Hello Manager Seru! I hope you're doing well and aren't getting too stressed as the holidays come up.
For the Fluffcember event, can I order for Day 6, ice fishing, with Idia? Something where the reader doesn't want him to spend all the holidays indoors and thinks ice fishing would be a nice way to spend time together?
This is my first time ordering, so I hope I've placed this one properly!
Ah, esteemed patron! Welcome, welcome!
The kitchen appreciates your concern for our stress levels—we are fueled by passion (and perhaps a little too much coffee)!
You have reserved Day 6: Ice Fishing, featuring our resident shut-in, Monsieur Idia Shroud.
My, my. Dragging Idia Shroud outside? In the winter? To sit still on a frozen lake?
This is not just a "date"; this is a Challenge Run on "Hell Mode" for him. The clash between his desire for the warm glow of a monitor and your desire for fresh air is a recipe for comedic brilliance and surprisingly sweet moments.
The kitchen has prepared this Manager's Specialty Pasta with a side of "Gacha Mechanics" (fishing). We do hope this meal is to your satisfaction!
Serving: Ice Fishing
"This is it. This is the bad ending. I've clipped through the map and landed in Niflheim."
Idia Shroud was sitting on a small, portable stool in the middle of a frozen lake. He was wearing so many layers of Ignihyde-issue winter gear that he looked less like a man and more like a neon-blue marshmallow. Only his eyes and the very tips of his flaming hair were visible.
"It's peaceful, Idia," you said, setting up your own line. You took a deep breath of the crisp, biting air. "Look at the scenery. No screens, just nature."
"Nature has terrible graphics," Idia grumbled, his voice muffled by his scarf. "The white balance is blown out. The wind audio is bugged and looping. And the gameplay loop? Trash. Absolute trash. We sit here... and wait? That's it? That's the quest?"
"It's called 'patience,' Idia."
"It's called 'lag'," he countered. He looked mournfully at the hole in the ice. "I could be grinding rank right now. I could be warm. My PC generates heat. This ice? Generates damage over time."
You sighed, smiling slightly. You knew this would be a hard sell. You moved your stool closer to his until your shoulders bumped.
"I just didn't want you to spend the entire holiday break in your room," you said softly. "I wanted to spend time with you. Out here. Where you can't tab out."
Idia stiffened inside his cocoon of coats. He looked at you sideways. The "social obligation" complaint died on his tongue.
"...Tch," he made a noise that sounded like a static glitch. "You... you could have just said you wanted a 'co-op session' without the console."
He stared at the fishing line bobbing in the dark water.
"So," he muttered, trying to distract himself from the cold. "What's the drop rate?"
"The what?"
"The drop rate. For the fish. Is it a standard 5% for a common, 1% for a rare? Is there a pity system? If I sit here for an hour, am I guaranteed a 5-star Trout?"
You laughed. "No pity system, Idia. It's pure RNG."
"Ugh. Worst game design ever," he groaned, but he leaned a little closer to you.
He reached into his pocket—you thought he was going for his phone, and you prepared to scold him—but instead, he pulled out a small, high-tech, self-heating hand warmer packet. He cracked it, waited for it to warm up, and then, with a shy, jerky movement, shoved it into your pocket.
"Your... your HP is dropping," he mumbled, looking steadfastly at the ice hole. "Can't have the party leader freezing. That would fail the mission."
"Thanks, Idia," you smiled, feeling the warmth spread against your hip.
"Yeah, whatever," he huffed, sinking his chin into his scarf.
A few minutes passed in silence. The wind howled softly, but with Idia pressed against your side, radiating his own anxious warmth (and the magical heat of his hair), it wasn't so bad.
Suddenly, his line tugged.
"Whoa!" Idia yelped, nearly falling off his stool. "Aggro! I drew aggro! What do I do?! What's the button combo?!"
"Reel it in! Just spin the handle!"
He cranked the handle with the desperation of someone mashing buttons during a boss fight. "Die, monster! Get in the inventory!"
With a splash, a small, flapping fish landed on the ice.
Idia stared at it. He looked terrified.
"It... it has physics," he whispered, horrified and fascinated. "It's... slimy."
"You did it!" you cheered, clapping. "First catch of the day!"
Idia looked from the fish to you. Your cheeks were pink from the cold, your eyes bright. You looked happy.
A small, jagged grin appeared from behind his scarf.
"Heh," he chuckled, a little breathy. "First try. Speedrun strats. ...Maybe this mini-game isn't... completely broken."
He nudged you again.
"But next time? We're doing this on a simulator. Inside. With snacks. ...Deal?"
A "dish" served with complaints, mechanics, and a successful catch! The kitchen is delighted to confirm this reservation.
Warnings: None really, cursing, Bucky and snowmobiles, and Bucky being sweet!
A/N: Written for the @the-ss-horniest-book-club HBC Date Night challenge! I'm not sure this would be my ideal date, but I had this idea and had to write about it! And while I’m not a big fan of the cold, I do really love the beauty of winter. Thank you all for reading! ❤️
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You and Bucky had been secretly not-so-secretly dating for the past year, so when a mission came up in the Canadian North, you jumped at the chance to go with him. It was just gathering intel, the target had moved on already but you needed to sweep the site and gather what you could. Bucky secretly enjoyed the cold climate missions, the further north you went the less people there were, and he had a sort of immunity to the cold, so he picked them up whenever he could. And since this was a low risk assignment, you hoped the two of you could have some quality time together.
You’d packed your bags, and the transport brought you to the drop off and extraction point. Trudging through the deep snow into the cover of the bush, Bucky pulled a camouflage cover off of a pair of snowmobiles.
“Riding in style I see!” You flashed him a smirk and he grinned back, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Of course darlin', how else do you suppose we navigate the fucking tundra?” You laughed, you were just bugging him of course, the site was located far off the grid, and your safehouse was as well. Besides, you knew your way around any and all kinds of off road vehicles, and they were always fun to drive.
“If it all goes well, I think we could have some real fun with these.” Bucky fires one of the machines up and you climb onto the other one, surprised at how easily it starts. He flashes you another smirk, before closing the visor of his helmet and taking off. You follow, excitement rearing up in you from the power of the snowmobile.
Half a day later, you have your intel and are on route to the safehouse. It’s at least an hour’s ride away from the site, but the landscape is surprisingly beautiful. Crisp white snow, evergreens with snow-laden branches, and a clear blue sky that was fading into a beautiful, colorful sunset. Bucky was having way too much fun, swerving his sled and sending snow flying in huge waves of powder. You giggled and followed, trying to ramp your machine over a huge snow drift. Criss-crossing between the towering pine trees, over the slopes and towards the cabin, you hadn’t had this much genuine fun in a long time.
Bucky did lead you out of the way a little bit, through the bush, backtracking to the cabin, just to keep any potential enemies off your trail. He always had one eye open and one ear to the ground and you felt completely safe with him. Once you reached the cabin, you barely had your helmet off before Bucky was marching towards you and pulling you into a heated kiss. It warmed you all the way through, despite the cold, and left you feeling weak in the knees. He grabbed your hand and led you inside.
It was a modest cabin, but it was warm, dry, and stocked with the essentials. After some hot soup and a shared shower, Bucky started putting his outdoor gear on again. You shot him a questioning look, rather enjoying your spot on the couch beneath the blankets.
“Come on, I want to show you something.” Reluctantly you pulled yourself up and dressed in your gear to go out into the cold again. Bucky jumped onto one of the sleds and you climbed on behind him, too tired to drive your own right now. Heading off into the trees, you rode for a little while before Bucky stopped in a clearing. You took back all the angry thoughts you’d had earlier once you saw the view before you.
Beautiful green and blue lights danced overhead, streaking across the entire sky, along with the clearest, brightest view of the stars you had ever seen. Bucky took your hand and led you a little ways into the clearing before sitting down in the snow and pulling you down with him. He lay flat on his back and you joined him, in awe of the colorful light show above you. The air was crisp, clear, and so perfectly still you could hardly believe it. It didn’t even feel that cold without the wind. You breathed out in awe while you gazed up above.
“Wow.”
“It’s somethin’ else isn’t it?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” You reached out to take Bucky’s hand in yours. “Thank you Bucky.” He pulled you close to his side, pressing a kiss to your cheek. The two of you lay there, enjoying the view, and the peace and quiet of just each other and the company of the vast beauty of nature.
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Adding a stylish increase, such as an tickling watch, encircle, or pocket square, can help over against report that it care about your appearance and that you squat on good awareness to detail. And don't overlook the unessential things, such as ruin your eyebrows and applying a little point (not a wave) as to cologne.
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It's about that time of year again! Drive around for parking for an hour, get a bad spot, get bitten by bugs, and watch an outdoor movie! It's one of the best things about summer.
I wrote an entire post last year & here's a list of the films this year! Plan ahead & do yourself a favor: don't drive.
