#I don’t think I need to go into detail over how obviously clueless one must be to think ‘feminine’ traits equals toxicity

[moophinz]

Agreed that people misunderstand Nishiki a lot. I've seen some fans say that Nishiki was jealous of Kiryu and a bad friend even in Y0 but I never got how someone could interpret the story like that. "Without you I'm no one, nothing means anything" doesn't read as jealously, at least not to me. I couldn't put it into words but "Lack of self identity" sounds right. Nishiki defined himself based on what Kiryu thought of him. For him it made no sense to stay in the yakuza- or even stay alive if Kiryu wasn't with him. Which is why he said climbing the ranks of the Tojo was meaningless if he couldn't do it with Kiryu.

Never thought I’d become a patron saint of Nishiki defender but alas

I’ve seen some… wild takes on him. Sometimes it’s all “okay, you’re entitled to your own read of him” and sometimes it’s “no literally what are you talking about???” I think one of the worse has to be Reddit bros believing Nishiki is an example of toxic masculinity because he’s “vain” and is openly emotional. Yeah… no… He’s weirdly a victim of misogynistic type thinking with dudebros.

Calling him a bad friend is something I definitely don’t agree with. There’s also the idea that he hated Kiryu even though he says himself in K1 that he’s not sure if he actually does. I think no matter what, Nishiki didn’t actually hate Kiryu and never truly could. I just really don’t get the bizarre anti Nishiki mentality and people jumping to the conclusion you’re a bad person if he’s your favorite character.

[littlemisshaveitall]

Season Secrets: August 7 Your Partner is NOT your therapist (and neither are his friends or yours)

It’s very tempting to tell your partner every single detail of your life and it’s genuinely allowed, they are your partner but love, not all partners have our best interests at heart. It can backfire and if it does, it’s going to hurt so before you decide to pour your heart, your daily recaps and any insecurities you must watch them.

You must watch your conversations and notice if it is always you talking. Of course, if you know your partner isn’t the talking type and has always been that way then it's okay to an extent but don’t take this disclaimer and run for the hills, you need to analyse if they really are that way or if they are that way with you. Don’t fall for “I just like listening to you” or “Your voice makes me happy”. All of that might be true but if your partner refrains from sharing about their lives but always indulges you to share about yours, you might potentially have a problem. As @honestsinnerrr has said before, ‘Men are info diggers’ and they will use the information you give against you and not only them but people in general.

You must listen to what they ask and really hear them. If they seem to constantly steer the conversation to a particular topic ask yourself why. What value does that  topic present to them? What information are you giving and what can they do with it? If push comes to shove and what you’ve said comes out what is the impact?It is so important to know or at least have an inkling of knowledge about someone’s motives, especially your partners and friends.

You must watch who they are without you and find out why it is the case. You cannot tell me, they are the most talkative person on earth or the most charismatic person with an audience but with you they are suddenly a mouse caught in a trap.If they act of character they want something and are finding out how to get it. Miss me with the BS of “ He gets shy with me” or “She just likes when I do this and that” Sir, Ma’am that might be the case but surely, is it? On this point, you should also intently listen to the petty gossip you hear about them(obviously from reliable sources) , it will give you a sense of who they are and will aid your decision in trusting them with the intricacies of your life.

You might also be wondering why I mentioned your partner’s friends in the title. That was for us clueless babes.If you complain about your partner to their friends they will not only relay all of it to your partner but more often than not they don’t care about you and it will be these friends who cover for your partner if they cheat or do something of the sort. They hold no loyalties to you. Remember that.

It is important to watch the people in our lives because we can’t just disclose everything to everyone and before you decide what you can disclose with whoever, please babe, these topics… are off until they reach best friend status.

Relationship Issues - Refer to a therapist or two friends max

Family Issues - Again therapist ( There’s absolutely no reason to be spilling family drama on to the group chat)

Money - Even with the closest of the closest , unless you are declaring bankruptcy and need a couch to sleep on , we don’t do that here.

Your friend’s issues - Why are you telling your partner your friend’s business when they told you in confidence, I personally think that it’s plainly disrespectful unless your partner can help them in one way or another.

Your future plans - This could be due to evil eye or unnecessary sabotage from randoms but it is also psychological. When we talk about plans that haven’t manifested yet to lots of people we trick our minds into believing that we have actually achieved our goals and that in turn makes us less likely to achieve them

There’s always more to add and feel free to do so (don’t be extreme lovies) but I’d like to mention that as much as your friends/partners can screw you over with the information you give them, it is also extremely important to not become closed off in an effort to protect yourself because every single relationship platonic or not is a risk and after you’ve done your trust risk assessment and you deem them people you can trust, their dishonesty is not on you baby. I’ve been there, I traded meaningful conversations for surface level pleasantries and I missed out on significant connections because I was scared of being hurt again. Being hurt is always a risk but if you always live in defence mode you aren’t living so you must find a balance. My friend says “ You can only live a good life if you throw yourself completely into it and that’s every aspect of it. So loving like you’ve never loved before, living like you’ve never loved before, laughing like you’ve never loved before, trusting like you’ve never trusted before even though other things have given you reason not to because the moment you start to restrict yourself and hold yourself back , you diminish the quality of your life.” 

You need to take the risk 

but only if it’s calculated.

Love,

Quesa

[lovelybarnes]

stood up- b. barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader, anderson x reader (?) warnings: angst, getting stood up, language, unrequited feelings about: prompts (DA29) “i got stood up.” + (DF30) “i think you’re my soulmate.” +(DF41) “are you going to cry? please don’t cry. a/n: i love to hurt but dw it’s a happy ending, i actually like this fjsk, a the time i finished this, i just posted another imagine, so i can’t wait for you guys to read this one in a couple days

every passing second makes you hyperaware of all the sympathetic stares that are currently directed at you. the feeling of pity is enveloping you whole, wrapping you in a thin layer of shame that you think must be related to the careful makeup you caked on your face for this date. your recently manicured nails scratch at the tablecloth, trying to avoid your new expensive dress, deep midnight color clinging to your nervous self. teeth stress your dark wine bottom lip, anxious eyes darting across the restaurant.

with each face that enters the place, none of them being his, the presumption that he isn’t coming solidifies. with it, comes the embarrassment. you can feel the warnings of tears, already threatening to ruin the mascara you had applied so carefully, not bothering to choose the waterproof one because why would you be crying on your date?

you suppose it’s your own fault- how dare you attempt to get over bucky? how dare you trust the words of a shield agent? you pick at your nails, gathering up the courage to stand up and leave. your waitress, however, beats you to it, a faux apologetic look on her face. “oh, so you’ve been here for, like, half an hour and it seems no one is coming, and we kind of need the table, so…”

you hold back an uncomfortable cringe, nodding stiffly as you stand. “right. i’m sorry. i don’t need to… pay for the water, right?” you ask dumbly, ducking your head when she shakes her head condescendingly.

pushing the door open, you step into the brisk air of the night, clouded over with an uneasy disappointment that you’re sure is because of you. you stand for a second to look at the stars, realizing how pretty of a night this would be if you weren’t so damn frustrated. the upset hasn’t passed yet, although the beginnings of anger are peeking up in your stomach.

while you stare up at the moon, the universe decides your getting stood up wasn’t enough, choosing to gift you with cold droplets of water that make your mascara run. it’s unbelievable, you nearly scoff tearily.

you walk to your car then, the moonlight that should have been romantic when you walked out of the restaurant now only making you feel lonely. you don’t let the tears come yet, having enough pride to not let the smitten couples appreciating the romance of the rain see you cry, deciding to put that off until you’re in the quietness of your room.

you drive in the sound of the pattering rain, concentrated on keeping your breathing even so as to push back the tears, not wanting to have an accident on the way back home because your vision was clouded over with sadness.

-

the relief you feel when you arrive at the compound is immeasurable; the knowledge that all you have to do is walk quietly to your room, and you can release the pent up emotions that eat you whole is unbelievably satisfying. the horrible itching feeling that comes with the tears arrives again when you notice your reflection in the impressively clean windows of the stark compound. through the stains of your ruined makeup, you can see the remnants of how dolled up you were, how much time was spent with the intricate details that made you smile when you looked at yourself in the mirror.

you swallow back the painful lump in your throat, opening the doors and sniffling at the dimly-lit room. your heels click tiredly on the floor, precious bracelet lightly jangling when you move. you can’t find it in yourself to care when you realize you’re dragging water inside, resigning to letting stark lecture you in the morning.

as you stand in the elevator, waiting for it to reach your floor, the emotions you’ve pushed so far down decide to spring back up in the form of an overwhelming dejected exhaustion that makes you physically slump. you lean against the cool of the metal railing, shutting your eyes hard to avoid looking at yourself. you only pry your eyes open when you hear the soft ding of the elevator, surprised and once again embarrassed to see bucky standing between the open doors.

“y/n?” he asks quietly. his demeanor immediately changes when he takes you in, body softer in the way it always is when you’re with him. his reaction makes you fall deeper, which reminds you exactly why you were going on your failed date. you straighten, clearing your throat, “um- i have to get to my room.”

your voice is thin, heightening his worries and stopping you with a gentle hand to your arm before you step off the elevator, “what’s wrong? what happened? are you okay?” he asks, and you nod blindly at all of his questions, realizing that the longer you stay with him- with his warm hand that you can’t help but lean into pressed against your cold arm- the more you really want to cry and scream because it’s not fair that he’s been given to you, yet you can’t have him, even if he has you.

“i’m fine,” you lie obviously, forcing your eyes again from his. “y/n, what happened? you’re clearly not fine,” bucky pushes, the hand on your arm beginning to rub stressed circles into your skin. you give up then, looking back at him. “i got stood up,” you say finally, words cracked. you shake your head, “and i just spent so much time on everything and-”

“that’s stupid. who would stand you up?” bucky interrupts, eyes genuinely confused while you scoff. “apparently anderson from security,” you respond bitterly, looking away. “he’s stupid, y/n. he has to be to not go to a date with you.”

you exhale frustratedly, “maybe not. maybe there’s something wrong with me and i’m the stupid one for even thinking someone would want to go out with me,” you countered. “hey, no, you are- you are amazing, y/n. amazing and stunning and intelligent and he missed his chance to be the luckiest guy in the world,” he insisted, gently pulling your attention back to him with a gentle hand on your cheek. you give him a watery laugh through the loud, unfair questions in your head: why don’t you love me like i love you, then?

you don’t realize the tears that run down the streaks of already ruined mascara until bucky points them out, wiping them away with his fingers, “no, no, don’t cry, please don’t cry,” he begs. you can’t help it, though, biting your lip to hold back your unrequited confessions of love.

“nobody wants me. i don’t even think i want me anymore,” you weep, oblivious to the breaking of bucky’s heart when he hears your words, pulling you flush against his chest. “don’t say that, doll. that’s not true-”

“it is. what other reasons can you think of that explain why i’m the only one that’s shown up to the rare dates i’ve been on? why have i had to go on those stupid dates just to forget how pathetic i am that i can’t get over you?”

you’re too deep in the ocean of your thoughts to realize what you’ve said, too little light available in the dark to let you realize the hints you have and will undoubtedly let out if you continue blubbering into bucky’s shoulder like the mess you are. your feelings are scattered, words so disorganized that any way you piece them together will be a mistake. “why else does the one person who i actually want to love me back not want me?”

bucky can make sense of the words you’re saying, the heavy weight they carry when he realizes exactly what they mean, and what you imply. he’s frozen, heart simultaneously fluttering at the mere thought of his feelings being returned and breaking at the cries you’re letting out because of him.

he’s refused to ever be the source of your pain, restricting his own poems of confessions because he didn’t want to hurt you, never wanting to be the reason you cried. he supposes now it was the wrong choice, one he needs to fix.

the bead of insecurity buried stubbornly in his mind shrieks, however, because he’s as clueless as you are and can’t possibly imagine someone like you- so kind and pure and good- loving him back. so he needs to make sure, needs to hear you say it in your voice.

“what?” you let out a watery scoff, full of embarrassment rather than annoyance at him, “don’t make me say it, bucky, please-”

“please say it- i- i need you to say it.”

a beat of silence passes before you sniffle, pulling away from the man you’ve called your best friend and wanted nothing but to be able to call him more. “i love you, bucky. in a way that makes me pretty sure you’re my soulmate because i don’t even believe in that but you make me feel like i should.”

bucky’s storm clouds lighten, doubts dissolving when he listens to what you said, tasting your words and examining each one just to remember it. he pulls your lips to his when they’ve barely processed. “you should,” he says when he pulls away for a second, only to make you lose your breath again when he aches for you immediately, kissing you again, “believe in soulmates.”

“why is that?” you ask breathlessly, letting him pull you back in because you both have been waiting- dreaming about this for so damn long, and he isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to keep away from you now that he has you. he presses a sloppy kiss to your lips, so perfectly imperfect when your teeth clash and you both laugh gently, noses nudging each other when he leans his forehead on yours, “because we’re meant to be, y/n. in that way that soulmates are.”

[whoree321]

the bad batch + what romance/rom com movies they watch with you

each of the bad batch x gn!reader

ok first and foremost i really truly believe to the pits of my soul that every single one of these fuckos loves romances and you cannot under any circumstances change my mind

ALSO it’s a gender neutral reader except kinda in echo’s theres like a very brief quote regarding breasts but like i still think even that is pretty gender neutral tbh

so anyway

Hunter: Pretty Woman

this is not the first time that i have publicly declared that i think hunter has a deep rooted connection to the movie pretty woman and it will not be the last

first of all this movie is incredibly soothing to hunters overwhelming savior complex

second of all hunter is literally richard gere (debonaire but emotionally distant gentleman that learns to love) and julia roberts (hooker with a heart of gold) at the same time

he was a little skeptical the first time you put it on but he instantly fell in love with it

the humor, the sensuality, the class divide, the glamour, the unconventional cinderella story of it all. it just really butters his bread

after the first time, when you suggest watching a movie and you pick this one he’ll act very aloof about it (“whatever you want cyar’ika, it doesn’t matter to me”) but secretly he’s really really happy bc it’s one of his favorites (you def know this and def pick it more often)

he absolutely hates the scene when stucky the lawyer hits vivian. like it doesn’t matter how many times he watches it he will fully turn his head away from the screen and say “I don’t like this part” and when it’s over he nuzzles a little closer into you and very tenderly kisses your forehead

he loves the soundtrack too. like he fully exposes how much he likes the movie when you catch him singing or humming “pretty woman” or “it must have been love” absently to himself (you kept it to yourself for a while but eventually you just had to tease him about it. he just smiled a little sheepishly and admitted he liked the songs before promptly changing the subject)

hunter also lowkey definitely wants to recreate the ending where richard gere shows up to her apartment in the white limo with you bc he thinks it’s such a sweet gesture and he wants to treat you like royalty

Crosshair: 10 Things I Hate About You

if there’s one thing about crosshair it’s that he’s a sucker for the enemies to lovers genre

maybe its just him projecting (spoiler alert it most certainly is) but he really enjoys watching the drama conflama of a miserable bastard be tricked into love

and really that’s the true essence of 10 Things I Hate About You

he will grumble and bitch and moan about not wanting to watch a ‘chick flick’ when you put it on, but 15 minutes in and he’s hooked

he has strong negative opinions on literally every single character except for kat and patrick

(crosshair really really wants to think he’s patrick but when it comes down to it he is katarina stratford in every single possible way)

he doesn’t say a word throughout the entire movie but you can tell when he’s annoyed at like bianca or cameron or joey bc he will openly scoff at them

will absolutely hum along in your ear during the “can’t take my eyes off you” scene and make out with you during the paintball scene

(seriously he wants to be patrick verona so bad)

when it’s over and you ask him what he thought he’ll roll his eyes and say “i guess it could have been worse” but his little smirk let’s you know he enjoyed it a lot more than he’s willing to admit

Tech: 50 Shades of Grey

ok hear me out on this one

tech is a huge movie talker. like subtitles are a non-negotiable if you wanna be able to take in any of the movies dialogue bc tech is most likely gonna make commentary over it the whole time

this makes him absolutely indescribably so much fun to watch bad/corny movies with

he will go off about EVERYTHING. the plot, the dialogue, the acting, the costuming, the music, the production quality. nothing and no one is safe. whether you just enjoy letting him talk at you or you join in on the roast, cheesy movies are a hoot between you two

and honey. 50 shades is one of THE cheesiest movies ever

you and tech will literally spend the entire duration of the movie tearing it to shreds

and the thing is tech is a very sarcastic, funny guy when he wants to be (and when it comes to you he definitely wants to be) so by the end of it he will have you in absolute stitches from laughing at the ridiculousness of both the movie and him

with any of the other batchers watching a movie like this either turns into a shy, slightly awkward experience (wrecker, echo) or an incorrigibly horny experience (crosshair, hunter)

but in this context tech literally has no shame or squeamishness about sexual things (why should he it’s a natural biological process?) so to yall the sex stuff is just another thing to roast

literally christian grey could be fully tying dakota johnson down and flogging her and tech will be like “in the last 3 minutes they have panned up to her nipples 4 times. this is criminally shoddy cinematography”

even tho he’s busy giving a detailed play by play critique, he never fails to keep some sort of physical contact with you (wrapping an arm around you and running his hand up and down your skin, playing with your fingers or your hair) so you know he’s enjoying spending this time with you despite his nasty words about the movie

also 1000% after you watch it tech will do extensive research on the ins and outs of bdsm and will have lots of hypotheses he wants to test out (as long as you’re willing and able ofc) ;)))

Wrecker: 13 Going On 30

of all the bad batch members, wrecker is the only one who unabashedly loves any movie that could be considered a chick flick

like he doesn’t even try to hide it or act like he’s too masculine for it. he loves romance and he’s proud of it

this man will have full marathons with you. rom coms, regular roms, tragic roms, hallmark roms, you name it and he’s game

his absolute favorite tho is 13 Going On 30

i feel like he has a huge soft spot for childhood best friends to lovers stories like he finds that type of lifelong partnership so endearing (and he loves to live vicariously through jenna since that type of romance was obviously never an option for him)

wrecker is also very childlike at heart and i think the idea of a 13 year old sweetheart trapped inside the body of a 30 year old cut throat magazine exec is so amusing to him (and maybe makes him feel just a little bit represented in the media)

he is definitely the type to completely engulf you in a cuddle for the entirety of the movie and he DEFINITELY cries into your shoulder at matty’s wedding when jenna is crying on the stoop with her dream house

he wants to try razzles so bad. like so bad. i think if he ever came across them somewhere he would barter at least one of his brothers for them

wrecker really just loves love and watching movies about it just reminds him of how lucky he is to have his own love story with you <3

Echo: The Princess Bride

i feel like it’s glaringly obvious why echo loves this movie

pirates. sword fighting. decades long revenge plots. the value of an honorable, loyal man. true love that never wavers even in the face of devastating tragedy and the darkest of hardships. clever but goofy humor.

echo considers this an action/adventure movie and NOT a romance movie (even tho it 100% totally is a romance movie) and requests to watch it very frequently

he can quote the whole thing. i’m seriously telling you echo loves the princess bride with his whole chest

even tho he refuses to admit it’s a love story above all else, he really does try to model himself in your relationship after wesley

like especially given what happened at the citadel and all the time you thought he was dead, the cinematic parellels are alive and present in y’alls relationship and he strives to be even half the man to you that wesley is to buttercup

literally in your day to day life he will sometimes respond to your requests with a smooth “as you wish ;)” (it doesn’t matter how many times he does it it still gives you butterflies)

when you watch the movie, he snuggles as close to you as possible and does his best to make youre comfy the whole time (he’s insecure about his prosthetics hurting you no matter how much you reassure him they don’t)

he just loves to be able to feel your heartbeat and your laugh when you giggle at the funny bits

every single time without fail at the part when buttercup is about to stab herself he leans down, ghosts his lips against the shell of your ear, and whispers the line in time with wesley: “there’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. it would be a pity to damage yours”

every single time without fail you wind up making out until he pulls away and tells you to watch the next part when wesley challenges humperdinck to a duel to the pain

echo just loves you to bits and wants you to know he’d endure a thousand fire swamps for you

Omega: Clueless

i have this really specific obsession with omega being a total girly girl and having very traditionally feminine interests as she keeps experiencing the universe and being exposed to a spectrum of gender expression beyond clone (masc and boring) and kaminoan (ugly)

so with that headcanon of her in mind, it’s vital to me that she sees clueless as soon as possible

clueless is an essential piece of media for a girl entering adolescence and i will die on this hill

it has literally everything you want and everything you need to develop into a well-rounded young woman

it’s so deliciously 90s and glamorama and valley girl humor and camp. its got meaningful female friendships and valuable life lessons and paul mf rudd

if there’s one thing you should encourage a burgeoning hetero teen girl to do, it’s to stick to dating guys like paul rudd in clueless. the earlier this message can be broadcast the better

the second you’re able to steal omega away from hunters watchful eyes (“hunter we’re just gonna watch finding nemo i swear!”) you show her this movie

at this point omega is not really a girly girl, but omega also has absolutely zero feminine influence in her life

the first time she sees clueless she is absolutely obsessed. like seriously she is so enamoured with the glitz and glam of cher horowitz

she asks you questions the entire time. she wants to know about EVERYTHING. the makeup, the clothes, the hair, the slang

(she definitely goes around saying stuff like “i’m totally bugging” for long enough afterwards that almost all of the boys have slipped up at least once with some ridiculous valley girl slang. you thought you were gonna die of laughter when you overheard tech say “as if!” to wrecker in the middle of an argument)

it just really introduces her to this whole world of femininity that she didn’t even know existed and she absolutely loves it

she makes you watch clueless with her seriously once a week at minimum. she begs you to style her hair like tai’s and you can’t help yourself when you happen to run across a little yellow plaid dress and buy it for her on sight

(hunter was gonna scold you for recklessly spending credits until he saw how omega almost cried from how happy she was for the gift)

honestly she enjoys the romance of it all and paul rudd is def her first celebrity crush but she enjoys more that you and her now have this special thing of hair and nails and pretty dresses

she loves how confident and beautiful and special you’re able to make her feel, and you love that you get to bring her that small sense of normalcy and happiness

[chickwiththepurpleguitar]

For a prompt, maybe Bobby having a job in high school where he teaches guitar to kids and Emily and Mitch mistakenly sign Luke up for lessons? (Bobby just doesn't sound like a teenager on the phone) Belated congratulations on the 500 milestone, btw ✨

Here you go, friend! I hope you like it! My first jatp AU fic lol :)

Read on ao3 here:

--

Here’s the thing: Luke already knows how to play the guitar.

Has he ever taken a lesson? Officially? No, of course not, because he’s not a nerd. But he’s been learning from YouTube tutorials for almost six years now, been writing his own stuff for four, been the lead singer and guitarist of an epic, legendary rock band for two. He’d say he’s pretty well covered in the “knowing how to play the guitar” department, without some crusty old guy showing him the chords to songs no one’s listened to since the 60s in the grimy basement of a church two hours a week.

And yet, here he stands, on the sidewalk outside said church, guitar case in hand and a truly menacing grimace on his face, staring up at the hand-painted sign on the door detailing “Guitar lessons for kids! Room B38” in big block letters.

“Well?” Alex, who drove Luke here because Luke is currently not on speaking terms with his mother and father out of pure unadulterated spite, claps a hand on his shoulder, already stifling giggles. “You ready for your lesson, kiddo?”

“I will kick you out of the band,” Luke threatens.

“Then you can walk home.” Alex jingles his keys teasingly, then tugs Luke into a quick hug. “Come on, man, I think it was a nice gesture. Try to make the most of it, at least your parents are trying.”

Right, because the whole reason Luke’s here is because his mom thought the lessons would be a good reward for Luke passing all his classes this semester. Because she heard him complaining that Sunset Curve needed a rhythm guitarist to fill out their sound and decided that meant he needed to learn how to do it himself, even though Luke tried to explain to her that he couldn’t play rhythm guitar and face-melting solos at the same time.

Of course, she didn’t listen, and then his dad found a flyer for this guy Robert giving lessons out of the local church, and before Luke could say no, the first month’s worth were already paid for and he didn’t have a choice.

And he supposes Alex is sort of right. At least his parents know what a guitar is. At least they’re trying to be somewhat, relatively supportive of his music, instead of pushing him to apply to college or get a job over the summer like they did constantly until he ran away for six months after Christmas and almost died (he’s fine now, but that near-death experience really changed his parents’ tune).

At least they actually acknowledge that he’s in a band at all, unlike Alex’s folks, whose friends think Alex volunteers at homeless shelters in his free time, or Reggie’s, who just don’t care.

Luke knows he’s got it good, compared to his friends, compared to himself a year ago. But that doesn’t mean he’s gotta be happy about it.

“All right, I’ll pick you up in an hour,” Alex says, giving Luke’s shoulder another friendly squeeze. “Try not to pout so much, it’s unbecoming.”

Luke gives him the finger, and Alex’s laughter echoes behind him as he heads back toward his car.

And then Luke sighs, grips his guitar a little tighter, and heads inside. He’s already here, he might as well get it over with.

Room B38 is a tiny classroom deep in the bowels of the church, reserved for Sunday School or daycare or some other such activity. The door’s closed, so Luke knocks, and a voice from inside calls, “Come in!”

A voice that does not sound like it belongs to the crusty old man Luke had been picturing.

He frowns, wondering if maybe he’s in the wrong place, but tugs the door open anyway and maneuvers himself and his guitar inside.

There’s no crusty old man waiting for him. There is, however, a handsome (Luke can’t help noticing and then feels stupid for noticing), young man, no more than a year or two older than Luke at most, sitting in a comically small plastic chair and tuning an acoustic guitar.

“Hey,” Luke greets him, raising an awkward hand. “You’re… Robert?”

“Please—Bobby,” the guy corrects, laying his guitar down on the carpeted floor next to him so he can stand and shake Luke’s hand. There’s a gleam of confusion in his eyes, and he glances over Luke’s shoulder like he’s looking for something as he says, “You must be Luke’s… older brother?”

Oh, Luke is going to kill his parents. “Uh, no,” he says, clears his throat awkwardly. “No, um… I’m Luke.”

Bobby lets out an undignified snort, and then claps his hand over his mouth. “Sorry, sorry,” he says, still sort of giggling. “I shouldn’t laugh, it’s just—most of my students are in the four to twelve age range? I thought you’d be, like, eight.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Well, I thought you’d be, like, sixty, so I guess we’re both disappointed.”

“Not disappointed,” Bobby corrects, and his smile makes Luke’s stomach flip in a way he’d really rather not analyze too closely right now. Bobby nods down at the guitar case in Luke’s hand. “Should we get started?”

Luke’s tongue feels dumb and thick in his mouth, but he manages to stammer something vaguely affirmative, and Bobby grins at him.

They settle into the kiddy chairs across from each other, and Bobby picks his guitar back up while Luke pulls his own out of its case.

He briefly considers pretending to actually need guitar lessons so that Bobby will have a chance to show off, because Bobby’s cute and funny and clearly cares about music, and Luke doesn’t know how to flirt.

But Luke also doesn’t know how to play guitar badly. So they only get about twenty minutes into the lesson before Bobby stops and says, “You don’t need me, do you?”

“I really don’t,” Luke apologizes. “I play lead guitar in a band, I’ve been teaching myself since I was twelve, my parents are just—” he starts to say stupid, then remembers Alex’s words and amends—“a little clueless about this kind of thing.”

Bobby puts his guitar aside and leans forward in his chair. “What, have they never heard you play before?”

Luke resists the urge to roll his eyes. “No, they have, they just. We’re looking for someone—my band and me—to play rhythm guitar for us? My parents asked why I couldn’t do it, and when I explained it to them, they thought ‘I can’t play lead and rhythm at the same time’ meant I couldn’t play rhythm at all. I don’t know.” He shrugs a little, busies himself with putting his guitar back in its case.

“I could.”

Luke looks up, frowning. “You could what?”

Bobby raises his eyebrows pointedly, nods at the guitar lying at his feet. “Play with you guys. If you’re still looking for someone, I mean.”

Luke’s heart skips a beat, and a warm smile spreads across his face without his permission. “Seriously, man? That’d be amazing! Here, let me give you my number and you can come over sometime and meet the band.”

They exchange information, and Luke spends a little too long staring stupidly at the contact in his phone that Bobby has named “Guitar Teacher <3”.

“Plus,” Bobby says, and Luke looks back up to see him smirking as he returns his own phone to his pocket. “Now I get an excuse to see you again. Since you obviously don’t need the lessons.”

“Yeah,” Luke agrees. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”

“But, uh, maybe don’t tell your parents that. Cause I can’t give them a refund.”

--

Taglist: @whenweremarried @sunsethimb0s @pink-flame @penguin0613 @fighttoshine @sunsetcurvecuddles @apples-bees @reggiescrookedteeth @brightattheorpheum @queenmolina @jandthephantoms @lexilucacia @sapphossidechick @acnhaddict @shrimp-colours @sunset-bobby @lenacarstairspotterstewart @conversationaltreestump @burntchromas @shellydominique @julieandthequeers @joyandthephantoms @it-tastes-like-lizard

[votederpycausemufins]

Gonna take maybe a week off of this because I’ve got finals. Might be sooner if I manage to get all my work done, but don’t expect anything until thursday/friday

@petrichormeraki @helleborusangel

Fundy was happy to offer his help when Grian arrived looking for it. Getting him to the quartz mansion was a bit of a hassle, but it could have been worse. He and Mumbo quickly figured the console out between the two of them and soon Grumbot was plugged in.

“Okay, we’re going to want all the files moved over into here. Or at least all the ones we don’t want anymore.” Fundy said and Mumbo nodded. He didn’t want to take his eyes off Grumbot, who kept trying to unplug itself.

“That should be easy enough. He seemed to group everything together, so we just transfer the main program and it brings everything else with it. Grum, can you open up those files?”

“Files require a password to open.” Grumbot answered along with another attempt to disconnect itself from the other console.

“That’s odd.” Mumbo furrowed his brow. “I was able to look at them fine before.”

“Well just use the password and open them and don’t dwell on it.” Fundy said, starting his fourth check of everything to make absolutely sure it looked fine.

“That would be good if I knew it. What did your admin use for it?”

That got Fundy to look away from his work. “Dream didn’t give him any password. It was there from the start and he tried getting me to ask Iskall for it.” As the two talked to each other, neither of them noticed the way Grumbot’s screen changed to feature a bright magenta heart for a few moments.

“So you have no clue what it is?”

“No, we never figured it out. I mean, I especially thought you would know because Jrum seemed to know.”

Mumbo rubbed his chin. “Hmm… Grum, I seem to have forgotten the password. Is there a hint for it?”

“Oh my god why didn’t I think of that.” Fundy facepalmed as Grumbot nodded.

“The password hint is, the answer to life.” Grumbot answered Mumbo, causing him to now facepalm.

“Oh I’m such a spoon. That’s the most obvious choice for a password.”

Fundy just looked confused. “Wait, are you saying you know what the password is from just that? Is it some sort of inside joke or something?”

“I guess in a sense it is. But it’s Grum’s meaning of life.” Mumbo answered before giving Grumbot the password. “We originally built him to help us with a fun little mayoral election, so getting me as mayor was, in essence, his meaning of life.”

“Huh, good to know.” Fundy nodded, catching the fact that Grumbot had managed to unplug itself during that small talk about the password.

Mumbo thanked the fox hybrid and started looking at Grumbot’s files. “Alright, I should just be able to-” He stopped as an error came on screen. “What? Core files included?”

“I’m guessing something got shoved in there so it couldn’t be that easy.”

Mumbo sighed. “I suppose so. One at a time it is then.” From there, Mumbo slowly moved program after program into the new console, Fundy making sure they all got in and were working right. A few files that they weren’t sure about turned out to also be core files, so they were left alone to be moved into other folders later.

When they were coming close to the end of the list, Mumbo found what was likely the main problem. “Oh Grum… He’s got a program here specifically for his emotions and they’re currently disabled.”

“Well turn them on then.” Fundy said, double checking that the weather and daylight cycles were working.

“I know, just… needed to say something.” Mumbo replied, opening the file and turning it on. He closed it to go back to the list, only to watch as it turned itself back off. “Grum, please don’t do this.”

“What did he do?”

“I turned them on and they went right back off.” Mumbo answered and turned them on again, but the program disabled itself again. “Why are you doing this Grum?”

“There are no available emotions in the program, thus it can only be disabled.”

Mumbo’s eyes widened. “I suppose that’s Dream’s doing?”

“Must be.” Fundy said, wincing at the implications. “Once everything is moved over, we can try fixing that.”

“Yeah, we might need to turn him off for that.” Mumbo said sadly, pausing his work to give Grum a hug. “I know there has to be something in there. While they weren’t the best things to see, he had been sad and scared.”

Mumbo managed to get the rest of the files he could out of the folder, testing once more with the others that couldn’t be moved out of Grumbot. “Okay, I think that’s everything. I’ll move the remaining files elsewhere and delete the folder.”

The moment Mumbo moved a single file elsewhere, Grumbot started glitching. The list of files was still there, but it was now contained to half of the screen, the words of all the programs escaping the areas they should have been in, leaving the list’s program window. The other half of the screen showed Grumbot’s face which was for the most part shifting between its normal appearance and the smiley face, but there were small blocks of the screen that were completely static and others that were black.

Before Mumbo could panic and try to undo whatever problem he had caused, the screen changed again. It became pure red, then a slightly muted white, and finally showed a chicken egg before going back to the files program, the moved file back where it had started.

“That was terrifying.” Mumbo said, still mostly frozen in place. “It… looks okay now though.” The only response he got from Fundy was a nod as his fur slowly came down from it’s puffy state.

Mumbo attempted to just look at the other files, but the request for a password came up again. He entered Mumbo4Mayor and it of course worked, but then a second one came up. “What? Two now? Grum, what’s the hint for this one?”

“It wasn’t me. It was him.” Grumbot answered, leaving Mumbo stumped.

“Him? Does he mean Dream?” Fundy suggested. And Mumbo tried that, though it didn’t work. The admin didn’t work either, nor did Techno’s name. “Well I can’t think of anything else.”

Mumbo sighed. “I guess at this point we make sure the world doesn’t fall apart when we turn him off and look at his wiring.” He was glad to see that wasn’t the case, Grumbot not even trying to stop Mumbo from turning it off. 

.

.

Grian found himself back in the Watcher’s realm while Mumbo and Fundy worked. The two of them requested privacy while they worked, and the Watcher still did have things he wanted to find out. Lynn pointed him to the lists for all the Watchers, pulling up the ones from the current year and previous year. The current list had barely anyone listed, which was normal. The year wasn’t even a fourth over and new Watchers weren’t the most common thing in the world.

The previous year’s list ended up being more promising. A number of questionable names Grian looked into and found that they checked out, but there were two names on the list that caught his eyes. And they caught his eye because they weren’t names. They were simply listed as unknown and a string of numbers.

Grian grabbed a piece of paper and wrote them down before looking into them. The first of the two seemed to be frequently accessing various databases, meanwhile the other hadn’t done much, but they were a few months newer than the other so that was understandable. Grian added a note next to the second unknown number, pretty sure that they were Eyes. 

Grian went off elsewhere to check other records for anything related to the second unnamed Watcher. It looked like they had only accessed things within the past few days. Well, attempted to access. There was an error with their portals and none ended up being made. That seemed normal though since they obviously seemed clueless. But other than that, there was something that left Grian confused. In terms of Watchers they had interacted with, Grian saw himself on the list as well as the other unknown Watcher, but at the same time, they had never contacted them like Eyes had.

He angrily scratched out their name on the paper and was about to crumple it up when he looked at the other unknown name. Grian pulled himself back over to the records and looked into the other one. They were able to get more access to various records, all remote based, which was impressive because he couldn’t even do that. In fact, it looked like they were able to do that the same day they were given the Watcher status. 

This was looking more hopeful. Their documents even stated that they had interacted with Grian as well as getting into communications with him. They of course also interacted with the Watcher that Grian originally assumed was Eyes, but no others. He looked into other details and saw that indeed, this was the person sending messages to various people with coordinates in them. This was 100% Eyes. 

Now that Grian knew what he was dealing with, he attempted contact with them again, but they were unavailable. He groaned a bit. Of course they were. That normally meant they were asleep or respawning or something similar. Which made sense, they had been doing a lot, but that made things more complicated for Grian. And now he had no clue when they would be available again.

Grian leaned back in his chair, ready to just give up and go back to see how Mumbo was doing with Grum. But just before standing up, the Watcher got another idea. Eyes and the other unknown Watcher had interacted before, so perhaps he could get to eyes through them. Since it was a first attempt between the two of them, Grian had some trouble, but eventually it went through.

“Hello? Is this working this time?” Grian asked, but no answer came back immediately. He was about to stop and try something slightly different when there was a sound, and then a voice.

‘Am I hearing ghosts?’

Oh no, someone else who had no clue what they were doing. Grian honestly wasn’t sure what he was expecting. They seemed to be in the same boat as Eyes. Worse even since Eyes had done some stuff successfully. “No. I’m speaking to you through Watcher communications. It’s sort of like telepathy.”

‘Oh! Okay. I was worried you died.’

“Don’t worry. I’m not dead. Now, I need to ask some questions.”

‘Okay! Like what? Is it about Grum?’

Grian froze. They knew about Grum. They were probably also near him. “What the hell do you know about him?!”

There was a scared noise from the other side. ‘I-I’m s-sorry! I thought you were my dad!’

And suddenly, he recognized the voice.

.

.

“Absolutely none of this makes sense.” Mumbo said, pulling away from looking at Grum’s wiring. “A little bit or rewiring, yes, but it’s impossible to have done that much without breaking Grum. I can’t even fit my hand that far down much less start doing redstone with that little amount of space.”

“But it looks pretty similar to how it did the last time I got a look at it.” Funny commented. “Dream had me try to figure him out, but I could only get to the stuff near this panel and I made sure he didn’t try and make a new hatch or something in case he completely broke Grum.”

“Then how did this happen? He can’t just re-” Mumbo cut himself off.

“He can’t just what?”

“We need to look at Jrum’s wiring.” Mumbo closed Grumbot back up. “I won’t know for sure until I see it, but he might have the same thing going on.”

“And would that be good or bad?”

Mumbo paused before answering. “Good I think. It would mean that what we’re looking at isn’t directly connected with what happened to Grum since Jrum is doing mostly fine.”

They stepped out into the main room to find everyone sitting around, though currently Jrum was in Bad’s arms and seemed to be crying.  “What happened to Jrum? Is he hurt?”

“No, he’s fine.” Bad answered. “It seems like something scared him, but he hasn’t said what yet. Well, other than a few words here and there.”

Mumbo went over to Bad and Jrum. “Jrum, can you try to tell me what happened?” Jrum started stuttering out an answer, only a few words comprehensible. Something about his dad and Watchers and someone being mean. The redstoner tried looking for Grian to see what he thought about it, but found him missing. “Where’s Grian?”

“He left a bit after you two locked yourself in Jrum’s room. Something about looking into whoever was sending the coordinates before.”

Mumbo started to panic. If this was something to do with Watchers and Grian wasn’t here, it could be bad news. He was just about to run outside to try and find where Grian had hopefully left a portal open, when the builder came in. “Jrum!”

“Grian! What happened?” Mumbo asked, but Grian just went over to Jrum.

“Oh I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you.” Grian pulled the bot from Bad’s arms and cradled Jrum in his own arms. “I thought I was talking to someone who might have been hurting your brother.”

“Grian, what’s going on.” Mumbo asked, stepping closer. Grian looked up with a worried look, but didn’t answer. Mumbo sighed and just sat next to Grian. “Well, Jrum, I need to just check your circuits for a moment. Can I do that? You don’t need to turn off.”

Jrum nodded, though stayed clinging to Grian. Mumbo briefly opened the hatch to Jrum’s circuits to find them different from their original configuration as well. He closed it back up and nodded to Fundy, giving him the answer.

“What was that about?” Grian asked as Fundy went back into the side room.

“Well, it looks like the boys were able to change their circuits themselves.” Mumbo answered, though he ended up surprised that Grian wasn’t.

“That makes sense. I just went looking and… I’m pretty sure I figured out who Eyes is.”

“You did? Who’s that?” Mumbo asked, but before Grian could answer, someone else gave it instead.

“How do I make a portal to bzzt?”

Everyone looked over to Grumbot, who was currently in the doorway. His face wasn’t its usual mustached self, nor was it a smile that matched Dream’s mask. Instead, it very clearly showed a broken portal. The symbol of the Watchers.

.

.

Theseus kicked the body in front of him. “Wake up bitch. I know Slatt’s book had to work, even if he is a goddamn idiot. Death already looked into it and it works.”

The corpse didn’t move, so another kick was placed to the ribs, hard enough that there was the sound of something cracking. “Maybe it just takes some time Thee?”

“Nah, should be happening right away. I’m gonna ask Death if there’s something up with-”

“Theseus. Toob.” An echoed voice came from behind them. “It seems like someone missed me. Didn’t get enough the first time?”

They turned around to see Dream standing behind them. His green hoodie was still stained with red and his head still sat at the unnatural angle it was left in when Theseus broke Dream’s neck. And yet, he was standing there like nothing had happened to him. “How are you still alive?”

“You’re the one who brought me back. Slatt’s book called for the original for a reason. The old body doesn’t work anymore, but the new one is fair game.”

“How the fuck do you know what was in that book?” Theseus asked, taking out his weapons.

“Before he ran off to Saga with Toob’s other dad, he let me have a look at it. He thought someone needed to know. And of course he chose me. Don’t you remember that Theseus? It wasn’t too long before you finally betrayed me.”

Thinking back on it, he did remember that day. The half pint goat man showing up, book barely fitting in his arms. He had ruined a perfectly good opportunity and Theseus had to wait a few more weeks before finally getting another chance to kill the admin. “Well that doesn’t matter now. I was too quick killing you last time. Now we can take our time.”

“I’ve already taken my time Theseus. Obviously you haven’t aged much, but it’s been years for me in there.” Before Theseus could react, Nightmare had him on the ground, sword in his chest. “And now I’ve got another server to visit.”

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Do you think you could do headcanons for if Richie got a woman pregnant on a one-night-stand, and the woman just ended up dropping the baby on his doorstep, and how the losers, including Richie, would react?

- let’s say this happens a few months after Derry 2.0

- because before that Richie was still very deep in the closet and he trying to prove to everyone around him that he’s very heterosexual.

- The woman he has a one night stand with is friends with Steve, mostly because he is secretly hoping she tell Steve about their night

- (Richie thinks Steve is suspecting that he’s gay and want to nip it in the bud)

- They go back to Richie’s place on evening after getting McDonald’s and it’s fine, obviously Richie doesn’t feel anything for her but she’s nice enough that he likes talking to her

- One thing leads to another and they spend the night together

- The next day things aren’t hostile between them but it is akward because Richie is nervously fluttering hoping she’ll go home soon

- She does and they don’t keep in touch, which is fine for Richie. He doesn’t want to feel the guilt every time he looks at her knowing that he used her for his own gain.

- Richie mostly forgets about that night and her, and after Derry he’s too busy to pay that night any thought

- His head over heels for Eddie now, and he’s gearing up to tell him soon.

- He’s waiting for Eddie’s divorce to come through. He doesn’t want to add pressure on Eddie during such a demanding time but, he’s excited for what will happen after.

- So they’re not yet dating, but they’re getting there. It’s just a matter of time.

- And then Steve shows up with his baby one morning.

- He’s pale white, and the hand of which he’s hold the maxicosi is trembling

- Of course, Richie being the trash mouth that he is, starts making fun of him.

- He doesn’t understand why Steve would have a baby with him (as far as he’s heard Steve didn’t want kids) but the comedy gold is right there for grabbing.

- ‘What’s the baby for Steve? Did you father a baby I didn’t know anything about?’

- Uno reverse card

- When Steve bashfully admits that it’s not his kid, but Richie’s, the latter laughs.

- At first he’s convinced it’s just Steve messing with him, but Steve would never go as far as to kidnap a baby.

- He still continues to chuckle even after apprehension starts to take hold him off

- ‘It’s not a joke Richie, this is your daughter.’

- Instead of becoming serious as the situation calls for it, Richie begins to cackle.

- Not laugh, not chuckle or snort, cackle.

- He’s so confused, and flabbergasted and he can’t believe this tiny human thing crying in her crib is his.

- ‘I’m just the messenger man,’ Steve placates, slowly sinking the carrier to the ground.

- When Richie is finally done laughing ( it goes on for a very long time) Steve is itching to get out of there.

- He leaves with very little more explanation other than; ‘it was your one night stand from a few months ago, she doesn’t have a name yet, and her mother is refusing to take care of her.

- Richie finds himself just staring at this tiny little thing that’s beginning to cry and whimper as she kicks her tiny feet in the air.

- She starts to cry earnestly after about five minutes, not to fond of not being payed attention too for so long

- Richie tries to shush her gently, but it’s a baby and they don’t listen to what anyone tells them too.

- The cries grow in intensity, and Richie’s slowly losing his mind.

- He’s pacing his apartment, in a daze. He’s working on automatic pilot, because he can’t comprehend the fact that he just became a father, he’s clueless about what to do

- His own daughters birthday remains a mystery to him for god sake.

- If Richie were thinking logically, he’d call Steve and ask him to come back and explain everything in a better way, but he’s not, and he can only think with his emotions.

- He ends up calling Ben and Bev.

- His first instinct was to call Eddie, seeing as Eddie is his best friend and all, but Eddie would panicked just as much as him and that would be of no help.

- Reaching out to Stan also pops up in his mind, but he can’t deal with cynical saying right now. He needs people who will be sympathetic towards him and hopefully tell him what to do.

- On the phone he barely explains anything to bev and Ben, but he does tell them to hurry up.

- When they get to the apartment, Ben and Bev are shocked at seeing the little baby, and get concerned after Richie fails to give them an answer about how or why she’s in his house.

- Regardless, they step up up to the task and do their best to take care of the girl they know nothing about.

- Ben drives to the store to get formula and blankets and diapers, while Bev fishes her out of her crib and begins to slowly rock her. They’re both calm and collected.

- Richie on the other hand is snapping out of his haze, and the reality of the situation begins to dawn on him.

- Bev tries to console him but it’s hard when she has zero background information.

- Ben comes back and heats up her formula, but she refuses to drink and lets out a piercing cry in refusal.

- Even Bev’s rocking isn’t doing anything the south the baby, and out of desperation, Richie begins to cry.

- Because Bev is out of option herself, and doesn’t have a clue on how to help Richie, she passes him the baby.

- Richie is terrified of holding this petit thing that fits just exactly right in his arms. He’s scared of crushing her or dropping her and messing her up for life.

- But miraculously, as soon as she’s snuggled in his arms, she stops crying.

- She’s just content to lay there with her dad, who eventually tries to bottle feed her and it works. She eagerly drinks from it.

- First crisis evaded

- But, after everyone has processed the first major shock, Richie needs to give Ben and Bev the answers they deserve now.

- Richie tries to be as straight forward as he can, but he hasn’t had the details yet himself.

- The two losers insists that he tells the others of their group right away. It’s too big of a secret to hide, and they need all the help they can get.

- Again, none of the losers are informed as to why they have to go to Richie’s house ASAP, but they still do, because he’s there best friend and they wouldn’t be called if it wasn’t important.

- It’s Stan and Patty that arrive after Bev and Ben.

- Stan and Patty are less astounded for some reason.

- Patty doesn’t even inquire, she just goes straight into cooing over the baby fase.

- She’ll sit next to Richie (still holding his daughter) and begins talking gibberish to the baby about how beautiful she is.

- Richie agrees.

- Stan follows her lead, but he simply observes the two of them together and then sits near touching to Richie.

- ‘I should have know you’d be the first one with a kid Trashmouth.’

- But he doesn’t lecture Richie, or starts to interrogate him about anything.

- He must have sensed that Richie wasn’t up to it at the moment.

- Bill and Mike are next.

- Within stepping one food inside the place, and spotting Richie with a baby, Bill laughs, and asks him who he knocked up.

- He intends it as a joke, obviously, but when no one else laughs, he realises how right he is.

- ‘Richie... have you been keeping your baby from us for three months?’ Mike asks, a little offended.

- ‘What do you mean three months?’

- ‘She’s clearly three months old. You can tell by her development.’ When everyone just stares at him, Mike explains further. ‘I had a lot of time on my my hands after you all left Derry. Maybe I spend that time reading children books.’

- He doesn’t more time to elaborate, because that’s the moment Eddie arrives.

- It’s his reaction Richie is most frightened off.

- He’s in love with Eddie, loves him with all his heart, but he can’t ask Eddie to date a man that just became a father. That would mean not only choosing him, but also his child.

- Eddie looks at the baby, at Richie and then back, and follows it up by cursing;’what the fuck’. loudly.

- The harsh sound startles the baby, but with a gentle kiss on the forehead that Richie gives her, she’s pacified back into sleep.

- ‘Oh shit, oh no. I need an explanation, right now.’

- Richie explains the story yet again, and hopes that none of his friends will label him as an asshole at the end of it.

- Of course they don’t, but Eddie is headed up over the whole situation.

- ‘I know a lot of lawyers after my divorce with Myra, I could hook you up someone.’

- ‘She can’t just dump her baby on you without any of the proper paperwork. What if she has a deadly disease and needs to get continuos treatment?’

- Eddie’s ‘advice’ turns Richie’s complexion green, and his stomach in knots. He’s never had to thought of that stuff before, and now he has a whole human being that depends on him for everything.

- Stan snaps at Eddie to stop him from adding more stress onto Richie, which Eddie does with a guilty apologie.

- ‘Look Richie,’ Stan says to him with full seriousness. ‘You need to decide what you’re going to do,and unfortunately you do not have a lot of time. You cannot put this off, she needs a name, and a crib and everything she needs to survive. You need to make a decision if you’re keeping her.’

- Richie gazes down upon his baby. The same baby he hasn’t let go off from the second he held her. He’s so scared, beyond explanation or able to put it in words, but this is his daughter. He could give her up for adoption, and he live would remain the same, but he knows she excites now, and to give her away to strangers? He don’t think he could have the heart.

- But...

- ‘I can’t do it by myself’, he admits, voice small and honest.

- ‘You’d never have to.’ Eddie responds, one of his fingers stroking over the ring babies head. He looks absolutely smitten.

- His life was uprooted once again, but last time the change wasn’t bad at all. Richie is confident, this won’t be bad either.

- Barely a month later Eddie moves in with them full time, and becomes pops to Maggie lover Tozier.

[runenc03]

Til the light goes out (and after) - part 2

Writing date: January or February 2021, I can’t remember

Genre: fluff! I figured we deserved that after the insecurity of part 1

Warnings: I guess a make out session? Should I warn for that? I think I should warn you that this is my ‘steamiest content’ (for now) and that is saying very laying because I’m too shy to write steamy stuff, even if i want to try to write it.

Word count: 2.7k words:

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You didn't mean to stare, you really didn't, but your afternoon performance was about to start and you knew that when he wanted to be alone, he always went to the equipment room to play music and order his thoughts, so you came to tell him that he was needed to discuss the latest details before the performance. Standing there, just about to announce your presence, something had stopped you. You watched as he sat there, crossed legged on an old sofa, flute in his hands, his knight armor clearly making it difficult for him to raise his arms to the right angle to be able to play. It almost made you giggle, he had always hated that costume. His eyes studied the sheet in front of him, memorising the last few little notes before playing it during the performance. You loved to watch him when he was like this, so fully himself, so unguarded. 

"Hi. Is it time?" 

He looked almost sad, and you knew that while he loved playing for people, he wasn't ready to leave his secluded spot yet. You decided extending his time a little wouldn't hurt anyone. 

"No, we still have a few more minutes. What part are you playing?" 

His mouth formed a smile, and he patted the space beside him on the sofa as an invitation. You giggled as the clattering of his armor costume disturbed the silence. You seated yourself on the sofa, briefly wondering if the old thing could even carry two bodies, and then threw your legs over his crossed ones, creating a mess of intertwined limbs. Then, you kissed his cheek - you couldn't help yourself, really - and enjoyed watching the blush spread over the place you had just placed your lips on. 

"After all this time together, I still get you flustered with a kiss on your cheek, without anyone near us?" 

He now fully turned his attention to you, carefully placing his flute on its holder next to the sofa, a grin growing on his face. 

"I can't help it and you know it. Besides, you wouldn't have it any other way." 

You had to agree with that. As much as you loved how other couples go all out on public displays of affection, you weren't sure you'd like that so much. 

"Touché. Now kiss me, we need to leave in literally 3 minutes." 

You saw his grin broaden, until he was so close that his lips were out of your sight. Not that you minded. Closing your eyes, you felt his smile, and that was your favourite way to experience it anyway. His arm slid around your waist, lightly pulling you closer to him, and your legs decided on their own to untangle from his and just entirely sit on his lap instead. As he felt you snuggle close to him, he hummed in appreciation, and you smiled at the rich sound of it. You continued to share kiss after kiss, the fingers on one of your hands weaving themselves through his hair, while the other slid under his armor, lightly scratching his back. You knew he loved it, and while you still questioned as to why that was, you really didn't mind doing it. After all, he did wonderful things to you as well. 

"I love you. So so much, you know that, right?" 

You often questioned if other people smiled as much while making out as you did. It was automatic, as opposed to him being so shy in public, he had the habit to mumble all sorts of little things to you while the two of you were alone, and it made it impossible not to smile. He made you so, so happy. You questioned if other couples felt as much love as you did, too. You answered him by covering his jaw in kisses, going from right under his ear to his chin, somewhere in the back of your mind noting that it was still scratchy, and realising that he probably hadn't had the time to shave this morning because you had texted him at 5 am to ask if you could go watch the sunrise together, something he had obviously agreed to, being the incredibly kind human being he was. 

"I love you too. I love you, I love you, I love you." 

Now it was his time to smile, the effect of your words alternating with your kisses, and your heart warmed a little bit more. Oh, how you loved him. Saying it just wasn't enough. He tilted your head then, gentle as always, and you gladly went once again from kissing his jaw to kissing his lips. You shuffled even closer, deepening the kiss, shifting your hand on his back to his chest, lazily drawing circles there, feeling his warm flesh against your cold hands. He didn't flinch, he never did. He had somehow made you believe in the beauty of your touch, and, in a strange way, because of it, in the beauty of yourself. His fingers now wove themselves through your hair as well, angling your face just a bit differently once again.  His other hand went to your upper leg, drawing circles just like you were doing on his chest, so in sync with each other. His lips were warm against yours, but not in a scorching way. You felt welcome, at home. 

"Hey, uh, you know I would say sorry for interrupting, but I'm really not that sorry. You have all the time in the world after the show, lovebirds, but for now, you need to come with me." 

Your boyfriend's groan would've amused you if you, too, hadn't been so hopelessly embarrassed. Ruby - now Ava - had come to get you, and while you wouldn't have wanted anyone else to walk in on you, you knew the smugness wouldn't leave her voice anytime soon. She did leave the two of you behind then, also understanding that embarrassing you any further wouldn't do right before the show, and you smiled at her thoughtfulness. 

"Come on, she was right, we need to get up. From now on, you're the unnamed music guy again, and I am princess Rose." 

You carefully pulled yourself away from him, careful not to knock anything over, especially not his precious flute, and straightened your dress once again, making sure there weren't any creaks in it. 

"I would call you my princess, but I guess you'd find that a bit too cheesy, wouldn't you?" 

Your laughter filled the room, and you took his hand, standing on your tiptoes one last time to give his cheek a kiss. 

"You know me so well. Now come on, unnamed music guy, it's time for us to make some magic." 

Flute in hand, he gladly followed you. _______________________________________

"Hey, love, I forgot my pocket sized sheet music in the office, can you go get it please? I still need to ask Ava about the music in the third scene."

You nodded, turning around on your heels and quickly jogging to the office, the room in which you all had brainstorm sessions about your shows. It wasn't unusual for your boyfriend to forget his stuff, and you knew that he and Ava were the two most musically talented people in your crew and they liked to make sure they both agreed with whatever music was played, so you weren't suspicious of the situation. That was, until you reached the office, and your feet stopped moving upon laying your eyes on the person that was already seated at your round table, smiling politely as she saw you enter. It was none other than Erica Rodriguez, billionaire, media figure, and basically the owner of the entire movie industry. 

"Hello there. I see that you found your way to me. Take a seat please." 

Your limbs felt like cooked pasta, your face heating up at her words, and an uneasy feeling settled in your stomach. What in God's name was going on? After being looked at expectantly for at least a few seconds, you broke out of your reverie, stumbling over your own feet, but into the chair opposite of Mrs. Rodriguez. 

"Excuse me ma'am, but we're about to play the afternoon show in the northern region of the park, and I'm expected to be-" 

"Don't worry, everything is taken care of. One of the women of your group with a very unimportant role in this play is taking over your character for the afternoon, so everyone is notified that you won't join your crew today. In fact, this was their idea, they personally invited me. And I must say, I'm pleased I responded." 

Your cluelessness was probably very evident on your face, Mrs. Rodriguez's polite expression morphing into a genuine, but amused smile as she pushed a piece of paper in your direction that you hadn't noticed before. 

"A few weeks ago, your friends contacted me, to tell me about this amazingly talented girl in their crew. About a year ago, that girl started allowing the crew to play her own written stories, and she even grew as far as to play the lead role in some of them. They told me that even though she'd always been a good writer, she'd also grown enormously over the last few months, and that the show they were about to play next was the best story she'd ever written, and that I should come take a look." 

"So...so you came to look at my play?" 

Your throat felt dry, your head foggy with all the unexpected information. Mrs. Rodriguez nodded enthusiastically, and the uneasy feeling inside your stomach swirled, although at this point, you weren't too sure it was uneasiness that was going on in there. 

"Yes, yes I did. I took my daughter with me, and together we watched your show this morning. I'm glad you didn't notice me, I wouldn't have been able to judge properly if you had, but it needs to be said, you have an extraordinary gift." 

The blush covered your cheeks before her words had any chance to cool off. You looked down, playing with the hem of your princess dress, somewhere in the back of your head noting that you must look utterly ridiculous. 

"Thank you, that's really kind, but it's not just me. I wrote the story, but my friends, the crew, they're the ones bringing the story to life, making the magic." 

Her smile morphed into a knowing grin. 

"Which is exactly the reason that, if you agree to make your play into a movie with my help, I would love for your entire crew to continue to play the roles they play now. I've been looking for something like this for a long time now, something with some classic elements, but with a creative twist. Something kids get excited about, but adults just as much. Something magical, really, and I found it here. Now, it wouldn't be fair for me to pressure you into saying yes immediately, your friends told me that this place is practically sacred for you. Just know that I would treat your story with the utmost care and respect, that making it into a movie wouldn't take away the magic, it would just capture it for eternity." 

Your next words were out before you knew it, your heart making little skips. This was huge, and you were surprised you realised that so soon, but in this moment, everything was crystal-clear to you. 

"I don't need time, ma'am. I've seen all the movies made under your care, and they're all astoundingly beautiful. I'd be honoured to make my play into a movie. Thank you so much." 

Your vision blurred by unshed tears, your smile had barely ever been this wide. You were flying, soaring, wanted to laugh, jump, dance, cry, sing with joy. You also realised that you wanted to share this with the rest of your crew. 

"You can keep this copy of the contract, it was a bit ceremonial anyway, I'll send you a copy by mail soon, is that okay?" 

You nodded quickly, standing up to shake her hand as she took her coat and her briefcase, once again congratulating you before walking out the door of the office room, leaving you with the most overwhelming wave of gratitude you'd ever felt in your life. _______________________________________

This time around, you found your boyfriend between the park's castle and the 'magic woods', not too far away from where the crowd was still gathered after the play. He was cleaning his flute, silently checking every inch to see if it hadn't been damaged somewhere during the play. It was a ritual for him, and while you'd normally let him have it, you were way too excited now to not engulf him in a hug right this second. 

"Woah....what happened?" 

But there was a certain edge to the tone of his voice, and you knew that he was perfectly aware of everything that had happened to you these past half an hour. 

"Oh, shut up. Was it your idea? Honestly I can't thank all of you enough." 

He chuckled, placing a kiss on your temple, and your arms automatically squeezed him a bit tighter. 

"Actually, it was Ava's, but I helped actually reaching out to Mrs. Rodriguez. We all did, to be honest." 

You wanted to kiss him then and there, engulfed in sunlight, while the excited chatter of visitors could still be heard from not too far away, when a certain little girl's voice broke the moment. 

"Princess Rose! Why are you hugging this man? And where is your husband? Do you not love him anymore? But you kissed this morning!?" 

You hadn't ever turned around as quickly as you did now, horrified that one of the little ones had caught you full on wrapped around what for them was just another character in the play. But your blood actually turned cold when you saw which little girl stumbled upon you. 

"Mummy, look! I found Princess Rose! But she's hugging someone other than Prince Carl!" 

And there she was, Mrs. Rodriguez. You relaxed a bit when you realised that she wasn't as horrified as you were, but only slightly. You could only stand there, wide-eyed, for once not knowing what to say. Fortunately, your ever shy boyfriend decided that this was the perfect moment to speak up. 

"Hi there! How are you?" 

The girl's mouth curved into a cute smile, regardless of the situation charmed that someone in a knight costume was talking to her. She nodded her head, but also leaned against her mum, trying to make herself a bit more comfortable. Your boyfriend, meanwhile, made a ridiculously deep bow for Mrs Rodriguez' daughter. You stifled your laughter. 

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Knight Ronald, and I am Princess Rose's favourite brother." 

The little girl's eyes widened, an excited look on her face. 

"Are you? I don't have a brother, although I would love to have one! Then I could dress up as a princess and play princess Rose! And then my brother could play you and we could go on adventures together! I-" 

But Mrs. Rodriguez had stopped her daughter's rambling, the biggest grin on her face. Your face probably mirrored hers. 

"Okay sweetie, I think it's time you and I go home. Say bye to Princess Rose and Knight Ronald, and then we need to leave, okay?" 

The girl ran forward, wrapping her small arms around your waist, as that was the highest she could reach. You hugged her back, mouthing a thank you to your boyfriend, and a sorry to Mrs Rodriguez, who gave you a reassuring wave in return. After the two of them had left, you concentrated all your attention on the wonderful guy next to you again. This time, you checked your surroundings before wrapping your arms around his neck, groaning slightly as you realised just how close you'd come to completely ruining both the little girl's and your own day. 

"Please don’t ever say that you're my brother again" 

He chuckled, but rubbed your head in a comforting manner anyway. 

"I won’t.” 

And he sealed his promise with a kiss worthy of being reciprocated by a true princess.

[loveydoveyfrog]

fallingforyou pt.3

Sorry for not updating for a while but also I don’t think anyone is really reading this. If you are ily, let me know if I should keep going. 

If you spot any mistakes or ways in which I make this non inclusive please lmk!!

-            -               -              -              -                -

Pairing: Atsumu Miya x Reader  Words: 3.6k Warnings: None that i’m aware of Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

It was Friday afternoon. For the past two days you’ve had the invitation you received on Wednesday replaying in your head. Sure, you didn’t have any specific details yet, but the plan was in motion, wasn’t it? You smiled at the prospect as you scanned the library shelves for a specific tome. The library was pleasantly quiet today. Your lessons were done for the day, but you stopped by the library for a book which wasn’t available online, much to your dismay. A46, A46, A46… you repeated to yourself, searching for the matching label on your desired book. You spotted it with a satisfied ah ha! And plucked it from the collection. Promptly checking out the book, you headed out to the small foyer preceding the library. Approaching the door, you spotted a familiar pair.

Bokuto was right by the door, eagerly discussing some topic with an equally ecstatic boy with a head full of mad ginger hair. The boy was extremely animated, gesticulating wildly as he rambled on about something. In comparison to this bundle of energy, Bokuto seemed tame, though more often than not, his intensity matched his, resulting in chaos. This chaos, however, was cut short when you caught Bokuto’s attention with a friendly wave as you passed the pair. His eyes brightened and stepped towards you, a thrilled grin on his face.

“Y/n! Hey!” he greeted you as if you were lifelong friends. You tried to match his enthusiasm with your hello, though that was hard to achieve on a slow Friday afternoon. Bokuto noticed his friend gawking at you upon hearing your name, much like he must have done when he first realised who you were. You were not oblivious to his stare either, offering him a small wave accompanied with a quiet hi. 

“Ah, this is Hinata, he’s on the volleyball team too,” Bokuto explained. The name rang a bell; you recalled his name being mentioned last Wednesday. You also remembered seeing him in the distance on the Monday morning when you first met Bokuto. You gave him a warm smile and extended your hand.

“Nice to meet you,” you said, happy to be getting familiar with the rest of the team. Hinata returned your smile tenfold, shaking your hand with a new found charge of energy. 

“He was right! You are pretty!” he said bluntly, stars in his eyes. You let out a surprised laugh and slipped your hand out of his, your eyes flicking between Hinata and Bokuto for any further explanation. You assumed ‘He’ referred to Atsumu, but Bokuto only scratched his neck with an awkward chuckle, knowing that should they let anything else slip, Atsumu would tear them to shreds. Well at least you had one thing confirmed, though you didn’t know how much credibility could be pinned to a statement like that. This should have been an obvious sign to you, but your thought process was blocked with doubt and denial. Yet, you couldn’t ignore the small flame of hope kindled in the pit of your chest.

“You should come to one of our games!” the ginger quipped, his excitement still bubbling. This lit a spark in Bokuto’s eyes.

“Oh yeah! Did Atsumu tell you any dates?” he inquired. You shook your head in response.

“No, I haven’t seen him since Wednesday,” you said. 

“We have a friendly game with our county rivals next Monday!” Hinata explained cheerfully. You nodded as if you understood what that meant; the words ‘friendly’ and ‘rivals’ didn’t make any sense to you when paired. Before Bokuto could follow up with any info, he felt a chilling presence behind him. Whipping around he saw the masked boy outside the window giving the group a stern glare. As if wordlessly communicating with the two boys, the pair spun around to face you apologetically.

“Sorry, y/n, we gotta go now,” explained Bokuto, dragging Hinata to the door, “see you on Monday?” he asked with an expectant look. You nodded and waved them goodbye, giving the mysterious masked boy a nervous glance. Bokuto saw your unease and laughed loudly. “That’s Sakusa by the way,” he said as he opened the door to step out into the cold Mid October air. The now named boy gave you a single nod and turned to walk away when he was sure the exuberant pair was following him to practice. You gave the group another wave goodbye as they walked past the window, Hinata bouncing along and returning your wave. 

Once they left your field of vision, you swiftly took out your phone to update your friend on the upcoming event, obviously including them in the plan. You couldn’t just go alone, you’d probably explode from the stress. Though who in their right mind gets stressed out about watching a volleyball game? You could already feel your stomach turning with anticipation. Your friend replied almost immediately. You smiled and tucked your phone away, as you’d much rather discuss this face to face. And so, you headed to your shared dorm. For the first time, you wanted to skip the weekend entirely. 

-  

Thankfully, the weekend seemed to zip past fast for you. Whilst your head was swimming in excitement, your stomach twisted with anxiety. You sat in your Monday morning class, hyper aware of the fact that the game was some time today, but you had no clue what time it was. Heck, you didn’t even know WHERE it was. You obviously haven’t seen Atsumu, or anyone else from the team for that matter, during the weekend, so you were completely lost as to where you were meant to go. Atsumu’s absence was something else your mind also stuck to; you haven’t seen or heard from him since Wednesday, did he even know you were coming today? What if he didn’t even want you there? As your mind was preoccupied with skipping over the possible outcomes that could play out today, you barely paid attention to the class for a second week in a row. You were once again torn out of your thoughts by your prodding friend, signalling that the class was over. 

You stepped outside your block, your eyes scanning the area for Atsumu, or even Bokuto, but you were left disappointed. Your friend watched you deflate. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t go…” you sighed, increasingly unsure about going to the match. Your friend gasped, as if betrayed.

“No way, y/n! We’re going, I don’t care what you say. I’ll drag you there myself if I have to,” they promised. You looked at them, clearly feeling defeated. 

“I don’t even know where it is. Or when it is. What if-” you began, only to be cut off by your friend’s shushing finger. 

“Stop. I bet it’s in the sports hall, where else would it be?” they explained. They sighed at your clueless expression. “It’s down the path behind our dorms. You know, the path to the left of the parking lot?” You blinked. Was it? You tried following the path in your mind, but it led you nowhere. You shrugged and set off in the direction of your dorms, not in the mood to stop by the cafe or library today. 

“Well either way, I don’t know what time to go,” you started again. “And I am not going to sit outside the hall all day like a freak,” you said before your friend could even suggest the idea. 

“I’m sure it’s online or something,” they offered. You hummed in response, taking out your phone to look anywhere that might give you the answer. As you scrolled, you didn’t look where you were going, and your friend didn’t give you any warning as you slammed into something solid and still, as if they placed themselves in your path deliberately (he did). You blinked up to look at your obstacle only to be met with a set of familiar, teasing eyes. 

“Ya gotta be more careful, Pumpkin,” he playfully advised, shaking his head with a click of his tongue. Your face burned with embarrassment and muttered out a bashful sorry. He laughed at the state you were in. He’d love to stick around to tease you some more, but he had to head to a meeting with his personal tutor. He turned to your amused friend who had a similar, mischievous glint in their eyes. They were definitely on the same brain waves. “Ya really gotta start keeping an eye on them! They could get seriously hurt one day!” He mockingly codesended your friend with his hands on his hips, knowing perfectly well that they didn’t warn you on purpose. They held back a laugh at this.

“Of course, it won’t happen again!” they returned with a similar, sarcastic tone, implying that it most definitely will happen again, even if they have to make it happen themselves. Atsumu seemed satisfied with this response and turned to leave, but not before locking eyes with you again.

“I’ll see ya later today, yeah?” he started walking away, taking your answer for granted. “Come at 7:30, ok?” he said, but it sounded more like a command than a question. He smiled when you confirmed with a nod, and with that, he was gone. Well, that answered a few things. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself.

 - 

In no less than 3 minutes, you were regretting your decision to not bring a jacket. You rubbed your forearms in an attempt to warm up, thanking the heavens that you were at least half way down the path already. You were too stubborn to turn around to get something warmer than your button up sweater, and besides, it was 7:25 already. Your friend seemed significantly cosier than you in their thick black crewneck. You told yourself that the sports hall was right behind your dorm block and you wouldn’t need it seeing as it was a quick walk away. Besides, you didn’t want to deal with the hassle of a large coat later on. Whilst, yes, you could see the lights from the sports hall already and you were nearly there, you couldn’t ignore the fact that the chill had a sharp bite tonight. 

You heard the squeaks of sneakers and random shouts as you heard the teams inside warming up for their upcoming game. You and your friend peered inside, blinking against the bright lights to look at the boys inside. The tone of the room didn’t appear to be as tense as you would have expected it to be; some boys were doing random warm ups and some even chatted casually with members of the opposite team. Hinata did say it would be a friendly game after all, so perhaps you shouldn’t be surprised. Little did you know how the atmosphere would shift once the first set was in motion. You quickly recognised Bokuto and Hinata, the pair absolutely buzzing with energy and excitement doing quick training exercises. Atsumu sensed your presence the second you appeared at the open door, but he let your eyes find him before his gaze drifted to catch your full attention. He gave you a big smile and happy wave. You wanted to wish him good luck, though you remembered that in theatre that superstitiously meant bad luck. Not knowing if the same rule applied to sport, you settled on a small wave in return. Not wanting to distract him or get him out of the zone, you followed your friend to find a seat. 

Soon enough the game began and you found yourself in the front row on the upper level of the bleachers. Despite it only being a friendly match, you were surprised by how many people from both universities attended the game. Atsumu was the first to serve, and you paid extra attention to stay silent, Sakusa’s warning still ringing clearly in your mind. The ball flew cleanly over the net and you let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. To be perfectly honest, you didn’t know much about the game, and it didn’t occur to you to maybe learn the rules beforehand. As a result you didn’t fully understand the etiquette either; you weren’t sure when to cheer and when to stay silent. You knew that some games required silence, such as golf or tennis, whilst others encouraged a constant roar of applause. You mimicked the general reactions of the rest of the crowd, and sooner or later you caught onto the general rhythm, even if your reactions were slightly subdued. Not to mention, everything was going so fast it was hard to track what was going on. At times, a play seemed to end in the blink of an eye.

You tracked Atsumu the best you could despite the almost overwhelming speed of the game. You noticed how much his demeanour changed whenever he got particularly invested. Even at this distance you could swear his eyes got darker, the light catching a dangerous glint whenever he saw the perfect opportunity to set up a winning spike. This tone would occasionally wash away when exchanging playful comments with his team mates, but you could tell by his body language how easily he shifted back into that dark, competitive mode. As you watched him, you couldn’t imagine being in his shoes. How could he play so well when he was being watched by so many people? You’d probably trip over your own legs from the pressure, and this wasn’t even a super important game. Unbeknownst to you, Atsumu felt a new kind of thrill knowing you were watching him, like a shock of electricity jolted through his whole system as he was ever  aware of your presence and watching eyes. Atsumu was beyond ecstatic to see your passion and energy when you got into the pace of the game, feeling every bit of encouragement spur him on. This effect seemed to seep through to the rest of the team, particularly Bokuto and Hinata. After securing the first set, he easily found you in the crowd, giving you an excited wave, almost as if seeking your approval. You laughed gleefully and gave him a round of applause. You were certain your praise was drowned out by the rest of the audience, but to Atsumu, your cheers rang out like a blessing. Little did you know, a handful of jealous and sharp glares were scattered among the crowd, all trained on you and the attention you were receiving. 

-

By the end of the game, you and your friend have gotten more than invested in the match, standing up to cheer and clap whenever your team scored a point. The game was tough but your team pulled through the final set with a slamming victory. The boys cried out, basking in their winning glow. Bokuto, Atsumu and Hinata exchanged multiple high fives and what appeared to be a special victorious handshake, meanwhile you and your friend held each other as you jumped and cheered for your team. Atsumu’s sparkling eyes found yours, his smile somehow even wider despite his already ecstatic state. He gave you a quick wave and held up one finger, as if asking you to wait before dashing into the changing rooms with the rest of the team. You barely had the time to register his request, but your brain clicked in time before he disappeared. 

You waited by the open doors, arms wrapped around yourself, shivering from the cold, biting wind. Though the excitement and rush of the game had kept you warm during the match, that heat was quickly dissipating as you stood in the open doors. Outside a small gathering of girls also waited, though at a distance, obnoxiously squealing about something you didn’t bother to catch. Your friend had left you alone, claiming they had a last minute assignment due that they completely forgot about. You wondered what assignment that might be, since you both took almost identical classes. Atsumu rushed out soon enough, pulling you out of your thoughts. He spotted you immediately and briskly walked over with an excited smile. You noticed his hair was still damp from the shower. 

“So?” He asked expectantly, “whatcha think?” He looked like a child ready for praise. His energy seeped into you, your smile blazing as you recalled that buzz of adrenaline you felt no less than a few minutes ago.

“It was SO COOL!” you expressed clenching your fists, eyes dazzled. “You were so fast!” Atsumu had a proud grin on his face. He knew he was good, but your words of affirmation were like honey. “I must admit, I didn’t quite understand what was going on, and everything was so fast that it was a bit hard to follow, but I got the hang of it! I think…” your confidence dwindled slightly by the time you got to the end of your statement. Atsumu blinked, then let out a laugh. 

“Of course, I shoulda explained the rules to ya first,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, acting as if he hadn’t hoped you’d be at least a bit confused. “If ya still don’t get anything I can explain later,” he offered. 

Later. That word seemed to hang in the air. You’d definitely like to see him later, no matter the circumstance. You nodded eagerly.

“Yes please,” you replied. 

The pair of you were oblivious to the fact that the rest of the team had emerged from the changing rooms. Bokuto and Hintata were witness to the scene, and they almost yelled out words of encouragement before the captain bonked them on the heads, keeping them quiet before they said anything stupid and scared you off; you looked like an enamoured deer in the headlights. The captain eyed the pair. He was aware of Atsumu’s improved performance today; he didn’t seem as distracted and mouthy, and hit every serve perfectly, except for the one which hit the net, but still dropped into the opposing court. Could you be the reason?

Atsumu took in your appearance almost tenderly. He noticed you were dressed in varsity colours. So cute, he thought to himself. Whilst doing so, he also noticed you were shivering. Without thinking, he took off his team jacket and extended it to you. He did it so fast he almost surprised himself, the smallest dusting of a blush present on his cheeks. Both of you blinked at each other, however yours was more due to confusion.

“Ya look cold,” he said uncharacteristically bluntly. He quickly recomposed himself and carried on. “Can’t have ya getting sick now, can we?” he explained. You only continued to look from the offered jacket to his seemingly calm eyes. 

“Are you sure? But what if you get sick? That’ll be way worse!” you babbled, “and your hair is still wet!” you continued, almost reaching out to confirm your statement. Atsumu only looked entertained by your blushing face and stream of excuses. 

“I’m fine, really, I’m still feeling hot from the game,” he lied expertly. You looked at him for a few more uncertain seconds. By your judgement, he seemed sincere.  

“If you say so,” you said, reluctantly taking the jacket. His eyes brightened immediately. You shrugged it on; it was too big for you, obviously, the sleeves ending just at your fingertips. The sight made Atsumu’s heart flutter in a new kind of way. So warm… you had to stop yourself from sighing in comfort, finally protected from the relentless cold. You were enveloped in a cool yet surprisingly floral scent. Must be his body wash… You blushed at the thought, snapping yourself out of it. “Thank you,” you stuttered out in your dazzled state. 

“No problem,” he replied, very pleased that his spontaneous decision paid off. 

“When do you want it back?” you questioned, playing with the ends of the sleeves absentmindedly. 

“Hmm,” he hummed, “how about you come by here on Thursday? I can teach you some stuff whilst we’re at it,” he suggested. You nodded in agreement, happy with the plan. Before you could respond, the coach called Atsumu with an impatient tone of voice. Atsumu looked at you with an apologetic smile. 

“So Thursday?” he asked for confirmation. 

“Thursday.” you agreed. And with that, Atsumu gave you his signature wave and headed back to the team, greeted by Bokuto and Hinata who immediately grabbed his entire body and shook him with a feral and fired up energy. 

You headed back to your dorm, holding the jacket closer to your body. You passed the group of girls, who’s discussion died down when you walked past, but you took no care to notice. You now wished that the walk back was longer, just so you could enjoy this moment a little more. You don’t know what made him take such a bold step. You barely knew one another. But you weren’t one to complain, and you had another day to look forward to. Much to your disappointment, your walk to the dorm block came to an end as you rounded the last curve of the path. 

You walked up to the door of your dorm room, slamming the door open with a wild fire of a blush on your face. Your friend looked up from their laptop, startled by your dramatic entrance. You wordlessly turned around, revealing Atsumu’s name on the jacket he gave you. Your friend flew out of their seat, screaming wildly as they shook you with the same rigor as Bokuto and Hinata when they shook Atsumu. You held onto your friend screamed, though with a tone that connoted confusion more than anything. 

*Meanwhile* 

Atsumu shivered and sniffled as he walked back to his dorm with Sakusa. The masked boy looked disapprovingly at his roommate, praying he didn’t catch a cold. 

“That was silly. Was it worth it?” he asked.

“Shut up,” Atsumu replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. “And yes it was.”

[sssn-neptune-vasilias]

So like, Ironwood’s clearly tumbling down the staircase towards authoritarianism so I just wanted to clarify my points about him because I did agree with a lot of what he was saying during the first couple of seasons up until he decided to completely throw himself off the boat without a life preserver. Also I don’t want y’all calling me an authoritarian (or fascist, Tumblr really doesn’t like to learn the difference between the different kinds of authoritarianisms and just lumps them all under fascism because why take a class when you can just say words?).

1) I think Ironwood was right to bring his airships to Beacon and frankly I think the other headmasters should’ve as well. Obviously no other Kingdom works like Mantle/Atlas- they’re the only one where the Hunter Academy is a direct branch of the kingdom’s military- but SOME protection should’ve been brought from Shade and Haven as well as Beacon. The Vytal tournament was an incredibly important part of Remnant culture, and ANYBODY could’ve seen that as a chance to strike. Any terrorist organization, anybody with a grudge, anybody with an agenda could’ve seen a giant float collessum and decided it’d look better crashing towards the ground. I think Ozpin, Lionheart and Theodore were hugely negligent not requesting SOME kind of military support from their respective kingdoms to watch over the event. Just think about it, that would’ve created FOUR different systems Cinder would’ve needed to hack into instead of one. The other three headmasters didn’t bring security and relied completely on Ironwood to save them when shit hit the fan. Ozpin’s words to Ironwood will always be hilarious to me. “You brought your army to my kingdom James… Use it!” The same army that he swore brought more harm than good? The same army he promised would be ineffective in keeping the peace? Now all of a sudden he’s begging for it? Ozpin of all people should’ve been READY for something like this. He’s closer to Salem than ANYONE he should’ve KNOWN that she would use an opportunity like this to strike. A wounded and defenseless Maiden locked in Beacon tower, a one-woman army infiltrating an SDC tower and leaving no recognizable trace other than a wake of bodies, a breach where “hundreds of people were killed” just weeks before, then Yang’s random and brutal “attack” on a seemingly defenseless student? Ozpin should’ve seen the signs of an imminent attack and acted proactively to ensure the safety of not just Beacon but the world. And instead he was too clueless to even ask for a security detail. He claimed that there was peace in Remnant, and that there was no need to upset people by bringing weapons of war, but peace needs to be defended. The Fall of Beacon was proof of what happens when you wait too long to defend yourself. Bringing in other kingdom’s defenses would’ve also shot one of Cinder’s weird monologue in the foot. She calls Ironwood a “tyrannical dictator” who “occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces” but if Ozpin had REQUESTED those airships? Maybe not even all of them but SOME? And brought his OWN? It would’ve just been business as usual instead of some kind of “invasion” from a previously adversarial nation. Ozpin’s complacency gave Cinder another nail to shut the coffin with. Did Ironwood overstep bringing ALL those ships without a warning? Absolutely, and whoever’s running Vale is out of their mind for not engaging their defenses to deter those ships before they entered Vale airspace in the first place. Should an equal number of ships all flying different flags have been there ANYWAY to stop something like the Breach or the Fall happening? Absolutely.

2) I think Ironwood’s plan is the right move. Let me clarify, the “tell the world about Salem” plan is the right move. “Unite the world against a common enemy” is the right move. “Expose the enemy for who she is and force her to leave the comfort of the shadows and engage in an actual war instead of the silly chess game proxy war you’ve been engaged in all this time.” If you expose Salem and make her a target, she crumbles. Anyone working for her is a top of the most wanted list, and it’s impossible for her to infiltrate and manipulate behind the scenes as she’s been doing. Her only army is Grimm and the kingdoms have been doing decently against them for centuries. I think Ironwood’s got a good idea, and Ozma was just too jaded by his centuries of life to believe that the world would pull together the way it needed to to band against Salem.

That said, I think Ironwood’s entire plan was a necessary evil. “Pull all Atlesian forces and resources out of Remnant and back into Mantle, to ride out the waves of Grimm that would come to tear the kingdom down after they learned about Salem.” It was a well thought out plan! He had STEPS. He KNEW that people would panic and planned AROUND that! For a “tin man” with no heart, he sure as fuck knew how to account for everyone else’s. Argus would suffer for this, sure, but he left them with a giant fucking jaegar, a Pacific Rim style wall around its biggest weak point, and enough air ships and guns to hold off a small scale invasion. Argus was also a unique situation where it was Mistral’s responsibility that Atlas elected to care for. We haven’t heard of any similar cities like this. He wanted to keep his people safe. And I know that’s a slap in the face to all of the people of Mantle who were living in the beginning stages of authoritarian rule for MONTHS, but I think the ends justify the means here. Ironwood’s plan was never to subjugate his people indefinitely, but to keep them safe until the worst had passed. I REALLY think Ironwood’s plan would’ve worked, and CLEARLY Salem does too, otherwise she wouldn’t be sending the biggest Grimm army ever seen and a whale the size of a fucking island to stop him. Telling Remnant about Salem was and still is a good plan, and drawing his troops and resources back to handle the fallout of it was a smart choice.

3) I think Ironwood is right to try abandon Mantle, and frankly I think he should’ve done it sooner. Ironwood is right, if Salem destroys Atlas, she destroys Remnant’s only hope of defeating her. Mistral and Haven were already attacked by the White Fang and Cinder’s crew without so much as a finger raised against them. Have fun reading the books to find out what’s happening in Shade. If Ironwood doesn’t save A) the power of the Winter Maiden B) the staff of creation, C) the lamp of knowledge AND D) as much of Atlas as he can, we’re fucked, and we’ve already lost the fucking lamp. The WORLD is fucked if we don’t stop Salem. And even KNOWING all of this, Ironwood waited until he had definitive proof that the enemy had already invaded Atlas before moving to leave. Tyrian and Watts were one thing, but Salem leaving her chess piece on his desk without him even knowing she was there? I can’t blame him for being scared. I can’t blame him for wanting to leave ASAP. Frankly I can’t blame him for calling RWBYJNRQOP naive. Saving every individual person down in Mantle would doom Atlas as a whole, and by extension the world. I don’t think I would’ve been able to fight against RWBY for wanting to risk saving everyone, but I don’t think I would’ve been able to fight with RWBY for the chance to take the risk either.

Last season was super political, which was a first for RWBY. Yeah, the writing’s ALWAYS been on the walls that Ironwood would take these steps into authoritarianism, and last episode had him breaking out into a full sprint. He straight up shot a member of his opposition! And that guy wasn’t even EXPLICITLY opposition, he was just questioning how Ironwood was handling the situation! I don’t think anyone can honestly say they’re surprised by this, and it’s super important to not just be against authoritarianism, but actively against it. We can’t condone it and must uproot it wherever it even begins to take hold. That said, I will say that, up to a point, Ironwood’s had good ideas on helping to save the world, while RWBY’ve been cutely optimistic but not very pragmatic in their “save every life no matter the cost” approach. And let’s be real, the show is called “RWBY” not “Ironwood” so I’m fully expecting the narrative to play out in a way that validates RWBY and demonizes Ironwood. I’m fully expecting Ironwood to completely fly off the walls as Salem draws nearer. I’m fully expecting to want to kick myself for agreeing with his motivations during season 7. I’m just writing this so that there’s a clear record of my stance not only for my followers (and for people ready to make callout posts, here you go 😉) but for myself too! So I can see if my stance changes and where I was before. So here you go future Tobias. Good luck!

[slashermom]

What about some headcanons of the Sinclair brothers on Valentine's Day? Would they celebrate with their s / o? Would it be an ordinary day for them? Instruct us, mom!

Bo

Vaguely aware of the holiday.

Used to use it as an excuse to go to a bar and pick up some lonely sucker for a night of fun.

But if he missed it he’s wasn’t too worried about it. He’s very pleased with his ability of persuasion and he doesn’t need some dumb little holiday to get some.

Just makes it easier.

Now he’s got a reason to keep an eye out for the 14th of February.

Spoiler: He still forgets.

He’s only reminded of the date when you utter to him a breathy ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ as you straddled his waist and started kissing him passionately first thing in the morning.

Son of a bitch! He forgot. How could he forget? You clearly didn’t. There’s still time to fix this, but he’s having trouble thinking of much of anything when you’re rolling your hips like that.

After your little morning adventure in the sheets, Bo is quick to get ready and head out the door.

Promising you that he’s just got to take care of something for Lester and then he’ll spend the rest of the day glued to your side.

Has trouble with the gift part at first.

Intimacy? Fucking for hours on end? Not a problem.

But getting you a gift that is supposed to show how much you mean to him?

He’s clueless.

Bo knows what you like and what you don’t, he’s just unsure of what’s appropriate.

He’s never had to do this kind of thing before.

Bo ends up settling on a necklace. An inexpensive one that looks quite nice and you can’t tell he actually got from Walmart unless you were told.

He feels like a dick for settling and promises to do better next year.

Turns out he was worried about nothing, you loved the necklace.

Bo feels himself lean down to get closer to you as you press a kiss to his cheek. Wanting to feel more of your affection, something he swears is just as addictive as any of his liquor.

He’s definitely gonna do better next year. You deserve it.

Bo’s pretty smug that he was able to pull that off but he also really does love you and is grateful to have you. Even if he does forget about Valentine’s Day.

Vincent

Has been planning this for a while.

When he was a kid he watched Trudy and Victor get ready for a night out during Valentine's Day.

His mother is the prettiest dress and makeup and his father in a clean shirt and his nicest slacks. They looked like something out of a movie.

Obviously, he can’t give you all that, but he’s gonna try to give you the best Valentine's Day possible.

He’s been working on this beautiful acrylic painting for just about a month now.

He’s started over and changed a million different details almost every day.

Vincent wanted it to be perfect for you.

It had to be.

He spent most of the day before Valentine’s couped up in the basement. Finally, the ideas and inspiration flowing through him at a steady pace and he wasn’t gonna let it slip away just because he was hungry or tired.

You began to grow a little worried when it was well into the 14th and you still hadn’t seen your man.

He always hides away, but this time you were concerned and weren’t gonna wait any longer.

Stomping down the basement stairs you barely gave the half-awake man enough time to cover the painting and stand in front of it.

You called out his name and raised your eyebrows as you saw him awkwardly standing in front of something.

He was definitely surprised to see you but was even more surprised to see the vase of freshly picked flowers in your grasp.

You handed him the vase with a smile and a ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’. He stared at the flowers for a long moment, love swelling in his chest.

It was time to show you.

He set the flowers on the workbench before ushering you forward and motioning you to take the apron off the canvas.

You gave him a questioning look and a cheeky smile before moving the fabric out of the way.

You audibly gasp and hands shot up to cover your mouth as you looked at the painting for the first time.

It was you in the beautiful flower field just through the woods.

The exact place where you got the flowers for Vincent.

You took in all the blues, whites, yellows, and greens with wonderment and even felt your heart stutter as he got all of your features almost perfect.

“This must have taken hours.”

Oh, you wouldn’t know the half of it. Vincent chuckled to himself.

You turned around to face the man who was now sitting on a stool. His fingers tugging at a stray string on the edge of his sweater as he avoided eye contact.

You wedged your legs between his knees and set your hands on his shoulders. Vincent still wouldn’t full meet your gaze so you ran your hands across his shoulder up his neck and tucked your thumbs right under where his mask was. You carefully tilted his head up so he would finally look at you.

“Vincent, I think this is probably the most beautiful Valentine I’ve ever gotten.”

He perked up at that. Really? You weren’t just saying that to make him feel better?

His hands moving from his lap to your thighs where the rubbed up and down before they traveled higher and settled on your waist.

Feeling like the weight of the world was off his shoulders now that he knew you actually liked his gift to you, his head fell forward and rested on your chest.

You carded your hands through his hair and across his back. He shuttered. Even after this long, he could never get used to the way you touched him.

“I really do love your gift... Let me show you how much I love it.” Vincent picked his head up at this. He wouldn’t mind a little appreciation for all his hard work.

Lester

Was the kid who would go ‘EWWWW’ when his mom and dad would be especially lovey on Valentine's.

Yes, he’s been a bastard his whole life.

But in high school, he had this huge crush on this girl in his biology class and tried to give her a less than desirable valentine.

(It was a critter.)

But this time around, he’s determined to do better.

So he gets up early and heads into town to get you a proper Valentine’s Day gift.

He was just gonna do a box of chocolates and pick up a couple of movies for you two to curl up and watch together.

But then something caught his eye.

A ginormous light brown teddy bear.

That’s perfect!

He hauls that thing up under one arm, snags a couple of movies, and pays for it without a second thought.

When he gets out to trunk he realizes it’s probably not the best idea to plunk it in the back where he puts all the dead game so he stuffs it into the front seat with him.

It’s quite a sight.

The whole way home he’s practically vibrating with excitement.

Lester can’t wait to see your face when you see it.

He hopes you like it.

But as he’s on the final stretch home, he starts having doubts.

What if you don’t like it? What if you thought it was dumb? Maybe he should’ve just bought you the chocolate or something?

When he finally pulls into the driveway he’s surprised to see you on the porch with a puzzled look on your face as your eyes see the fluffy bear crowded in the front seat.

He hops out and as he’s making his way over to you he begins explaining and even apologizing.

“I thought it would be cute and all and I know how you like this kinda stuff... But if you don’t like it I can bring it back! I still got the receipt-“

He’s cut off by you wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him for a kiss. Effectively quelling all his worries.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

He’s got a big ol’ goofy grin and his neck and ears are a bright red.

Lester leaves you only for a second to tug the bear out of the truck and grabbed the bag of movies before he wraps an arm around your waist and brings you inside to enjoy the rest of the holiday.

[artificialqueens]

Come Home to My Heart, Chapter 8 (Lemyanka) - Plastiquedoll

read on ao3 ✨| previous chapters

A/N: wow… I can’t believe there are only two chapters left after this one… that’s crazy. This little story is my baby now so I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading it! <3

-8-

“Ouch!” Scarlett yelled as soon as Priyanka pinched her arm. “What was that for?”

“You’re friends with Lemon on Facebook? What the fuck?”

“Ah, yeah…” She rubbed her arm. “She befriended me a while ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? We live together.”

“I didn’t believe you’d mind and I thought she would add you too. I don’t know, I probably was high as fuck.” Scarlett sipped her Frappuccino.

“You, Kiara, and my mother back-stabbed me. I can’t believe it.”

“If it’s any consolation, she only posts pictures with her friends and when she’s at the dance studio… also, she spends an unhealthy amount of time rambling about The Sims.”

Seemed about right.

“I’m more worried about the pictures I appear as «tagged» on your page.”

“Yeah, you’re like a hot mess there.”

Priyanka and Scarlett went for a beverage that afternoon after stopping by the mechanical workshop to check on Priyanka’s car –it was still uncertain and the mechanic had ordered a few pieces that were supposed to arrive later that week- luckily her parents had lent her the family car for the afternoon.

Priyanka had ordered a strawberry smoothie but almost forgot about it. Her thoughts were somewhere else.

“Priyanka, are you there?” Scarlett called her.

“Yeah, sorry…”

“Girl, you’re like… gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Uhm…”

Scarlett sat with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. She had cut her hair recently and the tips of her blonde bob were perfectly symmetric, it was almost in discordance with her rock-star-punk-grunge aesthetic of ripped fishnets, piercings, and leather jackets but Priyanka knew her better, she was just a softie who had cried with The Little Mermaid.

Goddammit. Don’t you see the subtext of female liberation, Priyanka? She had said with tears in her eyes.

“Nothing… only that you’ve been distracted lately. How weird is it that this behavior coincides with the return of certain someone to your life? Odd, isn’t it?”

“Cut the sarcasm… I know what you’re implying. Lemon helped me out the other day only because that’s what any person would’ve done.”

“No, you’re overestimating human kindness. Trust me, spending your entire afternoon with someone to help them with their… how did she call it?”

“Jalopy.”

“I mean, accurate.” Priyanka stuck her tongue out. “What I’m saying is that’s a big gesture and you should take it as a white flag from her.”

“When you’re right, you’re right.”

“So… what are you going to do now?” Scarlett inquired.

“I have no idea… You’re the second person who said something like that. Denali thought she was provoking me the other night in the club –she’s out of her mind- but she also said that I should make the next move.”

“I agree.”

“But what if I make a fool of myself in the process?”

“That wouldn’t be a novelty.”

“Fuck you.”

Scarlett lighted up a cigarette.

Right at that moment, Boa walked out of the café with an Iced Americano in her hand, she spotted both girls sitting outside and approached them.

“Hey, you two! I was going to text you later today.” She greeted both of them.

“Hey, girl.” Scarlett waved.

“Hi, Boa! Nice to see you.” Priyanka hugged her.

“So listen, some of the girls –myself included- are planning a little day at that lake that’s like half an hour from here and since the more the merrier, maybe you’d want to join us.”

“Sounds cool. Do you have a date in mind?”

“We set Thursday but if any of you guys can’t we could change it.”

“No, I think Thursday is fine for all of us. Priyanka?”

Priyanka had her thoughts floating like a cloud.

“When you say «some of the girls»… you mean?”

“Tynomi, Kyne, me…” She began listing.

“Boa we’re looking for a name started with «L», five letters, common yellow fruit used often in the kitchen.” Priyanka elbowed Scarlett.

“Oh! Yeah… We’re trying to convince Lemon to go too. She wasn’t into the whole nature thing but…” She cleared her throat. “If we convinced some more people maybe she’d change her mind.”

“Great so we’ll be there.” Scarlett wrapped her arm around Priyanka. “Text me the details later.”

“Sure, see you on Thursday!”

“Bye…” Priyanka smiled and when the girl walked away, she immediately turned to Scarlett. “What was that?”

“«Thank you, Scarlett, you’re such a good friend» you’re very welcome, Priyanka.” She put out her cigarette. “I did what it had to be done.”

“I see… but what if Lemon doesn’t show up?”

“She will be there and even if she doesn’t we could still have a nice day on the lake or whatever. Jeez, do I need to give you a pep talk whenever we plan something?”

“We’ll need a car, I can’t borrow my parent’s car all week and you came here by bus. Can Juice drive us there?”

“Yeah about that… Juice broke up with me.”

Priyanka frowned. “I thought you guys weren’t dating.”

“We weren’t, that’s why she gave me an ultimatum.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“She agrees with you, obviously.” Scarlett leaned back on the chair. “However, I never wanted to break her heart with promises I wasn’t sure I was going to fulfill. I never promised her more than what I gave and it worked for some time.”

“Until it didn’t…”

It wasn’t shocking for Priyanka, she had always known that Juice wanted more but Scarlett –being the stubborn she was- never was going to admit she felt the same way, instead, she acted reluctant whenever the idea of having a serious relationship was brought.

“Scarlett, are you sure this is what you want?”

“Listen, what’s the point of starting a relationship with someone who doesn’t live in the same city.”

“She lives literally half an hour from Toronto.”

“Besides, I don’t want to give my freedom away… I don’t see myself ready to be in a relationship and you can’t say anything, you haven’t dated anyone for more than three days.” Scarlett pointed.

“Well, you got me there but this isn’t about me… don’t you see it? You’re about to lose something real and why? Because you’re scared of admitting you want it too.”

Scarlett looked down. “She deserves better than me…” She whispered.

“You idiot, she doesn’t want better, she wants you and you alone.”

“I feel like you’re insulting me somewhere there but…”

“Scarlett, focus.”

“You’re right, okay? I’m scared, I don’t want to hurt her and I’m terrified I might be too stupid to make a mistake or something… and now I don’t know what to do, I’m not a romantic person, I know nothing about big gestures…”

“Maybe roses? Carriage rides? Singing songs under the starry sky?”

“Gross…” She paused. “maybe roses though.”

“You did set the bar very low so…”

“Oh, shut up.”

“C’mon, I’ll drop you at her house.”

After taking Scarlett back to Juice’s house for what hopefully meant there would be a reconciliation between them –Priyanka had her fingers crossed- in the meantime, she stopped by her brother’s house. She had promised one of her nieces she’d take her to rent some DVDs they would watch after dinner.

It took less than five minutes to lose her at the video store.

“Mel? Mel?!” She started looking around. “Where did you go?”

Priyanka heard her voice coming from one parallel aisle.

“You’re very pretty.”

“Aw, thank you…you’re very pretty too.”

Priyanka also recognized that voice.

“Are you lost?”

She felt undoubtedly relieved when she found her niece chatting with Lemon who had kneeled on the floor to be at the same height.

“What’s your name?” Lemon asked the little girl.

“I’m Melanie.”

“Nice to meet you, Melanie. I’m Lemon, like the fruit.”

“Nice to meet you… Miss Lemon.”

“Did you come here with your mom? With your dad?”

She shook her head. “With my auntie.”

“Ah, I see… What do you say if we look for your auntie?”

“She’s right there.” She pointed at Priyanka behind her.

Lemon turned around and met the brunette’s eyes.

“Oh. It’s you, auntie… I should’ve guessed.”

“The resemblance is uncanny, isn’t it?” Priyanka smiled proudly.

Lemon was wearing a yellow and white striped long dress with buttons in the front, white sneakers, and had her hair tied in a French braid.

“You really convinced your brother to name his daughter like two-fifths of the Spice Girls, didn’t you?”

Priyanka rushed and covered her niece’s ears. “Shhhh… He doesn’t know that yet. It took me seven of the nine months of my sister-in-law’s pregnancy to plant the idea… neither Ginger nor Emma were working, so it was down to Melanie or Victoria.”

Lemon chuckled.

The brunette released the little girl from her grip. “Mel, go pick the movie you like but stay close where I can see you, alright?”

The little girl nodded and skipped with joy toward the kids’ movie section.

Priyanka looked at Lemon. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting my nails done, obviously.” She had a DVD box in her hands.

Priyanka rolled her eyes. “Knowing you, it must be… let me see, either Legally Blonde, Clueless, something with Meg Ryan on it, or… Drop Dead Gorgeous.”

She showed the title on the box. It was Drop Dead Gorgeous, a movie Lemon worshiped for her love for beauty pageants and bizarre humor.

“Rita has never watched it, can you believe it?”

“And you’re looking for new ways to traumatize her.”

“That might be my mission on Earth all along, spread the words of wisdom that come from this film.” She tapped the box with her acrylic nails.

Priyanka peeped over her shoulder to check on her niece who was still deciding between two Disney movies.

“So… are you going to the lake thing Boa’s planning?” The brunette asked as casually as she could.

Lemon shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not that into nature and being eaten by bugs…”

“Oh, so she’s a city girl now.”

“Listen, I spent a good ten years of my life going camping with my dad and hating every second of it. I thought it was finally over when I moved.”

“The girls and I are going… and I’m sure we’re taking some type of booze with us, snacks, a campfire… It will be fun.”

Lemon tilted her head. “I didn’t know you wanted me to go.”

Priyanka felt the heat on her cheeks. “Boa said the more the merrier… plus my car is still at the workshop and Scarlett might have screwed up her relationship with the one person that has a car among us.”

“So you need a ride… that’s it?”

“Yeah… and it’ll be fun being all together again.”

“Sure… okay. I’ll tell Rita and we’ll be there.”

“Really?”

She nodded.

At that moment, Priyanka’s niece returned with a DVD of Brave in her hand.

“Are you dating my auntie Pri?” She asked unscrupulous and unfiltered like any six-year-old.

Priyanka’s mouth dropped to the floor.

“Mel! You can’t ask people… That’s not… You don’t get to…”

“But daddy said that you like girls and that if you were going to date someone it would be a girl… and she’s a girl.”

Logic.

Lemon covered her mouth with her hand, she was blushing underneath.

“Mel just because I’m talking to a girl it doesn’t mean that I’m dating her.”

“But she’s pretty… she’s prettier than you.”

“Oh, I like her.” Lemon giggled.

“Hey! You little brat, who’s the one renting movies with you.”

Traitors.

“Why aren’t you dating her, auntie Pri?” Priyanka covered the girl’s mouth.

She was asking the real questions.

“Okay, I think it’s time to go home. Brave, huh? Good choice.” She looked at Lemon. “See you on Thursday…?”

The blonde smiled. “I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay, great.”

“Goodbye, Priyanka. Bye, Mel.” She waved at them.

The girl barely had the chance to wave back since her aunt dragged her to the line of the checkout counter. She stared at Priyanka with her wide brown eyes.

“What is it?”

“You like her.” Mel said with a mischievous look on her face.

“Shhh… keep it low…” She looked around to check Lemon wasn’t around. “You can’t just say those things, Mel. Exposing people’s feelings isn’t right.”

“So you like her.”

“Jeez, calm down Regina George.”

“Who’s Regina Gorge?”

“It doesn’t matter… The thing is… Lemon and I are… friends? Just that, okay? We’ve known each other since we were your age and I don’t think she likes me that way.”

“Have you asked her?” Her niece inquired.

“Well, no…”

“Why not?”

“Because…” She was scared of the potential answer to that question. “It’s complicated… growing up is complicated.”

“I don’t want to grow up never.” She whined.

“Me neither.”

Priyanka took the DVD to register it and pay for it.

Brave, sure.

On Thursday morning, Priyanka received a call from Scarlett, she explained that things with Juice were smooth sailing and that –since they had left the problems aside- she was going to pick her at home. In the car, there were Juice, Scarlett, Kiara, Denali, and Priyanka whereas Lemon and Rita had relocated in a different car.

The day started on the wrong foot since that change in scheduling but Priyanka had the hope it could only get better from there. She had a full breakfast with her parents and then prepared her things in a backpack, including sunscreen, snacks, a towel, and things only her mom could remember to include –and that she yelled from downstairs to make sure Priyanka would remember.

Priyanka brushed her hair and tied it into a ponytail, then she put her turquoise bikini on –she liked how the color looked against her skin-, grabbed a pair of denim shorts with embroidered flowers and a white cotton tank top. She found a pair of aviator sunglasses on the drawer of her room that were definitely her sister’s –emphasis on the «were»- and with a pair of flip-flops, she was ready.

Boa had said that it was allowed to swim on the lake where the water was shallow and that there was a lifeguard just in case. The weather was in their favor, the day was all warm and sunny even when it started with a couple of clouds, it had cleared up since then. Her mother reminded her to take a light jacket with her because it could get colder during the evening.

Priyanka was about to argue with her when she heard the sound of the horn outside. She put the jacket on her backpack and said goodbye to her mom before opening the entrance door.

To her surprise, there was an egg yolk car parked in front of her house.

Lemon rolled down her window. “Get in loser, we’re going to a lake… for some reason.”

She had a pair of heart-shaped pink sunglasses resting on top of her head and a lollipop on her hand.

“What is this?”

“I told you I was going to pick you up.” She unlocked the passenger’s door.

Priyanka got in the car and buckled up. Her entire body was tingling.

“I thought you were sharing a car with the other girls.”

“Don’t change the plans I’ve already set, I’m a Virgo.”

“Don’t you have a bumper sticker with that written on it?”

“I’m glad someone has finally seen it.”

Priyanka threw her backpack on the backseat and noticed how empty it was.

“Wait, what about Rita? Wasn’t she coming with you?”

Lemon got the car moving.

“No, I pushed her down the stairs yesterday.” She said, dead serious. “I’m just kidding; I went to pick some things from Tynomi’s place, Kiara and she were speaking in French and got along well so she decided to go with them. Because of that, I have the trunk full with two coolers and their bags so –for their own good- I hope they gave me the right address.”

Just then it hit Priyanka it was just the two of them for the next half hour.

Lemon looked lovely with a yellow poplin puff-sleeve crop top with little lemons embroidered around the neckline and a pair of navy paper bag shorts. The strips of a bright yellow swimsuit could be seen underneath her clothes and she was driving with sneakers because driving with flip-flops is hell but overall the look screamed summer in the Italian Riviera with a glass of limoncello.

And well, Priyanka was gay and thirsty.

“Did you hear what I said?” Lemon asked raising an eyebrow when they stopped in a red traffic light.

“Something about music…?” It was a wild guess and she would be lying if she said her fingers weren’t crossed.

“Yes, can you put something on the radio?”

Priyanka scanned the CDs on the glove compartment and finally decided for the always great Good Girl Gone Bad –just because she wanted Shut Up and Drive to play while Lemon was driving- and because it had some iconic bops.

“Are you certain about the route we’re taking?” The brunette asked.

“What do you mean?” Lemon clicked her tongue. “I know how to follow directions. I also have a map… I’m a strong independent woman who needs no instruction on how to get to a stupid lake in the middle of nowhere-”

“Hello, my friend and I are lost; do you know which is the best way to get to the lake?” Priyanka had to pat herself on the back for that level of fake kindness, she even batted her lashes.

Lemon, on the driver’s seat, kept grumbling something in a low voice.

“Yeah, you’re almost there, it’s five minutes from here… you have to take the next entry to the left and then continue straight forward. You’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”

“Thanks, good man. We appreciate it.” She waved at the man at the gas station. Then she turned to Lemon. “You see? It wasn’t that difficult.”

“We were almost there.”

“Yes, except for the fact that we’ve been driving around in circles for the past fifteen minutes. I told you it was the right entry.”

Lemon huffed and puffed like a child.

Priyanka attempted to skip one of the songs but the blonde interfered by pushing her hand aside. Priyanka crossed her arms on her chest and pretended to be offended.

Just like the man had said, in no time they spotted the lake entrance.

Lemon sighed of relief while Priyanka cheered.

“Yay! We made it!”

Once they got closer, they agreed it was all worthy. The beautiful scenery of the lake with crystalline blue water framed by the rows of mountains covered in green and leafy pine trees left them in awe.

A figure waved at them –probably one of the girls- they were gathered in a small semicircle that resembled a beach with dirt and gravel next to a wooden port. There were other people around, families, some kids playing in the water, swimmers, boats, and canoes.

Lemon parked the car in an empty spot among others, some of the girls helped them with the coolers and the bags that were on the truck.

“Good night, ladies.” Scarlett mocked.

“You two finally made it.” Boa grabbed one of the coolers with the other girl’s help.

Priyanka was about to say something about their delay in the same joking tone but she caught a glimpse of Lemon, she was serious, noticeably embarrassed by the situation. So instead, she cackled and played it down.

“Yeah, can you believe I told her the wrong entry on the highway? Lemon almost killed me we were spinning around for like fifteen minutes, right?” She looked at the blonde and subtly winked.

“Ah, yeah…” Lemon’s eyes were big just like a deer caught in headlights, the tips of her ears turned red just like her cheeks. “But we’re here… so… it doesn’t matter.”

“Priyanka you dumbass, we’ve come this way before.” Scarlett nagged her.

“Oh, shut up… I forgot.” She picked her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. Lemon hadn’t moved. “Hey, let’s go. We have all day ahead.”

The blonde nodded and locked the car before following them to the port.

The view was even more breathtaking up close as the sunlight shone onto the waters of the lake, it also glinted on the gold rims of Priyanka’s glasses and bathed her completely in a warm sensation.

They were received with cheers –especially since they have the food on the coolers and it was almost noon-, she saw Kiara applying some suntan oil and chatting with Rita and Starzy over a small wooden harbor, as soon as Scarlett and Boa arrived with the cooler, the blonde started an argument with Ilona over the best way to ensemble a tent –and repeatedly called each other “sis”-, Kyne, Tynomi and Juice ignored them and started setting a grill.

“You didn’t have to lie to cover my blunder.” Lemon whispered.

“I know.” Priyanka stretched her arms. “I figured you’ve suffered enough for one morning. If you’re feeling generous you can get me a drink or something in return.”

Lemon scoffed. “Get it yourself.” She started walking to where Rita, Starzy, and Kiara were but before she was further in distance, she turned around. “Thank you, though.”

Priyanka smiled at her and then went to help the other girls with the food. They entrusted her washing the vegetables at some gazebo nearby with a little kitchen and a sink. Tynomi helped her peeling and cutting once she was done and then they prepared the skewers. Scarlett’s pyromania was helpful to light the fire, although the flame that rose in the air caused quite a fuss.

Right when Priyanka put the last skewer on the trade for Tynomi to take it to the grill, a paper cup with pink lemonade and ice appeared in front of her, Lemon held it steadily.

“Oh, hey there.” Priyanka took a sip, it was sweet and it had something that kicked in. “Thank goodness this has alcohol on it.”

“It’s vodka, careful with the empty stomach, though.”

“Signature cocktail?”

Lemon shrugged. “I guess it falls into the category of colorful and sugary.”

“I don’t know if it’s because it’s hot as fuck but this is actually delicious.”

“Of course it’s delicious, I made it.”

“That’s obvious; you can taste the modesty on it.” Lemon made a childish grimace. “Have you jumped in the water yet?”

“I just soaked my feet for a little.”

“And?”

“Cold like a penguin’s butt.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

Lemon took the cup back and drank a sip, her lip gloss stained the material. She kept biting her bottom lip as if she wanted to say something but she sneaked out to help Boa with something when Priyanka wasn’t looking.

In that part of the lake it was allowed to camp and there were several tents set around the land, there were also a couple of forest rangers roaming around –probably attracted by the fake fire alarm- but the girls had been clever enough to keep the bottles saved in the coolers.  They all ate vegetable skewers and hamburgers sitting in a big circle and drank beer and cranberry vodka in paper cups.

Someone had brought a radio and they all sang Stars Are Blind when it played. After having lunch they stayed there reminiscing and telling stories from school. They were all laughing and cracking jokes it took Priyanka by surprise when the story of her seven minutes in heaven was brought.

“More like seven minutes in hell.” She gagged.

She re-told the story for those who hadn’t heard it and then realized that Lemon was among those people. The blonde hadn’t said a word since she started her narration, in fact, she paid attention to every word that came out of her mouth. She didn’t laugh when Priyanka tried to minimize she kissed a guy she didn’t want to kiss or when she tried to use the humor as a shield as she had done before.

“What an asshole.” She said when the brunette finished the story. She was angry and it showed. She was so mad she had sobered up.

“Yeah… but on the bright side… that helped me realize things. It was enlightening, I dare to say… even when that closet was dark as fuck.”

“Still… I hope he chokes or something.” Lemon was fuming.

Later on, Ilona exposed Scarlett who had claimed to be in detention many times in high school when she was just in the library, studying. Even when she tried to argue, Priyanka caught her friend sitting right next to Juice as she tenderly held her and stroked her hand with her thumb. She assumed things were alright with them now and couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of what they had.

Vodka, it’s me… I have seen what you did for others…

Lemon told a story about one time she got lost in the subway with their friends and they almost ended in Staten Island –Priyanka refrained from commenting on the fact that Lemon wasn’t good at following indications, indeed- and Denali, the only non-Canadian of their panel discussion mentioned it had happened to her as well.

“I’ll be in New York for a competition in a few months.”

“You should come to visit me.” Lemon smiled brightly.

“That would be fun… Priyanka could come as well.” She stared at the brunette who gaped at her in surprise. “And tell me, do you have any single friend?”

“I’ve got some… yeah. I could make some arrangements.”

“I’d love that.”

“Slut-Nali.”

“Proudly.”

Later during the afternoon, some of the girls were brave enough to try to dive in the shallow waters of the lake, Priyanka among them, and, she regretted the moment her body made contact with the glistening surface but once her body was fully immersed it was like a shot of adrenaline in her body.

She surely looked like she had seen a ghost when she emerged because Lemon laughed loudly at her. The blonde was cozily sunbathing on the shoreline at an unsafe distance for someone mocking the swimmers.

Priyanka moved her arms toward her.

“Don’t you dare… Priyanka, I swear to God if you even try-”

The cold droplets touched her skin before she could finish that sentence.

The blonde squirmed and squealed.

“Bitch…” She shook the water off her body.

“Who’s laughing now?” She moved like a fish in the water.

“You won’t be laughing when you need your towel to get out.” Lemon waved it like a flag.

“Listen, you…” Priyanka started walking out of the water, the other girl was already running.

It was way colder out of the water and it took the brunette a minute to get used to, get her flip flops, and chase after Lemon who still had her towel on her hands. She hid behind Rita and stuck her tongue out, the girl caught in the middle raised her hands in a sign of rendition. They were like a couple of kids. Priyanka was about to say something when Scarlett and Juice came near them.

“Hey, we rented a boat over there and we were wondering if you would like to come with us.” Juice grinned.

“I pass, I’m not going on a boat ride with these two.” Rita pointed at them, Lemon was still looking over her shoulder.

“Pri, Lemon? What about you?”

“Sure… it would be fun, as soon as this bitch gives me my towel back.” Priyanka cast an accusing glance at the blonde.

Lemon threw the towel directly to her face.

“What’s so thrilling about a boat ride?” She asked while Priyanka wrapped herself in the towel.

“You said the same about coming here today and yet you’re having a good time, right?” Lemon shrugged. “C’mon, I’m not going to push you in the water or something.”

“Now I know for a fact that you’ll try to push me into the water.”

“Are you possibly scared?” She taunted.

“I’m not scared of a boat if that’s what you’re saying.”

“It’s settled then, we’ll meet you in five minutes over the pier where the boats are moored.” Scarlett grabbed Juice’s hand and they walked away.

Priyanka put her shorts and sunglasses on; she grabbed her bag and hung it over her shoulder. She checked on Lemon when she was done putting clothes on too.

“Ready?”

The blonde hesitated for a moment. “I guess.”

“Listen, there’s really nothing to be scared of, we’ll get life jackets and everything.”

“That’s not- Never mind.” She shook her head and grabbed her things. “Let’s go.”

Juice and Scarlett were already waiting for them with their life jackets on, they explained to the girls how to put them on.

“You two get in the boat and we’ll untie the knots and push it in the water.” Scarlett indicated.

The boat was made of wood and painted in white with matching paddles, the name Perseverance was written in blue on one of the sides.

Lemon sat first and she helped Priyanka to get in.

“Did you know it’s bad luck to change a boat’s name?” She told Priyanka. “It’s said they always sink if you do.”

“We should double-check this isn’t repainted or something underneath, right?”

“Why? Are you scared?” Lemon mocked.

Priyanka elbowed her.

Juice was done with the knot and she jumped in the water to help Scarlett.

“Okay, one, two… three.” They pushed the boat that swayed a little with the waves before stabilizing.

“Have fun you two!” Juice waved at them.

“Wait…” It took Priyanka a moment before understanding what was going on. “Hey!”

“Oh my God…”

The girls behind were cackling as the boat was carried further by the water stream.

“I think we’ve been set up.”

“There might be a chance, yeah.”

Scarlett mouthed a soft «Sorry» but Priyanka knew she wasn’t regretting anything. This had to be planned beforehand and she had a vague idea what the point was. She stared at Lemon who had picked up one of the paddles and was examining it.

“Do you think we can go back?”

“I doubt that we can row against this current.” She declared after taking a look at how the water kept taking them away from the coast. “Our best chance is to let it drag us down to calmer waters where we can paddle from to the closest coast.”

“You really learned a few scout things when you were camping with your dad, didn’t you?”

“Aren’t you glad I did?” She smirked.

Certainly, Priyanka was glad because at least one of them had a clue of what to do and how to get them out of that situation but, at the same time, it meant that they were going to be stuck for a while in that boat.

As they started moving away from the coast, the silhouettes of his friends became blurry and they were surrounded by the vast scenery of the mountains and the woods. The sun was lukewarm and the little waves rocked the boat like a cradle, it was soothing.

Priyanka laid on the floorboards and looked at the clouds crossing the sky. Lemon watched the water around the boat to eventually join the brunette.

“This is nice,” Priyanka whispered. “I think it’s the longest we’ve been without arguing or bitching.”

Lemon chuckled. Priyanka looked at her and could see every detail of her face, the curve of her lips the little mole over them, the tip of her nose, the length of her lashes, the color of her eyes…

Suddenly she felt shy.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that I can be an annoying bitch sometimes but you’re the one person that’s always there for me…” Lemon murmured.

Priyanka’s cheeks turned red. “What?”

“That’s the first line of the last e-mail I wrote for you after we… drifted apart.”

“I never received it.”

“I never sent it.” She fidgeted nervously. “I don’t know if it would have made any difference, you seemed pretty determined to me.”

So they were going to talk about it. It was the conversation neither of them had brought up for the longest time but it was there, lingering in the air like a dark cloud of unsolved problems.

“I needed to put some distance between us…” Priyanka felt the unavoidable knot on her throat like whenever someone touched the subject. “I wasn’t being honest with you… I was scared. You had these plans that didn’t include me in your future, I felt like I was being left out while my plans always included you.”

“Priyanka, I had to move forward to survive… Yes, I met new people, I made new friends and I set new goals but you were never out of the picture. It was difficult for me because I don’t know, you were always the one that everyone liked instantly and you made friends in a heartbeat without even trying it. Your friends were our friends because of that but when I was on my own… I feel like I’m more an acquired taste, people tend to like me better when they know me but until then…”

She sighed.

“I had these problems that seemed small in proportion and I didn’t want to become a burden for you, being so far away from each other. I just wanted to share the good parts. You were the only thing in my life that felt like a constant and then… you were gone.”

She looked at Lemon in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever apologized for that. And just for the record, small problems, big problems… I should’ve been there for you no matter what. Back in the day, I don’t know… it’s not an excuse but I felt like it was easier to push you away and that you got to live a life without me at some point.”

“Why?” Lemon frowned.

“I don’t know.” Priyanka lied. “I didn’t want to be a burden either.”

“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t know what to expect when I saw you here but, these last couple of days I realized how much I had missed you. I wrote that in the e-mail too, I wish I had sent it.”

Priyanka’s heart skipped a beat.

“Me too.” The brunette spoke clearly. “I’m freaking proud of you and everything you’ve achieved… What I’ve heard because I didn’t befriend your New York friends on Facebook to find out.”

“They were my friends too. I didn’t add them only to stalk you or something like that. And, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing amazing too… aside from that car of yours.”

“Laugh all you want but I bought that car to go visit you in New York someday.”

Lemon sat straight on the boat. “You were going to drive all the way there in that to visit me? That counts as risking your life, you know?”

“Well… yeah… that was the idea. I wanted to see you.” Priyanka sat down as well.

“Pri…”

“And you only came back for your dad’s wedding… why did you come back now? After so long?”

“My dad’s wedding was… an event. It would’ve been fun to have you there though, there was so much booze.”

“They can always renew their vows.”

Lemon laughed. “Well, and as I told you before, my mom was going on a cruise ship so I wanted to visit everyone here. The fact that it coincided with your visit was mind-blowing for me too.”

“Were you mad?”

“Yes, I was fuming.”

They both started laughing at loud.

“I’m not going to lie I did want to start a fight that day in the dining… and later on the club… and on the cereal aisle…”

Priyanka threw water from the lake at the girl’s face.

“Hey! Don’t!” Lemon shook her head. “I think it got on my eyes wait…”

“Oh no, sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

Priyanka got closer but at that moment the other girl counterattacked with some more water.

“Bitch…”

“You deserved it.” She cleaned some drops. “But I think it really got on my eyes, can you hand me my bag.”

Priyanka’s face was still wet but she did as she asked.

“Shit, my contact lenses are falling.” She looked through her bag until she found the container.

“Do you need help with that?”

“No, just a second…” She removed both contact lenses and saved them back. “Better.”

“I’m over here.” Priyanka mocked.

“Fine… I can’t see beyond my hand.”

“I know that.”

“Could you get me my glasses? They are there, somewhere…”

“Yeah, let me…”

Lemon’s bag had lip gloss, sunscreen, candy… transparent frame glasses.

“Here.” She put them in her hand.

“Don’t make fun of me.” She mumbled. “I never wear these in public…”

“Lemon, I’ve known you for ages I do remember how you look like with glasses on.”

Priyanka took them back and opened the temples before placing them gently on the blonde’s face. She adjusted the nose pads above her nose and removed some hairs out of her face.

“There,” She looked proud of her work. “See, nothing less than stunning.”

Lemon had a beaming smile on her face, she’d never look bad with or without glasses on.

She didn’t realize how close they were until Lemon batted her lashes. She could’ve kissed her right there but instead, she just moved away with her pulse running wild and her face feeling hot and no sunshine to blame for it.

The blonde extended her little finger as a white flag. “Are we good?”

Priyanka sighed with relief. “Best friends forever.” She sealed the pinky promise.

However, the word «friends» tasted bitter on her tongue.

“That’s right.” She was still holding their fingers together. “Priyanka and Lemon, Lemon and Priyanka.”

“You won’t happen to have something to eat in that bag of yours, will you?”

“I think I packed some Oreos this morning.”

“You’re my hero.”

It was almost sunset by the time they got back to the coast and they still had to border the lake to get back where the other girls were. Nonetheless, the setting of the sun was a spectacle they watched in awe as the daytime ended with the sun’s departure.

It was starting to get cold and Priyanka was the only one who had brought a jacket so she lent it to Lemon –it looked a bit oversized but she still looked good on it.

They walked for a little before meeting the rest of the group, luckily the place was fully enlightened and they had made sure they hadn’t gone too far to lose sight of the camping area. The other girls welcomed them back with a big cheer, some of them were already setting a little fire to toast marshmallows and sing songs with a guitar.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Lemon headed to the public toilet while Priyanka joined the circle around the bonfire.

“So…” Denali sat next to her right away. “How did that go?”

“You knew.” Priyanka crossed her arms on her chest. “I can’t believe it, y’all helped to orchestrate this stunt.”

“…maybe. But it was for a good cause.”

“Which one?”

“Getting you a girlfriend.”

Priyanka rolled her eyes.

“I swear…”

“What happened over there?” Scarlett, Kiara, and Juice surrounded her like a group of teenagers.

“She doesn’t want to spill the details.”

“That’s because nothing happened and you should mind your own business.”

“What do you mean nothing happened? You two were there for like two hours.”

“We did talk about why we first fought and other things but it’s nothing close to what you think so you should drop it. I’m being serious right now.” She cleared her throat. “Lemon and I are friends… that’s it. Don’t try to push it further because it’s not going to happen.”

It was clear at that point that fixing their friendship was more important than risking her feelings; maybe she could tell Lemon one day and they could laugh about it just like they had done earlier but, at that moment, things were very recent and fragile to drop any more information into the mix. Priyanka wanted to have her on her life and she wasn’t going to lose her best friend over some unrequited love she had.

If she had dealt with it most of her life, she surely could do it again.

The girls protested but they sat back in their places. Lemon joined them shortly after, she sat next to Priyanka, the sleeves of her jacket looked like sweater paws on her.

“Hey, do you mind going back with the girls? I was talking to Rita and she’s kind of tired so I’m going home with her.”

“Oh, sure. No problem. Is she alright?”

“Yeah, just tired and maybe sunburn. I don’t want to drive when it’s too late either.”

“Alright. Are you still coming to dinner with my family? My mom said she’ll be waiting for you.”

“Saturday, right? I’ll be there.” She smiled. “I’m really glad we got to talk today, Pri.”

“Me too.”

She hugged her Lemon before she left; the blonde then greeted everyone else.

Priyanka watched in silence as the yellow car left the park.

Her heart shrunk, this was the right thing to do, they were friends again, and yet… she felt empty inside.

[superpaperclip]

Fuck it here’s the start of a Javid fake dating AU.

Ch. 2 | Read on AO3

***

David had been sitting at the dining room table when it started. Sarah sat down across from him with a grin on her face, which David knew meant trouble. He tried unsuccessfully to ignore his sister and focus on his work for about five minutes, during which she didn’t move, before giving up.

“What do you want now and why can’t it wait until I’m done with this paper?” David asked with a huff, lowering the computer screen slightly so he could stare at his sister. Sarah just smiled wider.

“Well, it can’t wait because I know you, and you’ll just start another paper after you’re done with this one. Now as to what I want, I’m telling you you’re coming to a party this weekend. No arguments. The only things you do are go to class and do your work. College is supposed to be fun. You’re supposed to meet people. You haven’t gone on a single date since the semester began. You’re going to this party and I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, it’s hosted by one of Katherine’s friends, Bill. He’s rich, so all the important students will be there.” 

Months, and even years, later, when David thought back on that moment, the two of them staring at each other across the dining room table, he had no clue why he said his next words. Maybe some spirit or supernatural entity possessed him, or he momentarily lost his mind. Indeed, he didn’t register what he had said until the words were out of his mouth.

“I already met someone.” Fuck, he’s in trouble. Now Sarah will never let this go. He’s too focused on trying to come up with a believable lie to register Sarah’s questions, which were undoubtedly along the lines of who the hell is he and why didn’t he tell her sooner and when does she get to meet him. 

“Uhm, well, he… works at… that coffee shop right by campus. And his name is… uh…“ David desperately tries to think of a common name. “Jack! His name is Jack. And that’s all you’re getting from me. Now go away so I can finish this paper.” David resolutely stared at the computer, but Sarah unsurprisingly didn’t put up a fight, opting to leave the table instead. David’s gut told him this was going to backfire and blow up in his face, but he ignored it. Surely nothing too bad could happen, right?

--

Jack was fed up with his job at the coffee shop. More specifically, he was fed up with the customers. He was fed up with having to put on a fake smile every day and deal with rude, disrespectful, and downright mean customers, which seemed to be in abundance lately. Jack was counting down the minutes to the end of his shift when a girl burst through the doors, an annoyed look in her eyes. Jack internally sighed, then plastered his awkward-winning Customer Service Smile on his face, preparing to be berated again. Before he could launch into the standard greeting, the girl spoke. 

“This is the fifth coffee shop I’ve been to today. Please tell me there’s someone named Jack working here, for my brother’s sake.” Jack’s mask slipped, his confusion evident on his face. He didn’t know who this girl was or why her brother’s… health?... rested on his existence. 

“Uh, I’m Jack. Can I help you?” Belatedly, he wondered if he should’ve lied or used a fake name. At hearing his name, the girl’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands.

“Are you the guy who’s been dating Dave? God, I’m gonna kill him. He said your coffee shop was close to campus! I’ve been walking around all afternoon looking for you.” Jack was even more confused by the sudden shift in her mood, and her apparent belief that he was dating someone named Dave.

“Wait, what?” The girl gave him a puzzled look, as if he was an idiot and she hadn’t come barging into his shop claiming he was dating some guy with absolute certainty. When he didn’t show any sign of recognition as to what she was talking about, she huffed and launched into an explanation.

“I’m Sarah. Jacobs, I mean. Sister of David Jacobs. He told me you two were dating, and that you worked here, though he underestimated the distance from campus.” Ah. Her brother- David- must have told her to get her off his back. Jack had enough experience with pushy people to do what he would’ve wanted any of his fake boyfriends to do- lie. Jack just hoped he could be convincing enough.

“Oh, yeah, Davey! He’s told me about you, I just didn’t recognize you. Wait, he… he said we were dating? Really? I didn’t… well, it’s only been a few dates, and I didn’t want to put a label on it, but… he really said we were dating?” Jack hoped his performance was convincing enough, and would give him some leeway to not know anything much about David. He gave Sarah a half-smile and rubbed the back of his neck, pretending to be bashful. Sarah, on the other hand, seemed to buy it. She was almost giddy with joy, and something that seemed like pride. 

“My brother has finally met someone! Oh, by the way, are you coming to Bill’s party this weekend?” Jack fought to keep his face neutral. Going to a party with someone he hadn’t known existed five minutes ago? No way. But still, he decided to let Sarah down easy. She seemed like a nice girl. Let this brother of hers deal with the blowback.

“Well, Davey didn’t say anything. And depending on when it is, I may not be able to go. I have some things to do this evening. But I’ll see if I can.” That seemed to satisfy her. She thanked Jack for his time, told him she hoped to see him at the party, and left. As Jack finally clocked out and walked home, he thought back on what was probably the weirdest interaction he’d had at his job, and hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

--

David was once again being stared at by his sister from across the dining room table while trying to do his work, and once again, ignoring her wasn't working. Sighing, he closed the textbook and stared back at his sister, who had a smug smile on her face.

“You never told me how cute he was. And you greatly underestimated the distance.” Now David was confused. HIs eyebrow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what she said, having already forgotten their earlier conversation. Sarah threw her hands up when it became evident he didn’t know what she was talking about and muttered something under her breath, probably about how clueless he could be.

“Your boyfriend, Jack! Average height, cute, works at Universal Grind Coffee Bar- which, by the way, is not ‘right by campus’. I stopped in to meet him. And I invited him to Bill’s party this weekend. Don’t think you’re getting out of that just because you have a date.” David went pale, his eyes wide. Sarah had actually tracked down some poor guy named Jack who worked at a coffee shop near campus? He needed to apologize, and apparently thank him for playing along.

“Uhm, I gotta… go… do… something.” He stuttered out an excuse as he shot up from his seat and out the door. Jumping in his car, he punched the name of the shop into his GPS, hoping there was only one. Luckily, there was. When he got there, he rushed inside, desperate to apologize. He went up to the nearest employee.

“Excuse me, is Jack here? I really need to talk to him. My name is David.” The employee looked him up and down, confused. 

“I’m his coworker, Spot. His shift just ended. Why? Who are you? What do you need to say to him?” David ignored the questions.

“When’s his next shift? Please, it’s important.” Spot regarded him again. 

“He’s working tomorrow. His shift starts at noon.” After thanking Spot, David left the coffee shop and got back in his car, opting to just sit in the parking lot. What had he gotten himself into?

--

Jack was feeling good when he walked into work the next day. That changed very quickly. As soon as he got in the door, he took stock of the customers already there. His gaze stopped on one particular guy sitting at the counter. His leg was bouncing and he kept fidgeting with a straw, twisting it around his fingers. He looked familiar, Jack thought. Maybe they had a class together. 

Jack was trying to figure out why he recognized this guy as he put on his apron and planted himself by the register when the guy came over.

“I’m sorry, are you Jack?” Was he someone else who was sent by the David guy? Seriously, what were the odds of two attractive strangers asking for him by name two days in a row? He internally grimaced.

“Yeah, I’m Jack. Who’re you?” Jack immediately regretted how sharp his tone was when he saw the guy wince.

“Um, I’m David Jacobs. My sister, Sarah, told me she came to see you yesterday and I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I made up a fake boyfriend with a fake name. I never imagined she would actually go looking for you. Uh, him. But thank you for playing along. Oh, she also said she invited you to a party. Please don’t feel obligated to go. I really don’t want to inconvenience you any more than I already have. Again, I’m sorry.” Honestly, Jack was starting to feel bad for the guy. So he motioned for David to follow him to the back of the shop. Jack sat in a booth that was tucked into the corner, and gestured for David to sit across from him. When he did, Jack asked the question that had been bugging him.

“Why?” David looked to Jack in surprise, obviously not expecting the question.

“Why what?”

“Why did you make up a boyfriend?” At the look on David’s face, Jack worried he crossed a line, but David launched into an explanation.

“Sarah’s always been on my case to get out of the house more, even while we were in high school. One of the ways she tried to do that was by setting me up with different people, hoping I would date someone. After the hundredth girl, I told her I’m gay, but she just started setting me up with boys. The last straw was the party she told you about. I don’t know what came over me, I just blurted out that I was seeing someone. She pressed me for details, and I panicked and said he worked in a coffee shop by campus and his name was Jack. I never meant for you to get caught up in this. I’m so sorry.” Jack thought for a minute before responding.

“Maybe this unfortunate situation can be beneficial for both of us.” He had a mischievous glint in his eye.

“What do you mean?

“Well, my friends are always teasing me about my lack of a partner. So whaddya say we get back at everyone? Your sister and my friends. Here’s what we do: we go to this party, pretend to date for a few months, then have a horrible breakup. That’ll get them off our backs.” 

David sat there, contemplating Jack's offer. Jack could almost see the gears turning in his head. Eventually, he stuck his hand out to shake.

“Deal.”

***

[drabbleoclock]

The Villains Daughter pt.1

Summery: The daughter of a villain hears she may be able to shed some light on the USJ attack.

TW: mentions of abuse (not in any detail tho)

Id love any feedback :)

“Did you hear about the USJ? There was this crazy group of villains that got in and attacked! The news says they snuck in when all those reporters did. Says the main guy was some dude from the League of Villains, whatever that is.” The boy gossiped in the hallway like all the other students did. The USJ was big news, and not good news at that. But the League of Villains? It can’t be them. They said they would not be ready for another few years. He must have gotten his hands on another useful quirk. One that really sped up the process. I have to tell them what I know, I have to tell him what I know.

I pivoted on my heel and walked in the opposite direction of the exit of the school. It was the end of the day and most people were already gone, except a few stragglers. Not many people really wanted to be here after the attack anyway. Once I reach the teachers office door I give it a tentative knock which I could hear reverberating in the room. After a moment the door opened to reveal the man himself in all his glory. All Might.

“I am here… at your service young one!” His voice boomed around me as I peered into his office. It was dark, the shades were drawn and it didn't really have any sort of decor that stood out.

“I have some information for you.” I said getting nervous, I was going to have to tell him everything. I don’t know if I'm ready for that, but if the heroes don’t know this information, I could really be helpful. “About the USJ attack.”

All Might immediately lets me into the room, directing me to the couch, also occupied by a blond boy who looks to be older than me. All Might comes back to sit on the couch opposite us.

“Sorry young lady, I'm afraid I do not know your name.” he said more seriously than I had ever heard him. Even when faced with unexpected, and important information he is still so chivalrous and polite. What a cool guy.

“My name is Chiyo, and I know who attacked the USJ.” I said, I suddenly stopped looking between the boy next to me, who now had just a serious of a face, but still a slight smile resting on his lips, and All Might across from us.

“He is alright, this is Mirio, one of UAs top students, no need to worry about saying anything in front of him. He knows how to keep things to himself.” All Might said with a mighty laugh at the end, quickly returning to his serious demeanor. “Please continue.”

I took a deep breath readying myself to be run out, or worse returned to my father once they found out who I am. But it would have to be done. They need to know. Now is not the time for childlike selfishness. “His name is Tomura Shigaraki, the one with the blue hair and the hands. I assume if he was there the Warp Villain Kurogiri was there as well. He is Shigaraki’s… caretaker of sorts.”

All Might sat back on the couch looking at me, trying to piece together how I knew these things. I only stared at my lap trying not to shake as much as I was. I did not want to leave UA! I love it here. I want to become a hero and fight the people like him, not join them, but I would have no other choice if All Might were to decide I was too much of a danger to be here.

“And how do you know these things young Chiyo?” All Might asked, not unexpectedly. I took another breath trying not to break in front of the two men. Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes as I looked at my hands, grasping at each other to try to calm me down. “Well?” He pressed further, obviously getting irritated at my lack of cooperation.

“I- I know because they work for my father. They work for-” I tried to say his name but it got stuck in my throat. Tears spilled from my eyes as I realized what this meant for me. It finally sunk in that they were going to kick me out. I don’t blame them. They can’t have the daughter of the most dangerous villain in their school. But it is too late now, too late for me to go back and pretend that I knew nothing, to pretend that I am just as clueless as everybody else.

“Who?” It rang out in the air like a bullet headed straight for me. I had never heard All Might speak like this, not even to the villains on the street. He always had a cheerful tone to his voice but now it was gone. More tears stream down my face as I do everything I can not to look at him.

“I doubt you know his real name,” I said furiously, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “Even I haven't heard it said in a long time, but you do know him.” I took a deep breath to gather the courage to say the name of the man that locked me away for years, the man who beat me everyday, the man who I tried everything to forget. “All-For-One.”

Silence hung in the air like lead. There was a pressure on my chest that I could not relieve no matter how hard I tried to breathe. My hands were now bleeding where my nails were digging into them. I glanced up to see All Might’s face in shadow. Not a clear look into what he was feeling.

“One-For-All is your father?” He spit the question at me like it was a betrayal. I knew this would happen. I knew he would blame me. Why wouldn’t he?

“Why are you here? At UA?” The question caught me off guard, not the question itself, but the voice that asked it. It belonged to Mirio, the boy that was sitting next to me, honestly I kind of forgot he was here. But why did it matter why I was at UA? My father is still my father, nothing can change that. I looked to the boy to see the curiosity in his eyes, and back to All Might whose face had softened to a slight, strained smile.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I was there that day. The day you fought my father. He wanted me there, he wanted to show me that no matter what you would always be there to thwart our plans.” I breathed out looking at my hands again.

“You were hiding behind those dumpsters” He said quietly, thinking back to the day that ruined his life. I nodded.

“I did learn that lesson, but I learned another one as well, something you said something in the middle of the fight that has stuck with me to this day. You said that anybody could become a hero, as long as they learned to love the world. You said that even he could become good if he tried. Of course you were wrong about him. I don’t think he could ever change his ways, not now. But you showed me I didn’t have to be like him. You showed me I could be better than him.” I finished with even more tears streaming down my face, only realizing now that the man had to be talking to me that day, not my father. Frozen with the prospect of All Might knowing how I feel about him, how he had saved me that day.

Nobody said anything for a long time. The air was heavy and silent as tears streamed. I look up after about a minute and see something that truly shocked me. All Might was crying, not just a few tears but tears were streaming down his face as well.

“After all these years, here you are! Better than he could ever be. I always wondered what had happened to you. I tried to find you after the fight but I couldn’t.” He said, wiping the tears and putting a hand on my shoulder.

All I could do was stare at him. Where was the yelling? The beating? I was the child of the man that ruined All Might's career and here he is telling me he had worried over me.

“I had hid. I-” I stopped not wanting to tell the rest for fear of retribution, but I had come this far, I may as well tell him the rest. “I had to help him. He may have been awful, but he was still my father, ya know?” I said gritting my teeth. “If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be here today… I'm so sorry!” I said going into a deep bow, my hands bleeding harder as I pressed my nails harder into the soft flesh.

“Hush now child. I do not blame you! He is your father, of course you tried to help him!”

“Was.” I corrected it immediately.

“Huh?”

“Was my father. He is no longer anything to me but my abuser.” I said, wiping my tears away. “I'm sorry I don’t mean to sound harsh but that man is nothing to me now.” The two men looked at me with a mix of pity and something else I couldn’t quite make out. Hopefulness? Fear? I don’t know. All Might gave a gasp as he looked at my hands. “Goodness young Chiyo, you have really done a number on your hands.” All Might exclaimed, moving to grab them. I flinched back holding them in my lap. He hesitated then moved slower to grab them again. This time I let him take them and examine them. They were worse than I thought. Blood was now running down the palms of my hands, nail marks red and swollen right above where the blood starts. “We should get you to recovery girl, she would make quick work of this. Mirio, would you take her please.” He said with a tone that said it was not really a request. He and Mirio shared a strained look before Mirio looked at me and smiled.

“Of course” Mirio led me to the door of the office.

“Before you go, I have one more question.” I looked back to find the serious look back on All Might’s face. “Do you have any idea where your father may be hiding?” I looked down and shook my head.

“No, I left him a few years ago. I have no doubt he would have changed location once he knew I was entering school here.” I said, disappointed in my own lack of useful knowledge. All Might nodded and let us walk out of the room.

[shewantedtobeasecretgirl]

11. The Lovecats a.k.a an irresistible offer, a guy in proper clothes and a dangerous ginger

In the previous chapters: Effie gives a few pictures taken by her to Krisha who promises to show them to Kelly Curtis but Effie rushes away in the middle of the conversation to avert a date crisis between Judy and Jeff . After Mike’s awkward one-night-stand and the embarrassing intermezzo between Judy and Stone in the shower (that might have been seen by someone else too), the bunch is gathering at breakfast time in a bistro near the motel. Their exchange gets interrupted by Eric who has bad news for them.

 „Guys, we have a problem.”

Ugh… if I was a road manager and the band I’m managing had a show tonight and the lead singer had lost his voice due to his uncontrolled yelling, maybe I’d call it a problem. But I’m a lead singer of a band that is supposed to play a show tonight who lost his voice due to his uncontrolled yelling so I just call it an as fucked-up dumpster fire as possible.

I can barely understand the reactions since everyone in the bunch is desperately shouting at us.

“Has Karrie disappeared?”

“Did Suns defeat Sonics? I knew it!”

“Is the Twelfth Amendment coming into effect again?”

“We’re out of weed?”

Yeah, preferences.

“Hey, everyone, calm the fuck down!” Eric tries to talk them down. “It’s about the show tonight. We… we probably have to cancel it.”

“What? Why? No way!” the cacophony goes on and it only stops when Eric shuts them up with a loud whistle using his fingers.

“Should I explain calm or fuck or down?” he asks annoyed. “The thing is… Ed has lost his voice. He’s not even able to speak.”

“But… how?” Stone stares at us with clueless face. Such a smart guy and such a stupid question.

“He obviously forgot it in a public restroom and by the time he went back, it was already gone. Jesus.” Judy rolls her eyes playing with her fork. Thanks Judy, that’s what I was thinking about, now that you’ve translated it into Sarcasm, Stone might understand too.

“Actually, he accidentally flushed it down the toilet. In case you need to know the exact details to process it, Stoney.” Beth supports her with an audacious grin.

“No problem, we send Jeff down in the canal, I’m sure he’ll find it.”

“I’m able to deal with any shit except yours, Stone.” Jeff retorts, getting a snort from Judy as a reward.

“If I was you, I wouldn’t be so proud of that…”

“Seriously, what happened?” Mike cuts the forming exchange off.

“He was complaining about having a sore throat already yesterday evening too… he was working on a few lyrics but he felt tired and fell asleep relatively early and by this morning… nothing, he can only whisper, I’m afraid…”

“NO!!!” Judy interrupts her and blushes in a second since suddenly, all eyes are fixed on her. “I mean he mustn’t whisper, that’s the worst he can do.”

He? Hey, I lost my voice, not my hearing or my mind.

“It kills vocal cords, which can even lead to neck pains, I’m speaking from experience.”

“Really?” Eric frowns in disbelief.

“He has probably laryngitis. I mean, I’m not sure, he should see an otorhinolaryngologist for an exact diagnose but it’s very likely. It’s mostly viral or bacterial but extreme overburdening doesn’t help either… and extreme overburdening is a pretty euphemistic description for what you’re doing every night, sorry Ed but someone has to finally say it.” she addresses me but my only answer is a helpless shrug. I’m sure I do something wrong but I was procrastinating to face my limits until now and… here’s the result.

“And now she’s already a doctor too. And she completed the medical program in one single night, remarkable.”

“Shut up Stone.” Eric interjects not taking his eyes off of Judy.

“And how long is the regeneration period?” Beth asks, digging her face into my shoulder, which makes me reach for her neck instinctively. She rubs her cheek against my back like a lazy cat as she’s enjoying the improvised massage.

“Well, he shouldn’t speak for a few days but singing is another case, maybe one month…” My hand stops.

“What?” Beth screams right into my ear as her head perks up. Okay, so much for my hearing.

“It depends but usually after a laryngitis, you win back your singing voice note by note, beginning from the nether region.”

“Whoa, Camden, you’re getting naughtier and naughtier…”

“Spirits sometimes help…”

“That’s what I’m telling you all the time!” Mike hits the table with his fist.

“… but it’s only symptomatic treatment, if it’s bacterial, antibiotics are the ultimate solution. And… although I definitely do not support anything that kills throat but I know that singers often get a Calcium shot if they have to perform when having voice problems. So... that would maybe help shorten the silence phase.” Judy explains unwillingly.

“So… let’s summarize what you’re suggesting: we bring Ed to an expert, convince the doctor to give him a Calcium shot and swear he won’t sing for a month… and we cancel the show tonight… and then... we’ll see?” Eric looks at Judy for reassurance.

“Kind of… but I have serious doubts if he can let any note out this week. But are you sure the show must be canceled? I mean, what if someone else sang? Stone? You like singing, don’t you?”

Judy, you have a huge luck that I’m not able to ask publicly why you know about that.

“Jesus, no, I’m not a singer.”

“Aren’t you?” she provokes him raising one eyebrow.

“Nah. Plus, I can’t sing while I’m playing the guitar, I’ve already tried it but every time I try sing, I fuck the riffs up.”

“And he cusses every time he talks. He’d be lynched by the crowd in like ten seconds.” Jeff adds. “Anyway, I’m the other one who sings the backup vocals, maybe I…”

“NO WAY!” everybody protests in unison.

“Okay, okay, it was just an idea…”

“A very bad idea. We would end up playing odes about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, geez…”

Actually, why would it be that bad? He’s like a childhood hero to me. Plus, Stone wouldn’t be a better choice either, our crowd isn’t prepared for a rock cover of The Lumberjack Song.

“No, we have no other choice.”

“Maybe…”

“I SAID NO WHISPERING!” Judy nips my attempt to join the conversation in the bud. I reach in the chest pocket of my shirt because I think this is the right moment to use my latest invention. Beth immediately gets it and jumps in the middle.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, I’m Beth Liebling, your favorite hostess and when I say favorite, I mean it.” she emphasizes the ongoing pun about the meaning of her last name with exaggerated winks. “Many of us have certainly experienced sore throat when swallowing or coughing is extremely painful and speaking seems to be impossible. The lack of communication makes us feel isolated and if we’re surrounded with sarcastic people, unsolved conflicts may result in anger issues.”

“I’m not angry at all, everything’s fine.” Stone smirks.

“But as always, we offer you a solution to tackle these difficulties and to present this incredible product, I ask my handsome partner, Edward for some help.” she pulls me next to herself by the sleeve of my shirt. I put on my dumbest smile and wait for the cue.

“Interaction cards!” she announces with pretended enthusiasm and glances at me. I lift the deck in my hand to eye level and show it around, still with the tooth-flashing fake smile.

“They make possible to maintain basic communication with the simplest messages.”

I present the first two cards with the words “yes” and “no”.

“Give me the “no”, I’ll buy it.” Stone grabs for it. I should have known.

“They also make us capable of expressing our current feelings.”

I spread out the next cards saying “shit”, “damn”, “fuck” and “I love you”.

“Aww. Give me that one!” Mike reaches out for the latter.

“Some of them declare basic axioms…” I wave with the “Pete Townshend is god” card. “No one? No problem, we’ve still got great stuff for our customers: the combined interaction cards!”

I flip through the deck and pick the “Fuck you Bush/republicans/Nazis/racists/homophobic assholes!” card.

“That’s cute, so heartfelt!” Eric presses his hand against his chest and takes it from me with the other one. I keep searching and giggle in advance when I finally pick the “Fuck you Stone!” card.

“Mine!” Judy and Jeff both almost fall out of the booth and then exchange a grin. Although Jeff was the faster, he places the card onto his palm and kneels down in front of her.

“In token of my appreciation, milady…” he offers it to the girl. To my biggest surprise, her first embarrassment evaporates quickly and she plays along.

“I’m always going to wear it over my heart.” she puts it into the chest pocket of her dungaree dress.

“How cheesy.” Stone comments dropping a piece of Emmentaler from his cheese plate into his mouth.

I nudge Beth to show her the card I made for her when she wasn’t looking. When she reads the “I love you, Beth” text on it, she slowly steps to me, laces her arms around my neck and pulls me into a relaxing, soft kiss. I capture her in a bear hug, letting her bury her head into my chest so that I can kiss the top of it and feel the familiar smell of the shampoo she’s used since I met her…

“Booo, the hostess is fucking the stage prop, disgusting…”

“Look, she’s licking the germs out of his mouth, ew…”

I try to ignore the childish remarks of Mike and Stone, luckily, Eric steers the conversation back to more professional questions.

“I guess I have to make a few phone calls, starting with the club, the guys who bought the ticket should receive refund… and I try to get a doctor for Ed, maybe we should try it in Charlotte, I don’t think we could find a specialist here…” he starts thinking loud, getting lost in the current, messy “to do” list he’s keeping in his pocket.

“„Sssooo… since the show has been canceled, I guess we have tons of time for the guitar lesson you asked for.” Jeff changes the topic with a huge grin, without the slightest intention of hiding his joy. And with the definite intention of using every occasion to spend more time alone with her.

“Guitar lesson? From Jeff?” Stone scoffs. “You know he didn’t become a bassist by chance, don’t you?”

“I must admit Stone’s right. There’s a particular reason for it… This bony asshole can’t hold a bass. We tried it, I swear but he ended up with his face in the concrete. If you take a closer look, you can notice that his Les Paul is only a cardboard replica too. He just pretends to play it, actually, it is Scully who plays his parts behind the amps.”

Judy bursts out in a heartfelt laughter, finally, Jeff has figured out that the way to her heart leads through well-played jokes. Possibly at Stone’s expense.

“I guess we could hang out together even tonight…” Jeff recommends with a cautious squint. That’s it, strike the iron while it’s hot…

“Tonight? But what about the show???”

“What show, Stone? We’ve just decided to cancel it…”

“But the supporting act is Tribe After Tribe! You love them, you’ve wanted to see them playing live since Tom Petty gave you their record! I definitely go and watch them!” Stone pouts like a child whose parents are about to call off the family visit to Disneyland.

“Shit… I mean, that’s true, they’re amazing… maybe you could come too…?”

“Nah, I don’t think so, I could finally sleep through the whole night… but we don’t have to do the soundcheck today, we could have the first lesson instead.”

“Hey Camden, you have a lot to learn, no one said you can skip today’s work!”

“I start with turning your volume down…” Judy retorts and turns immediately back to Jeff. “So, what do you say?”

“Sure… I mean, maybe you end up teaching me. But sooner or later, I have to figure out what I’m doing so…”

They both stand up, and as they are walking towards the exit, they keep talking, leaving the sour-faced Stone behind. I can only guess the reason of the change in her behavior… Jeff Ament, you’d better not mess up your chance.

***

„Granny, stop turning your head all the time! I can also hear you when you’re looking straight ahead. Otherwise I mess up your hair!”

“Effie darling, I’m an old woman, I don’t want to be pretty, I just want shorter hair so that I can comb it easier after hair wash.” she answers, of course she can’t help moving her head this time either.

“Granny! What did I just say? Okay, I accept that you don’t care about your look but I don’t lend my name to anything. Plus, if you keep squirming, I might even cut you. Or myself. Geez, I don’t know what happened to your hair after it had turned grey, it’s like barbed wire, maybe I should try it with a machete…” I mutter as I try to straighten her strands with a comb before I start cutting.

“I’ve told you, you can do anything with it, my body is a rusty, old machine, I can’t lean forward in the bath tub or brush it for hours. You could even shave it, I don’t care.”

“Do you really want to enjoy the Seattle rain on your bald scalp? I doubt it. Did you know that dripping ice cold water on the shaved head of prisoners was a popular way of torment in the Middle Ages? And I don’t think Mr. Taylor would like it either.” I refer to her old neighbor with a sly smile.

“Come on, Effie. Peter and I are both basically fossils.” she waves with an embarrassed, short laughter. We’ve been teasing her with him for years but she always reacts with denial, she belongs to the generation of which members think attraction over a certain age is something inappropriate. Or can’t even exist. And if it still does, it’s better to pretend it doesn’t.

“Single fossils!” I point out.

“I know it’s a very fashionable word nowadays but we are both widows, my dear. That’s completely different.” she insists playing with her wedding ring that embraces her ring finger still perfectly. I could stare at her hands for hours, her elegant fingers with strong, even, oval nails, whereas the backs of her hands and her palms are soft and always warm, Mom is convinced that’s the reason why she can prepare the most delicious homemade pastries in the world. The thin, fine, spiderweb-like wrinkles on them are telling the story of a complicated life, every single day adds a newer chapter to it…

“That doesn’t mean you have to live like a recluse, I don’t know why you’re fighting even against the idea.”

“We’ve just put dear Clara in the grave and…”

“Granny, Mrs. Taylor died like… eight years ago???” I whine clipping together a few strands of her.

“To me, it feels like it had happened yesterday.”

“Because with aging, the perception of time is changing completely. It’s scientifically proven. Mr. Taylor is handsome and kind and however much you try to ignore it, he likes you.”

“Sweetie, the head of girls in your age is full of romantic imaginations but…”

“Don’t even try to project it back on me! He trims the hedge in your front yard and peeps from behind the curtain all the time, just to show up by chance whenever you step out of the house! He basically tears the shopping bags out of your hands every time you arrive home from the grocery store!” I confront her with the facts and begin to trim her hair in the meantime.

“Because he’s a gentleman! Our generation was taught how to be polite!” she explains intensely making me grab her head with both hands and turn it back in the right direction.

“Are you trying to say my generation is rude? Anyway, Mr. Taylor is a retired TV mechanic! He could repair that piece of shit old box you’re not willing to replace whenever it gets fucked up.” I play my ultimate argument knowing she has a soft spot for her favorite series. She was mourning after the last episode of Dallas for weeks.

“Effie, you know I don’t like dirty words! Please!”

“Sorry. He could repair that useless device you’re not willing to replace every time it gets fucked up.” I giggle.

“Effie!”

“Granny, just think into it: you shouldn’t make us record the missed episodes and come over if you want to watch them… you don’t like video cassettes anyway and you said you could never learn how to work a video player…” I purr into her ears trying to sound hypnotical.

“It’s rather you who should have a suitor! You’re such a pretty, young, smart girl, I can’t believe you don’t have a boyfriend.”

Oh no. She turned the tables on me. Clever.

“First of all, being single is not a shame, I won’t expire if I don’t get married before I turn 25. I’m just… not interested in anyone right now.”

And by the way, if you’re not studying, not working, and your so-called friends have forgotten about your existence for the reasons above and gave up inviting you at parties and social events, you don’t even have any possible love interest around. Not that I blame them, my high school classmates are scattered everywhere in the country and after I suspended my studies, I kind of slowly drifted away from the college buddies. We hung out a few times after it but I lost track of everything, I understood fewer and fewer inside jokes, I’m not allowed to drink alcohol, which was obviously no fun to them… damn, I can’t even get rid of my waste products without outside help. So at this point, it’s not that easy to meet guys at all. Let alone normal guys who aren’t slackers, heroin addicts and don’t have commitment issues. I mean, bad guys seem to be exciting until you have one. And I’ve had a few one, I always buy their stupid shit and I’m sick of them. Victor is my only friend who still cares and lets me know about must-see shows at RCKNDY but he’s a friend, we’ve never thought about each other with any hint of romantic feelings at that’s okay. To be honest, I don’t even want to be in a relationship only for the sake of it but I miss that little tingle in the chest and the stomach, at least a teeny-tiny, innocent crush wouldn’t hurt…

“I’m sure you have admirers, just no one meets your expectations, maybe you set the bar too high… Ouch!” she lets out a short scream since I manage to pull her hair involuntarily. The “picky girl” card again… this time, I’m not willing to begin a debate with her about that, I’ve done that several times and she just waved me off every single time.

“I think we should rather discuss Judy’s love life, it’s her who‘s surrounded by handsome boys right now.” I change the subject of the conversation, I know I’m mean and if Judy was here, she’d certainly kill me… but she’s not and the end justifies the means.

“I still can’t imagine her in the company of those men.”

Those men. Granny refuses to call the band members anything else. Okay, on sunny days, she refers to them as “those young men”… but Seattle isn’t famous for the frequency of sunny days, as we know.

“They are nice guys, she likes them. And as far as I know, they like her too…” I rather resist the urge to mention Stone’s aversion to her. “Moreover, I heard through the grapevine that one of them liked her more than the others…”

“A suitor? Sweetie, please bring my bag here, now that you’re mentioning that, I want to ask you something.”

I obey, and walk to the armchair to grab it. Like it was so easy.

“Jesus, Granny, are you keeping bricks in your handbag??? It’s a lethal weapon, if you beat someone in the head with it, you can be put in jail…” I shake my head as I put it on her lap.

“Come on, it’s not that heavy. There are a few things in it a woman can need anytime… “ she starts rummaging in the bag and as I peak into it, I can spot a Swiss Army penknife and a small bottle of tear gas spray. I rather don't ask anything. “I know you’ve shown me pictures of those men, magazine articles, posters but you know I forget everything… So I bought something up-to-date so that you can tell me what I have to know about them, especially if it concerns my granddaughter…” she pulls something colorful out of the mess.

“Steel Hammer magazine? Haha, I can’t believe it! You just went to a kiosk and asked for the latest issue of a metal magazine???” I laugh walking back behind her to pick up the threads again.

“Well… I couldn’t remember the band’s name, I just told to the salesman that my grandchild was working with one of the famous rock bands from our town and I wanted to learn more about them. He just laughed and told me this issue was full of Seattle rock bands and I could certainly find in it what I was looking for.” she flips through the pages. “So tell me again the names of those men, please.” she lifts the magazine and I giggle as I look over her head at it.

“Oh, that’s Alice in Chains, they are also popular but… I don’t think you would approve if Judy worked for them.”

“Why? They do drugs, right? I don’t even want to hear more about that.” Thank God. I don’t think I could tell her much about them without causing her a heart attack. “But they must be them!” she puts a picture in front my nose again.

“You’re getting warmer… but… still not hot. That’s Soundgarden, they are good friends with the guys, they’re even meeting them in a few weeks in Texas, I guess they’re playing a couple of shows together. But they are nice guys too, you don’t have to worry. No drugs, no sex. I mean no sex with strangers. Or other bands’ crew members.” I add before she’d make me run background checks and look into their police records.

“And these men?”

“Whoohoo, you’re hot! That’s them, Pearl Jam!”

“They have nice hair! Actually, all these musicians do. And their eyes are clear, I like that. They seem to be honest young men.” Young men. Maybe if I tell enough nice things about them, she’ll even call them “boys”, or even “guys”. ”Who is who?”

“Eddie, Jeff, Stone, Dave and Mike.” I list pointing at each name on its owner.

“And which of them is courting our Judy?” she inquires excitedly.

“I wouldn’t call it courting yet, all I know he’s already asked her out once but I’m still investigating the details, you know how secretive she can be. Anyway, it’s the bassist, Jeff. The second one from left.” I glance over her head again while I collect another strand with the comb and straighten it to see its length.

“He’s very athletic, he looks healthy, that’s good. A strong man. But those earrings and bracelets… does he always wear them?”

I can hear the frown in her voice.

“I guess so. But that doesn’t make him a bad person, body piercings are very fashionable nowadays. Anyway, he’s a Montanan guy, he’s also an artist, he paints I guess. And you see right, he’s a talented athlete, he plays basketball too and he’s an avid skateboarder. It’s not dangerous!” I add quickly since I’m not sure if skateboarding is old enough to be on Granny’s list of approved spare times activities

“His clothing style is weird, though. His chest is almost bare, he couldn’t be cold but then why was he wearing that hat?”

“Hehe, no one knows, he’s just into hats, that’s his trademark.” I shrug.

“I can’t believe Judy likes him. But that serious one with those sad eyes might be her type.”

“Who?” I wrinkle my forehead since I can’t really pair the description with any of them.

“Him. He dresses normally, that’s a nice shirt, no earrings or other weird jewelry. Does he have a tattoo?”

I glance back at the magazine only to see she’s pointing at Stone.

“Hahaha, oh my gosh, no, as far as I know he doesn’t, but if you ask me, he could even be as spotted as a panther, Judy can’t stand him.”

“But he seems to be a nice boy…”

BOY??? Stone?

“Okay, I admit, he looks good and the crew likes him and he’s super talented but he’s an asshole to Judy.”

“Effie!”

“He is! At first he ignored her and then he started acting like a douchebag and…”

“Effie, dear, you know how boys behave in school… they sometimes literally torture the girl they like… maybe he is just immature.”

“No, Granny, this is…”

Luckily, the stupid debate gets interrupted by the ringing of the phone and I jog to pick it up, maybe it’s Judy…

“Hello, Camdens…”

“Hey, Krisha’s here.”

“Oh… hi…”

“So you haven’t been abducted by aliens. You basically ran away from the office last time without any explanation and I’ve been waiting for your call since then… are you okay?”

“I am… I just… didn’t want to seem too desperate or impatient… I mean, managers are busy people, I thought it’d take some time until Kelly gets to watch my pictures…”

To be honest, I was convinced they’d ditch me with some polite lie like “Nice photos but we are looking for something else” or “We are going to call you later”… so I was just procrastinating facing the truth.

“I tied him to his chair and didn’t set him free, I have my methods… which means, I’ve got news for you.” she announces secretively.

“Effie, sweetie… my hair is still wet, would you give me a towel?”

“Just a second, Granny! Look, I’m busy now but could we meet later somewhere in the city?”

“You mean today?”

“Yes… ah, shit, I have an appointment at the hairdresser’s, but maybe after it…”

“I’m flexible, just tell me the place and the date…”

“Okay, it’s…”

***

When I pull down at the address she gave me on the phone, she’s already waiting for me in front of the building. As I lean over the passenger seat to open the door for her, my eyes are involuntarily drawn to the window decorated with kitschy hearts behind her.

“Love Is In The Hair? Seriously???” I frown. “I’d never let my hair be touched by anyone who’s able to make up such a terrible pun.”

“Oh, don’t be influenced by that, the owner is a hopeless, sentimental old woman but the girls working there are real pros!” she shakes her head as she gets in and buckles herself up. “Meg’s got golden hands, she’s the only one who can keep this haystack under control.” she points at her good smelling, fluffy, blonde strands. “I mean, several people have attempted but she’s the only one who’s succeeded without turning me into Dolly Parton.”

“Well, that’s definitely wouldn’t be a fortunate outcome.” I crack up. “But you got a nice perm, truly.”

“Oh, that’s my hair in its natural state. I had only a haircut, that’s all.”

“I can’t believe that! Aw, I’m so envious, I mean look at this mouse tail…” I flick my thin ponytail with one hand, keeping the other one on the steering wheel. “Unfortunately, my hair can’t recover from what I did to it in the ‘80s…”

“Ouch, well, those were tough times... I’m sure Meg could recommend something… you should give her a try!”

“Maybe… I don’t know, somehow I have a strong aversion to beauty salons, that chicken yard vibe freaks me out.”

“Me too! But this place is not like that at all, that’s the other reason why I became their regular client. Meg studied psychology, she always feels without asking if I want to talk or just listen to her or I just want both of us to… you know, just shut up. She usually has good advice for every situation but not in a pushy way… she rather makes you realize what’s the right thing to do… or just points out if you’re about to make a terrible mistake without explicitly saying it.” she chuckles. “I don’t know, it’s like a sixth sense thing, she’s gifted.”

“So she’s a beauty wizard and a guru in one person.” I summarize.

“Haha, exactly. She’s simply a cool chick but for some reason, she has such a bad luck with guys, I don’t know the exact details, only that a problematic guitarist broke her heart.”

“Ha, that invasive species has kinda conquered this town…” I mutter knowingly.

“Speaking of that, do you know anything about Judy and Jeff? I ran away last time since I felt a disaster coming… she wasn’t even aware she’d been asked out… and since then, we’ve barely talked and she ignored the question when I came up with that…”

“Ugh, to be honest, I don’t know, I talked to Eric about work stuff, we’re busily preparing that free open-air show in May…” I stop since I’m not sure if I should go on. “Of course I talked to Stone as well…” I finally decide to do so but I pretend to be distracted by the traffic in the junction to have an excuse for not finishing the sentence.

“I bet he trashed my sister again, didn’t he?” she unfortunately jumps on the topic without hesitation.

“No… not really… I mean, he’s disapproving about anything romantic between them for sure but not because of Judy as a person… he just doesn’t think it’s a healthy thing right now. But he was obscure, I didn’t even understand what he was trying to say, he was babbling something about deflowering and cabal… he’s showing off his vocabulary all the time, even if it makes no sense. Especially when he’s high, maybe that was the case.”

“Deflowering? You mean my sister?” she scoffs and I can’t do anything but shrug since Stoney was truly vague, almost secretive. “The dude’s got obviously a screw loose.” she underlines the statement by circling with her index finger at the temple. “Anyway, why are you turning in that direction, aren’t we going to the management office?”

“I never claimed we’re going there.” I watch the road with a mysterious smile. “Actually, I realized after having called you that I had an errand to run so I thought you could accompany me…”

“By accompanying you mean kidnapping me and holding me hostage in your car?”

“Maybe. Open the glove compartment, I put there something for you.”

“Now you’re scaring me, is it a gun? Whoa.” she startles since after she obeys me, tons of tapes fall onto her lap.

“Ah, I get it. You’re holding me hostage and make me listen to shitty music, what are these? Tapes of Wham! tribute bands or what?” she asks checking the cases.

“Okay, you just gave me a great idea. The tapes weren’t intended for you, they are demos of bands monkeying PJ, we receive a buttload of them every week. Needless to say they all suck, could you do me a favor by listening to them for me? Kelly insists on me checking all of them, I don’t know why, though, we usually send them a polite refusal… but he thinks they deserve a chance. 99 % percent of them are indistinct yelling to worn-out riffs. What about my constitutional rights?”

“Haha, are you serious? I mean, I don’t really have any proper excuse, I have plenty of time and unfortunately, fucked-up kidneys don’t clog ears but…”

“Just kidding, I meant the folded sheets, maybe they are buried deep, just dig for them.”

“Okay, got it” she groans basically putting her head in the glovebox. “What’s that? Mr. Hugh Mility… Mr. Juan Badapple… Jim Rockford... Dr. Hugh Jeego… Guy Jantic… what the hell is this?”

“Well, since the guys are getting huge, fans are lurking at the hotels, they make up impossible lies to get their room numbers, a few of them even tried to bribe the receptionists… so it became obvious they should use codenames…”

“And who is who?”

“You missed the point, should I maybe explain the concept of codenames? What if you start stalking or harassing them?” I tease her and maybe I’m hallucinating but I’d swear I see an amused smile forming in the corner of her mouth. “Anyway, joke aside, they are pretty obvious, just think a little.”

“Wait, the list goes on… these must be the crew members… Elle Koholic, okay, this must be Carrie. Oh my god, I found my sister’s one.” she slaps herself in the forehead.

“Yeah, no offense but she’s got a one-track mind… anyway, we’ve arrived.” I announce steering the car right to the empty site next to the building.

“Are you willing to finally reveal where we are?” she asks stuffing the tapes back into their place.

“Curiosity killed the cat. Okay, I hope not, Stone would kill me.” I laugh at my own joke, fishing out the shopping bag from the backseat. “Come.”

“I don’t understand a word.” she pouts indignantly while we’re entering the building and climbing the stairs in the semi-darkness.

“I enlighten you very soon, I promise, just follow me.” I turn back to her and we fell silent until we reach our destination. “Here.” I point theatrically at the door.

“What’s this? Are you gonna buy drugs here? Or is this sort of a den of gamblers? Or…”

“Jesus, I thought you’re the adventurous one…” I roll my eyes. “Anyway, you mentioned the species of problematic guitarists… where we’re standing is the cave of a specimen from one of the subspecies.”

“…which iiiis…”

“One of the most complex inhabitant of Earth’s fauna: the rhythm guitarist!” I raise my index finger. “It’s very widespread at bars and concert venues, the male ones are inseparable from their favorite delicacy that is beer. The male living here is famous for his trademark, sarcastic remarks that are not without jokes about nether regions. During his mating season – that includes every single day of the year –, he tries to catch the attention of female specimens with the excessive flipping of his magnificent mane and his repetitive, distinctive laughter. He often leaves the location of mating right after the act, his volatile nature…”

“Wait, are you trying to say…” she cuts me off, getting tired of my improvised presentation.

“Yess.”

“No shit!”

“Yes shit. We’re at Stone’s apartment. Okay, it actually belongs to his sister but she moved in with her boyfriend last year. And Stoney got a gentle reminder from his parents that he should finally leave the family nest.”

“Hey, then maybe me and Judy are super uncool since we live with our mom too…” she frowns offended.

“It’s all about the context, first of all: he turned down Chris Cornell when he asked him to be his roommate. I repeat, Chris Cornell.” I explain, as I begin to fumble with the keys.

“What a fool!”

“I mean, I kind of understand him to a point, his parents are the dearest people I know but turning down such an offer when you’re over 20? Time went by and I think his parents just got fed of him tearing the strings at their attic all the time and coming home in the middle of the night every single day. Even if they have always been totally supportive of him, they didn’t freak out even when he announced he didn’t want to go to college… he started working as an espresso guy in a small bakery at Pioneer Square, he was the worst, by the way, I mean I almost puked of the coffee he made… He quitted that job when Mother Love Bone got signed to PolyGram and… you know what happened later. So he kind of stuck at home, indebted.”

We enter the apartment in the meantime and I take a few steps in the living room to turn on the standard lamp.

“But then, not much before the tour started, his sister let him her place over, he’s a low-key guy so…” I shrug. “Now that they became basically rock stars, he’s planning to buy a small house… his dad is an attorney-at-law with acquaintances at real estate firms, that helps a lot.”

“We had to sold our house when… a few years ago.” she sighs. I don’t ask, I guess it has to do something with her father, Karrie mentioned he’d died a few years ago. “This is a pretty nice place, I thought it was messier. No piles of beer cans, no smell of rotten food…” she remarks walking around the living room.

“Despite your impressions, he’s not a caveman, he always jokes referring to himself as an emancipated guy meaning he can and is willing to do all kind of housework. He can be pretty oblivious, though, which sometimes affects the result…” I giggle and open the windows to let in some fresh air. “His brain works in a weird way, he loses everything, all the time and forgets where he put his personal belongings and therefore never finds them again… whereas he’s pretty good at remembering riffs and melodies.”

“So this place is like a black hole. Anyway, why are we here? Wait, are we going to pull pranks on him? Let’s stick pins in the armchairs, smear tooth paste on the door handles and hide dog poop under the doormat…” she suggests with stars in her eyes. Okay, I have to do something against this hatred campaign before these wicked women cast a lethal spell on him.

“As I mentioned, I have a mission. First of all, I have to keep those poor things alive…” I point in the corner.

“Wow, a private jungle!” she exclaims surprised. “Philodendron, ficus and mother-in-law’s tongue! If someone had told me Stone liked indoor plants, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“Actually, he sometimes forgets about their existence too. But they are real survivors, they even made it despite his girlfriend’s interesting watering methods… by the way, he even gave them names: Phil Collins, Biggus Diccus and Robert Plant, I guess I don’t have to explain…” I go on with the guided tour while I go in the kitchen to fill the coffee jug with water.

“At least the guy has a good taste in music.” she shouts. She must have found his record collection and the stereo system, I guess if something, this can soften Effie up.

“Yes, he’s surprisingly omnivorous as for musical genres…” I call back although my voice sounds muffled, since I had to basically crawl into the cupboard at the bottom for the bag of the pet food. “He’s pretty much influenced by everything he hears on the radio. Ouch!!!” I manage to bang my head when I straighten up too early.

“Are you okay?”

“I am… just a household accident…”

I walk back to the bedroom with the small bowl full of dry food only to find her staring amazed at the large star chart on the wall.

“Wow. My sister would love this.” she keeps examining it with dropped jaw, only her lips are moving.

“Well, I’ve always known they have much more in common than they think.” I grin.

“Judy had a pretty long phase when she wanted to be an astronomer… I mean, basically her in her whole childhood. She later found out physics and science weren’t really her thing but she’s still obsessed with space exploration and science fictions…”

“As you can see, Stone isn’t that beer-drinking, douchebag barfly type…” I spread my arms to point out that the walls are almost covered with bookshelves.

“Yeah, as far as I can see, he’s pretty much an intellectual asshole.” she narrows her eyes.

“AND NOW… let’s jump to the second part of my mission.” I kneel down and lift the bedspread. “Your Majesty, your subjects are only waiting for you to begin the audience.” After a few seconds of silence, two reddish paws reach out from under the bed, soon followed by a pink nose. Their owner makes sure there’s nothing dangerous in the room in full alert mode, before she crawls out slowly and rubs her snout against my hand reached out.

“Oh my god! A cat! Was she here during the whole time?” Effie screams surprised, sits down cross legged and invites her to herself making smacking sounds. “Hey sweetie… you’re very shy, aren’t you? Come here…come…”

“Effie, let me introduce you Red. Red, this is Effie. Be cautious… she can behave quite wild, especially with women…”

Despite my fears, she slowly moves towards Effie and sniffs her fingertips. After a few seconds of tense hesitation, she lets herself be caressed with that typical vigilance of cats like she was sending the message “I’m here but if you make a wrong move, you die”.

“What a beautiful fur… and those green eyes…” the girl runs her finger along the red-white spotted back. “She seems to like me…” the girl chuckles.

“One more proof that Stone’s theory was right.”

“What kind of theory?”

“Well… he adopted her not much after the forming of the band… she was just a tiny, fluffy kitten but from the very first moment, she’s acted very weird with the girls around Stone. And I don’t mean girls in general, I’m talking about his female visitors, if you know what I mean… she’s been very hostile to girls he’s dated, she’s basically driven away all the chicks he’s got hooked up with… She’s literally jealous of his love interests.”

“Interesting, I’d rather think Stone is a dog person…”

“He is, his family has always had dogs… but with Red… it was love at first sight. I’ve never seen him being as affectionate to actual girls as to Red. Even his voice softens when he’s talking to or about her… so long story short, Stone was joking that they must have been lovers in a previous life and she had been some red-haired girl who’d stolen his heart.”

“And does she like girls who hate him because they mean no competition for her?” Effie wonders as she follows the cat with her eyes who’s now approaching her bowl and gets lost in the deliciously looking pieces of meat. “It’d be an interesting experiment to introduce her to Judy.”

“Definitely, she’s never met a real female enemy of him. Maybe because girls usually like him…” I shrug.

“And is this poor thing the whole day alone?”

“Ugh, it’s a complicated story. When the guys started touring, the Gossards adopted her. Again. But they have to get rid of her, because they all are allergic to cat fur, it wasn’t that disturbing when Stone was at home too and she basically lived in the attic with him and he was the only one really taking care of her… but when he was away and they had do it for him, they quickly had to look for someone else… and then, she got to Regan, our common old friend. They got on very well with each other but then Regan and his girlfriend adopted a dog and to say they weren’t compatible is an understatement. And then…” I took a big breath “…then came the Amber phase. I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned her, she’s his girlfriend.”

“Ouch.” she hisses. “That must have been tough.”

“It was. Due to the beforementioned circumstances, their relationship was everything but smooth… she never adopted her, she just came over to feed her and all but Red was trying very hard to make her life a living hell. She attacked her, scratched her arms, hooked her nails in her tights and ruined her nicest clothes…” I list and I can’t help smiling as I recall their clashes.

“I can’t believe this cutie pie did things like that. It sounds terrible but… hey, are you laughing???”

“It was a dis… a disaster…” I’m already choking of laughter since in the meantime, Red’s innocent face makes me remember the funniest part of the story. “Once she even… oh no, I can’t…” I try to calm down and put on straight face. “Once this little bitch…” Red turns her head towards me like she felt addressed “yes, I’m talking about you… so this little bastard peed in Amber’s heels.”

“Oh no! Cat pee is the worst, it’s a one-way ticket to the dumpster. I mean only if you don’t set everything that got in contact with it on fire.”

“Well, that happened to the heels in question too. But frankly, I don’t blame Red, I myself have played with the idea of doing the same a few times too.” I shrug and have Effie in stitches.

“So you hate her too…”

“I don’t, she’s not a bad person… but she can be so annoying, man… when you have to admire the umpteenth fashion photo of her posing in different clothes, it’s very difficult to seem to be interested.”

“Uhm… speaking of photos… you said you got news for me… I didn’t want to be too greedy, I mean I really like hanging out with you and I’m not doing it only because I want your help and…” she jabbers blushing.

“Hey, easy. The news are that Kelly loved your photos. And Susan Silver too. And they have a great idea…”

[mysterioh]

Saajan Ji Ghar Aaye - Chapter Two

Bucky Barnes x Desi!Reader

Synopsis: After a brisk romance in London, Bucky follows you back to your home in Upstate New York where the preparations for your marriage to the son of a family friend are well underway. As the inevitable countdown to your wedding begins, Bucky remains optimistic in his pursuit of your love and your family’s acceptance.

Arranged Marriage/Forbidden Lovers AU

“Saajan Ji ghar aaye” means “your beloved has come to your home”.

Masterlist

𝑻𝒖𝒎𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒏. 

 𝑯𝒐 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒏.

“Hit me up?” 

Your nose scrunched in disgust when you read the note. Who the hell did he think he was? 

You. 

Eik shareef kandan ki larki fraternizing with strange characters? 

Over your dead body. 

In a rush of anger you ripped up the paper and threw it in the trash. You flipped the lights off and cozied yourself underneath the cover. 

“Kuttay da bacha.” 

“I’m losing my damn mind,” Sam groans. 

“What happened?” Steve questioned, looking up from his paper. 

“This place is too fucking fancy for me,” he waved his arms around. “They gave me three different forks to eat my pancakes with and I don’t know which one is the right one.” 

Steve chuckles. “Just pick any, no one’s gonna judge you here.” 

“You just had to marry rich, didn’t you?” Sam nagged playfully. “Couldn’t just pick a simple girl from Brooklyn.” 

“I’m marrying Peggy because I love her, not for her money,” Steve retorts. 

“The money’s just a bonus,” Bucky cuts in as he approaches the two. Steve frowns as Sam turns his head to watch Bucky walk into the hotel’s dining hall. 

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Sam teased. “Rest well, Sleeping Beauty?” 

“Like a baby,” Bucky replies, as he slides into a chair next to the two. He takes his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and places it on the table so he can sit more comfortably. 

“Holy shit these pancakes are so good,” Sam fawns as he stuffs his mouth. 

“This is a five-star hotel, have some manners,” Steve hisses. 

“My deepest apologies, mother, I won’t do it again,” Sam chides him. 

Steve takes a sip of his coffee, shooting a glare in Sam’s direction, who’s hardly paying any attention to him. His eyes flit towards Bucky, who’s too busy frowning at his phone to entertain their daily squabble. 

“You’re not hungry, Buck?” 

“Hmm?” he looks at Steve. “Oh no, not really,” he shakes his head. 

“Still tired?” 

“Nah,” Bucky denies. 

“Did that girl ever text you?” Sam asked. Bucky kicked Sam’s leg. Sam winces. “What?” 

Steve’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What girl?” 

“The girl he met on the plane,” Sam informed their other friend. “He slipped his number in her book.” 

Bucky hides his face in his hands. 

“You slipped your number in a random girl’s book?” Steve repeated. “How’d you even do that?”

“She fell asleep on his shoulder and he decided to go through her stuff,” Sam deadpanned, taking another mouthful of pancake in his mouth. 

“Seriously?” 

“No!” Bucky defended. “It was nothing like that. The book was right there so I decided to just slip it in.” 

“It’s fucking creepy, man,” Sam stated. 

Bucky sulks in his chair and plays with his fingers. “She was pretty alright?” he murmured. 

Steve straightens his paper like an old father. “That doesn’t change the fact that it’s creepy.” 

Bucky groans. “What if she was on a connecting flight? I might never see her again.” 

Sam rolls his eyes. “You’re so dramatic. No girl in their right mind would contact a complete stranger that they’ve only exchanged two words with. Especially one that looks like you.” 

Bucky sits straight. “What’s wrong with the way I look?” 

“You look like something I’d draw with my left hand.” 

Steve snorts behind his paper, earning him a glare from Bucky. “I mean he’s not wrong.” 

“Imagine having two best friends that roast your ass instead of console you,” Bucky shades them. 

“Don’t worry, Buck,” Steve assures him with an easy smile. “There’s plenty of girls out there. You’ll find another one.” 

“But I liked that one,” he grumbles. 

“You don’t know anything about her. Move on already,” Sam retorts. Bucky pouts in his seat like a child. 

“Peggy’s cousin is holding a party tonight and you’re obviously invited,” Steve informed, before returning to his paper. “I know without a doubt that you’ll find someone there.”

Inconsequent polite chatter, canapes, and wine. The three main ingredients for a fancy party held by a social elite. 

The ballroom on the top floor at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower was already brimming with people when you arrived. 

Then again, any party hosted by the one and only Tony Stark would be. 

“Farhan!” Tony greets as he approaches the two of you. His arms were spread out in a welcoming manner with a glass of champagne in one hand. 

“Tony! It’s been too long,” your brother gives him a side hug. 

“And this is…” Tony looks at you completely clueless as to what your name is. 

Typical. 

“Uh, my sister,” Farhan introduces, motioning a hand towards you. “Y/N.” 

“And Farhan’s sister!” he exclaims.

“Nice to finally meet you,” you extend a hand. Tony takes it and gives it an over-excited shake. Must be the champagne. “Farhan’s told me a lot about you.” 

“Hopefully not everything,” Tony laughs. He places his hand on Farhan’s shoulder and shakes it a bit. “Y’know me and him,” he points between the both of them. “We both got into so much trouble at St. Joseph’s, but somehow this motherfucker always got out of it.”

Farhan shakes his head in embarrassment. You look at him with a raised brow paired with an amused smile. Oh how you wished, Abbu was right there with you. 

“You’re lying,” Farhan tries to cover up. “It was all you. I would tell you not to do it.” 

“I’m lying?” Tony retorted, ready to spill all the dirty details from their highschool days. “Remember that time you—” 

“Y/N!” 

You turn to see Peggy running towards you, her perfect auburn curls bouncing as she does. She slams into you, almost toppling you over. “You’re finally here!” she exclaims. She lets go, but keeps you in arm’s length. “And you look gorgeous. Oh, I’ve missed you so much!” she pulls you back in for another hug. 

“I’ve missed you too.” 

“I was so worried you wouldn’t make it,” Peggy said. 

“Me? Not make it to your wedding?” you replied, “Not in a million years.” Your chuckles mingled with hers. It’s been so long since you felt this happy.

“Oh, Farhan,” Peggy notices him behind you. “You’re here too!”

“Of course I’m here,” he teased. “You thought I wouldn’t be?” 

“No,” she shakes her head in amusement. “You’re just so busy these days being a hotshot in The City.” 

“I’m never too busy for a friend.” 

“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest?” Tony teases. “You use that kinda talk when you're buttering those geezers up?” 

“Well, if it means the best for L/N Enterprises then I see no harm in it,” he shrugs with a pompous grin . “Maybe Stark Industries should take a tip or two from me.”

“Farhan,” you gasped, a habit you picked up from Ummi. 

“Let’s leave these two here,” Peggy told you, taking you by the hand. “Let me introduce you to the wedding party.”

“Alright,” you nodded as she pulled you through the crowd leaving Farhan and Tony behind. 

“Steve!” she calls for the blonde at the bar. He turns around, a smile spreading on his face when he sees his fiance. She scurries up to him with you right behind her. “Look who finally made it.” 

“Y/N!” he greets. “Thank God, you’re here. Peggy was about to raise hell. She’s been driving me nuts all evening.”  

“If she’s driving you nuts now then you sure you want to get married to her?” Sam jabbed walking towards them with a blue-eyed stranger that looked far too familiar beside him. 

Bucky’s eyes light up when they meet yours. He grins at you from ear to ear which you return with a tight-lipped scowl. 

“I am sure,” Steve affirms. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” He grins, pulling Peggy into his side and planting a sweet peck on her temple.  

“Y/N, these are Steve’s friends,” Peggy introduces. “Sam and Bucky. Guys, this is Y/N, we were roommates in university.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Sam nods. 

“You too,” you whisper, feeling uncomfortable with the energy that your reunion with the freak had created in the room.

Bucky chuckles to himself, unable to contain the giddy excitement within him.  

“What’s so funny, Buck?” 

“Nothing,” he shakes his head. You bit your lip, eyes everywhere but on him. His eyes sink you in, etching every detail that he missed into his memory. “It’s a small world after all.” 

You lock eyes with him, and there’s just something about his gaze that you’ve never encountered before. 

A cool London breeze brushes against your arms. You managed to slip out of the party and right under Peggy’s nose for some well-needed fresh air out on the balcony of the high-rise ballroom. 

Farhan was God knows where. Most likely surrounded by colleagues and business partners who had a long list of topics to discuss with him. Topics that you had no interest in and quite literally bored you. That’s why you decided not to go into business and instead went into the medical field. 

Not like you needed to anyway. Farhan was fully capable of taking care of the entirety of L/N Enterprises by himself, and if you had to be honest, you were glad he was. You could call yourself selfish and lazy, but having the weight of Abbu’s legacy resting on your shoulders was something you weren’t capable enough to handle. 

You let out a deep exhale, while leaning against the balcony and looking out at the city skyline that glimmered in the dark night. 

You hear footsteps behind you and turn to see who it was. 

“What are you doing here?” you snapped, standing straight with a tight fist, ready to swing if it came to it. 

Bucky grins. “Just getting some fresh air. You?” 

“I was just leaving,” you stated, walking past him in large strides. 

He catches your hand by the wrist. “Wait up.” 

“Don’t touch me,” you pull your hand out of his. 

“Sorry,” he apologizes with a nervous smile. “Did you get my note?” 

You look away, embarrassed. “I did,” you mumbled. 

“Then why didn’t you reply?” 

You look at him incredulously. “Me? Reply to you?” you asked. “I don’t even know you.” 

“Oh of course where are my manners,” he lunges towards you. “I’m Bucky. I’m twenty-six years old from Brooklyn and a mechanical engineer. How about you?” 

“Leave me alone.” You turn on your heel and head towards the door. 

“Don’t you think you should give me a chance?” Bucky asks from behind. “The fact that we’re meeting again can’t just be a coincidence. I think it’s fate.” 

“Fate?” you repeated with a raised brow. 

“Yeah,” he nods. “I mean just think about it. We met on the plane. There’s like a one in a million chance that we would’ve landed on the same plane. And the fact that our friends are getting married and we’re meeting each other again to celebrate?” he brings a finger to his cheek as if he’s thinking. “Uh, I think the universe is plotting something here.” 

You feel a migraine unleashing. “Stop you’re making my head hurt.” 

“All I’m saying is that a guy like me and a girl like you have some sort of connection.” 

“Wrong.” you state flatly. “A girl like me and a guy like you have nothing to do with each other. So if you’ll please excuse me, I have to go. And if you ever try speaking to me again, it will not end well for you.” 

Bucky hands hugs his hips as he watches you leave. He lets out a deep exhale, wondering what your deal was. 

Was he really that ugly?

Translations: 

Eik shareef kandan ki larki - Daughter of a honorable family. 

Kuttay da bacha - Son of a bitch. 

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