#poor bean even I couldn’t remember her questions like hold up you ask a bunch of complicated questions in one go

[onlyzhuyilong]

Zhu YiLong has stopped working.exe

#protect this man at all costs #they asked if he heard her okay and he did hear her but remember the questions? nope xD #poor bean even I couldn’t remember her questions like hold up you ask a bunch of complicated questions in one go #he could have been cheeky and been like yo fan camera crew you recorded that right? play it back for me because welp #朱一龍 #주일룡 #zhu yilong #朱一龙 #please stand by for the queue #ya made him flustered #tw flashing lights #tw flashing light #it’s okay he answered her after being refreshed

[isbus]

The House Of Villains Chapter 1

Tags: (insert the prologue tags), slice of life, Walmart, card games, Kars doesn’t know things, not so subtle foreshadowing, references to later chapters, card games, board games,

Chapter 1: Game Night

They were all doing their thing- Diavolo and Doppio chatted together, Dio sat on the couch watching an animal documentary with Kars, Santana was still in the attic, Esidisi and Wamuu talked at the table, and Pucci dusted. They didn't do much else until Kira opened the door when coming home from work. 

Dio turned off the TV, bringing Kars back to reality. Everyone turned to Kira when they heard the television shut off. "Kars, could you get Santana?" Dio asked politely. Kars immediately went up to the attic. 

.

.. 

...

"Put me down!" Santana shouted. Kars went down the stairs, holding Santana on his shoulder. Kars put the younger of the four pillar men on the couch, then sat on his bean bag. 

"Now that Kira is home, I have an idea to share." Dio began. Kira had an idea about what Dio was going to say. It was going to be something outrageous. "We are not normal, and if we continue our ways, our neighbors are going to see it. What we need to do is act normal, and what better way than a family tradition? We are going to try something called 'Family Game Night'." 

Silence... Was it from awe? Or disgust? Or even- 

"Okay. It's simple, all you have to do is play board games." Kira stepped towards the stairs before being stopped by Pucci's question. 

"Do we even have board games? The closest thing we have to a game is tarot cards but we don't have a full deck." Enrico asked simply. 

Kira didn't think about that. He wasn't the type to play games, he was the type to do work, so he sold his board games. "Well, we can always get some. It's not like we're too poor for it. Let's go to the store. Besides, I have things to pick up for me and my girlfriend." 

"Ooh, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" Dio exclaimed. 

"Congratulations, you finally got one!" Doppio smiled from ear to ear. 

"Don't tell me it's the cat." Wamuu closed his eyes disapprovingly. 

Kira scoffed. "You all are so rude." Yoshikage began to put his work stuff back in his room then stopped. "She's human by the way." 

- Time Skip brought to you By: Disrespecting Businessmen -

Getting dressed like normal people, which they obviously were not, and a few getting their parasols, led them out the door. Kira began to lead before Dio rushed to the front. "Let me." He smiled. As the leader of this group, Dio just HAD to lead. Dio started to walk in front of the Joestar house before he stopped. 

"Why'd you stop?" Kira spoken quietly, partially glaring at the captain. 

Dio smirked sweetly, as if he was in front of a lover of his. He appeared bold to the others, but to the cat lover, he looked like his title was "Super Stupid". "Where's the store?" The blonde vampire fluttered his eyelashes, holding the parasol between his jaw and shoulder while his hands held his knees as he crouched to be at eye level.

Kira sighed. "Just follow me." They continued, this time with Kira in the lead and Dio right behind. The villainous cast spoke to each other as they walked behind Kira. Dio started to strike up a conversation with Pucci, but Pucci immediately dismissed him. 

They looked around at their neighborhood, several houses and people were around the area. The homes on one side of the street had a bunch of friendly people- like that kid in a baseball player outfit around house number 1506, or the teen with a mostly shaved head and pompadour with the older blonde boy that has the braid. 

All that friendliness was enough to make some of the villains question this neighborhood. With those happy faces, it was hard to be in a bad mood. It's like the happiness was rubbing off on them while rubbing them the wrong way. Dio thought about it then shrugged. Kars was glancing around for squirrels that he saw on TV. Kira stayed serious, and continued leading. Doppio and Diavolo spoke back and forth with each other. Pucci strutted as if he wasn't a sucker for God. 

It was taking five-ever. Everyone, excluding Kira, wished it was right around the corner. Past the "For Sale!" homes, and past the other blocks, it took at least three minutes. Well, it would've taken three minutes but Kars found a squirrel and a hawk started following Dio. The hawk presumably got the chain holding it broke and flew away, looking for a new owner since it had a collar and purple scarf. What a fancy bird. 

But the bird may or may not be important. The hawk followed them all the way to the store, then waited by the door. The villain group stepped inside, Kars and the two older pillar men struggled a bit (especially Kars) Santana fit through perfectly though. 

The part of the group that was foreign to this place (that is totally not Wal-Mart) looked around in awe. They put away their parasols and held them by their sides. "Hi welcome to Wal-Mart!" A lady at the front said with a smile. 

As if the woman smashed a bottle and yelled "scatter!", they began walking around. Dio read the sign that said "woman's" and just HAD to see the panty section. Pucci joined him, hoping he wasn't doing what he thought he was doing. Diavolo and Doppio went to the technology section. Kars and Wamuu gone to the pet area. Esidisi and Santana went to the toy section. Leaving Kira alone. Yoshikage looked behind him and saw nobody. 

"This is just great. Everyone left faster than me saying 'Bite the Dust'." Kira spoke to himself. "Come on darling. Let's find them." He looked in his jacket pocket to speak to his girlfriend. 

- Time Skip Brought to you By: Bite Za Dusto

Since Kira was going to the game area and it was right next to the toy section, Kira grabbed a few games and put it in the cart that he grabbed off screen. He heard the angsty teen's voice. "I don't want dolls, I want- wait that one is actually kinda cute... Can I have him?" Santana nearly shouted at first but his voice died down after he found the most handsome doll. 

Kira gone to the doll isle and saw the two- Esidisi was explaining how Kira would get it for him as Santana held a doll with blonde hair and blue eyes. The blonde cat lover coughed. "Come on you two, let's find the others." Santana slightly pouted like he REALLY wanted the doll. "Put it in the cart." The redhead thanked Yoshikage and put the doll in there.

The three gone past the technology section but paused when seeing the pink haired boys looking at phones. They seemed to be agreeing on something, when Kira got closer, the men saw a figure of a manga character in Doppio's hands. 

"I could always get it for you. But I forgot my wallet." Diavolo explained before Doppio started looking glum. 

"How much is it?" Yoshikage's serious voice cut through to their ears. Doppio's face lit up from the darkness of the other's words. 

Doppio checked the price on the bottom and read it aloud. "Twenty dollars." Kira nodded to the cart, signaling him to put the figure in the cart. The pink haired boy done as he was "told", and set the manga character in the cart. 

"Now, where are those last few?" Kira asked himself. Suddenly, he remembered Kars' love for animals. To the pet section! 

The pink haired boys joined the party! 

They all moved forward to the pet section. Moving in different walks, past the fabric and sewing area, to that isle with supplies for small animals, reptiles, and fish. To their avail, they saw the long purple hair and short blonde hair of Kars and Wamuu. The isle also had Jolyne and Jotaro, looking at fish. 

Wamuu and Kars looked at the group, holding a play pen for small animals. "Put it in." Kira sighed. They done just that. "Now, where's the last two?" 

"No! I refuse to wear female underwear!" The group heard none other than Pucci, shouting about panties. "I am clearly a man!" 

"Why is a man shouting about underwear, dad?" Jolyne tried to contain her laughter. 

Jotaro smirked. "Good grief." 

Oh no. The villains thought and rushed to the feminine area. Once they got there, Esidisi covered Santana's eyes so that he couldn't see the- um- interesting area. But everyone else there could see, clear as day, Dio grinning while holding a thong and bra and Enrico blushing with wide eyes. 

"It would look great on you..." Dio spoke in a sing-song voice. 

"No it would not! Besides, that kind of underwear is so sinful!" 

"Would you prefer cheeky?" Pucci's blush darkened at the words that spilled from the blonde's mouth. 

Kira groaned. "Shut it. If he doesn't want it, leave it be. We have to buy this stuff, so let's go to check out." 

"Alright~" Dio sang. Enrico moved towards the check out. "Let's get it anyway." He whispered. 

"Fine but if I wake up to screams of terror, I'm throwing you out." Yoshikage threatened. Dio shrugged and followed Enrico after putting the underwear in the cart. Esidisi removed his hand from over Santana's eyes, and walked with the group. 

- Time Skip brought to you By: I can see your panties... (SICK JOJO REFERENCE) -

As the cashier scanned items, Kira couldn't keep his eyes off of her hands. The lady tried handing the bags to him, but he was too focused on her lovely, dainty hands. "Sir?" She asked, snapping him back to the real world. "Your bags." 

"Oh, thanks." He felt awkward but took the bags and paid up. "Have a nice day, Adrian." He took back his card then speed-walked to the door. 

"Ugh, Kira wait up!" Dio nearly stood for to long until realizing Kira was nearly out the door. The cashier giggled and smiled. 

Kars and the other pillar men followed. Enrico was close behind. "Thank you so much!" Doppio blushed. 

"Here's our number." Diavolo held out a piece of paper with numbers written on it for the lady to take. Before she could take it, Doppio snatched it away, then ran away. "Doppio, don't try to leave me!" He shouted and ran to the exit. 

The cashier sighed. "Cute, aren't they?" A Burger King worker spoke to the cashier. 

"Yeah, Aimi. They sure are." She responded. 

"Miss? Do you know where this address is? I'm not from around here." 

- Time skip Brought to you by: An Unnamed Man asking a cashier for directions! -

Once they got home, they immediately looked at the games Yoshikage got. Monopoly, Uno, The Game Of Life, etc. But one definitely caught their eyes. A game called Villainous. But (to avoid copyright) they played Uno. 

"Ok. We are not allowed to use our stands to cheat. That's the only rule I have." Kira set up the game by handing out seven cards to those who were playing. Santana played video games in the attic, Esidisi watched Santana play those games, Wamuu and Doppio cheered on their leaders, as the other five played Uno. "And to make sure we aren't cheating, they will be watching us play." 

Dio already knew what he would do. "The World!" The World came out of the card and stopped time. "Will you help me? All you have to do is stop time when I give you a signal." 

The World stared, then shook his head. "I refuse." 

"What?! No! I have to win!" The World resumes time after Dio exclaims. 

Kira put the collar on the pink housecat and Killer Queen appears. "Let's win this Kira!" 

Diavolo rubbed the gem and King Crimson stands behind him. "We got this." Diavolo and King Crimson both say in unison. 

Pucci puts the disc in the portable DVD player and crawling out of the screen was Whitesnake. Once he gets out, he sighs. "It sure was cramped in there..." 

Everyone looked at the cards that were handed out and the game was decided. A green nine. Dio was first, and he played a green seven. "Easy as that." He said cockily. 

"So, we have to match colors?" Kars asked. 

"You can match colors, or numbers. If you don't have a cards that match the number or color, then you draw from the deck until you get something to play or until you reach four cards." Kira explained.

Kars nodded. "What does this card do?" He pulled out a plus four. Kira's eyes widened, knowing he was next. 

Dio burst out laughing. "If you play that card then the next person gets four cards and you change the color." He tried to stop the laughter by talking but he nearly coughed when doing so. "So, what are you going to do?" 

Kars hummed in thought, then he took a card. Before placing it down, or even where the others could see, he looked at Wamuu. "Of course, sir." Dio felt he knew what card he was going to place, so he smirked and crossed his arms. He would have the upper hand against the ever-so-lucky Yoshikage Kira. 

Kars soon placed the card after Wamuu gave the signal of approval. Or what I, the Narrator, like to call "The F*ck Yes Do it!" signal. Only be- oh sh*t. 

Dio, I'm sorry, but your prediction was incorrect. 

A blue seven. 

Dio looked at the card Kars placed, then at Kars, then back at the card, Kars, card- this could go on. 

But before you continue... 

Try saying "Kars Card" ten times fast. 

Ready? Cool. 

Dio saw what was going on. Kars was trying to get the turns reversed so he could play the plus four on Dio. But Kars didn't understand much about human culture, right? He only really understood animals. Dio thought to himself about how HE'S the ultimate being and how Kars shouldn't be called that. 

When he smirked, Kira knew what was going through the vampire's mind. I don't need to repeat. 

Kira's turn was a simple blue three. Killer Queen pouted. I know. I could've done worse. Kira thought to him and the Queen. 

"Oh! That one!" The younger pink haired boy pointed at a card and the older of the two placed it. The game continued and rage ensued until a winner was decided. The winner was Kira. Who wouldn't have guessed that the ever-so-lucky Yoshikage Kira would win? 

#comedy #slice of life #villain house #human stands #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba #original story #story time #jojo fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic

[marleysrambles]

How have you bean? (A coffee shop AU)

So I have decided to write a bunch of coffee shop aus for this month, enjoy some Adrienette fluff!

It was a Tuesday, about 2:30 in the afternoon, which meant that there were few people sitting in The Unlucky Cat Cafe. 

Marinette sighed as she wiped down the counter. God she just wanted her shift to be over. She and her best friend from high school had met up for their monthly night out the night before, and she just wanted to go home and sleep. 

Or at the very least have some customers other than the usual mom and kids in here to grab a quick snack before heading out again and the occasional student looking for a nice place to study or just chill out. 

Marinette felt pity for those poor, poor students. While college had not been as stressful as high school had, she wasn’t juggling class president, designing, and studying, finals still haunted her dreams. College had also given her so many new opportunities to meet people and now she was doing what she loved. 

Well, what she loved doing was not making over priced coffees and wiping down tables wrecked by sticky little kids, but surprisingly enough, she had to pick up another job to help pay rent. The only other option was to go back and live with her parents, and while she loved them more than anything, they could be a little...invasive.

Marinette looked up at the slight jingle of the door opening. 

Putting on her best customer service smile, Marinette stuffed the rag under the counter and called out, in what Alya called her ‘dead inside voice’, “Hi there! Welcome to the Unlucky Cat, how can I help you?”

The person shook the rain droplets off of their coat and wiped their feet on the little mat just inside the door, something Marinette always appreciated considering she also had to mop up anything that was tracked inside. She decided she automatically liked this person based on their manners alone. 

As he (or at least she thought they identified in that way) approached the counter, Marinette saw his face and decided that he was one of the most attractive people she had ever seen. Tall and slender with slightly tousled hair pushed out of his face, revealing sparkling green eyes. The face underneath the blond mop was almost familiar, but she pushed that feeling away as she greeted her new customer and took their order.

He returned her smile with a somewhat tired smile of his own and quietly ordered a Chai tea latte. It was when Marinette asked the cute patron his name, to which he responded, “Adrien.” That she felt an all to familiar flutter in her chest as everything clicked in her racing mind.

She managed to make it through him paying and watched as he sat down at a nearby table before ducking under the counter to try and get herself under control. She had been in love with Adrien Agreste for the better part of high school, and he just so happened to walk into the coffee shop she worked in, while she had a shift? Fate was very cruel indeed. 

Marinette gave herself a few moments to breathe before she started to make the drink. Old crushes walking into your place of work was no excuse to be unprofessional. A Chai tea latte wasn’t hard to make and soon enough she was done and ready to call out his name and be done with whole thing. Just a brush of fate, but honestly she would rather forget the cringe fest that was high school for her. Or at least when it came to Adrien at least. 

She did almost write something on the hot sleeve, maybe a hi or even her number, but lost the courage just as she put the sharpie on the cardboard. Shaking those types of thoughts from her head, Marinette instead scribbled out a “Thank You!” and shoved the cup into it. Her shift was so close to being done, she just had to finish this drink and she could go home, curl up with some well deserved ice cream and watch a stupid romcom.

“Adrien,” Marinette called out setting the cup on the pickup counter and giving him a quick smile before turning and making herself look busy with something else. 

���Thank you,” Adrien said as he grabbed his cup and Marinette nodded in acknowledgment as she fiddled with some cups.

She had thought he would leave as soon as he got his drink, choosing to drink it as he walked but instead, he sat there, reading a book. Of course he would decide to just sit and sip his drink quietly while Marinette was dying inside. It wasn’t like she disliked Adrien, in fact, he seemed just as sweet as he was in school, but she looked like trash, and while she had gotten over the adorable blond, something in her still didn’t want him to see her like that.

Three finally rolled around and Adrien was still there, but Marinette couldn’t care less as her shift was done and she was going to get out of there. Waving a goodbye to the girl she was working the shift with, she hurried to the door and threw her coat on before going out the door only to halt under the awning at the down pour just beyond.

When had it started raining? Maybe she hadn’t noticed, being too caught up with Adrien and all. Of course she hadn’t thought to bring her umbrella, even when the forecast had said possible rain that afternoon. Cursing, she had just decided to run with her bag above her head when the sound of an umbrella being opened came from behind her and one appeared above her head.

In a scene all too familiar to turn and see none other than Adrien Agreste standing there, holding out an umbrella. Marinette was taken back to that time in front of the school so many years ago and felt the same blush creep over her cheeks as she looked at the guy in front of her.

The guy in question smiled, “It’s been a while, Marinette.”

Marinette could feel the blush creeping over her face as a bit of that old nervousness she felt whenever Adrien was around caused her stomach to flutter slightly. She quickly shoved that feeling deep, deep down. She was over Adrien, this wasn’t high school. Her voice hadn’t realized this apparently, as she couldn’t keep the slight stutter from her voice.

“H-hi Adrien, yeah, it has.” 

Adrien glanced up at the umbrella and stepped closer so it was covering both of them, “I seem to remember this happening before, freshmen year right?”

Marinette’s blush deepened at how close he was and studied her sneakers. 

“Yeah I-i think so, gosh that was such a long time ago.” 

Marinettte looked up at him from her shoes and nearly squeaked at the fond expression he wore as he stared at her. 

“You cut your hair,” he remarked simply, and Marinette’s hand flew up subconsciously to fiddle with her pixiecut, a more recent change in her appearance. Gone were the pigtails and ribbons replaced by a style almost similar to her mother’s, held back by clips to keep it out of her face. She had done it shortly after college and had continued to cut it short since then.

She smiled at Adrien and nodded her head towards his own hair, “I see you let yours grow out.”

Adrien reached up and ran a hand through his blond hair that hung just above his shoulders. On anyone else it might have looked messy, but on Adrien it was cute with a little braid going through it. 

He asked her if she was still designing and she asked if he was still modeling and soon enough they were walking and catching up. Marinette hadn’t even realized they’d reached the door to her apartment until they stopped and Adrien smiled before saying his goodbyes. 

“It was so nice to see you,” He seemed almost sad but maybe that was her imagination, “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, maybe.” 

As Adrien started to walk away and Marinette turned to unlock her door, something seized her. Call it fate nudging her in the right direction, or even just her younger self, refusing to let go of feelings she still had. Whatever it was, she turned again and yelled after the blond.

“Adrien, wait!”

He stopped and turned, surprise on his face as he walked back over to her.

“Come in for a cup of coffee?”     

#whoo boy that was fun #idk i was struck by the need to read or write a lovely coffee shop au and was seized by this #also i love the idea of Marinette with short hair and Adrien rocking a longer cut #miraculous ladybug #coffee shop au #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrienette #fluff #MLB #mlb au #mlb fluff #mlb fic

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

WARNING: Very mild sexual content.

NOTE: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this fic, please toss a little appreciation my way. Helps keep me from becoming that "starving artist" thing everyone keeps talking about! By the way, be on the lookout for a PERSONA 4 fanfic coming to this space soon! See you all!

Jessex

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"None of your business!"

Despite her protestation, Makoto couldn't seem to keep the grin off her face as she loitered around outside the haunted house ride. No matter how many times she had been badgered to enter, she had resisted; scary movies and things like that always stuck with her long after the initial "thrill", and she therefore stubbornly refused to be forced inside. The wait time had seemed best spent catching up with a friend.

"Girl, you keep ducking my questions," Eiko's voice tittered on the other end of the call. "You killed my relationship with Tsukasa, so the least you can do is let me feed off gossip!"

Smirking as she nibbled at the Jack Frost-shaped melon bread, she told her, "He was a host. You didn't have a real relationship; he was just using you for your money. Where's my 'thank you' for setting you straight?"

"I did thank you! But like, you also didn't find me a new boyfriend, either!" They both giggled for a few seconds. "So…"

"So?"

"Who are you on a date with? Still that Ren guy?"

"N-no," she said, grinning like a fool as she turned away - as if anyone were listening. They weren't. "And I never said I was on a 'date'. Stop living vicariously through me, it's not healthy."

Eiko's voice got higher and whinier. "You can't make meeee!"

"Maybe not, but there's nothing to live vicariously through. Besides, you're pretty and sweet, and funny. It won't take you that long to find someone. And in the meantime-"

"Yeah, yeah," she cut her off. "I know. I should be figuring out the rest of my life instead of just working in a maid cafe. But it is good money…"

Rolling her eyes, she hissed, "They don't have to be mutually exclusive! Just… figure it out while you work. And don't be afraid to love again."

"God… I mean, my judgment is obviously wack. You sure I shouldn't die an old maid? Pun intended."

"YES." Just then, Makoto spotted a wobbling figure and hurriedly said, "Oh, I gotta go. But I'll call you later, okay?"

"Who are you there with?! MAKO-CHAAAAN!" But she didn't answer her. Just thumbed the 'end call' button and turned back toward the incoming patient.

Sadayo Kawakami looked distinctly ill for having bragged so staunchly that she was going to be "just fine on her own" on the ride. She hung onto the railing near where Makoto had been waiting, taking a few deep breaths. "Oh… oh, I really regret that…"

"Hashtag yolo?" she asked bemusedly.

"Hash-what? Yo-low? You know I don't keep up with you kids and your silly internet lingo."

Makoto grinned wide and offered her bread to her girlfriend. After only a moment's hesitation, she took a big bite. "It's okay, doesn't really matter. Did you not enjoy yourself?"

"Well… it was fun and it wasn't, but there was a part at the end that really got me. So scary how their heads come off like that, floating all over the place!" She shivered and rubbed her arms, and they shared a little laugh. "But um… your choice of vacation spots was…"

"Was what?"

"Destinyland?! I already feel like a creep, taking a girl so much younger than me on a vacation, and you literally had me take you to a children's amusement park."

Holding up her index finger, she corrected, "It's a family theme park. Not just for kids. And I didn't make you do anything; I only suggested it because I had so much fun with my friends. Besides, you were the one who was so excited to finally take me somewhere now that I graduated."

"Yeah, yeah," she handwaved - literally waving her hand around and making Makoto giggle. "Then why didn't you invite the prosecutor if this is supposed to be for family? Hmmmm?"

"W-well, um… I think I've forced my poor sister to have to deal with my sexuality enough for one lifetime. Maybe it would be cruel to persist." Flashbacks of that ill-conceived lapdance haunted her, even now. Though she knew it was fairly harmless and she had only done it to prove a point, it was still distinctly un-familial and poor Sae had seemed a little more awkward around her ever since.

"Sure, sure. Still… I'm surprised you didn't ask your friends along. Didn't one of them get you these tickets?"

"Yes, my friend Haru. As for why they aren't with us… well, I wanted to spend a special day with my special friend. Aren't I allowed?"

Sadayo couldn't keep the huge grin from spreading. "Okay. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than glad to have my little Master all to myself. Just wondered why you chose this spot."

Instantly, Makoto's ears were turning red, and she started hiding her face behind her melon bread. "Stop that! You know it embarrasses me when you call me 'Master' - and besides, you quit that job!"

"I did," she giggled, locking arms with her. "But it's fun watching you get all ruffled about it."

"I'm not 'ruffled', I'm mortified. I do not want to be in charge of my girlfriend!"

The elder woman bit her lip and began to pet up and down Makoto's upper arm as they started strolling through the gathered crowds. Luckily, they had picked a day Destinyland was not incredibly busy, but neither was it a ghost town; too many people would have sucked all the fun out of the trip, but too few would have made their date that much more conspicuous. No matter how much they wanted to be out and proud, just enough of Japanese society still looked down upon lesbian relationships as 'immature' to make them uncomfortable; they simply didn't want a bunch of snide looks and whispering behind their backs. Maybe one day, things would be different.

"Maybe I want you to be in charge of me."

"What?! Stop saying things like that - you sound like you've been to Shinjuku."

"Nothing wrong with Shinjuku, you know; those are our people. I guess." Despite her words, now Sadayo looked a little worried.

"Oh… I know. And I've been there, and you're right; they're just people living different lives than we're used to knowing anything about. But I like figuring it out on our own."

Now Sadayo looked surprised. "You went to Shinjuku? Why?!"

Before she could answer, the conversation was suddenly shattered with an outcry of "HEY! MAKOOOTOOOO!"

At first, she felt a spike of fear that it was was Eiko, tracking her down like a bloodhound. Instead, she saw a pair of fluffy blonde pigtails bouncing over most of the heads in the crowd as they weaved toward their location.

"Ann?!"

"Hey!" the blue-eyed font of youthful excitement exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of them. "Wow, what are you guys doing here?! Are you on a date - is this a legit date?!"

"Shhh!" Miss Kawakami shushed her, cheeks rouging. "So this is the one you spilled the beans to…"

"I didn't! Well… I only told Ann so she could help me setup that nice evening we had together. Remember, your outfit? Plus she's one of my best friends, and she's also-"

"She's one of the former Thieves," she said in a much quieter voice. Makoto could see shock flicker across Ann's features but she didn't say anything right away. "Of course you trust them. I just wish you had filled me in as much as you filled her in."

Now Makoto looked just as embarrassed as she did regretful. "I… forgot?"

"A lot happened," Ann put in with a shrug, scratching the back of her neck. "So no duh you'd forget to mention it. You saw the whole thing, right, Kawakami-sensei? In Shibuya? We were fighting a literal god!"

"No, no, you misunderstand." Their teacher reached out to rest a hand on Ann's shoulder, smiling softly. "I'm not mad! Especially not about you saving us from that madman and the evil spirits pulling his strings." It seemed Kawakami had decided it was easier to think of them as 'evil spirits' being controlled by a megalomaniac than to fully absorb that the god in question had been doing its best to keep the entire population enslaved within their own complacency. Even Makoto herself wasn't sure how to feel about that, and she had a front-row seat to the near disaster. The Phantom Thieves had changed the heart of all of Japan and it barely made a difference, but at least they had hope for the future now.

Sadayo continued, pulling her from her self-reflection. "Anyway, I'll get over it. More like, I wish I knew so we could have been talking about it before now, and I could keep track of who we're 'out' to. That's all, I promise."

That made her flash one of her patented Takamaki megawatt smiles. "Really? I mean, I'm just some dumb girl in your class, you don't have to talk to me about anything."

"Ah, ah!" She held up an admonishing index finger, and both girls ducked their heads instinctively. "You're a very important person in my girlfriend's life. That trumps your grades - which really aren't that bad, all things considered. Not compared to Sakamoto-kun's."

As they shared a laugh at Ryuji's expense, another figure pushed through the crowd to their sides. "There you are! I finally got our tapioca drinks and I turned around, and you were gone! Where… did you… oh."

We were all still staring openly at the dark-haired girl as Ann smiled and took her drink, seemingly not noticing that the girl fell silent when she noticed they weren't alone. "Thanks. And I'm sorry I ran off - I didn't go that far! Just to say 'hi' to these guys."

"Suzui-san," Sadayo breathed in mild surprise. "It's… been a while. How are you?"

That higher-than-usual level of concern made sense. The last time Kawakami had seen Shiho Suzui, she had just jumped off the roof and was being escorted to the hospital in an ambulance. Now she almost looked back to her usual self, even if she seemed as sickly as she had before Coach Kamoshida's unwanted advances drove her to the suicide attempt.

"F-fine, Sensei," she answered haltingly, bowing politely. "I'm… sorry to interrupt."

"You're fine," Makoto told her warmly, keeping her smile small and polite. Trying to set her at ease.

"Yes, of course!" Sadayo joined in. "So you're here with Takamaki-san? That's good; I'm glad to see you're out and about. Really, I mean that; after that bastard… well, nevermind. Forget him."

Even while Shiho stared at the ground, starting to sink into her private pool of anxiety, Ann grabbed her by the arm and shook her just enough to jostle her out of it. "Yep! We're all about moving forward, remembering the good times and aiming for the future! Ain't that right?"

"Ann!" she whispered shyly, but at least she was starting to smile again. She had always been a bit mousy and meek around anyone who wasn't Ann; at least, Makoto had thought so.

"What? You ashamed of hanging around with the weird gaijin?"

"Don't say that, you know I'm not. I… always want to hang out with you." Then she bit her lip, looking away shyly.

And it clicked. Makoto prided herself on being able to analyse a situation, and this one was telling her something extremely specific.

"Oh." Glancing up at Ann's face, then back to Shiho's, then back to Ann's, Makoto asked, "You two are here for the same reason we are. Aren't you?" Ann bit her lip even harder and nodded - but in her case, the lip-biting was to prevent her grin from being huge enough to be visible from the International Space Station. "Wow…"

"What?" Sadayo blinked at Makoto a few times, then glanced between the other two girls. "Oh, really? Wait - that can't be true. That would be crazy!"

As Shiho started to edge behind Ann, as if she could legitimately hide there, Ann turned to whisper to her, "Wait, Shiho, you don't have to do that. These two are cool."

"Wh-what do you mean? 'Cool'? I… how do they… do they know we're…?"

"It's okay," Makoto hurried to explain, picking up Sadayo's hand and raising it as they laced their fingers together. "You don't have to hide who you are around us."

Then it finally clicked for the former volleyball star. "Oh. You two… you're lesbians?"

"I'm bisexual, I'm pretty sure," Sadayo chuckled nervously. Though the nervousness didn't make her drop Makoto's hand. "Since I used to date men and I didn't hate it that much. But those jerks had their chance; my Mako-chan takes way better care of me."

"Stop!" she hissed back at her girlfriend, and both she and Ann giggled. "But you're right, I try to."

"And you succeed." Then she turned back to Shiho. "So how long have you and Ann been… seeing each other?"

Completely red-faced, Shiho whispered, "N-not long. A few weeks."

"Ren and I took her to the roof of the school again," Ann explained as she managed to get Shiho to stand next to her again, then slid an arm around her waist. "Before he moved back home. So she could, y'know, make peace with what happened. And while we were up there, like… all the feelings came out. Things we wanted to say to each other before but couldn't, and then I wanted to while she was going through physical therapy but thought it would be too weird to do it then, and… I dunno. The time was right."

"Yeah," Shiho whispered, finally looking somewhat at peace as she wrapped both arms around Ann and leaned into her side. Makoto felt her heart skipping a beat; they were so adorable together! "Maybe I wasn't very um, perceptive, but… all those weeks of her visiting me, cheering me on even when I felt like I'd never walk again… how could I not love her? Just took me a while to see it."

"I can relate," Makoto hummed. Sadayo turned and kissed her cheek.

"Same here, Master."

Shiho's eyebrows furrowed, and while Makoto was trying to recover she said, "But is it alright? Her being your student - won't you get in trouble with the faculty?"

"Well… not anymore," Ann giggled. "She was a third year, remember?"

"Oh? Ohhhh, that's right; she's off to university now. So Kawakami-sensei is no longer her teacher." Reserved as it was, her smile started to grow. "You're really dating? It's not just us?"

"Not just you," Sadayo reassured her gently. "But you have to give the Queen the credit for being the initial pioneer."

"Huh?"

"She's the one who flipped me, dressing all butch and putting on that mustache. The rest of us were hopeless after that."

Makoto's face was almost as red as Shiho's now. "Hey! Cut that out, I am not a pioneer!"

"You totally are!" Ann cackled as Shiho was polite enough to do her giggling behind her hand. "I mean, if not for you crushing on Kawakami, I'd never have even thought about dating a girl. So y'know, my feelings for the best girl in the world would have been stuck behind that wall of, of… straight-ness. That makes you a lesbian leader! Hero to us all!"

"You're so cool with this," Makoto half-accused. "Why? I thought you were still looking to date boys - how did you change your mind so easily?"

That got the blonde shrugging. "What can I say? Shiho's amazing - and when I thought about my life without her in it, that sucked so much that I slowly realised I never wanted to be away from her again. That's about it; love won."

"Very true," Shiho whispered with bunched cheeks of joy. "She's my Ann. Forever."

"So simple," Sadayo giggled as she approached to hug them. Shiho did jump in surprise, but still allowed herself to be squeezed by the older woman. "I'm happy for you two, though. After all the both of you have been through… you deserve this."

It only took Makoto a few seconds to join in the group hug. "Agreed. I'm so happy and proud to call you my friends!"

Ann's laughter could have filled a stadium. "Right back atcha, Queen!"

                                                              ~ o ~

The four of them found a ride to go on together, and had a lot of laughs before parting ways. Ann and Shiho only had day passes, and they wanted to feel out their new romantic connection - which was best done one-on-one. But Makoto and her former teacher had booked a room in the hotel.

"You're sure you want it to be here? Even though it's a 'children's park'?"

Sadayo smiled over her shoulder as she tossed her blouse onto the dresser carelessly. "The hotel isn't a children's hotel. I mean, I didn't see any 'no sex' signs in the lobby, so we should be alright."

Getting up from the bed, where she had been lounging, Makoto slid her hands up Sadayo's back to begin toying with her bra clasp. There was a brief instant where the woman froze, unsure of how to react… and then it passed. But it was enough to merit a response.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"No," she groaned, head dropping back so she could gaze up at the ceiling as if praying for a deity to ease her suffering. "I mean, yes, I'm ready to do this. But I'm not. God, I sound like a little kid."

"I'm the kid, remember?" When that only prompted a louder groan, Makoto laughed and hugged her around the middle from behind, nestling her face against her former teacher's neck. "It's alright. I'm nervous, too. We can wait if you need more time."

"I don't need to wait. Well… I mean, we'll see," she amended with a soft laugh, and Makoto smiled even wider against her skin. "Either way, it's nice to- oh!"

The gasp was accompanying her bra coming off. Makoto's hands slid up the plane of her stomach to begin tripping very lightly over the sides of her breasts, avoiding her peaks for the time being. Clearly, Sadayo appreciated that, because she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You sure you don't want to slow down a little?"

"No. I want to see… how we work together. In bed. Since I've only been with men, and you haven't been with anyone. If…" She swallowed hard, voice growing soft and apologetic. "If I can't handle doing the deed with a girl, I'd like to find out before you end up trapped in a relationship with some woman who isn't, um… sexually compatible? If that's a real thing?"

Makoto's brow creased as she pet down Sadayo's sides to rest her hands on her hips. "Oh. Um… I hadn't considered that. I guess I just… like you so much and am getting so comfortable with you that I kind of… assumed it would be fine? But now, that seems pretty stupid."

"It's not," she breathed as she turned to face her. The girl's cheeks were clearly rosy at getting the full view of her, and Sadayo smiled softly. "I'm actually jealous it's that easy for you. Maybe I'm overthinking this whole thing, huh?"

"You think this is easy?! No way! I'm still scared! Just…" She shrugged and kissed the corner of her former teacher's mouth. "It's you."

That kiss led to a dozen more. Which led to further clothes being shed, hands wandering. Makoto was surprised at how much she liked the feeling of nails raking down her back, teeth nipping at her earlobe. How wet it made her, how much more she craved. It was as if she had been aching for this for years, not a few scant months.

"How does this even work?" Sadayo whispered once they were very nude beneath a very thin bedsheet. "You don't have anything I'm used to working with! Well… I mean, on myself, but even then I use a vibrating egg most of the time, so it's not the same…"

The former student's smile was as playful as it was bashful. "Don't worry, I'll show you."

"You'll show me? Wait - how will you show me?!"

"So… I may have looked up a few things…" When Sadayo looked alarmed, she dipped her head in chagrin. "Shhh, I know, it's shameful. But I was curious, because everything I learned in sex education barely even covered how this works for um… penetrative sex with male and female organs. It certainly never covered this."

Her girlfriend cringed, looking squeamish. "Don't say it all clinical like that, it makes me feel creepy."

"Sorry," she whispered.

"No, no, it's okay. I just… you're almost more grown up about this than I am. Doesn't that seem… backwards? At all?"

"It seems fair, actually. You get to be the adult about some things, and I get to about others. That's how relationships work, right?"

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Yes, Master," before kissing her again.

"Good, Becky. And as your master, I order you to stop calling me that and just… be here with me." She bit her lip for a second before whispering, "Sadayo."

"Ughhh, you know it gets me weak when you say my name like that!"

Not that it caused her to slow down at all. Makoto was more than happy to begin using every trick she had gleaned from the reluctantly-clicked links for the sole purpose of making her girlfriend sound as beautiful and unfettered as she had ever heard her. The fingers worked better than her mouth - which earned a startled outcry and a lot of shoving away, both of them laughing afterward. She had never had so much fun in all her life.

Afterward, they lay in bed staring at the ceiling and humming when they weren't panting for breath. Too afraid of what they might say to manage saying it. Then Sadayo finally broke the silence.

"I can't believe we just did that."

"I can't believe it took us that long. Well… I can, but only for specific reasons."

Rolling slightly to face Makoto, a lock of hair falling into her eyes, she whispered, "Still doesn't seem real, y'know? You and me… even if I did know I was a lesbian before, even if I was going to date a student - which I wasn't, ever!"

"I was the last one on your list?" she guessed with a smirk.

"Yeah. Just… I didn't think you could ever… you were the student council president. Right?"

"No, no, I know what you mean; I'm not offended. Trust me. But…" Sliding a little closer, she pet up and down the soft skin over her ribs, watching Miss Kawakami suck in a breath of gentle surprise when one finger moved down to dip into the well of her navel. "I'm happy."

"Mmm… couldn't be happier you took my heart. Even if this is crazy, I'm glad we didn't screw it up somehow."

Giggling, she leaned in to peck her chin. "Came pretty close, pretty often. But at least we're here now. Together. And… we can be together in Okinawa, too."

"Really? You still wanna go, even after Destinyland?"

"Of course. We don't have anywhere to be; not for a million years."

"We sure don't, my Queen."

They lost themselves in passions again, lips and hips colliding and arms tightening around sweating backs. And Makoto Niijima vowed anew that she would never let Sadayo Kawakami out of her sight again.

                                                              THE END

#Queen Of Temperance #persona 5 fanfiction #persona 5 #p5 fanfic #p5 #sadayo kawakami #makoto niijima #makoto x sadayo #teacher-student relationship #forkanna writes #jess the writer #completed fic

[umbrahighpriestofgiratina]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Tales Of Arrival Chapter 2

Welp, I was gonna update Heroes After All next but I ran out of steam after that had a constant stream of updates for a while. So I decided to work on this fic instead. Here is where things start picking up: 

Chapter 2: Seeking Feeling

Kratos woke up on the bed he was provided. He checked himself quickly. Still was stuck in the form this strange "Noibat" creature. It wasn't a dream. He still had no clue what was going on. He sighed.

He heard a knock on the door. He went over to check and opened it.It was Edbark. 

"Hey Kratos! I gotta show you around!"

Kratos sighed. "Please, show me around."

Edbark dragged him by the wing, taking him everywhere, explaining everything too fast for Kratos to fully process - the sleeping quarters they came from, game rooms, strategy rooms, the guildmaster's quarters - wasn't he just here yesterday? - the storeroom for equipment, the storeroom for food and items, sentry posts, the infirmary - he was also there yesterday - the vendors outside, bathrooms... 

Finally they came to a mess hall, attached to a kitchen and a bar. In the kitchen a strange apple-pie-dragon was busy cooking despite his squat body while a spiny purple rhino-rabbit handed drinks to thirsty Pokemon. 

"And this is where everyone eats and drinks! Oh, you probably need breakfast, don't you?"

"I-"

Kratos' stomach rumbled. It seemed this new body needed food more than his angel one. 

"...Yes please."

"Okay! Come on we'll get you something."

Edbark and Kratos headed over to the apple pie dragon, who was shovelling mush into bowls from atop a platform.

"Hey Chef Bramley! What have we got today?"

"Oh, Edbark!" said Bramley, his ear-like eyes perking up to take a look. "And... a new friend?"

"This is Kratos! You're serving your special spiced oatmeal porridge today yes? We'll have some!"

"Oh, of course! Coming right up!"

Using his mouth to manipulate a ladle Bramley scooped oatmeal porridge into two bowls he sprinkled strange colorful beans on top of before pushing toward the two.

"With complimentary Gummis. Enjoy!"

"Thank you!" said Edbark.

Edbark carefully manipulated the bowl with his paws, moving it twoards a table. Kratos gripped the bowl in his wing claws and followed, finding a purple rat in loose bits of clothing and armor already there. 

"Hey Edbark!" he said. "'Bout time you got here!" He raised an eyebrow at Kratos. "Who's this?"

"Hey Ricki! This is Kratos!" said Edbark. "I found him unconscious with barely any memories outside of town... Only knew he wasn't a feral by his weird coloring and the belts he was wearing."

"Yes, that's me, the poor poor amnesiac," Kratos said.

"Ow, geez, that's rough," said Ricki. "Well you can sit with us, we'd appreciate the company!"

Kratos noticed the three of them were sitting far away from any other Pokemon, save the ones at the bar.

"Why are you two by yourselves?"

Riki rolled his eyes. "We haven't formed a proper Adventurer Squad yet. They think they're better than us."

Edbark looked to a small blue canine sitting across from them a fair distance away.

"Uh, hey, Stella? You can still totally join us!"

Stella gave them a look before scooching further away. 

"Why do you even bother trying to convince her, Edbark?" said Ricki. "She's cold as ice. Stick in the mud. She's never wanted to even acknowledge us."

He looked over to Kratos. "You rescued this guy right? Recruit him instead!" 

"What? Hell no!" said Edbark. "He's got amnesia! I can't ask him to be on an Adventurer Squad! And even if I did the Guildmaster would never allow it!"

"Well, why would you need me?" said Kratos.

"Every new Adventurer Squad needs to be approved by the Guildmaster himself," said Ricki. "And he won't approve of just me and Edbark by ourselves! We've tried!"

"So we've been looking for a third mon to hopefully convince him we've got what it takes," said Edbark. "But no luck."

"It's stupid is what I tell you," said Ricki. "Stoakes has approved two-person Adventurer Squads before! It's like, the minimum, and he recommends three or four, but still."

Kratos thought to himself. Did he really need to babysit a bunch of children again? Especially when neither of them were his son?

"Well, good luck with that," said Kratos. 

Edbark sighed. "It sucks... The opening ceremony of the Seeking is tonight! If we don't get our act together by the time everyone sets off for it we'll have to wait another year!"

Kratos raised an eyebrow. Didn't Stoakes mention that? "The Seeking?"

"Oh no no no," said Riki, "don't get him going he'll-"

Too late. Edbark turned toward Kratos, eyes sparkling. 

"The Seeking is the most wonderful thing! Everyone gets together for a big festival! The queen of Spectroma - that's the nation Rainbow Wing City is the capital of - shows up! Ho-Oh himself shows up! And then shooting stars called Reality Shards fall out of the sky and Adventurer Squads have to gather them all for a big ritual to stave off the darkness!"

Kratos barely stopped himself from frowning. Something about this seemed familiar in a way he didn't like.

"I see. Fascinating."

"Ha! Kratos gets me!" said Edbark.

"Whatever," said Ricki, nibbling his oatmeal porridge, making sure to eat the strange jellybean-like items along with it. Kratos poked at his.

"What are these beans?"

"Those are gummis!" said Edbark, eating some himself. "They're what makes Poke-society go round!"

"How so?" said Kratos.

"Oh no you're going to get him going again with the expo-"

"They're one of the things made from the leftovers of a Mystery Dungeon! They make a Pokemon's brain less feral, so Pokemon can live and work together without, you know, trying to kill or eat each other!"

Concerning. "Mystery Dungeon?"

"They're these big warps in reality that turn the surrounding area into a hazardous dungeon! They spread like a disease and can only be destroyed by going to the bottom and destroying the core!"

Kratos disliked what he heard about this world the longer he stayed here.

"I see, thank you."

"Can we eat now?" said Ricki, looking at his porridge longingly.

"Yeah, I'm done," said Edbark, "Unless Kratos has any more questions.

"I know all I need to for now," said Kratos.

He started hesitantly eating his porridge and Gummies. He felt he was going to get involved in something eventually. He just wasn't sure what.

And that? That scared him.

-----------

In a dark throne room, a Decidueye sat, looking around from her throne. Mainly because she was bored, waiting for something.

Finally something did come, in the form of a Steenie, in a uniform, looking very nervous. The Decidueye leered down at her.

"Are the preparations ready?"

"Y-yes Empress Nyra, they're all ready for tomorrow."

"Good. The Seeking is tomorrow. We must make sure it all goes exactly as planned."

The Steenie shifted awkwardly. Nyra rolled her eyes. "Yes?"

"Since I helped get this done, Empress... Would you put in a word for me to advance in the ran-"

Thunk.

The Steenie froze in place as a shadowy arrow stopped just shy of hitting them.

"No. Your boldness entertained me so I let you off light. You'd best get out of here before I decide on more painful ways of using you for entertainment."

The Steenie yelped and exited the throne room as quickly as she could. The door closed behind her with a bang.

Nyra slouched and gave a bird smirk.

----------

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Kratos was now being dragged from the Adventurer's Guild By Edbark, Ricki in tow, to a public stage in the middle of the city built around an altar. The trio sat in special nooks built into the stands as more Pokemon piled in.

There was murmuring among the crowd. Then cheering as a strange pastel witch-like Pokemon wearing jewels on her "hat"  and a lemur holding a cane came up to the altar. 

"Look! It's Queen Ceridwen! And her assistant Pari Passu!" said Edbark. "Come on, Edbark, I'm sure even Mr. Amnesiac knows them!" said Ricki.

"I don't, actually," said Kratos.

"...Carry on then," said Ricki.

"People of Spectroma!" said Ceridwen. "It is time once again for the grand festival of all realms, the Seeking!" 

The crowd's applause became even more raucous. 

"Tonight, the stars shall fall, lighting a path for our brave Adventurer Squads... And joining us for this event..."

A rainbow glow. A flapping of wings. A massive orange and gold bird with iridescent shimmering feathers alight upon the altar. Kratos sensed great power emanating from it, greater than the angelic power he once had.

Then it looked straight at him and paused. Kratos could feel a tingling down his tiny bat spine, as if this bird's eyes could see who he truly was.

"Who... Is that?"

"Ho-oh..." said Edbark, entranced.

"He's the patron Legendary of Spectroma," said Ricki. "He's like, a god..."

A god? Kratos remembered the lies of Cruxis, the ones Yggdrasil spun, the ones he partook in. What qualified as a god was rather nebulous to him. Yet this Ho-Oh, at the very least, felt like one.

"Greetings, all of you," said Ho-Oh. "It is an honor to be with you all. May your strongest hearts, souls, and minds be ready for the Seeking... and for the rest of you to be ready to celebrate!" 

He gestured a wing toward the starry sky. 

"But let us watch and wait for the Reality Shards to fall!"

The crowd fell into utter silence as their heads looked up at the stars. For a while - Kratos couldn't tell how long - everything was dead silent.

Then a sparkling green streak soared through the sky and touched down far away. Then another. And another. The cheering resumed as more and more kept raining down.

"Are those..." said Kratos.

"Reality Shards!" said Edbark. "They say Arceus themself makes them!"

"Arceus? Who is tha-"

There was a rumble. A red and purple shooting star far different from the others careened through the sky and landed somewhere distant with a boom. There were gasps of horror and shock as the crowd - and even Ho-Oh, Cerwiden, and Pari Passu started panicking.

"Is that not supposed to happen?" said Kratos. "It is definitely not supposed to happen!" said Ricki. "What was that thing?"

Then Kratos felt it. Not only was Ho-oh staring into his very being again, Cerwiden was too. Pari Passu, meanwhile, was trying desperately to calm the crowd.

"Everyone! Calm yourselves! It's probably nothing! Maybe! Oh, of all the times something goes wrong it has to be the Seeking..."

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

The group had made it back to the Adventurer's Guild. The Pokemon around them were murmuring to each other in worry.

"How did this happen?"

"Is this an omen? Of what?"

"Did the Empire do this?"

Kratos' sharp ears picked up on the empire thing but did not act on it. He was too focused on Ricki and Edbark.

"What are we gonna do?!" said Edbark.

"We can't do jack shit!" said Ricki. "We have no clue what's going on!"

"Easy, you two," said Kratos. "We'll figure something out..."

Kratos felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around. It was Guildmaster Stoakes.

"Er? Kratos? Unusual request at a time like this but... You have an audience with the Queen. And Ho-Oh himself."

Edbark and Ricki gasped. "Wow really? Cool!" said Edbark.

"What does she want him for though?"

Kratos sighed. He should have seen this coming.

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

Kratos was led by Stoakes and his two assistants, to the second castle, through winding hallways, to a throne room where he saw quite the menagerie. 

Queen Cerwiden was there. Pari Passu was there. Ho-Oh, sitting on a gilded perch, was there.

"What do you all want with me?" said Kratos.

"My apologies for dragging you in so suddenly," said Cerwiden, "But Ho-oh sensed something strange and powerful about you, I did as well, and given the situation... We needed to investigate."

"We sensed something unusual about him as well," said one of the Metang.

"Yeah!" said the other Metang. "Like his brainwaves were giving off real freaky vibes!"

"Ferrite, Pearlite, you could have told me that earlier..." said Stoakes, crossing his arms.

"Point is," said Ho-Oh, "Kratos. Who are you? And what do you know, if anything, about that meteor? Is it the Empire's doing?"

"Who I am is complicated. But I do not know anything about this meteor. Nor this empire."

Kratos felt his mind being probed from multiple directions.

"He is telling the truth." said Ferrite.

"No lies here!" said Pearlite.

"What did I tell you two about probing people's brains without asking?" said Stoakes.

The two slunk back in shame.

"Sorry..." said Pearlite.

"We won't do it again." said Ferrite.

"So you are a separate debacle from the meteor and the empire..." said Pari Passu. "Regardless, Lord Ho-Oh's question of "who are you" still stands. We can deal with "complicated"."

Kratos sighed. Then he told them everything. The last four thousand years or so, Mithos, Yggdrasil, Yuan, Anna, Lloyd, Lloyd's friends, the quest they all went through... the only thing he left out (since he did not feel the probing Psychic presence of Ferrite and Pearlite) was any mention that none of those involved were Pokemon. By the end of his very long tale the jaws of all the other Pokemon had dropped in shock.

"Incredible... You're a Legendary from another world and you were sent here..." said Cerwiden. "But why?"

Legendary? Kratos certainly wouldn't describe himself as such. "Your guess is as good as mine. The voice didn't tell me."

"This voice could still be affiliated with the Empire!" said Pari Passu. "It could be part of their plan!"

"It could be," said Cerwiden, "But this Kratos gives off a feeling he is not against us. He could help."

"Well what do you suppose he do?" said Parri Passu.

"Hmmmm... Perhaps he could help us investigate the meteor," said Ho-Oh.

"That's a good idea!" said Stoakes. "Given what he's been through he'll be well at home in an Adventurer Squad."

"Hmph," said Pari Passu. "Well Kratos? Are you up for it?"

"I accept," said Kratos.

"See, he's not up for it, time to find someone el- wait, really?"

"As Stoakes said I'm... Qualified."

"We are grateful for your assistance, Kratos Aurion," said Cerwiden, bowing.

"Alright!" said Stoakes. "I'll get you signed up with one of our most skilled Adventurer Squads straight away!"

Kratos thought a bit. About Loyd, Genis, Collete, Sheena, the others...

"Actually," said Kratos. "I want Edbark and Ricki's help."

Stoakes' eyes widened. Ferrite and Pearlite looked at each other in disbelief. "Those two?" said Stoakes."They aren't fit to form an Adventurer Squad just yet!"

"Not by themselves maybe," said Kratos. "But as you could ascertain from my tale I have seen young people like them do great things. And if I were to help them..."

Stoakes put a paw to his chin. "Now you mention what you said about your son and his friends I can kinda see your logic. Hm..."

He nodded.

"I think we can make this work."

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

Some time later, back at the Adventurer's Guild, Edbark and Ricki stared at Kratos and Stoakes.

"So wait," said Edbark. "Kratos is being sent on a big mission to investigate the meteor during the Seeking... and he wants our help?"

"He said he thinks you two have potential!" said Stoakes. "And honestly, about time I give you two a shot at the Adventurer Squad life."

"...Holy shit." said Ricki. "We made it!"

"Woo!" said Edbark. "Finally! Thanks a ton Kratos!"

"Don't start celebrating just yet," said Kratos. "The road ahead will be hard. I was assigned partially to prepare you for it."

"Right, right," said Ricki, nodding.

"Also! Before I forget..." said Stoakes.

He produced three small badges with a Rainbow Wing insignia on them.

"These are your Guild badges! If you need help, use these to Teleport back to the guild anytime from a waypoint or inside a dungeon!"

Edbark and Ricki took the badges eagerly, Kratos less eagerly. 

"We won't let you down Guildmaster Stoakes!" said Edbark.

"Or at least we'll try not to!" said Ricki.

Stoakes chuckled. "Well at the very least I and Kratos have your back. But... don't you all need a team name?"

"Oh! Oh, uh, this is hard..." said Ricki.

"Hey! Why don't we let Kratos pick?" said Edbark. "He's the reason we're in this team in the first place."

Kratos did a headtilt. Then thought. And thought. And thought some more. Until something finally came to him. 

"Team Symphonia."

"That... actually has a nice ring to it," said Ricki.

"We'll take it!" said Edbark.

Stoakes nodded. "Alright, we gave Kratos some instructions on where to go to start off with but you two know the maps better than he does, so help him if he gets lost, okay?"

"Got it!" said Edbark.

"Well, you three best get prepared. Good luck out there. May Ho-oh's wingbeats guide you."

Ricki and Edbark nodded and waved Stoakes off as they left, Kratos following. One thought was on his mind.

Something was inevitably going to go wrong. Probably multiple somethings. He needed to be prepared - and he needed to prepare Edbark and Riki.

****

At last our heroes are on the move! But what will they find? Find out next time! ...Whenever that is. 

#tales of symphonia #pokemon #fanfic #kratos aurion #pokemon mystery dungeon #tales of arrival

[greyias]

FIC: For a Good Cause

What is there for a bunch of SWTOR players to do while waiting for the maintenance on their beloved game to finish it’s maintenance period? Why, toss out ever increasingly ridiculous scenarios until they have to become a thing. And well, we had to keep each other entertained somehow, and I wound up writing another paragraph about every ten minutes when we sadly announced “Nope, no server’s up yet”.

Paging Clan Pirahna @rinskiroo, @stephyhimemademe, @andveryginger, @storyknitter, and @keldae, because they are just as much fault as this. And pulling poor @mjaydziarand in too, even though she was too busy to join in on our shenanigans.

Anyone interested in visual representation of the Hunks of the Eternal Alliance Calendar, please direct all inquiries to the names above. Because I forgot all the names on the list except for Doctor Oggurobb and his fez and bowtie.

"I'm sorry, do you have a hearing problem? I already told you 'no' about five times."

"Yes, yes, your mouth keeps saying no, but this standard contract agreement I hold in my hand says 'Yes, Gault, I'd love to pose in your charity calendar."

"I didn't sign a contract!" Theron snapped.

"Of course you did.” Gault shrugged lightly. “It was slipped in the middle of last week's requisition forms.”

“You did what?”

“Really, you ought to pay more attention to your paperwork, Old Man.”

“No.”

“You’ll be in breach of contract.” The sing-song quality of Gault’s voice made Theron’s eye twitch.

“You’ll be six feet under,” he snapped back.

“But then, what will you tell the poor children when Old Saint Gault doesn’t bring them their Life Day gifts?”

“I think the words I’ll use are ‘you’re welcome’.”

“Oh!” Gault staggered back, grabbing his chest in mock pain. “I’m so wounded! Well, I guess the poor children orphaned by the Eternal Fleet’s assault on their worlds don’t need any brightness in their lives.”

“That’s not going to work on me.”

The Devaronian quirked a brow. “Well, you can’t say I didn’t try. Since you’re in breach of contract, unfortunately that means you’ve forfeited the specialty caffa beans I so graciously negotiated the routine delivery deal on. I guess you and the Commander will just have to drink from the mess carafes like the rest of us plebeians.”

“I didn’t agree to that!”

“Your signature here says otherwise.”

“I hate you.”

If looks could kill, then one Gault Rennow would have been a pile of ash and cinders on the hangar floor. As it was he just waved jauntily at the Alliance's top spy (and laziest paperwork checker) as he beat a hasty retreat. "Don't forget, back room of the Cantina, 1800 sharp!"

It was later that evening, and the intense glare was still in place. It still had absolutely no effect on its intended target, who was futzing with what looked like a very expensive holo-camera. Theron shifted uncomfortably, and did his best to not look at the “outfit” that he was now sporting for this ridiculous scheme.

"Remember that time I promised to bury you in a hole so deep no one would ever find it?"

"I do, but I was more distracted by the Commander's outfit than your endless threats on my life."

The spy’s brow started to twitch angrily. "I swear, if you've somehow swindled her into this crazy scheme--"

"No, no, stars no! This is an all-male calendar. I’m calling it ‘Hunks of the Eternal Alliance’, catchy don’t you think?”

“No.”

“Besides, if we put the commander in there then no one will ever look at the other months."

The angry snarl was Gault's clue that perhaps it was time to change the subject. "Anyway, that outfit really suits you."

"It's a bow."

"And you wear it well!" Gault crowed, clapping Theron on his bare shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” he growled.

Theron was not really a bashful man by his nature. He had, after all, been awarded the Republic’s highest honor for finishing a very dangerous mission (that he had been nearly naked by the end of, not that the Republic handed out medals for that, thank goodness.)

“Can’t I put on something… more?”

“What more do you need?’

“Pants!”

”Now, Theron, this is for the Life Day spread, and I do mean--"

"If you finish that sentence, I swear I will break off your other horn!"

"Moving on! If you would, please take a seat on that wampa skin rug."

"Fine, but I'm not asking how you managed to get a lit fireplace in the back of the cantina.”

“It’s wise to not ask questions you really don’t want the answer to.”

“Like why I’m only wearing a bow?”

“I told you, it’s for the Life Day spread.”

“That’s not an explanation.”

“You’re wasting time.”

“Are you sure that door is locked?”

"Theron. My buddy. My pal. I'm a professional, would I risk humiliation (not to mention horrible dismemberment) by forgetting such a simple thing?"

He really wasn’t sure he trusted any word that came out of Gault’s mouth, but seeing as he wasn’t getting his pants back (nor his girlfriend’s very special and favorite brand of caf he had accidentally signed away), there wasn’t much choice but to go through with this.

The things he did for love.

"How long is this going to take?"

"I don't know!” Gault's well of patience, which was generally measured by how much money he stood to make from any given venture, was starting to wear thin. "Perhaps if you'd smile we could finish."

"What is there to smile about?"

"It's Life Day!"

"It's Taungsday."

"I mean for the holo. You want people to feel happy for Life Day right?"

"No."

"Not even the Commander?"

"That's low, Rennow, even for you."

"Hey, whatever works. Here, let's set the mood, get into the spirit of things. Tell me your favorite Life Day memory."

"Last year, when you were choking on the Commander's special fruitcake. It still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Yes, well," Gault said irritated, "that's because your girlfriend has the culinary skills of a bantha on life support."

Theron glared, but unfortunately as every word the Devaronian had said was true, couldn't really argue.

"Fine, if you insist on glaring, let me see if I can find an appropriately festive hat. We'll change the theme up, 'The Grouch Who Stole Life Day'. I'm sure it will become an instant classic."

"You've never really worked with models before, have you?"

"Sure I did, and well, not worked with so much as dated, but let's not get hung up on semantics. Matter of fact, there were one or two of these hats involved..."

Theron growled. "I do not want to hear about you playing hide the mynock with a bunch of models, Gault..."

"Your mind always goes to the worst case scenario, doesn't it?  They were wearing the hats on their head! (At least for the holo shoot--what happened later, well....)"

"Can we just... get this over with? Please? It’s a bit… drafty… in here.“

“We could… if you’d smile.”

"I'm experiencing shrinkage!”

"Well, I guess the bow will be able to keep you warm then."

“Did I mention the horrible way I’m going to kill you?”

“Only about ten million times. But hey, maybe if you threaten my life again I’ll suddenly take you seriously.”

To Theron's great horror, a gust of fresh recirculated air rushed in and added to the draft as the door slipped open a crack. 

"You said you locked it!" Theron hissed.

"I lied," Gault shot back, starting to pack up his holo equipment in a panic.

"Hello? Is someone in here? There was a sign that said 'Private Holo Shoot', but the bartenders had no idea what it meant and--OH!"

"Commander.” Theron nodded his greeting tightly. “Funny meeting you here."

Her face turned an almost brighter shade of red than Gault's, although Theron was fairly certain the conman had never felt an ounce of shame once in his life. "What, what--I don't--"

"It's... for charity?" Theron tried, but couldn't hide his wince.

"Oh, come on, Commander.” Gault slung an arm around the shell-shocked Jedi’s shoulders. “You're acting like you haven't seen all of this before."

"The bow's new." Her voice was so high-pitched, it was almost a squeak.

"Really?" Gault fixed Theron with a disappointed look. "Remind me to get you two some spicy holobooks when we finish up here."

"I'm not touching anything that you've handled and dubbed 'spicy'!"

"I never figured you for such a prude."

"Keep it up, and I'll wipe that grin off your face!"

"You know, you talk a big game, but I haven't seen you attempt to get up from that rug once."

"You want some action, I'll show you some action!"

"Probably not something you should be saying when wrapped up like a Life Day present."

"That's it!" The spy snapped and started to struggle to his feet.

"Oh--oh, no! Theron, your bow!" 

His girlfriend, who had seen everything and more was covering her eyes and pointing blindly in his direction. He looked down, a deep flush creeping up from his neck and he quickly sank back down to the rug. The smirk spreading across Gault's face seemed to grow wider as the blush darkened on the woman watching the proceedings with nothing short of befuddlement.

Theron cleared his throat, shooting an uncomfortable, but pleading glance at his other half. "Could you close the door? It's getting a bit drafty."

She shot him a sympathetic (yet still thoroughly bewildered) look, before she very promptly slid the door shut. Thankfully, the drafty breeze finally died, and Theron was extra grateful to hear the telltale click of the lock setting into place. Bless that woman.

"What kind of charity is this for anyway?" The blonde shook her head slowly, as if still trying to figure out if she were trapped in some bizarre alternate dimension.

"It's for the children," Gault assured her.

"This is not child appropriate festive wear--no offense, Theron."

"Trust me, I'm changing my name and leaving the planet the minute I find my pants."

"That seems like an overreaction," she stated simply, a little too obviously looking anywhere but at Theron. At this point, the red had crept to her ears.

"Exactly how much alcohol is out in that bar?" he asked his photographer/blackmailer.

"Need a shot to relax?"

"More like an entire keg to forget. Please tell me we're done, Gault."

"But I don't have the money shot yet!" Gault's voice bordered on a whine. 

Theron just buried his face in his arms. "Please never use that phrase again."

"Well fine, but you're ruining Life Day if you leave now!"

The love of Theron’s life (and do-gooder pain-in-his-neck) eyes widened and flashed him the most pitiful look. He wanted to continue scowling, but found his steely resolve cracking as she resembled a kicked puppy. "We can't ruin Life Day!"

Theron's nose twitched as he glared daggers at his horrible, life-ruining photographer. "Fine. What do we have to do to 'save' Life Day." He might not have said "you manipulative son of a bitch" out loud, but it was very much implied.

"You know what you have to do."

"No chance in hell. Not even for Life Day."

"What does have to do?" The Jedi asked curiously.

"I need him to smile, just once."

"That shouldn't be hard. He smiles all the time."

"You're kidding, right?" Gault asked flatly. "We've been here for two hours and not once has that frown cracked. I'm not even sure it's possible."

"Maybe he's just camera shy."

"I'm right here, you know!"

"Maybe you're just not as good a photographer as you think you are," she shot back.

"Excuse me little Missy--"

Her eyebrow arched delicately.

"--er, I mean, Commander. But I've gotten holos of every other model for this calendar, and none of them were as difficult as your boyfriend."

"Maybe you need to work on your people skills," she said serenly. "Give me your holo-cam."

"What? No! This thing is rented--what if you drop it?"

"I save the galaxy on a weekly basis. I think I can handle taking one picture."

"Fine," Gault spat and handed over the camera, "I'll do anything if it gets me out of here."

"You could have just handed me back my pants and found another model," Theron pointed out.

"Except that! You have no idea what the Life Day spread will do for my sales!" At the sharp look that comment earned from the Jedi, he amended. "I mean the calendar sales. For the children."

"I expect to see a detailed invoice for all of this when it's done." She gave him a hard look. "Now, turn around if you please."

“I beg your pardon?"

"Clearly you're making him uncomfortable, I need you on the other side of the room."

"You two are sapping all of the fun out of this!”

"Good!" Theron shouted.

Gault noisily stomped over to the far corner of the room, making an exaggerated show of crossing his arms. "Fine, I'm not peeking and giving our super spy stage fright. Will you take the damn holo now?"

"Now who's being the Grouch that Stole Life Day?"

The blonde shook her head and gave Theron a wry look. "How about giving me a smile?"

"For you?" He quirked a brow, the corner up his mouth curling up into a smirk. "Anything."

There was a bright flash, and the moment was forever immortalized in its full holographic glory. The smile she shot back in Gault's direction was smug.

"I don't see what was so hard about that."

"What? You're done already?"

"I guess I just have better people skills than you."

"You cheated," he accused, starting to turn around.

"Uh uh," she waved a finger. "Let Theron get dressed first."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" He grumbled. “At least let me see how it turned out."

She handed over the camera to Gault as Theron very quickly, and gratefully, found his clothes. From the pleased cackling, apparently the conman had exactly what he needed to finish his dubious charitable masterpiece.

"You're a life saver," Theron muttered to her as he slipped his shirt over his head.

"Anytime," she whispered back. "Oh, and Theron?"

"What?"

Her ears turned bright red again, and she couldn't quite look him in the eye as she leaned in closer. "Keep the bow."

#swtor fanfiction #fanfic #theron shan x jedi knight #Theron Shan #Jedi Knight/Hero of Tython #Gault Rennow #Hunks of the Eternal Alliance Calendar #i'm sorry guys #blame #clan piranha #we really shouldn't be left to our own devices #this is how crack happens #swtor #otp: adorkable #oc: greyias highwind #greyfic

[sunshineoptimismandangels]

Blind Dates and Other Misunderstandings (A Klaine Fic)

Chapter: 2 of 4

Status: WIP with daily updates For: The lovely @miasswier Beta: My dear friend @theatrevicki Summary: This is for miasswier who prompted: Kurt and Blaine’s parents were all friends in college and ever since Kurt and Blaine came out they’ve been trying to push them to get together because they just really want to be in-laws.  

FF.net | AO3 Part 1

October

Kurt rushed into the building, breathing quickly and glancing around until he saw the sign for the elevators and the one pointing to the stairs. He made a snap decision and sprinted towards the stairs. He only needed to get to the third floor, running it would be faster than waiting for an elevator. And he knew if he was late, he might as well not show up at all. 

He started unbuttoning his coat on the way up and had it halfway off when he banged through the door to the third floor. The first thing he saw were glass doors etched with the words Rhodes Casting. Kurt smiled and checked his phone. He wasn’t late. He wasn’t early either, which he always tried to be for auditions, but after the subway delay, and not being able to catch a cab, and spilling coffee all over his shirt (thank god he had a spare in his messenger bag to change into) he felt lucky to be there at all. He straightened his shoulders, tried to steady his breathing and walked confidently into the office. “Hello, I’m here to audition for-” Kurt began, smiling at the receptionist, but she just glanced up at him, pushed her glasses up her nose and then pointed with a pen to the right. Kurt glanced that direction and his shoulders dropped – there were already over a dozen young men about his age waiting. “I have an appointment?” He tried. The receptionist didn’t even glance up this time. “So do you all. Write your name on the clipboard – we’ll get to you.” Kurt nodded and wrote his information down on the clipboard before briefly scanning the group, not giving any one person much attention, though he did recognize a few faces. For as big as New York was, Kurt was always surprised at how often he went to casting calls with the same handful of actors. Kurt folded his coat over an arm and spotted an open seat. He started uncurling his scarf from around his neck on the way. He slid his scarf off right as he got to his seat, and somehow, with an accidental flick of his wrist, the end of his scarf whipped directly into the face of the person he was about to sit next to. It actually made a slapping sound. “Ohmygosh! I’m so-” Kurt started to apologize before he realized it was even worse than he’d realized. When he’d spilled his coffee earlier, he apparently soaked the end of his scarf without even noticing, and now he’d just smacked some poor unsuspecting victim in the face with a wet, coffee-stained scarf. “No! Oh no.”  Without even thinking about it, he grabbed the dry part of his scarf and started dabbing at the stranger’s face to dry it. “I can’t believe I did that. I’ve been such a klutz all day-” A sound was coming from beneath the soft folds of his wool scarf – was that coughing? Choking? Was the man… laughing? Kurt quickly moved his hands and scarf away from the man’s face, realizing that he was making things worse. Who would want a stranger to wipe coffee of their face? All eyes in the waiting room were on him and Kurt felt like turning on his heel and just marching right out. This was just not his morning. “Really, I’m sorry,” Kurt hurried to explain, “I don’t know what-” Kurt’s mouth and throat went dry, his words ripped away from his lips, as his eyes landed on the face of the man he’d just accosted. Fuck. Honey golden eyes looked back up at him in surprise and the man’s brows lifted in recognition. There was beat where they just looked at each other until the man’s face broke out in a radiant smile. A smile Kurt immediately recognized. “Kurt Hummel?” The man said, just barely holding back his laughter. “Blaine.” Kurt’s voice was small and too high-pitched. He no longer wanted just to leave the room; he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Out of all the ways to run into Blaine Anderson again, hitting him in the face with a disgusting and wet scarf in the middle of a crowed waiting room seemed particularly mortifying. “What is this?” Blaine deadpanned, glancing at the scarf in Kurt’s hands “Psychological warfare on your competition?” Kurt sucked in a deep breath and then Blaine’s words sunk in, “No!” Kurt shook his head bunching the scarf up and taking a small step beck, “No, I would never. I didn’t mean to, and I didn’t know it was you.” “Kurt, calm down, I was kidding.” Blaine was smiling again, and Kurt wondered if he was always this cheerful – and devilishly good-looking. “I just…” Kurt glanced around the room to see everyone quickly look away as if they hadn’t been watching. Kurt could feel his face heating up. “I’m sorry,” Kurt said, and quickly turned away before Blaine could chew him out, or worse, be nice about this. He hurried to the only other empty chair in the room, which was luckily as far away from Blaine as he could get in a small waiting area. Kurt pulled out the script they were all auditioning with, and though he had it down by heart, he started to read over it as if engrossed; doing everything he could not too make eye contact with the gorgeous man across the room. Even if all he wanted to do was look up and check to see if Blaine was watching him. Slowly but surely, they started calling names back to audition. Some actors were back there for half an hour, while some were there no more than 10 minutes before they were sent away. Kurt’s stomach tightened, he’d been that guy before, the one they took one look at or heard his higher than normal voice and gave a polite, “Thanks, but no thanks” too. That was just the way of this business. As the room started to empty, Kurt couldn’t help but steal glances at Blaine Anderson, who alternated between looking at the script, looking at his phone, or just sitting still with only his leg jogging. Kurt tried to be sly about it, but he couldn’t help but study Blaine’s nervous expression; he was just as handsome with a furrowed brow and chewing on his lip as he was with that dumb, dazzling smile he had. Kurt found himself thinking back about that day at the Lima Bean, even though Blaine had been late – Kurt was unmistakably rude, he’d know that as soon as he left, but didn’t have a way to change things. Now Kurt had a second chance to talk to the guy he’d heard of all his life, or at least an opportunity to apologized for his previous behavior. Kurt took a deep breath and placed his script back in his messenger bag before walking back over to Blaine. “Um… Can I sit here?” Blaine looked up in surprise but immediately nodded. Kurt sat quietly for a moment; he wasn’t sure why he was so nervous around Blaine. “If you don’t like to talk before an audition or you’re already in character, just say.” Blaine put down the script he was glancing over, “No, it’s fine.” “I wanted to apologize.” “Kurt, I know you didn’t mean to hit anyone with your scarf.” “Not for that… Um… I mean yes. I am sorry about that. But… this summer when we met?” Blaine lifted a brow and nodded. “I was rude to you. I shouldn’t have just left, and I didn’t give you a chance to explain why you were nearly an hour late, and I almost immediately regretted my boorish behavior.” “I…” Blaine opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again, shaking his head and looking perplexed, “An hour? Kurt, I was 10 minutes late, max.” “No…” Kurt answered slowly; he remembered that day clearly, “I’d been there since 9:45am which is when my dad said we were going to meet.” Blaine’s eyes widened and then he took a long breath, rubbing his forehead before he started to laugh. “What?” Kurt’s own lips were nearly quirking up in a smile; Blaine’s laugh was so infectious. “My mom told me 10:30am. So yes, I was definitely late but not… an hour? You waited almost an hour for some person you didn’t even know? And then I just breezed in – no wonder you were so mad!” Kurt let that information wash over him. He didn’t know how their respective parents had gotten things so mixed up, but it did put the whole situation in a new light. “I thought you were standing me up and then I thought, yeah you came, but you were an hour late and obviously didn’t want to be there!” “I wanted to be there, Kurt,” Blaine said, his face growing more serious, and damn his eyes were intense, his earnest expression made Kurt shiver, “I promise I wanted to be there. I don’t like blind dates in general… but I’ve wanted to meet you for years. I can’t believe I blew it so badly.” “You didn’t.” Kurt shook his head and let a true smile form on his lips. “I mean, we could start over?” Blaine nodded eagerly and started to respond- “Blaine Anderson?” They both looked up at the sound of Blaine’s name. A middle-aged woman with dyed red hair and a tired expression stood by the door that everyone had been disappearing behind all afternoon. “I guess I’m up,” Blaine said, standing reluctantly. “I know you’re my competition, but break a leg, Blaine,” Kurt said, and was rewarded with a flash of a Blaine’s stunning smile as Blaine gathered his things and followed the woman back. Blaine was gone about 20 minutes before he came out again. Kurt was ready to try to strike up a conversation, but he was called in next. Blaine shot him a thumbs up as they passed each other, and Kurt was too nervous to say anything. He really wanted the audition to go well. He also really wanted to talk to Blaine more, but it seemed like he was missing out on that chance – again. Kurt’s audition went fairly well; at least they let him get through the provided script and asked him a few questions. He never really knew where he stood with casting directors; they had some of the industry’s best poker faces. He hitched his bag on his shoulder and thanked them again for the opportunity as he exited the office and walked back to the waiting area. There were only two people left in the room and Blaine wasn’t one of them. Kurt let out a disappointed sigh. It seemed like getting to know Blane was not meant to be. “Kurt!” Kurt turned towards the sound of his name and saw Blaine stand from where he had been sitting – out of the way near the elevators. Kurt felt his heart beat a little faster. “What are you still doing here?” Kurt asked as he hurried over. Blaine shrugged, “I wanted to see how things went for you and I…” His cheeks grew a little rosy, “I wanted a chance to talk to you more.” “Oh?” Kurt couldn’t help but bounce on his toes a little. “I’d like that. We could compare audition notes. Besides, I owe you a cup of coffee?” Blaine laughed, “Do you?” “If you aren’t busy now-” “Yeah! Yes, I’d like that.” Blaine’s eyes were sparkling. “I noticed a coffee shop on my way in, want to try it?” Kurt felt a little giddy. For months, Blaine had been popping up in his mind, with his gorgeous smile, and beautiful eyes and over-the-top, but still somehow charming classic clothing – and here Kurt was getting a second chance to make a first impression. No way was he turning that down.  “That sounds great.” “My parents will be thrilled,” Blaine joked, as he pressed the elevator button. Kurt’s excitement suddenly took a blow. Oh yeah, their parents. Now he was nervous again. He wanted to spend time with Blaine because he was cute and interesting and sweet, but without all the pressure of him being Blaine Anderson. “Um yeah…” Kurt began, “Mine too, but maybe… I mean we should just be friends, right? This could just be a friendly cup of coffee. Not a date? Nothing to get our parents all worked up about.” Blaine nodded, not seeming phased, “I’d really like that.” The elevator binged open and they walked in sharing shy glances. “My dad said that New York was a big place and I’d never have to see you again, and here we are running into each other at an audition.” Blaine bit his lip and smiled before speaking, “I’m really glad we did.” “Me too.” Kurt agreed, squeezing the strap of his messenger bag in excitement, “Really glad.” ________________________________________________________ “Mercedes, call me back, we have to talk! I met Blaine Anderson again and just had the most wonderful time.” Kurt sighed happily, “Call me!” ________________________________________________________ “So wait, in a city of eight million people, you ran into Kurt Hummel? “Yes.” “And was he as rude as ever?” “No! No, Cooper, that was all just a misunderstanding.” “Uh huh, and was he as hot as ever?” Blaine felt his cheeks warm up, “Um, yes… but more than that he’s just... god Cooper, I really like him. I mean, we’re just going to be friends, which is fine, but I’m so glad I ran into him.” Cooper laughed from the other end of the call, “Just friends huh? Let me know how that works out.” Blaine rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but think of Kurt’s sweet smile, beautiful blue eyes and charismatic personality. He would have been fine with their coffee date being a real date, but it was okay that it wasn’t. Really. “It will be fine,” Blaine insisted even as his stomach flipped over and the thought of Kurt’s lovely voice, “No worries there.”

#klaine drabble #sunshine's fic #klaine prompt

[codeword-cheesecake]

Samaritan - Pt. 2

summary: what happens when a life-long friend of Sharon Carter intervenes in the fight between Captain America & Hydra. 

this is the longest of slowburn bucky x reader fan fics. i’m sorry. 

time: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

warnings: a teeny bit of violence?

wordcount: 2,171

PART ONE

A few weeks had passed since your day off with Sharon. Between her workload and your caseload, time could just fly by.

Steve was off on a mission today, which meant Sharon had some down time. And if you thought too hard about it, you could not remember the last time you’d interacted with another person in something other than legalese.

So you were having brunch at your place.

“Look at this spread! All my handiwork.” You gesture to your countertop, filled with lox, bagels, different spreads, bacon, and assorted pastries.

“Did you invite anyone else? Or are you spoiling me?” Sharon’s eyes narrow. “Why are you spoiling me?”

“I just wanted to show off all my talents. My resume may say lawyer, but I’m chock full of hidden talents.

“You mean buying a bunch of food and arranging it nicely counts as talent?” Sharon laughs as she tucks into a bagel. Your face alights in mock indignation.

“Excuse me, I’ll have you know a lot of effort went into all of this.” She raises an eyebrow. You deflate. “Fine, but I did make the mimosas. All by myself.” You pour her a glass and cheers.

“To days off!”

After brunch, the two of you go to see a movie - some romcom you’d been waiting to see. You couldn’t help yourself. You loved the sappy, saccharine love stories. Which is why, after and hour an a half of what she considered nonsense, Sharon found herself comforting you as the credits roll.

“I-it’s just so sad. They were perfect and-”

“Yeah, yeah. Fate. Whatever. They do know you can only take the train to Boston from Penn Station, right?” She eyes the now-dark screen incredulously.

“Come on! Suspend disbelief.” You groan, and gather your things to leave. She was always too serious about reality when it came to movies. You're not sure why you still subject yourself to movie dates with her.

“But really! Anyone who has had to travel from Penn station to Boston wouldn't sit through this.” Sharon remains in her seat, gesturing to the screen. “I mean really. To dangle Grand Central Station in front of these people when the hard reality of it is Penn Station.”

“Fine. You win. The movie is terrible, we should demand our money back.” You deadpan,  rolling your eyes.  You shake your head at her and leave her there, still arguing to no one.

After a moment or two, she catches up with you in the lobby of the theater.

“Do you want to go to -” You’re cut off as Sharon’s phone goes off.

“Hold that thought!” She rushes to answer after reading the name.

“Director Fury, sir.” You can just barely make out a voice on the other end. “Yes, sir. I'll be right there.” She hangs up the phone, eyes gone a little wide.

“He's due back today. I need to make it back to the apartment. Shit. I'm sorry.” She looks at you with puppy dog eyes. You nod and head in the direction of the sidewalk, phone out to call a cab.

“Oh it's fine. I can finish off the champagne and donuts by myself. I can hear my comfy sweats calling my name.” She blinks at you and then frowns.

“I thought I threw those out. Like years ago. How did you get them back?” You wink at her conspiratorially as the cab pulls up.

After Sharon left for her place, you changed into some workout gear and practiced your karate. Your mother had insisted from a young age that you be able to defend yourself. Not that you thought it would be all that useful from the new barrage of threats against earth. You’d pried as much as you could out of Sharon about the incident in New York. Aliens paired with real life, actual superheroes sort of left martial arts a bit lacking. That said, it helped you filter through any of the residual anger from cases and the rigors of work. So you kept it up. When you could. You went through the forms and practiced on a punching bag you had in your room. After about an hour, you were sweaty, tired, and a little sore.

Treating yourself to nice, long shower was the only thing that kept you going. You stand under the water for way too long, it begins to turn cold, signalling you to move on. With a sigh you turn off the water and step out.You look longingly at your comfy sweats but think better of it. To preserve them for another decade, they’d have to go back into hiding from Sharon. You slip into a long sleeve t-shirt and leggings with comfy socks and grab your sweats. Thinking beyond the obvious, you hide them in your kitchen cabinets. You weren’t likely to open them, and Sharon was even less likely.

Pleased with your ingenuity, you curl up on your couch with your laptop and dig into some paperwork. It’s getting late when you finally glance up from your work. Stretching a bit, you stand and head into the kitchen.

Suddenly you hear three gunshots - instinct taking over, you drop behind the counter in the kitchen. It’s away from the windows and provides decent cover. You don’t even have time to process what you’re doing as you punch in the code to your gun-safe hidden in the kitchen. Grabbing a pistol from the rack, you listen a moment before you hear a crash through your window. Captain America himself runs through your place, obviously in hot pursuit.

He doesn’t even notice you as he blows out your bedroom wall into your poor, unsuspecting neighbor’s apartment. You're rooted to the spot, staring at the Cap shaped hole in your wall as the dust hangs in the air. You can hear your dad's last words, his lifelong advice ringing in your ear. Action is always better than inaction. Always help people, go above and beyond the best of your ability. I love you Bean, do good. He’d shipped off to his second tour of duty in Afghanistan the next morning and was killed in action a week and a half later. You’d taken his advice to heart that moment forward; it shaped every decision you made from that point onwards. It was why you made your next decision without much self regard.  Operating on instinct, adrenaline, and a more than a little over confidence, you rush from your apartment, bounding up the stairs in the hall. At the top floor, you push open the door to the roof to see Captain America squaring off against someone. The guy is on the edge of the roof when you fire a shot that goes wide, digging into the building’s crenelation. He turns to face you and Steve throws his shield in the same instant. With his eyes still trained on you, the man catches Steve’s shield and it feels instantly like all the air’s been pulled from the room. He hurls it back at Steve like it’s a frisbee and it hits him square in the chest. You glance back at the man once to see him staring at you before he jumps from the roof. Steve is instantly at the precipice, scanning the ground for any signs of the guy before turning to face you.

“Y/N. What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s not every day Captain America breaks down your bedroom wall. Figured you’d maybe want a little help.”

“You’re just a citizen. You can’t-”

“Save it, Steve. Who was that guy?” He looks like he has more to say on the matter before  shaking his head.

“I don’t have time for this now.” And with that, he’s rushing back towards his apartment, over the roof. You curse under your breath and run toward the stairs, ditching the gun in your apartment. You debate taking the time to lock the door but think better of it, what with the broken window and wall providing more than enough accessible points of entry.  After a few seconds to put on sneakers, you’re heading to Sharon’s place as quickly as possible. Against your better judgement that is. A smarter woman, someone with more self preservation would hole up in their apartment. Wait for authorities to take questions about what the hell happened to their wall, did they recognize the intruder? But no one has ever accused you of good self preservation instinct. Which is why you’re rushing to your best friend’s apartment building only to be stopped dead outside by paramedics and more SHIELD agents than you’d ever seen in person. Standing off to the side, you watched them wheel out someone on a stretcher; everyone was moving with a determined steadiness that was almost eerie. You took another step back, debating whether or not to return to your apartment when someone grabbed your arm, guiding you into a black SUV. You let Sharon push you into the back seat and buckle up as she climbs into the driver’s seat.

“Sharon! What the hell is going on? Are you okay? Who’s that on the stretcher? Are they okay?” She gives you a once over, inspecting for damage. She shakes her head.

“I should ask you the same question. Captain mentioned you by name. What the hell were you thinking?” You grimace. There’s no such thing as action without consequence.

“He seemed like he needed help?” Sharon’s lips purse in anger. You can see her knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.

“You realize I’m obligated to bring you in now. That you need to be debriefed and that you can be held by SHIELD because of your involvement in this evening. Right?” She glances at you as she pulls up to a red light. You blanche. You hadn’t thought this through, not really. You’d just wanted to help.

“I understand.” You glance out the window as you race towards SHIELD headquarters, chewing on your lip. Sharon nods grimly and then speaks into an earpiece you hadn’t noticed.

“I’m inbound, maybe five minutes. Got a witness, sir.” She pauses to listen. “Will do.” She taps the earpiece and takes a deep breath before continuing. “They want me to bring you in. You’re going to be questioned.” She looks more grim than you’ve seen her. You just swallow and nod dumbly. “Tell me exactly what happened.” It takes a moment for you to collect yourself.

“He crashed through my window, through my bedroom wall. He was obviously following someone, and before I knew what I was doing, I had dad’s gun in my hand and I was on the roof facing down that...man?” Those eyes would stick with you forever. You’d seen some frightening people in your time interning with the public defender's office. People who had done heinous things and smiled afterwards, laughed even. Things that still haunted the darkest recesses of your mind. Those people had been evil, yes but they were still human. This was different. There had been nothing there. You can’t help ringing your hands at the thought. And he’d just jumped from the roof. As if it were no big thing. And worse yet, he’d seen you. Worse still, you’d seen him.

“They’re going to detain you and ask you questions. I know you know what you’re doing, but - for me - please don’t get smart. Don’t be an ass. Please.” Sharon eyes you worriedly in the rear view mirror. You swallow thickly, suddenly at a loss for words. All you can manage is a nod.

The massive SHIELD complex comes into view quickly. Sharon passes the inspection points, holding her badge up to various armed guards before finally pulling the car into an underground parking lot. She drives a few levels down before two of you walk slowly through surprisingly lively compound - it is technically a government agency, normally not all hands on deck after 6pm. But this is SHIELD - a big, scary, faceless government operation that operated outside the bounds of civil rights. The ACLU had already gone up against them to protect the privacy of US citizens. Since the attack in New York, you've helped shape laws to protect the liberties of the people of the United States. You were not necessarily on SHIELD’s good side which made you all the more nervous.

Sharon leads you down what felt like countless stairwells, twisting corridors. Finally, she stops at a metal door with a small safety-glass window. Inside, you could see a metal table and chairs, some fluorescent lights hanging. You eyed her nervously but she seemed resolute as she pushed open the door.

“Someone will come to talk to you. I’ll be nearby just in case. Please, please just be honest and thorough and this will be over quickly.” You sat down heavily in the chair and put your head in your hands. You take a deep breath and lift your head, smiling at her.

“I’ll be good. Promise.”

“That is somehow not at all reassuring.”

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