Discover Top Posts Tagged with #idicay

Feb 5

Author Admirer [Cater/Idia]

Summary: After binge-watching a really solid new anime that Idia recommended to him, Cater fills the post-binge void by delving into the wonderful world of fanfiction.

Word count: 5,521

[Ao3 Link] [See ao3 post for more tags/additional author notes!]

Cater sat atop his bed, eyes glued to his laptop screen as the finale of his most recent anime binge played its way out. The credits rolled as the last few scenes flashed on screen, the ending theme song playing one final time. He pulled his knees to his chest and sighed. What was he supposed to do now? The entire anime was only one season of 12 episodes. 12! One Saturday afternoon turned evening was all that it took to start and finish the anime in its entirety. Cater was lucky that Idia was present and in class that Friday, so he could snag a rec to occupy himself with, but it was hardly enough to carry him through the rest of the weekend. He’d have to wait until Monday to tell Idia – No, no… This was Idia he was talking about. It would be at LEAST a week or so before he’d make another random appearance in the flesh for class.

So who was Cater supposed to talk to in order to unleash all the #FEELINGS that this anime left him with? Maybe he should’ve grabbed Trey and made it a Boy’s Night so he could have SOMEONE to share in the emotional aftermath, but half the reason Cater chose to binge the whole thing in the first place was because all his friends were BUSY!

Well, there was only one thing left to do: Search the hashtags. Maybe some others out there that went through the same stages of just-finished-anime-and-have-no-one-to-talk-to grief made some posts about it that he could fill the void with. After all, it was only… 11pm? Yeah, he could spare just a few more minutes scrolling….

A few minutes, of course, was all it took to send Cater Diamond down the rabbit hole of this cool skateboarding anime’s fanbase. It started with a few reaction videos to some of the harder-hitting, emotionally explosive scenes. Then came cosplay videos – Cater wondered if he should try something like that sometime, with how well these videos seemed to perform. He could definitely put his makeup skills to the test! The cosplay videos then led to meme and favorite scenes compilation videos, and Cater found himself especially drawn to the ones centering around a pair of characters that, in his opinion, had QUITE a hefty dose of subtextual chemistry. A childhood friendship-slash-rivalry lasting into adulthood where the two characters in question acted annoyed as hell with each other, but when the moments mattered most, showed clear devotion, concern, and care for the other? Cater couldn’t deny that he was HOOKED on whatever they had going on, and he was absolutely delighted to scroll through fanmade animations and the like by some VERY passionate and similar-minded fans.

At some point, the algorithm brought him to the recommendations. People in videos and comments sections were posting their “Top 5 Must Read Fanfics”, and Cater was too absorbed at this point to even try resisting his curiosity. To think that there was such a community of fans that loved these characters SO MUCH that they spent so much of their spare time digging so deep into endless scenarios and character studies with them. The lack of a season 2 void was remedied instantly, and Cater was eternally grateful for such a dedicated community.

Through the rest of the weekend, Cater found himself absolutely absorbed by the beautiful world of fanfiction. Any spare moment he had, he was glued to his phone, powering through the next fic on the list of suggestions he’d compiled together in one place. He’d only expected to read a few oneshots, just to see what all the fuss was about, but Cater soon found himself reading more in a few days than he’d typically read over several months. Oneshots, completed multichapter fics, in progress fics – Cater ate it UP.

There was one fanfic in particular, however, that REALLY caught his eye. A fic centered around his two faves and the potential progression of their relationship that Cater was oh-so-obsessed with. It was a LONG fic, and at first, Cater hadn’t thought he wanted to get invested just yet. It was already 15 chapters and several thousands of words long, and still marked as in progress! But, it was one of the fics that kept popping up on just about every rec list that Cater ran into regarding his beloved ship, and Cater knew he was not immune to the hottest trends. If this was THE fic to read, Cater would have to dive in with the rest of the fans. Besides, he was looking for something a little saucier to read up on before bed, and if the tags and overall rating were anything to go off of, this was the fic for him. A promise of equal parts emotional impact and steamy situationships? Sign him up!

And ooohhhhh boy. Oh. Boy. The tags weren’t kidding. This author knew what they were doing and left no stone unturned when it came to exploring the depths of these characters and their bond with each other. Cater didn’t know a single work of fiction could be so emotionally packed AND really hot, but he was learning a lot about himself and fan culture this weekend, wasn’t he?

Cater, of course, also knew the benefits of #engagement. For every fic he’d read so far, he’d made sure to leave a comment. Multi chapter fics such as this were no exception, of course, and as he read through each chapter, he’d leave his thoughts before going onto the next. Something short as to not wear on his already depleting energy tank for the night, but just enough for the author to relish in that sweet, sweet engagement.

Omg, i’m soooo hyped to finally sit and read this legendary fic I’ve heard so much about!! Ch1 is already soooo promising✨ can’t wait to see the rest!

Lmao these two are soooo silly but I can’t get over the #TENSION!!! Ugh you write them SO WELL. i feel like i’m watching an extended cut of the show lmao <3

Oooohhhh,. 😳😳😳 I think I’ll see vivid scenes from this chap in my dreams tonight lol 😍 🔥

Ahhh!!! AHHH!!!! How dare you play w/my heart like this 😭 the DRAMA!!! THE ANGST!!!! I can’t get enough. Please keep playing w/my heart like this. The catharsis is so good.

Omg no WAYYYY I can’t already be caught up 💔💔💔 plz don’t tell on me but i totes stayed up laaaate binging this all in one sitting even tho i have classes in the morning lol. I’m OBSESSED and I have email notifs ON. I WILL be seated the moment i see an update from you in my inbox 😙

Shortly after typing out the comment to the latest chapter of said fic, Cater finally set his phone aside and fell asleep.

–

Idia Shroud waking up to ten billion emails (okay, maybe that number was a SLIGHT exaggeration) from his fanfiction hosting website of choice that morning was not how he intended to start the day. Sure, getting comments on the fics he published wasn’t unusual, but he hardly ever experienced such large bursts of comments in short succession of each other. It seemed that a user by the name of L8NightLurker went through and binged his latest in-progress fic, and decided to leave their thoughts along the way, enthusiasm growing with each comment.

Idia snickered to himself as he began typing away at a reply on his tablet. It was nice to be appreciated. He had, of course, made sure to write these fics under a pseudonym separate from his gamer tag or any other online usernames he used. Despite his lack of relationship experience IRL, some of his fics could get a bit… Spicy. He decided it was best to keep this hobby under lock and key, and entrust only the most worthy with said hypothetical key! …So, no one. No one other than the equally anonymous reader base he’d accumulated over the years.

thx for reading. Ur secret’s safe with me, considering the sunrise was my signal to go to bed the last few times I worked on my wips LOL. And if u liked chapter 5 that much, just wait for the one that’s coming next…

In the time it took for Idia to set his tablet down, go to the bathroom, come back, and power his computer on, he’d already had another comment reply from the new reader.

Omgggg. You’re such a tease~♥️please tell me the next ch is coming soon 🙏🙏🙏

Idia gasped. Since when were his fellow nerds so bold?! He was glad he had a room to himself, so no one would bear witness to his rapidly flushing face. As he logged remotely into class for the first day, he side eyed the folder housing his active wip for the next chapter. It was almost done, and he was planning on getting through it the following weekend, but….

Consider myself enabled… check back tonight and there might be an update waiting just for you ;)

The replay, once again, arrived nearly instantly.

😍😍😍 my life is in your hands 😘

THREE heart eyes emojis? AND a kissy face?! The pressure was certainly on now, but Idia had to have faith in himself as a writer. After all, the average fan did not spend nearly as much time analyzing and thinking about the characters as often as he did. He’d have to really lock in after classes today to grind out that next chapter. His reputation with a random stranger on the internet was at stake!

That night, Cater leapt off the kitchen counter he was previously sitting upon with a gasp. “OH my god…! Sexy SenchaBloom fic update email!”

Riddle turned around and shot Cater a puzzled look. “W… What?”

Trey laughed, remaining unfazed where he stood by the stove, keeping his eyes focused on the pot of chocolate he was stirring. “Cater’s gotten really into some online stories about a show Idia recommended to him. He’s been waiting for an email to come through about it all day.”

“I see…”

“Sorry boys, no time to explain!” Cater called over his shoulder, already halfway out the door. “I gotta get reading right NOW! I can totes introduce you to the show later, though. Let’s plan a dorm watch party!”

Party planning would have to wait, though; Cater had a fic update to read ASAP. The author really did come through on their promise to update that same day, so the least Cater could do was prioritize his new favorite author just as much! And if the rest of their promise was anything to go off of, this was the type of chapter that Cater would want to read in the complete and total privacy of his own room.

And, wouldn’t you know? The author really did make good on that promise, too. Cater’s cheeks grew warmer with every word he read, gasping in shock at every other line. It was hard to believe that he could be reading something SO quality, and for FREE?!

UUUGHHH OH MY GODDDD this is like soooo much better than I could’ve EVERRRRRR imagined 💕😍🤤 Your mind is so huge. I’m glad my school has private rooms bc omggg i’m blushing soooo hard rn 😳🥰

The author must have still been at their computer from when they published and seen Cater’s quick comment, because mere minutes later, he received a reply.

Hehe. a true warrior never disappoints his most loyal of readers!!! I mean… you just got here lol. But you commented on every chap so in my book that puts you in the high ranks.

Cater giggled to himself. Being praised by such an incredible author felt almost as exciting as reading the story itself. If only the fanfic site had a DM feature… The two of them could probably chat forever about their endless headcanons of this ship, and maybe Cater could luck into some sneak peaks of the next chapter!

But, for now, Cater would have to resign himself to the occasional comment threads that the two of them kept up with on every chapter update through the next few weeks.

“Oh my god, I NEED to talk to you, Idia!” Cater chirped, practically skipping over and clinging to Idia’s side, causing Idia to let out a startled squeak.

“WH– HUH– C-Cater?!” Idia’s shoulders tensed up. This normie jumpscare was happening far too early in the morning for his liking. He hadn’t been to an in-person class for several weeks, and the very moment he had to come in for mandatory attendance, the world’s most intense party boy locked onto him instantly. Just his luck! It didn't exactly help that he was extra tired from staying up late the night before to finish writing the next chapter of his fic…“Wh- What do you want!?”

“I’ve been DYING to chat with you about the anime you suggested to me! You have some explaining to do, you know!”

Oh, no. Idia’s palms grew sweaty, and his throat tightened. Cater was coming at him SO intensely. Did he seriously hate Idia’s suggestion that much?! Was he here to fight with Idia because he was offended that Idia thought he’d like something just because it had skateboards in it? Ugh, he was SO cooked. Cater seemed like a friendly guy on the surface, but Idia had been around plenty to see how lowkey scary he could be when someone crossed him! But… Well, wasn’t it really CATER’S fault if his taste was so basic and bland that he couldn’t see the sheer genius of the works of art that Idia took the time to recommend to him?! Cater was the one that got in his space and practically DEMANDED Idia give him a suggestion to keep him busy that weekend, so who was he to–

“I’m, like, SO obsessed with it!” Cater said, beaming his perfect and blinding smile up at Idia. “Seriously, you couldn’t have picked a better show. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I’ve had no one to get hyped with for WEEKS! How could you just drop this stellar bomb on me and then dip out for so long, leaving me hanging like that?!”

…Oh. Right. Well, of course Cater would like Idia’s suggestion. Idia did not waste time on sub-par anime, after all.

“...H-have you heard the bonus drama CD story…?”

Cater gasped. “Oh my god, you don’t happen to have a copy, do you?! One of the fanfics I wanted to read said it was referencing that AU or whatever, but I couldn’t find an upload ANYWHERE, and it looked so pricey.”

It was Idia’s turn to gasp. “F-f-fanfics?!” Where could a normie like Cater have heard a word like that?!

“Oh, a fanfic is where the fans write their own fiction stories about–”

“No, no, no,” Idia rapidly shook his head, “you don’t need to– I know what fanfiction is!” He’d been writing fanfic since he was, like, six, but Cater didn’t need to know that. He’d no doubt start asking invasive questions like ‘Omg, what did you write about?’ and ‘That’s so cute, do you still have any? Can I see?!’ And Idia absolutely did NOT want to deal with that right now.

“Oh, great, because I absolutely NEED to share some recs with you!” Cater continued, pulling out his phone and opening a checklist of fic titles. “Hey, are you into the SenchaBloom ship? I think, like, 80% of my rec list is about them…” He grinned, bumping his elbow against Idia’s shoulder. “Surely Idia’s got good taste, right?”

Idia sputtered. “Pfft- Wh-Who do you think you’re talking to? Of course I like SenchaBloom. I have eyes.”

Cater laughed, looking absolutely delighted in both Idia’s confirmation and the fact that he was responding so enthusiastically to Cater – responding to him at all, really. “I knew it! Oh, then you’ve absolutely GOT to read this one. It’s still a fic-in-progress, but I promise that every chapter’s sooo worth the wait.”

Idia’s jaw practically DROPPED when Cater turned his phone around, and he saw his own work (in progress) of art staring back at him.

“It’s literally my favorite!” Cater rambled on, blissfully ignorant of the utter inner turmoil going through Idia’s head at the current moment. “The author has SUCH a way with words, both in the story and the comments section. They’re lowkey a bit of a flirt, and if that’s a marketing tactic, it’s TOTALLY working on me.”

Idia gasped, and then started immediately coughing from said dramatic gasp drying out his throat.

“Woah!” Cater pat Idia a few times on the back, attempting to soothe the coughing fit. “You’re excited too, right?! I understand. It’s SO good. Let me know what you think when you get around to reading it!”

Idia took a breath, finding himself silently, awkwardly nodding in response. What else was he supposed to do!? He already didn’t like the idea of his regular schmegular classmates knowing anything about his fanfiction writing hobby in general, and now Cater was standing in front of him, asking about one of his not-quite-safe-for-work secret fics. Sure, he considered it one of his highest quality works, in terms of the fanfiction realm, but he and Cater were NOT anywhere NEAR that friendship level of trust yet! They probably NEVER would be! Cater wouldn’t ever understand. He’d probably think Idia was a cringe-ass weirdo loser for spending time hunched in front of his laptop, shrouded in darkness, typing away alone in his room about silly fictional characters kissing each other and crying about their feelings or whatever.

…Then again… Wasn’t Cater LITERALLY standing in front of him and GUSHING about how much he liked READING the story? And… Wait, what was that thing Cater said moments ago? About the author being a flirt?

“...Um… So,” Idia mumbled, staring down at his feet. “W-When did you say you started reading that fic?”

“Like, a day or two after you told me about the show! I went on a total craze with finding fics that weekend. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and you KNOW I turned email notifs on for any and all future updates.”

No… No way… The timing synced up too perfectly for Idia to deny that Cater Diamond from IRL was more than likely his new, VERY enthusiastic reader… L8NightLurker himself!

His face turned red as he remembered all the comments that probably sounded cool and mysterious when said by an anonymous stranger writing the sexy fic of your dreams, but utterly cringeworthy when they came from your total shut in freak of a classmate, Idia Shroud!

No, no, no. Cater couldn’t know. Not now. Not like this. Not face to face!

“I… I’ve gotta go!” Idia squeaked, turning to escape.

“Huh? oh, right! We’ve gotta get to class,” Cater smiled, scooting right back over to Idia’s side, dead-set on walking with him the whole way.

Right… For a moment, Idia forgot this wasn’t a random chance encounter with Cater, but they were in fact in a scripted event, called “we are classmates and are in fact going to the same scheduled location right now.”

“Besides,” Cater continued, clearly not getting the hint that Idia was trying to escape moments ago, “fanfic aside, I’m still waiting to hear your thoughts on the actual show! C’mon, I NEED to talk to someone about the absolute GUT PUNCH that was that last scene in episode seven! Like, HELLO!?”

“PFFFT.” Anxiety cancelled. Idia had anime related thoughts to say. “You think you were in agony? Try having watched every episode AS IT AIRED. We had to wait a whole WEEK after that cliffhanger.”

Cater gasped in horror at the very idea of lacking the option to binge watch an entire show with each episode readily on-demand. “No…!”

Idia grinned at Cater’s reaction. “Oh, yeah. Us diehard, early days fans were in the TRENCHES.”

Cater giggled, and before they knew it, the two of them were deep in a conversation about their favorite scenes and characters from the show. They walked side by side to the rest of their classes together, and by the end of the day, Idia nearly forgot he’d been talking to the normie to end all normies.

“Ugh, I just wish I could find that drama CD you mentioned earlier!” Cater sighed. “The guy that wrote my fave fanfic I was telling you about ALSO wrote a oneshot based on the plot from the CD, and as tempted as I am to just read it on its own and figure it out as I go, I really REALLY wanna have that extra context. Plus, more content to binge is always fun, right?”

Idia flushed, once again reminded that Cater was in fact unknowingly talking about a story HE wrote. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea of Cater reading MORE of his work, now that Idia was AWARE of the fact, but… Well, it was pretty nice having someone he could talk to about one of his current favorite shows…

“...Y’know, i-if you wanted to, uh…” Idia mumbled, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and averting his gaze. The tips of his fiery hair glinted pink, but Idia pretended not to notice. “We could, uh… I ha–”

“Oh, what’s this?” The obnoxiously smooth voice of Azul Ashengrotto jumpscared both Idia and Cater, as the boy himself practically materialized out of nowhere – probably lurking behind a tree and listening like an nosey WEIRDO, Idia thought. “Cater and Idia, talking together in the courtyard, WITHOUT Idia completely cowering in fear? What an odd sight to behold!”

Any anxiety Idia had about offering to lend Cater his CD was completely overwritten with annoyance as he turned to glare at the INTRUDER approaching them. “Ugh… Club doesn’t meet for another three hours, Azul. Are you that eager for me to come kick your ass at our next game?”

“Oh, please,” Azul rolled his eyes, though the smirk never left his lips. “I’m a plenty patient man. I’ll deliver your defeat on time, thank you. I actually wanted to talk to Cater…”

“Who, me?” Cater looked up from his phone, having gotten distracted scrolling on Magicam in the mere seconds it took Azul to derail his and Idia’s conversation. “What’s up? Is this about Riddle?”

“No, no, nothing of the sort,” Azul said, smiling in that obnoxious, clearly up-to-something way that made Idia’s and half the student body’s skin crawl. “I just couldn’t help but overhear your conversation just now. You said you were in search of something rather hard to find… a ‘drama CD’, was it?”

Idia gasped, and the mischievous grin that Azul shot him for a split second did NOT go unnoticed.

“Oh, yeah!” Cater nodded, pulling up the CD on a quick search to show Azul. “This one– It’s like, sold out EVERYWHERE, and the only places I’ve been able to find it are upcharge to a CRAZY amount by resellers. Super not in Cay-Cay’s budget, that’s for sure. A total bummer!”

“Well, don’t you worry,” Azul continued, patting Cater’s arm sympathetically. “My associates and I would love to lend you our assistance. Jade happens to be particularly adept at acquiring items that are less than easy to come by, you know.”

“Oh, yeah!” Cater nodded. “I think I remember Vil mentioning he helped him find a super fancy pair of shoes once that were, like, nearly impossible to get your hands on, normally! You guys got a secret plug or something over at Octavinelle?!”

Azul chuckled, and Idia felt his seething rage hitting its boiling point. “Don’t you worry about the details. We’d be happy to work something out with you.” He slid his hand to Cater’s back, and turned to guide him away from where Idia stood. “Why don’t you come back with me to my office, and we’ll–”

“NO!” Idia shrieked, surprising both Azul and Cater – as well as himself, a little. “Ugh, Azul, go bother someone else with your slimy salesman pitches!” Idia marched in front of the pair and grasped Cater by the hand, pointing across the courtyard with the other. “Lookit, Jamil and Riddle are standing over there, minding their own business. Take your smug face and go ruin their day, instead!”

“Wh– Excuse me!?” Azul huffed, offended by Idia’s suggestion, but glancing off to the side like he hadn’t entirely ruled out the idea of going to bother Riddle and Jamil next. “And what about our dear friend Cater’s dilemma? I only want to help–!”

“Got it COVERED,” Idia shouted, beginning to walk away, Cater in tow. “He can watch it FOR FREE in MY ROOM, thank you VERY MUCH!” Idia and Cater skedaddled away from Azul before he could protest any further, and before Idia could lose his resolve.

“Oh, wow, Idia,” Cater chirped, happily following alongside Idia. “I didn’t know you could be so assertive! Hehe, you saved me the hassle of having to talk my way out of a classic Azul scheme, didn’t you?”

“Pshh, i-if I know anything about Azul, it’s that he’s way easier to handle if you either piss him off, or get away from him before he gets too deep in his slimy schemes.”

“Aww, my hero~”

Idia’s breath caught in his throat at Cater’s clearly teasing tone, and doubly so at the gentle squeeze Cater gave his hand – Oh, fuck, were they still holding hands?! Should he let go… Or would that make things worse? Were people staring at them on the way to the mirrors, hand in hand like that? Did Cater squeeze Idia’s hand because he was actually trying to subtly say LET ME GO YOU GROSS WEIRDO?!

Well, it was too late to worry about any of that, because they were already at Ignihyde’s mirror.

“...A-After you….?” Idia mumbled, letting Cater’s hand slide out of his own and gesturing for Cater to step through the mirror first.

“Aww, such a gentleman,” Cater winked, hopping into the portal without hesitation. Idia let out an anxious breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in, and then followed him through.

It wasn’t until they got into Idia’s room that Idia realized he’d made several mistakes. First being that he’d just invited a super hot normie party boy into his GAMER CAVE – his bedroom – without a second thought. He hadn’t cleaned. Sure, Ortho still lectured him when he let too much clutter pile up, but now that his brother lived in a different dorm room with other first years, the reminders were less frequent, and so was the cleaning. There was a RAMEN WRAPPER on the FLOOR!

“Oh, I love that brand!” Cater said, pointing to said offending wrapper on the floor. “Nice and spicy, right?”

“H– Wh– Um…!” Idia quickly ducked down and scooped the wrapper off the floor. “Y… Yeah…”

It was seconds later that Idia realized his other, potentially way more fatal, mistake. He tossed the wrapper in the nearest, overflowing trash can, and went to retrieve the CD. “Uh, you can… S-sit anywhere, um… I’ll pop this into my PC and we can–”

He turned around, finding Cater standing in front of the computer, eyes glued to the monitor. Cater gasped, pointing at the screen.

“That’s the fic! The one I told you about! You DO know it!”

Idia’s eyes flew wide open in absolute horror. Oh, no. Oh NOOOO. See, normally, Idia was pretty good about powering down his PC before he left for the day – the rare times he left at all – but he’d set his PC to stay on and run some game updates through the day. No biggie, normally, considering he had a room to himself. But now? Right now?! He’d not only decided on a whim to be uncharacteristically bold and invite his cute classmate over – this was all AZUL’S fault, by the way – but he’d ALSO, so very inconveniently, just so happened to leave open the fanfic work-in-progress that he was writing that very morning! One monitor, displaying the already published, latest chapter, out and in the open for anyone in the room to see. His account name displayed proudly at the top, the large EDIT CHAPTER button accompanying it a few lines down, practically serving as a red arrow pointing straight at Idia himself, as if to say “Here he is! This guy, right here! IDIA SHROUD WROTE THIS FANFICTION!!!”

And on the other monitor, nail-in-the-coffin, was his draft document, the next chapter, still in its baby stages. Not approved to be seen by human eyes other than Idia’s himself.

And yet, Cater’s human eyes were LOCKED ON. Unless Idia could get Cater to the Lethe River and rewrite his memory RIGHT NOW, there was nothing that could be done to undo this horrible blunder. No, Idia was COOKED. It was SO over.

“Idia… Oh my god… the legendary fic writer was you? Like, for real!?” Cater covered his mouth, CLEARLY an act of horror and disgust, of course. “OMG– Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Aahh… AHHHH….!!!” Idia shrieked, fumbling with the CD and hurriedly placing it on the desk before it could become collateral damage in his unavoidable freak-out moment. He grabbed his jacket hood and tugged it over his eyes, turning his back to Cater and hunching his shoulders. “I-I-I’m sorry!” Idia sputtered, face heading up and hair flowing wildly around him. “Y-You totally sprung it on me unexpectedly this morning! Like, what was I supposed to say?! ‘Uh, yeah, that guy that wrote about our fave characters sucking face and lowkey flirting with you over the comments section every update? That’s me, babe.’ HELL NO! Ugh, just leave me to shrivel up in the corner and die now, plz…”

Thankfully, Cater had a PHD in keeping cool and defusing meltdown situations such as these. And, perhaps, the lock of shock from moments ago was not as laced with horror or disgust as previously assumed by Idia, as instead of running and screaming out of Idia’s room, Cater slowly walked up beside him, and gave his hood a gentle tap.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, Idia!” He said, offering a smile. “C’mon, pull that hood down and lemme see your face.”

“N… No…”

Cater sighed, choosing instead to reach for Idia’s hands. He laced their fingers together, and slowly guided Idia across the room and pulled him down to sit on the edge of the bed together. “...Y’know, Idia,” Cater continued, idly twirling a lock of his hair, “I didn’t know you could chat like how you did in our comment threads. You’re secretly pretty bold, huh~?”

Idia squeaked, feeling Cater move closer to push the hood off his eyes. “I–!”

“And don’t get me started on the writing of the fic itself! You really have such a way with words… Just how many hidden talents do you have?”

Idia’s brain was on fire, unable to compute half the things Cater was saying, what with how half his processing power was still churning over the utter humiliation of mere moments ago. Was he making fun of him?! …Well, he DID say how much he liked the fic BEFORE he knew the author was Idia…

“Hey,” Cater smiled up at Idia, batting his eyelashes up at him so-very-sweetly. “You wanna give your fave new reader a sneak peek of the next chapter?”

“WHA?! Y-You can’t just come in here and flirt your way into getting early access content!”

Cater giggled, linking his arms with Idia’s and dropping his head onto his shoulder. “Aw, can’t I? What If I ask sooo nicely and am really cute about it, huh? You posted a chapter early for me, didn’t you? So what’s a quick little lookie gonna hurt? Pleeeaaase~?”

Idia feared if this conversation continued in this direction any longer, then he would pass out right then and there onto the floor, which would both be embarrassing on its own AND give Cater full, free access to his PC to read any and all of his unpublished WIPs. For the sake of his dignity, that could not happen.

He stood up, using all of his willpower to pull out of his hot classmate’s clutches. “W-We came here to listen to the drama CD, didn’t we?! I-if you can stay on task like a TRUE FAN, then… Um…” Idia glanced at Cater’s expectant, smiling face, and then turned away to fumble with the CD once more. “M-Maybe I’ll… r-reward you b-by letting you… Be my b-beta reader…?”

Cater, who only recently learned what those words meant through context clues during his fanfic expeditions, threw his hands in the air and cheered. “WOO, yay! Oh my god, you’ve got a DEAL!”

Idia breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the CD made its way into his PC, and the story began. Idia shuffled his way back to the bed, where Cater pulled him close, resting his head on his shoulder once more as the two settled in to relax and indulge in their latest favorite fixation together.

#idikei #idicay #cater diamond #idia shroud #shipping #twst #twisted wonderland #cereal writes #ummm jazz hands. runs off into the woods.

cerealmonster15