#I know exactly what I’ll be doing for the next 21 minutes

[thedemon-crowley]

Hey, uh, could you tell your friend the bookseller that either someone’s trying to blackmail him or he just happened to drop a printout of his nudes on the hood of the Bentley where anyone could find it.

He doesn’t work there anymore. It’s been taken over by new management

but I’ll, er

let me just go and er

get those

[natalievoncatte]

Lena squared herself up after she stepped from the elevator.

This has taken considerable work. She’d had to arrange for her absence from boarding school to go unnoticed, or at least, unremarked upon. If Lillian got wind of her running away, she’d have been skinned alive. Perhaps literally. Since her adoptive father’s death, she’d actually looked forward to school, and to being away from Lillian’s abuse. Lex was now the only thing keeping her from Lena, and Lex was preoccupied with his project.

Her brother had been away for school for some time, but they had summers off together at least. When Lex took over the company when he turned 21, he grew distant and aloof, spending more time with his friend Clark or at work than with family.

With his absence came Lillian.

Still, she had managed to build a support network. Frank, her bodyguard-slash-driver was Lex’s man, but he was useful. Lena had spent months buttering him up to participate in her plan: she needed wheels.

In the meantime she’d acquired blackmail material. The head master at the school gave her a broad latitude after she implied that she might expose certain proclivities of his. That gave her the time away she needed. She’d carefully negotiated a higher allowance from Lex in exchange for accelerating her studies in anticipation of beginning her undergraduate studies at sixteen, which was a triviality for her anyway.

Lena walked down the hall, heart pounding against the backpack clutched to her chest. Each step felt heavy, alive with portent.

She could turn back now. She could turn her back now.

What if she was wrong? Paranoid, addled, as crazy as her mother, just like Lillian said? What if she was about to not only blow up her whole life, but slander her brother. If this went sideways, she didn’t know what exactly would happened to her, but Lillian had once, while tipsy on whisky from Lionel’s stash, told Lena that if not for Lex, she’d have Lena garroted with piano wire and buried on the estate, and like any bag of trash, no one would notice she’d been disposed of.

When she told Lex, her hands shook like leaves. He looked at her for a long cold moment and she worried that he’d slap her or scream or throw her out of the house, but he simply said, “I’ll talk to her about it.”

He did. She never made another threat.

He also brought her a wooden box, ornate and polished. Lex sat next to Lena and opened the box, showing her the contents, lying on red velvet. A five shot snub nose revolver and two speedloaders.

“I’ll teach you how to use this,” Lex said, grimly. “I know you’re smart enough to know if you need to. If anyone tries to harm you, kill them. I’ll clean it up.”

Lena had been terrified of it for months, even as she enjoyed the shooting lessons from Lex, given in a remote part of the estate near a burbling creek, the shots cracking the morning peace and shaking dew from leaves.

She had the gun in her backpack, and her hands were shaking.

The other contents of her bag were a weapon far more devastating. She was about to fire it and she’d have to accept the consequences.

Finally, she stood outside the door. Apartment 18B. The name on the lease was Lois Lane, but according to Lena’s reconnaissance, Clark Kent had been living with her virtually full time for the last six months, not long after something changed in his relationship with Lena’s brother.

Lena’s hand hung before the door for a good minute before she knocked, weekly. She hadn’t considered what might happen if they were simply not home. Her legs felt watery and her eyes burned. She knocked again. She was committed now.

The door swung open and Lois Lane stood before her. She was beautiful in an understated way, obscured by limp hair in a chaotic bun, rumpled clothes, and the stink of coffee on her breath.

“Who- what? Kid, what do you want?”

“I need to see Clark Kent. Is he here?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Lena Luthor.”

There was a gust of wind behind her, and Kent stepped into view.

“Lena?” said Clark. “Lex’s little sister? What are you doing here?”

Lena’s throat went tight. She swallowed hard, and as she anticipated, his demeanor changed. He softened. He craned forward slightly, studying her intently, and his brows shot up when looked at her bag.

He was checking her vital signs and he’d spotted the gun. In the bag.

“He knows you’re Superman,” Lena choked out, “and he’s going to kill you.”

Lois glanced at Clark with a stunned, stunned wide expression. Then, she grabbed Lena and yanked her inside, slamming the door. Lena squeaked.

“How do you know that? Lex knows? Did he tell you? What do you mean he wants to kill Clark?”

“Hey,” Clark said, crouching beside Lena to bring himself to her level, resting a comforting hand on her slight shoulder. “Take a breath, Lena. You’re safe here.”

In Lena’s plan, she was going to begin explaining, starting with how she deduced his identity and lay out what she discovered in his files. That was her plan, but no plan survived first contact with the enemy.

Lena began to sob.

Superman knelt beside her and removed his glasses, and enveloped Lena Luthor in a warm, protective hug. She sobbed harder, burying her face in his shoulder.

“Jesus Christ,” Lois whispered.

She drew the gun out of the bag and checked it with professional, practiced familiarity, dumping the shells into her hand.

“I think she’s telling the truth.”

Clark nodded.

Over the next hour, Lena was swept to Lois’s big couch and sat in the middle while the pair sat on either side of her. When she was hungry, Clark went out to get her favorite guilty pleasure meal, a big greasy burger and fries, and a milkshake too. Between bites, she explained everything, telling them about her brother’s insane plan to turn the sun red.

They believed it all. Lena had receipts.

Eventually, Lena was exhausted, everything had been said, and she sat with dull shock on the couch and stared at the black mirror of a blank television set, marveling at how small and helpless she looked, like a drowned rat.

“Why don’t you lay down for a while?” Lois said, gently. “Here, I’ll put something on the TV for you.”

Lena didn’t make it ten minutes in before she was asleep, curled tightly on one end of the couch with a pillow under her head.

She woke sometime later. It was dark now and she heard voices on the far side of the apartment.

“I called Bruce. He said he’s in, and he’s bringing reinforcements. I’m going to try to get a Green Lantern on board. We have to move fast. Nevermind me, if Lex does this, millions of innocent people will die. We’ll have to move fast.”

“What about the girl?” said Lois. “She can’t go home now. We have to get her somewhere safe.”

“I have to get you both somewhere safe. I should probably come up with a reason to get the building evacuated. One Lex realizes he’s been caught out, he’ll come after both of you.”

“You’re right.”

“I want you to go out,” said Clark. “Make it look like you’re heading out to a convenience store. Bruce is sending Alfred to pick you up, he should be here in an hour. I have somewhere else in mind for Lena.”

“Where?”

“It’s better if I don’t tell you, just in case.”

When he emerged from the back bedroom, Clark Kent was resplendent, clothed in the persona of Superman.

“Lena?” he said, gently. “We have to go. I’ll take you somewhere safe, where your brother won’t find you.”

Lois joined him. “You’re going to put on some of my clothes, and I’m going to check your hair. You can’t take anything with you. Lex Luthor might have been tracking you the entire time.”

Lena’s stomach dropped. What if she was right? That might be a move Lex would play, tracking Lena so that he could use her against his enemy. Lex had become cold, single minded. Lena was wondering how long it would be until she was disposable.

“Okay,” said Lena.

“I’m going to have to fly you.”

Lena did as she was told. She put on an outfit that belonged to Lois, a hilariously oversized Gotham U sweatshirt and leggings. When it was time, Superman bundled her up in his cape.

“I’m scared of heights.”

“I would never drop you,” he said.

Lena screamed when he took off. She was glad for the cape, glad she couldn’t see the ground. She curled up around him and pressed her eyes tightly closed, wondering exactly how fast they were going.

The landing came surprisingly fast. He’d alighted on the grassy lawn of a lovely beach house. Lena smelled something baking and heard voices inside. Clark knocked on the door.

A girl, a little older than Lena, opened the door. Golden curls spilled over her muscular shoulders, and she wore an oversized pair of glasses that did nothing to dull the endless depths of her blue eyes. There was something profoundly sad behind the curiosity in those eyes. She looked at Lena with mild confusion.

Lena stared back. There was a wild stirring in her stomach, and she shifted uneasily on her feet.

Then, the girl addressed Clark in a rapid, clipped, and utterly strange sounding language.

It hit Lena like a shockwave.

They were speaking Kryptonian.

“Lena,” said Superman, turning to her. “This is Kara Zor-El, my cousin. The last daughter of Krypton.”

[bokettochild]

Febuwhump Day 21 - Unresponsive

@kuroro-uwu Okay, I know I am LATE, but I did write it! I hope this suits your fancy!

Wordcount: 6,697

Rating: General

Summary: Minish Four and Fairy Hyrule go on a mini-expedition to seek out information. One minute, all is well, and the next- well, Four's not sure WHAT happened, but now he's got a passed out fairy on his hands and no clue what caused it.

(No warnings, this is all pure fluff)

-

They needed information. 

It really was as simple as that. They’ve been trying to learn anything they can about what’s happening to the worlds around them, but hylians are so often ignorant and their group is anything but subtle, so getting it without causing a stir has become something of an issue for the traveling heroes. 

It’s the weapons and armor, Legend tells them with a huff, and he’s not exactly wrong either. 

People do tend to become more wary when they see soldiers around in the country. 

He’d noticed it before, back when he hadn’t yet met the others. Carrying a sword put people on edge. An axe, a spear, or even a bow, out in the country, can be excused as a hunting tool or something to do with your trade. A sword though, a sword means that you are, undeniably, a fighter, and fighters don’t tend to go about armed unless there's danger around to be fought. So, correlation of swords to nearby danger makes people wary, and their group, all armed with swords, and many of them being intimidating looking persons, only further sets people ill at ease.  

Getting concrete answers from people who are questioning your intentions all the while isn’t easy, and by now, their group has sort of given up. Or rather, almost all of the others have; Four still has an ace up his sleeve. 

“I may have something I can try.” He states as the rest seem just about ready to give up for the day. 

Eyes turn to fix on him, various expressions of discouragement, frustration, disbelief, and exhaustion coloring the different shades of blue. It’s Legend that speaks though. “If it involves pretending to be a child, keep me out of it.” 

Twilight coughs into his fist, but his dark eyes sparkle. Simultaneously, Warriors rubs at his own brows, the captain following up their scholar’s words with his own. “What’s the idea, smithy? And please, do not say it requires-” 

“It’s a me thing,” he assures them. “You guys being around actually won’t work.” 

“No one is going off alone,” Time states, just at the same time as Warriors says: “What did we say about leaving the group behind?” Both men shoot glances at each other after, but then Four’s fixed with both stares, one tired and one firm, and neither wavering as he sighs. 

“It involves magic, and it won’t work with a second person.” 

Wild stares, pointed, but Twilight frowns. “S it what I think it is?” 

Abruptly, he remembers that Twilight does, in fact, know, and has known about this as long as he’s known the truth about the wolf. They hadn’t talked about it since, and he’s not exactly employed the magic since then, but Twilight had seen it all the same. “Yeah,” he nods, ignoring the confused looks from the others, “that thing.” 

“More secrets,” the captain sighs, “excellent.” 

A few eyes turn to the soldier, annoyed, but they can’t blame him. Four can’t either. It’s been a bit rough dancing around the new things falling on their heads when their brothers deem it the time to drop new knowledge out of nowhere. Even if he did know about the wolf, there’s still knowledge he hadn’t had about that one. 

“I’ll go with the smithy,” their rancher announces, turning to their leader. 

Time’s brows raise. “You have similar magic?” 

“Naw, but I can keep watch for him, an’ guard his back.” 

“No going off alone,” Warriors repeats, again, this time from behind a hand that’s scrubbing at his brows. “How may times must I say it?” 

But Twilight can’t come with, and neither can the others. No one else can because no one else can shrink down to the size of a minish! 

 If there’s anyone who will know what's going on across the kingdom at any given time, it’s always the little people. He knows they can give him answers even if no hylian will, but he’s not too eager to explain that. The other heroes might not even know about the minish, and if they do, the doubt on whether or not he should be able to see them still will linger or make them question his skill like they do with the sailor. Neither option is something he’s keen on. 

“I’ll go with,” and he doesn’t expect the traveler to speak up, but the other lad does, stepping forwards with an awkward half smile. “I’m decent with magic, so maybe I can replicate whatever you’re planning to do.” 

Given the choice between no answers and letting Hyrule in on it, he supposes the traveler is the better of the two options. The other lad is cheeky at times, but he’s capable, and trustworthy. Besides that, he’s kept so much secret about his own magic, to the point where they still have no clue about all of it. Surely, he can also keep Four’s secret as well, right? 

“Fine,” he nods to their curly haired companion before turning to their leader, expectant. 

Time sighs, glancing briefly at the captain, but then nods. “Be back at camp by dark.” 

“Understood.” 

- 

The good thing about working with Hyrule is that he’s good at following directions, and he never asks unnecessary questions. It’s clear he’s thinking them, of course, but he doesn’t talk too much, and he doesn’t push things with Four, not ever. It’s a bit of a welcome change of pace after having the heroes all up each others’ tails about so many things. 

They wander back through the village for a short while and into the inn and bar combo they’d been to with the rest. He knows the other two probably want to know what he hopes to achieve in here, even Twilight who knows his arsenal probably isn’t sure how it would be useful, but that’s not his main focus. 

They can ask their questions later. Right now, we need that portal. 

Where was it again, Vio? 

Left corner, floor level. Looks like a mouse hole. 

Well, it sort of is. Red snorts softly. It’s a minish hole. 

Very funny. Blue deadpans back. If he had his own eyes, he’d be rolling them, but all of Four knows it wouldn’t be in any real ire. That’s just how their more abrasive aspect is. 

Twilight and Hyrule are watching as he moves down to the corner. The rest of the folks within the inn don’t seem to even notice the trio, too busy with their own business. Those that do are carefully avoiding eye contact or even being caught staring, wary less they draw attention to themselves. It’s kind of sad, honestly, but Four doesn’t have time to dwell on it. 

Ezlo’s spell plays across his lips with the ease of a thousand speakings, and in seconds he’s down to his other normal size. 

Twilight grins down at him. 

Hyrule gapes for a moment. “Is this what you were talking about?” He asks, as though it’s not rather painfully obvious. Before Four can answer though, the traveler’s face twists up into a grin, eyes sparking. “Alright, I- I can work with this.” 

It’s his own turn to gape as the traveler himself mutters a few words, and in a brief cloud of magic, the young man is gone, replaced instead by the shimmering, hovering light of a fairy. 

Four stares. Twilight does as well. 

The ball of light laughs. “You said it yourself, we’re all sitting on something, smithy.” 

“Ordonia’s kids,” the rancher murmurs softly, “’fore we know it everyone will out ‘emselves as a shifter of some sort.” Neither of the other two have any knowledge of how true that rings, but regardless, they don’t exactly have any grounds to deny it either, considering it seems to be true of their little trio at least. 

Finally reclaiming control over speech, Four turns his face upwards to stare at his flying brother. Inside his head, Red is exclaiming in delight over the flight, Blue marveling at the wings, and Green ecstatic at the presence of a fellow shifter to match Four’s size, but outside his head, he has to focus. “This hole here should lead to a community of people more on the magical side.” he nods to the gap in the wall, starting a bit when the fairy’s light flickers and zips down to be level with him. 

It’s definitely Hyrule, although the change from Hylian to fairy is more than just a shift in size. He’s not sure which set of eyes to focus on or how to react to other definitely not hylian features displayed beside familiar ones, but Vio somehow wrests enough control to keep his face straight and his jaw in place. 

“It might take a bit, but the gossip vine is strong with these folks. They should have what we want to know.” 

“Excellent,” Hyrule trills, voice more melodic, but pleasantly so. It has the smithy’s ears flicking forwards to catch it better, the warm fairy magic settling his own. 

He glances up to Twilight, still normal sized and crouched in the corner, practically looming over them. “We’ll be back before dark. Just wait here, okay?” 

A thumbs up is their answer, and the rancher stands, hailing a server in the barroom and claiming the table closest to their future exit as the two smaller heroes- and by now they are much smaller- pop through the hole in the wall to move along to their destination. 

Minish passages are nothing new to Four, but Hyrule keeps gasping in surprise and delight as he looks about the lever and pulley systems between one part of the network and another. It has the smithy smiling to himself, and while it’s not his own work, he does take pride in the efforts of his little friends, and their skill, which he’s sure to share with the only other hylian (sort of hylian?) to get to see it firsthand. 

 “Inns like this are hotspots for minish too, just like people,” he explains to his wide-eyed companion. “They catch rides on wagons or in people’s bags sometimes, and, just like us, they need a place to stay when they tire.” He pads along carefully to the lift made from an old cup and some twine, climbing up into it and almost reaching out to offer a hand to the traveler, only to catch himself when he remembers the other has wings. “A big place like this is sure to house practically a city of minish, so it might take some time, but we’ll have lots of options when it comes to asking around for information.” 

The traveler nods, gaze flicking to the little lever just inches from the smithy’s tiny paw. The signal is clear. 

Four pushes the lever, and the lift starts its ascent, the fairy flying up behind him even as they watch another such lift lower, granting Hyrule his first sight of a real minish. The traveler’s catching breath and little gasp makes him smile, but he’s careful to warn the other the moment the other lift is out of sight. “Remember not to call anyone cute, okay? If anything, be prepared for them to call you that. They're not very used to fairies.” 

“Understood,” the traveler’s voice is distant as he looks around, words almost an afterthought as he seemingly takes in the whole of the new world he’s discovering. 

He won’t be much help, will he? 

He’s here so we’re not alone, Green sighs, although there’s no lack of fondness in his tone, He doesn’t need to help us, just be here so Time and Warriors won’t get upset. 

He won’t be able to understand the minish anyway, the more sedate aspect reminds the others, he’s never eaten a jabber nut. 

Right. 

Perhaps he should have remembered that earlier, but he wasn’t exactly planning on taking Hyrule this far along when he’d agreed to keep the traveler with him. If anything, he’d expected the other to wait with Twilight while he took care of the reconnaissance. Still, it should be alright, Hyrule seems content to stare about at the thrumming new world he’s witness too, and he lets Four take the lead as the smithy climbs out of the lift and starts towards the minish puttering about. 

Greetings rise here and there and everywhere, although no one seems to recognize him. If anything, that proves they’re not in his era, so even the small things mean something (as a small thing himself, the thought makes him laugh). Still, he guides the way, Hyrule fluttering after him and attracting many a startled stare. In the long run, he thinks Hyrule’s presence works to his favor, because while a minish stopping by at an inn and wandering about a new place is hardly anything to look twice at, a minish with a fairy trailing after him garners much attention, and before they know it, a very elderly looking member of the community approaches. The staff in his paw marks him as an Elder, and while the traveler doesn’t know that, he still bows his head politely at the sight of long flowing whiskers. 

“Greetings, strangers.” The elder smiles. 

Four bows, politely. Hyrule cannot, not while flying, but he thinks the respectful bob of the head the traveler offered will be enough. Minish are polite, but they aren’t fussy about others needing to be so. Well, those who aren’t Ezlo. “Greetings, elder.” 

“Greetings, elder.” Hyrule mimics, words a soft chime that echos off the interior of the inn’s walls. 

The elder smiles again, thanking them for their kind welcome. “Forgive my asking, but what is it that brings two youngsters like yourselves here?” 

“We seek knowledge of the world outside.” Four answers, because obviously Hyrule can’t. “We are travelers through time, and this era is new to us.” 

“Ah.” 

“We have hylian companions who need knowledge in order to travel safely, so we hoped to come here and inquire what there is to be known of the world outside.” 

His explanation is met with some surprised twitching of noses and flicking of ears, little murmurs all around them, excitedly twitching tails flicking all sorts of colors from the many gathered minish peoples, but he pays them little mind, although Hyrule stares about in awe. The elder welcomes them though to speak to any they would like. “I have not been in the outside world for some time now, but we have many travelers, like yourselves. Please, ask all you would like. I hope we are of aid to you young heroes.” 

It’s only when he’s watching the elder’s tail disappear into the crowd again that he realizes at all that they should not have been recognized as heroes. Then again, Minish Elder’s are proficient in magic most times, and maybe he’d sensed it. At any rate, the title seems to spark excitement among those gathered around the two heroes, and it’s no trouble at all to find who he should speak to. In fact, it’s more a matter of them trying to speak to him all at once! 

Hyrule hovers at his shoulder as he asks questions and talks. Well, he does at first, but after a few minutes, the fae drifts away, looking around curiously, soft chiming voice echoing back to Four here and again from different parts of the space claimed by magic.  

He’s able to learn there’s no hero known about in this era, and that the last one that anyone remembers was a little boy who was close to the fairies. Considering the fondness all his brothers have for all creatures magical, it’s not a very specifical descriptor, but it’s something at least. Maybe one of the others will be able to pinpoint who it is talking about, be it themselves or someone else they’ve heard of. He does learn though, that the world isn’t in the best of shapes. Dark magic is common, a side effect of Ganon’s power, despite the fact that the monster is sealed away. 

That, he decides to ask about. 

Most of the minish don’t have answers, saying they avoid it, saying they only heard it from someone else, but pressing them leads him on a bit of a goosechase all over the building, looking for this person who knows more and that one who does as well. 

Like hylians, minish have many a trade, and a place like this is basically their equivalent to a trade city, even if the hylian town around it is rather small. Packed up in one building, but spread across rooms, attic spaces, the cellar, the larder, and even the bar itself, he finds himself hunting down leads and doing a few favors in order to get what he needs to know. He's halfway through delivering some mushrooms in exchange for more details on the dark magic that apparently lies around the world, when Hyrule’s soft glow returns to his side again. 

“Four, I think we need to head back.” 

He sighs. “I know, but I’ve got a lead.” 

“We could come back tomorrow?” 

A shake of the head as he adjusts his hold on the mushroom; it’s huge in comparison to himself. “No, apparently they’re leaving at dawn with the coach that stops here.” 

Hyrule’s feet touch the ground, wings stilling. Honestly, he thought fairies flew everywhere, but he supposes that a shapeshifter might use various methods. “Four, we have to go back.” 

“I’m this close to getting answers,” he drops his shroom to pinch two claws close together. “Just a bit longer, okay? Time will understand.” 

He’s not sure what time it is, but the noise of patrons in the inn does carry slightly past the magic of the minish to sound in his ears. Inns and bars are always noisy, especially when combined, but while he’s not their old man, his inner clock isn’t bad either. They have time before sunset, and if they didn’t, he wouldn’t have risked trying this at all. 

“Come on,” he urges. “Help me with this shroom. The sooner I deliver it, the sooner this guy will tell me what I need to know.” 

Hyrule’s face is pinched, and briefly it registers that something isn’t quite right about it, but it’s hard to tell with changed features and maybe it’s just worry from the traveler. He dismisses it, promising both Hyrule and himself that they’ll only take a very little bit longer. 

- 

They deliver the shroom, but in true runabout fashion, the only knowledge he gets from the minish in question is a few wary words that had been heard from someone else entirely, and he’s sent darting across the inn again to try and find that other minish before they too decide to leave. It’s the frustrating thing about communities like this, rather than the ones he finds in the countryside. Minish who make their homes in the forest, the grass, or even up in the mountains and quarries, they all keep to their own space. Traveling minish, those in small towns and hylian communities, are often unpredictable from one day to the next, and there’s no telling when or where you’ll have a chance to see them. 

Hyrule tries asking again, telling him that they really need to get going, but Four brushes him off. One or two minutes more. Just a bit. He’s almost done, he promises! 

The traveler’s feet are dragging a bit as he follows the smith, and his wings have long since folded against his back. It’s clear he’s tired, and Four is too, but they’ve only got so many chances to learn what they need to know, and passing this up would be foolish. It would make this whole trip into the world of the minish utterly pointless! 

Finally, though, he’s able to find someone who doesn’t send him on an errand, who doesn’t ask for anything he doesn’t already have and who is both willing and capable of answering his questions. Near immediately, Four dugs a notebook from his bag and starts asking. How strong is this dark magic? Has it affected any monsters? Have monsters been a prominent problem recently? Are they acting oddly? Does the magic have any effects on anything else?  

The minish, who in an odd way reminds him of Time; a prominent scar running over one eye and with a shredded ear on the same side, answers his questions. The magic effects the water and the land, and monsters are more abundant now than they had been years ago. They get worse every year, and they are stronger than the elders say they used to be. None of it lines up with the supposed infection of the monsters in other eras, but Four is not ruling it out as a possible source or contributor. He keeps asking, getting more details, channeling his more pragmatic self, but also the tactful part. He needs to think of this as a traveler, a fighter, and a survivor. In a way, he tries asking what Legend or Warriors or Twilight might ask. What would Wild want to know? What would Time need answers too? He’s going to be the one passing on this information to them after all, so he needs to be ready for the inevitable questions they’re going to have. 

He sort of forgets that Hyrule is still waiting for him. Really, the only reason he remembers at all is because his informant tells him that it’s getting late, and she can’t think anymore. “That should cover everything anyway, I hope it helps.” 

He bows his head, still sitting, so he can’t offer a proper bow, even though he wants to. “Of course. Thank you so much for your help.” 

She waves a farewell to him before heading off to wherever it is that she’s going to rest for the night. He’s seen beds around, but didn’t ask, and never does. Honestly, he should be heading back, because bed sounds fantastic right about now! He turns, stuffing his notebook back in his bag, only to stop short when he sees the traveler. 

Hyrule looks like shit. 

The fairy is slumped over, glow almost gone and while there’s no apparent injury, no sign of what on earth would cause him to look so, he looks a bit like death! The smith drops down beside his friend, catching the fae’s face in his hands and patting freckled cheeks cautiously. “Hyurle? Hey! Hey, I’m done. We can go back now.” 

There’s no answer. 

Despite knowing Hyrule was fine before, knowing the minish would never harm him, probably couldn’t without special magic, he still gives the other a once over. There are no visible injuries, nor blood. His eyes, when pried open with claws that struggle so hard not to slip, don’t show signs of being concussed. For all intents and purposes, Hyrule isn’t hurt, but his skin is pale, the fairy’s glow is absent, and he slumps almost lifelessly against the walls. 

We need help. Green sighs, desperately trying to balance his thoughts. 

Blue’s voice is low, straining. The elder? 

Is he going to be okay? 

Hush Red, and Blue, the elder can’t do anything for a fairy. Minish magic is too different. 

Well, we could try at least! 

Guys, please. No fighting. We need to focus on Hyrule. 

Blue seethes, but doesn’t argue, something he’s been doing much better with as of late. Vio on the other hand, does continue his stance. We should take him back to Twilight. Maybe he can help. 

But Twi doesn’t like magic! 

But he is Time’s kid, and he loves fairies. Maybe he knows something about them that we don’t. Come on. 

The logic of his logical facet wins over the rest of him, and for lack of a better course of action, the minish hero hefts his fairy brother up into his arms. Hyrule’s still bigger than him like this, but he’s also always been very light, and the smith is strong. Gathering his brother up onto his back, careful not to crush iridescent wings, he heads back for the lift. 

- 

Catching Twilight’s attention is hard, once they’re back out in the world of Hylians. His intent originally had been to shift back with a murmur, but he doesn't know how to trigger the change for Hyrule, and without a glow to aid him, he’s not sure how quickly he’d be able to find the traveler again after the shift to his normal size, which always leaves him just a bit disoriented. That, and if it turns out Hyrule needs help of the more hands-on sort, it’s more practical to stay on the same scale as the traveler in order to give it. 

Luckily for him, and the traveler, he has lots of experience in trying to make himself heard, and while the sound of a screaming voice would definitely draw unwanted attention, there is a sound he knows will, without fail, catch the rancher’s attention without scaring other people. Four sucks in a breath, and with all the ability he’s got in him, he pushes it out in a sharp little ‘meow’. 

Twilight’s ears prick up immediately, the rancher lowering the drink he was holding to scan the area around him, eyes glittering. 

Four tries again, a soft ‘mew’ that takes every bit of breath he has but has bright blue eyes fixing on him in seconds.  

Twilight chuffs, looking slightly disappointed, but also relieved. Well, until his eyes land on the traveler, and then the man is sliding from his chair to crouch, facing the wall and shielding the two small heroes from sight. “What happened?” he asks, offering a hand laid flat on the ground before them. 

Typically speaking, Four does not care to be picked up, especially like this, but for the traveler’s sake, he allows it. Stepping onto the rough pads of the rancher’s fingers is a bit of a struggle with his hands supporting the fae slumped over his back, nd after failing twice he gives up. Instead, he turns and carefully lets his brother slip down into Twilight’s hand first, crawling after him once he’s got use of his hands again. 

The rancher waits until they’re both stable, Four holding Hyrule with one hand and fisting a tiny fold of his glove with the other, before he stands again, carefully steady as he heads back to his table. “Is he okay?” 

Four shakes his head. “I don’t know. He’s not injured, and I don’t think he’s concussed, but he just-” his gaze drops down to the freckled face cradled in his lap, “-I turned around and he wasn’t moving anymore.” Breathing, yes, softly and slowly, almost too slowly, but it was steady, and considering he doesn’t know how fairy bodies work, maybe that was how it was meant to be. He’s not sure, and he hates not knowing, but as long as Hyrule is still breathing, things will be okay. Goddesses, he hopes he’ll be okay! 

Glancing up at the rancher, he sees furrowed brows and a harsh frown. It’s not angry, not fierce, but guilt plummets through him all the same as he watches it. 

There’s silence for a spell, just blue eyes staring down at him as he sits in the rancher’s hand, Hyrule pulled into his lap, wings still behind him without so much as the slightest of twitches. The traveler’s breath is shallow but steady as it puffs against his collar. And then Twilight speaks. “Did he maybe touch something weird?” 

He shakes his head. “I wasn’t watching him, but this Hyrule, not Wild.” Hyrule doesn’t touch unknown things, not without taking every precaution to ensure they’re not dangerous. Besides, minish don’t tend to keep anything dangerous around, and if they do, it’s well hidden and out of sight. Even lacking experience with other living beings, Hyrule isn’t the sort of person to go poking around other people’s possessions in plain sight. No, he’d wait until no one was around to see or stop him, and then he’d get into their stuff. 

The rancher’s frown deepens, but then midnight blue eyes are falling on Four again, something almost apologetic in their depths. “Look. I don’t got a clue, smith, but we gotta get him help.” The unspoken rings in the air between them: ‘we need to talk to someone else who knows about this stuff, and that means telling them your secret’. 

He sighs, nodding. “Time seems to know the most about fairies.” 

The rancher’s head jerks in a sharp nod, rupees hitting the table as the man pays for his drink and then he’s whisking them out the door and back towards camp. 

- 

It feels like it takes forever for Twilight to return with Time. 

Rather than announce their presence, and thus secrets, to the whole chain, he’d carefully settled the two tiny heroes on an old tree stump at Four’s instruction. Vaguely, he thinks it might be a minish portal, or close to one, but that’s something to worry about later. For now, he’s looking after Hyrule as best he can in a cave made from the rancher’s pelt, erected for their protection against any predators while the other fetches their leader under the premise of Hyrule and Four needing to talk with him. The rest will worry, and have questions, but they’ll (probably) respect the privacy of the other two, if only as long as they’re gone. Returning to camp will, no doubt, come with questions, but right now, helping Hyrule is what matters most. He’ll handle anything that comes after, as long as the traveler will be okay. 

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs into brown curls, not for the first time since Twilight left, “just hang in there, traveler, okay? Time will be here soon, and we’ll get you all fixed up.” 

He dutifully ignores how dark hair darkens further in the fading light of twilight. How the hand that's fallen to brush his leg has claws at the fingers, that as the shadows grow longer, he could almost pretend he’s holding somebody else. No, he focuses on Hyrule and that it is, in fact, Hyrule he’s clutching ahold of under the fur, waiting for their leader to come to them. 

Time’s puffing breath announces his presence, alongside heavy feet to match the easy lope of their rancher. The way that he heaves for breath, he really does sound like an old man, but when the fur is moved aside and Four can see their leader’s face, he rethinks that. Time looks worried, terribly worried, and the heavy breathing is probably from a slight panic rather than anything else. Hylia above, what did Twilight tell him? 

“What happened?” Time demands, even as Four shivers slightly at the return of the breeze the fur had blocked off. 

He sighs, tired, worried, and tired of being worried. “Hyrule collapsed. I don’t know why, but he’s not waking up no matter what I do.” 

The blue arrow painted between their leader’s brows distorts as his face pinches up, the man dropping to a knee with surprising grace in order to be better level with the two shrunken heroes. “Is he injured?” 

Twilight shakes his head. “Four already checked.” 

A hand, slightly smaller than Twilight’s own, but somehow more callused, is extended towards them. Even that motion is more graceful from their old man than from the rancher, and Four is surprised by the lack of panic having it settle before him causes. “Let me look at him?” 

It’s work to climb up again, shifting Hyrule with all the care he can before depositing him in the old man’s palm, but he does it. Time doesn’t say anything as the man pulls in their precious cargo a bit closer, staring down with his good eye and prodding gently at the fallen form of the traveler. 

 Behind him on the stump, Four feels Twilight settle, blocking off the breeze and providing a wall of warmth that assures nothing else will appear behind him. “Well?” 

“Shh.” Time breathes, but it’s not harsh. His gaze is incredibly gentle in fact, and as he handles the tiny form in his hand something impossibly warm lights his blue eye beneath the worried furrow of his brows. They wait. It feels like forever, but they wait, and they don’t press until, at last, their leader lifts his eyes to them instead, relief coloring his expression. “Magical exhaustion.” 

“No,” Four shakes his head. “I’ve seen Hyrule overuse his magic. He gets tired, but he doesn’t turn.... grey. And he doesn’t stop moving!” 

“That’s when he’s a hylian,” one blue eye drops again, a sad little smile tugging at the mouth of the elder man. “As a fairy, it works differently.” The hand lowers, moving close to Four again, offering him the responsibility of taking back his unconscious brother while Time turns his attention to his bag. “Transformation magic takes a lot out of a fairy. For Hyrule, being a fairy would be the transformation, but if, for some reason, he’d been brought into a space where only tiny beings could exist, rather than changing back when his magic runs out,” the potion’s cork pops loudly in the night air, “he’d get stuck.” 

“Stuck?” He and Twilight chorus together. 

Time nods. “Yes. His magic knows he can’t change back inside a tiny space, but if it’s run out, then he can’t maintain his form normally either. Instead, he has to draw directly on his magical core, which strains him considerably. That’s why usually, when fairies are weak enough to need to pull on their core, they slip into a hibernation so that their magic can keep them alive at the least cost to their core.” As if sensing the inevitable question, the man adds, “drawing on a core for too long damages it.” 

“So...” Twilight blinks, speaking for them both. “He’s in hibernation?” 

“For now.” 

“How do we fix it?” Blue takes the reins, and the others let him. 

The old man raises the potion bottle in his hand. In the faded light, Four can’t make out the color (how appropriate) so he waits to hear it spoken. “A green potion ought to help restore his magic and stop him drawing on his core for survival.” 

“Then he’ll change back?” 

He sees their leader wince, and Twilight does too, shoulders tightening above him. “He will change back, right, old man?” 

Time avoids their gazes, reaching for his bag again. “Not without doing it himself, but he should, yes.” 

“Good.” 

“We just have to wait until he wakes up.” 

“And...how long will that take?” 

A flinch. “Even with his magic restored, it’s unlikely he’ll come back immediately. He’ll need time.” If Legend were here, or Wild, one of them would point out that their leader is here now, so what else could be needed? But they’re not here, and neither Twilight nor Four speaks up in their place.  Instead, Four stares as Time produces something else, settling it before him carefully, before lifting his hand away. With nothing blocking him, he’s able to see that the object set before him is a thimble, “I think you ought to help him with the potion, Four. At his current size, we’re more likely to harm than help.” Which isn’t true at all. 

In reality, Time helps quite a bit as he pours out the potion (that they all claim is green) into the thimble, which is far more manageable for Four to lift. Situating the traveler against his front, he has to fumble a bit to get the rim to his brother’s mouth, but Time’s finger helps steady the traveler while he does so, stopping him sliding away from the smithy’s front or his head falling to either side. It’s awkward, when he actually stops to think about it, but they make it work. 

After the first thimble, Time pours three more, which is honestly more than Four thinks he could hold in his own body at this size, but the old man assures that it’s basically liquid magic, and the traveler will need lots in order to wake again. “Four thimbles might not be enough, but we’ll see.” He tells them, once more taking the traveler in his own hold, hand cradling the limp form of the fairy with all the care he’d show a baby. More, maybe. Fairies are smaller than babies, so they are a bit more delicate. 

“What now though?” He asks, watching. 

Time’s gaze falls on him in answer. “Do you need help shifting back?” 

“Should I?” 

“If you can.” 

“And if he needs more of the potion?” 

“He won’t,” the hand holding his brother tilts slightly, although Time needs not lower it at all for Four to see the faint shimmer of green light that the fairy within is emitting. “I think that was enough. I’ll have him drink the bottle when he’s changed back, but you don’t need to help any further, smithy.” 

He nods.  

Finding a portal in the dark takes some help from Twilight, but once he has, and has shifted back, it’s a breath of fresh air. Returning to their leader’s side though, he finds the man now seated on their previous stump, gaze fixed on the tiny, unmoving, but also unwavering, glow in his hands. 

“Is he waking up?” He asks, slipping from Wolfie’s back to stand at their leader’s side. At this size, Hyrule looks even tinier, and so much more breakable in Time’s big hand. He’s not moving though, still. 

Time shakes his head though, as though the smithy can’t see for himself. “As I said, he’ll need a while to come around.” Blue lifts, and it’s strange to have their leader level with himself. “You boys should head back to camp. Dinner will be ready soon.” 

“What about you?” Shadows slip free of the wolf, leaving the rancher standing in it’s place, brows furrowed and voice low. 

Time’s gaze drops to his precious cargo, a tiny, almost tender smile touching his features. “I’ll wait for him. Tell the rest that Hyrule needed my time a bit longer, but we’ll be back when he’s ready.” 

So, they do.  

They head back to camp, joining the others for dinner just as Wild’s beginning to serve it. There are questions, and he still is yet to make his report, but doing so is a quick way to divert attention from their absent leader and wanderer. Later, Time will come back, a sleepy, but normal sized Hyrule curled in his arms, face buried against his chest as the traveler dozes, but for now, the camp muses over the information they were given. Any questions on how he’d gotten this knowledge are lost to worry about Hyrule’s absence, and any fear for Hyrule is lost to questions about the report Four gives. 

When Time does come back, it’s only after Warriors has assigned shifts and most of them have at least pretended to go to bed. Their leader’s return has them all watching though, no longer pretending as their eyes, so many shades of blue, follow Time’s path through camp to his bedroll, to Hyrule’s settled beside it at Warriors behest. The man settles the traveler down carefully, but the hand caught in his tunic isn’t pulled free, instead tolerated as long hair is brushed back from freckled cheeks and their leader settles down beside the younger hero. 

Even when his good eye slips shut, there’s something warm playing on Time’s face as Hyrule unconsciously nestles up against him once more, and a callused hand becomes lost in dark curls. 

Twilight’s gaze meets his own, something like a smile in them as he shrugs, disrupting his blanket. Four just smiles back, shaking his head. Fairy boys, the unspoken thought flickers in both of their heads. It’s only when he lays down again though that he realizes that Time might even be who the minish meant when talking about the last hero. 

Well, that would make sense. He’ll ask tomorrow though, right now, he has no interest in disturbing either of the two heroes. 

[uptonsgirl]

mad woman

summary: you and your girlfriend, hailey upton, get into a fight before a stakeout. what happens when the stakeout goes south while the two aren’t on good terms?

word count: 1230

warnings: being shot, angsty, happy ending, hospitals, arguments, swearing. not proof read !! first fic

27. That’s how many bricks went up the locker room wall, as you sat there, dissociating. Hailey, your girlfriend, and work partner had been getting on your nerves, and not in the fun way.

She would constantly only focus on work, spending long nights hunched over the laptop in the small apartment you shared together. Not only were you worried about her, but she’d been completely neglecting you as a girlfriend. Countless times you had tried to bring it up but were always met with a dismissive “I know babe, I’ll do better”, but she never did.

The locker room door swinging open brought you back to reality, as you saw the blonde you loved so dearly walk in… an angry look spread across her features. I really didn’t want to get into it with her right now, we had a stakeout in half an hour, but that didn’t stop her, clearly. “Babe? What’s wrong?”

Such a simple question triggered so many pent up emotions. She knew what was wrong. “Hailey are you for real right now? You know what’s wrong! You…” My voice shook a bit as I spoke, my voice raised. “You’ve been neglecting me completely the past few weeks!”

I saw her eyes widen in shock, I wasn’t the type to yell, ever. It seemed my outburst made her angry, she was always stubborn. “It’s not my fault you’re so fucking needy and work harder than you do!” She snapped; her tone sent a shiver down my spine. The moment the words came out of her mouth she knew she’d ventured too far. My face immediately dropped, as I didn’t respond, silently walking past her and out of the locker room, not hearing her faint voiced begging me to come back.

°.♡┈┈∘*┈୨୧┈*∘┈┈♡.°

We arrived at the stakeout location, and everyone felt the tension between Hailey and I. You could cut it with a knife. Jay and Adam glanced at each other, seeing if they were picking up the same vibes, which they were. Our attention quickly turned back to Voight as he explained what exactly we were doing.

I thanked anyone watching from above with Voight paired me with Adam, instead of Hailey. He was like a big brother to me, plus he made stakeouts a lot less boring. He grinned as we walked away together, to our designated spot, aka an old, unmarked car, with no heater, in the Chicago winter. Fun.

“Y/N, you good? Been watching you stare into space for the last 20 minutes.” The chirpy voice pulled me back down to earth. “Yeah, just Hailey… you know how stubborn she is.” I sighed, as Adam chuckled lightly under his breath, nodding his head as we fell into a comfortable silence. Occasional small talk about a movie was all that happened for the next few hours, just wanting to go home and cry.

It was around 7:30pm now, been here since 3:30. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a man wearing all black, quickly radioing and signalling to Adam to slowly get out of the car. We crouched as we walked behind a fence, until I stepped on an empty chip packet. The crinkling sound alerting the man to our presence, as he spotted us and started running.

“Suspect is on foot heading down North of Main, officers following” I spoke into the radio, breathing heavily as Adam ran behind me, I had always been the fastest in the unit. We were running, and as I turned around a corner, I felt a red hot pain in my stomach, as I fell to the ground.

He was hiding behind the corner with a gun. Now, a bullet from that gun was in me. As I collapsed, Adam came around the bend, seeing blood seeping out of my vest, as he cursed to himself, before he dropped down and applied pressure, making me groan in pain. “50-21 Ida, officer down, roll an ambulance to my location immediately!”

Hailey was on the other side of the block, her heart stopping once she heard the call, jumping out of the car and sprinting to me, it felt like she was going to pass out when she finally made it. Tears grew in her eyes as she saw me, lying on the ground with blood around me, Adam holding my wound down. She kneeled next to me, holding my head in her hands as tears fell down her cheeks, Adam still trying to stop the bleeding.

“Hailey I’m- “My voice was weak as I spoke, and raspy from screaming. She saw that. “Shhh baby... don’t speak, okay? You’re going to be fine yeah? I’m sorry about everything, just hold on. Don’t close those beautiful eyes” Her voice was strained and shaky, trying to convince herself more than me, that I’ll be okay. We heard the ambulance sirens, music to everyone’s ears. Everyone was speaking, it felt like I was underwater. All I could feel was Hailey’s hand on mine, as I was lifted into the ambulance before I fell asleep.

°.♡┈┈∘*┈୨୧┈*∘┈┈♡.°

No one had ever seen Hailey like this before. Pacing back and forth in the hospital waiting room, the rest of Intelligence watching her. Many had tried approaching her to try and get her to stop, but nothing worked. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, what if she never saw me again?

Everyone shot up the moment Will walked through the doors. He looked tired, his hair messy and his eye bags dark. This was hard for him; I was very close with both Halstead’s.

“She’s had surgery to stop the internal bleeding, and the bullet has been removed. We lost her twice on the table… but we got her back. She’s in ICU, probably going to wake up soon. But she’s okay.”

The collective sigh of relief from everybody was immense. Especially Hailey. Everyone was here primarily just to know you were alive, so they let Hailey go and see you, while they went home for the night, promising to come back in the morning.

My eyes blinked open, wincing at the harsh hospital lights. I groaned as I looked over, seeing Hailey staring at me. She was a mess, her face was red and dirty, her hair was all tangled, almost looked like she was the one who was meant to be in the hospital bed. Mustering up all my strength as I started to speak. “You need a shower Hails.”

She chuckled, her face lighting up. I was okay. “God Y/N, I thought I’d lost you. I’m so sorry about everything… you were right, I’ve been neglecting you and it’ll never happen again. I’ve taken a month off to be at home with you and help you heal… I was so scared.”

My heart melted as she spoke, even in my dazed, high on painkillers state, I knew how much I loved her. “It’s fine Hails, I promise you that. I love you, and I’m sorry I got shot and scared the shit out of you”.

Hailey let out a breathy laugh, knowing how much I loved scaring her, but not usually like this. She got up and moved the chair closer to me, leaning down and giving me a long kiss, as she held my chin.

“I love you more. Never scare me like that again.”

[detentiontrack]

HEY. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR AMPHIBIA BAND AU!!!!!!!!!!!!

OKAY!!!!!!!!

(TW for VERY brief mentions of suicidal ideation, trauma, and eating disorders) (nothing graphic or triggering. Just mentions of those)

So it takes place when the trio is around 21. I aged them down slightly because I want this to take place when they’re still in college, not when they have careers in their field. (This takes place a few weeks before summer so they’re still in school, but it’s ending soon) (I KNOW WE DONT KNOW WHEN EXACTLY ANNE’S BIRTHDAYS IS BUT I’M THE WRITER AND I SAY ITS SOMETIME IN MAY)

(Also because Marcy’s 21st birthday is a huge plot point. There miiiiight be a drunken love confession scene)

Anne is still studying to be a herpetologist, Sasha is still a psychology major, and Marcy is in college because her parents pressured her to go to college, but she HATES it and is actively burning out.

The trio gets together (Marcy flies in from across the country) for Anne’s birthday, just like in the finale, but this time Marcy is staying with her grandma for a few weeks so they have an opportunity to hang out more

They quickly realize that since it’s been 8 years since amphibia and they’ve all been doing their own thing, they don’t have a lot in common with each other anymore, other than this huge trauma that they experienced together.

(Marcy and Sasha have processed it more but still struggle, but Anne is COMPLETELY repressing her feelings and her grief and is headed towards a mental breakdown)

Until one day, they’re sitting in silence in Anne’s room awkwardly because they ran out of things to talk about, when Anne pulls out her guitar and starts to play a tune

They end up singing “no big deal” just for old times sake, and they’re surprised to find out they’re still really good together

The next few days, they start writing more songs as a silly pastime, and then Sasha posts one of their original songs on YouTube & TikTok

The video EXPLODES. They get thousands of likes and comments. At this point they’re still just having fun and don’t take it super seriously.

Their video continued to blow up and 3 days before Marcy has to get back on a plane and go home, they get a message from someone holding a huge event. He says that the event’s band dropped out at the last minute, and was wondering if they could perform a few songs at the event tomorrow night.

They’re SUPER hesitant because they don’t think they’re ready, but they agree that it’s one of Marcy’s last days in LA, so they may as well have fun with it. They agree.

They do the event, perform a few covers and a couple original songs, and the audience LOVES it.

After the show, a man comes up to them. He is an important person in a record label company (I forgor the official title so bear with me. I’ll do more research before writing. This is all a rough idea) and says that he loves them and wants them to audition for a spot in their company the next day. They initially decline because they’re all in school and Marcy doesn’t even live there anymore, but he gives them his business card.

Marcy leaves the next morning, so they decide to have a sleepover one last time for old times sake (they’re very nostalgic) (they’re all secretly in love with each other). They have a deep conversation, and Marcy eventually BREAKS DOWN and sobs that she is so tired and burnt out from college, and she feels directionless and aimless in life. She confesses that sometimes she doesn’t even want to be alive. She just wants a purpose.

Anne and Sasha comfort her. Sasha (using her psychology knowledge) suggests that maybe she extends her trip to LA and they go to the record company the next day just to see what will happen. She says maybe it’ll give her some purpose. (At this point they know their chances of making it are super slim, so they’re expecting to audition and then be told they weren’t selected)

They go to the audition, absolutely rock it, and get a spot in the record company and sign a contract

Marcy moves in with Anne and her parents (but it’s just temporary, right?) & finishes the rest of her semester online

They start planning an album and having a lot of fun, just like when they were kids, but this time there’s no toxicity or control issues (just a LOT of tension) (and when I say tension I don’t mean sexually. This will be a SFW fic because I believe writing smut of them, even if you age them up, is gross and creepy. The most it’ll get is maybe a drunken make out scene, but that won’t be explicit)

They release a single that is a HIT and they start doing small shows

They release an album and again, it’s a smash hit. They’re nominated for a lot of awards, and they start doing a music tour.

They’re together 24/7 on the tour. They become kind of actually famous, there’s fan accounts on twitter, they’re doing interviews, everyone loves them. But since they’re getting so close, their romantic feelings for each other start getting stronger and harder to ignore. There’s constant tension (in one scene, Sasha does everyone’s make up for a concert, and there’s SO MUCH yearning and gay panic)

At this point, any of the love songs they sing either don’t use gendered pronouns, or have he/him pronouns.

BUT THEN. Rumors start breaking out that they’re dating. It starts with people thinking Sasha and Anne are dating (which breaks Marcy’s heart) but then the fandom starts getting into classic ship wars over who’s dating who.

Sasha is out as bi to her friends, but not to the public. Anne is a lesbian but is repressing that information because of internalized homophobia. Marcy is also a lesbian, but has never dated anyone ever (she says it’s because she’s really focused on her studies, but it’s really because she can’t find anyone to replicate the feelings she felt when she was best friends with Anne and Sasha.)

These rumors make them all really on edge for different reasons, and it almost completely tears apart their band and their friendship.

I can’t say much more without giving the ENTIRE thing away (I probably already said too much but I’m really excited) but sashannarcy end game (after a LOT of angst, fighting, trauma processing, self discovery, long conversations about the past, and all of them facing their individual demons)

MISC. HEADCANONS

Marcy is disabled, has chronic pain and mobility issues, and uses a cane. She is also autistic and has ADHD and depression and an anxiety disorder. (and PTSD)

(They all have PTSD but it presents in different ways)

Sasha has BPD

Anne has ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder

Sasha also has chronic pain and weakness due to her injuries in amphibia

Sasha is also in recovery from an eating disorder (she’s doing fine in the beginning, but fame and all the public attention causes her to have issues with it again)

Their band plays mostly pop music with occasional slow love ballads (which are obviously about each other but they say it’s about other people)

Marcy has occasional stage fright, gets overstimulated at events, and nervous in interviews. So Sasha and Anne do most of the talking in interviews

When they tour, they all sleep in the same hotel room (they say it’s to save money but they’re not even the ones paying for it) (they all still have nightmares from amphibia and comfort each other) (there miiiiiight be an “oh no! There’s only ONE bed” scenario because I love fanfic tropes)

Marcy and Sasha are medicated for mental health reasons.

Anne is not

Marcy and Sasha have been to therapy

Anne has not

(You know where this is going. I’m giving Anne the mental breakdown she should have had in the show)

Frogvasion HAS happened in this AU, however I’m running with the implications in the Marcy journal and saying that most people think it was just a hoax/movie stunt gone wrong (this actually comes back later. There’s all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories about them online after they rise to fame)

[emotionalcadaver]

Part 21: The Shadow of the Abattoir

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x OC

Summary: Lucy's usefulness to the company is called into question.

Word Count: 3,587

Notes: Warnings for depictions of slut shaming (sort of).

Previous Chapter • Series • Fic • Next Chapter

Chapter 11: Useful

Her fingers twitched, thumb rubbing idly at her rings while she listened to Isiah brief them on what their boys had found during their stakeouts of the flat where Clara had told them some of the Italians were hiding out.

“It’s Alessio. We’ve seen him come in and out a couple of times. From what we can gather, it looks like he has two guards with him. His wife stays there too, but on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she leaves from eleven in the morning to three in the afternoon to have lunch with friends, go to the salon, and help facilitate this book and knitting club she’s a part of. That’s when Alessio and the boys will call on Elizabeth or other whores and have them come over to the flat.”

“Are there any children?” Lucy asked, gaze focused on the opposite wall of the office. Today was a Wednesday. It was a little past noon. 

“No. Alessio and his wife don’t have any. Not so sure about the guards, but if they do, they aren’t staying with them.”

“And the wife leaves at those same times? Every day?” Tommy prompted. 

“Yes.”

“Good,” Lucy could already feel the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind. “Well done, Isiah, you’ve done a good job here.”

Tommy jerked his chin towards the door. “You can go.”

Isiah nodded to them both. “Family meeting in ten minutes, right?”

“Yeah, we’ll be gathering in the kitchen. Feel free to put some tea on, while you wait,” Lucy stood from where she’d been leaning with her back propped up against her desk, arms crossed over her chest.

“Thanks.”

“And don’t mention this to anyone else yet!” Tommy called after him. 

She watched the kid duck out the door, weaving around the desks in the betting shop to make his way towards the kitchen. When she was sure that he was out of earshot, she turned to Tommy, and was promptly met with stern eyes and pursed lips. 

“No.”

“You haven’t even heard what I’ve got to say yet!” she protested. He sighed, pulling off his glasses and tossing them onto the pile of papers atop his desk, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “Tommy,” she strode towards him, placing both palms flat on the smooth wood surface, leaning forward across it. With her standing and him still seated in his chair, she was actually taller than him for once. “This is part of what you hired me for in the first place.”

“That was before we had others who can do the killings for us. Besides,” he folded his hands together. “I usually only sent you after ordinary people, not trained soldiers of the Sicilian mafia.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You think that I can’t handle them?”

“It’s not a problem of if you can handle them or not, love,” he said quietly, and when he looked up, she was struck by the look in his eyes, teetering on pleading. “I can’t lose you.”

She took a deep breath, trying hard to remember Grace’s words from her dream:

The idea of losing you is probably terrifying.

“I know,” she said, gently as she could, reaching across the desk to take his face in her hands. “I know you worry, but I will be fine. I promise. I’ll take some of our boys with me, if that’ll make you feel better, just please…please let me do this, Tommy. There’s only three of them. If I leave now, I could be done with all of them maybe even before the family meeting is over.”

“Why?” Tommy asked, voice hoarse, staring up at her destitutely. “There’s no reason that it has to be you. The Golds can deal with them just as easily.”

Her lips parted, stuttering slightly at the realization that she did not actually have a good answer for him. She couldn’t say why it was so important that she be the one to go after Alessio. Or who it was exactly she was trying to prove something too. Maybe herself. Maybe the rest of the family. Maybe it was just her fucking pride getting in the way of things; insisting that she was still top-dog when it came to this kind of work, even though she hardly actually partook in it anymore. An insistence to prove that she wasn’t rusty–which she wasn’t, by the way. She still kept up with sparring and shooting and throwing knives. She was just as tough and capable as all the rest of them. Even Aberama Gold and his far-reaching reputation for savagery. 

Before she could even begin to think of an answer, she heard the doors bang open and then the loud hum of boisterous discussion as people started to arrive. She pulled back, away from the desk, looking over her shoulder to see Aberama and Bonnie walking side by side towards the kitchen, chatting to each other while Polly and Ada trailed in behind them. She looked back at Tommy.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

He must have heard the dejection in her voice, because he looked up sharpy, brows drawing together. “Lucy…”

But she was already making for the door, yanking it open with perhaps a little more force than necessary. Behind her, she heard him sigh, chair scraping against the floorboards as he pushed it back to stand and follow her. 

She went directly to the kitchen, giving a small nod to Polly and Ada as a hello. Isiah and Bonnie were talking by the window, and she had to sidestep around Aberama to grab a teacup to fill from the kettle Isiah had already made up. 

“Miss. Winters,” Aberama greeted in that slow drawl of his, watching her as she poured the tea, swirling it idly in her cup and blowing on it before taking a sip. 

“Mr. Gold,” she acknowledged politely.

He shifted, leaning an arm against the counter. Turning, she spotted Tommy talking with Polly and Ada near the door to his office, hands shoved deep into his pockets. When his eyes darted to hers, she looked hastily away. 

She wasn’t mad at him, not really. Just…put out. 

Okay, fine. She was mad at him. But only a little. 

“You wouldn’t happen to be related to Miri and Mercy Lovell, would you?” Aberama asked, pulling her from her musings. She started at the names. It had been a long time since she’d heard either of them. He smiled at her kindly, cocking his head. “I ask because you look like them. Similar shade of hair, petite…”

“Miri is my aunt.”

He nodded. “I thought as much. You’re Genevieve’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Lucy frowned, putting down her teacup. “You knew my mother?”

“Not really. Her family and mine would often bump into each other at the fairs when we were in Wales. And then she left, off into the city with your father. I still see Miri every once in a while.”

“How is she?”

“She’s alright. Mercy’s become quite impressive. She’s got to be one of the best marksmen I’ve ever seen. Does a whole show around it at the fairs.”

“Good aim runs in the family,” she murmured, suddenly swept up in memories of summers spent with Miri and her cousins in the countryside, Mercy teaching her to shoot a revolver and throw knives with near-flawless accuracy. Her and Mercy teaming up in boxing matches against Mercy’s brothers. It was always her favorite time of the year, and while she’d adored all of her cousins, Mercy had always been the one she was closest with. 

An ache pinched deeply in her chest, not quite homesickness–the caravans had never been her home, after all–but close.

“Did you ever work in the fairs?” Aberama asked curiously. A few more people were starting to filter in, Jeremiah stepped inside, moving to talk with Isiah where Finn had already joined him and Bonnie. Johnny Dogs’s voice boomed from the doorway as he greeted Tommy enthusiastically. 

“Sometimes. Fortune telling, mostly. I wanted to be a contortionist, was practicing for a whole damn year to be one, actually, but Mum said no after I almost broke my neck.”

He chuckled. “Pity. I hear from Miri that the contortionists are some of the most popular acts at the moment.”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t all a waste. I’m still quite flexible. It’s come in handy from time to time.”

Aberama chuckled. “I’m sure it does,” he eyed her for a moment. “You look so much like her, in the right light.”

“Who?”

“Your mother.”

She looked down. It hadn’t been an uncommon statement, when she was younger. All the women in her family on her mother’s side looked the same: dark red, curly hair, big eyes, and petite, curvy figures. Her mother had been prettier than her, though. For one, she hadn’t been covered neck to toe in faded scars, and for another, she had a mane of deep red curls that fell to the small of her back, and big, doe brown eyes. She didn’t smile often, but when she did, dimples appeared in her cheeks.

Aberama took a step towards her. “There’s something you ought to know…”

“Right!” Tommy’s voice booming throughout the kitchen had everyone, even Aberama, silencing and turning their attention to him. Polly, Ada, Linda, and Arthur all took seats at the table while everyone else gathered in close in the cramped space. Glasses of whiskey were passed around. Lucy took the one Ada offered her thankfully, shooting one last curious look at Aberama, making a mental note to enquire further about what he had been meaning to tell her after the meeting was over.

 Tommy’s eyes swooped across everyone, taking mental tally and ensuring that all were present. “Lizzie’s not here; Ada tells me that she’s dealing with some sort of paperwork disaster over at the other office and won’t be making it, so we’ll continue without her. First off, a commendation, for Arthur. He killed two Changretta men who broke into one of our factories. Every life taken by us from the enemy side should be considered a victory. So I propose, to start off this meeting, that we drink a toast, to Arthur and his good fortune.”

Everyone raised their glass while Arthur mumbled bashfully. Tommy stared at him intensely, the entire operation clearly an attempt to extend an olive branch regarding the recent conflict over opening up the hit on Luca. It certainly seemed to achieve its goal in getting him at least partially back in Arthur’s good graces, based on the way he smiled slightly at him.

“Next item of business, after a vote taken during a meeting of the board members, we have agreed to put out an official bounty for Luca Changretta. I want word to go out today. This bounty would be up for collection for you as well, Mr. Gold,” he addressed Aberama directly, reaching into his pocket. “Should you or your son deliver Luca dead or alive to us, you will be rewarded,” he passed to Aberama the enlarged photograph of Luca from Alessio’s wedding pictures. Lucy watched Arthur from the corner of her eye; he was looking down at the table and scowling, Linda’s hand curling around his shoulder. Her self-righteous face was tight with anger, though Lucy couldn’t imagine what she had to be upset about regarding the bounty being extended to Bonnie and Aberama.

“Item number three: the betting shop needs–”

“Fuck the betting shop!” Linda cut him off, and the whole room went dead silent. Arthur’s head snapped up from where it had been bowed, eyes staring at his wife in wide shock. 

“I want to know what you’re planning to do about the man who gave Arthur up at the factory,” she demanded, back straight, head tilted up in that stuck-up way that pointed her nose at an angle towards the ceiling. She met Tommy’s icy-cold gaze straight on, fearless. 

She had balls, Lucy could at least give her that. 

Tommy wetted his lips, taking his time in answering Linda’s question. Lucy suspected that the delay in him speaking was half out of pettiness, and half because her outburst had genuinely surprised him.

“We are still conducting an investigation into who may have been responsible for letting the Italians into the factory. We’ve eliminated a number of suspects, so far, but until we are sure who it was–”

“Nothing!” Linda flung her hands up into the air, looking around as if expecting others to back her up. “You mean that you are going to do nothing about the man who set my husband up to die–”

Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “That is not what I said, Linda.”

“But it’s what’s happening, isn’t it!?” she screeched, yanking her arm away from Arthur when he tried to grab it in an attempt to get her to calm down, rising to her feet. “Too busy chasing after the big prize of Luca Changretta’s head on a fucking platter, too busy making sure that your precious company doesn’t lose a single pound in profits to worry all too much about the fact that the man who set up your brother to be murdered is still walking around and could come for him again at any moment!” Her lips curled back from her teeth in a snarl. “But I suppose it doesn’t matter, right? You’ve already gotten one brother killed, so what’s another one to add to the pile, right?”

Tommy flinched, a movement so small Lucy doubted that it was noticed by anyone but her; and yet it was there, as was the flicker of deep grief, guilt, and hurt that swirled up past the layers of his armor in his eyes. It was only there for but a microsecond, but she saw it. And its presence caused protectiveness to flare within her. 

“Linda, sit down,” Lucy ordered, taking a step forward.

Linda rounded on her, eyes alight with fury. The cross on the chain around her neck swayed against her chest with the movement, light reflecting off of it, and Lucy fought back the urge to cringe away and hiss at the sight of it. 

“Nobody asked for your opinion, you…you slut!”

Lucy’s brows flew up at the insult. Not that she didn’t already know what Linda thought about her, but she hadn’t exactly expected her to verbalize it at a meeting with everyone present. But then again, she hadn’t expected her to start in on a verbal attack of Tommy, either. 

“Hey!” Tommy barked, voice so loud it made Ada cringe uncomfortably in her seat. But not Linda. No, Linda kept her eyes focused solely on Lucy, her attention diverted momentarily away from Tommy and onto her. 

“I mean, what do you even do for this company, anyway? Other than follow Thomas around like a lost little puppy all day.”

“Linda, that’s enough,” Tommy growled, voice low and dangerous. 

“Linda, please,” Arthur said gruffly, still trying to pull her back down into her seat.   

Lucy stared into her challenging eyes, fighting back the sudden urge to slap her. Stupid woman; she’d spent, what? One day in the betting shop, and now thought that she understood how everything was run? Fucking hell. 

With a shake of her head, she slammed her glass of whiskey down onto the counter and made for the door, the others that were in her way shuffling hastily to let her shoulder past them. She heard Tommy call her name, but ignored him. She had promised him that she would try her best to play nice, and if she stayed there much longer, she was more and more likely to break that promise. 

Her footsteps thundered down the street, boots clicking audibly against the cobblestones while she walked. A particularly dark look must have found its way onto her face, because several people hurried to get out of her way as she passed. 

Her foul mood was not helped by the acknowledgement that at least a large chunk of her anger stemmed from the fact that Linda wasn’t entirely wrong. 

Sometimes it did feel like all she did was follow Tommy around. Yes, she helped to keep track of things, helped with paperwork, took notes on all his meetings–which, by the way, they didn’t use all that often because Tommy had the memory of a fucking elephant–and offered insight and ideas, but there were times when she couldn’t help but think that, at least without factoring in Tommy’s emotions towards her, the company would be fully capable of functioning just fine without her. 

Sighing, she pulled her cap out of her pocket, pulling it on over her hair. Stuffing her hands deep into her pockets, she kept her head lowered as she walked, so it wouldn’t be too obvious to anyone that passed her by that she was sulking. 

When she got to her destination, she hesitated momentarily. Tommy would be upset with her, if she stepped past the threshold of the doors she was currently staring at. After all, she had said they’d talk about it more later. He’d probably be agitated that she just went off without any backup and not even the go-ahead from him. 

What do you even do for this company, anyway?

“Fuck it,” she mumbled under her breath, and started to climb the steps of the Midland hotel. 

“Can I help you?” the receptionist smiled sweetly, when she approached the counter. 

“I need to speak with Billy. Immediately,” Lucy kept her voice low, pulling out a cigarette while she waited. He came bustling down hastily but a few moments after the receptionist called for him, a little out of breath.

“Miss. Winters, my apologies, we weren’t expecting you–”

“I need to speak with Clara,” she said, pulling her watch from her pocket to check the time. Almost one. 

“She just got in, but I was about to send her off to work…”

“This won’t take long.”

“Alright, I’ll send her up to your room–”

“No, I won’t be staying. Take me down to where the girls get ready.”

Billy’s face went a little ashen. “We don’t normally allow clients into that part of the hotel.”

“Billy, you are testing my fucking patience,” she snapped, and he winced, looking around the lobby anxiously. 

“Very well. This way.”

She followed him through a side door and down a winding set of stairs, suppressing a chill as they traveled lower and lower into the bowels of the hotel. When they finally got to the end of the stairs, they were greeted by a narrow hallway. Billy took her to a door labeled with a placard reading: Dressing Room. Shooting her a nervous glance over his shoulder, he knocked once. 

“Ladies?” he called. There was movement on the other side of the door, and then it opened with a creak of complaint. 

“Yes, Billy?” Maria poked her dark head of hair out, brow raised curiously. She had a forever enduring sparkle of mischief in her eyes, and lips that seemed to always be settled into a small, knowing smile. 

“Maria, is Clara still there?”

Maria opened her mouth to answer, but a softer voice spoke up behind her.

“Yes?” a moment later, Clara had appeared behind Maria’s shoulder, a tube of lipstick clutched in her hands. Billy looked at Lucy. 

“Leave us.”

He hesitated, and she rolled her eyes, reaching into her coat and holding out a roll of bills to him. He took it tentatively, pocketing it with a small nod.

“Girls,” he said to Clara and Maria. “Miss. Winters,” he smiled at her uncomfortably. She waited until he was climbing the stairs, and then turned to the girls.

“Can I come in?” 

They looked at each other, then Maria stepped aside, holding the door open for her. She stepped in, glancing around while Maria shut the door behind her. 

Small vanities were lined against the right and left walls. Some were neat and spotless in their organization, while others were messy and chaotic, nearly spilling over onto the vanities next to it. Makeup and hair-styling products were stored on most of them, and several racks, nearly bursting with clothing, were pushed up against the wall opposite the door. 

“Which one is Elizabeth’s?” Lucy asked. Clara pointed to one of the messier vanities. Lucy went over to it, picking up a palette of makeup that rested atop the general chaos of items tossed upon the vanity. She set it back down, checking her watch again. 

One-thirty.

“Is Elizabeth working today?”

“Yes. She’s upstairs with a client now,” Maria said.

“You’re sure she’s upstairs?”

They both nodded.

Turning back to Elizabeth’s vanity, Lucy touched the coat hanging off the back of the chair lightly. It would be a little big on her, but that would be to her advantage. Her eyes skimmed around the dressing room, taking in the wigs stored on mannequin heads on a shelf. She reached into her coat pocket, drawing out another wad of bills, counting them out and then splitting them between Maria and Clara. 

“I’m going to need you two to help me with some things. And then I’m going to need you to keep Elizabeth away from that flat for the rest of the day. Alright?”

Clara’s eyes widened a small fraction. They nodded. Lucy turned back to the vanity, pulling off her cap and brushing a few locks of her distinctive red hair off of her forehead. 

“Okay. Grab me that wig, over there.” 

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Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a comment, reblog, or like. I always appreciate feedback and love getting the opportunity to interact with you and hear your thoughts!

[bordysbae]

can i get 11. "can i get your number?" with jack hughes?

“stood up”

jack hughes x fem!reader

word count: 0.8k

i made this in class so i apologize if it’s crappy ugh

recently you’ve been seeing this guy, and today is your guys’ third date. he’s a little flakey when it comes to dates, but throughout all of the rescheduling, you guys finally found a day that works. currently you’re sitting in the small cafe, waiting for the guy who was supposed to be here 5 minutes ago.

another ten minutes pass by, and at this point the waitress has come over twice already. you’re a little embarrassed due to the fact you’ve had to state you’re waiting for someone twice now. after ten more minutes of waiting, you decide to call him. he doesn’t answer, so you leave a voicemail, “hey adam, it’s been 25 minutes. are you on your way? call me back, thanks.” you sigh after ending the message. you notice these three men who seem to be around your age giving you pitiful glances, which makes you even more embarrassed.

“i feel so bad for her, she got stood up.” nico states. “me too, she’s really pretty. i think i’m gonna go ask for her number” jack says. this makes both nico and dawson almost spit out their coffees. “what?” dawson chuckles.

jack gives dawson a confused look, “what do you mean what?” “are you an idiot jack? obviously she’s waiting for someone, what if it’s her boyfriend?!” dawson replies. “well first, you don’t know if you don’t ask. second, if that’s her boyfriend who just stood her up, i don’t think she should be dating him” jack shrugs before pushing his chair back and rising up from it. nico and dawson each share a glance at each other, before watching the 21 year-old boy make his way over to you.

“excuse me?” he says, grabbing your attention. you look up from your phone stupidly expecting it to be adam, but who you’re met with is way more attractive. “yes?” you ask softly, not trying to sound rude. “may i sit?” he asks, and you nod in response. “i saw that you got stood up, and i think you’re really pretty so i wanted to come talk to you” jack says shyly, scratching the back of his neck.

your cheeks begin to turn pink, and you try your best to hide it. “oh thank you! i must say, you’re not too bad yourself.” you smile. “i’m jack, it’s really nice to meet you—“ “y/n. it’s nice to meet you too jack.” you blush.

after a bit of talking with jack and explaining the situation with adam, you discover he plays professional hockey which genuinely shocks you. “wow! i had no idea, that’s amazing! i guess i’ll have to start going to hockey games” you exclaim. “you better, i’d be more than happy to see you in the stands!” he smiles. “whens the next game?” “tonight, actually” “oh really? i think i’m free” you say, pulling out your phone to check your calendar. “can i get your number? i’ll buy you a ticket, i’ll make sure you get the best seat in the house.” he says with a cheesy grin across his face.

“you sure that’s the only reason you want my number, hughes?” you say, a smirk-ish grin growing on your face. “oh were doing nicknames now? jeez, let me take you out on a date first” he chuckles, making you laugh as well. “well i guess you’ll need my number to do that” you shrug, as you hand him your phone to type in his number.

he saves his contact and slides you your phone back, and you see ‘hughes <3’ saved. he hands you his phone to type in your number, and that’s exactly what you do. “i’ll text you the details on your ticket, then maybe we can catch a late dinner afterwards?” he suggests. “that sounds great! and really jack, you don’t need to buy my ticket” “oh i insist. but i better see you in the stands tonight, right up against the glass” “oh you will don’t worry, i’ll be your little cheerleader” you chuckle, and he laughs as well.

“alright then, it’s a date! the game starts at 7:00, so get there around 6:30. and i’ll have someone come find you after the game so we can head to dinner” “thank you again, jack” “of course y/n, i’m really glad i met you. maybe something good can come out of being stood up” “that’s true, it’s not everyday a professional hockey player buys you a ticket to his game and asks you to dinner” you blush, making jacks cheeks turn pink too.

“i need to get going, but i’ll see you tonight y/n!” he smiles before getting up to go back over to the two other boys from earlier, who you now learned to be dawson mercer and nico hischier. you smile to yourself as his friends hype him up over his successful mission.

maybe getting stood up isn’t so bad after all.

[lexusiswriting]

A love you deserve (Ricky Olson) - Part 18 of ?

Hi guys! <3

Long time, no see. Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I had a rough time when things did not go how I wanted it and I couldn't bring myself to write anything. Now I'm better and I hope you'll like this part :)

Warnings: language.

Tags:@multifandomcrackhead, @nicelittlenightmares, @roll-tide-babe89, @skulliecadaver-blog, @21-century-tae, @melissa-anderson, @abiomens, @w743, @insanitywulf, @awkwardalex, @philomenie, @kaite1996, @coc41nn, @xxsparklezzzxx, @shilohrosechicken, @k-pop-luv04, @mariemarquess1989, @imralxmerve, @zombiedixon89, @vinyardmauro, @imralmervex, @xslavicprincess, @black-damask1999

Requests: OPEN.

_______________________________________________

While still being sleepy, I was moving my hand to find Blair. A wave of panic ran through me when I realized she wasn’t there. For a second I even forgot I was in a hotel and not in my house. At that moment I was fully awake, going into every room to find my baby. The image I saw when I opened the kitchen door made my heart melt completely. Blair was sitting at the table with her favourite toy in her arms, while Ricky was feeding her pancakes.

“It’s not cool eating without me.”

They both had their eyes on me, and I couldn’t tell who had the biggest smile.

“Good morning, my love. You needed to rest more than ever. How do you feel?”

“I’m good, I think. I panicked a little when I couldn’t find Blair next to me.”

“Sorry about that, but the little princess was hungry.”

After eating, she went straight to the other room to play with the rest of her toys. I wanted to have her around me as much as possible, but right now I wanted to find out more about Ricky’s plan, and it wasn’t good for her to hear something.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for you to give me more details. Can you tell me now, please?”

“Not yet, love. But very soon. How about you get ready, I’ll get myself and Blair ready, and then we’ll go to a really nice place?”

“Ugh, fine. But this is not helping me at all.”

He took my face in his hands, looked me in the eyes, and kissed me for reassurance. Something to make me feel better and not forget that I don’t have to fight alone anymore.

_________________________________________

After a drive of about 30 minutes, in which Ricky said nothing about this “really nice place”, we arrived in a heaven like place. We were surrounded by big trees that had little white flowers in them and we could see a lake in the distance that had the clearest water I had ever seen. It was so peaceful and quiet that I felt how every fear I had was vanishing in the air.

“I discovered this place yesterday and I knew I had to take you both to see it.”

While I had Blair in my arms, taking the beautiful view in, Ricky got a picnic basket out from the car. He really had everything planned apparently. After he put everything in place, we sat down, watching Blair running around, discovering every possible piece of this place.

“Yesterday while I sat here, I was thinking about everything that happened between us. We’ve been through some things, not really nice ones, but I’m so happy we are here now, together.”

“How so? I thought we left those things behind us.”

“Of course we did, it was not in a bad way, believe me. But after you told me what Corey intends to do, it made me realize some things.”

“And what did you realize exactly?”

“That even though I was really dumb in the past, now I consider myself the luckiest man on earth. I had moments when I thought, “what if we stayed together and Corey was never in the picture”? But I still won’t have it any other way, knowing that Blair wouldn’t have been here with us today. I don’t care she is not biologically mine, I still consider her my daughter.”

My eyes were full of tears while he had his little speech. By the time it was done, they were running down my cheeks. I never told him how many moments I had thought that maybe one day he would be gone, thinking that he didn’t fit in this picture. He never did anything to lead me in this direction, but my fear was present nevertheless.

“Ricky, you have no idea how happy you make me and Blair too. It was always you, and I was sure of that from the beginning. We both are lucky to have you in our lives.”

He took me in his arms, kissing my forehead. His hand was running down my back, trying to stop my tears from falling.

“Now it’s the time to tell you about my plan. And you’ll understand why I had to wait.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“So Corey said his reason for taking Blair is that I live with you both, right?”

“Yes. He made it seem like you are a stranger, not my boyfriend.”

“Well, if that it’s his problem, we will have to change some things to show the court it’s not what he thinks.”

To say I was confused was a misunderstanding. A little wave of panic ran through me as I thought he wanted to move out of the house. I was so used already having him around that I couldn’t take this idea even as an option.

“You are staying with us. Moving is not a solution to this problem.”

“Moving? I was not talking about that.”

“Then what? I don’t understand.”

“I have just one more thing to add. If you don’t agree with this plan, I will completely understand.”

“Just tell me, please. I’m so confused, I don’t have any idea what you are trying to do.”

“I’m trying to show you how much I love you, Lexus. That you and Blair are my world, and I’ll do anything to keep you both safe.”

He moved a little, so now he was standing right in front of me. His hand reached his pocket and got a little box out of it. When he opened it, I saw the most perfect and beautiful ring.

“Lexus, my love. Will you marry me?”

[sk8termikey]

Chapter 15 of 21 Questions

better interface on wattpad + chapter updated till 27

ORLANDO VERSUS TOUR SHOW

Fucking nine in the morning, I am being woken up at nine in the morning to go I don’t even know where. To say Alex was confused was an understatement. Lily had randomly woken Alex up to announce to her that they were going on a road trip for a couple of days. Nothing too extravagant according to Lily, but Alex was still sceptical – and tired. She was definitely too tired to think about the why and how so she simply decided to accept it. Alex knew anyways that once she was up, she was unable to go back to sleep so she just got up and dressed with an outfit prepared by Lily. The girls’ suitcases had also been packed beforehand but Alex wasn’t allowed to look at what was inside as Lily didn’t want her friend to recognise almost all of the clothes they had packed a few days prior when they went to Atlanta.

“You can get ready in the car,” Lily suggested. “It’s quite a long drive.”

“M’kay, I’ll forget how suspicious all of this is right now. You’re lucky to have chosen my favourite hoodie.”

The piece of clothing in question was a GAP orange hoodie that Alex had been over the moon to find as it was exactly the same one owned by none other than Chris Sturniolo, which Lily knew perfectly. As Lily had chosen for Alex to support Chris’s team again – he did win last time, she had decided to wear a fully blue outfit in honour Matt’s request at the Atlanta show.

“Can I trust you not to look at your location on your phone?” Lily asked Alex once they were in the car and ready to leave.

“Yeah, I promise to keep our destination a surprise because I trust you,” Alex replied with a playful tone.

~~~

Almost two hours later, the girls were nearing Orlando. As Alex had tried to not pay attention to the road signs and given her poor sense of direction, she had no idea where they were going until the huge ORLANDO: NEXT EXIT sign appeared above the road.

“Wait a damn minute– are we going to Orlando for the reason I think we’re going to Orlando for?” Alex turned to Lily as she was getting hopeful.

“Well, I don’t know…” Lily couldn’t resist a smile. “What are you imagining?”

“Lilyyy”, Alex dragged out the last vowel. “Please tell me we’re going to see the triplets again?”

Alex’s voice was almost pitiful as she was now a hundred percent sure that they were there for them. As Lily told Alex to open her most recent conversation on Instagram, the blonde started reading the messages and almost screamed from pure joy as she now had the confirmation that they had tickets to the Orlando show of the Versus Tour.

“You cannot know how I would be ready to marry you right now for this”, Alex said as she just wanted to hug her best friend.

“I mean– we can always ask the venue if they do weddings”, Lily laughed at her own comment which in turn made Alex laugh as well.

Alex was over the moon and couldn’t stop thanking Lily until they arrived at their hotel’s parking lot. They checked in their rooms and began to get changed as Alex discovered what was in her suitcase.

“I understand now why I’m wearing my Chris hoodie, but what was the point of packing so many clothes?”

“You don’t expect us to wear the exact same thing two shows in a row, don’t you?”

“What–” Alex was really confused as she wasn’t even wearing anything that she wore in Atlanta. Once again, she got hit with a wave of hope as she thought she was getting it. “I swear to God if you mean a third show, I’m buying rings right now and asking Nick to marry us today.”

Lily simply handed four pieces of paper to Alex and let her read them. The first two were for the show of today in Orlando while the other two had TAMPA written on them. Alex couldn’t believe that it was more than simply being at the shows. Indeed, they were going to be able to take pictures again with the triplets and even have the opportunity to talk to them before the show the next day.

“So, what are you waiting for?” Lily teased. “Don’t forget I only wear silver, just like our tickets for today.”

Alex hugged her friend to thank her for everything she did and couldn’t wait to experience another show of the Versus Tour. She knew that it would mostly be the same thing over again as the games didn’t change, but it would still be a special day to remember for years.

~~

Alex and Lily were now at the venue, ready to queue before getting their picture taken. Although they wished to be able to take pictures after the show when one of the triplet would wear the crown, getting their pictures before meant that they could come back early to their hotel and get enough rest before driving to Tampa the next morning.

Per Matt’s request, Lily was wearing a blue flannel with a black tank top underneath along with her blue flared jeans and her boots. She had asked Alex to draw sharks on her cheeks, the same way she had had the bats in Atlanta. Alex had kept her orange hoodie on and had simply put on black sweatpants with her white sneakers, which was a very “Chris outfit” according to her.

While queueing, the girls had been able to take pictures with funny sunglasses and get friendship bracelets which they thought made the experience even better. Meeting people you didn’t know ten minutes before but forming a bond due to common interests was beautiful, even if you might never see that person again.

Way less nervous than in Atlanta, the girls were simply excited to see the triplets again as it was almost their turn to get their pictures taken. They had chosen again to be together in the two photos and so they both went in front of the camera.

“Hey, you changed teams!” Nick exclaimed as soon as he saw Lily’s makeup before hugging her.

“Hi! Oops, sorry.”

While Lily was bonding with Nick for the second time, Matt couldn’t help but look at her even though he was hugging Alex. He had quite a good memory with faces and immediately recognised the bubbly girl he had met a few days ago.

“Hi, glad you could make it.” Matt said, almost relieved that she was here.

“Heyy, yep and I’m betting on you today.” Lily smiled at Matt.

As Lily was about to hug Chris next, she and the two other triplets noticed that he was frozen smiling in front of Alex. The reason why? They were wearing matching hoodies and Chris couldn’t believe his eyes. He didn’t care if they were going to hold the line and piss off the cameraman as well as security, he had to make everyone notice.

“This is the best thing to happen today”, Chris happily said as he dapped up Alex – no worries, she did get a hug before Chris realised they were matching. “Guys, have you seen that?”

The three people next to him had no choice but to nod as obviously, they could see the two bright orange hoodies from a mile away. Even the people waiting in line found it extremely funny as they were trying to record the moment which was very much giving that one Spiderman meme.

After noticing that they weren’t supposed to take this long for the group pictures, Nick suggested they take them quickly as to not “fuck up the tight schedule”. Therefore, they took two pictures with Matt on Lily’s side, Chris on Alex’s once again and Nick in the middle. In both pictures, Chris and Alex had decided to point at each other as none of them could get over this coincidence.

After thanking the triplets and saying goodbye, the girls left the photography area to start walking towards the pit. What they couldn’t see behind them was Chris nodding to his brothers and giving a sort of hand signal to their manager Laura who was standing a few metres away from everyone. She understood immediately and began to follow the two girls in order to stop them before they could reach the crowd.

Alex and Lily were definitely confused as to why they were being pulled aside by Laura but their expression rapidly morphed into one of surprise as she explained what would happen to Alex if she wanted to: getting on stage during today’s show and playing the games on Chris’s team. Although it wasn’t even addressed to her, Lily agreed on behalf of her friend who was too stunned to speak but eventually nodded once her brain had processed the proposal. This is how Alex thus found herself backstage waiting with two other girls – one was wearing a shark onesie while the second was dressed in purple with Nick’s team’s name written on her top.

While the three girls were waiting to go on stage, the triplets had come to see them and explain the structure of the show before they left to announce the popular vote – which Matt won once again. Then, Nick introduced each teammate and it was finally time for the girls to appear. As Alex walked on stage towards Chris, she tried to find Lily in the crows as a way to get some moral support. The blonde quickly found her best friend who gave her the biggest smile ever, which Alex reciprocated with a wave. Now that everyone was on stage, Nick explained the rule of the first activity:

“So here’s what we’re gonna do. Every teammate is gonna paint their triplet, no matter if it’s us right now or last week or whenever, you just gotta make it look like us.”

Alex and the two other girls agreed, then got ready as they would try to paint the triplet they were with during the next two minutes.

“I hope you make me look good, I saw what you can paint”. Chris said to Alex as he believed in her.

“Brooo, so much pressure right now.” Alex tried to focus on the canva in front of her. “What I painted for you guys was me alone in a room for hours so I won’t do as good.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be proud no matter the result don’t worry!”

Alex was feeling more relaxed as Chris was very supportive, which increased her motivation to win this round. She had decided to paint Chris as he currently was: wearing the crown and the orange hoodie. It seems that Chris was right to believe in her skills because she enabled their team to get the most cheers and therefore win the painting activity – which led to Lily screaming the loudest she could for her best friend. Chris and Matt were now tied with one point each as the game of trivia was about to start.

Tools were brought on stage and each team sat down with a small whiteboard.

“You got this babe!” Lily shamelessly shouted as there was a brief silence.

Alex chuckled and thanked Lily with a huge smile as she waved back at her.

“Damn, you’re not supposed to support them when you’re wearing my colour.” Matt chimed in as he recognised Alex’s friend.

This small exchange led to everyone in the venue laughing until Nick tried to shush the crowd before giving the signal for the questions to start being asked. From the origin of Halloween to the weight of the world’s biggest pumpkin, Chris and Alex were doing pretty good as they had gained three points thanks to the girl. Indeed, the blonde had based half of their answer on Lily, which had made Chris laugh every time – “Lily has a white car so it must be the answer” and “Lily has brown eyes so she proves our point”. Not that he was mocking Alex, but he was admirative of their bond and the support the girls gave each other.

It was now time for the last question as they were asked for the numbers of stars on the Walk of Fame.

“Eh, how would I know?” Alex wondered out loud.

“Don’t you have an idea? A rough number at least?” Chris asked the girl as he didn’t have any.

“Bro, I live on the other side of the country like– I don’t know but a lot I guess…”

“Hmm”, Chris tried to think. “How do we feel about a thousand?”

“Let’s go with that, should be kinda close I hope.” Alex agreed with her teammate.

As the timer stopped, Matt said five hundred stars, Nick said seven hundreds and sixty while Chris said a thousand. Turns out that even a thousand was not “kinda close” as there are actually two thousand seven hundred and fifty-two stars on the Walk of Fame. The trivia activity had now come to an end and it was time to play basketball.

“So glad to be on your team because I know we’re def winning,” Alex claimed.

“I know I’m the best but I’m still counting on you.” Chris’s ego was absolutely boosted by the girl.

“Yeah, no worries. I should be able to get at least one, I hope…”

True to her words, Alex did manage to get the ball in and at the end of the game, her and Chris managed to stay in the lead with nine points. As Nick had seven and Matt five, it meant that the game of Jenga was going to determine everything. Right before the last activity began, Alex’s eyes seeked Lily once again and were met with the purest expression of love as Lily was capturing her best friend’s happiness with her camera. Knowing that Lily was watching her, Alex was ready to give her best and not knock the tower down.

While it would be the triplets’ turn to play, Alex and the two other girls would talk with each other, thus deepening the bond between them as something more than just being competitors. Indeed, they were here due to the same love for Nick, Matt and Chris.

Thanks to the platform on her sneakers, Alex was almost as tall as Chris and was able to keep playing while the tower kept getting higher. Chris had just managed to prevent it from falling as it was looking very much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then, like lots of previous shows, Matt eventually failed and was the one to lose the game of Jenga. While the middle triplet was in despair, Chris went to high five and hug Alex as they were therefore the winners of the Orlando show. Alex was absolutely overjoyed: not only did she go on stage with her favourite YouTubers, she helped bring victory to her team. As Alex went to hug everyone on stage, Lily was still taking pictures of her friend. She never wanted to forget Alex’s expression on that day and wished to cherish it forever. Alex’s joy was to be remembered and appreciated as she deserved what was happening to her.

Then followed the crowning ceremony when each time took pictures before taking one with the triplets and their teammates. Nick, Matt and Chris thanked the crowd and the fans on stage with them before going backstage as Tril was going to perform again.

“Thank you so much for this wonderful experience”, Alex said to the triplets when they left the stage.

The other girls agreed and thanked the triplets as well, before getting guided back to the main area of the venue.

“I’m glad you guys all enjoyed it. It was so nice having you with us, and we’ll maybe see you again one day!” Nick told the girls before bidding them goodbye.

Alex and the two other fans left the triplets and went back to the pit while Tril was still performing. They spent the rest of the mini concert together and each joined their friends after exchanging their socials to keep in touch.

“ALEX!!” Lily ran to hug her best friend as they were together for the first time since a couple of hours.

“LILY!! Oh my God, this was the best day ever!!”

“I. Am. So. Happy that you got to live this babe, this is amazing!! I have so many good pics, I need to show them all to you tonight.” Lily was ecstatic regarding what Alex experienced.

“Yay, I wanna see them all and I absolutely want to post some.” Alex hugged Lily and held her tight. “Thank you so much for capturing those moments for me, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

The two girls kept fangirling about today’s show on the way back to their hotel. They had the same routine as in Atlanta as Alex showered first while Lily took her camera and laptop to actually edit her pictures. She was choosing her favourites – those who were truly highlighting Alex’s happiness and some of the triplets that she thought looked good. Lily was realising that she had unconsciously taken many pictures of Matt – not as many as photos of Alex obviously – and couldn’t help but admire them for a bit until her friend got back in the room.

“Hey, if you wanna look at my pics from today and download your favourites. Go ahead and see if you like some.”

Alex thanked Lily before going to sit on the bed and skim through the brunette’s pictures. She selected some of her on stage and a couple of the triplets. She knew that Lily didn’t really like to have her face on social media so Alex didn’t include their group pictures in her Instagram post. She still decided to tag Lily’s photography account as she was the one who had taken the pictures and figured she would also tag sutrnioloteam in case the triplets would check their most famous fan account.

As Lily returned from her shower, she got her laptop back from Alex and started looking at the pictures she had taken of Atlanta and Orlando, but only of the city and its landscapes. She thought that after being in Tampa, she would post a small dump of their trip.

When the two girls had eventually each seen hundreds of photos, they began to feel tired and went to sleep as they would have a long drive tomorrow to reach Tampa for their third show of the Versus Tour. They knew that today being a Wednesday, it meant that a new video would come out but they chose to watch it the next day as they had planned to leave early and get some rest before the show.

“Good night Lily, thanks for being the best friend ever and gifting me with such wonderful memories.”

“Good night Alex, I’ll always do my best to make you happy.”

Thank you for reading. Votes and comments are always appreciated if you like this story :) The story is co-written w @/little_grapejuice on wattpad

[takeariskao3]

“Yeah, pumpkin?”

written for @hinnyfest  prompt #21: you stole my heart, i’ll let you keep it though

“But then Mummy was taken-”

Lily gasped in true terror, Ruby copying her a beat too late and Harry had to bite back a grin.

They were sitting in the rocking chair, one girl on each knee and a stack of books piled high on the dresser. Bedtime had come and gone but no story had been good enough. They’d started at least a dozen different ones, just for Lily to stop halfway through and declare the tale inadequate. Harry had given it up as a bad job and started telling his own story. Their story. Only in a way he hoped was appropriate for a six and a three year old.

“Were you scared?” Lily asked with wide eyes. 

He didn’t even have to think that hard to remember. “I was very scared.”

“What did you do?”

“Well,” Harry adjusted Ruby further up his chest and she laid her head on his shoulder. “Your Uncle Ron and I went looking for her.”

Lily furrowed her little brow. “How did you know where to find her?”

“We didn’t,” Harry explained. “That’s why it was so scary.”

Movement caught his eye and Harry looked up to see Ginny leaning against the door frame. A knowing smile played at the corners of her mouth. 

“Why they taken her, Daddy?” Ruby muttered sleepily. 

“Er,” Harry winced slightly. That definitely wasn’t age appropriate. He supposed a metaphorical explanation would have to suffice. “They were trying to steal her heart.”

“Her heart?” Lily asked skeptically. “What did they want with it?”

“Who you give your heart to is very important,” he replied. “There’s power in giving your heart away.”

Ruby perked up. “Like magic?”

“Exactly like magic,” Harry tried for an air of seriousness. “But you can’t give it to just anyone. You’ve got to be careful.”

“I’m never giving my heart away.” Lily scoffed and pointed at the center of her chest. “I’m keeping it right here.”

Harry grinned. “Good girl.”

Ginny huffed out a laugh and pushed off the wall. “Alright, you lot. Time for bed.”

“No, wait!” Lily called. “Five more minutes!”

“You said five more minutes fifteen minutes ago,” Ginny raised an eyebrow and gave Lily a quelling look. 

“But-” Lily whined. “Daddy hasn’t finished the story yet!” 

“I’ll finish tomorrow night,” Harry reassured, giving Lily a pat on the back.

Crossing the room, Ginny grabbed Ruby beneath the arms and lifted her from his lap, then carried her the short distance to her bed. Harry did the same with Lily. 

“But you found her right, Daddy?” Lily asked urgently as Harry pulled the blankets up to her chin. “You found Mummy and you saved her?”

One side of Harry’s mouth stretched into a soft smile. “No, not this time.”

Lily blinked in confusion. “But how come she’s alright?”

“Because,” Harry knelt next to the bed and brushed a stray lock of raven hair away from her face. “This time she saved herself.”

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and stood. They traded positions at the girls’ bedside, Ginny giving Lily a firm talking to about going to sleep and Harry crouching down to tell a half-asleep Ruby goodnight. 

“Daddy?” she asked, her heavy lidded eyes forest green in the dim light. 

“Yeah, pumpkin?”

“You stole my heart.”

Harry froze, his breath going shallow and his chest tight. “I did?”

“Yeah…” Ruby murmured, “but I’ll let you keep it.”

“I-” He faltered, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. “I’ll take good care of it. I promise.”

Ruby sighed. “Thanks, Daddy.”

Her eyelids fluttered shut and Harry pressed a soft kiss to her copper hair. 

He crossed the room quietly, pulling the door shut behind him to find Ginny waiting in the hall. 

Her amber eyes sparkled with affection and she looked to be holding back a smirk. “You alright?”

“Y-” Harry cleared his throat roughly. “Yeah, fine.”

[impossiblescissorspeachpaper]

Last Christmas

Just some fluffy trash

December 3rd.

Elain smirked down at her phone, opening the group chat she shared with her siblings and friends.

There was near constant chatter in the family group chat, but it had been a while since they’d played her favourite game.

The name of the thread had changed multiple times over the years. For a while it had been known as The Inner Circle, then The Court of Dreams. Cassian had gone in and changed it to The I Hate Eris Vanserra Club once when he had been feeling particularly pissy about something the redhead had done, and previously it had been the very unimaginative Cool People Only. However, currently it was being updated daily by Mor as a live countdown to Christmas Day.

Elain’s fingers flew across her screen as she typed out a brief message in 21 Days To Go❄️ and hit send. 

Elain 11:23am LAST

To anyone else, they wouldn’t have a clue what was going on. To anyone outside of their intimate little circle, they would look at this random, one worded text, all caps, and think it a strange mistake. But Elain knew the remaining seven members of that group chat would know exactly how to respond. They’d been doing it for years.

Sure enough, a few minutes later a response came through.

Rhys 11:26am CHRISTMAS

Elain chuckled. She couldn’t remember how this little tradition had started, but it was something they did every December in the lead up to Christmas.

Nesta 11:31am I

Anyone could start it. At any time. The only rules were that you could only type out one word and you couldn’t send two consecutive texts.

Azriel 11:33am GAVE

Amren 11:34am YOU

Amren was visiting Varian at his beach house; he must be out for a run if she had her phone nearby and was available to text them all.

Feyre 11:37am MY

Rhys 11:40am HEART

The texts were coming in a few minutes apart, and the trick to it was to make sure you didn’t hit send on the same word someone else may already be typing. Because if you happened to be the person that ruined the song? Well, everyone would have to start all over again and you’d be fair game until the next round.

Their family was nothing if not competitive, clutching at any excuse with both hands and using it to relentlessly dump on the others. It was chaos and she loved it.

Elain 11:42am BUT

Feyre 11:43am THE

Nesta 11:44am VERY

Cassian and Mor, absent until now, could both be seen typing…

Mor 11:48am NEXT

Cassian 11:48am NEXT

Cassian 11:48am Ah fuck

Elain’s lip tilted up at the corner, bracing herself for the onslaught about to rain down on poor Cassian in 3..2..1..

Feyre 11:50am Nooooooo

Azriel 11:51am Oh ffs Cass

Nesta 11:51am Of course it was you...

Rhys 11:55am We’d barely gotten in!

Cassian 11:57am Mor jumped in, the sneaky rat!

Mor 11:59am Bit slow off the mark there, Cass? Funny, I’ve heard the opposite.

Elain 12:00pm 🤭

Cassian 12:03pm WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ELLIE?!

Azriel 12:04pm The truth…

Rhys 12:06pm BURN

Nesta 12:10pm Are you all being mean to my boyfriend?

Amren 12:14pm Yes

Nesta 12:16pm Ok, just checking. Carry on.

Cassian 12:18pm Gee thanks babe… 😒

Feyre 12:22pm Aww Cass, I still love you! Come over tonight I’ll make you dinner

Cassian 12:35pm Ahhhh, I’m not sure if I’m free Fey

Lie. She knew for a fact Cassian was free, Nesta taught dance classes every second Saturday evening and Cassian usually hounded his brothers to hang out with him whilst she was busy. He just didn’t trust Feyre’s cooking. She couldn’t blame him.

Even though she had been trying, the last time Feyre had made them all a meal her pasta bake somehow had turned out burnt on the top whilst simultaneously still ice cold in the middle. Elain wasn’t sure how she’d managed it.

Elain 12:41pm I’ll help her cook

Cassian 12:42pm I’ll be there!

Rhys 12:45pm LOL

Feyre 12:48pm 🖕

Elain chuckled again. They would be at it for hours yet. Closing out of the group chat, letting the rest of them fight it out for a while, she opened her Spotify app.

Clicking a few buttons to find what she was looking for, she pressed play on one of her favourite Christmas songs. George Michael’s voice rang out over her speakers as Last Christmas played, a happy little smile creeping across her face.

*******

tagging: @offtorivendell @fawnandshadows @the-laughing-bubble @swankii-art-teacher @pagemasters @sakurakittypeach @tswaney17 @thefangirlofhp @wingedblooms @alwayssara @ultadverb

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 22 - Geralt

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 21 -- Part 23

Summary: The guys throw a New Years Eve party at 179th Crescent Street...

Warnings: Drugs (weed and alcohol), senslry issues.

Word count: 2.1k

A/N: Geralt is up! It's a shorter chapter than the other ones, because he didn't have a lot to say... I'm also happy to announce that all the NYE chapters are finished as of right this g'damn second! So: YAY ME! Enjoy!

Let me know what you think! 🥰

@deandoesthingstome @geralts-yenn @summersong69 @peaches1958 @fvckinghenrycavill @keanureevesisbae @livisss @sillyrabbit81 @ellethespaceunicorn @ylva-syverson @poledancingdinos

I’m barely aware of the things that are happening in the kitchen, going on auto-pilot, until Leon asks where Sherlock is. 

“In his room,” Mike replies, “he wouldn’t last five minutes tonight if he had to deal with all of this, too.” He’s not the only one. For starters, it’s not ideal for Mike, either. 

“We’ve got it from here,” I say. As far as I’m concerned, he’s done his part in setting up for tonight by getting the internet to work. My words come out harsher than intended. Fuck. I know he’s not mad - he’s Mike. It would take a lot more to upset him, and he knows as well as I do that I’ll be running on reserves, too, before the evening is over. 

Unlike Mike, I don’t envy Sherlock. Hiding from the fuss surrounding these preparations wouldn’t do me any good. I’d still hear everything, and I somehow find it easier to ignore a noise I can see the source of. My eyes involuntarily move to the little plastic bag on the table. At least I’ll be able to sleep. Sol follows my gaze, and her eyes go wide when she sees what I’m looking at. We’ve had a few long conversations - at above average volume - about the fact that I occasionally get stoned - or, as she’d rather call it; ‘my drug use’. The last of these arguments happened while she was holding a glass of wine. She didn’t appreciate my pointing out that alcohol is a hard drug. No one ever does. With time, she’s grown used to it, but she isn’t exactly comfortable with how open we are about it here. I still don’t understand the fuss. It’s not like we’re doing anything illegal. 

The hand on my back belongs to Sol. I don’t have to look to know that. I don’t even have to think about it. I just know. That knowledge doesn’t stop me from shaking it off nearly immediately. Usually, her touch calms me down, but not tonight - not right now, at least. It’s just another sensation to overwhelm me even further. There just isn’t anything she can do for me right now. When she looks at me, there’s a sliver of sadness in her eyes - a sadness I don’t immediately connect to my instinctive rejection of her touch, and with that, her intentions to comfort me. Until I do connect the dots, and end up feeling worse 

“It’s just a bit much,” I say, unsure of who I’m trying to convince I’m alright, her or myself. “I’ll be alright.” 

That last part isn’t a lie. No matter how exhausting this can be, it hasn’t killed me yet. At this point, after all this time, I think it’s safe to say that it won’t. 

When Sherlock steps into the kitchen with Elena, he looks just about as miserable as I probably do - and he hasn’t spent a second downstairs yet. Thanks to the noise downstairs, I couldn’t be completely sure about why they’re so late, but I can make an educated guess. Sol is still standing next to me. I know she feels bad because she can’t help me, which means it’s time for me to suck it up and at least try to have a good time here until she can help me. I take her hand and pull her along to where August and Sherlock are standing. At least I can reasonably count on them enjoying this nonsense as much - or as little - as I do. 

“Should I be glad Elena gets along with Anjelica so well?” Sherlock asks August while side-eyeing the girls and their animated conversation. The benefits of this party being so tremendously noisy is that everything turns to white noise nearly automatically. Normally, it would be a chore to tune out a conversation taking place so close to me, but right now, I don’t have to hear what the girls are talking about at all. Sol joins the conversation without too much effort, and I can see a faint smile on her lips when she sees me with the guys.

“Oh, we don’t get a say in these things.” I manage to very slightly startle August when I come up behind him. It’s never my goal, but always a nice bonus. He’s perceptive, tough to sneak up on, and his reflexes are insane. It’s what makes him a good boxer. A very good boxer. “I’m fairly sure we’re already doomed.”

Sherlock raises an eyebrow, clearly confused by my words. As much as I think we shouldn’t laugh or make fun of him because of it, his lack of experience can be quite endearing. “What do you mean?”

“I heard that they’re planning a girls night.” Gossiping isn’t something I enjoy doing, but I think the poor man deserves to know at least a little of what is about to hit him. August groans so softly I almost miss it. He’s damn right to, honestly. I like to think Sol isn’t the gossiping type, either, but I know better. When in Rome… 

I’ve accidentally overheard plenty of these conversations between women. They’re completely exhausting to listen to, and that’s only in part due to the fact that during a twenty-minute conversation, there’s maybe a total of three finished sentences. What continues to surprise me most, however, is the amount of detail these discussions contain. I know very few men who would be as specific. Sure, the jokes around the house can be… somewhat graphic, but they’re absolutely far less informative. Something I’ve always found striking about these conversations is that there doesn’t always seem to be a clear point to them besides purely the exchange of information - no problem to solve, no question to answer, nothing to gain from these talks other than curbing their annoyingly insatiable curiosity. Women. I’m sure I’ll never come to understand them. And I promise it’s not for lack of trying. 

“That usually means that all of them are going to be told every minute intimate detail of your relationship, so they can… I don’t know why they do it, just that they do.” August seems to be as lost on the reasons behind this interesting yet insufferable ritual. 

“How intimate?” Sherlock asks. As previously mentioned, I believe we shouldn’t make fun of his inexperience, which makes me hell-bent on controlling my face upon hearing the alarm and astonishment in Sherlock’s voice, and all the more glad that August does the smirking for me. 

“Yes, that intimate,” I answer, my voice significantly more strained than I had initially planned on, both from my efforts to keep my composure as well as my own mild terror at the thought of having my sex life painstakingly dissected by a group of girls. 

“We’re not looking forward to it, either,” August adds. 

“Not looking forward to what?” Elena asks as she wraps her arms around Sherlock. I can��t help but smile when I see it. They’re good together. 

“Nothing,” the three of us say at the same time. It’s suspicious to say the least, but I doubt we’ll hear much more of it. 

Something happens in the living room that we decide to ignore. Things settle down quickly, there’s no need for us to get involved in that. My head is pounding from the noise so badly that I barely notice Sherlock and Elena taking off. Good for them. Part of me wishes I could call it a day as well, but I can’t bear to spend time without Sol yet, and she’s still having a good time catching up with Anjelica. I know we won’t last much past midnight, so I just have to make it until then - a task that might just be made much easier by Ange’s discovery of what Mike has been up to in the living room. Solveig doesn’t even roll her eyes when she says it, either because it’s worse when I get high than when others do it, or because she realizes I could use a little peace and quiet. 

The cold and fresh air help tremendously, and although the windows are hardly enough of a barrier to completely block the sounds from inside the house, they drown out enough to make it more manageable. Sol stays close, which I appreciate now that I’m not ambushed by a hundred sensations per second. She’s not cold - she’s used to harsher winters than the ones we get here. It doesn’t stop her nose, hands or feet from freezing. It just doesn’t bother her. Bothers me, though. It’s like sharing a bed with an icicle. 

“Did you guys step outside when you saw me leave the living room?” Mike asks. August, Anjelica and I shrug - a clear admission of guilt. We know him a little. If one of us had so much as for a second suspected that our intended leeching would piss him off, we would have stayed inside. But it’s Mike. He grumbles something semi-annoyed while handing a joint to Dani and sits down to get to work on another one. 

“Thanks, Mikey.” It’s always Ange. Mikey and Anjelica have something in common I can’t put my finger on, exactly. A certain way of understanding each other that’s very difficult to explain. Something so innately platonic that even August isn’t threatened by it - which is quite rare. She sounds tired, I notice, and she does a very good job of not looking the part. Anjelica thrives around people. Pressure. Pain. Although I completely understand why Sy questions the nature of Ange and August’s relationship, I  never did. It makes perfect sense, it always has. In a way, they remind me of me and Solveig, though we have a more flexible dynamic. For a short moment, my thoughts jump to Sherlock. He had the same control issues we do. August and I. Part of me wonders if his preferences will turn out anything like ours, and I briefly wish I could be a fly on the wall during that girls night… I dismiss the thought instantly. Gossip. Despicable habit. 

Mike hands me a joint, which I take from him gratefully. If I can just get my thoughts to calm down, the noise may become manageable enough to sleep later. I’m only vaguely aware of the conversation about the unrest in the living room earlier. There seems to be quite a lot of guilt there that Mike can’t seem to shake. It’s understandable, but I feel it isn’t necessary. Danielle seems to understand what he’s like better than anyone I’ve ever met - including us, and we’ve been living with him for a year and a half at this point. I hope they make it. 

The six of us barely make it twenty minutes past midnight before we decide to call it quits. Mike makes a break for the stairs, leaving Dani with me and Sol. When we step into the hallway, Mike is already halfway up the stairs. 

“Where is he?” It’s tough to be sure from the side, but it looks like Peter, Marshall’s best friend. “Mike, I swear, get the fuck out of my way.”

I can’t say I appreciate the amount of drama I’m getting caught up in tonight. Charles - of all people, ironically - would likely suggest we leave these things to the girls, because they’re better at it than we are. After tonight, I am inclined to believe that both sexist and - as it turns out - a lie. Men are more than capable of causing a scene. Sol is standing next to me, Dani is right in front of me. I can see August, but not Anjelica. I’ll just have to trust that she’s okay. Knowing her, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I hear footsteps on the stairs that belong to Marshall - clearly the person Peter is looking for to begin with. Despite the alcohol and weed - maybe even due to them - I’m alert. Tense. This probably isn’t a fight I want to get caught up in. Marshall wouldn’t want any of us to, anyway. 

“Peter, leave him alone.” Mike tries to stop Marshall as he walks down the stairs, stubbornly staying exactly where he is. It’s clear he trusts Peter about as far as he can throw him right now. We’ve all met him multiple times, and he’s a good guy, but we’ve never seen him angry. And those hockey guys can fight… “Mike, it’s okay. He’s after me, not looking for trouble. It’s cool, back off.” 

[hotchs-bitch]

Fluffy Feb Day 21- Chill

Warnings: established relationship, BAU reader, BAU dynamics, Jack exists but is not present, Aaron Is A Dad, alcohol

Pairing: Hotch x blank slate Fem!Reader (no use of y/n)

Word Count: 854

“I need a beer,” Morgan announces, wiping sweat off his forehead. “You know y’all picked the worst day to do this, right?”

JJ takes his paint roller away, setting it down on the table covered in cans of paint. It’s a sweltering hot August day, and you have to admit he’s right; this is the worst possible day to repaint your house.

But days off are so rare, and you and Aaron have been swearing up and down for months that as soon as you could paint the house, you would. Age has chipped away at the light brown paint the house came with, and it’s been in desperate need of a touch-up for longer than you’d like to admit. 

The conditions haven’t been right. You had three days off in June, only for rain to pound down on the house the entire time. Of course, the one weekend you’ve got free- and have enlisted the rest of the team to help you, with the promise of feeding them afterwards- the temperature is climbing well over 85° with the sun beating down on you and not a cloud in the sky. Just your luck.

“I know, I know. But it’s going to look so good when we’re done!” Your attempt to be chipper is met with a glare from Spencer, who probably hasn’t sweat this much since he had to pass the FBI physical fitness test.

“I remember food being mentioned. You definitely promised that we could eat,” Emily complains.

Aaron speaks up from where he’s fiddling with the grill. “I’m working on it. Damn thing won’t light,” he mutters. 

You feel the worst for him out of everyone; he’s about to spend twenty minutes slaving over a hot barbecue, and you just know he’ll be complaining about it once your friends have left.

That doesn’t mean you’re going to make it easy for him. He’s wearing cargo shorts and a pale blue t-shirt, clinging to him with sweat. “You have to wear the apron,” you chide, motioning to the fabric hanging off the side handle of the barbecue. 

“Honey, I can’t put on another layer. I might collapse,” he tries to argue. When you raise one eyebrow he relents immediately like the good husband that he is, scowling while he ties up the apron Rossi got him that reads ‘KISS THE COOK’ in red print across the front. “This is ridiculous.”

“Oh, but you look so cute!” It’s impossible to tell if the flush covering Aaron’s cheeks is a result of your words or the heat from the flame he’s managed to spark in the grill. “Who’s having burgers?”

“I’ll make enough for everyone,” Aaron says when he hears everyone speaking over each other, all requesting one or two. “Make yourselves comfortable. There’s beer chilling in the fridge.”

At the word chill, one runs down your back. A cold beverage is exactly what you need. “I’ll go grab them. Pen, can you give me a hand?” You call out, and she sets down her paintbrush and bucket to follow you to the garage.

The two of you enter it, and a wall of cold air hits you as soon as you step through the doorway. “That’s better,” she sighs with relief before walking over to the fridge and rummaging through it. 

She takes out as many beers as she can carry, condensation already gathering on the necks of the bottles. You bask in the coolness of the garage while she does so, taking in the relieving chill and momentary silence.

Music is playing from outside now, and when you follow her back out with your arms full of bottles you find everyone gathered on the patio, laughing and chatting while Aaron throws burgers on the grill like a pro. “Order up!” You holler, and the beers are barely set on the table before everyone grabs one and cracks it open.

You’re left with one in each hand, and you bring one over to Aaron. “How’s it going?” The beer is set down next to him, and he takes a long swallow while you fiddle with the condiments you brought out beforehand.

“It’s hot,” he mutters, as close to a complaint as he’ll get while you’ve got guests. “The drink helps.”

“Yeah, but we’re going to be glad when the house is done,” you remind him for the thousandth time. He turns his head to you, and you seize the moment to kiss him.

Jack is at a friend's house today. Usually, your kiss is interrupted with, “Ew, Dad!” or “Ew, Mom!”

You don’t know quite what you were expecting when Spencer whines, “Ew, Dad!” in the same tone Jack always does, but you burst into giggles and pull away.

“Your children are hungry,” you whisper to Aaron through giggles, and the corner of his mouth quirks up like he’s trying to fight a smile. “What? I was following instructions,” you defend the kiss by motioning to his apron.

“Whatever you say. Go, sit; they’ll be ready soon.” He shooes you in the direction of your friends. “And tell Reid that wasn’t funny.”

“Never.”

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Fluffy Feb tags: @doctorsteths-fluffyfeb @iammirrorball @hausofwhores @allthefandomstogether @myweepingangel @hotched @spacecowboyhotch @chibsytelford @honeybrowne @formulapierre @nd264 @hotchnerxnegan1017 (send me a dm or ask to be tagged!)

[thewolvesof1998]

Fifty Sentences Friday

From My Buddie MMA Rivals AU

Bear with me this one is taking longer than I thought, it’s going to be the longest fic I’ve written, so it's going to be a while until I’ve finished it but I hope this ties you over...

He gets a few minutes before Bobby calls, “Buck, come here.”

Buck sighs internally and considers making a run for the changing room but knows it will only make things worse. He turns and saunters over, not even bothering to smile while he pulls off his gloves, he had the feeling he’s not going back to the bag anytime soon. 

“Mr Hardy, Ma’am,” Buck nods to them before turning and finally making eye contact with Diaz. His brown eyes aren’t exactly warm, they’re too weary for that but they do remind Buck of the hot chocolates Maddie used to make him when he got upset as a kid. 

His jaw clenches as he grinds out, “Diaz.” 

“Buckley,” Diaz says, infuriatingly unfazed and with a small smile tugging at his lips. 

“Buck can you show Eddie the locker room, he’ll be sharing your locker,” Bobby says

Buck whips to him, “Bobby,” He’s the only one who had his own locker, it was a place of pride and now Bobby is asking him to share and share with Diaz of all people.

Bobby ignores him, “We’re short on space here, everyone shares, you okay with that Eddie?”

Diaz just nods, Buck picks up his jaw so hard that his teeth ache. Buck crosses his arms, trying to project indifference. If Diaz isn’t bothered, Buck can’t show that he is, he’ll just have to talk to Bobby about this later. 

“I’ll see you guys later,” Diaz says to his people. 

Buck turns on his heel, not waiting to see if Diaz is following before heading to the locker room. When he gets to his locker, he turns to see Diaz only a few steps behind him, gym bag in hand. He’s looking around the room, taking it all in and Buck bristles. Buck knew a lot of UFC fighters would look down at the 118’s facilities, Diaz’s old gym was probably a lot ‘nicer’ than this and if he says one word against it, well Buck might just break his nose. Bobby might be mad but Buck’s never been that good at behaving. 

Buck raps his knuckles against his locker, drawing Diaz’s attention, “The combination is, 01-12-21” Bucks nimbly puts in the combo and pulls open the door.

He doesn’t bother waiting around and shoulder-checks Diaz as he’s leaving, “Don’t get too comfortable,” Buck warns. 

Once he’s back in the training room, he makes a beeline for Bobby, who’s now alone leaning against the wall, scribbling in his coaching notebook. Thankfully Athen and their guests have already disappeared. As angry as he is, Buck knows not to mess with Athena. 

“What the fuck Bobby, my locker?” Buck practically growls

Bobby looks up at him, “You’re the only one who isn’t already sharing.”

“Fine, but why do I have to share with him, I’ll share with anyone else, fuck I’ll even share with Ravi” Ravi was the newest addition to the 118, he was overexcitable and got on Buck’s nerves a lot, he would have been Buck’s last choice, that was of course before Diaz came along. 

“Everyone else already settled in, it's just a locker Buck.”

“Sure, it's a locker today, tomorrow it's my training time slot, next week it's my fight.”

Bobby sighs, “Is this what this is all about? Eddie isn’t going to replace you kid” Normally a ‘kid’ from Bobby would smooth all the jagged edges in Buck but instead, it just aggravates his panic. This is his only family, he isn’t going to lose it to some smug dick. 

“What do we even need him for?” Buck can hear the whine in his voice.

Bobby chuckles, “He’s the defending welterweight champion, he’ll bring more sponsorships, and more money to the club, it gonna benefit everyone to have him here.”

“He’s an ass.” 

“You don’t have to like him, you just have to deal with him, now go get cleaned up before the rest of the team gets here, I’m making breakfast.”

Buck huffs and doesn’t exactly storm away but it’s pretty damn close. He crosses paths with Diaz, breezing past him without a look. 

As Buck showers, he hears the others trickle into the locker rooms. There wasn’t a door between the two rooms so voices travelled pretty well, especially with the tiled floors and ceilings. 

“Who is that?” Ravi asks and he could only be talking about one person, Diaz. 

“Eddie Diaz, he liked to be called 8-pack,” Chim jokes and Buck roughly scrubs his skin with his expensive citrus body wash. 

“As in welterweight UCF Champion Eddie Diaz?” Ravi asks

“The guy who TKO’d Buck in the second round, the guy he’s barely stopped talking about since” TK pipes up.

“The one and the same,” Chim says

“Damn, he’s so good-looking,” Ravi says as Buck turns off the water without bothering to wash his hair, he was going to get sweaty again in a few hours anyways. 

“Don’t let Buck hear you say that.”

“Don’t let me hear what?” Buck says walking into the locker room, towelling off, butt naked as he walked over to his locker. Chim is leaning up against the wall next to the locker room door, Ravi is sitting on the bench while TK is putting his gym bag in his locker. 

“Jesus Buck,” Chim says looking at the ceiling, “Put some clothes on,” Buck just flashes him to sharp grin. 

“Sorry I didn’t, I don’t sorry” Ravi rambles looking everywhere except Buck, gets up and almost trips as he backs out of the room. 

“Stop intimidating the Rookie Buck,” TK says as he rummages around looking for something, he makes an affirmative sound before pulling out the necklace he normally wears. 

“He’s fawning over the enemy” Buck says pulling out his clothes from this morning and putting them on. 

“Have you seen the guy? I’m in a committed relationship and even I did a double take” TK says 

“Ditto and I’m straight” Chin adds, Buck just shoots them withering looks before exiting the locker room. 

@wildlife4life @i-ghostgirl​ 

Let me know if you want to be tagged in any updates to do with this fic! 

[periwinckles]

Please tell me you have a middle name - chapter 11

“Ok, change of plans, I’m going with you to the Hob tonight.” 

Delly comes barging into the bakery’s kitchen, unannounced, and takes a seat across from me, next to Reese. She’s wearing a dress, and I’m pretty sure that’s not what she was wearing this morning. 

“Why are you prepping for tomorrow, isn’t that Rye’s job?”  She asks, while flattening out her hair with her hands.

“Rye’s at my uncle’s house. Here, I’ll wash that, you’ll be done faster.” Reese takes the dirty mixing bowl from my hands and takes it to the sink.

I‘m supposed to be at the Hob tonight, to check the empty vendor space that’s opening up and have a word with the person in charge. Luckily, I’m almost done and it’s still early enough. Delly takes a look down her dress as if she’s pondering her options, but she ends up taking a drying towel anyway and helping out Reese with the dishes.

“Why exactly are you going with me to the Hob?” I ask her, keeping my eyes focused on my last batch of sourdough.

“If Delly’s going with you, then I’m going, too. I’ve never been to the Hob!” Reese complaints. “I don’t wanna reach adulthood without ever going there!”

“I can’t show up with a whole entourage! Katniss might be there!” 

“We’ll make ourselves scarce!” Delly argues back. “Trust me, I have no intention of hovering around you. How do I look? Too obvious?” 

She’s wearing a dark blue dress with long sleeves, but she has them rolled up to her elbow despite the evening’s dropping temperature. Nice cleavage too, without showing too much skin. Except for her soulmark, of course. That’s on clear display, but who am I to judge? I only put on pants half an hour ago. 

“You’ll be cold.” Reese points out. “Don’t come begging for my jacket to walk back to town, you’re not getting it.”

“I don’t care! Tonight’s my night , I’m feeling it!” Delly claps her hands together, giddy with excitement and Reese and I exchange a look. We’ve been through this at least a dozen times. 

“I’ve asked around.” She goes on, her voice raising with eagerness. “Taylor Banks, 21, miner, plays poker at the Hob every Friday night. Thom Campbell, 20, miner, no family, eats dinner at Greasy Saw’s every night. Two birds with one stone.” 

“How do you even know all of that?” I ask half impressed, half terrified. This morning she didn’t even know Thom Campbell existed. Ten hours later, I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew what each of these guys had for breakfast. 

“I told you. I’ve asked around. People like me. And I have a few favors to collect, ever since I started matching soulmates.” 

Between the three of us the final cleaning is done in record time. Everything is clean and put away, the overnight dough is resting, the firewood rack is full and the ovens are ready to be lit tomorrow at dawn. 

When we step outside it’s already dark and the wind is picking up. I’ve never been to the Seam more than a handful of times, and never after dark. Which is why it comes as a surprise when I realize the street lights we usually have in town grow further and further apart the more we get away from it. 

“Don’t get any ideas to come to the Hob by yourself, ok Delly?”

She nods to me in silence. I’m sure she wasn’t anticipating the lane to be so dark and ominous as well. After about twenty minutes or so we see a big building down the road. No street lights around it, but the windows are glowing enough to light the way. There's a big double door open ajar and we step inside. 

It’s as busy as the day market at noon. I take a look around and notice several different vendors. Second hand clothing, knickknacks, cutlery, you name it. Most merchant businesses close before dinner, but here it feels like they are just reaching their rush hour. It makes sense. Miners spend their days holed up in the mines. This is the only time they have to do business. Yes, my initial plan to work at the bakery in the morning and the Hob in the afternoon will go well with the Seam’s routine, as long as I extend my opening hours through diner time.

We wander around as I look for Mr Paxton, the superintendent in charge of vendor booths at the Hob. There are several stands selling food and beverages, and the woman serving stew at the back must be the famous Greasy Sae. 

“I think I wanna try moonshine. Yeah, I’m trying it!” Reese says with a grin, stopping next to a liquor stand.

“I’m not carrying you home drunk.” I tell him, as he takes a gulp and squirms in disgust, throwing the rest away.

There are several men around, and they look at us with suspicion. Three teenage merchants, one of them a girl. We’re hard to miss. To our right is the table holding the Poker game and I signal for Delly to take notice. She brightens instantly once she spots it. 

“Mr Mellark, I was waiting for you!” 

Mr Paxton finds me before I find him and we shake hands. “Right this way!” He says, gesturing for me to follow him. 

“Don’t leave her side.” I whisper to Reese before following Mr Paxton to the free empty spot.

It’s bigger than I expected, but that’s not necessarily bad. The fee is still the same, and I’ll have room to expand if it comes to it. We discuss the terms of the agreement, but it’s mainly just reaffirming what he previously agreed with my Dad. We have access to the space in exchange for a fee, but we need to build the stand, maintain it, and keep the adjoining areas clean.

“I’ll bring the papers to the bakery tomorrow, for you and your father to sign, and you’ll be all set. You can open it as soon as you’re able to.”

I’d open tomorrow, if I could. The last months of school feel like I’m just dragging myself, not really taking anything out of it. We shake hands again and Mr Paxton excuses himself to leave. I take the opportunity to take a few measurements. I’ll have to work after hours to build the stand, as school and the bakery are keeping me busy during the day. But I still reckon I’ll have it ready in a month or so.

“Peeta, hi!” 

The greeting is muffled, as if someone is covering the mouth of the speaker, but I can still hear it. I almost don’t spot them among the crowd, but Prim is kind enough to lift her arm up in a wave.

“Katniss, Prim, hi!”

Prim beams back at me, but Katniss just gives me a nod. Her scowling would be enough to deter a younger and foolish Peeta. This Peeta? This one has a black K on his leg that tells him this isn’t over. 

“Congratulations on your win!” Prim exclaims. “You were awesome at the match! You were my favorite candidate right from the start, you know?”

Read the rest on AO3

[skzhocomments]

The Boundless Sphere of Fate - Lee Taemin - Chapter 9 - The Ritual

General masterlist

Story masterlist - please consult it for the summary of the story, trigger warnings etc.

Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 8 | Chapter 10

---

Chapter 9 - The Ritual

word count: 1.4k words

“I bought everything I remember, but…”

“But?” Taemin asks, uneasy.

“I couldn’t find the book. I must’ve lost it when I moved.”

“Shit. You shouldn’t do this, Blair. You don’t even remember all the warnings. And you have to cut yourself, for fuck’s sake.”

“Yeah, that’s gonna hurt.” Blair grimaces. “Plus, you were 22 when you died, so there’s 22 candles I’d have to put out in under 25 seconds. That’s hard.”

“It’s impossible. Let’s just not try it, hm?”

“No, we’re gonna try it! There’s a supermoon tonight, which means the moon is the brightest. It’s our only chance to do it tonight.”

“… fine. But if something goes wrong, I warned you.”

“Mkay, mom, thanks for warning me.” Blair rolls her eyes as she places the 22 candles in a perfect circle.

They both wait anxiously until the clock hits 03:15, and as soon as it does, Blair steps into the circle and starts lighting up all the candles. She hurries, because she knows she only has less than 15 minutes to finish the ritual. Once she’s done, she recites the spell.

“I, Kim Blair, offer Lee Taemin my soul and spirit. This blood should be proof of my intent.”

It’s crazy that she remembers this phrase so well after so many years, but she doesn’t pay it much mind. She hurries to the next step of the ritual, which is cutting herself to get enough blood to put out the flames of the candles.

25 seconds for 22 flames. She reminds herself in her head over and over, trying to ignore the pain she’s just caused herself as the large blade she brought pierced her left wrist. Blood starts pouring down like a waterfall and she hastily goes over the candles. She’s dizzy, but she must hurry. She doesn’t even notice Taemin’s worried gaze on her.

18, 19, 20 She counts the seconds that passed in her head. Only 3 more candles to go.

21, 22, 23 One more candle.

24- “Yes!” She exclaims happily, smelling the smoke rising from the put-out candles. “I did it!”

“Now what?” Taemin tilts his head. He doesn’t feel much different.

“Now we wait. If the ritual worked… all the candles should light back up in under 2 minutes.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“Yes, yes. I brought a first aid kit in here. I’ll get it-” She tries to stand up, but falls back down, the dizziness getting to her head. She’s lost a lot of blood.

“Shit!” Taemin exclaims and goes over to the first aid kid himself, using his spiritual energy to lift it up. He drops it next to her and involuntarily grabs at her injured hand, and exactly when his hand makes contact with her wrist, all the candles light up and he is able to touch her.

He is able to touch her!

Both look at each other in astonishment, to the place where they are connected, and then back to their eyes, as they can’t believe the ritual worked and they can feel one another.

However, their excitement is short lived as they realise they have a more important task at hand: making sure Blair doesn’t bleed out to death in the middle of this circle.

Taemin reaches out to the first aid kit, opening it with ease and pulling out some disinfectant and gauze, and starts applying pressure to the cut. He’s never felt more energised than he does now, and he finds that interacting with other objects is much easier now.

Blair looks as if she is lost into her own world. She softly hums and touches Taemin’s hair, moving it out of his eyes and behind the ears. It is fairly long and silky, and it looks great on him, and it’s way softer than she imagined it would be.

She doesn’t feel too much different, but the loss of blood made her lightheaded, so she lets Taemin do the work.

When Taemin is done bandaging her up, though, as soon as he removes his hands from her and they are no longer touching, Blair feels as if her whole energy has been ripped away. The fatigue she feels is something she’s never experienced before, and she finds it difficult to stand up on her own.

“Hey, can you help me up?” She says, but her voice is barely coming out of her throat. It hurts to speak, or to move too much.

“Of course!” Taemin replies with glee and touches her, and all of a sudden, Blair feels better again.

“That’s weird.” She says.

“What?” Taemin asks, completely oblivious.

“Whenever I touch you, things are great, but if I remove my hand…” She does so to test it out again, and unsurprisingly, once she no longer holds Taemin, she feels as if all the air has been taken out of her lungs. “It’s horrible. It’s like… I don’t have energy to do anything.”

And then she remembers.

The performer’s spirit will be halved. In order to make the spirit of the deceased tangible, the performer’s life essence will be transferred to offer power to the soul of the deceased.

“Blair…” He watches her concerned, and she throws her whole body into his immediately and closes her eyes, not wanting to think of the consequences of what she’s just done.

“We are soulmates after all, Taemin!” She exclaims and looks to his eyes fondly, and touches his cheeks that are so soft and fluffy and squishable. Then, she raises on her tiptoes and pecks his lips, and she’s so happy that she can feel them, that nothing else matters. 

“Yes, we really are. Blair, I feel… so, so amazing right now. You have no idea!”

“I can’t believe it worked.” She grins. It doesn’t matter that she’s only going to feel full when they are touching one another. “I literally can’t believe it.”

“Neither do I. It’s surreal. Damn. Let’s fucking go to the bedroom!” He says, and Blair chuckles as he picks her up.

Their touches are dreamlike, and both are excited as Taemin does all the things he’s promised he’d do, from the way his lips linger on her neck, to how his hand is moving under her pants, and by the end of their passionate time together, Blair is a panting mess and Taemin feels elevated.

~

“Well, you weren’t lying when you said you’d be the best I’d have.” Blair chuckles as she lays down on Taemin’s chest.

“What, did you think I was lying?” He chuckles.

“Having sex with a ghost is weird as fuck.”

“Yea, I agree. You know, it felt great, and I also had an orgasm, but it’s weird not releasing… anything.”

“I mean, you don’t really have a body that could release anything, do you? I’d say you should be thankful you actually felt something.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it. I haven’t felt anything in so much time, Blair. Like, even when I would pick something up, I didn’t actually… touch it? It was more like… my spirit would make it move and I would just use my hands as a means to make it move but I couldn’t feel it.”

“So, how is it now?”

“I can touch you.” He smiles.

“What about other objects? Like when you picked the first aid kit?”

“No… it was still spiritual energy. As you said, I don’t actually have a body, do I?” He chuckles.

“Hmm… so why are we able to touch each other? Is it like… our souls or something that touch and we simply feel it?”

“I guess so?” Taemin tilts his head. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. I’m happy I can finally grab your butt!” He says and squishes it, making Blair yelp. “Wanna go for another round?”

“Oh, God.” Blair laughs. “No way. Don’t get me wrong, I love you, but I’m tired as fuck-”

“Wait, you love me?” He looks at her bewildered, as if she said the most unimaginable thing ever.

“Why are you acting so shocked?” She laughs.

“Because I am. What? I love you too, but… what?”

“I am really confused right now, Taem. Did you think I’d give half my soul for literally anyone? Of course I love you! You’re my literal soulmate, for fuck’s sake.” She playfully slaps the top of his head, and she’s so glad she can finally do so, instead of having her hand go through it.

“I don’t know, I just- Wow! Okay, soulmate, I love you, love you, love you~”

“Did you just start singing the Goblin song? Damn, TV really does you no good.”

“Weren’t you tired? Why do you keep picking on me?!”

“Okay, okay, I’m gonna sleep. Good night, Taem.”

“Good night, love.” He kisses the top of her head, and she manages to fall asleep quickly.

---

Chapter 8 | Chapter 10