#'leora shut the fuck up'

[i-overanalyze-musicals]

Watching Super Troopers rn and uh

Imagine a cats au

[russovito]

local time: 26 august 2022.14:06 location: west sotiris. space port. landing bay four. specialty officer vito russo + @general-indso​

Small talk aboard The Castor had been impossible thanks to the state of disrepair the vessel had been in, but that’d suited Vito just fine. Now, baking under Leora’s afternoon star with a cracked sunglass lens allowing too much light into his eye, Russo was inundated from all sides with further noise as his fellow officers began to chatter. He didn’t know why any of these people were here, and he didn’t much care, but fuck. Wasn’t this the military? Wasn’t there some sort of shut the hell up until you’re told what to do rule? If all Starfleet officers in this sector were this talkative he might actually have preferred to stay on the planet where he’d been being hunted.

Firmly distancing himself from the group until someone bothered to come collect them, the Beastkin’s body language radiated anti-social energy. He avoided eye contact with the social stragglers trying to find a kindred spirit to complain with and spent his time scanning the spaceport. If all the information he’d been given turned out to be correct, the threat of hostiles was dwarfed by the threat of boredom but while it never hurt to be careful, carelessness often hurt quite a lot. That, and doing a visual sweep gave him a convenient excuse not to meet anyone’s eyes. 

Someone with a tell-tale tablet appeared from a nearby building, sending a hush through the crowd of officers. Thank the gods. Venpalan, the man seemed bored as he began an overly-rehearsed welcome speech that Russo immediately tuned out.

[felis-felicis]

Cullen x Leo (Ship meme because Im weak)

Who worries about how they will look when they’re older: Cullen will likley live to be thousand of years old so he definitely worries about Leora, mostly bc he doesn't understand Nymph life cycles so he's constantly worried but also trying to make some kind of scientific advancement in aging so they'll always be together

Who makes the mix tapes/cd’s: Leora for sure, there's really no music on Yautja Prime just more like howls and roars. Human music is pleasing to Cullen's ears and he allows Leora to play her music while she's on his ship

Clings to the other during scary movies: I feel like neither one of them are really scared of scary movies but Cullen does enjoy when things jump out bc then he can hold Leo much tighter than before

Gets into the shower with the other randomly: they both frequently do this with either results in a broken shower bc Yautja mating is wild yall or Cullen being so slippery, bc reptile, that he's hard for Leora to hang onto so they just fuck on the floor

Flashes the other when they walk by after taking a shower alone: Cullen 99% of the time, like he'll just walk around nude after the shower like Leo look at my dick wanna ride it?

Initiates hand holding while the other is driving: while it's not a hand I feel like Leora definitely touches his tentacles??? Like a lot? Which is just fine with Cullen bc it feels good

Secretly tries to touch the other in naughty places during public/family events: Yautja are very promiscuous by nature, like it's not weird to see them just fucking each other in public, so Cullen is always slapping/pinching/touching or staring at Leora no matter where they are

Asks weird questions in the middle of the night: they both value sleep so when the lights go out everyone shuts up lol

Asks “what are you thinking about?”: Cullen bc he wants to know all he can about Earth and Leora's seen a lot of it

Always has to be touching the other, (if either of them do) Cullen likes when Leo holds his fingers bc his hand is so big

[pergaias]

aron & aaron?

here you go, anon! idk if this is considered fluff, but it’s definitely not angst lmfao

“I miss you,” Aron said into the phone, wrapping a blanket more firmly around her shoulders. “It’s cold here—really cold. Ummm what else—my socks have holes in them and there’s no one else I can complain to.”

Aaron’s voice was warm and teasing, his accent more prominent now that he was back home for the holidays. “Ru, you can complain to anyone about anything. And I miss you too, you know that.”

Aron sighed dramatically into the receiver, making a face at Luna when she popped her head out of her bedroom door to gag. “It’s a gift.” she said sadly, wiggling her toes. There was a huge hole in the heel of one that Aron had clumsily patched with a piece of another shredded sock. 

Aaron was humming a song—some nameless generic Christmas carol—and Aron could hear him clattering around in a kitchen, perhaps. It was around dinnertime in his timezone. 

Snow was lazily falling and banking against the house’s eaves. Ty and Tate were snuggled next to Aron on the couch, and Aron’s chapped fingers were gently stroking Ty’s silky ears. She was—for the first time in a while—content.

“Did you get the postcard I sent you?” half of a smile played across Aron’s face as she petted Ty’s head and tucked her feet under the blanket and scrunched her nose at Tate, who was chewing on a loose piece of yarn that had unraveled from the sleeve of Aron’s sweater. 

“Ahh yes,” Aron could hear Aaron’s smile, “Wish you were here but not really but wait actually I do, xx Your-Name-But-One-Less-A.”

Aron laughed. “Hearing you say X-X is very strange, to say the least.”

“X-O baby,” Aaron teased. Yes, he was definitely clattering around a kitchen—Aron could hear pots clanking against each other and the faint sound of something simmering. 

Aron groaned. Aaron laughed. They both sat in comfortable silence, and Aron imagined what Aaron might be doing. Maybe he was wearing sweatpants, and was barefoot in his kitchen cooking something for a family dinner. She could picture his brown hair, messy like it was when he didn’t bother to style it. She could picture his wry, crooked smile, and if she focused hard, she could pretend that he was sitting there next to him.

You didn’t realize the space someone took up until there was a hole in their place—the holiday season was a time to be spent with people that you loved. Aron had her parents and her siblings, and of course the three Milans—Mara with their ferocious sense of right and wrong, Maia and the gravity she had about her, Maven and his outstretched arms, kinder than his sisters but just as stalwart.

And then there was Aaron and the place he had started to fill—the person he had become. Her friend, her secret, and now her . . . what could she even call him that summed it up? Boyfriend, lover, soulmate?

No, her soulmate was Maia. You didn’t have to love someone romantically to be the other half of them in that way—Aaron was the other half of her that she didn’t know was missing. He smoothed out her jagged edges, brought calm to her chaos, peace to her storm. 

The line crackled. “You still there, Ru?”

“I’m here, Swift.”

“I miss you,” Aaron’s voice was low, wistful. “I wish you were here, meeting my sister and my parents and my cousins.” 

Aron smiled, heat creeping into her cheeks. It was such a strange feeling, to be wanted. It was the kind of wanting that wound Aron’s heart into a spring, waiting, waiting, waiting to burst.

“I wish you were sitting next to me and I could put my head on your shoulder and complain about my busted socks.” Aron managed a wry smile, combing her fingers through her newly-cropped hair. She lifted a finger to her lips and tore at the callused skin of her fingertips, letting the silence of the call wash over her. It was a good kind of quiet, the quiet that came when two people understood each other.

“When I come back we’ll drive to the coast,” Aaron said suddenly, and there was a clattering of cookware. “We’ll take your car.”

Aron rolled her eyes and drew her finger across her throat at Luna, who had put a pillowcase secured by a headband on her head and was dramatically walking down the hall, a bunch of fake flowers in her hand like a bridal bouquet. 

“There’s an unfortunately high chance of the Beetle breaking down halfway to the coast,” Aron smirked good-naturedly. “And why the coast? It’s the middle of December, and it’ll be bitter January when you get back.”

The words were a punch to the gut. Two more weeks of phone calls and sporadic FaceTimes, with Aaron usually cutting short because his mom needed him or Aron’s siblings barging in and demanding her attention. 

“True,” Aaron mused. “Hmmm . . . we can drive up to Tahoe and go skiing.”

“Neither of us know how to ski, and you don’t know how to snowboard,” Aron said amusedly, her fingers tracing the waves in Ty’s soft fur. Tate had stopped chewing on her sweater and had started dozing against Aron’s thigh.

Aaron laughed. “You could teach me with your wonderful, patient teaching skills.”

“That’s just mean,” Aron whined, her mouth curling into a smile against her will. “I’m not patient by nature and you know that.”

“Am I pushing it saying ‘I’m the only person who can tease you like this and not get brutally murdered in my sleep’?”

Aron smiled again, wider. “Possibly.”

More clattering of pots and pans from Aaron’s side of the line. Tate yawned contentedly, her little pink tongue stretching out. Outside, Hadley was almost completely dusted in snow, softening the little town’s hard edges and severe lines.

In Aron’s hand, her phone started shrilling out her ringtone for Maia Milan. “Crap, Swift, hate to cut this short but—Maisey’s calling.”

She heard the mild surprise in his voice, startling a particularly Southern-accented sentence out of him. “Of course, Ru, I’ll call you back later?”

That thought brought a smile to her face. “FaceTime me tonight?” she asked, almost shyly. She combed her fingers through her hair in the heartbeats between her question and Aaron’s reply. “Sounds good. I’ll be up later.” she could hear his smile, and her chest felt strangely warm.

“Merry Christmas, Aron,” Aaron said, bashfully, and hearing her name—not just Aaron’s pet name Ru—felt strangely intimate. 

Aron mustered a smile, ducking her head. “Merry Christmas, Aaron. I miss you.”

She swore she heard his light chuckle before the line clicked silent, and Aron flopped back onto the couch and let her heart pound for a second. She felt—she felt—

Her phone rang again, and this time Aron picked up. “Hey, Maisey!” she couldn’t help it. A grin slowly overtook her face, one that not even the sourest of Aron’s moods could have dampened. 

“You’re sounding chipper,” Maia’s British-accented voice, melodic and silvery, floated from her speaker. “What’s up?”

“Why did you call? You first,” Aron insisted, crossing her legs and patting her lap, looking pointedly at the two black-and-white dogs. Ty wagged his tail and stumbled onto Aron’s lap, promptly falling asleep. 

Maia laughed into the receiver. “I just wanted to say hello, Ronnie. Also, Leora and I just came back from an impromptu date and—” Maia dissolved into giddy laughter. “I’m gay panicking so badly, I should do this with my sister. Anyways—enough about me, what have you been—”

“Aaron and I were calling,” Aron said softly, propping her elbow on her leg and resting her chin on her hand. “I—I really like him, Maisey. I really do.”

“Oh, bloody hell,” Maia groaned. “Don’t tell me that I cut your talk on the telly short—”

Aron waved it off. “It’s fine, it’s fine, we were talking for ages before and he was already cooking dinner.”

Maia laughed into the receiver again, but it wasn’t the giddy lovestruck laughter of earlier. It was full-blown cackling, and Aron knew enough about her friend to know that she was probably swaying back and forth. “You really like him? Darling, good job, you’re officially the last person to know.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Aron rolled her eyes, but then glanced around to make sure Elliott wouldn’t pop up out of nowhere and scream QUACK in her face. 

“But—do you—” Maia’s voice lowered conspiratorially, and Aron had the vague sense that the two of them were at a sleepover and Maia was trying to coax Aron’s deepest secrets out of her at 3am. “Do you feel forever about him?”

“Maia Milan, I’m seventeen.”

Maia clicked her tongue. “Ahh yes, you don’t know anything.”

Aron snorted. “But I know I miss him.”

“You two are so in love it hurts,” Maia sighed. “I’m glad you’re happy, Ronnie, I really am.”

There was a tiny bitter note in her voice, but it was quickly covered. “I love that you love him. I—you two have something that a lot of people would be lucky to find.”

“We’re seventeen,” Aron said again, laughing. But something was in her chest, almost like a string tied around her heart. It was easy to imagine an invisible string connecting her and Aaron. “And what about you and Leora? Every time I see you two together I want to gag.”

“The feeling’s mutual, love,” Maia deadpanned. But she sighed wistfully, and there was an oomph from the phone, like Maia had fallen backwards onto a pile of pillows. She did that a lot. 

“Anyways,” Aron’s throat was tired, from talking for so long. “I should probably make tea or something, it’s getting really cold.”

“Get your pyromaniac sister to start a fire or something,” Maia advised. “She started one here this morning when Mavey called her over—it’s still burning, bright as new love—”

Aron squinted suspiciously at her phone. “Am I picking up what you’re putting down?”

“I put down nothing at all, Aron Rucyznski.” Maia lied unconvincingly, Aron’s last name newer and prettier in her accent. Rucyznski. All the hard sounds smoothed by her voice, like stones in a river.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Love you,” Maia air kissed the receiver and it clicked dead. 

Aron stared out the window, at the snow slowly falling into soft white heaps against dead grass and concrete and asphalt and roofing tiles. She felt content. It was such a strange feeling, to not be wound up as a kid’s toy or so stressed that she felt like breaking down on her bathroom floor every few minutes.

She smiled. 

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Alfie takes a liking to one of his "bakers" sister. He starts to visit their house alot to talk to the brother. But really he is there cause he likes to watch her make the tea for them. He keeps trying to start a conversation with her but can only get short answers from her as she is a quiet kind of person. The brother can't figure out why Alfie is so interested to talk to him all the time. Ollie has figured it out though. I'd love if could get them to kiss.😘

//Sorry this took so long! 

             When Leora opened the door, Alfie immediately knew he was fucked. Instantly, he was met with a pair of deep brown eyes that held a bittersweet look to them. Alfie was usually the first to initiate conversation, gave him a bit of an edge. But he couldn’t seem to find the words.

            “Can I help you?”

            The least Ira could’ve done was warn him. Warn him that he lived with someone beautiful. A sister, or a wife, or a cousin, whatever she was, he could’ve warned Alfie.

            “Ira in?” It seemed to be all Alfie could muster in the presence of such a dark-eyed beauty.

            “He is, you must be his boss.” She suddenly averted her eyes. Realizing Alfie Solomons was at her door.

            “Yeah.”

            “Well, come in.” Leora let him inside. “He’s probably upstairs. I’ll be right back; you can wait in the kitchen if you’d like.”

            Alfie cleared his throat and instinctually tapped a finger against the Mezuzah by the door. He’d need God to see him through this trial. He made his way down the narrow hall to the tiny kitchen. It was a typical flat in Camden. Rundown, small, damp sometimes. But the family seemed to be getting along just enough. That was the perks of working for Alfie, you could actually survive. Other jobs in London just put you more in debt.

            He was there on business. Normally, he wouldn’t go to an employee’s house unless they were in huge trouble and avoiding him. But on the case of Ira, he needed the young man for a special task.

            Ira came downstairs quickly so he wouldn’t make his boss wait long. Only twenty-three, he was looking to move on up in the world. Sometimes that meant having to do some dirty work for unholy men. If his parents were alive, they would be so displeased.

            “Sir,” Ira greeted Alfie.

            “Ira, mate, good to see you.”

            “I’m glad you can trust me for this.”

            Alfie rolled his eyes. “No need to be a kiss-ass, Ira. Just sit so we can discuss business.” His gruff tone lightened a little when Leora entered the kitchen. She made herself like a fly on the wall, just making tea.

            “Lee, can you go upstairs?” Ira urged.

            “S’alright. Family’s family. No secrets ‘tween family.” Alfie assured him. “You can go ‘bout your life, love.”

            She looked a little hesitant, glancing at her younger brother. Ira gave her a nod, not going to go against Alfie. So, she went back to putting on the kettle.

            But, Alfie wasn’t going to say much in front of Leora. He wanted her to think it wasn’t a big deal that he was there. He didn’t want her worrying and causing a fuss. “I’ll pay ya well, half upfront. Do it well and your pay will go up too.”

            Ira nodded. He’d already been notified of his job offer. A ploy to run some of Sabini’s bookies off the tracks at Epsom later that month. It was a dangerous job, but Ira felt he had no other choice. “That sounds good, sir.”

            “Easy operation. Nothing to worry about.” Alfie tried not to keep glancing over at Leora.    She moved like a timid little mouse around the kitchen. Hardly making a noise. When the kettle whistled, she poured two cups and placed them on the table.

            “Thanks, love.”

            She didn’t say anything in response, just smiled slightly, and left the kitchen.

            “So, that’s your sister or something?” Alfie asked.

            “Yeah. It’s just been the two of us since our parents died. She took care of me for so long so I guess I’m trying to return the favor.” Ira admitted.

            He nodded. “Good, that’s good. Right thing to do.” He agreed, gaining a bit more respect for the young man he didn’t know very well. “You have a gun?”

            “No, sir.”

            “Right, I’ll get you one and bring you it tomorrow. Drop by around dinner time tomorrow.”

            “Oh, you could just give it to me at work tomorrow.” Ira pointed out.

            “No, ain’t got time to do it tomorrow.” Alfie stood up. “Bring it here later.” Of course, he had time to give a gun to him at work. But he needed an excuse to return to see Leora.

 ~~~~~~~~

            He did, and he continued to think of excuses, a credit to his wits. But it seemed like the only person who noticed, was Leora. Ira was just glad Alfie was trusting him so didn’t take offense to Alfie dropping by for seemingly no good reason.

            But much to Alfie’s surprise, Leora, didn’t seem to mind. Every time he came around, she made her and Ira tea then left. She never said much. Even when Alfie began to include her in conversation. She gave very brief answers but didn’t seem to be offended. She often gave him a small smile whenever he addressed her. Especially if he called her ‘love’.

                Around Alfie’s fifth visit, Ira had yet to return home from the butcher. Alfie wasn’t sure if Leora practiced yichud law, meaning they couldn’t be alone together because they were unrelated and of the opposite sex.

            But Leora let him in. “Leave the door unlocked.” She requested in her usually quiet tone.

            “Sure.” Alfie knew the various loopholes to yichud law, including an unlocked door. “Ira’ll be back soon I'm assuming?”

            “He should be. Can I make you something while you wait?”

            “Sure, love, tea’s fine.” Alfie followed her into the kitchen. “How’s everything going with you?”

            “Very nice, thank you.” She answered in her usual, polite but brief manner.

            He sat down and gave her an amused look. “You don’t say much, do you?”

            She laughed softly. “I’m sorry.”

            “No need to apologize. Some people are just like that. Some people tell me that I can’t shut me mouth sometimes.” He grinned. "Call me a nuisance." 

            “Well, some people are just like that.” She echoed him and set down a teacup in front of him.

            “There anything you like to talk about?” He wondered, trying to get past her shy barrier.

            She sheepishly shrugged. “I don’t know, nothing too interesting.”

            “Bollocks, you know that’s not true. Everyone’s got interests. Books? Going to the pictures?”

            She giggled and shrugged again. “I enjoy going to the museum.” She finally disclosed. “I’m not much of an artist but I can appreciate it.”

            It seemed to suit Leora. He could picture her roaming the large halls of a museum, a small figure amongst the large canvases.

            “Erm…can I take you to the National Gallery?” The question sprung from Alfie, and it even surprised him.

            Leora’s eyes widened. She had noticed Alfie taking a liking to her. And she felt the same way. But she wasn’t sure it would ever amount to anything. She thought she would be too shy to say anything and he never seemed like the man who enjoyed being in a relationship. “I-I don’t know.”

            “Sorry, it was forward of me to ask.” Alfie hid his wince from her.

            “I suppose…I suppose we could. Maybe on a rainy day, when you’re not busy.”

            “So, you would?”

            “I think that would be nice.” It was probably the most daring thing Leora had ever done in her life. But it strangely felt right.

            The front door opened and Ira came in. “Sorry, Mr. Solomons, I know I’m late.”

            “S’alright, mate, everything’s alright.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

            One rainy Sunday, Alfie pardoned himself from work without any reason. Ollie asked but was kindly told to mind his own fucking business. He drove to pick Leora up so they wouldn’t have to walk in the rain to the National Gallery.

            Alfie held the umbrella above them both as they walked into the gallery. Leora didn’t say much but she seemed very pleased to be going to the museum.        

            “We can go wherever you want first,” Alfie said as he shook the umbrella out once they were inside.

            “Oh, okay.” Leora smiled shyly. “Well, I suppose I could show you one of my favorite pieces.”

            “Lead the way.”

                       The large canvas appeared to only be a painting of a port. An ancient port, upon further inspection. But Leora let him stand in silence, viewing the piece before she offered any explanation.

            Alfie wasn’t completely baffled by art. He could understand high culture and liked to think he was learned. But sometimes he wasn’t sure what he was looking for if no one pointed it out to him.

            “So, what am I looking at?” He peered at the little information plaque.

            The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba

            Claude Lorrain

            “This shows the Queen of Sheba leaving to visit King Solomon,” Leora answered. “From the Book of Kings.”

            “Oh, right. That’s right.” He could vaguely remember the story.

            “There she is, waiting for the ship.” She pointed out the small figure among the large landscape.

            Alfie tilted forward a bit. “Oh yeah, can see her now. Sorta gets lost, don’t she? Lot going on.”

            “That’s why I like the piece so much. I see something new every time I see it.”

            “What’s your favorite part of it?” Alfie wondered, almost too overwhelmed with all the detail to pick out anything.

            “Up there.” Leora had an immediate answer. “Above the queen, the statues on the building. They seem to be seeing her off.”

            “Huh, yeah.” Alfie found what she was talking about on the right side of the painting. “They’re looking with the people up there.”

            “It’s a nice little detail.”

            Alfie glanced over at her. Seeing her looking at the painting was like seeing someone watching the sunset. There was a fond familiarity, but also adoration of its beauty. “So, I hope I haven’t been intruding on your house.”

            “It’s okay. I know you’ve been talking to Ira often.”

            “Initially, yeah, but I dunno.” Alfie rubbed the back of his neck. “Call it foolish but I just wanted to see you.” He admitted. It felt like a sacred place for her, a place where he couldn’t lie to her.

            “Was there any reason?” Leora didn’t even pretend to be surprised.

            “Call it a sense. You just seemed,” He waved a hand about to try and find the words. “A good contrast to me. That’s what people look for, ain’t it?”

            “I suppose.” She smiled.

            “Opposites attract.”

            “They seem to. I was worried about you at first.” It was the first impression she ever divulged to him. The first opinion. “I’d heard about you.”

            “I’m sure.” He couldn’t deny the stories people told about him. Whether they were true or not, it didn’t matter.

            “But I saw for myself who you are.”

            Alfie was surprised that she saw something different in him. Maybe she was mistaken? “I ain’t good.”

            Leora nodded. “Most people aren’t. But most people don’t admit that they aren’t.”

            “So that changes your view of me?” He asked doubtfully.

            “Do you not see any good in you?” She inquired.

            He pondered the question for a moment, looking at her like she was a painting that held so many different little details. “I see some good when I see you.”

            “That’s all that matters to me.” She stepped closer to him and lightly touched his chest. “So you can kiss me now if you’d like.”

            God, Alfie couldn’t resist. He tilted his head to press his lips to hers, completely losing all sense of the art gallery around them. They didn’t need to communicate with many words. And that felt fine to them.

[mars-incorrect-quotes]

Kan: I don't chew spaghetti noodles or any noodles like spaghetti or angel hair, mashed potatoes, or ice cream.

Dawn: Chew your mashed potatoes.

Leora: Chew your fucking food.

Dom: Not chewing mashed potatoes is normal though, same with icecream.

Arave: Okay then choke.

Dom: Mashed potatoes is just mush.

Arave: And that means you don't chew them?

Dom: Slurp!

Arave: What.

[A few minutes of arguing later]

Arave: I can at least understand not chewing icecream.

Arave: Because sometimes it's so cold it hurts your teeth.

Dawn: Icecream is cold mashed potatoes

Dom: Icecream is cold mashed potatoes.

Arave: YOU DONT JUST SLURP MASHED POTATOES AS IF THEY ARE JUST LIQUID.

Dom: BUT THEY ARE!

Arave: No! They aren't!

Dom: Yes! They are!

Arave: DO YOU DRINK SOLID ICE CREAM??

Dom: ICE CREAM IS FROZEN. MASHED POTATOES ARE NOT.

Dawn: You lost that argument Arave, and no one here will be on your side.

Arave: No.

Arave: No I refuse to admit that I 'lost'.

Arave: Because 'losing' means that im in the wrong.

Volute: Food Discourse.

Arave: At least its not as bad as breakfast discourse.

[A few days later during breakfast]

Dom: What was the breakfast argument you guys mentioned?

Leora: Dom, no.

Arave: Milk does not belong in cereal. That's the argument.

Dom: Oh.

Kan: I don't use milk.

Kan: I use finger.

Dawn:

Leora:

Dom:

Arave:

Volute:

Leora: What?

Dom: What.

Dawn: Excuse me??

Dawn: Finger???

Leora: Forget literally everything. What the fuck is Kan talking about??

Kan: I take the cereal between my finger.

Kan: And I eat.

Arave:

Arave: At least you don't use milk and get the cereal all soggy and awful.

Kan: What if I do and use my fingers?

Arave: Then I'll kill you because then you contaminated the milk with your gross fingers.

Dom: I milk up my cereal so I have a tasty soup for when I'm done.

[More arguing ensues]

Dom: Arave.

Dom: Arave listen to me.

Dom: Shut the fuck up.

[illnesssecretsanta]

for the ever-lovely @taylor-tut aaaaaaaaa i was so happy to be your secret santa omg i love your blog!! and im really interested in these characters now. I hope that i did them any justice at all, because i didn't have a whole lot about them and their interactions to go on?? and also its not all that long so im sorry but i still hope its alright? so i hope that they are as wonderful as im sure you write them. enjoy lovely!!!!

Kari didn’t get sick often. And when she did, it was usually just an easy, minor cold or something. But this? This was some bullshit. Bull. Shit.

She’d woken up yesterday feeling a little yucky. No, no, that was too serious. A little… under the weather. But even that was a stretch. A little off. Just a bit. She had had a headache and was parched when she’d woken up after one, two, three and a half hours of sleep for about the sixth night in a row. She’d been busy, okay? The grind never stops, you know. And, of course, she knew it wasn’t good for her. But she had stuff to do! So she’d gotten a glass of water for her parched throat and closed her eyes for a moment before going on with her day. The headache persisted, but so did she.

Then, she’d woken up the next morning -this morning- and BLAM, more than a bit off. She’d thrown her blankets off in the middle of the night apparently; she vaguely remembered that it had been scorching hot. But now she was shivering like crazy. Despite how hot she’d been last night, she was freezing now.

She sat up in bed and felt her shirt cling to her back. Her thick, dark hair was clumped against the back of her neck. She ran her hands through it and could feel how drenched in sweat it was. All of her was. She groaned and reluctantly -hoping against hope that she wouldn’t be disappointed- touched the back of her shaky hand to her forehead. It was hot. Too hot. She was disappointed.

She groaned again and swung her legs out of bed. With as useless as she normally was, she couldn’t afford to lay in bed all day, out of commission. She had things to do. For one thing, she had to go out but some food (it was her day to buy the week’s supply) and meet then Ruby back at the small cottage in which they were staying to talk about where they were going next. They’d been travellling for a while. A glance at her pocketwatch told her it was 7:12. She had to get moving.

But standing up was a bad choice. Big mistake. The world spun around her at the same time a searing pain shot through her skull. She cried out in pain and yanked her hands to grasp her head. The sharp movement knocked her off balance and she sunk to the floor, slamming her knees against the carpet.

She took a deep breath in, shaky and unsure. She sat there for what felt like five minutes, just clutching her head in agony. But after some time, the pain subsided. She blinked heavily and raised her head back up. She had to stand up. She couldn’t just lay here all day; she had things to do. So, grabbing the post of her the bedframe, she hoisted herself back up onto her knees. She couldn’t really see clearly because the whole room was spinning and blurry, but she knew where the door was, and she could make out shapes and colors just fine. Ignoring the pain in her head, she stood up all the way.

Now that she was standing, she was sure that she was ready. She’d fallen asleep in her pirate jacket, so she was already dressed. Her hair was a mess around her shoulders, but she figured it was no big deal. So she took a step and headed towards the door. If she’d thought she was having trouble before, she was in for a most unpleasant surprise with that first step. Her legs might as well have had a mind of their own, because they did not obey. No, in fact, instead of planting onto the floor to walk, they buckled and then loosened and she crumpled to the floor again.

Tears were already prickling the back of her eyes. Yeah, there was no way she’d be able to make it out of her room, down the stairs, through the woods, and into town in order to buy food at the market, and then make it back, and certainly not in time to meet with Ruby at 8;30 like they’d discussed. She took shallow breaths, focusing on what she should do. It was her turn to buy the food. And Ruby had told her two days ago that they needed a private conversation to talk about their rnext move. Saving the universe requires planning, you know. But how could they save anything if she was like this on the floor? They couldn’t. That’s why she had to get up. She had to get up and find Ruby. She had to-… Fuck, she couldn’t even think, her head hurt so badly. She thought she felt a tear slide out through her squeezed-shut eye, but she couldn’t really tell. Basically, every feeling she could feel was blocked out by how terrible she felt right now, by how badly her head hurt, by how clammy and suffocated she felt laying in a ball on the floor. She just knew she had to go out and find Ruby. She had to find Ruby. That’s all she could think about.

“Ruby,” she slurred, but nobody was even there to hear it, of course. She repeated this sad slur with a sore throat and tears quietly sliding down her flushed cheeks for as long as she could. She couldn’t tell how long it was. She just knew it hurt her throat. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear someone calling her name.

“Kari,” they said, a hundred miles away. “Kari, oh my god, Kari?”

“Ruby?” she said weakly again.

“Kari! Can you hear me?”

She only croaked out, “Ruby?” And then she heard nothing and felt nothing.

Kari woke up many long hours later in a room that was not hers. There was something on her head, something heavy and cold and wet. She began to reach up for it but-

“Don’t move.”

Kari groaned and pried her eyes open. The blinds were drawn, but the amount of light in the room still sent a pulse of pain through her head. Slowly looking around the room, she saw Ruby in a wooden chair by the side of her bed.

“Ruby?”

Her arms were crossed and her eyes were steely. Her jaw was clenched tight.

“So, when were you planning on telling me that you were sick?” Ruby asked. Her voice was cold.

“Ruby?” Kari asked again. It was about the only thing she could think of right now.

Ruby pressed her lips together, the frustration obvious. “Yes, it’s me.”

“The food,” Kari said, the memory coming back to her. It was half a question, and half an apology.

“I had Leora get it.”

“Ruby, I’m-”

“Don’t,” hissed Ruby. “How long have you been sick?”

“Sick?” Kari croaked.

“Sick,” Ruby repeated slowly. “Your temperature was 104.7 when I found you. So, how long?”

“I… don’t know,” Kari admitted. “I, uh, felt kinda weird yesterday.” She looked around, now noticing it was dark in the room. A candle was lit in the corner, but that was about the only light in the room. “Wait, what day is it?”

“Oh, you’ve been asleep for about 20 hours, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Yes,” Kari said slowly. 20 hours? How was that even possible? “I haven’t really been getting much sleep recently.”

Ruby frowned. “Apparently not.”

Kari seemed to miss any frsutration in Ruby’s voice at all. “So, wait, what happened?”

Ruby raised her eyebrows. “You don’t remember?”

“Not a whole lot. It’s fuzzy.”

“Uh huh,” Ruby said. “Well, I found you on the floor of your room after you didn’t show up to mine by 9. I asked the innkeeper if she’d seen you leave, but she said she hadn’t seen anyone leave since last night. I asked Leora if she’d talked to you since the night before, but she said no. So I went to your room to check if mabye you were still alseep.”

Kari gulped. “I was-”

“On the floor, crying and whimpering and not even half conscious.” She uncrossed her arms and sat forward, grabbing the thing on Kari’s forehead. Kari could now tell that it was a washcloth. Ruby flipped it over and replaced it on Kari’s head, a new wave of cool water easing a slight pain Kari hadn’t noticed was there. “I was calling your name for a good three minutes before you even said anything. You just… wouldn’t wake up. You weren’t bleeding or anything, you were just… laying. You finally answered. You said my name. But I could barely even hear it. Then I touched you and flipped you over, and you were cooking in that thing.” She nodded towards the foot of the bed, where Kari’s pirate coat was now laying.

“Oh,” Kari said. She hadn’t even realized she wasn’t wearing it.

“And once you said my name that once, you were out for real. Deadweight. So I brought you over here, took your temperature, and then tried to do what I could. I’ve been replacing your washcloth pretty often, but I couldn’t do much for the fever snice you were still asleep.”

“I was calling your name for a while, I think,” Kari said.

“You were?”

Kari blinked.

“For how long?”

“I don’t know. Since I was on the floor.”

“Oh,” is all that Ruby said. She didn’t know that Kari had been there for so long.

There was a long pause. Kari was almost entirely asleep again before Ruby spoke.

“Okay. I’m gonna go bring you some food. I have some tea for you, but I don’t want you to sit up just yet, so just stay there. I’ll be right back.”

Kari nodded slowly, sleepily. She watched Ruby leave the room and close the door behind her. Then she watyched the flame of the candle dance until her eyelids slipped shut again.

[runfromthemedic]

Star of the Circus

Chapter 4

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A couple of times in your life, it happens like that. You meet a stranger, and all you know is that you need to know everything about them.

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It was almost a relief to have Nana forcefully usher her into another bath not five minutes after she entered the house. It had been a long time since she’d realized how much of a luxury being clean was.

The woman was still going on about how horrible it was that the movers lost all of her clothes and shoes, but Leora guessed it was better than her getting suspicious and calling child services.

After putting on another pair of Tsuna’s clothes she was herded downstairs and seated at the kitchen table. Tsuna looked torn between sitting down himself or staying standing next to her while his mother bandaged her cut up feet.

Nana solved the problem for him.

“Tsu-kun, go wash your hands. Dinner’s ready.” Not looking very happy about it, Tsuna left to do as he was bid.

Securing the last of the wrappings with tape, Nana started packing up the first aid kit.

“All done Leora-chan! They don’t hurt do they?”

Leora flexed her wrapped feet and wiggled her band-aid covered toes. Yes, yes they did.

“I’m fine, Nana-san.” Standing, Leora bowed low in front of the housewife. “Thank you again, Nana-san. I haven’t been a very good guest so far, and I’m really sorry for it.”

Nana just waved it off.

“Aren’t you so polite!” she squealed, “It’s been no trouble at all Leora-chan. I’m happy to have you over. I’m sure Tsu-kun is too. He’s been going to the park every day since you left trying to find you again.”

“MAMA!”

Tsuna was red-faced as he ran back into the kitchen, screeching while his mother continued to tease him about how much he missed his friend.

Leora wasn’t sure what to feel about that.

From a certain perspective, she agreed with Nana. Following someone around in a socially awkward attempt to make a friend was adorable. But she was pretty sure that what he was doing was a precursor to stalking.

“I can come by more often, if you want?” she offered hesitantly, interrupting another of Nana’s tirades. She didn’t really want to, but she also didn’t need Tsuna developing stalking tendencies when it came to her. Maybe coming over every now and again would make it stop? Nana just beamed another smile that brought flowers into existence, like it would be ridiculous that she wouldn’t before shoeing the two of them towards the table.

Grateful for a reason to get off her feet, Leora complied. Tsuna shuffled into the seat next to hers.

And then there was food. A lot of food.

Neither Tsuna nor Nana seemed to think that anything was wrong with the heaped up platters in front of them, so that probably meant that this was a normal amount for the Sawada household.

Leora gave her own plate a dubious look. Nana had taken it upon herself to portion things out for her, and she hadn’t been stingy.

…She wasn’t going to be able to eat all of that. Even if she was hungry and back to adult size she wouldn’t be able to eat all of that.

How was it that Tsuna never got fat?

“How does it taste Leora-chan?” Snapping out of her thoughts Leora hastily shoved some kind of vegetable in her mouth. It didn’t have the ash taste that the burger had, it actually tasted great, the idea of eating just wasn’t as appealing as it was a few days ago.

Dutifully she swallowed. “It’s delicious.”

Then she set to work picking her way through her plate with a single minded determinedness that seemed to please Nana for some reason.

She didn’t even get a fourth of the way through her plate before she put her chopsticks down.

There was nothing wrong with the food, she hadn’t been lying when she said it was delicious, but the not being hungry despite hardly any food was really bothering her. Realizing she couldn’t tell if she was full or not wasn’t helping things.

She’d just eaten a decent amount of food after very little for an extended period of time and she didn’t feel full. She didn’t even feel satisfied, just a bit nauseous.

Apparently as far as her body was concerned, she wasn’t hungry and she didn’t need to tell if she was full or not.

Weird anime world or not, this was not a good thing.

Did something in her break when she fell through the tent? No, she’d still been hungry after waking up under the bridge and she felt full after dumpster diving behind Takesushi. So something must’ve broken during her run-away-freak-out.

Fuck.

Things just kept getting better and better.

She was already forgetting to eat if the apple scenario from earlier was anything to go by. If she wasn’t careful she could end up starving herself to death.

Double fuck.

Damnit, she was going to make visiting the Sawada house a regular thing wasn’t she? At least that way she was sure Nana wouldn’t let her leave without something to snack on.

“Aren’t you still hungry Leora-chan?” Jerking out of her progressively hysterical thoughts Leora pasted what felt like a completely fake smile on her face.

“I’m full.” Nana frowned.

“You hardly ate anything dear. Are you sure?”

No, not really she thought. “I don’t eat much.”

“But you’re a growing girl! How are you going to get big and strong if you don’t eat?”

Lady I top out at one hundred sixty two centimeters with a build like a colt. ‘Big’ is not a word anyone has ever used to describe me.

“Sorry, Nana-san. I’m just not hungry anymore.”

“Well, alright. If you’re sure you’re full.” Nana gave her another concerned look before it was replaced by a smile. “Tsu-kun is almost done too. Maybe you two can play after dinner?”

Tsuna promptly started choking on a mouthful of rice. Pounding his back, Leora resigned herself to something like this happening every time she came over. This was twice now and she didn’t see stopping in the near future. Tsuna was to easily embarrassed.

It took a few more minutes for him to stop choking, and another ten for him to actually finish eating, before Nana decided that they were done and should head up to Tsuna’s room.

Leora offered to help with the dishes but was easily dismissed with another squealed ‘You’re so polite!’. Which left her and Tsuna standing awkwardly in the living room.

“W-we can go to m-my room, if you want.” Tsuna offered, shoving his hands in his pockets for lack of anything to do with them. “I have some g-games we can play.”

Really, this kid was adorable. Why his whole school seemed to hate him in canon was beyond her. The women at the circus would’ve been cooing over him the minute they laid eyes on him.

Falling into another bow, Leora flashed him a small grin over the brim of the invisible hat she just swept off her head.

“Lead the way Tsuna-san.” Tsuna blushed, but happily lead her up the stairs. Leora not so happily followed.

Now that she didn’t have to ignore her feet to keep moving, she was paying a lot more attention to how much they hurt. She made it about half way up before decided screw it all and bent forward until she was doing a handstand on the step in front of her. Taking a moment to ensure she had her balance, Leora proceeded up the stairs the rest of the way on her hands.

She nearly tumbled back down when Tsuna screeched.

“Why are you screeching?” she demanded once she caught her balance, tilting her head to glare at the gaping boy.

“H-how are, w-why?”

“Look, my feet hurt. Walking on my hands is easier anyway.” Taking a deep breath to scrounge up some patience, Leora gave Tsuna another look. “Can we go to your room now so I can sit down?”

“S-sure.”

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Tsuna felt like banging his head on a wall.

He’d finally found Leora again after she ran away a few days ago and managed to convince her to come over to his house again. This was his chance to get her to be his friend.

He wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

So far he’d managed to run her over again, make her fall when he’d tripped rushing them to the kitchen, and nearly sent her tumbling down the stairs because he shrieked like a baby when he’d seem her walking on her hands.

It had scared him to turn around and see a pair of feet where a head was supposed to be.

So he shut his mouth and lead them the rest of the way to his room, Leora walking on her hands just as easily as she could walk on her feet.

He honestly thought it was really cool that she could do that. Tsuna couldn’t even do a cartwheel without falling on his head.

Finally getting to his room – he’d kept it clean in case he’d be able to get her to come over again, and mama had been really happy he was picking up after himself now – he watched as Leora’s legs fell into a sideways split that had him wincing just looking at before crossing themselves behind the arms holding her up. Then she kind of just…sunk to the ground. He thought that was the right term anyway. It was all very smooth and graceful, like she’d been doing it for a long time.

If Tsuna tried that he’d break something.

Snapping out of it, he scrambled to get out the games he had. One or two board games and the video games that mama had gotten him for his birthday last year. He had hoped that she would choose the video games, so that he could show her he was good at something, but she didn’t do more than glance at them before looking at the board games. Tsuna tried very hard not to droop in disappointment.

“Y-you don’t like video games?” he slapped a hand over his mouth. Why had he said that? This was going to ruin everything.

He blamed the warm feeling in his chest. It’d come back almost immediately after he ran her over, and it made him want to relax, like he could be completely comfortable around Leora. But they weren’t friends yet so he couldn’t do that at all.

“I never played them before. My family never had one.” Leora said matter-of-factly, breaking through his thoughts. “Do you want to play one? You’ll have to show me how.”

Tsuna brightened immediately, hurrying to set up his Legend of Zelda game. He could show her he was good at something!

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Turns out Leora wasn’t good at video games. At all.

Tsuna had showed her which buttons did what, and how to pull off combo moves, but Leora just didn’t seem to get the hang of it. She’d end up staring at the controller instead of the screen and end up dying.

It was kind of funny.

Leora would get so frustrated when her Link character would die or when he wouldn’t do what she wanted she would glare at the screen, or the controller, or him when he caught her laughing at her, however silently.

She also started mumbling something under her breath in a language he couldn’t understand. Probably Italian. She did say her family was from there. After the forty fifth time her avatar died she gave up, throwing the controller away in disgust and hiding her face in the pillow she’d been holding in her lap.

“Video games suck.” He heard her whining, and Tsuna’s laughter wasn’t silent anymore.

Leora threw her pillow at him.

“Laugh all you want. I’m choosing the next game and then I will have my revenge for this embarrassment Sawada.” She threatened, shaking her fist at him. He would’ve taken her seriously if it wasn’t for the slight twitch of her lips.

He noticed that his friend – hopefully? – didn’t really have a lot of facial expressions. It felt like she was wearing a mask, and something would slip out occasionally. Tsuna thought that meant she was starting to open up to him a bit.

Leora ended up choosing the deck of cards he’d thrown into the pile of games as more of an afterthought than an actual desire to use them. Apparently, if he was going to teach her something new, she was going to return the favor.

So he was learning how to play poker.

Tsuna was pretty sure gambling was bad, but Leora insisted that knowing how to play poker was important skill to have for when you’re older. She said it was something the people in her family would do at least once a month and it was a great way to have a social get together. And a good way to make some extra money. The grin she had when she said the last part reminded him a bit of Hibari-san, enough to make him shiver.

Tsuna didn’t have any money, but that didn’t seem to matter to Leora. They were using the cookies that mama had dropped off during their third video game attempt as chips.

He panicked at bit when she explained that the game had a lot to do with keeping track of numbers, he was really bad at math, but she didn’t get mad when he lost track of things or didn’t understand the rules. She would just calmly explain it again until it made more sense.

Tsuna was really proud when he was able to correctly guess how many kings were left in the deck. Even if it only happened once.

“You’re getting really good at this, Tsuna-san.” Leora praised as they both revealed their hands, a straight flush for her and two pair for him, and she scooped up the small stack of cookies to her side of the table. “If you keep practicing this, you’ll be cleaning me out in no time.”

Tsuna beamed at the praise, feeling more happy and relaxed than he had in a long time. Leora blinked at him, then rubbed her eyes a bit, mumbling something about genetics and then going off in more Italian.

Pushing all the cookies that she’d won back into the middle of the table, she had about fourteen of the twenty four his mama had brought up, she stretched making her back pop.

“It’s getting late. I should head home now.”

…And the relaxed feeling was gone.

“W-wouldn’t it be safer to stay the night?” he asked timidly, not wanting her to go when he was having so much more fun than he’d had in as long as he could remember. “It’s already d-dark.”

“Probably. But I literally just moved in today, so I need to head back.” Standing up Leora winced when she put her full weight on her feet.

“What about your f-feet? You don’t have s-shoes.” Tsuna desperately tried to reason, scrambling to his own feet. Leora’s usually composed face turned sheepish.

“Do you think I can borrow a pair of yours?” she asked hesitantly, running her fingers through her hair and scowling when they got caught in knots.

Tsuna really wanted to say no, the only excuse he had to make her stay, but she’d probably just walk down the street on her hands if she had to so he reluctantly handed over a pair of his flip flops. They were a little big on her.

“Thanks.” She said after a moment of testing the fit. “Are you free tomorrow? I do need to get a pair of my own, and I don’t know where the store is. Are you willing to play tour guide?”

“Sure!” he blurted out, calming down some when he realized she wasn’t going to disappear again. Her mask cracked again, showing a small smile. It wasn’t a mean or mocking smile, not like the kids at school gave him. She looked genuinely happy that he agreed to show her around. It was a little hard to wrap his head around.

Leora went down the stairs on her hands again, Tsuna not far behind being extra careful not to trip. That warm little flickering feeling made it easier to balance, but it was still really small and couldn’t really do more than warm the center of his chest so it took him a lot longer to get down than it did for her.

Mama was already in the kitchen, moving around and putting things in a laundry basket that Leora was holding…cleaning supplies? Why would Leora need cleaning supplies? Seeing his confused look her face turned embaressed.

“The apartment I moved into is really dirty. Nana-san’s letting me borrow some things to clean it up until I can get my own.”

Well, that made more sense, mama really liked Leora and was happy to help her, but why did Leora have to get the cleaning supplies? Wouldn’t it be her parent’s job to get stuff like that? They’d only just moved to Namimori so they wouldn’t know where the shops were. That was why she asked him to take her shopping tomorrow. Why would they send their daughter out alone in an unfamiliar area?

“Thank you again, Nana-san. I’ll return it as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry about it Leora-chan.” Mama assured, patting Leora on the head. Leora’s face didn’t so much as twitch, but Tsuna could tell she didn’t like that. “I need to go shopping soon anyway. Just keep it.”

Leora still didn’t look happy but she bowed again before heading for the door, Tsuna only a few steps behind her.

“What t-time do you want to go t-tomorrow?”

“It’s more up to you isn’t it?” Leora shot back, one eyebrow raised. Tsuna blushed.

“We c-can go in the morning.” Leora thought it over, then nodded.

“I can come by around eight. Is that alright?”

Eight. Could Tsuna wake up that early? He was always waking up late for school so probably not. He was going to have to get mama to help him. And set his alarm clock. And maybe borrow his mama’s alarm clock.

“S-sounds good.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Leora gave him another small smile, and then she was gone, the door closing with a quiet click behind her.

Tsuna stared at it for a solid thirty seconds before he realized he probably should have offered to walk her home and he had probably been really rude. Scrambling to put his shoes on, he stumbled out the door after her, tripping just as he made it out of the gate.

Leora was already out of sight.

Drooping dejectedly, Tsuna trudged back inside and up to his room to set his alarm clock. He’d apologize for being rude tomorrow.