Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: It must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.

William Faulkner

"Babycakes, wake up." I give him a cheek kissie, sighing at how beautiful he looks in the mornings. Dalaric shakes his head defiantly as it lays on my chest with my fingers tangled in his open hair.

"No. Five more minutes." He grumbles. That means twenty more if it's coming from him. I hum the tune to 'stairway to heaven' , brush my fingers through his dark golden strands and mentally plan out my first day of college.

I am bursting with excitement right now and it cannot be contained- along with my need to pee.

"I'm going to get up now. And you're going to get up too. Fine?" He only nods subtly, his head slipping off me and onto the pillow. I tiptoe to the washroom and freshen up. Since I'm planning on putting on some makeup today, I take extra time in preparing my skin. Some of the bottles are getting empty since Dalaric's finishing all my skincare. He always uses my strawberry face masks and blames it on Kipp.

Once I'm done, I tiptoe out of the washroom to find the bed empty and made. I smile. He even put Mr Jones Sr. and Jr. in the centre. I pick out a full-sleeved tee and mom jeans that are tight on me and fit perfectly on my waist. Spraying a bit of his perfume, I hop my way into the kitchen after petting Kipp three times.

"Good morning," I mutter into his back, my arms wrapped around him as he plates the eggs.

"Mornin'." Dalaric bends down with a small smile, giving me a kiss on the cheek before heading to the washroom to freshen up. I make the coffee in our penguin cups and toast in the meantime, setting it down on the table just in time as he returns- freshly washed and looking scrumptious in a turtle neck graced with my chain. I will never get tired of that.

"Oooo." I try to whistle and catcall him but it doesn't work. He shakes his head. Hmph.

I grab the newspaper from the front of the apartment door and plop myself in the chair next to his. Spreading the paper in front of us, we silently read and eat. We both think it's important to stay informed. I kinda prefer the comic section sometimes. Oopsie.

"Ready ?" He gets up after wiping some jam from my cheek and kissing it after. I nod, getting up to put on my shoes. Should I pick the white sneakers or white sneakers? The white sneakers.

Dalaric holds out his hand impatiently when I mess up the laces.

"Do you have a session today ?" He lets me in before I ask, instantly grabbing a hold of my hand and putting it on his knee.

"Nah. Last one tomorrow." I gasp. Time goes by so fast.

"We can celebrate with a Malaric day? After I get back from college ?" I grin excitedly. I want to feed him a cake. Then I can bite the frosting off. Yummy.

"Of course." Dalaric parks somewhere a few minutes from college grounds and opens the car door for me. My back is glued to the car door as he leans down.

"Do your best, got it? And eat your sandwich. Call me when you're done."

I nod, but my feet keep me still. I don't know why but I don't want to leave. Everything so new to me and I want to latch on to the only person I'll ever be this comfortable with.

When I hesitate to leave, Dalaric kisses my cheeks and my forehead before grasping my chin with his fingers, tilting my head so he can ask,

"Fine ?"

His eyes are worried as he wonders, probably because of my fake smile. It's only when he gives me an aggressive nose boop, do I actually brighten up.

I kiss him on his right cheek, then his left cheek, his forehead and his cute lil' nose. I smile for realsies, knowing that no matter what, it'll be fine as long as I have him. Giving him a kiss on my final destination- his lips- I whisper with reassurance.

"Fine."

He nods and I walk away, sending him a thumbs up. I turn back a few times as he watches me walk to make sure I reach safely. Texting him a 'drive safe', I sigh. I miss him already. Hmph.

☁︎︎ ☁︎︎ ☁︎︎

It's kinda scary in here.

Kirra said she takes this class too but I think she's late so I'm alone and waiting in one of the seats at the back. The professor hasn't arrived yet and some boys are having a loud conversation. I fiddle with my pencil to make it seem like I'm busy. I don't like first days.

"Maya! Sorry, I'm late, had to show a kid around." I sigh in relief as I spot a very gorgeous Kirra making her way towards me. She's wearing some jeans, a top and her hair is in a cute bun.

"No worries. I saved a seat for you." Kirra thanks me and plops down in the seat next to me, making me curious when she turns and looks at me with a Cheshire grin.

"Sooo, who were you hugging this morning ?" My eyes go wide. We parked a bit farther away so I didn't expect anyone to see us. This is kind of embarrassing.

"Um- my man," I say proudly. She squeals before saying, "You guys are so cute! I was passing by when I saw you so don't worry. How long have you been together ?"

"About eight months now."

"Wow. Goals." I blush, really happy that she didn't make some inappropriate comment about how much of a 'hunk' he is. That'd make me very angry because he's mine.

"Thank you. What about you ?"

Kirra sighs, lowering her voice when the professor enters. "All the boys I know are just that- boys. I had a crush for a while but he's got a girlfriend so...it's going to be me and myself for now. Which I don't mind. That just means I don't have to share my food."

"Good point." I laugh, shutting up when I make eye contact with the teacher. Oh no, bad first impression and it hasn't even been three minutes. The class starts and I stare in awe at all the new information I'm supposed to know. We're given a few minutes to answer some practical questions and I nibble on my pencil when one of them gets tricky. Stupid question seven.

"Hey, Maya- oh wow. You did...all of them ?" Kirra reads the page in wonder and I shrug with a small smile. Ever since Dalaric, I've been getting more and more used to receiving compliments.

"Wha- um, yes. Not question seven, though." Stupid question seven. The professor stands up and chooses people to answer, saying that it'll give her an insight on where everyone's at.

The teeny problem is that she's reading names off the register. I want to hide.

"Ms.Moa. Question four." I mentally cheer for Kirra, sending her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Um, I-I uh- it's um..." I poke Kirra, showing her my notebook but the lady glares at me. Oh no. Kirra sits back down with a flushed face and I send her a comforting smile. That was a highly stressful situation, i feel you.

"Question seven. Ms Mik-Morrison ?" The professor asks with a confused tone.

So when I was giving in my ID and a photograph, they made me write down a name I would like to be addressed as. This would be the name that would only appear on class registers. Naturally, I wrote down 'Maya' but since I'm an idiot who's very in love with a certain someone, I miswrote my last name. I cut it out but maybe forgot to since I am now Mik-Morrison. Dalaric would go adorably crazy if he heard this.

"We're waiting, Ms Moore." Middle name, good choice.

"Oh um, uh-"

"That's enough, sit down."

"No wait- oops that was loud- the computational complexity theory focuses on classifying computational problems according to their resource usage, and relating these classes to um-each other. A computational problem is normally a task solved by a computer- done by the mechanical application of mathematical steps, such as an algorithm. Oh and-"

"You've answered the question, Ms Moore." She nods and says something that makes me smile. "And amazingly so. Thank you, you may have a seat."

Yay.

☁︎︎ ☁︎︎ ☁︎︎

It's the end of the day and we've just finished our lunch. Kirra talks to me about her favourite professor and how he doesn't give homework at all. We make our way out of the cafeteria and into the campus area which is packed with students. She taps me on my shoulder and nods to behind me.

"I think he has something to say to you, Maya." I turn with my brows furrowed in curiosity. They better not insult the penguin keychain on my bookbag.

"Hey there, you're a first-year, right ?" The boy, who's wearing an oversized hoodie along with some jeans and weird shoes that look too big for his feet. Is this what they call streetwear?

I nod with an awkward smile, lifting my hand to tuck away some baby hairs.

"Saw you in class. There's a cafe close by, wanna ha- oh shit, you're married ?" My eyes go wide and both of us look at my left hand which adorns the ring on my left finger. Oh. I mean, technically...

"Engaged," I say with pride. "You were saying ?" The boy shakes his head before sending me an awkward wave and following his friends. As he should.

"Sigh. You're powerful." I giggle at Kirra's remark as we walk towards a bench. I send Dalaric a text and take a seat.

A loud sound of what seems like a car door being shut echoes around the both of us. Kirra stands and looks around, and I follow too when I notice T with a girl. The girl has long golden-brown hair and is wearing biker shorts and a crop-top. From what we can see and hear, she's screaming at him. T is nonchalant and backs away as she shouts even louder.

He walks by me and we make eye contact. I furrow my brows, trying to ask him if everything's okay but he only nods with a brief smile.

"Fuck you, T ! Fuck you." She shouts before leaving in a cab.

"That's his girlfriend," Kirra says as she sits back down, looking weirdly used to this. Is that how someone should treat their boyfriend? And the way he left, was that right? My thoughts worry me since T is practically family. I don't know anything about them so I shouldn't make any decisions or say bad things. But I'm still worried.

There's one thing that makes me sigh in relief. We aren't like that. I don't even have to worry about that type of treatment. I'm so thankful for my Dalaric. Just then, my phone buzzes with a text that tells me he's reached. I hug Kirra goodbye and walk towards the gates, moving faster when I see his car.

"Dalaric !" I run as fast as my chubby legs can take me and wrap my arms around his neck, making him lean against the car for support.

"You good ?" He asks, his arms wrapped around my waist before hunching me up so I can stuff my face into his warm neck.

"I just wanted to say-" I take my neck out of his neck, escaping the will to build a little cottage and sleep in there. His neck is so warm. If I was a vampire-

"Mhm ?" He inquires with a concerned gaze as he pushes back my baby hairs.

"Thank you."

He raises a brow in question. How can he not know what I'm thanking him for?

"For being you." I sigh dreamily with a large smile. I'm so grateful. For him. For us. Dalaric's lips twitch and he rests his forehead against mine before giving it a loving kissie.

"Man, I fucking love your random ass." Lightly chuckling to himself as he sets me down, he runs a hand down his face before pulling me in for a hug again and mushing my face into his grey turtleneck.

After he gets his huggies, he helps me get in the car and we make our way home.

"You know that teacher I was talking to? Yup, she said I answered 'amazingly'. I answered a really tough question and I didn't stutter- not even once! Also, the lasagne in the cafeteria is not that good. A solid five out of ten. Oh and I told someone we're engaged. Is that fine? I don't know his name so I can't really find him to take it bac-"

Dalaric's eyes harden at the mention of a boy and his fingers grasp the wheel tightly. Woah there alpha male.

"It's fine. Very fucking fine." He says with the slightest of smirks. There's a certain edge to his tone that I can't make out at first so I gasp exaggeratedly when I do.

"Oh okay- hey, stop thinking about babies !"

☁︎︎ ☁︎︎ ☁︎︎

"So she was screaming at him ?" Fatima inquires, breaking off a piece of her doughnut before eating it. She eats it in pieces which I find adorable. She would definitely pinch me if I said that to her.

"Yeah, and the boy stood there. He looked kind of scared but knowing him, I just feel like i shouldn't butt in, y'know ?" I refer to T, but I can't let her know that. It's none of anyone's business but I need advice. I'm worried about him.

"And this boy, does Ricky know him ?" I nod and she makes a face.

"Sheesh." I nod at that too. I agree, very sheesh. "Don't make any assumptions for now. Couples fight all the time. Ricky punched like four hospital guards because of you- to any outsider, that would look crazy." I pout at the reminder. I know he regrets it but it was very dumb of him.

"I agree. And I ap- We apologised and I bake- We baked them some cookies. Then it's okay, yeah ?" I pout. What if they hate us now? I really dislike grudges.

"I know, munchkin. They forgave him, remember? Anyways, don't butt in if you don't have clear information- okay ?" My pout disappears and I smile at my gorgeous friend.

"Yup, you're right. Can I have the sugar free doughnut, please ?" She has a whole box of them and for some reason, she isn't keen on sharing.

"No. I'm not letting you get less squishy. Sugar doughnuts for you, munchkin." Fatima continues to munch on them as she watches the T.V and I frown.

"Oh okay. Did you just call me chubby ?" I know I've been gaining some healthy weight thanks to the fact that I always eat more when I'm with Dalaric. One, he glares at me when I don't and two, he feeds me.

"Stop talking shit, Fatima." A deep voice mutters from behind me as I stand next to the kitchen counter. Dalaric hugs me from behind, drumming his fingers on my stomach.

"I just said she was squishy! Get out of here with yo' overprotective ass." Fatima retorts, narrowing her eyes at him.

I am uncomfortable with the energy in this room. She's salty because he left the team in Raf's hands and he's mad because she insists on spending time with me. I think Dalaric is in the wrong.

"I swear to God, I'm going to-" Dalaric picks up a whole orange and attempts to hurl it at Fatima, who's ready with a doughnut in her hand. I pull on his shirt and distract him with a cheek kiss as I take the weapon out of his large hands.

"Going to what, huh? Going to hit me? Get off my back- you're not my boss anymore !" She smugly pokes her tongue out leaving the couch to walk towards me with a smirk.

"Owned. High five, Maya." I giggle, meeting her high-five. I hear a throat clear from behind me and I turn, hearing a small 'Oh-oh' from Fatima who grabs her bag and waves goodbye. The sound of her Ferrari starting frightens me, not because of how loud it is but because I am now defenseless. Gulp.

"You can squish my face, would that make-up for it? I-I can give you a k-kissie too ?" I try and negotiate.

"Nah, baby." He says, softly. I smile, wrongfully assuming that he's not going to torture me with his sweet mouth or hands or any of that. But life is not always fair, as said by some great philosopher.

It's especially not fair when his eyes harden and a minuscule smirk makes its way onto his face. I pull away, my back hitting the fridge. Kipp stares at us from his cage and turns his head, causing all my trust in him to evaporate.

"I'm squishing more than just your face this time. Get in the room."

Oh. Okie.

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2877

The power of the boop.

Howdy 🤠!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Currently multi-tasking between biology and writing this so bare with me. N e ways, how was your day? And if it's just begun, do you have any plans today?

Plus points if anyone can find the hidden reference to a famous meme 😋

Hope you and your family are safe and well.

Love always,

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