#I sort of went 'huh I should consider that for other projects going forward'

[outoftheirdifferences]

So. You know when you find one particular bit of writing advice that, when you consider it regarding your character, makes you realise that you've been trying to tell entirely the wrong story with them?

And as soon as you figure that out, pretty much EVERYTHING else falls into place, and it's just like

[eristic-kaleidoscope]

Reunion and Turnabout - Endgame 3/5

Over half a day ago, you stood in this very hallway, staring down at Erisu’s supposedly-dead body. Flanked by two different government agencies, and the ragtag duo of operatives who had led them into the facility, you watched the dorm elevator descend to the floor where a very alive Erisu was presumably waiting with her sisters.

It wasn’t either of the three who first greeted you, however. You only caught a quick glimpse of the bespectacled brown-haired girl when she turned around in surprise at your arrival, before Akito strided forward to embrace her with a genuine sob of relief.

There were no words exchanged between the pair. Enough was communicated in the way Akito bawled into Kristi’s shoulder, one of the few times he could let himself cry, and she clung onto him with teary eyes of her own. The waking nightmare that plagued them for months was finally over.

The other four, you found to be in the room with the cells rather than hanging out in the hallway, with all three glass cages with their doors opened and unlocked. An at present was using her arm to support Weiss’s back as he was arising from his coma, though Weiss was clearly displeased with the physical touch. Erisu seemed tired, spending most of her energy on trying to stop her past plans from coming to fruition. Hands wrapped tightly together, she watches Weiss from afar, rather glad her brother is now awake. Calluna, meanwhile, seemed to be in the process of reading a wheelchair beside them both, face uncharacteristically serious and contemplative, even if the details at a quick glance seemed too mixed to tell the emotions behind it.

An raised her head as the door was practically busted in by the sheer amount of people marching into the room, unamused by the entry. She sighed with distaste, clicking her tongue first and foremost before she raised her voice to respond.

“Wow, sure is a whole lot of you barging in on a private sibling moment, huh? How tactless. Wow there sure is… about as many of you here as there was when we first started this shebang, huh?”

An flicked her eyes to the gun holsters on some of the new arrivals’ hips, before slowly transferring Erick to a wheelchair she’d already brought beside the cot, largely ignoring the threat for now. Not that she needed to wait long for Akito to interject, as well.

"I'll consider barging in as payback for trying to get me executed. Before anything else, how aware are the Erika Foundation about what’s happened here in the...” Akito glances at his phone, wincing. “The last twenty hours since Yuletide first hacked into your system?”

Calluna eyes Akito for a moment before responding as though there isn’t the unseen threat of holstered firearms within the room, not bothering with her usual fake smile this time even if she seemed to stay calm and collected. 

“Within that frame of time? They’re aware of the initial compromisation to some degree, I would imagine, but given the feed we had on our end has been shut off ever since the second incident at the end of your last trial, I would not be surprised if the feed on their end of this facility was similarly stopped at that point, especially given there weren’t any sudden messages from those above us as things went further off the rails. Though they may not know the specifics, I imagine our father would certainly suspect something to be gravely amiss already.”

“Rats. And here I was, hoping we could pretend everything was business as usual for a few days. Alright, how much time or freedom do we have now? Is the Foundation just going to pretend that your Kaleidoscope Project no longer exists, or should we be prepared for them to make sure of it?” Because Akito wouldn’t put it past them to have some sort of contingency plan for failures like this.

Calluna hums. "Likely the former. It seems that external access to the emergency destruction function on this facility has been already cut, as has the internal route we hadn't been previously aware of now as well, thankfully. But if you're asking if in person reinforcements will be sent, I find it unlikely they would directly contest...," her eyes flick between the collection of uniforms here, "Presumably, multiple governments, least of all if they end up turning to satellite data."

[sandbees]

Yuu and the House of Mouse; The...Great Seven?

It’s been three weeks since Yuu has worked at the House of Mouse.

Headmaster Crowley decided that going would be a great experience! He graciously gave you permission to work there! (Just don’t forget to do your homework and get a good rest after; he doesn’t want you to be lagging behind your classes after all!)

At the House of Mouse, you eventually learned the ins and outs; and you’ve gained everyone’s attention. They like you a lot! You have this, “If I talk to you about my problems you’ll listen kindly and either give me advice or continue to let me vent out my feelings” vibe.

Being a (sort of) therapist must have helped, huh?

You yourself have a few favorite guests that you can always look forward to seeing;

Tiana and Naveen: You hit it off when you first met. Something about their dynamic and allowing you to vent about back at Twisted Wonderland gave you good vibes about them. They’re polite guests, and they have given you advice on how to improve your work. Tiana has (once) invited you to work for them if you wanted to work at another job, but you tell them that you have school. They’re immediately concerned, because someone going to school working at a job with very demanding and colorful characters? You assure them that you’ve manage to balance school and work, however they seem less than convinced. Though nothing big changed, they occasionally remind you to take breaks and to have fun watching the cartoons on screen when you’re not busy waiting tables. (They also give you candy from their time! Butterfingers, anyone?)

Hades: He’s a frequent guest at the House of Mouse. You had lent an ear to his complaints, and then again, and then again, and soon enough you’re his personal therapist. You’re the go-to waiter whenever Hades shows up; much to the delight of the staff (The penguin waiters are...a little scared of Hades). It’s surprising how little he seems to reflect Ignihyde. He’s like a shut in extrovert. However, when you tell Hades this, he becomes very interested in your world. He’ll let you ramble about what you know about Twisted Wonderland, and he’s going to make smug comments about it. After that encounter, Hades starts conversations with you that isn’t just complaining about his siblings. In fact, he’s one of your pep talkers when you’re feeling stressed or down.

The Darling Siblings: If you don’t recognize them, they’re the siblings from Peter Pan! (Wendy, John, and Michael) When you first met them, they acted very polite. And they gave “children, protect them” vibes. As you continue to work, you discover that the children had a more playful side to them. You could easily joke with them and in exchange Wendy would tell you stories or John and Michael would tell you about their recent adventures.

Scrooge McDuck: Donald introduced him to you, actually. He mentioned, “Since you sound like you’ve been on a lot of adventures, I think you might like to share stories.” How right he was. Scrooge’s stories were captivating and enchanting, you’d always be on the edge of your seat hearing them. Whenever he swung by and you were on break, you two would be swapping stories of your lives. He was most interested in your first day story; about the magical chandelier specifically. You always look forward to a new story he would have.

Of course there were others, but the ones listed above were the people you loved seeing.

Today was a typical night in the House of Mouse, though everyone seemed...a little agitated?

You ask Mickey, and he explains that there was a reservation for a villain get together...and last time, it went poorly.

You offer to serve them as a waiter, since you’re sure that you can handle it.

“Are you sure?” “I’ve dealt with worse characters...I think. By the way, can I get the list of who’s going?”

You find out Hades was the one who reserved it (oh thank goodness, someone you’re already familiar with. And he likes you)

He’s also bringing - “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” “The Queen of Hearts, Scar, Ursula, Jafar, The Evil Queen, and Maleficent.” “I-“

Imagine your shock when you find out Hades is bringing all of the Great Seven. You’ve already met Maleficent, but someone like the Queen of Hearts, or the Beautiful Queen??? You’re ready to walk to your doom right now.

When the doors open, you go about your night as usual, though your on edge as you anxiously wait for the Great Seven to arrive. This would be the first time you would be interacting with most of them.

When they arrive, you greet them and take them to their table, doing normal procedure.

However, things go south when Hades asks Yuu to come and have a chat with them when they go on break.

“yeAH suuurrreee-“ “Great! They have a lot of questions and I think they’d like to hear what you have to say!”

Yuu is making high pitch dying screams when she gets to the kitchen.

“Oohhhh my god, they want to talk to me. What if I mess up? What if they dislike me and then try to kill me? Oh no oh no-“

Yuu is trying not to scream in excitement and stress as Mickey excuses her to talk with the Great Seven.

The meeting? It goes well.

When they ask about their world, Yuu describes their time at NRC, and how the villains were praised as good people, and were known as the “Great Seven”.

They were very intrigued about this, and would always puff up when Yuu praised them. They also ask questions about Yuu as well!

What? They’re villains, but they’re not rude.

They listen to your tales, and are sympathetic to the idiots that you surround yourself with. They get it, they are also surrounded by idiotic, self centered heroes who think they’re in the right- (projecting much?)

The Queen of Hearts is a lot more than you expected; she’s strict, but she also has good humor (as long as you don’t mock her). When you ask what kind of tarts she likes, she responded with “Any kind of tart, however jam filled tarts are one of my favorites.”. You wonder if she’d like the tarts Trey would make.

Scar...isn’t talkative, though he seems very pleased when you talk about what NRC thinks of him. He’s actually kinder to you - you’ve heard stories from Goofy and the penguins waiters that Scar is hard to please.

Ursula is what you would call a sweet talker. Kind of like Hades, but you can tell that she wants something. You indulge her, answering any questions about your world. She seems particularly interested in the rivalry between NCR and RSA, however.

Jafar wants to know everything about Scarabia. From it’s current standing to it’s history. You try your best to explain as much as you know about the dorm; but you mention that your information is limited since it wasn’t your dorm. He’s satisfied with what you give, but Jafar tells you that next time, he’d like to know more. You better go study up on Scarabia now :) (Or ask Kalim or Jamil about Scarabia)

The Beautiful (Evil?) Queen acts smug, and she seems relaxed around your presence. Maybe it’s because you told her that she’s known as the Beautiful Queen? She wants to know who is housed in her dorm, and like Jafar, she wants to know everything about Pomfiore. When she heard about the VDC, she asks multiple questions about it. (“When the VDC comes around, maybe I shall grace everyone with my presence...hmm, or should I help NRC’s team? I mean, they would represent me, of course.”

I’ve actually mentioned that you have met Hades and Maleficent in this ask

Hades and Maleficent consider you as friends (maybe not close friends, but friends nonetheless)

The rest of the Great Seven also have positive opinions on you; and they try their best to live up to your expectations! They can’t have you turn your back on them after you openly praise them!

You’re dragged away from your job - instead you focus on entertaining the Great Seven! (Which was fine, Pete was at it again by trying to drive out the guests; you kept the Great Seven in so they could still run the show!)

As the night went on, you felt yourself getting less and less nervous about being with the Great Seven. You had loads of fun!

Of course the show ended sooner than you liked; and it was closing time.

“It was really wonderful to meet you! Maybe we’ll see each other again when the House of Mouse opens again?”

“Why would we wait for nighttime? I have a magic portal to travel to Twisted Wonderland whenever we’d like.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Turns out Maleficent had an easier way to travel to Twisted Wonderland; but she gave you a sparkling gem. She told you that when she gave everyone (The Great Seven) a way to travel to Twisted Wonderland, they’d surely visit you. With the gem, it will sparkle and shine a certain color when they do.

The color? Well, of course it would be the dorm colors! It would be easier that way, would it not?

So, in the near future, the Great Seven would be able to visit you.

What do you think? You’re not against the idea; but the idea of one of them showing up during class is going to be a nightmare.

Oh well, future you will worry about that.

You thank Maleficent and go about returning to your world.

Before you get to the mirror, Mickey stops you.

“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for making sure the villains stay, it was a lifesaver and you saved our show.” “No...problem?” “Haha, our club would’ve been toast if they left! Thank you again!” “...Your welcome?”

And then you departed from the House of Mouse, immediately crashing onto your bed. Lazily, you take a glance at your mirror, wondering when you’ll see the Great Seven.

Then you promptly fall asleep.

[tedturneriscrazy]

Another Saturday, another episode! Let's take a look at Keeping Up A-fear-ances!

(Good lord I'm starting to make myself sound like some sort of content creator)

Oh, okay, we're just starting at that level of intensity, huh?

Chest gem origins

Gwendolyn not being satisfied with managing the curse and determined to cure it? I'm sure this won't be a real world allegory in the slightest.

Oh, so Eda literally just stumbles upon the portal? I could call that contrived, but honestly it's not dissimilar to how Dipper found Journal 3. For that matter, the entirety of Lord of the Rings is predicated on an accidental discovery like this and nobody gave Tolkien shit about it.

Was the eye on the portal cracked in previous episodes? I don't remember.

Seems like Gwen is the "well-meaning but ultimately misguided" flavor of mom.

As an aside, I am now quite curious about how Eda's first trip to the human realm went. Maybe a future episode will cover it? At any rate, I smell a new favorite fic prompt.

The screaming alarms in the Demon Realm will never not be funny to me.

Also, that is a worrying number of hearts. Eda is straight up murdering these poor creatures.

For some reason the gold fang being removable never occurred to me as a possibility, and now I feel like a kid who's discovered that Santa isn't real.

Oh hey, the new outfit! I'm also impressed how close to symmetrical that tearing was.

I need to get a screencap of Luz sleeping on that stack of books because she is adorable.

Also, staying up all night researching? This season seems determined to completely eradicate the notion of Luz being dumb, and I am here for it.

I have a feeling the Hexside mug will be making its way to The Mystery Shack in the near future.

Lilith's first experience with transformation and she seems understandably horrified.

The curse acting stronger when stressed? That seems...important.

Ah, so the dismemberment is from the curse! A surprisingly useful side effect from what we've seen so far.

Can I just say that I appreciate how Eda's reaction to Lilith's first taste of transformation is immediate remedy, explanation, and reassurance? And doesn't make any snarky comments along the lines of "now you know what it's like?" Whatever happened in that week and a half must have been cathartic as hell.

"Always. Always curious." Luz is the TOH fandom.

(Also, Eda, you know she is, considering how much she went on about your "mysterious past" at the Covention)

"Magic bird tornado?!" Luz has a way with words that's just *chef's kiss*.

"Gwendolyn." Eda is already just fucking done.

"MOM?!?!" Jeez, Lilith, you're just now hearing all this?

I was charmed by how motherly Gwen was acting toward Eda, but then she kinda just...dismissed Lilith, and now I'm somehwat less charmed.

(Sweet flea as a term of endearment is kinda cute, though might have some unfortunate implications depending on how you want to interpret it)

"Who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" OH WE GOING FOR THE ANTI-VAXXERS NOW YESSSS

Luz and Lilith's reaction to that whole exchange is priceless.

Everyone's perspective here makes perfect sense for who they are and what they've been through.

Poor Lilith. Her cursing Eda is beginning to make more sense.

Ah, thus begins the collaboration.

"We'll be consulting someone very special." Why does that seem so...ominous?

Is there anyone who watched this episode for the first time whose bullshit detector didn't go off immediately when Gwen mentioned finding someone who promised a cure?

Heh, Palm Stings.

Nonbelievers will be blinded by the power of the tome? I'm sure they will be, Wartlop.

I must say, as something of a scientist myself (okay that's not true, I'm a QA tech for a food manufacturer, but I do have a chemistry degree), I am 100% here for the swings being taken at faith healing/"miracle" cures/anti-vaxxers in this episode

Oh, we Wile E. Coyote now, huh?

Also, interesting how much apple blood is being played up in this episode.

Lilith please you're projecting your mommy issues on a literal child

OH WE REALLY JUST WILE E. COYOTE HUH?

You're right, Luz, Gwen's bicep game is goals.

(Somewhat disappointed the scars are from questing and not beastkeeping, but eh)

Why do I get the feeling there's gonna be a future episode where everybody stages an intervention for Eda's apple blood problem?

"Those feathers mean we're driving the beast out" Gwen no

Hooty is holding the brain cell? Oh no...

If that ice cream came from the Night Market it would explain why Lilith sounds drunk.

(Side note: I can't be the only one getting flashbacks to Mermista's ice cream binge, right? Different context, but still)

"Abomi-berry" "Franken fruit" "Key slime pie" These are A+ flavor names.

Oh, there's the transformation...

I must say that whole segment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The way King's opinion on his dad was changed seemed...I don't know how to describe it. I get that they needed a trigger for Lilith's transformation, but honestly if any part of the episode is contrived it's this.

"¡It really is that good!" So that's what an accent slip in written form looks like. (The upside down exclamation point is used in Spanish, in case anyone didn't know)

I keep half expecting Eda to say "Beep! Beep!" at this point.

Luz is finally asking questions. Took long enough.

Ah, the classic "moving the goal posts to extract more money from a desparate family member" technique.

Luz channeling Scorpion, we love to see it.

There is an exquisite irony in Eda's mom being scammed, I must say.

Ah, so that's where the elixirs went. Dammit, Gwen.

Luz is definitely thinking "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

Beast!Lilith is massive.

"Sweet flea?" Gwen just realized she done goofed.

"I can see you still need a little time." God Luz is so fucking smart.

The con revealed.

OH DAMN SCARY MAMA

(Also I am terrified of bees/wasps, so extra scary mama in my book)

The scam is revealed, goblins, getting back into the Wartlop disguise is kinda pointless.

She joined the Beast Keeping coven entirely to cure the curse? That's dedication. A shame you couldn't have spared some of that for Lilith.

Still, I do like badass scary mama Gwen. I'd be down to see more of that.

Owl Beast fight!

I am slayed by the fact that the portraits are now officially a recurring gag 😂

Aw, here's The Moment™️

"My turn to drive" Does this imply cars are a thing on the Boiling Isles after all?

Lilith crying almost immediately💔 She was holding onto a lot of pain.

Yes, King, she was trying to do her best. I mean, road to hell or whatever, but at least Gwen got there in the end.

WHAT?! YOU'RE BREAKING UP LULU AND HOOTCIFER?!?!?!?

Terrace, that's just cruel. (Worthless brownie points for whoever understands that reference)

No, seriously, you can't just give me my favorite inter-character relationship in the series after Lumity and just...take it away like that, come on! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I know I should remark on how Lilith told Gwen about the circumstances of the curse, how Gwen rightfully accepted responsibility for the whole situation, and how Luz finds the big hair aspirational, but...NOOOO DON'T END THE ADVENTURES OF LULU AND HOOTCIFER WHYYYYYYYYY💔😭💔😭💔😭

"BUT I CAN'T HOLD A PEN!"

I will never emotionally recover from this.

Okay, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway...

Not the only human, huh? Cue the "Belos is a human" theorists going into maximum overdrive.

That said, a tantalizing lore dump.

We certainly do have a lot of garbage. Some of it even holds office. HEY-O!

Setting up the next episode, too. Continuity!

Camp's over, huh? That means it's been three months.

Way to misdirect with Camila, guys. That said, we have now seen Camila cry and I HATE it. (In the right way, I think)

WHAT THE FUCK

HOLY SHIT

CREEPY LUZ IS REAL WHAT

OWJEIWHQGIWWOPQ

(It's hard to keysmash on a phone, even with autocorrect off)

That wraps it up! The flaws in this episode seem more pronounced than any others in the season so far, but the good stuff was really good! Overall a solid episode! I know everybody's looking forward to library Lumity in the next one (so am I), but I'm personally eager to see what they do with Gus. His part is the A plot, after all.

Anyway, I'll be back at this next week! Still hard to believe this is a thing, but that's life, I guess.

[that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick]

Rating: G

Word Count: 1.6k

Fake dating, love at first sight, and all that. The basic fluff palate.

A/N: I had no idea what the lyrics to "Hello Stranger" by Stray Kids were until after I wrote the fic, but the title and vibe made me daydream this whole idea up in the car. You're welcome. (Totally would recommend the official MV too, it just doesn't have English subs)

Another day, another heckling. And this time it had to be on a public subway, apparently.

"All I'm saying is, if you're so rich, why do you have to conveniently forget your credit card every single time we all go out for lunch?" Edward narrowed his eyes at Ling.

"Why bring it when I don't expect to be going out to eat?" Ling said airily. "And you're always so generous when it happens unexpectedly."

Edward grunted. "That's an absolute load of bull and you know it. You can't say that you 'just forgot' to bring money because you 'didn't expect it' when I text the group chat 'Who wants to go out for lunch tomorrow?' and you say 'Ooh! Ooh! Me!'" he squealed in a poor imitation of his friend.

"Your girlfriend would love you for it, you know—paying for dates," Ling continued, ignoring Ed's accusations. He gasped. "Oh, that's right! You don't have a girlfriend! Perhaps if you weren't so quarrelsome, you could manage to win the heart of a lady."

"Who are you calling so puny that he's gonna die alone and have weeds all over his grave that no one will bother to pull?" Ed screeched.

Russell finally spoke up from his seat at the end of the row. "Ed, he didn't say anything about your height. He may be a cheapskate, but he didn't make a dig at your height. For once."

"Yeah, that's right! No fair changing the subject, Ling. This discussion was about how you're a little rich boy who always makes his friends pay for his own food," Ed huffed.

"Why quibble over such a minor expense? How expensive could a burger be? Twenty dollars?" The other two boys gaped at Ling, but he only kept going. "Besides, I'm far more interested in the current topic. Edward, you know I care for you deeply—"

"Fat chance."

"—but with your disposition, I doubt you could get a girlfriend if you tried!"

"Now, you wait just a second! You don't know squat about my love life! In fact, I could—"

Out of nowhere, a blonde girl knelt on the seat next to Ed's and slipped an arm around his shoulders.

"Hello, stranger." She winked. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming this way today? I know you're shy about our relationship, but you could have just told them, you know. You don't have to give into their teasing just for me, Eddie-boo."

All three boys gawked at her—Russell and Ling because of the fact that Ed actually had a girlfriend and Ed because of the fact that he didn't. Except now he had to pretend that this strange, hot blonde girl was his girlfriend.

So he choked. Then he recovered just enough to say, "Babe, no. I was just about to tell them. These pea-brains," he glared at them, "barely let me get a word in edgewise. Please believe me, babe."

"Of course I believe you, pretty boy." Her gaze made all coherent thoughts fly from his head. "But even if they are pea-brains, I should probably introduce myself." She tapped his nose. The buzzing feeling lingered long after the tip of her finger left it. "I'm Winry." She beamed at the other two boys. Ed's stomach twisted. He wasn't jealous, was he? He probably just ate something bad at lunch. Maybe Ling slipped something in his burger…

Ling grinned wickedly. "Lovely to meet you, Winry. How did you two meet? It must have been quite a job getting this one to agree to go out with you, what with his charming personality and all."

"Hm, how did we meet, babe? It all happened very gradually—knowing each other's faces, then knowing each other's names, then small talk here and there. Then before you know it, we were having deeper conversations as close friends, and then suddenly, we were dating! He's a real softie once you get him to open up," she said, ruffling his bangs.

"Winry!" He cleared his throat. "Babe, you don't have to tell them everything."

"Oh, man!" Russell guffawed, wiping away a tear. "This girl must have you whipped, Ed."

"Something like that," Ed muttered.

Suddenly, the train lurched and threw Winry forward, her arm around Ed's shoulders directing her course straight for his lap. They stared at each other in panic for a few moments. Then Winry laughed nervously. "Looks like I fell for you, huh, babe?"

Edward slapped his forehead. "Really? Fell for me? That's so terrible, I might break up with you just for that."

"Nah, you like me too much," Winry said, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Edward's face turned a violent shade of red. Pretty girl. Flirting. At him. Dream. It was a dream. Dreams don't have lips with that much detail. Can't look at friends. They'll laugh. Different topic. Periodic table. Periodic tables are simple. Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium…

"Like I said," Russell smirked. "Whipped."

The subway car lurched again as the intercom announced their arrival at the stop, and Ed's arms flew to keep Winry from being thrown again. Just as quickly as he had held her close, he loosened his grip. For a moment, her eyes widened and a faint blush rose on her cheeks. She shifted on his lap.

"This is my stop. Nice meeting you guys!" Winry leaned in to whisper into Ed's ear. "I probably caused you more trouble than I solved. I'm so sorry." She offered him a half smile and slid off his lap.

His legs somehow felt bare without her weight, his arms cold without her warmth. How could he just let her walk away? But how could he just stalk a stranger? Fortunately, all intelligent thought had left him long ago.

"See you guys later! Better priorities have come up than messing around with you losers!"

Edward heard silence, then laughter behind him, but he kept his eyes forward as he followed Winry out into the station. Crap, what had he gotten himself into? He was such an idiot. His idiot mouth and his idiot legs had been faster than his idiot brain and he was about to be in big, big trouble with this really beautiful, really nice stranger. The doors closed behind them.

"Look, I'm really, really sorry. I don't know what got into me. I don't know why I went along with it. I don't just do this sort of thing, it just happened. If there's—" Winry cut Ed off.

"You went along with it because I started it. What were you supposed to do? If anything, it's my fault for putting you in an awkward position. It was gutsy and presumptuous and I should have just let your conversation happen. I don't exactly go around pretending to be random people's girlfriends either. Some weird gut reaction in me just...did it. I...I don't even know what to say for myself. I made you lie to your friends and now you're going to have to tell them that and...I'm. I'm so sorry." She raked her hand into her ponytail and avoided his gaze.

"Can we consider ourselves forgiven, then?"

She met his eyes with a slight laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good, so...um…are you actually single?" He sighed and mumbled, "man, I don't normally do this," and continued, "Because I'd love to take you out for real if you are." His pulse thundered through every blood vessel in his body while she opened and closed her mouth and blushed. It would be cute if his entire being wasn't vibrating waiting for her response.

"Y–yeah," she breathed.

"Gah," Ed rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course you're not single, why would you be? I mean, look at you—"

"No! No. I'm. I'm not single. I mean! I'm not in a—I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh."

"I'd...I'd love to go out with you, Edward."

"Wow," he finally managed.

"What?" Winry smiled at him in confusion.

"I really scored big today and I don't even know how." He grinned crookedly. "Was something about my complete lack of competent speech attractive or something? Nobody just agrees to going on a date with a complete stranger. Your name is actually Winry, right?"

She laughed. "Yes, my name is actually Winry. I didn't really have a lot of time to come up with a fake name or anything. As for going out with a complete stranger… I don't know. I just know I can trust you. I figure, why not go for it? And, um. I wasn't entirely joking when I called you 'pretty boy.'" She bit her lip and smiled at her shoes.

Ed's mind blanked for what seemed the billionth time that day. "You're the—you're the pretty one!" he squawked.

"Well, then...if I'm the pretty one, can I be the one to ask you for your number?"

"What?" He wasn't sure whether he'd been shaken out of his mental fog or pushed further into it. "I mean, yes! Um, here it is." He fumbled with his phone and showed her his contact information.

"Thanks." She smiled with all the light the universe could give her. "I'll...see you soon then?"

"Are you busy right now?" Ed blurted out. "Or is taking you out to dinner too soon?"

"Oh! No, not at all. I'm kind of craving Chinese takeout, actually, if that's okay."

"Yeah. Yeah, it's totally okay. Just. One thing." Winry raised her eyebrows in accession. "Never call me 'Eddie-boo' again."

[musings-from-mars]

part 4 por favor? Maybe Ruby starts noticing the "tension" between Cinder and Blake and starts setting them up?

Freelance Love Triangle AU - Part 4

They arrived at the outdoor gallery, and Ruby was already zipping around here and there, thinking out loud about angles and framing, all while gushing about the art on display, choosing her favorites. “This is so cool!” She said to Blake and Cinder.

“It’s a lovely installation,” Cinder agreed, the corner of her mouth turned up. “Don’t you think so, Blake?”

It was a pretty magnificent showcase. Crude marble pillars of varying heights and widths stood in a seemingly random arrangement, each with art pieces hung on the sides. The pieces of 3D art stood in spaces between pillars. While there were two equally tall pillars that served as the “entrance” to the exhibition, it was open air and seemingly boundless, as the pillars became fewer and farther between the further from the center you moved.

At the very center of the gallery was a massive metal sculpture of what looked like a suit of armor, but it was matte black, and the plates of armor were spaced out from one another so it was easy to see right through the gaps. It stood on a concrete cube labeled “SOAPBOX” with “various artists” engraved underneath. The artists were making a point, and Blake’s mind raced trying to decipher what it might be.

But then Ruby started talking to Cinder, and that broke Blake’s focus immediately.

“The suit is faceless, and the armor having such obvious gaps indicates that the suit is vulnerable,” Cinder explained to Ruby as she looked up at the sculpture, which Ruby craning her neck to do the same. “Yet it stands on a soapbox, elevated and arrogant, despite the flaws in its defenses. I think it makes a point about the illusions of authority and strength of those in power, and the general populace’s compliance despite the obvious flaws that everyone can see if they look close enough.”

“Woah, that’s so cool…” Ruby murmured with wonder.

Blake didn’t want to feel as annoyed as she did, because Cinder’s take on it was pretty much exactly how Blake viewed the piece, but dammit, she wanted to impress Ruby too! She tried to come up with something original to say, but she didn’t want to sound desperate. Cinder was too smooth and eloquent.

“I imagine it took a long time to fashion the metal and assemble it, probably took several weeks, even for a team of artists,” Cinder pondered.

“If you were to get into contact with the artists, you might know for sure,” Blake remarked, not intending to sound so combative, but it was said. “There’s more to this than what the viewer can interpret. Anyone can come around here and write an article about what they think it all means in a day, but we’re putting together something bigger. We need testimonies from the artists, opinions of other creatives…”

Cinder had turned from the sculpture and was glaring at her, arms crossed over her chest. “Well, isn’t that why you’re here? You’re the networking specialist, after all.”

“It’s your project too, you know,” Blake said, stepping closer to her, then sort of regretting doing that now that she was close enough to smell her perfume. “I’m not doing all the interviews while you sit back and write down your opinions. You’ve got to pull your weight.”

“I’ve pulled plenty of weight. I haven’t even shown you the drafts I have yet,” Cinder countered, and for some reason thought it appropriate to smile at Blake. She looked down her nose a bit at her, making Blake resent Cinder’s slight height advantage. “After all, isn’t it only fair that I handle the majority of the writing, you acquire the testimonies, and Ruby handles the accompanying media? Let’s all do what we’re good at here, huh?”

Blake hated it when she made a good point. She wanted to counter-argue but she knew that would be counterproductive. “So I’m going have to handle all of the interviews? That will take up so much of my work time, you really will be on the hook for pretty much all of the writing.”

“Like I said, it’s what we’re good at,” Cinder repeated and shrugged. She leaned her weight on one leg in that sexy way that kind of pissed Blake off. “You think so, Ruby?”

Ruby had been silent the whole time, pressing her lips together as she stood by during the intense exchange. When she heard her name spoken, she snapped out of it a bit and blinked. “Oh, yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Uhm, Robyn wanted us to allocate, right?”

“Right,” Cinder agreed and nodded. “That was easy, we’ve already allocated. Wonderful job, team.”

If Blake gritted her teeth any harder she’d have to book a dentist appointment. Thankfully, Cinder took that moment to turn away from her and walk over to one of the gallery’s pillars, swaying her hips like an annoying exotic bird.

I hate you I hate you I haaaaate you—

“Ruby, I think if you got one of these pillars in the foreground with the sculpture in the background, that could maybe be a candidate for cover,” Cinder said.

Ruby hurried over to look at what she meant, leaving Blake standing next to Soapbox, shoulders slumped forward and her face burning hot.

Was getting cover worth it? Was getting to work with Ruby worth how insufferable and annoying aloof Cinder was? Blake was seriously considering it, but then she watched as Ruby giggled at something Cinder said, and she knew then that she had to stick with this, for whatever other reasons, but mostly to make sure Ruby and Cinder didn’t become a thing.

Was that shitty of her? Maybe. But the thought of that happening made her blood boil.

~~~

“How about I take you both for a drink?”

The offer felt like it came out of nowhere. The three of them were waiting on a bench not far from the gallery. Night had fallen, and while they had gotten plenty of photos and Blake had gotten the chance to take some notes about the various artists, it wasn’t that late. Blake was about to hail a rideshare because she just wasn’t in the mood to walk all the way home, but (while she kind of hated that she did), Blake considered Cinder’s offer.

“That sounds like fun, sure!” Ruby said. She sat between Blake and Cinder, tapping away at her laptop as she backed up the photos of the day. Even as time went on, she hadn’t lost any energy, which Blake was impressed by. She certainly couldn’t say the same for herself she was fresh out of college.

“Lovely,” Cinder said with a smile.

Well, if Ruby was going with Cinder, Blake was definitely going, too. “Sure. I could use a drink. But I’m not staying out late, nor should any of us. We’ve got more work to do tomorrow.”

Cinder nodded knowingly. “Just a little excursion. We’ll save the proper night out for Friday.” Blake couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “I know I nice little bar near here. It’s the quaint type, for hipsters like us.”

Blake chuckled a bit at that. “Great, I love craft beer,” she said sarcastically.

“I’ve never had anything other than hard seltzer,” Ruby admitted with a shy chuckle. “Do they have that?”

“I’m sure they do, hun,” Cinder assured her with a smile that made the hairs on the back of Blake’s neck stand up.

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck bashfully as she shut her laptop, having finished saving her images. “Not to be a stereotypical gay or anything.”

Blake snorted a laugh, then blushed at the fact she’d snorted. “What, do gays like hard seltzer?”

“I guess?” Ruby shrugged, still blushing.

“I’m more of a red wine lesbian myself, we all have our tastes,” Cinder told her, her voice dripping with a flirtatious lull, as if she were already a glass deep.

Blake chewed on the inside of her mouth. She figured “whatever sounds good at the time bisexual” wouldn’t sound as sexy as red wine lesbian. Then again, she’d never had a hard seltzer. “I’ll get whatever you get, Ruby. I’m curious.”

Ruby giggled, her cheeks rosy and dimpled when she grinned. “Oh no, now I really hope you like it or else I’ll seem like I have bad taste.”

Blake smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, hun, I think I’ll like it just fine.” She felt proud of herself for slipping a “hun” in there like Cinder had. The combination of Ruby blushing and Cinder shooting her a glare of recognition was a satisfying confidence boost.

Ruby tapped her feet on the concrete a few times, like she was letting out a sudden excess of energy, and she hopped off the bench. “We should go! The night’s not getting any younger, right?”

Cinder stood with her, her hands tucked in her jacket pockets. “We should. I’ll lead the way.”

Blake sighed as she followed, the group beginning to follow Cinder’s lead away from the park. She hoped she’d seen the end of Cinder’s funny business, but she knew that was a hope in futility. She had to be planning something, right?

The best Blake could think to do was be there to see what it was.

[penguinwithitsarseonfire]

Sparks Fly (Whenever You Smile)

Pairing: 13th Doctor x Reader

Word Count: 3,170

Warnings: None

Summary: The Doctor takes you to the planet Erinda; famous for its pink snow. After exploring the local fauna of the place, you finally see the snow. Things end in a snowball fight, and perhaps, something more. (This is technically a sequel to Gave Me the Blues and then Purple-Pink Skies but can also be read as a standalone)

A/N: I mostly wrote this because of the tags @fabulouspotatosister​ wrote on gmbpps (that's the first time I wrote that title out as an acronym and oh my I have so many regrets) so this is for you hon! Congratulations on getting through all your exams! You deserve a well earned rest m’love ❤️

As the Doctor bounded towards the TARDIS door, you watched the projection on the wall, trying to make sense of the different circles and lines that made up the coordinates of where ever she had landed you.

“And you’re sure this is Erinda?” You asked, turning around to face her.

You had left your jacket draped on the banister and had decided to just throw a jumper on over your t-shirt in case you got cold. You didn’t want to be stuck wearing layers of winter clothes in a hot environment, there was no way you were doing that again.

The Doctor peeked her head out of the door, leaned back, closed it, then turned to you with a grin. “I can safely say that we’re successfully on Erinda – oh! Wait.”

She stuck out her head out of the TARDIS door again, sticking her tongue out. “Yep,” she called out. “This is most definitely Erinda!”

You smiled and rolled your eyes at her antics, picking up your jacket as you walked towards her. She grinned back and popped out, so you jogged to catch up. You were bouncing slightly as you went, trying to contain your excitement.

You were going to see pink snow, pink!

The thought was completely astounding and you couldn’t help the giddy childlike glee build up as you crossed the threshold of the TARDIS-

-Only to be met with an average park.

It really was just a normal, boring park, exactly like the ones you would see back home. It had all the stereotypical identifying factors. There was green grass and a collection of flowers in garden beds, which were in neat little rows by gravel set pathways. There were people walking dogs, eating food on park benches, and lazing in the sun; either studying or sleeping. There was even a large fountain that sat in the centre, with children throwing pennies into it and making wishes.

What wasn’t there, however, was pink snow.

Your heart dropped and you absentmindedly felt that childlike anticipation shatter. You turned to face the Doctor, at a loss. “There’s no pink snow.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor drew out the word, scratching the back of her ear. The chain from her earring cuff dangled slightly as she did so, and it caught against the sunlight. “I could have sworn the snowstorm was supposed to happen about now… Dunno what I did wrong.”

“About now?”

“Planned it for the moment you’d step out of the TARDIS,” she said, and she sounded completely disheartened. “Wanted it to be a bit special.”

Your heart softened at that statement. “Oh Doc, that’s really sweet,” you stared back out to the park in front of you. “Even if it didn’t exactly work out.”

Above you the sky was dark, with heavy, angry clouds slowly rolling across. The Doctor followed your gaze and looked up at them, sticking her tongue out slightly in deep thought – or, well, you assumed she was in deep thought. She also pulled that face when she was considering what sort of biscuit she wanted to eat, so the face could mean practically anything.

“Might’ve gotten the time wrong,” she said absently. “Could be another couple of minutes,” she turned to look at you. “Shall we go for a walk? There’s other really interesting stuff I can show you!.”

You blinked and unhelpfully repeated her, like a confused parrot. “Interesting stuff?”

The Doctor gave you a cheeky smirk. “Super interesting stuff,” she stuck out her hand. “C’mon.”

You clasped your hand in hers and the two of you walked side by side. Your boots crunched against the gravel path, and a slight chill nipped against your ears, your nose, and one of your hands. The other was tucked comfortably in the Doctor’s warm palm, acting like a mini heater against the cold around you.

It seemed though that no matter where you went, there were droves of people, each filling their own little spaces, but, in doing so, left you with no privacy. It made you feel a bit awkward, it wasn’t that you didn’t like it per-say, it was just, well, you had been expecting pink snow, not a park that could be mistaken for one on Earth.

The Doctor seemed just as dispirited as you, and stopped suddenly, surveying the area. She let go of your hand to clasp both of hers together, patting her thumbs against each other.

Your hand felt colder, but you chose not to think about it.

The Doctor rocked backwards and forwards on the balls of her feet, as if building up the energy to shoot herself into the sky. She eyed the tourists for a moment, then stuck out her hand again, taking yours wordlessly. She motioned towards an area that seemed to lead to a vast, empty green field. “Let’s go this way.”

You followed along after her, grateful that you still got to hold her.

Fewer and fewer people dotted the park as you continued on your path, and tall gangly trees sprouted in their place. They towered above you, shielding you from the sky and basking you in their orange leaves.

“Are they like this all year round?” You asked the Doctor, nodding towards the trees. “Or is it just because of the cold, like back on Earth.”

The Doctor hummed, following your gaze. “Oh these? Well they’re Argail trees, so it’s quite odd that they’re orange, actually. They should have bright yellow leaves.”

“Yellow leaves?” You gawked, your mind rewriting the colour of their leaves to a bright neon yellow, like the colour of a high-vis jacket.  “All year round?”

The Doctor hummed. “Well, it’s not that different than orange, is it?”

You contemplated it for a moment. “No, I supposed not,” you thought of bright yellow leaves again, and wondered if they would reflect the streetlights at night. “Still though,” you continued. “I suppose orange is just more familiar, and now the only thing I’m thinking of is super bright yellow leaves.”

The Doctor chuckled. “Well if you think that’s odd,” she nodded to a tree to your side. “Go ahead and touch it.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s not vague at all.”

“C’mon,” she insisted. “They’re really cool.” She scrunched up her face for a moment. “Huh, cool. Haven’t said that a while.”

You eyed the tree thoughtfully then dragged the Doctor along with you, not yet willing to let go of her hand. At the base of the tree you stretched out your other hand to touch the bark. Under your fingers, a collection of blue flowers suddenly unfolded themselves, pushing the bark back and poking out their little, soft petals. You gasped in delight as more unfurled themselves, showing a pattern that twisted up the trunk.

They pulsed softly, alternating between a rich Navy and soft periwinkle, like there was a little light inside each one of them. It was rhythmic and slow, reminding you of something you couldn’t quite place.

“Your heartbeat,” the Doctor said softly, and your spine tingled. She was closer to you than you had realised. “They respond to a heartbeat.”

You blinked, looking at her for a moment before your attention was drawn back to the flowers. Your heartbeat, you were watching your very own heartbeat in the flowers.

Okay, so really cool was an understatement.

“Wow,” you breathed, not really having the words to express the awe you felt, looking at these flowers reflecting your actual, honest to god heartbeat.

An MRI machine would never compare now, not after this.

“There’s more,” she said. “Do you wanna see?”

You nodded, still not tearing your eyes away from the flowers.

Before you knew it the Doctor was marching along the path, dragging you along with her, the gravel crunching under your shoes. Behind you, you watched as the flowers folded back into the tree, as though they had never appeared at all.

You crashed into the Doctor and let out a small cry. She had stopped right in front of you, and, as you turned around around to see where she had stopped, you instead found her toppling over.

You didn’t even think. You pulled her up from the hand that was still held in yours, and wrapped your other arm around her waist, doing your best to steady her. Gravity, apparently, had other plans, and, twisting dramatically, you both collapsed into the grass.

You let out a startled laugh, rolling over slightly so the grass was underneath you, cold and soft. The Doctor, who was curled in your side, let out a soft groan, and let her head fall into the grass, knocking against your waist lightly.

You looked down at her. “Well, that was something.”

She returned your gaze, grinning. “Yeah, I didn’t mean to fall for you,” her face dropped, and your heart leapt into your throat.

Surely she understood what she had said.

“I- I mean off the path,” The Doctor stammered.

“Yeah,” You laughed awkwardly. “Of course.”

You looked at the Doctor and she looked at you, and in this light, it took you a moment to work out what colour her eyes were.  You often never seemed to know, it was as if the Doctor’s eyes changed colour.  Sometimes they were green, other times they looked more brown, almost as if they were mimicking hazel, but couldn’t quite get it right. Today however, they were almost golden, and they glittered in the sunlight.

The Doctor opened her mouth, as if she were about to say something, but a lone snowflake fell slowly and landed delicately on the tip of her nose. She scrunched up her face, crossing her eyes and trying to look at her own nose.

You cocked your head to the side, studying it, and also trying not to giggle at the Doctor’s expression. She looked like she was pulling a face for a child.

Wait – snow.

You turned your head skywards, and scurried up so you were standing. All around you, tiny pink snowflakes were softly falling from the heavens. They twirled around each other, as if they were dancing. They collected over the ground, over the trees, and into your hair, like a fine dusting of pink powder.

You stuck your hand out, and a collection of pink snowflakes landed in the palm of your hand. You poked at it, it didn’t feel cold, and it was almost as if instead of moulding it, the snow was just moving along with you.

The Doctor completely forgotten, you laughed in delight, wandering through the field as the snow continued to fall. It came down heavier than when it started, but still, it wasn’t cold. It was unlike anything you had ever seen before, unlike anything you could even begin to describe.

It crunched under your boots, and, was you inspected the way it fell on some of the plants, you noticed it had almost knitted itself into their fibres, reminding you of unwoven pink silk.

“This is amazing,” you breathed, and you weren’t sure if the Doctor had heard you, but you loved it all the same.  

You turned back to the Doctor to find her looking at you with a grin, her eyes sparkling in delight – no, wait, not her delight, yours. She was happy because you were.

“Thank you for this,” you said, speaking louder so she could hear you. “This,” you gestured around you. “Is incredible.”

Then her grin turned into a cheeky smirk, and, before you knew it, she had thrown a snowball at you. It hit you square in the face, the snow scattering over your skin and leaving a wet, blotchy mark that went cold in the breeze. You tumbled backwards, flailing your arms to keep you upright. With an oof you landed into the snow, butt first.

The Doctor laughed in delight, and you cocked your head to the side. Oh.

It was on.

You dragged your hand through the growing layer of snow, forming a snowball in your hands. The Doctor let out a squeak and started to run, but there was no where for her to hide, you were both in an empty field .

You stood and began chasing her, throwing the snowball at her as you neared her. You watched it fly in the air, completely off target, before it swerved and hit her on the elbow.

Ah. Okay. So the snow could move.

Right.  

The Doctor tripped slightly, and turned to face you, her arms filled with at least 3 more snowballs – and when had she had the time to make them anyway?

You didn’t have the chance to contemplate the where’s, when’s, or how’s, because suddenly a volley of them were after you. Your dropped downwards towards the ground, narrowly missing the snowballs but getting a face full of the snow instead. It tasted interesting, sweet, like artificial strawberries.

You clawed at the snow and watched as it formed into a snowball on its own accord, then broke apart to create a duplicate.

Well, that answered that, then.

The two of you chased each other in the empty field, the kinetic snow forming and shifting itself to create the most dynamic snowballs you had ever encountered. The snowballs burst whenever they made a hit, and you weren’t sure if it was because of just the way the snow was, or if it was because it was freshly fallen.

The imitation artificial strawberry smell permeated the air, and you knew there was probably a stupid grin plastered on your face. You couldn’t remember the last time you had had this much joyful, reckless fun.

You had lost the Doctor, and had taken the opportunity to stack a supply of snowballs. The lower ones were more compact, harder and icier, but still, they weren’t cold. You had managed to stack a sort of makeshift tower, a supply that would surely cause you to topple the Doctor.

Around you the breeze sung and birds chirped. There was barely any noise, not from other people, or from certain Time Lords. In fact, if you didn’t know any better, you would even argue that it was silent.

Then, you heard a twig snap.

You turned, your pile forgotten as the Doctor lunged at you, pelting you with snow and landing straight on top of you. You both fell into your snowball pile, and you felt the snow sludge into your clothes, down your boots, and into your hair. The snow had even found itself through a hole in your jumper, which you hadn’t even realised was there until that every moment.

You laughed, loud and bright, the Doctor’s weight warm on top of you. “How did you even manage that?” You cried out, still laughing.

The Doctor pulled herself off of you, holding out her hand and pulling you up so you were both sitting in the remains of your fallen tower. “I’m the reigning champion of the Intergalactic Snowball Championships,” she said as she laughed. “Have been for 100 years. My secrets have secrets.”

You weren’t even surprised by that. Nothing about the Doctor fazed you anymore.

The laughter died down, until your stomach was sore and you were hiccupping slightly. The air was now still. As your adrenaline passed you by, it felt colder by the second, and yet, neither of you moved.

The two of you sat there, wordless, breathing heavy, and plumes from your breath danced in the air between you.

Little pink clouds of snow settled into the Doctor's hair, dusted the bridge of her nose and lay to rest across her coat. She was flushed, you noticed, whether from the game, or the cold, you weren't sure, but the rose of her cheeks rather complimented the snow.

From where your jumper had ripped, you thought your arm would be cold, but it wasn't, it was warm, warmer than the rest of you, at least. Your eyes trailed the length of the Doctors figure, and you found that she had rested her hand against your arm, right over the tear in your jumper.

Your heart skipped a beat.

Oh.

You looked back to her face and the Doctor licked her lips. They were chapped slightly –  from the wind, you thought, but otherwise they looked completely soft. You couldn't look away. If you had, you would have noticed that her own eyes were flitting from your eyes to your lips, as if the Doctor was entranced.

Suddenly, the Doctor’s forehead was on yours, her breath matching yours, shaking slightly. Her hand went from your arm, exposing it to the cold, and trailed upwards, resting against your jaw. “Is this okay?” She asked, and there was a rasp in her voice you hadn’t ever heard before. It made you feel warm.

“Yeah.”

Later, the Doctor would say you were the one to lean in first, that it gave her the courage to do the same, but, in this moment, you really couldn't tell.

Because her lips brushed against yours.

The first thing you thought was that her lips were warm, they were soft.

Then you weren't thinking at all.

The kiss was hesitant at first, as if the Doctor were testing it out, then, it grew. Even still, it stole the breath from your body, all you knew was her.

She drew back, whispering your name, as if it were a song. You chased after her, your heart fluttering, or at least, it felt like it did. Your name had never felt so wonderful before, as if it were like its own chorus.

Then she met your lips again, and, for a second time, your brain short circuited.

Your hand trailed upwards, brushing against her earring chain, your fingers tangling in her hair. You gripped tight, pulling yourself into her. You wanted to touch her, to feel her soft skin against yours, to memorise the way it felt under your hands.

You felt like you were walking on air, like you were one of these pink snowflakes, dancing and swaying amongst the breeze.

All too soon, you had to pull away, because breathing was, unfortunately, a thing you had to do. You gasped as you parted, dropping your head onto her shoulder.

“I really like Erinda,” you said, your voice breathy.

The Doctor let out a winded laugh. You watched the rise and fall of her chest as she did so. “Oh good,” she said. “Yeah, I think the snow is the highlight here.”

You nodded into her neck, humming in agreement. “Yeah, I don’t think anything else noteworthy has happened.”

You looked up at her and saw her giving you a delighted, almost dazed expression, as if she couldn’t quite believe that had happened.

“An amazing place for a first date,” you amended. “No seriously Doctor, I love this.”

The Doctor’s eyes sparkled and the smile she gave you was so warm, so soft, it was as if you held out the stars for her. “Good. You deserve to be happy.”

A/N^2: Yes! I know! I wrote a kissing scene! Please don’t let the heavens strike me down if it was awful, an attempt was made.

[be-the-spark-flyboy]

One Step Forward Two Steps Back

Call It What You Want (7/?)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Med student!Poe x reader

A/N: Poe needs to calm down in this one smh that gif is so fitting

Chapter Summary: Poe tries to talk to you, but you make his life infinitely more difficult since you’re still under the impression that he was still with his girlfriend

Warnings: swearing, dash of angst, everyone being dumb asses

Word count: 2.4k

You don’t remember the walk back to your place, your mind too occupied with the thoughts of what had just happened with Poe fucking Dameron. You kissed him. More like, he kissed you first but you still went with it, way too eagerly, head empty of any rational thoughts. He has a girlfriend. How could you forget that, if even for a moment? How could he forget that? 

You used to be sure Poe wasn’t the type of person who would cheat on someone, but now, not so much. And the worst part? You enjoyed kissing him, so goddamn much. You should’ve pushed him away, should’ve stopped him before he kissed you. How could you be so reckless? 

Before you know it, you’re walking up to your front door, too busy mentally kicking yourself, to notice the cardboard boxes lying around the floor. Your foot catches on one and you almost go tumbling down, but an arm shoots out to steady you before you could fall. 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” A woman around your own age exclaims, her hand still firmly clamped on your arm as you wobble in surprise. She chuckles awkwardly, an easy smile settling on her face as she sticks a hand out to you. “I’m Rose Tico. I just moved in next door,” She tells you. Oh, your new neighbor. She seems nice, you think. You shake her hand, introducing yourself.

“You need any help moving in?” You offer, though you don’t really feel like putting yourself in a social situation. Thankfully, Rose declines. After a quick exchange of numbers, you rush into your home, hoping Jessika was already at home. You find her sitting cross-legged on the counter, happily munching on a muffin from your stress baking batch. 

“Poe kissed me,” The words are out of your mouth before you could even think about how you were going to reveal the news, and the bite of muffin Jessika takes almost goes flying out of her mouth.

“WHAT?” She screeches, scampering down from the counter, crossing the room in record time before shaking you by the shoulders. “Woman! What? Is my ship finally sailing?”

“What? No!” You break away from her grip, grimacing. “He has a girlfriend, Jessika!” She makes a gagging sound at your protestations.

“But she is a bitch and everyone hates her,” Jessika states like its the most obvious thing in the world. You still have absolutely no idea what made everyone hate her so much. If anyone knew about it, you’re pretty sure that it would be Jessika. But would asking her about it mean that you care? That you’re admitting your feelings?

“Yeah well, that not the point. Kissing someone else is basically cheating, isn’t it?” You swing back to the problem at hand. What happens in their relationship isn’t any of your business, you decide.

“Well, yeah.” She shrugs. “Maybe you should talk to him about this. He might have an explanation for things, ya know? Poe just doesn’t seem like the type to be so careless about someone’s feelings,”

“Huh, since when are you an expert on Poe?” You ask her. It surprised you how Jessika could be so intuitive and heartfelt at times, so at odds with her usual carefree nature.

“I am an expert on everyone, honey,” she says, dramatically flipping her hair over her shoulders.

“Yeah, whatever,” You push past her, still not very convinced. “Oh, did you meet our new neighbor?”

“Rose?” She asks, going back to her muffin. “Yeah, I don’t think she likes me very much.”

“Not an expert on Rose?” You laughed.

“Not yet,” she tells you.

---

“Just ask her, man!” Finn exclaims, sitting opposite Poe in a crowded coffee shop as his best friend nervously shuffles his phone from one hand to the other.

“Urgh, how do I even phrase it? Isn’t it weird if I just ask her out of the blue?” Poe asks.

“You’re thinking too much,” Finn crosses his arm, glaring at him. “Since when are you so afraid to talk to a girl?” 

Finn hates seeing Poe like this, a complete mess and totally out of his element. He had been that way since you left in the hurry the previous day. And in the past almost 24 hours Finn has been the one to put up with all his whining. As much as Finn pities Poe, he also wants to strangle him just to get some peace and quiet.

“Since I fucked up and kissed her and now she probably thinks I’m an asshole who cheats on his girlfriend!” Poe whines.

“Dameron you’re such a fucking drama queen. Just text her!” Poe reluctantly punches in a few words before flipping his phone around for Finn to see. 

“Is this okay? Too short? Too formal?”

“No its fine,” Finn reassures him. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

“What if I just- Hey! What the hell, Finn?” Poe shoots Finn a look of betrayal as the other man pressed send on the text before he could snatch back his phone.

“See! It’s done. Nothing to worry about,”

“Easy for you to say,” Poe mutters indignantly.

---

Your phone buzzes in your pocket in the quiet corner of the library. You were looking for reference books for your latest project from hell which was sucking your soul. You pull your phone out of your pocket, welcoming the distraction.

Poe: Hey, it’s Poe. Are you free around 1 later? Do you want to join me for lunch? :)

Or not. Oh shit. You know Jessika told you to just talk to Poe. Communication is the best way to sort things out, but it’s always easier said than done isn’t it?

Does he want to talk about the events of the previous day? Is he going to tell you that he likes you and that was why he kissed you? But what if he apologizes for it and tells you that it was a mistake instead? You can’t decide which one would be worse.

You don’t want to have lunch with him. Just the thought of seeing him again makes your chest constrict in panic. But you can’t just leave him hanging, you have to reply. And you find yourself thinking for the millionth time, if only I hadn’t gotten so close to him.

Your fingers were dancing above the keypad, contemplating what excuse to give as another notification pops up on the top of your screen. And then another.

Ben: Bro, I need your help.

Ben: Pleeeeaaaassseee I’ll buy you lunch

You spend years getting lunch all alone most of the time and suddenly two boys are fighting for your attention on the same goddamn day. Fun.

It really isn’t a difficult decision to make. Your friend needs your help, so you gotta put that above some casual lunch right? Yeah, totally, you decide. It isn’t because you want to avoid Poe, not at all. You just have somewhere else to be.

And so you take the cowards way out.

You: Okay, where do I meet you?

Ben: Wow that was fast did I speak too soon about lunch?

You: NOPE you’re still buying

—-

“She hasn’t replied. Why hasn't she replied Finn?!” Poe’s fidgeting puts Finn on edge as he watches him pick up the phone and check the notifications, place it down, then pick it up to check the notification, again and again. 

“Because you just texted her, Poe. Maybe she’s busy,” Finn takes a sip of his coffee, Poe’s cup already drained. Finn considers buying him another cup of coffee just to give him something else to do. But knowing his friend, he probably already had at least two this morning. He does not need more caffeine. 

His phone buzzes again and Poe sweeps it up. “It’s not her...” he groans, looking at the screen with barely veiled disappointment.

“Okay, gimme that,” Finn snatches the device from his hand as Poe throws himself back into his seat, pouting like a five-year-old with his toys taken away. “You need patience dude, a lot of it,” Finn shakes his head at him.

Usually, Poe had plenty of patience. But not when it came to you apparently. He doesn’t regret kissing you at all, but maybe he moved too fast? He definitely should have talked to you first, or maybe asked you out first instead of just kissing you. Or told you that he broke up with Sarah. Yep that one, that’s the first thing he should’ve done.

The phone pings again and Poe almost flings himself over the table trying to snatch it from his friend’s hand. “Christ Poe, calm down! God!” Poe pays no mind, but his face falls the second he unlocks his phone. 

“She said she can’t make it,” Poe deflates. “She’s meeting up with someone else for lunch. Finn, she’s avoiding me, right? She doesn’t want to talk to me anymore. How am I supposed to explain anything to her like this?” Poe goes on rambling for- Finn has lost count of the number of times he has heard it. 

“You got anything lessons later?” Poe shakes his head, already starting to sulk in his seat again.

“Let’s go to that diner off-campus you like so much,” Finn suggests. That’ll cheer him up.

---

“Jesus fucking Christ,” You curse, catching your cup before it tipped all the way spilling some of its contents on yourself in the process. A few heads turn your way in the diner but you pay no mind to it. 

“That’s the second time I’m watching you spill something on yourself,” Ben clucks handing you tissues yet again.

“Shut up, Solo,” You snap at him, but take the tissues from him anyways, trying to blot the dampness from your sweatshirt.

“No no, I was right. You do need a nanny following you around cleaning up after you,” he sounds so monotonous but you just know he’s laughing at you.

“Oh, look at me I’m Ben Solo, I’m a med student and I need help to write a fucking essay!” You mock him in retaliation.

“Okay smartass, what about you help me instead of destroying more tables,” you flip him off as he pulls his laptop out of his bag and moves both your cups out of your reach.

“You’re mean, you know that?” You admonish him and not a second after the last word leaves your mouth, a heavy fabric hits you in the face.

You almost roll it back up and fling it back at him before he says, “Put it on, you’re going to be cold,” He had a point. Your half drenched sweatshirt wasn’t going to dry anytime soon. And the huge blot of brown didn’t exactly look great on your light grey sweatshirt.

“Thanks. You’re that mean,” you pronounce before draping it over your shoulders. 

---

“Rey could help,” Finn suggests, rubbing his hands together in efforts to gain some warmth in the cold weather.

“She definitely will not help, I ate the last cookie,” Poe answers dejectedly scuffing the heel of his boot on the sidewalk, hands buried deep inside his pocket as he drags his feet beside Finn.

“I’ll ask her for you,” Finn offers. There was only so much whining a man can take, at least this way he will be helping Poe, and himself. Two birds, one stone.

Poe pushes open the door to the diner, the sounds and the smell immediately lifting his rotten mood. The diner is relatively small, but the checkered tiles and the smell of greasy burgers never fail to make him smile. 

The diner is crowded as usual, filled with the sound of loud conversations and cutlery clinking together. Poe hadn’t taken two steps in when his heart plunges straight into his stomach.

He sees you there, looking gorgeous as ever, laughing with your friend. A jacket, clearly not yours, around your shoulders as the two of you sat squeezed into the same side of the booth. You pay no mind to anything else, he’s too far for you to notice him there.

So that’s why you ran away after kissing him. Poe has this sinking feeling that he has been reading the situation all wrong. You never did like him. It was Ben all along. And last night the kiss must have been a heat of the moment thing, not because you actually liked him. That was why you have been avoiding him since. Because you feel guilty. 

It all makes sense now. He never should’ve kissed you.

Finn walks right into Poe, frozen in place. “The hell, man?” He slaps him on the shoulder. The actions seem to startle Poe out of his trance. He turns on his heel and storms off, not bothering to wait for Finn to catch up with him.

---

“She ditched me for Ben Solo,” Poe was positively fuming. “For Ben fucking Solo. Of all people Finn! Ben Solo,” he exclaims. Rey sits cross-legged on the sofa beside Finn, watching her friend slowly lose his mind. Clearly, the problem is Ben Solo related. Again. She has no idea what happened this time, but something tells her, now is not the best time to ask Poe about it. She could just ask Finn later.

“Calm down you’re gonna summon him or something,” Finn says looking for lunch to order, watching Poe pace. Clearly, lunch was the last thing on his mind, but Finn was hungry.

“Calm down? Ben Solo, Finn!” Poe exclaims.

“Jesus H. Christ,” Finn mutters under his breath.

“I need to take a walk. Come on Beebs,” The corgi happily jumps up from its perch on the sofa at the sound of the keys jiggling, following Poe hot on his heels.

“Oh my god, he’s gone crazy,” Finn mutters again, watching Poe walk out, almost slamming the door behind him.

“What was it this time?” Rey asks and Finn sighs heavily before explaining in great detail the events of the day.

“It could be a misunderstanding and maybe they are just friends. But given what happened last time, I don’t really blame Poe for assuming otherwise. Rey, you gotta talk to her. It already a big mess, we need to help,” He concludes, sprawled across the couch, his head resting on Rey’s lap as she thoughtfully munched on an apple.

“Okay, I’ll help him this time,” she nods slowly. “But I still don’t forgive him for eating the last cookie. It was supposed to be mine,” She huffs.

---

The Dameron taglist (open): @writefightandflightclub​ @arkofblake​ @yougottakeeponkeepinon​ @multifandomlife22​ @skymerons​ @smol-peter-parker​ @rae-rae-patcha​ @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol​ @spider-starry​ @hkmultifandom​ @cloud-leader​ @elmoakepoke​ @staringmoony​ @valhallavalkyrie9​ @the-cry-of-youth​ @liadamerondjarin​ @m1rkw00dpr1ncess​ @takemepedropascal​ @xremember-me-notx​

[kanamesharisenwrites]

kh’s story snippet celebration sendoff, entry #6

God, what do I even say about this piece? It's so old - the timestamp from my FF.net import says 2012 - and I don't remember much about it. I almost left it out of this collection after cringing my way through a re-read of the first paragraph. Then, I made myself reframe the narrative.

This piece needs to be here; it shows how far I've come as a writer.

Don't let anyone tell you that fanfic is a waste of time. Just look at this piece compared to my recent projects! I'm living proof that fanfic is every bit as valid for honing your craft as traditional written media

Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Sai/Sakura Haruno Word Count: 2931 Genre: canon-divergence!AU Rating: T Warnings: canon-typical violence

... [ hypocritical ]

Pain.

The dull throb of injury greeted Sai as his consciousness reluctantly returned to him. This particular circumstance perplexed him greatly. Had he not been merely put to sleep? Sakura's loyalty was steadfast and her medical skills knew no equal but that of their esteemed Hokage, of this much he was certain. Therefore, the probability that this harm was inflicted by her drug, hastily administered though it was, seemed highly unlikely. No, this feeling was not akin to that of being poisoned. Nor did it seem to come from any external wound; a quick scan of his person negated that possibility. Yet, it was still very clear to him that all was not right or as it should be. His throat felt unbelievably tight, the sensation bringing to mind scenes of Naruto shoving complete bowls of ramen down his throat in a singular motion. Sai's heart raced uncontrollably, palpitating to a foreign rhythm, and his insides quaked. There was something wrong with him internally.

Nearby, his companions began to stir. As they also scanned for injuries, all the while cursing Sakura for her heroic stupidity, it became clear to Sai that he alone suffered from any malady. He rose gingerly, taken aback by how easily he could still function in spite of all his present symptoms, and questioned Kiba for his teammate's last known trajectory. The best course of action, for now, would be to find Sakura before his symptoms got worse. With but a nod, he left his temporary workmates and headed out in search of the pink-haired kunoichi.

Sai dashed through the woodland at breakneck speed, something as of yet unnamed urging him on. Something about the whole situation unsettled him. He should have anticipated Sakura's actions and been ready with a countermeasure. Becoming her victim was irresponsible and now his comrade could be engaged in a treacherous encounter with that traitor, possibly without backup; whether or not Kakashi had caught up to her in time remained to be seen. Her tenacity, even with her insane strength, would be no match for the Uchiha prodigy. It was as clear as needing air to breathe. Surely Sakura herself could see that. She had proven time and time again over that her intelligence was more than adequate. Why then would she willingly engage in actions where death was not only possible but the most probable outcome? The shinobi's stomach lurched, forcing him to stall his forward progress in favor of retching in the forest undergrowth. He had no time to waste now, his symptoms now progressing.

Another half-hour of hurdling over branches did little to ease his discomfort. A cold sweat, unrelated to his current exertions, came over Sai making his hands unnaturally clammy. Barely perceptible, yet uncontrollable shaking started to take a hold of him. His body was starting to go into shock. He would need to find her soon.

Sai lost all track of the distance he had traveled, the trees and thickets becoming but a verdant blur in the peripheral. It was of no consequence anyway. His mind was too clouded to focus on those kinds of details anymore. Instead he focused what was left of his cerebral capacity on what he considered to be his mission objectives: to find and determine the condition of one Sakura Haruno, and to have her administer a thorough health examination on his person. As Sai mentally rallied around these precepts, her chakra signature finally came into range. The worn shinobi redoubled his efforts. His reward finally came into view, accompanied by silver and gold and black, and Sai dropped from the sky with a resounding thud.

"Took you long enough to catch up." A weary, whiskered grin greeted him. "Sakura sure knows how to pack a punch, huh? And not just with her fist."

Sai merely nodded. His exertions had taken a toll on him and for the moment he was finding it hard to catch his breath. Non-verbal means of communication would have to do for the moment. And so his black eyes became intent on catching the attention of a pair of viridian ones. It did not take long.

"Sai? Are you okay?" Sakura gave her blonde teammate her half of their current burden, a half-dead kunoichi, and rushed over to Sai with healing chakra at the ready. "You look awful. My sleeping potion shouldn't have had any adverse effects. Were you attacked?"

The moment she touched his damp forehead, the symptoms began to ease. His heartbeat slowed to a near-normal pace and the tension in his muscles started to give way. "No. I... I don't..."

"I can't find anything wrong with you," the kunoichi replied after letting her chakra probe his entire form, puzzlement showing clearly on her face. "Talk to me, Sai. What's going on?"

"I woke up in pain, but I couldn't locate any wounds. It has to be something internal. I think my body started to go into shock. But..." Though his expression remained stoic, his eyes reflected confusion.

"But what?"

"I do not understand. You haven't treated me, but the symptoms are subsiding."

"Sakura," their tired sensei spoke up. "Check his tongue."

"Okay?" Sakura turned back to her patient. "You heard the man. Open up. Now, what am I looking for?"

"A seal. Danzo placed one on every member of Root. It was supposed to keep them quiet, but I have a feeling it sealed more than just their words."

"Are you sure, Sensei?" The pink head turned towards Kakashi for confirmation. "There's nothing here."

"The seal must have broken when Danzo died." The older man scratched his head. "Normally seals don't work like that. They stay in place even after the one who placed it there gets killed."

"I don't get it." Naruto chimed in. "Then why would Sai's seal be gone?"

"Well, his methods were questionable at best, but he was loyal to the village." Kakashi sighed. "My initial guess is that Sai has some information that Danzo thought may be of use to us in the event of his death. I doubt there's anything wrong with Sai. He's probably just feeling the after-effects of the seal being removed."

"I see. Then it could be possible..." She turned back to Sai, a sudden realization dawning in her eyes. "What were your symptoms? I need all of them in the order in which they appeared."

"Constricted airway, heart palpitations, a dull ache in my abdomen, nausea, shaking and cold sweats."

"Okay. You probably felt your throat, heart, and stomach first, right?" The girl tapped her cheek as she sorted out her theories.

"Yes."

"The nausea came later?" His nod confirmed some suspicions, so she continued with her line of questioning. "What were you doing when it came? Were you thinking about something?"

"I left the others to resume my mission. I..." The words left his mouth slowly, reluctant to be heard. "I was thinking that only a stupid kunoichi would drug her teammates so she could run into a suicide mission alone."

"Sai." His name fell softly from her lips and his eyes became glassy. Her lithe arms lifted to embrace his neck. "I'm sorry I worried you."

The warmth of her body against his was strangely comforting, so Sai chose to mimic her posture. "Did he hurt you?"

"Yes." The word came out as a sob and Sakura squeezed him just a bit tighter. "But I'll be okay."

"Good." Sai closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then detached himself from Sakura. "An injured medic is of no use to her team."

"You stupid..." Sakura paused mid-punch. The faint track of a fallen tear graced his tactless cheek. Breaking his face no longer held any appeal, so she contented herself with a measured thump to his shoulder. "Whatever. Let's just get home."

Chapter 2: reclamation

Running without sparing the slightest moment to turn back, determination and desperation lent their power to her limp limbs. In a maze of ever-growing darkness, she wandered. Alone. The silence filled her soul with dread, its death toll ringing in her ears. How long had she been running, been searching? It felt like countless fathoms of time with the quiet, suffocating loneliness contorting her senses. But onwards she ran just the same, hoping beyond all hope that something, anything would change this state of purgatory in which she found herself. Just what had she been searching for? It had been so long, even she forgot. All that was left was to go on. And though she knew to do so bordered heavily on the side of insanity, on she went. And on. And on. Always running. Always moving forward. She was hurtling herself headlong into her destiny and the outcome, she remembered only as it became too late, was always the same. The electric blade, crackling with some emotion between love and hate, ravaged the recess that once held her heart and ended her struggle. She was caught in the red.

Sakura awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Her hands came to her chest of their own accord, trying in vain to cover the ache of betrayal that now resided there. It was becoming a morning ritual. It took but a moment to collect her faculties, the shock value of such torturous nightmares dulling with each successive night that they had been endured. It had been ten days since her brush with death at the hands of her most beloved and Sakura was no shrieking violet.

The first night had been the worst. In her panic, she had roused the rest of the team and their prisoner with her struggling. When the spell of the nightmare finally broke, thanks to a sound slap from their venerable sensei, Sakura whispered her fake assurances and rearranged her bedroll. She could feel the knowing eyes of the scarlet prisoner on her for the rest of the night. Contempt for her own weakness, rather than that of his discarded pawn, ran through Sakura's veins under the scrutiny of that gaze. Sleep would continue to elude her.

The next few days were but a blur. Arriving at the village, handing in mission reports, and reporting for duty at the hospital were second nature enough that she could perform these tasks on autopilot. She had joined the ranks of the walking dead. It took a couple of days, but eventually, her friends staged an intervention. It took another bit of friendly violence, this time supplied by an indignant Ino, to set her straight, but it was effective. She went to plotting. After all, one should play to one's strengths and Sakura had always been known to have an intelligent head on her shoulders.

It took a couple more days for her to realize that there were holes, numerous and large ones, in the scheme she was cooking up. Like it or not, Sakura was going to have to call in some back-up. Invitations went out and she lost no time in starting preparations. Time would be of utmost importance; some of the major players could not be counted upon to stay in the village for any length of time.

One by one they arrived, exchanging smiles and civilities before being seated at the kunoichi's small dining table. Sakura did a fair job of hostess duties, pouring tea and filling plates with second and third portions, in between fielding off-color comments between the two younger males attending. When the eating and drinking and carousing seemed to slow, she smiled and began clearing the used dishes.

"It was a pleasant meal, Sakura." The silver-haired shinobi seated at the head of the gathering handed over his empty plate. "But what are we really here for?"

"Observant as always, sensei." The girl added his plate to the pile growing near the sink. "I think it's time we discussed what should be done about Sasuke."

"Sakura." Her name came across Naruto's lips as an impatient growl. "There is nothing to discuss. I already promised you that I would bring him home to you. I don't go back on my promises."

"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking how we intend on doing it." Sakura spoke carefully, making eye contact with all there as she did so.

"We?" The blonde stood up, knocking the chair out from under him as he did so. "Oh no! I don't think so. You're not going anywhere near him again! It's my responsibility. I'll bring him home."

"We've already discussed this." A sigh came from the direction of their sensei. "Sasuke is my responsibility. He was placed in my care."

"No, sensei. It's me he wants and I'm..."

The table between them splintered, a feminine fist having smashed through it in frustration. "Shut up both of you!" The furious kunoichi bit out. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time one of us tried to take him on by ourselves? Huh?  Huh  ?" Sakura paused to look at them. "Well, I do. I see it every single freakin' night in my nightmares. He was going to kill me. And he was going to enjoy it. Now when I say 'we' that's exactly what I mean. So   we   had better start coming up with a plan so   we  can deal with this once and for all the next time we see that traitorous bastard. Understand?"

"Fine. I get it." Naruto gave his sulky consent.

"You know he's not going to come quietly." The reminder came from Kakashi. "It will be easier to kill him than to capture him."

"But Kakashi-sensei!"

"I know, Naruto, but he might not give us a choice."

"It's fine," Sakura spoke up. "If we have to kill him, it's fine. There's nothing left of our Sasuke in there anyway."

"Sakura?"

"Come on, Naruto. We're deluding ourselves if we think that we'll bring him back and everything will be just fine. He wants to destroy the village and everyone it! If we don't do it, the powers that be will just execute him. If he has to die, I'd rather it be by our hands in the manner we think is best. I only see three choices. We kill him, they kill him or he kills all of us. And if I have to pick one, I pick the one where we get to have the most say." For the first time in days, Sakura gave in to the desire to break down.

"No." A soft, monotone voice cut through the discussion. Three sets of eyes turned his direction in wonder. "You are wrong, hag. There are four choices."

Sakura wiped her wet face with the back of her hands. "Sai, I don't understand. What other choice? Do you actually want to try to save him? Is that the choice you're talking about? Why would you? He's nothing to you."

"Please do not misunderstand me. This is not out of compassion. It is just the opposite actually."

"Yeah, I don't get it either." Naruto scratched his cheek in puzzlement.

"He has rejected the bonds he created with all of you. He has caused you pain. Even now, he makes the hag cry." Sai paused to rub his chest. "He does not deserve death. That is too light a punishment for his transgressions."

"What do you suggest?" Kakashi leaned forward, resting his elbows on what was left of Sakura's table.

"There are things worse than death and we will give those things to Sasuke." The smirk he gave them instead of his usual smile seemed genuine, laced with just a bit of malice. "I have a plan."

The rest of Team Kakashi eyed each other, looking for the unspoken cues as to what each was thinking. Each saw what they felt mirrored back at them, but no one wanted to speak up. No one wanted to be the one to confirm their resolve to do whatever it takes. They were about to change the rules. Sakura would regain her heart by first breaking it. Naruto would leave his childhood behind once and for all. Kakashi would learn to put the needs of the many above his own selfish wishes. They would do what their mentors could not. They would be the ones to break the cycle. They would rain retribution upon one of their own.

"Fine. But if we're going to talk nefarious plans, let's take it to the sofa. I'd rather not get splinters." The kunoichi glanced back at the other half of her team. "Oh, and you two owe me a new table."

"But Sakura..."

"Of course. It's no problem." Kakashi covered the blonde's mouth with a firm hand until the girl turned away. "Don't worry, Naruto. Yamato owes me."

"I can hear you guys, you know."

Darkness invaded her dreams once again. She was running, always running. Desperate and determined. Always moving on. Always moving forward. Again, not a person was in sight, but she did not feel alone. The inky air that enveloped her did not frighten her anymore. It felt... alive. She felt the familiar burn of her overexerted muscles. She knew where she was going. She was meeting her destiny. It was unavoidable. She could hear the lightning closing in, causing the hair on her neck to stand on end. But this time as her destiny hit critical mass, the collision with her heart imminent, the crackle of the electric blade was drowned out by a soft trickling of black liquid. The sound grew and grew until it became palpable, swallowing the chidori in its entirety. The red receded and refused to return.

[royaldescendants]

the darkest little paradise

moodboard made by me

masterlist

Chapter 2

Mal couldn’t recall ever having had such an interesting class before. She’d been utterly enraptured with the teacher's words, unable to take her eyes away from Kore for more than a few seconds throughout the whole lesson.

“You know, that was surprisingly enjoyable for a summer class,” Evie said, once they were out of earshot, and turned to grin mischievously at Mal. “But you should be careful, I think Ben was starting to get a little jealous with the heart eyes you were making.”

“Oh ha ha,” Mal rolled her eyes with a smile. “It’s just…..I’ve never had a teacher that could keep me focused while teaching me something new, you know? Plus, she’s the only one I’ve met besides my mother that is willing to tell me- well, anything about fairies. I want to know more about it all, considering I’m half fairy, or Fae I guess.”

Evie tilted her head. “Huh. Guess I’m kind of surprised your mother never told you about it all, considering she was one. Wouldn’t she have been proud of it?”

“I think she’s still hurting from not having her wings anymore,” Mal whispered. “She would wince every time she was reminded she can’t fly anymore, I can’t imagine what losing them must have felt like. All that freedom just…..gone. Because of some stupid man.”

“I suppose. And there wasn’t anything in her spellbook about it? About the fairies, or Fae, or nature magic…?”

“Nothing. I told you, she doesn’t like talking about that part of her life.” Mal stopped. “Maleficent was traumatized. As cruel and evil as she is, I believe that it’s some sort of coping mechanism for all that she went through. And as we just learned, fairies and Fae don’t take kindly to not being included, or bad manners. King Stefan and Queen Leah can complain all they want, but they brought my mother’s curse down on themselves.” 

-------

Alarms. 

Kore woke up, hearing an alarm going off. It wasn’t her alarm, and she soon realized that because the greenhouses (where she fell asleep by accident) was close to the museum, something must have happened.

Grabbing her coat and bag, she crept out of the greenhouse, quickly locking it.

Greenhouse 1 was not to be entered by any other being, except with her escort. She was the only one that was able to keep the complicated plants alive, somehow.

She sprinted to the museum steps, finding the entry door ajar, the security guard asleep at his desk.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?”

Kore looked towards the voice that came out of nowhere. She recognized the student, eyes merely glancing over the face, and her brow furrowed as she looked around for whoever had set off the piercing sirens. “Audrey? Are you okay, sweetie? Did you hear the alarms too? You should go back to bed, hon, whoever set them off might hurt you.”

“Why would I hurt myself?”

A blast of pain from her side erupted, then faded immediately, absorbed. Kore didn’t know what the feeling was, but a warm and tingly feeling filled her hands.

“Huh, that’s not supposed to happen. But oh well, you’re just a gardener anyway.” 

A resounding thunk! on the top of Kore’s head was the last thing she heard, before everything faded to black.

-----

“I think we all know why we’re here today. Hades almost escaped yesterday, the people are in a panic. Even Kore hasn’t been spotted since the alarms went off last night, so who knows what’s going to happen with the greenhouses.”

Mal gulped. “It’s my fault. I’m supposed to protect Auradon-.”

“You did, Mal. You kept Hades from escaping while we all just stood there, helpless. None of us even tried to do something after you stepped in.”

Adam scowled at his son’s interruption. “Every time we open that barrier, we take another risk of another villain escaping, another risk of danger. We saw it with Maleficent, it happened with Uma, and now Hades, the literal god of death, need I remind you, almost escaped the only thing that’s ever kept him contained.”

Ben’s pager went off, and he stepped back to look at it, face paling. “Maleficent’s scepter and the Queen’s crown have been stolen from the museum. The security guard is currently in a comatose state.”

Belle sat down, head in her hands.

Adam stepped behind her. “When the people hear this, they won’t want to leave their houses, what are we supposed to tell them? Mal, you’ve been quiet, you must have any sort of an idea. How do we keep evil out of Auradon?”

She bit her lip. “I think that there’s only….really one way that we can guarantee their safety. We have to close the barrier forever.”

Ben shook his head, walking away, betrayed.

“Son-.”

“Don’t.”

“Ben?

“No.”

“Ben, I don’t want to take away your dream, because it was so beautiful, and it’s part of why I fell in love with you. But we have a duty as king and queen, don’t we?”

“I know, we have to protect Auradon. But do you know what this means? All those kids….are you prepared for this?”

Mal’s breath was shaky. “I know what it means. And no, I’m not prepared for it, but I don’t know that we have any other choices here.”

“Ben....” Adam stepped forward. “Mal’s right. And if we took the risk, what if something terrible happened, and we’re here knowing we could have prevented it?”

------

Mal grabbed a glass of water from Evie’s kitchen, a lump in her throat from nerves, before moving to the sewing room with her friend. 

“Who else knows about the crown and the scepter?” That was Evie for you, always jumping straight to the topic. She didn’t have to worry about repercussions when she talked with Mal, what with the friendship they had.

“No one else. I mean, think about it. They’re all scared enough as it is, we had to add all these new security measures just to keep summer classes going,” Mal sighed, wishing she could take a nap. Maybe she could steal Evie’s pillow? The bench outside wasn’t half bad for a snooze in the sun….

“Will this delay our bringing over more VKs?”

“We’re in talks about closing the barrier for good”

Evie paused in the middle of her stitch. “.....But you said no, right? The four of us original VKs are living the dream here, and we want to share that. They can’t just shut that down. What could be more important than that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Security and peace of mind for the people of Auradon?”

Evie eyed Mal suspiciously. “Is that what they’re actually saying? M, were they seriously thinking that no one will ever go in or out of the Isle ever again? Next you’re gonna tell me we’re never going to see our parents again.” She set down the project. “And what about these kids?! We promised them that they could go back and visit their parents if they wanted!”

Mal put her hands up. “I know, I know. It sucks, but that’s what’s being talked about.” 

Evie chuckled, calming herself. “This is why I’m so glad you’re going to be queen, M. You can be a part of these conversations, you’ll stand up for the VKs.” She kissed her cheek. “Thank you for trusting me. You’re gonna be a great queen, you know that?”

Just then, Carlos walked into Evie’s kitchen with Jay in tow, distracting the girls to see what they were doing. “Whoo! I got the matching beach towels, I got the gift wrapped by myself- okay, who ate Jane’s cake.”

Evie scratched her elbow, not making eye contact. “Well, Celia and Dizzy mentioned earlier that they were looking for something to snack on, I guess I lost track of time?”

Mal laughed at the expression on Carlos' face, and decided it was time to head to Jane’s party herself as she grabbed the purple-bagged present

She trailed her fingers over the bushes out front. Nature had always made her feel better, though of course she only discovered it when she came to Auradon. They didn’t have plants on the Isle anywhere, considering there wasn’t any sun to help them grow. 

Of course, the peace didn’t last long, what with Audrey somehow appearing in a poof of pink smoke.

“I was hoping you were home.” The smile that Audrey bore had no warmth. Mal took in the new look. Dark pink and purple hair, with a dove pink bodysuit and a matching cape, with black lace, and - oh no...

“Is this a joke? What are you doing with the crown and the scepter?”

Audrey pretended to think. “Well, I wanted them. So I took them.” She frowned. “You of all people should understand that, Mal,” she said, stepping back and having the scepter glow.

Mal stepped back too, setting down Jane’s present. “Wait! Audrey, stop! Don’t….don’t use that.”

“Oh? I thought you liked spells.”

“Okay, Audrey-”

“QUIET!” Audrey moved a few paces, not wanting to act too quickly. Savor this.

“It’s not a toy, it’s dangerous!” 

“I want to be dangerous!” Audrey stepped closer, almost in Mal’s face. “My life was perfect until you stole it, and Auradon turned its back on me. Even Kore didn’t care anymore, no one ever did.”

She strode away. “It’s time for a little payback.”

“Audrey, no-”

Audrey fired the scepter at Mal, and the only way she could react was to put her arms in front of her face. An instinct she had from years on the Isle - you could never tell what would happen next at anyone’s house, to anyone’s kid.

Audrey cackled as the spell hit Mal square in the chest.

“You think Ben will love you now, you old hag? You’ll pay the price of what you did, and so will all of Auradon.”

Mal heard the door open, but couldn’t stand up straight from her stooped position. Jay and Carlos entered her sight first, stepping in front of her.

Audrey grinned. “So long, suckers. I’ll even do you a favor now, and say hello to Kore for you.” And then she was gone, in another poof of pink smoke and a cackle. 

Jay reached for Mal’s hands, as though to steady her. “Whoa, okay! Uh, you might want to think of a spell for that?”

“There’s no spell that can reverse the curse of the scepter,” Mal rasped.

Carlos cleared his throat. “Well that’s a shame.” Celia nodded in agreement, eyes widened in slight fright that the soon to be queen she’d seen a few minutes ago looked as old as time.

“Audrey’s out for revenge, and all of Auradon is in danger.” All Mal wanted at this moment was a glass of water, they could figure out the rest later. 

“What should we do?” Evie questioned, ready to take things into her own hands for her best friend.

Mal shrugged. “The only thing more powerful than the scepter is Hades’ ember.”

“Oh, like he’s just gonna hand it over if we go back on the Isle. Also, how do we know that? Kore probably knows of some random double curse fairy loophole, right?”

“Audrey has her too, Jay.”

“Okay, so we don’t have Kore and we only have the ember to work with. I’m seeing a problem in that no one knows where his lair even is?”

“I do, Evie,” Celia interjected. They all looked at her, confused. “What? He needed an errand rat, and I’m high profile enough to be respected but subtle enough not to put a target on my back and have people follow me everywhere. Anyway, the key is at my dad’s arcade.”

“You’re coming.”

“But I just got here!”

A shriek of horror from the doorway, making Evie jump. “Dizzy, stay here and take care of the twins, we’ll be back before you know it. Everything will turn out fine, okay? Just go inside, and lock the doors. Eat cake if you must, but remember the apples and oranges are in the basket, okay?” They hadn’t heard a word after ‘cake’.

Jay turned to Carlos. “Let’s get our stuff, probably the bikes.”

“How bad is it?” Mal asked mumbled to Evie, after the boys had left.

Evie hated lying to her friends. “You age beautifully. Now, let’s just get you into something fabulous.” Evie was at the door before Mal took a step, and came back with her heels clacking against the stone to help the now elderly teen move ever so slightly faster.

[falselyprofound]

So... 2020, huh?

Saying it was rough is an understatement. But also, it’s December 31st, there’s three hours left in the year, and I am far too tired to find the words that carry the proper amount of weight to describe... whatever all that was.

That said, I’m going to try my hardest not to write it off. It was a difficult year, but as with any NYE, taking a step back to think about the things I did accomplish helps keep me sane. Makes me think I’m still moving forward.

So, without further ado...

The World is Weird got nominated for an AGS award! I stayed up until about five am watching the awards ceremony, timezones and Australian wifi be damned. Good times, good times.

Made myself a website! It’s still a little bare-bones but it shows off some of my art and game projects.

Made an OC ask blog! Given how this year went, I very much did not have the mental headspace for writing out any of the comics I’ve been planning. But it is genuinely so nice to have a place to post small tidbits here and there. (Big thanks to everyone who’s sent in asks! I have a few more answers in the works, but feel free to send in more stuff if u feel so inclined)

Finished storyboarding the first act of Buy-r-Die. While that doesn’t sound all that impressive, the game’s had several drastic presentation overhauls this year. I’ve finally settled on something I like - sort of a mix between visual novel and motion comic - and personally I think it adds a lot to the more action-y scenes! I can’t show too much off just yet, but I’m really excited with how things are progressing. In the meantime, the dev log is up on the AGS forums.

Illustrated, wrote, and programmed like half a visual novel for Art Fight. I’ve been chipping away at it in my own time since the fight ended, and while I’ve still got quite a bit of work to do on Spice’s side I’d say it’s coming along p well. Most of the post-fight adjustments aren’t up on GameJolt yet, but you can play the original prototype and read the devlog over here.

Speaking of Art Fight, I earned 1443.62 points this year! That’s about triple the amount of art I did over the past few fights combined. Not bad, considering I had to take two weeks off for an elective.

I also drew some much-needed reference sheets for (most of) my main OCs. One day I’ll update Clarissa’s art. One day.

Played a lot of D&D. Like... a lot. Not all of it turned out to be good, and sadly a lot of games died out due to COVID and/or uni scheduling. But Mel finally escaped her vacation from hell, Sloane finally made it to the town of Barovia, Maya avoided starting an international incident, and I finally managed to drop some Lavinia lore that i’ve been sitting on for four years. Delicious drama.

Finally had a chance to run Monster of the Week! My first attempt was... not all that great, mostly because I was trying to write a scenario from scratch without really understanding the rules. But I’ve now moved on to Damn Dirty Apes, and am having an absolute blast.

Small town superhero OC RPs. You wouldn’t know it from reading this blog but I got, like, really into those this year. Think I wrote something around 40 A4-pages worth of fic for one server, and that’s not counting the actual threads I did with other people. Now I just need to channel that kind of productivity into my solo work...

Lots of digital painting work this year, mostly for personal projects. I like to think my grasp of colour and lighting is getting better, though I still have a long way to go. Regardless, here’s some of it.

Kept on top of my university work, with a distinction average. Barring unforseen bullshit, I should be done with my Masters’ Degree within the next six months!

Did not keep on top of MMB, unfortunately. There was just... too much to do, with too little personal energy to do it with. That said, I’ve started sketching out ideas for a relatively light mini-game. Fingers crossed that’ll surface relatively early into 2021.

It is a little frustrating to see that this is yet another year of half-finished projects, but I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. The mental strain of lockdown, juggling several bouts of drama at once, and uni study all at once is... a lot. And while I’m upset I never completed anything -- jesus christ, it’s a miracle I managed to even start things when my brain was already this full.

Felt like I spent most of this year fighting metaphorical fires... and I don’t know if that’s going to stop any time soon. But anyway.

All that aside, I feel as though my game development workflow is really improving. My code isn’t industry standard, but it’s significantly cleaner, easier, and faster to work with than ever. I’ve gotten some slight animation practice under my belt. And I’ve also dealt with the terrifying world of optimization.

(My games have option menus now! Incredible!)

What’s more, I’m getting better at achieving personal goals without any external pressures or hard deadlines -- which is comforting, as the latest spike in COVID cases has got me worried that I might not be able to get an offline job any time soon. I might need to look into Patreon, advertising my commissions more, or otherwise monetizing smaller projects of mine... we’ll see.

For now, I’m going to go play Animal Crossing and eat chocolate.

‘Cause there’s no fireworks out tonight and I have nowhere to be.

[myusualnerdyself]

After the Sun Sets- Part II (Ethan x F!Mc)

Book: Open Heart

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: None

A/n: Thank you for the response to the first half (Link here). Here’s the second and the final part. Please enjoy.

Tag List: @elwetritsche75 @schnitzelbutterfingers @binny1985

xxxx

“This looks familiar.” Ethan couldn’t help but remark upon entering the ocean-facing balcony.

“Yeah, everything is same except they have done some renovations, the table and chairs are different.” Casey said while absentmindedly stroking the tabletop.

“You even remember the furniture?” he asked, surprise colouring his tone.

“I remember everything about that night, Ethan.” 

He didn’t know how to reply to that. Truth be told, he had replayed the same night in his head countless times, the memory among others had somehow helped him maintain his sanity whenever the loneliness became too much but he couldn’t tell her that, not without leading the conversation to places he wasn’t ready to go yet. So he stalled, 

“Care for a drink?”

“Yeah, sure.”

She leaned against the railing of the balcony, watching him work, his age had started to catch up with him, there was a sparse spattering of white among the dark brown hair. He looked a bit tired too, the constant movement of his job had taken its toll but it hadn't in any way affected his handsome looks or personality that still exuded the same authority and confidence. Even after so many years, she could see why she was drawn to him, imagining how damn easy it would have been for her younger self to fall for his charms.

“So how have you been?” She asked while taking a seat beside him.

“Fine I guess, the WHO projects keep me busy, it’s just one country after another.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Doesn’t that tire you? Being constantly on the run?” 

Ethan flinched at her choice of words but decided not to comment on it. “I do what I have to do. There is an extreme scarcity of healthcare facilities in the developing countries, the situation is so much worse. I try to do my part.” 

“That’s nice. I sometimes wonder if I should do something like that. ” She said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Why? The position of Director of Diagnostics team is not everything you imagined it to be?” He said with a grin.

“Hate to wipe that smirk off of your face, but I do enjoy my job a lot. It’s just that I have spent all of my career in Edenbrook, a change for a few months would help me. I think it would be a good learning opportunity.” 

“That’s true, you’ll gain a lot from it. Let me know if you ever plan on doing it, I can tell you all about the on-going projects and what to expect from each of them.”  

“You mean you won’t ignore my e-mails anymore?” She said, the hurt unmistakable in her voice.

He sighed, “Casey, you know why I cut off all communication between us.”

“No, I don’t! Come to think of it, I don’t know a lot of things. I don’t know why you left without telling me first, without thinking about me, without bothering to contact me for seven FUCKING YEARS.” She said, unable to contain her anger anymore.

“I had to leave, the insinuations about us were getting crazy, the board had started to take notice, they were questioning your credibility, saying you got the spot just because I favoured you, that you were sleeping your way to the top. I didn’t want to be the reason why everyone questioned your merit. I was your mentor, my job was to help you push yourself to your limits, to make you the best doctor you can be, not to hold you back. And look where it got you, you achieved so much.” He said, pacing the length of the balcony now, willing her to understand.

“Well, we could have dealt with it together, what gave you the right to make that decision on your own? How could you leave me like that? Didn’t you ever miss me? Didn’t you have feelings for me?” She shouted at him.

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. After everything he did to protect her reputation and career, the fucking nerve of her to question his feelings, he was positively furious. 

“Of course I missed you, I missed you every fucking night, that’s why I took such a demanding job, so that I didn’t have the time to think about you, to stop myself from rushing back to you. I had to leave the way I did. I knew it would hurt too much to say it your face, I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave, to muster the courage to walk away if I stopped to say goodbye. And how could you even question my feelings for you when you are the one who went out and got married. Huh?”  It was a low blow and a completely irrational one but he always felt a pang of jealousy that she had moved on with her life while he was still stuck on her.

They stood facing each other, both out of breath, the calming waves of the ocean doing nothing to soothe their raging emotions at the moment.

“Really? Do you want to talk about my marriage? My marriage that lasted for what, four years?” She replied, a humourless laugh escaping her.

“What do you mean?” He asked, his eyes falling to her bare index finger, a place where he hadn’t dared to glance at up till now, not wanting the reminder of her marital status.

“We split up Ethan. He has filed for divorce.” Her voice broke at the last word and he couldn’t help himself, moving forward to give her a comforting embrace, all of his anger forgotten.  

“I am sorry Casey. But how can someone be such a huge idiot to leave you?” Although he wouldn’t agree with you if you asked him but there was a small part of him that was delighted, happy in the knowledge that she was a free woman.

“Well according to him, I am too detached, that I don’t love him as much as he does and deserves and most of the time it feels like I am completing a duty to him, just going through the motions of married life and not enjoying it. That the only thing I truly care about is my work.” Her voice sounded so defeated that all he wanted to do was kill the assehole who made her feel like that, even if he had done him a favour.

“So he left you because you are too devoted to your work? That to you your patients come first and everything comes after? I am sorry but sounds to me that he just doesn’t know how to be with a kind, compassionate and a career-driven woman.” He said resolutely.

“No Ethan, it’s not like that. Everything he said is true. Deep down, I knew I never loved him. Being around him for longer periods had started to make me nauseous, I just couldn’t handle it, him being such a loving husband when I couldn’t reciprocate, at least not the way he wanted me to. So I started taking all these extra shifts in the hospital, trying to hide my guilt with the mask of helping people.” She smiled wryly..

“Then why did you marry him in the first place?” He asked, confused.

“It’s not that simple.” She replied, unable to look him in the eye.

“I am sure I can keep up.”

She was silent for a few moments, trying to collect her thoughts. Then she sighed and continued, “You know before meeting you or up till the time we were…whatever we were, I had these idealistic notions about my life, I believed that even with all the ups and downs, at the end I will get my happily ever after, and with you, all of it seemed possible, it was so easy to imagine a life together. But then you left, and I was shattered. It was like you took a part of me away with you, a part that was romantic, hopeful, a part that believed in things, a part that believed in love. And all that was left was this…..this jaded person. It was like I couldn’t feel things for people anymore, I had given up on the idea of love. I went on countless dates, but there was never a strong connection, the sort that we had. So I realized that maybe I was never going to feel something like that again. Therefore I settled for the next best thing, my ex-husband and I had similar interests, an easy relationship, he was never too demanding and I knew he loved me like crazy, so when he proposed, I said yes.” She said, her voice breaking by the end, the tears flowing freely.

“Shhh…Rookie, I am so sorry, I didn’t know you were suffering so much.” He tightened his arms around her, holding her close, his eyes full of unshed tears himself. All the times he had felt bitter thinking she had moved on coming back to him, and to know her actual state and that too all because of him, he didn’t think he would be ever able to forgive himself.

For a while, they just stood there like that, with her head resting on his chest and him stroking her back, trying to comfort her.

“You know, now I feel like I should have stopped your wedding.” He said breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” She glanced up at him.

“When I found that you were getting married, I couldn’t stop myself, the idea that you were going to be someone else’s forever was too much for me, so I came back to stop it, to tell you how I really felt, to beg you to give me another chance. But then I saw you in your wedding dress, you looked so radiant and dare I say....happy.  I just couldn’t do it so I left.” He said while playing with the strands of her hair that had come loose, rueful smile on his face/

“Wow, I can’t believe you did that.” She was shell-shocked, drowned in her sorrows she had never stopped to consider that maybe he was suffering as much. She always imagined him to anguished by their separation for a few months but then moving forward with his life.

“Yeah, me too.”

“So presently, do you have a special someone in your life?” She said, toying with the lapels of his jacket.

“No, I had a few on and off relationships but I never really got over you. I mean you would think it’s easy to forget one’s annoying, stubborn and rule-breaking intern but it’s not.” He said, throwing her earlier words back at him.

And the next moment, her lips were on his. It took him a minute to register what was happening, but then he was kissing her back with equal fervour, pouring everything that he felt into the kiss. He groaned when her tongue demanded entrance in his mouth, his memory hadn’t done justice to the feeling of her tongue sliding up against his, battling for dominance. They kissed like that for some time, both lost into each other’s sounds, touch and taste until they had to finally come up for air. But his lips weren’t ready to leave her skin yet, they moved onto her jaw, her neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses along the way, she moaned at the sensation, her hands tangling into his hair forcing his mouth back onto hers. After a while their kisses slowed to mere brushes of lips against lips, their foreheads touching.

“So you have feelings for me and I have feelings for you but where does this leave us?” she asked in a small voice, afraid of his answer.

“Wherever you want it to be. I have caused you enough pain, if you don’t want to do anything with me, I completely understand.” The thought of leaving her again was too difficult to even imagine but he tried to keep a brave front.

“Comeback to Edenbrook, take the position of  the diagnostic team’s head again.”

“What are you saying? I can’t do that. It was your dream, you have earned it.”

“I was anyway going to leave it, my research keeps me very busy, and I can’t juggle both of them together. We have been looking for a replacement for a while. Take it.” She said, taking his hand in hers.

“Well if that’s the case then I’ll be happy to.” He said, intertwining their fingers.

“Good, but that doesn’t mean you’re forgiven. I mean I understand your reasons for doing everything and I know you weren’t happy during the time apart either but it was unfair of you to make a decision about us without taking my feelings into consideration. It will take me some time to get over it.”

“Of course. After everything you have been through, you letting me back in your life is more than I ask for, but I promise that from now I’ll try my best to give you the happily ever after you deserve.” He said while caressing her cheek, trying to convey the truth of his statement with his eyes.

Her face split into a blinding smile. He leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips but it quickly turned wild, both of them unable to restrain their desire for each other any longer, she moved her lips to his jaw, tracing a path to his ear with her tongue, making him shiver in the process, biting his earlobe, she whispered into the shell of his ear, “Well, you can start making up by taking me to bed.” 

“Yes, doctor.”

xxxxxxxx

Thank you for reading. Please like, comment and re-blog.

[whispersafterdusk]

Lost in Time - ch 14

It'd been four days since their tussle with the spy; they hadn't heard or seen any hint of them, and so far the only injury that had turned up at Xu's clinic had been a woman who had fallen on a bit of wood.  Asher had gone into town long enough to get his broken tooth pulled (front right tooth on the top...he looked like a doofus when he smiled now) and had immediately returned to camp to hunker down and wait out the spy's next visit while the Civil Corps members had gone on a manhunt across the marsh and into the neighboring desert area.

So far, nothing.

They'd briefly discussed the suits again; Eli couldn't make up her mind on whether this Access suit thing was an original (less worrying) or if Duvos had figured out how to piece one together (really worrying).  Asher shared her worries -- the thought of Duvos mass producing those things for their soldiers, even if they weren't working like they did in Eli's time, would still pose a huge problem if the continent ever went to war again. ((Continued below cut))

He did know she'd given up on the trail cameras for now but she was still working on something out in the tent; it used a lot of the same pieces that she'd set aside for the cameras but also several new, different ones that she'd sent Petra and Selene after. The centerpiece of these new additions was a detached screen that she'd marked out dimensions on - she was either cutting it down to size and needed the middle-most section or she was dividing it into a rectangle and eight smaller squares that were all roughly the same size.  She hadn't done anything with the screen yet aside from measuring and marking out those squares but there were small piles of nigh identical looking chips, boards, and wires that were already assembled and sitting in a neat little line on the rubberized canvas under her cot that he assumed had to be put together first before the screens could be attached to them.  

It had been a fascinating sight to watch her work with such tiny components; he hadn't had a chance yet to ask her what those things were (interrupting her while she was working on them seemed like a poor idea since it looked so...fragile, in a way) but he was looking forward to seeing the finished product, learning what the gadgets were for, and why she needed so many of them.  It also piqued his curiosity about Old World tech in general; so much of it seemed purposely designed to work with pretty much anything else.  Maybe Old World technology didn't so much depend on the parts as it did the programs to run it...which in turn made him wonder, assuming they ever got to a point where they knew how to read and create new programs, if all the old relics could be made to work again like they did back then rather than being pieced together with spotty knowledge and prayers.  

Behind him Adam, Arlo, and Eli were all asleep inside the tent with the front flaps pulled closed to block out as much of the unusually plentiful sunlight as possible - there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was considerably warmer today than it had been lately; he appreciated the warmth and imagined his sleeping companions probably did as well but found himself going back and forth on whether he was truly grateful for the "sunny" part of this sunny day.  On the one hand, that suit made the spy near-invisible but not intangible so they should still cast a shadow so if the spy was dumb enough to try sneaking in close in broad daylight Asher was hopeful he would spot that before they got close enough to be a danger.  On the other hand he doubted they would actually be that stupid. The constant prickle at the back of his neck - the feeling of being watched - wasn't a sensation Asher enjoyed, and it also wasn't something he was used to experiencing for such a prolonged period of time; he had no proof though that he WAS being watched, and that was probably bothering him more than the prickling was.

The grumpy sigh he huffed out whistled a bit as it exited through the gap his missing tooth had left behind; that annoyed him to no end too. Asher didn't consider himself an overly vain person but damn it he'd liked how he looked; it had taken a couple years to be at peace with the sunken in scar across his nose but at least that made him look...adventurous.  Dashing.  Daring.  A missing tooth made him look like a drunkard, and it would be a long trip to Seesai to get a replacement that wouldn't prematurely discolor.  Adam was right in that he could easily get a tooth closer to home but, again, discoloration was a problem -- whatever that woman in Seesai did to keep the false teeth from coloring was a closely guarded secret...no one knew what she did or what recipe she used, not even her family if they were to be believed.

He supposed it was a question of if he wanted to look stupid with his tooth gap or look stupid with a yellowed tooth in a few years. Neither thought was especially attractive and brought with it a sort of helpless frustration that, coupled with the prickling feeling of having eyes on him, made him want to get up and move around to burn off the pent up energy and emotion.  

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling grass; before he could truly react to the sound Eli came into view and he relaxed slightly.

"You're up - uh, early.  Or however you want to consider it."

She shrugged as she sat down on one of the rocks ringing the firepit.  "Eh, it happens.  Sometimes you just don't sleep."

"Any new ideas?"

For a time she didn't respond; silently Asher surveyed their surroundings - everything still seemed to be as it ought to be.  He still felt twitchy though...he was ready for action, or for anything that wasn't sitting here keeping watch.  Maybe with Eli awake he could exercise or something.

"Not really," Eli finally responded.  "I can think of twelve different ways to disable that suit but they all require tech that doesn't exist anymore.  And it's not something I could put together from stuff that's left here."

Asher nodded, then glanced back toward the tent; when she'd come out she'd left the tent flaps open and he could barely detect movement inside -- Arlo shouldn't be up for awhile yet but it was looking like Adam was waking up.  "So what's all that stuff you've been working on then?"

"Hi-Defs."

"I've no idea what those are."

"They're wrist-mounted computers.  A lot of their functionality isn't going to work right in this day and age but back in mine they were onboard guidance systems with maps of all the regions, could make and receive calls, they kept track of addresses and your appointments and bank accounts and whatever else you wanted to track, they could project 3D images, take pictures... They could do a lot of things depending on the model you had."

He blinked at her; only half of that had sunk in as he'd gotten a bit hung up on the concept of a wrist-mounted computer.  "Really? Why those then?  If they're not going to work right, I mean.  What will they even be able to do?"

"I want them mostly for communication and maps of this region. I'd need signal transmitters in some strategic areas but once I get it all tethered to the facility they should work.  It's going to take a lot of footwork to get maps updated since it'll have to be manual scanning rather than satellite surveillance...or, hmm.  Maybe some satellites survived."  She paused for a moment, then shook her head.  "Nah, shouldn't rely on that.  Arlo mentioned there's a space station segment out in the wastes but even if there's enough left there to scavenge I doubt I could get a link going with anything that might be left up there, and even if I managed it I still wouldn't have a way to issue orders or anything like that." There was another pause and a sigh, and a wistful glance toward the sky before she returned her attention to him.  "Mine will be the sort of central control for them all outside of whatever computer station I decide to run them off of. My aim is to give them to anyone involved with the security of this facility."  

"Huh." Him with a high tech device...not something he'd considered before.  The idea was...kind of exciting, to be honest.  "So maps and talking to one another.  Is that all we can hope for?"

"Communication and map display is, bare minimum, what I'm aiming for, with maybe a basic calendar and clock function.  I'll have a look at what I can immediately do once I've server-flashed Pauline and get at least one transmitter up for testing."

"...and you've lost me.  What's a server-flash?"

She laughed quietly.  "-right.  It's hard to determine what terms survived the years and what didn't - with Petra and Merlin it's at least a 50% shot that I don't have to define something for them.  So!   Server-flashing.  I take the main operational files for an AI and do a sort of...quick copy of their foundation.  Pauline's an AI but not a living AI so I don't need to worry about her personality or anything, just the uh...the semi-intelligent framework she runs on."

"Yeah, going to need that taken down a few degrees still.  Pauline seems just as smart as Stewart but she doesn't have personality?"

"Nope.  She's just a regular assistant AI -- a sort of input-output response machine with just enough programmed intelligence to appear sentient but she can't learn or grow as a...uh...well, not as a "person" exactly but she  -- she won't ever change.  She just is what she is.   AIs like her you could make infinite copies of and they'll never, ever stop being identical copies unless something on the outside alters them.  Stewart on the other hand, if I were to make a copy of him, that copy would develop its own personality if given enough time to learn and live and the same would happen with a regular living AI."

That...sort of made sense.  At least, it was simple enough that he could grasp it without her needing to explain it more in-depth.  "And you're going to use her to run the Hi-Defs."

"After some minor reprogramming yes."

He nodded slowly; having a little, easily accessed map right on his wrist would be neat, even if it was just of Portia.  And if it worked well here maybe it could be expanded out into the other cities and nations too...and, oh man, would that make mapping the Peripheries way easier too if all they had to do was walk through it with the Hi-Def recording or whatever it did to create the maps -- suddenly he could think of all sorts of possibilities and perks to having one of the things.  "What would be the range on these things?  How would they figure out and store maps?"

"Range depends on what kind of signal strength I can get.  Hi-Defs have their own localized signals so they'll all be able to 'talk' to one another within a certain range, and also interface with the signals coming from the transmitters at a much wider range.  I'm pretty sure I'd only need sixteen or so at some key points to cover all of Portia and a bit of the outlying areas.  As for updating or creating maps it'll have to be manual scanning -- someone is going to have to start from an already mapped point and then let the Hi-Def scan the territory as you travel through it.  It'll take awhile but the program that runs a Hi-Def is robust enough to piece it all together without too much extra work needed.  And they have their own onboard storage to hold it all."

"Neat...and amazing."  As a more comfortable silence fell Asher tossed a few thick branches onto the fire and nudged them into place with a blackened, straight branch he'd purposely kept as a sort of log poker.  If Adam was stirring too then he should probably get the fire's heat evened out so he could start cooking. "Did you end up camping a lot as a ranger?"

"Yeah.  I went camping for fun too."

He carefully poked at the fire for a moment.  "...do you miss doing that?"

There was a long pause before she answered.  "I miss a lot of things."

Asher winced a bit.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

She shook her head and flashed him a strained smile.  "Nah, don't be afraid to ask things.  The funny thing with pain is the more you experience it, the easier it is to tolerate."

"I don't think it works that way with this kind of...you know."

With a shrug she turned to pick up the cooking kit (which was in a large leather satchel that had seen better days) that was off to the side of the firepit.  "Works well enough for now.  I don't want you guys walking on eggshells around me, and I can't hide from it forever.   Hell, I can't hide from it even if I wanted to."

Asher was quiet as she handed the satchel over; he pulled the kettle out and stood to go fill it from the water barrel they'd installed just inside the tent flaps, then came back and sat it among the coals to start boiling.  A feeling of guilt had settled like a rock in his stomach -- that had been such a stupid thing to ask her.  "If you ever want to...talk, or something.  I'll listen."

The smile she gave him this time was less strained.  "I know.  It's appreciated."

As he bent to re-arrange a few half-burned logs she got up and walked out of his immediate line of sight; behind him somewhere he heard Adam's low voice and then the man's plodding footsteps as he came over and took Eli's place on the rock.  Asher just managed to catch the sight of Eli disappearing into the tent as he glanced back but she quickly came back into view a moment later.

"I'll be back in a bit - I need to grab a few things from town."  She had her pack slung over a shoulder but it hung limp and empty.  "Don't bother cooking for me."

"All right.  If you're sure," Asher replied.

"I am." With that she began to jog toward the path that, eventually, led back into Portia.

Asher watched her go and then sighed heavily, looking over to Adam.  "You ever feel like a massive idiot sometimes?"

"Sure," Adam grunted.  "Then I remember I'm not you and feel better."

Asher rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to whack the man with the fire poker stick; when he didn't rise to the man's banter Adam gave him a strange look.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing.  I think.  How do you want your eggs this time?"

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

Dr. Xu had acquired a wooden chair with a really comfortable cushion and a small wooden table for Harrison to work at; it sat in the corner near the front doors so it would be out of the way of everything else in the clinic but its position did mean that usually, when someone walked inside, Harrison was the first thing they saw.  Already several tourists looking for headache or muscle ache cures had approached him at the table to ask after the medications, even when Dr. Xu was clearly within view at his desk further in the room.

He kept telling himself to find humor in the situation but it was starting to get a little annoying - especially after someone actually moved a stack of books out of the way to "speak to him" with Xu staring on in surprised confusion.

It was enough to have him dreading the sound of the doors opening, and so today when they slid open he actually flinched and carefully peered over the top of the book he had propped up in front of him.

To his surprise it was that girl from days ago - the one who had fallen on the driftwood and gotten it through her arm.  She looked bright eyed and chipper, with no other obvious injuries, and he inwardly groaned as she looked around, spotted him, and came right over.

"Hey there!"

"Hello.  How's the arm healing up?"

She smiled and slipped her coat off, then pulled her sleeve up to show the bandage there.  "It's all fine and dandy - itchy, but doesn't seem infected or anything."

"Well, that's good." He went silent as she pulled her sleeve back down and got her coat back on, then cleared his throat awkwardly.   "So...what did you need then?"

"Ah, hello there -- how is the arm?"

Harrison sat up a bit straighter as Xu came over; the girl gave the doctor a smile.

"It's all good.  A bit itchy but seems to be healing."

Xu nodded.  "Excellent to hear.  Now, what brings you back to the clinic?"

The girl's smile faltered a bit and Harrison swore he saw a tinge of pink appear in her cheeks.  "Ah...well, uh, I came to um.  Talk to him, actually-"  

She pointed shyly to Harrison, and he blinked at her in confusion.  Talk to him?  Why?

Xu seemed just as confused as he was.  "Oh?"

"Yeah...um, private matter."

"Huh?" Harrison blurted out.

She turned her attention back to him and rubbed at her injured arm awkwardly.  "Um.  If you have the time, anyway."

"S-sure, I guess."  

He stood up and came out from behind the table; the girl took a few timid steps toward the door and when he followed along she headed outside into a much brighter day than Harrison had been expecting.

He raised a hand to shield his eyes and looked over to her.  "What did you need to talk to me about?  Did I do something wrong with your injury?"

She shook her head, hard; it was hard enough to dislodge a few wisps of hair from the messy bun on top of her head.  "No no nonono, nothing like that.  I was just um, wondering if you'd...like to go get coffee or lunch sometime?"

With that the woman stood there, lightly scraping the toe of her shoe into the mud; Harrison felt like someone had abruptly switched off all the lights inside his brain.  She wanted to go get coffee, with HIM?

"Uh..."

"It's ok if you don't want to," she went on in a rush.  "I don't mind.  You're probably busy.  I shouldn't have asked."

"N-no, no, it's-" Harrison interrupted.  "Ah - no one has ever asked that before.  I think my brain shut off." He offered her a weak, slightly sheepish smile, and to his surprise she returned it.   "But...why me?"

"I...dunno.  You're from Lucien, like me.  I don't meet a lot of Lucien natives when I travel around.  And, you're.  Um.  You know...cute, so I thought, why not?"

Now it felt like his ears were on fire.  "A-ah," was all he could say.

An awkward silence fell and it went on entirely too long for Harrison's liking; he was hoping she would say something...he wasn't sure WHAT, but he wanted to hear SOMETHING, anything, that would take the burden of this conversation off him until his brain caught up.

"So..."

"Ah, uh, yeah, um, sure," he said finally.  "I-I mean, if you're sure."

The girl's face brightened and she bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment.  "Hee!  Yay!  Ok, so when are you next free?"

"Later this evening?" he offered.

She nodded.  "All right then - later this evening.  Down at that restaurant in the square?  The knight one?"

Harrison nodded, feeling lightheaded; he completely missed what she said as she waved and then headed off down the hill.  Too late he returned the wave, and then leaned against the clinic doors behind him.

"What...just happened..." he muttered, rubbing at his forehead.

He, Harrison, had a date tonight.  

...wait, did she ever even give her name?

"Oh boy..."

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

"Haven't seen you in a bit," Django said as Eli walked through the door.

With all the afterimages swimming around (it was REALLY bright outside today) Eli could barely see him, and somewhat stumbled her way toward the counter.  "Been helping the Pigs out at the facility."

"Ah, that'd be it."

She managed to find a stool and sat down.  "I had to come back for some supplies and I'd like to take some treats out to the them as a surprise."

Django nodded.  "I see, hmm.  I just pulled an apple pie out of the oven, and I've got some Black Forest cake made just this morning.  Won't take long to whip anything else up either," he said as he flipped open a menu to the dessert section and slid it over to her.

"Thanks."  She picked it up and held it in front of her; with the afterimages it'd probably be another minute or two before she could clearly read it.  "Do you know if they've established any favorites?"

"I know Arlo doesn't really like sweets in general.  I haven't talked to Asher or Adam enough to know about those two."

Eli frowned; good thing she'd asked.  "All right, no sweets for Arlo then.  I know he likes spicy things at least.  How about...an order of vanilla pudding, some of that apple pie, and that spicy spaghetti stuff?"

"Sounds good."  

As Django headed off toward the kitchen Eli folded the menu properly and returned it to the pile, then leaned forward to brace her elbows on the counter and put her forehead in her hands.

Every idea she'd had so far to disable that suit all required things that weren't around anymore; the easiest would be a localized EMP to overload the projector circuits and force it into a reboot cycle where it wouldn't be able to disguise its user until it fully restarted itself.  A sliver shot would do similar in that it would disrupt the projectors by confusing its sensors with a quick burst of hard light mirror shards.  Or she could use a taser overload, or a bolt drainer, or a sys-dis (a system disabler - it would scramble all the circuit signals), or even a battery overcharger.  So many things she COULD do, if she was in her own time period...

But she wasn't, and simple ideas like trying to use water or some sort of paint or even dirt to try and short out or otherwise mark their target probably wouldn't work -- Access Suits had built in miniature shield generators evenly interspersed among the projector sensors that pulled double duty at repelling water as well as dirt, dust, or mud-like materials.  She couldn't safely rely on the hope that those generators were as damaged as the faulty projectors; if they were working correctly they might get two seconds, tops, of visual assistance if they were to try and douse the spy in something...two seconds could seem like forever in a fight but since there was no telling what else that spy might be armed with by now Eli was not about to risk anyone around her with so many unknown variables (it was as much for the spy's safety as well as their own that they be able to clearly see what they were doing the next time they clashed - she'd hated firing blindly at the spy and it'd be a really simple matter for someone to accidentally kill someone else).

"Something the matter?"

Eli jumped at the sound of Django's voice just over her shoulder.  "You walk really quietly when you want to."

Django chuckled as he moved back behind the counter; he had a few containers in hand that he neatly lined up on the counter in front of her.  "Old habits I guess, haha.  It'll be a few minutes on the spaghetti."  

She slid her pack off her back and pulled a cloth bag out of one of the front pockets, then sat it on the counter; before she could say anything Django picked it up and began to slide the containers inside.  

"It was an honest question though - something on your mind?"

Eli paused, then huffed out a sigh.  "Just trying to figure out how to hunt down a ghost, is all."

Django's eyebrows raised a bit.  "Wasn't aware we had a ghost problem outside of our haunted cave."

"Not a literal ghost," she replied, laughing quietly.  "More like someone pretending to be one."

"I see.  Not exactly your run of the mill problem to have."

With another sigh Eli rested her forehead on her hands again.  "I'm not exactly a run of the mill person."

Django nodded slowly, rubbing at his chin.  "...you know, how about we have a quick dart game while we wait on your spaghetti?"

There was something...odd, about his tone.  Eli eyed him but couldn't detect anything other than his usual smiling demeanor -- he sounded off but looked fine.

"...all right," she answered, standing up and aside as he shuffled out from behind the counter and led the way toward the back game room.

There were a few others in the restaurant; Eli found herself waving at folks as she went and narrowly dodging Toby who was waving a report card at her (she made a mental note that there were only two more months for Toby to prove he'd kept his grades up enough for training) and then she was in the game room with Django already retrieving the darts from a drawer in the prize counter.

He didn't say anything at first as he handed her the three green darts while he kept the red ones. "So.  Looking for a person pretending to be a ghost, you said?"  Django lined up a dart and then tossed it a breath later; it landed right on the border between a bullseye and the next ring out.

Eli huffed then laughed quietly.  "I feel like I'm about to lose.  Terribly."

Django tossed another one and it landed squarely inside the bullseye.  "I've had a lot of practice.  Where's this ghost person lurking?  Out at the facility?"

"...yeah," she answered after a pause.  "We have an uninvited visitor out there."

The third dart he threw, to Eli's surprise, flew well off to the left and embedded itself into the thick safety backboard that the dartboard was mounted on.  "When did this ghost show up?"

"Recently."

She watched silently as he went over and slowly took the darts down; when he was out of the way she took her first throw and it barely stayed within the board, embedding itself into a bottom right section that wasn't worth any points at all.

"Humor me.  Was it someone you think is on the smaller, lighter side?"

"I...guess.  Couldn't really get a good look at them, obviously."   Rather than taking her second throw she turned around to face him; he'd moved over to lean against the prize counter's front, arms crossed over his chest and a somewhat brooding look on his face -- seeing something other than his usual cheerful expression immediately made her forget all about the dart game. "All right, spill: what are you getting at?"

Django inhaled and exhaled slowly.  "Did Arlo tell you about that Rogue Knight we had, not too long ago?"

"Yeah, I've heard about it.  He said you were the one who was able to drive them off too.  You think this knight guy came back?"

He shook his head.  "No, I don't think your visitor is the same Rogue Knight I fought that day.  But you mentioning a ghost brought back some memories, from when I was younger.  Of a different, more dangerous knight, in her own way."

Eli walked over and dropped her remaining darts onto the counter.  "Are knights just a common thing now?"

"Not anymore.  In the older days - meaning, the older days of our current era, between the Calamity and when humanity was finally recovering - folks took up the title of knight as they fought to protect their homes and people from both man and monster alike.  Humanity didn't have much left back then...just a lot of old stories and memories of how things once were, but the legends that were even older than the Old World still managed to survive.  Such stories helped keep the survivors alive, and while it's a tradition that's been mostly overwritten by the Civil Corps and other law enforcement nowadays, there's still a fair few of us who stick to those old stories and the honor that comes with claiming the title of knight."

Eli watched him as he spoke; the brooding look had given away to something more resembling a thoughtfulness - a softer, more introspective look, and as he talked his chin was slowly dipping down so his gaze ended up on the floor just in front of his feet.

"So..." she said quietly into the pause that followed.  "Why did me mentioning a ghost make you think of another knight?"

Django finally lifted his gaze and flashed her a grim smile.  "I drove that Rogue Knight off with the belief that he wouldn't dare step foot here again.  I still believe that, in fact.  But I've been on my guard for any hints of other troublesome knights that might show up to try and finish the job he left undone.  It just so happens that I know of a woman who called herself the Ghost Knight -- I knew her when I was a younger man.  We even fought together a few times to clear out monster nests or drive off bandits."

Eli's eyes widened.  "You're kidding."

"I wish I were.  You mentioning you were looking for someone pretending to be a ghost brought her to mind."

"Who is she?  What's she look like?  Why would she be here?"

"I don't know.  I never learned her real name, and she never learned mine.  I never even saw her face - only the strange suit of armor she wore.  As for why she's here-"

"Is she a mercenary for hire?" Eli interrupted.  "What - how did - how do knights function?"  At his mildly surprised look she slumped her shoulders a bit.  "Sorry - didn't mean to interrupt you."

Django chuckled and pushed off from the counter, moving to line up to throw his darts again.  "Not a problem.  I can only guess at why she'd be here -- same reason the Rogue Knight was, I wager.  I wouldn't call her a mercenary...that's not what we did.  But, it's been over a decade since I last spoke with her, and people can change."

Eli shifted and leaned against the counter almost in the same spot he'd just vacated, putting him and the dartboard at her back as she stared a hole into the wood in front of her; if this person was this Ghost Knight that Django had known years ago then that meant it was a good chance that this spy's having an Access Suit was just...a one-off. One person who got their hands on something that actually still worked.  That was one fear off the list, at least.

"Django... How did this woman fight?  What did she do as the Ghost Knight?"

"Scouting," came his answer, quicker than she'd expected.  There was the sound of the dart thunking into the board before he continued.  "No one was better at it than her.  And in a battle she was the best flanking attacker you could hope to have on your side."

"Flanking...  Does that mean she didn't take people on in a direct manner?"

"She avoided that as much as possible but she was still capable of defending herself if she had to."  Another thunk of a dart.  "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure."

She turned around from the counter in time to see Django turning as well, flicking his wrist and sending the dart at the board without looking or aiming; the dart stuck into the bullseye.

"If you find this person, and manage to capture them, I would like to speak to her."

"I... I mean, I'M willing to let that happen, but I'm not a Civil Corps person.  That's not likely up to me."

Django nodded, slipping his hands into the pockets of his colorful coat.  "If you can make that happen, I'd be indebted to you...  Excuse me, I should go check the spaghetti.  It ought to be done by now."

"Yeah, sure thing.  I'll head back up to the counter."

He disappeared through a small door into the kitchen and, as she said, Eli walked out of the game room and back to the counter where the rest of her order was sitting packed neatly into the cloth sack.

She looked over a shoulder at the restaurant's patrons; there were considerably more people here now than had been when she'd first walked in, and Django had purposely wanted to talk to her about it away from others.  She really, really wanted to ask him more about how this Ghost Knight woman fought, or where she'd come from, or--

'I'll come back when it's not busy, or maybe I can catch him at home.'

That he'd admitted he'd been on the lookout for any other trouble-making knights worried her...maybe she should also split her history lesson time between Isaac and Django.  

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

"Bye, see you tomorrow!"

Django gave Sonia a small wave and a smile as she headed out the front door; there were a few spots left to sweep and then he could put out the lights and head home himself.

Normally he enjoyed the absolute silence of the restaurant late at night - it gave him time to daydream, or plan for the next day's operations.  Tonight though... He couldn't help but think of that Ghost Knight.  Everything he could recall about her had come flooding back in a rush when Eli had mentioned someone pretending to be a ghost; any other time he would have dismissed it as silly old memories but now...

He bent and swept up dirt into the dustpan, and then moved to carry it over to the waste bin.

Ever since he'd driven that rogue knight off he'd been constantly vigilant for any hint, no matter how small, that someone else had arrived to plunge Portia into chaos.  He imagined most people would think he was being paranoid without reason and so had kept such worries to himself...maybe he shouldn't have done that.  Portia's residents had been panicked at first and demanding more protections from the Civil Corps folks after the knight incident but, as time wore on, they'd fallen back into their lives without fear of outside threats; would anything be different now if Django had shared his worries with Gale?

"Too late for that," he muttered to himself.

He swept up the last little dust pile and dumped it into the bin, then went to put the dustpan and broom away.

Once everything but a single lamp was powered down he dipped behind the front counter; for the most part he stored napkins, silverware, and small dessert plates behind here but after that Rogue Knight had left he'd started stashing a small box out of sight behind the formal cloth napkins that were only used during holidays.

The box was about the length of his hand from fingertips to the heel of his palm, and was just barely shy of being perfectly square.  Django popped the latch open and lifted the lid to reveal a delicate-looking pair of gloves made of silvery wires, each with a single wire that was much longer than the others that ended in a tiny plug; they were very hard to see among the loose cloth that padded the inside of the box, and he knew from experience that even when worn they were difficult to spot.

As he looked the gloves over he had his usual mixed feelings about them; hidden beneath his shirt and jacket were a pair of matching armbands hugging his biceps that had very small charge generators on it -- wearing the gloves with the lead wire plugged in allowed him to charge up and release a controlled shock that went off with a bang, a bright flash of light, and repelled anything he hit along with delivering a strong sting to his target.  

Much like the memories of the Ghost Knight now all his memories of having found these relics came rushing back; he'd once been a young, stupid man, with lofty ideals about what it meant to be a knight without truly understanding anything about knighthood.  He'd thought that finding these gloves had been the ultimate stroke of luck -- something to make him an unstoppable force of good in the world.  He'd been hilariously proven wrong, over and over, until he began to treat them as tools to compliment his own skill, rather than relying entirely on them.  

When he finally understood what the gloves true purpose ought to be he began to win more often and eventually they had earned him the title of Storm Knight; when he'd realized that his dependence on them had basically shaped his reputation he had almost thrown them away. The fear that someone else would make the same mistakes he did (or worse - that someone would use them to harm others) had made him keep them, and steadily he relied on them less and less over the years until he'd mothballed them five years before he retired. The Rogue Knight had been threat enough that Django had felt the need to take the gloves out of storage and thankfully with them - and with his reputation - that had been enough to scare the knight off.  

The problem with this Ghost Knight was Django knew reputation alone wouldn't drive her away.  She had fallen into the same pitfalls he had: thinking that Old World technology made her invincible, or at the very least better than everyone else.  Rather than learning and improving she had stagnated...and he'd watched it happen.

"You could have been one of the best..." he sighed, closing the box and tucking it under an arm.

She really could have been...maybe he should have fought her harder on her reliance on that suit.  Maybe she would have listened if he'd fully explained his own mistakes with the gloves.  Maybe he could have trained with her to show her there was a more honorable way of living. But then again, maybe there wasn't some magical combination of words that would have swayed her to his side and stopped her from getting mad and literally stabbing him in the back.

As he headed to the front door he reached his free hand around to rub at a spot on his lower back.  That old scar ached and itched when it was cold or wet outside but it was an old wound he'd learned to ignore; tonight it was a dull throbbing pain - probably exacerbated by the sweeping, or so he told himself before pausing to really examine that thought.

There used to be an old wives tale about how an injury caused by a mortal enemy would burn and ache when that enemy was nearby.  The Ghost Knight had been his companion once...he didn't think for a moment that they could be friends again but he could spare a bit of hope that the old tale was true and that he would know exactly when he was needed if it was truly her in the region.

[ljandersen]

Heart to Heart

Pairing:  FemShep/Kaidan Alenko, ME-3 Word Count:  2300 Summary:  Kaidan shares how his father looped him into joining the Alliance.

____________________________

Shepard gazed up at Kaidan.  He stroked her hair idly, his eyes fixed on the observation window.  She was starting to feel sleepy again.  Her heart beat slow and hard to the rhythmic brush of his fingertips on her temple.  With her head on Kaidan’s lap and the stars glittering before them, it couldn’t get more peaceful on a military vessel.  But time was ticking down.  Each breath was one less separating Now from the End.  There was so much more she wanted to do with him.  To know.  She was wasting time dozing and not finding out.  Shepard sat up abruptly.

“You all right?” he asked.

“What did you want to be when you grew up?”

“What?”

“We ever end up on a couples’ game show, I need to know the basics.”  Shepard twisted to face him and folded her legs on the bench.   “Don’t hold out on me.  What did you want to be?”

“What did you want to be?”

“Make me go first, huh?”  Shepard pulled his hand into her lap.  “ Fine.  What did I want to be when I grew up?  Well, not a farmer.  Not a biologist or ecosystem engineer.”  Shepard ran her thumb nail along the side of Kaidan’s finger.  “I didn’t know what I wanted to be.  I only knew I wanted to be in charge.”

Kaidan’s smile stretched.  “Had your calling young.”

“Ha, yeah, I guess.”  Shepard considered the idea.  “When I think about it, I could have gone a lot of different ways.  Could have ended up commanding a ship of pirates or smugglers, being in charge of a team of Terminus System mercs.  Who knows?  But instead, fate put me on the straight and narrow.”

“Fate?  Or you realized the good you could do by joining the Alliance?”

“You know something,” Shepard said.  “When I saw the Alliance fight on Mindoir, I wanted to fight alongside them.  I knew right then.  I had this feeling, I should be a part of it.  I thought it was so I could make the bastards pay who did things like that.  But I was wrong.  It wasn’t about that.  It was so I could be the one who got there sooner than help came for me.  It was about helping the helpless, not killing the worthless.  I wanted my family back.  Wanted what happened to them to mean something bigger by my actions going forward.  But it wasn’t dealing death like I thought, it was saving life.  That gave meaning to it.  Gave me meaning.”

Kaidan touched her cheek.  “Shepard, your family would be amazed what you’ve done.  You’ve made them proud a hundred times over.”

Shepard’s lips tickled with the beginning of a smile.  She kissed her palm.  

“What about you?” she said.  “Your dad was military.  This is what you always wanted to do?”

“After what happened at Brain Camp?  No.”  Kaidan’s fingertips traced down her jaw.  He covered their hands with his palm again.  “I always liked tech.  I majored in engineering at the university in Vancouver.  I think I’ve told you that.”

“Engineer Alenko?”  Shepard cocked her head with a soft smile.  “You wanted to map power grids and design Omni-Tools?”

“Something a little more exotic maybe.  Off world.  There were companies that contracted all over space, colonies or urban worlds.  Variety of tech systems, challenging, a lot of movement and chance to see things.  Opportunities to be on the edge of the unknown connecting comm systems and terra forming energy platforms.”

“Not a bad gig.”

“I didn’t think so.  The right company, I could be working with interspecies engineers, learning with new technologies, applying outside ideas.  See the galaxy, the cultures, the worlds.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well …”  Kaidan drew his hands away and fidgeted with the boot propped on his knee.  “After Jump Zero and everything that happened, you can probably guess.  I didn’t know what to do with that part of myself.  I wanted to be normal.  I enrolled in the engineering program at VU.  As students failed and dropped out of the program, the ones of us who pulled through became close.  By the third year, we left the engineering dorms.  We roomed together in a large house on the edge of campus.  We studied together, went out together.  I even stayed with some of their families.”

Kaidan rolled the boot lace between his fingertips.  Shepard shifted on the bench and waited.

“And?” she prompted softly.

Kaidan hesitated but met her eyes.  “The summer after our third year, there was an applied internship program.  Prestigious, competitive.  Teams submitted grant applications and project binders.  GPA, extracurriculars, interviews.  Our team was one of the teams selected.  There were ten of us working on the project proposal.  We all moved to Boston for the summer and first part of the fourth semester.”

“Something went wrong with your project?”

“No.”  Kaidan chewed the corner of his lip then sighed.  “Four months into the internship in Boston, I was at the lab.  We all were.  We were starting to get into the software application, running tests, joking around.  I can’t even remember.  Men showed up for me.”

“Men?”

Kaidan leaned an elbow on the back of the bench and touched his forehead.  “I forgot to register.  Forgot to inform the Bureau I changed residences, left the BC area.  The Biotic Registration Bureau had tracked me down.  They showed up at the lab since they didn’t know where I was staying.”

“They made a scene?” Shepard ventured.

“They were polite enough, I guess.”  Kaidan eyed her for a moment, then sat up straight.  He cleared his throat.  “You see, I had never told anyone.  Told anyone I was a biotic.  Maybe they could have recognized it if they knew anything about biotics, but you know how it was, it was new.  I’d never met another biotic myself outside of Brain Camp.  It was rare, unknown, stigmatized.  I just wanted to be normal.  I felt like it shouldn’t matter.  I didn’t use my biotics.  I had good control, never flared.  It was like they didn’t exist, at least, from the outside.  Maybe I was in denial or caught up in being what I wanted to be instead of what I was, but either way, the result was the same.  The Biotics Registration Bureau showed up for me.  My friends, my best friends I’d done everything with for three years, they were shocked.”

Shepard reached over and gripped his forearm.  “They turned their back on you?  Because you were a biotic?” 

“They turned their backs on me, but not because I was a biotic.  What they might have thought of me being a biotic, I’ll never know.  I never gave them a chance to find out.  They rejected me, not because I was a biotic, but because for three years I never told them.”

“You weren’t lying.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t telling the truth either.  We finished the project.  After the internship, I finished the fourth year by myself.  I saw them in class, but there wasn’t any going back.”

“You dropped out?”

“No,” Kaidan said sharply.  “Of course not.  I finished my degree.”

“But your plans to join a galactic tech company?”

“That last semester changed a lot of things.  My dad …” Kaidan grinned at the floor.  “My dad never quite gave up on the military angle.  More than his own experience, I think he knew what I couldn’t accept: that it was a place where my being different wasn’t a liability but an asset.  Where this part of myself I wanted to leave behind could actually be used for something good instead of just alienating me, scaring or hurting people.  I think he knew it was the best path for me to accept myself, even be proud of it.  I could belong somewhere, find meaning, help people, see the galaxy.  Really, in a lot of ways, the perfect fit.”

“Your dad brought it up to you again?”

“He’d never stopped, but that last semester he knew I was struggling.  I think he knew all his talk about the Alliance only made me dig my heels deeper.  I had said ‘no’ so long, it was almost on principal then.”  Kaidan laughed and rubbed his forehead.  “There was a chink in my armor now though.  I’d lost everything I thought I’d made since Jump Zero.  I felt lost again.

“My dad had a spur-of-the-moment errand with an Alliance chum one morning.  He’d picked me up from campus, a holiday or something.  I was already strapped in when he told me.  I swear he waited for the click of the seatbelt, then it was, ‘Oh, I just remembered.  Told Chisholm I’d drop by with his book while he’s in town training the incoming officers.’  We could both see through the story.  He knew I knew, but we just pretended.  I turned on my Omni-Tool and said, ‘Whatever.  Just roll a window down for me and don’t take forever.’”

Shepard chuckled and flicked his shoulder.  “Your stubborn streak is well worn, I see.”

“Went pretty deep.”  Kaidan laughed.  “But, uh, I think I come by it naturally.  My dad must have known what I’d say.  He said he had to return a book, but when we got to the academy, all of a sudden it was books.  Not two books or three books, boxes of books.  Five or six boxes stacked to the top.  I remember just standing there with the hatch up and muttering, ‘What the hell?’  I even started digging down and reading titles to make sure it wasn’t filler.  I expected to see my mom’s old harlequins or something else off the shelf from home, but it was all military-related.  He couldn’t haul in six boxes of books by himself, so I helped him.  Conveniently, we took a very winding and slow path to Chisholm’s classroom.  Dad kept pointing out different areas.  I kept saying, ‘Are we going in circles?  I’ve seen that plant before.’”

“And when you reached your dad’s friend?”

“What do you know, he’s in the middle of an applied skills class for sentinels.  Up to that moment, I didn’t even know sentinels existed, a fusion of tech and biotics.  I stood against the wall, sighed, and looked around a lot.  I shifted the boxes in my arms and checked the time.  But I didn’t forget what I saw.  Dad was ready with all sorts of scripted ‘off-the-cuff’ questions for Chisholm about his teaching, the officer’s academy, sentinels, biotics.  Dad introduced us.”

Shepard beamed at him.  “Got over your stubbornness?”

“Yeah, I mean, I took my time about it.  Couldn’t fold right away.  I looked into it, networked, met with some other biotic officers.  I swore Captain Chisholm to secrecy.  He agreed not to tell my dad, but let me audit a week of his classes.  Later, do you know what Chisholm told me?”

“What?”

“He said that morning, the morning I was picked up, my dad showed up to borrow Chisholm’s books.  He took the whole bookcase worth.  Even had a student haul it to the skycar with him.  That was 0900.  Then he picked me up at 0930.  We brought them straight back.  After I found that out, I didn’t feel nearly as bad taking my time.  When I had my paperwork in order, just needed to push the button, I went home for the weekend to tell him.”

“Your dad was probably thrilled.”

Kaidan grinned.  “I set down my bag, and Mom gave me a big hug.  When she stepped back, she asked if I’d heard back from the recruiter, then she slapped a hand over her mouth.  Turns out, Dad knew what I was doing the whole time.  I would have been mad, but I could see what it meant to him.  I was so fixated on avoiding an ‘I told you so’ and making clear it was my own decision, I never thought about it just making him proud.  He broke out the expensive whiskey from the top shelf.  Then we sat on the balcony, drank, and talked a long time.  

“A lot of things changed from that point out for me.  One of those things was with my dad.  Up to then, I was a kid.  An adult, but a kid in a lot of ways.  After I joined, things were different.  He was still my dad, of course.  I looked up to him, respected what he had to say, but we were friends too.  More equal footing.  I went from fighting him and trying to prove myself, to appreciating his advice.  I wanted his advice.  He could see what was better for me sometimes than I could see for myself.  Everything with the Alliance proved that.”

Air thickened in Shepard’s throat.  “I’m sorry he’s MIA, Kaidan.”

“I’m sorry about your family, too, Shepard.”

She fell forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.  He brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her lips.  She crawled over him.  He pulled back from the kiss with a tense laugh and looked over at the door.

“It’s almost morning, you know,” he said.

“Come upstairs with me.”  Shepard tugged him to his feet.  “You said you’re exactly where you want to be, right?”

“With you.” 

“I’m exactly where I want to be too.”  She grabbed his face with both hands.  “With you.  I don’t want your family ever reading those letters, but I’m glad you’re with me.  I need someone making me eggs.  You’re my best friend, Kaidan.  More than a best friend.  More than anyone’s ever been to me.”

Kaidan’s breath sharpened.  “You’re that for me too.  Always.”

“Always.”  Shepard pecked his lips.

They burst out of the lounge and shot to the elevator.

From “About Mars:”  AO3 and FFN

[izzy-b-hands]

Eventuality Eventually

My first bit of Smile fic! Roger has bought a new van for himself/for the band! And it is...something. But of course, this is less about the van and more about the three goof balls that plan to ride around in it. Set in a loose-ish AU? If only because I’m doing real general research rn, so I might fumble things about the timeline as I go, if I write more after this one (which I would like to do!) Some Brian/Roger here as well, which I didn’t actually intend, but then I got going and suddenly here it is lol. 

A quick note too that Freddie is mentioned in this, but only in that this part of the timeline he was friends with them, and at this point was still using his old last name of Bulsara; just noting it so seeing that name isn’t a surprise!

My love to all who read/like/reblog!

“But does it run?” 

Roger looked horribly offended, his arms falling from their stretched out motion of presentation. “Of course it fucking runs! Wouldn’t have bought it, if it didn’t.” 

“I know,” Tim said. “It’s just that you like projects-” 

Roger shot him a dangerous look.

“And that’s a good thing! It shows preservation, and a willingness to put in hard work,” Tim continued. “We don’t want to be stranded again, is the thing.” 

“Was embarrassing, having your mum come pick us up,” Brian added. “She was so upset...” 

“It was awfully late,” Tim noted. “Can’t blame her; we did wake her up.” 

Roger frowned. “So you hate this van, is what you’re saying?” 

“We didn’t say that,” Brian said, but he didn’t unfold his arms or take a step closer towards the simultaneously rusting and rust-colored vehicle. 

“Safety comes to mind,” Tim said, trying to be diplomatic. “But I’m sure it’s better on the inside, isn’t it?” 

Roger smiled at that, and yanked open the side door of the van. It let out a shrill shriek of metal on metal, but Tim motioned for Brian to not say a word about it. 

“See?” Roger crouched inside and dropped into the passenger seat, pointing for them to take the two rows of seats behind the passenger and driver section. “Much better on the inside. You could sleep comfortably in this, if you wanted!” 

“There is a spring that nearly went up my ass,” Brian hissed to Tim, leaning awkwardly forward on his seat. 

“Nice material,” Tim said, running a hand over the worn and cracked leather. “Vintage!” 

Roger’s eyes were starry with happiness. “Exactly! That’s what I thought when I saw it. And good condition, considering the price.” 

“How much did you pay for this?” Brian asked. 

“It was a steal,” Roger replied with a grin as he leaned back in his seat, tossing his feet up on the dashboard, watching them with the cracked rearview mirror. 

“That’s not a number,” Brian said. “How much, in an amount with numbers, did you pay for this?” 

Roger looked wounded again, and internally, Tim sighed. They could go from being the best of friends to stabbing at each other in a heartbeat, these two. It made him think of fencers: neither stabbed to kill, but occasionally they landed a hit that bruised and then looked to him as some sort of ref, as if he should have somehow ripped the saber from the other’s hand before the blow could land. 

“I don’t know if it matters much, if Roger isn’t asking for us to give him any towards it,” Tim said. “Are you, Rog?” 

Roger shook his head. “Just toss me money for upkeep and fuel every now and again, or buy me dinner.” 

“Like your girlfriends then,” Brian snorted, and Tim reached an arm back to slap at his leg. 

“Yeah, but you don’t get what they get out of it,” Roger said as he stuck his tongue out at the mirror, his reflection sending it to Brian in the backseat. 

“A warm sweaty number of nights in the back of a rusty van?” Brian mused sarcastically. “Isn’t that basically what we have every time we drive back from a show?” 

“Those are notably less...” Roger paused. “Well. They’re fun, but not the type of fun-” 

“I think we get the picture,” Tim interrupted quickly.

“Oh, but I could paint a better one,” Roger grinned mischievously. “C’mon Tim. Let me use my brush and make that one blush.” 

But Brian was already blushing, and looking more frustrated by the minute. 

If he didn’t do something, the sabers would be tossed away, and they’d be fighting with fists, at least metaphorically. 

“Why don’t we finish the tour of the van, and then go for lunch?” Tim offered. “My treat?” 

It was a blessing that, as low on money as they could be on occasion, they were often food-motivated creatures. Tim included himself in that, and the promise of food, even if he had to buy it for himself, was what kept him going now. 

“Not much more to see,” Roger sighed, clearly still nursing some hurt. “There’s enough space back there for our gear, behind the coat rack they’ve apparently included on the second row of seats-” 

“Hey!” Brian shouted. “You ought to talk, you...” 

He fumbled, blushing somehow redder still, and Tim felt for him. It was obvious to him that both Brian and Roger were stumbling around feelings for each other, but neither of them made it easy. Truthfully, he was hoping they’d just finally confess to each other about it, or fuck, or both. 

He did have a bet riding with Freddie Bulsara on the fucking though, and a fiver to win if he was right and they did it within the next six months. 

Brian was still stuck as Tim tumbled out from his thoughts, and he gave him a gentle poke to the knee. 

“Are you going to say something rude to him, or not?” Tim asked. “Just wondering if we can go get lunch now, or if we ought to wait you out.” 

Brian gave him a look, then sighed. “No. I’ll make up for it later. Let’s go.” 

“That’s so sweet of you,” Roger laughed as he moved to the driver’s seat, keys jingling as he forced them out of his tight trouser pocket. “You’ll really give it to me later, huh? Make me cry?” 

Tim nearly blushed himself. Surely, Roger could hear himself, and knew how he sounded...

But then, he almost definitely did know, and that had to be supplying the shit-eating smile Roger was wearing as he glanced at them in the rearview mirror again. 

“I don’t ever want to make you cry,” Brian said, but Tim could not for the life of him tell if he was being sarcastic or genuine or if this was Brian trying to flirt. 

“Yet you did drop that amp on my foot,” Roger said as he started the van, that made an odd belching sound as it woke up. “And then I did cry and swear for two minutes.” 

“That was an accident,” Brian said. “Your foot was fine.” 

“You never did say sorry.” 

“I did so!” Brian protested, and tapped Tim on the shoulder. “You heard me; I did!” 

“You did, but you did say it while blaming him for your dropping your end of it,” Tim said. 

“He did make me drop it!” 

“I did not!” Roger shouted back, eyes half on the road and half glaring at Brian in the rearview mirror. 

Before Tim could beg Roger to keep his gaze more on the road, Roger hit the brakes hard enough to toss him out of his seat as he pulled them to a barely big enough street parking space. 

“Get out of my van!” 

“This is a band vehicle; I don’t have to go anywhere!” Brian’s usually soft voice was harsh now, and he was yelling more in Tim’s ear than anything else as Tim scrabbled off the floor and back onto his seat. 

“I’ll make you get out!” 

“Good, make me!” 

“I will!” 

“I’d like to see you fucking-” 

“Will the two of you kiss, or fuck, or whatever you need to do to make this stop?!” Tim shouted, and they fell silent.

He had planned to say that in his head, and it dawned on him after another beat of silence that he had said it aloud instead. 

They were both blushing, bright red, eyes wide. 

Roger swallowed hard. “That obvious, is it?” 

“You’re both so bad at hiding it,” Tim said weakly. “I mean that kindly, as much as I can.” 

Brian nodded. “Well?” 

“Well what?” Roger asked softly.

“Are you going to make me get out of the van?” 

Roger gave Tim a nervous glance, then slipped out of the driver’s seat and moved past him to Brian. 

He stayed long enough to see the kiss, then slipped out of the van quietly as Brian pulled Roger down with him onto the seat. It was a blessing that the back of the van didn’t have windows except for one at the far back door. 

He pulled the keys from the ignition and pocketed them before he left, his destination the nearest shop that had food that would qualify as lunch and be fairly cheap. 

With one detour, to the nearest phone box. 

“Bulsara? Yeah, just wanted to give you an update. A kiss, and they might be fucking in the back of our new van. If you’d like to come down and have lunch with us, you could give me that fiver right away...” 

[kikiofthevast]

Suits You

CW: Mentioned past major character death (not permanent or real don't worry), implied past human experimentation, spoilers for SDR2, DRAE, DR3, and SDR2.5, implied body modification/self-mutilation, mention of brainwashing

Pairings: A hint of Komahina

Summary: Nagito and Hajime have a little talk on the way to the Future Foundation Headquarters.

Or: The author thinks that Hajime Hinata looks good in a suit and projects this onto the DR characters.

Did I read a bunch of Wikipedia the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit articles on how Japanese honorifics and address works so I can make my dialogue realistic? Maybe. Is my dialogue still probably wrong? Yes.

Also stuff I used to my advantage in this fic: The bullshit nature of the Analyst talent, the gratuitous amount of time between SDR2 and DR3, and Izuru's existing knowledge of the events of Despair Side.

Also also see if you can guess what Hajime's reply would have been before Mikan cut him off.

Ao3

---

Hajime leaned forward against the railing of the ship as it sailed on the ocean. The sight of the sunset was rather beautiful, even if it was like any other. The ship's motion also was a nice rhythm to focus on, even if it was a little dull.

"Nice view, isn't it?" Komaeda said, making Hajime jump a little, and he turned to see the Ultimate Lucky Student smiling at him.

"It gets a little repetitive after a while, but yeah, I guess it is." Hajime turned back in the direction of the setting sun, as Komaeda moved over to stand next to him.

"Souda-san finished the arm, and Tsumugi-san helped with the attachment," Komaeda said in his usual casual tone, raising the robotic arm and flexing his fingers. "It fits very comfortably, as to be expected of two Ultimates.

"Glad you like it," Hajime replied.

Komaeda got a strange look on his face, and Hajime suddenly knew where this was going. He continued, "While he was working on it, he also told me how you shut down the simulation. I have to say, Hinata-san, I never realized you had such true hope within you!"

And there it was.

"I-it was nothing, really, I just...trusted in the future. And it was mostly Nanami."

"Ohhh, don't be so modest! If I had known you would have done and said all of that, I would have stuck around! It was my fault really, I should have had more hope in you all-!"

"Nagito."

Komaeda-or Nagito-reeled a little, blinking a bit at Hajime.

"Hinata..." Nagito spoke carefully. "Do you consider us...friends?"

Hajime looked away and tried to keep his voice from shaking. "Well, despite how you try to put yourself below us, you're an Ultimate too. If anyone doesn't belong here, it's me. A Reserve Course Student that became a talented person because of a few surgeries. But here, right now, you and I are equals. I may have talents that you don't but we are standing here.

"We were both attendees of Hope's Peak, no matter the circumstances, and we were both manipulated by Junko Enoshima to do her bidding as Ultimate Despair. We both involved ourselves in Towa City, we both went into the Neo World Program, and we both helped to stop it.

"We worked together in the Program, even after you realized our true identities, and you helped us start to realize the truth of the world. So yes, Nagito Komaeda, we are friends."

There was silence between them for a long moment.

Eventually Nagito cracked a weak smile and said, "Wow, is that what you think of me Hajime? You make me sound like some kind of hero!"

Hajime let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "I wouldn't call what you did in Towa City heroism," he joked, and Nagito laughed.

"I don't recall you being in Towa City. Did you poke around in my head before getting me out of the program?"

The remarks and jokes they were making so lightly didn't seem like they would be good in a normal environment, but then again, none of this was normal.

"I spent some time watching, didn't really do anything other than that. I regret it sometimes but...it's in the past. And no, I can promise nobody rifled through your mind before we got you out, even if Souda wanted to." He said the last part with a smile and Nagito matched it with a more genuine one than his previous, weaker smile.

"Good, I would hate to have to explain what I lived in the Program. Did you make that Alter Ego? The World Destroyer, he called himself?"

Hajime went back to looking at Nagito directly. "Yeah, I did. It seemed like he did a good job of freeing you, even from the deepest layer of the Program."

"Well, he was certainly similar to Izuru Kamukura, he had a very straightforward and violent approach to getting me out."

"Huh, I don't actually know what he did to get everyone out. But I guess it's none of my business."

The silence between them was less tense than before, more companionable.

Nagito's face eventually grew serious, and he asked the question Hajime was sure everyone had wanted to ask him.

"Are you sure about this?"

Hajime took a deep breath and Nagito quickly backpedaled, almost instinctively.

"I know you've probably thought about all of the possibilities already, and I know that you've explained all of the reasons we should do this multiple times but I-"

Hajime held up a hand. "Nagito, it's alright. Really."

Another easy smile formed on Nagito's face. "No, I understand, I understand. Forget I said anything."

"No, Nagito. You're allowed to have concerns. I understand that not everybody can predict all outcomes of a situation." A wry smile crept onto his face as he spoke. "All I can ask you to do is trust me. Based on the information Naegi gave us, the Future Foundation is expecting the return of the 78th class members and will likely arrest at the very least Naegi and hold trial. There is also a high likelihood that the Foundation has been infiltrated and that Mitarai's despair video is the cause. Chisa Yukisome was a victim of the video, so she may have shown it to other members of the Foundation. I'm certain that whoever has seen the video in the Foundation has likely set up another killing game of sorts with the use of Mitarai's video to push him over the edge and convince him to utilize a video he created to cultivate hope in the same way the previous one was used to cultivate despair and we have to stop him from spreading it to the world, because as his classmates we are the only ones who can talk him down."

A beat of silence. Nagito was staring at him, eyes wide.

Hajime suddenly looked sheepish and the spell was broken. "Or at least, that's what I think."

"Well," Nagito said, "I guess that makes some sort of sense. I'll trust you on that. Although," there was a sparkle in his eye, "if it doesn't, you owe me 20 Monocoins."

"Wh-"

"Uh-um!"

Both boys turned to see Tsumiki, who was bowing and she pointed toward the area of the inner ship she had just come from.

"Um, Souda wants you to know that, uh, we'll be there soon!"

Hajime bit back a remark about how he had already figured out when they would arrive and just smiled. "Thank you for the notice."

Tsumiki smiled and waved before moving back in. Hajime and Nagito waited for a moment before the inevitable crash and cry sounded from within and it really didn't take a talent for analysis to realize what had happened.

Their previous conversation forgotten, Hajime put his hands down on the railing and Nagito smiled at him.

"Well, even if it's like before, I should go make sure that Tsumiki is okay."

"Yeah," Hajime replied, staring out at the water again, suddenly unable to look at Nagito.

He heard Nagito start to walk away. Then he stopped, and added a thought that Hajime never could've predicted, and that made him blush and grip the rail of the boat harder.

"You look good in a suit, by the way."

And then he was gone.