AN: And here's the next set! Hope y'all enjoy :D

Tomatoes (Machias, Alisa, direct prequel to Foolproof)

"W-We didn't miss anything, did we?" Machias blurted out, the tomatoes, herbs and other ingredients sitting in front of him as an uneasy feeling percolated in the pit of his stomach.

"What, like in the recipe? I don't think there's all that much to miss," Alisa replied, raising an eyebrow when she saw the look on his face. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing as such," he said, shaking his head in an attempt to snap himself out of it. "Just… nerves, perhaps."

"Nerves? We're making juice, Machias!" she said with a laugh. "Come on, how would we possibly do that wrong?"

Cat (Mr. Tiddles)

He had been around for a long, long time. He had seen generations of felines come and go from the Ost District; they had arrived seeking shelter and companionship, and they had left having discovered the meaning of 'home'.

He remembered the humans too, of course. He had the fondest place in his heart of hearts for the children, those that happily ran and laughed and played so long as the sun was shining overhead. He wished that it would always be so.

And under that very same sun, Mr. Tiddles stood and meowed; gratitude for an existence truly blessed.

Regret (Rean, Angelica)

"So?" Angelica gleefully asked, grinning in delight even as Rean's stomach sank to somewhere near his boots. "Whaddya think?"

"I, uh… I was under the impression that the paintjob was going to be Reinford inspired," he managed to get out, still in shock at the portrait of Alisa that now adorned the sidecar.

"It is! I mean, we really only know the one Reinford. Probably for the best, Alisa'd blow her top if she saw her mom's face plastered all over this…"

"… True."

"Hey, that's the spirit! Besides, what's done is done. Life's too short to sweat the small stuff."

Time (Machias, Rean, Alisa, Emma)

With the pull of a trigger and a flash of emerald, the world slows down.

Rean feels an abnormal heat suffuse every part of his body, the blood rushing through his veins like an all-consuming wildfire.

Alisa fights the urge to breathe fasterfasterfaster, understanding that keeping control is paramount above all else.

Emma's field of vision turns almost unbearably bright but she winces and bears it, calling her power to the fore even as everything grinds to a halt.

Machias lowers his shotgun, watching the monsters struggling to even move, and he knows they've won.

He nods.

Ready.

Set.

Go.

Broken Record (Hibelle, Alisa)

"I'm very sorry for imposing."

"No problem! So, you said it stopped working properly?"

"That correct," Hibelle said with a nod, watching as Alisa Reinford carefully examined the interior of the Wind Orchestra's well-worn record player. "In all honesty, we've been meaning to get a new one for quite a while, but…"

"Budget issues. I get it."

Hibelle had to grin at that. "Er, do you think – "

"Oh yeah," she replied, grinning back at the look of sheer relief on his face. "I just have to disassemble and clean out the motor components. Shouldn't take me long at all."

Consumption (Dorothee)

It was the lure of the forbidden fruit that had started it all. Wasn't it always?

Dorothee had heard whispers, of course. Taboo, indecent, not fit for public consumption… that sort of thing. Such talk wasn't enough to dissuade someone like her, mind you. She was never the type to let others pass judgment for her from atop high horses.

When she at last took her first bite, she was forever changed. There was spice, there was heat, there was a wonderfully illicit tang; a different taste, yes, but it was love all the same.

Pen to paper, she writes.

Respite (Kurt/Juna)

"… Hey, Kurt?"

"Yes?" he says, trying and failing to hide his amusement at the cross expression on her face.

"What's a seven letter word for 'a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant'?"

"Hmm. I could have sworn," he begins, joining her on the sofa. "that you insisted that I not help you this time around no matter how much you asked."

She sniffs and angles herself so that she can rest against his shoulder, her ponytail brushing his jaw. "Like this is the first time I've said something I don't mean."

He can't argue.