ᝰ.ᐟ꩜ SYNOPSIS :: kirishima invites you to his pool party where he plans on confessing his feelings towards you
ᝰ.ᐟ꩜ TAGS :: (highschooler!)kirishima x f!reader ᯓ fluff ᯓ f!reader and kaminari “flirt” ᯓ f!reader calls kirishima “‘ri” ᯓ kaminari calls f!reader “princess” ᯓ jealousy ᯓ small language ᯓ exposed bulge ᯓ sensual tension ᯓ wc: 4.2k ᯓ proofread! ᯓ story ᯓ
ᝰ.ᐟ꩜ AUTHOR’S NOTE :: e/c = eye color ★ i/n = initial name ★ this might be the worst story i’ve ever wrote like i had insane writer’s block and i just wanted this to end, i started writing this december 23rd and i just finished today (january 30th)
the last bell of the day had just rung in your ears, waking you up from your groggy slumber. you lifted your head off the desk to see mina standing over you. she laughed as she snatched the paper that was stuck on your cheek and turned in the work for you.
“why’s the princess so sleepy today?” another voice arose from behind you. it was no other than kaminari to say something as corny as that.
“first, don’t call me princess and second, i was up all night doing the project that mr. aizawa paired us together for, which you didn’t do a single piece of.” you grabbed your backpack and threw it over your shoulder.
“wait we had a project?” he stood up and asked.
you and mina both rolled your eyes and left the classroom.
“anyways, you have any plans this weekend?” mina asked while she twirled a strand of her pink fro with her finger.
“uhh noo,” you thought, “i mean a new episode of abott elementary just came out, so i’ll be watching that.”
“oh my gosh, i love abott! we should watch it together,” mina exclaimed as you nodded in agreement. “okay, well, i have to go clean my house before you come over, so i’ll see you soon, girl,” she waved.
“okay byee,” you waved back, then you and mina parted ways. after that, you went to get the rest of your stuff out of your locker.
while you were walking, you noticed your friend kirishima from a distance waiting by your locker. nobody knew—except mina of course, that he was your biggest crush. he’s handsome, strong, a gentleman—just everything you could want in a man.
“hey y/n.” he smiled at you with his regular wide grin.
“hey ‘ri.” you replied in the same tone.
“how was your day today?” he asked while messing around with the spikes of his hair.
you began to blush at such a simple question. “it was good, how about you?”
“good now that i can talk to you,” he smirked.
you both giggled as kirishima started to rub the back of his head. “soo,” he started, “wanna come to my pool party this afternoon?”
you finished grabbing your stuff out of the locker and closed it shut. “ooo yeah, sure! can i bring mina?” you smiled.
“i mean, yeah, i guess,” he shoved his hands in his pockets. he looked taken aback at you inviting mina, but it’s a party, right? so the more, the merrier.
“so your house?” you asked, he nodded. “6:30, don’t be late,” he spoke softly.
“i won’t!” you smiled at him. kirishima waved and walked off with bakugou while you were doing backflips inside your head.
you’ve never been to a pool party before, let alone have your crush invite you to a pool party. and it was perfect since mina was going to be there for backup. you rushed to the bus and headed home to pack. once you finished, you went to mina’s house like you had planned to. when you got there, you explained to her that kirishima invited the two of you to the pool party.
“oh my gosh! actually?” mina squealed. “that’s amazing. come on, we have to find you a cute bathing suit in my closet,” she dragged you by your arm and sat you on the bed.
mina dug into her bottom drawer that was filled with bathing suits. she picked out one for herself and one for you too. she laid both options on her bed for you to pick.
“these are the cutest two pieces i could find,” she smiled.
the first one was a light blue crochet bathing suit that had blue and yellow flowers on them. the second one was a teal swimsuit with orange and yellow floral designs.
“that one!” you pointed at the light blue swimsuit.
she grabbed the swimsuit and tossed it in your hands. “quickly go try it on!” she flicked her hands repeatedly.
with that, you quickly left to go inside her bathroom to try on the bathing suit. it was so cute on you, you could literally die. you walked out of the bathroom and gave mina a little spin before posing.
“ohh m’ geeee it’s literally to die for!” she smiled. she went into her pants drawer and pulled out some light-washed denim shorts and tossed them at you. “wear those with them.”
your face caught the jeans and slipped on the floor. “…thanks.” you giggled. “for my hair… i was thinking i could just do a high bun, wouldn’t that be cute?” you sat down at mina’s vanity, trying to picture your hairstyle.
“yeah totally! i’m gonna shower real quick but i’ll see your hair when i’m done.” mina grabbed her bathing suit and towel and walked towards the bathroom.
“kk!” you sang happily. you looked at yourself intently in the mirror, trying to see how you could pull off this look. after some time, you finally managed to put your hair into the high bun. after you finished, you hopped onto the jean shorts and slipped some white sandals on.
mina walked out of the bathroom with her bathing suit on and short white jean shorts. “girlll, we finna be the cutest people at the party.” she jumped up and down, unable to control her excitement.
“stop!! don’t get me excited!!” you jumped with mina too, but then stopped. “but what am i gonna do when kirishima talks to me? i get so nervous around him, it’s unbearable to watch.”
“don’t worry, girl, you’ll be fine!” she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and checked the time. “oh shit, girl, we gotta start walking if we wanna make it in time to the party.” she grabbed her pink towel and threw it over her shoulder and tossed you a towel.
you caught the towel and started walking out with mina. you were greeted by the warm, cooling breeze that wrapped around your skin; the sun was enhancing all your facial features by its illuminating glisten. your e/c eyes sparkled, and your lips looked more plump and radiant than ever. the air was thick but soothing as you and mina walked down to kirishima’s house.
mina took out some aquaphor and lip oil and handed it to you. “here, put the aquaphor on your eyelashes and some on your lips. then coat the lip oil on top of it.”
you grabbed the items and did exactly what she told you to, making you look even prettier. “is it giving face?” you pucker a kissy face. “girl, you already know it is,” mina giggled.
once you got to kirishima’s house, you rang the enchantingly rich doorbell. as the door opened, you would’ve expected to see kirishima since it’s his house your at, but you only saw the flirtatious blonde at the door with his friend sero (who's ten times worse than him).
“woahh babes squad,” they shouted while grinning at both of you, which made you and mina burst into laughter.
“move out of the way.” mina playfully pushed kaminari's face out of the way, making him fall back as you two walked in. kaminari’s annoyed eyes followed mina, yet his rude gaze subsided as he heard you giggle. you outstretched your hand and helped pick him up.
“you okay?” you fixed his hair before smiling.
“shiid, i am now,” his eyebrows raised.
kirishima walked to the main room to see you fixing kaminari’s hair, and for some reason, he didn’t like that. why’d you never fix kirishima’s hair when it’s messed up? he walked up and cleared his throat.
“hey y/n!” kirishima smiled.
“oh hii ‘ri!” you walked up to kirishima and gave him a hug.
he blushed as his hands were about to wrap around your waist, but he chose your upper back instead, to be a gentleman. he grabbed both of your shoulders and gently pulled you back from the hug to examine you and your outfit.
“you look beautiful in that swimsuit,” he complimented. you always looked gorgeous in his eyes, even at times when you didn’t dress yourself up.
“thank you kirishima,” you blushed. “you look good as well, the red swimming trunks suit your hair.” you complimented him while you fixed his droopy spiked hair from what you assumed the water had caused.
he watched as your eyes looked up at his hair while you fixed it. he smiled for a second, but then asked himself. was that just a friendly gesture or were you flirting?
“soo,” you rocked yourself back and forth on your tip-toes, “lead me to the pool?”
“oh shit, yeah my bad,” he chuckled, and he led you to the backyard.
his pool was very luxurious. he had a diving board with a pool that went from five feet to seven. the pavement was a very detailed white stone and had another spot for a hot tub. there were many chairs set up to tan. you scouted the place out and already saw mina flirting with a guy. the entire class 1-A was there, even a couple of class 1-B and C.
you walked over to a bench to take your clothes and sandals off and place your towel down. you walked over to the deep-ish side of the pool and dipped your foot in the water. while you tested the water, you felt a pair of big hands push you into the pool unexpectedly, messing up your bun. you rose your head up from being underwater to reveal kaminari and sero laughing at you at the edge of the pool.
“awww my hair!” you whined. you slammed your hands into the water, which caused more water to splash onto you.
sero and kaminari continued to laugh, “don’t come to a pool party if you’re afraid of getting wet, princess.” kaminari spoke before cannonballing right next to you, along with sero.
“stop calling me princess or i swear i’ll drown you in this pool,” you slapped his muscular arm.
there were a lot of people in the pool by now, but all kirishima could notice was that you were with kaminari instead of him, the person who invited you! he tried to think of some pool games to play that would bring you two together.
“let’s play volleyball!” kirishima suggested, while everyone else agreed.
he took out a long net that went across the pool and got a big beach ball. bakugou was one of the goalkeepers and shoto was the other. there were six people in each team, and you were obviously going to be on kirishima’s team, and kaminari was obviously gonna be on your team as well.
now, kaminari was a dumb ass, but he wasn’t any dummy. he knew that kirishima had a crush on you, so his only intention tonight was to troll you and flirt with you. don’t get him wrong, you were very attractive—and if it wasn’t for kirishima liking you, oh, kaminari would’ve been had you.
“0 serving 0.” you yelled as you overhand served the ball to the other side of the net.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
“15 serving 20.” ida exhaled annoyingly. he hated being on the loser side. he served the ball with a jump serve that launched right onto kaminari’s face and the ball bounced all the way out of the pool.
“holy shit!” bakugou chuckled as he gave a point to ida’s team. everyone else burst out laughing.
you swam to kaminari, “you okay? that looked like it hurt.”
“i’m okay princess, i’ve been hit with worse, i promise.” you both laughed.
kirishima noticed you quickly, how you were always quick to help someone. he'd usually find it endearing, except when it came to kaminari being the person you were helping. “were you trying to get into his head or were you truly being nice?”
“okay… next game. how about a chicken fight?” kirishima said.
“wanna be my partner?” kaminari turned to you quickly while smirking at kirishima. you didn’t notice though, so you just shrugged. “yeah, sure.”
uraraka then ran over to the pool, “ooo, i wanna play! please please, who doesn’t have a partner?”
“kirishima doesn’t,” shoto pointed over at him, “oh yeah, uraraka, we can be partners.”
once everyone got situated, you got onto kaminari’s back. he wrapped his hands around your legs and pretended to let you fall, making you squeal.
“stop!” you giggled, “i don’t wanna fall.”
“you won’t fall, i promise,” he spoke softly, your giggles sending both kirishima and kaminari on edge.
he watched you intently as you were basically flirting with kaminari in his eyes at this point. he had then put uraraka on his back and wrapped his arms around her thighs. you knew that’s what he had to do in order to stop her from falling, but you couldn’t help but feel…jealous? you didn’t know, you just hoped uraraka didn’t find kirishima’s muscular arms attractive like you did.
the chicken fight had begun and everyone started going after each other. it was pretty easy to knock everyone down until it led to uraraka & kirishima and you & kaminari. kaminari foolishly sprinted towards them when you weren’t ready, which made you fall backwards. you fell under the water while everyone was laughing, until you didn’t get back up from under the water.
the laughter began to falter as kirishima took uraraka off his back and swam towards you quickly. he grabbed you by what he assumed was your waist, and you lifted your head up and burst out laughing.
“you think i can’t swim?” you laughed uncontrollably.
his worried face slowly turned into a nervous chuckle. “that’s not funny y/n.” he gruffed, his grip still on your waist.
“don’t be so worried.” your contagious laugh started to make him chuckle a little.
he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful you looked, just absolutely stunning. the water lubed up your eyelashes, which made them match perfectly with your beautiful eyes. he found it even more adorable the way he noticed you continued to kick your feet under the water to stop yourself from sinking.
“you hungry?” kirishima asked, moving you both to the edge of the pool.
you hummed for a moment, “yeah, a little.”
“there’s some food on the grill, i can get you a burger,” he offered.
“oo okay, thank you,” you smiled.
as you were about to get yourself out of the pool, kirishima picked you up by the waist and placed you on the edge of the pool. he then used his upper body strength to lift himself out of the pool as well. you kicked your feet in the water, waiting for him to return. you saw mina in the distance giving you the thumbs up. you laughed and gave her the thumbs up back.
the wind started to pick up a little, so you decided to go into the hot tub while you waited. by now everyone was drying off and heading inside the house. it was only a couple of people; some people from class 1-C and kirishima.
when he came back empty-handed, you looked at him confused. “sorry i had to put more food on for you. but can i uh, come sit with you?” he asked hesitantly.
“yeah, of course,” you smiled while scooting over.
you two were now sitting in the hot tub together. you two started talking about random things, but the whole time it looked as if he was contemplating something to say.
“something on your mind?” you asked sweetly once the conversation became quiet.
“oh, i was just thinking about something,” he smiled at you.
“say itt,” you nudged his arm playfully.
he cleared his throat before saying, “do you, uh, like…kaminari?”
you face scrunched up at his question. “ew! of course not! he’s such a weird little pervert.”
“oh, good,” he sighed. “why though?” you followed with another question.
“just seemed like you did.” his eyes didn’t meet yours like it usually did.
“are you jellyyyy?” you looked at him while smirking.
“why would i be jealous of him? just because he’s been flirting with you, being around you, and calling you princess the entire time, you think i’m jealous?” you nodded.
“i mean yeah, i would be jealous if you did all that stuff with someone else,” you mumbled.
after you spoke, it was silent. all that was heard was the water moving around and the muffled sound of everyone inside the house. the blinds were closed from inside the house and the last couple of people that were outside had just gone inside.
the awkward silence was slowly getting to kirishima. all he wanted was to just confess to you already, but he couldn’t just blatantly blurt out that he likes you. or maybe he should make a move on you? he didn’t know. he also didn’t know he was subconsciously checking you out, making his bulge grow inside his swimming shorts.
he thinks he was finally building up the courage to say something, “hey, y/n—”
“supp i/n dawgg.” mina slid by the hot tub and wrapped her arms around you drunkenly.
“bro, where did you get alcohol from? and get off of me.” you chuckled a little while trying to untangle her hands off you.
“oh— shit am i interrupting? were you about to tell kirishima how you lovvvvveeeee him?” she slurred, your eyes shot open and your mouth agape slightly.
“brb bout to get another drinkk,” she sang, as she skipped towards the door.
now the tension was even thicker now that mina had just confessed your feelings to kirishima herself. he looked back over at you, just as surprised as you were.
“there's no fucking way she just said that...” you dragged your hands over your face embarrassingly. now you can understand why kirishima didn’t want mina there.
“soo you like me?” kirishima grinned, while all you could do was slightly nod. “well, that makes two of us.”
“you like me?” you exclaimed, he nodded. “like, like-like?” he nodded again. “like, dating-like?” he nodded once more.
“oh my gosh, why did you go all this time without saying anything?”
“the same reason you didn’t,” he shrugged, “but we can make up for the time wasted.”
you felt your cheeks starting to burn up. “what’s that supposed to mean?” you giggled.
his hands reached for your waist as he gently reeled you closer to him. “i can show you, better than i can tell you—if that’s okay with you.”
ugh such a gentleman, you nodded excitedly while breaking into a smile. he smirked as well as he pressed his lips against yours.
the kiss was gentle and slow. your hands glided up to his cheek while he guided you onto his lap. his hands slowly caressed your outer thighs and repeatedly led up to the small of your back. his lips were so soft, they moved perfectly against yours, molding together like they were made for each other.
his slipped out his tongue into your mouth while your arms snaked to the back of his neck. your heart was pounding while also leaving you the thought of where all of this was going to head for you both.
finally, you two broke from the kiss with a kid-ish smile fuming through both of your faces.
“awww, so adorable,” kaminari stated as he flipped the hamburgers kirishima neglected.
“burgers are ready!” he turned off the grill and took the cooked patties inside the house.
you and kirishima looked back at each other before laughing and getting out of the hot tub. he handed you your towel, and you wrapped it around both of you and walked inside the house where everyone else was.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
once it hit 10:00pm, everyone started to leave. sero drove mina home while you stayed behind and helped kirishima clean up from the party.
“you hosted a great pool party by the way,” you complimented while putting on your shorts from earlier.
“thanks. i’m glad you came,” he smiled as he swept up the floor.
“me too,” you agreed.
“you going anywhere after this?” he asked.
“yeah, i have to get my stuff from mina’s house, then i’ll be going home.” you finished throwing away all the party cups and plates.
“i can take you home if you want me to,” he offered.
“you sure? we would have to go to mina’s house since i was dropped off there.”
kirishima shook his head. “‘s not a problem, i’ma go put on something else, then we can go.” he grabbed his damped towel and headed upstairs.
while you waited, you gathered all of your belongings and finished cleaning up the rest of the mess until the house was spotless. kirishima came back downstairs swinging his keys on his finger while wearing a black t-shirt that clinged onto his abs and baggy gray sweatpants that hung low on his boxers that were titled “RED RIOT” all around the black band.
“you really didn’t have to help me clean up,” he made aware, opening the door for you as you stepped outside. he closed the door behind you and locked it up.
“i know, but it was easier on your half, and i really didn’t want to deal with walking mina’s drunk ass home.” you both laughed.
the night was dark, the air was slightly thick with a warm breeze. kirishima unlocked the door and opened the passenger door for you. you thanked him as he closed the door and did a little jog around to the driver's seat.
he buckled his seat belt and looked over at you. "you don't have a shirt?" he asked like a concerned parent.
you looked down and realized you had forgotten to bring a shirt to wear. "oh—how did i forget that?" you chuckle shyly.
"i think i have a jacket lying in the backseat," he reached behind his seat and grabbed a black jacket of his that smelled just like him.
"here you go," he passed you the jacket. you blushed while grabbing it from him. "thanks" he hummed in acknowledgment.
he pulls out of the driveway and starts driving to mina's house, you ramble about your plans for the rest of your weekend. once you guys made it to mina’s house, he waited in the car while you went inside to get the rest of your stuff. you exited the house, put your school bag in the backseat of the car, and got back into the car.
“thank you for driving me home, ‘ri.” you smiled.
“anything for you.” he chuckled at his nickname.
it was a quick drive, and before you knew it you were already in your parents’ driveway. kirishima turned the car off, yet you both stayed in the car for a second.
“you know, i still can’t believe we both liked each other, and we didn’t say anything.” you looked over at him.
he turned his gaze over to you and he chuckled. “yeah, i know, but i think i made up for it pretty well,” he smirked.
“mmmmm, i don’t know,” you started, “maybe you should make up for it again,” you smirked.
“i mean, if you say so,” he laid his elbow on the armrest and leaned into you, placing his hand on your cheek.
you held onto his wrist as you deepened the kiss. he slid his tongue in your mouth before his hand fell down to the back of your neck. his lips slowly moved from your jaw all the way to your neck where he planted many soft kisses.
you tried to hide the moan that was stuck between your throat, yet it silently slipped out as he sucked on the sensitive part of your neck. once he found your soft spot, he continued to suck and kiss that spot to leave more moans spilling from your mouth.
at one point, it started to tickle, which made you giggle. “okay, okay,” you tried to push his head from your neck gently, “if i get a hickey, my mom’s gonna kill me.” you laughed.
“my bad,” he rubbed the back of his neck. the both of you then got out of the car, and he walked you to the front of your door.
“did you want your jacket back?” you were unzipping the jacket before he shook his head.
“no, you can keep it,” he smiled while zipping it back up for you, “it looks cute on you anyways,”
“yay, okay!” you cheered. you two then shared your goodbyes before ending off with a sweet settled kiss.
It had been a long deployment, longer than Price cared to admit.
The kind that left sand under his nails and sleep clinging to the corners of his eyes no matter how many showers he took or how many nights of sleep he got in a proper bed.
All he wanted was a pint, really.
Something strong, a quiet corner, and the illusion of something normal.
The open-mic said otherwise, with a crowd of battle jackets and Mohawks packed shoulder to shoulder.
But there wasn't another pub for another fifteen minute walk so—
How bad could it be?
Then you were on stage.
You looked like trouble—
The kind that didn't apologize for it.
The lights caught your wild hair, tangled and untamed, a storm haloed by stage glow—
You were something that didn't belong in any uniform or under anyone's thumb.
Then you started, and the crowd roared.
And God help him, but you were good.
Not the polished kind of good, no. You were the kind of good that bleeds through your fingers and snarls from your throat.
The crowd, though small, was alive. Boots tapping, headings nodding, and some shouting along the words like battle cries.
The lyrics were angry and startling in truth-
It made even Price, in all his exhausted stubbornness, listen.
A few songs passed. People got rowdy.
Some bloke in the front of the crowd had started mouthing off something crude, some drunk with too much pint and not enough manners-
Some red faced numpty who thought that "punk show" meant "free pass to act like a twat."
You told him to sod off.
The bloke didn't like that—
There was a fight—
Price's body moved before his brain decided.
By the time he pushed through the crowd, the bloke had reached the edge of the stage. You'd already hopped down, guitar forgotten, jaw tight and eyes like a storm.
A friend of yours grabbed your arm, hissing something in your ear trying to calm you.
But you weren't listening. The bloke reached out again, grabbing your sleeve.
Price placed a hand on the bloke's shoulder deescalating his anger immediately—
But you were still keyed up—
Even as your friend looped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you back-
You resisted, twisting in her grip as Price stepped a bit too close—
And your elbow came flying back.
It wasn't even intentional. It was a reflex, a flinch, a twist to get free.
But it landed hard-
The sharp edge of your elbow caught him square in the cheekbone.
"Christ—!" Price staggered back, hand flying to his face.
By the time his head stopped pounding and his vision cleared—
You were gone.
———————————————————————————
"Cap'n wot the hell happened ta yer face?"
Gaz leaned over, "Looks like somebody took a swing at you, sir."
Price didn't look up from his report, "Punk show."
Soap's eyebrows raised with an almost manic smile, "Ye went t' a punk show?"
"Wonder wot clocked him, yeah? Or who?" Gaz added, too calm.
"Bet it was a right proper punk." Soap teased, but at Price's grunt had him giddily elbowing Gaz and continuing, "Aye, so it was! What's the name? When's the wedding?"
Price sighed. "Keep it up, Sergeant, and Ill show you what a proper right hook looks like."
Ghost spoke. "You least deserve it?"
Price huffed, "Didn't even see it coming."
And worse? He didn't even catch your name.
I keep accidentally deleting this post this isn’t funny anymore
A more recent development came to mind for a post. Something I thought would have happened long ago.
Rosco is a cat dad now. 5 days ago I was taking stock of our limited fishing supplies, for me to have heard Rosco trying to sneak up on me. Now it could have been anyone else, but I don’t know who else wreaks of booze and cinnamon. Generally Rosco is quite skilled in the art of stealth, but today, he was off his “A game”, which could have meant a number of things, but I could tell he was excited, especially with the lack of thumping steps that come with the use of crutches or a cast.
“Abs?”
“Yeah?” I said while looking down at my clipboard.
“I’ve got a surpriiisse!”
“Okay, what is it?”
“You have to look to see Abs.”
A sigh left me at that moment. I reluctantly looked up to be face to face with a belly of white fur—wait fur? I looked further up to meet the odd eyes of a cat, looking at me with either interest, or past me towards the wall of fish shaped lures. I was betting on the latter, because the cat repeatedly licked its mouth, drooling over the ocean-life-shaped pieces of metal, rubber and plastic to my side.
"Rosco, before I ask why the fuck you have a cat, I need you to explain to me how this is a good idea, preferably before it escapes your skull.”
“Mean, but first!” He stepped back a bit, held the orange feline further up in the air, Lion King style, then said “I dub this magnificent creature, Sir Marmalade!”, with a slightly booming voice to add to the dramatic flare he was somehow pulling off.
“Why? ‘Cause he was eating a jar of marmalade out back in the dumpster?”
Rosco frowned in response, he lowered the cat down to chest level, before squinting his eyes. An unmistakable not hint but dead giveaway of suspicion in his narrowed gaze , “You're a mind reader, aren’t you? Come on now, read my thoughts backwards from bat shit crazy to certifiably office bitch normal.”
The cat was dirty, his fur matted and unkempt by its probable rough outdoor life. The real indication of his name choice were the chunks of semi-tranparent orange jam that clung loosely to the cat’s face.
“Sure.”
He smiled widely, showing off his pristine teeth that should have rotted away by now from all the substance use. “HA! Now oh great ginger one, enlighten me and my companion with more of your prophecies.”
“Shut up.”
“Make me,” he said, smiling stupidly wide, while he held the cat in one arm and used his shirt to try to wipe off the bits of marmalade from it’s face. I was a little amazed how fast he’d noticed the mess, but couldn’t understand the clear correlation between my “prediction” and said mess.
Marmalade was surprisingly calm during the entire interaction, which I found odd for a dumpster cat, being that most animals around here don’t react so kindly towards human interaction. Specifically the raccoons, possums, lynxes, bears, wolves, badgers, foxes, any sort of deer which includes the moose for those of you who were not already burdened with this rather specific piece of fucking wildlife knowledge. Then a plethora of other predatory animals, some birds, a good portion of the insect population, and, well, you get the point. They're especially erratic at night, but then again, what living creature wants to be fucked with by some two legged fucker in the middle of the night? Rosco, at that moment, was scratching Marmalade’s chin, having forgotten about our current conversation just as swiftly as he started it.
“Rosco?”
“Hm? Oh yeah, well, I was taking out the trash, and I heard some rustling in the dumpster, so I thought Duke and his posse got into em. I was prepared to have a great battle, Isabella in hand, ready to strike at whatever gray fur ball may come my way! But instead, I found this tangerine in there, eating a jar of marmalade.”
Duke was just a large, well, smart as fuck raccoon that seemed to rule over all the other raccoons. He has the intelligence on par with the average IQ test, and compared to the rest of his herd, he looks as if someone accidentally fed him steroids at birth. Not exactly muscular or fat, but he was definitely way larger than any raccoon I’ve seen.
“Okay, that still doesn’t explain why you have the cat.”
“Well, I thought he could be the store mascot; imagine the rise in customers once they know this wondrous beast is here for head pats and belly rubs.”
Marmalade meowed happily.
“That’s right, Sir Marmalade! You deserve all the pats.”
“Rosco, you know we can’t have a wild animal roaming the store, not after last time.”
“Don’t need to remind me, but Marmalade isn’t wild, look at em! Does he look like a wild animal to you?” He held the cat right in my face. Marmalade tried to bite my nose, but ended up licking my face while his heterochromic eyes made contact with mine. Already trying to win favor with me, and somewhat succeeding, though the smell of recently expired marmalade hit me like a citrus scented brick. It was a step below Rosco’s breath after a night of drinking or when he doesn’t take a shower for some time, but it’s not like that’s a low bar.
“Doesn’t exactly change my mind, even then, that’s not my decision. I doubt the owners will accept even having a well-trained goldfish, especially a cat, of all things, as a permanent fixture.”
“Come on Abs, we both know you have some pull with em. I promise if you at least ask, I’ll watch after him, potty train him, potty train myself, feed him on time, groom him, drive him to all his appointments, and all that kafoui.”
“No.”
Rosco said, “Come on Abigail. Pretty please? With an orange slice on top?” while he held Marmalade right next to his face, trying to give puppy dogs eyes? Is it the same use of the term for a cat? I guess when you think about it, it’s technically not, and would be kitty cat eyes? Yeah, kitty cat eyes. Rosco and Marmalade tried to give me twin kitty cat eyes, and only one was working. I don’t think a grown man with 5 o’clock shadow and scars is capable of reaching the level of cuteness that is required to make kitty cat eyes function in the slightest. He was trying though, to the point I could see veins start to pop up on his face. He wasn’t breathing; Rosco’s face turned a bright red and he was visibly shaking. He went at it for a few minutes. Most people, from my understanding, can hold their breath for a maximum of a minute, maybe a minute and a half. So the fact that Rosco could hold his breath this long was quite impressive.
He and I didn’t waver in our stances on the decision. I stood there with my arms crossed, waiting for him to either faint from the lack of oxygen or give up. Well, it's Rosco, so of course he wasn't going to give up. I thought about it for a moment, was I really going to let another human being suffocate under their own stupidity? It’s not like it’d be the first time I’d let a person follow the discount sponge they call a brain, but I didn’t know most of them beyond basic greetings and whatever they thought was okay to tell a store employee, which unsurprisingly was a lot.
I sighed, took a deep breath, and before he passed out, I said “Okay… fine, I’ll ask the owners. But no promises. Now take a fucking breath before you drop dead. I don’t want to drag your sorry ass back to the closet.”
Rosco, in immediate response, took the deepest of breaths that I’ve ever seen, the noise similar to what I believe a monotone balloon sounds like if it were to try to suck the air back into itself after its end was untied.
“You won’t regret it, Abs! Now come on Marmalade, tis the time to find you a nice box.”
Marmalade yawned as Rosco held him close, running off towards his janitor’s closet.
You’d think that’d be the end of it, and I thought so too, but whatever god was active that day heard Rosco’s wishes. I called the owners right after to simply get it over with. One thing to note, I’ve never met the owners face to face, but there have been plenty of phone calls and messages. You’d think them to be hermits, but simply put, they're always busy. They own multiple businesses across the state, so most can understand if they don’t have the time to meet one of their managers. You probably find it odd that I’ve worked here for years without ever meeting them, but it’s nothing to throw a fit over. Sure, I’ve been curious, though that’d be all.
When I called one of the two owners, an older woman’s voice came through after the third ring.
“Hello? Abigail? Something happen? Did the tall man come by?”
“Hello, and no Mrs. Riley. Also who–?”
“Nevermind that, Hon, what do ya need?” Something new to throw into the ever-expanding cardboard box titled “Questions” whether this particular addition will ever be addressed, acknowledged, or simply left to yellow and decay alongside the rest of the pile of remains, as always, is to be seen.
“Well, Rosco found a cat…”
“A cat? Like a cat cat? This ain’t some code phrasin right?”
“No? Should it be?.”
“Course not. What bout it then, if it’s causin a stir, just throw it outside. Let nature take its gain.”
“Not that, Rosco wants to keep it as the store’s mascot.”
There was silence for a moment, I almost thought she was chuckling to herself before I heard her say in a stern voice, “Don’t expect me or Mr. Riley to support the idea with merchandise and signs, but as long as he keeps the little thang close by, and no complaints or issues gone ringin at our door, it's fine by me. But it better get its shots and there better not be hair on our goods. Make sure it’s on uh tight leash.”
“Well that's what I was… wait, you're allowing Rosco, I mean Rosco to keep a cat… in the store?”
“If it means he won’t go off and do dumbshit. If bad ideas were gold, he’d own the damn country. Lord have mercy on us all if he did. Just make sure he gets the message, we both know the boy has more static in the brain than a broken radio. Think it’s healthy for em to have something to look after when he’s off the clock. God only knows what he does during his free time, and he ain’t all too proud of it.”
If there was a competition for insults, I’d think Mrs. Riley would win gold, even when she’s not trying half the time.
“And Mr. Riley?”
“What about em?”
“Is he gonna be, you know..fine with Rosco–”
“Hon, you don’t be worrien what he thinks. If your sweatin like butter over it, he’ll be fine, and if he ain’t, well, we both know who’s gonna be winnin that argument.”
I don’t know what’s scarier, the things I've seen at this store that on many occasions defy the laws of reality and/or all common sense this past half decade. Things that continue to be a stain upon my immutable memory, that I am very aware if I were a “normal person”, would go catatonic or at the very least need decades of therapy to get over, or Mrs. Riley’s sheer confidence.
“Now, is that all?”
“No, actually, I wanted to ask about the last report I sent in.”
“No.”
“Wait, w—- ”
“Abigail, don’t be arguin now, I don’t have the time to keep on talkin, just don’t be goin near them doors, or any door in fact that spontaneously starts existin. I don’t feel like that needs to be explained, especially towards you of all people.” She interrupted me with a surprisingly grave voice. Then she hung up; I haven’t known Mrs. Riley to ever hang up a phone call without a formal goodbye. This is a woman who took basic manners seriously, to such an extent that she started entire arguments with me in my earlier years of employment over not saying goodbye or farewell at the end of every phone call.
Messages, on the other hand, were the apparent exception in the rules of etiquette. I could further elaborate on the exemption that is text messages, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you why in the first place. The owners are what I call a renowned enigma. Sure, many folks know the Rileys’, but I haven’t met a soul who has physically crossed paths with them. Even Marco, my senior in age and fellow employee of the store, had never met them, or at least, has never brought up meeting them. I should really ask him one of these days, though I doubt he’d give me a straight answer.
I told Rosco of the owner’s decision right after, and he was ecstatic. He’d already started to groom Marmalade in the short period of time that I had been gone. His fur looked straightened and what dirt I had previously seen on his body had been brushed off. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Marmalade was recently bathed, but I did know better. I knew that cat had been roaming this town full of reprobates for what scholars would depict as “A fucking eternity best measured in feline longevity.”
I watched Rosco make a kissy face as he spoke in a baby voice towards Marmalade, holding the cat up close. It still perplexed me how Marmalade was so calm, like he had no boundaries, just a simple faded line that he forgot he’d drawn with chalk. Rosco always had this sort of gravitas towards animals and people. I’ve seen this certain charismatic capability of his in effect a handful of times, mostly with other human beings.
The closest thing I can compare this to is Star Wars. Yeah, I know what Star Wars is, fuck off. Anyways, it’s like how Jedi use mind tricks to get people to do what they want them to do. It’s not as simple as a wave of the hand and saying “these aren’t the droids you're looking for.” Sure, it has a higher chance of success against the weak minded, but that’s where the similarities end. Rosco, even for the erratic weirdo that he is, can somehow be the most relatable person in the room.
Let me explain. Rosco can use any topic that comes to his fucked up mind and babble on about it in such an exaggerated and/or meticulous manner, to where at some point, you are magically entranced by whatever he may be spewing. I’ve seen him talk an asshole of a truck driver into breaking the law.
This woodsy fucker by the name of Derrick? David? Maybe it was Daniel, I didn’t get to hear the other half of his first name before he honked his horn so loud, I thought I’d go deaf. He smelled of a mix of wet dog and gasoline, with a beard that screamed, “Woodstock!” Rosco, in response to his “misconduct”, if you’d call berating me for 10 straight minutes over the lack of beef jerky products we had like a bearded banshee to be that. One thing to note about the store, we had 20 different types of beef jerky on the wracks, so he must’ve been either the pickiest truck driver to exist or the gasoline smell had shorted out his brain into the dumbest. The latter wouldn’t have surprised me. Getting back to the point, in response to his misconduct, Rosco cut his booze break short to join him at the checkout to talk about cars, starting to laugh like they were good old friends.
“Hey Big D, I have to ask, what’s the fastest you've gone in that metal baby?” Rosco asked with a full smile, but I could see the mischief in his eyes that he'd typically show before fucking with me.
“Welp, that'd be a good ole question. If you were uh pig I’d say 55, probably 65. But since ya my boy, and this red head over here don be lookin like uh narc, I’ve gotten my diesel Belle hoggin to 81, and not just once.” Red Head.? I'd show him a red head if I knew where Rosco kept his collection of baseball bats and tools.
“Come on Big D, you're telling me you never stomped the gas, see how fast Belle here can go? Come on man, you must'a thought about it.”
The trucker scratched the bird's nest he called a beard in thought before responding with, “Well, ya ain’t wrong.”
“Hey, okay, got a big ole fun idea for ya before you leave then.” I could make out the slightest hint of the shit-eating grin I was so used to seeing alongside those antics.
“Yea? What is it?”
“You know what a Georgia Overdrive is?”
“Course I do! I ain't no Greenhorn,” he said, as if the question offended him as a trucker, “But remind this girl here what it is.” He pointed with a meaty thumb at me, to which I would have scowled and told him to shove his Slim Jim's where the sun don't shine, but for duty’s sake, I kept the customer service friendly smile. Luckily, Rosco kept his attention long enough for me to flip him the bird behind his back to show my displeasure.
“Well, you know the hill heading downward out of town?”
“Yep, so?” He crossed his arms, insisting Rosco gets to the point.
“Put the transmission in neutral just before the dip, gravity carries your baby down the hill. With a rig that big and a dip that steep, you’d easily make it to 90.”
I saw the gears slowly turning in his head at the very thought of this idiotic scheme Rosco had offered him, but I wasn’t going to stop him. Sure I could be a decent person and tell him that this was reckless and why, but I doubt Beardington would listen to a word this 'girl' had to say, so screw him.
“Alrighty then, you got my attention,” Beardington said with a yellow smile. I would watch both of them shuffle out into the parking lot not too long after, with me following suit, just in case property damage or bodily harm to a human being were to occur on the premises. I did my best though to keep my distance for my own safety; I’d rather not accidentally be hit by a 35-ton slab of metal.
Rosco and I would watch the man drive off into the direction out of town, honking his horn with faint enthusiastic laughter and hollering buried under the howl of the engine and the blare of the horn. As soon as the truck was out of sight, Rosco started to laugh maniacally like he’d just committed arson and gotten away with it. And maybe he did. There was a chance his truck did burn, you know. I never did get the specifics.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked in confusion, walking right next to him to see what was going on.
After another minute of ceaseless laughter, Rosco would say, “Well, remember who’s camped out near the road out of town?”
That’s when it hit me: earlier that day, Deputy Dempsey came by, way after her shift should have ended. She spoke about how she was doing a favor for Deputy Heller and that she’d taken up his shift, being that, in his words “Wouldn’t trust it to any other deputy but her,” which I could see put a sort of confidence in her step, knowing the old man saw her as more competent than the rest. I believe he meant several things in that statement, but that’s for another time. The enlarged bags under her eyes, including the sharpened edges of her frown, said it all though: she was not happy taking double shifts, and who would? Most people can stay awake for probably 12, maybe, 14 hours without feeling tired. Police officers like Deputy Dempsey here could stay awake longer for a number of reasons, and that included back to back shifts, though that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. Luckily, that unhappiness was masked under the strong professional appearance she wore.
To bring up, before Dempsey left, she said she had to monitor the west exit out of town due to recent reckless driving and other reported activities that, to her, could be described as bizarre, but all too common to us. That exit was the one with the steep longish drop.
I, for no reason, started to laugh, then Rosco joined me in my unknown elation like it was a contagious bug. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, though I’d assume it’d stop soon.
During the cackling duet, I realized that he must have heard Dempsey bring up where she'd be till her next check-in, and hatched a plan to get Beardington arrested. Now I know that Rosco can not only be the most relatable person but also the pettiest. It may be rare, but what mentally stable person befriends a stranger to then simply somehow get them to do the dumbest shit possible to where the conclusion is a mugshot and time behind bars.
Interrupting my laughter and thoughts was the end of Rosco’s cackling, soon to be followed by a “That Tool was no true trucker.”
Later that night, Deputy Dempsey had been late for her check-in, looking a bit more tired than before and a tinge more pissed.
“Would have gotten here sooner, but some lunatic was going 95 past the Devil’s Tongue.”
“Yeah? How’d that go.”
“Swell, the culprit almost rammed me with his truck but instead hit a tree. He's lucky to be alive with minor injury. Why are you so curious?” She raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Curiosity's cheaper than therapy and marginally more productive as an icebreaker.”
She glared at me, then walked over to the coffee machine without another word. I don’t think Deputy Dempsey likes me all that much; quite the strained relationship we have but, aren’t they all like that? I don’t know.
Present day, or at least yesterday, Rosco had actually put in the elbow grease that’s required in taking care of another living thing. Not once have I ever seen Rosco far from Marmalade, and when that did happen, Marmalade was sleeping in a few places he’s designated as his nap spots. Every cat, domesticated or not, swiftly develops a network of preferred perches and resting places.
To list off a few, the belt at checkout lane 1, the top of the hunting and fishing section, specifically the right shelf over the fishing lures, and, of course, Rosco. Whatever black magic that cat is casting is working, because no matter how much Rosco moves around, he just sleeps there, comfortably wrapped around his shoulders like a fucking scarf.
It was easy to say that Rosco had tamed the dumpster cat. He never hissed, he never scratched anyone or anything, and shit outside or in his litter box in the janitor’s closet. I believe Rosco can do a lot of things, even with his outlandish personality, he is a weird jack-of-all-trades. I didn’t expect one of those skills to be animal tamer. Hopefully he doesn’t adopt any more of these so-called pets.
I know someone has ALREADY gone into this topic with MUCH more detail here on tumblr (I can’t find the post for some reason 🥲)
but LMK shippers, can we please come up with something more creative for Lego Sun Wukong ships?
Because:
ShadowPeach.
LionPeach .
HeavenlyPeach.
LotusPeach.
PoisonPeach.
PeachBite.
….
Wukong is more than a peach. Why is his ship name with CHANG’E the MOST CREATIVE ONE?!
(CelestialChaos is also more creative than just PEACH in every one of the names for Wukong 😭)
MoonStone is so much prettier and cuter than just putting “peach” in EVERY SINGLE OTHER SHIP! I’m not a “ship name creator” but this is my personal plead to the people who are.