him gets tighter as he thrusts harder, you’re almost certain he’s going to leave some swelling deep inside your cunt. “Your dick is so, fucking, good,” you breathe in between thrusts.

Michael doesn’t give up, keeping up the same pace and fucking you exactly how you want him to. You’re about to praise his long cock some more when you’re thrown into climax. You try looking back up at him, but you can’t say a word; your mouth hangs wide open with nothing but small chokes croaking out. He can see how dazed he’s made you and shoves your face into the ground, pushing your nose against the leather of your jacket. “You’re going to take daddy’s cock like a good little girl,” he seethes, suffocating your head into your jacket. “Don’t come,” he demands.

He continues punching your g-spot with his huge cock, you feel your pussy spasming under his rough thrusts. He holds both of your arms back, shifting you into doggy-style. His balls slap against your sore clit and you feel yourself starting to ejaculate. “Fuck!” you scream into the breeze of the empty beach. Your cunt twitches and gushes its balmy juices all over Michael’s hard cock.

He slows down his pace and pulls your arms up towards him, you feel his heaving chest against your back. “What did I just fucking say?” he fumes, tugging your arms even closer to him. “Answer me.”

“You told me not to come,” you answer in a syrupy, naïve voice.

He grabs both of your tits to push you flush against him, maintaining his rough thrusts into your cunt. “That’s right,” he whispers in your ear, “baby didn’t fucking listen.” He smacks your tits with both of his hands, striking you hard. You jump at how ruthless he hits you, it makes your stomach flutter again. His full lips lug along your neck. “Remember who you belong to,” he speaks into your neck, sending an iciness throughout your entire body.

Michael digs his teeth into your skin, sucking up your flesh while he continues massaging your breasts, pinching at the hard peaks your nipples have formed. He sucks so hard it stings, you wonder how that would feel on your pussy. His love bite begins to hurt and you shift your head away from him, he snickers. “Who do you belong to?” he whispers, lips chafing the shell of your ear.

He pinches your nipples even harder and you sob in pleasure. “Mmm, you,” you respond, looking over your shoulder to give his lips a frail kiss. “I belong to you, daddy.”

He takes in a deep breath as if shaking off your spell and regaining his confidence. He pushes you onto the ground again and goes back to fucking you like a ragdoll. “You better remember that,” he breathes, mercilessly pummeling himself into you again.

He holds both of your arms back once more, driving himself into you so hard that you’re concerned about cervix bruising. His pace slows down a bit and you look back at him, his mouth drapes open and he stares down at the back of your head. He pushes you away as he orgasms, savagely shoving your face back into the ground, as you feel his warm seed spilling inside your wet cunt. Michael groans from deep within his chest, letting out a long sigh when he’s done. “Oh, fuck,” he moans, “fuck, you sexy bitch.”

You let out a little giggle at this and he joins. He hauls himself out of you and you feel all of your muscles relax. You shift onto your back, looking up at Michael in disbelief. You’re too caught up in euphoria to comprehend what just happened. All you can think of in this moment is how fucking good he was. Even Michael has a dumbfounded look on his face.

He shakes his head and liberates a nervous laugh, “We’re so fucked up.”

You can say that again.

#going to hell for this one :) #michael langdon #ahs apocalypse #michael langdon x reader #american horror story #sojourn michael #ahs #michael langdon one shot #ahs imagine #fire and reign michael #outpost michael #apocalypse #smut #xavier plympton #michael langdon x fem reader #michael langdon smut #ahs fanfic #michael langdon imagine #imagine #cody fern

[your-1up-girl]

Once Upon A Dream (Hera x Ventus)

Uhhh....okay so this wasn't supposed to post until the 31st but I must have gotten the queue wrong soooooo. Have an early gift.! I dedicate this fic to the very lovely and absolutely gorgeous @sammilimyy! Why do you ask? Because it’s her birthday (I'm early sorry)!!! I was so inspired by your royal/fantasy AU with Hera and Ven that I just had to write a fanfic for it. Now this is basically inspired by a certain movie from a certain company that shall not be named out of fear they will take this down, but if you know the song then you know the movie. I hope you like it Sam (and I hope that I got it on time for your b-day) have a happy and wonderful birthday!

Word Count: 4339

Pairing: Hera (OC)/Ventus (Kingdom Heart)

Warnings: Nothing but pure fluff! I hope you have a good Dentist Sammi, cuz this thing is gonna give you cavities!!!

It was happening again. This dream she found herself in was coming to her with much more frequency now. Always in this dream, Hera would find herself wandering through a forest where the birds graced her ears with beautiful melodies and the way the light filtered through the trees was practically angelic. In this dream, she would always wear a tea-length dress so it would not drag against the soft grass and dirty the pristine fabric. Said dress was adorn in mute yellow skirt and bodice with pale pink trimming and a bow in the back. It flowed with grace as Hera continued barefoot down the unmade path. A path she has taken several times before.

At this point she would reach a clearing where the trees created a canopy of sorts and the brush and wildflowers bloomed and grew with no outside interference. Standing in the middle of this clearing was a figure. It always looked like the spirit of a young boy. Someone who Hera would guess was about her age but taller than her. He had spiky hair and clothes that looked different from that of what she had seen in the nearby villages of the kingdom. As he turned to face her, she could see the phantom of a smile on his face but never his actual features. Soft music would fill the air as they approached each other and they began to dance. The soft whips of his fingers held her waist as they twilered and glided across the grass. They could never speak to each other but they could laugh. And Hera thought his laugh was better than any orchestra in the world.

Despite never speaking to this boy and only sharing these dances, Hera had fallen for this mysterious stranger. It was a dream, but in her heart, it all felt completely real. This boy was out there. At this point, after they had their dance, the music would end and Hera would wake up to the knocks of her Lady in Waiting telling her to start the day; but this time was different. For just a brief moment, when Hera looked up and faced the spirit, she could see him. It was still in a ghost like form but his features were there and she took it all into memory. The bangs across his forehead, the goofy yet loving smile he wore, and most importantly the shadowy blue eyes that looked back at her. He had never appeared tangible to her once during these late night rendezvous but after seeing him in this apparariton form, Hera knew. She was completely in love.

Hera woke with a start in her bed. The sudden movement had scared her Meow Wow Polly and her friend Naminé who was drawing the curtains to let light enter the room.

“Your Grace, you’re awake.” The Lady in Waiting spoke once the initial shock faded. “I knocked on the door to wake you, but you didn’t respond. Then, when I came in, you had the most peaceful smile on your face that I didn’t want to wake you just yet.”

Hera held her heart as Naminé spoke, remembering the dream once more. “Did you have another dream about him?” Naminé sat on the bed next to the princess as Polly let out a small whine and cuddled back into her owner.

“Yes, I did. We danced like we always do. But this time,” Hera paused as her smile became more giddy, “This time I saw him, Naminé.”

Naminé wore a similar smile at this development, “Really! That’s wonderful Princess. What did he look like?” Hera adjusted herself on the bed so Naminé could begin taking her hair out of the braids she wore to bed.

“Well, he still looked like a ghost of sorts but his facial features were there and not just a blank face. He had the most beautiful blue eyes, Naminé.” A love-struck sigh left Hera’s lips, “It was like looking into the night sky itself.”

“You are absolutely smitten with this boy. Do you think he’s real?”

“Why else would he appear to me in this dream? And remember, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen him.” Hera got out of bed and walked out onto the balcony. She leaned on the stone railing and gazed out into the horizon; her nightdress flowing in the early morning breeze. A sigh of doubt escaped her, “Naminé?”

Her Lady approached, “Yes Princess?”

“Answer me honestly, please. Do you think that boy is out there? Am I foolish to think that he could exist?”

Naminé’s eyes softened at her friend's sudden realization that this could all just be a dream. She held Hera close and spoke, “I think that in a world where magic exists and mythical creatures are a prominent part of our lives, having recurring dreams about a mysterious boy is calm by comparison.” This made Hera laugh, “I think he’s out there my Princess. If this truly is love that you feel, then you will both find your way to one another.”

After that, the day continued on as normal. Naminé helped Hera get dressed for the morning. Hera went to her lessons with Eraqus, the king. His lessons involved looking after the kingdom when she eventually came to rule. She had Keyblade training with Young Master Riku, Naminé would always remain close by during these lessons as the Lady in Waiting was very smitten with the Keyblade Master. And on this particular day, she ended her training with Master Aqua. The sworn protector of the Princess, Aqua specialized in magic and was well versed in wielding a Keyblade. She would teach Hera about combining magic into her basic attacks. However, Aqua took notice that Hera was not as focused as usual.

“Is there something bothering you Hera?”

“Huh? No Master Aqua, what makes you say that?” Their keyblades dissipated into the air signalling that they were done for the evening.

“It’s just that you haven’t been as focused as you should be during your lessons. And it’s not just with me, the King has noticed you’ve been more aloof with your teachings. Merlin has taken notice as well and so has Riku.” Hera hung her head in shame, should she tell Aqua about the dreams and the young boy? No, surely she would think the Princess crazy for looking into something like dreams. And falling in love with an apparition whom you don’t even know the name of would get her a lecture from the King. Hera couldn’t come up with a response quick enough but Aqua took the silence as something different. “You seem so worn out. Maybe you haven’t been getting enough sleep?”

At that, Hera’s head shot up, “Yes! Yes Master Aqua, that’s exactly it!” The sudden change in demeanor startled the blue haired Master from her train of thought. “I’m just so tired as of late Master Aqua. I think it would be best if I went off to bed now even. I had my dinner sometime before training so I’m not hungry.” Aqua blinked a few times. Hera seemed...excited to go to bed? It was an odd development in her attitude for sure but it seemed to be an improvement to what it was before so Aqua let it slide for now.

“Of course Your Grace, I’ll send for Naminé to meet you in your chambers to assist you for the night. Sweet dreams Princess Hera.” It was hard for the young girl to contain her excitement and Aqua could have sworn she heard a whispered, They will be as Hera passed.

Naminé carefully brushed Hera’s hair in the large bed of the royal chambers. Both girls wore their nightgowns and were discussing the events of the day. Polly sat comfortably in Hera’s lap, listening just as intently as if she were to join the conversation at any moment.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you were paying extra attention to Master Riku’s lessons today.” Hera jested with her best friend; a smirk proudly displayed on her face.

“At least one of us was.”

“Hey! Naminé!” The Princess turned to push the blonde girl as they both laughed in the empty, fire lit room. “He likes you, you know.”

“Oh please, I’m just a maid, he wouldn't like me.”

Hera thought about this for a moment as Naminé worked an intricate updo into the Princess's hair for the night. She could tell her friend was discouraged by this separation of class so she tried to lighten the mood, “If he rejects you, I’ll have him beheaded.” Naminé nearly choked on her own saliva and snorted out a laugh. Having accomplished her mission in making her friend laugh, Hera joined as well.

“As kind as that is, please Hera, don’t kill anyone on my behalf.” Naminé was grateful for the joke and Hera enjoyed the lack of formalities with her best friend. The conversation continued in this matter but before Naminé got up for the night, Hera asked her a question.

“You want me to draw you a picture?”

“Yes, please, if it’s not too much to ask?” Naminé, not wanting to refuse her friend or the Princess, took a piece of parchment from the desk, some graphite, and a flat board to give her some stability and joined Hera back on the bed.

“Alright Hera, what is your request?”

“I want you to draw the boy from my dreams.” Big, pleading blue eyes met confused blue ones as Naminé took in what Hera asked.

“I-Your Grace-Hera, you know that I don’t know what he looks like, yes?”

“Oh, I know. That’s why, you’re going to sit next to me and I’m going to watch you draw as I describe him to you.” Hera grabbed the pillow next to her and made room for her friend and tapped the spot. A small smile adorned the Lady’s face as she made herself comfortable and ready for the long night ahead of her.

~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the Kingdom, some yards away from the borders, a young farm boy sat upon the roof of his home looking at the horizon as the sky changed from warm tones to cool blues and the stars greeted him for the night. He came to look out into the sky when he needed to clear his head. And after having a busy day of training, fram work, and running errands, Ventus was in need of a small break. Not to mention that this moment alone gave him some time to think about the spirit girl he saw in his dreams. At first, Ventus just blew it off. Strange dreams happen all the time, take ‘em with a grain of salt. But then, she kept coming back, the same girl, in the same forest, with the same dress, and the same beautiful smile. God that smile. It was barely noticeable with the form that she took in his dreams but Ven was in love with it nonetheless.

He chuckled to himself. There I go again, Terra would have a fit if he could hear me. Falling in love with a forest spirit just because she danced with you in a recurring dream was ridiculous. Right? Ventus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, groaning when he had to pick more sticks out from when he fell herding the animals earlier. That girl made sleeping more exciting yet also somewhat frightening. Why did he see her all the time? Was she some sort of nymph? Was she even real? Would she love him back? And, why did he feel such disappointment if the answer was no? He didn’t even know this girl, and yet? Ventus put his hand over where his heart would be and gripped that part of his shirt. This girl had his heart and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“Ven? Ventus? Where are you?” Terra stepped out of the house to call for the young boy. It made Ven laugh just a bit. No matter how many times Ventus escaped to this spot, Terra never thought to check there. “Come on Ven, you’ll never get to be a royal guard if you don’t get a good night’s sleep!”

“And you will never be a detective if you don’t think to check in the obvious spots for the suspect.” Terra turned to see that Ventus was in fact, on the roof. They both shared a laugh and Ven made his way down. “If you keep yelling then you’ll wake the Tama Sheep and the Electricorn.” They both made it back inside the house and Ventus sat with a warm tea Terra had made. The young blond sat and stared at the tea with a look that was both focused and unfocused all at once.

“Hey Terra, do you believe in love at first sight?”

The brunette sat across from the boy and pondered the question, “I think it’s possible. I think that if someone really is the one then you’ll just know.”

“Hmm.”

“You thinking about your dreams again?”

“Yeah. It’s always with the same girl. She comes to that forest, doesn’t say a single thing to me, just laughs, and we dance. They’re getting more frequent and-” Ventus paused a small smile creeping onto his face.

“And?” With raised eyebrows, Terra waited for a response.

“And...I saw her face.” Ven couldn’t hide the smile or blush at this point and Terra’s eyes widened, not expecting that to be his response. “It was all ghosty and weird like the rest of her but I could see her eyes and the way they had so much life to them. I saw her and I just fell for her, Terra. Even more than I already am in love with her.”

“Does she look like anyone you know? Maybe it’s someone from the marketplace?”

“No, her clothes look different from that of the marketplace or even from the nearby towns. I could be wrong but they kinda look like a type of nobility.”

“Wow, look at you; dreaming about a Duchess.” It never crossed either of their minds as they drank the tea that the mysterious girl could have been a princess. Terra listened more to Ven’s recounting of dreams as it got a bit later. An hour had passed and the tea was all gone and both boys sat at the table trying to figure out what to do about the spirit girl.

“I think you should go talk to a woman who goes by Fairy Godmother. No one knows her real name but she is really good at figuring out people’s dreams. She lives on the far side of Traverse Town near the kingdom borders.” Ven listened closely. “If anyone can help you out, it’s her.” It was discussed that Ventus would take one of the Yoggy Rams and travel there tomorrow morning.

By early morning light, Ventus did just that. It was a long ride but not too tedious. Around mid-afternoon Ventus arrived at Traverse Town and began asking for this Fairy Godmother. Some people lead him to the back of the town where, in the middle of a water well, there was a house that was similar to that of a doll’s but less childish. Ventus carefully walked over the rocks with his Yoggy Ram to the front door and gave it a pensive knock. He waited no more than a minute when a kind looking older woman answered the door. She smiled at him like she was his grandson and enveloped him into a hug.

“Oh hello young man, it’s good to see you. Please, please, come in. Let your Ram drink from the water around my house. I don’t mind. I just prepared some warm milk if you would like some.” Fairy Godmother brought him into the quaint living room and he lifted the milk to his lips taking a sip. It tasted faintly of vanilla and hazelnut; it made Ventus smile. “So,” Fairy Godmother sat across from him in her own plush chair, “How can I help you dear.”

“My friend told me that you could help me with my dreams?”

She lightly laughed and placed her tea cup down, “Yes, he is correct; dreams tend to be my specialty. Tell me everything my dear.” Ventus did just that. From the smiles, to the laughs, and all the joy he felt in between. When he finished, he sat anxiously for the answer. “Hmm, this sounds like a very special girl.”

“She is Fairy Godmother.”

“But you have never seen her before?”

He hung his head, “No I haven’t Fairy Godmother.”

“And yet you’re in love with her.” There was no malice in this question and she asked knowing exactly what his answer would be.

Ventus sighed, the milk long finished as he searched for his answer, “I-Fairy Godmother, I know it sounds crazy to love someone you have never met but, my heart tells me that she is someone who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t have much to give. I am a stable boy who is training for a guard position and doesn't have much control of his Keyblade yet and I can be kinda naive but I love her. More than anything.”

The Fairy Godmother smiled at his answer; it had exceeded her expectations. “That’s even better than what I had expected you to say.” She stood up and went to a bookshelf and handed him a map. A map of the kingdom more specifically. “You see this area?” She pointed to an unnamed forest that was about halfway to the castle and his ranch. “There is no name on the map but people call it The Somnium Forest. It’s a magical forest where people go when they need help in their lives. They say that it feels like time stops when you enter and no one leaves the forest unsatisfied. The inside of the forest, they say, never looks the same for one person.” She held Ventus’ hands in hers, “Tomorrow young man, I want you to go to the Somnium and walk around for a bit. I’m sure it will help you with your dreams.”

Ventus wasn’t sure how a forest would help, but he was willing to try. He gave the Fairy Godmother one last hug and left with his Yoggy Ram.

Returning to the castle once more. Hera walked around the grounds with more disdain than usual. Why? She didn’t dream about the boy. His picture was carefully placed in her tea-length dress pocket (courtesy of a very late drawing session with Naminé) but having the paper wasn’t the same as seeing him in her dreams. It had only been a day and yet it was enough to put her in an upsetting mood. It was to the point that she didn’t want to hang around the castle anymore. That was how she found her way to the library asking Merlin for his map of the kingdom.

“Any place you want to go, in particular Young Hera?” He asked with his usual chipper tone.

“No, just want to explore, get out for a bit.” Hera held her head in her left hand as her right hand grazed over the different locations of the map, pointer finger out. She could go to the castle town? No, that was far too close to home. She could go to the outskirts and explore the hills that acted as the land border on the west side? No, if she was gone for too long Aqua would have a fit. Her eyes noticed a forest and that peaked her interest. “Merlin, what’s this place?”

He adjusted his glasses, “Ah! You mean The Somnium Forest? It’s a place where dreams come true as they say.” He takes a sip of his tea, “People go in there and not one person leaves upset. Forest is magical.”

“A magical forest?” Hera could use some more magic in her life. And even if it wasn’t, having the comfort of a forest setting could give her some semblance of her dream. “Thank you for your help Merlin, could I trouble you to watch Polly while I’m gone?”

“Oh it would be no trouble at all Princess! I love the little thing after all. Come along Polly, let’s see what potions I can make to help Aerith in the garden.” The Meow Wow and the Wizard walked in tandem as Hera packed the map and made her way to the stables. As much as she wanted to leave with no one’s notice, the brunette unfortunately ran into Aqua.

“Oh Princess Hera, why are you heading to the stables?”

“I just wanted to take my Pegaslick and explore for a bit. I’m not sure when I will be back so can you tell Naminé that she has the rest of the day off? Maybe tell her to have some sweets with Master Riku.”

“Princess, by yourself? Are you sure you don’t want me to join you? I could quickly-”

“No, Master Aqua, I’m fine.” Hera didn’t feel good about brushing her Master and protector off but she needed to go to this forest. It was calling her the same way her dreams did.

She got to the stables and had the royal stable boy Prompto helped ready her Pegaslick. “The reins are all good, Your Grace, enjoy your ride.”

Hera took off after a quick thank you and without a second thought. It was difficult to ride while holding the map but after an hour, Somnium Forest greeted her. She got off the Pegaslick and decided to walk the remainder, her companion close to her side.

Upon entering, the Princess did feel different. There was a strong happiness that washed over her. The fresh smell filled her nose and the grass seemed so soft that she took off her riding boots, hanging them on the saddle and continued barefoot. Eventually, Hera found herself walking deeper into the trees but she couldn’t find it in herself to worry about getting lost. A part of her knew that she wasn’t. In fact, the way the trees and flowers created a path. And the light through the trees. Her dress flowing in the soft breeze and the birds. It all made her stop to pinch herself.

“This has to be a dream.” A whisper that she barely heard left her lips but the muzzle of her Pegaslick acted as a reasurace that this was all real. With a new found fervor, Hera kept going.

On the other hand, Ventus was having the same feeling of déjà vu; only he bounded into the forest with reckless abandon. All these trees, flowers, and rocks he rode past were familiar to him. And as he approached a clearing, he knew this was the moment of truth.

They stared at each other on either side of the clearing. Both shook with excitement but neither moved out of fear of breaking this perfect scene. Ventus had to get off his Yoggy Ram but his eyes never once left hers. Carefully, they approached and once they met in the middle?

“You-are you-?” Hera couldn’t speak. So overwhelmed with joy that he stood before her as a flesh and blood person and not just some apparition. Rather she took out her drawing from the dress pocket and held it up. “It is you.”

Ventus held her face and she leaned into his touch. He wiped a tear that fell from her eye and nodded his head. “The boy from the dreams? Yes, that’s me.” Hera dropped the picture and hugged him. Her arms around his middle and his holding her head into his chest.

“I thought you weren’t real. I thought the universe was playing a horrible trick on me.”

“I promise I’m real. My name is Ventus, and I have wanted this moment ever since that first dream we had.” The dropped drawing was retrieved and put back into her pocket.

“Ventus,” What a beautiful name, “I am Hera. Your voice is so wonderful! I’m so glad to finally hear it!”

“The Princess? I’m so stupid for not recognizing you sooner. I must say Hera,” Ven brushed her hair behind her ears, “The dreams don’t do you justice. I didn’t think there could be a blue more clear than the sky, yet your eyes puts it to shame.” Hera blushed and smiled, wiping some tears from her cheeks. “There is just one thing missing to make our dream a reality.” Hera tilted her head. What more could they want? “There may not be music but, may I have this dance?”

He was right, no music played in this forest, but Hera happily accepted his hand as they moved across the grass. The laughter sounded even better than any of the nights they shared.

Off behind the trees, Aqua watched with the purest expression. Against her better judgement, she followed the young Princess to see if she was alright. Once she saw Hera with this young boy she knew everything was fine.

“So, you followed her I’m assuming?” Aqua looked and saw Terra approach as he went to the spot next to her.

“Yes, and I take it that he is yours?”

“Yeah, less ‘mine’. I’m more of his friend slash guardian.” They watched the kids dance and laugh and converse in the clearing. Terra broke their silence again, “Ventus, he’s training to be a royal guard.”

“Is he now?” Aqua smiled as she knew where this conversation was headed.

“Yes, I’m just a stable boy like him but I did undergo some training as well. I teach him everything and he is a very fast learner. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries but, perhaps the Princess could use another personal guard?”

Aqua laughed and didn't take her eyes off of the lovely couple as, "Yes, I'm sure Her Majesty would love that."

#I hope I did your baby justice Sammi #I feel like the ending was kinda a let down but I hope you like it Sam! #I took what you said about Ven being inspired by Link and kinda added to that. #The only Link I know is from Twilight Princess so that is my inspiration. :) #but this was so much fun to write #as you can tell #I love fantasy/royal aus #and I am Hera's aunt so I thought this was fitting #Plus i wanted to do something nice for your birthday since you drew something for me #I'm just glad I wrote it on time #Hera x Ventus #kingdom hearts #ocs #original character #not my oc #my writing #OUaD #enjoy

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Bonus Chapter 7

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 20,116

Chapter Rating: PG-13...ish! Me being the very easily flustered writer that I am, I can tell you right now that no OVERLY graphic sexy things happen and there is a fade to black at the end, so it is all still fairly tame. But still, there is a lotta sexy innuendo and talk of sexy, ahem… ITEMS. Just wanted to drop a heads up since the rest of my story up to this point has been fairly PG for the most part, so didn’t want to blind side anyone!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"Baby, all I want for Christmas is you."

Rayne stumbled a bit as she pushed the double stroller along, blowing out an amused little pft through her teeth. "Please, please tell me he did not actually say that!"

I sighed, hanging my head as I kept stride next to her, "He did. When I asked him for gift ideas, those were his exact words."

Anna erupted into laughter beside me, gripping my arm for support. "Dear lord, have I ever mentioned what a friggin' cliché, cheesy cornball your man is?"

"Not to mention no help at all," I grumbled, crossing my arms. "This is like Lea's birthday all over again. I mean, I know the stuff he likes, but honestly... what do you get for the man that buys everything and anything he wants for himself the second he sees it?"

"Don't worry, pumpkin," Rayne reached over to pat a comforting hand to my shoulder. "We wander around here long enough, something's sure to jump out at us eventually!"

"I hope so," I grimaced, not feeling so confident myself as we pressed onward through the crowded mall. I'd just gotten off my morning shift at the Ice Palace not too long ago and was still in my uniform minus the hat. It seemed I wasn't the only one who had to do some last minute holiday shopping, for that was the exact reason my sister and best friend had met up with me here as soon as I'd clocked out. With Christmas only a week away however, Dusk Town Center was understandably packed nearly to bursting. Merchandise was all but flying off the shelves in every store. Even if by some miracle I did manage to find the perfect gift here today, with my luck it'd probably be completely out of stock and backordered for months.

Gah, I shouldn't have kept putting this off for so long! But I had been racking my brain for weeks now for what to get him and had come up with zilch. Still had zilch. Ugh…

Last-minute-panicked-impulse-shopping don't fail me now!

Anna suddenly gasped and stopped walking. I took a few more steps before I slowed as well, glancing back at her with one eyebrow quirked. Her eyes weren't focused on me however as a slow grin spread across her face. "...what if we took Lea's words literally?"

Rayne and I exchanged a quick look. She shrugged, seemingly just as in the dark as I was. As mall traffic kept flowing unperturbed around us, my gaze settled on Anna once more and I snorted with a shake of my head, "What, you mean just put me under the tree gift-wrapped with a bow for Christmas morning?"

"Something like that, Sis," she giggled, suddenly latching on to my arm once more but now with a surprisingly strong grip.

Uh-oh… that impish gleam in her eye was making me nervous...

"Oh-ho, I see where she's going with this," Rayne sniggered before shifting the stroller over to be in front of me instead. "Here, take this." I blinked, my fingers automatically closing around the handlebar. Then she had seized hold of my other arm.

Oh gosh, her devilish little smirk was making me really, really nervous…

The ladies nodded at each other in unison in some unspoken agreement then without warning took off sprinting. I gasped and tripped over my own two feet, but managed to stay up right as I was dragged along with them. The sea of people parted for the stroller bearing two laughing infants like they were a friggin' pair of tiny Moses and we had zero trouble getting through, making a beeline straight for-

My eyes widened, "Oh no."

"Oh yes!" Anna cackled, tightening her hold on my arm.

I futilely dug my heels in, trying to put on the brakes. "No, no, no!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Rayne answered in glee.

There was no use fighting it. This was happening. Like it or not, I had no choice but to charge headlong into a little shop known as…

...Esmeralda's Secrets.

I had just been forcibly manhandled into literal Underwear Hell. Everywhere as far as the eye could see, things were lacy… things were silky…

...things were fluffy.

Egads, the horror. The fluffy, fluffy, neon pink, leopard-printed utter horror.

I squeaked, squeezing my eyes closed and burying my face into my hands. I was almost surprised my palms didn't burn from how badly my cheeks were roasting.

I heard a chuckle from Rayne as I felt her trying to gently pry my fingers away from my eyes. "Don't play coy, sweetie, we're all grown-ups here! You act like you've never been in an adult happy fun-time store to buy some lingerie before!"

"Maybe because I haven't!" I dropped my hands to fix her with a hard stare. Instead, the recipient of my said stare turned out to be a mannequin in something skimpy, leathery and with far too many buckles. "Oh dear," I muttered, somehow managing to blush even harder as I looked away and held a hand up to block my line of sight to it.

"Really, Sis? You've never been in one of these places? Not ever, not even once?" Anna snerked, shaking her head. The sheer disbelief coloring her voice led me to believe that she had been in this type of store before. This was not a realization I was comfortable with. "But you're so…" she whistled, winking one eye shut as her hands traced an hour-glass figure in the air before me. "...and Lea's so…" now she trilled her tongue against the roof of her mouth, eyebrows bouncing as she mimed pouncing with curled, wriggling fingers. "...ya know what I mean?"

...was it sad that I did in fact know exactly what she meant?

Scrunching my eyes shut as I pressed my fingers between my eyebrows, I puffed out a low sigh. Then, rather awkwardly (scratch that... very, very awkwardly), I explained, "...while it's… true that we're quite, er… active in that, hrm… department… we, uh… r-rather, that is to say, lingerie is a particular… bedroom... adventure we've yet to have as of, um… as of yet."

I couldn't believe this was actually a conversation I was having with my baby sister.

She brightened. "Well then thank your lucky stars cuz I've just handed you the perfect Christmas present on a silver platter! You're welcome!"

I tipped my head to one side with a dubious frown. "...really?" Plucking a hanger bearing an intricate, ruffled bra from a nearby rack, I wrinkled my nose at it before putting it back. "Doesn't seem like it'd be the most meaningful, heartfelt gift…"

"Please!" Rayne batted a hand through the air with a snort. "It's not like it's an anniversary or anything, it's Christmas - a consumer holiday glorified by the big corporations to weasel as much munny as they can outta us! Not every gift has to be thoughtful and profound, you're allowed to just have a lil fun with it sometimes!"

"Still… I don't know…" I said slowly as my gaze wandered against my will towards a nearby case filled with… ah, hm… shall we say, recreational items? I quickly averted my eyes.

"How 'bout we just peruse a bit, 'kay? No harm in that!" Rayne grinned as she steered the stroller further into the store.

"Yeah, Sis, just let us peruse!" Anna beamed as she linked her arm in mine once more and tugged me into a stumbling walk.

I pressed my lips together into a thin line and said nothing as I let her guide me along. I mean, did I even have a choice? Really? Maybe the sooner I stopped arguing, the sooner we could get this whole embarrassing ordeal over with and leave.

As I let my eyes idly drift from one frilly garment to the next, I did have to begrudgingly concede that Anna and Rayne might actually be onto something here with the lingerie idea. Don't get me wrong, Lea had never made me feel pressured to, er… "dress up" for the occasion or anything like that. It was never even really a conversation we'd ever had, so honestly it wasn't something I'd particularly given much thought to before this very moment. That said, I could hardly see him being exactly opposed to the idea either. Far from it, in fact…

Thus why it might just make the perfect Christmas surprise.

Anna abruptly pulled us to an unexpected stop in front of another customer, drooping her eyelids at the individual as she informed him, "You know that'd be more of a Christmas gift for you than for her, right?"

The gentleman in question paled, choking back a startled, "Huh?" and looking rather guilty as he stood there with the sheer, sparkly spaghetti-strapped thong dangling from his fingers that'd he'd been mulling over.

Rayne stepped up beside us, parking her stroller with it aimed directly at the guy as she deadpanned, "For shame! My babies judge you!"

He blinked, glancing down at the infants. Cayde and Aria squealed and burbled back. Turning bright red and dropping the underwear, he made a hasty retreat out of the shop.

"Haha, yes! That was too fun, Ray-Ray!" Anna snickered, giving her a high five. As I pinched the bridge of my nose with a tiny shake of my head, Anna asked, "What?"

I grumbled, "Being in a lingerie store by myself would be mortifying enough, but it's just now dawning on me how utterly ridiculous it is that I'm in here with my sister and a mom who brought her two babies."

"Psh, they're fine with it," Rayne brushed off, redirecting her gaze to someone nearby who seemed to work here. "Excuse me, Miss, you're fine with my tots being here, right?"

The woman turned to face us with a warm smile. She had long, wavy raven hair, eyes as green and sparkly as emeralds, and the kind of figure that would probably be pictured in a dictionary next to the word "voluptuous." In short, exactly the kind person any boss who ran a lingerie store would be positively thrilled to hire as an employee. She hummed a soft laugh as she waved a finger in greeting to the twins, "Of course! I actually have a kid of my own back home… Djali looks to be just about their age, maybe a few months older. Anyway, I completely understand and have no problem at all with you bringing them in here."

"Told ya," Rayne smugly razzed her tongue in victory at me.

And this prime example of maturity was a parent, folks.

Rolling my eyes but fighting a grin, I then glimpsed the worker's name tag and furrowed my brow. "Wait… you're Esmeralda?" I blinked a couple times. "...that's not just a fancy name they put on the store sign?"

"Nope! I own and operate this lil business," the woman smiled proudly now.

"Well then, Esmeralda, I hafta ask…" one corner of Anna's lips turned up as she leaned to whisper conspiratorially, "What's your secret?"

A little snort escaped her nose before she gestured back towards the front of the store, "Not letting creeps like that get to me."

Looking out the shop windows back into the mall proper, we now all spotted a rather sinister-looking old man standing out there who seemed to be… protesting? He was holding up a sign aimed directly at this little boutique bearing in big, bold letters the words (and I kid you not): SINNERS, REPENT. Other mall shoppers were giving the man a wide berth as he just stood there a few feet away from the entrance into here, glaring. Gosh, how had we not seen him on our way in? Maybe he'd arrived after us.

"Ugh," Rayne scrunched up her nose in distaste at the sight of the man. "What's ol' Skeezy McSkeezerson's problem?"

"He's just some religious nutjob who thinks my little," up came her fingers to provide air quotes, "den of iniquity here is ruining the wholesome, family friendliness of the mall. Ignore Frollo, he's harmless."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "You're chummy enough with that gnarly bag of bones to know his name?"

Chuckling, Esmeralda shrugged, "Kind of hard not to know it, what with him harassing me every morning when I come to open shop and every night when I lock up. Luckily, he's not brave enough to follow me inside, probably too afraid he'll fall victim all this sin and debauchery hanging on the racks. This place is my sanctuary," she glanced around with a contented sigh. Then she clapped her hands together once, flashing her best customer service smile now. "But that's enough talk about that! Is there anything I can help you lovely ladies out with today?"

"Perhaps you can assist my beautiful bestie here by helping her pick out some sexy underwear for her to show off to her man," Rayne beamed, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "You'll hafta forgive her, she's a tad clueless cuz she's a bit of a lingerie virgin."

"Hmmmmm," Esmeralda slowly circled me as she tapped a curled finger to chin. I felt a heat rising to my face once again under such scrutiny and I began fidgeting with my braid. "...yes, I can already picture a few of my items that could suit you perfectly. But first, tell me a little about your beau - do you think he could handle being subjected to some of our more…" she paused, a sly little gleam flitting across her eyes now as she smirked, "...risqué outfits?"

Forget him, I don't think I could handle being subjected to some of their more risqué outfits!

Before I could respond however, Anna chimed in with, "Oh don't worry, Lea can handle them! Trust me, he's as red blooded and virile as they come!"

"Anna!" I gasped, horrified as I strangled my braid harder.

She gave my shoulder a light, playful shove, "C'mon, Sis, you think I can't friggin' hear you two going at it whenever I spend the night on your living room couch?"

I nearly tore my braid straight out of my scalp.

Face? What face? No, I no longer had one and in its place now was nothing but a raging inferno.

"I- He- We- Tha-" I spluttered and stammered, unable to complete a coherent thought, much less sentence.

"Aw, I think you broke her," Rayne cooed with a little giggle, patting me on the head.

Esmeralda had already set to work, drifting from one rack to the next, seemingly knowing exactly where to find each thing she was looking for as she quickly and efficiently riffled through the garments, plucking up hangers here and there to toss over her arm before moving to the next one. Before long, she'd returned to stand in front of me with an assortment of delicates neatly stacked in the crook of her elbow. "I've picked out a few options for you for starters, just let me know if you see any you'd like to try on." With that, she held up the first one.

...I did not understand what I was even looking at here. Like, at all. Was she holding it upside down?

Though I made no comment, my expression must have told her everything. "Alright, not your cup of tea. Moving along," she smiled good-humoredly as she set that one aside and lifted up another one for me to look at.

Good lord, was that supposed to be lingerie or a net? The thing was more holes than fabric. Just how many limbs did they think I had?

Tucking that one away as well, she laughed, "Take it that one's a no too. Don't worry, I have a good feeling about this next one." She showed it to me and…

...actually? It wasn't too distressing.

No, it was actually a rather classy and tasteful kind of sexy, with its silk and its hint of lace and its overbust corset in a deep, rich blue.

I hesitated with a thoughtful frown before reaching a hand out to gingerly take it from her. Cheeks still simmering away, I pursed my lips to one side as I considered it for a few seconds longer, then mumbled, "You said something about being able to try them on?"

Esmeralda smiled brightly. "Follow me, I'll take you to a fitting room."

As she started leading me towards the back, I was suddenly halted in my tracks when I heard, "Sis! Sis!" My eyebrows knit together as I turned my head towards Anna's voice. I spotted her over by one of the wall shelves, holding something up high over her head and waving it about with an almost manic glee as Rayne smothered snickers into her hand beside her. "You should get this for Lea too!"

It took me a second to realize what it was she had in her hand, but when I did, every last drop of blood in my body came hurtling up into my face.

"No!" I shouted across the store. "No way! I am not buying that!"

I bought it.

But only because Anna wouldn't stop pestering me about the stupid thing until I did.

I hadn't been able to bring myself to gift-wrap it with the lingerie that I'd also ended up purchasing. Heck, I'd barely been able to bring myself to wrap the lingerie itself, but what exactly else could I have done? Surprised him with it by just walking into the bedroom wearing it? Please, as if I could ever be so bold - I'd practically burst into flames from all the blushing I'd been doing just wrapping the dang thing. As for the other thing, I'd just panicked and hid it away wedged between the bedframe and underside of our mattress for the time being until I could figure out something else to do with it.

Thankfully, I'd also managed to come up with a second gift to give Lea. In a sudden surge of inspiration out of the blue, I'd gotten the idea to get him a vintage movie reel projector. I could just picture him getting all excited about collecting all of his cheesy classics he loved so much in their original format so we could watch them "the way they were meant to be watched" or something like that. Finding one used online hadn't been all that difficult or expensive, not to mention thank goodness for overnight shipping! The device itself was big but not all that heavy, almost shockingly so - I'd easily been able to lug it around myself for getting it all wrapped and whatnot.

So there my two presents sat in the living room as Christmas Eve dawned, beneath a tiny yet festively decorated tree that we had to constantly keep Marshmallow from trying to eat. It was hard to blame the giant fuzzball though really - now almost fully grown, Marshmallow was bigger than the dinky little pine so was it any real wonder that he seemed to consider it his new favorite chew toy?

In any case, me getting Lea more than one gift seemed to have worked out for the best as it hadn't slipped my notice that he'd also gotten me a couple things that were currently nestled there at the base of that tree. Our small cluster of presents were really only there for the sake of appearances at the moment. We weren't going to be here on Christmas day itself. We were in fact just a few minutes away from hitting the road to spend the holidays in my family's sizable cabin tucked away up in the snowy mountains surrounding Arendelle. Luckily, the only actual relatives that would be there were Anna and Saïx, with the rest of the guest rooms being filled out by a handful of our friends we'd invited to join us for the holidays. In any case, all we had left to do before we departed was finish getting dressed, wrap up packing with a few last minute supplies, toss the presents into the car trunk, wrangle Marshmallow into the backseat and then we'd be off.

Thus my mild surprise when just as I'd finish rinsing my dish from breakfast, I felt Lea wrapping his arms around my waist to hug me from behind as he nuzzled my neck and whispered, "Hey, how 'bout we each open up one of our presents a day early? It'll be fun, whaddya say?"

I glanced over my shoulder at him and he flashed me a cheeky little grin. I blinked a couple times, then peeked over towards our teeny tree in the living room. More specifically, at the gifts beneath it. At one gift in particular.

You know… that gift.

I hastily averted my gaze, feeling my cheeks warm.

Drat, had he noticed which one my eyes had zeroed in on?

Clearing my throat as I set the dish in the drying rack, I asked casually, "Do we really have the time? We're already running a bit behind, we should've been on the highway ten minutes ago."

"We're already late, what's a few extra measly minutes?"

I tried again, "But today? Right now? ...it's not even Christmas yet."

"Pfft, what, like the holiday police are gonna bust us for bending the rules a lil?" he chuckled low as he gave my ear a playful nip before pulling away, spinning me around to face him. "Misbehave, live a lil! Being bad never felt so good! 'Sides, I'm just dying to know whatcha got me. C'mon, it's just one present each, we'll still have others to rip open on jolly ol' Saint Nick's Day tomorrow."

I had to resist the urge to look at that gift again.

Damn it, girl, be cool.

Instead, I smiled and relented with a small sigh, "Alright, fine. Only one though, got it?"

"Course!" he beamed, before gesturing a hand towards the living room with a slight bow of his head. "Ladies first."

I walked past him, exiting the kitchen and approaching where our tree stood guard over its little horde of presents. I considered them for a few seconds before picking out a bright red, flat-ish one decorated in nutcracker soldier printed gift wrap. Then I moved to the couch, making room by easing Marshmallow over a bit where he laid conked out in a deep sleep (on his back and with his tongue lolled out) before I took a seat on the middle cushion.

As I watched Lea approach the pile of gifts now to pick one out for himself, I couldn't help a small twitch as I suddenly began to regret every poor life choice I'd made that'd led up to me buying that stupid lingerie. I mean, seriously, what had I been thinking when I'd let Rayne and Anna talk me into getting that silly thing? What would I even possibly say when Lea unwrapped it? How would I- no, shush, relax, Elsa, it'll all be fine. Lea probably wasn't even going to pick that one. He was probably more curious about whatever the bigger, flashier-looking one could be - it was probably the whole reason he'd even suggested opening a couple right now. Yeah, that had to be it! There was no way he could be interested the measly, smaller, less fancy looking pres-

Fudge, he'd picked the lingerie.

Jerk probably had caught me staring at it.

"Are you sure that's the one you want to open now?" I blurted out before my mind could catch up. Noting the slight tremor to my voice, I cleared my throat and gave a tiny nervous laugh, my fingers absently picking at the tape on my own present. "The other one's bigger. Clunkier, you might even say. Could be a lot of work hauling it all the way up to the cabin, then hauling it all the way back. Maybe it'd be better if you just opened that one here instead."

"Nah, I don't mind lugging it back and forth," he laughed as he plopped down onto the sofa on my other side opposite of Marshmallow, settling the abomination that was my gift into his lap. "I could use the workout anyhow! This glorious physique don't just happen on its own, ya know!" he grinned, flexing one arm and kissing his bicep.

I gave a soft snort. "True, I suppose you have to burn off all that ice cream you consume by the gallon somehow," I poked a gentle fingertip to his belly.

"Hey now, maybe I wouldn't eat so much o' the crap if the girl working at the Ice Palace weren't such a cutie," he leaned towards me with a wink.

"Oh-ho, no," I waggled a finger in his face. "You were a sugar junkie long before I got a job there, so don't even try to blame your sweet tooth on me."

He smirked. "Who said I was talking 'bout you?"

I smacked him in the face with one of the couch's throw pillows.

"I mean, obviously I was talking 'bout you, babe!" He reached over to tweak my nose, "You're the cutest chick who works there, no contest! ...literally, cuz you're the only chick who works there, so that's not even really saying mu-"

I whacked him with the pillow again.

"I kid, I kid, c'mon, you know I think you're the most gorgeous creature in all of creation! Gimme that thing before you fluffily bludgeon me to death," he snerked, confiscating the cushion from me and tucking it away between the armrest and his hip before nudging my shoulder with his. "Now go on, open up my present to ya already!"

With a tiny shake of my head at him, I redirected my focus to the nicely wrapped gift in my lap and began carefully removing the tape. Once I'd made enough of an opening, I liberated a thin box from within. Raising an eyebrow, I lifted the lid off to discover two long, green slips of sturdy paper inside decorated with a logo on one half and lots of teeny printed text filling the rest of it. I picked them up with a little frown, squinting as I read them, then gasped and shot up to my feet, the box tumbling out of my lap down to the carpet. "How?! How did you manage to get tickets?! This musical has been sold out for months!"

"I have my ways," he sighed smugly, slouching down more comfortably into the sofa cushion. "We should be able to squeeze it in before the end of winter break, so figured we could take in the show, spend a few days in the big apple, make a whole trip outta it, ya know?"

"That… that sounds amazing, that-" I cut myself off, suddenly at a loss for words. Broadway was currently running my favorite musical - the one that song was from that I'd chosen to audition with for our community theater's Wicked tryouts. I'd been dying to go and Lea knew that, but tickets had been impossible to get. Not so for him, it seemed. I hastily sat back down, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and yanking him over to me to kiss him thoroughly. Smiling against his lips, I then drew back just enough to whisper, "Thank you… this means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it," he murmured back, gaze hooded as he nudged the tip of my nose with his. Then he pulled away, eyes lighting up a bit as he eagerly rubbed his hands together over his own present now. "Alright, my turn!"

I paled, heart all but flatlining in my chest. Crud, I'd completely forgotten. Here Lea had picked out something super sweet and thoughtful for me, and what had I gotten him in return?

Underwear.

Nay, not just underwear.

Friggin' frilly underwear.

"No!" I yelped, lunging for it just as he'd ripped some of the wrapping paper off one corner. Managing to snatch it out of his hands, I scrambled to stand and get it away from him. He stared blankly at me, one eyebrow quirked. Eyes darting wildly about, I said, "No, this… you don't want to open this one! This one's, er…" I hid it behind my back, biting my bottom lip, "...it's nothing really, it's- you know what? Let's get you the other one! Yes, that's the one you want, and this one you can open, er… never? Yeah, let's say never! In fact, let's just completely forget this one ever existed and I'll go get you the other-"

Just as I'd turned to make my way back over to the tree, Lea snaked one arm out and snagged the gift back with a chipper little, "Yoink!"

"Hey!" I tried to steal it back from him, but he'd stood up to his full height, holding it high above his head where it was easily out of my reach.

Curse him, his stupid tall self and his stupid, stupid long arms!

He chuckled as he pressed a quick peck to my forehead, "Now I know this is for sure the one I wanna open. With you getting all flustered over it, whatever it is has gotta be good!"

"But-"

"Ah-ah!" his finger booped me on the nose before he plonked back down into his seat on the couch. "Ya know it only makes me wanna open it more the harder you fight it, right? Just let it go, El, it's happening."

My lips pinched sourly before I huffed and sat down as well. I grabbed another throw pillow and hugged it tightly to my chest, burying my face in it just enough for me to peek out anxiously over the top.

Alright, fine. Let's get this impending trainwreck over with.

But I swear, this is the last time I listen to any advice Anna and Rayne give me ever again.

I tried not to flinch with each little tear he made in the gift wrap, the cartoony frolicking reindeers and elves printed on it seeming so deceptively innocent now when you considered what scandalous secrets lay hidden beneath them. All too soon, he was balling up the tattered remains and tossing them over his shoulder before opening the box, shifting the neatly folded tissue paper within aside and-

His whole body went still. Then he blinked once. Then twice. "Huh," was all he said at first. Then with a bemused little upward curve to one corner of his lips, he was delicately lifting the lingerie up out of the box in all its salacious glory. "...babe, I'm flattered, but blue's not really my color."

...oh god, the big clueless dope thought I'd given it to him as a joke for him to wear. He didn't realize-

Fudge, now I had to spell it out for him.

Having to wonder how my brain was not melting straight out of my ears at this point what with how badly my face was broiling, I set the pillow aside, folded my hands in my lap, sat up a little straighter and opened my mouth. Then swiftly snapped it back shut, cheeks cranking up the heat even further.

How… do I even put this?

Taking a deep breath, I tried again, "But it is… my color..."

He dropped the garment, eyes growing round and expression slack. "Oh." A pause. Then, "Oh, so you'd be the one who'd- oh." Picking it up again, a huge, lopsided grin spread across his suddenly rather flushed face as he eyed it in a whole new light now. "...oh, I see."

Fingers strangling the life out of each other in my lap, I looked away as I went on, "I know it's not as nice or as… sincere as your gift to me was, but I promise my other present is much better and-"

"No, no, none of that now, it's- I- this is-" Apparently struggling to find the right words to do justice to what he wanted to say, he instead settled for schooling his expression to be almost comically stoic as he gave big, emphatic nods with a thumbs up that then shifted into forming an O with his thumb and forefinger, signaling his approval.

I perked up a little uncertainly. "...you mean you like it? Really?"

"Oh yeah, trust me, I like it… really, really like it." Lea then cleared his throat, knee bouncing up and down as his fingers idly traced back and forth over the lace embroidered into the silky fabric. "Sooooo, heh… when do we take this baby out for its first test spin? ...now? Or say, I dunno, uh…" he shrugged, clearly trying (and failing) not to sound too eager as he repeated, "now?"

Down, boy.

I bit back a tiny smile. "No, now we should be on the road and making our way towards the cabin," I said as I rose to my feet to head towards the bedroom, snatching the lingerie from his grasp as I moved past him.

"Hey!" He vaulted himself over the backrest of the couch in the flash, hot on my heels. "That's mine!"

Crossing my arms as I spun around to face him, I said, "Yes, but I'm simply taking it to pack it with my things so we have it for the trip."

"Oh." Lea was grinning so big again now, it crinkled his guyliner. "I'll allow this."

"How very magnanimous of you," I snorted, turning to continue my journey to the bedroom once more. "I'm going to go finish packing and getting dressed, while you-" Just as I'd stepped through the door, I glanced back to discover he'd followed me in here. "...just where do you think you're going?"

He hunched down to my eye level, eyebrows bouncing over his half-lidded gaze. "To help ya get dressed, of course."

"Uh-uh. No," I planted a hand firmly to his chest, forcing him to walk in reverse and back out of the room. "I know that look. We don't have time for that look, we're late enough as it is. You stay out here, clean up the trashed wrapping paper, and get the rest of the gifts and Marshmallow out to the car."

"Aw c'mon, El, ya gotta lemme in there so I can help you," he insisted.

I gave him a flat look. "...do I? Do I really? Enlighten me then, please… why do I 'gotta' let you in here?"

"Er… cuz I'm a charming, lovable scamp with devilish good looks that you just can't say no to?"

I drooped my eyelids at him. Then I shut the door in his face, locking it for good measure.

Charm your way through that, scamp.

My cheeks puffed as I blew out a long breath, taking a second to fan my still very heated face with my hands. I then crossed the room, tossing Lea's gift next to where my almost fully packed suitcase laid open atop the bed. I set to work grabbing whatever else I needed - things like my charger and whatnot - and stuffed them into my travel case.

I then paused in a brief moment of indecision before sighing, rolling my eyes, and sticking my hand under the mattress to retrieve the other thing that Anna had made me buy from Esmeralda's Secrets. I frowned at it, then turned and held it up as I asked, "What do you think? Should I take it along?"

Bruni blinked back at me from inside his terrarium, cocking his head. Then can you guess what the little salamander did next? Go on, take a wild guess.

If your answer involved his tongue, his eyeball, and/or the swiping of said tongue over said eyeball, then you'd be correct.

I snorted. "You know, we really need to get you some new talking points as I feel you've pretty much said all you can say with that one at this point," I told him as I double checked he had enough food in there with him to keep him amply fed while we were gone. Then I gave the thing in my grip one final glance with a tiny shake of my head before tucking it away inside my luggage, burying it deep beneath several layers of clothing. Chances were good it'd never see the light of day, but why not bring it just in case? I mean, the lingerie had been such a hit and we hadn't even gotten to the fun part with it yet. I could imagine this thing would probably be met with equally rave reviews from Lea as well, should I muster up the courage to actually bring it out.

Now all I needed to do was pack the lingerie, get dressed, and go. I picked it up, dangling it before me as I considered it for a moment. My lips pursed to one side.

...an idea was beginning to take form in my mind.

A little wicked one.

A supremely stupid one.

One that was only asking for trouble.

Honestly, I don't know what possessed me to do it.

But I did it anyway.

"Everyone else is there already. I can't believe we're actually going to be the last ones to arrive," I muttered, narrowing my eyes at the text message from Anna on my phone.

"Bah, don't sweat it," Lea chuckled as he sped his car down the highway. We'd been on it for about twenty minutes now. He glanced over at me, tipping his aviators down just enough to wink over the rim, "Just means they'll have our hot cocoa ready and waiting for us in a couple o' steaming mugs by the time we get there."

My throat gave a small, noncommittal hmph. "Just be glad Anna's insisting on saving the master bedroom for us instead of calling dibs on it for her and Kristoff," I told him, pocketing my phone once more. Then I said, "I still think it was silly of Saïx to drive out ahead of us on his own instead of carpooling with us. He would've been able to sleep on the ride over."

He flicked on his blinker as our lane began to merge with the next one over. "Think he plans to bail on our lil holiday bonanza a day or two earlier than the rest of us. 'Sides, pretty sure he wasn't too keen on the idea of being the overstuffed fleabag's snuggle buddy on the whole drive over," he sniggered as he stretched a hand behind him into the backseat without looking to give Marshmallow a couple of affectionate pats to the head. "Hey!" he quickly snatched the hand back when his love was reciprocated with tooth hugs.

"Well then, his loss." I grinned as I twisted around in my seat to give the dog scritches under the chin, cooing, "Isn't that right, Marshmallow?"

Did that sound like an invitation to come sit in my lap? Because apparently to Marshmallow, it did. In the blink of an eye, he'd excitedly squeezed his way through the space between our two front seats to crush me under the mountain of white fluff that was him, tail thumping away at a mile a minute against the dash. Quite a feat considering there was barely enough space in the car seat to accommodate the colossal canine alone, much less the both of us. To this day, I'm still not quite sure how Marshmallow had managed to wedge himself up here with me.

After much cackling from Lea and wheezed coaxing from me, Marshmallow was finally persuaded a few minutes later to clamber back into the backseat once more, though not without a healthy dose of whining and puppy-dog pouting. Able to breathe again, I inhaled deeply as I began to straighten myself back out - the assault of doggy cuddles had left me in a bit of a disarray. I swept the few stray pale tendrils of my hair that had escaped back into my bun, smoothed the rumples out of my off the shoulder button-up blouse, and-

"Holy shit, is that... Under your clothes, you're already wearing it?!" Lea fumbled with his shades, perching them atop his head as his suddenly wide-eyed stare was now in a tug-of-war between my leg and watching the road.

With a start, I glanced down to discover that Marshmallow's little snuggle ambush had caused my knee-length skirt with a side-slit to ride up a bit, revealing the lacy garter (complete with a little blue bow) wrapped around my thigh that was holding up my black sheer stockings. Blushing furiously, I hastily jerked the hem of my skirt back down to hide it again and awkwardly avoided his gaze as I crossed my legs, mumbling, "...maybe."

Yes.

I was already wearing it.

"It" being the lingerie.

Which, by the way if you hadn't guessed by now, was the supremely stupid thing I'd decided to do.

Lea said nothing, just continued to gawk at me.

Gosh, if my cheeks burned any brighter, Santa would be asking me to guide his sleigh tonight instead of Rudolph.

Talk. I needed to talk. To fill this silence that was making me fidget restlessly under his gaze. Go on, mouth, just move and make with the words already. Any words. "...it's... actually rather comfortable." ...okay? "The lingerie, that is." Oh good. Thanks for clarifying the obvious. "Wouldn't think it would be. Would've thought it'd be more designed in favor of being, ah… aesthetically pleasing at the expense of comfort." Oh dear, where was I going with this? "I mean, I tried it on before buying it. Of course I did, it'd be silly not to at least make sure it- but, you know, I only had it on for a grand total of a minute in the fitting room, not really long enough to tell if- but now that I've had it on for an, er… extended period, I can say that it's, uh… it's quite comfortable. The silk is real nice, real… smooth against the skin." I take it back. Stop talking. Stop talking this instant. "Fits like a glove, as the saying goes, not… tight or restricting at all like I'd imagined it might be. The whole thing's really quite flexible with a plenty of give, actually…" Your license to speak has been revoked, mouth, you hear me? Zip it! "I shouldn't have any problems bending or twisting into any sort of posi-"

The car beside us suddenly blared its horn - apparently Lea had been a little too preoccupied by my line of discussion and in his distraction had begun to accidentally drift into the next lane over. "Fuck," he hissed, swerving us back into our proper lane. Clearing his throat as he shot the other vehicle a quick, apologetic wave, he told me, "Love, I'm dying to hear the end of that sentence, trust me, I'm highly invested at this point, but we're gonna hafta put a pin in it and circle back round to it later cuz this is a dangerous conversation to be having with a man while he's driving."

You heard the man, mouth. Friggin' cram it.

Pressing my lips firmly together, I tugged at the hem of my skirt again and gave a single curt nod, making no further comment.

We drove in silence for a minute as the trees of the forest around us blurred past our windows. Lea's eyes kept flicking to me out of the corner of his peripheral. He coughed into his fist and vigorously ruffled his fingers through his hair before returning his grip to the wheel. His knee began to jiggle up and down. Then, "Hey, uh… how 'bout we make a pit stop somewhere?"

I glanced towards him, my head tipping to one side. "A pit stop?"

"Yeah, so we can, ya know... stretch our legs… and other things," he wickedly smirked as he reached over the center console for my hand and brought it up to his lips, bouncing his eyebrows at me over my knuckles as he pressed a kiss to them.

A noise that was half laugh, half scoff escaped me. "There's not another rest stop for miles."

He shrugged. "I'm not picky. I'm sure a nice thicket could do in a pinch."

I gave him a flat look. "...a thicket? Really?"

"What? I'll make sure it's a romantic one! A classy one!"

"And how, pray tell, do you make a thicket classy?" I crossed my arms under my chest, arching an eyebrow at him.

"By keeping our pinkies raised the whole time!" Lea beamed, holding one hand up and wiggling his little finger.

Snorting, I shook my head. "No stops until we get there, understood?"

A harsh little huff emitted from his throat, "Fine." Then his foot pressed down harder on the gas and the engine thrummed louder as we started passing the other cars more quickly.

I hummed a soft laugh, "Oh sure, now you're in a hurry to get there."

"Well yeah! Ya said it yourself: we're late. Just trynta make up for lost time!" One corner of his lips quirked up as he added, "'Sides, the sooner we get there, the sooner I can unwrap my present."

"You know you're not allowed to open the other one until tomorrow morning," I tutted.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he not so subtly eyed me up and down, leaving zero doubt as to exactly what he meant.

Suppressing the urge to squirm, my hands swiped the nonexistent wrinkles out of my skirt as I dropped a casual, "Goodness, all this fuss and you haven't even seen part two of your gift yet."

He shot me a double-take. "Jesus Christ, there's a part two?!"

I'm with him, there's a part two?! Mouth, what are you even-

...oh dear, I was talking about the thing tucked away in my luggage between my dresses and my nightgown, wasn't I?

Damn Anna to the bloody ninth circle of hell for ever making me buy that infernal thing!

Alright, mouth, we can still get out of this. Remember the three B's: backtrack, backtrack, backtrack! Just go on and work your magic.

"Guess you'll just have to wait until later tonight to find out."

...mouth, you're fired.

Lea gave a low whistle and grinned big. "Somebody musta told Santa that I've been a very good boy this year," he murmured, his gaze drifting towards me again. Then traveling downward. Searching. As if he could somehow catch a glimpse of the lingerie hidden beneath through sheer force of will alone.

"Hey now, eyes on the road, mister," I chided.

He pouted, but did as he was told.

I snorted, "What's with the face? It's not like you can see anything anyway, you don't have x-ray vision."

"And I curse my goddamn maker every day for such a heinous oversight," he grumbled under his breath as he slipped his aviators back down onto his face.

We ended up making it to the cabin in record time. It wasn't currently snowing, but a thick glittering blanket of white had coated everything around us, from the ground to the trees to the cabin itself. Lea parked us next to the other cars and as he shut off the engine and the heat with it, I shrugged into my long heavy coat. I probably didn't really need it, the walk to the door would take less than ten seconds and I'd never been one to freeze easily, but it would be one less thing to carry.

Marshmallow was making it abundantly clear he was ready to no longer be trapped inside the car as he pawed at the back door and whimpered. Chuckling and telling him to hang on, I reached back to clip on his leash before exiting the vehicle myself, my knee high boots sinking into the snow as I let him out. He nearly ripped my arm out of my socket when he tried to bolt to investigate his new strange surroundings with all its new strange scents, but I managed to keep him in check if only just barely. Lea, having wrapped a black and red checkered scarf around his neck and donned his own thick jacket, took it upon himself to grab our suitcases seeing as how I pretty much had my hands full maintaining control of Marshmallow.

"We're here!" I called out as I opened the front door and let Marshmallow pull me inside, Lea following us and kicking the door shut behind him before dumping our things on the floor. As I knelt down to remove the leash once more, Marshmallow's nostrils suddenly flared with a big sniff before his ears perked and he went very still, his eyes intently focused on the hallway that led to the main sitting room. Oh-ho, I knew who he smelled. The second the leash was unclipped, the big wall of fur excitedly charged off deeper into the house.

I shook my head with a tiny grin as I slipped out of my coat and folded it over the banister next to the entrance. Before I could follow in my dog's tracks however, I felt Lea's hand closing around mine. He gently tugged me back and spun me around to face him, backing me up against the banister as he planted his hands on top of it to either side of me, trapping me between it and his body. Then he was leaning in real close, eyes hooded as his nose brushed alongside mine, his breath tickling my lips as he purred, "Ya know what I was thinking?"

I gave a low hum, reaching up to straighten his collar before resting my hands against his chest, absently smoothing out any creases in the fabric as I asked softly, "What were you thinking?"

His eyes crinkled slightly as he dipped his head, nosing the sensitive skin just beneath my ear and making me shiver. "Was thinkin' you should help me take the luggage to our room."

Translation: he was eager to "unwrap his gift."

A smile tugged at one corner of my mouth. "I see. Well, here's what I'm thinking…"

"Mm-hm," he prompted distractedly, straightening up just enough to try and go in for a kiss.

He probably thought he could seduce me to our bedroom with the power of his lips alone. And you know, he might have been right. He was a really good kisser.

Which is why I clamped my hand over his mouth at the last second, grinned sweetly up at him and said, "I'm thinking I know how much you love being a gentleman and I would simply hate to rob you of this ideal moment of chivalry by offering any sort of help with our suitcases. You're welcome." I lightly patted him on the cheek before trying to slip free of his arms. I didn't make it far however before he'd snagged me around the waist, pulling me up against him. I sighed, "Come on, Lea, the others are waiting for us."

"And they can wait a lil bit longer while we…" that wicked curve to his lips resurfaced, "settle in. It'll be fine, we'll see them later tonight." A thoughtful pause before he waggled his eyebrows, hooking a finger under my chin as he began to lean in once more, murmuring, "Make that tomorrow."

"There you two are!" Anna suddenly came bursting into the room with her signature bubbly laugh. "Was beginning to think you got friggin' lost!"

Whew! Saved by the baby sister!

Don't get me wrong, Lea was making a tempting offer. More than tempting. It's just that we hadn't made the trip all the way up to this cabin only to just lock ourselves in a room together for god knew how long. No, I'd come here to spend time with my friends and family. It was rather rare that I actually chose to spend time with a large group of people, but something about the holidays brought that out in me I suppose. There would be plenty of time for that other stuff later after everyone had turned in for the night. Lea would just have to wait his turn.

His shoulders slumped and he sulked a bit at being interrupted, but Anna hardly noticed as she snagged my arm, "C'mon, everyone's in the living room!"

"Hold it!" Lea hadn't let go of my hand yet. "El's gotta, uh… help me find our room first!"

"Oh! Up the stairs, first one on the left, you can't miss it!" Anna happily chirped, not wasting another second to drag me off.

He reluctantly let my fingers slip free of his this time as he released a low, grumbling huff. I glanced back at him as I let myself be towed along, crinkling my nose in amusement. He crinkled his back, though his was oozing snark. Could a nose crinkle even be snarky? Because if it could, his was decidedly so. With that, I lost sight of him as I was yanked around the corner and down the hall.

I could hear the rumble of chatter and laughter growing louder as we drew near before we stepped into the large family room. Everyone was seated cozily around the large roaring fireplace. Sora had little Cayde (or at least, I thought it was Cayde… I was still getting the hang of telling them apart) settled in his lap while both he and Kairi laughed and made goofy faces for the baby. Riku was nearby, keeping his watchful dad eye on them while holding a conversation with Kristoff at the same time. Rayne and Aria were nowhere to be seen, but I suspected the latter had probably been in need of a change and so had been taken into another room to have that dealt with.

Marshmallow was exactly where I expected him to be - sprawled across Saïx's lap, whether Saïx liked it or not. It looked like there might have been a bit of a kerfuffle for Saïx seemed slightly ruffled, but in the end he'd apparently just accepted his fate and currently had his laptop settled on Marshmallow's back as he typed away at it, a mildly miffed expression twisting his face behind his glasses. Roxas and Xion were seated in armchairs close to him, snickering and shoving each other's shoulders over something.

"Look who I found!" Anna announced as she brought me further into the room. They all looked up and I was met with a round of boisterous greetings. Giving my arm one final squeeze before releasing it, Anna said, "Have a seat! I'll go bring in the snacks now that we're all here!"

I began, "Oh, I'd be happy to help with-"

"No, that's fine! I really only require the assistance of one big, handsome, strapping gentleman and I have just the perfect one in mind..." As she spoke those words, Kristoff perked up and turned his head towards her with a huge smile. "...Sora!"

"Huh, wha?" Sora froze mid-squishing his cheeks together for Cayde at the sound of his own name, blinking a couple times. Kristoff looked positively crestfallen.

Anna snerked. "Kidding! Of course I was talking about you, you big dummy," she planted a quick peck to Kristoff's chin, which seemed to mollify him. Then she gathered both his hands in hers with a chipper, "Now c'mon!" before tugging him off towards the kitchen.

I grinned after them before glancing around for a place to sit. Saïx and Marshmallow were the only ones on their couch and though my beloved four-legged friend did admittedly take up a lot of space, the two of them were on the far side of it and it was a long couch so there was still plenty of room left. I eased myself down on the opposite end from them beside where the "kiddos" had seemingly picked up their conversation right where it'd left off.

"'Lemme copy your homework, Xion. Do all the work on the group project, Xion,'" she was reciting in a voice that I believe was a mock imitation of Roxas's. Then she gave a scoff, albeit in good-humor, "I swear, Rox, I'm nothing more than just a puppet for you to boss around."

"That's right, dance on my strings, puppet!" Roxas cackled back, waggling his fingers in the air above his head as if to manipulate said imaginary strings and earning himself yet another shove to his shoulder.

I listened with half an ear, momentarily distracted as my eyes scanned the room. Where was it? I knew it just had to be here somew-

Ah-ha! There! Dangling from the archway Anna and I had just come through a moment before.

Mistletoe.

I silently filed away its location for later. It'd be useful. Trust me.

"Just be grateful winter break arrived in the nick of time to save your punk ass because I was this close to throttling you," Xion sighed, rolling her eyes before flashing me a long-suffering smile. "I tell ya, Elsa, one of these days this doof will no longer have me around to cover for him and he'll be a total wreck without me!"

He looked aghast, clutching his chest. "No! Xion, you could never abandon me!" A beat. "...who else will I have ice cream with?"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Lea's voice suddenly piped up, drawing our attention. Apparently all done toting our luggage up to our room, he now came striding in, mussing up both Xion's and Roxas's hair by way of hello as he passed them, "Look who got here early."

Roxas swatted his hand away, "No, you're just late."

Lea placed a palm on the back of the couch, catapulting himself over it to land heavily in the spot between me and Marshmallow. Slipping an arm around my shoulders, he declared, "The life of the party is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

"I'm sorry, why are you talking about Sora now?" Xion slyly teased.

"Yeah, he actually showed up on time unlike your late ass," Roxas sniggered before releasing a tiny, hissed "ow" when Lea delivered a swift kick to his shin.

Rolling his eyes, Lea sighed, "So what were you squirts talking about before I got here?"

Xion smirked over at her blond friend, "About how lost Rox would be if he didn't have me around to carry his lazy butt all the time. And we're talking completely lost. Bet he wouldn't even know who he was anymore."

He shrugged, "Psh, what are you talking about? I am me, nobody else."

"You're a chimp is what you are," she poked him in the cheek. "You're lucky you even know your own name, much less how to spell it. If it weren't for me, you'd of flunked outta college ages ago."

"Ooo, we're talking about college?" Anna chimed into the conversation as she came bustling back into the room precariously managing four mugs of hot cocoa, two in each hand. Kristoff was right behind her bearing a couple trays of Christmas cookies and pastries. One of the cocoas was sweetly delivered to me before the others were distributed and Anna sent Kristoff back to the kitchen to continue ferrying in more after he'd left the snacks on a coffee table. Happily flopping down into a nearby armchair, she popped one of the sweets into her mouth before continuing, "I can't believe I have less than a year before I graduate! Unlike some people…" Her eyes smugly drifted to Lea.

"Hey now, rude! Shit, why the drive-by? I'm working through my credits as fast as I can," he grumbled as he accepted one of the cocoas Kristoff had returned with and blew on it. Then one side of his mouth quirked up at he told Kristoff, "My my, she's got ya trained good, huh?"

His only response was a hand gesture that was less than PG. Lea just snorted at that.

"What are your plans after college? I don't think you've told me yet," I asked my sister, hazarding a slow careful sip. Mmmm, chocolate! I cradled it close in both hands, enjoying the warmth seeping into my fingers.

Anna grabbed a handful of holiday truffles, tossing one up in the air and catching it in her mouth with a huge grin before answering. "Thinking of going to work with dad at the company!"

I choked on the second sip I'd just been taking, coughing a bit. "R-really?"

I could picture Anna doing a lot of things. Some stuffy corporate politics job? Not so much.

"Don't act so surprised!" she laughed. "You know I've worked there every summer practically all my life! I like it, and I'm actually pretty good at it too! I think maybe I could run that place one day!"

"Ah, so good to see that the archaic practice of nepotism is still alive and well," Saïx dryly drawled, not looking up from his screen nor pausing in his typing.

My sister huffed, narrowing her eyes at him. "Shush, you! It wasn't handed to me, I've worked my sweet friggin' little butt off for this! Am still working my butt off, thank you very much! And I'll have you know one day when I'm handed the keys to the kingdom, there's going to be some changes around there! I think I could do some real good in the world once I'm in charge! So you can kindly shove it," she razzed her tongue at him before slipping three more sugary treats into her mouth with as much lofty dignity as anyone could do such a thing. It was actually rather impressive.

Saïx merely gave a low hmph at that, fingers still tapping away. Lea drooped his eyelids at him before shifting his leg over to nudge his brother's shoe with his Converse. "Oi. You seriously working right now, dude? C'mon, man, it's Christmas! Quit being such a scrooge, have a heart and let loose a lil!" As he spoke, I could feel his thumb idly tracing light circles in the hollow of my bare shoulder, probably missing having my braid to fiddle with.

"If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter," Saïx muttered, squinting at his screen with a thoughtful frown before pressing the backspace a couple times.

"Don't be silly, course you have a heart!" Roxas beamed and shrugged. "Small and shriveled, yes, but it's there!"

Xion rose, moving to instead take a seat on the armrest next to Saïx. "Yeah, you're not a scrooge, you're a grinch! We just need to give you some hugs and eggnog and that heart'll grow three sizes, you'll see!" she giggled, throwing her arms around his shoulders and squeezing hard.

"Ugh, will the intrusions never end?" Saïx huffed, trying to pry himself free of her vice-like embrace but to no avail.

"Shh, you know you love it!"

I had a growing suspicion Lea's interest in the current conversation had waned, for I could sense his intent gaze on me now as I bent forward to put my half drunk cocoa down on the coffee table and reach for the nearest snack tray. As I settled back more comfortably into my seat, he brought up a hand to tuck a stray wisp of my hair that had gotten free back behind my ear before ducking his head to trail feather light kisses down the slope of my neck that left little tingles in their wake. I turned my head to look at him through lowered lashes and he grinned, moving to close the distance between our lips and-

-I crammed a christmas cookie in his mouth.

Nice try, bucko, but you're not going to trick me up to the bedroom that easily.

"Ah! You two made it! Finally!" Rayne came into the room just then, toting Aria on her hip. "Yeesh, took ya long enough!" she smiled as I stood up and we hugged each other. Then she was offering me the baby with an abrupt, "Here, hold this."

I tensed, blinking a couple times, my hands twitching but making no other movements to accept the burbling infant from her. "I… er…"

"Here, I'll take her," Lea muffled out around the mouthful of cookie he was still choking down thanks to me, reaching up to pluck Aria from Rayne's hands and sitting her down in his lap.

I released a silent sigh of relief. Could you believe it had been weeks since the twins had been born and I had still yet to actually hold either one of them? Some godmother I was turning out to be. But dammit, babies were just so squishy and fragile! What if I accidentally broke one of them?

Uh-uh. No. Not on my watch.

Just keep the babies away from me and my klutzy hands. Really, it'd be in everyone's best interest.

"So, uh… have you finished getting their nursery all set up at long last?" I asked as I settled into my seat on the couch once more.

"Yes, finally!" Rayne grinned as she squeezed into Anna's armchair with her and my sister rested her head on her shoulder. "Since Cayde was an unexpected surprise, hadta do a lot of scrambling getting a second crib and other such things for him. Plus it took goddamn ages scrubbing and bleaching every last inch of your old room."

"Bleaching?" Lea echoed curiously, bouncing a laughing Aria on his knee. I couldn't help but notice however that his gaze had drifted to where the mistletoe hung, seemingly just now having noticed it. I could all but see the wheels turning behind those crafty green eyes of his.

My ex-roommate gave him a flat look. "Red, please. You used to spend the night over. A lot. No tykes of mine are gonna be playing somewhere you two used to do the frick-frack constantly without it being properly and thoroughly disinfected and sanitized first."

"Ah," was the only response he made to that. As Rayne then got momentarily distracted by her husband coming over to give her surprise smooches, Lea leaned closer to me, muttering low out of the corner of his mouth so only I could hear, "Take it we're not gonna tell her 'bout their living room couch then?"

Feeling heat creeping up the back of my neck, I cleared my throat and shook my head, answering a quick but just as quiet, "No."

"Or the kitchen countertops? Or that one time on the dining table? Or-"

"No. No, none of it," I hissed, face full on roasting now.

What can I say? Lea could be very, ahem… persuasive when it came to having his way.

"Oh!" Anna suddenly straightened up in her seat excitedly as it seemed she'd just remember something. "You auditioned for the Spring musical, right? Have they announced who got what parts yet?"

Grateful for the subject change, I eagerly nodded, "Yes, actually, they just posted the cast sheet yesterday afternoon." A surge of giddiness filled my chest as I bit back a grin. "...I got the lead."

"Wha- Seriously?! Oh my friggin' god! Sis! Congratulations! And you're only now telling me? You should have said something sooner, this is a big deal!"

Lea glanced up from blowing air raspberries for a happily squealing Aria to say, "That's what I kept trynta tell her."

"I'd hardly call community theater a big deal," I self-consciously brushed off, the pleased smile I was fighting growing wider despite myself. "...I am really excited about it though."

"And you should be, sweetpea!" Rayne reached for my hands in my lap, covering them with her own. "Community theater it may be, but the people there still know their shit! They've recognized your talent and are trusting you with more responsibility! Your first official lead! That's huge!"

"Today, community theater… tomorrow, Broadway… the day after that, the world," Lea intoned in a dramatic whisper.

I rolled my eyes with a small grin, "That's not exactly how it w-"

"Too late. Already said it. It's happening."

As I shook my head at him, Anna hopped up to her feet, struck a finger up in the air and declared, "This calls for celebration! Be right back with something to spike the cocoa with!" With that, she blurred out of the room back towards the kitchen.

I shyly accepted a few more congrats from everyone else before conversation gradually turned to other topics and I just contentedly listened for a bit. The chit chat began to fade into the background however as I glanced towards Lea.

Gosh, he was so good with Aria. How did he make it look so easy? Not to mention there was something so pure and comically endearing about seeing this absolute behemoth of a man with his mess of untamed red hair, guyliner, and black nail polish being so gentle as he played peek-a-boo with the tiny baby. I know I'd already thought he'd make an amazing father one day, but thinking it and actually seeing him in action were two completely different things. Watching the two of them right now-

Oh dear, it was doing things to me.

You know. Stomach butterflies, knees going weak, insides turning into mush kind of things.

Things that must have been as plain as day to read on my face for Lea happened to look over at me, blink a couple times, then quirk an eyebrow as his gaze flicked back and forth between me and Aria while he put two and two together. Then he smirked. Turning the infant to face me now, he took on a high-pitch, munchkin-like voice as he began guiding Aria's arms into flourishing gestures as if she were the one talking instead of him, "Come, m'dear, and let awesome, suave, studly Unkie Lea whisk you away to the bedroom to ravage you and introduce you to whole new worlds of pleasure."

I gave him a blank stare. "...are you seriously trying to seduce me with a baby right now?"

His grin turned toothy. "Depends. Is it working?"

Kind of.

Sort of.

Yes.

"No."

Liar.

Pretty sure he knew it too, what with the way he was squinting at me with that crooked little half-grin of his. His lips parted, but before he could utter another word, Anna practically bounced back into the room.

"We got Crème De Menthe," she held up a long, skinny green bottle in one hand, "we got Kahlúa," her other hand waggled a smaller brown bottle, "we got it all, take your pick! But first, I took a look out the window while I was in the kitchen and now I have a very important question for you." She set the booze down on the table, stood in front of me with both hands firmly planted on her hips and gave me her most serious expression as she stared down her nose at me. Abruptly, she broke out into an ear-to-ear smile, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

"Hell yeah I do!" Sora finally tore his attention away from Cayde to enthusiastically shout across the room, causing Kairi to smother a snicker behind her hand.

"I'm in," Roxas was already on his feet and making his way towards where his warmer outerwear had been carelessly tossed onto some of the other furniture.

Xion was not too far behind him with a, "Me too! Bet my snowman will totally kick your snowman's frozen powdered ass!"

"Oh, it's on!"

Humming a small laugh, I nodded at Anna, "I'd love to."

Before I could rise from my seat however, I felt Lea's hand grabbing mine. "You sure about that, babe? You're not really, ya know…" his eyes briefly flicked down to indicate my clothes. More specifically, what was concealed beneath my clothes. "...dressed for cold weather and ya might catch a chill. So whaddya say we get you upstairs and-"

"Ah-ah," I pressed a fingertip to his lips, silencing him. "I'll be fine. You know the cold never bothered me anyway. I just need to snag a pair of gloves and go grab my coat from the foyer." I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before standing.

I'd barely managed to take a step however before Lea'd hastily dumped Aria into Saïx's unsuspecting hands and charged past me to stand in my path, right smack dab beneath the-

"Hold it!" he held his palm up in my face, then smirked, propped one shoulder against the inside of the archway he occupied now and pointed up with a smug, "Mistletoe."

I narrowed my eyes at the little sprig above his head, then crossed my arms as my eyelids drooped. "And I suppose you're expecting a kiss now?"

"Tradition demands it and who are we to scoff in the face of tradition? 'Sides, you wanna get your coat, you'll have to get through me first. So pucker up, schmoopsie-poo, cuz these lips aren't gonna kiss themselves!" He stretched a hand towards me, adding a low, "C'mere."

I considered his awaiting hand for a moment. Then I met his gaze, one corner of my mouth quirking up before I snagged the nearest thing - or rather, nearest person, which just so happened to be Roxas as he was running by. "You heard the man: those lips aren't going to kiss themselves!" I winked at the blond before giving him a little push towards Lea.

"You ready, big guy, because here comes some sweet, sweet sugar!" Roxas cackled as he latched onto him and made kissy noises.

"Get off, ya twerp!" Lea growled, planting a hand on Roxas's face and trying to wriggle free of his stranglehold.

"But, dude!" he muffled back against his palm. "Tradition demands it and who are we to scoff in the face of tradition?"

"I believe it's now someone else's turn to hold the infant," I suddenly heard Saïx dryly announce and I glanced back towards him to see him looking quite unamused as he held Aria upside down by one ankle at arms length. She giggled in delight as she reached for Marshmallow, who obliged her with a curious snuffle of her fingers. As Rayne gasped and rushed to take her from him, I shook my head with a grin and quickly slipped past Lea while he was still busy trying to extract himself from Roxas's grapple and thus was unable to stop me.

And to think… the holiday shenanigans had only just begun.

"Welp, that's game!" Lea declared with a clap. Rising from the couch, he pulled me up with him and tried to drag me off as he hastily added, "Was fun guys, but we're gonna call it an early night. C'mon, El."

"What?" I laughed softly, digging my heels in and bringing us both to a lurching stop. "That was just the first round. We haven't even scored yet," I chided as I started leading him back towards the sofa.

He let me, huffing out a low sigh as he grumpily plopped back down into his seat and muttered under his breath, "Whaddya think I've been trying to do this whole time…"

I narrowed my eyes at him, pinching his arm for the comment.

"Oo, the foreplay's starting early, huh?" he waggled his eyebrows at me.

I pinched him harder.

"Babe, ya know you're only encouraging me at this point, right?"

I snorted, shifting tactics and shoving the notepad and pencil into his hands, "Just figure out the points please?"

"Fiiiiiine," he made an exaggerated show of rolling his eyes before scratching the pencil across the paper, tongue licking one corner of his lips as he worked. I shot the rest of the group a tiny apologetic smile.

It seemed Lea was getting a bit antsy for his gift.

I suppose he had been being rather patient for a while now. We had all spent several hours out in the snow - for the record, Xion's snowman had indeed kicked Roxas's snowman's frozen powdered butt. Lea had tried to corner me once or twice out there for some, hrm… snogging, but a well-timed handful of snow to his face did wonders for cooling that fiery passion of his down if only for a moment. Several snow angels and snowball fights later and we'd all finally had our fill and come back inside to warm ourselves by the fireplace once more. We were well past lunchtime now, but we still had plenty of snacks to tide us over until dinner. In the meantime, we'd decided to get a game of charades going at Anna's request.

At least, that's what we were attempting to do…

Of course, it'd help if the scorekeeper was actually doing his job correctly.

Or, you know… at all.

"Alright, lessee here…" Lea mumbled, pencil still furiously scribbling away. "You, my love, have four points, I have negative seventeen, and looks like Riku's won with… hm, carry the one… one million points. Now that's game! Shucks, too bad, so sad, let's go, El." Dropping the pad and pencil to the couch cushions, he snagged my hand and hopped up to his feet once more.

"Sit," came my simple yet firm command as I yanked him back down next to me. Pushing the pencil and notepad squarely into his chest, I told him, "Do it right."

As Lea released a sigh through his nose, Riku snorted from where he sat in another couch snuggled up close with his wife. "Do you even know the score? Have you been paying attention at all?"

"Course I know it! Got it memorized up here in the ol' noggin," he poked the pencil's eraser to his temple with a grin. However it quickly faded into a frown as he squinted down at the paper, tapping his writing utensil against it a couple times. "...but, I mean… if anyone else'd wanna compare notes and tell me what they think the point totals are, I'd only be too happy to let 'em know if they're right or wrong."

"But I thought you already knew the score, Mr Got-It-Memorized," Kairi sniggered, mockingly tapping a fingertip to the side of her forehead.

"I do. That was a test, and one ya just failed, princess. Minus fifty points for Kairi," Lea razzed his tongue at her as he wrote that down.

Sora groaned, "I want a new scorekeeper!"

"And that's minus one hundred points for you, bucko!"

Oh dear. We'd given the doofus way too much power.

"I'll take over keeping track of points," Rayne volunteered as she smiled and shook her head at my boyfriend's antics.

"Treason! Minus one thousand points for Raindrop for the villainy, attempted mutiny, and-"

I snatched the notepad from his fingers and smacked his shoulder with it before tossing it to Rayne who chirped a little "thank you!" at me as she caught it. I tried to confiscate the pencil as well, but he held it up high and away from me. As I stretched across him to reach for it, he took advantage of my new close proximity to plant a small peck to the tip of my nose.

I drooped my eyelids up at him.

Fine then. Keep the pencil, you big dork.

Anna piped up now, "Alright, we'll just call that first round a warm-up! Points start now!" She glanced over her shoulder and called out, "You're missing out on all the fun, Saïx, you sure you don't wanna join us?"

He'd moved some time ago to a table on the other side of the room far away from the rest of us, still hard at work on his laptop with Marshmallow curled up at his feet. "There's nothing I'd hate more," came his flat reply.

"So sayeth Mr Holly-Jolly himself," Lea muttered, staring up at the ceiling now as he balanced the pencil on his nose. I tried to swipe it, but he was faster in grabbing it off himself and once again keeping it out of my reach.

"Since we're starting off fresh, how about some new teams? Gals versus guys?" Xion suggested. She then bumped her shoulder into Roxas's with a goading smirk, "Unless, ya know, you're too scared of getting your asses handed to you by a buncha girls."

He snerked, bumping her back harder. "Bring it!"

As the others began weighing in as well on the new arrangement for the teams, I felt it. This tiny tickle against my thigh. I glanced down to discover Lea trying to use the eraser end of the pencil to covertly lift the side slit of my skirt for another discreet peek at the garter.

I lightly slapped his hand away and stood up, quickly saying, "You know, girls against boys sounds like an excellent idea. I think I'll go sit with my new teammates over here." I squeezed into the other couch between Anna and the armrest, edging Riku out from the opposite end and forcing him to find another seat. Across from Lea now, I shot him a pointed look with one eyebrow arched and a small smirk.

He just sulkily slumped further down into his own seat, knee jiggling up and down as he began gnawing on the pencil.

Oh yeah. Definitely antsy.

But no need to pout there, buddy, you and I both know you secretly love the torture of being forced to wait.

...was it wrong of me to actually be kind of enjoying this newfound power over him so much?

"Alright! Now that that's all settled, let the games begin!" Anna beamed before her blue gaze settled on me. "Sis, why don't you start us off?"

I stiffened. "Wha- me?" I bit down on my lower lip, eyes darting to the left as my hands began to fidget with each other in my lap. "...are you sure? Maybe it'd be better if someone else-"

"Elsa," she interrupted me, placing both hands on my shoulders. "Sis. I love you. You know I do. But you royally suck at charades."

"Hey!" I narrowed my eyes at her.

She shrugged, "Don't you 'hey' me, it's true!"

My face pinched sourly. "...okay, fair. But still… cheap shot."

An unapologetic grin pulled at her lips. "So now that we've got that established, don't you think getting the absolute travesty that will be your turn out of the way first so the rest of the team can help us finish strong might be the best call?"

I fixed her with a dull stare. "Gee, thanks for sugar coating it."

"No prob!" she giggled before her eyes turned expectant. "Sooo…?"

"Fine, just give me my word and let's get this over with," I relented with a sigh and held my hand out. Anna's face lit up and she offered me the basket full of tiny folded bits of paper. I plucked one up without much consideration and rose, stomping a few steps away.

We all remember what a "fan" of charades I am, right?

Not.

Ugh, the things I do for my sister.

Was it too late to be dragged off by Lea so he could have his manly way with me instead?

Releasing another sigh as I took my spot, I turned to face the others with a steely look of determination now. I'd show Anna. Time to put all those acting classes I'd been taking to good use! My team was going to guess my word so fast, they wouldn't even know what hit them. I was going to own this word. I was going to charade the hell out of this word! But first… alright, you stupid word, let's find out what you are. I opened the little slip of paper and squinted down at it.

…ice?

…

What the frick was I supposed to do with ice?!

"All set?" came the sound of Kristoff's voice and my head shot up, eyes wide and skin drained of color. Does this look like the face of someone who's 'all set'?! "Good! Timer starts in three…"

Wait.

"...two…"

No.

"...one…"

Stop!

"...GO!"

Fudge.

He flipped over the small plastic hourglass and I…

...just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You got this, Elsa!" Anna called out to me. Oh sure, thanks for the vote of confidence now. Too little, too late, Sis. "...any time." No really? And here I was just standing around doing nothing on purpose because I figured that's how you win. "Just… just do it with your body!" Gah, I'm trying!

Okay, think, Elsa, think! Ice… how do I get them to say ice… Ice, ice, ice… ice...berg? ...Icicle? ...ice, ice, baby? Oh come on, Elsa, stop being silly and focus! Ice…

...cube!

Ice cube! Yes, I think I could work with that!

I suddenly snapped into action, my hands blocking out a large shape in the air.

"Oh, oh, square!" Anna said excitedly.

Rayne tipped her head to one side, asking, "A rectangle?"

Kairi chimed in with, "A box!"

I twirled my index finger sideways, indicating for them to keep going before I began outlining the same shape again.

"Television box!"

"Lunch box!"

"Juke box!"

Gah, move on from the infernal word box already, people!

Xion squinted and gave a doubtful, "...microwave?"

"Crate!"

"Toaster!"

"Croaster!" Anna shouted, bouncing up and down in her seat before freezing with a frown. "Wait… that's not a word…"

Despairing and not knowing what else to do, I kept miming the same shape in the air, just more frantically now.

As if doing it faster would somehow help the situation.

"Cube!"

Oh wow, it actually had!

I clapped and nodded vigorously, hopping on the balls of my feet. Alright, onto phase two, which…

...there was no phase two.

Crud.

I had zero idea how to get them from cube to ice cube.

I did not think this through.

Alright. Forget cube. Cube was stupid. Cube is out the window. New plan!

...got it! Okay, no, this was good. They were going to get it for sure this time. It was so obvious, I should've thought of it sooner. When you think of ice, you think of…

...ice skating.

Smiling and sure of myself now, I spread my arms out wide to either side of me and balanced on one foot, like a skater gliding on one blade across a frozen pond.

"Oh, ah… ballerina!"

"Tightrope walker!"

"Er… a tree? Maybe?"

A tree? I looked down at myself. How was this a friggin' tree?!

I locked gazes with Anna and stretched my pose out further for emphasis. Her face was scrunched up in deep thought. Come on, Sis, help me out here. You've seen me ice skate before, you know what it looks like. You got this. Two sisters, one mind. Suddenly her face brightened and she jumped up to her feet. Ha, there it is! I knew she'd get i-

"Michael Jordan!" she yelled, stabbing a finger in my direction.

...nevermind.

Kairi abruptly rocketed up beside her, "Gandalf!"

Anna shook her head, "Pffft, like Gandalf Cube is a thing!"

"And what, like Michael Jordan Cube is?"

Oof, I really shot myself in the foot with that whole cube thing earlier, huh?

As the girls began to bicker amongst themselves while I continued to wobble and sway on one foot, I glanced over towards the boys who were all quietly snickering at our expense. Well, almost all of them. Lea instead seemed rather fascinated by the way I'd stretched and arched my body into its current pose, his eyes half-lidded as they travelled down my curves, his head slightly tilted and teeth still idly gnawing that pencil.

I smirked, a new idea forming inside my head. The girls needed more clues, after all. Planting both feet back on the ground, I bowed at the waist as if reaching down to tie the laces on my imaginary ice skates. As I bent forward, I made sure Lea got just enough of a glimpse down the front of my blouse to give him a hint of something lacy.

He bit the pencil in half with a loud crack!

Okay, I really was enjoying teasing him way too much now.

I think all this power was going straight to my head!

The all-corrupting power of the lingerie...

A gasp suddenly tore out of Anna and she started pointing back and forth between Lea and me, "I saw that! You two secretly communicated! You're working together! Double agent! Cheater!"

My head rocked back and I stammered, "Wha-?! I- How would that even- I am most certainly not-"

"Ahhnnnt!" Kristoff loudly and obnoxiously made a buzzer sound.

"Oh come on, I can't be out of time already!" I told him, crossing my arms.

"You talked, and there's no talking in charades, so consider yourself disqualified," he chuckled, then added, "PS: you actually ran out of time ages ago, we just let you keep going because watching you epically fail so hard was too funny."

Blowing out a tiny huff through my nostrils, I returned to my seat where the rest of the ladies gave me pats on the back and shoulder squeezes to console me. As Anna side-hugged me with one arm, she said, "There, there, Sis, I'm sure the word you got just sucked. Lemme see it," she took the little scrap of paper from me and unfurled it, read it, then blinked. "Ice?!" she snapped incredulously. "You couldn't get ice?!"

I sunk further down into my seat with a groan, pinching the bridge of my nose and making no further comment.

Surprisingly, the game ended in a draw. What I lacked in being able to communicate a concept without the use of words, I more than made up for in my ability to guess what my teammates were acting out. And while I may have been my team's handicap, turns out Lea was theirs. Normally he'd have been one of their stronger players, but it seemed his head just wasn't in the game. Not if the way his eyes kept distractedly drifting over to me while the rest of the boys had to constantly yell at him to focus was any sort of clue.

A couple hours and several rounds later brought us to a point where more than a few stomachs were suddenly loudly grumbling. We decided it was high time to break for dinner, seeing as how cookies and candy canes just weren't cutting it anymore. As everyone else started making their way towards the dining room, I excused myself so I could go freshen up real quick.

As I finished up in the bathroom, I turned the faucet off and flicked my hands a few times to shake away the water before reaching for the towel. Fingers now dried, I took a moment to eye myself in the mirror before straightening my bun and smoothing out my skirt. With a little satisfied nod, I turned, opened the door and-

-came to a screeching stop, looking up and blinking a couple times. "...can I help you?"

Lea smirked back down at me from where he stood in the threshold blocking my exit. Without uttering a word, he just smugly pointed up. My gaze followed his finger and-

Fudge.

Guess what we were both now under?

That's right. He'd moved the mistletoe.

My eyelids drooped at him. "Well now, that's just cheati- mmph!"

His warm lips were suddenly on mine as he grabbed my face in both hands. Unconsciously, my body leaned into his, my hands grasping at his shirt and wrinkling the material as he kissed me long and slow and we just stayed in the doorway there for a few heartbeats, his thumbs tenderly grazing along my cheekbones. Then there was a shift. His breathing turned ragged, his lips more urgent and demanding as a low growl emitted from his throat and Lea started backing me into the bathroom once more, kicking the door shut after him. Without breaking the kiss, he fumbled a hand behind him to lock it then was pushing me up against the sink counter. Lea wasted no time lifting me to sit on top of it, situating his hips between my knees as he hooked his hands beneath them and pulled me up against him roughly. He then wrapped my legs around his waist, fingertips caressing along the stockings, up my thighs and hiking my skirt a bit.

At last he broke the kiss, redirecting his attention to nibble down the side of my throat. Breathless and face hot, I whispered, "Lea, maybe we shouldn't-"

My neck suddenly seared in intense pleasure as his teeth bit down hard at just the right spot and I gasped.

...okay, maybe we should.

He huskily chuckled against my skin, lightly kissing it now as he murmured, "You were saying, Love?"

Desperately trying and failing to unscramble my brain, I began, "I… I was…"

"Mm-hm," he prompted absently as his lips and tongue continued to trail a path down my neck while his fingers pushed the hem of my skirt up a tad further.

"...was saying that… that we, uh…"

"Mm-hm," Lea hummed again, pulling back slightly now with a sly gleam in his crinkled eyes as he reached a hand back over his shoulder, grabbed the back of his tee, and-

Oh wow, there goes the shirt. On the floor. Just like that.

Should.

Lea had just made an extremely compelling argument for should.

I'd mentioned how persuasive he could be, right?

I dazedly watched as he took my hands in his, pressing my palms to his bare chest now as he leaned in to hungrily kiss me again. My fingers took on minds of their own as they began to drift and roam, slowly tracing down the lines and contours of his leanly muscled torso. I shivered as I felt his fingertips skim over the hollow of my shoulder and along my collarbone before settling on the top button of my blouse, tugging to undo it and moving down to the next-

"Elsa!" Several loud, frantic bangs against the door abruptly startled us apart. It took me a second to recognize Sora's voice coming from the other side as he whined, "Hurry up in there, I really, really gotta go!"

"Occupied!" Lea shouted over his shoulder before grinning as he hooked a finger under my chin and bent forward, his lips brushing mine once more.

"...Elsa? Why does your voice sound funny?" Sora asked uncertainly, causing me to snort against Lea's lips. His shoulders slumped and he hung his head, cursing under his breath. The spell had been broken. We both knew it.

I gently pushed him away, scooting myself down off the countertop and snatching his shirt up off the ground to hand to him. Then I took a second to fan myself in a futile effort to cool my face before opening the door and immediately saying, "This isn't what it looks like."

Sora blinked at me. Then his gaze darted to where Lea stood behind me, eyeing Sora sourly as he pulled his tee back on.

...okay, it was exactly what it looked like.

But Sora didn't need to know that!

He blinked again, "Um…"

Deciding to save him from having to come up with a more sophisticated response than that, I simply took Lea's hand in mine and left the bathroom towing him along after me, his dark scowl never leaving Sora as we pushed passed him and headed towards the dining room.

On the way there, we bumped into Rayne in the hallway who was bouncing Cayde in her arms in what seemed to be an attempt to get him to settle down. She arched an eyebrow at me as we drew near. "I thought you were freshening up."

My brow furrowed at her. "...I did."

She eyed me up and down, then snerked. "Sure ya did," was her only remark as she wiggled her eyebrows, shifted the baby to rest against her shoulder and disappeared through the door to join the others for dinner.

I tipped my head to one side, then glanced in a decorative mirror that was hanging on the wall to my left. To say I'd been disheveled would have been the understatement of the century. My skirt was rumpled, my blouse skewed, and I was still bright red from practically head to toe. To top it all off, my hair was free of its bun and positively wild.

"When did you do that?" I narrowed my eyes accusingly at Lea as I did my best to gather and throw it back up into a haphazard bun.

Alright fine, I knew exactly when he did it. I just hadn't even realized he'd done it.

He pursed his lips to one side, shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a tiny shrug as I finished righting my clothes. I then noticed his eyes flick down, suddenly seeming highly fascinated by something. I followed his gaze to spot my top button of my blouse still undone and flashing a scandalous little sneak preview of the lingerie. Blushing harder (the exact opposite of what I wanted to be doing right now, dammit, cheeks!), I hastily re-fastened the button while Lea grinned wolfishly. I pinched his arm, wiping the smirk off his face before taking his hand in mine once more and leading him into the room.

Everyone was seated at the long wooden dining table already and were all too busy laughing and talking over each other to pay much mind to our entrance. As I quietly took a seat, I noticed most of the dishes of piping hot food had already been brought out to the table. Kristoff was bringing out the last of them with my sister's help.

"I'm so happy my man knows how to cook," Anna delightedly chirped as she set down a bowl of yams before giggling and pressing a smooch to Kristoff's cheek. "That way, I don't have to!"

I smiled at the two of them while Lea plonked down into the chair beside me. He laced our fingers together, his thumb idly rubbing along my knuckles as he settled his other elbow onto the table, heavily propped his chin in his palm and heaved a long, drawn out sigh through his nose. His eyes narrowed on Sora as he returned from the restroom and happily crossed the room to take a seat between Riku and Kairi, totally oblivious to the daggers my boyfriend was glaring at him the whole way. Lea then looked away, petulantly huffing out a second grumbly sigh.

It seemed somebody was still a bit pouty over our little interlude in the bathroom being interrupted.

We couldn't have that now, could we? Not on Christmas! Let's see what we can do to perk his spirits a bit.

I shifted ever so slightly in my seat, casually bumping my knee into his as if it were by accident. Lea glanced over at me, quirking an eyebrow. One corner of my lips turned up as I took our still intertwined hands and moved them under the table, releasing his so it could settle on my knee instead. He sat up a little straighter in his chair, his other eyebrow rising to join the first. I grinned coyly, averted my gaze and said nothing, merely waiting for him to take the hint as I reached for the cup of hot cider already waiting for me next to my plate.

Slowly, tentatively, his hand started to slide up my leg, brushing my skirt up with it as he went until he reached the garter. There he paused, his fingertips exploring, grazing over its soft delicate embroidery and toying with it. I could see Lea's face heating as he brought his other hand up to bite down on the knuckle of his curled finger. I just sipped my drink and smiled politely at the conversation the others were carrying on around us. The perfect picture of prim and properness. As if nothing even remotely untoward were happening under the table in the slightest.

Eventually, his hand began tracing the garter down to my inner thigh, discovering where one of the straps connected to it. His fingertips trailed circles over the clasp a couple times before then attempting to follow the strap further up between my legs.

That's when I snagged his wrist, stopping it dead in its tracks and shooting him a flat look.

Sorry, bucko, but that's as far as this little adventure at the dinner table goes.

His muscles were tense. His left eye twitched. But then Lea closed his eyes, released a low, shaky breath and his posture relaxed somewhat as with what appeared to be a considerable amount of visible effort, he willed himself to take his hand back.

"So hey!" Kairi suddenly piped up over everyone else, causing the chatter to die down a bit as all eyes turned towards her. "I brought a buncha Christmas movies with me! You know, all the classics. I was thinking maybe it could be fun for all of us to watch a couple after we finish eating. How does that sound?"

Lea cleared his throat, raking his fingers through his hair as he began, "Actually, El and I had other-"

"What a wonderful idea!" I chimed in brightly before turning to plant a swift peck to the corner of Lea's jawline. "We'd love to, isn't that right, Lea? Since we all know what a fan of the classics you are."

He pressed his lips together into a thin line and simply fixed me with a dull stare.

Oh yes.

No doubt about it.

I was definitely having way, way too much fun teasing him.

It was late. Little Ralphie Parker's father had just thrown aside fistfuls upon fistfuls of packing to liberate the infamous leg lamp from its crate in the movie. A quick glance around the dim room, lit only by the soft glow from the TV screen, revealed everyone to be cozied up together in one way or another as they enjoyed the film.

Rayne was curled up with Riku under a blanket, him turning his head to press an affectionate kiss to the top of her head. Sora was using Kairi's lap as a makeshift pillow, their hands joined and resting atop his chest as they watched. Anna was occupying an armchair with Kristoff seated on the floor before her, using her knees as a backrest while her nimble fingers plaited hundreds of thin, tiny braids into his short blonde hair. Roxas and Xion were taking their turn for some snuggle time with the twins who, even though it was now well past their bedtimes, were being quite obstinate about going to sleep.

Even Saïx had a cuddle buddy, although he was too busy snoring to realize it. It seemed being up during the daylight hours to power through getting all his work done had finally caught up to and taken its toll on him. Back on the couch once more, his laptop lay forgotten on his lap with the screensaver running while he'd conked out nestled into Marshmallow's plush fur beside him. Marshmallow's tail thumped quietly against the couch cushions as he too began to drift off into dreams.

Grinning, I returned my gaze to the movie and settled more comfortably into Lea's side as I laid my head against his chest once again and my arms hugged more tightly around his waist. I could feel him fiddling with a stray lock of my bangs that'd gotten loose, looping and twiddling it between his fingers. Then his hand diverted its attention to instead trail lightly along my bare shoulder, his fingertips drawing invisible patterns there against my skin. It tickled and I involuntarily squirmed against him a bit.

I heard him suck in a soft hiss of breath, shifting in his seat as he hastily removed his hand, fingers splaying and flexing before closing into a fist that he planted firmly on the sofa backrest behind my head now. His knee started furiously jerking up and down. I turned my head to look up at him. His whole body was rigid and his jaw set tight, the very fires of determination seemingly burning in his eyes currently as he focused hard on the movie (perhaps a little too hard), though his gaze kept flicking to the clock hanging on the wall every few seconds.

Frowning, I brought a hand up, brushing my knuckles tenderly over his cheek. Lea stiffened, his whole body suddenly going very still. I altered course to stroke his hair, gently running my fingers through it. His breath hitched as his eyes slowly closed and I could feel him quivering slightly. Then he abruptly snatched my hand, disentangling it from his mess of untamed hair.

I blinked at him.

He pressed a lingering kiss to the back of my hand before settling it on his knee as he ducked his head, bringing his lips right next to my ear as he half whispered, half growled, "Love, it's taking every last ounce of restraint I have not to just throw you on the coffee table and take you in a primal cavemanly fashion, so unless you want to give our friends a bit of a show, I suggest you stop."

...oh dear.

It seemed I'd made him wait a little too long and he was dangerously close to his breaking point.

Thus I decided to finally and at long last take pity on him.

It was time.

Time to let him unwrap his gift.

I stood up, spinning on my heel to face Lea. He stared up at my quizzically, probably leery of getting his hopes up at this point. Smiling sweetly, I reached down, taking his hands in mine and pulling him up to his feet as well as I announced to the rest of the room, "If you'll excuse us, Lea's not feeling too hot, so we're going to head to bed now." His hand still in mine, I led him out of the room and towards the stairs as the others called out a chorus of feel-betters and goodnights after us.

Reaching the second floor, I stepped through our door ahead of him and cast a brief glance about as I stood in the center of the bedroom, taking it in. The traditional rustic wooden walls decorated with a couple small pieces of hanging art here and there. The pair of plump armchairs in one corner next to a homey little fireplace, currently unlit and cold but with plenty of logs just waiting for a spark. The antique wardrobe and dresser off to one side, the door off to another leading into the adjoining private bathroom. The king-sized bed stacked high with blankets and quilts for fighting off the chill later on in the dead of night.

The muted click of Lea shutting the door behind us caught my attention, but I didn't turn to look at him, merely waited. There was a pause. One that was so long and quiet, I almost began to wonder if he'd left for some reason. But then I could all but feel him standing behind me, feel the warmth practically radiating off his body just a few short inches away from mine, sending a tiny chill up my spine and a small flutter through my chest.

His hands found their way to my hair, a simple tug pulling the bun free once more and sending my platinum locks cascading down my back. I shook it out a little more, resisting the urge to shiver at the pleasant tingling sensation brought on by him slowly, almost reverently combing his fingers through the strands. Then his fingertips were trailing along my shoulders and ghosting lightly down my arms where they came to settle comfortably on my hips. I could feel him nestling his face into my hair, pressing a kiss into it as he inhaled deeply, humming low in pleasure as his grip on my hips tightened and his body pressed more firmly up against my back.

At the gentle insistence of his hands, I turned and faced him now. Gosh, he was so tall. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I wasn't. It was moments like these - moments where no words were spoken and there was so little space between us - that reminded me just how tall he truly was. Not to mention how handsome he was or painfully gorgeous those startlingly green eyes of his were, especially while they were hooded and swirling as darkly as they were now. My pulse couldn't help but pick up the tempo beneath his heated gaze.

The air felt charged between us, nearly unbearably so. I was almost surprised Lea hadn't simply pounced the second we were alone. The slight tremble to his hand as he brought it up to stroke my cheek suggested that might be exactly what he wanted to do but was holding himself back. Perhaps he was going slow because he was wary of this moment being snatched away from him yet again like they all had been so far today. Perhaps he simply wanted to take his time and savor this. Whatever the case may be, as his fingers tangled themselves in my hair and he leaned in now, there was no doubt in my mind all that was about to change. I knew the second his lips met mine, all bets would be off. That last shred of restraint he was barely clinging on to would snap and all that pent up frustration he'd been keeping in check all day would be unleashed and given free rein. My face burned and my heart hammered as he closed the distance, so near now that I could feel his breath warming my lips as he murmured my name and-

"TOOTHPASTE!" I suddenly blurted out loudly.

He jerked back, eyes wide and both eyebrows skyrocketing as if to ask, Um… sorry, who what now?

Which honestly? Couldn't blame him.

So, mouth? Care to explain yourself?

I stammered nonsensically for a bit, wringing my hands together before finally pointing a thumb over my shoulder towards the restroom and managing to get out, "For brush teeth… make m-mint fresh in mouth."

Ah yes, clear as mud now. Thanks, mouth. Your gift for gab never ceases to amaze and astound.

My oh so eloquent words hung in the air between us as we just stared at each other for a few seconds. Then I bolted into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it behind me. Pressing my back to it, I buried my face in my hands and slid down to sit on the floor.

Smooth going there, little Miss Casanova. Just really know how to set the mood, huh?

I groaned and banged the back of my head against the door.

Oh god, Lea was going to think I freaked out because of him. That I didn't want to, hrm… be intimate with him. But I did! I loved being intimate with him! It was something he was very good at! Very, very good! Amazing, in fact! But what did I go and do the second I had a chance to do exactly that with him?

I'd panicked and choked, that's what!

Because this time was different.

This time, lingerie was involved.

Putting it on and teasing him with it was one thing. But lingerie had implications. It set expectations. You were supposed to, I don't know… act sexy… be sexy… you know, that whole feminine wiles things! And my feminine wiles? Still a work in progress. Sure, it was something I'd gotten better at since Lea and I had started dating, but trust me, I still had a long way to go. And yet here I'd gone, riling him up all day and now that the moment had finally arrived where I had to deliver the goods, I'd…

I'd gotten a bit of stage fright, okay?! So sue me!

...maybe I was just being silly. Overthinking all of this. Putting too much pressure on myself for no reason. This was Lea we were talking about here, after all. I could go out there and do the least attractive impression of a sloth in a negligee doing the chicken dance while yodeling and he'd still probably find it sexy. (...dear lord, the fool honestly might. Not even joking anymore.) The point was that he loved me and I loved him, so this shouldn't be such a big deal. One teeny bit of silky, lacy fabric shouldn't be a big deal. Yeah, this was supposed to be fun.

So, missy, you march your little hiney back out there and have fun, dammit!

Nostrils flaring, I pressed a hand to the door behind me and pushed myself up onto my feet once more, turning to look at myself in the mirror. My reflection had fists balled at her hips, her shoulders squared, her head held high, and a look of ironclad resolve flashing in her blue eyes. I leaned forward, planting one hand on the sink countertop and using the other to jab a finger up against the mirror surface as I hissed, "Now listen up and listen good, me! You're going to go out there and… and… knock his friggin' socks off!"

She blinked back at me, visibly gulping with a tiny frown.

My shoulders sagged. "...I think."

Atta girl, that's the fire and can-do attitude we like to hear!

Face hardening once more, I gave myself a firm nod, straightened up and gingerly began unbuttoning my blouse. Once I'd shed it and tossed it to the floor, I slipped out of my skirt as well. Then I stood in front of the mirror inspecting myself, cheeks surely roasting hotter than the fires of Mount Doom. My lips pursed to one side. I awkwardly settled a hand against my right hip. Then I swept my hair forward over one shoulder. Only to brush it back again a second later.

Couldn't decide which way had a more 'come hither' look to it.

Narrowing my eyes, I whisked it forward again.

Then back.

Forward.

Back.

Fo-

Ugh, forget it and move on already!

Just then, I remembered something. Hesitantly, I turned my head, my eyes drifting almost unbidden towards our suitcases cluttered together in one corner of the spacious bathroom. Not really sure why Lea had put them in here when he'd dropped them off earlier. Maybe I'd asked him to and it'd simply slipped my mind. Maybe he'd just been looking for a place to stow them where they'd be out of our way in anticipation of tonight's activities.

Whatever the case may be, they were in here with me now. And that meant…

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, I approached them, locating mine and unzipping it. Flipping the lid open, I stared inside and paused in a moment of indecision. Then I grit my teeth and plunged my hand in, digging down deep past my clothes in search of the thing.

You know.

That thing.

The one Anna had made me buy.

I felt my fingers bump into it and I closed them around it, holding my breath before pulling it out. Then I stared down at what I now held in my hand.

A riding crop.

You read that right.

A friggin' riding crop.

Did I have the first clue what to do with it?

Not really, no.

Was I going to bring it out with me anyway?

...sure, why not?

I mean, I was already a bit of a nervous wreck over this whole ordeal, so it was hard to imagine this could make it any worse.

Go big or go home, as they say.

Heart pounding in my ears and insides twisting into a billion, quadrillion knots, I turned to face the door, chin hitched and back straight.

Slinky lingerie? Check. Riding crop? Check… apparently.

Operation Sexy Time was a go.

Let's do this.

I bravely charged forth.

And by that, I mean I opened the door just enough to cautiously poke my head out for a peek.

But I bravely poked my head out cautiously, dammit!

I spotted Lea dejectedly lying on the bed now, sprawled out on his back and smothering his face with a pillow. Heh… off to a good start here. Opening the door wider, I quietly crept a few steps into the room. With how high my blush had cranked up to at this point, it was a wonder I hadn't burnt to a crisp already. My empty hand stiffly found its way to my hip once more. I swept my hair forward again. Then grimaced, pushing it back. Then forw-

Gah, quit fussing, you stupid hands, and just get on with it already!

As Lea still seemed unaware of my presence and with me at a loss for how else to get his attention, I anxiously cleared my throat.

He didn't budge, just groaned into the pillow and muffled out, "What new way have you come to torment me with now, devil woman?"

Such a drama queen. Shaking my head, I began, "Lea-"

"Is there even really lingerie under there or is that just more of your cruel, twisted mind games to string me along and torture me?"

I rolled my eyes with a tiny huff of a snort and tried again, "Lea."

Face still under the pillow, he struck a defiant finger up high into the air, "Well not this guy! Nu-uh, no siree bob! I am done dancing to your sadistic whims! Begone, devious succubus, and tempt me no more with your-"

"Lea!" I snapped exasperatedly, unconsciously smacking my crop against my leg.

Oof, that'd stung a bit.

But it seemed to be what finally caught his attention. He hooked a thumb beneath his pillow now, lazily hoisting it up just enough for him to lift his head and look at me. Then he bolted up into a sitting position, back ramrod straight and eyes all but popping out of his head as the pillow tumbled to the mattress behind him. His wide-eyed gaze met mine. Then darted down to the lingerie. Over to the riding crop in my hand. Then he was madly scrambling to the foot of the bed, sitting on his knees there with his hands gripping the edge of the bedframe hard enough to turn his knuckles white as he heavily and rapidly breathed through his nose.

I just stood there, flushing more furiously and resisting the urge to self-consciously shift my weight from one foot to the other.

OhgodwhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdowhatdoIdowhatdoI-

In a state of mild panic, I abruptly thrust the crop towards him and blurted out, "Shirt. Off."

...sure, that works.

Not missing a beat and faster than should have been humanly possible, Lea yanked his top up over his head and chucked it across the room. Then his eyes fastened on me once more, seemingly eagerly awaiting my next instruction.

Uh…

Nowwhatnowwhatnowwhatnowwhatnowwhatnow-

"Knees," I pointed at a spot on the floor in front of me, "Now."

In his haste to comply, he stumbled and fell out of the bed, crashing into the floor but was quick to recover and prop himself up on his knees before me.

Fudgewhatnextwhatnextwhatnextwhat-

Swat your thigh with the thingie again!

...I'm sorry, brain, do what now?

Well, I mean… it seemed to be highly well received just a second ago, so…

Pulse racing, I hesitated for a split second before piercing the air with another sharp thwack of the riding crop hitting my skin. His muscles visibly grew taut and tense, but he stayed put, his throat emitting an impatient whimper.

...was it really this easy?

...this actually was kind of fun…

Feeling some of the nervous tension start to ebb from my body, I slowly began to circle him now, lightly tapping the lash of the crop into the palm of my other hand as I murmured, "Now… what, oh what am I going to do with you?"

Lea released a deep, throaty chuckle. "...I might be able to think of a thing or two…"

Coming to a stop in front of him once again, I bowed down to his eye level, using the riding crop to lift his chin as I grinned at him. "I'm listening."

For the record, zero sleep was had that Christmas night.

The lingerie did not survive Lea's ravenous onslaught.

We may have also slightly broken that antique dresser.

Oops. Guess they just don't make those things as sturdy as they used to.

Author's Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR! And based on this chapter, have another (belated) merry Christmas xD Figures that my longest chapter to date had to be the friggin' lingerie chapter xD I am almost ashamed of myself… BUT NOT REALLY! No regrets, yolo! Lol, I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I had fun writing it :D

Fun Fact: This was actually the first bonus chapter idea I came up with for this story. It came to me about a year ago while I was still working on chapter… 17 I think? I wanted to immediately start writing it, but I restrained myself, wanting to finish the main story first. But having a whole year with this one-shot in the back of my mind is probably why it ended up being so long, cuz I kept coming up with more little ideas to squeeze into it xD Then of course, I started coming up with the ideas for the other bonus chapters that came before it, forcing myself to wait even longer to write it but aaahhhhhh, yay, I finally got to this one! And did I include Esmeralda's Secrets all the way back in chapter 19 specifically with this bonus chapter in mind? Yes, yes I did x'D Of course, I knew this whole time Esmeralda herself was gonna be making an appearance, but Frollo turned out to be a last minute addition that came to me as I was writing the chapter. But including him made me realize I had a missed opportunity: on one of Lea's and Elsa's many visits to the mall's clock tower which has BELLS, they should've bumped into a certain hunchback who's in charge of maintaining said bells xD Ah well, even tho they never saw him in the story, I've made it canon now: that is officially Quasimodo's job in this AU xD And he's always embarrassed about his adoptive father protesting with his picket signs outside the store of the cute girl he has a crush on xD Poor guy!

So many lines I snagged from the video games and the movies as references this chapter, I wonder if you guys were able to catch every single little one I slipped in? xD And obviously Elsa's fave musical that's playing at Broadway is Frozen 2 (since that's where Show Yourself that she sang back in auditions was from) but I didn't want to CALL it that in the story, but had zero ideas for a clever replacement title, so it didn't get a name xD And while I gave a few details here and there, for the most part I left the lingerie Elsa purchased vague on purpose - I figure some things are just best left to the imagination ;P Lea doesn't usually have such a one track mind as he did this chapter… or maybe he does and he's just usually more tactful about concealing it xD Either way, Lea ALSO isn't usually presented with the possibility of his very hot girlfriend dressing up in sexy lingerie for him, so can ya really blame the guy for being a bit of a horndog this chapter? I think not xP Worry not however, he'll be back to his normal, (slightly) more classy self next chapter xD You can bet tho that now that he knows Elsa has been to the dirty store in the mall, that he has since dragged her back there on more than one occasion now so they could make a few purchases as a couple, hehehe :3 But like I said all the way back at the very beginning, despite the main subject of the chapter, it was still all fairly tame, right? I haven't yet crossed THAT particular line… I may come right up to the line, dance wildly and with reckless abandon on top of the line, but not cross it xD I dunno if I'll ever be brave enough to write a full-on lemon, but maybe one day…. Hehehehe…

Anyhoo, tis with a sad and heavy heart that I must announce that this will probably be my last update for a while. Don't worry, there's more to come! I still have at least 3 more bonus chapters for this story planned! However, I've been working on almost nothing but this story for over a year now and I've finally hit a point where I need a break xD I think I'm gonna take a few weeks and have a breather from writing in general, but trust me, that won't last for long before the itch takes hold of me once again and I'll NEED to scratch it! When that happens, I'm not sure what I'm gonna work on next - it'll be Axelsa, without question, that's just my brand yo, it has bewitched my very SOUL xD But WHICH Axelsa story is the question! Will I update one of my older incomplete stories over on FFN/AO3 or will I get back to work on that new story I have the first 3 chapters written of that I've yet to share with you all? Guess we'll seeeeeeeeeeee xD I might eventually start posting some of my older stories here on tumblr too - they’re all incomplete currently tho and I was hoping to finish them before I started sharing them here, but I might not be able to resist in the end. I have commissioned a couple artists recently, so hopefully you’ll be seeing those soon! I’ll have more of my own personal fanart to share too in the hopefully near future, I just need to wait for my hand to recover as I sprained it being the irresponsible dope that I am and have had to put my doodling on hold while it recuperates xD All of that is to say, you’ll be hearing from me and my Axelsa obsession again in some form or another in the near future, you can count on it!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

#kingdom hearts #frozen #elsa #axel #fanfiction #lea #fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfiction #frozen fanfiction #kh fanfiction #kh fanfic #frozen fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfic #axelsa #fluff #romcom #slow burn #KH3 #my writing #ice cream and fire oven pizza #rare pair #crossover pairing #humor #snark #fake dating au

[twilightofthe]

(Reposting the entire ask cuz it won’t show up in the fuckin’ tags and I need attention tf)

(Sorry anon, @duchess-of-mandalore ur prompt is here now lol)

So I see great minds think alike! And dawww thank you, this is such a sweet ship to write for, I have so much fun whenever I get the opportunity!

Since two people asked for the same thing, I sat on these prompts for a hot minute so I could come up with the best one!  It is Very Blatantly Anastasia-inspired but I love that movie so much so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (holy shit this is the longest one yet whOOPS I am not joking this is like a full fic size lol I might put it on ao3)

Obitine 10 - Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

This is a universe in which Obi Wan’s family didn’t give him to the Jedi as a baby.  They’re still not very well off at all, but maybe this time they try instead to seek better fortunes for the whole family, so off they go into the galaxy for a new life, and after a few years end up on Mandalore as refugees in Sundari.

At this point and time, let’s say the Duchess on the throne is Satine’s grandmother, and through a series of good fortune, Obi Wan’s family gets a gig where they can deliver things from the docks to the royal palace.  Obi Wan’s about eight by this time, so as the eldest, he’s to go with his father to help with the deliveries when necessary.  He’s got Special Gifts, though-- sometimes things break when he’s upset, he knows how to make some heavy things float if he thinks about it hard enough, and when other people are really excited or sad or something, Obi Wan can feel that too --and his parents have both stressed to keep that part of himself quiet on a place like Mandalore, here they only know Jedi can do those tricks, and the Jedi and Mandalore are enemies, so Obi Wan must be very careful, especially around the palace.

They’re running busy with extra deliveries for a celebration for the Duchess’s granddaughter who is coming to stay with her, when Obi Wan slips up for the first time in his life.  He’s struggling to push a heavier crate out of the speeder while his father goes around to talk to one of the palace staff, when the repulsors levitating it fail.  The crate is clearly marked fragile and Obi Wan knows they’ll get less money if they break something, and he doesn’t even mean to do it, he just thinks, and his hand is jerking out to raise the crate high over his head and has it settling gently down with the rest.

A gasp behind him has him whirling around and realizing he’s been caught.  It’s another kid around his age, long blonde hair done up in twin buns and flowing down in pigtails (Sailor Moon, I am breaking story to stress that baby Satine had Sailor Moon hair because it’s adorable and I must say it).  Wide blue eyes are staring back at him, and he feels a chill run down his spine as he’s asked how he just did it.

He starts talking, quickly, please don’t tell anyone, he promises he’s not dangerous, not a Jedi, he’s just helping his father--

Satine cuts the strange boy off.  When she had decided to run to hide from her tutors today, a child her age who could do magic tricks was not what she was expecting to find.  This seems much more fun than Mandalorian history.  She had never really minded the Mean Scary Jedi from the stories, much to her parents’ chagrin, and their powers had seemed interesting, so she says that she won’t tell anyone about his tricks-- as long as he teaches her how to do that.

She has to comfort him again when his face crumples and he protests that he doesn’t know how, and she changes to promise him she won’t tell as long as he agrees to play with her.  This is the first boy she’s met who isn’t one of her parents’ snobby friends’ kids she has to be nice to, or one of her annoying cousins who like to hurt when they playfight like Pre; she’s always wanted a friend before and this one doesn’t even seem to know who she is since he hasn’t started with all the bowing and the “milady-ing” that everyone else around her does.  

He seems much happier at this arrangement, or at least really doesn’t want her to tattle on him, so he promises he’ll be right back, he just needs to ask his father if he can play.  Something makes him pause, turning and asking her who she is, exactly.  Satine falters, realizing that if the boy knows she’s Lady Kryze of Kalevala, he might be too afraid to play.

Obi Wan is amused when the girl replies her name is Sabine, and her grandmother works in the palace, because of course that’s her name.  The folk heroine S’Tiin or S’Biin, depending on who you ask, is such a famous story around here, it seems like everyone on Mandalore wants to name their eldest daughters Satine or Sabine-- even the Duchess’s granddaughter is named Satine.  Her dress is very fine, a deep, pretty green, and Obi Wan asks if her grandmother works making dresses.  Sabine hesitates and says that no, but her grandmother is in charge of bossing the tailors around, so she can get nice things.  Obi Wan nods, figuring her grandmother is some staff overseer like the bossy men at the docks that tell his parents where to bring things.

Sabine asks him his name, and Obi Wan tells her, only for her to wrinkle her nose and ask if she can call him something else; he doesn’t look like an Obi Wan.  Bemused, he asks her what he looks like.  She says he looks like a Ben.  Obi Wan has never had a friend before, so he shrugs and says sure, she can call him Ben.  Sabine beams.  He likes making her smile.

She asks him if he can do cartwheels.  He can, and demonstrates them for her.  She smiles wider, and he really likes making her smile.  She asks if he can teach her how.

They practice cartwheels and handstands and chasing each other throughout the crates, until Sabine sees palace guards coming out and hisses for him to hide under one of the crates with her.  He asks why, and she pauses for a moment before saying that they don’t like the palace kids going outside unsupervised.  After this, Obi Wan is getting ready to meet his father again, and she grabs his hand, asks him if he’ll come back to play with her again.

Obi Wan really likes having a friend.  He tells her the truth, that his family makes the deliveries about once a week.  He promises to meet her again then.

Satine hasn’t felt so free, hasn’t had a true friend in forever.  She is unrepentant when she is caught and scolded for running off by the adults, and makes sure to be extra good in her lessons so she can wait for the next week to sneak off and meet Ben to play again.  She feels guilty for lying to him about her and her grandmother, but she doesn’t want things to be weird between them, and people often are weird around the Duchess’s granddaughter.

They meet to play once a week for about a year; Obi Wan telling Sabine about his family’s adventures around the galaxy and how he wishes they weren’t so poor, and Satine tells Ben in the vaguest terms of why she was sent away from her family because her home was not safe, how her little sister is somewhere else entirely, how she misses them.  Both become one of the most important people in the other’s life in a very, very short time.

Everything changes the night of the Grand Ball.  Obi Wan tells Sabine excitedly over sandwiches she smuggled out of the kitchens that his family were offered extra money by the palace to help on the inside and serve the many guests that will be arriving from all over the galaxy.  She replies that she will be at the ball too, and her parents will be visiting and she’s excited to see him, though he feels she’s acting a bit funny over the whole thing.  Sabine assures him she’s not, and offers to teach him a waltz step.  She’s elegant and graceful and very pretty; sometimes it feels like he’s friends with a fancy princess, not another servant girl.

Satine is a little worried now that Ben will be upset she lied to him, as he will definitely figure out she’s third in line for the throne at the party.  Her parents are coming in from Kalevala, even if Bo Katan will not be there-- a shame, Satine misses her, and they will all be standing by her grandmother as royal family members.  Still, she feels that maybe it will be okay; Ben is her friend!  She’ll show her grandmother that he knows how to dance, and maybe her grandmother will let her marry him when she’s older-- Satine has not told Ben that she plans to marry him one day, but that’s alright, she has time to win him over.

The night of the ball, Obi Wan messes with his carefully brushed hair and fidgets in the slightly too big serving clothes handed to him and his parents by palace staff as they arrive and change and prepare to set things up.  He looks around for Sabine, but he doesn’t see her amongst the servants.  This disappoints him, he was hoping to introduce her to his parents.  He thinks they’ll like her a lot.  He hopes maybe her family will like him too.  Satine dresses in her prettiest sky blue dress with a matching opal tiara and braids her hair into a crown over her head; maybe tonight Ben will see her and call her pretty.

The party is in full swing and Obi Wan is a little worried; he still hasn’t found Sabine yet, so he’s been sticking to his mother’s side and serving food to sentients and species he’s never seen before.  The royal family has yet to appear, but Ben’s more worried that Sabine is sick; did something happen to her?

Satine stands in formation outside the hall with her parents and her grandmother and her other aunts and uncles and cousins.  They raise their heads high, the doors open, they begin their procession through the room as the musical fanfare swells--

And shots are firing and transparisteel is exploding in showers as the all-windows ballroom is broken into from all sides by masked figures with jetpacks and a rain of blasters.  Satine has exactly one second to see her father turn, reaching for his concealed sidearm, before he is shot and topples.  Her mother’s scream sounds in her ears, but the woman is already drawing her own blaster to cover her grandmother and her grandmother is shoving Satine down under the newly made corpse and telling her to play dead until the whole thing is over.  It still smells like her father.  She doesn’t move a muscle as more blasterfire and screams echo around the room, and then the body above her is shaking with what seems to be more shots, and is being lifted off of her, and Satine doesn’t have time to raise a hand and cry out before her wrist is being seized and a masked figure holding-- holding a sword made of glowing black light?  Is that the Dark--? is grabbing her and towing her out of the room.  She sees far too many dead bodies amongst the smoke.  She recognizes all of her family members amongst them.

Obi Wan and his mother had avoided the first round of attackers by hiding under a table, but as soon as they made a break for it to frantically search for his father, his mother goes down.  Horrified, he tries to kneel next to her, but she looks him in the eye, and breathes out to find his father, run, take the service tunnels they took to get in here.  Obi Wan knows how to deal with heartbreak even in this life, so, dying along with her, he lets go of her hand, forces himself to turn away and make a run for the tunnels.  Along the way, he trips over his father.  He’s not moving either.  

Obi Wan Does Not Think About It besides a cruel sense of relief, that knowing his wife had died likely would have killed his father anyway.  He keeps running, is small and fast and can avoid the masked soldiers in the darkness as the power fails, and is almost to the end of the tunnel, when he hears a familiar voice crying out.

Sabine.

Picking up speed, he bursts out of the tunnel to see his friend in a fine but bloody dress struggling in the grip of a masked figure with the strangest sword Obi Wan has ever seen.  The figure resists even as she kicks him in the shin, and while Obi Wan is running, he will not get there fast enough as the figure picks her up and begins to lift off in a jetpack.

Sabine’s eyes meet his, he can hear her screaming his nickname.

He doesn’t think.

He feels the power surging in his gut and reaches out in fright towards the figure flying away, not focused on anything more than for fate or someone to please not take Sabine away too.

The figure’s jetpack sparks, sputters, stops working, spiraling down to one of the platforms in a crash.  Obi Wan watches in horror as Sabine is flung out of their arms and skids across the platform to a stop, their fancy black sword vanishing back into its hilt and sliding in the same direction as her.  The armored figure themself is not as lucky, tumbling over the side of the platform in the other direction and plummeting down at least ten stories for their jetpack to explode upon impact at the bottom.

Obi Wan tears over to Sabine, who is laying very, very still, a large, bloody lump on her forehead.  Obi Wan is about to break down because no, not her too, but he can see the fluttering of her chest moving, and he can smell the palace beginning to burn behind him, and he does not hesitate in scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder-- like they would do when they roughhoused, except now she is not shrieking in laughter and beating on his back for him to put her down --and last minute pocketing the hilt of the strange sword.  He sees a nearby speederbike and gently settles her in front of it and tears off, saltwater streaming down his own face.  

He’s never driven before, but he knows the way after a year of deliveries, and he takes them straight home to his family’s tiny apartment by the docks, locks the door, and drags Sabine under his parents’ bed to hide with him like the children they both are.  No matter what he does, she will not wake up.  While sirens wail outside, and the radio he leaves on reports everyone at the palace dead including the entire royal family, and the new leadership run by what is being called the Death Watch Junta, he lets himself cry, for her, for his family, for her own, for everything.

Sabine wakes up a full day later.

She doesn’t remember a thing.

Obi Wan is horrified.

She just remembers fuzziness and faint flashes of memory, of cold older figures, of a warm sunny room, painted wings on a canvas, the name Ben and bright silvery eyes that stare back at her now.  The boy tells her her name is Sabine, she lives in Sundari, Mandalore, and-- here he stutters --she is an orphan, like him.  Their families had all attended a party at the palace, where Sabine lived, but then bad people attacked, and they were the only ones to escape.

Sabine nods, this all lining up in her empty brain.  She has no true connection to these people who raised her, and yet, she cries for their loss anyway.  The boy says his name is--

Ben, she cuts him off, connecting the one name in her memories to the boy in front of her.

Obi Wan hesitates, about to tell her his real name, the one his parents gave him-- his parents who are dead and gone.  He nods, yes, he says, you called me that.  Ben Kenobi.  

Sabine asks if she has a last name.  Ben hesitates, says no, she never gave him one.  She cocks her head pensively, analyzing him.  Could I use yours?

He flushes, knowing only married men give women staying with them, their wives, their names, or they take the woman’s.  But still, it’s not like he has any other family now.

He agrees.

Two days later, using some credits stashed in Ben’s parents’ safe for emergencies, Ben and Sabine Kenobi make their way off Mandalore as workers on a cargo freighter.  Sundari holds too many bad memories for Ben, and the taunting of memories out of reach for Sabine.

Ben remembers Sabine’s distraught face, feels the hilt of the strange blacklight sword stuffed down the side of his pantleg, remembers how he couldn’t protect her, how she has no memory because of him.  How she still trusts him anyway.  

He will not let anything happen to her again.

And thus they live for the next decade, literally living hand to mouth and not having a single clue what the next day will bring.

Sabine remembers a grandmother, remembers her having fiery red hair and a stern voice, her mother’s eyes were blue like hers, remembers odd strands of music and lilies in a garden.  She remembers the story told to her of the Darksaber, which she doesn’t have a clue why someone holding it would be after her like Ben tells her.  She agrees he should hold onto it though, because from the little she remembers, it was never good news for Mandalore, and since Ben has Jedi powers, it’s best he keeps it for their defence.

Defence and safety is a slight issue for them.  Sabine is brilliant and great at coming up with plans for how two young kids can find money and food in a galaxy that only seems to benefit the uberwealthy, and Ben has his magic that lets him lie easily, float things out of pockets, sense danger.  But she always feels guilty after, and throws a fit every time one of their schemes results in someone getting hurt.  Ben rarely uses the Darksaber except to scare people, and it’s not like they’ve killed anyone, but she wouldn’t speak to him for three days after he knocked out a man by collapsing an old roof on him.  A man who was about to stab you with a fucking vibroblade, Sab, come on.

Someone taught Sabine how to shoot though, so they compromise by having her carry around a blaster set on stun, and a blaster Ben promises he’ll keep on stun, and then breaks it whenever there’s danger, and Sabine is upset again.  But he can’t help it.  She’s his family, and family looks out for each other.  Plus, she comes up with the plans and she knows how to cook, which he’s never figured out without her insulting it.  He should bring something to the table.

She doesn’t know why she’s like this, but she just feels this anger every time people have to resort to violence, because that’s what the galaxy has reverted to, that the Republic’s laws are so poor, that people need to hurt each other to survive.  Things have to be better than that.

She feels like there’s more in life for her.

But she doesn’t know what, and running free by Ben’s side as they steal from rich bastards and give back to people needy even when they go hungry themselves more often than not, when they find ships and hop from world to world, experiencing culture after culture, it gives her a sense of purpose, and she knows he agrees with her, that people need help, and if no one’s going to stick up for them, Ben and Sabine will.

He trains with the Darksaber, picks up books on swordfighting, watches old holos about the Jedi when he can.  Sabine watches him, watches the way his calculating eyes follow the motions, how his body moves when he practices.  He’s handsome, and she cannot tell him that, because he’s all she has, but that’s okay, she’ll grow out of it.  It’s just a crush.

Puberty is awkward and horrifying and hellish for the both of them, but they’ve lived side by side for too long for it to be a serious issue.  But it is embarrassing, very embarrassing.  Sabine does enjoy her three years of being the taller one though, and even when Ben finally passes her again, it’s only an inch and less than that when she’s wearing heeled boots.

Ben starts having to use both his powers and the Darksaber when their schemes get more complicated and them deeper into trouble with local authorities.  He’s rough, untrained, but he has his own style, even if they have to flee near immediately afterwards because rumors of Jedi start flying around.  They can’t have the Jedi know about them.  They’ll take away Ben because he’s like them and leave Sabine alone.

They nearly die multiple times.

They fight so bad they split up twice, though each time, no more than a day or two goes by before the one who packed their bags and stormed off “forever” is trudging back, apology on their tongue, only to find the other on their way to apologize as well and beg them to stay.

They visit Mandalore once, when they are fifteen.  It is a completely different place than how Ben remembers it, and to Sabine it doesn’t glow like memories that return do.  It’s wrong.  The ruling junta controls everything, everyone.  Everything is bleak and grey, and they try to do the job there as quickly as possible.  Sabine notices a lot of girls with her name, and the rarer ones named Satine; though, a local tells her when she expresses confusion at their question of what clan she’s from, the name Satine is dying out much quicker than its counterpart.

She is told a story of the warrior of old, S’Tiin/S’Biin that she remembers being told long, long ago, and how girls are named in her honor.

But then she and Ben are told of the Duchess Satine, the newer folk hero.

Sabine’s seen the name graffitied on various walls around the galaxy, there’s a Mandalorian bounty hunter phrase that talks of Duchess Satine’s luck being with them, but she’s never known what it meant until now.

Years ago, there was an old Duchess who ruled Mandalore fairly.  Her reign came to an end when the Death Watch stormed the palace and burned it and killed the Duchess and the entire royal family.  Sabine feels the dread in her gut, knows how her own lost family died that night, how she doesn’t even remember if she was with them when it happened, how Ben still wakes up screaming sometimes from the deaths of his own parents playing in his head, smoke and bodies sometimes haunting her own dreams.

But, the local whispers, rumors say that one body from the royal family was not accounted for: Lady Satine Kryze, the Duchess’s second youngest grandchild.  The body of the young girl was never found, though the government insists that she too is dead.  Dissidents and those who are unsatisfied with the Death Watch Junta’s rule pray otherwise, stake their faith that the young Satine escaped somehow, and is alive and thriving somewhere safe.

That now, as the only member of the royal family left, Satine Kryze will return to Sundari one day, overthrow the Death Watch and restore the throne, take her rightful place as the Duchess Satine of Mandalore and free them all.

Naming a child Satine now will earn you government attention you do not want, but people still have faith.  It’s all they have left.

Ben thinks the story is admirable, though he’s always been open and curious, willing to give things the benefit of the doubt.  Sabine personally finds it a tad ridiculous, and makes her even more furious at this “government” that mistreats its people so much they cling to dead children’s ghosts as prophesied saviors.  Ben never pulls out the Darksaber on Mandalore.  They leave soon after.

Ben and Satine as they grow up discover emotions like love, lust, want.  Neither can remember who first started making eyes at someone they saw on the street, who paid attention to someone who wasn’t the other, but that too causes fights.  The blowout when Ben almost lets Sabine get caught by an angry guard because he was talking to a pretty shopgirl, and then has the audacity to follow Sabine and brood from a distance when a pretty girl asks her to lunch because he doesn’t trust the other girl’s judgement.

They know the other has just grown more beautiful with age, and the painful temptation of how they can be so close, but so, completely, utterly forbidden, and besides, they don’t like me like that.

There are first kisses that aren’t with each other and brief flings with sentients on planets they aren’t on for more than a week.  They talk about love and families, but decide they’re both too young for that, and both feel a relief they won’t admit when the other agrees.

Everything changes once more ten years after Ben dragged Sabine away from the smoking Sundari palace and she woke up with nothing but faint ghosts in her mind.

They’re on a fairly backwater mudhole, trying to scope out a new ride off the planet after helping feed a colony of sick minorities oppressed by the local government, when Ben tenses up next to her and his hand slips around her hip in that way she knows is only protective, but wishes was more.  Sabine turns to see the blue eyes of a man watching her under a heavy brown robe and hood.

She murmurs in Ben’s ear, should they take an opportunity on this one?  Sabine may hate violence, but her and Ben have both found out by now that there are people all over the galaxy who may look a little too close at pretty young children, and the ones who act on those urges, they’ve discovered that neither feels much remorse when they lure them into the other’s stun gun and rob them.

Ben tenses, he’s always despised it when Sabine does this, is worried she’ll get hurt-- fuck it, he doesn’t like seeing her smile coyly at these bastards, beseechingly like she wants them, has to watch them undress her with their eyes, he wants to vomit or stab something or both, but he can’t make decisions for her, though hells know she gives him enough shit when he’s the one doing the luring, though he can’t imagine why.  It’s not like she feels anything for him.  She probably just doesn’t like that he’s being violent.

But his Special Sense goes off with a ringing when he looks at the tall man with the beard staring closely at Sabine, and his gut has rarely steered him wrong before, even if he’s furious with its betrayal by agreeing with Sabine that she should lure this man.

Said luring kind of backfires when it turns out that the vibes Ben was getting off of the robed man was him being a fucking Jedi who quite easily avoids Sabine’s stunning attempts and is now holding his bright green laser sword up to protect himself from Ben who has the Darksaber lit and is fully prepared to get his ass kicked but come on, this is not fair.  It’s especially not fair that the other man is smiling triumphantly.

Sabine feels sick.  The Jedi have found Ben and he’s going to leave her alone.

Ben snarls that he’s not going anywhere with the man, pressing himself to Sabine’s side.  This was his own fault for getting them caught

The man blinks, says he does not want anything with Ben.  He would much like to speak with the Duchess, gesturing to Sabine.

Ben and Sabine stare at him like he’s lost his mind.

The man clarifies, gesturing to Sabine again, asking if she is not in fact Satine Kryze?  

The Lost Duchess?

Sabine feels a high pitched laugh leave her throat, Ben snapping back that no she is not, but the Jedi just sighs, extinguishes his blade, and sits on the floor.  He’s still in front of their only exit because they were foolish enough to lure him into a room with one door.

He introduces himself as Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn, and says that he has spent the last two weeks following sightings of a black lightsaber very similar to the legendary blade that was wielded by the Mand’alors of old in the past in the possession of a young woman who appears to be the same age as Mandalore’s lost ducal heir.

Ben murmurs to Sabine that this man cannot be stable right now, feeling all the guilt at his own obsession with using his powers like a Jedi when a Jedi he is not and getting them in deep trouble.  Sabine is developing a massive headache, like some of the cotton fog that’s been stuffed tight in her mind for ten years is finally starting to dissipate, but at a rate that it’s just slow and painful.

She asks Jinn scathingly, do the Jedi chase after all silly fairytales now?

Jinn shakes his head with a patronizing smile.  No, he says.  But the Death Watch Junta do.

He watches as both of them tense at the names of those who wiped out their families.  He explains gently, that the Jedi and the Republic have had an eye on Mandalore as a recognized state sponsor of terrorism, and how new reports of them making threats against worlds with the description of the young woman and the lightsaber are making the worlds nervous enough to call the Jedi for help.  The Jedi have figured it would be best to locate the targets the Death Watch are after, if only to keep the worlds the Death Watch would raze to the ground to find them safe.

Sabine and Ben look at each other in horror.  Death Watch is after them?  Ben instantly hands over the sword to Jinn, says he can have that, he and Sabine will be fine on their own, they’ll leave the world and go somewhere they won’t be found.

Jinn shakes his head, says that they need to come with him, Death Watch intends to take Sabine back to Mandalore and publicly kill her.  It doesn’t matter if she’s truly the Duchess or not, they want to break the branches of resistance who view the Duchess as a symbol of hope.

With that, Sabine passes out, voices flooding her head, memories, castles, palaces, eyes, a throne, swarming through her brain.

She can’t be the Lost Duchess.  She can’t.  She would have--

What, remembered it?

Ben suspects foul play on Jinn’s part the second Sabine drops, and if he wasn’t so eager to take the opening and stun the Jedi, grab Sabine over his shoulder, and bolt, he would have known this wasn’t Jinn’s fault as he was surprised enough by her faint to let his guard down.

In his hurry, Ben leaves the Darksaber on the ground where he had tried to give it to Jinn.

He did not realize just how far ahead Jinn was of these Death Watch hunters, however, as not two hours later he’s ambushed, wakes up in a sewage ditch to very bruised everything and Jinn prodding him awake, and-- and Sabine is gone, he lost her.  He failed.

Jinn is shaking him out of his panic, making him a deal that if they come with him afterwards, Jinn will help him rescue Sabine-- and, help Ben learn how to properly use a lightsaber, he adds, holding the Darksaber back out to him.

Sabine wakes up alone and in chains in a dark room on a ship she’s not familiar with.  A helmeted man sits in front of her, asks her who she is, where she came from.  Sabine-- at the encouragement of his blaster to her foot, tells him the whole truth, which is that she has no fucking clue what they want with her.  She’s not the Duchess, literally every other girl on Mandalore is named Sabine or Satine, she’s an orphan, but so are half of the other kids in the galaxy, and she left ten years ago because the occupation was not proving safe or financially beneficial to a street kid like her.

For the first time in her life, her mind feels like she is lying when she tells the story.

As he and Qui Gon track down the ship that took her, Ben is kicking himself.  As a kid, when he met the richly dressed girl by the storage entrance to do cartwheels, he always felt there was something she wasn’t telling him.  Always felt like he was visiting to see nobility, not another servant girl.  A girl whose grandmother commanded servants, like the Duchess of all people was supposed to do.  A girl who was being taken away by someone wielding the weapon that symbolized the ruler of the people, that had to have been taken off of the dead body of the Duchess.

And Sabine had woken up with no clue who she was, and Ben could have quite possibly fed her an entire life’s worth of lies.

Sabine’s answers do not impress her captors.  She braces for torture, and that seems to be what’s on the menu for the next time she gets visitors, as the man growls over his shoulder as he leaves threats of what might happen if she proves so uncooperative again.

Her mind spins again.  Could she be?  Is she really?

But why would Ben lie to her?

He wouldn’t.  He couldn’t.  Sabine has known Ben long enough to know how he lies.  He was an emotional wreck who had lost his whole family after she had first woken up.  He couldn’t have lied to her then to save his life, certainly not to that extent.

No, Ben genuinely believed his tale of Sabine Nobody the servant girl, Sabine knows this with all her heart.

That means Sabine cannot be Satine Kryze then.

But she could?

Ugh.  Her fucking head hurts and she is utterly fucking confused.

Hmm.  One would think she certainly swears far too much to be a fancy duchess.

Ben and Qui Gon Jinn find and board the ship Sabine is on.  As they board, Ben’s anger and fury and worry is washed over by a placid cloud.  He scowls at Jinn, who comments on how powerful he is.  Says he would have made an excellent Jedi.

Something doesn’t feel right hearing that from a Jedi himself.  Ben grips the Darksaber tightly, says that no, he is a Mandalorian.  That’s who took him in.  That’s what Sabine is.  Ben stays with Sabine.  End of story.

Says Jinn with a sad smile, You’re quite right.

They storm the ship as it enters hyperspace, they avoid guards by the skin of their teeth, Ben wants so, so badly to give into that dark voice inside him that’s snarling to tear, to destroy, to kill.  But Sabine doesn’t like violence.  Insists that the sword must be for defence.  That’s what they do, the two of them, they defend people.  Ben slashes and disables, but he does not kill.

They find Sabine in a cell and as soon as they open the door, they realize their sabers will not work against the metal of the chains, but Jinn waves a hand and they unlock on their own.

Ben sees the lost look in her eyes vanish at the sight of him, feels such warmthwarmthwarmth, oh gods above, he could have lost her--

Ben kisses her.

She stiffens for a second.

Holy shit.  Ben is kissing her.

She kisses him back before he can back off and change his mind.

I’m so sorry, he murmurs to her.  For so many things... he’s thinking.

Don’t be... she swears, knowing absolutely none of this was his fault, that he’s stood by her when no one else did.  Don’t be.

Things go haywire and Jinn is shot in the shoulder and they have to make the breathtakingly imbecilic decision of all piling into an escape pod and launching it while in hyperspace.  They nearly burn up tearing out of it and all of them black out from the g-force (this is Not any of their days for staying conscious for too long, it seems).

They wake up and Sabine and Ben are still holding hands and Jinn calls her Duchess again, and Sabine tenses, but Ben strokes her hand, admits miserably that he thinks she might be, that she might have been keeping something from him as children and he had never known what, but--

Sabine hushes him with another kiss.  If so, she says, that was her own fault, not his.  He couldn’t have known.  

But not there’s no way to-- Ben starts, but Jinn interrupts by saying that actually there might be.  He may be no mind healer, but the Jedi have a talent for going into someone’s mind and convincing it to do their will.

Both Sabine and Ben tense, recalling clearly all the times Ben has talked his way out of impossible situations, said things people never should have believed, but they did.

It is quite possible, Jinn says, that he can coax those memories in her mind back out.  He feels them pulsing beneath in her brain, it’s not even that severe a case of memory loss at all, there was just no incentive to trigger their release.

Ben is about to protest, Sabine can tell, so she interrupts him to accept Jinn’s offer.  She’ll be alright, she promises Ben.  She will.  She needs to do this, and he knows she does.

His grey eyes are stormy with worry, but she knows he knows he’s right.

Jinn waves his fingers over Sabine’s face, she feels herself falling asleep once more.

She remembers.

Her life comes back to her: Mother, Father, Bo, Grandmother, Kalevala, the Sundari palace, being raised by tutors before escaping for the freedom of a mysterious delivery boy who taught her to do cartwheels, lying to him to pretend she was normal.

The night of the ball, her blue dress, the tiara that fell off as she was shoved under her father’s body, Ben’s pale face as the armored figure with the black sword started to carry her away, falling, falling--

I’m Satine Kryze.

I am the Duchess of Mandalore.

Gods, help me.

She awakens.  Her cheeks feel wet with tears.  She meets Ben’s gaze, and she just nods.

He knows from the second she opened her eyes.  He squeezes her hand, tells her, she was screaming.  He almost fought Jinn, who assured him painful memories are often agitating.

She nods and he knows.

He doesn’t think he can call her by her true name just yet, but--

He’s crying too, begging her forgiveness, he would have told her if he had known, this is his fault--

She cuts him off, promises him it wasn’t.  I was scared, she gasps, scared you wouldn’t want to befriend a royal.  I was going to tell you at the ball, I swear it, but--

It wouldn’t have mattered, he declares, kissing the tears off her cheeks.  I would have followed you everywhere, even then.  I still will.  I don’t care who you are to other people.  To me, you’re everything.  It doesn’t matter, Sab.

Gods, she loves him.

She tells him so.

He says it back.

And now that she has that assurance...

Okay now don’t be upset, she tells in that way he knows means one of her more outlandish and dangerous plans.  But what if, what if she tried to be the duchess the Mandalorian people are looking for?

Qui Gon Jinn makes a muffled choking noise off to their right.

His eyebrows raise.  But he doesn’t laugh.  She is infinitely relieved he does not laugh at her.

Inside him, something clicks.  He always did feel like he was visiting royalty.  And he meant it when he said he’d follow her anywhere.

But he can’t help but ask: does she have any idea how to run a planet, honestly?

Sabine Kenobi has lived with the lowest of society for ten years, seen things Satine Kryze would never have come close to being exposed to outside her crystal towers.  Sabine Kenobi knows the cracks in the system.  They’ve kept her up at night, with that feeling that she was always supposed to be doing more with her life.

That purpose she was always searching for.

She looks Ben-- Obi Wan, he said once that his name was Obi Wan.  Maybe we should get used to using the names we left behind... --directly in the eye, and asks him: would he be willing to stay by her side as she figured it out?  She warns the process would likely be trial and error.

He meets her gaze and smiles that cocky smile of his she’s always wanted to kiss off his face.  She can do that now, she realizes giddily.  He tells her, absolutely.

She does kiss that smile off her face.

A cough sounds behind them and they separate, turning to look at Qui Gon Jinn, whose face seems torn between amused, intrigue, and likely wishing the Jedi had chosen someone else to find a missing girl and a black lightsaber.

Right.  

Sabine Kenobi, Satine Kryze claps her hands, addresses Jinn.  It seems that the three of them are to be fugitives for a while, she points out.  How, exactly, does one go about starting a peaceful revolution?

#YEP THIS IS DEF GOIN ON AO3 I SPIT OUT OVER 7K WORDS AHAHA #morai's fic #peace out #our only ho #when we were young #obitine #ask #asks #anon #duchess-of-mandalore

[peaches-of-1]

Peachtober | Day 14: Overgrown

Black!Reader x Monster Woo

Summary: Monster Woo is a simple man who sells flowers for a living and you are an Instagram photographer. Your models’ faces are better known than you yourself, but Woo wants to see what’s behind the camera.

Genre: Fluff

Moodboard and reaction requests open! Mstrlst in bio!

During a sunny Spring Day, a new shipment of flowers come in at 꽃벌 (play on words of flower and bee). It is the largest one since it is the start of the season. Valentine's Day is long gone, and White Day was a hit. All of the red and white roses being 70% of the seasonal inventory and now going back to its regular 40% since roses would sell no matter what season or occasion.

Youngwoo rolled up his burgundy sleeves to help the part time worker carry large sacks of fertilizer and dirt into the back while she balanced seedlings and vases under her arms and even atop her coily buzzcut.

“Naveah, once you’re done bringing in all the pots, can you start organizing them please?” He asked.

“Sure, Big Daddy.” She replied.

The tall man sighed, “I told you to stop calling me that.”

Naveah just smiled in response and continued to carry the rest of the product until the truck was empty. Then she began sorting pots by height and material while Woo worked on answering calls and writing down some new clients and jobs they were wanted for. A few weddings, a birthday, two divorce parties. One he turned down because they were planning on burning flowers, and he could never imagine putting his beautiful gifts through that.

A young woman about 20 or older came in dressed in purple slacks, heels to match, and a white shirt. Her typha colored hand reaching into her purse for her phone to check if she was at the right location.

She entered the store and Woo told the woman on the phone, “One second.”

“Hello.”

“Hello, I am Y/N and I run a photography blog. I was wondering if you would be interested in hiring me to take pictures of your flowers for advertising. I have experience with both still life and live models.” She said, setting her card down on the desk.

Woo picked it up and read the Hangul and the English translation. She was a photographer for sure.

“Why does your name seem so familiar?”

She gave a smile, “A few of my models have walked during Seoul Fashion Week this past bit cuz they saw my photos.”

He smiled, “Ah, right. It seems like  with a face like yours, you would be the one in front of the camera.”

Y/N began to blush, “Oh, um. Thank you.”

The two just stared at each other and smiled for a moment before she spoke up.

“Well, I should get going. You have a phone call to get back to.”

Woo nodded, “Oh, right. Yes. It was nice meeting you and I will be in contact.”

The woman left and the florist finished the call, thankful they hadn't hung up. Y/N...jeez she was beautiful.

The sound of a glass vase breaking snapped the tall man out of his daze. He sighed and called out the worker's name before heading over to get the broom to hand to her.

After work, Woo locked up and said farewell to his worker before taking a taxi home. Before going to bed, he looked up the Instagram page that was on the card Y/N gave him.

She was really good. Like, it was so much better than he had expected. Pictures of flowers in vases and people and so many beautiful faces. A lot of her stuff was currently flower based. It seemed she didn’t delete the stuff from her early days either. The camera quality had gome up so much too. Woo couldn’t help but like one of them that made him think of a tattoo. Wait, no.

It was from 4 years ago! She was going to think he was a creep! No, no. Y/N wouldn’t do that, right? It was just a possible employer checking out an employee’s past work to see if it would affect his current business. He made up his mind. Woo would hire the beautiful black girl to work for his company. All of his current photos were taken by him and Naveah, so they weren’t that great. If they could up the photo quality of the inventory, then they would sell more.

The large man soon fell asleep thinking about what floral arrangements he would make for each tier. Each one was linked with a color, so he could make it monochrome. Or maybe most of that color. Y/N looked really cute in purple. Hair like an allium.

The next day at the shop, Youngwoo called her while setting up the flowers he would use for this week’s specialty arrangement.

“Hello, this is Photobomb Productions, Y/N speaking.” She said in English and then repeated it in Korean.

Woo smiled, “Hello. This is Youngwoo from 꽃벌. I would like to take you up on your offer of becoming our floral photographer. I have been meaning to take some new pics for some summer deals.”

He could hear her squaling out of excitement in the background and then she cleared her throat and talked professionally, “That is great to hear. What day or time would the photographic subjects be ready for me to photograph?”

“Today is Friday, so I will be busy all weekend. I can get them done by either Tuesday or Wednesday since I already have sketches. All I have to do it put them together.”

“Perfecto! How does Tuesday at 2pm sound?” Y/N asked.

Woo looked at his schedule, “I have a delivery at 1:30 in the afternoon, but I will probably have my worker handle that one.”

“I see. Alright, well, I will see you then. Do not hesitate to call me if we have to move it to Wednesday. Have a nice day.”

“You too.” Woo replied and the woman hung up.

“Who was that, Big Daddy?” his worker asked, carrying in a box of seeds to set up in the seed bin near the front.

He rolled his eyes, “That woman who came in yesterday. A photographer. She’s gonna take photos for us from now on. I’m gonna be up late drafting up a contract and then we’ve gotta--” The tattooed florist sighed. “I shouldn’t bore you with technicalities. Let’s get these arrangements done.”

“Let me bring over the vases.” The short haired woman said.

Woo looked at the workbench, “Neveah, where are the Calla Lilies?” he asked after her.

“We had two weddings that wanted them, so we are getting an emergency shipment in, but not until tomorrow.” She replied, making sure the seed packets fell flat before adding more on.

He nodded, “Right. Right. Um…” then he remembered the thought he had last night and went to a sky blue bucket and picked out a bulbous purple flower with a long stem. “We’ll use these today instead.”

And so for the next few minutes before the sign was flipped, the two made matching arrangements. Neveah had always wanted to do more now that her probation was up. Woo’s shop was known for flowers and arrangements, served weddings of all types and even funerals. The most important thing about it was who it employed, however. Former convicts and people who were needed someplace to work while on probation.

Youngwoo believed that everyone deserved a second chance and that humans could change, which is why he hired who he did.

“Ah, it didn’t come out as well as yours.” Neveah said as hers had a bit of a bend in the long stem and just seemed overall more messy than the one her boss made.

“Don’t worry about it. This is only the third one you’ve ever made, so I think you did really well. In fact, yours will go on the box instead of mine so people will see it first.” The man set hers onto the white wooden box in the window and placed his next to it.

Dark pink roses and sunflowers graced the top of the white vase with solid aster placed in here and there. The allium rested above each one like a proud head. They would stay in the front for the week and then they would be dead and turned into compost for a nearby flower nursery.

The woman smiled and then it was time to flip the sign. Business didn’t pick up until around lunch which was the usual thing. People buying either a single flower or a dozen on the way to a date. When Neveah left for the day, Yieun clocked in and hugged Woo having started this business together before she tried and failed to become an idol.

“Is the car filled up yet? Remember, I have to drop off some stuff for a business meeting and a 16th birthday today.” She said.

“It’s all packed up and ready to go. Feel free to double check, but it had been pretty quiet today.” He replied. “Ah, are there business cards still inside?”

Tuesday came, and Woo was nervous to see her again. They had talked over the phone for the past couple of days to finalize things. Y/N was really kind but he could tell how much her work meant to her. It was a small business that she was ultimately running on her own and often didn’t get paid for her time because people hardly ever took the arts seriously. Photography was no exception.

People thought it was just sitting in good lighting, point and click, which it wasn’t.

Woo had three different arrangements made for each color level. White, green, purple, and yellow. Each added the amount of flower types and the default price was a clear glass vase. A custom vase color/type would cost $3 extra. The second and third were in custom vases and set up in the workshop.

It was extra clean for today and there were no arrangements to be made. Mondays through Wednesdays were the slowest of the slow most of the time. That meant today was perfect for Y/N to come in.

She arrived right on time in a yellow long sleeve top tucked into a rainbow skirt and white and rainbow shoes. Rainbow accessories too, but carrying a duffle bag of work stuff.

Yieun was out on her current delivery, so Woo fixed his brows and hair before greeting her with a poliot bow.

“Hello, Y/N. How are you doing today? Have you eaten?” He asked.

“I am doing well, and yes I have. I went to a taco place. It was good, but the sauce stained the jacket I was wearing.” The woman sighed, tying her hair back before she set up everything.

It wasn’t the most glamorous thing, but Woo asked if he could watch. She said as long as he stayed behind the camera, it was ok. However, the man wasn’t watching the flowers, but instead watched how she worked. The way she bent over to get a better angle from her tripod and set up the lights.

She seemed so delicate, like she herself was a rose petal in need of much care. However, they way she pursed her lips seemed to go perfectly like thorns. The man knew she wasn’t thinking about him. Her eyes were on the flowers, but at the same time, Y/N was all he could think about for the past week.

Sometimes his imagination would try to run away with the idea of her, but that wasn’t fair to her. He barely knew her last name.

The shy and strong Woo was enchanted by the photographer. Ah, he wanted to say something to her. To ask her out, but she was so professional. This was just work for her, and he didn’t want to get in the way of her job. Still, wasn’t it worth a chance to at least get a proper answer instead of wondering “What if?”

“No, no.”

“Um, Youngwoo? Can you help raise this up a bit more?” She reached her brown hand towards the top of the light.

As the taller man helped her, he decided to just go for it, “Hey, um, Y/N. Feel free to say no, but I was um. I was wondering if you would possibly maybe want to go on a sort of kind of date with me?”

“Oh, um, sure. Right there is good.”

Woo tightened the stand, and she began taking pictures again.

“What kind of place were you thinking?” She asked. “Y’know, for our date? Dinner and a movie?”

“I’d like to take you on a picnic. I know it’s sort of cliche, but Han River is really nice and there’s usually some nice busking that goes on there.” He said was her felt his heart beat outside of his chest, “I am leaving the shop to Yieun and a part timer this weekend. We can do it then.”

Y/N smiled up at him as she stood on the other side of the arrangement, “Sounds like a plan, Youngwoo. I shall wear a dress.”

“You can wear anything you want. I’m sure you’ll look great.” The man answered earnestly.

A surprised smile before Yieun called for him. Woo said he’d be right back and went to go talk to his co-worker about what had to be done. It wasn’t much. Just a bit of organizing here and there and sweeping. Simple things that took a while.

“By the way~” She whispered. “Did you ask her out? Niveah said she’s all you talk about.”

“I did.” He replied, playing coy.

“And? Did she say yes?”

A smile broke out on his face, “She did.”

Yieun put her hands up for a high five and asked for details one their hands met in celebration.

The following days, Woo kept sending his friend photos for potential outfits. She kept telling him to ditch the dress shirts because he looked awkward in them. It was just a casual thing, so he went with some gray sneakers, khakis, and a black and white striped top. Because of the pollen forecast, he opted out of contacts and just wore his glasses. The most expensive thing he wore was his gold watch from a birthday.

He had decided on a simple picnic instead of the ferry for dinner. Maybe if things went well, but he didn't wanna look too far ahead. He knew of a spot away from the main busy area where a few weeping willows provided the perfect shade.

“Youngwoo-ssi!” Her familiar voice called.

The man was breathless as could be as Y/N walked towards him, her copper skin covered in a blue and white dress that allowed for her arm to be bare except for a gold and white bracelet. Simple makeup other than a pink matte lip that accented her smile.

They bowed and greeted each other.

“You look...amazing.” He couldn’t help but stared.

“Thank you. You look great, too. I think this is my first time seeing you without an apron on.” She replied.

Woo smiled in response, “Thank you. I have a super special spot for us. A friend told me about it.”

She smiled, “Sounds great.”

“Have you had any other clients lately?” He asked.

“Oh my gosh, so I had this really sweet woman come in yesterday with her pregnant wife so that we can do the pregnancy announcement pictures and stuff. This is fine. I had it set up and such for that because she made an appointment.”

The tall man smiled, “Oh, that is really nice.”

“However, she went into labor in the middle of me taking the photos.”

“She what?”

“Right?

Woo asked, “Did she not know she was going to give birth?”

Y/N shrugged dramatically, “I guess not, but luckily, my next door neighbor is in her last year of training to become a nurse. She helped to deliver the baby in my bathtub.” She laughed. “I spent most of the day cleaning it.”

Both of them laughed at the whole story. That’s what it was like to have an at home studio as a photographer.

“Ah, here it is.”

Behind the leaves of a willow tree, there was a perfect little alcove where a red gingham blanket was spread out and food was separated between the two in the form of sandwiches. Conversation flowed smoothly as the overgrown tree provided shade for the couple that fate decided to put together. They talked about work and of family.

Kim Youngwoo blushed when she complimented him on being a good person, taking in people society had rejected because of a series of bad mistakes.

He told her about how he just wanted to help people like him, how the U.S. basically deported him back to Korea because of--

“I don’t care what you did, Youngwoo.” Y/N said honestly. “You’re obviously not the same person you were back then, or at least you are doing much better. Besides, that isn’t the person I’m starting fall for.”

“Who are you starting to fall for?” Woo asked, hoping his heart was beating for all the right reasons.

She bit her lip and then looked up at him after hesitating to say the truth, “You.”

#Monster Woo #Woo Fam #Kim Youngwoo #Monster Woo x Reader #Reader x Monster Woo #Youngwoo x Reader #Reader x Youngwoo #Florist!AU #Black!Reader #Female!Reader #Photographer!Reader #Instagram #Fluff #cuteness #Peachtober #Inktober '19 #Inktober #Inktober 2019

[space--cadet-glow]

Theory: The Odd Headcanons of Vaati, Part Fifty-six: Sing a Song of Six-Sins

There are a few songs I associate with Vaati in some fashion, whether they be for his character, for his mindset, for his story/plot, or for a mixture of all of the above. Just what songs are they?

Here is the list, which is way longer than I thought it would be (and most likely would be longer if I hadn't told myself to stop)...

1. "Primadonna" by Marina and the Diamonds 2. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police 3. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band 4. "Too Much of Anything" by The Who 5. "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)" by Florence and the Machine 6. "Shampain" by Marina and the Diamonds 7. "Chains" by The Beatles 8. "The Air that I Breathe" by The Hollies 9. "I Don't Even Know Myself" by The Who 10. "Written on the Wind" by Roger Daltrey 11. "Walking on Air" by Kerli 12. "Oh No" by Marina and the Diamonds 13. "Almost Human" by Voltaire

Now, for WHY. 1. "Primadonna" by Marina and the Diamonds Quick story time. A storyboard-like thing/project I did all the way back in 2015 featured the very first time I ever drew Minish Vaati AND Hylian Vaati. And the song that that storyboard was set to was none other than "Primadonna" by Marina and the Diamonds. And the reason I did it was because the lyrics- like practically ALL of the songs on this list- fit Vaati's attitude quite well. That's why. Highlights include: "All I ever wanted was the world", "I can't help that I need it all", "I know I've got a big ego/I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though", "And I'm sad to the core, core, core", and this entire section: "Get what I want 'cuz I asked for it/But not because I'm really that deserving of it/Living life like I'm in a play/In the lime-light, I want to stay". ...Funnily enough, Vaati practically IS a spoiled primadonna. A "Primadonna Mage", as I called my storyboard, after all!

2. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police I've mentioned this technically twice. The first time extensively in Part Forty-seven of my "Irony of Vaati" theory series, where I dissected the song bit-by-bit because of how incredibly well it fit for Vaati- and the second time briefly in Part Fifty of this theory series. Essentially, the song reads like a literal retelling of "The Minish Cap" (even though the song came first), all the way down to odd, minute details like "shining band of gold" (which, for example, could be the brim to the Magic Hat or even the Light Force, etc). Highlights include: THE ENTIRE DARN THING. LITERALLY. Especially: "You consider me the young apprentice", "I have only come here seeking knowledge", "I will listen hard to your tuition/You will see it come to its fruition", "Devil and the deep blue sea behind me/Vanish in the air, you'll never find me", and the most eerie of them all: "I will turn your face to alabaster/When you'll find your servant is your master". ...I tried to storyboard this one, but never got it finished. And I still like to think that there was a Police fan in either Nintendo or Capcom's offices.

3. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band ...I can explain. Remember Part Two of this theory series, in which I pointed out my headcanon that Vaati played the fiddle? BLAME THIS SONG. And my tendency to storyboard the oddest things. Really, the only way this matches is for the fact that Vaati transfigures himself into a demon- a stand-in for the Devil here. That and the arrogant nature of the Devil's portion of the song. Highlights include: " 'Cuz I think I'm better than you", "I'll start this show", and unfortunately for Vaati, "The Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat". And I even put "Minish Cap" Link as a stand-in for Johnny! Gee, what is wrong with me?

4. "Too Much of Anything" by The Who Another one of my (completed) storyboarded ideas. For Vaati over-exerting himself and ending up further ostracising himself from everybody else by metaphysically becoming 'better' than them (via the Magic Hat and later, the Light Force, that is). Highlights include: "I think these eyes have seen a lot/I don't know, maybe they've seen too much", "Hmm, there's something in the air", and "I think your ears hear a whole lot of music/And like me, they've heard a bit too much". Sort of along the lines of, he let his bad thoughts lead him too far down the wrong path and he just kept going along with it because he had managed to convince himself that being evil was what he truly wanted. Poor Vaati.

5. "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)" by Florence and the Machine You can blame my 12th Grade Environmental Science teacher- of all people- for this one. He was the one who introduced me to this song in the first place! Basically, this is because Minish Vaati was a coward/"meek, miniscule nothing"- he had a "rabbit heart" and needed to gain a "lion heart" (ie, become Hylian Vaati and so-forth). Highlights include: "You made a deal and now it seems you have to offer up/But will it ever be enough?", "It seems I've made the final sacrifice", "This is a gift, it comes with a price", and "And in the spring, I shed my skin/And it blows away with the changing winds". ...And I also tried storyboarding this one, too. Never finished it, though.

6. "Shampain" by Marina and the Diamonds ...Most of these are my storyboard projects, actually. This is the one I'm currently working on. There's not much that matches here, but this is for the fact that the song treats the champagne as something to hold up a "false pretense", just as Minish Vaati had to hold up the "false pretense" of being Hylian. Highlights include: " 'Cuz I remember, the way, the way, the way/It ended the day, the day, the day, the day/That I walked away, away, away, away", "I feel celestial", and especially: "Savour the taste of fabricated wealth". Since every form of Vaati's that wasn't a Minish was "fabricated". And each bigger and 'better' form was more worthy/"wealthy" than the last. The "mask" theme I keep mentioning.

7. "Chains" by The Beatles This one is quite silly. The chains are metaphorical. 'Chains' for the (quite possibly) holding-back that Ezlo had (his grip) on Minish Vaati ("I'll be wrapped around your finger" from earlier, anybody?). 'Chains' for all of the lies Vaati told himself that led him to change his form. And even 'chains' for his various imprisonments within the Four Sword. Highlights include: "Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains/And they ain't the kind that you can see", my favourite: "Can't run around 'cuz I'm not free"; and (simply) "But I can't break away from all of these chains". He did this all to himself, as I've said before.

8. "The Air that I Breathe" by The Hollies ...To the point that I imagined this song being the ending credits to imaginary 'movie' versions of my stupid Fanfictions. Yes, I'm serious. First, there's the connection to "air" again- perfect for a Wind Mage. And the whole 'wishing' aspect as a whole- wishing to bring "peace". It wasn't the correct type of "peace", but it was "peace" to the mentally-dubious Vaati! ...The lyrics explain it better than I could. What am I saying? Highlights include: "If I could make a wish", "What more could I ask?/There's nothing left to be desired", and "All I need is the air that I breathe". So sleep, Vaati. You need it.

9. "I Don't Even Know Myself" by The Who Another unfinished storyboard! Lucky me! This is for a symbolic reason: Vaati doesn't know himself because (despite retaining his mind), he's changed his outward appearance so drastically that he's basically unrecognisable as "Vaati" anymore. He's lost his way. Exorbitant a semita. Highlights include: "There's nothing in the words I speak that can betray anything I'm knowing", "Don't think about the way I dress", "Don't pretend that you know me 'cuz I don't even know myself", "The police just came and left/They wanted me and no-one else", particularly: "Do you remember me?/I don't remember you/Do you still love me?/You know I think you do", and even the silly, "Come on, all of you big boys/Come on, all of you elves". ..."The police" being Link and Ezlo, I would imagine. And "big boys" being the Hylians and the "elves" being the Minish. I'm reading way too deeply into this.

10. "Written on the Wind" by Roger Daltrey "Wind" is in the title. Need I say more? ...Yes. Basically, this is for Vaati's mindset (and story) again. The Wind is his destiny- to be changed; redirected. But instead of LETTING the Wind warp him, he tried to change his own destiny by CONTROLLING said Wind. Highlights include: "I realise my mistake", "Especially through me and you, it can be stormy", "Rise, fall/Great, small", "Your name's written on the wind", and finally, "And 'no' to you is not enough for you to give in". Like, he tried to convince Ezlo of something that would benefit HIM (Vaati) and failed. Or something along those lines. And no matter how "great" Vaati became, he still wanted more- he still probably felt quite "small" ("And I'm sad to the core, core, core", from earlier, naturally).

11. "Walking on Air" by Kerli For the manipulation of the Element of Wind, and for the mere fact that the song has a hint of "mental" troubles. And by that I mean, it's a warped mindset that led Vaati to do everything he did, just as the girl in the song planned to "set (her) world on fire". If she was "strong enough..." JUST LIKE THAT "MEEK, MINISCULE NOTHING" Minish Vaati! Highlights include: "Saying funny things you have never heard", "Are you brave enough to figure out?", "Know that you could set your world on fire/If you are strong enough to leave your doubts", "Feel it, breathe it, believe it/And you'll be walking on air", "A creepy little bat", "An old blue hat", and "No-one ever thought she could do that". ...This makes Vaati sound like a freaky pyromaniac, and judging by how Vaati Reborn literally had fire sleeves, I can't quite deny that accusation. And the "old blue hat" (to me, at least) is the Magic Hat, if that wasn't obvious.

12. "Oh No" by Marina and the Diamonds Random fun fact: this was the first MATD song I ever heard. You can blame a video about Vriska Serket for that one. This is for Vaati's misadventures as a whole: it was one big, downward spiral of, "Fantastic! I'm a Hylian now! Wait, what do you mean the Light Force isn't here? Never mind- here it is. ...When did I get imprisoned in a sword?". Highlights include: "Don't do love, don't do friends/I'm only after success", "I'll never soften my grip", "Want it fast, want it hard", "I just wanna change", "I know exactly what I want and who I want to be", "I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy", "If I fail, I'll fall apart", " 'Cuz I feel like I'm the worst/So I'll always act like I'm the best", and particularly, "If you are not very careful/Your possessions will possess you"; then "Real life has no appeal". Vaati let his ego get to his head, indeed! His head got to his head, if you will. ...What. Either way, Vaati was left alone to tend to his twisted fantasies, his own perfect world where he reigned supreme. Oh, if only.

13. "Almost Human" by Voltaire Yup. The final one. And one of the most heartbreaking, simply because it works for everything: the thoughts, the adventure, AND the symbolism. No matter what Vaati does, he will NEVER fully be a human, nor a demon. All because he started off a Minish, and that's what he still is. He's a FAKE. Highlights include: "Is it really such a crime/For an angel to speak his mind?", "I'll have to close my eyes and picture what it's like", "Despised by they", "I'm almost me", "Pity me, I'm almost a human being", "I still remember your light/And it was streaming down/And burning out my eyes", and tragically: "These tears are real/I'm jealousy/I'm spite and hate/To the core, I'm mean". "Despised by they"; being the Minish and later the Hylians as well. Even though Vaati believed himself to be better than everyone, the "pity me" part hearkens back to his origins as that itty-bitty, displeased Minish. It was Minish Vaati who started everything, by desiring nonsense- desiring MORE. ...Heck, even "If I Had a Heart" by Fever Ray would work in that context! ("More, give me more, give me more"). He was never satisfied.

There's so many songs that fit Vaati, sometimes in more ways than one. Vaati's such a melancholic character that it's distressing how many depressing songs match up with him. Oh, if he hadn't been so messed-up, just what would it have taken to make him happy? Plausibly the exact same thing, unfortunately...

..."High achiever, don't you see? Baby, nothing comes for free..."

#the bard of light rants #vaati #minish cap #the minish cap #the legend of zelda #theory series the odd headcanons of vaati #the bard of light schedules #oh my god my hands are gonna fall off #why did I do this

[damijon-supersons]

Waltzing with a Wayne: A Super Sons Fic

Synopsis: Jon just wanted to have a Christmas party with Damian. But he gets way more than he signed up for when Damian invites him to the Wayne Foundation Holiday Gala. Jon feels out of place and he can’t get a single moment alone with Damian.

 Author’s notes: Hi HI! I wanted to do a damijon fic in time for Christmas, but I was fresh out of good ideas, and originally I had this way longer epic story planned with them on a mission on a mountain trying to save some captive children….but yeah that didn’t work out so well cuz my ideas ran out.

But then in a single day, I had this cool idea for a party and yeah, now it’s this fic! I hope you like it! Tell me what you think! And most of all, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

“Hey, Damian, we should have, like, a Christmas Party!”

“What for? Pennyworth makes a fine Christmas dinner on his own…”

“It’s different when it’s a party! It’ll be more fun with more people to hang out with!”

Jon winced. The memory of asking Damian to have a little Christmas party with him replayed in his head as he stared out into the sea of black suits and velvet gowns, lit with a subtle golden sheen from the ornate chandeliers fifty feet above on the ceiling.

“More people…” Jon muttered under his breath. This was definitely not what he’d had in mind.

The day before, he’d gotten a crisp, gold embroidered envelope with an invite to a special “Yuletide Gala” hosted by the Wayne Foundation. Now that he was at the event himself, he guessed that “yuletide” and “gala” meant “ridiculously-rich-people-party”.  It was being held at the Wayne Tower penthouse, all the way at the top floor of the 28-storey office block, which featured hanging gardens and a view of the city reserved for people with ‘Wayne’ as their last name, or people whose money belonged to Bruce Wayne. There seemed to be more than a hundred of Gotham’s wealthiest and most influential present, all in their best white ties, tuxedos, and evening gowns. Almost none of them were kids his age, and the few that were looked snobby with upturned noses and just shrunken versions of their parents’ clothes.

“Come along now, kiddo,” Clark prodded him gently from behind. “It won’t do for us to stay at the door.”

“Sorry, dad,” Jon replied sheepishly. “It’s just that…this place…it seems a bit much.” Jon gestured to the tall crystal double-doors, and the interior beyond it. The ballroom was covered with a rich crimson carpet and featured a magnificent and imposing grand staircase in the center, which supposedly led to “private lounges”—whatever those were—and the  outside rooftop garden park  that surrounded the entire storey . The roof was partly composed of thick glass panels that offered a view of the stars. There were several wall mounted fountains silently churning foamy water, and the southwest corner of the penthouse housed a violin quartet who played one generic fancy-sounding background music pieces, complete with sound equipment that looked more expensive than the violinists’ combined net worth.

Jon felt positively underdressed. He’d only worn a rented black coat and tie, and he didn’t even have proper dress shoes so he’d just worn his sneakers. His parents Lois and Clark, meanwhile, looked respectable, but nowhere near the level of posh that the other guests enjoyed.

“I know it looks intimidating, Jon,” Lois said as they were escorted by one of the ushers. “Going to your first high-society party always is. But this is old hat for me and your dad. I suppose being the Daily Planet’s best reporters has its perks.”

“And that has nothing to do with you and dad being best friends with Mister Wayne and Selina?” Jon asked with a smirk.

“Well…that, too,” Clark grinned.

“I thought parties were more…cheerful,” Jon lamented. “All everyone’s doing is standing and talking and laughing like they’re on a timer.”

“Well…this is only one way adults can host a party…” Clark began, but he was saved from having to explain the finer aspects of adulting when Alfred Pennyworth intercepted them, garbed in his head butler attire. The younger usher that had been escorting the Kents cowered more than bowed as he left them in Alfred’s care.

“Master Clark and Lady Lane,” Alfred bowed gracefully.

“Merry Christmas, Alfred,” Clark greeted as Lois gave the old butler a quick hug.

“And the same to you.” Alfred smiled and then gestured to the head table, which was distinctly larger than the others and enjoyed its very own debris field of paparazzi. “Master Wayne would like to have you at his table, if you please. I’ll escort Jon to where the other youths are.”

Jon appreciated how Alfred tactfully called them youths than “kids” or “children”. While he was still technically a child, being called that was extremely patronizing. Damian hated being patronized, and Jon could easily sympathize with the sentiment. It totally wasn’t because he was picking up Damian’s quirks. Probably.

“Finally, boyscout junior’s here!” Beast Boy cried out. Alfred dropped Jon off at a table where all the Teen Titans, plus Maya, were seated.

“I was beginning to fear you weren’t going to come,” Starfire said as she kissed Jon amiably on the cheek, much to his chagrin.

Jon greeted his friends in turn. All of them were dressed in their finest evening dresses, even Beast Boy, whose overall bearing was anything but formal. He explained that the Titans had these clothes in reserve for any celebratory after-villain-beatdown-and-town-saving parties of the formal sort and were supplied by Damian himself.

“So, uh,” Jon began as he looked around, “Where is Damian?”

“He’s off making nice to some of his dad’s business associates. He likes introducing himself as ‘Mr. Wayne’s heir’,” Kid Flash explained with barely suppressed laughter.

“Wow,” Jon winced. “Damian’s…on a really different level, huh? All I wanted was to give him my present…” he gestured sadly to the wrapped gift bag he was clutching with his right hand.

“Let me guess, little brother invited you here, and you thought it’s just gonna be us instead of this big gala?” Maya mused, and Jon nodded solemnly. “Well he’s not getting away with him leaving us out here to dry while he plays billionaire junior. Gimme a sec…” Maya smirked before disappearing into the crowd.

“She’s good,” Aqualad said after Maya had left. “Raven and I were trying to talk her into joining the Titans before you came along.”

“That’s awesome!” Jon beamed. “She’s really good in a fight and she can turn invisible and…” Jon frowned at the thought. “Hang on, how are people not noticing you guys being here? Especially you, Gar! You’re green!”

“I know! Don’t I look beautiful?” Beast Boy claimed with gusto, which made the rest of the Titans laugh.

“Don’t worry, Jon,” Raven assured him. “Although we’re here because Damian invited us, the guests and the paparazzi assume we’re here as honorary guests because we’ve saved Wayne Enterprise properties from destruction a few times before.”

“Oh,” Jon replied absently.

“Besides,” Kid Flash chimed in, “Heroes or not, we’re still just teenagers. These old farts won’t really care about us…unless we know anything about ‘taxable dividend payments under the new tax reform measure’.” Jon and the Titans burst out laughing because Kid Flash had used a faux upper-class tone with exaggerated vowels.

“Do you?” Starfire asked.

“No. But I’m good at eavesdropping while getting food from the buffet table,” Kid Flash admitted, prompting the Titans to laugh again.

“You’re welcome to stay with us here while waiting for Damian,” Raven said. Then she closed her eyes in a melodramatic way as if sensing something in the air, and said, “Speak of the devil…”

Maya had returned with her arm around Damian. The latter looked like he’d been unceremoniously dragged in from the other end of the enormous hall. Despite looking frazzled, he looked extremely…classy. Damian was sharply dressed, with a bespoke smoky gray tailcoat, formal trousers and shiny black leather shoes. His hair was stylishly parted at the side with just the right length of bangs framing his forehead to look unnaturally handsome. He flashed the group a smile that they were sure was carefully practiced in front of a mirror—or Alfred.

“Good evening, Titans,” Damian greeted. “I hope the party is to your liking.”

Like clockwork, the three boys –Beast Boy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash—straightened up and adopted hilariously posh accents without skipping a beat.

“Why thank you, your grace. The evening has been splendid,” began Aqualad.

“Verily so, good sir. The tea has been marvelous, and the company grand.” added Kid Flash.

“Cheerio, jolly good fellow! Hath thou beheld the Queen's undergarments?” asked Beast Boy with utmost seriousness.

The table positively erupted in laughter. Surprisingly, the loudest was Raven, and Starfire and Aqualad spent the better part of two minutes calming her down. This earned them reproachful looks from the other adults in the vicinity, who seemed to question why the Wayne heir would keep such loud company.

The corners of Damian’s lips curled as if he just barely contained a smile. “Right. Well, you’re clearly having the time of your life. Merry Christmas. Now, I still have a few people to…”

“Wait, Damian!” Jon pleaded. “C’mon, can’t you stay here? You invited us after all…”

Without even waiting for Jon to take his next breath, Damian put an arm around Jon’s shoulder and pulled him close. The sudden contact caught Jon unaware as he lost his balance and ended up leaning on Damian, with his cheek pressed up against Damian’s face. He felt his blood rush to his head at the speed of light. Damian’s skin was so soft and smooth, and he smelled of spring flowers and freshly mowed grass—a very fragrant and expensive cologne, he wagered.

“I know, Jon,” Damian began, seemingly oblivious to the steadily overheating boy he’d just squeezed against his cheek, “I want you guys to have a good time. But I really need to get on with these introductions, otherwise, my father’s other guests will think I’m snubbing them, which would imply he’s a bad father for not raising me to be respectful and etcetera and all that… I’ll rejoin you as soon as I’m done.”

Just then, Dick Grayson approached them and waved. “Hey, guys! Glad you could make it! Kori, you look stunning!”

“You say that to all your girls, Dick,” Starfire said with a plaintive smile and a piercingly honest glare.

Dick paused. Starfire had stated it as a fact, and not as a rhetorical thing that would be open for good-natured denial. Dick settled for awkward laughter.

“Right, haha…say, can I borrow Damian for a sec? I promised the director of Gotham Prep a handshake from the little Mr. Wayne here…”

Damian’s eye twitched at the height joke and let go of Jon. The younger boy failed to steady himself after the surprise one-armed hug, prompting Maya to catch him before he stumbled.

“Well, duty calls.” Damian bowed dramatically. “Oh, one more thing—don’t take any drink that Todd offers you. It’ll be spiked with enough alcohol to render you flammable.” With that, he left with Grayson. Beast Boy meanwhile, smartly shunted his half-full wine glass as far away from him as possible.

Once Damian was swallowed by the crowd, Maya waved a hand in front of Jon’s face. It took a few seconds for Jon to understand that he was supposed to nod.

“Now, that, was cruel,” Kid Flash said as he shook his head.

“Poor boy,” Aqualad agreed as he patted Jon on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go and get yourself some food, huh? The buffet table is over there.”

“R-right,” Jon said, still in a daze. “I’ll go do that, then.”

After Jon had left, the Teen Titans gave each other knowing looks.

“Man, even for Damian, that was a low blow,” Aqualad said gravely.

“Damian did that on purpose, no doubt about it,” Beast Boy whistled. “Does he know what he does to the poor kid?”

An awkward silence lingered among them, with Maya struggling to ask a hundred questions with her baffled expression.

Finally, Starfire spoke up.

“I am raising mine to thirty-five dollars.”

“That’s fair,” Kid flash said. “I’ll put it on the record then. Anyone else want to raise?”

“Whoa, wait, what’s this all about?” Maya asked with a raised brow.

“We all have this ongoing bet on when Jon’s gonna confess to Damian about this huge crush he has for him,” Raven offered with a small smile. “The boys are betting it’ll be six months, but Kori and I are betting it’ll be before the year ends.”

“Don’t worry, Maya, it’s just for fun!” Beast Boy scratched his head apologetically. “All of us guys have thirty bucks each on the pot.”

Maya flashed him a shrewd look. “It won’t be very fun for you, Beast Boy.”

“Why’s that?” Beast Boy’s face fell.

Maya fished out a twenty from her purse and handed it over to a very stunned Kid Flash.

“I’m just saying you better be ready to get cleaned out because I’ve known these boys for longer, and my money is on them getting together before the year ends.” The girls cheered.

“Well, boys, I think we’re in for a tough bet,” Aqualad sighed.

  Superman’s super-hearing had the uncanny ability to hear people’s heartbeats. Jon’s dad was so adept at using the skill, though, that he’d actually taken to memorizing the heartbeats of the people closest to him, such as Lois, Jon, and Batman, so that should they be in danger, he could instantly locate them. Jon himself hadn’t really gotten the hang of that memorized heartbeat thing, but he had been trying.

There was one heartbeat he had tried to memorize—it sounded calm and stoic, but solid and strong, the kind of rhythm you’d expect from a trained hunter that was ready to strike at any moment. Every thump, thump, thump reverberated in Jon’s ear, and he’d been familiarizing himself with its more subtle properties, like its timbre and frequency. It was only the heartbeat of the tiniest Wayne child, after all—the one that had been ever-present in Jon’s thoughts for what seemed like forever. And so, after a protracted amount of time straining his ears and scrunching up his face like he was having indigestion—and then finally asking Alfred—Jon found Damian alone on a garden balcony staring out at the cityscape below.

Without looking behind, Damian patted a spot on the marble terrace beside him, and Jon took it as an invitation. Damian propped his head up with his hands, and his elbows were leaning on the polished stone surface of the railing. The view from 28th storey of Wayne Tower boasted a spectacular kaleidoscope of Gotham lit by all manner of lights, and topped by a dark blue sky with innumerable glinting stars.

Jon was awestruck by the sight.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Damian asked.

“What?” Jon asked back in confusion.

“The city. The lights. That’s what my father always says.” Damian breathed a heavy sigh. His breath fogged up in the winter evening air. “It’s beautiful, but the lights hide the dark corners. There’s always something foul beneath the beauty, and it’s our job to clean it all up.”

“You sound awfully moody today,” Jon remarked. He gazed longingly at Damian’s languid face, but the latter didn’t return the eye contact.

“Just thinking,” Damian decided after a while. “The past few days, the Bat Family has been ramping up patrols. Just today, the police airwaves had zero crime alerts. Sure, it’s also Christmas, but imagine that—one day of no crime.”

“We need more days like that,” Jon said earnestly. “And we’ll definitely make it happen.”

 Damian turned to look at him. He was either smiling, or giving Jon a half-smirk. “Great minds do think alike.”

“And your mind is so great, is it?” Jon teased and punched Damian lightly on the shoulder.

“If I said it wasn’t, then you’d know I’m the evil clone and you’ll have my permission to laser my face off,” Damian offered as he playfully kicked Jon’s foot.

“That’s too bad— I like your face.” Jon said off-handedly. His face flushed three seconds after when he’d realized what his words sounded like, “Uh, I mean…uh, that sounded better in my head…”

Damian’s smile turned to honest laughter in a matter of seconds. Jon only realized it just then, but he’d never really heard Damian laugh in a good way. Before, it’d always been mocking, or teasing, or rueful…but now Damian sounded genuinely happy.

“You’re bad at this,” Damian chuckled.

“Bad at what?” Jon asked nervously, worried that he was doing something seriously wrong.

Damian said nothing, as he kept his smile. He seemed to be sizing Jon up. The quartet below seemed to be performing their best piece, judging by how quiet the audience went as they either sipped their wine to enjoy the music or else step onto the dance floor with their significant others. The violin quartet themselves played with renewed vigor, as if they were determined to redeem themselves after a lackluster night.

“’La vie en rose’,” Damian mused as he tilted his head toward the music below. “First sung by Edith Piaf in the original French. It’s a seminal nuptial ballad.”

“I…have absolutely no idea what half the things you said meant,” Jon chuckled in defeat.

“That, and with many other things,” Damian smirked. “That’s why I’m going to start teaching you.”

“Teaching me what?”

“Everything,” Damian answered confidently. “Starting with your basic ballroom waltz.” He suddenly grasped Jon’s hand in his own, and raised it. He put his other hand on Jon’s back. “Put your other hand on my shoulder,” he instructed.

“Damian, w—why are you doing this?” Jon asked frantically as he clumsily did as he was told. His cheeks were turning a rich shade of red.

Damian guided Jon’s feet so that they were spaced apart and looked him in the eye, the smile never leaving his face. “How many years have we been partners, now? The day will come when we’ll have to go to a party like this together. And we’ll have to dance, just like this. Now’s the best time to teach you.”

“But…with me? I’m a b—“

“You’re my partner—and the only one I’d do this with,” Damian replied firmly but gently.

“But I can’t dance!” Jon gasped as Damian led him through the footwork. His steps were awkward and he managed to step on Damian’s toes every other time.

“It’s easy if you calm down and follow my lead…”

“Damian, please…I don’t want to embarrass you in front of anyone…” Jon pleaded.

“Shhh…” Damian cooed as he placed a finger on Jon’s lips. He leaned in close so that he could whisper in Jon’s ear. “No one else is here. Just you and me. Focus on me. Right now, we’re the only ones in the world that matter. Now…one, two, three…one, two, three…”

It suddenly made so much sense to Jon. The soothing music and the flow of the dance, Damian’s silky voice and warm breath on his neck. With one, two, three, awkward steps, and again, and again, Jon’s world found a pattern that he could understand. His eyes never left Damian’s, and he found himself enjoying every rotation, the rhythmic cadence of the violins syncing with his steps and with his heartbeat. Even when he closed his eyes to bask in Damian’s closeness, and as his lips were met with a moist warm sensation—the heat of a trusted friend making a lifelong promise—the dance went on, and on, and on.

The stars bore witness to a young hero, who simply wore a rented suit and red sneakers, learning how to dance with his feet, his lips, and his heart. And down below among the throng of black coats, three teenage boys lost the rest of their week’s food allowance.

#fic #fanfic #super sons #damijon #Damian Wayne #robin #jonathan kent #jonathan samuel kent #superboy #teen titans #DC #superman

[transboygenius]

Digital Love

Last night I had a dream about you In this dream I'm dancing right beside you And it looked like everyone was having fun The kind of feeling I've waited so long

The shy little child prodigy looked out into the distance, every kid from first grade to fifth, gathered around the presence of the "King Of Cool," himself, Nickolas "Nick" Dean. He's not that big on brains, and in fact had to repeat the fourth grade due to chronic tardiness. But that didn't matter to anyone, because he was popular. Nick knew how to act, how to dress, and how to defy gravity on a regular kid-powered skateboard. While most young boys somewhat envied his good looks and charms, the rest would sell their souls just to be the macho figure he is. Almost every girl in school wanted him to be their future husband. Then there's James Isaac Neutron, "King Of Fool." The tween had a deformed head, a goofy puffy haircut, a complex vocabulary that puts children in debate if he's human or not, but that's only half of Lindbergh's turn-offs. Nick was the prince, while Jimmy was the clown. No girl would ever share a conversation with him, even if it meant repopulating the Earth. Everything between the two, Jimmy and Nick, was absolutely incomparable.

Whenever a bully sees Nick, they give him a warm greeting. Whenever a bully sets their sight on Jimmy, that's his signal to run. Nick gets hit with blown kisses. Jimmy gets hit with fists. The school laughs with Nick. The school laughs at Jimmy, and so do his friends whenever they get caught in the moment. They all looked down on the poor genius, and still would even if he grew some height. Back on the scene, Jimmy took a deep sigh as he turned his eyes away from the crowd, and decided to proceed to his next period, since the commotion isn't worth his time anyways. Carl Wheezer looked over his best friend. Judging by his expression and the way he looked at Nick, Carl can only presume that Jimmy is intimidated. Seeing his best friend like this only brought him into a frown. It's quite understandable why an undersized geek like Jimmy would hold any jealousy against Nick, who's at the top of the food chain, while Jimmy's sunk to the deep end. Walking to the next classroom, Carl puts his arm around him, followed by a brotherly pat.

In Carl's opinion, popularity is overrated. Jimmy scales a 10/10 to him any day. Because of how nice the boy genius has been to him, more than anyone else, Carl assured to make him feel like a million bucks. Jimmy's weak, bully bait, and prone to many accidents, but that never stopped him. Carl would rather stay beside his nerdy friend than Elementary's golden boy. Speaking of which, if only Carl could save Jimmy from his own insecurities. Like, whenever Nick passes by, he'll sometimes tease the boy for his short height. All the other students have treated him worse than that, but Carl could see it still gets to Jimmy. Nick's not really a bad guy, for he has helped the boy genius occasionally, such as giving him life hacking advice, or coming to his aid whenever he has his hands full with bullies. Jimmy thanks him afterwards, but then he gets all timid and embarrassed. Carl thought, even while trying to help, it never made him feel any better. All those "good deeds" were probably just Nick's way of reminding Jimmy how much of a defenseless weakling he is, and not to mention, an unrelatable dweeb.

Another thing that has concerned Carl, from the easily noticeable mood Jimmy always gave whenever Nick is socializing with Cindy Vortex. Cindy was a bratty know-it-all in pigtails, and Jimmy's quote-on-quote rival. Long ago, before Jimmy transferred into Lindbergh, Cindy had been the smartest kid in school. The fact that her new competition turned out to be none other than a boy, she's been trying to drag him through the mud since then. Jimmy tried to make a good impression, even tried being nice to her, but after a week he eventually gave up and then came a war. If Cindy wants to play that game, then that's how it's gonna be. They argued a lot, never agreed on anything, but every time Nick and Cindy made a scene, Jimmy would give that same depressed look he had whenever he saw Nick surrounded by all the pretty girls in school, followed by some anger. For some reason, Jimmy gets his buttons in a bunch for every moment Nick gives Cindy attention. And out of all of the females, Cindy was the luckiest to get to him. Rumor has it that Nick's got a girlfriend proposal planned in mind, just for Cindy. Whether true or not, picturing those two as a couple made the small boy's blood boil. He can't let him have her. During recess, Carl discussed this topic with Sheen. Jimmy and Cindy hate each other. You can't put them in the same room without them coming at one another's throat. So why does he get offended every time she gets affectionate all over Nick?

"I think the little Romeno's in loooooooovvvvvvve." Said Sheen. "Jimmy? In love with Cindy? Get out, he hates her. Have you ever met his Girl-Eating plant?" Carl replied. "You really don't watch much of TV, don't you Carl? When a man and a woman argue so much, and both are completely obsessed with getting revenge with each other, even if it's not worth it, that's there way of expressing their romantic passion. The feuding is used as a mask to cover up the feelings they're too reluctant to show their friends." "C'mon, Sheen. TV is TV, and this is... ...not TV. This is real life." "You'll never know unless you ask him. Oh, and if he says No, then he could be lying."

Carl walked over to his best friend, who was lying belly down on the grass, sketching out a W.I.P for his newest invention. He felt nervous getting into his personal life like this, but he's really worried for him. If he doesn't ask, he may never get this curiosity off his chest before it actually happens. He took a deep breath, inhaled into his inhaler, then out came the question.

"Jimmy?" "Yeah, Carl?" "I was wondering; Do you like Cindy Vortex?" "NOOOO! What gave you that idea?! I'd rather kiss one of the most venomous insects roaming around the rainforest than her! No! No way in Mars!"

Carl wasn't satisfied with his answer.

"Jimmy, are you lying?" "Don't you know your own best friend? I'm positive that's the truth!" "The truth that you're lying?" "NO, the truth that Cindy is the least person on Earth I could ever fall heads over heels for!" "Okay. Thank you."

Carl went back to Sheen just to gloat about him being right, but that only resulted in Sheen slapping the palm on his face in annoyance.

________________________

It was Valentines day at Lindbergh Elementary, and all the students are making a mess out of the arts and crafts tools. They made cards, some with macaroni noodles pasted on, and some with overuse of glitter. Most Valentine gifts are store bought. The children didn't really care for romance, or finding their special Valentine. They only participate just to receive goodies, and stuff their faces with candy. The kids that did care for Valentines Day wrote for the ones they loved, only because that felt right to their hearts. Sheen wrote to UltraLord, including his UltraLord dolls. Carl wrote a card for his mom, dad, and best friend Jimmy, with a pattern of Xs and Os. As awkward as it made Jimmy feel, he gave him a new inhaler with a red bow wrapped around it to show his appreciation. In response, Carl gave him a big loving warm hug, of course he let go immediately after he heard choking from the boy genius.

"Hey Jim, what do you say we had right down to the Candy Bar? My treat! You only get those adorable pink and red heart sprinkles once a year." "Awwww, you go ahead, Carl. I'll meet you there. I need to hand out my final draft papers." "Okay. See ya!"

As soon as Carl left, Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. He was waiting for Carl to leave cuz he can't afford him getting into his fudgy hair while he sets out to make his move. Jimmy sets his jetpack down, then pulled out an envelope with a heart-shaped sticker sealing it closed. He held it up to his face for a bit, sweat trailing down his face, with his heart racing in his chest. On account of urges, he must do it, but he feels he's gonna regret it later on. Jimmy quietly prowled among the hallways, looking back, fourth, and behind himself just to make sure no one catches him in the act. The job would be much easier if he haven't left his invisibility gum at home. He pressed his back against a random locker of an unknown student, which is where his destination had been. With shaky hands and sweaty palms, he stood on his toes as he shoved the letter right into that locker, then ran for cover before anyone walks in. He peeked from behind the wall, watching carefully for his sweetheart to arrive and read his note.

Up walked in Cindy, with Nick behind her. Jimmy leaned in closer, and began biting his nails as he concentrated his focus on Cindy, who's leaning against the locker he dropped the letter in. She was being cornered by her crush Nick, while she giggled and blushed madly like a bubbly school girl, asking him if he has any plans this Valentine's Day, or if he's seen any girls lately. She got an answer out of him, but not what she had in mind.

"Cindy, I need to get to my locker."

How humiliating. Face glowing red, she threw herself off of his locker. She felt like she embarrassed herself, getting in his way all day and pestering him with questions, only to get a stoic response. That probably means she isn't likely to get a chance with him. He accepted her homemade chocolate truffles, but Nick pretty much accepted every girls' gift, even the most weird ones, like assorted meats. She fears, what if somebody else gets to him before she does? As she walked on, she kept her eyes on Nick, watching him open his locker. However, she didn't watch where she was going and bumped into a wall on the way. Nick undid the combination of his locker and opened it wide, that's when he met the first thing that caught his eye; A letter, from an anonymous admirer. Nick wasn't really amused. He has run dry reading these ignorant girls love cards all day, so does he have to put up with another one? So many mushy words and failed attempts at poetry, he's on the verge to fall sick any time soon. Unfortunately, Nick decided to swallow his pride. This will be the last note he'll read for today, then he's calling up for quits on Valentines. He teared away the sticker and flung it aside, opening the envelope to reach in for the letter.

When he unfolded the letter, he hasn't read one word, yet this note already had him at hello. It was different. No cheap decorative touch-ups such as plastic gems or glitter, but something more simple. Very simple, but that's what made it so pleasant. The only touch-up this letter possessed was an animated flashing heart. He read each paragraph, every word in between the lines. It wasn't so mushy after all, but instead it looked like someone paid a famous novelist to write this note. It was pleasing and relaxing, even if he didn't understand two of the vocabulary words. Halfway through the note, Nick could feel the butterflies spawning inside him. Each sentence was written with true modesty, making sure to convince the reader that their feelings are real as day. Like all the Valentine cards he's read, this one ended with an "I love you" but adding on, "Although, I'm not sure you'd feel the same way." Whoever wrote this, Nick said to himself, has definitely won themself a Valentine, except Nick didn't knew who they were. He doesn't even recognize the handwriting.

Jimmy blushed while placing a hand over his mouth. Judging by Nick's body gesture, he could tell he liked it. But, how would he react if he ever found out the writer behind the note? Jimmy Neutron never hated Nick, nor was he jealous at all. He was in love with him. Not for his looks, but for who he was, unlike all the other groupies. The reason why Jimmy always looks so sad whenever he's looking at Nick from a distance, while in the company of those who praised him, because he's out of reach for him. Nick comes to him sometimes, but with their unbalanced popularity statuses, it takes luck for the biggest nerd to see Nick on his own. Worse, it's a boy loving a boy, living in a heteronormative society. The only one he's truly jealous of is Cindy, who's always trying non-stop to make Nick hers. The Girl-Eating Plant was invented as a stress reliever, for every time Cindy lures in Nick's attention like a fly to honey. He can't let Nick have her. It's him he should have.

This feeling drives Jimmy off the wall. He's best at hiding his affection, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Whenever Nick's near him, or even speaks to him, Jimmy always feels like he wants to run away and hide. He's never told anybody about this crush. Not to his friends, family, or even Goddard. In spite of being at the bottom of the food chain, Nick actually had some respect for him. Plus, Nick has done nice favors for Jimmy, such as giving him life hacking advice and saving him any trouble from bullies. Nick treated him like he were one of his bros, without any care of what anyone around him thinks. What if Nick doesn't love him back? What if Nick isn't into the same gender? The most miserable thing in the world, in his book, is dealing with a crush you're not so sure returns your love. He's a scientist, he can make that happen. But, forcing Nick to fall in love with him wouldn't make him feel any good.

Don't stop come a little closer As we jam the rhythm gets stronger There's nothing wrong with just a little little fun We were dancing all night long The time is right to put my arms around you You're feeling right You wrap your arms around too But suddenly I feel the shining sun Before I knew it this dream was all gone

#Jimmy Neutron #Boy Genius #Cindy Vortex #Carl Wheezer #Nick Dean #Romance #Story #Digital Love #Daft Punk #Movieverse #MooVEE