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miamochi-writes · 1 year

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Daycare Snacks Vash AU Part 6

“Hey y/n! Cancel whatever you have going on this weekend. I did a little something for you,” your friend Cora said excitedly.

“Cora…what did you do?” You asked dreading what she did this time.

“Well…I may have set you up with someone,” she started.

“YOU WHAT?!”

~*~

Here you were dining at a nice restaurant in one of your best outfits on a Saturday night, but with the worst company possible.

Your friend Cora managed to set you up on a blind date that she found while visiting her boyfriend. She did your hair, made you wear one of your green velvet crop tops with a black skirt and black heeled ankle boots. Cora then gave you a lecture about trying not to bail out on your date or trying not to leave midway since she worked hard on finding someone and getting his number. You loved her, but you wanted to choose who you date at your own time. This date was one of the main reasons why you wanted to pick and choose and not her.

You tried to stay open minded when you met your date at the restaurant, hoping that maybe this was the one time your friend actually helped you. Your date looked decent. He was a tall brunette with curly hair and a slight muscular tan build with green eyes. He wore a denim jacket with a white v neck and black denim pants with sneakers.

“You must be y/n?” he asked.

“Yes and you must be Axel?” you asked.

“Yes, Cora told me a bit about you, but I must say you’re much more attractive in person,” he remarked.

“Thanks, you look good too,” you complimented.

“A gentleman always has to look his best,” he added.

You don’t know why, but something about that comment made your stomach do knots, but you brushed it off.

“Come on, let’s head inside,” he said as you followed along. The waiter brought you to your table and sat you down while handing you the menus.

“Have you ever eaten here before?” Axel asked.

“No not really, but I’ve been wanting to. I head it’s hard to get a reservation here. Like you have to reserve it months in advance almost!” you explained.

“Well, I know some people and they kinda owe me some favors,” he explained.

“Cool! So what do you do?” you ask.

“I work at a bank, but I model on the side if the Nike’s shoes didn’t give it away,” he commented as you looked at him.

“Oh...nice, I work with kids at a daycare,” you commented.

“Hm, not something you hear every day,” he remarked as he looked a the menu.

“Yeah, but it makes me happy. Especially when they grow up and start learning how to read, write, or inspire them to do what they want in life, you know?” you explained.

“Okay, I see where you’re going. Tell me more after we order. It’s on me,” he said.

“Oh okay,” you replied as you looked at the delicious food they had to offer. Honestly you wanted to try one of their steaks or their house special pasta.

“I think I want one of the pastas if you don’t mind,” you told him.

“Sure,” he said as the waiter came up to your table.

“How are you two doing? May I get you anything?” he asked.

“Yes, we’ll have 2 glasses of your best wine, and I’ll have the steak while she’ll have the salad,” Axel said.

“Wait a minute, that’s not,” you reasoned.

“We’ll let you know if you need anything else,” Axel added as he shooed the waiter off.

“Hey, that’s now what I asked for,” you mentioned.

“Yes, but you look good right now. It’d be a shame if we got too full,” Axel remarked as you instantly started regretting showing up.

Turned out Axel came from a slightly well off family, and happened to meet Cora and her boyfriend at a party. He said he was open to dating, but apparently he was very picky.

“I like someone who can maintain themselves physically.”

“Oh you like playing video games? I didn’t take you for someone to be so child like,”

“Maybe those kids are rubbing off on you, and not in a good way,”

“Why don’t you get a more serious job?”

You practically didn’t eat much of your salad since Axel’s comments ruined your appaetite. Plus you practically finished your wine with how the date was going. You couldn’t take anymore of this.

“Excuse me Axel, I gotta use the restroom and touch up on my makeup,” you said heading to the table with your phone.

You went into one of the bathroom stalls and messaged your only lifeline right now.

“Hey, remember how I told you I was busy? My plans went downhill, I’m not having a great time,” you messaged.

“Where are you? I can pick you up as soon as I can,” he said with a running emoji

“Thanks Vash, you’re a lifesaver! Sending you my location!”

“Okay, give me 15 minutes! :)” he replied.

Hey, at least you stayed this long throughout one of your blind dates. You sighed and mentally prepared yourself on going back to Axel. As you walked back, he was on his phone, but once he heard you come back he put it away.

“So where were we?” Axel said as you fought the urge not to roll your eyes.

“Something about you?” you half joked.

“Oh right! Yeah since I model, why don’t you? You got the looks, besides you don’t need that dumb daycare job anyway,” he commented.

Before you could answer, the waiter came back with the bill.

“No desserts?” Axel asked.

“No I’m ready to go,” you sighed as he paid the bill with his card.

Axel then led you outside as you kept checking your phone on the time.

“But yeah, think about it y/n, you wouldn’t really be wasting your looks and potential if you thought about modeling. I’m just saying,” Axel continued.

“Uh Axel, thanks but no thanks. I actually like my daycare job since I feel like I’m actually doing something. Plus I want to be known for more than my looks,” you replied with a bit of growing frustration.

“You know, I was going to overlook your job and give you another shot, but clearly you’re not worth it. Good luck finding another better date than me y/n, because I highly doubt it with that attitude of yours,” Axel said as he got a little to close to you.

Before you could do or say thing back you felt a hand on your shoulder.

“There you are, hope I’m not interrupting anything,” a cheery voice said.

You looked to your side and there he was with the unforgettable smile.

Vash was wearing his usual orange glasses while he was wearing a slightly loose gray top with a red leather jacket and black pants with some brown combat boots. He did a pose where he stood by you and had his other hand slightly pull down his orange shades as he was trying to get a good look at the situation unfolding.

“Hi there, and no you just came right in time,” you told him looking up and flashing him a smile.

“Ugh, whatever, she’s your problem now,” Axel said as he walked away.

“What’s his deal?” Vash asked as he pointed his thumb at him.

“It’s a long story, but I want to get out of here so bad,” you complained just thinking about what Axel said.

“Sure, but for the record, you’re not a problem. Any guy would be lucky enough to have you as a date,” Vash complimented as you felt your face getting hot all of a sudden.

“Thanks, I can say the same to you. You're a much better option than him. Plus, you even dress better than him,” you told him as you slightly looked away.

“Well I’m glad you messaged me. Hopefully I can try to make your night a bit better,” he added.

“Trust me, you already are,” you mentioned.

~GROWL~

Of course, your stomach just had to embarrass you in front of Vash in front of a nice restaurant that you didn’t really get to eat at.

“I’m so-” you tried to apologize.

“DID HE STARVE YOU?” Vash asked as he grabbed your shoulders with his eyes widened.

You were startled by this as you tried to speak.

“He said he would cover dinner. But when I tried to order what I wanted, he ordered a small salad for me. He told me I should keep my figure and not get too full,” you explained as Vash let go of you.

He was beyond horrified at what you told him as he pulled out his phone and looked at you with his orange shades hiding his eyes and showing your reflection.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked dead serious.

You looked at the time and realized it was getting late to where most food places were closed.

“Uhh I wanted something Italian earlier,” you shyly answered.

Vash was going through his phone and then pulled out his car keys.

“I know just the place that’s open late enough for us to go eat at,” Vash said as he beckoned you to follow him.

Vash drove you to a modern Italian restaurant that was short of a drive. The place was in the middle of a shopping strip that had a modern brick exterior. Inside the place was dimly light with vintage bulbs that emitted warm colors with off white wallpaper. The ceiling had dark wooden beams holding the top together while the booths were black and comfortably cushioned with a dark table accompanying it. Oddly enough, the place had a bar in the middle where two workers were behind running the cashier.

“Hi Vash! Haven’t seen you in awhile! And who’s this pretty girl?” one of the guys asked.

“Hi Chad! This is my friend. She had a rough night and needs something good to eat,” Vash answered as he waved.

“Well take a seat and we’ll be right with you!” Chad said as Vash led you to a booth.

“You’re a regular here?” you asked looking around.

“Yeah, I would come here alot while in college. Especially if I was celebrating. This place has the best Italian food,” he said as Chad brought the menus.

“So what would you like to drink?” Chad asked.

“I’ll have some soda,” Vash said.

“I’ll have some too please,” you asked.

“Okay and Vash I assume you want your usual?” Chad asked.

“You know it,” he replied.

“Actually, I think I know what I want too. Give me your pasta special,” you added.

“Good choice, you can’t go wrong with it,” Chad said as he went to the kitchen to bring your drinks.

“Okay, so what happened?” Vash asked.

“The longest and worst date possible,” you began as Chad brought your drinks.

You told Vash about how Axel was the complete opposite of a “gentleman” that he was. You told him how he thought the daycare job was dumb, that playing video games was childish, how he emphasized looks over everything, and that the daycare kids were a bad influence. Each time you told Vash something, his face either looked disgusted or just shook to the core.

“Like thanks for taking me on a date where I couldn’t even order what I wanted at a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try and then just insult me and my job,” you finished as you took a sip of your soda.

“What a jerk, I still can’t believe he did that,” Vash said.

“I know, but I can’t thank you enough for showing up so last minute. I’m sorry, if I disrupted your plans,” you added.

“You don’t have to apologize over anything. I was just chilling at my apartment. Besides, now I get to introduce you to this place,” he continued.

Soon Chad brought out your meals. Vash’s pizza was steaming at the core and looked extra good with how thick and cheesy the dough was. Your plate looked delectable as you could practically smell the ingredients and felt your mouth watering with how good it looked.

“Enjoy!” Chad cheered as he walked off.

“Oh and y/n, you’re more than welcome to try a slice of my pizza,” Vash offered.

“I’ll take you up on that after I have a few bites,” you said as you grabbed a fork and ate some of your food.

You let out an “mmmm” as you closed your eyes and enjoyed the savory taste of your meal as you practically melted with how good it was.

“This is so much better than that dumb salad that jerk ordered,” you commented as you went in for another bite.

Vash chuckled at your reaction, yet he kept gazing at you with his ocean eyes and adored your little reaction. He loved that he could bring your mood up as he introduced you to one of his favorite places to eat.

“Told you it was good,” Vash said as he tore off two slices of his pizza and handed a slice to you.

“Thank you! Yours looks and smells good too!” you mentioned as you grabbed your slice.

“Cheers to a better Saturday night?” Vash offered to toast with his food.

“A better Saturday night with you,” you chimed and tapped his slice with yours and began eating.

“This is also really good! The texture, the flavors, and it’s fresh from the oven” you commented smiling ear to ear.

Again, Vash just smiled at you fondly as he took a bite of his food.

“Glad it’s not too cheesy of me to offer,” he joked.

You chuckled so hard that you had to hold your side and look down.

“Vash, I can’t believe you did not just- you’re such a goofball,” you couldn’t help but laugh. As corny as it was, it was too good with the way he timed his delivery. Vash tried to stifle his laugh along but failed miserably. He liked that we was able to get you laugh.

“So does this mean I’m the better option than your date?” he asked half jokingly yet half serious.

“Ugh, enough about him. He probably would have thrown me another insult about how carbs are bad or something. You’re clearly a much better date than him,” you replied as you kept eating.

That caught Vash off guard as he got flustered and scratched the back of his neck. Oh how his ego was growing slowly.

“The audacity that he would pick something else for you when you clearly told him what you wanted,” Vash said.

“I know, and the whole video games thing. What a killjoy,” you added as you ate more of your food.

“Oh speaking of video games, I got a copy of House of Ashes this week,” he mentioned as he took another bite.

“Oh really? I think I heard about it. What’s it about?” you asked.

“It’s a survival horror game where you try to keep the characters alive while the story plays out. The game is part of a series but you can play them in any order since they don’t really need to know or play any of the previous games to play this one,” Vash explained.

“Oh that sounds cool! Kinda sounds like something I would play,” you mentioned.

“Well if you’re not doing anything after this, want to play the game with me? It has a co-op option,” he suggested while looking at you.

“Sure! I’d love to if you don’t mind me,” you replied as Vash looked like he struck gold.

“Perfect, well no rush in eating. I want you to enjoy your meal,” he said as you nodded and kept eating.

You enjoyed Vash’s company and how easily you could be comfortable with him. Even with his corny jokes and puns, you were having a much better time than earlier. Plus, you got to have amazing food that you actually wanted.

By the time you were done, both of you managed to finish your meals while getting to try each other’s dishes a few times. Chad came to your table and picked up your plates.

“And just a little something extra, here’s some of our tiramisu cake. It’s on the house,” Chad said as he brought out a plate from behind him.

“Wait what?” you asked looking at Vash.

“Don’t worry there miss, we overheard how bad your date was. We’re just glad Vash brought someone who would appreciate our food. And know that you are always more than welcomed to eat here,” he added as he both gave you forks and walked away.

“Oh my gosh, this is so sweet,” you commented.

“No pun intended?” Vash asked with finger guns as you slightly kicked him.

“Nice one joker,” you playfully told him as you grabbed a bite.

“Wow, that’s one of the best I’ve had in a while,” you noted as Vash took bite.

“Again, you can’t go wrong with the food here. They make things fresh by hand every day,” he added as you enjoyed the sweet coffee flavor. Chad came back with the bill as you pulled out your card. As you put your card down, Vash’s hand was already down on the bill with his card. You noticed his fingertips were barely touching your hand as you felt yourself blushing.

“Sorry y/n but you gotta be quicker than that,” Vash commented as Chad took his card while you put your card away with a pout.

“Just let me treat you,” Vash insisted.

“But you’ve been treating me since the cafe,” you pouted trying to get your blush to go away.

“You will, you just gotta be quicker,” he teased as he closed his eyes and flashed a smile.

“I’ll get you one day Vash, you won’t see it coming,” you remarked.

“I look forward to it,” he replied as Chad came back with the card and Vash signed off on the bill.

You both stepped outside for some fresh air and did a small stretch where part of your lower midriff showed. Vash noticed and had to look away as he was starting to turn red from the neck up.

“That was so good Vash, thank you for taking me here!” you told him.

“Sure! So now that you’re well fed, now we can play that new game together,” he said as he walked you to his car and drove you to his place.

~*~

“And here we are, this is my place,” Vash gestured you inside as you looked around.

By the entrance he had a coat rack where you noticed some of his hoodies and other red coats were hanging on. You decided to hang your bag on the rack and remove your shoes. His living room was neatly decorated with a coffee table that had a few books. he had a wide tv that looked moderately expensive with a Playstation 5 cubby within the TV stand. Across from it was a nice gray couch with a blanket neatly made on the side. His white walls were decorated with some band posters you sorta recognized while he also had some fan art of games and shows that you talked about like Persona, Avatar the Last Airbender, Pokemon, and some framed photographs. Connecting his living room was the kitchen that had a black wooden dining table with a red paperweight, 2 chairs, and the kitchen necessities next to it. Overall it looked really neat and organized.

“Nice place you got here,” you commented as you took a seat on the couch.

“Thanks, it’s nice to have some company every now and then,” he commented as he went to the tv stand. He pulled out the game he mentioned and two PlayStation controllers. He turned on the PlayStation and walked towards the couch

“Here you go,” he handed you one controller after he pushed the logo so it can start up.

He then sat next to you and booted up the gaming console and controllers. He inserted the game and you noticed it gave off a mysterious vibe.

“Okay you can be player 2, I’ll be player 1. It’ll be story first, but I’ll teach you on what you need to do,” he explained.

The game started off with setting the scene in a desert area back in the day. You noticed you controlled one of the characters while Vash controlled another character. The game then prompted you to make a decision on saving a civilian or hurting her.

“Okay, I’ll save them,” you mentioned as you made your choice.

Later in the scene, you had a timed decision on whether you escaped or not.

“Y/n, you have 3 seconds to pick,” Vash mentioned.

“Wait what? Just 3?!” you said as you panicked on whether to click the button or not to perform the action. You didn’t make it in time as the scene played out and you saw how this decision will affect the game later.

“Wait, my decision is going to come back and affect me later? I did’t know it was this kind of game?” you told him as he chuckled.

“Don’t worry, it’s your first time. Just do what you think is best,” he advised.

After a cutscene, the game brought you to the next setting where everything was modern and took place in the year 2003. You got to know the characters but they weren’t really too likeable, but your main objective was to save them all from these weird monsters. Throughout the game you had quick timed events where you either had to press the right button, perform a repetitive action, or make a decision in less than 5 seconds. For the most part this is what the night consisted of:

“Wait I have to press the button multiple times? It looks like they’re heart beat!” you mentioned.

“Yeah, you have to calm the character down or else something happens,” Vash said.

“What happens if I don’t follow?” you ask.

“Mmm why don’t you find out?” he teased.

You stressfully followed the action prompt as you were nervous not to mess up. You almost slipped up, but managed to follow everything as you let you a huge sigh of relief.

“Glad that’s over, that was stressful,” you commented as you slightly slumped over.

“Oh you’ll have to do it again,” he added.

“Are you kidding me?!” you asked.

“Hey y/n, what are you going to do?” Vash asked.

“Ugh, I kinda don’t want to save them but...” you trailed off.

“Y/n, that’s my character,” Vash explained.

“That’s you right now? I thought you were the other character?” you asked as you instantly chose to save him.

“We switch characters from time to time remember?” he asked.

“Thank god you’re here because I’m lost,” you told him.

“Come on y/n! You can do this! You just have to button mash!” Vash cheered.

Your character had to escape one of the monsters as you were getting nervous on pulling this off. Your thumb was practically pushing the button constantly as Vash kept encouraging you until your character finally made it through.

“I DID IT! I didn’t die! Did you see that?!” you asked as you jumped up and down while Vash cheered and hyped you up.

“There you go! I knew you could do it!” he said as he gave you a high five.

The next scene you had another monster coming after you, and you had to aim one of the weapons at the monsters.

“Vash I can’t do this, I’m not good at shooting like you are,” you mentioned already dreading with how this was going to end.

“Do you need help?” he asked.

“Yes,” you begged him as you shot him a worried look. He scooted closer to you and held your hands on the controller.

“Okay deep breathe. You’re going to aim and the game is going add some resistance, so keep trying to lock them in,” Vash guided you as you tried to lock in.

“Now, once the mark lands on that monster, you’re going to shoot by pushing the R2 trigger here okay?” he continued and tapped on where your right index finger was resting so you knew what to push. You were concentrating for dear life as you tried to get the cursor to land on the target. Once it did, you immediately pushed the trigger and got the monster as it screamed.

“It worked!” you cheered as another quick time event came up, but for Vash. Vash grabbed his controller and pressed the right button as he helped kill off the monster.

“We got him! Thank you Vash!” you exclaimed happily as he paused the game to see you get excited.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” he commented as you sat back down next to him as you let out a small yawn.

“How long have we been playing this?” you asked him.

“It’s a little past 2am,” he checked the clock as you were surprised at how long you were playing the game.

“Wow that long? It felt like 30 minutes, and we're not even done with the game,” you told him.

“Well, we can pause right here and continue another time if you want?” he asked.

“Yeah, let’s meet up another time when you’re free! I’m available next week,” you mentioned.

“Perfect, now let’s get you back home,” he said as started putting on his shoes while you followed after him.

When he opened the door, he noticed how chilly it was and looked at you as you were getting ready with your shoes and bag.

He went to the coat rack and grabbed one of his red sweaters and handed it to you.

“Here, its cold outside, and I don’t want you getting sick,” Vash insisted.

“Oh, are you sure?” you asked.

“Yeah, I rather you be warm. I insist,” he added as you put on the jacket.

You both walked down to his car and sat in the passenger seat. Vash’s Spotify started playing, “There is a Light That Never Goes Out,” by The Smiths as you got lost in your thoughts with everything that happened today. You had a horrible date, but Vash managed to salvage your night with what he had to offer and you felt yourself smiling at him on the way back while he was focused on driving.

By the time you made it back to your apartment, Vash walked you up to your door as the moon was shining brightly in the night.

“Thank you for coming to get me Vash. I had a really great night with you, even after everything that happened before,” you told him as you looked into his blue eyes.

“Anytime, I’m glad I could see you and have fun. Now I’m looking forward to seeing you again so we can finish that game together,” Vash added.

“Me too, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you mentioned. You honestly had no idea what came over you, but you walked up to Vash and gave him a hug. You were just happy to spend time with him after tonight, you felt your heart race. You then felt him reciprocate the hug as he gave you a quick tiny squeeze as you smiled from ear to ear. Once you felt him let go, you did as well as you stepped back and got a good look of him. He looked beautiful with the way he was smiling fondly at you, and maybe there was something on his cheeks that you couldn’t quite make out.

“Good night y/n, I’ll see you again soon,” Vash waved.

“Good night Vash, I’ll see you soon. Drive safe and message me when you get back home safely,” you waved.

He went down the stairs as you watched him leave. You then opened your door, and put down your bad and removed your shoes. You walked straight into your room and landed on your bed. Your mind was recalling everything that happened and you couldn’t wipe off the smile that plastered your face. After 10 minutes, you felt your phone vibrate to see Vash messaged you.

“Made it home safe! Good night y/n :)”

“Good night Vash :)”

You held your phone to your chest as you noticed your heart was racing slightly just thinking about him and the next time you see him. He was definitely one of the best dates you had so far.

Hi everyone! Thanks again for reading! I apologize for taking so long with this! I’m finally feeling better now, and I’ll be posting the other oneshot I have later this weekend! Again this was based off of one my experiences (yes, one of my dates very much didn’t listen what I had to say and ordered for me in the worst way possible). Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend! :)

@marydragneell

#vash #vash the stampede #vash au #vash x reader #trigun #miamochi writes

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acciowests · 3 years

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From Lorcan With Love

WORD COUNT: 1707

SUMMARY: A "From Lukov With Love" inspired ice hockey x figure skating AU featuring Lorcan Salvaterre and Elide Lochan from "Throne Of Glass"

Lorcan and Rowan arrive early for training and walk in on a figure skater finishing her session. It isn't until she falls that Lorcan rushes forward, helping up the woman he learns is called Elide and immediately begins to fall for her charms.

"You know, you didn't have to wake me up this early, right?" Rowan drawled as they pulled into the Orynth Rink parking lot. With their first game of the season taking place next Friday, Lorcan Salvaterre - Goalkeeper of the Terrasen High Hawks - had booked out the rink for three whole hours of practice. Along with being Lorcan's best friend, Rowan Whitethorn was also the captain of the Hawks, their school's ice hockey team. Despite having napped for most of their journey, Rowan's brows were furrowed in a tired frown, his lips in a thin line as he stretched in his seat.

The capital's Ice Rink mainly housed ice skating: including singles figure skating, pairs ice dancing, as well as the annual sectional competitions and sometimes the national one also. None of that meant much to Lorcan, he just knew the Orynth Rink also showcased professional Hockey Teams, such as the Orynth Stags; a team he had dreamt of being a part of since he started his ice hockey journey at seven-years-old.

"Stop complaining, old man," Lorcan chuckled, smirking at the silver-haired boy. "Get the bags from the trunk will you?"

Sticking up his middle finger noncommittally, letting it fall into his lap, Rowan climbed out of the car, rounding toward the back of the vehicle. Lorcan switched off the engine and stepped outside. Grabbing the gym bag full of their gear, Rowan hauled it over his shoulder as Lorcan locked the car, the two boys walking through the parking lot and toward the rink.

The changing room was empty, as Lorcan expected, and the two boys changed in comfortable silence. They pulled on their team jerseys: deep green with silver writing that displayed their name and number. Paired with sweatpants and their elbow and shoulder pads, as well as their shin guards, the boys shoved their bags into the lockers, along with their phones, and headed out to the rink. Walking off the ice with skates on had always felt weird, even with the skate guards that protected the blade. Heading down into the stadium, Lorcan's eyes locked onto the lone figure skater within the rink. The clock overhead told him she still had fifteen minutes left, which meant he and Rowan had fifteen minutes of waiting.

Slumping down into a seat, Lorcan set his elbows against his knees, leaning forward and watching the petite, raven-haired girl dance across the ice. Beside him, Rowan drummed his feet lazily, Lorcan ignoring him completely as he listened to the sound of her blade across the ice.

When, and if, he saw figure skaters, they were always wearing glittery costumes in shades of reds, purples and blues. And though he was sure most skaters did dress down for practice, the girl before him looked like she dressed in the dark. Which, if she had booked a three hour practise, she just might have. Ignoring the grey leggings and burgundy sweater showing a Perranth Skating Club logo, she skated as though she was in front of thousands. Each turn was sharp but smooth, each of her jumps or leaps landing perfectly - to Lorcan's untrained eye, anyway.

"I was thinking we could do some new drills. As captain, I reckon we have a good shot this season. I think we could rank high, come out on top," Rowan started, interrupting Lorcan's gaze.

"Right, yeah. If the others even get here," Lorcan sighed, not that he minded. He was much enjoying his time watching the beautiful skater.

"Chill out, Lor. There's still five minutes, they'll be here," Rowan insisted, nudging Lorcan's shoulder.

Shrugging, Lorcan turned to face the rink, just in time to watch the skater turn back into a jump. She took off from the back outside edge of her skate, using her toe pick to help her spin twice, and just as her foot hit the ice, her ankle gave way. An echoing thud rang out around them as she hit the floor, her thigh and butt slamming down onto the ice as she fell.

Before he even realised what he was doing, Lorcan stood, rushing down the rows of seats and towards the rink. Removing his skate guards and tossing them to the side, Lorcan stepped onto the ice, skating over to the girl who was now curled up, a hand against her thigh and stretching a leg out before her.

"Hey, you okay?" Lorcan called, coming to a stop beside her and offering her a hand, "That looked like a pretty nasty fall."

The girl chuckled, rubbing her thigh once more and taking his hand. Her palm was surprisingly soft, cold enough to send a shiver through him as she gripped tightly. Hoisting her up, Lorcan didn't miss the wince that slipped between her lips. Before he could say anything, she shook her head, "It's fine, it's just my ankle."

As she stood before him, Lorcan tried not to smirk at the immense height difference between them. At least a whole foot. Instead, he just nodded, "Well, that jump looked pretty hard. From what I've seen you're a pretty good skater. You shouldn't let one fall get you down."

"Not good enough. I should be able to do that jump in my sleep. There's no way I'm going to win sectionals like this," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. Her left hand, Lorcan realised, was still in his. She hadn't put her ankle back down onto the ice, instead, she rested it against her other foot, off the ground where there was no pressure on it.

"What happened? Is it just a strain?" Lorcan asked, hoping he wasn't being too curious. His eyes were drawn to the flush of her cheeks, bright red against the pale shading of the rest of her face. With her mop of black hair against glowing skin, she looked ethereal.

"I wish," she scoffed, "No, I broke it a few years ago and it never healed properly. I lost my axel completely, had to relearn my entire program and make all the moves easier. I already lost regionals, I can't afford to lose sectionals too," she explained, her chest rising and falling.

"Well, how long until sectionals? Maybe with some assistance, and physiotherapy on your ankle, you might be able to win?" Lorcan suggested, watching the girl's eyebrows slowly furrow as she looked up at him. They were thick and black, arching over her face and defining it fiercely.

"You don't know when sectionals are?" she asked, as though it was the most obvious question in the world.

Lorcan chuckled, shaking his head, "Oh, no. I'm not a skater. I play ice hockey."

The girl blinked, her eyes widening, "Oh... Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You probably have no idea what I was just talking about, do you?"

Lorcan couldn't help but laugh, loving the way the girl's lips curled into a smile as he did so, "No, but it's fine. I can tell you're very dedicated. I'm Lorcan, by the way, Terrasen High Hawks."

"Terrasen High? Wait, Lorcan as in Lorcan Salvaterre?" she asked, brows raising. Lorcan knew he recognised her. He could have sworn she was in the year below him, he would remember her face anywhere.

"The one and only. You're a junior, right?" he replied, helping her skate back across the rink and toward the entrance. She reached for her skate guards as he remained on the ice. Slipping his hand to her elbow, he helped her balance as she stepped back onto the stone ground.

"Right. Elide Lochan, Perranth skating club," she smiled, sticking her hand out. Lorcan shook it happily, loving the warmth that radiated from her like electricity.

"Perranth is lucky to have you represent them," Lorcan smirked, biting down on his bottom lip. There was something about the girl before him, something that made him feel completely giddy inside. If his teammates saw him like this...

Elide rolled her eyes. Chocolate, Lorcan noticed, the perfect shade of swirly hazelnut. "Now you're just being kind!" she laughed, a melodic sound that he wished he could capture forever, "Thanks, by the way, for helping me up. I probably would have just laid there until my session was over."

Lorcan grinned, something he didn't do too often, "Well, you're lucky I was here. Couldn't have you catching a cold, can we? I heard hypothermia is a killer."

Pressing her lips together, Elide shook her head slowly, "No, I suppose we can't."

With an obnoxious slam, the doors to the rink swung open. The remainder of his team poured out, dressed and ready for their training session. A blur of green and silver, plus the grey, black and navy blue of Adidas sweatpants. Gavriel was at the front, the oldest on the team, his golden hair tied back in a bun and a grin on his face as he reached Rowan.

Rowan stood, patting Gavriel's shoulder and moving down the rows of chairs. "Lorcan," he called, heading toward the equipment cupboard in the corner of the rink, "Help me get the stuff out!"

They always borrowed sticks and pucks from whatever rink they were training at. Lorcan only used his own stick for final games, an object of good luck. They would also have to drag the goals out, setting them up to actually have something to shoot at.

Offering Lorcan a smile, Elide stepped back, rocking on her good foot, "So, I guess I'll see you around then?"

If he had his phone to hand, he would have asked for her number right there and then. But, he didn't. As she turned to walk up the steps toward the changing rooms, Lorcan called, "We have a game next Friday, will you be there?"

Elide stopped, looking over her shoulder and smirking, "Depends, are you inviting me?"

Pushing down the chuckle that tickled his throat, Lorcan nodded, "I am, and maybe we could hang out afterwards... Just the two of us?"

"Sure, sounds fun. See you Friday, then," Elide confirmed, turning almost immediately and rushing up the stairs.

Lorcan watched until she completely disappeared from view. He could smell the cinnamon and elderberries scent that lingered in her wake. Elide Lochan. Friday couldn't come sooner.

* * *

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ill-skillsgard · 3 years

Text

Bred For Blood - Part 19 - Promise-Promise

Title: Bred For Blood

Warning: 18+ - sex/mature language & themes/gun violence/substance abuse etc. *mentions of coma/unconsciousness, injuries, and sex in this part*

Characters: AU Axel Cluney, AU Ivar Lothbrok, AU Valter x OC

Description: A bright, young survivor meets an acid-gun slinging headhunter with a knack for melting faces and connections to a prodigal Utopia embedded in the heart of a deadly forest. Violence and passion incite a battle of fealty while betrayal nips at Zed’s heels.

Note: Sooo many feelings in this part, you guys. Next part will be the finale! My gosh, it’s actually coming. Stick around because it’s gonna be a doozy! Much love to all the readers who’ve waited patiently and shout out to any new readers who’ve taken the time to let me know their thoughts. I appreciate all the comments and reblogs forever! With that being said, please comment and reblog. It’d really make my day. XO

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18

Zed waited for Vee next to the window overlooking the vast green ocean of vegetation. The sliver of sun painted the sky aflush, rolling west in shades of violet. Pinprick stars perforated the melting spectrum, and the phantom moon showed its impatient face fully before the horizon swallowed all light. It was a soothing array of scenery, and Zed rested her head on the glass until footsteps drew her attention to the door. She smiled as Vee came in carrying a plate of zucchini fritters and mashed chickpeas, returning the warm greeting silently.

"Hungry? Axel wasn't a fan. He wants a cheeseburger from McDonald's," said Vee, handing the platter to Zed.

She accepted the dish with a nod. "Did you tell him why that's not possible?"

Vee sighed. The dark beneath his eyes seemed permanent now. "I didn't get into detail. He wouldn't understand."

"Shouldn't we make him understand?"

"It's too soon. The big lug just woke up. It was a challenge just to get him to lie there. Soon he'll want to leave the lab, and I don't know how he'll fare around his adoring fans."

Zed bit into a greasy fritter and scooped a dollop of the paste with the leftover crescent. "He'll love the ego-boost, I'm sure."

"That's what I'm afraid of. All those people will confuse him. Who knows what that might do to his head. We're in a delicate situation."

"Axel seems to like me. Maybe I can convince him to stay put."

Vee grimaced from the thought of Axel working Zed over with his motoring mouth and crass sense of humour. The scientist had grown accustomed to nights alone with her, cooking together and discussing their future. The night they'd spent alone in the greenhouse rang in his heart; the night he admitted his feelings and begged her to squash them. The thought of her alone with Axel picked a scab he didn't know he had.

"You're worried about something," Zed said.

Vee snapped from his bittersweet reverie and sighed. "Am I ever not worrying?"

"True," Zed snorted. "Now, eat. I can't finish this all myself."

The pair finished the plate before Vee set the dish aside and motioned her to the sofa.

"We need to talk about what we found in Glott's notes. I know we can't test this theory, but we should treat it as the truth," said Vee.

"Okay, well, if that's how we're approaching this D negative blood sample... What's the next step? We have no medical supplies. I checked the med tent in the courtyard for the third time just for fun."

"Then we have to visit Glott and get some answers. And by we... I mean me."

"Valter—"

"I know you don't want me to leave, but what other option do we have? Every day we waste here is another step backward."

Zed shook her head until a thin braid dislodged from behind her ear and swung in her face. Vee resisted the urge to tuck it back. The girl's face swivelled toward the window, and she pondered and watched the premature stars twinkle across the bruised sky.

"We go together," Zed said firmly. "I won't budge on that."

"And what about Axel?"

"We wait until he's better. We'll need him to navigate the way."

"And if he never recovers?" Vee asked.

"Then we go anyway. All three of us. We get Axel better, and we go together."

Vee inhaled through his nose as Zed screwed her eyes into his. When he nodded, a smile unfurled across her face, shadowed by the last drops of brassy sunlight.

"I hate this plan, but I suppose it's all we have," said Vee.

"Promise we'll all stick together."

"Of course, Lea. I won't leave without you guys. Promise."

"Promise-promise?"

"I double promise with a cherry on top. Stick a needle in my eye and call it macaroni."

Zed stifled laughter beneath her palm. "I think you've been hanging out with Sam too much."

"That, or I'm just tired."

"I'll let you sleep now. You look beat."

Vee twisted his mouth in lopsided agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I'm gonna hit the shower first. Unless you want to?"

"No, you go ahead. I'll stay here a little longer," Zed said as she laid her temple against the cool glass and looked out over the forest floor, now drowning in the twilight.

~*~

In the morning, Zed left the apartment and padded down the hallway in her mismatched slippers. She slowed as she turned the corner and found the brothers talking. Axel's eyebrows were locked in a line, and Vee looked up at her with relief.

"Lea, can you help me explain to Axel why he can't leave the hospital room?"

Axel whipped the covers off his thighs. "This place is fuckin' weird, and I know you're lying to me. That doctor you had in here is a whack-job. Something isn't adding up."

"Stay put," Vee commanded.

Zed rubbed the sleep from her eyes and prepared to take both sides with a long breath. "Axel, your brother is right. You can't leave yet. Just stay a little longer and heal."

"Where the fuck am I, Vee? This isn't like any hospital I've ever been to. And why can't I use the phone to call mom and dad?"

Axel's question erased all the sleep Vee had gotten the night before. His fatigue was contagious. Zed approached the bed and brushed Axel's shoulder. The touch diffused the tension in his upper body and opened him up to a new explanation, one that hadn't come from his kid brother's mouth.

"There are no phones here, Axel. You're right... This place is different. We're missing a lot of things you’d consider normal."

"Look, darlin', I know you're just trying to make me feel better, but none of what you're saying makes any sense. What do you mean there's no phone? There's electricity, isn't there? So why can't I hobble my way to a pay phone or borrow someone's cell?"

Vee and Zed exchanged pained looks. The younger brother kneaded his brow and offered Axel the same explanation he had before, reworded. Axel refused to believe a word and scrambled off the gurney, throwing Vee's hands off him as he limped a few steps and realized his mistake.

"What the fuck is wrong with my foot? Did someone sliced my ankle in half? What is happening to me? I feel like I'm on an acid trip that never ends. I go to sleep and see crazy shit, only to wake up in an even crazier place where there're no phones and no fucking food! You're talking in goddamn riddles, Vee. The least you can do is get me a Baconator for my trouble! I can't walk—I can't even jerk off 'cause my good hand is fucked. You gotta help me out."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Axe? There are no restaurants!"

"Bullshit! Sweetheart, come on, you can help me, right? Can you please just grab me something greasy? I'll pay you back, I promise. I'm good for it."

"I wish I could help you, Axel, but Vee's right. There's nowhere to get stuff like that anymore."

"Anymore? What does that even mean? You guys are talking like I slept through the apocalypse or something!"

Zed turned to Vee, who blocked the way to the courtyard. "Come on, Axe. Just settle down, and get back into bed."

"Are you gonna find me some painkillers then?" Axel faltered toward the bed and hoisted himself onto the flat mattress with his right arm.

"I'll see what I can do, buddy, but will you promise to stay here for a little longer?"

"Whatever," Axel scoffed. "What else am I gonna do?"

Zed waited until Axel slid back under the covers and tilted his face away from them both to assess Vee's mood. She suspected Axel's recovery would be difficult. Still, when she pictured him with his eyes open again, she heard laughter and saw game nights, shared wine and inside jokes knitting them closer together—not disarray and a friend who'd forgotten her. And if Vee had left the day he championed himself, Axel wouldn't have any flagship of his past. The scientist's presence tranquillized her despite Axel's rotten mood fouling the atmosphere.

"You're hungry, Axel?" Zed asked.

"Starving."

"I'll try to track down something tasty to eat. It won't be a greasy burger, but maybe I can find you something close to fries. I'll make it myself if I have to."

Axel flipped his eyes to the girl standing with her arms knotted behind her back and smiled. "Oh, darlin'...You're a sweet thing. I'd hate to ask, so I'll just accept the offer. Or maybe Vee can go, and you and I can chat a little more?"

Zed chuckled at the man's slyness. "I have some other things to do. We’ll talk when I get back."

"Don't rush for me, honey, but if you do, I'll take it as a good sign," Axel said with a wink.

At the cost of one of her knit blankets, Zed found someone in Athena to chop and bake a sweet potato in peanut oil. She bartered for garlic and salt to sprinkle on the dish. The redheaded child spotted her making transactions and stopped her at the mouth of the Hives with a cloth of fermented cashew cheese and a large chunk of bread that sat out overnight but was still soft. She offered the foodstuffs to Axel on a thin wood slab, and he accepted with an obsequious grin. He relinquished his dissatisfaction and warmed next to Zed.

"Aw, darlin', look at you go. How can I thank you for your trouble?" Axel asked as he chomped a crispy strand of sweet potato.

Zed stepped back from his bed, blushing. "It's okay, Axel. You don't have to do anything but get better."

"Will you stay with me for a while? If I have to stay in bed, it'd really make my life easier if I have someone to talk to. That is if you don't mind my chattiness."

"Sure. Let me grab a chair from the apartment," said Zed.

Axel finished his meal quickly, and as if he hadn't eaten at all, felt the pang of hunger moments after the last bite of bread. His appetite woke up ravenous, and no amount of homegrown food could satiate the growl.

"I might need to eat again in an hour," Axel informed as Zed dragged the chair across the floor. “I’m a big boy, you know.”

"That's fine. I'll find you something in a little while ."

The injured man nodded and sighed, eyelashes fluttering over tired green eyes. A bloated silence proceeded, and Zed wondered how to initiate a conversation. Vee told her not to confuse Axel with present-day news, but all she wanted to do was ask about Richard Glott's underground bunker and with who he'd crossed paths that left him slashed and maimed.

After a couple of deep breaths, Axel murmured, "I see you in my dreams every time I fall asleep. Is that strange?"

Zed hid her shy smile behind her palm. "Oh, stop."

Axel shimmied his torso higher on the bed and frowned in pain. "No, seriously. Not trying to be slick, honey. I see the most fucked up things when I sleep. You know the kind of dreams so vivid, you wake up and your heart’s pounding, thinking it's all real for a minute? Then you're like... No way."

Zed shifted closer to Axel's bed. "What do you dream about?"

Axel smiled to himself. "You, mostly... Us. You and me doing crazy shit together. Sometimes I'm in the desert, and I see this airplane in the distance. It's on the ground, and I ride toward it, you know, you're not gonna ignore a crashed plane, right? Then I find you there, but these guys are hurting you, and you're going nuts trying to shake 'em, but there's too many, so I shoot 'em all, and they melt like popsicles. You stab one good, though."

"What else?" Zed asked.

"I dunno... Sometimes it's just me and you cruising through the desert, and I get the feeling you hate me, but I kinda like it. I'm happy you're there, even though we're in the middle of nowhere, and I have no idea what's gonna happen next."

"Sounds like some pretty weird dreams."

"They're so lucid. It's like a movie, and I'm the main character, and you're... Well, you. Like my cool sidekick."

"Sidekick, huh?" Zed scoffed.

"Yeah, you have this air about you that's like not to be fucked with. Then things always get real dark. I don't even want to tell you about it 'cause you'll think I'm fucked in the head."

Zed knew this part of the story and lowered her eyes to the floor. "It's okay. You can tell me if you want. It's just dreams, right?"

"Nah, I'll just leave it at that. It's not sex stuff or anything if you're wondering."

"Your dreams are more entertaining than anything I have going on today."

With Zed's green light, Axel inhaled deeply before launching into the story of their past. Before he uttered another syllable, a severed connection sparked in his head. His eyes grew large, and he looked around the makeshift hospital room, awestruck.

"In my dreams, we're trying to get to Vee. He needs us for some reason."

"What does he need?"

"Some science shit, which makes total sense because he's a scientist. He's actually a scientist, and not just in my dreams."

"Axel... These dreams you've had... Do you think they have significance?" Zed asked carefully.

"Totally. They have to. Right? Or am I fucking crazy?"

"You're not crazy, Axel. I promise."

"But what if I am? This place... I get such a bad feeling when I'm awake in this room by myself. Vee won't tell me where we are. It's like he's hiding something, and he never lies to me about anything. We don't do that."

"Vee just wants you to get better. He's under a lot of stress, and your recovery is a big part of that. We didn't think—he didn't think you'd make it through. Another complication is the last thing you guys need."

Axel went quiet again and fixated on the dust motes and bolts of lightning crackling up his leg. A storm grew behind his eyes, the same torrents Zed saw when she tried to stop him from leaving Kinderfeld and her behind. Sickened by the thought of Axel sneaking off, she touched his arm and offered a warm smile.

"Talk to me, Axel. Please. Don't keep anything inside."

Axel glanced at her small hand on his tattooed bicep and the lightning in his body faded.

"We were friends in a past life," Axel claimed.

"We're friends in this life."

"Can I tell you one other thing, then I promise I'll stop talking about my bonkers dreams?"

"Yes. I don't mind at all."

Axel curled his bicep and touched Zed's fingers, feeling the motion out until she grasped his hand.

"I think I have to take you somewhere."

"Oh, yeah?" Zed giggled. "And where's that?"

Axel blushed for the first time and brought her hand to hold next to him on the bed. "Not like on a date or anything. I just get this feeling that I'm supposed to protect you, even though you seem capable of looking after yourself just fine. This dream voice keeps reminding me to stay with you and Vee... Like I'm not allowed to let either of you out of my sight. Especially not you."

"Then don't," Zed said.

He squeezed her fingers gently. "I won't."

~*~

Word of Axel's consciousness seeped out of the lab and into the village. Nobody knew who had made the discovery—Vee blamed Samson while Zed suspected Nalani, who'd waltzed by the lab doors at a suspiciously slow pace several times each day—and leaked the information. They barred visitors and only allowed the doctor in to help change Axel's bandages until Ivar arrived.

Axel was alone, humming a tune from his teenage years when the king came through the doors and stopped to stare at his bed-ridden friend.

"Zee, you're awake? And no one thought to tell me?"

"Sorry, hombre, but I think you have the wrong room. Name's Axel."

Ivar flashed all his sharp teeth in a sly smile and wagged his finger. "Always a joker."

"No, really," Axel chuckled, then went deadpan. "Wait... Who are you?"

Before Ivar spoke, Vee walked into the lab and froze when he saw Ivar standing a few feet from Axel's bed.

"Ivar. I wasn't expecting you."

The king sneered and motioned toward Axel. "What's with this guy?"

"Hey, maybe we can talk for a second?" Vee invited Ivar down the hall, out of earshot.

Ivar glared at the scientist. "When exactly were you planning on telling me he woke up?"

"That's the thing, Ivar. You don't understand... Axel's suffering from amnesia. It's common for coma patients to lose parts of their memory. Right now, he's in a very touchy state. He has no idea where he is, who you are, or what any of this is. I've tried to keep people away from him to avoid confusion, but now everybody knows. It's not good for him. Subjecting him to all this new information can cause anxiety, panic... Who knows. We're trying to ease him back into life."

"What do you mean he doesn't know who I am? I'm his best friend."

"Trust me. Axel doesn't even remember serving in the army."

"That's crazy. We should tell him—"

"No. It's too big of a shock. Axel's already gone through hell. Imagine trying to explain our world to somebody who has virtually no idea what's happened in the last couple of years."

Ivar pondered and didn't respond to Vee's relief, then sighed as though he accepted the explanation.

"So what does this mean for you? I assume you're retracting your claim and staying in Kinderfeld?"

Vee twisted his mouth to the side. "How can I go now?"

"You volunteered."

"That was before Axel came home. He needs me. I'm the only person he recognizes. Give me some more time with him, get him back on his feet and see if he'll start remembering, then I'll go."

Ivar crossed his arms across his burly chest. "Who knows how long that might take?"

"Would you leave someone you loved in that state?"

"I'd do what's for the greater good."

"He's your best friend. He's my brother. Axel needs us right now, Ivar. Think of all he's done for us. We owe it to take care of him until he's fit to at least walk again. I need him to remember what happened so I can get a better idea of what's going on outside."

"I suppose you're right," Ivar conceded. "You can't go out blind by yourself."

"Yes, you're right," Vee said with great relief.

"So what now? I can't talk to him?"

"You can speak to him if you like, but try not to bring up things that might confuse him. Don't talk about the army or mention recent times."

Ivar looked over his shoulder at the apartment's open door and heard the muted humming of a girl filtering through the corridor.

"And how's Lea taking all of this?"

Vee stiffened. "She's helping out."

"Axel has no idea who she is? He really doesn't know what's happened?"

"Not that I can tell. He keeps asking for cheeseburgers and to call our parents."

"Wow," Ivar whispered.

"Yeah, it's hard."

Ivar went quiet, distant, and shook his head slowly before inhaling through his nose and squeezing Vee's shoulder. "I trust you, brother. Maybe we'll talk more about your expedition in a few days when things have a chance to settle with Axel."

"You got it."

Axel pretended he wasn't trying to listen to the conversation between his brother and the brown-haired man with the striking blue eyes when the pair returned. Ivar nodded at Axel, his eyes awash with sympathy for the indisposed man.

"How are you feeling, Axel?"

"A little on the shitty side, my man. Not gonna lie. Hands busted, foot's bum... Can't fuck my way to a decent meal in this place, and everyone's tiptoeing around like I'm a sleeping baby. Gotta say I've had better days."

"Well, I hope you heal up quick. There are a lot of people who want to see you."

A coy smirk unfurled over Axel's face. "Yeah, I kinda get that impression. Sometimes, I see people looking in through those doors. I feel like a panda at a zoo. Everyone wants a peek at little ol’ Axel, huh?"

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"Cheeseburger?" Axel asked hopefully.

"Would if I could, friend."

"Goddamn it," Axel lamented.

Vee widened his eyes when Ivar looked at him, confirming what they'd discussed in the hallway.

"Say, how do you stay so beefy if there's no meat in this place?" Axel asked Ivar.

"I get my protein where I can. Try to stay fit. I'll get someone to bring you something good to eat."

Axel snorted. "Yeah, that's what that sweet-lookin' one said, but everything tastes like tree bark. No offence to her. She tried her best, and I'd never insult a lady's cooking to her face."

Ivar sucked in his bottom lip and nodded. "Well, I'll see what I can do for you, Axel. Get better soon."

Vee held his breath until Ivar left the lab and shrunk once the doors closed.

"You sure have a way with words, don't you?"

"Everyone who walks in here acts like they know me."

"We might have to move you to the apartment. Put a cap on your visitors."

"Who was that?" Axel asked.

"That's Ivar Lothbrok. He kinda runs things, in a sense."

"Nice guy."

Vee scoffed. "Yeah. Nice."

An itch stuck in the back of Axel's head, and he grew quiet once again, trying to unravel the mystery he'd woken up inside. He was a figure in a snow globe, a permanent fixture in a landscape rife with faces he'd seen in dreams. Sitting up in his bed, Axel wondered what laid beyond the confines of his glasshouse. Never one to follow the rules, even under the firm guidance of his smart younger brother, Axel decided once everyone fell asleep, he'd find himself a walking post and go exploring.

~*~

Zed woke to the sound of Vee's soft snoring coming through the open door of his bedroom. The possibility of sleep retracted with every second she spent staring at the smooth, globular ceiling in the dark, trying to make shapes out of the dream residue behind her eyelids. The sofa stiffened her back, and she twisted her spine until air bubbles popped and her muscles strained from the motion. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and squeezed her eyes shut for a few minutes, but Axel's stories followed her from sleep, brushing up on her with sharp quills. Since Axel painted his dream world, she hadn't stopped thinking of him and mourning the loss of his memory for the both of them. Axel didn't know his missing pieces were dancing under his eyes each time he slumbered, and she longed to stitch them together to create the full picture.

She squinted into the darkness, fatigue long since faded, and left the apartment. Light on her bare feet, Zed padded down the hallway and turned the corner to find an empty bed. Her heart twinged from Axel's absence. She considered going back to the apartment to tell Vee his brother was missing but found herself propelled to seek Axel out herself. There was nowhere in the lab a man of Axel's stature could hide, so she went out to the courtyard to begin her search. The floodlights cast pyramids of light over the foothills but revealed nothing but stone paths and glittering grass ranks. She started left first, then changed her mind and shot right toward the warehouse. Zed minded her steps as she picked up a jog, extending her legs to clear the roiling yards until she reached the square entrance of the warehouse. A guard leaned against the steel wall next to the exit, blinking and wiping a hand over his face to rouse himself. He saw Zed across the cement expanse and stood up straight.

"What're you doing out here?" The guard's voice clattered through the chamber.

"Sorry," Zed said, casting a thorough glance around before retreating into the light and shadow of the courtyard again. She rushed to the Hives, taking quick strides to reach her abandoned apartment before anyone else noticed her. After a quick knock, Zed opened the door to find her former living quarters as deserted as ever. Nobody had claimed the space in her absence, nor was Axel's adjoining apartment occupied. Both rooms were empty.

Zed's search for Axel continued and grew in urgency with each lonely cove and space she found. As she made her way around the central dome where the courtyard bordered the largest hill, she stopped at the mouth of the Chrysalis and addressed the men standing guard.

"Have either of you seen someone limping through here?"

"Nobody's come 'round here, Zed. Who're you looking for?"

Zed cocked her head. "Who do you think?"

"You mean Zee?" The man on the right asked. "Thought he was paralyzed."

"So it's true? He's awake?"

"Please don't tell anyone. Not yet."

The bearded guard rose a dark eyebrow at Zed. He was one of Ivar's highest-ranking patrol. Zed recognized him from the night they'd brought in the Zeronaut captain, Monk. He often stood by wherever Ivar went and didn't talk much unless addressed. "Ivar know about this?"

"I don't know what Ivar knows. Vee communicates with him, but we're trying to keep this from the general public."

"What do you think, Fen? Should we tell Ivar?" The scrawny, clean-shaven guard asked.

Fen sneered and told his partner to close his mouth before angling his torso toward Zed. "We'll keep an eye out, petite fleur."

Zed nodded and continued on her way, but there were few more spots Axel could hide unless someone had intercepted him and invited him into their hovel. She thought of Nalani, who often wandered the courtyard at odd hours and Trinity, who adored Axel and might jump at the opportunity to lead him to a private alcove. The two of them shared living space in Athena. Zed wanted to keep the search party light, and asking around would only spread curiosity like wildfire.

She continued touring the courtyard, her naked soles sore from hurried walking. Finally, she stopped at the greenhouse gate, its series of coiling iron bars and metal flowers welded to the columns in intricate clusters. Zed lifted the latch and pushed the gate open, taking care to shut it quietly. The greenhouse where the citizens grew aloe and berries was the little-known getaway spot Axel and Vee coveted as their private paradise. Zed zigzagged through the raised beds, taking care not to trip over the irrigation hoses and climbed the wooden steps at the back of the third square house. Around another corner and through the thick blackberry bushes nestled in rectangles of sodden earth, Zed rushed to the spot under the sky where the light poured in but found nothing.

"Shit," she whispered, out of breath and reeling in the thick, tepid air.

Zed looked up to the cloudless velveteen sky, crushing disappointment wringing her heart. In a throng of shadow off to the right, a figure shifted and startled the woman backward.

A tired voice called her name.

The shady form lengthened, struggling to stand. Once it stood at its full height, the vice pressing Zed's chest disappeared. Axel hobbled into view, using the overhead pipes to help himself along.

"Axel! There you are. Oh my God, you had me so worried. Why did you leave the lab?"

"The lab? Is that where you've been keeping me?"

Zed clapped her palm over her mouth. Axel gave an elongated nod, eyes wide and accusatory.

"Is that what I am? Some kind of experiment?"

"No, Axel—"

"What are you and Vee doing? Tell me why he's keeping me locked up. Tell me where the fuck I am, Lea. Please. This place... Something about it seems wrong. It scares me."

Axel wilted against a plant bed as Zed approached and caught his elbow to keep him upright.

"Axel, don't be scared. Please, I promise you're safe. We're not trying to keep you captive. This is all difficult to explain, and you were asleep for so long parts of your memory are missing. Vee's only trying to make it easier for you to cope."

"Cope with what, Lea? Cope with the fact I'm a prisoner? That I can't sleep because my nightmares are so vivid, I feel like I'm dying? That people watch me like some sideshow freak?"

"Everything," Zed sighed. "The new world. How can we explain all this to someone who woke up in the past?"

Axel looked up through the skylights and whimpered. "Something terrible has happened, hasn't it?"

Zed, wounded from the dejection in her friend's voice, led Axel to sit on the floor, then sat next to him and draped her arms over his shoulders, resting her cheek on the thin cotton shoulder strap of his tank top.

"I wish I could say you're wrong, but I can't lie to you, Axe."

"My instincts were right. Something is very wrong. After that Ivar fella came through, I started getting this feeling you all weren't telling me something on purpose."

"Don't be angry with us, Axel. We didn't know how to tell you."

Axel leaned his head on Zed's and sought her hand to hold. She slid her fingers through his and gripped tightly. "It's okay. I get it now. I'm supposed to be here. You and me... We're meant to be together. Otherwise... Why would I see you every time I close my eyes?"

"Axel," Zed whispered. "I missed you so much when you left. I thought I'd never see you again. Now everything is different."

"I'm sorry. If I hurt you back then... I didn't mean it."

"Just don't leave me again. Please. I can't fool myself into happiness without you in my life."

"I won't leave. I can't."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Lea."

"Promise-promise?"

Axel chuckled and kissed the top of Zed's head before laying his cheek on the ruts of her braids. "Yeah. I promise-promise."

~*~

Axel and Zed laid on the floorboards and watched the stars twinkling above while the chamber filled with water vapour, obscuring the glass until the condensation evaporated. When the infinite black sky lightened to meteorite violet, Axel used Zed as a crutch to stand up. He stole a fistful of blackberries, stuffing the fruits in his mouth and mashing them until inky juice seeped from the corners of his lips. He complained about his ankle, which he'd suffered walking on during his solo excursion to the greenhouses. Zed berated him for wandering off and helped him down the steps and through the rows of potato plants, arms locked, their pace slow to accommodate Axel's injury.

A murmur greeted the pair as they approached the iron gate. A dozen villagers gathered around the entrance to witness Axel emerge with smiles on their faces. Frozen from the elated faces beaming at him, Axel pulled on Zed's arm, alerting her to the hoard of onlookers.

"Who are they?" Axel asked.

"Zee! Happy you're awake!"

"What happened to your arm, Zee? Are you okay?"

"He looks terrible."

Zed opened the gate, and the crowd dented but didn't part. "Make room, please!"

"We want to talk to Zee!"

Axel then realized the group addressed him, their wide eyes drinking in his bruised and broken state with smiles unfitting his poor condition. An overwhelming sense of worry touched his skin, and he grabbed for Zed to lead him, but they huddled around the gate until a tall head of blond hair sliced the crowd in half. Vee shouldered past, his eyes hooded and brow furrowed.

"Axel! Lea! What the hell are you doing out here? Lea, did you let him out?"

Zed frowned and drew her shoulders up. "Of course not! I'm the one who came looking for him."

"Let's go. Come on, now. Everyone make way. Go back home!" Vee barked.

"We want answers! What's happening outside the walls?"

"We'll answer your questions later," Vee said disdainfully. "Lea, help me get him back."

The trio staggered to the lab, breathless from the trek over the bowing foothills. Vee waited until they were behind closed doors to deliver a speech about how irresponsible and defiant Axel was, how his behaviour might cause unwanted ripples where the scientist required placidity. Axel hoisted himself into bed and accepted his lecture, sullen and quiet, occasionally glancing at Zed, who also wrung her wrists.

"I told you not to leave the room, Axe. Why? Why can't you listen to me for once in your goddamn life?" Vee asked.

"You're not my mommy, Valter. I can do what I want, and frankly, I don't appreciate you keeping secrets from me!"

"What are you on about?"

"Oh, don't play dumb. You've lied to me this whole time! About where we are, what's happened to me. I think you know much more than you lead on."

Vee scoffed and looked to Zed for reassurance. The girl stood still with her shoulders hunched.

"Lea, help me out here."

"Well, Vee... Maybe it's time we tell him everything. There's no use hiding the truth anymore. He already knows something's wrong."

"Yeah!" Axel cried. "I'm done sitting around twiddling my thumbs. You have to tell me what's up. How did I get like this? What the fuck happened to me, and why can't I remember anything? I don't know how I got here or who all those people are out there."

"That's the thing, Axe... We don't know what happened to you. You left, and when you came back, you were unconscious and hurt. We don't leave this place, so I can't tell you anything more than that. I didn't know if you'd wake up and certainly didn't know you'd have amnesia when you did."

Axel turned to Zed for verification, and she nodded her head regretfully.

"It's true, Axel. I wish we could tell you more."

"Then at least tell me where I am. Start there," Axel demanded.

Vee and Zed stood speechless for a moment until she sighed deeply. "Vee, maybe we should give him the postcards and his journals."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're right, Lea. Go get the box. Tonight's gonna be a long one."

Zed hauled the box of postcards and dog-eared journals into the lab and hefted it onto the foot of Axel's bed. Vee unpinned the postcards from the corkboard and offered them to Axel with a pinched smile. Zed sat in her chair while Vee laid on the floor, a long arm slung over his eyes as Axel began to read aloud from his workbooks. The three of them listened to the stories Axel had penned years before while he was in the infantry as if none of them had heard the tales. From time to time, Axel stopped narrating and glided over the lines, taking in details he should have known, but couldn't place. During these silences, Zed and Vee would look up at him to assess his emotions, whether or not the words shifted the pieces into place or made any difference at all.

Axel took in a strained breath. "Ivar and I aren't talking. He wants to be the leader on this ship, and if things don't go his way, he turns into a giant douche-nozzle," he broke into giggling at his insult. "I haven't eaten in three days, and the water supply is low. We're down to a cup a day each. It's not enough, but it's gotten us through so far. One of the guys got sick, and they've taken him below deck. He throws up constantly even though there's nothing in his gut and howls all night in agony. I swear to God I'll shoot him in the head tomorrow if he doesn't let us sleep tonight. Someone needs to put him out of his misery."

Zed grimaced, and Vee stared at the ceiling with dry eyes, unflinching from the story.

"Day six... I now know what rat meat tastes like."

"Oh, god. Ew," Zed mumbled.

Axel continued without pause. "It's not that bad when you haven't eaten in almost a week. I've set up more traps in the galley to catch the rest. If Ivar plays his cards right, I might share my rats with him, but he's still a stuck-up twat.

I'm not sure how the rats are surviving. Maybe there's food still hidden somewhere on the ship. Maybe they're eating each other."

"This must have been when you were on your way back to America...Or... Whatever you want to call this half of the world now," Vee said.

"What do you mean?" Asked Axel.

"The Unity... The government... They abolished the borders, erased the country names and burned the history books. The states became part of the North-Western Hemisphere. Same with Canada and all that. No countries. No names."

Axel seemed to accept his brother's explanation that nothing would ever be as before. The commune in which he now resided was the only tangible place left in existence. Outside the walls lay sites changed from war, stripped of home and heritage. A tightness in Axel's neck prevented him from speaking until the revelations grew too heavy for him to bear.

"What happened to everyone else?" Axel asked.

"It's hard to say," Vee whispered, then cleared his throat. "A lot of people died."

"How many?"

"Billions," Zed said.

"You mean... We're the only ones left?"

"No, we're not. There are other survivors out there, people who were meant to live through the storms."

"Storms?"

Vee sighed, the farfetched nature of their fates exhausting him before he began. "The Unity developed a way to return the planet back to its natural state. No more electronic communication, no more broadcasts or satellites or TV. After the extinctions reached an all-time high, they introduced these plants that could suck the pollution from the air quickly. They grow extremely fast and are lethal to anyone who wasn't vaccinated against the spores. One plant can release a spore cloud big enough to cover half a football field, and they breed and multiply like vermin. Even a small cluster can kill a stadium of unimmunized people in a few minutes."

"But why would they do this? Have I been vaccinated?"

Axel's questions ripped holes in Vee’s composure. Zed's stomach churned and flipped as the scientist fished for the least aggressive explanation. A gloss came over his eyes, and he avoided his brother's bewildered stare.

"No, Axe. You're not."

"Oh... Are you?" Axel whispered.

"Yeah, I am. So is Lea."

"Why? Why didn't I get vaccinated?"

"You were lost at sea with your platoon for weeks, and before that, you were overseas. They didn't immunize the troops."

"Are you telling me the government wants us all to die?"

"Most of this is widely debated. There are some theories that the Unity had a strategy in mind."

Zed lent the scientist a hand and cut the heavy topic with a smile. "Axel, you're much more special than you know. Those people out there all adore you because of what you've done for Kinderfeld. You were the only one brave enough to go out when they needed supplies. People know your name not only here but out in the world. I've seen you fight and shoot. You're a natural."

"Well, yeah. I've been shooting guns since I was a kid."

"You were a special ops sniper. More than just a good shot."

Axel warmed to the compliment. "And what about you? Are you the mercenary of my dreams?"

Zed blushed and failed to hide her pride. "Not a mercenary... But I've murked a few Scavs in my day."

"Man... I like you," Axel tittered. "Ain't she great, Vee? What a prize."

For the few seconds of silence that passed, Vee's expression darkened. He recognized the reverence pulling Axel's features, the heartfelt way Lea relaxed when they spoke. Even in the absence of memory, Axel and Zed forged a bond too strong to pry apart. He would never wish ill upon his brother, but he mourned the days past with the woman whose eyes shone like vats of golden syrup passing under the morning light. At the risk of sharing a likeness with Ivar, the king who could never quite capture the woman's love, Vee thought of what life might have been like had Axel never returned. Would Zed love him? Could she? Had he ever toed the waters of her unspoken affection? Vee cursed his stupidity the night he told her how he felt and quickly dismantled his chances before she had the opportunity to consider him more than a close friend.

As Zed stared at Axel upright in his bed with his journals splayed out around him, Vee knew it was too late to rescind his platonic claim. A victim of his own sabotage, the scientist turned from them and pushed out every last ounce of breath to make room for another stale intake.

"I think it's time I showed Axel the Crimson Yawn."

Zed nodded and left the brothers, sensing a gloomy air rising between them. Vee was much better at explaining the inexplicable. He delivered news with a needed bluntness, one Zed had never mastered. Once she left the lab searching for distractions, Vee helped his brother box up the journals and offered his elbow to guide Axel back on his feet. Amid the bleak news, Axel had almost forgotten the pain in his extremities.

They waddled to the locked chambers where the bulk of Vee's scientific discoveries came to light. Axel squinted against the bright white walls and polished floor as he followed his brother through a series of doors leading to a clear dome similar to the greenhouses he'd found, only this hollow contained a twisted swarm of redheaded plants, mouths bloody and agape. Each one stood over seven feet tall and lifted its black-spotted maw to the sky in a silent scream. Axel turned from them.

"I've seen these before, but never this many. In my dreams, there's always one growing in a container."

"You recognize them?"

"And you say these things can kill me? How is it possible?" Axel asked.

"They're a sophisticated hybrid plant. They release spores like mushrooms, and those spores become airborne. If you breathe them in, they attack your blood, soaking up the nutrients and essentially turning it into a highly acidic jelly. You burn from the inside out. Well...Dissolve is a better word."

"And you've brought me here why!?" Axel shouted, dodging backward and planting too much weight on his bad ankle.

"Don't worry! They can't hurt you from in here. The filtration system's design protects everything inside."

"I still have a hard time believing all this. You know how crazy it sounds, right?"

Vee clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Oh, I realize. Why do you think it took me so long to break the news? You try finding a delicate way to explain this to someone who just came out of a coma."

Axel became transfixed on the plants again after Vee's assurance. He shuffled to the glass and studied the roaring heads, each one slightly different than its neighbour. They resembled demons, bizarre red monsters with thick necks and broad leaves of wax. Their spiked roots toiled in the ground, gnarled and tangled in a hellish orgy above and beneath the soil. Beyond the ranks, Axel saw the roiling jungle and all its hues of green and black. The sun broke through parts in the towering trees. How he longed to feel the wind on his burnt skin and walk among the flora. Axel observed the plants for a few minutes as Vee stepped back and allowed him time to digest.

"Am I in a nightmare?" Axel met his brother's eyes and did not blink.

"Some might say that. And I'm sorry. I've dedicated my life to making things better for the survivors, but there's nothing left I can do. All we have now is the village and each other."

"And mom and dad?"

"They're gone, Axe. They've been gone a while."

The tattooed man swallowed bitterly and nodded as a wall of tears blinded him. Vee touched his brother's shoulder and shared his pain through the comforting gesture. Axel crossed his chest with his good hand and patted Vee's fingers.

"Do you mind if I spend some time alone? This is... It's just a lot."

"Of course. Take all the time you need, Axe. I'll leave the doors unlocked. You good to walk?"

Axel's voice floated below a whisper. "I’ll manage."

~*~

In the apartment, Zed held her arms out before her and swung them in half-circles, stretching her muscles in preparation for another stiff night spent on the sofa. Vee came in after dinner and found Zed flinging her limbs outward.

"Nightly aerobics?" He asked with a touch of humour, the most he could muster after a day of harsh truths.

"Just stretching out before bed. My back's been killing me."

"Oh," Vee's green eyes popped open wide. "Don't sleep on the couch, Lea. You can take the bed tonight."

"Nah, it's okay."

"No, really. I insist. You deserve a night without hanging off the edge of the cushions."

"Then where will you sleep?" She asked.

"The couch."

Zed laughed at the idea. "You're far too tall to fit comfortably."

"I've passed out there dozens of times. Don't worry about me, really. Take the bed."

"Why're you being so nice, huh?" Zed snorted.

"I've seen you in pain the last few days, and I feel bad. It's rude of me to have one of the biggest beds in this place when I don't do anything to deserve it."

"Oh, shush," Zed jested. "You've done more for this place than anyone."

"There's always the Chrysalis."

The good humour in the room vanished with Vee's maladroit suggestion. Zed shook her head and scoffed. "I'm not going to the Chrysalis. I want to stay here with you guys."

"Fine by me. You'll take the bed tonight then. Grab your blankets and go."

Zed and Vee swapped bedding and wished each other goodnight. Though she deemed herself undeserving of the luxury, when Zed crawled onto Vee's large bed and spread her limbs from corner to corner, her skin bristled with goosebumps. The scent of the sheets belonged to the man outside the room, sprawled on the sofa, long legs dangling over the arm—cotton and boyish musk, the redolence Zed had grown accustomed to except in this moment. Lying on the mattress reminded her of the hugs and closeness she'd received from Vee when Axel had fled.

She relived their days together in clips of happy memories and some not so joyful. Across the apartment, Vee recalled the same night playing in Zed's mind—their evening in the greenhouse when they'd held hands, so close together yet barred by the promises of friendship. Vee cursed himself repeatedly while Zed entertained the idea of getting together with the scientist.

Soon, Zed's thoughts slid over the night she'd spent with Ivar. If she concentrated, she could feel the fullness between her legs still. Ivar had made love to her the way couples did in films. He'd stroked her and kissed her skin, took her nipples gently between his lips and sucked until she giggled. What might have excited some left her shivering. Was one of the brothers more deserving of her love? Was she foolish to think herself so desirable her attention was a coveted badge of excellence?

What a prize!

Lea... I want you to tell me no, right now.

It's like you were made for me.

With her heart racing, Zed turned over in bed and clamped her eyes shut. Debating which of the three men in her life she wanted more made her stomach flip, yet she couldn't keep the lewd considerations from pouring into her head. In these fantasies, she replaced Ivar with Vee. Yes, he was smart and gentle and keen on her, but he'd told her not to let him cross the line, claimed he didn't want her that way despite his feelings. Vee's kind face took the place of Ivar's, coasting down her stomach, stamping her thighs with kisses from luscious lips. She squeezed her legs together and let the inevitable shift knock Vee from the picture to make room for his older brother.

The tattooed man with all his addictions and his looming depression positioned himself between her knees and grasped her ankles delicately. A murderer and womanizer leaned over her body, caging her with long limbs decorated with sparrows, weapons, chains and barbed wire.

We're meant to be together. I see you in my dreams every time I fall asleep.

Zed bit her lip when the phantom sensation invaded her. She knew not how Axel would moan or if he'd coo and sigh the way Ivar had when they had sex. She wanted very much to think Axel would treat her with respect and scorned the claims Trinity had made about his wild side. Then the obscene journal entries came to life, glowing, fanned by salacious visions. What if she didn't want to make love? What if she wanted to be taken hard and fast by a man who worshiped her? Guilt and arousal mixed in her chest and sat heavy, grinning evilly like a demon poised to possess her body.

Sleep wriggled through Zed's conjurations and pulled her under before she realized she was slipping into blackness. The cozy bed and Vee's sheets lulled her, and soon, she dreamed of ordinary things, forgetting her personal stash of pornographic thoughts. She slipped further as the moon made a lazy arc through the night sky until something touched her shoulder and jarred her from sleep with a sharp gasp.

Her scream ripped through the apartment, sending her waker toppling out of bed.

"Lea? Oh, fuck. Fuck!"

"Axel?"

In the dimness, neither of them saw each other but tasted each other's heavy breath. Soon the light snapped on, and Vee stood at the door, chest heaving.

"What the hell is going on?" Vee asked. "Axel? What're you doing?"

"Christ, I thought Zed was you. I just came to... Well, I couldn't sleep," Axel cringed. "Shit, my hand. Fuck, I landed like a sack of bricks."

Vee snickered, setting off a series of giggles. "You came to sleep in my bed?"

"I didn't mean to scare you, Lea."

"It's all right," said Zed. "Really. On any other night, it would have been Vee in here."

Axel pulled himself up by the elbows and sat on the edge of the bed, grimacing from the agony of his agitated wounds. "Sorry, guys. It's hard to sleep out there. People are watching me."

Zed scooted over and patted the part of the mattress warm from her body. "Come on. Lie down. I think we could all use a sleepover after the day we've had."

"You're not serious," Vee said with a scoff as his brother took up Zed's offer and laid down next to her.

Zed nodded with conviction. "Absolutely. You too, Valter. Turn off the light and get over here."

He rolled his eyes as he flipped the light switch. "This is hardly a three-person bed."

"Well, cuddle up, pal."

"Lea takes up a fraction of the bed, anyway," Axel pointed out.

"Is this not weird to you? Three adults sharing a bed?"

Zed moved to the center as Vee climbed into bed from the left. To her right, Axel had already sprawled and turned over to face her in the dark.

"It's no stranger than how half the people in this place sleep all piled on top of each other. Humans were meant to nest. In the wild, this is how we'd sleep."

"Yeah, but we're not in the wild," said Vee.

"Yes, we are, little brother. Have you seen it outside? We're literally in glass bubbles, in the middle of a rainforest. Now shut up, and go to sleep."

"You shut up."

"Guys?" Zed chimed.

"Yeah?" The brothers answered.

"I love you both.”

Robbed of their voices, Axel and Vee set aside their bickering to bask in the genial haze of Zed's words. Axel shifted an inch closer while Vee laid stiffly on his side, eyes wide in the dark. As though her claim was bathed in wine, they soaked in the meaning and slipped drunkenly into slumber.

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yuzusorbet · 4 years

Photo

Translation of Kikuchi-san's book. A friend shared the earlier parts of the Chinese translation with me, so I decided to start from the beginning. Little Yuzu is too adorable. :))

Chapter 1, part 1. On the balance beam, a special boy.

If there are natural inborn qualities, then for Yuzuru, that would be the "ability to attract people".

Yuzuru came to my clinic for the first time when he was in elementary school 2nd grade; he had sprained his ankle because of jump training. When his ankle healed, he started to come for "torso training class" that I conducted.

The Yuzuru exercising in the gym, and the Yuzuru talking non-stop in the clinic, are like 2 different people.

Firstly, his body movements are completely different from the ordinary child. His body posture is very good, and there is a flow in all his movements..... Perhaps these are also the special qualities of a figure skater.

For example, his running. Usually when children want to run fast, even if the posture is good, the legs will make uncontrolled heavy steps. But Yuzuru ran lightly and rhythmically. And it didn't slow down his speed. The way he ran gave a gentle and graceful feeling, there's always something that draws your attention. "What an interesting little fella," he left a deep impression on me.

But, in my training class, he wasn't so enthusiastic all the time. Although he was working hard at figure skating, he often slackened for training in the gym. Like running with not much power, or being sluggish with exercises, I often had to hold up the shinai (t/n. light bamboo sword for kendo practice) and roar at him. When I did that, Yuzuru would yell, "Waa~~ no!!!!" and start running to escape. Chase battles like this between us were always going on. (t/n. so funny!)

Another area that made me feel "this little fella is really interesting" was during circuit training. This is a way of training by combining a few different items like running, hurdles and simple jumps. It is an effective exercise for the respiratory system, so I often get the children to do it.

That day, the last item was walking on the balance beam.

For Yuzuru with his well-developed motor nerves, he walked across the beam too easily; this was uninteresting to me. "What? You simply walked across? What sport are you training for? Don't you have to show beauty? So do it!" I gave ridiculous instructions like that.

He started to walk on the beam while making figure skating poses. Standing around watching him were some children who were quite mischievous. To be made to do figure skating poses and movements in front of everyone, normally you would feel that you're being made fun of, and feel conflicted.

However, Yuzuru confidently and naturally showed signature figure skating moves in front of his peers. In this sport of figure skating, if you feel embarrassed by the movements or the costume, you will not be able to keep going. Especially for a boy.

But Yuzuru is like the main character that draws attention, in the good sense of the word. And in his posture and movements, there is some power that strongly attracts you.

Watching him do all those skating poses, "Ah this child must really be in love with figure skating, from the bottom of his heart," I thought.

How much do you love what you are doing? Not just for figure skating, but for any situation, that is the best short-cut that leads to progress.

Chapter 1, part 2. Growing kids are "good at making requests"

Yuzuru trained at Konami Sports Club, Izumi Ice Rink (the current Ice Rink Sendai); after training, he came to my clinic, it's something he had to do everyday.

If there was a problem with any part, I would treat that part. If there was no pain anywhere, I would do a massage for him and taping. Besides this, he also participated in the 'Sunday night training' in the gym, so I saw Yuzuru almost every day.

Initially he was quiet and spoke few words, but before I knew it, he had already become very talkative. But most of what he said were related to figure skating.

"Axel is like this, Loop is like that," he would be telling me endlessly as I was treating him. I had no concern for figure skating at all, so I could only say, "I don't understand all these things you are saying!" "Be quiet and receive the massage properly!" But still, he went on and on by himself. From that time, in that child's head was figure skating only.

We saw each other almost daily, but I had never heard him say "I want to play" or "I want to stop skating", these sort of complaints.

When Yuzuru was in lower elementary school, I think because of a large amount of figure skate training and also the thought that it's a girl's sport, he told his family, "I want to play baseball," but he had never said such things in front of me. (*notes by me, not from the book: In his autobiography, Yuzu said whenever he told his parents he felt like playing baseball instead of skating, they always said OK but he himself never made the switch in the end.)

Elementary school students will naturally talk about TV games and manga. But at that time I never heard him talk about these topics. I heard him say he watched TV, so I asked him what programme. Turns out, he was just watching a video of Plushenko's performances. And he watched it over and over again everyday, until the video tape was worn out and could not be played anymore.

Yuzuru came to my clinic after training ended, always at night. I had to extend the opening hours of my clinic. Everyday, my clinic was open until late, waiting for Yuzuru to come over.

"Sensei, tomorrow I will come again after training, is that alright?" requested this 3rd or 4th grade child, looking very apologetic.

If parents asked me this, I could still refuse in some way, but to an elementary school kid, I could only reply, "Okay! I will keep my clinic open and wait for you, just come over."

To a child working hard, I wanted to give a helping hand in any way, I guess it's quite natural to have that thought. And without me realising, I started to look forward to his arrival each time.

From here we can also see, from that young age, Yuzuru was already very good at making requests.

But it was not only Yuzuru who was working hard. From his home to my clinic, he came by car. Bringing him here always, was his father.

And also, I heard from Yuzuru himself, that his mother and sister worked on his figure skating costumes, sewing on glittering crystals one by one, late into the night.

After hearing this, all the more I wanted to support him.

2004 October, All-Japan Novice B Championship that elementary 3rd and 4th grade students participated in (9-10 years old), Yuzuru competed in this for the first time and won the championship. As a skater, he was growing well.

Not only Yuzuru, the children who joined the Sunday night torso training class were all "good at making requests", all full of enthusiasm, they made me want to support them from the bottom of my heart.

(t/n. awww........ Kikuchi-san is really a kind and soft-hearted grandpa.)

Translated by me from a Chinese translation by QuailAries@weibo, much thanks to her. Please consider buying the Japanese book to show your appreciation: HERE. I have just placed my order.

(pic: screenshots from gif by redfar@tumblr)

#Akira Kikuchi #Yuzuru Hanyu #update: I amended some parts after reading the original Japanese book #but no major differences in meaning

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jaskierswolf · 3 years

Text

Born to Make History Pt. 1/3

Summary: Jaskier is preparing for his first Grand Prix Final. He's skating to On Love: Eros and his routine tells the story of the seductress that woos a certain silver haired hockey player. The only problem is Jaskier can barely stay on his feet whenever Geralt is in the room.

An Ice Skating AU (With Yuri on Ice references but you don’t need to have seen it)

Geraskier - AO3 __________

Jaskier cursed as he felt the edge of his skate catch the ice. He landed ceremoniously on his arse. The take off into the quad salchow had been perfect. He’d gotten enough speed and height as he hugged his arms to his chest as he span in the air. He’d spread his arms wide for the landing but his fucking skate had hit the ice wrong.

“Shit!” He groaned as he went flying across the ice on his butt. “Fucking, cock, balls!”

The grand prix final was flying towards them at breakneck speed and he was beginning to flail. No one had expected him to qualify this year. It was his fifth year in the senior division and whilst he’d done well in regionals and nationals, he was still trying to break into the international league, and this was apparently his year.

“Julian!” Yennefer snapped as she skated over to him. “What the fuck was that? You can land a Salchow in your sleep!”

Yennefer Vengerberg. The bane of his life, otherwise known as his coach and choreographer. She’d also hooked him up with a ballet teacher, Triss Merigold, and he had never been so elegant on the ice. She was still the bane of his life. She was an incredible teacher and was in her prime the best female skater in the world. She’d retired from competing three years ago following an accident on the ice that had injured her spine. She was no longer allowed to make the jumps but her skating and step sequences were still to die for.

She was also insanely strict and honestly scared the shit out of him.

“I fucked up the landing.” He moaned.

“Yes.” She said with a quirk of her eyebrow. “I can see that. Do it again.”

Jaskier scrambled to his feet and skated a loop around the rink to find his feet again. He would have some lovely bruises but everything seemed to be in order. His ankles weren’t damaged which was the main thing. He sighed as he closed his eyes, picturing the music in his mind as he ran through the routine just before the quad salchow. He licked his lips as he took a deep breath before pushing up off the ice.

He soared through the air as the music sang in his head and then landed perfectly. He grinned and moved through onto the next part of the routine.

“Not terrible!” Yennefer called which was Yennefer speak for actually pretty damned good.

By the time he’d finished the routine he was panting slightly and there was a dull burning in his thighs. His butt was sore but that was probably more to do with his crash than the routine. He skated over to the edge of the rink and rest his arms on the side. “Better?” He asked Yennefer with a wink.

“Your triple axel combination needs work. Your arms were all over the place and would you please stop sticking your tongue out during the step sequences? You look like Roach.” Yennefer rattled off, counting each mistake on her perfectly manicured fingers.

Roach. That was her ex’s cat. He’d seen photographs whenever Ciri, her daughter, joined them at the rink. Ciri was an adorable young girl who was eager to join in once they’d finished up their practice. Jaskier would always guide Ciri around the rink by her tiny gloved hands and help lift her as she jumped from one foot to another. She had ice-skating in her blood. Her father, Geralt Rivia, was a professional hockey player and owner of Jaskier’s heart. Every time Geralt came by to pick up or drop off Ciri, Jaskier stumbled on the ice. He was just so gorgeous that Jaskier apparently lost control of his limbs and turned into a puddle of Jaskier goo on the ice.

He sighed wistfully as he pictured Geralt’s lovely amber eyes and shining silver hair. Of course he was an ice-skater. He even looked like he’d been blessed by some ice spirit or something. Jaskier had had many a dream about pair skating with Geralt, the feel of his strong arms lifting Jaskier high up into the air.

“Jaskier! Are you even listening to me?” Yennefer prodded him in the arm. She sounded completely exasperated, which Jaskier supposed wasn’t entirely uncalled for. He hadn’t been listening and he had no idea how long he’d been daydreaming for.

“Umm.”

“Give me strength.” She groaned and skated away from him with a roll of her eyes. “Can we go through it again with music? Lower the jump difficulty if you’re tired but I want to see your performance.”

He sighed and pushed off from the barrier, tossing his fringe from his eyes. “I. You… My, My performance is excellent!” He muttered.

“Your performance is shit.” Yennefer countered. “Remember your tongue is supposed to stay inside your mouth. Otherwise you’ll bite through it and I’m not taking you to hospital.”

“Urgh.” Jaskier groaned but moved into his starting position. “Just press play already.”

“Oh and Jaskier?”

“What?”

“Geralt is coming in with Ciri. Please do try and stay on your feet.” She smirked and clicked play. The strumming of a guitar filled the room as On Love: Eros began to play.

Jaskier stumbled over his first few moves. Stupid Yennefer and Geralt. He yelled with frustration as he settled into the routine. He knew this. He was good at this. The costume always helped his performance but he was Eros. He was great at seduction. He could charm just about anyone… who wasn’t Geralt. He moved with grace and elegance as he glided around the ice like the seductress that he was. In his mind Geralt was the playboy lover that had come to town and Jaskier was Yennefer. He would seduce the man who had stolen his heart. He had been doing it all season, not that Geralt had ever seen any of his performances but that didn’t matter.

He lowered all his quads to triples. They’d been training for hours and doing quads at this point was too dangerous. His muscles were tired and this run through was about the performance.

Seduction.

Lust.

Love?

The music stopped and the only noise that was left in the rink was the sound of his panting.

He’d done it.

“Yay! Jaskier!” Ciri yelled and clapped. He spun round to see her and Geralt watching from the edge of the rink.

“Oh fudge!” He muttered as he caught Geralt’s eyes. Oh good lord he was so handsome. At least Jaskier was already red in the face from his performance. He could pretend the way his heart was racing was solely to do with exertion.

“Jaskier that was amazing!” She shrieked and grabbed at the rails.

“Ciri, your skates aren’t tied up.” Geralt reminded her as he scooped her up into one arm.

Jaskier laughed and skated over to them. “Thank you, Ciri.” He smiled at the young girl. “Umm. Hi.” He muttered at Geralt a little awkwardly.

“Heard you got to the finals. Congratulations.” Geralt nodded.

“Ah yeah.” Jaskier ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Thanks. What did you think?” He asked. “Three words or less?”

“Not bad.”

Jaskier pouted. Great. His first review from the unrequited love of his life and it was ‘not bad.’

“Right. Well.” He muttered. “Thanks for that.” He went to pushed off from the barrier but Geralt grabbed his arm. Jaskier’s eyes snapped up to meet Geralt’s. The blush on his cheeks only intensifying at the contact.

“It was good.” Geralt said in his gravelly voice that made Jaskier’s heart go wild.

God he should have chosen Agape to skate to. Never mind trying to seduce Geralt, he was completely gone on the man. “Oh.”

“I like the music.” Geralt continued with a slight frown.

Jaskier chuckled. “Three words or less, that’s four.”

“You skate beautifully.” Geralt smirked and Jaskier’s skate slipped underneath him.

“Oh sugar!” He groaned as he fell back but Geralt was still gripping onto his arm and he managed not to fall on his arse. “Shhh… Sherbet. Thank you, thanks.” He muttered. “I’m just… gonna.” He pointed to the other side of the rink where there was a gap in the barriers. “I think I’ve skated enough today.”

“But Jaskier!” Ciri whined. “You were going to help me with my toe jump.” She pouted at him with wide emerald eyes.

“Oh alright then. Get your skates on.” Jaskier bopped her on the nose.

“You don’t have to.” Geralt growled. “You must be tired.”

Jaskier waved his hands and scoffed. “Nonsense. I made a promise, Geralt.”

“Hmm. Can I join you?”

Jaskier’s heart stopped in his chest. He resisted the urge to pinch himself. Did he hit his head when he fell earlier? Was this all some dream? Oh god, he was definitely dreaming. “Oh, umm yeah. Yeah. Sure.”

“Might need someone to catch you again.” Geralt chuckled and Jaskier gaped at him.

“Geralt!” He whined. “I am a top figure skater!”

Geralt shrugged.

“Take that back!” Jaskier pointed at him. “Take that back or I’m not letting you on the ice.”

“Hmm.” Geralt shrugged again.

Jaskier huffed and finally skated away from him. His heart still pounding in his chest. When he turned around he saw Yennefer watching them with a smirk from the other end of the rink.

“Are you done? I have notes.” She asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

He groaned but reluctantly skated over to his coach. Ciri still needed to finish tying up her skates and Geralt could keep her entertained whilst he finished up with training. He tried not to zone out whilst she pointed out all his mistakes but it was hard with Geralt being so close, and now they were going to skate together. It was a dream come true. It was only Yennefer’s piercing violet gaze that kept him from drifting off into a daydream. Honestly he was thankful that she was so terrifying. He wasn’t sure any other coach would be able to keep him in line. His first coach, when he was still in Oxenfurt, had been too relaxed and Jaskier had often just fucked about.

It wasn’t his fault he was so easily distracted.

The scraping of blades on the ice pulled his attention away. Yennefer sighed and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Jaskier grinned and spun round to skate towards Ciri and Geralt. Ciri tried to skate away from Geralt towards him but stumbled as she reached him. Jaskier reached out to catch her with a laugh.

“There we go!” He said as he steadied her. “You’ll be a top skater in no time.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m going to play hockey!” Ciri grinned.

Jaskier pouted dramatically. “You won’t need me to teach you the toe loop then.” Ciri’s eyes went wide and she looked like she was about to cry. “But, seeing as you’re wearing figure skates instead of hockey ones.” He winked at Geralt. “I guess I will.”

Ciri grinned. “Thank you, Jaskier!”

They weren’t on the ice long. Jaskier was exhausted from training and Ciri was only young so she got bored quickly. Geralt mostly stayed out of their way, running laps around the rink whilst Jaskier and Ciri practiced her jump in the middle. After about twenty minutes Geralt joined them in the middle and caught Ciri in his arms.

“Enough now, cub.” He murmured. “Jaskier has a big competition coming up. Let him rest now.”

Ciri pouted. “Can we go and see him again?”

Jaskier froze.

Again?

What the fuck did that mean?

He stared at Geralt with wide eyes. Geralt was… blushing? Nah. It was probably just the cold air from the rink.

“Ciri likes to watch you skate.” Geralt grumbled.

Jaskier smirked. “Ciri didn’t call my skating beautiful.” He glided forward slightly putting himself Geralt’s space.

God if Ciri wasn’t here right now….

He bit his lip as he tried to push those thoughts out of his head. Geralt wasn’t interested in him that way. He’d thought that Geralt barely knew he existed before today, but apparently that wasn’t entirely true. Geralt had sneakily been watching his performances.

“That was a joke.”

Jaskier laughed and skated a circle around Geralt. “I don’t think so!” He sang and then before his confidence could leave him. “It’s getting pretty cold in here. Did you wanna grab a hot drink or something?”

“Hot chocolate!” Ciri squealed and wiggled in Geralt’s arms.

“Or coffee?” Jaskier suggested with a tilt of his head. “I was up before the sun today. Yennefer doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of beauty sleep, or course looking like she does, I don’t blame her!”

“Coffee sounds good.” Geralt nodded and skated over to the exit with an excitable five year old in his arms.

Jaskier watched the pair of them, his gaze dropping down to Geralt’s sinfully round arse before grinning to himself and following them out of the rink.

____

#the witcher #geraskier #ice skating au #yuri on ice #geralt of rivia #jaskier pankratz #figure skater!Jaskier #ice hockey player!Geralt #wolfie's witcher writing #let me know if you want to be tagged

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avellanas-nutty-empire · 4 years

Text

Silent Love Part 2

ashkdncnrck im finishing these faster than i thought i would.

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy

Pairing: Axel x OC

Time & Location: Spring of 1990, San Patricio

Summary/Notes: Sorry not sorry, but Axel isnt physically in this chapter, he’s only mentioned :P dont worry i got a real nice fluff thing for part 3 planed that includes him for sure, but for now this part serves as a way to get you more familiar with what kelly is like, and the people she is around most of the time.

Also heads up, when i have big long chunks of dialog spoken in not English, i will color code them so i dont have to go through the mess of google translate then put the English version in parenthesies. although if i do have like, just a few words that are part of a sentence spoken mostly in English ill do the google translate thing. But this part is spoken all in Irish, and the designated color for that language shall be green :P

*Shoves in face again* HERE U GO *runs away*

“Alright ladys, let's get to work!” You clap your hands to enthuse the young dancers, clapping to the beat of the music before picking the ice bag back up and lifting it to your forehead.

“Wait, are we on left foot or right foot?” One of the girls asks

“Try it from the beginning” You suggest. “You girls still need some work on the first part - make sure to keep your arms up, don't let them droop. Your not wilted flowers” The music resets to the beginning as the girls line up to their starting positions. From behind, you hear the footsteps of another girl coming down the stairs.

“Have you seen my ghillies, Ms. Kelly?”

“Right here, Breda” You say, indicating the soft leather shoes under the table you sat at with your free hand. She makes a quick beeline towards them, plopping herself on the floor to put them on her feet.

“How's your head doing?” Breda asks while tying her laces.

“Better today, thank you for asking” You respond, looking down at her.

“That man really came out of nowhere”

“He did, but I'm glad. Not much I can do against a gun on my own” You quip

“I thought we have a restraining order or something on Dick, why didn't he stay away?”

“Because, he is exactly what his name is. A Dick” Breda giggles at this, standing up from the floor with her shoes tied.

“I sure hope that girl and the man are alright. He looked really grumpy when he came in, it scared me a little” You nod in response to her words.

“Yes, he might have been upset for having to save us two” You sigh, looking back at the girls dancing in the cleared out space “But I'm glad everything ended up ok. The bullet barely grazed him, and the girl had only scratches. Easy to patch up. I used some of the salve Aoife left me too, so that should help it heal” Breda looks at you surprised at this.

“You used Aoife’s salve on him? I-”

“It was the least I could do, without him there last night who knows what would have happened. I can't take care of Sinead or help with the pub if I'm dead, and he was in the same danger as me. Wounds can easily get infected if not treated properly”

“...Well, just make sure to use some on yourself. That alleyway is filthy, who knows what was on the ground where you hit your head" You nod your head in acknowledgement.

“You go on and catch up with the others now, they've done quite a bit without you”

“What!” she whips her head around and marches over towards the other girls. “You guys said you would wait for me!” You laugh at the girls antics before standing up and walking up the stairs. You peak your head through a doorway and lean on the frame

"Hey, Sean. Did you go get baby milk yet, or should I do it myself?"

"No sorry, I haven't had the chance yet. Take Levy with you, he has something to do also" The man says from his spot at a desk, papers splayed out everywhere. You push off the doorframe and continue down the hall.

"Levy" You call out softly, searching for the young lad. "Will you be ready to go soon?" Peaking your head through another doorway, you see him packing stuff in a bag. He looks up at you when you speak.

“Yes, let's go!” The young boy quickly swings the loaded bag over his shoulder and bounds through the hall and down the stairs.

“Careful!” you call out to him. “Don't fall, Levy!” You follow him back to the first floor and push open the front door, waving a goodbye to the girls as they take their water break. Levy nearly pulls you to the ground trying to get you out of the pub and on your way. “Levy, what did I say! Don't rush or you’ll trip”

“But, Kelly-” He complains

“No but’s, Mister. I don't plan on taking care of another one of your twisted ankles or fractured arms any time soon. Just be patient, all things in good time” Levy pouts slightly at your words, but nonetheless slows down as the two of you make your way towards the market area.

>:( >:( >:( it wont keep the dialog green!!!! anyways just know this whole part is spoken in irish

#Silent Love TUA #Avellanahablando #tua #the umbrella academy #axel #the swedes #axel x oc

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twokinkybeans · 3 years

Text

Stark On Ice 6: Epilogue [Starker]

Read here on AO3!

Chapter 6: Epilogue

Peter sighs as he laces up his skates and pulls the zipper of the Midtown Ice Arena-themed vest a little higher. He already hears the loud, happy noise coming from the locker rooms. It’s not like he didn’t teach any classes during Celebrity Spin-Off, but it’s good to have more time for his students again. “Mr. Parker, hi!” Peter turns around to see a young girl emerging from the locker room with a big, broad smile on her face. “You have to check out my double axel. I finally mastered the landing!” She’s beaming with happiness, and it warms Peter’s heart to see her enthusiasm. Before the TV show, she’d been nearly there- just… Just the final details had needed some work. “Don’t show me before you finish a proper warm-up though, go skate five laps first and do the regular routine. Can’t wait to see it!” His encouraging words reach her, and with a big smile, she sets foot on the ice to prepare herself for today’s class. Slowly, more and more students drop in, and before he knows it, the ice is rather filled. The next hour simply flies by.

Tony stares at the man presenting the current progress of the new project. Tony isn’t sure he even heard a word the man said. He never quite realized just how much he despises working as the CEO of Stark Industries. It’s tiring, having to make stupid business deals all the time. It’s not like the results are any good. He never really cared, but… Oh well. Ever since he started to care for Peter, he’s begun to care for other things in his life too. A slight smile plays on his lips when he remembers Happy’s face when he gave the man a raise that doubled his salary. He earned it, and Tony is done with being a greedy billionaire. He wants to do something else. His fingers itch to throw everything he has overboard and make a run for it. He doesn’t know what he’ll be heading for, though. He has no plan. No idea. He’s never done something else, so how is he supposed to know?

“Mr. Stark, I would-” “Wait,” Tony sighs and shakes his head. “Look, boy, it isn’t you. I bet your presentation is wonderful and that the progress is going according to plan- few bumps here and there, yada yada. I, however, won’t be in charge of this deal.” The surprised echo going through the room is everything. Tony eyes the man’s name sign and grins. “Michael, you’ve been working hard on this project. You know the revenue streams better than I do. If you want, I’ll leave you in charge to execute any decision related to this project.” The boy in front of the other people has a hard time to keep from crying. His eyes teary- filled with the recognition he’s been wanting so much. “T-Thank you, Mr. Stark, I don’t know what I did, but I would very happily accept the offer.” he stammers. Tony smirks. “It’s yours, fella.”

Michael takes a deep breath before he continues his presentation. Nervous but bold when he tells the clients what his plans are. Tony nods to himself. That was the right call. He made someone very happy here, and he doesn’t have to bother with it. He realizes he finally starts to trust people again. His employees. His friends, too. All because of Peter Parker with his ever-be-damned innocent puppy eyes. He wishes he could see Peter again soon. The boy is immensely busy with teaching and catching up with his YouTube channel and own training. Even though Celebrity Spin-Off may have eliminated them for the race - leaving Clint and MJ to win - the bookings for Dancing On Ice have been off the charts. Everyone wants to get a glimpse of Peter Parker with their own eyes. Tony wishes he could spend more time with his boyfriend, but he’s immensely proud of how the boy is doing. He’s famous, famous for being himself and the thought alone has Tony feel proud.

They haven’t seen each other in three weeks now. But Tony intends to surprise him tonight. Happy happily volunteered to be their chauffeur, and the restaurant had been more than excited to rearrange some tables to squeeze them in. Ned and MJ are a part of the secret plan, too, making sure Peter has the night off from something else.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a long time now.” “Oh?” “Why aren’t you pursuing the Olympics? I may not be a professional, but I know enough about figure skating now to see you have the potential.” Tony’s voice is gentler than usual. Peter presses his lips together and casts his gaze down. The man knows he’s treading on thin ice and it has Peter feeling understood and more at ease simultaneously. He knows he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. A simple “I don’t feel like it” would suffice. Peter wants Tony to know, though. He’s his boyfriend, for fuck’s sake.

“My parents… They were rather famous pair skaters—multiple Olympic gold medals. My mom, she… The stress of having to upkeep her physique, athletic capabilities, relationship, and me-” Peter pauses for a short second, taking a deep breath. “It drove her to a massive panic attack during a show and she fell. Broke her ankle. Couldn’t skate again on the same level. It drove her insane. She got behind the wheel, drunkenly so, and crashed herself and my father into a tree in Ohio.” Peter’s voice wavers, and he shakes his head slightly. “I don’t… I don’t want to end up like them. I want to enjoy the sports. She grew to hate it. I couldn’t… I need this in my life. I can’t bear the thought of losing it. I’m good here. Shows, teaching. It’s still professional, and yet at the end of the day, I can still have a game night with Ned and stuff my face with a way too big pizza.”

Tony nods. Unsure what to say. Peter gives him a faint smile. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s been fifteen years now. Although it’s something I carry with me, it’s not… It’s not something that I’m allowing to dictate my life. Honestly, I’m having a grand old time, Tones.” “I’m so sorry, though,” Tony whispers and opens his arms. Peter hums appreciatively and crawls into his lap- straddling the thickened thighs. All these months of harsh training show on Tony. “I wish they were still here to see what an amazing young man you’ve become.”

Peter scoffs, but his gaze betrays his pride. “Thanks,” he whispers and kisses Tony’s forehead. “Now, what about your parents? They left a mark on you too, didn’t they?” Tony shrugs. “My dad’s a prick. My mom never knew how to deal with that. They died before I could properly build a bond with her.” “How’d they die?” “Suspicious car accident. It’s never been confirmed exactly what or who did it.” “I’m sorry…” “Nah, honestly, as much as I miss the idea of them- I don’t miss them. They were never there for me when I needed them. I wish I could’ve had loving parents, but hey, at least they left me with a multi-billion-dollar company.” “I always forget how rich you are.” “Wanna be spoiled?” “Ugh, no. We’re good like this.” “Good.”

The both of them fall silent for a good minute after that. That is until Peter cocks his head and innocently brings his drink to his lips. “So-” he starts “-MJ and I have a plan for a new video for our channel.” Tony knows by the tone of the boy’s voice that it is something that Tony won’t necessarily like all that much. Or maybe he will. It’s about him, that’s for sure. “Oh?” He simply says. Peter chuckles. “Well, we figured it’d be fun to star you as a guest? People will love to see more of us skating together, and the fact that you’re Tony Stark only makes it better.” “What about MJ?”

Peter’s smirk widens, and he grabs his phone that had been facedown onto the edge of the table. Tony groans. “Oh God, you got it all planned out, didn’t ya?” “Of course I did. Who do you think I am? MJ is in charge of all our social media and editing, but I? I make the scripts. Skating is much more than just a simple dance, eh? It’s a choreo. A story.” “Sure thing.” Peter scoffs and shakes his head as he scrolls through his phone, probably to find the right document or whatever it is he wants to show his boyfriend. “Thought I taught you more these past months,” he jokes. Tony chuckles. “I’m still very much a rookie, Pete. Your world of figure skating, I- haven’t figured it out yet.” “Oh God, that’s the worst pun ever.” “Shush, I’m having an ice day.” Peter snorts and shoves his phone forward. “Maybe my choreo will shut your mouth.”

Tony can’t help biting down his lower lip as he spills his last joke. “Axel-lent.” Peter sends him a death glare after that, but the playful sparkle in his eyes betrays that he loves the convo. He nods at his phone, and Tony takes the hint. Dropping more jokes would be overkill now. (Yes, he knows more puns, and he won’t ever admit to Peter that he stayed up until 3 am a few nights ago to Google them). He squints his eyes at the screen, cursing under his breath as his fingers slide down the screen to lower the brightness. As much as he doesn’t think he’s that old yet, his eyesight doesn’t agree. Peter, if he even noticed, doesn’t comment on it.

“I- Is this Romeo and Juliet?” “Well-” “MJ IS PARIS?” “Isn’t it romantic!” “Romeo and Juliet never came off as romantic to me, to be frank. Those teens had an unhealthy obsession and-” “Tony, I love Prokofiev’s music. You’re gonna have to bear with it. Be glad I didn’t cast you as Juliet.” “Did you steal this from that Netflix show? I know Justin’s a hottie, but-” Peter blushes a bright red, and Tony grins. “Does that mean you agree?” “Yes. Of course, I agree. But no, this choreo is very different. They were pair skating for the competition, and we’ll be making a little play. On ice. Plus, it’s not even the same song.” “Alright, alright. Agreed on Prokofiev.” “Good.”

Tony smiles as Peter continues to explain the rest of the choreo to him. The costumes he has in mind. Tony doesn’t like admitting things to himself- especially not when they’re good feelings. But he has to confess he likes this. Peter. Skating. Even acting, in a way. It unlocks a part of him that he’s never quite experienced before. Obviously, his job allows for minimal creativity, but it’s nothing, absolutely nothing, like this.

A little over 11 months ago, the broadcasters asked Tony to participate in Celebrity Spin-Off; an annual TV series where celebrities get paired up with a professional figure skater and compete against each other. Well, he’d laughed in their faces, wondering why they’d even ask. Were they really that stupid? He had better things to do. “If you can find me a male skater who lets me lead, I’m in,” he’d scoffed sarcastically to brush them off.

He’s still not sure why they took his answer seriously, but they had. Tony Stark doesn’t back out of a promise, though. So, here he is, lacing up his skates to record a YouTube video with his sweet, enthusiastic, now 22-year-old boyfriend and his bestie; dressed in a silver-lined tight suit to play Romeo out of all possible characters.

He’s never felt more alive.

(Especially not at 7 AM)

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synvamp · 4 years

Text

Professional Flirt

A bit of light fluffy crack for no reason. The teams are off for another adventure. Marrow is not a fan of the fact that Qrow and Clover have REALLY upped their flirting game X'D

Thanks for the prompt @shitluckebi-2!

Rating: T

---xxx---

Another day. Sun blazing. The air up here was crisp and clean.

Earlier that morning, the clouds were so low that the city in the sky just about scraped them. But now… a brisk breeze from the sea to the west had cleared all that away. Nothing but white below and blue above.

It was nice.

Not as good as flying.

Really flying.

But being in the airship wasn’t all bad.

Qrow glanced over at Clover.

The Captain was deep in discussion with Ruby. Nerding out about some game maybe? They were both waving their arms a lot, anyway.

Clover noticed he was looking almost before he registered it himself. He got a little flex of the bicep for his trouble and a tiny hint of a grin.

Such a show off. No wonder he made captain so young, he would have practised everything until he was the best. Probably in front of a mirror.

Clover had decided to come with them. He didn’t have to, which made it just that little bit nicer to have him along for the ride. He’d also brought Marrow. Qrow could see the kid was starting to form some strong bonds with his unruly brood. Maybe Clover could too.

It felt good to be out with the kids dealing with things that were more… normal, at least for huntsmen and huntresses. The missions challenged their skills without any real threat to life. They needed time to heal. It felt good to finally take the breath they all needed.

Ren and Nora were surprisingly quiet. They had suddenly become prone to getting lost in each other’s eyes. He’d just about had to wave his hand between their faces that morning to get them away from the breakfast table. It was… kind of adorable really. His eyes flicked across to the sleeveless godbod and back.

Might have a little hint about how they feel…

They were just sitting slightly too close together, looking out the window. It made him almost uncomfortably happy to see them so full of joy after everything. Weiss, Jaune and Yang were arguing about something. Blake had a novel clutched to her chest, a slight crease of concern deepening between her brows. Must be a good book.

Ruby slowly wound down from another peak of delighted screaming about her game. Clover gave her a high five and some goofy fistbump thing. Since when did they have a goofy fistbump thing? Qrow smiled.

“You all ready, Boy Scout?”

Clover just looked at him with his trademark What do you think? grin.

“Ren? Nora?” Qrow asked, just to see if they could still hear him this time.

“Hmmm?” they both said without moving an inch.

It’ll do for now.

“Jaune?” Qrow asked.

“Yes?” Jaune looked up.

“You got your landing strategy all sorted? I heard you were quite… creative at the Academy,” Qrow smiled, remembering Oz showing him the footage. Should he really be here? Qrow had asked. I have a feeling about him… Oz had replied, his ever-present cup hiding his smile.

“That was so long ago! Give a guy a break…” Jaune groaned.

“I’ll catch him!” Yang offered.

Jaune looked over the many amused faces turned to his, “Oh for… I’ll use my shield ok? And if it doesn’t work then you can all fight over who gets to catch me. Everyone loves Jaune.”

“I’m good,” said Ren, not taking his eyes from Nora for a second.

“I do love a good landing strategy,” Clover mused.

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed,” Qrow shrugged.

“What’s yours then? Do you have a favourite?”

Qrow looked at him dispassionately, “Tend to just fall until I hit the ground. Don’t know why you need all the fuss.”

Yang snorted.

“I have to make the uniform look good,” Clover parried.

“I suppose you do that pretty well,” Qrow looked him slowly up and down, “Not sure how sleeveless plus tundra equals anything except hypothermia.”

“That’s why I have you, Hot Stuff,” Clover winked.

Marrow rolled his eyes.

“They do say no sense, no feeling…” Qrow shrugged.

“Huntsman Branwen!” Clover clutched his chest, “Are you questioning my ability to achieve mission objectives while also blessing the world with my spectacular guns?!”

Qrow coughed loudly *cough himbo cough*

Clover opened his mouth for yet another flirty reply when his stomach rumbled loudly.

“Skip breakfast, Lucky Charm?” Qrow asked, merrily pretending he didn’t know.

“I might have run out the door a little hastily,” Clover smirked.

“Really? Even I managed breakfast. Aren’t you meant to be all military perfection? Isn’t there some army marching empty stomach… thing?”

“Coffee isn’t breakfast Qrow,” Clover grumbled.

“Breakfast of champions,” Blake said to her book.

“…but lucky for me there are always emergency rations in the med kits so I can just…” Clover lifted a small sealed bag off the wall, opened it up and began to rummage. “Ah. A single solitary stick of gum. Wonderful.”

The team looked at the bag and then at Nora.

“Hey! Sometimes people get hungry!” she said.

“Oh well, better than nothing I suppose,” Clover shrugged unwrapping the gum, “remind me to get this restocked when we get back to the Academy.”

“Oh, I just remembered, we should…” Qrow started.

“Yes?” Clover turned, hand half-way to his mouth.

Qrow leaned over and plucked the gum from his outstretched fingers with his mouth, grinning wickedly. “Mmmm strawberry. My favourite,” he said, chewing.

Marrow shook his head darkly, “So unprofessional,” he muttered.

“Come on!” Yang said cheerfully, giving him a gentle punch on the shoulder, “I think they’re cute!”

“Now, now Firecracker, no need to go all the way out to the C word,” Qrow said, grinning.

“I for one welcome our new yaoi overlords!” Nora shouted. Ren put his head in his hands to hide his grin.

“What’s yaoi?” asked Jaune.

Weiss coughed.

Blake giggled, “I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright folks, we’re nearly there,” the pilot called back.

Clover instantly snapped back to Mr Professional, “Ok everyone; I want you to seek high ground to start. We need to get the lay of the land. There shouldn’t be any grimm this far out but once we enter the cave system we’ll need to be cautious. Blake, Marrow, please use your hearing to keep us alert to anything that comes our way. Ren and Jaune, stay in the middle of the group. We might need your semblances if things go south. Weiss and Ruby out front. Nora and Yang take up the rear and don’t cause a rockslide with any heavy hitting. Qrow will scout, I’ll stick with the main group. If we get split up, keep your comms open. Any questions?” he paused for a heartbeat, “Good.”

Qrow said something, and Clover leaned down to speak to him. A moment later he laughed, “Qrow!”

Qrow smiled and stretched back, hands above his head. He gave a flirty wink and Clover shook his head.

“I cannot wait to be out of this ship,” Marrow huffed.

“We’re at the drop,” the pilot called, cutting off Clover’s reply.

“Last one down has to cook dinner!” Yang shouted, leaping head first out the open hatch.

Blake sighed, “See you down there,” and stepped out behind her.

Ruby flew out in a tornado of red petals and Weiss executed a neat single axel. Jaune tried to give a salute but his ankle wobbled on the lip of the door and he fell out into the sky with a slightly startled yelp. Laughing, Nora grabbed Ren by the hand and pulled him out, “Later!” her voice trailed away.

Qrow stood up slowly, “See you, gorgeous,” he gave Clover a flirty little smile and then stepped nonchalantly out the door.

Marrow groaned.

“Oh come on,” Clover smiled at him. “What’s the problem?”

“Are you serious? I have been dealing with that for an hour now. Could you two be any more gay?”

Clover stood up and stretched out his shoulders, looking down at the annoyed faunus. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

Then he chewed twice, blew a nice big pink bubble, winked… and was gone.

Marrow rolled his eyes and tried to conjure up the last of his fucks from the deep well that was his long-suffering soul.

You just had to ask.

---xxx---

#fair game #fluff #crack #such happy nonsense #qrow branwen #clover ebi

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writteninsunshine · 3 years

Text

Let Your Colors Fill My World 002/003 - Axel/Zexion - SFW

Chapter: 2/3

Word Count: 3000

Pairings: Axel/Zexion

Characters: Axel, Zexion, Vexen, Xigbar

Warnings: Omegaverse, ABO Dynamics, Omegaphobic Stuff, Not Consecutive Order, 11 Is out of order for the rest of the one-shots, Romance

Chapter Summary: 11-20 of the 30 Kisses Meme. More shenanigans at the college, plus the first time Axel actually wanted to show Zexion his feelings.

AN: So, 11 goes before every other drabble in this fic, then everything else follows after 10. At any rate, I’m sorry it took me so long to update this. I’m actually really happy to get it done, I think it’s a lot of fun. People on my KH twitter H3artB3atsx got to see some previews for this, and I post fic previews there as well as headcanons on occasion. If you’d like to give me a follow, feel free!

Let Your Colors Fill My World Chapter One

Kingdom Hearts Fanfic Masterlist

Chapter Two: You Chase The Gray Away

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(11. Gardenia)

“Howdy, neighbor.” Axel’s head popped up over the fence to look at Zexion, resting his chin on his arms. He must have climbed the tree in his backyard, a seven-foot fence was far too high for any normal seventeen-year-old to lean on.

“Uh… Hi?” Zexion asked more than greeted, picking some strawberries from the plants that Vexen (with Marluxia’s help) grew in the backyard. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, nothing.” Axel chuckled a little, finally climbing the fence and dropping down into Zexion’s yard. He presented the other with a pretty white flower with a grin on his face.

“What’s this?” Zexion asked, standing fully and dusting off his knees, shyly stepping over and accepting the flower.

“Marluxia’s growing gardenias, and he told me what they mean.” Axel grinned at the fourteen-year-old, reaching forward to brush some of his hair out of his face. “Do you know?”

“Of course, I do. Gardenias mean secret or untold love,” Then, his cobalt eyes went wide and he stared up at the elder teen for a second. The seventeen-year-old nodded, smiling down at him gentler, “Are you-- R-really?”

“Yeah, really.” He offered, cupping the other’s cheek, “What do you think?”

The Omega nodded slowly, unable to speak for a second as he considered the flower in his hands. His lips parted and he finally just leaned up on his tiptoes, puckering his lips and closing his eyes. Axel leaned down, kissing him gently, smiling against his lips.

“I accept.” Zexion added softly when they broke apart, “I… I’ve liked you for a while.” He smelled so good, Axel was surprised that the other was so ready to be with him if he were honest. It wasn’t like he’d expected to be accepted just like that. Zexion was refined, even for his young age, and Axel was kind of a mess. Maybe not as much of a mess as Reno but that was like being the tallest dwarf.

“Good.” He replied, kissing him again softly before he paled, hearing the back door open.

“Zexion, where are you? You should have picked the strawberries by now.” Vexen called, and Axel ducked behind some bushes, hoping his hair wasn’t poking out of the top. He flattened out on his stomach to avoid being seen..

“I’m on my way, Vexen,” Zexion called to his father, turning on his heels. “Thank you,” He added in a whisper in Axel’s general direction, “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, for sure.” Axel watched Zexion heading into the house, hating to see him go. Still, he’d gotten more than he thought he would out of their exchange. His lips still tingled and he smelled richly of cinnamon and smoke as he crawled through the hole in the back of the fence back to his own yard. Nevermind the strawberries in his hand, one popped past his lips as he entered the back door into the house.

(12. In A Good Mood)

Purring happily as he worked on his homework, curled up in his nest of blankets and pillows with Axel, Zexion closed his eyes. It was so nice, to be honest, to have Axel here while he worked, he appreciated the warmth wafting off the elder man.

“You sure seem happy,” Axel observed, his eyes closed as he absently pet over the other’s belly, humming to himself. His warm fingers found the hem of Zexion’s shirt and slipped underneath, and the blue-haired teen simply squirmed for him to get comfortable again.

“I’m in a good mood,” Zexion responded, tilting his head and turning enough to kiss the other’s lips softly. “You’re warm, I’m doing my homework, and everything feels… Right. I like this.”

“Yeah, it does,” Axel murmured, chasing the other’s lips gently and working his mouth against the other’s with a soft, happy purr. “You always feel good, even if you’re working.”

“You’re the best.” Zexion replied softly, kissing him one last time, “If not distracting.”

“Sometimes distracting you is fun,” Axel laughed, shaking his head, red spikes cascading over his shoulders. “I can’t help it.”

“I enjoy it, at least.” Zexion smiled at him, leaning into him a little more as he closed his eyes again, “I like cuddling with you, doing my homework. Or, really, doing anything... I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.”

(13. Excessive Chain)

“If you’re trying to impress me, it isn’t working.” Oh, it was working, alright. Axel was so good at this game, probably because he hung out with Demyx so much. His combo chain on Dance Dance Revolution was getting ridiculous, and Zexion was going to swoon, as much as he didn’t want to admit to it.

Axel continued to follow the steps, stomping here and there before taking a jump like a champ. Nevermind the song he was playing was HONEY♂PUNCH by Riyu Kosaka, and it looked pretty hard on Expert mode. Zexion was entranced, watching his feet move to the beat of the song. The 314 chained streak was really wearing on Zexion’s resolve not to kiss him when he was done.

With a final streak of 335, a AA score, Axel was panting and dripping with sweat. He wiped at his face with his arm, which did nothing, and turned to Zexion.

“You want to try?” He asked, breathless.

“I… No, not really. That looks… Difficult.” Zexion shook his head, hopping off the bed to cross the room to his boyfriend. “I think I’d rather congratulate you for your effort, if I may.”

“Of course, dude.” Axel grinned, bending down to plant a sloppy, wet kiss on his lover’s lips. “I always like your rewards.”

“Of course you do,” Zexion smirked, making a show of wiping his face. “You’re so wet.

“You should try the game, Zex.” Axel offered sweetly, “I can put the difficulty level down for you and put on an easy song.”

“I… Okay... I suppose I can give it a shot.” But he’d have to change out of his jeans, probably. Even Axel was wearing basketball shorts right now. Walking to his dresser, he pulled out a pair of short stretchy shorts, dropping his pants and slipping into them.

“You’re gonna want socks, too, so you don’t slip,” Axel told him, eyes glued to his rump as Zexion bent over. With a pair of Digimon ankle socks on his feet, Zexion bit his lip as he scooted across the floor to the dance pad. Axel had already set up Faster Kill Pussycat on beginner mode, and Zexion was ready to make a fool of himself.

The song was slow, and the movements something he could keep up with. After a few notes, he almost thought he could handle something more intensive because after getting the hang of it, the slow drag of each guide was getting to him. Thankfully, he managed to get through the song, though he didn’t have a very good streak. He managed with a C, which wasn’t something he was used to.

“I… I suck at this.” Zexion frowned as Axel wrapped his arms around him from behind, kissing his ear.

“You could practice? Get better. I know you can do it, babe.” Axel nuzzled his neck and Zexion nodded. “Plus, it could be that beginner mode is too slow. I know Reno can’t play it, but he can do the next one.”

“I’m going to get better.” Because he wanted to impress Axel, too. “...Should I try the next level up?”

“I’d love to see you try.” Axel purred in his ear, kissing along the nape of his neck.

“Okay, okay, I will--” If he could keep his hands to himself.

(14. Radio-Cassette Player)

“Where did you even find this?” Zexion asked, head tilting to the side as he watched Axel grinning with his prize. The redhead just beamed at him and plugged it in, both teens wincing as it immediately spit harsh static into the room. Clapping his hands over his ears, the blue-haired man turned away, flopping dramatically onto his bed and shaking his head. “Turn it off! That’s awful!”

Pushing the power button, Axel laughed as he shook out his mane of hair, grinning again when Zexion peered over with one eye uncovered from his fancy Chocobo down feather comforter.

“I found it in my dad’s attic. We were cleaning it and he said I could keep it. I also found some other things.” Crossing the dorm room to his bag, he brought it over to the bed and dropped it with a loud clack of plastic.

“What is it?”

“Cassettes,” Axel stated proudly, puffed up as he started to go through the bag, digging out the old music and seeking something they both might like.

Reaching over to pluck Bad Company by Bad Company from the pile, Zexion waved it in the air, holding it with his thumb and forefinger, upright.

“This is a serious gem. Even Vexen likes this.” Though the blond would never admit that.

“Do you like it?” Axel asked, raising a brow as he collected it from the other’s fingers, looking over the tracklist on the back.

“Yes, it’s rather good.” Smiling sweetly, Zexion lounged back on his bed, pulling the bag of cassettes closer as he began to investigate what else Xigbar had had before these went defunct. Striding to the cassette player, Axel removed the tape from the box and set it to play.

Well I take whatever I want

And baby I want you

You give me something I need

Now tell me I got something for you

Crawling back into bed with Zexion, Axel reached over to pull his chin up, kissing him softly as the song continued to play.

“It’s a good song,” Zexion murmured against his lips.

“It is.” Chuckling, Axel nuzzled their noses together, “Works for us.”

Zexion considered that for a moment before nodding.

“It does.”

(15. Perfect Blue)

Without a doubt, Zexion was always beautiful. When he slept, when he ate, whenever he did anything at all, Axel was in awe of him. Even now, when he was blatantly ignoring the redhead, glaring at his textbook and muttering under his breath, Axe could have stared for hours.

Some idiot Alpha had told Zexion that he was too young to add to the conversation and that pretty Omegas shouldn’t ‘try so hard’. Not only had the blue-haired male stepped up to the plate to prove his age didn’t mean anything, but he had every intention of proving the Omegaphobic piece of shit wrong and wiping the floor with him.

Determination creased his brow as he took a few more notes, and Axel couldn’t help but swoon. Zexion was perfect, from the harsh frown on his lips to the hardness of those engaging blue eyes. There wasn’t an Omega alive that could do the same things that Zexion could. Hell, there might not have been an Alpha alive that could rival him, either, as much as that thought pissed Vexen off to no end.

Leaning over in their nest, Axel kissed his neck, cheek, and over to his lips, all while the younger Omega growled.

“What are you doing?” His tone told Axel it was best not to beat around the bush on this.

“You’re perfect. My perfect blue.” Axel murmured, and Zexion snorted.

“I’m telling Saïx.”

“Don’t you dare.” Axel frowned, “What, I’m not allowed to think my boyfriend is perfect?”

“You are.” Zexion replied with a huff, “When he’s not busy.”

“You’re always busy.”

“And right now I’m definitely too busy.” Zexion sighed, looking over at him. “But you need my attention, don’t you?”

“You can keep studying, I just want to let you know I’m here.” Axel replied with a grin, “Plus, it’s probably time to eat soon.”

“I’ll eat with you in half an hour. Let me just… Finish this chapter.”

“Okay.” Axel laughed softly, kissing his cheek. “I’ll wait.”

(16. Invincible, Unrivaled)

Much like Axel had thought at the beginning of Zexion’s short-lived rivalry, he had come out on top. A good deal of Zexion’s research and study over the course of the last three days had proven most of the Alpha’s thesis wrong, and the blue-haired Omega couldn’t be told apart from the cat that got the cream. There was something about the way that the smaller teen preened and puffed up when he was about to prove someone wrong that made Axel skip his own class to go with his boyfriend and watch the fireworks.

“I seriously can’t believe that he was that wrong.” Axel whistled, shaking his head a little and letting his hair flow over his shoulder. Zexion purred.

“I can. He refused any Omega-lead research in hopes that he’d be right by default. Nobody should assume that they’re right by default.” Vexen had taught him that.

“Maybe you can.” Axel purred, leaning down to kiss the top of Zexion’s head.

“I would never go into something so blind as to think I was already correct unless I already knew beyond a reasonable doubt that I was,” Zexion replied, looking up to capture his lips after a moment. “If I don’t have all the facts, then I’m not about to say that I do. That’s a mistake Vexen has made, and has crucified me for making. I’d much rather learn to do better.”

“Because you’re a smart cookie.” Axel offered, and Zexion snorted, laughing after a moment.

“Because I refuse to be the one with egg on my face when I’m wrong.” He corrected with a wink.

“Because you’re smart.” Axel reiterated, “It’s uh, intelligent of you to be willing to be educated on something you don’t know for sure.”

“It is…” He smiled softly, “Thank you.” That observation earned him another kiss, and Zexion purred as they rounded a corner into the quad.

(17. kHz (kilohertz))

“That is way too loud!” Zexion called over the cassette player, and Axel just grinned at him.

“No way!” It was like being at a club, but it was just Zexion’s dorm room. The blue-haired male reached over to poke the volume button until the level was something he could stand. “Aw, c’mon, Zex…”

“No, it’s way too loud.”

“You sound like Vexen.” Axel pouted, rolling his eyes.

“Excuse me if I don’t like loud noises. Things that are too loud hurt.” The Omega responded carefully, sighing as a kiss was placed on his forehead and he was lead back over to the bed. Axel laid them down, wrapping around the other like an octopus claiming a coconut shell.

“Sorry, hot stuff.” He muttered, absently finding the other’s lips. “I won’t do it again.” Hopefully.

(18. "Say Ahh….”)

“Open your mouth.” Zexion purred, looking at his blindfolded lover like he was the one thing in his life worth praising. “Say ‘ahhh’.”

“Okay,” Axel began slowly, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth as he kept his eyes shut, awaiting whatever was coming his way. A strawberry, plump and juicy, was placed on his tongue and he helped to guide it into his mouth, taking a bite just underneath the leaves. Purring loudly, Axel savored the sweet fruit as he chewed it, surprised when he felt a strawberry flavored kiss on his lips.

“I love you.” Zexion murmured, happy that someone trusted him enough to do this.

“Love you, too, Zex,” Axel told him with a smile, relaxing further into the nest they’d made of Zexion’s bed.

(19. Red)

The campus bonfire wasn’t something that Zexion would have been able to attend had he still lived with his father. Vexen didn’t approve of anything that dealt with so much fire, or so many irresponsible young adults around his son. It wasn’t like he was looking for Zexion here, though, and the younger male could get away with doing whatever he wanted while living on campus. It was nice, because he was able to spend time with Axel, cuddled up near the fire and sipping on a Banora White soda.

The orange light lit up Zexion’s slate blue hair as he leaned against Axel’s chest, settled between his legs. It made the red of Axel’s hair seem brighter, more intense, and as Zexion took another sip of his drink, he purred, nuzzling his face into the other’s chest. It felt so natural to just hide in their own little world in a public place like this, kissing occasionally and spending time just enjoying each other’s company.

If someone had asked him three years ago if he thought he had a real chance staying with Axel, Zexion would have laughed mirthlessly at the prospect. Now, he was more than happy to be with the other male during every ounce of spare time he had, and he was glad that Axel seemed ready to enjoy his company in return.

(20. The Road Home)

“What are you gonna do this summer?” Axel asked absently, petting a hand through Zexion’s blue hair and humming lightly.

“I was going to take a few summer classes, though I won’t be living in the dorm for them. Vexen was going to drive me, I think he misses having me around.” Zexion figured he was lonely without him there, even if he had more time to work and do whatever he wanted without him. Axel nodded slowly, kissing the top of his head.

“I should do something, then, welcome you back home.”

“I feel like I’m leaving home, having to go back.” Zexion replied, “You feel more like home than that house ever could, at this rate.”

Axel kissed his lips softly, “You’re so poetic.”

“You make me feel things only poetry can hope to describe,” Zexion replied sweetly, chasing his lips several times before the pair gave up putting on airs. Laying around doing little to nothing to pack, they spent the better part of the afternoon kissing their day away. They only had a few days left of this life before the summer vacation, and Axel was going to miss this for the next four months.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Alright, so! I hope you guys enjoyed this, it was a lot of fun for me to work on. I really love writing these two, it’s too much fun to do! I think they’re definitely a guilty pleasure ship for me. I just think they have a nice dynamic, despite everything. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I’ll see you in the next part!

Prompt: Thirty Kisses Theme Set 1 Kisses 11-20

1 note · View note

is0gild · 4 years

Text

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 11

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: 8,761

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

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

“Please, Ray, think of the child!”

“I am! Cuz this is my last few months of freedom!”

It was getting late and things were winding down now in 7th Heaven. Most of the gang from the mall had already split and there were just a few stragglers left. It may have come as a shock to find me among them. Or maybe not, given Anna and I were carpooling and my little sister had never, ever been one to call it an early night.

Rayne apparently wasn’t ready for the party to be over yet either. Much to Riku’s dismay, she had climbed up onto a table for what was probably now the sixth time tonight and was rocking her best dancing queen moves. I snorted as I watched her work it, always managing to boogie-dodge out of the way whenever Riku would make a desperate grab for her ankles. I was almost surprised Anna wasn’t up there cutting the proverbial rug with her right now like she had been earlier.

“Trying to wrangle the wife so you two can head out for the night?” I asked, stepping up beside Riku.

His shoulders slumped as he released a long suffering sigh, “Yeah, if only she’d stand still long enough.” Once again his hand swiped out and once again she evaded him with ease as she razzed her tongue at him before spinning around to shake her munny-maker in his general direction. “Now she’s just taunting me,” he grumbled.

I brought a hand up to hide my grin. “Need help?”

“Nah, I got it.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. “You catching a ride home with us tonight?”

“No thanks,” I shook my head. “Anna is more alcohol than person at this point. She has no business being behind a wheel, so she’s going to need me to drive her. Will it be okay if she sleeps on your couch?”

He nodded, “Fine by me. Sure you yourself are good to drive?”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “If you’re referring to that one sip I had on the karaoke stage, that was hours ago. Trust me, I’m good.” Looking around, I then asked, “Any idea where Anna may have gotten off to?”

“Haven’t seen her for a while now, but I’m sure she’ll turn up. Maybe check with-”

“Catch me!”

Eyes going round, Riku hastily threw his arms out just in time for Rayne to land in them princess-style. Giggling, she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a loud smooch on his cheek. He gave an amused huff through his nose, muttering, “Woman, you’re gonna be the death of me.”

“And you’ll love every minute of it, my knight in shining armor,” she cooed, hugging him tighter and nuzzling her face into his neck.

He snerked, closing his eyes. “You’re right. Probably need my head examined.”

I felt a tug at one corner of my mouth. “Looks like you have your hands full with this one, Riku. Good luck.”

“Eh, it’s just this place. She’ll be all sobered up by the time we’re on the road. Speaking of which, we should probably get going.” Still carrying her, he started to turn to leave but then stopped and peered back at me with a smile. “Oh, and Elsa? Great job at the mic tonight. You were amazing.”

I blinked, then looked down with a weak chuckle. “No, not really.”

He gave my leg a friendly nudge with his shoe, seeing as how his hands were otherwise occupied. “Yes, really. Anyway, see you back at home.”

“Hi-ho Silver, away!” Rayne cried, jabbing a finger out and kicking up a leg.

“If you’re expecting me to gallop and whinny, sorry, not happening,” Riku said flatly as he started making his way towards the door.

“Aw, please?” she dragged out the word and I could all but hear the pout in her voice.

I hummed a soft laugh as I watched them go. I’d said it before and I’ll say it again… they really were so sweet. It was hard not to envy them and what they had, the relationship and life they’d built together. I wondered if I could ever have anything like that with someone. I mean, I’d had my chance with my ex and had blown it. I’d never felt anything even remotely like that for him in the years we’d been together. Could I if the right person came along? Or was I just…

...not built that way?

In any case, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about such things. Romance was the least of my worries at the moment. What with having made the wholly unwise and completely spur of the moment decision to turn my entire life utterly upside down, there were much more pressing matters to deal with.

Not the least of which was locating one rambunctious and currently quite heavily sauced little sister.

Now where to even start looking? Hmmm… pretty sure I’d seen her last holed up in one of the booths with Xion, heads hunched together, whispering and cackling about something. What exactly? Not entirely sure. Part of me had been a little too afraid to find out. Either way, checking in with Xion would probably be my best bet. I knew she’d been making the rounds and saying good night to everyone, but I didn’t think she’d left just yet.

It took a few minutes as the bar was still pretty jam packed, but I finally caught sight of her over by the arcade machines chatting with Olette and Hayner. She waved goodbye to the other two before turning and spotting me as I approached. “Oh hiya!” she smiled broadly. “Glad you decided to join us tonight, hope you had fun!”

I smiled back, “I did, thanks.” And I wasn’t just being polite. Oddly enough, I actually meant it. “So hey, any clue where Anna might be?”

She pursed her lips to one side, giving a low hum before at last shaking her head. “Nope! Sorry. She and I were hanging out a bit ago, but then she ran off. Haven’t seen her since. Why don’t you try calling her? You’re still phoneless, right?” She dug hers out of one of her pockets. “Here, use mine.”

I took it from her and almost dropped it when it immediately started vibrating against my palm. The screen lit up with Anna’s name and a photo selfie of her next to Xion in one of the booths here, both posing with duck face and white girl gangsta hand gestures. Speak of the devil. Apparently, the phone was receiving an incoming call from my sister. I arched an eyebrow up at Xion, to which she just laughed, “Oh yeah, we exchanged numbers. Perfect timing, huh?”

Perfecting timing indeed.

Shrugging it off, I pressed the green button and brought the device up to my ear, “Anna?”

A loud dramatic gasp came through from the other end, “Xi-Xi! Has anyone ever told you that you sound exactly like my sister?”

My eyelids drooped. “This is your sister.”

Another gasp. “Sis! Has anyone ever told you that you sound exactly like Xi-Xi doing a spot on impression of you?”

“You’d be the first,” I rolled my eyes, squinting as I took another quick glance around the pub. “Where are you? We should probably get going.”

“But I am going!” her voice slurred through the speaker. “I’m already loooooong gone, baby, woo!”

“Oh, no doubt about that,” I snerked. Xion pointed over to Meg and Tiana, indicating she wanted to catch them before they left and I nodded as she walked off. “But no, I mean going as in driving. You know, like in a car? Beep beep, vroom vroom?”

She huffed, “But that’s what I’m saying! I am in a car with all the beep beeps and vroom vrooms!”

My eyebrows knit together. “You are? With who?”

“Ray-Ray and Ri-Ri of course!” she chirped.

Anna was oh so clever and original at coming up with nicknames, if you hadn’t guessed by this point. “What? But I told Riku I’d be driving you. Like, not even five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, I caught them as they were leaving and Ri-Ri said something about that, but told him I figured I’d just snag a ride with them cuz you decided to stay a tad longer to hang out with yo peeps!”

“Oh I did, did I?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Funny, I don’t remember saying anything like that.”

“Well, no, not in so many words, but I knew. I could tell. Sisterly intu… intu-ish-ish, uh…” she sluggishly stumbled over the word for a bit before instead settling on, “I’m psychic!”

“I see. Fine then, oh great and powerful reader of minds, what am I thinking about right this second?”

There was a pause. Then, “You’re thinking… no, wondering… how… glue doesn’t stick to the inside of its own bottle?”

“No.” Well… yes actually, since she’d brought it up, now I was. But Anna didn’t need to know that! “I’m wondering where the keys to your car are.”

“Oh!” Another pause, then some shuffling noises followed by a loud jangle. “Right here!”

I frowned, heaving a sigh through my nose. “Perfect. So then tell me, Anna, because I’d really love to know… how am I supposed to get home?”

“Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Just ask someone there to take ya. Oh oh, ask Xi-Xi! Besides, you shouldn’t be driving anyway, ya boozehound!”

“Oh my god, it was just one sip!” I facepalmed. “Look, can you just put Riku on the phone? You guys can’t have driven that far yet, I’m sure he won’t mind turning around. Besides, we shouldn’t just leave your car here overnight.”

She scoffed, “It’ll be fine, I can get it in the morning!”

“Anna, please, can you just hand the phone to-”

“What was that?” she asked before making a loud, crackly hiss through her teeth in a super obvious and super fake attempt at static noises. “Sis? You’re breaking up! I’m going through a tunnel, I can’t-” More hissing followed by a long beep, presumably Anna pressing down on what she thought was the ‘End Call’ button. It wasn’t. “...hehehe, all according to plan.”

“You know I’m still here and can still hear you, right?” I deadpanned.

“Gah!” Another beep and the line actually went dead this time.

I pulled the phone away from my ear to narrow my eyes down at it.

What were you up to, brat?

“So!” Xion beamed as she abruptly popped back up in front of me, making me jump as my hand flew up to my chest. “Looks like you’re hitching a ride with me!”

My brow furrowed, “How did you-?”

“We better hit the road then!” she took her phone back as she slung her other arm around my shoulders, making me stagger into a walk beside her as she directed us towards the exit. “I gave the boys my keys so they could let themselves into the car, so they should already be all buckled in and good to go!”

Okay, something was beyond fishy here.

I started reaching towards her hand to remove it, “Thank you, but this isn’t necessary. Could I just maybe borrow your phone again and try Riku’s or Rayne’s numbers directly? I don’t want to be any trouble, really.”

“Nonsense!” She swatted my hand away before barreling us through the door and out into the night. “No trouble at all! I’m only too happy to drive you. Besides, with all that testosterone swimming in giggle juice stuffed into one teeny-tiny car, I’m grateful for another sane female presence. Trust me, you’re doing me a favor!”

As we made our way down the steps and into the parking lot, I tried again, “But-”

“Arr, avast ye scallywags!” Roxas suddenly jumped out in front of us from between two cars, earning a yelp from the both of us. He drunkenly wobbled into a battle stance, brandishing a broken tree branch in our faces. “Surrender yer booty or taste the cold steel of my blade, yar!”

Xion fixed him with a dull stare and crossed her arms. “Roxas, that’s a stick.”

“Wha?” Blinking groggily at his makeshift weapon a couple times, he then shouted, “Think fast!” He chucked it, missing us by miles and instead hitting some random car, setting off its alarm. Then he sniggered and spun around to make a break for it, only to trip over his own two feet and hit the asphalt hard. He hiccuped before calling out a weak, “I’m okay!” Scrambling to his feet once more, he managed to stumble across Xion’s Prius a few vehicles down and dive (well… more like fall) head first through one of the backseat windows, shoes flailing about wildly in the air for a few seconds before getting pulled inside with the rest of him.

Her lips flapped as she puffed out a breath. “Ugh, Rox is such a lightweight. At least Lea knows how to hold his hooch a little better. But see? See what I have to put up with?” She pressed her palms together and held them up under her chin, “Please, please just let me give you a ride home so you can keep those baboons from driving me bonkers.”

My lips pressed into a thin line. “...oh, alright.” Then I scraped together a small smile, “Thanks.”

“Yes!” she pumped her fist before she resumed walking and I reluctantly followed. “And don’t mention it!”

As I gave her my address to put in her phone for directions, we walked around behind her car and I looked longingly at Anna’s Porsche, just one space over. So close, I could reach out and touch it. Ugh. Besides not being able to quite shake the feeling that I was wandering headlong into a carefully laid trap courtesy of Anna and I was beginning to strongly suspect Xion too, I’d just plain had enough of being around people for one night. My social battery was depleted and in serious need of recharging, so even something so simple as a car ride with others sounded like a lot.

Hmm... wonder what my chances of success would be if I tried to break in and hotwire Anna’s car?

Probably not the best considering when it came to grand theft auto, I didn’t have the foggiest of where to even begin. But hey, someone had to be the first to figure out how to start up a car sans keys. And that person wouldn’t have even had Youtube tutorial videos to help them through the whole process, so who knew, maybe I had a shot.

Meh. I should just suck it up and go with Xion. Ten more minutes of human interaction wasn’t going to kill me.

...famous last words.

Xion opened the door to the backseat and held out her hand to whoever was seated inside, curling and uncurling her fingers a couple times. “Keys.”

Another hand stretched out from within the car, dropping the requested item into her awaiting palm with a muted clink. As the arm was pulled back inside, it was replaced by a fiery head of hair poking out to quirk an eyebrow back at me. “El?” Lea called out. “What’re you doing here?”

Xion stepped aside so I could walk up, coming to a stop between the open door and where he was buckled in in the back. With a tiny, awkward laugh, I said, “It, uh… looks like I’ll be catching a ride with you guys tonight.”

“Oh?” he smiled up at me, but then it quickly faded. “But there’s not really space…”

“There’s not?” I frowned, bowing down a bit to get a better look into the car. Sitting next to Lea were two Roxases. Or rather… I guess one was his brother… Ventus, was it? I didn’t know them well enough yet to tell which was which. Drat, I couldn’t even remember what Roxas had been wearing thirty seconds ago when he’d tried to hold us up at stick-point. And neither one was in their work clothes, so I didn’t even have that as a clue. As for the front passenger spot, that was already occupied as well. Naminé had twisted around her seat there to give me a wave with a warm grin.

“Oopsie,” Xion singsonged behind me a touch too innocently, “looks like I miscalculated available car space!”

I turned to squint suspiciously at her. “You told me you needed another,” here I used finger quotes, “sane female presence in the car with you.”

“Yeah, another. Never said anything about you being the only one.”

My gaze shot skyward as I released a soft huff. “Well… thanks anyway, but looks like I’ll be needing Riku to come back for me after all. Could someone lend me their phone please?”

“Nah, it’s fine, don’t make him drive all the way here again,” Lea batted a hand and started reaching for his seatbelt. “El, take my seat, I’ll just walk back to my place, it’s not that far.”

“Please, I’m not letting you walk your drunk ass home in the middle of the night,” Xion said sternly.

“Yeah, we’ll just stuff your drunk ass into the trunk instead!” Roxas (or was it Ventus?) cackled beside him.

He snorted, “Like I’d even fit in there. If anyone’s going in the trunk, it’s Nams. She’s the smallest.”

She blinked back at the boys before tapping a finger to her chin, “Well, I guess if it’ll make everything easier…”

“No one’s going in the trunk, Nams, he was joking,” Xion rolled her eyes.

I decided to try again, “Now about that phone?”

“Worry not! We can make this work,” Xion smirked and I didn't like that sudden gleam in her eye. “It’ll just get a lil cozy, but that’s okay. We’re all friends here, right? Right.” And with that, her hands shot forward, shoving me into a backward stumble.

And straight into Lea’s lap.

I felt his whole body jerk and tense beneath mine. As my brain was still trying to catch up and process what exactly it was that had just happened, Xion cooed all sugary sweet like, “Watch your toesies there,” lightly kicking my feet in along with the rest of me before slamming the car door shut.

“Xion!” Lea yelled, grabbing the door handle and yanking on it several times, but it remained shut tight. “This isn’t funny! Open the door!” She just brought her face down to the window, sticking her tongue out as she waggled her fingers at him before skipping off around to the other side of the car. He banged his fist against the window glass, “Damn it!”

Oh no…

Oh.

No.

“W-what’s wrong with the door?” I asked, my breathing growing rapid as I pulled on the handle a few times myself, but still it didn’t budge. “Is it stuck?”

Lea flopped his head back against the headrest, raking his fingers through his hair as he grumbled, “Child lock.”

“Yup!” piped Xion as she plopped down into the driver's seat, buckling herself in. “Rox here has tried one too many times now to jump outta a moving vehicle while plastered.”

“Keep telling ya, I’ll be fine!” the one next to the other backseat window snapped. Guess that’d make him Roxas.

She snorted, turning the key in the ignition. “For the last time, no, you won’t. Being three sheets to the wind doesn’t make you as invulnerable as you seem to think it does, sorry bud.”

I barely heard a word that was being said, heart thudding loudly now as my fingers frantically and repeatedly pressed the window button. I was not above climbing out that way to escape! However, the window remained firmly closed and I heard the one opposite of us rolling up as well.

I caught Naminé casting me a look of concern through the rearview mirror before she glanced at Xion, “Um… maybe this isn’t really the best id-”

“Shush, it’ll be fine!” Xion brushed her off before backing the car out of the parking space. “And we’re off!”

Oh god, oh god, oh god, this was really happening. I rigidly sat as far forward on his legs as I could, self-consciously tugging at the hem of my mini skirt. I still hadn’t purchased any tights to wear under them, so there was also that.

Worst.

Work attire.

Ever.

I stopped fussing with it, instead concentrating on sitting as still as humanly possible, planting my elbows on my knees and clasping my hands over my nose, mouth, and searing cheeks.

Breathe. Breathe. Okay, Elsa, calm down. This isn’t another person you’re sitting on. It’s a chair. Just… just a chair…

A very warm, firm, shifting, breathing, distressingly person-shaped chair.

Yeah, no, that wasn’t helping.

My eyes screwed tightly shut.

Alright, okay, try this instead! Just picture like you’re a child again, sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what you want for Christmas!

...except I’d always been terrified of Santa Claus as a kid and had screamed bloody murder until they’d take me away from him.

Ugh, this wasn’t working! Were we there yet? Was it almost over? Please, oh please let us almost be back to the apartment!

I peeked one eye open and...

We weren’t. In fact, we’d just barely left the parking lot and were waiting at a light. Out of my peripheral, I saw Lea’s hands hovering about awkwardly, clearly not sure what to do with them. At last, he settled on one grabbing the edge of the seat to the left of his knees while the other fumbled about against the door, the window, the ceiling, basically trying to be anywhere but on me.

This was awful. One could all but choke on the sheer amount of awkward, it was so palpable. This was one hundred and ten percent the type of situation I would usually nopety-nope the hell out of faster than you could say ‘panic attack’. But I couldn’t! I was trapped! No way out!

Except… hold up, maybe there was one way out… it was a long shot, but...

Squeezing my eyes shut once again, I clicked my heels together three times.

There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…

I peeked one eye open.

Fudge, still here.

Maybe it’d help if I actually had ruby slippers.

Stupid, useless, non-magical, suede ankle boots.

“I’m really sorry about this,” I heard Lea mumble behind me.

I twitched, then quickly shook my head, “Don’t be, it’s not-”

“Sweet! Light’s green!” Xion whooped before slamming the pedal to the metal.

The car leapt forward, knocking me into a backward slide along Lea’s lap, my back thumping against his chest. I heard him suck in a sharp breath and groan softly, his hand on the seat cushion gripping harder. I stammered, “S-sorry, did I hurt you?”

Voice somewhat strained, he said, “No, not at all, it’s, er… hm, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” His breath tickled against my neck and shoulder, making me shiver and my blush burn hotter. It was a wonder my whole body wasn’t glowing in the dark at this point. “Your, ah… your hair… may I ask the, um… the scent?”

Oh gosh, he must have gotten a face full of ponytail when I had been thrown up against him just now. “Snowberry? I believe is the, erm… the flavor of shampoo.” I winced. “Not flavor! D-don’t know why I said that, I don’t know what it tastes like! Not like I go around eating shampoo, who would do that? Crazy people, that’s who! I’m perfectly normal and eat normal things like-” Ugh, stop rambling! You may not eat shampoo, but you’re definitely sounding like a crazy person right now! “Nevermind. Anyway, sorry… I know it- the shampoo that is... that the smell tends to be a bit strong.”

“No, no, it’s, uh…” he cleared his throat, “... it’s nice. Very-”

There was a loud thud that jolted the whole car, making me bounce in his lap, much to my utter horror. I heard a tiny whimper from Lea as his knuckles started turning white.

“Sorry,” Xion laughed, “pothole!”

Oh, Xion. Dear, sweet Xion… what did I ever do to you to deserve all this? Did I mess up one of your ice cream orders? Give you a sugar cone when you had wanted waffle? Or only two scoops when you had asked for three? Served you a Sea Salt that was an insultingly subpar shade of blue?

And Anna… oh-ho, trust me, this little stunt had that hellion’s name written all over it, no doubt about that. I don’t know what she was even trying to accomplish here, but when I got my hands on her… sorry, Mother, Father, but your littlest would be coming home to you in a friggin’ body bag.

“So Lea,” Ventus elbowed him in the arm abruptly, “I feel like you and I don’t get to talk much, like, ever. Figure now’s a good a time as any to fix that. So tell me, buddy, cuz I really wanna know…” his lips curled wickedly as he leaned in closer to him, eyebrows waggling, “...what’s up?”

Lea shoved him away and into Roxas, who snickered, “Ooo, sore subject, I take it? Don’t worry about it, big guy. Too much booze can do that to man and-”

A second, more forceful shove from Lea, this time knocking the twins’ heads together with a satisfying smack as he snarled, “If you two twerps don’t cram it, I’m gonna-”

“Oopsie, stop sign!” Xion announced brightly, stomping down on the brakes hard.

As the tires squealed to a stop, I flew forward, but was saved by Lea’s arm instinctively latching around my waist. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then his muscles stiffened. “S-sorry,” he hastily removed his hand from my hip… only to rest it on my bare thigh instead. Instantly realizing his mistake, another louder, more panicked, “Sorry!” as he jerked the hand away, electing to jam it under his leg instead.

One had to wonder what the boiling point of human was, because at the rate my head-to-toe blush was going, I had to be fast approaching it.

“Onward!” Xion cheerfully boomed, flooring it once more, flinging me back and starting the whole cycle anew.

The rest of the trip probably lasted only a grand total of five more minutes. However, it felt like five centuries, with a decade tacked on for every sudden acceleration, sharp turn or jerky stop. I swear Xion was purposely seeking out every last dang bump and ditch in the stupid road. I never even realized there were so many! If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have suspected her of doubling back to hit some of them twice.

Finally, after what seemed like an absolute gut-wrenching eternity, she mercifully sang out a chipper, “Here we are!” as we pulled into the parking lot for my apartment complex.

Oh thank goodness!

As we came to what had to be the smoothest stop the whole ride, I was already tugging on the door handle restlessly, impatient for Xion to release the infernal child lock. “Alright, alright, hold your horses,” she snerked, taking her sweet time to tap a button on her armrest. There was a click beside me and with one final pull of the handle, the car door popped open. In the blink of an eye, I was gone.

Road Runner, eat your heart out.

“Elsa, wait!” Lea called out behind me.

I was feeling so humiliated, so mortified, so wanting to be anywhere but here in that exact second that nothing could have stopped me. Not hell or high water. Not the zombie apocalypse. Not an alien invasion. Not the inevitable heat death of the universe snuffing out all life and existence as we know it everywhere. Nothing.

Well… almost nothing.

Turns out the one thing that could stop me was a clattering sound, followed by a, “Motherfu-” then a heavy tumbling thud accompanied by a pained grunt, all topped off at the end with a tiny, almost inaudible “Ow.”

I froze a mere few inches short of the building entrance, my hand already reaching for the door - aka my ticket out of this nightmare - and haltingly glanced back over my shoulder. There Lea was, halfway out the car, back sprawled flat against the pavement, eyes squeezed shut in a grimace, feet still up inside the vehicle where they’d somehow gotten all tangled in the seatbelt.

...this… dork…

Despite every fiber of my being still telling me to run, something in me found the will to resist. Instead I turned and slowly, reluctantly walked back, coming to a stop beside him and squatting down, knees together and arms folded over them. “...you okay?”

His eyes snapped open and he blinked up at me a couple times, surprised to see me there. Then he scrabbled to get up, failed miserably due to the seatbelt predicament and instead just ended up flopping about like a hooked fish. Finally, feet still up above his head, he just settled for rolling over onto one side, propping himself up on an elbow while the other hand went to his head with a soft hiss. “Yeah, nothing bruised ‘sides my ego.” He paused, peeking at me out of the corner of his eye. “...are we?”

I stared blankly at him, slightly tipping my head to one side.

“Okay, that is,” he elaborated. “Please believe me, I had nothing to do with this, had zero clue what the, erm… seating arrangements were gonna be.” I looked away, feeling a now all too familiar warmth creeping back into my face as the corner of my lips pulled down. He was quick to add, “And make no mistake, the culprit will not go unpunished. Heads will roll. There will be repercussions, young lady!” he directed the last threat in a yell back towards the car.

“You’re not my real dad!” Xion shouted back and it was followed by a chorus of giggles from the rest of Prius’s occupants.

Lea hung his head and heaved a sigh. “I swear, I get no respect.”

I shifted one arm to prop my chin in my palm, fingers hiding a growing grin despite myself. I nodded, “...yeah. You and I... we’re okay.” I then turned my head to shoot a small glare back towards my apartment building, “I can’t say the same though for my own little troublemaker. Yours didn’t act alone and had an accomplice, one who’ll soon be reaping the excruciating consequences of her actions.”

“I pity anyone fool enough to provoke your wrath,” he chuckled.

“Trust me, I know how to bring the pain. She will rue the day.”

“Oh, I have no doubt about that.” There was a thunk as one of Lea’s feet suddenly fell free. It seemed Naminé, feeling sorry for the big lug, had sat up on her knees and flipped around, leaning over the back of her seat so she could disentwine his ankles from the impromptu snare. With one down, her fingers set to work on unwinding the other one. “Thanks Nams! Looks like I have a new bestie, cuz my current ones suck and/or are not long for this world.”

The car’s engine revved and abruptly rolled forward a few feet, dragging Lea with it. “Xion!” he snapped and the wheels screeched to a stop.

“Ven did it!” Xion blurted out, voice bubbling with laughter.

“Wha- Did not!”

“Don’t lie, I saw you,” an identical voice could be heard, tone colored by a smirk.

“You’re the liar, Rox!”

Again, the Prius started to inch forward. Reacting on impulse, my hands darted out and latched onto Lea’s wrists. That combined with a now distraught Naminé working feverishly to finish untangling the seatbelt finally had his other leg pulling loose. He was fast to hop up to his feet and as I straightened up to join him, he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “Heh, thanks! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a couple of ex-friends to brutally slaughter.”

And with that, he charged off in a blur after the car. Cackles and jeers from within echoed out into the night, mingled with the tires shrieking as Xion burned rubber to stay ahead of him. I shook my head, deciding to leave them to it as I turned my back on the scene and made my way inside.

I was still a little rattled from that whole… ahem, experience. My cheeks had yet to make a full recovery, still redder than molten magma and three times as hot. But hey, that was an improvement over the ten times as hot they’d been during the entire car ride, so… progress! Awesome. Not to mention I felt physically and emotionally exhausted and was pretty sure at least five years had been taken off my life. I was just about ready to curl up in bed and hibernate until next Spring.

But first I had a certain sister to march to the gallows.

After climbing several flights of stairs to reach the door to my apartment, I unlocked it and stepped inside to find the room dark. My hand groped about the wall for a second before locating and flicking the switch, light flooding the space.

“Do you have any idea what time it is you’re coming home, missy?”

Startled, I spun around to find Rayne seated at the dining table, arms crossed, eyes stern, and steaming mug resting atop a coaster in front of her. Yeesh, at this rate, my heart wasn’t going to hold out much longer. Hadn’t the poor, defenseless organ suffered enough scares for one evening? Eyelids drooping, I said, “I don’t know… maybe ten minutes after you got home?”

Her lips pursed to one side. “...touché.”

“So how long have you just been sitting here in the dark like a weirdo?” I asked as I dropped my keys onto the table and moved to the fridge, opening it up.

She shrugged and grinned, “Not long. Maybe a minute or two. Thought it really sold the whole vibe I was going for.”

“Oh, it did,” I pulled out a water bottle, nudging the door shut behind me as I unscrewed the cap. “Nice mother voice, by the way. That I’m-not-mad-just-disappointed tone of yours is really coming along quite beautifully.”

“Aw, thanks!”

This whole being her parenting test dummy thing was starting to get a bit out of hand. But eh, it sort of grows on you after a while.

“So where’s Riku? Surprised he’s not out here too, enabling your neurosis,” I quirked an eyebrow as I brought the water to my lips.

Rayne waved a dismissive hand, “Brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed.”

“And Anna?” Was kind of shocked the flat was as quiet as it was right now, given that the crimson tornado that was my sister was supposedly lurking about somewhere.

As if on cue, there was a rumbling, disembodied snuffle, followed by a mumbled, “...pink yetis… fluffy unicycles…”

She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Passed out stone cold on the couch like the absolute lush she is.”

Setting the plastic bottle down on the table, I went over to the sofa to discover Anna flopped there in an undignified heap, hair already knotted into a bedheaded rat’s nest, arms snuggling a pillow close as she snored and murmured more incoherent gibberish.

So even evil criminal masterminds looked all sweet and innocent while sleeping. Go figure.

“So you gonna fill me in?” Rayne asked, drawing my attention back to her.

My brow furrowed. “On what?”

She blew on her beverage before taking a careful sip, shooting me a deadpan look. “On whatever happened that has your cheeks lit up like a pair of stoplights and has you looking ready to strangle your lil sis.”

“Stopl-?!” I scoffed, turning my head to one side. Come on, face, you’re weak! Get your act together already. “My cheeks are fine and I most certainly do not want to strangle her.”

“Tell that to your hands.”

I looked down and said hands were clawed and halfway to Anna’s throat.

Hehe… how did those get there?

Hastily snatching them back to hide behind me, I just gave Rayne a feeble chuckle by way of answer. She patted the chair beside her, “Sit.”

I hesitated before doing as I was told. As I lowered myself into the seat, I pulled my hair free of its ponytail, my anxious fingers combing through the soft, platinum strands. My little talk with Lea after the whole ordeal had actually been rather comforting and an odd calm had managed to settle over me in the minutes since. I say ‘odd’ because it was me after all, the PanicBot 3000. However, now that I was running over the events again in my head and trying to figure out how to best put them into words, I could feel that calm fraying at the edges and beginning to unravel.

Gnawing on my lower lip, I began, “So, you know... cars… right?”

Oh excellent. Off to a superb start here. Simply smashing.

She gave me a dull stare. “...I’m aware of the concept, yes.”

My hands, unable to keep still, moved to haphazardly weave my hair into a loose braid. “And you know how they have, uh… limited seating?” She merely gave a patient nod and here I struggled, feeling my cheeks crank up the heat again.

Damn it, face, what did we just talk about?!

What little poise I had left suddenly ripped to tatters like tissue paper and I snapped, “Well I had to get home somehow, didn’t I? And you’d left and Anna’d left and, and the keys had left! I tried to get them to come back but Anna was too busy talking about glue and making static noises and- ugh, she can be such a- anyway, I considered hotwiring her car, obviously, but had to toss out that idea due to lack of tools or experience or, you know, actually knowing how to hotwire, so when Xion offered, I… well, there really was no other choice, was there? But there were no more- I shouldn’t have been surprised, really, I just knew something was up and oh-ho, you can bet she and Anna planned it all, but still, that doesn’t change the fact that I had to sit somewhere and there was really no other alternatives, I mean… okay, Xion? Driving. The twins? Twigs. Uncomfortable. And Naminé? So small, I would have crushed her. So, I guess, by process of elimination, when… when you really think about it, Lea was just the just most logical choice! I mean, I didn’t want to, I didn’t even know what was- not until it had already- and then once I was… ya know, there, Xion, she… she just kept stopping and starting and stopping and, and hitting every- it was like a damn bouncy castle in there! I wanted to leave, oh dear god, you have no idea how much I just wanted to leave, but I couldn’t because apparently Roxas likes to pull a friggin’ Superman or whatever on the highway whenever he’s-”

Rayne clamped a hand over my mouth, silencing me except for the loud, rapid breaths through my nose. Her eyes squinted at me. “So… cliff notes version? Xion gave you a ride home.”

Her palm still effectively muzzling me, I simply nodded.

“...but she already had a full car and there were no seats left?”

I nodded again, hands twisting and tugging on my now complete, if somewhat sloppy braid.

“So you had to sit,” here a slow smirk curled her lips, “on Lea.”

My head bobbed frantically now and I was jerking on the braid so hard, I was afraid I‘d rip it clean out of my scalp.

She snerked. Then spluttered. Then busted up laughing, nearly falling out of her chair.

...so not cool.

I kicked her in the shin, shutting her up just as Anna shot up on the couch, disturbed from her slumber by all the noise. My sister looked around, all bleary-eyed and slack-jawed, doing her best zombie impersonation. Don’t think she’d quite made a full exit out of dreamland. She groggily turned her head towards us, smacked her lips and mumbled, “What’s the sum of pizza divided by the square root of sandwiches?”

We both blinked at her before I shrugged and Rayne shook her head.

“Chartreuse,” she enunciated slowly and with an air of authority. Then she flumped back down, snoring thunderously once more.

Rayne began to snicker again, more softly this time and I shoved away the hand that was still acting as a jury-rigged gag, huffing, “I fail to see what’s so funny about all this.”

Wiping the corners of her eyes, she tried to sober her expression but only ended up cracking up again, saying, “You gave Lea a lap dance!”

Just about every last ounce of blood in my body flooded up into my face. “Wha- I- He- I most certainly did not!”

Her hand now went to pat my shoulder, “Okay, okay, sweetie, just answer a few quick and simple questions for me. Were you or were you not in his lap?”

“Well, yes, technically, but-”

“And did you not dance in said lap?”

“No, I did no such-”

“Fine,” her hands came up in a placating gesture, “allow me to retract and rephrase the question. Was there not the shifting and moving of your body in his lap? Answer truthfully now,” she tacked on quickly as I opened my mouth, “for I do believe the term ‘bouncy castle’ was used earlier.”

My teeth clicked shut as I glowered at her. “...well, yes, I suppose there may have been some… inadvertent shifting, but-”

“And,” she pressed on gleefully, “is not ‘the moving and shifting of one’s body’ an acceptable, working definition of the word… dancing?”

I narrowed my eyes at her and said nothing.

She smugly relaxed back in her seat. “Let the record show the defendant is speechless. I rest my case.”

“...I really hate you right now,” I grumbled, snatching up my water bottle again and unscrewing the lid.

“Love ya too, sweetpea,” Rayne winked and blew me a kiss. She then fell silent for a second, eyeing me thoughtfully as I took a sip. Then, “You know Lea used to be a big ol’ man-slut?”

I choked.

Nope, still can’t breathe water yet.

Coughing and wheezing as I put my drink back down, I struggled to get out, “Excuse me?”

“Oh yeah,” she plonked her elbows on the table, chin nestled in her palms as she smiled big at me. “You know the type. Smooth talker, real charmer, taking a different girl back to his place every night. It was almost kind of amazing watching him work. He had it down to an art form, but not like in a sleazy douchebag way… he just loved the ladies and the ladies loved him, I suppose.”

“...okay?” Wasn’t quite sure why she was telling me this.

“And when you and him got left alone in the booth earlier tonight? Well there was a time not too long ago that the, ah… discourse between you two? Would have ended up a lot less vertical and a little more horizontal, if ya know what I’m saying,” she waggled her eyebrows at me.

I scoffed, “Please. I don’t care how much of a ladykiller he was, this is still me we’re talking about here.”

She gave a low hum at that. “True. Talk about unstoppable force meets immovable object. Now I’m actually pretty curious about how that all would’ve really played out.” Her shoulders shrugged, “Anyway, when he went back to college again, he decided to hang up his casanova hat. He really wanted to give his education a fair shake this time around, which to him meant cutting out all his vices and distractions, including women. None of us took him seriously at first, but he’s surprised us all by sticking to it. For over a year now, he’s been on his best behavior. A total priest.”

Huh. I do remember when he was telling me about going back to school, he did say something about dropping old habits… I guess maybe dating had been one of them?

Rayne gave an abrupt, tiny snerk, muffling it behind her knuckles. A crease formed between my eyebrows, “What?”

She shook her head, “Sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to laugh. You just, heh… looked a smidge disappointed there for a second.”

Annnnd there my cheeks went again. I swear, like a couple of furnaces, they were. Averting my gaze with a scowl, I said, “I’m not- ugh! I... was just trying to figure out where all this was coming from, why you felt the need to share.”

“Ah.” Her eyes crinkled and I got the feeling she didn’t quite fully believe me. Whatever, if seeing things that weren’t there made her happy, then more power to her. Let the crazy woman have her delusions. “I just wanted to give you some context. Knowing all that about Lea now, does it come as any real surprise then that Xion decided to have some fun at his expense tonight by testing his resolve and literally dropping a cute girl in his lap that he obviously has a little crush on?”

Those furnaces exploded into a fiery wreckage. “He- he absolutely does not!” I take it back. The crazy woman needs to have her delusions confiscated, no good can come from them in her demented hands! “This isn’t kindergarten, please! He hardly even knows me.”

“That’s the thing about crushes, boo. You don’t have to really know the person,” she flashed a cheshire grin and poked me in the nose, “just think they’re a total cutie-patootie! And trust me, the minute those sweet, candy lips of yours found their way to his on that fateful day, that poor boy was a goner.”

I rolled my eyes, “Oh shush, you’re just being silly now.”

“Am not. In fact, betcha that’s why Anna was Xion’s cohort in all of this. She wanted to play cupid.”

“No, Anna was just sowing chaos and mayhem like the demon imp she is because that’s what Anna does best,” I shot my sister an accusatory glance. In response, she defended herself most eloquently by snoring louder. Returning my attention to Rayne, I sighed, “Seriously, Lea doesn’t see me that way. We’re just friends.”

“You’d be singing a different tune if you saw the way he was looking at you during karaoke,” she lilted playfully.

Voice flat, I said, “What, like I was some kind of tone-deaf walrus?”

She gave a soft tch, “Girl, don’t even. Self-deprecating isn’t a good color on you. You crushed it, and I mean crushed it. And you know I never sugarcoat things, so you know I’m telling the truth! But no, I was talking specifically about during the second verse of the song.”

“The second…?” I frowned, thinking back. “...you mean the part where I got embarrassed by the lyrics and closed my eyes?”

Rayne nodded, “Mm-hm. And do you know what else you were doing?”

“Um…” Was this a trick question? “...singing?”

“And?” she prompted. I just stared at her blankly. Both eyebrows shot up her forehead and she smirked. “Oh pumpkin, you really have no idea, do you? Well, allow me to enlighten you. You had yourself a cute lil shimmy going, complete with swaying hips, a seductive crook of your finger, and a hand gliding up and down your thigh as you sang,” her voice got theatrically husky, “feel your way.”

I grew paler and my eyes more round with every word. “I- I did not! I w-would have known if- I wouldn’t j-just…” The words died on my tongue as she just simply nodded slyly at me. My mouth went dry as my face scrunched up in disbelief, my hands wrenching at my braid once more. “...did I? I mean, I… I was picturing the scene from the movie in my head, pretending I was there instead of making a fool of myself in front of a room full of people. I guess maybe I was just, I don’t know... getting into character?”

She shrugged, “Whatever you were doing, it certainly caused Lea to experience some, uh, heh… minor technical difficulties.”

Oh gosh, and here I’d thought the car ride was bad enough, but this? This was just the cherry on top. Not to mention the Kissident or... fudge, I just couldn't stop humiliating myself in front of this guy, could I? “I was… probably just making him awkward and uncomfortable, that’s all. But he really is always so nice about everything.” I stared down at my fingers, fidgeting with them now. “Do you know what he actually said after karaoke? He said I should try looking into singing professionally… which is absolutely ridiculous, of course, but still, it was sweet of him to say.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice the oh so subtle attempt to change the subject there, sugarcube,” she gave a wry harrumph into her mug. I just avoided her gaze. Can you blame me? I just wanted to put this ludicrous and baseless topic behind us already. “But I’ll let it slide. And that’s actually not a bad idea.”

My eyes blinked at her. “You’re joking. Become a successful singer? Please, one has better odds of winning the lottery while being struck by lightning and hit by a rogue meteor at the same time!”

“And who said anything about becoming a career singer? There are other ways of putting that silver voice of yours to work. Like, for example... musicals. You know, as in play acting. Now don’t give me that look, it’s not like I’m not talking Broadway or nothing… not yet anyway. But there’s plenty of small theaters out there that would kill to have a nightingale like you on retainer.”

I huffed out a tiny snort through my nose. “Aren’t you forgetting something? Like, oh say, I don’t know… my crippling anxiety, crushing stage fright, and, ya know… absolutely zero acting experience?”

She folded her arms under her chest, “And aren’t you forgetting something? Like, oh say, I don’t know… summer camp musicals? And how you always just freaking slayed at all the lead parts?”

...oh wow, I actually had forgotten all about those. Camp felt like ages ago by now. Almost nothing more than a distant, fading dream. Frowning up at the ceiling, I murmured, “The musicals… were one of my favorite things about camp. They were the one place where I didn’t have to be my awkward, scared, pathetic self, that I could pretend to be someone else completely. It was an escape, it… helped.” Then I slowly shook my head, “But that’s different. It was a long time ago, I was a kid, I… I couldn’t be like that today.”

“Couldn’t you?” her head tilted slightly. “You really seemed to get into it with the karaoke. You said it yourself, you got into character without even realizing it. It was like the very spirit of Sandra D had possessed you.” She smiled, closing her eyes, “I think you might be a natural, cupcake.”

...me? A natural? Yeah right! There was no way, not in a million years! …I mean, unless… maybe… maybe if-

I shook my head again, more rapidly this time, banishing any such preposterous notions from my mind before scooting my chair out and rising to my feet. “Clearly you’re still fake drunk. You should really get to work sleeping it off. I’ll be heading to bed now myself. Good night,” I said firmly. End of discussion. Topic closed. I grabbed my water bottle and marched off towards the door to my room.

Of all the silly, crazy, absurd-

“You know I’m right,” she called out brightly after me. “And hey… any verdict on Anna yet?”

I paused long enough to shoot the girl in question a sour look over my shoulder. She mumbled something in her sleep, rolled over and brazenly flung one leg up over the back of the couch. My lips pressed together into a thin line.

“...let her sleep. I’ll murder her in the morning.”

Author’s Note: The takeaway this chapter? Xion and Anna are evil xP Despite their questionable methods however, they DO mean well... I think xD But oh gosh, I do so love to torture Elsa! And by extension, Lea too, tho it’s a very different kind of torture xD But I think I managed to wrap up that lil car misadventure sweetly enough by the end of it! And hmmmmm, those were some interesting things Ray was saying... very, veeeeeeeery interesting...

Next chapter, what will Elsa do with these new thoughts buzzing around her head? Does our dear fire boi actually have a crush on her? Or is Ray just talking crazy from all them baby hormones making her loopy? And will Anna live to see the blessed light of day ever again? How DOES glue not stick to the inside of its own bottle? Stay tuned!

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!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

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emmyrosee · 5 years

Note

So... we all know that our lovely Reader loves to distract Axel at work, mostly if he is been extremely neglectful of his loving baby, which prompts her to go to extreme measure, wearing nothing under her short skirt, and teasing with a move straight from "basic instict" poor workaholic Axel, sitting on his favorite car, on its hood, where she is later fucked a few moments later... because Axel has no self control!

Wow you really just are gonna do that to my fragile little mechanic heart aren’t cha🤤💚🖤

This uh... this got long too. I actually had to shorten it because oh man it got funky-

————

“Hey daaaaaddy,” you croon, strolling into the finally quiet garage. It’s been closed for a while, though you know with each passing day that you weren’t going to win Axel’s attention from the stupid ‘79 Ford Mustang he had been fixing up for the past three weeks.

It was his new obsession. He got it cheap, it was his personal project, and there was no chance he was losing interest anytime soon. His shop closes at 7, but he would come home at 11, finally going to bed far later.

It wasnt healthy, but more than that;

You thrive on Axel, and you hated the attention he was giving this car. And you were done waiting for it.

So, you decided to take it back.

His green eyes suddenly flick up to you, “Hey Princess,” he says with little emotion. “What’re you doing here so late?”

“Just wanted to see what you were doing,” you sigh, strolling over to the car your boyfriend was cheating on you with.

“Just filling out this RO,” he answers obliviously, tongue poked out in concentration. “What can I do for you, little lady?”

You hike yourself onto the hood of the car, fighting the hiss from escaping your throat as your bare core hits the cool metal. Thank God it’s a flat hood, otherwise you’d have to fight to stay on top. “Nothing,” You hum, blinking at him innocently. He finally looks over at you, but judging by the widening of his eyes and the shift in his chair, you know he never really got to see just what you were wearing.

He coughs, “nothing good anyways, huh baby?”

You giggle, “never. Just like my daddy.”

“Now you and I both know that being like daddy isn’t always the best thing,” Axel chuckles, trying to focus back into his work. But even you know deep down his attempts are futile because it’s you. And he knows you’ve been missing him, and for the love of God, you’re his fucking weakness.

“But daddy,” you whine, bringing your knees to your chest, slightly exposing your glistening slit to him. He looks up, and only when you see him swallow thickly you move your legs to cross them at the ankles. “You’re the best.”

There’s a sudden fire in his eyes as he pushes out of his chair, abandoning all work to the side. “What have I told you about teasing daddy, babydoll?” The authoritative, stern way of his words usually makes you cower, but you’re not feeling so obedient.

“It isn’t my fault you’ve chosen this hunk of metal over me for the past three weeks,” you say innocently, letting your legs swing over the hood. “Makes me feel like daddy doesn’t care about me anymore.”

Axel tenses slightly at your words. You hadn’t meant to make him feel bad, and your eyes curve in worry. “Axel-”

“No baby, you’re right,” he admits, wrapping his arms around your neck. “I have been busy lately, haven’t I?”

You smile coyly before grabbing his belt, pulling him as close to you as you can. “You can always make it up to me,” you mewl, biting your lip. Axel smirks before leaning down to plant a kiss to your hungry lips. You grab his hand and bring it to your dripping heat, the mere contact of his calloused hands making you rip away from the kiss with a needy whine.

You feel him smirk against your neck. “I’m going to wash my hands,” he whispers, breath hot next to your ear. “Get in the back and assume the missionary position.” He pulls away, hand lingering between your legs. “And keep this thing warmed up for me, okay babe?”

#ahem #i uh #i think about this a lot #may or may not think about this every day at work #dont tell my boss #may or may not have had this already written as a self-insert with other things #AHEM-#axel cluney #axel cluney smut #axel cluney x reader #axel cluney x reader smut #axel cluney imagine #credit to anyone who knows the assume the missionary position line

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the-real-xmonster · 5 years

Note

Hi Alice, this message has been sitting in my outbox for almost a year, haha, thought I'll try ask :). First and foremost, thank you!! can't say enough how much I love your blog. What do you most look forward to for Yuzu in the new season? For me besides his 4A(!), I'd like to see more variety in his spins and ChSq, especially the latter, as much as I adore his ina bauer and hydroblade, maybe its time to try something new and different? Am I being too greedy?

Hello there, sorry for taking forever to get back to you on this (work is crazy and I just picked up a new video game so like… haha… *whisper* please send help).

So, first, no, I don’t think you’re being greedy. I’d also want to see more variety in Yuzu’s ChSq in particular. I love the flavorful touches he put on his hydroblade this season by linking it with the one-foot Axel in Otonal and switching up the position in Haru yo, Koi - I hope to see more of such creativity next season, with possible application on the layback Ina Bauer as well. In addition, I’d give anything for him to bring back the sit twizzle (no Yuzu I still am not forgiving you for taking it out of Origin)

or any extended twizzle really

choreographed inside Ina Bauer

and even just a simple change edge spread eagle.

The thing is, Yuzu has so many nice, “wow” moves in his arsenal, I’d say it’s just a matter of him figuring out the right music and the right way to incorporate the right selection of moves into his choreography, which brings me to the next thing I very much look forward to, which is new music. I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t have any issue if he chooses to repeat Otonal and Origin next season, but if he decides to construct one or two new programs, I really hope he’d pick something classical, especially so if it’s for his LP. Yuzu hasn’t had a free skate set to classical music since… what… his first season as a senior? A violin concerto, a string quartet, a sonata, any kind of chamber music with a violin in it - I’m game. I think Yuzu and his style have both matured enough that now’s a good time to revisit that most fundamental of combinations: skating and classical music, and I believe he’d do a stellar job given the fitting music.

Continued:

Secondly, I’ve heard Kurt Browning commentated more than once that he’s amazed how relaxed/“quiet” Yuzu’s upper body was when he jumped, I’d like to ask if you can elaborate that point more, better yet, can you show me how “not-relaxed” other skaters might be when performing a jump?

I actually have touched on this same topic before and miraculously enough I was able to find that old post, here you go.

In that old post I used Patrick, Shoma, Javi, Nathan, Boyang (the 2017 WC top 6) for juxtaposition, but it should be noted that none of those 5 is whom I’d call a “muscled” jumper. Their upper body might not be as totally relaxed as Yuzu, who is absolutely in a league of his own in that regard, but their takeoff postures are all fair enough to look at, and they don’t overuse their upper body to force start the rotation either. If you want to know what a truly “not relaxed” upper body looks like, I, sadly, have to point you to Junhwan (as discussed here in comparison with Javi), and Zhenya, especially back around when she was in junior / first turned senior. See the way she pushed her arms out taut and tensed up her shoulders before both of the jumps?

Now you can compare Zhenya’s 3F3T against this combo of Kaori’s below to see the difference between her takeoff and one with a quiet, relaxed upper body (most of the Japanese ladies are pretty good at that, but I think Kaori is truly the standout example even among her teammates).

Continued:

Thirdly, in regard to the current rivalry between Yuzu and Nathan, I felt the same as Brian Orser that it kind of reminds me of back in 2013-14, when Yuzu was a teenager rising star chasing Patrick the 3 time worldchampion. And Yuzu was known as a great jumper back then while Patrick was renowned for his skating skills, and it was very excited to see them go against each other. Now Yuzu is so well rounded (pray for his ankle!) and Nathan is developing quickly too, are we gonna see more of that excitement in the next year or two? I hope its good for the sport. Sorry about this long Questions post. :)

Yes, of course, it’s good for the sport to have a lot of variety in (1) the natural baseline abilities of the skaters (2) which areas each skater chooses to focus on and (3) the strategies employed by the skaters, as a result of (1) and (2) combined. It’s also great for the sport to have a new generation developing and competing against the older one(s), whilst both continuously pushing / inspiring each other to move forward. A sport lacking such generational movement, IMO, is as good as dead, and no matter how intense the competition among the existing generation is, when you look at it as a whole, such a competitive landscape would ultimately feel somewhat… bleak (for lack of a better word). I know that feeling very well because that gloom and doom mood just about sums up the prospect of men’s tennis for the last half of the decade. Sure it’s been fun and it still is, mostly, to watch the holy trinity of Roger - Rafa - Novak trying to one-up each other on how many entries they have in the history book, but one can’t help but screaming into the void, from time to time: where are all the darned kids?

So, yeah, you could say that, even though the outcome of their competition might not always be to my liking, I’m glad that a rivalry of sort exists between Yuzu and Nate, I think it does make the men’s competition more scintillating to follow for new and old fans alike, and just as importantly, I believe it’s part of the reasons why Yuzu’s decided to stay with us for at least another season.

Here’s to an exciting 2019-2020 skating season!

#replies #figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #life-is-a-foreign-language

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mellz117 · 4 years

Text

Hello and welcome to the start of Mellz Plays Kingdom Hearts Re:CoM on the Playstation 2; Riku’s campaign

If you haven’t seen my thoughts on Sora’s story, why not start with Part 1? For the 5 of you who’ve been following along since then, welcome back! Check out the rest under the read more! I’m playing on standard difficulty so if I’m having a hard time, I just suck.

So we, as Riku wake up in the basement of Castle Oblivion. How did he get there? Sora just waltzed in like it was no big deal. Riku has to materialize in a cold basement and be woken up by the disembodied voice of an all too familiar bastard… Who has a new voice.

Thanks for the card, voice of Ansem, “Seeker of Darkness”. That ain’t him. It’s been almost 10 years and I don’t remember much of this game but I know that new Richard Epcar voice ain’t Ansem.

Riku’s got no time to waste, he’s a man on a mission.

So we get a melancholy scene with Riku happening upon the room Maleficent gave him during his association with her in the first game. Memories he’d rather forget.

After progressing a bit, the disembodied voice returns once again to taunt Riku. “You cast aside your home, your friends, the darkness. What else do you have? Nothing. Your heart is as empty as your old room.”

It’s so weird playing as Riku but I hope we get more of that beyond KH3 (ReMind hasn’t released at the time of writing this)

Alot of this game so far has been me saying “I don’t remember this”… …So I don’t remember Riku’s level up system being this different to Sora’s.

…well that’s bullshit. I vaguely remember that. The fact that I can’t even edit the order my cards appear to me in battle is even more bullshit. I like to organize my cards by type and value until I’m forced to use a different method.

So I dont have to wait for the reload gauge to count down, it’s immediate and I dont lose a card on every reload like I thought I remembered… What’s the catch? I don’t trust like that.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

We meet up with Maleficent at the end of the map. She’s 100% aware she’s a figment of Riku’s memory. Riku is none too pleased to see her.

I love his sass

Riku’s ready to kick the asses of everyone corrupted by darkness, including his own, he says. Time for a dragon fight because otherwise Maleficent isn’t a threat apparently lmao. I don’t think the mcguffen card even showed up.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Oh look it’s that asshole. Or is it? Dun dun dunnnnn. God his lips look soft. Why was this necessary???

So who has dominion over this castle? Marluxia, or Ansem?

This fucker is like “Sonny, you couldn’t even win against Sora. You don’t stand a chance against me”.

You have a teenager lying on the ground... Please reword your demands.

Oh my god it’s Mickey Mouse! well… sort of. He’s a bright light. Gives Riku some nice words to keep him going.

Knowing what I know now about the Guardian heartless bro, everything is so much worse…

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Ooh first scene with the boys in the dark room. “Don’t I even warrant a hello, Lexaeus?” I don’t remember seeing this as funny before but now, like 10 years later I appreciate how funny it truly is. Zexion sounds so insulted.. Lexaeus is a man of few words. Then Vexen shows up and he’s getting right down to business. Zexion’s like “Nice to see you too. We all used to be so close, what happened?”

Vexen’s all offended about that and gets pissy about “rank this, rank that, ooh I’m number 4, you shrimpy child.” as if your number indicated rank. Xigbar is the 2nd member but Xemnas’s 2nd in command is Saix (from my understanding) so sit your ass down, Vex.

So Zexion’s special talent? He smells people.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Riku smells people too?. Oh ok he can smell the darkness in his skin. Take a shower! …When was the last time he even got the opportunity?

Mickey appears before him and tells him some words of encouragement. He’s transparent because he can’t fully manifest in the castle right now. So where’s the other 50% opacity hanging out at?

“We shook hands in our hearts” omg…

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Let’s go to Neverland first yay. I did a team attack with Mickey. I remember that!

Imagine being in Riku’s stupid, dumb, giant, anime boy shoes… addressing a giant, bipedal mouse as “Your Majesty”……….. Actually my sister and I used to do that back in the day when we both were obsessed with the series. Regardless of context we’d call him “King Mickey”. It makes me cringe thinking back on it.

Oh I was gonna try to challenge myself to avoid using the dark power but I guess I dont have a choice but to use it. Might as well put points into it if that’s the case.

uses Key to Beginnings, is immediately thrown into a battle with Captain Hook oh I guess we’re not focusing on any events in these worlds they’re literally just to pad out Riku’s story. Riku is officially less Disney than Sora.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

How does Zexy know who Riku is? “Riku is here because Sora is here”. Vex that makes zero sense. What else is new?

Agrabah. Uneventful. Riku is not good at hitting small targets. Had a hell of a time fighting Jafar, or rather beating Iago to a pulp, in comparison to playing as Sora.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Next scene, and immediately like NO breath between the fade in and the scene itself, Vexen appears. And in even less time after he appears, “I take it you’re Riku?” This mofo has no time to waste. He’s a busy man.

Riku’s already tired of his bullshit and is ready to FIGHT. Same, Riku. Same.

I had him stun locked during most of this battle.

I JUST LOVE RIKU’S COMPLETE LACK OF FUCKS GIVEN HE’LL BEAT VEXEN’S SHIELD WITH HIS FISTS AND POMMEL

Vexen is a fucking twerp. And seems alot more crazy, mad scientist-y when interacting with Riku than Sora. Emphasis on “mad”. He cray

Why do they hang out in the dark? I mean, why no lamps? All I can imagine is them hanging out and barely able to actually see each other. The only way anyone knows who’s there is because Zexion can smell people, everyone else just assumes Lexaeus is there, Vexen won’t shut up about something something science, and Axel likes to hear himself talk.

Fat boi

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Zexion and Lexaeus are talking about what’s going on, I’m still not sure what they’re doing here. Like, do they want Sora for the Organization? But Marluxia wants Sora as his personal puppet? What about Roxas? Isn’t he like, in a coma or something? Just kill Sora, Roxas will wake up, and SOMEONE’S got a Keyblade wielder again. Lex says Vexen hates Marluxia and things with the replica could turn out disastrously because of it. What IS Vexen’s beef with Marly?

Ok I know it’s to pad out a second campaign but why does Riku go to SORA’S memory worlds? Unless Riku stalked him throughout the entirety of KH1, or had so visit them for darkness missions, and those are his memories as well? Idk, it doesn’t have to be explicitly stated

Oh no Riku, it’s you.

So at this point he’s aware hes a copy? Does he forget later? With Namine’s meddling? How does Vexen create a living, breathing entity out of battle data? Like, where did the body come from? Did he have it on standby for a while until the right moment?

“You’re afraid of the dark” Repliku states.. Lmao yeah, Riku- he still sleeps with a night light. Don’t tell Sora.

Repliku is like, a worse Riku as far as personality goes. The punk-ass bitch Riku from KH1 but worse. Repliku is quick to ditch the double pants with suspenders and ankle belts for a muscle suit and grass skirt. I’m not sure which one’s worse.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! I got two level ups out of that!

I high key love Repliku’s laugh here when Riku tries to attacks him again RIGHT AFTER THEIR FIGHT. It’s adorable, hilarious, and creepy. GG David Gallagher! Check out that video if you want. [video]

Dutch angles make everything more dramatic. Unofficial rule no. 1 of cinema. Repliku peaces out and we give chase up another flight of stairs and another cutscene plays. Repliku joins Zexion, Lexaeus, and Vexen in the dark room and they talk about introducing him to Sora.

Riku finds himself alone on the next floor, yelling at empty air. Ansem shows up to taunt Riku again. This dude just doesn’t quit. God forbid he learns no means go the fuck away.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Oh hey we’re in Atlantica! Maybe Riku can wash that darkness smell off his skin. Oh wait the water doesn’t really exist. And hes just a human, not swimming like a mermaid. Give me mer-Riku, you cowards. Twiggy mer-Sora is funny, twiggy mer-Riku with buff arms would be HYSTERICAL. I had a difficult time with Ursula because poor card management and I’m avoiding battles to get this game over with, which kinda shoots me in the foot as I’m not leveling up.

Yeah I was right, he ends up thinking HE’S Riku. I honestly feel bad for the guy… he’s so scared and betrayed. I know I was shit talking him just a bit ago but I need to protect Repliku. [video]

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Give Riku a Halloween Town outfit, you cowards.

This scene between Repliku and Namine is so bittersweet. [video] Just listen to how gentle he talks to Namine. Oh, my heart cannot handle it.

This game makes me so sad. Poor Repliku, poor Namine… Larxene continues to be The Worst. Like, the ABSOLUTE worst. Was Elrena like this?

(I keep getting progressively more and more angry because I can’t upload a video file to this on desktop but I can on mobile, but if I post a video on mobile I can’t edit a read more on desktop. AND I HAVE THREE VIDEOS I WANT TO PUT IN. SO I MADE A BLOG SPECIFICALLY SO I CAN POST THEM THERE AND LINK THEM HERE)

See you in part 2, where I will continue to drag Larxene.

#mellz plays kh recom #Kingdom Hearts series #kh recom #kingdom hearts re:chain of memories #square enix #Playstation 2 #mellz post

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yuzusorbet · 5 years

Video

youtube

This 20-min video is so enjoyable. There are a lot of very cute snippets from the past and some very touching ones too. I translated briefly the main parts.

0:15 of video~ 2018, July 2nd, Yuzuru received the People's Honour Award from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. PM Abe told Yuzu that he watched the movie 'Tono, Risoku de Gozaru!' and he felt that Yuzu acted very well as the feudal lord. (t/n. movie's English title: 'Magnificent Nine')

[A part of the 2016 movie is shown. Yuzu, as lord of Sendai, enters the room and says, "I am Shigemura."]

It is a movie based on a true story that happened in Sendai during the Edo period. Hanyu accepted the invitation to act in it because of his love for his hometown. Many great actors are in the cast and Hanyu put up a dignified performance in front of these big names.

2:00~ Nobeyama Skating Camp...... we look at some precious footage from over the years.

Year 2003: Yukari Nakano (17 years old then) and Miki Ando (15 years old) have come to participate in the camp. And behind them, we see the Asada sisters - Mai (14) and Mao (12).

Year 2005: With the Asada sisters, we also see Kanako Murakami (10) and also Nobunari Oda who is joking around.

Year 2007: The one doing exercises is...... Yuzuru Hanyu (12) Q. Something you want to overcome. Yuzu: I don't have enough stamina, so I want to train more, with that in the centre. Q. What do you want to challenge most this year? Yuzu: I want to jump the triple axel. Q: How much of it can you do now? Yuzu: On land, my rotation is short by about 1/4. On ice, it feels scary and I don't rotate. From now on, I want to be unafraid and able to do the rotations properly.

Year 2015: Miyu Honda (11) and Rika Kihira (13).

7:08~ Old footage from Sendai. Yuzu, 11 years old, elementary school grade 6, interviewed after school, he said: "From the time I was in kindergarten, I couldn't play (after school). But I think skating is the most enjoyable, so it's fine for me I guess."

Yuzu: "I like skating so....... I want everyone to see the beautiful aspects of skating." [Yuzu becomes fascinated with the cameraman’s equipment. This very cute part of 2 minutes is translated in this video by axelsandwich]

10:00~ 2007, 3rd April, TV programme: Shizuka Arakawa who has just won the gold medal (in figure skating at Torino Olympics) is giving a skating lesson in her hometown of Miyagi (Sendai). Among the children is 12 year-old Hanyu. Reporter: So how was it, being coached by Arakawa-san? Yuzu: I am now brimming with desire to compete at the Olympics. Reporter: You think you can get a medal? Yuzu: Maybe I can.

[Yuzu does biellmann spin and layback ina bauer.]

Shizuka: It's rare for a boy to be so flexible. To be able to do jumps, spins, steps and ina bauer, there's nothing more to be said (ie. it's perfect). Reporter: How do you feel, performing in front of Arakawa-san? Yuzu: I was very nervous.

[present day interview] Shizuka: His sense of curiosity has been very strong from childhood days; he will somehow try various things; his intuition/perception about what he can do is also sharp. Drawing power from people watching you-- he has the exact disposition of figure skating.

12:20~ 2010 March, 15 years old, he won the gold medal at World Junior Championships. He returned to his hometown of Sendai, and soon after, he was in school for his junior high graduation. Because of the competition, he had missed the ceremony, so he graduated from junior high school 'alone'.

[Nanakita Junior High - the banner outside the school says "Congratulations, Winner of Figure Skating Junior GP Final, Hanyu Yuzuru-kun. Spread your wings and fly in the world!!"]

Yuzu: "Junior high school life is over and soon high school life will start. I would like to put in afresh my efforts and work hard."

Reporter asked 12 year-old Yuzu: Are jumps hard? He replied: "Yes. I'm not good at it. From way back, I was told that my jumps are high but the rotation is slow." He practises hard, even in the locker room.

2011, March 11, Great East Japan Earthquake, his home rink was damaged. Yuzu (16 years old): "The rink was open for business as usual and I was there practising. When the earthquake happened, they guided all the customers out, including me, and so we escaped." [t/n: this part about the disaster is just touched on very briefly in the video.]

2012, he moved to Canada for training.

2014, 19 years old, he won the first Olympic gold medal for Japan in men's figure skating. At the press conference, he said: "After the earthquake, I couldn't skate and I really thought of quitting skating. (Everyone was) at their lowest limits and trying their best just to live. The decision to move to Canada (for training) was really difficult. I wanted very much to remain in Sendai. Because of the support from many people, I am able to stand at this place now, so I think perhaps I have repaid them for their kindness."

2015 NHK Trophy and GP Final, he broke records and broke through 300 points.

2017 Nov, 3 months before PyeongChang Olympics, he suffered a serious injury to his right ankle. He had to miss the competitions that followed and it was in doubt if he could compete at the Olympics, right up to the start of the event. But the people of his hometown have supported him since he was little and they believed in him.

2018 Feb, [Yuzu's Olympic victory in PyeongChang] People in Sendai crying... "He has worked so hard.... All I can say is, thank you....."

2018 April 22, Yuzuru's victory parade in Sendai. 108,000 people lined the roads for him. (t/n. And I was one of them!!! haha.......)

Yuzu: "I had the strong feeling of 'Ahhh I have returned to Sendai', and once again I felt the significance of this gold medal."

--brief translation by me (please do not use or re-post without permission) Much thanks to the uploader for the video.

#footage from the past #yuzuru hanyu #other skaters as well

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anata-wo-kudasai · 6 years

Link

Chapter 5 - Magic

Quick as she was, Kairi’s sorcery still left much to be desired. She was already two firagas into destroying a standard dining chair when four blue tables floated above her head.

She got to work on the set, dodging out of the center of the dining room to the southeast corner where she could ice blast two tables from one angle. But by the time she had finished off one blue table, a yellow sofa and two red benches had swirled into the assortment.

Soon the room was a cyclone of primary colors, swirling and spinning and gaining speed around her. She blasted random spells in every direction, ducking from a chair that swooped too low and dodging a drawer that had flung off of a purple dresser. She didn’t even know what purple was supposed to be.

“Kairi?” Merlin called from the doorway. “Are you still in here?” The wizard raised his arms high over his head and halted the furniture in midair.

“I thought maybe I’d do a little more training on my own today.” She sat up, panting, and covered in sweat.

“You’ve certainly met the requirement for ‘a little,’” Merlin speculated. “Have you been in here since our session ended this afternoon?”

“It never hurts to practice!” Kairi replied sanguinely.

“That, my dear, is false. Or have my lessons not been sufficiently disciplined?” Kairi lifted herself up and stood alert, ready for anything. “To become stronger, one must also have rest, both physically and mentally, to renew and endure. You can’t learn while wearing yourself too thin.”

“I understand Master.” She had been hoping for an impromptu physical lesson, but alas came another mental one. “I won’t be too much longer.”

“I admire your tenacity, dearie, but I will not let you torment yourself with these absurd expectations.” Merlin waved his wand and the furniture popped like giant bubbles, sprinkling into nothing. The old, oaken dining room table reappeared in the center of the room. “Now, there are a few old friends of mine eager to meet you. They’re waiting in the foyer. Do go out and greet them, will you dear?”

A gust of wind hurried her out of the dining room and slammed the door behind her. Kairi huffed, shooting a glare at the solid oak. She can walk using her own free will, she thought, facing the grand, vacant hall.

“Hello?” She called out to no one. The foyer lay bare as it had always been. Without the faintest idea who Merlin would permit her company, she assumed the matter to be important. She hoped against hope it would be her friends. Surely, though, that was only setting herself up for disappointment, so she let that thought go.

“We will keep it simple, and practical to boot. We’ll put her in trousers. Yes, yes trousers! Short like her skirts- ah.. what do they call them in this world?” Voices reverberated off the walls. Kairi looked all around her, but there was no way to tell where they were coming from.

“Shorts. But her eyes-“

“And of course the ensemble will be pink-“

“But she likes skirts. She’s always worn them. They suit her, and she is darling in them.” A third, more genial voice chimed in.

Three glowing orbs, one red, one blue, and one green appeared out of thin air before Kairi. The light grew rapidly, exploding magic dust that glimmered into three fairies, each with their respective color.

“What if she dressed in blue? We’ve never seen her in blue, and it would bring out her beautiful blue eyes.” The blue fairy argued. The red fairy sighed emphatically.

“I really don’t think she-“

“Ex-cuse me?” Kairi broke in softly.

“Oh, hello my dear! It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Said the red one. “We were sent by Master Yen Sid to provide for you suitable attire fit for a keyblade wielder. You may call me Flora,”

“Yes! Yes, we have known you and your friends for quite some time, yet we have never been properly introduced. My name is Fauna.” The kindly green one added.

“I’m Merryweather.” Said the blue fairy. “Gosh, you are lovely.”

“Yes, such radiant light,” cooed Fauna.

“Yes, of course, dears, she’s still one of the seven, which is why we mustn’t stay long.” Flora instructed. “A certain rotten fairy could be tracking us this instant.”

The self-made leader levitated at once and flew around the room, drawing the curtains, shielding all view of the outside world and locking every door. Fauna ascended from where she stood, lighting the chandelier directly above her as Merryweather handled the wall sconces.

“Now,” Flora gleamed, a twinkle in her eye, “let’s get to work.”

After bidding her farewells to her dear new friends, Kairi found herself walking through the large double doors, through the ruins of the courtyard and into the dense, dark wood. The breeze tickled her neck, and her new short hair made her feel light and free. Her custom-made dress was more flexible than the school athletic attire she had brought from home, weather and flame resistant yet surprisingly breathable. She couldn’t wait to unlock and experiment the various abilities the fairies spoke of. She had seen Sora transform hundreds of times, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

She followed the thin sunlit path shining through the colossal pines, over the rope bridge, and up the slope until, at last, she saw the freckles of blue sky guiding her towards the clearing. Off the side of a cliff rolling hills and sprawling trees outstretched as far as the eye could see. Pink and yellow flowers sprinkled the grassy slope, almost glowing in the setting sun. There, perched on the jagged rock sat a tall redhead in a heavy black cloak.

Over the past few weeks, since that day at Central Station, Axel had taken to coming to this spot after training to contemplate. Kairi joined him sometimes, shooting the breeze and occasionally talking battle strategies. Something had shifted in their dynamic, she felt far more comfortable being alone with Axel, they were like friends.

“Hey Axel,” Kairi greeted.

“Hey! Liking the look,” said Axel with a small smile, “you cut your hair too.”

“Mhmm” She smiled as she twisted from side to side, displaying the mismatched frilly plaid and black pleated patterns on the sides of her skirt. It was a small detail, but it made the dress feel one thousand percent more her, a little quirky and unexpected- and was caused entirely by accident.

She had spent almost an hour with the good fairies, happily contributing ideas and openly expressing her opinion. Apparently, Sora was never too involved with his own sartorial choices, which didn’t surprise Kairi in the slightest, and Riku was never around when those decisions were made for him. Kairi, however, had a wonderful time, giggling at their incessant squabbling over the most insignificant details that, to them, was in some ways unavoidable. Kairi nodded and took a seat next to Axel.

“Oh! And I got better shoes too, like you suggested! Look!” Kairi held up a boot and rotated her ankle around. “I asked them to give me combat boots like you. They didn’t know what that meant, took a little explaining, but eventually, they made me these!”

“They?”

“The Three Good Fairies- they’re friends of Merlin. They did all this. They had to fly off, though, but they promised to visit again soon.”

“Our Rose was one of the seven pure lights.” Fauna had told her while running a brush through her hair. “You probably met her- erm, Princess Aurora?” Kairi remembered, but she never had much time with the other girls. “I used to comb through her long golden curls like this all the time.” Fauna had sighed then, away in her memories.

“Someone’s happy,” Axel observed. “Perhaps that bracelet really works.”

“Or perhaps the fairies gave me a little more magic.” She said with a grin.

“Oh really? What’d they do, cast the spell ‘glee’ on your boots?”

“No, but they did make them water, fire, and time-travel proof.”

“What on earth is ‘time-travel proof?’” Axel asked. Kairi winced.

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Axel shrugged and shook his head, dumbfounded.

“Well, looks like you’re well prepared for anything Merlin could throw at you.”

“Mmhm! Hey, maybe next time they’re around you can ask them for some new clothes.”

“Hmph. I don’t even know what I’d wear. Feels like anything else at this point would look ridiculous on me.”

“Not as ridiculous as black leather in this heat.”

“Hey, this suits me. Brings out my vibrant hair.” Axel tossed his head to the side and flipped his spiky locks. Kairi chuckled.

“Whatever you say.”

“Heh. Seriously, what’s gotten into you?” asked Axel. Kairi held up her foot again and gestured to her boot. “No,” he shook his head, “it’s more than that.”

Kairi had argued the benefit for many of the additional functions the fairies had deemed necessary, stating that she wouldn’t have much use for them, always being hidden away and all.

“Nonsense!” Flora had countered. “The power you possess is one-of-a-kind, strong beyond even our understanding. They’ll make use out of you.”

“Yes,” added Merryweather, “Thank goodness Aurora doesn’t wield a keyblade, I’d hate to think of her off fighting everyone else’s wars.”

“Hush,” Flora then commanded, “Don’t talk about war, you’ll scare the poor girl.” But Kairi didn’t feel scared. She was emboldened, on her path, going in the right direction.

“Just-“ Kairi began, “All of this. I feel like destiny is on my side.”

“Hmph. Well, that’s good for you,” Axel sneered.

“Don’t you believe in Destiny?”

“How do you people say things like that without a shred of sarcasm?”

“Is that a no?”

“It’s an- I don’t know. I guess I’ve been destined to live, though everyone around me changes. If I do have a touch of fate, I think I’ve pretty much used it all.”

“Well, that’s a ridiculous assumption,” Kairi smiled, “how could you possibly know that?” Axel considered for a moment.

“The cat had nine lives,” he replied, “what happens when it reaches the tenth? And what if the cat finds himself alone, lost in the darkness, without any of the cats he cared about? What’s a cat to do?” Her smile faded.

“I get that.” There was a moment of silence. Kairi leaned back on her palms and stared at the sun. “I’d like to get a cat someday, though I like dogs, too.” Axel laughed.

“Is that all you got out of what I said?”

“No,” Kairi tittered, “I know what you said, but it’s rather cynical, don’t you think? I mean, you’re on the side of the light now, right?”

“Well, yeah...”

“Then destiny is on your side, too. The light will never fail you.” Kairi took a beat, remembering. “Even in the deepest darkness, when all else seems lost, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you.” She grinned and pointed to her temple. “Got it memorized.”

“Hmph. Is that something they teach in princess school?”

“No,” Kairi traced the outline of a large cloud in the shape of a whale. She remembered, vaguely, how terrified she and Sora felt whilst trapped in such a monstrous beast. “My grandmother used to tell me that all the time.”

“Grandmother?” Axel asked. Kairi didn’t say anything, only nodding soberly. “Sorry,” he said after an awkward moment, “I didn’t mean to kill your mood.”

“It’s okay,” she chirped, “you didn’t.” Still, it seemed as if there was nothing more to say. The whale had dissolved, scattered into a sea of clouds.

“Say, Kairi,” Axel began, “have I ever told you why the sun sets red?”

The next morning began like any other. Kairi dressed, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and combed her hair before descending the grand staircase where she would normally find Merlin waiting in the open dining room with breakfast on the table, prepared by the various animate objects under his employment. But things took a different turn today; the foyer didn’t smell of tea and toast, the dining room doors were closed, and Kairi found nothing and no one on the other side of the double doors.

“He’s outta town,” Axel said, coming out of the kitchen with a slice of burnt bread. “This was on the table,” he said, handing her a piece of parchment paper.

My dear pupils-

It appears there are urgent matters that need my attention abroad.

As a safety precaution, I cannot disclose my whereabouts.

I shall return shortly, I trust you two will get along until then.

Eat, get enough rest, and don’t dilly dally!

Resume with your daily exercises as if I’m there. I’ll know if you don’t.

Be well, my lads.

-Merlin

“Hm,” She contemplated, returning the letter, “I wonder what was so urgent.” When she pulled her arm back, a sharp pain pierced through her armpit to her shoulder blade. “Ouch,” she winced.

“Something wrong?”

“It’s my swinging arm, I think I slept on it.” She said, rolling her elbow back in circles. “My cure spells work only so well, best when conjured right after taking a hit, but they don’t quite get to these chronic aches.” She relaxed her arm and shook it off. “It’s not that bad though.”

“Here, try this,” Axel said, pulling a green vile from his coat pocket. “But don’t drink too much, it might make you nauseous. It’s pretty strong stuff, meant to be shared.” Kairi accepted the potion, uncorked the stopper, and took a tiny sip. The pain instantly melted away. Kairi studied the label, Mega-Elixir. It must have cost a small fortune.

“Okay, seriously, how are you so rich?” She asked incredulously.

As part of their welcoming package, Merlin had given both of them a neatly organized basket containing the essentials; two potions, one hi-potion, one ether, one elixir and a pouch containing 40 munny. The master always halted his attacks long before either of them were in fatal danger, and healed them frequently throughout the rigorous exercises. Their sore muscles and aching joints that persisted afterward, however, had to be attended to themselves. Both Kairi and Axel’s supply was gone by the end of the first week.

“I know how big a payout the master’s fake heartless give.” She said, folding her arms and tilting her head to the side.

“Yes, but I bet you don’t know how much real heartless give.”

“Real heartless?” Kairi stiffened. “Where?”

“Relax, they’re not here, but there are a few in the real Twilight Town.”

“What?” Kairi asked, “How did you?” Kairi looked around her, as if someone may be eavesdropping. “When?” She whispered.

“Weekends, before you guys get up.”

“Is that allowed?”

“Haven’t asked. Easiest just to assume it is.”

“Well if there are heartless there, it might be dangerous! Do you know why the heartless are there? Someone could be summoning them!”

“Easy! The place has always been infested with something or another. Nothing your miracle worker boyfriend could change.”

“He’s not my...“ Kairi evaded it, “Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yes,” he affirmed. “No one can track me while I have this on,” he pulled on his collar, “and I stick to the woods. Tons of heartless, they don’t even see it coming.” He grinned. Kairi thought a moment.

“Can I come?” She asked.

“I don’t know about that,” he replied, rubbing his temple.

“Oh come on!” She said, determined. “You said yourself that it was safe.”

“Safe for me. I don’t know if it would be safe for you.” Kairi smirked.

“Easiest just to assume it is.”

#sokai #sora x kairi #fic #kairi x sora

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