#HI BURGER. THIS MADE ME STAND UP AND SIT IN A CORNER FOR A GOOD 5 MIN

[puppyeared]

Macaque and Sun wukong kissing when 💋 (also hi it’s me burger)

erm

[aoioozora]

The Ghosts Comfort You

Part 1: Thomas Merrick

Part 2: Logan Walker Part 3: Keegan P. Russ Part 4: David 'Hesh' Walker

Merrick feels like the type of guy who is big and scary but is actually quite a softie. If he had to comfort someone, he'd definitely do so mostly through acts of service and giving little tidbits of advice and wisdom to keep things in perspective

Let me explain,

He knows you're a hardy woman, he's never seen you cry and it seemed like nothing could ever make you cry given how naturally volatile women's mood swings could get sometimes. But you seemed just fine, handled every loss, failure, and tragedy with alarming-- almost abnormal-- stoicism. You'd not even wince at your period cramps either. You'd bottle up and keep a level head on your shoulders because that's what a good soldier would do: not get run with their feelings.

But that didn't mean your pot of brewing emotions never overflowed.

Merrick stumbles upon you hidden in an obscure corner on the base nearby some dumpsters, sobbing to yourself silently, leaned against the wall and all curled up in a ball.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" he blurts, nearly dropping the cigarette that is between his fingers. He couldn't imagine such a respectable young woman sitting on the ground in this dingy place.

You flinch; his surprise only increases because he's never seen you flinch, not even at the threat of being struck by an enemy. When you raise your head and you're all glossy-eyed, snot-nosed, and sobbing, his surprise continues to increase. He hasn't seen you look so vulnerable either.

"You're crying," he states, eyes wide. This was like seeing a cow jump over the moon to him.

"I'm not crying," you insist, swiping away the tears and your snot with a handkerchief, trying to keep your voice from cracking.

Merrick ain't stupid or blind, but he doesn't argue with you. He stands there awkwardly for a moment, taking in the rare sight and shifting on his feet as he exhales out the smoke, thinking of what to do. He takes a tentative step towards you.

"This place is too smelly to cry, don't you think?" he begins, flicking his chin towards the dumpsters not too far from both of you, filling the air with the stench of rotting food.

You sniff, not answering him.

"Get up," he commands, offering a hand, "I know a better place."

You look up at him, and when he sees how the tears have stained your flushed cheeks, he almost feels a twinge of pity for you. He feels a surge of protectiveness for his fellow teammate, near ready to beat up and confront anyone or anything that made you sink to this pitiable state. You take his hand and he pulls you up to your feet. Seeing that your eyes are averted and your head bowed-- an obvious sign of not wanting to be seen looking so disheveled in public-- he takes off his baseball hat and puts it on your head.

"C'mon, follow me."

You dust yourself and adjust the hat on your head, pulling it low over your face as you jog to catch up with his stride. He eventually leads you to his car and motions you to get in.

"Where are we going?" you ask.

"You'll see," he says as he gets in the seat with a grunt. "Seatbelt," he orders as soon as he straps his on and starts the car.

You obey. He drives for a while in utter silence, blowing his cigarette smoke out of the open window. Your sniffles accentuate the hum of the engine, but he's focused on the road. He soon stops at a drive-thru and orders two burgers, a 10 piece chicken nuggets, two drinks, and two cheesecake slices.

"Here, hold these for me," he pushes the takeout to you after paying for it and resumes driving.

What on earth is he even planning anyway? You can't stop yourself from wondering as you watch the evening sunlight filtering through the trees. When you look properly, you see that he is taking you up a hill.

"Are we going for a picnic?" you ask.

He doesn't answer.

You sit back, sighing. If he's going to be vague, then so be it.

After a few minutes of silence, he says, "Close your eyes."

Having built enough trust in him from working by his side, you immediately do so. The next few seconds pass and the car slows down to a halt. Even through your closed eyelids, faint light filtered through, and you could tell that you were in a bright spot.

"Open your eyes and look out the window."

You obey. Right before you was the stunning landscape of the sunset-bathed valley with its beams of golden light filtering through the puffy white clouds. The valley and distant hills is lush with verdure, the birds flit about and chirp as they play, and the sky is painted a soft gradient of orange, pink, and purple. The sight looks like a painting and it takes your breath away as you stare at every last detail.

The corner of Merrick's lip quirks upwards slightly, pleased by your reaction. He turns the car around so that the trunk is facing the gorgeous scenery.

"Come, get the takeout," he instructs, getting out of the car and extinguishing the cigarette on the soil. Shaking it off once, he pockets it to throw away later. You follow him out and watch him sit on the trunk, which you also do.

"So we are having a picnic," you say, smiling a bit as you kept the takeout in between you and him.

"Yeah, so eat up." he digs his large hand into the paper bag and fishes out the burger and already starts to eat it.

Both of you eat in silence for a few moments until Merrick asks, "So, tell me why you were crying. I've never seen you cry about anything."

You shrug. "Just... stuff," you say, voice trailing off at the end as you nibble the burger.

"Bad enough to make you want to hide in a dumpster?" He takes a long sip of his drink.

"Yeah."

"You don't wanna talk about it?"

Your lips twist slightly. Being caught crying was embarrassing enough, and being asked to open up was even worse. "Honestly, no." you admit, despite feeling a tug in your heart telling you to vent to him.

He gives you one long look and then turns back to the scenery. "It won't do you any good to keep it to yourself, you know."

You are silent, feeling the tug grow stronger. Of course you know it, but it is just second nature to you to bottle it up. He knows it too. He's just like you.

"We're all a team," he continues, "Remember that nobody fights alone, and neither do you."

You nod silently, taking another nibble of your burger.

He looks at you again, a flicker of worry in his eyes. "Today was the first time I saw you cry and... I don't think I like it," he admits, suddenly feeling a little awkward for opening himself up, but he stifles that awkwardness just for your sake, "I don't like seeing you cry."

Those words were enough to break you down again. A sob escapes your lips, and Merrick feels an even stronger twinge. He pulls away your half-eaten burger, wraps it up in the paper, and keeps it aside, also pushing away the takeout bag behind him.

He sits closer to you. "Talk to me," he says gently, as a father would to his child.

At those words, you pour out your heart to him and he listens to you as you sob and weep. He rubs your back gently to encourage and support you. You talked of a problem that seemed so large, overwhelming, and insurmountable, and he shared his thoughts with you. At a pause in the discussion, he directs you to look at the landscape.

"You see those mountains over there?" he asks, motioning to the shadowed peaks against the gentle saffron tinted sky.

"Yeah," you croak.

"When you're right in front of them, they're massive. But when you're sitting here miles away, they seem so small," he paused, "Any problem that you have now that seems so big will eventually appear small and tiny as you go farther away, as more time passes.

"What hurts like a bitch now will just be like a mosquito bite in future," he continues, rubbing your back. "And even if it does hurt like a bitch later on," he pauses, shaking his head slightly, "just go to fuckin' therapy."

It gets a snort out of you, and he blinks in surprise at your reaction. He meant it to be serious and didn't expect you'd laugh, but that didn't mean he didn't like to see it. He moves his arm to wrap around your shoulder, which he gives a soft, gentle shake.

"That's more like it," he smiles, and it involuntarily makes you smile too. "You'll be alright. You're not alone, okay? You got me, and I'll always be there if you need me," he assures you.

You nod, wiping the last of your tears on your sleeve as you sniffled. He continues to hold you by his side until you calm down. Both of you watch the colours of the sky turn from saffron to pink to purple and finally to deep blue, and see the stars start to twinkle softly over the glittering cities of the valley. You never felt more comforted and at peace.

"Thank you," you tell Merrick, leaning your head against his shoulder.

"Anytime," he answers softly, ruffling your hair, making you smile contentedly. "Oh, also," he leans in to whisper, "Don't tell anyone I've given you special treatment."

You giggle, "Only if you don't tell anyone you saw me cry."

"Deal," he chuckles, shaking his head.

Read Part 2: Logan Walker

Masterlist

[littlelioncub43]

The Balcony Scene

Summary: A long farewell after a date night is nothing new between you and your very dramatic and theatrical boyfriend. Young lovers often find parting is such sweet sorrow.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Gender Neutral!Reader

Warning: FLUFF. FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF. You will need to schedule a dentist appointment after this, established relationship, idiots in love, they recite Shakespeare to each other because they're so in love, Wayne being one of those dads/uncles, kissing, very tame stuff, you'll love it.

Word count: 1.4k

A/N: WELL, WELL, WELL. LOOK WHO'S BACK. Me. It's me. I'm back. I had this thought knocking around in my head for a long, long time and finally was able to get it out and completed in one sitting! Eddie seems like the type to be able to perfectly recite Shakespeare, especially after all the failed English classes— you may not come at me. Anyways! Comment! Reblog! Send an ask! A pigeon! An edible arrangement! Something! Let me know what you guys think! I missed you all hehe

Kisses 💋

—K

A soft song of the Indiana crickets floated through the summer breeze that brushed your skin, the sky was a gentle hue of all encompassing black, and the moon hung neatly in the corner of the heavens. The familiar block of the trailer park was quiet, the sleepy summer night lulled everyone into a trance at this late hour. Your night was divine, picturesque and flawless thanks to Eddie who always seemed to make any day infinitely better. He joked and laughed with you over the burger you shared at the diner, his effortless charm and beaming smile lit up the lamely lit booth you were squished into and sent butterflies fluttering through your entire being— even after all these years, you were still into him. 

Lovesick, is the word. Absolutely lovesick.

And Eddie wasn’t any better. 

The way he was gazing up at you from the bottom of your trailer’s porch, hands gripping the railing to be as close as he could to you without climbing the stairs, standing on his toes so your faces nearly touched while you lean over the railing to meet him halfway. Those puppy dog eyes that twinkled with mischief as a dungeon master, and glazed over with mind-rotting boredom as a student, were now dazzling with adoration as a lover. And damn, was a he a good lover at that. 

“You have to go soon, Wayne said you gotta be back before 3,” you whisper gently to your boyfriend, your hands making no motion to remove themselves from his hair as you cradle his head. 

“Mmhmm,” Eddie hums, clearly not listening to you completely. How could he when the glow of your porch light behind you made you look like an actual angel. You giggle and Eddie grins at the sound. 

“You jerk, you’re not even listening,” you chastise with a smile.

“I totally heard you,” he playfully defends in a soft voice, his eyes scanning your face leisurely. 

“What did I say?” You ask while you twirl a ringlet around your index finger. 

“You said that I should stay right here with you forever because you never want me to leave,” he grins again as you chuckle at his words. 

“Don’t you?” He asks and gives you his gentle pout, something he’s perfected over the years of being together: his eyebrows slightly pinched together and upwards, those button eyes silently pleading with yours, for your love, for your tenderness, for your sympathy. It always works. 

“Of course, I do,” you confess and cradle his face in your palm. Eddie couldn’t keep himself from you if his life depended on it. The collision of your lips sends even more winged things fluttering in your stomach, the soft cushion of his lips moving against yours sensually nearly sucks all the breath from your body then and there. Many minutes are lost in your sweet kisses, so many that by the time you both release each other for air, Eddie knows he’s late for curfew now. 

“Wayne’s gonna be pissed, I forgot to take out the trash,” Eddie breathes out humorously, his nose brushing against yours as he opens his mouth to speak once again, “he’s going to have my ass for not—“

“Enough, sweet Suffolk, thou torment’st thyself,” you press a finger to his kiss swollen lips, his grin grows at your words. 

“You bade me ban, and will you bid me leave?” He recites effortlessly. 

“Oh, look who’s been paying attention in English,” you tease. 

“Well, if you’re forced to read the same stupid plays 3 years in a row, something’s bound to stick,” he jokes before continuing, “Now, by the ground that I am banished from, well could I curse away a winter’s night, though standing naked on a mountain top where biting cold would never let grass grow, and think it but a minute spent in sport.”

“O, let me entreat thee cease! Give me thy hand, that I may dew it with my mournful tears, nor let the rain of heaven wet this place to wash away my woeful monuments” you bring one of Eddie’s large hands to your cheek, letting him brush the apple of it softly before you plant a peck to his palm. 

“O, could this kiss be printed in thy hand, that thou mightst think upon these by the seal, through whom a thousand sighs are breathed for thee!” The porch light across the road flickers to life, a sign from a very tired Wayne for Eddie’s return, but you both ignore it. Eddie watches in rapture as you recite the lines to him, not ready for his short walk home just yet. 

“So, get thee gone, that I may know my grief; tis but surmised whiles thou art standing by, as one that surfeits thinking on a want. I will repeal thee, or, be well assured, adventure to be banish’ed myself; and banish’ed I am, if but from thee,” the sound of the screen door opening breaks your eyes from each other over to Wayne, standing cross armed in his pajamas under the porch light, “Go, speak not to me. Even now be gone!” Eddie steals another kiss just as Wayne clears his throat, his hands gripping yours in earnest. “Embrace and kiss and take ten thousand leaves, loather a hundred times to part than die. Yet now farewell, and farewell life with thee.”

“Thus is poor Suffolk ten times banish’ed, once by the King, and three times thrice by thee. ’Tis not the land I care for, wert thou thence. A wilderness is populous enough, so Suffolk had thy heavenly company— for where thou art, there is the world itself, with every several pleasure in the world; and where thou art not, desolation,” he whispers against your lips, “I can no more. Live thou to joy thy life; myself no joy in naught but that thou liv’st.”

“Eddie!” Wayne calls in a hushed voice, mindful of the sleeping neighbors of the block. You know he’s about 2 minutes from crossing the street to get Eddie himself.

“Get thee hence. The King, thou know’st, is coming,” you giggle and push gently at Eddie’s broad shoulders, “if thou be found by me, thou art but dead.”

“If I depart from thee, I cannot live, and in thy sight to die, what were it else but like a pleasant slumber in thy lap? To die by thee were but to die in jest, from thee to die were torture more than death. O, let me stay, befall what may befall!” His grins when you try to shush his growing voice, your shared giggles making Wayne shake his head with a fond smile. You two were making him sick.

“To France, Sweet Suffolk,” you push at Eddie’s shoulder again, this time he slowly lets himself lower to the ground completely, still gazing up at you from the wild grass as waves of hopeless devotion pour from him. Eddie’s hand holds yours for as long as he can, his fingers gliding across the skin to savor the sensation, your warmth. 

“I go,” he nods, shifting on his feet as he finally begins to tear himself from you.

“And take my heart with thee,” you watch Eddie take a tentative step backwards, towards his waiting uncle, your hands still connected as he takes another step. Your arms reach out, fingers laced together until the distance between you is too great. 

“Alright, love birds, pack it in,” Wayne quietly calls, trying his best to speed up Eddie’s slow walk home. Straightening up, you watch as Eddie crosses the street, his eyes never leaving yours nor his smile ever faltering. When he reaches the middle of the road, he offers you a wave over his shoulder. You giggle and return his gesture, your face burning with a flurry of feelings.

Another fit of giddy giggles overtake you when Eddie nearly trips on the steps of his trailer. He’s quick to recover, taking the stairs two at a time before lingering at the doorway to stare at you a little while longer, his own face flushed with his happiness. Half in and half out, he raises his hand to wave again when a fatherly grip on the collar of his jacket carefully pulls him all the way in, the screen door bouncing against the frame in his absence. With a content sigh, you turn on your heel  and head for indoors, turning to glance at the trailer across the street. There in the corner of the bland building, behind an aged window, you find the boy next door. With wild hair and a sweet smile, he bids you goodnight. 

Comments and reblogs are always welcome and deeply appreciated! 💖🫂

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[avastrasposts]

Snowed In - Javier's version

One for the upcoming winter maybe? Snowed in, forced to stay at a hotel, a one night stand with Javier Peña? Why not?

Warnings: unbridled smut, def 18+, OFC, (no reader this time), one night stand but we stay safe people.

Snowed in 

The hotel was fancier than he would ordinarily stay at, preferring more anonymous motels. But the weather outside was worsening by the minute, the heavy blizzard forcing everyone to stay put, including Javier Peña, even though he needed to fly back to Colombia tomorrow. He'd parked his car in the hotel lot and managed to get one of the last rooms, or so the clerk claimed, clearly overcharging him. 

After leaving his bag in the room (at least he got a nice king size bed and a massive shower for his money), Javier headed up to the hotel’s restaurant on the top floor for some food. The place was full of stranded travelers and he just about managed to get a seat at the corner of the bar, up against one of the large windows overlooking some desperate American town. He ordered a whiskey and a burger, the bartender arriving after a couple of minutes with his drink. 

“Sorry, sir, your burger is going to be a while, the kitchen is swamped tonight,” he apologized and hurried off down the bar to another waiving patron. 

Javier sighed and settled back against the window with his whiskey. He let his eyes wander across the restaurant, solo travelers, some families and a loud bachelorette party in one corner. But across the bar a woman caught his eye. She was looking directly at him as he glanced in her direction, and when their eyes met she smiled at him. Javier raised his glass in a small salute and she mimicked his movement. 

It was hard to tell her age in the dimmed lights of the bar but he guessed that she was in her 30’s, maybe 40’s if she looked good for her age. Her dark hair was up but for a few strands hanging loose around her face. When she looked at him over the edge of her glass, one corner of her mouth curled up in a cheeky smile that made his interest peak. He considered going over to her, but the man standing next to her leaned in and said something to her and she answered, looking away from Javier. 

“Not tonight then,” he mumbled to himself and went back to his whiskey. But he continued to glance over at her, she was the only interesting thing in this bar, and he was amused to see that the other guy didn’t seem to be able to keep her interested. She was looking over at him as often as he was looking at her. He chuckled at the poor guy next to her desperately trying to keep her attention.  

The elderly man, who’d been sitting on the bar stool next to Javier’s, vacated his seat and ambled off towards the exit. Javier looked up at the woman across the bar, watching her say something to the man next to her, making his face fall, and then she turned away from him. With satisfaction, Javier watched as she made her way across the bar towards him. The wraparound dress she was wearing hugged her curves tightly, and he tried his hardest to not stare at her cleavage as every step made her breasts move against the fabric. 

To his surprise she grabbed his hand when she reached him, and pulled him off his seat, making him almost stumble into her. She caught him with a hand on his chest and smiled up at him. He was suddenly aware of how close she was, and she wasn’t stepping away. Her soft body was warm against his shirt and her smile infectious. 

“You’ve been eyeing me all evening, honey,” she said in a low voice, “and I want you to do something about it.” 

“What about the other guy then? Not interesting enough?” he said with a smirk, keeping his voice as low as hers. 

She let her hand on his chest slide in between two buttons, her fingertips caressing him lightly, Javier felt his skin tingle under her soft fingers. She was forward and he liked it. 

“No, he wasn’t doing it for me at all. In fact, just your looks were far more of a turn on than whatever game he was trying.”

“Really now,” Javier chuckled, “I’m flattered.” 

“What’s your name, honey?” she asked. 

“Javi to most people,” he replied, “and what’s yours, cariño?” 

She ignored his question and continued to caress his skin through the opening of his shirt. 

“Most men think I’m too pushy, but I have a feeling you’re just fine with that, Javi,” she smiled up at him. 

“I’m not the one to protest if a beautiful woman wants to flirt with me,” he chuckled. He let his arms wrap around her waist, letting them slide down, cupping her curves with his hands and feeling his way around her soft hips. 

He was still looking down at her, as her lips curled up in a mischievous smile, in the dim light of the bar he could make out a smattering of freckles across her nose and very soft looking lips. They were slightly parted and he caught himself staring at them as she smiled. Her hand left his chest and she trailed her fingers up his neck, caressing the back of it and brushing against his hair. Her fingers curled around him and she pulled his head down, he felt her warm breath in his ear. 

“Let me take you back to my room,” she whispered and he felt his trousers tighten. 

“You’re my kind of woman, cariño’,” he murmured back, and he heard her give a low laugh. 

“I know,” she said, tickling his ear with her breath, pressing her lips against his neck briefly and pulling away. 

She took his hand and led him to the elevator, Javier trailing behind her, burger forgotten.

The restaurant was still full and people were leaving. The two of them squeezed into the elevator and wound up in a corner. Javier found himself pushed up against her, her back against the wall, and as the elevator doors closed he felt her hand slip down his front. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow in question and she gave him a sweet smile. Her hand had found his erection and was cupping it, her nails tracing the outline. He clenched his jaw as she started stroking his cock through the fabric of the dress pants, making his breath catch in his throat. 

The elevator ride took only a minute but to Javier it seemed never ending, her hand never leaving his cock. When the doors finally opened on her floor, his pants were very uncomfortable and he knew his hard on was visible to anyone who glanced at his crotch. She took his hand again and pushed her way out of the elevator, and turned down the hallway, guiding him to her hotel room. 

As she got the door open, she pulled him inside, closing it behind them and Javier took in the room. The light was dim, the room illuminated only by a lamp in the corner but he could see her smile as she put her arms around his neck and pushed him up against the door behind him. 

Her fingers found their way into his hair again as she pulled him down towards her, letting her mouth open on his. He tasted her tongue as he grabbed her waist and tugged her close, his hard erection against her soft stomach. His body responded fast to the way her warm form felt pressed up against his and could feel her fingers winding their way into his hair. A needy moan escaped her throat as he let his hands slide up and cup her breasts, squeezing them, not too gently, through the fabric of her dress. 

She smiled against his mouth and pulled away, taking his hand, pulling him with her. “You’ve probably guessed that I like being in charge, Javi,” she said, pushing him down onto the bed, “I hope you don’t mind?” 

Javier dropped back onto his elbows and stretched out on the bed, looking up at her with a satisfied grin.

”You’ll get no complaints out of me, hermosa,” he said, his tone low and dark.  

“Javi, that voice….” she breathed, “very, very sexy.” “You like it?” he smirked, “Just think how much you’ll like it when I’m whispering in your ear how you’re making me feel, what I’m gonna do to you.” He gave her a mischievous grin and put out his hand to pull her down on the bed with him but she stepped back and shook her head.

“Not yet,” she said, giving him a smile.  

Javier watched as she stepped out of her heels and slowly untied the belt holding her dress together, letting it slip over her shoulders, down onto the floor. One of her hands trailed over her breast and stomach and came to rest over her black panties. Javier felt his cock twitch at the sight, her hand moving lightly over the fabric as she slipped her fingers between her thighs.  

“Take off your clothes, Javi,” she smiled at him, “your pants look very uncomfortable.” 

He sat up on the bed and pulled his shirt over his head, kicked off his shoes, and slid himself to the edge of the bed, sitting in front of her. She was still caressing herself through the fabric of her panties and his eyes kept flitting between her half open mouth and the way the fabric of her panties was visibly wet under her fingers. With his eyes on her, he undid his pants and pulled them off, getting the socks along the way too. His cock strained against his boxers and she let her eyes take him in, stopping at the sight of his large erection. He saw her inhale slightly as her eyes widened and it made him chuckle, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a smile. Leaning back on his elbows, he hooked his thumbs into his boxer, pushing them down, enjoying the way her eyes followed his every movement. The elastic grazed across his cock as he pulled them down, making him give a  low groan, but he kept his eyes on her. As his hard on sprang free from the fabric, she licked her lips, her mouth quirking up in a small smile. He kicked the boxers down his legs and let them drop on the floor. 

“Now it’s your turn, querida, take off the rest.” 

He sat back up and put his hand on his cock, stroking it slowly, making himself bigger for her. She smiled at him, watching him move his large hand up and down the length of his growing erection, her eyes taking him in. She moved closer, standing right in front of him. 

“No,” she said, “you take them off, Javi.” 

“I’m really enjoying you giving me orders,” he grinned and gave his cock a final stroke before he reached up so that he could cup her breast. Letting his hands slide across her nipples he could feel their stiff tips against his palms through the fabric. Still caressing her, he reached behind her and unhooked the bra, pulling it off. Her breasts swayed as they fell out of the cups and he grabbed them again, feeling their weight in his large hands, his thumbs grazing across her nipples, making her moan slightly under his touch. 

“If you like receiving orders, why aren’t you following them?” she asked and pushed herself closer to him, “Take them off, Javi.” 

Javier chuckled, “Yes, ma’am.” 

He hooked his thumbs into her panties and slowly edged them down over her hips, looking up at her. She watched him work them down her thighs until they fell to the floor and she stepped out of them. Javi’s face was almost level with her pussy and he could feel the heat radiating from her. He still had his hands on her legs and he let them glide up her thighs again until they were resting on her hips, all he had to do was move forward slightly, and he’d be able to open her up and taste her. He tilted his head up and looked at her, waiting for her to tell him what to do, although he was aching to work his tongue into her. 

She slid her hand down her soft belly, and as he watched, she let two fingers glide in between her legs, her eyes on him. She gently caressed herself, letting her fingers move in and out of her folds, he could see them coated with her wetness and he could feel her scent. She moaned softly as she touched her clit and he felt his cock twitch. Watching her was making him painfully hard. 

“Bebita…” he growled, his eyes dark with lust.

She pulled her hand away and held out her fingers to him. 

“Taste me,” she whispered and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand to his mouth as he slowly dragged his tongue over her fingers. When she moaned at the sensation he pulled them into his mouth, letting his tongue lick her fingers as if he was licking her clit, caressing her fingertips. As he sucked her clean, she moaned, louder this time, and he knew she was imagining his mouth on her pussy. She pulled her fingers from his mouth and put her hand on his head. 

“Taste me properly now, Javi” 

He looked up at her with a wicked grin and moved himself closer. He stuck out his tongue and gently, still looking up at her, pushed it into her slit, finding her clit swollen and heated, humming as her taste coated his tongue. She tasted sweet, a little bit salty, and he could feel her pussy contract as he stroked her swollen bundle of nerve endings with the tip of his tongue. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she gasped as he flicked his tongue. Determined to make her come on his face he pushed himself deeper in, holding her hips steady to keep her firm against his mouth, her moans spurring him on.

Sliding his tongue down to her opening, he pushed inside, seeing how far he could reach and licked her slick walls. Her response was immediate, as he glanced up he saw her drop her head back and expose her neck, groaning deeply, mumbling his name. Grinning into her, he let his tongue push deeper, caressing her sweet pussy and making her breath hitch as licked through her folds, the tip of his nose rubbing her clit, coating him in her slick. 

Every one of his movements made her moan into the dim hotel room, her fingers weaving through his hair. Pulling out, he worked his way towards her clit again, nibbling at her sensitive folds, covering her in kisses and feeling his chin get covered with her silky slick. His lips found her clit again and he wrapped his mouth around it, gently sucking it in and applying increasing pressure. Her breathing grew shallow and she gasped, her grip tightening on his hair.

“Fuck, Javi…” she moaned, “don’t stop, I’m gonna…”  

Forcing her legs to open with his knees, he moved closer, so that he was sitting between her thighs. Grabbing her left thigh with one hand, he caressed the edges of her pussy with the other, while his mouth made her moan and push up against him. Her eyes were closed, and when he let two of his fingers slide inside her, he saw her mouth fall open and she cried out. His cock was throbbing, he was desperate to fuck her, pull her down on top of him and feel her pussy contract around him, fuck her hard, feel her legs around his waist as he drove deep inside, filling her up. The image in his head made him squeeze his eyes shut, willing his aching cock to calm down, focusing on making her come first.

He curled his fingers inside her and pushed deeper, pulled out and pushed in again, stroking her nerves. Every time he pulled out, her pussy gripped his fingers like a vice, she was tight even just on his fingers and when he thought about how tight she would be around his cock, he lost his rhythm. 

“Javi,” she moaned, “make me come, give me more, your mouth, fuck…baby, your mouth…so good...” 

Her hand in his hair pushed him against her sex but he needed no encouragement. He sucked her swollen clit deeper into his mouth and flicked his tongue, every touch making her cry out while he thrust his fingers deep into her pussy, curling up against her most sensitive spot just inside every time he pulled out. He felt her legs start to shake, she convulsed around his fingers and her juices soaked his hand and face as she gasped, crying out. 

“Javi, p-please, please!” she all but shouted, her muscles tightening, panting loudly over him. 

He wrapped his free arm around her hips and pulled her closer, keeping her on her legs as she collapsed down over his head, the last of her climax pulsating through her body. He pulled his fingers from her slowly and relaxed his mouth on her clit, as he gently helped her down from her high. She was breathing hard, he felt her hot breath in his hair, and she let out a low whimper.

On wobbly legs she backed away from him, straightened up and looked down on him with a hazy smile. She stroked his wet chin, bending down to kiss him, he knew she could taste herself on him and he pushed his hand into her loose hair, cupping her head with his hand and keeping her against his mouth. He let his tongue push into her mouth, playing with hers, and making sure she could taste all her sweet wetness. 

He felt her hand move down and close around his cock and he groaned against her mouth. She pulled away from him a little and smiled. 

“Maybe it’s time for you to give me orders, Javi,” she said. “I want to hear more of that voice.” 

“I need you to let me fuck you,” Javier growled and stood up. Grabbing her waist he pulled her around so that she had her back against the bed. 

“Get on the bed, cariño, let me see that wet pussy open for me.” 

She smiled and crawled up onto the bed, turning so that he saw her round ass as she moved towards the head of it. The lips of her pussy were swollen and glistening between her ass cheeks, and he clenched his jaw hard at the sight of it. She rolled over onto her back, pushing herself up on her elbows, and with a wicked smile, she opened her legs to him, inviting him in. 

It took him only a heartbeat to get to her, his hard cock hanging heavy between his strong thighs, pushing her legs further apart and positioning himself between them. He grabbed his cock and with gritted teeth, he teased her slick opening, watching her squirm. “I want to fuck you hard, bebita, that sweet, wet pussy,” he groaned, his cock throbbing. “Do you think you can handle me?” 

She moaned and reached down between them, grabbing his cock, her soft hand closing firmly around his length. 

“Javi,” she breathed, “put a condom on, tell me again what you’re going to do with me, and then you can fuck me as hard as you want.”

Javi growled deep in his throat and moved down over her, his mouth next to her ear. 

“As you wish, cariño,” he said, his voice low and dark as he nipped at her ear, “I’m gonna grab your hips, spread you wide open for me, let me see that sweet pussy, dripping wet, and then I’ll ram my hard cock deep inside you, feel your tight, soft pussy stretch out around me, gripping me so tight.” 

He groaned, closing his hand around the base of his cock and squeezing tight, willing himself to have more control. 

“Hermosa, I’m gonna fill you up, make you take every inch of me. And then I’m gonna pull out, leave you empty and aching for me, before I fill you up again,” he moved his mouth down, finding the soft skin under her ear, trailing hot kisses over her jaw, “I’m gonna make you scream my name before I’m done with you, bebita.” 

She moaned at his words, squirming under him, “Do it, Javi,” she begged. 

He moved back from her, a grin on his lips, and reached over for his pants, fishing out a condom. Quickly he pulled it on, his eyes never leaving hers as he stroked himself, his cock red and weeping precome down the hard length. Settling between her legs again, he grabbed her hips as he’d promised, lining up his cock at her wet opening. He let the tip caress her folds, her whimpers making his cock twitch in his hand until he couldn’t wait any longer. With a groan he pushed inside, driving hard into her, feeling himself bottoming out in one smooth stroke. She gasped loudly and her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in. He could feel her contract around him, the walls squeezing him in. 

“Oh fuck,” he muttered, moving forward over her again, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he pulled out, and slammed in again, into the tight heat of her cunt. A loud groan escaped him, matching hers. He could hear her deep breaths and low moans as she pulled him down, finding his mouth with hers, sucking in his tongue and biting his bottom lip. 

He set a punishing pace, thrusting deep inside her with each stroke, his climax approaching fast, he’d been holding it for too long. 

“Fuck me, bebita, you’re all wet and tight for me,” he gasped, “I’m not gonna last long.” 

“Touch me, Javi” she moaned and he obliged, moving his hand down between them he found her sensitive clit. She cried out into his mouth and her nails dug into his back. 

“I’m gonna come,” she gasped, her tight pussy contracting around his cock, buried deep inside her. It pushed him over the edge, he pulled out, feeling as if his cock was in a hot, wet vice and rammed into her again as his cum shot out, making him groan loudly into her mouth. She convulsed around him as he thrust himself into her again and again, milking himself dry inside her tight pussy. Eventually he slowed down, feeling her climax ebb out as she relaxed around him. Holding himself up on one elbow he collapsed over her, his face buried in the crook of her neck. 

“Fuck me,” he gasped, breathing hard. 

She laughed, still panting, “Give me thirty minutes and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Cariño, I’m gonna need dinner, strong coffee and an hour before I’m ready to take on that tight little pussy of yours again,” he chuckled, and pushed himself up on his elbows, looking down on her sweet flushed face, tracing his fingers along her lips. 

“We’re snowed in until morning, Javi,” she smiled up at him, “And you’re not going anywhere.” 

[hunting4fluff]

Spider Bite

A fanfic requested by @dropyoursocksandgrabyourcrocss, the first out of 2 promises! Sorry for the inactivity, I recently started college and it's completely wiped the floor with me. Anyways, enjoy!

Fluff fic, 1,328 words Lee!Reader Ler!Miguel O'Hara CWs: none Finally, a day of reprieve. 

You had been working hard all week to ensure the increasing anomalies in base were kept at bay and to say it was tiring would be a gross understatement. It had been alarm after rift after alarm, the blaring practically burned into your eardrums by now. You’d be lucky if you didn’t get tinnitus. 

What does anyone do after a long, thankless week of being on call? Why, treat themself of course!

You had just entered the bustling cafeteria with countless spider-people swishing on webs and standing in lines to get their fill when you noticed a slight shift out the corner of your eye. Your spider senses weren’t tingling, but people were definitely moving out of the way which only made the shift in the air more unsettling. Whipping your head to stare at the commotion head on, you can’t help but smile at the situation. It was just Miguel.

People knew when he was in one of his bad moods- usually he would be trying to make small talk with certain groups, grab someone’s attention when he had a small comment about their work, but never really driving people away or chatting much. Today he looked absolutely foul, glaring off into the void as he grabbed a to-go box with a burger and slinking off to his office once again. It was always a good idea to leave him be when he was in one of these funks, but the look on his face stuck around long enough in your mind to make you want to check in on him.

You grabbed a to-go box for yourself and opened a portal, bouncing down onto the platform of Miguel’s ‘office’. 

“What.” He grumbled out, hearing the soft thud and careful padding of your feet as you approached him. He saved his sharper tone for people he was less fond of, for now he just sounded tired.

“You’re in a fun mood today.” You point out, the playful smile evident in your voice as you hoist yourself up to sit on an empty spot on his desk. He spared you a glance and huffed, popping a fry into his mouth. “Aren’t you off work? Why are you still here?” He was avoiding the not-quite-question, so you of course answer then ask again.

“I wanted a meal and hopefully a conversation. What’s wrong?”

Miguel looked over at you before shaking his head with a defeated smile and rolling his eyes.

“Dios mío, you’re persistent.” He snorted, eating another fry. “Nothing, I just have one of those- what are the kids calling it? ‘RBF’s?”

You rolled your eyes at that, smiling as Miguel chuckled to himself.

“Yeah something like that.” You comment. Maybe he wasn’t in as bad of a mood as you thought.

“But since you’re here,” Miguel looked back at you, placing his food down in front of him and spinning his chair to face you. “I don’t think we officially completed your onboarding.” You blinked in surprise, quirking a brow. “Miguel, I’ve been here for three months.” You reminded him slowly, staring at him as if he had just lost his mind.

“Yes, I know that, but we skipped over a few details in your ‘canon events’ folder that I didn’t notice until a few hours ago. Lyla finally got to that part of the scan. Nada.”

Right. Of course, that made sense. You nodded your head and looked at him, waiting to continue. “Won’t take long. So, do you remember what kind of spider bit you?” He started, swiping up a screen and pulling up footage of your first canon event. The video was clearly inconclusive of the spider, the origin of it being unknown and making it harder to trace back to a definitive source.  You remembered the spider crawled under your shirt and bit your side, leaving a nasty mark the first night before you had actually gotten your powers- but you had no clue what it looked like.

“I… dunno. It’s been a while and I crushed that poor guy when I was bitten.” You shook your head. 

“Where?” It was an odd sounding question coming from Miguel, but his brain had worked faster than his words when it came spilling out. “Usually spider-people are bitten on the back of their hand, smacking it off for those who crush it. I would have been visible falling off your hand, but I can’t see it anywhere.“ He explained.

“Oh! Uh, somewhere on my side, like right here…” You gestured vaguely to where you remembered the spider biting- well, you remembered which side at least. Your left one.

“Alright… not super helpful…” He mumbled in thought, only for you to yelp in protest as he grabbed your side and held some sort of tool near it.

“Hey!” 

“Hold still, I just need a quick scan.” He ordered. Still you squirmed. It tickled. Miguel shook his head and grabbed your side again, this time earning a short giggle. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at you, processing what had just happened as you stared back at him tensely. You only had about two seconds to even stare before he had sat down his tool and scooped you up into his arms with a playful grin.

“Ticklish, are we?” He teased, one hand scribbling lightly up and down your side with the edges of his nails. The movement earned only more squirming from you as well as fresh peals of giggles as you kicked and wriggled in his grasp. His fingers skittered up to your ribs, gently tweaking the bottommost one before crawling up to lightly poke just below your underarm and crawl down again and it left you howling with laughter.

“M-miguel!” You cried out, squirming harder in your ticklish frenzy and almost managing to writhe free before he shifted his arm to wrap around your waist and start tickling your side. You doubled over with laughter, kicking out in front of you and pushing at his arm all the while his other hand came up to gently scribble at the side of your neck.

“You know, normally I wouldn’t be so childish, but I’ve been needing a little pick me up this week.” Miguel teased. You bunched up your shoulders, peals of giggles pouring out of you just as his touch began to slow down. He let you rest as you slumped in his grip, residual giggles bubbling out as you caught your breath.

“I’m a little surprised you weren’t laughing this hard as that spider crawled to your side.” He pointed out, emphasizing his point by poking two fingers into your side a couple times and sending a jolt through you.

“Ehehe- quit it!” You whined at his teasing, your cheeks growing flush as you squirmed again. Miguel chuckled, shaking his head. “Ah, what? Quit this?” He began gently pinching your side up and down, pulling fresh laughter from you as you nodded your head.

“Yes- yehes! Quit thahat!” You managed to squeak out. His fingers remained pinched on your side but had stilled for the moment, but for some reason that was worse. The anticipation left you shaking and giggling, waiting for when he would start up again.

“Quit that…?” He prompted, his voice dripping with amusement as you awaited whatever fate become you.

“Please!” You spat out and Miguel relented, patting your side and finally releasing you.

“Certainly.” He snickered. You turned around and rubbed your sides, only to be greeted by Miguel’s grinning face- you can’t remember the last time he looked this happy, or even the last time he smiled. He put his hands up in faux surrender, shaking his head.

“I’m done, I swear.” He assured, and you relaxed a bit. “Let’s just finish our lunch.” He offered, sitting back down and picking up his to-go box in a gesture of good faith. Your food was still warm and it tasted delightful.

[dickgraysonwayne]

Today? Yesterday?

Ao3

Summary: Of all the things to kick off a time loop…

@dickgraysonweek 2024, Day 3: DILF Dick Grayson | Apologizing To Dick | Time Loop

Day 0

Dick knows it’s bad news when the man shrieks “A curse upon you!”

He changes course mid-flip, trying to predict where he’d be hit. He feels nothing, so he lands on the ground steadily, looking up at the platform where the man stands: finger pointed in his direction and a wild look on his face.

“Whoa,” Dick says, putting his arms up. “I didn’t know we were rolling like that.”

For all he had figured, this was supposed to be a quick grab-and-go rescue of a Blüdhaven mayoral candidate. She’d made a promise to clean up the city and, of course, certain groups weren’t very pleased with the concept.

Instead, he’d run into an armed-to-the-teeth gang that were not making this rescue any easier. So, he’d opted for a more subtle approach, sneaking around on rooftops until he was able to maneuver his way into a large warehouse. He’d wandered through, found a locked room in the corner, and then—

And then he’d run into…whatever this was, and the situation turned from guns&gangs to curse&magic territory.

He really hadn’t been ready for curses.

“Okay,” Dick says, eyes darting around. He needs to get to that door. “So, um. When you say curse, do you mean a plague on both your houses lamenting type curse or may you turn into a frog type curse?”

The man doesn’t clarify. “A curse,” He screeches again. “May you never find satisfaction in validation. May you be locked in a cycle of discontent. May the one who you need the most from—”

The man squacks as he’s interrupted by a Batarang to the head. Stunned, he falls backwards onto the platform and stays there.

Dick puts his arm down. “Well,” He says. “That was more…high minded than curses usually are. Very psychological.”

He hadn’t seen any physical indications of anything actually happening, but you can never be sure with this kind of thing. He hopes that whatever this was didn’t take.

“Okay,” He mutters to himself. He wishes Roy would’ve seen this, he would’ve found it hilarious. “Let’s finish this.”

He runs towards the door probably holding the promise for Blüdhaven’s future, hoping that the rest of the day goes by without any further incident.

Day 1

They’re not even in costume when it happens.

Hell, they’re not even working when it happens.

Instead, Dick finds himself making the long trip to Gotham the next morning, called in to assist with something Tim is working on. It’s something from your files, back in the day, Tim had said over the phone. Can you make your way over?

He’d slept in a bit, hoping to enjoy his Sunday. But getting to spend time with Tim is always great too, so he had agreed to make his way over.

It had taken maybe a few minutes to explain the case (Two-Face, now that was a time), before Tim had gotten what he needed. “Thanks, Dick,” Tim says, scribbling down in his notes. “I think I just need to set up a trap, and then we’ll be all good here.”

“Need any help?” Dick asks, tapping his fingers on the table, feeling restless.

“If you’re staying,” Tim says. “I’ll be going out at, like, 2300 so. You sticking around?”

Dick shrugs. “Sure,” He says. “Since I’m here. B around?”

“Yeah,” Tim says, sitting back into a stretch. “He’s workin’ on something else, I dunno.”

“Look at you!” Dick says, messing with his hair. “Solo mission guy over here!”

“Quit it!” Tim says, batting his hand away. “I’ve been solo mission guy!”

Dick laughs. “Hey,” He says, getting off of the chair. “You wanna go get some burgers or something? There’s still a long way to go til 2300 hours.”

“Sure,” Tim says, languidly getting up. “Man, I feel like I’ve been sitting here for ages.”

-

And that’s when, whilst heading over to grab a burger in town, Dick tells Tim about his encounter the day before.

“It was pretty insane,” He tells him as they pull out of the manor’s driveway. “The whole curse thing made me a little nervous, not gonna lie. That stuff gives me the heebie jeebies. But I got up just fine today, everything totally normal. So either the dude didn’t actually get me, or he was talking a big game.”

Tim frowns. “That’s a little weird,” He says, taking a sip of water from his Robin branded water bottle. “You should be careful though. You never know with magic.”

Dick nods vigorously. “Exactly!” He says, making his way to the manor’s large gate. “There aren’t any rules or anything to watch out for. You just gotta wait and see for something to happen before you can do anything about it.”

Tim’s frown only deepens. “I don’t know about that,” He says. “Maybe you should go talk to Zatanna. I dunno, I wouldn’t mess with this stuff. Have her check you over or something.”

“Yeah, but it’s not even a guarantee with her,” Dick says, waiting for the gate to open. “Sometimes magic doesn’t show up or whatever even when she checks. It’s a total crapshoot. But the smart idea still would be to check anyway—”

He jumps as Tim loses his grip on his water bottle, spilling it over his lap and the seat. “Ah, shit!” Tim says, hurriedly picking the bottle back up.

“No worries, Timbo,” Dick says, grabbing some tissues from the side of the door. “It’s just water.”

“I know,” Tim says. “Even so, though, I’m sorry-”

Everything stops.

Day 2

Dick wakes up.

He blinks up at his apartment ceiling. Damn, he thinks, yawning deeply. That was one hell of a dream. He feels around on his bedside table for his phone, then blinks at the numbers on top: 08:04

Damn. Slept in.

That curse must’ve really been playing in his thoughts, to follow him into his dreams like that. Unless it was a curse about dreams, which means it was now starting to work…

Dick shakes his head. He can’t think like that. If he does, it’s never going to end.

He levers himself up, stretching again. He’s going to enjoy his Sunday morning before updating his reports on the night before, maybe figure out what to do about the whole curse thing…

His phone buzzes, and he picks it back up. Tim.

Curious, and trying to push away the ominous feeling in his gut, he answers.

-

Okay. So this is a little weird. But, hey. It’s not like he’s never had a dream about hanging out with Tim before. It’s a perfectly normal thing for him to do. Plus, well, he has been keeping an eye on Gotham. Maybe he’d subconsciously known that something was going on, that Tim would reach out to him for help…

And then it had gotten weirder. But. Still explainable. If he’d been keeping an eye out on Gotham, maybe he’d figured out somewhere back in his mind that Two-Face was going to be the problem…

“Thanks, Dick,” Tim says, scribbling down in his notes. “I think I just need to set up a trap, and then we’ll be all good here.”

“Hm,” Dick says. He taps on the table, feeling off. “Okay.”

“Dick?”

He looks up. Tim is looking at him, concern in his eyes. “Everything good? You seem a little…distracted.”

“Oh,” Dick says, trying to pull himself together. “Yeah. I’m good. I’m just…you know. In my head a little. There’s a whole—” He waves it off. “I’ll explain later. Um, you gonna need any help on your mission?”

“If you’re staying,” Tim says, still eyeing him with concern. “I’ll be going out at, like, 2300 or so. You sticking around?”

The Deja Vu hits him even harder. “Sure,” He says. “Hey. Is this a solo mission?”

Tim gives him a small smile. “Yeah,” He says. “I’ve been doing them for a while now. B’s working on his own thing, I’m working on mine.”

“Nice, Timmy,” Dick says, finding a smile for him in return. “Hey, wanna go get something to eat? I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.” He shoots to his feet, needing to move, needing to do something.

“Um,” Tim says, stumbling up with him. “Yeah, sure. Yeah let’s get…let’s get burgers, or something.”

Dick nods, fast walking his way out. An icy feeling grows in his stomach.

-

“What were you saying earlier?”

Dick starts, looking away from the slowly opening gate. “Hm?”

“You had a whole,” and Tim makes a circle gesture with his hands. “Thing you were thinking about. What was it?”

“Oh,” Dick says. “Well. Um. I had a little…run-in yesterday. Some guy yelled that he was gonna put a curse on me. And, like, I didn’t feel anything off or anything like that. But today…I don’t know. It’s all weird today. Like majorly Deja Vu or something.”

Tim frowns. “That’s weird,” He says, taking a sip of water. “You should be careful though. You never know with magic. In fact, you should probably—”

“Go to Zatanna, I know,” Dick says distractedly. “I will. I think I should. After our mission today, I will. It’s just…nothing specific, you know? Just an off feeling.”

The gate opens, and Dick quickly turns to the side. “Hey—”

He catches Tim’s water bottle, just as Tim drops it.

“Oh!” Tim says, flinching back. “Hey. Nice catch.”

Dick hands it back to him, mind spinning.

“I don’t know what happened,” Tim continues. “I wasn’t paying attention, I guess, sorry—”

Everything stops.

Day 3

Dick wakes up.

He shoots up in bed with a gasp. He throws his sheets off of him then lunges at his phone, unlocking the screen to check the day and time. Sunday. 08:04.

He falls back into bed, phone clutched tightly in his hand. Okay, He thinks, slightly hysterical. Okay. This is…this is probably the curse, huh? This is probably the curse.

What had the man said again? Something about…validation. Satisfaction in validation. And a cycle of discontent.

Well. That’s the cycle part figured, then. He’s gonna keep resetting until he breaks whatever curse this is. So, all he needs to do is figure out exactly what it is that’s going on that’s causing the resets, and he should be good to go. Right?

“Okay,” He tells himself. “Okay, what were the factors that set this off? What made me reset?”

The obvious answer, is, of course, Tim.

He thinks on this for a moment. He’ll need to tell Tim everything, brainstorm through the issue with him. He’s smart, he’ll probably help him figure this out…

His phone rings. He looks down. Tim.

He picks up.

“Hey, Dick,” Tim says. “So, I’m working on something—”

“I’m on my way,” Dick says, running to his closest to grab something. “Just gimme a—”

“Hey,” Tim says, confusion clear in his voice. “It’s okay, there’s no emergency or anything, I just need your help with something.”

“I know,” Dick says. “And I can do that. But I need your help with something too. Buckle up, it’s a weird one.”

-

“Time loop?” Tim says, eyes wide.

“Time loop.” Dick confirms with a nod.

Tim sits back in his chair, baffled. “Well,” He says. “The good news is that you’ve only just started on this, I guess. Maybe you won’t have to deal with it for much longer.”

Dick groans, going facedown on the table’s surface. “Don’t do that,” He says, voice muffled. “You just jinxed me.”

“Shut up,” Tim says, but he sounds distant. “What did the guy say again?”

Dick lifts his head. “He cursed me with never finding satisfaction in validation,” He says. “And told me I’d be stuck in a cycle of discontent. And then he started saying something about a person I’d need it from before I stopped him.”

“Hm,” Tim says, steepling his fingers together. “And when you went through the days with me, it reset at about the same time both times?”

“Yeah,” Dick side eyes him. “You’ve got your I-have-an-idea face there, Timbo.”

“I do not,” Tim says, making his I-have-an-idea face. “Well. I do have an idea…not a very specific one, but still.”

Dick raises an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“There’s a specific series of events,” Tim begins, “That lead to your reset. I speak with you, you come here, we discuss the case, we go out to get food, I drop my water, and then you wake up. Is that right?”

“Yeah,” Dick says. “That’s right.”

“So,” Tim says. “What if we disrupt it? We break the chain of events. And then we can see from there. It could be time related. Did we leave at about the same time both days? Did the reset happen at about the same time both days?”

Dick thinks about it for a second. “You know what…” He says slowly. “Yeah. It did. Around…12:30, I wanna say?”

“Okay,” Tim says. “So let’s stay in. And then wait for 12:30. Disrupt the chain of events, and then see if you reset or not. And if you don’t…we’ll know it’s not time dependent, and we can try to work on it from there.”

“Timbo,” Dick says, beaming at him. “That’s a great idea. You’re great!”

Tim blushes. “Come on,” He says. “Stop it. It’s just an idea. I didn’t even think about what the actual phrasing of the curse could actually mean.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dick says, grinning. “It’s a start! And if I don’t reset at 12:30…it means we’re making progress! And maybe I won’t have to be stuck in this, which I would very much appreciate.”

Tim smiles back. “Well,” He says. “If you do reset, come find me, okay? We can pick up where we left off, and you can explain everything we’ve tried so far.”

“You’re the best, Timmy,” Dick says. He checks his phone. “I think we’ll find out soon, anyway. We hit 12:30 in about half an hour, so. We’ll know then.”

Tim nods at him. “Okay,” He says, sighing. “So. We wait.”

-

Half an hour passes with the speed of molasses. Dick can’t sit still the entire time: his knee jumps constantly, he fiddles with anything he can get his hands on, he gets up and paces on occasion.

Fifteen minutes in, Tim looks at him askance. “That isn’t helping you, Dick,” He says, clearly trying to be patient with him. “Sit down. Nap, or something. Wait, actually don’t. Go watch puppy videos on your phone, or something.”

“As cute as that sounds,” Dick says. “I don’t think that’s gonna help.”

Tim sighs. “You’re so fidgety,” He complains. “You must have been such a nightmare child. I feel like apologizing to Bruce on your behalf.”

“I wasn’t that bad,” Dick defends. “If anything, Bruce needs to apologize to me for not being able to manage my energy.”

Tim grins. “Well,” He says. “Can’t say I disagree with you on that.” He checks his phone. “Okay,” He says, countenance turning entirely. “Minute to go. Tell me if you start feeling weird, or something.”

Dick nods, shifting nervously. “Will do,” He says, then starts counting time in his head. 60, 59, 58…

He makes it to the last few, 4, 3, 2, 1, then braces himself.

Nothing happens.

Dick turns to Tim. “I feel normal,” He tells him. “No resetting feeling or anything going on from here!”

“Let’s wait a little longer, Tim says, eyebrows furrowed. “Maybe there’s a specific time to the minute or second to hit, and we haven’t gotten there yet.”

Dick groans. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” He says, sitting down again. “Okay. Let’s wait.”

Another fifteen minutes pass. Then twenty.

And still nothing.

Dick turns to Tim again, eyebrows raised. “It looks like I’m still good,” He says. “I think we can say that I’m in the clear?”

Tim nods. “Looks like,” He says. “So it’s not time dependent. Nor chain of events dependent. There has to be a trigger here. We have to find out what it is.”

Dick nods, tapping a finger to his knee. “Satisfaction in validation,” He mutters. “So that means…it’s something where I got validated for something? When did that happen in the previous resets?”

Tim frowns. “Let’s try to go through your day,” He says. “Specific things you did. Specific things you said. Maybe we’ll figure it out that way.”

Dick sighs, running a hand through his hair. “My memory isn’t as good as yours,” He says, running through his days in his head. “And…I don’t know, the details are kinda fuzzy. But I’ll try.”

“I know, Tim says, not unsympathetic. “It’s not easy, sorry—”

Everything stops.

Day 4

Dick wakes up.

Shit, he thinks. It’s unnecessary at this point, but he checks his phone again. Sunday. 08:04.

He taps his phone to his chin, frustrated. Right. So, it clearly isn’t a Tim-specific problem. Or, maybe it is? Maybe it’s the combination of location and person?

If that’s the case…maybe if he just doesn’t go, then he doesn’t reset.

Satisfaction in validation.

He still isn’t sure about that one. But if he can hack it by breaking the curse without figuring that out, then he’ll take it.

Anyway, if he stays away from Tim for the day, he might figure out how long it’ll let him go before it resets. Will it go on forever, until he sees Tim. Will he have to avoid him for a while? Can’t let that happen, He thinks. That would be ridiculous.

He really should give Zatanna a call. She might be able to break the curse without even needing to figure that part out.

His phone rings, and he picks up without even looking the screen. “Hey Timmy,” He says, deciding not to try to tip him off that anything was amiss. “How’s it going?”

“Hey Dick,” Tim responds, “I’ve got something here—”

“Okay Tim,” Dick says, going to get his day started (again). “If you need my help with something, I’m all in. But I’ve got something I gotta go do, so I can’t actually come over. Is it something you can send me? Promise I’ll help out.”

“Sure,” Tim says, sounding a bit taken aback. “Yeah, no worries. Thanks for the help, Dick. I’ll send it to you now. Standby.”

“Thanks, Timmy. See ya.” Dick says, disconnecting, and feeling a little bad about the whole thing. He’d usually jump at any opportunity or hang out, which Tim knows. He doesn’t think he’d hurt his feelings or anything, but he still does feel a bit guilty for blowing him off like that.

It’s for a good cause, He thinks. I’ll come by to see him when all this is over.

He thinks about Tim’s directive to come see him during the next reset. Sorry, buddy. Maybe if I reset again. So, what can he do? How does he go about solving this problem?

He gets ready, thinking about how to go about his day. Maybe I should call Zatanna, He thinks, putting his jacket on. And hopefully she’ll be able to see me now.

Dick heads out of his apartment, not having a particular plan in mind. He pulls out his phone, considering giving Zatanna that call. He scrolls through his contacts, hovering over her name, conflicted.

As he goes to open the doors to his building’s stairwell, they suddenly swing open in his direction. Startled, he steps back, just about missing being flattened by the door.

One of his neighbors emerges, almost bumping into him. “Oh my god,” The man says. “I didn’t see you there, I’m so sorry—”

Everything stops.

Day 5

Dick wakes up.

Sunday. 08:04.

He sighs, leaning back against his pillow. Take 5, I guess.

Right. Okay, so. It’s pretty clear what’s causing this now.

Satisfaction in validation. Apology.

If he receives an apology, no matter who it’s from, then his day resets.

He can’t believe he hadn’t noticed before. Both times with Tim and the water bottle, he’d apologized to trigger the time loop. In the non water bottle day, Tim’s “sorry” had triggered it. With his neighbor, the apology from the door had triggered it. Getting it from a new person had really brought it home.

So, solutions?

He sits back up, holding his phone, waiting for Tim’s call. The obvious play would be to just…not receive any apologies. While it’s easier said than done, it would definitely give him an idea of what’s going on, and help him test how far this loop is going to let him do. Could he go days, weeks, even years without an apology, then receive one and loop back around? That would be a problem.

Well. Maybe he can test it out, just for today. A no-apology-day.

The phone rings. He picks it up. “Hey, Timmy,” He says. “How’re you doing?”

“Hey Dick,” Tim responds, “I’ve got something here—”

Well. If he wants to be left alone today…

“Oh yeah, Tim,” Dick says, trying his best to remember his earlier statement. “If you need my help with something I’m ready. But I’ve got something i have to do today, so I can’t actually come over. Can you send me the files and I’ll give you a call about them later? I’d come if I could, promise.”

“Sure,” Tim says, and he sounds the same as last time, excellent. “Yeah, no worries. Thanks for the help, Dick. I’ll send it to you now. Standby.”

“See ya Timbo,” Dick says, disconnecting with a sigh. It’s more waiting, then. And this time, he’s gonna have to do it alone.

-

Staying away from people all day is difficult.

He knows he’s got a reputation as a people-person, but that’s only because he has the fortune to be in probably the most socially awkward family in history. He actually doesn’t mind a little alone time every now and then.

This, though? This is total isolation. And, while he’s wired and worried and anxious, is a tough thing for him to overcome.

He spends the first part of his day working on the stuff Tim sent him. He’d seen it all before, of course, but he makes sure to really pour over the information, adding a lot of very detailed explanations and analyses. He hopes this doesn’t make Tim suspicious (who is he kidding? Of course it will) but hopefully he won’t have enough time to actually act on his suspicions before Dick can hopefully move on to phase two of his curse-breaker plan.

After he sends all his notes to Tim, he finds himself left with hours and hours of time and people to avoid. Which, actually, is harder than he’d anticipated.

He spends the rest of the day from late afternoon fielding calls. As a general rule, Dick always picks up (just in case. You never know who’s using a burner). But man, he hasn’t realized exactly how many people call him until he wanted to avoid talking. After checking to see if anyone was in any immediate danger (they were not) he’d make his excuses and hop off swiftly before anyone got it their minds to give him an apology of some kind.

Not to mention the texts. And half of them aren’t even work stuff: just Wally sending him memes, or Donna sending him memes, or Babs sending him another article on the activities of the Red Hood, or Amy sending him memes, or Clark sending his weekly “good afternoon 😊” texts that he somehow manages to stick to every single week. Dick doesn’t know if apology-by-text would count here, and it is a minefield navigating conversations to make sure that the word is never sent from the other end.

“Sorry” is, in Dick’s opinion, very overused.

As for the rest of his time in self-induced isolation, he tries to keep himself busy. The TV is on, and he scrolls through all the things he’d put on his watch later list on streaming services (he watches nothing). He picks up a book he’d planned to trying (only to put it down minutes later, unable to concentrate). He tries stretching and running through some gentle warmup exercises (this one takes).

Overall, it’s not an experience he’s keen on repeating. If I make it 24 hours without looping, he tells himself firmly. I’m going to call Zatanna.

It probably would’ve been smarter to start with her, like Tim had said, but hey. The more info he can give her about how this works, the easier time she’ll have lifting it.

He makes it to the evening, and then into the night without further incident. Thankfully, Tim hadn’t tried to call him back. Nor did, to his relief, Bruce. Bruce would probably see through him in a heartbeat, and involving him in this would be a headache and a half to deal with.

As time ticks down to midnight, Dick feels exhaustion wash over him, thanks to the nervous tension he’d held on to the entire day. No he tells himself, staring at the blurry numbers on his phone. Stay awake.

Once midnight passes, maybe he can take a nap. Then he can figure out what to do next.

He rubs at his eyes, glancing at his phone again. 23:59.

Well, he’s almost done with the full day. This should give him a good idea of how this curse wo—

12:00

Everything stops.

Day 6

Dick wakes up.

Sunday. 08:04.

He doesn’t even wait for the phone call this time. Instead, he scrolls through his contacts, tapping on Zatana’s name with a determined finality.

-

“Ah. Well, that seems like an issue, doesn’t it?”

Dick groans, putting his head in his hands. “Yeah,” He says, voice muffled between his fingers. “It really is. Thanks for coming to help break it. I couldn’t risk going out to you.”

A hand pats his head. “No problem,” Zatanna says, sounding amused. “And, look. Could be worse. You’re, what, a week in? Not too bad. And with the myriad of curses out there? This is a pretty light one, comparatively speaking.”

Dick sighs, dropping his hands on his lap. “I guess,” He says. “So. What’s the deal here? Can you break this…whatever it is?”

“Let me check,” Zatanna puts a hand on his head and closes her eyes. Her hand glows into a warm, white light, and he feels a sense of peace wash over him…

She takes her hand away. “There’s definitely something there,” She says, sitting back down across from him. “But. I’ll tell you right now, it’s more risk than it’s worth to break from my end.”

Dick frowns. “What’s the risk?” He asks.

Zatanna shrugs. “Since I don’t know the magician, or the source of the magic,” She says. “I’d have to go with a general curse break. It would require a lot of energy from both our sides, and then you would need to keep feeding the break from your own energy. It takes too long, or you don’t have enough? Well…it would be risky, let’s just say that. It wouldn’t be worth it for a relatively low stakes curse like this.”

“Okay,” Dick says. “Yeah. I see your point. So,” He crosses his arms. “What do you think? How would I break this and resolve the time loop normally?”

Zatanna goes over to his fridge, pulls out a water bottle. “Here,” She says, giving it to him.

Dick takes it, confused. “Will drinking this solve it?”

Zatanna laughs. “It’s just water,” She says, sitting back down next to him. “You look dehydrated. Okay. I need your memory recall.”

Dick takes a sip. “Okay,” He says.

“We need to go through the exact wording of the curse,” She says. “Figure out exactly what you were cursed with, and then resolve it. Probably the best way to deal with it would be to confront it directly.”

Dick frowns. “Okay,” He says, going through the memory. “Exact wording? I went through this with Tim earlier. Um,” He thinks for a moment. “May you never find satisfaction in validation. May you be locked in a cycle of discontent. May the one who you need the most from—” He stops. “He cut off there.”

“Huh,” Zatanna says. She looks elegant even when she’s confused. “That’s…verbose.”

“Tell me about it,” Dick says. “Anyway. I think I’ve figured out what the first two parts mean. Satisfaction in validation probably refers to the apologies, because every loop occurred right after I got one. Cycle of discontent is probably the loop, because, well, I’ve been looping. The third part got interrupted, so I don’t know if it went through…”

Zatanna gives him a piercing stare. “Interesting,” She says. “Wait a moment. Let me try something.”

Dick nods. “Go for it.”

She looks directly at him, mouth curled up in a slight smile. “I’m sorry,” She says.

Dick flinches, slamming his eyes shut. A moment later, he opens them to find Zatanna still sitting across from him, eyes sparkling.

“Why’d you do that?” Dick demands, heart pounding. “At least warn me first.”

Zatanna laughs. “I know,” She says. “I needed to check something. So. It looks like the apology needs to be sincere in order to trigger the reset.”

“Oh,” Dick says. “Okay. I see what you did. So this is better, right? Just hearing sorry won’t be enough to catapult me back?”

“Yes,” Zatanna says. “I have to tell you, though. I think this just made the curse break a lot more complicated.”

Dick frowns. “How so?”

“Well,” Zatanna says. “The third part of the curse. That’s the key to breaking it. He may not have finished the phrase but he started it, which should’ve been enough to make it stick. It looks like you’re gonna have to hear an apology from a specific person, a sincere apology, in order the break the curse.”

Dick breaks out into a smile. “Thanks, Z,” He says. “Should be easy enough, right? I have to tell you, I was expecting something a lot more—”

He trails off at the sympathetic look on her face. “What?” He asks, an ominous feeling settling over him. “What is it?”

“Well,” She says. “The wording says ‘the one who you need the most from’ is the person you’ll need to get the sincere apology from. Tell me, who do you think that is?”

Dick turns it over in his mind for a moment, then…

Bruce…A voice in his head whispers. It sounds like his own, but not.

He freezes. “Oh no.”

“Yeah,” Zatanna says, exuding sympathy again. “I think we both know who that should be.”

“How do you know?” He asks, heart pounding. “Are we even thinking of the same person?”

“Oh, please,” Zatanna says. “Who else could it be? We can confirm it though. Does he dress like a bat and fight crime?”

Dick groans. “Oh my god,” He says. “How am I even gonna do that? Get a sincere apology from him? I can’t even talk to him most of the time.”

“You’ll have to, to break the curse.” Zatanna says. Dick takes another sip of water. “And remember, you only have til midnight of the same day to do it.”

“A deadline,” Dick says, despairing. “Even better.”

“Right,” Zatanna says. “So you have a plan, then? Know where you’re going?”

“Yeah,” He says. “I just have to come up with an idea…”

“You’ll probably need the full day,” Zatanna says. “So allow me, okay? Good luck.”

Dick frowns at her. “What do you mea—”

She looks him right in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

Everything stops.

Day 7

Dick wakes up.

Sunday. 08:04.

He groans, considering just going back to sleep and dealing with this again tomorrow. Today. Yesterday. Whatever.

Because, well. Getting Bruce involved? That’s gonna be a whole ordeal.

Not to mention, getting Bruce to give him a sincere apology in less than a day? Talk about an impossible task.

He might as well get started now. He’ll need all the time he can get.

The phone rings.

“Hey, Timbo,” Dick says. “How’s it going?”

-

In many ways, this day plays out a lot like the first one.

He shows up at Tim’s invitation, then takes him through the case that he now knows like the back of his hand. Tim’s shocked but impressed, and it’s really amusing even though he’s kind of cheating.

“Thanks, Dick,” Tim says, scribbling down in his notes. “I think I just need to set up a trap, and then we’ll be all good here.”

And here’s where the divergence has to happen.

Dick nods. “No worries,” He says. “Hey. Bruce around?”

“Yeah,” Tim says. “He’s around here somewhere, probably down in the Cave. Why?”

“Gotta talk to him,” He says, standing up. He ruffles Tim’s hair on the way. “See you later.”

He can’t tip them off. If the apology needs to be sincere, Bruce cant be aware that it has to be, or the sincerity is gone. Right?

It’s gonna be a challenge either way, and he takes the route down to the cave in a grim sort of silence.

He taps on the large wall twice as he walks in, sound echoing across the cave. “Hey, Bruce,” He says, heart pounding. “How’s it going?”

Bruce is sitting at the computer, staring at bits of data that only make sense to him. “Dick,” He acknowledges, without turning around. “Working on this. You been hearing about what’s going on in New York?”

“Hm?” Dick goes through his non-time-loop-related memory bank. “Oh. You mean…the alien incident? Yeah. Why, is that relevant to us?”

“Maybe,” Bruce says, still staring at the screen. “Possibly. There’s something there…”

He trails off. Dick is familiar with the pauses, so he waits patiently.

He’s putting it off. Time is of the essence, and he’s putting it off. But goddamn. He really does not want to do this.

The only thing he can think of doing at this point is to go in bluntly. He doesn’t have time to plan a more nuanced approach, and Bruce’ll probably see right through it anyway.

Here we go, Dick thinks, before taking a deep breath. “Bruce,” He says, and he can barely get the words out. “We need to talk, okay?”

He’s not sure if it’s the words or the tone that gets Bruce’s attention, but it works. Right away, Bruce whirls around in his chair. His focus, previously fully on the screen in front of him, is now concentrated entirely on Dick. “What is it?” Bruce asks, and he staring at him like he’s able to see right into his brain, like he’s reading through his thoughts one by one.

The weight of his attention is almost too much to bear. “Um,” He says, taking another breath. “It’s. Well. It’s kind of a long story.”

Bruce isn’t moved. “You’re sacred,” He observes, leaning closer. “What is it? What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

Dick lets out a shaky breath, trying to regain his composure. “Do you trust me?” He asks.

This probably doesn’t help with Bruce’s concern. His eyes narrow. “Why?” He asks. “What’s wrong?”

“If you do,” Dick says. “I need you to trust me on this. Um. I need an apology, okay?”

Whatever Bruce had anticipated he’d say, it was clearly not this. “What.” He says flatly, more of a statement than a question.

“I…” Dick says, feeling like he’d made a mistake with his approach. “I need you to say sorry, okay? To me.”

Bruce is, uncharacteristically, shocked into silence. He sits back, face impassive, eyes confused. “For what?” He finally asks, when Dick doesn’t elaborate further.

Of all the questions…“Anything,” Dick says, and he feels his face grow hot. “Pick something. There’s a lot… I just need a verbal apology from you, okay? And you need to mean it.”

Bruce’s face finally cracks, settling on a frown. “What is this?” He asks, voice rising. “Where is this coming from?”

“You trust me, right?” Dick says, an edge of desperation to his voice. “I need you to do this. Please.”

He thinks the plea will be enough. It isn’t.

Bruce just stares at him. “What is this?” He repeats, then: “Tell me this: how old were you when I fired you?”

Dick’s stomach drops. “Bruce,” He says. “It’s me. I’m me, you don’t need to check—”

“How old?” Bruce snaps. Dick can see his hands drift to his belt.

He exhales. “Seventeen,” He says, conceding defeat. “It was after I got shot.”

Bruce’s hands pause right before they get to his weapons. “Then,” He says. “Why are you asking this? You’re not making any sense.”

“I know,” Dick says. “But…I’ll explain later. I just need this from you. Please.”

Bruce grits his teeth. “I can’t do that unless I know..”

Dick stares at him. “You won’t?” He asks. “You’re not gonna trust me on this?”

Bruce doesn’t answer, still eyeing him suspiciously.

Dick tastes defeat on his tongue. Embarrassment, rage, and sadness battle in his throat. “Fine,” He says shortly, turning around. “I’ll…I’ll go then. See you tomorrow.”

Bruce doesn’t go after him.

-

Dick gets back home and goes right to his apartment, slamming the door shut as he enters.

He’ll need another plan tomorrow. Today. Yesterday. But, for now…

For now, he sits and stares at the time until it hits midnight.

Day 8

Dick wakes up.

He doesn’t even bother to check the date and time, jumping out of bed and grabbing for his clothes.

Okay. New plan. New approach. But what? Straightforward isn’t going to work. Subtle isn’t going to work. What’s left to him now? How can he possibly get Bruce to apologize to him and mean it?

He freezes in the middle of putting on a sock. Maybe…maybe he wasn’t doing enough earlier. Maybe he needs to get more straightforward. God knows Bruce can pull out sincerity when he needs it. Maybe hearing that the world is in a time loop that only he can break will do enough.

Grimly, he pulls the rest of the sock on. He’ll be able to tell Tim this way too, and maybe the both of them can convince Bruce of doing this together.

The phone rings. He grabs it. “Timmy,” He says. “It’s Two Face, by the way. Your case. You’ll just need to set your trap for tonight, and you’re golden.”

There’s a short silence, then: “How did you know that?” Tim asks, baffled. Dick can practically hear him peering at all corners of his room. “How—”

“I’m on my way, okay?” Dick says, grabbing his keys. “I’ll explain everything when I get there.”

-

“Time loop?” Tim says, eyes wide.

“Time loop.” Dick confirms with a nod.

“Damn,” Tim says, shaking his head. “And I told you to keep coming to me to figure this out and you didn’t? Lame. This could’ve been over by now.”

Dick huffs a laugh. “Honestly,” he says, shrugging. “You might be right.”

“How’re you gonna…you know?” Tim says, giving him a sideways glance. “Get Bruce to agree? Think cluing him in to all this is gonna help?”

“It has to, right?” Dick says, sighing. “I mean, asking him to do it didn’t work. If he knows it’s a time loop, then he’ll try.”

“But what if trying is the problem,” Tim says, and Dick stops him before he can continue.

“I know,” Dick says. “I considered that one too. But we have to try. The other way didn’t work, and if this does then we’re golden. If not…then I guess I’ll have to try something else.”

Tim rubs his head. “Well,” he says. “At least you get a bunch of do overs, free of charge. It’s not even a this-place-kinda-sucks Groundhog Day situation.”

Dick can only laugh. “Yeah,” He says. “We’re only on round 8, too. Haven’t even reached double digits yet.”

“Light work,” Tim scoffs, then stands up. “C’mon. Let’s go tell Bruce now.”

“Yeah,” Dick says, the familiar dread starting to form in his stomach. “Okay, let’s go.”

When they make their way down to the Cave, Bruce is exactly where Dick had left him. Staring at the a screen, contemplating the information within.

“Dick,” Bruce says, almost like an announcement. I know that you’re there. “Come take a look at this. You been hearing about what’s going on in New York?”

“Yeah,” Dick says, making his way over. He doesn’t look at the screen. “I couldn’t tell you if it’s relevant or not to us, though. But, Bruce. Listen. I need your help with something.”

“Hm?” Bruce says. His eyes stay on the screen, but Dick can tell that he’s listening. “What is it?”

Dick gives a side glance to Tim. Tim gives him a thumbs up. “Well,” He begins. I seem to have found myself in a…time loop situation. Groundhog Day style.”

This interests Bruce enough that he turns around, pinning Dick with a very familiar searching look. “Time loop?” He asks, then. “Report.”

“I got cursed,” Dick says, keeping it short and simple. “In Blüdhaven. I’ve completed about 7 resets so far. The loop triggers whenever I get an apology, and when the day ends. I spoke with Zatanna during one of the resets, and she told me that I essentially got cursed with needing to hear a sincere apology from…well, you. And if you do that, it’ll stop the loop.”

Bruce barely flinches. Dick’s kind of impressed despite himself. “Hm,” Bruce says, eyeing him critically. “Is this verifiable?”

“It is,” Tim chimes in. “He knew about the thing I’m working on. Knew the questions I was gonna ask him before I was able to do it.”

“Interesting,” Bruce says. “Well. An apology, you say?”

Dick shrugs. “Yeah,” He says, “Should be easy enough, right? It had to be sincere to work, though. The word itself doesn’t trigger anything. It’s more like the word plus the intention.”

Bruce considers him further. “Right,” He says, almost to himself. “Well then. My apologies.”

Dick waits. Nothing happens.

“You have to mean it, Bruce,” He tries. “Just…anything. Anything you have any guilt about. It should work.”

Bruce looks him in the eye, holds contact for a few second, then darts a glance to the side. “I’m sorry,” He says. It sounds somber, real.

Another beat. Nothing happens.

“Are you sure?” Bruce says, and Dick makes an annoyed sound. “That this is supposed to be me?”

“Pretty sure,” Dick says, already tired of the conversation.

“Why?” Bruce says. He gets up, clearly getting into detective-mode. “What did the curse say exactly? I need precise details.”

Dick sighs. “Bruce…”

Tim sidles up to him. “Dude,” He says, sympathetically. “Sorry.”

Both their eyes go wide at the same time before—

Everything stops.

Day 9

Dick wakes up.

He knows what’s gonna happen, but feels the need to check anyway:

Sunday. 08:04.

Great.

Well. He’s still chasing this Bruce angle, so he needs to up back to the manor for take 3 there. One more round of loops, and I’ll hit double digits. He thinks.

The straightforward approach didn’t work. Telling him the situation didn’t work. So he’s going to need to be more subtle with it, try to manipulate the situation into getting an apology.

Dick shakes his head. How is he going to do that, when Bruce has never apologized to him for anything big that he’d done?

Well. He doesn’t have a choice, does he? If this fails, maybe he’ll make a PowerPoint presentation of all the relevant points, and maybe Bruce will be convinced enough to apologize…

He’s getting ahead of himself. He should just try this round and see…

He grabs his phone, dials Tim.

“Hey!” Tim picks up. “I was literally just about to call you.”

“Oh, great,” Dick says, grabbing his shirt. “What a cool coincidence. I just wanted to check with you if Bruce is around, I wanted to talk to him.”

“Yeah,” Tim says. “Mind if I pick your brain before you go in?”

“Sure,” Dick says. He doesn’t want to alert Tim’s suspicions. “I’m on my way.”

-

Dick stops right outside the Cave, indecision burning away at him.

He needs a battle plan. If he doesn’t go in fully prepared, Bruce is gonna pry him apart in seconds.

Okay, He thinks to himself. Be friendly. Be open. Be helpful. And then…pick a fight. But don’t yell. Act hurt. And see

Oh, this is gonna go great.

Before he can talk himself out of it, he saunters into the cave, tapping at the wall twice. “Hey, Bruce,” He greets. “What’s up?”

Bruce is sitting at the computer, staring at bits of data that only make sense to him. “Dick,” He acknowledges, without turning around. “Working on this. You been hearing about what’s going on in New York?”

“Yeah,” Dick says. He approaches the screen, actually looking at the information this time. “Why? Think it’s something we should look at?”

He tries to include himself in the discussion, signaling to Bruce that he’s here to help.

It works. “Maybe,” Bruce thinks. This time, he gestures to Dick to come forward. “If you look here,” He points. “The origin of these beings seems…oddly familiar.”

Dick nods, barely processing the information. He keeps looking for a way in, a way to fall into an argument. “Sure,” He says. How is he going to do this? How is he ever going to get Bruce to say sorry? “You think it’s…uh….”

The words get stuck in his throat.

Bruce looks at him. “Dick?” He asks.

His voice sounds so genuine in that moment that Dick almost can’t handle it. “I’m good,” He says. His voice cracks. “Yeah, I’m good. Just…uh. I’m good.”

Oh boy. This is going great.

Shut up. He tells himself. Pull yourself together.

He looks down at his hands. They’re shaking.

He feels himself being pushed into a chair. “Dick?” A pair of hands grabs his face, lifts it up. He sees Bruce peering into his eyes. “What’s going on?”

Dick chuckles between breaths. “Nothing,” He says, trying to get himself back under control. “I’m good.”

“Clearly not,” Bruce eyes him. “Hold on. I’m going to do an assessment.” He pats Dick’s shoulder. “Stay calm.”

“I am,” Dick insists. He’s mostly embarrassed, really. His hands are still shaking.

In no time at all, he feels his head being yanked back over the top of the chair. A bright light is shined in his eyes.

He hisses, the sudden change in position confusing him. Pain radiates through his neck. “Sorry,” Bruce says, offhandedly, peering into his face. “Need to do this. You don’t look like you have a head injury…”

But Dick…

Dick has…

Sorry…

The word echoes in his head. Did he just…

He gets a feeling like a bucket of ice water has been thrown on him. Everything around him comes into focus with a scary amount of clarity.

Bruce clearly feels a difference, because he pauses. “Dick?” He asks again.

Dick blinks. Once. Twice. “I’m okay,” He gasps. He thinks he means it this time. “I’m okay.”

-

Bruce had been reluctant to send him home after that.

Dick doesn’t blame him. He’d completely fallen apart right then and there and probably scared the shit out of him, so.

And, well. His panic had been clear in the fact that. That he’d apologized. And…and it may have broken the curse? He thinks? He’s no expert, but there’s only one way to find out, really.

So, Bruce’s absolute insistence that he stay the night didn’t push his buttons the way it usually would. Instead, he gives in to the pushing. He’s too tired not to.

Plus, once Bruce got Alfred involved…there was no way he was gonna get away after that.

That’s why Dick finds himself in his childhood bedroom hours later, staring at the stick-on glow-in-the-dark stars and moons on the ceiling.

Satisfaction in validation. He thinks, then. Suck it.

He should probably go back to the warehouse anyway. Can’t have the dude going ahead cursing other people willy-nilly. Next time, he’ll bring Zatanna.

Bruce apologized. He thinks. It still blows him away. He actually apologized.

Not for anything major, either. Just…just in the moment, not even thinking about it. The words slipped out, just like that. Like he did it all the time.

Dick thinks he should be feeling some type of way about that. That it should resolve at something inside of him, at the thing that’s been there ever since he was seventeen years old.

May you never find satisfaction in validation..

He shakes it off. Maybe he would feel differently if it was a bigger apology. Or maybe it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Either way. He’s pretty sure that the curse has lifted, but he’s not gonna count it a done deal until he hits the next day without incident.

May you never find satisfaction in validation…

Dick keeps an eye out on his phone, trying his best to stay awake.

The time ticks down…

12:00.

He draws a breath, then another. He waits.

Monday. 12:01.

He drops his phone on the bed, breathing deeply. I did it. He thinks. I did it.

May you never find satisfaction in validation

He swallows all the feelings still simmering below the surface, then drops off to sleep.

[hailsatanacab]

Are you still doing the wip ask game? If so, can i ask about number 5?

I love this one and I'm so embarrassed that it's still a wip oh no!!!! This should have been completed a long time ago to celebrate hitting 1,000 followers but uh... it sorta snowballed into way more than I thought it would and this cute little oneshot is now way more than that. Whoops.

It started as a @stealingyourbones prompt that I added on to, which you can read here! Then I posted a wee little wip wednesday sneak peek, and this snippet (is it still a snippet if it's over 1k words?) carries on from there :)

👻🦇👻

Danny doesn’t join him for what is, unexpectedly, a pretty great meal.

“Holy shit, you guys,” he murmurs, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You’re missing out.”

“Come on, Jay, it can’t be as good as the Big Bat Deluxe.” Dick whines in his ear. “You love those.”

“No, I love the Red Hot Hood Bites. That’s all I get at Bat Burger, and don’t let me hear you telling the others that I get anything else.”

“Please, Jason, don’t think we don’t have everyone’s BB order on file, who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Fuck off, Timbits. Go eat at Red Robin.”

“Hey, fuck you!”

Jason elects to tune out the ensuing list of threats in favour of finishing his burger. He’s heard them all before and he’s like 80% sure that Tim won’t actually hide his body in a Red Robin—if only because it wouldn’t take the World’s Greatest Detective to figure out who did it and he'd be so deep in the fucking shit that he may as well join Jason.

Aside from the food (seriously, that sauce! He’s going to need to rustle up a copycat or something, he can’t leave here without a recipe), the Nasty Burger is a pretty sad affair.

It’s a little run down, the vinyl covers on the seats peeling and suspiciously sticky, and incredibly quiet. The only other people around are the two teens behind the counter, bored and on their phones, and two kids, probably around Danny’s age, sitting in the corner quietly arguing amongst themselves. There’s an ungodly amount of food in front of them, but only the guy seems to be eating.

Jason sighs and looks at the rapidly cooling Supremely Nasty Meal meant for Danny. Taking a few of the fries won’t hurt, will it?

He peels the paper bag away from the greasy mess and digs in. Huh, they really skimped on his lot, there’s only like half a carton in here.

“So, you gonna bring us back something or are we going to have to starve?”

“Haven’t decided yet.”

“What a shame,” Timbo starts, with a theatrical air, “for I am still trying to decide whether or not to tell you everything I’ve learnt about the Fentons. Perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement?”

“You finally made yourself useful and got through those firewalls?”

“Yeah, once I managed to get my hands on a native laptop. It’s weird, but whatever was keeping out my tech lets anything bought directly from Amity in. Having such localised security—to the point where even my stuff can’t penetrate?— is beyond strange. I don’t like it.”

Jason leans back, and reaches for Danny’s milkshake, finding it surprisingly light when he lifts it up. Seriously, what is with the half portions here? He turns round and glares at the spotty teen behind the counter, who doesn’t look up from his phone. Whatever. It's not like Danny’s going to drink it anyway.

Looks like the two kids in the corner have made up, if their stifled laughter is anything to go by. Most of their own food is gone now, too, so perhaps the real reason it’s called the Nasty Burger is because they stiff you on the food.

“This place is weird.” says Dick, in a rare case of being right.

“You don’t know the half of it…” Tim sighs but doesn’t offer up anything else.

Jason’s been trying his best to ignore it.

The weirdness, that is.

There’s an electrical charge in the air so strong it almost feels like he’s swimming through static. Each breath makes his steps bounce like he’s walking on the moon. If he turns too quickly, if he stands up too fast, his head spins like he's breathing too much oxygen.

No matter what Tim thinks he knows, it’s not the full weirdness of Amity Park, Jason's sure about that. Being here itches under his skin, and he resolves not to delve any deeper into it. Not with the way the green swims on the edges of his vision. 

The sooner they figure out what’s happening here, the better.

“What’s your price?” 

“Two Supremes and a six pack of Nasty Nuggies. Cake shake with two shots of espresso.”

Jason rolls his eyes as Dick splutters in concern.

“Shake and espresso? Tim, you have a problem.”

“It’s just a frappuccino. There’s no difference.”

“Then get a frappuccino.”

“I want a shake.”

“Then there's a difference! And the difference is that Alfred will kill us for enabling you!”

“As riveting as watching Timberly’s mental and physical wellbeing disappear before our very eyes is, what’s your info?”

“The same for me, please!” Dick butts in, yet again. “Except with a coke instead, because I’m normal.”

Both Tim and Jason snort. 

“Yeah, not gonna touch that. Tim, info, come on.”

“Alright, alright. Hey, so, what’s your favourite thing about being adopted?”

“Tim, I swear to God, if you don’t get to the point right now, I’ll—”

“You’re right! It’s that none of us are actually related to you.”

“And yet somehow, I’m still stuck with you all. Point, Tim, get to it.”

He grabs the burger meant for Danny and begins to unwrap it. If he has to listen to Tim being all smug about whatever he’s found out, he’s doing it with a burger in hand.

“Did you know that Willis Todd’s Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather was a Nightingale?”

“What’s a Nightingale? Aside from the obvious.”

“A Nightingale is about two generations away from becoming a Fenton.”

“Oh, what the fuck? You cannot be serious!”

“Serious as a cake shake with two espressos in it.”

“No, my… Someone ate my other fucking burger!”

Danny’s burger has a huge, bite-sized chunk taken out of it. Literal teeth marks in the bun. A slice of tomato slops limply onto the table, painting his shirt with splatters of weak tomato juice, the red half moon taunting him. Sauce dribbles out mournfully.

The two kids in the corner are staring openly now, faces red with how hard they’re laughing.

Jason sinks into his chair with a groan.

This fucking town. 

Is this how they treat outsiders? Take bites of their burgers while they laugh on—but then why only do it to his spare and not both meals? The teenagers behind the counter aren't even paying any attention, so why bother pulling a prank like this if you're not going to—

Danny.

Jason whips his head around as if he can catch the invisible little shit, but just like on the street, there's no sign of him.

Has he been here the whole time, invisibly eating the food Jason offered him? Except the packaging was still perfectly wrapped, the sticker still attached, how in the hell had he managed to eat the burger without damaging it? Did he get to it in the kitchen? Or does he—

“Wait, hold up. What the fuck did you just say?”

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

Summary: Lunch time

A/N: Hello lovelies,

What an amazing Bad Batch episode. Had me in tears, made me smile, made me laugh, made me upset. Just all over the place. Anyway, I'm on vacation, so no updates next week. I'll be content creating.

Also I just reached 450 followers! I'll be coming up with a way to celebrate it.

Love oo

Due to the past history of the OC there will be discussions alluding to past domestic abuse, please note that as it could be a trigger for some.

Warnings: discussions of lunch. If I miss any warnings, please let me know.

AO3 Link |   Words: 1,103 |   Previous -> Next

Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

THE CRESTWORLD

CHAPTER TEN

It felt weird being around people again, when for the past several weeks all I’d seen was Din and Grogu, and now there were at least 25 pairs of eyes watching me. It was nerve wracking.

“Why is everyone staring? Is there something on my face?” I quietly asked Din as I wiped away what I thought could be the issue.

“It’s not you, it’s me,” he responded, matching my tone.

“I don’t understand”

“Don’t worry about it, just look at your menu” he motioned with his head. 

“You guys ready to order, Din?”

I looked up to see one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen before, she was almost as tall as Din, with a fantastic smile, incredible eyes, and the most thick head of hair ever. Instinctively, I touched my own, wondering how badly my own thinning hair looked; I had lost a lot of my hair due to the stress I experienced for the past few years. Even her skin was smooth and without blemish, I couldn’t help wondering what her skin care routine was, that she was able to look so amazing.

“I’ll have the fried nuna please, Omera,” Din responded without looking up.

“Sure, and you sweetie?” She smiled, radiating warmth and friendliness. 

I was lost for a second in her warmth and beauty, “Hmm, sorry”

She chuckled a little, “What do you want to eat, Ann?” Din let out exasperated.

“Oh, right sorry” I looked at the menu again, “What do you recommend?”

“The fried nuna is good, I like it, but the burgers here are quite delicious”

“Then a burger please”

“Coming right up, usual drink Din?”

“Sure, and bring one for her too.” He motioned towards the woman sitting in front of him. It had been a while since he had seen Omera and truthfully, he thought it would be a bit more awkward, especially after the disastrous date.

“Alright, two jogan fruit drinks coming up”

“Thank you, uh … O-Omera. Sorry if I messed it up”

“Not at all. Ann, right?”

“Yeah”

“Welcome to Sorgan”

“Thank you. Nice meeting you.”

“You too. I’ll go put in your order”

Din watched as she walked away heading to the counter behind him, a smirk appeared on my lips, as I took in the scene before me, “Oh, I see” I whispered.

He turned back to look at Ann, confusion on his face, “You see?” Din tilted his head.

“Nothing” I shook my head, I wasn’t about to open up my mouth about what I suspected. Not after what happened this morning, it was better to keep my nose out of it.

He glanced out the window, not saying anything to what she could possibly have been implying. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to any sort of speculation or remarks.

I took my time eyeing the rest of the patrons, there was an older couple off in the corner, smiling and joking. An older man in his late 50’s who looked annoyed and very miserable. Two men who were sitting eating their meal in relative silence, but seemed to be making jokes with one another every so often. There was a young guy maybe in his mid to late 20’s sitting at the bar of the diner, he glanced over to us every so often, his eyes caught mine. He gave a little smile, which left me feeling uneasy. I simply looked away and focused instead on reading the signs around the diner.

“Well-well, what brings you here, stranger?” 

I turned to the very unique and familiar voice, and there standing in all his glory, his cowboy hat on his head with that same smile I saw, from our first meeting stood the Marshall.

“Marshall Vanth” Din nodded, addressing him.

He took off his hat as he sat down beside me. The smile never leaving his face, he looked at Din, grabbing the menu from in front of him. 

“So Mr. Shut-in decided to bring you for lunch, huh?” He chuckled, nudging my arm as his warmth and friendly nature filled the table.

“Apparently, I did a good job today” I bumped his shoulder, as a smile graced my lips, grateful he was there adding a warmer atmosphere than what Din was providing. He seemed to have fallen back into his colder persona when we got closer to town. 

“Hmmm, yeah, if you mean nearly getting yourself killed a good job” he motioned with his hand, as he turned to look at the two of us, “then yeah, you did a good job” Din let out, annoyed at Cobb who felt it was acceptable to just sit down without asking. More annoyed that he was able to get Ann to smile so easily.

“I did not get myself killed. When would I have gotten myself killed?”

“You didn’t notice, because I stepped in and helped you”

“You know” I turned to look at Cobb, “he was all grumpy, being all kinds of rude this morning and I graciously let it slide, and now he’s been all fussy again. Especially after he went into detail about how good of a job I did.”

“Ha! Graciously?” Din huffed.

“I’m not surprised,” Cobb chuckled, ignoring Din’s comment.

“Hello Marshall” 

“Well hello Omera, you’re looking beautiful as always” he gave his best flirty smile as he looked at her.

“Thanks, your usual?”

“Today, I think I’ll go with a club sandwich today, Omera”

“You know Cobb, the chef wanted me to tell you, you try the club sandwich at the beginning of every month, and every time, you don’t like it, ending up sending it back and ordering your usual. He said that if you did it again, he’d come out and force you to eat it. Now, with that in mind, do you really want to order the club sandwich?”

“Of course not, I’ll just have the usual”

“Ugh! Every time.”

“You love me”

“Hardly”

“But I’m wearing you down, aren’t I?

“Not even close.” She shook her head, but there was a definite blush on her cheeks, “I’ll put your order in, give me a minute, what do you want to drink?”

“Caf would be lovely”

“Regular or your special?”

“My special, thanks”

I noticed Cobb also watched Omera walk away, hmmm, interesting, “So did you guys grow up together or something?” I motioned between Din and Cobb. As much as Din tried to be irritated with the man there was a definite hint of a smile on the corner of his lips, while Cobb simply chuckled as he pushed away the menu.

AO3 Link |   Words: 1,103 |   Previous -> Next

Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

@littlemisspascal @sprout-fics @liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24 @spicymcnuggies @lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian @tortor-mcgee @sarcasmismyonlydefense24 @chiyo13

[turvi]

Beauty and The Beast-3

Sirius started to behave a little bit for the following week. He was determined to prove to Y/n that he can be good. He is not just the mischievous and flirty Sirius everyone thinks he is. There is a sad boy in him that just needs a hug.

He honestly has no idea why he was making so much effort for her but she had captivated him. He would sit with Audrey and Ralph and just pick up random facts about Y/n and slowly he was falling for her more. He was getting to know a different side of this girl. If only she would talk to him. It seems like he has an idea of how he could make that possible

Y/n was in Transfiguration class taking notes when suddenly a flash of light distracted her. She looked out of the window to see Sirius Black holding a bouquet and a gift in his hand. He gestured to Y/n to meet outside of the class.

Y/n noticed Regulus Black was sitting in front of her. His jaw clenched as he saw his brother's antics. Y/n cleared her throat. "I see you two have quite opposite personalities". Regulus rolled his eyes "he is fine, he is just....Sirius". Y/n chuckled, she enjoyed Regulus' company a lot. They would often solve puzzles together and discuss conspiracy theories. She never thought that Regulus would be the kind of person who would be interested in conspiracy theories. He would say to her "they may not be true, but it doesn't hurt a soul to think that they might be."

"So why has your brother taken a sudden interest in me?" she asked Regulus who paused before replying "honestly y/nn? He is also one of the mysteries I have not been able to solve." Y/n simply nodded at his words when he turned around and added "he is not bad. Once he starts to care for someone, then he truly cares." With that, he went back to his work.

Y/n knew that the younger Black is a man of fewer words. He only speaks when he feels necessary. She didn't mind it gave her time to process what he said.

After the class was over Y/n spotted Sirius standing up smiling at her. Y/n was surprised that he waited for her patiently.

"I got to know you don't like going outside much. So if you don't mind I have planned a special date for us at Hogsmeade. Oh I also got a bouquet for you"

Y/n tried to bite back her smile. She couldn't help it, it felt like he had made a lot of effort for this.

"You didn't have to do all this"

"I didn't but I wanted to. You don't have to feel the same for me I just want to treat you with a nice date."

"Alright I will"

Sirius was ecstatic "great. You won't be disappointed darling. You know how to keep me on my toes."

Y/n shook her head as he winked at her and ran away but not before handing her the gifts he brought for her.

She opened the gift to find a camera. It wasn't just any camera, it was a movie camera. The kind her father used to own when she was a child but it was stolen when a burger broke into their home. She used to love to record videos even as a young child. Her eyes teared up looking at the camera. She felt like 8-year-old Y/n again, recording shaky videos of her parents.

She didn't know that Sirius was hiding in the corner looking at her reaction, watching her smile. For him, this is his greatest achievement to make his girl smile. She is not his girl yet but he knows she will be......soon hopefully.

Sirius walked through the Hufflepuff common room wearing a tuxedo. The students couldn't take their eyes off him, they were seeing him in that attire for the first time. Even Sirius couldn't remember when was the last time he wore a tuxedo but this occasion was so special he wanted to dress up nice. He was treating his girl.

Y/n came out of her dorm wearing a purple dress that she made sure hid her body well. Sirus watched in awe as she stood in front of him. Sirius had a flash of imagination of him waiting for her like this at the wedding altar ready to be hers forever. Sirius shook his head. He barely managed to get one date and he is already thinking of marriage. Maybe Remus was not wrong to assume that Sirius is whipped for her

"You will not regret this. This day will become your core memory." Sirius looked at Y/n with determination and love. She couldn't help but smile a bit. She couldn't believe her childhood crush dressed up and planned a date just for her.

Sirius extended his hand "shall we go my love?" Y/n placed her hand in his. He looked into her eyes and kissed her hand. Sirius looked down where his hand met hers. He smiled when she didn't let go of his hand. He squeezed her hand gently. Their night had just started and Sirius didn't want to end it.

As they walked Sirius led her to Hogsmeade. It was quite late and the crowd was sparse. Y/n looked at him and finally asked.

"How did you do this?"

Sirius teased "you have to be a bit specific doll"

"The camera. How did you know about that"

Sirius shrugged with pride "I have been talking with your best friend. Convinced her I have no intention of hurting you. In fact, if you don't want to see me after this night I will still be ok because this night is just so special no one can take this from me."

Y/n smirked, "not even me?"

He shook his head, and his smile got wider "not even you doll"

Held kissed the back of her hand. He felt like he won a prize when he saw her smile and blush. He thinks maybe he does have a chance.

Sirius looked around and Hogsmeade was now empty. He took Y/n towards the empty street in the Hogsmeade that he had decorated with the help of the marauders. He knew that Hogsmeade will be empty by this time and it would be just him and Y/n. Before they reached the spot he stopped Y/n.

"Ok close your eyes no peeking"

Y/n closed her eyes. Sirius waved his hand in front of her. She smiled "you will have to lead me wherever this spot is I can't see."

Sirius smirked, "how many fingers am I holding?"

"uh...ten thousand and 1"

"hardy har really funny Y/n " he looked at her he could feel himself blushing. He shook his head and gently took her forward to a secluded street where he had set up a table that was surrounded by fake candles and flowers.

"Ok you can open your eyes now"

Y/n opened her eyes. It looked so beautiful under the moonlight. She noticed a picnic basket on the table.

"Yeah I was going to put real candles around here but Remus told me it could be a dangerous idea."

"I love it"

Sirius' heart was beating fast. He kissed Y/n's hand again and led her to the table. He made a mental note to thank his best friends again for helping him set up this lovely date.

Sirius decided to open up a bit with Y/n. The more he is truthful with her the more she will trust him.

He didn't go into much detail just his likes and dislikes and noticed how Y/n was listening to him carefully. He tried not to giggle when whenever he caught her smiling at him.

"So I am guessing someone broke your heart?" he said breaking a comfortable silence.

"How did you know?"

"Well you would not have been so insecure if someone showered you with compliments regularly"

She nodded "well you are right, I loved someone for a long time, and he gave me a lot of missed signals, and there were rumors of him dating someone else, I approached that girl she said oh it's nothing like that you can go ahead and tell him your real feelings, the next day his friend come up to me and tells me that my crush wants me to stay away and the girl started dating my crush" she said not knowing if it made sense or not but Sirius immediately held her hand.

"You didn't deserve that"

"I didn't mind her dating him of course I was heartbroken because I have had feelings for him for a long time but still she could have told me this instead of embarrassing me like this. I was not even angry at them just disappointed."

After a few seconds, she spoke again "thank you for the camera I loved it. It was very thoughtful of you"

Sirius smirked "I just want to see my girl smile"

After their dinner, Sirius took her hand. He pulled her closer to him and started to dance.

"Sirius there is no music playing" Y/n giggled

"So what we have the moonlight, the empty Hogsmeade street and I have you so what else do I need?"

She shook her head "You are going to need help to clean up after our date. The table is in the middle of the road"

"oh don't worry about that you enjoy this night"

"Still if you need help, I will help"

Sirius smirked at her and brought her closer "I know you are scared to love me. But give me a chance and I will be the best lover you had"

Y/n nodded "Ok"

Sirius' grip tightened around her waist "Say it. Say you are mine and I will be yours"

Y/n blushed "I am yours"

Sirius smiled and kissed her like there is no tomorrow. Y/n was surprised but she kissed him back. He held her tightly not wanting to let go of her.

Sirius had made another mental note. To love this girl like she has never been loved before. As they parted his smile got wider and he kissed her again. He finally backed away when he made sure she got breathless.

"Just wanted to remind you what my love looks like for you. Like I said y/n you will not regret your decision."

@i-amtitania

Part-4?

A/N: I am late. This is probably shit but eh. REBLOGS AND FEEDBACKS APPRECIATED

[theladyofdeath]

The Holiday {3}

Ships: Nesta x Cassian / Aelin x Rowan

Written alongside @snelbz

Trope(s): Christmas, fluff, love at first sight, enemies to lovers

Summary: Nesta has just been dumped. Aelin hates her job. Both women need an escape from reality and with Christmas quickly approaching, it's the perfect time for a getaway. After discovering a trend where people can swap houses for a non-traditional vacation experience, these two women decide to spend the holidays in each other's homes. With their houses comes a series of unique experiences and a couple of handsome suitors. It's time to see just how much a change of scenery and two weeks of Christmas solitude and romance can change a person.

A/N: I hope you're all enjoying the fluff! x

Rating: M for mature - language, smut, substance use, etc. 18+.

Inspired by The Holiday (2006).

It had been a long time, possibly even years, since Nesta had gotten such a good night’s sleep. Although Aelin’s townhouse lacked a certain…warmth, her bed was the most comfortable thing she had ever laid on. It felt like a pile of feathers sitting on top of a cloud and it made Nesta rethink every financial decision she had ever made. She could have spent years saving up for such a relaxing masterpiece, but no…she had bought necessities instead. What a waste.

It was almost ten by the time she woke up but she stayed in bed until eleven, until she grew so hungry that it was nearly unbearable.

With her stomach growling, she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She quickly found some fresh, cut up fruit and a carton of eggs that she set out on the counter. She’d just located a frying pan when the front door of the townhouse opened.

That frying pan quickly became a weapon. She heard the front door close then heavy footsteps in the entryway. Nesta raised the frying pan in her hand high as she neared the corner and peeked around, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. 

The intruder was massive. His back was to her as he fished for something in his pocket. She couldn’t get a good look at him, couldn’t see anything under his black hoodie. Nesta felt like she was going to puke, her fear turning into nausea, as she took a few wobbly steps into the foyer and screamed.

The man spun around, screaming profanity as he jumped and threw his hands in the air in surrender. 

Nesta’s scream died in her throat at the man now facing her. He yanked down his hood, chest heaving, and asked, “What the fuck?” The fear in his eyes was real. He wasn’t expecting Nesta to be there. With a hand clutched to his chest, he eyed the frying pan that Nesta still had lifted in the air, ready to attack. “You gonna use that on me?”

“If I have to,” she snapped, not lowering the pan, despite how heavy it was. She blinked as recognition slammed into her. “You’re the guy from the bar last night.”

The man raised an eyebrow and then the same infuriating smirk he’d given her last night slid onto his face. “Burger girl.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Nesta demanded, ignoring the fact that he’d just called her burger girl and lowering the frying pan to her side. She didn’t think she was in any imminent danger, but she wasn’t putting it down, just to be safe.

The man scoffed and gestured to her and her weapon. “I could ask you the same thing.”

For a moment, Nesta hesitated. She’d been a little too forthcoming talking to Emerie yesterday, but she felt like she could trust the girl’s kind face. She may not have known her, but she was a member of Nesta’s own. This man was a complete stranger…who she was standing in front of in nothing but her tank top and a pair of men’s boxer shorts she liked to sleep in.

With a sigh, she admitted, “I’m on holiday. I did a home exchange with the woman who lives here. She didn’t mention any roommates though.”

The musician stood in front of her, analyzing Nesta’s words with a glint of humor in his hazel eyes. When he didn’t say anything, Nesta shifted on her feet. 

“What?” she snapped. 

He shrugged. “Aelin would tell me she’s going out of town but not tell me the whole story. Although, she’s about to get an earful from me considering I was trying to be nice and water her damn plants while she was gone.” Nesta wondered if he was trying to mention something that would make Nesta confess that she was breaking and entering, that she was a con, but she had nothing to hide. “But I assume that if you’re staying here, you’ll be watering the plants.”

“I will,” Nesta said, lifting her chin, although she felt very little dignity. “I think I’m perfectly capable of watering a few plants.”

There were more than a few, but she didn’t need to tell him that. Apparently he knew how many plants were in the house or he wouldn’t be there.

Then the thought occurred to Nesta. “Oh, shit, is Aelin your girlfriend?” 

The laugh that came out of the cocky bastard was thunderous. “Hell no. Neighbors. I live next door. Aelin’s a good friend, but don’t worry, nothing more.”

Nesta began to nod until his words registered. “Don’t worry? Why the hell would I be worried?”

He shrugged. “I saw how you were watching me while you shoveled that burger in your mouth.”

He somehow made that sound like an innuendo, making Nesta’s lip curl. She couldn’t tell if he was messing with her or if he was really that full of himself. Either way, she wanted to slap that grin right off his face. 

“I’m Cassian,” he went on, when Nesta’s gaping wasn’t answer enough. 

“I don’t care,” Nesta said, considering she hadn’t asked. “You’re an intruder, actually. Pretty sure this little stunt falls under breaking and entering.”

“It's a crime to water a friend’s plants?” he pushed, rocking back on his heels. “Well, shit. Sue me, I guess. Besides,” he added, fishing into his pockets and pulling out a set of keys. “Don’t think it counts as breaking and entering if you have a key.”

She’d researched quite a few things as she wrote her books, but she’d never looked into the legality of letting yourself into someone’s home with no intent to harm, so she couldn’t even argue with him with confidence. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, still holding the heavy, cast iron pan. “Well, if that’s all, I’d like to return to my breakfast.”

His gaze left hers and dropped to her crossed arms and, once again, she was acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing a tank top.

And no bra.

Turning to head back towards the kitchen, Nesta heard him say, “I’ll be playing at the Illyrian again tonight.”

“I’m busy,” she said, crossing the threshold, which was a lie. She hadn’t decided what she was doing that evening, but it sure as hell wasn’t going to be watching him get ogled by his fangirls again. Even if it was the best burger she’d had in years and fell asleep with his sensual voice in her mind.

Her dreams hadn’t been bad, either. 

As Nesta walked back into the kitchen, annoyance had her tensing as Cassian’s footsteps followed a few feet behind her.

“I don’t remember inviting you in,” she grumbled, setting the frying pan back on the stovetop. 

“I was already in,” he reminded her. “Key, remember? So, the Illyrian—”

“I’m busy,” Nesta repeated, turning on the stovetop. 

“I don’t believe you,” he crooned, stopping at the entrance of the kitchen and leaning against the threshold. “Come on. I’ll make Rhys serve you free drinks all night.” Nesta scoffed. “Making someone serve me free drinks? Sounds like another illegal stunt of yours.”

“Well, when you own the place you can do whatever the hell you want,” Cassian said.

Nesta froze, and looked over her shoulder with a lifted brow. “Own the place?” “Rhys does,” he clarified. “Owns the place. Works the bar when they need the extra help. He mixes a better drink than most of his bartenders, anyway.” He shrugged. “He’s my brother. So free drinks.”

“Free drinks don’t appeal to me,” Nesta said, turning back to the stovetop. She stood up straighter, wondering if he was looking at the back of her, at her ass and her bare shoulders. Some part of her that she tried to ignore really hoped that he was. The idea made her cheeks turn pink. 

“Liar,” he said, but pushed off the frame. “I’ll keep a table open for you if you change your mind.”

“I won’t.”

“You might.”

“I’m busy.”

“Liar.”

“You can’t accuse me of lying, you don’t even know me.” After dousing the pan in oil, she turned to Cassian, arms crossed over her chest. “I’m sorry that I have better things to do than listen to you woo girls with your covers all night.”

His lips quirked. “Woo?”

He was so sure of himself, so confident in the way he stood, the way that he watched her. His smile was lazy, but his eyes were bright. Even in his hoodie, she could tell he was well-built. She wondered how many hours a week that he spent in the gym, toning himself up to impress his groupies. His hair, although untamed and way too long, fascinated Nesta. It gave him a sense of adventure and rebellion. He stood with a sense of authority. He watched her, all-knowing of every thought that ran through her mind.

“Shouldn’t you be going?” Nesta asked, turning back to the stove. “I probably should, before you call the cops on me,” he said, and he took a few steps back. “But if you’re not coming to watch me play, at least grant me your name.”

Nesta cracked an egg in the skillet. “You seem to know plenty of women’s names. There’s no need to know mine.”

“Sounds like jealousy to me.”

Gods, this asshole was insufferable. “Nesta.”

“Nesta,” he repeated, and his tone had her damn near quivering. She loathed him. “Well, Nesta, if you change your mind…your table from last night will be waiting for you.”

Nesta said nothing more, and Cassian didn’t say goodbye as he showed himself out, shutting the front door behind him. 

Nesta burnt the eggs.

<.>.<.>.<.>

Getting down the mountain was easier than Aelin had expected. There was a sporty blue SUV in the garage and after making sure her car insurance would protect Nesta in the case of an accident, Aelin snatched the keys off the wall and backed out of the driveway.

If she found a tree down in Orynth, she’d have to be able to get it back to the cottage. Not that she’d be able to get it into the house after that, but that was a problem for later.

Cursing the weather, Aelin carefully made her way down the mountain, thankful that she was used to driving in the snowy conditions Velaris usually dumped out in the winter.

Granted, there was never this much snow, but she decided some experience was better than nothing.

When she finally made it down to the city, she stopped at a shop called The Christmas Village.

She was sure Nesta had decorations somewhere, but she wasn’t about to start snooping through her host’s closets.

Even if she had borrowed her car without permission.

Aelin lived by the law that it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It was an ideology that got her in trouble when she was younger, but pushed her ahead in the world once she had gotten older. 

Her tree at home was pretty specifically decorated. All of the ornaments were silver and white. As she walked into The Christmas Village, she didn’t think she would be able to buy silver and white ornaments in bulk. In fact, there were lines of ornaments, every single one of them unique and different.

Aelin found it charming. 

It only took a half hour to fill her basket. She had ornaments of all different colors, shapes, and sizes, each with their own unique beauty. It was kind of freeing, getting ornaments that didn’t match or coincide with one another. She had snowflakes and snowmen, candy canes and little sweaters, glittery balls and one shaped like a stack of books. She had even found an ornament shaped like a piano, which she adored as it reminded her of her youth.  

Other than ornaments, Aelin had found a couple of garlands and candles, and a series of lights to string all over the cabin. Maybe she was going overboard, but she was feeling festive.

All she needed now was a tree. 

As she checked out at the counter, she gave the elderly man a smile. “Do you know where I can find a good tree?”

The man chuckled. “Less than a week until Christmas, and you still don’t have a tree?”

There was no judgment in his voice, only humor. Aelin shook her head. “No, not yet. I’m in desperate need of one.”

“Luckily there’s a lot just around the corner,” the man said, smiling as he wrapped each of Aelin’s ornaments. “Owned by a local tree farmer. Great selection. I’d start there.”

Aelin thanked him and was on her way.

It didn’t take her long to locate the lot, and judging by the number of other cars parked there, she wasn’t the only one behind in picking out a tree it seemed.

After only a few minutes, she found the perfect tree. It was only a foot or so taller than she was, which was ideal, since she couldn’t remember how tall the ceilings were in the small cottage. It wasn’t too skinny, but it also wasn’t too wide at the base, and the color was the most beautiful color of green she’d ever seen.

As she was looking at it, wondering exactly how she was planning to get a six foot tall tree into the cottage by herself, she heard, “If that’s the one you want, I can help you load it onto—”

Aelin turned and there stood Rowan.

He was just as handsome as he’d been the night before, not that Aelin had been fixating on that since their midnight encounter, maybe even more so that she could see him in the sunlight.

He’d clearly been out in the brisk wind all day, if his red cheeks were any indicator, but now she amended her earlier thought about the tree being the most beautiful color of green she’d ever seen.

His eyes were clear and crisp, the color of the trees around him. They stood out against the stark tattoo that ran down one side of his face and neck. She hadn’t noticed it the night before, possibly due to the lighting, possibly due to the fact that she was dead on her feet and jet lag had already been kicking her ass.

“Hi,” she said, stupidly.

He replied, “Hi.”

They stared at each other for a moment before Aelin asked, “So you’re a tree farmer and a lumberjack?”

To her surprise, he chuckled. “Yeah, I’m a tree farmer…and I chop wood, so I guess so.”

Aelin looked back at the tree before her. “How long has it taken this tree to grow?”

Rowan shrugged. “A few years. These are some of my favorites. They’re so full, and the branches are so thick. I have one in my own living room. It’s beautiful.”

Aelin looked at him and tilted her head. “You’re being awfully kind for someone I bitched out after midnight.” 

His grin was mesmerizing. He looked away as his smile spread. “Yeah, well, if a stranger showed up at the place I’m renting at midnight, I would’ve been a little moody too. I promise my intentions—”

“The wood you left kept me warm all night, so I have to thank you,” Aelin said.  “If you hadn’t shown up, I’m sure I’d be frozen in place on the couch right now.”

Rowan huffed a laugh. “Happy to help. I can bring another truck full in the morning that should last your whole stay. I know I didn’t leave very much, it was just what I had left from my stops yesterday.” 

“And the tree?” “The tree?”

Aelin gestured to the tree behind her. “When you drop off the wood, could you drop off this tree, too?”

His eyes fell on the tree and then bounced back to her face. His eyes were bright, despite the cold around them. “I don’t normally do deliveries, but since it’s on the way, I can drop it off on the way home tonight.”

Aelin beamed. “That means I can decorate it before bed.”

“You really like Christmas, don’t you?” He chuckled, tucking his hands in his pockets.

“Of course, it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” she said, not caring that she sounded like a Hallmark movie.

Shaking his head, Rowan couldn’t help but smile. “That it is.”

As Aelin was walking back to Nesta’s blue SUV, Rowan called after her, “Nesta told me she was leaving you my number in case you needed more firewood, but I don’t have yours. If you’d like, I can call you when I’m on the way with the tree.”

Turning, Aelin met his gaze, one eyebrow raised. “Is this your way of asking for my number?”

Rowan’s lips twitched as he hesitated. “Don’t get too cocky, I’m only trying to help.”

“In the city, we call that flirting,” Aelin said, and didn’t hate the way her chest felt a little lighter when he smiled. 

“Is this the city way of you telling me no?” Rowan asked, amused as he crossed his arms across his broad chest.

Aelin laughed, shaking her head. “I’ll text you as soon as I get back to the house. Then my number will be all yours.”

“Hmmm,” Rowan contemplated. “Still sounds like a rejection. What if you forget?”

Aelin had to bite her lip to keep from grinning like a fool. “I won’t.”

“And if I don’t believe that?” He pushed, eyes bright.

“Then I guess you’ll have to wait until I prove you wrong,” Aelin said, shrugging. 

Rowan’s eyes narrowed as he studied her. He started walking back towards the herd of customers as he said, “Don’t wait too long.”

With one last smirk in her direction, Rowan disappeared and left Aelin watching him go. There was something about him that captivated her, something mischievous that she couldn’t place her finger on. Maybe she was just dwelling in this little village that felt like Christmas, feeling the holiday’s joy and peace.

Either way, the second she got back to Nesta’s, Aelin found the note with Rowan’s number and sent him a text.

See you this afternoon, delivery boy.

[final-girl96]

STOLEN HEARTS CHAPTER NINE

May 14, 1984

"What happened to not going to prom? "Especially not with fucking Eddie." I rolled my eyes at my dad trying to impersonate me. "I don't sound like that. And he asked me yesterday. He made it sound fun." I shrugged trying to hide the smile that wanted to creep up on my face.

"Fun? What kind of fun?" He asked and I think maybe he stopped breathing. "He's going to take me to a cheap motel and pop my cherry… are you okay? You're turning red." His shoulders were stiff and his eyes bore into me. "Oh! Oh, my god, dad! Calm down…I was joking!" I burst out into laughter. "He just mentioned going for like an hour to some chaos between the popular assholes. Then go get burgers and shakes."

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I smiled, "Love you!" I said, hugging him and kissing his cheek before running off upstairs to finish getting ready for school. When I came back down he was still standing in the same spot. "Am I driving myself or are you going to take me like you said you were going to for the rest of the year?" He slowly nodded his head. "Yup.

I'd like to say the day went by like any other day. But it wasn't. I was asked to prom by at least three other guys and that was before lunch. I was about to walk into the cafeteria until I saw two more sitting at the table I alway sit at. Flowers in hand and glaring at each other. Now while most girls would love this kind of attention, I hated it. And it only made it worse because they wouldn't be asking if they didn't know who my dad was.

I opted for the library instead. I walked in, waved at Mrs. Walter, and headed to the very back and hid in my little corner. I couldn't wait for the day to be over. I was only there for ten minutes when the chair across from me was pulled out and someone sat in front of me. "So, it looks like you've got quite a fan base." I looked up at the dark curly haired boy and rolled my eyes.

"The only reason they even asked is because they now know my dad's some big deal. They wouldn't have asked otherwise," I said. "Well, for the record, I liked you before I knew who your dad was. I mean you annoyed me and still do sometimes. And it is fucking awesome that your dad is…" he stopped talking at zee the look on my face.

"Sorry. Not the point. The light is I'd like it if you'd give me a second chance. Go to the prom with me. I saw Misty Everton sucking Julian Shulman face off behind the bleachers yesterday. Girl really knows how to get around." He reached across the table and grabbed my hand and it felt like a shock of electricity went through me. "What do you say? Go to the prom, mess some shit up, get the fuck out of there and then go grab some burgers and shakes."

"I don't know. I mean I have so many options to pick from and…" I could keep myself from laughing at the look on his face. "Joking. I'll go with you…but!" I cut him off before he could even think about saying anything. "But, if you're more than five minutes late I will never speak to you again." He nodded his head rapidly with a huge smile on his face. "I'll be there on time. I promise!" He got up and ran off, making Mrs. Walter yell at him for running and being too loud.

It was a struggle but I was able to avoid people for the rest of the dad and rushed outside as soon as school let out. Dad was out there talking to Eddie as he waited for me. "Hey…" they both looked at me, Eddie looked like he was about to shit himself. "Are you okay?" I asked him and he slowly nodded his head. I looked over at my dad and he just shrugged.

"Oh. My god, Mr. Hexley, hi! I'm Misty, a good friend of your daughters." Me and Eddie snapped our heads to look behind us to see Misty walking up to my dad with her hand held out. "You actually went to school with my dad, Phil Everton." Dad looked at her hand but didn't shake it. "Yes. I know who you are. I also know that you're not friends with my daughter. Now if you'll excuse us. Come on, little viper. Time to go shopping!" He walked over to the driver side and got in.

Misty looked like she was just slapped in the face with how he regarded her. Eddie and I laughed and he opened the door for me. "I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?" I nodded and got in the car. Once the door was closed and I was buckled dad took off out of the school parking lot.

"Looks like we're going into the city and getting you a dress and whatever else you need and want. Seeing as you're going to prom with Eddie. Maybe a chastity belt too," he said. I groaned, and hit my head on the headrest behind me. "Dad! Oh. My god, stop! I'm not going to have sex with Eddie!"

We ended up going to Indianapolis to The Fashion Mall at Keystone and spent time looking for a dress, shoes, and anything else that I needed until the mall was about to close. "Well, that was fun. Not surprising that you didn't go flashy and colorful. Weird you didn't go with heels but not surprising. I'll call up Cindy and see if she can fly out here and do your hair for ya for Saturday." I smiled and we walked into the house. "Thanks, dad. But I think I'll just do something simple."

If I was being honest, I was kind of excited to go to prom. Sure it was just some stupid dance but at least it'll be a memory I can share with my own kids one day, if I decide I want any. The only thing I was worried about was if Eddie would actually show up or not. The little voice in the back of my head was putting doubts in my head.

What if he doesn't show up? What if this is all some cruel joke? What if he meets some girl again and forgets about me? Or what if he changes his mind and decides to take someone else? It was all just a bunch of what ifs and the worst thing I could think about always follows that what if.

[wonderswritings]

When Worlds Collide 2: Bits and Pieces

Summary: In the past year, you’d suffered more than you’d ever could’ve imagined. Now, after a relative moment of peace, it seems trouble has started once more, and you’re dragged into it. The multiverse is real, and with it, possibilities of a new life. 

Warnings: No Way Home Spoilers, Multiverse of Madness Spoilers, Angst, Lost Memories, Unrequited Feelings

Pairings: TASM!Peter Parker x Fem!Stark!Reader (nicknamed Mel read book 1 to find out why)

AO3

When Worlds Collide Masterlist

You were walking down the sidewalk next to Peter, listening to Peter’s rambling. You looked around, taking everything in when you saw the tall building in the distance, overshadowing all the other buildings.

“Think you could’ve made it any bigger?” He grinned, throwing his arm over your shoulders. “Nah, couldn’t have it too big.” “Right, can’t surpass your ego.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Come on, let me show you the inside.” He steered you inside, the two of you cracking jokes as you went.

“And they looked at me like I’d grown two heads or something.”

Peter stooped when he noticed you weren’t walking next to him, causing him to turn, seeing you standing in one spot, staring off into the distance. He rushed back to your side, stopping in front of you.

“YN? YN, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Your eyes were glassy, causing Peter to turn, looking off at where you were looking, the only thing he could figure you were looking at was Osborn’s building. He slightly shook his head as he turned back towards you, reaching up and cradling your face in his hands as he leaned down so he could be eye level with you.

“Come on YN, come back to me.”

Peter watched as the glassy look in your eyes faded, a small gasp escaping you as you blinked repeatedly.

“There we go, that’s it.”

You looked over at Peter, seeing the soft smile he was giving you.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

You shook your head, Peter’s hand falling back to his sides.

“I- I don’t know.”

You looked back over at the building slightly making a face before you looked back at Peter.

“Sorry.”

Peter shook his head as he stood to his full height.

“No, none of that. It’s okay.”

He grinned cheekily as he grabbed your hand, holding it in his.

“But let’s just stick together from now on, yeah?”

You nodded, offering him a small smile as the two of you started walking again. Turning at the corner you glanced back at the building, blinking when it changed, looking like a completely different building before it went back to normal.

You were sitting against the trunk of a tree, Peter across from you as you both picked at your food.

“Who is Mel?”

Peter looked over at you mid gab of a fry, his mouth hanging open.

“What?”

“Earlier, you said Mel.”

“Oh.”

Peter nodded, leaning back on his arm as he set his fry back into his tray.

“Mel is a nickname.”

He glanced over at you, meeting your gaze for a second before he looked away.

“It’s actually your nickname.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Your dad gave it to you. You live a pretty public life, so he’d call you Mel. He called you honey first-”

“Come on honey, it’s just for an hour, tops.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “An hour of listening to the board talk like idiots? No thanks.” “You’ll be with me.” “You just don’t want to be alone with them when they yell at you.” “I actually want you there for moral support-” “Because they’re going to yell.” “And because I want your perspective on something.” You groaned, looking over at him. “Fine.” He grinned, doing a fist pump as you lifted a finger, pointing at him. “But you owe me a burger.” “Deal honey.”

“And then later he called you bee.”

“It’s dangerous.” Glancing at him from the corner of your eyes you scoffed, pulling your gauntlets on. “I’m dangerous.” “Bee please, I don’t want you doing this.” You stood up, turning towards him, your hands on your hips. “Good thing it’s not your choice then.” “Bee-” “No. You said I could do this. You promised me, I could be the one to bring him in. You can’t take it back. You don’t get to take it back.” He sighed, nodding as he walked closer to you. “Just, be careful. Promise me.” You nodded as you closed the distance between you both, wrapping your arms around him. “I promise dad.”

“And Mel means both honey and bee.”

“Mel, nine o’clock.” Through the chaos happening around you, you could make out the others asking who he was talking to. “My sweet honey, stinging bee, daughter of mine.” “Dad, what the hell.” “I’ve got a new name for you.” “Mel?” “Yep. Combines both into one.” He landed next to you, firing his repulsor before he turned, his face mask opening as he placed his hands on his hips. “Now, when I say nine o’clock I mean fire.” You turned towards him, tilting your head to the side. “Oh I’m sorry, Mr. I have to give a new nickname in the middle of a fight without letting anyone know.”

“Hey, YN?”

Peter sat up, moving to kneel in front of you.

“YN?”

You shook your head, glancing at Peter.

“I-I can see him. But I can’t see him. It- he’s blurry.”

Tears welled in your eyes as you looked over at Peter.

“I want to see him, Peter, please.”

Peter slightly shook his head as he reached for your hand, gently running his thumb over your knuckles. 

“YN, I-I’m sorry but you can’t.”

“Wh- Peter pl- why?”

“It- it’s complicated.”

“Well uncomplicate it Peter! Please, I want to see him! I want to see my dad!”

“I’m sorry YN. It- there’s a lot you don’t know, that I don’t know.”

“Then take me to my dad.”

Peter took a deep breath, glancing down at his hand that held yours.

“I can’t take you to your dad because he’s not here. He’s not from this earth, and neither are you.”

Peter kept glancing at his room, willing the door to open. Since he’d brought you back to his apartment, explaining what little he knew, you retreated to his room, the sound of the lock clicking echoing throughout the apartment. He wanted to be there for you, offer you whatever support he could, but you’d shut him out and he didn’t want to cause you more pain. But it’d been three hours now, and Peter couldn't hear any sound coming from his room, causing him to worry. With a sigh he stood, making his way to his room, knocking. When there was no response he tried the handle, his eyes widening slightly when he was able to open it.

“YN?”

He stepped into the room, looking over at the bed, expecting to see you sitting there. When he didn’t see you he looked over at his desk, noticing the chair was pushed under the desk. He even checked the corner where you had hidden earlier, but even that was empty. He looked around the room, hoping to see you somewhere but he didn’t. He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head.

“Crap, crap, crap.”

You weren’t here, and if you weren’t here then you were out there, in an entirely different New York than your own, with no memories and unstable powers.  Rushing to the closet where he’d stashed his suit, he quickly changed, rushing back into his room, his mask in his hand as he opened the window. With a quick glance to make sure it was clear, he pulled his mask on, climbing out and lifting his hand, shooting a web. He swung through the city, his mind racing. Where were you? New York was a big place, and there were many places to hide or get lost in, and it was dangerous. He didn’t know where to start looking. There was a chance you weren’t even in the city anymore, seeing as he had no idea when you’d left. But Peter was determined to find you, no matter what.

“Please, let me go.” “Raise the voltage.” “Sir, if we do that it may kill her.” “Raise the voltage. If her father won’t come to us-” “Then we’ll send parts of her to him.”

“You can’t keep me locked in here forever!” “Until I know you’re safe, I will!” “You’re treating me like a prisoner! You're my dad, not my warden!” “Right now, I’m both! Until you realize the danger you’re in, you’re staying put! And don’t even try to override the system, you’ve been locked out.”

“Dad, something’s happening.” “We’re okay.” “Tony. There was no other way.” “I don’t feel so good.” “You’re all right.” “I don’t- I don’t know what’s happening. Please, I don’t- I don’t wanna go." “Mel, stop, you’re hurting yourself.” "I don’t wanna go.” “I’m sorry.” “He did it.”

“Whe- where is he? Where’s daddy?” “Little miss, I- something’s happened. Some- something bad has happened.” “Daddy’s not coming back, is he?” “No, no he’s not.” “I miss him already.” “Me too.”

“In the grand calculus of the multiverse, his sacrifice means far more than his life.” “Does it?! My sister has to grow up without her father! Her mom has to live without the man she loves!” “I’m sorry, but it had to be done.” “Not at the cost of his life!” “You killed him. You killed my father!”

With a gasp you jerked to, looking around. Purple wisps surrounded you, and your eyes widened when you saw you weren’t on the ground, causing you to fall once you realized you were floating. You landed with a groan, rolling onto your back, looking up at the ceiling. You lifted your hand, watching as it lit up, a small ball of energy circling between your fingers. Throwing your hand up, the ball grew as it exploded from your hand, creating what you’d just seen while you were in your trance. You stood, walking towards the closest orb, reaching out and touching it, gasping as it grew.

Wide, teary eyes turned towards the man in white. “Please, let me go.” “Raise the voltage.” “Sir, if we do that it may kill her.” “Raise the voltage. If her father won’t come to us-” A loud scream tore through your as the stinging pain spread throughout your head. “Then we’ll send parts of her to him.”

Your hand fell to your side as you stepped back, shaking your head. You moved to the next orb, hesitating for a second before you reached out, touching it. 

“You can’t keep me locked in here forever!” He shook his head, slightly glaring at you. “Until I know you’re safe, I will!” “You’re treating me like a prisoner! You're my dad, not my warden!” “Right now, I’m both! Until you realize the danger you’re in, you’re staying put!” He walked towards the door, opening it when he stopped, looking at you over his shoulder. “And don’t even try to override the system, you’ve been locked out.”

For some reason you were angry, a sense of resentment filling you as you moved to the next orb, reaching out. 

“Dad, something’s happening.” He walked towards you, grabbing you by the arms and pulling you into his chest, his head resting on top of yours. “We’re okay.” “Tony. There was no other way.” “I don’t feel so good.” He let you go as he turned, grabbing the kid. “You’re all right.” “I don’t- I don’t know what’s happening.” He helped him down to the ground while you appeared next to them, your hand glowing as it hovered over him. “Please, I don’t- I don’t wanna go.” “Mel, stop, you’re hurting yourself.” “I don’t wanna go.” Tears were in his eyes as he turned his head to the side, looking up.  “I’m sorry.” Your concentration broke as he turned to dust, the light around your hand fading. “He did it.”

You felt like a piece of you was missing as you moved to the next orb, taking a deep breath as you reached out.

“Whe- where is he? Where’s daddy?” You stepped forward, moving to kneel in front of her, reaching out for her hand. “Little miss, I- something’s happened. Some- something bad has happened.” “Daddy’s not coming back, is he?” You sniffled, shaking your head. “No, no he’s not.” She surged forward, wrapping her small arms around your neck, her head on your shoulder. “I miss him already.” A broken sob left you as you returned the hug, looking over at the group of people watching you both, tears in all their eyes as tears streamed down your face, tightening your grip on her. “Me too.”

Tears welled in your eyes as you stepped back, watching it replay, over and over again before you moved to the last orb. 

“In the grand calculus of the multiverse, his sacrifice means far more than his life.” “Does it?! My sister has to grow up without her father! Her mom has to live without the man she loves!” “I’m sorry, but it had to be done.” “Not at the cost of his life!” Your hands started to glow as you shook your head, tears streaming down your face as you glared at him. “You killed him. You killed my father!” You threw your hands forward, a surge of energy leaving your hands, hitting him in the chest.

You looked around at the memories playing around you, making a face. These were your memories, at least, they had to be, seeing as you were in them, but the man you believed to be your dad was still blurry. Lifting your hands you closed your eyes, concentrating on trying to make the memories clear. The energy leaving your hands grew stronger, glowing brighter. There was a stinging pain forming in the back of your head, but you chose to ignore it as you pushed harder. When it became too much you stopped, falling to your knees, your chest heaving.

“Fine, if that won’t work then maybe this will.”

You sat down, your elbows resting on your knees as you closed your eyes. Your hands started to glow, your powers pulsing in waves as a warm, tingly feeling spread up your arms from your hands. 

Peter was swinging through the city, his jaw clenched. Reluctantly, he had stopped at the local police department, inquiring about anyone matching your description. Luckily they didn’t ask him any questions, but Peter still had a nagging feeling that he should’ve left them out of it. Unfortunately, they were of no help, and he was back to square one, aimlessly swinging around hoping to catch a glimpse of you. With a harsh sigh he landed on the roof of some apartment building, walking towards the ledge. Where were you? It was starting to get late, and Peter had no idea if you were okay or not. He was mentally going over the places he’d already checked, thinking of what other areas he needed to check when he felt it, the thrum of your powers. His eyes widened under the mask as he looked around, trying to see where your powers were coming from when there was a rumble, everything around him shaking, causing him to slightly lose his balance. After righting himself he walked closer to the ledge, lifting his arm and shooting a web, swinging off. He followed the rumbles, landing on the ground outside of a broken-down warehouse. He could see the purple glow coming from inside. Taking a deep breath he walked forward, stopping at the door.

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[sansxfuckyou]

the blinds are closed now

Summary: That old clubhouse they built is still standing, the same rule about shuttered blinds remain

Warnings: Swearing, suggestive themes, check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: I fucking love it when characters are only intimate in private my god it gets me so fucking good. @kenmanweek2023 check it out!! day 2's prompt was clubhouse. I'm probably the only one whose doing kenman week, so it brings me pain to say that I probably won't do day 3 or 4 so I can try make day 5's extra good. anyways, if ya'll enjoyed consider dropping a reblog

"The fact this place is still standing is crazy," Kenny said with an amused hum. He trailed his hands along a peeling paintjob and blown out windows.

Cartman shrugged, holding up his flashlight as he led Kenny across creaking floorboards. He tensed up at the sight of a possum skittering along the floor, Kenny just gives a loud 'awe!' before crouching down and picking it up. The brunette stares at him, "Gross."

"It's Mr. Possy's great, great, great, grandson!" He held up the screeching possum with a grin on his face.

"Put that thing down," Cartman demanded, "If you don't put it down I'll never kiss you again."

Kenny dropped back down to place the ratty thing on the ground, it instantly skittered off. He wrapped his hands around Cartman's waist, "I won't touch diseased things, sorry," He whispered the words in his lovers hair.

"This place is fucking riddled with mildew anyways," Cartman sighed as he leaned into Kenny a bit.

"Remember when we had parties in here?"

"I remember,"

"Remember when we played video games in here?"

"I remember,"

"Remember when we fucked hard on that beanbag over there?" He gestured to the beanbag in the corner with an extreme amount of nonchalance to his voice.

Cartman burned bright red, "Not so loud Kenny!"

Kenny laughed, "Eric, it's fine, no one lives here anymore."

Cartman sighed, "I know, South Park is a ghost town."

Kenny let go of Cartman and made his way over to a blown out window, he reached for blinds and pulled them together. He made his way to another window, and then another, pulling the curtains shut on each window and gently tugging the door shut. He gave a small grin as he made his way back to Cartman, "Does the rule about the windows being closed still apply?"

"The rule wherein the blinds being closed means we can do whatever we want?" Cartman asked as Kenny grabbed his hands and led him over.

The blonde nodded as he stepped back and fell onto the beanbag, bring Cartman down with him. It forced the breath from his form with ease and he wheezed a bit as Cartman scrambled to get most of himself off of Kenny. He stuck to Kenny's form despite not resting entirely on top of him, the spread of the beanbags hoisted Kenny up a few inches.

He gave a laugh as he rolled partially onto Cartman, "God, I love you."

Cartman nuzzled up against Kenny despite his better judgement, "If you die of possum AIDs I'm gonna scream."

"I know," Kenny hummed as he wrapped an arm around Cartman, "We should fuck on this beanbag again."

"You better be joking, Kenny. You're lucky I'm tolerating sitting on it with you consider how much mildew must be on this," Cartman answered with, he ran a hand down Kenny's back, resting them on the back of Kenny's thighs. He dug his fingers into worn down jeans and Kenny giggled a bit.

Kenny pressed a kiss to the top of Cartmans head, "I'm gonna go see if we left any drinks in the mini fridge."

When he goes to stand up Cartman yanks him even closer, nails digging into thigh and back as he did so. The blonde just froze for a moment before melting into the touch.

"You're too cute," Kenny mused with a playful grin, "We should've stuck around when the place got abandoned."

"And live off of rabbits? I'd sooner die than live without cheese burgers," Cartman said, words muffled against Kenny's weathered jacket.

"I know, but it's been way too long to since we cuddled in this clubhouse," Kenny mused.

"We only cuddled here twice, Kenny," Cartman said.

"Yeah, but nothing beats cuddling on an old, musty, beanbag, in an abandoned building," Kenny said as though everyone agreed on the matter.

Cartman sighed, "I hate that you're right."

"Fuck yeah I am," Kenny said boldly, but that confidence whither when the grip on his thigh tightens. He grins, leaning back and tracing a hand along the edge of Cartman's jaw, "Someone's feisty."

"Damn right I am!" Cartman snapped, jerking away from Kenny and wearing an impatient look, "I haven't gotten any in a month."

"Well sorry, but you never asked me to have sex with you," Kenny smarmed before cling onto Cartman butting the top of his head against Cartman's chin, "I will be opening the windows, wanna see if I can get you to scream loud enough to disturb the local avian population."

Cartman burns bright red, "Fucking, fine, just do it already."

Kenny slides out of Cartman's grasp, "I'll be right back, love," He pressed a kiss to the top of his partners head.

Cartman just flipped onto his stomach and groaned out a weak, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

[tenali-san]

sisters odyssey - a day in a life of a contract killer

Narration by

Adra

I hate mornings, I wake up and my bones hurt, they make sounds like doors in winter. This is what being 30 feels like I guess. I have a tiny apartment because I live alone. But it’s cool. I have a nice TV as big as the wall. I don’t have much stuff in the kitchen, I only make omelets or coffee. I wake up around 11-12 in the afternoon. I brush my teeth. Put on an ice face pack. Do some cardio, I have a treadmill at my house. Then around a 100 pushups, 100 sit ups and a 100 jumping jacks. Then I go take a bath, put some aloe vera on my face. Then I watch re-runs of my favorite TV shows – Samuel science, SpongeBob and breaking bad! I also watch this anime about space cowboys, it’s great.

I do this until around 5pm, that’s when I step outside. I don’t like to go out in the day because it’s all too sunny. There are barely any clouds on mis bolas. Mis bolas is a large city built on an island near southern ireland in 1687 by many pirates of that era. It was built as a safe haven for all bandits. And now with a population of 2.22 million citizens, it is recognized as an independent nation. The nation makes most of its money from being a tourist spot for rich businessmen and a hiding spot for rich illegal businessmen. And yes, the person who named this island – mis bolas, did not speak Spanish.

Most people here are hotel workers, shopkeepers, fishermen, or straight-up criminals. When people ask me what I do, I just say – I paint houses for a living. The many far away districts are connected by a metro rail system. The station is near my house. I get in the train and it’s usually crowded at that time. I get off and go to this bar nearby called – “escapism” I know, what a pretentious name! They serve beer with sushi, why!? I don’t know, the sushi is definitely not made by a Japanese fella I can just tell. But the beer’s good so I don’t complain. I go there to meet my contractor – paco. I’ve worked with him for 8 years. He’s an old Mexican feller, I usually find him at his regular table, I go sit there, and he shows me a photo and an address written on paper. I don’t keep it with me, I just memorize the face and other details.

I get back on the train, I’m listening to music, waiting for my stop to arrive. I see a group of friends sitting across from me. The group is eating burgers and fries and having fun, making jokes, and laughing like crazy folks. They seem happy. I’ve been living here for many years. But never seem to make any friends. But I prefer it this way.  

i got off on my stop, and started walking. i came near a large mansion. Two guards were standing near the gate, went to the backside, two guards there as well. pulled out my two guns with silencers, walked up to the gate, shot both in the head before they could even speak, opened the gate, kept walking, two more men see me and draw their gun out, two more headshots, walked past them as well. But this time, one guard had yet to die, he shot a bullet in the air. The loud sound now alarmed everyone inside the mansion. Their boss – Kenny was told to hide upstairs. Eight more guards stand near the backdoor, waiting for me. But I don’t enter, to make them think I ran away. One of them slowly walks towards the door and opens it, he peeks outside. No one! He comes out, two dead at the gate and two on the lawn. Where is the shooter?

“No one’s here!” he shouts

“You sure?” I ask, hanging on to a window below the backdoor! i shoot him in the head and go in through the window!

“She’s on the second floor, hurry!” the 7 remaining men run upstairs, I’m not in the hallway!

A gunshot is heard from the boss’s room.

The guards run to the room, open the door, boss is shot dead! It was me, standing over his body, looking at the beaten naked girl in the corner! God knows what that monster had done to her.

I look at the guards! I was planning on killing Kenny and just leaving quietly, but now, after seeing that girl, I couldn’t resist. shot two more guards, the others started running away.

The 5 remaining guards ran out the backdoor, went to the previous window and shot three down. Two remaining. ran outside, saw them going towards the beach and followed,  saw one guard jump in the water and swimming away, I was going to shoot him too but… it felt familiar.. I couldn’t shoot him for some reason... It felt wrong, i let him swim away.

That’s still one remaining, a big guy with a pistol was hiding behind a nearby tree, had come out and was standing right behind me, ‘I am too close, she can’t dodge this one’ he must’ve thought. i had no idea he was behind me. He pulled the trigger and just before the bullet left the barrel, my head moved just a little to get out of the bullet’s path, it went forward, barely touching my ear!  

i quickly turned and shot the gun out of his hand. Then ran and slammed my leg right into his head, killing him instantly!

i went back to the mansion, i had to cut off Kenny’s finger! As a proof to show he’s dead

The naked girl was still in the corner, I say to her -

“They aren’t coming for you, call the police, say anything about me and I will find you, understand?”

The girl nodded. I left the mansion. Waited outside until the cops arrived and then left for the station. To go back at the “escapism”, god I hate that name!

I go sit back at paco’s table. Put Kenny’s thumb on the table. Paco holds it, inspects it

“Any witnesses?” he asks

“Two, one of them was kidnapped woman, one was a guard who… swam away!”

“Why do you do that adra?”

“Do what?”

“Let guys swim away!”

“I got the target, just like always”

“ya, and that’s great, but what is that? The swimmers, it’s very specific”

“paco I don’t want to talk about that! Stop asking me.”

“Okay, forget I said anything”

Paco pulls out an envelope full of cash, I take it. He orders two drinks for us. He knows I don’t like to talk. He insists on talking to me, say it’s so I don’t forget how to speak. He says if you don’t talk or listen to anyone for three days, you can forget language itself! I don’t believe in that crap. Paco’s an old man, he says he used to be a sailor back in the day. Worked on a mob bosses private yacht as its captain! When the boss got arrested he had to fire paco, he gave him a piece of land on mis bolas. And let him keep the yacht.

When he came here he saw many people who worked for the boss. Some of them needed “work” and some of them needed “workers” so paco became the middleman. He talks about his youth, how he misses the ocean. He wishes to one day go back with his ship, into the sea, but all his life is here. He wants a reason to go back. Without a destination – a journey is pointless after all.  

I don’t get what is so great about the ocean. I had lived there for 5 years myself, I never felt anything about it. I was just happy to be alive.

Paco ordered two beers for us. I prefer drinking in silence, but paco never ever takes the hint. I don’t reply anytime he starts a conversation, he thinks I am a good listener!

“Are scared of the ocean adra? I was a sailor back in my day and let me tell you… it is! I mean I still want to go back sailing but… It does feel like outer space! There’s nothing but water no matter where you look. So I can understand if some folks don’t like it. Sometime its kind, sometimes it’s cruel. Full of unholy creations of god! Don’t even ask about the giant squid!”

My ears stood up!

“A…a squid?”

“ooooh nononono.. More like… an octopus! A giant octopus!”

So… it wasn’t a dream! I’ve drank with this old man for so many years and he never brought up the octopus! I mean I did always tune out most of what he said. I came to this island to leave my past behind, why is it coming back now?

“Have you ever seen a giant octopus adra?” paco asked

“I…. I did. When I was 10!”

[underswitch-official]

Ch3 P6

The outside force, which Asriel calls the Player, helps me forward. In the next room, Papyrus is standing next to a telescope. I walk up to him. He sees my expression and says, “you okay, kid?”

I hug him tightly and whisper desperately. I’m so panicked that I don’t hear myself. Papyrus picks me up and tries to soothe me. He lets me use the telescope, but all I see is red. When I step back, Asriel can’t stop laughing at something on my face. Papyrus shows me my reflection, and I let out a small chuckle.

“c’mon, bud. let’s get a burger,” Papyrus says as he leads me into a small cave. Inside the cave is Burgman! “hey, burman,” Papyrus says as he walks up to him.

“Huh? Oh, hey Papyrus! Here for a burger?”

“yup. one for the kid, too.”

“Alright. How ‘bout a third one, just because? Each time you buy a burger, a punch card goes into that box. Three punch cards will get you a free burger.”

“eh, why not?”

Papyrus buys three burgers, grabs the punch cards, and cashes them in for a fourth burger. He hands me two of them and invites me to sit next to him. We sit there, eating our burgers in silence. I have a small smile on my face.

“mind telling me what’s up?” Papyrus asks.

I nod and lean against him for a bit. He shrugs and puts his arm around my shoulders.

After a moment, I sigh and stand up. “feeling better, frisk?” Papyrus asks as he stands up, too.

I nod and thank him for the burgers. He chuckles and pats my head. I continue forward again. Very ominous music follows me across land bridges, and I stumble across ballet shoes. I pocket them because my toy knife is all I need, and I’m not good at ballet, either.

Anyway, Sans calls me again.

“HELLO! THIS IS SANS!!! REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES? WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW… HER OPINION OF YOU IS VERY… MURDERY.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

“OH. UM, WELL, WORRY NOT DEAR FRISK! SANS WOULD NEVER BETRAY YOU! YOU SAID YOU WERE NOT WEARING A DUSTY TUTU. SO OF COURSE I ACTUALLY TOLD HER… YOU WERE INDEED WEARING A DUSTY TUTU!”

“You what!?”

“YES. IT PAINED ME TO TELL SUCH A BOLDFACED LIE. BUT SINCE YOU AREN’T WEARING A DUSTY TUTU, SHE SURELY WON’T ATTACK YOU! NOW YOU ARE SAFE AND SOUND. WOWIE… THIS IS HARD. I JUST WANT TO BE EVERYBODY’S FRIEND!”

“Sans, I’m sorry, but I was lying.”

“W-WHAT!?!?”

“The Player was controlling me because of… something… that happened in the tall grass.”

“OH. WELL… UM… I HOPE YOU’RE FEELING BETTER.”

* Click…

I sigh and continue forward.

Then I run into a pair of Moldsmals. I flirt with both of them and spare them. I get 2 gold out of it.

In the next room, an octopus stops me.

“Hey… there… Noticed you were… Here… I’m Onionsan! Onionsan, y’hear!”

Asriel sighs, and Player skips the dialogue.

I get to the end of the hallway. I enter the next room and then am forced into battle.

* Shyren hides in the corner but somehow encounters you anyway.

I get scared and start humming. It’s a sad song, but Shyren follows my melody. I keep humming, and so does Shyren. Papyrus starts selling tickets made of toilet paper to the concert that Shyren and I have started. We keep humming. IT’S A STORM OF SOCKS!!!

Eventually, Shyren and I hum our farewells. She gives me 30 gold as thanks.

The next room holds a piano. The Player knows a tune and plays it, and a door opens. Then, Player enters the door and takes out a dog. The dog absorbs an artifact.

[ecodweeb]

Grieving with an EV: not out of range for a rural southern funeral

Death is never an easy topic to broach, but it is a fact of life that all of us will attend a funeral or visit a loved one on their deathbed. This is my memoir of the final days of my papaw's life, and what it was like relying on a fully electric Audi etron SUV to get me there.

My 94-year old grandfather was a World War II veteran, retired Greyhound mechanic, father of 5, grandfather of 4, great-grandfather to 6, and a widower since 1990. Always quick to share a story, he was known for his famous cracklin cornbread and drinking cold coffee. He loved his cats, turnip greens, and hearing about his sons hunting trips.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

It was my first day back at work after coming home from the Southern GA campground (which was not the pleasant 4th of July we'd hoped for given a camper unrelated to our clan died in the wee hours of July 4). My dad called me and told me Grandpa was back in the hospital with an infected toe. This is the second time he's been admitted to the hospital, the first time was the last week of June for high potassium -- he was discharged the Friday we left to go camping. My dad sounded concerned and said he'd have an update tomorrow.

Thursday, July 7, 2022

My dad called and said that the infection was in his bones. They may have to amputate the left leg below the knee. He said if I could, I needed to come say goodbye to him because he likely wouldn't survive the surgery. I frantically re-packed my bags with the expectation to stay two weeks in the Memphis area. He was hospitalized in Oxford, MS - a good 1.5 hour drive away from Memphis - so I was going to have to drive to/from the hospital to see him. As I am loading the car I realize the rear tires are showing a cord. They need to be replaced immediately. My husband places the order thru his work and says I'll need to go get them from the distributer at 9am Friday and his work will put them on for me. I move around my work cases to other team members and lay down for a fitful nights sleep.

Friday, July 8, 2022

I went to the gym at 7 and did some lifting to help calm me down. I had no less than four meetings via Zoom to attend or host. I also have a strained relationship with my family, and I'm one to fret - so this wasn't going to be an easy day to keep my emotions in check. After the gym I went to the tire distributer and picked up the tires, then beelined to my husband's BMW dealership to have them installed. Our friend who is a service writer greeted me with a hug and said they'd get it worked in as soon as possible. He asked if I wanted to have the shuttle take me home, and I was OK to sit in the waiting area but my husband came around the corner and said to take his car home. So I did, and I was reminded how much I can't stand the lowering springs impact on the already harsh suspension of an electric Smart car.

About an hour or so later they called me and said the Audi was ready. I drove the Smart back up and plugged it into the public charger outside the dealership. Our friend the service advisor brought my car around and gave me another hug and told me to text him when I made it. I said I would, jumped in the car, and headed west. My first stop was the Electrify America in Statesville, NC which took me around 2.5 hours with traffic.

I managed to time it so that my first three meetings started right as I got in the car and during my charge at the Statesville station. The car finished charging before the meeting ended, and I had ample time to run into the McDonald's for a bathroom break and a burger since the next meeting wouldn't be for an hour. As I left the McDonalds, it began to rain. This would add a solid half hour delay in reaching the Asheville charger, but thankfully I was only there 10 minutes. My next long charge would be in Kodak, TN - which the rain added another half hour delay prior to arrival. The rain did let up just enough for me to plug in without getting wet.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

My next stop would be Cookeville, which is the half-way point give or take and where I go back in time as I enter the Central Time Zone. From there I stopped in Franklin (as Nashville was one solid red line on the map due to traffic), and then Jackson - which is where the rain finally stopped. I rolled into the Electrify America in Memphis just after 2am and made it to my friends house around 3:20am. I don't remember unpacking the car, I just crawled into bed and crashed hard. But it was short lived, I was back up by 8am to get back on the road to visit Papaw in the Rehab center of Oxford, Mississippi.

Sleep was deep but short. I was meeting my uncle David, his wife, my Aunt Louise, and her daughter Shannon at the rehab center at 11. Since I woke up so early, I drove down to Southaven Mississippi's Harley dealer and used the low-speed 24kW DC ChargePoint station there. It's off-network, but it works. I charged to around 90% and headed down to Oxford's McDonalds. The McDonald's has a 10kW Level 2 Blink station, I charged at it while I had breakfast for about 45 minutes before the family let me know they were close by. I drove the 2 miles to the rehab center and snagged one of the last two parking spaces -- the other taken by my family moments after I arrived. I haven't seen my aunt or her daughter in over 10 years, so there were hugs and light conversation about fostering dogs and foster failures (where you start fostering and then adopt the dog) as we made our way inside. We all masked up, washed our hands, entered our information into the computer and were given the 4-digit code to unlock all the doors of the facility. My other uncle, Barry, made it up about an hour after we got there.

We wandered down the hallway and found him laying in bed in his room. I suppose you should know that he'd been in the VA Home for about a year and in the first two weeks he fell and broke his hip. He has largely been bed or chair bound ever since that surgery. Boy did he light up when I walked in the room. As I'd find out later, this was one of his sharper days. He knew who everyone was, and his stories were coherent. We fed him lunch, and stayed with him as he slept and we told stories of our memories with him. We stayed up there 5 or 6 hours, and I hadn't eaten since I got to the McDonald's. Everyone decided to go to Olympic Steak and Pizza in Arlington, TN for dinner. Uncle David's wife rode with me, while David took Louise back to her house to let her dog out.

The ride to the restaurant was over an hour away, and we talked a lot about my relationship with my family along the way. It was really cathartic, in some ways, but it also made me feel like I'd missed out on so much too. Uncle Barry beat us to the restaurant and got a table, and shortly after we arrived David and Louise arrived -- Shannon needed to go home to tend to her own pets so she skipped dinner. The conversation was lighthearted, with everyone asking about my husband and my job and thankfully avoided topics like politics or vaccinations. After dinner we all hugged and said we'd see each other next week. I headed back to Wolfchase where I charged my car from 22-100% and then drove back to Midtown to hang out with my friends I was staying with. I was going to be spending a lot of time at Wolfchase, as I couldn’t even Level 1 charge the Audi at my friend’s home and the closest Level 2 was more than a mile away and always in use it seemed.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

I took my eldest cousin, Kristen, to see grandpa today. She’s not speaking with her dad (Uncle David) right now, and because she’s had so many not-at-fault accidents on the highway, she won’t drive long distances. I started the day out at the Whole Foods, hoping to top off my car and have breakfast. Their charger was powered off, I had to ask the lady at the front desk to throw the breaker for it. She did, and it powered up and I was able to charge at 6kW just fine. As I was getting plugged in, a retired police officer stopped and started talking to me about the car. He said his wife just got a Q7 and if they’d know these were a thing they’d have really considered it. After this conversation, I popped into the store to find a very sad breakfast buffet. I paid way too much for way too mediocre food, but I really wasn’t in the mood to eat so it was fine. After I ate I left and picked up my cousin from her apartment near Memphis State University (now called University of Memphis, but it’ll always be Memphis State to me). I told her we were going to stop at a Walmart in Collierville so we could get grandpa some deodorant and snacks.

We stopped at the walmart and we did get him deodorant, a table lamp, and some food -- mostly heat and eat “soup at hand” stuff, but I wanted him to try something new so I picked up some hummus (he hated it, but was really polite about not liking it). Grandpa was in good spirits today, his memory was better than the day before. He told Kristen that her sister was coming to see him and she’d been by a few days before. While we were there the nurse came in with his actual lunch, so we took turns feeding him. After lunch and watching some TV, Kristen and I decided we should go get our own lunch and head back to Memphis.

We ate at McAlister’s Deli -- which started in Oxford, MS -- and we had a pretty involved conversation about all the topics I don’t like: guns, government regulation, and conspiracies. At one point during the conversation I thought a guy in camo a few booths away was going to say something. I’ve never felt like I fit into this part of the world, not since I was a little child. Moments like this only reinforced that feeling. After lunch, we took the non-highway route back to her apartment and I dropped her off. She thanked me for taking her to see grandpa in my “fancy space car. “ I gave her a hug and I headed back out to Germantown to charge the car, again. 

I used to work at the Best Buy that is in the parking lot next to where the Electrify America DC fast chargers are located. It was nostalgic to sit in a parking spot I used to park my Ford Taurus to eat lunch when I didn’t want to be in the breakroom some 20 years prior. Only two of the four stations at this location worked 100% of the time. One was always down, one worked some days with a phone tap and others it said available but didn’t recognize your phone or respond to a start request from the mobile app. Nobody else was at the charger this day, and my 40 minutes flew by. I stopped by Exlines Pizza and got myself “the best pizza in town,” then went back to my friend Jeremy’s home and settled in, preparing for the week ahead.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

My grandpa had said that he wanted a slugburger -- a wartime era soy and hamburger or pork mixed burger that is a staple to northern Mississippi -- from the White Trolley in Corinth, Mississippi (where his sister lived). I decided that today I was going to work remotely from his room and get him that slugburger. So I left midtown Memphis and drove to Wolfchase Commons in Germantown to charge, then drove 90-miles to the White Trolley in Corinth, Mississippi for his burgers, drove 90 miles back to the chargers at Wolfchase, and finally drove down to Oxford to see him.

He never at the burgers. When I got into the patient area, his nurse stopped me in the hall and said “he’s in rare form today.” The lady in the room across from him closed her door, he’d apparently been yelling at her all morning. What I witnessed in the room this day broke me. He was having hallucinations, asking me if I’d seen the little grey kitten with the striped tail. He was holding a full on conversation with my grandmother who died over 30 years ago. He kept trying to stand up -- which he cannot -- and I had to sooth him back into his bed. I didn’t get much work done, I tried to do a troubleshooting session and one of the engineers didn’t show up and the one who did told me that he was going to pray for me and that (based on what he overheard as I was trying to clam grandpa down during our meeting) I should spend as much time with my grandpa as I could.

When I left I sat in the car and cried for a while. Finally I started the car and drove back up to Wolfchase to charge. There was a Rivian truck charging when I got there, but the other station was open for me to use. After charging I went to my friend’s house and went to bed, crying myself to sleep.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

It was Saturday, which meant “the family” (sans my parents who visited him M-F and took Sat and Sun off - in part because of tensions within the family about my parents care decisions, but I won’t go there) was going to visit him again. This time my younger cousin Stephanie, her husband and their three kids would be coming. I haven’t seen Steph in quite a while and was really looking forward to giving her a hug and seeing her youngest child for the first time.

They got there late, they live in Arkansas and had a lot of traffic on the way in. When they arrived, they brought Krystal burgers and my grandpa happily ate as many as Steph would feed him. Grandpa loved his grand kids and he loved his great grand kids even more -- when he could remember them. Dementia is cruel, erasing the youngest great-grands from his memory first. It was hard when he couldn’t recognize his adult kids, it was harder to see him not fully remember who is great-grandson was.

After our visit, we all went back to the restaurant we ate at the week prior. I asked if anyone wanted to ride with me to the restaurant, and Steph’s two girls yelled “WE DO” as they bolted for my Audi. I’d not spent a lot of time with these two since my mom had her hysterectomy in 2014 and I took FMLA to help care for her since dad was still working and messed up the days off for the surgery. The younger daughter fell asleep in the back of the car before we got off the highway that leads into Oxford, but the eldest sat up front with me and talked the entire hour-plus drive to the restaurant. I didn’t mind, she reminded me a lot of myself and I enjoyed listening to someone who had such enthusiasm and joy in their voice. After we ate at the restaurant, we all said our good-byes and I once again headed back to Wolfchase to recharge my Audi.

Sunday, July 17, 2022

I called an old High School friend and she said to come pick her up and we’d wander the city and talk. We ended up stopping by our old high school, which is now a church, and they let us wander around the place. We actually snuck into the closed-off portion of the place, what used to be the high school wing, via the unlocked door on the upper level of bleachers. The tenant before the Church was a college, and they’d done some big renovations to what were once good sized class rooms. It was incredibly nostalgic, and hard to believe it was the same place we spent more than half our school life in.

Afterward, we went shopping at the discount and outlet stores that were open. After several hours, we stopped at McAlister’s near her house for dinner. When we got to her house, I then got into a several-hours-long conversation with her husband about EVs, tech in general, and their camping adventures. I needed this day, it recharged my soul -- and I reflected on how thankful I was to still have friends in a city I’d not lived in for over 20 years as I recharged the car back at Wolfchase before heading to my friend’s for the night.

Monday, July 18, 2022

This would be the last time that I’d see my grandfather alive. I woke up early and headed to Oxford. Today the family was meeting with the doctors/nurses to discuss the long-term plan for Grandpa. I got there early enough to fully charge the battery from 59% to 100%. This was the first time I’d seen my dad this entire trip, but he and my mother had been on the phone a fair amount. Wounds weren’t healed, but we had a mutual situation to contend with. While waiting for the staff to arrive, I got an earful about “I wish I could fly, but they require you to be vaccinated and you can’t make me.” I decided right then and there that I’d had enough of my family and was going to go home on Wednesday.

The nurses finally met with us and basically said that they were going to try and give him a heavy antibiotic treatment to try and kill the bacteria infection in the bone of his toe. They stressed that if they didn’t see any response to the treatment within two weeks that they advised we set up hospice. We left the hospital going our separate ways and I called my mother-in-law for a shoulder to process this heavy information. We talked the hour or so it took to get to the charging station, where I charged up and then picked up another Exlines pizza and headed to my friend Ann’s house for dinner. 

Ann is a dear and beloved family friend who I’ve known since seemingly forever. Her son and my Uncle (on my mom’s side) were best friends and went to school together. Ann and my Grandma (mom’s side) were close friends for a long time. Ann was like another mother to me, and I always make a point to see her if I can when I visit the city. Ann let me plug the car into her garage outlet (120v), so the car could top off a little bit while we hung out. I got her caught up on the drama of work, grandpa, my family, and life in general while we munched on the best pizza in town and polished off a bottle of wine. Again, this was much needed comfort during a tumultuous time.

Tuesday, July 18, 2022

While handling my work related meetings and situations, I kept looking at Petfinder in hopes I’d find a Siamese cat that could take the place of my beloved blind Flame Point Siamese who passed away in March. I got lucky, there was a Siamese cat in Senatobia, Mississippi. I called and the cat was still available, so I jumped in the car and went down there. I was told the cat was female and declawed, but the cat I met was male and fully clawed. Given the 45 minute drive, and the fact that the lady was like “the fact he’s a boy doesn’t change your interest does it?” I felt like if I didn’t take him, he’d be euthanized. So I adopted him.

Digger the cat would turn out to be one of my bigger regrets during this trip, but I didn’t know that he was going to mark territory despite being neutered because our ancient Lilac-point Siamese chases him out of “her rooms.” I digress, I did clear it with my friends that I could board a cat at their house for the day, and they agreed. I let Digger out of his carrier and he hid under their king sized bed in the spare room. I left him be to settle and my friends took me to the Midtown Concourse for drinks.

Wednesday, July 19, 2022

The Museum of Science and History (formerly the Pink Palace Museum) was hosting a show called “Rise UP” about the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ rights. I called a friend of mine who lives in Chattanooga and he said he’d love to see it, but he could only make the trip on Wednesday. So he drove in to town (Tuesday night actually, he stayed at an Airstream on Airbnb not far from where my friends house is), and we went to the exhibit.

The exhibit also had an incomplete history of LGBTQ Memphis -- which brought me to tears. They had shirts from MAGY (Memphis Area Gay Youth), and habits from the local order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, along with a complete list of defunct Gay Bars from years gone by. 

I couldn’t tell you how long we spent in the museum. We had to stop and I needed to sit to dry my eyes. For the first time in my life I saw my culture’s history on display in a positive light. I watched as parents - heterosexual parents - walk their children through the exhibit and explain things to them. Not even my friend from Chattanooga could keep his eyes dry during the tour.

After thoroughly crying and releasing a ton of endorphins, we hit up the gift shop where I bought a ton of stuff and had a very fun interaction with a Millennial and GenZ worker about AOL Instant Messenger.

Once we left the museum, I went back to my friend’s home to pack up my stuff as I was following my Chattanooga friend back to his house for the night before I drove the rest of the way home on Thursday. Digger the cat was not about to go back in his carrier. I spent the better part of 45 minutes pulling apart the bed and chasing him around the room before I finally managed to catch him (and get scratched to high hell) and get him in the carrier. My friend’s girlfriend told me that she almost came in the room to check on me given the commotion but said she didn’t because the last thing any of us needed was to lose the cat in another part of the house. After hugging everyone goodbye, we headed east towards Chattanooga.

My Chattanoogan friend drives a Chevy Bolt, so both of us had to stop and charge to get to his house. We stopped in Jackson, TN and then in Franklin TN and finally in Manchester before getting to his home. The stop in Franklin was at Nissan North America’s Headquarters, where we saw a Nissan Ariya SUV sitting at one of their charging stations. I didn’t add a lot of charge here, but this stop was mainly for the Bolt. I topped off to 95% in Manchester, arriving in Chattanooga with 66%.

My friend had to back the car down his extremely steep driveway. I’ve taken my Enegica motorcycle up and down this driveway several times over the years, but I just couldn’t seem to get the Audi down it... or back out of it. I had Tyler do that for me both times.

Thursday, July 20, 2022

I worked until 4pm and then packed up and headed the rest of the way home via Atlanta -- I did not have it in me to contend with the mountains and rain. I got home at 11pm and went straight to bed.

Wedsday, July 27, 2022

My dad called me and said that the doctors have advised that we transition grandpa into hospice. They said that he is in such bad shape they can’t move him from his bed or it will kill him. Any hope we had of hospice at home was dashed, he was going to take his last breath at the hospital. I was told that I needed to get ready to come back for the funeral -- they estimated 48 hours before he would be gone.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

I’d taken the Audi back to the dealer to have the rear cupholder replaced (out of pocket since they told me, only after they ordered the part, that the CPO warranty didn’t cover it). This was an in-and-out service, but they did was and vacuum the car for me. When they brought it up, I locked the car and then tried to unlock it with the remote so I could pick my driver profile and get the seats and mirrors set back to my settings. The car wouldn’t unlock. The battery in the keyfob had died once again. The service advisor replaced the battery on the spot -- making me take the key out of the rubber cover I keep it in -- and a new battery was put in. Once I got in the car, I noticed that the front arm rest was broken. This was salt in the wound for me emotionally. They got it fixed up quickly, and I headed home waiting for the inevitable news.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Before my dad called to tell me grandpa had passed, I started getting bombarded with pictures in text messages from everyone in the family. That’s when I knew he’d passed, and the call from dad confirmed it. Dad said that his older brother was driving down on Saturday from Iowa because he was about to have dental surgery when my dad called him. I was then informed that I was responsible for making the memorial slideshow/video that would play during the funeral and that everyone was going to send me pictures. There was no “do you mind,” this was an assignment and I was not thrilled with it.

Then came the argument in the group text about when the funeral would be. Many wanted to do it Sunday, and I refused. I had pushed off a tattoo session for over a month now, and I was going to get inked on Saturday and we would show up to Memphis sometime Sunday. They agreed Monday, then Tuesday, then Monday was set in stone. I dug out the old MacBook and began to use iMovie to make a slide show of the photos everyone sent me.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

I drove my Smart car (Gopher) to my tattoo appointment. Kelli worked quickly as she knew we needed to hit the road as soon as this was over. I really don’t like traveling with fresh ink, but I didn’t have much choice. 

We were on the road by 2:30pm. We planned to drive until we got to the Cookeville TN area and then we’d get a hotel for the night. During my 3,700-mile motorcycle trip, I stayed at the La Quinta in Cookeville and we’d intended to stay there... except they had no vacancy. John found another hotel with a Level 2 charger near by, and we stayed there for the night. The ChargePoint charger was unable to connect to the network, but it worked with a tap of my phone and didn’t bill us for the charge.

Sunday, July 31, 2022

Before we went to bed I attempted to burn the slideshow to a DVD for the funeral home and the disc burner I had wasn’t working anymore. It was easily a decade or more old, so I placed a pick up order at the Walmart next door for a brand new DVD burner. We picked up the burner and some breakfast, then headed on towards Memphis while I burned DVDs in widescreen and 4:3 aspect ratios.

We stopped by the funeral home and dropped off the DVD. The guy said he’d call me if he had any problems with it -- thankfully he did not. After charging the car at Wolfchase, we stopped by my friend Michael’s home to pick up the floral arrangement his wife had made for us. She makes the most beautiful arrangements, and it made the car smell so nice.

After we got the flowers, we headed to the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Why are we staying here? Well, my husband’s family has a Wildlife trust fund, and the hotel stay for this trip was being covered by the trust. We had arranged to meet with the Memphis Zoo on Tuesday to discuss funding part of their reptile cryogenics program - it was the highlight of the trip that I looked forward to since the Museum of Science and History wasn’t open on Monday or Tuesday so I couldn’t take my husband to see the Stonewall exhibit. My husband ordered the Jack Daniels package, which included a keep-sake cookbook.

After unpacking, we cashed in on the free charcuterie board and had a drink before my mom called and asked if we’d bring the flowers down to them and visit with my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins from Iowa. So we drove down to their home in Byhalia, Mississippi and hung out for a few hours eating leftovers and sharing stories of years gone by. This was the first time anyone other than my parents had met my husband, and I’m happy that it went over much better than I expected. Around 11pm we headed back to the hotel for the night and to prepare for the big day tomorrow.

Monday, August 1, 2022

We woke up before 7am and were on the road by 7:30am to Corinth for the funeral. The memorial/viewing was to be held at the funeral home there, then we would drive to Pickwick, TN to bury him next to my granny. We stopped by Casey Jones Village in Jackson, TN for breakfast -- and I cried the entire way there. Casey Jones Village place holds a special place in my heart, it was one of my favorite places to visit as a child. Unfortunately, some things don’t age well: the breakfast was terrible, but not overpriced. The menu was extremely simple and nothing like I remember. The general store itself seemed to be less than half the size of what I remembered. They did have Level 2 chargers, which was a bonus, but we still ended up at the Walmart down the street to fully charge the car.

After leaving Jackson we made it to the funeral home. I was not exactly nervous about the state of charge and the driving I knew we had to do, but I would have felt better if we could have added some more range to the car while we spent half the day at the funeral home. 

The service was great, lots and lots of great stories were told and all the flowers were beautiful. Everyone, and I mean everyone, met my husband. My mother, surprisingly, had no problem calling him “Chris’s husband,” where my sweet Aunt would stammer and say “Chris’s spouse” finally. Nobody made a scene about it. I got a lot of compliments on the video I made, and the staff at the funeral home thanked me for making a DVD that played.

We all loaded up into our cars and rode in procession from Corinth to Pickwick, about 25 miles, at a very slow pace. I was able to use my regen paddles to add a little bit of range back to the car. The grave side Military service was short and sweet, which was thankful given it was a very hot August day. Afterward, most everyone headed back to my parent’s home for dinner. John and I said we needed to go charge the car (since we had no way to do it at their house -- despite my dad being a welder, he doesn’t have a single 240v outlet we could plug into anywhere on the property). 

The drive back to Wolfchase in Germantown was... stressful. There was a really, really strong headwind and I watched a 25 mile buffer drop to 10 miles in a short span of time. I ticked “avoid highways” on the nav system and that got us away from the highway with the headwind and we wound our way around western TN passing by the area my mom’s mother lived at for many years. We got on 64 (Summer Ave) and we hit turtle mode about two lights before the shopping center with the chargers. There was one other car at the charger, and we plugged in. I called my cousin and asked if her sister would stop and let me copy the video she took of the grave side service, but they were pressed for time and couldn’t. Ultimately I got that video from her via a shared Google Drive link and made a memorial DVD that I mailed out to all the surviving family.

We did not make it back to my parents house, instead we got dinner at the hotel (with a really cute chocolate duck dessert) and went to bed. It was a long, emotional day and I was ready to rest.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

After a leisurely breakfast at the Peabody Hotel, my husband and I arrived at the Memphis Zoo around 11am and met with the head of the cryogenics department. They fed us a really great deli lunch while going over their program and its history in a PowerPoint. Afterward, we got a very cool tour of the zoo and saw the cryogenic lab. 

The Zoo is working to restore the natural population of the Louisiana Pine Snake. We got to see the “snake factory” where they captive breed these snakes to release into the wild. I don’t like snakes, but their passion made me love these creatures and respect their place in the ecosystem.

After our visit at the zoo, we went back to the hotel in time to see the Peabody Ducks leave the fountain and march to the elevator to head back up to their roof-top roost for the night. I’m from Memphis and I’d only ever seen this once before. My husband attempted to get me the Duck Master package, which is where you get to lead the ducks, but both slots were already sold out for Tuesday.

Finally, after seeing the ducks do their march, we picked up my friends I’d been staying with and took them with us to dinner with the head of the crogenics program at the Memphis Zoo at the Coastal Fish Company located inside Shelby Farms. We had a wonderful dinner, talked about the Zoo’s work and non-work stuff, and just had a good time. One of my favorite parts of meeting potential grantees is the dinner (and, yes, the trust decided to fund their work).

We dropped my friends back at their house after dinner and returned to the Peabody to enjoy our last night in the South’s Grand Hotel. The Peabody has charging stations, but only the Valet can access -- my husband rode with him to ensure he plugged the car in correctly and left instructions on having to unlock the car and press the release button in the charge port before you can unplug the car.

We left at 9:30am after having one last breakfast at the hotel and stopped in Jackson for our first charge. My beloved husband drove the entire way home, since I’d been doing all the driving up to this point. I managed to sleep a little in the car, waking up at charging stops. There were no hiccups or issues charging on our way home, and we arrived home just after midnight.

Final Thoughts

I wish I didn’t have to make these trips. I spent the majority of July away from home, depending on public charging in a region of the country with very little infrastructure. Everything worked fine, and the only time I had any concern was coming back from Pickwick. Would I have taken a gas car? No, honestly I liked these baked in quiet moments to charge the car by myself. It allowed me time to think, process, grieve, and breathe. I don’t have a tally on the total cost of these trips, I do know the Electrify America charges total just over $291 and represent over 4,000 (probably closer to 5,000) miles of driving.