#he came home and randomly handed me a burger today

[dianapana]

SH Day 9 – Never Have I Ever

@sasuhinamonth

Rated T, Modern AU, OOC

Oof , for this one ideas just wouldn't come to me, so once again I looked through older stories I never finished and found this one which I thought fit to a certain degree. I didn’t really wanna go the normal route of the game itself, so I just interpreted the prompt as a new experience. I hope you enjoy, ~Love, Dia

It wasn’t uncommon for people to randomly sit down at his table, especially if those people were girls. They’d stumble onto the seat and act like it was all an accident, like they didn’t see him and thought the table was empty, or that they tripped and ‘landed’ on the seat. Other times they’d ask if they could sit because there were no free tables anymore, granted this last excuse happened to be true once or twice, but usually, it was just a lie and the two would sit in awkward silence for a few moments staring at each other with a number of empty seats all around.

However, the person sitting across from him was a girl he saw around the diner quite often, urgency written all over her face. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, but the situation didn’t faze him at all, thus he continued eating, putting 2 French fries in his mouth and slowly chewing, waiting for her to state her reason and purpose.

“I need you to pretend we’re here together” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. “My ex just walked in and I’m not in the mood to deal with him. If I’m here with someone, in this case you, he’ll either leave me alone or he’ll at least leave sooner.” His eyes moved to a guy that was just walking to the counter still obvious to his ex-girlfriend. “Please…” her eyes were begging him to help.

Sasuke sighed and pushed his milkshake her way. “It’d be strange if we were here together and I was the only one that had ordered something” Her pale eyes lit up like Christmas trees.

“Thank you so much. I’m Hinata by the way” She gave him a genuine smile. He nodded her way.

“Sasuke. I’d shake your hand but that would look strange since we’re supposed to be here together.”

For a second, silence fell over their table but Hinata started giggling at what he just said, her laugh could have also been intertwined with nervous laughter for it was a little too loud for Sasuke’s own liking, either way, he couldn’t help but smirk her. Naruto would freak if he saw Sasuke talking to a stranger, a girl no less, and not only that, but he was actually putting in the effort to help her and maintain a conversation. He had never willingly had a conversation with a stranger before.

Sadly Hinata’ sudden laughing fit turned the attention of a white-haired guy, also known in Sasuke’s head as the girl’s ex, to them. The said guy looked their way, moment in which Sasuke noticed the myriad of feelings showing onto his expression, he seemed to go from hopeful to confused to slightly irritated and then settle for putting on a fake smile and strolling their way.

“Hinata, long time no see, how are you?” The ex-boyfriend looked at her and gave Sasuke a not-so-subtle glare. He took in their table before raising an eyebrow and immediately asking another question, essentially cutting Hinata off before she could answer his first question. “Matcha milkshake? I thought you hated those”

“Oh, I used to yea, but I think they changed the receipt here. I tasted one sip from when Sasuke ordered one last time and it was pretty good, so today I wanted to see for myself” She said smoothly and took a big sip of her, well…his milkshake. “And I’ve been pretty good. How about yourself?” She smiled way too sweetly at him.

“Uh…can’t complain” He took another second to examine them again. “Well, I was actually thinking maybe we can get together and have dinner sometime next week?”

“Dude, you don’t ask out a girl when she’s already out with another guy, that’s just fucking messed up” Sasuke said, without actually meaning to his voice got deeper and he glared at the ‘ex-boyfriend’. He didn’t care that he and Hinata weren’t there together for real, it’s a universal rule you don’t ask out a girl if she’s there with a date, that’s just a douchey move.

Hinata was grinning at him from behind her hand, her eyes glittering with amusement. Sasuke had to admit something to himself, the strange girl was pretty, but she was even more beautiful while she smiled.

“Chill dude. I didn’t think this was a date” he said raising his hands as if trying to say he meant no harm. “I mean who the fuck brings a date at this shitty diner” He whispered under his breath, but both Hinata and Sasuke heard him and their moods turned pretty dark. Sasuke’s instinct was the punch the guy’s lights out, another new feeling he hadn’t experienced, at least not because of a girl. He is usually in control of his emotions and rarely loses his cool.

“Sasuke wanted to go have a sweet picnic in the park near my house, which was so thoughtful and sweet, but sadly the weather didn’t agree with him because it started raining. That’s when I remembered how I wanted to taste the milkshake, so I proposed we came here to wait for the rain to stop.” Sasuke had to admit, her lying skills were top-notch, her story had a natural flow to it, she composed a strong and believable narrative with pretty much no holes, her delivery too added to its credibility, fot she spoke with such ease. Hinata reached for his hand that was on the table and squeezed it while spreading her web of lies. Sasuke noticed the ex-boyf rolling his eyes, and a part of him felt utter satisfaction from the jerk’s annoyance.

“Whatever. I gotta bounce anyway. See you around” He turned and started walking out the diner without waiting for a reply. Sasuke snorted when he noticed that the ex didn’t even purchase anything. He was lost in his own world of trash-talking the guy but was got distracted by the petite girl in front of him that whispered not so quietly “I fucking hope not.”

“Well, that was fun.” He smirked at her. “Let me guess, bad break-up?” Hinata sighed and ran both hands over her face.

“The worst. It was a set up and we went on a few dates which were fine I guess, but I just didn’t really want a relationship at the time, or at least not with him. Either way, the break-up itself took like 3 hours cuz he just wouldn’t accept it.” She took another sip of his milkshake and gaged. “Oh god, I forgot how awful this tasted.” She said more to herself, it didn’t take her a full second to turn beet-red.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry this is yours. I d-didn’t mean to drink from it, it just happened. Let me buy you a new one” She got onto her feet but Sasuke grabbed her wrist and forced her to sit back down.

“Don’t worry about it. You barely drank any”

Had he been in his right mind he’d tell the girl to buy him extra fries too for the trouble and then he’d tell her to scramble. But for some reason or another, he didn’t want her to leave just yet. He pulled the glass back to him and drank from it just to prove to her everything was fine.

“I don’t understand how you can drink that. It’s not even sweet” Her nose wrinkled in disgust, Sasuke didn’t throw the world ‘cute’ around easily but she looked adorable.

“I hate sweets. So, this is perfect” Her jaw dropped, she looked like he had just said he hated puppies and his mother. Hinata blinked a few times, closed her mouth and opened it to say something, closed it back again. She looked genuinely confused, like someone that hated sweets wasn’t meant to exist.

“I-I don’t understand. How can you hate sweets? T-They make the world a better place. Don’t tell me that after a shitty day you don’t go home to eat a gallon of ice cream with a dozen of cookies because I will not believe you”

Now it was his turn to gag just thinking about the amount of sugar in the ‘snack’ she described. His reaction repulsed her.

“Oh wow. I’m perplexed. I had no idea people like you existed”

The fact that she said it with straight face made him believe she honestly didn’t think that what he said could be true, which for some reason he found extremely funny.

“Huh, you learn something every day.” She said with a smile, it seemed she had gotten over her confusion and found the whole conversation quite as amusing as he did.

A waitress came over to take Sasuke’s now empty milkshake glass.

“Would you like anything else?”

“Could you please bring me a veggie burger and a blueberry lemonade? And some fries too” She ordered and it relieved him that she did, he hadn’t had a lunch companion besides Naruto in a while.

“I’d also like some fries and another matcha milkshake”

“I’ll be right back,” The older woman said and left right away. When he turned back to the girl before him, she was staring at him with a small smile on her lips so he raised an eyebrow at her.

“I was sure you’d tell me to leave, or tell the waiter you’d like the bill and left yourself.” She put both of her hands on the table and played with her bracelet. “I’ve seen you around the diner. You’re not the…most welcoming face here and I’ve also saw you get up and leave on multiple occasions when someone sat at your table”

Her cheeks were a shade or two darker and she didn’t look at him but rather looked at her fidgeting hands. She was embarrassed for admitting she noticed him way before this encounter, she was nervous that she had crossed a line. What she said was true, he knew he wasn’t the nicest person but he did genuinely enjoy her presence, also he’d been in a number of situations where he would have liked someone to pretend to be there with him so he’d escape an acquaintance or a fangirl. Plus, the very same day Naruto told him he should do an act of ‘kindness’ a day or his karma would turn bad. He didn’t believe in the nonsense his blonde friend talked about, but when she sat down she looked in so much distress even he didn’t have the heart to tell her to leave.

“You’re right, But, you looked frightened, I’m not heartless,” He said in a neutral voice and Hinata blushed even redder. His lips twitched upward. Where did her confidence and acting skills go?

“I-I-I didn’t mean you are heartless…just…umm, uh” she was at a loss of words.

“It’s fine. You didn’t offend me” Hinata looked up at him relived.

“I didn’t? Oh, that’s really good, because I didn’t mean anything rude by what I said” her shoulders relaxed and her blush faded, not completely she was still a bit flushed but not quite as red as before.

“Since you knew there was a chance, I’d leave why did you sit here?”

Her smile softened a little. “Have you ever seen a person and had the urge to talk to them? For them to be your friend? I don’t mean to sound creepy, but every time I saw you here, I always wanted to talk to you, I just never had the courage. I guess the situation gave me the opportunity to do so. And I’m quite glad because, I don’t know about you, but I’m having a pretty good time talking to you” her cheeks flared even redder with each confession, for some reason admitting her thoughts in front of him was embarrassing. “Oh, just so you know, I’ve never done this before. I just had a pretty bad day and didn’t want it to get worse by having to be in his company for long.”

Their talk continued for a while longer until finally, their food arrived. The older waitress placed their orders on the table.

“There you go. Enjoy your food”

“Thank you” Hinata nodded at the waitress with a smile.

“I have one more question.” Sasuke said as Hinata took a sip of her lemonade, but gestured with her hand for him to go on. “What happened? When he was here you were a very smooth talker, but when you thought you offended me you seemed to be drowning in your own words”

Her blush came back and Sasuke decided he quite liked how she looked with it. She played with the tips of her hair, rolling it onto her finger. “W-when I was little, I was extremely shy, I couldn’t even look at strangers, my parents entered me in acting classes in hopes that I’d get over it. It didn’t really go as planned. I’m a lot better now, obviously but I still get anxious easily. Even so the acting classes did help me, when I’m in a crisis I seem to calm down and I’m able to collect my thoughts” She looked a bit over his shoulder in deep thought. “It’s like a defence mechanism but it doesn’t always work. Case in point when I o-offended you, which I’m sorry about again”

“I see…also you didn’t offend me, I told you this before. You only stated your opinion, which was true by the way”

She smiled at him once more and they started eating, it wasn’t complete silence, they made small talk asked about normal things, hobbies, friends, school and all that. Once they were finished and Sasuke asked for the bill since it was getting pretty dark and the rain finally stopped, he noticed her playing with the bracelet again.

“Something wrong?”

“Huh?” she looked up at him confused.

“You were fidgeting your hands like you did before when you were nervous. Is something bothering you?”

Hinata opened her mouth. They had spent about 2 or 3 hours together and he was able to pick up some of her habits already. He did seem like the type of person that paid attention, he was quiet but observing. Without meaning to she associated him with one of those old people from the park that sit on a bench and watch everyone pass by, like they don’t belong to this world, they just witness it, they are watchers that see the smallest details.

He didn’t know what she was thinking about, but her smile was beautifully tragic, she seemed sad, or at least contemplative.

“I was just thinking how much I enjoyed our…lunch? Dinner? And was wondering how awkward it would be to…a-ask for your number m-maybe?”

He also liked when she stuttered a little. “I don’t see why not. I enjoyed myself as well”

If only Naruto saw him give his number to a girl, the blonde would never let this slide, which was also why he’d never tell his blonde best friend about the petite blue-haired girl that made his ordinary day a little bit extraordinary, she proved that sometimes doing things you’ve never done can have a good end result, in this case talking to a stranger and pretending to date led to a pleasant evening and hopefully a friend and maybe more.

#sasuhina #sasuhina month #shmonth #sasuhinamonth #sasuhinamonth2021 #shmonth2021 #sasuhina month 2021 #susake uchiha #uchiha #sasuke #hinata hyuuga #hinata #hyuuga #naruto #fake dating #sasuhinafanfic #sasuhina fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #dia story #diawrites

[savoies]

Remember Those Days - Dylan Holloway.

Summary: Dylan forgets your anniversary and slowly remembers.

Word Count: 1.7k 

Warnings: mentions of sex and maybe a few bad words.

A/N: This fic went through about five rough drafts until I finally came up with one I liked. It was supposed to be an angst fic but hey we deserve something cute every once in a while, enjoy!

taglist: @hartsyhart ​ @nhlpetey ​ @mitch-slap @frostythegoalman @ryanssuzuki  @aria253264 ​  @josty ​ @kaitieskidmore1 ​ @kiedhara ​ @laurenairay ​ @teenagekook ​ ​ @alxvlasic ​ ​ @hockeyallthetime ​ ​ @barzy-baby ​ ​ @officialgritty ​ @bowenbyram ​ @mems06 ​ ​ @joshsandersons ​  @connormcdavo ​ @maattamatthews ​ @pierreslucdubois ​ ​ @selenophileangel @boqvistsbabe @ana-maa @stars-canucks

tagging some friends: @npatrickz ​ @bestestbenn ​ @heybarzy @tkachuk-yeah @cozycozzy ​ @2manytabsopen .

(*credit to the gif owner*)

Today was your third year anniversary with Dylan. Honestly after a few years today your anniversary date was just spent at home doing whatever your heart desired together. Well today it seemed as though your boyfriend's heart desired to be with his friends.

“Babe I'm gonna hang out with the boys, I'll see you later ok.” he said as he placed a soft kiss on your lips. 

“Oh ok, but you’ll be home before six right?” you asked. 

“I was planning on coming back around ten, just depending on what we do, why do we have plans?” He asked, raising his eyebrow questionly. You shook your head no and let him walk out. You didn’t want to be one of those significant others that made a big deal out of it. You knew he was forgetful. I mean last week he had forgotten where he had left his phone the night before. You were used to this. At least you thought you were. Looking back at your time together Dylan had never forgotten any special dates. He had remembered all your firsts together down to a t.

Your first date.

First dates. Stereotypical to be an awkward time between two people to decide if they like like eachother or not. Well for you and Dylan that was not the case. Most sixteen year olds would go out to the movies or go down to the carnival in town (if there was one). But not you and him. Having grown up as acquaintances you were used to having him around. Honestly kind of surprised when he had asked you out but I mean hanging with Dylan was always a good time. It was a simple gesture and quite frankly you weren't sure how to say no. You had just gotten off of school and since both of you lived so close to each other he just decided to walk with you instead of asking one of his friends for a ride. 

“Hey Y/N wait up.” you turned around to be faced with the smiley blonde haired boy that you had grown accustomed to.

“Hey Holloway, whats up.” you spoke up as you kept your eyes trained on the ground. 

"You busy tonight?” he said as he nervously grabbed the straps of his backpack waiting for a response.

“Well considering I have homework but i'm pretending I don't then no i do not, why up for a late night adventure?” You looked up at him with a smirk. When you guys were younger you would sneak out of your rooms and go on adventures around the neighborhood until your parents would call you up and ask where you were.

“Actually kind of, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come over later?” he shot you a small smile hoping that you would get the hint of him asking you out.

You thought about his words as they registered in his mind. If this was a dinner with his parents then your family members would have known as well. But he was asking you specifically which meant only one thing. “Oh uhm like a date, I mean yeah uhm sure.” you smiled back at him. I mean how bad could it be. Being in a small space with one of the cutest and nicest dudes you knew, yeah not a big deal at all. 

Later that night as you went over to his house you did not suspect what was about to go down. This wasn't a basic date and I think that is why you remember it so well other than the fact that it was with Dylan. You guys spent the whole night cuddled on the couch watching hockey game reruns and just talking about life, and not one single moment did he make you feel uncomfortable. 

Your first kiss.

Kisses are supposed to be magical. First kisses are usually awkward and yours was both. It was late one night and both of you sat on your porch after a date just looking at the stars and enjoying each other's company before you had to get back inside. Maybe it was a in the moment thing or the fact that you really really enjoyed your time together but next thing you know both of you were leaning into each other. Which of course for it being your first kiss something has to go bad. Somehow both of you made a wrong move or something and next thing you know Dylan’s bottom lip was bleeding.

“Oh my god Dylan I am so sorry.” You spoke up as you tried looking for a napkin or something.

“Honestly if my lip had to bleed everytime i kiss you I can handle it.” he looked up at you softly.

“Oh my gosh you are literally bleeding and you're using this time to make moves on me.” You laughed.

“Hey, it's working right?” he laughed as you hit him on the shoulder and waved him goodbye as he walked back home.

First I love you.

I love you. Honestly seems like everyone makes those words a really big deal. Some people saying don’t say it back if you don’t feel the same way, others saying try to refrain from it as long as possible. For you and Dylan it had been about ten months into the relationship. Him being away at one of his many hockey games. He was anxious. Honestly the most anxious you had ever seen him like this. Some scouts were going to be there and he had to make a good impression which of course you weren't worried about but he was. He had called you saying that your voice calmed him.

“What do you want to talk about?” you questioned.

“Literally anything other than this game.” He let out a breath he had been holding.

“Well I had a burger today from that place you like.” You randomly blurted out.

“Wait are you serious, how rude of you not to wait for me.”

“Don't come between me and my food.” Both of you continued on talking about each other's day until his coach came into the locker room.

“Ok Y/N I have to go wish me luck.” He sighed.

“Good luck Dyl you got this, I love you.” And before you could stop yourself from saying it those three words that seemed so powerful slipped out of your mouth first. I mean you didn't expect to say it first. Or even say it so soon. You knew it was true and had felt this way for a while but you didn't think you'd fall for him so soon. 

“What what, dId you, can you repeat that.” Dylan spoke up as a huge smile grew on his face. Honestly he was planning on telling you tonight but it seemed as though you beat him.

“Ah fuck it, I love you Dylan Holloway now go kick some hockey player butt.” You smiled on the other side of the phone call.

“Holloway, get a move on.” His coach yelled.

“Ok babe I have to go, I love you.” After that night he brought back a win and both of you laid in bed together exchanging the three words back and forth with huge smiles on your faces.

First Anniversary.

Honestly if people had told you that one day you would be going out with the boy a few doors down you would’ve told them that they were crazy. But one year later you were still going strong. And doing the same thing you did for your first date except this time with chocolate. Lots of chocolate. It was sweet. Dylan having had practice earlier in the day and texting you many times throughout the day on how he thought it was crazy how someone like you could date someone like him. He came home tired and all you did was lay in each other's arms as you played with his hair and both of you slowly drifted off to sleep.

First time.

First times. Scary could be one word for them. Opening up to someone on a vulnerable and exposed level can be one way to see it. Another way to see it is giving yourself entirely to the person you love. 

Draft day. A special day in many hockey players' lives. The day that will basically decide their future for them. It’s like the game life. Picking a career and a salary except for them is someone else doing it for them. So here Dylan was waiting and waiting as they called names and teams. 

You were a few doors down following the live draft deciding that it was better if he got this special moment with his family and you guys could spend time together later. 

As your boyfriend's name appeared on your screen you jumped up and down your room. Dylan having exchanged hugs and done the whole post draft interviews he came over. As he walked into your room you jumped into his arms. 

“Dylan, I'm so proud of you.” you whispered in his ear.

“I love you.” He replied as he softly but needingly kissed you. As one thing led to another both of you were on top of each other exchanging messy kisses with the door closed. Hands all over each other as articles of clothing were scattered across the floor. 

Waking up from the events of the past night brought a smile to your face as you laid in your boyfriend's arms with your legs intertwined. 

~~~~

Dylan had come back home as soon as realization hit him. How could he have forgotten. You were sitting on the couch watching some random reality show that was playing. 

“Hey Dyl, why are you back so soon?”  you asked on why he was six hours earlier than he had said. 

“Y/N baby fuck i messed up. Shit im so sorry.” he came over and placed a kiss on your lips.

“Dyl baby it’s ok, I can think of a few ways you can make it up to me.” you smiled.

“Wait so I forget our three year anniversary and you're completely fine with it?” He asked.

“Remind me what we did for our first year anniversary.” You looked up your boyfriend.

“We sat in my room and watched hockey games.” He looked at you trying to see what you were getting at.

“And how long did that take?”

“I don’t know like three hours?” He questioned.

“So what's stopping us from doing it now, come here.” you said as you wrapped your hands around his taller figure. Both of you laid together for the rest of the day all your cares washing away.

#ari speaks #hockey boys #hockey #im rereading this as im getting it ready to post and im falling in love with it all over again #dylan holloway x reader #dylan holloway #team canada x reader #team canada #nhl blurbs #nhl blurb #nhl fic #nhl fics #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey fic #hockey fics #hockey blurb #hockey blurbs #hockey imagine #hockey imagines

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Real Life Tasks With Ransom Drysdale

An Advent Calendar Of 24 Normal Human Tasks As Performed By A Huge Man Baby

Day 14: There Is Only One Way To Load A Dishwasher

Warnings: Bad Language Words

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N- Oh we are getting closer. And this particular scenario happened between my father and me one night. Luckily no one cut themselves, but we were in a severe disagreement as to how sharp knives were to go into the dishwasher. Turns out I was the logical one. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for @what-is-your-plan-today​ and @ohthankevans13​ for there updates. 

Series Masterlist

There was the loud sharp sound of laughter from the outdoor patio, which Ransom joined in as well with his own genuine laugh while having a firm hold of your thigh under the table, his thumb sweeping back and forth over the soft material of your leggings while your hand was clasped over his in reassurance, easing his hand loose to weave your fingers through his. 

This evening a couple friends of yours came over to the house to visit and have dinner, which you knew Ransom had been a bit apprehensive with. Not that he didn’t like your friends, sure he did, they were perfectly nice people you had grown up with, Rick and Sandy. But they weren’t like Ransom’s usual friends, other people in the same arrangement he had been, trust fund kids who didn’t give two shits about anyone but themselves. Perhaps that was a good thing. He was still learning how this whole being married thing worked. 

So Ransom was a bit nervous all damn day, brushing it off though as in ‘He was Ransom Drysdale and did not give a shit what anyone thought about him.’ You knew this to be a lie, that he actually wanted to make a good impression on them. Just from the way he was acting all day, double checking there was enough wine and beer for your guests. That the house was generally picked up looking. He even offered to go pick up dinner, which you were not going to say no to. Writing out a list with a firm “Just pick up this list, NOTHING ELSE.” 

And it just raised your suspicions when he came home with steaks. High end expensive steaks that had been hand cut by the butcher at their local shop. You gawked at them as you had actually put burgers on your list. You peeked in the rest of the bags. There wasn't the buns, chips or anything else you had written. But the ingredients for grilled veggies, potato and garlic bread. 

“You didn't have to do this Ransom. I thought you were going to stick to the list?” You remarked as you looked at the steaks he so carefully let laid to rest on the kitchen counter before taking them to be grilled. 

“Well if we're going to entertain, we’re doing it right.” He responded and that's when it clicked, this was his way of showing he could take care of his family, be something more than what everyone thought him to be, so you dropped it. Going to your tiptoes, you pecked his cheek with a thank you, and went from there. 

Now it was the end of dinner, you felt Ransom relax more and all four of you enjoyed a fun conversation, some of which was Rick and Sandy filling Ransom in on some of your younger years, a devilish grin would spread across his face. “Oh trust me, she's still just as bad, just better at hiding it.” 

“Hush I'm an angel.” You made a move to gather some dishes when Ransom sprang up to take them from you. “You are the one who fully corrupted me Ransom.” you smirked at him, which you could see a bit of color rise in his cheeks and his eyes crinkling in the corners with a grin. 

“Something I take great pride in Princess. I got the clean up, you continue visiting.” He offered and you smiled a thank you while settling back down. Rick and Sandy gathered their plates, with nothing but praises for the whole meal, especially those perfectly grilled steaks, which you glanced at Ransom to see a slight satisfied smirk tugging at the corner of his lips before you turned back to your friends. 

Ransom headed back into the house from the patio with the plates and utensils, listening while you restarted the conversation. He didn't bother shutting the door, leaving it open to let the conversation flow into the house as well as the breeze of the evening. Flicking on the overhead light, he popped open the dishwasher and started to randomly put plates in wherever they fit as the dishwasher was already half full from the night before’s dishes as well as their breakfast ones. Then he started dumping the utensils into the tray lining the side made specifically for them. He wasn't paying attention though, forks were going in tines down or up, spoons shoved in any spot they would fit and the wickedly sharp steak knives went in handle down, their points glinting maliciously face up, ready to strike any unsuspecting hand. 

Which Ransom did, when he grasped another bundle to shove in, and his palm, slid along the tip of the knife along the meatiest part, near his thumb. 

A blossom of red spread on his hand, as well as a sharp surprising pain, making him jerk back and clatter the handful of forks across the dishwasher and floor. “Son of a Bitch!” He yelled rather loudly in shock as red droplets dripped over the dirty dishes and across the tile floor till he got to the sink and turned on the tap. He could feel a wave of naseau wash over him as his vision blurred a moment and sharpened seeing the red swirl down the sink. 

You happened to hear Ransom yelp and curse as the door was open, as well as Rick and Sandy who looked with concern towards the house. A glance over your shoulder showed Ransom standing at the kitchen sink, and you could see from there that his face was tensed and almost in pain looking. “Excuse me.” You said hurriedly and pushed from the patio table to rush inside. “Ransom? Oh god what happened?” You grabbed a hand towel to press against the gash on his hand to get the bleeding to stop, his face whiter then usual. “Breath Ransom, don’t pass out.” You tried to draw his attention to you instead of at the red welling up again before you pressed the towel against it. 

He hissed when you pressed down from between clenched teeth. “Fucking knife got me while I was loading the dishwasher.” 

You glanced at the dishwasher and could see the mess that it was left in. Knowing you would have to set it straight, especially the knives, as half of them appeared to have been tossed in point up. 

“Christ Ransom, you gotta put the knives point down for this reason.” You said hurriedly as you pried the towel up to take a peek at his hand. “We have to take you to the emergency room, this is pretty deep. You are going to need stitches.” 

“Nah- I should be alright.” He started when he wobbled a bit, his other hand grasping the edge of the counter. Its that moment Sandy poked her head in. 

“Do you guys need any help?” 

You were immediate before Ransom could protest. “How about a rain check on Cards Against Humanity? I think we need to get some stitches for Ransom.” 

Sandy then came in fully to take a look at Ransom's hand. “Let me take a look? I’m a nurse, and can tell you if they will give you any stitches.” 

Ransom lifted the hand towel once more and she hummed while looking at it. “Yup, looks just like the cut Rick had a couple years ago. Steak knife get you?” 

“Not fucking intentionally.” Ransom growled a bit, getting agitated now feeling he was under scrutiny. 

“Ha, Rick said the same thing.” Sandy chuckled and her husband came in, happening to hear her.

“Well I forgot I put the knife in the water when I was washing the dishes.” He came to Ransom’s defense with a dumbass excuse and at this point Ransom was ready to go to the emergency room, just to get out of this curve of a disaster the evening took.

Sandy dabbled at the wound with the cloth when the blood welled up again and Ransom this time felt his head swarm. “Im going to...” and thats when he slumped, you and Sandy trying to catch him and Rick managing to get his arms under Ransoms armpits and ease him down to the floor. You straightened up with a hand against your lower back and one pressed to your baby bump, sighing. 

“Ransom can’t handle blood... I’m hoping this isn’t whats going to happen with shitty diapers to.” 

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

After You managed to get Ransom to the emergency room, and he was once again patched up and left alone, you were sitting nearby, counting your fingers and muttering to yourself. 

“What are you doing Y/N?” Ransom winced as he flexed his hand a bit, and you smirk at him. 

“Counting how many times we have been to the emergency room in the past 6 months. This makes three times. You are like a walking talking disaster Ransom, I’m a bit surprised it has been this long since we’ve last visitied.” 

He glared at you while he stood and took his coat from you to shrug it on. “Eat Shit Y/N, I never visited the emergency room till I hooked up with you. What does that say?” 

You shrugged. “That I’m not as much as a dumbass as you Ransom, but that’s okay. I love you anyways.” You tuck into his side as you two leave the room. 

“Yea yea, Love you to Y/N.” He rolled his eyes, wincing as he dug his injured hand into his coat pocket, looking for the Beamers keys.

#real life tasks with ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x you #ransom drysdale #amber writes #sweater writes

[askthetimetravelboyfriends]

“Dad, can I ask you something?”

He’s been resisting asking long enough -it’s been three weeks since his fathers impromptu visit to Doc’s house, and subsequently since George had dropped the Biff Bomb, and the questions are eating him up on the inside.

He doesn’t know everything about their dynamic, he gets that, but he can’t separate Biff the Bully long enough to imagine Biff his Dad’s Boyfriend.

The thought makes him cringe.

How? Was his dad in an abusive relationship? Had they been in love? Had Doc been right- was the bullying a result of a breakup and lingering bitterness?

And so when George had shown up offering a burger and fries for lunch if Marty felt like a walk, he’d decided then and there that today was the day to get answers.

George glances up at him from where he’s dipping his fries in some ketchup and he arches a single brow.

“What’s on your mind?”

“You and Biff, how did I- I mean I just-“ Marty cuts himself off, and George fails to hide an amused smirk. “I just don’t get it. Didn’t he used to bully you- didn’t he terrorize mom?”

George visibly hesitates, the smirk falling from his face. Marty leaves him to his thoughts, quietly picking at his fries as he waits. Eventually, George sighs.

“Yes, he did.” He agrees. “What Biff and I had… well, it was before all that. We found each other when we were fifteen. Nobody knew- nobody but us. Biff and I, we’d sneak down to the quarry and hike in the woods, even a bike ride or two. It was a well kept secret, and we were okay with that- it’s not like being gay was okay back then, when we were kids a boy holding another boys hand was unthinkable- especially in Hill Valley. He was everything to me. He was kind, he was sweet, he held my hand.”

George falls silent then, gaze falling to his fries, and Marty frowns.

“Dad?”

“As we got older he got nervous about us, worried that his folks would catch on, or that somebody would see us and tell his pop. The summer before junior year -when I met your mother- someone did catch us.”

“What happened?” Marty asks, though he has a feeling he knows and that Doc was exactly right with his guess.

George shrugs his shoulders.

“Well son, you’ve met Biff. I’m sure you can imagine how he reacted when we did get caught- and we did. One of his buddies caught us at the quarry and he told Biff he was gonna tell his pop. Biff panicked and told his friend that it didn’t mean anything, and his friend told him to prove it.”

Marty’s expression hardens, eyes narrowing slightly. Even though George is telling this story with a small smile on his face he’s angry on his fathers behalf, absolutely furious that Biff could throw away what they had- that he could do whatever it is he’d done.

Though in retrospect if he hadn’t, Marty wouldn’t be here. 

“What did he do, dad?”

“He hit me. Beat the daylights out of me, and then left with his friend laughing all the while. I stayed there, I waited to see if he’d come back- and he did. He apologized, told me he was scared. I broke up with him. Scared or not, Marty, you never lay a hand on someone you love.”

Marty nods once.

“Agreed.”

“Biff didn’t take it well, and he turned to tormenting me- likely to keep his friend from saying anything about what he’d seen. Then I met your mother, and here we are.”

Marty nods, processing that information. Doc had been right- which he honestly should’ve expected. Unexpectedly he feels bad for his dad, for how things ended with Biff. He knows it’s for the best -Biff isn’t a good man- but he can’t imagine how it must’ve felt for sixteen year old George McFly to have Biff turn on him.

“I’m sorry, dad.” Marty frowns, and surprise flashes in George’s eyes. “That must’ve been awful.”

“I didn’t tell you that so you’d feel bad for me, Marty.” George laughs softly. “I wanted to be honest with you.”

“So you can be honest and agree that that sucked.”

Ducking his head with a soft chuckle George nods.

“Yes. It sucked.” He agrees. “But I’m happy with your mother, she’s the love of my life. Besides, if it hadn’t happened I wouldn’t have my kids.”

Marty manages a soft smile.

“Thanks dad.” Marty murmurs. The table falls silent then, George happy to finish off his fries while Marty finishes his burger. Only once they’re finished eating does Marty speak again. “Do you think Emmett and I are doing the right thing by waiting for mom to come to us?”

“Maybe.” George shrugs as he neatly gathers his garbage. “That isn’t my choice to make, son. That’s up to you and Doc. Though you might find out if you came home.”

“I know.” Marty groans, following as his dad gets to his feet and heads for the trash can a few feet away.

“Dave and Linda are asking questions, Marty, and your mom and I don’t know what to say. It isn’t our place to tell them anything, and your mother knows that, but it’s getting hard to dodge their questions. Coming home for a few hours might be a good idea, at least to put to rest Dave and Linda’s concerns- they’ve decided we kicked you out.”

Marty snorts, lips twitching upward as they toss away their trash.

“Why was I kicked out?”

George chuckles, bumping his shoulder into his sons as they head toward the sidewalk, setting off toward Doc’s house.

“They’ve had a ton of reasons come and go, sometimes it’s drugs, sometimes it’s that Jennifer is pregnant- but she stopped that quick. Now they don’t know what to think.”

Marty sighs softly.

“I’ll try, dad. This is just- I never expected to have to deal with this. Especially not before I turned eighteen- and even then most of my plans for my eighteenth birthday were to leave. Maybe we still should.”

“I’m not asking you to leave, son- and I don’t want you to. I’m just asking you to try. I know your mother hasn’t reached out either, but she’s having a hard time with this. Even if you don’t want to see her yet, Dave and Linda don’t know what’s going on and deserve to know at least part of what’s happening- and they deserve to hear it from you. Even if you only tell them that you had a fight with your mother and are staying with Doc until it blows over.”

Marty considers his dads words as they walk, taking up the rest of their walk as he thinks it over. Eventually though, he decides that his dad is right. He’s not convinced on the Lorraine front and will likely see what Doc thinks about that, but George is definitely right about Dave and Linda. If one of them had randomly stopped coming home, he knows he would’ve been full of questions.

George stops at the end of the walkway, hands in his pockets as he calmly watches his son, and he smiles when the teenager nods.

“You’re right. I’ll talk to them, tell them- I don’t know yet. Something.”

“Thank you.” George opens his arms, and Marty steps into the tight hug. “It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”

“I hope so.” Marty murmurs. “Thanks dad.”

#story post #1985 #the Biff and George drama unfolds LOL #mammett #i guess? since this is a mammett blog? LOL

[levis-hazelnut]

Summary: when you and your best friend, Hanji, were younger, you had made up stories about your dream guys - what they would look like and how you would meet. What happens when the one you had made up appears to be real?

Warning(s): I don’t think there are any in this chapter. But, please do tell me if there are any.

Taglist (closed!): @castellandiangelo @fandom-addict19​ @20coldhearts​

Status: completed!

part 7 > part 8 > part 9

series masterlist

Me and Levi sat at the dining table at breakfast, consuming the waffles that I made with different fruits and sauces on top. "You can go home today," I spoke after swallowing the last of the sweet food. "Hanji will be back later. And I'm going out with Petra and Historia in about an hour, so you can go earlier." "Okay." "Why do you sound so sad? Are you going to miss me?" "Tch." He rolled his eyes before taking a sip of his tea. "You wish, darlin'. The only thing I'm going to miss is annoying you."

"You still somehow annoy me every day even if you're not here. I'm glad you're going." "Mhm. You can keep on lying to yourself." I scoffed. "You think I enjoy your presence?" "Of course. Why wouldn't you?" "Because you're an ass. And a jerk. And a prick. And--" I cut myself off when his eyes narrowed at me, an intimidating glare heading my way. "Why did you stop?" "... No reason. Just thought that words can't describe how annoying you are," I muttered, and he lifted an eyebrow, not believing me. "Fine. I stopped because you're none of those things, and I do enjoy your company." "Thank you. That wasn’t so hard to say, was it?” "Whatever. I'm going to have a shower, get ready and leave," I announced as I got up, taking both of our dishes into the kitchen. "Are you just going to go home?" "Yeah, probably." "Did you tell Isabel and Farlan that you were going to stay here, or did you leave them to worry?" "I told them because if I didn't, they would irritate the hell out of me. I already know they're going to be loud and all over me once I go back." I smiled, knowing how much those two love Levi. Well, who doesn't love Levi? "You're literally a celebrity everywhere you go." "So are you." "No, I'm not. I don't have people fangirling over me or people so happy when I'm around." "I don't know why you're denying it as if it's a bad thing. Just take a compliment because you're not going to get another one." "Aw, thank you," I grinned, wanting to hug him again when he came into the kitchen, but I knew he would push me away this time. He playfully rolled his eyes as I dried my hands before leaving to go to my bedroom, choosing clothes out of my cupboard. I then went to grab a towel and jumped into the bathroom for a quick shower. I slipped on a white, loose, full-sleeved shirt that hung below my shoulders, along with light blue, ripped jeans. Once I was out of the bathroom, it didn't sound like Levi was in the kitchen or living room. I approached my room, knocking softly on the door before hearing him call 'come in'. I stepped inside with a smile as he sat on the edge of my bed, glancing up at me before looking back down at his phone. I strolled over to my jewellery box, picking a simple, silver, chain necklace without a pendant. "Ackerman, are you going to leave the same time as me or after?" "I'll leave at the same time. I'm guessing you'll be ready in about five minutes?" "Yep," I replied with a nod. "... Hey, thank you for helping me and keeping me safe by staying with me," I murmured. "You're welcome, darlin'. Now, go finish getting ready." I grabbed my things, including a cardigan in case it got cold. I told Levi I was ready to leave and he got up, following me to the front door where we both slipped our shoes on. I locked the door once we were out and we made our way down the stairs. "Where are you going?" Levi asked. "I'm not sure. We didn't plan anything, we decided to just go wherever we felt like," I said with a shrug. "What, do you want to come as well?" He snorted and smiled slightly. "No. Anyway, which direction are you going in?" "Opposite to yours. So, I'll see you on Tuesday since we don't have lectures tomorrow." "Yeah, okay. Bye, darlin'. Stay safe." "Same goes to you," I beamed before we parted ways and I made my way to the meeting point me, Petra and Historia decided on. Once I got there, I found Historia as we both waited for Petra. Once the strawberry-blonde arrived, we started on our journey to nowhere in particular. During the day, we decided to go to an arcade since that was the cheapest thing I could afford. We then went to get gourmet burgers, not the cheapest thing I could afford, however, we were all in the mood for that. Once we were done, Historia stated that she had to get back home, leaving me and Petra alone. Since neither of us felt like going back home yet, we decided to stroll in the park as if we were some old couple. It was considerably quiet, the only sound being the birds tweeting away and the families deciding to head home since it was getting late for the kids. "... I know you like Levi. Romantically," Petra randomly spoke up as we sat on a bench in the park. My head snapped to face her and I immediately furrowed my brows, wordlessly requesting for an explanation for where she got that from. "And I think... he likes you, too." My frown deepened - Levi could never like me. He chose Petra, they've been dating for two months now. Yes, it's not that long, but they're happy together. And I wouldn’t want to take that away from them. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "I know what you're like around boys you like, (Y/N). I know there was a time, maybe for about a month, when you liked Lucius at the start of uni. You're more teasy with boys you like, you love annoying them, there's always a smile on your face even if you try to be irritated. That's how you act around Levi. You probably liked him before me, but helped me, nevertheless. And I want to thank you for that, he's a great person, but... I think you deserve him more than me. I don't dislike either of you since both of you are very lovable people and it's hard not to fall for each other. So... I'm going to break up with Levi." "No, don't...! Petra, please, don't. You obviously like him a lot, and I'm sure he feels the same way... I'll admit that I like him, but I don't want to ruin your relationship because of that. You're always happy with him, you are the one that deserves him, not me. You shouldn't let go of him for my sake. I doubt he likes me. How could he date someone like you - a smart, beautiful, kind and gentle person, and then decide to fall for me - an idiot, who can't grow up?" "Don't worry about me. I'll be much happier to see you happy. And, you let go of him for me. And don't bring yourself down like that; you're an amazing person and friend, and I'm sure Levi will be delighted to be with you. Go for it, (Y/N), I'm not going to let you live like this. It must be so painful for you." "... I can't do that. He's yours, I shouldn't take him away from you just because I'm selfish--" "You aren't being selfish, you're giving him up for me - that is not a selfish act. Eren or Hanji probably know, so I'm sure if I call one of them, you'll get shouted at for refusing to listen to me." "Okay, okay. Don't call them... But I don't want you to break up either. I'm going to feel terrible dating him." "There's no need for you to feel terrible. I'm the one that's causing it. And I feel like he’s trying to come up with a way to break up with me." “I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologising? It’s not like you made him fall for you. And I don’t blame him.”

“Thank you so much, Petra. You're honestly so awesome, I don't know how Levi was lucky enough to date you." "I know you'd do the same for me, and you basically did, which shows that Levi will also be lucky to be with you," she smiled in return. I couldn't stop grinning and I abruptly pulled her into an embrace, thanking her a million times over. This was it, I'm going to get what I've wanted for a long time - a relationship with Levi. ~/~ As soon as I heard the front door open and close with a click, I sprinted from my room to the entrance, finding Hanji standing there, taking her shoes off. "HANJI!! HANJI! HANJI!!" I squealed with a massive grin on my lips, clinging onto her arm and shaking her with excitement. "What's going on?" she inquired with the cock of her brow, thinking why I was behaving like her. "I THINK LEVI LIKES ME!" "..." It took her a moment to register my words before her eyes widened, her mouth agape and she gripped my arms, shaking me as well. "OH MY GOD! How do you know?! Did he break up with Petra?! Did he confess to you?! (Y/N)!!!! TELL ME MORE!" "Gosh, I don't think I've ever been this happy before!" I grinned, dragging her into the living room so we could sit down and fangirl together. I explained every little thing that Petra and I spoke about earlier, and her grin seemed to get wider and wider with every sentence I said. "However, I don't want them to break up because of me. I know I said it all this time, but now that it's truly happening, I don't want them to." "I swear, if you give up this opportunity, I'm going to slap you so hard that there will be an imprint of my hand on your cheek for the rest of your life." I laughed softly. "I don't know. I'm so happy. But I'm going to feel bad." "Petra herself said she's not going to hate either of you and she'll be fine with it. (Y/N), don't be an idiot again." "Okay, okay, fine..." I muttered before suddenly screaming. "I'M GOING TO DATE LEVI ACKERMAN!" "I know, I know!!! Why am I getting so excited?! Ahh, we made him up and you're actually going to date him!!" "Oh my gosh, I'm seriously going to faint." I took a deep breath and fanned myself, feeling hot and sweaty from all the squealing. "Did Petra say when she's going to break up with him?" "No. But I think she's going to do it by the end of next week... Wait! I'm not ready for this! I need to mentally prepare myself for this! This is so exciting! Wait... are we ever going to tell Levi about how we made him up?" "Uhh, he'll probably get creeped out and break up with you if we do, so no, we are not." "Okay. I need to calm down now." "Did he tell Petra that he was staying over?" "I'm not sure. Whenever I mentioned Petra, he didn't say anything. Ugh, how did I not realise anything? He was acting differently. He was so soft and considerate and-- Okay, (Y/N), calm down," I told myself before I explode. "You're literally in love." "No, I'm not. I just really like him." Hanji smirked and shook her head before getting up. "Anyway, I've got uni tomorrow so I need to sleep. You can fangirl or do whatever you want, just don't wake me up." "Yeah, yeah... Wait, I don't know how to act around him anymore. I need Petra to tell me when she breaks up with him so I know what to do. Okay, night, Hanji, you don't need to listen to my rambling." She smiled at me before going towards her bedroom, closing the door behind her as I laid down on the sofa, face-down, letting out whatever I needed to (squeals) before sitting up again. I took my phone from the coffee table and saw that I got texts from my mother and Eren. So I checked the messages in that order. I checked my mother’s message, which just some forwarded message about whatever her friends tell her. I mentally rolled my eyes at this before going to Eren. 'Hey' 'Are you okay?' 'Did Levi keep you safe?' Once again, I rolled my eyes, but this time, for real because Eren's so overprotective. 'Hi' 'I'm fine. You don't need to worry because Levi did keep me safe' I locked my phone, dropping it onto the furniture as I stared at the black screen of the TV, wondering what to do now. My mind is clouded with Levi so I won't be able to concentrate on anything I do. I'm not tired either, so what should I do? Okay, scratch that... I'm tired as hell, but I won't be able to sleep with all the excitement coursing through my body. Well, looks I'll just be sleep-deprived tomorrow because I'm seriously not going to be able to sleep. ~/~ So, luckily, I fell asleep on the sofa, during a movie and had a good night's sleep. When I woke up, light poured in through the windows and beamed on my face as I heard birds singing near the apartment. I opened my eyes and squinted, looking around the room as a yawn left my mouth. I sat up, checking the time to see it was almost twelve o'clock. I stood up before stretching as I walked to the bathroom, looking at my reflection to find my hair attempting to get tangled. I sighed, running my hand through my tresses to make it look neater before freshening up. Not being bothered to make a nice breakfast, I just got myself some cereal (I would happily eat cereal for each meal of the day) and sat on the sofa, going through social media. I then decided to clean the apartment, excluding Hanji's room because I know how annoying it can be when someone else moves your stuff. For motivation, I loudly played music on my Bluetooth speaker, which is why I couldn't hear when Hanji came home, frightening me when she tapped my shoulder as I broomed. I lowered the volume and smiled at her. "Hey. How was uni?" "Fine. Nothing special happened. What did you do all day?" "Well, I got up at twelve, had breakfast and then decided to clean." "Are you trying to prove that you'll be a great wife for Levi?" she smirked and I rolled my eyes. "I was thinking that we barely have time to clean, so might as well do it today since I was free. I just have the kitchen left to do and then I'm going to take a nice, long bath." "It's so nice to see you in such a good mood," Hanji smiled and I returned it with a wider one. "I wonder what you're going to be like once you finally start dating Levi." ~/~ So, I found out that Petra broke up with Levi today after university ended... What am I doing? I'm freaking out. What do I do? Do I ask Levi out? Or will he ask me out? Is he sad about the breakup, or happy? What if it's just like my other relationships that never last more than half a year? Am I making a mistake? Would it be better to stay friends? I've wanted this since forever, why should I give it up? They already broke up, what's the point in contemplating everything now? Ugh, what do I do? Is Levi not going to talk to me? Was Petra even sure that he likes me? Did Petra tell him about our conversation on Sunday? Does she hate me now? Should I get Hanji's help? But, she's in her room, why should I disturb her? Should I call Eren and tell him everything? What do I do with my life? I inhaled, then exhaled deeply, attempting to soothe myself. Everything will be fine if I don't freak out. I just need to stay calm and wish for the best.

Things are going to be weird at uni unless one of us ask the other out. I don't want to be that person. But what if he's thinking the same? Is he going to wait a while before dating again? Well, I'm going to stick to my previous plan and just wish for the best. There's no gain in freaking out and asking myself all these questions that just make me worse. Maybe Petra will tell me what happened. But I shouldn't just stare at my phone expectantly because that's not going to help me in any way-- My phone started to vibrate in my hand, my eyes widened and I flinched, hastily reading the caller ID. Fuck you, Eren... Getting my hopes up like that, making me think it was Petra. Despite being mildly annoyed at the male, I answered the phone, saying a shrill 'hello'. "Hi, (Y/N)." "Hey. Do you need anything?" "I heard some girls from your uni say that Petra Ral and Levi Ackerman broke up, and now they think it's their chance to take him. Do you know if they actually broke up?" "Yeah, they did." "What? Really? Why?" "... Because of me..." I muttered, guilt slithering into my body. "I didn't do anything, don't worry. Petra did it for me because she knew I did the same for her. She claimed that she knows I like Levi and she said that she thinks Levi likes me too. She said we deserve each other and said that she will break up with him so I can be happy. I didn't want her to, but she still did." "Petra's actually such a sweetheart." I laughed softly, not expecting Eren to say something like that about someone. "Yeah, she is. But I don't know what to do now. Should I initiate something, or will Levi? I need Petra to call me--" My phone vibrated and I saw that my call with Eren was put on hold because someone else was calling me. Petra! I cut the phone with Eren, deciding to talk to him later because right now, this call was more important. Sorry, Eren, you know I love you, I thought before answering the call. "Hi, Petra." "Hi... Um, I broke up with Levi a couple of hours ago." "How did he take it? Is he okay? Are you okay?" "Yeah, we're both fine. I told him the same things I said to you and he seemed pleased. He apologised to me for not breaking things off earlier, saying that he didn't want to hurt me. Everything's fine, though. I'm happy for both of you, so go get him." "Ah, thank you so much, Petra! I still feel so bad about this, though." "Don't. You have nothing to feel guilty about, I did this on my own volition." "I need to repay you with something massive. You're amazing, I love you." I heard her giggle. "(Y/N), honestly, it's nothing, you don't need to do anything for me. The only thing you need to do is not let this chance slip before some other woman takes him." "Okay, okay. Thank you so much! By the way, did he say what he's going to do now?" "No. Let me just tell you everything that happened," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice, probably because of how happy I sounded. *FLASHBACK* Petra had asked Levi to meet her outside of the university after his last lecture because she stated that she had to talk to him about something. Levi had told me that he had to go somewhere so I just headed home. Once Levi and Petra met up, they strolled around the quiet streets as the raven waited for the petite female to speak up. "What did you want to talk about?" Levi asked, glancing at his girlfriend, who abruptly stopped walking, causing him to come to a halt as well. "... Levi," she started, looking up into his grey hues that flickered with concern. "You like (Y/N), don't you?" "What?" A small wrinkle formed in between his eyebrows. "You don't need to deny it," she smiled, staring at the pavement under their shoes. "I'm not annoyed, don't worry." "Wait. How do you even know? I've never spoken about it with anyone." "I don't know, I just had a gut feeling, I guess," she said with a shrug. "And... (Y/N) likes you, too. I spoke to her about all of this, and I decided that... I'm going to break us up. Since both of you like each other, you shouldn't let me stop you two from dating. And if you're wondering, (Y/N) wasn't the one who asked me to do this, I made this choice myself. I'm not going to hate either of you because I want to see both of you happy." "Petra... I'm sorry for doing this to you. I'm sorry I didn't speak to you about it earlier but I didn't want to hurt you... You're a great girl and I did like you. And you’re actually my first girlfriend. But as I spent time with (Y/N), no matter how much of an idiot she is, I guess I fell for her without realising." "You don't need to apologise about anything, I'm fine. You can't control your feelings," Petra finally made eye contact, a smile still staining her lips. "Anyway, I guess I'll go now." She was about to walk away but slender fingers caught her wrist. She turned her head to look at the male who had a tiny smile as he neared her and pressed his lips against her cheek. "Thank you, Petra. I hope you find a better guy than me." "Thank you. Now, go to (Y/N)." *END OF FLASHBACK* "I'm getting so excited, but I don't want to because--" “Be as excited as you want to be, don't let me or guilt stop you. Also, I don't think Levi's going to ask you out straight away, he might wait a couple of days."

I’m going to date Levi Ackerman in just a couple of days?

This doesn’t feel real. ~/~ It was the last lecture of the day, and I was falling asleep, however, I had Jean next to me so he kept me awake. I let out a content sigh and stretched when I stood up once the lecture ended. "I'm so glad this day is over. Tomorrow's Friday, right?" "Yeah." "Good. Just one more day until the weekend." Jean smiled and shook his head as both of us made our way out of the lecture hall. As we walked towards the exit of the building and spoke, a hand grasped my wrist, causing both of us to stop and turn around. My heart started to beat rapidly when I met those beautiful, grey orbs that I could always stare into. I'm going to tell the truth and say that I may or may not have been avoiding Levi for the past two weeks (definitely been more than a couple of days) because I was afraid of getting into another relationship that I think will fail. He's been trying to talk to me all this time, but I somehow evade him because I also think I'm going to be awkward around him. Hanji, once again, threatened to slap me since I'm letting this chance go. However, she spoke some sense into me, saying how Jean and I were close friends, so we're both idiots for deciding to date. And she pointed out that Reiner was a dickhead, so I was the idiot.

And Levi has proved to be nothing like a jerk, more of a gentleman so I should just go marry him. She still didn't get involved, sticking by her promise and I'm actually pretty proud of her for that. Also, her little pep talk gave me confidence so I, in some way, love Hanji more than I already did. Now, here I am, with Levi's hand gripping my wrist as we both just stared at each other, and Jean looking between us, seeming confused. "... You've been avoiding me for two fucking weeks," Levi finally spoke, and I just realised how much I missed his voice (although, right now, it's dangerously low and scary). "We're talking right now, I don't give a shit if you have something to do." "... Okay," I replied, glancing at Jean who had worry etched onto his face. "You can go, Jean. I'll see you tomorrow." He was too terrified to speak in front of Levi right now, so he arched his eyebrow, making sure that I'll be fine. I nodded with a small smile and he left with a smile of his own before I found myself being dragged through the corridors to find an empty room. Once Levi found one, he tugged me into it, closing the door behind us. He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me as I stood opposite him, not wanting to make eye contact.

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #aot #aot fanfiction #aot imagines #snk #snk fanfiction #snk imagines #attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #x reader #reader insert #anime #dream guy #series #modern au #sorry for the cliffhanger lmfao #queue ⏰

[officialthiamlibrary]

Hey, I'm wondering that is there any fic about Theo actually become or is an alpha with red eyes?

There are several! Important note: we actually received a second ask a couple of days ago for this same type of fic, so we are splitting the rec list in half for you! Expect part two later today!

Be Careful What You Wish For by manonlemelon (Mature | WIP | 55K) Tags: Unwilling alpha theo, Angst, Getting together, Description of violence, Happy ending Summary: Back before he was sent to the ground all Theo ever wished for was power, to be an alpha, to have a pack. Now he knows better, knows that power isn’t as easy as it seems. All he wants now is to try and stay alive, try to be good enough to one day be part of the pack and protect the beta with anger issue. During a fight with an alpha gone feral Theo is given power he doesn’t want anymore. Now he has to learn to live with what he had wished for so long ago. A Peek Inside: Theo closed his eyes and with one last breath filled with the beta’s comforting scent he let his eyes glow before slowly opening them. Observing his reflection in the place where it all started for him. The image it returned him was glowing red eyes. Alpha eyes. Red like the blood he just spilt. Had spilt, so many times over the years. The blood of his own pack. In a way it was fitting, that color defined him. And now his eyes were reflecting it too. Blood red eyes.

New Friends, New Housemates by DarkAngelGirl13 (Teen | 7.5K | Complete) Tags: Roommates, alive Tara, alpha Theo Raeken, past Liam/Brett Summary: Theo’s been living with his sister, Tara for most of his life. Now he’s moving out and in with three people he doesn’t even know if he’ll get along with, but Scott’s never let him down before. ----------------- Liam about jumped when someone took hold of his arm. He hadn’t heard anything over the smoke alarm going off. Then there was a guy there, who he hoped was Theo, holding his arm taking the pain. He never had checked the photo that Scott emailed him, which he probably should have. He hadn’t realized he was still in pain until it was leaving up through Theo’s arm going to his neck. He felt a little embarrassed that Theo came home to this, but at least he wasn’t yelling at him. He was helping him when he could have easily gone off on him. A Peek Inside: “That makes me feel a little better,” Liam smiled back not sure how Theo could burn popcorn, but he had the same problem. He had burnt food he made a hundred times since he was thirteen.

Red Yellow Blue by Garcia_Allen (Teen | Complete | 2.3K) Tags: Post-canon, hurt Theo, protective Liam Summary: Theo lifted his eyes to look at him, eyes glowing as bloody as the right arm. Containing the usual caution, shock by the upheaval, and more bewilderment than any word could describe, all Liam could think at that particular moment was that the chimera looked to be in a state of extreme solitude. OR Clearly, Theo and Liam needed to have a conversation. Liam just didn’t expect that Theo would be the first one to talk. A Peek Inside: But the thing just had happened. They were there. They were all on-site. Any words were too pale and feeble at the moment, and the noise constituted a certain degree of oppression that surrounded every corner of the truck. It'd been a long time since Theo had so completely shut off his emotions.

Heat by Rae_Pancake (Mature | Complete | 1.4K) Tags: Smut, Alpha kink, Alpha Theo, Theo randomly becomes an alpha Summary: Liam's in heat and Scott isn't there to help him. Luckily he finds Theo who is more than happy to help him. A Peek Inside: As he ran through the woods he couldn't shake the feeling of something or someone watching him from a distance. He picked up his pace but that didn't help as he ran into something, causing him to be knocked down to the ground. He looked up to see Theo, causing him to growl."Ahh, I guess little Liam isn't happy to see me."

Sparks and Ember by wolfenboy (General | Complete | 3.3K) Tags: AU, Emissary Liam Dunbar, Alpha Theo Raeken Summary: Liam has trained all his life to be an emissary, only to find out the spark of power within is too dim to help anyone, let alone a pack of werewolves. Theo is a reluctant alpha on the run from hunters and his past. When they meet the beginning of something new takes form. A Peek Inside: ‘I thought werewolves had big teeth.’ Liam said. ‘We do.’ Theo mumbled through a mouthful of burger. ‘Maybe you should use them. To chew?’ ‘You’re funny.’ Theo said, deadpan’

Reflection by germanfanfictioner (Explicit | Complete | 2.6K) Tags: Porn Without Plot, A/B/O dynamics, Alpha Theo Raeken, Beta Liam Dunbar, Knotting Summary: After graduating college, Theo and Liam move into their new apartment. And when they're about to christen their new bed, they realize that they placed their mirror very well. A Peek Inside: "It was college! Who unpacks immediately after moving into a college dorm? " "I did that. " "You're a neat freak. " "You're a slob. " Theo retorted. The two stared at each other for a few moments, silently challenging each other, before they burst out laughing. Liam leaned over to give Theo a kiss.

Beach trip by germanfanfictioner  (Explicit | Complete | 2K) Tags: Porn Without Plot, A/B/O dynamics, Alpha Theo Raeken, Beta Liam Dunbar, Knotting Summary: When Liam and Theo are the first to arrive at the beach and wait for the rest of the pack they decide to have some fun to pass the time. Unfortunately the others arrive earlier than expected, which puts them into an awkward position. A Peek Inside: Once the coal was burning, Theo got up and wiped some soot off his hands. He walked over to Liam and sat down next to him, wrapping his arms around him. Liam leaned against his Alpha, head resting against Theo's shoulder. Theo was rubbing circles into Liam's shoulder with his thumb before his hand slipped down a bit.  "You can't be serious.  " Liam said incredulously, straightening up to look at his boyfriend. 

The monster inside by liamschimera (Explicit | Complete | 4.5K) Tags: Explicit content, Explicit language, Dark!Liam, Dark!Theo, Blood, Gore, Death Summary: Theo Raeken has returned to Beacon Hills under the pretense of wanting to join Scott's pack. However, what he has in mind is far more sinister. After gaining some inside help, Scott McCall's pack have finally met their match. A Peek Inside: Liam snarls again, grabbing Scott by his arms with one hand, trapping them behind his back and forcing his head back by his hair. Causing him to bare his fangs. “You were wrong Scott.” He growls straight into his ear. “Some of us are monsters.” Theo approaches the two of them and Scott realizes he’s been in this situation before, except he was Liam holding Derek. “Liam, don’t do this. You don’t have to do this!” There’s fear, so much fear and both Chimera and young beta werewolf are intoxicated by it.

#fic recs #alpha!theo #thiam #mod: mary #mod: tara #otlansweredask

[captainsassmanes]

Follow up to It’s the Little Things

Alex poked his fingers between the blinds and slowly lifted them, hoping not to draw attention to himself. 

It was 9am on a blazing hot Saturday and he’d been woken by the sound of a weedwacker whirring right outside his window. He didn’t have to look to know exactly who it was, but he was curious as to what the fuck Michael was doing.

He’d be lying if he said the image of Michael, shirtless and sweating, didn’t turn him right the hell on but this was getting out of hand.

After Alex had spilled his guts, throwing his insecurities into the wind before thinking about where they’d land, he couldn’t get up. He lived for helping Michael, for finding ways to give back, to make some kind of difference, however small, in the other man’s life. 

Michael had managed to call him on his bullshit, though. It was Alex’s way of staying involved, of being as close to Michael as he could be without physically being near him.

But he’d pushed too hard and it really was over. 

That first night was awful. He replayed their conversation, or the word vomit he’d spewed, nonstop. He drank, and then drank some more, until he woke up on the couch, stiff and barely able to move with a headache that made blinking agonizing.

After a puke, a coffee and some eggs, Alex had taken Buffy outside and sat in one of his patio chairs, taking in his house, his car, his stuff.

It meant little now.

The thought of Michael, of their potential relationship, possible future, had quietly been keeping him going all these years. To have that hope extinguished...he didn’t have the words to describe how empty he’d felt.

His chest ached as he went inside and opened his laptop, starting his search for the country’s top cities. He knew he’d want to live somewhere busy, populated, but safe. His job could easily be remote once his re-enlistment period was up, plus he had quite a bit of money saved so he could take his time getting readjusted.

New York City and LA definitely had his attention, the music scenes alone would be worth the trip, but the apartments were tiny, and he may end up having to sell a kidney to pay his rent. Miami wasn’t his scene and Seattle looked like the type of place to send his depression spiraling.

He grabbed his third cup of coffee and moved to the living room, getting comfortable on the couch and making room for Buffy to rest her head on his lap. He found another one of those top cities lists and was intrigued by Portland. LGBT friendly, relaxed people, music scene, not so far that he couldn’t visit if he wanted to.

That afternoon was spent clicking through photos, checking out postings for apartments, falling down a YouTube spiral of some artists who got their start in the city.

The next day, feeling a bit better with a plan under his belt, he’d ventured outside to Beam Me Up for a cup of coffee and a snack. On his way out, he literally bumped into Maria.

“God, sorry. Did any of that spill?”

Alex just blinked, an uncomfortable wave of jealousy moving over his skin and pinching him where it landed.

He shook his head and said, “no. It’s okay.”

She gave him a smile as they stood awkwardly in the doorway. He wanted to say something, even if it was small or unimportant, just something to break the ice, but his instincts telling him to get home were clouding his thoughts.

“Michael mentioned he saw you the other day.”

Alex’s eyes grew wide. They hadn’t spoken in weeks; nothing more than worthless pleasantries and she knew why; he’d been honest with her. He’d also felt he’d been fair, leaving them both alone to their relationship, not interfering or getting involved.

At least he’d thought that was what he’d been doing.

But now, as he stared at his oldest friend, watching as her face changed to apprehension, maybe realizing that playing the we can connect over Michael card was the wrong move, he felt angry.

“I’m moving.”

Maria stepped back, surprised. “What?”

Alex nodded, looking around the street, hoping he looked as relaxed and casual as he was aiming for. “Yep. When my enlistment period is over.”

Her mouth opened and shut a few times, small sounds trying to become words escaping. Eventually, she was able to croak out a, “where?”

Alex shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. “Portland looked interesting. I’m looking at a few apartments there.”

The silence took over again as the street became a bit busier with the weekend tourists coming out to enjoy the weather and the sights. Maria’s hair bounced, the ends of her head scarf wrapping loosely around her throat. “You’re leaving because of me, right? Because of me and Michael? You can’t just go because – “

“I have no reason to stay, Maria.” Their eyes met and both sets were filled with a sadness neither could describe. Alex’s heart felt too heavy in his chest, memories of late nights and shared shakes and tears and joints and hugs threatening to leak out of his eyes. Instead, he smiled. “My time here’s up. I did my part but it’s time to see something new.”

With that he turned and walked to his car, coffee cup shaking in one hand while his fingers curled painfully around the bag in the other. Fuck he missed Maria. But he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to look at her the way he used to again.

It was that night, his excitement dwindling and replaced by a quiet desperation, when the first text had come through.

Don’t leave.

Alex stared. Obviously, Maria had told Michael about their chat. Maybe he felt bad, a twinge of guilt. Alex hoped he did, then felt guilty for hoping Michael felt guilty. This was exactly why he had to leave.

He ignored the text and went back to his computer, sipping on a beer and occasionally giving Buffy some nice scratches behind the ears.

His phone pinged again. Alex stared at it, hoping his glare would make it blow up or something. In the end, curiosity got the best of him and he looked at the text.

Don’t leave me.

Alex’s heart raced as his fingers moved without thinking.

You wouldn’t come with me anyway.

He turned his phone off and tossed it across the room, not caring when it bounced along the wood floor a few times.

He didn’t sleep well after that. Thoughts of car rides and spaceships and apartments and soft blankets and bright sunshine and honey curls played behind his eyelids every time he tried to rest.

The further away from Michael he was, the better it’d be for everyone.

The next morning his doorbell rang at 8am. Alex had thought it was a part of his dream at first, cuddled up on a firm, warm chest, wiry hairs beneath his fingers while nails scraped his scalp, lulling him back to sleep. When the buzzing continued, he was thrown back into reality with a big, empty bed and a headache to boot.

Grabbing his crutches, he went to the door and threw it open, shocked to find Michael on the other side looking clean shaven with a cup of coffee.

Michael looked…different. Yes, the beard was trimmed, maybe his hair, too? His clothes were definitely clean. But there was an energy, an aura, around him that Alex hadn’t seen in years. One side of Michael’s mouth lifted, an almost bashful smile, and he held out the coffee cup. Even Michael’s fingernails were clean. Alex lost some time staring at those nails and remembering the comfort they’d brought him in his dream just moments before.

Michael cleared his throat, bringing Alex’s attention back to the moment. “Whole milk and one sugar.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

Michael shrugged and pushed the cup gently into Alex’s chest. “Bringing you a coffee. Good morning, by the way.”

Alex would later blame the broken night’s sleep for the dreamy way he’d whispered out, “good morning,” while accepting the cup. He took a sip and was instantly in his glory. His favorite coffee from his favorite café made perfectly delivered by his favorite…

“Well, have a good day, Alex.”

While Alex stood in the doorway, mouth hanging open at a loss for words, Michael sauntered back to his truck and drove away.

It had fucked with Alex for the rest of the day.

After that morning, Michael made appearances most days. A delivery of a burger and fries one afternoon, randomly bent over the hood of Alex’s Jeep for a tune up a few evenings later, dropping off a case of Alex’s favorite beer. Each time Michael came around, the conversation was limited. Michael would smile, explain why he was there and, as soon as he was finished, he’d smile and say goodbye, driving off once again.

Alex hated it. It was so confusing and contradictory, it made him fucking furious.

Alex really loved it.

He was seeing more of Michael than he had in years and Michael was absolutely different but in a way that suited Michael, not as though he’d changed to fit someone else’s wishes. He looked great and seemed healthy. Happy.

Apparently, today was clean up the yard day. With a sigh, Alex turned from his window and looked at Buffy with her head raised and cocked to the side in concern.

“Yes, it’s Michael.” Buffy’s tail wagged furiously. “You little traitor.”

Alex watched him for a few quiet minutes, taking in every detail, from the way his curls looked almost blonde when the sun hit just right, to the pattern of body hair scattered across his torso, to the flex of his legs when he bent and stretched.

He’d realized the other night, as he sipped on one of the beers Michael had bought him, that he’d stopped looking at apartments, collecting more information on Portland. All it took was for Michael to notice him and his universe tilted, and its center of gravity became Michael once again. That was the first night since their fight he’d allowed himself to cry again.

With a sudden surge of resolve, Alex threw open his drawers and grabbed whatever clothes his hands touched. He took the time to get his leg on, wanting to feel stable and steady for whatever came next.

By the time he got outside, Michael was leaning against the bed of the truck looking like a tan god, bottle of water to his lips, head tossed back with his face covered in sunlight.

Taking a deep breath, Alex charged ahead.

“I want a reason.”

Michael startled a bit, lost in his own thoughts, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Alex couldn’t help but stare at the dampness his hand missed.

“What reason?”

“Don’t be coy, Michael. It’s not cute.”

Playfully, Michael pouted while batting his lashes. Alex wanted to laugh and scream and cry and hold Michael, confusion and caution warring within him.

Alex looked at the ground, noting a nasty scuff across the toe of one of his boots. He pushed his foot into the sand and whispered, “why are you doing this to me?”

Michael made a quiet noise that sounded hurt and stood straight, blocking out the sun from Alex’s face. “To you?”

Alex looked up and fell into hazel eyes. He nodded. “You’re not actually trying to talk to me. But you’re being- being really kind and generous. I don’t understand.” He shook his head this time and took a step back so he could think. “You told me to get out of your life, I say okay, and then you come flying back into mine.”

Michael shook his head and started digging around the bed of his truck, apparently looking for his t-shirt to throw on as well as his trademark hat. Turning back to Alex, he shrugged and pulled out his car keys.

“I have no idea what I’m doing, Alex.” The silence between them felt thick with opportunity; to be honest, straightforward. Just a chance. “But that night I…” Michael scoffed and broke eye contact, looking around at Alex’s house. “You’ve got a loose shingle up there – “

“That night you what, Michael?”

With a sigh, Michael continued, “I knew that might be it. I know I’ve pushed, and you’ve walked and recently I’ve been pushing a lot harder but I just, I dunno, never let myself imagine you not being in my life somehow.”

Alex crinkled his eyebrows, confused yet again. “If you didn’t want me to go then why say all that shit about – “

“I have been drowning for years, Alex. In booze, in sex, in work, in regret. Just fucking drowning. Then you came back, and your dad was the fucking devil and then my mom and Max. I couldn’t separate it all out. Everything felt like it went back to you.”

Alex nodded, feeling the familiar creep of guilt working its way into his gut. “And I said I understood all of that. I gave you as much space as I could.”

“Did you?”

Alex sighed and dug his hands into his pockets, wishing he had something in his hands to keep them better occupied. He could either choke Guerin at the moment or pull him into a suffocating kiss. He couldn’t decide.

“I guess I didn’t.” He blinked as the next thought smacked him across the face. “I’m not as strong as you, Michael. I can’t know you’re nearby and struggling and do nothing.”

Michael shook his head, taking a step closer to Alex.

“That’s why I’m moving. I can’t stop myself from being in your orbit and you made it clear that’s what you wanted. It’ll give me a fresh start, too, you know. No one’ll recognize the Manes name. No one will care. I can just be another face out there, have a little anonymity and figure out what I’m doing.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

Alex groaned. “C’mon, Michael! You just came here not that long ago bitching that I sent you some food! I’d think you’d be thrilled that I’d be gone.”

Michael laughed. Alex watched as his face changed with the humor and his heart broke a little to see how much younger Michael could look when he relaxed. Even if just for a second. “I told you stay away. You didn’t. I told you again stay away and then you did. Then I couldn’t stay away and now you’re gonna leave. Can we just say the fucking things we need to say and stop doing this?”

Alex took the challenge at face value and straightened up, nodding his head. “Fine.”

“Why did you do all those nice things for me even when I told you to stay away?”

“Because I love you.”

The ease with which those words slid from Alex’s mouth surprised both of them. There was something freeing about the honesty, of finally just saying the words out loud to Michael without fear of rejection or consequence.

He took a deep breath. “Because I love you and I was worried about you.”

Michael licked his lips and looked away, nodding in understanding.

“Your turn,” Alex whispered, pulling Michael’s attention back. “Why do you keep showing up here when you told me to stay away?”

“Because I regretted everything I said as soon as I said it.” Alex lifted an eyebrow, not fully understanding. “I thought I needed distance. Not seeing you all the damn time helped me focus on other things. And I did tell you the truth; I didn’t think we were good for each other and I really, really wanted to be good for Maria.”

Alex took a step back, feeling the burn in his throat start at the mention of his friend’s name when Michael’s callused fingers wrapped around his wrist. “The second I realized I probably pushed you completely out of my life, I regretted it. I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to stop caring. I want to be better. I just – “

Michael stopped and took a deep breath, clearly overwhelmed as his voice began to crack. Alex slowly shifted his wrist from Michael’s grip and gently held his fingers in his own.

Michael sighed, “can you ask me one more time?”

Alex nodded. “Why do you keep showing up here when you told me to stay away?”

“Because I love you.”

They stood together in the blazing sun, sweating and staring at one another as though the world had fallen away. The moment was broken when Alex’s eyes shifted to Michael’s turquoise belt buckle. “But you love Maria, too.”

Michael nodded and watched helplessly as Alex let go of his hand. “I do. But I love Maria the same way you love Maria.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what that means.”

“She’s my friend, Alex. That night we fought I had an epiphany.”

“An epiphany?”

“Yeah. You probably already know this but I’m an alcoholic.”

Alex’s head whipped up with concern in his eyes. His mouth moved but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

Michael took it as his cue to continue. “I’ve also been a shit brother to Isobel, so I’ve been working on that. But the morning after I left here, I talked to Maria. Told her how I was feeling, she talked about her feelings and, we both just told the truth.”

“Which was?”

A smile tugged on Michael’s lips. “That we both love you.”

Alex cleared his throat, doing his best not to start crying. “I’d like to get back to the alcoholic piece of this, and I’m glad you’ve stepped up to support Isobel but, uh, are you and Maria still together?”

Michael shook his head. “Not for about, what? Two weeks now?”

Alex nodded. “Okay.”

“Go out with me.”

Alex waited a beat, making sure he’d heard clearly before repeating, “okay.”

“The Crashdown? Lunch tomorrow? Around 12?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah. I’ll meet you there.”

Michael smiled and closed his truck. Slowly, he took off his hat and leaned in, kissing Alex on the cheek. They were both just piles of sweat and beet[TS1]  red, but Alex thought it might be one of the most romantic moments of his life.

“I wanna do this right, Alex. From the beginning.”

Alex smiled. “Me, too. I’ll see you tomorrow. For our first date.”

Michael laughed, his youth bursting through every pore. “For our first date.”

#Roswell New Mexico #Malex #Malex fic #my fic #barely edited #angst with a hopeful ending

[kristannarubbish]

learn to do it (chapter 3)

summary: princess diaries but make it norway and kristanna

rating: T

word count: 2.4k

a/n: updates will hopefully be more regular now my exams are over! got over a road block with this chapter so yay :-D

The hot tears rushing down Anna’s face were not helping the side eyes she was getting from people rushing to whatever fancy corporate job they had. Only side eyes though, not full on stares because this was New York and a woman in her early twenties with skinned knees sobbing in front of a Chase Bank was not the weirdest thing they would see today.

Anna had no idea how long she had even been there for, 20 minutes or two hours, she couldn’t tell you. But, when her phone buzzed she saw that she had only been making a fool of herself for about 10 minutes, which was good news considering the situation.

The notification was from Kristoff, asking when she wanted to go on their date. On any other day, this would be the most surreal thing to happen to her. But Anna wasn’t quite sure where first date with crush landed on a scale that included crown princess of a small European country. In her book, she might have felt a tad selfish, but first date with crush was a close second for her.

Pulling herself off the musty concrete, Anna wobbled towards the subway station. She wondered how she should respond to Kristoff now knowing this new information about her life. Would she even be allowed to date? Would she have to tell him? Wait, why am I letting myself go this far?! I don’t even know if I’ll take the offer or not. I can barely wake up in the morning, I’m not sure how good I would be at running an entire country. 

She decided to text back once she got home and sorted out her thoughts, because no good decisions come from stumbling on the subway in heels, sober or otherwise.

After arriving home, Olaf was planning a lesson on the coffee table. Anna hated to interrupt him working, but if she wasn’t careful then she would end up having a musical made about her and Olaf would have to tell a group of middle schoolers that he knew her way back when. 

His face lit up when the door opened, but quickly fell into worry once he saw her appearance. “Anna? What happened?”

“You are never ever going to believe me, and I don’t even know if I can tell you,” Anna sighed as she plopped on their couch.

“What? Is the Arendellian mob associated with the queen? Cause that’s what looks like happened to you,” he let out a slight chuckle. She shot him a cold look and he fixed his tone. “Sorry, wasn’t funny. What happened?”

If they dropped all of that on me in less than an hour, I think I can tell one person. “Okay I’ll tell you. But you might want to get comfortable.”

After telling him everything, from the skinned knees to the sobbing in front of a Chase, Olaf looked like a deer in headlights. Anna could see on his face that he was trying to process everything. After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

“I was wondering why that guy was at our door again.”

“That’s all y- Wait. Who? Mattias?”

“Yeah, him. He came about 10 minutes after you left with a car for you.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Anna let out a long, shaky breath. “Olaf what am I gonna do?”

“Well,” he scooted closer to her on the couch, pulling her close. “Whatever you choose, just know I will be here for you.”

Anna sighed and leaned into him. “Thank you, and if I do become queen-”

They locked eyes as she said that. The pair of best friends let out the most hysterical laughs that were so loud the Brooklyn Bridge shook.

“Life is random and unfair,” Olaf let out between laughs, “some get nothing-”

“And some randomly become royalty!” Anna fell off the couch, clutching her stomach. The laughing fit was slowly chasing the reality of the situation. The monarchy- and Kritsoff’s text message.

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

When Anna was done showering, she sat in her towel on her bed wondering if it was even worth it to go to work. She still had no clue what she was going to do or of Arendelle’s ability to finance her so-called boujee Brooklyn walk up, but everything does tend to have a new pointless feeling after your whole life changing in under half an hour.

After a mild existential crisis and consequently dancing to Doja Cat to feel better, Anna headed to work. Since she had the meeting so early with the queen- which did not feel like a real thought to her- Anna surprisingly did not have to rush to work and even had extra time to do a winged liner. 

She was even ten minutes early. This will make Kristoff very happy. Oh sh- I forgot to text him back. Just as Anna thought that, she had caught his eye on her way to the back. She stopped and walked over to his prep station to talk to him.

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

Kristoff was never good at texting girls. He never understood the emojis or the TikToks they sent, and he always ended up having bad text etiquette in the end. To him, it was a blessing in disguise because it was very easy to realize which girls he really liked and which he did not. 

He never thought about it being the other way around, though. Sure, he had only texted Anna a few hours earlier but if he learned one thing from his few and far between misadventures in texting girls, it was that texting back fast was important. 

All morning he tried not to pay attention to it. Sure she had said yes, but to him Anna actually going through with a date seemed like something else entirely. He even went into work early to think about cutting strawberries for the lunch rush instead of Anna.

But after doing so, Kristoff had come to the realization that coming into work early to not think about Anna was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

Well, realized might not be the right word. It was more like Sven-made-a-joke-about-it-now-so-it's-painfully-obvious. That’s what realizing meant to Kristoff sometimes.

Sven had clapped a hand on his shoulder, “Got some Anna on the brain?” 

Nonetheless, Kristoff knew now that even coming to work wouldn’t kick this girl from living rent free in his mind. Not only because she worked there, but the smallest things reminded him of her. When he would get that day’s special menu and see anything involving chocolate, he thought of how obsessed Anna was with it, and that maybe he should save her some. (He always did.) Or when putting ground pepper to finish off a plate, he would think about how her freckles were arbitrarily placed but still looked perfect. Or when he was cutting strawberries, how he would describe them as red, but also would describe her hair as red, which never made sense to him. Interrupting that last thought, he caught her eye just as she came in.

With a smile that seemed to be a tad faltered, Anna walked through the kitchen. She waved at other chefs and chippered hello. As she approached him, he felt himself get those damn butterflies in his stomach.

“Ten minutes early? It’s like you’re trying to impress me with punctuality,” Kristoff chuckled, trying to come off as cool as possible.

“Well, I figure I have better traits to show off than that,” Anna smirked slightly. 

With bright pink cheeks, Kristoff cleared his throat. “Uhm, did you get my text? About, y’know...”

Anna’s eyes widened but she quickly composed herself. “I did. I came to say sorry for not texting back sooner.”

“I don’t mind, I’m not great at texting back, so it’s no biggie,” Kristoff gave her a reassuring smile. Biggie? That is not a real word, Kristoff thought.

“Oh, But I still want to go out! I still really really do. Some people just like when people text back quickly and I didn’t know if you were one of those people-” she rambled slightly.

“Anna,” His voice was high so he cleared his throat again. “It’s completely fine. When should we...?”

“How about tonight? Is that okay? Not too soon or anything?” Anna assumed that today could not be any crazier, so now seemed like as good a time as any to go on a date with a cute boy she really likes to get her mind off of everything.

“Not too soon. Tonight is great, Anna.” Kristoff smiled down at her.

“Can’t wait.” Anna got up on what seemed like her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. None of the other people working in the kitchen seemed to notice, except Sven, who gave him a shit eating grin and two thumbs up.

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

Both of their shifts seemed to last much longer than normal. Anna avoided looking at the clock by telling herself more time would pass if she didn’t peek and Kristoff’s orders seemed to trickle in slower than normal despite the packed house. But finally, the last stragglers finally left for the evening and Anna started to get sweaty. She already was since the minute Kristoff agreed for their first date to be tonight. It did give her something else to focus on besides the whole crown princess thing.

After both of them cleaned up from the busy and never ending never ending night, they met by the door to see where the New York summer night would take them.

“Anna,” Kristoff gave her a big smile that made her heart flutter, “you ready?”

“More than ready, Kris,” Anna copied him by saying his name. They walked out of the restaurant doors and onto the sidewalk which was golden from the sunset. 

“What do you want to do?” Kristoff asked, as he realized they did not have a destination.

Anna stopped in her tracks, “Are you a burger kind of guy?”

“I am actually.” Kristoff had tried to think of something witty to say to impress her, but came up dry.

“Can we get burgers then? I have had a burger dinner kind of day,” Anna joked and looked up at him shyly.

“Sounds good to me. I know a great place.” He gave her a side smile as she nodded up at him. Silence fell over them as they walked. After a few moments, curiosity got the best of Kristoff. “What made this a burger kind of day? And.. What does that mean? Sorry, I don’t keep up with the trends much.” He had flushed slightly.

Looking up at him, Anna explained, “Oh, that’s because it’s not a trend. It’s something me and my best friend Olaf say. A ‘burger kind of day’ is when you have an insane day and want nothing more than to eat all of your daily recommended calories in one sitting.”

Kristoff laughed, and the redhead was proud of herself. “What made today feel like that?”

Anna paused, thinking about if the first date was the right time to tell someone you are an heir to a European throne. “If I could tell you all the little details, I would. Safe to say my life will never be the same again.”

“Oh, in that case, it definitely sounds like a burger kind of day. And, no pressure to tell me Anna. The last thing I would want to do is pressure you to do something you don’t want to.” He looked down at her with another lopsided smile.

“Thank you,” she gave him the most genuine smile he had seen from her that day. He felt content that he was able to do that. “And don’t worry about not being good at internet slang. I’ll be sure to translate for you, grandpa.”

“Hey!” he chuckled, “I am not a grandpa!”

“Those glasses you use to read the menu say differently, my dear Christopher.”

“My name is not Christopher and you know it,” he elbowed her lightly, feeling more comfortable now.

Anna stumbled backway dramatically with a deep inhale, “Ah! And, I know, but Kristoff isn’t really a grandpa name. Christopher is.”

Kristoff steadied her without an issue and they both grinned. “So if you were a grandma your name would be… Annabelle Marie?”

“Something of the sorts, yeah.”

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

Anna had not felt that at peace in awhile. Even before her life was blown up only hours prior. Kristoff was such a nice person and was nothing but kind and respectful. Anna had decided she would tell him about the queen and everything once she decided what she was going to do. Which, for her in this moment, felt like a no if she would have to stop this.

The burger place they went to was a hole in the wall without seating, so they walked to a park and ate in the grass. Honestly, it was the most romantic date Anna had ever been on.

Kristoff never felt luckier. This was going way better than he thought it would. She laughed at his jokes, and he told her almost all the funny stories he could think of to get her to laugh. 

For both of them, even though it was only date one, it felt so right.

At her doorstep, after walking her all the way home, Kristoff gave her a full smile. “Anna, I had such an amazing time tonight.”

“I super did too. I mean really!” Anna exclaimed as she flumbled her words from a sudden resurgence of nerves. “Can we do it again?”

Kristoff laughed. “You don’t even have to ask.”

They both stood under the warm light of the entrance to her building. Kristoff was doing the thing where guys keep looking at a girls lips, pondering on what to do next. Making the decision for him, Anna got on her tiptoes, slid her hand around his neck and kissed him softly. He put his hands around her waist to pull her closer, deepening the kiss.

After a moment, they stepped away with big smiles on their faces.

“Goodnight, Kris,” Anna beamed as she walked into her building.

Still on the front step, Kristoff touched his mouth in a slight state of shock. He went back to his apartment with a whole new air.

#finally oh my gosh #ltdi #my fics! #kristanna #kristanna fanfic #frozen 2 spoliers #frozen fanfic #kristoff #anna

[mintymiknow]

Innocence [Jeongin/I.N.]

This drabble is part of the 50 Kisses Drabble Challenge! [ @bhubblemilk​ requested Number 38 + Jeongin]

Number 38: Whispering “I love you” before a chaste, delicate kiss.

A/N: This drabble is part of the universe where Wonderland (my other Jeongin scenario) takes place! Some references might not be understood if you haven’t read it.

The streets were quiet and peaceful despite being a normal work day. Perhaps everyone was just too tired to make excessive noise. No one was honking their car horns or shouting goodbye as they parted ways with their friends. Instead, the gentle rustling of leaves and soft murmurs of people filled the night.

You and Jeongin walked side by side. The male smiles as he speaks, “Who would have thought that we’d have to stay in school ‘til this hour of the night just to finish a project?”

“Jeongin, it’s just 7:00 PM.” you chuckle, “The night is still young.”

“I just want my burger.” Jeongin laughs.

Everything came rushing back to you. The first time you met Jeongin was in your dream in some place called Wonderland. The next day, he turned up in your school as a transfer student. The first time you ever hung out with him was in a burger restaurant called Stray Burgers – yeah, it’s not the most appetizing or attractive name, but the burgers there were to die for. Ever since you and Jeongin became friends, Stray Burgers was the place to hang out.

You have been friends for more than a year now. The first year he spent with you in school were one of the best. He would always make you laugh and smile with the simplest things. He was always there to cheer you up when things got rough. You supported him through the good times and bad. Yes, Yang Jeongin was your wonderland.

Upon entering the restaurant, you both place your orders and slide into one of the booths. Jeongin starts to talk about how Seungmin kept annoying him in science class a few hours ago, and you giggle every time Jeongin makes a face with an expression you can’t really describe. Your food arrives, and you both enjoy the meal as usual. “Hey! Stop stealing my fries!” you hiss.

Jeongin smiles, “Sharing is caring, y/n.”

“Not when it comes to my fries.” you wiggle your finger at the boy.

Jeongin raises an eyebrow jokingly, “Not even for me?”

You pout your lip and place a finger on your chin, “I think I’ll have to ponder on that.”

“You’re no fun.” Jeongin laughs before taking another piece from you.

“Yang Jeongin!”

An hour later, Jeongin offered to walk you home since it was already evening. While walking on the sidewalk, you randomly ask the male, “Jeongin, have you ever dreamed about Wonderland again?”

Jeongin hums while thinking, “No, not ever since that first time. Why?”

“Nothing.” you shrug, “I was just curious since it was a dream I never really forgot about.”

“Well, if I did dream about it, I don’t think I’d take it seriously. Like, really? Jisung as this crazy, hat-wearing guy? He’s our schoolmate, apparently.” Jeongin points out.

“Yeah, but you have to admit. He can be pretty crazy sometimes.” you add, “Especially when he’s with Minho and Hyunjin.”

Jeongin nudges you with his elbow, “Minho is such a sly cat in Wonderland but in real life, he’s pretty much a dork.”

“Oh, you’re one to talk!” you tease.

Jeongin shakes his head with a playful pout, “At least I’m cute like the rabbit version of me.”

You roll your eyes, “The rabbit version of you was always panicking.”

You proceed to imitating a frantic and frazzled version of Jeongin which causes the male to laugh. Soon, you both burst into laughter, tears threatening to trickle out of your eyes. When Jeongin stops laughing, he simply takes a deep breath and smiles, looking at the shadow the street lights cast onto the pavement. His eyes shift to you for a brief second – you were calmly looking ahead, humming to the tune of your favorite song. His gaze went to your hands then to you again as if he was debating on something. He focuses his gaze forward and slowly inches his hand next to yours. You feel his hand brush against your own like a feather tickling the surface. The action causes butterflies to go crazy in your stomach, much like how you always felt with Jeongin. After a few more moments of shy hands brushing against each other, Jeongin musters the courage and gently laces his fingers with yours. His heart is hammering against his chest just as you feel your own heartbeat racing. You glance at your interlocked hands before looking up at him. Jeongin turns his head to you as well, a gleaming smile already on his face. You shyly smile back before you both look away and turn into a flustered mess with pink cheeks. You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling like a lovestruck grade-schooler, and Jeongin turns his head to the side so you wouldn’t see the enormous grin on his face.

Before you know it, you’ve arrived at your place. When you stand in front of your door, you turn to look at your friend. The street lights perfectly illuminate Jeongin’s bright yet innocent face, casting shadows on his face to make him even more attractive. “I had fun today as usual.” you grin.

Jeongin gives you a thumbs up, “So did I.”

You both look at your hands still held together. No one really makes a move, and Jeongin decides to swing your interlocked hands back and forth like a swing. “Is something wrong, Jeongin?” you ask.

Jeongin stares at your hands for a while. “I was just…thinking.” he muses.

“About what?”

“What you asked earlier.” he answers, “If I still dream about Wonderland.”

“Yeah, what about it?” you tilt your head curiously.

Jeongin shyly smiles, his dimples showing, “I think I know why I don’t have dreams of it anymore.”

“Why?” you ask again, heart racing in your chest for an unknown reason.

Jeongin takes a bold step closer, something you’re not used to seeing as he was often shy in making such gestures. “Why would I need to dream of it when my wonderland is already in my life – for real?”

You sheepishly grin and tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, obviously flustered. “Oh…is that so?”

His smile becomes wider as he grows more confident with each passing second, “I don’t need to dream about a world with you in it because you’re already in my world. Right here, right now.”

He squeezes your hand just a little tighter, and you smile wider in response, eyes twinkling with joy. “I was going to say the exact same thing.” you giggle.

“Copycat.” Jeongin jokes, “Don’t plagiarize me, y/n.”

“Oh my gosh, you can’t be serious right now.” you laugh heartily, causing Jeongin to smile, the wrinkles by the side of his eyes making him even cuter.

“Ok, I’ll be serious now.” Jeongin laughs.

You nod with a giddy feeling in your chest. Jeongin takes both of your hands in his, pulling you towards him – not too close, but close enough for you to hear each other’s heartbeats. The male bites his lip nervously, so you give him a light nod to signal him to continue. Jeongin calms his crazy heart down and confidently rests his forehead against yours, the tip of his nose barely touching yours. “I love you.” he whispers with the purest and most genuine smile etched on his face. You can only giggle and squeeze his hands tighter in response. Right after, Jeongin’s lips meet yours in a chaste kiss. There was something innocent about it – so delicate and gentle as if Jeongin was kissing a porcelain doll that would shatter if he moved to quickly.

He pulls away after a few seconds, cheeks redder than the apples you ate for lunch. He nervously chuckles and looks down at the ground, “I’m sorry, I – ”

“I love you too, silly.” you whisper in the happiest way possible.

At this, Jeongin looks at you and giggles gleefully. Suddenly, his phone rings and he checks the caller ID – Felix, his roommate. Jeongin looks at you apologetically, but you simply give his hand one last squeeze, “It’s ok, he might be worried you’re not back at your dorm yet.”

He smiles at you, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Of course.”

“Goodnight, y/n.”

“Goodnight, Innie.”

Jeongin kisses your cheek softly before saying goodbye and making his leave. Once you’re inside your apartment, you lean on the door and grin from ear-to-ear. At the same time, Jeongin was walking back to his place and couldn’t help but giggle.

“He said he loves me.”

“She said she loves me.”

#stray kids #jeongin #yang jeongin #jeongin scenario #jeongin imagine #jeongin drabble #i.n. #i.n. scenario #i.n. drabble #i.n. imagine #stray kids jeongin #stray kids imagine #stray kids scenario #stray kids drabble #skz #yang jeongin scenario #yang jeongin imagine #yang jeongin drabble #jeongin x reader #stray kids x reader #high school au #au #high school #50 kisses drabble challenge

[crazedlunatic]

When You Knew

Anon: Eric realizes that he wants to marry Alec? I think I remember reading he didn’t want to get married but I know that they do so I am interested in the evolution of that

“So we’ve been married for three years now and it is time for you to tell me.” Alec said, going to up the admissions desk at the ER.

Eric, who was about to get off and trying to finish his paperwork, glanced up to see Alec smiling. “Tell you… what exactly?” Eric asked suspiciously, looking up from the paperwork he was filling out.

“You know. When you knew you were going to marry me.”

Kurt’s Blaine’s friend David, who was there as well but talking to the registrar, pulled a face.

“Oh, don’t you even dare, David. Digimon marathons?” Alec snapped.

“Okay, that’s rude.” David scoffed.

“Plus… are you ever going to marry the mother of your toddler and unborn child? Eric wants to know.”

“Alec!” Eric hissed and then added, “Well… I am curious.”

“Talk to her about that one.” David shrugged and walked off.

“I’m serious. You’re being all secretive about it and it’s getting annoying now. You didn’t just propose to shut me up, did you?” Alec asked as David’s ‘girlfriend?’ walked up to Eric. “Please tell me we’re not married so I would quit asking if we were going to get married.”

“Friendly advice.” She chirped. “Answer the question and if it’s a stupid answer, make one up. Can I go home, Eric?”

“I guess so but if you see the Chief in the breakroom, you may want to ask her.” Eric shrugged. “Have a good night.”

“Can David leave too?”

Eric rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I don’t like walking to the apartment by myself.”

“It’s… not even a whole block down, Marcy.”

“Don’t make a pregnant woman cry.” Marcy stuck out her lower lip.

“Fine.” Eric sighed. “Please tell me you don’t use that pout with David. You’re not even going to wait for him to hand his patients off before you leave, are you?”

“I’m a big girl. I can walk home by myself.” Marcy gave him a look. “I just know how to work you to get what I want.”

“You literally just said… whatever. See you tomorrow.”

“Oh? Do you know why he proposed to me?” Alec asked, looking at Marcy.

“Probably your money.” Marcy shrugged.

“Uhm… he has a lot more than I do?”

“Something else superficial? Your looks?”

“Bye, Marcy.” Eric gave her an annoyed look.

“It’s so much quicker when he makes you leave.” Marcy whispered to Alec before walking out with one of the other nurses.

“I married you so I wouldn’t have to marry one of those.” Eric sighed.

“Uh, no. Finish your hand offs and we are going to enjoy our third anniversary and you are going to tell me why you wanted to marry me.” Alec gave him a look.

“Fine. Go sit in the break room. Someone had a gnarly stomach bug yesterday and three people have already left sick.” Eric sighed again.

Alec kissed his cheek and walked towards the breakroom.

…

“Telllll me.”

“Oh my God.”

“No. No more being shy, Eric. Tell me now and if you don’t have a good reason, make a better one up.” Alec literally sat down on his lap so he could not move.

“How much caffeine have you had today, Alec?”

“The same amount Kurt and I always have when we’re hiding away from our studios… so, a lot. It’s just so annoying to listen to them all the time. You can’t turn in sketches with mustard on them. Do they not know they’re giving that to the main designer? Their boss?”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Your butt is bony.”

“Well then you better talk fast so I’ll get up, I guess.”

“Get what up?” Eric asked mischievously.

“Yeah, no sex unless you tell me a satisfactory answer. Sorry.”

“I don’t know. I mean… it was kind of little, stupid stuff and when you put it all together… I just knew I was being dumb trying to not marry you.” Eric said somewhat lamely, shrugging.

“Like what?”

“Mainly when we were up at the alter with the officiant. I was going to run off, but you were actually on time for once.” Eric grinned.

“Eric.” Alec shot him a look.

“I mean it really is a bunch of stupid, little stuff that just accumulated into a big boom moment, you know?”

“If it was that important, it wasn’t really stupid or little.”

“I don’t know. You’ve, like, known since we first got together and it took me a lot longer to jump on the marriage train.” Eric bit his lip.

“That’s okay. I just want to know. So, tell me some of the little stuff.”

“Well… remember our first date in Ohio? We had the dinner reservations at the place you heard about… and my car window on the passenger side was leaking because it was raining, we missed the ferry by five minutes so we had to wait another hour. Meanwhile, it’s still raining and you’re getting all wet and cold. Then on the ferry you got super seasick. It was supposed to be a half our ferry ride but end up, like, an hour and fifteen minutes… and you were so nauseous you couldn’t even eat your food. I felt so bad because it was our first time seeing each other in three weeks and you had been so excited to go and I completely ruined it.”

“I forgot about that.” Alec smiled. “It’s okay. When I ate the food the next morning, it was mazing.”

“Oh, I’m not even done!” Eric said as Alec moved off his lap to sit next to him on the couch.

“What else?”

“We were five minutes late to the ferry ride back and had to wait an extra hour again but it was even longer than that. Still raining so you’re still getting wet. So, then I was freaking out because we got lost and Siri kept taking us the wrong way so you had to use the Maps on your phone. You’re horrible about that still, by the way… And when we got back to your place you were just acting like you hadn’t had the worst night of your life and you told me that I could pick the next place for our Ohio adventures… and I think I kind of knew I wanted all of the adventures to be with you.”

“You’re so sweet.” Alec pouted a bit.

“Also, the first time we actually slept through the night in a bed together… When I went on vacation with you and your family the summer after I graduated. I remember thinking that I wanted to wake up next to you every day and how happy that would make me. And then one time when you were staying with me, I was studying and you were asleep. So I’m halfway into this study guide about burn treatment and you just randomly rolled over, draped your arm around my lower stomach, and sleepily told me that you wished you could fly... and then you started snoring and it was the most hilarious thing. I think I kind of knew then too.”

“… I had drank that night, hadn’t I? I was really hoping that had been a dream but I only snore when I’m drunk or sick.” Alec groaned.

“I never let you drink too much. You’re a lightweight anyway. A drink and a half in I’ll hear the hiccup giggle and take it away.” Eric laughed. “Oh God. And then how you anthropomorphize things. I think it was when we had first moved in together here in New York City and I was putting the new tea packets in the little drawer since we’d been running low... You came in like a lunatic and hysterically told me I had to move the old ones to the front because you didn’t want to ruin the their hopes and dreams of being our cups of tea.” Eric laughed. “You still do that. Give things human characteristics and empathize for people much more than they deserve… except my mother, that is.”

“I’ve done it since I was little.” Alec said and then frowned. “Well, not the thing with your mom… but pretty much ever since I met her and she said I was jail bait. Is that it?”

“There is a bigger one but it’s kind of depressing.” Eric said.

“What?”

“When your dad was at war and those bombs went off and they couldn’t find him and you were just broken. Like… the only other time I’d seen you like that was when in freshman year I got drunk and… you know. And you didn’t call me. When I asked why you said you hadn’t even thought to and I… just knew that I had to make sure you knew you could call me. I knew that I always had to be there to protect you and take care of you to make sure you never feel like you can’t call me again… and so you know you always have one person that will answer no matter what… That was the big one.”

Tears filled Alec’s eyes and he let out a deep breath.

“You’ve always meant so much to me and it was stupid to not want to be married because I feel like by the time you started at CCAD, we pretty much already were married since you followed me there… and the more time we passed and the longer I would go without seeing you… I just knew my quality of life was so much better with you in it and suddenly getting legally married didn’t seem so scary anymore. The possibility of losing you was what was scary because I knew you wanted it so bad… almost as scary as the way I had felt before your dad was able to contact you and your mom. It just seemed silly…”

Alec sniffled, wiping his eyes.

“When did you know you wanted to marry me?”

“Two things, same day.” Alec sniffed. “On our first date you didn’t take me to a place that served burgers.”

“Your mom actually gave me that hint.” Eric said— suddenly feeling very thankful he’d took the advice.

“I figured because she was so smug when I told her about the date.” Alec laughed.

“The other thing?”

“When you kissed me… you had been so flustered when you finally got up the courage to ask me out but it was like once we got away from my house on the way to the restaurant everything was super calm and you were just you…The way you’d been before you started to like me when were just friends…”

“No, seriously. I don’t know why but all the nerves just went away. Honestly, I’d been a nervous wreck until then.” Eric gasped. “It was so weird.”

“But,” Alec said. “You kissed me and I just knew that nobody would ever make me feel like that again. Nobody could make me feel that way again…. And then you pulled away and said it had never felt like that before even though you’d been head over heels with Adam… I just knew it was bigger than a crush or a first date… I knew we were meant to be.”

“Seriously? No other ah-ha moment?” Eric looked doubtful.

“No. I just knew and always have.” Alec said. “Obviously I tried to play that down because I didn’t want to seem clingy… and honestly, if I hadn’t already felt that way before you got drunk and slept with Adam I probably would have ended it but I knew I could never feel this way for anybody else. Almost like it was fate that we moved back here when we did. That sounds lame but… it’s true.”

“I’m so glad we stayed together… I know you don’t bake or cook much but your peanut butter cookies are so good and I still want to make how you make them so round?”

“Not telling.” Alec singsonged. “I did tell your brother, though… so he could make some and impress his now wife. See? When I bake and cook, it’s life changing. Too risky to do it too often.”

#wbuct drabble #alec/eric

[ladyninjaa]

Snake Girl 3

Imagine: Being Archie’s little sister and getting sick which leads to your friends (Sweet Pea included) to check up on you at home.

warning: cute fluff.

Part 1 Part 2

“Are you sure you’re going to be fine today, sweetie?” Your dad came into your room early morning on a school day; his worry was clear as you started to cough harshly. “I can afford to take a day of.” He says as he hands you more medicine.

You take the medicine with a scowl on your face; you detested being sick. “Dad, I’m fine, I can handle being on my own today.” You reassure not wanting him to miss out on work, “No need to take drastic measures.” You give a small smile being you blew your nose into a tissue. You weren’t sure who had gotten you sick but since your immune system was shit, this virus was hitting you rather hard.

You had fainted yesterday during you training session with Reggie and Reggie had totally freaked out. You had been feeling shit that morning but brushed it off because you didn’t’ want to miss school—your attendance was perfect and you didn’t want to ruin it…until your father and brother forced you to stay home today.

Vegas was sleeping soundly at your feet acting as your lazy protector and companion for the day. Archie came in with some medicinal tea, “I made you some tea and just like you like it.” Archie offered you the warm mug and you gladly accepted it—anything to clear your clogged up sinuses and sooth your itchy throat.

“Thanks, Arch.” You thanked with some relief before drinking the almost too hot tea—you were desperate to get rid of this unbearable itch in your throat, “I hate being sick.” You muttered with disdain.

“Blame your mother; she has a weak immune system too.” Your father smiled softly.

“Thanks, mom.” You sighed unhappily.

“I gotta get to school, text me if you need anything, okay? I’ll come by for lunch, okay?” Archie reassures coming over to kiss your forehead and ruffled Vegas’s head, “You take good care of her, okay, Vegas?” Archie demanded to the dog with a grin.

Vegas sleepily looked up at your brother and lazily wagged his tail.

“I might be late coming home from work but I’ll leave some money in the kitchen for pizza or whatever you want, okay?” Your father said as he was leaving for work too. He saw you nod and both of them left your room leaving you and Vegas finally in solace.

You had planned to take a shit-ton of medicine, drink your tea, and sleep this virus off. You wanted to get better as soon as possible. After blowing your nose for the hundredth time that morning, you curled into your sheets with Vegas moving to curl into your side and drifted off into a deep sleep.

You woke up to Vegas slapping his tail against your face, “Vegas, what the hell.” You grumbled with your voice sounding horrible. You sat up and heard Archie’s voice along with Reggie’s. “Huh, is it lunch time already?” You mumbled with a sigh, “I wish I would’ve slept the entire day.”

“Y/N? Are you awake?” Archie hollered as he loudly stomped up the stairs.

“I am now.” You remarked grumpily and ran your hand over your hair knowing it must’ve been all over the place, “Vegas kept slapping his tail in my face.” Archie came into your room and Reggie awkwardly looked out of place.

“Reggie wanted to see how you were doing; you freaked him out pretty bad.” Archie explained as your big brother opened his backpack and handed your lunchbox, “I convinced the lunch-lady to give you an extra brownie.” Archie grins, “How are you feeling?”

You sniffled and replied with a sad look, “Still pretty shitty. I can’t breathe through my nose and my throat hurts a lot.” You explain to him and Archie frowns, “I think I might have a throat infection.” You were pretty prone to often throat infections for some odd reason.

Vegas was excitedly sniffing at Reggie and Reggie seemed to enjoy the dog’s attention. Reggie did have a soft spot for dogs. “I’ll call our doctor to make an appointment for later today,” Archie hums lightly, “I��ll go make your tea.” Archie kisses your forehead and leaves the room.

“Sorry for freaking you out yesterday.” You apologized to Reggie and gesture for him to sit down in your recliner next to your bed, “I didn’t think it would get that bad so fast.”

Reggie sat in the recliner, “I noticed how red your cheeks were but I didn’t think anything of it; I’m just glad you’re okay.” Reggie smiled as Vegas planted himself at Reggie’s feet, “I don’t think I saw your dog at the party the other week, he’s pretty cool.” Reggie admits sheepishly.

“Archie had him in my room. We didn’t want anyone messing with him or kidnapping him.” You chuckled softly.

“I, ah, I brought homework from third period.” Reggie admits looking a bit shy which was weird of him, “Homework and notes.” Reggie opens his backpack and puts his blue folder on your nightstand.

“Thanks, Reg,” You sigh happily, “I was going to ask but I wiped out as soon as Archie and my dad left the house.” Despite his status and appearance, Reggie was pretty intelligent.

“Sleeping off the sickness, eh? Lucky you, I can’t fall asleep easily when I get sick.” Reggie tells you with a light scowl, “I keep thinking how I miss my nostrils not being clogged the fuck up and how I hate being sick and in turn, can’t sleep.”

You giggle, “I feel you, I was like that last night but Archie practically overdosed me with Nyquil and I knocked out with fifteen minutes.”

“Archie has you pretty sheltered, huh?” Reggie muses randomly, “I don’t blame him. If I had a little sister, I’d be the same too.”

“It can get pretty frustrating when he’s in big brother mode.” You scoff with an eye roll, “Remember homecoming last year? I went with Frankie and he got too handsy and you all ended up beating him up.”

Reggie smirked, “Archie was pretty livid. I’m surprised the kid left with his life.”

“I doubt I’ll get asked out this year.” You grumbled.

“Who knows, maybe some poor guy will finally have the balls to stand up to your brother.” Reggie snickers though it sounds like he doubts it because Archie is backed up by the football team. Archie comes back with your tea and you gladly drink it. Archie and Reggie catch you up with the drama at school before it was time for them to go back to school before the first bells rang.

You managed to get the strength and walked them to the front door, “Feel better, Y/N.” Reggie smiles as Archie hugs you.

“Thanks, Reg, I appreciate you coming to see me and giving me homework and notes.” You smile back even though you feel very yucky—maybe a nice, hot shower would help you feel better. You bid farewell to your brother and Reggie and watch them drive away. You close the door, locked it, and trudged up the stairs to go take a hot—very hot shower. Your dad had made it clear that you couldn’t go see your snake babies until you were better which was a major bummer.

After taking a shower, you decided to clean up the house. The shower did help clearing your nose but it didn’t last very long. You felt pretty shitty but cleaning helped take your mind off feeling shitty. Eventually, you grabbed your favorite pillow and cat blanket and plopped down on the cough to watch some movies. The Devil Wears Prada, 13 going on 30, The Interview, and How to train your dragon were your must sees whenever you were sick.

It wasn’t long until someone was knocking on your front door.

“Who the fuck…” You grumbled groggily since you had been falling asleep. Vegas was already at the door, you gently push him away from the front door, and opened it to see Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea and they brought Pop’s.

“We come bearing gifts.” Jughead smiles.

“You look like shit.” Fangs deadpans and Toni smacks the shit out of his shoulder, “Ow! She does but it’s kinda cute.”

“Thanks, dude.” You roll your eyes, “Come on in, I can’t turn away good company and good food. Does Archie know you’re all here?” You ask as you let them inside. Jughead didn’t look so out of place in your house but the Serpents did and it was almost funny. Sweet Pea was almost to tall for your door and it made you giggle.

Sweet Peas cock an eyebrow at you, “Something funny?” He glares mildly at you.

“You’re a giant.” You muttered closing the door, “You almost don’t fit through the door.” You look up at him since he was tall as hell and he towered over you.

Sweet Pea shakes his head, “Thanks, Y/N.” He remarks dryly.

“What a cutie!” Toni coos over Vegas who is basking in the attention.

You guess everyone had a soft spot for dogs. “What kind of gay shit were you watching.” Fangs is going through your DVD cases with a disgusted look.

“Hey, these are classics.” Toni defends your taste in movies.

“The Devil Wears Prada and 13 going on 30 are pretty good.” Jughead adds earning disgusted looks from Fangs and Sweet Pea. You were all smiles and laughs despite feeling so sick as you ate with Jughead and the Serpents. You felt right at home with them, it was weird. It felt as if you had known Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea all your life.

“You don’t like tomatoes?” Sweet Pea frowns as you pick off the tomatoes off your burger—Jughead knew you hated tomatoes but ordered them on your burger only because it meant a free tomato for him. You peeled off the two slices of tomato and dropped it on Jughead’s burger. You ignored his happy smirk.

“They’re gross.” You mumbled as you shoved your burger into your mouth.

“I like a girl that can eat.” Fangs watch you with awe and it made you feel uncomfortable.

Jughead smacks Fangs on the arm, “She doesn’t like when people stare at her while she eats.” Jughead informs him.

“Sorry.” Fangs mumbled.

It didn’t take long until the good food was gone and the good company was begging to see your snake collection. “Jughead, go ahead and give them a tour. My dad banned me from the snake shack.” You tell him before going into a fit of rough coughs that had Toni patting your back and Jughead to look for the Nyquil. 

“Are you sure?” Jughead asks as he hands you some Nyquil.

You nod, “Yeah.” Toni and Fangs are beyond excited but Sweet Pea declines to go. Fangs taunts him for being a bitch but eventually left to the snake shack. “Why didn’t you go?” You asked him curiously as the both of you sit at the dining table—your chair angled towards his.

He shrugged, “I rather you give me a tour of your snakes.” He replies easily.

You smiled, “Why?”

Sweet Pea pins you with a serious look that leaves your stomach squirming, “Because I like how excited you get whenever you talk about your snakes.” You couldn’t help the blush that burns over your cheeks and your eyes downcast with some shyness.

“People usually get tired of my endless ramblings about snakes.” You mumbled softly.

You shyly look up at Sweet Pea and find him staring at you with an interesting smile, “I don’t, I think it’s cool that you’re that passionate about snake; I think it’s hot.” Sweet Pea leans in towards you and you’re frozen in place.

Your heart hammers tightly in your chest—no boy had ever been this close to your face before. His dark eyes seemed somber and held you captive with how intense they seemed. He seemed so bad and tough but…you felt almost safe with him. “I’ve been thinking about something and I need your advice.” Sweet Pea spoke and you shyly watched his lips move.

“Advice on what?” You mumbled leaning away slightly—your cheeks were flushed deeply and Sweet Pea noted your reaction with amusement.

“I like you.” Sweet Pea deadpans.

“M-M-Me?” You stuttered with wide eyes unable to believe that big and tough Sweet Pea could possibly like someone like you, “But…I’m a Northsider?” You squeaked.

Sweet Pea reached out to grab the bottom of your chair and pulled your chair towards him—your legs now touching his. Your hands began to get clammy and you licked your lips unsure what was going on. “You act way different than a normal Northsider.” Sweet Pea says watching as you chew on your lower lip.

“I’m not sure if your people would approve of you dating a Northsider.” You whispered with a sad tone.

“I don’t give a fuck about what others think,” Sweet Pea says firmly taking you by surprise, “You’re special, Y/N, and everyone can see it. I’ve never met a girl like you and no girl has ever held my interest as you do…I know what I want and it is you.” Sweet Pea reaches out to gently gasp your clammy hand. You watch intently as his large hand engulfs your small hand and couldn’t help but to love the warmth of his skin—how can someone be so hot?

You felt like a fish out of water, “I…I…I’ve never had a boyfriend so, I don’t know how to be a girlfriend?” You awkwardly say and cringe.

Sweet Pea smirks, “It’s not that hard,” He reassures, “And I promise to be a good boyfriend.” He adds softly, “I didn’t think I’d ever be serious with anyone but I know I want my first relationship to be with you.”

His words made your hear sing an angle choir—you’ve heard a lot of guys talking with similar sweet words but Sweet Pea’s voice…sounded so sincere. His eyes were an open book and you knew it was because he was letting you see a side of him no one really saw. You didn’t notice but your fingers were intertwining with his. A relationship with Sweet Pea wouldn’t be easy…who he was and what he stood for…but it didn’t really matter to you.

Archie would…definitely throw a temper tantrum. Your father…you weren’t sure how your father would react. “You’re asking me out, right?” You dumbly ask.

Sweet Pea smirked softly, “Yeah, I am.”

You blush, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Sweet Pea squeezes your hand, “I know what I want, Y/N, and I usually don’t change my mind about things like this.” Sweet Pea reassures, “So, is that a yes or no?” Sweet Pea questions.

You couldn’t help but to smile softly, “Yes.”

Sweet Pea grins, “I don’t usually like parents but I’ll try to give your father a good impression of me.” He says and sighs, “I really want to kiss you right now, I’m beyond stoked right now.” He says with a light pout. Your eyes staring at his lips—he had really nice lips.

“Don’t look at me like that, Princess,” Sweet Pea slips his hand into your hair and pulls you dangerously close to his face, “I might be tempted to kiss you.”

You blush and he smirks, “I’m sick.” You muttered sadly.

“Not for long.” Sweet Pea muses, “I’m going to enjoy having you as mine.” He murmurs brushing his lips against your cheek. Your body shook with joy and pleasure—this boy was going to be the death of you.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.” Toni’s voice made you flinch away from Sweet Pea so roughly that you fell off your chair.

“Ow…” You whined as Sweet Pea helped you up.

“You okay?” Sweet Pea murmurs with a small smile.

“This is your fault.” You grumble with a blush.

“Archie is going to freak the fuck out.” Jughead says unsure whether or not he approves of this situation.

“Yes! You made your move!” Fangs comes in and pats Sweet Pea on the shoulder with a large smirk, “Finally, I was tired of hearing you talk about her.”

“You talked about me?” You teased softly.

Sweet Pea scowls at Fangs but looks at you and his glare softens, “Yeah.”

“Oh, gross.” Jughead snorts.

“You two will be so cute together.” Toni says with a smile, “I can imagine the heads that will turn with the news of Sweet Pea and Y/N going out.”

“A first date will make it official.” Jughead adds protectively, “Right, Sweet Pea?”

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes, “Of course, Jughead.”

You giggle cutely and Sweet Pea is quick to pull you into his side, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you, Princess.” Sweet Pea whispers in your ear.

taglist (my taglist is closed and will be forever closed. Taglists are time-consuming.)

@sunshine-marvel-hearts @sweetpeaiscomingforu @koo-kie-v @britty443 @gemini5991 @mlvgren @eleventhdoctorsangel @groundergirl7 @savannah-m-99 @fan-of-many-bands @skeletalwolfcat @eesomevan @jjlizz @nationalrebellion @problematicpastry @lostnliterature @choconat-chip @bluepsycopanda @pumpernickelbae (your name won’t pop up??)

#sweet pea imagine #sweet pea #riverdale #riverdale imagines #riverdale imagine #imagine #archie andrews #jughead jones

[myukamokunazu]

Whiskey Bubbles

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16372403

Category: Gen Relationship:  Bakusquad - Platonic Characters: Kaminari Denki, Kirishima Eijirou, Kaminari Denki's Family, Bakugou Katsuki, Ashido Mina, Sero Hanta, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Class 1-A Additional Tags: villain OC, Minor oc, Self-Denial, Self-Doubt, Self-Acceptance, Dad Aizawa, Genderfluid Kaminari Denki, Unreliable Narrator, Kaminari Denki-centric, Comatose Kaminari Denki, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Ok... So there was supposed to be some dadzawa..., But there didn't end up being a lot, Songfic, Kaminari Denki Angs

It was 6:48, I was walking home

Stepped through the gate, and I'm all alone...

When Kaminari Denki is on his way back to the dorms, from a visit home, he finds himself affected by a strange quirk. The only way to escape from this quirk is to solve the rabbit hole of memories he denies.

Chapter 1: Fake it Until it Bubbles to The Point You Can't

Kaminari Denki walked slowly and wondered what he would say. He couldn't wear a hood in class and he doubted that he could get away with a face mask. He didn't want to explain the new bruises or the belt buckle imprints to Recovery Girl. Hiding these knew indents would prove difficult. He wondered if the class would believe he fell down the stairs while trying to put on a new belt? They likely would. He had said that his last belt had broken last week. It would make sense that that would happen if he was rushing to beat the dorm curfew.

“Hello? You there, boy? Can you get the police or a hero? I need some help,” A voice came. The creaking voice resounded down the alley he was passing. Kaminari walked down the alley and helped the elder woman. He reached a gloved hand down and she clasped it. Her grip was tight and not at all what he expected from the fragile looking woman. He felt a sharp flash of pain in his chest. He ignored it. He was sore all over so it didn’t make much difference. He pulled her up.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone or escort you somewhere?” Kaminari looked around. The area was very desolate. He hoped she could get home.

“Oh, child thank you. But no, it looks more like you could use my help,” she said. Kaminari blinked. He didn’t know what to make of that. Did she have some healing quirk? Before he could ask what she meant she grabbed the bare skin of his wrists. Her brown eyes flashed gold. She let go and he noticed he was starting to feel better. He was glad he didn’t have to come up with a lie, but still, he was surprised.

“Thank you, but are you sure you’re fine?” Kaminari couldn’t help but ask. He really did want to run through. If aura could be seen he was sure that it would slowly be fading to black. The lady just had a tension about her.

She nodded and he left.

The almost eerie feeling followed him. He couldn’t seem to shake it no matter where he was or what he was doing. He made his way to Kita-Urawa Transit Station. 54 minutes later the Transit came to a stop. He got off at the Ueno-Okachimachi Station. He got up and walked from the station to the McDonald’s around the corner. He picked up a couple of large fries and a burger. He decided it would be good to get back to school after that. It really wouldn’t do to get detention.

He turned his mind from those thoughts and made his way back to Musutafu.

It was 6:48, I was walking home

Stepped through the gate, and I'm all alone

A sigh of relief almost left Kaminari as he saw the school gates. It felt cold with that odd, terrifying feeling all over again. He held up his Student ID Card to get past the barrier. Getting inside didn’t help with the sensation that he wasn’t safe. He hoped to see someone soon. He figured anyone, even Mineta, would do.

He kept walking. He still felt so alone.

He knew he wouldn’t be for long though. He didn’t miss curfew so everyone would still be up. It wasn’t 7 yet, so he could check the kitchen and see if anyone was still eating. He went straight to the kitchen and grabbed an apple. He hoped to sit on the counter and took a huge bite. He’d just started chewing when he’d heard Iida.

“Kaminari, It is not appropriate to sit on the counter. It is quite disrespectful to the school and everyone who uses the counter,” he said. It seemed as if he would be able to fill pages with reasons for why not to sit on something. Kaminari blinked and put a smirk on his face.

“Alright,” He said. He raised an eyebrow raised, before jumping atop the fridge and finishing it there. Iida still wasn’t happy with him being on top of the furniture. Kaminari vaguely wondered if doing this was cruel to the boy. He blocked it out. He looked over to the living room. He seemed to have caught a few stray glances, but most still were watching t.v. He looked down at Iida. “What are they watching? I can’t tell from here.”

Iida pushed up his glasses and stated that they were watching various Disney movies. Apparently, Aladdin was supposed to be next. Kaminari had a sudden thought: how much longer will I be here? How much longer can I make them happy? I feel like it won’t be long now. I want, no, need to go overboard. Kaminari kicked off his shoes and curled up there until he heard the start of Aladdin. Iida started reaching for him and ‘One Jump Ahead’ started playing. Kaminari sang to it. “ Gotta keep,” Kaminari jumped to the counter. He was especially careful to not get caught by Iida’s arms. “One jump ahead of the breadline,” Kaminari danced back away from Iida’s grasp. He had to strain himself to hear the music now more than before.

As if sensing his dilemma, Jirou turned the t.v. up. Though, it could have been that she was also watching him as she seemed to be hiding her laughter. “I steal only what I can't afford,~” Kaminari sang loudly. It didn’t sound good since he was restraining his own laughter. He jumped to a table.

“And that’s everything!” He and Jirou yelled. She was laughing more than he was. Even some others of the class had started to giggle at his makeshift attempts to be Aladdin.

He started jumping to all the tables to avoid the swing of Iida’s hands. He didn’t want his stage performance to be cut short. “One jump ahead of the lawmen. That's all, and that's no joke. These guys don't appreciate I'm broke,” Kaminari shrugs and tries not to grin.

He honestly didn’t expect for Iida to join in on the song. “Riffraff! Street rat! Scoundrel! Take that!” Iida seemed just as surprised that he joined in as Kaminari did. It didn’t take long for some of the others to join in too. Midoriya and Uraraka joined him in being guards and Sero joined Kaminari. He took on the role of Abu.

Sero hung his tape all over the ceiling and Kaminari gladly swung on them. One piece, however, broke, due to his rough swinging, before he hit his mark. He ended up have strung over the couch in between Momo and Jirou. “Oh, it's sad, Aladdin has hit the bottom. He's become a one-man rise in crime,” The two sang, Kirishima and Ashido happily joining in.

“I'd blame parents except he hasn't got 'em,” Even Bakugou chimed in, likely due to the pushy Kirishima next to him. Kaminari ran all around the room. Randomly choosing to swing from the tape. He ran up a couple of the stairs to the doors and turned around. He reached for a piece of the tape.

“Here goes, better throw my hand in. Wish me happy landin'. All I gotta do is jump!”

Kaminari realized too late that what he did was not a good idea. The tape snapped, yet again. He flinched. Though the small jolt didn’t look like one. He was started to fall. He braced himself, though he didn’t really have to. Iida caught him.

“You would make a terrible Aladdin,” Jirou said.

“Haha, Yeah. You’re right. I guess the guards won, huh?” Kaminari started looking around. “Abu!” He yelled. His voice was light and he tried to make sure it wasn’t weighed down by any of his laughter. Sero saw the fake seriousness for what it was and playfully tried to sneak away. “You were supposed to help me,” Kaminari said. It came out more like a whine though. Sero laughed at the pitiful squeak that was Kaminari’s voice. Kaminari plopped on the ground in front of the couch.

Ashido, being the one behind him, started braiding random parts of his hair. This continued until everyone was to go to bed.

The next day, they went to class. Kaminari tried to pay attention, though it was hard, It always was though. Still, something the teacher would saw caught his attention more than others. “HEE, HIGH TENSION!” Present Mic cut himself off as he saw a bug.

She walked down to the market. They stared at her. “Makeup is for girls.” She wasn’t a he, but wasn’t she?

He found himself standing in the middle of Present Mic’s class. Thankfully it was one of the few classes he did decently in. It was also his favorite. He really looked up to Present Mic. Still, he was standing in the middle of class. He also noticed he was in a daze. “Kaminari? Why are you standing?” The teacher asked, and hot damn, Kaminari wished he knew the answer.

“I think I left my clothes in the washing machine yesterday? Hey Sero, do you know if I did?” The lie came out of his mouth as smooth as butter. Sero raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

“Do you even know how to do laundry?”

“Ya-Yeah! Of course, I do!”

Present Mic laughed. He always did. It was almost as if he welcomed the distractions sometimes. Still, though, they had to learn. “Alright, settle down. We still have some writing TA DO!” The classroom steadily became more hectic as Present Mic started teaching.

Lunch came soon enough. Today, he sat next to Ashido and the rest of the Bakusquad.

“Hey, Kami, what was up in English class?” Ashido asked. Kaminari shrugged.

“Don’t know. Just a weird feeling, ya know? But, hey, if you had to establish civilization on an island what would your first rule be?” Kaminari throws the topic off track. Though the question was bound to spur an odd conversation. Ashido gripped her chin.

“Hmm, Rule 1 would have to be ‘Everyone has to be nice or as punishment, they can’t dance with everyone else and instead have to dance in their cell’!” She said. Bakugou scoffed. She turned to him with a pout. “Do you have something better?”

“Of course! If they piss me off they have to die!” Bakugou said. Needless to say, no one was surprised.

“OH! I know! Everyone has to do what they can to live without regrets. That’d be so manly,” Kirishima said. Kaminari almost wondered if the conversation seemed too serious. He hoped it would end up a lot funnier.

Monoma had passed their table and a cucumber fell off his tray. Kaminari jumped. He jumped so high he ended up on a tree branch above their heads. Monoma laughed and taunted him with the cucumber and some of the other students giggled at his antics. Ashido compared him to a cat.

Monoma threw the cucumber up and Kaminari flinched back violently. Why the fuck am I terrified of that? It’s just a vegetable. That familiar buzzing under his skin was back. With practiced ease, his panic took over and electrified the closest objects. The tree and the cucumber. Kaminari felt his skin quake in discomfort.

He didn’t notice that Kendo had come over and smacked Monoma over the head.

This brought out more giggles.

“We should get you a cat hoodie. You would be such a meme online! Like, no jokes, you are just like the cat videos,” Ashido said. At his silence, she looked straight at him. Clammy, pale skin paired with a trembling body. She was filled with regret. “Kami? Hey, you okay?” He looked down at her. His eyes were almost animalistic. Eyelids flashing down, redding his eyes of panic.

“Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. That was really an overreaction, huh?” His face was so blank it scared her.

“It’s fine to be afraid of things. I honestly thought you were mimicking the cat videos.” The clouds of numbness cleared from his appearance.

The rest of the day passed by. It was uneventful. When classes ended, Kaminari went to do his homework. Usually, he’d put it off, hang with the Bakusquad or Jirou. Or, anyone. It’s not like he’s picky about who he’s around. His dorm room was propped open slightly and people, from time to time, would glance in. Confusion always laced their features. Kaminari didn’t mind. It was weird after all.

He spent a few hours studying, not that it helped much. He was only barely passing. He checked the time. 5:43. He went down to check the laundry machine and dryer. No. Not his clothes. He must have been mistaken earlier, though it was said while he was in a daze.

Kaminari entered the kitchen throwing a wave at Kirishima, Ashido, and Momo. Kirishima was at the table with Ashido. Momo was watching t.v. and drinking some tea.

He went to the fridge and pulled out some leftover fried chicken.

I had chicken on the plate, but the food was cold

Then I covered up my face so that no one knows

She tugged on the grey sleeves of her dress. It wasn’t really her dress. It was her mom’s dress. Her mom would never buy her a dress though. She threw a yellow hoodie over it and went outside. She didn’t really think it was that weird of her. She always left the house around this time to get something to eat at the gas station down the street. Still, people stared at her.

Confusion. Disgust. Unease.

Mothers covered children’s eyes and she couldn’t understand why. She looked down at herself. A grey dress that went down to her knees. A yellow hoodie with lightning bolts. Black tennis shoes. There was nothing wrong with her appearance. Was there? Was it her hair?

It was short. Lots of girls had short hair, though.

She decided to put it out of her mind for now. It didn’t matter to her.

She went around the small food aisle and grabbed a donburi bento, for 500 yen. It had gyudon. She liked it since it reminded her of hamburger. They were both beef after all. She scanned the isle some more. She grabbed a steamed bun for 200 yen. Then she got some Karaage fried chicken for 500 yen.

She went up to the counter to pay for the food. She got out 1500 yen. She handed the money to the man and he gave her change back. She was glad that he didn't just say a huge amount and expect her to count it out. She was terrible at math and she knew it. Berated herself for it.

She started walking home but was pulled aside by a teenager. She heard people throw out whispers of ‘delinquent’ and ‘does she know that boy?’ She figured that meant it was bad to be around him.

“Hello? I kinda have to get home before my mommy gets home,” she said. She wasn’t sure what to do.

“You’re a boy, aren’t you? You go to school with my brother. Who knew there was such a freak in his class?” The boy laughed. Another boy seemed to come up from behind and started pushing her forward. Then the other boy pushed her back. All the movement made her drop her sack of food.

“Stop!” She cried. It drew some attention toward them. No one moved to stop it though.

She kept getting pushed around until she curled into a ball. The pain continued and her skin started to tingle. A small crackle rang in her hands. She wouldn’t have been able to hear it if her hands weren’t over her ears. The tingling spread. It encased all her skin. It burned and she just wished that it would go away.

One of the boys went to kick her in the stomach and she arched her back out of its way. The tingles left and spread throughout the ground and everything touching it. Though it never passed the boys. She blinked away a few tears. A hero, Enveloping Bubble, was there. She and the boys were in a bubble. It hadn’t been there before. At least, she didn’t think so. Everything was foggy. Well, everything but the pain.

The bubble came down and the two boys sped away, but they didn’t get far before they were trapped in a bubble.

Enveloping Bubble came over and asked if she was alright. She wanted to say yes. She tried to. She couldn’t though. She didn’t know when she started standing or when she bumped into the wall. The crowd laughed and after 20 minutes left. The hero stayed there though. He watched her. She wanted to thank him and say she doesn’t need the attention, no matter how much she craves it, but couldn’t. Everything still hurt. Her mind felt as if it was shattered. She couldn’t think a coherent thought with more than five words in it.

Her finger caught an electrical outlet as she bumped into the wall again. The zap of the current seemed to clear her mind some, though she noticed it also freaked out a couple people. That included the kind hero who was trying to keep her safe.

An ambulance had arrived. The hero had probably called for it a while ago.

The hero and others watching tried to usher her into the ambulance. She blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry? I can’t do that. I’m fine, I just need to get home. Mommy will be getting off work soon.”

The hero made her promise to tell her parents about what happened. She nodded, thanked him, and went to pick up her bag of food.

I didn't want trouble, I'm the boy in the bubble

But then came trouble

“Kaminari? Hey, you okay, bro?” Kirishima said, waving a hand in front of the other teen’s face. Kirishima grabbed Kaminari’s wrist and Kaminari flinched. “Kami-bro?” Kirishima’s voice shook and his head tilted.

Kaminari blinked and rubbed her his eyes. Kaminari’s eyes drifted over to Kirishima, then trailed down his arm to where their skin met.

“Hey, Kirishima. Sorry, was I blocking the fridge? I was just getting out some of the leftover fried chicken. Want some?” Kaminari asked with a furrowed brow.

“Nah, bro. I was… You kept opening and closing the fridge as if you were in a daze. You’ve been here for 15 minutes, ya know?” Kaminari’s shoulders hunched in contempt for herself himself. She’d He’d made someone as kind and loving as Kirishima worried.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I blanked,” Kaminari said. She He rubbed the back of her his neck and her his head slightly bowed. “You don’t think any of the food spoilt, do you?” They both looked at the fridge. Simultaneous, they reached in and pulled out some of the food. They smirked at each other before biting in.

“Is he really okay?” Kaminari heard Momo ask Ashido. She He flinched. She He couldn’t tell why it hurt. He? He? It was wrong. But she was wrong too?

“Who knows? I've seen him do some strange things when he’s fried himself. It could’ve just been that?” Ashido didn’t seem convinced at her own explanation. Still, they dropped it.

Not he? Not she? NOT HE? NOT SHE?NOTHE?NOTSHE?

“I think it’s still good, bro,” Kirishima said. He was loud, boisterous, but not yelling. Still, his energy seemed to make everyone relax. They had a good time after that. It was seven before they started getting ready for bed and chilling in the dorms or living room. Ashido had convinced a few people to dance on the couch with her to some music. Kaminari would have joined in, though he felt he should look up what was making him feel this way.

‘Why do I not feel like a girl or a boy sometimes?’

Confused and clueless [gender identity confusion] - Gender …

https://www.asexuality.org › Identities › Gender Discussion

Feb 5, 2014 - 6 posts - 4 authors

But it's not like I want to do it as a girl - I'd want a guys body to dress like ... bigender ( feeling both male and female ) or genderfluid (sometimes …

Non-Binary Gender Identity Explained | Teen Vogue

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-non-binary-gender

Feb 12, 2016 - Here's What It Means When You Don't Identify as a Girl or a Boy . "Non-binary gender is any gender that isn't exclusively male or female . ... Sometimes people confuse gender with sex, and while the two words are related, .... Parts of my body feel like they should be male , others feel like nothing just neutral.

Nonbinary? No? Maybe? Genderfluid… It sounds right? But that’s not HIM. I HAVE to be a HIM. Right?

Kaminari felt drained. He set an alarm for 7:00 in the morning and went to bed.

"When my mom walked into the living room

She said, "Boy, you gotta tell me what they did to you"

Kaminari sat in the living room. She knew she should have taken off the girl clothes, but they felt right. At least, they did at the moment. She was a boy though. She wasn’t supposed to go outside of what’s considered normal or standard behavior for a boy. Her mom didn’t like it when she did that.

She was five now. She knew better.

It was too late.

She pulled her hood up as the front door creaked open.

“Honey, I’m home!”

“Welcome home mommy,” Kaminari said meekly. She cowered into herself for a second before jumping over the couch and running to her room. The epitome of manliness for a boy her age.

“Denki? Something wrong dear?”

“No!” Her mom’s footsteps neared her room. The door opened.

“Denki? Is that… My sweater dress?”

I said, "You don't wanna know the things I had to do"

She said, "Son, you gotta tell me why you're black and blue"

The day passed like any other. Aizawa-sensei’s class was quiet. He got distracted in it yet again. He tapped his hands on the metal of the chair. Ashido’s hair just looked so fluffy. He just wanted to touch it. Ashido looked at him. She just glanced quickly, but it was enough to catch his attention. She held her phone and tapped it twice. He wanted to smile and nod but then they’d definitely get caught by Aizawa-sensei.

AM: Hey Denki this is SOOOO boring!;-;!

KD: Ya but think on the bright side?

AM: What bright side??? BORED!!!

KD: Well??? There’s always something happening in class? Or, uh? Did you ever notice that Aizawa-Sensei is so cat-like???

The pink girl could barely muffle her laughter. She threw her head back slightly and gripped her shaking body.

AM: OMG WTF do you mean? LOL

KD: Well??? I mean? Like he takes cat naps all the time and he totally pretends not to care about things when he does. He’s kind to us but he doesn’t want to be around us a lot? Like a cat that lets people pet him only when he wants to???

AM: LOL… That is so fukin beautiful Denki!

AM: Like srsly 0////0 Aced how Aizawa-Sensei is!

KD: I feel like I started something bad…

AM: Hell yea. You did! Not bored anymore tho.

KD: Must have been worth it then, Mina?

AM: Thx. <3 you Denki!!!

Kaminari’s smile gave them away. Their phones were confiscated and Kaminari had a feeling that Aizawa-Sensei read the messages about him. He glared at the two all throughout class.

Once lunchtime hit, the bakusquad took their usual places at the table. The group was always loud and seemed to garner some attention for it. No one ever took them seriously though. Except for Bakugou sometimes.

Today the conversation started with his short, sweet, romantic tryst with a coworker from the cafe he worked at. They knew he worked, as did the teachers, but not where.

“Oh, shut up you damn Phone Charger! No one cares about your piss for shit love life!”

“But, Bakubabe,” He whined. It was childish and he knew it. He couldn’t help it.  “You have the personality of a dead sewer rat. No way you can flirt better than I can!”

“Oh, Denki, my baby,” Ashido griefed. “Be nice to your brother’s boyfriend.”

“Yes, be nice to your future brother-in-law, or you’ll end up chasing him away,” Sero said in the most dad-like voice he could muster.

“Hey,” He said softly. Ashido looked over. She wondered if something was wrong. “If potatoes had eyes do you think they’d be colorblind or that they would see like us?”

Ashido covered her mouth and nose area as she let out a gaggle of sorts and giggles. “Denki, where do you come up with this stuff?” Her pink cheeks flushed and those around could hardly tell. Kaminari tried to pay attention to the subtle things about his friends. He made a point to know what makes them tick and what makes them over the moon with joy. He wasn’t sure he could ever forget a friend’s birthday.

He shrugged to his hyper friend. Bakugou raised an eyebrow and whispered to Kirishima. Kaminari blinked over to the two though that did nothing to settle his confusion.

I said I didn't want trouble, I'm the boy in the bubble

But then came trouble"

He was itchy. There was a buzzing in -no, under- his skin. He wanted to scratch at his arms, dig the pulses out. He couldn't though. He was fighting. When he asked who though, the blurred light would laugh. He punched and kicked toward the noise even after the light would go. He just wanted everything to stop. He could see himself, in that dress again, cowering in the corner.

Lightening spewed off the other figure. It got closed to Kaminari. Looking at the figure, it really was too blurred for him to discover the identity, He wondered if it was his dad with a blurred out face. This has happened before with his father. Ya, that must be it.

It was his dad... It was because he was wrong... That must be it.

Still, it hurt when the lightning strikes him.

"Denki!" Ashido screamed. The sound drew the attention of everyone in the room. Class 1-A rushed over filled with worry. Kaminari's face was pinched in pain. He was left lying on the table where he fell. He gasped and sent out small warning shocks at every attempt to move him. One of the students ran to get Aizawa-Sensei. When he arrived he shut off Kaminari’s quirk. He and Kirishima carried him to the nurse with the bakusquad following close behind.

Chapter 2: It's a struggle, but only acceptance can break the bubbles

Kirishima felt his whole body tense as he saw his friend fall limp. Electricity crackled off the falling blonde. Kirishima could tell everyone had run toward the Bakusquad at Ashido’s high pitched squeal. It rang in the boy’s head and only enhanced his panic. A student, likely Iida, though Kirishima didn’t pay attention, got Aizawa-Sensei. The man had looked as if he was calm when he arrived. The man had used his quirk on Kaminari with no delay. Kirishima ran over to grab the left side of his slouched comrade. Bakugou quickly tried to take the other side but the teacher blinked. Faint flickers of heated light reached up and took the blonde by the hand.

Bakugou hissed and drew it back. Spews of swear words and threats of regret left the vehement boy. He almost reached a hand to retry after the teacher had his eyes back on the passed out teen. The teacher took the right side. The look the teacher gave the passed out boy made Bakugou stand down for a few seconds.

“Fuck off, I’ll help,” he told the teacher. The teacher glances his way. Aizawa-Sensei kept his attention on Kaminari.

Bakugou would have fought harder had Sero and Ashido not gotten his attention. He grumbled as Sero bandaged his hand with tape. Bakugou went to point out that he was not the only one touching Kaminari as he’d sparked. Looking over though, Kirishima had hardened. It was pointless to try to deter the boy from helping his friend even a little bit.

The Bakusquad trailed after the teacher and the other member. They were lucky that the few times Aizawa blinked, the shocks were light. Still, the teacher had strained himself getting the boy to the nurse.

The Bakusquad stayed there with Aizawa-Sensei until Naomasa Tsukauchi arrived. “Children, you should leave,” The police detective said with no hesitation or sympathy. The man seemed as if he just wanted to do his job and get out. With the darkened rims of his eyes and his sluggish movements, it was an easy guess that he was tired and overworked. Even knowing this, Bakugou couldn’t hold even a strand of sympathy toward the man.

“Fuck no! We aren’t just going to go like that!” Aizawa-Sensei rubbed his temples and looked over to glare at the loudmouthed troublemaker. “Tell us what this is!”

Ashido peeked out from behind Sero to let out a quick quip, “and how we can help.”

Naomasa seemed uncomfortable with the idea of letting students, who would most definitely stop at nothing to help a friend, have any information regarding this. He snuck a glance at the teacher. He figured it would be best to follow the man’s lead.

As if sensing his thoughts, Aizawa-Sensei nodded his approval. The other adult sighed. “Well if you’re fine with it Aizawa, I will start.”

“They’ll figure it out, and work on their own either way,” Aizawa-Sensei said. Naomasa wondered if the man had regretted becoming a teacher. He brushed the thought off in favor of the current predicament.

"And my heart was pumping, chest was screaming

Mind was running, air was freezing

As much as they had tried to figure it out, all they could tell that night was that it was not medical. It had obviously been caused by a quirk if Recovery Girl couldn’t heal him. The teenagers were told not to inform the class about this just yet about these developments. The day still seemed to pass too slowly and quietly.

Kirishima sat still and merely took notes. Ashido would look down at her phone for updates, at a constant rate. Everyone seemed drowsy and unmotivated. The only person who acted as he normally would was Mineta, and even his attempts seemed lax compared to usual. It was like the boy was only flirting excessively because that was what he did every day. Most of his daily comments lacked any and all passion.

The second lunch hit, students crowded the bakusquad members, with the exception of Bakugou.

Many of the students asked for more information or ways to help. Ashido went to tell them that they were looking for someone whose quirk could cause that but stopped at the pointed look Bakugou shot her.

Ashido put on a nervous smile and said, “He’ll be fine. He was working himself to death with his part-time job.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the idea. He thought students were not allowed to have part-time jobs at this school. It was especially risky with Class 1-A, and U.A. in general, being targeted frequently.

Put my hands up, put my hands up

I told this kid I'm ready for a fight"

Kaminari Denki tried to fight back. It didn’t matter in the slightest. Every evaded attack seemed to come back and hurt him worse. His father laughed at his failed attempts. The little him, that cowered in the corner, ran. She He ran down the twisting hall. Kaminari figured that the child version of him would just run out of sight.

She, he was a boy, not a girl. A dress wouldn’t make him a girl. He was a boy.

He didn’t though. The scenery and even the deaged Kaminari’s clothing changed way with each step. The hall lead way to their childhood home in Saitama. Young Kaminari was wearing a yellow and black striped shirt, a too big hand-me-down, and some loose fitting jeans. He had to have been around 7 years old.

He watched the scene. Young Kaminari snuck out around the time that school would have been starting, had it not been a Saturday. He met up with a kid with messy purple hair.

“Why do you even hang out with me? Don’t you think I’m scary?” The barely younger boy asked. Kaminari seemed to stop walking. He didn’t really get why the other boy thought himself scary.

“Why would I think that?” He said. “I’ve got a scary quirk too.” The boy, a young Shinsou, looked confused. Than, comprehension spread across his face. Yes, electricity could hurt. It could be scary. Just as scary as having no control. “Oh! Let’s go play in that park!” Kaminari pointed. The park was relatively small. Still, it was beautiful and lush with lots of open room.

There wasn’t much playground equipment; just a swing and some monkey bars.

The two gravitated to the swings before all else. The two had a lot of fun at the park until two other students showed up. One of them was the younger brother of the boy who called him a freak. His name was Hajime Jirou. His family disapproved of anything that went against the ‘original and proper’ way of doing things.

Kaminari felt bad for the other boy. He couldn’t stop him, though, from gaining his parent’s philosophy. Kaminari liked that word. He learned it the other day from his aunt. She let him wear dresses when being a boy felt too wrong.

He knew people could change that, but he didn’t want to hurt his family or make his dad angry by doing so.

Punch my face, do it 'cause I like the pain Every time you curse my name

He woke up. They didn't even realize that they'd fallen asleep. No, not they. She looked over the room. The nurse's office was as clear as day to her. She could see Aizawa-Sensei there. “Hey,” she tried to say. Her jaw wouldn’t open though. It was like it had been wired shut. She could see and hear everything. The bakusquad coming in to check on him. Other students doing the same. Some weren’t even in their class. They could hear and see everything.

Their eyes were wide open, so how did nobody notice? How did everyone say they care and start to cry about them but not even notice they were awake? That they were in pain?

“How are you so sure you're awake?” a familiar voice says.

Kaminari turned. The light that spoke seemed to twitch and spark. Then it faded into someone the child always loathed to see. He didn’t bother to reply. He knew it would change nothing for the better. His father would just hurt him more.

The figure hurled electricity toward Kaminari. He opened his arms as if to embrace the painful strike.

“Se-Sensei! His vitals!” Sero said. He seemed on the edge of panicking from just the spike. They watched for a second. The electricity escaped Kaminari’s body and flooded the building. The surge his power caused made the computers crash. The medical equipment overloaded. Aizawa stopped Kaminari’s quirks but the after effects had already taken its toll.

The building’s electricity was out for the next three days. It made it easier for the bakusquad to sneak out without the rest of Class 1-A noticing.

I know you want the satisfaction, it's not gonna happen Knock me out, kick me when I'm on the ground

Kaminari’s feet sunk into the ground and kept him upright. “What do you have to say for yourself?” His father’s voice echoed through the encompassed area. Kaminari didn’t know if there was anything he could really say to make the man stop. It was easier to take the hits. It always had been.

The man crept closer. He had a sinister look on his face, though that felt all too normal to the younger man. Kaminari flinched and curled inward on himself. “Well, BOY? Speak!” The man raised an arm to strike. “Or will you deny everything, forever?”

For some reason, the word echoed in his head.

He wasn’t denying anything. He was protecting his family.

It's only gonna let you down

Bakugou growled as they stalked the streets. He knew that quirk forms were confidential. Still, it had been three days since they had started getting the procedure of getting a warrant.

Bakugou was worried and impatient.

The bakusquad had followed Bakugou’s advice of checking out the Saitama prefecture. The group split into groups of two; Ashido and Sero, and Kirishima and Bakugou. When Kirishima had gone to explain the idea to Aizawa-Sensei, the teacher seemed skeptical to let the students roam the streets near the place where the quirk had been used on Kaminari. However, a glance at the student’s eyes proved that it would be fruitless to tell them not to.

Aizawa and Yamada trailed the students in case of attack.

The two groups of students asked anyone who passed by if they had seen what happened to Kaminari. No one seemed to have noticed the boy.

Bakugou scowled as Kirishima brightened his worried smile and approached another couple. The two seemed to have recognized Kaminari from a picture that Kirishima had saved on his phone.

“I’ve seen that boy at the park before. Poor thing,” the girl said.

Her husband said, “I know the kid’s father. He’s not a good man. You shouldn’t get involved in that family.”

Small explosions were released from Bakugou’s hands. The couple flinched back. “That boy is going to be a hero. He’s a student of U.A,” Bakugou said.

Kirishima looked between the three with an uncertain smile. The tension growing was already thick. “Look, we know Kaminari. He is a good guy. It doesn’t matter if his father isn’t. Not to his friends and teachers, at least. If principal Nedzu thought he would betray us, he wouldn’t have let him enroll.” The students could almost see phantom gears turning in the couple’s head. The newfound regret was obvious on their faces. “Have you seen him around three days ago? That was the last time he went out of the U.A. dorms. He got a hurt. The police seemed to think that he was affected by a quirk.

“I think I saw him,” the woman started. “He was in an alleyway, helping an old lady up.”

Bakugou narrowed his eyes as if to threaten her to explain. Kirishima was the only one to vocalize anything, though. “What did she look like?”

“The woman had greying cyan hair. She looked a little shorter than him, maybe? She was hunched over like she had scoliosis. She might have been in her mid-60s. Oh! I remember now, she reminds me of the librarian from the library I go to.” She gave them information on how to get there, as well as where the alley was. They asked their questions to the librarian, but ultimately, it led to nothing.

Bakugou had decided that the easiest way to find her was to get the records from schools in the area near Kaminari’s house and in the area of the alley. The group of U.A. students regrouped at their own school and discussed the plan. All the students decided they wanted to help

The schools were reluctant to release information that wasn’t in records for the public. They did let them check out the yearbooks. They decided it would take too long to check every school. It might have even taken months if they went about it that way.

“Hey, Bakugou? Did you ever think about posting on forums?” Ashido asked. With all the technology they use on a daily basis, Bakugou felt like kicking himself for not seeing such a possible lead. He growled.

“He didn’t,” Kirishima, the Bakugou translator, said for him. The group wasted no time spreading the word on many media outlets.

After that, the group took turns checking the forums every hour. Someone had posted a lead on people they know who have the ability to put others in comas. Kirishima and Ashido had a pair of full-blown grins as they check the lead. They had finally found her; Wanashi Kikowa.

The two raced to gather the members of the group and their teachers. Aizawa, Yamada, and All Might arrived at the same time. The two blonds seemed excited that they were finally going to put an end to the panic induced by this incident. Aizawa still seemed to have the same lazy, apathetic composure as always, though everyone there knew what the man was feeling was quite the opposite. All Might called Detective Naomasa and put the man on speakerphone.

She had no priors and hadn’t been in the system at all. The only evidence they had that it could be her, was a couple of testimonies from her high school days. It was said that she had gotten in a fight with her girlfriend, Aiteki Naiko, over whether the girl was ashamed to be seen with her. The fight ended with the girlfriend stuck in her head until she resolved to be herself and be open with her thoughts.

The Bakusquad lept into action at the first chance. They raced to the woman’s current address. The hot-headed leader would have kicked in the door, had Aizawa’s scarf not caught him. The other teachers were quick to scold the boy, however, Aizawa just glanced at the door. He let the impulsive student go and went to knock on the door.

They stood there until the door opened, no one moved even an inch. With every second the host of the house didn’t show up was a moment of building tension.

The door opened. “Hello?” The woman said without even a stutter. She didn’t act surprised or even annoyed at their presence.

“Undo whatever you did to Kaminari!” Ashido said.

“You must be the friends of the blond child with the bolt in their hair. Trust me, they will be better in the long run after they awaken.”

“Look, lady, I don’t give a shit for what you think was for the better!” Bakugou attempted to charge at the fragile looking old lady. He was, again, held back due to the teacher’s interventions.

Come the lightning and the thunder You're the one who'll suffer, suffer

Rounds of memories seemed to trail with every spike of electricity shot through him. Sometimes it felt like he was slipping away, back to the nurse's office. The memories were never lucid. They were foggy and bubbly. It was like something dragging him under the waves in an ocean.

He could hear his friends voices. There was another voice he couldn’t quite place, even with the familiarity to it. He knew she was someone he talked to recently. He did talk to a lot of people though.

The voices were muffled and came in and out like a radio losing signal. With his quirk, that wouldn’t be possible. He’d been here so long he didn’t know what to make of these short visions. “ Com- -n. Ke- -ighting. You'll -ine. We -re -ere you.” He could feel his skin tingle as the electricity built up. His hand was already warm from Sero and Ashido’s hands gripping his, but the feeling of his quirk was easily distinguishable. He opened his mouth to warn them.

He was pulled back under completely. All warmth other than his quirk disappeared. His eyebrows drooped than his eyes followed suit. He felt tired. He wanted to give up. This was so hard. He walked down the shadowy path in hopes for somewhere to lay. Nowhere came to view.

He didn’t think any place would show up in an area where the ground may as well be sludge.

Well I squared him up, left my chest exposed He threw a quick left hook and it broke my nose

“Please, stop this nonsense, Denki-chan,” Kaminari’s aunt Alouette. It was rare that she was in Japan. Kaminari had just wanted to feel pretty. She didn’t get why her kind aunt had told her to stop. “Your father will be home soon. Take off the dress. We have to hide it somewhere. Come on, petit?”

Now Kaminari understood. She hurried to her room to put on her boy clothes. She was only allowed to be a boy. If she wasn’t, not even her mother or aunt could stop her father from hurting her.

Last time, he came back home when Kaminari hadn’t felt like she was either. So she had worn a long shirt that looked considerably like a dress and she wore shorts. She hadn’t wanted to offend him, she recalled. He still took it that way though. He always did.

She changed and came out wearing a black and yellow striped shirt, jeans, and a pokemon hat.

She ran over to where her aunt was and tried not to twitch too much. These clothes didn’t feel right. Not that they felt bad, just not right.

She wondered, not for the first time, why she was so strange… So wrong.

I had thick red blood running down my clothes And a sick, sick look 'cause I like it though

Finally, Kaminari stopped watching their memories pass by. They shuddered at the hand on their shoulder. Their feet were still stuck in the mud. “Well, boy? Ready to answer?”

Kaminari glared at his father. He couldn’t go on watching these memories anymore. He knew his father was showing him this in order to disgust him. That left Kaminari wondering how he even knew some of these memories.

He felt his adrenaline spike as his father opened his mouth.

A small chuckle escaped that cavern of cavities. He saw the hands reaching for him. Every second doubled the stress he felt. He knew this would be painful.

I said I didn't want trouble, I'm the boy in the bubble But then came trouble

“Look, the child is strong, but in pain. If the child cannot come to terms with themself, then they may be stuck in their head for a long time. They helped me, and so I reverted all injuries but psychological ones. Currently, their mind is putting them in a coma to attempt to heal the psychological scars. If the child wants to awaken, they must find a way to heal those injuries. To do that, most people learn to accept themselves. The child might awaken, or still be able to hear if you want to keep them company?” The old lady said.

And my heart was pumping, chest was screaming Mind was running, nose was bleeding

His father lunged for him. His fingers, at first contact, released small bursts of discharge.

“Aizawa. It’s happening again!” Recovery Girl said as she shook him awake.

Kaminari had not felt his father’s electricity course through him very often. He had lost count of how many times he’d felt the belt buckle digging into his skin, or how many times half-full beer bottles would be thrown at him. He never lost count of the electricity though. He, in fact, could count on his fingers the number of times it had happened before today.

The villain seemed to morph. A shadow took his place and cackled.

“You weren’t protecting them by hiding this. You were just protecting yourself - like a coward!” The shadow said. It’s distorted voice boomed. Kaminari couldn’t tell whether the form was a girl or a boy. It’s voice ranged from deep to high and would change by the second.

This enemy confused him. It felt familiar. It felt like it was a part of himself.

He didn’t want that to be true, but the second he thought it, he couldn’t erase the feeling.

He wanted to deny this figure because it was evil. That wasn’t the real issue though. The issue was still gender.

Of course, he didn’t want to be evil, either. The shadow knew that. It knew it’s purpose was to beat some sense and self-love into the child. It didn’t think it was bad. Just that it was a tired guardian of the mind. One day, it hoped, the child would see that too.

The shadow dropped into it’s fighting stance and held up it’s hands.

Aizawa blinked and the electricity came back full throttle. Aizawa disabled the boy’s power again. He put a hand on the boy’s forehead. There was no doubt that the boy had gained a fever from overexerting himself and his quirk.

“Why isn’t he getting any better?” Bakugou asked the old lady. He almost seemed like he was growling.

Wanashi smiled and said, “The child will get better when they accept themselves.” Sero and Bakugou had the feeling that something was wrong. There was no doubt that even the quirk user had no clue what was happening.

“That’s what you said before, you old hag!” Bakugou said.

At the same time, Kirishima let out a question. “What would we be able to do to help Kaminari accept himself?”

“We could stay with him and play familiar music and stuff?” Ashido said.

“I’ll go get my laptop and charger. Maybe we can play some of his favorite movies too?” Sero said.

The group then looked to the teachers. They didn’t seem to mind the idea. The rest of the class seemed to like the idea as well. Sero raced to get the technology while Ashido went to get comfort items. Kirishima and Bakugou decided to stay.

Throughout the night, they indulged in everything that Kaminari liked. Kaminari’s favorite teachers stayed for a little while, before saying, “We don’t care if a few of you sleep in here, but not everyone can stay. Try to get to your rooms at some point tonight.”

The class nodded eagerly and then turned their attention to trying to help Kaminari. Most of the night, while they had thought it’d be watching their classmate’s favorite movies, but it ended up very different. Everyone picked a song that reminded them of Kaminari and told their favorite story featuring Kaminari.

Some songs included Powerful by Major Lazer, Electric by Maniac Drive, DNA by BTS, Reckless by Jaxson Gamble, and Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.

Kirishima picked Little Moments by Brad Paisley. It was a surprise to many of their classmates.

“So, Ashido, for some reason thought it was my birthday.” Kirishima started. “So, Kaminari somehow convinced Bakugou to help him distract me while she set up a surprise party. He rented a golf cart and drove us around. He ended up backing down a hill. That was so funny. It was pretty manly when he did it on purpose the second time.” A fond look came over Kirishima’s face as he recalled the experience.

“The dumbass bought baking supplies, beforehand and stashed them in a bag hooked to the back,” Bakugou grumbled.

“The milk was two days old and all the eggs cracked when he accidentally backed up into a tree or something. He started freaking out over it. He had planned to distract me by having the three of us bake a cake out in the woods as if we were camping. It was a manly idea even if it didn’t work out.”

Bakugou grunted about the impossibility of making a cake without an oven. People started to turn to Bakugou in a silent declaration that he was next.  “Fuck no! I don’t have some shitty story to tell of the damn rip-off Pikachu!” Bakugou was glad when Iida drew the attention to himself by raising his arm.

Iida held the class to the teacher’s words. Bakugou stood and went to follow the class out, but was cut off from the action due to Kirishima’s hand. The hotheaded boy was dragged back down onto the makeshift nest of blankets and pillows. All of the Bakusquad stayed the night.

Put my hands up, put my hands up I told this kid I'm ready for a fight

The shadow raised it’s fists and darted forward. Kaminari raised his arms to block. He even tried to move out of the way. Black tendrils, from his subconscious, made a grab at his legs. He could almost hear the deafening doubt course through his body. Unkind words he’d heard every time he was ‘acting weird’ echoed through his mind.

The situation distracted him from the sharp quick to the ribs that he could have attempted to avoid. Fleet jabs made their way to his face and upper chest. He could feel his collarbone crunch under the pressure of the assault.

Punch my face, do it 'cause I like the pain Every time you curse my name

The shadow winced as it took in the damage it inflicted upon it’s host. It hoped the child would forgive it later. Or, at very least understand it’s explanation. It brushed off the thoughts and readied itself to inflict more damage. It was just until the child figured it out. And this was the best way to help them anyway.

If it didn’t continue to remind the child of the words, if the child didn’t catch the meaning of the torment, then the child’s mind would be reformed into exactly what their cruel father had wanted. Normal. Evil. Someone who would betray their friends for their own benefit.

The shadow swept a roundhouse kick through the air. It caught Kaminari right in the face. The shadow briefly felt relief at the fact they were only in the mindscape. If they were in the real world the electric teenager would have a broken nose. The shadow decided it would shift. It may help the host figure out the trick to success.

I know you want the satisfaction, it's not gonna happen Knock me out, kick me when I'm on the ground

“Can’t you wake up soon?” Kirishima mumbled. He curled into himself, only a hand grasping the comatose boy’s hand, was extended. Bakugou rubbed his eyes and looked over to the fake redhead. He grabbed a chair and moved it beside the other as quietly as he could.

“Shitty hair, stop that. The asshole will wake up. You even heard the old hag, he just has to get through some shit,” Bakugou whispered. The sound was still rough, but it was the most gentle Kirishima had heard in a long while. The two talked until they crashed, both cuddling into the small space at the end of Kaminari’s bed.

The two awoke to small zaps from the unconscious boy. “He is so dead when he wakes up,” the brash boy growled while Kirishima chuckled. Then they both realized just how close the two were. Blushing, they both wondered if they should move closer or if they should kiss. Neither noticed the pink girl taking pictures of them with her cell phone. They had even moved closer to Kaminari before they noticed her. Ashido let out a giggle. She saved the pictures to an online folder that even Bakugou couldn’t find. Bakugou exploded with anger, waking everyone in the room.

Even Kaminari stirred. All attention shifted to the boy. Bakugou, being one of the closest and more capable at taking temperatures than Kirishima, placed a hand on the comatose teen's forehead. “Get a damn bucket of slightly cold water and some damp washcloths, you fucking incompetents!”

The fever, while not dangerously high, did not go away completely under Bakugou’s watchful gaze.

Wanashi and Principal Nedzu walked into the room. It was seven in the morning, and they were reminded that they should go to class while the adults took a shift watching their classmate.

“Should we contact the boy’s family and see if they would like to check up on the child?” Wanashi asked.

“The boy’s father is a villain. I’m sure you already know that though. I don’t trust you and I think this is intentional. That being said, I see no reason why, with supervision, the boy’s family can’t check on the boy.”

Wanashi scowled. The principal was very intelligent, but she hadn’t thought she’d left any clues. She decided she’d continue to play innocent since the man had no proof.

It's only gonna let you down

Finally, Kaminari could tell who he was fighting. A villain who stole his face, his power. She walked toward him and he stalled. He wasn't sure how to react. She distorted. Kaminari felt his skin tingle as he felt his body shift. She looked as if she was enduring the same problem due to her stall. She was a he, now. As for Kaminari, he was a she now.

He -No, she- didn’t know how, but at the moment she couldn’t care.

Kaminari flexed her muscles. She released a little bit of static and smirked. Ya, it didn’t matter after all. She was who she was and could fight either way.

Come the lightning and the thunder You're the one who'll suffer

The shadow smirked and released it’s hold on it’s form. The color that painted it to look like Kaminari seeped downward. Kaminari readied herself to attack again. She couldn’t help but feel confused when the dark creature just smiled and sat down in the moving puddle.

The shadow reappeared in a hammock. They had once again had transported to a different place in her memories. It was an old friend’s room. Her friend, Sukuinushi Kageka, would often lend her room as a place of comfort when Kaminari was younger.

“You recognize this place, right?” the shadow asked. Kaminari started to feel tense, still, she smiled and nodded. “She was a good friend, wasn’t she? She would be glad that you accepted yourself. That’s why she gave me to you really. I’m a shadow guardian. Her quirk. You may not have seen her in years, but I don’t wear off until I’ve done what I needed to do.

It was 6:48, he was walking home With the blood on his hand from my broken nose

“I think his fever is breaking,” A soft voice said.

Kaminari blinked. She was no longer in that place. She was back in the nurse’s office. The whole class was there. That old lady was too. There was a soothing cool hand on her forehead. She glanced up to see Ashido. With how cool the hand felt, she had assumed it would be Todoroki.

“Hey, guys?” She said. For three seconds, it seemed like everything had slowed down. She could count the emotions on everyone’s faces. What stuck out most was the Bakusquad; twitch of Bakugou’s hand and twitch of his grin, the way Kirishima’s drained puppy dog eyes lite up, the bubble tears that sprung into Ashido’s eyes, and, lastly the full teeth grin and worried brow crease of Sero.

The old lady stepped up. “I’m glad you managed to accept yourself,” She said. At Bakugou’s growl, the lady took a step back. Kaminari eyed the situation slowly. All of her class was there, her teachers, Shinsou and a few other random students. She had noticed all of them at the first glance she took around the room. Then she noticed her parents and her aunt.

“Thank you, by the way, what’s your name again?” She said in the most polite voice she could.

“Oh, my dear, my name is Wanashi Kikowa, but you can call me whatever you wish to after what I made you endure,” The lady said. She looked worried but managed to keep her voice steady even under the threat of Bakugou’s ferocity.

“Hmm, It’s fine. I finally got it. I just hope everyone else accepts it easier than I did,” Kaminari said. She let out a ditzy sounding laugh and went to get up. A couple people pushed her back onto the bed lightly. She took their advice. She already felt dizzy after only that one attempt.

The class looked hesitant. Midoriya flustered and opened his mouth. She knew that he was going to ask what it was that she had to accept before she could wake. She wondered if she should tell them now or wait until her father left. “So, how much did I miss out while I was… napping?”

The student body gawked at her. She looked over to met her father’s eyes. He had a glare that almost encouraged her to mess up.

The bakusquad swarmed the ex-comatose girl. Ashido and Kirishima filled him in on the latest gossip and school drama. Sero rolled his eyes and tried to explain what they were doing in class. Bakugou scowled and hit Kaminari over the head with some rolled papers. He dropped them over her head and they floated down onto the bed sheets.

She looked down at the offending papers, then looked at him. “Are these your notes? You didn’t have to,” she said.

“Shut up, rip-off Pikachu!” All in all, the moments after waking seemed sweet and playful to her, until her father cleared his throat.

But like every other day, he was scared to go Back to his house 'cause his pops was home

The students slowly left the room. Everyone had left words of encouragement and relief for Kaminari. “Guess they don’t recognize you,” Kaminari Denki said. Her father glared at her.

“What happened? You’re my son. You should be stronger than this! Not only that, but I only sent you here under the condition you would leek information to us,” Kaminari’s father whispered. Though his voice was quiet, it still held that edge that implied any misstep would lead to his father losing control of himself.

Kaminari didn’t want that to happen, not here, and not with his mom and aunt around. They were fearful enough of him as is. She wasn’t sure if she was really afraid of the other electric person now though.

Kaminari gave a blank stare toward the man. She then turned her stare toward the other members of her family. She beckoned them to the door.

After they left, Kaminari’s father looked even more unhinged.

She bit her tongue and tried to muster some courage. Turned out, she didn’t need to. With her newfound confidence, she felt no fear as she broke the news to her father.

“Dad, I’m not a boy. Not really. I feel like I move throughout the spectrum of gender. I am genderfluid. Some days a girl, some a boy, and sometimes neither or bigender.” The villain growled.

Drowning his troubles in whiskey bubbles Just looking for trouble

Kaminari’s father was swift to grab her throat. The lack of oxygen made her feel as if she was drowning. That was no excuse for being helpless during an attack though. She sent her knee towards his stomach. Her touch, though electric, felt like nothing more than weak static to the elder. She started kicking more frantically. A few of those hits struck a painful place and the man dropped her and curled in on himself, his hands unconsciously clasp in a protective barrier in front of his groin.

Kaminari rubbed her throat and took a step back. She threw three balls, similar to the pointers she used to aim, around her father. She aimed some electricity at them. The little balls put up a field that was only turned on when charged. It was very resourceful for capturing targets without injuring them or leaving a chance for escape. She remembered when she had accidentally charged them around herself and she had to wait for the current to die down for her to leave. It was a long, boring day compared to the second time she used these new trinkets. After the last device the Support Class had created for her, she gladly went back and asked them to make more ideas for her.

They expected the class to get fed up with them at some point. They got along with almost everybody there, though. Some of the young inventors would even ask them to come over and sometimes test the technology to see how well it would work. They figured the class was really just happy that they had caught an idiot who would gladly test supplies for others. They felt relief that they had never fallen into their father’s lap. They now knew too much of the next generation of heroes and support workers alike. Their father would be way too powerful with that kind of information at hand.

“Father, why can’t you accept me. Our entire family is afraid of you and your responses to what you deem as wrong. This is way more accepted in this generation, than in yours, but still, you should at least be happy, maybe proud, and respect how I live my life.”

“Why on earth would I ever be proud of you? You are so stupid you think you’re not a boy and you can’t even spy on these so-called-heroes. You’re worthless to me,” The elder man spat. His struggles to get out of the trap were futile.

Well, there's no excuse for the things he did But there's a lot at home that he's dealing with

Wanashi walked into the room, with her saddened family behind the hag. “Let your father go child. It will not end well if you disobey me,” she said. Her hand latched onto the arm of Kaminari’s aunt.

“Wanashi, that is impossible. He won’t be free until the capsules run out of charge. It was something that the support course came up with. I don’t know how to turn it off.” The women clicked her tongue in an annoyed fashion that spurred Kaminari’s mind to the newest Robin in the DC Batman comics. She hadn’t read them in years, but she could still see the eerie similarity.

The woman pulled a small device out of her ear and crunched it underneath her heel.

Kaminari scowled and tried to look tough, but she couldn’t help the widening of her eyes or the unconscious curl inward that her body exhibited. This was the second time she had seen the shadow-like-man who could transform his body into a portal. She wondered why he would come to get the old lady and Kaminari’s own father when the electronic was destroyed.

She knew her father was capable of destroying it without even trying or noticing. She knew that couldn’t have been a sign. Still, the frequency meant the shadow man had heard all the conversation.

Kaminari was glad that the man had just decided to abduct the villains instead of attack though. She knew she couldn’t fend them off without her aunt and mother getting hurt.

Because his dad's been drunk since he was a kid And I hope one day that he'll say to him

She turned her attention to the two other women left in the room. They held each other as if it would calm the shaking that was starting to settle in their forms. “Oh Denki, how do you stand all this violence? I thought it was bad enough that it was violent at home, but now this? Is it always like this?” Her mother asked before hugging her child. She looked like she would start to cradle and rock the teenager.

Kaminari sniggered. “It’s fine mom. It’s not always like this at all,” She said.  She wanted to add that it was something that happened every once in a while but felt as if that would make her mother abandon her newfound relief. She also feared being pulled out of school. She wanted to be a hero with all her heart. She wanted to help kids who didn’t think they would ever be able to use their quirks properly. Kids who wanted to help but always thought that their quirk wasn’t good enough, whether it be because of the side-effects or words that other children had said about them. Kaminari had experienced both. She knew if she could do it, so could they. She hoped this wasn’t enough to make her mother pull her out of school.

“Mom? Will you finally leave him? I know he hurts you too.” Kaminari pulled her head from her mother’s embrace to see her face. With a brilliant smile and glistening eyes, she bent forward to kiss her daughters forehead.

“I can try, my daughter. But I can’t make that a promise,” Kaminari nodded. After processing the words, she smiled. She was so happy that her mother called her daughter instead of a son. She didn’t even question how her mother knew. She had always chalked it up to being a mother thing.

She wondered if one day she would have the mother thing.

"Put down those bubbles and that belt buckle In this broken bubble"

Kaminari spent that night in their room. She had spent a good hour answering her mother’s and aunt’s questions about being genderfluid. Still, they felt very exhausted after the whole ordeal. They had asked their mother and aunt to confide in the school about the abuse and villianry that Kaminari’s father was almost always up to.

They wondered briefly if they should let their family go home, but knew that it would be best to let the teachers decide about whether it was or was not too dangerous to return to the tiny home in the Saitama prefecture. They also knew that if the two didn’t feel safe, they would find a way.

It wouldn’t be the first time their mother had swept into the house and taken anyone inside to a hotel or friend’s house when it just wasn’t safe to be home.

Punch my face, do it 'cause I like the pain Every time you curse my name

Kaminari decided that using ‘they’ could be confusing for when they were in this mood. Looking up more pronouns they decided they’d go with xe. Xe sounded right, though xe knew it could be confusing. Xe hoped xyr other friends would be accepting. Kaminari couldn’t help but feeling that anxious feeling that reminded xem that they may not accept. Xe took a second to sit and calm xyr thoughts before going to find xyr most trusted friends.

Xe explained the situation, and grinned when xe heard Bakugou’s outraged voice say, “That’s it? You damn ripoff-Pikachu! Don’t fucking disturb my sleep for something even you should know the answer to! If anyone gives you trouble for this shit, I’ll kill them!” Still, at the volume and anger in the always-angry-blond, Kaminari flinched. Xe honestly thought that the impetuous boy would be disgusted or just angry. The rest of xyr close friends also spouted that they cared about xem for xemself. A grin eased itself on xyr face and xe pounced to hug the bakusquad.

“So, what pronouns are you using at the moment?” Sero asked

“I think, at the moment at least,” Kaminari said, seeming meek. Xe stopped for a short while, fearing their reactions until he was shouted at by an impatient Bakugou being subdued by Kirishima. “Right! Sorry! I’d like to go by xe/xem pronouns right now!”

I know you want the satisfaction, it's not gonna happen Knock me out, kick me when I'm on the ground

Kirishima looked over to the electric blond and grinned. “Kami-bro!” He cried. Kaminari instantly looked over with a grin. “Does this mean I can’t call you Kami-bro anymore?” Kaminari giggled at the almost pitiful face Kirishima pulled. It was so exaggerated it broke the tensing mood back into the normal happy-go-lucky mood that the group would usually enjoy.

“Well duh. That’s just how you are. You aren’t going to offend me by a nickname that has never bothered me before. Being genderfluid won’t change that. I mean, yeah dysphoria sucks, but there are a lot of times when it’s lessened. I’m also just a really go-with-the-flow kind of person,” Kamiari said. Xe was still giggling at xyr red-headed companion. After the tension had eased, the group shared stories of what happened.

Kaminari found the most amusement in being caught up on who Bakugou has had the most scream matches with while xe was out and with Mina’s picture of Bakugou and Kirishima’s almost kiss. They all talked for hours, even with Bakugou’s explosions bringing the teacher’s attention on them. They were scolded and told to go to bed. After that, they did the only thing natural for a teenager to do. They ignored their teachers and had a sleepover in the dorm’s living room. No one went to bed until 5 in the morning and no one woke them up for school the next day.

The teachers decided that it should be considered that they had been worried sick over Kaminari and deserved the day to spend time with the ex-coma patient.

It's only gonna let you down Come the lightning and the thunder

After all the classes had ended, Kaminari told the bakusquad that xe wanted to come out to their class and teachers. Xe was getting annoyed with the repetitiveness of having to explain so many times. “That’s so manly,” and “We’re proud of you, dude,” rang in xyr head. Xe couldn’t stop the nervousness but was happy that xyr friend’s had xyr back.

“I have something to say,” Kaminari said while standing on the coffee table in their dorm. The rash action called the attention or every class member, and the few teachers and other students who had decided to check on the impulsive child. “I think I’m genderfluid. Sometimes I feel like a girl and sometimes I feel like a boy. Sometimes I don’t feel like either. I think it was because I was denying that myself. I think that’s why the woman was able to put me in that coma.” After a few moments of silence, Kaminari climbed down from the table with slumped shoulders. Xe wasn’t sure if xe felt disappointed by the lack of response.

Finally, a response came. A cruel and offensive was uttered by Mineta. It was like a backstab to the gut even though xe felt it coming. Xe didn’t expect the backlash the boy would get, though. All the class had stepped up to defend Xem. The principal sent him away to atone for his cruel response. The boy was also warned that if he did anything to offend or hurt another student or person on the school premises, he would be taken out of Class 1-A.

Kaminari secretly hoped that when, there was no if, at this point, Mineta was booted out, Shisou would take the vulgar boy’s place. Xe was pretty sure most of the class also wanted the purple-haired boy to join the class.

Not even an hour after the boy was out of site, Bakugou had terrorized the bigot to the point Mineta never said anything bad about Kaminari again.

You're the one who'll suffer, suffer

Name Meanings:

Wanashi Kikowa 罠 (Wana) trap 四 (Shi) four 記 怖 (Kikowa) Memorial 記 (Ki) Record 怖 (Kowa) Fear

Kageka- 影華-meaning shadow flower/ shadow splendor 救主- Sukuinushi- Savior (I was lazy on Sukuinshi-Chan's name. Sorry.)

This is a story I wrote a while ago, but I’m not too great at keeping things in synch, so the picture that goes with it is late. REALLY LATE. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope you enjoy it. I decided It would be best to just put both the chapters together since it’s easier to cross post like that, sorry?

-Myukamo Kunazu

#bakusquad #Kaminari Denki #katsuki bakugou #mina ashido #sero hanta #kirishima eijirou #Song fic #fanfiction #Kaminari Denki - Centric #angst #bnha #Fanart #my ocs #Genderfluid character #self acceptance #comatose character

[joshua-flowers]

Lowest to Highest Route April 2018

​Day 1

Woke up at 4am in my cheap hotel room in Ridgecrest. I drove to Death Valley to start dropping off my water/food caches in bright orange Home Depot buckets, I duct tape the shit outta them and throw heavy rocks on top because if one of these caches gets messed with the hike is over. I get to Lone Pine at around 11am and park my car in the Chamber of Commerce parking lot. I'm finishing placing the odds and ends into my pack and realize I am shaking. Holy fuck, I'm actually doing this! it's not just a dream. I open the Uber app no luck, no cars. Same with Lyft. I go into the local outfitters on the corner and get a number for a local shuttle service. I go wait at the McDonalds for Paul to arrive.

I get dropped off at Badwater at about 3pm. I patiently wait in line to get my picture taken in front of the Badwater Basin sign. I start making my way past the tourists ducking selfie sticks and dodging children. I walk past the last set of tourists like a dishonored soldier banished to the wasteland.

I make my way north of the actual L2H route to see the actual lowest point in the western hemisphere. A small pile of rocks in the middle of the salt flat. Fun fact: it's not actually flat. It's actually quite bumpy and in certain areas I'm sinking up to my ankles in mud. Because I got such a late start I'm trying to keep a quick pace. Although I have my umbrella, the sun is beating on my legs and also bouncing off the white salt.

I am questioning my life choices. 2 hours in and I am huddled under my umbrella trying to cool off. I contemplate writing "I should have gone surfing" in the salt just so the park rangers get a chuckle when they recover my body. I feel like I could Butttchug a gallon of Gatorade.

I finally cool off enough to continue my journey. I decided to walk at a more moderate pace and eventually the sun falls behind telescope peak. The terrain gets more bumpy as i continue out of the basin. The mixture of salt and mud make me feel as if I have landed on the planet of Wank and Poo.

After another couple miles I start seeing the first shrubbery and spring flowers. It's a welcome site to see signs of life outside of the basin. I make my way to the road to Hanaupah canyon and night hike for about another hour before collapsing on the side of the road cowboy camping under a rich tapestry of stars.

Day 2

Is this a road? is it a riverbed? Will it twist my ankle? I make my way up the south fork of Hanaupah Canyon. This day sets the precedent that will repeat for the majority of the route. Will there be water there and why is this so fucking hard to walk on? That's the L2H in a nutshell.

Oh shit!! My first rattlesnake! I make a wide berth around the murder worm.

Luckily I come across a creek as I'm down to a liter of water. Hanaupah spring is pumping and I'm grateful I don't have to bushwack to get to the spring. I fill up to my 6L capacity as the park rangers couldn't tell me if Tuber Canyon springs were running or not.

I take a side road up to Shorty's Mine before realizing NOPE.You don't get an easy road walk up to telescope ridge. Time to scramble up the north side of Hanaupah canyon. Climbing up scree with 6 litters of water is totally fun! That is a total lie. It's not fun.

I make my way to the ridge above the canyon and begin making my way up towards telescope ridge. It's getting dark and I find the flattest spot I can on the ridge to crash out among the Pinyon Pines.

Day 3

Scree, scree never changes. 2 steps up slide 1 step down. I'm starting to feel the altitude at this point. I'm sucking air. No one ever makes videos about this part of the route. I wonder if I'm going the wrong way because no one ever complains about this. Well, listen to me, the climb up to telescope is maximum suckage. Finally after many breaks i make it to the ridge. I don't bother with summiting telescope as I had already accomplished that back in February. I make my way down Telescope trail down to tuber canyon, it's nice to walk on a real trail for the first time this trip if only for about a mile and a half. I also get the first glimpse of my destination from the ridge, the snowcapped Sierras.

Descending into tuber canyon things get a bit more green again. The spring is dry when i reach the bottom of the canyon but luckily filled a couple smartwater bottles with snow near telescope peak. I continue down the wash and see murder worm number 2. I don't shit my pants that bad this time, it's old hat at this point.

I come across riparian vegetation and find a 2 inch deep spring it is occupied with bees. I scoop 2 liters of murky water filled with tadpoles and pre filter it through my shirt to remove the muck and floaters.

Oh that wasn't horse shit this whole time! A wild burrow yells at me from across the wash and ascends to a perch above. This is the place where he rules over his pack plotting revenge on the grandchildren of the miners that abandoned their ilk in this god forsaken wasteland.

I make my way out of Tuber Canyon at dusk passing the ruins of an Impala that shows up in every L2H blog. A few more more miles and I collapse next to my water cache #1 chugging half a gallon and sleeping in a ditch for the night.

Day 4

I get to have a burger today. I just have to make it to Panamint springs and a restaurant awaits. I just have to make it down the entirety of Panamint valley to get there. Not much to say. it's the easiest walk of the trip so far, a 4wd road and then cutting over through a smooth flat.

A bit of cross country walking and I eventually make it to a $15 bacon burger, salad, and fries. I pay 3 dollars and am able to take a shower at the campgrounds across the street at the RV park. I almost feel human again.

I fill a couple of liters up and walk the couple miles to Darwin Falls. This is an amazing oasis in the middle of the wasteland. I don't know if I'll ever do the L2h again but I definitely will visit Darwin Falls. It's like someone dropped a G.E.C.K. here. Green trees, waterfalls and fun class 3 scrambles to the top of the canyon. I make my way up a scree field to China garden to see Iconic L2H sight #2, the goldfish. They swim up to my fingers as I fill my water bottles. Some are the size of Coi. I think about keeping one as a pet in a water bottle for the rest of the L2H but I'm not sure they would eat cliff bars.

I make way up Darwin canyon, it's getting dark and i'm looking for a flat place to crash, unfortunately King Burro told his minions to poop in every flat spot in the wash. I find a place and have a rough night sleep with the wind whipping around me. Also I hear rocks crashing in the middle of the night, Burros make terrible ninjas.

Day 5

I make my way out of Darwin canyon. Fighter jets scream overhead. Besides that it's non eventful. I make my way to cache #2. as I'm filling my bottles for a 20 mile water carry a CHP sees me from the road. He shouts out his loud speaker "ARE YOU OKAY?" I try shouting back "IM JUST A HIKER" He returns with "IF YOU ARE OKAY, WAVE YOUR HANDS!" I wave them and he kicks bricks. I think if i was in trouble I would be waving my hands anyways and he just wanted to avoid paper work.

This is a long boring 4wd roadwalk through a Joshua Tree forest. it seems like it's gonna be easy but the L2H decides I should walk into 20MPH winds. I don't really take pics here I just hold hands with Ms. Misery and set up my tent for the first time 3 miles outside of Cerro Gordo ghost town. It's actually nice to put in some bigger miles for the day.

Day 6

UPHILL BAAAYBEEE!! I get to Cerro Gordo where the caretaker Robert is supposed to have 2 gallons of water waiting for me. I wander the scattering of buildings looking for jugs andd yell out a "HELOOOO" Robert emerges from a building and says "Hell son it's 26 degrees out, come in for a coffee and sit by the fire." This small act of kindness makes me wanna cry. I sit there for 2 hours listening to his tales of the shady world of the mining industry. As I leave he tells me to make sure to take the middle road out because the air force has an installation on the high road and I might catch a stinger missile.

I make my way out of Cerro Gordo passing mining ruins. I'm determined to make it to Lone Pine tonight. I WANT PIZZA!! I walk along a 4wd track along the spine of the Inyo mountain range. The salt tram ruins are cool. The fact salt was so valuable at the time that they would build a tram over a mountain is mindblowing.

Descending down long john canyon towards Lone pine is frustrating. It's supposed to be marked by cairns but I think a 6 yr old just came along and stacked rocks randomly, or maybe it was the Burro King. I think this is the part in the thru where my mind starts slipping. I believe that maybe I'm just a simulation. Like Sim City or Roller Coaster Tycoon. There's a game called Thru Hiker Sim and I'm just an avatar getting lost along the route destined to fall in a pool with no ladder. I curse Brett Tucker Player #1.

I make my way out of Long John Canyon after sunset and follow more 4wd roads into Lone Pine. I have been salivating over the thought of pizza for the past 6 hours but Lone Pine is small and closes early. It's 11:30 pm by the time I roll into town. I settle for Pepperoni Hot Pockets from a gas station and check into a motel.

Day 7

I actually sleep in late. It's hard to get out of an actual bed. I feel like if I leave I'll never be comfortable again. I pack up my gear, take another shower and get my Whitney gear out of my trunk. I drive to the visitors center to pick up my Whitney permits. The plan is to take the regular route and bypass the switchbacks with snowshoes as I have read about others doing in an April L2H finish. I return my car to the Chamber of Commerce and begin the walk up to Whitney.

Whitney is imposing in the distance. The mountain gets larger and more formidable with every step. I cant believe I'm so close to the finish. Cars keep stopping asking me if I need a ride to the portal, I say thanks and keep walking soaking in the new alpine environment.

I finally make my way to the portal and run into a couple of guys setting up camp near the store. I ask if they are summiting tomorrow and they tell me the hikers route is completely snowed in and impassable. They say they talked to a couple of people that came down from the regular route and one guy had snapped his snowshoe postholing and in some places the powder was chest high. I'm too close to the finish to turn around now.

I guess I'm doing the goddamn Mountaineers Route.

Day 8

I wake up at 2am and start packing up. I stash my bearcan and snowshoes in a bearbox and start making the trek up the trail. I pass another group making their way up the regular trail in the dark. I take a break at a stream and check Gaia app. The mountaineers route is right in front of me, unmarked.

Bumbling around by the light of my headlamp, the Mountaineers Route isn't actually a trail. It's a lot of scrambling over large rocks and crossing frosty streams whose stepping stones are icy slick in the hours before dawn. I am filled with doubt at this point and am mentally preparing myself for the all too familiar feeling of failure.

The sounds of quick footfalls is approaching behind me. Two guys come rushing up. One of them states, "You're lucky, this was covered in snow 2 weeks ago." they go rushing up the route quickly and with the familiarity of a retiree making his way to the kitchen for a cold brew. These guys know what they are doing.

Fuck HYOH. I'm now hiking their hike.

I do my best to keep up but these guys are moving through the brush and rocks like animals. at points I almost lose them but then catch a glimpse of their headlamps in the distance and head off in that direction. I feel good, I feel my confidence coming back. After climbing 2 other mountain ranges in the past week I'm a little more altitude acquainted and am able to walk 30 feet without sucking air. I finally catch up to my unknowing guides as they are taking a snack break at Lower Boyscout lake. I tell them about the L2H and they tell me that they are just doing Whitney as a quick hike to help train for Denali later in the year. I ask if they mind if I follow them as I don't have a lot of snow experience. Tony and Dane say it's cool as long as I can keep up.

Making our way out of Lower Boyscout Lake the sun is rising and the views are spectacular. I wish I had time to take more photos and video but I'm having trouble keeping up as it is. We pass a beautiful blue icewall near Upper Boysout Lake. The views here are amazing and make the dry desolate desert seem like a faint memory from another life.

We take a break at Iceberg lake. I snack a cliff bar while Tony and Dane consolidate their packs and get their crampons strapped in. I just sit there snacking because all I have is the same micro spikes I've been wearing for the past couple of miles. I look up at the couloir that leads to the notch and then to the summit of Mt Whitney. It's scarier than than the rattler I saw oh so many miles ago. The coulair is a 1500 foot vertical climb in hard packed snow to "The Notch". I can't believe I'm going to attempt this.

Don't look down! don't look down! I keep telling myself this as over and over again I repeat the same ritual up to the notch. Step Step Axe Rest Repeat. For 1500 feet. Dane occasionally shouts down at me "Keep going Josh! You're killing it!" I feel the it I'm killing is myself. I wish I had crampons.

I finally pull myself up to the notch. Tony and Dane are lounging. "You ready to do the traverse?" "Yeah totally ready!" I have no idea what the traverse is.

Dontlookdown dontlookdown. fuck. I looked down. The traverse goes around to the west side of Whitney. One mis step here and you're going on a 2000 foot tumble into Sequoia National Park. The boot pack I'm following is shallow and I'd be shitting my pants if it wasn't for a pucker factor of 11. I wish I had crampons.

Finally making my way around the traverse and begin the walk up to the summit. I feel kind of sick, my vision seems spotty and dim. I am steps away from the end. Everyone is taking pictures at the plaque.

I walk up and slap the monument.No joy. No huge sense of accomplishment.

Just relief.

I take the customary summit photos and have very little time to soak it all in. The cold is making my phone freak out, becoming as responsive as my brain at the moment. The weather is turning for the worse and its time to get off this wild ride. Tony and Dane ask if i can make it down on my own. They have to drive to Mammoth that night and I don't wanna slow them down. I thank them with all the gratitude I can muster. They laugh and say. " I can't believe you did this in running shoes and microspikes! Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey." We head down the mountain and somehow I am able to keep up with them. They give me a ride to Lone Pine and I buy them BBQ and beers because even though I probably would have eventually made it to the top, it was a huge morale booster to tag along with people that knew what the fuck they were doing.

I check into a hotel that night and have the best sleep of my life.

#photographer #Lowest to Highest Route #My Whitney #Badwater #california #Thru hike #Get outside #Death Valley #Camping #Hiking #Hiker trash #joshua flowers #Ultralight

[theliterateape]

Gambling with the Currency at Hand

by Don Hall

At every casino in Las Vegas there are these pamphlets. Usually hidden away behind a sign that indicates that one must inspect their sports ticket before leaving the Sportsbook or a promotion for “$30,000 Credit for Gaming” with four paragraphs of fine print underneath. These trifold informational pieces are colored in a dull brown and beige — a sunset photo — with a muted title: “When the Fun Stops”.

“Some problem gamblers may gamble to relieve boredom or avoid feelings of anxiousness or stress. Others may gamble to ‘numb out’ when feeling helpless, guilty, or depressed.” — from “When the Fun Stops” by The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling

In a year and a half of working in an Off-Strip casino flanked by an In-and-Out Burger, a Wendy’s, and a Siegel Suites, I never saw a single soul pick one up and peruse its contents.

The marketing of Las Vegas has promoted an adult playground of gambling, booze, and sex sans accountability for decades. From the days of the Rat Pack to the glamour of Steve Wynn, the city has made its bones on these core values. For every tourist from Japan or Iowa, however, there is someone who lives here in the grimy shadow of weekend fun, either cleaning up the mess left behind or searching through the refuse for something missed as the hungover travelers disembark.

Debra worked in HR for a local company for years. She was born in New Jersey and moved to Nevada in the early 2000’s with her sister. Her life was relatively average — some bills, a mortgage, car payments — nothing beyond her means. One day she slipped and injured herself in a Big Box store and sued. She won an insurance claim just north of a million dollars.

She planned on living off of this payout through her retirement. She paid off some loans, bought a car, financed a home for she and her sister. No more working for a living was almost a daily mantra. This life, however, bored her beyond words. They were in Vegas, after all, and the sirens of slot winnings sung their tune.

Five years later, most of the million dollars has been spent on video poker. Debra is broke but still plays three times a week with money she no longer has for money she won’t see again.

"Most people who gamble do so with no harmful effects. They set limits and stick to them. However, for a small percentage of the population, gambling can become more than a game, and lead to serious consequences for both the gambler and their family.

Here are some of the warning signs:

Gambling to escape worry or trouble Gambling to get money to solve financial difficulties Unable to stop playing regardless of winning or losing Gambling until the last dollar is gone Losing time from work due to gambling Borrowing money to pay gambling debts Neglecting family because of gambling Lying about time and money spent gambling" — from “When the Fun Stops” by The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling

Teddy was a Big Deal in the world of fossil fuel safety protocol. It ain’t Tom Cruise or Barack Obama territory but it had paid extremely well for a long time. He was a hefty man with a booming laugh and a warm smile that sort of expanded his charm two or three feet around him.

When Teddy came there were some rules. This guy spent so much money in one sitting the General Manager would comment that if Teddy wanted everyone in the casino out so he could play in peace they’d be escorted off the property until Teddy was done. It never came to that but the rules were simple:

Teddy played the two ‘Dancing Drums’ slots exclusively, so the machines on either side were shut off.

He drank Sierra Mist and was on a constant refill protocol.

He was gregarious but didn’t want to be bothered by anyone so keeping the hangers-on on the floor away was key.

Teddy always played the maximum bet which for his machines was $8.80 per spin. He routinely dropped between $10,000.00 and $25,000.00 in an afternoon. He'd likely hit four or five jackpots in the $1,600.00 to $4,500.00 range. And he never tipped.

That was such an odd aspect of this guy. He obviously had tons of idle cash but was cheap when it came to the expected Vegas fee for service. It wasn't as if he was a lowball tipper -- he simply did not tip for any reason. He was our definition of a high roller yet behaved like the cat who'd come in looking for nothing but his $10.00 of free play and hopefully a comp drink.

"...eventually funds may not be available to meet the most basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, etc. In desperation the gambler may begin lying and/or stealing to cover up the problems, creating further stress for everyone around them." — from “When the Fun Stops” by The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling

When I first encountered TC and his mother I was hit by the sadness in their situation. He and I were roughly the same age but, as I've been told we are all four bad decisions from homeless, he made all four of them and I had a couple more to go.

Walking the perimeter of the casino, I see an ancient Honda Civic parked slightly off the lines. In the drivers seat is a tall, skinny man, slightly hunched over smoking a butt out the window. He looks sunbaked like people do in the desert, his skin taut and leathery. Next to him is an old woman. Old like those pictures you see from Appalachia in National Geographic. She has an oxygen tube in her nose and is simply staring out the cracked windshield off into a distance I cannot fathom.

"You doing OK out here?" I ask in that managerial tone.

"Yah. We're good. Just waiting until we can get a room."

"You wanna come inside? It's, like, 112 degrees out here and I imagine your friend..."

"My mother..."

"...your mother might feel better in the air conditioning."

"Sho..."

He had an odd linguistic affectation in his speech that made him sound a bit like a child, his mouth wrapping around vowels that rounded them out. He dropped his square, got out of the creaky car, and pulled out a wheelchair that would've been at home next to the dirty doll Charleston Heston found at the climax of The Planet of the Apes.

I put them in the Sportsbook, grabbed a couple of waters for them, and spent a few minutes sleuthing their story. 

TC was well-known by some of the long-term staff. He used to be a player but hit hard times a few years back. No one knew what he had done for a living or how he was surviving but the profile was of someone now homeless, living in his car and occasionally a month-long stay at the hotel attached to our casino so his mother could sleep in a bed. He still was on the free play marketing list but rarely had the dollar to activate it.

"As they continue to gamble, they become more and more emotionally and mentally dependent on gambling, with less and less control. The long-term result is a steady deterioration of the mental and physical health of both the gambler and their family." — from “When the Fun Stops” by The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling

On some fundamental Irish level, I understand this compulsion. While never much into gambling my money as I've never been heavily motivated by its acquisition, my career since college has been a series of driving along the highway at night and wondering if I could survive the impulse of just letting the steering wheel go and closing my eyes.

In ‘89, I graduated and randomly chose Chicago as my new home without the safety net of knowing anyone in Chicago, having a job or prospects, or having ever been in the city. It was the move of a gambler throwing dice to see if the come-out was a natural and betting everything he had.

I lived in my car for four months as I explored this new city and looked for gainful employment, feeding myself and gassing up my home by playing trumpet on street corners downtown.

My chosen field was that of a music teacher and I did that in the public school system on the west side for a decade. Why quit teaching after ten years? Why not? I started a non-profit comedy theater that evolved into something weird but fun. Did that for fifteen years then quit to go work for NPR. A decade later, I decided to move to Las Vegas because isn't that what the hopelessly addicted to risk do?

Debra was distraught.

“Oh my gawd,” she moaned as she pumped another $20.00 in the video poker machine. “My sister’s birthday is Wednesday and I have to pick up her cake but I don’t have the $17.00 to pay for it!”

The odd disconnect between her dilemma and the twenty she just pushed into the bill validator was obvious to me but not at all to her.

“Debra. Why not cash out that machine and use that?” I said, smiling behind my mask.

“Huh? Ah, no, no, no. This money is for poker. I can’t use it for her cake. Maybe if I win some today...”

The next day I get a phone call. It’s Debra. Can I loan her $20.00 until Thursday? I can and I do. She sends me pictures of the party, socially distanced from her garage. Thursday she swings by and palms me the twenty like it’s a tip I’m not supposed to receive.

In the ongoing search for the true American experience, it seems obvious that it exists inside the off-strip casino. A room filled with shiny lights and electronic sounds populated with every stripe from every tribe: wealthy, impoverished, black, white, brown, make, female, non-binary, old, young, fat, thin, liberal, conservative, libertarian, beautiful, homely. All in the room for exactly the same reason: a short term investment in a possible future fueled by luck and circumstance.

Everyone who walks into the casino is prepared to gamble with the currency at hand. That currency cannot be defined simply by dollars available but the intertwined filthy lucre of personality, desire, and need with need being the characteristic with the most pungent strength.

Teddy wasn’t big on chit-chat. He came to plug in the dough and whack the spin buttons with a slap. Except with me. With me, for some unexplained reason, there was small talk.

“I love to travel, Don. Have you traveled?”

“I have. Used to play jazz trumpet for a living and went all over the globe with that.”

“Where’s your favorite place?”

“Edinburgh, Scotland. Took a theater company there for a month in ‘95 and fell in love with the place.”

“Oooooh! I’ve never been there! I have a lady friend I’d like to take someplace new. What else you got on Scotland?”

I went to my office, did some online searches, and put together a PDF of prices and places in Edinburgh. I dropped it off at his machine when he was cashing in a voucher.

His reaction was effusive.

“It’s people like you that make me come here, you know? The big properties are always offering me comp rooms and meals but they can’t give me the feeling of friendship that the people here do.”

Over the course of a few months, I gleaned that Teddy had lost his wife to cancer years before and that his children would have little to do with him. He often had “lady friends” but no one consistent and most were decades younger than he. Teddy was an almost desperately lonely man and felt less so in the casino where his propensity to be a high roller made him feel like he was important.

The 1995 trip to Scotland was another improbable gamble. The small nonprofit theater company I had founded was fraying at the edges. The ensemble needed a goal to achieve and I decided that taking a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with seventeen actors who had no disposable incomes to speak of was just thee thing. I cashed in my pension from the days of teaching and managed a few sponsorships.

It was both financially devastating and artistically remarkable. In the parlance of the gambling addict, it was a win. I lost my ass and gained a cherished city.

TC checked he and his mother into a room one February night a month before the place was shut down by pandemic. During the graveyard shift, his mother was picked up by paramedics and transferred to a hospital. The next day, TC was outside in the courtyard weeping as if the world had ended.

She had been misdiagnosed, given the wrong medication, and had died during the early hours of the morning. TC was filled with sadness and guilt and a sense of impotent rage so like so many on the ass end of life.

He was without options. He was unemployed and unemployable. His one lifeline was his mother both in a financial way but also in that indelible manner that having a daily task, someone to care for, gives a person distraction from the crushing despair of living.

I brought him a bottle of water and a pack of cigarettes and sat down with him for a moment during my shift.

“I don’t know.” he said unprompted after a few minutes of sitting together.

“What don’t you know?”

“I don’t know what to do. They killed my mother. They didn’t even care. When I came in to the hospital, they took me to her and she was just dead. The doctor didn’t even apologize. They wanted to know how I was going to pay for her disposal. That’s how they said it. Her disposal. I used to come here, you know? When I had money? I used to gamble and laugh. I haven’t laughed in years.”

“You did the best you could.”

“NO, I DIDN’T! I didn’t do the best I could. How do you live with yourself knowing you didn’t?”

“I don’t know.”

I think about when the fun stopped for him or if it was ever really fun at all. I wonder if those in my current position watched it happen as TC went from being someone in between Debra and Teddy and started that slide into who he was in front of me and what responsibly did they take as witness to the decline.

Does the bartender bear some accountability to the alcoholic? Does the pimp have some obligation for the john? The casino feeds off of the weaknesses of thousands who come in from out of town to throw away their disposable income on a Hennessy-soaked memory haze of unfettered vice but does it have some sort of moral obligation to the folks who live here and still cash in their downfall with such abandon?

Sometime during the re-opening of Vegas following the COVID shutdown I realized that the place was leaving a mark. Not so much a scar but a dark bruise. A wound underneath the skin and, since there was no one to hand me a pamphlet, I decided that the fun had, indeed, stopped for me.

When I announced to Debra that I was leaving the casino, that I had found work that paid more and was remote to boot, she was distraught.

“This place. We get diamonds and they leave as soon as we get used to them.”

“The West?”

“Vegas. It’s a hard place for good people to thrive. Don’t. Don’t say I’m a good person. I’m not. I try but I’m not. Vegas eats up people. It chews on their hopes and dreams and spits them back out. Oh, I’m so depressed right now.”

She pumped another twenty into the machine and continued to chase the four aces.

“Did you hate it here?”

“Vegas? No. I love it.”

“No. The West. Did you hate it here?”

“No. It’s dirty and seedy but there is a thing about places like this that resonate a tune so few can recall singing. You ever read Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’? The old gods can only congregate in places of bizarre spiritual congruence like House on the Rock or Disneyland. The West is like one of those mythic, tacky places in which the old gods gather.”

“You’re so weird. This is not a spiritual place. It’s a casino.”

“One and the same, Debra.”

Teddy never went to Edinburgh as far as I know. When Vegas re-opened, he stopped coming in to play. That has been the way of things during pandemic. Those with options other than Vegas found different games of chance. I can think of a dozen regular big players whom I haven’t seen since things turned sour. Perhaps the place lost its luster when requiring masks on everyone was too much a reminder of the outside world.

A week or so before I turned in my name badge and Title 31 credentials, TC came in. I hadn’t seen him since that day in the courtyard. He was wearing new clothes. His face was fuller as if he’d somehow become hydrated and healthier. He was obviously clean and his hair had grown out and been cut. 

He pulled down his mask. “Look! They’re implants!” he crowed as his brand new choppers shone in the light. “This is my wife!” and he motioned to a matronly Latina woman who seemed thrilled to meet me.

TC had sued the hospital. Vegas has a billboard for every fifty feet of highway announcing a lawyer waiting to help you cash in on tragedy and it is fitting that TC took advantage of one of them and made bank.

Like the rest of us he was simply gambling with the cards he was dealt, with the currency available to him. Will he squander it, buying pieces of hope, looking for another jackpot? Probably but that’s Vegas. That’s America, isn’t it? 

The America Dream we were promised is just another handpay pot of gold to be gambled away on the promise of the next dream, so why not? How can the fun stop if it was never really fun in the first place?

#casino life

[usuknetwork]

USUK Christmas Countdown 2017: December 18

Title: A Gift to Worry About Day 6: Gifts/Shopping Summary: When Alfred overhears Arthur go on one of his many rambles he suddenly gets nervous about the gift he’s gotten for his boyfriend. Failing to get a new one, he’s reluctant to give his original gift to Arthur; how does he react? Rating: T Warning: Small amount of swearing

(Written by: @kookiz-us​ and Art by: @fvck-amx​) 

I’ve got to find something new, but what? Alfred walked through the shopping aisles one by one holding a small present wrapped in green, thinking, nervously trying to find a solution to his small predicament.

To most people, the incessant ramblings of Arthur Kirkland might seem a little peculiar, but for Alfred, they were constant reminders, reminding him of how special they were; reminding him of the moments he shared with Arthur, all of which struck him with a sense of nostalgia. Them walking together, holding each other’s hands, their fingers interlocked, pulling each other closer under the trees whose leaves were dyed red and orange and falling around them; Arthur falling asleep on his shoulder next to the blazing hearth warming the house as it started to snow outside.

Walking past the bookstore, Alfred couldn’t help but ponder the reasons why he and Arthur were doing this very late Christmas shopping in the first place...

“Oh! ...Wait, you’re coming when? ...This Sunday!? Why didn’t you tell me! ...No! You never said anything about this! ...Alfred!”  He rushed down the stairs to see a very infuriated, red-faced Arthur striding across the room toward him.

“What’s wrong, Artie?” Alfred asked, his voice laced with traces of worry and anxiety as he pulled his boyfriend closer, into his arms.

“My stupid brothers don’t know how to plan a proper visit,” Arthur grumbled, burying his head into Alfred’s chest. “They’re going to come and visit us this Sunday... those idiots.”

Alfred paused for a moment. “Sunday?” he clarified as he stared at the wall, hugging Arthur as a million thoughts ran through his head. “Hmm.. then we best start getting some presents for them, ey?” he said, running his hand through Arthur’s hair.

“Yes, I guess so...”

Presents. The word seemed to remind Alfred of something he dreaded to remember, the fact that he himself didn’t get a present for Arthur - well he did buy something, but after a while of eavesdropping on his boyfriend’s ramblings, he heard: “Why would anyone get a unicorn mug anyway, it’s so childish and pretty much useless to be honest.”

Thus resulting in him, now rushing past small gift shops, scanning through the windows one by one searching for a new present that would hopefully satisfy his picky boyfriend.

“Alfred, darling, do you think Peter would like this?” Alfred turned around, a little surprised at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice. Arthur handed him a small model of a P-51 Mustang.

“That looks so cool! Aw look - the propeller moves! Haha, I think he would prefer a Spitfire though.”

“Well it’s too late, there aren’t many things so it’ll have to do,” Arthur said as he watched Alfred examine the plane with such giddiness and joy he’d never seen from anyone, holding back a smile. He sighed. He’d probably always be a child at heart.

“Oh, wait! What about your other brothers? Found something yet?” Alfred asked, finally handing back the plane.

“Hmmm..I haven’t found anything yet, I’ll just buy them sweaters tomorrow or something,” Arthur replied as the two of them made their way to the cashier. “Not that they need anything anyway. Those idiots didn’t have any time to tell me before yesterday, lazy bastards,”  he rambled under his breath, huffing.

“What was that?”

“Oh nothing, really.”

That was when Alfred started to worry when he realized they had spent the whole time finding stuff for Peter that he completely forgot why he came along in the first place. What if he knows I don’t have a present for him? Is he annoyed at me? How am I gonna find something for him? What am I going to get? Oh god I really don’t know-

“Alfred, are you ok?” The sound of Arthur’s concerned voice dragged him out of his cacophony of raging thoughts.

Alfred paused before replying, “...I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You look pale, what’s wrong?” Arthur reached up to touch his boyfriend’s cheek only for his hand to be slowly pushed down again by Alfred.

“No really, I’m fine Arthur.” Alfred flashed him a weak smile as the cashier handed him the bill. They walked out of the store into the snow, Alfred feeling a little colder than usual...

Arthur awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside. Next to him lay Alfred, still sound asleep. He looked at his boyfriend, tracing along the lines of his eyelids, down to his nose and to his mouth, slightly parted. A few more moments passed as Arthur lay there, stationary, marveling at his boyfriend’s beautiful face. He was so lucky.

Alfred’s eyelids fluttered open to the sight of two emerald green eyes gazing back at him.

“Morning, sweetheart,” he said, chuckling a little at Arthur wrinkling his nose at the nickname he had given him.

“Merry Christmas, love,” Arthur said as Alfred nuzzled into his hand, mumbling back a similar sentence. They got up and made their way down the stairs together, conversing, joking around, and laughing.

“Oh come on! My cooking isn’t that bad, I’ll make breakfast-“

“Oh no you won’t, remember the last time you made burnt - or should I say charred - pancakes?”

“They weren’t that bad.”

“Oh really? Did you see the look on Mattie's face-” Arthur had elbowed Alfred in the stomach, cutting him off.

“Idiot.” He chuckled, sitting down on the sofa. “Fine, you can make breakfast and if it sucks I’m blaming you...” He pouted. “Also, Alfred, love...”

“Yes, honey?” Alfred responded, opening the cupboard half stacked with boxes of assorted tea leaves and coffee beans.

“My family's coming tonight, do you think you could make us dinner too?” Arthur’s voice blurred into nothingness as thoughts from yesterday started to surface again, swarming his mind and filling it with the same deafening cacophony of anxiety and stress. Oh god it’s today! What if they don’t like me? Did Arthur get a present for them? Present... Arthur’s present! Shit! What am I gonna do! He doesn't even like what you’re gonna give him Alfred you stupid-

“Alfred? Alfred!” Suddenly Arthur was right next to him, mopping up the coffee that was spilled onto the floor. Shards of the ceramic mug were scattered around randomly. Alfred jumped and stared at him with widened eyes. What... just happened?

“Alfred, love, what is going on! I demand to know I-”

“I’m fine it’s just... a headache, really-”

“Yes, because most headaches make you zone out like that- what’s going on?”

“I...” Alfred stopped, being unable to explain what was going through his head. Arthur shook his head and shooed him away to get the broom so he could clean up the glass left behind.

By the time they cleaned it all up, Alfred was sitting on the cold kitchen floor next to Arthur, his back against the wooden cupboards. He didn’t really know how to explain anything, he just didn’t know how. How was he supposed to tell Arthur that he didn’t have a present for him? It was just so embarrassing that he couldn’t get his own boyfriend a Christmas gift! He let his mind wander as he sat there, silent next to this boyfriend. How is this going to turn out?

But Arthur just sighed, standing up and getting his coat and scarf to buy the sweaters for his brothers. Telling Alfred to stay home and get ready for the evening, Alfred suddenly got an idea.

Their house was small and with him being a huge fan of Christmas, it was all already decorated which crossed one thing off the to-do list. He could prepare the dinner later in the afternoon so now he was at the mall looking for something to give to Arthur.

Walking around the mall window shopping, he tried to come up with things he could give. He thought about getting him a plushie instead when Alfred asked himself why Arthur would prefer a plushie over a mug. Then he thought about a sweater when he realized that Arthur already had too many for one person. Arthur wasn’t a ‘socks, ties and underwear for a gift’ type of person either, in fact that was even worse than all the ideas combined. All of that stress ended in him just going back to McDonalds all the time to eat something to calm down. It wasn’t until 30 minutes later that the American realized he’d been going around the mall in circles, not finding anything to reach his satisfaction.

Sighing in defeat, he walked out of the store, another burger in hand with his head hung low to get back home and prepare the turkey... It was lucky that Arthur was in a traffic jam due to the snow.

Alfred was now sitting on the bed, holding the small present wrapped in green. He and Arthur were waiting for Arthur’s family to arrive. This was when the anxiety slowly started to rise within him as not only did he have to be nervous about his gift but also the fact that he was meeting Arthur’s brothers and now they too had to watch him give his shit gift to Arthur. What if this was when Arthur realized that his boyfriend didn’t know he hated unicorn mugs? What if this was when they broke up? When Arthur or his brothers kicked him out for being a horrible person? What if-

DING DONG

He gasped softly as he heard the doorbell.

“I’ll get it.” Alfred heard the sound of Arthur’s voice from the hallway and the sound of the rushed footsteps down the stairs. As Alfred made his way down the stairs he started to hear the chattering from below.

“-been awhile, how are you two doing?”

“Oh it’s great though I have to admit he-”

“ALFRED!”

The excited squeal was followed by the rapid footsteps of Peter running up the stairs to meet him.

“Peter!” Alfred managed to exclaim as the boy ran straight into him, almost making him fall and drop the gift.

“Did you get me a present? Where is it?! What is it?!” The little boy asked enthusiastically, practically jumping.

“Peter...” Arthur scolded.

“Okay, okay, Peter, you’ll get your present soon.” Alfred chuckled as he bent down to give Peter a crushing bear hug. Walking down towards the living room to where Arthur was, he noticed three more people sitting on the sofa, all of them men.

“Good evening Arthur’s... bros...? I’m... uh.” He struggled to piece words together, nervousness creeping up from the back of his mind. “I...”

“Alfred, right? Nice to meet you, I’m Allistor, Arthur’s older brother.” The redhead sitting across from Arthur stood up to greet him and soon the other two introduced themselves. The one with slightly redder blond hair introduced himself as “Dylan” and the last one sitting next to him as “Liam”. Alfred couldn’t help but struggle to tell them apart. From afar he probably wouldn’t have been able to even tell who was who... hell even their eyebrows looked similar.

Once introductions were done they all went to the small dining room to eat dinner. The conversations during that time were normal, sharing stuff about their early life and what was going on now; them asking questions about Alfred to which he answered. After a while he forgot about his anxiousness and the gift, and he really did get along with Arthur’s brothers, though Liam was a bit of a grouch and there were a couple of squabbles whenever Allistor would bring up something embarrassing about Arthur. But Alfred usually found himself talking to Peter, asking the little boy about school and his interests. Their conversations were entertaining with Peter’s exaggerated stories about a goat and him auctioning himself on eBay. Alfred just pretended he believed it and laughed with a smile.

After dinner, gifts were given and conversations were shared. The memory of Peter squealing at the sight of the plane brought a smile to Arthur’s face and his brothers’ faces when they were forced to wear the sweaters and take a picture. However, Arthur noticed that Alfred had been surprisingly quiet ever since dinner ended. He had thought of bringing it up later but chose not to. A couple hours later he waved off to the car that drove into the distance, walking back into the house to find Alfred sitting silently on the sofa.

“Alfred?”

“Hmm?”

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked carefully, his voice calm and gentle. “You were very quiet after dinner, is everything ok?” He reached for Alfred’s hand but paused as he saw a present, wrapped in green, being held already.

Looking at him with a puzzled face, Alfred looked down and held it out, “I-It’s for you but-” he paused to take a deep breath, wiping a tear from his face, “you’ll probably think it’s stupid...”

“Alfred...” Arthur was taken aback by what was happening. Was it his fault? What did he do? “I...I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen, please just tell me why you’re upset.”

Alfred didn’t respond. Instead he placed the gift in his hands, silently.

As Arthur eyed the gift curiously, he unwrapped the green paper and carefully opened the box, taking out the tissues and pulling out the mug.

“Alfred!”

“I know! I know! It’s stupid-” He waved it off, more tears streaming down his face.

“Alfred... why are you crying?” Blue eyes peered from under his hair to see Arthur smiling with pink cheeks.

“What?” Alfred looked at Arthur with a confused frown, trying to wrap his head around the situation. “But you said unicorn mugs were stupid and useless-”

“When did I- ...oh... Alfred! Did you seriously get all worked up from me rambling to myself? You know I didn’t mean that.”

“Don’t make fun of me, I was actually really worried! I thought you’d get mad and break up with me and that your brothers were gonna beat me up and-“ Arthur cut him off as he laughed and turned around to put his hand on Alfred’s cheek.

“I’m sorry I made you go through all that trouble and you know I’d never break up with you over something as stupid as a unicorn mug. I love you and thank you for this.” He smiled and pecked Alfred’s lips.

“I’m... glad you like your present,” was all Alfred could say, pulling him into a hug.

“But now I feel bad because I haven’t gotten you anything…,” Arthur said awkwardly into Alfred’s shoulder.

“Artie, being here with you is the best gift I could ever ask for, how did you know?” Alfred chuckled, kissing Arthur’s cheek. “...But I still want candy canes tomorrow.”

“Alright you fool.” Arthur smiled, leaning into Alfred more as it continued to snow outside.

“Though I must ask, what did you do when you heard me say that?” Arthur asked the next day as Alfred chewed on his third candy cane.

“I actually went to the mall to find something but came back home ‘cause I couldn’t find crap there,” Alfred replied. “I actually walked around in circles for 30 minutes, probably looked so weird to the shoppers and stuff.”

“Wait a minute... so you were that person I kept on seeing every 5 minutes walk back into McDonalds.”

#usuk #ukus #usukxmascountdown #day 6 #aph america #aph england

[jodellejournals]

amazing grace

yes, i can sing… for fun. i like doing almost anything with music — while working, chilling at home, going on a roadtrip, lounging in my bed, and so on. but i knew as a kid that i don’t excel in the singing department. my cousin does, on the other hand, and so fifteen summers ago, that cousin of mine, me, and my sister were enrolled to a summer music class. they had voice lessons while i had piano. see, even the elders in my family knew that there was no use of enrolling me to a voice lesson class and i didn’t take it personally. i was contented with my artistic abilities and decided to focus myself on that area. so days before enrollment, i told my mother that i don’t want a piano class. i want an art class. i’ve always seen these kids my age at malls participating in art activities and i begged her countless times to sign me up but she would not hear any of it. she’d just say that she doesn’t want to leave me there or she has plenty in her shopping list. whatever floats your boat, mother nature. so that summer of 2005, i was officially enrolled to a piano class because according to her, i have to learn a new skill and i gave it a shot.

but, oh, i dreaded each session. my class starts at 3pm, if i remember correctly, and any kid my age would rather sleep soundfully to grow inches taller or watch cartoons on the afternoons. as for my case, i had to endure two long hours of being a mozart wannabe. the only thing that kept me going were my sister and cousin who were my co-students at the music school and then later on my companions for a mcdonald’s drive thru after class to enjoy our hearty meal of world-famous burger and fries. the two of them seemed to enjoy their lessons while i was just there, counting the time left before dismissal. on our first day, i glanced around the lobby and it was expectedly full of violins, guitars, pianos, drums, you know it. then there appeared in the small hallway a pregnant woman! what is she doing here? it looked like she was going to pop anytime soon but on a twist of fate, she turned out to be my piano teacher. uh-oh, what if her hormones go raging on me full blast? isn’t my summer supposed to be fun? and not traumatizing? okay, i might have went too far with my thoughts. i have then found out that she was quite gentle. and now as i try my best to recall her, i can only remember the huge watermelon bump underneath her pastel maternity attire. i also remember distracting her by showing what’s inside my purple leather bag so we can start late with my lessons. she seemed to enjoy my agenda and little chitchats that she’d ask more questions until she gets a glimpse of the clock. and that’s when we’d “officially” start our class. truth be told though, after few days of my piano lessons, i realized that it wasn’t so bad at all especially when she’d play a full piece in front of me. i was amazed and i’d exert effort even if my little fingers could not reach some keys. i eventually learned some easy pieces which i can still play up to this day. i’d practice each time i can get the chance and it helped that we have a keyboard at home. that summer turned out to be one that is of new learning and i was able to apply my knowledge academically in my music class when the school year began.

in the many years that passed, i slowly realized that i should have given more importance to my piano lesson. i appreciated the instrument more as i aged because how comforting is its sound especially on a hard and exhausting day? and how more joy could it bring to an already beautiful one? music is indeed both art and therapy. and just last sunday, i randomly opened the piano app in my phone and i am thankful that i still remember how to play some of the pieces that i used to play. there were only few of them and it’s fulfilling to hear the sound that came from each press of my fingers. i have so much respect for great musicians and the gift of music that they innately have. last sunday also, i started to learn “amazing grace” and from monday until today, friday, i have quite mastered the first verse. practice makes perfect, you know, and while i may be off-key at times, at least i am not in a recital which i feared ever since. there is so much to learn and that gives me so much thirst to acquire more knowledge. learning never stops and just imagine the many pieces that i can still master — and the many instruments that they can be played at as well. our generation is lucky enough that we have the internet for learning. youtube is such a big help. so thank you and keep it up, youtube.

that’s what i have been focusing on this week after work. adult stuff can be overwhelming and take so much of a person’s time and we only have twenty fours in a day. there’s only so much a human can do and how sad would it be if we spend it buried in paperworks and excel sheets? no offense to those who really love their jobs because that’s a wonderful thing but there is life more than work and it’s for setting our hearts into passion. so this week, i rekindled an old learning and poured my heart into it. learning but loving and doing but living. how gracious is the lord for all that he has blessed us with? all things are beautiful, all sounds are sweet. amazing is his grace, indeed.