#I both went to the bookstore and I’ll be honest I got bored at a party

[rust-bearer]

Another zombie au writing exercise, feat: a bookstore

First Aid imagined, before, that places after the end of the world would be much more… dilapidated. Weed-filled and destroyed by both weather and time. But, surprisingly, these places were often just… fine. Speaking from that perspective, at least. The area wasn’t prone to flooding, so there was no water damage, barring extreme circumstances. There were no tornadoes, no hurricanes. There were some earthquakes, occasionally, but nothing major. So maybe some downed power lines, maybe some toppled trees. Old car crashes, some that had crashed into storefronts, some into each other. Destroyed windows… and maybe, rarely, a few adventurous plants trying to creep inside.

But mostly? They were all fine. When he entered the bookstore, the only ravages of time that he beheld were dried blood, slumped corpses melting into the floors, and layers of dust over the store that no one had any reason to scavenge. Some of the bookshelves were toppled over; many of the books were on the floors. Expensive things, like television shows and electronic reading devices- they were mostly smashed up and stolen, by those early days of chaos and looting. Maybe, if First Aid had been trying to scavenge from the old coffee shop in the corner, he would have had more trouble- but he wasn’t here to try and take moldering bags of coffee.

Instead, he was here to take their board games.

There was a lot of board games left, actually. A lot of card games undamaged, tossed onto the floor- old style games, simplistic ones, mixed in with the kinds based off of television shows and movies. First Aid fingered the plastic covering on a board game version of Halloween, checking out the price tag on some idle instinct- 60$, it said, and he smiled sadly at the knee-jerk reaction to put it back because of the price. He set it down anyway, not really interested in it. Instead, he picked up some variant on monopoly, stuffing it into his bag. The store had fidget toys that the kids would enjoy, and he grabbed a few of those too, letting them mix with the classic card game packs he’d picked up off the floor. He was pleased to find a normal version of Uno, too.

How do you pass the time without normal activities? It was like this. First Aid imagined he wasn’t the only one thinking of scavenging these games, because many were missing from the shelves- but he knew that, most of those missing were before ‘now’. When people thought this would blow over soon, and they jumped to take things they’d wanted, things they suddenly craved to have. Still, after a beat, First Aid grabbed one of those television board games and put it into the bag. This one was… based on the Thing, yeah. He’d actually wanted to play it before all of this. Maybe it be good?…

As First Aid got up to leave, he cast a wistful, wary glance to the darker sections of the store, the parts where the sunlit, shattered windows didn’t reach; textbooks, informational guides. Not this time, no.

But he did, on his way out, manage to stuff a few stray candy bars into his bag. He hoped they wouldn’t melt like the last time.

@mr-miss-anonymous for youuu

[vitchimage]

if your requests are open I just love platonic fics something about best friend Jesper buying you a book?

AAAAA SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, HERE IT IS! I hope you like it :')

--

!TW: None, just pure fluff

--

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒐

-

Jesper was walking down the streets of the lively Ketterdam. It was strange how big a difference in contrast there was between day and night here. 

During the day, it seems peaceful, happy, lively. Kids were running around, playing while other people were hanging around; shopping or maybe just taking an outing. 

But during the night, guns were pulled out, almost no children were seen except the poor, explosions, death, chaos were all mixed together.

But now wasn’t the time to be thinking about all that, but to buy a book that Y/N had been wanting for a long time – just never got the time to buy it.

So, Jesper decided to stroll down the busy street and buy it for them. Both had been best friends since childhood and despite different lives they both lived – They were inseparable. He remembers the times where Y/N fought off the guys who were bugging him, how no matter what, with just a letter, they would be there for him with open arms – to engulf him in their warmth. Because during hard times, one needs the other. Words don't need to be spoken, silence and a hug for him was enough.  

Jesper recalled the day where he and Kaz fought, how they held him, stroked his back, told him things were going to be alright and gave their honest opinion.

Like they would always do.

And for Jesper, he had always been so grateful for them, but didn’t know how to show it, how to prove how grateful he felt for having them in their life. So when he noticed one day when they were both strolling together across the street, that Y/N was eyeing a book, he took this opportunity to go and buy it when he got a message that they didn’t have time to buy it due to studies and had to focus on other things. How they felt bummed out because the book was limited edition due to its unique cover and holding a lot of secret easter eggs from a series she has been intrigued in.

Although Jesper never understood why, he still went on his merry way to get it. So here he was, holding Wylan’s hand as they walked towards their destination. 

Gazing at his boyfriend, he noticed how Wylan was eyeing a sketching set as they passed by. Jesper hums, noting in his head that the book wasn’t the only thing he was buying.

–

“The bookstore is huge,” Wylan comments as he looks around, fascinated.

Brown maroon walls, two floors, bookshelves everywhere you could barely see the walls. The wooden floor beneath them creaked with each step they took.

“Surprisingly,” Jesper laughs. 

“We should come here more often, it’s nice..” 

“If that is what my sunshine wants,” He wraps his left arm around Wylan’s shoulder grinning, his eyes filled with adoration. He still couldn’t believe Wylan was his, and he was Wylan’s.

“But do be warned, I’ll probably fall asleep,” Jesper added.

Wylan jabs Jesper in the abdomen, heat creeping his cheek. 

Jesper laughs, “Ok, ok. Let’s go and find the boring book they wanted.”

Wylan just huffed, pouting.

–

They quickly found the book as it was displayed on a table with a sign saying “LIMITED EDITION of Six of Crows  & Crooked Kingdom” 

Jesper examined it, surprised at how fancy it looked. Black cover  with a golden crow spreading its wings on it. Turning back it had a golden motto written on it. 

“Ooh, I heard a rumor that it’s actually a saint who has written the series,”

Jesper scoffs, “Really now?”

“Yeah,” Wylan hums. 

They went and paid, happily strolling through the street again.

“Wait here,” Jesper let go of Wylan’s hand and quickly went somewhere, leaving Wylan by himself.

–

30 minutes had passed, and Wylan began to grow worried. As he was about to leave towards the direction Jesper had left him, Jesper came back with another bag in his hand.

“What’s that?” Wylan tilted his head.

“A gift for you,” Jesper hands out the bag.

Wylan takes it, looking inside. 

“Jesper..” His eyes beams, “You..”

Jesper felt a ting of warmth, a good feeling filling up his heart, seeing Wylan smile happily at his gift.

“Thank you..!” He quickly wraps his arms around Jesper tightly. 

Jesper chuckles, hugging him back, “I love you,”

“I love you too..” 

Jesper gives him a quick kiss, “Let’s go and get something and eat before delivering this gift to Y/N”

“Alright!” Wylan exclaims, happily.

–

“I bought this for you,” Jesper hands out the book. He was leaning against the window of their dorm room.

The moon shined brightly, casting a shadow onto the floor beside their bed. 

“Jesper…this is…” They held the book, taken aback.

“The limited edition of the series you wanted,” Jesper looks away for a moment, “Although I don’t get what’s so special about it, it’s just papers with letters mashed up together.”

Looking back at them, their eyes were still glued onto the book along with the silence that followed with. No words needed to be spoken, but after a moment, they managed to let out a ‘thank you,’ with happy tears following it.

And like the times where he shedded tears wrapped in their warmth, this time was them.

“This is the least I could do for all the trouble I have caused you all these years.”

They laugh at that statement, “Jesper, You��re my best friend, and no matter what trouble you cause or come along with you, I’ll walk with you through it.”

“That’s what best friends do.” She looked at him in the eyes, nothing but pure happiness of seeing him well and alive, in her eyes.

Jesper lets out a smile, a genuine one, one he rarely does.

Because for him, no matter what, he could always be himself with them beside Wylan. Because deep down inside, he knew that they would always welcome him with open arms. No matter how bad his gambling addiction was, no matter what he had stolen, how many people he had killed, they were here. Happily spreading their arms so he could rant about everything and anything. Listening and understanding.

And he would be the same for them.

No matter what problem comes with, he would always be there for them, walking them through it.

Cause that’s what best friends do. 

To stand beside each other no matter what storms that comes with it.

--

m.list

[yourmcu]

Mesmerized (ii)

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Request:

@lostaurorax​ said:

hii!! i love ur writing i was wondering if u could write a natasha x reader fic were reader is part of the guardians of the galaxy and they come to the compound and natasha is just starstruck but reader plays kinda hard to get and then just a bunch of fluff !

Word count: 2,551

A/n: basically a day out with Natasha. you like having her around. she likes having you around. Part 2/? (more notes at the end of the fic!)

Warnings: mostly fluff, but ending’s pretty angsty (help), some thor fluff in the beginning, jealous!nat if you squint

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

gif not mine!! credits to the owner^^

After Natasha left your room she immediately goes straight to hers. She barely falls asleep.

She stares at the ceiling, absorbed in her own thoughts. She tries to shake away the heat rushing to her face whenever the moment you kissed her on the cheek replays on her mind. All it took is someone like you to get one of the toughest people in the compound turn into mush.

She never believes in the ‘love at first sight’ bullshit because, well, it is bullshit. It’s impossible to love someone you just met. But who knows, right? You might just be an exception.

No, Natasha frowns. I just like her... a lot. It’s different.

The next morning, her run consists of her planning out the date day with you, where she’d take you first and stuff. She stops by the front gate of the compound, suddenly worrying. She wants to impress you. But what if you don’t like what she had in store? What if you think she's boring?

You're the type of person that almost likes everything and you’d express it kindly if you don’t. Boring you should be the last thing on Natasha’s mind.

Natasha walks into the kitchen to hydrate herself but halts once she saw the mess you and Thor had all over the counters.

“Wait, hold on- no, that’s - oh god, Thor, that’s too much batter!” You smack him on the arm and laugh, tilting your head a bit to figure out how you’d get the large pancake out of the pan.

“Oops,” Thor says sheepishly, turning around to put the bowl back on the counter, noticing Natasha’s confusion. “Oh don’t worry, Natasha, we’ll clean up after we’re done.”

The mention of the redhead makes you turn as well. “Good morning, Nat.” You beam. Normally, Natasha would sent a glare to anyone who calls her that, someone who isn’t a close friend, but with you... instead of a glare her eyes light  up. Giving you a small smile, she greets you back.

“I thought you were going out?” She questions, passing by you to reach the fridge.

“We were, but IHOP’s closed, under maintenance they said,” Thor sighs and you hum in response. “It’s quite alright. I heard you guys are going out anyway-”

Natasha lowers the water bottle from her lips, staring at him. “You heard?”

You spin around to clean up after turning off the stove. ‘I didn’t tell him anything,’ you mouth to her, which makes her think Steve somehow knows of it already.

Thor lets out a laugh, grabbing the whole pan and twiddling his fork, “you two have fun.” He winks and walks out of the room.

-----

“They were so cute,” you look back at the newly engaged couple near the window of the restaurant. “And really, you didn’t have to pay. I can pay you back.”

Later that afternoon the both of you headed out. Natasha parked her car somewhere and since it was a nice day, not too hot or anything, you both strolled around the city to find a place to have brunch.

“Y/N, it’s fine. I’m the one who asked you out.” Natasha chuckles, remembering the way you pouted in there begging her to let you pay at least for your own food.

You huff, smiling. “Fine. But I’m getting you back.”

So far you were having a good time with her. You got to know each other more, she told you stories about some of the team’s missions from other countries which were relatively rare, her first encounters with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, and in return you told her some about your out-of-this-world missions with the guardians.

And no you didn’t tell her about the history of moon rocks or some shit, nor did you promise to bring her back some. Who even collects those nowadays? Natasha was more interested about your early life, on Earth, which you were thankful for. You were taken away from your father (the only parent you preferred and loved) who was pure human one day by your alien-freak of a mother which you inherited your fire powers from.

You don’t like talking about it. But with her you're surprisingly comfortable.

Natasha smirks. “So we’re going out again sometime?”

“Of course we are.” After two seconds of pure confidence you wish you didn’t say that out loud. “Well, you know, I won’t force you to something you don’t want it’s - it’s your call.”

You're in the middle of telling her about your favorite bar and diner, the one your father always takes you as a child and you even paid a visit there the last time you were on Earth.

“Huh. Isn’t that the one that just closed?” She recalls

“No, really?” You drag out the ‘no’, sighing. “They’re the best. They make their own iced tea and beer and stuff... and - oh!”

You feel something rub against your ankle: a fluffy dog who's looking up at you with its tongue out and its tail was wagging wildly. Natasha raises her eyebrows, her eyes trailing to the abandoned leash behind it.

“Hey there,” you kneel down to pet it with caution just incase its intention is to bite you. But it seems to be happy and tame. “Look, Nat, s’adorable.” Natasha chuckles briefly and starts looking around for a person who looks frantic and is finding, calling a dog. 

“This fella belongs to the animal center.” You caress the dog behind its ear while you read the information on its collar.

It isn’t that far, it seems like the dog just escaped as well because the guy running the center was unaware of its absence.

“Thanks!” Said guy smiles in appreciation, reaching out to take the leash out of your hand. Natasha’s mind is focused on how the guy looks at you for the first time. It's the exact same look she gave you that night. Mesmerized, as if it was love at first sight. She doesn’t miss how his hand brushes yours, completely intentional. “I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t returned him. The pups here just grew out of their mom’s milk and are very hyper. It’s a lot of work.”

You're completely oblivious to this, you’re just glad the dog is back to where he belongs.

“No problem, he’s very sweet.” You smile politely. “Are they up for adoption? It would really help you out if they were, you know, and this one here is well behaved.”

At this point Natasha’s just eyeing the guy like he’d pounce on you any minute now. He’s definitely into you and she doesn’t like it.

“You’re welcome to stop by anytime,” he grins, ignoring your suggestion. “Can I have your number?”

“Oh, I don’t have a phone...” you trail off.

“That’s right, she doesn’t.” Natasha steps in and she catches the guy off guard and surprised that the Black Widow is actually with you the whole time. Natasha intertwines her hand with yours, pleased with his dumbfounded reaction. “We’ll be on our way now.”

You didn’t expect that but you weren’t complaining. Her hands were soft, and it brought this comforting feeling you couldn’t explain. But you clear your throat once the both of you are a few blocks away from the center.

“Sorry, he gave me an off vibe,” Natasha mutters and removes her hand from yours.

“Don’t be, I appreciate you looking out,” you smiles. Her car was getting into view now. “If it helps you sleep at night though, he wasn’t my type.” You joke.

Turns out you weren’t completely oblivious.

Natasha merely scoffs, getting in the driver’s seat and starting the engine.

After the dog incident you both drove around different parts of the city. You went to a different mall to stroll around, commenting on anything you both saw that would somehow lead to a stupid story that happened at some point in your lives.

A local artsy bookstore, not gonna lie Natasha liked reading a good book when she had the time. So did you. It was nice to know that she’s the type of person who liked reading. Quill always got annoyed with you whenever he saw you reading silently in the ship (but when was he not annoyed with you?). The only ones that was willing to try and read back in space were Mantis and Gamora, bless her soul.

“These are good,” you mutter to Natasha. “All my books are on the ship, I think, but if I get to them I’ll let you read my favorite one... if you want.”

Last stop of the day. Natasha claims it’s a surprise.

“I don’t do well with surprises,” you whine, holding back a smile. “Just tell me.”

“No. And besides, we’re already here.” Natasha chuckles.

Your eyes light up on how stunning the scenery was. An edge of the cliff and below is a beach that doesn’t look like it’s visited by people everyday. The beautiful sunset, the sky made up of purple, orange and almost pink magnifies the calmness of the waves crawling gently to the shore.

“I always come here whenever I need to,” she says silently and exhales, walking over to you. “It’s the perfect place to go whenever those idiots get on my nerves.” You laugh lightly at her reasoning.

Natasha pats a spot on the grass beside her. She holds her gaze on you as you sit down, sighing. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” she manages to stop staring at you and look up at the sky instead. It's getting darker by the minute, the orange and pinkness started to fade as the sun went down, all of it replaced by light purple, darker shade of blue.

You're used to different colored skies. It would always vary and depend on what planet you were on, plus you always see those stars shimmering up above, so your focus is on the water and the waves. The way they move calms you.

“Thank you for today,” you murmur. “I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t expect any of this happening.”

Natasha hums. “I hope I wasn’t too boring.”

“Of course not, I think you’re very interesting and you’re fun to be with.” You say genuinely.

Once the sun is fully down and the moon had taken over the sky, the both of you get up to head back to the compound. “Eating out here would’ve been nice but Steve’s in charge with dinner, he wouldn’t be too happy if he knew we already ate.” The car ride back is silent, but the good kind. A content, comfortable one.

Okay so, your stay took more than a few weeks. 

You grew close with the amazing group of people, plus your good relationship with Natasha just kept growing and... just got better.

Thor stayed too because he didn’t have a choice, but he didn’t mind. Rocket left one pod for both of you to use that’ll send you to wherever Quill’s ship was up there. 

You and Natasha went out when you had the chance, taking turns treating each other to stuff. You learned that Thor included your books when he packed you a bag, and now Natasha was borrowing one of them.

Sometimes you’d join them on missions. You did a great job every time, not wanting to be a burden to a team you weren’t officially in. Sometimes you’d join Steve into a sparring session at the compound’s gym.

Speaking of which, he’s treating both you and Natasha as if you’re dating.

“Would you look at that, your girl managed to give me a bruise. She’s a keeper.” Steve tells Natasha.

“You totally deserve that.”

You also started sparring with Natasha. And Tony caught on with the whole ‘dating’ thing from Steve.

“Oooh, am I interrupting something here?” Tony smirks. He's going back and forth visiting the compound and coming home to his wife and daughter at their cabin. It's working out though. “I think the mat’s unsanitary. Take this to the bedroom.”

“Oh shut up, Y/N was just working on her tackling.” Natasha grunts, leaving you sprawled  on the mat, exhausted. “It’s getting sloppy. We’ll go again in a minute.”

-----

“Y/N,” The devastating tone of Natasha’s voice makes you look up. “Quill’s calling. He’s looking for you.”

“What?” She doesn’t answer but instead motions you to follow. In her office is a hologram of your fellow half-human and he looks distraught.

You step in front of the hologram so he can see you. 

“What happened to a few weeks, L/N? It’s been almost three months!” Quill says. “Look, come back, bring Thor with you. Our distress signal goes off almost every day and we can’t keep doing this without both of you.”

“Alright, how much time do I have before you lose your cool?” You reply sarcastically, but you're also worried and didn’t want to leave. You know better than to argue with the guy.

Natasha doesn’t want you to leave so suddenly. There’s limited communication between you and her once you go back up there. She grew attached to you.

Quill gives you an obvious look. “As soon as possible! Just - just get back here, please?” Then he abruptly ends the call.

You roll your eyes and left the room to pack, barely noticing Natasha hunched over, visibly sad and anxious that you’re leaving.

She loves you, and now you’re leaving without that knowledge.

You told Thor about it when he passed by the open door of your room. He didn’t look thrilled to be leaving so suddenly. After packing everything up (on his part it wasn’t that much) he offered to carry your bag for you as you said your farewells.

“Sorry guys, duty calls,” you sigh, hugging everyone. “Seeing as Tony’s not here just tell him I’ll miss him or something.”

“Will you come visit soon?” Wanda asks as she pulls away from your hug.

“Definitely.” You turn your head when Steve nudges you, nodding his head to the direction where Natasha is shifting, pacing, avoiding any eye contact.

You walk over to her. She tries holding back tears as you did. She grew attached to you and now you’re leaving. “Hey Nat,” you cup her face, trying to get her to look at you. “I’m sorry. I don’t wanna leave either, not right now, but-”

Natasha kisses you, pulling you close to her as much as possible. Tears fully streaming down her face. She’s never felt this way before, about anybody, for a long time.

But let’s face it, you both know you loved each other. Maybe the both of you just knew that if you got together, it’ll be extremely hard for your relationship once you left. The long distance relationship thing. Even if you aren’t, it's already too painful for Natasha, like she's caught off guard or something. None of you knew that today's your last night on Earth.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Natasha whispers after pulling away.

You smile sympathetically, wiping her tears away with your thumb. “You know I’ll come back, right, pretty girl?” Natasha exhales shakily and pulls you into a hug.

“You better.”

----

I found a song for this fic-series whatever, please I’m so proud of myself the song reminds me of this story

I’M ANNOYED THAT I HAVEN’T PUT IN MUCH ABOUT THE READER’S FIRE ABILITIES IN THIS ONE BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY ANYWAY (they’re on a date she wouldn’t need it for anything)

[plaidbooks]

Dark Secrets: New Beginnings

A/N: This is the first installment of the Vampire!Sonny x reader fic. This chapter is only setting the stage; next chapter will be more about the vampire aspect, I promise! This covers the Bookstore square in @adarafaelbarba​ moodboard bingo!

Tags: mentions of sex

Words: 2233

Taglist: @witches-unruly-heart​  @beccabarba​  @thatesqcrush​ @itsjustmyfantasyroom​ @permanentlydizzy​ @ben-c-group-therapy​  @infiniteoddball​ @glowingmess​ @whimsicallymad​ @lv7867​ @storiesofsvu​ @cycat4077​ @alwaysachorusgirl​  @glimmerglittergirl​ @joanofarkansass​ @caracalwithchips​ @berniesilvas​​  @reading--mermaid​  @averyhotchner​  @mrsrafaelbarba​ @detective-giggles​ @crowleysqueenofhell​ @dreamlover31​

You spent hours on the computer compiling resources for your thesis. After years and years, you were finally getting your Ph. D in History…if you could just finish this damned thesis. List complete, you headed to the local bookstore; you always checked them first before going online, since they were cheaper.

You were intimately familiar with the bookstore; you went there often. And you had double and triple checked online that they had these books. You had a small basket, four books in it, while you looked for the fifth and final book you needed. But its spot on the shelf stood vacant; a perfect hole where it should be.

Shaking your head slightly, you started to search the shelves around it, in case someone didn’t put it back correctly. But you were coming up empty. And this was the book that you needed to buy here; the shop had it for $20, while online was a couple hundred.

“Looking for Making the Revolution: America, 1763-1791?” a voice asked from behind you.

You turned to find a pale, lanky, attractive man, his hair slicked back, his bright blue eyes watching you intently. He was sitting at a table, open book in his hand. Seeing the cover, you knew it was the book you needed.

“I am, yes. Were you intending to buy it?” you questioned, praying he said no.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “I was debating it. Why, do you want it?”

“I do; I need it for my thesis. If you let me buy it, I promise to give it to you when I’m done, free of charge.” At this point, you were just desperate for that book.

His eyes seemed to bore into you as he thought about your proposal. Finally, he smiled, saying, “I think that’s a noble reason to buy this book. You’ve got yourself a deal.” He held the book out to you, and you gently took it from him.

“Thank you so, so much. You don’t know how much this helps me,” you said, placing the book in your basket.

He held a hand up. “No problem. There’s a lot of inaccuracies in that text, anyways.”

You blinked in surprise. “There are?”

“Oh yes. For one, it perpetuates the idea that Christopher Columbus came here to ‘escape tyranny’ in England, which is a load of crap, if I’m honest.”

You took a step closer to the strange man. “Do you have a source on that?”

He thought about it, chuckling to himself about something, before he answered. “Well, I am in the process of transcribing a manuscript from the man himself. But it hasn’t been published quite yet, so I doubt it’ll be of use to you for your thesis.”

“Wh—who are you?” you asked in awe.

He held a hand out for you to shake. “Dr. Dominick Carisi Jr., but you, my dear, may call me Sonny.”

Your eyes widened in shock, and you quickly shook his hand. “Dr. Carisi? Oh my god! I’ve been reading your work in class; I loved your thesis on slavery!” You had never seen a picture of him, had no idea he was so young; he was about your age. You had expected him to be an old man, at least in his 80s, not this attractive man in his early 40s at most.

He barked out a laugh. “You’ve really been reading my work? I’m flattered. I didn’t think anyone put stock in my texts.” While it was true he was a world renowned historian, his work was seen as highly controversial. He had a knack for citing manuscripts and journal entries, things that no one had discovered before he brought them to the limelight. But every authenticator had proven that the writings were from the time period. And that was enough for you.

“Please, sir, er, Doctor. Could I spend a day with you, pick your brain for my thesis? I’ll—I’ll buy the drinks and food, just…please?” you asked, suddenly embarrassed.

But Sonny’s smile grew. “I’d like that. But only if you call me Sonny. If you’re doing your thesis, then I assume you’re almost done with your doctorate?” You nodded, and he continued, “then in my eyes, we’re equals, and you don’t need to call me ‘Doctor’.”

Your heart beat a little faster when he called you equals. “Thank you so much Doc—Sonny. Does the coffeeshop next door work for you?”

“It does. And I’m free all week, whenever you need me.”

“How about tomorrow morning? I don’t have class until 3pm; I hope that’s enough time to chat.”

He gave you that heart melting smile once more. “Sounds good. See you tomorrow.” Then he took your hand and kissed it. As he walked away, your knees felt weak. You were infatuated within five minutes of talking to him.

 **********************

Sonny turned out to be an incredible source of information. Plus, he brought books that he thought would help you, letting you borrow what you needed. And, like yesterday, you found yourself completely enamored with him. He didn’t have a ring on, so you assumed him unmarried, but you didn’t know how to bring it up without being weird. Sure, you were close in age, but he was done with school, became a published historian, while you were still finishing up college. But he never talked down to you; on the contrary, he seemed highly interested in what you had to say.

Like before, you had been nervous—star-struck, really—when you met up with him. But as the hours ticked by, you found yourself more and more comfortable with him. He was highly intelligent, especially about history. You had found it hard to find someone who was as interested in history as you were, without sounding like a pretentious asshole. But Sonny checked all those boxes for you. You were just unsure if he felt the same.

“When is your thesis due? I feel like it’s still early in the academic year,” he asked.

You cleared your throat. “It is; I still have months and months to work on it. It’s due next year, but I want it to be perfect, you know?”

“I do, I do,” he agreed, nodding. “I hope you’re taking some time off, though, as well. Don’t let this paper take up your whole life; you should be out, appreciating everything this life has to give you. Don’t get stuck in the past.”

You looked at the table, letting his words soak in. It was like he had looked right through you; for the past month or so, you’ve been deep in your studies. You had friends, sure, but you hardly saw them. And you’d given up on dating until after you finished college, anyways. But maybe Sonny was on to something. You should seize the day, capture every moment in memories.

“Would you like to get dinner with me, Sonny?” you asked, trying to sound as confident as possible.

It was his turn to look surprised. “Oh, uh…sorry, you caught me off guard. In all my years, no one has ever asked me out; it’s usually the other way around.”

You chuckled. “You’re not much older than me,” you joked, and he smiled. “Maybe it’s time for something new. For both of us…that is, if you want?”

“I’d love to go to dinner with you,” he said, and your heart soared.

When it was getting close to 3, you bade him goodbye, and he told you he would be eagerly awaiting your dinner date. You felt your face heat at the words, and you swore your face never cooled off for the rest of the day.

*********************

That date with Doctor Carisi turned out to be the best decision of your life. You both felt the spark between you, and you said yes to a second date before he even finished asking. Now, it’s been ten months of loving bliss between you. You completed your thesis, got your doctorate, and Sonny couldn’t be more proud of you. And you learned that while he was a historian, he was also a detective. He said he wanted to help people now, by giving them both access to history material, and by putting absolute monsters away.

But there were little things with him, quirks, really. Though you’ve been to his place, and he yours, he never made a move to get you into bed. Sure, you’ve kissed—and sometimes this escalated to a full-blown make out session—but he didn’t seem interested in sex.

He also didn’t seem interested in moving in together…or a future at all, really. Whenever you tried to bring it up, he would just nod along with you, agreeing to whatever you said and adding on a lot of “one day’s”.

He had no family for you to meet, and yours didn’t live close. You noticed he also didn’t eat or drink much; he loved to make you dinner, and he would say that he snacked while cooking. And then, about once a month, he’d leave for 3-4 days, claiming he wanted to be alone to work on the manuscript.

You gave him as much space as he asked for, and though you still loved him dearly, you were starting to wonder if there was something wrong with you…or if it was just something he was having issues with.

“Hey Sonny?” you asked one day while snuggling on the couch at your place. “Are we okay?”

He glanced down at you. “As far as I know, yes? Why, something on your mind?”

“Well…I was just thinking about how we’ve been together almost a year and we still haven’t moved in together,” you tried.

He looked to the ceiling as he thought. “Wow, I guess it really has been that long now, hasn’t it? I feel like I just met you yesterday.”

“So, are we not connecting on a deeper level, then?” You sat up, turning to look at him.

His bright blue eyes found yours, and his expression softened. “That’s not what I meant; I’m sorry it came out like that. Time just…it moves so quickly is all. Look, I love you, I just—I don’t think I’m quite ready to make that jump yet. I’m sorry; I know this must be frustrating, but I promise you one day, I’ll…I’ll be ready.”

You nodded. “I love you too, I just….”

“What is it? You can tell me—”

“Why won’t you sleep with me?” you asked softly. His eyes widened, and you quickly added, “are—are you ace? It’s fine if you are, I understand, but I just…I feel like it’s something wrong with me, and I—”

He cupped your face in his hands, looking deeply in your eyes. “No, it’s nothing wrong with you, I promise. I’m just…I’m not ready—”

“I have urges, Sonny. And I love you, want to wait for you. But it’s been almost a year. I—I don’t believe a healthy relationship is built on sex, but well, it’d be nice to have every once in a while….”

He sighed, releasing your face. “It’s not that I don’t want to, because I do. I just want to be absolutely sure I’m ready. Call it shyness, or embarrassment, whatever you want. But I want to make sure that—that you’re the one for me, first, okay?”

You opened your mouth to respond when his phone rang. He gave you an apologetic look before answering with his stiff, “Carisi.” He mostly listened, making little noises of affirmation, before hanging up.

“I’m so, so sorry, doll. But the department needs me. I swear we’ll talk about this once I’m home, okay?” he promised, getting to his feet.

He grabbed his jacket, heading for the front door. “Sonny wait,” you called, and he stopped, looking back at you. You hurried over to him, looking up into those beautiful blues. “Be careful.”

He smiled softly. “I will be; promise.” He gave you a kiss, and then he was gone.

 ********************

You didn’t hear from Sonny again until the next morning, when he showed up on your front door, breakfast in hand. He apologized for leaving you last night during that important talk, but you brushed it off, telling him it was fine.

“That’s not all I have to apologize for,” he said, looking anywhere but at you. “I’m…going undercover. I’ll be gone for three months.”

Your face fell, and you put your fingers under his chin, tilting his face until he looked at you. “Three months?” you breathed.

“I’m sorry; I tried to decline, but the Lieutenant gave her orders. I leave in an hour.”

“Three months…” you said again, worry blossoming in your chest. This was the longest he’d be gone since you started dating.

He nodded. “I’ll text or call when I can, but don’t expect it; it may be too dangerous.”

You’d heard enough; you lifted onto your tiptoes, kissing him desperately. Your hands went to his hair, and you pulled him close, all your fear and trepidation in the kiss. He froze for only a moment before he was kissing you back, hands on your hips. He clutched you tightly enough that you gasped in pain, and he pulled away, releasing you.

“I’m sorry. I love you,” he muttered before turning to leave, but you had a suspicion that he wasn’t apologizing for leaving.

[josiebelladonna]

for my birthday—and sparing me disappointment from the fact i couldn’t go to the bay area strikes back—my mom took me to monterey for five days. i had never been there before and she had only been there once. just got home and set my things down, and now i’m chilling in the living room.

um… guys.

i have alex skolnick syndrome in that whole region, monterey peninsula and that bay, too.

explanation: when alex started visiting nyc more and before he moved there, he basically gelled into the whole thing. people began asking him for directions within the first couple of days he was there.

it kind of happened to me, too: people in shops and restaurants would ask me where things were, i picked up on the street names and the cardinal directions within hours, i realized that it’s way more humid and cooler than i had originally thought (but not like… cold, though, at least for me. heaven help someone from the east coast, though, they’d be freezing their asses off).

my first book, black rain, took place in monterey and i’ll admit i was pretty much wingin it. walking along fisherman’s wharf and cannery row—even up the street from the hotel to denny’s and starbucks—i was thinking about the whole novel again, like there was so much that i wanted to inject into it right then and there. it felt like a homecoming of sorts.

we went up to santa cruz—just took the highway 1 along the rim of monterey bay; about a hundred miles due south of san francisco.

it reminded me of klamath falls, the place in oregon i lived in for four years and i want to move back to more than anything in the world—klamath is on the eastern side of the mountains so it’s more arid. santa cruz is stunning, everything is green, it’s bicycle- and pet-friendly, and there’s this big coney island type boardwalk there with an amusement park and all manner of booths and things. and walking on the street to get breakfast, and strolling along the boardwalk, i was expecting to look south and see mount shasta off in the distance. i gelled so well in that whole part of california (shit, i even liked paso robles, the town on the way there—oh my god, the amount of vineyards up there! we drove past a couple of rather large ones and the only thought swimming through my mind was “alex would be creaming his jeans right now”). honestly, the mountains have completely lost me: i can’t walk around a neighborhood and go into town for a cup of coffee or groceries and take my dog with me—i did that so much in klamath! those couple of days in monterey made me miss that. in the mountains, i can’t walk along a boardwalk or fisherman’s wharf, and i can’t smell the ocean from there. it rained the first day we were there (words cannot describe how much i love rain on the beach—in the mountains, it’ll pour and then it’ll stop after a few minutes. or it’ll rain and it has no idea if it wants to stay rain or become snow. we went to cannery row then: had it been up the hill, i would’ve pulled my hood up no question.

alex talks about the food in nyc, how it’s “too much” for his poor little tum—monterey bay, too. up the street from our hotel was honest to god, the biggest safeway i had ever seen. this thing was like a warehouse. a full bakery, and lush produce, and a big pharmacy… it dwarfs both markets back in town here. my mom made a joke about how we’ll get so fat if we live there 😂 

but if i had the choice of being fat and living in a place i love or being slim and living in a place that’s hard on me mentally, of course i’m willing to tip the scales. where we live in the mountains is fucking boring. it’s slow and boring and more conservative than they know what to do with.

we were about a 30 minute walk from the beach, too. god, i love the beach.

moreover, it was monterey, home of the monterey jazz festival—indeed, i saw lots of posters in our neighborhood for jazz shows.

i made some art—some of it quite naughty as you may have seen (helped our hotel was quite literally two doors down from an adult bookstore, i couldn’t help it 😜). i also took lots of pictures with “little red”, my digital camera—i actually feel like a legit photographer now, even as an amateur.

and of course, friday was my birthday—definitely something to have it coincide with good friday, ramadan, and passover, too, such that there were moments i literally forgot it was my birthday. when fused with the ocean and alex’s influence, it felt like a dream, a hallucination. like we left the house and went out to the western side of the central valley and my mind completely switched off for a few days.

and… it was weird, too. i shared a pic of him that stephanie cabral (one of testament’s photographers, she rules) took on stories, where there’s purple light cascaded over him and he’s smiling—on his photography account, i asked him if the jacarandas were in bloom yet with all their purpleness and he told me not yet (purple is my favorite color, so of course i like seeing those trees—they start blooming literally this time of year). another steph photo was that one of him jumping in the air (taken from behind no less—cue the sir mix-a-lot impression and the naked butt drawing from me) and when he shared it on his story, he was like “yeah, i might as well share this one…”

nah, the trees aren’t in bloom yet—but they will be, though, and i hope i can be there with my camera ready because i’m curious now. and i may as well share my ass floating in space.

it’s like he knows… what i want.

it gets even weirder: not once did i see a trump banner or any propaganda like that. hell, when we went up to santa cruz, i saw so many ukraine flags and blm banners. there were a couple of boats in fisherman’s wharf with the blue and yellow on the masts.

you’re telling me that this place i went to on the coast 100 miles south of san francisco that’s green and non-judgmental and closely knit and well-fed and artsy and a melting pot and feels like my guitarist boyfriend and my home is the real thing? oh, well, let’s find a place now, shall we? this is a love affair, baby!

[oscar-lettjohanssonloveme]

Mr. Sandman pt. 2 (Miss Venable x reader)

After one month I finally finished the second pt, whooho :) Well i guess its a bit different, than the first chapter, but i hope yall like it- I can imagine making a third pt of this, but it would be much more fucked up and weird, than this chapter..lol I wanted to say thank you for your nice comments under the first chapter, they made me really happy :3

summary: three weeks have passed and you are trying to understand everything

warnings: depression (idk if a robot can have depression-), uhm bruises,..

And if ur name is Laura, don't hate me! yikes hahah

here is the first pt. :

https://littlejeaniehugsbumblebees.tumblr.com/post/639876084639334400/mr-sandman-ms-venable-x-reader

hello google translate:3

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream Make her the cutest that I've ever seen Give her two lips like roses and clover And tell her that her lonely nights are over

It had been 3 weeks since the thing with the letter. 3 fucking weeks since you found out you were nothing more than a programmed machine.

And everything had gotten weird.

Ordinarily, you might call your behavior depression, but you were a goddamn robot and couldn't actually feel anything.

Sometimes you would spend hours in front of the mirror looking at your strange body. No.. to look at her body. You were just an image of her and your body was just a thing made of metal, tied through with cables and covered with a skin-colored rubber.

It all made no sense, all your memories of your family, your friends and your meeting with Mina (your first meeting in your bookstore, your first date, the first kiss, ..) all of this had to be real. But as Mutt had explained to you, your brain was just a hard drive with a stored script in which Mina had invested a lot of time to make your "memories" as detailed as possible. After all, she wanted you to be perfect.

To be honest, you had no idea how to act towards Mina. She was right somewhere, without her, you wouldn't exist. Maybe you should be grateful or happy that she created you. And on top of that, you really thought you loved her, needed her, or wanted her. But inside you knew that you only did all of these things because she programmed you to do so. Nothing you ever did was really your own excuse. You were just what she wanted you to be and in addition to that, you weren't even unique anymore. Mina had just copied you and used you for her own purposes.

Inwardly, you tried to fight the urge to kiss her, sit on her lap, or even smile at her, simply because you knew it wasn't what you wanted, but what she wanted. She wanted you to kiss her, wanted you to sit on her lap and wanted you to smile at her.

And all these feelings that cooked in you at the same time, the forced love for Mina and at the same time the hate because she was so selfish, let you get tired and pulled you down into a deep hole.

But you were a robot, you couldn't feel anything.

------------------------

"You should fucking stop coking while you're working on her", hissed Mina, staring into the stupid faces of Jeff and Mutt.

"She should be perfect, do you understand that?"

"Calm down", Mutt mutturd, raising both hands as Jeff swept the rest of the cocaine off the table. The fine powder fell like snow on the floor and the fact that these drugs were now on the white floor made Mina even more angry.

"We're the best at this and we know that if she doesn't turn out perfect, you'll probably kill us," Jeff explained with a smug grin on his ugly face.

"It's better for you if you know," Mina growled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"How far are you?"

"So," Jeff got up bored to go to his project.

"All we have to do is insert her face and load your script from her hard drive and then we're done."

Mina's gaze wandered to the 3D printer Jeff was pointing to. Inside was the mask of a face ... your face. It was her eyes staring at some point, the same blush of her cheeks on yours, as was the gentle curve of your lips as hers.

"May I ..?" Mina asked and held out her hand for the mask. Jeff shrugged.

"Do what you want, but then bring the mask with you to her body, then we can finish it off."

The man turned to go to the computer next to the body on the table.

"Meanwhile I'll be loading your script on her hard drive", he called afterwards, but Miss Venable no longer listened to him. Her attention was fully focused on the mask, which she had carefully removed from the printer.

The face looked almost dead in her hands as not a single facial muscle was tense and yet Miss Venable could already tell that you were exactly as she had imagined. Just like she remembered Y / N.

Miss Venable stepped away from the 3D printer to walk past Jeff to your body.

She took off her leather gloves before running her fingers over the exposed skin of your arm. It was fascinating how much the rubber felt like real skin. It wasn't the first time, that she saw the result of your body, but it always fascinated her.

Her gaze wandered to your head and she was startled, when she saw directly in your head on the hard drive, that was connected to Jeff's computer by a black cable.

"And she won't ask any questions?" She asked, turning to Jeff.

"Nope," said Mutt, who stood with his arms folded next to his colleague to stare at the computer.

"I took the liberty of reading your script and apart from all the crazy sex you wrote down there, it seems to be very verbose."

Mina's eyes narrowed at Mutt's words and she bit the inside of her cheek to swallow all the insults that came into her mind. This script had been private.

On the other hand, she was tired of waiting for you and just wanted it to be over as soon as possible and that she could finally have you after waiting so many years.

"Okay, this is what we got," Jeff began as he got up from the computer and walked over to your body to pull the cable out of your head.

"Y / N will think, she was here to pick you up from work and then she would have passed out for whatever reason. So she won't wonder why she is here. Well, you know, she thinks that you've been together for a few years, so you have to play along right away. "

"I've spent so many years preparing for this moment," Mina hissed as she watched Jeff insert the face into your body.

And she was right, for years she had lived in her house like a second person was living with her. She had bought Y / N's size clothes, her make-up, her perfume, the books she liked ... Someone would have called it madness, but to her it was confidence. Just because she knew she'd have you one day. And today she could finally take you home with her.

"We're ready," Jeff said, turning to Mutt.

"You can power her up."

"Wait," Mina interrupted while she stared down into your blank face. Your eyes were closed and now it almost looked like you were sleeping.

"I want to be alone with her, when she wakes up."

"B-but what if something doesn't work?"

"It will work."

"Your decision", Jeff mumbled and went to Mutt to leave the room with him.

"Oh and Miss Venable, you know, that telling her about your her identity wouldn't be the best idea."

"She will never know, I'll make sure", Mina replied and went to the computer to switch you on. As quickly as she could, she came back to the table you were lying on, staring expectantly into your face.

And then you came to life.

First your eyes opened and Mina saw you blink a few times confused at the bright ceiling lamp.

"What's up, honey?" You asked her with a frown, but Mina couldn't answer. You looked so damn real, just like her.

"Are you okay?", You grinned crookedly while you sat up.

Your smile, the slightly curved eyebrows and your lively eyes, it was perfect.

"I- I am just happy that you're awake again," Mina finally managed to stutter.

"Naww you were worried about me? You're cute," you muttered, reaching for her hands.

"Can we go home now?"

Mina nodded slowly while she stared into the loving glitter eyes.

You were perfect

Wilhemina opened her eyes. The image of your sparkling eyes was still buzzing around in her head while she stared at the ceiling of your bedroom. Damn it, how many weeks had you not looked at her like that?

Miss Venable was usually not one to wake up at night, but since you knew what you really were, she slept badly and at night dreamed of the time when you didn't know and you were both happy. In addition, the weight of your head was missing on her chest..Your arm wrapped around her waist and the locks of hair that usually tickled her face.

It was almost impossible to sleep like this. She just needed to feel like you belonged to her. How many times had Miss Venable dreamed of Y/N in Jonathan's arms one night and then woke up only to see, that you were as close to her as you could possibly be?

And since you knew it, you just lay next to her in bed, curled up in yourself and felt worlds away from Mina. She was sure you were toying with the idea of ​​sleeping in the guest room. But you could never do that, because that's how she programmed you. You wanted to be with her.

Mina turned her head to the side to see you. You lay on your back next to her and stared out the window with glassy eyes. Lost, thought Miss Venable.

"Why are you awake?" She asked softly and grabbed your hand, which was on your chest.

"I can't sleep"you replied dryly without looking at her.

I don't need to sleep, I'm a fucking robot Wilhemina.

"Do you want to read? Uhm- We haven't read together in ages," she asked and began to run her thumb over the back of your hand.

You just shook your head before turning to her and looking at her with such a pain in your eyes, that she wanted to cry.

"I'm not real, Mina," you said in a thick voice as tears came out of your eyes. You reached your other hand to your face to wipe away the tears.

"These tears are not real."

"That is not true." Mina whispered and took your other hand as well.

"You are here and you are real."

"I'm not even alive. I'm just a dead thing made of cables, I live as much as your computer does."

"Don't say something like that.", Mina mumbled reaching behind her to turn on the bedside lamp. She actually wanted to say something, but when she turned back to you, her eyes fell on the small bruises on your arm.

"What the hell, Y / N", she scolded in horror and ran her fingers over the dark spots.

"Oh, it's not that bad," you said quickly as you pulled your arm away.

"It's actually quite interesting, you know, when we were in the office to fix my hand, Mutt explained to me that I have certain sensors under this rubber layer, that make me think I'm feeling pain. And how my skin changes color when I injure myself..you know, its really cool"

Mina looked at you disturbed, while you explained to her factually how interesting you found that.

"Mutt sent me the plans for my body too," you continued, staring thoughtfully at your forearm.

"It's so fascinating to see how my body digests food or how my emotions work."

"Why are you in contact with this idiot?", Mina frowned.

"Because I wanted to know how I work..I also noticed that I can't get any older and it's kind of funny."

"Funny", Mina repeated, planning a thousand ways in her head, how she would kill Mutt.

----------------

"You fucking idiot," she hissed the next day as she hobbled into Jeff and Mutt's office.

"How dare you even think you have the right to clear Y / N?"

"I thought, it would be good, after she found out everything," Mutt muttered without looking up from his computer.

"Oh yeah?", Mina's eyes sparkled with anger.

"And I thought, we said,  it would be best if she didn't know."

"I understand why he gave her the plans," Jeff interjected.

"Who the hell asked you ??", Mina spat and Jeff shrugged.

"I'm just saying, that I think it's better for her. You want her to be happy and I think that's only possible, if she knows who she is."

"Oh no," Mina shook her head. "I want her to be like Y / N again and unfortunately that won't work if you explain how her robot body works. You could have sent her the script right away."

"Who knows, maybe I'll do that too," Mutt mumbled and looked enviously at Jeff, who was already coking again. "She deserves to know everything."

"You won't do anything like that," Mina growled dangerously.

"You both still work for me and what I do with my girlfriend is my decision".

With that she turned to walk out of the office and eventually out of the building. She just wanted to go home, but at the same time she knew that you and not Y / N would be waiting for her there.

"I'm home princess", she called out loud as she always did when she came home and like the weeks before she got no answer from you. Mina sighed as she hung her jacket on the stand. She hobbled into the bedroom and saw you the night before, just lying there and staring out the window. You hadn't gone to work in the past few weeks, it felt kind of pointless.

"How was your day, princess?" Asked your girlfriend, who was lost in the doorway and tried to get you to talk somehow.

"Good," you said curtly. "You didn't want to tell me how long I've been around, but I think I figured it out today."

Mina's breath caught.

"Did Mutt tell you that too?"

"Nope," you mumbled. "It was me alone. Well, I noticed that based on what I thought I knew, we've been living together for 4 years, but there are only pictures of the last two years, so I think, I'm 2 years old. Somehow that sounds funny, doesn't it? You're dating a two year old. "

For a few seconds, Mina just stared at you. You were right, you were two years old.

"When will you finally get back to normal," she finally mumbled and stepped outthe door frame to sit on the bed. You snorted in annoyance and shook your head as you sat up.

"Define normal, Mina."

"When will you talk to me again? When will you kiss me again? Will you sit on my lap or at least smile at me?" She screamed, making you wince at her volume.

"You treat me like I did something wrong."

"Sorry, but do you find it normal to live with someone, who is actually dead and looks like your 'big love'?" You yelled back.

"It was normal until you knew it and now you pretend there was something wrong with it," Mina stared at you in disbelief, as if she didn't understand how fucked up these facts actually were.

"You could at least have made me unique with a will of my own .. I could have loved you anyway and if I had decided it myself, that's actually how it works," you spat as you leaned against the headboard.

"Then you wouldn't have been like her," Mina replied dryly and you just rolled your eyes.

"So what?".

"So what ?!", Mina repeated angrily.

"Maybe because the only person I love is her and not you?"

Your eyes widened at her words.

"You- you are insane, Mina," you stuttered and got up to walk out of the room. And you would have loved to leave, but you were a human boomerang, no matter how far away you went, you would keep coming back to her. Because that's how she programmed you.

----------------------

A few days went by and you thought a lot about the fact, that she had told you in the face, that she didn't love you but this woman. And you started to hate it all. You hated Mina for her incredible selfishness. You hated yourself for being completely at the mercy of her because she programmed you that way and you hated Y / N (although you were actually Y / N, only in lesbian and metal) because Mina loved her and not you.

You knew, that Mina regretted telling you that, at least she tried to apologize to you later, but you ignored her.

In your eyes, what Mina felt was no longer love, but madness. And if you hadn't hated Y / N, you would probably have prayed for her, that Mina wouldn't have the idea of ​​kidnapping her. Probably the next step on the insane scale. First Y / N had decided on Jonathan and then the stupid robot broke, so Mina was only left with kidnapping as a way out.

You really did your best to understand her behavior, but you just couldn't. Okay, well ... you were just a stupid robot and you only knew empathy from Mina's script.

"Well," you began when you came into her working space on Wednesday afternoon and sat across from her at the desk.

"I've thought of something."

That was the first time in days that you spoke to her without being asked.

You had actually decided to ignore her, until it was enough for her and she decided to leave you. However, the human part of you (Mina's ugly script) thought it would be fair to at least give her the opportunity to explain to you why she was the way she was.

Mina looked up from her laptop and smiled gently at you.

"Anything you want, princess".

You could hear the relief in her voice and you knew she was probably glad you spoke to her again.

And to be honest, you liked that situation. The fact, that she was so eager to talk to you again gave you an incredible feeling of power.

Usually you played by her rules and now you had the reins in hand.

You crossed your arms over your chest and looked at her for a few seconds with narrowed eyes. Despair literally glittered in her eyes and you couldn't help but enjoy this moment.

"I want to get to know Y / N", you finally said and watched as her brown eyes widened.

"You can't be serious," she whispered in disbelief.

"I am absolutely serious."

You shrugged your shoulders.

"You want me to get 'normal' again, but for that to happen, I have to understand you first, and here we are."

"But- ..", Mina started and then broke off herself. This stunned look sparked another war in you.

One side wanted to love her and tell her the idea was stupid, while the other side of you hated her profoundly.

"I hope you are aware, that this is not possible," she said quietly.

"And why not? Because then she finds out that you are a psychopath? This is your problem and not mine."

"Y / N, I can't do this," she mumbled, always seeing youstill horrified.

"I can dress up or something," you replied and immediately hated yourself for your willingness to compromise.

Mina shook her head.

"That's impossible Y / N ... your voice even sounds like hers."

"Nobody pays attention to the voice."

"Jonathan would notice," Mina said, pressing her lips together.

"Jonathan?" You repeated, confused, and raised an eyebrow.

"Her Husband," she mumbled softly.

"And why should your husband come with her, when I just want to see her?"

"He does not like me."

"And why should you come with me, when I want to see her?"

"Oh Y / N, come on", Mina rolled her eyes. "Do you really think, I'm so stupid and leave you alone with her? No way."

You snorted in annoyance and shook your head as you stood up.

"It was clear that you wanted to be in control of that too," you muttered, turning to walk out of the room.

"I'll leave the decision to you, Mina, but don't expect me to come back to you if you don't even give me the opportunity to understand you."

----------------------

And Mina actually didn't seem to have given up hope, when she told you on the same day, ,that she would agree to your request.

It was maybe a bit ridiculous to dress up because of the whole thing, but otherwise Mina would not have agreed and you also wanted to spare Y / N, what had happened to you the last few weeks. By being basically Y / N, you knew exactly what it would feel like for her to find out the truth about you.

"So .. what do you think?" You asked when you walked into the hallway to Mina, who was already waiting.

Mina looked you up and down critically.

You had to do your best not to look like yourself, or rather not to look like her.

Dyed hair, different make-up, more conspicuous clothing and jewelry.

"I don't like it," Mina muttered and you rolled your eyes.

"It's not about whether you like it, it's about whether I look like her."

Mina shook her head.

"You definitely don't do that and I still think it's ugly."

"Well, maybe I should always dress like this now," you muttered as you stepped forward to leave the house.

During the drive to the café, Mina explained her rules to you and that she would interrupt the whole thing immediately if you didn't follow them.

But you didn't listen to her at all. In your mind you were with Y / N and the life that was actually intended for you and it annoyed you, that Mina was so addicted to control.

"So, behave, understand?" She finished her sermon as she parked the car.

"Do I have any other choice? Otherwise you would probably take me to the junkyard," you joked and climbed out of the car, only for Mina to come to you and take her hand in yours. You wanted to push her away, her behavior was disgusting, but instead you gave her a warm smile and pressed a quick kiss on her cheek.

You knew exactly how much that would hurt her.

Mina pulled you into the overcrowded café and despite the many people you immediately discovered the young couple, who were sitting at one of the back tables.

Y / N, who had a child on her lap and her husband Jonathan.

Shit, shot through your head. They look so happy ..

You felt Mina's grip on your hand tighten a little, and if your bones weren't made of steel, you would have been afraid, Mina would break your hand. As you both approached the table, your eyes were glued to Y / N. In fact, she looked exactly like you, the only difference being that her hair was a little longer than yours. She moved like you, had the same posture as you and wore the same innocent smile on her face as you always did.

And as much as you loathe Mina, you had to give her one thing: she had done an excellent job designing you and you finally understood, what she always meant when she told you, that you were perfect.

She could have shown you a photo of Y / N and you would have been 100% sure that it was you.

"Oh Mina, hi", Y / N squeaked excitedly and got up from her seat when she saw Mina and you and you couldn't help but grin. Stupid thing.

"Hello Y / N," Mina mumbled when Y / N came and hugged her.

"I'm Y / N," Y / N said to you with a polite smile after letting go of Mina.

"And this is my husband Jonathan and our daughter Emily."

Your gaze wandered to the child who paid you no attention and to Jonathan who smiled crookedly.

"Uhm Y / N, that's my girlfriend Laura", Mina stammered and you looked at her confused. Laura?

"Hi," you mumbled tersely, trying to bring a smile to your face.

You watched Y / N turn away from you againe to sit next to your husband and put the child back on your lap.

"God, I'm so glad, that we can meet," Y / N said excitedly as Mina and you sat down (Mina across from Y / N while you sat down across from her annoyed husband).

"You know, I was really sad when you said a few weeks ago you weren't going to our college meeting .. I missed you, Mina."

You knew how much Y / N's words would hurt Mina and suddenly you found the fact, that you were sitting with her in this cafe with the real Y / N and her great life more than just amazing. And you knew that Mina made herself very vulnerable at that moment, which was actually a rarity.

"You know, Mina, I was really happy for you when you told me that you had a girlfriend," Y / N said while she stared at you curiously. Holy shit.

"How did you meet?"

"Uhm she-" Mina began, but you interrupted her.

"Let me tell her, honey."

You grabbed Mina's hand, that was on the table and crossed her fingers with yours.

"Well, as you know, Mina works in this robot company. And because Mina is not stupid, she had the great idea to create a human robot that exactly meets her ideas, who wouldn't do that if you were CEO of this company? And unfortunately her ideas looked exactly like me and in front of you sits the end result of her experiment and thats our lovestory. "

Y / N and Jonathan stared at you in confusion and you could hear Mina holding her breath. You held this tension for a few seconds before you laughed out loud.

"Oh my god, guys..that was a joke", you laughed and immediately the looks of the others relaxed again. Mina cleared her throat only to growl a quiet "not funny".

"So you know, I work in a bookstore and she was my customer back then. Love at first sight and that shit. And then we started dating," you explained and looked at Mina lovingly from the side. Disgusting.

You heard Y / N squeak softly next to Jonathan and you wondered if you were as annoying as she was.

"Thats so cute," she said. "And how long have you been together?"

"4 years", Mina muttered and you hummed in agreement.

"I'm happy for you," said Y / N and looked back and forth between you and Mina, smiling.

"Jonathan and I have known each other since college, as Mina must have told you."

"Oh yeah," you said, staring at the child playing in Y / N's lap. It looked just like her, and who knows, maybe it was just a robot?

"Mina told me a lot about you, unfortunately a little late. Well, whatever, what are you two doing?"

"We're both mechanics and work in rocket construction," Y / N explained and Jonathan just nodded.

"You know, Jonathan is currently working with other mechanics on a rocket that will go to Mars."

Y / N gave Jonathan a proud look.

"Oh wow, that's so cool," you said with mock admiration as you stared at Jonathan with bright eyes.

"You know, Mina's work is really boring, but rocket building? That is so interesting, tell me more about your work, jonathan."

The man in front of you looked at you confused as you cocked your head and smiled sweetly at him.

"Uhm, so I work in a team with 14 other mechanics," he explained bored and crossed his arms over his chest. "And we plan to finish the whole project within the next two years."

"And should the rocket be for humans?" You asked as you put your hand on his arm to remove a lint that didn't exist. Beside you, you could feel Mina squeeze your hand tight and you knew, that she hated to see you obviously flirting with the man.

Jonathan cleared his throat and pulled his arms apart again so that you had to remove your hand again.

"This rocket is supposed to be for robots," he muttered, looking at his wife, who was sitting next to him, smiling gently.

"Oh, did you hear Mina? Robots?" You said as you turned to Mina to look at her with shining eyes.

"Maybe I should report to NASA, I would be the perfect astronaut for this mission".

You looked back at Y / N and Jonathan, who obviously didn't know what to make of your statement again. You grinned cheekily when you put your hand on Jonathans again.

"I understand, that all of the robot comments might sound a bit confusing, but you have to know, that Mina has some really weird fetishes."

------------

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Scolded Mina after the two of you had reentered your house. You turned to her and shrugged your shoulders.

"I don't know what you mean, honey," you said with an innocent smile on your face as you approached her passed to enter the living room. Mina watched you angrily as you let yourself fall on the sofa to stare indifferently out of the window.

"Those stupid robot comments?" She hissed angrily.

"And then the disgusting way you stared at Jonathan with .."

You snorted in annoyance.

"Of course it is that thing that bothers you".

"Yes, it bothers me because you know that I hate him", Mina hissed and hobbled into the room to stand in front of you.

"You fucking belong to me Y / N .."

"Of course I'm yours," you mumbled sadly and while you were still looking out the window, you could feel her angry eyes digging into your skin. You thought back to the previous afternoon. Y / N had started talking about their perfect life in response to your questions. Her and Jonathan's career, and then cute Emily, who had been sitting at the table the whole time playing with a teddy bear. You noticed, that as a stupid robot you could probably never have children and you couldn't help but feel envy for this woman and again there was this hate for Mina.

"Okay, take that off," Mina suddenly said in a sharp voice. You looked at her confused and blinked a few times.

"Please what-?"

"Take. That. Off.", She repeated, growling, while her eyes wandered over your body. "This makeup, the jewelry and these clothes, that's not you. And I want you .. now"

"Oh no ... I definitely won't do that," you breathed as you stood up.

"I told you, I didn't want anything physical from you until things were cleared up."

"I waited a long time Y / N and nothing happened, so take this shit off," Mina spat, staring at you impatiently.

"Leave me alone, Wilhemina," you muttered as you stepped past her to leave the room.

"You will come back immediately, Y / N", Mina suddenly shouted in a tone that was strange to you and immediately made you jump. Her voice suddenly sounded so shrill that it gave goose bumps over your body.

You turned around automatically to go back to the living room, where Mina was still angry and looking at you expectantly.

"I want you to take your clothes off," she said sharply, and you just couldn't argue. There was that sound in her voice that she had never yelled at you with, even though you had argued a lot in the past few weeks.

"Now, Y / N," she hissed loudly before she hit the floor with her stick and you immediately began to take off all the jewelry, that you had only been wearing to not look like Y / N. You grabbed an unused kleenex, that was lying on the living room table to wipe the lipstick off your lips. Your fingers carefully removed the lashes, that you had placed on your eyelashes. Your eyes were still on Mina, who had meanwhile sat down on the sofa and watched your every move. You stood in front of her, undecided after throwing the handkerchief with your lipstick and lashes on the table.

"I want you to sit on my lap," said Mina and suddenly you understood why you were actually doing what she wanted. 

“I want.”

Damn robot.

You carefully climbed onto her lap and stared sadly into her brown eyes, which were dark with lust.

"Good girl," she hummed, sending warmth through your whole body.

"Its that what you want, isn't it? Be my good girl?"

You looked down at her with glassy eyes before you nodded.

Immediately her hands began to wander over your body and you knew that you had failed.

You had never hated yourself and your stupid body as much as you had for the next few hours. As warm tears of frustration ran down your face, you moaned her name like a whore. It was fascinating how your body reacted to her touch, you wanted her so bad, simply because she programmed you that way.

With that she had won.

You had fought her for 3 weeks, only to end up in bed with her again. You hated her for it and you hated yourself and still you let her fuck you so senselessly.

When you found yourself in your bed a few hours later and felt her naked body pressed against yours, you felt more terrible than ever. Mina had her arms wrapped tightly around you and you could feel her breath on your neck. It was all disgusting and you noticed how it got too much.

You carefully freed yourself from her iron grip to go quietly from your bedroom into the bathroom. You turn on the light and stand in front of the mirror to examine your naked body. Disgusting.

Your face looked completely tearful, with a swollen lower lip that she had a few hours agohad eyes.

Your body was covered with small bruises and the prints of her fingernails and suddenly you could feel her hands running over your body again. It was electrifying.

You hated this picture in front of you. You were only there to be hers. To do what she wanted. And there was nothing you could do about it.

Your fingers carefully traced her markings. None of this was real. Your skin was some kind of rubber that only discolored. An illusion to hide your cables. And you've had enough of this human shell, this illusion. You were a robot and you looked like a human, you acted like a human and that didn't make any sense. You finally wanted to know who or rather what you were. Your eyes wandered from your reflection in the mirror to the sink and the small nail scissors stabbed your eyes.

The whole thing was idiotic, but you couldn't help but hold out your trembling hand for it.

----------------

A few minutes after you got out of bed, Mina woke up too. The lack of warmth in your body was missing, as was your weight in her arms. For a brief moment she was afraid, that you would finally have run away, but then it occurred to her, that you couldn't run away, that's how she had programmed you. Still, she had the feeling that something was wrong.

Mina sat up to grab her dressing gown, which she pulled over her naked body, and then hobbled out of the bedroom into the hallway to look for you. She didn't have to look far as the light shone from the open bathroom and she saw you leaning over the sink.

"Princess?" She asked softly and put a hand on your bare shoulder. You winced at her touch as you turned and revealed to Mina what you had done. Mina let out a shocked scream and stared in horror at your slashed arm, which revealed all the cables and your metal bones.

"What the fuck are you doing ?!", She screamed angrily as she grabbed your arm.

"I- I just wanted to see my real body," you stuttered and hid the nail scissors behind your back.

"Don't you see that you are destroying everything?", Mina spat and looked at you hurt.

"You're the one who breaks everything."

"Mina, please," you mumbled and pulled your open arm back again.

"I just want you to be normal again," she breathed and felt tears come out of her eyes. You shook your head slowly.

"We already had this conversation, I'm not going back to normal, you have to understand."

"Oh I understand it now".

Mina looked at you thoughtfully for a moment before continuing.

"Get dressed."

"It's 5 am," you said and watched in confusion as Mina turned around to go back to your bedroom from the bathroom.

"You understood me, Y / N", Mina mumbled and heard how you ran after her angrily.

"Make up your mind Mina," you hissed as you walked past her to your closet. "Before you wanted me to take my clothes off, just so you would tell me now to get dressed again."

"You can also accompany me to my office naked," Mina hummed, who started to get dressed. You spun around and stared at her in confusion.

"You want us to go to your office?"

"Exactly".

"Forget it," you snorted and shook your head.

"I won't do that shit. You can't-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Shouted Mina.

"I want us to go to my office and you will come with me, do you understand me?"

She glared at you and you nodded quickly.

"Good," she hissed. "Now damn it, get dressed and shut up."

----------

Mina was incredibly nervous when she drove to her office. She didn't really know what she wanted there herself.

She wanted you to go back to normal, but you didn't go back to normal. She wanted you to be Y / N again, but you weren't. Mina could feel that you were scared when you sat silently next to her in the car without moving. But she didn't care, earlier she might have calmed you down, but earlier you were still like Y / N.

Mina parked the car in the company's parking lot before opening the door for you to get out. Without a word, she ran through the building, clutching your wrist with her free hand. What hadn't been cut open. She stomped angrily into the office of Jeff and Mutt, who were bent over the table again to coke.

"Look Mutt, Venny joins the chatroom," grinned Mutt as he lifted his head from the table and recognized Miss Venable.

"What gives us the honor?"

Mina put her hand on your back and pushed you forward.

"She is broken," she croaked. "She doesn't work anymore .."

"So what should we do now?" Asked Jeff, as he got up and walked over to you to look at your cut arm.

"I want you to fix her, she should be normal," Mina hissed and felt tears sting in her eyes again.

"Otherwise replace her if you have to, I don't want her if she is like that."

Mina looked sadly into your fearful eyes. There was nothing left of the loving glint she'd seen when you smiled at her the first time. You weren't like Y / N and as long as you weren't like her, she didn't want you. Damn robot.

Sandman, I'm so alone Don't have nobody to call my own Please turn on your magic beam Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream

[simpsiren]

Summer’s promise

xiaojun x reader

description. Your final moment with xiaojun at the beachside before the two of you go your separate ways. Or perhaps not.

genre. FLUFF, a bit emotional but bear with me im emotional rn <\3

word count. 2.9k~

warnings. nonee

a/n. i actually had a plot to this but realise that its not that good so ill limit it to this! its a very short and direct plot so cjdndn either way i hope you’ll enjoyyy

It’s three in the morning. Xiaojun had his fingers interlocked with yours as your hands met unintentionally at the back. You lean back while Xiaojun had his body forward. You rest your head on his shoulder, snuggling up in the crook of his neck while you find a comfortable spot. Eventually you did, breathing in to take in his scent.

The cold breeze touches your skin. Sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks you and Xiaojun are sitting on. You allow your legs to dangle freely on the edge. The night sky really setting the tone and atmosphere right just for the two of you.

“I don’t want to leave.” You mutter, lips brushing against his skin ever so lightly.

“You have to, love. Get back to your life in the city.” Xiaojun breathes out. Once again he calls you by the nickname love. A nickname you have grown to get too comfortable with in the short span of three months during your stay here.

“You know I’ll miss you.” You look up at him, your action causing to tilt his head down. Your eyes meet. His gaze staring into yours. It just feel so right, so perfect. To have you with him on a chilly night. For once, time has frozen for the two of you. You take in the moment quickly before it fades away.

“I said we’ll meet some day, didn’t i?” Xiaojun brings his free hand up to tuck a few strands behind your ear, you feel his chest moving up and down calmly as he tilts his head, taking a moment to admire every inch of your face.

You scoff, the side of your lip lifting up into a small smirk. “Uhuh. But you said to let fate do that for us.” You blurt out.

“Yes I did. And if fate doesn’t want us to happen, I’ll fuck it and find my own way to you. I just thought it’ll be a beautiful way to meet each other again.”

“Sending postcards of the cities we’re in? I’ll be in another country, Dejun. Still can’t get used to the idea but I somewhat see the beauty in that.”

Xiaojun chuckles softly. Oh the chuckle. No matter how many times you’ve heard it, it really still makes you feel some type of way.

His hand slowly creeps down to your waist, pulling you in closer to him. You lift a hand, you didn’t know where to put it. You just want to touch him. Absentmindedly, it arrives at his hair, threading your fingers through his soft and fluffy locks. Maybe that’s why your hand went there. To feel it for one last time before you leave.

“I want to stay here. With you. With your run-down, aesthetically pleasing tiny bookstore. I want to have you reading me poems. Or any book, huddled up in one corner while you read till I fall asleep in your arms.”

You let out a gloomy sigh, making Xiaojun put on a frown. You frown back, leaning in to give a quick peck on his nose to make him smile. And it worked. As it always did. And as it always should.

“What’s the time duration of letting fate bring us together again?”

Xiaojun purses his lips into a thin line, the gears in his head turning immensely as he tries coming up with an answer. “That’s for fate to decide too.”

You furrow your eyes, skeptical at his answer. “This summer... Has been the best one yet for me.”

“I’m thankful I agreed to Lucas inviting me here. I wouldn’t have met you otherwise.” You let out. The two of you stare into the blankness ahead of you, admiring the sight of the moonlight reflecting on the sea, giving it a beautiful glow.

“Promise you won’t forget me? Whatever we did during this summer. Don’t forget a single detail.” You start off.

Xiaojun raises both his eyebrows, allowing you to continue.

“No matter how long it takes for us to see each other. No matter where our life takes us. Whatever that’s going to happen in the future. Promise me you won’t forget what we had here.”

Xiaojun leans in and places a loving kiss on the crown of your head. He stays there, prolonging the kiss.

“I promise. It’s not an empty one, don’t worry. Like I said, if fate won’t allow it, I’ll still find my way to you regardless.” Xiaojun reassures you, his lips still touching your hair. He finally pulls away, wrapping an arm around your shoulders while yours creep to wrap around his torso.

And that’s the last time you saw Xiaojun. You stayed there till five, knowing you have to go back and pack your things before leaving.

You thought about what he said. Fate. He keeps mentioning it. But to be honest, you didn’t believe in it. Anything can happen during the time the two of you are apart. How long will it take for fate to bring you two together? Will he even remember you by then?

He promised but again, anything can happen. You were unsure and uncertainty clouded your thoughts throughout. You were scared, but you had to trust him. You had to believe. Xiaojun will come back to you.

Four years. You’ve been waiting for four years. The only thing that reminds you of him is the ring bought you. Cheap, but holds a deep meaning you can barely hold onto anymore. Your fingers fiddled with the ring for a moment.

“_____!” Lucas calls out. You quickly put your hands down and clasp them behind your back. “Yeah?”

“My friend’s having a wedding this weekend. Was thinking of inviting you.” You pucker your lips, looking up to think before tilting your head back to Lucas, nodding your head.

“Sure, why not?” You reply with a light shrug.

“Don’t forget to bring a date.”

Your eyes narrows as you cock up a brow. “We need a date to a wedding?” You huff out, scoffing lightly after.

Lucas hums and nods his head eagerly. “Duh! Plus, the wedding will be at some grand place since he’s rich. Lucky him.” Lucas says boringly with a glare.

“Yeah. Pretty sure he got that money from illegal racing.” You let out a ‘tsk’, shaking your head and acting disappointed.

“Uh no it’s legal, dumb.” Lucas retorts. “Anyways just ask someone from your work place. Oh maybe that YangYang? You’re close with him, aren’t you?”

You bit the inside of your cheek. “Yeah.” You blurt out. Lucas smiles and walks towards you, placing a hand on your shoulder and patting it once. “I’ll text you the details.”

“You better keep your promise.” Yangyang bores you. The two of you are sitting down at a corner, watching the other people that were invited being social. Something the two of you have in common despite not relly liking each other that much.

You groan, placing your glass of alcohol on the table. “Yes, Yangyang. I’ll get you your damn cupcakes.” You growl. Yangyang chuckles, letting out a sigh after.

“Thanks.” He whispers. You let out a ‘tsk’ while throwing him a glare.

The two of you didn’t talk much. You had nothing to talk about either. It has just been comfortable silence between you two for the past two hours. You would heard bits and pieces of stranger’s conversation. That’s how bored you were.

You suddenly see Lucas running up to you, looking completely frantic. You shot up from your seat and catch Lucas in your arms. He stands up straight and catches his breathing. “He’s here.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Who? The groom?” You ask, tiptoeing to see across the crown if the groom has arrived. Lucas gapes his mouth open with furrowed eyes. “No, idiot!”

“I don’t know how, but he’s here. Your little beach boy.”

You give an even more skeptical look, making Lucas groan and grab your arms. “He’s fucking here after four years and you’re giving me that face?!”

“Yeah because I highly doubt you saw him. He’s literally countries away. I think you’re being delusional.”

Lucas shakes your body vigorously, making you scream and asking him to get off of you. He finally does, looking extremely frustrated with you. “Bitch I’m not kidding. He’s by the dessert area with some guys.”

You snort, laughing slightly after as the alcohol starts to seep into your weak system. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll believe it sure.”

“Is she already fucking drunk?” Lucas turns to YangYang, who was staring at a fixated spot in the venue till he was called. “She drank a bit yeah.” Lucas places a palm on his forehead.

“Chill, I didn’t drink. I’ll take care of her.” YangYang deadpans. Lucas lets out a disappointing sigh. “Well whatever. See you around man.” Lucas waves a lazy hand at YangYang. He didn’t even bother to wave back, turning his attention to you who had your body slouched forward while leaning against the table with your chin resting on the palm of your hand.

During the wedding, you weren’t paying attention to anything. The event, your surroundings. Nothing. Instead, you are constantly stealing a glass every time a waiter or waitress walks by. The moment they take your empty glass away, you take another one. Surprisingly, you got drunk . Very drunk. And very quickly as well.

You didn’t even know why you suddenly want to get drunk. You know yourself well enough to know that you would be dizzy by two drinks. You’re now on your fifth.

You stand up, wanting to go to the toilet. Losing your balance, you trip, causing YangYang to immediately hold you by your torso. You grab onto his arm, gulping before shaking your head. “I can go myself.”

“Where are you going?” Yangyang asks softly. “I need to pee.” You whine, pushing YangYang off you and slowly head there, clearly staggering and having YangYang help you along the way.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting outside. Don’t take too long.” YangYang shouts out while you go into the toilet, hands placed on the wall constantly throughout your trip in and out.

It didn’t take you long luckily. You thought you had to vomit but it turns out you didn’t.

“Oi. Xiao Dejun.” YangYang turns his head to you, his body leaning against the wall and folding his arms. He stands up straight, tilting his head and wondering if you’re referring to him.

You run up to him, wrapping your arms around your waist. You giggle for a moment before changing your expression to an angry one. YangYang wasn’t sure of how to react, he’s never seen you drunk before.

“Fuck you. It’s been four years. Where are you?” You whine, constantly punching on his chest with a balled fist. YangYang blinks his eyes in confusion while multiple eyes glance at you as they pass by thr toilet. YangYang clears his throat, lightly tapping your back as a signal to get off him. Obviously it’s not working.

“Dejun~ You little shit...” You mumble to yourself. You eventually allow your body to fall against YangYang’s, having him to catch you and hold you steadily while you dug your face into his chest.

“Get off her.” You suddenly hear a voice. You couldn’t make out where you’ve heard it from. It’s like the voice from a distant and clouded memory. You try squeezing your brain for information, constantly asking yourself where you’ve heard it before, but you blacked out almost immediately after hearing YangYang reply with a, “Who are you to tell me that?”

You wake up with your head banging, the world spinning as you have a bad headache. Wincing, you put your hands on your head, massaging to try reducing the pain. On top of you being a lightweight, you have terrible hangovers as well.

Fuck. You thought to yourself. It took awhile to get back to your senses, noticing how you’re in an unfamiliar place. Looking around, you’re on a bed. Large, comfortable and soft. The room looks plain, and you didn’t know where you are.

Did you have a one night stand last night?

As soon as the thought came to your mind, you look under the covers. You heave a sigh of relief, seeing that you still had your dress on.

You try getting out of bed, instantly plopping back down as your head starts to spin again. You whine, turning your body to the side as you dig your head into the pillow. You were so desperate in trying to do anything to stop it.

“Here’s some hangover soup.” You heard it again. The voice. The only thing you remembered from last night.

You hear the door open. Your eyes trail from the sheets, slowly but surely looking up to meet the gaze of him.

You squint your eyes. Your vision’s extremely blurry. Rubbing your eyes to get a clearer view, you are finally able to see the face in front of you. The sight makes you widen your eyes in shock. You move your body back quickly, your head hitting the headboard of the bed and making you wince in pain.

You hear him chuckle.

There’s no way.

“Dejun?” You mumble, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in confusion.

He clicks his tongue, nodding. “Still a klutz after all these years.” You hear him say as he makes his way to you, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Wait. I’m not hallucinating? Fuck is it my hangover?” You scratch your head, still refusing to believe the sight in front of you is real.

After four years, he suddenly shows up with you in his bed. Xiaojun is here.

He lets out a quiet sigh. “I was at the wedding last night.” He explains, reaching out to put the soup on the side table before turning to you and crossing hus legs.

“How did you...”

“Some friend invited me.”

You kept silent, wanting to take a good look at his face. He still has it. His handsomeness. Sharp features that could kill like a knife. Hair perfectly wet, still jet black like how it was before. He didn’t change in terms of appearance. Or maybe perhaps to looks a thousand times better now that you’ve seen him after so long.

“How did you find me...?” You stutter. “Four years. It took your four fucking years.” You croak, suddenly letting your emotions fill your mind. You gulp and take in deep breaths, wanting to stop yourself from crying. Too late.

A single drop of tear rolls down your cheek. Your eyes welling up and about to overflow in seconds. Xiaojun wastes no time to pull you into his embrace, arms wrapping around you and holding you close.

This feeling. The comfort, the way he touches you. The feeling you get from this. It all comes back to you. It’s true that you remembered everything from last summer. But to have them resurface just from his single touch after being shoved deep in the back of the head.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I took so long, love.” The nickname. Another thing that makes you cry even more. You hug him tightly, hands gripping onto his black sweater as it slowly gets wet from your tears.

“How did you find me?” You ask again, looking up at him, indulging yourself in his eyes that look down on you filled with love and care.

Xiaojun frowns. “You sent me postcards from different cities. Every time I went there, you’d be gone and to another one. You don’t know how frustrating it was...”

You bit the inside of your cheek. Absentmindedly bringing your hand up from his waist and to his neck, drawing circles on it. “I traveled a lot. To get you off my mind. But I realise I always had to send you something. Something to hope that you’ll still remember be.”

“You said to let fate decide.”

Xiaojun lets out a low chuckle, one that makes a shiver being sent down your spine as you feel his chest moving from it.

“I waited for a year. But I couldn’t handle not seeing you. You didn’t start sending postcards till the second year. So I instantly started looking for you.”

His hand swiftly goes down to yours, his fingers trailing down your skin. Again, his touch, is everything to you. You suddenly feel alive. Even your headache went away miraculously.

“My ring...” Xiaojun mumbles under his breath, his thumb caressing it slowly. You hum. “I took it off for awhile actually. I didn’t think I’d see you again cause’ I thought... After our summer, we’d be nothing but ancient history.”

Xiaojun frowns deeply, making you pout. “Meanie. I told you I don’t keep empty promises.”

You lean in close to his face, so close that your noses were touching. “I’m sorry, I was scared. About the fact that three months wouldn’t mean anything to you.”

Xiaojun presses his forehead against yours gently, his action making you gulp while holding your hands and interlocking his fingers with yours.

“You mean a lot to me. The three months was short, yes. But the things we did there, you know I can never forget it.”

Xiaojun leans in more, this time to the point where his lips brushed yours while he speak.

You close your eyes for a moment. “I missed you.” You whisper, soft but sincere.

“I missed you more, love.”

[cakers-2000]

~Persona 5 boys when you randomly kiss them~

Yes I call the protagonist Ren I’m sorry I watched the anime before I even knew about the manga and most of the fanbase killing him Akira I’M SORRY

I keep posting things from my Wattpad I’m sorry but a lot of the things I’ll be posting are from my Wattpad until I can get a few more things finished!

But enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ren: Honestly Ren wasn’t a big fan of PDA. Sure he’d hold your hand if requested and he’d occasionally wrap an arm around your shoulders to keep you close when crowds got big but that was about as far as he went.

You, on the other hand, loved PDA, so it was a common occurence to surprise and embarrass him with random kisses. Today you had gone to Leblanc’s to get some help on your Math work but Sojiro had asked Ren to pick up a couple of bags of coffee beans as the store was running low and he wasn’t going to get another shipment in until next week.

And of course Ren agreed.

Now you were standing in the middle of the department store, bored out of your mind as Ren surveyed the shelves.

“Reeeeeen, I want to go baaaaaaccckkkkk.”

He chuckled at you but didn’t even give you a glance. “Just a sec.”

You moved to stand directly behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your cheek on his back. “Didn’t he give you the name of the coffee beans to grab?”

“Yeah but…” He picked up a bag of beans and you attempted to look over his shoulder though he was too tall for you to see. “This one says that it’s a lot healthier… If Sojiro advertises for both healthy coffee and the regular coffee that’s made Leblanc famous he could really rack up business…”

You sighed and nuzzled your face into his back, trying to get him to hurry along. “Ren, sweetie, you’re mumbling again.”

“Right…”

“Just grab the one Mr. Sakura told you to grab and you can talk with him about the other one later.” You gently grabbed his hands and pushed them back towards the shelf. “You know I can’t spend another night, we have to get back soon so you can help me out.”

The boy nodded, not saying a word and grabbed the correct bag before turning back to face you. He looked a bit disappointed and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Ren you act like I’m putting you through torture. I told you to just talk about it with Mr. Sakura later.”

“But-”

You laughed more and grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling him down to your level before placing a sweet kiss on his lips to keep him quiet. You stifled your laughter as you saw the blush on his cheeks, something he rarely ever held and the shocked look in his eyes. You piled a few bags into your cart and smiled at the boy before grabbing his hand. He didn’t say anything more to you, only continuing to hold your hand and push the cart.

You smiled in triumph, knowing that you had won and could return back to his home.

Though you most likely weren’t going to be doing all that much work.

Yusuke: “Yusuke how much longer am I gonna have to stand like this?”

You tried your hardest to remain still and composed for Yusuke as he drew you as he did almost every day (including lots of times when you weren’t even aware). He smiled at the canvas though you knew it was directed at you.

“Maybe a few more hours or so.”

“Yusukkkkkke.” You let out a groan and craned your neck as it was sore and he rested the paintbrush down on the eisel.

“How about we take a little drink break?”

“Yes!” You jumped at the opportunity to finally move and rushed towards the kitchen, stretching out your arms and legs as you prepared two cups of tea as you knew he loved drinking tea while he was working.

You continued to stretch yourself out as best you could before the tea was finished and brought the cups back to Yusuke who was currently staring at his work.

“Here.” You handed him the drink and he smiled before kissing the side of your head.

“Thank you Mon Amour.”

You smiled and nodded before glancing over at his work. You nearly spit out your drink as you saw his work. It was breathtaking. You honestly couldn’t believe that the women in his painting was you.

He noticed you staring and laughed a little sheepishly. “I know, it’s not quite done yet. I still haven’t nailed your features and I have yet to capture your beauty and poise between-”

He hadn’t finished his sentence as you set down your cup of tea and threw yourself at him, attacking him in a hug. He instantly hugged you back and smiled down at your small form.

You stood in content silence for a bit before you squeezed your arms around him.

“Yusuke…”

You moved your head to look up at him and he tilted his head, questioning your sudden interruption, his hair falling into his face as he did so and you laughed. You quickly reached up and put it back where it belonged before grabbing his shirt and pulling him to your level. You lightly kissed his lips, slightly afraid that he wouldn’t reciprocate but when you went to pull away he kept you in place until he was satisfied.

You held a blush on your cheeks and you buried your face in his shirt, not allowing him to see your burning cheeks but he only laughed and rested his head atop your own.

He really had you wrapped around his finger.

Akechi: Lately it had been nothing but busy days for the Detective Prince Goro Akechi. It was interview after interview about the infamous Phantom Thieves and if you had to be honest you rather missed his presence. Because of his busy schedule he had been excused from most classes, you hadn’t seen him in or out of school in several weeks. You had tried setting something up, to study together so that he could still have a chance of succeeding in his education but he always had to cancel on you. It was rather disappointing and you were practically starved. Hell at this point you just missed hearing his voice, he hadn’t even been able to call you as of late the poor boy was exhausted.

But finally, after nearly a month of not seeing him or hearing his voice he was granted a free day to focus on his studies. And you were able to see each other again.

The second you heard the knock on your door you had attacked him in a hug, refusing to let go of him for a good 10 minutes.

And he didn’t even try to fight against your affection. He held you back just as tightly, enjoying your presence. Truth be told he missed you just as much.

And when you were finally forced to pull away from him you got started on your work, helping the boy study all of the lectures and lessons he had missed from his classes.

But after a few hours you were starting to feel the tiredness creep in and knew that you had to grab something to keep yourself awake.

Your hand held onto his free hand as he took notes from your book into his notebook and you squeezed it lightly. “I’m gonna go grab some coffee, you want anything?”

His eyes didn’t move from his paper but you could see the smile on his face. “Some coffee would be nice.”

You nodded and quickly scurried off to the kitchen so you could resume your work quickly. Once it was prepared you slowly walked by, trying your best not to spill the coffee in his mug and set it down in front of him.

He seemed to be completely engrossed in his work. He hadn’t even noticed you put the coffee down in front of him. You smiled to yourself and placed your own cup beside him before draping your arms loosely around his neck. He still had no sort of reaction whatsoever to you and you could only chuckle.

You gently pushed his head to the side much to his confusion before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

He may have been confused, but he wasn’t letting the opportunity slide by him. He instantly kissed you back before pulling away from you, a smirk playing on his lips as he rested his cheek in his hand.

“Well now, what was that for?”

You smiled more and sat down in your chair beside him, resting your head on his shoulder. “I’m really proud of all the work you’ve done and how far you’ve come in your career but… I missed you.”

A flash of guilt covered his eyes but it quickly fell as a warm smile fell onto his lips. He grasped your hand in his own and rested his own head on top of yours. “I know, I’m sorry. I missed you too.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s your job. I’m just glad you could come over today for once.”

He stayed in silence for a few seconds before he quickly hopped up out of his seat. You pouted up at him as you had nearly fallen but he only smiled more and held his hand out to you. “Let’s go out.”

“Huh? But we still have so much left to do and I just made coffee…”

“It’ll be here when we get back, please (Y/N). I’ll call the limo so we don’t have to walk.”

“But-”

He grabbed your hand and pulled you rather roughly upwards and squished you against his chest as he hugged you tightly. “Pllleeeaassseee it’ll only take a few minutes.”

Something told you that it wouldn’t take a few minutes, but you knew that there was no winning against Akechi when he was like this and so, with a muffled voice as he still wouldn’t let you move, you gave in. “Fine, okay.”

“Yes!” He drew his phone out of his pocket at hearing you were in agreement before speaking towards you. “We can stop at the bookstore or something before we come home, alright?”

Your eyes were practically shining as you frantically shook your head. He knew fully well about your love of all things literature “You know just what to say don’t you?”

He nuzzled your nose with his own before quickly kissing your forehead. “That’s cause I love you.”

“I love you too Akechi.”

Ryuji: You had been walking through the halls of Shujin Academy, on your way to the art room to work on your project when you heard some whispers coming from the hallway right in front of the art room door. A small crowd was standing there, whispering amongst each other. As you got closer you could make out what a few of them were saying.

“Oh wow I didn’t think he cared about anything, let alone art.”

“Wasn’t he on the track team? I thought that was the only thing he cared about.”

“Isn’t he a delinquent? What’s he doing in front of the art room? Scary…”

You tilted your head in slight confusion as you pushed your way through the students. “Um, excuse me.”

“(Y/N)!”

You smiled when you made it to the front and could clearly see your boyfriend Ryuji waiting there for you.

“Ryuji? What are you doing here? You aren’t hanging out with Ren today?”

You were teasing him but you did partially mean it. Those two boys spent an awful lot of time together.

“Nah, he’s hangin with Ann.”

“So what do you want with me?”

“I wanna do some training in the courtyard. You wanna come with? It helps me focus if I train with someone else.”

“Ryuji I told you, for the next couple weeks I have to dedicate my time to my art project I can’t just-”

He took a step forward, his hands clasping over your own as he mustered up the biggest puppy dog eyes he could.

“Pllleeeaassseeee.”

You couldn’t help the blush on your cheeks due to the close proximity between the two of you but you smiled through it and moved your face so that it was inches from his own.

“Fine, but you better not expect me to do any of your training. I’ll be watching.”

You could still hear the whispers from the crowd, it seemed to be getting louder.

“Are they dating?”

“I thought (Y/N) was a straight A student, why would she wanna get involved with Sakamoto-kun?”

“Is he blackmailing her or something? This doesn’t make sense.”

His smile slightly fell at the accusations of the crowd and you pulled on his hand, attempting to pull him down the staircase not too far from the two of you. “You wanna get started right away yeah?”

His face broke into a smile and he nodded, hurrying his pace so that he could walk beside you.

“Yeah!”

“Holy shit I haven’t run that fast in ages!”

You couldn’t help but giggle as you watched the boy jump and dance around in front of you. He was truly improving and you couldn’t have been more proud of him.

“Good job hun.”

He let out a satisfied hum before placing his hands on either side of your waist, his face inches from your own once more. You were currently sitting on the fence of the walkway, stopwatch in hand as you were timing him. He stared at you, in complete silence and you laughed awkwardly.

“Ryuji? You good?”

“Yeah… No… I don’t think so.”

You slightly tilted your head in confusion and he elaborated more. “I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about what those people said…”

“Ryuji…” You grabbed onto his cheeks with your hands before placing a rather rough kiss to his lips. He didn’t hesitate on kissing you back and you stayed like that for a while until he eventually pulled away from you for air.

“Wow, okay (Y/N).”

He was slightly taken aback by your sudden actions. You could see the small blush on his cheeks.

You giggled more and ran your hands through his hair. “Fuck what they say. That’s what you always told me. Learn to take your own advice.”

You stuck your tongue out at him and he only laughed at your childish antics before his hands wrapped around your waist and he lifted you into the air with ease. “Don’t go gettin all mouthy you little shit.”

“Ryuji put me down! Right now!”

You struggled in his tight grip but that only made him laugh more as he flopped backwards, laying on the cool grass with you on top of him. He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck and mumbled to you. “Thank you for always being here (Y/N).”

You nodded and placed your hands on top of his own, a content smile on your features. “Of course Ryuji, and I’ll always be here for you whether you like it or not.”

He only chuckled in response. He truly was lucky enough to call you his and he didn’t know what he would do without you by his side.

[quicksilversquared]

More than a Match

Felix Graham de Vanily is back in Paris for the summer, determined to make amends with his cousin. While standing in for Adrien at a photoshoot, he has to deal with a most disagreeable character by the name of Lila.

Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. There can only be one winner here, and Felix is not about to lose.

links in the reblog

Felix Graham de Vanily was more than a little apprehensive about returning to Paris for his mom's summer movie shoot, and for good reason.

The last time that he was in the city, he had caused no small amount of chaos. He had threatened his relationship with Adrien over a (in retrospect) petty, poorly-considered attempt at revenge- how badly their friendship had been damaged really remained to be seen- and gotten off on the wrong foot with all of Adrien's friends, which could make finding people to hang out with more than a little difficult. During that same revenge attempt, he had truly behaved poorly towards one of the city's superheroes, and he would have to try to apologize for it if he could get close to the superheroes again without endangering his life. On top of that, he had palmed his uncle's ring, which- well, was it really stealing when Mr. Agreste had gotten them through less-than-honest means in the first place?- with the full expectation that it would be at least a year before he and his mom returned to Paris, so his uncle might have simmered down by then.

It hadn't been anywhere near a full year yet. His uncle would no doubt still be furious about the retrieval of the ring, and so Felix had to be very careful with it.

Right now, that meant wearing the ring on a strong chain around his neck, hidden under his shirt. If he was going to be spending more than the odd minute here or there in the Agreste mansion, he and his mom might end up looking into getting a safe box for them to lock the ring up in, so that his uncle wouldn't steal it back.

"Don't let on that you're nervous," his mom coached as their train pulled into the Paris stop. "Be confident, don't react to questions about the rings. With a little luck, perhaps your uncle will assume that he misplaced it. Emilie always said that he would mess with his ring when he was designing and she was worried that he'd end up taking it off and misplacing it for good. He's already called me once demanding the ring back and I told him that we didn't have it and maybe he had just lost it."

Which meant that Felix could just act bored about the accusation instead of being surprised. That was useful information.

"I also got us an apartment that's a bit further outside of the city center," his mom continued after a moment. "Both to stay out of the way of the majority of the akuma attacks, and to give us some space from your uncle. We're near a subway line, though, so it'll be easy enough to go and visit."

Felix nodded. His mom had already mentioned that, and he knew that there was a third reason, too: apartments of a decent size close to the city center were expensive. Their family might be wealthy, but (largely due to his father's influence, Felix suspected) they still had never be people to throw money around without due consideration first. "But Uncle Gabriel won't bother to come out and bug us?"

"Of course not. When was the last time that he left that house of his? And if he does- well, I have no problems with kicking up a legal stink. Gabriel would do well to remember that the only reason he has connections to the Mayor's family is because of Emilie and I, so he has no advantage there." Amelie sniffed. "Not that he'll bother to remember that. If anyone asks him, I'm sure he would say that he worked himself up from nothing and made all of his connections himself with his superior bargaining skills."

"Ah, yes, the scowling and yelling and refusing to meet in person is very persuasive, I had forgotten."

Amelie laughed. "Yes, exactly. Emilie was the one who handled more of the PR and meetings with investors, really. If Gabriel had been trying to do it himself, he would have failed miserably." She shrugged, turning back to him with a large smile. "Don't let your uncle ruin your summer, Felix. He roars and rages a lot, but he's always been all bark and no bite."

Felix nodded, taking a steadying breath as the train came to a complete stop and they got up, reaching for their bags. "Right. Of course."

Somehow, he got the impression that that would be easier said than done.

  Really, it- it wasn't as terrible as Felix had thought. The summer had started out slowly- he had seen Adrien at dinner shortly after arriving in Paris, and then Felix had spent a week and a half entertaining himself while his mom started filming on the movie and his cousin finished up his school year.

It wasn't bad, really. He found a small bookstore that was cool and quiet, and he settled down there in a corner to read. It was nice and it was peaceful.

Alas, it was not to last. His mom expected that he would go hang out with Adrien, and so... Felix did. The first three times that he went over, the two of them simply hung out in Adrien's room for part of the day and played some of the video games that Adrien had around. His cousin seemed on high alert at first- Felix certainly noticed fewer things lying around his room, and there were several things with locks on them that hadn't had locks before- but willing enough to try again. By day three, their conversations were far more relaxed, and Adrien spent nearly an hour telling Felix about all of his friends. He wasn't bragging about having them, Felix could tell, but was just genuinely happy to have them and wanted to share that with him.

...unfortunately, Felix knew that it was more likely than not that a large number of Adrien's friends would not be very thrilled to meet him. He had not made a particularly good first impression, to say the least, and they- unlike Adrien- had not had any other interactions with him to go by. Felix didn't resent them for their judgement of him (after all, he rather deserved it, he could admit that much) but it would make meeting them a bit awkward, particularly if Adrien hadn't had a chance to mention how things were going now first.

Or if Felix hadn't done anything obvious to make amends for his earlier behavior. Thankfully, an opportunity to both put off the inevitable meeting and to make things up to Adrien properly practically fell in his lap after Nathalie scheduled a photoshoot right when Adrien was hoping to get together with his friends.

Or, rather, when Adrien had put a meet-up with his friends on his schedule and Nathalie deleted it last-minute to replace it with yet another photoshoot, because apparently she didn't know the meaning of fun. Or being nice, or kindness, or not being a terrible human being, really.

"Are- are you sure that you want to model, Felix? It's not exactly the most fun thing in the world."

Felix nodded resolutely, glancing towards his cousin's door and hoping that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. "You want to be with your friends, and I would like to make a good impression this time around before meeting them anyway. It's no big deal. I can sit and make clothes look good for an hour or two."

At last, Adrien nodded in agreement. "I- okay, if you're sure. I'll text you the time and location, so you have it, and-"

"Won't your bodyguard be expecting to drive you there?"

Adrien paused. "...oh. Oh, yeah."

Felix tried not to sigh. Oh, yes was right. Clearly logistics weren't his cousin's strongest point.

"Well, I can ask him to bring me there early, so that I can have some time to relax in the park!" Adrien said after a moment's thought. "And then we can meet and swap outfits there- or I'll bring an extra, actually, it'll be less hassle. It'll be harder for me to get to Marinette's place from there, but I'll manage it. There's a bus line nearby that'll get me close enough."

"Your father actually lets you out enough for you to know how to take the bus?" Felix inquired, unable to help feeling a little incredulous. His cousin hadn't been allowed to walk to his collège, which was only a few mere blocks away, so he had assumed that his uncle had required use of the chauffeured car for all of his other travel. "Count me impressed."

A quick grin flashed across Adrien's face. "He doesn't let me out, exactly. I tend to sneak out. And then, of course, I need to know how to get where I'm going fast, or else I'll get picked up by the Gorilla right away before I have a proper chance of escape."

...that was just sad.

"Anyway, I should probably coach you if we're actually going to do this. You know, give you some pointers and all. Uh." Adrien twisted his ring around, glancing up at the ceiling as though that was going to help him any. "Um."

Felix rolled his eyes. "I hardly think that I'll need extensive coaching to be able to sit in front of a camera and pose."

"Yes, but-"

"Will I need to know several dozen poses to do in rapid-fire succession? I've heard that some models do that."

Adrien sighed. "No, Simon prefers to take more organic shots. I've been learning the fast poses on my own, in case I ever get a photographer who needs that or if I end up branching out and start modeling for catalogues instead of just ads, but Father prefers Simon's artistic vision. So he'll tell you what he wants in general, then give tweaks. Like, there's some moving my head around, maybe, but..." He trailed off, shrugging.

Well. If Felix actually needed any advice to pass off as Adrien during the photoshoot, he was pretty certain that he would be more or less out of luck. With advice like that, it would be a wonder if he wasn't left completely unprepared when he arrived.

"I've not had, like, professional training as a model or anything," Adrien added after a moment. "It's all been informal, which is maybe a bit unusual considering what father's like the rest of the time, but maybe it's good for publicity somehow or something." He shrugged, looking remarkably unbothered by the prospect of his father basing his decision on how to treat Adrien during photoshoots on what would sell best. "So just listen to Simon and don't forget to look towards the camera unless he tells you otherwise, and don't be too stiff but don't slouch, either, and-"

Felix tried not to sigh.

  "If- if Lila's there, just- ugh. Just don't agree to anything she says, and- well, she still tries to lie to me all the time, even though I know better than to trust anything she says. She loves manipulating people, so..."

Adrien's comment about his sometimes-coworker- probably the most intriguing and useful part of his "advice" for the photoshoot once he actually managed to think of something to say- ran through Felix's head as he arrived at the site for the photoshoot, a lovely little park in a less busy part of the city. This Lila character sounded like trouble, and he wasn't much interested in trouble. Or in being manipulated, for that matter.

How very fortunate, then, that Felix had more than a little experience with manipulation. He would be able to spot any attempts coming from a mile away. From what Felix could gather, this Lila person was a sloppy manipulator at best, relying on flashy stories and crocodile tears to keep her influence. They were things that would perhaps work in the short term but would wear off and become ineffective in the long run, particularly once people started picking up on inconsistencies. Eventually, things would backfire on her, and then she would be left alone and hated.

Felix preferred more subtle manipulation, and (unless he was not thinking clearly) only when a situation warranted it. A little nudge here and there to increase the odds of things going his way was rather different than Lila's graceless shoves to make everything go her way, to get the kind of popularity that Lila clearly wanted. His technique was sustainable- after all, infrequent manipulations were less likely to be picked up on- while hers was not.

His cousin hadn't really said much about Lila other than to mention that she might be there and to not fall for her lies, but Felix already disliked her.

"Felix! You got here all right, good!"

Felix pushed away his thoughts and smiled as Adrien ran up. He had a bag slung over his shoulder, presumably with an identical outfit to the one that he was wearing. "Yes, I've had sufficient down time to figure out the system. It wasn't hard to puzzle out."

"Oh, great." Adrien glanced around, clearly making sure that he wasn't being followed, and then passed his bag off to Felix after pulling a smaller bag out from inside of it. "I have an identical outfit in here. Are you good, or...?"

"I'll be fine," Felix assured him. "Go on, go hang out with your friends." He paused and considered Adrien. "Ah, are you going to wear a disguise or something? You know, in case anyone takes pictures of you and posts them?"

Adrien nodded, pulling- surprise, surprise- a baseball hat and a large pair of sunglasses out of his bag. "Yeah, this will work fine! There's plenty of guys in France with blond hair, so as long as my hair isn't visible and they can't see all of my face..."

Felix hoped, for Adrien's sake, that that actually somehow worked and he didn't run into any of his more fanatical fans. Maybe the most basic of disguises would work against most of the population, but there were a few weirdos who probably prided themselves on being able to identify his cousin with the smallest of clues.

"Anyway, hopefully it'll work," Adrien finished after a moment's pause. He glanced back at Felix. "Are you sure you're good?"

"Positive. Go."

Adrien went. Felix watched him for a minute, then made a beeline for the public restrooms building that he had seen earlier. He hated the idea of changing in it, truth be told, but he hardly had a choice.

...well, maybe he could have coordinated outfits with Adrien yesterday and only had to fiddle with his hairstyle at the park instead, but hindsight was 20/20.

Despite Felix's worries, the bathrooms weren't bad at all. He changed quickly and did a fast brushing of his hair into Adrien's hairstyle- it was a little difficult to account for the difference in their hair length in a few places, but he managed it well enough- before leaving the restroom and tracking down the plaza where the photoshoot would be taking place. It was a fairly basic set-up, honestly- a small trailer with the outfits to be worn in it, an equally small tent for changing, a couple chairs for touch-ups to makeup and hair with a screen nearby to block the wind. A few things for lighting and the photography equipment were scattered around, but otherwise it was incredibly minimal.

He had to wonder what normal shoots- ones that weren't solely for the boss's son- looked like. Surely not everything that Gabriel did was so low-budget.

"Ah, Adrien, you're on time- early, even!" A man with a camera hanging around his neck- Simon, Felix assumed- appeared behind him, clapping him on the shoulder and making Felix startle. He chuckled. "That's a nice change from the past couple shoots, hmm?"

Felix only nodded, not sure what to say. In all honesty, he hadn't been expecting the photoshoot's staff to be talking to him much, other than to issue directions for the shoot itself. If he had known that they were likely to be chatty, he would have asked Adrien more questions.

Thankfully, Simon seemed willing enough to move on, immediately turning to the job at hand. The first outfit that "Adrien" was supposed to wear was already in the tent, so if he could just go ahead and change so that they could get started...

Felix was more than willing to comply. The sooner they started, then maybe the sooner they would finish. And while Felix didn't exactly have anything else that he wanted to do- hanging out at his cousin's house while Adrien wasn't there didn't sound like fun, nor was he particularly interested in crashing Adrien's friends' get-together- it was hot outside and changing into a dozen different outfits in quick succession and getting poked and prodded at wasn't Felix's idea of a good time.

Three outfits in, and Felix noticed a girl lingering around the edges of the photoshoot area. She wasn't getting shooed off by security, which meant that it was incredibly likely that she was meant to be there. And sure enough, a minute later, the girl headed into the second half of the changing tent.

That must be the Lila that Adrien had warned him about. Felix had rather hoped that he would get lucky and not have to deal with the liar, but apparently luck wasn't on his side today.

Or was it? Felix gave that a minute's thought. He had been a bit bored thus far, and doing a bit of manipulative sparring might be just the thing to spice up his afternoon. Little Miss Terror wouldn't be expecting it- after all, Felix didn't doubt that Adrien's approach to Lila was rather on the tepid side- and it might be amusing to throw her off her game. Going too far might alert her to the fact that he wasn't actually Adrien, though, and she might tattle, so that added another level of complexity, another thing to think about.

He was so busy trying to figure out how strong he would want to come off that he completely missed Lila snaking up behind him until thin arms slid around him in an entirely unexpected (and unwelcome) hug.

"Adrien! I'm so happy that we get to work together again!" Lila cooed, leaning forward to try to press a kiss to Felix's cheek. She missed when he dodged, just enough to get out of her path but not so far that it would look obvious. Lila pouted, but didn't make more of a fuss. "Aren't you?"

"Mmhmm," Felix murmured noncommittally, disengaging himself from Lila's groping hold smoothly to step away and move into the next pose that Simon had wanted. Lila was forced to back off for the remainder of Felix's solo shots, and then he could escape into the tent to change while she did a few solo shots of her own.

And then came the duo shots, aka the absolute longest forty-five minutes of Felix's life.

(Well. Okay, maybe there had been some other instances when time had stretched out far longer, but as far as normal everyday situations went- well, then this ranked waaay up there.)

Things had gone smoothly when Felix was on his own. Despite never having done photoshoots before- or at least clothing photoshoots, he had posed for a few family portraits over the year- he had gotten the hang of it right away. He followed Simon's instructions with little need for further correction, and the photographer had been beaming.

With Lila added to the mix, though? All of that was completely shot. She was completely unprofessional, and quite handsy to boot. Felix managed to get away from her hands most of the time, dodging where he could and stepping smoothly away to make it look natural, but it was absolutely aggravating.

Thankfully, he got a bit of a reprieve when he loudly complained that she had wrinkled the sleeve of the light coat that he was modeling with her vice grip on his arm and she got scolded.

Unfortunately, that reprieve only lasted for five minutes before she was right back at it. She didn't hold on nearly as tight as before when he had longer sleeves on, sure, but other than that there was no real change. If anything, she was brushing her hands over his shoulders and arms more often than before.

Needless to say, by the time the last picture of the last set of clothes had been snapped, Felix was more than eager to be done, change back to his- well, Adrien's- normal clothes, and be rid of the Italian pest for good.

But Lila clearly had other ideas.

"Oh, I think we could pose for a few more minutes, don't you, Adrien?" Lila purred, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Felix could see where her fake eyelashes were starting to come detached. Clearly she had no idea how to apply them correctly, considering that they had been crooked to start with. "Maybe some, ah, closer poses? Oh! I know! Summer romance always sells, right?"

Felix raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Slick, she was not. Her attempts at manipulation couldn't be any more heavy-handed. Or more distasteful. "I'll pass on that, thanks."

Lila's pout grew. "You don't want to? I think it would be fun! I thought that we were friends." The last word was bitten out with a bit of an edge to it, an unspoken threat. Felix had no idea what it was meant to be.

Forget his cousin coaching him about modeling, clearly Felix had needed more insider info on how to interact with Adrien's friends and classmates.

"It is far too hot outside to be close to anyone," Felix countered tartly, refusing to let himself pause in the conversation. "We have a number of photos already. I see no need to risk heat stroke for more. Additionally, this is a clothes company, not a manufacturer of cheap romance novels, and there was nothing about summer romance in the shoot briefings."

Lila's eyes narrowed. Felix refused to back down.

"Adrien is right," Simon said, glancing over his notes. "And if the shoot goes much longer, we'll go into overtime, and Mr. Agreste hates that. It costs the company money, you know. So we're done for the day. Thank you for your work."

Felix murmured a quick thank-you in return. Lila looked as though she had maybe swallowed a lemon. Before she could recover and come up with a new ploy, Felix turned and strode off to the changing tent to switch back into Adrien's normal outfit as fast as he could.

He made sure to keep a suspicious eye out for any unusual ripples in the fabric of the tent. Felix didn't trust Lila to not try to sneak a peek of him changing. She seemed to have a complete lack of respect for normal boundaries and more than a slight fixation on him (or, rather, his cousin), so Felix wouldn't put it past her to try to look or even snap a picture.

A picture would probably be the more appealing option to Lila, if he was reading her right. Properly hidden so that no one else would discover that she had it, it would make valuable blackmail to get Adrien to play along with her little games.

One final change later, Felix exited the tent to see Lila talking with Nathalie. From the look of it, she had been the one to approach Nathalie rather than the other way around- after all, Nathalie had been standing in the same spot for most of the shoot- and she seemed to be trying to persuade Nathalie of something. And- odder yet- Nathalie actually seemed to be listening.

Felix frowned at that. Nathalie actually listening to someone who wasn't her boss? That was unusual, not to mention incredibly suspicious- and so was the entire inclusion of Lila in the Gabriel photoshoots, honestly. Why would Nathalie- and by natural extension, Mr. Agreste- want to bother working with someone like Lila? She was hardly a talented model. Even though she had had more experience with photoshoots than Felix had, and it was Felix's first time modeling to boot, she had needed more direction (and redirection) than he had. She rarely did exactly as the photographer asked, particularly with several shots alongside "Adrien". She preferred making her poses more flirty and having her hands on "Adrien" whenever she could, even arguing with the photographer about the poses he wanted. Lila was hardly any great beauty, either, and her atrocious hairstyle wasn't doing her any favors. And she was hardly rich or famous to start with, despite what she reportedly liked claiming.

Surely Mr. Agreste and Nathalie wouldn't fall for her lies. Maybe they weren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but they had enough experience to navigate what his father had always referred to as shark-infested waters of the business world. They should be able to pick up on the lies and manipulation without a problem.

...so why was she here? What was Mr. Agreste getting out of their arrangement? Besides higher bills from photoshoot staff because of Lila holding things up, of course.

Felix didn't like this. Not at all.

Nathalie finally nodded, making a note on her tablet, and then she and Lila parted ways. Felix glanced away at once- he didn't want to appear to be inviting her over, after all, he had already had more than enough of her for the day- but he could see her making a beeline for him regardless. Felix deliberately stepped away, headed for Adrien's bodyguard. He would very much prefer to go back to the house now, but Lila was faster.

Faster, and had very sharp nails.

"Surely you weren't about to run off without saying good-bye?" Lila crooned, her voice so sickly sweet that it nearly made Felix gag. "How rude."

"If you put holes in this shirt with your nails, my father will hear about it," Felix warned her instead of replying with a cutting comment about how hypocritical it was of her to call anyone rude. Lila only scoffed and tightened her hold, ignoring his words just as he had ignored hers.

"I feel like you're forgetting about our arrangement, Adrien." Lila's voice had dropped to a hiss. "Or do you want everyone to turn on Marinette, hmm? Think about it."

She didn't give him a chance to respond before giving his arm another painful squeeze and flouncing away, trailing her fingers across his chest as she went. It was probably just as well that she left, really, because Felix really wasn't sure what to say about that.

What kind of arrangement his cousin had with that wretched girl, Felix didn't know, but he didn't doubt that it was neither a good one nor a smart one. Considering that it apparently involved threats against one of Adrien's friends- the friend Adrien had gushed about the most over the past couple of days, coincidentally- there really was no way that it could be a good arrangement.

He brought it up with his mom that night, bringing up the fact that Adrien had thought to warn him about Lila and her lies, but he hadn't mentioned the harassment- the sexual harassment, really, considering the fact that Lila had tried to kiss him and rub her hands all over his chest- that was clearly normal for her interactions with him. That seemed like a rather important thing to mention, and the fact that he hadn't...

"Adrien's probably been raised not to raise a fuss," his mom said once she was done ranting and raving about shameless harlots and the adults who enabled them. "Or- you mentioned some sort of deal. Adrien might have decided the best way to protect his other friend was by just tolerating this monster, because no one's taught him better."

Felix blinked. He had heard his mom criticize her sister before, but not since her disappearance. It was a bit strange to hear, honestly, no matter how the indirect the criticism was, but he wasn't going to point it out.

"Emilie wouldn't want someone harassing Adrien," Amelie said after a minute of angry muttering under her breath. "I'm sure she would have taught him about exceptions to the whole politeness rule after he started attending school and running into less savory people. And she would want me to step in now." Her fingers started tapping against the table, an angry staccato as she thought. After a couple minutes, she spun to face Felix with an eager clap of her hands.

Felix, who was more than used to this sort of behavior by now and who had resumed eating his dinner while she thought, merely raised an eyebrow and set his fork back down on his plate neatly.

"You said that Adrien has regular photoshoots with this girl, correct?" Amelie asked eagerly. Felix nodded at once, raising an eyebrow at how hopeful his mom sounded.

"Yeah. And he mentioned that the start of his summers always has a higher concentration of photoshoots, to make up for not having them during exams and studying. That's why I offered to go for him today, because he's been kept so busy that he's not been able to see his friends. And because he had scheduled something with his friends, and then Nathalie just knocked it off of his schedule to put the photoshoot there instead and that didn't seem fair."

Amelie muttered something uncomplimentary about that, too, then her determined expression returned. "Well, that works in our favor. Tell Adrien that you'll do his next photoshoot, too- if you're willing to, of course," she added hastily. "And then I want you to tell this girl no. Tell her to back off. Enforce your boundaries- which I know you're good at doing."

Felix hesitated. He could see where his mom was going with her plan and why it would make more sense for him to be the one to confront Lila instead of Adrien, but- well, another Lila-filled photoshoot really wasn't that appealing.

But it sounded like he wouldn't have to deal with Lila's nonsense this time and could cut it off like he normally would, abrupt and sharp. He could see her downfall in person, see her expression go from overconfident to uncertain to crushed.

Maybe it was a bit petty and vindictive of him, but... well, Felix was a bit petty and vindictive, so what.

So he nodded. "I can do that."

Amelie lit up, clearly excited. "If I'm reading this girl right from what you've said, your no will mean next to nothing to her and she'll persist. To press charges and win, we'll probably need audio- and I can set you up with something that can hide under your clothes without showing."

Felix couldn't help the grin that flashed across his face. "Very nice."

"If my schedule allows, I'll be there too," his mom added. "As close by as I can be, so I can step in as needed. If Nathalie thinks that she'll be telling Adrien- you- to simply endure the harassment, she has another think coming."

"I like that," Felix said at once. "I mean, I don't like the idea of having to tolerate any more of Lila's company, but I can do it."

"Fantastic." Amelie leaned forward, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "Now, as for the rest of the plan..."

  Convincing Adrien to let Felix take over for his next photoshoot was easier said than done, particularly after Felix told him about the brief face-off that he and Lila had had after the photoshoot. Adrien wanted to step in and work to smooth things over before Lila could lash out at Marinette in retribution, but Felix pointed out that Lila wouldn't be able to lash out at Marinette if Felix carried out the photoshoot like his mom wanted him to. She would be completely and thoroughly discredited, and if she turned into an akuma for it- well, so what? Better her than Marinette, surely, or Adrien.

Adrien hadn't considered that, obviously. After another moment's consideration, and the reassurance that it was Amelie's plan and not Felix's, he had given in and sent a screenshot of his photoshoot schedule to Felix so that he could show his mom and they could plan. Thankfully the next photoshoot wasn't too far out, so Adrien might not have to deal with keeping Lila happy in the meantime so that she wouldn't try to smear Marinette's reputation.

(Apparently Marinette was the only one of Adrien's friends who had been told about Felix's stepping in for a photoshoot thus far, and the only one told about Felix's plan to knock Lila back. He hadn't seen her again in person, but from what Adrien told him, Marinette had already forgiven Felix for the fiasco he had caused during his previous time in Paris.)

(Marinette was also the person that Adrien was going to be spending his time with while Felix was doing the photoshoot. Apparently most of his other friends were going to be busy, but Marinette wasn't, and she had been plenty happy to spend some time with Adrien.

Adrien had been pleasantly surprised by that, since he had been sure that she would be busy, too, but Felix hadn't been. After all, Marinette was in love with Adrien, wasn't she? Of course she would make time to spend with Adrien, that shouldn't have been a surprise.

Or had she not confessed to Adrien again in the months since Felix was last in Paris? He would have thought that she would have.)

"Remember to turn the recorder on," Amelie reminded him as they pulled up near the school, where Adrien was finishing up with a fencing lesson. He and Adrien were hoping to make the swap earlier than they had the previous time, since the photoshoot was pretty much right after Adrien's fencing lesson got out and it would be hard for them to swap without risking someone noticing. "And be very clear vocally about your objections, so that the recorder will pick them all up."

"Will we be able to use the recordings, do you think?" Felix asked, a thought occurring to him last-minute. "Or is it against the law here? I think it's fine back at home, but…"

"I'll deal with it if there's any legal issues," Amelie assured him. "I have connections, and I'm not afraid to use them."

That didn't quite answer Felix's question, but he supposed that it was as good of an answer as any. With one last check to make sure that he looked like Adrien and had everything he needed, Felix hopped out of the car and slipped into the school, making his way to the locker rooms. The fencers were finishing up their last matches, so it was easy enough for Felix to head to the bathrooms and text Adrien to make sure that he would know to come into the bathrooms, too. They wouldn't see each other face-to-face before the photoshoot- after all, Adrien's teammates might question how he had somehow doubled himself if they ran into the two of them in the bathroom- but it would make the trade much easier.

It wasn't long at all before Felix heard someone else enter the bathroom. He straightened in his stall, listening closely and keeping an eye on his phone. That could be Adrien, but it could just as easily be one of his teammates.

Luck was on his side. His phone buzzed, and a message lit up the screen.

Adrien: In the bathroom. Left my fencing bag on the chair near the door- you can take it so that the Gorilla doesn't wonder where I left it.

Felix nodded and shot back a quick message.

Right. See you later.

After another pause, Felix stepped out of his stall, heading for the sinks and washing his hands before claiming the fencing bag that was sitting on the somewhat out-of-place chair near the door. One glance- or rather, one whiff- inside assured him that it was Adrien's bag, and so Felix slung it over his shoulder before heading out into the locker rooms. A few good-byes to Adrien's teammates later and Felix was in Adrien's car, being whisked efficiently away by his bodyguard to the photoshoot.

Trade-off: smooth as butter.

Now that he had been to a photoshoot once, there was far less hesitation in Felix's step as he headed into the small tent to change, then out to hair and make-up for a touch-up. He had to wonder why Mr. Agreste would schedule a photoshoot for right after fencing in the first place as the stylists teased his hair to perfection. Surely the real Adrien's hair would be sweaty and messy after fencing and it would have made more sense for him to have some time for a shower first?

Maybe this was a one-off thing, just happening because they were trying to catch up on photoshoots after exams and they also had to work around Lila's schedule. If she even had one, that was. Something made Felix guess that Lila simply spent a lot of time holed up in her room, scheming and plotting. Maybe she pretended that she had a packed schedule in front of her friends, but in reality...

Well, one had to be really uninteresting to go to the same amount of effort that Lila was to get attention, and that generally suggested a lack of real activities to do.

Just like the previous time, the photoshoot started with individual shots. Felix went through the motions, posing and adjusting his expression as requested. It all went very smoothly...

...and then Lila showed up.

While Lila did her first individual shoot and Felix changed into his next outfit, he pulled the recorder that his mom had given him out. It was small and discreet, easy enough to hide until his shirt or in a pocket without creating any lumps. He got it set up to start recording, then headed outside, resigned to at least a few minutes of dealing with Lila and her grabby hands.

And as expected, Lila started clinging to him the second that Felix got back outside.

"Positions, please!" Simon called. "I want you back to back, but not quite touching, just next to each other-"

"Don't you think that we should be closer, though?" Lila asked immediately, wrapping her hands around Felix's bicep. "We could play a couple!"

"Not for these outfits," Simon told her. "Backs to each other, please-"

"Oh, but I think-"

"I think my sleeve is getting wrinkled," Felix commented, trying to step away from Lila. "And if you don't let go, you're going to bruise my arm."

Lila scowled and finally released him. Felix readjusted his shirt- there were no wrinkles, of course, the lovely light fabric that the shirt was made out of wasn't the type to get creased up by a minute's clinging- and then slid easily into position.

"Good, Adrien, perfect!" Simon called. "Lila- no, not like that, I want your arms crossed- if you stand like that, it looks like you're trying to cop a feel, and no one wants that."

...Felix wasn't even surprised.

The next few shots went the same way. Lila was clingy, but not as incredibly forward as she had been at the end of the previous shoot. Maybe getting her off required several reprimands and comments about how she was messing up his outfit, but she did get off. Eventually.

And then they changed outfits again, and Simon consulted his shot sheet. His eyebrows raised, and then he glanced between Felix and Lila. "The top suggested theme for these outfits is, ah, summer romance."

Felix blinked. That... was not what he was expecting. It sounded like something that Lila would have suggested, not something that Adrien's stick-in-the-mud father or his secretary would come up with.

And then it hit him like a brick. He would bet anything that this was what Lila had been talking to Nathalie about at the previous photoshoot. She had been the one pushing and pushing for a 'Summer Romance" theme for an excuse to get close to him in the previous shoot, and now she had gotten it.

"Oh, that's lovely, isn't it, Adrien?" Lila trilled. She attached herself to his arm, plastering herself against his side. "There's so much to work with there! Hugs, kisses- we'll be so cute together!"

"I'm not comfortable with that," Felix said at once, looking to Simon. "You said that was a suggested theme. Would it be possible to go with another theme?"

Simon nodded, referencing his sheet. "Yes, of course. One of the other suggestions was-"

"Oh, I think we should at least try it!" Lila insisted. Her grip got tighter, and her nails dug in. "Here, let's just start now and not overthink it!"

With that, she bounced up on her toes and tried to press a kiss to Felix's cheek, aiming for close to his mouth. Felix leaned back as fast as he could, dodging her completely in one quick movement.

Maybe he had complained about taking gymnastics as a child, but sometimes it really did come in handy. Perhaps he should consider picking it back up again.

"I'm not comfortable with that," Felix told her clearly, ignoring Lila's scowl and the way her nails dug in even deeper. "And since I said no, we're not doing it."

"Well, I want to!" Lila insisted. "Come on, Adrien! We're friends, aren't we?"

There was that edge again. This time, Felix knew what it meant: by the time the photoshoot ended, she was probably going to start her attacks on Marinette's character. It was an attempt to bring Adrien back under her control.

Too bad she was dealing with Felix, not Adrien.

"That doesn't mean that I'm comfortable doing romantic shots," Felix said firmly. "Particularly if you're going to try to spring unwanted kisses on me. Now kindly let go of my arm. Your nails are digging in."

A scowl flashed across Lila's face before she pasted on her happy face again. "How can you know that you aren't comfortable with it until you've tried it? At least a few shots-"

"Remove your fingers from my arm or I will remove them for you."

Lila's grip only got tighter. "Stop complaining, I'm hardly-"

Felix didn't let her finish. Before she could break any more skin, he grabbed two of her fingers and bent them back sharply. They gave with a (satisfying, Felix had to admit) crack, and Lila snatched her hands back with a cry.

"My fingers!"

"I told you to let go," Felix told her tartly, stepping away and rolling up his shirt sleeve to reveal the dents and cuts from Lila's nails. "Simon, would you mind snapping a picture of this? I have a photo from when she did this during the last photoshoot, but this is far worse."

Simon nodded at once, getting in close and snapping photos from all angles. Across the way, Nathalie finally noticed the commotion and hustled over, glancing between Felix and the sobbing Lila.

For once, Felix was willing to bet that the tears weren't fake.

"He broke my fingers!" Lila sobbed, clutching her hand close to her chest. "Adrien, I can't believe that you would be so mean-"

"Nathalie, I think you should look at this," Simon told Nathalie, pulling her over next to Felix. "Adrien has commented numerous times during photoshoots that Lila is holding on to his arm too hard. He asked her to let go several times in a row before he pulled her off, and- well, I can't blame him, she's drawn blood."

Nathalie's lips pressed together in a thin line as she inspected the injury, and then she pulled out her phone. "I'm going to call Lila's mom, and then I'll call Mr. Agreste. I think it's safe to say that Lila will be fired. This is unacceptable."

Felix could barely hide his smile.

  Twelve minutes later, Mrs. Rossi rushed into the park, her wide eyes locking onto the still-sobbing Lila almost immediately. She rushed to her daughter's side at once, kneeling down beside her.

"Mio caro, what happened?" Mrs. Rossi asked, reaching for her daughter. "Ms. Sancoeur said that you got your fingers broken!"

"What happened is that Lila learned the consequences of sexual harassment," Felix cut in coolly before Lila could speak up, and Mrs. Rossi's head swung to the side, her eyes wide. "Some of the consequences, at least. I will be pressing charges, and she'll be lucky if I'm the only one."

"Se- sexual harassment?" Mrs. Rossi exclaimed, glancing between him and Lila. "Surely that's an exaggeration, Nathalie, how on earth would Lila do anything that could be considered sexual harassment to her boyfriend during a photoshoot? Surely this was just an overreaction to a lover's spat-"

"I was not aware that your daughter was dating anyone, least of all me," Felix told her, since- well, it was true. After all, Adrien wouldn't touch someone like Lila with a ten-foot pole. "Frankly, considering how often Lila lies, I'm surprised that you believed her at all. No one wants to be dating a liar, particularly a social-climbing liar with no respect for personal space."

Mrs. Rossi reeled back. "A- a liar? No, Lila's a sweet girl!"

"They're just trying to frame me, Mommy!" Lila sniffled, and Felix rolled his eyes. Of course she would pull out the mummy card now. "Adrien just a-attacked me out of nowhere, we were just modeling-"

Felix snorted. He had abandoned his Adrien act for good now, and from the looks he was getting from Nathalie, she had caught on to the switch. He held up his injured arm, deciding to ignore Lila completely. She clearly wasn't going to admit that she was in the wrong, so entertaining her at all was a lost cause. "A 'sweet girl', hmm? She's given both me and my cousin bruises from clinging so hard, and now she's broken my skin. And she's been threatening to destroy the reputation of one of my cousin's classmates, all because she's a petty brat who hasn't been properly contained."

Mrs. Rossi shook her head, her eyes wide as she took in the injuries. "No, that doesn't sound like her at all! Why- why would she want to destroy anyone's reputation, that makes no sense!"

"Because I haven't-"

"Because Marinette called her out on her lies," Felix told Mrs. Rossi tartly, raising his voice over Lila's whine. "The lies about knowing all sorts of famous people personally, because she 'saved their cat' or was personally helping them with songwriting or was running a million charities, or the lies about going on a- what was it, a three-month trip out of Paris during the school year, when she was actually here the entire time?"

Mrs. Rossi slumped on the ground. "No, no, I can't- I can't believe this-"

Lila shuffled closer to her mom, still clutching her hand to her chest as she made another effort to squirm out of the situation. "They're lying, mama, don't listen to them-"

"Well, you had better start believing it!" Amelie snapped, appearing out of the nearby trees and striding up to the group. She waved her phone. "I have pictures of your little hussy of a daughter trying to force a kiss on my son, and we have evidence of her refusing to let go of my son's arm. You should be ashamed, really! I don't know how I would be able to show my face in public if my son acted the same way that your daughter has! Lying and manipulation and sexual harassment and threats for months and months and months on end, and what have you done to stop it? Nothing, by the sounds of it!"

"I didn't know-" Mrs. Rossi started, but Amelie cut her off with a scoff.

"You didn't know? Oh, excuse me for not being very impressed there. I've been busy as anything quite often with my projects and modeling and films and charity and events, but you had better bet that I made the time to check in with Felix's teachers! If I didn't have the time to go in before or after school, I emailed them. I made sure that I met his friends. I knew the instant that he started acting out, and I could talk to him about it. Have you done any of that?"

"No, but-"

"And this whole business with Lila being 'out of the country' for months! How did you miss that she wasn't going to school?" Amelie demanded.

Mrs. Rossi flinched. "I- she said that the school was closed because of akuma attacks-"

"For three months? That's not even a good lie! Do you live under a rock? Sometimes the akuma attacks drag on for a bit, but it's just hours, not- not even days! All you would need to do to disprove her ridiculous lies would be to turn on a TV! Or do a Google search, that only takes seconds!"

"I-" Mrs. Rossi swallowed hard, and her voice got quiet, nearly inaudible. "I was busy at a new job, and I- I thought that I could trust her."

"Clearly not!"

"In any case, Lila is fired as a Gabriel model, and we will be plenty transparent with the media as to why should they ask," Nathalie told Mrs. Rossi, consulting her tablet. "Adrien has confirmed that he's been grabbed at just like Felix, and that is unacceptable. Mr. Agreste expects that his son be able to work without being sexually harassed by other models."

Mrs. Rossi only nodded, all of the fight drained out of her. Lila whipped her head back and forth between her mom and the rest of the group, panic starting to spread across her features.

"Mama, you don't believe them, do you-"

"Quiet, Lila," Mrs. Rossi snapped. "I've heard enough. I've seen the evidence. I know that you're lying now."

Lila's face screwed up, and then she suddenly lunged to her feet, right at Felix. "How dare you! I had everything going my way, and you've screwed it up! When- when I get akumatized, you'll regret this, Adrien!"

Felix stepped neatly out of the way, extending one foot just enough to send Lila sprawling back to the ground with a wail of pain but not enough that it would be obvious that it was completely on purpose. "Boo-hoo, cry me a river. Also still not Adrien. Try his stunt double instead."

Lila only sobbed on the ground, clutching at her fingers. Her mom hauled her up, looking completely ashamed as she hustled her daughter away.

"Well, I think that's the end of this photoshoot," Nathalie said as soon as the duo was out of sight. She sighed, massaging her forehead in clear exasperation. "Felix, can I ask that next time, Adrien actually shows up like he's supposed to?"

Felix raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? It's not like anyone will be able to tell the difference."

"Gabriel would be most unhappy-"

"Gabriel is unhappy about most things most of the time, so I don't see how it makes any difference," Amelie told her tartly. She looped her arm through Felix's. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I think that Felix and I have a lawsuit to go file. Good-bye."

As it turned out, Gabriel didn't even have to tell the press why its newest model had been abruptly dropped. An Adrien fan had been hidden nearby and watching the shoot, and had taken video of the entire Lila downfall. It had been uploaded at once, and spread across the internet by other fans.

Fortunately, it meant that- at least in Paris- no one would ever believe Lila Rossi again. The outrage over everything that she had done- and especially the attempt at a forced kiss and the clinging to Felix hard enough to break his skin- was enough that Felix was pretty sure that no one would even try to be her friend out of pity. There was no way that any of Adrien's classmates would miss the news, either, which was really what they were most interested in.

Unfortunately, Adrien's fans were over the moon at the idea of an Adrien stunt double, because it meant that there were two of them.

...and unfortunately for some particularly avid and over-eager fans, Amelie Graham de Vanily was none too thrilled about her son and her nephew getting chased around Paris and was still riding high on the success of her lawsuit against Lila. One dinner with the Bourgeois family later and it was officially against the law in Paris to chase after teen celebrities and to form what amounted to search mobs, and there was going to be further investigation and adjustment as needed to prevent other future harassment. Also- and on a completely unrelated topic- Audrey Bourgeois would be in charge of the wardrobe department on the next Graham Films production.

And as for Felix... well, all of a sudden, Adrien's friends all became a lot more receptive to the idea of inviting him to their get-togethers. Some were still a little wary of him, but that didn't bother Felix at all. After all, Felix was used to people regarding him with some trepidation at home, and he was hardly going to make himself comfortable by acting all warm and cuddly. But several of Adrien's friends were fine with that, or perhaps they just were accepting because they knew that it would make Adrien happy.

Felix didn't suppose that it really mattered either way. He wasn't trying to form lifelong friendships in Paris, just trying to enjoy his summer as well as he could. And with Lila firmly out of the picture- she had been shipped back to Italy to attend boarding school, mostly to keep her away from akumas- and with outwardly friendly company...

Well, the summer was looking bright.

[daydream-believin]

Recipe For Disaster 2: Electric Boogaloo

Summary: Jim is NOT happy about his sister’s boyfie. (not a part two despite the confusing name)

Warnings: swearing, a gilmore girls reference, divorce kids got daddy issues

Word Count: 5560, my longest yet woohoo

A/N: here it is im finally done with this. i- im tired. i love jim he was my favorite until doux came along but he can be a little bitch boy sometimes. and the word of the day is giggle im so sorry

tags: @alovesongshewrote​ hope i can deliver now that you have expectations lmao

It was a good Saturday. The trollhunters trio had gotten an early start on training, and thus Blinky had released them for an early lunch. It was a particularly successful day, with Claire really getting the hang of the shadow staff, so they decided to not make poor Jim cook for once and go out for a treat. And Toby really wanted a sandwich from Benoit’s.

They opted to walk to downtown instead of biking, as a way to cool down. Plus, it would give them time to digest their food on the walk back, before they returned to training once again. Although that was more of a problem for Jim and Toby, since Blinky wanted Claire to start reading a certain book this afternoon. She’d be in the library, quietly sitting while the boys go back to running around and fighting. The spring flowers had just started returning to Arcadia Oaks. The flowerbeds that decorated town added a cheery air to the day. Happily, Jim ran up in front to kick a pebble as they came up towards the bistro around the corner. He stopped in his tracks.

“Is Y/n’s boss flirting with her?”

The other two teens came around Jim to see. Y/n laughed at Douxie’s dumb joke and put her hand on his shoulder.

“And is she flirting back?” Jim asked incredulously.

Claire didn’t take this the same way Jim did. “Aww, that’s so cute.”

“No it’s not. It’s weird. And wrong.” Jim asserted.

“What are you talking about,” Claire lowered her brows with an annoyed tone.

“No, no. he’s right. Y/n doesn’t flirt. Or date. I’m not even sure she crushes.”

Claire shook her head, “That can’t be true, TP. She’s like, old. You two just didn’t notice it.”

“Oh, no, we noticed it. She went to every school dance alone, even senior prom.” Toby added. “It was kind of sad to be honest.”

“Remember that time that big movie star came into town? He was the prettiest guy I’d ever seen, and Y/n was just like ‘eh he’s okay, I guess’. We literally had a fight over that one.” Jim chuckled.

“I literally can’t imagine Y/n in a relationship. She’s just too all over the place.”

Claire rolled her eyes and gestured her hands towards the scene in front of them. “Well, she seems to be doing just fine now.”

Jim didn’t know why, but this made him a little huffy. “Whatever. It’s just a crush, anyways. She’ll get over it soon enough.”

Douxie leaned over to give Y/n a quick peck goodbye before he headed into Mr. Benoit’s to start his shift. He had swapped shifts with one of his coworkers for the day, so he could have the evening off. Y/n headed back to the bookstore. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she left, smiling to herself. The three trollhunters still stood right where they were, staring.

“I don’t think it’s just a crush, Jimbo.”

Jim was outraged. How. How was this happening. He could understand her not telling her family, their mother could be a bit nosy sometimes when it came to her daughter’s personal affairs. But his sister had often said she didn’t have enough time to pursue a love life whenever their mother probed her. There was no way she just started having said time. Right? It was curious, too, that out of all the people she could have chosen in Arcadia, she chose Douchey. That guy had girls fawning over him wherever he went. There was no way Y/n was into that.

Come to think of it, Y/n had been acting really strange ever since she had gotten that job at the bookstore. It was so easy to make her laugh now. She was actually wearing her hair in different styles instead of her signature. She actually enjoyed Barbara’s cooking. Or at least complimented it a lot now. Still a baffling action nonetheless. It was if she was experiencing the side effects of something. And that bookstore reeked of magic. Magic had the power to drive people out of their minds. He’d had plenty of first-hand experience with that. This whole situation was fishy.

“Well, I think it’s so cute they’re together now.” Claire said cheerily. He loved her but she wasn’t exactly the best when it came to making judgement calls. Hell, the fact that she was dating him after all he’s put her through was enough proof of that.

“Well, I think its magic.” Jim deadpanned.

“What.” Claire snapped.

“He’s got a spell on her! Some sort of enchantment. A charm!”

Toby was too tired from training today to deal with this. “I’ll agree, he does have charm, have you had him as a waiter? But not the kind of charm you’re implying here, Jim.”

“Douxie is my magic teacher, Jim. I promise, he’s a really nice guy.”

“Nope. There’s no way my sister would be into a guy, let alone a guy like,” He tried to find the right words but just sputtered, “Like that!” he motioned to poor Doux, who was changing the specials sign out front. Douxie was one of those bistro employees who always got asked to draw up the sign because his calligraphy was so good. Doux had to admit, his handwriting was messy compared to Merlin’s standards, but to Mr. Benoit’s he was a calligraphy god.

Toby looked Doux up and down. “I don’t know man, Y/n is kind of alternative.”

“Yeah, who do you think helps me dye my hair all the time? And sneaks me into concerts?” Claire added.

“Okay. I get that. But he’s just not good enough for her.” Jim said through gritted teeth.

Toby sighed. “Then who is?” he asked wearily.

Jim got defensive. “I don’t know! A prince, maybe. One that’s in line to be king. Not one of those waiting-for-a-brother-to-die ones, but a real one.” He nodded his head like any of that was realistic. “Definitely not just some wizard who works in a bookstore.”

“She’s just some wizard who works in a bookstore, though.”

There was no getting through to Jim. “Think about it guys, my sister, suddenly getting cozy with a magic man? Bushigal. She’s under a spell. I’m going to fight him.”

“No, no you’re not,” Claire asserted, “You’re going to have lunch like we planned AND you’re going to be civil.” Claire and Toby both grabbed one of his arms and dragged him towards the bistro.

***

The hostess guided them to the table. Claire sat across from Jim and Toby. They were handed the menus. Claire showed interest in the lunch specials while Toby flipped to the sandwiches. Jim just brooded while he stared unblinking into the first page. And by chance, and by the fact that this scene would be boring and or pointless if not, Douxie was the waiter for said table. After handing off the check to one of his other tables, he waltzed over to the trio, happy to see his protégé.

“Ello lads, how’s it going? How’d that test go today, Claire?” Douxie ruffled her hair. Jim narrowed his eyes at the sight.

“Horrible! I bombed it for sure!”

Toby rolled his eyes, “You say that about every test, Claire, and then it turns out you aced them.”

“No I mean it this time, TP. I didn’t even finish the last three questions. It was so bad!”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Douxie chuckled. Oh to have the problems of these youngsters. Claire and Toby got into some sort of glare match where they both just made more and more aggressive funny faces at each other. Both finally conceded and they fell into giggles. Douxie was glad to see Claire having so much fun, but he noticed someone else at the table who was not having said fun. His apprentice Claire’s boyfriend, his master’s champion, and his darling Y/n’s brother, looking like his dog ate his homework, or whatever teenagers got angry about these days.

“Cheer up, lad.” Doux grinned at Jim, “Hangry? I get that. You look like you could use a good meal.”

“Well strangely I am in a cafe”

Claire kicked Jim under the table. He tried his best to stifle the grunt of pain. “Don’t mind Jim, he’s a tad grumpy from a bad training session. And we’ll take waters all around.” She smiled. Doux hurried off to go get their glasses.

In the end, Toby couldn’t pick a sandwich. He had three favorites and couldn’t decide between them yet. Jim and Claire had his back. They both got one of them and he got the third. Then they would all share the halves. A good plan. And it was a delicious one. Toby was thankful for his partners.

***

After finishing up training and walking Claire home, Jim and Toby went their separate ways. Toby had promised his Nana he’d go with her and her boyfriend to see a play in the next town over. Jim had promised his mother he’d be home for a family dinner. He wasn’t able to be home in time to cook, so this was going to be a roulette wheel when it came to food. He was betting on Y/n. As he came to the front door, he cracked it first and smelled the air before going inside as to make sure his candid reaction wouldn’t be bad. The aroma coming from the house was heavenly. Alright, Y/n. Jackpot.

Jim swung the door open wide as he strutted in. Everyone was in the kitchen, it looked like. He put his bag up and called to his family that he was home. Which was met with the two voices he had expected, but one he hadn’t. And it was a voice he didn’t want to hear right now. Douxie. Hisirdoux fucking Casperan. In his house. In his kitchen. In his territory.

Jim immediately felt his muscles tense up. He took a deep breath and put on his best fake smile before heading into the kitchen. Y/n was sautéing something over the stove. Barbara was stirring something which meant that she had insisted on helping and Y/n had done the equivalent of giving your younger sibling a game controller that wasn’t plugged in. The offending wizard was leaning over the bar counter from the other side, chatting away as if he had any reason to be here.

Once Y/n caught sight of Jim, she bubbled. “Jim! How was hiking? You three have fun?” she knew where he actually spent his Saturdays but they had to keep up the rouse for their mom. While Y/n particularly didn’t care for the lying, she also agreed with Jim that some things are best kept from worrisome mothers. Barbara gave her enough shit already for her frequent homecomings from bars and shows in the wee hours of the morning with scrapes and bruises. If their mother knew about Jim’s marginally more dangerous late-night escapades, she might actually have a nervous breakdown.

“Oh yeah, it was great. We saw a deer. It had a baby with it.”

“Majestic.” She turned and gestured to the man at the counter, “You remember Douxie, right?”

“Of course,” Jim said through gritted teeth forced into a smile. “In fact we just saw each other at the bistro earlier today.”

A timer went off. Y/n expressed her delight that something in the oven was done. Barb got some plates out of the cabinet, while Y/n pulled the main course out of the oven. She handed Jim the plates and silverware and sent him to go set the table. Jim supposed this was better than having to talk to Douxie. Until Douxie insisted on helping him. Great.

“So, Jim, I’ve heard a lot about you-”

“I’m sure you have.” Jim cut him off. Douxie was a bit confused, but figured he was still grumpy like he was earlier at the bistro. He’d leave the moody teen alone then. Perhaps he be in a better mood after getting some food in him and spending time with his family. Doux would try for conversation again then.

Jim did not get any less grumpy, to Douxie’s dismay. And Y/n’s. Y/n really needed both her family members to like her boyfriend. They were all each other had, and any strife would put a strain on their tiny closely-knit family unit. Y/n loved Douxie, and she wanted Jim and Barbara to love him to. To accept him. It would help put a validity to her feelings. If they liked him then she had made the right choice. She could never be with someone her loved ones hated. And as a bonus, it would be nice if she could give Douxie the family he never had. He deserved as much.

Luckily, Barbara had taken quite a liking to Arcadia’s most charming waiter. Jim however, was subtly hostile. Or at least he thought he was being subtle. It was very apparent to the other three at the table. As Douxie was animatedly telling Barb some story that she was laughing very hard at, Y/n turned to glare at her brother. Jim tried to feign innocence. Y/n rolled her eyes and put some more salad on her plate. Jim noticed the bracelet on her wrist. Funny, she had never been one for jewelry before. But she started wearing this one everyday right around the time she started working at the bookstore. Interesting.

Douxie finished up his story and turned his attention to Jim. He’d try once again to engage the trollhunter. He knew how important this was to Y/n. Douxie was going to make this little man like him if it was the last thing he did.

“I saw the school play you were in a couple weeks ago, Jim. You were quite the actor, and I know Shakespeare’s tough. Have you ever thought of going into it professionally? Claire’s told me she wants to. You two could be one of those celebrity power couples.”

Jim just offered a short thanks that was less hostile but not exactly enthusiastic either. Well, at least Doux was getting somewhere. It’s a start. Y/n was content with this. Jim would warm up to Douxie eventually. It didn’t have to be right away, even if she would have liked that.

After the dinner conversation had died down and the food long gone, Y/n set out to clear the table and clean the kitchen. Barbara also went to help her, but Douxie assured her he’d take care of it. He was a world class waiter after all. He stacked up the plates as Y/n grabbed the dinner dishes. And so the two set off to the world behind the wall, to clean or canoodle or whatever. Jim wasn’t too keen on thinking about it. His mother pulled him into the living room to sit on the couch and preceded to ask him twenty questions about Claire. He was almost happy when the lovebirds came back.

And then his mother made them all play some card game for three hours straight. All while the lovebirds flirted away right in front of them. It was like they had no shame. This guy just had to have Y/n under a spell or something, Jim was sure of it. There was no other explanation. As she giggled at another one of Douxie’s stupid jokes that weren’t even funny, Jim felt sick.

Finally it came time for that douchebag to leave. Jim rolled his eyes at his mother and sister fawning over Doux as he made his way to the door. He slinked over behind them to watch the guy leave and make sure that he left. As Douxie went through the door he gave Y/n a quick peck and said the stupidest line Jim had ever heard. Who does this guy think he is. Once the door was shut and Doux had indeed walked away, Jim scoffed.

“Bet that guy has a bank of pickup lines he’s memorized. There’s no way he came up with that on the fly.”

***

Jim was furious. He fought like a madman during training. Draal was just making it worse by encouraging it; he really liked the kid’s fire today. Draal had no idea what was up with him right now, but Jim was giving it his all. The trollhunter was rarely this aggressive. Blinky looked on as Jim growled and shouted with every strike. He hadn’t seen his son frothing at the mouth like this before. It was glorious. Keep this up and Angor Rot won’t know what hit him.

Claire and Toby were also training, with Arrggh, albeit with not even half as much gusto as Jimbo. They were also a wee bit distracted, trying to wind Jim down from said gusto. He came over to where they were to get some water. Taking this opportunity, Toby tried appealing to him once again.

“Dude, give it a rest, this is just like how you got all pissy about your mom dating Strickler.” Toby was exasperated.

“Y/n can’t date guys, my mother can’t date guys, no men should be frequently invited into our household! No boys allowed! Me and Toby are the only boys allowed!” Jim growled. He stormed off across the keep to go land another hit on Draal.

Blinky blinked. He was taken aback at the hostility from his charge. “So, do either of you have any idea as to what that was about.”

“Right now the winning theory is that this is like, about how heartbroken his mother was when his dad left, so now he doesn’t want that to happen again or something,” Claire sighed. Her teacher really was a good guy. Lonely too. Just like Y/n. They were going to be good for each other. Her boyfriend should be happy for them. Jim took a particularly dirty swipe at Draal. Toby grunted in sympathy. “Or maybe Douxie just poked Arcadia’s most possessive bear.”

***

Jim and Toby were walking downtown, enjoying their free time after a trollhunting mission on this fine Sunday afternoon. That is, until they came in sight of the bookstore. Jim felt that bitter feeling in his stomach again. He knew Y/n wasn’t working today. Douchey would be all alone. Now was his chance to confront this and end it before it got any worse. Toby noticed the malice in his eyes as he stomped towards the bookstore.

“Woah dude, what’re you doing?”

“I’m just going to have a little chat with Mr. Casperan that’s all.”

Toby threw his head back in exasperation. “There no talking you out of this is there?”

“Nope”

The bell jingled as they walked in. The bookshop smelled like Christmas. And Jim was about to try and talk politics with his racist uncle at the dinner table. Douxie came over and greeted them cheerily.

“Good afternoon, lads. Looking for any book in particular?”

“I’m not a part of this. I just happen to be with him physically.” Toby quickly asserted. Douxie quirked a brow at the odd statement. Jim pushed forward aggressively. Doux had the sense to back away from the boy.

“I’m onto you, wizard. Just what did you do to my sister? Did you slip her a love potion? Is that bracelet she’s been wearing charmed?” Jim growled. Toby cringed on the sidelines.

Douxie blinked. “Excuse me?”

“There’s no other explanation for your ‘relationship’. You’ve got to be magicking her. And I won’t just sit here and let it happen. That’s my sister and it’s my job to protect her from creeps like you.”

Douxie took in the boys words, and a deep breath. He tried his best not to sound too defensive and provoke the kid further, “Okay, wow. That’s quite an accusation there, friend.” He moved away from where the boy had backed him into a bookshelf. “You know, out of all that you just implied, the part I think I’m most offended by is the fact that you’d think I’d mess with Y/n’s free will like that.”

Douxie straightened some books on a nearby display. “You know Jim, when it comes to love-” Jim stormed out of the bookstore before Doux could take his lecture any further, grabbing Toby by the arm so he’d follow. Toby mouthed a big ‘I’m sorry’ to Doux as he was pulled out of the store.

***

Jim’s pencil felt abused. He was furiously scribbling the answers to his homework with a heavy hand. He still had a lot of pent up rage, even after accosting poor Doux. After snapping his lead for the seventh time in the hour, Jim decided that switching subjects to Spanish instead of math for a bit might help him calm down. He moved to his bed to start the assigned reading. He laid on his stomach, propping up his head in his hands to see his textbook. His blue eyes perused the paragraphs punctuated by cheesy cartoons. He was halfway through the third page when a knock came at his door. Taking a deep breath, he called for whoever it was to let themselves in. His sister stepped into view.

Jim ran a hand through his dark hair. Here comes the scolding. He didn’t even have to ask if Y/n had heard about what he’d done today. If Douxie himself hadn’t told her then Tobes certainly did. Jim wasn’t proud of it, now that it was all said and done. He knew he deserved whatever Y/n was about to dish out. He sat up and crisscrossed his legs. She pulled his desk chair over and sat backwards in it so that she was facing him on the bed.

That’s it. No scolding came. She just sat and looked at him, neutral faced. He squirmed at the nothing. She lifted up the coffee mug in her hands and took a slow sip, not breaking eye contact with him. Jim began to sweat. He tried to avoid her gaze by looking down at the floor, but he could still feel her eyes upon him. Sighing, he had to admit defeat.

“Okay, so I do feel bad about what I said to Douxie today.” He looked back up to meet Y/n’s eyes. She raised a brow. “It was wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that, I’m sorry.”

Y/n appeared to be satisfied by that. A smile spread across her face and she nodded to him. She stood up, and ruffled his hair on her way out. Still refusing to break her silence, she motioned for him to follow her downstairs.

***

Y/n set her coffee cup down on the table. She pulled another mug out of the cabinet for Jim. Grabbing the coffee pot from its nest under the coffeemaker, she filled Jim’s mug and topped off her own. Sliding the mug across the table to Jim, she sat down. Jim could smell the aromas of the several colorful dishes baking that he could see through the screen of the oven door. Strange, it was already half past nine. There was cinnamon in the air, so at least one of those dishes contained dessert. Jim’s stomach growled at the thought.

“You know I’m not the one you should have to apologize to, Jimbo.”

“I know, I know,” He looked at the ground, “I’ll go talk to him tomorrow after school.”

Silence filled the kitchen again. Y/n took a sip of coffee. This conversation was going to be hard. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She took yet another long sip of coffee to figure out a good enough way to word this. She took a breath.

“So, uh- listen Jimbo. I- I know it’s tough, ya know, with it just being us. And our family’s tight because of it. But you can’t get so protective that new people can’t join it. Or even try.”

Jim took a breath, “I know it’s just, I-, what happens when we, when you, get so attached to him, and he decides that he doesn’t care for you anymore. When he turns out to be bad. When he just disappears. Like- like they do.”

“Oh, Jim,” She reached across the table for his hand. “That’s my risk to take, Jim. I fully recognize that what I’m doing is hazardous and I could get hurt really bad. But I still chose to do it. I choose it every day. We all do, when we fall in love.”

Jim took a sip and lingered, staring into his cup. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” He chuckled, “I know I’d be devastated if Claire ever wizened up and left me.”

“Look, you gotta trust me okay? Douxie isn’t dad or Strickler. I promise. He’s kind. I trust him. After you apologize, I think you really should start to make an effort to get to know him. If not for me, for Claire dude. And I think you’ll really like him. Promise you’ll give him a chance?”

Jim sighed in defeat. “Alright. I promise.”

She stood up and stretched out her back, making those stretching noises that people do. She checked the food in the oven. The buns were ready, but the quiche still needed a few minutes. She took out the pans and put them on the cooling rack. After fanning them for a few seconds, she turned to Jim, “So you want a spinach bun or a cinnamon bun?”

“How is that a question?” Jim laughed.

“Spinach bun it is then,” She teased as she tossed him the cinnamon one.

“What’s all this for anyway?” He gestured to the oven and the buns.

“Oh, uh, its actually for a date tonight?” She looked warry of how he’d react.

“Okay,” He guessed now would be as good a time as ever to start letting this go, “You crazy kids have fun.” Y/n laughed, relived.

Douxie had just finished up the sweeping and was ready to close up. As he headed to towards the front doors, he took one last look around the place to make sure he didn’t miss anything. All clean and tidy. Whoever opened tomorrow would appreciate it. He flipped the neon sign from open to nope and started locking up. Which is when his girlfriend pounced on him and almost gave him a heart attack. She just appeared out of thin air to tackle him into a hug. Scared the living daylights out of him. Y/n apologized profusely when she noticed him freak out but was still snickering between sorries so she probably didn’t mean it. He asked her just what the hell she was doing here and she picked up a picnic basket that was on the ground to show him.

“I just knew a certain wizard hadn’t eaten yet tonight.”

***

Y/n felt the ground beneath her back through the picnic blanket. The new spring growth had made them a cushion of sorts. Her head rested in the crook of Douxie’s shoulder as his arm was wrapped around her. It was nice here. Comfy. She could smell his hair and feel his chest move as he breathed. Their heartbeats made a nice rhythm to accompany the cricket song and the noise of the trees swaying. The stars were so lovely tonight. Stellar.

Douxie broke the quiet. “So I brushed up on my astrology.”

“Oh yeah?” Y/n quirked her brow. Astrology was one of her biggest interests. She’d loved it since her grandmother had given her a book about it when she was small. It was a well-worn, well-loved book. Her grandmother had handwritten things in the margins too. She’d been talking Douxie’s ears off about it during work earlier that week. Something was just so fascinating about how there were gorgeous balls of light in the sky that could tell you the future. There really was magic embedded in the fabric of the universe. It was sweet that he would care enough to learn about her interests. Very sweet indeed. The fact that he went out of his way just so he could talk to her about something she loved? Tooth-rotting. She wasn’t sure if her heart sped up because she was excited to talk about astrology or because of the sugar rush he just gave her.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to look at constellations, we do have GPS now, but I think I remember enough,” He pointed to the sky, “That’s Pisces, right?”

“Yes!” Y/n couldn’t stop herself from smiling so wide her cheeks hurt.

“And that’s Aries, which marks the beginning of spring,” He looked back at Y/n who nodded to him, “oh, and look! We can see Venus tonight.”

“Hey Douxie, I love you. And You’re really making me want to kiss you right now.”

He chuckled and wiggled his eyes brows teasingly, “Ah, yes, I am aware of the effect I have.” She rolled her eyes and put her hand on his face to push him away. If he saw the blush creeping up on her, he’d just get flirtier. She wasn’t sure she could handle that. Something caught her eye and instantly stole her attention.

“Look! A shooting star! Make a wish Doux.” She pointed to the streak of light that flashed.

“I don’t need wishes when I’m here with you, Love.” If her face was pink before it was bright red now.

Y/n hid her face in her hands, “No! You were supposed to say something silly,” She came back up to look him in the eyes, “not something that makes me want to kiss you even more.”

He leaned his head in closer, “Well, what’s stopping you, Y/n”

Well, that was obviously a dare. She couldn’t not kiss him now. So she did. They melted into it instantly. At first it was sweet and slow, but they got a bit hungrier, and the kiss got a bit sloppier. Douxie smelled like the bookstore, Y/n loved the smell of the bookstore. It was everything safe in her life. He was everything safe in her life. Her best friend. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek. He loved how her lips just fit together with his perfectly. Y/n Lake was everything he’d been waiting for all these years. Soft and kind, with such a beautiful heart. Not to mention, a badass. Yet, even with all his ancient baggage, she still cared for him. Made him feel like new again. Out of all the wizards of Arcadia Oaks, she chose him. He still couldn’t believe it. They pulled apart way sooner than either of them wanted, but they did have to breathe, so it had to be done. Locked in Douxie’s gaze, Y/n broke the intensity to giggle.

“But really, I was setting you up for a joke. You know what you could have done with that, Doux?” She teased.

“I’ll remember that for next time, Love.”

“Ah, they’re super rare. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one in all my stargazing years.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of time to see the next one. And the next one. All the shooting stars you want. Only seeing them every few decades could make them a special little thing for us.” He said so nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just implied that he expected their love to last for countless decades. As if it were a given. Suddenly it hit her. She could live thousands of years by his side. She would live thousands of years by his side. This was it. She wasn’t even sure humans could turn this vivid a shade of red. Y/n’s heart was gonna pop if it beat any harder.

“Stars, are you just hellbent on making me combust tonight? It too hot out here for this.” Douxie just laughed, a twinkle in his eye. She focused on her beloved stars to calm her down. She sighed, “The stars really are beautiful tonight.”

“You know what else is beautiful?”

“Me?”

“You- aww, you’ve heard that one.”

Y/n’s snort rung in the air. So, he does just have a bank of pick-up lines he’s pulling from. Interesting. Guess it must be tough having to be Arcadia’s most charming waiter. They stilled again. The comfortable silence embraced them. And they could have basked in it all night, if Douxie had not a burning question he had been waiting to ask his beloved.

“So- uh,” She looked to him expectedly, “Do you think there’s life out there?”

Y/n tried not to laugh too hard with Douxie’s very serious tone, “Yeah, yeah I do.”

Now it was Douxie’s turn to smile so wide his cheeks hurt. “Really?”

“Yeah,” She said, “I think it’d be kinda arrogant to assume that with all that vastness up there that we’re the only ones who exist.”

“That’s a really good point.” Douxie said excitedly. He pulled her tighter into his embrace and snuggled. “I think I’m going to use that on Zoe next time she tries to tell me that I’m crazy and aliens aren’t real.”

“Yeah Babe! Win that argument!” Y/n encouraged.

She peppered his face with kisses. That big smile stayed on his face as he closed his eyes in delight. He repaid her with a nose kiss. And she repaid that by starting another snogging session.

***

Little did they know that shoot star was really aliens akiriddion spaceship crash 3below wait shit the akiriddions landed in like season two and ive set this in one ugh just pretend like this makes sense hfhadhiufs

[jbarness]

huh, that's new

a social media au

[27: news]

warnings: language, "pregnancy"?? uhh idk what else hehehe

a/n: this is a pretty long chapter i think? (2000+ words) im very nervous about this chapter cause its kinda a big deal asdfghjk anyways, please please please tell me what you think about this! and ik this idea is very odd HAHAHAHA but what else would you expect from two dumbasses named bucky and y/n? hehehe i really hope you enjoy this chapter!! ♡

flashback is italicized

huh, that's new - masterlist

You wanted to laugh so badly.

For some reason, your housemates are panicking over who the hell set this gender reveal party up in the living room. 

It was you. With the help of Bucky of course.

Natasha and Wanda have been shouting “I’m not pregnant, I think you are!” to each other for about 10 minutes now. Steve decided that he needed answers too, so he joined in the shouting. Pietro’s talking to his camera, probably vlogging the whole thing. Peter’s talking on the phone with MJ asking if she set this up. Sam’s the only one enjoying the food. Bucky was looking at you from across the room, keeping the smile from forming on his face. 

Just about an hour or so ago, you and Bucky were just setting the whole thing up. Bucky was pushing the table to the living room when you arrived with the cake. You placed the rest of the blue and pink food on the table along with other decorations. There were many variations of food, but the cupcakes that have toppers that said: “Here for the Sex” were Bucky’s personal favorite despite not knowing how they taste. The balloons were still lifeless when both of you hung the streamers on the walls with the banner that matched the topper of the cupcakes. After finally finding the balloon pump, blue and pink balloons filled the living room. Some were on the floor while you hung the others on the wall. When you were content with the appearance of the room, you and Bucky went your separate ways.

You got the idea of throwing a gender reveal party when you were working at the diner one evening. “You’ll be at the gender reveal party next week right?” the woman at the booth asked her friend. “Of course, Jill asked me to pick up the cake,” Her friend says. When you got the idea, you thought it was silly, so you dismissed it. Later on, you thought of more ideas and details to add, then in a blink of an eye, you were in the bakery, asking the baker if they can make a three-layered cake of your favorite flavor with the inside colored blue.

“Maybe P set this all up for a prank again?” Nat looked at Pietro who was filming the whole thing. “Just because I have a channel that doesn’t mean I always prank!” Pietro said, turning off his camera.

Steve sighed, “Okay, one by one. Nat and I were the first ones here, but it was all here already when we arrived. Wanda was the next one here, she was in the bookstore the whole morning. Bucky and Sam were next and they only came here because he saw the Instagram story of Nat. Pietro and Peter came home today from LA and Peter from Tony’s. Lastly, Y/N came home from the cafe,” everyone nodded. 

After a couple of minutes of silence, you couldn’t handle it anymore, “Okay, I can’t do it. I give up. It was me. I set this up,” you laughed. 

“But why Y/N?” Peter gasped, “Are you pregnant?”

Everyone’s eyes were on you now. Natasha’s eyes widened, “Wait, who’s the father?”

Bucky was laughing internally, you could tell. He wasn’t looking at you anymore, he turned around to look at the window. You could see his shoulders slightly shaking, he’s definitely laughing. Good thing the attention wasn’t on him. “I uhh… I don’t know,” you said. You technically haven't met Bucky's dad, you were being honest.

“Doesn’t matter, my sweet Y/N! We’ll support you and help you. Anything you need” Sam swallowed the macaroon whole before going to you and hugging you tightly.

“I know you will.” In less than a minute, you were trapped in the middle of the group hug.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner? We would’ve known the gender by now!” Pietro said as the group untangled from the hug. 

You laughed, “I was enjoying the show.” 

“Well, come on! I wanna know if my godchild is a boy or a girl!” Wanda yelled excitedly and went to the kitchen to grab the knife. 

Bucky walked towards you before you could join the others who are now gathered at the table, waiting for plates and the knife. “I’m tellin’ ya, doll, they’re gonna be frustrated at us,” he said. You shrugged, “They already are.”

Wanda handed you the knife to cut the cake. Everyone took out their phones to take a video of the “soon-to-be-mother”. You were trying very hard not to laugh at this point and so was Bucky, who was taking a video of his friends’ reactions to what they’re about to say.

You sliced a triangle on one side of the cake and pulled it out, showing blue. “Oh my God! It’s a boy!” Peter yelled, jumping around with Pietro. Sam and Steve took turns hugging you and they were later pushed aside by Wanda and Nat. “I’m happy for you, hun I am, but I really hope that a girl comes out of you,” Natasha said while hugging you and Wanda tightly. 

You cleared your throat, catching everyone’s attention, “It’s actually a Bucky” you said, nonchalantly. 

“Bucky?” Wanda pulled away slightly from the hug, making Nat do the same. “A Bucky? As in it’s Bucky’s baby?” Steve asked, wide-eyed, obviously excited, looking at Bucky who is now looking back at you, covering his mouth with his hands, to keep himself from laughing. 

“I meannnnn… Bucky... is my... baby,” you said while extending your arm, inviting Bucky to come closer, which he did. 

Peter was still confused and it shows, “You’re Bucky’s mom?” he asked, making Pietro smack his head, “Pete, it means they’re dating... Right?”

Both you and Bucky nodded, “We are.”

“Oh my God! Fucking finally! I was starting to think you’ll never tell each other how you feel! Do you know how frustrated you two made me?” Sam yelled, throwing a pillow at Bucky.

Natasha was yelling “I fucking knew it! I told you so!” repeatedly to her boyfriend while Wanda kept pinching both your and Bucky’s cheeks saying, “CUTIESSS!” 

You looked at Bucky, “they don’t look frustrated” you said which made Bucky roll his eyes and smile. Both of you laughed when you saw Steve silently saying “Yes! My ship!” Either that or something about shit.

“Calm your asses. Now, this party isn’t just for us to announce that we’re together. This is also a party for Natty and Steve. Sorta like the part one of the roomies night we’re gonna have” you said, looking at the couple.

“Thank you, Y/N, but I don’t wanna think about moving right now. What I do want is for you two to give us the fucking details about how you two finally got together” Nat said, making everyone agree and sit down and get comfortable in the living room.

Bucky cleared his throat and looked on his left, where you sat. “It happened the night that her friend came to the city.”

☆

To say you were excited for tonight was an understatement. 

Last night, you already picked out the clothes you wanted to wear tonight. It was simple, really, just a pair of jeans and the most comfortable hoodie you owned. Or should you go with a plain sweater instead? Printed shirt? Oversized shirt? Your grey sweatpants? They look comfortable. Or your black ones?

You ended up with your first choice. 

Wanda and Nat noticed how upbeat and cheery you were the whole day. It wasn’t exactly like you to be this happy at 7 am. You cooked a lot more food than usual and you haven’t even had your coffee yet. “Maria’s in the city today!” was the only excuse you thought of every time they asked you. You had some errands to do that day, its something you find really boring and exhausting but you found yourself skipping to the bank. Skipping, not walking. 

At the tower, Bucky was a nervous wreck. He couldn’t focus much on what he was doing. He would zone out and forget what he was typing, then he remembered he wasn’t typing at all, he was fixing a floor plan. Sam being Sam, noticed how Boinky was acting. He kept teasing Bucky about being distracted while Steve kept asking him to stop. “What’s up with you, Buck? What’s making you zone out?” Steve asked, giving Bucky some water. Bucky just shrugged and continued whatever the hell he was doing. 

The evening came too fast for Bucky and too slow for you. You got home, got dressed to meet with Maria for dinner before seeing Bucky. When Bucky got home, he changed into something more casual and fixed himself at his bathroom. “Tell her tonight, you fucking idiot,” he told himself, looking at the mirror before grabbing his helmet and his old helmet that you proclaimed yours when you were hanging out before. He smiled at the memory then remembered that Dot never even got to see his motorcycle. Huh. 

He picked you up at the hotel that Maria was staying at. In a few minutes, you were at the bar that you two used to go to. You two bought a couple of drinks before going to the spot - your spot. You almost forgot how beautiful it was there, especially at night. 

“After tonight, you’ll only have one night of free drinks, use it wisely,” Bucky said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, I’ll have to find another way to have free drinks from you,” you joked.

He looked at you, “You can just ask, you know? You don’t have to blackmail me,” he smiled. 

You laughed for a moment and it became silent once again. It felt... awkward. You two were seated a couple of inches away from each other, the closest you two have been since you avoided each other, but you wanted to get away. You remembered the last time you were here, in this exact same spot. Drinking the alcohol of your choice, laughing with Bucky, talking about your high school selves. Many things have changed since then. It feels so weird and new to you, sitting next to someone you genuinely like, your friend. You took a deep breath and stopped thinking. 

“I like you, did you know that?” you said out of the blue making Bucky wonder if he was just imagining it and he was just hearing things. He stayed silent, deciding that it was just his mind saying that cause that was what he wanted to hear.

You turned to Bucky, waiting for his reaction. Nothing. “Buck?” he turned and looked at you as if he hadn’t heard you. “I like you,” you said once again only this time, it was louder and clearer. 

“You like me?” Bucky asked, finding it hard to believe for some reason. “Like, you like-like me?” You nodded, smiling at his creased eyebrows and slightly tilted face, like a confused puppy. You almost didn’t notice how your heart is beating quickly as if it wanted to jump out of your chest. It was taking Bucky too long to reply, and that made you anxious. All you wanted was to take it back and change what you said. You should’ve said “I’d really like to go back to being close friends�� or maybe ask him why he avoided you or somethi--

“Did Wanton ask you to tell this to me?” he asked with an accusative tone. “No, why would I agree to that? Even if I did, I’d only agree to say something like that if I really meant it,” your voice getting louder every word.

“So it’s true? You like me? Romantic styles?” You nodded, slightly annoyed that he would think that you would play with his feelings. “Yes, it’s no big deal. I just wanted to tell you, I don’t expect you to like me back. I just- I want you to--”

"I like you too. Romantic styles," he said holding your hand. "That was why I set you up with Loki, why I avoided you after that and why I was avoiding you until you invited me to join you and Pietro. I kinda got a bit… slightly, sort of jealous so I agreed to go with you."

"Wait, hold on, you like me... and you... set me up with Loki? I don't get it"

"I like you and… That doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you’re happy, and I'll do anything to make you happy,” he said, offering you a small smile.

☆

"Then we kissed and… yeah,” you smiled at your friends’ faltered smiles.

Sam stood up, “Why was everything else so detailed and the kiss was just ‘then we kissed’? What’s that about?” He said, grabbing more food from the table. "And, I fucking told you so, Boinks!" 

Bucky rolled his eyes, “Do you wanna hear how I kissed her softl-”

“Excuse me?” You said, raising your eyebrows at your boyfriend. “I kissed you, and it wasn’t soft”

“Y/N stop saying soft!” Peter shouted, covering his ears.

Wanda wiggled her eyebrows, "You didn't come home that night, hun."

"Yeah, I invited her to my place, we had some wine and we just talked for the rest of the night. Nothing happened. Okay? After talking we just slept. That's it,” Bucky defended.

Steve kept nodding his head, “Hence the Instagram story, mhmm, mhmm. Alright.”

“Whatever happened that night, I’m glad it did. And, I’m really really reallyyyyy happy for you, dumbasses,” Nat laughed.

Peter walked to you, “I’m happy for you too, sis. But please, don’t get detailed with… you know. I don’t need to know that.” You laughed, holding his hand. “And Bucky, if you ever hurt my sister, I’ll hunt you down and beat you up,” Peter looked at Bucky squinting his eyes, trying to look intimidating, which made Bucky laugh.

You looked at Bucky, “He’s serious. And very strong. He gave Steve bruises when they were boxing at the gym.” Bucky looked at Steve who was nodding.

“O-oh”

☆

taglist:

@intovert-gone-wild @jbb-bucky0310 @jessicakimba @mariachiii @essenceproxima @cazslaughter @eldahae @rororo06 @bonkyboinkybucky @a-hopeless-fan @danosaurushowell @hannibal-lecters-bitch @ceeellewrites @divainthesun @kseniiafirebrace @k-n-e @adriannajackson @connorhoez @fanfuckingtastic04 @cherthegoddess @captain-america5 @onlyjamesbuchananbarnes @writerwrites @lovinnholland @softboibarnes

[writing-in-april]

A Tale of Two Poe’s

Poe Dameron x Gender Neutral Reader

Summary: AU where Poe Dameron and Edgar Allan Poe both exist in the Star Wars universe. Reader finds a book containing the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and just can’t wait to show her Poe.

A/N: This is a purely self indulgent fic lmao 😂 this AU idea where Poe Dameron and Edgar Allan Poe exist in the same universe came into my head a while back and I just had to write it. Idk if it’s weird or not but I enjoyed writing it lmao- also obviously credit goes to Edgar Allan Poe for all his stories and poem excerpts I use. @writefightandflightclub and @sergeantkane are definitely my go to for Poe fics if you’re curious and they always inspire me to write more for Poe but- there are so many other amazing writers for Poe too. I’ll have to make a fic rec list for him soon. This also is my second fic for my 1000 follower celebration!!! I want to thank you all so much again, this is so surreal!! Thanks for reading and requests are open!!

Warnings: Uhh- a sexual innuendo & talk of death in the war I think that’s it...

Main Masterlist Word count: 2.2k

The amount of bookstores that were left in the galaxy was such a small and minuscule number, most people just used their data pads to read, that is if they read anything at all. It was such a shame, in your opinion. No data pad could truly recreate the magic of a physical book.There was nothing better than opening a book, new or old, the parchment smell wafting around under your nose as you fully enveloped yourself in the words on the page.

You had stopped in at the old library after you had completed a routine information pick up for the resistance. The planet you were on was the beautiful Naboo and you had a couple hours to kill before your partner, Poe came with his x-wing to pick you up. The little vintage book store stood out in the ethereal metropolis of the big city, and you were instantly drawn to it.

When you entered the little shop it was filled wall to wall with books, you had never seen so many books in your life before. Personally, you only had three that you kept on top of your small dresser that you put the small amount of clothes in. They weren’t interesting books to say the least, mostly consisting of military procedurals from your early days in the academy, besides one novel written on a planet far away called Earth named “A tale of two cities”. The book shop made you want to take all of them back to base and read every leisure novel you could ever want to read. However, there was no real time and you didn’t have the money to take all the books home with you, so you settled on picking one that really grabbed your attention.

The book that caught your eye was a black hard cover, so thick because of how many pages it held that you could barely hold it in one hand. The spine said “The complete collection of stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe” and just by flipping through it a little you gathered that it must have also been written on the planet Earth, just like your one other novel. You loved the other novel and you knew that you were definitely going to bring this book home, even if you didn’t enjoy it at least you could tease Poe about the shared name. But, you had a feeling you were going to enjoy it.

You opened the book to another random page written by the person who held a similar name to your man and landed on a page that had a poem by the name of Annabel Lee. Poems were not something that were often seen in the galaxy anymore, even on the data pads that everyone used. They had fallen into obscurity as a form of literature that was obsolete and pointless.

The poem instantly had you hooked just in the first few lines, it was definitely a sad poem, as you suspected the rest were as well. But, the beautiful well written rhymes seduced you like the sirens you had heard about from Ahch-To. Though, Rey had told you the Thala-sirens were not nearly as beautiful as the myths would have you believe. Realizing that you were getting tight on time you rushed to check out the book, you didn’t want to worry Poe. Once you had paid the kind older lady who ran the shop you ran quickly out to your rendezvous point where Poe was already anxiously waiting.

“Kriff- there you are, I was worried something had happened to you.” His eyes were a bit frantic looking and hair disheveled. he had undoubtedly been looking around for you in worry while running his hands through his hair and had been pacing. Poe needed to learn to relax every once and awhile, he was often an overworrier and was often overworked.

“I’m only a few minutes late, relax. I just had to pick up a little surprise for you.”

“A surprise? What is it?” He reached to grab the parcel that the book had been wrapped in by the owner of the shop. You swiftly pulled the package away from him, you wanted it to be a surprise for later, when you both could relax.

“Hands off- I’ll show you later, be patient.” His indignant sigh only caused you to roll your eyes while you both climbed into the x-wing, with you sitting on Poe’s lap. He was so dramatic sometimes. Maybe, someday you’d get to come back to the bookshop on Naboo to get some more books, with hopefully Poe in tow next time.

—-

When we got back to base you were vibrating with excitement in anticipation of showing Poe the book that had an author with the same name as him. Throughout the entire briefing with Leia she could probably tell that my mind was in a far off place, almost like you still had my head stuck in the book. When she’d finally dismissed you after you had gone through the mission debriefing I bolted to our shared quarters. Once you had gone in the fresher for a quick wash and got dressed for the night you hopped in your small bed that you shared with Poe, but not before grabbing the new book you had added to your collection.

“Come to bed, I’ve got something for you.” You said as soon as Poe got through the door. He always had to check in with the main mechanic that worked on his x-wing right after he came home on a mission, it was the only way he would ever let anyone touch black one.

“Oh? Is it that surprise you were talking about earlier?” His signature cheeky smile that he flashed you while he stripped off his flight suit let you know immediately what he assumed the surprise was.

You threw his pillow he used at him, then accosted him playfully,“It’s not what you think it is you horndog, I’ve got a book for you.”

“A book? You know I don't know how to read.” You wished that you had a third pillow to throw at him in that moment, but you didn’t want to lose your own pillow. There had been many times in your relationship where Poe had stolen your pillow to mess with you and you weren’t about to give him the upper hand.

“Shut it, I’ll read it to you, you big baby.” He was now dressed in your favorite ensemble besides his flight suit, a white tank top, boxers, and nothing else.Patting the bed right next to you, you finally got him to come over to you. He sank down next to you on the bed, making sure to immediately cuddle up into you, you then spoke again,“But, before I do I want you to see what the Author’s name was.”

Handing him over the hardcover he looked at the name on the spine with furrowed brows, then letting out a breath of laughter once he read the Author’s last name. He didn’t read often like he had joked earlier, but he definitely could read the big gold leaf cursive letters that said, Edgar Allan Poe. “Woah, that’s cool. He would’ve been cooler if he had Poe for his first name though.” In response to another cheeky comment from him I bonked him on the head with the book before I started to read, “It was many and many a year ago,   In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know   By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought   Than to love and be loved by me. I was a child and she was a child,   In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love—   I and my Annabel Lee— With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven   Coveted her and me. And this was the reason that, long ago,   In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling   My beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsmen came   And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a sepulchre   In this kingdom by the sea.” As you lilted your voice through the poem you could feel Poe sinking down further into relaxation, which was good since he hardly ever relaxed. He was always on the move all the time because of his vast responsibilities as a commander in the resistance. To be honest, you could do with some more relaxation like this in your life, just you, Poe, and a charging BB-8. You must have paused for a second with your reading because Poe looked up at your with his deep caf colored eyes in question, prompting you to continue, “The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,   Went envying her and me— Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,   In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night,   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. But our love it was stronger by far than the love   Of those who were older than we—   Of many far wiser than we— And neither the angels in Heaven above   Nor the demons down under the sea Can ever dissever my soul from the soul   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side   Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,   In her sepulchre there by the sea—   In her tomb by the sounding sea.  — why are you crying?”

A few small tears had welled up in the corners of Poe’s eyes with one spilling over to run down his scruff covered cheeks. He sniffled a bit, wiping away the tears before speaking, “Just reminded me of you and how much I love you. I don’t like thinking about you dying, I don’t think I could survive.”

Your heart broke a little, but also felt filled with the feeling of love. You knew there were even more dark times ahead in the war, you had both even had a conversation of what would happen if one of you passed. You even had letters that were to be read by the other if something were to happen. Even though you had discussed this before, you agreed with Poe, you never wanted to think about what the galaxy would be like without him.

“I’m not going anywhere.” You ran your fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth him a bit. You felt a little bad that you had not realized how much it might affect Poe, so you decided to shift the subject to something that hit less close to home, “I’ll read something a bit different. They’re all dark, but I’ll pick one that you’ll enjoy more.”

You then began to read the Cask of Amontillado, which was a story that you both could relate to personally less which meant you could both fully enjoy the story.

“You were right, I liked that one.” He took the book from your hands to inspect the black book further, “How old is this book?”

“I don’t know, probably pretty old. I’ll have to take extra good care of it.”

“Yeah, just as long as that doesn’t become your favorite Poe in your life.” Poe’s signature cheeky grin was back on his face, then tilting his head up to nuzzle his nose with yours.

“Ok, Edgar.” A wide cheeky smile was now on your face, proud of your ‘clever’ new nickname for Poe.

“No no no that nickname better not stick.”

“But- your hair looks so similar to his! Look at all those dark messy curls! I’m keeping the nickname.” You flipped to one of the earlier pages of the book that had a short biography at the front about the author with a print of a portrait of the author. His expression soured once he looked at the portrait, realizing that his curls did in fact, look like the Author’s. He let out a fake disgruntled sigh that did a horrible job of hiding his underlying happiness and flopped down back on the bed to cuddle up with you for the night.

The entire resistance was confused why you had started calling Poe, Edgar whenever you wanted to tease him. But, you guys kept the secret of the tale of two Poe’s, the only people who knew the origins of the nickname were you and your Poe. The nickname definitely wasn’t going anywhere.

—-

Tag list (message me if you want to be added)

All works: @shotarosleftpinky​ @oreogutz​

Poe Dameron/SW:

[singledarkshade]

Sewers, Bookshops And Slime

Summary: Hoping to cheer his friend up, the Doctor stops off in Rory's home time. When UNIT appear on the scene, Rory and the Doctor discover there is something unfriendly lurking beneath the streets. Sequel to The Doctor And The Nurse, A Fishy Tail, Getting To Know You, Kernel Of Stubborness, Home Sweet Home and Party Time.

  Something Rory loved about travelling with the Doctor was the fact his bed on the TARDIS was the most comfortable he’d ever slept on. It was like sleeping on a cloud and the firmest mattress imaginable. The day before he’d spent most of it getting soaked to his skin, again, as he helped an entire village hide from raiders behind a waterfall.

Returning to the TARDIS, Rory spent an hour in the warm bath that the TARDIS kept at the perfect temperature, had a quick dinner, before heading to sleep.

He had no idea what the Doctor did while he slept and didn’t care as all he wanted was to be unconscious for several hours.

Opening his eyes, Rory stared at the picture on the cabinet beside him and wondered what Amy was doing at that moment. Sometimes he wished that she was here with him, but then there were other times he didn’t. He never wanted her to be in danger at all never mind the crazy situations the Doctor dragged him into. His phone buzzing made him jump and he grabbed it, answering without looking properly.

“Hello?”

“Rory,” the man’s voice he didn’t expect came making Rory freeze, “Rory, can you talk just now.”

“No,” Rory stated sharply before he hung up and, rolling over, pressed his face into the pillow.

“Is there something wrong?”

The Doctor’s voice surprised him, but Rory was becoming used to his friend appearing at odd times.

“No,” Rory murmured, he grimaced at the silence before adding, “I just got a call from someone I don’t want to talk to.”

The Doctor was silent for a few moments before saying, “If you’re ready I thought we could visit one of my favourite places.”

“Give me time for a shower and food then sure,” Rory replied.

With a gentle clap on Rory’s shoulder, the Doctor left him to get ready.

 The Doctor nodded when Rory appeared in the console room, “Okay, are we…”

He was cut off when Rory’s phone rang again. Pulling it out Rory checked the caller before declining the call.

“Are you not talking to Amy again?” the Doctor asked concerned.

Rory shook his head, “It wasn’t Amy.”

“Then who?”

“It’s not important,” Rory dismissed.

Curiosity filled the Doctor. He had come to know the other man well and Rory had never acted like this. To be honest he’d never known anyone other than Amy to call Rory, Rory on occasion called his grandmother so the Doctor was intrigued by the mystery caller.

“Where are we going?” Rory asked sharply.

The Doctor frowned before deciding to leave it, for the moment. He knew that once Rory was ready, then he would talk about whatever was bothering him.

“It’s a planet called Planta,” the Doctor told him, “Most of it is basically a garden. It has a team of scientists who work in the different areas and it is the basis of a lot of the medicines used by the galaxies hospitals.”

Rory shrugged.

“Okay,” the Doctor frowned, “Not a hit. How about a trip into the past instead?”

Shrugging again Rory leaned against the rail. The Doctor frowned, it was unusual for Rory to be so ambivalent, he made a decision and started the TARDIS moving.

“Where are we going?” Rory asked after a few moments.

“To see a friend,” the Doctor told him, “Someone I think you’ll be happy to see.”

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor started towards the door, stopping he looked back, “Are you coming?”

Rory frowned but followed him out the door, frowning confused to see he was in London just outside a row of shops not that far from the hospital he worked in. Before Rory could asked the Doctor where they were, a squeal of delight sounded from behind him. The two men turned just as the red head threw herself at Rory.

  Rory automatically wrapped his arms around Amy when she jumped into them, closing his eyes as she hugged him tightly.

“I didn’t think you’d make it so early,” she laughed, “I thought you’d be working.”

A little bemused Rory replied, “Day off.”

Amy beamed with joy as she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the middle-aged couple standing watching with amused smiles.

“Rory,” Amy stated when they stopped in front of the couple, “This is Clayton and Julia Gove.”

Clayton was tall, thin with salt and pepper hair, a neatly trimmed beard and sharp grey eyes, while Julia was slightly shorter with long dark hair and deep brown eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Rory,” Julia said taking his hand, “Amy talks about you all the time.”

“From all she’s told us,” Clayton spoke up, “I’m surprised you’re not ten feet tall.”

Rory chuckled, “It’s nice to meet you both too. Everything Amy tells me about her time with you sounds incredible.”

Amy squeezed his arm tightly.

“We’re just setting up,” Clayton told him, “Why don’t you two go and catch up?”

“Are you sure?” Amy asked.

Julia chuckled, “We can handle things before the event starts. You and Rory spend some time together, just make sure you’re back ten minutes before we open the doors.”

Amy quickly hugged Julia before grabbing Rory’s hand once more as the couple headed into the bookstore.

“Can you give me a minute?” Rory asked, “I’ll meet you over at the café.”

Amy nodded, hugging him quickly again, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

With a happy bounce, Amy headed over to the café while Rory turned and marched back to the TARDIS where the Doctor was standing.

“Why are we here?” Rory demanded.

“Thought you might want to see Amy,” the Doctor shrugged nonchalantly.

Rory stared at him.

“You seemed a bit down after the call you didn’t answer,” the Doctor noted, “You told me she was going to be here, so I thought why not.”

Rory’s glare didn’t move from the Doctor who smiled innocently at him.

“What are you going to do?” Rory asked him finally.

The Doctor shrugged again, “Have a wander. Look around. I’ll meet you back here in a few hours.”

Still looking a little suspicious, Rory nodded and left the Doctor to join Amy.

                                 *********************************************

 The Doctor was bored.

It had seemed like a good idea to stop off here so Rory could see Amy for a few hours, his friend seemed affected by whoever had called him earlier that day and the Doctor hoped spending time with his best friend would make Rory feel better.

But he was bored.

Heading back to the bookshop, he wrinkled his nose as a strange smell floated his way. Taking a deeper sniff, the Doctor mused on what it was. If forced to describe it, he would have said it was like a lemon mixed with stale sweat. And he was sure that he knew it from somewhere, he just couldn’t remember where.

He spotted Amy and Rory walking just in front of him, Amy had a grip on Rory’s arm as she talked. It was clear to anyone with eyes how much the redhead adored Rory, their connection obviously strong. Part of him wanted to ask Amy to travel with them but knew Rory would not be happy. The younger man was extremely protective of Amy, to the extent he did not want her to have any knowledge of what situations he himself got into while travelling with the Doctor.

“We’re heading for dinner after the event,” Amy was saying as the Doctor caught up enough to overhear, “Can you come?”

Rory hesitated, “I’m not sure. I may have to head into work, but I’ll let you know.”

They reached the door and Amy hugged Rory once more before she left him standing watching her leave. Rory turned and jumped finding the Doctor standing only a few feet away.

“What are you doing?” Rory demanded annoyed.

The Doctor frowned, “We may have a problem.”

  Rory grimaced worried, “What kind of problem? Is Amy in danger?”

The Doctor held up his hands, “I’m not sure yet but we should have a look. I need to fetch something from the TARDIS first.”

Rory sighed and motioned his friend to lead on. He was so happy to see Amy, it was amazing to not only see her but to see how much she was enjoying the job. The one she had abandoned him for.

He saw the Doctor’s coat tails disappear into the doors of the TARDIS and Rory followed on finding the Doctor digging through a box, tossing things over his shoulder.

“What are you looking for?”

“Something to work out the smell,” the Doctor replied before sticking his head into the box again.

Rory rolled his eyes, “That explains nothing.”

Finally the Doctor jumped up holding what looked like a mash of a phone, a hairdryer and computer game controller.

Rory opened his mouth before shaking his head, “There’s no point me asking, your explanation will be part gibberish.”

The Doctor gave him a hurt look, “This is the ‘Aroma Detector’. I want to work out where the smell is coming from.”

“What smell?”

The Doctor frowned, “Likely it’s not in your olfactory range but there is a strange smell coming from near the bookshop,” he quickly added at Rory’s look of horror, “I’m sure Amy and her friends will be fine. I just want to have a look.”

“Okay,” Rory agreed, he started out the TARDIS again stalling when he came face to face with several soldiers all with their guns trained on him, “Doctor!!”

Rory felt the Doctor grab his arm tugging him back inside the TARDIS before taking Rory’s place in the doorway.

“If UNIT are looking for my help,” the Doctor stated darkly, “I suggest you put those away.”

“Apologies, Doctor,” a woman in uniform stated, “But after everything with Harold Saxon we had to be sure it was you.”

“Harold Saxon?” Rory asked, “The Prime Minister who went mad?”

The Doctor glanced back at him, “I’ll explain later.”

Following the Doctor as he moved to the woman in charge, Rory looked around the people standing there. All were military and all looked completely in awe, even a little afraid, of the Doctor.

“I’m Captain Adrianne Murphy,” the woman introduced herself, “And when we detected your presence, I was ordered to recruit you to assist us with the current situation.”

“Situation?” the Doctor asked concerned.

Murphy nodded, “There have been a number of disappearances recently and a strange energy pulse detected at sporadic intervals.”

The Doctor pursed his lips in thought, “Show us what you’ve got.”

Murphy nodded and started across the road to where a large van sat. Rory appeared at his side looking worried.

“Who are these people?” Rory murmured softly.

“This is UNIT,” the Doctor explained, “They watch out for alien attacks. I used to work for them back when I had curly hair and a really cool car.”

“Ohhhkay?”

“They’ve picked up the same thing I did,” the Doctor continued, “While we’re there pay attention to everything for me. You’re good with people, so be your usual self and listen to whatever anyone tells you.”

Rory nodded and as had become the norm over the past few months followed the Doctor into the unknown.

                                 *********************************************

 Amy helped Julia set up for the book signing, humming happily to herself.

“You’re in a good mood,” Julia noted with a smile.

Shrugging Amy replied, “I am.”

“Would that have anything to do with a certain childhood friend?” Julia asked amused, “You know the one you were practically attached to from the moment you saw him this morning.”

Amy smiled, “You know how much I miss Rory, and I didn’t expect to see him until later.”

“Well, he is absolutely adorable,” Julia smiled back, “Is he coming to the signing?”

“Hopefully,” Amy said, “He said he might have to work.”

Julia squeezed her hand, “Well, if he can come then invite him to join us for dinner tonight. We can swap stories.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Amy grimaced.

“Why?”

“Because I know the stories Rory has to tell about me,” Amy said self-consciously, “And how bad some of them are.”

Julia mused on this for a second, “I really want him to come to dinner now.”

                                 *********************************************

 The Doctor stepped into the UNIT mobile command van and looked around, he frowned as everyone saluted him.

“Oh, don’t do that,” he sighed annoyed before turning, “Murphy, what do you have for me?”

Murphy motioned him to one of the screens, “My commanding officer wishes to speak to you.”

Moving to where the woman stood, the Doctor gestured Rory to join him, a huge smile touching his lips when he saw the man on the screen before him.

“Brigadier,” the Doctor said, fondness filling his voice, “It’s so good to see you, my old friend.”

Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart chuckled, “Less of the old, Doctor. You may now look like a new recruit, but I know how much older you are than I am.”

“How much older?” Rory murmured in his ear.

The Doctor frowned at him, “Not now.”

“And I see you have a new travelling companion,” the Brigadier noted.

Still frowning slightly, the Doctor nodded, “This is Rory Williams. Rory, this is Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. A dear old friend of mine.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Rory smiled politely.

“I hope you don’t take any nonsense from him, young man,” the Brigadier, “And remind me to give you a few phone numbers for advice on how to handle him when he gets annoying.”

“Alistair,” the Doctor stated through gritted teeth, “Can we get to the point?”

Chuckling the old man nodded to Captain Murphy who was standing at the Doctor’s side.

“We’ve have detected some unusual readings in the past few days,” Murphy explained, “This morning there was a spike in the energy readings. And the team we sent to investigate haven’t been heard from in three hours.”

“Where were they looking?” Rory asked concern filling his voice.

Murphy turned to him, looking a little surprised but answered, “In the sewers beneath the row of shops just across the road.”

Rory looked at the Doctor worry filling his eyes, “Amy…”

“I know,” the Doctor said softly before turning to Murphy, “Show me what the readings were before your people disappeared.”

Murphy nodded and quickly brought up some schematics on the screen beside the one showing the Brigadier. The Doctor pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket, slipping them on before he leaned forward and studied the information in front of him.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“The team were filming while down in the sewer,” the Brigadier confirmed, “But there is nothing I could see that was helpful.”

The Doctor shrugged, “Let me see.”

Leaning closer in, the Doctor and Rory studied the dark grainy scene of an indeterminate person walking through a dark tunnel. Rory jumped when the person was grabbed suddenly and yanked away before screams sounded then the screen went black.

“Interesting,” the Doctor mused, taking his glasses off.

“Not the word I was going to use,” Rory said, barely contained panic in his voice.

The Doctor turned to him promising, “I will make sure she’s fine.”

“I have a team ready to go with you, Doctor,” Murphy told him, “Mr Williams can wait here.”

“I’m coming,” Rory stated, when she was about to argue he repeated sharper, “I’m coming.”

Murphy frowned, “I can’t agree to civilians going into potentially dangerous situations.”

“Rory is coming,” the Doctor said, “He’s a qualified nurse and has already seen a lot more than half the UNIT teams ever will.”

“Brigadier,” Murphy turned to her commander officer.

The Brigadier chuckled, “If the Doctor is happy with Mr Williams accompanying him then who am I to argue?”

“Usually the first one,” the Doctor smirked at him.

“Pot, kettle,” the Brigadier threw back.

“If you two have finished,” Rory spoke up, “I want to make sure Amy is safe so can we find whatever this thing is?”

  “Why did I think this was a good idea?” Rory murmured softly as he walked at the Doctor’s side through the tunnel, gripping the torch he’d been given.

The Doctor chuckled.

“You’re almost at the spot the team disappeared,” Murphy’s voice came over the radio, “Be careful.”

Rory grimaced but continued walking, wishing he could see more. It was so dark and the beams from the torches weren’t highlighting enough for him. Then he smelled it.

“Doctor,” he murmured, “I think I can smell whatever you could earlier.”

“Finally,” the Doctor replied, “I’ve been tasting it since we came down here.”

Rory winced, “What is it?”

The Doctor winced, “I’m not sure yet, I know that smell but just can’t quite remember.”

“Let me know when you do know,” Rory told him, “Something that smells this bad should have a name.”

They continued forward with the UNIT team, who were scanning the surrounding area.

“Doctor,” the lead scientist called to him, “I’ve found something.”

The Doctor bounced over and Rory followed him. Rory wrinkled his nose seeing the orange goo on the wall, making a noise of disgust when the Doctor touched it with his finger and then touched his finger to his tongue.

“Really?” Rory demanded disgusted, “You have to taste it?”

“The tongue has 10,000 taste buds,” the Doctor told him, “It’s better at distinguishing certain things than trying to scan it with the technology of this time.”

Rory rolled his eyes, “Still disgusting.”

He shrugged, as he mused on whatever he was tasting. An annoyed grunt came from one of the other soldiers.

“Kawalsky?” Herman, the leader of the team, called.

“I slipped,” the reply came.

“Are you hurt?” Rory asked, pulling out his first aid kit and moving over to the man who was trying to get up from the ground.

The man shook his head, “I’m fine.”

Rory nodded and helped him stand before turning back to the Doctor who was staring at him.

“What?” Rory asked confused.

“Don’t turn around, Rory,” the Doctor said, his hands held out, “Walk over to me.”

Worried Rory was about to step forward when he felt something cold and wet drip onto his neck and heard a strange hissing sound.

“Rory,” the Doctor motioned to him urgently, “Move to me, now.”

Taking one step forward, Rory cried out when whatever was behind him grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him away into the darkness.

  The Doctor stared horrified as his young friend was pulled away, “Rory!!!”

“Doctor,” Herman grabbed his arm.

He tried to pull away to chase after his friend, but Herman held onto him.

“Let me go,” the Doctor snarled.

Herman held on tighter, “You can’t help him by running into the unknown. Sir, come back to the truck and we can look at what we’ve found.”

Closing his eyes, the Doctor hoped that this wasn’t him abandoning Rory and nodded.

“Make sure you get a sample of whatever that is,” the Doctor ordered, staring where Rory had disappeared.

The UNIT team packed up and they headed back up with the Doctor to the mobile command centre. As they passed the bookshop, a familiar redhead waved to get his attention.

“Hey,” Amy said, “Sorry, but you were with Rory earlier.”

The Doctor winced inwardly before nodding, “Yes, Dr John Smith,” he introduced himself with his usual nom-de-plume, noting to tell Rory later, before adding, “Rory has been working with me recently.”

“I was wanting to talk to him,” Amy said, “But he’s not answering his phone.”

“He’s in the middle of something just now and his phone is turned off,” the Doctor lied, “Can I give him a message?”

Amy nodded, “Just want to check if he’s free to come to dinner tonight.”

The Doctor hesitated as he looked at the young woman’s bright eyes, before nodding, “I’ll get him to call you as soon as possible.”

“Thanks,” she beamed before heading back into the bookshop.

The Doctor sighed and headed back into the UNIT command centre, “Tell me you have something.”

“Doctor,” the Brigadier appeared on the screen, “I’m sorry about Rory.”

“He’s not gone yet,” the Doctor stated sharply before turning to Murphy, “What do we have?”

Murphy quickly pulled up the information they had discovered.

“What did you see?” the Brigadier asked.

The Doctor sighed, “All I saw was a shadow and an arm before it grabbed him. And the slime, and the smell, they’re familiar but I can’t…” he stopped and stared at the screen again, scanning the energy signatures several times before pulling up the footage again. He closed his eyes going over in his mind everything that happened and remembered the hissing sound before Rory was grabbed, “Oh no.”

“What?” the Brigadier and Murphy asked in unison.

“I know what it is,” the Doctor told him, “The good news is that Rory and members of your team are still alive.”

“And the bad news?” Murphy asked.

The Doctor grimaced, “The creature is an Apepssis. If we don’t find and stop it, then its eggs will hatch and overrun the city.”

                                 *********************************************

 Rory slowly felt consciousness invade the blackness, aware of the fact he was warm and comfortable. As he became more cognizant of his surroundings, Rory became aware that he was surrounded by a thick liquid. Suddenly reality crashed into him and he tried to breathe finding his lungs were filled with thick gunk he couldn’t expel. Panicking at his inability to breathe, he thrashed trying to free himself, Rory managed to get a hold of his first aid kit and found the small pair of scissors from it. He could see a skin surrounding the bubble of orange slime that he was submerged in and fighting against the viscous liquid surrounding him, Rory stabbed at the side of the bubble as hard as he could. It took a few attempts but suddenly the bubble burst and Rory was expelled onto the cold hard ground. Rory threw up the goo filling his lungs and nose, gasping for breath once he’d managed to clear his airways.

Shakily Rory stood, wiping his face and then checked his pockets finding the small torch he had put in before leaving the TARDIS before locating the first aid kit on the ground amongst the slime he’d been trapped in.

Turning on the torch, he was relieved that whatever had grabbed him wasn’t here but was both horrified and amazed to see several pods filled with the same orange slime that he’d woken in.

Moving closer Rory stared as he saw each one had a person in it, he assumed these were the missing people and seeing the UNIT uniforms in the last few confirmed this. Looking closer Rory noticed that several of people in the pods had strange elliptical shaped attachments on their arms and legs.

Eggs, the voice in his head said and Rory shuddered, before he checked himself for anything possibly growing out of his appendages. Relief filled him when he found none. Taking a slow deep breath, coughing when he found some of the gunk remained in his mouth, Rory studied the pods a little closer, noting the size of the attachments in each and realising that there was an order. The pod he’d been placed in was at the end which meant he had been the last person grabbed, which meant the Doctor was still out there to find him. With this logic he moved to the pod beside his where he saw a woman in a UNIT uniform, and thankfully no eggs growing from her. Looking around, he was annoyed to find the scissors he had were the sharpest object around, musing that at least this time he was able to get some power behind them compared to his panicked stabs.

Gripping the scissors in his fist, Rory raised his arm and slammed the point down into the skin of the bubble, jumping back when it burst sending more slime over him as it expelled its occupant.

The young woman began to cough and throw up just as he had, Rory knelt by her side and gently rubbed her back.

“It’s okay,” he soothed, “Just get it all out and you’ll be okay.”

She remained on her hands and knees, taking deep breaths as Rory continued to rub her back and calm her. Finally, she turned to look at him and, realising that she didn’t know Rory, pulled away staggering to her feet.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Rory,” he introduced himself.

She looked around, “Where are the rest of your team?”

He shrugged, “I don’t have a team.”

“You don’t work for UNIT?” she asked confused.

Rory shook his head, “No. What’s your name?”

“Kayleigh,” she replied.

“Nice to meet you Kayleigh,” Rory said softly, “What do you do with UNIT?”

Kayleigh shrugged, “I’m a junior science officer. This was literally my first assignment in the field and…” she motioned around them, “Eww.”

Rory chuckled slightly in agreement of her assessment.

“So,” she asked, “If you’re not UNIT, how did you end up down here. And I’m guessing in one of those things from the mess of you.”

Rory shifted remembering once more how uncomfortable his clothes were stuck to him, “I’m a friend of someone who sort of works for UNIT, the Doctor.”

Kayleigh’s eyes widened, “You know the Doctor?”

Amazed by her reaction, Rory nodded.

“He is a legend,” she said with awe, “Some of the stories, I have no idea if they’re true but if they are then…wow.”

“Well if we get out of this,” Rory noted, “You can ask him.”

  Rory pushed his hands through his hair grimacing as he got more gunk on his hands and had nowhere to wipe his hands clean. He really hoped there would be a shower in his very near future. Kayleigh was looking at the other pods in the chamber while Rory tried to work out if waking those with the eggs was a good idea.

The decision was taken from him as Kayleigh suddenly attacked one of the older pods with the scissors, he had no idea when she had taken them from him.

“Why did you do that?” he demanded, “We don’t know what those things are doing to them.”

The man who had been in the pod opened his eyes and scratched at the floor. Rory dropped down by him and tried to turn the man into the recovery position, but the protrusions attached to the man’s body hindered Rory’s attempts.

“Help me,” Rory snapped to Kayleigh.

Looking horrified, Kayleigh tried to help Rory turn the man but as they were all covered in the viscous liquid, they couldn’t get a proper hold of him. A few seconds later the man stilled, and Rory checked for a pulse.

“He’s dead.”

Kayleigh let out a shuddering breath, “I had to get him out. He’s our team leader, I had…I had…”

Rory caught her arms, “Kayleigh, I understand but until we know what those things are doing then we can’t release anyone else. All I have is a first aid kit and we’re going to need a lot more than that.”

“Sorry,” she whispered, “I just…I know them, we’ve worked together for a long time and seeing them like this is horrible.”

“I know,” Rory told her, “Trust me, I understand. Our best idea is to get out of here, find the Doctor and get UNIT then come with a proper team to release them.”

Kayleigh nodded.

“Alright,” he gave her a small smile, “There is one main exit in front of us. I think if we follow that tunnel then it’s possible that we’ll find the way out or at least run into the team UNIT send next.”

She frowned in thought, “You think they’ll send another team?”

He shrugged, “I’m being optimistic. Talk to me once we get out of here and I’ll freak out then.”

Kayleigh took one more look at the pods before nodding, “Let’s get out of here.”

Rory started walking towards the exit, Kayleigh just behind him. They barely made it three feet before Rory heard hissing.

“Back,” he whispered sharply, “It’s coming this way.”

Confused Kayleigh only moved when Rory grabbed her hand and pulled her with him into the back corner of the room where the older pods sat. He hoped that because this corner had more of the pods, it would hide them both.

He watched what looked like a cross between a human and a snake literally slither in. The hiss echoed around the chamber and he could feel Kayleigh’s nails dig into his arms.

They were trapped.

  The Doctor grabbed the carton from Murphy as he finished the spray gun to sedate the creature they were after.

“Are you sure this will work, Doctor?” the Brigadier asked.

Glancing at the screen briefly, the Doctor nodded, “If it’s an Appepsiss, then yes it will work.”

“What is this thing again, Doctor?” Murphy handed him the next part he needed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, “The best way to describe it for you is a humanoid snake, the secretions and smell mean it’s in its birthing phase of the mating cycle. The people it’s taken are being used as the food to grow the eggs.”

Murphy grimaced, “So, our people…”

“From the timeline,” the Doctor continued, “And the number of people it’s taken so far then it won’t have been able to lay eggs within the cocoon for all of them. We will lose some,” he shook his head sadly, “I can’t do anything for them, but we will be able to save most of the victims.”

Murphy nodded, “The team is ready whenever you are, Doctor.”

Fixing the final piece, the Doctor nodded, “Let’s go.”

Heading out the command centre, he found the group of UNIT waiting for him. He glanced over to the bookshop and could see Amy standing talking to an elderly woman before turning away and following the team down into the sewer once more.

Using the sonic the Doctor followed the trail of slime through the tunnels. Now he knew what it was, the Doctor knew how to track it. Marching forward with the UNIT team behind him, he held up his hand stopping them. He could hear hissing which the Doctor knew meant either it was about to lay more eggs or attack.

Neither would be good for Rory so the Doctor entered the chamber with the sedative gun ready. Looking around he saw two pods had been destroyed, the Appepsis was in the centre of the room staring into a corner where several pods sat hissing loudly. It turned and saw the Doctor, the hissing becoming even louder.

“Don’t shoot,” the Doctor snapped hearing the UNIT goons stampede in behind him. Turning his attention to the alien in front of him the Doctor held up his hand, “I can help you. I can take you home and find a way to keep your eggs sustained without the people you’ve taken.”

“SSSminessss,” it hissed at the Doctor, the creature made itself larger about to strike.

The Doctor sighed in annoyance, why did they never just accept his help? Activating the spray, the Doctor aimed it at the Appepsis and started to rain down the sedative on it. The Appepsis snarled and hissed fighting against the sedation but soon it fell to the ground unconscious.

“Doctor,” Rory’s relief filled voice came just as he turned off the spray.

“Rory,” the Doctor stepped towards his friend, stopping to see Rory covered in orange slime from head to toe, “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine,” Rory assured.

“We?” the Doctor asked seeing the young woman appear from wearing the same slime, “Of course, we.”

“This is Kayleigh,” Rory introduced the woman who smiled a little nervously, just before she was escorted out by the UNIT medical team. Rory turned to the look at the pods, “Can you save them?”

The Doctor nodded, “I can but only those who are in the first stage.” He looked at his friend and chuckled, “At least you’re not soaked again.”

Rory frowned at him.

“Go, get checked out and cleaned up while I help release these people,” the Doctor said, he reached out to clap Rory’s shoulder automatically, stopping before he actually touched the younger man, “Oh, and if you drip any on the TARDIS floor clean it up or she will not be happy.”

                                 *********************************************

 Rory ran his hands through his hair, checking it was finally goo free before he turned off the shower. Relieved he was clean once more, Rory dressed quickly before grabbing his phone that had been left in the TARDIS while they headed down into the sewers. He winced seeing multiple messages from Amy. The final one bemused him as it mentioned that a John Smith had told her he was working but he shook his head. He didn’t have the energy to question it.

‘I’ve finished work,’ Rory text Amy, ‘I’ll be at the bookshop in a few minutes. Dinner sounds great.’

He checked the rest of his messages finding several from the person he didn’t want to hear from, quickly deleting every voice mail and text message.

Grabbing his jacket, Rory headed out the TARDIS. The UNIT soldiers and scientists were still wandering about but thankfully they weren’t being too intrusive.

“Rory,” a familiar voice called, turning he stared at the woman with long brown hair coming towards him, “It’s Kayleigh.”

He laughed slightly, “Kayleigh, I didn’t recognise you not covered in orange slime.”

She chuckled, “I wanted to thank you.”

“For what?” Rory asked confused.

Kayleigh chuckled again before realising he seriously didn’t know why she was thanking him, “Are you kidding me? You saved my life.”

“It was nothing,” Rory told her, “I’m just glad we’re both okay.”

Shaking her head, Kayleigh stepped into him, “Thank you,” she said deliberately before kissing him.

Surprised Rory accepted the kiss for a few moments before pulling back. Kayleigh gave him another quick kiss before handing him a piece of paper and walking away.

  The Doctor watched amused as the oblivious Rory was kissed by the young UNIT scientist he’d saved. Seriously the boy was leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake across time and space but had no idea. The Doctor also spotted Amy coming out the bookshop, catching the look on her face when she saw Rory being kissed. From the narrowing of her eyes, Amy was not happy about it.

When Kayleigh left him, Rory looked down at the paper before sliding it in his pocket and instantly forgot about it when he spotted Amy. The Doctor smiled as his young friend wrapped his arm around his childhood friend and hugged her tightly.

“Hi,” Amy spotted him, “Dr Smith.”

“Doctor Smith?” Rory mouthed at him confused.

The Doctor nodded, “Hello, Miss Pond.”

“Amy,” she insisted before asking, “Is something wrong?”

The Doctor shook his head, “No, just wanted to let Rory know everything from today is being cleaned up and he did a great job.”

Amy beamed at Rory.

“Have a good night,” the Doctor told his friend, “I’ll see you later, Rory. Miss Pond, Amy, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

Rory smiled as Amy led him away. The Doctor watched them leave, relieved that his young friend was safe. Returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor accessed the recordings from Rory’s phone. He knew he shouldn’t but whoever had been calling Rory was concerning him so just wanted to make sure it wasn’t something that would hurt Rory.

“Rory, it’s your Dad,” the voice came over the speakers, “I need to speak to you. Please call me back.”

[70ships-moved]

untitled | honeymoon suite

very brief summary: patrick can’t sleep. his solution? interview your boyfriend.

pairing: malcolm (oc) / patrick (s/i) | honeymoon suite

words: 2088 (yikes!)

notes: this is the very first fic i wrote about malcolm and it turned a year old like two months ago (wow! i didn’t even know that until now), i didn’t want to change or edit too much because this holds a special place in my non existent heart :), written in the pov of my s/i (first person)

   Today I found a magazine with one of my idols (and celebrity crushes) on the cover in my nightstand drawer stashed away like a porno magazine. I remember the exact day I bought it too. I was at a bookstore and I saw it in the checkout area and the moment I saw who was on the cover, I made a mad dash for the checkout area. I did contemplate it though; the magazine was like twelve bucks which is stupid for something no one really buys but skims through and puts back. (When was the last time you bought a magazine? Man, wait until you hear about the internet.) But for who was on the cover, I was more than willing to pay the stupid twelve dollars.

    Like any child that picks up a book, I looked at the pictures and read some of the interview. My only takeaway from the interview was that he liked this Bolognese recipe he found- or made himself. I didn’t read it all. He puts bacon bits in it, and he says it’s even good when cold. I took this magazine with me to school almost every day. I really liked the guy, okay? I’d show it to my best and only friend at school at the time who hated my obsession with him. It was weird because she was one of those friends who would always get an ugly boyfriend and would force you to compliment him- no matter how ugly you thought he was but proceeded to get mad at you when you were being honest about his looks. I could handle her opinions about this man I claimed to love but have never met in my life.

    Four years later and I finally read the interview. It was a good read. The interviewer had nothing but nice things to say about him, mainly because he was and still is a sweetheart. And he only had nice things to say about the people he talked about. After reading the interview, I had something other than his good looks to admire. As far as I know, there isn’t a hateful bone in his body. When talking about his controversial relationship with his ex (long story short, the public wasn’t buying it), he said he only knew the girl he fell in love with and that’s saying something for a relationship that felt like it only lasted a week.

    It inspired me to conduct my own interview with someone who I love just as much, my partner Malcolm. I’ve interviewed other people before rather awkwardly but this is Malcolm we’re talking about. He has walls. We all do. He's a bit on the reserved side but with the time I’ve spent with him, I’ve seen these walls come down. These demolished walls are my favorite part of him. I even went out of the way and got a recording device from a buddy who works in film. I like being extra.  

    It’s about 2 am. There’s this thing my body does where I just have to wake up at this time. It’s every day too. When this happens, I wake Malcolm up. He encourages me to do so because it is incredibly difficult for me to go back to sleep once awake. Also, it’s kind of boring being awake all by yourself. In these hours, I learned how to call from a private number (*67, for prank call purposes), learned useless but interesting facts about space and how sex can be one hell of a sleeping pill. Tonight, I wanted to do something different.

    We’re sat in the kitchen area of the suite. The only thing separating us is the kitchen island. My recording device sits in the middle of us. Are you ready? “Mhm.” Great, I start with an over-the-top introduction of him. Ladies, guys, and people who don’t care what’s between their thighs, it’s two in the fucking morning and I can’t sleep but the man I’m sitting across from makes it all worth it. He’s got great hair and even great taste in men. He’s dating me! The man, the myth, future astronaut, and legend: Malcolm Hall! I feel like a podcast host. It’s a good feeling. “You’re so annoying.” That’s why he loves me.

    I have a list of questions I wrote down in less than five minutes. They’re nothing special and I want this to be fun and not so serious. This man constantly throws himself at his work- spending endless hours at a desk. Serious is his middle name. When he’s not in his office, he’s at the bar talking to you about a film he saw with a margarita in front of him or playing blackjack with you and your coworkers. Maybe he’s in suite 505 kicking it with yours truly, telling me about his day while I struggle to put a face mask on his moving face. How are you doing? He chuckles. That fucking chuckle. “Tired. But I’m with you, so I can’t complain. How are you?” I’m not so tired but I can’t complain. You’re here.

    I see you’re well-dressed for our interview. A bit too casual but you look good regardless. “Fuck off.” He says this in a whisper but it’s almost too quiet, it almost looks like he’s mouthing it. He’s in a bathrobe, his hair tossed from sleep; strands of it falling into his face. His face is resting in his palm as he looks at me with a tired smile, his eyes struggling to stay open. This is all unintentional, but I think this is extremely sexy of him. These small things have such a tremendous effect on me. They light the pit in my stomach and make me squirm in my seat a little. I’m messing. You look great as always. “You’re not looking too bad yourself.” I know. If I ever die in my sleep, I want to be in the best damn pair of silk pajamas there is.

    The coffee machine makes a noise indicating that it’s done brewing his cup of caffeine. That’s a nice coffee maker. When did you get it? I’m going off-script. “This thing?” He taps the machine like the hood of a car. “It came with the room. The interior design people take care of that. I just run the place, so I don’t really know when it got here. But I do know that the other machines were really fucking old.” Oh, interesting. “Not really. You know, I was expecting you to give me much harder questions.” Really? Well, it’s important to expect the unexpected. “Now you’re scaring me.” Good. Part of me can’t tell if he knows I’m teasing him.

    I’m not a coffee drinker like him but if it tasted as good as it smelt, then I could be. It’s a hazelnut blend. He mixes it with half-and-half and three scoops of sugar. His sips are slow and cautious. He seems to have bad luck with hot objects. He burnt his hand in a waffle iron one time and a dozen more times while preparing dinner. Maybe a hot object, liquid, or thing is the reason for the tape on his right hand. What happened to your hand? He looks up at me through his mug. “Masturbation incident.” By the way, I am madly in love with this man.

    Do you remember when we met? This is a weird transition because it was on my list of questions and my timing couldn’t be any worse considering moments ago, I asked a question and the answer I received was masturbation. The question makes him smile though. He either remembers or he’s pretending to remember. “Yeah. Of course I do.” He takes both my hands, gliding his thumbs across my knuckles. I want dates, times, names, everything. “I don’t remember the exact date, but I believe it was March.” He’s correct. “It was at the hair salon and I booked an appointment with you.” He’s correct again. I cut his hair for free now- well, unless he’s pissed me off. Then, I charge him ten bucks. Twenty if I’m really upset.

     Do you remember what time you showed up for your appointment? “Late. Very late.” He came in about two and a half hours late. I was pissed. “You were pissed.” He apologized profusely, and I still cut his hair. I remember it being soft and full. It still is. That's just one of the perks of having a hairstylist as a boyfriend. “I remember when you washed my hair. It’s my favorite part of you doing my hair.” I remember that too. The shampoo had a minty menthol smell. When it was on your head, it added a cooling factor and when you inhaled it, your lungs felt like winter. Basically, vapor rub for your hair.

    He got lost in the way I massaged his scalp, his eyes closed and smiling. I can still hear his Yorkshire accent telling me “Tha’ feels good.” After I washed it, I blew it out and started cutting it. That’s when I told him his hair was soft. “Looking back on it, you kept your hands in my hair way too long.” It’s part of the job. “That’s what they all say.” He takes a long sip from his mug, his eyes not leaving mine. “Your hair was...interesting as well.” Interesting, in the way he’s using it, is slang for saying you don’t know whether you should like something because you’ve never seen it before. Back in the day, I’d dye my hair all types of colors. Shit, I thought I looked good.  

    “The Smiths played on the stereo and your singing was terrible.” That’s a lie. I’m not Morrissey but I try to stay on key. “I’m kidding. But when you moved around the shop, you were always swaying to the music. You were fun to watch.” He winks at me and my face heats up at the memory. I danced like no one was watching. “We talked and talked and next thing I knew, I was asking you out on a date.” The first date was meant to be memorable but due to one incident, I feel like our date was memorable for the wrong reasons. “We went bowling. I’ll never forget it.” I know why. “You slipped and fell in the aisle.” I was so embarrassed. Is that the only thing you remember? Whenever we talk about it, you always bring it up. “That’s how I break the ice. ‘My boyfriend and I went bowling and he fell in the aisle. It was our first date. It's nice to meet you.'" 

    I’m a little tired now, my eyes a bit heavy and my voice softening. He answered the first date question I had prepared, so I decided to move on to my last one. Have you ever been in love? “Yes. I’d say so. Are you or have you ever been in love?” I’m supposed to be asking the questions, but I answer anyway. Yeah. I am right now. It’s a funny feeling because I’ve never been in love before. “Really? Who with?” You. My eyes can’t take the weight and close. “Good answer.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

    It’s a few minutes to 4 now. Our interview is done, and we’re ready for bed. We don’t go straight to sleep though. I listen to him talk some more with my head on his chest, his little chest hairs tickling my cheek. I begin to absently trace patterns across his chest. He says it tickles. His hand goes up my shirt, moving his hand up and down my back almost in a soothing rhythm. Sometimes, he stops, and I think he’s asleep, but I get the feeling that he realizes that I sensed he’s stopped and keeps going until I’m asleep. The hum of his chest when he speaks, combined with his hand and heartbeat is enough for me to call it a night.  

    His skin radiates a warmth that can’t be duplicated. His hands have a pattern like no other, each touch raising the hairs on my body. Despite it being hours since he’s showered, I can smell the scent of my cherry soap on him. This moment is something I never knew I needed and if it were to be taken away, I would be devastated. I close my eyes. I cannot think of any other place I’d rather be than here.

[mira-eyeteeth]

Captivating, pt. 2

I finally wrote the final part of this fic (part 1 here). Thanks to @ask-a-pale-experiment for reminding me to get this fic done!

-

Jack had somehow managed to drag himself to his feet and get through the following day while mostly not huddled in a little ball of misery.

Well, not significantly more than usual, at least.

It was only when he got home that evening when everything went wrong.

He'd just shut the door to his apartment behind him with a sigh when someone lunged out of the shadows to grab him and clamp a hand over his mouth.

His mind was racing, wondering how one of his enemies could have figured out his identity and where he lived, while his body was acting already, hands rising to touch his attacker and freeze the blood solid in their veins.

He paused centimeters away when the person spoke in a hissed whisper.

“Shh! It’s all right, I’m not here to hurt you.”

Piki. It was Piki. What the hell was Piki doing in Jack’s home? Had he finally figured it out?

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's just me. It's Piki," the man added, removing his hand from Jack's mouth and pulling off his domino mask, as if Jack somehow wouldn't be able to recognize him with it on. "Look, I'm really really sorry about this, but I promise that it's for your own good."

"Wh-what's-" Jack stammered.

"I promise I'll explain everything. But first…" The shadows rose up to swallow them both, and when light finally returned, Jack found himself in entirely different surroundings. It was a little room with a handful of furniture, two door, and no windows.

Piki let go of him, stepping back. "Sorry. Look, you're in danger-- Wait, no, not like that! I'm not going to hurt you. It's… It’s the Winter King. He’s a supervillain, you might know about him. He somehow figured out that I… ah, well, he threatened you. He’s dangerous, and I don’t know if he might decide to hurt you. So I need to keep you safe. Just for a little while! Once I figure out how to dispose of him, I’ll let you go.”

Jack just stared at him. This. This was the conclusion that Piki had come to. Jack wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug Piki or shake him for being a complete idiot, but he was leaning towards the latter.

Piki fidgeted, looking nervous. “I, er, I got you some books,” he added, gesturing to a stack of them on a bedside table. “Notebooks, too, in case you want to write. Let me know if there’s anything else that you might like, and I’ll see what I can do. With any luck, this should only take a few days. A week, tops.”

Jack doubted that very much.

“I… I’ll just let you get settled in. If you need anything, just knock on the door. The other one goes to a bathroom,” Piki explained, backing further away and slipping out the door, and closing it with a click of a lock.

Jack flopped back onto the bed with a groan. Well, this was a hell of a situation he was in. On the plus side, Piki hadn’t figured out about his secret identity. On the other hand, he intended to keep Jack captive until he murdered the Winter King, who also happened to be Jack. What the hell was Jack supposed to do about this?

He supposed he could always tell Piki about his secret identity. And in doing so, reveal his greatest secret to someone who hated his guts and would at the very least likely attempt to make good on his murder threat. Jack didn’t think it was likely he would be able to succeed, but if he didn’t kill Piki, and likely his brother, in turn, then Piki would likely reveal Jack’s secret identity to everyone he could out of spite. Jack’s life would be ruined. But he didn’t want to kill Piki.

He could wait until Piki and Pitch left to go hunt for the Winter King, and break out of the room. It wouldn’t be hard to make ice to pop the deadbolt out of place. But Piki would no doubt attribute his disappearance to the Winter King, and Jack would be back in the same position as before, unless he faked his own death and moved to a new town. An extremely less than ideal solution, especially as Piki would doubtless try to track the Winter King back down for revenge, if news of Jack’s activities made it past local headlines.

Or Jack could just… stay. Not exactly a sustainable solution, but maybe Piki would eventually get bored and let Jack go on his own. And besides, he was technically living with Piki right now. The current situation didn’t exactly match Jack’s prior romantic fantasies, admittedly, but this was a form of intimacy, wasn’t it? For a given definition of intimacy, at least?

Did Stockholm Syndrome work in reverse? Maybe Jack could talk Piki into having some movie nights together, while he was here. That would be nice.

Yes, this was a good plan. Jack could always think about longer-term solutions later. He was in no rush.

Jack went to go check the stack of books to see which ones Piki had picked out for him. He felt a rush of warmth when he saw that several of his favorite books were there, along with a smattering of works by some of his favored authors and a handful of books he’d had his eye on but never got around to reading. Piki had been paying attention to what Jack had been looking into at the bookstore, that was so sweet.

Jack picked up one of the new books, along with a blank notebook and a pen. He set the writing tools aside and settled back in the bed to start reading.

-

A careful knock on the door preceded Piki’s return a little over an hour later. He had changed into his street clothes and was holding a tray. “Jack? I brought you some food, if you’re hungry?”

Jack looked up from his book and smiled at Piki. He picked up the notebook and straightened up in bed, beckoning Piki over.

Piki seemed a bit surprised, but he set the tray down on the little table in the corner of the room and approached Jack. “What is it?”

Jack swung his legs over the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him. Piki gingerly sat down beside him, and Jack opened the notebook so they could both see it.

Thank you for rescuing me, Jack wrote.

“What? I mean, you’re welcome, but to be honest, I didn’t expect you to see this that way,” Piki replied.

I know you wouldn’t have done this without good reason.

Piki looked surprised, and a bit skeptical. “That’s… very understanding of you. Thank you. Is, is there anything that you need? Anything that would make this situation any more pleasant?”

Would you stay with me for a while? I’m feeling a little lonely.

“Yes, of course, if that’s what you’d like.”

Can you tell me about your work? I’m sure that having superpowers and running around with heroes and villains must lend itself to some interesting stories.

“Oh, you have no idea…”

-

It had only taken a few days before Jack had managed to persuade Piki into a movie night. It had been easy enough to get him to stay; the simplest way to watch a film would be with a laptop, and Piki couldn’t very well leave a laptop connected to the internet alone with Jack, or Jack might use it to contact the heroes or someone else who would complicate the current hostage situation.

So now the two of them were half-reclined on Jack’s bed, propped up with pillows and watching the scene playing out on the laptop balanced on Piki’s thighs.

“Ugh, this is absolute garbage. This man clearly cannot act worth a damn, and don’t even get me started on the hack job of stage direction that the director is managing. Everyone involved in this production should have been fired,” Piki groused.

Jack smiled and shifted a little bit closer, enough that their sides were pressed against each other and Jack’s hand was half-overlapped on Piki’s. “H-hey, Piki,” Jack murmured.

“Hmn?” Piki made a questioning noise and turned his head to look at Jack. Jack took the opportunity to curl his hand around the side of Piki’s jaw and lean forwards, bringing their faces closer together. 

Piki’s eyelids fluttered closed, but snapped back open before Jack could kiss him. Piki jerked backwards, breaking any contact between them. 

"No! No, this is wrong. This, this is Stockholm Syndrome, or… or you're so afraid of me that you think that letting me take what I want means that I might not hurt you any further," Piki said, looking sickened. He scrambled to snap the laptop shut and lurched off of the bed, away from Jack. 

Jack was left staring at him, stunned.

Piki drew in a shaky breath and stared off somewhere past Jack into space. "This is going to taint everything we ever might have had. I…" Piki shook his head, wrapping his free arm around himself. “I'm sorry, Jack. I… Pitch will take care of you from now on."

Before Jack could say anything, Piki fled the room and shut the door behind him.

-

True to his word, the next time the door to Jack’s room opened, it was Pitch carrying the tray of food. “Here you go,” he said, plunking it carelessly on the table.

“P-P-Pitch?”

Pitch rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you. You don’t need to shake in your boots.”

“I’m n-not scared. This i-is just the way I t-talk,” Jack stammered out, hating the way that his mouth stumbled over the few basic sentences.

“Ah. Well, nevermind then. What do you want?”

“P-Piki. He’s… L-Look, can I just write it d-down?” Jack asked.

“Fine,” Pitch sighed, walking over to Jack to read what he wrote down.

Piki’s sad, isn’t he?

“That’s a bit of an understatement. Moping and maudlin and distraught would be better words for it,” Pitch replied. 

Would it be better if he was angry?

“I mean, he’d probably be marginally less insufferable then. Why?” Pitch asked.

Jack inhaled and braced for the loss of his career. Because I have something I probably ought to confess.

“What, do you have a boyfriend who’s a superhero or something?”

No. Jack wrote, then let the rime frost spiral down the length of his body, wrapping the identity of the Winter King around himself once more. Pitch gasped and stumbled backwards, breath misting in the air. By the time the transformation was complete, the shock had bled into anger.

“Oh, you absolute bastard,” Pitch snarled, before whirling around and flinging open the door. “Piki!”

“Pitch? What is it, is J-” Piki looked through the door and froze when he saw the Winter King. He broke out of it after a moment, stepping forward as shadows began to surge around his body. “What the hell did you do to Jack?!”

“He is Jack,” Pitch snapped.

“He- what? No, that’s not-”

“It is, Piki. It’s me. I’m sorry, I probably should have told you sooner,” Jack said.

Shock and hurt flashed over Piki’s face, before finally settling back on anger. “You… This has always just been some game to you, hasn’t it? Some hilarious joke, to toy with me? You must have been laughing so much at being able to trick me. Did you share the joke with your friends?” he spat.

“No. I really did, really do care about you. But I didn’t want you to see me as some helpless pathetic nobody. I wanted to impress you, and prove that I was actually worth something. But I didn’t go about it in the best way, I see that now. And maybe… maybe all you wanted was someone pathetic to look after. I don’t know. But that isn’t me,” Jack said, and sighed. “If you really want to fight, then I understand, but I don’t want to fight you, Piki.”

Piki growled, and seemed to struggle with himself. Pitch stepped up beside him, and Jack braced for an attack. Instead, Piki’s shoulders slumped and he stepped out of the doorway. “Just… go. I don’t want to have to look at you.”

Jack left.

-

When Jack got home, he set to packing up his things and preparing to move. It was only a matter of time before his identity hit the headlines, and then he would need to go somewhere else. Gotham was supposed to be nice this time of the year.

But it never came. No bounty hunters showed up at his apartment to try to collect, and nothing happened for days.

Finally, Jack received a note in his mailbox, one that had no stamp, though it did have a return address. It just said, We have a lot we need to talk about, I think.

[sara-scribbles]

Could I request anything male Robin x Sumia? Possibly she realising that she is in love with him?

M!Robin/Sumia

“Robin!” Sumia ran over to the tactician, waving wildly. “I have wonderful news. I received new books from a local bookstore owner.” Then in good old Sumia fashion she found herself tripping. The books she had been carrying flew out of her arms and onto the grass. She landed on the ground with a thump.

The silver haired man quickly ran over to her. “Are you okay?!”

Sitting up she chuckled sheepishly. “Just tripping over my boots again.” Rubbing her sore chin, she gathered the books into a neat pile. “Anyways, the bookstore owner was kind enough to give us some older books. Look!”

She gleefully shoved a few books in his face. “Wow, that was very generous of him. The Littlest Knight, The Maiden, the Prince, and the Clock, History of Ylisse for Dummies…I actually might read this one.”

The Pegasus knight sorted the books into two stacks. “These all sound so fascinating to read! I think I’ll start with A Thousand and One Days. It’s supposed to be an epic love story.” She let out a sigh. “I wish my life could be like an epic love story. Silly Sumia…my life will always be so dull and boring.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Robin patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. “I’m sure after this war you’ll live out an amazing life that you deserve.”

Feeling her face warming, she quickly grabbed her stack of books and turned on her heel. “I-I should get going. Lots to read!” She made a mad dash away from the confused tactician.

“Wait! We have a-” His words were left unheard.

Once safely back at her tent, she let out a sigh. Placing the new books on her cot, she slapped her cheeks gently. “Stop being so weird, Sumia! Robin was just trying to be nice. And what do I do? Run away like a weirdo…”

 “Sumia?” Cordelia poked her head into the woman’s tent. “Chrom is calling a meeting.” Perking up, she quickly followed the redhead. “New books?”

“Yup! I just got them today. Would you like some?” They passed by a few people training.

“Hmm… I think I’ll be fine. I do need to put in some more sparring practice. Would you care to join me?”

“Sure. I should also train a little bit…” In truth she had been neglecting her training for the past few days. Thankfully Cordelia hadn’t figured it out, or she would have received an earful from her already.

Arriving at Chrom’s tent, the two women stepped inside. The table was set up with a large map sprawled across. Frederick was already there along with Robin. Sumia averted her gaze when he turned to look at them. Standing beside Cherche, they waited to hear from the others.

“Everyone here?” Robin nodded before starting. “Our next battle will be in a mountainous region. I thought it would be best to have a few of you scout the area beforehand.”

“We’ll be entering through a very narrow valley, so battle will be in close quarters. For those who can fly, you’ll scout for alternate  routes and enemy ambushes.” Chrom gestured to a part on the map marked in red. “Sumia will be taking a look on the west side while Cordelia can take the east. Cherche will take the north. Any questions.”

Sumia had quickly zoned out after she heard her assignment. Usually she listened to Chrom with rapt attention. However her mind was wandering to a certain silver haired tactician, who she had been spending more time with as of late. Robin was not like Chrom in most ways. They both shared the desire to end the war and bring peace back to Ylisse. But that was where the similarities ended.

She noticed that despite not having memories of his past, Robin still went about his daily life with assurance. Sumia envied how easily he did things without worry. If it was her, she’d be too worried about her past to do anything. Yet he effortlessly and selflessly guided the Shepherds through battles without batting an eye. Even when things looked dire, he kept a calm head and continued to create strategies that turned the tides. He might not have Chrom’s commanding leadership, but Robin knew how to command the battlefield, which was just as inspiring.

Sumia enjoyed her conversations with Robin about the many books they shared. He may not understand her love of immersing herself wholey in a novel, but he never made fun of her for it. He was willing to try any book she recommended, and would give his honest review after. He humored her, which she greatly appreciated.

A sharp jab in the side from Cordelia brought her out of her reverie. Straightening up, she realized that everyone was staring at her. As the tips of her ears warmed, she looked around for guidance. Her brown eyes met Robin’s own, and she felt herself flushing for a different reason.

“Are you okay with going alone for scouting, Sumia?” he asked, his eyes shone with concern.

“Y-yes! Fine! Great!” She bit her tongue to prevent any further jabbering from falling forth. Hanging her head, she waited with agonizing breath for the meeting to end. Once Chrom let them leave, she almost bolted out of the tent, except her name was being called.

“Ah, Sumia, can you wait a second?” Chrom smiled at her reassuringly at her wide-eyed look. Once everyone had filed out of the tent, she found herself alone with the prince. 

Her sturdy but worn boots were fascinating. Perhaps she should get a new pair as she could see a few scuff marks on the toes. Then again maybe a good polish could get rid of them that way she could save on coins. Though with the amount of tripping her boots caused her, maybe it was high time she invested in a new pair. New boots that wouldn’t always cause her to trip. Yes that was a good ide-

“Are you okay?” Chrome inquired, interrupting her inner thoughts.

Peeling her eyes away from her feet, she looked up at him. “I’m great!” Not really a lie since she was physically in good condition.

Worry crossed his features. “Are you sure? You seem…distracted at the meeting today. Is something on your mind? Perhaps I can help.”

There was Chrom always looking out for everyone. Kind, thoughtful Chrom, whom Sumia believed fit the ideal prince archetype. “I…I was just lost in thought about, uh, books! You see I received a lot of new books from the local bookstore owner today, and I can’t stop thinking about them.” She inwardly cringed as she realized her explanation made it sound like she cared more about books than the current battle. Still she couldn’t bring herself to tell him she was thinking of Robin.

However Chrom only nodded with a small smile. “I understand. Robin tends to get lost in a good book as well. There are times when I have to physically take the book away from him in order to have a conversation.” He shook his head with a good-natured laugh. “Well as long as nothing is bothering you…”

“Thank you, Chrom. Your concern is appreciated, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m perfectly fine!” She smiled though it hurt.

Clapping a hand on her shoulder, he nodded. “Okay. Reading might be great, but a good night’s rest will keep you in top shape.” She waited for her heart to pound in her ears and her palms to feel sweaty at the fact that he was touching her. However none of those symptoms occurred. Her mouth turned down in a small frown. Looking panicked the prince pulled his hand away and waved her off. “Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t read! Read all you like! I’m not trying to boss you around or anything!”

“Of course. Thank you.” Giving him a nod, she left the tent. As she made her way through the camp, she was lost in thought.

Usually if Chrom initiated a touch, her whole body would be reacting to it. Her heart would usually pound loudly in her ears. Her hands would become sweaty, and she would be insistently wiping them on her skirt. She would feel her face becoming so hot, she was sure someone could cook on it. However none of those things happened.

“Did something change…?” she questioned aloud.

“Sumia!” Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she turned around to see Robin waving to her. “I wanted to check in on you. Is everything okay?”

Her ears started burning. “O-of course! Why wouldn’t it be?”

He tilted his head to the side, eyes searching her face. “You seemed to have a lot on your mind. I’m sure Chrom already checked on you, but I just wanted to make sure everything is alright.”

She felt her cheeks warming. “I’m great! Just dandy! You know me, always lost in thought about other things!” She forced out a laugh.

His brows furrowed together. “If you’re sure… I’m always here if you want to talk.” He gave her an encouraging smile, which only caused her heart to pick up its pace. “Oh, when you’re done with A Thousand and One Days let me borrow it. Then we can discuss what we thought after.”

She rubbed her clammy palms on her skirt. “S-sure! Um, I should really get to bed. Sleep is good for you and stuff! Good night!” She rushed off before he could say any more.

In her own tent, she sat on her cot with her hands covering her face. “Oh, Sumia…” She started muttering to herself. “I always have to fall in love with the unattainable. Why?!”

Her infatuation with Chrom was something she had a feeling could never be returned. He was prince while she was a Pegasus knight. Not a very good one at that. Still she was able to fantasize about the possibility of him falling in love with her, much like some of the novels she read. But now that her feelings for Chrom had changed, she was still stuck.

“He’s not a prince…but he’s still someone important. Silly…when will I get my head out of the clouds.” She sighed forlornly.

Though Robin was not a prince, he was still an important figure to the Shepherds. He had basically become Chrom’s left-hand man. Not only that, but she was sure there were other, more suitable women for him. Perhaps when the war ended, he would settle down with a beautiful woman, and they would share a happy life. And she would spend her life alone with only her Pegasus as company. Not that she minded since she loved her Pegasus, but she did hope to find love.

Sitting up she looked around her small tent. Her eyes fell on the small vase of wildflowers. She always kept some near her in case she wanted to do flower fortunes. Though most of her fortunes were used to predict upcoming battles, she decided this was an emergency. Taking one flower out, she started plucking.

“Chance. No chance. Chance. No chance. Chance. No chance. Chance.” She perked up just slightly. Taking another flower from the vase, she started again.

“Tell him. Don’t tell him. Tell him. Don’t tell him. Tell him. Don’t tell him. Tell him. Don’t tell him. Tell him…” The last petal fell to the ground. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. Perhaps if she pulled her courage together, she could confess to Robin. After all her fortune said she had a chance. That and the war might end with one or both of them dead. She didn’t want to live with more regrets; she already had many.

Gripping the petalless flower in her hand, she resolved to tell Robin how she felt. She wanted to share many more books with him even after the war ended.